Take your Daughter to Work Day

Today should be a pile-0-fun. MacKenzie has a class at school that is expecting me to take her along with me to work. As it turns out she inadvertently invited 3 of her friends to join us for take your daughter to work day. Right to left... Teala, Bryanne, Catilena (cat) and MacKenzie. So now I have to come up with enough work for them to do to keep them busy. I spoke to the fire chief about it yesterday and we have one exciting time planned for them. They will be able to help me clean a couple of shelves, return a whole lot of pylons to thier proper place in the hall, tag SCBA bottles for service and go for a fire truck ride along. Should be a real busy time. I have a suspicion that they will be working pretty hard and that the time will go by pretty fast. (Although they may not think so) Anyway, I am just happy to have my kid hang around with me for a good part of the day. We have lunch planned at the fire hall and during that time they have planned an interview with me. What a fun day ahead. Then tonight, we are all off to watch MacKenzie’s school play, Macbeth I believe it is. She ended up with one of the Witches parts with a few others. If we take a few pictures of our time together today I will post a couple later on.
Have a good one everyone.
God is Good All the Time!

A Study in Contrasts

This is what this week looked like in my home town of Beaverlodge Alberta



And this is what it looked like this week in my current home town of Peachland...need I say more!

The 20 Year Old Flag

Curious things flags are. When I was about 25 I decided I wanted to collect flags. I was really serious about it at first. I got my first flag free when I wrote to my local MP and told him I was going to live in the Philippines for a year. He sent me a big 3 ft by 5 ft Canadian flag. I didn’t have anywhere to put it in the tiny little flat we stayed in so I used it as a bed covering. But while I was there I mentioned my desire to get a Pilipino Flag to a friend and low and behold it wasn’t long before I was able to find one. That got me pretty excited. I remember looking around the city of Manila for more flags but could not find a store that had flags for sale. I’m sure there must have been one there but I couldn’t find it. It was not like I searched high and low or anything it was just one of those things I had in the back of my mind and from time to time I would look for a flag shop when I had a bit of spare time.
On our way back to Canada after my year long experience there we traveled home via Hong Kong. It was there that I stumbled across a flag store but to my dismay they were all way to expensive and I only had a small amount of money left over. I seem to remember stumbling across some older cloth flags that were on sale so I decided to spend my last bit of money on this flag that I thought was pretty cool. It was packed away in my suit case, and then it was packed away in a box of memorabilia, and over time it made its way from the top of the pile in the box to the bottom of the pile.
Yesterday, (about 20 years later) as I was packing up our house to move I stumbled across this box. There is lots of stuff in it from my world travels, money I had colleted, t-shirts that were from all over, even some old vinyl records that kept for some reason and of course those three flags; Canadian, Pilipino and the third flag made of cloth, which I am pretty sure I bought while wondering the streets of Hong Kong. You’ve probably already guessed what country this flag is from but if not it is the Flag if New Zealand. Now, I don’t think I can read too much into such a "coincidence" but you have to admit, it is very cool that something I purchased some 2o years ago would have such a bazaar comeback two months before we move to New Zealand, the land of the Southern Cross.
Just another cool story to add to the many we have been experiencing these days.
God Is Good All The Time.

God's Waiting Room

Sorry to all my faithful blog readers out there for the lack of Blog enthusiasm coming from me these days. All that has been happening in our lives has really diminished my interest in blogging or even reading other blogs. But now that the house is sold and the tickets are bought and we are in the stage of gathering more support, cleaning, organizing and packing up our house, and it seems that daily we are being surprised by the Lords provisions for us, I am more interested in blogging once again.
The journey of the past few months has included a long and almost depressing wait. God's waiting room is one of the most frustratingly gracious places in the universe.
What do I mean by that...? I mean that the process of waiting is extremely foreign to us in this instant culture. We just don’t see the reason for or any benefit at all from waiting. We see it as a waste of time, we feel as though we are spinning our wheels and going nowhere fast, we don’t like the thoughts that come scampering through our minds at odd hours of the day or night. These thoughts come in the form of deep searching questions that may have undesirable answers or even no answer at all. Time spent sitting in a waiting room or in a traffic jam or in a line up can now be eased by cell phone conversations, PDA's with internet access, ipods with movies, mp3 players with music and laptops with work on them. If we fill it with enough noise or activity it may seem to pass quicker. This habit is hard to break when it comes to being patient while in God's waiting room.
Why? There are probably many reasons for our impatience not the least of which is a sinful lack of ruthless trust in the Lord. But I wonder these days if that lack of trust, as it relates to waiting, has something to do with our concept of Sabbath rest having long since been forgotten. I think we would find this waiting time much more rewarding if we have practiced the power of an attitude of Sabbath in our lives on a daily or at least regular basis.
At the root of Sabbath rest is a simple trust in the Lord that he has our best interest in mind and he will provide as our Jehovah Jirah! When we practice Sabbath it is like working a muscle to strengthen it so it is strong when it’s tested. Likewise when we are in God’s waiting room we find that our trust is tested. If we have exercised trust in regular Sabbath we will benefit from the waiting.

