Todays trip to Barrington , N.S.

Over the head again

Its now Monday Night !
And I have thought and thought again about Sundays message on Exodus 20:16 - the point I was driving home this week was we hold each others reputation in our hands .
How I say my car works will determine possibly if you buy one to.
So I wanted to drive the point home that when we give wrong or unverified information we tarnish the reputation of others or even the Church....
So I gave an illustration about a lady who said that one Wesleyan church in our area was worldly because they had a snow man in front of it with a pipe and she went on to tell every one how wordly the church was .
The illustration was given so I preached on...but sometimes some types of people don't move on with you, and they meet you at the door :( as I was meeted by a guy who agreed with the lady that having a snowman with a pipe was worldly and they were a wrodly church. So I then mentioned Mr. Wesley smoked a pipe, he might have before he was sanctified holy I was told but not afterwards,
To edge the guy on I said he probably smoked it while he road his horse and wrote his sermons.
( by then I would have loved to have smoked a pipe myself lol)
The fact is legalism kills, and once again I was reminded that people never change as much as you think and how some can spot the tinest splinter and not see the forest in their own life.
I support our doctrine 100 % but It must be mixed with grace and focus more on the majors and forget the minors.
And I didn't tell him that while I preached with the Free Will Baptist it was told to me that they have down south ash trays before you go in to church so you can but out, will they not be in heaven ?
Must we go to war over a pipe and lose a whole community ? I hope Not.
Oh well this Sunday is now on the horizon.

Sunday we also took off tenting, a couple in our Church have let us set up camp on their lot in front of lake fanning.
What a great time to get away and drink perked coffee old style and eat marsh mellows toasted over a open fire.
And let the kids swim and do some shore fishing.
I am not taking an office vacation - were just gonna lay low , and enjoy where were at while were here.

Later

Thinking about Ministry

Here I am again on a Saturday night, listening to sermons and preparing for Sunday and thinking more about ministry again.
When I was at the Gathering and at Beulah I had a sense that ministry needs to more than statistics ( which are important ) and ministry has to be more than praising men .
I know what Romans 13:7 says

• Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.(ESV)

I am thankful for was accomplished on my district by many men and their church's but I know that the spotlight eventually goes off and there are many lonely hours, and uphill battles.

But there must be more to being a pastor, that statistics and leadership axioms do not fill .

And maybe this week I have found it !

I picked up a book titled In The Name of Jesus by Henry J.M Nouwen ( REFLECTIONS ON CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP )

The man who wrote the book was a Priest who taught at Norte Dame, Yale and Harvard, who left the world of academics to minister in L'arche amongst the mentally handicapped.

As he takes you through the book he uses as a model the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness with that of modern ministers and how Jesus responded needs to be our model of response to the modern temptations of ministry.

It is a quick read but Good.

He writes about his inner struggle like me and others " asking: is what we are doing ministry?"

And the lessons he learned from the mentally handicapped fill in the lines as to what ministry is.

and I liked the question he asked himself which I will leave with you.

" Did becoming older bring me closer to Jesus"

" Has becoming older brought you closer To Jesus ?"

later

A NIght Out with my daughter

It's Friday Night and the boredom bugs have bitten my kids, and for my son he was invited to go to the Yarmouth County Ex. so my wife thought it would be good for me to take my daughter, it just wouldn't be right for her big brother to be there and he at home. S o the options were given go shopping , Go Fishing !!!!! or the Ex. and much to my horror she picked the Ex !

1. I don't like going to these things because I don't do rides,
2. I think its a rip off,
3. I would rather spend the money on a book
4. or spend money on new tackle

So with $8.00 bucks to get in and a all you can ride ticket for $ 24.00 we were in and she was off for all the rides. As I watched , Her ride I took in the crowd and realized that although there is nothing wrong with the rides the atmosphere wasn' t much to my liking, And as I watched all sorts of people from the guy who looked scary in his goth, to the country couple, the grand parents, young teens, the guy with rubber boots on, and all the tattoos , the bingo people, the Carny's, the drunks , the country singers, the ox haul people, and on and on. I woundered where Jesus would Fit into this place. Would he be noticed , or would they just keep on living for themselves, If Jesus took to the platform and started preaching would people stop and listen.
By my being there was I any kind of witness, For my daughter It meant the world, for my son he was glad I had money to give him.

