And these are a few of my favorite things.

Well Christmas is over and tonight is New Years, which means I will stay up late while my kids sleep and they will wake me up early and I will want to sleep. It just aint fair. Whoever invented the New Year celebration didn't have an infant. My household will just have mandatory nap time tomorrow afternoon.

Here are a few things that as I look back on I am grateful for this Christmas season.

1. I am grateful that Amy is a good cook, I am ok, but she is great. She made these butter tarts. Oh man, they are good and tasty.

2. I am grateful that we were able to give our kids, mostly Emma a fun Christmas. She got gifts from family here and in Canada. She was realy excited about all her gifts. In that, I am excited to teach her how to give as well. We have some friends going to Thailand and Africa for their DTS outreach and Emma is giving away some of her toy's and books to kids who have none.

3. I am grateful for friends. On Christmas eve we got together at Zach's house with his family and a few other friends who we love so much. It was great to just be together and eat good food.

4. I am grateful for the skull and crossbones shirt that Emma picked out for me as a present.

5. I am grateful that I didn't get socks and underwear this year, sad as it ended a 34 year long tradition, but grateful.

6. I am grateful that we got to watch Home Alone with Chrissie for her 20th+ time and Emma’s first.

7. I am grateful that my mom was with family and not on her own.

8. I am grateful for music. There was always music on in the house. It is a beautiful creation of God.

9. I am grateful for Jesus, my savior, my king and my friend. Thank you for coming and bringing hope.

10. I am grateful that it is over and life can get back to normal.

Finally, I am grateful for spell check as I spelled grateful wrong 10 times and would have felt real dumb if I had posted that.

Amen.

Stop The Traffik

On January 7 YWAM Seattle starting a monthly gathering called Digital Liturgy. It is going to be a night of digital worship with a focus on the world, specifically social injustice in the world. On Jan. 7 we will be focussing on human trafficking. Most of the information that we will be pulling from comes from a site that Daniel Bedingfield helped put together called Stop The Traffik.

-Human Trafficking is a $7 Billion a year black market industry
-It is the fastest growing of the top three illegal world trades, alongside arms & drugs
-Parents sell children for as little as $30
-Trafficking supplies forced prostitution, child soldiers and sweat shops
Click here for more info.

One of the things we are trying to see happen through the Digital Liturgy is for people getting a heart for the world. We want to people to realize that there is a need, and they can help meet that need. Whether it is poverty, HIV/AIDS, child labor or human trafficking, we can make a difference. We want people to fall in love with Jesus and commit their lives to the cause of bringing justice to the world. We want people to become doctors, lawyers, politicians and the list goes on for the cause of bringing freedom and justice.

It has finally happened.

I am so excited and here is why. My good friend from Vancouver P. Wade Pallister just started a cooking blog. This is not your ordinary Martha Stewart or Yan Can Cook, but an amazingly delicious out of the ordinary cooking blog. His first post was on how to make a Turducken with Roasted Garlic, Bacon, and 2 Types of Mushroom Stuffing. I am sad that I got this the day after Christmas, but the froze hen that we had was pretty good too.

Wade and I have been friends since we met in 96. As long as I have known him he has cooked with excellence. I have had many a gourmet bowl of top ramen made by his hands. He has inspired many of my friends to eat well and to be creative in their cooking. He has also challenged me and others to shop well for our food. You don't need to buy everything at one store (Safeway) just because it is convenient, kinda like buying your coffee from Starbucks because it is there. This is an expensive way to do it. There are so many more options for all of us who live in the city besides giant food supermarkets. Buy your meat at one place, your veggies at another and your bread, well make it yourself. Wade has supported many small food businesses by shopping urban and paying less money.

Now I am not chef, but I do value food and the creating of meals more now that I know Wade. I am not afraid to put extra ingredients in my meals, or substitute the required ones. My wife on the other hand, she is a little afraid to eat the food that I make, even though most of the time it tastes great, well good. I hope you enjoy visiting Wades site and that you eat well.

Happy Holidays.

Merry Christmas Coppers

So this morning I woke up early to take my friend Billy to the airport. We got to SeaTac and since I was only dropping Billy off I decided not to pull into the loading/unloading zone, but just stay in the traffic lane, get out quick for a goodbye and drive off. It would take 20 seconds max. So after the hug I put my hand on the door handle and all the doors automatically lock on me, with the keys in the ignition and the van running. What is the word I am looking for here to describe my feelings? Oh yea, I can't put it here as it would most definitely offend.

So, as soon as I realize I am locked out and Billy stops laughing the cops come over. I told him what happened and he told me that he was going to have to toe the van. There is that word again. Thankfully I have AAA so I get free unlocks, but unfortunately it takes up to 60 minutes for them to arrive and the cop wants me gone in 10. So I beg and plead with the guy and he gives me some time. They pulled a car up to redirect traffic as I was doing a good job of blocking it and we waited for the tow truck.

25 minutes later the AAA guy came out and got me in. During the wait I got into a good conversation with the cop about where I live, Christmas shopping and mall renovations. Good times. I am grateful to the cop for cutting me some slack on Christmas eve and I am grateful that I didn't have to shell out $50+ for a tow. Anyway, the rest of my Christmas eve ruled, I hope yours was good too. Sleep well.

Change

Lately I have felt compelled to change my blog up a little bit. I work in Seattle with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) which is a missions organization. I have been convicted lately that I am not spending enought time thinking about the nations. Sure I think about Seattle a lot and how we can change our city, but I want to think more about places outside my culture and home.

The reason that I got involved with YWAM in 1993 was because I wanted to be a Missionary to the nations. I wasn't sure how that looked for me, I just knew that I had a call. Lately that call has been burning in me again. I want the world to know that they are not forgotten. I want people in America (Canada included) to know that they are not the center of the world. I feel like I am beginning an increadable journey that will lead me to seing Gods heart and hope for the nations of the world. How do you and I fit into that? Well I have a few faint ideas, not to be shared now, but hopefully through this I can figure it out more clearly.

