Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies

Category: Life

Symington Symphony

It’s been a warm dry spring ahead of the May long weekend and if things had been more normal we’d be sipping our morning coffee on the deck at the lake.

But things are not normal

So, here we are, sipping coffee in the back yard.

The view is not quite the same and neither are the sounds. In fact, the sounds are probably the most annoying and something I’m trying to adjust to so I’m calling them the “Symington Symphony” just to put a positive spin on it.

We live close to Symington Yards and when they are busy there is a lot of piercing high frequency squealing from the brakes on the rail cars which is quite something. Mix that in with the pretty much non-stop hum/roar of the traffic on Lagimodiere Blvd, a few sirens for good measure, and you have your symphony.

With the Ontario border being closed until at least June 2nd, this will be the first time ever that we have not opened the cottage on or before the May long weekend. I get the idea about limiting travel and unfortunately we’re being controlled down to the lowest common denominator because some people just can’t follow some common sense guidelines.

For us, we can load up, take the bypass around Kenora, never have to go into town, and come home the same way and most likely see less people that we do now here in Winnipeg, which is almost nobody anyway.

However, with the OPP successfully blocking access on Hwy #1 at the border there is really no workaround. Some people we know have been permitted the one 24hr visit to your property to check on winter damage or make repairs. Some, on the 2nd trip have been turned back so it seems they are taking names and checking a list. 🙁

Hopefully, on June 2nd they will relax the border issue and lake season at the cottage will resume in somewhat of a normal fashion. Looking forward to trying out my new Oarboard with the help of Des’s SUP!

May 17, 2021
More and more true

March 3, 2021
Me and CAR-T

As some readers will know I’m about to get CAR-T therapy for the lymphoma cancer. In short, this involved extracting some of my T-cells, genetically modifying them into CAR-T cells, growing more of these special cells and infusing the new CAR-T cells back into my body.

Yeah, that’s right I’ll be genetically re-engineered and there is no turning back. Once they are in my body they will replicate and become “the new normal” a “living medicine”.

How do I feel about that? Well, at this point it’s the only currently available shot at a cure so I’m doing it. Unlike other treatments like chemotherapy the drugs do their work and leave your system hopefully without any lasting negative side effects. This is different. The new cells will be a part of me, a “living” medication that will hunt down and destroy the lymphoma cancer cells. I was feeling a little so so about all this, until this morning.

My day starts out with devotions using the youversion app. The first thing I read every day is “The Story” which is an introduction, the verse of the day, a video of someone explaining the verse of the day, and a prayer. Today’s verse was Isaiah 43:19 and it was explained by Levi Lusko.

Right at the end of the explanation Levi says “… your (my) good God is seeking to do something new inside of you (me)”.

Do something new inside of me?!?! Something like new T-cells? Like CAR-T cells? It just struck me hard in a very literal sense. I made a note of the thought in my journal and moved on to the next devotion.

I really should not have been reading this next devotion today. I’d gotten behind and I should have read it yesterday. But, here I am reading this.

“then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will make the answers known to you through Jesus Christ.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭TPT‬‬
https://www.bible.com/1849/php.4.7.tpt

There are coincidences and then there are God arranged circumstances. To me this was a God thing. These two insights, back to back, it was like God speaking to me. God is making a path in the wilderness, a river in the desert, a way where there seems to be no way for me to receive this treatment and He is doing something new inside of me, literally and making the answers known to me.

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:19‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://www.bible.com/116/isa.43.19.nlt

The result? I’m at peace with the treatment that is coming up in a few weeks. God is it it, He is with me, He is a good God.

February 22, 2021
Tour of Sufferlandria 2021

There are may days when I go to bed and I’m thanking God for his goodness and faithfulness in my life that I thank Him for cycling. I often pull into the garage and look at the bikes on the rack and think “Who knew that at my age I’d have 5 bicycles and ride indoors and outdoors all year round, including several years of daily year-round computing to work.”

Especially with what’s going on these days I’m so thankful that I’m able to ride the bike, able to take on a challenge like the Tour of Sufferlandri, able to ride outside with my friends Dave & Rene and out at the lake with the Kenora crew. Thankful that I still have the will, desire and physical capability to do these things and I think do them fairly well given the circumstances.

But this is not about me, it’s about giving God the glory that He enables me to live and do these things.

Psalm 115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.

February 19, 2021
Shalom, Shalom
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
Origin: Hard to say…

It’s likely you’ve heard that saying and this morning it came to mind as I was listening to a podcast and riding the bike in the basement on the trainer.

So, who is “the student”? Well, that’s likely to be you and me. And, who is “the teacher”? Initially, I thought the teacher would be a person. This is probably because of my school experiences with teachers and classrooms, the traditional learning environment I’m used to. However, these days I think “the teacher” can be more that a traditional school/college/university teacher person. Perhaps the teacher can be:
- a book
- a podcast
- a YouTube video
- a friend
- a spouse
- the Holy Spirit, Jesus, & God for sure
I’m finding the more open and teachable I am, the more I’m looking, the more available I am, the more often “the teacher” appears.

In these challenging days, what are people looking for? Is it peace? I think so.

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord GOD is the eternal Rock.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26:3-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What is this “perfect peace”? It’s the English translation for Shalom, Shalom a double portion of peace, the peace of God.

