September 2010
2 posts
Soren won’t be outdone.
Acacia the monkey.
August 2010
25 posts
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Important read for parents which might explain a... →
An accessible and easy version of “christianity” makes it as easy to say good bye to God as to turn the channel when Dr. Phil is on.
Your kids soul cries out for adventure and Kingdom.
PAC parents - take your teens to Africa next year.
Use your inside scream.
– Unphased anonymous mom to screaming toddler in St. Vital mall.
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What are you immersing your kids in?
I hear this every now and then:
“We would choose to enroll our kids at Westpark but we have chosen French Immersion.”
There are no doubt good reasons why someone would make this decision. And if you have good reasons then this post will only strengthen them.
These could be reasons like:
long term cognitive effects of learning a second language
greater appreciation of...
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Sunday AM Thoughts.
Great morning at PAC.
Lots of new faces. Lots of old faces. Lots of in between faces.
And of course, Stan Wiebe’s face (he always appreciates a good blog shout out).
Aaron, Beth, and Jen sounded fantastic. Love hearing the voices swell behind me as we sing.
Tamara’s talk really got me thinking about who I allow to give permission to help me see my sin. David’s...
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Alter Ego 8 Enduro Report.
Ride started great. Loved the new frame and especially the new shock. My plan was to ride with Don as long as I could.
Those plans died when I got a flat tire at the beginning of Kurt’s Cut - roughly halfway through the loop. Started jogging along - which in cycling shoes is a real treat. Too stupid to pack a tube or pump and no one else had any. So it was a long jog back to the tech....
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The Better Halves.
Mandy Ralph is preaching this Sunday at PAC.
Those of you who have heard her before will no doubt want to hear her again!
Those of you who have not will want to make sure you come and hear this gifted communicator and teacher bring what God has laid on her heart.
Also, caught a bit of the worship team practice on Thursday and am pumped for them. I saw a group of talented people who were having...
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Improving Effectiveness Always Means Change.
It was grade 3 and the report card was good with one exception. The school I was in didn’t just grade kids on academic performance but on character qualities as well.
I got a “needs improvement” in the character quality of flexibility - and they were bang on! I didn’t do change well. I got used to something, I liked it, it worked, and when someone wanted to change it...
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C'est Finito...(not teaching french so it's ok)
All done class outlines for the 4 modules where I am guest lecturer at WPS High this fall and spring!
And I am pumped! (this is why I am using exclamation points)
My courses are as follows:
Grade 11+12
Overview of Christian Thought (9 classes)
Towards a Biblical Worldview (9 classes)
Contemporary Issues and Biblical Answers (9 classes)
Grade 9
Life of Christ
I have been itching to do...
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Heading here this weekend. So much suffering…
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We drive a Venti truck.
“Nathan what is the name of that phoofy le foof coffee place you like?”
“Starbucks.”
And so began the most humorous series of events I have been a part of in a long time. We all had a self effacing laugh at it in the truck so rest assured I am not out of line poking fun at my two pals.
We finished the Muddy Waters Ride and had some food, decided to grab a coffee on the...
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Original Day One Thoughts.
The following were my thoughts on Willow Creek Leadership Summit which I did not post because they were the kind of things that I’d hate to read if I was in the shoes of the people who put the Summit on. But the second day more than made up for it and provide balancing context for my Day #1 thoughts - here they are:
I’m tired of hearing about how he started in 1990 with 4 families...
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Willow Creek Leadership Summit Day 2.
In my opinion this was a fantastic day of learning and stretching. So good in fact, I think I can post my original thoughts on Day 1 because Day 2 more than made up for it.
Personal Highlights of Day #2?
Jeff Manion delivered a sermon which was the best put together and delivered of any I have heard in a long time. The content was pretty specific to a time in life so the “felt...
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Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit Summary...
Tamara read my unpublished post from Day #1 and advised me to sleep on it. She said that while she agreed with it all, it wasn’t edifying. And she is probably right.
So I heed the advice of my wise wife and leave draft #1 safely saved and unpublished perhaps to arrive on the net another day but likely not.
At any rate, here is take #2.
First, I really am curious what was going on at...
Thursday night at PAC
This is your friendly reminder to come and pray at 7pm
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Sometimes...
Sometimes we argue about parenting.
Sometimes we argue about work.
Sometimes we argue about food.
Sometimes we argue about how to spend our time.
Sometimes we argue about how to handle the different people in our lives.
But what we basically NEVER argue about anymore is how to spend $$$….anymore.
This guy is the reason.
I am actually rather ambivalent his financial principles - they...
Fairmont Biking in June
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Middleton will keep the good times going.
When my cousins would come over we would have a good time. We’d eat peanut butter and run around the house. I got mad at my cousin once because she ate too much peanut butterand locked her in the closet for a bit to fix her wagon. It was irrational anger because there was plenty to go around.
