Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Wendy's Words of Wisdom
If Ian needs to remember more than two things he needs a list and if Ian has a list then the list is one of his two things.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
what i heard in worship today
"Once there was a little bunny who wanted to run away.
So he said to his mother, “I am running away.”
“If you run away,” said his mother,
“I will run after you.
For you are my little bunny.”
“If you run after me,” said the little bunny,
“I will become a fish in a trout stream and I will swim away from you.”
“If you become a fish in a trout stream,” said his mother,
“I will become a fisherman and I will fish for you.”
“If you become a fisherman,” said the little bunny,
“I will become a rock on the mountain, high above you.”
“If you become a rock on the mountain high above me,”
said his mother, “I will become a mountain climber,
and I will climb to where you are.”
“If you become a mountain climber,”said the little bunny,
“I will be a crocus in a hidden garden.”
“If you become a crocus in a hidden garden,”said his mother,
“I will be a gardener. And I will find you.”
“If you are a gardener and find me,” said the little bunny,
“I will be a bird and fly away from you.”
“If you become a bird and fly away from me,” said his mother,
“I will be a tree that you come home to.”
“If you become a tree,” said the little bunny,
“I will become a little sailboat, and I will sail away from you.”
“If you become a sailboat and sail away from me,”said his mother,
“I will become the wind and blow you where I want you to go.”
“If you become the wind and blow me,” said the little bunny,
“I will join a circus and fly away on a flying trapeze.”
“If you go flying on a flying trapeze,” said his mother,
“I will be a tightrope walker,and I will walk across the air to you.”
“If you become a tightrope walker and walk across the air,” said the bunny,
“I will become a little boy and run into a house.”
“If you become a little boy and run into a house,”said the mother bunny,
“I will become your mother and catch you in my arms and hug you.”
“Shucks,” said the bunny,
“I might just as well stay where I am and be your little bunny.”
And so he did.
“Have a carrot,” said the mother bunny."
in my books that is the shepherd finding the lost sheep and one more example that God is love.
So he said to his mother, “I am running away.”
“If you run away,” said his mother,
“I will run after you.
For you are my little bunny.”
“If you run after me,” said the little bunny,
“I will become a fish in a trout stream and I will swim away from you.”
“If you become a fish in a trout stream,” said his mother,
“I will become a fisherman and I will fish for you.”
“If you become a fisherman,” said the little bunny,
“I will become a rock on the mountain, high above you.”
“If you become a rock on the mountain high above me,”
said his mother, “I will become a mountain climber,
and I will climb to where you are.”
“If you become a mountain climber,”said the little bunny,
“I will be a crocus in a hidden garden.”
“If you become a crocus in a hidden garden,”said his mother,
“I will be a gardener. And I will find you.”
“If you are a gardener and find me,” said the little bunny,
“I will be a bird and fly away from you.”
“If you become a bird and fly away from me,” said his mother,
“I will be a tree that you come home to.”
“If you become a tree,” said the little bunny,
“I will become a little sailboat, and I will sail away from you.”
“If you become a sailboat and sail away from me,”said his mother,
“I will become the wind and blow you where I want you to go.”
“If you become the wind and blow me,” said the little bunny,
“I will join a circus and fly away on a flying trapeze.”
“If you go flying on a flying trapeze,” said his mother,
“I will be a tightrope walker,and I will walk across the air to you.”
“If you become a tightrope walker and walk across the air,” said the bunny,
“I will become a little boy and run into a house.”
“If you become a little boy and run into a house,”said the mother bunny,
“I will become your mother and catch you in my arms and hug you.”
“Shucks,” said the bunny,
“I might just as well stay where I am and be your little bunny.”
And so he did.
“Have a carrot,” said the mother bunny."
in my books that is the shepherd finding the lost sheep and one more example that God is love.
