Jonah's Up Date - end of November 2006

Jonah Van Spronsen and his family need our prayer today as they adjust to new information they have been given this week. On Monday Jonah was in Sick Kids hospital to meet the specialist and have further tests.

After the tests were concluded it has been determined that Jonah needs further surgery to restrict the passage opening to his stomach. The doctors intend to wrap the top portion of the stomach so acid from his stomach is not allowed to come back up into his esophagus. He will also not be able to eat and swallow food in a normal way from that time on.

To help you understand as an adult, often we may have a severe burning sensation in our throats and may awake coughing having a burning taste in our throats. If you have a hiatus hernia you will know the affects of acid reflux and the discomfort that comes with it.

Jonah has this all the time. In fact it is so extensive with Jonah that his throat is swelled almost tight shut. It has caused an infection that has gone up to his ears as well and all passages connected to the stomach. The discomfort and burning that he must be having is really difficult to imagine.

By restricting the stomach opening it should stop the acid movement. Jonah will be eating from his feeding tube for the rest of his life.

There are further problems with a “vascular ring” in his heart. For this they are not doing anything at this time.

Back in his room…
When Jonah was brought back to his room after the testing procedures were completed, his little body was laying quietly in his bed. Because of the biopsies that were done in his ears and throat there was some bleeding. Jessika and George wanted to encourage him as much as they could. They had bought some small cars at the Tuck Shop in the hospital. Jonah gladly took the little vehicles and smiled – with one in each hand hitting them together.

A nurse came into the room to check on him. He saw her and reached out his hands with the two cars in them – as if he was going to give them to her. She responded and went to receive the cars. He then pulled them back and grinned. ‘Sorry nurse, I was just playing with you’. The little bright and happy heart had just said, “I am okay. I am all boy.”

The Future…What we know now…

• Surgery will be happening soon with the new surgeon.


• They are not sure if there are vocal chords that will function or not. The opening at this time down into that area is about the size of the tip on a ball point pen making it impossible to see what is there.


• Jonah’s hearing has either been affected with the swelling/infection or the parts necessary to hear are not there. He is close to being deaf.


• He has a happy heart.


• God has a plan for his life.

As George and Jessika live through this, by putting one step in front of the other, there are periods of time that they cannot go much further – I am sure. Jessika’s testimony is one that blesses me – “Without the prayer support of so many people, I don’t know how we would have made it. I know we need that prayer. Please thank everyone for praying.”

~ Pastor Murray ~

Jonah’s verses…
Psalm 71:5-7
5 For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth.
6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you.
7 I have become like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge.

Psalm 139:12-14
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Wings and Praise

“Which is more important--the right wing or the left wing of an airplane? If you are going to get up in the sky and fly, you need both wings. So it is with coming into the presence of God. You can experience worship privately or you can experience it corporately.”

“Which is more important? If you are going to experience the fullness of the presence of God, you need to worship both by yourself and with others. The Bible gives examples of both, and encourages both.”

I was struck by these words as I read the devotional yesterday. I have been thinking about this for the past hours and considering how it applies to my life.
Worship in church is a delight. The music helps all of us to keep on key. The sounds of others singing and sharing lifts our spirits. I leave the assembly of people having a sense that I have been encouraged.

I have found however that a vital part of my corporate worship experience is fortified by my private time with God. In other words if I spend time with God alone – the times with others in worship is valuable and meaningful to me. If I haven’t time with God during the week – the times I am with others isn’t the same.

One man described it well when he said, “I feel dry inside.” Another said that he feels isolated.

Maybe that is why some don’t sing Sunday AM. It is foreign to them. With arms folded and mouths closed – not even a toe tapping – they are all alone.
That is sad for me. There is so much that can happen with two wings – you can fly. Without both wings you crash.

The application is so important here. Celebrate God when you are alone with him. Do the Moses thing – get to know him so well that you can’t miss being alone with him each day. Then come out to the place where others are and celebrate God together – that is worship.

Without both you crash spiritually. With both – you will fly through the darkest clouds and into the bright presence of God himself.

~ Pastor Murray ~

Check out the Daily Devotion at Back to the Bible.
http://www.backtothebible.org/minute/content.php/id/27977

A-Haa! Moments

It was an a-haa! moment. Now I understand what keeps teachers teaching.
Yesterday I sat with two grandsons trying to help with two school projects due this week. One was due today – the other is due on Thursday. How do these things get left until the last minute? Not much has changed in 30 years of our school adventure.

The topic was about Urban and Rural. Grandpa was being interviewed about where I used to live. I was asked many questions and they collected a sizeable bit of information. The home I had lived in when I was six years old was contrasted to what they live in now. I carried water to make it running and the toilet was outside. The look on their faces as they listened to a “dinosaur” give account of his boyhood was almost too funny.

How do you get a point across? What can you do to help them “see” what you are talking about?

Tadaa! Use “Google Earth” that’s how. Both boys are able to handle a computer very well. They are 8 and 7 years old. They know Google Earth as a program and use it to fly around the world for fun. Their knowledge of geography is amazing already. Remember the two numbers 8 and 7.

As we zoomed in to the little house in Regina, one of them exclaimed, “There’s the railroad track! – WOW!” All of a sudden grandpa’s stories came alive. It is true after all! That special A-Haa! Too place in front of me. They were reassured by what I had told them.

Personal Application…
I was reading the Bible the other day and it happened again. I became to the 8 and 7 year old. My Heavenly Father had told me the story and then it became true. A-haa!

I am a little boy all over again. It is so good to discover again what God is saying to your heart. Homework is good.

Have you ever thought about how God sees it all? He has the original Google Earth program.

I need to think on this one a while.

~ Pastor Murray ~

Strength for Today

For the past two weeks I have been struggling as to how to deal with a portion of scripture when I was to preach on it – yesterday. I have been following a series of sermons describing the second letter to the Corinthian people…. Written by the Apostle Paul, the letter follows a very strong letter 1 Corinthians that dealt with a number of topics that the church needed to hear about.

The scripture that I preached on yesterday was 2 Corinthians 12:7 – 10. The text of the scripture reads…

2 Corinthians 12: 7
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

There are times in a minister’s life when the scripture or account that you are preaching about is simply part of the story and must be talked about – but it doesn’t have a great deal to do with where you are personally. This time it was different… this one stuck deeply.

(The next 2 paragraphs are for people that didn’t hear the sermon – apologies to the others that did…)

While traveling through my life for these past two months the thought has been there all the time about “thorns in the flesh” and how this applies to every day life. It is so clear as you study the context of this scripture that Paul is writing about “people” and “situations” – not only physical handicaps… like eyesight and speech impediments.

Through out the Old Tetstament the word “thorn” is used by the writers to describe the oppression that is on the People of Israel or that will be brought on the People of Israel from time to time. In fact God uses “thorns” to get through to his people.

All of us have thorns in the flesh. They come at different times and are there for very different reasons. How we deal with these is up to a choice that we make.
Paul states that he asked God to take his away… three times… but God answered him by saying that “My Grace was sufficient for you”. Then God follows that by saying a stunning thing – “for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In other words when you are the weakest – you will become strong because of God’s power.

I have a strong sense today that this is becoming truth to you as it is to me. Personally I have felt a complete lack of power many times in the past two months as I prepared to preach on this. Through what has been happening to me – I have begun to understand a brand new power that is not my own. The revelation that it is God moving in and around me is almost overwhelming.

Like Paul I thank God for my weakness – for it is at that moment of realization that his strength is all that I need. In fact it is what takes over the impossible and overwhelming weakness.

I know that this may seem heavy to take into your being.

God is our complete strength. He is the focus of all that we do and say – at least He can be. In recognizing that we have no more to give – He then steps in and becomes Our God.

What are you facing today? Maybe I should ask, “Who are you facing today?”
God is there for you. His Grace is ready to sweep in… be applied to your situation in everyway. He is your strength for today.

I close by offering some words from John Maxwell on this idea of Thorns.

John Maxwell says… of Paul and his Thorn in the Flesh… quote…

Instead of getting angry at his thorn and the way that it slowed him down, Paul relished how weak it made him. Why? It kept him in close dependence on the POWER of GOD (2 Cor. 2:10)

Paul understood that the weaker he was… the stronger God was within him. When there is less of you as a leader, there is more of God as THE LEADER. Only wise leaders can understand this paradox.