answers to prayers

Well, it has been an interesting week full of ups and downs but what a difference one day can make. Thank you for all the prayers and this blog is about how they are being answered. First, the visa stuff is all off and we had only one call back...so far... and the processing has begun for that. Keep praying that we find favour with the NZ government and they accept our visas.
Second, after several calls both from myself and my District Superintendent we finally got the E.I. office to lift the "not approved" status from my E.I. claim. I found out this morning that all the issues had been settled and that we should be receiving some financial assistance very soon... I hope that means tonight! But anyway, thanks again for praying for God has reversed the original decision and now we qualify for E.I.
Third, we heard back from the founder of the society I had applied to join with and he was in favour of the idea pending we find out and settle any legal issues that may arise and also have a workable plan in place that tax Canada would approve of. So a couple more hurtles there but very doable and we are anticipating that by the end of this week we will hear final word from this group. Once that is in place we can begin the HUGE task of raising funds to cover our living expenses, traveling expenses, setting up a new home expenses and ministry expenses for the next two years. We think we need in the ball park of about $100,000.00 in order to do all this. PRAY PRAY PRAY.
Finally, we listed our house this past weekend with a realtor friend. Please pray that we sell it soon as that would be a real blessing to get the sale out of the way. Once that happens then Cheryl will begin the process of winding down her work, training her replacement and then go full time into packing and preparing our family for our new lives.
Hope all is going well for everyone out there.
God is Good All the Time

please pray

I must have made an error in my initial application for E.I. because we just received word that for two reasons we are not eligible to receive E.I.
The first reason was that I had put on my application that I was not available for work. So because I was not available to work they didn’t bother to follow the rest of the information I had given them regarding contacting my District Superintendent for more information. Not only that but I guess I am very frustrated that since I sent my initial application I have filed 3 times over the last 6 weeks stating clearly that I was ready and willing to work. So, no one called me, no one spoke to my DS as to why I had filed for a claim if I was not "ready and willing to work"! AARRGG, you wait for six weeks squeaking by on the little you have and then wham, they leave you high and dry!
The second reason they gave was that I had "left my former employment without just cause" so I don’t qualify. But my DS had assured me that this was going to be looked after if I made sure to inform them to contact him directly. However, they obviously did not do as I had instructed them to do so now I have two separate decisions that need to go through an appeal process and then another 6 week wait to receive the necessary financial help! This is all just very frustrating to me today.
Anyway, I hope and pray that my DS and I can get all this cleared up tomorrow and therefore I am asking you to pray that the Lord grants me favour with the insurance agent and that I can hold my temper so as not to make the situation worse than it already is.
Thanks for praying.
God Is Good All the Time!

Are you a non-conformist?

I am not working much these days. I am preaching a few sermons, doing some running around for our next season of ministry in New Zealand and I do have one more wedding to perform in a couple of weeks, but the pressure is most definitely off. I was trying to think of a time when I have not been working...and couldn’t come up with one. I suppose you could say going to school but even that was work and prep work for future employment, so if you don’t include that I have basically had a steady job since I started helping dad on the farm picking rocks and working farm equipment. I'm not sure when that started but I think it was around 14 or 15 years old.
Anyway, since I have the most amount of time I get to do the odd jobs like groceries and other errands. While picking up some fresh peaches the other day on a local farm I found myself in the middle of a very curious exchange of words with the farmer’s son.
As I arrived he was stacking a box of peaches on top of some other boxes but it was the wrong size of box and did not conform to the other boxes and he mentioned this out loud as I approached. For some strange reason I blurted out, " Non - conformist eh? Well you better sell me that box!" I still am not sure why I said that. He responded straight back with the question that buzzed around in side my head for a good portion of the day. He asked, "So, are you a non-conformist then? To which I responded with a solid "sometimes" without any hesitation!
It started me down a road of wondering why I answered - sometimes. As a Christian I am not to conform to the pattern of this world but I am to conform to the image and likeness of the Son of God. So my answer was correct. I do seek after the conformist way of life when it comes to my faith but I also strive to be a non-conformist when it comes to the ideas, philosophies, and attitudes of this present darkness.
I have also noticed that within the society of saints there are those who I deem as sub-cultured Christians. I try and stay away from their pattern of thinking as much as possible so in that sense I would tend to see myself as non-conformists within the faith. This tends to get me into some trouble whenever our ideologies collide within the context of the church. Then I wonder how much of that is just pride sometimes and not healthy? I like to think of myself as someone who would conform to being a non-conformist within the Kingdom of God and the society of saints. If that makes any sense!
It is funny how a simple exchange of words that happens in a split second of time can open up a world of thought within us. In this exchange of words the depths of what is in one's heart is exposed. I was blessed by that little exchange.
God is good all the time!

