tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60810752012-02-16T20:28:41.638-08:00Brain saturation is an uneasy condition with only one remedy, release. Cerebral drip-dry.Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.comBlogger2931100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-12359423992377524502011-07-16T05:35:00.014-07:002011-07-20T18:31:12.503-07:00

This has been a question that has been able to creep up through the forest of the everyday to assault me from behind, making me feel like I should be donning a face mask on the back of my bean like people warding off attacking tigers. Of course, walking around with one of those would just highlight the situation and leave me laying on the floor waiting for the first searing pain of feline canines

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-13396545732840815162011-06-21T01:16:00.003-07:002011-06-21T01:35:04.369-07:00

“Context is everything!”, my friend once said to me as I wandered back to my room to try and find an appropriate scripture to back up what I was saying in the bible study group that night. He informed me that the point I was making was correct, but the passage I chose to support it was not saying what I wanted it to. At the time I thought this was very frustrating because I was up against a time

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-75649537275143848272011-06-20T06:56:00.003-07:002011-06-20T07:14:40.327-07:00

There has been a lot of reflection going on in my turbulent little fishbowl, even the odd refraction when I put it out in the daylight. Sometimes I just glance at it while I mutter through my day, while other times I sit and wonder at how the odds and ends can look so different with just a subtle shift of perspective. Still water allowing glowing streams of light to strike little items with

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-9566391109991684342011-06-12T07:05:00.002-07:002011-06-12T08:34:28.644-07:00

Who does He think He is??? What makes Him think we can be trusted with free will? Where did He get the idea that we were in any way capable of walking under the immense weight of mercy and grace? What was He thinking?If ever there was something that pointed more clearly to the fact that this is NOT all about us I don't know what it is. Freedom. Freedom from condemnation. Freedom from indictment.

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-44154024511582575782011-04-20T05:29:00.001-07:002011-04-20T05:30:50.913-07:00

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-7049078822612620242011-03-22T18:51:00.004-07:002011-03-25T23:20:30.772-07:00

In our family devotions this morning we were considering the temptation of Jesus after His baptism, and one point really stuck out to me today that I haven't spent enough time to examine before. The thing that I find so profound about this whole exchange is the reason why Jesus was out there in the desert in the first place. Jesus is my prime example of what it means to be a Christian, and the

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-23786465751396316282011-03-18T23:32:00.004-07:002011-03-19T08:18:39.205-07:00

I was talking with a friend today and during our conversation we discussed the pressures of being in ministries. It feels odd to even say this about myself, because I really don't see myself that way, but that doesn't change the daily pressures. The demands of ministry are ever present. They rest on your thoughts like an incontinent person on a commode, unmoving and always full. Maybe not the

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-46976139771752035722011-03-15T10:39:00.003-07:002011-03-15T11:26:55.556-07:00

Ok, no spring clean this time, just some straight up thoughts about us Christian folk. What is the deal with us anyway??? I am so perplexed at this point in my journey that I feel as if my brain is doing some weird mentalist yoga contortions. Perplexed, but not as in not being able to figure out the reasons for the negative kinds of actions we are capable of, but rather perplexed by the mental

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-55998710231560028392011-02-26T06:38:00.003-08:002011-02-26T07:02:17.859-08:00

This will have to be brief because it is time for all of us to go to bed here at the rehab school I work at. I really wanted to check in though because there has been so much going through us of late. Rip tides of emotions have been the norm for the last few weeks. I had to say going through because so much of the time it feels as if I am merely a shade that is permeated by whatever the wind is

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-38351115500510272282011-02-06T16:40:00.003-08:002011-02-06T17:27:35.282-08:00

I really hope that this doesn't come across as TMI, but I am struggling with a real case of impotency these days. Not the physical kind, but rather a spiritual case of an inability to perform. In the short term this may be preferable for a man versus the impedance to marital bliss that the anatomical variety may provide, but this must be viewed in the long term. Life rattles down the track far

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-71397644557124041842011-02-05T15:10:00.005-08:002011-03-09T21:02:32.708-08:00

Reading scripture is a sure way to ground oneself out of any kind of cloudy thinking that may lift right self thoughts off of the firm foundation of Christ. There is no surer cure for breezy thinking than to tip toe through Romans, for example, and smell the fragrant blooms of truth contrasting against the hovering stench of our sin ridden bodies. Each small breeze wafts fresh showers of beauty

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-37209824781852104632010-12-30T08:59:00.004-08:002011-03-09T03:40:11.253-08:00

So I was watching a movie this evening that involved the collapse of the United States by a foreign power, which is not an odd theme these days, but as usual I found myself hoping that the outcome would be in favor of the antagonists. This has not been an odd response to this particular theme I must admit. Cartoon villains are easy to root against mainly because they are tragically humorous, but

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-38518055683410804072010-12-17T08:54:00.006-08:002010-12-17T10:40:41.618-08:00

Sitting up late with too much chocolate coursing through my system seems to be a good recipe for a blog post. It has been a while since my last one, but I'm hoping this one will be a little bit different from what I have been putting out there. You see there are levels of honesty we reach when we write these things that make it appear that we are letting you into our lives. Of course, in all

