Mercies Anew

This is a song that the choir had specially commissioned for someone in our church ...

Mercies Anew

Commissioned for Evelyn Loewen by FBC Choir

Written by Mark Altrogge and Bob Kauflin, Arranged by Larry Nickel

Ev’ry morning that breaks there are mercies anew.

Ev’ry breath that I take is Your faithfulness proved.

At the end of each day, when my labours are through,

I will sing of your mercies anew.

And your mercies they will never end;

For ten thousand years, they remain.

And then this world’s beauty has passed away,

Your mercies will be unchanged.

When I’ve fallen and strayed, there were mercies anew,

You sought me in love and my heart You pursued.

In the face of my sin, Lord, You never withdrew.

I will sing of your mercies anew.

And your mercies they will never end;

For ten thousand years, they remain.

And then this world’s beauty has passed away,

Your mercies will be unchanged.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

when the storms swirl and rage there are mercies anew

In affliction and pain You will carry me through

And at the end of my days when Your throne fills my view

I will sing of Your mercies anew

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

And then this world’s beauty has passed away,

Your mercies will be unchanged.

at the end of my days when Your throne fills my view

I will sing of Your mercies anew

I will sing of Your mercies anew

Putting a Face to Tragedy

Because the links often disappear from the net, I am copying and putting the local paper's article here.

Mike's journey ends in fatal misfortune

By MATT KIELTYKA, 24 HOURS

A disabled homeless man is found murdered at an elementary school.

For most people, that's all they'll ever learn about Michael Nestoruk.

The 41-year-old's life before his grisly death Thursday has been an enigma to police, but a snapshot of the man taken two years ago reveals much more.

In February 2007, Nestoruk contacted 24 hours months after a photo of him - sleeping at Victory Square with his beat-down wheelchair by his side - was used on the cover.

Seeing himself as the poster boy for homelessness turned out to be a shock to Nestoruk's system, and a huge motivator as he battled to reclaim a normal life.

"I was pissed off because there I was exposed to everyone," the fiery father of two was quoted in "Back from abyss," a feature that ran in 24 hours on Feb. 27, 2007. "It's the only picture of me on the street and I thought 'what are my kids going to think when they see this?'"

He was estranged from his wife and his two children.

With the help of two B.C. Paraplegic Association outreach workers, Nestoruk dragged himself out of a drug-addicted lifestyle one step at a time.

He received a new wheelchair, a prosthetic leg and became an inspiration to others as he kicked a destructive drug habit and joined the province's wheelchair tennis team.

Spring Cleaning for (of) the Soul

This month's theme for the bulletin board at work is "Spring Cleaning for the Soul". This has various meanings. First, it is Spring!! (Yipee!) that means that flowers will soon bloom and things will grow and the earth's beauty will be changed yet again.

It is also a time to clean out the junk in the house, closet, or desk and get rid of what you don't use, need or want. It is said that a good rule of thumb is "if you haven't used it in 6 months, you likely aren't going to." So get rid of the papers, get rid of the "skinny jeans" that you hoped to loose enough weight to fit into, get rid of books that you aren't going to re-read, get rid of clutter. It will make you feel better in more ways than one.

Cleaning for the soul is therapeutic. Cleaning out the junk that you trip over, the piles that manifest.. it frees you when you get rid of or let go of "things". The other "soul cleaning" is your emotional, psychological, and spiritual well-being. Is there stuff that you hang onto? Things that you wish you would/could change about yourself? Things that you don't want to see/know about yourself? It's time to take this stuff out, look at it, examine it, and understand why you are keeping it. It could be a thought about your self, leading to low self-esteem; it could be a grudge against someone from way back when, leading to anger and bitterness; it could be a negative attitude... GET RID OF IT!! It's not doing you any good.

True there are some things that we hang on to, such as memories, pictures, momentos, but I'm talking about the issues and ideas that bog us down in life and keep us from being the content, loving people that we were created to be.

So get to it. Take out the trash of life. It will do your soul some good. If you can't do it alone, get someone to help you.