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

Resume part 2

I finally have completed updating my resume ( actually my wife typed it and edited ) !!

And while we worked on my original resume draft did we ever laugh...
at How way back in my post college days at how I described my self.
It was full of the 90's language of success.
I described my self as Highly Motivated and a Visionary leader.

Well in updating the resume those words have been omit ed , not that I'm not to a degree its just they are not a part of the fuel that drives me.

Perhaps what word works best is Passionate.
What am I passionate about.
My passion isn't in creating a new vision, that will carry my current church beyond the mega church realm...
My passion I think isn't in the new but doing what God wants Done.
Helping his people to be conformed to the image of HIS Son.

I have to wonder if in this current church age is this preaching wanted anymore ?
Because the more I see being conformed to His image means giving up all of me.... Not hugging a tree.

Conforming means calling things for what they are... sin instead of a sugar treating it.

So here is where I appreciate our doctrine that we can be cleansed of our old nature so we don't always have to let sin reign in us causing us to sin every day.


Later

Today's Quote

He that serves God for money will serve the devil for better wages.
Roger L'Estrange

Today at the beach

Thursdays

On my last Blog I mentioned that I was on a 3 day quick fix lose 10lb diet.
It worked !

This is Thursday my day to visit ...
It started with a great breakfast with a buddy . then running into another buddy at staples and off to the the hospital .. I don't mind hospital visits as long as there is no blood or exposed parts poking out ... One of my visits requires me to put on a gown, gloves ,smock and a mask to see this person. The first 100 times is cool but now its very depressing to the patent to be locked away from the world.

I wonder what I would do locked away from life, csi reruns can't make a man entertained forever.
While I love reading after awhile I think I would get board with that.

While I am glad I am free to roam.
Here is what I have observed with this situation...

The simple act of putting on a few extra articles of clothes really stops people from going in to see a person which show who really is and isn't a true friend.

While I am amazed at this lack of " Christian love "
I am convinced there is one man that would and He is the very one I due it for and that is Jesus.

Tonight I started reading

A WOMAN RIDES THE BEAST by Dave Hunt.

Its csi Time and its not a rerun :)

Later

Wednesday means Bible Study Night

Tonight's meeting had a bit of excitement with it because we had somebody new with us.
This lady took part and read her bible which was a little different.
then after the meeting she proudly told me she attended the Church of Scientology.
But she isn't the first to be in a service we had a married couple in with us this summer who as well told me they attended the church of Scientology..
I with both sets of people never pursued them , they just came to church and liked it.
Now I am not sure how that should make me feel.
* Hopefully we are so loving that all feel welcomed.
* Hopefully our people are so like able they create a warm and comfortable place to come to.
* But what are they Hearing in the message and songs ?
* Do they view the Wesleyan church as a potential mission field ?
* And what do I Know about them ?
* I have my assumptions but are they right ?
* Could God be working in their lives and we for the hour are a part of God's plan ?
* or Should everyone wear a label that identifies the church they attend so if they come into my church I can tell by their label if they are or are not one of us then preach right to them against them if they are not a Wesleyan ?
* Should we have guards at the door so we can protect ourselves.
* Maybe the best answer is too , just not make a big deal about it,
and be more convinced that I am right and they are wrong.
So many questions ??

Here is what I do know
Tonight will conclude my three day "lose 10 lbs quick fix diet" that is put out by some group.
I know I am not good for the 10 but I hope at least 8 lbs . Because I have given in to my dark side of snacking upon cookies the odd time in the last three days.... and I even had the odd " Social Tea " cookie .

Well I must Go and fight over the t.v.Tonight its either gonna be " dancing with the stars " or Glenn Beck followed by csi reruns.

later

Quote of the Day: The Lonely Preacher
"The Old Testament prophets were lonely men. Enoch walked alone in a decadent society as he preached judgement. His compensation was the presence of God. Jonah was alone in vast Ninevah, a heathen city of a million souls. The loneliest preacher today is the person who has been entrusted with a prophetic message ahead of the times, a message that cuts across the temper of the age." J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership pg. 118

A new look has arrived !!

I hope every one likes the new look here on my blog.
With all its new features .

So now its Nov. 13 and today I have hunted up my resume.
I think its time to update it ( with my wife's typing help) to see how it looks after not needing one for 8 years.

But this hasn't been my only challenge of the day I have also been rewriting my personal calling statement .

Its interesting to me that I am the easiest person I know to criticize
and the hardest to praise at times.

I have an example of a Personal calling statement that is long compared to mine and wordy which is cool.

But I am not all that complex I am what you see. (I think)

So Today while working through Calling statement I have sensed a need emphasize more about my life's role as Pastor .
So I love preaching ! With a goal in mind that what is heard will be applied and lives will be transformed.

Also I like working as a team in the church because I am no dictator.
I have no problem in letting people talk and do as they are gifted.


But now I need help on what kind of leader am I ?
I did a little search and found kits that will help me starting from 89.00 - 129.00 or more .
So who do I ask ? For such wisdom ?
Leadership is so important these days as i see now church's are looking for lead pastors.
And Leaders to do so much that I wonder if Jesus could fill their request.

But until now I have never really had to think a lot about my leadership style before.

