running on empty

a follow up on the "bad gas" theme, you know having no gas is worse. I had a car in which the fuel gauge didn't work, it was stuck on E... for empty. So every time I filled up with gas I had to reset the trip button by the odometer and then watch the kms and fill up again every 400km or so. There was a few times when I forgot to do that so I had no idea how much gas I had left, or if I would make it to my destination... because I really may have been running on empty! Whenever we plan to travel a great distance we make sure the gas tank is full so we have enough fuel to get to where we are going, that's common sense right? So before we travel through the different seasons and events in our lives we need be sure our spiritual, emotional, physical tanks are full so we can complete our tasks... because running on empty is dangerous. We have just come through another Christmas season and for me this is probably the busiest time of the year, and I was pretty close to running on empty. But last night we had a beautiful Christmas Eve service celebrating the greatest gift, the birth of Jesus. Later that evening and today I had a wonderful time with my family celebrating and sharing and taking time to relax and recharge. So make sure your tank is full, take time to appreciate family and friends and thank God for the gift of his Son, the gift of life, of joy and of peace... m

bad gas

the other day my work truck began to run poorly, it would hesitate during acceleration and kinda cough and sputter when idling at a red light. We learned that the company got a shipment of "bad gas" that had some moisture in it which interfered with the fuel system and spark plugs and made all the trucks run poorly. Not too long ago I got some "bad gas" of a different kind when I decided to forgo my wife's healthy cooking and dined out on way too much left-over spicy chili and taco chips and other assorted junk food. Apparently my body's fuel system and spark plugs don't react well to too much unhealthy food anymore... let's just say I wasn't running too well that day either. You know "bad gas" can get us into trouble on a spiritual level too. Jesus said that man cannot live on bread alone but we need to fill our minds with healthy things too, like the Word of God, the Bible. Too often we load up on junk food for the mind in the name of entertainment... you know what I mean, movies, tv, internet... hey I do it to and when I get all caught up in the show biz around me the "bad gas" catches up and I begin to run poorly. You've heard the saying "you are what you eat", well it's true, so be mindful what you're putting into your body, mind and soul... peace,m

another day

a few days ago on a cloudy rainy day one of my customers (I drive a delivery truck) commented on it being a lousy day to be out driving. My response was that it wasn't so bad and we need a couple of bad weather days to better appreciate the good sunny days. That got me thinking about good and bad days, you know the sun is always shining... even during bad weather, the clouds just get in the way for us to see it. Sometimes we have bad days unrelated to the weather and we can't see the good that's around us because the bad stuff gets in the way. God's love for us never changes. His Son, Jesus, is always there but sometimes the clouds get in the way and we can't see him. I think we have all experienced this, I mean we all have "bad stuff" in our lives and sometimes it can really cloud things up. But on those lousy cloudy days remember... behind the clouds awaits the sun to shine another day. I wrote a song about this, I'll include the lyrics below...
peace, m

Another Day
(C) 2009 Michael Broersma

I've been lost myself, felt the fear of being alone, an unknown
Could see no way out, like I was wondering round in a maze, mindless cliches
I've questioned myself, when answers seemed so hard to find, for I was blind
Wrestled with my doubts, struggled to make sense of it all, I felt so small

Sometimes it seems unfair and sometimes it's hard to even care
Is anybody there?
I felt my spirits drain cuz I've been caught out in the rain
But behind the clouds awaits the sun
To shine another day

I've been wrong done by, great injustice I've observed, so undeserved
But I've done wrong myself, memories shrouded in shame, no one to blame

Sometimes it's hard to bear, sometimes it's hard to find a prayer
And not despair
The rain keeps coming down and the storms rage all around
But behind the clouds awaits the sun
To shine another day

Sometimes we need to cry and sometimes it's hard to rely
But I can't deny
A faith that can't be seen and the promise all will be serene
When the clouds break way for the Son
To shine another day

lest we forget...

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month we pause to remember those who lost their lives in wars past. We pause to remember the young men and women who answered the call to defend freedom and our country and sacrificed everything in doing so. Canadian soldiers have earned the reputation of being courageous, dedicated and tenacious in the face of some very horrific battles. I am the son of European immigrants, my parents were both born in the Netherlands during WWII. If the Allied Forces, of which the Canadian military played a large role, didn't join the fight and liberate what was then Holland then it is likely that my grandparents would never have been able emigrate to Canada. It it probable then that my parents would have never met and I dare say that I would not have been born. In essence you could say that I owe my very life to those soldiers who gave their lives during the liberation of Europe in WWII. Yesterday at 11am I took time to reflect on that. Maybe it's that I'm a little older and have learned to be thankful for things and maybe watching the repatriation processions on the highway of heroes has brought it closer to home too, but I couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion. I've never seen war or death, only in the movies, but I don't know if I could have done what they had to do. I'm proud to be Canadian and I'm proud of our Canadian Forces both past and present. I'm also proud to be a Christian. This Sunday at Hope Fellowship we're celebrating Communion in order to remember another sacrifice made on our behalf. God sent his son to take our place on a cross to battle sin and death for us... in reality I owe Him my life too. In Christ we have hope, hope of peace and victory over death. peace, m

