A Change of Pace

Been thinking lots lately about what I should really be doing with my life. I like my job but unfortunately I work from home and there is never anyone to talk to except over the phone. I'm a people person and I really need that interaction. After over 2 years of working from home I've realized that I can't do this anymore.

But it goes deeper than that. I could get another job and that would be great, but I don't think I want just any job. I really want to know what God wants me to do with my life. I've currently been pondering if I should maybe enter into a full time ministry position...not a pastor or anything, but a position that encompasses my passions, allows me to interact with people and help further God's kingdom. I've got an idea in my mind and am praying to see if that is something God wants me to pursue.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

David Beckham To Play Soccer in Edmonton

I was pretty pumped when I first found out that David Beckham and the LA Galaxy will be coming to Edmonton to play an exhibition soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps. For those of you who don't play soccer...this is a pretty big deal!

Ever since Beckham was signed on for uber millions of dollars to play for the LA Galaxy, interest in soccer in North America has been heightened. People who had never heard of soccer were buying tickets to go watch a great soccer player play the game in North America. There were still tickets available for Toronto FC home games, but as soon as the Beckham deal was announced and that he would be coming to play a game in Toronto when Toronto FC played the LA Galaxy, the season tickets were gone instantly. Unfortunately for all those people he got injured and never played when LA Galaxy was in Toronto, but there's always next year right?

The reason I'm no longer excited about this is that the game is on May 13 at 7:00pm. Any guesses on what day of the week that is? It's a Tuesday. What in the world are these organizers thinking!! "Uh, yeah, let's bring the most popular soccer play in North America to Edmonton and in order to get the most number of people out we'll bring him out on a ...(random pointing of finger on calendar with eyes closed) Tuesday. That's a good night because there's nothing good on TV that night so everyone will come." Ok, maybe that's a great night for people who live in Edmonton, but what about those people who are soccer fans that may need to drive a ways to get there. What about all the Vancouver Whitecaps fans who might want to support their team. We can't just take days off in the middle of the week to drive/fly to Edmonton to watch a game. I love soccer but that's just not going to happen.

Then there is the ticket prices. I bought tickets to a double header U20 FIFA World Cup game in Edmonton with seats on the centre line for $30. The U20 World Cup are the best players there are in the world and someof those players are already playing for their national team. But guess how much tickets are for this game. $25 for Bronze, $45 for Silver and $85 for Gold. WHAT!! I realize David is a great player but we are talking about the Vancouver Whitecaps and the LA Galaxy. With those teams combined they maybe have (counting in my head) one amazing player...David Beckham!! So they expect people to pay an average of $51 to go watch David Beckham play some soccer (and he's only guaranteed to play for 45 minutes of the game...assuming he's not injured at the time).

So, to all you Edmontonian females who have wads of cash, this is your big chance to see David up close because no out of town soccer fans will be forking over $85 dollars to watch him play a few minutes in an exhibition game....at least not this one.

Wait No Longer...U2 Is Back

It has been announced here and here that U2 is going back into the studio to create a new album. Now for many of you that is not interesting at all and you're about to stop reading already. But for the other 99% of the world this is big news!

It's not a big secret that I'm a big U2 fan. It may not have come out as much over the last few years and I know I have been listening to something other than U2 lately, but that is just because there really hasn't been much going on with U2 besides saving the world...any everyone is doing that these days so who really cares. But now that a new album is being produced I can once again hang up my extra large U2 poster that Shiela bought me while we were dating. I can pull out all my original U2 CD's (that's right kids...not MP3 files...actual CD's...that I bought) I have and even my U2 Without or Without You single on a 45 record...that unfortunately melted in the sun before I even got to listen to it, but that's another story.

The best part about waiting for a new U2 album is that you have no idea what you are going to get. Every album they produce is so different than the previous one. I think that is what makes them so great and also how they have been able to remain popular through the last three decades. Their music is constantly changing and ends up sounding amazing. I usually start off listening to a new U2 CD not too sure if I'm going to like it, but then after a few listens I'm in love with it and can't turn it off.

I think in preparation for this great big event in October I should devote myself to listening exclusively to U2 music, just to get back in the feel of it. We'll see how that pans out...all I know is that I will be buying this new CD (yes kids, you heard right, not a free download, but actually pay money...probably from an actual CD store even) as soon as it comes out. I hope you do too because you know they will donate part of the money to save the world...it's the Bono way.

Family Day is Just Another Holiday

For all of you who live in one of the provinces with a government who was trying desperately to buy some votes so they could stay in power for another 4 years, you have today off as a holiday. I'm not sure who this all includes but I know for sure it is Alberta (who started the trend), then Saskatchewan jumped on board and now Ontario and Manitoba did too. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining...I love any holiday you can throw my way. The thing I find funny is what they actually named the holiday here in Saskatchewan...Family Day.