Friday, May 4, 2012
so ... if you think of me
i've noticed this little phrase in people's speech of late as they share their need and they're trying to ask people to pray for them. i've noticed it in my seed group meetings and i noticed it in our sharing and learning meeting at my church community this week. i think the intent is for people to make themselves seem unimportant, like we (or I) don't spend any time thinking about the other in my daily travels.
the phrase irks me.
shouldn't the phrase be "so ... when you think of me"? i'm not the most relational and thoughtful person in this world but even i do actually think of you. if you're in my circle, in my sphere of influence, if you're important to me and i to you, then i do actually think of you. i chuckle to myself because this actually says that on some level i believe that some expectation should be placed on me. i suppose that on some level i believe that if you're important to me that you should expect that i think of you.
i do think of you. i also spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about me and my situation but that just points to the selfish motives that live inside this chest.
i'm going to make a special effort to try and say "so ... WHEN you think of me". it's ok to open up a little, to express need and to expect that you're heard and thought of as life commences.
i think of you.
the phrase irks me.
shouldn't the phrase be "so ... when you think of me"? i'm not the most relational and thoughtful person in this world but even i do actually think of you. if you're in my circle, in my sphere of influence, if you're important to me and i to you, then i do actually think of you. i chuckle to myself because this actually says that on some level i believe that some expectation should be placed on me. i suppose that on some level i believe that if you're important to me that you should expect that i think of you.
i do think of you. i also spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about me and my situation but that just points to the selfish motives that live inside this chest.
i'm going to make a special effort to try and say "so ... WHEN you think of me". it's ok to open up a little, to express need and to expect that you're heard and thought of as life commences.
i think of you.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
baseball season
i started to get the first confirmations of baseball games to ump yesterday and already much of May is full of games for me to do. seriously, i think that maybe i have 5 days in May where there is absolutely nothing on the schedule to do and i expect that i'll likely fill those nights in also.
baseball season is my favourite time of year. i ref football in the fall and i ref basketball in the winter and early spring but its the months from May to August that i enjoy most because i get to go out on the dusty field entering a space that expands my own personal borders as an introvert. i'm pretty good at this too. i've gotten some really good training over the years so that i've numerous Provincial AAA Championships and two Western Canadian AA Championships.
you just watch a place blow up when you make a mistake though. seriously, there's nothing like an "oh, it appears i got that one wrong" moment to put all of your efforts into perspective. the intensity of baseball in a hockey culture is also an interesting thing to see. you see there are things that you CANNOT say to an umpire and there are all sorts of things that are definitely said to an official in a hockey environment so often people assume that it's fine to treat a baseball umpire like they treat their local hockey ref. i've actually had to throw PARENTS out of the park at a baseball game on two occasions. one guy was a guy who i had called a friend and he went so far over the top that i had embarrassed him by throwing him out that he didn't want anything to do with me after that. despite those stories it really is a good space for me to be in. it teaches me to be judicious, to be honest, fair and respectful of everyone around me ... even if i think they don't deserve it.
i bought some equipment off of a retiring ump this year. i figure i've gotten $400 worth of stuff for $150 and now all i need to do is make sure that the chemical sensitivities of my wife aren't affected by the stuff and i also have to purge our life of the old gear that i won't be using now. i'm sure that there's a young kid out there who's just starting out in umping who will be willing to take me up on a GREAT deal for my used gear. seriously, it'll be a great deal because i want to encourage young kids to take it up and keep with it.
anywho, it's my favourite time of year.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
minus 8
that's the temperature outside as i set out for work this morning. it was day one of my commute to work by bike and i was thrilled to finally be able to pedal my way to work again. there have been some major developments on the bike front though.
my bike guy BUILT me a bike. he had an old hybrid style frame and he added some parts that he had laying around, including a bunch of parts from my last 2 bicycles, and he put together a forest green beauty that rides clean and smooth. forest green is my colour and i couldn't contain my excitement when i realized it was going to happen. i had taken my old garage sale bike in for tuneup and i inquired what it would take to do something like this if i managed to find the cash i needed for it. Colin didn't bother to tune up my bike, he just built me a new one. as i stood there in his garage and he explained to me what he had done i very literally said, "y'know i've resisted the urge to hug you several times". he appreciated the love but i don't think he was that interested in the hug.
