Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

Well it is no secret to anyone who has ever read this blog with any kind of regularity that Aliant often gets on my nerves. Goofy things have happened with my Internet, phone, and bills. I often find I wait on hold forever only to talk to someone who doesn't know anything or can't speak english. SO... when I called yesterday to switch my mobility plan I was mentally preparing myself to be angry but was plesently surprised. I didn't have to wait on hold at all! I got right through to some girl and she asked me my phone number, I get that from a lot of girls... no I don't. Hey here's a question, how come whenever you call these joints, you have to punch in your number before you can talk to anyone, and then as soon as you get someone the first thing they do is ask for your number? Weird. ANYWAYS, I went to switch my plan to something that would fit us a little better and cost us a little less and she switched it up no problem. She said I may notice my bill looking a little goofy the first time because half would be on my old plan and half would be on this new one. I replied, "It can't be any worse then our last bill." Because we went way over in our minutes due to not having a home phone. She asked what was wrong with it so I explained that it was just us, that we went over our minutes. SO she activated a plan for the last month that knocked almost 80 BUCKS off my last bill! I couldn't believe it! I was so impressed with their customer service. So way to go Aliant, I have to give credit where credit is due because you gave me credit when it was not.

80 bucks... sweet!

Moving along

Well it is now official, we are moved in. Everything is in the house and A LOT of it is in the basement. But that is ok. We are moved in, getting set up and that is a very good thing. Closets are getting organized, food is in the refrigerator, pictures are on the wall, and I once again have TV! The place is painted and the move is moving quickly. I cannot express how nice it is to have your own space that is yours to do as you please.
I also cannot express how great it has been to have so much help from my Inlaws. They have been so helpful with moving, packing, cleaning, painting and have made many trips back and forth to give us a hand. It has just been a blessing and it is really great to spend time with them too. So we are mving right along and things are going well.
Got TV yesterday, phone and internet on Friday. Woot!

News

Well as it turns out my whole bringing blogging back deal was put on hold for a while but I did have a good reason JOHN! And that reason is that my wife and I just bought a HOUSE! And that is one big hairy process that take a lot of your spare time and energy. So we are now homeowners and we have a mortgage... scary. We are now painting before we move in and I am now realizing my Toronto Maple Leaf Blue for the office is going to take many coats... ugg. I am also learning that I suck at painting so it's a good thing that my father in-law and his brother have been around lots. We have had lots of help from my wife's side of the family so that is great. I will put up some pics (maybe) of the finished product at some point in life but for now we'll just be painting, and moving lots of stuff and using lots of gas.

I'm bringing blogging back

Wow! From July to October. That is the longest time in between posts I have ever had since I started my blog. Not that I really expect anyone to have noticed or anyone to be reading this now. Even if you like both one cannot deny that facebook is the largest foe the blog has ever seen. No one reads or writes much in the way of blogs anymore it seems, we are too busy being eerily addicted to this subtle stalkers software. Not that I am throwing stones by any means as my "status" is updated nearly every day.

However I have decided to revive my blog. Not so much for your benefit although I am certain that many have prospered due to all the interesting things that I have to say. But rather for my own creative juices to keep flowing. I think I've realized since I've stopped blogging what an outlet it was and I think I need to keep it up. At least until whatever pushes facebook off the map comes along.

Last Few Pages

Sometimes in this life we go through seasons of stress and refinement. We go and go until we find ourselves "out of gas" and overwhelmed. It can be easy to become discouraged as encourager's seem a rare breed indeed. And I have found myself in that spot lately. Often uptight and tense. Apprehensive about the future and just feeling like I'm spinning my wheels a lot of the time. I get caught up in the here and now, ensnared by things that are (or should be) behind me and find myself feeling scared and lonely even in a crowd.

Sometimes I underestimate the enemy or forget about him altogether. I forget he is present and he wants to destroy me. He wants to attack my heart, my eyes, my marriage, my ministry and my will to press on and follow Christ's leading. I tend to forget that God is also present and still mighty in power. That He loves me and is rooting for me but will allow me to make mistakes and to fall. I forget that He is a God of provision and immeasurable wisdom. He knows what I need and where I'm going and that is all I really need.

