Old ground, new insights

August 31, 2009

As I have said in different ways, I cherish the time I can have alone with God. To have the opportunity give yourself time to have the Lord minister deep into your spirit or instill new vision is a blessing of incredible value. I thank the Lord and my wife that I was able to make use of this opportunity. I won't share everything that took place in my time away because they are too personal but there are certain aspects that I would like to share.

I had a sense from the beginning that God wanted to do some fundamental, foundational work in me to prepare me for the next season. The picture I had was that of a lump of clay or a blank canvas that He wanted to mould our paint to create something new. What could this mean, I thought that at my age the moulding and painting was already done. It seems that God is always working on us to produce the person He has designed us to be.

Part of this process, I have discovered is that there are times that He reveals areas of our past that we feel we have covered. You know those pictures in our past that have caused some degree of pain. We look at them and then deal with them, right. Well sometimes he will return there because we have not completely dealt with all the pain these pictures can produce. For me this happened because He was saying it was time to go deeper, remove the boulders that were hindering me from building that clean, strong foundation I wanted for my life. That foundation that is built on knowing the love of the Father and living out of the identity He has given me.

He and I did this work using a combination of scripture, dreams, spiritual direction and prayer. By spending time in silence with Him He did some serious house cleaning and helped me to more clearly receive His love and walk in who He has created me to be. What a wonderful gift.

Its interesting that after this cleansing and building He is also continuing to say wait, walk each day with me and I will show you new things. My prayer is that I will have the courage to wait for Him and not run ahead in my own strength. This is a challenge, but He is with me and will lead me into His righteousness. Thank you Lord.
Blessings,
Glenn

Where to from here

August 11, 2009

Well we are back and we are glad. As we expected we hit the ground running which was very good. Mira was busy from the get go and I also had stuff to jump into.

I realized quickly, though, that I (Glenn) needed to spend some time with the Lord to see what this next season held. There were a few options but the one that seemed best, quite quickly, was taking an 8 day silent retreat and Loyola House in Guelph.

I know what you are thinking, Glenn taking off 8 days and then not talking. This cannot be possible. Well I want to set your minds at ease. This silent retreat would be my fourth and I must say that I love to spend that time talking to God, reading His word, listening to God in a beautiful silence. I tell you it is inspiring and invigorating.

I did this retreat from August 1-9 and am now going over my journalling and sorting out some of the things the Lord spoke.

I will take some time to think, pray and evaluate and then I think that I will share some of those things with you in this blog. I don't know if this is the forum for this kind of thing but I feel compelled to share the goodness of who the Father is with others. This will be a start.

Blessings to all,

Glenn

Back Home

July 21, 2009

Well we are back home. I always find it very interesting that no matter how long the vacation there comes a time at the end when you just want to go home.

There is great anticipation in the preparation and the early part of the travel. There is the fun and awesome connection with friends and family as the trip progresses. But at the end we just wanted to go home and get back to our regular life. (whatever that means)

It seemed that nothing much had changed when we returned. Our house had been left in pristine condition, thanks to Nancy White, and all we had to do was unpack. We did so and connected with our friends around the fire in the evening.

Monday morning dawned and we now realized the next season has started. For Mira this means much the same as she immersed herself immediately in prayer ministry.

For Glenn it is a little different. I do want to resume prayer ministry and must prepare and wait as God leads. This is a little scary because I'm not sure what it will look like. Will people actually want to see me again? Can I make this a viable vocation that produces income for me and my family? Am I listening to the Lord as I pursue areas of study and ministry or am I just following my own wants? These are questions that I ask myself.

I would ask for your prayers as I continue to see what this new season brings. I feel that God is leading us into an exciting time and am so pumped about the opportunities this will bring for us to minister to the body of Christ. What an adventure and I look forward to walking with you in it.
Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Life at Eric & Julia's

July 15-17, 2009

Happy birthday Sheri! Gramma gets to play with Arielle all morning as Sheri goes to meet a friend and ger her hair done.

Suntanning in the afternoon and salad, shishkabob's and pineapple cheesecake, according to Sheri's wishes.

What a rare and marvelous experience to have all of us dreaming, sharing and laughing together. Back to Art and Audrey's to sleep.

We enjoy morning coffee with Arielle crawling around clearly the starlet of the day. We clean up and do some yard work as Eric and Julia have been so generous in hsaring their home with all of us.

The girls and I attend a shower for Ashley who is engaged to our great nephew Keith. Good food and good time was had by all.

The boys spent the evening together watching a movie. Quiet but still much fun. Back to Art & Audrey's. They have been very gracious to give us a bed to sleep in.

We are coming to the end of our stay. Matthew now owns his car again with BC license and insurance. AFter coffee in the morning he is off to Whistler. It is another goodbye but he is happy and plans to see Eric & Julia in August.

Reinhard and Gerry pick us up at 3:30 and we will spend some time with them. This has truly been a rich experience for us and we want to thank everyone for making this possible. Bless you all and thank you for your prayers.

Glenn will stay in touch as to what the next season holds for us.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Abbotsford, the last week

July 14, 2009

We sneak out of Art & Audrey's house (3 min. away from Julia & Eric's) quietly in our PJ's to go to be there when Arielle wakes up. Coffee with our family! It is amazing to be with Matthew. He has new re: Whistler and it feels great for us to be near him again.

A lovely, lazy coffee morning and then Glenn & I are off to meet "Soulstream" a group of spiritual directors in Abbotsford! It was as if we always knew them! Steve Imbach was the youth pastor in the E Free Church in Steinbach years before we joined that church. The Mennonite connection!

Glenn. Matthew and Jonathan played golf in the afternoon. We golfed at Ledgeview and were joined by a long time Abbotsford resident who knew the course well. This could have been very helpful for us but alas it was more of a day of excercise in this course nestled in the mountains rather that a game of golf. We enjoyed ourselves very much and hopefully will be able to redeem our golf together another time.

