Matthew Pic

Here is a recent picture of Matthew. Its amazing to watch him grow up - even after four kids its amazing to watch the way they grow and develop.

We had our Children's Concert today at church. It went really well. The kids always do a great job and the leaders were excellent. There were a number of kids away due to sickness and so there was a last minute shuffling of lines. Everyone took it in stride and doubt if anyone in the audience/congregation noticed.

Ehkosit

Migwec

I'm a six fingered freak!!!

I was born with an extra finger on my right hand. It had no bone or muscles, just blood vessels and a nail.  In some cultures and times I may have been revered as special - even deified - and in other cultures and times I may have been thrown into the volcano - to feed a deity. But when I was born my culture chose neither of these and the doctor just lopped the digit-wannabe off. Somedays I think it would have been neat to have kept the finger - I would always be able to find the gloves and mittens my Grandma made special for me and I bet it would give wicked dead fingers. But I will never know. All I have to show for it is a little stump that often gets mistaken for a wart.

All that is to lead up to a video I saw for a old toy that made me laugh...

By the way the condition is called polydactyl ... the more you know

Migwec from the polydactyl pasor

Ehkosit

Jeffa el Hutt

Almost a month ago I went out to a Brazilian BBQ place in town. Wow! What an experience. It is a meat buffet that comes to you. You don't even have the exercise of walking up to a buffet bar. Throughout the night the waiters bring skewers of meat - lamb, chicken, bacon-wrapped filet mignon, rib-eye, sausages of all manner. Did I mention wow! To cleanse the pallet they would also swing by with roasted pineapples and occassionaly vegetables.

Nobody needs that much met in a lifetime let alone a single sitting. It has taken almost a month for my system to return to normal. I was constantly hungry, but still full from that meal. For the whole month I slithered around like a creature out of the Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars. An evening of Brazilian BBQ had transformed me into Jeffa the Hutt.

The sad part is that now that I am feeling better all I can think of is going back. My brother is possibly coming to town and so I am saving up for a visit to a little place called Bolero's.

Ehkosit,

Migwec

The Fam

My Mom and Dad came out for Maggie and Micah's birthdays (Oct 5&6). It was great having them here and the kids were so excited to see them. Micah didn't stop dancing the whole week - unfortunately he has his father's sense of rythym and grace).

I am trying to convince my father he should goout for Halloween as David Suzuki (but not here in Alberta). The older he gets the more Japanese comes out. The only Japanese beginning to show in me is a likeness to Yokozuna (from the old WWF days) ...

Of course the fact that I joined a friend at the local Brazilian BBQ has sped this up by a few years. What a concept, you sit at your table and waiters line up with huge skewers of meat (sometimes waiters lined up behind waiters). The variety of meat was outstanding and I more than did Dr Atkins proud. At one point I scouted out the restaurant to see if they had any defibulator stations, but unless it was behind the hot buffet section I didn't see any. Bolero's is a must visit for any self-professing 'meatatarians' that finds themself in Calgary!! More about that later...

Ehkosit,

Migwec

Night Hawk into Early Bird

I am not an early bird. I have no interest in catching worms. I would rather sleep a little longer than spring out of bed. I shave my head largely for this reason - it cuts down on early morning preening!!

I don't know why, but I signed up to play in an early morning hockey league (www.scrhl.ca) and so once a week I am out the door before 6am to play!! I am enjoying it but it relies heavily on three pieces of equipment:

(1) Crocs - these things are ugly as sin, but as comfortable as heaven. I swore I would never wear these affronts to foot fashion but somebody gave me a pair and I love them!! They are a must in getting out the door at that time.

