Brothers...

So, a couple of weeks ago now I had to say goodbye to a friend.

I find that in a lot of my past friendships I have wondered about the level of connection and sometimes thought we didn't connect as well as I would like or at other times I have felt as if I have given so much and tried so hard and recieved nothing in return.

Well with this individual I occasionally felt like I asked a lot of him but couldn't always give enough in return on my part, if that makes any sense.

A constant encourager, prayer buddy, teacher and brother, a friend as you rarely find them. Transparent and willing to be real, sharing how we are doing in a very real way. Nothing surfacy or fake...everything up front and taken at face value.

What a blessing it is to know you are supported and cared for because of who you are, not in spite of it.
Much like I feel marriage should be. But you need those people in your life you can confide in, share with and have confidence in knowing they will call you on your garbage and pathetic behavior, tell you when you're wrong, and you just know they are telling you because they care. To be valued as you value in return. Neither walks away feeling burdened or burned out, just refreshed.

David and Jonthan had this...a connection of the souls that is beyond description a depth of trust beyond comparison.

True friendship...

I am honored to say I have had such a connection.

Thankyou for the honor, Adrian Wi.

Rest part 2

And the last verse that caught my attention was Jer. 6:16
Thus says the Lord;
"Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.
But they said, 'We will not wak in it.'


What I got out of this was that rest is found in obeying. Walk in the good way, which has been shown to you from many different people. Do what you know is right as God has described and has called you to do.
My sould will find rest in living in the ancient ways, walking in it. Find the good way and live as the good way would have you live.

The definition of REST!...

So, I was asking, what is rest...and a number of weeks ago now I actually had the chance to get away for half a day and pray and read the bible and contemplate what it is that rest is...well here are some of the words that I looked up and read about:

Rest=renewel
Renew: to make new
Reborn, redone, rebirth, refresh, reboot

All of these in relation to the mind, body and spirit.

I know that there are a lot of "re" words there but think about it, we are made in a state of rest so in effect we are redoing what had already been done, maybe even going back to how God wants us to be everey day.

So, as I read through the bible and looked up words in the concordance about rest I found these words that I focussed on; REst, restore, and restores.

Again words that are focussed on the preface "re" but I hadn't connected the concept of rest with restore, which seems ironic given that the word even starts with "rest".

The Psalms were great for this, he restores my soul, (ps 23) turning to God for the restoration of my soul (ps. 51) God will give you rest if you allow Him the room, step aside, let go and let Him work (mat. 11:28), all of these things make it sound like there isn't much that we can do...accept of course for let go, give up and let God take over. Funny but its almost harder to do what might be described as nothing than it is to set our minds to a specific tangible task. Take time out, rest your mind, avoid distractions, and think about God, and He WILL renew your spirit and soul.

Sabbatical...Gill Grisom

So, I was watching a repeat of CSI yesterday. Turns out that Gill actually went on a Sabbatical this season...funny that he called it that and that he got one this year too. By far my favorite person in the show.
So, how are things going? I'm sort of feeling better, some days I think I'm getting rest and other days I find that I'm overwhelmed with something else in life...recently I find that I'm overwhelmed with all the things that need to get done around the house. I think that main problem is that the 2 biggest jobs I want and need to get done have run into glitches...putting in a shower base ran into issues because, even though we got it in 3 pieces it won't fit through the door and we'll have to take out the window to get it in. And then the dishwasher I'm putting in...well it needs to have power run to it...I thought I could just tap into power from another source but the instructions I've found say I can't do that. There is a line run to this location but its been sealed somewhere in the floor...finding it is a whole new bunch of issues...
Little jobs around the house are things that I would like to get working on...those I can handle and even find fun...its the bigger ones that don't work out so simply that drive me up the wall.

Anyway, enough of that...thanks for your prayers and no I won't use all my time doing a different kind of work.

Dave

Dropping a Bike...

