Added Wedding Countdown...

Figured I wanted a good way to track and share when I get married... going to be so awesome... life is incredible these days, going to church lots at Living Faith Chapel in North Battleford, an Apostolic Church with my honey and a couple of her boys. Here is their website here: Living Faith Chapel Although not quite the family atmosphere or freedom to worship as Hope Fellowship, it is a good bible based church with an awesome pastoral team with a great heart for its people and its community. Been spending quite a few weekends out in North Battleford with my new family so thats why I haven't been around much Hopers :) Am hoping to get out to Hope this weekend though and see you guys. Miss you all. Got a new car, well new to me now after my Christmas car wreck... its a 1989 Toyoto Corolla, bare bones no frills car, but runs good and is certified and has been gone through with a fine tooth comb. House Sold so now awaiting possession and so now focus is on wedding August 4th and the move out to North Battleford. Which reminds me, if anyone has a truck i could borrow, or hitch a ride with to North Battleford with a couch and a boxspring, let me know. I got to get those out of my landlords garage asap... Hmm what else is new... Lotsa Juno hype around Saskatoon, big name music industry hits small town Saskatchewan lol... Bike Show is on this weekend, as well as Tattoo show... Still working at Leah Brisdon & Associates, brisk real estate market now, not much out there for sale and whatever is getting snapped up by investors... still working at SAI until mid July, working this weekend... Spring has finally sprung so now getting the bug to get my bike together and riding... Heading home weekend after next for Easter with my family... well better get back to work here... God Bless All... Moose

An Interesting Perspective on Muslim Extremism

Wow Haven't Been HERE lately :)

Wow... lots to catch up on where do I begin... hmmmm HAPPY NEW YEAR for one I guess... hoping this next one is going to be better than my last 2 lol... lots has happened since my last blog(s) I am divorced now... and have a girlfriend... she is from North Battleford and a sweetie... I am now engaged to be married and we did the official ring thing this weekend... am on holidays from December 15th to January 15th, moving, selling my house and moving into a basement suite... hmmm totalled my car off trying to clear an intersection as the light turned red, girl clipped me coming through on a green... still gotta see where that all turns out... still going to Hope Fellowship MB in Saskatoon, though have not gone there for a while, been going to my fiance's (wow that word sounds weird) church in North Battleford when I am out there, an apostolic church which is pretty cool... I go back to work at Century21 on the 15th of January so have to be all moved in to my suite by then, cool thing is it is only 2 blocks from work... my fiance has 3 boys so instant family, 15, 12 and 8... she is so cool, works as a nurse's aide and loves God... It was a total miracle how we met on cupid.com and amazingly worked awesome. She is a perfect fit for me like God custom built her and me for her. We are both the same age (38) and we are so compatible it is amazing. The big day is going to be August 4th 2007 and we are going to have a small wedding at the Western Development Museum in the little Anglican church there. It is so cool they have an entire downtown street built there, the church being an entire building they moved right indoors and the only one not a reproduction. It seats 24 people, but can squeeze 35 in if some stand... going to have it catered and rental etc. is only going to be $800 which is cheap for a wedding... cool thing is pics can be taken at the old time photography shoppe there and catering is in the restaurant in the building as well so no rain outs... going to be a small wedding with family and close friends... honeymoon will be west edmonton mall fantasy hotel rooms should be a blast. Lots of changes in my life and seems in a lot of ways starting over again but feels so right. Am really excited about how God has been putting this together. I have always wanted a family and to have a ready made one there is amazing.

I can only thank God for His goodness one song I had been singing lots was Blessed Be Your Name, one of the key verses is "You give and take away" it had been seeming that God had been taking and taking away for so long I never ever thought about the giving end, seems all that taking was so that He could bless me and remould me after I was broken and shattered. Through it all I have Blessed God, not that it all has been easy and good and I have kept it together because I have not, but He did, He truly carried me when I could no longer stand or walk. Blessed Be His Name. God is good.

Another song I have been listening to lots is the last song on the disney movie "Cars" It is called "Find Yourself" by Brad Paisley. Here are the words.

Find Yourself
Brad Paisley

When you find yourself in some far off place

and it causes you to rethink some things

You start to sense that slowly you're becoming someone else

And then you find yourself...

When you make new friends in a brand new town

and you start to think about settling down

The things that would have been lost on you are now clear as a bell

And you find yourself,

yeah thats when you find yourself

Well you go through life

so sure of where you're headed

And you wind up lost

and its the best thing that could have happened

Cause sometimes when you lose your way, its really just as well

because you find yourself,

yeah that's when you find yourself.

When you meet the one, that you've been waiting for

and she's everything, that you want and more

You look at her and you finally start to live for someone else

And then you find yourself,

yeah that's when you find yourself

Well you go through life

so sure of where we're headed

And you wind up lost

and its the best thing that could have happened

Cause sometimes when you lose your way, its really just as well

Because you find yourself,

Yeah that’s when you find yourself.

This song is so powerful to me, because for a while I was so lost, hangin on to Jesus was all I was doing, practically losing my faith for a bit, life had knocked me down so hard was not sure where I was... seemed I had bearings and all together before my marriage break up but your faith is never as crucial as it is when it is tested. This song expresses where I was and where I am now. Sometimes God takes us places and through trials that clean off a lot of crud and sometimes when we lose our way it is really just as well as God needs to sometimes break and crush our hearts before he can use us. But after the breaking and the crushing, there is the remolding and the recreating. Interesting things about this song is that I did find a new friend in a brand new town, who stands with me and encourages me, who helped lead me back to my faith, who encouraged me and showed me that I could love again, that there is such a person is a soul mate and that I can love again and live for someone else besides just living in survival mode. Everything does become clear as a bell as I realize now I had to go through all the bad stuff all the valleys to climb up on the mountain. I realize now that every thing be them bad or good experiences mould us into the people we are today, we do slowly become someone else, that person is Jesus. Our hearts broken become to beat as His does, unconditional love begins to flow where only judgemental religiosity or conditional love once did, gentleness and kindness, real love and joy flow where pain and anger once flowed, in a real sense God has to make the channels of our lives, the bedrock of our river beds cut out through pain so that He can pour His blessings through them. Joy does not cut the bed of a river of life, pain does, and then He can pour out more joy because we are them moulded to hold it. God then can use us to full capacity. In finding myself, I have found my faith again, peace, joy and unconditional love. God has given me the gift of Darcy to show me that His blessings do indeed still flow. God is so Good.

I am still working at Saskatchewan Alternative Initatives as well and will need prayer when I move to North Battleford to find a job as I will be leaving my job of 9 years or so at Century 21. As well if anyone has an extra vehicle I sure could use one while SGI drags their feet lol... any extra hands in moving would be cool as well... Anyways thats a quick update, not sure when again I will be on here again but God Bless until I do.

King of the Hill - Megachurch

Haven't been 'round these parts lately...

Well now... here's a place I ain't been in a while :) was browsing the new TangoSierra website at http://www.tangosierra.ca and they asked for a website address... hmmm... well now... only one that I can think of so I entered this one... well... after checking it I saw that hmmm... I haven't wrote anything in here for a very long time...

