Tim Thompson . . . Reflections

The Advent Conspiracy

2008-10-24T20:44:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since I blogged anything on this site and I've been through a lot in that time. A renewed hobby has taken a lot of my time; a return to shift work in April didn't help although I have a lot more time off; a new grandson in June was wonderful.

I also left church behind last December and have redeveloped a pretty cynical view about organized religion but on occasion, something still stirs within. One Christian blogger that I still read points to The Advent Conspiracy. Worth looking at, worth viewing the video and certainly worth action. I'll have to let it speak deeply to me and renew that passion for the third world and maybe, spend less at Christmas in order to spend more on hope.

Hope, the best defense against cynicism.

Love

2008-02-11T18:14:00.001-08:00

I know that I haven't posted much of anything here for a long time and there are still a few of you who check this out from time to time. It's not that I don't have anything to say (I do - I've gotten a little radical in a couple of areas of belief over the last year) it's more that I don't have enough hours in the day to accomplish all I might like to do.

Photography has become a pretty major interest of late and on a recent trip to see family in Vernon, B.C. I decided to try and take a picture a day while I was there and post it on my photo blog (which also hasn't seen much in the way of blogging.)

I thought I would share this picture that I took of some candles that my daughter-in-law had sitting around because it is a great quote from the greatest explanation of love ever. (For a more detailed explanation of the shot check out Vernon PAD - Candles on my photo blog.)

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-16T14:29:00.000-08:00

Photo Blog

2007-07-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

Those of you who still check this blog from time to time will know that I don't blog too often these days. I mentioned a month ago that my adult ADD (just a joke really, although people around me roll their eyes at my latest "interest") has taken me back into a serious interest in photography. So, I've started a new blog called Reflections II that will be focused on my photography hobby and maybe business. I thought the reflections title was still appropriate since photography is basically a reflection of what we see.

Currently, you will find only two posts over there and there just doesn't seem to be enough time to learn all I have to learn, to shoot photos and develop them. I shoot in RAW format so photos have to be "developed" by setting white balance and color saturation and all kinds of things even before you might venture into Photoshop manipulation. While RAW keeps all the data intact and allows for much greater control over the picture, it also requires an additional step to convert (or develop) them to jpegs. Since I took over 2000 photos over the last couple of weeks, I have a fair bit of stuff to work on. Fortunately, I'm not very good yet and so a lot of those photos can just be left and not bothered with at this time.

Some of the photos that I think are better (mainly because I like them or at least find them interesting) can be found on my Flickr Photo page.

Now, in case anyone thinks I've lost interest in things of faith that this blog has been mostly about, let me reassure you that I think my faith is fine, but I just am having trouble continuing to talk about all that's right or wrong about the Christian church these days. Let me just say that I have a lot of confidence, trust and faith in the amazing grace of God that will see me through and probably see a lot more people in this world through than most of the church thinks. For that, I am thankful to God for his love and a little discouraged with a church that is too judgmental for my tastes. Although, to avoid charges of hypocrisy, I have a fairly judgmental streak running through my bones, mainly pointed towards a church and christians (myself included) who don't exactly live and breath the grace of Jesus.

But, he knows what he's doing and the Spirit continues to be active and busy in this world. Sometimes we just don't see it because we refuse to open our eyes.

But, enough of this preaching stuff. It's too much like what I've spent too much time doing in the past. Time to go forward.

I love this quote from Mark Twain who no one would mistake for a Christian thinker:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

That's why I'm chasing photography again.

Catch you later.

Ferry Bomb Threat

2007-07-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an interesting final day of holidays. My wife and I left on July 12 and headed to Kekuli Bay Provincial Park just outside of Vernon, B.C. My kids and grandkids are in Vernon and Kelowna so it was great to see them. We also had an opportunity to visit my daughter-in-law's family who arrived a few days after we did.

It was a pretty great week with the exception of having our awning ripped off by a freak windstorm on the first day. Lots of sightseeing, lots of pictures with my new camera (some 2000 plus) and overall a good couple of weeks.

Yesterday we returned after the final two nights in Manning Park and we caught the 3:15 ferry out of Tsawwassen (Vancouver) heading for Duke Point outside of Nanaimo. About 45 minutes into the trip an announcement came over the speakers that all passengers were to move to the rear of the boat. As we headed back the boat was rocking real bad and we all wondered what was going on. As it turned out, the boat was turning around and heading back to Tsawwassen. There had been an earlier announcement looking for the owner of a backpack that had been found and I suspected it had something to do with that.

Eventually, a crew member came into the cafeteria where we were all waiting and told us that there had been a bomb threat and we were returning to the Vancouver side so police could search the vessel. Later, I talked to another crew member and there had been a phone threat saying there was a bomb on a ferry that had sailed from Tsawwassen. They had done a sweep of the vessel and found the backpack but, after the announcement someone had come and claimed it. There was then a subsequent phone threat and that's when the decision had been made to go back to the ferry terminal.

After we got back to the terminal, we waited, and waited, and waited. The ferry across from us that was supposed to leave for Victoria had their passengers emptied out into the parking lot while the police searched the ferry using a dog trained to sniff out explosives (I guess). Eventually, they showed up on our ferry and we had to put any carry on luggage, purses, camera bags, off to the side for the dog to sniff. None of it seemed real efficient and I suspect it was pretty clear that it was a hoax, but they had to make sure.

Eventually, we were given the clearance to leave again and we got underway at 8:00 (remember, this was the original 3:15 ferry). According to the news sources there were no other ferries except ours and the one already loaded for Victoria that departed. We got to the other side by about 10:00 and finally got home at 11:30 last night.

All in all an interesting day, not one I want to experience too often. I don't panic easily and I was never too worried. I took lots of pictures of the event and we had a nice visit with a couple of vacationing families, one from Ontario and another from Calgary and that doesn't happen very often (visiting with strangers, I mean), (or being the victim of a bomb threat).

And that was our excitement for the day.

Renewed Interest

2007-06-29T12:44:00.000-07:00

My adult ADD has moved me back to a renewed interest in photography. I have always had an interest but I am now trying to take it to a different level including, possibly, getting involved in the wedding photography and portrait business.

To that end I am in a bit of a spending mode and recently purchased a Canon 30D digital SLR. My 1992 vintage Canon EOS Elan film camera has sat idle for a number of years, partly because I was starting to have some trouble with it working properly and partly because I always felt restricted by the film format because I was too cheap to shoot the amounts of shots you need to take sometimes to get what you are looking for (plus I probably got interested in something else). (At least that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.)

Digital works well with my computer interests and shooting in RAW allows an opportunity to start exploring the whole digital darkroom concept.

Anyway, if you want to view some of my photos here is the link to my Flickr page. Most of the pictures are still from my digital point and shoot Fuji camera but more and more will appear as time passes.

A love of God's glorious nature inspires me greatly and capturing that and his beautiful people provides multiple connections to those things that fascinate me about God and about faith.

That, plus getting out of the whole political aspects of church and union and work is highly therapeutic for me. It might even get me blogging again.

Great Foxworthy Speech

2007-04-22T21:58:00.000-07:00

As I said, I have pretty much taken a hiatus from blogging. Even if I wasn't, posts would have been infrequent because I'm on another one of those seemingly endless renovation projects. This time it's our bathroom. It's only a little 5x7 room but it's taking forever. Wish I was making $50-60 bucks an hour for my work. I'd be rich.

Anyway, the point of this post is to link to a great little speech by Jeff Foxworthy on the appeal of country music. Now I'm not much of a country music fan, and I don't consider myself a redneck (although I'm from a little town and I drive a pickup truck) but this is one great speech. My thanks to Joe Carter at the evangelical outpost for linking to Hot Air's post (in his post Thirty Three Things (v.8)).

Have a great week. I've just about got the drywall hung and ready to mud. Yep, a real redneck DIYer.

Deleted Post from (Blog) Red

2007-04-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

I use Bloglines for the blogs I want to follow and read. Occasionally, a post will show up in my feeds that has subsequently been deleted on the actual blog (as you can see by clicking on the first link below). The following post at (Blog) Red impressed me quite a bit with what is a forward campaign in Swaziland. I can only speculate why it has been removed from the blog, but I put it up here for you to look at.

Likusasa Ngelami - The Future Is Mine

By bn

Here's one of the ways that (RED) money works in Africa: Swaziland's National Emergency Response Council on HIV and AIDS, or NERCHA, targeted teachers with their "Likusasa Ngelami" ("the future is mine") campaign to encourage sexual abstinence and delay of sexual debut. Adele from the Global Fund sent over the posters for us to share.

That's not all NERCHA does to fight AIDS in Swaziland, of course. We first mentioned NERCHA last December with Adele's blog entry about her trip to Swaziland.

Here is an excerpt from her blog entry:

Swaziland has the highest infection rate in the world – about 34% of all adults are HIV-positive, and so many have already died that there are already over 70,000 orphans, and 15,000 child-headed households – in a country of only 1.2 million people. This has all happened very recently. In 1992, just under 4% of women attending prenatal clinics were HIV-positive, and by 2004 this had increased to over 42% -- that means that now, almost 1 out of every 2 pregnant women is HIV-positive. Life expectancy for Swazis has dropped to 39 years, and the number of orphans is expected to increase to 120,000 by 2010.

NERCHA’s role – with the help of (RED) money through the Global Fund grant – is to turn this terrifying trend around, ensuring that those already infected can get care and support, those who are still HIV-negative can remain that way through prevention education, and those who have lost their livelihoods because the family’s breadwinners have died, can survive, through community projects designed to support orphans by growing food for them and providing a safe space every day.

Read the rest of Adele's post here, and also a post from her follow-up visit to Swaziland last month.

Posted on: Fri, Apr 13 2007 7:45 AM
Updated: Sat, Apr 14 2007 1:31 PM

What We Call the News

2007-04-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

Check out this new, funny, commentary on the news by the folks at Jib-Jab.

Evolution of a Worshiper

2007-03-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

Gotta love this!

With thanks to Steve Norris.

Now I have to go find a robe and a cross on a stick.

Tim's Trims

2007-03-21T21:43:00.000-07:00

I know I said that I was taking a break, and I am, but I found a new way to even more quickly throw up things on a blog that I stumble across and want to share.

It's called tumble blogging and I call mine Tim's Trims. It just makes it real easy to put up a link, a quote, video, or a picture that I might find in my internet searching. I've also linked to it in the sidebar.

It will probably be a real mishmash of stuff, but hopefully, with some value.

Try it out for yourself at Tumblr.

Taking a Break

2007-03-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

To those few readers who still check this blog out from time to time, I thought I should let you know that I'm taking a bit of a break to undertake a couple things.

I am still trying to figure out how to get back into prayer and that has to happen in the AM when I usually did most of my blogging.

The other project I'm undertaking is for my three children. I never shared much of my memories of my childhood with them and I am trying to get this down for them. The neat thing about this is that I created another blog, open just to them, where I can post these "memories" as I find time and interest.

The biggest thing that they have often been curious about is my father, who was killed in a plane crash when I was ten. I never talked much about him, partly because my memories are pretty slim. But I also never shared much with my kids about how it impacted me and what my thoughts have been.

So it's a good exercise for me. It also allows me to practice writing narrative style writing. And that's enjoyable.

I may still post from time to time, but I only have about 5 hits a day since I've really not had much of any substance to say of late. Mostly, I've just been whining and that isn't constructive. I think that I'm working things out, though, even considering participating once again in worship at my church. I'm trying to come to terms with a few things in that area, and I don't want to lead or step on anyone's toes. We'll have to see how that works out.

I will still read blogs and perhaps become a better commenter than blogger. A personal note to Steve Norris, I'll definitely be following your blog and commenting from time to time. I'm not letting this internet friendship disappear. I have too few friends as it is.

Blessings on everyone who came to visit. The blog's not dead, just not going to be too active for a while.

(Product) Red Interview

2007-03-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned the (Product) Red campaign previously as something that I think is worthwhile. You can read an interview with Rose Rwabasinga from Rwanda on the (BLOG) RED site.

My only caution in all of this is that you should not rush out and buy something you don't need or like just because some of the profits go to help others. Better to take even half of what you would spend and send it directly to the Global Fund or some other worthy organization.

But, if you are buying something and the (Product) Red item is satisfactory, then it's a great idea and I would say to do it.

Justice comes in many flavors and in many colors, red being one of them.

No Focus

2007-03-08T06:46:00.000-08:00

I've been scanning a few blogging tip blogs over the last couple of weeks, in part, I suppose, to try and figure out what blogging path I want to go down. I have used this blog to vent, to sometimes share what I think about church and the kingdom, and, all too often, to just whine and snivel about things that bother me. The bottom line? No real focus or direction. Kind of like my life right now.

I have another blog that I set up to communicate with union membership at the mill I work. But that gets posts pretty infrequently unless something is happening. Recently, I set up a blog for my union local that the President can post to and that I post to, also for communication, so it renders my other blog somewhat moot.

The blog tips suggest that a person find something that they are expert about and write about that. I'm not sure what I could write about. I like to think I know a little about a lot and certainly, people who know me know how opinionated I can be. But, I don't consider myself expert in any one thing.

So, I'm searching a bit for something that will grab my writing interest. I'll continue posting here but I'm struggling to find inspiration these days that goes beyond just whining and complaining. I guess you could say that I've got the blahs big time.

Just too much negative stuff happening all around me and it eats at me inside.

Hopefully, it's just winter time blues. Thanks for reading some of these nothing posts.