So, I dropped my bike...yes my motorcycle. I was turning a corner and there looked to be what appeared to be water on the road...well I turned and without even a second to think the back tire slid out and I was on the ground watching the bike spark up the road on its side...
I realized that everything else was dry and it must have been a truck that had gone through a car wash and dumped the excess soap/wax water all over the road...
So, I fell.
Good thing for leather and should have had gloves on...

Scraped up my hand and ring which looks like it almost ripped my finger off, and that was about it..although a little bit of a knee scrape and hole in my jeans added too I guess.
I'll try posting pics of the damage to the bike which was actually not all that bad either. It still runs at least.

David Thompson

So, my friend David Thompson moved in with us...He is a big handicapped guy that was the best man in my Dad's wedding and the best man in mine as well.
It just so happened that it worked out for him to move in with us. I have to say that things are going really well. He fits right in with the family!

I guess my questions come out of our recent experiences, strangely enough even though we have a very open and obvious dynamic with Dave, adults are maintaining a level of discomfort for an extended period of time. All of the younger people and youth that have met him have adjusted within minutes but the adults...well its to the extent that we may be losing friends, even being alienated becuase those who would normally call or invite won't because of their discomfort...

My initial response...those people aren't worth it!

Now don't get me wrong, I get the concept that we all need time to adjust and learn the individual dynamics of people with dissabilities but...!

We have hung out with him in public in the past and not had this much trouble...we have had a doctor react VERY strangely...its a long story, but I guess its just not stuff that I counted on. It wouldn't make a difference anyway, we would take him in either way, had we known or not, but its still frustrating, hurtful and disheartening.

Here he is...with Leigha! He gets along great with the kids!

My wife's new tattoo

Just thought you might like to see it!

It represents the trinity, here commitment to Christ and the picture she was inspired with when she chose to follow Christ with everything that she is!

Humbled by my own pessimism

So, I had some feelings towards a couple of people who had frustrated me and didn't seem to be listening or responding to anything I said or did...And here is my patern of venting again in safe (or thought to be safe) environments...well I told everyone to pray about these individuals and shared my feelings about the situations...

Well here is the ironic thing...they prayed and God answered...

Funny you'd think that would be a given but when I said we should pray I was full of pessimism and annoyance...I don't know in my heart if I beleived anything could come from those individuals, God proved me wrong and showed me that when I am frustrated, instead of venting and losing hope, I need to come to Him with a heart longing for resolution and restoration and BELEIVE that He will answer.

God, forgive me for my unbelief and pessimism, Grow me in my Faith!

Yesterday

Well, I was told yesterday by a few people that perhaps I have a tendency to demand too much out of people, sometimes to the extent that if they don't meet my expectations I will refuse to work with them. Well, I think I dissagree for the most part. First of all, when I vent I am extremely harsh, which is why I vent to neutral parties (my wife and warren) before interacting with the individuals in question. Secondly, I feel very strongly that if someone is going to say that they are going to do something that they need to do it.
The idea that I should tip toe around individuals and not hold them accountable or try to help prepare them to do what they have volunteered or asked to do seems a little pointless. Anyway, thats my 2 cents on their comments...although I do suppose that my venting could be a little more gentle. If you ask my wife she will even tell you that I tend to give people WAY too many chances for redemption, which actually suggests the opposite.

Anyway, I'll take what I can from the comments and pray about it and make some adjustments without compromising who I am.

I had a great meeting with my friend Adrian Wi too yesterday!

We talked and prayed through some things, it was SUPER refreshing to hear truth and to be transparent. It cut off the Devil's attack route because the lies and false thoughts were brought to light.

If you have someone like that in your life...take advantage, embrace and pour into that relationship.