I don't know what is in store for me and I can seldom see just where my life is headed but one thing that I have been thinking about and has given me some freedom is that even though I haven't read the last few pages, God has. As the author of that book "Ben's Life" God is privy to that information. He knows the plans he has for me and he knows how it will all work out. He sees the big picture. And what I do know is that I can trust in Him as my loving father who has saved me and will continue to provide for me until he calls me home. I thank God that He is in control and trust him as he has authored this book that is my life. As each page turns I pray that I can only trust Him more and gain the maturity I need to follow Him where He leads. I don't know what the next pages say or are about and that is ok because as I do my best to live for Chrsit everyday the last line of the last page will read: Well done, good and faithful servant.

Teathered Dog

Well I've been telling people about this for a while but never put up the video so here it is! Kadin playing teatherball. enjoy.

Friends

I've sort of been reminded of this lately and I thought I'd share it with you. First off, the song above has been coming on the radio all the time and I love it, what a great song, make sure you read the words.

Real Friends, if you are lucky enough to have some, are one of the greatest gifts from God you could ever imagine. And I have said to my wife Jacquelyn how blessed I've really been in my life to have true friends like the ones mentioned in the song. I was reminded of it again as I preached a message on serving at the Church where I minister and covered Luke 5:17-26 where some men who presumably are a paralytic's friend take him to see Jesus to be healed but in order to get to Jesus they had to climb up on the roof, dig through and lower him down to Jesus! I received and e-mail regarding the message this morning (which is always nice!!) that concluded "oh to have such friends!" I nodded my head in agreement and then thought, oh to have friends like that? I know exactly what you mean. Again I been so blessed in my life to have friends that if I needed them, no matter what time, or how far away, they would be there without question. And I would be there for them. I count myself a rich man indeed to have friends, and much family too, where given the proper circumstances I would really find out who my friends are. And I would be pleased.

Weather or Not

Well this has to be a record year for missed weather reports! This is like the third day in a row where Mr. WeatherMan has Called for a nice sunny day and It hasn't showed up! I guess it could be because everyone always says, "I wish the Weather Man would call for nice weather." And now they are calling for nice weather everyday! Too bad its cloudy and cold. Oh well. I guess its kind of dumb to complain about the weather, not much we can do about it.

Speaking of Weather, I was feeling a little under the weather myself last night after eating at Wendy's. I just felt gross as I was eating. I left Wendy's and didn't think I was going to make it to the church before I was sick. I made it. So that was good.

Then we had our first game of ball hockey for our Sherwood Ball Hockey program at the church. It was awesome. Good turn out, competitive game, and the WEATHER held out for us and didn't rain. It didn't rain because they changed the forecast for rain no doubt.

So thats that.

Duck Call

This post is to simply point out the fact that once the teams were determined for the 2007 Stanley Cup Play-offs I said the Anaheim Ducks would win it all. I wanted Vancouver to win, but the Ducks were my best guess to win the cup and that is what happened. Woot woot. Now, I guess I should also point out that aside from me being right (one of my favorite things) that the team the Ducks defeated were the Ottawa Senators. This made it much better as I am a Leafs fan and the Sens winning it all would be nothing short of a catastrophe. Something else rather noteworthy would be that Rob Niedermayer was able to capture his first cup with help from his older brother Scott. Scott has won a few before and even has a Stanley Cup ring from defeating Rob and the Ducks a few years back. However on this night it was nice to see Caption Scott raise the cup for mere seconds before handing it first to his brother Rob. Very cool. So I enjoyed the Stanley Cup finals all the way around and yes I already know that the Leafs had to watch it on tv so you don't need to point that out. Jerks.

Blog Blurbs Rip Off

Well well well. May has almost passed by and I have yet to blog about all the exciting happenings in my life. I have had lots of interesting thoughts and you have missed out on them. In fact YOU may not even be reading this as it has been so long since I have posted. I'll try to do better but since we pretty much missed May I will not rip off my brother's idea (this is what we do) of "blog blurbs" and here are a few of my own.

