tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583128070758283832024-02-06T22:13:37.735-08:00Jordan's HealingJordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-13586942660555735622016-06-17T14:45:00.002-07:002016-06-17T14:45:54.450-07:00Matthew is Married<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-1da237ff-6051-b231-cb30-063157ea3ccb"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matthew is married. We have the daughter in Sadie we prayed for since our oldest was born. It has been a wonderful whirlwind. She is everything we asked Father for and more. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6apA_YQjuk8DPl_ZpV9ARwSMahMOf9OBG2A6hg5Zl3BSYrpOQbSjJcng9-0HUp2JXGu6SmRtwo6DkzeIb4MnWAqPMZkA2-JoxBau_-8dOh_CqK9IuCwFP_sgSgkj4kPVXhhtLNxoGORNE/s1600/IMG_6683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6apA_YQjuk8DPl_ZpV9ARwSMahMOf9OBG2A6hg5Zl3BSYrpOQbSjJcng9-0HUp2JXGu6SmRtwo6DkzeIb4MnWAqPMZkA2-JoxBau_-8dOh_CqK9IuCwFP_sgSgkj4kPVXhhtLNxoGORNE/s400/IMG_6683.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This is a link to their 5 minute wedding video </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://vimeo.com/166035170">https://vimeo.com/166035170</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It meant so incredibly much to be literally surrounded by love. Many of the same friends who had made ridiculous efforts to be with us during Jordan’s Celebration of Life made their way back through the mountains to fill our hearts up to overflowing on the wedding day.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And while I was aware that these family occasions might amplify our loss of Jordan’s presence, I wasn’t prepared for the sharpness of the moments missing or the overall vague sense of incompleteness. </span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I missed what I thought my youngest would have done: Where would he have travelled home from to be a part of his brother’s wedding? What quirky observations would he have made as we all sprawled on the couches after the rehearsal dinner? What words of encouragement and honour would he have chosen to speak to Matthew during the bachelor party? Jordan was good at encouragement. Which groomsmen would he have gravitated to? How tall he would have stood at his brother’s side during the wedding ceremony. And how Jordan would have laughed at Joel’s best man speech at the reception! Would there have been a young woman who would have caught his eye? Would he be working at Green Bay with his brothers and new sister this summer? Or would he have rushed off to return to ......? So much would have been so different. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Kim prepared the slideshow, a collage of pictures from Matthew and Sadie’s life to this point, for the wedding reception, I found myself avoiding the myriad of images that Kim was wading through. I realize that I’m hoarding pictures and videos of our life before Jordan left earth. I don’t know how many years it will be before I see him face to face again and the thought of running out of these snapshots of him, of us together, before we are reunited actually feels a bit scary. Even the fact that on this side of heaven, Sadie will only know Jordan through our photos, stories and family video clips is bruising. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matthew and Joel, and now Sadie, are regularly generating new experiences. I love seeing how these experiences are caught on film or print. I study their faces and those faces surrounding them. My youngest son’s experiences are now out of my view. People aren’t coming up to me, laughing about Jordan’s latest commentary on life or posting their latest shared experience with him. It is quiet...often painfully quiet. Someday I will know, but that someday may be hours from now, years from now or decades from this point in time. Isn’t that what mothers wonder when we are separated from our children? How they are? And if they’re good, we’d love a pic - even an emoji. Just a visual to prove how good. And if they’re not doing well, we want them home. Or we want to go to them...to bring home to them. Because none of us really belong here. We’re trying to bring heaven to earth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While I know, with every fibre of my being, that Jordan’s experiences would make anyone jealous, I would just love a bit of the curtain to be peeled back so I can clap with joy or ooh and awww with wonder alongside. I did have a glimpse one day when I was worshipping. I was bowing low before the Throne and as I looked to my side, there was Jordan! Looking stunningly regal, with a face so full of LIFE and LIGHT! And his big grin came with a nodding head and the question, “Right?” It’s an expression my guys use when they’re sharing a great experience or new thought...”Right?” As in an unspoken - “You get how great this is, don’t you”? Somehow that moment has filled me up for a very long time. I just miss his earthly presence - his friendship. Just as I wish everyone could spend time with Joel, Matt and Sadie, I’d love everyone to know Jordan. Someday. Someday. </span></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-57916896487569678882015-12-26T20:36:00.000-08:002015-12-26T20:36:51.363-08:00Risking<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Almost every year our family watches the classic movie “It’s A Wonderful Life”. And every time we do, I end up in tears. The outpouring of love and support from George’s community in his most vulnerable hour gets to me. And it is a familiar feeling now. I recognize it as a common emotion throughout 2012 - humbling gratitude. When our family was in its most needy state, the thoughtfulness, generosity and sensitivity of those around us was like a cup of cold water. There were nurses who went out of their way to take blood in the least invasive way possible when Jordan was feeling like a pin cushion. An aunt offered to buy us new winter tires for Kim to drive our car over the often treacherous mountain passes. Strangers donated money for free flights for Jordan to return home for precious days of normality in between dreaded hospital stays. I have kept a box of all the cards, letters and emails through that year. I haven’t had the heart yet to go through them all but their presence warms me from the inside out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">The classic Christmas movie asks the question of how the world would be different if an individual would not have been born. Such an incredible premise. I don’t think any of us realize the extent to which our lives intersect with and impact others. My life is so much richer for having known Jordan...for the privilege of being his mother. Part of his impact in my life is a desire to be more open, more expressive of appreciation and love for others - not to play it safe - to risk. In several ways this last year, I have chosen safer paths - ones where I can’t be easily hurt. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">When I find myself shrinking back in prayer, I’m trying to protect myself. Initially I think that I’m protecting the other from disappointment if my prayer is not immediately and visibly effective. But really, I’m moving into self-protection. The opposite of Christmas....the opposite of Easter. Both the birth and the death of the Son of God didn’t bear immediate or visible effect. In fact, Jesus and His parents were refugees, fleeing from threat of death. And judging by the tiny representation of His followers at the cross, Jesus looked like a failure to His enemies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">I don’t eagerly run toward chaos and confusion. Kim often does. When I and others are hurting, he moves closer. That’s just one way he reflects Jesus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">For God so loved the world, that He gave. And He opened Himself up in a whole new way to the world hurting Him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">My youngest son kept on risking, right until the end, right until He went home. He could have quit. He didn’t. And somehow that spurs me on. </span></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-68144875742000765422015-07-19T22:07:00.000-07:002015-07-19T22:07:31.598-07:00Jordan’s 18th <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #20124d;">July 20th. I can still hear the way Jordan emphatically and proudly pronounced July 20th when asked the date of his birth. How can I still remember that when I haven’t heard his voice for over two and a half years? But I can. Being a summer baby had real advantages. No school. Hot days. Beach parties or boating parties or waterslide parties - all celebrating friends, health youth, and being in or near the water. And wherever it was held, no matter how high the temperature, we managed to enjoy a Dairy Queen ice cream cake with whatever image had caught Jordan’s interest that year. Cakes were decorated with dinosaurs, trucks, pirates, later on, superheros and inside jokes as his humor became more sophisticated. Our family revels in a good party - one that celebrates both the guests and the host. Jordan loved his birthdays. Such lovely memories. What a privilege to be given the opportunity of mothering Jordan.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #20124d;">I didn’t know we’d only get 15 with him. I thought we’d have loads together. I just assumed the celebrations would include graduations, an engagement, a wedding and grandchildren. Jordan spoke often about the anticipation of making his wife feel precious and valued. His new word was cherish. That is the perfect word to describe how Jordan made me feel. “Mom....I love you” followed by a slow smile and a strong hug were my daily fare. I took for granted I would be enjoying them the rest of my life. Now I anticipate heaven where affection will be better than ever.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #20124d;">Although I know and have experienced God working things out for good, I know that Jordan’s suffering and premature death were not His plan. And I grieve for the young men and women that didn’t get a chance to know Jordan and experience his curious questions, goofy ideas, and loyal friendship. I’m sorry for the hurting strangers who won’t know his bold offer to pray for their healing and salvation. But I’m here. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #20124d;">We’re here and we get to make the most of every opportunity we have while we are still here. I love what I read recently about every square on our calendar being a box, not to fill up with stuff but as a gift to unwrap. This thought challenges my tendency to live either in the past or the future. The constant reminders of Scripture and almost every other plaque in HomeSense, is to </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Lobster; font-size: 18.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #20124d;">Cherish Yesterday, Dream Tomorrow and Live Today </span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #20124d;">So I cherish my years of being cherished by my youngest child, who received his love from his relationship with Jesus.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #20124d;">And I dream of tomorrow, when our family will raise an ice cream toast to Jordan and share about our anticipated reunion with him, and my Dad and face to face with Heavenly Father. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #20124d;">Today...I will live, unwrapping the day with Holy Spirit, trusting Him to guide my thoughts and my actions.</span></span></div>
Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-62250113006848196092014-10-06T22:16:00.000-07:002014-10-06T22:16:32.548-07:00Emerald Lake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On our return drive from Calgary this weekend, Kim rented a canoe for us to paddle around Emerald Lake. This was the same lake we visited with Jordan in Easter, after all his chemo was completed. He was weak, but so happy to be freed from the hospital. Kim’s excitement to canoe with him around this exquisite spot, turned to surprise when we discovered that it was still frozen over and piled high with snow. Icicles hanging from the rafters of the lodge weren’t safe from Jordan's crutches, that he used like a sword. In fact, one crutch broke, and we just laughed. We were determined to celebrate and never entertained the possibility of revisiting the lake again without him. </span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-dcc93dfd-e903-0211-462c-bc4b4838fb4b"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes I just get tired of tearing up...my eyes swim, my head feels light and my heart physically aches. Later on, I just feel tired. But neither do I want to push away thoughts of my brave, beautiful boy. At times, it is still unbelievable that he won’t be coming in for a goodnight hug, or throwing open his arms to say “I love you Mom” or lean over to kiss me on the cheek. How can it seem like both forever and only yesterday that he left this earth? On the new earth, maybe we can return to Emerald Lake and experience it with only wonder and awe - thrilled that we don’t have to be separated ever again. I wonder who else will join us in the canoe? Or if we’ll just walk on the water. :-)</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Lug9RlwcknSu7vFZh4UIXxRymm_VkYuTluLni4hrF0qrfOMQTBL36o4vknVEizHen-v0yRqEio8aLQkXDrwRCmwMpU7LI8Gu1ctICe9-jd7NAJn_Hzykcf1rH6qxtvZRLXFOPlge3Ejr/s1600/DSC01352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Lug9RlwcknSu7vFZh4UIXxRymm_VkYuTluLni4hrF0qrfOMQTBL36o4vknVEizHen-v0yRqEio8aLQkXDrwRCmwMpU7LI8Gu1ctICe9-jd7NAJn_Hzykcf1rH6qxtvZRLXFOPlge3Ejr/s1600/DSC01352.JPG" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-70743264643564073872014-09-23T21:28:00.001-07:002014-09-23T21:28:55.833-07:00Kevin's Declaration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Below are the most encouraging facebook posts we’ve seen in a looong while. Our friend Kevin Peterson, the South African director of JGLM has kindly given us permission to repost them. Our faces were wet with tears by the time we were finished reading them. After the death of Kevin’s young son from a brain tumor he embarked on a quest to find out if it was indeed God’s will that his son suffer and die, as some of his Christian friends insisted. After studying his Bible and finding Curry’s teaching, he became a healing machine. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">-------------------------</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">How Crazy is this....Last night on the eve of the anniversary of Joel's death, Monique says to me as I was about to jump into my jamies "you better attend to this" - a medical emergency at St Augustines. I wolf down supper and jump into my bakkie. On route I call a lady whose husband had had a severe stroke - we pray over the phone - instantly he can move all the limbs that were paralysed and he begins to speak and tries to stand up. His wife and family are overwhelmed what Jesus has done. I get to the hospital only to find the guy who I was meant to pray for wasn’t there so I decide that since the devil got me out of my jarmies I shall make him pay...... I see a lady weeping so I go over to her to find out what’s wrong? Her mom has a critical heart condition and needs surgery. So I say to her do not worry, I will fix this. I get taken to ward 6. It is packed with people. I pray for her mom - instant difference in her condition and she feels lighter. I stand up and boldly ask who else needs prayer because the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. The sister of the lady who was ill says I have the same condition in my heart. I pray for her and I ask her what she hasn't been able to do. She couldn’t walk up stairs without being out of breath so I send her to do some cross fit on the nearby staircase. She returns a few minutes later beaming - Jesus just gave her a new heart. All heaven breaks loose. Stroke symptoms are smashed, a chest infection clears , backs are healed, lungs are healed ...all manners of things as Jesus shows his amazing Love to a crowd in a hospital ward. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">6 years ago there we were watching life ebb out of Joely's body and last night I was watching the Life of God flow effortlessly into the bodies of those who were oppressed by the devil. Brothers do not be deceived....Ignorance kills. Truth sets us and others free...</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-8c7ca56d-a5e6-d51c-f6c7-c1749fbdc23e" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The following day, Kevin declares:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">On the anniversary of the day the devil stole our son I want to declare that JESUS is the lover of our souls not the destroyer of them. He is the One who brings life and that in abundance, not the one who only robs kills and destroys. Jesus is the one who heals all our diseases and forgives all our sins. Jesus keeps no record of wrong against us. He is not the one who accuses us. Jesus is the One who is our advocate constantly interceding for us and whose blood constantly declares us not guilty!!. Jesus is the One in whose image and likeness we are made. We have His name; we have his mind; we have His Spirit; we have His authority; we are His Body; we are as He is. We no longer carry the identity of the devil's nature - sin. Jesus has freed us from the dominion of sin. Jesus has enabled us to become the righteousness of God whose nature we now possess. Jesus is the One in whom there is no darkness - no shadow of turning no variableness. Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever. Jesus is the One who has stripped the devil of all His authority and the One in whom ALL authority in heaven and on earth now rests. Jesus is the One whom we are joined to - in perfect union with. We are inseparable from Him. Jesus is our joint heir and because of that we have everything He has. Jesus is totally worthy of us laying down our lives for - to live not only for God's glory but also for the benefit of our fellow man.</span></span></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-10327224372887045672014-09-15T09:29:00.000-07:002014-09-15T09:29:00.801-07:00I Wonder<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Despite spending a lot of time studying and thinking about what heaven will be like, I've not considered what the new earth will be like. This summer has been filled with jaw dropping beauty for us - from the sky slicing mountains and emerald lakes of Jasper to the roar of the ocean in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Since the God of the Bible is Redeeming God, we find ourselves wondering if these exquisite spots will occupy the same real estate in the new earth, only in perfection and without any of the inherent danger is scaling the mountain or swimming out to sea. Will there be no "too cold" or "too hot" as well as no "too dangerous"? When we swim out into the water, will I be able to call on the dolphins to play with? When Jordan and I would dream together about what was coming, I would always chose the dolphins and he would always chose the killer whale as water pets. He liked the idea that a beast so fearsome could be his playmate. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It must be like the blink of an eye for Jordy in anticipating our reunion in heaven and the New Earth. For me, I'm just so grateful that when I miss his hugs, his voice, his "I Love You's", I can anticipate him showing me around, introducing me to others and spending the rest of eternity with him: discovering, building, adventuring, playing, creating, celebrating.... and I don't know what else. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">This weekend, Kim and I are celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary. I love sharing this life with him .... and look forward to sharing all eternity. How incredible is that? </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7upsMcaF55qeU-1s1PBKGwL6dQ5ipOlFBn6ptHCMWHeEfCQ4F9y9qLSWHi9DYGQKQev3IWOJU3lG50cxXFKxvoqVVso4Fj1MP5RmrJczFvVuJAQkOXWa0PYVQsMxP4yTKmb4JOR0sdvIG/s1600/DSC03518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7upsMcaF55qeU-1s1PBKGwL6dQ5ipOlFBn6ptHCMWHeEfCQ4F9y9qLSWHi9DYGQKQev3IWOJU3lG50cxXFKxvoqVVso4Fj1MP5RmrJczFvVuJAQkOXWa0PYVQsMxP4yTKmb4JOR0sdvIG/s1600/DSC03518.JPG" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If it's this good now...