Cam's New BBQ

Hey little brother, I couldn't help but think of you when I saw this picture... Put another shrimp on the bawbie will ya... haha!

A moment to ponder...

This little picture I borrowed from another blog site. I kind of feel like this guy... my new dream, our new adventure is out there across this enourmous body of water! To bad he spoiled the pic with the writing but you get the idea I am sure. I've taken a few moments to ponder and boy does it seem like ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM and the summer has blasted by! Ireland and New Zealand took two big chunks of my summer time so it seems like it just plain old fashioned disappeared on me.
I have been busy preparing a series of 4 sermons that I will preach on Sunday evenings in a park around Peachland. I preached my first one last night and I had a nice crowd of about 10 folks who heard about it and came to be a crowd for me so I didn't have to preach to a camera lens. I will be doing this for the next 3 Sunday evenings so I can get them all done in the nice weather and put onto a DVD to send to International Christian Center in Howick. They suggested I do this as a way to keep in touch with them through this 4 month transition period.
Each message builds upon the new purpose statement that I suggested for this Church while I was with them. It reads this way... "The purpose of ICC is to be a group that together with Jesus gathers the nations. To love them, make disciples of them, baptizing them and teaching them in the power of the Holy Spirit and to the glory of God the Father."
I am really enjoying the process of creating these messages as they are in a way solidifying the call of God to go to Howick and join this fellowship in this task.
God is good all the time!

Last Day Journey into New Zealand

Today we left mid morning and headed out to visit John's sister and brother in law. The drive was spectacular and it seemed as though around each corner it grew even more so. This is quite the diverse little country. It is green like Ireland but the hills are more "hiller" and the Coastal mountains rise up in the back drop and are beautiful. The rich volcanic soil makes pretty much everything grow. There are lots of different coloured birds and many dairy cattle and sheep farms dotting the country side. There was too much scenery to catch while driving in a car so I didn't snap a lot of pictures. However, I did get to pick a fresh orange off of a tree and eat it. Now that was a real treat. This evening I plan on relaxing, packing up my things and getting ready for the long trip home tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM. I leave Tuesday morning at 7:00 and I arrive in Vancouver at 7:00 Tuesday morning. I have had a wonderful experience here but I am looking forward to getting home to be with the family. Thanks for reading along and catching up on all that I have been up to here and for your prayers that the Lord would show us the way and he has been doing just that. Good on ya mate!

WE'RE COMING TO NZ!

We informed the International Christian Center of the Christian and Missionary Alliance of NZ that we are officially going to accept their invitation to come and be their pastor. The news was recieved with vibrant applause and cheers. So now comes the very hard work of getting here. Please pray with us that all the many details that must come together for us to get here by January 2007 do indeed come together.
After church I was invited out to lunch at Kathleen's home with Mark & Rowena, Rachelle (Matt is taking picture) plus kids and Mary. We had a great feast of Thi steak stew and great fellowship. Very excellent.
Tonight I will be meeting with the ICC Executive and anyone else who may come. We will be exploring options for how to handle the distance between us coming here in January and the distance from NZ to Canada over the next 4.5 months. Should be an interesting meeting.

Prayer, Lunch, Shop, Dinner, and Drop into Bed!

Yesterday was a full day of activity. It started out with an early morning prayer time with some of the church members. New to the group was Franks wife Mary-lace. Afterwards Frank, Mary-lace and Jerad took me out for breakfast to Denny's! It was pretty good as far as Denny's goes but the fellowship was second to none.

After lunch I was dropped off at the Pakaranga Shopping center where I hunted high and low for some gifts and some special items for the family back in Canada. Then I was home for a few minutes and whisked off to supper with Eli & Nitz plus their friend Rose and their teenage children.

Errands and eating

Spent much of today taking care of the finishing details of visa applications and running a few errands related to banking. Then we hurried back to be home in time for Pastor Eddy and his wife and his co-pastor Mariam of the Chinese Alliance Church to take me out for a traditional Chinese lunch. It was absolutely delicious! We took a tour of his church building they had converted from an old soup factory. It was pretty cool.





This evening Carolyn and I had supper with Dandy and his wife Fran. It was a traditional Filipino meal and again, it was very yummy. This church is full of such wonderfully friendly people. Maybe it is partly because they are all from other countries and they have learned the importance of reaching out and building vital relationships. It is the main weapon against loneliness in a strange land.

