Weddings

Of all the types of religious services that I conduct, my favorite is the wedding!
Most people love weddings because of all the things that are associated with it.

A nice church building with huge stain-glass windows; beautiful outfits for the bridal party; colorful flowers and decorations that shouts celebration time; heart-moving music that brings us to tears; and vows that is steeped in tradition and sanctified with love. Weddings are wonderful because it is the beginning of a new life together.
Weddings are beautiful because we put on our best.
Weddings are inspiring because it reminds us that two are better than one.
Weddings are awesome because of the high expectations.
Too often couples preparing for a wedding forget the most important aspect; and it is best summed up in this little poem:

I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,

A church filled with family and friends.

I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,

He said one that would make me his wife.

~Author Unknown

Photosynthesize

Definition of: Process by which green plants and some bacteria manufacture carbohydrates from water and atmospheric carbon dioxide, using the energy of sunlight. Photosynthesis depends on the ability of chlorophyll molecules within plant cells to trap the energy of light, in order to split water molecules, giving off oxygen as a by-product. The hydrogen of the water molecules is then used to reduce carbon dioxide to simple carbohydrates. The rain and the sun that is in plentiful supply here in Vancouver, creates a veritable garden of Eden everywhere I go in this beautiful city. The greens are greener, the plants are bigger and the blooms more abundant here than in most other places in the world. In life, there’s a lesson to be drawn from this process called; photosynthesis.
There are things that drain us and leave us dry and burnt out.

If possible, steer clear of people and situations that drain you.
There are people, places and precious moments that fill us and give us a sense of fulfilment and joy.

Learn to “photosynthesize” by soaking in every moment and seeking out these “full-filling” times.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Strange thing! I woke up this morning thinking about the lyrics to the song; ‘Rainy days and Mondays…always gets me down…’ by the Carpenters. I know! This kind of betrays my age, but I actually love the song. I guess rainy days and Mondays are not what most people would consider favorite days.
But as for me, Mondays is what I look forward to as it’s my off day. For a person in Christian ministry, weekends are the busiest days of the week, so a quiet and restful Monday is just great.
I know that summers are supposed to sunny and hot but I don’t mind a few days of rain and cool weather after nearly a month of exposure to the intense Ultra violet rays. Even as I took a short walk along the dyke, I could see a silver lining in the thunder clouds that threaten to dampen my day. Think of the many forest fires this rain will put out…consider the fact that our reservoirs need a replenishing of supplies…add that to the fact the grass really needs a soaking for the color to return to its nice green hue. Thought for the day: No matter how dark the days may be…there’s always a silver lining. We just need to allow God to open up our eyes and heart to realize it. Be thankful even when you it’s hard to see beyond the haze of today's trouble.

Canada Day Celebrations

We had the perfect weather for our 5th Annual Canada Day celebrations. Sunny but cool!

The day started early for some of us who had to ensure that everything was in place before the hundreds of volunteers arrived to set up their individual game booths.

The crowds started to turn up as early as 11 am (the event is from 1 - 5 pm), mingling among the volunteers to find out what new stuff have been added since the last event.

15 minutes before the singing of "O Canada", a long line-up had formed infront of the information booth.

The "early birds" that wanted to collect their game cards, and have first dips on the exciting new games that many of the groups had created just for this year's event.

The turn out this year broke last year's record, and we went through 1,000 hot dogs before 3 pm. The climbing wall (new addition for 2009) and pony rides were a hit; line-ups lasting till closing time.

The greatest joy for me was to see the delight in the faces of the little children as they played the games, collected their prizes and soaking in the sun and the water from the firemen's hosing.
I'm so proud to be the Pastor of this great bunch of volunteers who sacrificed time, money and energy to demonstrate to our community that God loves them and He is the Greatest Giver!

My Favourite Flowers – Orchids

If you’ve been following my blog, you would know by now how much I love anything that is alive; fishes, plants and all living things. I visited one of the biggest and most extensive orchid gardens in the world on one of my trips, and took some of these photos. Did you know that orchids are indigenous in almost every habitat except deserts and glaciers. In fact, they are the largest family of the flowering plants. Orchid species outnumber mammals four times.

What would our world look like if there was only one species of everything? Diversity is the spice of life!

Canada Day Celebrations – July 1st

This is our biggest event of the year. Since moving into our present church building in 2004, we’ve been hosting this community event. It’s been such a success story that we’re expecting over 5,000 people to turn up for a fantastic time of fun, food and festivities.

15 games booths, hot dogs, Starbucks coffee, slushies, popcorn. pony rides, bouncy castles, and a 25 feet climbing wall make for an exceptional event. Consider that fact that everything is free, certainly makes this is one great way for our church family to give back to our community.

It definitely has delivered a clear message to those unacquainted with our God; that He is a God with a big heart who gives and gives.

Mortality

This morning the world received another “wake-up call”. No one, no matter how famous or talented they are, lives forever. Life is not to be taken for granted –it is a gift for a season. We are flowers in the field that blooms for a day and then withers. In our church this month, we’ve been studying the book of Exodus in a sermon series entitled, “Road Trip.” I guess every road trip must end sometime, somewhere. As men, we are all equal in the presence of death.
Publilius Syrus (100 BC), Moral Sayings, First Century B.C. It’s not death that disturbs me, it’s what we do with our lives that worries me.
There’s something worse than death – it is not having lived your life to the fullest!