Saturday, December 15, 2007

A General Update - Good News

Well, it has been a whirlwind of a week for us. I thought I would throw this quick update online for those who are waiting to hear. First and foremost, thank you to everyone for praying for my Mom. She came through her angioplasty well, needing to have one stint. She will be flying back to Ontario from Winnipeg in no time. They are very positive about the future. Praise God!

Many of you who know I spent time with YWAM Denver have wondered if I knew any of the victims (or the shooter). While I have many friends there who are struggling with the aftermath, I did not know the victims personally. Please keep them in prayer. Also, I want to encourage us to resist the simple explanations and finger pointing. Some have blamed violence in media and popular culture, etc. The complexity of this issue cannot be (and should not be) evaluated from afar. I grieve for the families of those lost in the violence, including the family of the shooter. Shallow, knee jerk pontifications will not truly help anyone.

Australia has been wonderful. While the weather has been quite chilly for summer, it is warming up. Unfortunately for me we will be heading north in a few days where the heat will be far warmer than I am comfortable with. GULP! However, it will be a lovely Christmas with my Australian family.

Thank you all for your friendship, prayer and support. Have a blessed Christmas and a hopeful New Year!

Posted by Jamie Arpin-Ricci at 03:19:21 | Permalink | Comments (14)

Saturday, December 8, 2007

A Holiday Respite & A Budding Theologian

Well, the weekend is upon us, but for me it comes with some big plans. On Sunday, Kim & I leave our house & dog in the care of friends and head for the airport. First, we spend the day with friends in Vancouver, but then hop on another plane that will take us Down Under. For just over a month we will be spending the holidays with Kim’s family in Australia. Ah summer sun…

As a result, I won’t be blog much over the holidays, but will be back to a more regular schedule in mid-January. Here are some of the things to expect in the New Year:

-The launch of The Dusty Cover (Lord willing, given yet more delays)
-Updates on my two book projects (one fiction, one non-fiction)
-New “Friday’s With Francis” features
-Facing the future beyond burn out
-And much more!

As this will be the last time for close to a week that I will be posting, I thought I would leave you with a priceless video of my good friend Phil’s daughter. Ah, to be a young theologian…

Posted by Jamie Arpin-Ricci at 02:17:40 | Permalink | Comments (4)