Terribly Poetic

Lately I have been pondering so much in my head. Maybe it’s because I like to think and internalize alot as I am by nature someone who doesn’t share with others very easily. You might be thinking, then why in the world does this guy have a blog in the first place. My answer… I dunno…

Maybe it was my way of finding an avenue of social outlet (facebook seems to have taken over that), maybe it was because in a way I thought no one would read this in the first place and so why not share, or maybe it was because I thought it would help me to better communicate my inner dialogue with those that really know me. Either way, I’ve been sucking at it and I know that I need to share what’s on my mind, my heart, and my soul more often. I just wish I was a better communicator, a better writer. I feel a sidetrack coming here…. as a writer I am terrible, I can’t have any official document from our office sent out without it going through tons of proofreading, oh and somehow I think that has something to do with me losing 99% of the games of Words with Friends I ever play. So if you ever wanna beat someone, look up ddgrunau. Sorry back on topic. So with that being said, I am going to say that I am going to make an effort to post here and share what’s inside this twisted messed up, sinful, thankfully covered by Grace mind of mine. Oh, there will be grammar errors, and spelling mistakes (thankful WP catches most of those), but I am not going to apologize. I’m just going to share. Hmmm, seems fitting as the title is Terribly and not Beautiful or Awesome. So enough about that… let’s move on to something more heartwarming.

Along time ago, I did a short lived series (only 2) called Artist Showcase. I really enjoyed doing posts like that as it took the focus off me and onto someone else. So I thought I should do something like that again.

So today we are going to Focus Outward and we are going to do something special, even sentimental. I am going to do short bios and write ups on people who have greatly impacted my life. And we are going to start it off with a great friend and co-worker

Greg Benson

Many of you who read this will know Greg Benson. But what many of you don’t know is that Greg and I have worked together forever. In fact, Greg is a huge reason why I am who I am today. It all started in the summer of 1995 or was it 1996, I can’t remember. Anyways, that summer my mom (thanks Mom) forced me convinced me that being a Leader in Training (LIT) at Camp Kadesh would be a great idea. I was raised on a farm, I wasn’t stupid, I knew that being an LIT just meant doing work. ie. Cleaning toliets, dishes and other manual labour. But somehow, my mom got me to signup for a couple weeks. I know now that I’m sure she wanted the best for me, and to get rid of me (I was crazy afterall) for a few weeks during summer. Well, my LIT Director was none other than Greg Benson.

Here I am with my first group of LITs. In case you missed it, I’m button right with the short hair – I know weird huh? – And Greg is top middle with the hair – I know weird huh?

Well, I’d like to say that I was a great LIT and that I always did my best when working. But I can’t. I sucked. So much so that Greg almost sent me home. Not sure how I got to come back the second week. But looking back I know that God had a plan and it included an LIT director was wasn’t going to give up on me. That is the summer my life changed.

From then on I kept returning to camp to work and so did Greg, until one day I was his Junior Cabin Leader as seen in this next picture. We had so great times in that cabin. The 2 tallest cabin leaders together with the smallest junior campers. Fun times.

Those summers at camp impacted my life in a huge way, Greg (and others as well) modeled a faith that was real to me and ultimately what changed who I am from what I was. This caused me to have a hunger for growth in my life and eventually lead me to Briercrest and into fulltime ministry. But this isn’t my life story, this is about Greg.

God has always been so aware of my needs, and as I mentioned above, I am not a super open guy. I don’t connect deeply to others quickly, but when I do it is deep rooted and meaningful. So God made sure to place people in my life along my path, and that the most striking example of that is Greg.

When I went to Bible College, Greg and Jess lived on campus and I spent many many Fridays at there house. Sometimes probably too much time, but again, I was never turned away. I especially remember one difficult month and I bet I was over at their place 2x per week. Did I have super deep conversations each time, no, did we have an official “mentorship”, No. But I always knew that I could count on Greg and Jess. And I do remember enjoying alot of beadwedges and Kool-Aid at there place.

When I got married, Greg was there again to stand up as one of my Groomsmen. I won’t get into stories on this one as somethings are left for another day.