But here is what I do know for now....

is there a name for doing what needs to be done!
is there a name for promoting a revival in the church!
is there a name for visiting people in the hospital?
is there a name for making and folding bulletins ?
is there a name for shoveling snow?
is there a name for knowing how to operate a sound board ?
is there a name for answering phone calls to lonely people ?
is there a name for worrying about church fiances ?
is there a name for knowing secrets no one else will know?
is there a name for spending long hours writing sermons?
is there a name for arriving first and last at church?
is there a name for remaining cheerful when life stinks?
is there a name for inviting new people to church?
is there a name for fixing broken pipes, leaky basements, overhead projectors ....?
is there a name for telling someone who needs money sorry ?
is there a name for someone who has to hear the same old stories repeated?
is there a name for some one who hopes more will come out to mid week
and some days do it all...
what do you call a person who does all this a Leader ? or a Shepherd ?



well must go watch csi reruns

later

November 11

Today is the day we Honor Our soldiers of Both World Wars and our Peace keepers in various ways.
In my community the local legion has a a short service and over the past badly organized ones but this year some what better :) and then a march to the local cenotaph where every one lays a wreath on behalf of a business or church like me.
Then its time to eat and talk to the Vets which is cool. And even more cool to see them talking because they share a bond that only they know.

Then its home to what ever my wife has planned for me. And today it was yard work in preparation for the annual stinging of the Christmas lights.
It was such a great day here my son mowed the lawns.

This week I was asked to join the local legion which is a dry one. So now I have a wonderful opportunity to play darts or pool once a week . Already the local Baptist Pastor is a member and their chaplain and another Baptist Pastor is getting ready to join. So there is some pressure on me ( self imposed) to join to get my two cents in there.

While I like to Remember our vets . Where I like to put my energy is in remembering those who are being persecuted for Christ on the 12 of Nov.
As I cleaned the church tonight and thought of how people in persecuted places would love (maybe)just once go to church legally anywhere.
While our people are abandoning church, maybe the tide of persecution is turning on us here in North America as I read an article titled this week "Persecution is coming to the west" which the author says is coming in the guise of tolerance.
I have a sneaky idea he is dead on.

Tolerance is killing us ! And we are letting it kill us because no one is saying anymore what sin is and isn't sin only reducing sin to dark areas in our lives .

And in the guise of tolerance when someone like me steps out and says Thus says the Lord..... Then I am a bad guide for not tolerating people and thus setting my self above them. This reasoning is a cop - out to me I think.

Well must go and finish my order of service.

Later

The first Sunday back after vacation

What a great Day. Now that its almost over.

Saturday I was excited to learn that the song service would be lead by someone else on Sunday which meant a little less pressure so I thought.
I knew the reason buddy was going to lead the service was because our piano player was under the weather.

so Saturday night comes everything is ready to go in the morning till 10:15 pm when I learn that buddy was in the Hospital with a heart attack. So I went immediately in town to see him.

I knew that by 12:00 midnight I couldn't call in anybody so I left it with the Lord.
knowing that in 8 years here if we had one Sunday with no music it would be good.

So now its 9:00 Sunday and I need to call the lady who normally plays and let her in on what happened to buddy.

So I wasn't sure how under the weather she was - but I knew she couldn't be any worse than him.

So I said right off the bat I didn't want her to feel guilty but buddy was in the hospital.

And she said without a word from me that she would play the music for me !!

Yeah... But my music is always ready by Saturday and put on the pulpit and piano and sound board. But not today.

Well I got the songs picked and We had church !

And I preached on the Highway of Holiness !

And God Blessed us with a great service.

Later

Vacation time is over !!

Well I arrived home today after a week away in NOAA for vacation.
What a great week it was!
We spent the time between my parents and beulah camp!
My Parents even kept the kids a couple of nights so we had some kid free nights.
So what did I do on vacation?
I went for my very first go-cart ride against my son and lost.
But it was a life time dream come true to ride one of those go-carts. Although early I had our car over 140 km to pass a car so these seemed slow.

I also did some used book shopping at frencys and got three great deals.

And a couple of visits to a tackle shop.

And I stocked up on some coffee beans to grind and enjoy.

Plus I did a lot of reading.

Thought I might get some over due journaling in but it didn't happen.

I picked up a book I read a beulah camp in a book store called the Heavenly man. which was a real life changing book.

I also took in via the T.V. 3 bluejays games with my dad that was cool.

And today we traveled home via the mall route getting ready for the expensive start of school.

While waiting for my family I sat on a bench and listened to the 80 + crowd discuss life. Which was really interesting especially when Religion came up.

While these men were not religious (church -goers) they had church figured out -
and I was sad to hear their comments about those who go to church because they didn't see any difference in them at all - they were not doing anything more or less than they were with out going to church.

Maybe what that area needs are some Wesleyans to go in there and set up church and show them what real Christians are or its time that we really start no matter what church we attend to start being like Jesus - instead of re-inventing the gospel if
we could live the one Jesus gave us - people would be changed !
Hey it worked in the book of Acts it can work again!

Later

Turning 12

My son this week turned 12 !
And for his birthday he wanted a mp3 player.
No problem with friends like wal-mart!
So now we are in the mp3 down loading thing.

Now to spare him one of those "talks" I'll post it here.

I remember when I was 12 that stereo's not mp3 players were Big.
I can even remember our family's floor model stereo complete with 8 track storage space. That thing as I think about it now was the size of a coffin.

Big Speakers -- Big stereos -- meant big out put...

But Not now... Its gotta be small.

So we are now entering the age old argument of turn it down.
And putting Christian music in his head not worldly stuff.
But at 12 the radio tunes sound better than my (praise)music that I listen to.
Even the groups I liked years ago are like me "old men" now and "un-cool."
So what are some groups that are Christian and rocky or Rappers ??

I wish at 12 Barney still sounded cool with his sing along tapes but if they were then there would be different kind of worries.

Turning 12 means Jr. High this year....
Now we need to get him interested in a youth group to attend.
Sadly our church doesn't have one and he has learned its boring with the seniors crowd a long time ago.

