Discouragement

What do you do when you are discouraged? I have now been asked that question 3 times over the past 36 hours. All of the comments were made in regard to our little church. Over the past 4 years we have been in a steady decline in attendance, participation, ownership, commitment and finances. We have a pretty solid core of about 40-50 people who rarely miss out on a Sunday morning gathering. We have about that many or maybe a bit more involved in our Life Groups on a faithful basis and we have a life group meeting every day of the week except Sunday's. We have new faith, we have pre faith, and we have immature, maturing and mature christians and ages ranging from 0 - 70 within the fellowship. However, over the past 3 months several long time attendees and others have left to find "greener pastures". Many have said that they love our church, they don't want to leave our church but they feel they must leave and often for "family" type reasons (at least that's the one they admit too). "Our kids need more"; "our youth need more"; "our children attend this other fellowship"; "some of our needs are not being met"; are the vast majority of statements used to describe why people are leaving. In most respects it is basically consumer driven not Holy Spirit driven. Also, the ghost of past success has never really left us alone. We used to have 230 on a regular basis to church; 60-70 children in Sunday School; 40-50 young people in our youth ministry. We used to have so much extra money that we wondered what God wanted us to do with it and now we can barely pay my salary. And so, discouragement seems to be the dominant conversation people are having over coffee with others. This tends to breed more and more discouragement and on and on it goes.
I have a pattern that I follow whenever I start to get that discouraged feeling. Mostly it starts with talking out-loud to myself and that usually while I am driving (or mowing the lawn). This is usually where I work out some of the angrier parts of my feeling of discouragement. Then after I do that I start to lay out the scenario as I perceive it in my mind to God. Then I begin asking the Lord for his perspective on the situation. Then I begin to praise him and seek the Lord to renew my mind, heart and emotions and bring me a refreshing sense of his power and Joy (strength).
I started this process many years ago while I was still in high school after I heard the story of David found in 1 Sam. 30:1-6. The families of David and his merry men had been taken captive by the Amelikites. They had attacked the city, burned it to the ground and took everyone in it captive while David and his men were off raiding the Philistines. When they got back you can imagine the horror, anger and discouragement of the men as they find that all that mattered most to them was gone. This slowly turned to blame and then quickly to rage against David as their leader. Then in verse 6 it records what David did, it says; 1 Sa 30:6 David was now in serious trouble because his men were very bitter about losing their wives and children, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
Since hearing this I have made it a growing practice/discipline not to try and find strength in anything else except in the Lord. It seems clear to me that there really is no where else to turn to rid myself of discouragement. And, it is something that I can do several times a day if the need warrants it.
Maybe if you find yourself discouraged today this scripture can help you. The Word of God can help you find strength and courage to face whatever it is you are facing in the strength that the Lord wants to provide for you. What else is there to do with the nasty little beast called discouragement?

Don’t Forget to Remember!

I am notoriously forgetful but only when it comes to remembering things. In fact I can pretty much forget just about anything and not even feel guilty because I don'’t remember what it was I forgot! That is until someone comes along and awakens my guilt by reminding me of what it was I was supposed to have remembered. Confused yet? Me to!
It seems to me that when it comes to forgetting it can be either good or bad depending on what is supposed to be recalled to memory. It may surprise you that it can be a good thing that some things are forgotten. When horrible events happen the trauma associated with them can push those things to the back of our memories. We are designed this way as a defense mechanism and it is important that this happens to enable us to go on functioning until a more opportune time comes to deal with the trauma. Sometimes these hidden memories can lay dormant for a long time until that person is confronted with them by some event or situation that triggers the recall.
A bad thing to forget is your spouse'’s birthday or your wedding anniversary or some other important date like that. It is also a bad thing when forgetting leads to being seen as unreliable or irresponsible. This kind of forgetfulness basically devalues other people, their time and their efforts. It is very frustrating to those around us and can even sour some relationships if things don'’t improve over time.
History repeats itself because of forgetfulness. One reason that wisdom and discernment are seemingly on short supply in our day is largely do to the fact that the valuable lessons of history are forgotten. Someone once told me "“A mistake is not a mistake if you learn from it!" I think that means that if the mistake is forgotten then the lessons to be learned are also gone. Sadly we are then doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again until we remember the agony associated with it and make the necessary changes.
Tomorrow we will be reminded of the sacrifices of those who fought in wars to preserve the freedoms that most of simply take for granted. Remembrance Day is an important day for all Canadians because it gives us some practice at remembering the sacrifices of others on our behalf. Thank you to all our veterans for what they had to endure and still do endure that we might enjoy the freedoms we have.
Remembering is also a vital part of the practice of our faith in God. Often we meet and remember the great sacrifice Jesus Christ God'’s only Son made when he died for the sins of the world. We also have a designated time on the calendar to help us to remember this event called Good Friday and also Easter Sunday. Often God warns us in the bible not to forget. Instead we are to memorize, to recall, and to bring to mind the teachings of God and obey them in order to bring ourselves into lives filled with great joy.
So I guess I am saying don'’t forget to remember the sacrifices of others on our behalf. From the sacrifice of the men and women of war to the sacrifice of the Son of God on our behalf, we must never forget by intensionally seeking to remember.

Gumption

I liked this so I thought I would just pass it along to the rest of you...

Reading a Chuck Swindoll devotional recently pointed me to Robert Pirsig's book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and a reminder of a little-heard word these days, gumption. Pirsig writes:

"I like the word gumption because it's so homely and so forlorn and so out of style it looks as if it needs a friend and isn't likely to reject anyone who comes along. It's an old Scottish word, once used a lot by pioneers, but . . . seems to have all but dropped out of use.

"A person filled with gumption doesn't sit around, dissipating and stewing about things. He's at the front of the train of his own awareness, watching to see what's up the track and meeting it when it comes."

As Pirsig applies gumption to life, he does so behind the word picture of repairing a motorcycle:

"If you're going to repair a motorcycle, an adequate supply of gumption is the first and most important tool. If you haven't got that you might as well gather up all the other tools and put them away, because they won't do you any good.

"Gumption is the psychic gasoline that keeps the whole thing going. If you haven't got it, there is no way the motorcycle can possibly be fixed. But if you have got it and know how to keep it, there's absolutely no way in the whole world that motorcycle can keep from getting fixed. It's bound to happen. Therefore the thing that must be monitored at all times and preserved before anything else is gumption."

Sanctified gumption. It's not only handy when you're repairing a motorcycle; it's downright essential to be an effective preacher and church leader( or just a plain ordinary person).

Michael Duduit

Our New Friend

Well this will be my 5th try at getting this to blog! I have had some trouble today with my computer as it keeps crashing on me and I have lost 3 entire blogs just before I posted them and one that was lost a couple of sentences into it. I was trying to write about my dear little Paige. She is most definitely a Nichol to the max. She has inherited the "spill-gene" from her father. She has the dubious distinction of being able to spill pretty much anything, anytime on her clean clothes. It always seems to happen when it matters most to be at least half ways decent looking. This weekend we hauled off to Kamloops for a rockets/blazers hockey game with D & P's camp friends. We had a great time (see the pics on Cheryl’s blog) We had not got through Kelowna when I heard from the back seat, "Dad, we need to go to Wal-Mart and buy a Tide Pen!" I had no idea what she was talking about but it turned out that her friend Janelle had given her some of her chocolate bar and she had chocolate crumbs all over her white rockets baseball shirt. It was quite a mess. So we headed into the bowels of Wal-Mart, she found a Tide Pen on sale; she applied the pen to the various areas of concern and WALAH! It was clean as a whistle! All the chocolate stains and the oil stains that surround the chocolate stains completely GONE! I wonder where the stain went one our friends said when I told them this story. Good question?
So, Paige and I now have a new best friend. The Tide Pen to the rescue! You really should try it!

Is it OK?

Recently I was meditating on some scripture and an argument of Jesus caught my attention once again. It has been a while as far as I can remember the last time I was "handled" by this passage of scripture. It is one of those passages that seem to present a conundrum. We all know that obeying the laws of God are vitally essential to life and the pursuit of being wholly holy. They are the bedrock and foundation of a growing relationship with God and of course deeply vital to managing and growing relationships with each other. The only thing the law falls short of is providing salvation but it does manage to point us to Christ who is our salvation.

Anyway, the passage is found in Lk 6:1-5 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. 2 Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" Jesus answered them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." 5 Then Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

So what exactly is Jesus saying here? Each week twelve consecrated loaves of bread, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, would be placed on a table in the house of God, the tabernacle. This bread was called the bread of the Presence (or showbread). At the end of the week, the bread would be replaced with fresh loaves, and the old loaves would be eaten by the priests. On one occasion, the high priest gave this consecrated bread to David and his men to eat as they were fleeing from Saul (and lied about this fact). The priest understood that their need was more important than ceremonial regulations. Although the priests were the only ones allowed to eat this bread, God did not punish David because his need for food was more important than the priestly regulations that he had clearly laid out. Instead, he was emphasizing discernment and compassion in enforcing the laws, something the self-righteous Pharisees did not comprehend. People's needs are more important.