Summer is the season and sitting around in the house on the computer really is not as attractive as it was in the winter :) Still working at my regular job at Leah Brisdon & Associates Century 21 Dome Realty Limited in Marketing and Advertising and have recently picked up another weekend job as well working with a couple really neat people in their home in a support capacity. (Thanks Tim at Saskatchewan Abilities Initatives) been a little busier now... seems most of my time is thrown into just living and the day to day stuff...

Hmm what other things have happened... my favorite team, the Calgary Flames are out of the Stanley cup running... and I find myself cheering for the Edmonton Oilers... kinda feels like Darth Vader going over to the dark side if you understand these two teams rivalry :)

So getting excited about football season again... Hopefully the Roughriders will win the Grey Cup this year...

Still have not been able to get my Harley back together again... engine is still in the shop after It blew up on a road trip a while back... so just waiting to have the cash to get that out and been thinking of selling it and buying a Honda... seriously... to be a Harley guy to make a decision like that well... see the Darth Vader comment above LOL... tired of sitting out Spring riding because of a busted bike... would love to just throw my leg over my bike and ride every year... so been thinking about that... I really do miss the therapeutic side of riding motorcycle...

What else to say... hmm... gotta mow my jungle outside... before I lose my dog in it... got a new cat named Felix about a month or so ago... he is 5 months old... totally black with a few wisps of white on his chest... what a handful... like having a monkey around the house... it is nice now for my other cat to have a buddy around as I am not so as much and basically pay my mortgage to have a place to sleep LOL...

Oh well... that is about as colorful as my life is right now... lots of other things to share... but mabey that is for another day...

God Bless,
Moose

Off the blogger map lately...

Been kinda off the blogger map lately...

In my life lately I have been up to lots, but just not on blogger lately...kinda figured I better add something before this thing vaporizes :)

Things that have been going on in my life lately...hmmm...

Well...after 6 illustrious years, I now have resigned for 5 more years of house debt, yes my mortgage papers did arrive...got a great new rate and it is locked in at better than prime for the next 5. So...I still have a place to live for the next while :) Thats good...

Actually my whole financial picture is looking a little brighter lately...

Might be starting a new job soon, spending time with handicapped people at their homes, had the job interview and that went well...

Gonna be different holding down two jobs, but the financial gain is going to tremendous.

Still working out at the gym early mornings, thats been going great. It feels good to be getting back into shape and the energy levels coming into work in the morning makes ya really want to get at it...

Hmm...what else...got to hang with TangoSierra this weekend...did guitar tech for them, had the best seat in the house and got to help out.

Their songs Ballad of Birmingham, Why Baby Why, and Just a Man have been playing on the local radio stations as well as those across Canada. Pretty cool stuff.

Saturday I slept in...Got home late from helping load the gear for the band and Saturday evening went to a Steak supper with some friends and shot some pool...it was nice to relax.

Spring is here so I am getting the bug to get my Harley back together and get riding again. This weekend was the bike show, I missed it, but heard a couple guys were already riding around Toon town...

Memo to self...get building the bike...

Hopefully be getting the Harley back together or started this weekend Lord willing...see what happens...

Was good this weekend to get to visit with friends and people from my church I hadn't visited with for a bit...was really cool...

Anywhoo...thats whats up in my life right now...

God Bless,
Moose

Japanese IQ Test...

This is a test some Japanese applicants have to take when applying for a job in Japan.

Dunno if that is true, but this is a fun puzzle :)

The object of the game is to get everyone across the river.

http://freeweb.siol.net/danej/riverIQGame.swf

Click on link, and then click on the big blue circle. Use the rules below.

"Everybody has to cross the river". The following rules apply:

· Only 2 persons on the raft at a time

· The father can not stay with any of the daughters, without their mother's presence

· The mother can not stay with any of the sons, without their father's presence

· The thief (striped shirt) can not stay with any family member, if the Policeman is not there Only the Father, the Mother and the Policeman know how to operate the raft.

To start click on the big blue circle on the right. To move the people click on them. To move the raft click on the pole on the opposite side of the river.

This can be done in 17 moves. The solution is in the comments if you need the answer :)

Me an' King Kong...

Hey all my blog reader buddies, friends and countrymen er...and women out there, lend me your ears...er...mabey not, that would be kinda gross...

Fourscore and Thirty years ago...oops wrong speech...

Well haven't seen King Kong yet...who would like to go? Seriously, its at the cheap seats...lemme know...it is 3 hours long I hear :)

Been a busy week...lots happening in my life...and speaking of King Kong, been working out now...hows that for a graceful sagueway LOL...NOT!

Which reminds me of a joke..whats a Henway? About 5 pounds LOL...sorry bout that... :)

Anyways...Been getting up at 5:30 every morning for the last 3 weeks...working out and trying out various gyms in the city...its been good, I've got that wonderful Run over by a Mack Truck feeling and I feel fine :)

My training buddy Wilf is awesome, the guy has probably forgotten more in his last 45 years of training than most trainers in the gyms know. What a blessing to be learning from this guy.

I have trained to the extreme twice in my lifetime and achieved my goals, this time I am making this a way of life and gonna knock my goals outta the park.

The early mornings are killers considering I am a night owl, but lo, unto the Moose, it was good.

The feeling of walking into work all pumped for the day with muscles burning and energy peaking is just unbelievable and I would not trade it for the world.

Just trying to decide where to take out a membership...

The City of Saskatoon leisure pass is the cheapest getting you into the Field House, Harry Bailey and ALL the PADDLING Pools for $35 a month LOL!, but I gotta admit I love all the new stuff at Mawson's Fitness Center.

I worked out at Fitness Focus just down from my work and I enjoyed that as well. They have a little older equipment, stuff a lot newer than the Field house, but LOTS of it and really good stuff, and I can work out then have a shower and just come right down to work.

Wilf my trainer has also taught me many exercises I can do at my house with equipment totalling less than $50...all lightweight stuff with Huge gains...as well as a walking routine for cardio.

Essentially all weightlifting and training involves is the stretching of muscles by resistance, pushing, pulling, stretching, and here is my big word for today, a funky word called abduction (not the alien version :)

This mixed with cardio, the stretching exercises give you mobility and endurance as well as strength.

This is so you don't end up with being a gorilla that has limited mobility and can only swing vines and not climb trees (ok...WEAK analogy., pardon the pun)

So far I have lots 10 pounds in 3 weeks...pretty good results so far, but far from where I want to be...I want to get my V shape back when my lats, arms and chest were huge but my gut wasn't LOL...I was 334 when I started, now am at 324 as of this morning...shooting for 265 of muscled swartzenager man mass...(sorry folks, thats the left over testosterone speaking LOL)

Gotta admit, that burning sensation after a workout is like an old friend I lost contact with.

I used to be addicted to that burning feeling and could not live without it...mabey one day I should post a pic when I was at my prime if I can find it...its ok folks, I am wearing a shirt in the pic :) and its ok...I have absolutely NO Clue where it is LOL

So here I go again...this time no turning back...aint gonna stop until, like well...never hopefully, hopefully I can do this for the rest of my life, no, I Will do this for the rest of my life...I gotta...

I am 38 and this is my last real shot, from what I understand to make it and have the skin and muscle tighten back before it is too late.

I am looking forward to reasonably the same energy levels I enjoyed when I was slim and the feeling of health that accompanied it.