I can see how maybe they had trouble coming up with a good name for this excuse for a day off. I mean seriously, the holiday is in the middle of February so what else are you going to call it..."We Need a Break Day" or "It's Just Too Cold Day" or maybe "Get Your Butt in Gear As the Summer Is Approaching and Those 6-Pack Abs Aren't Going To Happen On Their Own Day (although I'm personally still holding out for a miracle!)

The part I find funny is that because it is named Family Day, everyone is feeling pressured to spend that day with their families. I mean, just because it is named Family Day that doesn't mean you have to go out and spend time with your family. Do you personally spend time remembering Victoria on Victoria Day, or working twice as hard as before on Labour Day?!? I've heard it multiple times already today. I was at the Field House playing badminton for the last 3 hours (and my arm is going to feel it for the next 3 days!) and I ran into someone who was there with their family because they felt they should do something with the kids since it was Family Day. Then I also heard of other people that were getting together for a "Family Day" in the evening because it was Family Day. And don't forget about the party happening down at the Speed Skating Oval where there is free skating and hot chocolate...but you have to be there as a family*.

Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with spending time with your family and I should probably spend more time with mine, but what the government doesn't realize is that by calling it Family Day they have opened up another can of worms and created more internal conflict within families. Now newlywed and other couples have to once again have the big discussion about whose parents they are going to go visit on Family Day. All their extended family wants them to come visit and so now just like Christmas and Thanksgiving they have to once again figure out where they should go. This supposedly great holiday could easily turn into a heated argument, hurt feelings and in-laws that think you hate them because you decided to not come by for this years Family Day.

To you married couples...I feel sorry for you and best of luck. To the government, why don't you just rename the holiday to something else so people can just stay at home and relax without the pressure of visiting their families again. I think "Do What You Want Day" is an excellent choice...that sounds more like it! Excuse me while I go do just that and drink a Coke!

Any other ideas for what this holiday should be named?

*Single people can come and claim themselves as a family of one so they can skate and get free hot chocolate

Try This On Your Birthday!

As I near 30 years old I find it is not really that hard to blow out all the candles on my birthday cake. Maybe I need a bit more of a challenge like Gerlad Green had this weekend!

The Garden of Eden

I have always read about the Garden of Eden in the Bible and it sounded like such a lovely place. Lots of green grass and plants, palm trees, friendly animals scurrying around and my wife lying around naked...ah that would be the life! But normally after picturing this in my mind I wake up to snowy, blustery blizzards with the temperature dipping to around -50 degrees Celsius...that was until this year!

A few weeks ago Shiela and I ventured off onto an adventure into the Garden of Eden along with another couple we are good friends with. As we sailed away on an extremely cramped and uncomfortable charter flight we waved goodbye (I think I saw some people actually giving the finger) to the cold Saskatoon weather and settled in for a nice 6 hour flight to where the air is hot all year round...the Dominican Republic (Puerto Plata specifically).

We were off to stay at an all inclusive resort for the very first time. The first great shock we received (besides the beautiful warm air on our face as we left the airport) was walking into our room and seeing three twin beds. Ironically we had specifically asked for at least one of the beds to be a queen, but I guess something had got lost in translation which I found a little hard to understand since we booked it in Saskatoon where our travel agent spoke English. But, as they say in the Domincan...No Problem! We simply pushed two twin beds together and ended up making it into a King. The funny part was the next morning after housekeeping had been to our room we came back and the housekeeper had seen what we had done, so they ended up making our bed with king size bedding and we essentially had a king size bed for the rest of the time there.

The resort was great and it was all you could eat food 23 hours per day...only between 5:00-6:00pm did I have trouble finding something to eat as the buffet was closed to get ready for supper and both the beach and the Pizzeria restaurants were closed at 5:00pm too. But that was no problem because honestly I wasn't hungry the entire time I was there. I just ate because it was time to eat...and even when it wasn't time to eat. We pretty much ate pizza constantly as the Pizzeria was right by the pool and was very good.

Our resort also was essentially the Garden of Eden. There was unlimited fruit you could eat, there was green grass and palm tress everywhere. there were animals wandering around like birds, cats, peacocks, and geckos and there were nearly naked people lying around every so often (though not our wives as they opted to keep their tops on). But it's true what they say...it wasn't the good looking people that took their tops off...yikes! It was pretty easy to avert your eyes a different direction.

