Sometimes my wife's blog is just too good not to pass along. Like today...

Sometimes my wife's blog is just too good not to pass along. Like today...

Go, Go Google Gadgets

Once again it's confession time, time to let the real me show.
Here it is ... I confess that I am a GEEK. I love my computer. I get excited when Picasa/Google introduces cool new updates. I'm a freak for anything that claims to help organize my day (Google calendar being my favorite!). And more recently, I go goo-goo for iGoogle gadgets.

My latest iGoogle gadget find is "verse-a-week memorization". It picks a verse for the week. On Monday you get to see all the words. On Tuesday they cover up a few. On Wednesday they block out a few more. And, well you get the picture. By Sunday the whole verse is hidden and you should know the verse by heart. Clever. Effective. It worked for me.

With Yana's surgery, Gram in the hospital and me sick with a cold I have had a less than pleasant week that just ended with Justin throwing up on me during church (yeah, it was as disgusting as it sounds). Here's where the truth of God's word meets with reality of my life through the technology of Google gadgets. The verse-a-week for this past week was Philippians 4:6,7

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

God knew just how to speak to my heart. It was exactly what I needed to hear. Everyday as I opened my computer I was greeted with this word of assurance "don't be anxious" "the peace of God will gaurd your heart". Thank you.

You can see the original post at http://robinsaylor.blogspot.com/2009/01/go-go-google-gadgets.html

Wii are family!

Sorry, I couldn't resist making that the title. I have to give a big thanks to my gram, and to my friend James.
Gram gave us money to get something special for the kids.
James called on Saturday morning to tell me the store where he works had one Wii come in.

By lunch the kids were hooked and the rest is history.

So when did my family go from a bunch of little kids learning to walk and read, to 1 girl that has her own blog and website, 2 girls hooked on email and chat rooms, and all 3 kids better at Wii and DS than their dad?

Time marches on, and they are changing very fast. I would not have guessed that we'd be here this fast. But I guess that because I hadn't really thought about it.

But I'm very confident that Robin and I, and the kids, can navigate this pretty well. We'll have to monitor time and create the boundaries and blocks, but I'm encouraged by their ability to discern already. Well, not Justin so much- he still operates on primal instincts.

I'm not concerned because as fun as these things are, and as much time as they can consume without proper monitoring, by kids are still kids at heart. And I hope they are for a long time.

I know this doesn't have much to do with church. I'm just feeling rather fatherly tonight.

Merry Christmas From the Saylors

This week we did a lot of shoveling... sand.
Every time the kids went outside we had to really cover them up... with sunblock.
I really had to bundle up at night... by putting a shirt on.

OK, you get the point- we've had an amazing week in Naples Florida. Southwest Florida has been the hottest part of North America the entire time we've been here. We had one day that dipped down into the 70's (F). (I've been saying all week- I'm with the hottest woman in the hottest city!) We've basically spend everyday jumping between the beach and the pool. The kids play, Robin and I read, I go on a jog. That's a full day for us!

I really can't think of a better way for us to end a busy, amazing, adventure-filled year. This is just what our family needed.

Tomorrow (Christmas day) we jump on a plane and head back to London. And as wonderful as this has been, I'm now eager to get home and get to work on plans for 2009. I'm so excited to see what God does and how it unfolds at Connections Community Church.

I hope to see you all on Sunday the 28th for our end of 2008 wrap-up! (You'll be able to recognize me as the guy with the surfer-tan up front!)

Blessings,
George, Robin, Eden, Karis and Justin

Thanks John...

I'll assume my friend John made this video out of the goodness of his heart. Anyway- I love it!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Christmas Sweater Point System

Official Point System of Sweater Christmaweseomeness:

• 1. If your sweater has a nativity scene = +1 point
• 2. If your sweater has lights on it = +1 point
• 3. If your light is for Rudolph’s nose = -1 point
• 4. If your light is for the star of Bethlehem over your nativity scene = +4 points
• 5. If your sweater has actual bells and whistles from the Polar Express tied on by pieces of yarn = +2 points
• 6. If you can hear the bells = +2 points
• 7. If every time one of the bells rings, you get excited because an angel just got its wings = + 1 point
• 8. If your sweater has Luke 2 written out on it (the entire chapter) = +3 points
• 9. If it is KJV = +2 points
• 10. If it is actually a puff paint sweatshirt, which is really just a Christmas sweater wannabe = -3 points
• 11. If your sweater was knitted from the wool of a Bethlehemian sheep = +5 points
• 12. If you have snowmen/women on your sweater = +1 point for each snowperson
• 13. If any of your snowmen are inspired by Calvin and Hobbes = +4 points
• 14. If it is a maternity sweater that reads, “Mary is My Homegirl” = +10 points
• 15. If your sweater has stockings with your kids’ names on it = +1 point for each child
• 16. If the stockings are your kids’ used socks = -2 points for each sock
• 17. If it has a 3-D hologram of baby Jesus on it = +3 points
• 18. If it has real candy canes on it =+5 points…

How did you score?

• 0-3 points= Sorry to break the news, but you might be a cotton-headed ninny-muggins.
• 4-6 points= You’re rockin’ a mighty fine piece of holiday merriment. Just don’t wear your sweater and your light up reindeer antlers at the same time. That would be tacky.
• 6-9 points= “Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.” –Job 40:10
• 10-12 points= Bill Cosby called. He wants his sweater back.
• 13+ points= You have surpassed the 12 days of Christmas. You are the embodiment of Christmawesomeness. There are probably three men coming from afar to shower you with gifts as you read this.

And then there were 7...

Yesterday my life seemed calm, settled, in control.
Years ago Robin and I made a deal.
Lots of kids, no pets.
Then Robin came home yesterday from our Home School co-op.
And nothing will ever be the same again.
She brought home 2 guinea pigs.
Pray for me.
And pray for the pigs. I hope they really are both boys, otherwise, our basement will look like this in another few weeks...


(The "7" refers to how many mammals are now a part of the Saylor household.)

Jesse Tree, and other random thoughts...

I've been having one of those weeks where I can hardly keep track of everything I want to write!
SO here goes...

Do something for Advent! Advent is the season of preparation for celebrating Christmas. So prepare! Do something for your heart this season! Read the Christmas stories (I'll post them later), listen to the words of the hymns and carols you hear on the radio, and maybe do something like we are doing as a family, the Jesse Tree.





Go to http://www.rca.org/Page.aspx?pid=1628 for an excellent resource. Here's a sample...

November 30
Scripture:	Isaiah 11:1-2
Reading:	God has a plan for everything. Long before Jesus was born lived a man named Jesse. Jesse had seven sons; the youngest was named David. When David grew up, he became a great king of Israel. God had a plan for Jesse and for his son David, even before they were born. Jesus was also part of Jesse and David's family tree, born many, many years after David. People waited a long time for the birth of the savior. The season of Advent is a season of waiting for us, too. We wait for Christmas, the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is hard to be patient, especially when we are waiting for something wonderful like Christmas! But it is important to learn to be patient, and to trust that God has a plan for us, too.
Talk about:	Why is waiting so hard?
Prayer:	Dear God, we thank you that you have a plan for each of us. Help us to be patient as we wait for Jesus' birthday.

There you go- great for kids and grown ups too! You're only a few days behind- get on it!

Speaking of kids,
we pulled out the playmobile manger over the weekend. Best gift ever, thanks Sam and Kim Chez!

This year Karis took it upon herself to teach the Christmas story to Justin. It was enough to make a father's heart burst! But the priceless moment was when Eden tried to get in on the story. She declared that she'd play the role of God. Karis' response..

Eden, there's only one God, and you're not Him!

Speaking of Karis- she turned 7 today! She got an extreme make-over, 7 year old bedroom edition. Robin worked so hard- the girl better appreciate it.

Happy Thankgiving!

My circadian rhythms are crying out for turkey and pumpkin pie. You can put the American in Canada, but you can't take Thanksgiving out of the American!

For all of my life Thanksgiving morning meant the Turkey Bowl, and annual fundraiser where I grew up. Sometimes it included the Turkey Trot- a 10k run that was also a fundraiser. It always meant lots of pie thanks to my Grandma Babe.

One year Robin counted the pies and realized we actually had a pie-per-person for Thanksgiving Day. Now that's what I'm talking about! Pumpkin, apple, peach, blueberry, pecan- you name it, she made it.