After so many rides My daughter had to throw up :( so I took her to a grassy area , and while she did her thing I watched as Two R.C.M.P. cars and officers arrested a young man and took something from him they bagged ?????

Always the preacher I pointed out to my daughter there really is a difference in life with Jesus, she watched as well , and saw what to her had only been on t.v. really does happen in life, every day.

Now the night is over and hopefully my daughter has gotten her fill for a few years, but for me it was a reminder that as Christians we really are aliens on this earth , and the harvest field is really ripe for all the ones we saw tonight need Jesus.

Later

Sunday Night...

Well the day is over !
With two trips to town behind me for the day.
With a quick walk in the fog taken care off.
And Sunday service over its time to put the wheels back in motion for the week ahead.
I noted last night about my hesitation on toady's sermon thou shalt not steal, God Came through and gave me what I needed.
He started with the Aug. edition of readers digest front cover (Canadian edition) How Honest Are we? what great intro to the sermon. And while I looked frantically for some other message on the platform I could substitute with , this was what I was to preach.
Its cool how God made it work - following the service one lady confessed she needed to return a tub of margarine she had gotten through a mix up with out paying.
We had a retired pentecostal pastor with us today who honestly said it was a good service.
so God took care of worries !

As I sit here at my church desk I know two things that will dominate the week - first to attend a funeral for a young man killed in a car accident, My connection with him is that his step mother hails from this church and secondly two years ago he was my fishing partner in a bass tournament.

from the Chronicle Herald...it read

ACROSS NOVA SCOTIA 5:49 AM Man dies, two hurt in Valley crash
AVONPORT — A young Hantsport man died Saturday morning when his vehicle crossed the centre line of Highway 101 and collided with a westbound vehicle, Annapolis RCMP say.
The collision took place shortly before 7:30 a.m. between exits 8 and 9.

The second is to trust God , for a new job for my wife ,because her Job of teaching mentally challenged adults in a private school, last week closed its doors.

It's Sad but also its an opportunity to see God at work.

Well its off to see what else the history channel has on Hitler to watch, exciting I Know.

Later <><

Saturday Night

Here on the cost of Nova Scotia its been very muggy and warm (hot)
And fog has moved into tonight to cool us down a bit.

I sit here in my office doing last minute things like printing out church envelopes, putting up posters and reviewing my sermon.

My sermon is a part of a series on the 10 commandments and tomorrows is thou shalt not steal.
Easy topic, but I go to the pulpit with heavy hesitation, because my song leader for tomorrow in recent years has dealt with this very issue, the severity of it was that this person was relocated within their organization of work for the continuing of their career.
So I take this sermon knowing he's been there and while I never have tended to ca tor my sermons to the whims of people , I am going forward knowing that tomorrow more than usual I will need God's power of anointing.
Again I have really battled to do this sermon and follow through with the series but I'm committed.
And the more I think of it after my speeding ticket of many years ago, they didn't take down all the highway signs saying the speed so I wouldn't be offended, the signs stayed and I changed.
So God's commands stand and we must change.

An other thing I like doing Saturday night is listening to great preachers. Tonight's pick Is Lee Roberson. (WHY) At Beulah I read a book by him and he was very impressive to me.

Saturday night is also a good night to clear the desk, put stuff in my in basket, re stack books and clear off my main desk.

Collect together all the articles I have printed off in the week and file them.

And if possible get some fishing in. ( not tonight)

I said to my wife earlier tonight that this has been a good week of ministry and I feel that things were done this week.
Not as much fishing as I would like :( next week is coming .

Later

still more pictures from le village

more pictures from le village

Day trip to Le Village Acadien

peggy's cove trip

free coffee

Today in our village there was a huge yard sale , organized from the school to our church.
So any one could be involved , and it was a great day for the community.
So My wife came up with the idea that since our church was the last stop on the yard sale trail we would offer FREE coffee , muffins and bottled water. Along with free pins and magnets with our church logo , Free .
Most people were glad for the drink and could not believe it was free, my wonderful wife maned the table and had a blast, she (and I) meet a lot of people.
It was a day spent investing for the Kingdom.

As I start my 9th year in this church tomorrow , its time to get our people thinking about kingdom expansion , not kingdom inclusiveness.

Later

we came in third

A follow up to my last post on our church bass tournament , we came in third.
It was great day with my son on the lake and we had few fish but lots of fun.

Away back on one of my post I mentioned have christian scientist with us in church, well they came back and sat up front.

