Carpentering for the Carpenter

Resurrection Day, Part Two

2011-04-25T06:41:00.007-06:00

Yesterday was another Resurrection Day for the little church in Thorhild. We planned for some time to have a"traditional service" on Easter, knowing it was the best day to get new people out to church.

After taking in an great joint Good Friday service here in Camrose (Brian sang "Watch the Lamb") I headed up to Thorhild. On the way I stopped and saw Ron and his new girlfriend at West Edmonton Mall.

On Saturday we passed out invitations to our service all over Thorhild. In the process, I met and visited with several people I had not seen for a long time. In between all of this I made a couple of visits and had one excellent witnessing opportunity and another encouraging visit with some former young people. Then we had a lovely dinner and an Elders meeting.

Sunday was another nice day and we started it with a "Breaking of Bread" service at 9:00 a.m. That's a communion service, Brethren Assemblies style!

As we prepared for the Easter service the attendance appeared to be low, but at the last minute several more people came, including two or three we had only met the day before while handing out invitations. Altogether we had 27 or 28 people, about double what we were having for our weekly Bible Studies.

What did I do? I preached! Well, I called it a "non traditional sermon." I came in from the back, dressed as a disciple. (I used my shepherd costume from "Bethlehem Walk") I talked about the eventful week I had, starting with the Triumphal Entry. It was all down hill from there. Until I met this Man on the Emmaus Road. I had great freedom in presenting the gospel.

Afterwords one lady told me: "It was your finest hour!" It wasn't me, it was the enablement of the Spirit. His direction and strength was very evident to me as I spoke. Ever since the church reopened there has been a tremendous freedom in the Spirit to minister for the Lord. And there's been much evidence of how He has directed in our times together. Praise the Lord!

Next week we will be going back to our Bible study format. Hopefully we will have a few more people with us.

Afterwords I was invited to a Passover meal, complete with a leg of lamb, at a church family's home. It was an awesome weekend!

"Heaven Is For Real"

2011-04-13T14:50:00.004-06:00

I just finished reading the book. I highly recommend it. Get it! Put a box of Kleenex beside your chair and read it. It will bless your heart and strengthen your faith.

Resurrection Day!

2011-02-06T21:49:00.007-07:00

Over three months ago, Thorhild Living Gospel Fellowship, the church I had pastored for nine years, closed its doors. Since then I have made several trips there to help work on reopening the church. We sought the Lord for direction and eventually reestablished a board of elders. Several weeks ago we decided to start with a Sunday morning Bible study twice a month. Today was to be the first one.

Last night after work I was about to head for Thorhild, a two hour drive, when my daughter called and advised me to stay off the road. She and her husband were on their way to Edmonton and had encountered several accidents. They took two and a half hours to make a 45 minute trip.

This morning I headed out early on the still somewhat icy roads. For about 20 km I followed a sanding truck. Then the road got better. Several times there were sanding trucks ahead of me and most of the rest of the road was already sanded. At church in Thorhild I publicly thanked the Lord for sanding trucks.

About 14 of us gathered. We sang hymns, peoples favorites. My friend Steve led the singing and his wife Joyce played the Piano. We prayed together. We shared with one another. And I led a Bible study. Afterwords we went downstairs for a light lunch. All 14 of us stayed for it! Every person who make a comment expressed their appreciation for how the meeting went.

The roads were much improved for the drive home. I arrived safely in Camrose, as did Suzanne and Brian from their overnight date!

At home I caught the last two thirds of the Superbowl. I thought to myself, if I had to choose between what I did today and being at the Superbowl, I'd choose "resurrection day!"

Please keep us in your prayers; we have only just begun.

Minor Setback

2011-02-02T21:52:00.008-07:00

After a month of waiting I finally got back to the family farm. I spent the past three days out there getting dirty and greasy. I was working on the old tractor I am in the process of restoring.
The first task has been to get the engine running.

On Monday, Bill (my brother) helped me set the repaired cylinder head onto the engine. Probably the most important task is torquing down the head bolts. This is what 150 foot/pounds looks like! Monday was a successful day. The engine took shape as I continued by reinstalling the push rods and rocker arms.
Everything was progressing well yesterday. Then I decided it was time to add water to the radiator. I put the garden hose into the top of the radiator and Bill turned on the water. Almost immediately, water was running out of the bottom of the rad and onto the floor. No, I had not forgotten to put the plug back into the drain! (If only...) Instead, the water found its way through a crack in the elbow coming off the bottom of the rad. So we spend the rest of the afternoon and this morning taking the radiator off the tractor and taking the broken pats off. You see, as we took at apart we also discovered another crack. As the picture reveals, the tractor is looking less like a tractor again.

Hopefully I can get the cracked parts welded at a local shop and the restoration process can continue soon.

In the mean time I have another restoration project that I am involved in. I must focus on it for the next several days. I should be able to bring a report on that one next week.

Defibulation

2010-12-15T21:51:00.002-07:00

The restoration process is taking its time! Today I finally was successful at unseizing the tractor's engine. The process:
Soak cylinders with diesel fuel (about two gallons).
Let soak for about two months.
Try loosing the seized engine by rocking the tractor back and forth.
Remove head and replace diesel fuel with rubbing alcohol.
Let soak overnight.
Loosen the seized piston by hitting it with a fire log the right size and a big hammer.
The result: the engine moved. Elation!
Now there is more work and waiting to do until the engine will move freely. But a major hurdle had been crossed. Praise the Lord.

The Dawn of a New Day!

2010-10-10T00:35:00.001-06:00

I finally did it! I bought my first real tractor. After some 50 scale models, I thought it was about time! A READ tractor? Well, it needs some attention, which I hope to give it soon. So, for both me and the tractor it is the dawn of a new day.

For those who want to know, it is a Case LA, the same model as we had on the farm when I was a teen-ager. Ironically enough, my brother Ted is in the process of doing the same thing, with the same model of tractor, down in Montana. What can I say, we're twins!

Mountain Top Experiences

2010-08-11T21:56:00.017-06:00

This year Colleen and I took a short vacation together because I'd just started a new job. We ended our three day get-away with supper at a nearby restaurant. We were listening to the country music in the air when it suddenly changed to a gospel song: "God on the Mountain." Over the past few days we had had at least three such experiences.

Monday morning, we started our vacation with a 5:00 a.m. wake up call. Five hours later we were at our destination on Hwy 93. (Yes this is the same highway that wanders down through western Montana.) We were at the closest driving point to the Columbia Icefield.

Although I have lives most of my life within driving distance of this spot, I did not witness it until a few days after 9-11. We were on our way to Montana and could only stop briefly. I desperately wanted to take the "SnoCoach" tour onto the Athabasca Glacier. A few years ago we wized by again. This time we were on our way back from Montana to Sexsmith, Alberta.

This year I decided this was our opportunity. With the help of my son-in-law, we turned the trip into a three-day mountain adventure. Brian helped me get a great deal on a two night stay in a motel in Banff.

The Columbia Icefield adventure was great. We took the "SnoCoach" up the Athabasca Glacier as far as it could go. The machine looks like an armored bus on tractor tires. This makes sense since it was a farmer turned engineer who designed it. I met him some 15 years ago after he returned to his farm and started a specializes farm equipment manufacturing business. All but one of the snow coaches are at the Athabasca Glacier. The other one is in Antarctica!

On the Glacier we could see the melt-water running down into a man-made ditch in the ice to preserve the ice road. The water was murky because of the "rock flour" in it. These fine particles disperse minerals into the water and produce the emerald colors found in some alpine lakes. I found it interesting that the rocky moraine pushed up by the glacier on either side of it was actually ice covered with an insulating layer of rocky debree. The glacier we were on was only three per-cent of the whole ice-field. Most of it was invisible behind us. Google Earth gives you a good view of its proportions.

On our way to Banff we saw many more awe-inspiring sites of mountains, glaciers, and lakes. Banff itself was different too. Colleen and I have been there several times for church conferences. They were always in the fall after the summer tourists had fled and before skiers had arrived. But this time we were there simply as tourists.

The shops on Main Street were open late, many as late as 11:00 p.m. So we did the tourist thing and shopped and shopped and shopped. Don't worry, we did a lot more looking than buying. Trinkets of every Canadian icon were to be found: Beaver, Bear, Mountain Sheep, Moose, Moose in Mountie uniform, Moose canoeing, Moose drinking beer, Moose playing hockey (you get the picture). One shop sells Christmas ornaments all year long. I found it most interesting. However the most bizare items were in a gem shop that also sold petrified artifacts, including ( I lie not) petrified dinosaur poop!

We toured up Mt. Norquay. I was there some 45 years ago the summer my sister worked in Banff. That time Ted and I hiked up the ski run to the special building for the judges to watch the ski jumping. About then Banff was bidding for the winter Olympics. 20 years later, when Calgary hosted the Olympics, the ski jumping took place there. This summer, I could barely see that building because the area was closed. However, it has obviously grown to some four lifts and twenty runs today.

Before leaving Banff we took the gondola up Sulphur Mountain. Forty years ago, on a Thanksgiving trip home from Bible College, I took Colleen up that mountain. It was the weekend I asked her to marry me. Nine years ago we did the same venture. The first time I do not remember being afraid. If I had been, I would not have let on. But these last two times it bothered me going up in the Gondola. ( I do have a fear of heights) This trip they displayed pieces of the cables that supported and pulled us up the mountain side. 38mm and 26mm respectively did not seem very reassuring to me. But the ride down, both times, was like we were floating and I was not nervous at all. I think the pulling and straining of the equipment on the way up was a big factor.
Form the top we could see many other mountains and the town of Banff down below. Up beside the lookout area were sever Mountain ewes and their lambs. We could almost touch them.

We felt a little sad to leave the mountain and return to Alberta's parklands. Overall it was a relaxing and enjoyable little vacation.

Blogger is giving me problems, so go to Facebook for photographs.

How We Celebrated our Anniversary

2010-07-04T14:13:00.002-06:00

I worked all day while Colleen took charge of Roger and Jonny. We had Pizza for supper. Jonny wasn't very hungry. When his stomach erupted we found out why. But we carried on with our planned evening. We took the boys to Toy Story 3. We all loved it. And no problems with Jonny.
then it was home for a long summer evening's nap! Alter all, we had to do it all again the next day. Well, not everything, Jonny was fine!

How We Celebrated Canada Day.

2010-07-01T16:07:00.008-06:00

We slept in! I did about an hour's work. Then we went to the Museum. There we heard Brian sing. (He's getting better all the time.) Colleen went to work. Brian and I took the boys for a train ride.

Then Brian and Suzanne left for the weekend. After all, it is their fourth anniversary. And me? I had the boys for the rest of the day and evening till Colleen got off work.

After Jonny's nap and Roger's movie watching, we had supper, the photo says it all! After supper we went for a walk (The boys were in a tandem stroller) to the Bank and back. About a mile one way, and about an hour, round trip.

Soon after that Colleen was home. Then, at 11:00 p.m., we took the boys to see the Canada Day fireworks. They were great! We were home by midnight and the boys were soon fast asleep.

Happy Canada Day!

Too Many Hats

2010-06-13T09:18:00.003-06:00

I've been wearing too many hats lately. Let me begin with the ones I've been wearing the longest.

"Grandpa Duty" started when we moved here. And that's why we are here so its great to have the little guys for an overnight or whatever help we can provide for Suzanne and Brian.

"Maintenance Man." I've done this job for about a year and a half: usually only an hour or two once or twice a week but lately it's been about three half days.

"Ed's Handyman Services" started over a year ago as an alternative to unemployment. Last year was busy enough but this spring it slowed down. Now I have a few jobs that I am having a hard time working into the rest of my schedule.

"School Bus Driver" started in late April when the renovation work was slow. I'm only a spare driver but May was quite busy and June has had some busy days too. This weekend we drove for a MS bike tour, all day Saturday and early Sunday morning.

"Assistant Manager." Actually its a name tag, not a hat. Two weeks ago I started this three days per week job at the local ReStore. It's Habitat for Humanity's recycling store. Going well so far.

Bouncing between all of these things can be quite a juggling act sometimes. But I must admit that it is better that sitting around twiddling my thumbs like I was in the winter. Fortunately the bus driving will come to a temporary end soon. It has required the most juggling.

About a month and half ago I started praying for God's direction and God's supply in what I should be doing. He has answered quite clearly.

Life is good. God is good. Jehovah-Jireh is providing!

One Hundred Years in the Sky

2009-09-11T22:33:00.007-06:00

One hundred years ago Canada entered a new age. On February 23, 1909 the first Canadian airplane took the the skis. It took off on a frozen river and traveled about a mile at an altitude of 30 feet and a speed of about 40 miles per hour. The plane pictured here is a replica of the "Silver Dart" at the Reynolds Alberta Museum.

After WWI, airplanes opened up Canada's vast northern lands. In the 1970's our family flew into and out of Uranium City, the isolated community were we served as pastor of our first church. We usually flew in a four motored DC4 but a few times we flew on a DC3, like the one pictured here. It was a lot slower and noisier than the DC4. Later on we flew on a Bowing 737 jet. Now that was the lap of luxury!

We saw these planes at the Reynolds Alberta Museum. Roger enjoyed taking the controls of a helicopter. In fact he did not want to come out.

The Museum also featured a vintage bi-plane that was in full operation. In fact for more money than I cared to part with you could go for a ride it its open cockpit.

Two people could ride side by side in the front seat while the pilot operated it from the back seat.

The star attraction of the airplane exhibits was the one and only replica of the Avro Arrow.

The intriguing story of the Arrow is still filled with mystery. It was designed, tested and constructed between 1953 and 1958 in Malton , Ontario. It was the most advanced interceptor of its time. It was capable of Mach 2 and could fly as high as 50,000 feat.

Only five such planes were built when the program was abruptly canceled by the Canadian government on February 20th, 1959, Some 14,000 employees lost their jobs and about another 15,000 in spin-off industries. Within two months all planes, parts and production equipment were officially scrapped.

32 engineers moved to the U.S. and worked for NASA. This prompted the Canadian expression, "the brain drain," which we apply to other situations as well.

Why the Arrow was canceled remains a mystery. Speculation involves politics, economics, military strategies, and security in the middle of the cold war.

However enough information was gleaned so that many years later the full scale model pictured above could be built. I am thankful for having the privilege of seeing it. It will soon be moved to other venues for other people to view.

Just a few highlights from Canada's one hundred years in the air.

A Flash from the Past

2009-09-07T21:42:00.008-06:00

How did we celebrate the Labor Day weekend? We took Suzanne, Roger and Jonathan, and a friend to the Reynolds Alberta Museum. It is a large museum of the equipment that build our province featuring four distinct areas: Industry, Agriculture, Automobiles, and Aviation.
Being the fall long weekend, the main events focused on harvesting. This Steam Traction Engine would soon operate the threshing machine.

Leigh and Randy Kvill ("quill") are members of our church. He is one of the leaders of the Museum and she was doing the announcing at the threshing demonstration. She is a school teacher and taught our children when they were in high school. Randy's father has build several model steam engines that actually work. We also know Randy's uncle who is Chancellor of Peace River Bible Institute.This threshing machine was to be used for the demonstration. If you look closely you will notice that one side of the feeder chain is hanging down because a link is broken. there was about a twenty minute delay as the men fixed the break. "This is all too real," I thought as I reflected on memories of harvest time when I was a teen-ager.

