The Dance of the Mumby Mobile

Well, let's back up and start at what I did yesterday. Yesterday I hopped in the mighty Mumby Mobile and drove over to Red Deer. Where I got healed. This nasty sickness that has been hurting me finally came to an end. It is all thanks to the Torwalt healing pool, otherwise known as their hot tub. A few of us were in there for an astonishingly long time.

So long that I had to stumble into the shower and blast myself with cold water because I thought I was going to die. Then I stumbled into bed and layed there for a long, long time still thinking I was going to die.

I decided I was hungry so Bryan and I went to Denny's and now everything is better. I think that by nearly killing myself I killed the virus first.

Then I had the world's greatest sleep. Which was nice. Because I got back into the truck the next morning (today) and drove the most intense, stressful, worst ever stretch of winter driving I have ever done in my life.

I have driven in a lot of bad conditions. Nothing compares to this. After I crashed my truck I got out and literally had to hold onto the door of the truck because there was so much ice on the road.

Yes, you read that right... after I crashed the precious Mumby Mobile. Since I was driving in the middle of a near white-out blizzard I was already going slower then normal. It was about at that moment that the Mumby Mobile decided it loved the winter wonderland and started to dance freely in the pretty snow.

You must understand that while driving the Mumby Mobile in the winter you pretty much always have the back end fish tail on you. This is not an unusual occurance. You just left off the gas and drive gently through the "fun".

Not this time. The dance began. Mumby Mobile suddenly swerved left. I left off the gas and rolled my eyes. The Mumby Mobile swerved right. I began to worry and corrected the stearing a bit. The Mumby Mobile then decided to take this dance to a whole new level and pulled a triple axle right down the middle of the highway complete with screaming tires and bashing into the safety rails that kept me from rolling down the hill.

I joined the dance by yelling, "OH S**T!!" and then "Jesus, HELP!!"

I decided I'd toss both of those nice sayings out there and see which one would be honoured. The "Jesus HELP" one I think saved my life or at least the life of the Mumby Mobile for something very, very strange happened. As I was spinning around and around I bounced off the gaurd rail. I should have continued bouncing but I suddenly stopped. If I had not stopped I would have been t-boned by the cars that were right behind me.

I honestly thought that my back bumper got stuck to the guard rail, or that my tires had blown out because I stopped so suddenly in a direction that I shouldn't have been able to stop like that. I tried a few times to get my truck back into the right position, but the thing wouldn't budge.
So I got out to see how the heck I was going to unhook my bumper from the rail. I looked back there and... nope... it wasn't hooked. There is a fantastic new (deeeep) dent all down one side, but the bumper was not tangled. I scratched my head and wondered why I was not able to move forward at all.

I then looked at my rear tire and noticed something that totally boggles my mind. In the back of my truck we have a bunch of cement blocks that give it more weight so stupid stuff like this doesn't happen. "Somehow" one of those blocks managed to climb out of the box and get wedged perfectly in front of my rear tire, causing my truck to come to a complete stop and not bounce back into highway traffic. It was wedged so perfectly, that I couldn't even drive over it. I had to remove the cement block with my hands before the truck could go again.

I guess those cement blocks are in there for a good reason after all.

Some nice guys in a welding truck stopped and had ran down to my truck yelling, "Holy (swear words) are you alright man??"

I was perfectly fine. They helped me turn the truck around to face the right direction and then I was off again. Driving off through the worst winter storm ever.

Luckily I had the family cell phone with me so I called my parents, Aaron and Bobbie and Peter to pray for me. That got me through and I even ended up leading a large train of vehicles through the storm. I thought I might have been going too slow, but there were a few places to pass and nobody moved from their place in the line.

I prayed like mad that the snow would stop. I told the weather, "You can do what you want but you can't snow and there can be no wind until I get to Taber." The snow stopped, the wind stopped and the roads actually began to improve.

Once I got to Devon and Kristi's house it wasn't even five minutes and the snow hit like crazy.
I made it! Took me forever, but at least I got here. And now the Mumby Mobile has some extra character marks on it. I just need to find a new tail-light cover. The bulb didn't break... just the plastic.

Thus ends the most stressful drive of my life.

