I'm back. Back you ask? Yep, I was in Fort Nelson from Monday the 14th to Thursday the 24th. My mom came on Thursday (I believe) and stayed for the weekend and then we departed on Monday. I accomplished my main objective while I was there, and got lots of visiting time in with my mom, albeit, more time at the Soles' would have been nice.:) I don't know that I have much to say on it but for generalities such as "good" "nice" "short" so how do I sum it up without being general or too over detailed? I don't know that it's possible, but I'll try giving a short rundown of it.

The drive up was long, isn't every 11 hour drive considered such? But it was also uneventful, didn't hit any wildlife (saw some alive and dead ones, managed to stay on the road despite my mom's occasional wondering, and we didn't get run off the road by any Macs although we did pass a lot of them. I admit I also spent a lot of the drive with eyes closed, as my mom's driving style is somethin' else. ;) Also started reading Lion of the Covenant on the way, and thus far it has a thumbs up from me.

I spent much of the week and a half going through years worth of belongings; from piles of papers, clothing, books, magazines, socks and everything in-between, above and below, I went through it all. No doubt my mom will miss some items I disposed of, but I'll leave that for her to realize and she didn't really need them away..really. :D

After the allotted amount of time, and as soon as mom got a new part or two in the car we were off again for PG. However, due to some people who don't know how to order parts, we had to wait an extra day for them to order the right part in, as the first order was a no go. By the time Mom got back with the car, and we were all packed up and in order it was going on 4:00 pm. Did the late leaving time stop us? Never. I did however end up by driving for about half the trip, with us kinda taking turns as mom was pretty tired. I would say the biggest challenges were stopping in a standard (haven't done it in over 2 years) and drying out contacts, both of which were small obstacles. Didn't see any alive wildlife, which was also a good thing. As soon as we arrive I unloaded all of my stuff, got blankets for Mom, bid her farewell and hit the hay. She was off for Edmonton (to stay the weekend) before I woke up and I heard from Jord she had arrived safely.

Yes, I'm back.

The biggest news of the week is that I have a new little niece, a little Emily Price, and I have yet to hear the middle name. She's just small thing as she was about a month early, but thanks be to God, she's healthy. I'll be more than happy to post a couple pictures of her, as soon as I receive some..hint hint.

Well I'm off but shall return.

Jode

The buckle 


Here is the famous belt buckle of my father's that you may have read about in a couple of emails or posts . He received it from my mom as a present for father's day/his birthday, and we would sit for minutes (yeah, what kid can sit still longer than that?) at a time spinning it..I love the sound it makes. My sisters were kind enough to suggest that my mom pass it on to me..so for that I'm very happy. It was Mom's attempt at cow-boy-afying him..that's about as far as she got, haha. But yes, thanks to my wonderful sisters for being so unselfish as to let me have it, as I know it's very prized in all of our eyes.:)

Jode

Your Dominant Intelligence is Spatial Intelligence

You've got a good sense of space and how the world around you looks. You can close your eyes and "see" images. You have innate artistic talent. An eye for color and shapes, you're also a natural designer. Since you think in pictures, visual aids and demonstartions help you learn best. You would make a good navigator, sculptor, visual artist, inventor, architect, interior designer, or engineer.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

As you can no doubt tell, I decided to give my blog a bit of a face lift..as the grey just wasn't doing it anymore. So yeah, not done, maybe finish it later this week, as I have run over my deadline.:) Comments will be down as well..not like they're be missed that much..as I didn't have many, haha.

Anyhoe, hope you all have a great Lord's day, and perhaps I'll be posting later.:)

Jode

Well, tonight for bible study Mark read us a Micah sermon by Calvin. It left us all with a great big "wow", as his sermons have such a way of pinning us (as well as himself) with our own wretched, sinfulness. Some of his examples of human actions totally hit home.. I'll try to type a sample of it out, since sadly I can't find it online. I hope you find the these bits as edifying as I did.:)

Night to all, and adios,

Jode

The sermon is on Micah 6:6-8, preached Saturday, December 27, 1551 (Calvin gave daily sermons) It is also much longer than this, but here are some of the highlights.