I did not know they were coming, but I don't think they'll be back, my sermon on hell goes against their teachings. But They did get the award for the fastest exit .
My wife sat behind them and overheard their comments while they were sitting there agitated and mocking the gospel, yes they could sing the songs in our hymn book but their God and ours differs greatly.
O well it's my church & my doctrine to preach . But I was reminded again that the gospel if preached should and has to be offensive to some for it is God's truth.

These days find me in the pre-Beulah rush, replacements, fishing, picking out books to read at Beulah ,etc.
If your at Beulah and you read my blog let me know !!!!!

Later

the Night before...

Tomorrow is our annual bass fishing tournament for the church :)
It's a great time of fun and bragging afterwards. We have prizes and snacks to with the day.
And this year my partner is my son. so it should be fun.

But more than fishing this week I have been thinking about my preaching style , where I am now to how I preached in the past.
And so I have come up with a few theories, first I have gotten away from my style of "point and aim" to a more wordy set of sermon notes.
which I don't enjoy as in the past.

You know describing yourself preach is difficult but I know when I'm off and of late I have been more on and to that I thank God because I am going back to the way God made me to preach.

And Preaching is what I do and enjoy most - along with the studying and delivering ,
and I really like the point and aim style or as some have said "old fashion holiness preaching"

But what has really got me thinking this week is that when people stand before God, I don't want them to say that in 9 years he never said we had to make a choice, that there was a hell and heaven and that sin was dangerous.

So as Sunday comes -- I look forward to seeing what God can do through me.

Later

A trip back home

A trip back home for me takes a little over an hour from my present dwelling place. It's one I don't take often. But there are exceptions like the one that took me there again, the church I grew up in from the age of 8 till 21 had a 50th Year Anniversary Weekend.
So with my wife and kids off we went , its interesting how roads that leave back home are so full of memories , like the one I shared with my kids about the guy in the sign for Shelburne who most the time had his legs removed by some pranksters.

Then there is the restaurant that I frequented and grew to appreciate battered deep fried mushrooms in :)

Then there is the church!

Taking my kids in the church I showed them where we got married in the basement. And some of the little things that their grandfather did in the building that soon no one will know about.

Then there was seeing the people who I had not seen in 20 some years....
And introducing my Kids to them :)

Its funny that 31 years ago when we went to church there in Sandy Point, they still have the same lady playing the piano just like old times.

The service was good and like most evening services had it not been for the visitors, the crowd would off been small...

But There was something in the night I wasn't prepared for , as we sang the last hymn a list via the power point projector listed all who had gone on before. Most I knew , some were even a surprise to me, then I read my grand mothers name, and tears of emotion ran ( freaking out my kids) its been a while since she passed away, more wouldn't know here now than do, including my kids.
She never Got to see the new building (as it is today) and didn't live in that area long yet that was where she went to church and stood to testify at every chance.
But what she has seen is that Land of Beauty, we call Heaven and that beats church renovations any day.

The drive home seemed forever that night, to where we now call home.
It was historic,emotional, and a good walk down memory lane.

Would I go back to live , no ! The town is really turning into a ghost town.
And on the out skirts stands the Sandy Point Church , where for me I got grounded, and had a great honor to hear my nan (B) testify.

I wouldn't go back but because of it I am where I am today !

Later

PLaces I went on Thursday

On Thursday while in town I took my camer to look at Yarmouth through my camera , trying to capture where I go and things that are cool.

The side ways soldier is outside of the Library ,

while I took my picture there were two other guys taking pictures as well I hope the guy stood the right way for them...

Later

Here is what happned in front of church today

What's new.

I see that for a while ( since the furnace replacement) I have been some what absent.
So what has filled my time since then?

There was our Income tax and Church year end reports all to be done, which now that they are complete its time to breath again.

Between Sundays I have been reading a lot and just finished John MacArthur's new book: the truth war. Which I found very informative, but repetitive of his radio broadcast, however He is quickly climbing up my list of favorite authors. And why is he climbing such a chart , to me he is very biblical in his writings meaning he always goes back to what the scripture says.
It really bugs me reading a christian book with zero Scripture references.

For the past Five Sundays I have been preaching through the 10 commandments and this week we are at number six "thou shalt not ______________ ."
I am pretty sure that I have no homicidal people in the church but many are capable of having invisible killers lurking with in. So that's my angle on this sermon.