Fun Times...

The day of bass went very well. It would have gone much better if I was not rather ill the entire day. A nice head cold/crazy weird random seering pain shots sickness thing is trying to settle into my body. I am fighting it with prayer, suppliments and our always beloved Tylenol PM.

I am sitting here waiting for my PM to kick in before I crawl into bed. When I not totally doped up large portions of my joints/skin absolutely KILLS... so I'm waiting for the buzz to set in and then I can creek myself into bed. I've been feeling this since Wednesday, so I'm about ready to not feel it anymore.

And tonight I will get all better because I am supposed to leave for a week in the morning. Oh dear.

Anyway... I'm rambling... I think the PM is starting to work. The evening was really good. Peter hit a home run in the worship factor and I had a blast. The crowd was really conservative, which is something that I am not used to nor do I understand at all. I can appreciate the choir that sings songs with french horns and other such instruments, but really... is this all that Christianity has to offer to them?

Why come to a worship even to sit there and watch? I don't understand it and I really don't understand why people do it. In the words of Damien Rice, "Why'd you sing Hallelujah, if it means nothing to ya?"

But there was a large contingent of people who were into it. And they populated the front row. And promptly freaked the heck out of everyone. These people come from a church called Spruce Grove Community. Worship in Spruce has basically no rules, no guidelines and if the thought comes into your head you go and do it without a second guess. Let's just say that the worship times at that church are... lively?

So worship starts. It's the fast songs. They are fun and exciting. So what does the front row do? What they always do at church! Come on, doesn't everyone worship like this? The breakdancing begins, the other strange whatever style worship dancing begins, they're jumping all over the place and basically going nuts-o for Jesus. This is good. I like it. I then look at other people and question why I've never seen such shocked looks on people's faces before.

Worship continues. More fast songs. So what does the front row do? What they always do at church! Come on, doesn't everyone disassemble the entire front of stage decoration of world flags and start whipping them around everywhere during worship? Oh dear... you should see the size of those shocked eyes now... they're almost as large as the wide open mouths.

It did provide a great deal of entertainment from my vantage point on the stage. Especially when they formed a line of perfectly timed dance moves including a powerful thrust of the flags into the air. The decorator people didn't take this into account and did not glue, staple and tape the flags to the poles so a few of the flags when flying off the sticks and one guy in particular was waving around a stick for a while before noticing his flag was decorating the ground.

But what do you do when the flags fall off their sticks and fall to the ground. You crumple them up in a tight ball and chuck them into the air as high as you can! Come on, doesn't everyone worship like this? Surely the highly conservative representatives from that nation would be greatly impressed with our treatment of their flag.

But then I looked around as the worship time progressed. Suddenly a few more people then just the front row were going for it. A few were in the isles dancing away. Some decided to clamp their mouths shut and close their eyes and actually... RAISE THEIR HANDS... and they worshipped for a while. It was nice to see.

Others, I'm sure, are going to have amazing stories to tell when they get home. I would LOVE to hear their take on the worship time. I know I loved it, but I'm used to that kind of stuff. I am also used to being in many different styles and flavors of Christianity from travelling so much, so I always find it funny when one "flavor" blasts off without any notice of anyone else around them. Really... I authentically find it hilarious.

Another cool thing for me last night was to be able to revisit the very same location where I first met the Holy Spirit. Hall C of the Shaw Conference Center. That was one serious power encounter that lasted for a long, long time. I was nailed to the floor and I will never forget the way the ceiling looked. It was nice to be able to go back into that hall, look again at the ceiling and remember how it all began for me.

It was nice to walk the halls of that conference center, to remember the electric feeling I'd have in the parkade underneath Canada Place, to feel the excitement. One day when I'm rich I'm going to rent out Hall C again. I may invite people, but for a good portion of the time I'll be there by myself in deep and humble gratitude for the God who invaded my life with all His power late one evening. It is nice to be able to visit the physical place where God stepped down and became the living defenition of real in my life.

After I'm doing being alone with the Holy Spirit then I'll invite a bunch of Jesus lovers to join me and they can get tons of flags and go as crazy as they want. I'll be going with them all the way.

