Reading at the Beach

Back from Beulah

I am now back home with Beulah Family Camp Over, and looking at the next big event 'Christmas'
and stuff in between now and then.
If your reading this wondering what is Beulah Camp ??
Its our denominational camp that includes people that attend Wesleyan Church's in Maine,
N.B. , N.F.L.D, N.S. P.E.I. or Atlantic Canada plus one state.
The camp runs from Friday till the following Sunday.
Every day has two services and stuff planned besides .
Every Pastor on our District is assigned a job for this week of camp (it's no vacation)
Mine is in the kitchen .
So between working two meals a day and a cottage full of people, I made the time to read two books....
The divine Defense by Robert Jeffress (I was very impressed with his book)
Watch Your walk by Richard Baxter ( He is always good)
My reflection on camp is - I'm glad I had my books.
The preaching was Good - but as a preacher it's hard to hear another,
I can't comment on the music because I skipped that part of the service understand the music is current and rocking there, but personally for what they sing I can hear on christian radio and done by its composer, I'm not against it , now I am realizing more and more Hymns are still Good and for the age dynamics of the camp probably more appreciated.

This Sunday marks the beginning of 10 years of ministry Here !
I am not sure how I am swallowing This, I left for camp, on an exit from church by a fishing buddy ( treasurer, soundboard etc, etc)
People have come and gone but this one hurts, But as my wife says " do I believe what I preach" than I must leave this with God and run the race.
[ Her mini sermons hurt more than a month of mine lol ]

So moving on we hope to have our own church camp in August, for a weekend on a camping lot by a lake.
And I have also challenged people to read Unlimiting God by R. Blacaby then we'll meet over coffee and discuss the book- I think it's going to be called Pastor Dale's book club !!!
If you have read it leave a comment !

Later

welcome from Beulah

Here I am on the final Saturday of Beulah Camp.
This has got to be one of the fastest week of the year !
Looking back on the week it's been good.
Later

Happy Canada Day

"In everyone?s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then
burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should
all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit."