Because the Dominican is close to the equator there is essentially 12 hours of sunshine and 12 hours of night time. Which means that by around 4:30pm or so nobody was at the beach anymore and everyone was getting ready for the nightly entertainment. Our resort had an animation team that had nicknames like Shaggy, Macho Macho, Mr. Spaghetti and Mr. Belly. During the day they hung around by the pool and got people involved in things like water polo, beach volleyball, mini golf, water aerobics, etc. We participated during the day sometimes and we all entered the long shot basketball competition (which we all lost because no one could sink a shot), played some water polo, played beach volleyball (Team Canada beat Team England) and I even participated in the water aerobics one day. In the evening they would start their show around 9:15pm or so (Dominican time so that was pretty flexible) and they would put on a show where they did skits or some dances, etc. It wasn't Vegas, but it was not bad and on the shows they did where they danced to different Disney movies was good, as well as their Hollywood night which was actually Broadway as they did a number of songs from different musicals.

Pictures: The pink guy in the picture was leading the aerobics the day I took part...he eventually jumped in the water with us**)

The other fun thing they do every night was an ice breaker. This was essentially just a way to get the crowd involved and laughing. The very first night we were there our friend got pulled onto stage. All I can say is that the number 4 has a whole new meaning to him now (think Michael Jackson). Another night we watched as the people on stage had to go out to the crowd and get items from the crowd (or themselves if they had it). It started off easy with a pen, then two drinks, etc. But it got more risky when they started to ask for 3 pairs of pants and shirts! And then riskier when the final item they needed were three bras...and they actually got them from people!! At the end the animation team took all the clothes they had received from people and in one big pile people had one minute to run up and get their clothes back! It was hilarious to watch the crowd of peopel swarm the stage...and then the turned the lights out! That was funny (and I was so glad I wasn't on stage that night).

Pictures: The one is the group shot of the animation team (notice they grabbed Shiela for the photo...can't blame them!!) The other photo is us four with Shaggy and Macho Macho.

The final night we were there I did end up on stage but lucky for me it was an easy one. We had to sing La Bamba in Spanish (they had a clipboard with the words on it). I did the best I could and it ended up coming down to me and this other guy from England. The winner was determined by the crowd and it was essentially everyone cheering for their country...which England had a lot more of. But in the end our Canadians came through and we ended up with a tie which won both of us a bottle of rum. It was a great way to end things off.

The cool thing about being in a different country is that you get to meet a lot of people from other countries as well. We ended up hanging out with some people we met from Scotland quite a bit and we also talked a lot of with some people from England. That was neat and you learn a bit about other countries through it all (while laughing on the inside at all their accents!)

We also went on a few excursions. The best one by far was the Outback Jungle Safari. Our tour guide Rudy was amazing and gave us lots of details about the Dominican and just had fun with all the tourists. And the things he did on that truck could never be done in Canada. For instance, he hung off the back of the truck while handing out drinks (including alcohol) to people on the truck. He climbed off onto the side of the truck to pull things off trees as we went by. And if you asked for a Pepsi and Rum (the Pepsi was the only bad part of the tour) he would take a Pepsi, open the bottle cap with another Pepsi, turn around and pour some of the Pepsi into the street and then pour some of the rum into the Pepsi bottle. Then he would put the cap back on, shake it up a bit and pass it down to whoever ordered it! Oh, and don't forget that he is doing this while hanging off the back of the truck the whole time while cruising down the highway!

The Safari was great as we saw the Dominican countryside, went to a real Dominican house in the country and had some coffee, visited a fruit plantation where we at grapefruit freshly picked, swam in a river, and went boogie boarding in the ocean. Definately worth every penny!

Pictures: Rudy (our guide) handing out drinks on the tour. Shiela and I holding a crocidile. A young boy holding two snakes for us to see as we travelled down a river on the tour boat.

We also went on a quad tour which was fun too. We each had a quad and cruised around behind our tour guide through some back roads, through puddles, through the city streets and to the ocean as well. The tour guide for this was not very good at all, but the quadding was a lot of fun.

Picture: This was the four of us after the tour...we were pretty muddy and then we walked right by everyone at the pool! I think they sold about 5 more tours because people saw how much fun we had.

Our final excursion was a snorkeling one to Sosua Beach. Unfortunately though, the waves were too big that morning and so the snorkeling wouldn't be good and we didn't get to go into the water but rather had to stay on the beach. That was fine as we did a bunch of shopping in all the shops along there and bought some souvenirs. Next time we go we'll actually go scuba diving which would be a lot of fun. My friends wife and I did an introductory scuba diving less0n in the pool and it was pretty neat. Very weird to be actually breathing under water.

Picture: This was at the entrance to Sosua beach and all the shops. To the right is the "Treehouse" which has a tree growing right up through the shop!

After the week was up it was time to once again cram onto the uncomfortable charter flight back to the extremely cold weather. The best part was we missed all the -50 degree weather which was great and it was a balmy -25 or so when we got home. Will I ever venture to the Garden of Eden again...most definately. These hot vacations are definately the way to go and I can't wait to visit more Garden's in some other countries too.