All that changed a few years ago when I had a bad bike wreck. (translation: BIG OWIE)

A guy in a cage (bikerspeak for car) decided that I did not need the particular piece of pavement that I was riding on. Turns out he wanted to drive his car on the SAME piece of pavement. JUST as I had started to cross it, he pulled out right in front of my Harley-Davidson Sportster (copyright, registered trademark), right in front of my tire.

I remember saying to my self...Self :) whatdaheck is a Oldsmobile Delta88 logo with attached fender AND attached CAR doing in front of my bike...

Deep Breath, Surrealistic Awareness, Panicked Freakout!

Whammo...Ya haven't lived until ya seen a FLYING Moose...LOL...Rocky and Bullwinkle got nothin on me LOL! Flying squirrels HA! I laugh at flying squirrels! I became a living LAWN DART... skypavement skypavement skypavement...THUD BANG CRASH!

What a rush!...I wanna do that again!...can I do that again? Please, can I, can I, huh? NOT! MAn THAT sucked! (Can you sense the sarcasm just a lil bit?)

If you have a motorcycle wreck on your list of things to do before Jesus comes, CROSS IT OFF! It ain't as fun as it LOOKS!

So...ater the dust, followed by my motorcycle, and Me had crash landed from Jupiter...I had another knee and a spulittin headache...

I remember saying to my self...after setting my leg (which felt like it weighed a ton!), WHEN the shock wears off, THIS is REALLY gonna HURT!

And yea, lo when the Moose went unto the Saint of Paul's hospital, lo the pain, it did hurt... :)

BOY did it hurt...

Hurt so bad it laid me up from August straight through to January...even had to learn how to walk again...that took some doin...FUN!

And thats where the forward protusion upon my abdominal musculacar, and the accompanying pounds came from...

And lo the Moose was found with a tummy :) LOL...

Oh well...that was then, this is now...

Doing sometin about that...

Because I can. Because I choose to. Because I have to for me.

My Trainer buddy wants me to take some pics of me now (and potentially break a perfectly good camera) so I can compare them when I get sexy LOL...(see Shrek 2 for the reference to that one :)

Hopefully I can have as stunning a turnaround as an old donkey to a white stallion...we will see...

Which reminds me of one of my favorite jokes in that movie:

Shrek, Donkey and Puss are in the bar, bartender (the ugly stepsister) says to Donkey, now a horse, "Hey, why the long face?" LOL...I love it! Some of you will get that one, some will not...email me for the explaination...also: See vaudville / slapstick humor for reference.

And so on that note, gotta go...me and King Kong are hitting the weights, I am spotting for him :)

Bless Yas,
Moose

Movie Night Update

Well I have had a coupla requests for reviews on the movie and one on the drink :)

Fun with Dick and Jane is corny. I will admit that. But, if you have a signicant other, bring them to it. It will make you want to pull them close to you through this movie I believe.

I went alone, but that is how I would feel.

This movie makes you realize how precious having someone in your life is and how even though you go through trials, how sticking it out really strengthens a relationship.

It was pretty clean, no sex, few expletives, and a very physical comedy appropo for Jim Carey.

Alec Baldwin plays a really easy to hate bad guy and plays it to the max. Being an Alec Baldwin fan, he reminded me of the part he played in the Cat in the Hat as well.

There is a part of the movie where Alec Baldwin is out hunting. It is Halarious what happens. That is all I am gonna say. You gotta see it, I laughed so hard!

There is another part where Jim Carey is on Money News. If you watch the movie look for it...notice what happens on the right side of the screen...it is really funny!

I was recommended to go see it, and I would recommend it as well.

It did take me a little off guard as it was not exactly what I expected from the outset of the movie.

That I like.

They mixed it up, in the beginning it was pretty believable, but some parts later in the movie are really out there.

All in all I would give the movie a hmmm...7.5 to 8 out of 10 stars.

It is entertaining and has a few great laughs.

Not as good as Bruce Almighty but coming up to it.

Here is all the skinny on the movie from the Internet Movie Database :

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369441/

As for the Iced Skor Frappe, it was nummy. (Tough Biker word for tasty :) LOL!

As far as a Skor taste, it was a little on the weak side, but the overall flavor and texture was good. I would give it an 8.5/10 a really must try if you are waiting for the movie to start.

That is my review of the movie and the drink, such as it is :) Hope this helps those who asked :)

Still want to see King Kong...last weekend was the first at the cheap seats...Mabey this weekend...

For those who don't know King Kong was a project Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) has always wanted to do his whole life. I imagine it is going to be good being his life's ambition and work. I am looking forward to seeing it one day...once again mabey this weekend...have to see...

Bless Yas!
Moose

Bored....Hangin out...

Bored...Hangin out...

Well, after driving around for about an hour tonite, trying to decide what to do...

Usually I hang out at my brother Chuck's place and eat burgers and watch movies, but he is out of town for the weekend...

What the heck to do that won't get me in trouble?

Scooted by the church nutin happenin there, by work to check my emails to see when that Bridges on 20th Street thing started...dang...too late...

So I drove around town, after another momental snowfall, sliding around, enjoying the warmth of the car...

Drove over the Sid Buckwold bridge, whoever Sid Buckwold is...cruised down 8th street and checked out the sites and sounds...

Hey, I said to myself...Self...I wonder if King Kong is playing...it is 9:00 at night, usually movies start after 9:00...well...parked the car and came in...Nope

A big No way on King Kong...but friends of mine said that Fun with Dick and Jane was a good movie...so...I bought a ticket...cheap seats at the Rainbow...oh buht yo!

Dang...starts at 9:50...now what to do...

Feel like that guy on the song "Another Saturday night and I ain't got no money, got some money but I just got paid, now I wish I had someone to talk to...I'm in an awful way"

LOL!...pretty bad when your social life reads like a bad song...sheesh...

Oh well...so here I am wondering what the heck am I gonna do for 50 minutes or so...

So I said to myself...Self...lets go to Jimmy Java for a Iced Skor Frapp...whatever the heck that is...sounds tasty...

So here I was sitting and I looked over...hmmm...computer screens...

I then said to myself...yah you guessed it...Self...hey there aint no one else around to talk to...or least that I know...

So I said to myself...computer screens...tasty...I can kill LOTS of time with a computer...so I bought a 1/2 hour to kill some time...

So here I am waiting for the movie to start, killing time and talking to a computer...LOL I am losing it...

Live on Location from Jimmy Javas...LOL

So I hope this movie Fun with Dick and Jane is good...I hear it is...it stars Jim Carey, who I don't normally watch but just got to see Bruce Almighty and even though I was really worried about how sacriligious it would be, I really enjoyed...so here goes...

Should be interesting...

We will see...

Well...got 10 minutes...gotta get some popcorn and munchies...find a seat...

Later,
Bless yas,
Moose

I have not Fallen off the Face of the Planet...

Nope I have not Fallen off the Face of the Planet…

Yes, it has been a month since I have posted anything on my blog.

My life has been pretty crazy lately and I haven’t really had the time to do so.

So here goes…

A lot has happened…where to start?

Ahh yes, the beginning…

Ok…hmm…

“In the Beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth” –The Bible

Ok…mabey not THAT far back…

In a previous blog I mentioned that I had gone to Winnipeg to visit my inlaws who have really been there for me and still love me as a son in spite of the mess with the separation from my wife.