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-17103822480350948232010-12-05T00:54:00.005-08:002011-03-22T18:50:53.429-07:00

My wife and I are sitting on the 5pm fast ferry back to Cheung Chau after an afternoon wandering around Causeway Bay. We picked up a few items for Christmas and basically enjoyed each other's company for a few hours. It is so cool how you can be in an environment that could be high stress, and yet with the right person everything just seems to shine instead. It's like that with me and my wife. We

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-40263576031365257292010-12-05T00:53:00.001-08:002010-12-05T00:54:29.452-08:00

Simple connections tend to be the lifelines that keep us from floundering in the rough patches that following our Leader will run us through. The simple love of those who know us the best. The smiles, and tears of those who have walked this way with us. The ones who will keep moving their feet one in front of the other as they put their arm around our shoulder. Those precious souls who will lift

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-72708602267990901482010-11-27T19:13:00.004-08:002010-11-28T17:06:39.632-08:00

Sometimes I am leveled by the things that seemed so elementary just a few days earlier, and as I lay there trying to shake it off the question arises of why I thought I wouldn't have to deal with that particular attack again. Rolling over to get back up is like an escape dream, every motion finding its energy being sapped by the jeers being delivered to my mind as spittle from reviling lips.

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-21631441971471452352010-11-17T07:34:00.002-08:002010-11-17T07:37:36.544-08:00

It's interesting to be sitting here and relaxing after watching a good movie. Interesting because of the surroundings, and stirring because of some of the dialogue from the movie. It was “Good Will Hunting” that I watched in the dark of the staff room while the brothers watched their movie in kwongyeh (wilderness), as they affectionately call the main assembly area. If you haven't seen the movie,

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-43512183904326164772010-11-11T15:16:00.001-08:002010-11-11T15:20:31.352-08:00

The most difficult aspect of faith, is faith. The aspect which demands that we place our trust in that which is not seen, nor will be seen until faith is thrown in the pot like dye in pure water. As it swirls through the transparent purity of hope then there is some form lent to the unseen. When it curls through the liquid current hope makes sense, but without faith there is no substance given

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-18644052324317994402010-11-09T15:30:00.001-08:002010-11-09T15:32:48.224-08:00

It feels a little weird to be writing this from 31500 feet above the Bering Straits, but that is just how fast life can change for a person. I’m not lucky enough to be doing this with my thumbs. I am, however, blessed enough to be doing this on a laptop that was purchased with funds forwarded to us from Dad. Our Dad that is. It all seems a little strange because if you have followed this blog

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-55493595716374682642010-09-17T20:34:00.002-07:002010-09-17T21:55:10.536-07:00

It is all over the web now that Anne Rice, author of "Interview with a Vampire" and many other works including a series on Christ the Lord, has given up on Christianity. Not Christ, just Christians and Christianity. A friend of mine posted a short piece to his blog from author/speaker/theologian Brian McLaren regarding Mrs. Rice's announcement. I think that anyone who has regularly read this

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-88377449723136055222010-08-29T05:03:00.002-07:002010-08-29T06:28:09.650-07:00

Life is so interesting in how it moves by us while we watch from behind these eyes. Somewhere it is all being recorded and stored away in the most amazing computer ever conceived, an organic web of cells that contains not only sights, but true 4D. It is not designed for access at will though, only certain events will easily coalesce in its lightrooms. Events written in emotion will often lay like

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-81893127488132386592010-08-21T05:11:00.007-07:002010-08-21T06:21:42.135-07:00

We are truly blessed to live where we do. It comes with its challenges to be sure, but the sweet upsides cover a multitude of 'sins'. One of these is the fact that we live five minutes from Kwun Yam Wan beach.It was on my journey there today that I had a really cool thought. The short cut to the beach takes us through the grounds of one of the numerous temples on our little island. I grew up in

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-50051478514047956512010-08-08T12:29:00.005-07:002010-08-08T13:39:58.317-07:00

Just got home early in the morning from a very late night out that spurred a fury of activity in a recently dormant mind. Bought what is so far a phenomenal book from and Irish author and watched Inception which had an Irish born actor as a central character, which may explain the happy melancholic mood I seem to find myself in. This evening brought so many thought s to the surface like shoots

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-19261101226332306772010-08-06T01:23:00.004-07:002010-08-06T02:03:28.769-07:00

Evolution.....Not even sure where to go with that initial thought. Not even sure why it is such a charged subject sometimes. I do understand why most of the time, but today is not one of them. I was reading a book called "Created from Animals: The Moral Implications of Darwinism" by James Rachels, which is an interesting enough read if you like scientific/philosophical books. I enjoyed it to a

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-36259565800044153612010-07-28T03:02:00.004-07:002010-07-28T04:58:30.771-07:00

The title of this post is actually intended for me rather than anyone who may stumble across it. There is a need within me to wade out into some deeper waters than have run through here for quite some time, and I know there will be a ruffled feather or two. The key for me though is to try my best to avoid all political correctness and just let 'er rip. My only real political ties are to the

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-35600787237962355392010-07-24T06:28:00.003-07:002010-07-24T07:59:06.333-07:00