Sheri and Mira had a nap with Arielle. Arielle knows some simple sign language and she communicates her needs very well.

We went to Cora's for coffee and perischke. (sp.) Cora is a very good baker, yum.

The boys came home in time to eat and then go to Eric's ball game. He played in two games against the national team from Denmark and the acquited themselves very well. They won the first one and the second game ended in a 0-0 tie. Eric played exceptional as usual and had two hits in the first game. It was great ball.

Jonathan and Sheri visited Brian and Sandra, thanking them for their generosity. Auntie Julia and Gramma play with Arielle and share a special bonding time over a glass of Salt Spring Winery wine:)

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Salt Spring to Abbotsford

July 13, 2009

Up at 5:15 am to catch the Queen Nanimo Ferry. We stop at Pender, Mayne and Galiano islands. This is very very early. What a great weekend we had. Thank you Art and Audrey for this experience.

We return home to Eric and Julia's house into Arilelle's outstreched arms. How wonderful to be met by Sheri and Jonathan here in B.C. Matthew has also arrived to join us and pick up his car.

Sheri and I get groceries and prepare for the big family gathering. All the Wiebes are there except the Alberta family and what a joy. Glenn was so thrilled and reconnected bit time. Gramma Mira got to go back with Arielle and put her to sleep. What a joy.

It was wonderful to connect with all of the family at Brian and Sandra's. I (Glenn) got to talk to each one reminiscing and reconnecting. It is truly a privelege to have the opportunity to spend this time in B.C. connecting. My family are an incredible blessing to us and as I looked around the back yard I again experienced what family truy looks like. Thank you Jesus.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Salt Spring Day 2

July 12, 2009

Awake with the sun in our faces we enjoy a slow coffee and toast. At 11:30 we saw Fulford harbour. There are 3 harbours on the island. We wandered into unique little shops, had an organic coffee and then off to the goat farm.

Here we saw the entire cheese operation and we were able to try many different types of goat cheese. We walked in a walled garden and saw extraordinary poppies.

We drove around the island and saw beautiful Arbutus trees. These trees require salt water air and grow on the coastline only. The bark is reddish orange and cracks and peels off. You can hear the cracking at night.

Back home we shared with each other about the last few years. Very therapeutic. What a blessing. Early to bed because we will be waking at 5 am.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Salt Spring Day1

July 11, 2009

The sun is shining into our room after a peaceful sleep. I make my way outside when Audrey quietly points to a baby deer! We stare at each other the deer & I! Of course I took pictures.

Sitting outside drinking coffee is most mellowing as I stare thru some trees and see the ocean. It is very nicely quiet consolation.

Breakfast of French toast and bacon. Art & Audrey cook, Glenn & Mira clean up. Those are our roles and it works well for us.

The decor in our villa is on a Frida theme. She was an artist. Frida paintings, self-portraits of Frida, Frida coasters, dfinitely a theme. By the way she has a unibrow and a mustache. I bless her and enjoy the color. By the way Frida was an artist from Mexico who painted in the early 20th century. She was commemorated in a movie starring Selma Hayak.

After breakfast we went to the Island market. Very arsty, $900.00 wood salad bowls, organic everything, pottery, licorice soap.. our artist friends would love this Island. To have a booth in the market you must make it bake it, or grow it!

It is sunny and a very casual friendly atmosphere. We went home after lunch and then we went to find the wineries. There are 3 of them on the island. Again very friendly people. We tried 13 different wines! Then we found the Lavender farm! Oh the purple! We saw many different varieties of lavender and saw how they dry it and also process it to extract the essential oils, fascinating.

Home to steak and vegetables and then we watched "Into the Wild."

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

From Abbotsford to Salt Spring Island

July 10, 2009

Julia gets up to go to work and I start the "after camping laundry" and coffee in Abbotsford at Eric & Julia's. What a treat and what a privilege the Lord has given us. Eric puts up the tents yet again in his backyard in the glorious sunshine to dry them out and be refreshed.

At 11:00 sharp Art & Audrey pull up and we are packed and ready for the ferry ride to Salt Spring Island. Audrey has planned all the meals beginning with a Starbucks coffee and a most delicious raspberry, white chocolate scone.

We drive to the ferry on zero highway which is right on the 49th parallel. US on the left and Canada on the right. It is a very interesting feeling driving down that road, Glenn can be here not over there...we reach our destination and while we wait we catch up on the new and people watch as many, many of us are waiting for BC ferries.

At 2:00 we drive on to our ferry and eat a most amazing pasta salad while others walk by saying "Oh that was smart." yum Audrey's wise thinking once more.

The sights are beautiful as we ride thru the Pacific, past gorgeous hilly islands. Oh look there are seals playing in the water! Our first "seal sighting." They look so relaxed in the water.

We drive off the ferry down the road to Frida's Villa. It is truly truly amazing. The vegetation around the stone walk up to this delightful cottage with a hot tub in the back.

Glenn & I spent some time in the hot tub and praised and prayed, basking in the grandness of the Father.

After a wonderful Sante Fe salad meal we watch a romantic comedy and go to sleep in this big beautiful fluffy bed! Thank you Jesus.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Banff to Abbotsford

July 9, 2009

At the crack of 9:20 am we use all four of us fully refreshed. We had a super buffet breakfast and we are on the road again.

We take #1 highway thru Yoho National Park and Glacier National Park. Glenn's long hopeful dream is coming true as we see these mountain ranges up close. He had a coyote sighting and exclaims every few minutes "Look at that scene."

It is quite an experience to drive thru Rogers Pass with the sun shining and listening to worship music. One cannot help but worship when our eyes feast on the immensity of these mountains.