Have a great day and, if I don't post tomorrow, a great weekend.

Thoughts from Church

2007-03-06T06:47:00.000-08:00

I admit to a large degree of dissatisfaction with church these days. And, I will take a large part of the blame upon myself. I don't believe it is just related to my church but to the way that I see church being done all around (at least in my little town).

Lets take worship for example. Many of the worship songs that I taught and used to lead now seem trite, meaningless ritual. Quite a change from what I used to consider radical and new and meaningful. Obviously what has changed is me. Is that for the good or for the bad? I'm not really sure.

As I thought about worship in song on Sunday and about what worship songs would be acceptable to me I could only settle on songs that are directly from Scripture, especially the Psalms, and songs that are specifically about the great themes of the Bible.

Schmaltzy, sappy love songs to Jesus just don't speak to me anymore (if they ever really did) even though love is the greatest theme of God.

I'm not sure what I am looking for in worship. I acknowledge that it is important and that communal worship is important but I cannot find satisfaction in what I am currently seeing or experiencing. Again, quite possibly it is mostly my fault these days, for I am extremely critical of most of what I see.

A bit of irony to these thoughts came following the meeting as the pastor, with great care, approached me and asked if I would come and teach the worship team the Robin Mark song, The Wonder of Your Cross, because he wants to use it at Easter.

Silly me, I said yes.

Have a great day.

Children of Hurin

2007-03-03T16:32:00.000-08:00

Well, this is kind of cool. Here is the cover art for a new novel by Tolkien that he never finished but has now been completed by his son, Christopher. It will be available in April and I may soon just have to pre-order it. Infuze magazine has a few details about it. Check it out and order it at Amazon.ca (Canada) or Amazon.com (U.S.).

One Sentence on Prayer

2007-03-02T06:47:00.000-08:00

I am in the process of reading Philip Yancey's book on Prayer and I regularly bracket statements that make a valid point with me. This morning I have one sentence to share from page 166 of the book. Here it is, out of context and without preface, but read carefully, has something pretty important to say in my opinion.

Regular prayer helps me to protect inner space, to prevent the outer world from taking over.

Have a good day and a great weekend.

Eating at the Trough

2007-03-01T06:46:00.000-08:00

Steve Norris is reading the new book by Dallas Willard titled The Great Omission. Yesterday, I linked to this post by Steve and my the closing quote made such an impression on my wife she printed it off, showed a couple of other people she works with (at the church) and then showed it again to me. I do read the posts I link to, but sometimes too quickly and it is easy to miss the significance of a statement or quote. So here is the quote for you to read in case you didn't visit Steve's blog.

Take some time to think about it and consume it (pun intended). I had a pastor once who spoke about people who had to come to every meeting the church had, every Bible study, everything and still wanted more. He referred to them as spiritual pigs. Interesting.

Here's the quote and have a great day.

The will to obey is the engine that pulls the train of spirituality in Christ. But spirituality in many Christian circles has simply become another dimension of Christian consumerism. We have generated a body of people who consume Christian services and think that that is Christian faith. Consumption of Christian services replaces obedience to Christ. And spirituality is one more thing to consume.

What If We Can Be Different?

2007-02-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

Steve Norris is reading Dallas Willard's latest book and posts on an aspect of what he has to say in What If We Can Be Different?

Steve also posted earlier on this book here.

Have a great day.

Why Pray?

2007-02-27T06:54:00.000-08:00

Reading Philip Yancey's book, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? refreshes my memory around the need for relationship with God. Sometimes that important point gets lost in all the worrying and annoyance and anger (sometimes) about all the things not right in this world. Of course, most of what impacts me, personally, has to do with church and work. I could put both under a list titled, Things That Stress Me Out.

I'm not talking about just going to work or going to church, I'm talking about involvement. This could be everything from active involvement in some form of leadership to simply just caring about what is being done and how it is being done.

And I think that this same thing applies to prayer. Prayer is not just uttering some simple, repetitious, list of requests, it is, rather, engaging with God, learning some of how he thinks and what he wills, and finding out how to play a role in seeing his will done on earth as in heaven.

Involvement is not easy. Easy is doing nothing, not being involved, not being engaged, not expressing opinion or passion or love. Easy is tempting. Easy is the wide path that leads to destruction.

But, even easy can be stressful. How long can one turn a blind eye to children dying for lack of water, food, antibiotics? How long can one ignore the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa? How long can one ignore the massive injustices that still occur in this world?

But, I think that if prayer is ignored, it starts to get easier and easier to ignore all these other things.

Why pray? To get into the flow of God's heart.

I need to relearn how to pray.

Have a great day!

Morning Blues

2007-02-26T06:49:00.000-08:00

I'm not feeling too inspired this morning. There are some stressful negotiations coming up at work and I'm meeting today with other union reps to discuss strategy, I guess.

The last couple of days, my wife and I have been going through some things, getting rid of some and storing other stuff away in boxes, trying to get a handle on the accumulation of years. Rena (my wife) had some emotional moments going through pictures and cards and school projects from our children. My moment came as I was packing away books, many purchased years ago, in order to relocate some shelving to my current office.

Most of these books were purchased when I was training to be a Salvation Army officer many long years ago (1974-1976). That career never really panned out but my thoughts strayed to what might have been or perhaps what should have been. A melancholy moment to be sure.

More important, I guess, and always a struggle, is what should be now and what should I be doing? There's lots of interests and lots of concerns, but too often, little energy and sliding passion and trouble connecting with people outside my immediate tiny circle.

Whine, whine, whine. Time to wake up.

Have a good day!

The Risky Business of Prayer

2007-02-22T06:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I typed in a few quotes from Philip Yancey's Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference?, highlighted them to move them into block quote form and...hit the space bar and they were gone. Plus, I didn't discover the right click|undo command until I had tried something else so I shut down, went and ate breakfast and went to work. So I'll try again today.

Here are the quotes:

Praying can be a risky enterprise, I have found, as the Spirit often convicts me of the very thing I am praying about. "Lord, help my neighbor, a single mother, in her hard life." Hmm, have I offered to take her son skiing lately? "Father, I pray for Brandon and Lisa's troubled marriage." What am I doing to support them, keep them together, hold them accountable? The inner voice of prayer expresses itself naturally in action, just as the inner voice of my brain guides all my bodily actions. (Page 126)

Sometimes, like the boy who asks his parents to solve a math problem while he plays video games, we ask God for things we should be doing ourselves. Israel cried out to God for yet another rescue, "Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old." [Isaiah 51:9] In the next chapter comes the response, "Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength." [Isaiah 52:1] (Page 127)

Prayer may seem at first like disengagement, a reflective time to consider God's point of view. But that vantage presses us back to accomplish God's will, the work of the kingdom. We are God's fellow workers, and as such we turn to prayer to equip us for the partnership. Karl Barth, living in the crisis days of Nazi rule, declared prayer to be "the true and proper work of the Christian," and observed that "the most active workers and thinkers and fighters in the divine service in this world have at the same time, and manifestly, been the most active in prayer." (Page 128)

Risky indeed. Prayer may, no should, lead us to action. Easier not to pray don't you think? Certainly less risky and less challenging. This probably explains much of my difficulties with prayer.

Have a good day and a good weekend (I start mine tomorrow.)

Partnering with God

2007-02-19T21:32:00.000-08:00

In a post a few days back, I mentioned a personal thought by Gary Haugen, president of International Justice Mission, that was relayed in Philip Yancey's book, Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference? Here are those thoughts:

Justice Partners

Fresh out of college I worked with Bishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa confronting the crimes of apartheid, and later became a lawyer investigating genocide in Rwanda and police abuse in the United States. I became convinced that Christians need to serve on the front lines of justice, so I founded an organization (International Justice Mission) that focuses the light of God's truth - as well as legal pressure and powerful publicity - on specific cases of injustice. We operate in twelve countries, specializing in cases of human trafficking, slavery, illegal detention, and torture, as well as assisting widows and orphans.

From the very beginning, I believed we needed reminders that the work of justice is God's work, and that God is on our side in the battle for justice. Otherwise, we might get overwhelmed by the enormity of the evil we confront. I feared a slide toward what I call "prayerless striving." So every day our entire staff begins with thirty minutes of silence, in which we encourage prayer and meditation. We don't talk, we don't work. We sit at our desks and pray. In addition, every day we get together at eleven o'clock and spend thirty minutes praying for each other and the cases we're involved in. Our staff members often report this is the most meaningful part of their day.

Gary continues to talk about more than five thousand prayer partners they rely on and the once a year weekend prayer conference where these partners are updated and pray together.

In our prayers we appeal to God's own desires: "You're the one who loves this child in slavery in Thailand." And I could tell you many stories of apparently miraculous answers to prayer: for example, of victims who were pleading to God for help just before one of our lawyeres or social workers showed up.

Gary says sometimes their faith gets tested and relates a tale of nine women being held in prison in Southeast Asia. But they persevere in prayer for their release and in working hard to accomplish just that.

Prayer as partnering with God. I like that. I need to learn how to do it.

Struggling With Prayer

2007-02-19T06:51:00.000-08:00

I have struggled with prayer the last (what 2, 3 years?) little while (possibly my whole life). Today, I want to begin again. Inspired in part by some of what I'm reading in Yancey's book, Prayer, I want to try and focus primarily on others and especially on some of those who do battle against the things that generate a bit of passion in me. Third world hunger, (especially the children), AIDS in Africa and, inspired perhaps by the upcoming movie, Amazing Grace, but also from an awareness from a few years ago, the slave trade that still exists in this world, even in the west. One heinous aspect of today's slave trade involves the sex slave trade. A brief viewing of a few minutes of a CNN special indicates that girls as young as 9 (and probably younger in places) are victims of this crime.

So I will pray and try and align my thoughts, actions and thinking with that of a loving heavenly Father who weeps and grieves over these same things.

And in praying, I will try and focus very little on myself. That has too often in the past driven me from prayer, probably because it is selfish and sometimes self defeating. I will instead simply try and work on this relationship with God in a joint effort to care for this world by first of all praying for it.

Have a great day!

International Justice Mission

2007-02-16T06:59:00.000-08:00

Just a quick link this morning that comes from reading Philip Yancey's book on prayer. Scattered throughout the book are some personal thoughts from various individuals. The one I read this morning is by Gary Haugen, president of International Justice Mission. So I looked up the site and found that it relates very much to the Amazing Grace theme from the last couple of days. Gary recently received the 2007 Wilberforce Award and this group is involved in fighting the slavery that still exists in the world.

When I get a chance I'll try and relate his comments from Yancey's book. They are quite good and provide some good teaching on the subject of prayer.

Have a great weekend.

Amazing Grace: The Movie

2007-02-15T06:50:00.000-08:00

Though I had heard of this forthcoming movie, I had not seen a preview of it until reading this post by Steve Norris (where he has the preview embedded). Then I read an Infuze interview with associate producer Bob Beltz that linked to the Amazing Grace website (also with previews). The site has some amazing resources including teaching and study guides.

The story of abolitionist William Wilberforce, inspired by John Newton (who wrote the hymn Amazing Grace) will make for an uplifting and encouraging movie. Check out the resource page of the website with a study guide and a faith guide.

It is a worthy story from history to recall and remember because slavery is not dead in this world and the fight needs to continue. The related website The Amazing Change gives some ways that we can help (the trailer is there, too).

Check it all out. There are still many injustices in this world that are worth getting involved in and that deserve our attention.

Have a great day!

The Evangelical Trap

2007-02-14T06:57:00.000-08:00

No Christian cure for Haggard's sex addiction by Julie Bogart (Via Thy Grace is Sufficient) speaks to the trap laid by Evangelical Christianity for its leaders and followers. Here's an excerpt:

The evangelical church needs to be honest and admit that prayer, accountability, Bible study, preaching from the pulpit and exorcising demons does not guarantee the end of sexual addiction or sexual sin for many people. What if the church said that much? What if evangelicals admitted that breaking bad sex habits is beyond the scope of its ability and is not a promise in Scripture?

Instead the church ought to advertise what it is best at: coming together to share our lives in community — to care for each other when we're sick, to pray for one another, to offer help when someone has a baby, to give food to the poor... What if someone said, "I'm struggling with sin," and the church said, "We can't promise you that you'll change, but we can offer you a place where you'll make friends and find meaningful work to do in spite of your struggles?"

Read the whole thing. There are some good thoughts here for me, on both sides of the equation.

Have a great day!

(Product) Red

2007-02-13T06:40:00.000-08:00

My wife and I are back from holidays (and a day of union business in Vancouver yesterday) and facing the prospect of work this morning. What a drag.

But I've been thinking about some things related to my previous post on the (Product) Red initiative. This appeals to me because it goes to help mothers and children and others in Africa, plagued with Aids and too poverty stricken to afford the drugs that will help them survive this disease.

My thoughts focus around the care one needs to take not to just rush out and buy something unnecessarily because a portion of the proceeds go for a good cause. It is probably better to send a donation directly to the cause than to do it this way.

But the idea is still a great one because we tend to buy a bunch of stuff anyway and if the (Product) Red item suffices, then it is wonderful knowing that not all of the profit goes to the store, but that a portion of it helps others.

The other aspect is the built-in advertising factor. By wearing one of these products, or a related bracelet or necklace, it can draw attention to those around you of the plight of those who are being helped. And that's always a good thing.

I like to think of it as one way of putting faith into action (but I may be off base a bit here because it is related to consumerism).

I may have more to say on this later, but now I have to get into the getting ready for work mode.