Paul practices the Law of Intuition. What did Paul’s leadership intuition enable him to understand? He recognized that….
1. His opposition was not from God.(v7)
2. He must seek God’s answer to his problem (v 8)
3. God’s answer was Grace ( v9)
4. Grace is perfected in his imperfections.(v9)
5. He should boast about his weaknesses not brag about his strengths(9)
6. The tougher his problems, the greater the Grace(10)

~ Pastor Murray ~

Now... what if the Handicap - produces a situation where there are many thorns in the flesh... please read the following...

The account of Nick Vujicic

My name is Nick Vujicic and I give God the Glory for how He has used my testimony to touch thousands of hearts around the world! I was born without limbs and doctors have no medical explanation for this birth "defect". As you can imagine, I was faced with many challenges and obstacles.

"Consider it pure joy, my Brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."

....To count our hurt, pain and struggle as nothing but pure joy? As my parents were Christians, and my Dad even a Pastor of our church, they knew that verse very well. However, on the morning of the 4th of December 1982 in Melbourne (Australia), the last two words on the minds of my parents was "Praise God!". Their firstborn son had been born without limbs! There were no warnings or time to prepare themselves for it. The doctors we shocked and had no answers at all! There is still no medical reason why this had happened and Nick now has a Brother and Sister who were born just like any other baby.

The whole church mourned over my birth and my parents were absolutely devastated. Everyone asked, "if God is a God of Love, then why would God let something this bad happen to not just anyone, but dedicated Christians?" My Dad thought I wouldn't survive for very long, but tests proved that I was a healthy baby boy just with a few limbs missing.

Understandably, my parents had strong concern and evident fears of what kind of life I'd be able to lead. God provided them strength, wisdom and courage through those early years and soon after that I was old enough to go to school.

The law in Australia didn't allow me to be integrated into a main-stream school because of my physical disability. God did miracles and gave my Mom the strength to fight for the law to be changed. I was one of the first disabled students to be integrated into a main-stream school.

I liked going to school, and just try to live life like everyone else, but it was in my early years of school where I encountered uncomfortable times of feeling rejected, weird and bullied because of my physical difference. It was very hard for me to get used to, but with the support of my parents, I started to develop attitudes and values which helped me overcome these challenging times. I knew that I was different but on the inside I was just like everyone else. There were many times when I felt so low that I wouldn't go to school just so I didn't have to face all the negative attention. I was encouraged by my parents to ignore them and to try start making friends by just talking with some kids. Soon the students realized that I was just like them, and starting there God kept on blessing me with new friends.

There were times when I felt depressed and angry because I couldn't change the way I was, or blame anyone for that matter. I went to Sunday School and learnt that God loves us all and that He cares for you. I understood that love to a point as a child, but I didn't understand that if God loved me why did He make me like this? Is it because I did something wrong? I thought I must have because out of all the kids at school, I'm the only weird one. I felt like I was a burden to those around me and the sooner I go, the better it'd be for everyone. I wanted to end my pain and end my life at a young age, but I am thankful once again, for my parents and family who were always there to comfort me and give me strength.

Due to my emotional struggles I had experienced with bullying, self esteem and loneliness, God has implanted a passion of sharing my story and experiences to help others cope with whatever challenge they have in their life and let God turn it into a blessing. To encourage and inspire others to live to their fullest potential and not let anything get in the way of accomplishing their hopes and dreams.

One of the first lessons that I have learnt was not to take things for granted.
"And we know that in all things God works for the best for those who love Him."

That verse spoke to my heart and convicted me to the point where that I know that there is no such thing as luck, chance or coincidence that these "bad" things happen in our life.

I had complete peace knowing that God won't let anything happen to us in our life unless He has a good purpose for it all. I completely gave my life to Christ at the age of fifteen after reading John 9. Jesus said that the reason the man was born blind was "so that the works of God may be revealed through Him." I truly believed that God would heal me so I could be a great testimony of His

Awesome Power. Later on I was given the wisdom to understand that if we pray for something, if it's God's will, it'll happen in His time. If it's not God's will for it to happen, then I know that He has something better.

I now see that Glory revealed as He is using me just the way I am and in ways others can't be used.

I am now twenty-one years old and have completed a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Financial Planning and Accounting. I am also a motivational speaker and love to go out and share my story and testimony wherever opportunities become available. I have developed talks to relate to and encourage students through topics that challenge today's teenagers. I am also a speaker in the corporate sector.

I have a passion for reaching out to youth and keep myself available for whatever God wants me to do, and wherever He leads, I follow.

I have many dreams and goals that I have set to achieve in my life. I want to become the best witness I can be of God's Love and Hope, to become an international inspirational speaker and be used as a vessel in both Christian and non-Christian venues. I want to become financially independent by the age of 25, through real estate investments, to modify a car for me to drive and to be interviewed and share my story on the "Oprah Winfrey Show"! Writing several best-selling books has been one of my dreams and I hope to finish writing my first by the end of the year. It will be called "No Arms, No Legs, No Worries!"

I believe that if you have the desire and passion to do something, and if it's God's will, you will achieve it in good time. As humans, we continually put limits on ourselves for no reason at all! What's worse is putting limits on God who can do all things. We put God in a "box". The awesome thing about the Power of God, is that if we want to do something for God, instead of focusing on our capability, concentrate on our availability for we know that it is God through us and we can't do anything without Him. Once we make ourselves available for God's work, guess whose capabilities we rely on? God's!

A Christmas Story - One Month Early

I receive many emails about all kinds of things. Some are funny and some are sad. Others are not needed. This week a friend sent me the following short story of a mom that found Christmas in an unusual way. You may have read it before. I hope this blesses you today.

It is good to me reminded what God can do. This simple story says it all.
~ Pastor Murray ~

A Christmas Story
In September 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just 75 cents in my pocket. Their father was gone. The boys ranged from three months to seven years; their sister was two. Their Dad had never been much more than a presence they feared.

Whenever they heard his tires crunch on the gravel driveway they would scramble to hide under their beds. He did manage to leave $15 a week to buy groceries. Now that he had decided to leave, there would be no more beatings, but no food either.

If there was a welfare system in effect in southern Indiana at that time, I certainly knew nothing about it. I scrubbed the kids until they looked brand new and then put on my best homemade dress, loaded them into the rusty old 51 Chevy and drove off to find a job. The seven of us went to every factory, store and restaurant in our small town. No luck.

The kids stayed crammed into the car and tried to be quiet while I tried to convince whoever would listen that I was willing to learn or do anything. I had to have a job. Still no luck.

The last place we went to, just a few miles out of town, was an old Root Beer Barrel drive-in that had been converted to a truck stop. It was called the Big Wheel.

An old lady named Granny owned the place and she peeked out of the window from time to time at all those kids. She needed someone on the graveyard shift, 11 at night until seven in the morning. She paid 65 cents an hour, and I could start that night.

I raced home and called the teenager down the street that baby-sat for people. I bargained with her to come and sleep on my sofa for a dollar a night. She could arrive with her pajamas on and the kids would already be asleep. This seemed like a good arrangement to her, so we made a deal.

That night when the little ones and I knelt to say our prayers, we all thanked God for finding Mommy a job. And so I started at the Big Wheel.

When I got home in the mornings I woke the baby-sitter up and sent her home with one dollar of my tip money--fully half of what I averaged every night. As the weeks went by, heating bills added a strain to my meager wage.

The tires on the old Chevy had the consistency of penny balloons and began to leak. I had to fill them with air on the way to work and again every morning before I could go home.

One bleak fall morning, I dragged myself to the car to go home and found four tires in the back seat. New tires! There was no note, no nothing, just those beautiful brand new tires. Had angels taken up residence in Indiana? I wondered.

I made a deal with the local service station. In exchange for his mounting the new tires, I would clean up his office. I remember it took me a lot longer to scrub his floor than it did for him to do the tires.

I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn't enough. Christmas was coming and I knew there would be no money for toys for the kids.

I found a can of red paint and started repairing and painting some old toys. Then I hid them in the basement so there would be something for Santa to deliver on Christmas morning. Clothes were a worry too. I was sewing patches on top of patches on the boys pants and soon they would be too far gone to repair.

On Christmas Eve the usual customers were drinking coffee in the Big Wheel. These were the truckers, Les, Frank, and Jim, and a state trooper named Joe.

