my wife

enthusiastic h/t to asbo jesus

soul crushing disappointment

h/t to of Wool and Water where it was found but source unknown

Wendy's Words of Wisdom

"one of the things i really love about you is that you make me laugh ... and sometimes it's not even AT you."

Wendy's still on vacation and i'm "batching" it at home since i had to return to work. i miss her ... she's worth my time.

the Internet Monk has passed to better things

he's one of my links and i have ongoing interest in things that have occurred at Internet Monk so i'm sorry to advise of his passing. i never met the man but he spoke long and hard to many many people who needed it. he passed away at home amongst his family after a struggle with an illness.

blessings on your journey.

Michael Spencer 1956-2010

this isn't the valley i'm used to

i grew up on the St. Lawrence Seaway so i've been around water all my life. i used to see black squirrels in the park in the Ottawa Valley all the time and now that i've moved from there i NEVER see a black squirrel. i see red and grey squirrels everywhere but whatever happened to black squirrels anyway?
that's not the reason i'm writing today. i'm writing about seagulls. they're rats with wings, they're scavengers that can be pretty annoying. they're pretty much pigeons that hang out by the water instead of tall buildings in downtown Winnipeg. i've seen more than my share of seagulls in my time.

i think i just saw Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

this was the grandfather of all seagulls. they grow they BIG out here on the Pacific. this bird was the size of a Swan instead of the normal pigeon like size that i'm acquainted with.

that's all i have to say.

oh wait, i also saw 2 bald eagles and 4 seals. pretty cool eh?

a Tennabrae Good Friday of sorts

it was Good Friday and i had done nothing to take notice of that fact all day. i'm not home so all of my usual paths in my life to do the things i need and want to do were not available to me. normally my Good Friday schedule would mean that i take part in the Prayer Vigil early in the morning then i'd go to the Good Friday service. i'd then spend my day with Wendy, it'd be quiet and somber most likely.

but i'm not at home on this Good Friday.

i decided that i'd go meet with Al and Ron and check out the stuff that they do. i was introduced to a program they take part in every Friday called CARTS and you can see a little info about it here and here. it was freaking amazing!

i never shook the feeling that Jesus came here to serve as i stood in the rain and watched as these new friends gave out sandwiches, hot chocolate, easter eggs, a banana, pastry, and bottles of water before they started to hand out socks, blankets, a sleeping bag, underwear, dog food to the guy with his rottweiler on a chain next to his shopping cart. i was blown away. it's hard to be warm in the rain and i was just spending an hour out there before i returned to a change of clothes, a hot meal and my comfortable life. i never shook the metaphor in my head that Jesus came here to serve as he wrapped a towel around himself and he bent down to wash the feet of those around him. then he took that further and he broke bread and further to lay down his own life for those who would follow him. Jesus came to serve and i thought long and hard about how i really should be doing more of this stuff from day to day. we all serve in our own ways but there was something very tangible about handing a pair of warm wool socks to a woman who may have to sleep in a doorway tonight or a sleeping bag or rain poncho to a guy walking the streets with his shopping cart and the treasures of his life that he can find from day to day.

i'm thankful to Al and Ron for helping to open up this door to their lives. it was also nice to meet Lynn, Bob, Sister Janice, and Sam (i hope i got all the names right). may the blessings of Christ truly be present to them all as they serve in their own Tennabrae version of service. grace, peace and hope to you my friends and more importantly may the people you serve be blessed and see the hands of Christ as you hand them a sandwich.

i'm on vacation

hello all from the west coast. i'm visiting family in Victoria British Columbia and this is the first time i've been this far west. flying over the mountains was very cool by the way i just wish ... we weren't so far above the mountains as we went over them. wouldn't it be cool to see the peaks up close as you flew over them? sorta like you were in the movies and trying to get through the pass unnoticed. not too close but ... close.


i've been a bit stressed so i'm hoping that this time off gives me an opportunity to recharge. it'll be good to chill for awhile.

it's seriously weird ... i think about you. i know that you're reading this and most of you have never met me but i've thought a lot recently about the people that are picking up the stuff i'm putting down. i've been thinking that it'd be nice to know more about the folks that are reading this. i can only glean so much by reading what you write on your own blogs, if even you do that and allow me to check out your own blog. at any rate, tell me more about you. comment.

discuss amongst yourselves. here, i'll get you started, "the Industrial Revolution was neither Industrial nor a Revolution". now i'm feeling all verklempt. (you get that reference right? that's Mike Myers on SNL)

i do think about the people that visit this little corner of the interweb. i do want to hear from others who come from a visit. i'd like to know more about people who show up. i'd like to visit your little blog too and get a little look into your soul (if you'll let me).

build one another up. be blessed my friends.