I am not sure now how long its been in the work but on Wednesday nights we are studying the Doctrine of satan, which has been Great ! A real eye opener to how we need to lean on the Lord and not our own understanding.

And in those times of thinking the Lord has brought me back to my purpose which is to
Preach the word 2 Tim.4:2 and make full proof of thy ministry.
And in such times there are a million questions that go through my mind , which I hope get answered soon.

And way back on previous blogs I bragged about finding great books at great deals ( under $ 2.00 bucks)
Well I still am actively book hunting and found two great deals last week
one was Stephen R Covey updated 7 habits of Highly effective people

And John Maxwells book Failing Forward.

Both of these books cost me 25 cents each.

and may I add before leaving I have gotten some fishing in as well :)

later

Sounds Good

Nothing is more needed among preachers today
than that we should have the courage to
shake ourselves free from the thousand
and one trivialities in which we are asked
to waste our time and strength, and resolutely
return to the apostolic ideal which made
necessary the office of the diaconate.
[We must resolve that]
"we will continue stedfastly (sic) in prayer, and in
the  ministry of the Word." --G. Campbell Morgan

furnace update : it's in....

During the early days of the Salvation Army, William Booth and his associates were bitterly attacked in the press by religious leaders and government leaders alike. Whenever his son, Bramwell, showed Booth a newspaper attack, the General would reply, "Bramwell, fifty years heace it will matter very little indeed how these people treated us; it will matter a great deal how we dealt with the work of God."

It's here

The furnace was delivered today and will be installed on Tuesday !!!

Still no furnace !!!

It's Wednesday Night and bible study is over.
We had a great time of study on the or gin of Satan.
Someone had requested a bible study series on the devil so were-a-doin it!
An in our discussion it was said that it use to be preached (reformed baptist days) that when a person was sanctified they no longer could sin. How could you if the old nature is removed !
So I in my wisdom noted that I was not sure on this position based on past experiences concluding I have only meet a few totally sanctified people. To which I admitted that this can be a very con fussing topic.
I assured them all that I am Ordained by the Wesleyan church and have passed the test on Doctrine.
In trying to get a balanced view on this topic and a biblical one I am currently reading a sermon by J.C. Ryle titled " Holiness"
Now I'll read others from our side as well as theirs :)
But to me we have to have something that is livable,
and conforms us to the image of Christ in our preaching and in our lives.
Besides a broken furnace is a great test on ones faculties.
And so I wonder except for the few who major on 'magnified' minors how many faithful church people are sitting back contemplating doctrinal issues, or are they just making it through the day with no thought of God and no prayer.
What are you thinking about ?

Later

Furnace Migraine

Well now its up to day 10 and finally I ordered the furnace and the man said it won't be till next week that I can do it!!!!!!

Oh well more time to work on my patience I guess..

Its interesting in how the furnace is gradually dieing on Monday it just kept getting hotter and hotter til we were just about at 90 it was a Sonia in the parsonage and once again we were rescued by a church man who by now I am sure will be glad to see anew furnace as well.

Easter Sunday is over, but I am not sure if I had time to really rejoice over in the significanceof the day.

It started with a 7:00 am service with the local Baptist Church and breakfast which I preached at , to going home to shovel snow of the wheel chair ramp, sadly informing a child who came to Sunday school there was none, to answering a phone call to what time church started, handing out bulletins because the usual people were not there, to leading the whole service plus communion, plus lead a members meeting on deciding a new furnace to having 12 people for dinner to going out for supper to watching the islander win a play of spot in the race for the Stanley cup to keeping an eye on the furnace.

And some where in all that I think I missed Easter.

We celebrate the resurrection every day but on that day - it got missed and my kids might have missed it as well , finding eggs and eating chocolate is fun but do they know what the day means, yes its up to me to teach them , but as a church community we should model it and here is where I get scarred , because are we (church) modeling a life that is changed because of the resurrection or do we play it for a couple of hours and the go on our way.

Things I am thinking about

Later

For my Father

Proof that marriage exists in the animal kingdom...

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Day 5 and 6 of furnace shopping

Well here I still waiting to get a new furnace, but as every day gets closer now to Monday there is hope. That I can place an order and have a new furnace by next Easter....
Thursday Night came with a power outage all night that left us cold on Good Friday Morning Because the furnace didn't fire back up when the power came on.
Thankfully for a man in the church we got it running until the next problem or its replaced.
This man and I have spent a lot of time on the furnace and pipes this week saving the church big $$ on bills , I almost wonder now if I should put some cots in the room so we can stay with it.lol
With a broken furnace and being Good Friday I went to a combined service where I was speaking, and so while the service is going on , I am subconsciously listening to their furnace cut in and out, this is furnace is really now getting to me.