</td></tr>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-11141665259926678132014-09-11T10:31:00.000-07:002014-09-11T10:31:22.616-07:00Debt of Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We owe Curry Blake, his family and all the long distance believers, who prayed with Jordan over the phone, a debt of love we can never repay. In Texas, this summer, Kim and I were able to thank most of them in person.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Right in the moment of our greatest need as a family, we received the gift of solid teaching on healing. My introduction to John G. Lake Ministries came in the children’s cancer ward on a fold out bed in the darkened corner of Jordan’s room with the hum of machines and the poison chemo drip in his chest. With one earbud in to hear the DHT Training on YouTube and one earbud out to hear any possible whispers, I listened with tears streaming down my cheeks. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My religious traditions and mindsets were systematically debunked. I fell in love with the Bible all over again. We were given weapons to fight with - a mindset that withstood and overcame torment, confusion and despair. Although we didn’t ask Jordan to listen to the teachings, he overheard us discussing them and the truth resonated with his spirit. He, along with our family, became convinced by Scripture that God was not the author of his sickness; he was not being punished or tempted or disciplined. He hated sickness and had no tolerance for it - especially in others. The fact that Jordan was able to do miraculous healings when he prayed for others totally jazzed him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Being in a family of all boys, my son was really comfortable with the paradigm of being at war. Scripture became the sword in his hand. He trained his friends how to pray. He had no patience for pleading with or begging God. Jordan was already convinced by the life and commands of Christ that healing is God’s will. “If we don't quit, we win” became his battle cry.</span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> He didn’t quit. He won. Jordan entered heaven a warrior, not a victim.</span></div>
Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-44735605973371564322014-09-03T21:31:00.000-07:002014-09-03T21:31:58.321-07:00Gatherings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Having Matthew and Joel close again this summer was such a joy! It’s strange though to transition back and forth from empty nest to a full, boisterous, fridge-emptying house. Having sons somehow came with an expectation for me to send them off into the world. I just wasn’t prepared to being “just the two of us” so soon. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our Gatherings have made the adjustment palpable for me. Often the four of us able to connect once a week via Skype to be the church. The format we follow is from Corinthians instructing us to each bring something to edify the body (1 Corinthians 14:26). Somehow I end up tearing up at some point in our time together. Whether it is when one of the guys share: something they’re hearing from Father for themselves of one of us, a song, a question, a passage of Scripture or a request for prayer, time seems to stand still. Frequently we find what we bring overlaps with another, creating a kind of underlining of what Jesus is saying. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jordan was the one who wanted to begin this gathering when he began to lose interest in church services. His frustration stemmed from having to spectate for hours when he wanted to participate. The only sermons he wanted to sit in on were his Dad’s. :-) He felt badly for squirming and distracting others. I think he was on to something. And throughout his illness, we would gather as a family, even when the guys were at a distance. I think one of my favourite moments was when I asked our family to each draw an image of where they saw their journey with God. Joel is the only real artist but somehow we were able to communicate what was inside. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jordan’s drawing was that of a fortress - where he was inside and the enemy was outside. He explained to us that the fort was God and he was hidden inside Him. I so miss his perspective and influence. What an honour to be his mother.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLFmzfBVPtwOvebyri_VutXHTiqJU3ZNQlrFbL0IB9WqnCaFuWddluBTZ1VCGxIG6Xr6ywOngHvl4mGbLfN3khn7zeq95_Ux1P9mGn8GYtHmPuZKlMIV3OvjdZRicc2IB4KaXB_usFf-O/s1600/DSC03147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLFmzfBVPtwOvebyri_VutXHTiqJU3ZNQlrFbL0IB9WqnCaFuWddluBTZ1VCGxIG6Xr6ywOngHvl4mGbLfN3khn7zeq95_Ux1P9mGn8GYtHmPuZKlMIV3OvjdZRicc2IB4KaXB_usFf-O/s1600/DSC03147.jpg" height="313" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darlene's Mom with us in Victoria</td></tr>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-13623982573781267842014-08-30T20:10:00.002-07:002014-08-30T20:10:45.815-07:00Restart<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From Kim</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s been a while since we have posted anything on this blog. It’s not for lack of interest or events or desire. In 2012, this blog was started to inform people of our journey with Jordan. In 2013, we continued to inform you of what life was like after our loss and Jordan’s promotion to Paradise. Now we are coming to fall 2014 and it feels like we are not quite sure what to do with this. Here is an assumption that we are going to work with; you signed up to receive our blog or are checking in because you want to know how we are walking out the journey.. o, we are going to continue to write about our process. If you want to unsubscribe, there should be a link at the bottom of the email you get. We won’t know if you do unsubscribe, so don’t worry about us being offended. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-73c8084b-2a08-fdc8-a406-f5094e63f8ee" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Update: I often say that I’m surprised by how well Darlene and the guys are doing. I find her to be more filled with life and love and risk and faith and hope and clarity and creativity than ever before. Her journey with Jesus is a beautiful thing to behold. She still grieves from time to time, but she doesn’t carry it. It just visits her now and then. She cares for others deeply and laughs really loudly. She loves what she does presenting healthy relationship and sexuality seminars to high school and college students, as well as youth influencers like parents and educators. She has spent the summer writing and boating and resting and laughing in Victoria, Dallas and Kelowna. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Joel and Matthew are men worthy of honour. They have walked through the chaos with integrity and grit. They are asking all the hard questions, not settling for easy answers and just finished up their summer: Matt as painter and Joel as a roofer. We just settled Joel back into his last year of his education degree with a bachelors of arts and a bachelor of science. Matthew is connecting with different kingdom business people with the desire to go overseas and make a difference in lives through that business and through discipleship and church planting. His business degree will come in handy through this process.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In talking with a parent who had watched their child suffer and die, we came to an analogy for us that worked. Grief can be like a wave that crashes over us when we’re not looking, knocking us over but passing to allow us to regain our footing and continue enjoying the ocean. Or grief can be like a boulder that we carry in our arms, struggling through every step and barely able to even see past. Jesus is so kind to carry our grief, which means we don’t have to carry that boulder. And when the rogue wave hits, He is there to help us to our feet. What a King!</span></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-40472665084551866212014-02-26T21:25:00.003-08:002014-02-26T21:25:48.611-08:00Defiance<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large; line-height: 1; white-space: pre-wrap;">My sister-in-love sent this to me months ago. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"> “In the days of apartheid in South Africa, Christians there used to light candles and place them in windows as a sign to themselves and to others that they believed that someday this injustice would end. A candle burning in a window was a sign of hope and a political statement. The government didn't miss the message. It passed a law making it illegal to place a lit candle in a window, the offense being equal to owning a firearm, both considered equally dangerous. This eventually became a joke among the kids: "Our government is afraid of lit candles!”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">They had reason to be! Lit candles, more than firearms, overthrew apartheid. Hope, not guns, is what ultimately transforms things. To light a candle as an act of hope is to say to yourself and to others that, despite anything that might be happening in the world, you are still nursing a vision of peace and unity based upon something beyond the present state of things and this hope is based upon deeper realities and powers than the world admits. To light a candle is to state publicly that you believe that what's real and what isn't is ultimately determined by powers and issues that go beyond what's seen on the evening news. To light a candle is an act of political defiance.” Ron Rolheiser</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-305edfbe-71c6-ea22-27f3-afa4421447de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 1; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was especially meaningful to me since we had just lit, for the first time, an incredible candle over Christmas, which had been given to us by dear friends around the time of Jordan’s move to heaven. Tied around the candle is a card that reads the song he sang days before, “There is a light that always shines. It shines in the day and it shines in the night. When the dark days come, and the sun </span><span style="line-height: 24px; white-space: pre-wrap;">isn't</span><span style="line-height: 1; white-space: pre-wrap;"> bright, I will be shining for I have a light.”