Saturday...no snow

I was woken up by the phone. Peggy and Aimee are in Red Deer for the weekend selling Cranberry Christmas Puddings. If you want to know more about that go to http://www.cranberrycreek.com/ and check it out. We have been working with this company for about four years. It is fun! They sell at those Christmas Craft shows...that are um...a socialogical phenomenon. By the way guys...if you want to score huge points with your wife...take her to the one at the Butter Dome. Girls like it when guys are interested in crafts... Just remind yourself and your sweetie that everything at the show is a non-essential. An auditorium filled with things you don't need. I am sure there is a lesson there...

Lealand and I went to Value Village (actually two of them) to purchase his haloween costume. I am sure this is the last legitimate year for that. We have done this for a few years. I know, I know, Haloween is kinda creepy...but we have always participated in a limited fashion. See, the thing is I really like to carve pumpkins...and the way I see it...there is really only one time a year to do that. Get it. We did our shopping, and went to White Avenue for coffee and Jones soda. It was fun to be out in the sun without snow.

Maybe you are beginning to see that winter is my least favorite season...so I am glad the fall is lingering into November...it will linger right?

No surprise so far...

Three days...

For the last three days I have been in Salesman School. Some of it (ok a lot of it) was mind numbingly boring. However I did learn a lot! Beyond the nuts and bolts it was interesting to be with other people that do similar things to me. I realised I have it a lot better than many of them. In short I am grateful for my job.

It is funny. All my life I have had an interest in what people do for a living. I suppose there was some sort of "work ethic" thing implanted in me when I was a kid. My mom and dad had jobs that were demanding, interesting and as far as I could tell satisfying. Maybe that is why I have "collected" jobs for a while. Trying this and trying that. However I am very aware of the fact that God has given me this job for a purpose. This was not just blundered into. Hmmm....just any time now God might actually show me that purpose. I have hints and glimpses...but not the full on vision.

Tage turns 18 tomorrow! The last of the fall birthdays...and for another few months I can put the march of time on hold. My birthday is in May...so that can wait! Tage got a card from our Pastor...with some encouraging words! I am grateful for our Pastors...they play a key role in our lives. Tage is a steady. Faithful and obedient. Helpful and funny. He keeps us laughing with his sharp wit and appreciation for irony. He's a good cook too! His life plan is unfolding slowly...a little slower than I think it should...but still it is unfolding. "Teach me your ways Oh Lord, show me your paths!" I wonder what Tage's prayers sound like?

Get with the Program...

I have entered the third level of my "couch potatoe to 5K" program. Run 90 seconds, Walk 90 seconds, Run 3 minutes, Walk 3 minutes up to and including 25 minutes...incredibly I have done it. It helps that we are having a stellar October, warm dry days. About 10 years ago I did a similar training...in the fall and ran all winter...up to and including being able to run 10k. It wasn't running in the snow that killed my enthusiasm. It was running in rain when we moved to Vancouver. I couldn't hack it. So I am back on a plan. It feels good to accomplish it. My "couch potatoe" status should fade away.

It has me thinking on a much deeper level. In order to get running again I have had to use a plan. I can track my progress and see the difference it makes. Spiritually it is also beneficial to have a plan and get working with it. These days of experimenting have me thinking and practicing daily the discipline of prayer and what the mystics call "examen". Classically it was a way of observing daily moral behavior. I have included an excerpt of an article and the site for the entire article follows.

"In the presence of God, I should reflect on what blessings the Lord has given me during the past day for which I gratefully thank Him. These blessings may not all have been pleasant. As a matter of fact some may have been painful. No matter. God manifests His will to us, urging us to do what we enjoy. Those we may call pleasant graces....

Next, again in God's presence, I should ask myself where I have failed to cooperate with the grace that God has given me during the day. Most of us have a pattern in our moral behavior. I may have failed in the practice of humility, or prudence, or charity, or patience, and so on down the list of our human weaknesses. Simply assume that you had failed in some way or another in responding to the will of God in your life. Be concrete and specific....

Briefly recall the circumstances which occasioned your moral failure. And then do the obvious thing of asking our Lord to forgive you and give you the strength not only to avoid this sin in the future but enable you to be more generous in His service as an expiation for your past failure.
Finally, plan for the future. Sacred Scripture could not be plainer. The just man anticipates what he will do and is not caught unaware of what God expects of him. This part of the general examen is indispensable in the spiritual life....
It means that I look forward to what I am to do, and avoid doing, in the next day. It further means that I ask myself, in God's presence, how I should do what my conscience tells me is God's will. It even means that I anticipate how much time I will spend, say in conversation with someone, or on a particular task that lies ahead of me. Clearly this calls for both prudence and prayer."