- Albert Schweitzer

Here is a sobering article

Suspicious Behavior Could Indicate Terror Plotting

by Anthony L. Kimery

Monday, 23 June 2008

' ... being able to distinguish the ordinary from the extraordinary' Coinciding with concerns among some intelligence services that suspected Hezbollah "sleeper cells" in Canada have been activated, Canadian law enforcement authorities increasingly are training for spotting potentially suspicious activity and behavior that may indicate terrorists are conducting surveillance or other goings-on in preparation for targeting a specific structure or location for attack. Several years ago, Robert David Steele, an outspoken veteran intelligence officer, told HSToday.us that “50 percent of the ‘dots’ that prevent the next 9/11 will come from bottom-up [local] level observation” and unconventional intelligence from “private sector parties.” Since 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and law enforcement in the Washington, DC capital region have actively urged citizens to report “suspicious activity.” Mobile electronic signs urging people to report suspicious activity are routinely placed at strategic locations throughout the metro area for periods of time. The last one of these portable warnings I saw was at the convergence of Key Bridge and George Washington Memorial Parkway on the Virginia-side of the Potomac River just across from Georgetown. Lynda Howes, a civilian member of the emergency event and management unit of the Calgary (Canada) Police Service, told attendees of the “Tri-lateral Security Conference” in Calgary last week that law enforcement must learn how terrorists operating in order to prevent attacks. She said counterterrorism is only manageable if it is tackled at the grass roots level. She explained that it’s vital that everyone - including the public, the police, government and private industry – recognizes the potential indicators of terrorism and what actions to take if, and when, they are encountered. Howes said terrorists must recruit members, research their targets, procure resources, receive, transfer and conceal money, and provide transportation and communication. And "each one of those phases represents an activity” that can be identified if a person is trained to know what to be on the look-out for. “Those activities are associated with a behavior. Once we have that behavior, those are things you and I will be witnessing every single day and are things we can pick up on as potential indicators.” In late 2002, The Air Force's Office of Special Investigations launched “Eagle Eyes,” a program to "deter terrorism by recognizing and reporting pre-attack activities," according an OSI memo. "Every terrorist act is preceded by observable planning activities," according to the OSI memo. "When troops and citizens know what to look for and how to report suspicious activity, terrorist acts can be prevented." Department of Defense personnel have routinely been advised to report suspicious reconnoitering of military facilities, people asking detailed information about specific sites, and any other activity which could indicate a "dry run” attack. DHS says “knowing what to look for and being able to distinguish the ordinary from the extraordinary are the key elements to successful surveillance detection.” “A persistent stream of reported suspicious incidents requires an understanding of the purpose of terrorist surveillance, to know what terrorists look for, and how they conduct surveillance operations,” DHS’s advice states. DHS states “terrorists conduct surveillance to determine a target's suitability for attack by assessing the capabilities of existing security and discerning weaknesses in the facility. After identifying weaknesses, they plan their attack at the point of greatest vulnerability.” “Because terrorists must conduct surveillance-often over a period of weeks, months, or years-detection of their activities is possible,” DHS continued, noting, “regardless of their level of expertise, terrorists invariably make mistakes. The emphasis of surveillance detection is to key in on indicators of terrorist surveillance activities." DHS states “successful surveillance detection efforts require immediate reporting of incidents similar to the following: Multiple sightings of the same suspicious person, vehicle, or activity, separated by time, distance, or direction; Individuals who stay at bus or train stops for extended periods while buses and trains come and go; Individuals who carry on long conversations on pay or cellular telephones; Individuals who order food at a restaurant and leave before the food arrives or who order without eating; Joggers who stand and stretch for an inordinate amount of time; Individuals sitting in a parked car for an extended period of time; Individuals who don't fit into the surrounding environment because they are wearing improper attire for the location or season; Individuals drawing pictures or taking notes in an area not normally of interest to a tourist or showing unusual interest in or photographing security cameras, guard locations, or watching security reaction drills and procedures; and Individuals who exhibit suspicious behavior, such as staring or quickly looking away from individuals or vehicles as they enter or leave facilities or parking areas Other activity which should cause a heightened sense of suspicion include: Suspicious or unusual interest; Surveillance (suspicious in nature); Inappropriate photographs or videos; Note-taking; Drawing of diagrams; Annotating maps; and Using binoculars or night vision devices “Terrorists may also employ aggressive surveillance techniques, such as making false phone threats, approaching security checkpoints to ask for directions, or ‘innocently’ attempting to smuggle nonlethal contraband through checkpoints,” DHS’s advice states. “The terrorists intend to determine firsthand the effectiveness of search procedures and to gauge the alertness and reaction of security personnel.” Karen Morley, senior director of TerraGo Technologies, Atlanta, Ga., who began her career in the geospatial industry in the US Air Force as a target intelligence specialist, told HSToday.us that terrorists need to conduct careful surveillance of a potential target in order to be confident that they can pull off a successful attack. In 2004, RAND developed the book, “Mapping the Risks: Assessing Homeland Security Implications of Publicly Available Geospatial Information,” for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, determined that “potential attackers, such as terrorist groups or hostile governments, are more likely to [utilize] reliable and timely information … such as through direct access or observation. In addition, many types of attacks, such as those by ground parties, are likely to require detailed information for attack planning purposes (depending on the target type and mode of attack). This type of information, which mostly comes from such nongeospatial sources as engineering textbooks or human expertise on the operations of a particular type of industrial complex, is essential for attackers to have a high confidence in their plan.” But according to John Bumgarner, an 18-year veteran of special operations who has worked with most of the three-letter intelligence agencies at one time or another and is now research director for security technology at the US Cyber Consequences Unit, a non-profit research institute, because of training like that promoted by Howes it has become more and more difficult for terrorists to physically recon targets, especially in the US. “To actually start planning very detailed reconnaissance of a building, and all the streets that go into it, and all the alleyways and everything else, that could require a lot of physical reconnaissance on the ground - it’s not something that you can actually just easily do anymore,” Bumgarner stressed, especially in the post-9/11 environment where conspicuous photographing, videoing and other apparent physical surveillance can, and has - repeatedly across the nation - caused people to be detained and questioned about their activities. “In other words,” said Bumgarner, “it’s gotten a whole lot harder for a terrorist to conduct the kind of conspicuous physical surveillance of a target that’s necessary for conducting a large-scale or mass casualty attack.” Consequently, more sophisticated terrorists are utilizing easily accessible geospatial information, which was examined in the April HSToday cover report, “Every Eye a Spy.”

a great thought

"God is not running an antique shop! He is making all things new!"

-Vance Havner

Life Update

It seems no matter how I really want to keep my blog updated, it never gets done.
But here is what I have been doing in the last few days.
I have been busy attending the Greater Yarmouth Prayer Encounter
with Rev. Gerhard duToit.
It's been great to listening to a man whom truly walks with God so Humbly and as He talks to us about prayer and the bible he radiates the presence of God.
It's truly a blessing when I think we can meet such a person this side of heaven.

But this is not my only blessing, this past Sunday morning (Fathers Day) I had the morning off as my vice chairwoman and my Wife took the service.
And they did a great Job ! To which I am very grateful for them doing it.

Then we went out for a seafood plater for lunch, was it Good.

Another blessing this week occurred when a Retired Minister I greatly respect lent me a book on the life of a Baptist Preacher named Harry Hutchinson born back in 1890 the book is called One Moore Mile that's done by a local author, It is worth getting .

Romans 8:1
Later

Couple Discovered Having Sex In Confessional While Church Service Going On

Wednesday June 11, 2008

CityNews.ca Staff

It's church doctrine to forgive and forget.

It's very likely the local bishop of a cathedral in Cesena, Italy will do the former but never quite be able to achieve the latter after he discovered what has to be one of the ultimate no-no's - a couple having an untamed romp in the hay in his church.

In a confessional.

During a morning mass.

