Back to Job

I can't read Job's words without my own eyes welling up with tears. That sounds hokey, but it's true.

Job 12:5 --> "People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling." (NLT)

I have felt on the receiving end of this bit of truth. But I am confident unfortunately that I have been on the pushing end as well. And if there is one thing I would have you pray for me today, it would be that that would not be the case again -- I cannot stand to see it happen to others, I don't like it myself, and behavior such as this is against the nature Christ would have me develop. It is so human and so typical to "join with a pack", just as animals do, and hang with those "who are at ease." But how much more there is to life when you inch out on the limb and comfort those who are in trouble and throw them a lifeline as well. Of course, you have to be willing to get rid of judgmentalism and fight your urge to judge another based on their circumstances. That is tough.

Job 17:6-7 --> "God has made a mockery of me among the people; they spit in my face. My eyes are dim with weeping, and I am but a shadow of my former self." (NLT)

I can totally relate to Job in this. How difficult it is for me to distinguish what is right in God's eyes vs. what is right in my own and everyone else's. I have no idea if I have got it right. (Frankly, most of the time, I suspect I don't have it right.) But there is a little war going on inside of me. Sometimes, I feel he has plopped me in the water right in the midst of a den of sharks who circle about me mercilessly. And I wonder why. To work on humility? To overcome the sharks? I like how Job cries out and explains his grief to God.

Now, I spent some time tonight considering Job's three "friends". Really, they were quite grieved when they saw what had transpired in Job's life -- so grieved that they sat in silence with him for 7 days as discussed before. So, I can only imagine that in their hearts, they were truly seeking to help Job. But if this wasn't such a serious bit of scripture, their responses to Job's impassioned and poetic pleas would be quite comical.

Job 11:3 --> (Zophar speaking) "Should I remain silent while you babble on? When you mock God shouldn't someone make you ashamed?" (NLT)

Job 15:2 --> (Eliphaz speaking) ".......You are nothing but a windbag." (NLT)

Job 18:2-3 --> (Bildad speaking) "How long before you stop talking? Speak sense if you want us to answer! Do you think we are cattle? Do you think we have no intelligence?" (NLT)

Oh my gosh! Can you imagine being Job? I can -- how many times my intentions are misunderstood. I never speak as clearly as my heart would speak. In fact, sometimes you would think I meant the exact opposite of my intentions. Communication is a tricky thing.

So, righteous Job has lost everything, all status, all money, all children, and then been told by his wife to "Curse God and die." His three friends mock him with words accusing him of "babbling" and of being a "windbag", and asking him to "stop talking" altogether. How much Job had to endure.

WOW (Word on Wednesday)

"I am not casual!"

The Lord spoke to me tonight. The study was on Revelation 1.

"I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. "
Revelation 1:12-16 (NIV)

As we were asked to close our eyes and think about Jesus in the context of Revelation 1, I felt Jesus sit beside me. Obviously, I had asked him to comfort me and sit beside me as my friend. I think that some of the imagery in Revelation is frightening -- and this description of Jesus is so far away from the descriptions of Jesus throughout the gospels.

I enjoy my image of Jesus as my "hippie, flower-child" friend -- and I believe He is that when it is appropriate. I probably seek that alot when my behavior leads to me beating myself up, or when I get the feeling of being out-ranked or under-dressed, etc. At those times, I need to remember that Jesus could look alot like me if I met Him on the street today and that I can feel comfortable talking to Him. I get complacent sometimes with this image.

But that does not define Him. "I am not casual." I was so intrigued by these words that were whispered in my year, that I looked up the word "casual" on dictionary.com. Check it out:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=casual

After reading it, I am sure you will agree that Jesus is anything BUT casual. That word was very carefully chosen by Him tonight. Some of the words from the definitions there are: irregular, infrequent, occasional, offhand, superficial, nonchalant, lenient, permissive, not close, passing. There are some others that are more ambiguous. But these are the prevelant words, and Jesus is none of these. Indeed . . .

He is regular.
He is frequent.
He is constant.
He is planned.
He is in-depth.
He is attentive.
He is clear.
He is diligent.
He is close.
He is faithful.

