Family Update

I apologize for my lack of posts recently….life has been fun, adventurous and somewhat hectic – here is the run down:

the Bradford Boyz – spent last week at Southern Alberta Bible Camp.  This was the first time they have ever left home to attend a week-long camp.  They had an amazing time….of course they only showered once and that was obvious by their smell on the drive home!! The highlights for them were more about relationships with their counsellors and new friends…then about certain activities which their parents think is very admirable. 

Football – The boys are loving football…Mitchell is playing on the offensive line and Jayden is playing both as defensive back/receiver.

School – They start school on Thursday…and they will be at a new school!  Mitchell is heading into grade 3 and Jayden will be starting grade 5…hard to believe!!

 Mom and Dad -Keri seems to be enjoying her role with Manulife…she has developed some real close relationships with her co-workers which probably makes it alot easier to get up and go to work on a daily basis.

Grover is really enjoying his role at Centre Street.  He works with a great team of individuals who love students and their families.  Right now they are in the process of getting ready for the Fall – Summer is over and it’s time to get back to reality!!

Tomorrow I’ll be back with the latest edition of Stories from SBucks…till then….

Stories from SBucks…The Way I See It #27

“Do not kiss your children so they will kiss you back but so that they will kiss their children, and their children’s children” – Noah benShea (poet/philosopher)

One of my big thoughts these days centers around this whole concept of leaving a legacy….for me this proverb goes way beyond the physical expression of a kiss that wil be felt by generations.  When I read this the first thought that came to mind were…”what am I investing and pouring into my kids that will be felt and experienced for generations to come?  These thoughts brought me back to something I had wrote back in April:

What are you REALLY living for?

22 04 2008

Today as I sit here in my office preparing to attend one of my grade 8 guys fathers memorial service – I sit with a quiet anticipation and a restless spirit. It wasn’t too long ago when I received one of those unexpected phone calls that leaves you stunned.  I never imagined that Sunday after arriving home from church I would receive the information that my father had died.

It was my privilege to be asked by my family to officiate my father’s celebration of life service. In preparation for that service I had a real difficult time trying to articulate what was on my heart.  Obviously I loved my father – but I struggled with what to say because in many ways I felt Iike I didn’t really know him.

I began to think of my own funeral – “What would my own kids say about their OLD MAN?  What kind of legacy would I leave after I’m long gone? My thoughts quickly took me to Philippians 1:20-21: “I eagerly expect and hope that … Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

How would you fill in the blank?  It’s time to be brutally honest -  “For to me to live is _________.” The true answer – could potentaily be, “For to me to live is my business, is sports, my home, or my success. To me to live is my family, my friends, my education, my dream.”  Here’s the problem: if we’re living for any one of those things, to die is to lose it all. It’s only when for you “to live is Christ” that to die will be gain.

In Highschool I had a friend Mark…he was 6′4, blond hair, and captain of the football team.  Evey guy in the dorm aspired to be him and every girl in the highschool wanted to date him.  Shortly after the Christmas of 86′ Mark was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia and within weeks he ws gone.  As I look back on that defining moment in my life,  I’m not sure what he was living for. Before the cancer he was a crazy highschooler – but after the diagnosis he completely transformed into a totally different person. 

Through all the chemo and pain Mark had concluded that one major reason was for him to live for Christ in such a way that the people he cared about, the people who looked to him, would want his Jesus so they could be in heaven with him someday. He began to live in such a way that “Christ would be exalted” by his life. And because he did, Christ was really exalted by his death.

If my dad or Mark were here today, I believe they would tell you, “Don’t wait to surrender your life and your influence to Jesus Christ. You never know how many days you have left to make your life count for something that will last forever.”

As I head off to this service – you can be sure- I’ll be contemplating…What am I REALLY living for?

Be blessed!!

Stories from Sbucks…The Way I See It #291″

“In a world where celebrity equals talent, and where make-believe is called reality, it is the most important to have real love, truth and stability in your life.” – Bernie Brillstein (Film & television producer)

I am always amazed at a industry that thrives on feeding us the un-reality of life…and then one of them comes out with this reality check.  This statement is so true at the outset….but as I take a closer look at this statement…in some ways it can be perceived as an un-realistic perspective.

The first part of this quote rings true…working in youth ministry for the past 18 years…you see it on a daily basis.  There is the constant pressure on our children to idolize those with talent and set them apart as celebrities.  The issue is that we as a society have taken it a step further – we bombard these kids with messages that say they need to do whatever it takes to strive to become these celebrities.  All these pressures and messages conjured up and created in a make believe world!

The final sentence at first sight…seems so true…it gave me the warm fuzzies!  Real love?  I fully agree…with that…but how many people have experience real love?  Real love which for most equals human love…just ain’t going to do it.  Real love which everyone needs to be experienced in described so clearly in 1 Corinthians 13 where it reads…” 1If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.

 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What about truth and stability?  Last time I checked our culture has a tough time believing there is any form of truth…all is relative.  We’ve heard the sayings….”what’s good for you, may not be right for me….as long as nobody gets hurt….what’s the big deal”.  It’s hard to experience truth if it’s not a foundation of your belief system.