I had a vision before I left, a while before Christmas of a mountain.

I had prayed with a friend of mine who is one of my accountability partners about possibly going to Lloydminster, Saskatchewan & Alberta (town straddles the border – long story lookit up on Wikipedia…) to help a friend set up a biker church.

The vision I had of the mountain was forgiveness for my wife who had left me high and dry financially, emotionally, and physically and had relocated to another city, namely Calgary, Alberta with another guy.

This mountain was so high I could not see the top of it, clouds obscured the summit and it seemed impossible that I could ever scale it.

On my way back from Manitoba God spoke to my heart and said “Do you want Marianne back in your life or Back in my Kingdom”

I cried out to God I want her back in Your kingdom, if that is the choice I have to make I choose your kingdom.

God then told me that if that is what is in my heart that I would have to let Him help me to forgive Marianne.

I felt something break in my heart and in the coming days I could see that He had given me His heart for Marianne.

This heart was not Phileo (Friendship Love) or Eros (Sexual Love) but He had put His heart of Agape (Unconditional God Love) in my heart.

He gave me a burden for my wife to come back to Him and to see her redeemed from her bondage to her mental sickness, alcoholism, and adultery. He gave me a burden to pray that she would forgive herself and God gave me a mission to love her unconditionally with the love that He has for her.

I wish I could say it has all been easy, but it has not. However, God has been pouring in and building in me peace, joy, and faith ever since.

I cannot explain how much freedom comes with that forgiveness, it is truly amazing the power of God that was released with I released Marianne to Him.

I know that God is working in Marianne’s life and I know that God has been speaking to her heart, in that still small voice calling her back to Himself.

It is now up to her to listen.

God has shown me that as her husband I was beating myself up for failing as the Priest in our home and as the head of the house I felt that I failed because my wife fell away from the Lord.

He has since shown me that I am responsible for my actions now. Marianne has joined herself to another and I am no longer the covering for her. She has divorced me in her heart. She has rejected me as the head of our house and has joined herself to another.

I have taken responsibility for my actions and now she must take responsibility for hers, but that is not my responsibility to change her it is now in God’s hands and in her will.

By releasing her to God and forgiving Marianne, I have inadvertently now given God the freedom to do something in her life. When I was in Unforgiveness, Bitterness, Pain and Anger he could not. I was literally stopping God’s hand.

I prayed with a pastor friend of mine about Marianne and after not hearing from her for months she called me. It was quite amazing actually.

She is getting some treatment for her mental disability, and has been calling regularily ever since.

God has since shown me another vision of me standing on a plain, looking back at the mountain of forgiveness From the Other Side.

By forgiving and releasing Marianne to God, it seems that God has been able to release me from my bondages of anger, pain, bitterness and Unforgiveness.

It is truly remarkable actually.

So where am I now…

Well…in the wake of all this God has not shown me if I am to get back with Marianne or not.

In fact, God has been quite silent on the issue.

He has been illuminating my path of faith just a foot in front of my feet it seems, just enough to follow, but not enough to see where I am going…

I guess that is what is called walking in faith…

God has not given me any direction but to follow His light and trust that His plans for me are for good and not for evil and are to give me a future and a hope.

So this is where I walk.

God has also told me to stand in faith and dig in as I march.

There is a movie I love to watch, it is not a Christian movie by any stretch of the imagination, but has a lot of cool analogies in it.

The movie is called The Thirteenth Warrior and stars Antonio Banderas an outcast from the middle east who is exiled to be an ambassador in other countries.

Antonio’s character encounters a group of Vikings who get called upon to protect a village on the outskirts of Norseland that is being ravaged by a warring barbarian tribe.

I was asking the Lord one day what is my purpose in my life? What am I to do now that Marianne and I am not together, that it looks like she is going to go ahead with the divorce in April, and that financially everything looks a mess.

His exact words were to stand.

When you have done all to stand, stand therefore, submit to God, resist the devil and he shall flee from you.

He gave me this image in my mind from the Thirteenth Warrior of the Viking King in the movie, after the Calvary had broke through the walls and was stampeding through the village, how the Viking King grabbed a large sharpened pole, jammed it into the ground and stomped his foot on it and how he called another Viking to do the same and Antonio Banderas’ character to do the same.

Antonio you can tell is nervous, 3 guys standing with sharpened poles facing off against a stampeding horse calvary barreling down on them, but something happens…

He looks at the Viking King who stands so brave and courageous and does not flinch and is such an example that Antonio gets inspired that he can actually do this, as crazy as it sounds, this will work because the Viking King is being the example, he is doing it first, and he is unflinching, stoic, and there is no doubt. This will work.


Antonio gets courage from his leader and in doing so these 3 men avert an entire calvary.

God explained it to me this way.

I am like the Viking King. Stand. Watch. Take Courage for I am with you. Look to me. Take your courage from me. I know what I am doing and even though everything looks crazy in the natural, I am with you. Let me strengthen you. Stand with me and this army that flies against you will fall. Do not look with eyes of fear and the flesh, look with MY eyes of strength and Spirit for your strength and power will come from me. Look to me. I will win the battle. Stand and I will deliver you.

Do not be afraid or be discouraged, go out and face the foe tomorrow, for I AM your God. I will be with you, do not be dismayed. You will not have to fight this battle, stand firm and see the deliverance I will bring you my child I love. Look with my eyes of faith, not with your own. See what I see, look to what I look. Walk on the water with me and I will be with you.

A lot of things have been swirling around me, a lot of things in the natural right now and in the flesh look hopeless, but God has not called me to look to those things, He has called me to look AT HIM. To follow Him and to obey Him. He is building faith in me that could not be built any other way.

Though He slay me yet will I serve Him. I am a Bondslave who wishes not to leave His master and chooses to love Him no matter what.

How am I doing?

In the words of Ernest Shackleton:

Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922), the invincible Antarctic explorer whose fame came from his expeditions -- none of them successful -- to reach the South Pole.

"MEN WANTED FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES,
BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS,
CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOR AND
RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS."

I am walking by faith…it is all I can do…

God Bless,
Moose

Faceless Man - Creed

Faceless Man - Creed

I spent a day by the river
It was quiet and the wind stood still
I spent some time with nature
To remind me of all that's real

It's funny how silence speaks sometimes when you're alone
And remember that you feel
It's funny how silence speaks sometimes when you're alone
And remember that you feel

Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man
Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man

Now I saw a face on the water
It looked humble but willing to fight
I saw the will of a warrior
His yoke is easy and His burden is light

He looked me right in the eyes
Direct and concise to remind me
To always do what's right
He looked me right in the eyes
Direct and concise to remind me
To always do what's right

Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man
Again I stand, Lord God I stand,
against the Faceless Man

'Cause if the face inside can't see the light
I know I'll have to walk alone
And if I walk alone to the other side
I know I might not make it home

Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man
Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man

Next time I see this face I'll say
I choose to live for always
So won't you come inside
And never go away

Next time I see this face I'll say
I choose to live for always
So won't you come inside
And never go away

Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man
Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man
Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man.

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged!

OK...I've never been tagged by anyone before but was by finallyfreeinhim on her blog…so…here goes…

7 things (I would like) to do before I die:

1. Take a trip to Sturgis South Dakota.
2. Spend 3 months in Europe touring on a Harley.
3. Be Debt Free.
4. Totally own my own string of rental properties for revenue.
5. Use that revenue to live off and to help others.
6. Go on a missions trip.
7. Married with Children.

