Summer is Over

Is anyone else glad that summer is over? I love the fall. I like perfect temperature days, crisp evenings, and routine. However, looking into the future, not much about this fall will be routine for us. Ruby starts kindergarten and soccer. Charlie starts "hockey" lessons. Angela's surgery in Calgary will happen most likely on October 12th. And I'm on a not-so-fun diet! All new things for us.

The summer has flown by and as always I make the mistake of setting too many goals. I was supposed to have a bathroom reno done, trim painted, and a number of work projects all wrapped up. Oh well... next summer.

I really enjoyed Isaac's message today. He challenged us by Paul's example in Acts 27 to be people who take our experience and openness to the Spirit's leading so that we might bring hope into real life situations. We also began our Acts Challenge today (www.parksidechurch.ca/acts) and hope that many of our Church family respond.

It was great having Tony back from holidays and leading us in worship. A friend of his ripped it up on bass and the drummer was particularly handsome today (you're welcome, Vince).

I read Acts 1 today and was struck by the humorous picture painted in verses 9-11. So often we spend our time calling out to God, looking to Him, wondering what He's going to do next, but God simply wants us to be obedient with what He's asked us to do right now. Let the rest happen as God determines. I think this might add to some theological truth in the expression, "so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good."  However, there is also an aspect to that expression that makes it entirely incorrect.

After our service today, we raced home and ate ants-on-a-log then drove into Surrey for some errands for the College. Costco was packed with lazy shoppers. I could write a book about the way in which people become totally detached from their surroundings when they get behind a grocery cart. I bought one of those big sirloins to cut into steaks for a student leadership dinner at the College tomorrow... I can taste it now.

This week will be crazy at the College. It's our Orientation Week which means it's simply one big event after the other. Lots of logistics and a lot of fun. On Saturday we're heading over to the Island for a short trip. My home Church, Northgate Foursquare Church in Courtenay, is having its 75th Anniversary on Sunday and I'm looking forward to being a part of the celebration. I have so many good memories from my 18 years spent growing up in that Church family. Much of who I am today and the love I have for Christ and His Church was founded and shaped in this Church family.

I hope you have a great week as you bring the hope you have in Christ into the real life situations you will face.
 

Sunday Afternoon Thoughts

Well, I'm nine days in to my diet and I've lost 15 lbs. It's actually been pretty easy so far. I had a couple weak moments and ate a handful of chips (my eternal weakness). Angela made a soup yesterday (Potato & Leek) and it was AMAZING (said in Oprah-like fashion). I'm learning how much food I really need... I'm eating about 1/3 the volume of what I used to and about 1/10 of the calories. Restaurants are the hardest, but most have healthy options. I don't have much of a strategy other than just to eat only what I need and only healthy food. Before you praise me (Mom), realize that it's only been 9 days out of the last 3,650.

We still haven't found out Angela's surgery date... hopefully we'll get a call early this week. Angela and the kids had a great time on the Island. Lots of ice cream and swimming.

I had fun as we gathered this morning. Isaac and team did an over-the-top job of leading us in worship. I fumbled through the sermon and I hope the message of the text came out somewhat coherent! In case you came out confused, know this... even when the world thinks you're an idiot for believing in Jesus, know that they too are just one experience with Christ away from becoming a fellow "idiot" and they just might experience Christ through your witness.

It was good to hear from Lynn B. on how the Skatin trip went. Members from the Beisel, Lambert, and Moses families served for a week on this reserve. They helped renovate a house, taught life skills, and made friends with some great people. This opportunity has been a four year initiative of The Crosscurrent Church and Youth For Christ in Mission. We are happy that folks from our Church family have been able to serve alongside.

You may have also noticed a bunch of tired looking adults and campers this Sunday too. They just got back from an amazing week at kids camp. I look forward to hearing more about their experience in the weeks to come. Our youth are at youth camp this week. A number of our youth served at kids camp and are now going to youth camp! Pray for them this week.

I'm really excited for the launch of our "Acts Challenge" next Sunday (www.parksidechurch.ca/acts). We'll be spending 29 days (September 2-30) reading Acts, praying, and fasting. The purpose isn't to just do a religious activity, but to allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through this process that we and those we love might be transformed.

I hope you have a great week as we take Christ from the corner to the centre of our life, in our homes, neighbourhoods, and workplaces!
 

Dealing With Loss & Diets

Maybe it was the clouds this morning, but I woke up a bit on the groggy side of life. That quickly changed when I arrived at the church building and the rhythms of Sunday morning began. I think my favourite part about our Sunday gatherings is the hour before. I love watching the music team set-up, teachers race to the copier, the breakfast team make coffee, and folks roll in. It feels intimate, like family, and yet it also feels much bigger than just us.

