July 1st

Thanks, God, for a fun day with the family, a good walk, and for being able to get all my work done early so that I could have time with Lois and the kids.
Help me to always be thankful for the gift of my family and to be the best father and husband I can be.

June 30th

God, thanks for a day of being able to get to know some folks better, and for using the pastoral gifts you have given me. Thanks also for a good practice with the Praise Team and Darryl's continued enthusiasm and great talent. I pray that he will grow into an even stronger, more confident leader that will help worship grow into something even more wonderful.
I also pray that you grant him patience as he faces the daunting task of coming up to speed with the music I ask him to learn and that he will grow more and more comfortable with working specifically on your behalf and to your glory.
Help me work with him, guiding him and encouraging him, and giving him the space he needs to grow and mature both as a worship leader and as a person of faith.

June 29th

Another beautiful, bright sunshiny day, Lord, and more reasons to give thanks.
It's good to be able to plan ahead for worship and to be able toorganize things ahead of time. I also thank you for the lunch with Scott and for all the blessings he offers me through his friendship and wisdom. It was also good to go to Lois' Band concert and to run into a parishioner there and have a good chat with her.
God, I just ask that you continue to bless me in all my relationships, with my friends and the folks I serve at St. James, so that I can better do what it is you ask of me.

June 28th

Thanks, God, for a good Bar-b-cue with the members of Session and the folks from the Mission and Outreach committee. Thanks also for having a wonderful home to host a party and for David and Anna's help setting up.
Help me look for new ways to bring the folks at church together so that we can be a tighter group, focussed on serving you the best way we can

June 27th

Thanks God, for a nice day at home with everybody. Thanks especially for David's hard work and dedication to doing better in Math and school. Bless him this summer with a time to relax and a way to continue that enthusiasm for working hard so that he will have a much better year in school.
Thanks also for the time to relax for me, and for being fully back to health again.
I ask that my physical wholeness will help me work towards a stronger sense of faith and spiritual wholeness.

June 26th: Don’t be afraid

Death is the great unknown. It is one of our greatest fears. It is something that we seek to avoid at all costs. It is something that we try to delay as long as possible. It can strike suddenly and unexpectedly. It cannot, however, be avoided.
There are different views on what happens after we have died. I believe we go to heaven if we have been good and to a hot, very uncomfortable place if we have been naughty. Some folks believe in Karma, that you assume another life form, either moving ahead if you have been good or coming back as a lesser being if you have been bad. Some folks believe you just die and there is nothing else.
While there is no consensus on what happens to our souls after our demise, there is pretty much a great consensus on the issue of not wanting to die. For the most part, very few people actually want to pass away from this life. And along with that desire to live comes a great fear of death.
That seems to me a rather odd thing. I’m really not afraid of death, because if I am right in my belief about heaven, there is nothing to fear. While I’m not perfect, I think my niceness far outweighs my naughtiness and I should stand a pretty good chance of being approved by St. Peter. Same thing with Karma. I figure I have been, for the most part, a good person, so I shouldn’t fall too far down the life-form ladder, if I fall at all. Then again, if nothing happens after death, well, there is nothing to fear.
What it boils down to for me is the point that life is what I’m concerned about most. God’s promise that good things happen to good people on their death is reassuring, but not the big selling point. I’m more encouraged by the thought of living this life as best I can and making the most out of every moment and opportunity that comes my way. There may be painful moments, there may be fearful times, there may be great disappointments, but even in those times one can make the best of life. Those might not be happy moments, but they are part of a complete and rich life.
Ultimately, for me, it’s the fear of not having lived a full, rich life that is more daunting than the fear of death. I think I can face God eye to eye if I try to live as good a life as possible now, rather than worrying about what will happen in some unknown time to come. Being able to say to my creator “I did my best to love folks and care for creation, according to your will” is, I believe, the greatest comfort in the face of our ultimate demise. Don’t be afraid of the final curtain. If you live with joy and passion and love and do your best for others and for God you have nothing to fear from death.

June 26th

God, it was a great day today!
Worship was wonderful and went without a hitch. We were truly blessed by the girls that lead us throught Communion and by Darryl's leadership and I thank you for that gift.
I also thank you for the good afternoon with the family and all that means to us. Time is so limited with David and Anna and I just pray that we have a great couple of weeks with them before they leave for camp.
Help continue to lead and to follow as I need to, so that everything I do honours you  and draws others into your loving arms.