The amorous duo, in their early 30s, admitted they'd had a bit too much to drink the night before and in their alcohol-induced fog decided the cramped chamber would make a perfect spot for something sinful.

Police were called and the duo was cautioned for obscene acts in public and a charge you may have never heard of - disturbing a religious function.

The contrite and now sober pair have since repented for their outrageous act of desecration and received forgiveness from the local bishop. He celebrated a "Mass of reparation" inside the tiny area to make up for the sacrilege.

It's not clear if the man and woman involved in this escapade actually attend that church, but if they do, you can be sure their next appearance inside that confessional will leave them with a long list of sins to admit to.

Reading this week (or month)

Future Grace
by John Piper

Now Reading

He'll forgive me anyway
'the devastating life of marshmallow grace
by
Steve HalliDay

This past week

This past week I read two things a book and article that I thought were very encouraging , the first was a book titled: Experiencing Prayer with Jesus by
henry & Norman Blackaby.
this was a quick read book, and very insightful on prayer, especially as I am getting to Chapter of 6 of Matthew in my ongoing sermon serious from the sermon on the mount.
The second thing I read this week that gave me hope as a rural pastor was an article I herd mentioned on the way of the master radio station- from USA Today

Dissatisfaction, yearning make churchgoers switch

By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY

The faithful are restless, a new study of Protestant churchgoers suggests.

They're
switching from church to church, powered by a mix of dissatisfaction
and yearning, according to the study by LifeWay Research. The
organization is part of the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist
Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination.

Most
of the switchers who changed their house of worship without making a
residential move (58%) say their old church failed to engage their
faith, or put their talents to work, or it seemed hypocritical or
judgmental.

But 42% of the people say they
switched because another church offered more appealing doctrines and
preaching or the preacher and church members' faith seemed more
"authentic."

"We
may believe in the same doctrine, the same God and study the same
Bible, but we are also imperfect human beings who mess up, who are not
always living out those beliefs," says Scott McConnell, associate
director of LifeWay Research. He adds in the rise of "consumerism and
narcissism" — when people expect to customize every experience to
personal taste.

More than half (54%) of
switchers changed denominations as well. Fewer than half (44%) said
denomination was an important factor in choosing a new church.

The
study, conducted in December, surveyed 632 Protestant adults who said
they switched churches. For findings on the 415 people who had not made
a residential move, the margin of error is plus or minus 3.9 percentage
points.

The study follows LifeWay's 2006 research on 469 "formerly churched" Protestants who quit church altogether.

Of the switchers, 76% call themselves "devout Christians." Only 19% of the quitters said the same.

The nation's largest denomination, the Roman Catholic Church, sees similar trends.

"The
boundaries that once kept people in one faith, one church, have become
more permeable," says Mary Gautier of the Center for Applied Research
in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

The
number of new converts to Catholicism leveled off at about 150,000 a
year for the past decade, while immigration from Catholic countries in
Latin America, Asia and Africa has pushed the tally of U.S. Roman
Catholics to 64 million. But the church has no mechanism for tracking
who washes out of the pews unless they've died, been excommunicated or
publicly renounced their faith.

"Catholics are very sticky. They may not go to church but they still stick to that identification," Gautier says.

Although
the LifeWay research finds most switchers move to larger churches,
don't blame megachurches for poaching the sheep, says Scott Thumma of
Hartford Theological Seminary, author of an upcoming book, Beyond Megachurch Myths, based on several studies of churches.

"The
1,200 or so megachurches (defined as churches where 2,000 or more
people attend weekend worship) are only one-half of 1% of all U.S.
churches and account for only 5% of all weekend worship attenders,"
Thumma says.

"And my sense, after years of
examining megachurches, is that 80% of the people who join, including
those who go through new member classes, are gone within the first two
years."

Says Brad Waggoner, LifeWay's vice
president of research and ministry development: "There's no simple
answer why people are so restless."

Decades
ago, American culture supported church loyalty out of respect for the
church, obligation to family, or social expectations. Now, he says,
that culture has shifted.

Waggoner also sees
other factors at work, such as increased skepticism or cynicism in the
wake of clergy sexual abuse or financial scandals. And some are turned
off by divisiveness in denominations over doctrine and practice, he
says.

The Southern Baptist Convention, he
says, still feels the effect of a revolution in leadership in the 1980s
that restored theological conservatives to power. The Episcopal Church
is struggling now with dissention over views of the Bible and the role
of gay clergy.

Though individual churches and
pastors can't erase those overarching concerns, the survey suggests
there is a great deal they can change or do to stem the restless tide
of switchers and dropouts, Waggoner says.

"We have a biblical responsibility to care for every person in our flock."

Another Pastor and discussed this article with great hope in that - perhaps if USA Today is right then our better days are around the corner !

