voices...

have you ever had an experience of making a decision, and you have all kinds of different voices telling you all kinds of different ways to go about making that decision...have you ever had many different voices telling you what decision to make?

if you've ever been in that situation, you know how incredibly hard it is to balance yourself. You know how difficult it is to actually make a decision because you're wanting to please everyone, yet everyone wants different things...

I was reading in Proverbs today from the message, and this is what it said:

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he's the one who will keep you on track. (Prov.3:5-7 Message)

The decision making process becomes even more interesting if you are a follower of Jesus. We are told it is wise to listen to God's voice in everything that we do.

But what is his voice saying?

I realized that because Jesus does not physically walk here on earth any longer, perhaps true wisdom is not solely finding out what God's voice is saying, but more so finding out what voices God is speaking through.

I heard it through the grapevine...

I figure some things are better heard through the grapevine...For example, when someone is not pregnant, but just has gained a little weight...it's better to hear that through the grapevine, so you don't have to look like a fool when you ask a fat person if they are expecting.

so here's my news to share through the grapevine. dana and I are dating. yeah, I liken it to asking someone if they are pregnant when they're not...so just to make everything easier, I figured I'd share this on the world wide web so that people can hear faster, so hopefully there are less of those awqward silent conversations...

I figure probably 2 people actually read this, and if both of you told one friend, and those friends told one friend each...the whole world will know in about 1,500,000,000 days.

that's not bad.

Ikea rookie...

I must have been in a cave the last 10 years, because apparently it's unusual to be 23 and never been to Ikea...I mean, I had first heard about it a long time ago on the movie "fight club," when Edward Norton is obsessed with Ikea.

I was down in Minneapolis this last weekend on vacation visiting some family, and my mom called and asked me to pick up some stuff at Ikea for her...I was off...

First off, this place is freaking huge! It's like a big blue and yellow box, a home decorators playground.

I can't even imagine how much that place is making off that stuff, I must say there were some really cool items there, and it made me want to buy a house for the sole reason of filling it with Ikea stuff. I think I have a problem.

But the stuff wasn't the main highlight for me at Ikea...It was not the cool lamps, or the nice bedroom sets, or the cool art, or trendy curtains...It was the food!

Where else in the world can you get 2 hot dogs, chips, a drink, and a cinnamon bun (that was to die for) for only $3.25!!!

What a beauty. I wish we had one of those here in Winnipeg so I could cut down my dining out budget. What a beauty, I loved it.

we made it...

I can hardly believe it...but we made it. We actually played a continuous street hockey game for 100 hours...actually 100 hours and 2 minutes to be exact.

It really was phenomenal to see the 100 hour turn over.

I have to say, I am glad it is done now. It is something I will only do once in my lifetime, and I'm glad I did it while I am still young with some agility... though I may have lost all that now!

One of the things I liked the most was meeting all these folks that were friends of Chris Watchorns (the organizer of the event). It's always good to have lot's of time to chat it up and meet new poeple, and to re-connect with old people.

I'm grateful to have been a part of this event, and am hopeful I won't have permenant damage from it!

record breaking hockey...

starting tomorrow (sunday) at 2pm central time, I will be joining almost 40 other guys to try and break the world record for the longest street hockey game ever played!

It is a fundraiser for Cancer Care Manitoba, and we are trying to beat the previous record of 30 hours straight set by some chumps from Alberta. We're gonna try and destroy that record....I know it sounds all raw raw, but I'm honestly a little frightened about how hard this is going to be...I think it's gonna be a struggle. I hope we make our goal.

here's to breaking the guinness world record holding longest street hockey game.

called to give...

every once in a while, here at the church, there is a phone call from someone who wants money. As I have not been in ministry for years and years, I don't have a crazy amount of experience with this, but I do have some...

today, a guy called the church, actually I think he's been calling the church a few times in the past week trying to get ahold of someone. Turns out the week he got ahold of us, Gavin was nearest to the phone, and he was "the man" on campus. So this guy, Darryl, he had a story, was it true I don't know, but it was a story. As Gavin told me the story, it seemed very well rehearsed...however, you can never judge for sure if a story is for real or not...

That was not the point. As Gavin was telling me the story, we both kind of had this realization that as a follower of Jesus (never mind the fact that we are pastors), we are called to give. We are not God, and we don't know the human heart. We don't know if Darryl was for real or not... but when someone asks something of you, you need to be willing to give.

Turned out Darryl was homeless, jobless, penniless, and had a plethora of illnesses... When we met him, he said "Sir, I feel like job." What he wanted from us was a night at a local hotel so he could rest. He said he was going to be getting a social assistance cheque on thursday, and would be on his way then.

After Gav and I talked to the manager of the hotel for almost 45minutes, trying to understand his side of the story (as this guy had been there a couple weeks), we finally came to the decision to put him up for one more night...

It's sometimes hard to discern exactly what a person really needs... sometimes it's better to start with what we have to give... what we do know about Jesus is that he was a giver...he helped people, they did not always deserve it.

Gavin stepped up and payed the bill for this guy to stay one more night, and also paid the unpaid previous balance from the night before...Kudos to you Gav. that is godliness.

This is ministry. haniging out with the derelicts, discerning things, seeking wisdom. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Gav even said he'd do this stuff for free he loved it so much...but that's off the record. I don't want him to be calling me up at the church saying he needs me to cover another night at the Palomino Plains Motel anytime soon.

2004 Kia Sedona LX...

that is the title of over 10 ads I've placed for this dumb minivan that we (Joel, Erik, and I) own and are trying to sell....

Frustrating, to say the least!

So I've come to this, planting ads wherever I can...if anyone needs a minivan, let me know, I've got one here! just jokes, but I think it's funny that no one is even interested at looking at this thing. We're selling it BELOW wholesale.

I guess minivans just aren't cool. We'll know next time to get something more cool, so that we can sell it faster...

Lord send our way a practical family parent who needs a practical minivan, or send a soccer mom, or soccer coach, or someone who just wants to smoke weed in a van with their friends...I don't care, we just need to sell this thing.

rainy day...good day...

it's a rainy day here in Winnipeg...but it brings thoughts of flourishing life to mind. People can often feel down, and dreary with the rain, but it inspires me...because I know what it brings.

I went downtown today, to the Millenium library to do some sermon preperation. It always seems to be raining when I go down to the library...but I like it because it seems to help my thoughts, not sure how, but it does.

There's something nice, dare I say romantic, about being in a library, looking out the glass at the downtown being soothed with rain, with a good cup of coffee close by, reading books that bring your thoughts closer to your creator.

jehovah jireh...

funny how sometimes you so clearly see God giving good things to you, even though he is an ever-giving Being.

for the last 3 months, I've been having mediocre sleeps, at best! my mattress was a piece and so I have been sleeping on my box spring with some random foam on top to keep it "cushiony." None-the-less, nights have been full of tossing and turning, and I knew eventually I'd have to break down and buy a new bed. I was going to hold off as long as I could, however, as I added a new car purchase to my list of owing others.

yesterday, though, God pulled through for me, big time. I just decided to go visit my old pastor, Gerald Froese...He showed me upstairs where he was doing reno's, and one of the first things he said was "hey, do you need a bed?" I'm like, "yeah!" "Alright, let's load it up and bring it to your house."

How awesome is that, Gerry needed that bed out, which by the way is practically brand new, he said slept on maybe 10 times...and I desperately needed a good bed.

Thank you Gerry and Judy.

Mostly, thank you God. You are Jehovah Jireh, my provider...I lack nothing, thank you.