Threshing in progress. Two men are pitching bundles of winter wheat onto the feeder of the threshing machine. If you look closely at the spout going into the green wagon you can see a "dump"of grain (1/2 bushel) coming down it. Behind the threshing machine and wagon you can also see the beginnings of a straw pile and more straw coming down out of the blower pipe attached to the back of the thresher. Everything is working! The wheat will be taken to one of the museum buildings where it will be ground into flower and made into bread that can be eaten in the restaurant there.

Adjacent to the threshing demonstration, these men were cutting a field of winter wheat. The binder cuts the grain and ties it into bundles or sheaves which you can see piling up on the "bundle carrier" attached to the right side of the machine. Ted and I learned to drive the tractor this way at age ten. Dad attached a rope to the leaver clutch of the tractor so he could stop it.

In the background you can see three large steam shovels that were used in coal mining in years past.

In the next field a man was seeding winter wheat for next year. Yes, this is the right time to be doing it. In the foreground are the bunches of bundles left by the binder.

Our friend and I enjoyed this reenactment of activities from our respective childhoods. Outside there were a lot more old tractors and farm equipment to be seen. Inside the pavilion were several exhibits of farm equipment, industrial machines, an automobiles.

We had a wonderful day taking in all (well most) of what there was to see. Roger and Jonathan did very well too.

TeePee Time

2009-08-03T18:09:00.007-06:00

A Tee Pee arrived at Campout this year.
The men who brought it had it built in no time.

The finished product.

In use as the children's play and learn place.

(Yes, that is a golf cart behind the Tee Pee,)

New Job(s)!

2009-05-30T23:01:00.003-06:00

I now have a new job, and another, and another... No, I'm not getting fired, or laid off, over and over again. I've put in several resumes at different places, all to no avail. I had just one call back for an interview and that was two months ago. Nothing further.

But I have been busy working. I continue to do the maintenance job and it has involved up to 16 hours a week the past couple of months. Ever since Easter I've been doing some renovation and/or fix-it jobs. Most of it has been for a man in our church who has a couple of apartment buildings. But there have been several other jobs as well.

And I'm loving being self-employed.

Last week when things were slower I started redoing our basement bathroom. Now, I'm too busy to finish it. (I do have to stop and watch the hockey game. "Go Red Wings go!")

The result has been that I've been kept busy and I'm making a relatively steady income. It's kind of day to day but the Lord is providing through it all. Praise His Name.

New Year's Resolutions Update and Evaluation

2009-04-05T09:03:00.002-06:00

New Year’s Resolutions:
10: Learn to play at least one Wii game successfully.
Haven't done much on Brian and Sue's Wii.
9: Win $1,000.000 on “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-grader?” (the PC game)
Done this one several times, too bad it wasn't in real life.
8. Work on my novel.
Haven't even thought about it.
7. Read more good books.
I've read about 8 or 10 and enjoyed them. Mostly apologetics and Christian history.
6. Do more Bible study—sermon preparation.
Only for the few times I've preached.
5. Finish my autobiography this winter.
Almost done the "first draft" and working on adding pictures.
4. Exercise regularly.
Went to the walking track about three times a week till recently.
3. Read my Bible more.
I've made it through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.
2. Spend more time in prayer.
Maybe a little, but not much considering I have more time to spend.
And my #1 New’ Year’s Resolution is:Get a job!
That one's still a no-go. A few nibbles is all.
So I re-evaluate and keep at it, all the above.

"Don't Feed The Plant"

2009-03-28T10:01:00.002-06:00

If you walk into a flower shop and see a strange plant that looks like a Venus Fly Trap, only different, don't buy it. Advise the shopkeeper not to feed it. And definitely DO NOT feed it blood. Such was the mistake made by Seymour and in the end it would cost him his life.

By now some of you will have figured out that I am talking about the Broadway musical "Little Shop of Horrors." It was presented here in Camrose by the amateur organization the "ChurchMice Players." The person playing Seymour, the main character, had many lines to learn and many songs to sing. And in my humble opinion, he nailed the part.

Colleen and I took Thomas to see the opening night production last night. All three of us loved it. Seymour was played by our son-in-law Brian. I knew he could sing, but now I know he can really act too! Great job!

A Death in the Family

2009-02-16T16:31:00.005-07:00

She was a member of our family for 19 years. But alas she is no longer with us. I remember the first time I saw her. It was just a week or so after I'd had my famous accident on the river hill. We went over to Wetaskiwin and my Dad showed us the newest addition to the Turner family. She was just a newborn but she was a cute as could be.

She had the luxury of spending most of her life indoors, except when she was out travelling and seeing the country. After 1994, when Mom moved into town, this family member enjoyed a quiet life for about eight years. Then in 2002, when my Mother decided she no longer needed her services, we took her in and made her a part of our family. We welcomed and treated her as our own. But her life got a lot busier. We took her to northern B.C. to see Ron. She made many trips with us to and from the Peace country in recent years. And she even made trips with us to Montana and to Penticton, B.C. For four years Colleen took her to work in Grande Prairie with her almost every day. And here in Camrose she began to enjoy a much quieter life with us.

Although she enjoyed almost perfect health all her life, she did suffer from heat stroke every now and then. But that was not what would end her life. Three weeks ago she sustained life threatening injuries in a vehicle accident about a block from our home. Her internal organs were fine, but she had some heavy skeletal damage on her left side. The doctors said it was too much of a risk to try and repair the damage. So last week the decision was made to take her off life support. Our loss is somewhat comforted by the fact that many of her body parts will be able to be used to lengthen the lives of other individuals. She also had a good life insurance policy. The funeral will be next week when the undertaker will come to take her on her final journey.

And now some photos of her final hours.

I've Been Reading...

2009-02-08T14:35:00.002-07:00

In the last five months I've done more reading than I've ever done since -- since seminary anyway. What have I read? Lets see...

So You Don't Want to go to Church Anymore.
It's a short fiction story about a guy who gets burned by the organized church and gets back to what church is supposed to be about: relationships.

The Shack
Of course! Just about every time I thought William P Young had taken his fantasy about the character of God too far, he'd bring it into proper perspective with a simple statement. In my opinion, he has a deep understanding of who God is and who we are in relationship with Him. I totally recommend this book.

What in the World is Going On?
Dr. David Jeremiah gives a down to earth presentation of Bible prophecy, relating it to the recent developments of our world.

The Case for the Real Jesus
Lee Strobel's latest book delves into issues like the reliability of the New Testament and the supposed influence of pagan religion and the hidden gospels on Christianity. He does an excellent job on these and several other related topics.

The Case for Faith
I finally read this older book by Strobel. He tackles tough questions like the problems associated with pain and suffering, and eternal punishment. I recommend both (well, all) of Lee Strobel's books, especially if you have any concerns or interest in the area of apologetics.

The Christians
This is actually a multi-volume set published right here in Alberta. They have lots of pictures. In a nutshell it is the history of Christianity written simply and in a style that makes it come alive in the mind of the common reader. So far I have read volumes two and three, which covers the growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire from the end of the New Testament era to the time of Emperor Constantine. The accounts of how many Christians endured severe persecutions joyfully are amazing. I'm looking forward to reading more in this series of books.

One Word Answers

2009-02-03T21:02:00.002-07:00

I'm playing along with "Portrait of an Artist" here:
Where is your cell phone? pocket
your hair? thinning
Your father? Heaven!
Your favorite thing? Recliner
Your dream last night? goofy
Your favorite drink? Butter Carmel Hot Smoothy
Your dream/goal? Eternal rewards
The room you are in? recreation
Your fear? heights
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Retired!
Muffins? Lots
One of your wish list items? Employment
Where you grew up? Farm
The last thing you did? TV
What are you wearing? black
Your TV? 32"
Your pets? none!
Your computer? toy
Your life? on hold
Your mood? calm
Missing someone? Boys
Your car? broken
Favorite store? Home Depot
Your summer? Vacation???
Favorite color? red
When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
Last time you cried? Funeral
Three people who email me? Missionaries
Three of my favorite foods? Steak, Uncle Burger, Subway
Three places I would rather be right now? Recliner, Bed, Heaven
Three people I think will respond? Dan, Sherry, Dianne

Accident During Surgery

2009-01-29T15:51:00.005-07:00

As some of you know I went in for hernia surgery on Tuesday. Colleen stayed with me until they wheeled me down to O. R. at about noon. Then she headed home

In O. R. they gave me a spinal and then something else and I was out like a light.
Then the accident happened.
Was it an unsteady hand?
Was it poor footing?
Was it over compensation?
Was it ...

Whatever the cause, the instrument, instead of making a slow curve, did a complete u-turn and came to rest up against a...

Before I go any further, let me remind you that I was totally out of it, sedated and frozen from above the waist down. I had absolutely nothing to do with what happen. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!

Colleen was the first person to realize that something was wrong. But all she could do was brace herself for the inevitable.

She was on her way home from the hospital, slowly rounding an icy curve about a block from our home when she suddenly realized what was about to happen. He car spun like a top, landed in a snow bank, and banged into a tree. She braced herself and was unhurt. However the car did not fare so well.

Then I regained consciousness. By the time I was back in my recovery room, Colleen was there to greet me. She gradually let me in on what a happened. I guess she figured I'd had enough stress for one day.

By about 5:00 p.m. the freezing was out and I was steady enough on my feet to be discharged. So Colleen and I went home for supper.

I did not see our car until the next day. The driver's door was smashed in and the mirror totally gone. The window was not broken but the quarter panel below the door was bent in about an inch. We are still awaiting a decision from the insurance company. The last we had heard, they sounded like they would fix it rather than write it off. The car is a 1990. It was my Mom's and for about 8 years was used very little, spending the rest of its time in a heated indoor parkade. So its still in good shape, well, except for the door!

And my surgery? Its been 48 hours and I'm feeling better all the time. Apparently it will be two to three weeks before I can lift much. Right now I'm not even allowed to hold my grandson. He's over the weight limit.

We'll see who gets back to normal first, me or the car.

An Unemployed Person's Day Off.

2009-01-12T16:17:00.003-07:00

Well, I decided to take the day off today. I preached in Ponoka yesterday. That went very well. Thank you Lord! But I came home tired. So the decision stated above.

What did my day look like?
7:30 a.m. Get up and get Thomas up and ready for school.
8:15 a.m. Take Thomas to the bus stop.
8:30 a.m. Go back to bed!
9:30 a.m. Get up and say "Hi" to Brian when he comes to pick up Roger and Suzanne. (Brian was coming off a sleep over shift.)
10:00 a.m. Go back to bed.
10:30 a.m. Do some reading including looking through the want adds for a job. (None!)
11:30 a.m. Visit with Colleen before she gets ready for work.
12:30 p.m. Have lunch (left over Pizza from last night.)
1:15 p.m. Take Colleen to work. Get the oil changed in the car and do some shopping.
3:00 p.m. Stop at the walking track on the way home. Walk 2 miles (indoors).
4:00 p.m. Have a bath.
4:30 p.m. Do some home books.
5:30 p.m. Go to Suzanne's for supper.
6:15 p.m. Look after Thomas and Roger at their place while Suzanne goes and leads her "Divorce Care" class.
10:10 p.m. Pick up Colleen from work.

Then I'll need to get into bed because tomorrow is the one day I have to work. (It's a small maintenance job.)
Good night!

Congratulate Me!

2009-01-05T16:47:00.003-07:00

I just succeeded at accomplishing New Year's Resolution #9. Actually, I knew the $1,000,000 answer on the previous game but spelled it wrong when I typed it in. So I tried another game right away and won! Now if only the $1,000,000 were for real!

Hibernation

2009-01-05T15:54:00.004-07:00

We've been hibernating quite a bit the past few days. The Christmas and Boxing Week rushes are over. It was quite cold so we put our feet up for a while. In fact it was 40 below, more with the wind chill, Friday night and Sat.

At church on Sunday, our Pastor shared this:

Top Ten Ways to Know its Cold Outside

10. When you milk the cows you get ice cream, and when you milk the brown cows you get chocolate ice cream!

9. Your shadow freezes to the sidewalk.

8. The showman knocks on the door and asks to sleep on the couch.

7. Only people like "Ed" and "Bob" have enough time to write their names in the snow. (Yes he said that!)

6. You have to open the fridge to heat the house.

5. The police tell a robber to freeze, and he does.

4. People look forward to getting a fever.

3. The fire department advises you to set your house on fire.

2. Chickens are storming the local KFC restaurant to use the deep fryer.

1. Lawyers and politicians have their hands in their own pockets.

Don't dispare, today it's a balmy -10 C (+14 F). So I washed a couple of vehicles.

New Year's Resolutions and The Rest of the Story

2008-12-30T21:04:00.004-07:00

New Year’s Resolutions:

10: Learn to play at least one Wii game successfully.
9: Win $1,000.000 on “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-grader?” (the PC game)
8. Work on my novel.
7. Read more good books.
6. Do more Bible study—sermon preparation.
5. Finish my autobiography this winter.
4. Exercise regularly.
3. Read my Bible more.
2. Spend more time in prayer.
And my #1 New’ Year’s Resolution is:
Get a job!

And now, the rest of the story!

On Monday, December 22 at the end of my shift at the group home I was asked to come in to the main office. There I was handed my “walking papers.” It was just a few days before the end of my three month probation and the leadership decided they did not need me. What a total surprise? And I was getting to really enjoy this job!

Christmas was a little subdued for me. It wasn't helped by the fact that I had a flu bug for a couple of days. But Jon flew out from Vancouver and that was a very bright spot in our holiday time. He was here for over a week and it was so enjoyable to have him with us.

So I’ve spent much of the holidays mulling over a lot of things. Jehovah-Jireh will supply. How? I don’t have a clue. In fact, I don’t know what direction my working career should be taking. In the mean time I watch, wait, and pray. And ,oh yes, work on my New Year’s Resolutions!

Global Warming?

2008-12-14T08:13:00.002-07:00

Its -35 C this morning. (30 below F). I see most of North America is experiencing colder than normal weather. And I'm sure you've heard of the power outages in the eastern States. But don't dispair. The foreast is for progressively warmer weather. We could all use a little "global warming" about now. And we can probably expect a baby boom in September!

Grandpa's Little Helper

2008-10-27T11:47:00.002-06:00

Roger is definitely "Grandpa's Boy!" Whenever he comes over he comes straight to me and wants to be picked up. Then he goes looking for my tools and is not content till he has one in his hand. Usually a screw-driver is all he needs.

When he's in the back yard, he knocks on the garage door. He expects Grandpa to be inside with more tools for him to play/work with.

The other day Roger and Brian helped me install a bathroom fan. Brian was in the attic fishing wires etc. where they needed to go. I was on a step stool in the bathroom. And Roger? He was handing me tools. I would trade with him. He was very good at reaching the tool up to me. That's the first time he's done that.

Maybe some day he will be "The Tool Man."

New Life, New Lifestyle

2008-10-27T11:44:00.001-06:00

Having started a new job that is quite different from what I have been doing feels like I've entered a new life. I'm doing basically the same thing as Brian has been doing. I am a "Life Skills Worker" in a group home for people with developmental disabilities. My home has three clients. Two of them require 24 hour supervision. Most days they go to a special training program or a workshop. Thus most of my daytime hours are off. But I work evenings, some overnights, and mornings. I'm just starting and have almost finished my training.

