It's Playoff Time!

At least for the P.C.C.H.L. Tyke division. We lost the first game, then won the second one with Dawson getting a goal and an assist. He deked around the defenceman to get in alone on the goalie, gave him a head fake and lifted it over the goalie's leg - a big deal for a kid who has been working on lifting the puck!

In his practice Jersey, Dawson has his "gameface" on!

Dawson (in the black with yellow and white trim) goes for the puck

Slightly undersized, this All Saints star has speed to burn. When he gets a step, lookout goalie 'cause he has the moves!

Scripture and Quote of the Week Updated...

Both the Scripture and the quote are to do with sibling relationships. The quote can only be ever true if the family referred to is the family of God - believers by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Sibling Revelry

Just when you wonder why brothers and sisters have to fight so much, you are reminded that they really do love each other. Jill and Scott, for all the dirty socks in my mouth, for the punches on my arm that Mom thought would give me cancer (???), for the pushing, pinching, telling blaming, and teasing that we all did, this is what it's really all about. And there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother...

Family Photos

We've all done the "kodak moment" thing, right?!!! It seems that the photographer is more into it then the subjects after a while. Take a look...

Pretty in Pink

My best girls - so far so good!

What can I say - Just as pretty as pretty gets!!!

As you can see - I'm starting to lose them. I said, okay guys, one silly shot, then back to business... Mom is not too impressed!!!

There, that's better - well... good enough, we're done!

Another Birthday Girl

My wonderful wife turned... well, you'll have to ask her - but she had a birthday this month too! We celebrated with our good friends - the Gavin's. Hey, save me some Ron!!!

Robbin (b'day girl), Karsy, Seth, and Ron

Birthday Girl

My darling daughter turned 4 years old last month!!! Here are some some pics of her celebrating with some friends and cupcakes...

Karsyn likes what she put together

Karsy's friend Seth "hams" it up!

Dawson and Luke have "icing beards"!!!

Can you say "Sugar buzz!!!"?

Yummy

I'd save some for ya... but it's too good!!!

Awakening To The Wonderful World of Books

I have always been a great lover of books. I enjoy reading, but I am not particularly good at it. No, I do not have literacy issues. I can read, but I don't read non-fiction regularly unless I have to. I find this strange because in times of "force-fed reading" (such as educational and occupational requirements, etc.) I usually love it. I am often challenged, refreshed, inspired, and otherwise satisfied with being fed spiritually and mentally. I just find that I do not regularly crack a non-fiction book and finish it with the same ravenous reading in which I attack a novel.

A few months ago I decided that I needed to develop this discipline of reading for my own personal and professional growth. The results have been somewhat mixed. In spurts and starts, I have read with a proficiency that falls somewhere in the middle of the Canadian Women's hockey team's total dominance and the men's team's utter malaise. In other words, I am not completely hopeless but I am not exactly a world-beater yet in terms of reading.

I decided to start things off with an author whose fiction I really enjoy. Ted Dekker is an amazing suspense/thriller/action novelist writing from a Christian worldview with a clear message of hope and faith in his work. So when I discovered his first foray into non-fiction, I picked it up. In fact - this book inspired the title of this blog, the hope of His calling. In reading it, you quickly see signs of a fiction writer's first non-fiction work manifested in 2 clear elements. First, it is very much "story-centric". Dekker loves to tell a story and often does to get his point across. The other element is that because of the "story-centric" nature, the book is more inspiration than information.

The sub-title "awakening a passion for heaven on earth" really states the purpose of the book succinctly, and the author does a fairly good job of achieving his stated purpose. Dekker was preaching to the choir though as I really can't wait for heaven. Essentially, the message is for many of us (me included sometimes) who just get so comfortable living our life here that we forget we are not here for here. We are here for heaven!

One aspect that Dekker deals with exceptionally well is the whole concept of the "wrongness" of pleasure. Many believers are wrongfully taught or mistakenly think that pleasure is bad. Ever hear someone say, "if it feels good, it must be a sin". So not true. Here is a quote from the book, "While the children of our culture play noisily about the yard and swim in so many pleasures and eat from lavish spreads, we often feel like the ugly stepchild, confined to our closets, starved of the pleasures that call to us."(p.165) He goes on to discuss how we are really meant to enjoy the pleasures the creator has made for us, but sinful nature distorts and perverts pleasure to the point of turning it to sin. Then on p.167 Dekker returns our focus to eternity, "When one is enamored with the bliss that actually awaits, he actually finds more pleasure here on earth, not less."

