He is Risen! Alleluia! A most blessed Easter to you. And now for some exciting news that we've been waiting for a long time to happen.

Yes, this is an actual picture of our house. Yes, that is a sold sign. It was a whirlwind of a Holy Week. Becca and I, after a novena to St. Joseph, complete with the burying of a statue of his, upside down, in the snow, had our house appraised. The numbers seemed good, so we went ahead and pulled the trigger on the listing. Two and a half days later our agent stopped by to tell us of an offer which was right at our asking price. St. Joseph came through! We sold our house!

Now what? We trust our beloved saint to see us through to the next step. For now I have applied to be the executive director of the ministerial formation team for the diocese of Saskatoon. If all goes well we hope to be looking for a house shortly, and be moving within two months! Thank you St. Joseph! All glory to Christ the Risen King! As He fled the tomb, we feel, in some small way, to also be fleeing our tomb, so to speak. I guess it's true that if we are buried with Christ, we too shall rise with Him. Or is that, if we bury a St. Joseph's statue upside down with Christ, we shall rise? Deo Gratias!

UPDATE:

What's this? The "SOLD" sign in our front yard is missing? And it seems that the Diocese of Saskatoon doesn't even have an executive director of ministerial formation role?

C'est la vie. On another note, the boys came out of their room all excited this morning. They said: "Happy Easter!" I told them that Jesus didn't rise from the dead this year. They looked quite heartbroken, the poor things. April Fools and all.

An "Ordinary" Day

Well this came out of the blue. A phone call from our Bishop Albert. Not that this wouldn't be entirely unexpected. I've written to him several times. Usually to complain about the way things are run. Last time it was to complain about how he said Mass for our Confirmation in Tisdale. He seemingly was making things up as he went along. I called him out for it, and backed up what I said with the proper citations. Then, nothing. Until now.

He wished to talk with me. I took a deep breath. We were going to have it out. Maybe I would get excommunicated? If so, I was going to go down swinging.

He began by asking... have I ever considered the diaconate? Huh! What? He took my dumbfounded silence as a cue to continue talking. He launched in a sales pitch. How the P.A. diocese is currently ordaining men to the diaconate. It's true. Two men from Nipawin will be ordained shortly. He then spoke on how he appreciates my fire for the Lord, and that this fire should be put to purposeful use. He mentioned several times the breath of the Holy Spirit, and how this breath must fill our own lives. He also brought up my situation of possessing an MA in Theology, and that they could fast track me for ordination, rather cheaply too he hinted at, by the time I reach the canonical age of 35.

Well, I stammered, I'd need to think about this, and even talk with my wife. That's sort of a big deal. A deacon? Me?!?

So Becca and I talked about it and... breath of the Holy Spirit... that line just never escapes me.. I took a deep breath of my own a week later and replied to him with a great big yes!

How could I not! It's a new chapter! It's new life! Spring is here! It's already April the 1st. Time to look forward. Deacon Dan. Created right out of the ordinary.

Te Deum!

UPDATE:

Yeah right, eh.

Vote NDP

Our provincial election is next week (April 4th). Given that we are just days away, I think it only right that I announce my full out support for the Sask NDP. I hope you will consider my undeniable logical reasoning when you head to the polls.

Yes I went all out in decorating my house this time around. But the truth must be proclaimed. Here are a few things for you to consider...

1) I am a teacher. That means I vote NDP. Period. I checked my own will at the door when I signed up. At first I was a little weary, but now I can say I am proud to contribute thousands of dollars every year to my union so that I can pay for other teachers who need to take mornings off in order to get a relaxing massage. It's what makes us who we are. We vote together as sisters and brothers.

2) Brad Wall wants to get rid of publicly run liquor stores. Has there ever been a more dear principle to Saskatchewan than the right to have all liquor stores run exclusively by the government? Wall's decision will surely cost our province upwards of 3 billion dollars in just five years. I think. That's money that should go to education.

3) Our local NDP candidate, when he was first nominated, said that he would provide a voice for people. Voices are important. Without them it is hard to communicate. At the time I wasn't aware that I didn't have a voice. It scared me to think that I didn't. Thankfully I will soon have a voice again. Moreover, the TV show The Voice is exceptional, or so I hear. I like the sound of voices.  Especially the ones I hear in my head. Plus this is the age of the internet! I should have the right to sit in my house and surf the internet while someone else provides a voice for me.

All in all, as we enter this new month of April, on this first day, take to heart what I say. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go book a massage for when school returns.

It is with Great Joy that I Announce...

So the rumours are true. I can confirm them now. I have officially accepted the position of principal at Tisdale Elementary School. I take over on July 1st.

Becoming a principal has been a long and arduous journey. Now in my third year of teaching, I basically decided that it's now or never. I wouldn't want to be one of those older teachers who live a life of regret and basically take their frustration out on their students everyday.

I actually never even applied for the position. My superintendent was observing me in class a few weeks ago and was impressed by my ability to dance around student questions. He further noted my conversation with a parent who came in complaining about a mark. I simply told the parent, in a loud and angry voice, that if they didn't like it they could send their kid to the other elementary school in Tisdale (sarcasm, there isn't one). All in all, the superintendent offered me the job on the spot. I went home and prayed about it. After talking with Becca, we decided it would be better for me to spend more time at school while Joseph and John Paul are growing up. This will allow them to discover their role as boys/men more on their own. Ultimately it was the hand of God in all this.

Thank you for all your kind words. I look forward to this new role. Hopefully it leads to even bigger positions soon (though three years is a bit long to have to wait for another promotion).




Update...

Yeah right, hey. Happy April 1st.