think about it

Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind. — Albert Einstein

pictures

training our kids to be great warriors!
she doesnt like the water

what I was trying to say

This morning I talked about 2 Samuel 7, and the theme that I attempted to unfold was: WHEN GOD SAYS ON, HE HAS SOMETHING BIGGER, BETTER IN MIND.
Anyway, I just so happened to check out a Rob Bell dvd called ‘Kickball’, and I think he says it better.
So if you missed the message this morning, or want to hear it from a different perspective, watch this.

church planting congress

my Calgary look
For those interested in knowing where I am, you can check the link here.
Though I am not really a church planter, these nice church planting people let me into their club for the week. Of course, you have to be a certain kind of person to be a real church planter; I could probably not survive the boot camp.
But this is where my desire to do church in a completely different kind of way can be stoked.

Durham Youth House

Durham YouthI wanted to let you know about Durham Youth House, the only shelter for homeless youth In Durham Region. This shelter is located downtown Ajax (82 Kings Crescent, Ajax) and is meeting a great need in our area. If you go to the web page, you will find more information, but also ways that you can get involved. I have been in dialogue with the staff there, and the Lord willing, we will be able to partner together in this work.

www.durhamyouth.com

dcla – heading home!

Hey everyone, thanks for checking in.
The last two days have been very busy, lots of walking, exploring and fun-having.
Sorry about not posting pictures these last few days, you will have to come on Sunday to see and hear more.
Today was a great day at the Six Flags America park.
We hope to leave at 7am tomorrow morning.
So off to bed I go, a good night sleep before the long and winding road.
Please pray – thanks for a great week, ongoing impact in the lives of all of us, especially the youth, and for safe travels home.

dcla day 5


The last day of dcla.
We got an early start – 9am – for our last small groups and the last big session.
We talked about being, loving and serving – today was about serving.
Starfield led the worship session – it was loud and awesome, the floor was shaking.
You could sense the presence of God, and we didn’t want it to end.
After lunch, we practiced our drimes (drama + mime).
Then we broke into small groups to practice what we learned. Continue reading dcla day 5

dcla day 4


Today was much like yesterday.
We started with the Labs (small groups) from 10-12, then did lunch on the lawn outside of the center.
While we did lunch, we practiced the street play (same one that Senior Wave did at church).
While we were doing do, it got a double ace approval from an observer with mental health issues, who excitedly recognized God as the helper, and wanted to take out the man (Jesse) who was chasing the lead person.
By the way, we are eating packed lunches, saving money!
Afternoon sessions followed, though we’re getting information overload. Continue reading dcla day 4

dcla day 3


Starting to get tired, these are long days!!!
Back at 11:45, then sharing highs and lows.
We arrived at the center for 10am, where we broke up into Labs, our assigned small groups for the weekend.
They are led by student leaders, which is neat, though a number of our youth found their groups too quiet, not much personal sharing.
We ate lunch on the lawn of the Museum of American History (they took our picture for their newsletter, we’re now a part of American history!) Continue reading dcla day 3

dcla day 2

The first day was great!
We started with continental breakfast.
A slow start to the day, a unexpected scenic tour of Washington.
We got there late for the 10:30 opening, only to discover that we were four hours early (they changed the time of registration).
So, we went on a walking tour to the White House.
We ate lunch there, and watched the protesters – for peace, banning bombs, baking bread, universal health care, Tamil refugees, and one man opposed to Tamil protesters.
We rang the doorbell, but Barack could not come out.
We went to the museum of natural history, part of the Smithsonian.
All museums are free here!
Then to registration.
They have a huge activity room with inflated slides and bungee jumping and ping pong and four square and basketball, as well as some displays and stuff to buy.
We first went for dinner, then the big session began.
They are going through the bible from Genesis to Revelation – really well done, short sections, a variety of mediums – speakers, bands, skits, media presentations.
Final concert was Family Force 5 – very loud and wild (moshing and body surfing).
(Instead, I went to a QA with Shane Claiborne (very quiet and inspiring).
Back at the residence at 11:45, a time of sharing the highs of the day, and then to sleep.

dcla day 1

Our drive to DC went well, uneventful, which is how we like it.
We met the Belleville group at 8:30, and we followed them (they have GPS).
The van ride was pretty quiet, the group is still gelling, but by the end of the night it was better.
They are mixing with the Belleville group fine, though that group is younger.
We arrived at 7:30pm, traffic into DC was not as bad as feared (thanks for praying).
We found our rooms – the elevated plastic mattresses will take getting used to, but the rooms are air conditioned.
The lady who manages summer accomodations is also a tour guide for the Catholic University of America (which is where we are staying, in the residence), so she gave us a walking tour, nice.
We had pizza for supper, ironed on our logos onto our t-shirts, and played Jungle Speed in the lobby.

One of my God-moments was stopping at a gas station and filling up – on caffeine.
I made myself the biggest cappuchino I could get, but when I went to the counter the lady said, `have a good day, its on the house`.
She said they randomly do this for customers, to give them a good day!
I thanked her for giving me a God-moment, an experience of unexpected grace!

dcla 2009

This is where we are going with 7 youth and 3 adults from Crossroads (Nathan and I are going too).
We leave this Thursday, (July 9) and come back next Thursday (July 16).
In addition to the event, we also hope to spend time doing community service in the capitol!
Please pray for us, for safety as we travel, and also for a huge God-experience!!!