The Eudaimonia Blog

This sabbatical has been rich and full of wonderful and redemptive activity, doing many things I would not have had the chance to do apart from having the time off from my Grace Van responsibilities. So again, thank you Grace Van for providing the opportunity. Regarding the fullness of the last few days, let me describe my Friday through Monday. On Friday, I went to Regent College to participate in an event called The Gathering meant to encourage pastoral health. At the event, I was able to hear from well-regarded Old Testament scholar Tremper Longman who spoke on the Psalms. One of the most powerful moments in Longman’s talk was when he spoke of four general types of Psalms, those of “hymns, lament, thanksgiving and confidence.” And he said that hymns are those psalms that are sung when “things are going well,” when we are oriented to the world. In addition, lament are those psalms that are sung when “things are not going well and there is much sorrow,” when we are disoriented to the world. Thanksgiving are those Psalms that we sing when God has answered our prayers and delivered us from our laments and sorrows, when we are reoriented to the world. But then Longman asked this poignant and powerful question, “what happens when God doesn’t answer our prayers of lament? What then?” And this is where he then went on to speak to the place of “Psalms of confidence” in the Psalter, that songs of confidence are sung when prayers are not answered and deliverance has not yet come. And then Longman went on to unpack Psalm 131 as a Psalm of trust and confidence, to show us what the Psalmist does in those times where reorientation has not yet come, how he calms his soul to renewing his trust in God even in the muck and the mire of his life. That was really a powerful insight into the Psalms. And then later on Friday, I was able to hear a talk from Christian counsellor Anne Shannon who talked about “Cultivating Resilience for Stressful Times” and in particular addressed factors that contribute to burnout. I include a page of my notes here for your reflection:

The evening ended with a dinner at Jericho Beach. I also enjoyed networking and connecting with some other Vancouver ministry leaders. So that was my Friday. Unfortunately, I was not able to do day two of the event, because my Saturday was quite fully scheduled. In the morning, I did my two-hour Zoom book study with three others (normally there are six others but three could not make it) and looking over a chapter in Watkin’s book on “Sin and Society,” we found the conversation turning deeply personal as we reflected on how much sin has marred the world as well as impacted our own lives. The tears definitely flowed for me in the conversation. Thank you Josh, Jon and Jonathan for such a rich morning. After the book study, Isaac, Calvin and I drove to New West to meet up with Roy Wong. For years, I have brought my cars to Roy’s to change the oil on them, since Roy has all the supplies. I text Roy to ask if “Roy’s Garage” is open, haha. I just bring oil and a filter and we get the time of fellowship, get to encourage one another and talk about fun things like electric cars (Roy has a couple of Teslas and we have a Kia EV),… while we work with our hands. Well, in recent years, I thought it was important to equip my kids for changing oil in a car, so I took Isaac and Calvin (Mia was unable to make it that morning). Pictured below is Calvin under the car. I joked around that his mother might not like seeing this picture, haha. Don’t worry Tanya, there were two jacks holding up the car, a second one for a safety measure should the first one fail! Well, we had a great time, also got to see Roy and Velda’s new place in New West as well!

Later in the afternoon, Jon Fung, my daughter Mia and her friend Seby tackled the Grouse Grind together (yes I did the Grind last Sunday as well, call me crazy, haha). Mia and Seby were so fast up the mountain. Jon and I were not so fast, but it was a joy to climb with my brother who has been through so much pain and heartache the last couple of years. In our book group in the morning, Jon and I teared up together reflecting on all that he has been through. As we climbed Grouse together (at his suggestion, by the way, haha), I told him that he was in a place of “new beginnings” and that he could look forward in faith to the goodness of the Lord. I was so overjoyed to climb with Jon and it was good to arrive to the top of Grouse, thirty minutes after Mia and Seby : )