He is NOT casual. Tonight I was reminded of Jesus as King of all Kings. And that I would like to be right with my boss while there is still time.

Job

"Yet your real motive -- I know this was your intent -- was to watch me, and if I sinned, you would not forgive my iniquity." Job 10:13-14 (New Living Translation)

I know Job made a false assumption here, but sometimes, I can totally relate. Things don't always make sense. I don't know who in the bible, other than Jesus, was tested like Job was tested. Honestly. I mean, Paul was definitely persecuted and tested, but he seemed to know why! Job had no reason to suspect why he was suffering so.

I hate that when that happens, don't you?

In perspective, though, I am amazed constantly at God's grace and mercy extended towards me on a daily basis (sometimes way more frequent than that). I can't imagine what he sees in me, but I am happy that he sees something.

I am still astounded while reading Job. He was so resilient through receiving all the bad news and his wife's quasi-condemnation. I can only imagine what it must be like to suffer all that, then have your health attacked. Then, to have your friends come in and press you for the sins they are sure you committed. It is amazing Job lived!

Saturday Night

I love Saturdays. No alarms are set, there's no need to rush through showering and getting ready for the day, no rush to things read before heading off to work, etc.

Today was another lazy Saturday. Poor Joce has hurt her back, and she was ordered not to sit today at all. So, we ran a couple of errands, then took a couple of walks. Silver, Bob and Joce's golden retriever, was in fine shape today -- very bright and alert and playful. We played in the yard, then played in the field. A nice nap, then out to the yard to brush Silver (she was like putty in my hands) as Bob & Joce made a fabulous dinner of steak, potatoes and a greek salad that was out of this world!

Then off to worship practice. Oh, I probably performed my personal worst at this practice...which bugs me because the band was again soooooo good. They all play by ear. They all had the same music I did, yet they were all able to do just excellent things with their instruments (mostly guitars). I felt completely blocked up. My experience over the past few times of playing with the worship team is that if the notes are not written down and practiced by me in advance, then I won't risk playing "ad lib" on Sunday. It is not completely that I am afraid of screwing up on Sunday -- I've played wrong notes on Sundays before and survived. It is just I am not sure of what notes I am supposed to play on the fly. It doesn't come naturally.

So, I don't like to end a day on that note, but there you have it -- tonight I will pray for quite a while about tomorrow's service.

Today's reading was from Job 3-4.

At this point, Job has suffered tremendous losses as outlined above. Though he has remained faithful to God, God allows Satan to test Job further. And while Job is scratching the boils that Satan uses to test him, his wife, the only thing he has left, tells him to curse God and die. Three of Job's friends arrive to comfort and console him. They were silent with Job for seven days, sitting on the ground with him and observing his suffering that was so much that he could not speak about it.

Actually, I will have to finish this tomorrow as I am literally falling asleep at this desk!

From Esther to Job

Tough transition. But today marks the beginning of another reading of Job -- we read Job:1-2. Please note that the following paragraphs represent how I imagine that things could have occurred but I make no pretense here -- I have not studied the times or context for any kind of historical accuracy or anything like that.

The first thing that struck me from our reading today was seeing that Job was an awesome father. He offered himself as interceder with God for his children. And I wonder if his children knew it at the time and fully appreciated that about him. I can only imagine that if they did know it, that they would have experienced overwhelming gratitude toward their father for his caring for them in this way. It seemed as if the children were not youngsters at the time, so Job must have continued caring for them as adult children.

Now, I imagine Job one fine day, in the evening, perhaps reading, perhaps praying, and everything is as it should be. A knock at the door. He (or his servant?) answers the door and a messenger stands before him, beaten, bruised, and frightened. Job thinks, "Hmmmm... wonder what this is all about?" The man's voice quivers as he gives Job the bad news that all his oxen and donkeys have been stolen and all the other farmhands were slain. The messenger's voice cracks and sobs overtake him as he remembers seeing his co-workers and probably family members, too, being ruthlessly killed.

Job seems to be to have been a great leader, so I imagine he hid well the shock that must have hit him upon hearing this news. I imagine that in his mind, he is saying, "What? What's up with this?" And before he even has time to react, in fact, before the messenger is done speaking, another knock is heard upon the door.

