Food for Thought

I received this comment on one of my blog postings. This is food for thought. Though this person was referring to me by a comment I made, it looks like this person has seen this a lot. By the use of the world ANOTHER, and putting brackets around "minister of God", I would say that by their experience, they have found many "ministers" who marginalize people when opinions are not shared. So this comment, though directed at me, is something that should be considered by all those people who work at ministerial positions.

Wow! Another "minister of God" that will lable and then marginalize people with titles like "brain farts" just because they have questions, or see things in scripture differently than you. I can't wait.

I am hoping this anonomous person is some one that I dont know or that does not know me. If this person is someone I do know, then I will graciously ask that they come to me in person so we can discuss this. I wont be angry or make fun. You dont have to feel embarrassed. You see, if this is the type of reputation that I have, or if this is the way I treat genuine people with genuine questions, then shame on me.

On the other hand, if you are a "brain fart" interested only in debate for the sake of debate, whereby we can run ourselves in circles, then there is not too much I can do other than to wish you well in your endevours, and hope that you receive all that you seek.

Important Disclaimer

Disclaimer - Erin Village Alliance Church does not necessarily endorse, agree or condone all the advice, information or teachings contained on the websites listed above.

There is a reason why this disclaimer was put on the Erin Village Alliance Chruch Website. That reason is that they recognize that people like me are likely to say things that may be objectionable. We are liklely to blog from our minds of passion to our hands of action. I am probably a fine example of why this disclaimer has been articulated.

If I say something that you find offensive, then call me on it. If I am in error, or if I have hurt your feelings, it is important to express that. If I make no attempt to explain or to apologize or to make it right, then I am to blame. The last thing I want is for people to fell hurt by my verbage.

In case you are wondering, I, Don Wright, am not an elder, nor do I hold any position of authority at EVAC. I do not have the authority to speak on anyones behalf. PLease be sure you understand this.

I love the Lord my God with all my heart, and I love the congregation I have been led to., and I pray for our fellowship often. However, none of these things are not going to stop me from speaking my mind. And therein lies the challenge.

I welcome anyone to read my blog and hear from my heart. This publication has a grand readership level of about 6-10 people.

Church Politics 101

So whats a quoram anyway? I probably even spelled it wrong. Well heres my explanation from what I learned tonight. In order to hold and official meeting where decisions are made, there must be 50% +1 of the membership in attendance. In our case, we needed 25 members to be in attendance at tonights annual meeting. At an annual meeting, the budget must be passed and various reports must be given. In the case of Erin Village Alliance Church, tonight we failed. We failed to get 50% of the membership to attend.

Before I go off on a tyrade about how pathetic that is, I must recognize that only 50% of the Wright household attended. So when I scold and talk badly, I need you to understand that I am not without blame. I can assure you, that that is not likely to happen again in this household.

I feel very badly for Jake as he works very hard and had organized a meeting that could not continue. I feel bad that his flock scattered in the hills. I feel bad for the 2 new elders that were to be elected tonight. These two people had prayerfully decided that they would serve our congregation, and we couldnt even muster enough people to vote. I feel badly for those people that drove a long way to get to the meeting. I feel badly for non members as they witnessed first hand the pathetic show of interest. I feel badly for Kellen. I feel badly for EVAC. I was embarrassed and ashamed. I still am. I feel ashamed before God that this great congregation couldnt do the business that is needed to do, in order to function. Shame on us!

OK, so I cant stand politics and my own attendance at these meetings has not been very good. Political rules and regulations seem counter productive to our ministries of love and compassion, of teaching, preaching and discipleship, of praise and worship, but, politics is a neccessary "evil". I shouldnt call it evil though as it is through these laws, rules and regulations, that we can and do remain viable legal entities.

This can not happen again. While every person may have a wonderful explanation, the bottom line is we didnt have enough people to hold a meeting. That is a disgrace and we should be ashamed of ourselves....thats the way I see it and thats all I have to say. Comment if you want or bow your head in shame...whatever.

