Ahh time sure goes by fast. It seems like just yesterday I was watching Rocky four lay the smack down on that huge Russion Robot Drago. Those were the good old days when Rocky was having a pretty good life and his family was in tact, however, this Russian fool killed one of Rocky's best buds. I would be pretty ticked too. Oh and need I mention Rocky was in great shape.
Well for his latest and greatest, life for Rocky seemed anything but good. His wife had died somewhere in between number five and this last one. To top things off his son is always mad at him for his previous success. What is a guy to do. That's right get back in the ring again and show some young chump and the world who is boss.
All in all it was a pretty good movie. A nice ending to the Rocky saga. I was wondering what happened to that guy. I found it to be mildly depressing with the loss of his wife and all, but he managed to pull himself up by his bootstraps and have one more glory day. He went back for a little taste of the glory...to see what it tasted like. I must admit for an old fella he was in decent shape. Kuddos to Sly. This movie is worth watching if you have seen the old movies and are dying to see how it all ends up.
As some of you may have known, we have had some pretty intense time within our community and our places of ministry over the last six weeks. This is great, but I need time to step back and see just what is going on in my life. I have felt so stressed over the last coupe of weeks because of all the conflict going on amongst our immediate community and folks in the community where we do ministry. We are not called to an easy life all the time my friends. Rich and plentiful yes, but not always enjoyable.
In the last couple of weeks I have been faced with personal challenges and conflicts that I could run from and never think about them again. I could have told myself that it is not worth it, or it won't matter to try to talk things out with people. However, I feel that it is experiences such as these that define who we really are. It is easy to love those who are nice to us. We can easily be nice to people who are nice to us. Chosing to love and go the extra mile for someone who would like to physically harm you is what can change the world around you. Just a thought.
Today was a Canadian Holiday called Remembrance Day. I don't spend enough time praying for those who are suffering. What would the world look like if we just prayed more?
The big things to Remember and pray for are the places of suffering in the world. People are suffering everywhere. Darfur and places all over Africa come to mind. I can't imagine the horror that is taking place in that part of the world. 
The war all over the middle east is something that I find easy to not think about unless you know someone in the midst of the fighting, but we need to continue to pray for that situation and world peace. I was just watching some crazy footage on ABC news and I was shocked at what they were capturing on video.
Jesus says to love our neighbors. Are we really fulfilling that commandment? I don't feel that I am. This day in age we have a hard time claiming ignorance to many issues, especially these big ones. One of the best things to actually do in order to bring about the Kingdom of God is to pray for these situations. Collaborate with God to change the world.
A different reality is possible.
Being in an uncomfortable place I often can't help but to look for pieces of home in an unfamiliar city. One of the places I go is Starbucks. I know the regular coffee is terrible but I go for the familiar atmosphere. It is strange how it makes you feel right at home. This particular store is actually down in Seattle. It is one of the first if not the first store ever.
The logo has changed a little bit since they went really big. I don't think everyone would appreciate it. I think it's kinda cool looking though.
This is just one of the things that brings us comfort in addition to the generous donations of skyline chili and other wonderful things that cincy has to offer the world.
Carrie and I are so lucky to have such great friends and family back home. I am often reminded how blessed we are. We have such a great life why would anyone want to leave it? Well I don't know. Sometimes we are called to step out and do things that look really rediculous. There is just something that goes on inside you that is so strong it consumes you and you have to make a move. I am thankful for that discontentment that was so strong it made us act and redirect the course of our lives. Otherwise in fifty years we would have been wondering what life might have looked like if we had made a move.
A lot of the time we aren't really having fun here. We know that we are growing individualy and together in ways that we can't even realize here. Growth hurts at times. I just rest assured that this is only temporary and we will be back before you know it. Then who knows what. Sometimes it is hard to go through life like this because our society tells us that this is not wise. There isn't much security in this plan. I like to call it faith, others might think of it as stupidity or immaturity.
Well this last weekend was awesome. I felt like I was really in another world. It is amazing how fast you can get away from all the noise of the city and quickly find yourself in a great bed and breakfast where you can eat like a king and your wife can get pampered with a quite affordable massage. We ate, laughed, celebrated, relaxed, hiked among other physical exercise, and even fell down some stairs. Seriously. The retreat was wonderful and well worth the cost.
We all need one of these babies in our homes. The two person soaker tub is to die for. 
The best burger I might of ever had. So good. All in all the one year wedding anniversary was perfect.
That's right folks the big one year wedding anniversary is today. We are so excited to get a night away tonight at a bed and breakfast out of the city. We are going to Buntzen Lake and staying in what seems to be a rather nice place of retreat. We are trying our best on a limited budget to make this event special. I must say I got Carrie a rather nice floral arrangement this morning and a fine bottle of wine for the evening. 
Who knows we may even conceive our first child. Any good names out there?
We should celebrate more often.