October 22nd

A bit of a hodge-podge today, with a bit of fun, some serious stuff and some time to relax. Thanks, God, for fulfilling satisfying days like these, and for all the people that make them all the better.
Please be with Anna as she's showing slight signs of improvement; help her heal, and help us do what it takes to bring that healing and wholeness about more quickly.

October 21st

Well, still a sad day as the reality of Owen's death sinks in and Anna is still sick. At least today there was some progress and a couple of options made available in figuring out what's wrong with her.
Thanks for the way you've been working through my friends to help me work through things and to minister to Lois K and others effectively. Thanks also for the input others have given us to help figure out what ails Anna. Thanks also for the inspiration that comes through friends sharing their hearts and wisdom, and for my ability to take that shared wisdom and apply it to my own work. May that inspiration all be to your glory, and for the good of the folks with whom I will share it soon.

October 20th

Pretty much the worst day in recent memory, God, with the sudden death of Owen, whom I had recently married to Lois. I hardly got to know him, and poor Lois only had 19 days of marriage with him. It's not fair, and yet she's holding up extremely well. Bless her in these coming days, so that she can continue to bear up, so that she can grieve as she needs to and so that we can bless her and surround her with your love. Help me appreciate the folks around me all the more, and let them know my care for them now, rather than waiting for some tomorrow that may never come.
Life can be so brief sometimes, and the opportunities to love can vanish faster than the blink of an eye.

October 19th

Nothing official planned at the office, yet enough small things and visits to keep it interesting. I appreciate the peace and quiet of days like this, but I'm still frustrated by Anna's continued illness and our inability to get answers. Please help, and please be with Lois as she struggles to handle things and to make sense of what's going on with Anna.

October 18th

Some answers, but not many, as Anna went for another trip to emerge, only in a different location, to try and figure out what's going on with her. At least the doctors saw her and prescribed  antacid pills to see if that would help. Still need better answers. In other ways, life continues to be pretty good, even if there are some frustrating things.

October 17th

Kind of a frustrating day, God as Anna was taken to the emergency ward in order to try and get a handle on what's wrong with her, after so many weeks of her feeling unwell and no real answers being presented. Definitely need your presence and help.

October 16th

Lord, worship was great again, and I want to thank you for the positive comments and the great music lead by Darryl.
Anna is still not feeling well, so we're wondering what to do. Be with us so we can do what needs to be done, and place your own healing hand upon her and the caregivers that are as the hands of Jesus.Give us the strength to see it through 'til she's better.

October 16th: Darned Peas!

There once was a picky princess bothered by a single pea buried beneath a whole stack of mattresses. She was so irked by the single solid seed that she could not sleep through the night. Mind you, that was, apparently, a good thing. Only a true princess would have such delicate skin that a single pea nestled way down below twenty mattresses could bother her. Personally I think she was just way too delicate to be practical, but it’s a fairy-tale and fairy-tales aren’t realistic, so in this case she wasn’t picky, she was perfect. The perfect pea poked princess for the perfect proud prince. Huzzah and Hooray for a happily concluded fairy tale.
While we don’t deal too much with fairy princes and their pretty female equivalents today there is a kernel of truth buried beneath the layers of fantasy in the Princess and the Pea. One single irritating pea hidden in a pile of mattresses, a single pebble caught in a shoe, one lonely irritating person amidst a crowd of nameless faces, a unique painful event in an otherwise uneventful life can cause untold discomfort and misery. We understand the princess’s plight because we know what it’s like to have something apparently wee and insignificant bug us to no end.
One thing always bothers me about the Princess and the Pea: she did nothing to alleviate her complaint. I’ve never had a pea under the mattress but I have had sand in a sleeping bag when camping. (OK, those of you who know me very well can stop laughing now; I have, on occasion, camped and enjoyed it.) When you have sand in a sleeping bag the simple solution is to go outside, open it up and shake out the offending material. Problem solved. I don’t understand why the Princess couldn’t have gotten out of bed for a minute and looked for the offending item. I guess real Princesses don’t do beds; they just complain about them next morning.
Real people, however, need to do something about the irritants in their life. If not they can rub us raw to the point of being totally ineffective. It’s not always easy dealing with those problem folks, but it’s always worth it. It’s not even true to say that such folks are necessarily irritating. Just because we have a difference of opinion and it bugs us doesn’t mean that the other person is bad or even wrong. It’s up to us to figure out what really bothers us and then deal with the issue appropriately.
Every once in a while Jesus encountered folks that bothered Him. Some were outright hostile; some were so confused about their own lives, they were hurting themselves. Whatever the cause of the bother, Jesus simply told the truth about who he was and offered that truth as the solution to the issue. Some took His truth and were healed while others stayed irritating. Either way, Jesus dealt with the issue in love and no matter what the outcome, continued to love them. There’s a lesson there for us. We might not get rid of all the situations or folks that irritate us. But when we deal with them in love we can at least rest a little more easily knowing we tried.

October 15th

Nothing on the docket but hanging out with Lois. Anna is still sick, so that's a worry, but we just pray that you'll work us through it.

October 14th

Well, kind of a disappointing day today, as a lunch I had planned was cancelled at the last minute. Not a big thing, but when you get excited about something and then it doesn't happen, it's always a let-down. Still, the rest of the day was good, with an excellent sense of satisfaction over being able to get my work done and completely ready for Sunday. Thanks, God.

