My "AH HA" moment today....

Today I had an “Ah Ha” moment. A moment that when it happened, was like a baseball bat hitting me square between the eyes. And no, it was not when the lady who was texting came over into my lane and almost killed my family and myself. This was very different. Let me explain it to you.

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”

Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”

“Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.

Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”

“That’s right,” Jesus said. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.

“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

This is what the “Ah Ha” moment was for me...I've been like the Pharisee....So often I want to sit down with the Lord and chat...I've been neglecting my worship to my Lord. Many times I'd come out of a church service and say “wow, what great music” or “boy did the pastor ever preach a good sermon” Instead of saying, “Thank you Jesus for forgiving me of my sins!”

And it also made me think...”I don't take enough time to be with the Lord” I mean, everything is so scheduled...so prepared...so sterile...This woman in the story above didn't care who was in the room – she worshipped her Lord. She didn't care about crying, she didn't care about what people would think of her – she worshipped her Lord. It convicted me...I am so conscientious of who is around me, who is watching, who may say something, what the time is, where I have to be.... I'm like that Pharisee.

“A person who is forgiven little, shows only a little love” Jesus's words....not mine.

Forgive me Lord.

A song of Encouragement - The Glory Is Found

This song has been on my heart for a couple weeks now. It is peaceful, encouraging, and helped to turn my eyes from the chaos around me and focus on the One above me. The artist is Heather Clark. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Winter humour - Part 2 of 2 Enjoy Friends :)

Well yesterday's Blog was a success, so I will spend one more day lightening things up a bit:

• Never argue with a fool. People might not know the difference. 
  
  
• When I was born I was so surprised I didn’t talk for a year and a half. 
  
  
• Some people are like Slinky’s. Pretty much useless but make you smile when you see them tumble down the stairs 
  
  
• Never argue with an idiot they’ll drag you down to their level and beat you through experience
  
  
• In Canada there is another name for sushi.....BAIT !!!
  
  
• When everything is coming your way...you are in the wrong lane. 
   
• Yawn: The only time some married men ever get to open their mouth. 
   
• Opportunist: A person who starts taking a bath if he accidentally falls into a river. 
   
• When your dad is mad and asks you, “Do I look stupid?” Don’t answer him 
   
• You laugh because I'm different, I laugh because I just farted

• Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like clearing the driveway before it stops snowing. 
  
  
• It’s so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don’t say it

• And last but not least ...."A foolish man tells a woman to stop talking, but a wise man tells her that her mouth is extremely beautiful when her lips are closed."

A little humour for a cold winters day !!!

I thought that with the winter season deepening, SAD may be setting in for some of us, so I hope these will lighten your day just a little bit:

• The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

• The hardness of butter is directly proportional to the softness of the bread.
  
  
• To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research. 
  
  
• If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving isn't for you. 
  
  
• In life a man only needs two tools. WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use the tape. 
  
  
• If a man is standing in the middle of the forest speaking and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong? 
  
  
• Does a clean house indicate a broken computer?
  
  
• Have you ever noticed that when a string is on the carpet a person will go over it a dozen times with the vacuum...reach down, pick it up, look at it, then put it back down and give the vacuum one more chance.
  
  
• If at first you don't succeed...do it like your wife said to in the first place.
  
  
• A dropped tool will always end up ½ inch beyond your reach.
  
  
• A person who smiles in the face of adversity.....probably has a scapegoat.
  
  
• When the chips are down, the cow is empty.

And last but not least .....It's Not How You Pick Your Nose, But Where You Put The Booger !

Interesting, Inspiring and Just Plain Funny Quotations :)

I've always enjoyed reading quotes. Whether they be from a famous person in the past or just the everyday person on the street, there is so much to dig into. Over the next few days, I am going to be focusing on a specific topic, collecting a dozen or so quotations and then posting them for all to enjoy. Stay tuned friends !!!

What a wonderful day Wednesday was :)

On Boxing day I had the pleasure of speaking at my home church – Whites Road Pentecostal in Harriston Ontario. Excerpts from the sermon I did are in my first 2 blog posts. But the reason I tell you this is not to get you to read my previous Blogs, but to show you how God works....

Wednesday was “one of those days” You know the days when everything seems to break, nothing works out right and bad news abounds...well that was my Wednesday. I was awaken at 4:20 am to a large tractor behind my house clearing the 2 cm's of snow that we had in the last 24 hours...Yes 2 cm's & 4:20 am...I went to work and had a tote of Oats fall off my forklift...1200 lbs of oats to be exact...a full tote is 2200 lbs and they are very stable, but when you have half a tote, they are not very stable and their centre of gravity shifts...very easily... The clean up went quick, and a couple of the guys at work chuckled a bit...no harm no foul.

I went home at lunch and opened an e-mail – it was the type of e-mail that takes the wind out of your sails...but in the large scene of things it isn't bad, just another bump in the road for me. To top it off, the flu has been nipping at my heals the last week...I've only lost 1 day in bed over the last week, but today was a blah day....