So to start I want to look at Countries and injustices around the world and make awareness. I hope that through this I will learn how to respond in prayer and action more strategically to bring change. Man, sounds like a lot a big thing but for me, I just need to start doing something.

Thanks

Long Day

So this is my 3:19am post. I just got Abby down after her 3am snack and figured I could either sleep or post, so here I am. It will be quick though as the house is cold and my bed is warm. So yesterday was my 35th birthday. Good times. It was spent at home looking after my sick family. Now the only person in my immediate family who was sick was Amy, but for the last week our family has been added to 9. Our friends John and Jen Megaw, one of the three couples who helped launch YWAM Seattle, have been staying with us. I guess Toby, their 4 year old threw up 15 times yesterday. Ellie, their 2 year old was not far behind. And Jen and Amy threw ups 6 or more times each.

The song that kept ringing in my head was "Highway To The Danger Zone" by Kenny Logins. Yep, that right. I just linked you to Kenny Loggins web page. Man, he is getting old. Anyway, my house was a festival of people throwing up, kids running around, clutter everywhere and Mario Kart racer was played for a minimum of 8 hours. WOW! What a birthday. I kept thinking that it was cool that I got to stay at home and serve my family on my birthday. I am glad that John wasn't sick too, we were able to escape a couple of times to buy saltines and go to Arby's.

Anyway, I think that things are getting back to normal as there has been no sign of puke since last night. Thanks to all of you who gave me a call or text and for those of you who forgot, well I probably forgot your birthday once too. We will get each other next year.

Mabel

Today I was walking into my house and saw Mabel, one of my neighbors. Mabel lives two houses down from us and is a sweet 70+ year old lady who lives by herself. I usually see her in the morning walking with her dog. I have never talked to Mabel, but this morning I stopped to say hello. I found out that she has been in the hospital for the last 7 weeks as she was in a car accident and broke her neck and 7 ribs. She told me that she is glad to be home and able to walk outside with her dog again.

I am glad that Mabel and I talked for a bit today. I have lived near her for the last year and a half and I have never taken the time for her. I want to be a better neighbor. I want to care for those around me. I want to know what is going on in their lives, and somehow be involved. This is, I believe the best way to show the gospel to people, just knowing them and loving them and being a good neighbor. I hope that I continue to have conversations with Mabel and the other neigbors on my street. If anyone has any thoughts or ways that they have been involved in the lives of their neighbors please pass them on my way.

Thanks and have a great day.

Hot Chocolate is good

This week we have a team in from Vanguard University in California. There are 7 of them in the city and my friends Marcus and Erin are hosting them with me. Tonight we went down to Pioneer Square and Courthouse Park to give out hot chocolate. If you are following the news you know that it has been cold, wet, windy and nasty in Seattle, so to be on the streets has not been kind. Tonight Erin, Dominica and myself met Foster. He is a 39 year old man who was just sitting in the park by himself. We asked him if he wanted some hot chocolate and sat down with him for the next 20 minutes or so.

Foster kept asking us why we were downtown giving out hot chocolate in the cold to homeless people when we could be at home watching TV in front of a fire. This was an interesting question. I guess the answer is that there are more important things to do than sit at home and watch TV sometimes. That was it. We chose to do something tonight for someone else instead of take care of ourselves and our own comforts. I know that God is not any happier with me because I did this, but I also know that Foster had a good night as a result of us thinking of others.

I have seen this a lot lately in Seattle over the last few day's. People are reaching out to help others. I was listening to the radio tonight and this lady called in and said that if anyone in her area needed a place to stay because of the power outages that they could stay with her as she had power. She said she could house up to 10 people. I have seen my city come together and think of others, it is very beautiful.

It is the Christmas season. I want to challenge all of us to think of someone other than ourselves who we can bless. Someone that we can give to. Someone undeserving that we can bless. We are all undeserving of what we have, why not share it.

Thanks

Friendship

I have been thinking a lot lately about friendship. This may be a bit of a scattered post, but I just need to start it. What is friendship? Is it shown in the spending of your time with another person? Is it shown by just being who you are and letting your life be an example and model for others around you to follow? Is it keeping someone accountable or calling them on things even if it risks the friendship? Maybe it is one or all of the above.

Lately I have been wondering about friendship. I work with Youth With A Mission, (YWAM) which is a non-profit Christian mission organization. We are a pretty relational mission, at least us in Seattle are. I wonder if friendship is measured by the amount of time that you spend with someone. By this I mean that in my life I feel guilty because I don't spend nearly enought time with the people who I call my friends. But that is another issue, is time the only thing that measures friendship? I don't think so. I think that it is quality of time. The tension with that is that if you haven't spent a lot of time with a friend, the time that you do spend with them is spent catching up, or just messing around and not getting real deep.

Along with that, is friendship only when you go deep with someone? Do we alway's need to be asking the probing, deep questions in our friendships to be a good friend? What did Jesus do as a friend. That would be an interesting study. It seems to me that He had a good balance in His friendships. He spent a lot of time with His friends, but He wasn't afraid to go off into the wilderness to do what was of utmost importance, spend time with the Father. I wonder if this was a greater sign of friendship than the time He spent with the disciples, His friends? I mean, they knew that the Father was more important to Him than them. They saw His example of withdrawing from them for Him.

I think that it is a good balance of both. Friendship is in spending time and in living by example your convictions even if it means not spending time with people. I need God to speak to me more in this area of friendship. I want to pray for my friends more. I want to spent more time with my friends. And I also want to be a good friend by living out of the convictions that God has put in my life which are discipline, spending time with Him, working hard and being a good husband and father. These things can't get done if I am spending all my time hanging out with people. It is still hard, but I think it is right.

In Memory of James Kim

For the last few days the family of James Kim has been on my mind constantly. He was a father, a son, a husband and a friend to many it seems. Over thanksgiving he was driving with his family and their car got stuck and they were stranded. After 6 days of him and his wife keeping their children alive he went off on his own to find help. 2 day's later his family were found alive and well. 3 day's after that James was found dead.