</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">We viewed the lit candle as an act of defiance against the darkness of everything around us, demanding us to focus on it. Jesus has given us eyes to see where our son is, what our purpose here is, where our destination is, and where our Hope lies - in Jesus.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzAhmIzn9XZxrwx2A-44q9XyyPV2Pch9FhAaX9GRPDdeJVVJBqBzU7GBbdbNNLzKpD8zuX1oDo1Gr9yFKhe9JtSV5_57yfb8YcnPW9OUamQ8WqTfINpLAqjbkLbcQP3PtCJ-YZ4kB6HjzW/s1600/photo+(38).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzAhmIzn9XZxrwx2A-44q9XyyPV2Pch9FhAaX9GRPDdeJVVJBqBzU7GBbdbNNLzKpD8zuX1oDo1Gr9yFKhe9JtSV5_57yfb8YcnPW9OUamQ8WqTfINpLAqjbkLbcQP3PtCJ-YZ4kB6HjzW/s1600/photo+(38).JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 24px;">Note: if you didn't get to see the video in the last message, go to </span><a href="http://www.jordanshealing.blogspot.ca/" style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 24px;">www.jordanshealing.blogspot.ca</a></span></div>
Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-22028835372786696062014-02-20T15:27:00.000-08:002014-02-20T15:27:46.405-08:00Olly Olly In Free<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our childhood game of tag included the joyous shout “Olly Olly In Free!!!” when we touched home base...whatever it was, whether a tree, the side of a house or a fence post. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Kim and I often turn to each other these days and say this, sometimes with tears in our eyes, when we see something Jordan has escaped.</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-6313ce95-519c-1729-fce5-6a54fc66ce5b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">no more math exams</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">no more unanswered questions</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">never out of reach of Jesus</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">no more miscommunication</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">no more being misunderstood</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">no more misses - of any kind</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">no more confusion</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jordan has escaped so much, but wait! He has gained so much more than he has left behind.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">He is waaay more creative - and is creating right now. What he imagines, he can build.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our son is completely confident in his security and significance.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">His strength and energy are impressive.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Unending beauty surrounds him.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Laughter and joy in the presence of His Creator and Redeemer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">He is basking in true Kingdom Community - he belongs and is cheered everywhere he goes.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">The rest of us are stuck here and while we are here, we are going to boldly advance the Kingdom of Jesus. Along the way, we are having some FUnrau time - as you can see in this video from Christmas in Florida. Top speed: 18 mph.</span></span></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-59559245448854431752014-01-02T20:16:00.000-08:002014-01-02T20:16:27.882-08:00Wedding at Boca<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kim here:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are truly living in the tension between heaven and earth. As believers we are to partner with Jesus to bring things into order on earth as they are in heaven - marriages, families, bodies, communities, people walking in faith and love. But that is not what we see around us. We felt that on Christmas Eve when we scattered the ashes from Jordan’s body. While it is true that “he is not here, he is risen”, it was still a painful and stark reminder of our loss. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Later that day, Matthew, Joel and I were in the mall scurrying around with all the other shoppers, when Matthew noticed the Salvation Army guy was standing with a cane. Matthew asked us if we wanted to pray for the man - Yes! His name was Murray and he had been injured in the Navy back in 2004. We spoke healing to his body for a few seconds and checked in to see what the difference was. The pain and restriction of movement was 50% gone. Thank you Jesus. We kept on going until all the pain and restriction was gone. He dropped his cane - he was very surprised. We encouraged him, blessed him and went on our way. When we walked by him a few minutes later, he told us that even though we hadn’t prayed for his shoulder, that had been healed too!</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-7f0a6d57-564e-428b-46a1-4bf9dbf2fcbc" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few days ago we were at the wedding of our family friends down here in Boca Raton, Florida. We know how Jesus loves to do miracles at weddings, so we were on alert. Two people got healed at the reception - both had chronic pain that completely disappeared. We expect healing now.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, in the midst of loss, we are seeing some significant victories. When we tell these stories, some have said, “We just don’t have that kind of faith”. That feeling is familiar to me. I have walked for years assuming that the healing kind of faith belonged to someone else and was out of reach for me. Then we heard a teaching that God has given everyone the gift of faith, and as you use whatever faith you have, you get more. If faith is a muscle, then lift what you can and repeat. Work out that muscle until you can lift heavy illnesses off people. It’s part of your inheritance.</span></span></div>
Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-25351103832440903282013-12-22T22:55:00.000-08:002013-12-22T22:55:46.542-08:00The Rock<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A few nights ago my dream was so vivid that I awoke in a sweat. I had slid to the edge of a rock precipice with a third of my body over the edge. There is no love of heights in my history and the view was Grand Canyon-like. Self-talk kicked in while my body tensed and froze. Ever so slowly, using my fingers to grasp the tiny indentations, I inched my way back onto the smooth of the rock. As the last bit of my foot pulled in from dangling in mid air, I exhaled and lay back, feeling the strength of the rock and the sun on my face - but my heart was left pounding outside of my chest….so close.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The next morning I found myself asking Jesus where He was in my dream. Remember, He promised to never leave me - never. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The first thought that entered my mind was that He was The Rock. Without leaning back into Him, I would be over the cliff and completely crushed. For me, looking down includes: “whys”, self-pity, blame, jealousy, guilt, bitterness, unforgiveness and emptiness. While all of these are understandable, none are desirable and so aren’t really options. Frequently Kim and I will comment to each other that without Jesus we don’t know if our marriage would have survived the last year. We don’t know if we’d be sane. When we look back, the objective insanity of those last weeks in Canuck House was horrific. And yet He was and is our Peace, our Joy, our Hope - Jordan’s and ours. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-7b8d3ad8-1e39-ac63-484c-2ac8b268ba26"></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This afternoon, Kim and I finally put up the rest of the decorations on our tree. Matt was napping and Joel hadn’t arrived yet - his plane was delayed 34 hours - we’re picking him up at the airport tonight at midnight. We so long to just be together. Gifts are not as high on the the priority list as they once were...food gets bumped down as well. But there is one laugh that we won’t get to hear and one hug we won’t get to experience and Jordan’s absence has made us all the more aware of how precious we all are to each other. Many of our tree decorations have five names on them...Jordan is all over our tree with us. But the only reason we have the courage to move forward, dream, risk, laugh and cry with hope is because of Jesus. </span></span></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-68024498225698014432013-12-16T11:32:00.000-08:002013-12-16T11:32:13.914-08:00Cracked<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This week, I'm presenting to a group of students that would be considered a serious challenge. When the teacher prepped me, he advised that I not expect any interaction. In fact, they may just retreat to corners and not make eye contact. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That first morning I awoke with the sense that I needed to share with them just a bit of my journey with Jordan. I so struggled with that since I have not publicly spoken about his last year and our pain since his celebration last December. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I didn't want to look for pity or manipulate anyone's emotions or have someone trample my pearls. My stomach churned driving to the school - it’s a school for kids that don't have much hope of graduating...who for various reasons are considered high risk.