last year one of my biggest complaints about my commute was how i would always freeze my fingers in the morning. my big heavy winter gloves were too sweaty to wear and wearing nothing on my hands would mean that i'd spend half the time with one hand in a pocket trying to warm it until it was the other hand's turn. on one of our trips into MEC (that would be Mountain Equipment Co-op) i decided to get some riding gloves so that i could address this constant problem that i face in wonderful Winterpeg Manitscoldout. my new riding gloves sat and waited for me to break them out of the package this morning for our inaugural ride. i had also broken out one of my longed sleeved riding shirts, a T shirt, a sweatshirt, my riding jacket, long johns, my workout pants and a thin touque under my helmet. I STILL FROZE MY FRICKING FINGERS! seriously, i wandered around work for 10 minutes trying to warm my hands up. i was thinking that maybe i'd have to cry as the circulation returned to my hands.
and it was only minus 8 outside. i can do minus 8 in my sleep, in fact i have done minus 8 in my sleep. it wasn't comfortable but i had a decent sleeping bag so i made out just fine.
well, i'm at work now. i have a hot cup of joe and i'm about to start my workday.
i had a great ride to work other than the frozen problem.
by the way, Andrew if you're reading this i don't think i can sell you the mountain bike after all, it seems that Wendy wants to convert it into a winter bike for herself. how crazy is that? she'd be so much more careful than i would be in winter so i'm much less worried about anything dismal happening than i would be if i were winter biking.
my bike guy BUILT me a bike. he had an old hybrid style frame and he added some parts that he had laying around, including a bunch of parts from my last 2 bicycles, and he put together a forest green beauty that rides clean and smooth. forest green is my colour and i couldn't contain my excitement when i realized it was going to happen. i had taken my old garage sale bike in for tuneup and i inquired what it would take to do something like this if i managed to find the cash i needed for it. Colin didn't bother to tune up my bike, he just built me a new one. as i stood there in his garage and he explained to me what he had done i very literally said, "y'know i've resisted the urge to hug you several times". he appreciated the love but i don't think he was that interested in the hug.
last year one of my biggest complaints about my commute was how i would always freeze my fingers in the morning. my big heavy winter gloves were too sweaty to wear and wearing nothing on my hands would mean that i'd spend half the time with one hand in a pocket trying to warm it until it was the other hand's turn. on one of our trips into MEC (that would be Mountain Equipment Co-op) i decided to get some riding gloves so that i could address this constant problem that i face in wonderful Winterpeg Manitscoldout. my new riding gloves sat and waited for me to break them out of the package this morning for our inaugural ride. i had also broken out one of my longed sleeved riding shirts, a T shirt, a sweatshirt, my riding jacket, long johns, my workout pants and a thin touque under my helmet. I STILL FROZE MY FRICKING FINGERS! seriously, i wandered around work for 10 minutes trying to warm my hands up. i was thinking that maybe i'd have to cry as the circulation returned to my hands.
and it was only minus 8 outside. i can do minus 8 in my sleep, in fact i have done minus 8 in my sleep. it wasn't comfortable but i had a decent sleeping bag so i made out just fine.
well, i'm at work now. i have a hot cup of joe and i'm about to start my workday.
i had a great ride to work other than the frozen problem.
by the way, Andrew if you're reading this i don't think i can sell you the mountain bike after all, it seems that Wendy wants to convert it into a winter bike for herself. how crazy is that? she'd be so much more careful than i would be in winter so i'm much less worried about anything dismal happening than i would be if i were winter biking.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
if i had a twitter account ... but i don't
as i travelled home i thought about how i could've used a twitter account over these last couple of weeks since i had all these zingers to fire out at the world. the thoughts themselves weren't all that spectacular but i thought they were of some importance perhaps only to me. it doesn't matter however since i don't own a cell phone to tweet off my little thoughts whenever they meander through my mind. i do have some impertinent things to say that may ruffle some feathers though so now that i'm a few days removed from the impact it may have on that world then i might just say them here.
as i flew over different countries and states of a different country i kind of wished things were like i'd see them on Bugs Bunny where the map would show the different states in different colours and big block letters showing me that i was about to fly over Illinois or any other state i was about to enter. also why doesn't my luggage have all those stickers on it like that time that Bugs threw the baseball clear around the globe?