The title for this post is a suggestion of where I am right now in many ways. Physically I am in between trips to the commode as I and my wife struggle through a bout of Cheung Po Tsai's revenge. At my age I am pretty certain I am somewhere in the middle of my life if I make it past 80. Spiritually I am in the in between spaces as well. There is not a lot of flash and splash right now, and in

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-88394916500904912382010-07-13T06:54:00.004-07:002010-07-13T07:49:03.519-07:00

I don't know about you, but I get regular cycles of frustration. They are not at all predictable. They are not at all fun. They are the kind of thing that I think, in the good times, should be so easy to avoid, and yet here I am.....again. They are also not connected to being in ministry, because even when I was working 9 to 5 those cycles still appeared.It becomes a time when I feel like I am

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-73838542192462606012010-06-29T17:10:00.004-07:002010-06-29T17:23:38.846-07:00

They say that knowledge is power, and for once “they” and God agree. Knowledge of God is the power of life. The question is what kind of knowledge? This is a very important question too, because all of eternity rests on the answer. The kind of knowledge we bear into the eternal results of every decision we made while our vaporous existence quickly dissipated here will weigh upon every echo there.

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-88998222599176013822010-06-15T17:59:00.002-07:002010-06-15T18:16:50.635-07:00

Ever since moving to Hong Kong I have missed cycling to work, or taking some time during a late summer evening to grab my camera, and my bike to head out for some clicks and clicks. Cycling was always an enjoyable way for me to unwind. The cycling that I am doing now is not that kind. I’m not meaning that I am riding a bike here on Cheung Chau, which would be tantamount to suicide for the

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-47457636302497312272010-06-08T01:56:00.002-07:002010-06-08T02:11:33.377-07:00

Well, I gotta say this guys' post has been rattling around my brain for some time now. Not that I read his post a while ago, just that I have been trying to learn Chinese and what he says about Dashan (see link in the title) is so true. Chinese is an annoyingly difficult language to learn, and seeing someone, smug smile and all, spewing it out better than most mainlanders does nothing to assuage

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-8814854420190512802010-06-06T05:06:00.004-07:002010-06-06T07:04:05.801-07:00

Another night descends on Ha Keng, and I am left with much time on my hands and many thoughts on my mind. Today one of our staff finished his three year tenure here at the school, and we bid him a fond farewell at the pier. He was very close with many of the brothers and one young fellow was shedding tears as he headed back up the hill to the village. Watching him leave made me consider how long

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-26989637902611655722010-05-31T01:47:00.006-07:002010-05-31T02:11:52.948-07:00

Sometimes I forget how young my children really are until I hear them on the phone. Suddenly their voices sound so small, and almost every time I find myself remembering that they are still just children. When I thought about it tonight it occurred to me that it may even be that way when they are my age, and I am in my seventies. I thought perhaps it is more than just their voices. Perhaps it is

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-31588696215031817112010-05-22T06:45:00.003-07:002010-05-22T07:28:54.793-07:00

It is a strange thing to set your feet on the land you have dreamed of for so long, even if most people here do not consider Hong Kong to be part of China. The PRC government says it is, so that is good enough for me.We waited for five years to be back here. During those years we went through many times when we just wanted to chuck the whole thing and see if we can simply make a life for

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-32507829316729990642010-05-21T08:56:00.002-07:002010-05-21T09:07:58.242-07:00

I am constantly amazed by how easy it is to become distracted from looking at Christ as I am commanded in Colossians 3:1-3. It is a constant source of concern for me. Here at the school we end each day, and begin each day with scripture reading, which has the effect of realigning my focus. It has been an invigorating exercise for someone who always struggled with this kind of routine. The only

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-42763531722531790612010-05-15T07:27:00.004-07:002010-05-15T08:41:56.469-07:00

There was a time when I never thought I would know what family truly meant, nor what it would mean to be a member of such a thing. My family, like too many others, was broken early on in my life, and left me with a constant awareness of lack. This was a lack that it took years to realize could not be filled with "stuff" no matter how pretty, or powerful. In fact, stuff just tended to erode away

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-67691986330719161662010-05-10T05:55:00.006-07:002010-05-10T06:11:21.656-07:00

So here I am in the staff room again with too many thoughts flying around my head, and nowhere for them to go except a piece of paper or a blog. If I were to commit them to paper I would be the only one to know about it, because anything I have ever written has never made it further than my wife’s eyes or perhaps one close friend. If I blog them, on the other hand, there is a slightly larger

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-12702217215849467992010-05-02T05:07:00.002-07:002010-05-02T05:41:23.614-07:00

Hey all, do you ever have those moments when you are pretty sure God is opening your eyes to something you would most likely have missed without His help. When you try to tell the story to someone who has never had the experience of a conversation with God they will usually give a weird look, but those who know will always understand the weirdness of it. Anyway, we did this prayer walk today with

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-37263225571508672032010-04-27T05:43:00.004-07:002010-04-27T05:54:31.284-07:00

Ok, ok, I know I live in Hong Kong, and work at a Chinese school. I also know that it was on my heart for years to return to China (apologies to all the Hong Kongers who don't like that connection), but as far as cuisine goes my mouth is about 2000 miles west of here where the spices are as rich and colorful as the people. I am talking about India! Wow! I am just so in love with their food. If I