And then when I graduated from college to start my first ministry employment, who does God place me to work alongside? You guessed it Greg. Those first few years working with Greg at Youth For Christ(YFC) I was young and needed a lot of guidance and mentorship and He did SOO much for me those early years of ministry. One thing I appreciate is that I was given a chance and even given a chance to fail. But when I did fail he was beside me guiding me through and helping me pickup the pieces. When Greg left YFC I was scared. Scared to be without him. But during these years working alone I learnt alot and was challenged to step out for myself, which was a great time of growth for me. Now there is a whole story of how Greg challenged me while we worked at separate ministries in the same city, and even how I got to where I am know, but that’s a story that is really long and tough to tell. but what I can say is that God brought us back to working together at Ranger Lake Bible Camp and I must say that working with one of your closest friends is so very rewarding. And working with someone with integrity, courage and strength of character, but most of all, strength of faith that also happens to be a great friend is even better.

But don’t take my word for it. This past week while down at Briercrest for the college’s Camp Day’s, Greg was honoured and selected on the school’s 75th Anniversary as one of the 75 Alumni in the school’s history for being a Faithful God Honouring Servant who stands out. You read that correct, only 75 Alumni are being chosen for this special recognition. 75 of the 1000′s who have graduated from Briercrest. And I think everyone should know that. And know that I agree 100%.

So here’s to Greg Benson.

I look forward to serving with you for many more years to come.

Truly, in my absence of communication you are my Aaron

In my encouragement, you are my Timothy

And in my weaknesses, you are my Paul.

I hope this post is the first in a long line of Focus Outward. To honouring and encouraging each other and to challenging each other to strive to honour God. May this be a way to follow Thess 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Hey everyone, as I mentioned in my last post. I finally got the sermon posted. Go download it here or subscribe to the podcast here

I have been meaning to write this post ever since this Sunday morning, the Sunday that I was wrecked. However, I have been putting it off mostly because I am wrecked and don’t completely know what to share, but as I have reflected over this for 2.5 days now, I know that I need to share what God is doing to me, and what I believe He wants to do with many others.

For me, this didn’t just happen this Sunday, it has been a process that has climaxed in a dramatic way this Sunday. Nonetheless, I will begin earlier than Sunday. Earlier this fall I was given a book entitled Radical to read as some leaders in the church where giving them out. This book challenged me in the comforts we as have and how Jesus challenges and demands that we live in a way that requires Him. So as I look at my life, one area God pointed out was money. Yes, I’m going to start talking about giving first. The money I am given is from God, and when I look at my life, and when you look at your own, are you given in a way that is a sacrifice? I mean are you giving to God, knowing that He will need to continue to provide for you? I’m not talking about giving more, I’m talking about things like retirement plans, savings, the way we put our money away for that trip we’ve always wanted, I’m talking about giving in such a way that we completely, 100% rely on God. I venture to guess that NO ONE reading this right now is doing that. But I believe we ALL should be. I’m not going to go into details on how God has challenged myself and our family on that fact, but know that this has been very difficult.

So that’s was the beginning. God showing me that He needs to be the provider. God then has been challenging me that if we rely on Him for everything that He also demands so much more of our time, energy, talents, etc, etc. This is when the bigger struggle begins for me. As I have been looking for more ways to serve, I’ve also been challenged by how much time I spend with my family, and what can my family do together to serve, and all these thoughts get in my head, and I get pulled in so many different directions. But what ends up happening is that I end of thinking about things and going to work and then going home to a warm house sitting down, after what I think is a hard day, with a cup of coffee to relax to one of too many mindless TV shows or movies to watch as the day ends. And time passes and I still am thinking about this, and before you know it, I’ve done nothing to change. Oh, I can spend the time to make sure I am up to date on the latest TV Shows, or tech whatever (insert something else for yourself here), and make sure all of my comforts are taken care of, but really making a change, especially one that might get in the way of the comforts that you and I all think we deserve? That’s all together different, isn’t it?

Insert Sunday morning.

Read Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Instead of trying to describe more about this Sunday, I would like to have you read an excerpt from our Pastor’s latest blog post below.