(2) Old Man's Gatorade - I can't get up early enough to operate machines that involve electricity and produce hot liquids before 7:30am so I am truly grateful to live uphill from a Starbucks. Gatorade worked in my early 30s but now I need Cafe Americano with three shots to get the brain going (that and a Melaleuca "Access Bar")

(3) iPod blaring something that my wife feels I should have grown out of a decade or two ago - lately it has been RHCP, Chess blues or something with a reggae vibe to it. I cashed in airmiles to get this baby and I opted for the 80gb classic rather than the Touch because I wanted more room to put more stuff on it (Mandarin lessons, grad school lectures, eclectic music and way too many podcasts of obscure talk shows). I can't believe how much it holds. I may even rip my collection of 80s dance music just to see if it will hold my entire cd collection!!

In a strange progression I decided that if I can get up and play hockey before heading into the office (as do all the other guys I play with) I should also be able to get up early and do stuff before 'heading into the office' on other days. I approached a few people from church and now I will lead a Bible study on Thursdays from 6:30-7:30am. In a city that is getting increasingly fast-paced you have to make time for the important stuff - so this is one nighthawk that is becoming an early bird...but I still don't want any worms.

Ehkosit
Migwec

38 Years Old and Never Kissed a Girl...

I turned 38 yesterday. I have spent the last year (almost to the day) in a bit of a funk and so even though it marked getting older, it also marked coming back to life. It was nice, I had lunch with two of my best friends (one in from Regina and the other back from China). This always makes a fat guy happy. Had a quick supper and birthday cake with my family before I had to head out again. The kids got me new hockey skates for my birthday (I have started playing hockey again after a 20 year hiatus).

All in all I'd rather be 38 in a happy space than 37 with a chip on my shoulder!!

Ehkosit
Migwec

Summer is winding down and we might be heading into a real cold winter (according to the Farmers' Almanac or a pig spleen or sumthin). Before everybody headed back to school we were drawing double digits into our back yard - lots of kids trying to 'get their hammock on' before going back to the daily grind of elementary school. It cracks me up because all of the kids have passes to Calaway Park (local amusement park), every gaming console that has come out ever, and more channels than they can possibly watch, but there they are on my hammock swinging it and trying to knock each other off.

It is pretty quiet around the house, thoughI should qualify that statement. My daughter and our puppy both miss the constant commotion and playmates of the summer months. Unfortunately they also happen to be the loudest of the lot and so it is quieter but not by much.

Part of my summer was spent with my good friend and former business partner. Even though we don't work together we still find ways and places to be in each other's life. Its good - I am actually a fairly private person and so I don't let many people into my thoughts, feelings, etc. Clayton is one of those few and so it was nice to spend some time with him talking and exploring some 'stuff' that was rattling around - new challenges colliding with old thought patterns. Not a good combination. Something about getting the boy off of the rez but never getting the rez out of the boy.

I am getting set to start up the new ministry year and it is exciting - lots of new opportunities. As I looked back over the books I read in the summer they all had a common (unplanned) thread - the idea that the moment is where it all happens...right now...and now..and even now. The books were a mix of secular, Christian, business and academic. Anyhoo, that is what we are going to dig into over the next year - the power of decisions, actions, reactions and how to look back on the past, look forward to the future but how to live life right now to its fullest. I am excited , but I don't want to use up anymore moments cuz I got stuff to do.

Ehkosit,

Migwec

On our last trip to the zoo my daughter and I had fun mashing names and features of animals together... here are some that we came up with. I will post a few more later, but right now I have to go get dog clippers!!!

My Sister and her boy are in visiting this week. Sebastien likes to make a robot voice and moves - so I made him a picture of himself as a robot. BTW "Sir Bazzelford" is one of the many names he will go by/answer to. As a side note of Baz trivia his favourite singer is Bob Marley - good taste for a 4 year old!!!

We have finished up our basketball camp and are halfway through our soccer camp. It has been a really great way to connect with our community's kids and have some excercise as well. Over the three summer camps we ran we will have had an attendance of some 90 kids. A few families have started to come through this connection as well.

