A Smile

I love to smile, and I think that it’s an amazing part of who we are, and I feel is one of the most wonderful gifts of expression God has given us. Before L’Arche I never really thought much about the significance of a simple smile. In my time here I have begun to appreciate much more fully the beauty of a smile. 

I think one of the most beautiful smiles of mankind belong to Terrie. I have gotten to spend lots of time with her in the last nine months, and her smile has made a big impression on me. Not to say that she smiles all the time, no not at all. But when she does, it’s as powerful as the sunlight when it pierces through the darkest clouds. She has blessed me with such a simple gift, yet you could never put a price on it. It’s immeasurable. 

I am learning to see life’s goodness in the little things. Each breath, each smile, each laugh, each hug, and each kind word is just another blessing and reason to be thankful to be alive.

Frank D. Reimer 1923-2011

Grandpa

He worked in the wintery forests, his skin hardened by the cold

A man of many mysteries and stories left untold

He drained the Mennville wetlands and plowed its rocky fields

Of hay and grain and other crops little did they yield

How I wish I had loved him more, and how I wish I’d cared

To go out of my way back then, and with him good times share

A man so weary and bent with age no longer able to stand

I wish I’d been at his bedside to firmly hold his hand

I’m sorry my dear Grandpa, I’m sorry with all my heart

I long to have you back again and loving words impart

Life is to short to hold to these feelings of regret

For I know one day I’ll see you again, and we'll sing a sweet duet. 

The Five Day Escapade

Simply put, I like adventure. Not knowing what’s around the next bend. Perhaps these time don’t come frequently enough for me.

A couple weeks ago My friend/co-worker Piramila and I set out on a hitch hiking trip. First destination, Yarmouth. Liquid sunshine was abundant for the majority of the time. I came prepared with a clear garbage bag, and donned it when wet turned to wetter. We had difficulty getting rides, which was not anything new for us hitch hiking together. It seems like people don’t really care for hitch hikers in the twos or more. When we were not in a vehicle, (which was often) I kept my self entertained by playing Piramila’s harmonica. I was having a ball of a time with it until I forgot it on the seat of one of our rides. Life continues. Around 8:30 we got picked up for the last 60 km of the journey. Quite a life saver, because I’m not to keen on spending nights in ditches.

We were quite relieved to make it to our couch surfing hosts place in Yarmouth. Once there, we we given a brief tour of Carla’s lovely home and treated to generous pieces of carrot cake and hot blueberry tea. Once settled down for the night I watched the second period of game seven. It didn’t seem like Canucks could pull off a win plus I was dang tired, so I hit the hay.

Come morning, I felt refreshed and very ready to live another day! After a quick breaky, we went down town and hit up Salvation Army, and bought a bunch of clothes for future costume parties at Eden House. Pretty rad! After that we went to the Old World Bakery and Deli, for lunch before hitting the road again. All in all I was not really drawn to a whole lot in Yarmouth. 

We got to the highway 103 at 2:00 after a lot of walking to get to the outskirts of town.  

We had a nice variety of people pick us up on the way to Crescent beach. Probably the most interesting was a lobster fisherman who was driving to Liverpool for a meeting. I learned a lot about lobster fishing. He gave us a tour off the beaten path through an old Loyalist town called Shelburne. Lots of history that they are doing there best to preserve, to the point of burying the power lines. The movie “The Scarlet Letter” was filmed there.

Arrived at my sister Rebekah’s place at 8:30. We joined her and her friend for a sensational supper.

The following days were spent taking it easy and enjoying life on the south shore. I think it's my most fav place in

Piramila went back to Wolfville on Saturday while I stayed with Rebekah one more day and went back on Sunday. We had a race to see who would have the fastest time hitch hiking back to Wolfville. We had agreed before hand that whoever would win would get a tub of gelato from Fox Hill Cheese. It was a lot closer than I had anticipated it would be. Her time was 2:10 and mine was 2:22. Girl wins!

                               

 Salvation Army shopping spree.

                                                        Where to now

Piramila, Anna, Rebekah and myself at Theresa's place

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

5:30 on the Lehave river.

Heading back to Wolfville on Sunday. 

Words

I was invited to a birthday party a couple of weeks ago for one of the newest core members in our community. After the table was cleared and the gifts had been opened, we had a time of going around the table sharing words of encouragement with Cam. Tony was the last one to share. It was simple, and it went something like this. “Cam, I have grown to love you as a friend since you came to our house last year. But not only are you my friend, you are my brother. My little brother.” This really touched me. All of a sudden, my many words that I had said, seemed so minuscule in comparison to his. Tony meant every single word that he said, and will never look back wondering if he actually meant those words or not.