7 things I can’t do:

1. Eat Brussels Sprouts or Turnips.
2. Eat Bugs.
3. Be Fake.
4. Not Care.
5. Tell a joke with a straight face.
6. Lose Jesus.
7. Figure God out.

7 things that attract me to blogging:

1. An outlet to express myself.
2. A way to touch people’s lives.
3. A way to get to know people’s heart in a way I could never do in person.
4. Meeting people from all over that I would never meet otherwise.
5. Seeing God move.
6. Learning about the walks of others and reading their insights into faith and scripture.
7. Encouraging People in a way that I have only recently begun to understand.

7 things I say most often:

1. “Yabba Dabba Doo” (when I am bored or in an awkward moment)
2. “Dang”
4. “Excellent”
5. “It’s all Good”
6. “Lord Help Me God” (frequently)
7. “On the Upside” (yeah I am an optimist)

7 books I love:

1. The Bible. Yeah, I know what you are thinking…Christians always would say that…Just two points to consider:

There is no plan “B”

See number one. Repeat as necessary.

2. My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. Read it. Its My Devotional. ‘nuff said.
3. He Still Moves Stones by Max Lucado.
4. Ok…pretty much everything by Max Lucado.
5. Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard.
6. Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan.
7. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

7 movies I watch over and over:

1. The 13th Warrior.
2. The Wild One.
3. The Passion of the Christ.
4. It’s a Wonderful Life.
5. The Spirit of St. Louis.
6. Ladder 49.
7. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Cartoon Movie)

7 people I want to join in too (you been tagged!)

1. firestarter
2. cwg
3. laconiclogic
4. minstrelmusings
5. lt
6. carebear
7. nin

Nope, I did not fall off the face of the planet...

Nope, I did not fall off the face of the planet…

Well, Christmas was good and bad...Christmas was kind of hard this year with the breakup from my wife Marianne, but it was good to be with my family, got some neat stuff, and got to hang with my nephews and nieces.

I went to Carrot River (my hometown) on the 23rd…had new years eve service with my family, ate, ate some more, got some presents, ate some more, had Christmas with my family, ate some more, and visited with my brothers, nephews, and various other relatives.

Spent the night at my brother Kel’s place and got to spend some more time with my nephews playing Toy Story 2 on the computer, and playing Lego, slot cars, and trains with my nephews Caleb, and Jonathan…very cool…Left Carrot River on the 28th…

I was going to go to Winnipeg before I went out to Carrot River but ended up going right after. Marianne's mom and dad invited me for supper on the 29th, so I left Carrot River on the 28th, drove to 'Toon town, ended up snagged at work, came home at 6:00, washed clothes, and then at midnight was back on the road without any sleep :) When I got to Winnipeg I was up for 24 hours...by the time I got to sleep I had been up for a lot more than that…I have a new appreciation for "health drinks" namely Monster, Full Throttle, and Rockstar...I drank a LOT of those...when I got down there, I had supper with the in-laws and a sort of after Christmas with my sister and nieces in law, as well as my in-laws mom and dad…the next day had breakfast with my buddy Dean who came to the Lord after I did from Thompson as well and hung out with him for the day. Was great to see where he works, went to the Winnipeg library (just had to check my hotmail), and got to go to a real neat Jamaican Restaurant. I drove out to and spent the rest of the day and slept the night out at Marianne's mom and dad's place 1/2 hour from Winnipeg, then the next day had brunch with my friend Dean, went to a hockey game with my buddy him and his family, (His boy was playing) hmmm...then came back to his place for supper…we watched Team Canada beat the US...then I spent the new year eve with Chuck Sheridan and Bondslave MC...got to meet a lot of the brothers there...spent the night at Dean’s place…then went to church with Chuck Sheridan at the Zion Apostolic Church where I ran into a girl from my hometown (weird huh?) named Carrie who was a childhood friend. Our parents were good friends as well. Wild to see her married with kids…we went out for a Chinese buffet, and then I went for tea with my sister in law, and then I drove back late yesterday afternoon...arrived early this morning.

Hard to believe I put on over 2000 kilometers this holiday…but it was worth every minute…

I ended up staying a little longer than I had planned, but as my roommate says “Its all Good”...so now I am back and start work tomorrow..."SIGH" oh well...all part of the process of life I guess...can’t wait till next year!

I just need a holiday from my holiday now…

Blessings -Moose

Choices...

Choices…

What I do when I hurt.

I have noticed an uneasy amount of “fluff” entries lately on my blog.

Yes, they are all mine, but none really shares my heart.

That is because I am not sure what is going on in my heart right now.


The Christmas season is upon us and I am numb.

I have gone to the Christmas parties, been moved by Christmas concerts and worship, but my heart appears to be numb to the whole Christmas thing right now.

I have listened to Christmas carols till I am blue in the face and feel quite “unable” to “get” into the “Christmas Spirit”

It may be that I am unable to get to “Christ” right now.

I do not know if this is some kind of emotional depression, or mental grieving.

I cannot seem to care about anything right now.

Just going through life is big enough.

I do know that my heart is vacillating between weeping and stone and I do not know why.

Well…I do in part.

I have come to realize through a very courageous and honest lady at my church:

walkingagain

That I am not properly grieving a few things in my life.

Mentally, Spiritually, and Emotionally

It is like a ton of garbage on my back, and my heart is breaking, melting, and solidifying into stone all at the same time.

I am numb.

I know all the theological arguments; I know what I should be doing, but seem to lack the capacity to do so.

It is like the wind has gone out of sails, and my ship has ceased to move. Without the wind I am unable to steer as the currents of life wash me in some unknown direction.

I see people with their trees up, doing things with their holidays, spending time with family, and as Christmas gets closer, I find myself more and more depressed.

It will be the first Christmas without my wife.

Remembering the loss of my friend Lisa.

I am not sure if I have completely grieved the first.

I know I have not grieved the last.


The angry injustice that binds my heart,

To let the dead fly free,

To know that I may return to them,

But they may not to me.


God this hurts, but again it doesn’t. What is wrong with me?

Why do I live my life in such extreme valleys and mountains?

Why no consistency in my life.

I see others who appear to be so constant in their spirituality.

I appear to be on some kind of roller coaster ride…

I have been up and down more times than the dollar.

Screwup-Repentence-Restoration-Screwup-Repentence-Restoration

Please let me off the merry go round please.

Just for a few rounds at least.

Seems every time I deal with something, God brings another to deal with right after.

Enough already! Give me a break.

God…I know you want my faith.

I know you want me refined.

But the material you are refining is vaporizing.

It is tired, it is beaten, it is done.


Did you know that with extreme pressure and heat that a lump of coal becomes a diamond?

Or that with extreme heat, gold can be purified, separating the impurities to the surface to be skimmed off leaving pure gold?

I used to work in a nickel smelter.

The rock from underground is crushed, superheated, melted with electrodes in a furnace that uses more power than most cities per day, and is liquefied into molten lava.

As the liquid is further heated, silica sand and quartz is added to bind with the impurities.

Nickel does not bind to silica sand and quartz.

Iron and everything else does.

The silica and quartz is lighter than the nickel and floats to the surface.

