Merry Christmas

Well Hope everyone had a great Christmas, it was a different one for me, still busy but not 5 different Christmas parties this year, which in a way I missed

So After having 3 days in a row of turkey before Christmas, we were suppose to have turkey again on Christmas day like I have for the past 20 something years depending on what age I was when I started eating turkey. But we made a big switch this year and had my favorite meal ... RIBS. So it was a little different since we I was so use to having turkey on Christmas day with everything else that we do the same every year. Even though it was different it was good, I do love Ribs. So in that I realized something that was mentioned to me on the weekend - turkey doesn't really make you tired. Whatever the thing in turkey is that people have claimed for years that puts you to sleep isn't really in abundance in turkey. Its in many other foods at the same level. It's that we eat so much of it that makes us tired. We always seem to over eat on these days. Since I love ribs so much this was a great time to check this out so I over ate - for scientific reasons of course.

What was the verdict, I was just as tired and felt like falling asleep after ribs as any other day I can remember eating turkey. So in my version of mythbusters, which was more exciting than the show has been lately, the myth that turkey makes you more tired - myth "busted"

So as I break more and more myths about the Christmas season and things linked to it, its great as I research to find my belief in Jesus birth and the power of God that was involved in it more and more amazing.

Merry CHRISTmas

Why do these things exist

So we got a new vehicle to us just a little while ago and we love it, but there is one fairly peculiar thing about it that I just couldn't help but talk about it. So our Rendezvous has one of the information centers in it that tracks all kinds of things which is great for me with me when traveling so much by myself. I am weird .. I know that so no need for anyone to point that out. In that weirdness I enjoy Math, I really do, so the little gadgets on their keep my occupied as I constantly look at the different things and try to figure out all kinds of things in my head. I won't even try to explain cause those like this already understand, and those who don't, just won't. So the one thing it has is the monitor that tells you how many km's you have lfet on the gas you have. Now its funny to me to watch it go up and down and realize how inaccurate it can be, but even funnier than that is the fact that when the low fuel gage comes on .. it won't tell you how many km's are left anymore. I mean if there is a time when you want to know how many are left that would be it, it's great and all the I know that it says 607 when I fill it up and guaranteed that won't be how many I get to the tank and I guess if I pay attention to what it is when its around 65 which seems to be close to where it shuts off, but not always, sometime higher and sometimes lower.

So thank you Buick for the big Yellow sign that comes up to tell me I'm low on gas, but won't let me know how low that is!

Hockey Hockey Hockey

So after a long time of doing ... well absolutely nothing, resulting me being in the worst shape I have been in ... ever. I finally got back on the ice this past week. When I first had my surgery, I thought that maybe I wouldn't play this year, let it heal - that life would be busy and I'd start back ... sometime. But I got the itch, and once I laced them on just to go for a 5 minute skate during warm-up all that was thrown away and I had to get back as soon as possible. So the next week they needed a goalie and I threw on the equipment a little earlier than the Doc suggested and played. It was great - I mean it sucked that I could barely stand up by half way threw, that some OHL player riffled a shot of that specific shoulder, that i was so weak I could barely push my self across the crease to make a save, and that by the end I just dropped down and hoped I got hit with the puck. Owen tried to make me feel welcome back on the ice by yelling "eh la Bue" every time the puck went in the net. (I have no idea the french spelling, and I don't he was pronouncing it right anyways) After the game my legs were so tired I had to use my arms to help move my legs with the pads on, so I could take my skates off - like I said I have never been in such bad shape. As I thought about it though the feeling to get back on the ice was a lot like the feeling of speaking at church again, sitting down for hot chocolate with some students to discuss mission trips, or sitting through a great worship service like the one at Brock Christian Fellowship I went to. In the transition between jobs many people told me to take it easy, and with my shoulder surgery that turned into sitting at my house alone. I realized through this a couple of things - I do need an out let like hockey to stop my self from going crazy and 2 - God has put a passion inside of me to do ministry - that being building relationship, touching lives, and actively being a part of what God is doing. Life sucks when I'm not. I can look back and see this over the years, I'd go away for vacation and although it was great to get away, couldn't' wait to get back to the church, we'd come home and I'd run on a Sunday night to youth even though I wasn't expected back till the next day - its just how God has me wired right now.

So what am I saying - well what's your outlet, and what is it that God has put inside of you to serve Him, to make your relationship with Him exciting and growing.

For me its hockey and being an active part of peoples lives and church.

Arrogance or Obedience

So I've been working this one through in my head for the last little while, and although it's still being worked through I thought I'd work it out a little on here.

There is a belief out there that when Christians say they are ... that they are being arrogant. A couple examples of this - humanitarian, caring, law abiding ... as we go on you can put others in there and test what I am thinking. The thought behind the arrogant comment would be that it is an arrogant thought to think that only Christians can be loving, caring, giving ... so please let me make sure I get this across, I don't believe that only Christians are the ones doing this and unfortunately I would agree that many of those who practice other religions and those who claim there is no God put us to shame at times in these areas, but this doesn't mean much to the whole discussion to me.
My view of this is one of obedience. When I call this a Christian thing, I say it believing that God does exist and that He created everyone of us. Through time God laid out many guidelines to live by, and suggestions of the best way to live life for God to the fullest. A very practical example of this to me is murdering, or stealing - God laid out that these things were wrong, and this world lives by this and agrees with it. They may say that they do it cause that is the way to treat people, but God the one who created us, created that in us. To me all these things fall into the same category. I'm not a humanitarian cause thats what humans do, I don't love and care for people of this world because it's the good thing to do - we should care for others who need it. I do this because God created me to do so. You can try to separate the 2 if you want, but to me why would we as humans take credit for something that an eternal, all-knowing; all-powerful God did. If we are honest deep down there is likely just as much inside of us that drives us to do the opposite - to take from others, to make our life better. Our sin nature kicks in, and in spite of that even those that don't claim there to be a God, act in the path that Jesus did while on this earth.

It is no surprise to me that everyone no matter what their beliefs find joy and fulfillment in doing a lot of these things - God created us to do so, he promised joy, and blessings for those who do these things - too bad so many Christians only seek and want the physical blessings of monetary things instead of just accepting what God had in mind at that time.

Interesting Bumper Sticker

So I was driving the other day and saw this bumper sticker - not the first time I saw it, but it has been a while and I found it as funny as ever.

A New Day

Well God has taken us on quite the journey with all the different children that have come through our home. As I look back there are lots a great times, lots of hard times, lots of things we don't totally understand - but one thing surrounds all of that - God lead us on this path and He has always been with us through it. Today was one of the happier days, we signed the final papers to adopt our son. It's as the title suggests a new day for us, a new life in a way. Although Nathan has lived with us for over a year now, and in our hearts he has been ours since he walked through that door with curly hair and looking ever so pudgy - there is a relief after having to see kids go and knowing that he won't. There is a moment where you for a second go wow ... this is forever now, a lot I'm guessing like when people find out the are pregnant. But this wow isn't a worryness but for us a wow of what God has done. Nathan means "gift of God" and at a time of uncertainty he was surely that - a gift from God to us and that mindset has never changed over the past year.

It's so cool to me to be able to sit back now, and see this and now be excited what other "New days" God has in store.