Raw Nature, Incredible Majesty. Our Father creates well. It is good.

For Glenn and myself it is a powerful moment as we join Heather Clark singing "Price of Love" at the top of our voices riding thru the hills where our help comes from.

Eric and Julia follow us as we drive thru this beauty. Their nearness is a great comfort to me. We make it home to Abbotsford by 8pm and the guys are really tired. The drive thru the mountains is not as easy as the drive thru the prairies. The roads curve and turn a lot and the steep inclines and declines keep the driver alert.

We start the camping laundry and make our way to the couches as we laugh and talk about our experiences together.

Good Night.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Jasper to Banff

July 8, 2009

We actually slept and woke up to see how Eric & Julia fared. Julia levelled a look at us and said we had a horrible night. I hate camping! It is still raining by the way as it has been ALL NIGHT. In one quick hour we were packed and made our way into Jasper for a coffee and travel breakfast. The hot coffee and dry vehicles cheered us as we make our way to Banff.

How can I possibly describe these mountains, valleys, rivers, glaciers!! The water is aqua green crystal clear and always moving. The evergreen trees cover the montain sides like a welll manicured lawn, the steep rocky sides feel dangerous yet commanding in beauty.

There are no cows dotting a flat landscape here but we did see a black bear lumbering back into the forest disgusted with all the attention he was getting from us "road people."

Clara our GPS gets us clearly into Banff to our hotel. Our travel weary, stinky, dirty bodies most certainly enjoyed the shower, hot tubs and saunas that our hotel offered us. We are on the main drag in Banff. We cannot take enough pictures of this town nestled in the mountains. Julia and I take the time to do some very necessary laundry and then we enjoy a delightful dinner in our hotel. Delicious!! These beds are soft and clean and dry. We settle in for a good nights sleep.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Jasper Day 2

July 7, 2009!

We awaken refreshed and looking foward to coffee by the fire. Sure enough Eric is splitting wood for the fire. We have eggs and toast for breakfast as teh sun shines gloriously. The boys go grocery shopping in Jasper and Julia and I have great fun cleaning up and organizing the campsite. Julia has the most brilliant idea of drying the wet bathing suits and towels around the fire draped over the lawn chairs. It is all dry in a very short time. Thank God for fires. We were thinking of suggesting a new fragrance for Downey...wood smoke.

We are on our way to the highest and longest tram to the top of Whistlers mountain. (gulp) We are actually paying money to go up very straight and high!! OK God is with us...27 people including ourselves are jammed into the tram and 7 minutes later we bump and then rest on the top! When we started it was 13 degrees C at the base, we step out in 5 degree of rain, snow, sleet and hail. Harsh!!! We walk around a bit...but the wind!

Julia rushes into the restaurant as the rest of us eagerly follow. The view is amazing as we look at "clouds from both sides now". The lunch and hot chocolate and coffee was great in the top floor restaurant. The feel is rugged, tough, pioneer like.

As we are waiting for the tram to go back down a girl (about 12 years old) and I are looking out the window at the foggy view. She writes on the window "Clarissa was here" and I write "Mira was here" and I turn to her and say hi Clarissa. Her face breaks open into a smil and she say hi Mira.

We are all travellers here and we hear many different languages around us so we are all together on this mountain top (dependent on a little tram) yet very different only connecting in our little groups. I enjoyed "cross connecting" with Clarissa.

Part of the restaurant was closed because someone was hurt. As Julia was minding her own business getting coffee an older man just says to her "she fell"...Julia immediately returns with "I'm sorry I hope she'll be OK." "Cross connecting" just happens with us.

We make it down thru rain, hail and clouds. Whew, thank the Lord.

Back at the campsite we are dry and Eric builds a fire to make sure we are warm. It is wonderful to be with Eric and Julia. What a great couple! So many laughs, deep connections and pleasant silences.

The steak dinner was beyond compare and Eric and I won the 2nd crib game but Julia and Glenn killed us the next.

With faces set like flint, we move through the rain to our dome tent bedroom...A little disconcerting as it is very damp...yet we are a persevering couple...the electric blanket warming us we settle in as 2 nights before...yet is is a little differint...those drops on the forehead..a little more disconcerting...Glenn encouranges me to sleep where it is dry...hmmmm...more persevering we fall asleep waking up a couple of hours later...it is still raining...raining...it just never stops....the sides of the tent and therefore our bed is very damp...I imangine the worst...I HATE CAMPING!!

At Glenn's impatient direction we move around so we can both be dry...this I find absolutely hilarious as we move our ample bodies around and over each other aligning blankets with some expressive words it was very funny as I imagine what it must have sounded and looked like in the black of night in the camping wilderness...you just had to be there...

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Jasper Day 1

July 6, 2009

After a deep comfy sleep with a couple of hilarious interruptions when Glenn had to go out at night we are awakened by Julia at our window inviting us for coffee. The fire welcomes us and the smell of Starbucks coffee made with a Melita. Sigh what a beautiful time sitting by the fire drinking coffee, munching on toast and planning our day at Miette Hot Springs...do they have showers... that would be nice...what is that a mother and baby elk just over 15 feet away passing by and eating.

Silently we approached them taking pictures like crazy. What a beautiful serene sight mother and baby calmly eating with the mountains in the background and gorgeous evergreen trees throughout.

On our way to the Hot Springs we see a herd of elk and stop to enjoy them and take more pictures. The hot springs are amazing, 40 degrees C and the rain is falling and we don't care at all as we lounge in the hot water. Standing in hot water with the rain falling on our faces...living in the moment...awesome! The view of the mountains with tall trees thick as a carpet...in this rugged place.

