My Hero

Do you have a hero? Is he/she a famous figure? Is he/she a rock star/athlete/politician/famous figure/brother/sister or perhaps the person next door. I'm not talking about the greatest person who ever lived...Jesus Christ. I'm talking about a human that has or is somehow making you think that.....He/She is a hero. Does this person influence how you behave, what you say or how you view yourself in this world? Of course God does not want us to worship anyone but Himself, yet there are people who we come in contact with that have or do make a difference in how we see life.

MY HERO IS MY MOTHER

It brings tears to my eyes when I think about how much I love my mother. I'm not just saying that because she's my mom. I'm not just saying this because she brought me into this world. I am not saying this because I want to call her and ask her for something. No I'm saying this because she is truly my hero.

Through my mother I came to know Christ. I came to know Christ, not only because she told me, but in her very daily actions. While I am quick to judgement, she is quick to forgive. While I am quick to make assumptions about my faith, she "ponders everything in her heart". When I have a spiritual/theological or biblical question, I can always count on my mom to lead me to truth. She is more than my hero. She is my mentor. I have never seen or heard anyone, including pastors, that have been able to articulate Gods truth to me the way she can. Quiet, unassuming and powerful.

My mother has such a deep love for the lost or hurting. She has this supernatural power to see through the gloss and the deception, and drive straight to the heart.

I know she would feel embarrassed by reading this as she is also a very humble person. Since my fathers death, she has been "married to the Lord" and I see in her the results of a deep love for our Saviour. This deep love translates itself through her actions. I can even see it when I look into her eyes. She is a prophet when she is angry, She is a wise judge in conflict, She is tender to the hurting, yet she is strong to the misguided. She stands as a bright light in a dark world. She derives her strength from the Lord. She is my hero.

Her list of Godly deeds are unending. My respect for her humility wont allow me to list these things. My respect for her driving force is greater than how that force manifests itself.

My mom is not just a mom to me and my brother and sister. She is a mom to 100's of lost and hurting people. The impact she has had with a simple hug and wise word of advice is not measurable. While she would blush or down play this, I dont. She is my hero and she is the closest human person I know to the likeness of Christ. I am so blessed.

Dear God. Thank You for my mother. Thank You for indwelling her. Thank You for revealing Yourself to me, through her. Thank You for using her to make a difference in this world. Lord You are so much greater than I can ever understand. Thank You that You use people like my mom, to help us make sense of Your power, goodness and grace. Lord would You continue to be her strength. Would You guide her and protect her. Would You hold her in Your mighty hand and keep her. Would You be her strength in weekness. Would You be her light in darkness. Would You continue to be these things and more. Lord I pray specifically now for her prison ministry. You know the impact that this ministry has. Lord I pray that You would make Yourself known to these men and continue to bless my mom as she works tirelessly for Your glory. In Jesus name I pray.
dw

Does anybody read this stuff?

I have found blogging to be a wonderful outlet for some of the thoughts that swirl around in my head. My mother told me I should keep a log of my thoughts and experiences. So this is my diary. The only difference is that this diary can be read by all. Therefor, if I havnt stated this yet, I will now. This blog reflects my thought and is not supported or promoted by anyone.
How does it go...oh yes. The opinions expressed in this blog do not neccesarily reflect the opinions of the "station"
I have begun to wonder if anyone ever reads this stuff? I guess I dont really care, as traditionally we never want anyone to read our diaries. I still must remember that it might be read by someone at some time.
I have wondered if it is appropriate to pray on the blog as I have become accustomed. We read about how the quiet personal private prayer is the kind of prayer that God seeks. When I pray on line through my blog, am I broadcasting like the person standing on the corner? Am I doing this so people can say " my he must be Godly, he prays so well" Am I doing this to gain the appearance of being Godly? I guess God knows my heart but it leads me back to the very thing I am questioning. So here I go again...................

Dear God. Please search my heart and renew a right spirit in me. Lord, if this cyber talk is just gobblegoop and does not reflect my heart to You, I first beg Your forgiveness. I second ask that You might correct me. In my heart I want to be bold, but so easily I fall towards pride. A conflict inside between wanting to be loved by You and wanting to be loved by others can so easily cause one to pretend. I am sorry Lord. I do not want to pretend. I dont want to reduce Your excellence and righteiousness to mere passing words in carefully contrived blog. Father forgive me.
dw

Hey Where did they go?

So a couple of weeks ago I wrote how I loved my church.
I noted that if you didnt love your church, you should find a new one.
Well I was looking around last week and noticed that some familiar faces were absent.
While I was busy gloating about how great my church was, there were some who dont agree.
I called one person up today to find out how they are doing and found that they are worshipping elsewhere. I dont really want to know why, but my heart breaks none the less.
I have to beleive that for whatever reason, they just fell out of love with their church.
I wish there was something I could do, or something I could say that would change things.
I naturally wonder if I had offended them. I naturally wonder if there is something I could do or say. I feel like I have just been spanked. My feelings are hurt. Aside from my own feelings,
I wonder about the agony they went through trying to make this decision, or realizing that this church is no longer compatable with their needs or desires. I want to pray for them.

