Those Crazy Immigrant Drivers!

Look out New Zealand one more crazy immigrant has passed their drivers test and now is legally and officially able to navigate the "other" side of the road. Yup it’s true, I went in to the drivers place today, did some serious praying, took the test in hand, and 7 minutes later emerged having passed with a 100% on my exam. The lady in charge took a double take on the clock on the wall when she saw me emerge so quickly.
It has been a lot of fun learning to drive on the other side of the road. I had built it up in my mind as a much more difficult thing than it really is. Although, some habits are really hard to break!!! I found that out the hard way as I got a speeding ticket on this side of the road just as easily as the North American side!!! I got caught going 64 in a 50 zone by a photo radar camera just a few days after we got here! A real nice welcome to New Zealand letter came the house the other day with an $85.00 bill attached to it! I remembered seeing a flash out of the corner of my eye and when I went by that same spot the next day I noticed where the flash had come from.
Anyway, the hardest part of driving here is in parking lots where I have to back out of stalls. I still have a tendency to back out North American style and then drive away forgetting for those first few split seconds that I am not on the proper side of the road. I look forward to the day when parking lots will no longer pose a threat to my driving record and of course my life and all the lives inside my vehicle and the other guys too!
Why am I telling all of you this? Well, I would have to say that while it is difficult it certainly is not impossible to teach an old dog a new thing or two!
Ha-ha:)
God is Good All the Time

A Fathers Heart

I have never had to experience changing communities during those turbulent teen years. I was one of those rare birds that graduated with most of the same group of friends I started out with in grade one. I suppose I took it all for granted and as fun as graduation was I would have to say it was very quickly forgotten. I seem to remember thinking that graduation was only the end of something that was a lot like a cocoon and the beginning of something that was really big and really scary... that is real life!
As a dad of three beautiful young ladies who have now had to move to a far away place and start making friends from scratch I too echoed the concerns of their mother. (See Cheryl's blog "A Mothers Heart")
However, as concerned as I was for them about the coming changes I was growing even more concerned for them had we stayed where we were. As Cheryl mentioned they were definitely blessed/spoiled and it was becoming more and more apparent to me that in their blessings they were starting to feel entitled to those blessings. One of our daughters even bemoaned the fact that her life was to easy; it didn’t really have any difficulties in it. Another of our daughters had looming fears that something would happen to upset her perfect little world. In the past I have for the most part welcomed change mostly for it "shake me to wake me up" affect. As far as my kids were concerned I was more and more eager to see change come for same "shake and wake" reasons. Of course our move was much bigger than all of this but these things were factored into our desire to move.
So now we have to watch them struggle, we get to feel their down times with them and we get to show a strong hand of support and encouragement when they feel lost and lonely. We get to encourage them to trust the Lord and seek his face often when they feel like doing just the opposite. My prayer is that the lessons they are learning right now are lessons they will need to enable them in the future to become fruitful and productive in God's Kingdom.
In my view the battle for their hearts and minds has moved (for now) from the shadows to right out into the open.
For me personally, I would have to say that while I prayed often for my kids in the past my prayers have increased many fold for them as they embark with us on this new journey. At times I feel helpless even speechless (yes I did say speechless) not knowing how to comfort them but more importantly I know whom I have believed in and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him until He comes again.
GO GIRLS GO!
God is Good All the Time.