So, does this mean that this story, although stemming from the commandment concerning the Sabbath, simply gives us the freedom to interpret the laws of God, (ceremonial, civil, temple, priestly and moral) with careful discernment that in some ways may mean that we end up disobeying them?

For example....

Is it ok to lie if it is going to save a life?

Is it ok to steal if one is starving?

Is it ok to kill if one's family is being threatened?

Is it ok to remarry if one is dying from loneliness?

Is it ok to disrespect your parents if they are cruel and abusive?

Is it ok to skip a "Sabbath" rest if your livelihood depends on it?

I love it when these types of passages create some good old fashioned thought.
Hope you enjoy this as much as I have.

GRUSOME GROSSNESS!

 

Couldn't resist a little HORRABLE HUMOUR!

 

Who Teaches You?

While studying for a message recently I ran across something that made me stop and think for a while. Actually, I am still pondering it and seeking to let it mold my thinking about how I live life and how I see our fellowship encouraging others to live life. I always enjoy it when I come to these moments in my life; I guess you could say they are "God moments” for me. They can draw attention to something brand new or be the kind of thing that you may already know deep down in your soul somewhere but haven’t really given it words, or concepts to bring substance to it. Sometimes it is directed towards a current situation or time of need and at other times it prepares us for what may be coming down the road, like finding a piece of the puzzle that enables you to put more of that puzzle together. I guess that's why it is called a living faith and not some dead philosophy or religious teaching but rather a living word.
This idea came from a book that I have enjoyed so much I have read it 3 times. It is a book that speaks my language, it shapes my thinking and it soothes my soul. The book is called "Divine Conspiracy" by Dallas Willard. I find my self going back to it often in sermon prep or just to pick up a teachable principle for my leadership or the fellowship in general. I have read a few books like this over the course of my life but right now it is the one with most impact.
The statement I mentioned is found in the section called "On being a disciple, or student, of Jesus." He asks a couple of questions then makes a bold statement. "Who teaches you? Whose disciple are you? Honestly. One thing is sure: You are somebody's disciple. You learned how to live from somebody else. There are no exceptions to this rule. For human beings are just the kind of creatures that have to learn and keep learning from others how to live..."
Maybe, if you get a few hours of quiet time over the next few days or weeks you can enjoy this quote as I have over the past couple of weeks. I have used it to counsel a couple of young people who thought they we "self taught" and "their own persons" but by the end of the session had come to agree with this statement. I have used it in a sermon that got a few "amen’s" and some good old fashioned "humms" as I stopped talking and let this idea sink in a bit deeper.
Who is teaching you right now? Whose disciple are you? Honestly. Who is instructing you how to live at this season of life your in? Whose philosophies of life are you abiding by right now? Whose writings are you drawn to and why? Who have you granted leadership to in order to influence how you handle the day to day stuff of life? Colossians 2:8 Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ.
By the way I found a cool sight that gives you some good reading without reading the whole book for those who may be interested; http://www.christianbooksummaries.com/ Enjoy!

check out my new moves!

dudes create your own moves!!! http://www.poplockin.com/flash.php

Seminar #3

I spent the day in Kelowna at the Willow Park Church enjoying a "pastors care net" seminar on "dealing with difficult people". The highlight for me was taking one of our elders along for the experience. I love this guy he is such a solid leader and asset to our fellowship so it was great to spend that much time with him in one shot. The seminar was pretty good too. Basically, the seminar morning was about seeing conflict as important to our growth and maturity in any relationship. To work at getting the church to have a healthy culture of understanding regarding the necessity and benefits of conflict when it is managed in a healthy fashion. The afternoon was spent dealing with how we manage conflict within our selves. The theme of the afternoon was that the only person I can change in any conflict is me. We also learned about adrenaline. It is basically a poison released into the body to increase blood flow to the heart and brain while taking all blood from the digestive system. If you get to much of it in your system it causes high blood pressure, artery plaque build up and heart failure. So watch out how much adrenaline you don't work out of your system. A good walk and/or a good sleep is generally enough to clean it out of the body.
Both morning and evening were well prepared and well presented and kept our interest level high along with the Q & A session that provided some rounding out of the principles mentioned by the instructors.
One story that was relayed today was a bit shocking. It is a true story that happened in the past couple of years. It is about a senior pastor who had called the care net help line in a bit of a dilemma. It seems that he had got into a serious dispute with his two fellow assistant pastors. As the conflict increased and the tensions grew over the coarse of a few days if finally reached its fever pitch! The two assistant pastors got so aggressive that a fight broke out between the three of them. The two assistants pounded the daylights out of the senior pastor. He was calling the crisis line because he didn't know what to do! SCARY STUFF!

Anyway hope you all had a great day and don't forget

God is good all the time!
peace-out

God may be Good but.....

God may be good all the time but Plymouth Caravans are a piece of crap! Not only are they a piece of crap but they are expensive pieces of crap. They have crappy transmissions, crappy brake systems, crappy electronics, crappy driver seats, crappy back door access, and they get crappy gas mileage!

I hate my vehicle! This is our second transmission in 2 years!


any body want to by a Plymouth caravan???????


REAL CHEAP!

Stupid vehicle


BUT GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!

There and Back Again by Bilbo Nichol

Wow I had no idea what I was getting into when I left the house last Friday evening. This whole firefighters chaplain thingy is quite the deal. My butt is sore from the seemingly endless hours and hours sitting in a chair that is made for a 20 minute quick-sit. My mind is numb from the over use it sustained and the sharp and heavy learning curve it had to endure. But, I am now in my family room, surrounded by some of the ones I love the most in this world, and all is right for now. I think there was so much to take in that it may take a couple of weeks just to unravel it all and figure out what is usable and what has to go on a shelf somewhere in the back room of my mind for another day and time. I figure the whole thing must have cost our fire department about $1000.00 all in all to send me to this conference. I am not sure how much of what I learned I can actually put into play in my "paid-on-call" fire department here in Peachland. Most the instruction was geared to the majority of chaplains who "serve those who serve" in professional halls in major centers. But there were still some very helpful, insightful and useful information that I know will come in handy as we deal with the large number of incidents that our little hall deals with in a year.
It was good to have a change of pace, to be in Vancouver, to be treated to a couple of Salmon feasts and to meet some pretty terrific people from all over north America. All of them with a passion to serve their fellow mankind with love, compassion and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. AWESOME!

As a friend of mine always says.... GOD IS GOOD>>> ALL THE TIME!

Critical Incident Command System

Yesterday was all about communication. When hell is unleashed in peoples lives to reduce death and damage a well established and well groomed communications system is absolutely necessary. It is a proven reality that without ICS the reality of the book of Judges takes over. That being that "everyone does what is right in his own eyes" and we all know how well that worked out for the children of Israel. Death, devastation, destruction, divorce and discouragement pretty much describes the whole thing. Today, we are back in the class room for another 6 hours straight followed by a nasty test on the details of this system. The text book is about 2 inches think. My brain has never been so challenged! Oh, well, I wouldn't be anywhere else right now as it has been good to be here for a much needed change of scenery.

Good Stress Bad Stress

We started off the morning in much the same venue as yesterday, that is with the issues relating to death. The number one killer of firefighters on a scene is heart attack. The second killer among firefighters was a little shocking to me. The second killer is suicide. After the class I was talking to a chaplain from Virginia and in his hall alone in the past 2 years 3 firefighters have taken their own lives. The stress on these guys is massive.
Needless to say we spent the day talking about these two subjects and the connection between the two top killers is unmanaged bad stress. Bad stress kills. Bad stress is basically any situation that is out of the control of the firefighters but the basic personality of most firefighters is to want to try and control what is basically uncontrollable. The result is bad stress. Feelings of failure, feelings of depression, mental illness and guilt all take an enormous toll on their personal health and also the well-being of their families. The staggering divorce rates among firefighters are as high as 80%.
Basically the whole morning convinced me of the necessity of the role of Chaplain. To watch the firefighters (myself included), to listen to them, to care about them enough to even talk to chief on their behalf if necessary. To provide a safe place to talk out their stuff and to offer encouragement, wisdom and of course directing them towards some professional help could literally save their lives.
The planners of the day were smart enough to remove us from the heaviness of the mornings classroom by sending us all on three buses for a tour of the city. This was followed by a BBQ Salmon feast at Hall #18. We feasted on fresh fish and listened to the Firefighters Band play some terrific music while we ate. It was a terrific way to end the day.

God is Good All the Time!
See you tomorrow.

