What a great morning!

I would give anything to start my mornings off like this every day! This morning I went out with a guy from my church and his friend wakeboarding.

Now the truth is I haven't been in 6 years since I worked up at Barnabas Family Ministries back in the summer of 2002. But as I arrived at the water this morning it was calm, sunny, and warm. Today was a GLORIOUS day to go wakeboarding.

So after a few minutes of just taking it easy I ventured out of the wake, did a few cuts across and even got some air (enough to pull a backside grab for a second!) It was a 15 minute ride that felt absolutely amazing. It was a great morning. We finished it off by taking a dip in the pool (heated to like 30 Celsius).

Needless to say I can't wait for the next one! Here are some pictures from this morning.

This is the view that greeted me at the dock!

Enjoying the ride!

That's enough...take me home!

shortness of life

I have been awakened quite recently to how short our time on this earth can be.

Last week my dad called me to tell me his childhood friend suffered brain trauma as a result of a motorcycle accident and was in a coma. Doctors aren't saying whether or not he will be able to walk again, or even be "normal" after such a severe accident. I remember getting rides on the second seat of Bruce's motorcycle as a child when we visited him in the Okanagan. Those were great memories.

Two days ago I received a message on facebook from a friend of mine saying a mutual friend from highschool lost her husband as a result of a motorcycle accident this past week. He was a daddy to two young boys, and I can imagine that his wife Christine is just overwhelmed with loosing her husband...and her boys not having their daddy there to see them grow up.

So I'd ask for your prayers for my dad's friend Bruce, his wife and his kids. As well please pray for Christine, her two boys, and her family as they grieve the loss of Randy.

As much as we like to think....we have no control over when our lives will end. I have realized this lesson many times in my 27 years, with loosing a neighbour, and other friends I graduated with.

Psalm 39:4-5
"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.."

So I ask my readers to take a minute from their day today, or tomorrow, or whenever and pray for these two individuals...

Thanks,

Tyler

simplify

seems simple doesn't it?

these past few days I have been really challenged in my faith journey to recognize what it means to simplify. better yet, what it means to live without.

sure I now own a townhome, and we've filled it with "stuff" even a new big screen tv....so where do I get off talking about a topic like "simplicity".

well over the past few weeks I have dramatically reduced my "screen time". We don't have cable, and still haven't even plugged in our TV. We chose not to purchase cable for the next while in an attempt to enjoy our summer, and spend time doing other things (with each other & with friends)!

at work I have implemented a "no screen time" rule for the first 30 minutes from when I arrive in the office. this time is meant to read God's Word and pray.

simple...yet effective.

this morning as I drank my coffee at starbucks (it's VBS this week...I need the jolt of caffeine), I sat there on the patio and for 10 minutes just found myself soaking in the warmth of the early morning sunshine.

doing nothing but just being still.

sounds like a familiar passage in Scripture.

"be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10

I have recognized that I need more simplicity (that almost seems paradoxical). We all need to think creatively as to how we can simplify our lives...focus more on our walk with Christ.

may you be encouraged to spend more time being simple. enjoying life. enjoying Christ.

-Ty

Get Smart

So tonight Charity and I decided to take a break from unpacking boxes, and go watch Get Smart. Needless to say I laughed...a lot! These days have been filled with nothing but unpacking boxes, sorting stuff, putting that sorted stuff away into new places, and then repeating the whole process over again...so we realized we needed a break!

The really funny thing was, when I went to stand up after the movie was over...my legs totally cramped up! The truth is, I haven't sat down for that long in weeks! I couldn't believe how funny it felt to stand up after sitting for 2 hours! I guess it's a good thing that I haven't been lazy for the last while (I even weighed myself today and have lost a few pounds!)

Anyways, the house is slowly starting to look "like a house". More rooms are starting to be finished, and even today I bleach washed the walls in our storage room! That was really fun! Hopefully in a week or so it'll all be done and we can welcome people over!

Back to work tomorrow...but I'm looking forward to it. Lot's of great stuff happening this week!

-Ty

We're Home

We did it! After month's of slowly packing up boxes, selling old stuff of craigslist, and cramming stuff into our moving truck we have arrived at our new place in Pitt Meadows.

I was overwhelmed by the amount of help from our family, who totally bent over backwards to help us move. It was so great to have Charity's mom & dad here for a few days too. We miss them, and wish we could see them far more often.

There are still tons of boxes to unpack, and we gotta figure out where some major pieces of furniture will go, but that will all happen in time.

I still wonder when the next day is that I'll get to sleep in, but for now Charity and I will continue to work well into the evenings to get this place ready for the hundreds of "house warming" parties I think I've promised to have!

I'll throw some pictures of the new place up when it's all cleaned up...and look for a new "after" video tour of our townhome comparable to the "before" video on my facebook site.

-Ty