The winding/frightening steep road into the mountains to get to the remote hot springs was exhilerating. Eric, Julia and Glenn love the road but I am a little frightened to see the tops of tall trees at the roadside at eye level.

At home under the protective tarp roof we cook a gourmet mountain view, elk sighting, meal of bbq chicken roasted peppers and bbq potatoes the way Jonathan taught us.

Back from the hot springs our fire builder Eric got a fire going and when the coals were good and hot we had Bavarian smokies made on the open fire. So delicious.

We then played a rousing game of crib where Glenn and I had a dramatic win.

We must admit to all right now that we love camping! It is so beautiful and relaxing, the trees, the mountains, the fire, the clean air. Most excellent. I am now a convert. This is wonderful. Off to our bed/dome tent/room for a contented sleep.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

From Barrhead to Jasper

July 5, 2009

Wow what breakfast! Oma brought a Ukranian dish that was delicious (I can't spell it). Scrambled eggs and bacon and blueberry pancakes. Ashley's little boys were adorable.

On the road again at 11:15 to Jasper, Yeah!

Bringing blessing is the plan and it seems to unfold in a unique manner each place we go.

Mountain sighting at 2:30 pm and 70 km away from Jasper we see mountain goats, WOW. At 3:30 we see the Palisades mountains.

As we come into Jasper I call Julia and she is just on the other side of town taking pictures of elk bathing in the river.

We meet at a pizza stop on the main street of Jasper. What a picturesque town nestled into the mountains. Lots of tourist shops. We are mostly interested in each other sharing stories of elk sightings.

The kids have set up camp for us at Whistlers campsite 3 km out of Jasper. Our little blue tent holds our queen size double blow up mattress and nothing else. Julia has made up the bed beautifully with an electric cord that connects to an electric blanket. Looks comfy.

The rain begins. We pull up to Eric & Julia's campsite a few sites down and Eric is building a tarp roof over the picnic table. Eric is an expert fire builder (even in the rain) and we sit around a roaring fire eating take out pizza. We tell stories as Glenn pokes at the fire. And after laughing lots as we make smores we are suddenly tired.

Glenn & I make our way into our little dome room filled to every corner with bed. As the electric blanket warms us we hook the lantern onto the middle of the roof and read. Lights out simply means raising my arm and pressing the button. :)

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Barrhead road trip

July 4, 2009

Wahoo in Alberta with brother Mark and cool wife Colleen!!

After coffee and a breakfast shake made by Mark we prepared fora road trip in Northern Alberta.

We toured Colleen's office building, Albert Distance Learning Centre, and saw her office which was very impressive. Then we visited Lisa's house taking note of renovations...Glenn is picking up some laminate flooring tips.

Off to Mark's office, Pembina Hills School Board Office. It was good to get a feel of his work environment. Now I can see them when I think of them at work.

We went thru the Dutch hamlet of Neerlandia which had very well maintained and neat dairy farms. Made it to Vega where the Klondike Ferry crosses the Athabasca River.

We enjoyed a lovely picnic of potato salad and taco salad on the banks of the river. We are ferryed across the river by an acqaintance of Mark and Colleen's. Not being charged for the ferry ride proves again that Alberta is truly the land of the free.

As we hiked along the sandy trail, we saw breathtaking views of the river. We saw some people with quads riding up and down the sand hills.

On our way to Fort Assiniboine where Mark taught school we saw 2 white tailed bucks, 2 sand hill cranes and a herd of bison but the closest we got to a moose was some moose poop in a bed of beautiful wild roses, which are characteristic of Alberta.

In Fort Assiniboine we saw the world's largest wagon wheel and the amazing beauty of the forest. We even came across a little red school house where I signed my name on the black board. Moose Wallow School was definitely there but definitely abandoned.

On the way home we saw Colleen's homestead, a graceful white tailed doe, and Ashleys home on 12 acres. Colleen went down memory lane recalling where her schoolhood friends lived. Great stories of hard working people in a harsh land.

Colleen's grandson, Mason, came for the night and was a delight to watch playing with his front end loader.

We had barbequed chicken, peppers and rice for dinner. It was scrumptious. Mark's daughter Jamie came home from work and joined us and we had a great time eating on the deck and rehashing our day. Northern Alberta is beautiful and we had a great day exploring it's backwoods.

Cleaned up after dinner and went to get a movie to chill and finish the evening. What a great day touring and seeing the sights of the Athabaska valley.

Tomorrow we leave for Jasper and 3 days camping with Eric and Julia and more adventures.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

From Calgary to Barrhead

July 3, 2009

After a good nights sleep we had breakfast at the Carriage House. This is the first day of the Stampede.

The waitresses are dressed in Western style and people are wearing huge cowboy hats. We saw a fair number of people in perfectly polished cowboy boots. One waitress talked about her pet rooster and we saw pictures and everything.

We were very blessed seeing Wayne and Muriel again and enjoying our time together. These are things that do not happen often enough; but with the miles separating us what can you do.

On the road again to Barrhead looking forward to seeing Mark and Colleen. (Mira's brother and sister-in-law) The sky is big and blue with white fluffy clouds, the landscape, yep, is rolling hills and we are seeing more trees as we drive North.

Wonderful welcome by Mark and Colleen, the cocktails and steak were absolutely delicious.

Robin joined us and we walked to the local ice cream parlor and had soft ice cream. Met Oma Fehr (Colleen's mom) Came home and saw Robin's grad pictures and crashed for a good night's sleep.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

The Calgary stop

July 2, 2009

9 am we are on the road again....The road looks like a grey ribbon going through rolling beautiful hills...the cattle are still dotting the landscape. Just inside the Alberta border we see buffalo also dotting the hills...Have we said this before, there are no trees.