Have a great day.

INSPI(RED)

2007-02-11T20:45:00.000-08:00

A few months late but onboard nonetheless. Check out Bono's message and go Red. (And stay tuned for a picture of me in my new Gap (Red) tee. I bet you can't wait.)

Choices

2007-02-04T19:39:00.000-08:00

Early last year I had to pre-schedule my holidays and I scheduled one of my weeks for this first week in February. For most of the year my wife and I considered a trip to Mexico to enjoy the sunshine and beaches. Instead, we decided to go to Vernon, B.C. with colder weather and more snow than Mexico, that's for sure and even more of both than our home on Vancouver Island.

The pastor at the church we attended this morning talked some about choices and I've been joking about whether or not I made the right choice in regards to holidays.

Let's see, Mexico, beaches, sunshine, warmth, versus cold, snow, children, grandchildren. Sitting and cuddling with the grandkids; playing cars and hide and seek; watching the Superbowl with my boys (and the occasional female feigning interest) and stuffing our faces with wings and meatballs and shrimp, versus sand and snorkeling and......ahh, it's no contest. I made the right choice.

We'll get to the sun sometime, I'm sure, but I wouldn't miss this for the world.

Waiting for Vacation

2007-02-01T06:47:00.000-08:00

At the end of the work day today, my wife and I will be heading of for a week of vacation. This evening we'll escape the island, overnighting with friends in Vancouver and then off to the sunny (but cold) Okanagon to see kids, grandkids and the Superbowl.

Blogging will be light although I will be taking the laptop and I think my son has wireless so that should be easy.

Rest, relaxation, recuperation, maybe even revival, who knows?

Have a good weekend, week, whatever.

Go Colts!

Anonymous Critics

2007-01-31T18:38:00.000-08:00

I have deleted a critical comment left on an earlier blog, not because I can't take criticism, in fact, I welcome constructive criticism. I have deleted it simply because it was made anonymously. I have no problems with anonymous comments, but when the commenter chooses to criticize without leaving a name, it is cowardice and I won't leave it on this blog. It is not something I would ever do (criticizing anonymously) and it is unacceptable here.

I initially responded with a lengthy post about the comment and I posted it for awhile but have now removed it because that also wasn't the correct way to handle it. (If you subscribe to a feed reader then you will probably see it. If you do, please ignore it.)

I welcome criticism, but I hope it would be criticism that would help me and that is impossible when it is done anonymously.

My apologies to all that I even have to write this much.

Losing your Future, Gaining your Life

2007-01-31T06:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, while I was scraping the frost off the windshield of the truck, I thought about where I might be living today if my father hadn't perished some 42 years ago. I was living in Prescott, Arizona at the time and, though we had the occasional cold spell, with snow once in a while (probably about as often as we do here) I don't recall it as being cold. It might be colder there than I think and maybe, from time to time, people have to scrape their windows.

But, I could have ended up living in Arizona or maybe southern California (where I was born), where the sun always shines and it's always balmy weather, right?

That's what I thought briefly yesterday morning because I don't like cold weather although I'm heading off to even colder climes on Friday where I'll get to watch the Superbowl with my sons while our women wait hand and foot on us (did I just say that...?).

My thoughts then went where they always go when I wonder what would have happened if my dad hadn't died way back then: no Rena (the love of my life); no aforementioned sons (yes, there could have been different sons, but not these ones who I love deeply); no precious daughter (again, maybe another but not this one that I know and also love deeply); not these current grandsons (loved and adored); and not the people who have married into the family (also loved much).

It would have been completely different. It is a future that was lost the day that plane crashed. But in losing that future I gained a life filled with the precious family I have in the here and now, not some speculative alternate life.

And that is how God can turn even deep and dark tragedy into beauty and love and life and peace.

Praise his name!

Confusion

2007-01-30T06:52:00.001-08:00

Most of my "five minute" posts in the morning have taken me longer than five minutes. This morning I'm going to try and keep to that five minutes and it should be easy because I have nothing to say.

Does this mean that I am wasting your time and my time by just typing these random letters? Possibly. Both you and I have to determine that for ourselves. I am wondering about it pretty seriously.

Where does inspiration come from? For me it is usually from other things I read. My thoughts sometimes go all over the place (my wife actually feels sorry for me sometimes) so it is hard to actually get them down in written form.

Yesterday I confused one of my union buddies as we discussed issues around our current talks with management. I suggested something, argued for it, pretty much convinced him and then did a 180 degree turn. It angered him a little bit until I explained my thought processes. Because I sometimes play devil's advocate (my term for trying to think like the company-heh) he thought that was what I had done.

So, sometimes I have to be careful about what I actually communicate from my thought processes.

Of course, I sometimes also confuse myself and I have no solution for that except confusion. Sound confusing? It is. And that's both a strength and a weakness, a source of satisfaction and discouragement, and also may be what keeps me going at times.

Have a great day and sorry for the confusing post.
(About 8 minutes including proofing.)

Practical Discipline

2007-01-29T06:51:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of things going through my thoughts this morning and insufficient time to get them down or even analyze them. These range from church meetings and their praise and sermons that I seem to be out of lock-step with to the subject of prayer as relationship that I'm reading about in the book I've referenced previously, to my own tendencies and desires for isolation.

Some of these things are linked. For instance, some of the practice of Christianity involves some personal and self-discipline, the desire to do some things and the equal desire to resist doing other things.

One discipline that I have been practicing that on the surface has little to do with the Christian faith is that of proper diet and exercise. Not quite one year ago, we bought a treadmill and I decided I would finally start exercising and lose some weight. This led to a book that helped me learn to lose my poor eating habits and replace them with good eating habits. In short order I lost 40 pounds and that felt good.

The last week or so, I have slipped a bit (a continuance of some slippage over Christmas) and have overindulged in a nut and dried fruit mixture that we bought. I've been eating it like candy and the scales are beginning to pick that up. I now have two options, give up (no, I'm not really considering that) or refocus on the discipline of proper diet.

Why do I share this? It is a practical example of discipline and about the only area that I have had much success lately. It is discipline to sit and write in the morning (and to try and figure out something to write about). It is discipline to practice prayer (something that I have massively failed in recently) and for some of us, it is discipline to be involved with other people, with community (something else I am not doing too well at lately).

In all these things, does God offer any kind of help? We like to teach this, but some things are still a struggle. Especially in areas of weakness and failure. And yet, is not that the very place that He offers the most help, where we can most connect with Him? I wonder.

Have a great day.

From Yancey's Book on Prayer

2007-01-26T06:33:00.000-08:00

Philip Yancey writes in Prayer:

God alone knows the selfish motives behind my every act, the vipers' tangle of lust and ambition, the unhealed wounds that paradoxically drive me to appear whole. Prayer invites me to bring my whole life into God's presence for cleansing and restoration. Self-exposure is never easy, but when I do it I learn that underneath the layers of grime lies a damaged work of art that God longs to repair.

"We cannot make Him visible to us, but we can make ourselves visible to Him," said Abraham Joshua Heschel. I make the attempt with hesitation, shame, and fear, but when I do so I feel those constraints dissolving. My fear of rejection yields to God's embrace. Somehow, in a way I can only trust and not understand, presenting to God the intimate details of my life gives God pleasure. (pages 42-43)

Have a great day and a glorious weekend.

Common Links

2007-01-25T06:48:00.000-08:00

One of the things I struggle with on a regular basis involves involvement. I seem to have more success with involvement in my work world where I participate at the executive level of the local union. This has led to a community of sorts and friendship and relationship with a few other executive level members. I seem to enjoy a modicum of respect, certainly within the union ranks and sometimes by the management types we deal with at times.

That is not to say that everyone agrees with me or even likes me but for the most part I don't think I have too many enemies.

What I struggle with is that I've seldom found this in my church life and experience. So, at the heart of me lies a desire to love and serve God in some manner and yet the best community with the best relationships I've enjoyed are with what most of us would consider to be non-believers.

Now, I know that we should be involved with outside groups in order to potentially bring Godly influence into play, you know, being salt and light, but sometimes it is a struggle to sit there and know that your heart is sometimes elsewhere with a different focus even while you participate in unity with the others.

I often find common links between what the church should be and what the union should be (in my opinion on both). That is partly just the connection I make in my personal ministry (or whatever you want to call it) but I truly believe that the pure motives of both groups have more commonality than difference. Certainly both church and union should have concerns about the greed based big business attitude that is and has mostly always been prevalent in society.

And so I will continue to struggle with it. Part of me wants out, at least from some of the responsibilities I have. I probably won't run for one of the positions that comes up in November. But it is hard to escape from something that has taken on a measure, at times, of ministry and influence.

Then again, it may just be another area of self-delusion. (It's hard to convey the wry smirk on my face when I consider that thought.) Leads me back to that question I asked the other day with some force, who am I?

Have a great day!

Notes from a Pessimist

2007-01-24T06:51:00.000-08:00

Hmm. In the midst of all my wallowing in self-pity these days I discover that I have become quite pessimistic. (The two probably go hand in hand.) To the point that my supervisor at work is pointing this out with glass half full comments.

On the surface, there appears little to be excited about in the two main external things I am involved in. Work and church. There is an amazing parallel in these two areas of my life and they have pulled me down. It is hard to be positive about things at work because of the continued push by management to reduce jobs and get concessions. I struggle with what my reaction should be as one of the union leaders in the mill. Likewise, I am finding it hard to be positive about church these days because of some things that have happened in the past that I can't get past because I don't think there has been any real change.

It is the inconsistencies in behavior all around that most disturb me, I think. The CEO gets a 4.8 million dollar buyout because it was probably in his work contract. No one would even think about asking him to concede that and not take the money. But we get pressured to break our contract and give the company some concessions on some of the items and none of them see what I think is a lack of integrity, morality and is definitely a clear cut case of treating people in a different manner because of their social status.

Pessimistic. Yeah. We go into more talks with the company today. I have no confidence that they will act any differently than before and thus we will probably act no differently than before and the battle escalates. And, as in all battles, there are casualties.

But, I keep trying to remind myself that there is always hope. And that God does guide us through fields full of land mines. It isn't always green pastures and still waters, but it is always him walking along side.

Have a great day!

What I Know About Prayer

2007-01-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

What do I know about prayer?

Nothing.

Seriously, I know very little, but there have been times where I thought I had prayer figured out. I read a book once by charismatic pastor Dutch Sheets called Intercessory Prayer and I thought that prayer was the way to unleash God's power and will upon this earth. I think I even preached a sermon once on this topic.

I'm not sure God is so limited to that. At least I sure hope not. I know that God very much wants to use us, his people, to bring his kingdom to this earth but I think that he would use stones if his people failed.

I have prayed with intensity and fervor at times when I felt I was more righteous than I am now and....nothing. Or so it seemed to me.

I have prayed for healing for a friend dying of a brain tumor and....she died.

I pray for protection for my family and....they are protected. But what about all those families who face tragedy and have prayed the same prayer?

Then again, I know the value of how things have worked out after my dad died when I was ten. Was no one praying for his protection? And yet, I have a dear wife who loves me like no one else would have and wonderful children and now grandchildren, the oldest who is four today. (Happy birthday, Nathan.) Despite my whining and self-imposed misery God has blessed me and made my life good. Would it have been as good if my dad hadn't died? I'll never know.

So why do I complain? Because I think things can be better. I think that prayer has meaning beyond what I have been able to discover. And I haven't been able to find the discipline to discover that better meaning of prayer.

But it is a connection to the Almighty and I think that I need to reconnect with him these days in order to escape, just for a moment, the things that seem to be going so wrong in those areas I am involved in at work and at church. To get new guidance, perhaps. Or maybe just some comfort.

Prayer. A simple word. A deep topic. A gift from God.

Have a great day.

A New Book To Read

2007-01-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

After this morning's post, it's a good thing that I bought a new book to read on Saturday and that it is a book about prayer by an author I have enjoyed in the past.

I've picked up Philip Yancey's Prayer and I look forward to some of his insights that he brings to the topics he writes about.

I haven't prayed in the formal sense for a long time. Perhaps that is where some of this morning's post stems from. Maybe I have lost my way a bit, lost and essential part of what it means to be Christian.

It's kind of funny that some of my thoughts about this were inspired by something I read by Rob Ashgar here. This is what he said that I particularly liked:

CLAIM: Prayer in Christ’s name is more beneficial and effective than other forms of prayer or meditation.
Most of my concerns are intellectual and thus theoretical in nature; they could have been overcome if not for the fifteen years of observing what works and doesn’t work in the experiential realm.

To be sure, the miraculous occurs in our world, often through prayer, meditation or incantation, and here charismatics are the Christian exemplar. Yet prayers in the name of Jesus do not seem to be more efficacious than other forms of prayer by those in other faiths. Charismatics rationalize this with an oversimplistic and harsh condemnation of all non-Christian miracles as being counterfeits from demonic forces. From the start, I have never been able to see believe this at any meaningful level.

Judge the fruits, Jesus tell us. If charismatics and penetecostals themselves did not seem to be neurotic, so jump-under-their chair skittish about life, I could take their claims seriously. If their bent toward signs and wonders resulted in genuine emotional health and release from their own bondage to demonic forces of anxiety, workaholism, depression, etc. I could see their point. But I have never seen their point.