Eating crow
I love my dog Kadin. She is almost like a child to me. I know that is stupid but so are you. When she doesn't feel well, I'm concerned. When she learns a new trick, I'm proud and excited for her. Well, she did something that might be the most disgusting thing I have ever witnessed in my life. Here is what happened. I was on the phone with my Dad and she sooked in front of me for a while and then threw up a little. No big deal, dogs do that. Jac cleaned it up as I was on the phone. 5 minutes go by and she does it again, only this time it's black. gross. Cleaned up no problem. THEN 10 minutes later she starts gaging really loudly and coughs up whole, an entire dead crow along with some of the worst smelling black slime you can imagine. I got off the phone. While cleaning it up she ralphed some feathers and more slime on her bed. The next day we went to the vet. She's fine. Stupid but fine.

Cars Trucks Repairs and No Money
It seemed the car had been pretty clunky in back end for a while and struts seemed to be in order as well as an oil change. So I finally took it in to be fixed and when I picked it up I left to truck not thinking there was anything really wrong with it but just so they could quickly check it over. Not so. The truck ended up needing new front and back breaks, new back rotors, and a new muffler. All that being said the truck is now in great shape with lots of new stuff on it and to solve the "no money" thing, will soon be for sale.

Spring Conference
The youth conference that occurs every May long weekend has come and gone and what a fun trip it turned out to be. Leading up to the conference it was a constant source of stress for me but everything ended up ok. We took a group of 20 youth over and we had a really good time. Lots of neat games, speakers, police escorts, bowling, music, food, and fellowship. AND my good friend Danielle fell in the pond. Funniest thing I have ever seen at a conference. She was running along in the dark and disappeared. I thought I was going to die laughing. Too funny.

New Bike
I have always wanted a Motorcycle. My dad had one for years and it broke when I was 15. I still to this day think it was you mom!!! Anyways, it was never in the budget or there was always some reason but I saw a bike in good shape for a good price and my good wife said "go ahead." Woot! So I am picking up my Suzuki GS750 today! Of course my good friend Luke went with me to look at it and check it out and is even nice enough to drive it home for me since I don't have my bike license yet.

Well those are some highs and lows for you. I'll post a pic or two of the bike once I get it and get back from my camping trip this weekend. More updates to come.

Face it.

Well I guess it was time for me to face it. Over the past year or so I've received a number of "invites" for this thing called "Facebook." Now as far as I could tell this was yet another one of these stupid friends networks or birthday calenders that just took your e-mail, sold them to 100,000 different companies and then I get e-mails trying to sell me everything from breast implants to how-to guides to make my own beef jerky. No thanks. But I have been hearing more and more about this facebook program and how great it is and so just for fun I decided to check it out. Holy cow. So as it turns out everyone I have ever met just so happens to be on facebook. Lots of my family, my youth group, everyone I went to high school with. You are most likely on facebook. Its unbelievable. And so many people have SO much information about themselves on there (which can be a little dangerous) but it is insane just how many "friends" I have on my list in only one day. I joined yesterday and I have 80 friends this morning. We'll see how many "friends" I really have when I move and ask them to help me! But all in all I have to admit that this facebook thing that I made fun off and adamantly protested is actually pretty neat. It even lists how I know people. Which I still don't know how to do... can someone tell me please? ugg.

There's Always Next Year

Yes, there is always next year is that saying you hear often this time of year. When the playoffs start. This is the second year in a row that my beloved Maple Leafs will be watching the post season on television and that sucks. There were too many screw ups and blown opportunities down the stretch. It looked good last Saturday when the Leafs ended up rallying to find a win on home ice against the habs. I almost had a heart attack for the second Saturday in a row but was happy with the end result. If for no other reason then not to be tormented by habs fans. It didn't seem to make much difference however as New Jersey held our fate in their hands and decided they didn't care about the final game of the season. They only skated with any effort in the 3rd and lost in the shoot out. Oh my old friend the shoot out. And so my wife and I went outside after watching that game on Sunday afternoon and to show we are good sports and are still in good humour we made this. I hope you like it... i don't.

