Uncle Pilo says: "Nice day for a ride. I biked on the road as it was actually safer. The bike path will be cleaned after April 1st.

The pics were taken from my phone-cam."

Paul's first outdoor ride this 2005

Paul and I decided to go for a ride this evening, around 7:00pm, a little chilly, as usual during this time of year. You just have to dress up warm.

Paul says: "First ride of the year, baby! Hella cold, but worth every second. I can't wait to ride with EEG!!"

We had a great ride!!

Fairview Alliance Church Montreal- The Christian and Missionary Alliance Church In Canada

Fairview Alliance Church Montreal- The Christian and Missionary Alliance Church In Canada

Our church schedule for Friday through Sunday

Good Friday Service
Friday, March 25,2005, 10:00AM

Easter Musical Extravaganza: "Worthy Is The Lamb"
Saturday, March 26,2005, 7:00PM

Easter Musical : "Our Redeemer Reigns"
Sunday, March 27,2005, 7:00PM

The Simple Life

We spent a lot of summer weekends camping (and shopping too). There's Wena and Paul, both grown ups now. Grace was, I think, still single then. Rosie, she has not yet met her love, the Royal Victoria Hospital :). And of course, Mom and Dad.

Clowning around while Mom is inside the ER of St. Mary'’s Hospital waiting for her test result. Thank God it was a false alarm, nothing serious - another one of her indigestive digestive attack (go figure that out).
There'’s, left to right, Trish, Dad, Wena, and Tito Lits.
The next or adjacent post shows a much earlier photo, I gave it the title “"The Simple Life"”, circa late 1970s.
I look back and see these photos and I couldn'’t help but be amazed at God'’s mercy and grace in my life as well as the life of the family He’'s blessed and surrounded me with.

Hour of Power- Don't Throw Away Tomorrow - Part XII

Hour of Power

Life is filled with contradictions

So this morning I'm going to give you my thoughts about contradictions. I can't tell you how many people walk away from potentially good ideas because they see there are some contradictions in the dream and they don't want to be a part of it. Sometimes that can be wise, surely on moral or ethics principles. But all of life is full of contradictions, all the time. Look at our society, we are free in America, but we still have to live under law. We're not totally free. Or see the contradiction of people who are so wealthy, successful and honored, yet still feel something is missing and they're unfulfilled. How do you account for it?

Then think of the contradictory orders that confuse us. We're told to "take it easy" but also "get with it." To "be serious" but also "relax!" To "have fun" but also "be good!" To "take a chance" but also "take care!" We're asked, "When are you going to make up your mind?" as often as we're advised, "Don't rush into it."

Even our clichés are contradictory, "Strike while the iron is hot." "Haste makes waste" … or "the early bird gets the worm." And then, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."

There are contradictions in the clashing colors of clothing; in music (minors and majors, point and counterpoint); in architecture (make it strong, don't make it heavy); in physics, there are the contradictions (for every motion an opposing motion). It is phenomenal. In religion, start with Christianity … the Bible is a contradiction (Old Testament, law … New Testament, grace). Justice and mercy, that is the ultimate contradiction philosophically. Jesus is a contradiction (truly man, truly divine).

Notice that international politics is all about resolving contradictions. Or see the contradictions in relationships between mates, between spouses, between parents and children.

Yes, life is filled with contradictions. You are a contradiction. So am I. We're made in the image of God. He is a holy trinity, three persons in one God. I am a trinity, three persons in one, Robert Schuller, the brain that masters my thinking, the heart with its feelings and emotions, and a nervous system. We are a trinity, but we're an unholy trinity with a natural sin that is reflected in the unresolved contradictions in the single human personality. So how do we deal with these many contradictions? [ Rest of the article ]

A Beautiful Day For A Ride

Who could resist riding out today? Mild temperature (-7C), and lots of sun.

Finally, after a couple of months absence from the road, I put on my gear and went for my maiden bike ride for this 2005.

It felt so good to have that cold breeze of air brush my face. What a rush. Now that all my gear is out in the open (from storage- T.Nil has been busy rearranging stuff around here), I look forward to another short but sweet ride tomorrow, slowly building up the stamina and strength, so that by April we can go on longer rides once again.

Yahooooooo!

Monday Monday So Good To Me

It seemed like the week went by like a blur, zoomed right by. Maybe because I was taking my cough medication, nursing a cold, and was mostly like "high" :-).

I had to refuse mom's invitation to have lunch, or was it dinner, at their place for fear of passing my cold to them- not a very good idea for seniors. Seniors, stay away from those who have cold symptoms. You do not want to get what they have. On second thought, I may have gotten it from them when I visited last week, and it took a little time to incubate? Thank God, I am feeling much better now.

Weekly meetings at the church is pretty much the norm these days. We had a leadership meeting last week, a time to be kept up to speed as to what's happening in the various active ministries at the church.