The more supple Christians will speak eloquently of prayer as being less an enterprise to get results and more of a primal, powerful need for us to be in communion with the Living God; that this interaction shapes us. C.S. Lewis said while his wife was dying, “Prayer doesn’t change God, prayer changes me” (at least Anthony Hopkins said so while portraying him in Shadowlands); Oswald Chambers said, approximately, that prayer does not change things as much as prayer changes me, then I change things.” This I buy. Yet this is in fact a more liberal, more “reasonable,” more poetic interpretation of reality, which flies in the face of evangelicalism's supposed fact-based approach.

More as the days go by.

Hypocrisy Blues

2007-01-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess I need to get this post off my chest, to rant and rave a little bit and confess to my own hypocrisy. I actually enjoyed the church service yesterday, for about the first 40 minutes or so. There was a segment of worship that involved several people (myself included) praying from Scripture (planned and typed out by the pastor) interspersed with the worship team singing a song. It was quite good, semi-liturgical in a church not noted for liturgy and it did speak to me, something that hasn't happened for a long time.

And then it was all downhill from there and there's no point going into any detail but it lead me back into my criticism, judgmentalism and even condemnation. And I found myself also pointing the finger at myself because I know my own weaknesses and my own sins.

After a time where people were supposed to go to others and share things they needed to do to change, an event that no one really seemed to participate in, one of our lay leaders stood up to receive the offering and used the phrase "what would Jesus do?"

"What would Jesus do?" I thought. "He would spew this church out of his mouth." I was angry, disturbed, and battling my own feelings of harshness.

Not a great morning. I am a little bit lost today about myself more than anything else. Why am I like this? Why do I expect better from the church and its leaders? And most of all, just who the hell am I anyway, judging like this when there are huge logs of wood in my own eyes.

I apologize for the negative vibes in this post. It is what it is.

Have a great day! (Hey, at least the Colts-Patriots game was pretty fantastic, and upbeat if you're a Colts fan.)

Mixed Messages 3

2007-01-19T06:45:00.000-08:00

One more statement by Jesus about the pharisees illustrates, to me at least, this whole idea of mixed messages which, when coming from the same source is hypocrisy. In Matthew 23:27-28 Jesus says:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Outward appearances versus inward uncleanness. This is an interesting thought and it is something that most of us are guilty at from time to time. If it is always then there is likely a problem, but I think some of what Jesus points to here applies to those who would place themselves in leadership positions.

The need to maintain one's integrity is important. The need to own up and apologize when wrong or caught in an inconsistency is more a mark of humility than hypocrisy.

We all make mistakes. But we can look around and find those who consistently act like the pharisees. Polished, perfect, respectable on the outside, full of hate and greed and pride on the inside.

I know which one I aspire to, but I also know that too often the other is what I am.

But, thanks be to God for his grace. I lean more and more upon that as the years go by.

Have a great day and a great weekend. If you're a NFL fan let's hope Sunday's games are as great as last weekends games.

Mixed Messages 2

2007-01-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

I thought I would follow the thread of mixed messages for a bit. Sometimes another word for mixed messages is hypocrisy. Don't get me wrong, though hypocrisy is something I despise, it is also something that most of us are guilty of in some way or another, myself included. I'm sure my kids could cite a number of stories growing up where dear old dad didn't exactly practice what he preached.

But, I have always enjoyed Matthew 23 where Jesus (not a hypocrite) roundly condemns the scribes and pharisees, citing a number of their mixed messages that he called hypocrisy. I especially like verses 23 and 24:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!"

I think that there is still too much of this going on in the church world today. What do you think?

Have a great day!

Mixed Messages

2007-01-17T22:11:00.000-08:00

Just a thought I had tonight as I watched some TV. I saw one commercial about joining a fitness club (the whole family for only $99) followed immediately by a fast food commercial. It got me thinking about all the mixed messages we get throughout the day and week. Of course, advertising is probably the best example of mixed messages we can find. I just love the alcohol commercials that urge you to drink responsibly.

I've often noticed some of the magazines my wife gets or buys (not too often, her magazine habit is about a tenth of mine) that have great recipes for cakes and cookies and all kinds of yummies followed by the newest diet. Interspersed with this are the miracle pill ads that will help you lose weight.

All this has me thinking about some of the mixed messages the church sends out, often causing grief and/or confusion. I still struggle with the free grace offer followed by the list of rules that now must be followed. Mercy and judgment might be another one.

If you have any examples of mixed messages, please share them with me, either through comments or by email. I think it would be a great thread to explore for awhile.

Embrace Humility

2007-01-17T06:46:00.000-08:00

If my thoughts seem a little jumbled, unfocused and rambling these days it is due in part to the fact that I am just trying to get back to a habit of writing and posting. Why? Because it really is something I enjoy, something I wish I did more of, but one that requires a bit of self-discipline, and that is a virtue that is not a strong suit for me (ask my wife).

I often think of things to write during the course of the day or while driving or even talking with my wife, but I don't always manage to get it down. For example, I was talking with my wife yesterday about humility. Some people we observe may appear anything but humble. They may be strong, self-confident, arrogant at times and don't appear to be humble.

But I think humility is not what we tend to think of as meekness, mildness. I think humility is wrapped up in the call of Jesus to die to self. In practical terms for us I see humility in the person who is willing to admit to being wrong, who will apologize, work to correct errors they have made and back away from false assumptions when shown to be wrong.

I also see humility in someone willing to look at things from a different perspective, embracing new ideas when they make sense.

And in Jesus I see all of this (not that he made mistakes that he had to apologize for). I do not see a gentle Jesus, meek and mild. I see someone who spoke with authority, lashed out at hypocrisy, brought new ideas and concepts of God's love and kingdom (although those ideas can be found in Old Testament writings if you look carefully) and strode purposefully through his few years of public ministry. But he also wept for the sorrowful, was disappointed when the rich young ruler turned away, engaged in deep conversation with a seeking pharisee and, went to the cross.

Embrace humility.

Have a great day.

TANJ

2007-01-16T06:37:00.000-08:00

5 minutes and then I have to shower, eat breakfast, make my lunch and get ready to go to work.....plus, it snowed last night so I'll have to brush the snow off the truck and drive my wife to work. Busy mornings.....I hate them......

So my thoughts are a jumble this morning, nothing focusing, no real ideas, just generalities. I was at our Union's General Meeting last night and that ran later than usual so there hasn't been a lot of time to just relax and take a breath.

I was reminded of a phrase I read in, I believe, a Larry Niven book. The phrase is shortened to and used as an expletive - TANJ - there ain't no justice. The reason the phrase has crossed my mind is because it was announced yesterday that the CEO of the company I work for has resigned and under a change of ownership deal he will walk away with almost $4.8 million dollars in severance. This, while many of our younger workers in the mill are facing an uncertain future with layoffs and threats of shutting down another paper machine and demands for concessions - TANJ.

But, that is the way of this world, a way that I'm not particularly fond of but that I'm probably too much a part of. I'm sure there are people in this world that look at my lifestyle and go TANJ!

Justice and mercy and forgiveness and grace are all deep subjects and only God gets it right and we struggle to understand it all and figure out how to put it into practice. May you have success today in your efforts in compassionate living that tie all those things together so that possibly one person in your life this day might say TIJ - there is justice.

Have a great day!

Compassion and Comfort

2007-01-15T06:52:00.000-08:00

A couple of things have deeply touched me over the last few days. The first was a comment left on this post by Susan whose son was killed in an alcohol related incident in August. They are asking the courts for leniency in the sentencing of the young woman who was driving the car. You can read about this and comments about it at TheHearth. What is amazing about this is that this is love, compassion, forgiveness and grace all wrapped up in one action. Something that we don't see often in this world that usually seeks eye for and eye justice. Here is what is said on the about page of this site:

Our son, brother and friend, Alex Baer, was killed in a car crash in Santa Barbara August 6, 2006. We cannot control events in this world, but we can control how we react to them. This blog explores the many facets of our experience dealing with Alex’s death and the events around it. We seek compassion, forgiveness and love. Friends really do not let friends drive drunk. Let us take back responsibility for one another and find new ways of making sure our friends get home safely.

Compassion is bringing our deepest truth into our actions, no matter how much the world seems to resist, because that is ultimately what we have to give to this world and one another.
–Ram Dass

I want this imprinted on your mind, that today God loves the world through you and me.
– Mother Teresa

And Susan asks me for my thoughts on compassion! Amazing! I can only hope that I could find a small portion of the kind of compassion exhibited here if I were to face similar circumstances.

But compassion comes in many flavors and I found myself weeping this morning at church as I looked at a mother and her mother who have just lost a daughter and granddaughter to cancer. The daughter lived in Australia and so the distance must add to the grief. I wonder where comfort comes from at a church meeting. It can't be the songs or the message. Even the platitudes we offer so readily from Scripture must fall short in times like these. It can only be the presence of others around them, of people who hopefully love them and can surround them with the love of God that flows through Jesus followers, even imperfect ones. This is where comfort must come from, this must be the purpose of community and this is where too often I fail, choosing at times to stay distant.

I did not think of all these things as I stood there. I thought only about the pain and sorrow that must be in their hearts at this time. And how little we sometimes seem to offer.

Little Causes

2007-01-11T06:44:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking this morning about two types of heroes. There is the super hero type who comes in and saves the day pretty much by himself. He may have some help here and there but the day wouldn't get saved if he were to fail. I'm thinking about Superman or even a James Bond type character.

The other type of hero is more along the line of the unexpected, everyday type who may be reluctant but who has a sense of duty and honor that drives him to do something that makes a difference. He definitely needs help from others and may well fail, but even if he does someone else will be around to pick up the task and carry on. This type of hero is someone like a Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings who in the end, would have failed without the help of Sam and even Gollum.

This is the same type of hero that the world needs everyday. The type who will turn a listening ear to someone who needs to share their problems. The type who will offer a ride home so someone doesn't have to walk in the dark after work. The type who places a few dollars in an envelope every month to help feed a third world child. The type who just offers a friendly smile when someone is frustrated or discouraged.

The same principle applies to causes. There are big causes out there that people get involved in and want you to support. Nothing wrong with that but I would rather see thousands and millions doing the little things that make a difference than a few, big name, big support causes that perhaps only addresses one issue.

The trouble for most is that the little causes are not very glamorous, don't attract much attention and often go unnoticed, except by those who are genuinely helped by the modest efforts of someone or some small group.

But then, maybe that is all that Jesus wants us to be. Loving and being light in the midst of where we are in our everyday life.

Have a good day and since my weekend starts tomorrow, have a great weekend.

Fairness and Compassion

2007-01-10T20:16:00.000-08:00

My wife wonders what is going on. A couple of days ago I wrote about our wonderful life-long adventure as a married couple and now I'm writing about confusion and stuff like that. I told her I enjoy being confused.

I have only been expressing some of the questions that arise in this aging mind. Conveying these questions with any kind of clarity is difficult because of my undisciplined manner of writing. (A few minutes here and a few minutes there.)

I like thinking about things, trying to figure them out, and trying to understand faith and church and community and all that stuff. It isn't easy, but it is kind of fun and keeps life from getting boring.

The bottom line of much of what I have been going on about is that we do need to love more, act more, trust more and put our faith in God's things and not man's organizations.

Part of all of this is just treating people fairly and with compassion. You know, doing unto them like you would like them to do unto you.

The frustration I have is that I see too much of the opposite of this by so-called Christians, who are often, but not always, in ministry roles. And that kind of angers me. And I hope that, if I am acting in a similar manner, that someone would love me enough to tell me I'm being a jerk.

I am trying to save most of my judgmental tendencies for the above mentioned types of Christians. After all, it was the religious leaders that Jesus seemed most to judge. And it was the sinners that he dined with. Interesting isn't it?

Products of a Confused Mind

2007-01-10T06:44:00.000-08:00

Much of what I've been trying to say (if it has sounded like nonsense and confusion, that's probably an accurate reflection of my current state of mind) has come about because the community I'm most involved in is my work community. And, being part of the union leadership means I have a certain amount of influence and connections that go beyond the department I work in.

So, there are work relationships with other leaders in the union, work relationships with some levels of management and work relationships with the membership of my local.

I am aware of a number of responsibilities that then fall upon me and I try to bring my understanding, knowledge and any wisdom I might have into play when we are dealing with various issues.

But, it has always been difficult for me to figure out how to share my faith in such a way that it can have an impact on those around me. And that is the basis for some of my thinking of late.

While I know that the people I work with struggle with personal issues, financial issues and family and marital issues, few of them seem to have any interest in considering the spiritual side of things that Christianity offers. And so, "witnessing" in the traditional way has little to no impact.

That is probably true in most of society, so the question arises, what can we do differently? My lack of involvement in church these days makes that question even more important to me.

And therein lies the reason for some of the posts of late that ramble and appear to be the product of a somewhat confused mind.

Have a good day!

Passionate Confusion

2007-01-09T22:35:00.000-08:00

I've been kind of talking about what it would look like to just invite people to come along and make a difference in the world. I mentioned passion and causes and wondered at some of my own lack of passion.

It is quite common for people to jump on a bandwagon for awhile, join a cause, get involved in something. Sometimes people stay involved in a certain cause for a lifetime, sometimes people get bored and move on to something else.

I also said that a Christian should never be a fanatic. That just might be plain scary although I see too many of them for my liking. But that doesn't mean that we can't be passionate about making this world a better place.

But, I will ask again, how? There are so many good things happening in this world, things that combat all of the bad things that happen. I ask how, because if we are to invite people to come along and follow Jesus and his path of love and reconciliation, there has to be some substance to what we are doing. There are many good causes. Is it possible to find groups of people who share in a particular good cause? Is this then community?

