What a Week!

It has been so long, at least it seems that way to me, since I have had a chance to blog! A lot has happened in the last week. Colleen and I celebrated 15 years of marriage on June 01. We had a great day. I made us lunch and I took it into town and had lunch in the park - it was a beautiful day and we had a great time. Then we had a wonderful supper after Andrew's baseball game. There is no doubt in my mind that marriage is one of God's best creation and I would put it right behind salvation. What a treat to be married to such a wonderful woman. I love her with all my heart and what makes our relationship real special is that we are each other's best friends. I guess I should stop bragging about my beautiful wife, but hey, it is hard not to!:)
Each day as we progress with this move to Lacombe, I am amazed by God's love! On the weekend, Cameron, Colleen and I went to Lacombe and we bought a house. The house was just listed on Friday, and we bought it on Saturday. The people who sold the house to us are going back to Pakistan as missionaries and they were praying for us as potential buyers - our agent, who is also a Christian, was praying too, as were we. Now it seems that everything is coming together and there will be no problems as we work to getting the conditions off the house. We will get possession August 01, unless their visas come sooner. I am starting at the church on July 17 and it looks like we will be moving our stuff into storage around July 10 - anyone want to help? We will come back to Moose Jaw for Braden's and Marsha's wedding and then back to Lacombe to start the next chapter in our lives. There are other stories that I could share with you and I am probably will in the next few days about how God is opening doors for us to proceed to Lacombe.
We also got to attend the church on Sunday morning and the children did the bulk of the service with their leaders. It was a great service and the music was wonderful, the kids did a great job with skits, singing and participating in the service. The people there are so giving - houses and RV's are already set up for us to stay in until we get into our house. We feel so welcomed already and we are not even there yet - but more about that later.
Let me update you on the boys. Cameron won student of the month yesterday at his school. His teacher wrote so many nice things about him and it did make me cry - Cameron exhibits many of the traits that Colleen and I have been trying to teach him - he shows them at school and now we are hoping we will see more at home too!:) We are very proud of him and when we get our digital camera, we will be able to add some pictures and be able to show him off holding his student of the month plaque. It hit me again yesterday, how fortunate we have been to have the boys in such a great school. I know they will miss their friends, but they are good at making new friends and with some of their friends in Lacombe attending the same school, it should make the adjustment easier.
I know that you are just waiting on unbaited breath about what is going on in the boys lives on the soccer pitch and baseball diamond. Both boys are having great games and last night Cameron was our best player on the pitch. He almost scored, the goalie made a great save, he played great defense, was aggressive and hustled all night. Andrew had some great hits last week and made a great defensive play too. His one hit almost went into the outfield in the air and if he had better pitching to hit, I am sure some doubles and triples would not be far behind - I guess it is easy to see that I am one of those annoying parents!:)
Colleen began training her replacement yesterday. I know that it is hard for her. She will miss working for her boss. Joe is a great guy and he and his wife have become great friends too. I am very proud of her on how she has grown in the last year and has taken office management to the next level.
One last thought that I want to share right now and it comes from Ephesians 2:4-5. "Because of his great love for us, God, who is RICH in mercy, made us ALIVE with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions." A couple of things - I often forget that God is a God of mercy - I am trying to show that quality more in my life - and to be made alive - Christians often live like we are dead - God intends us to live life and to love it, but no so much that we forget to seek first the Kingdom of God. I should go.
Later,
Steven
PS - I hope the Oilers are not done without Roloson, but I fear that the team does not have the confidence in Conklin - I know that I don't.