Relaxing, Routines and Ruts

Just been thinking last couple of days that my inner clock is really out of whack. I believe that is mostly due to a total lack of routine in my life! I've noticed that everything is disturbed at this juncture of my life. Sleeping, eating, exercising and praying are just all over the map in my life right now. Therefore I have concluded that what is missing is a definite lack of routine. We all need relaxation time and I believe its roots come from the teachings of scripture regarding Sabbath taking. Down time, quiet time, away time, vacation time, play time, waste of time and holiday (holy-day) time are just a few of the descriptions that come to mind when we consider relaxation. However, the one down side to this down time is that it can only happen for a specified occasion before life begins to feel like it is moving towards the chaotic! Things forgotten, work ignored, roles confused, way to much TV, and the list just goes on and on...
But then I started to think about routine. We are most definitely creatures of habit and therefore we thrive when we establish a good routine. Things get done, roles work well, and priorities and values guide the course of action we take in a day. Instead of asking the "what" questions of relaxation we start from the “why” questions of purposeful routine. However, there is one thing about routine that needs to be guarded against and that is when the routine becomes a rut. A rut according to some is simply a grave with the ends knocked out! We can become so used to the routine that it effectively removes the impromptu of the Holy Spirit right out of the ballpark! We become so comfortable in our routine that we actively resist change, and change is the only thing we can really routinely count on.
So what was my conclusion to all this you ask. The answer is Jesus. He was a master of a life lived with purpose. He established his routines based on his connection with his heavenly father. He also established his time away based on his need to reconnect with his heavenly father. And as far as ruts go, you could say that there were no ruts. He managed his life so well that it was in perfect harmony with Sabbath as well as work (and I believe play as well although scripture does not mention it). Some people call that balance but I think it is deeper than that. I think it was wise redemption. “Live wisely then, redeeming the time for the days are evil”
Just some thoughts...
God is Good all The Time

Felt Good to be Back in the Saddle!

It seems as though I am in a once a week mood these days when it comes to blogging. Sorry there are few pictures yet since my computer hard drive crashed I lost them all. Boohoo:(.

Last week we enjoyed more of the new country that we get to live and minister in. We enjoyed a couple of days in a city 2 hours drive from here named Rotorua. Very beautiful and very touristy and of course that means mucho denarii’s! It helped that one of the families in the church has access to an apartment style room that took a lot of the edge off financially. We had a really good time. We did a couple of crazy fun things. One called the Lug(sp?) and the other called Zorbing. Here are a couple of photos that we took from these different events.




This week I also took a one-day retreat with John and Carolyn to pray, to seek the Lord and to simply chat and get to know one another. It was a really good time and we made plans to repeat the process for the next little while as we continue to get to know and understand each other.

And probably the biggest event for me personally was getting back behind the pulpit again. It has been a good long 7 months with a few speaking engagements here and there but this was the real deal. After 10 months of planning, praying, doubting, second guessing, finding faith to meet the demands of this process it all became the real deal once I stood to proclaim what the Lord had put on my heart. I have started with a series called "His-Story in my life." and it has been a total delight to reminisce since I was a kid the different times that God and I have had some pretty special moments, some serious moments, some fun filled joyful moments and some times where we just couldn’t seem to get along. My prayer is that the folks here will get a pretty good idea of who I am, what makes me tick, what I love and hate, what I struggle with and what I have gained victory over, and secondly I will be encouraging them to share "His-story" in their lives with each other as well along the way. I preached for 30 minutes and only got to age 8 so I figure I should be at this for a few weeks anyway... there are some things you just cant rush.














All of this good stuff was followed a wonderful afternoon at the beach with friends and then a suprise bbq when a family on the beach (who happened to notice their son Matt hanging out with us) invited us over to their amazing home just off the beach. We all had a great time. Any way, thanks for reading, thanks for praying and also thanks for giving to keep us alive and kicking over here.
God is Good All the Time!

Builder Bob and his Blistering Blundering Befuddling things of Beauty!

Well another week of building furniture and reading unbelievably difficult instructions has come and gone. The worst one was MacKenzie’s special bed. It had one picture with letters going up to v and lines and dotes and arrows accompanied by one paragraph that read something like [attach both "J's" to top of post B with screw D for right side and screw E for left side and two regular screws for foot of bed post A]. Both Kenz and I were almost ready to throw the thing out a couple of times. But the best part is that I can with confidence say we are pretty much set up as comfortably as we can be in our new home. It has left us with a bit more spare time and we have not wasted a second as you can tell from reading Cheryl’s blog. This is one of the most spectacular places to live just for its natural beauty.