Then they would have to leave and I was sad when they would have to go. Why do the good times...
I don’t care if Middleton saved your life. I am not voting for him.
– The ever calm Scott Marshall expressing his thoughts on Middleton’s campaign
July 2010
28 posts
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Middleton is not just talk.
When my neck gets sore I am never quite sure why. Sometimes I just hope it will get better. Other times I am proactive in my approach and seek help; either a massage or a visit to a local chiropractor. But one thing is for sure.
Talk doesn’t help my sore neck.
Vote Middleton.
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Middleton asks the tough questions.
I was lost in a downtown area of a major North American city. A place that was kind of like Baltimore but wasn’t Baltimore. This was before the days of GPS and I was having trouble reading my map. I saw a guy on the corner of the street who I thought I could ask for directions. He looked pretty tough and I was a little bit scared of asking him. But I still asked him.
Vote Middleton.
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Middleton is not perfect.
I like how the little squares on waffles collect the syrup. Spreading the butter is harder than on a smooth surface like a pancake but if you stick with it I think the way it tastes is well worth the effort. Make sure you don’t forget to really grease up the wafflemaker or else you’ll be picking burnt batter off of the elements. I did that once and it took a long time to clean up.
...
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Middleton is tough on crime.
If I was a criminal I would not have a clue what to do with a crime fighting cyborg like RoboCop. All of the usual strategies and tools a guy might use to evade or defeat a normal policeman don’t apply. Guns don’t work - the bullets just bounce off. Lying wont work because RoboCop has a built in lie detector mechanism.
In this way, RoboCop stops crime before it starts because his...
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City Council Fever Comes to nathanweselake.com
With election fever gripping Portage la Prairie, I have been approached by several budding politicians to wade into the fray and throw the considerable weight and readership of this blog behind their bids for office.
As a pastor, it is important that I remain detached and not use my pull to sway the innocent (I have to adopt a similar strategy with my rugged good looks).
However, there is one...
Reminder PAC - Prayer Gathering Thursday, 7pm in gym.
It is a stupid thing to try to drag the Lion of Judah around by the tail.
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Technique or Transformation?
It is not about technique, it is about transformation.
Technique is to modern evangelicalism what circumcision was to the NT church.
We don’t need to know “how to”. We need new hearts.
So we are free of the burden of technique yet saddled with the knowledge that there has always been the distinction between the unacceptable offering and the acceptable offering.
We have to...
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Excessive use of "Bro"
In the last 2 months I have heard more men use the word “bro” than in the past 15 years combined.
(For those of you who have not been called “bro”, basically this term is similar to “man” or “dude” or “chum” or “sport” or “buddy” or the British “old bean”.)
Now, the team of crack researchers at...
Same Bat Time Same Bat Channel.
Thanks to everyone who came to the prayer gathering at PAC Thursday night. We are going to do it again next Thursday at 7pm in the gym.
Those of you who were there - spread the word.
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Let your "wants" rule your "feelings".
I want you to know the difference between what you “feel like doing” and what you “want to do”.
You will not always feel like dragging your butt out of bed at 6am to pray/read the bible but you want to know God/express your love for Him/see Him answer you.
You will not always feel like starting your workout or going as long or hard as you planned. But you want to have...
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You win them to what you win them with.
–
A. W. Tozer is a smart man.
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Attention PAC!
Well Portage Alliance Church, if you were in church last Sunday you know that God did something very special. His Holy Spirit was at work among us in a way I, and many others, have rarely seen.
It reminded me of stories I have read about different “anointing” or “revivals” in history. My heart is saying we need to ask God for more of this. More conviction, more joy, more love, more tears,...
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Walking to the Walmart checkout having dutifully went to buy conditioner and paint scraper blades.
And then I saw THE BEARD.
And then I saw it was only 5 bucks.
And then I saw it was 3 movies in 1 Collector’s Set.
And then, well, and then I became a Collector.
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IT CAME FROM WITHIN!!!
For the last few years we have been praying with some regularity for what Jesus calls “workers for the harvest.” That is, for people to come to PAC who could help us with our mission of turning Portage la Prairie UpSideDown. Off the top of my head I can think of several who fit this category perfectly. Transfered from other churches (I am aware this isn’t always a good thing...
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Bacon = Longevity
What a morning at PAC! Not much more to say. Feel like I walked though a hurricane. Beautiful bruises all over my soul.
Now off to the second birthday party in two days of someone who is in their 90’s. The secret to living to 90? Bacon and Eggs every morning.
Sorting out the bugs.
Switching blog platforms and changing DNS and playing with CSS. Since I know what NONE of that means it has been an experience reminding me of a situation which ultimately ended up with a “D” in Intro to Logic freshman year Brandon U.
Bear with me - I trust the results will bring you much joy.
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