Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Passion for Life!
When I watched this video I couldn't help but chuckle. This man's passion is for marbles! Really? Kind if hard to relate to isn't it? Sort of like Steve Irwin's passion for crocodiles eh? But there is something attractive about passion for people, passion for making a difference in this world? I love to teach, I love to explore, I love to share stories, I love my wife, I love my kids, I love my friends! These are all unique passions that I have and for me they definitely trump any love for marbles.
I just returned home after a 4 month escape to New Zealand & Australia! I had an amazing opportunity to witness the beauty of both countries but every waterfall & mountain paled in comparison to the people I met! I have a passion for life! For living life to the full! Abundant living! That is real passion and a worthy obsession I think...a love for God & for people! Some people have a passion for growing ear hairs - I'm going to stick with loving life, loving people & loving the Creator of the Everything!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
NZ Escape
Well - as much as I probably should have blogged about our time in New Zealand, I clearly have not. I've tried to journal daily but have refrained from posting it as I want to weave pictures with my words and maybe post it at a later time. There is only so much time a person has in a day and my focus for this sabbatical was to lead a more balanced life with friends, family & work. I think I've done very well in that regard. Yes there have been a few busy moments such as teaching at Capernwray, and a few busy spots of instructing at Totara Springs, but for the most part there has been a good flow to life.
Flow - I love that word. It connects with me in so many different ways. When we talk about flow in mountain-biking - we are referring to how well a trail rides. Is there a balance of up, down, left, right as you ride. I was mountain-biking yesterday in a place called Rotorua famous for its thermal park but we instead went up a nearby mountain filled with giant redwood trees and world-class mountain bike trails. Some of the trails really had a perfect flow - it helps when the trail is mainly downhill but it is simply bliss to get into the rhythm of a trail and enjoy the kms fly by.
Interestingly, the final trail we enjoyed did not have a good flow but it was an incredible workout. What threw off the flow? For one, lots of climbing and steep climbing, the descents were quite difficult as well - with nice little jumps to get air off of, but there was no real transition between the climbs & descents. If life is just up & down and now in between times - it makes for a very tiring journey! We need regular life. This connects with our spiritual journeys as well. If life is this chase of mountain top experiences with God versus incredible lows of separation from Him - we lose the intimacy that can be developed in the in-between times.
Getting back to our time in New Zealand - it has been amazing for our family to experience this journey together. So amazing mountain tops, some struggling times as well, but for the most part we've been enjoying life in the everyday. In other words, most of our time was not living life as tourists but trying to get into the here & now of culture here. Being a tourist is too tiring for an extended period of time anyway. There is a limit of how far one wants to drive in a week - especially with kids.
So many highlights of visiting inspiring places, places of beauty & awe, but what we will miss the most will be the relationships, the people we've come to know here. We are looking forward to our next 3 week adventure in Australia, another 2 weeks on the south island (where we get to be tourists once again), and I do think we are at the point of really looking forward to going home to Canada. May long weekend will be a celebration for us.
Flow - I love that word. It connects with me in so many different ways. When we talk about flow in mountain-biking - we are referring to how well a trail rides. Is there a balance of up, down, left, right as you ride. I was mountain-biking yesterday in a place called Rotorua famous for its thermal park but we instead went up a nearby mountain filled with giant redwood trees and world-class mountain bike trails. Some of the trails really had a perfect flow - it helps when the trail is mainly downhill but it is simply bliss to get into the rhythm of a trail and enjoy the kms fly by.
Interestingly, the final trail we enjoyed did not have a good flow but it was an incredible workout. What threw off the flow? For one, lots of climbing and steep climbing, the descents were quite difficult as well - with nice little jumps to get air off of, but there was no real transition between the climbs & descents. If life is just up & down and now in between times - it makes for a very tiring journey! We need regular life. This connects with our spiritual journeys as well. If life is this chase of mountain top experiences with God versus incredible lows of separation from Him - we lose the intimacy that can be developed in the in-between times.
Getting back to our time in New Zealand - it has been amazing for our family to experience this journey together. So amazing mountain tops, some struggling times as well, but for the most part we've been enjoying life in the everyday. In other words, most of our time was not living life as tourists but trying to get into the here & now of culture here. Being a tourist is too tiring for an extended period of time anyway. There is a limit of how far one wants to drive in a week - especially with kids.