If you want to know more about it...and just how cool it is you can check out this article (http://www.catholic.net/rcc/Periodicals/Faith/1112-96/spirit2.html). Currently "examen" is a daily part of my practice of looking for the evidence of God given surprises and reflecting on how they interact with my daily life. It has me thinking more and more about what it means to observe my life and see how it interacts with the world around me and the kingdom within me. I know, I know...too much. Through this process I see that God wants to do a deeper work in me than I had counted on. Perhaps this is the biggest surprise of all and it scares me a little.

Two weeks ago we had a guest speaker at church. He was someone who interviewed me for a job once long ago. Once I got past the fact that he didn't hire me, I actually listened to what he had to say. He was talking about the call of God and had some quadruple C formula to go with it. He talked about how God Calls, Man Complains, God Confirms, and man Complies. I thought it was funny...because he was talking about the call of God into ministry and I was thinking God used the same formula to call me out of ministry. He called, I complained, he confirmed and I am complying. Not that it is that crystal clear....but it is forming in my thinking and being evidenced in my life. I wonder where He is going with all this. I know it was His mercy to take me out of the pulpit, postion and power...there is a triple "p" formula...for me there was some significantly unhealthy aspects to those three "p's"

Enough navel gazing. Tomorrow I go to "salesman" school...yikes!

Pink and Bling

Just a recap for some of you who are reading this blog. I am a little past center of a 30 day experiment we are doing in our small group. Not everyone in our group is doing it...but enough of us are to make it an experiment in faith. Each day we pray, "Surprise Me God" and look for the results of that prayer. I haven't prayed much else beside that. Well I should say I still pray those "God get me a parking spot", "God smite that selfish driver", "God find me a kitchen designer with nothing to do at IKEA"...those kind of prayers.

So of course...Friday came and went and no tablet...God are you trying to say something... However the visiting cousins came. Once couple, three kids came for lunch and left again for the water park. After supper and the water park, one couple and three kids and another couple and four kids...it was a blast to see these guys. We all knew eachother when they were Double Income No Kid'S and we had three little kids..so once again the great circle of life has turned around. Now they have the kids and we make the space for them. At one time we all lived on the South Side of Edmonton and they were often there for our kids.

This morning I was buying laxitives and prune juice (I am sorry if this is too much information). Of course the cashier that was open at 8:30 am on a Saturday morning was a mom of one of Lealand's friends who loves to chat when ringing in our stuff. I thought of bolting...but persevered (Dr. Atterburns 10 choices that will change your life, choice number seven is...the choice to persevere). I hoped she would just be kinda blind to it all and asked God to place scales on her eyes which he could remove when I had returned to the safety of my car. I even thought of buying several other items to not make my purchase at 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday not so sad and desperate. So taking a deep breath I did the honest and transparent thing...walked up to the till and placed my burden directly in front of her.

"So what are you up to today?"...she sing-songed to me.

A thousand statements filled my mind. "I am hoping to..." " My plan is.." "My day will consist of..."

"Not too much...just a regular Saturday"... Did I say that?

Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and he will exhalt you in due time.

Had a call from an old friend (one of the best I have ever had!). A surprise! She and her husband have left there church and friends...and they are grieving and in pain. Memories! We talked and laughed and I told here she and her husband would be ok. I think she needed to hear that. Time flew by and I told here I'd see her soon. It seems to be where so many are at. Love God but dissapointment with church. I've been there it is a hard place to be.

Tonight is the Pink and Bling 20th birthday party. A friend of Aimee's who is a friend of ours as well...the pressure is on...pink and bling...hmmmm...we should end up there looking something like the cross between the Village People and a Brittany Spears garage sale. I 'll post a picture...

Saskatoon is a fine little town...

Two nights in Saskatoon...and I know that I have bagged on and on about my lost tablet (not part of the original 10 commandments...rather a sophistcated little laptop, integral to my occupation and prosperity) ...but yesterday I was driving from Moose Jaw to Saskatoon when I had a vision of sorts...ok let me go a little further back. When I left Devon on Monday I tried to check the messages on my 1-800 number and found that it was not working. To get your messages you have to dial 1-800-xxx-xxxx-##-2316-1563** which is a pretty good trick when you have to do that on your tiny cell phone key pad. Well it wasn't working. By the time I left Swift Current I was in a deep funk...depressed...no tablet, no voice mail...whaaaaah!