A few musicians were hanging around after a gig at the Legion and were dropping nickels in the pinball machine. The regulars all just sat around and talked through the wee hours of the morning and then left to get home before the sun came up.

When it was time for me to go home at seven o'clock on Christmas morning, to my amazement, my old battered Chevy was filled full to the top with boxes of all shapes and sizes. I quickly opened the driver's side door, and crawled inside.

Reaching back, I pulled off the lid of the top box. Inside was whole case of little blue jeans, sizes 2-10! I looked inside another box: It was full of shirts to go with the jeans. Then I peeked inside some of the other boxes. There was candy and nuts and bananas and bags of groceries.

There was an enormous ham for baking, and canned vegetables and potatoes. There was pudding and Jell-O and cookies, pie filling and flour. There was a whole bag of laundry supplies and cleaning items. And there were five toy trucks and one beautiful little doll.

As I drove back through empty streets as the sun slowly rose on the most amazing Christmas Day of my life, I was sobbing with gratitude. And I will never forget the joy on the faces of my little ones that precious morning.

Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December. And they all hung out at the Big Wheel truck stop....

THE POWER OF PRAYER.
I believe that God only gives three answers to prayer:
1. "Yes!"
2. "Not yet."
3. "I have something better in mind."
God still sits on the throne, the devil is a liar. You maybe going through a tough time right now but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that you cannot imagine.This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive.

There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another.

Here is the prayer:....Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and email buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power.

After we ate we climbed the “highest” hill so we could look “down”

The old red photo album is filled with wonders of a family. As I pulled it from the suitcase to look through the treasures I was blown away by what I found. My mom had collected all her memories in the suitcase – many of the memories were stored in the three photo albums.

In order for you to fully catch the humour in what I post today you need to know something about the prairie. That something is very obvious to anyone that has travelled through it. It is even more obvious when you live there. The very word is a dead give away to what I will reveal to you now in these next words… are you ready?

"It is flat."

It is flat forever as you look our over the land. Flat is the tourist attraction locally. The locals don’t know it. There is so much flat that people from Ontario and British Columbia come just to see flat. They are overwhelmed in about a half hour and start shaking – they need rocks & trees & mountains and terrain that goes up and down. Often I have heard, “How can anyone live here?” come from their mouths. Too funny.

In the photo album my mother kept a special photo that was taken in the fall of 1950 – 56 years ago now. Looking at it I was filled with a “déjà vu” that rushed back into my life with warm feelings.

The photo is taken while we were standing on top of the “Blue Hills” in southern Saskatchewan. The spot is one of the high spots in the middle of the southern prairies at 2416 feet above sea level – south of Regina(at 1885 feet), Saskatchewan. It is about 5 miles due west of Truax. On Google Earth you will find the spot at 49 degrees, 54 minutes, 03.81 seconds North – and – 105 degrees, 05 minutes, 10.21 seconds West – and it is officially called the Missouri Range – extending north out of the northern USA. The spot we stood on is about 2416 feet – 200 to 500 feet above the surrounding land.

In the fall of 1950 at 6 ½ years old the world was very big from the top of the “Blue Hills”. It was really big for me and my siblings. For my mom it was even bigger. That day she had to get a Picnic Lunch ready for 10 people and then follow the rest as we climbed the highest hill in the area.

Her comment in the photo album said it all. It is the title to what I write today, ‘After we ate we climbed the “highest” hill so we could look “down” ’. I can only imagine what this really meant. My brother Glen was 2 and my sister Pat was 5. All the ladies were wearing dresses or skirts(see the photo). To understand better, have you every walked a 2, 5 and 6 ½ year old up to the top a 200 foot hill?

Mom’s words sum up a lot of my life. ‘After we ate we climbed the “highest” hill so we could look “down” ’ Or… after we lived this full, fantastic and sometimes frustrating life we can look back now on what has happened with warm memories. Mom’s words bring back so many memories… so many.

Life for all of us is making memories, and then if possible, keeping the memories. Christmas again will be like that for us this year. One more time.

There is a powerful scripture verse… describing Moses journey. It is actually the last that you see or hear from him being with the Children of Israel. It reads…
Deuteronomy 34
1 Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, 2 all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the LORD said to him, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it."

I can only imagine what must have gone through his mind at that moment. There had been 40 years of walking with people that would follow reluctantly at first and later with simple faith.

There had been the 40 years before that where he lived in an self imposed exile herding sheep after murdering someone. A great learning place for a leader that will dead millions out of bondage.

There had been the first 40 years living as a Prince in Egypt.

So many memories.

Application for me…
Today I think of a little friend of mine named Jonah Van Spronsen. I published the latest in yesterday’s Blog. He is facing another hill this next week. His mom and dad are walking up this one with him – so are we in prayer.

I am filled with a new emotion today… God walked with Murray, the 6 ½ year old, for this past 56 years. It has been a testimony of God faithfulness. Wow!

I know God will take my little friend Jonah through his life too.

I know too that God is there to walk with you too – through whatever you are facing today.

Just remember these special words…. ‘After we ate we climbed the “highest” hill so we could look “down” ’

~ Pastor Murray ~

The Picnic-ers...

Jonah’s Up Date

Jonah’s Up Date – From Jessika...

We were down at Sick Kids Hospital today and we got some new news....so here it is.

We met with the new surgeon, and he has postponed Jonah's surgery. This is ok with us for the following reasons which he gave us.

Because he is a new surgeon on Jonah's case, he wants to make absolute sure that Jonah absolutely needs every aspect of the surgery that they have proposed. (we appreciate that, who wants their child to go through something they don't have to).

When he heard that cardiology wants to remove the vascular ring based on an MRI saying that Jonah has one( which he had when he was 1 month old), he would rather do some more tests, and see if Jonah actually has one. He said that he has been in many operations where cardiology opens a child up only to find there is not a vascular ring. This is because Jonah was so tiny when they did the MRI, and they didn't do any tests to follow it up. He is worried that they will compromise his heart unnecessarily, so he thinks that he should get the facts straight before he allows anyone to tamper with his heart.(we really appreciate this!).

The next one is ENT, he said that he wants them to make sure one way or another if Jonah will ever get the trach out, for instance if his vocal chords are paralyzed, then Jonah will never be able to breath on his own, and he will never get the trach out… what does that have to do with his stomach? Well, his surgeon explained that if Jonah is never going to be untrached, then he can wrap the stomach during the fundo so tight, that nothing ever passes up or down the esophagus (except that saliva can make it down, but never back up). In this instance, they would wrap the stomach very tightly to prevent anything from burning Jonah's throat again. Next, if the TEF (the connection between his esophagus and trachea), has reattached, then they need to deal with that issue first, and isn't it nice to know what you are getting into before you get into it? So if it has reattached, they will know and they should be able to see that on Monday...but wait..Monday is still on...I guess I forgot to mention that.

ENT is going to continue with their portion of the exam with Jonah under. They are going to do all the collar tests, scopes and hearing/tube placement that day. We are being admitted at 6 am Monday morning, and at 8 Jonah will have the surgery, and we will be home later that day.

So in conclusion to this essay...here's the summary. Jonah's surgeon would rather find out what he is dealing with than put Jonah through the aggravation of an unnecessary surgery that could harm him. He wants to get all of us (George, myself, the ENT doc, himself and cardiology) into one meeting, lay it all out on the table with all their findings and decide from there. It sounds like Jonah will be getting his fundo surgery in January, but we will know more after Monday.

Thanks for all your prayers up to now, we still need them for Monday...we will let you know how it went then.

Love: The Van Spronsen Clan.

P.S. If by chance this totally confuses you, let us know and we will try to re-explain it the best we can, because we were confused today too.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hey Jonah… Pastor Murray and all your friends are praying for you today. Tell your mommy and daddy we love them.

~ Pastor Murray ~

Overflow:Visible problems – Yikes

Hey – I admit that I am older! It is hard to admit it but “Tadda, old happened!” I am a little out of date at times.

(Up front… Fair warning this may well be a “geek post” dealing with computer stuff. )

I write some Web Pages in my spare time. It is kind of a hobby. When it is too cold in the garage to work or nothing else is happening I spend my evenings just picking away at a keyboard to create something new. Or in the case of last night, I needed to correct a very annoying problem with a Web Page that I had created. It took hours to sift through this one!

It is at this point that my “Tadda, old happened!” popped up. New stuff bugs me. New stuff sometimes does me in and isn’t any good for my thinking process. New stuff can mess me up.