Any recommendations on where we should go next?

Mayor's Prayer Breakfast Should Get Renamed

Ever since Don Atchison has been mayor in Saskatoon we have had a yearly prayer breakfast for him. It has been a tradition in Saskatoon for a long time, but when Jim Maddin was Mayor he got rid of it. I'm glad Don reinstated it.

The problem is that this prayer breakfast is no longer a focus on prayer for the Mayor. It used to be a time where the people who came actually wanted to pray for the Mayor. Now the focus has completely shifted away from that and I think they just tack on a quick prayer at the end so they can still call it that.

Last year I went and it was a packed house of over 2500 people. The food was great, there were a lot of "important" people there as well as families of all the fallen soldiers Saskatoon has had as of late. The problem was that the entire event was basically focused on these fallen soldiers. Now I have nothing against that at all and am glad those soldiers are willing to fight for our country, but I don't think this event is the time or place to honour them. I would have been fine with a short tribute to them, however it went on and on and the entire event dragged on for way too long (I think it got near 3 hours). Then they tacked on a prayer at the end.

This year they have announced that they will be honouring the three football teams that had great seasons...the Hilltops, the Riders, and the Aden Bowman Bears, and Kent Austin is to be the keynote speaker. What does that have anything to do with a Mayor's Prayer Breakfast!! I also have nothing against football (except that it in no way is as good as soccer), but do we really need to honour the Riders during a Mayor's prayer breakfast?

I think the organizers of this event are simply trying to propel this event into a huge thing and get as many people there as possible. They want to get 5000 people there this year! It used to be a more intimate event of around 250 people who actually cared about the prayer part of the event and the focus was on the Mayor.

So what do you think? Is this event really a Mayor's prayer breakfast anymore or is it ok to tack along all these other things in order to attract a much larger number of people?

New Favourite Worship Song

I love music although I don't consider myself musical. For Christmas Shiela bought me a satellite radio so now I can listen to music all day of any genre I like. Listening to the Christian station Spirit I have heard this great new song....Song of Hope by Robbie Seay Band. If you haven't heard it yet, stop reading my blog and go to ITUNES and buy the track (or download it for free if you are into that kind of thing)...you won't regret it.

Click here to read the lyrics.

Playing Catchup

This past week was once again spent in Toronto. I flew out Monday and got back home about midnight on Thursday. We were doing training with all our Marketing Coordinators from across Canada for the Hbc Run for Canada and it was great to be able to meet the people I would be working with for the next 6 months. Other years we have always done the training over the phone and this was by far better!

I really enjoyed my time there this time around. We were staying at the Marriott Eaton Centre which is connected to the huge Eaton Centre mall. They have the softest beds ever and my king size bed was so comfortable. They also have large 37" (I think) flat screen TV's in all the rooms with lots of TV channels. I also ended up having VIP status since I was in charge of the group so when I got to my room I had a fruit bowel waiting for me along with a 1L glass bottle of water. I also had access to the VIP lounge which served a free breakfast every morning as well as hors doeuvres in the evening. It was great to use that a bit and I took a few of their mini jams home because they came in little one serving jars which I thought was cool. It was a great time but I only ended up sleeping about 4-5 hours per night as I was always ensuring things were ready for the next day. It also didn't help that at 1:00am in the morning one night the hotel also had a fire alarm. It turned out to be a false alarm but it still woke everyone up in the hotel.

I arrived home Thursday night after a terrible flight on Air Canada. First, the take off was horrible and as we started into the air the entire plane swayed back and forth. Then for the entire first hour they wouldn't turn off the seat belt sign because they were worried about turbulence. So that meant no snacks, no drinks, no headphones (they give you free ones) and they didn't turn the movies on (they also have free movies to watch). Finally they turned off the seat belt sign and the TV's came to life...but after about 2 minutes the seat belt sign was on again. Luckily the TV's stayed on and so those people who happened to already have headsets they had brought (or taken from a seat as they walked in the plane like I did) were able to watch movies. The problem was the person I was travelling with did not have headphones. I told her to just quickly get up and go see if she could grab some off the seats in front of us as we saw lots of them on the way in. So she quickly got up and walked up a few rows. Instantly, over the speaker system on the entire plane, the flight attendant said "Miss, you need to sit down...I don't want to embarrass you but you can't walk around." I guess they take that sign seriously.

