Irish Tin Whistle

This has been a great week. My loverly wife, Tammy, bought me an Irish tin whistle complete with song book and CD so that I can learn to play. The Irish tin whistle is much like the common recorder except that it is made of tin and a little bit of plastic for the mouth piece. It has a shrill sound when you blow hard into it. It is a nice sound shrill or not. It gives the right Celtic sound. As of today I can play Old MacDonald's Farm...EEE III EEE III OOO! My hope is to attain a level of proficiency in the next year or so to join/start a little Celtic band! We will see, pray for me! I can just see me dancing around and playing the tin whistle along the coast of Nova Scotia. What a joy it is to be a minstrel for the King!

Vision Award!

Tonight at my final Dale Carnegie class I made the top three in the class! I also received an award (The Dale Carnegie book of quotes) for my clarity of vision for the future that God has called the Hutton family to do in Sydney Nova Scotia. I basically said that God has called us to Sydney to be a part of healing people and helping others find faith in Christ. This is something that I know will happen. I am convinced that no obstacle can stop what God has already done!

Me and Three

Yesterday was a day for just me to be home with my three kids: Catherine, Laura, and Graham! Tammy was away for a women's ministry workshop at our local church camping/retreat facility while I stayed home. The week previous to this experience I was a bit (a bit mind you) apprehensive of being home alone with all three (a task that Tammy handles with excellence daily). Nevertheless, the time came, Friday evening. When I arrived home after being at the church most of the night (approximately 9:30pm), Laura, our middle girl, was awake. She had just been through a scarey dream. Therefore, I took it upon myself to stay up with her and watch a movie, Polar Express, until about 11:30pm. Then she and I went off to sleepy land.

The next morning (I should mention that the night went by without anyone being upset nor waking to any large extent) my youngest woke and was ready to get out of his crib. Graham and I went downstairs at 6:40am. The girls did not wake until almost an hour later. The next few hours we watched movies, played, and I was even able to have a coffee with my neighbor, Mike, who was gracious and patient with the morning routine of preparing breakfast. After Mike left, we watched Star Wars episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Catherine and Laura absolutely love Star Wars. Catherine is always Princess Leia. Laura is always Luke Skywalker. I am always Han Solo when we watch. Graham gets to be either R2D2, C-3PO, Chewie, or Darth Vader by default.

After that movie Catherine headed to dance class and Graham went down for a nap. The day buzzed on by and Tammy came home sometime mid-afternoon. The day went quite well! No major injuries, tantrums, or adult melt downs, so, I consider yesterday a success. Thanks be to God!

Modern Day Monastics

I am feeling a call to reach out to the world through the means of prayer inspired mission. I believe that God is calling us to become a holistic community concerned about the body, mind, and soul of all people in our area of influence. I dunno exactly what it will look like when we get to Sydney, but I believe that it will flow all through the week and be a lifestyle rather than a Sunday to Sunday experience once a week. I crave building a group that worships, prays, and does missions together in the very neighborhoods of its existence. I desire to do life together 24/7/365 with people...college students, teens, single moms, men, the homeless, etc... I believe that this dream must come true. I am praying for clarity in the area of our beginnings. I want to see a vivid picture of where we are going physically and spiritually with the people of Sydney....MORE LATER.