What was going on in his head and his families head when he left to go for help? Were they scared? Were they hopefull? Did they wonder if this was going to be the last time they would see each other? It has been haunting me lately. I have been praying for his wife and children as what they are going through must be almost unbearable. I also wonder if they knew the Lord. Is there hope in their loss? Do they know if they will see their beloved husband and daddy again?

The other reason that it is on my mind is that I am the same age as James. My children are also the same age. What would I do in that situation? I assume whatever I could to save my family. That is what he did. I wonder if he knew he was going to die in the forest would he still have went? I am sure he would if he knew it would save his family. He must have been so scared. I pray that God gives healing to this family. I pray that God gives life and hope.

Amen

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

So yesterday was my Nephew Stevens 18th birthday. He didn't want to get wasted drunk in Winnipeg with his friends as that was their plan for him, so he came out to seattle to hang with his Uncle. I picked him up at 4:20, at 5:30 we were eating dinner at home, Amy baked a chocolate cake, and at 7:20 we were down at Key Arena scalping tickets to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra Within 15 minutes we recieved two free tickets and proceded inside with no idea what we were about to experience next.

So, the Trans-Siberian orchestra is the most Metal experience I have ever been a part of. Yes, more than Metallica, Maiden and GNR. I am not sure how to describe it, so I will link a clip here. But all I can say is that these long haired rockers in tuxedos played christmas music with an orchestra and and electric violinist and the best light/laser/pirotecnics show I have ever seen. I truly worship and met with Jesus. The excellence in the show was beyond that of any I have ever been a part of. At the same time, it was a little cheesy, but in a beautiful to much metal for one hand sort of way. Also, Jeff Tate from Queensryche sang on a sone, which is also real metal.

Enjoy

Good Friends, sleepless nights and Motley Crue

So I am sitting at one of my favorite coffee shops, Cloud City Cafe. $1 drip any size with a free refill and free wi-fi. Today they chose to play Motley Crue's Shout At The Devil album in it's entierty. Now I have to say that this is one of the greatest rock albums of all time. I remember when I was 16 in 87 listening to this album on a daily basis. It is funny that the other day this cafe was playing Sigaros and today they are playing the crue, but both fit. Way to go Cloud City Cafe. I just want to jump on the table, down my 16oz coffee and play the H out of the air guitar.

Now onto other things. The other day my friend Lars was in town. He stopped by my house with Daniell, his wife and took Amy and I out for desert. I just want to talk to Lars for a bit, so bare with me. It was great to see you Lars. You are a good friend who I am blessed to have in my life. I like the fact that you knew my house by the snowman that I posted in my blog. I like that you read my blog. Thanks for caring for me.

Finally, we have had a bunch of sleepless nights lately as Abby has been sick. I am up approx. 4 times a night putting her suther or pacifier in to get her back to sleep. I am tired and snappy. Tired because of Abby, snappy because I am a jerk. Pray for me that I would be a nicer man to my girls and Amy and pray for Amy and I that we would get to sleep again one day soon.

Thanks.

World AIDS Day

Matthew 25: 40: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Today is world AIDS Day. Please take time throughout the day to pray. Pray for those who are sick with AIDS and pray for those fighting to prevent this life taking disease. Ask God to bring the subject of AIDS to your mind throughout the day so that you can pray. Fight today by praying with millions of others who are fighting with AIDS as there sickness or fighting to prevent it from continuing. Here are some stats from World Vision.
AIDS Facts:

40 million people worldwide are living with HIV.
25 million people have died as a result of AIDS since the disease was identified.
15.2 million children worldwide have lost one or both parents as a result of AIDS

There is more information below:
World Vision World AIDS day
Blood Water Mission
World AIDS Day

Thanks, your prayers and action make a difference.

Freakin eh!

So yea. I am done my worship class for school. I sent away all my assignments yesterday and got my grades back today. Two A- and a B. Wow, I haven't got grades like that since kindergarten. I took my final exam today as well and kick the butt on that. So, needless to say I am happy, relieved, proud, and done. Anyway, tonight I plan on sitting back and watching the office with some bros as a celebration of being done.

Thanks Joe and Steph for inspiring me to go back to school.

More Snow

So tonight there was more snow in our fair city. It has been a cold, rainy, sleaty, snowy day in Seattle. It reminds me a lot of growing up in Winnipeg. I remember those winter nights when I would drive through the city. It was alway's so quiet and beautiful out. No one is in any rush to go anywhere, people are all just driving carfully and slow. It was so peacefull out. It is like that here in Seattle tonight. I drove over to my friend Daves house to watch the Seahawks game and it brought back so many good memories of driving at home.

Emma and I also took some time tonight to make our snowwoman right this time. As you can see she is a little taller and has much more shape than the last one. Apparently Emma got hungry while I was out at Daves cause she ate the nose before bed time. Nothing quite like a frozen carrot. Anyway, you can check out the weather more in Seattle here.

The first snowman

Today was the first snowfall of the year in Seattle. It was great. Well, it didn't start out great, it started out crap. Just another cold rainy day in Seattle. But, when the sun went down the rain turned to snow. Emma and I went skating today, that's ice skating for you North Westerners. You know that by the previous post. On our way home Emma fell asleep in the car.


When she woke up at home the ground and everything else was covered. She woke up real fast. So tonight after church we stayed out and made the coolest mouthless snowman ever. It was great. One of those things and times when you just have to be thankful for the things and people we have in our lives. I am so thankful for my family. They rule!

After we finished the snowman we came in to strawberry hot chocolate by Amy. I hate strawberry hot chocolate, but Emma likes it. So she had hot chocolate and I blogged. Anyway, looks like the snow will be here for a while. We will enjoy more of it tomorrow.

