It’s A Girl!

I would like to introduce you to Lauren Analeigh Goertzen. She was born at 2:20 am weighing 7 pounds 9 ounces.

Oh, and she wasn’t born in the hospital! That full story to come when I’m at a computer. But Mom and baby are doing great.

Blog Action Day 08

There have been many times I have got into discussions with individuals about the usefulness of the internet. Some people have said the internet is a huge waste of time and it makes people dumber. They argue the internet is nothing but nakedness and weirdos sitting in their mother’s basements playing online video games 24/7.

However, I believe the internet is a tool, and a tool can be used for either good or evil. Today’s post is hopefully one of those good uses of this tool.

A group of bloggers has come together to have as many bloggers around the world post a blog on the issue of poverty in our world. Since helping and ending extreme poverty in the world is something I care about, I decided to jump on board.

Their recommendation to bloggers (like me) is to suggest ways we can all help end poverty together. If you have read my blog for a while, this will not come as a surprise, but might I recommend to you sponsoring a child through World Vision. World Vision is a great organization that cares not only for children in areas of extreme poverty, but also their communities. World Vision desires to help communities with sustainable improvements.
Personally, Sarah and I support three children through World Vision and now, our Children’s Ministry at church support a child from the Dominican Republic. I encourage the children to bring money each week and then we send that off to our sponsor child, Martirres Jr.

Whether you sponsor a child, give to another organization, or are simply made aware of the fact that we in the west have so much, and the rest of the world has so little, then hopefully today this tool we call the internet was used for good, and not for evil.

Before & After (well, more ‘during’)

We are almost done the big project of painting the exterior of our house. After getting quotes on getting it done by a painter, we decided that we could do it on our own for half the cost (although it has involved a lot of work). The end has not quite been achieved, as we still have some areas that need to be painted, but the house is starting to look finished, and we have had numerous people ask us for a progress report. So I took some pictures today to give you a before and sort-of-after look at our house. For those that know Sarah’s Aunt Helen, we have named the house in her honour (because we essentially stole the colours from her – Thanks Auntie Helen!). Without further ado, here is the before and sort-of-after picture:
 

So there you have it! We still need a second coat of paint on our door, and some of the trims still need to be painted white, but the house is closer today than it was yesterday.

We have also had requests for a picture of our garden. Here is our cornucopia of food:
 

monergism contest

Thanks to Kent, I have discovered a great website called Monergism. Now, it may be a little too reformed for some, but there are a ton of resources that are available. It is truly amazing the amount of wisdom and knowledge that can be found on the internet (once you get past all the other junk!). 

One of the other areas of Monergism is a book store. They have some great things there, not just books. As well, going on right now they have a contest to win some gift certificates for the store. If you are interested in entering, simply click the banner. (I also get a contest entry if you enter by clicking on the banner because… well… I like books!)

I Love Laminin

If you ever wondered if there is an “Intelligent Designer”, take a watch of this video. Quite fascinating.

 

Backyardigans

This has nothing to do with the TV show. If you do not know what I am talking about, then you obviously do not watch enough Treehouse!

Actually, it’s the name of a new page on my blog. As you see along the top, there is a link. Please be sure to check it out and see what Sarah and I have started.

The picture and post have nothing in common. I took this picture this evening and decided to post it! 

Giants bowling

Yesterday was the biggest sporting event of the year. Not always the biggest game, but definitely the biggest event. Aside from getting to watch football (which always rocks), and watching Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (of whom I am a fan, even though my nephew Caleb declared that he has “girl hair” followed by him turning off the TV), then there are the commercials which cost the same as a West Vancouver townhouse! My biggest struggle was when to go the washroom!

Commenting on the game, I thought that it was a really good game. Sure, it was not high-scoring, but watching those defenses play was certainly a treat. I would rather see a strong defensive game than a game filled with dropped passes and no pace. It’s still hard for me to believe that Eli Manning has a Superbowl ring, but I’m glad to see Michael Strahan wear one. 

Talking with some people after church before the game, someone made a comment that I had never thought of before, “The game will never match the hype because they take two weeks to build up the game.” That is so true! It is like when someone tells you how amazing a movie or book is. The greater the chance the movie or book will fail your expectations is equivalent to the amount of time the person builds up the movie or book. That is why I have restrained telling people my true feelings about a movie, song, or book until they have experienced it themselves. (I must confess that I often fail at this, though) I do not want to slant their opinion. 