I have run into some believers who are uncertain of heaven, even scared because of the unknown or dreading it because of what they think they know. This book is a great start for those who have misconceptions of eternity. Randy Alcorn (who wrote the forward for this book) also has great stuff on the topic of eternity.

This was a good book, inspiring a passion for eternity and instilling a desire to enjoy the "foretastes" in the meantime while serving the One who provides it all. Check out Dekker's site on the link above (click on highlighted name) for more info on the author and his work. Very good stuff.

Well, that was my first - and I've read three others since, so I am improving! I'll have another review soon. In the meantime, I would recommend you pick up this book whether you need to be awakened from a slumber, or inspired to continue on in the journey to our eternal destination. And then the fun begins.

The Best Ever!!!

There has been a lot of TV watching at our place the last couple of weeks due to the wall-to-wall Olympic coverage. We have even temporarily lifted the usual "before school TV ban" to watch those early morning events. With all the coverage comes the endless commercials. Some are "Gillette fusion"

clever (the Bell beavers), some are cool (the weird water/metallic dripping off the vehicles on the fashion runway), some are silly (Ronald McDonald ski jumping), some inspiring (the child athletes with famous athlete's voice-overs), and some are just the same old stuff you always see trying to sell product. See - I told you we have been watching too much TV!

Anyway, the one I'm talking about is one of those generic "say your product is the best" ads. The first time my 6 year-old son Dawson saw the Gillette Fusion commercial, he turned to me and said with wide eyes, "Dad - did you hear that?!! You've gotta get it - they just said it will give you 'the best shave ever'!!!". He was completely serious. I'm sure if he had stubble, he would have walked right out the door to the nearest store to pick up this product. Now, I have nothing against Gillette - in fact I use one of their older products, but how many things claim to be "the best"? How many products make claims that they cannot follow through on? I have a cousin who bought an electric razor because it promised a shave as close as a blade or your money back. He got his money back. It could not deliver on the promise to shave as close as a blade. It was not as good.

So what is this all about? I'm just trying to get us thinking about promises, new things, and what is really the best for us. No, I'm not endorsing a particular razor, electric shaver, or your local barber - I'm endorsing something that is billed as the best ever - a new, better, superior way of living.

The book of Hebrews repeatedly shows that Jesus came to establish a new and superior covenant with God's creation. Hebrews 11 lists a number of people, centering them out for their faith while under the old covenant. However, it was still not perfect. They were only saved based on their faith retroactively under the new covenant. "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." (Heb. 11:39,40)

The old way was not sufficient. "The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God." (Heb. 7:18,19)

We needed something else. "If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come?" (Heb. 7:11)

So what is the difference between the old and the new? What makes the new way superior? "Therefore he (Christ) is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need - one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever." (Heb. 7:25-28)

Now we have been promised a better way, the only way (John 14:6), a superior way. "But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises." (Heb. 8:6)

And how do we know this? How can we be sure of these promises? What is the guarantee? "Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant." (Heb. 7:22)

I love the feel of a good close shave. It feels soft and smooth, then you slap the after shave on and you feel clean and refreshed. That is what the blood of Jesus does to our lives. It removes the "stubble" of sin in our lives, it cleanses us, it refreshes us, His blood frees us.

I am not sure if I have had the best shave ever, but I know that Jesus has provided the best life ever, and I plan on continuing to live in Him. Now that is an advertisement worth paying attention to. That is something that I could endorse! Would you consider doing the same? Do it with that same child-like faith exhibited by my son, accepting God's word that it is indeed - "the best ever!!!"

Change is Overdue

Boy, that scripture and quote of the week are from Christmas! I was trying to decide whether to keep them there until next Christmas or if I should update - I've decided to update. The Scripture goes with the recent post "The Vanishing Stain". "It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and the earth and jupiter and mars. How loving and patient He must be, 'cause He's still workin' on me".

Coming Soon to "The Hope of His Calling..."

Have you ever had a brush with greatness? Who would you like to meet and get their signature to keep for posterity? Watch for a different take on this in the upcoming post "The Autograph".