TREVOR'S WRITING

You must check out Graham's blog , he is a good friend of mine who has just entered the blogosphere. I have always really enjoyed my conversations with Graham and I always look forward to getting together with him. When we do my thoughts are challenged and provoked and I always come away inspired to be more authentic in my own faith and push the church to do the same. Hopefully he will do the same for you in this venue.

This weekend we had a BBQ at our church. We invited some friends that we know because of Ben's school. It was interesting to bring them into that world (you know...the church world), but what struck me is that we have lived here in Winnipeg (Windsor Park specifically) for 4 1/2 years and this is the first time we have actually invited any adult friends to anything at our church. I have noticed lately that we are now starting to feel comfortable in our community, when we go to school with our kids we know a lot of the kids and their parents, when we go to sports events with our kids we are getting to know a bunch of the families there as well. 4 1/2 years seems like such a long time for us (this is a record for us living in one place) but we are really just starting to build really good relationships with people. I am reminded of a couple things...when we moved to Winnipeg I remember our Real Estate Agent saying that on average people live in the same house for 2 years...also, ...

We had a party at our place the other night for the volunteers that I work with. It is always a great time when we get together, but this time was a particularly good one for me. It wasn't that we did something special or had an amazing time it is just that I realized how much I appreciate the people who volunteer their time to work with me. I realize that this is not an easy endeavor (working with me can't be!), I also realize that they sacrifice a lot in order to give to the young people in our church. They also take the time to connect with our kids and that really means a lot to me. I really appreciate the way they encourage me and even hold me accountable on stuff. The people I work with are just great people who care, and are fun to be around. How can I express my appreciation? Word's do not come easily, but emotion does. Thank you to all of you: Matt and Andie Graham Danae Jason and Pamela Jeff Andrea Quinn Lyla Chi Jordan Phil Tanis Wes and Ashley Andre and R...

Had supper with our friends the other night, they are people that we have met because Ben is friends with their son at school. They are from Sri Lanka, later from Norway and moved to Canada a few years ago. They actually have family in Sri Lanka that was hit by the tsunami and many people they know were devastated by it. As we were about to leave I had a real good discussion about faith with the father (good discussions usually happen when you are about to leave). We talked about religion in general and how God created us for peace and to care for one another, and almost all religious teaching is about peace and love...yet religion is often the cause of war. He is a very smart man and seems to have read up on everything. I really felt a good connection with him and a kinship in the way that he understands religion. They are a devout religious family who happen to worship at an Islamic temple. It's interesting though, I really feel as though we laid the groundwork to understand each...