2012-09-18

Click here to view these pictures larger

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving, what a wonderful time of year. The trees wave goodbye to all their brightly coloured leaves, as the wind takes them away. The cool breeze is fresh and exhilerating as the world moves the heat of indian summer to the splendor of autumn. And now friends and family start planning to be together. For some it is a weekend, for others a day, an hour, or just one moment to say, 'I love you and I am thankful for you.' Thanksgiving will always be remembered in my family as a time of loving care and thankfulness to God for all that he has given us. Memories come alive again as we reminisce years gone by and adventures that are yet to come. Frequent holidays spent with the Vanvugts, yearly hikes of climbing up the bluff. Joel carrying Journey on his back, playing our instruments in church, and of course the banquet that mom and aunt mar would prepare for us. And now I have the most beautiful, wonderful fiancee in the world who I want to share Thanksgiving with. She is such a blessing and a joy to me. So now I want to make a list for all that which I am so thankful for.

Thank you my Lord and my Saviour for the many blessings that you give to me daily. Thank you for the ultimate sacrifice that you made for me upon the cross. Thank you for the love that you show me each and every day. Thank you for giving me my family and my friends whom I love so dearly. Thank you for Kim, she gives me so much joy and happiness, so much to look forward too.

Thank you Kim, for saying yes to me. For loving me and caring for me. For sharing your passion with me. For making hopes and dreams and plans with me.

Thank you Mom and Dad for all the love that you have shown all of us. For the devotion that you have for God and for each other. Thank you for your encouragment and your prayers.

Thank you Michael for spending time with us, for being such a caring older brother. For taking us out to dinner and being such a good friend.

Thank you Matthew for being such a good example for us. You are the expression of love and faithfulness that we all need.

Thank you Josh for always being helpful and kind and willing to go the extra mile. Thanks for inviting me to participate in sports and desiring to spend time with us.

Thank you Joel for all that you have helped me with, Thank you for the time we could spend together, for the memories that we share, the places we have gone.

Thank you Danny for hanging out with me, for paying for movie tickets, for going grocery shopping with me and for putting up with me when I think I'm right and I'm not. You are so very good to me. Much more than I deserve, and I know you would be this good to anyone who asked you.

Thank you Aaron, for being my little bro. For all the years that we have shared together. I miss time that we spent together. I thankful for the time that we got to work together at Wilco, and I have to tell you, those were the best weeks at Wilco I ever had. Thank you for being adventurous with me.

Thank you my beautiful Anna-Marie. You are my hero. Thank you for being my loving sister. I am so proud of you in all that you do. I still cant believe what ridiculously good marks you have! I miss you and I cannot wait to see you this Christmas.

Thank you my sweet sister Sarah for your dedication and your passion. Just keep sticking to it. I know you are going to do well in everything you put your hand to. Thank you for being my little sister. Thank you for your care for all things living(although you dont always show it, I know its there).

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Spronk for all that you have done for me. More than I could ever hope for, you have been so good to me. Thank you for your strength and faithfulness in the Lord. Thank you for raising you children in the fear of the Lord. And for giving your blessing to me and your permission to take Kim as my wife. I am so appreciative of all that you have done. Thank You.

Thank you my friends, cousins, uncles and aunts and grandparents. You are all such a blessing to me. May we all continually look to our Father in heaven as we come together once again this thanksgiving.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

James 1:17

contentment complete

just sitting here, right down on this couch. muffled thoughts mixed with nostalgic stirrings. alone. not in person; but in the mellowness of my mind is a peaceful calm. alone with my thoughts. animated talking and a quite physical game of -sticks- going on around the table in front of me. seems like everyone wants to join. well.... almost everyone. there are those good friends who sit next to me and join me in merry conversation. but i think these games are good. it's games like these that make friends. alone. not the loneliness of lost friends or sorrowful heart, but the other alone. the alone where i am just sitting back; with time to wonder, time to sitback and just stop. stop everything. stop worrying, stop racking my mind, stop rushing. just stuck in the moment. surrounded by those i love. complete contentment. surrounded by so many blessings. everything; every voice, every noise, every commotion, just blended into that background blend. with many voices laughing in unison, and the occasional exclamation of, "that's not fair!." and here i sit, just letting it wash over me. sometimes there is that need to be alone. to sit with that expression of sweet sadness lightly impressed upon the face. content in the knowledge that -i am loved!- . there is that gentle tug on endearing heart strings as i am reminded that this is the last night we shall see many of us. and just maybe, every once in a while, you'll see the small hint of a smile appear as i recall one those strange little memories that appear out of nowhere. peace from within. inner peace that lets me just close my eyes and breathe. and i know that all is good, all is well. and now i turn to those around me and blend into the harmony of voices that is slowly fading.

