A Letter of Grace: Part One

As promised, I've completed a part of a new piece of writing that I said I would post here. I'm going to be posting parts of the letter/story here as a serial of sorts. I've got the two first pages here, and will be posting the rest of the story, two pages at a time. Most of it is sitting here in rough draft - though as you will see this effort isn't exactly in finished form.

Enjoy Part One!

Click to enlarge.

Culture and Grief

I've been grieving for my culture this week for a couple of reasons.

1. I watched a profound film from 1976 called Network. It made me never want to watch television again. It's sad and unnerving to know that a film made 33 years ago speaks so well into today's television-crazed culture.

It's sad when a Jon & Kate plus 8 book is sold in our gospel book stores, and people buy it because they choose into that reality. What good news is this? What truth is this?

2. I saw something on Facebook that I never should have seen, and never ever want to see again. We've all seen dating relationships spark and then fizzle over Facebook, all with the changing of one's relationship status. This week, however, I witnessed the brokenness of a faltering marriage crumble, all in the public forum. My heart broke for both people involved, as it breaks when someone you love suffers. I wanted to delete my account and remove any and all connections with that damned internet-reality because of what it has done to our methods of interaction, communication, and reconciliation. A status update and a comment section have become our marriage counsellors. Mediated communication becomes our main course of communication. I myself have performed the same atrocities of beginning or ending a relationship via an email, rather than person to person.

And yet, despite this chorus of shattering clay pots that I have witnessed, I am meant to be a beacon of restoration, redemption, and renewal for my culture, and so I abide.

Some days are easier than others though.

Typewriting

I've been pounding away on my typewriter over the past couple of days. The back porch seems to be the best place to work thus far - save for the motion-sensor lights that don't sense my movement at the patio table, but I digress.

I'm thinking about posting a letter/story that reminds me of an Augustinian confession. I'm working on the rough draft right now, but once it starts coming together in a polished form I think I'm going to post parts of it on here for everyone's delight and enlightenment on my musings these days.

There's some Augustine. There's some Paul. There's some Dostoevsky.

There's some Toronto. There's some Gros Morne. There's some Napaneee.

There's some mysticism. There's some insight. There's a lot of reflection.

All on typewritten pages!

Keep checking back for more updates.

Finally, a word of congratulations goes out to my friend Andrew, who is a frequent visitor to thedavestonelimited. He became a new father recently! Way to go Andrew, Shary, and newcomer Logan!

Zosima

But the whole scene, which had turned so ugly, was stopped in a most unexpected manner. The elder suddenly rose from his place. Alyosha, who had almost completely lost his head from fear for him and for all of them, had just time enough to support his arm. The elder stepped towards Dmitri Fyodorovich and, having come close to him, knelt before him. Alyosha thought for a moment that he had fallen from weakness, but it was something else. Kneeling in front of Dmitri Fyodorovich, the elder bowed down at his feet with a full, distinct, conscious bow, and even touched the floor with his forehead. Alyosha was so amazed that he failed to support him as he got to his feet. A weak smile barely glimmered on his lips.

"Forgive me! Forgive me, all of you!" he said, bowing on all sides to his guests.

I shared this anecdote from Karamazov with a friend of mine the other day. He felt touched by the story of Zosima, who in the face of utter brokenness, humbled himself beyond reason, and shocked everyone. Zosima's heart broke for the ruin that was both present and laid in waiting for his guests. There are many times when I wish I could imitate his humility.

I seriously cannot explain how profound of an experience reading Dostoevsky has been this summer. So much of what he writes hits me on some deep level, and I feel like I either need to apply it, or it's already happening to me. This has only happened on a surface level with Fitzgerald's writings, and on a life changing level with the gospels. Fyodor falls closer to the latter.

Where have you been all my life? Part 2

Me and some of the 2008 crew!

So after my Newfoundland adventure, I made my way to Ontario Pioneer Camp (OPC).