So after several days of it not working I was thinking dark thoughts and my mind drifted to my repaired but non-existant tablet. I had a vision of it sitting on the bottom of Lake Superior. Where else could it be? After all, our IT guy had sent it weeks ago...remember!

Then last night in the overheated, dry as dust, hotel room I had a dream. This time the tablet was nicely wrapped and not on the bottom of a Great Lake. I looked at the address and it was written wrong. At last...I found the problem! I emailed the IT guy first thing in the morning.

Finally today, I called the IT guy. I left a terse, sarcastic message. He called back. "Hi, all I got was the first part of your message, you said 'Hi this is Dave...' and the line went blank."

Thank God for small mercies. So I went of slightly, didn't snap, just went off...a bit and told him the voice mail wasn't working. I said, "I dial 1-800-#-xxx-xxxx-2316-1563 and it doesn't work!"

IT guy laughs, "You forgot to dial ##. You only dialed #"...

Crabby salesman "Zero", IT guy "One"!

"Ok...well what about the tablet?" I was gaining ground...was there a conspiracy, why all the delays, was someone playing with my tablet in TO?

"We had the wrong address on it...sorry!"

Crabby Salesman "Zero", IT Guy "Two", Surpirse Me God...you betcha!

I drove behind a hearse...for a long time between Saskatoon and Lloydminster. More dark thoughts.

I saw two whooping cranes...brighter thoughts

I got home by 4pm, the brightest and best. A long walk with Aimee and Daphne...and home for the weekend...

Did I tell you I should have my tablet by tomorrow morning...yah right....believe it when I see it.

One other thing that fits into life is stranger than fiction...My cell phone ring tone is a piece of music called the "Baby Elephant Walk" by Henri Mancini...not very common. The other night when I was in Medicine Hat I was listening to CBC and they had a request for "The Baby Elephant Dance" (CBC doesn't usually play requests at all) ...as soon as it came on, my phone rang...so it was playing in stereo of sorts...creepy huh?

I wasn't going to...

I wasn't going to buy anything. But of course I did.

I said to Peggy while we waited for the knife salesman, we will tell him "no". We will tell him "we need time to think". Of course we didn't. We bought the knives.

We went for lunch to this crazy buffet in Nisku and ran into a girl we hadn't seen in year. She is the sister of one of Peg's first cousins...is that too hard to follow? While she was talking with us she blurted out, "I haven't gone to church in 6 years." I was not surprised. Peggy wasn't either, but she looked at us hard to see if we would flinch. Funny world we live in...we know tons of people who don't go to church. She wasn't saying that she doesn't believe in God. She was saying that she doesn't go to church. Well the discussion covered her Mom and Dad's divorce, the tension in the family and her need for medication to function. Nothing surprising, all of it sad. She was glad to see us and we were glad to see her too. She mentioned Peg's cousin was coming to town. And when we go home, we had a call waiting. They are coming on Friday and I am sure we will have a lot to talk about. The odds of seeing our old friend in the Nisku Inn would be something like 500000 to 1. God, are you up to something?

18 days...

Wow...we passed half way and I barely noticed. I am surprised and delighted that some old friends are reading this blog...it is cool to connect. Speaking of which...if you guys are just spying on me and not commenting...you are pretty sick people. Just kidding...but it would be nice to know who is reading this, and you should book some time with your psychologist. Just kidding again!

That means we have 12 days left...If I were God I would be feeling some serious pressure to come through for me. Up until now...there have been a dozen or so appetizers...I am waiting for the big one, the lolapalooza, the "Boy am I surprised". I am sure that God is not feeling any pressure. But if I were...oh, I already said that!


We talked a lot with our small group about the state of the experiment. Most seem to feel that we are made more aware of things that happen normally. That somehow was not what I had in mind...don't get me wrong...I wasn't looking for a new car in the driveway (believe me we have the standard Alberta quota...4 cars on our lot...a fact that makes even me, uncomfortable). However I was waiting to see bigger things and maybe the wait isn't over yet.