There are a few 5ft high bushes but the vast prairie and big sky make us feel like we live in a big big world or are we all inside a globe? you know like those little ornaments you shake? :)

So we surprised Wayne and Muriel (a mixup in communication) but we all rallied and had a great time together.

Had a lovely dinner at Cravings, we recommend the salmon, a walk along their local conservation area, beautiful and right in the middle of the city. Stephen, Kevin and Karen came later for coffee. We enjoyed great converstion and connecting again as family. We loved hearing about their interesting eventful lives.

It was a great day with family. Loved it.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Travel Day

July 1, 2009

Woke up early 7 am to quietly leave our Kleefeld home to go to Winnipeg to kiss Arielle and her mom and dad. We drank their coffeee and then headed on out to the prairie drive to Swift Current Saskatchewan.

The gently rolling hills dotted with grazing cows are pleasantly peaceful to us as we share, pray and listen to John Paul Jackson talking about heaven.

We are passing Elkhorn which is very near the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border. We see a float from the Elkhorn July 1st parade. We new because it was a tractor pulling a trailer full of hay bales and children on top waving at the cars. NO REALLY IT IS TRUE. THAT IS WHAT WE SAW!!!

OK it is several hours later and we saw horses dotting the same landscape... we will keep you posted :) There are huge gran elevators...makes us think of dad... we love him.

Arrived at Swift Current and our motel room. Time for bed and then tomorrow we visit Glenn's brother.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Some more old friends

June 30,2009

Slept in and slowly got ready for the day. This is the day Julia flew back, very early, Sheri took her to the airport.

Yeah the weather is great and the boys go golfing in Steinbach. Norm and John Peters join Glenn and Vic at the Steinbach Golf Club.

Carol serves a marvelous Summa borscht with homemade buns. Seriously this food is to die for!!

As Carol and I go for a walk I pass Woodlawn school and see my old classroom window. I did enjoy teaching but I'm not sorry that it is behind me now. It feels strange to walk the streets I used to walk at 35 years old. My thoughts are so different now. I appreciate being older.

Carol and I catch up sharing our lives together and reminiscing. We are immediately comfortable with each other and the familiar easy going relationship we always had is picked up as if no time has passed. What a treasure my friend is!

Yet some things have changed. We are grandparents now, our children are married... Vic & Carol are dancing, literally, and Carol is a painter! Will wonders never cease!!!!

Then along comes another grandmother, Connie Peters, and little William and another great connection is made. The men joinded us and we dined on bbq shrimp, stirfried linguine, and caeser salad with lots of wine. What a great community we experienced with the food and great company.

(Glenn writing) Just wanted to add that we had a great game of golf. It was so incredible golfing with my friends. I must say I have missed their company. I won't share scores or anything because I do want to protect their privacy. :)

Over coffee we shared Vic & Carol's trips to Mexico and Palm Springs and it felt like we were ther with them.

Humbly gratified to God for great friends we blessed each other and went home to Kleefeld.

When we arrived low and behold the "rail" game was on the table so we played a game until 1:00 am. Adam is amazing at picking up these new games.

Bed and prepare for the next leg of our trip.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Arielle's party

June 28, 2009

Wake up in a new bed, orient ourselves and get ready to drive to Jonathan and Sheri's. We are the first to arrive and see Julia, Sheri and Jonathan busy getting ready.

Great Grampa and Great Gramma arrive first and the party starts. People continue to come over the next hour. Uncle Mike, Aunt Karen and cousin Adam as well as friends Vergil and Krist and Kai all sit on the deck having a great time. Of course Arielle and Kai are the centre of attention.

We wait to barbeque sausage, eat the food and then open presents and have cake. Things are going very well as we laugh and talk and just have fun on the deck. At least it is not raining and we can enjoy the outdoors a bit.

Arielle opens her presents (with the help of mom) and seems to love the attention. She is such a good girl who is having so much fun. Everyone is snapping pictures, its like the papparazi. (sp)

Then Arielle is placed in her high chair and she gets to eat a piece of chocolate cake with icing all by herself. It is both hilarious and adorable as she digs into the feast. She demolishes the icing in no time and then plays with the cake, she is just so cute. We love being here with everyone watching them enjoy her and laughing with them. We have such a great family and Sheri has such great friends. Her friend Marie came after work and was able to share in the festivities.

It was amazing but Arielle went to bed OK we thought she would be so hopped up on sugar that she would never go to sleep but she held to her schedule like the good girl she is.

We left after she went to bed and returned to Mike and Karen's to talk and play some games. Adam loves to play games, as to we so we had a great time playing 99 and cribbage. Mike finished his paper and joined us for a game of 99. Again it was great to catch up and talk with Mike and Karen and here what has been happening in their lives.

Went to be looking forward to a day with Julia, Sheri and Arielle.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

Visiting old friends

June 27, 2009

Today we woke up with Arielle ready for coffee. Had coffee and spent the morning with Jonathan, Sheri and Arielle. Sheri is waiting for Julia to arrive at noon. We will be on our way to Steinbach by then to visit Norm & Sandi.

Arrive at Norm and Sandi's in rain and find out that the golf course is closed and we cannot go golfing. Glenn is disappointed, Mira not so much. Instead of golfing we go for lunch and catch up. Have a great time getting reacquainted and finding out how friends and family are doing.

Return to their house, have a glass of wine and continue our discussion. Norm and Glenn watch some golf in his TV room and Mira and Sandi stay in the living room as we carry on our conversation. It is so good to meet old friends and start where we left off as if we haven't missed a beat.

They had some serious water damage and were in the process of fixing their basement. What a mess but they had it under control.

Had a great dinner of salmon, wild rice and vegetables, it was absolutely scrumtious. We continued our reminiscing the rest of the night and then went to Mike and Karen (Mira's brother) in Kleefeld for the night. We caught them before they went to bed and had a chance to talk. We have a great family.