Then it happened...I was setting up the bagger at work and the Lord spoke to me...He said, “Now are you going to live what you preached?”

You see, a week and a half ago I preached “Pray or Complain – the choice is yours” and today, when trouble arose I had a choice to make. I stopped what I was doing, and asked the Lord for strength. I then started to sing “Great and mighty is the Lord our God, Great and mighty is He”...lol...yep, sing....there is so much noise in the plant that my voice just blended in with the other banging and clanking pieces of machinery.

The rest of the day went pretty good...but then again, no day ever has lasted for ever :)

...300 years ago...

I finally caved in and got my “Pleasure Craft Operating Licence” I've been boating since before I could walk, but since it is the law now, I want to make sure that everything is above board – pardon the pun. I've never driven a jet ski or personal water craft – and I don't think I ever will. I like to fish. A 14 foot aluminium boat with a 9.9hp outboard engine, that's good enough for me. Some of my best memories are when I was on the water.

To me, when I am out on the water it's not about catching fish – it's about quiet time. Fresh air blowing, bright glistening sun, the sound of the waves lapping against the hull of the boat is a symphony to me. And if a fish happens to hit my lure then Great! If not, Great !

I can remember working at my aunt and uncle's grocery store one summer a couple decades ago. They had a cottage a few miles from the house, and almost every spare moment I had, I was on the water. A lot of the time, I'd go by myself. 4, 5, or 6 hours would pass and I loved it. I'd look at the cottages on the shore. Most were still closed because summer hadn't started yet. No speed boats roaring by, no loud music blaring across the lake, and no mosquito’s. I'd reflect on what the lake would have looked like 300 years ago. Trees coming down to the lake shore, beaches without trash on them, rock cliffs untouched by spray paint, blue sky untouched by jets, crystal clear water with no mercury, no PCB's, or heavy metals...it would have been absolutely beautiful.

But that is just me, I like to let my mind dream...my own little paradise – a safe place to retreat and rest my senses.

Have a great day friends

Happy Birthday Sister !!!

Well today is my sisters birthday. It brings back a lot of memories....One of the first ones that just pops up is when I was about 6 - Faith would have been 3...My friend from across the street came over and we were going to play cops and robbers. Faith wanted to play too...me being the loving big brother, I said sure. Faith was the cop, Bernice and I were the robbers....we tied Faith to the swing set, and then went off to play :)

Seriously though, Faith is a very giving person, a great sister, always there when needed and a very loving person. I'm proud to call her my sister :)

Happy Birthday Faith !

Riding the Small Bus...My child & Autism

My son getting ready to get on his small bus....

It wasn't long ago that my son was diagnosed as being Autistic. After years of seeing developmental specialists, developmental pediatricians, doctors, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and psychiatrists a diagnosis was reached – Autistic Spectrum Disorder with PPD – in other words he has trouble communicating and socializing.

He now goes to a special program at public school. He has one on one help. And he has transportation provided for him. Every morning, the small bus picks him up at our door – and every evening the small bus drops him off at home. He loves riding in his bus, the small bus.

So the next time you want to, or you know of someone that makes fun of the small bus....remember my son, and several other children ride it to school every day. It is their means of transportation to get their education. It's easy to ridicule and make fun of children...they don't fight back. They don't have the skills to make a rebuttal. They certainly aren't aware that people are laughing at them. However, me being an adult I do have the skills to take up their cause. I will fight back - not to hurt, but to educate. I do not find the humour in making fun of children that have no choice in the way they were created. And let me make it clear...my son rides the small bus - I am proud of my son and I love him dearly. :)

Reflection on fishing with my dad

I absolutely love to go fishing. When I was young, my dad and I went fishing all the time. Whether it was for speckle trout in some local creeks, pike in the larger rivers, walleye in some northern lakes, or salmon in Georgian Bay - There was always some adventure awaiting us.

I remember dad waking me up at 3am, "Do you want to go fishing today?" he'd ask me. More often than not, I'd say yes. He always gave me the option to go. He never forced me to go. A lot of the times I'd be tired, and not want to get out of a warm bed. Spring time in Ontario is not the nicest weather...especially in early April. It would be a couple degrees about zero, often raining and a little windy. But the upside would be maybe catching that "BIG ONE", but more importantly getting to spend time with my dad.

We'd load up the truck, check the lights on the trailer and by 5 am we'd be on the water. We'd discuss what area we should go to - and then dad would captain the boat where the fish were.

Over the years hundreds of Salmon, Rainbow, Splake and the odd Laker all made it into our boat. We had a lot of good fish fry's :)

As I am writing this, I am thinking - "wow, I am blessed to have a dad that loves me that much" And I can't help but to make another reflection, one that applies to everyone. You see, we all have a Heavenly Father that loves us. He often asks us to be with Him, have fellowship with Him, spend time with Him. Sometimes we are so comfortable we don't want to be bothered making an effort to be with Him. But friends, the reality is this - our short term comfort pales in comparison to the amazing long term fellowship that we can have with Him.

Have an amazing day friends!