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-39746527300482822272010-04-06T18:08:00.010-07:002010-04-11T08:33:26.996-07:00

It has been seven months since we arrived here in Hong Kong, and even though we knew this would change our lives I don't think we ever could have imagined the ways that these changes would occur. Adapting to a new culture is something we have done before when we moved to Shanghai, China for six months; and it was, as promised by our Father, a very good time of training for the future assignment

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-33715027868900012842010-04-05T09:26:00.002-07:002010-04-05T09:34:07.709-07:00

There is soooo much I could say here, but it is late and I really need to get to bed. Everything is a swirl. I am here, I am there, I am pressed, I am in awe. I truly want to spend some time and do a long blog post with pics and everything. Please be patient. Our computer is not our friend right now, and time does not seem to be on my side.I really want to spend some time with those who read this

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-10142617842125542022010-02-11T06:35:00.005-08:002010-02-11T09:12:34.528-08:00

You really never know what your day will be like at the Christian Zheng Sheng College, most especially when you are hamstrung by a lack of language skills. Not that this would change the chaos, it would just give you an extra ten minute heads up. Cantonese is such a surreal mix of ancient roots and crazy modern culture that I feel I am caught up in an Asian Mennonite tribe trying to learn low

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-58089511497595069742010-02-10T03:30:00.004-08:002010-02-10T04:14:47.957-08:00

I really had to look over what I wrote in that last post, because, seeing how I wrote it in the heat of the moment, there was a lot of room for error. It is true, though, that in the heat of the moment all of our guards tend to come down, and the things that are lying within can more easily find their way out. It is always in moments of importunity that the sheen comes off (usually along with the

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-31570414859520533952010-02-06T06:41:00.002-08:002010-02-06T07:55:36.759-08:00

I am sitting here listening to yet another announcement from a leadership that just cannot seem to get its shit together. I have no other place to vent things out so if you have wondered over here it may not be as flowery as you may like, nor as poetic as I have been hoping this blog could be again. This is one of those times when hangin' my brain out to dry means that the drops will be carrying

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-81581855564064956062010-01-31T08:21:00.002-08:002010-01-31T08:52:49.312-08:00

There are so many nonsensical things that flit about the hollow spaces between my brain and my mind that I am afraid sometimes that they may spill out into the daylight, leaving their muddy thought-prints all over my newly cleaned persona. I dare not even spill their guts here, for they will surely flee one after the other clutching like Jacob upon their elder. This would be impossible for me to

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-4730299632183790302010-01-29T22:21:00.002-08:002010-01-29T22:56:43.665-08:00

One thing I have been learning from my time here at Christian Zheng Sheng College is a healthy view of how my life flows. It has been quite a change from back in Canada where I had a regular work week and weekends off. Here we work different shifts every month and there is no regularity from one roster to the next. I also get only six days off in a month instead of eight like back in K-town. My

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-40651212439790118672010-01-20T03:51:00.002-08:002010-01-20T04:23:36.878-08:00

I am so glad that we have the scriptures to guide us as we trundle through this life of faith! Paul said that we have all these lives lived out on the big screen of the bible for us to learn from their mistakes and victories. It would be so difficult if we didn't have these documented for us. Where would we be without them?I have been reading Joshua lately and discovering him all over again. He

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-17985552895840666432010-01-12T07:19:00.004-08:002010-01-12T08:08:13.198-08:00

There is such a curious link with the past that causes endless ripples and surges to come unbidden to the shores of the present. They typically come to wash away the sand castles I have built and remind me of the truth of where I stand, but every so often some piece of a forgotten dream washes up along with the riptide of deep ocean currents. Some long abandoned view, last remembered the last

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-8357027958852467822010-01-07T03:30:00.002-08:002010-01-07T04:21:33.906-08:00

God has a way of bringing change through my life and thoughts like the leaves of Autumn on the mountainsides of the valley I once called home. The leaves on those trees are in the final throes of death, yet this passing fills the landscape with such extravagant beauty that the smoky, backyard funeral pyres, and damp open burials on the forest floor never enter my mind. All I see is a mystical

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-78112560884856640572010-01-01T02:41:00.002-08:002010-01-01T03:40:25.790-08:00

I could almost have titled this one "Letting the Pieces Fall", but that may have come off a little melodramatic. It honestly feels that way though. It feels like there is precious little I can do to stop it without removing my foot from the path, and the only peace I have is when I surrender to it. As I write this it comes to me that this is the only way that I can travel and still follow my Lord

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-5452468629390484802009-12-19T02:28:00.002-08:002009-12-19T03:03:58.210-08:00

I have recently started to play chess again after a couple of decades or so. It is a truly fascinating game which I have no illusions of mastering, but would love to at least enjoy on a recreational level. My kids have also shown an interest as I have recently purchased a nice set from the stalls at Stanley Market here in Hong Kong. It has the pieces carved from ox bone in the fashion of emperors

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-52718406254444713752009-09-19T02:24:00.002-07:002009-09-19T02:32:53.599-07:00