Free Hugs

I gotta tell you, I love hugs. I love to hug and I love to be hugged. Sometimes a hug can turn your whole day around. Some people are not huggy at all, but me, I'm a hugger. I'm sure I can attribute this to my home life. We never left the house without a hug and "I love you" and we are a very huggy family. I was always huggy with my friends growing up and even living in residence at the college we were a pretty huggy group. You have to be aware however, as I mentioned before, that not everyone appreciates a good hug. It can make some rather uncomfortable and even offended. Which is too bad, because if you like a good hug like I do it is one of life's simple pleasures that just makes you feel good inside. And the best part, they are free!

Sometimes you just need a hug and it can make all the difference in the world. Whether caused by hard times, bad weather, or you're just feeling kind of down a hug can really pick you up. Last evening while we were watching TV my dog Kadin jumped up (which is against the rules!) with her front paws and put them on either side of my wife Jacquelyn and nuzzled in for a hug. Despite the fact that Kadin is not allowed on the couch, a hug was in order and if had to be Kadin, it had to be Kadin. Well this is getting a little longer then I planned so I'll just end by saying I hope someone hugs you today and I hope you can brighten someone else's day with a hug as well. And I hope you enjoy this video and check out the story behind it. It is just really cool.

Visiting

How about that, March has pretty much marched on by and the year will be 1/4th over soon. Man does time fly. This is even more apparent to me each time I travel home to NB to visit my family and friends. They have all changed so much over time while I haven't changed at all! Of course that's not true, it is really amazing to me how fast time goes by, how fast somethings change, and how somethings just never change.

Either way visiting home was a good time. I got to spend time with my Dad which I love to do. We all went for a walk on a really nice day and the dogs ran and played themselves right out. I visited with my Mom, we even went with my brother and his wife to see the new Ninja Turtles movie which was pretty good. I visited with my brother and we got to play hockey together which was awesome and watch some hockey too. And I visited with some dear friends of mine who I pretty much never see except when I am able to make a rare visit home. It was a good time but with the limited amount of time and so many people to see it just goes by in a flash. It sort of felt a little depressing piling in and driving away on Saturday but my life is here in PEI and life is good. I'm very blessed to have a wonderful wife and great family here. We have a good dog and lots of amazing friends we enjoy visiting with right here. As much as I miss my family from home I have to stop and give thanks to God for the ones who are here as well.

And speaking of visiting, I might have to so some of that today as there is an elevator that is going in here at the Church and the noise is driving me nuts. And speaking of driving my nuts, my buddies from Tremploy should be here sometime today. Yes it looks like a day to visit.

So it turns out I'm allergic to LIFE!

Well hacking, coughing, and spitting have been a very normal part of my life for quite a while now. I had sort of accepted this and adjusted to it, more or less, as much as I was able. But recently I finally went to a specialist to see what the deal was. So far I've taken two steps to check into this. One was an x-ray of my sinuses. The other, an allergy test. Now I don't know if you've ever had an allergy test but for those of you who haven't here is how the process takes place. First you give them 25 bucks. Dang. Then you take off your shirt and lay flat on your stomach while they take a little needle dealy and prick little holes in your back. Then they take the liquid form of everything from horse hair to birch wood to eggs (I am apparently allergic to all 3) and pour little dabs of it over the holes to see if you react. Its not all that unplesent, it's a little itchy and it takes a while but it doesn't hurt and the lady was very nice. Unfortunately I reacted to several things, mostly located on the left side of my back in a spot that was really hard to reach. I reacted highly to just about every kind of grass, tree, and pollen. I am monstrously allergic to dust and dust mites. But only a tad to cat hair, and not at all to dog hair. I am also just a little allergic to turkey. Weird eh. I eat eggs every week and had no idea that I had an allergy to them. I haven't quite decided if I'm going to cut them out of my diet. They are a crucial part of my regular breakfast at Sam's. We'll have to see. Anyways, thats all in case you're interested. I better go now before I discover I'm allergic to blogs!