Tita Nil was home the rest of the past week, which is very nice, in many ways. Oh, she read up on juicing and juiced up a storm, putting together various concoctions (veggies with fruits), recipes she found in the juicing book, which is supposed to be good for you and me. It was great Tita Nil. Too bad she's on duty today and tomorrow. I had to be satisfied with toast with strawberry jam and cereal for breakfast, oh, and yes, my cup of green jasmine tea.

Tita Nil is celebrating a birthday anniversary this Wednesday, March 16. The penalty for revealing her real, true age, is death by "kilitation" (a new word, check out the Webster new edition) :-). I am stumped for a an idea. Lord, please help me.

Our Sunday Service was a blessing, as always. We had, as our guest speaker, the pastor of the Indonesian Alliance Church of Montreal, Pastor Gideon Tandirerung. I found out later on that he studied at the Christian and Missionary Alliance Seminary in the Philippines where he also met his Filipino wife, Claire. Looking forward to spending some time with them. He talked about how God is moving in that part of the world, how persecutions of Christians are a common occurrence.

How have I up kept up recently with physical conditioning, with winter still here with us? There's the bike trainer from Oka that Paul and I share. I have also started my daily push ups, aiming for 50 reps this week and increasing that to about a 100 by next week. I feel the need to strengthen my abdominal muscles, firm up the mid section.

Thank God for the quiet times, I get to catch up on my reading (and blogging). I have started re-reading "The Purpose Driven Church" recently. I hope to be able to establish a small group that would meet weekly and study the "Purpose Driven Life". Both books were written by Rick Warren of the Saddleback Community Church.

More later. Meanwhile, may the Lord bless you and keep you, may He make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. Amen!!

Monday Monday So Good To Me

It seemed like the week went by like a blur, zoomed right by. Maybe because I was taking my cough medication, nursing a cold, and was mostly like "high" :-).

I had to refuse mom's invitation to have lunch, or was it dinner, at their place for fear of passing my cold to them- not a very good idea for seniors. Seniors, stay away from those who have cold symptoms. You do not want to get what they have. On second thought, I may have gotten it from them when I visited last week, and it took a little time to incubate? Thank God, I am feeling much better now.

Weekly meetings at the church is pretty much the norm these days. We had a leadership meeting last week, a time to be kept up to speed as to what's happening in the various active ministries at the church.

Tita Nil was home the rest of the past week, which is very nice, in many ways. Oh, she read up on juicing and juiced up a storm, putting together various concoctions (veggies with fruits), recipes she found in the juicing book, which is supposed to be good for you and me. It was great Tita Nil. Too bad she's on duty today and tomorrow. I had to be satisfied with toast with strawberry jam and cereal for breakfast, oh, and yes, my cup of green jasmine tea.

Tita Nil is celebrating a birthday anniversary this Wednesday, March 16. The penalty for revealing her real, true age, is death by "kilitation" (a new word, check out the Webster new edition) :-). I am stumped for a an idea. Lord, please help me.

Our Sunday Service was a blessing, as always. We had, as our guest speaker, the pastor of the Indonesian Alliance Church of Montreal, Pastor Gideon Tandirerung. I found out later on that he studied at the Christian and Missionary Alliance Seminary in the Philippines where he also met his Filipino wife, Claire. Looking forward to spending some time with them. He talked about how God is moving in the part of the world, how persecutions of Christians are a common occurrence.

How have I up kept up recently with physical conditioning, with winter still here with us? There's the bike trainer from Oka that Paul and I share. I have also started my daily push ups, aiming for 50 reps this week and increasing that to about a 100 by next week. I feel the need to strengthen my abdominal muscles, firm up the mid section.

Thank God for the quiet times, I get to catch up on my reading (and blogging). I have started re-reading "The Purpose Driven Church" recently. I hope to be able to establish a small group that would meet weekly and study the "Purpose Driven Life". Both books were written by Rick Warren of the Saddleback Community Church.

More later. Meanwhile, may the Lord bless you and keep you, may He make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. Amen!!

Monday Monday So Good To Me

It seemed like the week went by like a blur, zoomed right by. Maybe because I was taking my cough medication, nursing a cold, and was mostly like "high" :-).

I had to refuse mom's invitation to have lunch, or was it dinner, at their place for fear of passing my cold to them- not a very good idea for seniors. Seniors, stay away from those who have cold symptoms. You do not want to get what they have. On second thought, I may have gotten it from them when I visited last week, and it took a little time to incubate? Thank God, I am feeling much better now.

Weekly meetings at the church is pretty much the norm these days. We had a leadership meeting last week, a time to be kept up to speed as to what's happening in the various active ministries at the church.

Tita Nil was home the rest of the past week, which is very nice, in many ways. Oh, she read up on juicing and juiced up a storm, putting together various concoctions (veggies with fruits), recipes she found in the juicing book, which is supposed to be good for you and me. It was great Tita Nil. Too bad she's on duty today and tomorrow. I had to be satisfied with toast with strawberry jam and cereal for breakfast, oh, and yes, my cup of green jasmine tea.