Church planting is still a bit of a roller-coaster ride and I am glad to have these camps going as I can sometimesa feel like I am spending more time in meetings and filling out forms than ministering to the community. However I recognize that this is all necessary - it would just be nice if some folks that have been around 'church' for a while realized that there is more to being a 'church' than forming committees and holding meetings. This is why I am so glad to be in a new church that can create a culture of 'ministry activity' over 'ministry appearance.' Some pastors should never be within 1000 yards of a church plant and others are equipped specifically for church planting and woud wreak havoc on a traditional church.

On another note, the hockey team I am playing with (from the GoodTree Christian Fellowship church plant) clinched first place in our division (the Coors Division of the Calgary Hockey North America League) and we start playoffs on Wednesday. I have to admit I sometimes revert back to my old role (needless to say it wasn't as a goal scorer) and I spend more energy not taking a run at guys than playing defence...maybe I will save it for the final game if we are up by enough (I'm just joking Juli). It cracks me up because it is largely SouthEast Asian (especialy Korean) Canadians and we're the top team!! When I was a kid, my brother and I were the token Asian kids. Truthfully, we barely counted as such - our Grandfather was from Shanghai, China and his family was from Japan and Hong Kong. On this team I am considered a token white guy.

Ehkosit,

Migwec.

This is what I looked like through most of my teen years. There is currently a meme going that asks you to draw yourself as a teen (http://davario.livejournal.com/30861.html).

I was really quite a catch!!

ehkosit

migwec

Part of my vacation has been spent dusting off my doctoral studies. I know that I need to get back into an academic program -I feel a little discombobulated when not at least enrolled in program. Its not that I am some egotist chasing after letters - I think it just gives me a ring fence around my reading, studying etc. Since leaving High School I have started in on a number of degrees in a wide variety of areas, including: Anthropology (finished BA), Linguistics (finished BA Honours and MA), pieces of BEd, MTh and PhD. I have also finished up certificate work in HR stuff, TESOL and Graphic Design and was enrolled in an MBA when I entered church work. I have serious problems in this area, but it beats the other vices I could choose from!!

Ehkosit
Migwec

I married in to a family that LOVES Swiss Chalet. We eat there often. In the one by our house they have a great collection of "Group of Seven" prints. The kids get crayons with their place mats - so I often 'borrow' them to doodle pictures. Sometimes they copy my pictures.

Ehkosit
Migwec

I had coffee a while back and was swapping 'Dad Stories.' I killed myself when the fellow I was with described he birth of his oldest son. He was timing the contractions on the way to the hospital with an old alarm clock. He said he looked like Flavor Flav walking into the maternity ward!! He then asked me if I knew who Flav was - c'mon I used to stay up late on Fridays to watch "New York Hot Tracks" when it was the only place that played rap videos. I was the very first person to have a bootleg copy of 2 Live Crew in my sleepy prairie city thanks to a friend in Miami. I still make way to many Crunk references for a man my age and profession.

Ehkosit
Migwec

Just a Doodle of a dude (aka a Dude-le) at the local purveyor of finely brewed caffeinated beverages.
Ehkosit
Migwec

This is an old house in Calgary - one of the first residences to have electricity!! Some really neat architectural features. Fun to sketch.
Ehkosit
Migwec

This is a sketch I did on the C-train. I don't often sketchon the train (I'm still self-conscious about drawing in public). The fact that the guy was blind made me feel a little freer to doodle (I started drawing other things in the car).

This was one of the kids from our VBS (or at least thats where the inspiration came from). It was a fun time that saw the weather hold out for the whole week - we were outside with no indoor space. I really like that we are a small enough church that I still get to be involved in the day camps, youth group, midweek programs etc.

Ehkosit
Migwec

I still do some teaching, consulting and speaking that takes me out of town. I have a love hate relationship with this arrangmement. On one hand I enjoy it immensely and feel affirmed in doing it. On the other hand I find it hard to be away from my family (especially as they grow in number and age).