Happy Birthday in NZ

I started out the day with a trip to the War Museum of NZ. It was very interesting to read about the history of the Moury People. I took in a show where they did the Huka and it was electric.
I also saw some of the unique wildlife that lives on this island. There are no natural preditors that live in all of NZ except of course man. Many of the birds dont even fly. The largest of birds likes like a Osterage on steriods. It stands about 15 feet high.


Then it was off to a birthday party sponsored by one of the ICC ladies cell groups. It was delicious and they sang happy birthday to me, gave me a cake that was very warm with all the candles and a NZ ball cap made of leather. Very nice.
Suejet,mary,Stephenie(?), kevin, Fran, Me, Pastor Jessie, shelly,Rowinea, Carolyn, Jill taking picture.

Me and my new NZ ball cap. Super!

prayer meeting and then dinner with Kevin, Abbot and Art

Carolyn, Abbot, Sheta(Unsure of spelling)

Mary, Jared, Mark, Frank and little shelly with her back to us ( marks girl)

Art, Abbot, Kevin. Art just moved here and Abbot and kevin are married just 7 months

A Sign?

John and I went to do some more sight seeing this afternoon after all the business of the morning was finished. We ended up on top of a couple of old volcanos that are dotted across the city of Auckland. When we got to the top of "öne tree hill" and looked down into the volcano crater we bust out into laugher because what did we see spelled out in the center of this giant hole in the ground 11,786 Kilometers from home...now is that a sign or what????? I think if it was a sign it would have spelled out Peachland...haha





One Tree Hill from the top of Mt. Eden













This is the view of Mt. Eden from One tree Hill.












View from on top of Mt. Eden over looking the city center and harbour.

C&MA NZ

The C&MA NZ National Office. They have a small office on the 3rd floor shared with about 15 other NZ christian ministries. John is about to go on in...





































Chris, Eddie, Andrew, Aaron, Russ, Judy and John make up the NLT (National Leadership Team) We worked hard and discussed much to make the opportunity to minister in NZ a reality. They are really convinced this is of God. I am also thinking that the signs are pretty strong that this is a God Thing not just a Man Thing!

Just a few more sights

The wind was unbelievable during these pictures. But at least you can get an idea of some of the coastal sights and Island views. It clouded over after these pictures as you can see with the one of the ship heading to harbour.

downtown pics continued

Both John and Carolyn prayed the the wind would come up and blow the clouds away and the rain would stop and it did long enough for me to see some really nice sights. The rainbow is supposed to be a sign...maybe it was for us and this city?

Finally the rain stopped for a few minutes

The rain has caused flooding and mud slides in the region over the past few days. It has been pouring. We managed to catch a few miniutes of sunshine appearing over the downtown core as we drove past. These few pics say it all... what a beautiful place this is. I was having problems uploading these images so I will try and put the next couple of pictures in the sequence on another blogg

Going to Church on Sunday

The worship team did a great job



John leading the communion time


In the evening we went to Matt and Sherilyn's Installation service. It was great to see them again and to see their joy. We are having lunch tomorrow to get caught up.

MISSION: KEEP KEVIN AWAKE!

THE BOYS! Tikki,Jared,Frank,Art,Mont (me) and Dandy (Tikki missing as he took the picture)

The misson: Keep me awake as long as possible. TO start with a HUGE Vietnamese Dinner - so big I could only eat half!

Then it was on to the 10 pin bowling ally! What a blast until about the 7th frame and I started to drop quickly. What a great time I had!

NEW ZEALAND 06

I am writing this from the home of John and Carolyn Gummer who are the directors of C&MA in New Zealand. I am here over the next two weeks, preaching, attending meetings, meeting with church families of International Christian Center and hopefully get some sight seeing done while I am at it. I will endeavor to keep you posted of my adventures here and maybe even a photograph or two as well. This is crunch time. We are praying and ask you to pray with us as well that this will either be "closure time" or "clincher time". That God will close the door and we look elsewhere or it is a clincher in our hearts and we move to NZ.
Blessings all,
God is Good all the time!

YAHOO IRELAND 2006

We made it home! We are happy beyond words, tired but a good kind of tired, totally overwhelmed by our awesome experience, blessed beyond measure, the whole thing was a thing of grandeur from start to finish. Any of you relatives reading this must begin plans immediately to go and visit our Irish cousins. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!
More will follow I am sure as I get my internet connection back up and running. Right now we're on dial-up so I will be brief.
Thanks for praying for us if you did, your prayers were most definitely answered.