Sometimes Things Dont Go According to PLan

ooooops

Hi its Don,
Can I help you,
hello,
hello,
ooops,
wrong device

CatHug

I have a friend who loves cats. She needs a hug. If she wasnt so flippin far away, I'd do it myself! I finally got my birth certificate from Quebec. This is the first birth certificate I ever had. Now I can go get a passport. Once I get my passport, I will be able to travel the world. But right now, there is only one place that I want to travel. I want to fly across the big pond simply to hug my friend. She is so beautiful...inside and out. She has been dealt the shit end of the stick. That sucks! Life is simply not fair. Where is the justice in this world? Where is the love? I have this stupid misguided notion that I can make things better. I am such a dreamer. I cry for this world, yet there seems to be dick all I can do about things. I am so discouraged. I am sick to my stomach! I would like to adopt her as my child......But shes 18. So I have adopted her in my heart. I wish I could be her daddy. I would hold her and stroke her hair. I would tell her how great she is, and how she has so much potential. I would tell her I love her. I would be proud of her regardless of circumstance. I would be the things that her real parents couldnt. But who am I kidding. I'm just a hopeless dreamer. I want to cry.

What Will We Do Without the Easter Bunny?

It was looking like we would have to cancel Easter. The Easter Bunny was found dead on the side of the road, unceremoniously slaughtered, like just common road kill. Scatterred around the body was the evidence of childrens broken dreams. What is to be done about this? What will we ever do without the Easter Bunny....Stay tuned for the next episode!

Jesus is the Answer

Jesus is the Answer,
...now what was the question?
oh ya.....
what will we ever do without the easter bunny?

Maybe I spend too much time with my computer

Maybe I spend too much time with my computer,
then again...............maybe not!
I guess when she complains then...I do
But when she is silent, then maybe not?
.....maybe not!

Me with Long Hair

So this must be how my friend pictures me. Every time we talk at work, I get another phone call, so she has me here on the phone. Thats a nice cumphy chair, but mine actually has wheels on it so I can skoot around my office. Notice the Cocktails. That is my favourite Root Beer. I see I have long hair. She keeps telling me I should grow my hair long. I think I'll wait until I get a pastors job. I wanna do the "John the Baptist" look. Man I look comfortable in that chair. Notice my feet are up like....like...a tricky guy!...UH yes mam, can you tell me whats wrong....well now...you tell me...BUT not now....cant yopu see I'm on the phone....hahaha and then my phone rings....gtg

A Picture of My Friend

See...Isnt she special. She drew this for me so I could see that she is actually working hard at school. She is the one with the black stripes sweater. You can't see, but she's wearing furry socks just like the ones she sent me!

Hey, I noticed she is smiling. She must be happy, or the prof just told a joke, or actually, I think it was Kegan. You can see Josie looking over. My girl is sitting up nice and straight and looking smart for the prof see, so she can pass and go on to rid the world of all known pestilence and disease.

You wouldn't be able to tell from the pick, but she is actually a big busking star who will rise up through the ranks and get really famous. She will then fly to Canada and try to stop the annual cat hunt that happens on the ice flows of Lake Simcoe......go back to work done...OK

A Package From A Friend

I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!! I just received a gift package from a friend. I was so excited to open it. Even the box was fun. There were little notes posted on it like....."I am fragile please be careful", and "PLease dont lose me" and my favourite was "if you are reading this then please ask Don to tell ya what the Good News is"...hahahah.

The package was wrapped like it contained the heart of a queen! As I opened the package I could smell a wonderful frangrance.My imagination is running wild. I am holding the contents to my face and closing my eyes. I wont forget this. I am wondering if this is really what she smells like. Strange thought eh...what can I say....I'm wierd.

Ya so anyway in the box was 2 pairs of socks and some Belly Jelly Beans. OK so I could pretend and say ...oh precious, these are the nicest socks I ever had..but...NOT!...hahahaha. The lime green furry socks are just a bit much for my manly feet, and I dont do anything with multiple colours.hahahaha I know, dont critisize the gift. To tell you the truth, the fragrance and the experience have given me more than you could imagine.

Oh and the Belly Jelly Beans. She told me that these were the worst on the planet. Are you kidding me! These are awsome. They came in a bag with pictures and labels just like the pic on the blog. Flavours like Candy floss, pina colada, pink grapefruit, cappaccino, root beer atc. These are awesome. I'm such a glutton, I'm eating them by the handful...mixed I might add.......Its a flavour orgasm! Oh ya....toasted marshmellow...yum yum.....ewwwww yuk.....bubble gum...this is too wierd!!!!!!!!!

The gift came with a note. She has beautiful handwriting. I am smelling the letter too! Sick eh! I like the way she writes. I like her "E' and "A". She has doodled too! She looks like she is an artist too! She wrote this while she was in class. I am so proud of her!