I was wondering if this whole experiment was in some way putting God to the test. As we have all been "admonished" (our small group loves that word) we ought not to do that. Well I thought about it and in a simple word the answer is "no". No we are not putting God to the test. We are simply exercising our God given right (and there are only a few) to be called children of God. What kid doesn't love a good surprise, even one they have asked for! The test of God, is one of unbelief, trying to prove he doesn't exist by his failure to come through for us. That would be wrong. But faith in practice invites God to intervene in our natural circumstances, and open our hearts to His unending delight in sharing all that is His with us. I believe, therefore I ask.

Well it is time to write our budget...again. Yikes. Budget writing is right up there with eye exams and teeth cleaning...necessary but oh man oh man there must be something more fun to do...instead!

I might as well still be on strike...

Got a note from the IT guy...

"Found it. Bit of an error in shipping. This has been rectified and redirected to you.Your fax is another issue. Still waiting to hear about it.Appropriate parties have been flogged.D."

That was two days ago...still nothing. I like his sense of humor.

Speaking of a sense of humor....I went to the eye doctor last night. He was um...professional. He said to me, after listening to a littany of complaints, that I was normal for "post 40". "Let me put it like this," he said, "You can't run like when you were 20, right?".

"Um, yeah" I said

"Well you can't see like you were 20 either".

Funny guy. Anyway they told me my lenses would be a minimum of $400 and my frames would be around $200. The good news was that if I bought my contact lenses from them as well, I would get a 10% discount.

So early this morning I was praying my usual prayer. And thought about the whole glasses, crazy, huge, big price tag.

Peg and I went to our old haunts in Stony Plain this morning and then over to a "Glasses Store" to do some comparison shopping. I asked the lady how much my lenses would be and she said, "$180, including your coatings".

I said, "Each lens?"

"No, both" she said.

I could have kissed her...but refrained. So my glasses would be less than $400. That was a surprise.

After that, I was in Safeway and went to line up in a line where the cashier had just shut off her light. Being accustomed to some attitude attached to "unlit" cashiers, I veered off that course and lined up behind one of the...multi item lines.

"Excuse me sir, I will help you here", the unlit cashier said. Was I Surprised...you betcha. I am not sure the God temporarily put saving the world on hold to rearrange the cashiers at Spruce Grove Safeway, but it was highly unusual.

Did I mention I made my sales goal for last month! Double Surprise! Ask me for the details.

Just took a look at the blog of a friend. He's part of the Wild at Heart Group at our church. It was fig leaf night last night (I'll never tell!!). His insight is great, and I think that there is likely a lot to learn there. I was saying to some of our small group members last night, that another surprise of this experiment is how many of our group have gone to be a part of the Wild at Heart group. Despite their aprehensions they are "bravely going where" few "men have gone before". I wanted to talk about all this mostly so I could put this picture in...not!

I was thinking, considering the picture, that fig leaves hide very little. We cover much more than we expose in our society. There is something almost naieve about Adams attempt to cover himself. Today we don't just hide, we layer! One thing we tend to overlook in self awareness type activities is that we are all on a different time line when it comes to shedding our layers. And while groups and studies may help us become aware of layers it is more likely we will shed them in the safety of our closest friendships and within our marriages as they grow in strenght. There is no agenda set by God for us to be completely exposed by our 50th Birthday. I had it explained to me another way. I was told our growth and self awareness is like the farmers field that is plowed every spring. And each spring the farmer has to remove the rocks that surface. There are some years that there are hardly any rocks turned up, other years have tons. One thing is for sure, there will always be some. And the Farmer accepts that. And the Farmer carefully removes them. I like that metaphor. "The kingdom of God is like..."

Thanksgiving Monday...

Sunday morning we headed out early to Jasper. 5 of us in the car, tons of food and luggage, like we were going away for a week. The day was brilliant and the drive seemed to fly by despite a stop for breakfast.

You see, there is a restaurant. I think it is called Ed and Carols, in Evansburg. It has become a kind of tradition ever since on a rainsoaked camping trip to the Pembina, sent us, along with our friends into the relative warmth and safety of a Chinese/Western restaurant decorated in Italian/chinese ambiance. Well you have probably seen restaurants like it. On one wall are kind of crafty, country things, on another those elaborately carved and framed chinese pictures and on another a taxidermied trout on a highly polished slice of log (the two seem mutually exclusive) in fact all of it seems exclusive to everything else, right down to the Mr. Mikes tables and the real (yes real) flowers.

We got there early. Really early. The sign said closed...and visons of pancakes and sunny side up were dashed. I went out to try the door and found it open. Deep in the kitchen were a couple. Just getting themselves organised for a busy day.

