After a great start to the PCA school year with the welcome BBQ on Wed night, classes started on Thursday and it was great to see eager students at both the elementary and JH/HS! And though I did not have too much to do since chapels don't start til next week, I'm still glad for a long weekend.
This Labour Day weekend Sarah and I will probably head into Calgary to visit some friends, do some shopping and go to Centre Street Church (Lord willing). The Labour Day classics - CFL football games for those of you non-Canadians or non-football fans - are always fun too... and I hope to watch them on television on Monday afternoon.
Friday, August 31, 2007
The Generations Thesis
Surfing around www.christianity.ca (yes, I am Canadian, eh!) I found this excellent article on the various generations and ministering to them effectively and graciously!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Desperate Pastors' Housewives
I blogged a couple weeks ago about a book I read by Shawnthea Moore concerning the television show Desperate Housewives. In scanning through the Christianity Today website I found a new title that looks even more intriguing: Desperate Pastors' Wives (Howard, 2007). I have not read it yet but the initial reviews look interesting.
(Click on my Shop at Amazon.ca if you would like to purchase it)
(Click on my Shop at Amazon.ca if you would like to purchase it)
Monday, August 13, 2007
If you are going to buy online
You'll note two fairly new links on the sidebar - one for WestJet and one for Amazon.ca
Along with being two of my favorite online shopping sites, I know am an "associate" for both companies. (Insert lame "WestJet owner" joke here, if you wish). The bottom line is that if you click on the link and then shop at either of these sites I will get a small commission. So, if you are going to make purchases at these places anyway, why not support a friend while you are at it!
By the way, I will NOT be calling a meeting, send you an email or inviting you to come to a presentation so that you can support my business. This posting and the sidebar are the only "invitation" anyone will get!
Happy shopping!
PS If you need a reminder as to why I am NOT supporting Air Canada, click here.
Along with being two of my favorite online shopping sites, I know am an "associate" for both companies. (Insert lame "WestJet owner" joke here, if you wish). The bottom line is that if you click on the link and then shop at either of these sites I will get a small commission. So, if you are going to make purchases at these places anyway, why not support a friend while you are at it!
By the way, I will NOT be calling a meeting, send you an email or inviting you to come to a presentation so that you can support my business. This posting and the sidebar are the only "invitation" anyone will get!
Happy shopping!
PS If you need a reminder as to why I am NOT supporting Air Canada, click here.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Don't know what to title this
I don’t know what to call this blog entry… On Monday evening, Mr Allan Bienert went to be with the Lord. “Uncle Al,” as he was known to our family, was like a grandpa to me… in some ways more of a grandpa than either of my two biological grandparents. When our family first moved to Three Hills, Uncle Al and Auntie Vi and their family welcomed us in various ways. Initially, I was impressed with Uncle Al because of his love for sports – hockey and baseball especially, but other sports were good too! As a young boy of 7, 8, 9 or 10 years old, he was the only guy as fanatical about sports as I was!!! BTW, years later, Uncle Al was the person who won the “Name-the-team” contest when the Three Hills Thrashers Junior B hockey team started. I remember going to countless sports events with Uncle Al… and my brother Tim joined us sometimes too – to baseball games and tournaments, to the Mac’s Midget Hockey Tournament where we first watched Petr Nedved and Uncle Al knew he was a “special player,” to Olds Grizzlies games, and local sports too (PCA Sabres, PBC Pilots, etc)
Of course, as our families got to know each other, I also learned that he was a fantastic teacher – having taught in Three Hills at both Prairie Christian Academy (formerly Prairie High School) and Three Hills High School, especially English! He was also a fine father to their five children – not a perfect dad as he would tell you, but a dad who loved and prayed for his kids and loved each of their unique gifts, talents, abilities, quirks, etc. And he and Auntie Vi prayed the same way for their grandkids too! As their children left the nest, they had our family over many times and we enjoyed Auntie Vi’s great cooking and Uncle Al’s great humour… and playing “Dictionary game” and Rook with the Bienert and friends.
I was privileged to visit Uncle Al a couple times last week before he passed away… and he was very much aware of what was happening to his body and was very much ready to go home to be with the Lord. He wasn’t fatalistic or depressed about the situation, but in fact very much at peace with the end of his earthly life nearing. It was great that all his children got to be here for a few days and say their goodbyes… and that Mr B (another nickname from our family) did not have to “endure” 2-3 weeks (or more) of a slow, painful decline in or out of consciousness.