Good night

Skating

Emma and I went skating today at the Seattle center. It was great. I love hanging out with my girl.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you. Our family had a great day. Abby woke up happy as usual, and Emma woke up wanting to watch cartoons as usual, but today she wanted to watch them in bed, I think she knew it was a lazy holiday kind of day. So we spent our day making turkey, potatoes and stuffing, along with a box of Stove Top for me cause you just can't make it like Stove Top. We snacked a lot, watched the parade, watched the Cowboys game and cleaned the house. It was one of those day's where you just hang out all day in your sweats and your oldest most comfortable shirt and putter around. I did have to go out once though to get some coffee.

Tonight was also great. We had some friend over for dinner. There were 9 adults and 5 kids running around. Well the adults weren't running to much. It was great to be with friends and eat good food. There was no family fight, no tears, except when one of the kids smacked another kid, and lot's and lot's of good food and drink.

I am very thankful today for the things in my life. I am thankful for my family (immediate and the ones in Winnipeg), my friends, YWAM Seattle, my health, Jesus, Apple Computers, the internet, Sarah Mclachlans new Christmas album (even though I am not a Christmas Album kind of guy), the Bible, laughter, tears, my car, rain and sun. There are a ton of other things I am thankful for, but it is late and I am tired from the triptipan. I hope your day was great as well. Thanks for those of you who joined me in mine.

Essay

It has been hard for me to write as much as I have wanted to lately as it is a busy time and I am working on this worship paper for school. The other thing that is hard is that we don't have the internet yet. It is supposed to come today. So, this essay I am working on. It is on worship which I am excited about, but I am kinda freaked out to write it. It is an essay on the biblical view of worship. I am writing on the tensions of God being transcendent and imminent and the tension of participation and presentation in worship. I am trying to figure this whole thing out as I write, so I hope it turns out good. If you have any thoughts now would be the time to share. I will put you in my footnotes.

Anyway, I hope that you have a great thanksgiving tomorrow. I hope that you can spend some time with family, friends and also those someone who doesn't have anywhere to go. Enjoy those cold turkey sandwiches an hour after you utter those famous words "I will never eat again."

Digital Liturgy

On Wednesday Ben and I got together and lead worship and intercession for the base here in Seattle. Ben DJ'ed with some ambient electronic music and I VJ'ed with some images that reflect God's character and beauty. It was really fun to be apart of. We also put out some stations for people to go to. They could meditate, pray, read, paint, sculpt, or just sit and watch the images. It is great that an unmusical guy like me can still facilitate and lead a worship time.

For our time of intercession I thought that it would be good for people to pick someone in their life that they want to see come to Jesus. Not a group of people, but one person. We were to write that persons name on a white board and spend 15-20 minutes praying and asking God for his heart towards them.




Ben played some coldplay, Dropkick Murphy and some of his original stuff during this. I put the names that people wrote on the white board into the VJ program and projected them on the wall. It was wild what God did that morning. People were weeping over their unsaved friends. I was praying for my friend Brendan and decided to write him a letter. We have not been in contact for a long time.

It is so important that we intercede for our friends and the people in our lives who do not yet know Christ. What better can we do for them. I hope that this is not just an one time deal for me or us as a base. I hope that we can continue to engage with God to see change in the world.

The system is down

Sorry that I have not been on in a while. The system is down at my house. Actually the system that we have been illegally borrowing/stealing free internet from is down. We have been using one of our neighbors signals for a while now and a few day's after I got my new machine the signal mysteriously disappeared. At first I was mad at this, which is ridiculous. It is kinda like being mad because someone stole something from you that you stole from someone else.

I guess what I am saying is that if I can trust God to provide me with a sweet screaming fast MacBook then I can trust Him with providing enough money to get it on line legally. I get this wired view of God sometimes that He is going to provide us with stuff, but not provide a means to use the stuff. For example: almost a year ago we were given a van. WOW! God gave us a van, unreal. The sick thing is that I was worried thinking that we were not going to be able to afford the gas or insurance for it. Sorry for being an idiot Jesus.

Anyway, today we ordered comcast internet. It will be there on Tuesday next week. I wonder if I should put a password on it so that Jesus can speak to someone else about borrowing internet? Just joking.

Where do I see God?

So Ben and I are running a worship night at Calvary church in Seattle on Sunday night. I am running visuals and Ben is DJing the evening. As I was putting pictures together I was looking for pictures of the cross, Jesus, renaissance art and prayer. We want to teach people that they can worship God in many different way's, as long as it is about Jesus. Even though I have been thinking this way for some time now I still was stuck in the thought that in worshipping Jesus in this way you needed to look at pictures of Christ and Christian icon's.

As Ben and I were talking about this yesterday I was challenged to put pictures into the presentation of things that make me want to worship Christ. So today I sat in World Cup Cafe for 2 hours and listened to Siga Ros while looking at images that made me want to worship God. I thought of color, and nature, a red tree frog the poor and peoples faces. All of these things are a reflection of Gods character and his beauty and for this he is worthy of my and your worship.

So on Sunday night I am not going to put pictures up of Jesus, but I am going to put pictures up of his character. I want people to worship Jesus from looking at his creation and even looking at there own faces to realize that they are fearfully and wonderfully made.

A Post I Never Thought I'd Write

I have needed a new laptop for some time now, so after some fund raising I decided to order a MacBook, black of course. On Thursday I placed my order on line for a refurbished MacBook, which was $200 off the original price. I felt pretty good about myself for finding such a deal. Then Jesus stepped in. You see, the main reason that I need a laptop is to run visuals for the worship night we are starting in Seattle. I will be running a VJ program called Arkaos VJ and it requires a screaming fast machine. Anyway, back to Jesus.

So on Friday the family and I headed out for a field trip and ended up at The Mac store. While we were looking around Amy saw that they were having their monthly garage sale, which I thought I had missed as it is usually at the end of the month, but for some reason they were holding it at the beginning of the month for Nov. I saw on the table a MacBook Pro, which is much more of a machine than the MacBook, hence the name Pro. Usually the Pro runs for approx. $400 more than the MacBook, but this one was the same as I had paid for my MacBook a day earlier. I made a few phone calls, cancelled my MacBook and proceeded to purchase this new gift of God.