This morning I went to the doctor, Tim Horton's for coffee and muffins, the gas station (surprise, gasoline is under a dollar per liter), the bank and the park. Below are some pictures I took there.

These swans are here year-around The ducks will fly south.

The view of Camrose across the lake. I helped build the white seniors' condo in 1992.

A view of the St. Mary's Hospital. Both Thomas and Roger were born here.

This is "Rose Haven." It is a long term care facility for seniors now. Originally it was "the Normal School," a school for teachers back when all they needed was a one year course after high school to become teachers.

Over and Done With!

2008-10-16T03:37:00.003-06:00

Yes, its over and done with! Well, here in Canada anyway. While you, my American friends, have gone through months of primary elections, choosing running mates and public debates, we also had an election. And it didn't start until early September.

Our Canadian system is much different. The Prime Minister can call an election whenever he wants. But at least once every five years. Then the candidates have only about a month of campaigning before the vote.We had one about three years ago. Now one was called in September. Election day was Tuesday.

Our elections are different too. We only vote for our local representative, or Member of Parliament (MP). The party with the most MPs forms the government. Also, we have four parties so it is possible for no one party to get a majority. This has been the case for some time now. The four parties are: Conservative, Liberal, New Democratic Party (NDP -a more right wing party) and Block Quebecois which is only in Quebec.

So Prime Minister Stephen Harper called an election with the hope of getting a larger number of seats, maybe even the majority of them.

Canadian politics is also very regional. Quebec has a large population and a unique party called the Block Quebecois Their main platform is separation form Canada. Most of western Canada is strongly Conservative. But then there's the New Democratic Party which has strong roots in Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

Atlantic Canada and Ontario have stuck pretty much with the two main parties. Whether we get a Conservative or Liberal government almost always depends on what Ontario does because it is such a big province.

So what happened on Tuesday? Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservatives gained 19 seats to have 144, about 11 less than he needed for a clear majority. So he will have to work with the other parties a little bit to pass bills.

The Liberals are still the official opposition but have lost 27 seats, dropping to about 75.

The NDP gained 8 seats and now have 36.

The Block Quebecois lost one but still have 50, all in Quebec of course.

This political diversity makes for some interesting and unexpected alliances.

Now its time to get back to work.

One Busy Week!

2008-10-08T19:38:00.005-06:00

Uncle Doug when he was young.

Before last week began I had already volunteered to preach in my old home church, Church of the Open Bible, in Ponoka. It's just an hour's drive away now. And I was looking forward to doing some preaching since it has been about six months since my last speaking engagement.

Monday. 6:40 a.m. What's the alarm? Oh, just another work week!

Monday, 10:00 a.m. E.T. phone home. My cousin wants to know if I will do his father's funeral. He is in long term care in Wetaskawin, but he is now in a coma.

Monday, Noon. E.T. phone home again. I have the opportunity to do another "working interview" for a potential job I would like to get.

Monday, 5:30 p.m. I call my cousin but he has a bad cell connection.

Monday, 7:00 p.m. My cousin finally calls back.

Monday, 8:00 p.m. I am now in Wetaskawin. I spend about half an hour visiting and praying with my uncle Doug. I have no idea how much, if anything, he can comprehend. But after I pray with him, he is definitely more peaceful. Did my spirit connect with his spirit? I don't know.

Monday, 10:00 p.m. My cousin calls to tell me that Uncle Doug is gone. I learn later that he died within five minutes after I visited him.

Tuesday, 3:00 p.m. I call and make arrangements to have my "working interview" Wednesday evening.

Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. My cousin and his wife come and we make funeral arrangements for Uncle Doug. I agree to lead the funeral and also do the Eulogy.

Wednesday, 6:00 p.m. After a very hurried shower and supper I'm at my working interview. It lasts until about 9:30. I feel very much at home there.

Thursday, 5:30 p.m. I get a call asking me if I will take the job I interviewed for. Now, in the midst of everything else I have a "final decision" to make.

Thursday, 7:00 p.m. I'm at the computer putting together a funeral service, a message, and the eulogy for Uncle Doug.

Friday, 3:15 p.m. I give my current boss my two week notice.

Friday, 4:00 p.m. I call my new boss and accept the job.

Friday, 6:30 p.m. Suzanne and Roger join Colleen and me for Pizza supper. Roger sleeps over at our place.

Friday, 8:00 p.m. My twin brother Ted and his wife Jeanne arrive from Kallispel Montana, a 12 hour drive. We visit and I try to get some work done on my messages for the next day and Sunday.

Saturday 4:00 a.m. I wake up and decide to work on my Sunday message. I make some changes and now I finally feel like its coming together properly

Saturday, 7:00 a.m. Roger wakes up early. He lays in Grandpa's lap in the recliner chair for a while.

Saturday, 10:30 a.m. Suzanne joins the rest of us for brunch.

Saturday, Noon. I head out to the funeral. Colleen, Ted and Jeanne come a bit later. The funeral goes well. We see a number of cousins we have not seen for a while.

Saturday, 5:00 p.m. We have supper with my sister, my three brothers, and their wives.

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. We are back home and I have some time to visit with Ted before finalizing my preparations for the next day's message.

Sunday, 9:00 a.m. Ted and Jeanne leave to go back to Montana.

Sunday, 9:30 a.m. Colleen and I leave for Ponoka. It is foggy but not too bad.

Sunday, 11:00 a.m. The service goes well. The lapel mic does not work. The power point does not work. But the Holy Spirit is working through me just fine. That's what counts!

Sunday, 12:30 p.m. We go out for smorg with my brother Jim, my brother Bill and his wife Lynda, and Cliff and Eretta Reimer. They are semi-retired missionaries we have known for years. He was the one who asked me to come and speak through October.

Sunday, 3:00 p.m. We are home and we both decide we need a long Sunday afternoon snooze!

The new job? It begins on the 20th of this month. I will be taking training and then working in a group home that has three mentally challenged adults. I will be working more evenings and overnights than days. (Brian works at another similar home.) Its kind of like having a family of kids that never grow up! I'm actually looking forward to it.

My cousin Jeff who lost his father, my twin brother Ted, another cousin James.

The four brothers: Jim, Me, Bill, Ted.

The Price of Gasoline?

2008-08-28T05:23:00.000-06:00

With the price of gasoline soaring to record heights this summer, it's quite surprising to see a sign like this one outside a service station. For about two weeks now this station here in Camrose has had this price posted. In fact, many Petro-Canada stations across Alberta have been showing the same price. What is going on in the "Texas" of Canada?

If gas prices are high, why is it low?
What's going on I'd like to know.
Who can tell me why it is so?

Block Party

2008-08-24T16:08:00.008-06:00

Several churches and Christian organizations threw a block party at the school behind Thomas's house yesterday. It was a perfect day, sunny and warm and calm but not too hot (like we have been having). Quite a few people came out.

Roger enjoyed several activities including going on the slide, with Grandma's help of course.

Jasmin, a neighbour girl, took Roger for a walk. Her brother Shianne found a garter snake.
We were served a wonderful burger and potato salad supper. Seconds, and thirds and fourths, were allowed. You can see the portable kitchen in the background.

Afterwords we had some local entertainment. Brian was supposed to sing but he and Sue had a free lobster supper to go to. Can't miss that!This is Lyndi Olson. He played classical guitar for us.I first knew him as "Uncle Willy" when we listened to his kids show from CFCW in Camrose every afternoon some 50 years ago. I once met him at camp about 20 years ago and told him my twin brother and I listened to him back in Ponoka when we were young. He asked: "Were your nicknames....?" He was correct. I was surprised that he remembered them after so many years. He had learned them from his brother-in-law, a neighbor farmer in our area. According to my Dad, that was were we were first given our nicknames. Yesterday he still remembered those nicknames.

Six Unspectacular Quirks

2008-07-22T20:27:00.003-06:00

Portrait of the Artist has tagged me. I generally don't play along, but this one intrigues me, so here goes...
Rules:
1. Link the person(s) who tagged me
2. Mention the rules on my blog
3. Tell about six unspectacular quirks of mine
4. Tag six fellow bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged

Without any further ado, here are six of my unspectacular quirks:

1. I can sleep almost anywhere. All I need is a power nap and I'm good to go again, for a while. I started the habit in Church History class in Seminary.

2. I like going to Church. I fine it uplifting, challenging, and rewarding. A taste of Heaven.

3. I like to sing, especially Southern Gospel, but I can't sing. So nobody wants to sit beside me in Church.

4. I am a slow reader... 20 pages an hour, 15 if it's heavy Theology. Maybe if I read more fiction...

5. I often wake up after five hours of sleep. That's usually when I'm the most creative. Maybe someday soon I'll finish my autobiography.

6. I collect toy tractors. I have over 50 of them. They hold memories of when I operated their full sized counterparts.

Off To Camp

2008-07-20T17:57:00.017-06:00

This is in front of the Dining Hall at Deer Valley Meadows. There are several other buildings that make up this rather large camp. It it the Church of God's camp. We were there yesterday for two purposes. One was to see Thomas off to his first week at camp. Here he is with his friend Josh, getting their bags out of the car. (Josh is Deb's, Suzanne's maid or honor, son.)

They were soon registered and headed off to their cabin. It was locked and they had to wait for their counsellor to come.

Yes that is a broom in Thomas's hand. He and Josh each got a teddy bear when they registered. Pray that they have a great week at camp in every way.

This is the lodge building where they registered.

From the dining hall you can look down into the Red Deer River valley. When this land was first considered for a camp 25 years ago, "Cowboy Preacher Bill" and his wife saw deer cross this meadow while they were praying about it. Hence the camp is named: "Deer Valley Meadows."

Roger and Mikayla enjoyed touring the grounds.

Brian was busy looking after his family.

Afterwords, Colleen and I enjoyed a Southern Gospel concert in honor of the 25th anniversary of Deer Valley Meadows.

One quartet was "Glory Bound" from here in Camrose. Yes, one of them sings bass.

The other quartet was "Potters Clay." They are well known throughout Alberta. Colleen and I saw them last year in Grande Prairie when they were touring with Tim Lovelace. Even with their 15 year old pianist, the quartet's average age is still 54!

Both quartets came together for the last two songs. It was wonderful! They sang "Loving God, Loving Each Other" and then "I've Never Been This Homesick Before." It touch me enough that I cried a little bit.

Home?

2008-07-19T19:16:00.005-06:00

Home (hom):

1 one's place of residence

2 the social unit formed by a family living together

3 familiar or usual setting : congenial environment; also : the focus of one's domestic attention:
"home is where the heart is."

4 a place of origin

I've been thinking about this word lately. According to definition 1, we have a former home in Sexsmith. We still possess it and could go back and spend the night there if we wanted to.

Then we have agreed to purchase another home but we can't live there until we take possession of it in a few days (exciting). It's been so long since we were in it I forget a lot of what it is like.

Our present home is here at Suzanne and Brian's. Although we are enjoying it, we know its only temporary.

Actually, this home fits definition 2 a lot better. This social unit consists of two grandparents, two parents, and three grand-children. It has been a precious couple of months under the same roof. But I'll still be glad when Colleen and I get our own house. We want it to be a second home for our kids and grandkids.

According to definition 3, Camrose is home. When we first moved back here, I had two men tell me: "Welcome home." It does feel like home and we often bump into people we know from when we lived here before, or folk from other areas too.

But we are about an hour or so away from where I grew up (definition 4). It's nice to be close to my roots too. We don't get back there a lot but we can whenever we want to.

But all of this has gotten me thinking about another home. The older I get the more precious it becomes because it is getting nearer. I'm in no rush to get there, but I am looking forward to my permanent home. My parents are there. People whom I helped direct there will be there. And many other family and friends will be there too. But best of all, Jesus will be there and it will last forever. "So shall we ever be with the Lord." Home!

Thursday Night Football

2008-07-17T20:35:00.008-06:00

This evening Mikayla decided to play some football with Roger. Here's a recap of tonight's game." What is this thing? It looks more like a basketball too me."

"If I try hard I might even be able to pick it up. Now look at that. I Did it!"

"Lets see what else I can do with it. Should I kick it? No, that's soccer and this is football, North American style!"

And he makes a break for it. He's got the ball. The defense is caught off guard. He's in the clear...he's going...going...gone. Touchdown! And Roger wins the game.

"So much for all that fun. Now I really must get back to work and fix this lawn mower for Dad!"

How We Celebrated Canada Day

2008-07-01T20:59:00.013-06:00

Thomas is packed and ready to go to Grandma Dumont's house. It is near Mayerthorp (almost half-way back to Grande Prairie. The kids are buckled in and Mom and Dad are at the controls.

We had a great day and overnight at Bert and Betty's home. We enjoyed their hospitality, their hot top, their cooking and their sixty odd outdoor lights in their two acre yard.

Colleen and I returned early. She had to work the later shift at Wal-Mart. I went to the Camrose Museum. This is a replica of the first house in Camrose. The original was built is 1893.

The old schoolhouse reminded me of the one where I attended VBS when I was 4. Take note of the rules the teachers had to follow, especially the last one.

When the rest of the family returned, we went to Boston Pizza for supper. then we celebrated Suzanne's **th birthday with a Dairy Queen Cake.

We also drove past our new home just to remind ourselves that, yes, we do have a home which we will be occupying soon.
At 10:30 p.m. Colleen was off work so we when and watched the fireworks, not far from our homes.
Thank you Lord for a wonderful family, an enjoyable 4 day weekend, and a nice home soon.

"God Bless Canada"

2008-06-30T07:52:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow is "Canada Day." It's the 131st birthday of our nation. (And Suzanne's **st birthday, and Suzanne and Brian's second anniversary.)

For about two years now we have been blessed with a godly Prime Minister, Steven Harper. When he was elected, he ended his speech with "God Bless Canada." To my American cousins this may seem ordinary. But not up here. The three previous Prime Ministers (going back to the days of my youth) saw Canada as a "sovereign nation" and recognized no higher authority.

The Harper government has done many things to restore justice and good government. For example, just a few weeks ago, He publicly and officially apologized to the First nations Peoples (Indians) for the wrongs and abuses of the government sponsored "Residential Schools." (In years past a lot of injustice and abuse happened in these church run and government funded institutions.)

A few months ago, in Sexsmith, our MP (Member of Parliament) up there told us of the National House of Prayer. It was started a few years ago by a Christian couple. It is a converted convent where people can come and stay and pray for our government. They go and sit and pray in the public gallery when Parliament is in session. It is a big encouragement to the Christian MPs.

At Church yesterday I learned some more things God has blessed Canada with. A teacher and a student who had been at this house of prayer told of giving Prime Minister Harper a plaque with a prayer on it. He was very appreciative of it. They also told of many more MPs being believers than I would have imagined.

I also learned that there are three Bible verses inscribed in the Peace Tower in our Parliament Buildings.
Over the East window – “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea” (Psalm 72:8).
Over the South window – “Give the King thy judgment, O God, and thy righteousness unto the King’s son” (Psalm 72:1).
Over the West window – “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18).

Our pastor reminded us to not be "whiners and complainers" because we just come across as "whiners and complainers!" Instead, as citizens of Heaven, we are to uphold our leaders in prayer.