"Are you open"...I asked.

"Yes, you come" the kindly gentleman offered.

"Well if you aren't open"... It appeared that his wife was not as excited as he was by our patronage.

"You come, you come, we make you breakfast" he offered in broken english, with a huge smile.

He came to the table and it was as if we were having breakfast with him. He sat down to write our order and did his best to get coffee (barely) in our cups. The food came fast and we were on our way. You know the trip to Jasper doesn't seem so long when you stop in Evansburg, Edson and Hinton (Walmart...for everything you forgot to pack!).

Our Cabin wasn't ready when we arrived....so we headed up to Miette hotsprings. I have to say, I was surprised and delighted to spend the day with the kids and Peg in the sun...late in October. The Day was brilliant, beautiful and the setting made it all quite incredible. We stayed for as long as we could stand it and then headed down the hill to our waiting cabin.

Tage and Aimee and I went on a hike back up the same mountain and took pictures and laughed our way around 5 km's. The cabin was less than spectacular, the setting and the company of family made it more than I could have wished for. The day was an affirmation of what we value. Time together, rest and recreation...jokes and food!

Monday was all day in Jasper...and the long drive home. It was good to be home. Surprises seem to be the subtle type.

Eating...

I was looking forward to this day for a while. We started by sleeping in. For us that meant...we were still in bed at 8:00am. We were woken up at 12:30 last night by a mom of one of Lea's freinds...She didn't know where her son was. Scary.

We went and had coffee with some good friends. The have kids about the same age as our kids. We have worked together in a lot of different ways, that time and space could not contain. We met at Starbucks and talked for two hours straight. They make me want to be a better a Christian. They are the kind of Christian's I want to be...in so many ways. It is so good to hear their lives and be a witness of what God has done for them and through them. They live such full lives, I almost feel guilty for the, "nothing ever happens in Devon" approach of my life. Time flew by and we were still chatting in the parking lot.

Then off to meet up with Aimee and Lealand at another friends place for Thanksgiving lunch. Turkey, not ham. It was fun, to eat, play games and spend time with people who are excited by the books they read. They are all thinkers and love to talk and discuss things that matter.

I think today I kind of took a break from the Surprise Me vigilance. But not tomorrow...we head to Jasper on a Surprise Me God adventure.

She's 20...

Nothing on the Surprise front to report...not at least the big, brassy, in yo' face type.

Friday...October 7, and our little girl...is 20. She was born in Whitehorse, a fact not too many people know. She was born on a crisp, sunny fall day. In the Yukon, the snow can fly in October, but that day it was clear.

My mom was there, I was there and Peggy was there (big surprise). It was a difficult labor, the kind of story that women love to hear at ladies retreats. But when the moment came, Aimee opened up like a flower right before my eyes. Babies come out somewhat compacted...in case you haven't seen it for yourself. But when she entered the world...she bloomed, bright and beautiful. She is still, to this day, all that! We called her Aimee. Her name means "beloved", the same as mine. Yes, strange as it may sound, David and Aimee mean the same thing in different languages. And not a day has gone by since she came into this world that she has not been considered beloved by her parents, and we know by her God.

Aimee has the energy of a crisp fall day. She moves slowly in the morning...(like me...don't even try to talk to me til about 10). Although lately we have seen her move fast, to get her lunch made ("Dad, at 20 I should be able to take responsibility to make my own lunch!") and out the door to University. I beleive she burns brightest and most energetically during the day light hours. In the brightness and crispness of fall, she radiates color and beauty that makes the trees drop their orange and golden leaves as a carpet for her progress. She knows everyone, and her light grows brightest in her movement toward people, she is present and they are caught up in her cool breezes and warm open spaces. As her day dims into evening, she is still likely to be close to home, asking what is for supper (when there is supper!). The air cools, the stars come out and the clear sky holds no warmth for tomorrow. Each day calls for its own sun, its own energy, its own light. She may go out or stay in. (Is the O.C. on?) She is daylight and evening, summers end and harvest.

"Has anyone got a tissue"...I am getting misty.

ON STRIKE...Day 2

I am just kidding about being on strike...there is still plenty to do, despite the fact that the computer is in a warehouse somewhere with a lable on it that has a number, that number links it to me, but somehow the package is stuck...in a dark corner somewhere...near Lake Superior.