Chad and the team did an outstanding job leading us in worship today. I loved seeing Nathaniel play bass... I'm still waiting for his uncle to breakout the trombone. Isaac helped organize the chili cook-off after the service and it was a lot of fun. Sadly, the judges were off their game, but other than that, it was fun. I didn't mind losing to Ethel, but losing to a vegetarian chili really hurt.

Thanks to those who served so graciously at the chili cook-off too... from those that made chilis to those that helped set-up and clean-up. Thank you!

Perhaps the highlight of my weekend was hearing a lady from our Church tell me about someone on her MY5 list that gave their heart to Jesus this week. He used to sell drugs, but God got a hold of his life through the prayers of loving people and he is now getting baptized at a church in Langley this week! How cool is that!

Following the cook-off, Angela and the kids headed off to my parents for a week. It's a busy week for me at the College so this helps them forget about my long work hours.

On Friday I started a diet. I am cutting out most carbs and cutting way back on sugar. A part of me would rather die than eat healthy food, but... to live is Christ, to die is gain.  Last night I had spaghetti squash with some tomato sauce and a giant bowl of salad. It was horrible. What I wouldn't give for a piece of garlic bread right now. To make things worse, Angela is gone this week and I would normally live off of fast food while she's away, but that won't work.

I chatted with Aaron at the cook-off as he's been a diet and exercise machine the last couple years. He's set a great example and one day I may be as buff as he.

We had some new neighbours move in across the street. I'm looking forward to meeting them once they've had a couple days to settle in. Sad to see our old neighbours move away... while Angela was going through chemo we would randomly find chocolate bars in our mailbox and we found out after that they were from them! They also kept their yard in perfect shape... which is my love language :)

I'm going to try and tackle my piano re-purposing this week too. Wish me luck!  Isaac will be finishing up painting the lobby at the church building. If anyone wants to help him you can email him (isaac@parksidechurch.ca).

Our Foursquare Kids Camp is this week (Monday-Saturday). Please pray for the campers and leaders. We have a great kids camp program and its all because of dedicated, generous, and servant-hearted leaders. They deserve a medal.

Have a great Monday and remember that no matter what storms come your way, Jesus is standing by you, calling you to take courage, and reminding you of the glory that will come from your suffering for Him.
  

Gamut of Emotions

The last few days we have experienced just about every emotion possible. We're in the middle of potty training, celebrated our seventh anniversary, saw prayers answered, celebrated the return of a prodigal son, participated in an all-night relay, and grieved with close friends.

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Charlie is enjoying his big boy underpants, but likes to try out yoga positions while using his potty. I won't go into detail, but let's just say the carpet cleaner is earning its keep. One morning he peed 15 times in two hours!! Today, he left a nice little puddle in the dollar store.  Nothing like cleaning up your son's urine in the middle of a busy aisle.

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Earlier in the week, Angela and I hit up the River Rock Casino for our anniversary. It has a nice hotel and sweet breakfast buffet. Since we'd never been in a casino before we did a walk through and found it thoroughly depressing. Nothing like seeing hundreds of people, most in isolation, throwing away their time and money. At the same time, what a great opportunity for ministry! I'd bet 90% of the people in there are dying to share their life and struggle with someone who is simply willing to listen and be a friend.

Since it was our anniversary we spent our time sharing in each others likes. I endured fabric and sewing shops. Angela endured the Regent College Bookstore. I finally got to try the Red Wagon (on Hastings).  Had the pulled-pork pancakes and it was delicious.

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On top of that, Angela and I had two "silly" desires/prayers answered. While out on our anniversary, Angela wanted to buy an ice cream maker, but it wasn't in the budget. A couple days later a friend from Church said to Angela, "I have a brand new ice cream maker from our wedding that we've never opened and I'll never use it... you want it?" The next night I was eating homemade strawberry ice cream!

The other desire had to do with a trailer and a truck. A couple months ago I really wanted to buy a trailer to haul all my projects and junk around for the home and Church. I started looking around at stores and on Craigslist, but wasn't able to find any good deals that worked with the budget. I put that desire on the back burner and then figured it would be better to save for a truck that could fit the kids. Earlier this week I got a facebook message from a friend who wrote, "I have a truck that's been sitting unused for the last year, if you want it, I'll give it to you!" We looked at it yesterday and it will fit the kids and my needs perfectly.