This week we had a very informal get together with John and Carolyn Gummer for our first of many planning meetings regarding ICC's new future. John and Carolyn are quite tired from the past 10+ years of ministry with this congregation. It was nice to find out what they were up to and begin the process of relieving some of the burden they have carried for far too long from off their shoulders. We are going to be getting together weekly and this Wednesday we will be going to a private retreat area to pray and do some more planning together. God has graciously blessed us with this wonderful couple to work with and we get along terrific. As I see it our gift mix will work out very wonderfully and I believe the work that God has called us to will flourish under our co-operative ministry.

There is one thing that stands out so clearly to all of us about this church. It is a rare thing I think to see multi-nations coming together to worship one Lord, experience on body, and share in one baptism. Today was honor India day and during the sermon the Indian pastor spoke of his friends within the fellowship. One Chinese and the other Pakistani. In the real world these nations do not get along in fact they are warring most of the time. But in our fellowship they get along as one. It is the very thing that drew me here so strongly. The nations coming together under one roof, united and strong, praising the one God who created us all. It is soooooo cool and I can’t wait to develop this more deeply and work it for the advancement of Gods multi-national kingdom.

The fun and games will slow a bit now as we enter this week. The girls will be registering for school and I will begin preaching on Feb. 4th. Cheryl is planning a "painting the house program" and our landlord is going to be removing the old carpets and putting down either new carpets or even laminate. So that could prove to be a bit unsettling as we have to move all the things we just built and put in place. Oh well ROUND 2 here we come....

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this. We all appreciate your prayers and your financial support.

God is Good All the Time

Elvis has left the building!

We're gone, we flew the coup, we hit the road, we dug in the spurs, said all our so longs and farewells, we did it... we left our dear old Canada for a brand new adventure in New Zealand.
7 days could not possibly go by faster or busier! We have been Kiwi's now for a week and every single day has been packed to the brim. We have spent over to $20,000.00 in that time furnishing this new home and picking up a sweet deal on a 1999 Nissan Presage. Jet lag was the worst I have ever had probably because I was not flying along and had to drag, carry and push copious amounts of luggage through 5 different airports. The church has graciously given me my first two weeks off just to get over jet lag and allow us time to set up the house and do a little exploring. John and I will meet this week to start the process of our transitions. He will be transitioning to a more associate role and I will be transitioning into what looks like a more senior role. However, titles don’t mean much so it will more than likely look more like co-leadership than anything else. I look forward to our discussions and what will be coming out of them.
We have had several folks dropping buy right from the first day to wish us well. Matt Mordaunt (mission creek alliance) was able to come and help us haul our bags from the airport. Jason and Chelsey Gray and Kelly and Jen Johnston (& Mattao) have come by. Along with a few who have become internet friends Mike and Jules who work with young life as well as the martin family who had moved here several years ago from South Africa.
Timing and the Lords Grace were abundantly obvious in the prices we were able to get on everything we bought. I don’t think we paid full price for anything as most of the stores are trying hard to get rid of their Christmas stuff through some serious summer sales. We almost have everything except a few smaller items,also a bed for Danae, a lawn mower and a BBQ. Once we get the BBQ we will launch a few get togethers with neighbors and church friends and even salesmen who we have met along the way here.
The kids are doing great. This is such an adventure for them. They are starting to get a bit restless today as their are no friends yet so being bored is often in their vocabulary. Please pray for them, as finding the right friends will be at the heart of how well they do here.
Cheryl is off having coffee with a couple of ladies right now. How I thank God for her. She is such a trooper and she has been such a great person to shop with. She really knows how to move things along and sniff out those great deals.
This is getting kind of long for a blog so I will hang up the keypad for now. Bless you all for your prayers and financial support.
God is Good All the Time.

send me your links

My hard drive crashed so I lost almost all my info. (A good reminder to all of you that it could happen at any moment so be sure you have all the important stuff backed up!) Anyway, fortunatly for me i only lost a few of my latest sermons that were important. Anyway, could you all send me your blog addresses. I need to put them all into this computer.
Happy New Year everybody!
one week until departure!!!!
God is good all the time.

here is mine chris

http://www.myheritage.com

Weekend of Celebrations

Saturday evening will always be held as a great memory for me. Cheryl and I attended the PFRS Officers Banquet. During the evening Fire Chief Grant Topham and Assistant Chief Paul Cloutier presented me with my retirement gift. A pencil sketched picture of our old parade truck, a 1950-something Dodge and our new 2004 American Lefrance Engine 22 parked in front of our hall, Station 21. It is beautifully framed and will be a nice addition to whatever office I may end up having in the future. When they presented it to me the whole room stood their feet and clapped, it was humbling to say the least. Here are a few pictures of my time here with PFRS.