Last night, with a diminished crowd we had our small group. It was great to hear how the experiment was going for everyone else. Some are blogging, some are journaling, some are keeping track of things in their heads. It is all good. the conversation about worship was great and there is such a willingness to speak, listen and consider others with this group that it is always exciting to grapple with deeper issues around the table. You can tell we have been together for a year, there is a healthy respect and deep enjoyment of the individuals in the group. In short...they are steeped!

Lately I have been wondering if there is a residual effect to this prayer. I wonder if everytime this prayer is prayed, the suprise bank fills and some day down the road, wham...a huge surprise. That would make up for the not-so-surprising days.

I am looking forward to the weekend. We are having our Thanksgiving on Saturday (Ham, not Turkey)...and heading up to Jasper Sunday and Monday...if it all works our we will all be together..for the first time in a long time. Miette Hotsprings are calling my name...

Originally, this summer, Peggy and I planned this as a surprise get away for the kids. We have always wanted to check out Pocahontas Cabins...and when we saw what was going on there, we thought it would be fun to kidnap the kids...and Surprise...take them up there. We are both not very good at keeping secrets...and I think by now everyone know where we are going...I am starting to think that God is much better at saving his surprises and letting us have them when they will have the greatest impact. An ordinary day turns into an unexpected dinner with good friends, a new job turns into a small miracle. That kind of thing.

Today will be a day at home...hmmm...can God surprise you with a day at home, with your home, in your home. Hmmmm...we'll see. Come on God, go for it! I am listening...watching, thinking...

Where the Wild (at heart) Things Are...

Spent the morning trying to figure out where my computer is...or isn't as the case may be. I am not going to work until I get it back...I am on strike. (Don't tell my boss this!) Today our small group will pull apart for a while, some of our guys are taking Wild at Heart...they will need those kleenex's from last Sunday... I am glad they are doing it, we will miss them but the book is worth getting acquainted with, and the themes of the book run deep. So it will be a good thing.

I have really enjoyed reading the blogs of other participants. They are all such good writers, and really have something to say. Blogs can be dry and uninteresting...these ones are not. Peggy was at pre-school this morning...she loves her job. By 9:00 am the house is empty. All except for the dog and me. The dog, was resting from a night of resting so we were not engaged either. Just me.

Tonight we will look at some aspects of worship, what it is, and how we know we are doing it. As usual the discussion should be really interesting. Can't wait to hear what people think. Peg and I were talking about "thinking" and "asking questions" yesterday on our way home from Sherwood Park...seems that some people think Christians should not question or think too much. Seems some people must be wrong. Because as I have prepared for the study this week, I have seen how in the early days people really had to think and know what they beleived because there was so much persecution from the outside and deception on the inside.

I am waiting for a surprise. Waiting, waiting, waiting...

What happened at breakfast...

Twice a year we I go to Red Deer for the Pastors breakfast. Scotts Parable Store hosts about 40 Pastors, and the books sales reps make a pitch of new product. It is a funny thing being there...I used to go to breakfasts like that...but then again...it's all good.

I did my pitch...I told them how we have new books on the coffee table when our small group comes over...I talked about the experiment...and told them about my breakfast encounter with the gas guzzling vehicle owner. The crowd was fairly grey...except for a few young faces. After my pitch we gave away some books. One of the grey guys, got a "cool" Donald Miller book, and one of the not grey guys, got a Max Lucado book. There was some sort of generational war in the heavenlies...and I knew exactly what I had to do. I went to the not grey guy, and said, "You would probably rather have the Donald Miller book. Let's see if we can make a trade." The young guy, whose last name was Abma...(first name eludes me) was shocked.

"Hey how did you know. I didn't say anything about it, but was just thinking how much I would rather have the Donald Miller book."

We made it happen...

Later he came and found me. Thanked me again. Shook my hand and stood there. Er...uh...er.

Here is his story. He and his wife and kids had just moved from Whiterock, BC, near where we used to live. Today was his first day at work in Red Deer. He was disoriented. He was among strangers. (He was not George from Coppermine) He was in shock. He wasn't sure he had made the right move. Alberta felt foreign and strange. His wife and kids felt strange...He was the only guy from his pastoral team there. The rest were at a conference. Winning the book and getting to exchange it, was somehow a confirmation that things would be ok.

We talked a little more. I guess I passed my "Surprise" on to him. I guess he needed it more than me.

Red Deer, to Devon, Devon to Sherwood Park (with Peggy!...I love part time jobs!). Sherwood Park to Devon, our house to Extra Foods...Extra Foods, to home...that was the 6th day...and it was good.

