Tenth Anniversary!

On Feb. 19 2010, Amanda and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. We have had our share of ups and downs. We lost one child in miscarriage, had two diagnosis' of autism and numerous other challenges. We have had to say goodbye to both my parents and we have had to learn how to show love toward one another and to support each other in everything life has thrown at us. I will not pretend that it has been easy, but it has been good. I can honestly say that I am more deeply in love with Amanda today than I was even ten years ago. I have watched Amanda mature and grow as a human being, a wife and a mother. She has demonstrated a realistic and stubborn faith that holds on to God no matter what. She is the best life partner a man could ever ask for. I love her and respect her more than anyone. I thank God for her and I look forward to many more years together.

Part of our anniversary celebration was to go on a Caribbean cruise. We started in Orlando, Florida where we renewed our vows in a beautiful little ceremony led by our friend Dan Mihalic. The cruise took us to Cozumel, Mexico, Roatan, Honduras, Belize and Costa Maya, Mexico. It was a great time away. We had time to spend with each other, get to know each other again and to re-charge our batteries so we can get back into real life. Thanks Amanda for a great time away! Love you lots!

Lent 2010

Lent starts tomorrow. A few years ago, Amanda and I started giving up things for Lent. This is not a legalistic thing for us. It is not that we feel obligated to give up something or that we are somehow earning God's love. There is actually something positive about choosing to withhold things that we normally desire. This year I decided to give up two of the things that I enjoy most: coffee and chocolate (I have chocolate almond coffee beans in my freezer right now). In some ways it will be hard but it will also be a good thing. I encourage people to consider this as a spiritual discipline. If nothing else it helps us to appreciate the things that we normally enjoy.

My Family Day

Today was a holiday called Family Day in Ontario and a few other provinces. I celebrated Family Day in a way that I did not expect. First of all, it was today that I brought Abby back to London after a nice weekend visit. It felt strange to break up the family again on Family Day. For the journey to London I use my GPS. It is not that I do not know the way to London but I like the freedom of taking new ways without any worry of getting lost. The GPS took me on a road that had a sign saying 'No Winter Maintenance, Use at Own Risk.' I have used such roads before and this one did not look so bad, so I made the turn. It was a nice road with very nice scenery. Then I drove past a house and suddenly the snow was deeper and I was headed down hill. As I approached a river, I started sliding to the side of the road. As I came to a stop, I discovered that I was stuck in the snow with an autistic child in the back and no houses in sight. Thankfully my phone worked (just barely as the signal faded in and out). I called Amanda and she called her parents who do not live very far from where I was stuck. Amanda's dad and brother agreed to come to my rescue. They had their own adventure trying to get to me as the end of the road that I was driving toward which was near them was actually blocked off and so they had to come the long way. Anyway, they pulled the van out of the snow and got me to the place where I could go on my own. So my celebration of Family Day was to be thankful for my father-in-law and brother-in-law who saved me from being stuck in the middle of nowhere. Thanks Mark and Paul!

Fall of Jericho

Last Sunday we continued our series on Genesis to Revelation by looking at the fall of Jericho from Judges 6. I saw a number of applications that are relevant for the life of faith today.

1) Preparation - Before they tried to do anything with Jericho there was a time of spiritual preparation. They crossed the Jordan with the ark, set up a memorial and were circumcised. Before we tackle the walls in our lives, we must prepare ourselves spiritually.

2) Assurance - God presented the fall of Jericho as already accomplished before Joshua or the Israelites had done one thing. This is faith, that God has already accomplished what is needed, not that it might happen in the future.

3) Strange Plans - God had a bizarre plan for the fall of Jericho: marching, blowing trumpets and shouting. God's plans rarely make sense but they always work. God's plan of salvation in the crucifixion of Jesus was the strangest plan of all.

4) Success - The plan actually worked! We know that prayer is important but we are sometimes surprised when God responds. Take notice of when God answers prayers.

5) Non-traditional - It is common for people to attempt to duplicate success by doing things the same way. Joshua did not try this plan again with the fall of Ai later in the book. He went to God for fresh guidance. Celebrate what God has done in the past but do not turn it into a tradition to manipulate God.

This message will be on www.meafordbaptist.ca for the next few weeks and can also be found at www.stephenjbedard.com.

Barack Obama and Reinhold Niebuhr

CNN has an interesting article on Obama. Back when George Bush was president, he caused a big stir by calling Jesus Christ his favorite philosopher. Obama took it down a few notches by taking Reinhold Niebuhr as his favorite philosopher. This article has a nice summary of who this theologian was and how he has influenced Obama. You can read the article here.

Ten Commandments

Last Sunday we continued our series on Genesis to Revelation by looking at the Ten Commandments from Deuteronomy 5:6-21. For details on the message, you can go to www.meafordbaptist.ca (for the next few weeks) and www.stephenjbedard.com. The basic idea was that the Ten Commandments must be interpreted in their original context. The Ten Commandments appear in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. The Deuteronomy version was given to a generation that had not experienced (at least in maturity) the exodus from Egypt. Each of the Ten Commandments are based in the importance of remembering God's saving activity and responding accordingly. As Christians, we are not saved by obedience to the Ten Commandments (which we can not fully do anyway). Rather, the Ten Commandments are very helpful in shaping us into the Christ-like image that God wants us to be.

Pope Enters UK Controversy

Legislation is being looked at in the UK that would prevent the rejection of job applicants on the basis of sexual orientation. Churches are concerned as they are afraid that this will eventually be used to force churches to hire gay ministers. While the legislation provides an exemption for ministers, there still is some concern. Now the Pope has entered the debate. You can read the story here.