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Jordan's life is not a trick I can pull out of my hat of stories, illustrations or anecdotes. He is my baby who lived, suffered and died heroically. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Yet Holy Spirit kept nudging, gently prodding me to risk it with these perfect strangers. So I breath deeply after introducing myself as a mother with 3 sons, all taller than me, and told them so briefly about our journey. I tell the class that from our last year, I'm reminded of how precious and how short life can be. And how very valuable each one in that room is. A big part of why I can do what I do is because Jordan wholeheartedly encouraged me to - so that people could know how important they are.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And they responded. Each one met my eyes. They raised their hands and risked to answer questions and give their input. They're pretty broken. But then, so am I. Broken but not destroyed. W</span><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">hen </span><span style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've</span><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> heard others say that brokenness is beautiful, I can’t say that has been true for me. Brokenness has sharp, painful jagged edges with parts missing. I can say that my brokenness has only magnified Jesus’ beauty. And He has proven Himself to be more than enough to handle my brokenness. We do have this treasure in jars of clay with His Light shining through our cracks.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Phil Wickham’s song </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You’re Beautiful</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> has become a cry.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Verse 3 is where I simply lose it every time. Jesus is soo beautiful.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We’re including a link to the song. Press it and play song #4.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/Singalong+2/8328949"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/Singalong+2/8328949</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-46085771768778014612013-12-12T21:00:00.000-08:002013-12-12T21:00:06.860-08:00Opening Doors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I am often reminded that heaven's gain is our loss.</div>
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My Mom used to have two men in her life who treated her like gold. And within two years, they were both gone. My brother is a wonderful son, who lives only 6 hours away - a 1 hour flight. But it's not the same as living in the same house, or 5 minutes down the road. </div>
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My Dad loved my mom so very well. He cherished her and shared every part of his life with her. <br />Jordan grew up with his grandparents living only a bike ride away once they moved to town when he was 4 - such a treat. His weekly "job" involved cleaning a bit around the house, sometimes getting good tips from the change he retrieved beneath the lounge chair in their family room. And when my Dad,(Grampy), went to heaven, Jordan was the man about Grammy's house, helping with things she couldn't reach, heavy things, man things. </div>
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Mom has reminded me again of a special moment in time. After grocery shopping, Jordan insisted on Grammy waiting in the van while he lifted the bags into the back for her. As they approached the vehicle, Jordan opened and closed her door before he placed the groceries into the back and was on his way to his seat when a man nearby got out of his car to speak with Jordan. Through the wind shield my mom observed the exchange with the handshake that followed. When Jordan made his way back to the van, my mom was curious. The older gentleman wanted Jordan to know that he had witnessed the attention given to his grandmother, the door opening and closing, and he wanted to commend him for his evident devotion.</div>
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What the man didn't know was that it had been a particularly brutal day in junior high school and Jordan had been a bit down when his Grammy had picked him up. </div>
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A moment frozen in time. </div>
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Even though Kim opens my door, I do miss the mischievous face that used to try get there first and cherish me. </div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-6845268076589637442013-11-26T17:47:00.000-08:002013-11-26T17:48:22.024-08:00Treasure<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As close up witnesses of Jordan’s short life, we can testify, along with others, that he fought the good fight. He finished the race. He kept the course. And a crown awaited him at his entrance to heaven - a year ago today.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-19a09574-9737-31ac-b9ab-f7fad42e5ce6" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So often I have wondered what his first tastes, sights and sounds of this new and eternal life were. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This weekend I was reading the verse about laying up treasure in heaven. Kim reminded me of the time in 2011 when Jordan emptied his bank account of $400 to give it to a micro-enterprise missions agency in Uganda. That was a big deal because Jordan was a saver and usually spent his money with serious deliberation. His words were, "They need it more than I do." </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This came a year after the father/son trip to India and Uganda. As our sons entered the teen years, Kim took them on a trip to a third world country to provide a perspective outside themselves in order to break their heart for the poor and mitigate the self-centred obsession we can so easily fall into in North America. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even at the age of 13, he was laying up treasure. We intend to do the same.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Raise a glass with us and share with us this toast: To the King and the Kingdom - which Jordan now knows better than all of us.</span></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-77120440981227598712013-11-17T11:58:00.000-08:002013-11-17T11:58:27.347-08:00Good Soup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most days are filled with gratitude, joy, friendship, anticipation, and even celebration, but then there are moments when I don't want to be courageous and keep going. Sometimes I just want to stamp my feet, throw a tantrum and hole up like a hermit.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few weeks ago, Kim and I spoke in the chapel of the private school where Jordan attended those few days when he hope to return to a kind of normal in Sept 2012. It was almost surreal speaking to those who had been in Jordan’s class. That night we attended a fundraising event at the church where we had held Jordan's celebration last December. The effect of it didn’t hit me until we were driving through the parking lot. In a local coffee shop the following morning, a sweet man, father of one of Jordan's classmates, approached me to ask how Jordan was doing. I think it was the first time I had met someone who did know Jordan and didn’t know he wasn’t here anymore. After replying that he was great...in heaven...I was spent and took the rest of the weekend to recover from those 24 hours.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday, I awoke at 3 am and found myself suddenly and deeply sad. I whispered in the darkness to ask Kim to hug me; he leaned over and held me and then asked if I'd talked to Jesus yet about what was happening. I hadn't even thought of asking Jesus...I had just felt so alone. So as the moonlight streamed into our bedroom window, I looked up and asked Jesus what was going on. A searing ball of pain and fear in the form of twisted metal wire and spots of blood appeared, followed by my sobbing. It was as if the picture in my mind gave expression to my heart. Ever so gently, Kim asked if I would want to ask God for a trade. (Years ago, Kim discovered the very real practicality of the verse speaking of how God gives beauty in exchange for ashes and the oil of joy for mourning.) </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I cast my pain and fear on Jesus and asked Him what He wanted to give me in exchange, He responded with the words “purpose and zeal”. That made me giggle. It made me giggle because years ago, Jordan asked Joel what zeal was....he had heard the word and wanted a definition. Joel, being cheeky, told his little brother that zeal was a kind of soup. It has been a family joke ever since. And in the wee hours of the morning...Jesus made me laugh. As I related to Kim what I sensed from the Lord, my words came out something like this, “Jesus is putting zeal in me and this soup is food and my food is to do the will of the Father who sent me. Don't you see, doing Father's will brings nourishment and purpose.” We lay there both in awe and chuckling at the kindness and individual attention our Heavenly Father gives us in our hour of need.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Father knew I needed a job that would set me out in among students and schools. Deadlines, meetings and specialty classes with unique needs require presentations that are crafted and adapted...this provides a focus outside myself. For the first time in 25 years, I am working in the area of my university training - education.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And yet it is not primarily my job that is the most nourishing, while I am grateful for it. When Kim and I summered on Vancouver Island, I was looking for clarity on what role was next for me. The role of mother had so dominated my life for the last 24 years, I was feeling suddenly lost with my premature empty nest. During those weeks, Holy Spirit brought both Kim and me back to the simplicity of the Gospel - the good news - that we are to make available to all.