Ehkosit

Migwec

There is a tree in our front yard that is loved by the birds and kids alike. For the birds it produces a berry that has a similar effect on them as meth does on most teenagers (I know because I watch the birds out my window like I used to watch the "tweakers" out my office window when I pastored at an inner-city church). To the best of my knowledge the neighbourhood kids have not been sampling the berries, but they do love to climb it.

Today it lost one of its bigger branches as too many kids were using it to swing on. It loses a branch a year but keeps on growing - it kind of reminds me of the tree in that Shel Silverstein book The Giving Tree. Is it just me or is he the scariest looking children's book author ever?!?

BTW I picked up a set of PITT brush pens from a clearance bin and so I have been having a lot of fun playing with washes etc. in my sketches. Part of my things to do over the vacation is to figure out Photoshop a bit more (possibly even play with Illustrator a bit).

Ehkosit

Migwec

I had forgotten what it was like being a dad for a new born. My youngest son was born on Saturday night. I have been sketching him a bit, but I prefer to hold him. This morning though I watched him sleep and smile (he was much more safely positioned but this was just a quick sketch so I stuck him on the edge of the couch rather than in his car seat - don't call CFS on me). I didn't know what was going to happen when he finally arrived. We live pretty busy/chaotic lives most of the time. God knew what he was doing. We have received an outpouring of love/hospitality/genorsity/... from the people within our community and friends.

For some people it has been a way back into a friendship that has drifted because of busyness (this city moves too quickly for its own good at times), for others it has been a chance to extend hospitality (I am getting fat[ter] from trying to keep up with the food that has been brought over), and for others it has been a chance to take over a task or duty and that is incredibly welcome also.

This little baby has allowed me to (re)learn to accept grace in my life. That is really saying something because I became very cynical and hard-hearted - not so much towards God as towards His people. An quote often attributed to Augustine is "The church is a whore, but she's my mother." I've never come across it in the writings of Augustine I have read, but the sentiment I have felt. There have been times over the last number of years that I started to wonder about how we can get the church back on board (like its my responsiblity to save the church). This baby, Matthew, has reminded me that the church is the people. It is not so much about structures and governance and all of the stuff we make as it is God's spirit moving in God's people to fulfill God's mission throughout God's creation. Anyways its getting late and I'm rambling. Just know that I have fallen even deeper in love with the church of Jesus Christ in the last few days (and especially the little corner of the kingdom known as SouthGate).

Ehkosit,

Migwec

The kids have found some scrap lumber under the deck and constructed a ramp to jump their bikes off of. For the first part of the day they mostly built and talked up the tricks they were going to pull (e.g., lazy boys, donkey kickes, superman airs, etc.). The next part was spent rationalizing why they were pulling up short of the ramp (e.g., chain problems, stones in the way, other kids being too noisy, etc.). Eventually they did get around to making the jumps (though the tricks seemed to be forgotten). There were a few injuries, but everybody seems okay and eager to get back out to jumping...tomorrow.

I still remember jumping ramps on my bike as a kid. Though it wasn't the highest or furthest jump of my career, the one I will be most remembered for is when I 'borrowed' my mom's fold-up travel bike. Mid way through the jump I realized that I hadn't tightened the front wheel on very well. I say "Realized" meaning that I saw it come free from the front forks and go in an entirely different direction than the rest of the bike and I decided to travel in. When those front forks dug in the rest of the bike did what it was designed to do and it folded up into a tiny little space (with me in it). I walked the bike home and put it back up on the garage wall, but my mom noticed that it folded in a few new ways and I was busted (that and everybody on the reserve had heard about my jump). Anyhoo good memories - but I don't think I am going to show the boys any of their dad's jumping prowess!!

Ehkosit

Migwec!