Death: the destiny of everyone

I spent the entire day in classes dealing with death. I have had some experience with death as I have done too many funerals and memorial services. But most of today was focused on the death of emergency personal and how to handle that. The protocols alone were completely overwhelming. As one instructor put it; " Nobody does funerals like the fire service".
We learned about "Delivering the Death Message" for the better part of today. I remember a time not long ago, where I had to comfort an EMT after they found a women who had hung herself. I also remember having to go to the two different schools to gather up 3 kids and tell them the bad news that their mother was dead. Thankfully my wife, teachers, principles, and school counselors were so professional and helpful the personal trauma of that event was minimized for myself. I also remember back to a call we took were the man had taken a large caliber rifle and did himself in. I was able to assist a few of the guys who were traumatized from that whole experience. There are also other stories of death that affected many of the fellows in our hall, it goes with the line of work we do. Therefore it is an invaluable thing chaplains do when they are there for and serve those who serve others in their time of need.
I found that throughout the day there were times when I found my own eyes welling up with tears as the instructors broke down expressing their own stories of tragedies. They shared with us their dealings with the reality of death that surrounds the firefighters, their families, friends and of course the thousands of victims that are left behind after death strikes their lives.
The room fell "dead" silent as one presenter walked us through the fallen fire fighters from B.C. over the past year. Very moving.
Death. No one really talks about it much outside of funerals. It did feel a bit strange to be talking about it all day long. Kind of made me feel a bit mortal, like I'm not as invincible as I think or feel I am. Very sobering day. As Solomon said, "Death is the destiny of every man and the living should take it to heart and learn from it." Today I learned about it.

One thing I learned today...

Hi everybody. I'm at the holiday Inn in down town Vancouver and I'm attending a chaplains conference here and I thought I would just journal key thoughts that I learn from the sessions in the day classes.
So today it was refreshing to hear the difference between a pastor/preacher/intercessor vs. The ministry of a Chaplain. It is meant to be a role that is mostly about presence. Just being there for those who are experiencing trouble through some sort of trauma. The firefighters, their spouses and their kids are the priority of our chaplaincy duties. Sort of like Pre-evangelism type ministries. Just being there for them can speak volumes about your faith. And when the time is right they will invite you into their lives and at that time and only at that time you can move towards a pastor, preacher, intercessor type role for them.

This fits so well with my overall philosophy of life. I found myself feeling encouraged that there are others with the same kind of thinking as I have.

God is good.
talk to you tomorrow.

Eating and Talking Around the Table

They say that necessity is the mother of all inventions. When faced with the idea of spending this Thanksgiving without family or friends, something had to be done. My wife and I were spending some quality time in the van between kid drop offs when my wife came up with a brilliant idea. Faced with this thought of a lonely thanksgiving, we would make a feast fit for a huge family gathering. Then we would purchase some tinfoil plates and take packaged meals down to the "Peachland ghetto" as I have heard it called. Then we would tootle off to the Edge Water Hotel and do the same thing. As we talked, the vision changed and grew. Why not host a massive feast at the community centre after church and invite anyone who we thought could be alone this Thanksgiving to come and join us? The day and time were set and we began to pass out invitations and invite people to come so that they wouldn't have to be alone either. My wife's office is right downtown, the window she looks out of faces the street. She passed out invitations to all those who seemed down on their luck and probably would be spending Thanksgiving alone and would enjoy a good turkey dinner. As a part of my sermon a couple of Sundays ago, I mentioned this idea to our congregation and the plan took off among our church family with wild enthusiasm! People gave money, turkeys, time, salads; helping hands were so numerous we didn't know what to do with everyone. This idea had taken on a life of it's own and we were excited.
Yesterday, Thanksgiving Sunday, was a day I will not soon forget. We didn't take a head count but we figured that close to 100 people participated in our free thanksgiving feast. One woman's words summed up so well the success of the event. She said, " I really love this. I don't have to sit down to a meal all by myself. It is so nice to be able to eat and chat with someone. There is nothing like eating and talking at the same time." Apparently eating and talking around the table at the same time was a rare event in her life. She was so grateful along with many others who enjoyed eating and talking so much that they asked if we could do this again soon.
We came home last night, exhausted but feeling so great. What a tremendous experience and seeds were planted in our hearts that just maybe we will do this again. Why? Because there is nothing like eating and talking around the table.
In fact, eating around a table, filled with guests is one of life's richest moments. As I look back in Jesus' day, he was famous for "reclining at the table" with anyone from the worst reprobate to the most powerful religious leader. Jesus reclined, dined and had some deep and meaningful conversations around a table. In fact it became a picture of the kind of relationship that Jesus desires with all of us. A kind of "reclining at the table of our hearts" picture. He wants to "do life" with us so that we never have to "dine" alone. All we have to do is invite him in and he will come.

Hectic

Hectic is a good word. It describes something that is almost out of control but still has elements of control in it. It describes my week to a tee. It seemed as though this week has been a ton of people time and not much study time. The times I usually set aside for study were consumed by others who I suppose I could have seen as interruptions but by the grace of God I didn't. Helping a homeless man with three kids what just the beginning. That took up most of my Tuesday. Most of Wednesday was spent with a group of caring folks who want to assist and enable our food bank here in peachland to broaden its mandate to include the transients and the families like the man with three kids in desperate need. Most of Thursday was spent with leadership people. I am so happy that one of our parishioners wants to use his teaching gifts more within our fellowship. I have been trying to entice him for years and finally this year he has decided to bless our church with his teaching skills. He also wants to do more counseling so I will be passing off some of what I do to him. That night I went to a rockets hockey game with danae and paige with tickets that were given too us. The rockets won 3-0 over the St. Albert Raiders. We had a great time. I was also approached by one of my fellow fire fighters to counsel him through the grief he is experiencing over the loss of his father in law. I love those times. Times I can minister to a person who is yet to experience the life of Christ. Five minutes before we were to meet he called and asked for a rain check. So I guess we will see if that opportunity comes round again. This morning was my regular men's life group. We have such a great time together. Praying for each other, encouraging one another, challenging one another, a real band of brothers. I always come away very full after our meetings. Needless to say that after all this stimulation I had a tough time settling down and getting into the books today and I haven't finished my sermon yet. Oh well, hectic basically describes it all.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I've been wondering these past few weeks about how I (and people in general) struggle with just telling others what I think they need to hear rather than listening to them and asking some penetrating questions to help understand them. As it happens a few days ago I was walking along the road doing my morning routine exercise when I had a total God moment. I was reading in the book of Luke as I walked along at the story of Jesus when he was left behind in Jerusalem by his parents. They later came back and after searching high and low they finally found him in the temple “about his father business" is what he told them. But what really nailed me between the eyes was the next part of the story. It struck me deeply that this 12 year old boy had a better handle on how to engage people than this 43 year old pastor ever has. It says that they found him sitting among the teachers; 1) listening to them... how good of a listener am I? 2) asking them questions... rather than telling them what was right or wrong or good or bad he was asking them questions.– How many times do I tell people what to do rather than ask them deep and profound questions? 3) they were amazed at his understanding... most people around me are amazed at how I don’t get it, I don’t understand! I must admit understanding others is a slower and much more difficult way of engaging them. When what I would rather do is just throw a bible verse or two at them and tell them to obey it. And finally, 4) then and only then does it mention his answers. Before he ever got to the answers he worked at listening, he worked at asking profound and penetrating questions (at least for a 12 year old level), he worked at understanding those around him BEFORE he gave his answers. I wondered if this whole way of dealing with others is the thing that astonished the teachers around him. Just a kid yet such a handle on respecting them, by listening, asking good questions, understanding them, and answering their adult type questions! Then come the fascinating part... he grew in wisdom and stature in favor with God and men. He still had wisdom to grow into... WOW, he already was amazing but he still had some learnin to do! The boy Jesus has so much to teach all of us when it comes to engaging others in dialogue. We need to stop trying to fix others or force answers on them when we haven't first done the hard work of listening, asking and understanding. Make me like you Lord!

When I told my family this morning about all this Mackenzie my 13 year old piped up and said, "Don't worry about it dad, Jesus was God what did you expect!" We all had a good laugh.