*** Now Micah adds that the people think that they can appease God through ceremonies and similar things, in order to atone for offenses. But, of course what Micah is doing is introducing our human way of thinking, that is, our hypocrisy. For once we have persuaded ourselves to rebel against God and his Word, we begin to search for ways of exonerating ourselves before God. True, we cannot feign not to be sinners, or fail to confess our sins; but so long as God presses us and we remain committed to our own course, we will constantly look for ways to appease God. "True, I may not be able to deny that I am a miserable sinner, but consider what I can do in order to satisfy God." For since we are full of pride and lies, we think that we can pull the wool over God's eyes, rendering him content with frivolous things. And that is what Micah is addressing here. For after he condemned the people, he no doubt encountered the following reply: "True, God has granted us infinite blessings, and we have not acknowledged him as we ought. But there is no reason for you to condemn us as you do. You are right about our offending God, insofar as we have not been obedient to him. But our attempts at satisfaction ought to count for something. Of what value would it be for us to make so many sacrifices, if God were not compensated? You need to balance the good with the bad. For since you accused us of failing in certain areas, you ought at least give us credit for the services we render God." That is how the world thinks. It is confident that it knows how to appease God, whenever it has sinned against God.

.....For how many of us think ourselves acquitted upon hearing a sermon or mumbling a Pater Noster? As long as we put up a good appearance, we say:"Ah! That's good enough!" We must think that God wears blinders and that he cares for nothing more than our ceremonies. Now it is a great folly for us to interpret God's judgment in accordance with our fantasy. Why? Because, in the first place, we are carnal and therefore do not see our offences, unless they are thick enough to cut with a knife, as the people say. Of course they are relatively insignificant, we acknowledge them. But we overlook those that are full of evil affections, or that contain hidden evil thoughts, that constantly goad us to murmur against God, to become defiant, and to grind our teeth. Those things never surface. And why not? Because we are carnal. Now our Lord has a different eye that enables him to see with absolute clarity what we fail to see at all. Accordingly, since our eyes cannot see sufficiently to recognize our faults which God condemns, we have to learn not to daub our sins with our own concept of fairness or balance. For we must all appear before the judgment of God, whose ways transcend human thought.......

.....In the second place , love of self prevents us from recognizing our own sins, although we are able to recognize our neighbors'. For when our neighbors sin, we see it with clarity. Above all, whenever anyone commits an offence against us, whether unwittingly by shaking a straw at us in the wrong way, or by pointing a menacing finger at us, we consider it an irremissible crime. "Did you see that? That wretch deliberately offended me!" We make a mountain out of a molehill. But whenever we are guilty of any grievous or serious fault, worthy of casting our body and soul into hell, we deny and culpability and quickly dismiss it. We see it happen every day. Now do not suppose for a moment that God judges as we do. Thus, we must learn to divest ourselves of self-love. For it blinds us so powerfully that we are unable to perceive things as they are. What must we do then? When God asserts that we have sinned against him and have provoked his wrath against us, we must abandon any thought of how easy it is to forgive sins. Rather, we must realize that we have so utterly sinned against God as to be worthy of a pit five times deeper than hell. That is the first thought that ought to come to mind......

....Furthermore, as we daily realize how weak we are, may we turn to that one remedy which we know best provides succor: to our Lord Jesus Christ. And as he has once and for all united us to God, his Father, may we ask nothing but to live with our neighbors in complete justice, equity, and peace, in order that by his grace we may attain to that immortal glory in which we shall all be united in perfect joy, as he has promised us. And may God grant this grace not only to us, but to all people and nations of the earth, etc...... ****

Starts singin' a small world after all, it's a small world after all... I had a call from one of my distance education teachers earlier for some assistant in an assignment. When I was just about to go he asked if I was related to my dad, I guess he had known my dad from sunday school when my dad's family was attending the E Free Church years ago, when my father was a teen. I told Dan about my dad's passing away, as he had no way of knowing since he hadn't seen him in years. He proceeded to ask me if I was a Christian which I answered in the affirmative, and I told him I was Presbyterian. He then asked if I attended one of the two Presby churches in town, which I don't. Had a bit of a good discussion as to why not, although most of the talking was on my side. I talked a bit about the second commandment and how it applies to worship and how it applies to our not joining those denominations, but sadly I don't know how well he took that, as he seemed to skirt the issue by saying something like "well, it's good salvation is by Christ" which I whole heartedly agreed with, but it was in the ton of "I've heard enough, I have all that matters" but our love for Christ is shown by our fruit, so if we ignore the commands of God how would we respond to Christ when he says in John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Certainly our salvation is not of works, but rather it is shown through our works, works are the fruit of our faith and love, so how can so many people so easier toss aside the commands of God and claim to love him?

Luke 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

Anyhow, just a few thoughts.

Jode