THANK YOU PEACHLAND FOR 13 GREAT YEARS

As you start to read through this blog, my family and I are getting ready to make a trip to the Island of Ireland. We’ve been planning this vacation for almost 2 years now, ever since we met my cousin, David, from Belfast at my grandfather’s funeral. Many Peachlanders have been to Ireland and have told us of all the beauty, history, the exciting culture, and of course the Irish hospitality that was second to none. So, now we are here, consuming all the sights, some good old fashioned Irish breakfasts, and some much needed R & R.
Much needed R & R because I have been in pastoral ministry for over 20 years (19 of those years in Westbank and Peachland) without a significant break. Over 13 years ago my wife Cheryl and I and our 3 little girls moved to Peachland to start a church. The Peachland Community Church has been driven to live up to its middle name over the years. We have won prizes in the Canada Day Parade, an award for community service in recognition of our work with the youth of Peachland and we’ve gained quite an international reputation as the church that meets outside in Heritage Park during the summer months.
But there comes a time when you begin to realize that you have given all that you have and there seems to be a growing sense of what I call a “holy discontent” about what is happening. This means that it is time for a change. The same God, who brought us to Peachland from the church in Westbank, has now decided that the time has come for the Nichol family to move on once again. June 30, 2006 was my last official day as the Pastor of Peachland Community Church. P.C.C. will now be busy searching for a new pastor to lead them with fresh ideas and new vision. I am very excited as I consider what is in store for them.
For a while we were following several promising leads regarding where God would have us go for new ministry. However, one lead after another dropped off the radar. Finally this left only one lead that was still very alive and active. A church in Auckland, New Zealand was in communication with us and a few days before my last day of work they extended an official call to us to come and be their pastor.
Upon returning from our vacation, the hard work of getting our family to New Zealand will begin. We expect it will take us several months to finish the massive visa process. We will need to sell almost everything we have, so if anyone needs some furniture, vehicles, a house, and lots of stuff, just give us a call and make us an offer we can’t refuse!
One of the bigger challenges that this move will bring is that the church there is quite small, so they don’t have enough money to pay our salary. Therefore they have asked us to raise our own support until the church is large enough to pay us. If you’re looking for a good cause to support financially, I happen to know of a really good one! I have gifted people working on creating ways for you to receive a tax receipt for your donation should you choose to help us out. If you would like to be put on our email list to be kept in the loop on our New Zealand adventure just send me an email (nicpcc@telus.net) and we will be sure to keep you informed of all that is happening.
As I write this final paragraph I want to communicate to you the greatest passion of my life. I have hoped and prayed that my life and how I have conducted myself among you all has done one thing well. That is that you have been witness to the joy and the fullness of life that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That through my conduct you would have unmistakably seen what a good Christian is like and that the life I’ve lived has backed up the message I have attempted to speak to all of you. This message is of the forgiveness of sins and the deep love of God for all of us expressed through his Son Jesus Christ. And that by believing this message by faith you too might have fullness of joy and fullness of life everlasting. While I know I have not been even close to perfect in all of this, I am consumed with a desire to know and to love God more deeply each day and to share this knowledge and this love with others I meet along the way. This is my greatest passion.
God bless all you Peachlanders and from all of us Nichol’s thanks again for 13+ fantastic years.

GO OILERS GO

Seventh heaven: Oilers force deciding game in Stanley Cup

Hurricane ALBERT"A" Comes Ashore!

AAAAWWWW:(
soooo sad!

GO OILERS GO

Pisani scores OT winner to keep Oilers alive in Stanley Cup

GO OILERS GO

Random

I had a bag of dog food stolen out of the back of my truck in the two hour span it was sitting outside my office. I was there tiding up some loose ends at the end of the day on Friday. When I went back to buy another bag on Saturday it happened to be the same guy standing behind the counter who had sold me the first bag. He remembered me and he had that "what did you do with the last bag of dog food you bought here?" look on his face. So I told him what happened and he felt sorry for me and decided to give me the replacement bag even though I was willing to pay for. There still are some good people still out there!

I preached my first sermon of the last month of ministry in Peachland Community Church Sunday. I thought it went pretty well considering I had steep competition from a little two year old girl that was wondering around in front and in behind me for the closing point of the message. It was amusing/frustrating to look out over the congregation and see that all eyes were NOT on me but instead were watching her do her little show! You just can't compete with a little kid in a situation like that.

Cheryl and I went and saw the Da Vinci Code Sunday afternoon. After seeing it I'm not too sure what ALL the fuss is about after all it is a fictional story! It seems that the church subculture is consumed with it by the number of books and the zillions of articles out there trying to denounce it. It so happened that while sitting in an A&W restaurant yesterday morning a man who used to live in Peachland several years ago was there. He came over to have a conversation with me that started with, "My uncle is dying in Vancouver and he's been preaching at me for years that I need to get born again. Whenever I hear him say that I think of you because you are the only Christian I have ever met that I truly respect. And here you are right now. Can we talk about this for a minute..." During the conversation he brought up the Da Vinci Code and we were able to discuss it and some of the questions it had brought to his mind. It was good to share the gospel again with someone it has been a few weeks since the last time that has happened. After an hour of conversation he left saying he would think about all I had said on his bike ride down to Vancouver. He gave me his card and wants to be added to our email list so he can keep in the loop of all that is going on. He is currently in the diamond mine business in West Africa.