I don't write these things from the perspective that God is a genie who grants us our every wish. I live life with the understanding that God 'gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too'.  I also live life with the understanding that 'whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above', I have to praise him for these two gifts... an ice cream maker and a truck.  There are more times than not that I've had desires go unmet or even thought that I was entitled to certain gifts, but never received. And so, I choose to live life in a place of trusting and praising God no matter what comes my way.

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In a much more serious area, we experienced unmet desires as well. Our friends, Renee and Josh (they gave me permission to write this), lost their baby. Renee was 16 weeks along when she began to detect signs that something wasn't right. After having doctors try to intervene and spending much time in desperate prayer, the baby died. Through a series of conversations with God while all this was going on, God told Renee that her baby was a boy and that she was to name him Solomon. Solomon wasn't her first choice for a name and didn't think that the baby would be a boy, but she let it play out.

So she looked up the name Solomon and found the meaning of this time to be comforting. She discovered that the name, Solomon, comes from the root (shalem) meaning to be complete or sound. Upon further study she observed that a derivative of shalem is shalom, which means peace.

On Sunday evening, when she gave birth to him, she could not stop thinking how perfect and complete he was. She said, "My time in the hospital was not a time of sadness (I was sad, don't get me wrong), but a time of soaking in the peace that only the One who made us can offer."

We rarely understand, on this side of eternity, how and why God allows painful things to happen. I don't have an answer that will perfectly satisfy you. I don't know why in some situations God does the miraculous and in others, what appears to be, nothing. There are pieces that answer parts of our questions, but not enough to make a complete picture. At the end of the day, our response to God is still one that requires faith. Faith to see what our flesh can't.

Like a plant that is forced to grow deeper roots during times of drought, tough times cause our faith to grow deeper. We also know that, with God, there is always a Spring and Summer season ahead!

Can I ask you, as Church family, to pray for Josh & Renee? They don't need a theological lecture, passive-aggressive faith correction, or medical advice. They need your love and support.

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On Friday night, Angela and I joined with ten others from our Church family and we participated in the "Relay for Life". It's a fundraising event for the Canadian Cancer Society. When I first signed up I assumed it was during the day and then later found out that it went through the night (7pm - 7am). I was dreading it to say the least. Angela's parents watched the kids and we spent the night walking and hanging out the good folks on our team. At one point, Angela and I stole away and slept in the car for a few hours. Never comfortable, but better than staying awake... I think. We woke up to rain, a pancake breakfast, and an MC that could not be stopped. In hindsight it was actually a lot of fun (because of the people) and a good event.

We spent Saturday in a groggy state and went to bed early. I was super proud of Tony O. for helping host the "Swap for Lina" at our Church building on Saturday. He served from 8:30am - 4:00pm and did an amazing job getting the building ready for Sunday.

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I really enjoyed our gathering this morning. Tony and team lead us in beautiful praise. We played a funny video of our Parkside Kids answering the question, "why do you love your dad?" Our Elders ordained Dave Parsons. Isaac preached a challenging 17 minute sermon! His challenge to the Church was that going and making disciples should be a scary endeavour, but that God's got our back.

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I hope you have a great week filled with prayer and love.  Get filled by God then go out and share His love.

Sunday Potpourri

Really enjoyed our gathering today.  Chad and the music team did a bang-up job of leading us in worship. Our time sharing in communion moved me. Our Sunday School teachers served so graciously... again. Then Rob & Donna George shared their story and involvement with the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA). Every summer they give most of their weekends to traveling to wherever bikers gather and then spending their time in loving and sharing the Gospel. Following the service, CMA hosted a hot dog lunch and the 'dogs' were delicious.

I'm already looking forward to next Sunday! Folks from our Freedom Session series will be sharing about their experience. Eugene & Catherine have generously served as leaders of this worthy, but costly, investment. In fact, as I look at the speaking schedule, I see that the next three Sundays will be covered by Freedom Sessions, Isaac, and Dave. This means that I don't get to preach until July 1st. What I love about this is that: 1) it allows a different voice to share God's Word; 2) we become less leader-centered and more Jesus-centered; 3) it gives new speakers an opportunity to grow; and 4) it allows me to work on some other projects.

We've also set a date for our celebration night to praise Jesus for His good work in Angela's body. We will be gathering on Sunday, June 24th, 7:00pm at our Church building. We'll share some Scripture, sing songs, and end in prayer for outstanding prayer items. It will be a good night and everyone is invited.

On Saturday we did a bunch of miscellaneous stuff. Ang took the kids down to Heritage Park and Ruby fell in the creek (see photo above). It was only about knee deep, but due to her panicking, got much more wet. She kept screaming... "Aaaaahhh, duck poo's in the water!"

