*Pastor Mike’s Garage, July 29/21*

So I thought for this PG I would just explain what’s happening next
weekend, August 6-8. As I hope you know already, we are once again gonna
have a church family camping weekend. It will be held in Brad
Speidelsbach’s pasture. Trust me, it’s a pretty sweet little spot! It will
go from Friday evening till Sunday afternoon. Below you will see a
schedule.

There is no power or water service out there so if you have one, I’d
suggest bringing a generator. There will be an outhouse and a large tank of
town water to wash hands and cook with, but parents, please monitor your
children so the water doesn’t get used up for other less necessary
purposes. It is out in a pasture across a field, most vehicles shouldn’t
have any problem getting out there, but I wouldn’t bring your Lamborghini!
For the Sat evening meal, we will be eating together and having a potluck.
Neil Paulgaard is smoking a large roast for that, so the meat for that meal
for the most part will be covered. If you haven’t had the privilege of
tasting one of his famous smoked roasts you are in for a treat! We will
have a service both Saturday evening and Sunday morning, Dave Wicks Sr will
be joining us as a guest speaker for both services so I’m really looking
forward to that! There will be no Sunday service in town. After the service
on Sunday, we will be having our annual church picnic. Hamburgers, hot dogs
and drinks will be provided, feel free to bring a salad or dessert to
compliment the meal.

I know many people have been asking for the last two years when we
were gonna do another one of these. They are a real good time of growing in
fellowship as a church family and I would encourage you to come as much as
you can! There are a number of us who will be staying out there for the
weekend either in campers or tents, but it’s only a few miles from town for
those who would rather drive back and forth. It will be a lot of down to
earth fun! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me
or Pastor Dave. I will be sending out directions to the site in the coming
week, looking forward to hanging out with you there!

Pastor Mike

*GAC Camping weekend extravaganza 2021!*

*August 6,7 and 8th*

Friday-7:30 Rider Game tailgate party on the big screen

-fire down by the lake/sing-a-long?

Saturday-Alvin’s pontoon boat rides

-2pm Pastor Dave’s Adventure Walk

-6pm potluck supper

-7:30 evening service- Dave Sr speaking, Mike Z leading

-mug up!

-fire down by the lake/fireworks?

Sunday-10:30AM morning service-Dave Sr speaking, Rachel D leading

-12pm church picnic

-Alvin’s pontoon boat rides

*Pastor Mike’s Garage, July 22/21*

I want to start this PG by thanking Rachel Kardash for introducing the
song “You Are The Lord” this last Sunday. I’ve been humming and singing it
all this week. It reminds me of the many times the people in the Old
Testament made covenants promising to follow God’s leading. Unfortunately,
as many times as they promised to follow, they invariably turned away to
follow their own way.

As I mentioned in my sermon on Sunday, I’ve been reading through the
historical books lately. This week I read the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
They both give account of when a remnant of the people of God returned from
captivity to rebuild the city walls and tabernacle in Jerusalem. Because of
their continued disobedience God allowed them to be conquered and led away
to slavery, and the city of Jerusalem, where the temple of the Lord that
Solomon built, was totally destroyed. Many years later in the time of Ezra
and Nehemiah some were allowed to return to rebuild the city and resume the
worship of the Lord. Prior to their destruction they were a world power.
Well over a million strong, with an army that, seemingly under God’s
leadership, no-one could defeat. The temple was lavish, most everything was
gold! It was said that world leaders came from far and wide to look upon
the beauty of Jerusalem. Yet just a few decades later only 42 thousand were
allowed to return to rebuild the city out of whatever they could scrape
together. Upon the completion of the temple and city walls they had a great
celebration and Ezra stood before them all and read the law once again. It
says they had a massive time of confession, and then once again committed
to following the leadership of their God. It was during this account that a
part of a verse stuck out to me. It’s found in Nehemiah 9:29 “They did not
follow your regulations, by which people will find life if they only obey.”
Wow, this is just as true today as it was the many centuries ago it was
written!

Unfortunately, I can relate to these people all too well! I’ve had my
mountain top experiences, times of refreshing, and seasons of walking
faithfully. I’ve also had my valleys, times of despair, and I can stray and
walk in disobedience as quickly and as much as anybody! That aforementioned
passage ends with these words, “What a gracious and merciful God you are!”
I will close by quoting a verse from one of my favourite hymns. “Oh to
grace, how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be; Let thy goodness
like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I
feel it, prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, Lord, take and
seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.”