Background…
The Web Pages that I have created looked great for a long time. Through the use of “old stuff” I use HTML Code to make the page do what I want it to do. Younger or newer guys to this business usually use an already made up program to create the Web Pages… like “Microsoft Front Page” or a fancy one like “Dreamweaver”. I also use them to do a great deal of the work. But the “old stuff” is a great way to open the Web Page up and re-write/re-create from within. You can add all kinds of things this way by knowing the “old way” of doing things.

Away back in the dark ages of computers – about 10 years ago – we did almost everything by writing Web Pages in code that would then appear in fancy ways on the screen of someone’s computer.

The Problem I had…
About a week ago I did something stupid – I upgraded to a newer version of Internet Explorer version 7 – or IE 7 for short. Pretty cool with all its bells and whistles – the IE 7 is easy to use, fun to use and clean looking. It opens faster and does some new things that its older cousins couldn’t do. I have been sailing through this upgrade. Hey I am with it! I am cool taking this radical step as an older computer man.

Blah! The Web Page that I wrote looks like “dumb”. What in the world happened to it? When I checked it out more closely – not only my Web Pages looked different – but a lot of Web Pages look stupid. What kind of bug do I have here? What corrupted my files?

But one secret popped up… they still looked good in other Web Browsers like “Opera” and “Mozzilla Firefox”.

By trying something new – the IE 7 – by “getting with it old man…” I was now in a pickle. On this new IE 7 the stuff looked like YUK!

After about three hours last evening I discovered that there is a “overflow:visible” problem. By making the changes to my system and allowing this other program to dominate my browser – it looked like YUK!

The reality hit me… my old programming wasn’t going to cut it in the new world. Anyone looking into the Web Pages that I have made for them with the new IE 7 upgrade will see the same thing that I see – YUK!

It is the “man thing” that is eternal. I will conquer this one too! I will solve the problems. The funny part is that the fix requires an “old stuff” kind of guy to deal with it. You change the code inside to sort it out. I can do it.

So… some time in the next few nights when I have some time I will be working on the problem and sorting out the YUK.

My conclusion to this little lesson is that “Tadda, old happened!” is actually a good thing. All these years of looking closely inside made it possible to take the IE 7 and make it work for me.

~ Pastor Murray ~

PS - For the Geeks that read this…
“overflow:visible” help is here…to understand at least…

Openness with Trust

This morning in the early hours I have been praying – actually some of the time has been just sitting in God’s presence. Older folks used to call it “waiting on God”. At times words are used, other times it is simply listening to what God will have to say to me (to us).

As I sit here in God’s presence something unusual just happened. A street sweeper just passed our home. In fact there are two of these sweepers going up and down our street. They have passed by three times now. It is 5:00 AM and they were moving slowly down the street. It is very dark and yet the street is now clean – ready for the folks that will be moving on it in another hour or so. Wow – it is going to shine!

It is in these moments that a slow realization has penetrated my being again. He has shown another piece of the puzzle. Along time ago he told me something that was a special secret about our church… he said, “I will take care of it.”

God has been cleaning our church – preparing it for the next step.

The services each Sunday AM have been unusual in every aspect. There is a buzz of a certain kind as folks come in now. There is a happiness that is unique. There are changes happening all the time – but in a gradual way. In a way we are experiencing our own “revival” – a transforming of people.

In the following testimonial the words speak to this newness.

The following is shared from Diane King. – a member of Northview.

“I just want to thank everyone who spoke up on Sunday morning about the things they were thankful for. Most of us can identify with the good and positive things that we are all grateful for but being grateful for prayers answered in what appears to be less positive ways, brings a special sense of togetherness among the congregation.

Being able and willing to talk about the deep aches of our hearts and the wonderful yet unusual ways that God has answered our prayers demonstrates a trust not only in the integrity of the members of the congregation, but a deep and abiding faith that through whatever we face, the Lord knows best ‘what’ to do and ‘how’ and ‘when’ to do it. Such statements of thankfulness give me and everyone hope for the future regardless of what we are facing.”

God Bless us everyone.
Diane King (I know, it’s a bit early but maybe this saying is never out of season.)"

What Diane has shared is so true. God is moving and blessing his people. He has taken them through things that are amazing.

There has been a rich time of sharing in the services. Pastor Tim has conducted an open ‘Microphone’ encouraging folk to share what God has done for them. Each week we are all moved deeply as people have shared what God has done for them in the previous days. One notable thing is the testimonies are vibrant and as up to date as yesterday – or even that morning they were shared.

There has been a sense that people would like to applaud after each one shares. Perhaps that will begin soon… who knows?

Rising to preach in this atmosphere, following this time of sharing, is an absolute joy! Something is happening in a very deep way.

You may ask, “What?” – I hope you will.

God has been cleansing our congregation. Sin is being exposed and confessed. God has been dealing with hearts that are open to him. However in some situations sin has been covered in the past and present. But God still moved in some of these folk’s lives – he has moved them out to deal with it. Be sure you read this part – not every one has un-confessed sin. God knows and deals with it.

God is sweeping our ‘spiritual streets’ the way the street sweeper is doing our street this morning. It is thorough and complete. When He is done it will sparkle.

One of the clear indications of a ‘clean street’ – is new people want to move in. Recently that has been happening over and over again. As a pastor I want to shout “Glory” when I see what God is doing. I can hardly wait for next Sunday.

The story is not over yet. We are about to see God do something in our days, that if we were told what it was all about, we would simply not believe it.

I close this posting today with a note from Jeanette. I was invited into Jeanette’s family one very special day. The circumstances were very complicated.

A few years ago now, while I was serving our hospital as ‘On Call Chaplain’, I was asked to visit a young man that was dieing. This young man was Christopher. As we prayed there was a beautiful peace that flooded into his room that day. His mom and dad, uncle and cousin were there with him. It was a God moment to say the least. Later that week I was given the privilege to conduct Christopher’s memorial service with all his friends and family in attendance. Although I had just met these folks it felt like I had known them for along time.

Jeanette is Christopher’s mom.

Jeanette wrote the following note Sunday AM, November 12, 2006… in the church service…

Pastor Lincoln,
In September 1972 I came to the Peterborough area from Springdale, Nfld. where I was part of the church… raised in the Pentecostal Church…

After coming to Ontario I attended many churches but always felt like an outsider, even when I asked to join the church. After I attended a few times I would just try to find another one.

You know the story of how I met you. Thank God!

When I came into this building the first time I felt like I was coming home. Thanks to Darrel(my brother) I am part of it.

As I sit here listening to everyone give thanks I have to thank God for taking care of my son, Christopher, and for taking him home, relieving him of his pain.

When Pastor Tim asked what we are thankful for – How could I list them?! There are far too many… My Family… My Friends… My Life… You… This Church…. I could go on forever. You get it.

Thank you and your church family – I feel like I belong here.

Thank you,
Jeanette Wells
PS. Wouldn’t mom be upset if she knew I was writing notes in Church? J.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Oh… By the way… one more thing. In last Sunday morning's service another man came forward to confess his sin. His life has been broken over many years and as a result he has lost everything – his family, his friends, and was close to committing suicide many times. He asked Jesus into his heart and has begun a new walk with God now. I know his life story which is a twisted mess. This has to be one of the greatest miracles that I have witnessed in a long, long time.

Openness with Trust… WOW!

~ Pastor Murray ~

Untapped Power In The Palm Our Hands

So have you ever heard of “U3” capability? It has to do with a new style of memory stick that has been out for a while. I had it and didn’t know. It has been in my pocket for months as I travelled different places and I had no idea.

Now granted I must admit that you have to be a convert to the idea of Computer Stuff. You need to be a little bit knowledgeable about how to work around a computer to be able to understand let alone use this new power.

I would like to take the next few lines to help you know what “U3” is all about – and then make an everyday application.

Almost every computer today has a small rectangular USB port on its exterior. It is a place that you are able to connect a USB apparatus. For many years now this is a place where you connect your keyboard and your mouse on a Desktop or Laptop computer. In the last 5 years extra USB ports have been added to allow you to insert and connect different kinds of extra computer parts – like printers, cameras and hard drives. One special one is a USB Flash Drive – also called a Memory Stick.