So many highlights of visiting inspiring places, places of beauty & awe, but what we will miss the most will be the relationships, the people we've come to know here. We are looking forward to our next 3 week adventure in Australia, another 2 weeks on the south island (where we get to be tourists once again), and I do think we are at the point of really looking forward to going home to Canada. May long weekend will be a celebration for us.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Semester Wind Up
I'm going through a bit of an interesting place thinking-wise as this semester winds up. It is the first time in 7 years that I won't be teaching come January due to my upcoming sabbatical. First off, I find it really difficult to let go. I know that my students will do fine without me, as there are many other capable professors available to mentor & encourage them but I really do care about my students. I experienced some pride a couple weekends ago as I hosted a youth event on campus and saw youth leaders that I trained over the past 7 years look after their youth groups. Interestingly, almost every year was represented and it definitely encouraged me that I have an amazing job!
We're heading off in mid-January for our grand adventure, our family sabbatical and we are anticipating many new memories & opportunities to be an encouragement to others on our journey. This past year has been an amazing one, I'm absolutely loving who my kids are becoming, where Wendy & I are at as a couple, and really looking forward to spending more time with them all in a brand new context. We're not quite ready to leave but can see that it is just around the corner!
Carpe Diem! Seize the day and live life to the fullest! My quest to bring life to others continues and I look forward to what I will learn in the process!
We're heading off in mid-January for our grand adventure, our family sabbatical and we are anticipating many new memories & opportunities to be an encouragement to others on our journey. This past year has been an amazing one, I'm absolutely loving who my kids are becoming, where Wendy & I are at as a couple, and really looking forward to spending more time with them all in a brand new context. We're not quite ready to leave but can see that it is just around the corner!
Carpe Diem! Seize the day and live life to the fullest! My quest to bring life to others continues and I look forward to what I will learn in the process!
Monday, September 14, 2009
U2 360 in Chicago! Opening Night of the North American Tour
Words are hard to come by when describing the incredible concert that we had the pleasure of witnessing on Sept. 12 in the heart of the USA - Chicago, IL on Soldier Field. It was a thrill to finally see the band U2 and be honored by their love of music, love of their fans, and love for the world. I'll post some pics shortly but here's the set list which was simply perfect. There are few songs that I would have added but a perfect mix of albums & an amazing re-creation of their latest album!
U2 has been a band that I've always enjoyed but fell in love with during the Joshua Tree era, and this love was reignited for Achtung Baby (still my favorite U2 album). It took me awhile to get into Zooropa & Pop and so didn't end up seeing them when they played Winnipeg (a huge regret) but I actually really enjoy both of those albums now. I enjoyed All That You Can't Leave Behind & Vertigo but I really like where they are exploring musically now and I'm hoping their next album will continue to push the envelope.
1 Breathe
2 No Line on the Horizon
3 Get On Your Boots
4 Magnificent
5 Beautiful Day/Blackbird (Beatles snippet)
6 Elevation
7 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For/Stand By Me (Ben E. King snippet)
8 Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of
9 Unknown Caller
10 The Unforgettable Fire
11 City Of Blinding Lights
12 Vertigo
13 I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
14 Sunday Bloody Sunday/Oliver's Army (Elvis Costello snippet)
15 Pride (In The Name Of Love)
16 MLK
17 Walk On/You'll Never Walk Alone (snippet)
18 Where The Streets Have No Name
Encore
19 One
20 Bad/40 (snippet)
Second encore
21 Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
22 With Or Without You
23 Moment of Surrender
U2 has been a band that I've always enjoyed but fell in love with during the Joshua Tree era, and this love was reignited for Achtung Baby (still my favorite U2 album). It took me awhile to get into Zooropa & Pop and so didn't end up seeing them when they played Winnipeg (a huge regret) but I actually really enjoy both of those albums now. I enjoyed All That You Can't Leave Behind & Vertigo but I really like where they are exploring musically now and I'm hoping their next album will continue to push the envelope.
1 Breathe
2 No Line on the Horizon
3 Get On Your Boots
4 Magnificent
5 Beautiful Day/Blackbird (Beatles snippet)
6 Elevation
7 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For/Stand By Me (Ben E. King snippet)
8 Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of
9 Unknown Caller
10 The Unforgettable Fire
11 City Of Blinding Lights
12 Vertigo
13 I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
14 Sunday Bloody Sunday/Oliver's Army (Elvis Costello snippet)
15 Pride (In The Name Of Love)
16 MLK
17 Walk On/You'll Never Walk Alone (snippet)
18 Where The Streets Have No Name
Encore
19 One
20 Bad/40 (snippet)
Second encore
21 Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
22 With Or Without You
23 Moment of Surrender
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)