I wish I could giver her a great big hug.....and smell her....hahaha. I know, stop it already with the smell thing. Its just that I feel so close right now. This is such a thrill!!!!!!!!!eeeeeewww theres another buble gum belly jelly bean. I need to stop for a moment and remove them from the bag. I am so scottish I will still eat them....but all at once, that way I wount waste them, yet I wont have to taste them again.

I have to get back to work. I cant wait to get home and show my family. I must stop eating the jelly beans. I wonder if she would mind if I gave the lime green socks to Deb cause she is a lime green fan, and the blue stripped furries to Sue. Sue looks awesome in blue......oh ya ...work.......

bye

Family Geneology

I traced my family geneology on my moms side back to County Kent in England. This was my great great great great grandfathers house. Its called Woodchester. His son emigrated to Canada and built the Bird Woolen Mill in Bracebridge. It is now a museum. While picking up my daughter from camp MiniYoWe we stopped in at the old family house/museum. We managed to catch a tour and we were made guests of honor when they realized that we were living ancestors. It was really cool. We felt like a million bucks! I'd love to go to England and find this place. Maybe some day.

Dear Diary

Someone sent me this...I thought it was funny

Dear Diary.

Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with the expensive double-pane energy efficient kind. This week, I got a call from the contractor who installed them. He was
complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I hadn't paid for them.

Hellloooo, just because I'm blonde doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid. So, I told him
just what his fast talking sales guy had told ME last year .....namely, that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves! Helllooooo? It's been a year! (I told him.) There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung up.... He didn't call back. Guess I won that stupid argument.

Fine Then!

Blogger wont let me upload my file, so I am going to say nothing in this blog as a protest!

Now I've Really Done It!

Well I've managed to do all my schooling without making any real commitments. Well I did it! I just spent the last two nights writing my testimony and outlining my practical experience in ministry. So I've officially applied just like Jake told me to a year ago, and just like my Dean told me last Sunday. I've made the commitment! So now I worry, just like Jesus told me not to. What if I dont make it, what if they dont like me, what if I'm not good enough..yada yada.

I wonder if I really know what I'm getting into. I'm OK with being Jesus for the hurting. I'm OK with standing beside people and praying for and with them. I'm OK with all the practical stuff, but I'm not sure I'm ready to take on all the brain farts that like to endlessly debate the nuances of scripture. I am trying to make my blogs not too deep, otherwise I'll get them all here correcting me and telling me how I am wrong. If you want to see what that looks like, take a look a Jakes Blogspot.

March Don. March! and pick up the pace!

I had a meeting with the Dean of the Seminary I attend. I have been advised that I had better get my butt in gear and make a firm application to the school. Though I began the application process one year ago, I have failled to complete the task. I am allowed to take up to 5 courses with out formal acceptance to a program. I wanted to play the field a little until I was really sure. I am now convinced! I need to fill out all my paperwork and complete this task NOW!

I am so convinced now that I need to persue this, that any further delay will be detrimental to my future. Sounds tough, but thats how I feel. So far I have been marching, but with no clear direction. Now I need to fix my eyes on the goal, buckle down, and march.

I pray that God will continue to bless me as I persue this goal. I pray that he will provide me with the strength and courage to continue.

Home again, home again, jiggidy Jig

Well both my children are home safe and sound. Yes Sue and I had a wonderful time when they were gone, with our second honeymoon and all, BUT, it sure is nice to have the family back together! Dylan returned from Scotland in one piece. He had a great time. Debbie returned from Mississippi. She says she is a different person now. She had a real eye opening experience.

I praise and thank the Lord for the wonderful family I have been blessed with. I praise and thank the Lord for guarding their safety.

So tommorrows a new day! Both Debbie and Dylan have decided they need to skip off school tommorrow. Am I a bad dad to let them? Oh well so what if I am....I'm just glad to have them home!

Vacation Time!

Well Debbie left this morning for a missions trip in Mississippi. Dylan left for a Rugby tour in Scotland. Sue has the week off so I took the week off. We are going to have a second honeymoon. This will be the first time childless in 15 years! I am so looking forward to it!!!!!!!!!!
On my way home I'm gonna buy a bottle of wine and some Chinese food and we are going to celebrate. I anticipate 6am hot tubs, 4am DVD movies...whatever, whenever! I have told the office I am away from all forms of communications. I feel like a kid in a candy store! Did I mention that my wife is like a world superstar fashion model, movie star diva and a 5 star chef, and a personal fitness trainer all rolled into one amazing package. I'm getting steamed up just thinking about her. I think I might just go home and read Song of Solomon! haha.....