I don't know if I will be able to do it, but for the three weeks of my holiday I will be trying to post a "Doodle-a-Day." The first one is actually a sketch I did on Canada Day at the local beach. I never got to finish it then because we didn't stay long enough - it was stinkin' freezin'. Anyways I finished it up abit and here it is.

Ehkosit

Migwec

Matthew is all of two days old and so he spends most of his time sleeping. Here is some rare footage of him with his eyes open. Enjoy.

Ehkosit

Migwec

I have been confronting a lot of memories and dreams this week. Mostly all of which are good. This week we are doing a day camp (Vacation Bible School) at our church. The camp is being run by youth from the church Juli was the youth pastor at (and she started to do this for other churches across Canada). The response has been great and it is a real opportunity for us to connect with our community.

I have also been clearing out old files from my desk, filing cabinet and computer that pertained to my old job with First Baptist. We are now officially an autonomous church - and although we will always have a connect with FBC - the relationship has changed. This is not unlike my feeling when I moved out of my parents' home. I was old enough and felt ready to do it. It didn't mean I stopped loving them or being their son, but now we operate on a more peer-to-peer level. In many ways it would have been unhealthy to stay there longer, the timing was right. I think the same is true for SouthGate and FBC. They have major changes ahead of them - finding a new senior pastor, giving life to the ministry plans and new governance set out in their "New Futures" document, etc. I spent a while reminiscing about some of the ministry that took place - I feel content that I finished what I was called to do in that context.

Last week at a church meeting I was officially voted in as the pastor for SouthGate Baptist Church (as Sarah put it "now we're officiallystuck with Jeff"). I am looking forward to the new chapter - but even more so (right now anyways) I am looking forward to the arrival of my new son and some planned holidays!!!

The doodle is inspired by the Flight of Icarus. The feathers are a little singed, the body somewhat bruised, what hair is left is greyed and toussled, but I am confident that the ending of this story will be different than the original (...it was a story before it was an Iron Maiden song).

Ehkosit,

Migwec

This was a quick sketch I did at a red light of a guy I see in my neighbourhhod collecting bottles. He is from Guangjo in China. I found this out by trying to talk to him in Mandarin and his wife told me they were from the Cantonese speaking part of China (at least she recognized my efforts as Mandarin). It has been fascinating to watch the progression of his 'tools of the trade.' In the beginning he just had a really big bag. Then came a baby stroller and those extending-gripper-thingies for picking up stuff. This year the latest addition is a garrish sombrero. At some point I want to try to colour this in with photoshop - holidays are coming and I am going to fool around with Illustrator and Photoshop (as well as catch up on some reading).

Ehkosit,

Migwec!

Soccer season ended. Because of the irregular amount of rain this spring many games were rained out. Ironically it was my daughter's team that pulled together an extra game - out of all of the teams they were the least soccer crazy. It turned out to be the best game of the year for Maggie. All because the coach told her it was going to be a 'Make-Up Game' That Saturday Maggie took the field with her hair done up, pink shoes tied as well as lip-stick, eye shadow and blush applied...it was afterall a make-up game!!

I also included a quick doodle of Micah doing his patented "running golf clap" goal celebration.

Ehkosit,

Migwec!

Resign vs Re-sign

Today the Flames announced that they have re-signed four veterans. Today is also the day I resigned from First Baptist Church. I had never thought that those two words were similar in spelling, yet completely opposite in meaning (the linguist in me wants to point out this is an example of antonymy). The difference is in the dash. It reminded me of that poem (often quoted at funerals) that talks about the two dates on a tomb stone being separated by a dash. The dash makes all the difference - it is where life is lived.

In a somewhat ironic twist I went to a funeral today for the man who was the head of human resources when I first started at First Baptist Church. I actually turned in my resignation before going into sanctuary for the funeral.

Ehkosit,

Migwec

Summer is finally here in Cowtown. It was a long wait but the weather has finally been nice enough on a consecutive basis to officially declare summer.