New Phases in Life

So, here we are as a family working out some of the new phases and dynamics of family and pastor life.
Melissa has resigned and is working her way down to maybe a 4 hour a week contract at the most. I am feeling more free to get things done and connect with people than I have in a while, but admittedly its taking a while to find my groove. I'm so used to getting done the things that are URGENT and need doing for tomorrow that my brain is slowly starting to pull to the forefront all the things I've left on the back burner.
I'm feeling better about most things in life right now. My family and my work etc... I actually got a chance to preach again 2 Sundays ago, I loved it...I think. ;)
And I'm in the process of renovating a bathroom in our house so that David Thompson can move in with us.
He is a handicapped guy who was both my Dad and my best man in our weddings. I'm feeling like a lot of the bigger stresses are getting checked off the list which is good. Now its just a matter of adjusting to whats happened and focusing on what is going to happen next.

Giddie-up!

Thanks for your prayers!

Josiah's first hair cut!

Check it out...I shaved his head and then did mine to match...

Pictures of the New House

Couple of sample pics of the new house!
We LOVE it.

Discouraged and confused

So, I'm tired and frustrated. For some reason things are just piling up right now. I don't feel like most things are working out. Dreams and Visions for things seem to be falling apart. Plans for having someone move in with us to help Melissa work less and help financially are falling through. I felt that God was leading me and the youth ministry in a direction that I was excited about and now I'm finding that most if it is falling apart at the seams, the plans for "God Stalkers" and the like aren't working and although we have established core youth with gifts and stuff, in a lot of ways I feel like I'm starting over, from scratch...
Melissa's working cuts down on my ability to really put time and energy into what it is that God may want out of me and the ministry I'm involved with.
I'm overwhelmed and tired and confused and lost in many ways...I think I need down time with God...but how and when is a whole other question.

Sigh.....

Eternity

Have you ever wondered what it might mean to live with Christ for "Eternity"...for me usually its the concept of eternity that is hard to wrap my head around.

Here are some of my thoughts in that regard:
Eternity is:
-when every day feels like the perfect day
-no fears for tomorrow
-no regrets from yesterday
-time is irrelevant and we won't care

But...what about the aspect of eternity that is the right now?
We are living with Jesus right now, and right now is a part of the eternity that we are promised with Him. My previous thoughts don't really seem to relate to a CURRENT eternity do they?

On the other hand maybe they should, maybe we should be feeling that way even now, remembering that God is the focus and reason for living and doing EVERYTHING. After all we are to rely on Him even in tough times and in a perfect relationship with Christ the day would still be perfect...things to think about.

Not really sure...

I just kinda felt like writing but I wasn't sure what to write about. I do know that I'm tired, a little overworked and stretched in way too many directions. I'm looking forward to moving because it will clear up a bunch of those issues. I won't have to deal with the strata any more (I'm the president), we won't have to worry about packing and moving, I won't have to worry about finishing the basement bathroom because it will be done before we go, and I just sort of feel like we'll have a chance to settle down into our new place. Plus there is a hot tub at the new place which is really good and I'm REALLY looking forward to using it ALL the TIME.
Anyway, pray that we make it through the next few weeks in one piece.

I'll leave you with this question, How and where do you draw the line for individuals you know claim to believe and live for Jesus and yet refuse to live the way that they know they should?

I know, there are a lot of factors involved but its worth thinking about either way. What about when those decisions may affect your kids? Do we extend love never ending? And how do you profess love over all to individuals like that and to your kids when they can only think in black and white terms for their age.

Moving

Yep, we're moving. We sold our house for 100$ more than we were asking which is good. And the place that we are looking at/considering buying right now is great. The only hang up is that it used to be a grow opperation. But that might be why its so cheap now!

So, pray that if things are supposed to work out that they would continue to and that God would be in charge of all the decisions that we make every day. We are super stressed right now which is not good. Pray for sanity and unity between Melissa and Myself as well as our family. It'll be good to move out of a strata environment but at the same time we're going to miss it a lot. Its been home for more than 5 years and basically the entire time we have been married as well as the full lives of 2 of our kids.
It's going to be hard. Plus the financial situation we will be in is going to be hard too!
Thanks for your prayers and thoughts!

Dave

Tired...relaxed and refreshed was the goal.