It's cold outside...

Peggy started pre-school today. Her new job involves taking a little guy to pre-school. It is the perfect job, for her and for us. And I am sure she will do well in pre-school (just kidding Peg!). I was in Red Deer in the evening...and we talked on the phone about how different our lives are this year. Last year Peggy had to drive to work early (did I say early!!!!) in the morning and we all had a lot of driving to do. We seem to circle closer to home. That is, except for me!

I was presenting books at a Pastors Breakfast (Tuesday morning) and woke up around 5:30. Too early to get up, so I sleep/prayed my way into the day. Hotel rooms make a surreal chapel, and as I listened to showers start, doors close, trucks warm up...I asked God for a little more of a surprise today...something a little more obvious.

I went down to breakfast at 6:30 and the room was abandoned, except for the lady setting out the "continental" breakfast. "Continental" must mean, made to all taste the same, and fill you with sugar and caffine to fortify your day and rocket launch your glycemic index. It was so quiet in the room that when I stepped onto the floor and my miraculous shoes (another story), hit the hardwood...the lady at the "breakfast bar" (bar to good nutrition), jumped as if I were an ax murderer. She immediately left me in the room, alone with my clattering shoes and styrofoam everything. I sat down and began to read a newspaper, when another man, a man like me, a salesman, (who else is up at 6:30 am wearing shirt and tie and eating styrofoam, er, I mean eating on styrofoam) came in and sat at the table next to me. We were like the writer says, "two solitudes" in the same room. He picked up his paper and I saw him look at the headline, which said something about "SUV sales plummet, Small car sales rise"...and he sighed. Sighing is significant...what makes you sigh? It was so loud, and the room so silent (plastic forks make no noise on styrofoam plates), that I looked up and saw he had his eyes closed, not so much like a prayer "closed eyes" as the "end of a big sigh" closed eyes. We were like mirror images...with the exception of his eyes closed and mine wide open (afterall I had prayed for a surprise). He set his paper down and said across his table, his words spilling onto my table, "It's like the end of the friggin' world."

I thought a few things.

He must have a big truck and can't afford the gas...
He must have read a different headline than me...maybe something about a hurricane
He wasn't saying that to himself...he was talking to me.

Gulp...er ok...surprise was knocking on my styrofoam plate...but nothing was popping into my head. "Yah" I said. Not sure what I was saying 'Yah" to.

"I can't afford to stay on the road, gas is killing me." I took that to mean the price of gas, not some other gas issue.

"I am in the same boat" I said, happy to find some common ground.

"Well you probably don't drive what I drive" he sighed again.

His words couldn't be truer, I am the only person in Alberta who doesn't drive a truck...or so it would seem amongst the road warrior, bag carrying class of salespeople who get up at 6:30 for breakfast. I talked about what I do, who I sell to. He talked about how hard he works and how little he has to show for it. I said, I had a best seller always for sale, the Bible. He laughed, and said it was good that it was still selling. I agreed.

He outlined all of his woes, price of gas, big something or other truck, diminishing sales, demanding sales manager. I listened, sighed with him, and mentioned that I thought his prediction of the end of the world was a little premature.

As he stood to leave he said, "Yah, I suppose the end of the world will not be written up in the Globe and Mail."

The Bible salesman agreed whole heartedly. "Your right about that, have a great day."

Out the door, and off to the Pastor's breakfast...what happened then...check my next entry.

Sunday...cool enough!

After all that partying (I forgot to mention the Amazing Race on Friday...it was...um...amazing!) of the past few days...it was hard to get out of bed. I love the early service but 9:00am...is early for the most virtuous early service attenders. We made it, on time...even early. As is often the case Peg and I came alone...gone are the days of 5 in the car. It may be time for a sportier, swifter, smoother, sleeker, shinier silver sports car. (Go ahead, Surprise me God!)

It was good to worship together...our worship teams have my admiration and support...they work hard to help us move toward the God we call upon. I am not sure how I felt about waving a kleen-ex in the air. I must have felt something or I wouldn't mention it. I did it. Followed along! Waved til my arms got tired, put them down, felt strange for putting them down, switched hands, waved, peeked to make sure I wasn't the only one waving, waved a little longer...and finally, finally the song ended. I know where the idea comes from. And I think at times (as a co worker once pointed out)...I think too much. And so at times...I just go along with it..who knows I might even be surprised. I am often torn between the biblical expectation that followers of Jesus, should follow other leaders just as well. But sometimes...I struggle with the follow the leader mentality. Ok...ok I am going on and on.

