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I haven't had the time to blog for a while.

Wednesday i had a meeting in toronto with my Strategic planning network. We meet about 3 or 4 times a year to talk shop. we talk about church and church health. we challenge one another to grow personally and professionally. i have found my SPN stimulating because there are some really interesting individuals and some leaders that i can learn from there.

Friday i had lunch with a couple of pastors in the area. We try to meet a couple times a year for lunch in order to keep the relationships strong between us... i think secretly we all hope that we will some day strategically link to take over the world... right now it is just friendship and lunch though.

after lunch i headed over to the matheson's. Our church is one of those unique community churches that gathers whenever someone has significant need and helps each other. so this weekend our church gathered to shingle the matheson's roof. i love seeing people gather to help each other. I'm pretty sure that is how life is supposed to be lived.

i had to leave before the roof was done though on saturday... you see. Saturday was the day when my wifes side of the family meets to celebrate all of the september birthdays... there are 5 of us... not counting August 29th... so we celebrated birthdays... and saturday marks the first of my seven days of birthday...

got home feeling tired from roofing...

went to bed...

woke up at Sunday mornng 1AM....

...Sick...

i spent the whole night up... sick...

not the way i wanted to spend my first day of birthday...

and not the way i wanted to spend the night before i had to wake up and lead worship and preach and such...

i thought about calling a substitute preacher ... but i didn't...

i survived church.... barely...

slept the whole afternoon on sunday... finally ate something... that went ok.

anyways... here i am on the third day of birthday.. and my true love... well she's been trying to make me comfortable... but other than that... there's no turtle doves or swans a swimming or anything.

momentum

This was a pretty significant weekend...

We're working our way through a study on 1 Peter. Peter's writings are somehow captivating to me. I think it is because it's peter. that guy went through a lot...

I love Peter's learning curve. and i love ours.

Our church is like peter. wildly full of potential but has also been through a learning curve.

1 peter represents some of his later work. written just a few years before his death.

after many lessons learned...

I think i'm blogging now because i'm working on this weeks sermon and just realized that i get to preach on the 1%. Every communicator has things that they are passionate about. Things they love to speak on. well this sunday i get to preach a message that fits into my 1% category. that means I'd rather preach on this than 99% of other things.

God is up to so much at my church right now. i always approach September with some fear. wondering what ministries are ready to fly and which ones will fall...

It's like you get all dressed up and you get in the car and you get there and you start to unpack all your equipment and you lay out the lines, and tighten the screws and you draw up close to the edge but things aren't looking all that good but there's no going back cause going back is for sissy's and you spread out your arms and God sends the most incredible wind which immediately fills your sails and pulls you skyward and the ground gets smaller and smaller and you get to see parts of the landscape that you didn't realize were there and you understand the lay of the land in a whole new way and you soar there... and from that vantage watch God at work in people's lives.

From that place you tell people stories about God and as they listen God lights new fires in cold places and when it is all said and done, people shake your hand and with tears in their eyes tell you about the flight that they took for the very first time.

I live for that.

Hot date.

So i took my wife... and kids to the grand opening of Wimpy's in Orangeville.

I like Wimpy's... they are a 50 style diner. with expensive food. and big hamburgers.

we listened to boy named sue on the Juke box.

I did it for the free shirt. ...and the love of my pregnant wife.

I want to dance

I want to dance

Watch the video

this is the first of many interpretive productions that will no doubt, be seen by these up and comers in the interpretive dance field. The cinematography leaves a bit to be desired but the performances by both Abi and Shiloh will have them up for considerations at this years red carpet.

Third Space

In my travels of late I was introduced to a term or phrase that articulates well what has been eating at me when it comes to my life and which has encouraged a great deal of inspection with regards to the body of Christ.

The problem, (if i may be so bold) as I see it is that the church exists largely outside of the real lives of real people and it probably shouldn't be that way...

The term I am referring to is "third Space". A simple google will give you lots of reading material on the matter but I thought I'd include this from

http://www.wordspy.com/words/thirdplace.asp

third place (THURD plays; TH as in thin) n. A place other than home or work where a person can go to relax and feel part of the community.
—third-place adj.