We Baptized 5 new believers last Sunday in the lake. It was a great celebration. I think about how many times I have been down in the water doing that over the past 13 years. It totally thrills my heart to know that God has really used our ministry here over the years. This truly has been a great harvest ground for the gospel. I hope and pray the next pastor has the same privilege and then some!

We are still searching for a new place to minister. Most days that go by bring up new possibilities. We had to make a choice to follow just one lead at a time to its conclusion or it just got to confusing. Right at this moment we are being pursued by New Zealand. It seems like such a long way away right now but as it stands we are simply putting one foot in front of the other until either we are on Kiwi soil or God shuts that door. Then we would be free to explore the next thing and so on until we find the right place to minister.

Our D.S. preached a great sermon last week in our area. He mentioned the movie "Narnia". At the end of the movie the scene is two kids walking along side the lion. One says to the other, "He is good you know" to which the other responds, "Yes, he is good but he is not tame". I sensed the weight of Spirit in these words upon my heart. Be good Kevin, pursue it with all you've got and be good to others with everything you have. Be good BUT for heavens sake, for the gospels sake, for the sake of the lost, don't be tame! Be a wild man for the kingdom of God. Take risks, never be satisfied with the status quo, avoid what is safe and comfortable. Like King Saul's son Jonathan said to his armor-bearer before the two of them took on a garrison of Philistines, "Perhaps the Lord will be with us!" and he rushed at them head long!

Trust Him after all God is Good all the time!

When the Dust Settles

Many times I have witnessed the swirl of dust particles, hair and lint through the blazing sunlight coming through the window in our home. A dog shakes, a cat jumps, a body whisks through the room and little pieces of stuff are on the move. If the sun was not shining through the window at just the right angle nobody would even notice these tiny particles and what-not floating around in the air. Given enough time, eventually all the dust particles will settle down to the floor, furniture and counter tops. When the dust does settle it usually means that all activity has calmed down or ceased all together.
This past week was a swirl of unfortunate activity. Three people connected to our fellowship through relationships passed away. A mom, a friend and an uncle. The funerals and memorial services lined themselves up starting on Monday and finished on Saturday afternoon.
As the dust of these activities has settled I see two very important lessons to be learned, prayed through and put into practice.
First, as Christians our lives lived out is indeed the gospel to others. The preacher at my uncle’s funeral spoke of the great evidence of a changed life by the powerful display of the gospel of Jesus Christ as it was lived out in the life of my uncle. He entitled his message, “The Gospel according to Kenneth Neill Foster”. His life was full of the evidence of a life well lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. What is the Gospel according to Kevin Cecil Nichol like, I wondered to my self as I sat there listening. I wonder what 6 points the preacher at my funeral would make as a comparison to the real gospel of Jesus Christ I said I believed in.
Second, was a comment my good friend made about his mother as he read out her eulogy. He basically explained that his mom had a gift. This gift was powerfully evidenced as the family tried to come to a consensus on who would do the eulogy for their mom. The fear was that whoever did the task would somehow make it appear that they were "more favoured" than the others in the family by their mother. As the conversation continued it became quite clear that their moms wonderful gift was the ability to make each of her children feel like they were more favoured than the rest. Each child found that they believed that mom treated them more special than the others, only to discover together, that in reality she had treated them all so well it had become their own personal perception of that relationship. Oh that we would all inherit such a God-like quality. The ability to make others feel uniquely special, to make others feel highly favoured by our actions of faithful love towards them. This love is like God's love toward all of us. Lord, make me like my friends mother.
Well, the dust has settled now. Reflections have benefited my life. Like the scripture says the wise allow sorrow to have a refining influence upon them. Thanks Lord for the privilege of knowing these fine Christian people. Thanks also for the joy of knowing that becuase they believed in you, recieved your forgiveness, and lived out their faith they are with you even now forever in your care.
God is good... All the Time!

Blessings Following After

Blessed are those who... the word blessing, bless or blessed, has been brought into clearer focus lately. It is a curious word packed full of all that is good and pleasing. It has the strange ability to go deep into the center of our hearts but at the same time stay bubbly at the surface of our lives. It is something we can do for others like when we say "Bless you" after a sneeze or "bless you" in place of a greeting or a good-bye. It describes the life of a believer and in essence is the pronouncement of God on all of life from start to finish. After he made Adam and Eve he blessed them and said be fruitful and multiply. At the end of the Bible he pronounces a blessing on all those who carefully study the revelation of the Lord Jesus to John while he was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos. According to Paul all those who believe in the saving life of Jesus by faith are "blessed with every spiritual blessing" which seems a little hard to grasp just how big and wide this word blessing seems to indicate. We are even instructed to use a blessing as a spiritually charged weapon to combat those who would harm us, do evil to us, abuse, curse us and persecute us. A blessing must be deeply treasured for it can be stolen as was the case of Jacob stealing Esau's blessing from their father Isaac.
I believe the Lord's deepest will is to bless and be a blessing to all of his creation. I believe we are to seek a blessed life, enjoy the blessings given to us in Christ, live in them and embrace them to the best of our knowledge.
Blessed are all who reverence and hold in awe our great and blessed God!