********
Not only Have I read this week, but it started off to a great week on the past Sunday night when with two other church's we shared a combined service , where us Three pastors spoke for 10 min. on the Trinity, being Trinity sunday
Bill who retires in less than a month Spoke on the Father, I had the Son and Reg took the Holy Spirit.
It was a great time that was served up by really good food!
But what amazed me was the Aged saint who said she never herd of the Trinity preached on Before. Assumed but never Preached on, how can we leave out such important Doctrinal Truths especially as it makes number one as what we believe in the discipline.
What have we preached - if not doctrines such as the Trinity?
I have a sneaky idea that over time we have only concentrated on specific Wesleyan doctrines to sadly leave our people mel-nourished as to the Whole Counsel of God. Yes ! and even in my church, if I mention one specific word - there are alarming sounds of Amen, but to every thing else ( as we preach through the sermon on the mount covering so many issues of godly living) there is silence.
What's wrong with this ?

Later

Now Reading

the Holiness of God
by RC Sproul

Now Reading

Church on the Rise why I am not a "purpose-driven" Pastor by Larry DeBruyn

My New Favorite Food !!!

This is what we call in Yarmouth a Lobster Poutine. And it's My new favorite !

NOW READING....

I have two books on the go, these days.

The first is by Jerry Bridges " The practice of Godliness"

The second one I know will take longer to read is the
Institutes of the Christian Religion volume 1 by Calvin.

A few thoughts ..

I have been reading through the bible faithfully every day and today I started 2 Kings, the plan I have is book by book, which I enjoy and using a prayer book from the Anglican church given to me by a friend i have been using its morning and evening readings in the Psalms which again I enjoy!
But as I Ipod daily a preacher who is working through the book of Ephesians, I have felt hungry for Paul's words , so this week I Have started just reading through Ephesians , in its entirety, and as I am reading through My ESV Bible I have noticed over the years that I have repeatedly KEPT the same habit, of underlining all the sin passages and the what not to due passages.
And as I think about this Now I have missed for too long , what God has provided and what He wants me to do . In other words I am finding grace.

Later

Saw this Today....

The Christian who is not committed to a group of other believers for praying, sharing, and serving, so that he is known, as he knows others, is not an obedient Christian. He is not in the will of God. However vocal he may be in his theology, he is not obeying the Lord. ~ Ray Ortland

Now Reading..

Putting a Face on Grace



by: Richard Blackaby

My Neighbor

My Neighbor is burning grass as I blog. It amazes me that while we have no snow there are others who have Mountains of snow. I guess its perspective on how you see it all. But on this side I think I like it this way a lot better.

Today I tried to chase down a lady at the hospital for a pastoral call, but here name wasn't on the clergy list, the information ladies list nor on the admitting person's list.
So I called a friend and found out it was on the undertakers list. I have never meet the lady but she has been regularly requested for prayer. And here lies one off the (for Me) downers of ministry being too late. But probably to late eternally which was more important and heart breaking.

I was able to once again this year take our mid week group deeper into the profound debts of this week . We studied Palm Sunday , and again I am amazed at how little we all really know about the important facts of our spiritual life. We are so superficial just knowing enough to sound religious but not enough to defend our faith.

Now The reason the word superficial is on my mind , is that in our monthly ministers meeting( zone)
we were asked if the church has become to superficial in our world. (Good question) Well I am not sure what some were thinking in their answers , but they kinda of proved the point. They could only make presumptions and a lot of 'you knows' and 'they's' I think had the apostles preached a 'you know' and a 'they' along with a host of other hunch statements who would of listened ?
So I am reminded that I myself need to make sure I am not a superficial husband,dad,pastor, son,brother, and friend.

later


I am now reading ...

Basic Christianity by John r.w. Stott
I know its not new, and while I hadn't read it, there are two reasons for reading it.
The price was right a quarter, and its a apologetic book.

Now raeding

I try to keep two books on the go... one fiction and one nonfiction.

The fiction book I just picked up Monday at used book store and started today is....

The Scorpion's Gate by Richard A. Clarke.

Later

Farewell to Mr. Rockwood

Perry F. Rockwood, radio pastor and founder of Peoples Gospel Hour, dead at 90
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Published Monday March 10th, 2008

HALIFAX - Perry F. Rockwood, a pastor whose weekly radio sermon, the Peoples Gospel Hour, has been heard around the world has died in Halifax at the age of 90.

Rockwood, who was born in New Glasgow, N.S., died Friday in hospital after a brief illness, about two weeks shy of his 91st birthday.

Ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1943, Rockwood suffered a bitter break from the church a few years later after charging the faith's leaders with apostasy during a four-sermon series.

The split made front-page news across Canada.

The fundamentalist preacher soon founded a radio program called the Peoples Gospel Hour, which first aired Sept. 5, 1947, on CKCL Radio based in Truro, N.S.

Aside from that program, which airs Sundays, Rockwood's project has grown to include Monday through Friday radio broadcasts and the publication of religious booklets.

His radio programs have been heard on stations in Canada, the United States and throughout the world, including Africa, Asia and Europe.

Rockwood also founded and served as the pastor of the Missionary Bible Church in Halifax.

During the Pope's visit to the region in 1984, Rockwood joined some 50 other people in a small parking lot behind the church to speak out against the Pope, the Roman Catholic Church and the sacraments.

