She Did It!

It was a great weekend.  

My youngest daughter, Jasmine, got her certificate for completing the Police Foundations course at Cambrian College in Sudbury!

She says that there was one moment when it hit her that she wanted to get into policing.

It's funny how we have those "aha" times when our life direction seems to be so clear.

Jasmine will tell you, it was not always easy, but in the end it was so much fun.

It's just the first steps toward achieving her greater goals.

As a family, we are behind her 100%

I have to say that I am proud of all my kids!  They see life with such optimism and energy!

We hope that we have taught them good things and set a good example, but it is also cool to learn from watching them, 

Our prayers are for all of them to follow their dreams and know that we love them and God loves them!

Isaiah 54:13  All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.

Share The Air

My morning show co-host Tim has been away for a couple weeks.

Filling in last week was Maria Lopez from the LIFE 100.3 News Center.

This week it's my wife, Rose!

She has always been so very supportive of my radio life and now she is really stepping up!

It's just great to be able to spend time with her in the morning, and to share our conversations with LIFE listeners.

She makes me smile every day so I know that her cheer will spread to the other side of the radio.

...and she is prettier than, Tim!

LOL

Another Project

Ever since I was a kid I have loved to build models.  

I loved everything about them.  The box, the plastic parts, the instructions...all of it.

My next project.

Have I finished a lot of models?  The answer is that I am at about 50/50.

Some don't get finished for years and eventually I just get tired of looking at it and get a new one.

That's the other fun part though, is getting a NEW one!  Sometimes I score a find!

The one pictured above was purchased at the Antiques Mall in Innisfil.

It scares me!  It has fiber-optics.

I have never attempted this before, so I have researched some build notes from another person who has built the same kit.

He says...it's gonna be difficult!

Well, I am trying to prepare the best I can by reading all the instructions and knowing what's coming.

Confused yet?

These are the electronics for the sound and lights.

These are the ships.

I am in the painting stage of another model I have had siting in my closet, so I thought it would be a good time to dive into another.

My Enterprise-A with a coat of grey primer, waiting for finishing.

When you start a new project there is always a sense of excitement, followed by the realization that this is going to take commitment to finish.  

After that, your mind begins to look for ways to cut corners to get to the end quickly.  

You start to choose which level of quality you are willing to settle for!

This life lesson is important for any endeavor...it could be in your career, marriage, friendships, parenting...etc.

Knowing my skill level at this point, I have to make sure my goal for finishing is realistic.

I plan to follow the instructions the best I can, while taking the previous builders advice.

In the end I will have gained valuable experience in wiring, fiber-optics and painting.  The end result MAY reflect what I have learned...and it may not.

If my goal is to learn, then a certain level of "failure" will serve to show me what does not work.

Who knew building space ships could be so full of personal growth!

Sermon Slug

Comparing yourself to others...we all do it.

In church this Sunday, Pastor Shane talked about this and I want to share what hit me.

Comparing has it's good points.  Jesus said "Follow me".  So we can look to Him and compare ourselves to His life and what He said and did.

Jesus is perhaps not a great example of what I want to share from the impressions I got from the message.  Christians believe that He lived a perfect sinless life, so in essence to look to him as an example, we will always see room for improvement in our own lives.

But what about the people we see who are not doing as good as we are in some area?  When we make a comparison to them...in our minds we look pretty good!  Beware!  Here comes that old bully, PRIDE!

When we see ourselves doing well in contrast to someone else, we run the risk of stopping our progress, because we will only want to stay one step ahead of that person, to satisfy our ego!

What would happen if that person all of a sudden shot ahead of you?  You would be at a loss!  You would be left with feelings of failure and discouragement!  What do you do now?

Have a healthy outlook when it comes to comparison, and be grounded in the reality of your OWN journey and the progress you have made to get where you are!

Then plan your future and pick someone who has been where you want to be...and shoot for that!

You can do it!!

A Laughing Matter

I did it again!

I can't explain the feeling of doing stand-up comedy.

You're terrified, then you are overjoyed all in one night!  It's like riding a huge roller-coaster!

You can't wait to do it again!

Here is how it happened.

A few months ago, our youth leader mentioned during church announcements that he was trying to bring the cost of going to the Overflow Conference in May down so more kids could go.  I thought, hey, we could do a fundraising comedy night!  I had done one before in October and it was a success, and no one threw fruit at me, so this could work!

Everyone at church was on board with it so we set a date of April 11th.  LIFE 100.3 stepped up to help in a big way by supplying the tickets, posters, door prize and promotions!

I was one of the comedians along with Wil Twnstra, a veteran of the clean comedy scene.  We each did a set along with a musical number and we also did some improv games which were a ton of fun!

We had several door prizes...a book about wrestling, a roll-up-the-rim cup, an empty Toronto Maple Leafs Tim-Card, a bag of apple chocolate chips and our grand prize...two tickets to see Lecrae in Toronto!

Cynthia Rawding won the Lecrae tickets!

The night was a big success with $1675 raised!  More than what was expected!  About 100 people turned out and had a really good time!  

Wil and I make the draw for the door prizes.  We drew the names out of a monkey head!

Post show selfie!

Wil is a Dutchican.  Half Dutch half Mexican!

LIFE 100.3 provided some great promotion!

Why No Tie?

Church has changed and I am not sure how to handle it!

People used to dress up for church...

On Easter Sunday I debated on whether or not to wear a tie.  Nothing fancy, just a dress shirt and a blue tie.

I was to play drums, so I wanted to look good up on stage.  My wife helped me pick one out.

It's our first Easter at our new church and I was unsure of the "dress code", so to speak!

I went with the tie and wouldn't you know it...no one else on staff  had one on!

My pal Cory even said, his cross was the only thing he needed around his neck that morning!

I took off the tie and the service went on!  It was wonderful!

It's got me thinking...is it a good thing that we are not being super religious about how we go to church, or are we losing our reverence for God by not caring about formal attire?

Granted, even though there were no formal suits in the congregation, everyone looked good!

Do we need to bring back the suit and tie in church or just leave things as they are so new people don't feel the pressure to conform?

Revelations From The Gym - Part Three: Odd Activities

I have been going to the gym and I have been getting spiritual understanding from the physical activities there.

The last one I want to share is the fact that, at the gym, we do things that seem to make no sense, but there is a purpose behind it.

We pick things up...then put them back down in the exact same spot.  Repeatedly.

We pull wires that raise black disks off the ground, only to return them to their original position.

We run, walk and bike but never move from the spot we started in.

We say we are building muscle but we leave the building in much the same way we came in. 

This would seem almost insane to anyone who did not understand the long term purpose of exercise.

I wonder if people think the same thing about those of us who attend church, sing, clap, shout, read our bibles, pray and share our faith!

It must look ridiculous!

Why do we do it?

For much the same reason as physical exercise!  We are building long term spiritual strength and health.

The activities themselves only serve the greater purpose of growth and development, otherwise, why bother?

When I go to the gym, I have a clear purpose.  

It's NOT to look good, show off or meet people. (I often don't speak to anyone!)

I have a goal of physical development and health, building a strong heart and losing excess weight.

It's my hope that the people who are employed there and who have experience in physical health will share that wisdom with me when I ask, and encourage me to be better and excel!

I think if we understood the reasons why we do Christian activity it would go a long way towards putting more meaning and energy behind what we do, and in the end, the benefits will be evident, both to ourselves and those around us!