A day of bass

Today will be a good one. I have to get my butt in gear (that's a strange term if you think about it) and get ready for my day. Why? Because it is a day full of me playing my little bass guitar. Or Arby as my aunt named it.

We start the day at Peter's church and practice our brains out at 11:00. This is with a band that has played together three times. This morning will be the third time. Luckily everyone is really good and knows how to play music so we have instantly clicked and amazingly sound really tight.

After our practice that will go for however long we then change venues to the Shaw Conference Center at 4:00pm for our sound check. That will take a few minutes and then we hang around for the evening to begin. It is for this thing called Missions Fest which is a huge trade-show style conference that is filled with mission organizations, speakers and the whole bit. We are playing for the young adults evening and I'm really looking forward to it. Any of you in the Edmonton area should come out! It starts at 7:00pm and I think it costs $5.

Our venue is Hall C which looks pretty darn cool, if you ask me. Hopefully it gets filled with crazy Jesus lovers and we have a wild time.

Anyway... I need to go get ready. I'll update you later on with how it went...

Retro Boogie Dance Party

I was just flipping through the TV chanels and it just so happens that on Much More Music right now there is an incredile show on. The Retro Boogie Dance Party. I am in awe. Currently Rod Stewart is belting out, "If you want my body" and I can't believe what I'm actually watching.

I'm amazed these people thought it was cool. Well... the music is by far cool and is waaaaaaay better then the majority of the pop stuff we got now. But the rest of the package... it frightens me. Only because I want to live in that time period so badly.

I still regularly listen to the 80's power ballads. I honestly enjoy the 70's and much of the disco stuff. Who couldn't?

I really don't have much to say right now, but I did want to get that aweful last post out of there.

Yeah.... one day I'll write funny, exciting stuff on here again. At least I'm not talking about chicken tendons this time.

25 Cent Wings

Peter and I have been trying to get to the Sorrentino's lounge for a while now with little to no luck. They have amazing different coffee's and cool snooty desserts so I like it there. Plus it's ultra relaxing which is always good.

Last night we tried for it, but with little success. We neglected to factor in the holiday that was yesterday. Family Day. We arrived at Sorrentinos a mere five hours after it had closed for the day. So what do you do when faced with such a situation?

You go to the pub down the street.

We went from ultra relaxing coffee with the super wealthy of St. Albert to beer and wings. Oh well. It was still good. Especially because we discovered the $3.95 pints of Honey Brown Ale and 25 cent wings!! That's amazing, folks!

So we went overboard as usual and got 30 wings between us. Upon discussing which flavors we should get we both agreed that we don't want to get the hot wings. Hot wings have a nasty effect on me the next morning. Lava poo I think they call it.

We decided to get the tried and true Salt and Pepper wings, the Jack Daniel's BBQ wings and for something a little forgien we got the Carribean Jerk wings. I had no idea what they would be like, but thought... Carribean... warm... beaches... ocean... must taste tropical.

We got the wings and my eyes immediately started to water when I smelled the Carribean Jerk wings. That's not tropical, that's poisonously hot! Of course I had to try some... many of them... and I LOVED them. The heat was rather extreme and I think Peter has blisters on his tongue, but I really liked them. Until I bit into one wing and the tendon snapped the meat back out of my mouth and hung there and I nearly dry heaved.

Hmmm... this isn't the most pleasant entry I've ever done, is it?

That about ended it for me. And the realization that I was eating INSANELY hot wings and forgot about the nasty effects the morning after. Oh well... what can you do?

I think I'll take a pint of Pepto next time.

Sushi and a Coffee

I have been entering the realm of sushi these past few days. And I mean sushi. Real sushi. Big slabs of raw fish. It's incredible.

This is a very strange occurance for me because I used to HATE sea-food. Really, really hate it. But somewhere along the lines that all started to change. Now all I ever want to eat is sea-food and I basically have a constant craving.

Three days ago I was in the grocery store with my mom and noticed the spicey salmon rolls. I liked those, so I bought some. They are great. Cooked salmon, mind you, but they are amazing all the same. The next day instead of staying in Grant's store, we stepped out across the parkinglot to a Japanese place and I finally did it. I got real, authentic sushi. Lovely, lovely raw salmon.