Dear God. I am sorry. I am sorry that these fine people no longer want to worship with us. Dear God I pray that You will bless and keep them. I pray Lord that You may continue to be a source of strength for them. I pray Lord that You will continue to direct and guide their paths to a growing relationship with You. Lord I pray that You will lead them to a fellowship that will accept them and challenge them to greater understanding of You.
Lord I am sorry for my pride and my ambition, when it makes me take my eyes off of You.
Lord this is Your church, not mine. I am grateful that You called me to this place. Lord I am reminded of Your utmost sovereignty. Lord I surrender my pride to You and I ask Lord that You forgive me. Lord I am still very much in love with this church, but only because it is there that I feel closest to You. Lord I pray that You would continue to bless us with a growing congregation. Lord I pray that You cause our leadership to not stray to the left or to the right.
Lord, we are so blessed to know You. We are so blessed that You care for us. We are so blessed that You forgive us when we fail. Lord, You are a mighty sheppard and I pray that You will continue to sheppard us, wherever we chose to worship.

In Jesus name I pray.
dw

WOW

great day!
great prof!
great book!
great God!

Hey Tara did you turn up your blog yet?
I'm coming over to check

dw

First Night of Class

Well, after much excitement and anticipation, class has begun. I am so grateful for this opportunity. I'm taking this course with my long time friend Tara. I hope she enjoyed the first night as much as I did.
Prof Boda told us "Seminary is a place where we can take all that we have learned about God and pitch it out on the front lawn. There we can look at each item and decide what returns and what gets left out for trash day" I never really thought about that before. It sounds kinda like a christian reality TV episode. I guess I have accumulated a lot of so called knowledge. I look forward to building up that which is correct and discarding that which is not.
We didnt discuss this in class, but it struck me that first I need to regard the Old Testament as the Older Testament and the New Testament as the Newer Testament. Both Testaments are relevent. Old Testament implies that it was replaced by the New Testament. This is not the case. The Older Testament is completely reliable and will surely bring us to know and love our God in depths greater than we might have imagined. The Older Testament is so intwinned with the Newer Testament that removal of one would degrade the other.
Well its 11:50 and I need to go to bed. 6:00 comes early. I look forward to tommorrow.
Dear God, thankYou for Your complete word. Lord help me to understand and analyse what I have learned over the years. Lord help me to measure this against Your Word, that I might gain wisdom and truth. Lord, when I look at the task at hand, it scares me. I know and trust Lord, that if I open my mind and will to You, that You will respond with the same grace and faithfulness that has sustained generations of people. I thank You that You are not far off, but here, now, and even in this place that frightens me so.
dw

I'm Such a CaveMan!

We were having dinner last night. While eating my greasy drumsticks by hand, I had chicken grease every where. I reached for my daughters drink and was flatly denied. Seems she didnt want chicken grease all over her drink. So I got my own. I took a sip and proceeded to BURP.
With that she says "oh thats so gross. Daddy you are such a caveman" I howled with laughter.
I still laugh every time I think about it. In fact, I'm even laughing now. Am I sick? or am I just a caveman.
dw

I Love My Church!

I Love My Church!

If you do not love your church,

then I think it's time to move on.

I think you need to ask yourself these questions:

Does my church preach the gospel with boldness and conviction?

How relevent is my church?

Is my church "real"?

If you are answering no to these questions then ask yourself this one:

"What am I doing here?"

There are real churches out there,

preaching the gospel with boldness and conviction,

in a language and culture that we can relate to.

Trust me.

You can find real life, real faith,

real living, real worship and most importantly,

a real and living God.

He tells us that all we have to do is seek Him,

and He will be found.

When you find Him, you will love your church too!

If you don't trust me thats OK....Trust Him!

dw

Picked up my Books Today

I picked up my books today. Class starts on Thursday.
First book is "A Biblical History of Israel" 400 pages of 4 pitch....well maybe not 4 pitch...but aweful small. Sue took one look and said "I think need glasses!" I need to have it read within a couple of weeks. I am not a very good reader. Lord help me....please.
Second Book is "An Introduction to the Old Testament" It doesnt look so bad. Have until December to get it read.
Both books will be nice additions to a growing library of books that I have strugggled to read. Notice the 3g's in strugggled. That is for effect and represents what I see after about 3 mintus of reading. Did I say Lord Help me? Lord help me....please
dw

Feeling Smarter Yet?

Brain Cramps

Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?
Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever,
because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever,
but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever,"
--Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest.