So, here is where it gets a little weird. I am lined up, shaking, at the counter and the cashier calls me by my name. I guess I go to the Mac store a lot. We end up talking, after he tells me how good of a deal I am getting, and he notices that I work with YWAM. I guess he used to know some YWAMers and his brother works with YWAM in a country that we used to send teams to every fall DTS. We talked a bit more and I asked him where he went to church. "I go to Lake Sammamish Four Square" he says. Wow, that is the church that helped us get to Seattle in the first place. I would conceder them YWAM Seattle's mother church. So weird. So, all this to say that I believe God wanted me to work with excellence and have the hardware to do it, this is inspired by my friend Ben and Wade. I don't want to get to Christian, but I do believe Jesus cares for such excellence. Anyway, now I am typing away on my new machine and I will never forget this gift.

Now I just need to proceed to buying the VJ software this week, as Ben and I are running a worship time at a church next Sunday. I am excited about what comes next, I want God to be glorified and worshiped and I believe I and can play a part in that.

I want to thank Hank and Mary, Jason and Nancy, Gordon and Deborah, Rob and Karletta and Tom and Tracy for your generosity.

By the way, I called her Miracle, even though my friend Mel thinks it is a cheesy Christian name.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Tonight was one of those nights. Not one of those bad nights, but one of those good nights. I went to the Union Gospel Missions Homeless Women and Children's center with a few of the DTS students. I really love it there. The time goes slow at times, but I know that we are making a difference. Tonight I spent most of my time with a by named Mohammed. Mohammed is in grade 6 or 6th grade for you American's. He asked me about being a Christian, because he thinks that Christians have more fun than other people. Mohammed is a Muslim, or at least that is what his father is. His mom just became a Christian and is in the hospital under intensive care so he is in the Shelter. I am not sure about the rest of his family, but I do know that they are mad at his mom for becoming Christian.

Mohammed and I talked for a while about Islam and Christianity. We talked about the differences and similarities. He feel like he is going to become a Christian, but that is a big step for him as it goes against everything his family minus his mom believes. If you think of Mohammed please pray for him.

After the Mission I headed downtown to try my hand at getting free Joan Jett tickets. I made the mistake of taking the 1st offer which was $10. The face value of the tickets was $25. I hung around for a while outside as the show didn't start till 11 and came across a lady who gave me a ticket. I figured that I could sell this one and make a couple of bucks, but it was harder than I thought. Eventually this guy came up to me and asked me for the ticket. I sold it to him for $5 and he turned around and tried to sell it for more. Funny.

The show was rad. My friend Michael Friesen and I used to listen to Joan all the time. I remember in 1988 we were in line to met her at Sam's record shop in Winnipeg when Mike realized he had to work that night so we had to leave without meeting her. It turns out that Mike didn't have to work and we went home for nothing. So tonight was 18 years in the making. She was totally cool and rocked hard. I recommend the show. It was definitely worth the $5.

Good night.

Good Friends

Well we are back home in Seattle after the YWAM DNA conference. Man, what a conference. It was good, but long. In the week that we were there we had 24 sessions of 90+minutes long and two optional sessions. It was great, but long. Some people call us Youth With A Meeting, I am not sure what they are talking about.

So, on two of the day's I was able to go to my friends Jim and Nico's house just outside of Rosarito, MX. I have known Jim and Nico since 93-94. They have been true friends to me and now to my family. This was the most refreshing part of out week to be honest. There is nothing like spending time with people who you truly care about and care about you. We had great food together, fine coffee and smooth cigars.

They were a real encouragement to our family. God has provided for them in some major way's that also encouraged us in the faith. The coolest thing though was seing our girl Emma playing with their three girls. I liked it so much mostly because it showes a different side to people when you have kid's. Just the fact that we used to be young punks who could barely take care of ourselves and now we are old punks taking care of children, if our kid's only knew. Anyway, thanks Jim and Nico. We love you dearly.

Ensenada, MX

So I am in Ensenada Mexico currently with my family at the YWAM DNA conference. It is going great. I am enjoying the relationship factor of seing people who I have not seen in years. I am also enjoying having my family with me. Emma loves this country. She loves the taco's and just playing with all the other 20 or so kids that are here. I also love eating here. The food, pork taco's in particular are amaizing.

The conference is run by Loren and Darleen Cunningham (no relation) our founders and David Hamilton, a long time YWAMer. It is good to be apart of this tribe. I am greatfull for YWAM and the people I get so serve with directly (YWAM Seattle) and the people I get to serve with indirectly, everyone else.

One think that stinks is that United lost all of our luggage. Car seats, stroller and all our suit cases and Mexico underwear just doesn't fit the same as we have had to buy some down here. I am sure the luggage will come today, 3 day's late. Anyway, have a great week and enjoy your friends.

Thanks

The Scent Of Jesus

I just saw a Web Site advertising a candle called "The Miracle Candle." It is a candle that smells like the scent of Jesus. WOW, I can't believe that someone figured out how to bottle that smell. Here is the quote from the web page. "Combining these fragrances into a candle has made a remarkable scent: rich and mysterious with the essence of ancient spices, yet calming and peaceful with a scent uncommon to modern times. This is the scent of Jesus." And "Rubbing the candle soy on your skin will impart the incredible fragrance on your body to lift and calm your spirits all day long."

WOW, I would have thought that Jesus smelled like poop and wood and fish. I mean He walked around in sandals behind donkeys and camels and was a carpenter who hung out with fishermen. Now that would be a candle scent to market.

Enjoy.

Lucky # Slevin

I rented this movie tonight with my friend Ben Fooshe. If you like action and funny and story you may like it. Lucky # Slevin If not, sorry.

Bragging

Well I am going to brag a little bit about me and my night. So I took Emma out on a date today. We went downtown and bought mommy a gift. Then we went to the candy store and I got Emma some gummy drops. Then we went to the apple store and she played video games while I lusted. After that we headed to the market and picked out the perfect pumpkin.