6 Months

Well it's hard to believe but our dog Kadin has been with us for 6 months now. She has been quite an addition to our family and she is always good for a laugh. I was looking at some old, and new, pictures of her and quickly threw this together. I hope you like it!

This is awesome

These new NHL ads are stinking funny. I love this one.

Flu: Not feeling very lovely

I woke up on Monday with "The Flu." No big deal right? Why just the night before I was commenting how lucky I was that I hadn't caught it yet and it was almost spring. Well I caught it. And it had to be the worst case of the flu I have ever had in my entire life! I was freezing cold, sweating profusely, my back was killing me, my head was pounding, I was so weak I could hardly walk, I was coughing and hacking up grossness, couldn't keep any food down (still having some issue with that) and power puking all in between. I have never had the flu like this and have resolved to get a flu shot next year to prevent this evil bug from entering my system again!

On the first day (Monday) my 6 month old pup Kadin hopped up on the bed to keep me warm while I was freezing. And I felt horrible yesterday, not only because I was still feeling very sick but also because my poor little pup got "fixed" as they say yesterday and was feeling the effects of being very sore and her stomach wasn't feeling the best after her operation so she was sick in the truck and then on her mat. She wouldn't eat until the this morning but is still very low key. Especially considering most of the time she bounces off the walls.

Still not feeling very good today but I have to get some things done so hopefully I can get some things accomplished before I pass out from the pressure in my head. Ah life is good.

Oh yeah, Have a "Lovely" Valentines Day. I know I will. Cough, hack, weeeeeeez..... Thud.

Somthing Major

Not all that long ago you may recall (if you read this thing on a semi-to-regular basis) I had a post on my birthday that featured a video I made for my brother's wedding. The video is hosted by "Youtube" and thus is online for all the world to see. The song that plays along with the video is called "My brother and Me" by Charlie Major. Well, yesterday I received a message in my Youtube inbox and was notified by my regular e-mail. Now usually when I get these messages I hold my breath to see what curse word some jerk has sent me to tell me that I'm a moron, or gay or whatever cleaver insult they can come up with given a video I may or may not be in. But I was rather surprised and excited to find that the message was from Charlie Major himself. Saying he thought it was neat that his song was used in this way and appreciated. I couldn't believe it. He even marked the video as a favorite. I thought that was pretty cool that he took the time to do that. It made my day in a "Major" way.

Sorry about the pun.

I B-LEAF

It says it on the plates on my truck, it says it on my shirts, pants, socks, hats, coats and everything else, and its confirmed with a loud cheer for every goal. I B-Leaf! I just wanted to point out that the Leafs have been playing very well as of late winning 5 straight with the last 4 on the road. This can really be credited to playing smart, hardworking "blue collar" hockey. But it can also be credited to the stellar play of Andrew Raycroft. I just want to remind you that I have supported Andrew from the start, even when he wasn't playing well. In fact it drives me crazy when people jump all over him when we lose, especially when the defense aren't playing well either. I did not support Ed Belfour right away when he came on the scene but I should have. You've got to support who you've got (except for Aki Berg, he was BRUTAL) and right now I think we (yes, I am on the team) a good bunch who, if they keep working hard, can go far. There is still a long ways to go but I think we can do it. Beating Nashville tomorrow night and winning 5 out of 5 on the current road trip may be enough to send the Leafs surging into the play-offs. Saturday they're back home to take on Sidney Crosby and the Pens. My buddies James and Robbie are going to the game. I am absolutely green with envy but I hope they have a great time and the Leafs win one for yas!

I B-LEAF

Pick me up

Well It is Monday. Sigh. There just doesn't seem to be much good with Monday. It's the start of the work week (when did it end?), it's freaking cold outside, I'm sore from lifting heavy things all weekend, and I'm cold and there are wolves after me. But all that aside there really is a bright spot in my Monday morning. It's called the "Men's Breakfast." Something to look forward to on Monday. Where we can fellowship, share and laugh. We can all eat bacon and eggs and Matt gets his wussy order of toast. It's just a great way to start the week on the right note. A nice "pick me up" if you will and I'm sure that you will. So have a happy Monday and if you don't have some sort of way to kick-start your week hope you have a happy Monday anyways.