Sunday Morning was also a celebration. Westside Alliance Church held their 25th Anniversary. They honoured us with an offering at the end of the service and also had me pray a prayer of blessing upon the church. It was fun to reconnect with a great bunch of folks who were with me in my first 6 years of ministry. It was a grace-filled place to "get my wings" and for that I will always feel a debt of gratitude. There were some pictures taken at this event as well that I tried to include here but for whatever reason they are not cooperating!
Oh well, it was a very fun weekend.

So Long Little Buddy

Well, the first of our little fuzzy creatures has found a good home. Sonny went to a family full of young kids who are crazy about him. In fact I heard reports yesterday that he had already made his way into one of the kid’s classrooms as a show and tell item. He really liked that when we took him there for the girls when they were that age. He enjoys all the attention and that just makes me feel good. He is happy and adjusting just fine to his new surroundings. Sonny’s leaving was not that hard on us as a family, only Paige was sad as the other two girls both have their cats that they spend all their attention on. I suppose that will be a much sadder day for them when it arrives. We plan on handing them over to their new owners on November 30th. That’s the cats not the girls!
I woke up this morning thinking of our 3 awesome girls and how they will handle that day and prayed for them. They have had such great attitudes about this move and all the sacrifices they are willing to make to see it happen. Not too many teenagers are so willing to have as good an attitude as these 3 beautiful girls. I thank God on a regular basis for them; they are a great source of joy in my life. And I thank God for such a great woman of faith they have to follow as an example in their mother. WOW this is getting kinda sappy!
On another note, we were able to find a buyer for our van. And just as everything else about this move it has fallen into place in a beautiful fashion. The folks who want it are willing to let us keep it until we leave and are willing to take it whenever we are ready to hand it over. Isn’t God just amazing! He even cares about silly material stuff like this! We know that the van will be a great blessing to this young family.
Today is day #1 of our moving schedule. I have a friend coming over with his truck and we will be moving most of our bedroom stuff, a hutch and our TV stand over to Bruce and Niki's basement suite. We are also moving Paiges dresser and Mackenzies desk to a family here in Peachland. Then tonight we have our Annual Peachland Fire and Rescue Officers Christmas Banquet. Apparently they are going to be giving me some sort of plaque for my years of service here in Peachland. That should be interesting and fun.
Well, I guess I had better get moving---literally!
God is good all the time.

Champions

Near Half Moon Bay in August in the dead of winter


As my cousin Stu so elequently put it in his most recent email, "Hopefully living in Half Moon Bay will remind Kevin to pull up his pants!" Both Cheryl and I got a great laugh out of it but then I started wondering just how much of my moon he has seen; was there emotional truama; nightmares; shortness of breath; cold sweats????? I think you should consider getting some professional help cuz!