I have used a memory stick for more than two years now. It helps to transport files and photos with me without taking the computer with me. I will add the photos I want printed at Wal-Mart or any place that allows me to print the photos myself. I plug it into their machine and then print the photo. It is so easy.

The cost is very low. The last one I bought on sale was $10 Canadian. The special one that was bigger was only $50. It was 1 Gigabyte in size – that is One Billion Bytes of information (an average letter/photo is only 50,000 bytes -50 kb). Wow – a storage capability that staggers an old mind. It was on sale because they have just released a 4 Gigabyte size.

As a computer geek – I almost tingle with this knowledge. Sorry I lost you in that moment.

My discovery…
As I was reading a magazine (Backbone) the author of one article was describing the new and unknown features of the recent “U3 smart drive” – which is one of these memory sticks with special ability.

On this small “U3 smart drive” the creators have made it possible to place Word Processing programs, Internet Browsers, Email Programs and whole array of programs that you may need. The U3 memory stick when inserted into a computer anywhere becomes the complete control you will need to do your work. You write your story (like this one), save it to the stick(like I did with this one), open your Internet Browser on the memory stick, go to your Blogspot (this one) and then upload it for you to read.

It all has been created and completed in a tiny bit of technology that fits snugly in my palm.

I have carried this U3 smart drive and had no clue what it was capable of… Yikes!

What does it mean? When traveling I need not take a computer with me any longer. It is hard to drag the Desk Top computer everywhere you go anyway. It is easier to get a Laptop – but that costs more money. This is a full blown computer capability for about $50. Mind you – you still must have access to a computers – i.e. the library, an office, an airport are all possibilities.

In our new Hospital it was announced this past week that each room will be equipped with an “Integrated Bedside Terminal”. It is like a Laptop computer and a television – all in one. Each will have a USB port… and you can catch the rest I am sure.

Everyday Spiritual Application…
As a pastor I deal with the “Spiritual” all the time. I try to help people to know that God is there for them. I try to point them to the Bible and explain that all the promises that are made – are just for them… that God loves them … etc..

So often there is “powerful programs” right in front of them, available in a heart beat if they will just open it and use it. They just didn’t know. No one had ever told them what they have.

It is so much like my “U3 smart drive” experience. It was in my palm and pocket for so many months and I had no idea what could happen or what was available. I only had to make one click and bingo the power was there for me.

Jesus made a huge promise to you and me. He said..

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.- John 14:12-14

This one simple promise acted upon opens answers to prayers. It brings the possibilities of God’s immediate intervention into our lives when we need it.

Have you prayed today? Try it – it is amazing what God will do.

~ Pastor Murray ~

Backbone Magazine – the story about the “U3 Smart Drive”
http://www.backbonemag.com/Magazine/Executive_Overview10270601.asp

God Was Always There

Last evening I met with a group of folks for a dinner meal together. There was about 25 men and women. It was great to meet new people and to renew acquaintances with people I have known for along while. The striking thing about the meeting was the kind of people that were drawn together for this event. Many had been in prison for a long while.

Many of the rest had never even driven by a prison. The closest they have been is a movie or maybe the TV program, Prison Break. But oddly enough we were all alike.

When I look back to a familiar story of the Children of Israel and their journey through the desert for 40 years I see a powerful example of us all. They walked and lived for 40 years with a sea of sand surrounding their homes. They kept a dream alive of one day being “free” and finding a “promise land”. It is the story line of Exodus. It is the script of great movies. It is also a core factor in Christianity and Judaism. It is the hope of ever Ex-Offender – freedom someday. Redemption for a people that God loves so very much is the heart of the account.

The one striking thing for me was the fact that God was always there in their midst. But so much of their 40 years living took for granted the obvious – He was there. Many didn’t appreciate it and lived the same way they had always lived. They blew it from the very beginning and made terrible decisions that would not allow them to ever see the Promise Land or realize their own vision for their family.

But God was always there.

The men and women that I ate with last evening are so much the same as these Children of Israel. God had(has) a plan for them. They had(have) a dream and plan for their own life. We collectively have a plan, dream and even a vision for our lives. Yet we all have missed the best because of personal decisions we have made. At that point we are so much like the people of God that walked so far and so long through the desert. God was there with his love and care – but they never fully appreciated it and chose their own means and ways to lose it all.

As I pondered the group last night and realized how much we are all the same – ex-offenders and non ex-offenders.

In a very powerful way last evening I saw something else. The new dreams and goals that the people had last evening were beginning to all come together. The ones that had never been to prison were committed to helping the ones that had been in prison – to never go back. The ones that had been in prison were committed to receive help and make a new life on the outside.

It is a modern day Exodus to say the least.

Now you may never even know an ex-offender or you may have never been in prison. The closest you have been is a TV program. But you are so much the same… with some of the lost goals, failed dreams and very real disasters you have known in these years you lived. You can identify in a big way.

One thing to remember is that God has not changed at all. He is the same God that provided for the millions wandering across an endless expanse of desert. He fed them. He led them. He was always there.

God loves you the way that you are… where you are… because you are. Why not talk to Him to today?

~ Pastor Murray ~

Everyday Heroes – The Local Entrepreneur

Our paths cross about four times a week. It is most likely going to happen after school and sometime before the evening meal. It will likely take place when I am outside working in my yard or maybe when I am coming or going from my home. Each time I am close to him I notice him watching me. When I he sees that he has caught my attention he greets me. If he can, he will always give me a chipper word or comment that is different from the last one. He will very likely ask, “How are you today?”

He may be the friendliest neighbour we have. Now I look forward to seeing him and talking to him if I can. In the last weeks I find myself stopping and rolling the window of the van down. Then we exchange words for that day.

I have noticed that he does this with everyone he meets.

Last week he was bringing his sunshine to each one that he met on the street. That evening it would likely mean connecting with about six people before completed our block. With him was a younger fellow that was listening closely to what he was saying. The younger fellow was being taught be his senior. You could see him looking closely at each of his mentor’s actions and taking in all his words. It was quite inspiring to watch them. As I looked on, the older fellow looked up, caught me looking, and waved as I drove by. His younger protégé looked on with puzzled interest. In my mind I could hear what he was thinking, “Am I suppose to know that older man too?”

I hope you are asking who this “Local Entrepreneur” is. Meet my paper boy. This year he just began his Grade 9. He has been my paper boy for about two years I believe. For two years, that is his Grade 7 & 8 and now into Grade 9, he has continued his cheerful engagement of his customers.

He pulls a wagon filled to the brim with heavy newspapers. The wagon had a new addition. The weather in our area has been one constant rain after another. It has not been good weather for a dry newspaper to arrive at our door. He realized that and to keep his customers happy he had added a new feature to the wagon. He attached the old Campaign Signs of our local municipal election candidate to the top of his wagon by wiring it to the side. Each time he needed a paper for the next house he lifted the lid and extracted one. The plastic sign kept his wagon dry.

This past week he had the younger boy with him, maybe a Grade Sixer, and together they were going through the delivery route. He was preparing the young fellow for his job I assume. I imagine that our paper boy has holidays coming up – maybe going to Florida for the Christmas Holidays. Now he needs to get a new man ready for the task and keep his customers happy.

As I paused to think of the tutoring session on the sidewalk the other day, I had a nagging thought. Could it be that my Grade 9 paper boy was giving up our route? Maybe head office was requiring his services on another route? My thoughts told me that I wasn’t in favour of that at all. This was our local hero and he was doing a great job of tying our community together. We need him to stay forever.

I did get a hint however or what might be in days to come. In September, just after Grade 9 classes began, I talked with him at the end of my driveway. I asked him how school was going and he smiled. It was the second day I think. His reply said it all. “One girl already asked me out.”

Stop and think about that statement and the grin on his face. It was the second day of school. He is in GRADE 9 for goodness sake! “One” should be noticed here in his statement. There was a strong expectation that “Two”, “Three” and maybe even “Four” would show before the end of the term (or even the week). The charm that this short little dude has exuded so well on our street was now in his new high school and classroom. He was wowing the hearts and minds of the Grade 9 girls with a smoothness that is amazing.

This fellow is a hero. He is so good at what he does. But most of all he really, really means what he says and people around him are attacked to him.

Pause here…
In a new Time Magazine there is an advertisement from IBM that asks two questions. On the page are these words… “What do you see?” and “What does your CEO see?” There is a very unusual coloured print that has a number of pictures of people woven into it. Very clever I thought. I spent the better part of 20 minutes trying to find the pictures inside the pictures.

