Thursday, September 27, 2012

Bucketball can take your breath away.

It's a classic Thursday morning youth hangover around here this morning, and I'm ok with that because last nights youth night was great.

This is our second week into the autumn activities and for a field that is in the middle of not much, there sure are a lot of kids coming out. Our plan is for me to play less and less of a part there and for our new guy, Marc, to be more and more involved with it all.

So last night we had a great supper and then outside for an unreasonably warm September night and we played bucket-ball.

A great time was had by most! :)








Thursday, September 20, 2012

See, I've been to La Crete.



This picture still makes me smile.

In La Crete Alberta, up for a weekend at my aunt & uncles place and the belt on the old Plymouth Fury came off. It did this occasionally and all one had to do was to put it around the one pulley near the engine, and gently place the other part of it over the fan pulley. Then just simply turn the key over. It would grab the belt and turn it over and back on and into place nicely.

I'm not sure we were married then because as you can just make out, She is sitting in the middle of the bench seat which was always her seat until single seats came out, and she's watching beneath the hood for me to give the word to "Crank it over."

We were quite the team, even then.

Anyway, proof that we were in La Crete, in the EMC Church parking lot.

Now I wonder who took the photo.

(more retro pics here)


Saturday, September 08, 2012

Some honesty, a little humour, and a bunch of words on the screen. Happy Summer 2012.

I suppose I've started this post about 10 times in these past few weeks and each time the first line has sounded whinny and needy and who has time for those sorts of thoughts in the middle of a beautiful summer. But the empty space here needs attention and needs it soon. 

When this summer was beginning I sort of anticipated that it would be like previous summers where things get quiet and slower and there is space for the soul to catch up with the body. Unfortunately that was not what this summer was about. I kept waiting for that but each week brought it's own requirements and demands.

I think that the good effects of this are that I am hanging on to God tighter than ever and he's there day by day, giving what is needed to make it through somehow. And I have a new co-worker here in Marc and it makes my heart rest easier when I am away from here that he is here learning the ropes. 

The stresses of the season are not unique to me for they are often just a part of life. But this summer has seen health concerns for me, new diet opportunities for Lauralea and partially us, extended family tensions and health issues of loved ones. Work has picked up it's own pace as people trust me more and I am invited into difficult situations which means cool opportunities to care and serve and help, but the tensions of the stories wear on me deeply and I can get cranky at home.

Add to that the demise of the engine on the Crown Vic and some trouble with the Ford Focus, lots of fast road miles travelled to be present with family, a few financial surprises, and stick a fork in me Lauralea, I'm done.

There is a presence to Gods presence that is apparent and encouraging, but by 7pm my eyes are closing and later on I crawl into bed, done.

Maybe it's about aging, maybe its only this season, maybe I need to learn better ways to care for myself or maybe I need to stop driving Fords, but there are things to be learned these days that I can't learn when things are all happy happy or easy easy. So I'm trying to be teachable. Trying to learn.

But I'm also watching for the good times again. The simple pleasures of staying awake through a movie or relaxing into the car I'm driving without nervous tension about what that sound was. Even the feeling of not being overwhelmed can bring about a skip in the step and I will skip again.


So that's what I've done this summer.
How about you?




Sunday, September 02, 2012

Pastors...

And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.

2 Timothy 2:24 & 25