So then I started to watch a movie and chose to watch Stardust. But I could hardly hear the sound because the plane was so loud you had to press the headphones to your ears to hear anything. And it was freezing cold as well! Finally the seat belt sign went off and due to all the sitting they offered everyone free drinks, including alcohol. So although I rarely drink, I decided to have a rum and Coke...and didn't really enjoy it, but at least I got my money's worth! Then it happened once again...with about 10 minutes left in my movie they turned off the TV's because we were going to land. UGHHH! That is the second time now. The first time was about a year ago when I missed the last 15 minutes of The Departed (I still don't know what happens) and now I don't know what happens at the end of Stardust. That is very annoying.

Now I'm back and home and glad it's the weekend. Although travelling is fun, it is exhausting and I'm glad I'm home for a while...until we go to the Dominican...but that's another story.

Handy Dandy Man

Now although I’ve watched the movie What Women Want, it is still a mystery to me exactly what women look for when they make that big decision and pick their man for life. But if there is one thing Shiela didn’t marry me for it was my handyman skills.

A couple months ago Shiela and I cleaned up our basement and so now we can actually go down there and hang out if we wanted. But I wasn't satisfied with just that and I wanted to make it even better…so I decided to add a dimmer switch.

So I got started. First things first, I pulled out my handy dandy Home Depot Guide that helps people like me do regular handyman things around the house. I flipped the book open to the “How to install a dimmer switch” and began this very simple task. It looked very simple and according to the book a beginner should take 45 minutes to complete this task. I’m a beginner, I told myself, and I can’t see it taking longer than that. Besides, the book tells you how to do it and I also had the instructions from the dimmer switch.

I finally had everything ready to go. I had the book open, the instructions laid out, my tools laid out and I was ready to go. I had mentioned this idea to a few friends and they assured me that I wouldn’t need to turn off the power. Knowing how my friends are I did the opposite and flicked the breaker and saw the lights go out. I was ready to begin.

It started easy enough and I had the wall plate off quickly. "I’m on a roll," I thought as the cocky meter went up a few notches. I pulled out the old light switch and stared at the wires protruding from it. Then I glanced at the instructions and at their diagram. Then back at the real light switch wires. Then back to the instructions. Then to the book. Then to the instructions. Then to the light switch. The quick head movements left me dizzy and I hit the floor realizing I was stuck. None of the images looked the same and I was not sure where to even begin. So I did the only reasonable thing I could think of…I went upstairs for a Coke!

Once I had some of the sweetest nectar on earth I went back at it. There were more wires in the light switch then there were suppose to be and that threw me off for a bit, but I slowly started to figure it out. I finally figured out which were the two main wires and why there was that extra one and got the old light fixture off. Then I had the simple task of stripping the wires so I could connect them to the switch. Easy enough I figured since I had this tool they call a wire stripper. I clasped the tool around the wire and let go to watch the show. Nothing happened. Ah, I knew the problem. I went to the stereo, turned on some dance music and sat back to watch. Still nothing. Ah, whatever, so much for a wire stripper. I guess you have to help it out. Now I have seen some men use this tool before and it is very easy. Although their's must have been broken too because it wasn’t stripping on its own. They simply clasped the tool around the plastic surrounding the wire, pulled, and the plastic came off. Easy enough I figured. So I clasped the tool around the plastic wire, pulled, and…nothing. The plastic wouldn’t come off. I tried again. Nothing. What the! I finally had to pull out my exacto knife and slowly cut the plastic off the wire which took forever, but finally the wire was stripped and ready to be attached.

Inch by inch I slowly moved my hand towards the light socket wire and was ready to connect the two. It was easier then I thought and I was able to twist them together and put on the little protector thingy. That was simple I thought. I grabbed the next wire and grabbed the wire from the wall to twist them together and it was easy. Wow this was easy. I sniffed the air like a man who was in total control and reached in to the light socket to see what wires were left. The next thing I knew my finger felt like a lightening bolt and I was on my back staring at the ceiling. As I staggered back to my feet I realized that the wires from the other light switch in the same socket (it was a dual light switch) were still live. I won’t forget that again.

Finally, after only 3 hours and 12 minutes of total working time over the course of 36 hours, I had the dimmer switch installed. I was excited and couldn’t wait to try it out. I went to the breaker box and flicked the switch that had been off for the last 36 hours. As the switch flicked on, the first thing I heard was a motor starting up again. "What did I install?" I thought to myself. But then the noise got louder and I looked to my left. Low and behold, there was our upright freezer that had once again started running now that I had turned the breaker back on. My heart dropped as I realized I had turned off the power to the freezer at the same time as the light switch and hadn’t noticed! I dropped to my knees imagining the steaks starting to moo again as they slowly came back to life from being frozen. But I figured I had enough adventure for one day and as I heard the mooing of the cattle behind me I turned off my newly installed and working perfectly dimmer switch, walked up the stairs, and went to the computer to inform the writers of the Home Depot book that they needed a new category for people like me called “Don’t Have a Stinkin’ Clue.”