Well its Saturday and my sunrise sermon is ready,
with the regular service order prepared and the bulletin done and the sermon almost ready to go.

have a Great Easter !

later

Sunrise

I am blessed every morning to watch the sun rise while having my devotions and here is what caught mt attention the other morning, this awesome display of God's handy work.

Furnace Head aches Now into day 4

Since my last post I have waited two more days for quotes , and the company I want to hear from hasn't called back yet even though I have called for the price they have yet to get me a number and they came Tuesday.

So my next step is to present what I have collected for pricing briefly to the church members Sunday and let them decide on how they will finance it .

This may stall the process further...

Here are some more lessons I have learned....

The really experienced furnace person wants to offer me a better furnace

because its one they've had no problems with and will cut down on $.

The others are just saying nothing but giving a price on a machine they know little about.

The really experienced guy is confident in his product and company and says we will be happy with the furnace.

The other guys say nothing that shows any confidence in what they are selling.

So it is another day with a long weekend here with no sign of a new furnace and knowing that in a matter of time the whole thing will stop.

later

pictures of the sick furnace

Furnace shopping day two

Today has been spent waiting for return calls and peope to come and give the church a estimated price.



There are some things I have noticed so far...



i) The people who really want your $$$ return your calls promptly.



ii) Most people do not return calls left on a message machine.



iii) Local business people have a totally different approach than the big companies. The big company rep had a laptop and printer, the local guy had a note book.



The big company guy left me with the information I needed to present to my board.



while I am left to wait again (more days) for a estimate so I can bring it to the board.



iv) Needing a new furnace before a a long weekend is the worst time to have furnace troubles because it will take more days to have it delieverd plus put the paper work through.





v) Some estimaters take pictures,others measure, some just give it a quick over and some take the time to explain it all out.



Well tomorrow will make another day of waiting and will take me one day closer to a week of furnace troubles.



Later

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new adventures...

On this monday I am doing something never personally done before. Shopping for a new furncae for the Parsonage.

Because Ours went on friday and so today I am phoning and making potential contacts if the price is right.

If you are wondering we have heat but no hot water unless I turn a bunch of velves on and drain an expansion tank and empty a run off velve that empties into a 5 gal bucket by the hour.



But This is not the only adventure of the week , it got started the previous sunday night service when I mixed two words together and said Sh*T while preaching , people (almost all) laughed, and I kept on till again when quoting from the message bible instead of saying what was there I said God pickles us... well by that time it was time to conclude and exit out the back door and hide....



But the greates adventure of the week was my comeback to ice hockey after a 24 year absence.

My sons team had a game us the parents.

I got a hold of equipment and got dressed with the otehr fathers and off I went to the ice with someones maple leaf jersey on :( and everything on the small side to show my son that I could play hockey, well after falling first thing on the ice the embarsement began. Why I thought I coukld keep up with him I don't know but my body sure let me know quick I could not!

I didn't know if I would make it off the bench for my shifts, it was the longest hour I have spent in a long time. and by the end of it I was glad I had phoned early and said goodbye to my parents. Death was close at hand.



But I did score !!!!



And 100% loved it!!!!!



Under bass fishing has to be hockey.

My son is now convinced I need to join up next year.

If there is a league for the out of shape 40+ crowd I am in!!!!



Later

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todays quote

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams,
and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with
a success unexpected in common hours."

– Henry David Thoreau

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here is an eye opener

Church and workplace separated, say business professionals

The vast majority of pastors are failing most of their church members by
not helping them see themselves as missionaries to the marketplace, say
those who minister among Vancouver’s business and professional
community.

“On Sundays, businesspeople have been sitting so
long [in church] without hearing a lot of connections to their Monday
world, they don’t even ask for it anymore,” says Tim Ernst of The
Navigators.

source: www.christianweek.org

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time for reruns

Here it is March and the reruns have begun on csi and law and order .



Its o.K. But American Idol seems to rule over watching reruns on the big t.v. these days.

And thats one show I personally never want to see in rerun form.



But Not all reruns are bad, Like the Greatest story ever told of the Cross and the Resurection, I have allready taken two sundays to Get our church thinking on what the cross means to us.