Then to bed and Arielle's birthday party the next day.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

A great day with Arielle

June 26, 2009

We woke up to the sound of Arielle, what music to our ears. Woke up slowly over coffee and toast.

Got ready for shopping for her birthday party after her nap. Went to St. Vital mall and bought all the necessary things for her party. She is such a good girl shopping, kicking her feet and watching the people.

Went to the children's play area where Arielle could crawl, climb and impress Grandma and Grandpa. She just loves having fun.

Then we went to DQ and had ice cream. Very much fun and refreshing.

Got home in time for her nap and had our own nap. I think we were as tired as she was. Man she's a lot of fun, or did I say that already.

Barbequed steak for supper and watched a movie after Arielle went to bed. What a lovely day just hanging out with the Banman family.

Tomorrow we see Norm and Sandi and hopefully can golf. We'll see if the weather cooperates.

Blessings,

Glenn & Mira

More Mira notes

June 25, 2009

6 am Arielle calls us awake! Starbucks coffee and playing with Arielle. Sheri goes to work at 11 am and Arielle and I made pasta salad. She is sitting on the counter as I worked around her. No tears as mom left. We had great fun.

Deck time with her car and shpent 30 minutes taking leaves and moving them from the deck to chair. Sooooooo cute. The ruler portion of her spirit was enjoying the orde of things.

She cried a little going for a nap but is napping still at 3:15 adn went down at 1:45. Grandma and Grandpa had a nap too! Whew!

Went for a long walk along the neighborhood streets, Arielle is kicking her legs and enjoying the ride.

Picked up Sheri from work and got home the same time as Jonathan. He mowed the lawn and Glenn barbequed pork tenderloin, it was great. We had supper after Arielle went to bed we watched Deep Impact. Ah Frodo you did other movies to.

See you tomorrow.

Blessings, Glenn & Mira

Mira's notes 2

June 24, 2009

Got up and packed and out of the the house by 8 am. Breakfast with mom Wiebe. Very strange to be in apartment 907 without dad.

We talked at length and blessed her as she blessed us. I am itching to get to Winnipeg and Arielle. We leave at 10 am and arrive at 703 Lorette. Arielle is adorable. I can't take my eyes off her as I carefully bond with her. She raised her arme to me in a short while and we were connected.

Glenn and Sheri went grocery shopping as Arielle and I played with her new toys. Favorite toy the Elmo telephone.

Supper of the best pizza in the world, Quality Pizza. Gave Arielle a bath and talked and went to sleep on the air mattress in the living room with a small pathway to baby's room and the bathroom.

Glenn & Mira

Mira's notes

June 23, 2009

Woke up at 8:45! Great sleep and breakfast was sensational. (toasted sweet bread, fruit and cereal) Shared stories of aunts, uncles, my gradparents of past family gatherings.

Next playing cribbage outside at the table listening to the wind blowing from the North, no humidity says mom with a smile. We check all the plants outside to see how they have grown (from the night before :)

Homemade soup for lunch and naptime for all. I sense the Father's pleasure as He watches the love we have for each other and as we clebrate His goodness in our lives.

It was beyond precous to overhear mom and dad having devotions together and prayed for their family. sigh what a blessing they are.

After a 20 minute nap we went to Aunt Tina and cousin Brenda. Able to bless them both and then came home and had "clopps" with mashed potatoes.

Had an important meeting with Bernie Loeppky our pastor for an hour and talked about Jesus versus religion, the state of the Mennonite Church, the conscientious objector wall being built in Winkler, and Glenn's future. He said "You'll find your legs Glenn, give yourself time".

Got home played cribbage and lost again. (Glenn and mom are just too good) We laughed and laughed, it is good for the soul.

more notes tomorrow.

Mira & Glenn

Settled in Manitoba

June 25, 2009


Well we are now settled in Manitoba. Tuesday and Wednesday morning we had a great time with Mira's parents and my step-mother Helen. It was great to talk and reminise with them. We learn something new about our heritage every time we talk. It was great.

Wednesday afternoon we went to see our grand daughter, Arielle, and oh and Sheri and Jonathan as well. We saw their new house for the first time and got settled quickly. Arielle is such a joy, we are really enjoying her. Grandparenting is a new and wonderful experience.

We are sleeping on the floor and a comfortable air bed and actually slept quite well. It's so good to be with our kids again, we are very blessed.

Today we will be baby sitting as Sheri goes to work. Spending a day with Arielle, oh joy. She is precious and beautiful, can't gush enough.

Their cat, Missmao, on the other hand is not that lovely. She hates the fact we are here and hisses every time we go past. Therefore she is relegated to the basement while we are here and we are OK with this. We now know how others feel when they visit us and have to deal with Molly's attitude. Sorry all:)

Blessings to all,
Glenn & Mira

Day 2 - Manitoba

June 22, 2009

That was the best shower in the world last night. After 12 1/2 hours on the road we slept like babies.

6am We are "on the road again." The scenery is absolutely amazing. The Canadian Shield is truly rugged and beautiful. Pristine lakes, clear streams along the road perfectly mirrored. We are hoping to see a moose beside the road.

Clara, our new GPS gadget, knew about Winkler after the first 4 letters. Us Winklerites were very proud. Clara is the name we gave to our gadget because she sounds like the telephone operators of yester-year, so we thought the name suited that picture.

Hardly any traffic on this beautiful morning as the sun shines down on us. :)

Same scenery mile after mile after mile..... There is some road construction as we listen to more Greg Boyd and also some John Paul Jackson. John Paul is talking about protocols for the next move of God. He talks about honouring Him, boundaries and discipline which all ring true. We'll listen to more later.

At 3pm Manitoba time we have reached the border. We have sung many Beatle songs, some Kris Kristofferson and Brian Doerksen. The melodies will definitely leave their mark in Matt's car.

