Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies
The video below has my Strava highlights from 2021 consisting of mainly cycling with some hiking and rowing thrown in.
Not too bad considering some of my other activities the 2021 that kept my activity on the bike a little lower that normal ?. I’m mainly on the trainer in the winter and still doing some outside riding with the FROG group as well. However, I’m already looking forward to riding around Winnipeg & Kenora in just a jersey and shorts. ?♂️.
A great blog entry that relates well to my tattoo.
Read on www.loveunrationed.com/2018/04/27/my-anchor-holds-within-the-veil/
We have this certain hope, like a strong and unbreakable anchor holding our souls to God himself. Our anchor of hope is fastened to the mercy seat in the heavenly realm beyond the sacred threshold. Heb 6:19 TPT
Len & I are at the lake for a weekend of R&R, hanging out and basically not doing much of anything.
We’d hoped to see the bay freeze over or be partially frozen but we’re too late this year. There is a good 3-4 inches of ice and no open water in our area.
We set out from Winnipeg around 3pm and stopped in Kenora for dinner at the Lake of the Woods BrewCo. At the cottage Len was able to drive up the driveway after clearing some of the snow plow ridge at the foot of the driveway. I start the furnace, fireplace and kerosene heater and the process of bringing the cottage up from -14ºC begins.
We settle in with a drink and a movie and 2 1/2hours later the temperature upstairs is pretty good at 17ºC. Downstairs is still an icebox. By the next morning it’s quite pleasant upstairs and the kerosene heater is maintaining the temperature without the furnace.
After a cup of coffee and a trip to Redddens for the newspaper it’s time to chop a hole in the ice and bring up some water. I drill a few holes and Len chops out the area between the holes so we can fill the buckets.
After several temporary tattoos and some procrastinating, today was the day for the real thing.
After a brief recommendation and a quick look at his web site I book with Jay at Twenty Twenty Tattoo Studio in Niverville. Upon arrival the very easy going Jay welcomes me and I feel relaxed already. After all this is my first real tattoo and I’m a bit nervous but Jay and his studio vibe put me at ease, this is going to be OK. The studio is very clean and well decorated and there is some heavy metal music playing.
I sign a big disclaimer statement which releases them from anything and everything that may or may not go wrong. While I’m doing this he’s prepping the gear, getting the ink and miscellaneous stuff ready for the process. We talk about my design and it’s placement for a few minutes. Then he inputs my design into his iPad and prints it off on some special transfer paper. This gets positioned on my arm and some fluid is applied that transfers the design to my skin.
We talk about all kinds of stuff, mainly tattoos of course, and he’s been at it since he was 18. Jay’s tattoos as you might imagine are very extensive and sophisticated. My simple line art is done in about 1/2 hour, and it barely hurt at all.
Here I am with the finished product!
Why a tattoo and why this tattoo? I’m blaming Instagram as the source of the tattoo idea in general. I started seeing ads for Inkbox, and I thought it would be fun to put a tattoo in a fairly visible spot to have some fun and possibly shock friends and family. So without any pre-announcement I showed up with this nautical rope work on the back of my hand.
One thing lead to another and I tried out a few different possibilities.
However, the winner was the one that was done today. I really relate strongly to the symbolism of the three components, the anchor, the heart and the cross.
The Cross representing Jesus Christ and what he did for all mankind by dying on the cross, being buried and the resurrection on the third day. God’s salvation, the Living Word, Jesus.
The Heart representing the love, mercy, hope and grace of Christ as well as my heart and my soul.
The Anchor representing the notion that I’m anchored to His amazing love.
Over the last few years there certainly have been some storms in our lives and when I put together these three symbols it reminds me that I’m firmly anchored to the love of God by Jesus Christ’s redeeming work on the cross in my life.
The anchor holds in spite of the storm.
“We have this certain hope like a strong, unbreakable anchor holding our souls to God himself. Our anchor of hope is fastened to the mercy seat in the heavenly realm beyond the sacred threshold”
Hebrews 6:19 TPT
On the way out the door Jay says to me “Welcome to the dark side” ?
A story from the Cottage Build.