A Wonderful Holiday

The holidays are basically over and I will be back to work tomorrow. Normally when it's time to go back to work it's a little disappointing because I feel like I never got enough of a holiday, but this time it feels different. Although I could easily stay on holidays for longer I feel that I had an excellent break and it's time to get back into a regular routine.

One of my favourite days this holiday season (besides Christmas day) was the day we set aside for video games. I don't play many video games, mainly because I don't have a new gaming machine, so when I get a chance to play vids I like to play a lot...and a lot is what we did. We set aside Dec 28 as vids day and a friend came over with his Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii along with Guitar Hero III and so myself along with 5 other people played video games for 14 hours straight! My fingers hurt quite a bit from playing Guitar Hero, but that game was so sweet it was totally worth it. You really feel like you are playing guitar for real!!

The rest of my vacation was spent relaxing while watching movies, playing board games and working on a new business idea. It was a great time and each day I woke up I was happy because I still had so many days off still to come.

Now that it is a New Year I once again thought about resolutions. I glanced back at my post I made last year about what I wanted to accomplish this year and I didn't follow it too well. I did not get back in shape, I didn't finish my book, and I didn't accomplish any of my ideas I come up with. However I did manage to go an a date night most weeks with Shiela, and I did work less before Christmas. So this year I'm not making any resolutions, however I do want to finish my book (already started), get back in shape (already bought a leisure card and am actually using it) and hopefully start up a new business. I guess we'll see how it goes!

Happy New Year!

Let Me Set You Straight

There are apparently some people out there who if you asked them to their face if they were superstitious they would say No...and then in the next breath they do one of my pet peeves of all time...forward chainletters onto people's Facebook walls.

So let me help clarify a few things for those of you who feel the need to forward on those things:

1) No, you do not have to forward on that post so you don't get seven years bad luck
2) No, your crushes name will not appear if you forward that 10 times and press F7 while picking your nose
3) No, you do not need to forward on that post if you love Jesus
4) No, Jesus will not stop loving you if you don't forward it on to 77 other people
5) No, Facebook is not overpopulated and you won't get kicked off if you don't forward it to all your friends

So please save us all the pain of having to delete the chain letters off our walls and just post the funny videos and pictures. I promise you...nothing bad will happen!

(Forward this on to 17 people if you don't believe me..come on, I dare ya!)

Almost Famous

This may be the most famous I ever get. My sister phoned me today to tell me that my picture is on the webpage advertising the 10K run for the 2008 Saskatchewan Marathon! It might be hard to tell it's me due to the blue sunglasses and headphones along with my red Hbc Run for Canada shirt, but trust me...the exhaustion I felt at that point was very real and it is me!

I think I'll sign up again this year! Anyone want to join me?

An Early Sunday Morning

Every once in a while I do something that makes absolutely no sense. This past Sunday was one of them. Normally on Sunday morning my routine is the same. I go to bed late Saturday night and set my alarm for around 9:15am or so. Then when it starts beeping I scramble in the dark trying to find it and after elbowing my wife in the face and knocking over my glass of water on the bedside table I finally feel my fingers grasp it, just to have it fall off the table and get lost in the pile of clothes lying on the floor. After a minute or so of this battle I finally slam my head back against the pillow and wish I could sleep for another hour or so. But I soon realize that although Pillow Creek Community Church has extremely comfortable seats, I just dont' seem to learn much and I force myself into the shower.

But this Sunday was different. The alarm clock battle still happened at what felt like the dawn of time which was in reality around 7:30am (I didn't even know there was a 7:30am on Sunday). Unfortunately I lost the battle with the alarm clock and bolted from bed at 8:00am when I realized I had slept in...I had decided to go to Sunday school. I used to always go to Sunday School at my old church, but since attending this new church I was still in the feeling out stages...which has gone on about 3 years now! So it was time to get involved and today was the day.

I looked in the bulletin ahead of time to see what the topic was..."Living the LIFE at West Portal)". LIFE is an acronym for something (I'm not sure what) and relates to our small groups. They used to be CARE groups, but I guess they figured those groups weren't about caring anymore so they got rid of that :-) I at first thought that maybe only small group leaders could attend, but I figured I'd crash the party if that was the case...wouldn't be the first time! At church I ran into a few people who attended the 1st service and the shock on their faces to see me up at this hour was priceless. I explained to them I was going to Sunday School and they gave me this weird look like I was some kind of pedofile. Realizing what they were thinking I quickly added that I was attending ADULT Sunday School, not stalking the kids at kids Sunday School. The relief on their face was quite evident and I secretly saw them hang up their cell phones from dialing 911.