yes i purposefully wore my Vancouver Canucks shirt in Chicago. yes i know you guys hate those guys. yes i'm just a bit contrary sometimes.
dad wants a golf cart for touring around the park but he can't seem to find anything under $1600 and that's just too much. interesting idea though.
no madame, that isn't a really big rock, that really is an actual manatee. see, she just moved to go eat that cabbage.
my mom has this really cool recumbent 3 wheeler that she takes around the park where they live. i was amazed when my 75 yr old pop went for a 2 mile bike ride with me at a pretty decent clip. really, dude's 75 and really quite active.
my mom watches "Dog the Bounty Hunter". wasn't expecting that.
can't believe i have to pay $20 to have FedEx send my baseball tickets. there's no way i'd get tickets if i went down there to buy them at the box office though. oh well.
there's a guy dressed up as the Statue of Liberty strumming on his guitar while trying to get people to turn into one of the We Buy Gold stores that you see every 2 miles on the way to Tampa. seriously, every couple miles someone wants to buy your gold off you and i wonder what sort of money they pay to a guy to stand in the 90 degree sun and try to get people to sell their gold.
i endured about 20 ambulance chaser billboards on the 1 hour drive into Tampa. sure is a different culture that focuses so much on hurting the other guy to get your "due".
there's an osprey that nests on top of one of the light standards in the ballpark in Dunedin. osprey's mate for life so i wonder how long they'll hang out at the ballpark.
aw man, a guy just mentioned that he'd rather be wearing his Expos jersey at the Jays game. if only i had thought of that i'd love to be doing the same thing.
Brandon Morrow thows 5 IP with only 1 hit and zero runs but all i hear about on ESPN is that Cliff Lee (the losing pitcher) threw 6 IP of 6 hits and 1 run. that's just not right.
Adam Lind is going to have a very big year. i saw him foul off about 12 pitches from Randall Delgado before Delgado finally made a mistake which was crushed so hard that there should've been a stewardess on something that travels that far.
Brennan Boesch will also have a big year for the Tigers. he's got a ton of protection in the lineup and he can be relatively incognito hiding in a lineup of stars.
Omar Vizquel will be LOVED in Toronto. he's a wizard with the glove, he's got 11 Gold Gloves for his defense over the course of his career and he's just what the Jays need on their bench. he'll have a great affect on other Latino infielders like Yunel Escobar and Edwin Encarnacion. plus he's all class.
"each day is as happy as you make it". thank you dad.
Wendy emailed me to tell me that the weather has been beautiful while i've been away. i'll still take 90 degrees here though.
you think your 20 yr old full time student, full time employed daughter should also cut the grass at your house? i don't know, maybe just buy some sheep, i think she's pretty busy already.
do i dare speak up as probably the only Democrat in a room full of vocal Republicans? out of respect for my parents i'll choose not to be the contrary one. maybe after dinner i'll be able to say something then i won't have to worry about getting thrown out of the house on an empty stomach.
you can't believe Obama killed the pipeline deal? i'm SO glad he killed it, the environmental devastation on hundreds of thousands of acres in Western Canada was VERY evident in that deal.
please tell me your reasons for basing your political opinions are more than the price of gas. we in Canada are paying about 40% more for gas but we also don't have over 10% of our population one infection away from foreclosure and homelessness.
my dad just confirmed my suspicion that he's a 9 on the Enneagram, mom is too. is it any wonder how i came to be a 9 also?
yes i realize that i'm wearing a Quebec Nordiques shirt in Denver. nobody seemed to care except for another Canadian flying out of there with me.
saw the mountains from the plane but there was next to nothing to see during the one hour on the ground in Denver as i waited for my connection.
it's rather odd that i had to fly 2 time zones west and then 1 time zone east. i feel like i'm covering the same territory twice. still no different colours or block letters on the ground beneath me.