I saw this on a friend's blog and was moved to post this here and help spread the word. It is true that once you have seen you cannot turn aside without action. This is why we are where we are in the world, and it is why you are where you are in the world. There is so much need, but why else are we in this fleeting little life of ours than to trade it for all the riches of the heaven we can live

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-12678434281509140002009-09-17T21:11:00.004-07:002009-11-03T16:14:49.693-08:00

This has been an ongoing thing for me, the lesson of rest, especially guilt-free rest. It probably has a cultural root in me, but some roots grow weeds and I don't want weeds. These weeds come from a heritage of hard core work ethic that grew up in fertile soil of personal insecurities. Really rich stuff, and like any other rich, dark soil it had plenty of shit in it too. The work ethic was fine,

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-64928900452996218582009-09-13T23:04:00.004-07:002009-09-19T02:35:28.613-07:00

I love all the cultural oddities that you come across when you leave your own cultural for a decidedly different one, it makes everyday life a lot less ordinary. You never know when you are going to run into a little tidbit that will make you smile, so it is like a bizarre kind of Easter egg hunt you don't even know your on. I guess it could be easy to use these times to criticize or point out

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-29849738250044932662009-08-29T15:55:00.003-07:002009-09-12T09:24:07.634-07:00

As I lay here on the floor of my empty house I am taking a moment to reflect on our family's passage to the next part of our lives. I am taking a moment to take it all in so that it doesn't rush by in a flash of packing and paperwork, swirling down to an indiscernible tangle of lifeless memories. I need to take it in, because this whole journey is about knowing my Father, and in fact if I don't

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-39965819425404815252009-07-31T22:09:00.005-07:002009-08-01T08:28:46.477-07:00

I had to write something tonight, even though it will in no way capture the feelings that cocooned my psyche this evening in a tenderly woven, sensationally evocative, baby blanket. It may have happened because of a simple act of surrender, or perhaps it was a unyielding embrace from a Father who understood the depths of my need this night. I surrendered to my family and went to a beach for a

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-8058303748668813762009-07-18T21:52:00.005-07:002009-07-18T22:11:43.465-07:00

This is a little too strange, and already tragic. There are memories of 2003 and the fires that destroyed over 200 homes in the Lakeshore area of Kelowna.(Pics from 2003)This time it is going on in the Glenrosa area south of Westbank, on the other side of the lake from Kelowna. We are listening to the local AM station online and there is so much going on already. Today was a very sunny, hot day

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-90635685010832746732009-07-11T08:39:00.002-07:002009-07-11T15:19:15.986-07:00

I had to laugh when I came across this. It was roundabout as most surfing is, and this ride started with a search for a story about the Neverland Ranch replica being built in Shanghai for the Expo there in 2010. When I went to the Shanghai Daily online paper I stumbled upon this section in the sidebar where they highlight a certain block of the city and give links to businesses. When I hovered

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-86216940289274201572009-07-01T17:50:00.004-07:002009-12-08T05:06:35.990-08:00

This has been a very interesting season for us, with lots of work and lots of waiting. It has been a season of many hopes being fulfilled and many hopes walking the wires of public opinion. If you look over at my wife's blog you'll see some of the fallout of this season that we have both had to deal with. On this post I will try to synthesize the other half of what we have been going through, the

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-32669728328419601242009-06-26T12:17:00.002-07:002009-06-26T13:40:32.321-07:00

I was reading a friend's post about the chaos in Iran, and he gently, but effectively put a face to the troubled people of Iran. This typically is the problem for us in the information age is that we don't see a face, we see multiple faces streaming past at a billion bits a second as we make our way through the issues of the day. While this seems on the surface to be a way of bringing the world

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-83672039779806084992009-06-12T14:41:00.003-07:002009-06-13T01:33:00.582-07:00

I've been munching on a few things for a week now and finally needed to write it down somewhere. Please remember that these are ruminations and not necessarily conclusions.I have been coming across a lot of stuff from within the Christian community that has troubled me very deeply, and I have been trying to take it to the Father rather than just snap at it. There are so many blogs and threads out

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-88676456430709425082009-06-01T11:29:00.006-07:002009-06-01T12:49:08.270-07:00

I was visiting a friend's blog this morning, and as Rick MacInnes Rae on CBC's 'Dispatches' always says, it put me in mind of a dispatch of my own. Actually this story always comes up when I think on the monstrosity of this world, both in the sense of scale and the sense of tragedy, because it reminds me of the even greater scope of the God who is over all. I need this story because it helps me

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-38306497416785181632009-05-03T14:21:00.003-07:002009-05-12T23:59:12.931-07:00

English is a funny language with many eccentricities that I am sure were put in place just to make what could have been simple appear to be more complex, and thus give the air of intellectualism. It's either that or a hodge podge of borrowed words and phrases that never really left their home languages. This leaves me with a blog title that may need some explaining, and an excuse to write that

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-73092635207720827302009-04-06T21:17:00.002-07:002009-04-06T21:23:18.324-07:00

Wow did they evr nail the church in the West on this one. Terry O'Reilly has a show on CBC that I enjoy very much called "The Age of Persuasion" which explores the whole world of marketing in our world today. It was only a matter of time before the popularity of the show would allow it to go where, as Terry says, angels fear to tread. I gotta admit, it's pretty close to the mark. OUCH!!Maybe this