And my biggest hope is that they get it.



Off Late I have been carrying again the weight of is it time to move? Our church in the last year has declined and any new people , come and move on to other Church's :[



And I question would my moving bring people to church "thinking a new broom sweeps clean" or is it the fate of the small rural church living in the shadows of the bigger church.



These are my burning questions of the day, I have shared them with a few and the answere always rest on me.



And I repeatedly ask myself can I be comfortable here and bUrry the seniors and watch my workers soon age past their 60's and stop helping in the church!



All this is going through my head knowing that the offical "wesleyan time to resign is soon over "

And Only rebells resign after this time.



I also know that this church would have no problem in replacing me,as I hear there are lots of available ministers.



I also know There are not any available church's within my district.



So then I would have to move, and where ?

I do not want to go to the states !

With no connections its hard to know what to do.



But I am here and so to these people I will minister to the best of my ability .



Later

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Today's prayer

O
God, who has been the Refuge of my fathers through many generations, be
my Refuge today in every time and circumstance of need.

— John Baillie

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Todays prayer

Lord Jesus, Let Me Know Myself
Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know You,And desire nothing save only You.Let me hate myself and love You.Let me do everything for the sake of You.Let me humble myself and exalt You.Let me think of nothing except You.Let me die to myself and live in You.Let me accept whatever happens as from You.Let me banish self and follow You,And ever desire to follow You.Let me fly from myself and take refuge in You,That I may deserve to be defended by You.Let me fear for myself, let me fear You,And let me be among those who are chosen by You.Let me distrust myself and put my trust in You.Let me be willing to obey for the sake of You.Let me cling to nothing save only to You,And let me be poor because of You.Look upon me, that I may love You.Call me that I may see You,And for ever enjoy You. Amen.
Saint Augustine of Hippo, Bishop, Writer, Doctor

Todays prayer

I read this prayer while reading a book titled Praying with Ignatius of Loyola

Teach us, good Lord, to serve thee as thou deservest;
to give, and not to count the cost,
to fight, and not to heed the wounds,
to toil, and not to seek for rest,
to labor, and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do thy will.

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Great Idea

For today

“We are what we repeatedly do;

Excellence is therefore
not an act but a habit”.

– Vince Lombardi

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More snow and school cancellations

It's a snowy Thursday and now for the second day this week school has been cancelled.

the first day is cool but after that Borden sets in . :(

The first day my daughter and I played that wonder classic game called frustration for what seemed like a 100 times which was fun. And to keep my losing streak alive we moved on to scrabble . Its interesting now that she is in grade 5 we have moved beyond 2 and 3 letter words until she really starts beating me and I sadly have to regret back to those simple 2 and 3 letter words to carry me through.

As I think about this ,its the simple things of Prayer and meditating that keep me in the game of life. I have to just keep being reminded of this.

So to quote Mr. Luther again

Prayer is the most important thing in my life.

If I should neglect prayer for a single day,

I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith. Luther

Later

Snow in PortMaitland

words from Luther I need to repeat often

Luther’s Sacristy Prayer

Lord God, You have appointed me as a pastor in Your Church, but you see how unsuited I am to

meet so great and difficult a task. If I had lacked Your help, I would have ruined everything long

ago. Therefore, I call upon You: I wish to devote my mouth and my heart to you; I shall teach the

people. I myself will learn and ponder diligently upon You Word. Use me as Your instrument -- but

do not forsake me, for if ever I should be on my own, I would easily wreck it all.

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todays quote...

There is nothing which my heart desires more than to see you, the members of this church, distinguished for holiness. It is the Christian's crown and glory. An unholy church! It is of no use to the world and of no esteem among men. And the larger the church, the more influential, the worse nuisance does it become when it becomes unholy. The worst evils which have ever come upon the world have been brought upon her by an unholy church — C. H. Spurgeon

lessons from my son

My son is playing House League Hockey this year. And tonight He got two goals !!
sadly we lost 4 to 8
I love the action and all the excitment its cool.

Buts what more cool is the continual connection I can make between them and the (my church)
One thing both do well is get bunched up and fail to move the puck ( gosspel) in fact they almost seem to fall over each other and miss the open guy heading towards the goalie.

How many people do we miss headed towards hell because were so bunched up !