Tombstones

Personal retreats are a must in this line of work. I need to pull away for a few days, 2 or 3, just to let all of the pieces of ministry fall to the earth and settle a bit. It really is quite amazing what gets moved farther up the priority list and what gets left behind as just not that important right now. I took my retreat at Eagle Bay Camp about 45 minutes from Salmon Arm and about 2 and half hours north of Peachland. It was beautiful, it was quiet, it was restful, it was relaxing and I got quiet enough to listen to my heart, my mind slowed down and the Lord was graciously communicating with me.
On the way to the camp there is a little country church with a grave yard attached to it. So I decided that a part of my time there would include a trip to the grave yard to walk among the tombstones. To read the inscriptions and wonder about the stories of the lives of those who are now gone on. I think I was in the right frame of mind for this with news of Edna's passing and also the passing of a friend of ours here in Kelowna . There were some very old tombstones there, even a few from the mid to late 1800's. There were all ages represented but most of the ages were well into their 80's and 90's. There were two that caused me to stop and ponder. The first was a double grave site. With a young man in his late twenties buried beside a little boy that was 6 months old. The boys grave had a little truck and another little toy sitting at the head of the grave. I wondered how this happened. Perhaps a car accident or maybe a boating accident? I wondered about the young mother and wife who lost so much that day. This grave brought the value of my family and the importance of investing my very best into it into clear focus. Then I moved on to a site that seemed out of place. Up until this grave all the markers had the date of birth and the date of death on them. This was the only one that didn't. It was also a double grave, one side, the husband's side, had both the DOB and the DOD on it but the wife's side only had the date of birth and a dash followed by a blank space. Two things struck me. The importance of the dash. Life seems like a dash, a breath or as scripture says a vapor. It brought me to a fresh desire to make my dash count, to make it worthy of the gospel that has saved me. To make it count for my wife and kids, my brothers and sister(s) and their kids, my mom(s) and my dad(s). Then the blank spot signified that her story was still unfolding, that it had not yet finished, there were still chapters to be written. I spent the next hour just asking the Lord for fresh new life and vison for the future chapters of my own life that are yet to be written. I asked that they be filled with love and joy and full of adventure that comes from serving such a great and awesome God. The God of the living and the dead!
If you've never taken a stroll among some tombstones I would recommend it to you. Hanging out with dead people can really make you appreciate your life!

Boredom

I had an interesting 2 hour chat today with a couple people. Something happened that I have noticed before in many if not all the groups I have led or been a part of in my ministry. It happens pretty much daily in numerous ways in numerous conversations with numerous people. There is a tendency to minimize and divert attention from what is really at the heart of a matter. I know I do it all the time as well. Even though I know the intention of the group is to grow deeper together or even the intention of the conversation is healthy and caring, I still hide and detour my way around certain topics, especially if those conversations are getting close to the heart. This afternoon I asked one person how he was doing and he said "really good". That's pretty much the standard answer I have become accustomed to so I decided to not let him get away with such a trite answer. I asked what was going so good? He responded that not many things were going that well. As he continued to speak each sentence began to unravel a world of disappointment, confusion and boredom...especially boredom. Finally, he said, "So I guess I am not doing so great eh?"
The other person in the room piped up and spilled his similar battle with boredom. His was more of a roller coaster affair with an enemy that scared him. He knew his boredom was a precursor to all kinds of temptation. He was concerned that in a moment of weakness due to his overwhelming sense of boredom he would give in. The two of them got into a great dialogue over this serious issue that faces so many people in our world. Each of us is in our early 40's and we wondered a bit about mid life and whether or not that might have some influence. I confessed that so far I have been able to beat the boredom bug but felt trapped at times inside my calling to pastor here in this place. While it is not the same as boredom it can have similar effects on our overall sense of well-being.
I wondered if maybe King David was bored when he was out viewing the city of Jerusalem instead of out taking care of Kingly business? Then while viewing the city he caught an eye full of sensual beauty in the person of Bathsheba. One thing lead to another and .... you know the rest of the tragic story. Was it boredom that was at the heart of this sad story?
I once heard a saying that went like this, "most people in the world live lives of quiet desperation." Even christians can have these kinds of feelings. What do we do with them? Where do they come from and when do they leave? What does one say to someone who has a solid faith in Christ and yet struggles sometimes with an overwhelming feeling of boredom in life? We finished our chat without to many answers, none in fact, but the others expressed that they felt a bit better just having had the chance to share their struggle. Maybe that's the point. Nobody tried to fix anyone, there was just a great feeling of not being alone in our struggle. And, Christ is there in the midst and so are a couple of other brothers to support, pray and stand beside us.

Alpha program on steroids

This one is for Chris and his anti-programatic mindset these days. If you would like to check out a well made Alpha course TV add. I thought it was well made anyway.

Horse & Buggy Faith

We spent an unusual amount of time in Banff this summer. Cheryl loves going there because it is a throw back to her university days when she would take her friend there on weekends to get away. I quite like it too. There is definitely a different crowd there. There seem to be about 3 kinds of people. First there were the tourists. They were all over the place, crowding the streets, crammed into restaurants and shops, spending money like it was water. Then there are the local folks; the regular, everyday, "Jack and Jill's" that call Banff their home. Finally, there are the twenty something’s, partied out, exhausted looking, college students, trying to find themselves by working the manual labour jobs in the park and in the town. It truly makes for quite an interesting mix and a fun place to visit for sure. While we're there it seems like we usually make our way to the "Cow Store" and a few doors down the "Candy Shop". In between the two there is usually a Horse and Buggy parked, waiting for you to step a board and go for a quaint ride through town. While I wait outside for the girls to finish I get a chance to watch these horse and buggy rides. Lots of people stop and look, pet the horse, ask a few questions, find out how much it costs, quickly end the conversation and move on. Every once in a while someone will get in and the clip clop sound of the horse moves these folks on down the street with a big smile of enjoyment pasted across their faces for the next 10 min.
Recently, I took Paige and Danae and a couple of other youth who love techno stuff onto the streets of Peachland. The guys helped by being my camera crew while and the girls were just there to look good and hopefully attract a crowd. It worked because we barely got our camera out and we had three volunteers ready to go on camera to answer a couple of questions. The first question was what do you think of the church in general and the second one if they were from Peachland was have you heard of Peachland community church if so what have you heard? We will use these clips in our services during the next month as we talk about the vision and mission of our church. The answers were amazing and quite interesting.
I have been reading about the church a fair bit these days and I came across a quote that I think says it all so well. “I think where I come from there is also a strong sense of apathy. People don’t hate the church, as much as they just see it like a horse and buggy. Nice to take a ride in once in a while, but not something that makes sense to integrate into your everyday life.” If I were to sum up the answers I heard that day on the streets of Peachland that would definitely sum them up. The church seems to have lost its power, its wonder, and its sense of awe! Even among the "faithful" church is usually not considered something that should be integrated into everyday life. I wonder how badly God must want to change this scenario. Lord start with me.

When things get resolved

When you go through a series of tough choices that affect other people's lives it can take a lot of communication with many others involved and it can get rough and gruff at times. It often feels like things are out of sync and it can grind on our hearts and minds and emotions in waves. Sometimes I wake from my sleep trying to decide what to do next, what to try and what to avoid trying. I pray and pray for wisdom and a right spirit and it can seem like forever while I am in the midst of the constant relational turmoil around me. It can affect all the aspects of my life, my relationships with my wife, kids, co-workers, and the church and even my relationship with God in adverse ways. It goes through a series of ups and downs like a roller coaster and it affects your stomach as much as it affects your emotions.

A meeting is set. Things get said. Voices get loud and some cry. Silence sometimes accompanies. Deep breaths are taken. A prayer is shot heavenward.

And then something happens.

There is a breakthrough, an illumination, or a revelation and the lights go on. The hearts of those involved soften, the tension in the room drops and the sense of the "oil of the Holy Spirit" begins to smooth over all those involved. Apologies are made, hands are clasped, hugs are given and backs are slapped. A good sign that things are getting resolved is humor. Somebody smiles or laughs or says something that in any other situation would have no humor in it at all but in this place and at that time it brings nervous but heart-felt laughter. People begin to leave, they begin to chat about other things as they move towards the doors. There is a strong sense that the Master has been there, we're all exhausted but somehow it feels good. You walk outside and as a little blast of fall wind hits you you realize there was sweat on your brow and even your underarms feel the coolness. You get in the car and you my shed a tear or just sit in the silence or take the long way home and listen to the radio. I love it when things get resolved. There is no feeling on earth quite like it. You crash into bed and it's gone gone gone the burden is gone. Hallelujah!