Example Citation:
There's no place like third place.

I'm not talking about winning and losing here, or races or sports or politics, but something far more important: the simple art of living your life in the real world. In that world, as someone has pointed out, all communities — and therefore all members of communities — need a "third place." It's not your home. It's not where you work. Those are the first two places. No, it's the place where you go to, um, be.
—Stephen Hunter, "Shear Gladness," The Washington Post, September 13, 2002


Notes:
The term third place was invented by sociologist Ray Oldenburg and first appeared in his 1990 book The Great Good Place, a celebration of the places where people can regularly go to take it easy and commune with friends, neighbors, and just whoever shows up. The subtitle says it all: "Cafes, Coffee Shops, Community Centers, Beauty Parlors, General Stores, Bars, Hangouts and How They Get You Through the Day."

***

"They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers."

I like to image that verse is speaking of living the life in the real world.

Cleaning

so I just shampood my carpet...

I was trying to clean my office so I could work, eat, and sleep there and i found ... Mold in the corner.... under the bookshelf...

I know its gross. i have no idea how long its been there.

its black and ugly.

not that black is ugly (that was for you Craig) Black us beautiful. Unless you are mold...

i think it might be from humidity in the corner of the room... no air circulation... Etc etc. I guess it doesn't matter now...

i have to clean it... If you know what black mold is like... it doesn't clean well....

i hesitate just to cover it up with furniture and thus provide a sort of mold microclimate, where mold and other small animals can grow unhindered by the outside world.

I think i will buy a really bright light to shine on that corner 24x7. Black mold hates bright light. it sends it scurrying back into the shadows or better yet right out of the house... I think the light thing will work

This was my trip to the freeway in hamilton

This was my trip to the freeway in hamilton

Watch the video

I had an awesome day today.  I started out in Brampton filming Jill's Story about her time on the streets and then i went to hamilton to have coffee with Perry.

 I met perry in College but didn't really get to know him.  It's amazing how now we can reconnect with much more in common.  I feel like a gained a friend today.  again... 

 

Perry is planting a church for post-modern people in ?Hamilton...  plus they just bought a bank and are turning it into a cafe... so they can be a part of the lives of the people in their community...

what a great day.  more on that to come.... 

abi getting an education

My coffee with Perry got cancelled but it was still a beautiful day to visit the relatives. i don't get to spend enough time with weasel and her new husband so Abi shiloh and i went to hamilton anyways. the kids love their aunt and uncle and it was a beautiful day to hang out.

It was also a great day for cutting the lawn


abi cutting the lawn video 1

abi cutting the lawn video 2


As you can imagine... I'm proud... and looking forward to next years grass cutting season...

although i don't know if i'd let abi at the power mower quite yet.

On the road again

On the road again

Watch the video

This video was taken on the way to visit Laura and Johnny with my audioless camera... but my kids are fun.

What i said when my lips were moving was "we're on our way to visit laura and johnny and my soul patch looks really neat on camera..."

a new picture of abigail and shiloh before we went to spend the day with aunty Laura and Uncle Johnny 

weekend

i really enjoyed the weekend.

we completed successfully our 10th anniversary festivities and i for one am glad.

Friday's dinner was really a very good time. i like to socialize with that many people over meals.

it makes you wish church was at a restaurant every week...

Saturday's wedding was a joy. I love Josh and Hayley so much and it was a blast to be involved in their wedding ceremony. It really is one of the best parts of my job.

Sunday's morning service was good. it was long... but good. it was a treat to hear the founding pastor preach. i had never before.

i appreciated the word he shared and as much as that i appreciated the chance to connect with him even if just for a couple minutes after lunch and share some experiences.

we are both thankful for what God has done in O'ville.

the last highlight of the day was.... i don't know if i am supposed to say this outloud....

I got some new music today.

it is music that i have been looking forward to hearing for a while so it was a great highlight to the week.

My kids loved it too

Butterfly

I've had this footage for a while but had trouble finding this old Choir song online.

found it

bought it

and now i can show you my son

He really is a superstar.

watch video here