I had another successful experience towards getting rid of my two years of poor conversation skills. (For those that didn't hear the message from last Sunday, I proposed that most people have two years of poor conversations that just need to be worked out before we turn the corner and getter better at this part of life.) I engaged a stranger in conversation at the hardware store by sarcastically commenting on his nice purse. I thought he was holding a purse for his wife (who I presumed was the woman standing next to him), but it turns out it was his 'medicine bag'. I tried to back pedal, but it didn't go so well. Thinking I could cut my losses and hoping that I would never see these people again, a girl I know comes around the corner and says, "Oh! Hi, Clint. Have you met my parents? [pointing to the people I offended]. This is Clint, my Pastor at Parkside Church!"

In other news, we have a new cat in the neighbourhood that comes over to our yard way too often. I'm racking my brain to try and come up with a Christian way of getting rid of the cat... nothing yet.

I created Isaac's summer to-do list tonight. This is the second summer that he will be working for our Church as an intern. I'm changing up a few things this year to facilitate his maturing as a leader. Contrary to popular suggestion, he will not be doing more manual labour than last year. One big change is that he will no longer be given a work schedule.  Last year he had to check-in and check-out according to a weekly schedule. This year, he will be given a set of tasks and objectives, but no schedule. He will need to learn how to manage and track his time. This will teach him the critical life and leadership lessons of prioritizing, self-starting, and self-managing. We'll touch base each week to review and recalibrate. I have no doubt that he will do well.  He is a gift to me, our Church, and our world.

Newly licensed Dave Parsons solemnized (love using that word) his first wedding on Saturday! I heard it went very well. We will have a formal time of ordination in front our Church family during our morning gathering on Sunday, June 17th. Dave has a call of God on his life for Church leadership, has been faithful to develop that calling, and it is with great joy that we get to facilitate this formal step towards the next step of his calling. Dave is a gracious servant to our Church family. He serves us as an elder, council member, Sunday school teacher, preacher, after-service coffee server, and kid's camp councilor. All as a volunteer! Wow!!

I hope you have an amazing week filled with trust in God and awkward, but necessary, conversations!

32 Years And I Still Love Church

I've been "going" to Church for 32 years and I still look forward to Sunday morning. We aren't a perfect Church. We have some things out of balance; some things are overly religious and others are underly religious.  Perhaps its because I don't "go" to Church, I am a part of the Church.  Church is my family and I am an active part of her success and failures.  There are highs and lows, but because of my love for Christ and His love for the Church, I am committed.  The act of committing to Church is very much like committing to marriage or to raising a family.  No doubt there are struggles, but because of the commitment we persevere and a bond is built.  The bond creates an environment for real love and delight unlike any other.

One of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to find a Church close to your home that holds good doctrine (at the very least, on the essentials) and lay down roots.  Open your life and heart, serve and give, love and hope together.  There's not doubt that at some point you will get hurt (just as in marriage/family), but perhaps that's the only way you'll learn the power of Christ's forgiveness and the depth of His grace.  I don't say that to excuse people/behaviour that harm/abuse others.  I say that to give you a clear picture that it's not just in the receiving of grace that we grow in Christ, but that we usually grow more when we learn to extend it others.

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I hope all is well in your world.  We've been enjoying the nice weather and not enjoying having to say goodbye to my sister and brother-in-law (they are moving to Vegreville, AB... home of the giant Pysanka Egg).  They had a garage sale the other day and Ruby set-up a lemonade and cookie stand.  She's started to raise funds so that she can send some Operation Christmas Child boxes to kids this Christmas. Her cookies and lemonade brought in $50.

Last night I made Angela watch "The Last Air Bender" with me.  It was pretty dumb, but I liked how the story was based on a Stoic philosophy (something I have been reading about the last two weeks).  Ang fell asleep half way through and I caught myself nodding off a time or two.

As mentioned in my sermon today we starting a new plan of memorizing Scripture at the Nelson house.  We are going to memorize one verse a month as a family.  Every dinner and at bedtime (and probably at a few other times through out the day) we will read and recite together.  We start tonight with Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”


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I hope you have a great week filled with many opportunities to respond and engage the Good News of Jesus.  Thank you for being such an awesome Church family!

According To Your Ability

You can definitely see a more visible openness to God's Word and His Spirit in our Church family.  As we follow Jesus, taking Him at His Word and stepping out, God is gracing us with renewed desires and opportunities to be used by Him.  It started in our weekly gathering and has begun creeping into our daily lives.  The latter part is what I'm most excited about!  I so desperately desire to see our Church living in the Word and Spirit in our Monday-Saturday life.