(Note: you will be asked for a financial gift later on – be prepared)

(Also, I forgot to take pictures, so I can only share stories)

OPC has been a home away from home to me for the past four summers, though this summer was a bit different. Instead of going up in an official capacity, I was helping with the Leaders In Training program in a behind-the-scenes way. I helped set up rooms in the evenings for the interactive “Faithfully Improvising the Christian Story” teaching sessions in the mornings, and helped run audio/video on some mornings (I was working with my new supervisor Nicky who was one of the teachers); I filled in for small group leaders on their days off by sitting in on small group discussions and room groups before the LITs went to bed; I ran a couple sessions on understanding World Religions and a crash course in Church history and our Christian family tree; as well, there were a plethora of errands to do in town, and I often went.

I absolutely love serving the staff and campers of this program, especially because I believe so much in what’s taking place. Teenagers are seeing their understandings of faith stretched and grown as many people give up their summers to care for and mentor them. Many who have never heard of the Kingdom of God get their first glimpse and are transformed. Some LITs began to wonder what it would look like for a divided body of Christ to one day be restored. Others began to see new dreams form around what it means to care for people in their high schools - wondering aloud where their gifts and their communities needs intersect.

An unfortunate tendency amidst the busyness of life is that many dreams that I feel God has laid on my heart get lost in the clutter, so I was excited to see some of my own Kingdom dreams rekindled while at OPC. Some of them are directly tied to Inter-Varsity’s goal of graduating Extraordinary Kingdom Leaders – many of whom I interacted with at LIT. Others were around developing intentional living environments in which life together is celebrated, and the gospel can be lived out amongst those who cherish it and those who have never known it. I’m glad I got a chance to introduce teenagers to faithful improvisers life Henri Nouwen and Jean Vanier, and that those introductions were a catalyst for much inside of me.

So here’s where I am after reflecting upon my time at camp:

I was unable to commit to an actual position at camp this summer because my own funding is not fully in place, which would free me up to partner more with camp (I’ve raised well over half of my budget, but was still short). It was sort of a fluke that I was able to go for a week. Though I am incredibly grateful for that week, it was difficult not being able to be around for more time, and though I enjoyed filling in where needed, I really missed being able to connect more with LITs in ways that official roles allow. This is not a sob story. Instead, I feel more dedicated than ever to develop my support base so that I can commit more time to developing kingdom leaders on campus throughout the year, and at camp in the summers. This excites me, especially because this work/calling/vocation/desire is so closely linked with who I feel God has made me to be!

So don’t be surprised if you hear from me in the upcoming weeks and months about partnering with this ministry! Or if this post compels you, you can donate here!

God is good. Oh so good.

Peace,

Dave

Where have you been all my life? Part 1

And by that, I mean...

You might be wondering about where I've been recently. July has been a quiet month on the blog front; however, the month has been extremely busy and exciting!

I spent close to a week in Newfoundland at a friend's wedding, and the spent a couple of days travelling around the island. Great province!

I flew in and got my hotel room at 2am on a Friday morning, and within 7 hours was on my way up Gros Morne Mountain. I have now climbed 2 mountains in my life: Grouse Mountain in B.C., and Gros Morne Mountain in Newfoundland. The wedding the next day was fun to film (my weekend occupation), and the week after was filled with tons of sight seeing around the province.

Some of the highlights:

Having the captain of the whale/iceberg sighting ship get scared by the humpback whale that surfaced beside us.

Getting my picture taken with an iceberg that looks like it's flipping the bird.

Exploring my Viking side.

Exploring modes of Viking communication.

Finding the small town where I'm going to hide one day and write my great Canadian novel.

All in all, it was a fantastic-though-brief vacation, and I can only hope I get to go back and explore the province even more some day soon. I flew home to Toronto and was in my home at 10:30pm Wednesday night, started laundry, went to sleep at midnight, woke up at 7am, had a breakfast meeting at 8am, then finished laundry and packed my bags and left for Ontario Pioneer Camp at 10:30am.

Stay tuned for the second part of my update!
Peace,
Dave

Fault One: Not Knowing The Official Four Square Rules

Fault two: not liking Four Square...

You're Out!

Alright, seriously, check out this website.  This man featured below is a World Champion.  Four Square is pretty much the greatest sport invented.

Take a Break...

...and watch this in full screen mode.



I love birds.