So, we get home and Amy went out to do some stuff. Emma and I made a fire. I held Abby till she fell asleep. Then I cooked supper, set the table and cleaned up. After supper Emma Amy and I made the design that you see in the picture for the pumpkin and proceeded to carve it.

After we carved the pumpkin Emma and I made home made pumpkin pie, which is approx. half way done cooking. We also made dill pickle roasted pumpkin seeds that will go into the oven after the pie is done. I am a champ and I had a great day with my girls.

Thanks

The Rolling Stones

So I was going to blog about Mars Hill Church tonight, which I attend, but I went to the Rolling Stones show at Quest field, so I will blog about that instead. It is late, so I will not be long, just the basic facts.

So I am under this impression that you should not pay for any show, unless it is Iron Maiden or AC/DC and you don't want to miss it. But, if there is a show that you want to see, but don't care if you don't then free is the way. I headed down there with two friends tonight. We were going to meet two other friends who already got into the show for way cheap. Did I mention that Dave Matthews was opening for them?

So, we get down there and I asked a few people for tics and got two. Unfortunately they were already scanned. I was asked by another guy how many I needed and said one. He proceeded to give me a ticket, which worked. I got into the show, for free and sat by my two friends. Then my other friend got in and sat with us. After a few songs I called my other friend who had not showed yet and he had no ticket. Now I am not this good of a friend, but I left and hung out with my buddy who did not get in. If it were Maiden or AC/DC then I would be at the show for sure, but it was the Stones so I left. Also, Keith Richards
looked like he wasn't going to die that night either.

I ended up hanging out with my buddy for an hour or so over a drink. It was great. We had a good talk and I totally enjoyed my evening. So, the moral of the story is that shows can be free and friends are more important than free shows, but not a Maiden show.

The Violet Burning

Last night Dave, Gordon, Sean and I drove to Sequim, WA to check out the The Violet Burning show. It was a late birthday present for Dave. Dave and I have listened to The Violet Burning for over 10 years now, Dave more than me for sure. The last time we saw them was at a club on Sunset Blvd. In 95, so we were excited to see them again.

The thing about the show that was weird was that it was at Sequim High School and was put on by a youth pastor as a youth event. So, here we were at the High School surrounded by people who still could barely grow facial hair watching the band. It felt awkward, but one the show started and the lights went down you couldn't see the 12 year olds anymore so that was good.

The band was great. If you have a chance you should give them a listen. You can find their recent album on the I-tunes music store and the rest on their web site. So needless to say, last night was cool. Hanging with my good friends, taking a fairy ride over to Sequim, seeing the Violet Burning and eating at a grain elevator that was converted into a Mexican Restaurant. Good times.

My Kind Friend Rob

Hey Rob, check it out, I am blogging about you. Yep, I want to tell you about my kind friend Rob. Rob and I met in Grade 11, 1989. I think the 1st time I met him I was working at Arby's. Mmmm, Beef n Cheddar. Anyway, I always thought Rob was crazy and loved life, but the other thing, actually the main thing that I have always thought and loved about Rob is that he truly cares for people.

In 1992 we were roommates at Briercrest Bible College. I don't remember much of those day's, but I do remember that the thing that got me through were the relationships with my friends, which Rob was one of. We were at each others weddings and have been in and out of each others lives since 89. It is one of those friendships where you know that you are committed and love each other, even though you don't see each other very much.

Well in the last year Rob has contacted me a few times just to talk and catch up. On one of those occasions he invited our family to Leavenworth to stay at a log house that he was renting with his family and a few other families. He just wanted to get together with some bros who had made and impact on him. I have been here less than 24 hours and realize once again why I truly love my friend Rob. He is so kind, and truly appreciates his friends, the people that God has place in his life.

The other thing that I feel is sadness. Sadness that I have not been a better friend to Rob, and also the other people that have entered into the story of my life over time. It is no excuse to say that we will always be friends even if we don't talk very much or see each other, we just have that kind of connection. Well, if you do have that kind of connection then put some effort into it. I want to be a better friend, not just rely on a connection.

Thanks Rob, I had a great time with you and your family.

Happy Thanksgiving Canada

In Canada Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. Unlike the American tradition of remembering Pilgrims and settling in the New World, Canadians give thanks for a successful harvest. The harvest season falls earlier in Canada compared to the United States due to the simple fact that Canada is further north.

The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an English explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Orient. He did not succeed but he did establish a settlement in Northern America. In the year 1578, he held a formal ceremony, in what is now called Newfoundland, to give thanks for surviving the long journey. This is considered the first Canadian Thanksgiving. Other settlers arrived and continued these ceremonies. He was later knighted and had an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Canada named after him - Frobisher Bay.

At the same time, French settlers, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, also held huge feasts of thanks. They even formed 'The Order of Good Cheer' and gladly shared their food with their Indian neighbours.

After the Seven Year's War ended in 1763, the citizens of Halifax held a special day of Thanksgiving.

During the American Revolution, Americans who remained loyal to England moved to Canada where they brought the customs and practices of the American Thanksgiving to Canada. There are many similarities between the two Thanksgivings such as the cornucopia and the pumpkin pie.

Eventually in 1879, Parliament declared November 6th a day of Thanksgiving and a national holiday. Over the years many dates were used for Thanksgiving, the most popular was the 3rd Monday in October. After World War I, both Armistice Day and Thanksgiving were celebrated on the Monday of the week in which November 11th occurred. Ten years later, in 1931, the two days became separate holidays and Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day.

Finally, on January 31st, 1957, Parliament proclaimed...

"A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed ... to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.

Information taken from here

A short tribute to 80's Metal

So this post may get me in trouble, or mocked, but either way here goes. It is Saturday and as I was driving to Cloud City Cafe to get my $1 drip and toasted bagel with cream cheese Mettalica's Master of Puppets came on the radio. Now I don't care what anyone says, but this was and is one of the greatest rock songs ever played. I started thinking about all the other 80's metal out there and a few came to mind. AC/DC Back in Black, who's tape I have in the van, Priests Screaming for Vengence and Iron Maidens Powerslave also had a great influence in me banging my head and rocking out with my friends growing up.