I thought I may hurl at first, but then I tasted it. All I can say is "WOW!!!" That stuff is soooo good.

Later that day I was with Peter and I told him about my newfound love of Seafood. To my surprise Peter tells me that he also loves sea food, especially sushi! OH YEAH!! Now I got someone to get sushi with.

Now let's focus on today. We spent the afternoon together. Had an Americano and then decided to cruise around Spruce Grove. Quite the place, let me tell you. But Peter did happen to mention that there was a great sushi place just down the road. So we went. And this time got the big slabs of raw Salmon, Tuna Belly and other such things. I was in a state of pure bliss.

And then he told me the most disgusting story of some sort of Maki roll that was full only of fish eggs and I totally lost my appetite. I was doing so well and nearly lost control of my insides. I didn't think that story would upset me that badly.

Thankfully that was right at the end of our raw fish feast so I didn't have to fight the mental images the entire time.

I think I've found my two new passions. Espresso and Sushi. Oh baby oh baby.

It's Minus 50 Million

It is so freaking cold out today. The worst part is we have been plunged into the cold. Normally up here where I'm from in Canada it will get progressively colder and you can kind of get used to it. But this winter has been bipolar at best. It doesn't know what to do or how to feel. We go through a few days of wretched cold and then back up to glorious warmth. Then we'll hover around freezing or just above for a while. Our bodies just don't know what to do.

Well... the weather took a serious dive today. When I woke up it was negative 27!! For all you American's that works out to FREAKING COLD!!!

We've not been able to slowly get used to the idea of it being freezing so this is somewhat shocking at best. Mom and dad have their trip to Pheonix planned out at the perfect time. It will be a season of character testing for me. I say the hotel resort thing they are staying at and if I get through this weekend without thinking evil, bitter thoughts I have decided I will be a much, much better person. They can sit by the pool, hear the crickets, get hot rock massages all they want. My character will be profoundly improved.

I think I'm going to crawl into bed now and slip into delightful escape through sleep. Warm sleep. To think... I was going to buy an electric blanket this year to help me through the winter. I didn't need to. Until tonight.

Okay... I am officially stepping off the track of sticking to any sort of structure in this entry and I have to start talking about electric blankets. As amazing as they are, doesn't the idea of an electric blanket kind of creep you out? Your wrapping your body in something that it plugged into the wall and then sleeping as currents of electricity zap around your body. That just doesn't compute somewhere up in the rational area of my mind.

Luckily that area of my brain is very, very small so I'll go and get one tomorrow and sleep blissfully.

The Kelowna Recap

Once again I find myself in front of the computer trying to figure out what just happened on that last trip. It was profound to say the least.

I was very honoured to be invited to be a part of the Canadian Prophetic Council. It was surreal to say the least. Here I was sitting right alongside people like Wes and Stacey Campbell, Dave Hubert who is from the birthing of the Latter Rain movement, the president of Women's Aglow in Canada, the president of End Time Hand Maidens and Servants in Canada, David Demian was there for a bit, others who are leading significant prophetic moves of God in and around Canada, one guy had even seen a dead raising where he is from. It was a bit of a whirlwind in the head.

Something I was continually shaking my head at is how once again I was able to be with some of my heros. I have always really looked up to the great heros of the faith, past and present. And I am in constant wonder at how somewhere down the road I find myself actually walking with them. Wes and Stacey Campbell are no small potatoes in what they are doing in the world. I love their CD's and their ministry. And suddenly I'm standing on a stage with them, or having a joking converstation with them as friends? This is too wierd.

It was wonderful to see my California Pastors again. Bill Johnson and Kris + Kathy Vallotton were there. I was able to have dinner with Kris + Kathy and chatted for a few moments with Bill. Before Kris left he prayed for me for a while and that was life to my soul. To hear words from them of how proud they are and to be encouraged by them was very significant for me. I miss them so badly and I miss my California home like crazy and to get a few moments with anyone from there is so life giving.

