Hi All,

Welcome home Pauline and kids from you visiting your family in Holland! Sounds from talking to Scott that you had a great time.

Well if your November has been anything like ours, then you've also been experiencing the juggle of work, kids with homework and all their activities, things ramping for the holiday season with all the parties and events that go with this season. Then for some of us guys its been hunting season and trying to squeeze in a few days getting into the great outdoors!

It seems like its been a few weeks since we've been able to find a time when we could all be together as a community. Yet what Esther and I are learning and trying to live is that its not so important when you meet or how you meet, but that we gather in all kinds of different ways to encourage one another in our walk with Jesus as well as to build significant relationship with those who are not yet in the Kingdom. This has been happening through the women's group on Thursday nights, hunting excursions, connecting with parents through our kids school activities, going out for coffee with a friend and sharing the 'deeper' stuff, and so on. The main and the plain as it comes to when or how we gather is summed up in Hebrews 10:24-25 which says "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

So this weekend is another full one for us. On Sunday we have hockey stuff all day and I hope to get out hunting with Paul as the season is quickly coming to an end. We know many of you also have a busy weekend so we thought we would gather with anyone who can on Sat. night from say 4-7 pm. If anyone can make it, please let us know by tomorrow morning. We would have a potluck meal together and then an opportunity for people to share and pray for one another. If no one can make it no worries just let us know one way or another.

Have a great weekend and keep your eyes open through all the activities for Jesus and how he is at work in the most unlikely places and even in the hearts of the most unlikely people.

We want to encourage you all to keep putting your stories about how you are seeing Jesus at work, your devotional ideas, faith questions you have, a poem-come on Beth, pictures or such on this blog site.

We'd also appreciate your prayers for our Matrix to sell this weekend.

Love,

Tim and Esther

Hey One and All,

A quick note to let everyone know that we'll be meeting this weekend at the Pointen's farm at 10:30am on Sunday for house church. Come ready to share around the question: Where do you see Jesus at work in your family, work place, neighbourhood or elsewhere? Where would Jesus being showing up? We may watch a podcast by a guy named Carl Madearis.

We also want to begin to process the questions that I posed in the last blog. Though I can't remember the wording exactly the gist of the questions were: Where are you at with how we have been 'being' and 'doing' church? What do you like about what we have been doing and what would you change? What is God speaking to you personally and for the group?

Pauline and and two of the kids are in Holland for a few weeks. Have a great time Pauline and eat some good Dutch licorice for me!

Love,

Tim and Esther

Hey Everyone,

I'm back from my sojourn in Asia and will be sharing a little bit about the trip this Sunday. Thank you all for praying and supporting me on this trip. I really do feel like our 'small' community is like a mash unit that is being used to draw people to Jesus here and all around the world. It starts by being 'a few faithful forgiving friends' who link arms and travel together in seeing a bit of the dream of His Kingdom coming here on earth. We want to share these missional stories this Sunday. I will share about our friends and extended family in Asia and we'd like to hear the stories of How Jesus is showing up here in Calgary. Then we want to pray for our friends and family who are not yet in the Kingdom, but are close.

For next week, we want everyone to start pondering a couple key questions concerning how we move forward as a community: Where is everyone at with how we've been doing church? What do you like about what we're doing and what would you like to see changed? Are we committed to traveling the next leg of the journey together and what does that look like?

So see all of you who can make it on Sunday. Paul and Shari would it be possible to meet at the farm next week?

Love,

Tim and Esther

BRING YOUR GIFT

As I'm writing this blog, I can see large snowflakes coming down quietly yet incessantly, reminding me that winter is just around the corner! Anyone up for a trip to the tropics? Well in a matter of days, I will be off to the lands of 30 + C. and 90% humidity. The main objective of my trip is not to flee winter, although I do love hot weather, but to follow through on our commitment to keep going back to the same places (fishing holes), and serving people that are dear friends and who have become lifers - those that God connects you with, and who you have the privilege of walking with through valleys and mountain top experiences on the journey this side of heaven. So I will visit Trang, our spiritual daughter and friend to many of you in our community and Andrew and Michelle Ong -Vineyard pastors in Singapore to celebrate the 10 anniversary of their church.

