“Let me share a secret your nana has learned: By inviting heartache to do its transforming work, your life will grow richer, more meaningful, and more marked by both beauty and joy–not in spite of, but because of the pain that has seasoned it along the way.” Pg. 280 So writes September Vaudrey to her granddaughter as she passes on one of the hardest learned but most valuable truths to be taught. Rhonda and I met September at the Storyline Conference…
I just stepped in pee. It has nothing to do with this post but I can’t think of a way to start this entry that somehow escapes the “it’s been so long since I’ve last written” bit so I figured I’d start there. I walked into the basement bathroom–which is rarely used by anyone–and immediately felt a wetness on my sock. Turning the light on I notice the puddle of approximately 3-5 day old pee. It only caught the side of…
A couple of weeks ago I spoke at Grassroots Church on accepting the reality that we are not the main character in this story – and that if we actually understood what our role is, we’d probably approach this journey we’re all on very differently. I used my own story of serving as an actor… er… extra in a little indy film called “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” as a sort of segue into my point. It was…
A few weekends ago we were out camping with some friends. One morning my buddy and I woke up early, hopped on the quad, and drove some 20-30 minutes to access a hidden lake in the middle of seemingly nowhere. As we drove up the hill to the lake, the scene we beheld was surreal – the water was glass, the air was crisp, standing at attention, holding its breath. The trees looked down on us, roused from a night’s…
My dad’s dad died last Friday. He was 89. Grandma and Grandpa had been married for almost 68 years, which in itself is a feat so rare today. He owned a garage and through it supported a family of 10 kids in Estevan, Saskatchewan (It’s a strong Roman Catholic family ;)). Ironically, I’m told, he was a lousy mechanic, not too unlike his grandson – but he liked “tinkering.” Sadly, I don’t have a great deal of memories with Grandpa,…