Turning 12 means I think that there will be some new challenges ahead that make handling board meetings a picnic.

But I will Remain Faith to being a father and see him through it.

Later

still here!

Its the last sunday of July and I have been absent from my blog for a while.
my life has included these last fews days... funerals, Beulah camp, life,reading books, Pastoring, being glued to cnn as its covering the mid-east crisis, trying to get a grip on my own mid life crisis, school being out, and fishing plus a million more things.

This morning I preached on being ready for the lords rerturn...and now as I am preparing for tonights service I am wishing The Lord HAD COME.

Tonights topic is willfull sin. My inspiration for this came from tossing a snake out my boat this week as big as the one that tempted Adam And Eve in the garden from the book of Numbers 21:1-9


Later

Monday at the office May 8

There were a lot of smallies who came calling while I was at the office making the morning FLY..

the season has BEGUN !

Sunday was A great day to start the BBQ tradition....

our new car

The red car is our old car Hyundia XG 300 that we traded yesterday for a brand new golden brown 2006 Sonata.

todays catch

I wish it wasn't true

Maybe you have read this report somewhere this week that....
i am taking it from the associated baptist Press here that

Survey results: Church not important for spiritual growth, Americans say

By Hannah Elliott

Published: April 21, 2006

DALLAS (ABP) -- Almost three-fourths of Americans claim to be Christians, but only a small fraction consider church the place to deepen their faith, a new survey says.

Less than 20 percent of American adults believe participation in a congregation is critical to spiritual growth, and just as few agree that only through participation in a faith community will they reach their full potential, the Barna Research Group reported April 18.

I wish I could say it was different for the church I pastor but I think we are amongst the surveyed...
and here is why I make this sad claim .
last Night was our Night of Prayer for revival in the church. We have been having two nights of the month just for this concern.
And Guess who showed up ?
Just Me.

Thats It. Just Me.
So we really do need a revial , but not the kind that closes down all the taverns and like but one that gets people who come to church back in church.
I hope that God uses my time here to see such an event happen.
But when only one comes out for prayer it tends to put Me in the vally of despair....
Later

todays catch

He was one of 5 !!

Monday

What a Weekend...
Friday: A combined GoodFriday Service with 2 other church's !
Saturday: Setting up our church for a Easter Sunrise Service and Breakfast with a community Baptist
Sunday: gGot up at 5 a.m. turned on heat and lights and unlocked doors.
Had Combined service and cleaned up after wards
then got ready for the 10:30 service....
then enjoyed a coffee and a chat following the service
and went out for lunch with 12 people for clams.....
then off to the hospital and vising a shut in ....

And somewhere in there on friday I got my first Bass of the season !!!!!

Before I leave the picture on this page is of a unplanned Pancake face tell me who you think it might be?

Later

todays pics

Took these today of the beach in my 'front yard'

Interesting comments

I am not sure if the three people that shared with me and my wife this week got together and planed it, but from 3 people this week we have herd this comment.
That if they wanted band music and a dance atmosphere they would go Saturday night to a dance BECAUSE they don't expect it in church.
Its interesting to me that 3 people said that they are coming to church expecting it to be different than the world and yet in the church we have adopted our worship music to that style of a dance music (loud and fast) NOW I LIKE FAST MUSIC AND TO QUOTE THAT GREAT CHRISTIAN ROCKER " why should the devil have all the good music"
Could (and I am just thinking here ) that our approach has been wrong that why we see a lot of people church hopping along to bigger and better ...
We are not seeing mr.unchurched come into church like we should because we are not ( and I am just thinking) offering anything different than they get Saturday night at a dance.

Well with that off my chest I have been getting ready for Sunday today , while watching two very board kids who had no school today...
Easter is a great time preaching wise you know what to plan for:)
But I have been thinking ahead to the last of the month and have come up with a two part sermon on God's word under attack ...
I wonder how many of our people could be easily deceived into believing that the bible is inaccurate.
So as I am thinking about what has been in the press and media latelty we need to remind people of the accuracy of the scriptures.
And maybe if the weather warms up get my boat in the water and catch me some bass.

and this week I am reading CHARISMATIC CHAOS by John MacArthur
which is so far great reading.

Later

Busy times

Since I last posted on here I have been busy...
On the first of April I celebrated my 18 anniversary.
I kinda failed in making any great romantic plans for the great day , but I did have a card but my best intentions were not enough this time.
Not only did we celebrate this day but my parents have been visiting with us for a few days, who went to Halifax with us for a overnight trip and waited for me at the hospital while I had tilt test for my heart which was a weird test.
And while in Halifax I meet with one of my preacher pals for a great gab.
So tomorrow My parents leave and I get to preparefore mid week and think about Sunday coming and maybe even get in some fishing...
Later

My 6:30 wake up call

This morning at 6:30 I was awakened by the sounds of a lone Loon singing on the lake behind our church. What a great sound to hear hopefully it means spring is that musch closer and fishing season as well.

Yesterday I Finished a sermon series that was inspired within me this summer when I read a book by Chip Ingram : God as he wants to be known. So we finished with the Faithfulness of God.
This Sunday was an interesting day for me as I filled in for the adult sunday school class and walked up to the platform past the newest empty pew by thoes who have left the church.
As I look down on the church and thoes who sit on my left that come are usually the ones that leave - while people who come and sit as I look down on the church from the pulpit on my right end up staying. I have no explanation for this but it is I think rather interesting.

Usually we have no sunday evening services but last night we did ! There was a combined service with two other church's for which at one time were all together as a circut together.
And we Got to gether for some good old fasioned tag team preaching....
My topic was the blood and I had some fun preaching on it and we ended with communion and a time of refreshments and fellowship.