If you've been around me long enough you'll have heard me use the phrase "a few faithful, forgiving friends". In a succint the verse John 15:13 "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." sums up what church is to be like. This kind of friendship is such a rare treasurer, but when you find it, one feels so rich. What Esther and I have found is that there are two ways to find these kinds of friends: Through the passage of time and weathering conflict or crisis together. This last weekend we tasted of it as we had the privilege of being with Paul and Shari - who we've known for a gazillion years and who have walked with us through many ups and downs - as well as Linda Hill our dear friend, as the family had a spreading of Steve's ashes on Moose Mountain. Being there was such an honour. So the long and skinny of it, is that we want to encourage all of you to find your band of faithful and forgiving friends and don't settle for 'church light'. This kind of friendship costs something but is worth more than gold.

This Sunday we will meet at the Schultz abode at 10:30am. Since most were out of town last week, we canceled house church. Thus we will have a bring your gift Sunday - INCLUDING THE CHILDREN! Bring a song you've written or is on your heart to sing, a poem, some food, a story, a Scripture, a painting, or whatever else to share with the group and let's see what the Holy Spirit says to us through each other.

I would also appreciate being prayed for as I leave on Tuesday for Asia. Still praying in some more bucks for the trip so would appreciate prayer on that and if you'd like to contribute let me know on Sunday.

Esther and I are so blessed to watch the friendships that are growing in our community and how people are laying down their lives for one another in small yet significant ways like baby sitting, prayer and counsel, sharing and giving to one another in practical ways such as help in moving or finances. Keep it up and let's invite others into the circle!

Love,

Tim and Esther

Blessed to be a Blessing

Happy Thanksgiving to You All,

Welcome back Paul and Shari from your family getaway down to Disneyland. Sounds like it was just the tonic that you guys needed. Though we didn't have 30+C weather here at home, it sure has been a much desired Indian summer.

This Sunday all those of you who are in town are welcome to our place at 10:30am. Please come prepared to share a gift--a song, poem, Bible verse that is meanful to you, something you have created, a food item to share, a God story, etc. We call it "Bring Your Gift Sunday". Of course, your presence is also a gift. Also, we want to spend some time sharing how God has blessed us over this last year, and offering up our thanksgiving to God, maybe around a campfire in the back yard. After we share how God has blessed us, we want to pray for others in our lives that still haven't met Him yet, so our theme could also be "Blessed to be a Blessing." If anyone wants to stay afterwards, we thought we could keep the fire going and roast hot dogs or sausages. If you plan to stay for that, please bring your own meat and buns and roasting sticks, as well as a salad or some veggies. We want to keep it simple because many of you may already be involved in hosting or contributing to Thankgiving dinners.

I leave a week next Tuesday for Asia, so appreciate your prayers for that as I prepare to go and still prayin in some bucks for the trip. Next Sunday I would love to be 'commissioned' or given the 'left foot of fellowship' out by our community.

Have a great weekend with family and friends,

Tim and Esther

Greetings and Salutations to You All,

Esther and I leave this afternoon for the grand metropolis of Winkler, Man. for our Vineyard Regional Meetings. We'll be gone for the weekend and would appreciate your prayers for safety in travel and over our kids that we have farmed out to friends. Also pray for God's guidance in these meetings as the Canadian Vineyard is in transition from one leadership couple to a leadership team. We would also appreciate favour for us as we continue to communicate what we are doing with our coaching stuff and how it may be of service to churches in the region.

There will be no formal gathering this weekend, but feel free to spontaneously gather or visit another church community or just take some time to get out in nature and enjoy the beauty of the changing leaves.

I would appreciate your prayers as I get ready to go to Asia on October the 19th. The trip is coming together and I have a good chunk of what I need in bucks for the trip, but still praying in $1500. I will be doing some training with the leaders of the Singapore Vineyard, celebrating with them their 10 year anniversary, and then going to see Trang, our spiritual daughter in Vietnam to encourage her. If you want to contribute, you can do that through GHS.

We had a great time at our Mosaic Feast last Sat. So cool to see the diversity in colours, all the great food, and the cool missional stories of how God's Kingdom is breaking in. We had at least 9 different simple missional communities represented.


Have a great weekend and we love you all.

Tim and Esther

Hey All,

Here is a picture of Sparticus the wonderful creation that Esther and the kids put together out of pieces of junk and trash. Pretty cool! So remember this week that God can take any of our mess and turn it into a thing of beauty!

This week we will not be gathering on Sunday, but instead will gather for the Feast on Saturday at 5:30 pm - 8pm down at JLYS with other communities who are part of the MOSAIC.NET.

If you are coming, invite some friends along and remember to bring a main dish, salad, and desert for your clan and enough to share with some others. It will be a time of eating, hearing God stories, ministry, and celebrating the beauty of Jesus found in all the uniques pieces of the Mosaic.

See All of You who can make it on Saturday!

Tim and Esther