In these last couple weeks I have taken a step back, and have started to realize how prone I have been to just talk. We so often want to say the words that we know people want to hear.  But what if our hearts are not fully in our words? Words are to be treated with care. They have the power to build or to tear down. All of our “good” words are as good a crap if we don’t follow through on them and actually mean them.

A song that always uplifts me

What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,

Oh, what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer

Patience

Take the example of road rage. The driver in front of your vehicle has hit the brakes and you have to follow suit. What is your initial reaction to this inconvenience? I could bet you that the majority of people, would have words come to mind like, idiot, stupid, moron, half wit, jerk etc. etc. etc. No seeking to understand, no compassion, and no love for the perpetrator. Just harsh judgemental words and thoughts. Sadly these sort of reactions are often first nature to us/me. What we say and how we (re)act is the overflow of whats in the heart. 

I think that patience and compassion go hand in hand, and that the root of both of these is love. To be patient is to look beyond the inconvenience that the persons seems to be in the moment, and just love them for who they are. One dearly love by God. Something so easily said, at times can feel like nothing less than a chore. Patience does not just happen, its the labour of love. And love always perseveres. 

Love is patient

Jason

Dodgeball to Dance party!

Derek, me, and Blaine, at Blaine's 17th Anniversary party earlier this month

Saturday morning some of us from Eden house and a few outsiders, made up a team, and took part in a dodgeball tournament hosted at the Acadia gym. It was a fundraiser for the Wolfville farmers market, put on by the Katimavik group. We came in 3rd place! Yup 3rd place is pretty good................even if there were just 4 teams. Hopefully the next tourney will have way more teams!

After Derek and I got back home from dodgeball and getting some party food, we worked on decorating and reorganizing our living room. Derek helped me string up paper airplanes attached by strings, to the ceiling fan. Lucky we have a step ladder, because its a pretty tall vaulted ceiling. The airplanes flew great once the fan was turned on! So much better than I had anticipated!

One of Derek's numerous passions is flying. He talks about it very often. This summer we will (Lord willing) be heading to Disney World for his vacation. We got the hotel already. But we still need to do lots of fundraising for the flights and park passes. Anybody have some helpful advice for either fundraising or Disney World its self?

In the evening Eden house, (my house) hosted a flying themed fund-raiser dance party for Derek. Thanks to Blaine's sound system and Derek's music we had the dance floor shaking! Not very many people showed up, but still we raised 66 dollars. Great fun!

While dancing tonight I thought of how David danced before the Lord, and what it might have looked like. Scandalous! 

  "Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

 16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.

2 Samuel 6:15-16

I love to dance! I don't know many steps. I just dance! I know I will really miss this part of life when I move on from here. 

Stay in the LIGHT

Jason

Walking in truth

Teach me your way, O Lord,

and I will walk in your truth;

give me an undivided heart, 

that I may fear your name.

I will praise you, O Lord my God, 

with all my heart; 

I will glorify your name forever. 

For great is your love toward me; 

you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.

You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, 

slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalm 86:11,12,13 and 15

Proverbs 17:22

         "A cheerful heart is good medicine, 

  but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

How to build a community.

Turn off you TV. Leave your house. Know your neighbour. Look up when you are walking. Greet people. Sit on your stump. Plant flowers. Use your library. Play together. Buy from local merchants. Share what you have. Take children to the park. Garden together. Fix it even when you didn't break it. Have a potluck. Honour elders. Pick up litter. Read stories aloud. Dance in the street. Talk to mail carrier. Listen to the birds. put up a swing. Help carry something heavy. Barter for goods. Start a tradition. Ask questions. Hire young people for odd jobs. Organize a block party. Bake extra and share. Ask for help when you need it. Open your shades. Sing together. Share your skills. Take back the night. Turn up your music. Turn down your music. Listen before you react to anger. Seek to understand. Learn from new angles. Know that no one is silent, though many are not heard. Work to change this.


I saw these words on a poster at the office the other day, and thought that they were kind of neat.
This is NOT my statement of faith, or what I think Christian community should exactly look like. Nonetheless, there are some very positive things in what it said. Especially the part about having a potluck! 


Jason

Regrets

We all have them. 

Yesterday I went to McDonalds for ice cream with two of our core members  and another assistant. I had a triple thick strawberry milkshake, while the rest had sundaes. I was not really impressed with the milkshake. It tasted a bit too fake for my liking. Haha, Its funny how I already knew this already from other Triple Thick Milkshake experiences!