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Off and on, for years, when Jordan was little, he would ask why we were still here on earth. "Why can't we just go to be with Jesus in heaven? Now?" And the only reply that kept popping out of my mouth was, "We could go to heaven with Jesus, but what about all the people on earth who don't know how much Jesus loves them? Who will tell them that He wants them in heaven with Him forever? As long as we're here, we have a job to do."</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And so, all those conversations with Jordan were brought back to me. That's why I'm still here; though I wouldn't mind heading to heaven sooner rather than later. We're here to fulfill Jesus’ last instructions: make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, teaching them to observe all things He has commanded us to.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Therein lies my purpose - where the zeal He has given me lives.</span></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-1083990997453942632013-11-08T10:29:00.000-08:002013-11-08T10:29:34.006-08:00Gravity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Joel recently asked me if I was going to write in the blog once again. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">But words so often fail me - how did I ever think I could put my heart on the page? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I have received several emails and texts lately from friends reminding me of their frequent conversations with Father concerning our family. Thank you for praying and trusting and communicating your thoughts and memories of Jordan. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">There are very few concerns I battle with - I love my job, our new house is becoming home, my relationship with my husband and sons is incredible, and we’re all on the same page in living out our lives as disciples - apprentices - of Jesus. But the one fear that can pop up, is that as life goes on, Jordan will be forgotten. And I know he is beyond that concern...but I guess I'm not. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We're coming up on a year. It hardly seems possible. So much has changed and at the same time, so much remains the same. Heaven is closer and earth has less of a hold. It’s almost as if the gravitational pull has shifted.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-6d86f419-38f5-4550-e49a-a334300d391f"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">As I introduce myself to students or am in conversation with educators, I still say that I have three sons. It's if and when they ask how old, and what they're doing, I get to decide how deep this conversation can go in the moment. </span></span></span></div>
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<span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Tears are never really far away - both in joy and sorrow. But they don't threaten to undo me. I've already been undone and now I'm being tenderly knit back together to make the next stretch. I don't know how long it will be until I see my brilliant young son again, but the confidence of being held by him, and spending time with Jesus together, and exploring eternity with him is more real than...well than most anything. </span></span></span></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-27670553988753599292013-07-19T12:37:00.002-07:002013-07-19T12:37:16.682-07:00July 20<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I've thrown open the doors wide to the back forest and am writing this overlooking the beauty all around me. If you’d like a peek at the place we've been given to house sit, take a look on-line at</div>
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<a href="http://www.sutton.com/listings/view/319477">http://www.sutton.com/listings/view/319477</a>. This is a free advert for them as well. What sweet new friends. Such a gift. The home is so light and fresh on a quiet cul de sac surrounded by supportive neighbours, especially our next door neighbours who love Jesus.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt in the Back Yard</td></tr>
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Tomorrow is Jordan’s 16th birthday and I found myself wanting to write about it. I have not been a writer, or a journaler so this whole journey has been kind of surreal for me. Attempting to let you inside my heart from a distance is still relatively new. The last month has been filled with loads of dreams, conversations with believing Believers, worshipping, commanding sickness to leave broken bodies, biographies of those who pioneered walking in kingdom authority in North America, hiking, floating, and basking.</div>
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Yesterday we floated down the Cowichen River for the second time in two weeks. This time we ended up at the pull out where we adventured as a family ten years ago. Our sons with us, we tubed and body surfed through rapids with rock walls and towering trees on either side. The trip ended in cliff jumping. We hiked to and from this somewhat remote and hidden gem on Vancouver Island. The boys had caught a bucket of crayfish to be cooked and sautéed. A new experience for us all.</div>
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The entire time we were guided by a wonderful friend who had frequently traversed the river for the past 26 years. Bruce told us when it didn't matter where we floated and when we had to paddle hard to one side, avoid a big rock, or fallen tree and paddle hard to the other. He told us what to do if we tipped over and were caught in the undertow or without a tube. It so reminded me of Heavenly Father then and it made me think again of His guidance yesterday. Sometimes it really doesn't matter where in the river I go and sometimes it really does.</div>
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All day long I was reminded of Jordan and both painful and precious images arose in my mind’s eye. I missed his squeal of delight sliding down the slick rock formations on the God-formed waterslide. Or his serious face when he would contemplate a potentially dangerous rapid. At the same time, I know I’m not grieving as one without Hope. And my Hope is not the “cross your fingers” kind of Hope. Hope has a name. Hope is Jesus. I’m anticipating eternity with both Jesus and Jordan and my Dad - on adventures that don’t include the words “Be careful”. </div>
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I think I written before that my Dad stepped into heaven’s entrance the morning of Jordan’s 13th birthday. (I haven’t reread the blog posts - not quite ready yet to relive the entire story in one sitting). I can’t imagine my Dad not being right beside Jesus when Jordan arrived. My Dad suffered for so long on earth with a body that had received partial healing but never enough to be called completely healthy. Now they are probably egging each other on to test the limits - if there are any - to their new bodies. </div>
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While this time away was initially Kim’s idea....it was a brilliant one. It has provided space for asking the question since being a mother/caregiver is no longer one of my primary roles, where does my focus lie? Jesus is reintroducing me to His Holy Spirit and I am coming undone by His tenderness and power. I am getting just a glimpse of His crazy love for people - all kinds - the ones I bump into every day on the lake, or in the supermarket or on the street. </div>
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So tomorrow Jordan would have been 16 in earth years. Our youngest was so excited to drive. He started asking about motors, city layouts, traffic laws and technique when he was 14. Ever since the boys were little, I’ve told them that I couldn’t wait until they drove me around. That was a statement of faith. :-)</div>
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When your birthday lands on July 20th in Canada, you can bet on having it mostly outdoors and involving lots of activity, preferably in and around water, and an icecream cake if you’re in our family. So Kim and Matt and I are heading out to play tomorrow in celebration of Jordan. The only certainty is a stop at Dairy Queen for some icecream...who knows, we may even go on a whale-watching boat. Jordan and I loved dolphins and whales...I think we’re too far north for dolphins. But we have whales and seals in abundance. It’s Joel’s day off as a camp counsellor so we’ll call him and instruct him to head to an ice cream shop somewhere in Saskatchewan so we can cheer Jordan together. So if you happen to enjoy icecream or frozen yogurt or anything cold and creamy - raise a toast with us to Jordan - a gift to us all.</div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-82352013994482242422013-06-15T22:09:00.000-07:002013-06-15T22:09:27.498-07:00Men of Faith<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">As we drove home through
the mountains, Kim turned on one of Jordan's favourite playlists starting with
Cori Asbury's "So Good to Me".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">How
can we ever thank Jordan for teaching us so much about simple faith? He
made it easy to believe...and it would have been completely, completely
understandable if he had made it hard. But he pushed us on and it must
have cost him in ways we may never know.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Jesus
Culture's "Nothing Holding Back" came on next and it's true of us,
but even more true of Jordan now. Truly free! Forever! Wow, I
am just typing and bawling and laughing and wow! I owe Jordan a debt of
love I can never repay for walking with us as a brother in Christ through the
darkness.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Eternity
is just beyond this veil. What if the rest of my life is lived only
giving serious thought to what will last - what I can take into eternity?