I suppose I am asking this because if I were to ask people to come along and make a difference, what would I say? And how would I answer the question "what are we going to do?"

Or, do we just make this a better world by simply caring. You know, that love your neighbor kind of thing. Or, like I said this morning, reaching out a healing and reconciling hand.

Most of this, though, is just passionate confusion. Rambling of a sort. Trying too hard, perhaps, to sound like more of a seeker than I really am. And someone who really doesn't have a clue what he's talking about.

Want to join?

Formulaic Faith

2007-01-09T06:41:00.000-08:00

For years I've been taught this formula for salvation; Accept, Believe, Confess. There is even a little booklet that used to float around our denomination called The ABC's of Salvation. (And we're not alone. Check out this Google search page.) Most of us know the drill, the words and verses we should point to when trying to get someone "saved".

I don't know how many people are really interested in that A+B+C=S kind of approach.

Come and get saved..... Hmmm!

I was just skimming through some of the gospels to find words like these from Jesus. Instead, it appears that he approached people like Matthew the tax collector and just said, "follow me".

I think this is Jesus urging us to come after him, to follow his ideas, his teaching, and mostly his grace.

What if we said to people, "come and follow with me. Who knows where it will lead and what will happen, but this guy looks interesting and talks different from the religious people all around us. I doubt we can live up to his expectations but he doesn't seem to care about this. He heals the sick and cures the blind and brings a sense of grace everywhere he goes. Someone worth following? I don't know, but he's worth investigating for awhile, that's for sure."

Instead, we insist people get involved in "church". We focus on their mistakes and sins and demand a level of holiness that probably can never be attained but we like to pretend we are there.

It's no wonder so many are uninterested in getting involved in something like this. We've painted Jesus into an unattractive corner. Fortunately, he refuses to stay there and keeps wandering out into the world looking for the sick and the sinners, reaching out a hand that heals and inviting people to just follow him.

Have a great day!

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

2007-01-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

I don't quite know why but this older song by U2 resonates with me. The song is I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. Here are the words:

I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you.

I have run, I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you.

But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.

I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her finger tips
It burned like fire
(I was) burning inside her.

I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone.

But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.

I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colours will bleed into one
Bleed into one.
But yes, I'm still running.

You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross of my shame
Oh my shame, you know I believe it.

But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.

But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for.

I'm not really sure that I have climbed the highest mountains or scaled city walls but the thoughts of the song connect with me, especially the chorus. I still recall a comment to me by Derek Simmons that perhaps the church I was looking for didn't exist. That may well be true.

As well, those who walk with confidence in their faith and never turn to the left or the right may not understand the sentiments reflected in the words, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for," nor am I sure that I could adequately explain.

It may well be due to an unwilling nature or a questioning spirit or perhaps it's just a desire to see something more than the status quo. It does leave me slightly confused at times.

But the words of the last two verses of the song do a great job of reflecting a deep seated faith that may not have all the answers but conveys an attitude of trust.

I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colours will bleed into one
Bleed into one.
But yes, I'm still running.

You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross of my shame
Oh my shame, you know I believe it.

And that gives me great hope in Jesus, the author and finisher of this Kingdom come.

E-mail Fraud Alert

2007-01-08T21:16:00.001-08:00

Just thought I would share this with all my Canadian readers. (Mostly my wife and children.) This is up on the Department of Finance Canada website. (Thanks to Carol for the forward.)

E-mail Fraud Alert

Thirty Years of Oneness

2007-01-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

Today is the 30th anniversary of the best decision in life I ever made. 30 years ago my wife, Rena and I embarked on a lifelong adventure when we joined together as husband and wife.

I don't always show my great appreciation to Rena for putting up with all my inconsistencies, all my changing interests, my laziness and lack of ambition, my temper at times and all those other negative things I know so well about myself. That she has loved me and continues to love me is a mystery to me, but a mystery that is overwhelming.

The other mystery is the manner in which two people become one while still retaining their individual natures and characters. Sometimes my wife and I have two entirely different focuses (i.e. jobs, sports, movies, etc.) and yet it is often like two sides of the same coin. Hard to explain. Difficult to describe. Yet there it is.

Do we ever fight or disagree? Of course. But often the disagreement dissolves into laughter at the ridiculousness of what we are disagreeing about. On occasion there is a more serious annoyance with each other that seldom lasts more than a couple of hours before mutual apologies occur. Which is great because most of the time the fight is my fault.

So medals should be struck in my wife's honor. Since that won't happen the best I can do is honor her and continue to love and cherish this beautiful women and thank her with a million thanks for loving me so unconditionally. Thank you my dear wife, lover and most of all, friend.

Not Fanaticism

2007-01-05T06:36:00.000-08:00

I've kind of gotten distracted a bit in where this whole passion thing is going. I started off by thinking about what it would be like if, instead of trying to "convert" people, we simply got them involved in something that makes a difference in this world. My thoughts went in that direction because of a realization that the main community I'm involved in is my work community. And most of that is focused around what is going on at the mill and union-company relations (very poor at this point in time) and the future viability of the whole business.

But, I don't mean to imply that our passions should become fanaticisms. While it is okay to have a specific something that we devote time and attention to, I don't think it is ever okay for a follower of Jesus to become a fanatic of any sort. Our faith is one of reason and order and humility, all things that fanaticism isn't. Jesus did come to reconcile and love and forgive and that should be something that we imitate and follow.

Have a great day and a great weekend.

What Passion?

2007-01-04T21:06:00.000-08:00

I asked the question of you and of myself: what are you passionate about? What are you involved in, supportive of, and working toward?

It is a question on my mind these days. I sometimes feel that, though interested in many things and involved or supportive of a few, I am unsure of how deeply my passion goes. A few years back I was deeply passionate about worship; new songs, trying to improve my guitar skills and my worship leader skills. It drove me for awhile and was the most important aspect of my Christian faith.

That is not true anymore. I hardly pick up my guitar. Some of the contemporary worship that I heartily supported a few years back seems somewhat shallow to me at times. In short, the passion and the fever is gone.

Many of you know that I am involved in the union that represents the workers at the place I work. While there is some passion in this there is also a lot of frustration, although that is probably true of many things that people are passionate about. While I try and do a good job and fight for the things that I think should be fought for and also try and be a peacemaker when it's appropriate, I don't really think it is a thing of passion.

I have a passion for justice and freedom but I'm not really sure what I do about it except criticize too often and just get all grumpy about it.

The thoughts of hungry children in the world brings wells of tear to my eyes, but apart from sponsoring one child and giving extra donations from time to time I don't do much about that either.

I like to write and express my opinions but if you've followed this blog lately you will see that even that has wained.

What a bore I am! I need a cause! I need to find that thing that drives me to make this world a better place.

Or maybe not. Maybe I just am what I am and that's good enough.

Something to think about, though.

Oh yeah, one more thing. I've kind of got NFL playoff fever. That's a passion of a sort, isn't it? Go San Francisco......oh wait, they didn't make the playoffs did they? Okay then, go Peyton.

Passionate Causes

2007-01-04T06:46:00.000-08:00

A couple of days I go I mentioned the idea of inviting people to join in trying to make a difference in the world regardless of their level of belief. In doing this the focus would have to be, in part, the end result. That result is, of course, making the world a better place.

Now this begs the question, what makes the world a better place, and if you ask 10 people you will probably get 10 answers.

What it has to come down to, I think, is finding that thing that you are passionate about. If you look around you will see any number of projects, writings, plans, ideas that are the result of someone's or some group of someones' passion. When those passions are devoted to making the world better and not just making more money or gaining more power then there is bound to be some good that comes out of it.

I am not a celebrity follower but I do appreciate it when a celebrity gets sincerely passionate about a cause they genuinely believe in. I especially admire Bono and U2 for what they try to do with their celebrity. I also appreciate the efforts of someone like Angelina Jolie although I don't necessarily approve of her lifestyle.

Wow, that five minutes has flown past and I need to go get breakfast, but I just want to conclude this post with this question that I am also asking myself; what are you passionate about? And one more, what are you doing or what can you do about it?

And for another read on what someone has some passion for, check out Steve's post here.

Have a great day.

The Uncontrollable Love of God, Pt. 2

2007-01-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

Here is the rest of the excerpt I started this morning from Russell Rathbun's post-rapture radio:

God does not come to be with us to intimidate us, overpower us, or impress us with great majesty. God does not come to earth to whip us into shape, to pump us up, to give us the competitive edge. God does not touch down in Jerusalem on a flaming chariot with the angels flying before a grand conveyance. God comes walking out of the desert at the beginning of this story alone, in the person of Jesus the Reconciler.

We know the trajectory of power and glory. We can track it; we know where it is going next. Sacrifice and humility is another story.

I want to be rich. I want to be famous. No. No. Of course that is the wrong thing to say. I am supposed to say I don't want to be rich. I just want to be comfortable. I want to provide a good life for my family. Have some security. Have just enough money to have the freedom to do whatever I want to do, which means about $1.6 million a year.

But honestly, when I am quiet and tell myself the truth, what I really want is to stare past the marvelous possibilities of my own wealth and personal power and to see out into the darkness to find a life where I am comfortable with what I have now and who I am now. Where I can find freedom in valuing people and relationships more than things. Where I want for others the same things I want for myself. Where I work for others to find the things that I want to find for myself. To find peace and freedom ultimately, not in the guarantee that I know the answers or how the story ends or the part I will play in it but in the knowledge that God has come to be with us and to love us in a way that we cannot control. I want to find meaning and passion in following the uncontrollable love of God, revealed in Jesus, wherever it takes me.

This is Easter. You are all loved. You are loved in an uncontrollable, inconceivable way. You are loved perfectly, by God who created you, through Jesus who has come to be with you, through God's Spirit who dwells within you.

This love is wily, uncontrollable, mysterious, willing, unshakable.

(I confess, this took longer than five minutes, but it was worth it.)

The Uncontrollable Love of God

2007-01-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

From post-rapture radio; excerpts from an Easter sermon, page 154, 155:

Jesus is there, staying out of the way, loving me. Telling me always, whispering in my ear, "I love you. You are living in a lie - perfection and power do not exist. Imperfection and dependency is all there is. That is the place where everyone lives, and it is beautiful - it is freedom. Oh yeah, there is something else: I love you."

I have discovered that this love only remains a secret because I cannot hear what Jesus is saying. But Jesus does not get mad; Jesus does not talk louder; Jesus just keeps telling me secrets in my ear, "I love you. It is OK to be you. I love you." Jesus is not impatient, because Jesus believes one day I will hear. He believes that the love of God will not go unheard forever, that it will seep into my bones and fill the air around me until one day I will hear it. And when I hear something and turn around, I will see Jesus there, smiling.

This is Easter.

And 5 At Night

2007-01-02T23:06:00.000-08:00

I have stumbled on to a brilliant idea for my blogging. I mentioned speed blogging in the post earlier today where I will try to write for 5 minutes in the morning. A few moments ago it occurred to me that I could surely manage 5 minutes at night, also.

This has the added, personal benefit of beginning to turn my eyes back to Jesus. I have indulged too long in other things of late. Time to start thinking again. Time to get involved in the revolution again.

Oh yeah. That talk comes a bit from a book I've been reading lately. It was lent to me (sent home with my wife from the church office) by the pastor of the church I have recently returned to. (Yes, to those of you who have followed my path the last while, this is the same pastor I blew up at almost two years ago and the same church I left the same day.)

The book is post-rapture radio by Russell Rathbun. It is subtitled lost writings from a failed revolution. I admit that I don't fully understand it, but it's good and worth a read. Time's up for tonight but I hope to have a quote from it in the morning.

Just one more quick comment. This book, apparently was read and discussed by the ministerial. I wonder if they understood it?

Speed Blogging

2007-01-02T06:43:00.000-08:00

In an effort to get back into writing I just had the idea of speed blogging in the morning. Since I don't seem to have the time I used to have before going to work, I am thinking that I should see what I can get down in 5 minutes. No more.

So here goes.

Yesterday I mentioned a thought I had around inviting people to join in trying to make a difference in the world regardless of their level of belief. I have often looked around at others involved in things and wondered at their motive for doing so. The Christian church says that they do things out of a love for God and a subsequent love for people. Some parts of that church actually do this, I think. Many parts don't.

Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.

But I do wonder what motivates those who make no claims to Christianity.

Times up. More later.

Window In The Skies

2007-01-01T11:42:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to the few readers I have left. (The first rule of blogging? Post regularly...)

I sometimes have much to say but I just don't seem to take the time to get it down. During football games yesterday I had a good discussion with my 24 year old son, Jeremy about things of the church. He's probably more clued in than I am, and more committed but that's another topic.

The big thought for me that came out of our conversation was the idea of just inviting people to join in making a difference in this world regardless of whether or not you believe in the Christian message. And this thought leads to the question: can you follow the teachings of Jesus without making that "born again" kind of commitment that the church seems to insist on? And then this leads to the idea that "preaching the gospel" doesn't mean that I have to convince people to believe in Jesus. I'm not sure that's really my job anyway. But it may mean inviting people to join a revolution of change, a revolution of love and acceptance, a revolution of loving neighbors and enemies, a revolution that doesn't rest when children go hungry and people are oppressed. A revolution of love.

I purchased U2's latest release U218 Singles the other day, the version with the DVD of some of their Vertigo concert in Milan. I just watched it a few minutes ago and then came in and checked their site. They have released a new song today called Window In The Skies. You can listen to it on U2's website and even watch a couple of videos also released. (I just realized this song is also on the new release I bought so I've heard it already, it just never sunk in until I checked their web site.)