Here is a headline that caught my attention tonight

Later

Doomsday Scenario Moving Closer?By Patrick Goodenough and Susan JonesCNSNews.com Senior EditorJanuary 17, 2007(CNSNews.com) - Nuclear weapons and climate change will undo us, says the group that brought the world the "Doomsday Clock."The anti-nuke Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announced Wednesday that it is moving the symbolic Doomsday Clock's minute hand two minutes closer to midnight, which marks "apocalypse."The clock now stands at five minutes to midnight, said the BAS, who attributed its decision to "global failures to solve the problems posed by nuclear weapons and the climate crisis." The BAS was founded in 1945 by University of Chicago scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project and were "deeply concerned about the use of nuclear weapons and nuclear war."When the symbolic clock was first devised in 1947, it was set at seven minutes to midnight.It has been moved, in both directions, 18 times since then, with its direst prediction -- two minutes to midnight -- coming in 1953 after the U.S. and Soviet Union tested hydrogen bombs.When the U.S. and disintegrating Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 1991, the clock was moved back as far as 17 minutes to midnight.Since then, however, the trend has been in the other direction: amid concerns about post-Soviet proliferation, it moved three minutes closer to "doomsday" in 1995; in 1998, it jumped another five minutes after rivals India and Pakistan conducted back-to-back nuclear tests; and in 2002, the clock edged another two minutes forward -- to seven minutes to midnight -- at a time of growing concern that terrorists would acquire nuclear weapons.The decision to move the minute hand is made by the Bulletin's Board of Directors in consultation with its sponsors, who include 18 Nobel Prize laureates.In its statement released Wednesday, the BAS board cited "North Korea's recent test of a nuclear weapon, Iran's nuclear ambitions, a renewed U.S. emphasis on the military utility of nuclear weapons, the failure to adequately secure nuclear materials, and the continued presence of some 26,000 nuclear weapons in the United States and Russia."But it also focused on climate change, asserting that "global warming poses a dire threat to human civilization that is second only to nuclear weapons.""Through flooding and desertification, climate change threatens the habitats and agricultural resources that societies depend upon for survival," it said. "As such, climate change is also likely to contribute to mass migrations and even to wars over arable land, water, and other natural resources."

2007 Goal

"the life you experience is nourished by the thoughts you think. What kind of nourishment are your current thoughts providing?"



my Goal for the year is to be more positive or to achieve a pma ( positive mental attitude) instead of a pms one. (lol)



so one wAy I am working on this is recieving daily emails from Jooel osteen its like a positive vitamine via email.



listening to positive messages and books.



but the more I think of this process its got to be an inside out job.



So my question to all my readers is what influences you to stay positive.

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Back Home

The Last week has been great ... The trip to Orlando was wonderful and I am Glad bot my wife and I went.

Its been great to tell people about all our adventures that we had on the trip.

It was cool to see old friends we haven't seen in a while.

It was a amazing to me the grand scope of fellow wesleyans that we make up.

but now we are home back to the grind -- or reality.

And the things we escaped from in Florida are back. Its sad how that happens.

It makes me think ahead to heaven what a blast it is going to be !

But till that time I am committed more than ever to keep a PMA (positive mental attitude) for the sanity of my family and myself and ministry.

So for this time my life verse is Jerm. 29:11 (cev)

" I will bless you with a future filled with hope-- a future of success,not suffering."

Later

Todays Quote

Let
us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart, a wide open
heart that thinks of others first. The birth of the baby Jesus stands
as the most significant event in all history, because it has meant the
pouring into a sick world the healing medicine of love which has
transformed all manner of hearts for almost two thousand years. . . .
Underneath all the bulging bundles is this beating Christmas heart.

— George Matthew Adams

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picking a new bible reading plan

here I sit looking on line for printable bible reading plans for the year.



I'm glad to see there is such a variety out there,

so I will print some off and have them available for people in church sunday.

One of the best sites is www.heartlight.com that offers a good variety.



I am siting here tonight with two countdowns taking place in our home. One for Christmas and the other for going to Florida for the gathering conferance !



Thinking about countdowns I watched people count down my sermon yesterday which wasn't fun, My topic was getting the wonder of the season reawakened in our lives again. Cool title and idea I thought.



Now one has called to tell me today it happened to them but it has for me !



Last night 25 of our church people went caroling ( me included) and concluding the event we had a Pizza Party planned at a local Pizza Shop, and he provided all the pizza to us and hot choclate for free.

The wonder of good cheer was given to me .



Then Today I watched a male phesant go throug our yard doing his ever so cool strut.