Now begins the football drought. February is a tough month for sports. I am not a big NBA fan and the NHL playoff race is not yet going. However March brings March Madness which is always awesome.

Aside from that, only 4 more months until the Riders start their Grey Cup repeat run!

He shoots…

It seems like every couple months I get guilty that I don’t do more with this blog, especially as I follow blogs like Ben’s so often. So let me tell you about last weekend.

This winter, my church decided to put together a hockey team to enter in the local church hockey league. Since I left college, I had not played a game of hockey since, and I was really missing it. Now I am in no way mistaken for Sidney Crosby or Dion Phaneuf on the ice, and after going to the first practice/try-out, I was very out-talented (for example, some of these guys were only two steps from the NHL in their junior careers, whereas I am still working on skating backwards!). However, due to the fact that I came out, I got to stay on the team.
I remember talking to Sarah about whether I should stay on the team or not, and came to the conclusion that if I wanted to improve my abilities, I needed to swallow my pride, maybe be humiliated a few times, and to stick with the team surrounding myself with better talent so that I, in turn, will get be a better hockey player.

It all paid off this past weekend! I scored not only my first goal of the season, but my first TWO goals of the season! What a rush! Well, once I realized I scored: you see, before Christmas, I just about scored. Jonny Mo gave me a sweet pass across the crease and I had the wide-open net, however the goalie whipped out his right pad in time to stop my shot. (That white pad still haunts me!) So this past weekend, I got another pass across the middle and I shot it, but I just saw the puck go into the body of the goalie. I thought he had stopped it once again, until all my teammates came skating up to me celebrating. The first words out of my mouth was, “Did I score?” I didn’t even see my first goal – I thought I shot it into his body, but apparently it went off of his blocker and between his arm and body into the net!

(Being the pastor, I feel the need for an application moment – cue the band:)
The lesson I learned through all of this is that we need to swallow our pride, not be scared to embarrass ourselves sometimes, and be willing to grow. The air is thick with egotism and arrogance. So many people try to be bigger than they really are. In the end, it only leads to more embarrassment and falling off the fragile pedestal that people tried to build up for themselves. Instead, be honest, be genuine, and in the end, you’ll feel the true experience of reward after hard-work.

Christmas Blog 2007

Well for those that know Sarah and Jared know how terrible we are at mail outs. Whether it be thank-you cards or birth-announcements, we do not exactly have the best of track records. With Christmas cards and letters, it is much the same!

So this year we thought we would be creative and try something a little different – a Christmas Blog! You can reflect with us as we look back over the year and look ahead to 2008.

For us, 2007 was a year that was either B.N. or A.N.: Before Nolan or After Nolan. Quite honestly, anything before March 5th seems like another lifetime ago.
The year began with Sarah going on to maternity leave. With all the joys of pregnancy, she took a couple weeks before Nolan arrived to rest and be comfortable.
Then after a handful of inductions, Nolan finally decided that he was ready to come out and play. The fifth of March was by far the highlight of this entire year, and for sure one of the top highlights of our lives.

The transition into parenthood was not as difficult as we envisioned. Although there were a few sleepless nights, Nolan was quick to get on to a routine and was certainly a happier baby for it. Aside from a small case of jaundice, he was and is a very healthy, little guy.

The month of May was a special time for our little family. The first weekend of the month had both Nolan dedicated at church and Jared officially ordained within the Christian & Missionary Alliance. It was great having both events happen at the same time.

Once the summer began, we decided to sell our condo and move into Sarah’s parent’s basement suite back in Maple Ridge. It has been a great time as Sarah continues to have daily coffee with her Mom and Nolan has gotten to know his Grandma Maddigan really, really well. And Grandma thinks it’s great!

Other than that, nothing else is new. We are just adjusting to life with a cute, little baby within our new little suite.

We hope this blog finds you both healthy and happy. May you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Lots of love,

Jared, Sarah, & Nolan Goertzen

9 Months Old

I realize that I am a week behind, but Sarah and I wanted to get our Christmas decorations up before we took the picture. He obviously needs at least one of his monthly pictures in front of the Christmas decorations! So here is our very special gift under the tree