I used to catch a lot of crap for listening to this music from my church, youth leaders, and wusses, but that is the music that my non-Christian friends listened to and that is who I hung out with. I was talking to a buddy this week about how I have always loved the Lord, but I just didn't like Degarmo and key. The people, including me, who listened to these bands were good people. We were not dangerous, or going to off someone cause James Hetfield said he did it, but we were just kid's listening to good music.




Now the thing with these bands and this music is that Maiden and Metallica are still putting out stuff when what they should be doing is just touring the old stuff all the time as that is the stuff that was pure and worth listening to. Anyway, this is my short tribute to 80's Metal. Keep it real boyz

Thanks

Finish Well

Today is Friday, the end of the work weed for most. I am sitting here drinking my Trader Joes black oily coffee (mmmmm) and thinking about how I want to go out of this week. I want to go out well, I want to finish well. It is raining outside in Seattle, my family is not here and the coffee is good. I could just putter around and not finish well at all, but that is not how I am designed. Now I don't mean that puttering around the house is bad, or coffee is bad, but what I do mean is that I don't want to just let myself go just because it is Friday.

Who can I touch today? Who can I think about or pray for? Who needs a smile or an encouragment? Who needs a friend or a shoulder to cry on? I want to be aware of the people around me and where they are at today. I don't want to just get through the day with me. Anyway, have a good day, ask God for direction, don't let your guard down, finish well.

Thanks.

XXX

So I am at home for a week in Seattle without my family. It is good in the fact that I can make my own hours, be selfish with my time, eat whenever and whatever I want (I am eating good, no McDonald's) and go to bed totally late. That is as far as it goes with the good side of being home alone. I am finding out quickly that the bad definitely outweighs the good.

The bad is that I am lonely. I miss having fun with my girls. I miss tucking Emma in at night. I miss holding Amy's hand. I miss a kiss goodnight. I miss carrying Emma around on my shoulders. I miss a crying, smiling baby. I miss dinner for 3. I miss taking care of someone other than myself. I miss accountability. I miss a full house, not the show, but an actual full house.

Anyway, another thing that is hard is where my mind goes when I am alone. It is like I resort back to a teenager who is alone and in a place where he can get away with anything. I have some bro's praying for me that I would be a man of integrity in my thoughts and actions, but it is a struggle. I want to be a man of God when no one is watching me and not just when I am surrounded by people. I mean seriously the only one who matters is the Lord, and He sees all.

I am encouraged by the fact that I don't need to satisfy my mind with anything but Jesus, but it is not always that easy to execute. I don't want to buy into the lie that the media poses that you can fill your mind and find satisfaction through lust and porn. This conversation has been going on in the lives of men for years and years. It is the topic of many a guy's small group and is a struggle for all. It has to stop. We, (I) must have integrity and live a life of denial and discipline. I think Jesus talked about denying ourselves and taking up His cross. Once again easier said than done, but He wouldn't have said it if it weren't possible.

Anyway, if you think of me pray with me. Thanks.

Combining and injustice

So I am in Saskatchewan right now visiting Amy's family and doing some support raising. Today was a weird day filled with strange and bizzar emotions. I just wanted to take a minute and talk about it with you.

Amy's family are farmers. Her dad and two brothers farm together in N. Saskatchewan. This year for them has been shit, to say the least and to say it bluntly. Please don't be offended by my use of words as I am not swearing, but trying to put things into perspective. There has been a lot of rain, which has stopped them from getting into the fields to harvest the crop. Their machinery has also been breaking down, which not only stops them from getting in the field, but costs them money in time and parts.

So, I was driving to Humbolt today to pick up a part and kept thinking of what I was about to do tonight at the church. I was talking about our ministry in Seattle and also about the The Invisible Children injustice issues. I couldn't get my head around the fact that it just seemed irrelevant and pointless to talk about stuff that we are doing and injustice issues when things were so hard here for the farmers. I almost bailed out as I just felt ridiculous.

Well I am now back at Amy's house and I made my presentation in spite of how I felt. I have a different perspective now than I did before I shared. My perspective now is that I needed to share with the church about injustice and the ministry that we are involved in. I told them that a part of our job is to help young people see that the world does not revolve around them, but there are other issues that are going on in the world that are different and at times, many times worse than the stuff they are going through.

This is how I felt tonight. I felt that even though things are tough for the farmers in this community, and I don't want to down play that especially since it just started raining again, that they needed to look outside of themselves and their own situations to see what else is important in the world. I hope that this is making sense. Anyway, all that to say that I feel tonight went well. I hope people heard from Jesus and not just little old me.

If I could as you one thing though it would be to please pray for the farmers in this area, specifically Amy's family. That would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Waffle House

I am in Nashville with my bud's from the Mission Adventures N. America Leadership Team, (don't worry, i'm not that important) and we went to the Waffle House for my first time. It was at 12:30am so it was a little more funny than usual i am sure. Anyway, things were great at home, now I am here for 3 day's. After that it is off to Saskatchewan for a few day's then home sweet home.

I miss my wife, can I just say that. She is a great person who I need in my life.

Also, I have wanted to get bumped for a while now on a flight and yesterday was my day. Unfortunately I couldn't take it as I needed to be where I am. It was free hotel and travel voucher. Oh well, I will pray that I get it again on the way home.

Later.

Pizza Pops

It is good to be in Canada, they are a bit odd here though. No offence to the country I grew up in, but they are still stuck in the 80's in a lot of way's. It is kinda funny and weird in a way.

One of the best things about coming here is raiding mom's fridge. Mom alway's takes care of me food wise. This time though, my nephew Stephen has been living with my mom and we like the same bad for you food, specifically Pizza Pops. To my dismay, yesterday I went into the freezer for a 3pm afternoon Pizza Pop snack and Stephen had gotten to them 1st. So sad.