balloon boy

greetings, I'm sure you have all heard the "balloon boy" story, you know the Colorado family who let the world believe their 6 yr old boy was adrift in a homemade helium balloon. It was all over the news in an instant, CNN was doing live coverage and every media outlet across the continent were giving minute by minute updates... and everyone was in a panic. They had weather and balloon experts trying to figure out where the prevailing wind patterns would take this the balloon and child, or if a child could survive at that altitude or survive a crash. Everyone was talking about "balloon boy" and people were really concerned about this. At my dentist that afternoon they all stopped working on my teeth with each update (ya they have a little TV in the corner of the room but I'm not sure if it's for the patient or the dentist because I can't see anything with that bright light shining in my face and a couple of hands pushing and prying on my teeth anyway... but I digress) and they would gasp at the commentators latest worst case scenario. They're breathed out a huge sigh of relieve and "thank God" could be heard throughout the office when the balloon landed with out a child on board, although then they began to worry if the child had fallen out at some point and the panic started all over again. The next day the world learned this was an elaborate hoax and the father had set the whole thing up for some reality TV show, so all the millions of folks who were engrossed in this story were needlessly stressed and worried for nothing. But we live in an instant information age, we need to know about everything right now and forget the facts. The media buys into this feeding frenzy and fuels the hunger by getting stories out as they happen and if need be corrections can be made the next day. There have been a couple you tube videos recently of the police arresting unruly students and everyone was up in arms about it but we only see a 1 min clip of a 30 min event. Why are people so ready to pass judgement based on a mere 3% of the facts. My point is that maybe we need to step back and look at the big picture once in a while, wait to get all the facts before passing judgement. Sometimes I fear that we expect God to give us instant answers too, we pray or ask for something and we expect immediate results don't we. Read 2 Peter 3:8-9, God's time is a little different than ours and He truly does see the big picture better than we. When we pray to God give Him time to answer, trust that God knows how and when to respond. peace, m

catching up

greetings all... I know it's been quite a while since I've updated this thing, doh! I've had time to come up with a lot of new subject material for the blog but before that I think we have some catching up to do. It was a great summer! I actually had time for some R&R and enjoyed a wonderful camping trip with my wife, although our house was burglarized while we were gone... which sucked but oh well, it's just stuff right? I did get a lot of work done though, we renovated a large portion of our small house, and it looks good. My son (youngest child) went off to Redeemer University this fall which was exciting and my daughter (oldest child) got married earlier this month which was even more exciting! And my wife and I celebrate our 21st anniversary today... and we are both still very happy and we thank God for the many blessings He has given us! Anyway that's enough catching up... promise I'll post more soon... peace, m

significant event

So what was the most significant event in human history, I know what I believe it is but out of curiosity I googled the question. I wasn't surprised that technological developments were high on the list; the first flight of the wright brothers, putting a man on the moon, electricity, atomic weapons. Also listed was the discovery of fire, the development of speech and writing, the introduction of money, and even the extinction of dinosaurs (which I thought was an odd one at first but I suppose it would be hard to co-exist with those big dudes...). Jesus Christ was finally mentioned as being an influence over human behaviour and religion and having both a good and negative impact. As a Christian I would have to say that the resurrection of Jesus Christ has to be the most significant event in human history, for death has been conquered! Through this event we have been granted salvation, forgiveness, peace and hope and without this event what would we have? Would there be any reason to forgive, would there be any reason to hope beyond our own existence? Soon we will celebrate Easter, not the chocolate bunny (and how did a rabbit become the a symbol of Easter anyway?) but God’s gifts to us through compassion, new life and redemption. I pray you all have a blessed Easter with family and friends and to God be the glory! peace, m

winter road repair

Sometimes winters feel far too long and far too cold, but what a joy when spring is finally in the air. Give us a couple of sunny days and warmer temperatures and we already start to feel better. A sure sign of spring for me are the terrible road conditions… the winter thaw plays havoc with the roads and potholes seem to multiply by the hour; some are so big they can swallow up a small import (some GM folk might say that’s a good thing… lol). Then there are the road heaves; dips that form in the pavement that cause a roller-coaster effect… if you’re going fast enough you can actually get airborne! When the weather turns nice we feel that since the snow and ice are gone we can drive at full speed again, but the effects of the cold winter still linger. Driving at full speed will damage your car; ever hit a deep pothole at 80kph? not good. The roads need to be repaired by the municipal road crews (hence the saying Canada has two seasons… winter and construction). Sometimes life is like that too, we survive the cold winters and storms that come up but then as circumstances change and we start to feel the warm sunshine again, we think all is well. However, sometimes there are some potholes left and sometimes there is deeper damage under the surface that has to be repaired before we can fully appreciate the warm spring days again. At Hope Fellowship we will be offering 4 healing services to deal with emotional, spiritual, financial and physical needs, and through prayer try and repair some damaged roads. e-mail me if you want more info. peace, m