Well, then came the Lord’s Day. It was a quiet and restful day. I went to Midtown Church which is located near our old house on Ross St. where we spent our first eight years in Vancouver. Pastor Norm Funk courageously took on a difficult passage in 1 Cor. 11:2-16 about male-female relationships, meaning of head coverings, headship/submission, etc. Needless to say, Pastor Norm did a great job separating universal principles from particular cultural applications, but also speaking about how the Bible speaks about gender into our cultural moment where identity is so tied up in affirming someone’s sexual self-understanding. On an unrelated, but related note, I’ve begun reading Carl Trueman’s book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, which I’ve found to be quite insightful regarding why we are in the cultural moment we are in regarding how we view sexual identity and expression. Other than that, on Sunday, I had a wonderful time of gathering with my three adult kids Sunday afternoon, as Tanya was in Seattle over the weekend with my sister.

On Monday, I got caught up with Tanya as she returned from Seattle, and then in the evening, I went to my Krav Maga class. The Impact Fitness website is bang on when it describes classes as consisting of “learning self-defence and having fun.” Last night, we did some grappling where we partnered up and helped each other imagine a scenario where someone has “jumped” onto you with the intent of harming you. In that situation, how do you use leverage to get out of the situation, if at all possible de-escalate the situation, but then defend yourself from bodily harm? In addition to learning self-defence, the instructors and students are all very friendly. Plus, I think as I get older, I realize how good it feels (and how important it is) to “grapple” and to twist and turn my body in a way, so as to keep it as limber as possible. Maybe there is something to be said for Jacob having his named changed to Israel, as a sign of his redemption and salvation. His new name Israel means, “one who wrestles with God” : ) I actually feel quite invigorated. I wonder if here in the west, we are too disconnected from our bodies and need to learn how to be embodied creatures and not merely cerebral as we relate to God? I would be genuinely interested to know how many miles/kilometres Jesus logged with His disciples over the course of His public ministry. I imagine he and they were quite fit as a result of moving more and being less sedentary.

Well, last night, continuing the theme of working with one’s hands, Tanya had brought back some sulfuric acid back from Seattle. Yes, you heard that right. I had ordered some sulfuric acid to my sister’s house, otherwise known as electrolyte fluid to the motorcycle community, in order to fill my motorcycle battery. Don’t worry, it was properly sealed in a box and container! Plus, very few people know this, but my university degree was in chemistry, not that I remember anything from so long ago, haha. My motorcycle, a 2008 Suzuki Boulevard S50, has been gaining dust (literally, it’s dusty!) the last four years. The last time I rode it was the summer of 2019, just before my mother’s cancer diagnosis in November of 2019 and then came the pandemic in 2020. Because of the demands of taking care of sick and aging parents and having helped Grace Van through the pandemic, launching kids into post-secondary life, etc.,… I haven’t even given a second thought to getting the motorcycle up and running, but now that I’m on sabbatical… so the first trick was to get the battery and electrical up and running. Check. Now I need to get it serviced as I have a flat on the rear tire and need some basic service. But alas, over a month into the sabbatical, with summer upon us, the hope is to soon have my “bike” up and running!

And then today Tuesday, I have my 2:30p electric guitar lesson. So far I’ve been learning to play some classical rock songs such as The House of the Rising Sun as well as Knocking On Heaven’s Door. I have only learned a few chords and rhythms, but it’s fun teaching my fingers new things (the F chord is still a bugaboo for me though!) In Seattle, Tanya was looking at old pictures my mom had collected and she found the below picture circa. 1988 of when I played the electric guitar for a couple of years. As they say, “some dreams die hard” : ) Below is also a chord chart I’ve been learning : )

Perhaps I should be resting more this sabbatical, haha. But there has been so much joy in working with my hands (oil changes, motorcycle batteries, guitar lessons) as well as getting the blood flowing, keeping the body moving (Grouse Grind and Krav Maga) as well as reading and reflecting (The Gathering and Saturday book group) that I am thoroughly enjoying my time. Thanks again Grace Van family for making this sabbatical possible and for praying for me.