October 13th

Thanks, God, for the young couple that came to talk about getting married. Help them understand the commitment they are about to undertake, and help me to guide them through the process and to make their experience a happy, joyful one. Help me, as well, to reveal to them a Christ-like presence and thus draw them into the church with a positive example. Open their eyes and hearts to Jesus, as I witness to Him through the qualities with which you have blessed me.

October 12th

Still waiting for the kitchen to be finished and the work to get done. Still, it's a blessing to be able to do such things, and I am thankful to you. I pray that as we get the kitchen done and start to truly enjoy it that you will help us use it as much for your purposes as for ours.
Help us make it a place of welcome and joy and so that breaking bread together will be a holy act of feeding and loving.
Help me, as well, to keep this blessing in it's right place in my mind, so that my heart will always look to bless others as I have been blessed.

October 11th

Took a quiet day today and just worked at the church. Ended up with rehearsal for Sound of Movie, which is nice and relaxing. Thanks for those quiet days, Lord.

October 10th

Thanks God for a great day with my extended family. It was a lot of fun and a great chance to catch up with folks I haven't seen in a while. It was also a wonderful blessing to meet some the kids that have now grown up to be amazing young adults. Thanks for all the people that make me feel welcomed and accepted, and help me to be that kind of person to them as well.

October 9th

Thanks for another great day of Worship, God. I can't help but be so grateful for Julie's presence with us once again, and for the great job that Darryl is doing leading the Praise Team.
Bless him as he leads us with the ministry of music, and help him grow and mature as our leader and your child.
Grant me the words to speak and the heart to listen so that I can help him on his journey and so that we can work together effectively and in a way that honours you.

October 9th: Me! (and my stuff)

Those of you who have seen me know that I am not a small person. I am rather tall and I carry a bit of extra weight, so there is nothing about me you would consider tiny. What you see, however is what you get. There is no more to me than my physical presence.
I have a great friend who, if stretched, might be all of 5 feet, or 1.52 meters tall. She is also rather slim, so the best word to describe her would be tiny, in stark contrast to ‘large,’ the word best used to describe me. Once again, as far as my friend is concerned what you see is what you get, and what you get is a little dynamo.
Why this commentary on the respective heights of myself and a friend? Why point out the obvious and relate that we are who and what we are and nothing more? Well, according to a currently running advertising, without our stuff we would no longer be ourselves.
Think about that for a moment. If my friend didn’t have her car, she would have no identity. If she didn’t have her computer, we wouldn’t know her. If I didn’t have my woodworking tools, I’d have no idea who I was. Heavens to Betsy, if I didn’t have a Bible I would be absolutely not myself. Well, OK, my Bible is important, let’s keep that straight but even if I gave every Bible in my home and office away to someone more needful I would still be me. My stuff, my friend’s stuff, I would even suggest your stuff doesn’t define us. We are who we are within the confines of our mind and body and that’s it.
A least I hope that’s it. I can walk anywhere I like without having to have anything with me and still know who I am. I’ve been in this body all my life, God made me complete in this physical form when I was born as He did my friend and you and at no point has our Creator ever said: without extra stuff beyond your physical presence you are not you.
I don’t know how we got to this point of self-understanding. I don’t know how we have come to believe, as a society, that there is more to us than, well, us. Have we lost track of the beauty and glory of our physical essence? Are we so displeased with our own character that we need material objects to make us better? Are we so empty on the inside that we can only get sense of purpose by hanging on to stuff?
Jesus spent a lot of time reminding folks that what he cared about was people and not their stuff. He cared about how people used their stuff only because he knew that many people confused their possessions with themselves. For Jesus, the truly whole person is the one that loves others without restraint, cares for others without hesitation and shares whatever they have, including themselves with joy. Jesus knows that a person is whole and complete without any external possessions. If we’re good enough for Jesus, the son of God our creator, without extra stuff, isn’t that good enough for us?

October 8th

Just a relaxing day, Lord, hanging out with my family. Thanks.

October 7th

Thanks for good friends and for all your blessings. Time with Mike and Kathy was time well spent and a good way to ground myself.
Help me, Lord, to seek out my colleagues as a source of inspiration and support beyond my church.
Help me, also, to balance my friendships with parishioners so that we can be close enough to find joy and support in the relationship and not simply to be used as a resource or friend in need. Open my heart to trust more and to be more transparent in how I deal with people, so they know where I'm coming from, what I'm trying to accomplish (if anything) and how much they are appreciated. Help as well to keep the boundaries you expect so that my ministry and my friendships might be healthy, strong rather than weak and dependent.

October 6th

Lord, thanks for the Lunch 'n' Learn Bible study group and for their willingness to share and to ask questions. As we work on your Word you seem to work on us as well, bringing us closer together and helping us understand you as we get to know each other.
It's a wonderful blessing to be able to share with one another and explore how your speak your Word through us. Help me listen for the lessons you offer and no to just be a talking head. Help me hear what the heart has to say when we share and to respond from that same heart from which you answer our prayers and needs.

October 4th

Had time with Julie today and it was a real joy and blessing. I thank you for her support and friendship and all the many blessings she offers. It was wonderful to see her and be with her for a bit; I miss her, and as that reality is settling in I appreciate her all the more.
Lord, help me to be a good friend despite the distance, and to live up to the expectations and confidence she has placed in me.