We have arrived in Winkler at 6pm to a grand reception by mom and dad Thiesen. The table is set with cabbage borscht and home made buns, with watermelon and roll kuchen for desert, yum yum. Very completely satifying.

Next stop is Sheri and Jonathan and of course Arielle our grand daughter. yay.

Glenn & Mira

First Day

June 21, 2009

We slept downstairs so Nancy White had a clean be for her stay at our home! 4:30 am alarm rings. We were finally sleeping at 2 am and we were laughing because we both lost our pillows! Considered leaving then but fell back asleep.

5 am coffee in hand full car and a full tank of gas and we are off! We took the 407 to 400 and had a breakfast of champions at McDonalds in Barrie. 6:30 am, we are actually doing this, WOOT.

We made a stop at the French River because that is where Carl went with Joyce's dad. Pee break, water and beef jerky and we are off again.

Glenn did some prayer healing with Mira driving along and Jesus came and sparkled away the poor construction of her sub-concious that she received in a dream last night. Go God. Love travelling.

Listened to Greg Boyd teaching of ways to employ our imagination to practice imagining truth till it becomes a reality in our experience, transforming our mind. Here are 3 ways for Christ to live in us: 1. rest and receive from Him in solitude 2. live as though you are dead 3. imagine love coming down on you as a waterfall of God's love.

Sub sandwich and DQ cone in Sault Ste. Marie.

Lupins growing in bunches on the roadside; pink and purple ones. And then the beautiful and big Lake Superior. Its just majestic. Tree covered hills looking like portly gentlemen on either side of the road.

The fog rolls in from the lake as the sun shines!!. Sandy little beaches.

We sing loudly along witht he Who and country songs:) Must make a LCBO stop for wine tonight.

3pm and we have 240 km to go to Marathon. We gas up in Wawa.... picture this 2 old people leaning out the open door comingout of the car in a bend over position slowly creaking into an upright position. It was very funny to see.

Where is that dad-durn washroom:) It takes the years of learning about perseverance to get back into the car. We did it cause we are good at choosing rightly:)

Glenn & Mira

We prepare for our freedom journey

June 17, 2009

Well we are in the last days of furious preparation for our freedom journey out west. The car is ready, Arielle's things are in the trunk, Matthew's are ready to be put into the car and we have thought about what to pack. What's left is packing and the last minute details of leaving instructions for taking care of the yard and taking care of Molly and the house. Then on Sunday June 21 at 4:30 A.M. we will be setting our Magellan and driving off into the sunrise. (we have to go east before we go west). We couldn't be more excited. Just 3 more sleeps.

Our trip is pretty well planned around visiting family and friends but we are taking some time to kick back and relax. We plan on camping in Jasper for a few days with Eric and Julia and spending a weekend on Salt Spring Island. We look forward to each day with anticipation and must pinch ourselves that we are so fortunate and have friends and family across the country to enjoy and visit. The Lord has truly blessed us.

We will not be able to see everybody but we are making highlighted stops across the west taking the opportunity to thank and bless people as we go. I plan to update this blog as we go, if I can get internet access and time, just to let people know what is happening in our lives.

Jesus, an offence

I was reading John 6 this morning and was struck by the directness of Jesus speach. I know that He was not one to beat around the bush but from vs. 53 - 58 it seems that Jesus says things to not only enlighten but to shock and offend.

Previously Jesus said that He was the bread of life, that He has God's approval and that all should believe in Him. For those people these were very strong words, no one had ever claimed to have this direct connection to God before. They challenge Him and want Him to give them this life giving bread every day. He then goes on further by insisting that He is the bread of life and that all that come to Him will never thirst or hunger again. This is strong stuff for the religious crowd of the day. They question Him because of course Jesus is the son of Joseph the local carpenter, where does get off making these claims.

Now most people would stop here and leave well enough alone. The crowd was stirred up enough so why create an even larger hornets nest. But Jesus looks them in the eye and reiterates what He said before, that anyone who wants to come to the Father must go through Him. (Jesus)

Then Jesus goes even further in vs. 53ff when He says that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to receive this eternal life. What an offensive statement this must have been for those around Him because they did not understand what He meant. As I read this I was stunned by the enormity of the offense these words would have held. They would have seen Jesus as being an advocate of human sacrifice. We know now what He meant by this but when He said it they had no clue what He truly meant and He does not immediately clear it up with the assembled mass of people He was speaking to. He did however have their attention.

This reminds me that even today Jesus will offend our tender sensibilities in order to shock us into making a choice of having real relationship with Him or not. Like the image of sacrifice that He leaves with this group we must understand that there is pain and personal sacrifice that we must endure in our pursuit of intimacy with Him. In fact I believe that we can only accomplish what He has designed for us if we walk in that kind of intimacy. He truly does want all of us and we need to go beyond the lip service of giving all to the understanding of what giving all means for each of us. It can be a hard road but the reality of relationship that it produces is worth the pain.

Blessings,
Glenn

Last night when we were reflecting on rest and what it really means I was struck by what Jesus said in Matthew 11:25. Specifically the fact that the father hides his secrets from those who think they are wise but shows these same secrets to those who follow him in childlike humility. He goes on to say int verse 28 that all who are weak and heavy laden can come to Him and He will give them the rest they need.

What I did was make the connection between childlike faith and finding rest in Jesus. If we come to Him with that open faith of a child trusting in the fact that He will be with us and guide, then no matter what is happening or where we are He will give us rest deep in our souls. I want that kind of rest and peace and to receive it I need to have a real childlike faith.