Working out of the house is not always the easiest thing (I miss my office and I don't have any reason to go up to the office at the college at this point) but today was a good day. There is a small green space down the alley from our house and so I took the kids and my laptop and set up shop. The best part was that somebody has a strong wireless signal and I actually get a better connection then when working at home (my wireless is old and so my macbook doesn't always 'run' at full speed on my network).

Lots of new stuff shaking at SouthGate and so I will take some time to blog it up. Juli and I are also on high alert for the arrival of our new baby - I will also blog that up in due course.

Ehkosit,

Migwec

Since high school I have helped friends design tattoos. I have never gotten one - partially because  so my mother (initially) and my wife wouldn't be so impressed and more accurately because I know that I couldn't put the brakes on once started.  As an anthropologist and an art historian (undeclared minor in Indian Art no less) by training in my earliest undergrad work I have lots of inspiration to work with, but I have resisted up to this point...

(I edited out all of the recognizably offensive bits - although my knowledge of Guatemalan gang symbols is a bit lacking so I apologize if I left in anything I should have airbrushed out).

Ehkosit,

Migwec.

Today is "Drawing Day 2008" so that was the motivation needed to upload a picture I have been doodling at for a bit. I spent the summer of 2005 teaching at a Medical University in Sichuan - where the earthquake took place. The pictures are caricatures of two students, one professor of acupuncture and two orthopedic surgeons. The one student had an accident one day after class and showed up the next day with a full head bandage but determined to keep learning!!
Since the earthquake occured I have watched as some of the places I visited are shown. Numerous friends still have family there. I also still have a connection with a number of medical personnel that are over there now (and so get updates on the relief efforts). I can't help but wonder how many of my students are involved in dealing with the aftermath.

Ehkosit,
Migwec.

It's been awhile between posts. I have been busy - since the last post the church I am at has gained status as a society under the government which allows us to buy land, pay bills, hold insurance etc etc. This means that I no longer will be held as a staff member at our founding church.

It seems strange to feel sad about this - to say it has been a bumpy ride over the last five years would be very diplomatic (and I am trying to be more diplomatic these days). And yet there was a lot of really significant ministry done during that time. Dozens of people got baptized, many good friends were made and I learned a lot about who I am in the process of those struggles. don't look forward to handing in my resignation.

I haven't had a lot of time to think about it though as I am currently teaching daytime classes at the college I serve as an adjunct professor. The courses I teach are Applied Linguistics and Intro to Second Language Acquisition. Because the course leads to a recognized certificate it has been very demanding. I have to make sure I cover all of the pertinent topics, log my contact hours and keep track of homework assignments etc. to be turned in to TESL Canada.

I am getting ready to go back to Regina - a little business a little pleasure. This Sunday I am preaching at the church I was baptised in. I was supposed to do some work with the Saskatchewan government (consulting/training) later in the week but it got pushed to the fall for some reason or other. I will get to visit some friends and family but not for long as I have to finish out the courses I am teaching.

More doodles to come, but for now...

Ehkosit,
Migwec.

I should know better than have meetings the week that income taxes are due. Either that or I should do my taxes earlier...

I actually felt my gyri (brain ridges) uncoiling like frayed bungee cords and unfurling like those noisemakers from a New Years party.

Oh well enough of my ranting, I think I should get a tattoo that says "Live to Whine / Whine to Live"

Ehkosit,
Migwec

The first week of Kids' soccer arrived, but it was looking like it would be snowed out up until the last second. The snow was gone, but the fields could still have been shut down because they were still wet. It has been a real climatological roller coaster here for the last few weeks - hopefully spring has sprung and we can put away the snowpants and winter coats for a while.

I sketched this picture from a game before my oldest son's match. I am still not comfortable drawing too publicly, but it was fun and I am goping to try to colour it in with photoshop and fool aropund with some of the filters and brushes - if I do I will put it up on the blog later.