Continued heating and skimming off the silica and quartz with the impurities leaves mostly nickel content at the bottom.

But it is not finished there.

It is poured out into huge brick lined ladles hoisted by 60-ton cranes and poured into things called converters.

See the nickel at this stage still has sulfur in it, which naturally occurs in nickel deposits, but does not all float to the surface like other impurities.

Weird thing is this impurity purifies the nickel further.

As air is introduced into the lava, it reacts with the sulfur causing the sulfur to burn autogenously, that is to say, you do not have to add more heat to the lava, the sulfur mixing with the air causes the lava to heat up as you add more air to it.

The temperature of the lava is determined by the air, so the more air you add, the hotter it gets.

To refine nickel, you blast as much air into the lava as possible.

The nickel lava gets so hot that if it were not for the bricks inside the converter, the nickel lava would flow right through the steel, like water through a mesh, even though it is two full feet thick.

I have seen a furnace breached by lava. It flows like water and is deadly.

After the sulfur is expended and more silica and quartz is added for the final skim, the nickel is still only 98% pure.

The nickel is then poured out again into the 60-ton ladles and poured into the anode line ladle.

The nickel is then poured into anodes, flat sheets of nickel rock, 3 feet by 4 feet long.

These anodes then go over to the refinery where they are placed in acid and the nickel is drawn out of the anodes by electrical charge onto host plates where pure nickel accumulates.

These pure nickel plates are then removed and cleaned of acid and then are sent out.

All this to say, that my heart literally feels like it is in this process…

The pain of crushing, heating, melting, skimming, re-heating, re-skimming, poured out, re-heated, re-skimmed, re-heated, re-skimmed, poured out, charged, molecularized, and plated…

Sometimes I, as a nickel atom just want to say STOP!

Let me off this thing.

Get me the heck outta dodge.

Sianara, Arieve derchi, Hostalaweigo, Hostamanaro Moochachos, Bon Voyage, Happy Trails, Nice Knowing ya!…

I probably did not spell the exotic goodbyes of the above properly but you get the picture…

Seems that God is not content to leave us where we are.

This is both a good thing and a bad thing.

Good thing: Get closer to God, know Him better, build relationship with Him, Faith Trust….

Bad thing: Owch. Did I mention owch? Yeah. Pain. Brokenness, Heart smashed to bits, melted into liquid, refined…

It is interesting as I read this again, that air (interestingly pnuema is the greek word for Spirit where we get the word pneumatic or needing air) is both needed in the sails to make them fly and is needed in the refining process to make nickel…things that make you ago hmmm…

But this is the way God created it…whoever says Christianity is a crutch, is easy, and the opiate of the masses…should have their head examined.

They obviously ain’t been there.

A crutch isn’t supposed to be knocked out from underneath ya every few minutes to see if you will stand on your own two feet, if this is easy, then I ain’t doing something right, and if this is the opiate of the masses…let me get stoned rather than deal with this (I would love to be oblivious to life)

For obvious reasons, getting stoned is not really dealing with life, it is just a metaphor, but knowing the truth can be a burdensome thing.

You have to live it. You have to choose it.

In the movie The Matrix, the main character is given a choice to take the red pill or the blue pill. One would open him up to the truth, one would leave him in la-la land where he already was.

The central character of the film, Neo, is presented to us in the opening part of the film as a loner who is searching for a mysterious character called Morpheus (named after the Greek god of dreams and sleep).

Neo is also trying to discover the answer to the question "What is the Matrix?"

Morpheus contacts Neo just as the machines (posing as sinister 'agents') are trying to keep Neo from finding out any more. When Morpheus and Neo meet, Morpheus offers Neo two pills.

The red pill will answer the question "what is the Matrix?" (by removing him from it) and the blue pill simply for life to carry on as before.

As Neo reaches for the red pill Morpheus warns Neo "Remember, all I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more."

The film as a whole and especially the choosing scene is deeply compelling, why is the choice between what you believe you know and an unknown 'real' truth so fascinating? How could a choice possibly be made? On the one hand is everyone you love and everything that you have built you life upon, on the other hand the promise of truth.

The question then is not about pills, but what they stand for in these circumstances.

The question is asking us whether reality, truth, is worth pursuing.

The blue pill will leave us as we are, in a life consisting of habit, of things we believe we know.

The blue pill symbolises commuting to work every day, or brushing your teeth.

The red pill is an unknown.

We are told that it can help us to find the truth. We don't know what that truth is, or even that the pill will help us to find it.

The red pill symbolises risk, doubt and questioning. In order to answer the question, you have to gamble your whole life and world on a reality you have never even experienced yet.

However, in order to investigate which course of action to take we need to investigate why the choice is faced. Why should we even have to decide whether to pursue truth?

One answer in short, may be inquisitiveness.

Many people throughout human existence have questioned and enquired.

Most of them have not been scientists or doctors or philosophers, but simply ordinary people asking 'what if?' or 'why?'

Asking these questions ultimately leads us to a choice.

Do you continue to ask and investigate, or do you stop and never ask again? This in essence, is the question posed to Neo in the film.

Unfortunately, once you have experienced truth there is no going back to the lie.

Some days I wish that God was not the only path. But He is.

Some days, I wish I did not have to go through this all. But I do.

Some days I just wish I would of taken the blue pill…

Blessings -Moose

How it happened...a shameless plug / review

How it happened...a shameless plug.../...Review

Further down on my blog you will find an entry with a series of links to an awesome Christmas light show.

The band that plays the music is Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I have just discovered them myself.

I bought the their Cd called "The Lost Christmas Eve" that that song, "Wizards of Winter" is on.

The music is not your typical Christmas music. The rest of the album is interesting, some pieces stick out more than others, the interesting thing is a side story they tell along the story telling of Christmas, and what seems to me to be all the the right things of this season....

Not sure if they are Christian or not for all of you Secular v.s. Sacred purists, but a lot of the music has the right message, utilizing a mix of metal, jazz, blues, and various other styles...in a rock opera style...

This is actually one of a trilogy of their Christmas albums...

The album I really like in the trilogy has the song below off my last post. I love the entire album.
It is called "The Christmas Attic" and I actually like it better than "The Lost Christmas Eve"

Again, they mix up jazz, with metal, with full orchestration, Beethoven, Bach, and other classical christmas carols and pieces in ways you have never heard them before, and again a parallel story follows the music in rock operatic style as it proceeds through the album leading us through the various facets of Christmas.

I ordered both off Amazon.ca where you can hear the clips of the songs. I would encourage you to take a listen...

The third album in this trilogy is called "Christmas Eve and other Stories" which I am waiting for with anticipation.

Very cool music. I was blessed. Again, I do not know if these guys are Christians, but their music really spoke to me.