This reminds of the account of Mary and Martha. Comments on this are many but there is something specific in Jesus reply to Martha that really impacted me and relates to this call for childlike faith. When Martha complains to Jesus that Mary is not helping her (Luke 10:38-42) Jesus reply is simple yet difficult. He says: "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about." Here Jesus lauds Mary for her childlike adoration of Him to the exclusion of Mary and the housework. That is what we need total devotion to Christ in all we do. He says that it is the one and only thing worth being concerned about.

I believe it is in this place that we can find true rest. It is so simple yet so hard because, I believe, it flies in the face of what we perceive as societies norms. We are called to constantly try to achieve and Jesus says trust in me, I will give you rest and then accomplish all of my purposes for your life. This is where I want to live.

Jesus is amazing.

Jesus is amazing. I know this is not anything new or profound but as I read through the gospels His life and teachings truly do amaze me. He taught like no one before him and performed miracles that had never before been witnessed. As scripture teaches and creation attests, Jesus is the focal point of history. It would seem to follow that living life as a true disciple of Christ would be a worthy goal for anyone.

In Matthew we see in the birth account of Jesus all of the miraculous signs that accompanied it. God was all over his birth and then just after He audibly confirms Jesus as His son He sends Jesus to the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Spiritually speaking Jesus ministry began with a bang, the lines were drawn.

In Matthew 5:17 Jesus said "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." NIV What's interesting to me here is his bold faced assertion that he came to fulfill the Law. These were laws that had been laid down over thousands of years and were steeped in religious tradition. This 30 year old son of a carpenter was standing on this mountain and proclaiming that he was the law's fulfillment. As I look at this claim there are really only two choices available: 1. Jesus is a megalomaniac or 2. he is the fulfillment of prophecy. I don't see any middle ground. If these really are the words of Jesus then the choices that we are presented with are clear.

If the answer is number 1, well then he's at best an interesting study and someone that needs to be avoided. However if number 2 is the answer our response is imperative. If Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy, and I believe this to be true, then I think it behooves us (good word eh) not only to listen to what he said but to believe it and to follow his teaching by living it. I do know that this is easier said than done but the beauty of Jesus and God's plan is that Jesus will live in us and give us the strength to do his works. What an awesome thought.

This is why I want to look at what Jesus taught and did. There is always more to learn and apply to our lives in order to help His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

the power of Jesus birth

I have been a Christian all of my life. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know about Jesus and that He was the only way to eternal life. I admit that I have not always lived my life according to His teachings (this is an understatement) I nonetheless understood what they were about. On numerous occasions I have wondered how scripture applied to my every day life.

I know this is not unique to my experience and that all have faced this question at one time or another in their lives. However recently in reading through the gospels again I have come to a deeper appreciation if not understanding of Jesus and the importance of His life and message to us.

As I began reading through Matthew the miracles that surrounded His birth touched me in a way they never had before. I noticed the inordinate number of miraculous appearances of angels and messengers that lead up to Jesus birth and kept Him safe from harm. I began to reread these chapters again slowly, savoring each occurrence and the wonder that each event must have engendered to those it affected. I can wrap my head around angels appearing in dreams, but revealing themselves live and in Technicolor with a message from God blows my mind when I think about it. I mean think about it, the birth of Jesus was so important kings wanted to kill Him, wise men traveled thousands of miles to pay homage to him, angels appeared to announce it and then appeared again to save his life. The confluence of all these events boggles the mind and caused me to stop and look at my life again.

I realized that I had been taking Jesus for granted. In fact I needed to ask myself again, is Jesus and what he taught really that important in my daily life? Did my words and relationships reflect my desire to have Jesus be primary in my daily walk? I knew the answer and had to repent for becoming lazy and self-centered.

Then last Sunday a saw a video, again, that readjusted my perspective. It was a 40 minute video called “How Great is our God” by Louis Giglio. You can see it on You Tube where it is separated into 5 videos. It’s worth the time to watch. This video has totally readjusted my perspective. He graphically illustrates how incredibly big and powerful our God is and really how insignificant we are. Then he brings it down to our level to show that this incredibly awesome, powerful God cares for us so much that He had the cross in mind when He designed us. Jesus, His birth, life, death and resurrection was in God’s plan from the very foundation of the earth and the stars and universes that surround us. He is truly the focal point of history.

If that is true, and I believe with all my heart that it is, then I need to let Him mold me body, soul and spirit so that I reflect Jesus every day when I am alone and when I am with others. This is not optional it is what we were actually designed by our Father in Heaven to do. Jesus birth and the miraculous confluence of events that happened around it set the stage for what needs to be the foundation of our lives.

what took me so long

For more than a year now I have struggled with the idea of blogging and having my thoughts and ruminations out there in cyberspace for the whole world to read. It's not that I'm shy about expressing my opinion, just ask my family, but, like most other homo sapiens, I think I might crack if anyone is critical of my view. Or even worse what will happen to my self esteem if I bare my soul and no one cares or responds. However I finally said "get over yourself" and decided begin 2009 sharing my thoughts on the road of life.

Another consideration that plagued me for months was the question of what I would write about. Questions arose out of this. Would people be interested in the topics I chose? Would they care? Would what I write be relevant? etc. etc. What I decided was that I would write what I was interested in and not worry about the response.

That doesn't help a whole lot though because I have very eclectic wide range of interests. I love politics, sports, religion, history, geography, anthropology, theology etc. etc. But right now the issue that occupies my thoughts and interests me the most has to do with Jesus and how to be a practical authentic Christian in the 21st century. Therefore that is what I am going to write about. I believe that Jesus is still not only relevant today, what he taught and how he lived is a very practical model for all of us.

I'm not trying to blow any denominational horn or promote any particular church or set of beliefs. I just want to look at Jesus, at what he taught and see how it applies to us today. I welcome comments or additional insights and want this to be an attempt to help us to be more Christlike so our lives would daily have kingdom impact.