Well it was Bound to Happen

We are holding the Alpha course in a tavern in Acton. Last night we had a drunk visitor join the discussion group. It was obvious she wasnt there to talk about Alpha, but herself. She also wanted to express the fact that we are all sticks in the mud who dont know how to have fun. I felt sorry for Michael as she chose to join his group. The owner of the tavern was beside himself and apologized for not stopping her. I asked him never to do that. I realized that I actually know her, and that she attended church once. I think she felt like she didnt fit in. After Alpha was over I joined her at the bar with the intent of having a beer and talking to her. Well it became quickly evident that she was not really interested in talking. Thats OK. I put my money back in my pocket and went to my friend Richards house. We prayed last night for people like her. We prayed for Acton. We prayed that God might give us direction. I went home and crawled into bed at midnight. Today I have awoke and she is on my mind. I will pray for her some more.

Hunting with Dick

The Cage

Jake spoke on prayer last week.
This was the last sunday of CSI Sundays.
Various aspects of our faith were examined critically,
and "cases" were made to support our beliefs.

So talking about prayer was interesting, and got me to thinking about debates with a good christian brother of mine. He has developed a theology that does not include God answering prayer. To him, things are happenstance and coincidental. He has a great love for God, yet this love still does not include God answering prayer. This does not mean he does not pray. He says that prayer is the way in which relationship is built and maintained. Yet, because he does not beleive in miracles, he does not beleive that God answers prayers, in effect changing the course of history for the sake of one person.

Here is his logic.
1 God is a God of Truth, He can not be untrue.God put the world in motion, giving it laws like gravity and motion, action, reaction etc.God would not break his own laws. God is not untrue, Therfore miracles do not happen. They would in effect go against the truth that has been established. My friend believes that miracles indeed happened in the Holy Bible days, but that Just after Christ, they ceased.
2 He can not think of a time that God answered his own prayers, and wonders about all the prayers of people that go unheard. He wonders about where God was answering the prayer of the child being beaten, the women being abused, the constant innocent victims being killed or destroyed. Or the prayers of millions of staving children. He believes that if God answers one persons prayers and ignores another's, then that is untrue to the nature of God. He says, God would not pick and chose who He would help.
3 . My friend claimes that we have free will. He believes that any manipulation or alteration of a persons life, would in effect be against the concept of free will. That he says would be untrue, to a true God.

I follow and agree with most everything my friend says.,,,BUT
I can not say that God does not answer prayer because
1. Its not consistent with scripture.
2. Its not consistent with my life experiences.
3. I have no control over what God does with respect to my prayers,which means that if He should chose to answer my prayer, then I am powerless to stop Him. In other words, I can not put God in a birdcage and presume to understand or control His ways or desires.

I stop and walk a moment now in my mind, and walk in the shoes of my friend. He has had the shit end of the stick dealt to him in so many ways. He has had to endure trials beyond compare. He has called and cried out to God continuously, but he sees no evidence of God answering his prayers. He is a life passionate man and he sees a crumbling world around him where death and evil abound. He has never witnessed any miracles or answering of prayers. I have stood beside him in the dead of night, in a star laden sky as he called to God begging for Him to make himself known, or to answer his prayers. He waits. Obediently following Gods word to love God with all his heart. I admire the fact that he is faithful to God, even though he perceives that God does not answer his prayers. So through my friends eyes, he developed this theology.

So then I stop and think about my own experiences.
They are so different. I feel a great sadness for my friend.
I begin to wonder, why would God answer my prayers and ignore his.

Is this truth or imagination?
1. Does he only think that God is not answering his prayers when in fact God is?
2. Do I only think that God is answering my prayers when in fact God is not?
Why is one persons experience so different, and who is right?
Would it be untrue for us both to be right?
Now I feel like the cat in the birdcage.

If you managed to read this long winded message, you are welcome to comment.

P.S....If you think I'm gonna stop praying on my blog forget it!

Well Now Thats a Little Harsh

I understand the seriousness of golfing and how one must maintain good law and order on the course, but this is a little harsh!

Increadibly Good Seats

This is a picture of Dylan and I at the Raptors game. We had incredibly good seats. On the left you can see the courtside interviews with Chuck Swirsky and on the right you can see the Raps in their pregame attire. Dylan is sporting a well manicure beard thingy and I am noticing a dash of gray in my hair.

note to self
keep your hair short

Reflecting on Ecclesiastes....