Another messenger comes in and stands before Job. This one is a shepherd and is gasping for breath because he had run all the way to Job's home from the fields. He begins to tell Job about how all of Job's sheep and all of the other shepherds were completely burned up by the fire of God from heaven. He also breaks down as he remembers seeing the charred remains of his friends and all the animals littering the fields where he worked. His adrenaline is still pumping and he is in shock as he still can't believe he was the only one to escape the massive destruction.

I imagine Job is simply stunned and looking at these men with a glazed look in his eyes, wondering if maybe he is having a nightmare. "This can't possibly be true," is what I imagine he would be thinking, because before the second messenger could finish delivering his terrible news, another knock on the door is heard. "No!" is what Job must have thought. "What now?"

Another messenger is brought before Job -- this one he recognized as a servant. In Job's head, a dialogue is going on: "Oh no, God, no, no more deaths, please! Let me wake up!" As this is running through his head over and over again, the messenger, badly shaken and barely able to speak tells Job that all of his camels are gone and all of his servants have died a violent death at the hands of Chaldean raiders. Tears run down the man's face as he remembers the shocked and frightened looks from his friends as their throats were slit.

Job starts shaking with shock. "WHAT IS GOING ON!? WHAT IS HAPPE....." Another knock. "Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. What else could possibly have happened?" A messenger is brought before him -- possibly a son-in-law or daughter-in-law -- their hair is tangled and wind-blown, their face, clothes and every part of their being is covered in dirt and dust. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, not my children. Lord, not my children, too!" Confusion surrounds him as he hears that all of his children are dead.

Maybe there was a moment or two of silence as Job absorbed all of this horrible news. And then, silently, tears begin rolling down his face. Despair overwhelms him as he remembers his children's faces, sees their warm smiles in his mind's eye, remembers their personalities, recalls the hugs they used to give him when they were little children. Loud sobs burst forth from his mouth -- they are rough and unrecognizable as human sounds. And then the wails start.

"I need to talk to you, God." He tears his robe in grief. "Oh Lord, please hear me now!" He shaves his head. "Hear my prayer, Lord!" He falls to the ground.

Sobs of grief rack Job's body as he lay on the ground before God. The messengers hear him speak, and a look of amazement comes across each of their faces, through their tears, as they hear Job pray ".......Praise the name of the Lord!"

Barb

On fire. Those are the only words I know to use to describe Barb. She comes from B.C., she recently married Jamie (great testimony there), and now they both live here in Edmonton. They started coming to Central late last year, and I believe they will be here quite a while.

What a breath of fresh air for sure. Confident, secure, in tune with God, a great future is in the making. Most of the time I know how fortunate I was in my childhood. But I think from now on, if I slip into thinking it was tough, I'll just think of Barb and pray for her. There is no comparison.

She overcame struggles and is now in hot pursuit of God's plan for her life -- went through Bible College, interned as a youth pastor in Kelowna, and now she is here with her husband.

Thank you, Lord.

Revelation

Well, well, well. We are now into the bible study season at the church -- Wednesday nights we barbeque and have a study. I was sooooo dreading this year's study on "Revelation". Probably because it seems that most of the studies I've gone to have been focused on the Old Testament and Revelation -- and it seems like alot of people want to "use" Revelation to predict the future or the timing of the end -- that kind of thing. So, I was really dreading getting back into Revelation again.

Much to my surprise and delight, however, I thoroughly appreciated and welcomed the contextualization of Revelation that Pastor Bob provided us earlier this evening. I did not know that John was 80 when he wrote it, that he had already been banished, that he wrote Revelation prior to writing the Gospel of John, that there is nothing new in Revelation -- everything in Revelation is elsewhere in the bible as well so it had all been previously prophesied.

All that AND the messages of:

The dangers of complacency. I know the dangers (and results) all too intimately.

Making sure the focus of giving to or working for the kingdom is not on how little our contribution is, but that our giving/work is done with the correct spirit.

I am so looking forward to the study to come of the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation. Great day.

Tickled on Tuesday

I'm tickled today. I took the bus from Central to Canada Place to take care of business so as to be able to work at the church. It is a BEAUTIFUL day here today. Warm, breezy and not humid. Simply fabulous.

