Taking care of business

Marsha and I are currently working on infrastructure and pricing, but we’re well on our way to opening our virtual doors:

Now I finally have a use for that domain name I registered some time ago!  I’m going to touch base with my bro to see if he can come up with a better logo, but right now I’m occupied with the technical side of things – configuring servers, etc.  You might be asking yourself, “What does The Walrus do anyway?”  I’m happy you asked!  My primary focus is on the development, implementation and support of web applications.  There’s lots of web hosts out there, but my goal is to help my clients implement practical solutions to meet their needs.

That can mean something as simple as implementing a third party script to help you run a mailing list, or more complex, such as engineering an online solution to enable inventory data to be passed from your point-of-sale system to a web-based online store.  Fundamentally, it’s about empowering you to use your web site for more than simple internet-presence, and connect with your own target-audience through dynamic content, contact management, and powerful data management. 

As a client of TheWalrus.ca you get my technical skills, and Marsha’s organizational genius.  Since our business is simply an extension of our ministry, we look forward to partnering with Christian brothers and sisters in such a way that our work would ultimately bring glory to God!

Teaching the teacher

I had the pleasure of teaching a portion of our spiritual maturity classes at my fellowship tonight.  While I wasn’t at the top of my game, I enjoyed it as always, especially tonight for two reasons.  Firstly, my dear brother in Christ, Pastor Daniel Cormier has accepted God’s call to serve as senior pastor of Newcastle United Baptist Church in New Brunswick.  I am happy that he’s been called to a senior pastor role, and praise his obedience in answering God’s call, yet I will miss him terribly and mourn his departure.  To NUBC, I assure you, you will be profoundly blessed by Daniel’s ministry among you, and I pray that your love for him will even exceed our own.  So you can see why I would treasure the opportunity to teach with Daniel this evening, since there will likely be few opportunities to do so again.  Please keep Daniel, Gina, Caleb, Bethany, Rachel and Anna in prayer as they prepare for this move.

Secondly, it was my first opportunity to be in a teaching situation with Pastor Bob.  Admittedly, I found it intimidating to be teaching with him since he is a gifted leader and speaker who has obviously spent time working on his public speaking and refining his skills in that regard.  It was a pleasure to teach with him, and hopefully after seeing me in action, he can offer some assistance in my own development as an occasional speaker.  God continues to provide great leaders for His church, and our pastoral team, including Jon Dixon and Paul Fowler, continue to be a blessing to many.

Today & Tomorrow & Tomorrow

Thank you all for your prayers, and the situation with my employment paperwork has been more or less resolved.  Marsha and I are currently investigating something I’ve been thinking about, and I thought I’d plug it here to see what folks thought.

I’m considering running a business from my home, with a focus on web-application development and hosting.  That would combine my two areas of expertise (network administration and web-application development), but the servers would all be on-site, allowing me to maximize flexibility and minimize downtime.  Because it would me MY service, and not just running someone else’s servers, I could also maintain a solid Christian ethic in what I choose to host or develop.  In my early career in this industry, I could choose what I personally wouldn’t work on, but had no say in the company’s choice in clients.

I’ve never considered running my own business before, mainly because when it comes to accounting, I’m a complete dolt.  While I may be the local “net-guru” with a side of “theological scholar,” I’m also the financial village idiot.  Thankfully, however, the Lord has seen fit to bless me with a financial genius as my beloved wife.  As loaves and fishes were to out Lord, so he has blessed Marsha with a comparable gift when it comes to dollars.  Her amazing budgeting skills and frugal discernment consistently allows us to use what the Lord has provided in a manner that meets the needs of our family.  So while I can run servers, networks, hosting, and develop wonderful problem-solving applications, I could never run a business.  Marsha, on the other hand, has both the skill and experience in running successful businesses, and continues to serve as your local Watkins representative.

As we are investigating this potential opportunity, I’m already laying the technological groundwork to make it happen.  So, I thought I’d put out my feelers in the form of this post to see what kind of interest there was.  Would you be interested in having your site, and associated applications, developed, hosted and maintained by a local Christian couple?  As I continue my educational training for full-time ministry, I see such a business as a natural extension of that ministry, providing platform-independent solutions for folks, firmly founded in a Christian ethic.  Mmm, I already have visions of custom 404-error pages which include a gospel-presentation!

For those who are already receiving free services from me, don’t worry.  I’m not going to suddenly send you a bill.  I might email a few folks and find out if they’d be willing to pay a nominal fee for the service I’m providing, but that’s about it.  So, what d’ya think?  Worth a shot?