While it may not be thanksgiving for many others around me- I am still thankful:

• Thankful for the freedom to be in Canada planting a church. This is the greatest adventure ever!
• Thankful for the amazing things happening in lives through Connections.
• Thankful for my extended family who are so willingly going to feast with us tonight ( I know- it's a big sacrifice to come over for turkey, sweet potatoes and pie).
• Thankful for all the many friends we have made the past two years.
• Thankful that they all put up with, or just laugh at, all my "American-isms."
• Thankful for Dana who gave Robin and I tickets to the Grand Theatre tonight- what an awesome way to celebrate!
• Thankful that I will NOT be shopping tomorrow in the states. So very, very thankful.
• Thankful for my three kids- the greatest kids in the history of kids! Eden, Karis, Justin- You ROCK!
• Thankful for my amazing, drop-dead-gorgeous, frighteningly intelligent, remarkably creative, culinary extrodinare, and most Godly woman in the world wife- Robin. You are my Shibboleth.

But most of all, I am every thankful to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you for loving me, for saving me, for using a man like me.

Being the Church

I just had the chance to help facilitate our ALPHA group tonight.
I didn't really have to be there- the people were more than capable of having dinner and conversation without me. But it was nice to feel needed.
But even better to just join in with a great group of people.

The topic of our video and discussion was the church. At first it felt a little weird (for me) to be the pastor of the church where these folks worship and to lead a genuine conversation regarding church. But all I have to say now is WOW! I think I learned more about being the church from this conversation than half the books I've read on church.

One comment from the video that impacted me and filtered into the conversation was this:

The question isn't are you going to church? The question is, are you going to be the church?

(At least that's how I remember it.)
When we grasp the biblical fact that church is not a building, meeting, or any one group, it begins to transform our understand. We begin to grasp that the church is actually us. It's not about going to church anymore, because we are the church, and the church is us, with us, in us. It begins to get into our DNA, and into the DNA of the people we gather with. It's like a shirt I saw one of our folks wearing:

"The Church has left the building."

Connections is a church because it's people connected to God and one another in Jesus. We aren't a building. We aren't even the church that meets in a theatre. We are the people of God, a holy temple, the body of Christ.

Tonight I had an amazing experience of church, because I was with some amazing people.

I love the 80's

I love the 80's.
I came of age in the 80's
I always wanted a woman from the 80's.
I don't think I even kissed a girl in the 80's.

But now I have!

So what's spiritual lesson here?
How about this:
Good things come to those who wait.

Whatever, my wife is HOT! And I'm so grateful some girls from our church had an 80's party!
PS, "Love is a battlefield"

Happy Birthday to...

ME!
Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday dear meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Happy birthday to me!

Yeah, I still like my birthday.
I can't say it's my favorite "holiday."
It's not really a "holy" day. (At least not in the formal sense.)
But I still like the attention.

So I took my family out for Daddy's big birthday celebration...
$5 pizzas and bread sticks from Little Caesars (the kids idea);
5-pin bowling (the kids idea, too);
Ice cream at the Dairy Queen (you guessed it, the kids idea yet again)!

But it was a great night.
Kids have a knack for enjoying others celebrations.
(Much like my joy in watching our band yesterday! See my earlier post.)
Plus I really enjoyed watching my 4 year old beat my wife in bowling.
Really.
She didn't let him win- he legitimately beat her, and beat both of his older sister too!
That's my boy!

And that was my birthday celebration. Today.
But tomorrow is my REAL birthday- I can hardly wait!

The Proud Papa

It makes no sense, but last night I felt like a proud Papa, even though I didn't really do anything.
Mike Fluit and some members of our music team (Ben, Dave, John, Steve, and Ben on sound) played for an event called "Through The Roof" at the UWO campus center. It's a great event held 3 times each semester and draws more than 300 students.
They worked so hard.
They rehearsed for hours.
They spent the whole day setting up and getting ready.
And they rocked.
But not only did they rock, they worshiped.
And lead in worship in a way I can't even explain.
And I sat back and did nothing.
And I don't know when I've felt more proud of a group of guys.

And it dawned on my that this is being "Wiii Church."
I shared in the joy, I mean the joy, of what they were doing for Jesus.

And that's the only way I know to explain it.
I took joy in what they were doing.
I felt like I was a part of it.
I felt like I had done something.
But all I really did was worship and experience the blessing of what God was doing through them.
And it was awesome.

And I can't wait to worship with these guys again next Sunday.
They amaze me.

Thanks guys,
Jesus Rocks, and so do you!