Now its Monday and my Lovely Wife wants me to paint our bedroom this week.
Painting is not something I prefer to do but as we have been in the ministrty now for 17 years I have done my share of it and while I don't advertise this fact , to me its better that getting a tooth pulled but not as good as fishing all day without a bite.

Later

Memories that can not be replayed....

This week I attended a ministerial breakfast which was and is a great blessing !
And the topic of the morning was depression !
I noticed ( while I listened) that a lot of my fellow pastors are dealing either with a major case of the blues or mild depression aor are about to get depressed.
Hearing their stories reminded me of when I bottomed out in ministry and spent a few days in a hospital room - While I bottomed out emotionally and at the same time had a weird virus attack the lining around my heart so which of the two put me in the hospital for a few days I don't know, but I do know I hit a very low emotional valley.
I was Not "depressed " but very low in spirit or a major dose of the blues.
since then I Have had to fight these 'demons' away.

So how do I keep up in this crazy world or ministry.

1) I work at it.

2) I read continuously motivation quotes. ( its great getting them via email)

3) I go fishing.

4) I think about fishing.

5) I have been looking after my health better . ( I have gone from 230 - 179lbs)

6) I read alot.

7) I realize that apart of this battle is spiritual.

8) I have boundaries now .

9) I listen more carefully to my wife !!!!

10) I go fishing !

11) I watch clean comedy so I can laugh.

12) I go fishing a little more.

13) I meet once a month with two other pastors and go out for breakfast and we laugh, Think, talk, discuss theology and share about life...


Later

I like being me !!

I can remember that great singer from my youth Kermit the Frog singing
" it's not easy being green" and in the words of his Song Kermit makes the color Green not to be so bad . After all ....its the color of spring...



Well this week I had one of thoes moments.
It started with a man coming into my office and saying that he loved me and the church but he was going to be going somewhere else.
Because he is " pentecostal" and we are not!
So to his story that I won't give any deatils to -- I sang my vesion of its not easy being green.
by saying that I am happy to be Wesleyan! Its all I have known ! And its all I plan to know!

So with that we departed as friends....

Later

Turning 40

Well as of today I am now the big 40.
And no matter what I thought about ( being 40) before this day I am now 40.
So far I have not seen any changes from 39 till 40.

This event was announced to my community via a sign board and 25 penguins in front of my church on Sunday !


And during our church announcements the announcement came from the floor that next Sunday will be a pot luck to honor this day !

So there will be more celebrating next weekend again!

Later

My favorite lake is now haunted ??

Here is an article that appeared today in our provincial news paper about my favorite lake...

Mediums to the rescue!
W Network presents psychicsÂ’ series
By INGRID DEON

DARLINGS LAKE — The ghosts that haunt the Churchill Mansion have a little less baggage now thanks to two spirit counsellors.
Jackie Dennison and Christine Hamlett are filming a new television show for the W Network called Rescue Mediums. The British sisters-in-law, who are also psychics, grew up together clearing homes of any spirit presence by helping the spirits "into the light."
"WeÂ’re psychics who make house calls," said Dennison in an interview earlier this week.
The sisters-in-law ended up at the Churchill Mansion in Yarmouth County because itÂ’s long been fabled as a haunted inn. The house was built in 1891 by Captain Aaron Churchill, a wealthy seafarer who owned Churchill Steamship Lines. He had a similar mansion in Savannah, Ga., where he spent a lot of time with his wife, Lois, and niece whom he raised like a daughter, Lottie.
Bob Benson, owner of the inn, said many people believe Aaron and Lottie haunt the mansion.
"Originally, the story started because this is a mysterious building on top of a hill that was vacant for 60 years," he said.
"There are rumours of a hanging in the mansion, but that actually was not in the mansion, it was down the road. But it was a member of the Churchill family."
Dennison and Hamlett wonÂ’t say exactly whose ghosts they helped "cross over," but they will say their stay in Darlings Lake was very eventful.
"We definitely found more than one spirit here and itÂ’s very dramatic," said Dennison. "ItÂ’s a very intense story. It took us four days because of the intensity," Hamlett added. "And we ended up at a strange location in the middle of the night."
The Rescue Mediums team has been shooting its 13-episode premiere season in different locations in Ontario and Nova Scotia. In addition to their stay at the Churchill Mansion, Dennison and Hamlett rescued spirits in Kentville, New Minas and West Pubnico.
Michael Lamport, the showÂ’s producer, said the show they shot in the mansion is the highlight of the season, so theyÂ’re saving it for the final episode, which will most likely air in late May or early June. The show premieres Friday at 8:30 p.m. on the W Network.
But now that Dennison and Hamlett have helped the ghosts that haunt the Churchill Mansion into the light, will they still haunt the inn?
"Oh yes," said Ms. Hamlett. "They love it here."
( ideon@herald.ca)

Can you beliebve it!

If they have 'psychic' detectives and veterinarins , furniture psychics and on and on and on....

You think they would have psychic grave yards or waste management psychics for them...

So I think what I'll do to combat this problem is throw abunch of my old sermons in the lake for what ever good if any it would do ...

It will be interesting to see how this news might affect thoes superstious fisherman.

It might just mean being the only one on the lake.

This mansion is just a maybe 5 miles from the church....
And here is the real truth of this ... that while we are preaching the Good news and seeing God at work in our church - we are also in the devils playground. He's busy in fact Peter said it best
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

I have over my years in the ministry always tried to be alert on the spiritual warfare front and to me this is the real deal , and maybe there is more of a cultic pull in this area than I realized but I know the man who Rose again !
And to him I will trust....