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-74929376847682094972009-04-02T06:55:00.002-07:002009-04-02T07:42:05.289-07:00

I hope this doesn't come across as a rant, because it is actually more of a bone I have been chewing for a lot of years as I am sure many Christians do. Money is hard to ignore as one forms their worldview and harder still if you are seated week after week in a local church. I don't know about you, but we are reminded every single Sunday for about five minutes before the plate (or in our case the

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-74729713149705838602009-03-24T19:45:00.002-07:002009-03-24T19:53:09.856-07:00

The time is at hand for us to be moving on. China has been on our hearts ever since we returned from there in '04, and now five years later we are finally on the verge of going back. Right now it looks as though the move will happen at the end of May, but this is still contingent on a few things happening. The thing that put us over the top, and also spurred this post, was a substantial donation

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-91079518932671094592009-03-12T21:57:00.004-07:002009-03-12T22:10:31.341-07:00

I guess we'll have to get used to this just like all Hong Kong residents, but wow, what a change from the Okanagan Valley. Might have to take up windsurfing.The first video is of Typhoon Hagupit the edge of which struck Hong Kong when I was there in September at my friends' place. The second one is of a typhoon pounding Cheung Chau where we will be living.The storm got much worse that evening and

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-27918333618209285342009-03-02T20:37:00.003-08:002009-03-02T20:53:17.950-08:00

I just had to do our taxes this year as I was expecting a fairly good return from last year. We just got our T4's at work and I finally did the hard part tonight and the total we are getting back puts our total at 51% (you can follow the counter on the sidebar for updates). This includes cash in hand and committed funds. This is exciting news for us and it really seems to pull the curtain back

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-25077650125876039502009-02-14T20:14:00.003-08:002009-02-14T20:28:58.709-08:00

So we have been playing Super Mario Galaxy with the kids for the last month or so and have found that it is actually a pretty cool interactive kind of activity. It does lack the shoulder jarring athletics of some of the Wii family of games, but we all have fun. The latest breakthrough was when Sammy finally collected enough stars to get the observatory flying through space again. The excitement

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-90497243412403076072009-02-06T19:36:00.002-08:002009-02-06T19:40:16.927-08:00

Here is a Youtube video of a report that the South China Morning Post did on the school I will be teaching at. It is a very accurate account of what is currently going on there. I believe it was done shortly before I was there last September.A friend of mine had a dream about me before we had heard of this school and he said that he saw me leading a squad of young men in the jungle. Hmmmm, you

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-48623493634365096782009-02-04T23:11:00.002-08:002009-02-04T23:26:48.198-08:00

I know that is a bit of a heavy title, but it is the thought that was on my mind today. There was some music playing that spoke about the love and holiness of God, and while I gathered up the tools for the job this thought came careening into my heart. It saw the Father watching His Son as He formed the first human being from the dust of His newly created sphere. The Son, by, for and through Whom

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-43869167223115081302009-01-12T23:31:00.001-08:002009-01-12T23:31:44.047-08:00

Homework abounds and the time slips by so stealthily. The course load is a bit heavy for me but not completely unmanageable. There is just so many other things to do and to want to do.Sigh....I was told to prepare well. This means that I must, and not with a heavy heart. So I remember that it is my Father who calls me and He will make me able.If you are a praying person and you read this, please

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-61628375251462973702009-01-01T09:37:00.002-08:002009-01-01T19:22:18.931-08:00

As a photographer the word resolution means a lot to me. It gives me the ability to crop and zoom without losing focus and clarity. I think a true resolution at the New Year should do the same thing, bring clarity to the smaller matters of one's life. To resolve in this fashion is to make a strong determination while in the camera it is to bring the viewer as close to reality as possible, again a

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-73645497311943245642008-12-31T07:06:00.003-08:002008-12-31T07:22:48.847-08:00

I am starting to feel like our cat. If you've seen my picture lately you know I'm not talking about the fuzzy part, rather I speak of his infrequent visits with our family. If you actually stop by here now and again you know what I mean. Like our cat though, please understand that there is a deep and underlying love for any of you who come here looking for a morsel of my attention.

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-56189968876754238202008-10-07T13:03:00.003-07:002008-10-07T13:47:59.493-07:00

So after a week back in the lala land of the north I feel like I have ruefully re-acclimatised to the spiritual atmosphere here. Like globs of mayo on the sandwich of life this town saturates my spiritual arteries with its insipid life messages and self promoting ad slogans. The familiarity bred over the years has formed a conduit that means I must constantly be on guard or slip down the slope

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-36068462977458173272008-09-28T02:36:00.003-07:002008-09-28T03:12:31.936-07:00

Hey all, this is me from Hong Kong. It has been a crazy 10 days here being with friends and checking out the Christian Zheng Sheng school on Lantau Island where I will be working in a year or so. I flew out here on Wednesday afternoon Kelowna time and arrived Thursday evening HK time after a 2 hour layover in Vancouver. First thing the next morning Mr. Chan whisked me away to go to Cheung Chau