So much to write...

While I'm generally one to hate qualifying this I say/write, let me say first, sorry for my schizophrenic blog.
Slow days lead to well thought out, contemplative reflections.
Weeks like this lead to online processing to organize my thoughts.

So many of these thoughts will later morph into full blown ideas:

I've had some amazing interactions this week discussing the very nature of the church.
Anyone who knows me knows I'm passionate about the church.
My neighbors are sick of me inviting them to church.
(It's cool, we're all friends)
I love the church! I really believe we're the hope for the world. That said, I'll spend my whole life just trying to get my head wrapped around who, what and how to be the church.
But in the end I'm like a love-sick school boy...

I just can't help myself. I have to have her!

Second, people found us through Facebook! How cool is that. But if you're a regular Connector, please don't link on to our website through the Facebook ad- it costs us, and I want to keep that money in the mission.

Third, I was asked about a "Church Directory." We have a church directory. It's called Facebook. Get online, get signed up, join the Connections group. Then you'll have access to the coolest church directory ever- a fully interactive, instantly up to date place to connect with our community.

Fourth, we also have a way to organize our entire church- Planning Center Online. It's how we do church.

To be a part of any group one must "buy in" at a certain level. To really be a part of Connections folks are going to have to buy in to Facebook and Planning Center. To ask us to communicate and exist in different ways is akin to asking us to change our service from English to French.
Is it ok to have French speaking churches? Of course. That would just be a very different church. Likewise, Connections lives online, and these are our tools for communication.

Fifth- I'm so excited for our Volunteer Round-Up, Connection Group Kick-Off, and our Baptism/Communion service. But I'll have to write more later. If I don't get on my bike for a ride before dinner I'm gonna go crazy!

May God Bless You With Discomfort - LifeChurch.tv : swerve

Craig Groeschel use this prayer to close his talk on "It" at the Summit.

Too good not to share...

It is from a Franciscan Benediction…

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

How is God blessing you?

Olympics Junkies

I hate to admit it, but I can become a major Olympics addict. I try NOT to turn them on as I can quickly be sucked into the most obscure of events.
I was able to catch the last half of the opening ceremony.
I thought it would be the usual bizarre pomp and circumstance.

But what I saw amazed me- and everyone watching.
Here's the amazing story of the man behind it.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/07/asia/zhang.php

We throw the word "creative" around a lot, but this guy really is a creative genius.

Choose Life!

Sometimes my wife's blog is so good I just have to steal her entries!

Choose Life

As we drove to the stone quarry in St. Mary's for a day of swimming (to be followed by dinner at an all-you-can-eat ribs place) Karis boldly claimed, "This is going to be the BEST day of my summer".
It was a pretty awesome day. The swimming refreshed us. Justin was a little dare-devil doing cannon balls off the diving board. We biked the "Grand Trunk" trail. We explored the woods. And we swam some more.
But our mood mirrored the weather. It was bright sunny and warm one minute, and then a big black cloud would blow in and we'd be chilly and rained on. The weather we blame on - well, what do you blame the weather on? The mood - that was a matter of choice. You see, the quarry is VERY, VERY deep, and in order for kids to swim without a life jacket they need to pass an arduous swim test that includes 3 minutes of treading water. Karis was convinced that she could do it, but try as she might she only made it to 1 minute 43 seconds (very good effort!!). So on went the life jacket. And thus began the tears.

"Why would they MAKE me wear a life jacket? How could they be so mean? What would happen if I didn't obey the rules?" She just couldn't get over it. It was now the WORST day of her summer. All this while watching her brother (clad in the very same life jacket) sliding down the slide off the dock, jumping off the diving board, swimming around the rocks.
I was tempted to go in to lecture mode. "Choose to obey and choose life". "The rules are there to give you life." "The rules are there to ensure that you have the BEST day of summer." "The life jacket is not a constraint, it's LIFE". "If you attempt to go without the life jacket you could DIE." "Get over the issue of rules and get on with life." "Obey and Live".
It kind of reminded me of a verse in Deuteronomy after the giving of the law when God says "What I am commanding you is not too difficult for you ... See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction ... Now choose life, so that you and your children may live". The law doesn't kill us - it gives us life. The life jacket doesn't kill us it gives us life and opportunity for FUN. It's not difficult.
It was a good day despite the tears and a few rain drops. And maybe we learned a little lesson.
PS After biking 50 km back from the quarry to the restaurant George got his money out of the all-you-can-eat ribs. (The kids and I drove - he's the only one nutty enough to bike it back!)