Later

Its just another Monday

Well yesterdays sermon I Hope is still working in the hearts and minds of our people...
IT wasn't a fun sermon. It was a sermon I had to deliever and it was on the Justice of God !
The points Included describing God's Justice biblically .
And Since God is a Just God then he must react to sin !
And in fact God hates sin and has prepared a place of punishment.
And since God is Just He must do this.

Now I have never backed away from preaching on hell and yesterday as a sub point described hell very biblically and gues what when I gave the altar call not a person moved.
We sang just as I am and not a person moved !

So here I am on this monday pondering through all this and when I was reminded of what Paul said in 2 tim 4:
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

And so I concluded as I have done my part God will faithfully do His.

Today I also started to re~read a book that I read in 1995 by John McArthur
titled: ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL

Tuesday - I am trying something new --- I have invited any men in the church who want to join me for breakfast to meet me at a local pizza place that has great breakfast deals to eat together and just laugh and eat together.
And maybe even do a little talking about the coming fishing season that's now just 26 days away !!!!

Later

P.s. my spell checker isn't working ....

The sales clerk snickered

This is now March !

And to celebrate the end of February I went to our local Christian book store and ordered some (4) books and one of them made the owner hesitate and snicker it was a book by John MacArthur titled "Fools Gold".
The owner as he was writing down my information made the comment that this book was against a lot of the current trends.
I assured him I knew this and wanted the book.

He with out knowing it sent a very clear message to me of today's church culture, that they treat trends or fads or new teachings "like the purpose driven... Stuff" as the gospel and any one who bucks the trend is bucking " this new gospel" and that's bad...

So where do pastors and Christians go for material that's has doctrinal truth and makes you think besides the internet ?

Well one place I go every Tuesday is Frencys where soft covered books cost a dollar and hard cover books $ 1.60
and this weeks big find was Called to be Holy by Oswalt (new)
Obsessions of an extraordinary executive (new)
Bringing out the best in people (new).
Now I don't always get such finds but the weeks I do I feel pretty proud.

I think its a sad day in order to find books on holiness they have to come from a used clothing store instead of a Christian book store....
Where the owner of the book store attends a Wesleyan church.
That brings me back to my blog on attendance but not adherence.
and This says something on the place of holiness in our lives when we want heatlth over holiness or
heart warming fiction over holiness or
happiness over holiness and
how too's over holiness.

Later

Monday

We just had a Super Sunday !
Our offering was way over the top !
We had a "I love my church offering" a once a year tradition that helps us stay out of debt which was over the top !
And we had a 99% attendance for our potluck following the service !
God is working in our church !

So now for the week ahead I plan to finish reading "Let us be Holy" by Judson Cornwall.

Tuesday I " if the weather is good" plan to attend a leadership class I am taking.
Wednesday get ready for Midweek ...
Thursday Start and even finish my sermon and plan for our prayer meeting for revival.
Friday Finish up sermon.

And somewhere in there I need to visit and do a thousand more things....

But For today ... I am going to read and surf and maybe even tie up a few flies :)

Later

It's Thursday

I am not sure where the weeks are going but this one is wrapping up too quickly!
So beside doing my weekly office duties I was able to attend a funeral on Wednesday.

I went because this lady was a sister to one of our church men.
And I was blessed to watch one of my hero's take part in the service.
He is a retired minister who comes from England with a cool accent and he is a true Calvinist !
He knows what He knows and is not afraid to defend it from the bible, nor is He afraid to use theological terms in his preaching . He doesn't believe in sugar coating the gospel.

Why would I A not so young Wesleyan pick a Baptist as a hero ?
Well this past week I have been fervently reading on line a bunch of stuff on the deception that is entering the church through this "emerging church" fad we find so strong today.

And while we are in a post modern swing of thinking all is ok.
with Christians who don't want to stand apart from the world but blend in.
Comes a man like my hero who will stand up and say " Thus says the Lord..."
You see He isn't swayed by fads but seeks the leading of God.
The very God who began the church and will complete it.
Why trust anyone else ?

Later

I put my foot in my mouth again

Here I am on Monday Morning reviewing yesterday !
And even before I started my wife got ahead of me when she said I was out of place to say at dinner yesterday that
" going to dances was going to hell"....

Here we were with fellow Wesleyans who are 'members' like us and they are talking about dances !
And so I made a bold statement on dances....
( which made for a quite few minutes)

What has happened to us that we have lost our level ground with in the church that we all shared the same convictions and practices ???
I think My favorite Author said it best " ...We have learned to live with unholiness ..."
And so as I preach on the Holiness of God it gets people uncomfortable....
And here is our problem we have gone with a gospel of comfort instead of a gospel confrontation...

Now here is where I am glad to be in smaller church not that I want it to remain small because I think Holiness preaching is still more acceptable.

But it should be acceptable everywhere !

Later

Sunday Again!

Here is my morning So far....
Up real early to turn the church furnaces on :)
Read my daily scriptures....
Surf the net and check on world news !
Surfing the net to see there are now 41 days till fishing season!
Last minute sermon details, (Today my sermon is on God's Holiness.)
Sunday School.
Church (with out me leading the whole service this week :)
Coffee Time following the service
Dinner out at a palls (a Tournament angler who is reel cool)
and home !

Later

Praying for Revival

Tonight will be our second night of prayer for revival to come in our church.

As a pastor I love to see from the people this desire for revival to come to our church.

But are our people ready ?

Week after week , sermon after sermon altar calls are given and no one moves :(

The people are eager for sinners to get convicted but I think and believe this " until our own people get convicted of their sins and cry out in repentance first - how can we expect the unsaved to do the same "

I am thirsty for revival in our ministry here to take place but as a Pastor I know it has to be done in God's timing.