These next few days will certainly be a mixture of joy and sorrow for the family and friends. And dear Auntie Vi will certainly miss Uncle Al LOTS!!! Yet there is no doubt where they put their strength and hope during their entire lives… and we know that the LORD will continue to give grace to Auntie Vi for each moment in the days ahead.
Of course, as our families got to know each other, I also learned that he was a fantastic teacher – having taught in Three Hills at both Prairie Christian Academy (formerly Prairie High School) and Three Hills High School, especially English! He was also a fine father to their five children – not a perfect dad as he would tell you, but a dad who loved and prayed for his kids and loved each of their unique gifts, talents, abilities, quirks, etc. And he and Auntie Vi prayed the same way for their grandkids too! As their children left the nest, they had our family over many times and we enjoyed Auntie Vi’s great cooking and Uncle Al’s great humour… and playing “Dictionary game” and Rook with the Bienert and friends.
I was privileged to visit Uncle Al a couple times last week before he passed away… and he was very much aware of what was happening to his body and was very much ready to go home to be with the Lord. He wasn’t fatalistic or depressed about the situation, but in fact very much at peace with the end of his earthly life nearing. It was great that all his children got to be here for a few days and say their goodbyes… and that Mr B (another nickname from our family) did not have to “endure” 2-3 weeks (or more) of a slow, painful decline in or out of consciousness.
These next few days will certainly be a mixture of joy and sorrow for the family and friends. And dear Auntie Vi will certainly miss Uncle Al LOTS!!! Yet there is no doubt where they put their strength and hope during their entire lives… and we know that the LORD will continue to give grace to Auntie Vi for each moment in the days ahead.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Married for 3 months - WOW!
On Sunday, August 5, Sarah and I celebrate our three-month wedding anniversary! WOW! Every once in a while someone asks me, "So how's married life treating you?" and of course, my answer is "Great!" (I have been tempted on a couple of occasions to answer: “Well, to tell you the truth, its really difficult and horrible. I wish someone would have told me it was gonna be this tough. I wouldn’t have got married at all” – just to see the look on the person’s face.)
I continue to be amazed that the Lord has blessed me with the www – World’s most Wonderful Wife! I’m reading through a Max Lucado book, Come Thirsty, and in the acknowledgements, he describes my thoughts/feelings pretty well…
“To my wife – Who would give a Renoir to a hillbilly? The Hope diamond to a pawnshop? Entrust a Lamborghini to a ten-year old? I guess God would. For he gave you to me. And I’m still amazed.”
I’m not a hillbilly or ten-year old or a pawnshop… yet I know that God has blessed me with a wife who is a priceless treasure and a Proverbs 31 woman in every way!
After preaching out of town the last two weekends, we are looking forward to a fairly calm weekend here in Three Hills. Sunday is also my brother Paul’s 43rd birthday (approx!) and so we’re going to have a party that afternoon.
Oh yeah, if you’re trying to figure out how these daily details of my weekend plans fit into “leadership” – after all the name of the blog is Leadership and Life – well… If you as a leader cannot rest and enjoy the blessings of God, you are in deep trouble.
I continue to be amazed that the Lord has blessed me with the www – World’s most Wonderful Wife! I’m reading through a Max Lucado book, Come Thirsty, and in the acknowledgements, he describes my thoughts/feelings pretty well…
“To my wife – Who would give a Renoir to a hillbilly? The Hope diamond to a pawnshop? Entrust a Lamborghini to a ten-year old? I guess God would. For he gave you to me. And I’m still amazed.”
I’m not a hillbilly or ten-year old or a pawnshop… yet I know that God has blessed me with a wife who is a priceless treasure and a Proverbs 31 woman in every way!
After preaching out of town the last two weekends, we are looking forward to a fairly calm weekend here in Three Hills. Sunday is also my brother Paul’s 43rd birthday (approx!) and so we’re going to have a party that afternoon.
Oh yeah, if you’re trying to figure out how these daily details of my weekend plans fit into “leadership” – after all the name of the blog is Leadership and Life – well… If you as a leader cannot rest and enjoy the blessings of God, you are in deep trouble.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)