2 Things that bug me

First. It snowed a bunch last night (that doesn't bug me) and I had to drive my wife into work this morning (that doesn't either) because the roads are covered with snow and mostly all the cars and trucks were moving along quite nicely. We only have a few flurries this morning so it's not hard to see out the windshield except for the few people who are out who feel they don't have to clean their car or truck or whatever off before they hit the road. So they blow all the snow off their car all over everyone else. Take the 10 minutes to clean off the snow. If not for the fact that it makes driving safer for you, then for the sake of the one who has to drive behind you with big clumps of snow landing on their windshield. It's called being considerate for other people.

Second. If you've ever driven with me anywhere in my truck (which is cleaned off) you have undoubtedly heard me say, "I hope you like country music!" Because I do, and thats what I listen to while I'm driving. But there is a song that comes on all the time now by Eric Church called "Two Pink Lines." This is how it goes:

She was pacing back and forth on her front porch
I pulled up slinging gravel in my Daddy's Ford
She cried all the way to Johnson's store
I kept the motor running and parked by the door

Yeah I was foolish and wild
she was classic and regal
we were fresh out of school, both barely legal
we were young and on fire and just couldn't wait
six weeks in, she was three weeks late

one means none and we're home free
two means three and a diamond ring
yeah i wonder what fate is gonna decide
we're just sittin around waiting on two pink lines
sitting around waiting on two pink lines

yeah her Daddy's gonna kill me and thats a fact
maybe we'll just leave town and never come back
or I could stand there and tell him
face him like a man
oh who am I kidding, he'll never understand

yeah thats second hand just keeps slowing down
i swear it stopped twice the last time around
yeah we'll know the truth in three minutes time
we're just sittin around waiting on two pink lines
sitting around waiting on two pink lines

hot summer nights, whispering her name
under the blanket by the river bank
hearts beating fast we never thought twice
but she pulled me close and i held on tight

when the moment of truth finally comes
she gives me a look and then comes undone
she says looks like were lucky
someones smiling down
she grabs her coat and says see ya around

yeah these days the rabbit doesn't die
you just sit around waiting on two pink lines
praying that fate is on your side
sitting around waiting on two pink lines
sitting around waiting on two pink lines


This song has to be one of the worst songs I've come across in a long time. It is quite catchy which makes it even worse. I found myself singing along. "One means none and we're home free." No it doesn't. It really bothers me that the message portrayed here is that the only consequences of this act is a possible pregnancy. If she's not pregnant then they're "home free." Then the second verse talks about how "Her Daddy's gonna kill me" (someone should). Then he flirts with the idea of taking some sort of responsibility of standing up up like a man and telling her father what he has done but in the end makes the father out to be a bad guy for not understanding that this guy has just impregnated his daughter who is fresh out of school. Maddening! Finally they realize that they are not going to have a baby (guess they're home free!) this time and so they shrug it off saying "see you around" and suggesting that someone must be "smiling down" on them. Now I know that this song is a fictional story but it really bugs me how it makes light of the long term effects of premarital sex and makes this whole situation somehow cute or funny. Is this really how far society's view of sex has dipped. This beautiful gift from God is nothing more then, "Whoa we almost had a baby there! That was close!" It just makes me sad.

Haven't really posted much in the new year. Hows that for a Rant. Geez.

Happy New Year!

Ok, so I'm aware that I'm a day late but let me be the 34th (or so) person to wish you a happy New Year. I hope it brings you happiness, prosperity and all that other good stuff that you'll find in some hallmark card but not in this post.

It was a pretty quite new year's eve at our place but a fun one. We rang in the new year with good friends of ours by overeating some, drinking homemade Cherry Coke, Shurley temples, and some egg nogg coffee drink that develops a skin if you don't drink it fast enough, and just about anything else in the house. We played a couple games of Scene it (guys won both games! Goonies! haha) and then some heated games of Uno. We were so into Uno in fact that we almost missed the count down to the new year. It was a great time had by all, even the dogs. The year is off to a good start and I hope it only gets better.