The class was in Room 112 and being the smart guy I am with a Bachelor of Commerce I knew that in order to find this room I just had to find Rooms 111 and 113 and then enter the room in between. I walked down a hallway and found Room 111...the Library. I then looked to the right and found Room 113...the Men's bathroom. In between those two was about 6" of wall and no door. I was stumped at first, but luckily I had read Harry Potter and knew how they got to the hidden train station. So I took a running start and slammed into that 6" of wall thinking I would magically appear in Room 112. Apparently the designers of the church had not read Harry Potter when they built the place back in the mid 1900's and all I got was a sore forehead and arm as I lay on the floor dazed. A passerby graciously helped me up (what loving people at this church) and directed me to where Room 112 was...clear across the church down a completely different hallway. I sauntered on over there thinking to myself that I should mention to one of the pastors that they might want to try renumbering the rooms.

I walked into the class and immediately sat down at a table. I didn't want to do the typical thing of playing shy because it was my first time there and be all timid. I figured I wanted to get right into things and I sat down right next to this other lady. The pastor there was quite surprised to see a new person in the room and I noticed a few other people frozen in time as they stared at this new person who dared to venture into their Sunday School class. I signed the attendance sheet and watched as the lady beside me signed her name...and one more. I suddenly realized I had sat in her husbands chair but she was too nice to tell me! So I scooted over one and graciously apologized. Now I was facing the complete opposite direction from the front and realized that I was not in a good spot. So off I went to my own table...all alone...so much for getting to know people! Luckily by the time it started two other people who I semi know joined my table and the class began.

I was excited for the topic of "Living the LIFE at West Portal" and couldn't wait to get started. However, as the class began I realized that wasn't today's topic...that had been last weeks topic! Arrgg! I think they should put next weeks Sunday School class into this week's bulletin because by the time anyone reads the bulletin the class is over! Anyways, I digress. The topic was "Let's talk about any of the past topics we've talked about so far." Hmmmm...not such a great topic for someone who is here for the first time! But I wasn't about to let that stop me and at our table I asked what this previous topic on Barbarian Christanity was all about. We had some great discussion on that and we eventually went on to a new topic for that week which was "If God knows everything, why should we pray?" It was a great topic, however all the discussion questions following that just talked about the Lords prayer. So although I didn't feel like we really talked about that topic, I did learn some good stuff about the Lords prayer.

The class ended and we all walked out. The pastor had been talking about this book called "Surprised by Jesus" that a lot of the previous topics had been from and he was putting it back into the library. So I quickly grabbed him after the class and asked to borrow it. So far it's a great book and I'm looking forward to my holidays to start to read it. And in regards to this class, just like the Terminator, "I'll be back!" and I encourage anyone else to also come join me...I'll save you a spot at my table.

The Princess Shop

This really has nothing to do with me and I can't even relate to it, but I just came across it and I think it is a great idea so I wanted to write about it here. Some people in Saskatoon have started an organization called The Princess Shop. Here is what they say they do:

The Princess Shop is a nonprofit organization based in Saskatoon SK and established in 2007. The project's mission is to provide less-fortunate female students with a beautiful gown for their Grade 12 graduation.The founders of the The Princess Shop hope to build confidence in Saskatoon's female youth and create a memorable graduation experience for all girls.The Princess Shop... where princesses prepare for the Royal Ball.

I think this is a great idea. Like I said, I can't really relate because I don't have any old dresses or anything but Grade 12 graduation is such a big day for students and to be able to help those who are a bit less fortunate is such a great idea. If anyone wants to donate no longer worn dresses, bridal dresses, gowns, makeup, jewellery and now they are even taking wedding dresses! They are opening up a drop off spot on 21sts street soon, but for now you can email them at the.princess.shop@shaw.ca to tell them you have a dress or other items for them. They also have a group on Facebook so if you like this idea join the group to show your support.

I sometimes (maybe often depending on who you talk to) wish I was better off than I am. But man, when I really think about it I am so blessed it is unreal. I have a house, a good job, a car, a lovely wife whom I love, a great family and a relationship with my loving God! What could I possibly complain about...the fact that I don't have a larger TV, don't have cable, or don't go on three vacations per year to some hot island? Sometimes I wonder if God looks at me and wonders why I keep asking for blessings as if I've got nothing. Shiela reminds me often that I sometimes get materialistic and I tell her I don't, but when a person looks at what he has compared to so many others and yet still wants more...how can that not be materialistic. I need to be more thankful!

Want To Play Some Sports Over Christmas

There is a tournament on over the Christmas holidays called the Best Athletic Team Challenge. It looks like a lot of fun and if you want to join the team let me know as I have to enter our team by Friday.