Rockwood was to be buried Tuesday in Halifax following a funeral service.

Now reading

I am now reading a book titled:
The Cross he Bore by Frederick S Leahy.

I picked up this jem from a baptist church in the area that has a book store in it. Not much but the books they carry are treasures most are reform in their theology. and it was here I picked up this book, so as I started reading it last night I googled the authors name and found he passed away January 4 , 2006. His Obituary is amazing he was born in 1922.
He pastored only three congregations till he retired in 1988. He was noted as an avid reader and an author himself.

To me it's godly men like this, that inspire me. Not the Televangelist who occupy TV with their foolishness and softened gospel, but Men who preached the word in season and out of season .
Men with depth to their message for they knew whom they spoke off.
Men who could write more in a three page chapter, than those who write a 300 page book and say nothing.

Later

Reading this week

A price for a people:

The meaning of Christ's Death

By Tom Wells

I dream

The words I dream was the beginning statement for a bunch of poems I read today at a local elementary school while waiting for my daughter.
Whatever grade these poems/stories came from were interesting while I can't remember them all I do remember a few.
* I dream off a world with no beer, so people won't drive drunk.
* I dream off a world with no animal cruelty (this was repeated a lot in the posters)
* I dream off ....

I am glad to see the kids have dreams, I think I'll give this as home work for my mid week group.
to see how they fare as mostly seniors.

Well Sunday is past and i am glad for I have been preaching through the sermon on the mount and this week we came to Divorce, so as I am working through this passage in small bits the idea came to me, I'll give some George Barna quotes and show how sadly the church has become victims of this sin, then to keep things moving i read the Wesleyan church position on it from our articles of religion then moved on to the section on oaths.
Where I wanted the people to see the value of their words and that we are constantly under the listening ear of God, hopefully we are working on it.

And Yesterday (Monday) I got my mid week lesson prepared, and decided for March to switch from the sermon on the mount and prepare for another mount - Calvary.
So using a book(used) I picked up a month ago LENTEN-EASTER SOURCE -BOOK from their list of 100 topics and text for lent choose mine for the week, " If Jesus had not come" John 15:22
the challenge comes now to take this title and give it a body. Which I enjoy.

Later

Farewell for now to a Great Christian Rocker

Larry Norman

4/8/47 - 2/24/08

Hockey People

This weekend will end our complimentary tickets for the Maritime Mariners in the MJAHL hockey league, its been great to have the tickets, till the previous owner (who gave us the tickets) was forced to sell the team and give up his team that he planned to develop, so goes business some win and some get burned.
Well for the season we have sat by the same people every game.
Which is cool! Seeing how people react week after week. [ kinda like church lol ]
The man on my left never talks the whole game you would never know he was there. ( the kind of guy I like sitting by) then there is the two older ladies to my right who have the two isle seats, which once they park , they don't like to move - even stand so you can get by.
And when they do stand up to let us pass by, they always make their thoughts known as we go by getting to our seats, but it's worse when our kids go back and forth they are nasty in their comments.
When you take the end seat be prepared to move.
It's funny though that between the second and third period my wife and I move quickly because that's when they leave their seats so really for the season we have been held hostage.
Then there's the family that sits in front of us -parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts nice people, sons and daughter in laws. They are polite and make conversation , and even take pic's and put them on face book for us to see.
Then the people behind us who are involved with the team as investors, event coordinators, billets for the team players and great hockey fans.
And there's the seat spotters , who move closer and closer to the game by sitting in un occupied seats, And man can that guy yell, I'm sure he is heard in New Found land at every game, he's loud, rude and knows it all about hockey, when the music plays he sings with it . I know he is enjoying the game in his own unique way, but man it hurts the old ears ( a sign of my turning old:( )
Then there was the guy who I say was a senior that was at the Second hockey game of his life , and in good fun he cheered for the opposing team when they scored. To this he was booed by " loyal fans of Yarmouth"
I liked that Guy he had a great spirit.

So now that our tickets have run out , our family will have to find a new way filling up the weekends , so we can have fun.

But while my season tickets are gone I still have my son's team to watch and cheer for , and just yesterday i learned my daughter is on the school basketball team so it will be off to watch her play.

The joys of kids these days,

Later

Todays sunrise

Ps. 55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon,

will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

Today's quote

Preaching
is effective as long as the preacher expects something to happen—not
because of the sermon, not even because of the preacher, but because of
God.

— John E. Hines

Tuesday

Here it is just about mid Feb.and the winter is going and fishing season is coming up quick, so to help me pass the time I am reading this week ...
Pursuit of the Holy by Corey Russel
and The Last days by Joel C. Rosenberg.