misty and 3 degrees when i land in Winnipeg. i've already been awake since 230am Winnipeg time so i'm pretty bagged by mid afternoon. think i'll give Wendy a kiss, take a shower, eat some supper and go to bed. work starts up full bore in the morning.
forgot to reset my alarm so it woke me at 330am just like yesterday. it was a good thing i noticed Wendy's clock or i would've gotten up to start the day. i've done that before in the past.
as i flew over different countries and states of a different country i kind of wished things were like i'd see them on Bugs Bunny where the map would show the different states in different colours and big block letters showing me that i was about to fly over Illinois or any other state i was about to enter. also why doesn't my luggage have all those stickers on it like that time that Bugs threw the baseball clear around the globe?
yes i purposefully wore my Vancouver Canucks shirt in Chicago. yes i know you guys hate those guys. yes i'm just a bit contrary sometimes.
dad wants a golf cart for touring around the park but he can't seem to find anything under $1600 and that's just too much. interesting idea though.
no madame, that isn't a really big rock, that really is an actual manatee. see, she just moved to go eat that cabbage.
my mom has this really cool recumbent 3 wheeler that she takes around the park where they live. i was amazed when my 75 yr old pop went for a 2 mile bike ride with me at a pretty decent clip. really, dude's 75 and really quite active.
my mom watches "Dog the Bounty Hunter". wasn't expecting that.
can't believe i have to pay $20 to have FedEx send my baseball tickets. there's no way i'd get tickets if i went down there to buy them at the box office though. oh well.
there's a guy dressed up as the Statue of Liberty strumming on his guitar while trying to get people to turn into one of the We Buy Gold stores that you see every 2 miles on the way to Tampa. seriously, every couple miles someone wants to buy your gold off you and i wonder what sort of money they pay to a guy to stand in the 90 degree sun and try to get people to sell their gold.
i endured about 20 ambulance chaser billboards on the 1 hour drive into Tampa. sure is a different culture that focuses so much on hurting the other guy to get your "due".
there's an osprey that nests on top of one of the light standards in the ballpark in Dunedin. osprey's mate for life so i wonder how long they'll hang out at the ballpark.
aw man, a guy just mentioned that he'd rather be wearing his Expos jersey at the Jays game. if only i had thought of that i'd love to be doing the same thing.
Brandon Morrow thows 5 IP with only 1 hit and zero runs but all i hear about on ESPN is that Cliff Lee (the losing pitcher) threw 6 IP of 6 hits and 1 run. that's just not right.
Adam Lind is going to have a very big year. i saw him foul off about 12 pitches from Randall Delgado before Delgado finally made a mistake which was crushed so hard that there should've been a stewardess on something that travels that far.
Brennan Boesch will also have a big year for the Tigers. he's got a ton of protection in the lineup and he can be relatively incognito hiding in a lineup of stars.
Omar Vizquel will be LOVED in Toronto. he's a wizard with the glove, he's got 11 Gold Gloves for his defense over the course of his career and he's just what the Jays need on their bench. he'll have a great affect on other Latino infielders like Yunel Escobar and Edwin Encarnacion. plus he's all class.
"each day is as happy as you make it". thank you dad.
Wendy emailed me to tell me that the weather has been beautiful while i've been away. i'll still take 90 degrees here though.
you think your 20 yr old full time student, full time employed daughter should also cut the grass at your house? i don't know, maybe just buy some sheep, i think she's pretty busy already.
do i dare speak up as probably the only Democrat in a room full of vocal Republicans? out of respect for my parents i'll choose not to be the contrary one. maybe after dinner i'll be able to say something then i won't have to worry about getting thrown out of the house on an empty stomach.
you can't believe Obama killed the pipeline deal? i'm SO glad he killed it, the environmental devastation on hundreds of thousands of acres in Western Canada was VERY evident in that deal.
please tell me your reasons for basing your political opinions are more than the price of gas. we in Canada are paying about 40% more for gas but we also don't have over 10% of our population one infection away from foreclosure and homelessness.
my dad just confirmed my suspicion that he's a 9 on the Enneagram, mom is too. is it any wonder how i came to be a 9 also?
