April 22, 2010 · 9:46 am

The coming weekend

This weekend I am going to the lake for a bit of a quiet retreat. I will have one whole day of solitude, something I haven’t had in a long while. I think studying has taken its toll on my life. I guess it is bound to do that and although I am learning a lot, it is hard to just take time to be.

This weekend, I want to spend some time just walking and being quiet. I want to sit with God and let him bring some poetry and some natural beauty back into my life.

Of course I will cart along my books and keep on reading for my course which ends in a few more weeks but I don’t think it will totally occupy my mind. I hope.

A lot of my free time has been spent these days in booking accommodation for our Europe trip. The internet makes this simpler – at least the choices of where to stay can be checked out on line- but it also takes a lot of time and trust that what I see is what we’ll get. I am beginning to get excited about this vacation coming up.

So, I likely won’t be back to this space till Sunday or Monday. May your weekend be as nice as I anticipate mine to be.

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April 14, 2010 · 1:07 pm

Comfort

We never seem to be free of struggles – for jobs, for safety, for our economic situations – for life itself.   It just is hard at times and way beyond our control. 

I tend to want to fix things but there are times when nothing will really repair the broken situations.

So, I guess we learn to make the best of bad situations and go on with life. 

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

– Matthew 5:4

At least I don’t have to go it all alone – and that is something I am trying very hard to hang on to right now.

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April 9, 2010 · 7:02 pm

What kind of weather?

I will not put up any pictures of snow.  I will pretend this is not happening and maybe it will go away?

The roads around Saskatoon are just about impassable from what we heard from an employee on her way to Moose Jaw for a night at the spa.  Last we talked to her she was on the side of the road somewhere south of Dundurn.  And yet the roads are clear at Davidson.  And the roads here are not that bad either. 

Leo was scheduled to go star gazing with the mother-in-law this evening.  The Astronomical Society puts on a weekend but not tonight I guess.  The stars did not show up. 

But I will still curl up in a cozy corner and read or see what is on TV.  My head does not really feel like reading OT tonight.  I am hoping that by the end of this weekend I will have fought off this cold.

Oh, yeah, I got my final mark in Greek back today.  I did well and I am glad that it is done for now.

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April 4, 2010 · 7:42 pm

A Happy Easter to all

Christ has risen. We spent the day celebrating from the sunrise service to church to home and a big family gathering.

Now I am sitting here listening to the kids banter about the Amazing Race in the living room while outside the grandboys and grandtomboy are playing in the yard. The baby is babbling away in her mom’s arms. The contented aftermath of a good Easter spent together, too much good food and good family times.

We had another guy join our table today too, Miquel from Columbia. He was invited to join us at church this morning by Yaounde and when he was about to protest that he couldn’t come and interrupt our family dinner, Massa told him that they wanted him to come, that we were his family and he wanted him to feel welcome. And we found that Miquel doesn’t have a lot of friends that he hangs out with. I’m glad he joined us. I do love having a full table.

And Christian made it home in time to eat leftovers. He spent the last day in Provost. If you look up the history of that place you may discover why it was less than a good time. I guess they had guys in white sheets not so far in the past in that town and he ran across some interesting comments that mostly made him confine his time to his room. They probably won’t play that town again.

But now I am rather tired. I’ve eaten enough that I should go for about a four hour walk but have no energy left.

Tomorrow.

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April 3, 2010 · 5:33 pm

Holy Saturday

Today has been a busy day, full of good things and sad things and not much studying.

Since the midterm is done and I have almost caught up on my reading for the Old Testament class it feels as if I have gotten some of my life back this weekend. So today was filled instead with grandkids, some yard work, a memorial service, the never ending grocery shopping and a visit to my Aunt up at Mt. St. Joes.

Sara is home for the weekend too and I hear her down in the kitchen mixing up some carrot cake cupcakes. I will need to get the house organized for tomorrow’s Sunrise service on the river bank tonight too. The sun is up early – 6:30 am. I will get out of bed and make coffee and then the service will begin.

So, I suppose I should get a move on. Watched Julie and Julia last night. Better not let blogging take over although there is not much risk of this becoming a book.

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April 2, 2010 · 5:26 pm

Good Friday

Today Leo and I took part in something a little different.  We went on the Outdoor Way of the Cross that is put on by the Catholic parishes and the Ministerial Association.  It took place at 14 stations around the downtown core in our city. 

Just so you get an idea, I’ll give you the locations and the theme of our prayers for each of the stations. 

1. Jesus is Condemned to Death – Power and decision makers – out side city hall.

2. Jesus carries his cross – Homelessness – outside the Salvation Army

3. Jesus falls for the first time – For those suffering from addictions – outside the Liquor Board Store.

4. Jesus meets his mother – for those in poverty – outside the food bank

5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross – Christian unity – steps of the Presbyterian Church

6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus – healing of relationships – outside the Friendship Centre

7. Jesus falls the second time – for refugees and immigrants – outside the Multicultural Centre

8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem – better distribution of world’s wealth – cul de sac out side the Gateway Mall

9. Jesus falls a third time – for those who are unemployed – in front of the Federal Building (employment office)

10. Jesus is stripped of his clothes – trust in God – the bank corner

11. Jesus is nailed to the cross – Youth – outside the Margo Fournier Centre (youth centre)

12. Jesus dies on the cross –Justice system – outside the court house

13. The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross – Environmental stewardship – outside the Forestry Centre

14. Jesus is laid in the tomb – peace in the world – at the Cenotaph by City Hall.

Some of the best parts of the experience? Walking around to places that have been part of the downtown for years and seeing them and what they represent in the light of the cross.  Also the group walking was so ecumenical and so multicultural.  It was a beautiful day and by the end of the walk I think we had actually increased in size to well over 100.

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April 1, 2010 · 11:49 am

Gospel reading for Maundy Thursday

John 13: 1- 17 (NLT)

1 Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”

   Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”

9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”

10 Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

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April 1, 2010 · 10:15 am

Spring

Since it is so beautiful out today I am convinced that Spring is here for real.  Therefore it was time to get rid of the snow on the header.

And truthfully, the pussy willows are filling out and getting fuzzy.

Linea spring coming 001

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March 30, 2010 · 7:23 am

New Testament reading for today

The upside down nature of our faith; the foolishness that calls for sacrifice not power.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31(NLT)

18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say,

   “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
      and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

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March 29, 2010 · 7:14 am

The Gospel reading for the day

John 12:1-11

1 Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. 2 A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

9 When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. 10 Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, 11 for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.

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