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-29607667121711388792008-09-06T12:21:00.003-07:002008-09-06T12:49:09.596-07:00

I used to sing the tagline from a John Lennon song quite often just because it fit so well into my life. The line goes 'Nobody told me there be days like these/Most peculiar momma, whoa'. Most of the time I feel adrift in the waves of days going by wondering if the tethering line will ever tug me back and hold me in place for a season. Doesn't seem to happen that often though. It's not that I

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-22465356485068781202008-08-27T16:11:00.000-07:002008-08-27T16:41:20.191-07:00

Sometimes it is so hard to just keep it simple. With all the stuff that comes at us every day it doesn't take much to set everything off balance. It may just be a case of taking on one more thing than is necessary or perhaps reaching too far in one direction. The reaching usually happens in one of three directions, forward, backward or up (down usually results in a seated or fetal posture so I

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-16046224581268575372008-08-23T16:21:00.002-07:002008-08-23T16:59:49.370-07:00

Well, the time is drawing near for my trip to Hong Kong and I am finding that my mind is easily wandering off to all sorts of interesting places. It seems to show up a lot at work where I have to try and guard against mental meanderings all the time. It gets really bad when I am going to a job that is a 45 minute drive on the other side of the lake. It never seems to happen just before the last

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-19050345043909136022008-08-14T11:59:00.002-07:002008-08-14T12:42:10.524-07:00

Alman ChanHey All, long time no blog. There has been some very cool rumblings happening in our lives lately so I thought I would blog them down. As some of you may know we have had a strong desire to return to China since we left there in '04 to come back to Canada. We believe more than ever now that this desire is actually the call God has on us. The time to see it fulfilled seems to be drawing

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-73803869179392639102008-06-07T21:52:00.002-07:002008-06-07T22:16:06.489-07:00

The sound of the neighborhood kids playing filled the air this afternoon as our new friends across the street entertained a small mob to commemorate their daughter's first birthday. The alley and the street were filled with cars and kids on bikes, a combination only so fluid on a day like this. There was so much fluidity about the afternoon there, and indeed our day as a whole.This morning was

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-46362529363101877022008-05-16T20:38:00.002-07:002008-05-16T20:47:16.151-07:00

My wife burned some Cd's for our trip to my Mom's place which takes about 3.5 hours. She chose some old time radio shows like a Family Home Theater production of Tom Sawyer. If you are familiar at all with these shows you know that most of them have been re-recorded off the old vinyl recordings from long ago. As we listened to the closing of the second story my 6 year old son piped up from the

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-15368479873348776342008-05-13T17:06:00.002-07:002008-05-13T17:35:35.474-07:00

Sorry about yesterday. I was going to do a quick post before our Interloc meeting, but there were emails regarding the meeting that needed to be read first. Oh well, still not bad for a first effort. It may be for the best anyway because I had the morning from hell yesterday. I just could not get my head into what I was doing and kept making silly errors. At least most of them were silly and only

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-64025231319526833022008-05-11T10:13:00.002-07:002008-05-11T10:59:50.206-07:00

I'm back after a long absence from the blogger realm, but since I have been playing a lot of Scrabbulous I hope that I will be somewhat wordier. I have also touched on someone else's blog realm which is a chronicle of many journeys and is aptly titled Journeymama. This also sparked a desire to renter this place and hope that the few fans I have will forgive me.The main reason that I have avoided

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-64545615179853771142008-03-14T19:20:00.008-07:002008-03-14T19:46:47.716-07:00

This is very lengthy I know, but this has been a source of much comfort for my soul and so I thought I would shsre it with you. Hope you find it uplifting as well.Taken from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis as posted on Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library CHAPTER IXOf the lack of all comfortIt is no hard thing to despise human comfort when divine is present. It is a

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-40935691247972156952008-03-14T19:20:00.004-07:002008-03-14T19:37:00.284-07:00

I was reading and pondering the other day and some of the things I said in my last post came to mind. Specifically the part about the resurrection body of our Lord. I have to say that I am not sure about the part of His body which hung on the cross being completely consumed. There are hints and stuff both ways so at this point I will have to say that the jury is out, but I do believe that the

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-1414332303244584182008-02-14T18:54:00.004-08:002008-03-14T19:36:07.354-07:00

Here I am again. Once again there has been a lot on my mental plate so I will only include the freshest stuff for your consumption. Hope it satisfies.The thought that has gathered me the most over the last two weeks has been centered around the bread of communion that we share every so often. At our gathering we do this in remembrance once a month, just like the gathering I grew up in. I guess it

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-18251621541717770822008-01-15T17:21:00.001-08:002008-02-24T14:17:56.172-08:00

Well it has happened again. I have been blindsided by the word of God so many times that you would think I'd be ready for it by now. Not so. Just this evening I was off to do some reading and I heard the Spirit say, "Corinthians". It seemed pretty simple and I thought that I knew what it was going to be about because of the conversation we were having throughout the day. Again; not so.As I

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-84632622679351148822007-12-21T23:01:00.000-08:002007-12-21T23:24:29.922-08:00

