Basketball Weekend
It was great to have the weekend free from responsibilities at the church so that we could connect with family. On this weekend we connected with Jennie and Brett and their kids -- in Moose Jaw as Cole was playing basketball with the Birch Hills team. We stayed at Days Inn, ate way too much food, took in three games and hung out and visited together. It was great!  ¶ 7:05 PM 0 comments

  It wouldn't be winter in Saskatchewan withou a cold snap...
... and that's why I have this picture as the background on my computer screen! I feel warmer just looking at it.

This is one of my favorite pictures because it brings up all kinds of memories of camping with with some very special relatives in a spot that has been a family tradition.

When I get back to the Lake on the weekend I will do the next best thing and get a wood fire going in the fireplace.  ¶ 9:06 AM 0 comments

  Jordon Cooper completes appointment at Spiritwood Jordon Cooper has served as pastor of Lakeland Free Methodist Church in Spiritwood for more than a decade. During that time he has travelled from Saskatoon to Spiritwood on weekends and other days to serve the needs of pastoral leadership in that congregation.

During most of that time Jordon has been employed bi-vocationally in a number of other jobs in Saskatoon.

I express personal thanks to Jordon for his good work. I remember well the condition of the church at the time that Jordon began his work there. There have been lots of changes for the better, and no doubt, a few challenges as well.

I wish Jordon the very best in the ways that God leads him and Wendy in the future!  ¶ 2:37 PM 1 comments

  World Relief Sunday Tomorrow, we celebrate World Relief Sunday at the Weyburn Free Methodist Church. I am also using the opportunity to introduce the denomination's missions theme, "Expanding Kingdom Influence Together -- Developing an Ethos of Generosity."

This church is generous already -- but it is a great theme and we need to be reminded often.  ¶ 2:38 PM 0 comments

  The solution to being 'addicted to oil'... China is the world’s biggest producer of bicycles, 79 million units in 2004, of which 51 million were exported. Imports of Chinese bicycles into the EU attract dumping duties. The average unit price was only US$34.5. By contrast, the average unit price of Taiwan-made and Japanese-made bicycles last year was US$164.41 and US$150, respectively. (Source: China Bicycle Association, May 2005).

The People’s Republic of China produces 55-60percent of the world’s bicycles. India produces 11 percent. 86 percent of the bicycles sold in the US are imports from China.

The Chinese domestic market for bicycles is about 22-25 million per year, down from a peak of 40 million just a few years ago. Thanks to government policies of promoting cars, and discouraging cycling, cycle use in China is plummeting, down to 20 percernt of all trips, compared to 33 percent in 1995. The Chinese bicycle industry employs 150 000 people and geneates $1bn a year in foreign exchange earnings. Most of the domestic Chinese bikes are produced by state-owned companies, who wouldn’t dare criticise the official policy to discourage urban cycle use. The Chinese Bicycle Association (CBA) is a branch of China Light Industrial, a government minstry, and its leaders toe the party line, viewing the removal of bikes lanes as a necessary measure for accommodating increasing car use. However, there’s one glimmer of hope: the Olympic village being built for the 2008 Beijing Games is to be criss-crossed by cyclepaths (Source: BikeEurope, February 2003)  ¶ 10:04 AM 0 comments

  If I was at the Lake today...
... I would get my chainsaw out and cut a little wood for the fireplace.

Finally, here in Weyburn, the sun is shining and the temperature continues to stay mild. As I look out of my office window, the thought of cutting wood at Arlington is appealing. Of course, at Arlington there is much more snow, likely more wind, and maybe if I was there the thought of cutting wood would not even enter my mind!  ¶ 3:04 PM 0 comments