As a Pastor I think a consistency needs to be established... With the people like coming out to our regular mid week prayer meetings not just on special occasions can revival not be prayed for on these nights to?

A new initiative of bringing people to church needs to start now -
I don't think this habit will happen magically over night because we have " a special speaker"

Can we pray for revival and yet rob God with tithes at the same time ?

Later

Still using a overhead projector

While all the rage today is using a power point for sermons etc....
We still use a overhead projector for our services along with Hymn books.
Now my point isn't that we don't have power point... But our people still use their bibles when I am preaching.
And this I BELIEVE is vital for Christians to know.

It's interesting the comments that I get from visiting people of how its nice to see bible's used in church's because there's have been replaced by power point.

So I wonder as we 'progress' and no longer need the use of our bibles what's next to go ?

I believe its hard enough to get people to feed on the bible so not bringing their bible to church would make it all the harder.

As I think about this I guess I'm a little more old fashion in some of my church thinking, and while studying up on the dangers of the Emerging Church - I would not want to have it any other way than being old fashioned.

Later

Another funeral...

Today my focus has been preparing and assisting in a funeral.
I did it with a retired Pastor who was cool to work with.

But this was no ordinary l funeral - because for some reason there some members of the family who will not speak to me no matter what - they have such a bitter spirit that they avoid going in the same store if I am in it.

The message of the funeral centered around reconciliation by the retired pastor and I pray it sinks in....

But in all this its not so much how they treat me BUT my attitude toward them.

One of my church ladies reminds me that these people are like sand paper that help to take off our rough places as we grow in grace.

These folks provide great illustrations in telling the kids how to deal with bullies so that helps.

So now that this deed is over - its on with the rest of the day....

Later

Short term memory

Tonight was parent teacher night !!!

The principle tried to explain to us that kids need their cheat sheets for doing math questions because some kids have " short -term - working -memory"
(I wish they had this concept back in my day !)

So there message being sent to the Kids is it's o.k. to cheat :(
and we were informed that the kids then are not expected to know all these -- :( So cheat !
Because after grade four times tables are not covered again do to all the other material that must be covered .
So if they don't grasp them by then - they are rewarded with a cheat sheet.
But isn't that a basic that all kids should know?
But what I am concerned with is the idea it's ok to cheat !
Well try that on a drivers test and see what happens
or try that with the tax man and see what happens.

Later

God is so big He can cover the whole world with His love, and so small Hecan curl up inside your heart.--June Masters Bacher

What a great winter !!

Here it is the 7th of Febuary and not a bit of snow !!
We have even escaped a cold snap so far....

But if it does get cold I have the answere :) I bought a cheap outdoor thermometer which for some reason the mercury in it has gotten stuck at 80F. So no matter how it is out side its always 8o.

On my weekly venture to town today I saw a lot of people who have gotten stuck at some point in there lives and have never kept up to date, what a shame !

But I don't even have to go out off my church to see that for most sundays there will be those who are stuck on 80 some where in thier lives and measure everything by that .

I think that life is to much of an adventure to live it by the past, It need s to be lived now !

A Night out watching hockey

Tonight we went as a family and watched our local Jr. A Hockey team play ( http://www.yarmouthmariners.com/ )

But it Just wasn't any game because they were playing against our kids cousin which to them means big bragging rights at school.

So after the Game with pen and paper they waited for autographs - and these players did well to sign them !

It hockey - the fights , the roar of the crowd and the Rock and roll music !!

In the middle of the second period they started playing the chicken dance song !

And people ( not me ) started dancing with it !

And here is my idea that has come from that "wouldn't it be cool in the middle of a sevice just to have it played for 30 seconds..." Just enough so you know what it is and....

Maybe this could be a memorable finally to my ministry her when I leave ( maybe)

it's Friday!

Here I am again , its so close to being sunday that you think I would have every thing ready for the service . But procrastiantion is a blessing and a curse at times.

I am always looking for life lessons that can be applied to the church or me .

And I found one this week at my car dealerships parts department.
and the lesson is CUSTOMER SERVICE...

My lower rad hose blew in my car on Tuesday and Thank The Lord it happened at church members home who is a truck mechanic and when he saw the problem he sent me to town to get the part in his van becaus e my car was going no where...

And the first place I went to was my dealership who basiclly said I better like walking becasue they didn't have the part and wouldn't have it till thursday by 2:00 pm or later.
If they meant to be funny they weren't.

So then off I trucked to another auto parts store and they didn't have it either soooo
then I went to a third auto store which is the one who I got the part from but before they ordered it for me they called the last auto parts store in town just to see for me if they had it and they didn't ....
( why my dealership didn't do that I don't know why )
So they orderd the lower rad hose and I had it in wed. morning by 9:30 not Thursday after 2:00 .

my lesson is :Customer service is not the palce to be making jokes in ( which can be seen as rudeness) , but a place to be concerned and willing to help.

I hope now as a Pastor I keep this in mind that when people come my way and I offer humor which can be miss-interperated as rudeness instead of concern it turns people off , but concer is like a senko in front of a hungry bass they will take it every time.

Later

Election time

This is the day I enjoy being Canadian with the oppurtunity to vote.
Its something I have done since being legally old enough too.
And Now for the rest of the evening its a wait and see what happens... that can be nerve racking.

I have gone through votes before my self !
My pastoral vote was held a year ago which the church gave me a 100 % to stay which was cool.

Yet I can remember waiting for the results - much like Martin a bad vote could mean means no home or job and no $$$ .

Thankfully all went well...