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. I Timothy 2:1-4

House to House

2008-06-20T22:46:00.009-06:00

If you had told me five years ago that I would either buy or sell a home for over a quarter of a million dollars, I would have laughed at you. But tonight I am not laughing.

Less that two weeks ago we left our beautifully renovated home and moved to Camrose. At that time we had no potential buyers for it. It was a little disconcerting, but Colleen and I prayer for the Lord to work out His will in the sale of our home.

However we had already made an offer on a nice home here in Camrose. It seemed like the perfect place for us, and close to the grandkids too. I was sure this was the house the Lord was providing for us. But a few days later our offer was bumped down to backup status because the owners had received a better offer. Despite all the anxiety this caused, I still chose to trust the Lord to work out His will and His timing. How would it all work out? All we could do was wait, and pray.

But then the "better offer" got bumped back because certain conditions could not be met. Now we were back in first place. About this time, actually the day after we move out of our former home, Ron called us with an offer on our home. We negotiated a deal and we soon had a firm offer. A week later, just this past Monday, that offer was finalized. Our house in Sexsmith was "sold." We had actually doubled our original investment.

Today was our final day to waive conditions and , in effect, purchase the house in Camrose. Yesterday Ron faxed information on the sale of our house in Sexsmith to our banker here in Camrose. This morning when I phoned our banker, she said that she had not received the fax. So I gave her Ron's number and we tried again. I was busy all day, in and out of the shop. After playing telephone tag all afternoon, I finally connected with our banker again, just ten minutes before she would have left work. The news was good, and within minutes I had finalized the paperwork with our realtor here in Camrose. My next stop was Wal-Mart to celebrate with Colleen. We continued to celebrate by taking Suzanne out for supper with us.

About our new home... It's just a ten minute walk for Suzanne's. It is on a quiet cal-de-sac. It is on a good sized pie shaped lot. And it backs up to a beautiful park. Talk about location, location, location! Although its about 35 years old, it has been well cared for and should serve us well.

Moving day will be July 25-26. Now, lets take a peak... I like it's "curb appeal" The kitchen has been modernized. The living room is spacious. And the large L shaped rec-room has a fireplace and, most importantly, a ledge for my collection of tractors.

On The Move

2008-06-18T17:56:00.001-06:00

Saturday, June 7, was moving day for us. Here you see the U-HAUL truck backed up to our garage. Ron and two of his basketball friends came and helped with the big stuff. Afterwards they sat on the front deck and watched the parade that was forming in the school parking lot and street in front of us.

We even had a marching band to serenade us as we packed. It was Sexsmith's fair day but this was as much of it as we saw. As it was Colleen and I did not get done loading the truck until 11:00 that night.

Yes, the parade was led by RCMP in their famous red dress uniform. Some of the firefighters above were at this spot three years ago attending the fire we had in our house. Peter (in the fire-truck) is a good Christian friend and neighour.

We had a successful move to Camrose, with an overnight stop at the Turner farm to store most of our belonging there. We will retrieve it when we move into our next home. More about that later.

"A Hunting We Will Go..."

2008-05-25T21:42:00.002-06:00

I spent most of Saturday house hunting. It was quite a hunting trip! A couple of realtors showed me about a dozen homes. Two or three look very promising. But we have to sell our present home first. So keep praying, thanks.

Last Day at Peace Windows

2008-05-17T08:47:00.006-06:00

Thursday was my last day at my job at Peace Windows. About three weeks ago they were going to have a staff Barbecue but it was too windy. In fact it knocked out some of our power and most of the shop employees went home. So the Barbecue was re-scheduled for Thursday. This just happened to be my last day so it was kind of a farewell party for me too. In honor of the occasion I ate two hamburgers. One employee had gotten me a card and passed it around for everyone to sign. And the office staff had gotten me the balloon bouquet pictured here.

Driving home I felt "I'm free, I'm free!" It was a good job and a great place to work. But I'm ready for a change. I was at Peace Windows for just over three years. We will see what the next job brings. It is at a cabinet shop. I will be doing some installing and service calls. (The same as my old job, only different!) So we'll see how that goes.

If Colleen's Tulips are any sign, the future looks bright!

I will post more as the new changes take place. Life is very much a walk of faith. But not as scary as it was for Abraham. At least I know where I am going, I think! The Lord has His surprises sometimes.

Spring Changes

2008-05-11T21:11:00.005-06:00

With spring come changes. The tulips are starting to bloom again. The birds are moving back north. And we are selling our home.

Yes, after three years we are making some changes.

As you can see from the sign, our realtor is someone most of you know. Yesterday was "Town wide Garage Sale Day," here in Sexsmith. We were wanting to do this last year but it fell on the day of my Mother's funeral. Yes, she has been home with her Lord for a full year now.

We put a lot of "stuff" out into our garage and sold the majority of it! A successful day indeed. Then today our realtor had an "Open House" here. He was busy all afternoon and the prospects look good. Now, as Colleen puts it, we are standing with one foot raised, waiting for where the Lord will have us put it down.

More Promise Keeping

2008-05-04T20:00:00.009-06:00

I've just returned from yet another Promise Keepers event. This one was in Edmonton again. But it was just a small group of sin 30 men being taught and equipped to minister to other men.

It was great to meet Steve Masterson again. I first met him as our counselling Prof. and our church cell group leader when we were in Seminary over 20 years ago. In more recent years he has been involved in teaching and discipling men through Promise Keepers Canada. I'm sure he has been "Jesus with skin on" to me more than any other man. I seem to be experiencing more and more of his ministry as the years go by.

At the seminar we had times of teaching by Brother Steve, one on one discipleship with our peer leader, and even private times of reflection.

On Saturday afternoon we went for a "God walk." I went down by a man made lake, enjoyed some warm sunny weather, enjoyed some ducks and geese there, and enjoyed time with God.

At the end of the seminar we had a washing ceremony. (below) Each cohort leader washed his men's hands, eyes, and ears as and affirmation of moral purity. (There was more to it than that but you would have had to have been there).
Can you find me in the group picture?

We prayed for one another. Sometimes we prayed in groups. Sometimes it was one-on-one. The two young men pictured below really ministered to each other. They were standing like this and praying and ministering to each other for probably over half an hour.

A Fun Weekend

2008-04-19T07:48:00.001-06:00

We enjoyed a great weekend with the Dumont family. The occasion was Roger's first birthday. (See Wascally Wabbit's post.) A bonus was tickets to the Kodiaks game. They are the Camrose junior hockey team. They were playing the Ft. McMurray "Oil Barons." If Camrose won they would be the Albert Junior Hockey League champions for the second year in a row. If they lost, they'd still have two more chances to win the series. Brian took the two older kids and me to see the game. Here Thomas and Mikayla are cheering on their team.

During the singing of "O Canada" we could see that all of the Kodaik players had dyed their hair blonde! The Oil Barons had multi-colored Mohawks!

There was some good action but over all it was not a good game. The Kodiaks were definitly off their game. Their main goalie was also sick and did not play. So the Kodiaks lost as they did again two days later in Ft. McMurray. But in the seventh game back in Camrose the Kodiaks finally won the league championship. They now advance to play the British Columbia champions, a team from Penticton.

On Saturday everyone went swimming and then we celebrated Roger's first birthday. (See Colleen's blog) On Sunday, after church, we went to the 50th birthday party of Brian's cousin . Here she is enjoying some food with her husband. It was at her father's farm and he showed me a lot of neat things he had: restored tractors, models, and some horse and wagon models he had made. He also had a replica of a 1908 Sears and Roebuck catalogue. From it you could buy a complete house package for as little as $750. How the value of money has changed!

Roger also enjoyed himself at the party. I had a hard time getting a good picture because he'd keep crawling out of view! As you can see he's growing up.

Promise Kept

2008-03-18T21:24:00.006-06:00

David and I did make it to Promise Keepers last weekend. Colleen was a stow-away in the back seat. Suzanne picked her up in Edmonton. David and I went on to the meetings, after stopping at House of Tools first (go figure)!

There were about 400 men at Promise Keepers, a lot less than the thousands that gathered at the Coliseum a few years ago. (In fact one time I took Brent and Jon and met Ron here in Grande Prairie for a PK gathering of 600.)

But the weekend was great and we had some notable speakers.

David is pictured here with Ted DiBiase. Yes, "The Million Dollar Man" of WWF fame! He had an awesome testimony and struck a cord with David.

I related more with Ron Estay, pictured here. He was a lineman for the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1970's when they won 5 Grey Cups in a row. He still holds the league record for Quarterback sacks. His messages focused on being champions in Christ. We also learned that most football players only play 9 minutes per game. To us the challenge is to be trained and ready for those moments of witness or discipleship that can come at any (unexpected) moment.

Then I had another promise to keep. So after the weekend we headed off to Camrose to see the Dumont family, and to pick up Colleen.

Roger is growing and doing well. He loved it when Grandpa held him. Our time with him and the other grand-kids was all too short.

In the car between Camrose and Edmonton, David and I had a good time or sharing man to man. (So this is my 9 minutes!) Keep praying for him. He has had a rather colorful life so far.

Men's Retreat

2008-03-09T19:53:00.008-06:00

I just got back from our Evangelical Free Church Men's Retreat. There were about 80 men there at Camp Nakamun, just north of Edmonton.

I traveled down with Peter in this contraption. He took his trailer on to Edmonton after the conference. He will be attending a 7 week trade training course there.

Waldie and Sharon Neufeld were the speakers. Waldie is president here at PRBI and Sharon is a Prof. They talked about being men of integrity. The four messages were:

Know who you are: You are accepted in Christ.

Know how to live: Live with an eternal perspective.

Know how to die: Die to yourself.

Know how to serve: Lead by serving.

Sharon only spoke once, the bulk of the second message. It was excellent.

I got reacquainted with some old friends, many whom I did non recognize. I also made some new friends.

One new friend was this cowboy. Kevin is the Pastor of a Cowboy Church in Sherwood Park. They meet on Friday evenings and have an exciting ministry to the people who would not normally attend church: inner city people, truckers, and yes, cowboys too.

This is Ed. He is also a part of the Cowboy Church. We knew him and his wife some 20 years ago. They were in Ponoka when we came out of Whitehorse back then. It was great to reconnect with him . Yes, that is a pink shirt he is wearing. Under his vest it says 'Wrangler." And on the collar it says "Tough enough to wear pink." One night at the Canadian Finals rodeo all the cowboys wear them in support of breast cancer research.

This is Camp Nakamun. The picture above is of the main building which includes the dining hall, the chapel, the gym, the indoor swimming pool, and several rooms. Saturday afternoon we had lots of fun playing water basketball. Dan, our pastor. tried to drown two of his parishioners!

The picture below is of the lodge where we slept, four guys to a room. Eight of us had come from our Clairmont Community Church. The first night we had a snoring contest in the room I was in. But last night we had to sleep fast because of the time change.

Promise Keeper

2008-02-17T09:09:00.003-07:00

I'm planning on taking a couple of guys to Promise Keepers "Game Day" Conference in Edmonton on March 14-15. Pray that I will be a faithful promise keeper and that these guys will come and be touched by the Lord there too!

The weekend before this I hope to go to an Evangelical Free Church men's conference. So I ask your prayers for that as well.

Thanks

Into the Twenty-first Century, Finally!

2008-01-30T04:07:00.000-07:00

It all started back before Christmas when Ron gave us a ten DVD set called "Planet Earth." We watched one episode on his TV and then brought it home to our little set. The tiny picture was half the size and we totally missed the action we were supposed to see. Well, this is the "rest of the story."

I have never been a techno geek. Back home we never had a TV for a long time. Then one day my brother Bill gave us an old black and white TV that he did not want. Ted and I put it in the living room and hooked up to a makeshift antenna. It was barbed wire strung from the upstairs window to a couple of poles. We could get a couple of channels and lots of "snow." With it we watched the Beverly Hillbillies, I Dream of Jeannie, Bonanza, and the Saturday night hockey game. We could tell where the puck was by the way the players were facing!

Over the years I've never gotten into electronic gadgets. Never had a cell phone or iPod or anything like that. My palm pilot was writing notes on my hand!
As for TV, we have had rabbit ears most of the time and an antenna on the roof some times.

But on boxing Day, Brian and I braved the elements to go to Edmonton and wait in Zero degree (F.) weather for an hour and a half to hopefully get a "door crasher" special. No such luck! But I did get a smaller flat screen TV.

After our trip to San Diego I set it up in our rec-room. The first night I watched the hockey game on it, hooked up to (you guessed it) rabbit ears!

That had to change so now we finally have cable TV, some 60 channels. It's great!
But our old couch down there is not very comfortable so in a few days we will be getting a recliner couch and chair we were able to buy on a good sale. Then we will literally be sitting in the lap of luxury.

We have finally arrived, we are now in the twenty-first century! Some day I might even decide to get a cell phone.

2008-01-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

Roger taking after Grandpa. This was more his style of fun!

Mikayle getting ready to ride the "snow skate" down the hill.

Ron prepares his snowboard for Brian to take down the hill. Later both Thomas and Mikayla would do exceptionally well on this board. (See the previous post below.)

Jon is a handsome young man.

Both Ron and Jon enjoyed helping their niece and nephew enjoy the hill and excel at the sport of snowboarding. Thanks guys!

Family Fun

2008-01-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had the wonderful privilege of having our whole family together. Jon was still holidaying at Ron's place in Grande Prairie. Suzanne and Brian brought Thomas, Mikayla, and Roger up for a visit for a few days. On Friday evening we went sledding at a park close to Ron's house.

Thomas shows good form on his second run down the hill.

Neither Thomas nor Mikayla had snow boarder before, but they both took to it quite naturally. Both Ron and Jon were most impressed with how well they did.

Mikayla enjoyed both this sled and the snow board.

Yes, even "Mom" (Suzanne) gave it a try. So did Brian. And Grandpa? He made one run down the hill with Ron in between taking pictures. Then he went with Roger and Suzanne back to Ron's house.

Grandma was in her workshop that night but Sunday evening we had a wonderful time going out for supper with Ron and Jon.

The Dumont family is now back in Camrose and Jon is on his way back ti Simon Frasier University in Vancouver. Life is back to "normal" but the memories--they're awesome.

Thank you Lord for Family.

I Left MY ***** In San Francisco

2008-01-01T09:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, we were in San Diego for the wonderful wedding of Jim and Patricia Dorris!

We had an interesting trip back from San Diego. Larry and Jeannie dropped us off at the airport in good time and we were soon checking in. Flying out over the Pacific Ocean was different for me. A little unnerving for a "landlubber."

Coming into San Francisco we had a great view of the golden gate bridge and much of San Francisco Bay. Back on the ground we had a long wait for our connecting flight on Air Canada. Where we were waiting was in full view of the runway. We could see planes taxiing out to take off and we could also see other jets coming in out of the clouds and landing. I was amazed at the steady stream of air traffic both coming and going on the same runway.

Colleen decided to take a few pictures. That's when I realized that I'd left my ***** in San Francisco. (More about that in a moment.)

When we boarded our Air Canada plane we were back in familiar territory. It was the same model of plane we'd flown down on. And when the flight attendant started announcing things in French, I knew were headed back to Canada.

