Snowboarding in Saskatchewan- that is not a mountain!

Well this is a simple instalment for my blog.
I went snowboarding at Table Mountain yesterday with my youngest brother, Nathan.
I must say that after snowboarding at Mount Baker in Washington State when I lived in Langley last winter that Table Mountain does not quite do it for me anymore. Nathan and I got bored very fast! Basically every run is the same, except for a novice run that we could go up onto the side and go out of bounds with a bit.
I also must say that it is a lot more fun when I can snowboard with a group of friends, it was nice to have Nathan, but when on a hill such as Table Mountain, the visiting with friends is almost more important than the boarding. I am stubborn though, and after driving 2.5 hours I wasn’t about to turn around and go home after only an hour, like Nathan suggested!
And then I got frost bite on my big toe again! It was a cold day, and we stopped to warm up after an hour and then lunch after two hours, but my feet felt pretty good the rest of the day. So, I was shocked when they were still sore this morning! I guess I need to be careful after my experience of having that toe turn blue and losing the toe nail a few years ago! It was on my foot that was strapped in to the bindings… maybe I should switch feet part way through the day, or not make my bindings so tight! haha
But, it was nice to see some results in my snowboarding ability! It was nice that my brain finally kicked in and I didn’t have to think when boarding. My body just knew how to recover when taking a jump or hitting a rut and losing control a bit. That felt pretty neat, it is so psychological when taking jumps and stuff!
So, I want to buy new snowboard boots and I think it is important for me to get goggles and a snowboard helmet as well. Sunglasses kept getting fogged up and they just don’t do the job. And I can’t convince myself to take risks and take jumps properly, which is probably my wisdom kicking in, so I think I really do need to buy a helmet! Then watch out! haha
Then we were driving through Unity and I was like, “why don‘t we visit the Riesses?!” So, Nathan texted our friend Sheldon and he had just gotten home from Calgary for the holidays! It was really nice to see him and his parents again. It had been about 2 years since I had visited with Ken and Anne. They are such an amazing couple and I always feel so encouraged growing up and visiting with them. Even the first time that I stayed at their house I felt so comfortable and almost enjoyed visiting with them more than my friends who I was visiting! Ken always tried to give us relational advice!
Ended up being a good day if only I hadn’t got the frost bite on my toe!
Does frost bite in toes create bad dreams? I had an awful night last night! haha

Music... such a blessing!

Well, I made it safely to my parent's farm outside of Eatonia today, what a intense, treacherous drive... so foggy! There were times when I could see like 20 feet in front of me... but, at the same time it was a really good trip, has some good music and some really good time just talking with God... I needed that time, helped refresh me! I had some things that I needed to vent about, and other things that I just needed to give to Him and trust Him and others where I can just praise God for how good He has been to me!

But, to the point of this blog...

I know I often write in this blog about sports, there is so much that one can learn and apply from sport, but today I was thinking about music. As I drove back to Eatonia to visit my parents over the Christmas break I was listening to some really great music. Some of it was Christmas music, but not your regular Christmas songs, I love so many of the traditional songs, such as "Oh Holy Night," but some of these newer ones really spoke to my heart today!

An example is "A Christmas Song For All Year Round" by Aaron Sprinkle:

"I wonder if this Christmas
They'll begin to understand
That Jesus that they celebrate
Is much more than a man

The way the world is I can't see
how people can deny
The only way to save us
Was for Jesus Christ to die

And I know that if St. Nicolas was here he would agree
That Jesus gave the greatest gift of all to you and me
They led him to the slaughter on a hill called Calvary
And mankind was forgiven when they nailed him to a tree

But most of all the children
They're the ones I hope will learn
That Jesus is our savior>
And he's going to return

And Christmas isn't just a day
And all days aren't the same
Perhaps they'll think about the word
And see that it spells his name

And I know that if St. Nicolas was here he would agree
That Jesus gave the greatest gift of all to you and me
They led him to the slaughter on a hill called Calvary
And mankind was forgiven
We were all forgiven when they nailed him to a tree

So merry Christmas"

This song is a good reminder of the real meaning behind Christmas. If we look past all the hype and presents we must look to the gift that was Christ. This gift was Christ coming from heaven and being made flesh, so that He could then die on the cross to pay for our sins, so that we could be forgiven! This is often forgotten, but it is good to remember that during the Christmas season.