Sometimes you just gotta shout!

The way I have been feeling these days is really quite remarkable given the circumstances that I find myself in. After a week and 1/2 of resigning from this great work in Peachland I am still very full of joy. So full of Joy that I could just shout! However, there were several moments this week when I began to doubt whether or not I had heard from the Lord regarding this. One parishioner jokingly wondered out loud if I had maybe listened to the Devil instead! I must admit I am a firm believer in trusting someone who has a few "second-thoughts" about any major decision that can greatly affect ones life. I don't think that person would be "normal" without them. I believe that even Jesus wrestled with some "second-thoughts" in the garden before he went to the cross. He asked his Father is there was some other way, something else that could be done, but in the end he wrestled those thoughts to the ground and went with the good and perfect and pleasing will of God. The second guessing in this case was simply being honest with himself and his God. This honesty lead him to came out the other side in line with obedience to the still small voice of the Spirit in his life. And the result, the result was JOY! Who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scoffing it's shame... I guess the danger comes when we allow the second guess to become the third, fourth, fifth and sixth guesses which lead us to doubting and despair and eventually not following through on what the Lord has originally told us to do.
How about any of you? What do you do with your second guesses?

A Chapter is Finishing

Last Sunday April 30th I announced to our congregation our resignation from the work here in Peachland. Our last day of official ministry at the Peachland Community Church will be June 30 2006. It was over 13 years ago that the Holy Spirit laid this little town on our hearts and Cheryl and I were obedient this call by getting a church started in May of 1993. We have seen some unbelievable things happen here, even mini-revival type events in our journey with what used to be this little (and now not so little) town of Peachland. We will miss many things about being here but we know that the same Holy Spirit that lead us to this town in '93 has spoken again and is now leading us away from this great place. To where? We don't know just yet! We will be taking a look at some options that have been offered to us but for right now there is nothing to go to. So for the next week or so we will just be relaxing in the knowledge that we are putting the finishing touches to this chapter of our lives in anticipation of what the next chapter brings. We need your prayers so don't be stingy with them. When we first came to Peachland Paige and Danae were only 3 and Mackenzie just 1. They had no input into all of this but now they have a much greater stake in this whole thing. Please pray for them as they have no control over this leading and so they're perception of all this is quite different from mom and dads.
Cheryl and I are very excited as we anticipate what new adventure the Lord will be taking us on. Our hearts are bubbling with joy over what has been and now what will be coming.
God is Good – All The Time :)

vain hope is really no hope at all!

Vain hope is what most people have. They hope things get better, their job improves, their health returns, the future will be favourable and they really hope their marriages work. But all such hope is vain. It is aspiration that more often than not never quite delivers!
The recent interest in games of chance especially card games like Texas Hold’em illustrates this truth. These games are like a window into what most of us call hope. A lucky break here, a risk taken there, out on a limb praying [hoping] for something to go your way. So much depends on the hand your dealt; so much depends on when you lay your bet down. Hold your cards close to your chest and deceive everyone around the table as best you can. Try hard to make them think that you truly do have a winning hand! You've got what it takes to make it work. But in the end it truly is a game of chance and as in any casino 97% of the time the house wins.
This is how many people go through life. Round after round our chips of hope dissipate as life beats us up. We slowly but surely loose our aspirations, we loose our hope. All those Grad speeches we heard where just that, just speeches. Hopelessness is ramped in our society. Hopelessness leads to despair and that leads to all kinds of trouble. Hatred, deceit, stealing, violence, anger and rage, all stem from the root of despair that comes from the helpless sense of hopelessness.
Without hope we go through life with significant disadvantages. 1) The is no expectation that someone can save us from our selves and those nasty habits that bring damage to our lives, relationships and loved ones. 2) There is no knowledge of the great and awesome promises of God that introduce, foster and make hope flourish. 3) There is no hope past the grave. It's eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die! 4) The best hope we can muster is an, “I sure hope so…” kind of hope. 5) A desperate hopeless world breeds desperate hopeless people. It feels like a trap that is slowly squeezing the life out of us. Vain hope is really no hope at all!
Fortunately, vain hope is not the only kind of hope out there! God himself has intervened in his mercy.
Easter is all about a good and living hope. The Bible tells us that there is hope that comes from God. It describes it as a better hope, a Good hope, and a Living hope. It says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!
Allow me to introduce you to this kind of hope that is held out by the good news of Jesus Christ.
What he did was die and take all the punishment that we deserve because of our sin on himself. This death opens up a way for us to connect with the God of the universe. The God of all hope! A way of hope, a way of grace, so that we can now have God and all the promises he makes of a life forever where He is the center of it all.
Jesus resurrection is like a guarantee that he really means business. His resurrection means what he promised is true and those promises have power to bring us good and living hope to transform our lives both now and forever!
So, what kind of hope do you have in your life; vain hope or Living hope? If you don’t have living hope would you like to have it? Hope that is good, merciful, living and eternal! This hope can be yours by believing the message I have just told you. We must claim it as our very own, turning away from lives full of vain hope and the trouble it brings, and turning them toward God for life and hope forever which he offers through his Son Jesus. Just believe it!