All that will last - people - immortal beings - heading towards either
becoming an incredible everlasting spender or horror. Jesus help me.
Keep clearing my eyes.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Jordan's
aunt Denise reminded me of his last words to her and his blessing over her and
it made me so grateful once again for those who continue to remind me of their
thoughts of him and his impact on their lives.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">A
bench along Brandt's Creek walkway between Yates and Kane Road has been placed.
We decided instead of a grave (since Jordy isn't there anyway) to have a
place where people can sit and think about eternity. My Dad,
"Grampy", went to heaven on Jordan's 13th birthday and was such
an influencer in loving Jesus and loving others that it seemed appropriate to
put them together since they are probably regularly hanging out together with
Jesus in heaven. If you live in the area, please enjoy the bench
serenaded by the birds, beneath the trees, by the brook with the ducklings and
quail.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Kim Here:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">It's amazing how memories
dance around your heart. Some are tender and some are ferocious. I keep
on coming back to the fading of Jordan's heartbeat the day he passed to his real
home and his real Father. I had my hand on his chest. Such a holy moment. Such
a loss for us and such a gain for him. The other memory was the day when
Darlene and I were holding each other searching for solace and one of her tears
rolled down my cheek. Tasted just like mine.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Both
provoke a range of emotions. And yet six months down the road from Jordan's
passing, I am amazed at how well we are doing. If three things remain, we are so
grateful to be swimming in the deep end of all three.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Faith:
we are seeing more miracles and more prophecy than we can remember. We stand by
grace and proclaim that we believe God.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Hope:
this was the expensive one. This is the one can make your heart sick if it is
deferred. Yet we are pregnant with hope. We are so thankful that we didn't
protect ourselves from disappointment. That action ends up building a wall that
blocks all the brilliant gifts Father has for us.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Love: Just
reading some Watchman Nee – after his mid-twenties, he had a revelation of the
love of Jesus and said, “The rest of my life was summarized by one word:
Receive”. It </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">wasn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> primarily about his ability to love; it was his willingness to
receive love he </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">didn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> deserve. We wallow in this on a regular basis. And it
spills over to each other. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Thank
you Jesus!</span></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-27052733902049889692013-06-05T23:40:00.000-07:002013-06-05T23:40:19.631-07:00Feeling At Home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm struggling to feel at home in our new house. I know that I can't expect it to happen so quickly, given that we lived 12 1/2 years on Spruceglen. It's just that nothing will ever be the same. And more and more, I am coming to feel that I may never feel truly at home on earth again. Much of my heart is already in heaven. My Dad and now my son. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. Looking out from the beach to the ocean in Oregon, I told God once again, (feels like the millionth time), that I just don't understand. And I heard His response. "Do you need to understand to trust me?" Gazing from that particular vantage point, I had two giant rocks flanking my vision. I knew there was a whole lot more ocean beyond...but I only had my narrow perspective. </div>
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Last week, while I presented in a grade 10 class (the age of Jordan when he went home), the awareness of their challenges just enveloped me. They have so many choices to make - and it is daunting. The wrong ones can severely impact their future. Can Jordan even make wrong decisions any more? What's it like to totally have that pressure off. I'm so proud of him...and I so miss him. I can't even say that enough. Bitter and sweet. He is living the dream.</div>
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It has been such a blessing to have Matthew here. He has one more semester left of schooling in Business Administration and then his life is wide open - uncharted territory. About once a week we have a good cry together. Everything has changed - shifted somehow for our family....it's as if we're looking at the world from a different angle. Sometimes he'll just pick up my hand and kiss it...so loving and kind. </div>
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He and Kim headed to Edmonton for a conference last weekend and ended up praying for loads of people - prophesying and healing the sick...actually seeing it...so great. And Joel - off in the prairies on his own is risking in faith. Wow God.</div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-32282590156113079442013-05-19T20:51:00.000-07:002013-05-19T20:51:23.663-07:00Living The Present<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="background: white;">I've been asked repeatedly how I can do it....how
I can move forward. I imagine that living 2012 prepared me for 2013.
With Jordan we had to live in the present. Dwelling on the past
wasn't helpful and worrying about the future was dangerous. Caring well
for Jordy required being present. Very present. It's not that I'm
afraid of looking back. The memories rise up whoever they choose - both
wondrous and horrific. And the
future...well my experience tells me that just about anything can be around the
corner. Anticipating the worst wouldn't
protect me from the potential pain anyway. I am so grateful that as a
family we chose to believe - the enemy could not steal the time we had...we
lived the present. And now I don't know how else to live without
crumbling to bits. I believe we are being held up by the prayers of our
brothers and sisters around the world.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">This last weeks have been fuller than full with
work - getting some presentations in before the school year ends and moving to
our new home. Wonderful friends showed up - old and new - all at just the right
time to help with cleaning or sorting or moving. Kim did a final walk
through with a video camera. Our new place works and fits most of what we'd
like to keep. It is 15 minutes from our old one but it is a world away.
The pictures are almost all up on the wall - my final sign of settling in.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">A week ago, we were invited to preview a dance
created to tell the story of Jordan's faith and the rippling faith it had.
It took our breath away. Creator's Arts' will perform it as part of their
show on<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="aqj"><span style="z-index: -1;"><span data-term="goog_1050503195" style="z-index: 0;" tabindex="0">May 25th</span></span></span>. Hopefully we can
provide a link to it on the blog.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background: white;">After a wild week together, Joel is back in
Saskatchewan. We played hard, worked hard and talked hard. It was a
great week. The playing included paintball, mountain zip lining, an Iron Man
movie and a Mother's Day helicopter ride. Our friends Brenda and Daryl
had given Jordan the helicopter flight for his birthday last year, but he never
felt quite up to going. As we flew above the Okanagan Valley, it felt
like a gift from Jordan - a bit of his perspective.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">
<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="background: white;">This last weekend, Matthew, Kim and I were in
Eugene, Oregon...of course Tucker joined us. I went for work, checking
out a unique, interactive presentation geared towards grades 11 and 12.
We've been driving past stops we made on the way home from California
last August...the store where we bought some school clothes for Jordan, fruit
smoothies, and a detour to walk on the beach. Kim knows me so
well...Thursday after school was out, he drove me to the ocean where we climbed
on the rocks, investigated the waterfall and basked in the sun and the surf.
