And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. 1 Samuel 30:6 Moving Toward Maturity In 1 Samuel 30 David found himself in a difficult […]
If You’re Grateful and You Know It…..
Kids are generally better at showing emotion. I lead worship for adults and I lead songs for kids at Awana (our kids program). It is a no-brainer to tell you that the kids are the more excitable group. They sing with enthusiasm, they jump, they stomp and wave their hands in the air. They are […]
Nagging Optimism
It’s Hard to Not Be Negative Doesn’t seem to be a lot to be optimistic right now in our world. I think this is one of the negative sides of being an information/internet generation. They say that “good news travels fast”, but in a high-speed generation: bad news travels really, really fast. Between politics, the […]
Flaming Torches: Counter-Intuitive Thinking in the Dark
Fears! We all have them. Some fears are a little bit more obscure like fear of clowns or butterflies or cakes (yes cakes…don’t believe me read the article.) It’s very interesting that with all the variance within the human race, there are still very common threads in regards to what we are most fearful of. […]
A Simple Guide to Forgiveness
I love the title of this blog. I hope it will get lots of “hits” because of it! It’s kind of like posting an article with the headline: “Easy ways to Make Lot’s of Money and Be Your Own Boss.” People generally want easy paths to end results. The road to forgiveness is, for the most […]
Trending in the Right Direction
At the beginning of 2015 the Toronto Maple Leafs fired head coach Randy Carlyle. In an interview, then General Manager Dave Nonis sited that one of the reasons it happened was because the team was “trending in the wrong direction”. He was implying that they were not moving as a group towards their desired outcome. […]
The Power of 77,000 Hours
On Sunday, I mentioned a staggering statistic: Parents will spend 77,000 hours with their children by the time they reach the age of 18. Another statistic that adds deeper meaning to it, is the fact that children who are raised in homes that go to church with spend just under 900 hours at church-related activities. It […]
Be Holy!
The series of messages that I have been working through has been called Weird: Because Normal isn’t working. The admonition to be holy is a call to be “different” or “set apart” from the world. The reason we are to do this is because God is holy and we are to be like him. What […]
Just the Beginning
I am endeavouring to build a healthy lifestyle right now. I have wanted to lose a few pounds and try and keep it off. I am on day nine of my diet and actually have been quite successful. By making some simple adjustments to my diet (no chips, pop and sweets) and better choices (salad […]
The Missing Piece: Fear of God
My Dad just celebrated his 89th birthday. I love to hear his stories, particularly the ones about World War 2 and his part in the Dutch underground and about his childhood in the Netherlands. One of my favourites is his story about visiting the Queen of Holland. He had been a part of a boys […]