"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world,
I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that,
but not with all those flies and death and stuff."
--Mariah Carey

"Smoking kills. If you're killed,
you've lost a very important part of your life,"
--Brooke Shields, during an interview to become Spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign.

"I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body,"
--Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward.

"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country,"
--Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, DC.

"I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers.
We are the president."
--Hillary Clinton commenting on the release of subpoenaed documents.

"That lowdown scoundrel deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass,
and I'm just the one to do it,"
--A congressional candidate in Texas.

"Half this game is ninety percent mental."
--Philadelphia Phillies manager, Danny Ozark

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment.
It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."
--Al Gore, Vice President

"I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix."
--Dan Quayle

"We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?"
--Lee Iacocca

"The word 'genius" isn't applicable in football.
A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."
--Joe Theisman, NFL football quarterback &sports analyst.

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."
--Bill Clinton, President

"We are ready for an unforeseen event that may or may not occur."
--Al Gore, VP

"Traditionally, most of Australia's imports come from overseas."
--Keppel Enderbery

....Feeling smarter yet?

Show Me Your Glory?

I've been singing this Third Day Song in my head.
"Show me your glory, shine down your presence, I want to see your face"
I got to thinking about this rather bold request.

When I think about this I ask my self......
Who am I to request this of God?
I keep thinking back to the day when a glimpse of God would bring immediate death.
God is so Holy that I fear that if He ever showed me His glory
or if I ever even saw His face, I would not be able to handle it.

Maybe this is why I love Jesus so much.
I picture myself grabbing onto Jesus' pantleg with every last effort.
Only then could I even peek at God.
I am afraid that without Jesus, His glory and presence might bring me certain death.

Now if Jesus is God, why is it that I would run to Jesus, while running from God?
Why am I so afraid of God, yet not afraid of Jesus?

A freind of mine explained to me the 3 fold nature of God with this example:

H2O exists in 3 states.
Water is water in natural state.
When frozen it is ice.
When boiled it is steam.
It is always water, regardless of its state.

Now thats nice....but it doesnt explain why I fear God so much!
I'm not sure if I should be singing that song in case I get my wish!

dw

My Favourite Tree

This is my favourite tree. I know, sounds a little crazy doesnt it.

I found this tree while hiking near Salem (Fergus).

When I heard the Tornado had hit Salem/Fergus I was afraid that maybe my tree was a gonner. I went with my buddy to see for our own eyes. Well there it was....untouched.

The tornado ripped by about 500 feet away. That was a close call.

I know it sounds stupid, but life would have been a little emptier without this tree.

See for yourself. Isn't this an awesome example of God's glory.

I love this tree and I'm glad its still with us.

If you're wondering where this tree is, ask me sometime.

I will tell you. Wonderful things are best shared.
dw

Fergus Tornado

I went for a drive with a buddy to look at the aftermath of the Tornado that hit Fergus and Bellwood. Unbelievable! This used to be a forest. Now look at it. Trees were snapped and uprooted. What unbelievable Power!!!!!!
dw

I'm Sick and Tired of being Fed Up!

I'm Sick and Tired of being Fed Up!
I want to complain, but no one listens!
If I complain then they just say "don't mind him, he's just a complainer"
Why do I keep going back to Canadian Tire. I feel like a beaten dog.
First opportunity I can to go back for more disappointment I jump at it.
It reminds me of Romans. What I despise I do. Its like sin.
Everytime I need a widget or wadjet I return for more disappointment.
My car always seems to break down in front of the Canadian Tire shop.
Am I stupid? Am I nuts.......or do I just like to complain.
Well I'm sick and tired of being fed up with being sick and tired of shopping at Canadian Tire.
The only good thing about Canadian Tire is the Canadian Tire money.
Hey that reminds me of a story.........................

dw

I hate cars!

I dont like using the word hate, however there are 2 instances when the word hate can be used.
Hate can be used in conjunction with computers and cars.
On the way into the office, my temp light went on and my heater shut off. I'm thinking thermostat like in the old days. So I get the call from the garage...........$2300.00
Holy Cow!!!!!! So I call my mechanic and he says he has to call me back. He calls back and says, Don you're going to be upset. I said go ahead, give me the bad news. He says its going to be $1200.00. Imagine $2300.00 at one shop and $1200.00 at the other. At any rate $1200 may as well be $12,000.00. I just need to figure out how to get a dead car from Mississauga to Acton, how to get to work for the next few days and how to pay for it all when its done. Did I say I hate cars?
Rather than leaving on a down note, I think I will just say Praise the Lord for my family and freinds. I might even go one step further and mean it!

dw

HHEELLPP!!!!!!

I just received the syllabus for the Old Testament Foundations course that I am taking in September. Oh Dear God grant me the strength and discipline I will need to finish. Lord I'm gonna lean on your promises here cause I feel like a fish out of water! I am not gonna be able to do this on my own. So Lord I am asking.......HHHHHEEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!!!!!!
dw