Any way, this past Sunday I was able to preach again for the first time in over a month. I sooooooooooooo enjoyed it. The invitation came from some friends of ours from Westside Alliance days who moved out to Armstrong several years ago. Their pastor has resigned recently and so they have asked me to preach a few Sundays which of course I am happy to oblige them. Speaking of Westside Alliance, they are celebrating their 25th Anniversary this coming Sunday and have asked me to come and participate in the festivities. We've also been informed of their desire to do something really nice for us in support of our new upcoming ministry in New Zealand. We are blessed and humbled that they would consider doing this for us on such a special day for them. What a great support team we have!
So this weekend went smoothly, not to many hick-ups as we spent most of it buried in boxes, drawers, and bedrooms. Cheryl is the mastermind behind the time lines and what to pack on which weekend and where to put it. She is such a great organizer and the feeling of accomplishment that comes over the family when we have been able to conquer a part of the packing war on schedule is really good. One thing we would ask you to pray for is the selling of both our van and truck. We would like to see this done as soon as possible.
Emotionally, we had a bit of a roller coaster week including a few tears, some short fuses with each other and of coarse some awesome prayer times and answers to those prayers. There are moments when we are overwhelmed with the massiveness of this whole ordeal. We question God, we question our motives, we pile up some worry over all the "what-ifs" of the future, we battle our fears, and we sometimes battle each other. The tests that come from following after God in transition really do show us what we are made of. Both the good and the not so good! But through all this we get some encouraging emails that we can laugh at and we read of those who have been praying for us. At that moment we are suddenly aware we are in a spiritual war. We know our Commander and Chief has assigned us to a new place and we know that our champions of prayer are behind us and their prayers have sustained us; and empowered us; and keep us going. So thanks for your prayers they mean so much to us, more than words can say.
Well, that's all for now... until next time... play nice in the sandbox out there will ya! (to quote one of our local DJ's)
God is Good all the Time!

Death & Dying

This morning during the breakfast hour we had a strange and unusual conversation going on. It was about our life insurance and the certainty of our deaths, all of our deaths really. The facial expressions of our kids as they listened in were priceless to say the least. Every once in a while there was an extended sigh or awe followed by a mumbled confidence builder that we weren’t planning on dying any time soon – right?
Lets face it, death is just one of those subjects that doesn’t get a lot of air time unless your hanging around funeral homes, cancer wards or watching the history channel. The reality of course that we all must face our own deaths, therefore, being prepared is really wise, helpful even hopeful.
This week one of my best friends in Peachland suffered a heart attack. (See blog below) His story was fascinating to say the least. While taking a nice Sunday afternoon hike with his wife he began to feel the symptoms. Eventually his wife who is a nurse began to suspect the worst and had him lie down while she hustled down to our neighbourhood to call 911. While lying there, trying to control his breath to find a rhythm that reduced the pressure in his chest, he was suddenly aware that this may be the place where he was to pass away. He said that he told the Lord he was ready and that if this was going to be the last thing he saw on earth it was sure beautiful. He was at peace and he was ready to meet his Lord and friend Jesus. Death held no fear over him. Like the bible says, Death is the destiny of everyone; the wise man takes it to heart and prepares for it. My friend is prepared!
How about you? When was the last time you had a good chin wag over the subject of your own death? Are you ready to meet your creator? I certainly hope so. It is possible to be like my friend, ready at a moments notice to go on into eternity with Jesus. It begins with trusting him to give you new life in exchange for your sin ridden old life. It is one of those things that just should not be procrastinated over!
God is Good All the Time!

Pray for my Friend

Cheryl and I were out in Kelowna and Danae had stayed home. Our cell phone rang and it was Danae wondering about all the commotion happening right outside our front door. She reported that there were a couple of ambulances and the PFRS fire truck parked outside with emergency lights flashing. We told her everything would be fine and that I would be home in very short while. And that was about all there was to this story until the next day. In the morning I was trying to get my computer up and running and I was on the phone with my computer expert friend Jamie. At the end of our conversation he mentioned that it was too bad about what happened to one of the fellows in our Friday morning men's group. I told him I didn't know what he was talking about and that's when he spilled the news that our good friend and brother in Christ had suffered a heart attack while hiking up in the woods above our house on Sunday afternoon.
I couldn't get into Kelowna on Monday but yesterday I was able to go in and see him. He doing OK and under observation. He seemed in good spirits and is recovering. Though it was a mild heart attack it was a heart attack none the less and in that sense there is nothing mild about it! Any way if those of you who read my blogs wouldn't mind, I would love it if you could send up a prayer for his complete recovery from all this scary stuff.
Thanks and bless you all
God is Good All the Time!