In Calgary we had the quickest check through customs we had ever had. We were through in a few seconds. On the ground in Calgary, we felt like we were "back home!"

Getting on the plane for the final leg to Edmonton was another experience of Canadian reality. The plane was a small, 50 passenger, Dash 8 turbo prop. The ramp to the plane took us outside onto the tarmac and up a short set of steps into the little airplane, in -15 degree weather. We hadn't boarded a plane that way since some of our first trips in and out of Whitehorse in the Yukon.

Snacks on the short (45 min) flight consisted of a 2 oz. cup of water and an even smaller amount of little cheezies. Fortunately we had some Clodhoppers and Cashews from the previous flight. Half way along we could see the lights of Red Deer below us so I started looking around for other towns I knew were in the area. Then there it was almost below us! My home town of Ponoka was quite distinct and I could identify a number of the streets. Truly a wonderful experience of feeling at home.

We had a gentle landing in Edmonton and were soon stepping out into -20 degree weather. The walk up the long enclosed runway into the terminal spanned two years. I stopped long enough to give Colleen a New Year's kiss.

(Actually the walk was only a couple of minutes, but the timing was perfect!)

A shuttle bus took a full load of passengers and luggage out to the economy parking lot. We found our car under a blanket of four inches of snow. When I opened the door the interior light did not greet me. And when I turned the key in the ignition... nothing! Colleen waited in the check out booth as the parking company's booster truck was coming and I exposed our vehicle. By the time we left the airport an hour of the new year had already become history. Another hour later we were glad to be curling up in a warm bed at Brian and Suzanne's home in Camrose.

Right now Suzanne, Brian, Thomas, Mikayla, and Roger are here in Grande Prairie with us. Last night we went to "Uncle Ron's" house where Jon is right now too. Once again the whole family was together.

What did I leave in San Francisco? When Colleen asked for the camera, I reached down beside me for my carry on bag. No bag! We had moved seats so I looked around a bit to no avail. Then Colleen said: "Check the washroom, maybe you left it there." No such luck. I was sure I hadn't taken it there anyway but I was thinking about where it might be. I knew I had taken it through security. So I went back to security. Sure enough they had it and I was so glad to be back in one piece! I blame it on my cowboy boots, (and maybe my age). It took me a while to my boots back on after going through security and I didn't make sure I picked up the bag. So in the end all I left in San Francisco was "that awful sinking feeling."

Thank you Lord

Happy New Year Everyone!

The Day Before Christmas

2007-12-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

We had a bright full moon and it would be Christmas soon

And Mrs. Clause had just one more day in her workshop.

Back home time was running low and Santa had to hop!

His sack had to be filled with presents galore
But right now they were scattered on the floor.

We'll soon be making our annual run.
Hey! It's the first Christmas for our special grandson!

You see, Santa's "North Pole "has been relocated to Canada's largest northern city. From here Santa and Mrs. Claus will be taking their sleigh to deliver precious cargo to three precious grandchildren. Oh yes, for Brian and Sue, and Jonathan too, who will also be there!

From there it's off to southern California in a much larger (and faster) sleigh. We hope Santa and Mrs. Claus won't be held up at customs. (Last year the department of Homeland Security would not let Santa cross. There were problems as to his real identity as well as with the contents of his sleigh. Animal rights also had problems with the treatment of his reindeer. It seems they were being overworked. Also, no green cards. And Rudolph filed a harassment suit.) Apparently this year Santa will be using a convoy of Peterbuilt trucks. If yo don't believe me, check out Paul Brandt's new Christmas CD for "Christmas Convoy!" Santa and his reindeer will definitely be avoiding the southeastern states. Why? Certain rednecks have been trying to bag some fresh meat for their freezers. (You know anything about that Kentucky Red Squirrel?)

In southern California we expect to see two very nice children get hitched. And hopefully their two Aunties won't get too naught! I know Christmas will be past by then, but Santa will be making his list for next year!

Merry Christmas to all

And to all a good night!

P.S,: The disturbed snow on the roof is proof positive

that Santa and his reindeer have been here.

You Know Winter is Coming Soon When...

2007-12-05T19:24:00.000-07:00

Winter is not officially here yet, not for another 16 days. So the weather we have been experiencing is just a warning. But...

You know winter's coming when:

10 You drive to work and it is still dark.

9 You drive home from work and it is already dark.

8 You go out to start the car and it takes you longer to get bundled up than it does to actually go out and start the car.

7 The vehicle does not feel warm until you are almost at work, and you had warmed it up for ten minutes before you left.

6. Your vehicle burns more gasoline warming up than it does going down the road.

5. You go to start your old dependable truck after work and it won't start. (Fortunately I was able to call Colleen who was just leaving work.)

4. You go out to shovel the driveway and come back in three times to warm up.

3. Your unheated garage actually feels warm when you come in from outside!

2. All you want to do is curl up and hibernate with your little honey darling.

And the No. One reason you know winter is coming soon is...

The temperature -30 C. with a wind chill of -44 and holding!

The photo above was taken a year ago when we had three feet of snow by this time. This year we have about six inches. So we can't complain (too much)! "Its beginning to look (and feel) a lot like Christmas!"

A Good Busy Day

2007-12-02T05:52:00.002-07:00

It's Friday! It's my "normal" day off (we are on a 4 day work week).

5:34 a.m. The radio comes on. I hit the snooze button.

5:43 a.m. The radio comes on again. This time I struggle out of bed and get moving for the day. After warming up the truck and checking my bank balance on line I hit the streets of Sexsmith. But I'm low on fuel and make a quick stop at Tags.

6:15 a.m. I arrive at our weekly prayer breakfast 15 minutes late. But we are soon enjoying pancakes and bacon and conversation. All 7 of us are there and we have a great time of fellowship. We pray for one another and for everything from the Sexsmith Fire Department to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

7:35 a.m. I pay for my meal and head back into the sub-zero weather. (I've been known to forget to pay a couple of times!)

7:55 a.m. I arrive at the Sexsmith Clinic and get in line to see the doctor about more cold medication. (You have two choices here: make an appointment three weeks in advance or wait in line as a walk in. Today the line is surprisingly short.) I get a new prescription from one of the three South African doctors at our clinic. (It's interesting to hear them communicate with each other in Afrikaans).

8:50 a.m. I venture back out into the cold and let the truck warm up as I pick up our mail.

9:15 a.m. I arrive at work. I put in some overtime to catch up. In the renovation business this is the busiest time of the year.

11:34 a.m. I head back out into the cold to go to the Chiropractor and run some errands. The doctor is behind schedule so I'm still early for my appointment even though I'm late. After hitting the bank (It's mortgage payment day and I have to transfer some funds from another bank.) I go to Wal-Mart to get my prescription filled. Fortunately, Colleen is ready for her lunch break so we go to McDonald's together. A half hour later I kiss Colleen good-bye, pick up my prescription, and head back into the cold.

1:15 p.m. I check back in at work. I have a successful afternoon building doors with a minimum of interruptions from the sales people or front end staff wanting me to build a rush order or "just" do some not so little thing for them.

5:15 p.m. I check back out and head back into the cold. Fortunately this night I'm not locked out of the back area. (The previous night I had to drive to the nearest gas station wearing only a fleece and a ball cap.) Driving past "the Mall" I notice how busy it is with Christmas shoppers. Before going home I stop at "Superstore" for a water filter, some trail mix, and a Cherry Pie (Colleen's favorite!). The pie so fresh it's still warm in the box. I have a chance meeting with my former "helper" from work and have a good chat.

6:25 p.m. I'm home at last. Colleen already has a new kind of pizza in the oven. There's nothing good on TV so we pop in a Bill Gaither DVD featuring Guy Penrod and his family of seven (count them) boys! Then a "Homecoming" DVD. How those songs and the general atmosphere lift our spirits and encourage us in the faith!

11:00 p.m. It's time for bed. Truly it has been a good busy day! "Thank you Lord for a stream of not so small blessings today." Tomorrow will be another busy day of work for both of us, followed by a church games night. This time Colleen and I will get to travel together.

2007-12-02T05:52:00.001-07:00

Super-shopping

2007-11-24T22:48:00.000-07:00

Today Colleen and I decided to go grocery shopping together. We needed some produce to make a salad for pot-luck at church tomorrow so off we went to "The Read Canadian Superstore." Yes, that's the full name but most people simple shorten it to "Superstore." Beside it is "The Real Canadian Liquor Store." This is not the United States, so liquor must be sold in a separate establishment. But I digress. Superstore is a chain of grocery stores all across Canada. Don't believe me? Check out "superstore.ca"

We parked and I got a cart from the buggy coral. I got the last one, for which I had to insert a "Loonie." (Loonie? That's what we call the dollar coin that is now more valuable than your American "greenback." The Loonie has a loon on it, hence the name. And our two dollar coin is called the "Twoonie." Go figure. But I digress again). One lady was transferring her groceries from her heavily overloaded cart to the trunk of her car. But she had a problem: the trunk was not big enough!

Inside was everything a person could want. Well, almost! (They even have an electronics department.) We did a bit of browsing in the non-food areas. We sampled a new flavor of Kraft pizza and even a new butter with canola oil in it. Both were quite good.

Finally it was time for some serious shopping. To the produce isle! There we found everything we wanted, and more. But Colleen also wanted a bag of potatoes. The rather large potato bin was about half empty, and the best looking bag, the one she just had to have, was on the back side. Naturally! I leaned over the bin as far as I could but I could not quited reach what I was reaching for. But my wife is my "help-meat" so she voluntarily came to my aid and gave me a body check! This sent me into a line plunge for the desired potato bag. Having achieved my goal, I now had a new problem. How do I get out? My hands had to do double duty, grasping the precious new cargo, and walking and pushing my somewhat upside-down body out of its place of captivity.

At last we had success and we picked up a few more groceries before heading for the checkout line.

Superstore has several recently installed self-checkout counters. Colleen took me down do one and said: "Now you are going to get a lesson." She had used them once before but I hadn't even so much as seen them yet. So I dutifully scanned, weighed, and bagged each item. Then about half-way through our cartload of groceries, the machine jammed up. "Oh yeah, its a computer!" I thought. The on-duty associate and her superior both tried to "unjam" the machine, all to no avail. So Colleen and I used another machine. Everything worked fine and the groceries were surprisingly less expensive than anticipated. Yea! And the jambed up machine? It was still stuck in hibernation mode as we exited the store. So much for technology!

This ordeal required some comfort food, so of we went to Tim Hortons for a coffee, a hot smoothie, and some muffins.

Thomas and Mikayla Having Fun

2007-10-30T18:45:00.000-06:00

Thomas and Mikayla having fun in the garage on their scooters.

The kids enjoyed the scooters Grandma had waiting for them at her house. Their wheels light up as they go. Thomas liked doing stunts on his whereas Mikayla opted for acrobatics. They even put on two performances for us over the weekend. They especially enjoyed "scootering" in the dark so the flashing lights in the wheels would show up more.

Thomas and Mikayla having fun on "Firestorm."

Here they are buckled into their seats ready to rock and roll atop "Firestorm." The truck ride was but the beginning of the fun at "Monster Madness."

Thomas and Mikayla having fun with Grandpa at "Monster Madness."

Before the show we got to walk around and get up close and personal with all the monster trucks (and the motorbikes too). Here we are in front of "Bigfoot." The kids thoroughly enjoyed the show and Grandpa thoroughly enjoyed the kids.

Thomas and Mikayla having fun with Uncle Ron.

After the show we took the kids over to Uncle Ron's house, just a few blocks away. There they met up with Grandma, Mom, brother Roger, and of course Uncle Ron!. They just adore their Uncle. And as you can see here, Uncle Ron enjoys having fun with them. They especially liked Uncle Ron's remote control helicopter.

It was truly an enjoyable weekend with family. A taste oh heaven!

More Monsters

2007-10-29T21:46:00.001-06:00

We had "Pit Passes" which allowed us to go down into the arena ahead of time and see the Monster Trucks up close and personal. Here are Mikayla, Brian, and Thomas in front of Big Foot. (This is actually "Big Foot #11".)

At half- time three moto-cross bikers came out and did their jumps. As you can see from this picture the riders were quite acrobatic in mid air.
Even Monster Trucks have their "Achilles heals!" "Outlaw" landed a little too hard and got a flat tire. A two hour repair job, the driver told us. And "Bigfoot" blew his transmission. He had to limp of the floor in low gear.

And the winner is: "Bounty Hunter!" I was impressed with this truck when we were up close and personal with them. If you look closely, you can see that the blue rim has a dent in it. "Jurassic Attack," the dinosaur truck driven by a lady, came in third.

The best part of the show? Thomas and Mikayla each giving me a hug afterwards for taking them. Priceless!

Monsters, Big and Small

2007-10-29T21:09:00.000-06:00

It's a Monster! It's a bull! It's a Dinosaur! It's a Halloween character! It's , it's, it's a Monster Truck!

Brian, Suzanne, and family came up for a visit this last weekend. When they were making their plans I suddenly realized: "Hey, the Monster Trucks will be here that weekend." So, Saturday afternoon, Brian, Thomas , Mikayla, and I headed off to Grande Prairie to see the monsters perform. This was the first truck we saw. Quite impressive, and driven by a lady (er "redneck woman") too!

We went for a ride on "Firestorm." The kids were quite impressed! Yes, we were all up in those seats.

The performances, or races as they call them, were quite spectacular. Here you can see that the trucks literally fly over the cars as they crush some of them. I'll post some more truck pictures later.

The greatest monster of all was the smallest one. Smallest? He's not so small any more. This little "monster" now weighs in at 21 pounds and four ounces, and growing. When I was carrying him around, I was sure he was gaining about half a pound per second! We had a great weekend together. They were here from midnight Friday night to 7:00 O' clock Monday morning. The time together was nice. Had lots of fun as a family. Ron and Jen joined us for the evening Sunday. Wish Jon could have joined us.

"Thank you LORD for our family!"

More family pictures coming too!

Done!

2007-10-20T09:13:00.000-06:00

(Warning: Pics below)

Completed! "Tout Fini!" All done! Finished! After two years, six months, 15 days, one small fire, one huge smoke damage as a result, one normal winter, one long winter, Suzanne and Brian's wedding, Roger's arrival, Mom's homegoing, three summer camps with the Sutera Twins, and about ten speaking engagements, in between many long Saturdays and late nights, our home renovations are now complete. Praise the Lord!

It came in several stages. Stage one, patching and painting the upstairs was interrupted by the fire-smoke damage which resulted in the full renovation of the upstairs. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Thank You Lord! Stage two was the biggest. We rebuilt the basement that first winter. Stage three was the lawn and landscaping last summer. Stage four was the basement washroom/laundry room last winter.

The fifth and final stage was finishing the garage. The garage was unaffected by the smoke damage. Thus it's face lift came last. In mid August of this year we got started on this project. I had help from Ron, our Pastor, a friend, and a couple of PRBI students (about a day each) The job was completed last night at 12:05 p.m.

Now here are some "before" and "after" pictures of the garage.

The walls were insulated but, if you look carefully, you can see that the ceiling was open. In winter the heat escaped and in summer the heat came in.

This picture is dark because it is of the wall between the house and garage. When the attached garage was built some years ago, the siding was removed, exposing the tar paper. (You can also see the open ceiling.) The open door goes into the house. This is what we "inherited" when we bought the home.