Tita Nil is celebrating a birthday anniversary this Wednesday, March 16. The penalty for revealing her real, true age, is death by "kilitation" (a new word, check out the Webster new edition) :-). I am stumped for a an idea. Lord, please help me.

Our Sunday Service was a blessing, as always. We had, as our guest speaker, the pastor of the Indonesian Alliance Church of Montreal, Pastor Gideon Tandirerung. I found out later on that he studied at the Christian and Missionary Alliance Seminary in the Philippines where he also met his Filipino wife, Claire. Looking forward to spending some time with them. He talked about how God is moving in the part of the world, how persecutions of Christians are a common occurrence.

How have I up kept up recently with physical conditioning, with winter still here with us? There's the bike trainer from Oka that Paul and I share. I have also started my daily push ups, aiming for 50 reps this week and increasing that to about a 100 by next week. I feel the need to strengthen my abdominal muscles, firm up the mid section.

Thank God for the quiet times, I get to catch up on my reading (and blogging). I have started re-reading "The Purpose Driven Church" recently. I hope to be able to establish a small group that would meet weekly and study the "Purpose Driven Life". Both books were written by Rick Warren of the Saddleback Community Church.

More later. Meanwhile, may the Lord bless you and keep you, may He make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. Amen!!

I look forward to those late evening walks along the promenade in the Old Port of Montreal. This was after a sumptous dinner at one of our favorite Chinese eatery in downtown Chinatown. The Old Port is only a few minutes walk from Chinatown.

Pastor Dave's Official Installation As Cobourg Alliance Church's Senior Pastor

Indeed, it is official, Pastor Dave is the new senior pastor at Cobourg Alliance Church (CAC), Cobourg, Ontario.

We drove to Cobourg, Ontario this past Sunday, March 6,2005 to witness Ps.Dave's installation and the official welcome to the Smith Family. After the service, refreshments were served and there was an opportunity to meet and talk to some of the leadership at CAC. A couple of the leaders shared their experiences during their Senior Pastoral Search. I talked to one about Praise and Worship (I lead as well as belong to a P&W team at FAC).

Rev.Doug Wiebe, District Superintendent for the region, officiated and delivered the sermon this past Sunday. I felt some sadness, and it felt strange, when Pastor Dave and Barb were called up on to the platform and 'sworn in' (if I could use the expression) as the Senior Pastor. For over 8 years he (Ps.Dave) was our Senior Pastor at Fairview Alliance Church (FAC). Our Lord Jesus Christ took me, my wife and children under His wings through Ps.Dave's obedient answer to God's call to pay a house visit to an ailing mother-in-law (Nil's mom passed away March 5,1997) way back March 5,1997.

In some way, there was closure; it is real, he is not my, our, senior pastor anymore.

We had a lot of catching up with Ps.Dave and Barb, so we went to a newly discovered (to replace Pavillon Wong of Pointe Claire- Montreal) Chinese Buffet in Port Hope, located a few minutes drive from their new home. After lunch, we stopped by their place for a tour of their new home before driving back to Montreal, a good 4.5 hour drive.

Continuity in relationships is part of our Lord's plan. Ps.Dave and I have developed, I believe this truly, a special kind of friendship only the two of us would really know and understand. He's played many a role in my walk with our Lord. One of this continuity in relationships involves my eldest daughter Pam. My eldest daughter Pam and Ps.Dave's eldest son Allen are engaged to be married this October 2005, Lord willing. We'll be truly family- Praise the Lord for that!!

Blowing the birthday candles - We love you Pammy girl!!

Pam celebrates her 25th birthday. L-R: Allen, Pam, Nil, Trish, Paul, Mom, and Dad. Phil.1:3 Pam!

Experimenting with the Macro setting, Flash disabled. I am reminded of the message on the sticker I have on my guitar case: "Life is short. Pray hard!!"

The Father's Love Letter

The Father's Love Letter

Faithful Father

Faithful Father - Brian Doerksen

This song was in the making over a 2 year period as I was working on the musical “Father’s House.” I returned many times to Luke 15 to meditate on the story of the prodigal son and there found love I couldn’t explain and the inspiration for this song. If true praise is given in response to seeing and experiencing something good, then this song of praise is mine for every time I fail and I see the Father running to meet me.

Over the years this song has been used in worship services in various churches. It also forms the soundtrack seen by millions for the original “Father’s Love Letter” Video on the popular website fathersloveletter.com, a site devoted to sharing the Father heart of God.

I continue to believe that the revelation of God as Father needs to form His people into a living ‘Father’s House’ on earth, a safe place where we all learn what it means to be sons and daughters of the Father in heaven.

My sister Rosie turns 40

We had a surprise birthday party / celebration in honor of our sister Rosie who turned 40 this past February 24,2005.

Our youngest sister, Wena, and husband Mike, hosted the shindig.

Here'ssssssssssssssssssss Rosie!!!