I was listening to this song on the drive to my parent's house today, I would recommend you listen to it. It doesn't have as much meaning when reading it as it does when listening... I think that is what makes music so special... one can hear a person's heart in the song and it has so much more meaning!

Music is such a gift from God, it is amazing how music and lyrics can really speak to one's soul in such an amazing way! I find that I will be feeling emotions, good or bad, and I can't figure out quite how to express them properly. But, music can express the exact emotions that I am feeling in such a meaningful way! It is amazing to just worship God in the car and just talk to Him about what is on my heart, whether I am excited about something, nervous about the next step, mad at the World, hurting... Whatever the case may be, God can take it, and it amazes me how music can help get that emotion out!

I am so thankful for the spiritual element in music and how it can speak to our souls in such amazing and meaningful ways! God wants us to tell Him what is on our hearts, whether joy, or hurt, and music helps us express that!

God definitely has a sense of humour!

A good story that I got from a friend today.
My friend and coworker, Rosemary, flew to Fort Lauderdale a few weeks ago with her husband for a conference. Well today in prayer meeting she asked that we pray for her luggage. Her luggage never made it from Winnipeg to Florida, and she has been talking to the airline to figure out where her $2,800 worth of clothes etc would be. They keep telling her that it will come tomorrow.
Well, just after we were done praying her husband phoned. It was in Iowa! A lady who had been missing her luggage for a year had a suitcase delivered by hand to her house today. It had been hand delivered from a Carnival cruise!
The Iowa lady said that it didn’t look like hers, but wondered if it was her stuff inside. What the Iowa lady found was Rosy’s stuff, including her Bible sitting on top! The receipt from Parable’s Christian Store was still in the Bible so the Iowa lady phoned them and they in turn phoned Rosy’s husband! How does the luggage end up in Iowa or on a Carnival Cruise is my question!
And another funny thing, the woman from Iowa, her husband helped run the conference that Rosy went to in Florida!God answers prayers… in funny ways sometimes… thought that was a funny story you would all appreciate!

Time for Reflection

I don’t know if anyone ever actually reads my blogs, but I figured I could get a bit more personal on this newest installment. The students all left on Wednesday, so Hepburn has become way too quiet for me liking. This means I will get a ton of work done, but with my brother gone for the weekend it leaves me feeling like I am in the middle of no where all alone. As many of you know, when I have a ton of free time on my hands and time to think my mind starts to spin like one wouldn’t believe. I start to think WAY too much, and can get myself in trouble as I get contemplative and sentimental, etc.

Anyway, I figured that a good way to focus my time would be to do some reading, and reflect on what God has taught me, and also be silent and listen to what He has been trying to say to me all semester!

As I look back on the semester God has been good to me, He keeps reminding me of that. This past semester has been a really interesting one. I have learned a ton, that is for sure, in ways that I was definitely not looking for and did not expect in coming here to the small town of Hepburn to work at Bethany College! I came here thinking in many ways like it was just a simple stepping stone to where God wants me to be in the future, I was looking past this year a lot. I quickly realized that God had other things in mind for me. There are amazing students, faculty and staff here who have built into my life in so many ways. I have really learned how geared I am toward other people. If all I did was my work and then went home and did my own thing, without interacting with the students I would feel so incomplete. But, on the other extreme, this has made me quite unbalanced. I feel like I have been trying to do so many things for other people, working all day and then coaching hockey late in the evening, and trying to hangout a bit with my brother each night before he goes to bed, etc, etc! I want to get re-focused and make some time for myself where I can just sit back and listen for what God is trying to teach me, and to talk to Him. I do not do this close to enough. I have been trying to stay in shape by going to the gym at least three times a week, and this has really fallen by the wayside. And even one of my big focuses has fallen down, visiting with the guys in the dorms! I was in the dorm the other day and a guy made a comment that he was surprised to see me in there! I don’t know how best to find this balance in the busy life at Bethany, but I pray that God will help show me where my focuses need to be and how to combine some of them… anyway, here is what God has spoken to me about lately:

Luke 11:5-13

5-6Then he said, "Imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. An old friend traveling through just showed up, and I don't have a thing on hand.'