So, one day after my dad and I had finished working for the day we were relaxing in the RV and participating in what was commonly known in our family circles as “the cocktail hour”.
Generally, the “hour” was quite loosely defined. All it really meant was pre-dinner drinking.
I had brought some Yukon Jack which my dad had never had and there is this recipe on the back called a “Snake Bite”. It’s pretty simple, some ice, a squeeze of lime juice and of course some Yukon Jack.
I find them pretty tasty and I think my dad did too as we imbibed quite liberally. I think dinner did get made but I’m not too sure and by the end of the evening “Jack” was no more.
We had some interesting and wide ranging conversations about some quite deep and personal stuff. It was quite a special time for me, just the two of us, man to man. I don’t remember much about the conversation details but the one thing that sticks out was I told my dad I loved him. Might of been the first time I’d said it out loud, just the two of us. A good memory.
The next morning was pretty rough but we didn’t talk about our hangovers we just had some breakfast, maybe just a coffee, and got to work.
bible.com/bible/116/jhn.5.24.NLT
This idea really hit me a few days ago from a different devotion and here it is again. The fact that I’m already living in eternity. Not when I physically die but from the moment I accepted Jesus.
““I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”
John 5:24 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.5.24.NLT
Lifted from Daily Day, so true and encouraging.
Today’s email could just be this wonderful little verse from the classic George Strait song. Because it captures perfectly what we need to be reminded of today and always, as we embark on this difficult but wonderful job.
Let me tell you a secret about a father’s love
A secret that my daddy said was just between us
He said daddies don’t just love their children every now and then
It’s a love without end, amen
It’s a love without end, amen
Not just if you’re a father, of course, but mother, step father, adopted mother, godparent, aunt, uncle, whatever. Not just when things are easy. Not just when they listen. Not just when they conform to your expectations. Not just when they succeed. Not just when everything is going well in your life, or in your job.
Not every now and then.
But always. Without end.
Unconditionally. Even when they hit their siblings, when they lied about a test, when they don’t want to eat their vegetables, when they want to quit something you paid a lot of money for, when they’ve acted in a way contrary to the values you’ve tried to instill in them.
Even if this isn’t what you got as a kid, especially if this isn’t what you got. Even when you’re struggling. Even when you’re pissed off. Even when they have made it so hard. Even when they take you for granted. You have to show them that you love them now and thenand every moment in between.
Love without end.
Amen.
You may have noticed that Tempus Fugit, generally translated into English as “Time Flies” is the name I’ve given this blog. Wonder why?
In the beginning… back in 2004/2005 when we were on a family camping trip I suddenly realized that the boys were growing up and it felt like they didn’t “need me” as much as they once did. This came as a bit of a rude shock as I realized how fast things were moving along in all our lives, hence Tempus Fugit.
The blog started off as a fun tech project to experience what WordPress and blogging were all about. Over the years I’ve randomly posted about things that interest me or various life events. My audience is pretty limited. I think only my wife reads these posts. So, in the end it’s really for me to capture some thoughts and have fun with the tech. But, perhaps it’s a bit more that that.
I know several people who have written memoirs about their life and I’ve never been to clear on why someone would do that. However, perhaps it is a form of leaving a legacy, something that might endure on this earth once we are gone. I think we all want to be able to tell our story, to be heard, to share what we are thinking about even if it’s not of an earth-shattering significance . I know I’ve often wondered how my parent handled certain situations or how they got through some of the rough spots in life and now they are not around to ask and there are very limited records. Some photographs, pieces of furniture, some hand written notes, bits and pieces from their lives and of course the cottage, all precious treasures at this stage in my life.
I know for me it’s fun to look back on the old blog post to see what I was doing or thinking about back in the day. Perhaps in the future others will look back on these random thoughts with fondness too.
One of the few things I actually like that has come about because of Covide-19, social distancing.
I’ve never been a fan of large crowds or being pressed together in a line to get into or out of some venue with a bunch of strangers. I need my space. So, being spaced out is quite nice IMHO.
Now, being separated from friends, family, loved ones etc. that’s not good. 🙁 I’m sure as time goes on I’ll come to hate the phrase “social distancing”. Actually, I hate it now.