Man, five weeks have flown by.  To be honest, I’ve had all sorts of inclinations to blog over that span–it just never happened.  Part of it was a little case of blog-block; part of it was that I was simply too wrapped up in living life that I didn’t find the time to write about it.  Nobody’s loss but my own, I suppose.  And even that might be debatable.

So let me cover a few highlights from the past month…

Best Sunday Sports Viewing: Watching Canada finally grab that hockey gold medal from the US in overtime.

Best Trip to Edmonton:I attended BreakForth at the end of January.  Two clear highlights of the weekend were a worship time led by Robin Mark and a class on parenting led by Tim Kimmel.  Kimmel heads an organization called Family Matters, which I have come to think very highly of.  In fact, I am currently exploring what it would take to have them do a workshop at our church later this year.

Best Book Read: I recently “met” Timothy Keller through his book “The Prodigal God”.  I believe it may be one of my favourite books.  Some of that may be a simple fact of timing (i.e. it touched me where I am right now), but I am sold enough to check out his other works now as well.

Best Athletic Achievement: I earned a goal AND an assist in a single hockey game after being off for three weeks.  Pretty pathetic, I know.  But you’ve got to grab what you can, and that’s the best I’ve got.

Best Money Spent: I dropped a wad at a silent auction fundraiser recently that landed me a CFL ball commemorating the 2007 Grey Cup game, a hand-made African drum, and a sweet piece of pottery.  AND all my money went to give people clean water–count it as a success several times over.

Best Vacation: We spent the third week of February on a family vacation to Los Angeles.  With a few of Emmanuelle’s aunties, we hit all that we could–Disneyland, Universal Studios, San Diego’s Zoo, and Hollywood.  I squeezed in my first NBA game, while Shannon took a seat on the front row of the Ellen Degeneres Show.  Fun was had by all, and home felt sweet when we returned.

Best Workshop: Five fellows from our church attended a two-day workshop at Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho.  Much of it was about small groups in churches, but to leave it at that would be a VERY poor summary.  They provided us with some informal leadership coaching which I found to be very significant.  They nudged us into conversations we might not have had on our own and pressed us to think very seriously and intentionally about what God is wanting to do within our church family.  How powerful did I find it?  I’m aiming to re-attend with a different group of people in April.

Best Surprise in an Airport: Returning from California, we passed through Portland’s airport.  Stepping into the main corridor, I was impressed by some way-above-average elevator music playing over the sound system.  A few steps further, I learned that the music was live.  A local cellist had a cart set up and was playing some of the most moving music I had heard in a long time.  I quickly bought a CD and have added another via iTunes already.  If you’re intrigued at all, the name you need is Adam Hurst.  If you see this, Adam, it was a pleasure to meet you and chat for a bit.  Your music has already blessed my life.

Best Return on a $10 Investment: Prior to our vacation, we found an offer on a coupon book for Southern California–it cost $10.  My first peek through the pages netted me a 2-for-1 coupon for tickets to L.A. Clippers game I took in.  That coupon saved me $50 and essentially bumped me and my sister into seats we’d have never paid for otherwise.  Cha-ching.

Best Place I’ve Been: Home feels very sweet right now.  The past month has involved a lot of miles, and it’s exciting to me to see that I have almost none at all to log in the next ten weeks.  It’s good to be back.