This guy explains it better that I ever could. Worth a watch for sure, if the student is ready.
January 25, 2021
Where does my help come from?

Many years ago my mom shared some of her experiences as she returned home from Montreal in September of 1961 after attending the funeral of her brother Ken, age 37.

Mom recounted how on the drive home this verse helped her deal with the tragedy of Ken dying at such a young age.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2

Over the years this verse has come to have a special place in my heart. Most mornings as I sit in my downstairs office I get to look at this picture while doing devotions and reading the bible.

This is a painting my mom did and is one of many works of art that we’re blessed to have in almost every room of our house. If you look closely on the road there is a boy and he’s playing with his dog. I like to think that boy is me. I never had a dog growing up due to allergies and I think mom was not too thrilled with the possibility of looking after a pet. Instead, I got turtles and fish. Less work and less attachment, easier to “let go”.

Anyway, recently one of the devotions was all about Psalm 121 entitled “I will lift up mine eyes“. Every time I look at this picture I’m reminded of this Psalm by the mountains in the background. Interestingly enough there is some bible commentary about looking up to the mountains for help from the gods as people believed way back in the day that “the gods” dwelled in the mountains. For me the forceful comeback to this idea is NO, My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Another take on lifting up you eyes is to get you focus off your problems and up onto God. From Day 1 of the devotion:

When chaos surrounds you and the waves of life seem to crash against your ship, choose to lift up your eyes beyond life’s challenges and circumstances. Choose to lift up your eyes and focus on Him. Remove your gaze off of the problem and center your focus on Him.
What are your eyes focused on? Who are your eyes fixed on? Are you meditating on the problem or are you trusting in the One who can shift the situation in an instant? When you meditate on the problem you’re amplifying its weight on the throne of your heart.
What are you feeding the ground of your heart? You can either feed your faith by meditating on God’s Word or you can feed your problem by worrying on the cares of the world. Fix your eyes on Christ. Lift up your eyes from your narrow problem and shift your eyes onto a bigger God. God is bigger than your problem. Worship God.
Lifting is a choice. When you choose to lift up your eyes, you’re making a conscious decision to worship God instead of worshipping your problem.

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

January 15, 2021
God is Good

I’ve heard and read a lot of God’s attributes and characteristics like God is love, merciful, a refuge, a strong tower, great, glorious, faithful and many many more things. I’m sure you’ve heard many of these things too. But what if you were to narrow it down to just one word? God is…?

Just recently I finished reading The Rational Bible – Exodus by Dennis Prager which I found to be a very enjoyable and enlightening commentary on this section of the bible. There are many explanations and essays on virtually every verse and generally very thought provoking, a worth while read.

While much of the book was quite profound and revelatory one particular essay stood out to me in a special way. “Is God Good or is God Love?

At this point I’m going to excerpt the book a fair bit but I’d recommend reading the entire thing.

The essay comes from Exodus 33:18 where Mosses is on the mountain with God and

Ex 33:18 “He said, “O, let me behold Your Presence!”
Even with all the intimate interactions he’s had with God since the burning bush, Moses yearns to better know God.
Ex 33:19 And He answered, “I will make all My goodness pass before you,”
When Moses asks God to allow him to behold God’s presence – to reveal His essence – what is it that God reveals?
His goodness.
God’s essence is goodness.
Many people say, “God is love.” However, while goodness and love are often related, they can be very different from one another.
Dennis Prager

Good people, by definition, do good – whether or not they happen to have loving feelings.
Dennis Prager

There is quite a bit more to the essay expounding on these thoughts and citing example of why we can believe God is good. Excellent stuff. Now when I hear that phrase “God is good all the time and all the time God is good” I have a much better understanding of that fact.

January 14, 2021
A future and a hope

Plans for the New Year? New Years resolutions? Not too many, perhaps just one main one. Follow the Lord.

January 6, 2021
The Prince of Peace on Christmas Day

From today’s devotion…

Peace is hard to find. Trouble tears apart our lives. Doubt delivers us to our fears. Worry warps our sense of reality. Before we know it we’re trapped in the chaos of day to day life and panic takes over. Yet Christ came to be our peace. Everything—our hopes, worries, fears, doubts, dreams—are met by him and found in him. He can put our worries to rest and surround us with an everlasting peace that calms the raging storm in our lives.
Christmas is a busy time of year and it’s easy to get caught up in all the chaos. This holiday season, let’s make time in our schedules to experience the peace that Christ brings. Let’s set aside quiet time with our family and more importantly ourselves to reflect on God’s promises and let his peace wash over us. Through the good and bad, through times of laughter and tears, Christ came to be our peace.

December 25, 2020
2020 Strava Stats

Well, 2020 wasn’t exactly a banner year on the bike. Things were looking good in January & February as I was on a training plan with some pretty lofty goals and then the journey continued.

I did get back on the road in late summer with some easier and shorter rides as I recovered. Into the late fall I was feeling good on the bike and starting to handle some longer and faster rides. A big surprise was a late season road ride for 103km on Dec 9, 2020.

I’m still riding year round and typically outside on Wednesdays in the winter with some diehard buddies on fat bikes in the snow and cold.

Fatboy Trail at The Lake

For the rest of the winter season it’s indoors on the trainer, typically with Zwift doing a workout, or a group ride, or the occasional race.

December 23, 2020