I had to admit that the play-off beard was not turning out as expected (read: hoped for) and so I have shaved it. I didn't so much pull off 'Edgy Urban Artist' as 'Michael Moore Stunt Double."

Not only that but the Flames were knocked out of the playoffs in game 7. It was a good effort but they fell apart for a few minutes and found themselves in a hole they couldn't dig out of (this time). In a way I am glad to have my evenings back - there is a lot to do and it is really hard to work around the playoff schedule.

Ehkosit,

Migwec.

Sunday was a very busy (but also very good) day. We had a choir join us for our morning service - and they accounted for thirty-some people - a nice boost especially since the weather has been terrible lately. What is with snowstorms in April. There was a new family out (I still love that we are a small enough congregation to notice those things) and the message went well. Because I knew I was going to be tight for time I think I planned out my sermon more than I have in awhile (maybe I should get back to that).  I just find that when I do that I fall back into an intellectual discourse more than an applicable exposition... I need to find a middle ground between shooting from the hip and "academese."

The evening brought our second baptismal service of the year and potluck. I was thrilled as I got to baptise one guy that I drank tea with in China and he has since moved to Canada, a lady that grew up in a Ukrainian church in Toronto and has made her way back to that early faith via our congregation and then another person showed up with a bag packed for his baptism - he had started the journey in Venezuela at a baptist church there and now was ready to take the plunge here in Calgary. Each of their stories deeply moved me as we met together prior to their decisions to get baptized.

The potluck that followed was a great time of eating and laughing together. These are the times and places we build community that is more than just a buzzword. The awesome privilege of joining people in their baptism is what makes the slinging of chairs and hoisting of speakers worth it all.

I wish I could be more profound but a nagging back injury and standing in water that is best measured using the Kelvin Scale has left me a little off this morning - ah well its worth it.

Ehkosit,

Migwec

I am tranmogrifying into a big fuzzy egg!! For those that care, I have escaped yet another "went-way-to-far-for-a-few-cheap-laughs" adventure relatively unharmed. The dye came off of my face, but I am actually tender in spots because of the amount of scrubbing. BTW Juli if you are reading this blog, I had to borrow your new loofa, but I got most of the black off of it, honey.

Ehkosit,

Migwec

I woke up this morning and discovered my play-off beard had completely grown in!! This was easier than I thought it would be.

Epilogue (or epiblog I guess)

Literally five minutes after taking this picture I tried to wash the dye off (it wasn't really my beard sorry no miracle hair growth) and I couldn't. I think I have managed to get most of it off, but it is hard to tell because my skin is so red and discoloured from the scrubbing!!

I was just looking for another picture when I ran across this. It is a mock (but-not-mocking) Revival Poster I made for my brother-in-law. It is from a campfire last summer.

Sundays are a busy day - even with the shift to setting up on Saturdays we need to get to the school early and get ready for the Sunday service. We also have to tear down after the service. But our church day doesn't end there, Juli and I (and the kidlets), head downtown to help out at another Baptist Union church plant.

We always wanted to have a church support us in our beginning year but that was limited to be honest (and not dwell on a past issue) - so when we were taken up on the offer to help at Goodtree Christian Fellowship we dove in.

In the beginning Juli did the children's program and I assisted. Now there is a team of leaders from Goodtree to come alongside Juli and so I more often attend their worship service and only pitch in when somebody can't make it or Juli's pregnancy slows her down (she will hate that I wrote this but it is true - even she has a limit in the state she is in).

Anyhoo this week I toted my sketchbook in with me and doodled some pix. I paid attention, but their pastor had asked me to do up some pictures for them so I thought this would be the best way to build up some resources for the later work. This is just one of the pages.

Game 3

I warned you it wouldn't be a pretty voyage. There was a point in the first 5 minutes of the game that I thought I would just shave it off then.  What a horrible start - words describing the game as well as the beard.