Today & Tomorrow & Tomorrow

Thank you all for your prayers, and the situation with my employment paperwork has been more or less resolved.  Marsha and I are currently investigating something I’ve been thinking about, and I thought I’d plug it here to see what folks thought.

I’m considering running a business from my home, with a focus on web-application development and hosting.  That would combine my two areas of expertise (network administration and web-application development), but the servers would all be on-site, allowing me to maximize flexibility and minimize downtime.  Because it would me MY service, and not just running someone else’s servers, I could also maintain a solid Christian ethic in what I choose to host or develop.  In my early career in this industry, I could choose what I personally wouldn’t work on, but had no say in the company’s choice in clients.

I’ve never considered running my own business before, mainly because when it comes to accounting, I’m a complete dolt.  While I may be the local “net-guru” with a side of “theological scholar,” I’m also the financial village idiot.  Thankfully, however, the Lord has seen fit to bless me with a financial genius as my beloved wife.  As loaves and fishes were to out Lord, so he has blessed Marsha with a comparable gift when it comes to dollars.  Her amazing budgeting skills and frugal discernment consistently allows us to use what the Lord has provided in a manner that meets the needs of our family.  So while I can run servers, networks, hosting, and develop wonderful problem-solving applications, I could never run a business.  Marsha, on the other hand, has both the skill and experience in running successful businesses, and continues to serve as your local Watkins representative.

As we are investigating this potential opportunity, I’m already laying the technological groundwork to make it happen.  So, I thought I’d put out my feelers in the form of this post to see what kind of interest there was.  Would you be interested in having your site, and associated applications, developed, hosted and maintained by a local Christian couple?  As I continue my educational training for full-time ministry, I see such a business as a natural extension of that ministry, providing platform-independent solutions for folks, firmly founded in a Christian ethic.  Mmm, I already have visions of custom 404-error pages which include a gospel-presentation!

For those who are already receiving free services from me, don’t worry.  I’m not going to suddenly send you a bill.  I might email a few folks and find out if they’d be willing to pay a nominal fee for the service I’m providing, but that’s about it.  So, what d’ya think?  Worth a shot?

Today & Tomorrow & Tomorrow

Thank you all for your prayers, and the situation with my employment paperwork has been more or less resolved.  Marsha and I are currently investigating something I’ve been thinking about, and I thought I’d plug it here to see what folks thought.

I’m considering running a business from my home, with a focus on web-application development and hosting.  That would combine my two areas of expertise (network administration and web-application development), but the servers would all be on-site, allowing me to maximize flexibility and minimize downtime.  Because it would me MY service, and not just running someone else’s servers, I could also maintain a solid Christian ethic in what I choose to host or develop.  In my early career in this industry, I could choose what I personally wouldn’t work on, but had no say in the company’s choice in clients.

I’ve never considered running my own business before, mainly because when it comes to accounting, I’m a complete dolt.  While I may be the local “net-guru” with a side of “theological scholar,” I’m also the financial village idiot.  Thankfully, however, the Lord has seen fit to bless me with a financial genius as my beloved wife.  As loaves and fishes were to out Lord, so he has blessed Marsha with a comparable gift when it comes to dollars.  Her amazing budgeting skills and frugal discernment consistently allows us to use what the Lord has provided in a manner that meets the needs of our family.  So while I can run servers, networks, hosting, and develop wonderful problem-solving applications, I could never run a business.  Marsha, on the other hand, has both the skill and experience in running successful businesses, and continues to serve as your local Watkins representative.

As we are investigating this potential opportunity, I’m already laying the technological groundwork to make it happen.  So, I thought I’d put out my feelers in the form of this post to see what kind of interest there was.  Would you be interested in having your site, and associated applications, developed, hosted and maintained by a local Christian couple?  As I continue my educational training for full-time ministry, I see such a business as a natural extension of that ministry, providing platform-independent solutions for folks, firmly founded in a Christian ethic.  Mmm, I already have visions of custom 404-error pages which include a gospel-presentation!

For those who are already receiving free services from me, don’t worry.  I’m not going to suddenly send you a bill.  I might email a few folks and find out if they’d be willing to pay a nominal fee for the service I’m providing, but that’s about it.  So, what d’ya think?  Worth a shot?

Catching Up

It’s been a relatively eventful week, so it’s time to do a little updating.  I had my interview with folks from my supervised field education (SFE) church on Thursday last week, and that was an encouraging get-together.  Unfortunately, they still have to bring it to the congregation, so I’m not comfortable giving the name of the church until I hear some sort of confirmation there.