Random Thoughts about Storms

I wonder if there were storms in the pre-Noah post-Adam and Eve days. I think I remember some Creation Research scratchy old film that our church in Beaverlodge showed when I was a kid. If I remember it right I was told that storms and rain were not a part of that cool pre-historic world. They somehow had proof that storms and rain were not necessary because the waters from the deep watered the earth. Men even lived longer lives because of this wonderfully protected environment that God had set up. No UV rays from the sun or any other junk like that to worry about getting skin cancer from. It sounded so serene!........... and just a bit boring! Imagining a world w/o storms is very hard to do. Storms like Hurricane Katrina are big, bad and scary. A storm like the one we had at Camp Nakaman many years ago that was the precursor to a tornado touching down in a trailer park in North West Edmonton. That always seems to happen to trailer parks! When I think of the different events in my life each one has a significant storm attached to it. When I lived in the Philippines I remember the huge monsoon rains that flooded the city. Wading neck deep in sewer filled water and praying for the protection of God from catching some weird disease. Or the storm when I was in Hungary one night. The thunder was so loud it literally shook us inside our tent and it even moved our tent. It scared the girls so bad they came and joined us in our tent. It was a bit squishy but we all stuck our heads out of the tent door and watched the show that God was providing. As I think of it I am pretty sure that a major storm has graced most if not all of the memorable events of my life. Storms were a big part of Jesus ministry as well. Some of his most famous miracles happened during storms including the walking on water miracle.
Storms make us wonder. They make us pause, praise or pray. They bring the best out in people when they are moved to merciful marvelous acts towards the victims of really big and really bad storms. How about you, any storms attached to your memories?

the girls amazing birthday weekend.WMA
Powered by Castpost

oh no...

What am I going to do with all these girls in this house? Too much estrogen! Help!!!!!!

The service today was ICE COLD! The coldest I can remember for several years. We had about 40+ show up, there was a huge family that came for a baby dedication and the other 20 + were regulars. We still had a fantastic time. Truth be known I actually enjoy these types of services. Those who attend are really passionate about being there in the cold. It adds a little something to the service and makes us all more desirous of God doing something spectacular. It was a great time. I sensed the Lord working in the lives of the non-believers in the family and one young man who had left our church bitter about 6 years ago began to face his past and desire to bring some form of reconciliation with others in the fellowship.

On a different note Paige and Danae wanted a firetruck ride as a part of their birthday celebration. I just got back and their friends were ecstatic, they all had a good time. Oh, Cheryl just called we are going to sit down to a lagsunia feast. Later.

An encouragment card from God

It had been a quiet morning and an even quieter afternoon in our office today. The phone rang only once and it was around 2:00. A voice I did not recognize asked me if I was Kevin Nichol. I assured him that I was every day. He started out a bit awkward trying to explain why he was calling me. As the story unfolded I discovered he is from Grande Prairie and somehow he had gotten his hands on a video tape that was made of a service I had preached in the Kamloops Alliance Church in March of 1997. It took me a while but I slowly began to remember the occasion as he unpackaged the sermon I had preached that weekend during a special outreach focus of the church. Anyway, I finally remembered most of that event and then I asked him why he had called. As it turns out he had been so blessed by the message I had preached he felt deep in his spirit that he was supposed to track me down, give me a call, and ask if I had any prayer requests he could get busy and begin praying for. I almost dropped the phone. It has been such a long time since anyone had come to me and asked me that question. I was a bit slow to answer even lost for words. Angels, maybe not literal ones (or maybe it was who is to say) out of the blue, calling me up to remind me that the Spirit of God had moved on their hearts and prompted them to announce the commencement of specific prayer. Now that is what I call cool! Thanks Lord for that unique moment of encouragement just for me!

Stare at the stars

Our neighbors have a cute little fellow who is 3 years old. We have a little ritual that we go through each day if he is outside playing when I arrive home from work. I am pretty much guaranteed that he will hauler across the two yards, "Hello Kevin". To which I respond "Hello Michael" with my best french accent. (His dad Guy us from Quebec). It happens day after day after day and now we have progressed to finding out what he is doing and he is very quick to fill me in on all the un-intelligible details of whatever it is he has been up to there in his yard. I like it. Most of these conversations take place around 4:30 in the afternoon. However, tonight I had some after supper counseling and got home after dark. When I arrived home there was no outside lights on and it was pitch black out when I heard that familiar voice from across the yard "Hello Kevin!" At first I thought I was hearing things but I responded back, "hello Michael where are you?" He said, "I am here!" I responded, "where are you right now?" To which he said, "I'm right over here." I couldn't see him anywhere in the darkness. I was starting to wonder if he was sleep walking and had wondered outside without his parents knowledge. I was just about to head over there when I heard another sound, this time it was his father giggling (with a french accent)! As it turned out they were outside on their balcony, laying on their backs, staring at the stars. It was a cute moment and we all had a good laugh. I asked Michael if he had counted the stars yet and he promptly told me there were just too many to count. What a neat moment with some pretty awesome neighbors. I think it was about a week or so ago that I last wondered out and stared at the stars myself. I like to make it a habit as much as possible to sit out on our front deck and stare at the skies and just think about the majesty of God. The one who put those stars in place, the one who calls each one by name, the one who knows me and cares about my every move, my every emotion, my every thought and my every inclination towards him. It makes me feel secure and as though I am in my place in this world. It somehow has a deep down calming affect on me. The heavens declare the glory of God and all I have to do is lay down on my back and be completely overwhelmed with his amazing glory. Thanks for the stars God, they are such a wonder and such a warm blanket of security for me just the knowledge that you are there and you care about me.

Falls upon us

Yard looks great. Grass cut, trees trimmed, weeds waked, and even got the windows washed. I think we are ready for fall. Probably have to mow the lawn one more time before it stops growing all together. I think I may have got a sun burn today it was so hot around 1ish this afternoon. We did go pick up a friend of the girls and head down to the beach for some sunshine and some reading by the lake. We sure are spoiled by the beauty of the place we live. Tonight should be just sitting back relaxing and having a good time with the fam. As I look forward into the week ahead, I have some finishing up of family counseling for about 3 couples and then starting two more either this week or next. This Sunday will be out in the park again as is our custom because the community center is used for the fall fair. We always look forward to this last outdoor Sunday service. We will have a child dedication and hopefully a few baptisms. AND of course we have three lovely young ladies turning 15 and 13 this weekend. I am also looking forward to meeting some of their camp friends for a concert on Tuesday night in Kelowna as well. It is at Trinity Baptist and is a back to school kick off evening. Should be fun. So everyone have a great week.

Stupid gas prices

Well, we have had to tighten up the belt considerably this week. Funny how when it comes to making belt tightening decisions their is that initial sense of loss, a bit of grief and pinch of remorse before the decision is made. However, after it is made we wonder how come it was so painful because we feel "free-er" for having unloaded some costs and some stuff that apparently we really could go without- quite nicely thank you very much. However, one more decision must be made. My nice little GMC Sonoma 4X4! I love my truck. Dad gave it to me a couple years back and I love my truck. It has been a good truck as well, reliable, handy and of course a little bit of fun when 4X4ing is happening. But it only gets about 25 mpg at best and that means that with amount of driving I do with it and the amount of driving we do as a family with the van our weekly fuel costs average around $150.00! Throw into the mix that I have not had a raise in about 8 years and it looks like a smaller, cheaper vehicle is in the near future. I asked a friend of mine who is a partner in a dealership to see if he could find me a 4 cylinder car that could seat 5 and get good fuel economy. He called me back so fast that I was caught off guard. A Dodge Stratus had come onto their lot, 1997, 150,000 klms, loaded, 4 cyl. five pass. and front wheel drive. He would trade me straight across + 500 and taxes. And we can pay off the 500+taxes over a few months if we need to (which we would need to do). We are taking the weekend to think about it and pray about it but it may have to happen as I hear prices are going to up again! Stupid gas prices!

Godly incompetence

Wow this week has slipped by and I have neglected my time of reflection around my blog site. I have had a very interesting week, mostly full of messy relationships, messy lives and messy unclear circumstances where I am not always confident that I say or do the right thing. In fact I had to resign myself several times this week to the fact that God will be my judge some day on the "wisdom" I offered on the disputable matters I have given council on to people this week. There is a part of me that would love for things to work out neat and tidy all the time but then there is a part of me that seems to believe, and even quite strongly, that messy is were the action really is. I read a quote this week that has been rumbling around in my mind and I am beginning to see what the author Mike Yaconelli was writing about. "No one does holy living very well, we all suffer from godly incompetence. However, the church has communicated that competence is one of the fruits of the Spirit. There are so many afraid of entering into the joy of their salvation because they fear the possibility of doing or saying the incompetent thing." As I looked around and as I looked inside, I saw the truth of these words. Spiritual incompetence is like the 8th deadly sin. Mistakes are taken way to seriously and there are those inside the church who believe that their competence is a badge of their maturity. When I would say that the desire to love God and the desire to love others is really the essence of truly living a godly incompetence. I think we get it right far less often than we think we do and we get it wrong far more often that we admit we do. Yet, God is so gracious and merciful, and slow to anger, and forgiving, accepting, loving and kind. Tonight as Cheryl and I sat sipping our coffees after a good hard walk, a man who is well known in the community for his wicked life, came up to us and declared he was three days old in his new found faith. And with that the harshness of the week evaporated and the joy of serving Christ was invigorated. He asked if I would do his fifth step for AA and he wanted to know what to do next. It was like a warm bath of joy flooded my soul to see his new joy in the Lord. And somehow all was made right once again.