Susan Elizabeth,
my wife,
my hope,
my life.
She makes me strong
and she gives me purpose.

For her I long ,
when we are apart.
Of her I dream,
and in my heart,
There is no other.

Oh God has blessed me,

in Him I praise

for how He has blessed my days

and surrounded me with such beauty and love,

unfailing faithfulness, a true blessing from above!

So what does this have to do with Ecclessiastes

you ask.

Well let me give you a little task.

Read the book and then reflect.

Read the book and introspect.

examine your feelings and dont neglect

survey your heart and then collect

your thoughts on this matter

then on the painters platter,

draw a picture, an image or a thought

and and then reflect on it alot.

I am certain, you will find....

a response quite similar to mine.

Drawing closer to that which you love

and a new appreciation for

the gifts from above!

Isn't She Beautiful!

Isn't she beautiful!
She is as beautiful now
as the day I first saw her.
I remember being amazed
and saying
Wow, my baby is so beautiful!
Saying Thank You God!
Thank You for such great treasure!

I am so proud of her and her achievements.
I remember going to her grade 8 graduation.
There were awards being given out.
You know, greatest this and the most that.
I was so sure that as each one was read out,
that my girl was surely the winner.
She didnt actually win any awards.
I was not dissapointed though,
for through my eyes,
and in my mind,
she won them all!

I am so blessed!

A Miracle

I was reading some of my old blogs.
Is that vain or what!
Anyway, I found this excerp from a poem I wrote around Christmas time.
My attention turned to the fact that Easter is upon us.
Easter is special to me.
It makes me think about the depths of the plan.
It's overwhelming to me the lengths that God has gone.
The complexity, yet the simplicity of it all!
I find it hard to beleive that He would love humanity,
to the point of bearing it all on the cross.
Taking the full weight and pain,
greif and suffering,
our sin, our pride....
One ugly moment when we bow our heads in shame.
And then a resurrection, giving us hope,
in Jesus name...............................................

Jesus came as prince of peace,
to free us from sins
we could not release;
to provide a way to the Lord above
full of grace
and peace
and love.

A bridge that one can walk,
a way in which we could talk,
to the living God.
A way in which we could be reconcilled,
with a God, and appear undefiled.
Though our sins are great,
He came to us
guaranteed our fate,
that He would love us,
and make us whol,e
by filling the void,
deep in our soul;
Filling the gap
that seems so wide;
one in whom
we can confide.
One in whoms
love we can abide.
To one we can
dance and praise,
for making us whole
the ancient of days.
In whom we trust
to save us from our lust,
and greed and mistrust.

One who loves us
just as we are
and one who gave us
the guiding star,
the book of life.
One to save us from envy and strife.

Come Lord Jesus
be our guest
in you we are happy and blessed
Come Lord Jesus come
fill our hearts with Your happiness

What does the worker gain from his toil?
I have seen the burden God has laid on men.
He has made everything beautiful in its time.
He has also set eternity in the hearts of men;
yet they cannot fathom what God
has done from beginning to end.

I know that there is nothing better
for men than to be happy
and do good while they live.
That everyone may eat and drink,
and find satisfaction in all his toil,
this is the gift of God.

I know that everything God does will endure forever;
nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.
God does it so that men will revere him.

Everything Is Meaningless

The words of the Teacher,
son of David, king in Jerusalem:

"Meaningless! Meaningless!"
"Utterly meaningless!
"Everything is meaningless."

What does man gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?
Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.

The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.

All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.

All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

Is there anything of which one can say,
"Look! This is something new"?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.

There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow.

Hunting Trip Gone Wrong

A Hunting trip gone wrong,

This is like planet of the Elks,

or Good William Hunting

or Uncle Buck

or Good Morning Kapaskasing

Help me out here....

Just Ask the Diver

Did Moses really part the water............just ask the diver!

I Stole This Picture From A Friend

I stole this picture from a friend. I liked it so I took it. Is that wrong? Well you see I took a look at some of the cat pics I put on my blog and I could hear a little violin, ever so quiety in the back of my mind. Then upon seeing this cute little kitty, that violin became an orchestra! So I thought, rather than repenting by removing "the cat carrier" or the "kitty-which", I would simply post this cute little kitty pic. ...... and remind you, that this cute little kitty will soon be in need of the cat carrier...oops, did I write that out loud?