Monday, November 20, 2006

Refreshing...


They say that "a change is as good as a rest". As you may have noticed, I'm trying to
"refresh" my blog with a couple of little tweaks to the color scheme. Any thoughts or suggestions on the changes would be welcome!


Speaking of changes, my service at Christian Horizons has been changed. I'm being transferred to another program within the city. Not a major change, but there will be new things - new schedule, new workplace, new protocols, new individuals to serve, and a new team to work with. My current team took me out for lunch today, treated me to a great buffet, and gave me a nice card (I learned today that Karl is jealous of my hair). We had a great time at lunch today, and over the past year and a half we've had a great time together as a team. It was interesting to see how close our team is in a "one-staff program"! To all I served with here at P.11 - David, Frank, Gail, Greg, John, Josh, Karl, Peter, Scott, Seth - whether you made it today or not, thanks for your friendship and for lunch today, it was... refreshing!

Sunday, November 19, 2006

A missionary in our midst...


Peterborough paramedics (from left) Bill Martin, Mike Latham, Ryan Maloney, Mark Cameron and Brian Wilkes - with a river ambulance.
One of our own at Calvary Pentecostal Church, Pastor Bill Martin, returned today from a 2 week trip to Cambodia. During his time away, our family committed to praying for Pastor Bill and his team while they served the people in the villages they went to. My kids were thrilled to discover that Pastor Bill is "an ambulance man" as well! They were also pleased to know that when he came down with severe illness after being there a couple of days, their prayers partnered with others and he was back to full health the next day! A great faith-builder for all of us. Please click the link following to see the coverage they received from our local newspaper "The Peterborough Examiner". from Nov.17th (unfortunately, this link will only be available until Nov. 24th)

Saturday, November 18, 2006

DON'T CRY...


...over spilled milk. For any family members (or Kirk) who may be reading this - yep, I did it again!!! It seems that I don't go for too long without spilling something and tonight I spilled milk... again.
When I was a kid, it was very common for me to spill whatever beverage (or cereal) I happened to be consuming at the time. Actually, things really haven't changed much. The worst time was when I was about 8 or 9.
The whole family was seated at the table for supper and I went to the fridge to retrieve a new bag of milk. In my exuberance to accomplish the task, I returned to the table kinda tossin' the bag of milk up in the air. Well, this resulted in a simple law of physics becoming all to real for me - what goes up must come down. And down it came, missing my outstretched arms in the "basket-catch" position and hitting the floor with just the right amount of momentum and in just the right way to... well... I consider the factors going into this event to be the requisite factors in creating the "Perfect MilkStorm" because when it hit, it split, and the bag exploded it's white bovine substance all over my Mom's kitchen.
This set my Dad into one of his very few yet very classic fits of rage complete with fist banging and a couple of "bloody-well"'s. This of course reduced me to roughly the same as the contents of the little plastic bag - just a pool of liquid on the kitchen floor. My Mom, though frustrated I'm sure, assured me that all was well, it was just milk and could be cleaned up. Then we promptly proceeded to do just that. We cleaned up the mess.
Tonight when I spilled the milk, my Dad wasn't there to yell at me and my Mom wasn't there to help me clean up. In fact, I was working at Christian Horizons where I support individuals with physical and mental challenges. One of the guys I support started laughing at the spectacle. He quickly stopped and apologized to me for laughing. I said, "nah, man - that's okay. It was pretty funny. Besides, you can't cry over spilled milk!". Confused, he asked what that means. I told him that it just means there's no sense being upset about it because the milk is still spilled. I might as well just clean it up and continue on.
How many times do we cry over spilled milk in our lives? How often do we dwell on things that we cannot change? How much do we berate ourselves over mistakes made, poor decisions, or what might have been? How much guilt do we hang on to when we sin - after asking for forgiveness? I know that it can be really tough sometimes. We've all been in those ruts before - "woe is me", "why did I do that", or "God doesn't love me anymore, I'm no good for him now". We need to just clean up the spill - fix the mistake, ask for forgiveness, determine to do different next time - and move on... "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13,14
What would happen if I just left the milk where I spilled it? Pretty stinky, eh. One thing I had to learn early on is that spilled milk quickly became spoiled milk and that was just gross. If there is spilled milk in your life be sure to clean it up - deal with it so your life doesn't spoil - then look ahead, press on toward the goal... our HOPE in Christ!!!