Here are the lyrics:

Window In The Skies

The shackles are undone
The bullets quit the gun
The heat that’s in the sun
Will keep us when there’s none
The rule has been disproved
The stone it has been moved
The grave is now a groove
All debts are removed

Oh can’t you see what love has done?
Oh can’t you see what love has done?
Oh can’t you see what love has done?
What it’s done to me?

Love makes strange enemies
Makes love where love may please
The soul and its striptease
Hate brought to its knees
The sky over our head
We can reach it from our bed
You let me in your heart
And out of my head, head…

Oh can’t you see what love has done?
Oh can’t you see what love has done?
Oh can’t you see what love has done?
What it’s done to me?

Oh, oh, oh, oh…
Oh, oh, oh, oh…
Please don’t ever let me out of you

I’ve got no shame, oh no, oh no

Oh can’t you see what love has done?
Oh can’t you see?
Oh can’t you see what love has done?
What it’s doing to me?

I know I hurt you and I made you cry
Did everything but murder you and I
But love left a window in the skies
And to love I rhapsodize
To every broken heart
For every heart that cries
Love left a window in the skies
And to love I rhapsodize

A great message for 2007, "Oh can't you see what love has done? What it's doing to me?"

May this be a year of great love expressed by God's children to God's world.

A Beautiful Muddle

2006-12-26T23:11:00.000-08:00

I'm off to the Vancouver area (Langley specifically) tomorrow to see son and daughter-in-law and grandsons and extended family for a couple of days. Then back home and time for resolutions for the new year, right everyone? Boy, I need a few I think.

Anyway, thanks to Instapundit Glenn I stumbled across this upbeat and positive take on muddling through entitled A Beautiful Muddle.

And I hope you all had a blessed and wonderful Christmas.

Word of the Father

2006-12-25T07:27:00.000-08:00

Yea Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning,
Jesus, to thee be all glory given!
Word of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing!

O come let us adore him,
Christ the Lord!

"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." (Luke 1:32, 33)

Peace on Earth

2006-12-23T14:29:00.000-08:00

"Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
(Luke 2:14)

Christmas is a holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. And that is the primary meaning of the holiday for me, personally. The parts of the world that celebrate this holiday focus more on Santa Claus and gift giving and family, all things that stem from that birth in Bethlehem so long ago.

It is not a bad thing because the idea of giving gifts freely and without reason, solely from love, is what the message of that first Christmas is all about (even though we have a tendency to focus on the "being good" aspect of giving).

Regardless of whether or not you believe in God and angels and the message of the Bible, the idea expressed in the words above are wonderful to contemplate. Too often, God is portrayed as a vengeful, harsh, demanding, deity. But these words reflect the true message He intends to send to the world, through the gift of His son, Jesus. "Peace on earth!" "Goodwill toward men!"

When we look around we see anything but peace. There may be no peace in your work place. No peace in your church. No peace in politics. No peace in a world where we fear and fight terrorism. No peace in Iraq and Afghanistan. And all too often, no peace in our own hearts.

But, I have hope. A hope that comes from that message of peace from God. His peace towards us. His love. His call to all of us to love one another and do good even to those who hate us and abuse us and threaten us. A hard thing to do at times and yet one that can and will and does bring peace to our own hearts.

So I would give this gift, this blessing to all of you who gift me by reading my thoughts on this blog: May all the joys that being with family and friends, exchanging gifts, making lifetime memories with those you love and who love you, be with you this Christmas. And may the peace that God holds out to a world he loves, fill your hearts this season.

Merry Christmas!

A Cultural Creative

2006-12-22T08:47:00.000-08:00

Here's another one of those crazy quizzes that purport to identify traits in your character (or something like that). I got this one off of alexa who blogs over on Vox, another blog host that actually looks kind of interesting. Probably not interesting enough to switch from the Google empire but the layouts look interesting. Plus, it appears Blogger been having some troubles according to this article. I've been on Blogger beta for some time now and have had no problems but apparently, many have.

Anyway, on to this little quiz. I kind of like the results. A cultural creative...interesting. Just think of me as a modern thinker.

You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational.

Cultural Creative

88%

Fundamentalist

44%

Postmodernist

38%

Idealist

31%

Modernist

25%

Romanticist

25%

Existentialist

19%

Materialist

What is Your World View?
created with QuizFarm.com

Unhappiness Kills Creativity

2006-12-21T13:02:00.000-08:00

I've found the answer to my blogging blues. I must be unhappy. Men's Health Today Blog links to the study, Positive mood helps people see more creatively.

This quote explains it all:

A neutral or negative mood is a good state of mind for working on accounting spreadsheets, where focus, not creativity, is key, he added. Conversely, for tasks requiring a broader view, Anderson said, a good mood will definitely be an asset.

With all the negativity at my work place, with my own church related negativity, no wonder my "creative" blog process is stymied. On the bright side, the project I am involved in at work requires focus. It's not an accounting spreadsheet but it isn't a whole lot different.

Also on the bright side: I'm finished work for 2006 and can turn my mind away from that place until next year. Maybe some of those thoughts that are trapped in my hindbrain (kudos to you if you know where I know that term from) will break through into the creative side.

Time will tell.

When the Well Runs Dry

2006-12-15T21:09:00.000-08:00

In case you hadn't noticed, I haven't blogged much lately. I guess I'm just a little dry of late, focused too much perhaps on learning the software and techniques that go along with my temporary new job in the mill. Focused also on actions by the company I work for that has pretty much destroyed any kind of cooperative relationship that we may have had. This is a bit discouraging to me because I do think I tried to encourage a better working relationship between union and company although I was never unwilling to speak up for what I thought was right and fair. Now it seems like we're just back to that head-butting relationship we had in years past.

I'm also somewhat discouraged with church life these days. Having gone back to my old church but not really feeling a part of it and not really willing to be a part of it, makes it difficult being a part of it. But, such is life and there are seasons, good and bad, just like the weather.

Speaking of weather, we somehow avoided this last windstorm that hit the Pacific northwest, thankfully. We've had enough. There are still some places in our own community without power from the windstorm earlier in the week. We were without power all Monday evening. It think it came on around midnight. It really wasn't that bad for us and my wife and I have been fortunate through all of this wonderful weather this past month that we've had no damage to speak of.

The year is fast fading and we will soon reach the post Christmas subject of New Year's resolutions. I've never been much for them but this past year saw me finally do something about how I eat and I've lost some 45 pounds, got to buy a bunch of new clothes, and I have every intention of keeping it off. I didn't manage to tone up very much, though, and so next year I will work on that. I've already started, having purchased a weight machine and managing to assemble it. That was quite a challenge. So we'll see if that goal gets accomplished. The trouble with all these things is once you start you have to keep going, but that's okay. It is a much healthier attitude than the "live fat and die" sentiment I had last year.

So, having written very little here of late, tonight you get a bit of a rambling discourse. I am trying to figure out what to do with the blog, how to remake it and get me inspired to write again. I don't quite know where I'm going to take it and I'll have to build that readership up again (I think I once averaged around 11, now down to about 3). Then again, the well may be completely dry for awhile, waiting for the drought to end.

I'll try and post at least once more before Christmas in order to get my thoughts centered on this yearly celebration of the invasion of our planet by God in the flesh. Truly an amazing story.

Messing Things Up

2006-11-27T06:58:00.000-08:00

I've lost pretty much half of my average readership of 10 because of the relative dormancy of this blog of late. My excuses have ranged from lack of time in the morning to having nothing to say but all in all it is probably just plain laziness and a bit of apathy that constitute the true reasons for little to no posting.

Things are not going great in the overall scheme of things both at church and at work. Personally, at work it is just fine but we have just gone through a pointless exercise with the company around capital investment and the concessions they wanted us to take in order to get it. We pretty much said no to their list of demands but not without trying to offer some alternatives that would accomplish similar goals. To this they said no and we said no to their list and so it appears there will be no capital investment coming our way. In addition, any relationship we might have had has been destroyed and we are in a bit of a battle over just about everything these days.

Though it is not a fight for justice on the scale of world hunger or world peace, it has had some similarities and the company's stance has disturbed me and revealed themselves as lacking in the area of ethics and morality.

On the church scene I am becoming a bit cynical as I view the church in my home town and also as I look outward a bit and see little to encourage me about the health of the church in North America. There has definitely been an affect on personal spirituality because of this discouragement but I am trying to get myself sorted out. I'm a bit judgmental (okay, a lot judgmental) and need to get a little bit more so towards myself.

Among my thoughts during church yesterday was the idea that if left to ourselves we eventually manage to totally mess things up. We can see this in the world around us, in the aggressiveness of political factions throughout the world. We can see it in the failure of the rich countries to address third world poverty and the associated diseases and atrocities that come with it. We can see it in the ignoring of ecological concerns and the failure to take care of this world that has been placed in our stewardship.

Individually, when we place our relationship with God on the back burner, the same thing happens and we begin to mess things up. And in the church we see what happens when we get the message wrong, when it becomes too much about numbers and money and political power and we forget the teachings of Jesus. We are no different today than what we have seen throughout history but thankfully, the Holy Spirit has not abandoned the mission.

It strikes me funny that to defend the history of the church we often have to argue all those good things that have been done over the centuries. Wouldn't it be nice if those good things were such an overwhelming majority of the doings of the church that the bad things were lost in their shadows instead of the other way around?

And then again, I have to ask myself, what am I doing to live the life and demonstrate the love of Jesus to the world?

Have a good day!

Beautiful Jupiter

2006-11-18T23:35:00.000-08:00

From the Gemini Observatory:

Gemini Observatory ALTAIR Adaptive Optics Image

Here's what the site says about this image:

Gemini North adaptive optics image of Jupiter and its two red spots (which apppear white because this is a near-infrared image; in visible light they appear reddish). In this color composite image, white indicates cloud features at relatively high altitudes; blue indicates lower cloud structures; and red represents still deeper cloud features. The two red spots appear more white than red, because their tops hover high above the surrounding clouds. Also prominent is the polar stratospheric haze, which makes Jupiter bright near the pole (unlike the other orange/red features in this image, the polar haze is high in Jupiter's atmosphere). Other tiny white spots are regions of high clouds, like towering thunderheads. In visible light Jupiter looks orangish, but in the near-infrared the blue color is due to strong absorption features. The blue mid-level clouds are also closest to what one would see in a visual light image.

I kind of like this color image also. I'm not sure how it was done but here is what the site says:

Image produced by Chris Go from Gemini adaptive optics data of Jupiter. Listen to the podcast for details on his techniques. This image uses sharpening techniques to enhance details.

Chris Go with Gemini Altair data

The Diversity of the Web

2006-11-18T22:40:00.000-08:00

I get a newsletter from Infuze and one of their stories mentions Orson Scott Card's upcoming new book Empire and links to his site where you can read the first few chapters of the book. On Card's site is a link to his World Watch column he writes on a regular basis on another of his sites called The Ornery American.

And all of this takes me back to what started me blogging in the first place. I had found Card's column via his Hat Rack River site. In one of his columns way back he mentioned Dennis Miller's show that I then started watching on a semi-regular basis. On Miller's show one night he had a guest named Carol Platt Liebau and mentioned her blog site. And that got me started reading blogs and very quickly I began this one.

But, things move on and I actually have not read any of Card's columns for a very long time and I don't think Dennis Miller's show is on anymore and I stopped reading Carol's blog a long time ago also. No real reason for any of those except that I began to focus more on faith issues and less on political issues.

Of course, of late my own blogging has been sporadic and I seem to have lost some enthusiasm for writing my own blogs and reading others as much as I used to. I'm not quite sure why other than the fact that I'm a bit of a drifter mentally and tend to move on from one thing to another. This year has been spent more on my diet change and weight loss and of late I've been a little bit too interested in fashion and vanity. Drifting, waiting for the next thing to inspire me and interest me. Sheesh, talk about a short attention span.

But, my main point is the diversity of the web. My above description is just a brief illustration of how one thing can lead to another and then to another. Along the way you can make some acquaintances, and I have, and you can learn a great deal about other's opinions. And that always helps to expand one's thought processes.

It has always somewhat amazed me through life that this decision led to that consequence, this action led to that action and to that conclusion and on and on and on. My father was killed in a plane crash some 42 years ago and that led my mom to move back to Canada and at some point I decided to go to the Salvation Army training college in Toronto where I fell in love with this girl six weeks before she graduated, but eventually we got married, moved back here to Port Alberni, had three kids and now we have two grandkids and on life goes. Amazing really. And despite everything that seems to be based on decisions that are made, somehow God is still in control and works everything out for good.

Infinite diversities, infinite combinations, infinite decisions but God continues to infinitely reign over his great and glorious kingdom.

Thoughts from Steve

2006-11-17T07:11:00.000-08:00

Blog acquaintance and friend, Steve Norris has some good, reflective thoughts in Stopping a Moment from the Rush. And some great words from Sara Groves:

I'm trying to work things out • I'm trying to comprehend • Am I the chance result • Of some great accident • I hear a rhythm call me • The echo of a grand design • I spend each night in the backyard • Staring up at the stars in the sky • .....• Maybe this was made for me • For lying on my back in the middle of a field • Maybe that's a selfish thought • Or maybe there's a loving God • • Maybe I was made this way • To think and to reason and to question and to pray • And I have never prayed a lot • But maybe there's a loving God

Have a great day and a wonderful weekend.

