Archive for May, 2011

Where do I begin?

Monday, May 30th, 2011

It’s been way too long since I last posted.  It’s not that there’s been nothing to talk about, nor has it been that I had too much to do to find the time to write up something.  Certainly the opposite is likely more true.  There’s been SO MUCH to talk about, and lots of time to think about it.  The problem is, I haven’t been exactly sure HOW to say it without giving away too much information, saying something I’d regret, or offending anyone who might read.  Anyway, the straw has broken the camel’s back and I need to write something… anything… to relieve the stress.

First the good news…

  • The concert we had at the church a couple weeks ago (see my last post) was a huge success!  The bands (To Tell, and Every Spare Second) were terrific!  The logistics all worked out (except that the third band cancelled the night before and so we had to come up with “filler” to stretch the night out), and the best part is that we raised around $1500 for Compassion Canada for water wells in Ghana and Ethiopia.  I was really proud of Every Spare Second.  For their first “gig” they were fantastic.  Even the guys in To Tell thought so!!
  • I hear of a girl in our congregation who is engaged to be married in September to a wonderful man who went through our Alpha program, and I couldn’t be happier for them!!  They are a wonderful couple and I can only wish blessings upon them.
  • And Jordan came home on Satuday from Thunder Bay.  That means the reality of his wedding is getting just that much closer (only forty days from today!!)

Now the bad news…

  • I feel like I’m watching our church implode, and it grieves me SO MUCH!  The service on Sunday was great.  The message, the Praise, the people all our great!  But afterwards I hear of problems.  I hear of financial woes.  I hear of conflict.  I hear of stupid rules that make no sense.  I watch people leave and I’m saddened.  I hear rumours.  I hear stories.  My heart is heavy.

The Really Good News!!!…

No matter what’s going on, God is in control!!  I wish I knew what He was up to, but I just KNOW that He’s directing the traffic and shaping our lives, and the lives of those around us.  Sometimes it looks like things are out of control, but God’s got it all in control, and the ending will be wonderful!!!

TTFN

Posted in Church, Compassion, General, Personal | 1 Comment »

Water Everywhere?

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

Water.  It’s one of those things we totally take for granted here in the West.  We walk to a tap, turn on the faucet, and out comes fresh, clean, cold or hot water.  We drink it.  We bathe in it.  We cook with it.  It’s just there.

But that’s not the case everywhere.

According to the 2006 UN Human Development Report…

Water problems affect half of humanity:

  • Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.
  • Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water survive on less than $2 a day, with one in three living on less than $1 a day.
  • More than 660 million people without sanitation live on less than $2 a day, and more than 385 million on less than $1 a day.
  • Access to piped water into the household averages about 85% for the wealthiest 20% of the population, compared with 25% for the poorest 20%.
  • 1.8 billion people who have access to a water source within 1 kilometre, but not in their house or yard, consume around 20 litres per day. In the United Kingdom the average person uses more than 50 litres of water a day flushing toilets (where average daily water usage is about 150 liters a day. The highest average water use in the world is in the US, at 600 liters day.)
  • Some 1.8 million child deaths each year as a result of diarrhoea
  • The loss of 443 million school days each year from water-related illness.
  • Close to half of all people in developing countries suffering at any given time from a health problem caused by water and sanitation deficits.

But those are just stats, that I’m sure you glossed over.

BUT… some of the kids in our circle of friends have decided to try to help out what little way they can — by putting on a FREE concert on Friday, May 13th at 7:30pm at Good Shepherd Community Church, Scarborough.  All the money obtained through donations, food and drink sales, and the profit from mechandise sales, will go directly to Compassion Canada in order help them build clean water wells in the countries of Ghana and Ethiopia.

We wish we could do more, but it’s a start.  Why not help us out by coming on Friday to hear “To Tell“, “Every Spare Second“, and “All We Have” as they perform for this benefit concert.

There will also be opportunities to help out Compassion by sponsoring children around the world.

Join us on Friday.  The doors open at 7:30pm and the concert starts at 7:45pm sharp!

TTFN

Posted in Church, Compassion, Entertainment, General, Personal | No Comments »

An Interesting Weekend

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

What a weekend this has been, one with very mixed emotions.  It was a busy one for sure.

First, on Friday we picked up the Every Spare Second TShirts for the May 13th concert.  The girls shirts are correct, but the guys shirts are the wrong colour and sizes, so I’m hoping today that will get all straightened out and the shirts will be all in and ready to go by concert time.

Saturday was Jordan and Rachel’s first wedding shower.  This one was basically Nancy’s relatives and it was held in Hamilton.  Of course, Jordan is still up in Thunder Bay, so we brought along a cardboard cutout of him in honour of the occasion.  While the girls opened gifts and ate food, the guys went bowling.  It was a lot of fun, and brought the reality of the wedding just that much closer.

Sunday was church, and Tim was leading.  However, because his drummer wasn’t available, Daniel had to fill in on drums, and that meant no bass player, so I filled in.  I must say, that I found it much more challenging to play bass, one note at a time, than to play my 12-string guitar and sing at the same time.  Funny how that works. 🙂  The rest of the service was great, and Craig’s message was exactly what we needed to hear as a congregation.

Following the service we grouped as a congregation to discuss plans for the coming ministry year, especially in light of the leadership vacuum and financial considerations.  I may blog a little more on that later, as at the moment I’m still trying to digest exactly what transpired and where I stand on it.  I’m totally conflicted at the moment, and think that what we have is NOT a financial crisis.  We have a spritual crisis, and by fixing that, we’ll fix the finances.

Of course Sunday night was the big announcement of Osama Bin Laden’s death.  I have to admit, I have mixed emotions on this.  On the one hand, he was a human being and as such his life was worth something.  While I’m sure God looked down in great sadness at his child gone bad, I know that God still loved him, and Jesus died to save even him, but at the same time he was definitely a bad man.  I find it very interesting to watch the blogs and tweets and facebook status messages and comments last night and this morning.  There are those who are rejoicing, and those who say “How dare we rejoice.”  It’s always interesting to listen to people who get into a “holier than thou” attitude (and of course I admit that I do the same from time to time).  For some, it’s like they think that they are always right and the other side is always wrong.  Wow!  If only we could be so perfect.

And today of course, is the Federal Election here in Canada.  I worry about this.  I’m sure you know how I would vote and it’s not for me to tell you how you should vote, but I do know that for those that don’t vote, you have absolutely no right to complain when the politicians do something you don’t like.  Everyone one who is elegible to vote, should vote!!  For myself, I WON’T be voting today (I already voted in the Advanced Polls.  Ha, ha! Gotcha there, didn’t I :))

Anyway, there’s the ups and downs of this weekend.  I think I’m ready for a nap now (too bad I’m at work today!).

TTFN!

Posted in Church, General, Personal | No Comments »