Guest Blog by LK – The Long Winter is Over

Because of EK being both sick and busy doing coursework along with her teaching, I thought I would take a turn on EK’s blog (she doesn’t know I’m doing this) to let everyone know that we are ok and also respond to some questions to EK about how I am doing. Our internet struggles seem to have come to an end as we now have service separate from the school, so you should hear (and see pics) from us more often. We are now trying to figure out next year’s plans, so please pray for us – for wisdom, guidance, strength and courage as we face the next few weeks in determining our family’s future.. EK may post more on this later week as some things are happening, but we aren’t sure what they mean yet.

So,…most of the snow is gone, the lakes are opening up, wildlife is evident everywhere and the days are much, much longer. Spring is finally here! People have asked EK how I am doing, and though the winter was long, I have survived and today I feel content for the first time in a long while. It was a struggle to be a stay at home parent to a one year old, feeling disconnected from the school community where everyone else here is a teacher (and who see you as the old, married guy), feeling disconnected from church community, feeling disconnected from the larger community to which we can never belong, and feeling disconnected from the people, places and jobs that were a part of your own identity.

Any yet, in spite of all that…it has been a grand adventure. Paul Brandt, the best Canadian country and western singer (IMHO), sings a song called “Risk”. This song sums up what I have been reflecting on this past weekend, and I am glad that we didn’t play it safe, but someday will look back and say we lived our life with a “sense of abandon”.

EK encouraged me to start writing things down that I am grateful for to help stave off winter’s depression, so here is just a partial list of some of the people and things meaningful to me at this time in my life: I’m grateful for:

1. My Wife...
...who is beautiful, courageous, passionate and generous. Who loves teaching kids to read and write, to help them look at the world around us with fresh eyes, to tell new stories and how they fit into them. Who loves her kids and spouse with abandon and who puts up with my cooking, clean house fanaticism and photography talk. Whose faith is strong and sure, who hates injustice and who wants to make things right in this world. I could go on and on, but will do so on our anniversary on our date…(LOL)

2. My Kids
I am amazed at the growth of the kids. EK remarked to me this past weekend as we watch FK going up and down the driveway: “How did we go from being newlyweds to having a five year old on a bicycle?”. FK is five going on fifteen and has the mental acuity of both of us put together. I feel like the Dads in Calvin & Hobbes and Zits rolled into one, making up answers to questions and being generally clueless. Her love for God comes out all the time with spontaneous singing and frequent generosity towards others. JK, though not speaking many words yet, communicates his ideas quite effectively, loves to hunt for ants and other insects, climbs, jumps, swings and hikes for hours outside. I honestly can’t keep up. I love my kids…

3. My Friends:
Guitar Girl - For Sunday night singing, talks about spiritual struggles, life direction and food, a trip to the Kenora Hospital, babysitting the kids so EK and I can go on dates, Settlers and Scrabble games, killer Nanaimo bars and for passing on pics to her Mom for worship services.

For D & E and family who send care packages and seasons of Dexter, their phone calls of encouragement and support, and general positive attitude towards life.

For JR who touches base on photography stuff and posts encouraging comments on my Flickr pics.

4. The Kenora Library & The Hub/Early Years Centre:
The library is my “home” in town, where the librarians know my name, hang out with my kids and let me take out more movies than the allotted amount.

5. Weekly phone calls...
... from my Dad and my mother-in-law (who has done the same kind of thing I am doing now), of which and whom I could not do without. Thanks for the weekly talks and encouragement.

6. John Ortberg (who?):
This year I struggled a lot with God. Why are we here? What is my role? Why all the injustice? Why does He seem so silent? I picked up a book a few weeks ago called Faith & Doubt by Ortberg (who has authored several other books about walking with God in one way or another). I found out I was not alone in my faith journey and that Christians mature in the faith have doubts and questions. I don’t have all the answers yet, but I know God continues to be faithful in spite of my weakness and doubt.

We have eight weeks before a long needed summer break. Visiting family and friends has been forefront in our minds for the past few weeks and we can’t wait to connect and process some of the things we have experienced and learned this past year. Thanks for your thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement.
LK

Colossians 3:17

More Internet Blues

Our Internet is down, perhaps for good, again. It is a long saga. It is very frustrating. It is making us long for the next nine weeks to be finished so we can actually be with friends and family in person.

Apparently, some staff members were given free access to the service that is being provided to the school. (LK and I were not) Then, someone in the business office was upset by this and sent out a petition to have it stopped. The Board cut off the access and changed passwords without discussing the issue with staff. There was a ruckus. It was agreed that the staff could be included in the school service for a small fee. Then they wanted to charge everyone for the three months that service had been offered for free. Staff were not willing to pay for service they had been told was free. So, a bill was sent to one staff member and that was that. Except that the staff member went to the company that provides Internet to explain the situation and that this bill was not going to be paid for by the staff. Now the service has been completely cut off and we seem to have no recourse.

The frustrating thing is that LK and I were not using the school Internet until the offer was made for us to may a small fee after March Break. Now we have nothing. The only Internet provider to Grassy is the guy who services the school. Aaargh! LK is going to try to call tomorrow, but we tried to get service through this guy in the fall and it was a month of phone calls not returned and visits to his place to pick hardware up that was not ready, so we don't anticipate much forward movement. Without the Web we feel very isolated (no tv, no radio), and it makes it a lot hard to be here.

Anyway... we are making summer plans and looking very much forward to seeing family and friends. We are counting down weeks and organizing itineraries! The snow is mostly melted, and we have had two weeks of balmy beautiful weather. Yesterday spring arrived with grey skies and drizzle.

Please pray for us as we are coming to the time when we need to make final commitments for next year. We are struggling with whether or not to stay. There are so many issues to consider and it is really hard to balance the needs of everyone in the family with the financial reality that another move this summer would be really, really costly. Pray that if we are not supposed to stay, that God would make it very clear; a great job offer near family would be wonderful.

As the seasons change around the world

This week it feels like spring has come to the rest of the world, but has forgotten us. Last week we had four solid days of snow. It started Tuesday and snowed almost steadily until Friday. Although it was very overcast, there wasn't much more on the ground at the end of it all because it is too warm for it to really stay. Saturday morning the sun came out, but the wind chill made it still feel like winter. Although it is melting, it seems very slow right now.

The pace of the thaw seems all the slower for reading blogs from the US that describe flowers blooming, and hearing my sister talk about the spring flood in Huntsville. My youngest sister, Birkenstock Babe, is stuck in her house, completely surrounded by water. She has invested in hip waders for this time of year so she can leave the house while the flood waters are high. This flood is part of her spring routine because she lives on a flood plane. She loves it, but I would always worry about the lack of flood insurance. That brings to mind Isaiah 43:2

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

I long for spring! Although, with only 11 weeks of school left we may go straight from winter up here to full-blown summer down south when we head down to visit family and friends at the end of June. That boggles the mind.