Here is the link to their website with all their lyrics and music:

http://www.trans-siberian.com

Here are the lyrics to two more songs that blessed me:

FIND OUR WAY HOME

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

He believed in the things

That he always thought he knew

And had done all the things

That he always wanted to do

Collecting

Each thing reflecting his worth

But now he pondered

How he had wandered this earth

For we all seem to give our lives away
Searching for things that we think we must own
Until on this evening
When the year is leaving
We all try to find our way home

He had time or at least then he
Always thought he did
And mistakes, well, he thought that time

Always would forgive
Each transgression
For his intention
Forgetting
Years he squandered
On things he now was regretting

For we all seem to give our lives away
Searching for things that we think we must own
Until on this evening
When the year is leaving
We all try to find our way home

For we all seem to give our lives away
Searching for things that we think we must own
But on this evening
When the year is leaving
I think I would be alright
If on this Christmas night
I could just find my way home

There is something about this night
That the Lord has arranged
That reaches deep into our souls
And causes us to want to change

And angels know things about us
That no else can know
And this Angel's heart it formed a plan
And then caused the night to snow

THE SNOW CAME DOWN

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

A railway station
On a long forgotten line
No destination
But it always leaves on time

He buys his ticket
As the train prepares to leave
Don't want to miss it
On this night Christmas Eve

He stared into the night no expectations
He watched the world go by without a sound
He saw the city lights arrive and fade away
While all that night
All that night
The snow came down

No conversation
As the snow fell from the sky
His consolation
That the world is well disguised

He stared into the night no expectations
He watched the world go by without a sound
He saw the city lights arrive and fade away
While all that night
All that night
The snow came down

He stared into the night, no expectations
But in his heart he wanted to believe
That somehow someone would be waiting there
Upon this Christmas Eve

And when his train it pulled into that station
He saw there was a single pair of tracks
Within the snow and leading to that
Station door
And he followed those steps back

And on this night of our salvation
Where dreams that have been lost
Can there be found
They walked away together
On that Christmas Eve
While all that night
All that night
The snow came down

In this last season of the year
This season that we trust
It's not only important to know for whom we wait
But to know who waits for us

And as they walked home together
To the light of Christmas trees
They could not help but wonder
About how this night came to be

While back inside the attic
The girl saw them walking through the snow
And she smiled with a child's delight
Thinking how they would never know

And suddenly she realized
Beneath this night of stars
Sometimes Christmas uses its own hands
And sometimes it uses ours

Blessings -Moose

The Three Kings and I - Trans-Siberian Orchestra

THE THREE KINGS AND I
(WHAT REALLY HAPPENED)

Tran-Siberian Orchestra
(The Christmas Attic)

O Holy night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear savior's birth

Now you all heard the story about Bethlehem
How the child was born and the three wise men
Heard the preacher tell it like the preacher does
But let me tell you, children,
That's not how it was

Now you might ask me what I'm talking about
But I know the part that they all left out

Now do you hear what I said
That Herod wanted those wise men dead
But on that blessed evening
My great great great great great great granddad
He saved those kings

Now granddad made his living
Playing jazz you see
But jazz wasn't big around one A.D.
So he got himself a job in the palace band
Where he heard about three kings
In the desert sand

Let me tell you children that at any time
Three kings in the desert that's a real rare find

But Herod heard of it too
And when he heard his curiosity grew
So he asked those kings to drop by
And my great great great great great great
Granddad
He wondered why

So the Magi told old Herod
That they had come here
To find a newborn king of kings
Who'd heal our sins
Then herod told his guards
To follow those Magi
And that the only king around here
Was gonna' be him

Then he told his soldiers as I recall
When they found that child, to kill them all
But granddad overheard what Herod said
And he had to act fast or else they'd all be dead

So granddad got to those kings
Filled them in on the plan, told them everything
When they heard what he had in store
They grabbed the gold
The frankincense
The myrrh, the jewels
The desert tents
And when they found
His plan was sound
They followed granddad out the back door

And what a night
It must have been
But when God is on your side
You kinda' know that in the end
You're gonna win

They traveled fast
They traveled far
And in the end they found
That they were standing with the Child
Beneath the star

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

And so you see we've reached the end
Of our story
When granddad and the kings
Reached that stable on the hill
And while I said that
Three kings in the desert is a rare sight
Angels singing in the desert that's far rarer still

Now I ain't sayin' that the bible was wrong
But ya' see the whole tale
Would have taken too long
'Cause way back then in the promised land
Every copy they sold,
It had to be written by hand

And granddad lived a long life
Stayed friends with those kings
And found a good wife
And eventually I came along
But that my children
That my children
That's another song

The next letter included a receipt
For one toy stuffed bear
Donating it to a small thrift shop
But somehow it was left there

For attics have their secrets
And toys will have theirs, too
Like who once held or loved them
When they last were new

Whether they were made of metal
Or they were cotton stuffed
Or how they had been left here
When they were not enough

And so it's here that they must wait
Between reality and dream
Hoping all will be remembered
And that all can be redeemed

Then in the sound of the wind
Whistling through a door
She thought she heard the sound of children
That had held this toy before

And she then thought to herself
As she now held it in her hand
That no one could save all the world
But we should save who we can

So she placed it near her candle
For she had decided in her mind
That when she left this attic
He would not be left behind

Wheel in the Sky

Lyrics by Journey

Winter is here again oh lord,
Haven’t been home in a year or more
I hope she holds on a little longer

Sent a letter on a long summer day
Made of silver, not of clay
I’ve been runnin’ down this dusty road

(Chorus)
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’
I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’

I’ve been trying to make it home
Got to make it before too long
I can’t take this very much longer

I’m stranded in the sleet and rain
Don’t think I’m ever gonna make it home again

The mornin’ sun is risin’
It’s kissing the day

(chorus)
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’
I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’

So many things spoke to me through this song as I listened to it.

Winter is here again, looks to stay. Man I hate winter. I could settle for summer all year long...

If it just snowed on Christmas then melted away, I would be exuberant.

I can only pray that Global warming is a reality, I would love for where I live to become Florida :)

Ok..ok...I don't Really wish that...I know that global warming is causing things like Tsunamis, and what happened to Louisianna,

But I digress...

Oh yeah, the wheel in the sky...

Seems like I haven't been home in such a long time. I miss my family. They all live in the same little town and have most of their lives, I however have always had a restless heart and always longed for the big city amenities even though I really cannot stand living in a city. Dunno, never really felt there were ever many opportunities in my home town of Carrot River, Saskatchewan (which incidentally has no river nor carrots :) But I miss the people, my family, and every time I leave to come home it is that much more harder to leave.

Seems I have been running down this dusty road for a very long time.

But the morning sun keeps kissing the day, and with every sunrise, I know that God has given me one more day to do something with my life, and one more day closer to being who He has called me to be and more more day to be with my family both physical and spiritual.

I have been through so much sleet and rain in my life figuratively and physically and spiritually, and down so many desert, dusty roads, when I get home, on this earth, and in the next, even though I don't know where I will be tommorrow, I know that God does. This is what I was ultimately reminded of.

Yeah, its not a Christian song, but it reminded me of God. Kinda has a motorcycle riding feel to it. When the song takes off, I imagine my self taking off, shifting gears, the engine winding up...When it hits the chorus, I can just imagine cracking the throttle through turns...at one with the machine, feeling it respond to the lightest touch.

Those who ride will understand, those wo do not won't.

Mabey a part of me is still on the run. Even though this Mustang is in the corrall, my heart sometimes still feels wild and wants to run.

I don't know, I am the most free when I am blasting down the highway on my Harley, banging gears, leaning into turns, chasing the wind, breathing in the smells of nature, with a kalediscope of sky from horizon to horizon as my own personal art gallery, and life coursing through my veins.