Why is it that Christmas never ends up being the break that we are expecting or hoping for. I spend the entire time stressed about the sermon I had to preach on Dec. 31. Now that its over it seems that the stress is only building up instead of letting go.
We decided to try and take in a handicap lady, which meant we would have to move and buy a place suitable for a wheel chair. We found a place, offered on it and listed ours...didn't officially sell our place so someone else managed to buy the one we had hoped for. But by then we had signed papers to sell ours which meant we had to move regardless. 3 days after the deadline we get a bunch of people looking at our house and actually able to buy it instantly. Well, now here we are with a house we were able to sell for a little more than we had hoped, which is good, but still looking for somewhere else to live.
Which of course brings up the fact that in order to sell ours I have to have the basement finished (I've done everything but completed the bathroom in the basement. So, now I have a week to finish that and at the same time hope that the house we are looking at now (it was a grow opp) checks out for insurance reasons.
We had hoped that income from having others live with us would help with major additional costs to the new place and now we are worried about surviving as it looks like we won't be able to take the handicap lady. In the mean time I have been sick in bed for a week and have to worry about planning the rest of the year out for youth. We have a "God Stalkers" retreat this weekend which means I won't be here to work on the bathroom for 3-4 days.
Our kids have been sick too and Melissa's job has regular additional stresses. Not even sure if we can get up to Kamloops at this point due to the bad weather...Does it ever end?

Anyway, on the bright side, we'll get out of having the STRATA president responsibilities, I'm the mediator and have to do all sorts of extra work. Having the inside of the house completed will be really nice and relieving. This house we are looking at is perfect for us. I suppose a little extra motivation never really hurts, getting the bathroom done before we have to pack will be really good!

Anyway, it kinda feels like life never really slows down enough to breathe, I'm often afraid that I'm missing my kids stages as the grow up and time seems to slip away faster and faster every year.

I guess it sort of brings me back to the whole point of the movie "Click." Although it had way too much sexual inuendo and stuff the message was great. Its not about longing for the next thing and needing to be where your long term goal is, its about where you are now. "Its not about the destination, its about the trip/ride." So, if I take it one day at a time I guess I'll be OK. We really felt God leading us to take this step, although we did expect to be approved for recieving Bev (our handicapped friend) into our home if it doesn't work out we can only assume that God had something different and maybe bigger in mind!

So, I Breathe and do what I need to do next...

Whoa, here comes another dip in the roller coaster....

Dave

Stalker=Disciple?

Consider this...maybe for our purposes and understanding today, a Stalker is a more accurate concept of what God calls us to be. Disciples followed and learned in every aspect of life. They left everything else behind.
I mentioned Psalm 119 before but read it again with "Stalker" in mind. Think about the things you know about stalkers and hear about stalkers. What do you think?

Stalkers are obssessive, don't limit their thoughts about the object of their affections to one are of their lives but affects everything they do.

Dave

Luke 14:25-33

The most hated verse in the bible? Verse 33 is said to be that!
Jesus uses shock treatment...tells the huge crowd following him to "HATE" all those they care about. Why?
Telling them to carry their cross, in effect be crusified...die?

One of my favorites!

Anyway, I preached on this on Dec. 31, 2006. I don't think I can do justice to all the stories and other things related to this passage. I have a DVD of it though if anyone is interested.

The jist for now though is that Hate was meant to be used as a comparison. You will hate all those you love in comparison to how much you love Jesus. You will always choose Jesus over all others and everything else in your life.

We are called to know and realize this before we commit to following Jesus because when we commit to Jesus we commit ALL of ourselves, not just parts and pieces.
We aren't obviously going to be perfect and not want to hold on to parts of us and things that we should stop doing, its that we need to be aware that God may call us at any time to let go of something or let Him control some part of us or our lives we either haven't given Him yet or maybe He wants us to do something we never thought He'd ask of us!
It may be uncomfortable but we've given it all and have to let Him do what He would with us, for His will as His followers.