While trying to blog more I am looking for events interesting enough to write about, I am keeping my eyes open to life.

so here is an interesting thing that happened two Sundays ago a 'goth' gentleman game into church , i'm 6'oneish and I had to look up to him to talk. He had the black look right down to his fingernails. I have seen him around town for he stands out and asked my son of grade 8 if he knew him, to which he thought his nick name was Jesus. So he sat in the Back pew - while the pew was waiting for its regular occupants who sat in the choir to come down and take their usual place except for mid Nov. till Jan. because of Christmas objections.
So he sat and at times looked as board as my son. I was glad to see people talk to him, and made a effort to befriend him. Later i learned he had been invited to church that Sunday but invited to go to the baptist Church, not ours. He didn't come back this week. But unfortunately we are more inviting to the 50 and older crowd who like hymns.
I wish we could attract more , But I must work with what we have.
And I do appreciate our church and our worship.
We don't have a worship team ( which I don't like anyways, ) and were open to more musicians but we do our best!

Later

Great things to wak up with.

This morning I woke up to see another great sun rise over a layer of fresh snow.

While My wife woke up this morning to see Her ( actually my son's) Science Fair Project Done and ready to take to school, after what seemed like an eternity of work getting it done.

I hope he realizes what a great mom he has to help him through grade 8 .

Either I can't remember well or life has changed a lot but I don't remember grade 8 as hard as he has it.

It's Friday my sermons done, Bullitines are done, song service picked out, and a plans for a senior home service are under way , I can say this is a great day followed by a great week.

Later

Today

Today the radio announced that schools were cancelled due to the snow storm !

So here are some picures showing the results of todays storm in Yarmouth N.S. and note the grass .

After Living in Bristol N.B. and really seeing snow this is a funny.

Today was a full day off- yesterday school was cancelled early due to forcasted freezing rain.

So the kids have had mini break !

Today I have started a new book titled....

John Calvin (His Life, HIs Teaching , and Influence)

Later

This week

As a Pastor at times I get to hear people whine about life ... and usually its not as interesting to hear it as the whiner thinks. But for the last two sundays I have been glad to hear a guy whine that he gave up tickets to Ozzy Osbourne in Halifax. And I keep telling him his mother and wife are really glad he gave them up.
Maybe I'll lend him the copy of the stryper concert dvd I picked up this week when I was shopping with out my wife. Or I'll watch it and see how my pre-teens re-act to Stryper and try to tell them how it's superior to what they hear now.

Another Pastors story! Two sundays ago I watched as my other music leader lead the service with singing. While leading it he used 'overheads' and one was the hymn COME, THOU FONT OF EVERY BLESSING, a great hymn , but when he made the over head he used a Baptist Hymnal instead of our Wesleyan Hymnal ( the one we use) . This is not an issue with me,
In fact there isn't much of a difference till the last verse, and the gap opens wide between positions. And as I'm singing and watching our people in worship, I noticed some folks frantically getting their hymn books out and turning to the right page and singing from our hymn book instead of the over head. Thankfully no new people were sitting by them.
But would they have been contaminatted by singing the words ?
Words from a free will Baptist Hymn Book
"O to grace how great a debt Daily I'm constrained to be! Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to Leave The God I love; Here's my heart, o take and seal it; seal it for thy courts above."

Here are our words
" O to grace how great a debt -or daily I'm constrained to be! Let that grace, now like a fetter, Bind my yielded heart to thee. Let me know Thee in Thy fullness; Guide me by thy mighy hand Till, transformed, in Thine own image, Im Thy presence I shall stand."

I wonder what will be the heavenly version will be we sing ?

Thats it for Pastor story's .

This week I'm reading No Holiness No Heaven by Richard Alderson.

Later

Today's quote

I read this quote today before the sun came up and I thought how true it is...

"I have never been a millionaire. But I have enjoyed a crackling fire, a glorious sunset, a walk with a friend and a hug from a child. There are plenty of life's tiny delights for all of us"
Jack Anthony (Author)

p.s. th pictures start from up.

Later

Back to blogging

My goal for 2008 is to keep this blog updated more .

So Here I am, with 69 days till fishing season starts, hating every snow storm, and wishing for warmer days.

Till that time, I am Working and living life like ...
making weekly trips to the rink watching my son play hockey or daughter,
checking out the used book store places for favorite authors or books.
reading ,blogging and tying flies.

My current read is ...
Triumph over Temptation by John Owen.
AND
FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER by Stephen Coonts. ( an author I am really liking)

Later

Crashing the breakwater

Just Read this book...

Authentic Power

by

John Avant

Good point

American missionary martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'How sadly and how slowly I am learning that loud preaching and long preaching are not substitutes for inspired preaching.'

Today at the wharf

a week of interestingg events.

November is here and with it comes the beginning of Lobster Season on the last Monday of the month, so there is an sense of intense nervousness in the air while men prepare going to sea, especially with what could be a season of low lobster prices due to the Canadian dollar , any ways tonight we had our community lobster service for the men , or more like for the church people who came from our church and the Baptist church. It was my turn to speak and so I felt lead to speak on integrity .

But this isn't the only event of the week, our new church photo copier (xerox) came for the church, man is it ever cool what it can do, compared to the one we had here for 20 years.

While this event ( new copier arriving) almost topped my week For the number one thrilling event of the week . Ok, I have more happening in life than a xerox arriving , but if you had our old copier you would agree, it was good to get a new copier.