Storms

2006-11-16T07:04:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Island had a huge storm blow through yesterday. Rain and wind, trees down across power lines, Port Alberni itself was cut off for a period of time due to trees across the highway. We were without power for a considerable time yesterday although we got power at around 5:30, just in time for my wife to cook supper (whew!).

Water levels were high and a few streets were flooded out and many people had their houses flooded. While mild compared to what hurricanes do in other places, it was severe enough for emergency measures to get enacted and an emergency shelter established in town. My wife is currently doing a shift at this shelter. She left the house early this morning to go there.

I am thankful that the drainage around our house appears to have been well done because we had no water issues. I was also thankful for the natural gas stove we have downstairs that provided us some radiant heat even without power. I am also thankful that it was only power that we lost and not water although there was a great deal of water available outside the house.

It is a small reminder of the storms we can face in life and the need for secure foundations. Sometimes I let my own foundation wobble a bit and then I begin to find life more difficult. When the foundation is solid and secure, the storms get weathered with little real damage.

It seems to me that Jesus told a story about storms - wind and rain and houses built on sand and houses built on rocks. And compared them to heeding his words or not.

Have a great day!

Joe Carter: Conversion of the Purse

2006-11-13T07:10:00.000-08:00

Some good thoughts from Joe Carter at the evangelical outpost on Economic Injustice and the Middle Class.

Speaks volumes to me and my recent lifestyle.

We may have much to answer for.

Have a great day (if you can after this little shot of guilt.)

Excuses, Excuses

2006-11-06T07:08:00.000-08:00

I have to offer my apologies to those of you who continue to check into this site looking for a new post. There are two excuses why posts are few and far between.

Excuse #1: I don't seem to have the time in the morning that I used to. Before going to the new job I'm doing I took my oatmeal and ate it at work. Now I eat before I go to work and it's hard to type and feed my face at the same time.

Excuse #2: I struggle with things to say lately. I readily admit that my spiritual life is at a low ebb currently and that impacts thoughts, commitment and all that kind of stuff.

Having made the above excuses, I do have some thoughts as a result of sitting through church yesterday. I just need some time and commitment to get them down. I'm off to Vancouver for a couple of days tomorrow so I don't know if and when I'll get those thoughts down.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Have a great day!

Christ Follower or Christian

2006-11-03T07:17:00.000-08:00

From Revkasedoggy comes this post and video. As KC says, cute...but all too true and sad, in a way.

Have a good day and a great weekend!

I Knew More Then

2006-10-30T07:04:00.000-08:00

Today is my 52nd birthday. I don't mention that so people will wish me a happy birthday because after 52 of them the novelty definitely wears off. But I remember back in my early thirties thinking that I was starting to get a handle on things in life, especially in the spiritual realm. Boy, was I ever wrong. It genuinely feels sometimes that I did know more then than I do now. . . or at least I thought so way back then.

I'm reminded of the words from U2's City of Blinding Lights,

The more you see the less you know
The less you find out as you go
I knew much more then than I do now

Life moves on, wisdom does grow, but with wisdom often comes awareness that you don't know as much as you thought and there is so much more to learn about life and everything that goes along with this life that should be more simple as the days go by but somehow has grown more complicated.

My dream of heaven on earth? Less complication, no wars, no battles, no greed, peace, love, relationships of trust and honor, no pollution, no cars, no third world hunger, no terrorists, no politics, the list could go on and on. A dream that is mentioned by another prophet-poet, this one far more ancient than U2:

Justice will dwell in the desert
and righteousness live in the fertile field.

The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

My people will live in peaceful dwelling places,
in secure homes,
in undisturbed places of rest.

Though hail flattens the forest
and the city is leveled completely,

how blessed you will be,
sowing your seed by every stream,
and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.
(Isaiah 32:16-20)

Have a good day! Dream good dreams!

Real Beauty

2006-10-26T06:51:00.000-07:00

Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
The woman to be admired and praised
Is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.
Give her everything she deserves!
Festoon her life with praises!
(Proverbs 31:30 The Message)

It may be just another marketing ploy, or, as I would really like to believe, it may be genuine, but Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty seems to fit well with the verse above. Check out the site (Canadian site here and above, U.S. site here) and especially take the time to view the short film, Evolution. And then take time to reflect on what constitutes true beauty.

Have a great day!

Seeing the Kingdom

2006-10-24T07:13:00.000-07:00

In The Secret Message of Jesus, Brian McLaren says, "If the great religious writer Huston Smith is right, there is something in us that is incapable of being satisfied until we get to the meaning of a certain secret, what he calls 'the longing'"(page 197). Brian then offers this quote from Smith:

There is within us - in even the blithest, most lighthearted among us - a fundamental dis-ease.... This desire lies in the marrow of our bones and deep in the regions of our soul. All great literature, poetry, art, philosophy, psychology, and religion tries to name and analyze this longing. We are seldom in direct touch with it, and indeed the modern world sems set on preventing us from getting in touch with it by covering it with...entertainments, obsessions, and distractions of every sort. But the longing is there, built into us like a jack-in-the-box that presses for release.... Whether we realize it or not, simply to be human is to long for release from mundane existence with its confining walls of finitude and mortality. The Good News...is that that longing can be fulfilled.

Just a thought for the day. Have a good one!

Make Poverty History - Letter to Finance Minister

2006-10-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I mentioned the Make Poverty History campaign. One way you can help make a difference is to send the Finance Minister and your MP a message to make the next federal budget one that will assist in this endeavour. This call for a budget to make poverty history can be found here.

And, thanks in advance for your help in this matter. This is one of those issues that mesh together between my Christian background and my union background. I have posted a similar urge on my other blog concerning this.

Rethinking - Again!

2006-10-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

I spent 5 days at our Union's (CEP) national convention last week and, in the midst of doing the work that I was elected to do for my membership, I also did a bit of thinking about how to mesh these two streams of my life.

As hard as it may be for some of you to understand, there is a lot of similar language that I hear in the union environment to the language I hear in the church environment. The word that most resonates with me in both groups is justice. While there are nuances to this word that is different in both environments, there are a lot of areas that overlap. So much so that I can't help but think that the two groups should be working together in a greater measure than we do.

For example, at one point last week, the white bands of the Make Poverty History campaign were handed out along with a brochure. This was also mentioned from the podium and just like that, hundreds were wearing this symbol of justice for third world and poverty stricken people.

In addition, a couple of the speakers made connections with me and I will admit that I am seriously rethinking some of my political views and my own personal activism especially in those areas that overlap with my Christian beliefs. The area I am most trying to understand is in the area of the global economy and free trade issues. If these things are actually making life more difficult in third world countries, then I have to reconsider them. I know very little about any of it, but that is an area that I need to learn.

All of this in an effort to grow towards what I think Jesus wants us to do (and I do emphasize the phrase "what I think". I don't want to imply that I know for certain or that this automatically means that this is what Jesus wants us to do. This is part of the whole thinking thing.) I lean towards many of the thoughts of Brian McLaren especially in the area of bringing the kingdom to earth as it is in heaven.

I don't know how far I will carry all of this in the midst of all the other things that seem to occupy my energies these days, but I believe growth comes from constantly challenging one's thinking and views. Though hard for me to do, I always hold out the possibility that I could be wrong about things.

Have a great day!

Which Church?

2006-10-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

I'm off again tomorrow to a union convention in Vancouver so blogging here will be non-existent (again!). However, there are many good bloggers around who offer some excellent and thought provoking posts. One of these is someone who, though I know only via blogging and email, I consider a friend and brother in this glorious kingdom of God.

For today, check out Steve Norris's post Which Church Would You Pick? And those few of you who visit my blog, keep checking Steve's blog over the next week (and always, in fact.)

I would seek your prayers. Much is going on where I work and I find myself in a position where leadership needs to be exerted and wisdom applied to find solutions to difficult issues. I truly need to be sensitive to the Spirit's leading in these areas that impact a business and fellow workers and their future.

Have a great day, a great weekend and a great week next week.

Nothing Much

2006-10-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

Nothing much to say. Still reflecting on some of what I wrote yesterday. Thinking about responsibilities of my position. Wondering about the future. Writing in incomplete sentences.

Have a great day!

EO: I am Sam Bowie

2006-10-12T07:14:00.000-07:00

Just a link for those of you interested in reading about blogging. Joe Carter at the Evangelical Outpost gives us Reflections of a Third Year Blogger.

Yesterday's Story

2006-10-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

I work in a paper mill that lately seems to be reeling from crisis to crisis. As a member of the negotiating team I am often involved in meetings with the company to try and mitigate the effects of layoffs and other aspects of the crisis management we are being subjected to. The recent move of the company inolves a potential investment that, to me, has great business implications all by itself. The company, though, is using it to try and extort concessions from us. This comes after a successful 5 year contract negotiation in 2002 that was precedent setting and that the company has sinced used to brag about their good relations with the unions. Additionally, in the process, the workers in our mill have basically been accused of having a bad attitude and being uncooperative even though a couple of the company big wigs "like us....a lot." Right.

I haven't been overly involved in this latest round because of training and holidays but yesterday I had the opportunity to sit in on an attempt to get talks started again. The company's position is that it is all or nothing on their list of demands. For various reasons there are aspects of some of what they are asking that we just can't even touch let alone give concessions.

The whole thing is very challenging for me because I have always tried to find common ground and work with the company while at the same time representing the workers that I am elected to serve. We were dealing yesterday with the company's Vice President of Human Resources. We were being represented by our union national rep and basically these two were doing all the talking. At one point the VP said that we had been unwilling to make any suggestions on some of their demands and I looked over at some of my guys in disbelief because I know that they had tried and continually run into a stone wall. So I turned back, I guess with a bit of a smirk and chuckle and the VP called me on it.

And there I was, lecturing the VP of Human Resources. I have an ability to be angry but with a slow burn kind of anger that doesn't raise its voice. Most of management who have known me over the years know that this happens seldom and so, I think, it has more effect than if I was always angry. I ended my little rant with an apology for smirking. Some of my cohorts think this shows weakness. I think it both released the tension and put the VP back on the defensive. But, I don't think I did this for manipulative reasons.

In reflecting on this over the rest of the day, I both wonder where the words come from because it wasn't planned and I don't really recall much of what I said. I also reflect upon my faith and whether what I do is right or whether it is just acting in the same way as the world does. I think it has a lot to do with how I conduct myself all the time and that anger, in the right way and at the right time, is not necessarily wrong. It depends on motives.

And I wonder sometimes if the Spirit rises up inside of me to give me words, but also to control anger and keep me from destroying integrity and purpose.

I don't know but that's my story from yesterday.

Have a great day today!

Happy Birthday, Terri

2006-10-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my daughter Terri. Recently married and now another year older. Here's a picture of her that I just love from her wedding a month ago.

We love you, kid!

Long Time, No Blog

2006-10-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

My son comments on my last post, "hey pappy, long time, no blog, what gives?" and I see that it was September 22nd when I last posted. I did say blogging would be light for the next couple of weeks and that's what it has been. I did a week of training in Campbell River and had no internet connection and then my wife and I just returned home yesterday from our final camping trip of the year. So, I just haven't had any chance to blog. Not that I really have much to say anyway.

I have been reading and enjoying Brian McLaren's book, The Secret Message of Jesus. If you like some of the direction Brian is going then you'll love this book. Brian seems to resonate with me for some reason and so a lot of what he says makes sense. Of course, a lot of what he says also challenges my actions as a Christian and so, to be perfectly honest, I don't always like what he says even though I know he's right.

So, it may take me a while to get back into this blogging thing. As usual there is a lot going on at work and my life still has some busyness about it. Saturday, I travel to Vancouver for our national Union's constitutional convention where I will try to best represent the membership in my local. Convention is always interesting and involves debate over various resolutions and also elections of national officers and executive board members. Of course, it also entails the usual gung ho union stuff that I try to take in stride and be objective about. Often though, it is just rhetoric and I weary quickly of that whether it is left wing or right wing, big business or big union. I do plan on trying to blog about it on my union blog, Viewpoint.

Until the next time.....

Focus - Unfocus

2006-09-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

The title of this post relates to how I'm experiencing life these days. I readily admit that my thoughts are not focused very directly on kingdom things although I am partway through the book The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren. Something about the way he writes and the things he says just seem to resonate with me and I tend to eat it up.

The focus part comes with several external things that are ocurring in my life right now. From the wedding of my daughter a couple of weeks ago, to the continuing visit of my mother, and the thing that is really spinning my brain, the training I am doing for the new job I have begun at the mill. Not to mention further disruptions with more layoffs and new company demands This training is a directed facilitation course involving the use of new and extensive software and, while it is all starting to gel, it does leave my head spinning and focusing on what I am learning. Even to the point of waking up in the middle of the night and thinking about it.

In everything, application is key. So, some of the training involves some role playing which I detest but which also starts to give me a bit of a clue as to how it all comes together. Learn, learn, learn. Practice, practice, practice.

I think the same is true of life in the kingdom. We can know a lot, read a lot, talk a lot and blog a lot, but we have to figure out how to apply it and practice it. I have always kind of differentiated knowledge and wisdom as being the difference between learning and application. We can have a lot of book knowledge, understanding, even brilliance, but wisdom comes as we learn to apply that to our everyday lives and that, to me at least, is the part that I struggle with the most.

Which takes me back to McLaren's book and his attempt to take the revolutionary message of Jesus and find genuine application for the genuine meaning of this message. But, of course, even this new knowledge and understanding will not result in wisdom, unless and until I start to practice it everyday.

