Haiti

Blogging about anything else this week just doesn't seem to feel right. The people in Haiti and those who have loved ones there really need our prayers.

50,000 people....... 50,000 people have died.

It's amazing how one one day an entire country can change. Tuesday, January 13, 2010 is now a date in the history books for the world. Please hold this entire situation in prayer this week and if you can, make a donation for Haiti Earthquake Relief to an approved association. Unfortunately when situations like this happen many fraudulent humanitarian aid companies appear.

Back to School!

I missed the first week of classes while I was in Hawaii so week #2 begins tomorrow. I already have a paper due! This semester I will work full time and take two classes; addictions and counseling. It's going to be really REALLY busy but it's only for fifteen weeks and then it will be over. The only thing that may become unmanageable is Holy Week (the week between Palm Sunday and Easter) as it tends to be incredibly busy in the church and I already know that I have a final term paper and final exam happening in and around that time. After this semester I will have three classes left, one of which I hope to PLAR (prior learning assessment aka. skip it!) and all being well I will be graduating Winter 2011.

Aloha!

I just returned home from a wonderful trip to Hawaii. A great time of rest and renewal with my Dad. It was a great trip to catch up on some much needed sleep and just escape the busy world for a few days. The weather was pretty good too, in the eighties! I read one book and a ton of magazines, I walked lots (2 hours each day) and I spent as much time possible with my Dad as I hadn't seen him in ten months. We had a great time together. On my final day we went to Pearl Harbour and watched the USS Missouri be relocated from dry dock to Battleship Row. It has just undergone four months of renovations. It was incredible and for those of you on Facebook I have posted photos so check them out. Aloha & Mahalo!

Remembering Jeff

As of 3pm today I started my two week vacation. It couldn't have come at a better time. I am exhausted and this Christmas week turned into a tragedy. A young adult connected to my former congregation was in a car accident and died, along with his best buddy. There car ended up in the river and drowning is suspected. They were both 26 years old. They died Christmas morning. I can't even imagine what their parents are going through. The memorial service will be on Thursday and by then I will be out of the country. I ask you all to hold the Ogden Family in your prayers.

In the today's Vancouver Sun newspaper there is a great photo and article.
You can find it here.

Christmas Day

I am just about to wrap up and head out for a morning walk in the beautiful sunshine this Christmas Day. My local coffee shop is open so I think I will treat myself and watch the dogs run wild in the dog park for awhile. Later today I plan on making my well known cranberry sauce to take to dinner tonight at a friend's house. Merry Christmas!

Quiet Christmas

Tomorrow night is the Quiet Christmas service at the church. It's my favourite service of the Christmas season because it is a time when people gather to sit, reflect, pray and listen to music in the candlelight. It's a gathering for those who are sad, sick, or who have had a significant life change in the past year. It is also a great place to go for those who want to escape the busy consumerism side of Christmas. It's a place for me!

Every year I get to the week before Christmas and my inner-scrooge arrives. This year isn't different so I will just trek on through it. I just see things differently I guess. For me, Christmas happens on Christmas Eve when I work 15 hours straight and experience hundreds of people visiting the church and attending one of three services. The story of Christ' birth is shared and that's the whole point of Christ-mas! The presents, family gatherings, feasts come second for me and since I don't have any family in town, Christmas Day consists of a quiet, restful day off with a great dinner shared with friends at night.

This year, like 12 out of the last 13, I didn't even get a tree.

"The simplest things are often the truest" - Richard Bach, American Author

Wishing you all a season of simplicity, love and deep meaning.

12 Days

I have six worship services in the next twelve days and then vacation begins!!

They are:
December 20:
1030am Fourth Sunday of Advent
7pm Quiet Christmas Service

Christmas Eve:
430pm
7pm
11pm

Christmas Sunday
1030am

I am leading Christmas Sunday all by myself which will be a first for me. I am kind of looking forward to it.

January looks to be great! A good low-key month where I will have something like 25 days off between vacation and study leave. It will be great to have some time for rest and renewal.