I have just finished up this book (thanks Karen). I really liked it. I can see some people not liking it though. Especially those who need a linear strain of thought. He writes very well, but it is a collection of his thoughts and experiences. They aren't in order and sometimes he starts talking about something at the beginning of the chapter and you have no clue how it ties in. Then he drops it only to bring it up again at the end of the chapter. Then it all makes sense.

Aside from general form, he has a lot of good things to say. He speaks what is on the heart of many about frustrations with yourself, hating/loving others, dealing with issues with the church body. He talks about the love of God and how he came to realize that God actually liked him; how he learned to accept love from God and others. Many people will find their own thoughts within the covers of this book. One thing I would recommend is that you stick with reading it. He is sharing his journey with you. Sometimes he shares what he thinks at one time and the change that occurs thereafter. I invite you to read and see what part of your story is contained within. Maybe you deal with knowing how to love others who live a life in sin without condoning the actions. Maybe you have experienced the frustration of being lost in the pews or podium of the church - doing what you are suppose to, but not really having it work inside you. Maybe you are fed up with others in the church who proclaim Christian love is unconditional, but act it out only under certain conditions. Lots of good stuff, but be willing to listen with an non-judgmental mind.

I bit of a general update of life here. You will see random pictures of my sister's visit. That probably has been one of the biggest highlights of my time here. Thanks for coming Jill (and early at that). She drove through the night basically so she could make it here in time for me to take the kids to the fire works :) and so she could see our church. We went to the aquarium, had sushi, played in parks :) Fun fun fun. Her family was crammed into our little apartment. One adult and four kids on the floor of our lounge. Fun times. Sorry for any mistakes in the writing as I am on my way out the door and also the pictures are showing up in funky places.

Paul and I have settled nicely into Vancouver. We enjoy the people, the city and the nature here. I have met some interesting people along the way. Some of them have been so heart-breaking. There is a large homeless population in Vancouver. They are there for various reasons, a large part of them have mental illnesses that aren't being dealt with. Some have lost hope in life and are just getting by as best they can.

Paul and I had lunch with one such man. While he is not homeless, he spends his days in a drunken state to relieve the various pains in his life. He had lost his   father and did not know how the handle it. Through the course of his drinking he lost his wife and children as well. We were able to tell him of the Father's love and of the sacrifice of Christ. I have no idea if he will even remember it. The meeting ended when the ambulance arrived to take him away. He is prone to seizures and started having an attack (if that is how you phrase it).

I am working in two places. I work at an office of a coffee wholesale business four days a week doing invoicing/inventory, etc. While the owners are strong Christians and a great encouragement; there are a few who work in the office who are not. We don't have the relationship or opportunity to share Christ at this point, but I pray for our relationship to strengthen and His glory to shine through my life and work. This job is a matter of prayer for me. I felt like I got off to a rough start in my training (and the one who was training me) and now I am easily discouraged in it even though my boss is not displeased with me. I am not sure why this happens. I continue to pray for Gods eyes in looking at my work and relationships there, but I must constantly choose to think what is true and not just my feelings.

My second job is at a Christian bookstore near where I live. Hmm, interesting wouldn't quite cover some of the people that come through. Most of them are pretty okay though :) One man came in who had recently turned from an agnostic thinking to follow Christ. He has been separated from his  wife for some time. Now, he would like to reconcile. Unfortunately, his wife has been hurt much and is unwilling to reconcile. He came in broken-hearted, looking for something to help him be patient. Of course God is the answer to that, but we all need help from others from time to time and can grow from their wisdom imparted to us. Many times I have stopped to pray with others (or be prayed for). It is an encouraging experience.

There are times of discouragement in it as well. One man came in and was angry with God because He was allowing bad things to happen to him. He said that he was a good person and didn't understand why God would do that. Since English wasn't his first language, our communication was a bit difficult. We talked about what sin is to God and what place that puts us in. I know he was concerned about what was happening to him, but my heart was more draw to the issue that he thought he and God should be fine because he was good. Then, we discussed a bit about the injustice in the world. I was even able to share about a time when I dealt with the same issue with God.

All these things I must leave in Gods hands as I often do not cross paths with these people again.

   

                        Our closest friends here are from our home-group at church. They have provided lots of fun and games as well as opportunities to share thoughts and challenge our thinking. I will miss these people when we leave. Home group meets once a week and discusses the sermon using prepared guides. We take turns leading the discussion. This is a stretch for Paul as he would be very happy staying quiet the whole time. But he does it and God uses the time when he leads. The struggle for me in it is that I want to make a big teaching things with charts and activities :)

In church we serve through music and teaching. Paul plays the bass guitar and occasionally the acoustic guitar in worship service. I help out with teaching in Sunday School from time to time. Home groups are also assigned weeks to help with different things at church. On our week, we prepare and lead Communion, greet guests, fold bulletins, etc.

So, on to our current plans. We plan to leave Vancouver at the end of March 2010. We will travel around the States a bit, visiting family along the way, before heading over to New Zealand at the end of May or beginning of June. 

That may be a lot more than you wanted to know, but you are now totally updated on life here :)

     Vancouver gets a lot of rain -a lot. However, it is this drizzle type of rain that really doesn't do much except make it harder to get from one place to the next.  So, Paul and I were quite surprised this afternoon to hear thunder.  Looking outside we saw that indeed a thunderstorm was close to Vancouver.  It is actually producing quite a bit of lightning.  We went out onto the balcony to enjoy the breeze and see the sky light up as we have never see it before. It is more sheet lightning that we are getting, but the sounds of thunder and the illumination of the sky is very nice. Makes me think of Arkansas and watching the storms come in there. Very nice.
   The bad part of is that we were preparing to go on a picnic to Vanier Park and watch the fireworks.  The fireworks will still be on, but we might just go up to the bridge and watch them.  Every year there is a competition between different countries.  Here are some pictures from the last show (Canada).