Catching up amidst crazy times

Wow, it feels like it's been an eternity since I last posted. Before I get into my latest post I've got to put a question out there- what's with all these comments coming on people's blogs from anonymous posters about "Dealing with Divorce" groups and a whole slew of other blogs that they're trying to get you to check out? Even blogs have now been invaded with spam? That's brutal. Hey, if you're a spammer and you're thinking of leaving me a message because you think I might be interested in checking out your, "How to properly shampoo your dog" blog, don't bother sending me a link because I DON'T CARE.
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Now, on to the update. A lot has been going on in the Benallick household over the past few months. On the job front, we've just come through our busiest time of year. For those of you who don't know, I work for Briercrest Family of Schools in the bustling metropolis of Caronport, SK. We have a College (our primary school), Seminary, High School and Distance Learning school that enrolls about 1300 students (combined between all 4 schools) annually. Briercrest is the largest Bible College in Canada, privileged by the attendance of about 750 students each year from around the world. You can visit our website at www.briercrest.ca.

On September 5th my office (the Enrollment Services Office) welcomed in over 300 new students to our College. These were bright-eyed freshmen from all corners of the globe (but primarily Canada and the US). For many of these students they would have been working with us for close to a year now so it was great to finally put a face to the many voices we've been talking to over the past 12 months.

I had kind of a funny incident though during the college check-in day. In the morning I was to be a part of a Parent's Orientation presentation. The President of our Institution, along with a VP and a Senior Faculty member were also presenting during this time. It was a great opportunity for yours truly to meet with parents and help to give them an idea of what their sons/daughters would be experiencing in the months to come.

About 10 minutes into my presentation I lost all train of thought, the room started to spin, I started to feel really woozy, began to panic because 30 parents were staring at me wondering what was going on, and proceeded to take a seat and pass out. Talk about leaving an impression on people. As one of the other presenters said to me in an email the next day, "You should came up with a dramatic way of showing people how hard you've been working lately."

Probably one of the most embarrassing moments of my life but also, at the time, somewhat scary as well as I have never passed out before. I've done a million public presentations in my life too so I couldn't see how it could have been stress related. Anyways, I've since been to see a couple doctors and they assure me that I'm totally fine and that this was simply an isolated incident that I should not be concerned about. I think the next few public presentations I do though I'll have that in the back of my mind.
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We've had our Moose Jaw Warrior billet living with us now for almost a month. It's been going great so far. He's a great kid and has been an absolute pleasure to have in our home. The only difficult part of the experience is that he's from Slovakia and this is his first time living away from home so we've had some interesting times trying to get over the language barrier. Thankfully he's a smart kid and is eager to learn the language. His english has improved by leaps and bounds during these first few weeks. We're looking forward to seeing him play as he is a very gifted hockey player with a great work ethic and an incredible focus on his goal- which is to eventually play in the NHL.

Our beloved Warriors have played 2 exhibition games thus far and are 1-1 with 2 more exhibition games to go. There's a lot of optimism around the team this year which is great to see. We've got some incredibly gifted players on the team this year and they look to be a solid bunch of kids. As sad as I am to wave goodbye to the summertime it's always nice to have 7-8 months of hockey to look forward to.

Speaking of hockey, how great is it to see NHL training camps starting up today? There's a few of us around the office here who are counting down the days until October 5th when the NHL returns to the ice. What better way to kick off the season then with the Battle of Ontario?

Being a Red Wings fan, I don't really care who wins that game but it will just be nice to see one of the games best rivalries kick it off for the league that night. I don't know what the response to the NHL will be in the US but I don't think they'll have a problem filling rinks in Canada. It will be great to have Hockey Night In Canada again, even if they don't have commentators for the first part of the season while the CBC works to resolve their labor issues.
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And finally, our little boy celebrated his 3rd birthday on Saturday. His actual birthday was on Sunday, September 11th (that's right, he was born on the 1-year anniversary of 9/11) but we had the big party on Saturday.

I can't believe the little man is 3 years old already. Time certainly flies. There are many nights when I absolutely cherish saying good night to him because I know that one day he'll be moved away or staying up later than I and I won't have that little boy to kiss goodnight, or say prayers with, or read Veggietales books with. I'm okay with that, but I'm going to soak up every opportunity that I have right now.

You'd think after 3 years of living with this kid that I'd be able to put into words just how special our relationship is but yet I'm still searching for the words. There are times when I am so consumed by how much he means to me and how much I love him that I feel like I am going to burst inside. There are times when I feel like I want to hold on to him and keep him from growing up because he's so little and innocent now and I don't want him to be hurt by the world when he gets older. It's at those times when I have to remember that he does not belong to me. I don't own him. His life belongs to the Lord and I have simply been entrusted with caring for him for as long as God requires. I heard my favorite writer, Phil Callaway, speak about his son in those terms and it really hit home with me. He said something along the lines of, "Thank you Lord for our son. . . I know he was only on loan to us but we've really become attached to him."

It's hard to remember that my son's life- the direction he heads, the decisions he makes, the life he leads- has less to do with me and more to do with him coming to know the Lord in a deep and meaningful way. I am fortunate that I can still play a part but I need to keep in mind that I am not the lead character in this movie. I'm more like the goofy sidekick. . .

Anyways, I'm extremely thankful for my son (and my daughter) and cannot wait to celebrate a whole bunch more birthdays with him.

Enough from me for today.