What's in a name?

There is one word that fascinates me more than any other: a name. Your name. My name. The words Timothy Gordon Larson are three very ordinary and common words in english speaking countries. And yet for me, and those who know me (and those who will know me) they are far beyond words. They sum up everything there is that is me! To identify ME, this human being that I don't even understand, all you have to say is Tim, or Tim Larson. And the definition is astounding!! It includes my reputation, what you (particularly) think of me, what you know of me. But it also includes everything you DON'T know about me! Because people are relational and are only understood through that context, you can never know someone fully, since we don't even fully know or understand ourselves ... therefore, we make allowances even in the name we have because it is a word that somehow just means everything that I am at this moment in time. I just find that astounding.

What is fascinating to me is that because God is so much more than even we are, His name is unspeakable; perhaps not because we can't pronounce it, or because He'd strike us down if we didn't say it right, but because everything that He is cannot even begin to be summed up in one word! It's as unfathomable as God squeezing Himself into a little baby body.

Makes me wonder what that one name is we get from God.

Questions and degrees of understanding

What, when, where, who and why... The question 'what' can, usually be answered by description through the senses, down to minute detail reaching beyond microscopic or beyond universal. The question 'when' can be calculated to the milisecond thanks to the cronometer. The question of 'where' can be pinpointed with magnifying dependability with geo-technical data, satellite, GPS. The question of 'who' can be determined through forensic science and description of personality and physical characteristics. The question of 'why' will undoubtedly leave you stupified. Why is that?? I can stand in an exact location at a specific time with a particular object in my hand and myself being the person in question ... but when I ask the question 'why' I am lost, for the deeper I attempt at digging for the answer to 'why' the more lost and ignorant I become. Ask any question with 'why' long enough repeatedly and you will, without certain, be unable to answer it. Fascinating. Try any question: why do I fall to the ground when I tip over? because of the law of gravity. Why? Because gravity is the force that holds us to the earth. Why? because ... the earth rotates and somehow celestial bodies have this law in effect ... Why? I don't know. Or, because God made it so.

I would also wager that the question 'who' is far more complicated than answering it with a name. And that, that question is intricately tied to the question 'why'. Who and why cannot be separated. Because 'why' most all would agree has something intrisically in common with 'who'. We (who) cannot be here (where) for no reason (why). Life has meaning. We have life. We have meaning. But we are fighting to understand why.
I am thankful that I find meaning and understanding so deep that I could never possibly comprehend its vastness, in Jesus Christ, my creator and saviour and king. But to say I know the answer to the question 'why' might be a lie. Even in God's love I am lost in trying to understand these questions and am better off in acceptance of the unknown than in mired contemplation.

Soups On

A story from the town of Hope:

Last Wednesday Cameron showed up for lunch. There wasn't much being offered, except a bowl of soup, a bun and some juice. Cameron knew what to expect because he had been to 'Soups On' many Wednesdays before, so he felt comfortable lining up for lunch as the other 86 kids flooded in behind him. He had run his fastest this Wednesday and made it first, holding his spot until all was ready.
God's creativity is amazing and the Soups On story is still being written. God has opened the door wide in the small town of Hope. He has created a place where high school students feel able to connect and belong through the simple elements of homemade soup and buns.

Six years ago, the Wiens kids began making friends in their new town of Hope and naturally invited them home for lunch. As the crowd grew, Soups On was shaped into a once-a-month offering where all kinds of teenagers have been gathered up and swept along in the crowd that marches to an unassuming house on the edge of town.
One in every four youth in Hope find sustenance, safety and a sense of belonging as the music blares ad the conversation rises above it. These young people have found a place where the arms of Christ have welcomed them into complete acceptance of who they are. Spontaneous hospitality has continued to become an assurance of a warm house, good food and an opportunity to be loved freely.
Alex, the long-boarder, who has graduated and facilitates the homework club at the highschool, loves to share his story with the Wiens'. Aleada, a young girl who felt comfortable sharing the story of her aunt's recent health difficulties; Justin, a young man who packs shelves at the local grocery store: all of these kids and their stories are a part of the on-going narrative of God's awesome plan in Hope.
The theme of this narrative has nothing to do with an event or a mass of bodies but rather the Creator inviting young people like Cameron to add a page of their story into His great book ... all over a bowl of soup.

Peggy Wiens/Pat Wiens/Tim Larson

The passing of Dan Krestinski

At approximately 10:00am Thursday April 13th 2006, our beloved Dan Krestinski, Director of Camp Homewood, my friend and mentor, died at home at Homewood to return home with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Idolatry

The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him." A. W. Tozer in The Pursuit of God

The Morning - for Nana

The Morning

Wind is cold upon the pane; the sun invades to warm
As dew resigns its early hold upon a chill spring morn
Quilts and old clean sheets shot by dusty morning rays
Shadowed hollow closets hiding books of gone-by days

Green and turquoise plaster, paint peeling off the ceiling
Bacon on the skillet and that stomach rumble feeling
Living loaves of risen bread standing in a row
Formed by willing worn out hands below a face that knows

“There is no room in selfishness in marriage Timothy”
I swallow with the eggs and toast and humbly agree
In work there lies a hidden store to cover grief in duty
The tree, though giving fruit, is wrapped in bark against the morning

Tim Larson

Marguerite Porete (c1250 - 1310) on the final stage of enlightenment

"... the soul no longer sees [its] own nothingness from the depths of its humility, nor the greatness of God through his great goodness. Instead, God sees himself in [them] through his own power, enlightens [them] himself, so that [they] see that nothing exists save God alone, the source of all being. What is, is God and the soul sees nothing but God, because whoever sees this of God, is God. So in this ... stage the soul is free, purified and enlightened, but not yet glorified ..."

Sponsor the Larsons?

Consider giving to Camp Squeah this Spring during our annual paddle-athon! This April 22nd/23rd Kari and I will be canoeing the Fraser from Hope to Fort Langley with many others who have raised monies for the purpose of providing payment for young adults who wish to spend their time this summer working with, sharing their lives and sharing Christ with children. If you're interested just e-mail me: director@kawkawa.com . Or, if you'd like more information, check out Camp Squeah's website at: http://www.squeah.com/paddlethon.html.

Seasons

I enjoy: the smell of Spring, the sun in Summer, the colour of Fall and the silence in Winter.

Undercurrents

A recent thought: a woman (and life) are not unlike a river. Both are full of eddies and currents and rapids that one must be aware of. And I only will be able to better be aware of these things as I journey alongside the river (or on the river in a boat). Also true is that what you see on the surface is not a tenth of what is going on down below. And to understand the full depth and pattern of any river is nearly impossible, but it's a great adventure traveling on a river (with a woman for a companion). My advice? Respect the undercurrents!

Paul, Graham and Tim

A tribute to three of my best friends: Paul Kostamo (craziest man I know), Graham Blackburn (renaissance man of grand proportion), Tim Kostamo (most prone man I know; our captain). I'd sail with you anywhere! Let's make it an adventure worth living!

A spin on the good Samaritan

Imagine you're the guy asking Jesus 'Who is my neighbour?' And Jesus describes the good Samaritan story to you. And then Jesus asks you: 'Who was the neighbour to the man on the road?'. You would say, 'The one who had mercy on him.' The Samaritan was the neighbour to the man in the ditch. We are to love our neighbour. We are to love the person who reaches out to help us out of the ditch. We are the ones beaten and left for dead on the side of the road. Don't be afraid or too proud to RECEIVE love and kindess. We all need it far more than we will every realize.

Inspired by a sermon by Pat Wiens inspired by God