I somethiomes wish more jobs could be held on a vote system -
like grade six elementry teachers - wouldn't they change their attitudes if there job was voted on every year by the class ( parents ) that just finished ... the parents should have a say !

or that rude postal worker....
or that bus driver ...
or clerk ...
or nurse...
or doctor...
or...
But our society doesn't work that way, but we do have a choice which might not impact their lives but we can feel better because we choose this over that...

Which is why we vote - to make a choice of this over that.

Later

Sundays over

Thankyfully this day will soon be over and on with a new!

This morning I finished a three part series on Faith, Hope and Love (today)
Enjoyed a coffee with folks after the service and then spent the afternoon watching the history channel !

Then it was 7:00 pm time for a combined musical service with the local baptist church.
I like music but there is some I just can't get in the mood with and tonigh it was that.
While Sitting in church fighting the urge to play on my pda because of bordem I listened and wondered if when Jesus said we were to be salt to the earth is this what he meant - choirs that don't smile , hymns that no one knows , specials so old that Noah wouldn't know them, is this really being salt?

Well its over !

later

I have been away...

I know I haven't been on here much of late.
Among my many reasons its just the busyness of life.

And from Oct till April I live in a kind off cocoon state (why) Fishing season is over :(
It might not affect others but I just don't like winter!
When I can go its like I am alive !
I see on a site that calculates the number of days , hours and minutes till fishing season opens its now as of todat at 70 days :) so hopefully now I can start to come alive.

My closest town which is 15 minutes away This week has opened a wal-mart , so now for the first time in my life I live less than one hour from one.

This you might think is weird but with the big 40 on my radar this year I kind been thinking about some of the things I have never done...
Like
I have never flown.
Never been to Florida
Never been arrested ( that's a good thing)
Never gone beyond my B.A. degree in religion.
Never had a broken bone.
Never played a x- box ( or the like)
Never been on a city bus
Never drank a beer or alcohol. ( That's an legacy I hope my kids will have too)
Never won a spelling bee.
Never won a grammar contest.
Never successfully read through the entire bible in a year. (started but not finished)


Now I am not going to make this a must do list before I die but its just what I kinda been running through my mind of late.

I have asked other men if turning 40 bothered them ? They didn't reply which didn't help.
But I kind off felt it today playing street hockey for two hours with other kids and adults.
I walk 3 times a week but that didn't help today with playing hockey.

To me this is a turning point in my future the big 40 - So I am back to watching my diet and the families more carefully ( a personal annoyance I Have is -- over weight sloppy ministers so I try not to appear as such) and exercising and working on my attitude and to keep reading and learning.

So I am am hopefully charging ahead in to my 40's with the right stuff.

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only 17

While our american news stations showed our friends to the south hitting the stores for deals today , I too went for a great deal that was only on at 8:00 pm and it was for a sewing machine, but only 17 came in and no rain checks...

It amazed me to see the lack of patience people had when it came to getting something for themselves.
They wanted it and they rushed the door for a sewing machine.
Oh well its christmas and I guess culture excuses this behavior for that reason .

I have been on a blogger break for a while. Life seems to have just dictated my time away from blogging .

But now with christmass on the way I'll be back to blog and and hope fully keep my head above the waters while haveing a merry christmas..

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Happy Thanksgiving

What a great day here in Nova Scotia we are having a nor/easter which means heavy rains and wind.
But its better than snow:)
So being Thanksgiving I preached a sermon on how to be thankfully- something that isn't practiced enough !
And we had 6 people in for dinner which was cool along with a football GAME AND A BALL GAME to be entertained by.
So as we sat around the table the question was asked what everyone was thankful for...
it was interesting the things that were said and the differences in the responses.
But when we begins to think about it, we do have a lot to be thankful for.
For me it was being introduced yesterday to some acadian culture as I watched a sawmill do its thing and then sitting around a table eating deer meet sandwiches and talking about trouts and deers.

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up with the old

It has now been a week since in the parsonage we have removed all carpets that were at least 30 years old and replaced them with that flooring that looks like hardwood but isn't.

It's hard work and i wnat to thank thoes who helped.

What a reminder that some put down and others tare up!

Its a great day when you get to do both !!

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Time for something new

Since my last post I took a 3 hour cruise (ferry) to n.b. and back.
Going on the ferry had a couple of bus tours aboard .
What interesting people seem to be attracted to bus tours...
I guess I won't pick on them today!

I have recently gone to my first Baptist induction service for a new minister.
Truly we Wesleyans have got things good compared to others.

But as we are in this service with all of its formalities , right in the middle of it, they had 3 choruses.
Why?
It wasn't a worship service.
The hymns they sang were wonderful funeral marches.
These were new songs so mostly no one knew the words.
They were I think arranged wrong.( Slow to fast. I prefer fast to slow)

Who say's there has to be " chorus" to make it a service ?
Can not the reading of the word be seen as worship?
Do we forget that hymns are worship to?

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NY Islanders

Yarmouth has hosted this week the NHL training camp NY Islanders and last night we went to their game- islanders against islanders or blue team against white team and it was great!
The chance to see NHL players play any time is great :)

But this morning we are getting another chance to see someone famous and its Tropical Storm Ophelia that's now hitting us with rain.

I checked out our provincial gov't Emergency Preparedness Checklist WEB SITE to see what they recommend in case we lose our power or suffer even greater loss.
I wonder how many hits they get from serious people or is it a service offered but just used.
I am curious because As a church we have a " Emergency Preparedness Checklist" for eternal disaster and not a lot of people seem to be taking this one serious.
So As a church I hope we are getting hits ( people) and being a service offered but not used!

We Need Revival !
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It's amazing to me...

Well Sunday is just about over and now its time to review the day.

Now that my sermon is over I wish I had just about one more quote to have tied it all together but its over now! And maybe I should of reside a few words differently
but its done and next Sunday is now on the radar.