7"The friend answers from his bed, 'Don't bother me. The door's locked; my children are all down for the night; I can't get up to give you anything.'

8"But let me tell you, even if he won't get up because he's a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he'll finally get up and get you whatever you need.

9"Here's what I'm saying:

Ask and you'll get;
Seek and you'll find;
Knock and the door will open.

10-13"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing—you're at least decent to your own children. And don't you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him?"

A practical example of this is using basketball… I am not a three point shooter at all, but I told myself that I would keep attempting them today until I made one… usually I can make like one out of five or six, but today I could not hit one if my life depended on it, but I kept pushing at it and finally I made one! That felt so good! I decided to keep shooting until I missed (risky for me, because I am stubborn and like to end on a good note). Well, I made the next four. It just clicked! As soon as I released the ball I knew the ball was in the net. This is a good analogy, because sometimes no matter how hard we try life just doesn’t seem to work the way we want it to, but finally it clicks and just feels right. We need to be persistent in following God’s will for our lives and praying consistently and persistently. He knows what is best for us, and sometimes that is a no, or a wait. These answers are hard, but they make us stronger, and when we finally get a yes it feels so good and right, just like when I finally made a 3-pointer. If I had made the first one then it wouldn’t have felt even close to as good as when I finally made one after so many attempts!

God will grant us our prayers, we must be diligent in our prayers. He has our best in mind though. I am so thankful that some of my prayers were answered with a no, instead of a yes right away. There are others where I still don’t know what the answer is, perhaps it is just, wait. I find that one to be the hardest one of all. I think it is one that I have been learning the last couple of years, but in particular this year. I feel in so many ways like my life is in a hiatus. I am in an interim athletic director role until April and then have no idea where I will be after that. Right now I try not to think about that. God has it in control, but at the same time it is kind of scary. I have moved a lot the last few years, from Eatonia, to Eston, to Regina, to Langley and finally Hepburn. Each place has helped me grow on this journey and I have learned something new and different!

God has His timing, and I know it is right… sometimes it is “wait.” I am not very good at waiting, I want to figure out a solution all of the time.

But, when God finally gives a yes to each of my continuous prayers I know it will be sooo right! He knows what the perfect job is for me, and where I will be of the best service for His kingdom… that could be in Saskatoon, Regina, Alberta, or maybe even a province I have never lived in like Ontario! I want to be open to His guiding! There are always factors that enter in to decisions, but God has continuously put a peace in my heart when he says "Yes" or "Go."

That is all for now…
Jadon "The Rambler" Frank

Marion Jones

I received this from a British man who writes alot on Sport as ministry and worship, Stuart Weir. I thought it was worth posting.

“If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.” 2 Timothy 2:5

I was saddened by the recent press reports on Marion Jones. In the 2000 Olympics Marion won gold in the 100 metres, 200 metres, 4 X 400 metres relay and bronze in the 4 X 100 metres relay and the long jump. Five medals in one Olympics. Now she has handed all the medals back after admitting to using steroids.

Marion was blessed with an immense talent. To be world class from 100-400 metres as well as long jump is awesome. Somewhere along the line she decided to step outside the rules. She made a big mistake and has paid a terrible price.

At one level she deserves no sympathy. She broke the rules. She knew what she was doing. She lied about it. Her actions deprived someone else of the chance of a medal. She is guilty and deserves her punishment. But then there are the words of Jesus ringing in my ears. "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone” John 8:7. There but for the grace of God, go I.

Marion made a serious error and she will regret it for the rest of her life. As Christians let us pray for her rather than add to her condemnation.