Why I believe in the local church

This is my Sunday Sermon.

The Communion of Saints #1 August 28, 2005
The Apostles Creed
The Vision and Mission of our church
Eph 5:25-28 And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.
Do you believe in the same vision (THE DIVINE DREAM) of the church as Jesus?
I have believed in the local church all my life. At times I have hated her but most of the time I love her, I have been cursed by her and I have been blessed by her, I have been hurt by her and I have found healing through her, I have been disciplined by her and I have been loved by her. I have been called by God to be a leader in her, I have been gifted as and evangelist, pastor, preacher and man of faith for her. I believe this local church is glorious in the sight of God the Father and of Christ the Son, I believe the Holy Spirit is in this church, I believe many have been blessed by and through this church and that many more will have the same experience. I have been captivated with its deep and mostly untapped potential. And finally, I believe in her so strongly that I would die in service of her. (WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?)
This is why I believe what I believe about the local church…
a) I believe it is a house of prayer for all nations. It is a haven, a sanctuary, a holy place where we gather together to pray, worship, and adore the Creator of heaven and earth. It is where we confess our totally unworthiness and together announce our total dependence upon God as we look to him to lead and guide us.
b) I believe that Jesus Christ the author and perfecter of our faith has said that he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. I believe we are a part of that great expansion that Jesus is building. A grand a glorious church both here in peachland and around the globe.
c) I believe that the church is meant to bare much fruit not just some or a little or a bit but MUCH! John 15:8 my true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father. The glory of God is the church full of changed lives, transformed by his power and lived out to his glory for all eternity.
d) I believe we are to finish the unfinished mission of Jesus Christ and this is to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:5 the church is Zacchaeus) IT is the only force upon the earth that has the power to transform lives with faith, hope and love.
e) I believe it will be messy! That it will be full of unpleasantness and that we will never quite get it right but by the grace of God we are here for those who need help, admit weakness, share common faults and chase after the divine dream in the common mess. As Jesus said, it is not the well but the sick that need a doctor Matt 9:10-13 that night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners. 11 The Pharisees were indignant. "Why does your teacher eat with such scum?" they asked his disciples. When he heard this, Jesus replied, "Healthy people don't need a doctor — sick people do." 13 Then he added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices.' For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough."
f) I believe we are Commissioned and equipped by the Father and by the Son for the task at hand. John 20:21-23 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. AND Matt 28:17-20 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This is what makes me tick. If you cut me this is what I bleed. I am hopelessly in love with my savior Jesus Christ and I am a hopeless romantic about his body, the local church.
I believe in the holy Christian church, the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. I BELIEVE!
THE QUESTION IS DO YOU BELIEVE?

Close call

Pictures from yesterdays close call fire! The night pictures are from Saturday night/Sunday morning and the aerial picture is from yesterday afternoon.


Yesterday was a packed day. 6 of our Fire and Rescue crew were called out to help with a potentially huge forest fire that was threatening the Westside are of Kelowna. Fortunately the wind pushed the fire away from the residential areas and prevented a very scary close call. Everyone was thinking of the fire in kelonwa a couple of years ago so forestry took no chances. They blasted away for hours with four helicopters and dumping tons and tons of retardant on the fire. As it stands mop up is happening today and the fire is under control. If you want to see some of the pictures check out castanet.net there should be pictures there. Church was fun, I was able give a passionate plea for why I believe in the local church. We are studying our way through the Apostles Creed for next 5 months and this was the first sermon. Lots of comments and prayers for people following communion.
Then we had two fire calls of our own in Peachland. The first was a downed power line that was so hot it turned the rocks it hit into chunk's of glass. There was a couple of scary moments when the wind picked up but for the most part we had it under control within a couple of hours. The farmer whose field we used gave us a bucket of tree ripened peaches - oh so good! As as result of the downed power line our power was out for about 5 hours or so. Later a dry lightening strike brought us back out this time up the Cocahuala Connector about 4 klms up. This turned out to be a false alarm but on our way back into town the lights came back on. What a day. I am looking forward to a day off and woke up to the sound of rain falling so everything got a pretty good drink last night. Hope you all have a good day too.

Whatabunch@home.calm

so the three musketeers are reunited today and it feels so good!









THE CAMP DIRECTOR WILL BE HAPPY BUT......



I think mom and dad will be the happiest of all!!!

My new helper

Today I got a kiss and a hug from my secretary! Actually a few kisses and a few hugs! Mackenzie came in and helped out in our church office this morning. She was so good and very professional with the "hello this is peachland community church my name is Mackenzie how can I help you" sounding so grown up and all. When I asked her to come in yesterday she spent and enormous amount of time practicing to get that little speech just right. The past few days she has had no spark, no sisters to even fight with, and way to much time by herself in front of the TV. Just the knowledge of being useful filled her with such joy and anticipation. I often think that there are so many people out there without any spark. They have nothing worthwhile to fight for and they spend way to much time in front of a TV just by themselves. They may be a church attender but not a church contributor, they may be alive and breathing but for the most part they are dead and gone! Such an awful waste of a life. It has been very refreshing to me to see Mackenzie just come back to life over such a simple thing like feeling needed and useful. John Maxwell talked about this in an interview I heard him give a couple of weeks ago. He said that he makes it his goal to add value to every single human being he encounters. Often this means just a simple word of encouragement or a pat on the back or an appreciation for some little thing that they had said or done. It is amazing how this can put a spark into the eye of someone who may be feeling like their candle is flickering and about to go out. Thanks kenz and good job today cant wait to see you at it tomorrow.
Love Dad

Good news is no news but bad news is good news

Today I responded to a two vehicle MVA (motor vehicle accident). When we arrived on scene we saw a white Chevy firefly completely demolished and a green Infinity SUV that had sustained a pretty nasty crunch to the drivers side. There was a women lying on her back beside the white car and a man and a dog inside the same vehicle and 5 grandma looking types, dressed up to go out for lunch in the SUV. As it turned out the driver of the SUV pulled out onto the Hwy in front of the little firefly and CRUNCH! I had to attend to the man in the car. He was from Germany and spoke very little english but he was able to indicate that he was very sore in his chest area from the seat belt. We took care of everyone, carted the two german patients off in the ambulances, took their dog to the SPCA in Summerland and called a Taxi for the 5 senor ladies to catch a ride home. All in all, not to serious for how it looked on the outside. Eventually the local TV news station reporter showed up cameraman and all. We all headed for something to do to stay away from the reporter that was looking for someone to give him the goods on this nasty looking crash. I headed for the fire truck and took my place behind the steering wheel. The reporter noticed the RCMP officer outside my door window and asked him to describe what had happened. After telling him what I just told you the reporter shouted, "What that's it, that's the whole story, that will never do! He shouted to his camera man to at least take a picture of the huge traffic jam that the accident had caused as said that would have to do!
So let me get this straight. Because no one was to seriously injured, no blood all over the place, no deaths to report it was a lousy story! I don't know what it is about us humans but tragedies seem to make the best stories. Good news is no news and bad news is good news! That's just a bit twisted! The reporters story is carried out in so many ways in so many lives. You could receive a pat on the back 10 times but if you get one negative comment that's the one you remember! In the real world one bad report, one negative word or criticism can send us reeling! There is something so frail about us, we really are weaker than we think. We gravitate to the negative because happy endings are just for fairy tales. I think that is one of the main reasons why we need to know the rich and abiding love of God. We are weak but he is strong. He will help us with our weaknesses. He will overshadow us with his love. He will speak truth to us in love. He will love and accept us no matter how awful we have been or how big a mess we have made of our lives. We need him and his love so desperately. He even provided a tragic story, the story of his Son Jesus and his terrible death, to attract our attention. Has he gotten your attention yet?

Messy

The past few days have flown by fast and furious. There was a wedding I did for my neighbor, a serious elders meeting that was so heated that one elder told another elder to leave his house immediately, a serious and painful church discipline episode that was handled this morning after the morning service, and all this was followed by a couple in our church that informed me that their guest that they have been bringing out to church with them has been totally ignored the 3 Sundays she came! They later told me that she had called them up in tears claiming no one accepted her and that she would not be back to our fellowship! Needless to say it has certainly taken its toll on me and I am tired and ready for a good Sabbath rest tomorrow (or should I say today by the time I get this to my blog site). What has the Spirit been teaching me these past few days? Well, probably the most significant thing is the messiness of the christian life. Eugene Peterson once wrote that when we sin it makes our lives messy... and that would seem to me to be the sum of it. Messy. I'm certainly not a clean freak but I know a mess when I see one whether it is in my life or the life of another. There is so much pretending that goes on in our lives. We fake our way through so much I am not even sure we know what is really real at times. We put on the "I've got my life together" act whenever we are in church or when we are around others who we think will not accept us if they really knew how messy our lives were. It's not acceptable behavior to be messy by most standards and that really is a tragedy. I think Jesus was drawn to those who were messy and they had enough sense not to pretend otherwise. Folks who dug holes in other peoples roofs to lower down a friend in front of Jesus for healing or those who barge into dinner parties uninvited and begin weeping and wiping Jesus feet with their tear soaked hair. Messy, very messy indeed. The blind were messy and the sanitized religious leaders tried to keep them and their mess away from the "clean" Jesus. He hung around with cluttered tax collectors and messy prostitutes and messy men who he would later dub as his apostles. To often we sanitize our faith and it sends us into dark lonely cellars of sin. We hid there as often as we can rather than just being honest and plain and that usually means messed up! I guess the most important thing is to just admit the mess and keep on pursuing Jesus with a bit of desperation and lot of determination. Now that's messed up!