Some of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had was on my Harley, running with others down the highways of life, the headlights bouncing in the pale moonlight, with a carpet of stars from horizon to horizon, on a warm summers night, with the wonderful drone of a V twin singing out its metallic song. The sound of straight pipes harmonizing to beautiful Harley music. Setting up camp to the headlight of a motorcycle, and going to sleep under the stars to the ping, ping, sounds of an old shovelhead cooling off in the dew filled night.

It is those times, that I am reminded that God is indeed good, and I am truly free.

Thanks for letting me bend your ear. Blessings -Moose

Curtain Call

Curtain Call

Tonite is our last night for our Annual Christmas Dessert Concert of the Heart.

This is an opportunity to bring in others who do not know God or who have not been to our church a chance to learn about Him and hear our churches' heart.

It is the first one I have sang in and most definitely the first time I have ever played a Jamba :)

Was so blessed last night to see how God moved very differently through the exact same set of music, dance, drama, and worship.

God met everyone exactly how each different audience's needs were. What an awesome God we serve!

Was nervous because I haven't sang in church for a very long time. I used to be a worship leader in a couple of churches but basically have been just soaking in God's Spirit, healing and learning.

This was the first time that I have stepped out like this in my church.

And God was there.

I noticed that every time we sang, (I sang two songs with my Bible Study group and once with my Junior Youth Group each seating) that the songs changed from us performing to us worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth.

In short. God showed up. And it was amazing. Each act signified an aspect of God and His Word.

Eternity: The show started with a power point "Love Song" about God, His love, and His plan. Wow Christopher, great job bro!

Creation: Then I sang with my Transformations group God of Wonders. Awesome job guys! You guys are such a blessing!

Moses & Passover: Then Pastor's wife Wanda, Tanya (From our Transformations group), and Krista sang O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming Accapella with accompaniment by Arianna and Janet! Incredible! A little bit of our Angelic host on Heaven guys!

Then there was a music video by Kelly (My accountability partner and freind from my Transformations group) from the Prince of Egypt. The song There can be miracles if you believe was powerful set against short clips from the movie especially the parting of the Red sea, and Moses meeting with God at the burning bush! Wow...gonna have to watch that movie again!

Then there was a short intermission, with of course, desserts.

Angel: Then Tanya (Transformations...again :) Sang a song called Who Would Imagine a King with a video of baby Jesus on the screen...Powerful that that little baby was born a King, of this earth and the next! What an incredible reminder!

Star: Then my man Jessie :) did a monologue as the Innkeeper watching the Wisemen show up and worship Jesus...wow...that was awesome! Jessie was one of my Junior youth last year and man he is growing in God! Good job little brother!

Birth of Jesus: This was followed by an incredible song by Aline and Jamie. How Mary felt being with Jesus, the handmaiden of the Lord, the immaculate conception. WOW...Aline and Jamie are wife and husband respectively and between them they made up a considerable Dianna Krall in style at least! The song was called The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. It was simply amazing!

Then there was a question and answer time with the question how has God changed / affected your life. Man, I was blessed by the answers of our church. The testimonies of God's power were undeniable!

Light of the World: Next Dale, Andrew and myself got to do our song Joy the the World 60's rockin style with our Junior Youth. I played the Jamba and sang. Wow was that fun! Dale got ahold of these goofy Santa hats and the kids did actions / dancing to the song. What a Blast! I sure am proud of our Junior Youth they did a bang up job!

Crucifixion: Next Kevin, Tobi, and Corey did the Sticky chair routine drama short...man that was great. It started really funny and then got really serious as we ponder what Christ did for us. The chair was not supposed to be touched as it singnified sin, and as Tobi got more and more stuck to it, Corey kept reaching out to him. To the side Jesus was being crucified and as He died, Tobi was freed by praying with Corey...wow...what an awesome picture. The song this was done to was Jesus is still all right by DC talk...What a great Job guys!

As Corey and Tobi scoot off stage we were left to see Kevin as the crucified Christ, as the spotlight darkened on him,

God's Heart: Kelly and Lani were illuminated and started to sing Love Crucified Arose...what a powerful song. The words and the Title really hit me. Love Crucified Arose as in Jesus the embodiment of Love arose, and as Love Crucified a Rose, how God sent His Son, the Rose of Sharon to die for us. Incredible. Lani and Kelly are also husband and wife, and I was so blessed by their ministry.

The Church: Next was Lloanne, Aline, Stevie, Natasha, and Sonya who performed ballet dance to I Love the Lord...wow...that is all I have to say...that was the most incredible worship in dance I had ever seen...blew my mind.

Heaven: Our wonderful pastor then sang a song called This Little Child. Wow...I could not help but weep every time I heard this. The heart of God is so much in this song. As Pastor Terry sang the chorus the second time which goes "I Believe, and I wall always sing, this little child, Is a King, I Believe, and I will always sing, this little child is the King of Kings!" everyone involved in the concert stood up where ever they were and sang this chorus. What a powerful proclaimation. As we all stood and sang I felt in my Spirit a soaring and nearness of God that overpowered me. You could not have said you did not meet God if you were in that sanctuary...it was incredible!

At the end for conclusion and dismissal our transformations group sang Prince of Peace. Wow...that was amazing. We just worshipped...

After two sets of this last night, I basically floated home in God's Spirit, I got to hang with some incredible people from my church before I did, but wow...what a blessing. To say I had a good night is an understatement!

God is so Good! Well gotta go...having supper with my brother Chuck and going back to church tonite to let God do it all over again! Lord I am so Blessed! God Bless You. -Moose

Remember, however cliche it may sound, it is still truth : Jesus STILL IS the Reason for the Season!

So Encouraged

So Encouraged...

Today I had a pretty good day at work. Got lots done, but that was not what made it a good day. It was a good day because I felt no pain today.

I was so encouraged last night and tonite by God.

I have been going to practices for our annual Christmas Concerts of the Heart last couple nights.

There are a lot of incredible people there with a lot of talent. I am so blessed to be in such a church.

I am singing in 3 songs, one with our wonderful junior youth I help lead, and two songs with my Transformations Bible Study group.

As I saw and heard through the hearts of the people sharing, I was so blessed and encouraged by how much our people in our church love God and others.

You know, it almost seemed like the fellowship of doing something together as a church almost seemed to eclipse the concerts coming up.

It was so encouraging to feel the love one for another our church has.

Of course we are going to do our best for the concert, there are actually 3 of them, two on Friday, one on Saturday.

We are going to worship God with everything we do. Our focus is God.

And then...

After I went and met my brothers Joe, Darcy, and Ryan down at Joe Dogs, our favorite sports bar / restaurant.

Man the encouragement when brothers dwell together in unity!

It was such a blessing to hang with other brothers who can encourage and pray and share struggles openly with each other, to know that you are not alone, and be encouraged that God can meet all our needs.

Watching some good hockey on the big screen did not hurt either :)

I am amazed lately how God has shown up at our meetings and ministered to one another 's hearts.

To share one another's burdens, to not have to be perfect, being real and open with one another without condemnation but only love and encouragement is awesome.

So here I am, I am physically exhausted, but spiritually blessed. I basically floated home tonite in God's Spirit :)

And no it ain't the root beers, the chicken wings, nor the ice cream baseball mits taking :)

God is Good!

Bless yas. -Moose