The back entry area as it is today. The door to the right is the one into the house. Note the steel ceiling.

Looking the other way. The workbench and shelves were made from leftover material from work. Now, as you can see, I need to do some cleanup. That's today's project, if I can get it all done.

Father and Son Construction

2007-10-09T21:28:00.000-06:00

Labor Day Weekend was "Father and Son Construction" weekend, or should I say: "Son and Father?" The "deal" was that Ron had some friends coming to help him build a new porch on the back of his house. He "just" needed me to come supervise and give advice. Do you see any "friends" in these pictures?

The old (very) makeshift porch had to be torn down (insurance requirement) so Ron did that before I came. Our first chore was to move out the old concrete step. That cost me a trip to the chiropractor! Then on with the construction. We built a floor that would be half porch floor and half deck. That was Saturday. Then on Monday we built rafters (all seven of them), framed up the walls, and continued on with the roof.

Ron is a diligent worker. He is a "make things happen" kind of guy.

Here you can see the little deck on the side of the porch as well as the little gable end to go atop the porch.
Before nightfall we had the roof sheeted and even installed an old door and window.

I came back another day and put the old siding back on the house.

Ron and since shingled, wired and insulated the porch.

This is but one of several improvements Ron has made to his house since he bought it back in the spring. Let me see, painting upstairs (Oh, that's right, Jen did that!), new flooring in the living room and a completely renovated basement: bathroom, bedrooms, kitchen, and more. (Ron's even laid quite a bit of ceramic tile; did a good job.) And a lattice covered patio in the back yard. Jen has been a big help, especially by adding feminine touches to the place: flowers, candles, pictures, etc.

Except for the porch, and hauling sod one night, I have truly just been a consultant. Good work Ron!

Damsel in Distress, Needs Carrots

2007-08-26T09:06:00.000-06:00

Last night I was up on a ladder insulating our garage, when the phone rang. It was Wascally Wabbit and she was definitely in distress! She had just worked an extra long day at Wal-Mart and then on the way home had run out of carrots. Fortunately she was only a mile and a half from home.

So I grabbed what few carrots I had for the lawn mower and headed out to look for her. On the way out of the driveway I noticed that I was quite low on carrots too. (Wouldn't that be something for me to be sitting on the side of the road, carrotless, with her?) Fortunately I had a small reserve supply I could switch to.

I soon caught up to Wascally Rabbit (not hard to do since she could not hop very far with no carrots). I gave her the few carrots I had. Her vehicle started on the second try so I got into the truck and waited for her to hop of Carrot Supply. But she did not move. So I got out and walked up to her window to see what the problem was. Well, her car would run but it did not have enough carrot-power to move. I asked her to rev up the engine a bit, then put it in drive, and see if the car would take off. She did, and it did. It was a bit of a shock to see a car zooming past my nose! Afterwards we had a good laugh when Wabbit said, "I hoped the rear tire missed your toes!" (I think the problem was just a dirty old carrot or two in her throat!)

I pulled into Carrot Supply beside her and we each replenished our supply. $138 of carrots , two Pepsi's and a Mountain Dew later we were glad to get home. After a day like that Wabbit NEEDED two Pepsi's!

Community Church Service

2007-08-12T21:35:00.000-06:00

After my Mom's funeral, I was asked to speak at a Community Church Service that was being planned. People from several churches in the Ponoka area were involved in it. It was held this morning as a part of the County Fair. Where was it? At the Ponoka Stampede Grounds! Just to the left and kind of under the grand stands (pictured here) is the Longscore Saloon. That's where the service was held. It was at 9:30 this morning in conjunction with a pancake breakfast.

I believe this picture removes all doubt that it was in a Saloon!

My brother Bill (centre) played his fiddle as part of the worship music. Here he is reciting a poem he had written about "Puppy," a cattle dog he had to put down. A real tear-jerker that has an excellent gospel message to it. A Rancher and a Farmer each gave a testimony to God's amazing grace working to bring them to Jesus Christ. There was lots of singing and several special numbers. One lady sang "Jesus Take the Wheel" every bit as good as Kerry Underwood. (even better because I could make out every word -a powerful message.) Another young lady sang about claiming our victory over Satan. I needed that right about then. As she put it afterwords: "Satan was nipping at your heals!"

I claimed my victory in Christ and relied on the power of the Holy Spirit as I told a modern day version of the Prodigal Son, concluding with a gospel presentation and an application about both confessing (apologizing) and forgiving.

It was amazing how the service all fit together. When we step back and let the Holy Spirit direct each person as to what they should sing or share, He puts together a much better service that we humans ever could on our own.

The long (6 hour) drive home was a blessed time of praising God for His goodness in many ways.

Flying High

2007-07-09T21:22:00.000-06:00

The flags are flying high again! Ever since 9-11, we have had both a Canadian and an American flag flying out in front of our home. (Well, almost ever since 9-11. It too several weeks to get an American flag because they were out of stock, even here in Canada.)
Shortly after we moved into our new home those flags went up! But this is the rest of the sad story. About a year ago those flags came down. One day (actually the day after our Edmonton Oilers had lost the Stanley Cup to yet another American team) the American flag went missing. Then, about a month later, the Canadian flag also disappeared. They were both obviously ripped off the side our our house. I reported both incidents to the Police but nothing more could be done.

So, for Independence Day, I got two new flags, one for Colleen and one for me. They are back! They are bigger! They are higher! and they are stronger!
God Bless America!
God Bless Canada!
Yes, God bless Canada too! Your president often says: "God Bless America!" But about a year and a half ago, when our newly elected Prime Minister made his victory speech, he concluded with: "God Bless Canada." That statement shook the nation. Why? Canada is a "sovereign nation." Several of our previous Prime Ministers emphasized that, and even publicly refused to recognize any Divine authority over either themselves or the nation they were leading. But many of us Christians were rejoicing! We have a godly leader who is doing his best (even with a minority government) to do a God-honoring job of it.

Family Camp Weekend

2007-06-28T23:44:00.000-06:00

Our church rented this camp last weekend for our Family Camp. It isn't far from Grande Prairie but you have to drive through a series of gravel pits ((the road keeps changing) and then down a winding trail between the trees to get there. Each time we went (in or our) we got onto a different road through the gravel pits. Some people were not so successful at finding the desired destination.

Some people stayed in RV's.

Others stayed in cabins. There squared log cabins were nice.
Colleen and I went after work Saturday (supper and campfire) and came home for overnight. Then we went back for Sunday service and lunch.

What did we do there?

Colleen took pictures and enjoyed the animals. Naturally!

What did I do?

I praised the Lord with the whole group.

What else did I do?

Yep! The evidence is in. I had a snooze during the Sunday morning message.

Now, in my own defence let me say that Pastor Dan spoke on Psalm 27. He talked about letting God get our attention through the mighty acts of nature. (Read the psalm.) While we slow down and vacation, etc. during the summer, lets not forget God. Since Sunday we have had several thunders storms., including one this evening. It makes me wonder: "Who's attention is God trying to get?" It appears that person isn't listening too well!

Home Grown

2007-06-26T22:19:00.000-06:00

Last summer, after getting the back lawn reseeded, I rearranged and refilled three planter boxes. But it was too late to plant anything. But this spring I took out the weeds (mostly quack grass) that were growing in them, giving them a good cultivating (with the spade) at the same time.
Then Colleen brought home and planted dozens of strawberry plants.

Now our labor is finally bearing fruit, real fruit. On Saturday I picked four (yes 4) strawberries. Then this evening we had a most serindipitous experience. All through all three beds were lots of lovely red berries. (It's amazing how fast things grow in 20 hour days.)

Below is a picture of the results. Well almost, the one Colleen ate off the vine is obviously not in the picture!

They were delicious, both by themselves and on ice cream!

Horses, Harness, and Cowboy Church

2007-06-12T20:19:00.000-06:00

On Sunday morning, Colleen and I left the house at 7:30 a.m. We drove for two hours in light rain in order to be at Cowboy Church in the little community of Cleardale, north west of here. As we arrived at the rodeo grounds the rain got heavier. Fortunately the little grandstands were covered. And the portable stage was roofed over too. I had been asked to speak at the service and that went well, except that I got a tickle in my throat half way through my talk. Even a bottle of water did not help that much.
Afterwards the rain stopped and the various heavy horse events started. In one event they had to pull a log between pylons, first with one horse, then with a team of two. Then they maneuvered wagons through an obstacle course, including backing up the wagon between two long boards.
I particularly enjoyed the six horse hitches that came out a little later. As you can see, there were several such teams, and some were very well matched. (For a better view, click on the picture.)

Here a six horse team is resting in front of the portable stage. The black decoration on the shoulder of each horse is call a "scotch top." One of these was the horse that pulled the buggy pictured in my previous blog.

Later on, some of these horses were used in the main event: pulling a steal boat filled with weights and sand. Each team of two horses would have to pull the boat ten feet to qualify for the next round, with 500 pounds being added each round. I was particularly impress with the one and only team of mules. They pulled twice their weight before having to call it a day. One teamster was a 10 year old boy who really knew what he was doing.

The secret of success seemed to be having a well trained team with an expert teamster who could get both horses to pull together at the beginning to start the boat moving. It was impressive to watch both hoses do a bit of a dance as they tightened their muscles and their harnesses aginst the weight. You could just "see" the power when all four hide legs would lean into the harness to get the job done.

Colleen introduced me to this lovely pair. Their names are Babe and Beaut. As you can see, Colleen really hit it off with them.

Babe and Beaut did well in the pulling competition, largly because Colleen gave them a good pep talk ahead of time.

A Taste of Heaven, Again!

2007-06-06T23:03:00.000-06:00

I had the privilege of attending the 60th Annaversary of Church of the Open Bible (my old home church) this past weekend.
The lady in the wheel chair is Mrs. Leimert. She is 101 years old. When I was about four years old, her neice had a Vacation Bible School at a one room school just down the hill from our house. From that a Sunday School started in Mrs. Leimert's home. That Sunday School later moved to our home. Rev. Don Hogman was the new young Pastor of Church of the Open Bible in Ponoka then. He came out on Sunday afternoons and led the Sunday School.

Here Rev. Don Hogman is leading singing with the help of Colleen Gadd (a shirttail relative we've known all her life), her daughter, and Mrs. Steers. I interned under Rev. Hogman when He was pastoring in Estavan, Sask. in the 1970's. He would come back and pastor the Ponoka church in the 1980's. We were there for a winter when we came out of the Yukon. He also spoke at my instalation service in Meeting Creek. So I say he's been my Pastor three times. (He recently led singing at my Mom's funeral.)

This is Todd Gadd, Colleen's husband, giving his testimony at the Annaversary service. Hearing his salvation story (through the family that would become his in-laws) was worth the trip. He cried, as did most of the congregation.
Pastor Lees (sorry no picture yet) gave the message. He was our Pastor when I was a teen-ager and took us to Briercrest Bible Institute's "Youth Quake." Hence I owe him my education, my ministry and my marriage to my wife Colleen whom I met there. When I was still in high school, Pastor Lees would make interesting little comments to me. Looking back, I realize he knew God was calling me to be a Pastor before I did!

Some of the church folk. I knew most of these people before I first left the Ponoka area.
God has been faithful to his church.
God has been faithful to his people.
God has been faithful to me!
We will see more of His faithfulness in Heaven.

Grad Night Transportation

2007-05-25T20:42:00.000-06:00

While Sherry was watching Pirates invade her living room, we watched a major transition outside our living room. It is "Grad Night," the first warm evening (75 F) we've had this year! Grads and escorts came in white shirts and black suits, tuxes and bow ties, long gown, some short gowns, many pink gowns, lime green gowns, and gowns of many other colors. But what caught our attention was the variety of vehicles that arrived from all directions. There were old trucks and new cars including a new Corvette, a loooong white limousine, a Jeep, a big 4X4 with ten (yes 10) headlights, a 1965-70 lincoln, a pre 1950 car that only Grandpa Smith would recognize, an old primer grey chev pickup, a shiny red 1950 International pickup, and... I could go on.

But the one that really caught our attention was the first arrival, pictured here. The horse is a 23 yar old Belgian and the black thing atop his collar is called a "scotch top!"

Congratulations Grads!

Generations

2007-05-19T07:53:00.001-06:00

This display was set up at my Mom's funeral. It shows her family and her life. The quilt on the bottom is one of the first of many quilts she made. She was taught by my Grandma Turner (her mother-in-law). She made quilts for virtually all her descendants and many more.

Mom's family: her four sons and daughter, her 3 daughters-in-law, 2 of her 11 gandchildren and 4 of her 14 great-grandchildren, a other extended family members.

Ted, Mary, Mom, and Bill about three months ago. This was when she was first admitted to hospital. This picture was taken on the last time Mom went to church and out for dinner.

Suzanne and Roger, great-grandchild number 14, born just three weeks before Mom's passing. She saw Roger twice and remembered his name the second time she saw him (even though she forgot other people's names). This was in answer to my prayer than she would live to enjoy this new little one.

The funeral went exceptionally well, with all of the immediate family participating. I've never heard so many positive comments about a funeral service.

And life goes on, as these pictures show. I find myself thinking about the different generations of our family. From my grandparents down to our grand-children. I also see just how short life is. The other day I caught myself singing: "This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through!" My thoughts go in figure eights sometimes but I realize more and more how good God is. Mom is with Him, and Dad, and other relatives, including her niece who died just the day before Mom. (I'll save that story for later)

The rest of us live on, for a while anyway, enjoying our kids, grandkids and hopefully, great-grandkids some day. And we serve our Lord, knowing than only what is done for Him will last.

Home at Last!

2007-05-07T20:50:00.000-06:00

Grandma Turner, my Mom, is home at last! She is reunited with her husband and many other family members and friends.

Grandma passed away this past Saturday afternoon at about 3:00 p.m. Colleen and I were in Camrose with Suzanne and Roger at the time. (Oh yes, Great Grandma got to see Roger, twice! Praise the Lord.)

Her funeral will be Friday afternoon.

All of my Mom's children will be participating in the service. I will be bringing the message.

The Stork Has Landed

2007-04-20T04:13:00.000-06:00

It's a bird, it's a plane, its Super Roger!
Arrival time: Tuesday, April 17, about 7:00 a.m.
Weight: 7 pounds, 15 1/2 ounces.
Destination: Camrose Alberta
Attending physician: None, Stork flew too fast!
Gender: Male
Name: Robert Edward, after his two grandfathers, one of which is deceased.
Proud parents: Brian and Suzanne Dumont

Proud Grandpa

Proud Grandma

Roger at home with his mother.

(Sorry this pics are sideways, I posted them straight from the memory card)

And the Winner is....

2007-04-20T04:06:00.000-06:00

Thanks to all who tried the "Canadian Quiz" Here are your stars! Jeannie and Dianne, you get silver stars. Sherry, you get bronze. There is only one wrong answer in the whole thing. All of you thought it was a right answer. If you compare answers you should see that two cannot both be right. (Sherry you are technically right about the spelling of "Canadien" but I was not being that technical here!)

The Canadian Language

2007-04-14T22:37:00.000-06:00

For my American friends, this is a quiz to see to how well you know “Canadian.”