40 Million Dollar Babies

I am just guessing but I think I am pretty close in my estimation. Today I saw about 200 million dollars. That's $200,000,000.00! While I must admit I was taken in like all the others who saw it, I did have some questions about it afterwards. I mean lets face it, it certainly isn't every day that one gets a glimpse of that much money in one place at one time. There was not to much security either so this cash could get up and walk away if it wanted too! That much money could do a lot of good in our world. It could feed a small nation for quite a while, it could go along way towards helping AIDS victims, orphans, homeless folks could be housed, starving folks could be feed, uneducated folks could be educated, those who need simple life saving medicines could be supplied with those medicines and on and on the list could go. However, this money was more than likely not going to be used for these noble and humanitarian purposes. NO this money was strictly for entertainment purposes. Ya, that's right, 40 guys desperately in need of a rest being watched by thousands of people desperately needing exercise! Anyway, enough with the preachy stuff, on with the story. Mackenzie and I went into Kelowna today to watch the Canadian National Hockey Team practice. Yes we saw Gretzky and whole bunch of others like, Bertuzzi, Morrison, St. Louis, Gagna, Peca, Bourdour, Yzerman, and a whole lot more. While I was in my glory Mackenzie patiently waited and took a few pictures of the event for mementos. I enjoyed myself until it dawned on me just how much money was skating around the arena. I had just watched about forty, 20 to 40 year old men, chase a black piece of rubber around on some ice. Forty million dollar babies entertained me today... GO CANADA GO!

SUPER BAD HAIR DAY

PLEASE PRAY FOR SUNNIE AS THE GROOMER GOT CARRIED AWAY:(

Searching

How much time today have you spent searching for someone or something? Last week we locked the van keys in it and we had to search frantically for another set only to discover that all three sets were locked in the van! Then we had to call BCAA and they had to search for our address so they could help us out of our bind. While watching a TV program a couple of days ago an AMBER ALERT flashed across the screen. A nation wide search was on for a missing little boy. I shot up a prayer for him that he would be found safe and sound. We went for a drive the other day and ended up searching for the house some folks from our church have moved into. In my job I am constantly searching for information and helpful ideas so I can write my sermons. I have a friend that is searching for satisfying work. There is a soulful or heart-felt kind of search that some of the pop music has captured in poetry and song. Whether you are a Stones fan and you "cant get no satisfaction"; a U2 fan and you "still haven't found what your looking for"; or a Green Day fan searching for someone to find you as you stroll down the boulevard of broken dreams; the search is unmistakable. Some are searching for inner peace, others are searching for justice, still some are searching for somebody to love and accept them for who they are. Everybody's searching for something. This week I was reminded that even God is searching. The bible says it this way: GOD is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout, searching for people who are totally committed to him. We act foolishly when we go for human help when you could have had God's help. I like that very much. It is kind of soothing to know that the great God of the entire universe is searching the earth looking to strengthen those who search for his help in any given situation. Makes me wonder why I don't search for his help more often.
So, hears the thing, when was the last time you sat down and figured out just how much you are searching for purpose and meaning in this life? Then ask yourself and even bigger question, when was the last you time you sought out the creator God of this universe to help you out with the answer to that question? Contrary to popular opinion God is interested in our lives. And he really does want to strengthen our hearts to face the trials and toughness we find ourselves in these days. So, go ahead, search for him and he promises if you do this with all your heart we will find Him.
Search the bible and search for him at a church this Sunday I know that once you find him a big part of your search will be over. One ancient church father wrote that our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God. He was right! Hapy searching everyone!

Against the Current

Mackenzie and I took time this afternoon to go to Penticton and ride the canal that connects Okanogan Lake with Skaha Lake. The water moves along at a pretty good clip and you cover about 3 or 4 kilometers in about 1 1/2 hours. We take our goggles and snorkles along and look for treasures that fall out of peoples pockets and off of their flotation devises as they float along down the canal. The sun is hot, the water is just right and the company is just plain ole fun to be around. There were a couple of times when I got separated from Mackenzie since she was having some wardrobe malfunctions, i.e. her goggles kept fogging up for some reason. When this happened I tried to put the brakes on and stop so I could wait for her to catch up. Nearly impossible! I bumped and slid along trying to get some sort of footing so I could fight the current and hold my ground. Once I even tried swimming up stream but soon found that the best I could do was exert a lot of energy and go exactly no where. I stayed above the same rock the whole time I was frantically trying to make some head way. As I floated along I notice a nice par of speedo goggles on the floor of the canal but it took a ton of energy to swim back and get them(I also found a quarter). I figured there was a lesson to learn in all this and sure enough one easily surfaced. Sometimes doing the right thing really does feel like your trying to swim up stream or even just hold your ground against the current of a sin filled and sick culture and sadly even the church culture. The current is so demanding it never lets up, it never lets you rest if you try to fight it and it is carrying you along even if you don't want it to. The best way to stop was to guide your feet to a big solid bolder under the surface of the water and firmly plant your feet on it. Once firmly planted upon the rock we could stand against the relentless current. I know it's getting a bit over the top but it sure is fun to capture the imagery and see how life imitates faith so often. In case your wondering what happened to Cheryl she gracious offered not to float but to do a little shopping and then meet us at the half way point with the van. She picked us up and we drove to Ok Falls for some famous tickleberry's ice cream. I think one of the beautiful things about Heaven will be the absence of the current of evil. Once we got out of the canal, at that exact moment, there was no more fighting or struggling. It was all over. What a day that will be.
Good day off.

Out of the Blue!

Today I received a call for a group of concerned Peachland citizens that took me quite by surprise. It was a neighbor of ours from the last neighborhood we lived in 8 years ago. She started out by saying that she hoped I wouldn't think she was sticking her nose in my business and that if she asked me what she wanted to ask that I wouldn't think less of her. She went on and on about the group she was a part of and how since she was the one who knew me best from their group she was picked to phone me up and ask me the question. It just seemed that every time they tried to come up with various names of people it kept coming around to my name. In fact, she said, the group was unanimous! Well, by this time I was really starting to wonder where in the world she was going with this conversation and where in the universe it would end up! That's when I told her to go ahead and just ask instead of all this preamble. So she dropped the penny! She said that her group believed that in the November elections for our town that I should run for the mayor of Peachland! Well you could have knocked me over with a feather! I burst out laughing but managed to keep some dignity by saying that I was honored and surprised that they had even thought of me in this regard. We chatted briefly and I explained that I had enough on my plate to keep me quite busy, in fact too busy but in the end she insisted that I at least think about it! Cheryl heard me laughing and when I told her what the call was about she laughed along with me. She has always said that I am the unofficial mayor of Peachland but this one even took her by surprise!
The good side is that I believe the Gospel of the Lord Jesus has gained a very positive hearing in this dark little town. The dark side is that we are to beware when all men speak well of us. I had some fun with this in my head for a couple of hours but then I was back to business and focused on what the Lord had called me to do here in Peachyland.
Signed
HIS WORSHIP MAYOR OF PEACHLAND
REV. K.C. NICHOL

Following Hard After Christ

Best quote of the day went to John Maxwell today. It didn't originate with him he borrowed it from Dietrich Bonhoffer. "As a follower of Christ we are not often sure of where we are going but we can be sure we're following Christ." This really hit home for me today. Sometimes I wonder what it is that Christ is doing or where he may be (or may not be) leading us in this ministry here in Peachland. But there is one solid thing I can know for sure and that is I am following Christ. I am following him by loving, leading, feeding and caring for this church and many in this town. I felt some serious inner depressurizing as I later sat and let this quote sink in. I think at times I wonder why I am still in this town leading this awesome little church. I wonder why the Lord has asked me to carry on here when it would seem to me that I should step aside and let another leader come in with gifts and skills that are more suited to this area. But that is part of the mystery for all of us, we are often not sure of where the Lord is leading us. It keeps us searching and seeking, it keeps us in prayer and tuned into what the Holy Spirit is saying. It makes us hunger for a fresh move of God, a break through of any sort. It forces us to deal with relationship issues that often seem complicated and at times very difficult. It forces us to face our mistakes and admit them and move on. Sometimes, like many other leaders I know, we foolishly think that the grass is greener over there somewhere but in reality it is the same dog just a different collar.
It was a refreshing and relaxing and a bit of re-tooling today. I am grateful to my church for paying for my way to this conference. Sadly only two of us are able to attend but hopefully this number will grow in the coming years.