Marsha and I have been blessed by God through our church family, which continues to encourage us through prayer, and help us meet our needs with their generosity.  Marsha had the wonderful opportunity to return to her Mom’s Take-A-Break group, where she was met with both spiritual encouragement, as well as generous gifts welcoming her back to the group.  She was so touched, she couldn’t stop talking about it!  It was a tremendous joyful blessing for her, and a reminder that God’s leading us, not us.  We both would have to confess, however, that we sometimes worry about our SFE ministry, and leaving our wonderful church family for two years.  Yet we remind ourself that the care we’ve received isn’t that of people, but God’s moving in people’s hearts.  He will provide our needs, no matter where we are.

Meanwhile, my E.I. status is still up in the air, and that’s become a serious problem.  To put it another way, I haven’t received any pay for a month and a half now, and with a mortgage and car-payment, you get the idea.  On the plus side, our insurance costs has gone down now that I’ve been a non-smoker for a few years, and our new agent came out on Monday to tell us all the scary things that could happen to us if we don’t have insurance.  I can’t stand insurance, or the sales-tactics used to peddle it, but this fellow wasn’t too bad and had a decent sense of humour.

A sister in our fellowship came across a hymn last week, so she printed it off and sent it to us.  It’s by an ancestor of mine, Thomas W. Freckelton.  I’m not sure how we’re related, but we’re all related in one way or another.  Anyway, after reading the hymn, one line caught my eye:

The toil of brain, or heart, or hand,
Is man’s appointed lot;
He who God’s call can understand,
Will work and murmur not.
Toil is no thorny crown of pain,
Bound round man’s brow for sin;
True souls, from it, all strength may gain,
High manliness may win.

O God! Who workest hitherto,
Working in all we see,
Fain would we be, and bear, and do,
As best it pleaseth Thee.
Where’er Thou sendest we will go,
Nor any question ask,
And what Thou biddest we will do,
Whatever be the task.

Our skill of hand, and strength of limb,
Are not our own, but Thine;
We link them to the work of Him
Who made all life divine!
Our brother-friend, Thy holy Son,
Shared all our lot and strife;
And nobly will our work be done,
If molded by His life.

That title, “brother-friend,” is one that you’ll occasionally hear in LDS works, as well as those Unitarians who deny any deity in Jesus (denying even post-baptism adoptionism).  Sure enough, after a little bit of investigation, it turns out ol’ Thomas W. Freckelton pastored at the Unity Church, a unitarian congregation in Islington (London, UK), in the 19th century.  Their website declares:

In this Unitarian and Free Christian Church there is no set creed or dogma. Most believe Jesus was the greatest of the prophets but not part of a divine Trinity. Nevertheless, no other prophet or teacher has so influenced world history.

There are lots of people out there who don’t consider that a dividing line at all, but I believe that who Jesus is cuts to the very basis of our faith.  A human Jesus could not be my substitute.  I cannot be clothed in the righteousness of a human Jesus.  What good is having faith in a fellow human?  Sorry folks, but that’s a different Jesus as warned about in 2 Corinthians 11:4.  It reminds me of that famous C.S. Lewis rant:

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I am ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else He would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God—or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool; you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. (C.S. Lewis.  Mere Christianity)

So, it’s troubling that my ancestor not only may not have known the true Christ, but also taught that heresy to others.  If his was the Jesus who died for me, then I remain lost.  At the same time, it is a reminder that our need to give an answer for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15) is not a futile cause, because it’s not just the person we’re speaking with who hears us.  God honours His truth, so be ready to share it with anyone.

Net Neurosis

So I’m browsing hither and thither, when I come across this video warning me of the danger that lurks just below the surface of the internet.  It is a threatening threat that threatens to strip us of our freedom.  Just watch this awe-inspiring video to find out more:

Okay, now think together with me folks.  You’re reading a magazine, and you notice that they seem to give an undue amount of press to a certain company they sell advertising to.  What do you do with your dissatisfaction?  Why, you call your congressman, and demand that they legislate magazine-neutrality!

No, of course not.  You simply start reading another magazine, one that makes it a point to be more balanced.  Having worked in the internet industry for my entire professional career, I can assure you that any desire an ISP might have to interfere with content is quickly overwhelmed by the simple fact that there is a wide variety of competition in the market.  The internet is broadening its services, not narrowing, and any attempt to filter content at the ISP end simply encourages competition.  This is simply alarmist silliness, and was seemingly created by a single individual using a PC microphone, and an axe to grind with his local ISP.

What is it about us as a society that we feel we can “legislate freedom” (which is ultimately a contradiction in terms)?  Meanwhile, the REAL stories, like the fact that the US is positioning to take on yet another sovereign nation with no weapons of mass destruction, are largely downplayed.  Why legislate freedom, when you can bomb freedom into ‘em?  Sigh.

Thanks to “Meag” for identifying a technical problem with this post. It’s been corrected.