It is kind of sad that to realize that I my beard is 50/50 grey and brown. I always hoped that by the time I left my teen years I would have mastered facial hair growth. Instead I am nearing the big 4-0 (in a few years) and I still endure pangs of jealousy when I am talking to people that have thick full beards. I went out for coffee with a guy the other night where I am sure I was able to watch his beard grow and fill in as we talked. My attempt looks like a poorly watered lawn in an arid climate - it is reminiscent of my back yard.

Ehkosit,

Migwec

Most often my doodles are the work of an acerbic pen dipped in a well of bitter ink. That is to say my first preference would be to give somebody a quick five in the snot box or tell em off (hey I grew up on a rez - that's the reaction that is really there - no amount of higher education is going to trump what you learn early in life) but in what passes for maturation I don't do it. The feeling doesn't completely go away so I need an outlet - sometimes I go to the gym, sometimes I take the dog for a walk, often I doodle.

Unfortunately this makes me look like a bit of a pyschopath with anger management issues to the occassional visitor of the blog. I have been trying to spend more time scanning pages from my sketchbook so that I can upload them and give a more balanced look at my doodlage. These are from the kids program we run on Wednesday nights...

Just fooling around with Comic Life for Mac... 

I remember reading about a bunch of people that were trapped on a rollercoaster for 30 minutes. Sometimes I feel like I've been on a rollercoaster since 2005 (when we started SouthGate Church). I sometimes wonder if I could get used to regular life again.

Ehkosit,

Migwec. 

There were no other kids at the Tuesday Morning Small Group, so Maggie and I just spent the time drawing and dancing and drawing about dancing. Here are some of the pix. The first is Maggie doing some intense (very thoughtful) ballet and then Maggie showed me how I dance and got me to draw that in the second doodle. I should note that there was a bit of artistic conflict as she wanted me to draw myself in a pink ballet outfit like she has - I didn't want to.


Ehkosit,
Migwec.

Day 1

Sorry to all the Oilers and Canucks fans, but the playoffs are starting and my Flames are in it!! I have decided to show my solidarity for the cause by joining the guys in pursuing the perfect playoff beard!!! I fall more into the Ovechkin camp than the Neidermeyer camp in the Chin Spaghetti all-stars.  I blame it on my Japanese and Chinese ancestry. I've  got limited math skills, I am a nightmare when it comes to fixing my computer but the stereotypical  feature I have grabbed a hold of is the inability to grow solid facial air (well that and I'm a pretty sketchy driver). Lock yourselves in and enjoy the ride. I probably will only check in on a weekly basis as I don't expect there to be too much action from the follicles so I hope the Flames make it deep into the playoffs.

Ehkosit,

Migwec.

PS whaadiya think of my Broke-Back inspired cowboy shirt I like it but Juli's not a big fan of it.

I found this doodle recently. It is from when Juli first met me (really re-met me but that's another story) back in 1992. I think I did so she could learn the names of the family pets.

They are...

Dogs: Mahkate, Copena, Tchaik and Amber
Cats: Mitty, Rawhide and Missy
Human: Jeff

(If you click on it you can get a bigger picture)

This is how I feel too many Monday mornings. Fixating on the few negatives rather than the numerous positives. We have had a number of people come forward about baptisms, there have been people that have committed (and others re-committing) their lives to follow Jesus - all markers of success in the 'church biz'. I have watched relationships heal and people walk through overwhelming challenges. There have been births and marriages. And in the middle of it all I get stuck on who left the service without talking, I think about the person who seems to be avoiding a coffee, and I analyse every comment to make sure I don't miss a veiled shot.

It amazes me because this is not who I was - but it sure is who I am. I am working on it though (I wouldn't have scanned this sketch if I was still feeling so insecure), but it's a work in progress. It took me 5 years become a person who is constantly listening for footsteps and it will take a while to get back to being myself again. Pray for me (seriously).

Ehkosit,
Migwec.