On the second Sunday of Advent this year God met us at church in a startling fashion. He drew our attention to the needs in our own city. Not Toronto or Vancouver but Saskatoon. The way that happened was through Hands On Ministries down on 20th. We had Rick Langlais come and share at our Friday morning men’s breakfast. We left disturbed with the news of what is happening within our own city. We discovered that we have over 250 prostitutes under 16 working our streets. These are under age children so as Rick said let’s call it what it is….these girls are being raped.

It was a sobering, disturbing Sunday because we were talking about the coming of the Messiah. It should be nice and Christmas-like but the truth is Jesus came to change lives. He did not come so we could have church. He did not come to make us comfortable. He did not come so we could be nice. He came to change our hearts and to give us a message to share.

This is what wrecked me. In the Christmas story you will remember that when the angels came to the shepherds in the field that he said, “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” ALL THE PEOPLE, includes those girls in Saskatoon that are being abused. Jesus does want to save the world, and He wants US to be the ones who deliver hope. Not just those that are officially in paid ministry, but ALL of us. He doesn’t want us to be comfortable. So I am completely wrecked and I hope I don’t ever get fixed.

It’s time to get uncomfortable.

I’ll end with the Great Commission. And I like how the version, The Message, puts it.

From Matthew 28 – “Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life…”

Also, as soon as the audio podcast of Russ’s complete sermon from Sunday morning is available, I’ll post a link. Or you can subscribe to it via iTunes here and get it right away.

Well it’s cold, the ground is covered in snow, the winter tires have been put on the cars and when I enter stores I am surrounded by crazy shoppers. It’s almost time for the holidays and Christmas. I’m not sure why I have a love-hate relationship with Christmas time. It’s not like I had a terribly childhood or some tragic event that I am being reminded of. It’s actually quite the opposite, I have great memories of family Christmas at the farm. From the hours building snow forts, to the annual Christmas Eve time of opening those loot bags from Church services, to the anticipation of Christmas morning, there was always much to be thankful for and to remember. So now I’m a father, with two wonderful girls, it’s suppose to be my turn to build those same memories into my own family, my turn to put up the ridiculous amount of lights on the tree, the house, the everything and I just don’t feel excited about it. Oh, I am excited to see Libby’s face Christmas morning and to snuggle up with her and read the Christmas story and to teach her about why Jesus coming to earth is so very important. But all that other stuff, I’m just not ready for it, or even wanting it.

Sure everyone keeps telling me, “You’re a Scrooge”, “Ba humbug to you”, “Where’s your Christmas Spirit?” And frankly, I’m getting rather sick of it. In fact, those comments probably make it worse. I have Christmas spirit, I want to show and teach to my family and to others what really matters at Christmas. Does my house really need to be visible from a radar image for me to “have Christmas spirit?.” Even Christmas trees and all the decorations and dare I say it, even the many nativity scenes around…. is this all there is too it? Decorate, give some socially conscientious presents, eat way too much food, sing a carol or two and call it another Christmas season? I think we’ve ALL missed the mark somehow. I think that’s why I don’t enjoy all the preparations. And yes, I have thought this for awhile and I’ve done nothing to change. Shame on me. But shame on all of us for letting Christmas simply get out of hand. I mean, my Savior came down to earth in a very humble manner. He choose a stable, a barn, the most humble surroundings to arrive. And how do we choose to celebrate? Big events, tons of decorations, hours shopping for gifts and let’s be honest, gift cards, for others that don’t need anything at all. Doesn’t anyone else find this to be, well, strange?

Well, I’m telling you this all so that people will quit saying I have no Christmas spirit, but also as a form of accountability. This Christmas I am going to do something different. Instead of just complaining I’m going to seek out different ways to celebrate and I’m going to look for humble ways to do that. For starters, this year Christmas day is actually open for just my family to do whatever we want, no gatherings for either side. So we are looking for a place to go and serve others, humbly serve those in need. So if anyone has an idea for a place a family of 4 with 2 small Children can go to serve on Dec 25th, I’d love to hear your suggestions.