While leading the song service today someone got up and did a interruptive dance.
I am o.k. with this knowing the person's sincerity.
Now had I gotten up to dance I would of been escorted out :) as fast as lightning.

Already I have received a phone call about it and I am sure to hear more.
Oh The joy's of a small church.

To them and all my reply is "they have done it in other Wesleyan Church's I have been at."

I will blog on this again if more is said :) this could get interesting.

Tonight we have changed bedrooms moving up stairs instead of being in the basement.
I accident's broke our head board and almost lost our mirror for the second time in our married life, plus a few other minor little things I'll leave out here.

This kind of stuff might be alright for those people on t.v. re-decorating houses all over the country and looking happy with it but for me it stinks.
So to conquer my some what sour attitude to all this I am going to think of these things as "TRAINING FOR THE MISSION FIELD" and maybe it will help :)

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Ministry is cool

Not always but on occasion I get to do things under the umbrella of ministry wich are cool, like just now a senior lady brought to me a broken window hangy thing ( or a light reflector) that needed fixing, so I took it to my tackle shop and made the repairs, and gave it back to a very happy lady , now I told her the only payment necessary was at some point during my sermon she give a good loud hallelujah .

We Wesleyans use to have words like this shouted out during sermons - but not much these days!
At least any where I have pastored. and so my question is Why ?

Well here are some of my thoughts on it....

1.) Our zeal not so much for the preacher but for the Word has been put on a diet.

2.) We have to many peole that don't hold to the same standard of doctrine.
( some hate to hear about sanctification, while others cringe at the mention of Spurgeon at all in the same church)

3.) I am worried again that our younger Christians have not been around any one being truly
blessed by God, or have seen any one come under extreme conviction for their Sin.

4.) Maybe we have generated in our church's people who are spiritually insincere - out wardly saying yes to God but not supporting it with their life.

What do you think ?

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6 hrs is to long

Today I have been recuperating from spending 6 hours the night before in Out Patients with my daughter waiting to see a Dr. About her wrist that she fell on in school .

And it was a sprang and it did need a cast AND the pain pill I gave her wore off way before the Dr. Saw here and it was not a picnic.

But in the midst of this agony, of waiting , along came ( not a spider) but two clowns that for a half hour made us all laugh. They do this a volunteers at the hospital and go thought it bringing cheer to all.

So tonight I Salute those dedicated voluteers who come and bring cheer in their clown costumes.

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The first day is over

School has begun and its a good feeling. Except in the pocket book! It cost app. $100.00 bucks for school supplies for each child and we went the cheap route which included recycling last years stuff. And here is the kicker -- its the first day and already book orders are coming home wanting more Money and all kids have to use an agenda for the year provided by the school at $ 5.00 per child so the cost of public school keeps going up.

I can't remember having all this stuff way back there in the ancient 70's and 80's.
Not even in College which my wife reminded me that I was in almost 20 years ago.

Back to school , in Yarmouth recycling is a big deal here we have 3 diff. Bags for garbage on the go plus a green cart for food. So Why can't recyling be encouraged for school supplies.
Life is expensive enough with out these list of school supplies needed for the first day of school.
I really doubt if kids really wrote in all their books and used all their pencils etc. Today.
But we did our best to keep our kids supplied for this great day!

Is amazing what parents sacrifice for their Kids...

But I am thankfor for all my parents have done for me in the past and even the present.

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Sept.6

The warmth from outside on the lake today felt more like August than September but here it is Sept.6 and we are now on the eve of a new school year:) :) :)
Our church always has a hot dog/marshmallow roast the Monday night of Labor Day weekend
to either say good bye to summer or hellow to a new school year or a opportunity to roast hot dogs and marshmallows over an open fire and sit around and talk.
Its amazing to me that this real simple idea is so successfully.
People love to come. I think for many its the only time they get to eat such a gourmet feast.
I usually can out eat any one with marshmallows but not this year, because we have as a family begun to go CAMPING and what do you eat at a camp fire but marshmallows.
We always have music at these events and this year we had a accordion to help us sing our favorites to.
Accordions are cool - they make you think of that Steve guy ( or at least me) from TV.

Not only did we camp out this weekend , have a church camp fire .... My wife saw her brother after 7 years of no communication with him.
One word sums this up. WEIRD ! Its amazing how many ways one can discuss the weather or weather related topics. He came with his family and left after an hour and so we looked at each other and asked who was that?

And finally one more note to this long weekend.
My son reported to me there was a dead bird on the church ramp, to which I went to investigate and saw there was one there, so I got my shovel and took it accross the street to my neighbor to verify its brand. It was a hawk as I thought. So I tossed it over the bank, later to night I noticed in the church window an impression of a bird who hit the window and died sadly.

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Glued to CNN

Over the past night and morning we got the remains of Katrina.
Living here in Yarmouth it isn't unusall for us to get the remaining winds of hurricanes that hit further south along the Atlantic cost.

I can not even imagine what it must be like where this hurricane hit.
But I do know one who can help and it is God.

I do think that to manage through a time like this you need more than a bumper sticker faith to survive.
For the words of Paul about having a sound doctrine I think can help people keep their faith up during these times.

Now this is usually the day my sermon is typed and ready for Sunday but its almost done which better than not, but what I am thinking is how or what would you preach in that area?

And would the people listen?

And will people in my community see that life is not about things but living.
I wonder if people will see that there can be no guarantees beyond the now unless it is in God.
I wonder how I would respond?
I wonder if our church would open its doors and show Jesus?
I wonder if my preaching would change after this?
I wonder if church would be full?

Back to CNN

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