A Voice Calling Out in the Wilderness

This morning I headed into Kelowna with my church administrator (Stacey) for a satellite simulcast conference from Willow Creek church and I was looking forward to all the good teaching I was about to encounter. Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, John Maxwell just to mention a few. As I crested the hill near my old stomping grounds at Westside Alliance church the traffic was at a complete standstill. I made some calls and listened to the radio to find out what had happened and discovered that a Pepsi truck had caught fire at 4 in the morning and they were still trying clean it up. What that means for all you non-kelownaites is that a stretch of hwy that would normally take us 10 minutes to drive had now turned into a 3 hour stretch of hwy! We sat in my pickup truck and breathed super heated vehicle exhaust air mixed with the already hot morning air and the sun beating down into the cab through the front windshield. I had sweat dripping down my back and heading straight into the "nether regions of my backside" if you get my drift. As we slowly rolled along I "cracked" and so did Stacey! We turned on the radio tunes as loud as we could and began to dance and sing inside the cab. We were having a great ole time. We ended up beside a couple of motor homes and we joked about asking to use their washroom if things took much longer. Then I said it would be great if they had some ice water in their fridge and almost before I could finish the sentence Stacey hung her head out the window and asked the lovely senior couple if they had any cold water in their fridge. The older lady laughed, hopped out of her seat, disappeared into the back of the motor home and reappeared with two ice cold water bottles! We sipped on that refreshing beverage as we inched closer and closer to our destination. We arrived just in time to hear the second speaker Rick Warren give a passionate message about Moses's shepherds staff turned "Rod of God". It was a great message, one that I will never forget. I love to hear the preaching of the word of God. Even though it is probably the worst form of communication out there (the foolishness of preaching) and sometimes it is painful to listen to, I still love to hear that lonely voice proclaiming eternal truths. The long tense ride into town paled and was quickly forgotten as I settled in and listened to the man of God calling out, seeking to affect our hearts and minds for the kingdom of God. I head back tomorrow for day two and hopefully it goes much better.

43rd

Mom yesterday I golfed one of the nicest courses in the Okanogan. A place called the harvest if you go to http://www.harvestgolf.com/ you can check it out. Bruce, paid for me as a birthday gift and we were joined by Phil Callaway and his son Steve. Phil is an author of several great and humorous books and the editor of servant magazine out of Prairie Bible Institute. He is such a fun guy, we laughed a ton and baked our buns off. I shot a 95 in the 36 degree weather!!! I thought of you a quite a few times. There were a couple of times when I was thinking of packing it in it was so hot, I know you would have loved it. Today was great. Cheryl's old boss had given here a gift certificate to a fantastic and expensive restaurant in Peachland so she saved it for today. We were joined by Bruce and Niki for a great conversation filled lunch. Then tonight we took in a double feature and relaxed and munched on popcorn and chocolate covered almonds. 43 years and I am feeling fantastic. I've been meditating on Isaiah 66 the past few days and was reminded of what kind of man I want and need to be. Isa 66:2 "This is the one I esteem:he who is humble and contrite in spirit,and trembles at my word." So I took it as my birthday theme. If you think to you can join me in this prayer. Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone they were greatly appreciated.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

what a cutie! :-0


This is Kevin's hacker...breaking into his blog to wish him a very Happy 43rd Birthday! hee hee

Nasty Assumptions

The service today was absolutely gorgeous! By the time the service started at 10:30ish it was getting close to 30 already. We are blessed by the fact that there are a couple of families in our church with access to their own sound system. They are more than happy to let us borrow it for our church service. We are slowly learning the sad truth that we don't seem to have any insurance to replace our stolen property. We still are searching for why that is and hopefully we will uncover some clues to find out for sure if that's true, but it is more and more becoming the reality. Life can be a bit like that. We think we know something, we believe it is true, we take great risks under the assumption that there is a net beneath us to catch us if we fall. However, when the opposite of all this trust is revealed and what we assumed was true turned out to be false the cost can be enormous even eternal. We often march through life bravely and foolishly taking certain things for granted until of course they are taken from us. Like the old saying goes "you don't know what you've got till its gone! Makes me wonder what else I have assumed was true (or not true) that has remained undetected as of yet. Then again, that is one of the key purposes of our faith. We need someone outside of ourselves to show us the way of life. We must trust God that he will be a kind and gracious father, leading us and guiding us. When we decide to no longer lean on our own understanding he literally makes what would have turned out to be a crooked path into a straight path. Left to our pitiful selves we would fumble around in the darkness but thanks be to God, he gives us the light to show us the way of truth. He is the only one we can trust with absolute assurance we will not be left holding the bag or have the rug pulled out from underneath us when the chips are down and the rubber of truth meets the hard and often harsh road of life. He will be there to catch us when we fall.

HOT HOT HOT

Yesterday I did a wedding rehearsal at 6:30 PM and it was still 31 outside. While we were standing there rehearsing suddenly the guys started jumping up and down. Upon investigation we all had red ants crawling up our legs, I even had them crawling up my shorts. It was quite hilarious. But today I did the wedding in 34 degree weather in a suit and tie! To be sure I didn't get a serious burn I smothered myself in goopy sunscreen before heading out to do the wedding. About mid way through the ceremony the sweat that had been gathering in my bushy eyebrows suddenly broke the dam and began to flow into my eyes. I was instantly struck with blindness and a serious amount of sting from the lotion. I had to stop the wedding, take a Kleenex from the maid of honor and wipe my eyes several time before the stinging finally left and my vision returned. Needless to say it was a good laugh and a fun break in the action. Fortunately, the mother of the groom had come out early with a bottle of raid to keep those bothersome little red bodied biting ants at bay! (say that five times fast) It is nice to sit here and blog in my air conditioned house!!! Tootles

Reports of wonder

Today, I started out with a good walk as my cardio workout. During that 50+ minute march I began to feel consumed with all the garbage that is running wild in our church. Sins too many to count, a lack of participation, a lack of care and concern, a lack of initiative, the coming church discipline and the probable fall out that comes with such an ordeal and the poor attendance we have had the last few Sundays while in the park. That was just for starters! I was not thinking right nor was I particularity interested in thinking right, I was enjoying my pity party complete with my imagined written and re-written resignation. I was almost finished planning my own farewell party and all of you were invited!
However, over the course of the morning I had three guests come to see me in my office downtown. You might say they were three little angels sent by the Lord. Each one had at least two or three stories of victory and one specifically told of so many encouraging things that were happening to him I lost track of them all. One thing he mentioned was this little saying that had been blessing him over the past couple of weeks. It goes something like this..."It's not how many breaths you take in a day but what takes your breath away throughout the day that really matters." I could literally feel myself coming out of my cloudy disposition and as I sat and listened to the "reports of wonder"(things that just take your breath away) in peoples lives I began to feel God's sweet presence creep back into the center of my heart and mind. Needless to say, the rest of my day was much more productive and more vibrant. I was in a terrific frame of mind come the end of the day. I zipped home, grabbed MacKenzie, and headed to the beach and for the next hour and a half we swam and laughed and played water games and had a terrific time together.
I re-learned an old lesson today. We sure do need each other in the faith. Sometimes to prop each other up or to hold back the prevailing dark clouds, other times to bring light and truth and a sense of wonder back into our mindsets. I guess that must be why we are commanded so often to encourage each other. It really does make a huge difference.

There and back again

The trip was smooth, the traffic was minimal, the fun was exceptional. It was great to see Cam and Janelle, Ethan and Avery this weekend. Such cuties! (And the kids were pretty cute too!) We took in the Zoo, saw elephants and monkeys, hippos and Zebras. We ate at Peter's Drive In, munched on KrispyKreme donuts, shared a couple of tickle sessions, a show me all your owie time and one total free for all wrestling match between Ethan and myself. Ethan won hands down. On Monday night we left Kenz and her friend Jessie at Tim and Kelly's and we joined Neill and Marilynne in Cochrane for some scrumptious Mexican food. We had a mysterious phone call from Kenz just as we finished eating. She was claiming that the two of them had heard noises and doors slamming somewhere in the house. They were pretty freaked! But upon investigation they discovered that the Foster clan had returned home from their camping trip. All was good and we were able to zip over to Uncle and Auntie's house for some dreamy dessert! All in all our quick trip to Calgary and back was well worth the effort and the 16 hour drive there and back again.
Peace out