The busses aren't too bad here, though some are horrified at the prospect of riding them! But I'm a city girl, and having bussed around Washington, D.C. (alot), Chicago and New York (though not often), I am quite used to public transportation. I'm thinking about using the bus for the months of July, August and possibly September -- it is alot cheaper than driving and I would get to read the paper each day. But, it does take more time, though I'm not sure it is significantly longer.

Yesterday's reading was from Esther 1 & 2. I quite admire Esther. I've been trying to think of who an "Esther" of today's world might be -- it is hard to find an equivalent today in our Western Culture, because really, not many ladies are forced into a role such as Esther was. (The only woman I can think of that might resemble Esther in certain terms is Eleanor Roosevelt.) Esther exercised restraint when necessary, yet was bold when the time was right. She kept close counsel with the Lord at all times and therefore was quite wise. I particularly like the fact that she gave credit wherever credit was due -- she did not try to grab the glory or edify herself in that way at all.

It is often hard being a single woman in today's society. But perhaps if we think like Esther, we can use our circumstances to great advantage with the help and guidance of the Lord.

Father's Day

What a great day. Though I had a restless night last night, I woke up relatively early today, and made my way to Central. After obsessing over "Ancient of Days" for two days, it was good to be at a computer with my flute trying to get the "licks" down pat. The flute part is just beautiful in my view. So, I worked on it before going to rehearse for the service.

I tried a few little things in the rehearsal, but was not inclined to take risks during the actual worship service. I have to practice things quite a bit in order to perform them for people. Confession: I envy those musicians who can play by ear, who can pick out tunes at the drop of a hat.

The band today was fabulous! These guys are soooooo talented. What a privlege for me to be able to "jam" with them a little bit.

Pastor Bob's sermon was extremely good today. Who wouldn't appreciate a pastor that does not hide behind political correctness, but instead speaks the truth about matters -- and today the subject was fathers, of course, and their incredible impact to their family and their family's faith. But I won't go on about it here -- you can click on the Central Tabernacle link if you like and listen to the sermon yourself.

Then out to lunch with Thuy, Kris and their kids -- a fabulous lunch in Chinatown -- we shared several dishes. My favorite was a beef dish with crispy rice noodles. The crispy rice noodles tasted like the crispy rice made the Iranian way...yum.

We shared about our fathers.

Home for a nap, but before that made a call to wish my dad a happy Father's Day. He was at my sister Judy's house in East Lansing, Michigan, celebrating Father's Day and my sister's birthday as well. It sounded like they were having a good time indeed!

After a lengthy nap, went to the movies with Linda, Jessica, Brianna, and Jason. "Monster-in-Law" was the movie of choice. I've never been a J-lo fan and I remembered why during this film. But I had a great time with my friends.

We left the theatre at 10:45 p.m. and it was still light outside, with the sunset still on the horizon, though the moon peeked in and out of the few, fast-travelling clouds. Quite a surreal scene for me -- beautiful.

Nehemiah 12 and 13 today. Alot about fathers. It seems heritage is of prime importance when I read the pages detailing lineages, or naming families throughout the Old Testament, such as in Nehemiah 12.

Lazy Rainy Saturday

It was a lazy, rainy Saturday today. Well, it could have been a lazy day for sure, but instead, I chose to go shopping with the girls -- Patty and Jana.

Stepping out in the rain to go shopping brought back a flood of memories from my teen years in Falls Church, Virginia. We lived in the heart of Falls Church, just a couple of blocks off the main artery -- Route 7 -- or Broad Street. And our position was really about halfway between two malls: Tysons Corner and Seven Corners. My shopping friend was Sarah. She and I would walk to meet each other and hop on the bus along Route 7 to one of the malls.

Sarah is very organized and her purchases were always well planned out -- unlike mine. We would shop around, then sit on a bench in the middle of a mall aisle, with our low-fat Columbo frozen yogurt, and "people watch". We would make up stories about the people walking by -- some funny, some not so funny I'm sure. And then back on the bus to go home.

The summer days in Falls Church were sweltering -- my memories are of hot, humid, lazy days, and by mid to late afternoon, a thunderstorm would roll in for a bit. The humidity in that area is incredibly high. Whether or not it was raining, we were soaked! But not in the malls.