Chad (and team) and Dave did a good job yesterday in serving us through their leadership.  I love Sundays where I am ministered to by other trainers and equippers.  Thank you to all who serve as well behind the scenes.  Rob & Vince rocked the A/V.  Diane and team did a great job in loving and leading our kids.  Greg and team serve so faithfully each week in greeting and serving the mechanics of our gathering.  Then the William's and Donna helped out after our service with all the kitchen stuff.  Finally, the Ewert's served as our Elders for the service ministering to our Church family through prayer.  Their service glorifies a God who loves us so much.

We were back in Acts yesterday and the passage was perfect for this exact Sunday.  We read in Acts 11:29 (NIV) "The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea."  I love that God takes us where we're at and simply expects us to be faithful with what He's given us.  We aren't to create our expectations based on what we've seen or heard from others, we are to simply ask God and then follow.  God is gracious in that His requirements for us are achievable.  We are not expected to be Billy Graham clones, we are expected to respond to His Spirit's leading in our life and what He does with that is up to Him.

This has huge implications and applications for our MY5 journey.  In our prayer and witness to our loved ones that don't yet know Christ, we can respond according to the ability and resources He has entrusted to us.  Dave illustrated this so well on Sunday with his story of the of the stranded girl in the snowstorm (listen here... www.parksideonprentis.ca/index.php/Acts/sermons-in-acts.html).

As we pray this week for those in our life that don't yet know the life and love of Jesus, may we not be focused on what we think we should do about it, but may our hearts be tuned to the Spirit's voice.

In closing this post, I'd like to thank Karin for her courage to share on Sunday both a Scripture and Word from God for our Church.  The Scripture she shared is posted below and the Word can be heard in Dave's sermon (about 33 minutes in).

Jeremiah 1:6-19 (NIV) "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." 7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. 9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant." 11 The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?" "I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied. 12 The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled." 13 The word of the LORD came to me again: "What do you see?" "I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north," I answered. 14 The LORD said to me, "From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms," declares the LORD. "Their kings will come and set up their thrones in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem; they will come against all her surrounding walls and against all the towns of Judah. 16 I will pronounce my judgments on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made. 17 "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land--against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD."
 
 

Sunday Afternoon Thoughts

When I pulled up to our parking lot on Sunday morning, I couldn't help but notice the recently weeded garden beds!  It turns out a weeding angel, Kim N., stopped by on Saturday and weeded the front entrance garden beds and the bed alongside the East side of the Church!  Thank you Kim!  When I asked her if she had fun her response was, "I normally don't like weeding, but I put some worship music on and it actually went well."  I couldn't help but think that the tough jobs in life go way better when we do them as an act of worship.

On Friday night we had our College opener and it was really cool (see pictures above).  Things have gotten much better since I was a student there.  Every year the College trains more leaders and gets even better at doing it.  I enjoy being a part of what God does through our Bible College.  You may not know this, but you are huge part of our Bible College too! Our Church gives 1% of our income to the College each month. This goes to help subsidize student's tuition which helps them graduate debt-free and ready for low-paying and/or volunteer positions.

On Saturday, Angela was at a funeral, so I go to watch the kids.  I always feel like I'm a substitute teacher because Angela does so much and I am a foreigner to the mid-day routine.  Even though I love my kids, I really didn't want to spend the day with them because I had so much on my list.  In the end it all worked out... I had fun with the kids and wasn't too worried about what wasn't being done... and I was able to get all the "critical" stuff done. I took the kids to Northridge Foursquare's (Maple Ridge) annual September carnival.  It's a free event they have to bless their neighbourhood and it has been a great outreach to their community.

I thought today's service was good.  I really enjoyed hearing Diane's heart for our kids and seeing all those moving on to new classes this fall.  We rarely give our teachers and helpers enough recognition, yet they have one of the most important responsibilities in our Sunday gatherings.  We'll need to work on this!

Following our gathering, our Elders met to pray, reflect, and plan.  We also ate soup and pie.  It was a good meeting and I am grateful for their love for Jesus and His Church.

I think I'm going to treat myself to a movie tonight although I will pay for it tomorrow... 4:30 comes early.  I get to start my weekly carpooling commute with Isaac to the Bible College tomorrow too.  It will be a busy, but great week.  Once this next weekend is over, things will start to get into routine for the school year.

I hope you have a great week and that you find yourself in many situations where you need the Holy Spirit's power and gifts.