Pastor Mike

Hi everyone,

Hot enough for you? It’s toasty to say the least. When Liz and I lived in
the Philippines many people would have a siesta at about 3:00 in the
afternoon. In fact we were in Manila once doing some work on one of our
Visas and had to stand in this long line to get this paperwork done. After
being in line for a while we got to the front and then the lights were
dimmed and all these people put their heads on their desks and took 20
minutes of shut-eye. When I enquired they said, “Siesta sir!”

Well if you see me lying by the side of the road these days around three,
don’t disturb me cause it’s Siesta time!

This past week I took a few days of holiday and went on a little road trip
with my son Mason. It was a great time just spending quality time together,
having fun and talking about life and connecting with each other. He’s an
amazing kid and I am so proud to be his dad. We ended up spending our time
staying in Eston and exploring the area around there. We fished, we swam,
went for hikes, watched Star Wars, ate fast food and talked a lot about
growing up.

I spent grade 8 to 12 in Eston and then 2 years of Bible College there. It
was kind of surreal talking about growing up in the place where I did quite
a bit of growing up. It struck me how amazing God is and how faithful he
has been in my life, despite my wanderings through the years. It also
struck me how quickly life moves on. I left Eston when I was about 20. 25
years later I am back, halfway through I hope a full 90 years of life and
my son is just beginning his, and I still feel like I am just getting
started in life.

Ephesians 5:16 says “making the most of every opportunity, because the days
are evil.”

Moments passed by (as some of you know) turn into days, weeks and then
years and without the move of God and his kingdom growing in and through
us, evil will creep around and find its way into our world. That’s one of
the reasons I spent this time with Mason. Before you know it, he’ll be
grown up and I won’t have this chance.

And I know that there were many people who prayed for, invested in and
touched my life. They took time out of their lives for me.

Who might need you in your world today? Who might need a call or a visit or
a conversation? What might need to be dealt with now before it’s too far
along? Don’t squander the opportunities you have been given!

Blessings,

Dave

<www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>
Virus-free.
www.avast.com
<www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>
<#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

Just a reminder that we will be serving coffee and cookies outside the
church at 9:30 am this Sunday. Feel free to come by early for some
fellowship!

God bless,

Pastor Dave

<www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>
Virus-free.
www.avast.com
<www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>
<#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

*Pastor Mike’s Garage-July 8/2021*

Are you ready to get back to normal? What is normal? Will the world
ever really look like we remember it? Should it? Thinking about the
advertised lifting of all Covid restrictions reminds me a little of when I
was 15 waiting to get my license!

Now I was a farm boy, I was driving vehicles before I was 10! At
fifteen I already owned a couple vehicles of my own! I got my first
speeding ticket when I was just 15! We were on a trip to BC and I was
driving while both my parents were sleeping. I can still remember the
officer suggesting to my parents that seeing as I was a learner driver, one
of them should probably stay awake to supervise my driving habits! In the
last few months leading up to my 16th birthday I can still remember how
time seemed to stand still. I was sure that a meteorite would hit planet
earth ending the hopes I had of finally gaining the vehicular freedom I so
dearly longed for! You know the feeling! Trying to patiently wait for
something long anticipated and dreamed for! Or to be reunited or restored
to a place, time, or person that you dearly miss! At times it seems like
the day will never come! Whether it be the many firsts- car, license,
girlfriend/boyfriend, house, dream trip, marriage, end of Covid, and the
list goes on- at times we wonder will it ever come. We think once this
happens, then, finally, my life will be complete! But you also know the
feeling in the days, weeks, and years after achieving that long-awaited
event. Somehow life never turns into the peaceful, joyous utopia we
anticipate it will prior!

The reality is there is nothing in the world or life that can truly,
fully, fulfill and satisfy the deep longing in our souls! We must fix our
eyes one the one who created us with the purpose of having communion with
Him. Psalm 107:9 says “*For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry
soul He fills with good things.” *What are you pinning your hopes, dreams
and desires on for fulfillment?

Just a heads up for those not emersed in Facebook culture who may not
be “in the know”! We are doing a church camping weekend Aug 6-8 in Brad
Speidelsbach’s pasture overlooking Cullin’s Lake. It’s a pretty sweet
little spot, should be able to fit 12 or 13 campers in there, several have
spoken for a spot already. We are planning on having a potluck and
fireworks Sat eve, church picnic Sun aft. There will be a service Sat eve,
and Sun morn down there and Dave Wick Sr will be our guest speaker. We
would absolutely love to have you come stay the weekend either in a tent or
camper, but its only 10 miles from town if you want to just come join us
during the day. If you have any questions or want to reserve a spot please
contact me! It’ll be a *little bit of redneck,* but a *lot of fun!*

Pastor Mike

<www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>
Virus-free.
www.avast.com
<www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>
<#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>