I even met a fellow graduate of the School of Ministry that I went to and he lives in Coaldale of all places!! That is a tiny town in the southern parts of Alberta. So hopefully he will be able to bring a crew to the 48 Hours of Prayer in Taber where I will be at as well. Mom and I had dinner with him as well and that was really cool just to talk with another fellow graduate and to hear his story and journey.

It is amazing to watch the timing of God in everything.

A highlight of this last weekend was during the Eyes and Wings conference they got the Canadian Prophetic Council up to the front and proceeded to inform the 1000 or so people present that we would be prophesying over everyone. Remember the CPC isn't that big. By this time in the weekend there were about 20 present. So we lined up at the front and the 1000 or so people lined up in huge lines in front of us and off we went.

We got through at least 500 people in just over an hour. That was wild. I was somewhat overwhelmed looking at the huge lines, but decided to put my head down and do what I am put here on this earth to do - to call out the gold, to launch people into destiny, to encourage and support and to be used to release the power of God into people's lives so that they will never be the same again.

I thought it was neat because how often to people have a chance to do this? Here was high level prophetic voices not just doing the one or two people that we pick out from stage, but whoever wanted it could come. Stacey was right in the middle of the scrum prophesying just like the next person would. It was so cool to watch. It felt like a family and it felt like the way it always was supposed to work. There was no high and mightyness. There were just a bunch of people who really wanted the Lord and we were all going after Him in the way we knew we were supposed to.

Then at the end of everything Faytene and I discovered that we were mistaken on how many people came to the last Cry. That is the event we were putting on in Ottawa on July 15. We thought there were maybe a couple thousand. So we were hoping for 3-4 thousand. Then Stacey informed us that last time there were nearly 10,000.... uh-oh... so now we're aiming for something like 25,000.

Imagine that!! 25,000 young people crying out for their nation!! 25,000 young people in fervent intercession all day long. 25,000 young people to assemble and then take this fire back to their homes, their cities, their schools, our nation. Oh God, let it be. He will have dominion in our land.

I'm off to see the Wizard...

Yeah...

I have that song stuck in my head right now. "I'm off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz!" I hope it's not a bad thing that tomorrow I hop in an airplane to go to the Canadian Prophetic Council. Will the be offended if I sing that song during the roundtable?

I suppose there is only one way to find out! hahahahaha... Maybe I'll refrain.

Speaking of wizards I had an incredible chat at my haircutting place this afternoon. We got down and dirty in the spiritual department and I got grilled on what I believe, why I believe and even asked for pointers in being more spiritually aware. The whole time I was sort of freaking out because I knew these people had no concept of Jesus or the safety found in Him when entering into the spirit realm.

I was able to bring it back there a few times and really hit the REALITY button hard and I am praying that went home with them. Either way, everyone will be thinking a great deal. I even got to interpret a person's dream and they FREAKED OUT because of the accuracy! Yay God!
So I say speaking of wizards because I got to see how far into what we would call the "new age" some of these people are. They wouldn't say their into new age stuff... they're just self aware, or they are intuitive. Call it what you want, I find it incredible the natural hunger and desire that everyone has for the supernatural. It's everywhere and everyone experiences it. The hunger is massive, so why not dish out the good stuff?? If they hear about Jesus or not I am trusting that the heart of what I shared was right and that the spirit was in Truth and they will find their way there.

Each time I leave that place I know I have them scratching their heads saying, "Okay... what is a christian again because that guy sure doesn't fit the parameters that I've always believed."
Baby steps forward.

So I will be off to Kelowna tomorrow and fly back home on Sunday. I get to see a bit of the countryside when I fly home. For a few seconds. We have to make a connection in the Vancouver airport in 30 minutes!! That means I have 10 minutes to get off my plane, book it to the next gate and get on the next one. I used to be able to do this when travelling with Randy, but 30 minutes was the bare minimum usually that we had. Usually we booked ourselves in for a 45 minute layover and just made it.

We'll see how it goes! I just noticed it on my ticket the (lack) of time we have in Vancouver.
I should be in bed now. At least I'm not doing what I usually go and book a ticket out of Edmonton at freaking 6:00am. I'm leaving a little later in the morning this time!

Pray for me and I'll let you all know how it goes when I get back!

My Faithful Readers!!!