Today, Patty and Jana picked me up and we drove over to the south side of Edmonton to a place called Southside Commons or South Commons -- not sure which. While those two went to Mexx, I went across the way to a store that accommodates my unfortunately large size and found a pair of jeans. I wore the last pair out -- literally.

We went to a bookstore called "Blessings" -- I looked for the flute part to "Ancient of Days", without success. One of Jana's friends was there and they chatted for a bit. There was a CD that was playing that was great -- "Redemption Songs" by Jars of Clay. The song I really liked was "I'll Fly Away".

Then we took off for West Edmonton Mall -- the largest mall in the world. We did a bit of shopping. But what struck me there was actually on the ice rink in the mall. A few people were skating, but there were a couple that really stood out. One young boy -- perhaps 10 or 12 or thereabouts was a fantastic skater. We figured he had been to hockey camp for sure, he just glided across the ice.

But the real draw was a father and son that were out there for at least a couple of hours today, perhaps more. The father had on an Oilers jersey, and his son, who looked to be perhaps 5 years old (just a tiny little thing), also had on an Oilers jersey with a helmet, knee pads, and gloves. As I watched the two skate, I could see the father was really training his son to skate. He would glide around the rink, out of reach of his son, and his son at breakneck speed (for a 5-year old) was chasing him -- trying to catch him.

Around and around the rink they would go. I noticed the father kept very focused on his son, even though he skated ahead of him -- he knew when his son fell, he knew when his son was getting close, he was very, very attentive. And the son chased his father relentlessly! The father would suddenly veer right and then make a hard left, and his little son would follow faithfully along, doing the same thing to the best of his ability. It was like there was a length of rope between them that held them together, though the father never restricted his son's movements. Every once in a while, the father would let his son catch him -- he would catch him up in his arms and give him a big hug. The kid would laugh and laugh.

I had a great time shopping with the girls today. But the real story was about a boy and his father and the special bond between them. I could have watched them all day long.

Hired!

Well, what a great end to the week -- I've been hired. I am now working for my church and I am so pleased that I could............well..............not spit, but I think you get the gist. Although I don't always seem to appreciate it, I really have been treated amazingly well by God, by my pastor, by the leadership at Central, and by the congregation as well.

I have struggled alot the last couple of days and don't really know why. Thoughts will come into my head, and I'll take actions that disgust me. I don't understand. I seem to lose perspective sometimes far too easily. I watched a preview of a movie -- Beyond the Gates of Splendor -- you MUST see it if you have not already. It is a documentary about 5 missionary men who went into a tribe of some of the most violent people on earth, and who ended up being killed. But the story really begins at that point, because the women who lost their husbands visited and even lived with the tribe, and the particular members of the tribe, that were responsible for their husbands' murders. It is an unbelievable story that you will never forget.

I think of the evil that was stopped by the actions of these women and am in awe of the Spirit inside of them.

"Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. "
From Nehemiah 9:5-6 (New Living Translation)

Wednesday, June 15

So, it was an unusual (perhaps) weather day here in Edmonton -- cloudy and cold some of the time, warm and sunny some of the time. I have lived in a good many places, and in every single one, people say "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change." Edmonton is no exception.

Our barbeque at the new site was cancelled because it did rain enough in the past 24 hours to oversaturate the ground and create excessive mud and muck! Yuck!

Today's reading was from Nehemiah 1-3 and Acts 2. I found myself admiring Nehemiah as the action-packed man he was. There was no over dwelling on things, or pontificating to others, he just heard God's call and acted. I also admired his organizational abilities -- he had a HUGE project, but broke it down and was able to move forward confidently. He took charge, not based on his position, but on God's command. The phrase that comes to mind is one of Nike's -- "Just Do It!"

Tuesday

It is a bit overcast today. That's okay when you have to be indoors all day anyway! And it gives me an opportunity to do a little writing.

It is June and we are already getting into the planning of The Singing Christmas Tree at Central Tabernacle. This will be a very, very special event this year as it will be the last at this location. There is just a tremendous amount of time and effort that goes into this production, but we love reaching out to the community and touching hearts all over the world.