Other ways I’m going to change, well, I’m not sure. Don’t think I can get away without any decorations, as my wife might shoot me, but I do want to do something different. Ideas?

PS. I still haven’t started listening to Christmas music yet. Ugh. And the picture is just for Jess

So I glanced at the calendar and realized that it’s March…. What? How did we get here so fast? It seems like winter is fading away and I hardly remember it. Maybe it was all the craziness of Norah’s journey that made everything seem to pass by so fast. Either way I am now looking at the calendar and the huge amounts of things on it as Spring brings many things for us. House renovations getting done; which will bring a slew of jobs for me soon; to spring LIT retreat, youth group visits, lots of R/C Truck Events, planning programming, beginning to start thinking about video for this summer, and the list goes on and on. And this doesn’t even include all the things on the calendar for our family. Luckily one of those is a family vacation in Edmonton for Easter. I am really hoping this will help put my head on straight before Spring really hits and I start heading out to camp for rentals, staff training, etc, etc.

As always, the think to take a backseat is this site. Many are probably checking back here for updates on Norah. But she is doing so well that I forget to tell everyone that. She’s great. Growing, getting chubbier everyday. So makes us all smile each day. I wish you could all come cuddle her and see for yourself just how much she has changed. Pictures are cute (I guess I should post more too) but they don’t really show how much she has changed in the past month. She has healed so well that we are starting to pick her up under her arms now. So glad for that. Makes it easier to cuddle with her. Before we know it she will be rolling over.

I wish I could write something profound and earth shattering here. But life really seems to be “back to normal” for the first time in a long time. And by normal I really mean busy. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

Before you know it, it will be summer and we’ll be moved back to camp for the summer.

Well life hasn’t slowed down much around the Grunau household. Seems we got back from Edmonton and have been busy with Norah and Libby. Then add work ontop of that and I have really good excuses for not posting on here. However, I do apologize for not posting since we’ve been home. Shame on me I guess.

Anyways, first I will update you on Norah. This past week we have seen a big change in Norah. She is learning well how to drink from a bottle and has already begun to learn how to nurse again. While we haven’t had her weight checked we are certain she is gaining as she is looking more ‘chubby’ each day. Praise God. This transition has been alot smoother than we thought and are so happy that Norah has been off the feeding tube for over a week now. She is more alert, more cheerful and gives us alot more smiles than before the surgery. It almost feels like we have a new baby at home. We still have some appointments and check ups for her, but the Cardiologist has given us the next appointment of 6months from now!!! Libby is learning to have fun with Norah too. She is always wanting to help out, or ‘teach’ Norah something. This is just the beginning of Libby getting Norah into trouble! I keep wondering what I will catch those two doing in a year or two.

As we try to settle into a normal routine of life, we are extremely thankful for Jessica Benson having organized supper meals for us for the first couple weeks when we got home. We have enjoyed them alot and look forward to another few days. This is just one of the many many blessings that have been poured out to our family through this journey. Thank you to all of you that have donated funds, cooked meals, phone calls, and most importantly your prayers. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful and caring people.

Words cannot fully express our thanks. We hope that one day we will be able to have the opportunity to bless someone else going through the same things our family has gone through.

So this marks the beginning of the end of this chapter. Until next time.

So its been a whirlwind past few weeks. When camp ended we left the very next day for our family vacation to Idaho. It was a great trip and if you aren’t alive and haven’t seen some of our pics on Facebook, just look me up here. I could give you a long story on our vacation but I don’t feel like updating many weeks in one post. I just need to get back into regular posts here. So here goes…

In my last post the most pressing prayer request was my job situation. For those that don’t know, my job at Ranger Lake Bible Camp will continue to year round. We are so excited about this answer to prayer. Already I am busy preparing program, brochures, theme for next year at camp. I am excited to use the skills and gifts God has given me here at Ranger. I am also very excited to be doing alot of work with our newest program of the Radio Controlled Trucks. So much so that I bought my own! More on that on another post. So our fears are done away with and I will have a job when our new baby arrives in around 7 weeks!!