Oh boy, have I ever let this blogging thing go. It's been three days since the last update!! GASP!!! I must get back into it.

Truth be told there is so much going on in my head I'm kind of concerned that nothing will come out properly. There is lots going on to say the least. This whole TV show thing, the whole MyCanada thing, more ministry stuff all rattling around in my head. Thankfully I do know this guy named Jesus who just so happens to be God and we get along nicely. He helps me through stuff.

I've noticed that when things start going crazy or when stuff gets hard it's okay to set it aside for a while. I've noticed that it doesn't run away or get worse if you put it aside for an hour or two. And in those hours you can be with Jesus. I have also noticed that if you never set these things aside they will always be there and that time you try and spend with Jesus just won't work out. Interesting how that works. Put it aside... you can pick it up later to work on it.

I got the schedual for this weekend in the e-mail box today. It made my nerves shoot straight through the roof. Which is somewhat unusual for me. I don't really get all that nervous pretty much ever. But this weekend is a big deal. I thought I would be able to hide somewhat, but nope... if you could see the schedual they have a part dedicated all to the new people being invited to the Council and there are only three names on it. Mine would be one. Oh dear. There goes the whole hiding thing.

This is for the Canadian Prophetic Council, in case you were wondering. BUT... there are some incredibly good things in the schedual. One being spending a lot of time with Bill Johnson who just so happens to be my California pastor! Yay!! And I got an e-mail from Pastor Kris today saying how much he was looking forward to seeing me in Kelowna as well. I'm so excited for this.

Plus, in case you were worried, Faytene and I will be doing yet more footage so I can make an even greater fool of myself in order to broadcast it across Canada and across the internet waves. I suppose if anyone saw the trailer that I have a link to in the last post, then I don't need to worry about acting normal in front of these people. I already blew that out of the water.

But as I am typing I am coming back once again to the realization that all I need to be is myself. God made me this way. I like who I am. I'm comfortable with who I am. If I were to be different then God would have made me different. My job is to get in there worship Jesus like never before, fall even MORE in love with him and be myself with these people. I like that.

Wow... I'm not feeling the nerves as much as I just was. Thanks blogland for listening!! See... blogging is good for the soul.

It just passed 1:00am so I think I'm going to crawl into my bed and see how Frodo is doing. I'm halfway through the Lord of the Rings again... so good...

Highly Unusual

I woak up this morning and I had no idea what day it was. That is a strange feeling. And I really mean, I had absolutely NO CLUE what day it was. I sat there for a while and tried really hard to figure it out and it wouldn't come clear.

Then I remembered this fantastic invention called "the calender".

Mom and dad are off to Toronto until Wednesday. I have the homestead all to myself in these days. I wonder how productive I will be? Currently it is almost 11:30 and I am still in my pj's and haven't showered. But it is Saturday so that is alright.

I have something to share with you. It is a little bit of a video. You must watch it. Because it's funny. Let me know what you think...

Click here and enjoy!

History Be Changed

And forward we go. Ever forward. Sometimes the hill goes straight up. Sometimes it goes down. Sometimes it is easy. Other times it's hell. The weather makes it easy, if you like the rain. The sunshine makes a good friend. Just follow that line.

Dust ain't that bad. If you brush it off. The scars heal, the fear gets fun and the smiles just go deeper. That's the thing about going forward. You never know exactly where you'll land. That mountain may seem far, high and hard but that next step is a breeze. One by one, we'll make it.

There is nothing like the wind in your face. Hear the sound. Feel the strength. Taste the goodness. Stop and look around every once and a while. Don't miss the adventure of it all.

History be changed. Every foot-fall. Every day. Every star that shines on you. History be changed. It's yours to mould. It's yours to paint with. It's yours to have. History be changed.

Cheap, rip off post

Hello One and All

Yeah... I'm skimping out on this post. It is already an hour after I wanted to go to bed. My contacts are burning. My brains aren't working. How can we sleep while our beds are burning?

The weekend was incredible. So incredible that it turned into a weekend and half a week... and I tacked on another city. Called Calgary. With video tape. And Faytene nearly gouged my eye out. But we caught that on tape, so hopefully you'll see it soon.

I'm going to bed now.