Sandy Footprints

I sat and looked at these footprints for along time tonight. Maybe I am just a bit tired from the week of rollercoaster riding that Cheryl and I went on. Ministry has those moments when you feel like you're just making dents in sand dunes. When it seems like you are in a dry and weary land where there is no water. When there isn’t a person in sight and you feel all alone.
Except - someone took the picture. Someone is there, right behind me all the way. He has my back. Encouraging me to keep putting one dusty foot in front of the other. Keep pressing on. Keep the way straight.
Marks are left in the sand. A Footprint is not a monument. A monument shouts, "At least I got this far". But a footprint, a footprint says, "This is where I was before I moved again." Not stagnant but moving, not stationary but progressive, not aimless but purposeful.
Finally, I looked up at the horizon. What adventure is just beyond that hill top? The next thing, the next event, the next whatever! I suppose it could just be more sand, but maybe, just maybe there is an oasis or a city or even just a camel. Nobody but God can see over that horizon and he has my future in the palm of his hand.
I can hear him whisper, “I delight in you, and you are spectacular!"
That's all the encouragement I need.
I will get there with the Lord's help one sandy foot in front of the other.
Where are your footprints taking you?

W A I T I N G ................................................................

Waiting. I've waited an awful lot this week. In fact I waited for almost 4 hours on Monday for a part to come to the mechanics shop but when it came it was the wrong one. Then yesterday I waited for 3 hours because when they sent the right part they didn't send all of the parts that go with the right parts. So I waited. Then I waited in line at the grocery store. Then I didn't want to have to drive home then turn around and come back and pick up Paige at soccer so I waited around the soccer field. I've waited an awful lot this week.
How much time have you been waiting this week?

Road Trip!

This past week I have spent an enormous amount of time on the road. First with five screaming, laughing uncontrollably, giggly and rambunctious-gotta-stop-again-and-use-the-bathroom teen age girls cramped into one itty bitty space! I am glad to be alive!
Then a second trip took me back into Alberta country, into the beautiful and exciting town of Banff where I was able to meet up with a good friend for a couple days of R&R.
An interesting thing happened one day while I sat in the mall food court having just stuffed my face with some delicious Japanese food. I noticed an old man who was smiling at me. Or at least I thought it was me and sure enough when I turned around to see if there was someone else behind me there was no one. He smiled again and then made a B-line for the empty chair across from me. Jack Lee he said as he sat down univited. He was 72 years old and was born and raised in Canada. His grandfather was one of the first people to set foot on Canadian soil from China back in the early 1800's. In fact his grandfather and his father after him both came to Canada as stow-a-ways in the bottom of commercial ships. The journey of his forefathers fascinated me and he told his story with deep reverence. Before I knew it an hour had zipped by. I figured that this was too good an opportunity to pass up so I asked him about matters of faith. He is a devout Christian who attends a United Church in Calgary. As I got up to leave he blessed me in the name of God and shook my hand like nobodies business.
Today at a funeral service I listened to the stories of a man who moved here right after the 2 World War from Germany. Tough times, yes, but he just kept moving, building, growing until he was done and he went on to his reward.
Pilgrimage; one foot in front of the other followed by the same thing over and over again. Seems like going somewhere is quite a strong and deeply felt unction in the heart of human kind. Everybody seems to be going somewhere.
God reminds us in Psalm 85. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
We're moving; we'’re moving on to God; we'’re moving in the right direction. Someone once wrote, "A monument only says' "at least I got this far" while a footprint says, "This is where I was when I moved again". Keep going.
The Christian life is meant to be done on the move. It is meant to be a pilgrimage, a journey for a lifetime. Are you moving these days? How's your road trip going?

It's all about understanding each other!

this ones for Niki and Paige

We need him in our church!

finally a team I could feel comfortable playing with!