I love the wildness of the Oregon coast.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background: white;">There are moments when it feels like I'm walking
without a limb. No one can replace Jordan and his light. Then perspective
comes - Jordan is doing great! We're still here on mission...let's get
'er done so we can go home too. I can choose what I focus on. The
temptation these last weeks has been to rehearse all the losses....and stay
there. But Jesus seems to be into trading all my loses - I'm not stuck
with them - they don't define my life, now or in the future.</span></span><br />
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-28531098547698383852013-04-27T18:30:00.000-07:002013-04-27T18:30:03.772-07:00Time Away<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Kim whisked me away to an over night get away. He knows me - knew I needed a reprieve from the sorting of memories and cardboard boxes, writing, meetings, and self-imposed deadlines.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRHy3afg6yinOnt0crK3YMoU4eIb0CtOjmMkmIbOwYqWiF0PUAEi3UiHu1rispYSVphAXtN_FZlxeroiLNH2WbkxJoOt9ng6j9L4o7zIBHwLU3GAVKWHNZVGft_7E9WT8ARFqQuIIi2fq8/s1600/photo+(22).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRHy3afg6yinOnt0crK3YMoU4eIb0CtOjmMkmIbOwYqWiF0PUAEi3UiHu1rispYSVphAXtN_FZlxeroiLNH2WbkxJoOt9ng6j9L4o7zIBHwLU3GAVKWHNZVGft_7E9WT8ARFqQuIIi2fq8/s400/photo+(22).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View From Our Room</td></tr>
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<br />At breakfast this morning, overlooking the canvas of lake and mountains and sky, he asked me a great question. "What emotion do you regularly experience that you wouldn't have expected?" My response was a kind of peace/confidence that my son is doing so incredibly well, and always will be. His response was - joy. "You don't really know how bright the white of joy is until you have darkness right next to it. It's Brilliant."</div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">And then the tears started...missing Jordan's influence in our lives. What a gift...what a privilege!</span></div>
Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-67680301324371081672013-04-18T12:13:00.000-07:002013-04-18T12:13:17.160-07:00Wood And Stucco<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Kim here. It’s my turn
to give an update. Darlene has been focused in her role as a sexual integrity
and relational health workshop presenter for Jr. High and Hi School students in
the area. She loves it but it is a lot of work. Plus, during our past moves,
she carried the lion’s share of the moving, so it’s my turn to carry the heavy
end on this one. All this packing and
organizing are creating a longing for our heavenly home. We live in shacks made
of wood and stucco. I am thankful for them, but no matter how beautiful, I </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">wasn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> made for wood and stucco. I was made
for streets paved with gold and accommodations that took thousands of years to
perfect. Below is a picture Jordan drew that outlines what he imagined his heavenly
home to look like. I think it’s even better than what he thought or imagined.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the last blog,
Darlene said that simplifying was good, very good. I agree. The more you have, the more things
break. I am sooo looking forward to simple and no mortgage. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I am also looking
forward to the summer, not because of the warmth and the sun, but because we
are setting aside July and August for something very special. In the parable of
the sower, Jesus talks about what keeps the seed of the word from being
fruitful. One is the seed falling among the thorns – which describes the
believer as (Luke 8:<span class="versenum"><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">14</span>),</span><span class="strongs"><span style="background: white;"> “choked</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="wordsofchrist"><span style="background: white;">with</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> <span sn="3308"></span></span><span class="strongs"><span style="background: white;">worries</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="wordsofchrist"><span style="background: white;">and</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> <span sn="4149"></span></span><span class="strongs"><span style="background: white;">riches</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="wordsofchrist"><span style="background: white;">and</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> <span sn="2237"></span></span><span class="strongs"><span style="background: white;">pleasures</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="wordsofchrist"><span style="background: white;">of this</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> <span sn="979"></span></span><span class="strongs"><span style="background: white;">life</span></span></span><span class="wordsofchrist"><span style="background: white;">, and</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> <span sn="5052"></span></span><span class="strongs"><span style="background: white;">bring</span>s</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> <span sn="3756"></span></span><span class="strongs"><span style="background: white;">no</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> <span sn="5052"></span></span><span class="strongs"><span style="background: white;">fruit</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="wordsofchrist"><span style="background: white;">to<span sn="5052"> </span></span><span class="strongs"><span style="background: white;">maturity</span></span></span><span class="wordsofchrist"><span style="background: white;">.</span>” </span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> </span>I feel
that some days. I don’t walk around in a state of anxiety, but: its bills, and
clients, home repairs, and “did I remember to renew the insurance on the car?”,
and since we hadn't worked in 14 months – do we trust God to carry us through?
and the grass is getting long, but the mower is out of gas, and … you know what
I am talking about. All the stuff of life can distract us from being the soil
that allows the seed from bearing a 100 fold harvest. Back to July and August –
we are setting them aside to focus on Jesus. It’s not meant as a vacation, but
a time to set aside distractions and pray, read, walk, sing, fix our eyes on
Jesus, hear what He has to say, and do what He says. We are going to Victoria
for two months to sit at Jesus’ feet and do what He says. Why Victoria? We've got some friends there that want to do the same thing. We know that we will be
sent to the streets to heal the sick and preach the gospel to the poor. </span>If
you want to read more about my thoughts on this, below is a link for an article
I wrote for the new JGLM Magazine:</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/12w4zYHKlJuqD25UFhsynxuqse_5f8TnOX4M15qYmJG8/edit?usp=sharing">https://docs.google.com/document/d/12w4zYHKlJuqD25UFhsynxuqse_5f8TnOX4M15qYmJG8/edit?usp=sharing</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we prepare for the
summer, we are excited to have the men coming home from Saskatchewan on May 4<sup>th</sup>
to help us move. It is so good to be together.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want our new
address, just email us at <a href="mailto:welldonejordanunrau@gmail.com">welldonejordanunrau@gmail.com</a>
and we will get that to you.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1558312807075828383.post-57351915700567457042013-04-07T22:24:00.001-07:002013-04-07T22:24:52.018-07:00New Nest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">We've found a house to
rent. It has most of the things on my list of hopefuls. The biggest
adjustment, aside from not containing any memories, will probably be the size.
It is about a third the size of our home now has a fifth of the storage space.
It does require simplifying...which is good. Really good.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">It's the lack of memories that I have to trust
Father for. It is near a golf course and trails where Jordan and Tucker
raced while Kim and I strolled the winter before our lives changed so
dramatically. I am grateful for that...I can see Jordan's legs carrying
him effortlessly over the hills and I can hear his voice goad Tucker into
following him as he bobbed and weaved his way along. I so miss his
laughter and squishes and questions and opinions and observations and voice and
his presence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Being thrown into empty nesting was not the plan.
I was jealously guarding our years with Jordan at home...by the time he
would leave to travel or attend school, I would be ready...or so I told myself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">It is crazy what comforts me: new pictures
of Jordan people send or I find in the packing, Skyping my sons, reconnecting
with long ago friends, clean sheets and sharp pencils, warm mugs beside the
fire, hearing stories of people being healed, finding Kim has unloaded the
dishwasher or filled a vase with tulips or white roses, BBC dramas from
Dickens, and waterfalls beside a mountain road.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Some mornings I apply makeup only to find it was a
really bad idea - on the way to work my face is streaked with tears.
Other days I find only joy and laughter in Jordan's life - then and now.
Such is my life...until this side of eternity is over.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Jordanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14501638964266748838noreply@blogger.com