yes i realize that i'm wearing a Quebec Nordiques shirt in Denver. nobody seemed to care except for another Canadian flying out of there with me.
saw the mountains from the plane but there was next to nothing to see during the one hour on the ground in Denver as i waited for my connection.
it's rather odd that i had to fly 2 time zones west and then 1 time zone east. i feel like i'm covering the same territory twice. still no different colours or block letters on the ground beneath me.
misty and 3 degrees when i land in Winnipeg. i've already been awake since 230am Winnipeg time so i'm pretty bagged by mid afternoon. think i'll give Wendy a kiss, take a shower, eat some supper and go to bed. work starts up full bore in the morning.
forgot to reset my alarm so it woke me at 330am just like yesterday. it was a good thing i noticed Wendy's clock or i would've gotten up to start the day. i've done that before in the past.
Monday, March 19, 2012
stream of consciousness
i'm on vacation, alone. well i'm visiting my parents which so far has been really good. there was a hangup when i didnt have my parents address when i came through customs but that got resolved ok and i caught my plane on time. i had a 2 hr stopover in O'Hare International in Chicago and that was a bit of an eye opener. the airport is huge and there were people everywhere. my gate of departure changed twice but i still made out just fine. i sat in a huge window and read "The Catcher in the Rye" while i waited for my connection. the book itself is fascinating but i had to make sure that i was paying attention enough to catch my flight. i set my alarm and there were no problems. my elderly parents picked me up at midnight and i got them all tucked in by shortly after 130am. i say that because i couldn't sleep for a bit, i was still reading.
my 75 yr old mother knows who Dog the Bounty Hunter is. how cool is that?
we got some tickets for a Blue Jay game this week although the price is unbelievably stupid. i'm hoping i can get tix for another game when i'm there for the first game and i sure hope i can get a good price on them. my first tix showed up by FedEx today.
my parents have been together over 50 yrs and my dad's parents were together 62 yrs before Grandpa passed. i come from a legacy of happiness together. i said to my dad today that i've always loved how they seem happy and content together and his best advice to me was "each day is as happy as you make it".
we went to church yesterday and the sermon was 3 sermons long. seriously it could've easily been broken into 3 sermons and he'd have nearly a month's work done. what do i know though eh? i'm just the new guy. i did meet a 94 yr old sprightly gentleman. he had so much energy that i just hope that i have that much energy when i'm 65, let alone 94.
the evening service was rather plain sounding but there were a lot of amen's in the crowd. there is a simplicity to faith that i like when i see it. the text on the evening was the parable of Lazurus and the Rich Man. i would've preferred that the focus would be on how treat the poor and how that affects us going forward but it went toward a salvation perspective. i suppose that's fine if you weren't preaching to the converted but that didn't seem to be the case and i'd like to see the church doing more reaching out to the Lazuruses sitting at the city gate.
my 75 yr old mother knows who Dog the Bounty Hunter is. how cool is that?
we got some tickets for a Blue Jay game this week although the price is unbelievably stupid. i'm hoping i can get tix for another game when i'm there for the first game and i sure hope i can get a good price on them. my first tix showed up by FedEx today.
my parents have been together over 50 yrs and my dad's parents were together 62 yrs before Grandpa passed. i come from a legacy of happiness together. i said to my dad today that i've always loved how they seem happy and content together and his best advice to me was "each day is as happy as you make it".
we went to church yesterday and the sermon was 3 sermons long. seriously it could've easily been broken into 3 sermons and he'd have nearly a month's work done. what do i know though eh? i'm just the new guy. i did meet a 94 yr old sprightly gentleman. he had so much energy that i just hope that i have that much energy when i'm 65, let alone 94.
the evening service was rather plain sounding but there were a lot of amen's in the crowd. there is a simplicity to faith that i like when i see it. the text on the evening was the parable of Lazurus and the Rich Man. i would've preferred that the focus would be on how treat the poor and how that affects us going forward but it went toward a salvation perspective. i suppose that's fine if you weren't preaching to the converted but that didn't seem to be the case and i'd like to see the church doing more reaching out to the Lazuruses sitting at the city gate.
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