Band Of Brothers

Yesterday I was able to attend my regular Friday morning 9-11 event. It is a group of about 6-8 men who meet together each week to enjoy a great homemade breakfast, cup or two of coffee, discuss the topics of the day, and eventually we enter into a time around God's Word and prayer. I started this group about 7 or 8 years ago and some of the members have come and gone but for the most part there is a solid core of terrific fellows. Doing life together, sharing the good times and the hard times, seeking the council of respected brothers, finding support when times are really tough, and being able to return the favour when times are tough for others. It is easily one of the most rewarding and beneficial events of my life here in Peachland. I will defiantly miss this group when it is time to set sail for NZ.
A band of brothers is what every man needs. Good brothers who are there for us, who are committed to our well-being, who have our best interests in mind even when it is a hard thing to say (or hear). "As Iron sharpens Iron so one man sharpens another"
Latter in the evening Cheryl and I took Paige and Danae to “The Santa Clause 3” movie. They invited their friends along and there was 8 of us in total. We had a very relaxing evening and it was fun to be together. Mackenzie went to a B.C. wide United Church Camp with a really close friend of hers out in Naramata. She will be back on Monday.
This morning Cheryl and I went for brunch with a couple of really great friends. It is something that we really enjoy doing together. Later this afternoon, P & D are having 15 friends over for a make-up party! I think I will go swimming or something just to get out of here. Then it is off to church in Vernon tonight.
I think I will drop by my old church tomorrow morning and say hello to everyone there.
Have a good one everybody!

God is Good All the Time!

YEE HA Cowboys for Jesus!

Winter happened yesterday! We got snow... 5 cm of the white stuff... which is pretty normal around this time of year I guess. I decided with a few promptings from my wife to go out into the wintery weather and drop in on a little local church gathering that meets on Thursday nights. Around the end of September our family friends, Blair and Brenda Bates felt led of the Lord to start a local cowboy church. It meets every second Thursday up the Peachland Riding Club in their club house. It all started back in late spring from a local fella who happened to be watching a cowboy church gathering on TV. He decided that Peachland needed one of those churches though he himself is not a "church-going" man much at all. He approached Blair because he knew he was an ordained minister and asked him if he would ever consider doing this sort of thing for the local cowboy community. After some prayer and careful planning they decided not to let this invitation slip by and started up a local chapter. They went online and found out there is quite the growing phenomenon that stretches from Texas to Alberta and BC and everywhere in between. The Lord led them to some very helpful folks who were already involved in the Cowboy Church movement and the rest as they say is history.
The service meets on Thursday evening’s because many of the weekends are taken up with rodeos. The format is simple, a few country sounding songs, a reading of some cowboy poetry, a simple salvation message and a few closing comments followed by some coffee, cookies and cake. I was blessed for having been there and Brenda, who happened to be the speaker last night, did a fantastic job of communicating the hope that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you want to check out this little church here is the link. http://www.bestlifesuccess.com/cowboyvalleychurch/
Enjoy, God is Good All the Time!

Macbeth RD Style

RD stands for readers digest. That’s what happened last night when MacKenzie’s drama class did a 30 minute drama of a play that would normally take closer to 2 hours. It was fun. Of course MacKenzie did an awesome job of her witch’s part. No pictures were taken last night but there is a rumour going around that tonight will be picture night. That means once again that I will post some pictures of this event later to the blog.
The theme of the story is clear; it is not good to want something you shouldn’t have but could take. And, if you end up taking what is not right for you to take you certainly will not enjoy it for long. And when you take something that does not belong to you then the chances of even your once best friend deciding to take it from you are very real. Basically, Macbeth is a masterpiece of the consequences of deciding to ignore the very basic moral codes of life given by God in the 10 commandments - not to covet - not to kill - not steal - and not to lie. It also includes a healthy dose of "bad company corrupts good morals" and be careful who you marry! Even though the kids raced through the key moments of the Shakespearean play the message was clear as if a preacher had stood up and preached a sermon. I loved it. Tonight I will post the pictures.
God Is Good All the Time! (PS Mackenzie wants you to check out her blog as well...kenz911.blogspot.com)

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.