At the bottom of the ad in very small print is the IBM warning about the use of their Trade Mark logos. It states that “IBM, and the IBM logo are properties of IBM.. yadda yadda yadda…” One small line included in the logo warning is the fact that IBM OWNS THE WORDS – “what makes you special?” and states that these words are trade-marks and registered trade-marks of the company.

Combining Two Thoughts…
IBM has not yet met my paper boy! He coined the words and lives the words. He has potential that few CEOs have ever dreamed about. He is the WOW Factor of our community. He has me in his palm.

I imagine that IBM or some other company will be looking for this young fellow someday.

He is my local hero.

~ Pastor Murray ~

Meet my hero…

Everyday Heroes – Unusual Ones at Warkworth Penitentiary

Yesterday my wife and I spent the afternoon in prison. We were part of a special afternoon dedicated to Restorative Justice and how we can all be involved in one way or another. Wilma Derksen spoke to a large group of people, of which we were apart. The group of people was made up of members of the staff of the institution, guests & volunteers from the community that help with different small groups of men at the prison and most importantly 103 inmates of Warkworth.

Wilma shared her story of the murder of her daughter. She also shared the larger journey she has taken with the discovery of Restorative Justice and how she is part of this idea. In all, it has helped her to find a relief from the great tragedy of their family. The person that committed this terrible crime has never been found. There have never been charges or convictions. For the Derksen family it will “never be over”.

For my wife and me it was the first time that we have heard Wilma present her story to a group of inmates that included a number of men who were convicted of murder. Watching their reactions and hearing their questions was the most interesting part of the afternoon. It was truly moving as you may well have guessed.

Unusual Heroes…
I am pondering the words of Monty Burke, the Warden, since yesterday. As he spoke earlier in the session, while welcoming each one that had come to take part in the day, he told a story of a local tragic event that had affected everyone in the prison.

The prison that we refer to as Warkworth Correctional Institution is a federal prison which is the largest one of Correctional Services Canada. It houses around 700 men. It is built a few miles to the east of a small village of Warkworth, Ontario.

Just north of the institution and the town there is the small town of Campbellford, Ontario. It was highlighted in the local media of our area with a tragic event of the death of two young teenagers in a house fire.

Monty Burke explained that one of the staff members of Warkworth institution serves the Campbellford community as its volunteer fire chief. After the fire and the turmoil that followed the fire chief shared with the inmates what had happened. Their reaction was very powerful.

Yesterday Monty Burke told the audience that the inmates had collected over $9600 for the family to help them out. Out of their own hard earned money they had collected a huge offering to help these people that lost so much. They hadn’t known them other than the report that they had received in the media.

To help you understand, almost all of the inmates at the institution work at a “job” on the inside. For example they work in cleaning, food preparation and numerous other tasks around the prison. They are paid a very small wage which could be up to around $5.00 a day. The money they earn helps to buy various “canteen items” that are made available to them, cigarettes, candy and other things that they may need. From the small salaries they receive they brought together $9600 as a gift.

A few years ago many of these same men heard of a need that we had in our community as well. A father of five children, an inmate at Warkworth, had died suddenly. His family lived in Peterborough. The death happened just before Christmas time. I received a call from the Chaplain at that time who informed me that the men had collected about $1500 and asked him to buy Christmas gift for the inmates family.

Yesterday…
Yesterday our topic was about Restorative Justice. It was about taking responsibility of your crimes. It was about the understanding of each other – the victims particularly and also the ex-offenders. It was about one community meeting and realizing the needs of the other.

In the meeting the warden had explained a powerful and simple story how the men had responded. These guys were everyday heroes – unusual ones at that.

My question…
Is this not where restorative justice begins? It is when the needs of one group are recognized by the needs of another. It is particularly powerful when one group acts on what they now know and understand, then begin to reach out to the other group and express their compassion.

What an example for the rest of us. Can you imagine what our communities might be like if we all responded in like fashion?

Wow! Thank you guys… of Warkworth. You may never read this on a computer screen – but I salute you today.

~ Pastor Murray ~

Links to stories of Wilma Derksen’s journey
By doing a Google Search using Wilma Derksen you will get over 41,000 responses… some are..
http://www.mcc.org/news/news/2006/2006-10-20_findingforgiveness.html
http://www.christianity.ca/faith/christian-living/2006/10.002.html
http://abbynews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=38&cat=23&id=768068&more=

Today my everyday hero is Paul Ayotte. That is “Mayor Paul Ayotte” in Peterborough, Ontario. This past Tuesday,November 13, 2006, he was elected in our "Decisive Election" as the local newspaper put it.

I can’t say that I am a great political student. I have to often go back and try to sort out who is who in the politics of my small world.

Preparing for this Ontario Municipal Election held on Tuesday November 13, 2006 was something that I had to work at…. Who were these people asking me to vote for them? One of my close neighbours ran for a council seat and won. I know him.

Having stated that, I am very interested in the man that has just won the race for our Mayor.

As I read Paul Ayotte’s story, written by Ed Arnold, today I am amazed at the similarities. We both are the same age and also have two kids. We both married registered nurses. My wedding was a year before his. The similarities are there. But that is where it stops. He is a Mayor and I am not. Not my “cup of tea”.

Mayor Ayotte faces personal battles which are a challenge – yet he is willing to step forward for us and take the leadership role for our city. In 1981 it was discovered that Paul has multiple sclerosis.

His personal experiences and past involvement in the local political scene is extensive. He will know his way around the complicated local city departments I am sure. His ideas include a vision of a city council and a mayor working together. If he is able to encourage this and see his vision take action what a difference it would make. We might show up all the other cities of our area – maybe even in Ontario.

Mayor Ayotte’s family are now involved deeper than before. Dad and Grandpa is now a major leader in his community. That is going to make a difference for sure in all that they do. Christmas will have new pressures. His personal time alone will now need some extra planning to achieve it. As a minister I understand that one better than some of the other citizens.

I feel that Mayor Paul Ayotte is an everyday hero. I will begin praying for Paul and the other councillors. It is one small thing that can help them I am sure.

~ Pastor Murray ~

Everyday Heroes - Danny and Alice Blackwell

Today I would like to introduce two Everyday Heroes. Meet Alice and Danny Blackwell. They live in Toronto. They are busy people – both serving in the community in different jobs and both work at a ministry that reaches out to broken lives.

They have become our friends over these past 20 years. We first met when Danny and I worked at Scarboro Gospel Temple in Scarborough, Ontario. Both of us were younger.

Danny and Alice work at a very different ministry. It is one that reaches deep into the heart of the Toronto. The “New Hope Outreach” Ministry Web Site – describes what they do each week. The goal that they have outlined under “purpose” best describes what they do so well.

“Our goal is to demonstrate and to communicate Jesus' love and transforming message in the transgendered and same-sex attracted communities, so that people will seek a relationship with the Lord Jesus. We desire to walk with them as they pursue Christ and find freedom from their transgendered and same-sex issues.

Further, to be a part of reaching out to the worldwide unreached transgendered and same-sex attracted community so that they will experience and seek Jesus, primarily through believers who demonstrate the love and transforming message of Jesus Christ to them. We also desire to provide tools for the church to both reach out and to support these people as well as their family and friends with compassion and grace.”

Most of the Christian Community has little or no idea what the term “transgendered” means. Few of the Christian community has little or nothing to do with the world of Gay and Lesbian people. Very few of the Christian community are turned on to the idea of loving someone that has broken relationships with their world.

With Danny and Alice – all that doesn’t matter. Their task is to love all of these folks. They love people that some Christians have chosen to hate.

Personally I think that Danny and Alice have caught the heart of God on this one. Because God simply loves each one… no matter who they are – or where they live. Thanks for showing the rest of us how to do that better.

This Christmas season Danny and Alice reach out to the community they work with by serving a wonderful Christmas dinner to all the folks that they have been ministering to over this past year. They have been invited into a community group that supports the Gay and Lesbian folk that live and frequent the area. There will be over 60 people at the dinner. Danny will read the Christmas story and say a few words. Each year they have been involved with this group they introduce Danny as the “Pentecostal Minister”. It is not a church service – it is a place to show love.

I am proud of Danny and Alice. They are reaching the community that God has brought them to.

I ask that you pray for them this season. They are two of our Everyday Heroes.

