It is officially history.

After serving the single girls as home for these last five years the “mansion” is history. With the closing date being the 29th, the keys were handed over to the new owners and this part of CFN life is now history. All of the girls who called this house on 64th ave home while students should take a moment for reverent silence.

Now that the house is gone, all the students living in “residence” call Park Terrace home. We are still prayerfully hopeful that an apartment complex will be built near to school. Join us in the New Year by making that part of your prayer list. We believe that 2006 will be the greatest year ever in the history of CFNBC.

We are still accepting students for the Spring term, up till January 13, so if you know anyone who is looking for a vibrant school to attend, recommend us!

See you in the new year!

The after glow

Of too much good food is starting to dim a bit. We spent the day at our daughters house with the two younger kids coming over after church. Tim is the media pastor at Abundant Life Foursquare Church in Bremerton and is enjoying his new role. He was the junior youth pastor for three years.
Carrie's house was all decorated and cheery with lights, candles and of course her bear collection smiling down on us. Everywhere you look in her place you will see a bear. Some stuffed, some flat (pictures) but most of them the Boyds Bear figures. While we waited for the cinnamon rolls to cook, I made a dash for the “open” Safeway store to get dog food. (that’s another story) and when I returned the smell of hot rolls now joined the other pleasant smells. We settled in to open the gifts, of which there were many and the air was soon filled with the ohhs and awwe’s that you expect on Christmas day.
Everyone was thoroughly blessed and will each thank the givers in their own way.
Ken and Brenda were called and although not in person with us, their voice brought joy and comfort. Brenda blessed us with an original art work, it is beautiful.

Sue and I were doubly blessed with good health and wonderful children. God has blessed us beyond our hopes and dreams.

After gifting, a ham was cooked and the feasting began. We left afterwards to travel to Tim’s to help them clean their old apartment. We were to help them move but as good fortune took over, friends helped them move before Christmas so we only assisted in the cleaning.

We returned to Surrey with our Element loaded down with treats and goodies. I guess I will have to begin drinking coffee as I received mostly coffee centered gifts. Of course I got some music, movies and candy to eat along with my coffee.

Christmas in BC

The Christmas season loses a little for me here in BC. No it is not the "Holiday" vs Christmas debate. It is the lack of snow and the impressive volume of rain. Heavy rain warnings for last night and all today. Ba! humbug!
To compensate for the rain, we close our curtains and turn on the Christmas music, light the tree and enjoy the holiday feeling. One child home now and we will be with the other two (fairly) local ones mid day tommorrow. The two distant ones are with us in our hearts. All in all looks like a wonderful season.
God Bless us everyone.

Musings and mutterings......

My son has posted some thought provoking questions on his blog http://www.iabwa.org/ and draws a few comments about them. Many of his ideas are definitely not of my generation but I understand where he is coming from and respect him for reaching out to a generation that needs Christ. In his last post he made a comment about the "Happy Holiday vs Merry Christmas” argument. He is right in that the whole fight has become rather tedious. But it is only tedious to those who already KNOW that Christ is the reason for this season. No matter what the world decides about what to call the day, those who know Christ as Lord and Savior will never stop remembering to celebrate a day in memory of His coming to earth as a babe. I will always be a bit of a scrooge or grinch during this season for that very same reason. I miss the simple expression of cheer from an open acknowledgement of Christ. To give to others and to graciously receive are both expressions of Christ. He gave so much to us but He also receives from us. Praise, thanks giving, adoration, love. Remember He also received a foot cleansing for a grateful follower as well as a head annointing from an another.
So on this day whether it is a “happy holiday” or a Merry Christmas, smile and be Christ to some one else.

Quietly awaiting Christmas

With the students gone for the holidays it is very quiet around here. The elves (staff) are all busy in their respective offices putting the last minute touches on their gifts for the new year (class syllabi) and occasional seasonally laughter can be heard as they think of the joy these massive work loads will give the students.

Projects put off during the semester are being completed and some extras were added due to the sale of the former female residence. You may remember it as the Nyssen house. Before the sale, some minor upgrading needed to take place. I am currently knee deep in a washroom reno. Just the tub and shower tile, but it involved stripping it down to the bare studs and starting over. Soon it will all be a fond memory. I will post a picture after the job is complete.

