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Rest

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   Rest is important, and often underrated in our Western Culture.  Sleep is one of the biggest ways we get rest, though its not the only way. According to a recent sleep study (Sleep Research Society, 2012, Philips Research, 2019) , 8/10 adults want to improve their sleep, but dont know how.  1 in 3 adults is not getting enough regular sleep. We arent sleeping, so we start our days from a place lacking rest.  But its not just sleep we arent getting. We lack rest. True rest.  I took the month of August off from work, and attempted to rest. At first it was really hard. I had to delete my email apps off my phone, and leave my laptop at the office, so that i wouldnt sneak a quick peak. I avoided facebook messages from members, or staff members that were about work things. I ignored many phone calls.  It took some effort, but I truly wanted to rest. I spent much of that time camping, and sitting by a campfire, or a beach, reading a book. It was the first time in a while that I was reading
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Turtles, Tadpoles, Tampons and Trash

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For Fathers day this year, my wife bought me a SUP board. (stand up paddle board for those who arent into the newest outdoor trends). Its great, and very easy to get out and get a bit of exercise, and be a part of nature at the same time. It's been even more accessible for me because of the fact that we live across the street from a conservation area with a great big lake in the middle of it.  I have been out on the lake at least 3 or 4 times a week for the last month, and I've noticed something lately.  Nature rocks, and humans just suck sometimes.  Last Friday I was out for a paddle, and I came across a beautiful little red slider turtle, and then moments later paddled up on this MASSIVE snapping turtle (more rare these days, as they are in decline in ontario).  I came across many different birds, and fish, and underwater snails too. But I also came across many empty chip bags floating on the lake. Multiple beer cans sat at the bottom of the waters edge. I paddled across garb
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True Contentment

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Recently in the news a bunch has been Elon Musk (I mean, he's in the news all the time for something new). This time, its for his way of living.  In case you haven't seen it on the news, or don't follow Elon online at all, it recently surfaced that he lives in what is formally known as a Tiny Home. Its under 400sq.ft,. And it cost less than 50k. This is huge news for many reasons, but the biggest is because Elon is a billionaire. He is one of the richest men alive. And one of the richest men alive, has found contentment not in things, not in the size of his house, or his riches. He has found contentment in other things.  He has learned to be content with what he needs, and without all the glam and glitter we are accustomed to seeing in life, and also accustomed to in our own lives. Contentment is many people chase, but few find. And I think its because we pursue contentment in our 'stuff'. We arent content until we get that next big house, or the next boat, or fancy
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Summer Students Started yesterday!

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 This is just a quick blog note to say that all our summer students started yesterday! All told, it was a very busy day.  We had 4 brand new summer students start.  Plus Cam finished his role as Camps Planning Direcotr, and transitioned to Summer Camps Supervisor, so he started a new role.  PLUS our new Youth & Family Pastor Started.  PLUS PLUS our new Worship Pastor Started. So yesterday was a very busy day for Lynn and myself in the office as we tried to onboard everyone, run Plan to Protect Seminars, prep for camps, get people sorted and situated, and also figure out what to do for the next few weeks of virtual church services.  We are very excited for camps this year, in fact our first two weeks of Camp are nearly full!  We couldnt have any volunteer helpers this year because of COVID-19, so what we would ask is for you to join us as prayer warriors? Could you commit to praying for the summer staff, 5 in total, plus our new Youth & Family Pastor, and our new Pastor of Worsh
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Kayaking Into The Wind

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 This past week I took 'work from home' to a different level, and worked from my new (to us, very used and old in real life) trailer.  My wife and I packed up all our toys, our dog, and the baby, and headed off to Rondeau Park in South Western Ontario.  It was a good weak of reading by a fire, reading by a lake, praying and contemplating while walking through the wilderness.  While there I had a number of Zoom calls, which I made from my cell phone, in my truck, parked near the beach. It made for a great background for the calls.  On one of these calls, I looked off into the lake, and saw a man kayaking. Now, it was quite a windy day, and this man happened to be kayaking into the wind.  I had a chuckle as i thought about how tired and how much work he must be doing. It would certainly have been easier to go the other way, with the force of the wind at his back. He was making nearly no headway as he went, he appeared to be in the exact same spot as I watched him try. I focused b
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An Unfortunate end to a Missional Course

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 Last week I had the opportunity to sit in a course with a fairly prominent Christian Pastor, Speaker, and Author, who has been rising on the "popularity" scales a lot recently. I wont mention names, because truthfully this post is not about that person.  The course was about the church and their mission.  It was a fine course, albeit perhaps more suited for an undergraduate degree as opposed to a graduate degree program, however students shouldn't complain courses being 'too easy' when in their last days of grad school. The course however ended on a note that soured my whole experience.  We ended the last day discussing a case study looking at unity in churches.  Church unity is a touchy subject, because many churches do not have much unity. Many churches have more fights are arguments than any other interactions.  The specific case study had to do with same sex marriages and churches.  Now, in case you live under a rock, I'll sum up the argument simply for y
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Dinner tables vs fences

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 I have been thinking about hospitality a lot recently in my life, but also for our church.  Hospitality was always built into what it meant to be a Jesus-follower from the beginning. He expected that his followers would be hospitable, but also that they would rely on hospitality.  Many times he sent them out, and sent them with nothing at all. This wasn't because he wanted them to suffer under poverty, but because he expected them to rely on the hospitality of others, and trust God to provide for their needs. Jesus had dinner in the homes of others. He was born in a stable, in a borrowed manger, not his own house. He was buried in a donated tomb.  The earliest 'church' met in, ate in, and worshipped in one another's homes.  The word "mine" became something of a cussword to the early church.  My house  was not "my" house, it was God's house, and you were always welcome at our dinner table. Somewhere, somehow, this all changed.  Somewhere along th
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