If you would like to send them an e-Christmas card go for it. They need your support and encouragement. And if you are blessed – would you consider sending them a “Financial Christmas Bonus”? They need our help and prayer today.

~ Pastor Murray ~

Danny and Alice Blackwell… nho_1@yahoo.ca

and...
nhotor@yahoo.com

Snail Mail... to

Danny and Alice Blackwell

c/o Malvern Christian Assembly

6705 Sheppard Ave. E.

Scarborough, Ontario

M1B 3C1

Everyday Heroes

A few days ago now I posted a reflection “When Leaders Fall”. It included an account of Ted Haggard, the Colorado Springs pastor that has fallen morally and now has been dismissed from his church. He has been placed into a position that we in church call “restorative”. Fellow ministers and co-workers will be there to help Ted get back on to his feet. Perhaps some day he will enter the ministry again should all of the restoration be successful.

One of my greatest burdens that I carry as a pastor is for the family of the man that loses his position and life because of sin.

On the side…
In the secular world it doesn’t seem to be this extreme. In church work it is more extreme. If in the secular world a layman is caught telling a lie in his work place, people shroud and say little. They may not respect the man but he will not likely lose his job or his family. Some jobs in that world may even require an acceptable degree of lies(stretched truth..). It is different with ministers however. One lie, or a series of lies, will mean immediate reaction and serious ramifications for him. It is job over.

Over these 32 years that I have been in the ministry I have witnessed the deep and powerful affects of a minister’s sin, lies, cheating, theft, adultery and other more serious immorality problems. I have walked through the long journey with both the husband and wife as restoration takes place. In many case the journey has been very successful.

But in most cases where children have been involved, the kids of the pastor, the wound is very deep. Mom and Dad may stay together and work things out but the kids feel a heaviness few people see.

In my slugging through my own feelings about Ted Haggard and his family I came across an article that was published in the Denver Post following last Sunday’s church meetings. It points to Ted Haggard’s son Marcus who is also now a minister. He is 23 years old and is the pastor a new church of 200 people. It is the Boulder Street Church and a satellite church of New Life Church, where his father was the pastor.

Wow! What an insight into this tragic event. It is entitled “Haggard’s Eldest Son Leads His Own Flock”. (Click on the Link at the bottom of this posting to read the whole article.)

The deep feelings of a minister’s son are caught here for all to see.
Quote….
“On Sunday, he did not speak directly about his father or the revelations that had unfolded since a male prostitute went on radio station KHOW's "Peter Boyles Show" and said he had had sex and sold methamphetamine to Ted Haggard, who has been fired from New Life.

"It's been a very interesting last few days, hasn't it?" Marcus Haggard asked.

Marcus Haggard said Christians could expect "surprises" in their lives, and he implored the 200 people in his church to serve others and not turn "internal."

"I've had to begin processing this, and I've stepped into a pretty clear role in my family and at the church," Marcus Haggard said. "I'm keeping going, I'm trying to stay strong, and at the same time I know I'm having to take time to really process the genuine emotions that are there, that will range from anger, frustration, sorrow, questioning, uncertainty and strength."

He said New Life Church's finest hours were ahead, that its government had worked flawlessly and that the church had received support from around the world.

He implored people to stay strong in their core convictions - faith, love, grace - and be mindful that the world is watching.

"The media spotlight has been on us, and the world is watching, and that is fascinating for us to see because that brings us opportunities to demonstrate what love is like," Marcus Haggard said.
…End quote…

What maturity for a 23 year old, eldest son of a fallen man. This guy is an everyday hero. This is a young man that isn’t different from other young men. He has feelings and attitudes that are 23 years old. His dad has lost all that he has worked for and he is still able to stand tall in the midst of the week’s events.

Oh yes he had strong feelings. The Denver Post article went on to
quoting Marcus….
As a side note, tongue-in-cheek, Haggard said: "My brothers and I concocted a plan to lob paintballs at the news crews sitting outside of our house."
End quote..

Remember this is national news just before a major election. Their dad is considered an important man that has access to the President of the United States. Some of the issues of the election are directly influenced by what his father has done. Their front lawn, their street and their community was flooded with media people along with their cars, trucks, sound crews, and cameramen. It was a zoo.

The last part of the article caught an important reflection of Marcus(and for all minister’s kids I believe). Here it is…

Quote…
The young preacher said he was blogging earlier and in his Web journal told readers he felt like a man who had been sitting in an outdoor cafe, enjoying an espresso, when a car screamed onto the sidewalk.

"Now I think I know what that moment might feel like," he said, "waking up three days later and having been hit by a car and going, 'Wow, the vicissitudes of life."'
End quote…

Here is the exact feeling that so many kids have. So few of us ever consider what the potential peripheral damage for the kids.

However here is a young man that has been called upon by the world for his story. His life reflects the qualities of a hero. He can stand strong in the heat of the fire and help rescue those at risk inside the horror in front of him.
I ask you to pray for Marcus and his family in days to come. He along with his mother, Gayle, will face grinding battles each day as they go about their routines. Think of the supermarket or gas station that they do they business. Think of their bank… or their neighborhood where they live. Everyone knows them. Not everyone cares.
I hope we do.
~ Pastor Murray ~
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“Haggard’s Eldest Son Leads His Own Flock”
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4609028

For further reading about this story you may like to check out the following. The link is part of the Christianity Today’s (Magazine) Weblog that discusses issues that are happening now. It may be one of the most powerful voices heard today. This is a collection of articles dealing with Ted Haggard and his failures and removal. The list is long.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/novemberweb-only/145-24.0.html

Jonah's Journey - The Beginning

Yesterday I invited you to join an army of people that are praying for Jonah. Today I encourage you to know that pray does make a real difference.

God still performs miracles today.

On November 27, 2006 Jonah will undergo an extensive surgery. We believe that God will carry him through all of this and the end result will be another miracle.

The following account of his amazing beginning is shared by his mom Jessika. After you read it with me, please share it with someone else. The amazing way that God has already worked in this little man’s life is an indication of the way that he will continue to perform more miracles.

Remember you can add comments to this Blog by clicking through at the end of the post.

~ Pastor Murray ~

From Jessika….

I just thought I would share a little story with you that you may not have heard, so you can see why we call him our "miracle":

On a Thursday in March 2005 (while he was still admitted to Sick kids, we had yet to take our son home from the hospital), Jonah had an MRI. They wanted to see exactly what was going on in his tiny body. We were told the results would be in on Monday morning. That Friday night, George and I headed out to the Selwyn Church for a big Prayer service. Billy Burke was there praying for the sick. All I had was a picture of my son, so I took it up for him to pray for Jonah. When he started to pray, I felt a calm come over me, one I hadn't felt since the day Jonah was born, and I knew in my heart of hearts, that he was going to be ok.

Monday morning came, and the neurologist walked in to Jonah's hospital room.

Now to help you understand, Jonah was in a room with 5 other babies, there was barely room to move when the other spots filled up and a total of 8 babies resided in room 4 NICU. George and I would sit on computer chairs beside our son for hours, playing with him, kissing him and we (mostly I) would change his diapers.

When the neurologist walked in, he came with his team that consisted of 1 neurologist, and 3 fellows(students). He told George and I to move our chairs to the end of Jonah's bed and prepare for some grim news.

He started off by telling us that Jonah was severely developmentally delayed, he said he would never smile, or reach for things like a normal child would. Just as he said that he looked down at Jonah and Jonah had the biggest smile on his face as he was trying to grab the stethoscope that was hanging down from the neurologists chest.

George and I suppressed our laughter, we knew what God was doing, but we also knew that we wanted to see what else He would show to those doctors up. The neurologist went a little red (from embarrassment), and cleared his throat and decided to go on with his "report".

The next thing he mentioned was that Jonah was completely and totally deaf, with no possible way he would ever hear again. As he was saying this, Jonah started to get gurgly with the mucous in his airway, so his nurse moved into suction him, just as she did, with limited space, she bumped one of Jonah's talking toys, his head was turned to the left, and as soon as it started playing on his right, he turned his head to it. The neurologist started scratching his head and looking really nervous. Again, George and I smiled.

This is the greatest one though...the neurologist said and I quote, " Well, this one I know for sure, there is no getting around this one," then he turned to us, "your son is completely blind, he has no optical nerve on either eye." He waited for us to react.

