Oh The Ruddiness of Xavier

Yet another busy weekend in May. Between Mother's Day, our anniversary, Clairview' family camp, and the Xavier Rudd concert last night I'm really looking forward to next weekend "off". Don't get me wrong. All those things were great, but I could use some down time.

The family camp this past weekend was fantastic. More physical activity than I've seen in months, combined with late nights of poker and stock ticker, and sleep on a dorm mattress. Oh, the weariness. They say neccessity is the mother of invention, well in this case it led to a new sport called hit Kenny with a ball as hard as you can. The neccessity? 3 guys, 3 hockey sticks, 3 balls. Enough said.

Erika and I led worship at the camp, which was great aside from the first night when we arrived at 8:00 to lead at 8:00 - no practice, no overhead machine, no problem! Dave joined us on Saturday and we had tons of fun working on some oldies like the disco version of Lord I Lift Your Name on High and King of Kings, complete with blistering guitar and drum work and a call and response section with the group.

After camp it was home for a much needed nap and then off to the Xavier Rudd concert, which was amazing! Such a great one-man show. It was really amazing to see what kind of guy he is. A little into the new age/hippy thing, but hey, so am I (minus most of the new age stuff). But it did get me thinking about a lot of the new age and even native religious beliefs. While I don't lean as far towards the spirit force being present in all things equally I do think that there is more to our connection with nature than we might presently believe in our culture. The fact is that the same Creator who crafted us also made the rest of creation. We are the jewel in the crown of creation, charged with ruling over it. I'm sure as soon as you read the word "rule" there was an objection raised because it conjures up ideas of dominance and the raping and pillaging of earth's resources that is so commonplace and even condoned in our societies (whether by outright acceptance of such practices or by abject apathy towards it we condone these actions...tangent complete). But our roles as rulers of creation is supposed to be one of care, nurishment, sustainability. We're supposed to tend and foster growth becuase the same designer who made us made creation for us to live in. Also, by caring for creation we have the distinct priviledge of taking part in God's creative aspects, which are inherent in us as made in His image.

So, while I may not completely resonate with Xavier sentiments of "being stroked by the trees of Edmonton," I am beginning to understand more and more my connection with my fellow created.

Gregorius The Annoying Little...

Don't you just love it when small problems become more trouble than they're worth?


Seemingly Incompetent Boob #1: "Hey, the taillight on this motorcycle doesn't seem to be working."

Seemingly Incompetent Boob #2: "Hmm, did you try blowing on it?"

Seemingly Incompetent Boob #1: "No, but I did tap it."

Seemingly Incompetent Boob #2: "Yeah, that should have worked."


...meanwhile, back at the ranch (aka 1 hour later)...


Most Likely Incompetent Boob #2: "Wait, did you try tapping it yet?"

Most Likely Incompetent Boob #1: "Yeah, but I didn't blow on it."

Most Likely Incompetent Boob #2: "Hmm..."


...2 hours...


Definitely Incompetent Boob #1: "You know what? If we tapped and blew at the same time that might just work!"

Definitely Incompetent Boob #2: "Or we could use my handy volt-meter to test the connections, only to find out that the brown wire, which is responsible for powering the taillight, changes color/disappears somewhere between the back and front of the bike, forcing us to disassemble most of the front end because (of course) the wiring diagram doesn't match up with real life due to alterations/diabolical suzukian engineers. Then we could search in vain for a disconnect between the front and back, finding instead that poor wiring has blown a fuse, at which point we will think that all is fixed, soon realizing that the fuse box seems to be malfunctioning, leading to much tinkering and wiggling, which in turn dispels a small black gremlin, who runs off giggling and leaving the bike in unexplainably working order.”

Definitely Incompetent Boob #1: “That does sound reasonable, but shouldn’t we try tapping it or something first?”

Art And Spandex

5 years. Doesn't seem that long...I guess that's a good thing. Erika and I took off to Canmore for our 5th anniversary. Nothing too exciting, we just needed to get away from Edmonton, back to nature. Other than a short hike up to Bow Falls (pictures to follow) we spent most of the time bumming around Banff and Canmore. It was surprisingly not that busy considering it was the long weekend, the unofficial start of the summer outdoor season. The hike was great, perfect weather including a sprinkle of rain. Bow lake was still frozen, but the falls were starting to...fall and the scenery makes me want to go back later in the summer.