1. Canadian
a. a person born in Canada..
b. a Montreal Hockey player.
c. a Beer famous in Canada
d. a River in Oklahoma.

2. Hockey
a. Canada’s national sport.
b. How Canadians fought the cold war.
c. An Indian word meaning: “It hurts!”
d. A game invented in Canada that is played on ice with skates, a puck and special sticks

3. “Eh”
a. Pronounced: “A.”
b. A word that unites all Canadians.
c. Definition: “Isn’t that right?”
d. What Canadians say instead of “Huh?”

4. “The Battle of Alberta”
a. A hockey rivalry between the Oilers and the Flames.
b. A hockey rivalry that is older than the province of Alberta.
c. A mutual hatred between Edmonton and Calgary.
d. A rivalry fueled by Edmonton becoming the provincial capital instead of Calgary.

5. Tim Hortons
a. A former hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
b. Where you go to get a “large double double!”
c. A franchise named after a famous hockey player.
d. The safest place in Canada because the R.C.M.P. are always there.

6. Lacrosse
a. Canada’s national sport.
b. A game I’ve never seen played.
c. A game invented by the Indians of central Canada.
d. A sport growing in popularity across Canada.

7. Loonie
a. Someone who is crazy. Eg: “Our politicians are loonie!”
b. A coin for the pop machine.
c. A name derived from a bird native to Canada.
d. The Canadian one dollar coin.

8. Zamboni
a. The name of an inventor in Los Angeles
b. Verb: “to groom,” used only in reference to ice.
c. A labor saving device seen across North America.
d. A machine that scrapes, floods, and smoothes ice in one operation.

9. Governor-General
a. The chief head of state in Canada.
b. The highest appointed position in Canada.
c. The Queen’s representative in Canada.
d. The person who must sign all bills passed by Parliament before they can become law.

10. Curling
a. The one event that Canada has always won at the Winter Olympics.
b. A game that requires skill and strategy, rather than speed and athletic ability.
c. What Canadians play when they are too old for hockey.
d. A Scottish invention involving the use of rocks and brooms on an extremely level ice surface.

Anyone who gets 100% will get a gold star. (90%, a silver star, and 80%, a bronze star.)
Chuck, Sherry and Larry, I’d especially liked to see each of you give this a try!

Some other Canadian terminology I did not include in the quiz, and which are more regional are:
a. North of 60.
b. “Outside”
c. The Prairies
d. Central Canada
Give me your suggestions as to what they mean.
Have fun. I’m looking forward to your responses.

Here’s some more Canadian Trivia you can have fun with. (courtesy my twin brother)

1. WHEN THE ICE OF THE COLUMBIA ICE FIELD MELTS WHERE DOES THE WATER FLOW TO?
a. Arctic Ocean
b. Hudson Bay
c. Pacific Ocean

2. WHO WON THE ONLY WAR BETWEEN CANADA AND THE USA?

3. WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MAJOR PRO SPORTS HAD CANADIAN BORN MVPs LAST YEAR?
a. Baseball
b. Basketball
c. Hockey

Seven Sure Signs of Spring

2007-04-12T20:12:00.000-06:00

#7 Canada Geese flying overhead. (Proplem: they were flying south!)
#6 Children are out on their bikes.
#5 Men are out on their bikes!
#4 I'm thinking about changing the car's tires from winter to summer. (Oops, I think I need to buy a couple new ones!)
#3 The temperature hit 13 C. (55 F) for the first time in six months.
#2 The NHL Playoffs have stated.
And the #1 sure sign of spring is scores of young couples walking down the street holding hands.

(Brings back memories. At Briercrest Bible Institute, as it was called back then, we could hold hands on the skating rink, or to keep our girl-friends from falling on the ice throughout the winter, but when spring came it was "hands off!" No wonder so many couples got married.)

Welcome Spring!

The Last Day of Winter

2007-03-21T19:09:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the last day of winter. So what did I do? I got some P.R.B.I. students to come over and shovel snow off the roof of our house. The guy in the first frame is Caleb. I knew him before we came to Sexsmith. He is a farm boy from the Thorhild area. He brought along two friends who are from Oregon. One is a roofer by trade so they had no problem up there even though they don't see much show in their home area.

After two hours of hard work they had the roof cleaned and the driveway (where most of the snow landed) cleared off.

Afterwards this is what our front yard looked like.

I plan on renting a snow blower on Saturday. With it I hope to remove this and a lot more snow from all around the house so when it melts it will be able to run away instead of into our basement!

This is the second time this winter that I've had snow cleaned of our roof (and only the fourth time in my life). Wehave had a record snowfall of about five feet this year.

Today, being the first official day of spring, the weather is warming up. The long range forcast is for warmer and warmer weather, and no snow! That's a blessing, seeing we have not seen the ground under our feet since the 27th of October.

Wishing all readers a wonderful spring.

What Time Is It?

2007-03-10T23:26:00.000-07:00

It's 11:00 O'Clock. Or it it actually Midnight? No, Daylight Saving Time doesn't officially start till 2:00 a.m. I guess they don't want to make the bars close an hour early because of the time change.

But is it ever 2:00 a.m.? Because then it will be 3:00 a.m. And why call it daylight saving time when we actually loose seep time?

And whom do we have to thank for this abberition? In early March no less? My American friends! Friends who post blogs about bright sunny days and "it it winter or spring." Well, in my corner of this time change its very much like winter. Well, the last few days were quite nice, but now its back to snow, snow, snow!

Apparently the first proponant of DST was an American (go figure). Benjamin Franklin calculated that we could save a lot of energy by make better use of the summer sun. Well, guess what? That's why we are experiencing the abberition so early this year.

I'm a little surprized because when I was a teen-ager, and we first experienced DST in our area, the argument was so the city folk could enjoy a longer evening playing golf or barbequing or whatever they did while us hard working farmers were slaving away doing chorse and working the fields from sun-up to sun-down no matter what the clock said (well, almost).

Dad, like most farmers, did'n like DST at all. He figured if the city man wanted to get home from work earlier, he could just get up earlier (with Dad), instead of messing with the clocks.

The cows don't like DST. Dad claimed that it took two weeks for their milk production to return to normal when he started milking them an hour early. And chickens? When Colleen worked on the chicken farm, they would adjust the artificial lighting and automatic feeding gradually over a two week period. But one year the new manager (a city boy) decided to make the change all at once. Well, it threw the chickens routine into such a tailspin that Colleen was two hours late getting home from picking eggs. And humans? On the first Monday morning of DST, there are more traffic accidents! (And less on the Monday we swith back!)

Here in the north the amount of daylight we get changes so much that changing the clock is almost redundant. We'll soon have more daylight than we'll know what to do with!

So what can I do? Stubbornly stay on standard time? Dad wanted to do that in his grumpier moments. Well, I could move back to Saskatchewan where they stay on Central Standard Time the year around. Why? The time zone division goes down the middle of the province, so this it the compromise they made. Works for them! And just west of here, in B.C.'s Peace country, they stay on Mountain Standard Time the year around. So during the winter they are the same as us Albertans with whom they do the most of their business, and during the summer they are the same as the rest of their province.

Meanwhile, I'll crawl into bed soon and complain about the early hour in the morning. Probably the worst thing about DST is that in happens on Sunday morning, and all across North America people will arrive at church an hour late!

Good night, see you in the daylight! Hope you're not late for church!

Sunday Dinner

2007-03-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago Ted (my twin, can't ya tell!) and Jeanne and their daugher Sherlyn came up from Montana to see Grandma in the hospital. Grandma wanted to go to church so Ted took her. After church they went out for dinner together with my sister Mary and my brother Bill and his wife Lynda. It was a most memorable time.

Since then Grandma has opted to stay at the hospital and not go to church. She still looks very much as she does here but I believe she has a harder time getting around (i.e. getting in and out of vehicles). She still does well with her walker.

A Quick Trip

2007-02-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

Let me start at the beginning! I was chatting with Jon about the possibility of his coming over here from Taiwan if Grandma (my Mom) died suddenly. A couple of weeks ago we did not know how much time she had. Well, Jon decided to come and see her. Ron and I traveled down to Edmonto Saturday, picked up Jon from the airport, and went on to see Grandma.

This is Jon, Thomas and Ron. Like Thomas's new haircut?

Suzanne came to see Grandma (and us) again. Here are our three children together at the hospital. We made arrangements to go to her place Monday so Jon and Ron could see Thomas.

Grandma was quite glad to see these great looking grandkids. And they were glad to see her too. Sunday evening, when I expected Grandma to be tired and more "out of it," Ron and Jon had an excellent visit with her. She talked about the trip she took to France with Mary (my sister) a few years ago. Grandma even gave details about riding on the English Channel tunnel train.

At church Sunday evening I met Pastor Don Hogman. He's now retired. He was my pastor three times: when I was a toddler, then I interned under him in Bible College, and then He was back in Ponoka when we came out of the Yukon and were there for a winter. He gave the message at my installation service in Meeting Creek (not too far from Ponoka).
My neice Jill and her husband and family came over from British Columbia to see Grandma too. It was the first time Jon, Ron, or I had see her family, and the first time we'd seen her since before she was married. Jill's husband Mark is a truck driver. He used to stop in and see Grandma lots when he was in the area. She became his adopted Grandma. (He was a foster child)
One night, Jill and her family and Ron, Jon, and I were all at Bill and Lynda's on the farm. The boys had blow up mattressed and sleeping bags which got used. The basement was wall to wall people. Cozy in front of the wood stove!

Last night at Suzanne's was similar, except it was only Jon, Ron, and me on the basement floor. Brian made roast ham and apple pie for supper. We enjoyed our time with them and especially Thomas. This morning we were up quite early (before 4:00) in order to get Jon to his plane. Ron and I are back in Grande Prairie, and Jon should have landed in Taiwan by now.

How's Grandma? She is hanging in there prettty good. Still in the hospital. Still needing help in and out of bed. To me she seemed less confused than a week ago. The boys enjoyed taking her for (short) walks around the hospital one or twice each day. Mary is with her a lot when other relatives are not. Grandma has a brother and two sisters living in the Edmonton area who have all come to see her too.

Valentine Seranade

2007-02-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

Today was our 38th Valentine's day since we first met at Briercrest Bible Institute. Yet today had several firsts. It was the first Valentine's Day on which we traveled to and from work together. We were up at 5:45 and on the road by 6:15.

It was also the first time I had flowers delivered to Colleen at work. About noon she was on her lunch break and was called to come to the front. She thought it was for a price check but she was surprised by a nice Rose Bowl instead.

It was also the first time that we have ever been seranaded at a meal. After work I took Colleen out to "Earl's" for supper. Walking in we knew we were in a classy place, a little above our normal choice of restaurant. We were two of the early birds so we got very good service. Colleen was given a long stemmed rose. The menu proved to be a bit of a challenge to us "country bumpkins." Except for the steaks which we could not afford, we did not know what we might be ordering. But in the end all worked out quite well. We enjoyed a nice meal of hot wings, Cajun chicken sandwiches, and a scrumptous Apple and Raspberry Cobbler desert shared between us. During desert we had the awesome privilege of being seranaded by a violinist. She played "Fields of Gold" at our table.

Then we went back to Wal-Mart to pick up Colleen's rose bowl which had been safely stashed in the coolder there. Colleen decided to "give a rose for a rose." So she took her long stemmed rose into the store. Coming our was her associate from Cosmetics(appropraiately named "Rose") so Colleen handed the rose to her with a hug.

At home we placed the rose bowl on the coffee table, got out a goblet of Pepsi, and exchanged cards and presents, the Valentine Bear and the "Ferro Rocher" chocolates you see in the picture.

Our love for each other is 38 years old and still going strong!

My Mom

2007-02-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

This is my Mom on Christmas eve when we helped her come home from the hospital. She had had hip surgery. To me, she was looking better than she had for over a year.

For over a month she was doing well. In fact, she WAS turning on a dime. But for about a week now she has been back in the hospital. She has been retaining fluids which can lead to other complications too. At the moment she is responding positively, but slowly, to her medications. It is doubtful if Mom will be able to return to her apartment. My sister Mary (see the Christmas post) is with her a lot.

I am thankful for Mary. Although she lives in Edmonton, about an hour's drive away, she has spent much time with Mom since Dad went to be with his Lord several years ago (1993). She phones at least once a week, and she visits Mom, often staying overnight too. Right now she is staying at Mom's apartment and spending most of her days with Mom in the hospital.

This weekend, my twin brother Ted and his wife are coming from Montana to see Mom. Colleen and I will probably go down next weekend.

Please pray for Mom, and all of our family, as we deal with these changes.

An Extreme Makeover

2007-02-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

This is our new bath and laundry room. I was sitting on the washer and dryer when I took this picture. The colorful curtain to the right is where the shower and toilet are. The shower is small (all the room I had)but it works well.

When we purchsed the house this was the worst area. There was a big hole in the concrete floor and the walls were very dirty and ugly looking. There was a rotten platform where the former owners' appliances had been. For a "before" picture click on January 2006 in the Archives. The second "before" picture shows the old furnace. The laundry area is (was) the ugly spot directly behind the furnace.

Mr T. and I put pipes in and on the floor for the bathroom and laundry fixtures. Then I built a wooden floor over them. That's how the laundry room stayed for over a year. (Mr. T. is a retired pastor from Corvallis Montana who now works part time at PRBI.)

This winter, when I could finally afford the time (and money) we finished up the room. A young plumber who also does maintenance at PRBI redid the water lines so I could hook up the fixtures. If you'd like to come for a visit, you will get to use the new bathroom.

Breaking Out

2007-01-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

We helped Grandma (my Mom) break out of the hospital after a three week stay. On Dec. 3 she fell and broke her hip (at church). She had surgery on it in Red Deer a few days later. In a week she was transfered to the Hospital back in Ponoka (her home town).

On Christmas eve we went to see her, knowing she would be going across the street to the Senior's center to see her son Bill play his fiddle at the church service there. When we got to the Hospital we learned that she would also be going home for 48 hours. So we helper her daughter Mary pack up her things, including several plants, and take her to the service at the Senior's center on her way home. On the way out of the Hospital the nurse told Mom she could stay home perminantly if the 48 hours went well. With Mary's help it did and she did! All of us are rejoicing!

Then I had a whisp of creativity:

Grandma broke out of the Hospital!
Went back to her house Christmas eve.
Some people say there's no such thing as miracles.
But as for me and Mama, we believe.

Our prayers for Grandma have been answered.
And we thank God for He has blessed.
She rejoices that she has no pain.
An we rejoice that she is home again.

She went out to the farm for Christmas.
Bill and Lynda made it a wonderful time.
Mary is still staying with her at home.
We expect she'll soon be turning on a dime.

Santa's Helper

2007-01-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

Santa's Traveling Workshop

2006-12-31T22:26:00.000-07:00

Santa and his son Ron loaded up Ron's sleigh for a night flight across northern Alberta. We had the sleigh loaded with suitcases, presents, people, pops, and yes, even a door for our designated destination. Mrs. Santa was a little late for the flight because she literally ran herself off her feet and had to buy a new pair of shoes after work.

We had clear sailing for the night sky was clear and so there was no need for Rudolph on this flight.

We arrived late Friday evening a Thomas and Mikayla's house and were soon enjoying a long winter's nap.