It had to give way to the fact that my daughters elementary school (less than a mile away) had a Bomb threat and had to be evacuated and since our church is the alternate spot for emergencies , I had to be ready for that what ever it would include. (thankfully we were not needed)
Thankfully there was no bomb - thanks to the R.C.M.P. bomb sniffing dogs who came secured the grounds.
Thankfully no one was hurt and it was an early dismissal for all the kids.
Who says rural ministry can't have its excitement !!

This week saw my sons first Goal, of the season and what is paving his way to the NHL.

Later

a week of interestingg events.

Reading this week !!

Becoming a better You
by Joel Osteen

A great Call

This week I took a phone call that I wish came more often, a man called and thanked me for planting seeds in him a few years back that eventually lead to him giving his life to Jesus Christ and being Baptised this Sunday in a Baptist church.
He was so excited to be saved !
What a refreshing change from people who never excite God or get excited by God.

Later

Reading This week

Spiritual Warfare ( For every Christian)

by Dean Sherman

Reading This week

God's Guidance A slow & Certain Light

by Elisabeth Elliot

Hagee reply

Thanks for the note on Hagee I didn't know the fact you mentioned about him, so I 'll now add the two books I have of his to my section of books titled " Doctrinally Dazed " along side with Joyce M. ,Robert S. and Frost.

Later

My turn to host

On Thursday I was left to be in charge of a monthly breakfast meeting of ministers .
This is a monthly event for Wesleyan Pastors in our area and that day there 14 of us .
I had a great inspiring devotional to read which would inspire all . But instead I felt lead to ask three questions and have everyone respond with answers around the table, the first was what they enjoyed of a Ministerial we all attended last month.
My Second question was Just for them to give a note of praise for something in their lives.
( Interestingly there was a lot of " that was my praise thing too) How come we pastors get all silent when its our turn to praise the Lord when were off the platform ?
Then I asked them what one peace of advice would they give a new pastor starting out in ministry. Telling them that what they were sharing was likely one of their core values in life.
Many shared advice about family time, Or being submissive ( from the older one in our midst) , time guarding and mine being sure that you are called. So from what was said most of the pastors are really family oriented before anything Else's in their ministry.

Issues came out as we shared indicating ( I think) that pastors don't get to really share what's on their heart like we should ( me included) .
So with everything said... we all went our different ways to minister in our own way to different church's of all sizes and types . I really enjoyed doing this, Because I think that we pastors don't get a lot of encouragement, and instead of criticizing each other we should build up each other.
A ministry family is truly a great blessing to have and protect.

That was Thursday and now its Friday, and Tomorrow starts my sons hockey season or as I like to think his path to the NHL.
But Tonight I am left with a puzzle to solve, when ordering a pizza tonight the lady knew my name, now I don't go there enough for anyone to know me , but she knew it ! So I asked how she knew me and interesting we went to high school together 20+ years ago ! And I can not remember her at all, apparently she said I haven't changed my looks so she knew me.

Later

Reading This week...

This week I am reading through a book titled Spiritual Warfare by Ray Stedman.

Later

Radio Sunday

This is our sunday to be recorded and broadcast tonight on the radio , as a part of the local radio sation programing that goes out to three counties.

So if you want to hear it. Its on at 6:00 pm atalntic time available on www.cjls.com

Later

today at the beach I took these pics

Thumbs Up Glen Beck

I didn't know that last night John Hagee was the guest for Glenn Beck on his TV show.
It was Good to see he had what I thought an intelligent conversation with an intelligent pastor.
So I liked that Rev. Hagee didn't make all other pastors look dumb or foolish, I thought.
And he visibly had his bible with him and spoke the truth on how to be saved.
I always have been a fan of Rev. Hagee because when I watched him preach he used his bible .
And to me that is of significant importance in preaching !
Later

old friends

What a great lunch I had today with an old friend from Bethany Bible College Keith Moore and his wife, he has in the last year battled cancer and is waiting to hear from future test as to the success of his treatments, And He is so positive over it.

Later

Came across this quote today as I prepare for Sunday

"Preach to yourselves the sermons which you study before you preach them to others." -Richard Baxter

These signs are just up the road from Me.

Reading This week

I am reading through a book I picked up last week on a sale table in the Baptist book room.
"prayer is invading the Impossible" by jack Hayford.

Later

life beyond church

Today has been a special day for my son. He had some his friends, 2 Jr. A hockey players(their team site is on my links) and his dear old Dad over to play street hockey. What great fun street hockey is.

He had spent most of his summer home alone (bored), so he was excited to have some friends over to play the greatest sport man can play... HOCKEY.

But after his friends left his day wasn't over... as I went to pay for my gas the girl at the counter asked me to guess her age , so I guessed 22 ! My son is thinking she is trying to pick up his dad LOL ! So when I guessed she told me she was only 19 BECAUSE the guy before us had asked her on a date and he was 50 something, she was in shock. It was funny to hear my son say how he thought she was flirting with me.