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

ABSOLUTELY WONDERIFFIC!!!


I was filling out a form for Karsyn for an activity. After all the age, address, and allergies inquiries, the final question said "any further comments?". I couldn't help myself so I did comment further. I simply wrote this in the tiny space provided - "She's just absolutely wonderiffic!". What can I say? The gleam in her eye and the smirk on her face gives a glimpse into her charm, wit, fun, and overwhelming lovability!!!
The other day, after a particularly long and busy weekend, this 4 year old was able to do something that my wife and mother have thus far been unsuccesful at. She convinced me to take a break! We were driving home from church Sunday night and she asked if tomorrow was a "school day". I said "yes". She asked what I would do with her and her brother at school and mommy working. I replied that I would probably go to the church and do some work. She said, "Daddy - I think you should stay home tomorrow and rest." As soon as she said it I knew she was right, so I did it... and it was absolutely wonderiffic!!!

Monday, November 13, 2006

Remembering Remembrance Day



"THE BATTLEFIELD"



"THE BRAVE SOLDIER"

Check out these pictures made by my 7-year-old, Dawson. The neat thing about them is that they were not part of a school project. We were just sitting watching CBCÂ’s coverage of the the Remembrance day service in Ottawa. Dawson was asking me questions about war and soldiers and what not and he drew these pictures.

The first one, "The Battlefield", shows a battle. The green thing in the middle is an airplane dropping bombs, there is a really big bomb falling out of the sky at the top, then the soldiers on the ground are shooting each other. The ones on the left are the Good Guys while the ones on the right are the bad guys who are losing.

The other picture "The Brave Soldier" shows a field where a good guy was shot and killed so we could be free (Dawson's words). Obviously it shows a tombstone, poppies, and a bright clear day. I thought it was all pretty neat.

Both Dawson and Karsyn, our 4-year-old daughter, were very interested in the ceremony on TV. Karsyn asked if we had one here in town and I said yes, but it was already started and we couldn't be there. Well, that started about a half an hour of crying because she was missing our "Remembrance Day Fair"! We tried to explain that it was not a fair, but to no avail. Anyhow - it was a good teaching moment before the crying started!

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Starting Off Sloooowwwwwwly

I thought this would be a good way to get back in the swing of things - share someone else's writing instead of my own!!! I received this in an email from Pastor Frank Patrick at Calvary Church Peterborough. The author is one of my sisters favourites, and apparently one of Oprah's favourites as well. It's good stuff...

"Christian" by Maya Angelou

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin.
"I'm whispering "I was lost,"Now I'm found and forgiven.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need CHRIST to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need HIS strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain,
I have my share of heartaches So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow.

~Maya Angelou~

I am Here, and I am NOT Silent - "Return of the Blogger!"


That's me on the left and David on the right!










Yeah yeah, okay David - I'm back! My good friend and blogging mentor David Fisher has been going uncharacteristically easy on me since my last post on September 11th. However, in recent days he has turned up the heat and now today has publicly called me out on his blog. He is hoping for a response, so I'll give him what he wants! He is absolutely right - it is no longer "the first day of school" and almost 2 months without a post is way too long, not to mention almost certain blogicide. (there's a new one for your glossary of blogging terms David - "Blogicide: Allowing an inordinate amount of time to lapse between posts. This results in your readership losing interest and no longer stopping to check for new material, thereby virtually killing your blog".)

So, I need to build my blog back up! How do I do that? Well, one way is for David to announce to the world that I have new material. However, that is an unfair favour to ask after 1 post in 2 months. Instead I will ask him to give me 2 weeks to show that I can consistently post new material. 2 weeks from now, if I have 6 new posts, I think I can assert that I'm back and David can share the news with the world via Pilgrim Scribblings.... I know that is not close to David's prolific posting rate (which is more like 6 a day!) but that's as good as you'll get from me on a consistent basis.

I do have great fodder for new posts - anecdotes from the kids, Mom & Dad and sister Jilly visiting for a couple of weeks, thoughts and humour, new pics - Karsyn's first year at school, Dawson's hockey, Robbin's beauty, Calvary staff/board retreat, family visit etc. Lots going on, I'm just not taking the time to share it! Well, now I'll try... check back daily to see how I'm doing!