The next day Santa and his helper got busy and installed the door he had brought in his sleigh. We just had to change the door at the hinges so it was a much easier chore than the one we did two months ago. Yet it still took us most of the day by the time we got everything fix and adjudted, including two trips to the hardware store and one to "Tim Hortons" for coffee.

Bethelhem Live

2006-12-21T19:16:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Colleen and I went to Bethlehem! No not the town in Israel, nor the the one in Pennsylvania. Rather it was in the middle of Grande Prairie. A church there had set up what they called "Bethlehem Live."

How "live" was it? Well there was a live donky, a live horse, two live cows, three live sheep, a half-dozen live chickens, and about a dozen live pigeons. And Roman Sodiers too numerous to keep track of. Oh yes, one of them was riding the horse. There were lots of live people too.

First we went inside the church and registered. We were given either two shekels or a danari (to pay our taxes) and then assigned to the Tribe of Reuben. As we waited for our tribe to be called we sat in the sanctuary and listened to some people singing southern gospel Christmas tunes.

Soon our family head came and called for those from his tribe. Off we went, out a side door and into the night on our way to Bethlehem. Fortunately it was a rathen mild evening. On our journey to Bethlehem we met Roman soldiers (each one with an attitude), beggars, and an injured person. Actually he was a decoy for the thieves to come and rob us of our tax money. But fortunatey a Roman soldier came riding up on his horse and chased off the thieves. "Sometimes the Roman soldiers come in handy," our family head told us. Then we met some shepherds who talked about seeing and hearing angels announcing a special birth in Bethlehem. Finally in Bethlehem, we had to go to the town square where many things were being sold: chickens, cloth, spelt, wool, etc. We found a money changer there and had our shekels changed into denari.

Soon we came to the tax collector who gladly took our denari. He was in a grumpy mood for someone literally raking in all that money. As we left we could here him counting: "One of Caesar, one for me..."

A lady in the street was quoting Scripture. Various prophecies about a coming Messiah. She seemed quite excited since she had heard reports of a baby in a stable. Ahead of us was the inn. The grouchy inn-keeper said he was full up, but if we wished, our family could take refuge in the stable. Apparently a young couple had already done that.

Around behind the inn, there it was! There were cows on one side and a donley on the other. But in the middle was a stable. Really it was just a shed about the size of two outhouses. As we beheld the young couple and the baby they were holding, a shepherd explained Who this baby was. The exciting climax had come. The Messiah had been born. And we had the honor of meeting Him.

Afterwards we went back inside the church for cookies, warm drinks, and visiting with friends.

All in all, "Bethlehem Live" was a memorable experience that reminded us of the true origin and purpose of Christmas. I left feeling like I was now in the (proper) Christmas spirit.

Back in the Saddle again!

2006-12-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

I have not preached at a Sunday service since Father's Day, a year and a half ago. Have I missed it? Definitly! (Well, I did do a funeral back in Thorhild and a couple of weddings.)

Oh yes, I did bring a devotional at the little service we had in front of Jim's tent in Penticton.

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But that has suddenly changed! Today I preached in Little Smokey at a mission church that meets in the nice new community hall there. It's about an hour and a half drive from here and it is just a few miles from where Colleen and I almost hit a Moose back in October.

I preached there once before, about two years ago, or more. But today was the first time Colleen was with me.

One couple took us to their farm home for a very lovely dinner. We arrived back home at 5:00, as it was getting dark.

The church is without a Pastor right now and they asked me to fill in today. I'll probably be back there in January. Only the Lord knows how often I may preach there. I said I could come as often as twice a month. So pray for me whenever the Lord lays me on your heart.

Oh, I preached on "Heaven" today. Surprized?

Wishing all readers Merry Christmas and God's blessing.

It's So Cold...

2006-11-28T19:16:00.000-07:00

How cold is it?

It's so cold that you have to go north to get warm. That's right! This morning we had colder temperatures than Uranium City where we used to live. In fact from Uranium City north all the way to Alert (as far north as you can go in Canada) was about -25 C. (That's 11 below F.) Here it was -31 (That's about 24 below F.) There were no colder temperatures in Canada except in the Yukon. Whitehorse was the same as here but in central Yukon it was about -42 (F. and C. are the same at 40 below). Even southern B.C. (Penticton) was cold for down there, being about 0 degrees F.

The car has been weathering OK. Thanks in a large part to our attached garage. We warm it up for about 10 minutes. It takes a few more minutes, driving down the road, to actually warm up.

It's so cold that yesterday and today most of the installers for Peace Windows did not work.

It's so cold that some water lines at work frose up. I opened the cabinet under the sink to let in some warmer air and they eventally thawed out.

It's so cold that when Colleen and I stopped at "Tim Horton's" for a bowl of hot chili, we could not get any because their water heater had blown up!

It's so cold that at the school across the street most people have left their vehicles running this evening (even with the high cost of fuel).

It's so cold that it acutally got colder during the day. This afternoon it dropped to -33. (28 below F.) Tonight won't be much colder but the wind chill will make it like -45 (50 below F.). However help is on the way. Over the next couple of days things should warm up to normal, somewhere between 0 C. and 0. F. It will feel like the banana belt!

Here's some more:

It's so cold bears are using electric blankets.
It's so cold a coyote tried to buy jumber cables.
It's so cold a hitch hikes was seen holding out a picture of his thumb.

And with that...

It's so cold its time to hibernate!

Changes, Changes

2006-11-19T15:38:00.000-07:00

"The only thing that does not change is change.

This is Peace Windows where I work, for now. The business moved into this building less than a year ago and I was given a lot more room in which to build doors.

Some doors, of the many I was building this past summer and fall. Things got quite busy and sometimes stressful for a while.

More doors! You can see my tool rack and chop saw bench in the background. In the picture below, the smaller frames on the right are windows that others in the shop are building. The window people have now taken over all the space I had and most of the doors are being brought in already built. I have been moved into a little room smaller than our garage at home. Now I put in lites (glass in the doors), make fixes, and build a few rush doors or special ones they cannot bring in. When I'm not busy with doors, I help out wherever I can.

What does the future hold? Only the Lord knows how long I will work here. Only the Lord knows how long we will be in this area. But for now Colleen (see her blog) and I get up and drived to work together four days a week. On Fridays I take the truck and go to a men's prayer breakfast at 6:00 a.m. before going to work, usually a shorter day. So we are getting up earlier than we ever have (except when I worked at the dairy back when Ron was born), and going to bed earlier too. Until the Lord leads us into a different situation! Wherever we are we are the Lord,s disciples, we are the Lord's witnesses. We are there to honor Him in whatever we do.

Snow! Snow! Snow!

2006-11-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

Winter came with a vengence! We got dumped on, and dumped on, and dumped on. It began with about 10 inches of very wet snow. After shovelling our driveway, steps, and walks, I readily realized why seniors are warned of the dangers of heart attacks from shovelling snow. But that was just the beginning. In a ten day period we got some 24 inches of snow all together. We had missionary friends stay overnight with us one night because the roads were closed in almost every direction. I later learned that near Grand Cache, not to far south of Grande Prairie (and in the mountains) four highway plows had gone into the ditch. Why? Because the show was falling faster than they could handle it. For a while most roads were in very poor diriving conditions. Now most of them are plowed out but there are still lots of places with ice packs and ruts. Fortunately the highways are fairly clear.

On a back street in Grande Prairie the other day, we had a pickup truck go sideways in the icy ruts as it was coming toward us. It came very close to our front fender but Colleen quickly stopped and backed up. After a few futile attempts to pass us the pickup backed into a driveway and went the other way. No fender benders, thankfully!

For the past couple of days we had not had any snow. However, the forecast is for more this weekend. Lately I've been thinking: "Any day I don't have to shovel is a good day."

I must admit that the show adds beauty to the otherwise sterile outdoors at this time of year. It's a reminder of Isaiah 1:18.

Pick your method

2006-11-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

A shovel

A Bobcat

Or a grader
As Colleen was out taking pictures of the snow and of her show shoveler (Me), the bigger equipment happened by. They were on their way to clean up the snow at the school across the street. And that after a full day of removing snow around town.

Autumn Colors

2006-11-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

This is how our home and our town looked in September.Our house is blessed with several different trees around it. The P.R.B.I. campus had a lot of color too. We had little or no frost for a long time so the leaves lingered and flowers continued to bloom, as the did in the park in downtown Sexsmith. Even at that, autumn was far too short for me. (For present conditions, wait for my next blog.)

More Madness

2006-11-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

Here's proof positive that we were there! Colleen took my picture in front of "Firestorm" and Bigfoot." when we were at "Monster Madness" the weekend it came to Grande Prairie on their world tour. The best part for me was getting up close and personal with these amazing machines. As I compared the various monster trucks there, it was obvious to me that "Big Foot" had all the best equipment bumper to bumper. Oops! I guess that would be "front tires to rear tires." They are designed to perform, and that they did. The ride on "Firestorm" was a special experience too.

;

Monster Madness

2006-10-30T01:45:00.000-07:00

This is "Firestorm." Colleen and I took a ride on it at "Monster Madness." See the full story below.

2006-10-30T01:43:00.000-07:00

Bigfoot strikes again! The rest of the story? Colleen and I enjoyed "Monster Madness" as its world tour came through Grande Prairie (one of only three Canadian cities to have the priviledge).

In the afternoon we enjoyed going into the arena and looking at the monster trucks up close. Colleen took pictures and I was impressed with how the trucks are made. The bodies are simply a fiberglass shell and the doors don't open. Both front and rear wheels steer hydraulicly. The engine is in the back and the frame is the biggest part of the truck. To get in, the driver climbes up the braces on this frame, and through a rather large hole in the floor boards to his single seat which is in the center of the cab.

In the evening Colleen and I took a ride on "Firestorm" before the show began. I learned that this truck used to be all yellow and was appropriatly called "Tonka." (I saw it once at a car show in Edmonton.)We sat in the front seats so I got to talk to the driver. He showed me how he could flip a switch and make the rear wheels steer the opposite way (crab steering). Thus, instead of going in a circle, both ends of the truck goes the same way. This is handy for backing up to the loading steps.

The main event featured four monster trucks (including Bigfoot #12) which spent most of their time crushing a couple of rows of old cars in the arena. At the beginning of each performance the driver would start his truck and then stick his hands out both windows. Then a man on the ground would hit a remote control button and stop the truck. This safety test completed, the performance would continue.

The first truck out easily got its front wheels up onto the cars. But when the driver tried to climp on over, the truck rared up and sat back on its tailgate. Sitting there almost straight up, the driver could do nothing because something had broken in the dirveline. A small loader had to come out and pull him down and off the cars so he could drive out with the power of his front wheels. The problem was an easy fix and he was back out for the rest of his performances. (I suspect they have a simple link in the driveline that is designed to break first.)

Bigfoot was the obvious star of the show. But by the time he came out the other trucks had the cars well smashed down. For me that made his performances unimpressive.

At half-time some moto-cross bikes came out and did some impressive stunts. They drove up a steep quarter pipe, did some tricks in the air and then landed on a ramp; several times. And none of them ever wiped out!

We enjoyed the evening, but next time I'd like to see the monster trucks in an outdoor venue where they'd have more room to really perform.

It's Winter!

2006-10-29T16:17:00.000-07:00

This is what our home looked like not long ago. But not after this weekend! The weekend became extra busy for us. Thursday evening Missions Conference started at PRBI. We went and enjoyed reconnecting with several missionaries we know.

Friday after work Colleen and I both laid down for a snooze before heading back into Grande Prairie to watch Ron's first home game as the assistant coach of the Wolves basketball team. It was starting to snow but the roads were not too bad.

Saturday morning we woke up to quite a bit of snow. So I quickly put the snow tires on the car and we headed back into Grande Prairie for a Wolves parents breakfast. It was a good time with Ron, Jen, her Mom and several others. There was even more snow when we came out from breakfast and headed for home. So Saturday afternoon I put (Dad Smith's) snow tires on the truck and aired up all 8 tires on the two vehicles. Now we are ready for winter! (My garage is a virtual tire shop with about a dozen tires all mounted and ready to be used, a trolly jack, and a small compressor to air them up.) Then I ventured out to shoved the driveway. I don't think I did such heavy snow shoveling. By this time we had at least 8 inches of wet snow. But I survived the workout.

Then I phoned my Mom and wished her a Happy 88th Birthday. She was celebrating with several family members at the home farm where I grew up and where my brother Bill still is.

That evening we headed back to PRBI for the final meeting of Missions Conference. Afterwards most of the missionaries were in no hurry to leave. Why? Highways in all directions were either closed or not advisable to be used. In fact we had a missionary couple I've know for as long as I can remember stay over at our home.

This morning after breakfast the missionary couple headed out on their way back to Ponoka, my old home town. After going to church, I spend more time out in the snow, shoveling the sidewalks that go along two sides of our property. Now its time to hibernate, look out at the winter wonderland, and thank the Lord that everyone is safe. What an appropriate weekend to go back to Standard Time?

2006-10-15T00:02:00.000-06:00

My Mom, Agnes Turner, a few years ago.

2006-10-15T00:01:00.000-06:00

This moose is much smaller than the one we met on our trip back from Camrose.

A Trip, a Door, a Turkey, and a Moose

2006-10-14T23:18:00.000-06:00

Last weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving. Because Colleen had Monday and Tuesady off, I worked Saturday and took Tuesday off too, so we could visit Suzanne, Brian Thomas, and Makayla as well as my Mom. I picked up Colleen after work, about 4:00 Sunday afternoon, and headed for Camrose, about a five and a half hour drive. After a short visit late Sunday evening, we headed to bed with visions of relaxation and Turkey dinner dancing in our heads.

Thnaksgiving Monday morning Suzanne suggested I look at her exterior doors. After giving my professional opinion, Suzanne said: "Lets go look at doors." Fine, I thought, I'm just the "consulting engineer" on this trip! By mid afternoon, Brian and I were ripping out the old door in order to replace it with a new one. In between tasks, Brian helped Suzanne and Colleen with the Thanksgiving meal. At 5:00 we stopped for Thanksgiving supper. But then it was back to the door to finish up the project before dark. Success at last, and I could now relax and enjoy my second piece of Pumpkin pie and whipped cream. (Colleen and made the pies before we left home.) So much for a relaxing day!

Tuesday morning Suzanne and Brian headed off to work, and Colleen and I headed off to see my Mom. She lives in an seniors condo in Ponoka, about an hour from Camrose. We hand a good visit and a good lunch with her. She will be 88 in two weeks. (Se's a week older than Billy Graham) She is looking a lot healthier than she did when I saw her a year ago.

Our trip home that evening was uneventful, except for one thing. I'd just taken over the wheel and gone about 5 miles when the headlights revealed a very large Moose directly in our path. I believe that was the only time I screeched tires trying to slow down from highway speed. Then I swerved a bit to avoid the Moose and hit the brakes again because the Moose looked like he might turn around. But instead he sauntered off into the ditch. We continued on home, thanking the Lord for His protection. They don't call that section of the highway "Moose Row" for nothing. Afterwards I thought, maybe I could have driven right under the Moose's belly, like Smokey and the Bandid! But then, I didn't have a black Trans Am either!

2006-10-11T22:09:00.000-06:00

A balloon like those we saw this weekend.