Mr B is securing help to move all the furniture into storage until it is needed again. There seems to be lots of stuff left from the former residents but the beneficiary will be the Salvation Army.

Hope all of you are enjoying the holidays and remembering to be merry during this Christmas season.
God Bless

Fall Commencement 2005

Our Fall Commencement was last night. These six represent the one, two and three year programs. Each have plans to continue their education either through internships or at another college. We wish them the best of success and we will miss them.

Rebecca

 
 

Curtis

 
 

Veronica

 
 

DaHee

 
 

Esteban

 
 

Joseph

 
 

Graduates Fall 2005

 
 
Our Fall Commencement was last night. These six represent the one, two and three year programs. Each have plans to continue their education either through internships or at another college. We wish them the best of success and we will miss them.

Leadership Moment

Each Thursday morning before the regular classes begin I meet with as many of the students who are willing to arrive at 7:00 AM. This optional leadership class gives me a chance to address some of the real challenges that face the church today and tomorrow. I am gut level honest with them and they hear many things from me that the other students do not. We talk about successes and more importantly, failures in the ministry. Asking the hard questions at the beginning of public ministry can hopefully, prayerfully make their future more stable. I found an article on another blog:
(http://www.tatumweb.com/blog/)
that outlines the type of topic we some times discuss. It is tragic for the family, the church, and the body of Christ when some thing like this happens.
Follow the link above and read not only the “Update” report but scroll down the page to find the original article.

Weeping, wailing and gnashing of Teeth!

Yep, that’s right. It is Exam time again. The students have blurry eyes from late nights spent over notes. The faculty gathered around the coffee urn and in keeping with the spirit of the Christmas season, agreed it is much better to be giving the exam then receiving it.

Oh the smell of burning brain cells in the morning!

Fun and Games in the Student Center

One of the favorite places to hang out on Campus is the “Student Center.” Here at Christ For The Nations Bible College our lobby has doubled as that place. With the couch pit and the study tables, it almost always has students involved in some activity. With the recent addition of an air hockey game the population has increased to record levels. The sounds of laughter and the banging of the puck as it careens around the table make for a challenging study environment but they seem to be adapting.

The popularity of the foosball table and now the air hockey table have brought up an interesting question. Is it right to allow these games in “a place of study”? After all we are a school, shouldn’t we be preparing these young warriors for life? You will notice I said in A place OF study, not in place of study. The games only offer a break from study not an abandonment of it.

There is much more to life then quiet study. Believe me, many of us would benefit with a tad more “quiet study” but my point is that life is noisy. To live in this life and be an effective witness demands the ability to focus despite distraction. We can’t become hermits dwelling in caves to escape the world. Jesus enables us to live IN the world but not be OF the world.

That is one of the benefits of a small school. Everything all mixed together. Study, music, laughter, games, songs, even prayer all taking place in the same room. And growth is found in every activity.

Instant Snowman

I was sent this picture and although I am not sure where it was taken it shows a smart business man (or women)
 
 

From the Presidents desk

The year is almost over and the time of exams is drawing near. The students are running around in a panic, wondering where they put their notes, crib sheets and assignment lists. The teachers are getting that end of year gleam in their eyes. That one that speaks of late nights spent grading papers, asking that age old question: “Why did I assign this long of a paper again this year?!” If only we could remember this look when we are making up the assignment list for the next term.

The building is decorated and looks great. Mrs B has out done herself this year. Even the old couch pit some how looks better. A new air hockey table has joined the foosball table in the lobby. It is looking more like a student center all the time. With the tables, games, couches and chairs it is a place to hang out after class. The future holds more new items for this area. Who knows, maybe one day it will sport an internet connection, coffee bar and snack machine.

Grad this year is on Thursday. We wanted to give the students a jump on travel for the holidays. After we changed the date from Friday, one of the in-house churches booked Friday evening for a Christmas program. So the building will be filled with cheer and song Tuesday the 13th, Thursday the 15th and now Friday the 16th at 7:00 PM each evening. All are open to the public and you are welcome to join us.