Holy flashback Bibleman!!!! It came out of nowhere and with no warning. There we were talking about a simple meeting of men over their bibles and suddenly I was thrust back in time to all of the bible studies I can remember from my days in a church that shall remain nameless. My buddy at work said that at this meeting the question was put forth "What is our primary call as Christians?". Even as

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-9332380333088751912007-12-14T16:28:00.000-08:002007-12-14T16:49:55.782-08:00

Well it was a good week at work and I am still glad that it is Friday so I guess I get joy on two levels. Part of the reason that I had a good week was that I had the opportunity to work with one of the other lead hands whom I rarely get to connect with one on one. We usually like to spend our time talking about spiritual things, marriage, kids etc., so the time is well spent. Today we talked all

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-35066353922650215702007-12-13T07:06:00.001-08:002007-12-13T07:16:45.029-08:00

It is so interesting to me how long a lie can interrupt the flow of grace from God's word. Simple things clog the lines of communication from the Spirit. Little things like emphasising the wrong word or even a simple shift of inflection will throw our theology off on a tangent and it will spread out to the interpretation of other passages until its subtle infection has left us with rags instead

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-32373882645054558782007-11-22T22:05:00.000-08:002007-11-22T22:17:18.660-08:00

I was cruising around Youtube tonight and totally by accident came across this amazing instrument called a hang drum (pronounced hung drum). Oddly enough it originates not in the Caribbean or Thailand, but in Switzerland. The sound is absolutely mesmerizing and sooo melodic. If you go on Youtube and type in hung drum you'll find tons of videos. This is the video that got me hooked. It actually

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-44153127035363475812007-11-13T19:26:00.000-08:002007-11-13T20:50:51.227-08:00

So there I was during worship this last Sunday when the team started to play this song about Jesus being the servant of all. I was drifting in and out of a great prayer/worship/meditate place when all of a sudden this thought really slammed into me.... Jesus servant of all. It opened a door that I haven't really looked into before, at least not for any length of time. This is probably because I

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-38294805167454337742007-11-01T20:17:00.000-07:002007-11-01T20:38:18.511-07:00

As I was busily driving around today in the GTR Mazdarati I started to think about a discussion that Cris and I had today. There was a bit of a disagreement which I thought we had resolved and yet something was niggling at me from the back of my bean. Normally I would shelve this as some kind of mental warfare to derail what had been a good day and a seemingly good resolution to a minor crisis,

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-38734320286424669242007-10-12T19:22:00.001-07:002007-10-12T19:25:59.826-07:00

I love God stories. Not stories of what people have done for God (YAWN), but stories of what God has done. Wow, what a booster for the faith. Check this story out, I found it on Youtube right next to the other one. Just for kickers, if you have a God story please share it in the comments and I will either post one or comment one of my own. Let's build each other up!

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-37867469696574057042007-10-12T19:07:00.000-07:002007-10-12T19:11:35.429-07:00

No words from me today. I had some good ones I thought, but I can get back to those later. This is a simple message and somehow inside I wanted to go...Yeah,yeah I know that, but I need these hammers to keep chipping away at the walls and objections inside. I hope you enjoy it too.

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-37291210135381572122007-10-04T13:40:00.000-07:002007-10-05T10:06:46.175-07:00

Who'd have thought it would have gone this far? Maybe my wife would, she knows how much I can talk when I get going. Anyway the theme remains the same; unity.I have been thinking this morning about an email I received from some friends who were attending our missions homegroup. They were very new and seemed to be searching out what they were about. It was good to have them but now they are moving

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-7773002188440477622007-09-30T08:44:00.000-07:002007-09-30T18:09:32.041-07:00

Went for a walk this morning and had a heavy heart from two days of taking kidney shots to my spirit. I dearly love the autumn season and my youth spent in the rain in Abbotsford made today a perfect day for a quiet stroll. The leaves are turning and the ground was wet from the rains last night and Sunday mornings are always very still as most people are either recovering from or clinging to the

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-48264788181709206372007-09-29T08:47:00.000-07:002007-09-29T10:21:49.970-07:00

Well, I was reminded in an email that it has been a very long time since I posted anything here so it is with tail firmly tucked that I return to my blog. Truth of it is that during the day I think of so many things I would like to post and yet by the end of the day the creative juice just doesn't seem to be there. I'll try to resurrect at least one of those ideas here and hopefully be a little

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-54679130992014630992007-09-02T09:47:00.000-07:002007-09-07T18:06:05.136-07:00

I may have to apologise for the title of this post, but the question is an honest one.We talked this morning about a friend who lives and works in East End Vancouver and quite enjoys the life she has there. The problem was in explaining this choice to the friends of her new beau, they were from a different strata of society and could only see the need to get away from that part of town. The

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6081075.post-24198508170947795072007-08-29T17:42:00.000-07:002007-08-29T18:13:53.186-07:00

The Lord is so good. We have prayed and interceded for these S. Korean brothers and sisters for weeks now and God has shown His mercy to all concerned.Early on as we pressed in and the reports of hostages being killed started to come in the Lord spoke of how extravagant His love is for the Taliban fighters who did the killing. As He sacrificed the life of His own Son for us He showed that He is

Brad the Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01341540582023189940noreply@blogger.com0