The way it works is that you play a variety of different sports including a minimum of one game of volleyball, soccer, floor hockey and then your choice of either Dodgeball or Ultimate Disc. The team will consist of 8-12 players and it is over three days which are Dec 28, 29, 30. Cost would be around $35 if we had 12 people. All games are held at the old Saskatoon Soccer Centre.

So let me know if you want to play! It looks like a ton of fun and a great way to stay in shape over the holidays!

This Says It All

Rant #2 - Don't Stop Me From Celebrating Holidays

I'm tired of hearing about all the people out there who complain about certain holidays and how we can't celebrate them like we want. For example, most stores and restaurants won't say "Merry Christmas" anymore and instead say "Happy Holidays" because not everyone believes in Christmas. For all you people out there who get offended at certain holidays I've got three words for you..."GET OVER IT!"

Yeah, that's right....Get Over It! If you don't believe in Christmas, whatever, but don't make a big stink about it and tell everyone to stop celebrating. If you don't like the fact that airports put up Christmas trees, don't make a stink about it and tell them to take it down (which some people of a certain religion did). Just ignore it and live your life. Nobody is forcing you to look at its beauty.

Obviously we aren't all going to agree with everything, but just let things go sometimes. It's time people stopped fighting for all their "religious rights" and just let everyone live. If it's not normal to wear a scarf when you play soccer, then don't. If you can't show your legs because of your religion, then don't play soccer, don't complain and say you have to be able to wear pants when you play. When people are getting killed in the streets all the time, don't complain when the police tell you not to wear your ceremonially (yet extremely sharp) dagger down the street or into a bar. It really comes down to a safety issue a lot of the time and that needs to trump your religious rights.

I mean seriously, how far is it going to go. Maybe I find it offensive that people wear turbans. Maybe I should make a big stink about it and start knocking off people's turbans because I find it offensive (I won't, but you get the point). Actually, did you hear about the religion that has started in southern Arizona? The religion is based on the fact that God wants you to be healthy by eating right, exercising and not being overweight. The followers of this religion are very strict on what they eat and they exercise daily. That's all fine, but wait until you hear how they witness. These people witness by going out in groups of 4-5 people and walk around until they find someone who is overweight. Then they surround the person and verbally abuse them about their weight and tell them how God won't let them into heaven unless they start eating right, exercising and lose weight. And the police there can't stop it or charge them for this abuse because it is within their religious rights.

Ok, that last bit on the healthy religious group was made up, but you see where I'm going with this. Complaining about your rights all the time because of religion is stupid. If you don't agree with certain holidays, please keep your mouth shut and ignore it. Let the rest of us enjoy our holidays and celebrate it the way we want. Oh, and by the way, "Merry Christmas!"

Rant #1 - CUPE Workers Get Back To Work!

For the last 5 or so weeks the CUPE workers have been on strike in Saskatoon. These are the employees that work at the University such as the janitors, food services, etc. They went on strike because they didn't like what the University was offering them. Keep in mind that these workers already are paid extremely well for the type of work they do. I tried to find an exact number but couldn't, but I've heard through the grapevine that these workers are making around $12-$15 per hour...and that includes those who just make pizza or run the till in the bookstore.

Now I don't know all the details but this is a rant and I'll focus on the aspects that I want. The University offered them a 17% increase in wages and benefits over 3 years. However, 6% of that raise is based on acceptable performance. In other words, if they get a poor performance review they won't get all of that 6%, although they still get the other 11% which works out to 3.67% per year. The union thought this was terrible because they did not think any of it should be based on performance. One of the union reps even said and I loosely quote "tying wage increase to performance is an archaic way of thinking!"

WHAT!! I have never heard such lazy words in my life. So basically, these workers just want to show up to work, do their job (they don't even have to do it well, just show up and pretend to work) and they want a 17% increase. Meanwhile, the rest of us who work for companies have basically all our wage increases tied to performance...if we don't perform they won't be giving us a raise and will probably fire us.

These CUPE workers are some of the laziest people I know of. All they have to do is actually do their job well and they will get their total wage increase. And besides, it's a union, so if they feel the performance review is unfair they can just grieve it and the union will have to prove why they got a low review. It's a perfect system and actually makes these CUPE workers care about their jobs, the university, and the students they are serving. Kudos to President Peter McKinnon for not backing down on that issue as I feel he strongly believes that these workers need to be doing an excellent job in serving the students.

So to any CUPE workers out there....GET BACK TO WORK AND STOP BEING LAZY!!!

Lifehouse's Everything Skit

This skit is really great. I love how it shows that God is always there for us. We can get so distracted with other things and the further we focus on them the harder it appears to get back to Jesus. Yet Jesus is still only a prayer away and although Satan wants us to think he is long gone, He isn't and He is right there waiting for us to come back to Him...and that is when He can step in and fight for us. It's up to us to choose. What a great, powerful and loving Saviour!