Speaking of “in-house” churches. Let me explain. After many years of absence, this building is once again being used as a neighborhood church. In fact, there are two that meet here. We have a church plant called Westgate Christian Centre meeting here on Saturday evening. It began as a home bible study and when they outgrew the home opted to keep the meeting on Saturday. Small now but growing.

The second church which meets on Sunday is called CrossWay Community Church. They also outgrew their old rental sight and have joined us here. It is exciting to have these two families meeting here. They are helping to fulfill the original vision of the builders of the building. We have alumni in both congregations and hope that some of our students may make a home with them as well.

Drop me a note and if you blog, send me a link to your site. Lets keep in touch.

Productive weekend

It was a shop weekend again this weekend. The shop elf was busy finishing gifts for the upcoming Christmas mail out. I can't post pictures as some may see their gift earily. The boxes should be going out this week. Of course the project list is longer then the time remaining this year. No matter, that is job security. Plans are underway for the spring building season. We will see what finds its way onto the drawing board and then into production. Rumor has it that the Bremerton girl has placed an order. ("Dad, will you make me a....")

Sue was busy this week end as well. Her projects were all finished so she spent the time in study, cleaning and resting up for the upcoming push to the finish.

Jasper continues to learn new words. Now he "excuses" himself and anyone else who coughs or sneezes. Even those on the TV who sneeze are excused. He does not answer the phone from the TV all the time but from time to time he gets it right. The morning is filled with "kiss kiss", "here Brandy", and of course the microwave beep. At times I duck because I hear a large truck backing up. (thank you construction people for that one) Never a dull moment around our place.

And no the lights did not get fixed this weekend.

December, the season of lights.

Most of the family knows that I am not really a big Christmas fan. Sort of a humbug. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, I just don't like to decorate. Well several years ago we purchased a fake tree while visiting in Gaylord in July. That's right, a Christmas tree in July. Well it was on sale and it did fit into our smaller space in the townhouse. I like it because it is not a traditional looking fir tree. Anyway, Last week end while Tim and Rachel were in town for Thanksgiving, Rachel helped Sue to decorate the house, including putting up the tree. That meant an initial investment from me of attic digging but then I was free to relax and just watch.
One of the things owning this townhouse has produced is outside lights during the holidays. There are limits as to when they can be put up, how long they can stay up and so it makes the whole complex seem to burst into well lit brightness almost overnight. While the girls were gone (where else) shopping I decided to surprise them by putting up the lights outside. Tim assisted and I plugged in the lights to make sure they still worked, having strung enough lights on trees to learn this lesson. Once I convinced myself they were still illuminating, I climbed the ladder to begin. I do have it down to a science and with Tim’s help it went along ticketty-boo. I start at the end farthest away from the plug in and began to string. I noticed that there appeared to be less lights then normal but since I take them down, wrap them up and store them together each year how could that be. As we neared the plug end I was convinced that a whole string was missing. Now I use three strings, plugged end to end and I need three because two will not reach from the plug all the way to the end of the eve. You may have guessed by this time that I was short, yes and sometimes size or as in this case, length does matter. So I had to return to the far end take down the lights completely and start at the plug end, running them as far as I could. You may ask why I didn’t start at the plug end all the time. Well knowing that two were not enough and three was way too long I had to manage the leftovers. To do this I would start at the eve end, run past the plug and then double back to it. This left the extra lights in the back of the house where it did not matter. I mean I could not just glob fifty lights into a ball and hang them at the front, could I?
So mission accomplished and lights plugged into the automatic plug, attached to the built in electric eye and I waited for Sue to notice the first time we pulled up in the dark. That’s right this whole “hanging of the lights outside” was a surprise for her. Imagine her surprise when we pulled up to the house at five pm after work and all the lights greeted her. I was already for the gratitude (kisses and hugs) that would come from my thoughtful gesture. Well we pulled up and low and behold was she (and I) surprised. Not only were the lights on but part of them were off too! That is right, despite my checking before hand, only half of each string is lit. ARRRRGH!!! Shasbot!
Now It is raining and snowing and I can only check them in the dark because the stupid electric eye controls the plug. So each day I make an excuse to not fix them and here we are a full week later still only partially in the light. But I am used to being in the dark anyway. At least I feel at home in the dark. So much for my reward.