Blogging will be even lighter the next couple of weeks. I'm out of town next week on the second week of this training course and then I have a week of holidays with my wife. We will be spending our final week of the season camping before starting to think about winterizing the trailer and putting it away until next spring. Boy, that's a depressing thought.

So have a great day and a great weekend and I'll see what the next couple of weeks brings.

Bolsinger: A Place or A Way to Live

2006-09-21T07:12:00.000-07:00

I seem to have little to offer myself these days, in part due to things that are going on all around me and in part, to be truthful, to a bit of spiritual malaise that I am going through. Fortunately, others continue to offer up great thoughts worthy of being linked to here. And that's what I will do today.

I've fallen behind in some of my blog reading so this morning I quickly scanned the last number of posts by Tod Bolsinger. I point you to his post A Place or A Way to Live and ask this question: where are you?

Have a great day!

The Only Witness that Matters

2006-09-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

I point you this morning to The Only Witness that Matters, a short devotional by Gordon Atkinson (rlp). It's about integrity and hypocrisy.

Have a great day!

A Call to Kindness by N.T. Wright

2006-09-18T06:58:00.000-07:00

I have finally finished the book Simply Christian by N.T. Wright. I would recommend it especially to those who have little knowledge or understanding of the Christian faith but also to those who have been locked into a certain form of Christianity that just may not be working for you. This book could be a start towards change although it is only a start.

Here are some words on relationships:

Justice speaks of the ordering of our relationships at all levels, not least on the larger scale of society and the world as a whole; but the longing for relationship goes much deeper than merely avoiding unfairness and getting one's rights. It speaks of intimacy, friendship, mutual delight, admiration, and respect. It speaks of that which, for many people much of the time, makes life worth living. Again and again in the New Testament it is clear that the Christian community is called upon to model new patterns of human relating, new standards for how to treat one another.

The key word, of course, is "love," and much has been written about that in itself. But I want to draw attention to something else - something often ignored in the clamor for better and clearer rules of Christian behavior: that we should be positively kind to one another. "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us" (Ephesians 4:32-5:2). The quest for justice all too easily degenerates into the demand for my rights or our rights. The command of kindness asks that we spend our time looking not at ourselves and our needs, our rights, our wrongs-that-need-righting, but at everyone else and their needs, pressures, pains, and joys. Kindness is a primary way of growing up as a human being, or establishing and maintaining the richest and deepest of relationships. (Pages 228-229.)

And a couple of questions from me that maybe some of you can answer. Does this kindness extend to those who are unkind to others? To those who, perhaps, abuse positions of authority and mistreat others?

Next book in the reading list, The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren. I picked it up the other day and I am looking forward to reading it.

Have a great day!

Too Much Confidence Baby

2006-09-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I linked to another one of those little quizzes that purport to reveal things about yourself that you never knew before (riiighhhttt!) This one measures you level of narcissism. I scored high at 20. My dear, loving, humble wife comments that she scored a 4! I knew that would happen. No surprises there. She's great. I'm a narcissist!

There is a great line in U2's Original of the Species that says,

Some things you shouldn’t get too good at
Like smiling, crying and celebrity
Some people got way too much confidence baby

In the DVD of U2's video tour, as Bono sings the last line above he point to himself.

The trouble sometimes with having way too much confidence baby is that it can lead to arrogance, an obvious observation, but sometimes it can lead to an earth shattering failure when that confidence runs into something that a person has little or no control over.

This happens to me on occasion. Okay, earth shattering may be a bit of an exaggeration but it can leave you momentarily with no place to turn, a feeling that you've lost and someone else has won, and quite possibly can lead to things we witness in society all the time, like depression, suicide, anger and probably a host of other things that we would need some good psychologist to explain to us.

I am thankful in my life that there is always someone to turn to, someone to call upon, someone who is just always there, always understands. This is one of many areas where faith in Jesus is important. The great thing is that he is there even when you don't specifically call upon him. Just like we can observe others who are struggling with something even if they don't come to us or share with us, Jesus, with far greater ability, observes our struggles, our cares, our concerns and even, our way too much confidence baby.

I'm glad he's there and I'm glad he loves me and is patient with me, especially when I've kind of ignored him for awhile. So here is my public praise to him. Thanks Lord for your great love and your great care.

Have a good day and a good weekend!

Humility or Narcissism?

2006-09-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

Oh, oh. I did a little test called Are You a Narcissist? (HT: MH Today). I managed to score higher than all of the following:

Average American score: 15.3 out of 40.
All celebrities: 17.84
Musicians: 16.67
Actors: 18.54
Comedians: 18.89
Reality TV stars: 19.45

My score? Yikes - 20. I really don't understand it because I know I am just a wonderful person at heart. Oh wait - I think that's the point, isn't it.

So I am forced to remind myself once again of the words of Micah 6:8:

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Obviously made all the harder by my narcissistic tendencies.

Have a great day!

The Secret Message of Jesus Review

2006-09-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

NextReformation.com has a very detailed review of The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren. I almost ordered it recently but opted for another book on my wish list. It will come eventually because I enjoy the different views that Brian presents.

If you would like to read a chapter omitted from the final publication or get a study guide, then go to this page on Brian's site and download it. They are sitting on my desktop waiting to find time to read them.

Have a great day!

A Wedding in the Family

2006-09-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

This past week has been hectic, tiring, exciting, fun, all those adjectives that come with a wedding in the family. To the left is my daughter Terri and her husband Bryce who were married on a beach in Ucluelet, B.C. on Saturday.

Everything went well and the reception was a lot of fun with even this old blogger and his energetic wife up on the dance floor. My feet are still sore!

Though Terri and Bryce have been together for a number of years it is a wonderful thing to see this public commitment of their love in a formal ceremony. I know how much they love each other and this seals the deal.

My prayer, of course, is for many happy years, that they might grow to enjoy the type of relationship and love that my wife and I have, and that they continue to enjoy the blessings of our good God.

Congratulations to Terri and Bryce. I am proud of them and happy for them and I love them both.

Where Are We?

2006-09-01T06:55:00.000-07:00

Derek Simmons sends me this link to Jollyblogger where David Wayne discusses some of the questions N.T. Wright asks in the introduction to The New Testament and the People of God. David focuses on one question in particular that asks "where are we," an important worldview question.

But it is Wright's second question that I am particularly fond of, because it zeroes in on the meaning of life on this earth. Wright says this:

"We are in a good and beautiful, though transient, world, the creation of the god in whose image we are made. We are not in an alien world, as the Gnostic imagines; nor in a cosmos to which we owe allegiance as to a god, as the pantheist would suggest."

David goes on to say:

This question forces us to consider how we view rocks and trees and bunnies and oil and money and clothes and ants and music and art and sports and food and so on and so on. It forces us to wrestle with the issue of how much continuity there is between this world and the next, with how (if at all?) the kingdom is present in the material realities of this life.

Where are we? It is a good question, one worth thinking about and has a lot to do with the whole idea of heaven and the kingdom of God and how important this universe is in the here and now, not some distant, pie in the sky in the sweet by and by concept that renders us all but useless in the present.

How does this question focus us on what we should be doing and how we should be doing it? If the Kingdom of God is here, now, and not just something to come in some distant future, how should that impact those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus?

Instead of lifting our heads up to try and get a glimpse of what heaven will be like, perhaps we should be keeping our eyes level to see what we can do to bring heaven to earth. Perhaps it has something to do with justice and mercy and humility and love. And maybe those things have something to do with caring for this earth and the people in it.

Have a great day and a great weekend.

Returning to Church

2006-08-31T06:49:00.000-07:00

I haven't had the time in the morning to post the last few days because I have risen about an hour earlier so I could be on the road by 5:55 am to travel to Campbell River for a 3 day training course. I did this each morning Monday to Wednesday and have quickly realized that I am not much of a commuter. The trip took an hour and 40 minutes, 160 km (about 100 miles for the metric illiterate) and though it was nice to be back home in the evening, it made for some long days. I was thankful that I wasn't commuting in some big city where I had to fight the traffic. This journey was mostly at 118 km/hour and the only thing I really had to watch out for was the road kill spread at intervals all over the highway.

Enough of my excuses for not blogging. I want to briefly touch on returning to my old church on Sunday past. Though my wife and I simply wanted to slip in and slip out it didn't quite work that way. Let me briefly explain some of The Salvation Army's "doctrinal differences" that lead it to do some bizarre things at times. The biggest difference we have with most denominations is that we are non-eucharistic. In other words, we don't practice baptism and communion. I won't discuss all the false arguments that people like to make to justify this position but I will point out that historically we began as a mission with the intent of sending converts to other churches. In a mission type ministry, it makes some sense not to practice baptism and communion since both have a relationship to community and should be part of the church scene, not the mission scene.

But that didn't really work out and we also became a church and have struggled (in my opinion) ever since with this mission/church orientation and of late also run into the fact that we are also a charitable, fund-raising organization.

With all of this in mind, our officer (pastor) who appears to have been following a church calendar of sorts spoke about communion on Sunday. Now, I will admit that my attention to his sermon was minimal but on the "holiness" table at the front was an obvious loaf of bread covered by a cloth. The Salvation Army has also incorporated something called a love feast that uses bread. The idea is that you take a piece of bread to someone that you may have an issue or dispute with and take the time to settle that issue while sharing the bread.

Not a bad concept really, but there are two issues I have with it. One, I think it is a vain attempt at a communion-like ritual without calling it communion. Thus, to me, it has now become a mockery of something that is sacred, and was incorporated by Jesus himself and practiced throughout church history. The second issue I have with it is that you really need to prepare the congregation for something like this with teaching and prayer before embarking upon it. Part of this has to do with the fact that as a member of the congregation I may have no choice but to participate if, for example, someone has something against me that I have had no prior knowledge of. This, to me, is a form of dishonesty if this someone has not approached me privately and followed the steps outlined in Scripture. To utilize a "love feast" to resolve something you have taken no previous steps to resolve lacks in integrity and honesty.

So, back to Sunday morning, it became obvious that a love feast was about to break out and in fact, the pastor began to speak about this at the end of his sermon. Being our first Sunday back, I was not at all comfortable with this because I also saw it as somewhat manipulative in addition to my general feeling about what I consider "fake" communion. So I leaned over to my wife and told her I was leaving when it started. She replied that she would join me and so we left. It is a small chapel and it was pretty obvious I guess and so our return was not the uneventful thing we hoped for.

But, in my opinion, it is not a big deal and should not be treated as a big deal. Maybe we were wrong, maybe we were right. Maybe we were selfish, maybe we were wise. For us, it wasn't the time and the place and so we did the only thing we could about it and left. This doesn't mean we aren't going back. That decision has been made. And I don't intend to make issues out of everything.

However, I may well be a pastor's nightmare. But that's okay by me.

Have a great day!

SharperIron on Jesus Junk

2006-08-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Joe at the evangelical outpost for his link to Jesus Junk. This is an excellent discussion of the merchandising of Jesus that clearly has gotten out of control. Here's a bit of what Jason Janz has to say on this topic:

The blending of Christianity and naked commerce can be seen in how the church has become the new marketing niche. The Passion movie changed how secular people viewed the church. We became more than a voting bloc or cultural crusaders; we became a marketing niche. A big one at that. Now our kids can get free Fazoli’s sandwiches for going to Sunday school four weeks in a row. Pastors get free movie passes to any film that can pass as “wholesome” in hopes that they will tell their congregations to turn out in droves. Avon carts in shopping malls want to “network” with us. Why not go all the way? Why shouldn’t we just stand up in the pulpit with a suit coat plastered with as many patches as a NASCAR race car?

The lost world is a lot more nice to us now. They see that we have deep pockets. This is vividly seen in the book and music markets. Multnomah just sold out to Random House. Another evangelical publisher is owned by a godless company.

Jesus would be irate. Not that the world is attempting to manipulate us for their benefit. That’s a given. He’d be irate that we let them.

Some food for thought on this interesting world we live in. We are supposed to make a difference, but I am certain that marketing Jesus is not the way. One more quote from the post:

I don’t want the symbols. The greatest apologetic to a lost world will not be stickers, pens, or tattoos, but rather a life that exemplifies Jesus. This ethic will change how I treat my neighbors, how much money I give away, whether I obey the speed limit or not, and how I act at the company party.

So have a great day and a great weekend. I will probably not be posting next week until Thursday since I have to go to a training session that requires about a 1 1/2 hour commute. I will be leaving about the time I usually sit down to blog.

Until then....

Having an Opinion or Intolerance?

2006-08-24T06:58:00.000-07:00

Amanda Witt shares a personal memory about a discussion with her husband in the early days of their marriage. Then she links to David Heddle's post You Intolerant Fundy! where he discusses the accusation he faced on another blog.

He provides a logical discussion and example of the difference between opinion that can lead some to accusations of intolerance.

This is an important issue in today's society where we may find ourselves increasingly at odds with those around us. As morals appear to crash into the ground and political correctness applies more and more pressure to "watch what you say" we need to ensure that our opinions and beliefs don't turn into intolerance. We also need to ensure that those around us understand the difference between opinion and intolerance.

And in all things we need to remember the incredible grace by which we have been redeemed and in turn be graceful even as we express our beliefs and opinions.

Like many things, this is sometimes easier said than done and I am guilty of anger, contempt and a lack of grace. Which leads me to point to another post by Amanda called Critics.

Have a great day!