From that experience we went home to watch a deer graze in our back field and while I was watching them, one deer and charged another deer, I had seen this on hunting shows but not in real life.

I love days like this because they remind me that life does exist outside the church. As a pastor I can get so fixed on everything going on in the church, that I stop enjoying life. I don't know about you but I need the enjoyment of life to keep me normal.

And now its time to plan for the week !

Later

Cape Breton Pictures

Trip around Liverpool pictures

a Rainy Tuesday Night.

Its been a few days since my last post, and I 've been busy.
Not long ago I agreed to do a wedding for a couple in my church back in their home town which is an hour and half away.
No problem they put us up for the night in motel, but she didn't tell me till I was committed that it was at 5:00 pm. ( Note to all: check out times before saying yes) so along with my wife and another church couple were in Liverpool for 24 hrs. So to avoid becoming go-fur's all day Saturday , Tim ( the guy from my church) and I took off to explore the cost of n.s. and it was cool, kinda like a wild hogs movie. He didn't go with the Tat's idea. This was a day of investing in him and seeing places I've never seen! (pictures to come) so with the wedding over and the reception over my wife and I decided to take off and catch a third period of Hockey.

So with a late night Saturday and last minute things done for Sunday, it was Sunday and my topic was grace. It was one of those mornings I wish the rapture had come for me, because the people looked so blank, they all must off had late nights as well.

With Sunday there was a potluck Sunday school meeting and I learned Sunday school will be delayed a few weeks. Due to the chaos of removing carpets and painting rooms in the church basement. Here is one delay I wish could be avoided oh well. Then off to Sanford Wesleyan church to hear a missionary promote his next trip. This was a joint church event sadly, I was the only one from my church to go, gotta work on having a bigger heart for missions in church.
the day was concluded with a lady cancelling taking over night special singers our church was having Monday. So their sleeping arrangements became the responsibility of the parsonage.
The singers came all the way from Newfoundland and sang to a big crowd of 21 for a couple of hours, then it was home feed them and see them out the door sometime in the morning.
And they were great to have around, my dog even liked them.
So they left and I went fishing with a south easterly wind and I had a great day.
The fish were biting. And I was in my zone.

And my son tonight took another step towards his dream of playing in the Nhl some day with Rep try outs.

As I think of these last few days, one thing makes me Laugh in doing a follow up on another wedding I called the "bride to be" to set up an appointment, but some man answered the phone to which I describe who I was and reason for my call and asked if _____________ was in.
To which He paused and said she was in " in the bathtub" to much info for me.
anyways she must be clean by now because she has yet to call.

Later

re-difining the word rural.

Yesterday while on the way to our church campfire, we stopped for a coffee , usually no problem ! But I was in the back country really way back , so when we went into the store I asked the clerk if their coffee was fresh and the lady said she could either nuke me some or make instant coffee for me, That was their fresh coffee.
I had no choice but to decline on her offer of fresh coffee.
I looked to make sure there were no Wesleyan church's around so I wouldn't get a call there.
After a week of being spoiled on star_ ucks coffee made by my brother I just couldn't go for it.
Oh well this is life.

At least in my rural church we have only one store that serves brewed coffee , Fresh. And TIM'S is 15 mins away.

This reminded me again that today our vocabularies can vary so much and yet sound so identical that I need to ever more as pastor be sure to get across the message of Christ in a way that all hear it with the same understanding.

Later

Summers over :(

There has become a tradition in our church that on the Monday of Labor day weekend we have a church campfire / winner roast/ marshmallow roast/
its our mark that summers over , fall is in the air and kids go back to school.

I am always amazed at the crowds we get for this simple form of fellowship.

But this year I added a new twist to the menu, I asked for desserts to be brought , and there were lots and lots and people ate lots forgetting the best thing about the night roasting marshmallows. A true delight !

So with a hint of fall in the air and the kids returning to school Thursday and my wife unemployed we are ready for fall.

Later

8:30 the phone rang

One of the greatest inventions of late years is the caller display on my phone , for those without they never get how you know them , so when my phone rang I knew the caller and by the voice I knew the person. I've had a lot of request but this one stands out as the young girl wanted to borrow a projector from our church ( which we have but for slides) but she had a disc and the church they were using for their wedding had 'a projector' on the ceiling but it was to hard to get down she said. Well I said that what they had was a power point projector and what she wanted to do was almost impossible .
Why does this make my blog today. Well this girl has been brought up in a home where t.v.'s, radio's, AND computers, are EVIL SO SHE HAD NO TECH. IDEA of what she wanted to do.
Recently I saw here with a expensive digital camera so I said do you have a computer for it to upload the pic's and of course she doesn't because there Evil .

While they don't allow such things in their own home , they have no problem in visiting someone else to watch a bill gaither video ( puke me out) or the news.

Is this 'holiness' or legalism you decide and tell me how to convince them that t.v.'s ,radio's ,computers are not evil.
While they don't have this stuff I guess I'll enjoy mine all the more.
But its a matter of do you have the stuff or does it have you ?

Later