Church Change

Well, I have my Supervised Field Education assignment for the coming year.  I can’t divulge precisely where it is until I’ve had the opportunity to chat with the senior pastor, but it will be a dramatic change from my home-fellowship.  There is little doubt that this coming year will be extremely challenging, since it will deal heavily with practical matters.  I’m more of an academic teacher than a pastor.  I’d much rather be teaching a class on Church history or 2nd century gnostics and their impact on orthodox doctrinal development than sitting at the bedside of a person recovering from surgery.

But that’s what education is all about!  I’m here to learn new things, not to snuggle in deeper to my comfortable places.  This past year, Greek was my big challenge, and I managed that fairly well.  This fall, it’ll be practical ministry.  Speaking of which, here’s that sermon I wrote for my Intro to Preaching course (The Christian Habit [PDF]).  It’s my very first sermon ever, so be gentle with me should you choose to offer constructive criticism. 

Amazing Grace

God’s faithfulness never ceases to amaze me, especially when I look at my own lack thereof.  When I was at the men’s prayer group on Wednesday morning, I was looking at the list of all the folks we were praying for.  Some were mourning the loss of loved ones, others were seeking safety on missions, but the vast majority of folks were in need of prayer for health concerns.  Despite that, I prayed for my families own financial concerns, and prayed “God, I know this is selfish, especially when I look at all these folks who have greater need than me, but I pray for my family as we struggle with finances, that you would bring peace there.”  Those probably weren’t my exact words, but it was something like that.

Now, I know that God will hear all prayers, and He wants us to pray for all of our needs, and even listens to our “wants” when they aren’t selfishly motivated.  I know these things, and I teach these things, yet I still feel guilty sometimes when I bring something like finances to him.  I think it’s probably because I know that in the back of my mind, I want to ask for something more that he offers.  God knows that as well, and perhaps that “guilt” is actually the Spirit working on me, letting me know that God never said He’d give me a nice house, a decent car, and a good job.  No, He said He’d feed and clothe me, and that His grace is sufficient for me.

Yet, God has graciously chosen to not take our house or car away, and He continually sends messengers in His name to meet our needs.  Today, we received another gift from a member of our church family.  Praise Him!  He’s not some “idea” or “theory,” but a very real, very personal God who touches our lives in both spiritual and very practical ways.  Praise His name forever!  We don’t deserve His favour, and yet he gives in abundance.  That, my friends, is the very definition of Grace.

The Freckelton Times: All The News That’s Worth Newsing

I’ve maintained silence on what’s going on here in the Freckelton household, since things have been up in the air.  April was a challenging month here at the homestead, and my exams/papers were actually the relatively easy part.  Marsha and I were both laid off in the same week.  Considering our current financial situation, that was a little like a bomb going off in the house, and admittedly we were plagued with doubts.  Is God telling me I’m not supposed to be in school?  Have we been going to wrong way all this time?

What made it worse was there was an error on my record of employment, indicating that I had quit.  Of course, I didn’t quit, but that little error on the form meant that if I filed for employment insurance, I would be denied benefits.  So it’s been two weeks trying to get that sorted out.  I should have some results by the end of the week, or early next.  Marsha, on the other hand, isn’t happy that she had to leave her workplace, but it wasn’t unexpected.  She enjoyed working with the children very much, but she had no formal training in early-childhood education.  We talked and prayed about it, and ultimately it was a area she didn’t want to make a career of.

God is faithful, even when we are not, and He’s doing some pretty cool stuff around here.  My situation at work’s been more or less sorted out, and I have an opportunity to get a contract so I’m currently working on a proof-of-concept for them.  My overdue tuition has been paid, thankfully, so I was able to get my grades and register for courses.  Speaking of which, there was both good and bad news in that area.  The bad news was that all the turmoil around here only helped to inspire academic laziness in me, leading me to collect a sad C+ in my 2nd term in psychology.  I was also quite remiss in my Greek studies, leading to a not-so-satisfying B.  On the other hand, the one course that I felt entirely unprepared for, and utterly unequipped was my homiletics (theological-geek-speak for “preaching“) course.  In fact, my first paper for the class was handed back to me unmarked, and a rewrite demanded.  I guess I must’ve learned a thing or two, because I got an A!  That was very encouraging.

In other news, my brother’s family is coping with the loss of a loved one – my sister-in-law’s dad.  Please pray for that family.  Grief is always difficult, especially when there are young children who are going to miss their granddad.  One of my favourite verses of scripture (and also one of the easiest to memorize) is John 11:35 which records a simple event as Jesus stood among the mourners of Lazarus:  Jesus wept. 

God understands grief.