I received a couple of books to review and the first one is "And She Lived Happily Ever After - Finding Fulfillment as a Single Woman" by Skip McDonald. It is exciting to get back into the reading and writing scene again -- it seems like it has been forever.

Today's reading was from Ezra 9 -10 and Acts 1. I love Ezra's prayer on behalf of the people of Israel -- it must have been a very powerful experience indeed to result in so many people joining him in his prayer and subsequently repenting.

Picnic Day

“As long as the earth remains, there will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night."
Genesis 8:22 New Living Translation

Summertime

It is 9:55 p.m. on Sunday, June 12, 2005, as I sit to write this little devotional, and though it is cloudy outside, it is still quite light – a sign that it is summertime in Edmonton. There are other signs – green leaves, flowers in bloom, etc. But there are signs that are missing, too – like warmth!

We bundled up in sweaters, and some of us even wore gloves, as we headed out to Birch Bay Ranch in Sherwood Park, Alberta, for Central Tabernacle’s annual picnic. I rode out on the bus arranged for the seniors at Central, and had talked one of my friends, Larynda, into riding with us as well. There were only 13 of us on the bus – most who signed up did not show. Our bus driver’s name was Vanessa and she a young daughter with her as well – I would guess 6 years old or so. They agreed to participate in the picnic activities and the barbeque as well.

I foolishly did not bring a jacket and wore shoes requiring no socks, so I was a bit cold until Kathy Fowler kindly loaned me her jacket. Within minutes of that, a young girl, Mackenzie Morton, made the mistake of handing me a kitten. It was a mistake, because I had a problem handing it back to anyone including the lovely young girl who was nice enough to give it to me. My maturity level goes right down to age 2 or so when it comes to kittens. I can’t seem to share – I am pathetic and a terrible example of Christian behavior in this regard – at least today I was.

This one was special for sure; a little gray tabby, with some beautiful patches of white fur – his little kitten eyes are beautifully lined with black, which makes him a very striking kitten. He is soft and when I held him, he went right to sleep. I put him inside my borrowed jacket and the warmth lulled him into a stupor immediately. He slept in positions that amused everyone who saw him, and at one point when I woke him, he screeched and curled right up again. Oh, did I feel attached to this little bloke. Luckily, he has an owner already.

Patty Hertzog kindly set up a chair for me so I could sit and continue to hold the kitten (I think she was kind of in love with him, too) as we watched the couples events. We watched as 10 couples each first ate 3 piece of licorice from each end so they ended up in a kiss, then attempted while blindfolded to choose in correct order the letters to spell “I LOVE U”, together pick up a canoe and carry it a fair distance, with a water gun shoot the cup off of their partners’ head, and finally carry their partner across the finish line. The creative ways some husbands chose to carry their wives was very entertaining for sure.

I headed in for dinner after I found the kitten’s mother (i.e., owner) and she took him to his home so he wouldn’t get overhandled!

Oh, the salads! We had salads galore this year, and they were exceptionally good, I must say. This church knows how to cook for sure, and my body can attest to that fact with its very appearance. I had potato salad, a couple of macaroni salads, a white onion salad (perhaps), bean salad, an Asian salad of some sort, and fruit salad….along with the requisite hot dog. Yum.

Then came the dessert auction to raise funds for the youth missions’ trip to inner city Los Angeles. Dave Schroeder acts as auctioneer at this event and he has a talent for raising funds for sure. He makes it funny, fun and an all around great experience to give to the mission team. And just about everyone who purchases a dessert, passes it around to the entire group to be consumed! I tasted some fabulous desserts to be sure, but one in particular stands out in my mind – Brianna Vaxvick made some Smores that were out-of-this-world-fantastic! Soda Crackers soaked in a butter and brown sugar mixture and topped with chocolate. The butter and brown sugar ends up caramelized on one side of the cracker and the chocolate coats the other side – a simple, yet simply divine dessert.

Then we climbed back in the bus for the ride home. Everyone had experienced a good time at the picnic, including Vanessa and her daughter, who rode the zipline and had a horse ride, as well as dinner! When I asked Vanessa’s daughter how she liked the activities she participated in, she could hardly stop talking about it, she was so excited.