I glanced at my son and raised an eyebrow to the neurologist, who at that very moment was extracting a black pen from his pocket to write down something in his notes, as he did this Jonah's eyes locked on it, and the neurologist noticed this. He then started moving the pen back and forth, up and down, and Jonah followed it with his eyes, reaching for it with his hands and smiling.

The neurologist closed his book with an exasperated cry, "I don't know what to tell you, this child in this report, and your child are two different people!" He double checked the name on Jonah's bed and said, "I can't explain it".

"I can", I said.

"You see, we are Christians, and we prayed, and we had a whole church pray for him, there are people praying for him all over this country", I paused, " This is what you in the medical profession may call a problem with your testing equipment, this is what we call in the God loving business a Miracle. Jonah is and always will be a child of God, and God can do anything."

With that, I stood up and said thanks to God for my blessing, my son, my miracle. The neurologist still scratching his head, bowed out of the room quietly, wondering whether or not he had truly just witnessed a miracle. We know he did. We thank God everyday for that lesson he showed the doctors at Sick Kids. Like I said in my last e-mail Matthew 19:26 applies here to.

“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

Thank you for all of your support. Thank you for the wonderful e-mail replies you have been getting. We believe in the power of prayer, we know it helped him before, and continues to help him everyday.

Thank you thank you thank you thank you:
Jessika Van Spronsen

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To send this to others – the links are …

Jonah’s Journey - http://northviewchurch.blogspot.com/2006/11/jonahs-journey.html
Jonah’s Journey – The Beginning - http://northviewchurch.blogspot.com/2006/11/jonahs-journey-beginning.html

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I would like you to meet Jonah Van Spronsen - age 21 months. Jonah is the first son of George and Jessica. He has a younger brother, Samsun.

Oh, I forgot to tell you this one. Jonah can't speak yet. He has a tracheotomy. Long before getting married Jessika had learned to be quite proficient in Sign Language. Today Jonah speaks to mommy, daddy, grandma and whoever will listen with over 50 Signs. Watching him sing along with his grandma, “Get on the bus…” was an absolute joy. The big smile on his face as he watched her and heard her singing, makes the above account even more amazing!

~ Pastor Murray ~

Jonah's Journey

I would like you to meet Jonah Van Spronsen - age 21 months. Jonah was born with a number of abnormalities. Jonah is the first son of George and Jessica. He has a younger brother, Samsun.

The following account of Jonah was prepared by Jessika, his mom. I am inviting you to pray with us over this month for Jonah's surgery. I encourage you to send this page to as many people as you can over the next days. You can Copy/Paste the entire text and photo into an email from yourself - or simply Copy/Paste the URL( http://northviewchurch.blogspot.com/2006/11/jonahs-journey.html ) into your email.

We are asking for an army of people to be raised up to pray for Jonah over this month and into December 2006.

Thank you so much for your encouragement and support today.

~ Pastor Murray ~

Dear Northview Church Blogspot Reader;

The surgeon's office called today. As some of you already know we have a new surgeon on our case, and his office does things a little differently than the other ones, so here is the update. I am including the details of Jonah's surgery to make sure you are all up to date on everything.

SURGERY DATE: November 27th, 2006. This has been moved up by 2 days...WOO HOO!!! We are being admitted on the 26th. Jonah will be out of PICU hopefully by the 29th. ( Paediatric Intensive Care Unit).

DISCHARGE PLANS: The lovely secretary I talked to said Jonah will likely be hospitalized for a total of 9 days, that includes the day before and the day of surgery. Following that will be our recovery time in December.

SAMSUN PLANS: Samsun, Jonah’s younger brother, is going to keep Gammy and Nana company at home. Oma Margaret may also be stopping in.

SURGERY DETAILS: Jonah is having a whole array of things done in this surgery:

• ABR (which is a hearing test), tubes placed in both ears to alleviate his balance issues.
• A collar test to see if the vocal chords are still working, they place electrodes on the vocal chords and send electric shock through them and if they respond then they are working, if they don't Jonah's trach will be permanent.
• They are also checking to see if the connection between his esophagus and his trachea has reattached, if so, they will remove it.
• He is having a re-fundoplication (the wrapping of the stomach 360 degrees around the esophagus to prevent acid refulx).
• His heart is also getting an operation during this time. He is having the vascular ring removed from around his trachea and esophagus, and placed back where the aorta is always supposed to be.
• His stomach is being removed from beside his left lung.
• They are also performing a bronchoscope and larynxscope to see what is going on in his throat in terms of getting the trach out...it will not be removed for some time yet, but they are just doing a thorough check.
• They are possibly going to remove the granulation tissue from the stoma of his trach (the red puffy skin around the outside of the trach), this is just scar tissue and easily removed.

A lot for one day. But this new surgeon is confident that the surgery will be over in 5-6 hours, including the time it takes for him to be put under and wake up. Which is a lot better than the 9 the other surgeon was saying. The reason is, is that ENT (Ear Nose and Throat), can work the same time as the other surgeons are and doesn't need to take any extra time, so that cuts down considerably, and also, the cardiologists can work with the general surgeon to get both things done at the same time. Which in the long run is better for Jonah.

So...exciting news...we go meet the new surgeon on the 23rd, George is also donating his blood to be banked for Jonah's surgery on that day. Thanks for all your added prayers, we need them, and we feel them.

“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)


Love: GEORGE, JESSIKA, JONAH EVAN AND SAMSUN MATTHEW

The first photo is of Samsun... the next is the Van Spronsen Family..

Forces Against Us

During my life-time I have experienced darkness---depression, despair, a heavy feeling on my chest, hopelessness. Thankfully I have also experienced the wonderful Bright Light of Jesus--Love, Joy, Hope.

This week-end when I found myself being dragged down into the darkness again, I wondered Why?

I Thank God He gave me the answer.

I was trying to be helpful, encouraging to a friend I'll call "Jane", whose son, in his mid-twenties, was heavily involved in the drug scene. The folk advising her were suggesting to her that she needed to step aside, cut loose this young man, for in trying to "help" as she saw it, she was dragging herself further & further down.

When I began to feel dragged into the darkness, God gave me an understanding that turned out to be very helpful to Jane. I told her that possibly it would help her if she could see that she wasn't standing against her son, the person, whom she loves dearly. But rather she was standing against the dark force that was controlling him. She was claiming God's Light for her life & God's Love & Care over her son's life.

She was very grateful for this thought. It helped her to step aside & to make some tough choices of her own.

A few years ago I did not believe in Satan or evil forces. But through my own personal experiences , I Know there are forces of evil operating just as much as there are forces of Good/ God.

Our job is to recognize these forces operating in our lives & to hopefully choose God. He Will Always answer our calls to Him--& if we Believe in Him, He will move us away from all that is dark.

Brenda v

The Valleys of Life

The Valleys of Life

By Deb Dagg

What kind of place would this world be,
If hate was gone and love was free.
No more tears of grief, no hurt, no pain,
We would only exist with nothing to gain.

It is in these valleys where we all grow,
Where souls are born and hearts will know.
The spirit of life; the agony of defeat,
where our hearts mature with each new beat.

We find ourselves with each new breath,
from when we’re born; until our death.
It’s how we live life in between,
It’s how we love that sets the scene.


Background to this poem…
Yesterday this was delivered in a beautiful card, hand written by Deb. At the bottom of the poem were written these words, “I am starting to write again. This is my latest poem. What do you think?”
Love and prayers,
Deb

A few people that read this Blog from time to time know Deb well. Deb is part of our congregation in Peterborough. She, and her husband Terry, started attending about three years ago now. Two years ago this Christmas coming, Terry passed away. Since that time her son has gone blind and now lives in Extend-a-care, a seniors residence in our area. To say that it has been a rough few years would be an understatement.

However Deb began her journey into her family at a very early age. When she was a teenager, she and Terry, her boy friend at that time, came home from a concert to find out that both his parents and his youngest sister had been killed in a car accident. About a month later the small family of children were ousted from their home by the Bank that held the mortgage. Terry was the oldest and he began a long journey of looking after his siblings with Deb by his side.

That is only a small synopsis of a huge story that Deb has lived through. When they discovered the love in our church at the crucial time of Terry’s diagnosis of cancer it was the beginning of new life for Deb. This has been a long three journey together.

What do I think Deb…? I think and know that I am continuing to witness a miracle every day. God is amazing and so are you.

Thank you so much.

~ Pastor Murray ~