The there is the whole idea of stability…stability in what?  Maybe the author was trying to portray security…since it is something that we all strive for…security in our relationships, vocation, and finances. Either way this quote gave me a great deal to consider…It has challenged me once again to re-evaluate how I perceive life and what is truly important.

Are You Happy?

How do you define happiness? This is a question I ask all my parents within our junior high ministry when they all express that their main goal in life is to make sure their children are HAPPY. The crazy thing is they can never answer the question..they just stand there like a deer in the headlights.  It’s really hard to define happiness in terms of a life goal….is it success, a nice house with the white picket fence, a brand new vehicle every three years, a HAPPY marriage and a quiver full of lovely children?

Wouldn’t you know it I came across a very informative article this morning while sitting down to a hot steaming cup of Java…read this…”Forget the stereotype about the crotchety old man or miserable old woman. New research from the University of Chicago indicates that people in their latter years are the happiest people around. More than 50 per cent of men and women over 85 involved in this particular study described themselves as “very happy.”

So this begs the question: who’s the least happy? This one’s easy. Think about who’s most likely to be swearing into a cell phone if there’s any sort of delay at the auto repair place (or the hospital emergency room). You guessed it! The most discontented generation of people also happens to be the most mammoth generation of people in recent memory: the famous (and infamous) Baby Boomers. (Just for the record, I am one of the infamous Baby Boomer malcontents myself, although I seem to be bursting with happiness these days. Maybe I’ve just succumbed to the notorious spring fever virus or something.)

Here’s the scoop on Baby Boomer happiness — or, rather, the lack thereof.

“Boomers have experienced less happiness on average than both earlier and more recent cohorts,” reports University of Chicago assistant professor of sociology Yang Yang, author of the study, which appears in this month’s issue of the American Sociological Review.

According to Yang, fierce competition for spots in the best colleges and universities and for job offers from the best firms in early adulthood may have led the Boomers (who now range in age from their mid-40s to their mid-60s) to expect that all their hard work would be rewarded by picture-perfect happy endings. They’d land that perfect job, buy that perfect house with that perfect someone, and raise that perfect family of 1.5 kids (or 1.5 dogs). All they had to do was play by the rules and wait for happiness to arrive on their doorstep.

But then happiness lost their address. (Or so the story goes so far.)

If mid-life hasn’t exactly lived up to the Boomers’ expectations, Boomers can at least take heart in one of Yang’s other key findings — that we tend to become happier as we grow older. “With age comes happiness. Overall levels of happiness increase with age, [regardless] of other factors.”

If we want members of the next generation to experience greater happiness as they pass through life, the takeaway message from Yang’s research is unmistakable. Resist the temptation to promise your kids that they’ll get everything they want out of life if they simply work hard(er). The recipe for happiness is both a lot simpler and a lot more complicated than that.

Instead, encourage them to diversify their happiness portfolio: to cultivate hobbies and interests outside of work; to invest in people and relationships; to champion causes they believe in; and to use their unique abilities and interests to change the world. Not only is this advice more likely to inspire a young person than the traditional “work hard” mantra; it’s advice that’s is less likely to leave a 40-something running on empty in the happiness department by the time he or she reaches age 45 — a decidedly unhappy state of affairs.

Now, over to you:  What’s your take on this happiness research? Who are the happiest people you know? What makes them happy?  If you’re a naturally happy person, what are your secrets? ” – Ann douglas (author – for Yahoo parenting)

How true I have found this to be these past few months.  When I returned from Vancouver I had the chance to sit down with a group of grade 8 students and their leaders – all of them said “serving the homeless and working with the street people of Vancouver had drastically changed their perspective in life”…they had found true happiness through taking their eyes off themselves and investing in the lives of others. 

What a great challenge for all of us!!  How happy are you?  Maybe it’s time for all of us to re-evaluate where we invest our time, talents and treasure?

Stories from Sbucks…The Way I See It #283

“The most important thing in life is to stop saying “I wish” and start saying “I will.” Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities. – David Copperfield (magician)

I find this to be a very interesting quote coming from an individual who is paid substantial money from people to believe in the impossible.  Is it really the most important thing in life to stop saying “I wish” instead of “I will”?  If the human race was without fault and we all led lives in the highest regard I might be able to agree with that statement.  The reality is that we are all tainted…Romans 3:23 says it like this…”for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

I’m not trying to be pessimistic, I’m simply being a realist.  Is it so bad to say “I wish” and try your hardest in life? Chances are their will be victories and there will be defeats…but when you state “I will” are you not setting yourself up to fail?

Take for example David’s friend Cris Angel…another gifted illusionist…he has gone through the majority of his life saying “I will” and he has made a living doing the impossible (or at least what appears impossible) Two nights ago he cheated death because he said “I will” escape death by attaching myself to a balcony of . a hotel that is about to implode.  Fortunately he walked away and he has stated that he is finished with the death defying acts.  Maybe “I wish” and “I will” are more of a state of mind response to living.  I guess my issue is that I see on a daily basis what “I will” thinking leaves in it’s wake.  Often it leads to pain, frustration, confusion and heartache…why?  Because often when a human states “I will” …the only thing they think about is themselves which leads to nothing but a dead end and ultimately a very lonely place.