This is just a test of my new hosting service.
Overdue for an update!
Amy is back from YWAM. She did her DTS (Discipleship Training School) and her outreach in Belgium, France, and Sicily. I know, it sounds more like a European Vacation – but it wasn’t. She faced some good challenges, both within the culture and working with the team. It was a period of genuine spiritual growth. She started working for the City of Welland as a kids’ camp counsellor (as she has the past few years). Amy is eager to sort out where life is going from here.
Jonathan starts at Niagara College in September in the Photonics program. That’s all about lasers and light in communications, medical technologies, and industrial/commercial applications. He’s looking forward to it.
Adam is done school for the summer. He’s going to a basketball camp in August. He’s played on the worship team at church a few times now and is doing well on bass. He has an awesome bass teacher and a passion for it.
Wendy is working out the tail end of a work related injury. She should be in tip top shape by the time we celebrate our 25th anniversary. 25 years! And we still both love and like each other. I believe a long lasting healthy marriage is possible when people are willing to forgive, work, and submit to God. It’s so totally worth it.
As for me? I’m simply pumped about knowing God more. We’re doing more worship/prayer at the church and it’s rich. I love God, my family, my church, and my friends that bring me encouragement and perspective.
So, that’s it for now.
Have a good one.
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This month of May is WellSpring’s U30 month. The under 30′s are in charge of virtually everything in the church. They are doing the worship, preaching, ushering, production, kids/youth, prayer teams, offerings… the list goes on. They are not only leading but the vast majority of the workers are in that category. Children through to young adults are involved.
This week kicked off well with Kerry Baird leading worship (band led by Jonathan Brulé), Noah Thompson and Marcel Smith did the offering, announcements and closing prayer (the hosts), Holly Jacobsen did the talk (message). She talked about the love of God and it was very significant and effective. I could list on and on. It’s just so great to see people stepping up and letting God work through them.
I look forward to this whole month and what will happen from children’s ministries through to Wednesday’s FUEL services.
The U30′s rock!
April 25th message explaining what we’re doing and why can be viewed here.
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I thought I’d first start with what I consider to be significant news. Amy is now in Dunham, QC, a small town in Quebec south of Montreal near the US border at Jeunesse en Mission/Youth With A Mission. She is enrolled in their DTS (Discipleship Training School). There are YWAM bases all over the world. She chose this one because of its focus on music and arts.
Amy will be spending three months there in lectures and the like. Then, she will be off with a team to some part of the world to connect with and touch the lives of others. The destination has yet to be solidified. Initial options were Mexico, France, India, China, and South Africa. Amy’s desire was for South Africa. We’ll see where they end up.
Given her surroundings, Amy is developing her French. She has led worship in both languages. I’m so proud of her. Félicitation!
On the home front, it’s a bit weird without Amy around. This is the first time Wendy and I have one of the kids away for an extended period. We realize that even though Amy is coming back in six months, things will be different in some ways. I miss her at the dinner table – especially her laughter. Amy has the most contagious laugh; and we love to laugh at the supper table.
I pray Amy will do well and discover God’s plan and design for her life as she walks through this great journey.
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Well, it’s been a while since writing here. It’s time for some catch up. I debated between writing one long blog entry or breaking things up into a series of smaller ones. I’ve decided on the latter since that way you can choose what to read and what to skip.
I get a sense that something’s up for this year. We all hope for good things every year but there are those times when you just get a gut feeling that something significant is in the wings. I have that for 2010. It seems everytime I get into church with people something is astir in people’s hearts as well as in my own. I so wish I had a clear picture of what’s coming down the pipe but, hey, we all have to trust God, don’t we?
I do know this. I want to live above the status quo. I don’t want to settle for less than what God has in mind. This is a year for growth in my heart and life. I hope it is for you to.
More entries to come, lots to talk about…
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Deals! Deals! Deals! Black Friday has come and gone. Today is online Monday, the online shopping equivalent of Black Friday in the US. Black Friday in the US is not unlike our Boxing Day in Canada – the biggest sales day of the year for retail. Deals to be had that you don’t get any other time.
As I listened to the news on Thursday morning, one person was quoted as saying they skipped Thanksgiving family dinner so they could camp out overnight for the deals. Another said they had an early dinner (3:00pm) to do the same. What I hear is, “Sorry family and friends, there’s a sale on and I don’t have time to rest from the crazed pace of life and spend time with you.”
I don’t know about you, but life is busy enough that I don’t need to use what’s intended to be relaxed family time to run around shopping to save some money. All this stuff wears out. So do relationships when not properly maintained and nurtured. What’s more important to you?
What percentage of these purchases are needs? I really feel like something is going terribly wrong when we ditch our relationships for a sale so we can buy something for the people we no longer have time to spend with.
Get a grip people! When you get to the end of the rat race, you won’t care about what you have or had but about who is standing around you loving and caring (about more than their inheritance).
Please take a step back this Christmas and use your down time wisely to build into your life and others’ what counts most.
That’s my rant for the day.
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Today marks another day to remember those who have laid down their lives for freedom from tyranny and oppression. There is a sense in the air that Remembrance Day is changing. The passing of time cannot be avoided. Neither can its effects. There is only one living Canadian soldier from WWI at the ripe old age of 107 and living in the US. There are only a few (4) British soldiers that remain – the oldest being 113.
The WWII vets are aging as well. All in their 80′s and beyond, they are slowing down. Fewer are seen at the ceremonies each year. For me, there is a sadness to this. I have no desire to glorify war. Neither do the men and women that fought in them. They simply did their job as assigned – jobs that entailed most of them putting their lives on the line. Many of them lost them. We must show them due respect at every opportunity.
What is glorious is not the war itself, but the courage to stand against the evil and tyranny that radiated from the Axis leaders of those times.
My dad was one such man. He obeyed his country’s call to intervene in the needs of the European nations under Hitler’s assault. He served only a short time, in the spring of 1945. He was captured by the Germans and, fortunately, was a POW for only 10 days. My uncle was not so fortunate, he had fought for the French army and spent almost 6 years as a POW.
Today, I wear my dad’s medals in his honour. He simply did what was asked of him. No great glamour. He actually paid a price for it. He was looked down on by his family for going. He was looked down on by the army because he was a conscript. Isolated to some degree in both contexts. Like a man without a country.
Today, I honour him and all that have paid a price in one way or another for our freedom.
However, today’s Remembrance Day seems a bit different. The news says that WWI and WWII are to far removed from today’s kids in school. Now we speak about Afghanistan and the conflict taking place there. One person said, “better to get them in their back yard than have to fight them in ours.” Our passivity in the 1930′s is what allowed Hitler to arms and attack in a way he never could have had we enforce the Treaty of Versailles. Perhaps today we are stopping something from getting out of hand. I’m not the judge of that.
I respect and honour those who, today, are active in the military. Their dedication helps insure a safe and free future for our nation and others as well. My nephew is currently serving and I am very proud of him.
As the kids of today learn about the present conflicts and sacrifices that are being made, I hope they never lose sight of the magnitude of sacrifice that was made in the 20th century so they can enjoy the peace and prosperity we now have. LEST WE FORGET.
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