So vacation ended and then I got sick! This has been the worse sickness I have had in 10 years. So much that when I went to my doctor they didn’t have record of me being a patient because I hadn’t been in 10 years. I guess sometime ago they upgraded to a new computer system and “old” patients didn’t get put into the system, so I got deleted. Needless to say I ended up at a new doctor in Stonebridge area, which actually helped me, and with very little wait time. After going on antibiotics for awhile the sickness seems to be gone, however, the energy levels aren’t quite there yet. After all these years of not being sick, I realized how blessed I am for my strong immune system. Here’s hoping it returns soon.

So mark this down on your calendars, Daryl is back from summer. Holidays are over, summer camps are done, sickness is gone, so I am officially back. If I have a long time between now and my next post, I blame it only on myself.

We are very pleased to announce that sometime at the end of October we will be blessed to have a second child. For those that know us well, you will understand how blessed we are to have another kid. You will also know that this is another miracle story. For those that don’t know us well, just rejoice in our good news.

This week we had the chance to see our little one through an ultrasound. We also got to bring Libby in to watch and while she was abit shy of the technican at first, her excitement came when she could see the babies hand, nose, belly, head, etc, etc. She also become even more excited when we got the news that she would be having a sister. That’s right folks, the Grunau Household is about to get even more girlie!

The ultrasound also told us that she is doing fantastic and so is Mom. So until next time, enjoy our good news.

I know, hearing all about my life is exactly why you all read this isn’t it? Okay you probably just check the site, or subscribe because I know you or I twisted your arm to do it. Sometimes I think my blog is more like Creed Thoughts but then I realize that I am not nearly that creepy, weird, popular of a guy. But for whatever reason I still enjoy coming back to this site and putting out an update, a thought, or whatever else strikes me; even when I have know idea how many people actually read it, know exactly how few of you actually read it. Yes, that’s right I am also a geek (duh right), and I track my blog’s stats quite often and know how many of you there are. Wow, that may have been my longest pre-blog I have ever had. Nonetheless, I will care on.

So it has almost been 1month at my new job and I gotta say, I LOVE IT! It has been a challenging month just learning the ins and outs of Ranger Lake, but I have so much to be thankful for already. I am working with so much more purpose and direction than I have been in awhile. I feel that my skills and giftings are being tested and that I am being pushed to use them to a greater potential. While its hasn’t been all easy, no its been challenging, but I love that. I want to be challenged to be more effective in the things God has given me. It’s nice to be working with a small group too. The full time staff consists of only four people, one of whom lives out at the camp and I don’t see him much. So between myself, Greg Benson, and Dave Thiessen it makes for a very fun atmosphere to work in. We have had a lot of laughs already, but between the laughs, I get to see a man with a clear mission from God push me to use my gifts to be apart of that mission. The amount of “God Moments” in the past month has given me a new outlook on prayer. WOW is all I have to say. In this short time I have seen some amazing answers to prayers. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do this summer. Man its great to be working back in camp ministry. I forgot just how the environment of camp ministry pushes one to rely solely on God for EVERYTHING. So with that said here are some prayer requests that we have right now.

• Female Senior Cabin Leaders
• Leader in Training (L.I.T.) Director(s)
• Volunteers as we have TONS of work projects to do before camp
• Greg and I as we are in the midst of developing the summer discussion curriculum

After much prayer, guidance from friends, and the like, I announced yesterday that I will be leaving my job at Saskatoon Youth For Christ. I have been feeling some uneasiness for the past while and now know that God has been promoting and guiding me to move on. It is one of the most scary things I have ever done as I am leaving into the unknown. Already, God has been giving me peace about this decision and already He has been at work to show me a job to step into. I can’t talk about it yet as it isn’t finalized, but I can say that it is a term job that would run from April 1st till probably the end of September. I am trusting God to help me decide if this is the right place to be, especially as it would mean, going through a job change in the fall again.

I will be leaving YFC after some 5 years here and have been able to work with some amazing people. Both staff members and students. I am very thankful for the time I have spent here and look forward to what God has in store for me. I heard it said once that every job and every moment God is preparing us for what He has in store for our future. Now I can’t wait to see what that future is.