Later in the day Derek and I made the trip to the McDonalds in Coldbrooke to pick up Blaine from work. While we were there, both Blaine and Derek ordered the newly introduced Apple Crisp Blizzard, to satisfy there ice cream cravings. It was then that I started to feel sorry for having made my Triple Thick Milkshake choice. Why did I not think of having a blizzard instead? I knew that I liked Blizzards more than the Triple Thick Milkshakes. How could I have forgotten so easily!?!?

Spiritually speaking, the main reason we have regrets, is that we do not think about what will come after the choices we make. Squandering wonderful opportunities, because of our near sightedness. In our eagerness to satisfy our own desires, we so easily forget about what God has done for us, and how He wants us to live. 

Why not start making decisions that we know please God? Not “what kind of ice cream will I eat” decisions. But decisions, both big and small, that are packed with love for God and the people around us. Decide to do the right thing, even if it means going against what the rest of the world thinks we should do!

In Galatians 1:10, Apostle Paul said “Am I now tying to win the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Keep on running in the power HE so faithfully provides! 

Jason

Two eggs and four carrots!

                                                       Douglas and I

Living in community with the people of L’Arche has been wonderful! I feel like we are a pretty crazy family. We all have different strengths, weaknesses, giftings and needs. Such a wonderful puzzle when we are all united.

I am learning how essential it is to not make assumptions. We are all different and have our own stories. We do not know a book until we have moved beyond looking at the cover and actually read it. There is no good that comes from having preconceived notions about other people. Results in doing so are usually pretty negative, for you and the person judged.

Treat each other as a master piece. As one of great worth and value. For we have all been created by God, and are beautiful in His eyes. No price can be placed on the human soul. Jesus Loves us so much!

“Aren’t five sparrows sold for two cents? God doesn’t forget any of them. Even every hair on your head has been counted. Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows.

Luke 12:6-7 (GOD’S WORD Translation)

Blessings

Jason

True Fruit.

“Love is patient, love is kind. Love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it does not boast it is not proud. It is not rude it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes. always perseveres.” 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." 
John 15: 1-8

This is supernatural fruit! it is only by the Holy Spirits presence working in and through us, that this fruit grows. It is of eternal value, and will never rot!

We cannot bear this good fruit, unless we are connected to the Vine (the giver of life). For in Him we live, move, and have our being!

Jason

Emerging.

Hey all!

It was my full intention to start blogging shortly after I arrived here in Wolfville, but it has taken time to get into the rhythm of every day life. So I have had to postpone some things like this until now. 

Here is some information about L'Arche, that you may find helpful in better understanding the organization, and the kind of work that I do.

L'Arche Homefires:

We are people with and without intellectual disabilities. We live in community, and celebrate the unique value of every person, recognizing our need for  each other.

We have currently have five homes, a day program called Cornerstone, for our core members with higher needs. For those who are retired, we have Discoveries program. And then there is Applewicks, a candle making and weaving workshop, where a majority of our members are employed.

This is the mission of L’Arche:

-To make known the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities, revealed through mutually transforming relationships. 

-To foster an environment in community that responds to the changing needs of our members, whilst being faithful to the core values of our founding story.

-To engage in our diverse cultures, working toward a more human society. 

When I moved, I felt that the door had been opened for me to come, and can clearly see how God was with me as I turned this page in life. 

The verses that follow are verses that I read in my second night here. After reading them, I knew beyond a doubt that this is where God wants me. I love how He speaks so clearly to us through His Holy Word.

Revelation 3:7-8 

 ⁷ “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia.   This is the message from the one who is holy and true,
      the one who has the key of David.
   What he opens, no one can close;
      and what he closes, no one can open:
 ⁸ “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.

I have learned so very much in my work and interaction with people who have developmental disabilities. Every day has its surprises and randomness! 

Coming from a very high paced life Manitoba, I have been "slowly" learning how to slow down. To walk slower to, eat slower etc. etc.

This is so much more than than a place to work. It's a place to grow more, to dig deeper, to ask questions and to seek answers, to learn what it means to love relentlessly, to put others before myself, to build better relationships, to heal and be healed. 

"Another day another dollar". I don't like this phrase. Why live for the money? It's all going to pass away in the end. Jesus has instructed us not store up for ourselves treasures on earth, but to rather do things that are of eternal value. So instead of saying "another day another dollar", I think that it is only right for us to say, "another day another difference". Have you made a difference in someones life today? 

I'm eagerly looking forward to what God is going to do in my life this year! This being said, I want to be careful not to just look forward to the future, but I to live in the present, and look forward to the next ten minutes that God will give me.  So enough with our sleep walking! 

Stay wide awake! 

Jason