The wonder of Gods creation was given to me.



And we had no wind today which is rare here , and I watched 'my' lake stay perfectly calm all day with the ripple of a fish .

The wonder of this place was given to me.

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The Weekend is Gone ....

Here I am on a Monday Night and Glad to be here.

Our Church had its annual Sunday School concert which went over well , we had a lot of non- church people with us wihich is a plus .

The kids did well as well as the teachers, the only thing that was lacking was our offering , it was suggested we not pass the plate but just leave it by the door so people could put their money in.
Not the best Idea at least for me. My theory is if you come to church know you will be asked for money politely. So lets hope people make up for this day next sunday.

So why did I let it happen , well it was presented to me as I was on the platform before the beginning of the service. So with no time to say " thus says the DS. or the Discipline or get a consenious or..." that second before the start of the service my mind is on things other than offending people with an offering.

But as I have been arouind I know this is a hot beded issue with some that with guest we don't take an offering. Truly there next pay isn't dependednt on what goes in the plate....
Enough ranting on that I guess !!

Then It was off to watch my son play an excitting hockey Game which he had a goal in and helped his team win.

Yes you read it right I went to a game on Sunday ... I did it because one of the core values I have in life is commitment . So he's on the team so he goes to practices and plays ! He's committed ( well I am , because from the pulpit I know what it is to have a team of un committed players.) So I get him there, in fact I lose sleep over un commited people they just bug me.

BUt sunday wasn't the only part o fthe weekend we went to see the nativity on saturday . I had had been given 25 free tickets to hand out in church so of we went to the movies. It was my first time in our new theater it was impreesive. One man in my church hadn't been ini a theater since 1946 and did he ever see a lot of changes.

After the movie my family went to the Yarmouth Branch of the Nova Scotia Musem to see the orginal drawings by Dr. Seuss of his book How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It was the draft that the book was printed from in Dr. Seuss's own hand work frame by frame.
It was cool to see how he detailed every little thing what a mind he had.
This is the first showing of this in North America!

My wife told me today that we are less now than a month to going to the Gathering in Florida,
I have never been there before , nor have I been on a plane so this will be an adventure.

Later

Zone Ministerial

Today began with a great sunrise over the lake as I spent time with the Maker of the Sun . Reading my way through Revelations thus completing the one year reading N.T. plan.
Which I am excitted to be almost 90% completely done to date.

Also Today I attended our zone ministerial with a guest speaker
Dr. Wilson who was inspiring as always and a great guy.

From this morning of total enjoyment I rushed home and finished putting up my christmas lights , and back to town for my wife after work and home again to only be off to our church christmas supper which I think just about all were happy with their meals.
To making a visit and bringing home a bag of lobster for our enjoyment tommorow.

So now I am on a fast so I can get my blood work done in the morning I have put this off to long and I know the Dr. won't be happy when I see her soon.
The hardest part of this fast is going to be no morning coffee !

Fasting isn't natural to me at all, and I wonder who finds it easy.
But as we are celebrating advent I wonder If there is anything I could go without to celebrate in a season that emphasies getting.

Later

Today's quote

Give us, O Lord,

thankful hearts which never forget Your goodness to us.

Give us, O Lord,

grateful hearts, which do not waste time complaining.

— Thomas Aquinas

My morning radio

I love putting on the radio in the morning ! Its something I remember my Mom doing and I have grown up doing it as well.
And every once in a while they play real music like this morning it was Brian Adams song "summer of 69" now that's a classic in my opinion. Plus he's Canadian!

Yet besides the music there is always the Marine Weather Forecast , and there is the morning chuckle with 'Jimmy the Janitor' whose jokes are old and well used.

This all goes well with a good pot of coffee setting the day in motion.

I can't believe its December first and we have no snow and its more like March than Nov.
So Now its time to make sure we have the Christmas spirit in our house.
With that I am proposing a new tradition in our home this year that every night we read a advent devotional and light a candle.
So I have talked to the kids about doing this every night till Christmas .
Now My son thinks its weird and at 11 just about everything I suggest is weird these days.
Now my daughter is all for it, So I have dug out our homemade advent candle wreath that we've had for years from my Uncle and put the right candles in it and now I am ready to Go.
The goal I have in this is that we Catch what the real meaning of Christmas is...that its About Our Saviour not our wants.

Before I leave I have posted my Sister -in- laws link to her blog under the links, welcome Brenda to the world of blogging.

Later