That was hardly a surprise to me, though, as I was excited the very first time I visited Birch Bay Ranch. Birch Bay Ranch is a camp for youth to experience the outdoors with other kids their age and hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Run by Darryl and Sharon Fraess, it is a safe environment for kids to interact with one another and also for young leaders to work at the camp under excellent supervision and participate in something unforgettable and rewarding.

When I am at Birch Bay Ranch, I get the impression it is healthy – the fresh air is healthy, the mission is healthy, the leaders are healthy – physically and spiritually – the whole atmosphere is one of health and strength. Whether you are a senior riding the bus to our picnic, a couple participating in the contest, a youth who attends the camp, a young adult hanging with your friends, or like me a single not-so-young adult, there is something for you at Birch Bay Ranch.

So, although it might feel a little chilly here in Edmonton in the summertime, there is plenty of warmth available to be experienced by anyone attending our events, including our summer picnic at Birch Bay Ranch.

Thank you, Lord for a great summertime day at Birch Bay Ranch. Thank you for good friends who watch out for me. Thank you for kittens. Thank you for providing for our seniors and other groups who need assistance. Thank you for providing for our missions’ team through the dessert auction. Thank you, Lord.

I can hardly wait until next summer.

Great Day in Edmonton

It was a great day in Edmonton today. We had 20 people show up at the 2005 Courtside Central tennis tournament at Jasper Place from 8 am - noon. It was a fun time with everyone playing four doubles rounds of about 40 minutes each. Our 2005 1st place finishers were Bob Jones and Jon Lantz. Runners up were Kris and Thuy Cao.
Also at Jasper Place today were football tryouts for young kids -- 9 years old and up. I met one of the football coaches as he was watching our tennis tournament and he said he just recently started playing (for exercise and to burn off calories), and was amazed at the talent he saw on the courts today. I let him know we had several players who would be competing in the World Masters' Games in July.
Last night, I picked up a can of pink tennis balls -- Sarah Neumann won them as a prize after the barbecue today, but I think I am going to get another can and try them out -- they looked fun.
Craig Burns graciously brought a barbecue AND cooked and served hamburgers right from the bed of his truck.
I did not play much -- just a little warming up and serving at the beginning. Until I lose some weight, and do all the stretching and rehab that I know to do for knees, the knees simply will not bear the strain of tennis. Today it was the right side of the right knee that was a problem. I really need to start working out again - everything is better when you're in shape.
Anyway, though I did not get a real workout today, I promptly feel asleep after the tennis, and did not wake up until 7 pm. Rehearsed for tomorrow's service for the rest of the evening.

Here are the folks (Mom, Dad and Jackie, that is)!  

Funny Day

Well, today was a funny day. It was actually a gorgeous day in terms of the weather. I drove to work in blue skies with maybe a few puffy clouds to break up the monotony of an all blue sky. The skies in Edmonton seem very large. And right now, it stays light until 11:00 p.m. - amazing! It tends to result in a later bedtime, though, which can wreak havoc with a person's natural clock!
Found out my folks will be making a trip out to visit next month. Now I will really have to get the room clean :) . We will have to make a trip through the mountains just so they can see all the spectacular sights -- honestly, the Canadian Rockies are beautiful to say the least.
My work visa came in last week, for which I am very grateful........now for the work! Things are in the works, though -- God has a plan for me.
Today, we had rehearsal for worship this Sunday and I loved it as usual -- my desire to play the flute is nearly insatiable right now. Personally, I think it is because I have practiced quite a bit this past year, and the sound is getting better -- in fact, although I may not be as technically proficient as I used to be, I think my tone has improved. As I was leaving the church after worship rehearsal, I was standing in the parking lot chatting with my friend Don when someone driving across the street hit a pole and knocked out one of the tires on his car -- it would not move after that. Right behind him was an EMT vehicle though that stopped right away to help. The driver did not look like he was altogether "there" if you know what I mean, so my thoughts are with him tonight -- did his life forever change with this incident? Or will it turn out to be another step in the wrong direction? If you get a chance, say a prayer for this young man.

My life changed forever on this road in the Canadian Rockies.