looking back, looking forward

greetings all... well, when all was said and done it was a pretty good anniversary party! Great food, great entertainment (a shout out to the Great Wooden Trio, even though they have 4 members, job well done guys!) and great friends! Hope Fellowship is 10 years old now and it was fun to reminisce and share stories of packing up chairs every week, or setting the sound system over and over, and thinking back over some of the wonderful worship services or fabulous pot-luck dinners we have shared. It is good to look back sometimes, even at some of the stuff that wasn't so great... as a church community we have had some tough times too but all of it, the good the bad and the ugly as it were, has made us what we are today. I mean it's no different than your or my personal life, our past experiences help shape who we are. But we didn't really dwell on the past too much, we were challenged to focus on looking forward, and I think that's wise. Now to bring in the truck driver analogy... looking back while driving is fine to keep an eye on what's around you or what's coming up to pass BUT if you don't look forward at all you'll end up in a mess of trouble! Looking back over the past 10 years was a fun time, looking forward to the next 10+ years is exciting! peace, m

OH, here's a collage pic from the grand opening concert... featuring Peter Slofstra, Stonesthrow and the DeVries Family

post celebration let-down

greetings all, I know it's been a while since I've updated this thing... my apologies. I spent a great deal of time preparing and participating in our big grand opening event here at Hope Fellowship in early Feb, which I have to say was a blast and a great time was had by all! But have you ever noticed that after a special event you're left feeling somewhat down, especially if you put a lot of energy into it. You know after a great vacation and you come home and then you get back to routine... it's a bit depressing. Or if you're an artist or performer and you rehearse for a big event and your adrenaline is peaking and you're on an emotional high during the event but then when the lights go down and everyone goes home you start to replay things and start to focus on your mistakes (musicians and artists are by far their own worst critics... most of them anyway, although I know a few who think they can do no wrong... ever watch American Idol... but I'm getting side-tracked... sorry). Well this is the long way around to my excuse for not updating... even after our big event here at Hope I still felt a bit of the post celebration let-down... BUT a great cure is the encouragement of others and then focusing on what went really well, and a lot went really well at this past event. So if this ever happens to you, take time to look back at what went well, look at the positive and celebrate... and forget about the post let-down thing! Oh btw this coming weekend we are celebrating our 10th anniversary as Hope Fellowship... more opportunities to celebrate the positive! peace, m

rubber-neckers

Have you ever found yourself driving down the highway, everything is moving well and all of a sudden bam, you come to a dead stop and your stuck in a traffic jam. For the next 1/2 hour you inch forward, bumper to bumper and finally come up to the cause of the slow down. Why its some dude with a flat tire and Bob the tow-truck guy has stopped with his hazard lights a flashing... and for some reason all the other drivers felt compelled to hammer on the brakes so they could turn their heads to watch this road-side scene. No lanes are blocked, the road is clear, there is no reason for the highway to be backed up for miles, but it is, thanks to the rubber-neckers. And sometimes this causes a real accident, somebody crashes into the car in front that had to slam on the brakes because the rubber-necker ahead had to slow down to look at whatever... they drive me nuts! Now for the life analogy (I can find a metaphor in anything, I thought of this today actually while stuck in traffic). Sometimes there are traffic jams in our life's journey too. Sometimes we get too caught up in the things happening around us, that really aren't blocking any lanes but we stop and look anyway. We get distracted and sidetracked from our goal, from the path that God has chosen for us, from the direction we find from the Bible. The thing is when while we are rubber-necking and looking sideways we can cause mayhem behind us. The people around us, our friends and family get caught up in the traffic jam too and sometimes there is an accident and a relationship is damaged. Stay focused on what is important, stay focused on what God has called you to be, focused on your family, focus on being kind to those around you... and don't' rubber-neck! peace, m.

more pics

greetings and happy new year...

you know, posting pics is much easier than actually writing something... here are some images from the Christmas Eve drama that we did...

the caroler's scene...

our lead actress, Leona, the interviewer

the tipsy man... ya that's me, some say I wasn't much out of character either...

the indignant man... that's a pretty good look for you too Em...

it was a fun play about how we seem to loose the true joy of Christmas, whether we get caught up in our busy lives or are trying to deal with hard circumstances, the point was that sometimes we tend to look for joy in the wrong places. Christmas is remembering the birth of Jesus, remembering family and friends and remembering to be kind and compassionate to those around us. Anyway, it was a fun drama....

the singing was good too!

and the candle presentation to O Holy Night was visually stunning, hard to capture on film but believe me, it was cool...

and this is just my buddy, Rod the schmengi.... hamming it up at the new year's eve service...

new years eve was fun too... we just hung out in our new building, ate some great food, played games and watched team Canada come back to defeat USA at the world junior hockey tournament on the big screen... did I mention I really like hockey... great game! It was a good evening spent with good friends and we look to host more events like it... keep ya posted.

peace, m.