(written sunday night, may 20. in a small chapel by the lake at camp arnes, winnipeg)

Music to my ears

I verily like, paper, that crinkles. There is just something about it that makes you want to fold and unfold, take it out of your pocket and open it again. Just to hear the music that comes to our ears and soothes the soul. And the sound of writing, as the pencil taps down on the table, over and over again. Making little scribbles that some see just as words and others, pleasant little nothings that draw the mind off into the ramblings of imagination. And you cannot forget the sound of the crayon, everytime you press down and lift up. There is that little ´slick´that you hear followed by scrawls of mostly young artists, but artists all the same. And all is quiet but for the sustained crinkle of paper, the tap of a pencil, the ´slick´of a crayon and the soft unconsious breathing of an art that is not in vain. That is why I like to write.

(Written on a lovely piece of paper that crinkled, with a blue pencil crayon; a very nice crayon drawing is on the other side; with the primary colours of blue, yellow, green, and of course pink)

(posted from myspace. created November 21, 2007 9:10 a.m. Cochabamba, Bolivia)

Living For Something

So I'm living this life, so big and huge and wide and awesome. And it's good; really, really, good. Life's good and everything's goin good and I'm feeling it, just washing over me filling me up and taking me away. This amazing life. And all I have to do is just live it, this life of mine. Each day moves along without any help from me. All i have to do is wake up each morning and take each day as it moves along. Sometimes so fast I'm just skimming the surface, skipping over the bumps that come my way, the good life. And then I'm draggin along, bogged down and feelin hopeless and i turn too slow to miss the big waves and swamped for just a moment until someone finally sees me and pulls me up and over the waves. Those are the moments that just drop down on us until we shake ourselves free. Free to live again and to soar higher than ever before. Gary Allen said it perfect when he sang, "Life ain't always beautiful, but its a beautiful ride." So thats the way I'm living right now. Takin life one day at a time, one hand ready to just reach out grab those moments that i can hold onto forever. Each day, i get up and i'm ready to greet the world, to take the good and bad and search out the little things that make me smile and break into laughter. That's what makes life worth livin, whoever dies with the most crinkles in their smile wins. That and making others smile. So thats what i'm gonna do just live for the smile.

(posted from myspaces. created September 6, 2007 2:23 a.m. Edmonton)

Sunday Stirrings

What is there to compare with waking up to the sweet cansiones of multi-coloured pajares, and sunlight streaming through the window at the rising of Mr. Sol. And then settling back on the pillows, thoughts just drifting on by. Broken only by prayers for the unborn, so wonderfully crafted by our Heavenly Creator. Breakfast in a sunstreamed kitchen. A spot of tea with cinnamon and the sweetness of raspberry jam on toast. Tidy up. Getting dressed. Even made the bed. A very nice blue shirt. Cotton. But ironed into silk. Matching shoes, pants, jacket. The nice leather one that fits almost perfect. Fuss with my hair, which hasn't seen a comb in 10 years. Ahh, presentable, one last glance in the sitting room mirror. Bible.... check. And I turn the handle on a soft green door, and walk into a beautiful day. So how do I describe it; as I walked out the front door. A breath of fresh air, and I am on the street. A few steps, the wind is blowing. And I am hit, almost knocked down, but I manage to stagger along. Why does it hit me so hard? This wind that ever so gently speaks of spring and fall. My emotions are whipped around, and I am no longer on the street. I'm walking up the path to the big log house. Spring is here and I cannot express the feelings that come from the sights, sounds, and smells of it all. I am intoxicated like no other man. And as I struggle to regain my breath thats been taken away, I return to the street, with the senses moving whistfully on. I don't know why I am affected so much by a simple wind carrying along a spring breeze. But I am. Maybe it is good memories of times gone past. Maybe the distance brings out the nostalgia that brings tears to my eyes. But whatever it is, I wouldn't miss it for the world. I don't dwell in the past, but the memories are so warm and real. And all I can do is give thanks to the one from whom all blessings flow.

(post originally comes from journal entry: Feb 26, 2007 10:40 p.m. Cochabamba, Bolivia)

A Man of Few Tears

So, today I am leaving. Leaving a beautiful country, leaving those I have come to love so much, leaving good friends, and leaving the family that I now call my own. Five months, gone. They just flew by, like it was yesterday. And now that I´ve said my goodbyes to all those I have to come to know and love, there is only one more goodbye left. Goodbye. To a beautiful country that I have come to love. To the mountains, to the jungle, and to the people that live. Saying Goodbye never works out like you want it to. You always want to say it with meaning and love and maybe a little sadness. But then it is over, in a moment. Goodbye. How do I say goodbye to all those little ones that have come to mean so much to me. Goodbye. Lots of hugs to warm the soul, smiles, and a few tears. ¿Will I ever come back?. ¿Will I ever again see these ones that have blessed my life so much? And so I give one last salute. A final farwell.
Goodbye Bolivia.