Saturday, May 25, 2002

pluggin along

"...And he did this for you"

Well, It's been a full couple of days, God-full, you know?

So many hurting people with so many needs, sometimes I think this world is just one big hurt. We go from glory to glory, peak to peak, and in between we live in the pain we and others create for ourselves. For some, the peaks are to far apart; for others, they never see any high points in life, and that is really hard.

It's been a bit like that for me, as of late. Kinda dry, pluggin along, wondering if I'm makin' a difference anywhere, (read: self-pity!) Then i get a call from a friend who's goin through a rough time, kinda just lost her bearings a bit. We talk a bit, I listen to her story, and I get to pray with her and for me this is always the best part. As I pray, God gives me words to pray, he shows up in power, and my spirit is refreshed from feeling His wind on my face. It is good. She is encouraged, and I am blessed because somebody trusted me with their story, and we are both able to go to the Father, and His presence is always sweet.

And speaking of sweet presence, tonight I went to the office to try to focus my thoughts for tomorrow. (It's kind of like trying to hold a bunch of marbles in my hands, one always slips out.) I finished and went into the sanctuary just to pray and say thanks for the day. Before I know it He's there and I loose an hour just worshiping. I turn to 1Peter 1 and I read:

18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, he was sent to the earth for all to see. And he did this for you.

And He did this for me.

Sweet.

Friday, May 24, 2002

The Brayford Pool

Check out this painting... or check it out here.

The painting is called "The Brayford Pool And Lincoln Cathedral"
(Check out a live webcam picture of the Lincoln Cathedral, here.)
It was painted by James Wilson Carmichael, born on January 9th 1800 in Newcastle, England. He was the son of a ship's carpenter and was apprenticed to a ship builder.
Dad wanted him to build ships, there was money in that. But he didn't want to.
I'm not sure how the argument went, it's lived out hundreds of times in hundreds of parent/child conversations.
The child didn't want to do what the parent had in mind for him to do. Something had to give. Something had to change. I guess dad changed, or died bitter.
James had been apprenticed to a firm of shipbuilders but in 1823 he became an artist.
He may have been a pupil of the landscape artist Thomas Miles Richardson senior, who was a friend and had a studio adjoining Carmichael's in Blackett Street, Newcastle where he set up in 1823. (23 years old)
Ships became his prime interest. And he got good at painting.
In 1838 he published a set of engravings entitled Views of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway.
He exhibited at the Royal Academy and at the British Institution.
In 1855 the Illustrated London News employed him as their artist in the field in the Baltic theatre of the Crimean War and the journal of his trip still survives.
In 1858 he painted this painting linked to above.
He married and in 1862 the death of his son affected him so deeply that he never exhibited again. The loss of his son effected him profoundly. Maybe he wanted to give his son the open door that his own father hadn't given him, maybe he understood his own father better once he became a dad. Whatever happened, it broke him deeply.
He retired to Scarborough where he gave up painting in 1865 and died on May 2nd 1868.
Carmichael wrote two well recieved books on painting; The Art of Marine Painting in Water Colours (1859) and The Art of Marine Painting in Oil Colours (1864).
Change can be a tricky thing. How do I react when someone comes up to me and wants to change what I'm thinking is a great idea? Especially someone close to me.
Change isn't easy, it rarely is. Sometimes it works out in a wonderful "Carmichael" type way, and other times it ends up in an utter failure.
But, if we didn't have people challenging the way we think and plan and do things, we wouldn't have...
the wonderful paintings that the Carmichaels out there have painted, or beautiful music!
We wouldn't have beautiful church buildings or the songs to sing in them.
We wouldn't have electricity or lights or cars or freezers or Canada or indoor plumbing or,
We wouldn't have salvation.
As Max Lucado said, "God loves you just the way you are, but refuses to leave you that way."
God wants to change us, to make us look like him, act like him, and be like him.
To "Conform us to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ" is His plan.
Change isn't easy, but it IS good, and it IS a part of LIFE, and it Is a part of knowing and walking with God.
"Ok Lord, teach me how to paint..."

Tuesday, May 21, 2002

All is well

Girls got home safe and sound last night. Sounds like they had a great time.

Thanks God.

Carry on, gang

Yahoo, (in the emotional sense, not in the webportal sense!)

Common sense lives on to fight another day...
dave-fu writes "This just in: webcasters can breathe a sigh of relief as common sense and good taste has won out over stuffed suits and greased pockets--CARP has been rejected. If you weren't aware of it, CARP would have imposed exorbitant fees on webcasters, effectively killing webcasting radiostations, or at least preventing them from playing all (American) copyrighted music."

I confess I've been nervous about this one. I live in a part of the world where good radio is sparse and most of the AM stations play Country (and I'm not always sure which country!!). Now, I love radio, so the introduction of radio stations on the net was to me a blessing from above.

I went out and purchased a small transmitter from Radio Shack, then I plugged it into my soundcard and, there you go, Friesen FM is on the air!

I tune in a radio station over the internet or I play my CD's Mp3's etc. and presently am able to broadcast with a range of about 4 houses. That means any radio or stereo in my home or yard can pick up good radio from around the world, and I love it.

Our favorites are BBC 3, BBC 4, Classic FM, Premier Christian Radio, Cnet Radio, Moody Broadcasting, and so on. The kids like Kids Radio,

So much good radio, so little time...

Monday, May 20, 2002

Golf is a sport... really

Well, yesterday I went golfing for the first time in many years and it was a good bit of fun!

Golfing for me is a bittersweet thing. I used to golf alot more when i was younger, but in the mid 90's I had a particularly bad year, and, after one very bad day on the course, I sold my clubs at the next church yard sale! There, done.

Yesterday after church, a few friends asked if I wanted to come along, and I went for it. It was a good decision.

It was one of those Big Blue Sky, Saskatchewan afternoons, warm bright, clear and winds gusting up to 200kms/hr. Boy was it windy, but it kept us cool and any bugs off. The best part was that the course was nearly empty, nobody to rush for and nobody to wait for. In a word it was sweet.

Good Pentecost Sunday, that's for sure.

The girls get home tonight. I've bee prayin that they have a good God time.

Saturday, May 18, 2002

Pentecost: This time it's personal

Tomorrow is "Pentecost" the day God moved into the hearts of men and women and changed everything forever.

What a thot. That GOD should even want to make his home in us.
wow.

Friday, May 17, 2002

Girls gone. House bigger.

Well, the girls are off to Covenant Bible College for the weekend, yeeehaaa
uh, did i say that outloud?

It is good that they could get away for a few days, it's been a bit stressful round here, and mostly because of me.

randallfriesen.com the blog, begins NOW

Orange; the kid and orange, what a team.
Much better than James and a peach.