Today I got to give a presentation to my home church about Cambodia as they are coming there with me in May. It was great to be able to do it. It also reminded me of how much I love that country and the people there, I can't wait to return.

Tomorrow night I give a 35 min. presentation to my home church at the evening service. I am very excited about that as I am talking about purpose and how we need to find our purpose and start to live it out. I am also talking about Invisible Children and how we can make a difference in the injustice that goes on in the world. Please keep that in your prayers if you read this.

Finally, there are no Mac's here. Another sad thing in a beautiful country.

Later eh!

So far so good.

Well I am here, sitting outside Best Buy so that I can send and receive. That sucks, but at least it is close to my house and it has wireless. Anyway, things are good. I like being here, but it is always a little wierd coming. I feel that there is an expectation, either put on me by me or by others. I want to rest, but I know I need to connect with people, which I love doing. I also just miss home and my friends and community back in Seattle.

Anyway, if you think of me just pray that I can enjoy, rest and connect.

Later

Gone to Winnipeg

Well, in 7 hours, at 6:30AM the family and I are off to Winnipeg. We will be there for 2 weeks. I am very excited to go and see family, supporters, old friends and new friends. It should be a great visit. It will be great to go to my home church and have an opportunity to speak to them about what we are doing out here and what there prayers and support is going to. I hope to raise our support a little bit while home as well.

It will, as always, be good to see family. I look forward to spending time just hanging out and being with them. I also hope that my mom stocked the fridge.

Finally, I am excited to hook up with my friend Jamie Arpin -Ricci who along with his wife Kim head up YWAM Winnipeg.

There is also a chance to see the Red Hot Chilli Peppers with my friend Matt. I don't like them, but it is a free show. I will try and keep in touch, but there in no internet in my mom's house.

Later

Heathen

So here is a funny/wired story that one my good friends Lars encouraged me to post. The other day I was at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. I was talking to a pastor there about church stuff and just getting to know them a bit better when who walks in the room wearing a t-shirt that says HEATHEN across it, Mark Driscoll. This was my 1st up close and personal encounter with Driscoll and all I could do was laugh and say "nice shirt." I don't know if I got a response, but I am pretty sure that he just wanted to punch me in the face.

Anyway, Mark is a great teacher, but pushes the bounds a bit, oh, did I say a bit? I meant a ton. Anyway, that is my funny quirky story for the week.

Later

Thought for the Week: Piece Of Mind

Wow, I managed to squeeze an Iron Maiden picture into my blog that went with the theme of this weeks post. Well, that is stretching it a bit, I feel like I am back in High School trying to think of any excuse to justify Maiden as I go about in my tight 501's and black Harley T-Shirt as my mom wouldn't let me wear rock shirts. No visual of that age required.

Anyway, I was talking to a friend yesterday about my life and what he thinks of what I am doing. He thought it sounded good, but thought that I was called or gifted to do something else. Not something totally different than the direction that I am headed, but a little different. Anyway, I spent a long time thinking about the advice, good advice at that, my friend gave me as I respect him and his opinion and wisdom. I came to the conclusion today thought that I am fully convinced in my own mind (Iron Maiden Piece of Mind album tie in) that I am following what God has placed on my heart.

The thing about me is that I am easily swayed like waves, James 1 speaks about this in the bible. I have been praying that God will give me vision, passion and goals and not be swayed from what God wants for me by others. I want to have others speak into my life, but I want to know that I am confident that I am doing what God wants so that even if people say I am wrong, or crazy I can still be strong in my call.

I guess that is my thought for the week. It is that we be fully convinced in our minds of what God has called us to regardless of what others say. This doesn't mean that we don't have to listen to others, the are in our lives to help us, but we need to listen to God first. I have been doing better in this and feeling less guilty and selfish for it. I encourage you to follow God's call on your life, which you will know by what you are passionate about and what you think about most. Do this regardless and I will do the same.

-amen-

Teaching

Tonight I get the opportunity to speak at a Youth Group in Puyallup. I am totally excited as I was asked to speak on Church. Specifically the early Church in Acts. I love what I read about the Church. I get excited when I think of what Church was intended to be. What exactly do I think it was intended to be?

Well, I see the Church as a group of people who love Jesus. People who gather together in large or small groups to worship Him with their time, money, relationships, etc. I see the church as believers helping those in need and bringing the truth of Jesus Christ. I see the Church as a people who devote themselves to Jesus teachings. I see the Church as something so real and exciting that people are daily being added to the Church as they fall in love with this Jesus by seeing His followers and being lead by the Holy Spirit. That is in a nutshell of course.

Tonight I am excited to bring this simple, yet lifechanging message to high schoolers. I am also excited because I am going to be doing the powerpoint from my i-pod video. Talk about redeeming things for Jesus.

Later

Mockingbird

Yesterday, Sept. 1, Derek Webb released his Album Mockingbird for free on line. You can find it here and download it. It is an interesting reason that he is releasing it for free, one that I think is worth the read. Here is a brief reason for the free download.

"one of the things that excites me most about the future of our business is how easy it is becoming to deliver music to people who want to hear it. I heard a story once about Keith green caring so much that people were able to hear and engage with his music that he gave it away for free, which was a very difficult and expensive thing to do at that time. It's actually never been as simple as it is today to connect music with music fans. And I want people to have a chance to listen to mockingbird and engage in the conversation.

I have never listened to Derek Webb before, but today I have been listening and enjoying it a lot. One of the lines that struck me is the 1st few lines of the album that say "there are days I don'’t believe the words I say. I am not sure why this strikes me, but I feel like this some times. I feel like I chang my mind on things alot. Not closed handed issues like salvation, Jesus, the inerrancy of the Bible, etc. But on everyday issues. I feel like some day's I am just speaking out of my ass (see the story of Balaam, if you are offended by the word ass, but make sure it is King James Version, haha). I just don't trust myself sometimes. I want to be more secure in who I am, but also not afraid to make mistakes in what I say. Anyway, that line rang strong in my ear and I will be thinking about it for a while.

Thanks for reading.