Despite myself and the kleenex, we shared communion together...some of the same amazing race people I had competed fiercly with on Friday night, broke bread with me on Sunday. We connected ourselves for a few moments...to the broken bread and shared cup that millions of other believers have, and do, join together to share every Sunday. And can I say something else...the little movie we watched, of the abstract artist painting a portrait of Christ...surprised me...it was good to see the raw creative process, be reminded of it...and see it tied into the "remembering" that happens at the table. I am glad to be a part of a church that gives more than a nod to the artist, the artistic and the joy of expressions in worship. That being the case...and some of you have already beat me to this conclusion...I am ok with the kleenex too!

I am laughing and imagining some of the people who read this blog...looking at their computer screens and saying..."Dave...what a goof!"

Saturday...Where are all the Surprises?

I am taking my own advice...It's been a few days...and I am startng where I left off. Let's see. Friday I was not surprised to hear from my I.T. Guys in Toronto that my computer was still not ready. The good news from them was that it would be here Monday, er ah..., maybe Tuesday. I have heard it all before.

The surprise for Friday was waking up in the morning and realizing, it was Lealand's thirteenth birthday. He is our baby, the one we welcomed into our home along with a 7 and a 5 year old. Thirteen years ago we lived in Millwoods, worked in a church and feared "the world". In some ways life was less complicated then. And, while I do not enjoy complexity, I am glad that my life, and our lives together have taken us a little deeper into "the world". But enough of that. Our baby turned thirteen, and he continues to astound us with his love for music, vast group of friends, and his ongoing enthusiasm for life. His sister gave him a studded belt (like something a rock star would wear) and I guess by how much it is being worn that it was the best gift ever!

Friday had another surprise...I had to get some copies made for a customer...could not find a copy place anywhere...I turned a corner and in an abandoned strip mall I see a "Copies Made" shop. I ran in and ran up a total of 42 cents...when I pulled out my card...she told me...forget it...it will cost me more to open this till, and run that through the machine...it was the nicest thing that has ever happend to me in a Copy shop!

Saturday took us on another adventure. Tage's Convocation...(we called it everything from "confirmation, to conflagration, to combination, to concoction)...We thought at the end of last school year that Tage did not graduate. We took it in stride, and Tage enrolled for upgrading at John Maland. Peg and I were in Calgary when my cell phone rang a few weeks ago. It was Tage, and he was telling us, he had graduated. We saw the Convocation invitation (can that be rapped?) in the mail, but assumed it was a mistake. Boy were we wrong, (Parkland School Division make a mistake?). We were like the psalmist, Tage was like the psalmist, "We were like men who dreamed..." So yesterday we were at the Winspear Center to see Tage cross the stage with his 298 classmen/women. It was beautiful and I have to say, when he crossed the stage, I wanted to jump up and cheer, and throw confetti and slap him on the back. Well we did cheer... we celebrated his surprise graduation. Peggy got in the car after the day was over and commented on the two girls who made sure to hug Tage, "one of them hugged him hello and good-bye". I wasn't surprised...everyone likes Tage.

Saturday night was Lealand's 13th birthday party. He and 5 buddies, ate Taco Salad (only Peggy can make this multi ethnic collaboration...er or is that a convocation), wathced a movie about skate boarding and they were home before 10pm. Aimee and Tage stuck around, helped out, served food, got bowls and had fun. Peg and I sat upstairs, and read, drank tea. We needed to relax...because a little earlier...Aimee and I had a food fight...with some of the Birthday cake...and it was...shall we say somewhat complicated. Fun for the participants, insulting for the creator (convocator!) of the cake, bewildering to the boys at the birthday party...enough said.

Hey...here is what crossed my path as a surprise. When our kids were little I used to fear the day they would move into teenage life. I was a youth pastor...I knew how rough it could be for some kids and some parents. I looked forward to their maturity, but was paralyzed with fear that they would walk away from us, our faith, our God, our family. I am not some dreamy, unrealistic parent, I know that they are less than perfect...but as I drifted off to sleep...I thanked God for the simple truth, I knew where my three (3!) teenagers were. They were under my roof, they were safe, they were bright, beautiful people that their Mom and Dad simply can't get enough of...God, quite simply, thanks for being the reflection of all of that contentment. Through my kids I see how cherished I am by you.