Salmon and the Summit

Two totally unrelated things to report.

First, after a night kneeling at the porcelain altar due to some bad salmon several years ago, I recently got back into salmon again.
I should have remember my proverbs, namely, "As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly."
I should have stayed off the pink stuff. I was barfing until 5am last night. I'm still not 100%, but did eat a small dinner tonight. I think I can really say I'm off of salmon forever now.

Second, I'm glad I'm keeping my food down now because the Summit starts tomorrow.
Once again we have a crew from Connections going. We'll be hearing from some amazing speakers and enjoying the experience together.
Which is really what it's all about for me.
I hate reading a great book and having no one to talk to about it.
I never even watch movies by myself- what the point?
And when I think about it, there really are very few things I like to do by myself.
(That's not to say I don't like time alone- just that there are few things I like to do alone.)

The best part about going to a conference as a group is that the ideas can be shared and implemented together. This way I don;t waste my time, and frustration, trying to tell everyone "I heard this great idea," and "We really need to think about doing this..."
We just experience the Summit together, then work through all the great stuff.

You can check out the Summit website if you want to find out more.

Back in the Saddle

After a few days camping last week it's great to be back at it.
Time away from ministry isn't really time away- it only postpones what still needs to be done. But the respite provides needed rest, reflection, and perspective.

So here are a just a few random thoughts:
Prayer is AWESOME! Last night we gathered for our monthly prayer meeting and just a few attended. So we took the opportunity to lay our hands on one another and pray. Let me assure you- if you've never been the recipient of prayer and touch by loving, mature Christian brothers and sisters, you have not experienced one to the greatest joys of our relationship in Jesus. You will be humbled and inspired, you will probably cry, you will receive insights that will astound you, you will feel healing, you will feel encouraged, you will be changed.

Let me also assure you of this- if you have not prayer over someone in this manner you are missing one of the most awesome experiences of the Holy Spirit. In the giving and receiving of prayer we tap into the greatest power available to us.

I love our Connection Group. I can;t wait for Sunday nights, and I hate for them to end. I love gathering together, sharing our lives, laughing, eating, discussing the bible, praying for each other, dreaming about the next steps for our church.

I love preaching. I loved hearing from Ben on Sunday. He did an awesome job. It was very necessary for me to finally sit in a service and not preach (I'll blog about what I observed sometime). But now I'm itching to be back! I was out one Sunday, and yet I feel like I now have the urgency of eternity to make up. But that's what every preacher needs every Sunday- the overwhelming conviction that the message this Sunday is the most important message one will ever give.

I'm a people person. I'll drop just about anything to be with someone. It's also funny to me how much I'm alone. I'll sit in my office for several hours. I have no music on, no distractions, I'm just doing something like this- blogging, emailing, doing some of the necessary administration to keep this mission going. But for me, it's all about being with people. That's what I love. That's what energizes me.

And that's enough for now. I have to go meet with someone!

Gone Fishing

I'm going camping.
In fact my family is already gone.
I set up camp yesterday but came back to town to help a friend work on his basement.
Stuff like that is actually relaxing for me.
Perhaps even therapeutic:
First, you demolish lots of stuff;
Then you make your plan;
Then you get to use cool tools to see the plan come to fruition.

But I digress- now I'm getting ready for three days of camping.
No email, no blogging, no meeting with anyone else.
Just me, my family and an old pop-up camper in God's creation.
I plan to wake up early, read the bible every chance I can get, take lots of praying hikes, and so not to sound too spiritual- I mostly plan to just play with my kids and be in the moment with them.

But hey, the camper needs a bit of work, so that should be fun!

Talk to you in a few days!

Worlds Collide

The other night night my worlds collided.

It was 11:30pm.
Robin and I were watching TV before sleep; The Colbert Report was on; His guest was Bishop N.T. Wright.

The woman I love,
the man who cracks me up,
the contemporary theologian whom I admire most.
It's was like a perfect storm of everything I love. To hold onto that moment forever would be pure bliss.

You can see it here if you wish. I make no promise that you'll enjoy it any where near as much as I did. (You'll have to jump to the end for the interview with N.T.)

http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=173610