Whenever I get out into nature it reminds me how much better God's art is than ours. Don't get me wrong, I love some of things people can do when they use their potential, but if I'm getting all my inspiration from non-perfect sources it bogs me down after awhile. God's designs are always so perfect, working together in harmony.

Realizing these things I need to get out way more this summer than I have in the past. Luckily, MacKenzie and I have found a new prophet in the world of backpacking and outdoor pursuits...Jardine...Ray Jardine. His book Beyond Backpacking is the new gospel on ultralight backpacking and we are slowly working at adopting his tenets for reducing weight and changing the way we think about the outdoors. Plus, there's a nifty chapter on head-shaving and really great recipes for Jello consumption. Soon we will be calculating the number of journal pages we need down to the line and discovering for ourselves how many bristles are absolutely necessary to leave on a toothbrush all with the goal of doing the West Coast Trail at the end of the summer with packs weighing 20 lbs at the most...and don't forget the Spandex shorts.

Gregorius The Conqueror

So much for the scooter. Welcome the new member of the Elves clan. This is Gregorius...actually this is his cousin, but he looks the same.

Blog's Dogs

What a great day to be outside (not right now as I am working at Dabar, but earlier and later, hopefully).

A...friend of Jeremy's dropped of a small bundle of fur known as a poodle. Unfortunately, (more for the dog's sake than anything else) his name is splash. Even worse is the fact that his first name is "Makes A". Yeah. Nonetheless he and Murphy had great fun getting to know each other (read: bum-sniffing and Murphy hip-checking Splash into the fridge. Then Jeremy and I took them outside where much running and chasing was to be had by all. Even though Splash can run faster than the average human he was still no match for the Murphinator, who ran circles around Splash and Jeremy and me, effectively running 20km for Splash's 1km. We then walked through the ravine, returning home to much water and removal of forest from paws. Amazingly enough, the entire experience was almost enough to make Murphy tired (for any of you who know my dog, you know he is never tired). He even tried lying down a couple of times, but that was short-lived as he tried to convince Splash that it was time to play again. Meanwhile, Splash collapsed, moving only when Jeremy and I left the room. All in all it was great to get outside and have a friend for Murphy to play with...maybe we should get another dog...right!

And tonight much garden will be planted!

Sweet, Glorious, Refreshing...Paul

Let's just say that things have been a touch difficult lately. After all these months of feeling awash in the struggles of others I might finally be feeling some of my own.

In such times as these I often forget what I have learned from previous experiences (silly humanses). One such nugget of Chuckisdom is that only I can prevent forest fires...no...well, maybe. I have found that when I am pressed from all sides I look to God for help. "What a good idea!" you say, "Of course it's a good idea!" But I find that I am waiting for God to swoop in and rescue me or fix things, blow mine enemies to tiny bits in His mercy and all that. But I forget that I have a role to play in my deliverance. It is mine to ask, to knock, and to seek. It is mine to ask forgiveness and to accept grace. This is not a works-oriented mindset where I have to earn my way back to God. The fact is that when I feel far from God, it is I who have moved and it is then mine to move back, to search again, to seek the presence.

Luckily over the past couple of days God has been especially gracious to me and provided numerous glimpses, which I have not been able to ignore. Even a few minutes ago the brother of a friend came to the cafe and encouraged me to persevere. And last night Paul came over and somehow the mood of The House changed. If I were more new age in thought I would say Paul has the most incredible aura of anyone I know. Everything seems more profound and heavy when he's around and yet easy-going and light at the same time. It really blessed my soul to spend even an hour with him.

In an even more direct way God allowed my soul to be refreshed and all I had to do was be. Saturday night, after the hooliganism of Poker night had subsided, I went outside to cool off and to think. I was met by the most refreshing, most perfect rain. Standing there, sprikled with literal blessings from above I felt utterly refreshed. And then today I took Murphy for a walk through the ravine by The House and, though it was a small retreat, I felt the weight of the city (along with other things) lift for a small moment.

And so I continue to seek, knock, and ask.