The Blog is Back!

That's one sexy looking photo Josh.

But I think that Ava takes the cute award.

The photographer let me do it

Here is my 2006 / 2007 school portrait.

Readings,

Currently read Deception Point - at Dans recommendation. I can hardley put it down. Thanks Dan!
Not Much going on in the Knelsen house this month. Kev got back from the infamouse camping trip with his kids, relativly unscathed. We are hoping to get away sometime in August but not sure where or doing what.
Seams like summer is going by far to fast and I want to slow it down....probibly a good way to do that would be to stop sitting at the computer and go out side..
See ya,
M

a Slice of Melville

A Slice of My Life


Hello Everyone

You may not have noticed, what with being "not bored" [split infinitive, I know] and reading almanacs, etc.., but we've moved to Melville. It's hard to believe it actually happened. As it happens, we're still alive and actually doing well. Our renovations are basically done- Dan finished putting up the baseboards the other day so the living room is looking finished. There's a bit of unpacking to do, but nothing too major.

Melville itself seems to be a nice little town/city- very friendly, and everything from obvious redneck farm kids to the mowhawked skater/punk kids.

It's strange how everything around you can change so quickly, and suddenly many of your bearings are gone- not all- but enough to be unsettling. We're made to be quite resilient I think, and yet these things affect us in ways we don't necessarily notice right now, and maybe not for quite a while. And part of being resilient involves being broken, and re-evaluating what defines you, what God is calling you to, and then reshaping to reflect same ideas, or new ideas in new environments.

Tomorrow will be our first attempt at going to church here. We're going to miss the fellowship and communion we have had with all of you.

Much love

Naomi

July is...

Did you know that July is national...
Read an almanac month
Fireworks safety month
and Non-boredom month
Not sure how reading an almanac and not being bored go together...

Too many indeed

For me, the survey underscores just how much our economic / social culture just doesn't work with an ecologically healthy one. All the changes we make - walking, recycling, etc - are just drops in the bucket, even though they're painful to make!

This is why we have to live on a commune and be self-sufficient.

Though I suppose the expensive sacrifices are the ones that I haven't made yet - maybe you too, Lilly. Like only buying local food, only buying organic, etc.

Too many planets

I just did the eco quiz and was shocked to find out that I would need 4.6 planets. My basement is full of old milk jugs and cardboard, we use energy efficient light bulbs,I walk pretty much everywhere I need to go. I guess I should think about making some eco changes.
L

How many planets would we need...?

Try this out:

take the"ecofoot" quiz at www.ecofoot.org. You'll be asked a bunch of questions about your lifestyle and then it will tell you how many planets we would need if everyone lived like you

If everyone lived like me we'd need 4 planets

Josh

On the Evils of Socialism

I have an idea. Have a book burning of the current text books, and write your own, demanding that any student caught reading a different text book will be thrown in the stocks and whipped on the bare bum with a willow stick. It's the only way you can control what they think and believe.

A quote from my history text...

Ideas of the Socialists

Man has responsibilities both to God and to society. Christ makes it clear that man's first responsibility is to God and his second is to his fellow man: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God ... etc ... and the second is like it ... etc." But too often ungodly man has rejected his obligation to God ans sought by his own efforts to correct the ills of society.

Many people during the nineteenth century sought to remedy the evils around them by changing society. THese people believed that man is basically good, failing to realize that sin is at the root of all social evils. This mistaken attitude, which assumes the perfectibility of man and society, found its clearest expression in socialism. (my note: read, "socialism is a mistake")

Most people today assume that socialism is only an economic term. It is defined as government ownership of the means of proeuction and the disctribution of goods for the presumed welfare of society. This definition is correct, but it is important to realize that belief in socialism, like a belief in any other philosophy, affects every are of life. For example, since socialism emphasizes the group rather than the individual, many socialists advocate establishing an international government to replace independent national states. (my note: read, "socialists are out to bring down the american empire") The influence of socialism in religious circles has promoted the desire to break down all denominational and religious barries and unite all religions - regardless of their beliefs - into one. Socialism rejects individual responisbility, limits individual choice, and replaces individual initiative with collectivism (rule by the group).

...

The Christian socialists were theological liberals who believed that Christianity and capitalism were incompatible. They believed that unregenerate society could and should live according to the Sermon on the Mount. They sought to establish an earthly millennium where peace and justice would reign. Because many people opposed socialism in any form, the Christian scoialists tried to portray it in a positive manner. Socialism is nothing more than "the embodiment of Christianity in our industrial system," they said. (my note: Who said?) In fact, according to an early CHristian socialist paper, "Christianity and Scoialism are almost interchangeable terms." These men, although claiming to be Christian, failed to see that the very basis of socialism, the perfectibility of man by man, is contratry to the teaching of Scripture.

---

So, friends, this is what I have to work with in my Social 9, History 10, and History 20 classes. Thoughts?

Funny Oxymorons. Well, some are funny.

Some people say that I'm superficial, but that's just on the surface.

On one hand, I'm indecisive; but on the other, I'm not.

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's intolerance.

The world's full of apathy, but I don't care.

Perspective is in the eye of the beholder.

Prejudiced people are all alike.

What is the probability that something will happen according to the odds?

Evil isn't all bad.

I'm still not sure if I understand ambiguity.

Always be on the lookout for conspicuousness.

There's no such thing as nonexistence.

Cooperation can only be reached if we work together.

As far as I'm concerned, treachery will sometimes bring loyalty into question.

He doesn't have much of a reputation or so I've heard.

I disagree with unanimity.

I have my doubts about disbelief.

Avoid alliteration...always.

Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

One should never generalize.

Avoid cliches like the plague.

Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

Profanity sucks.

I have a twin brother; he's identical, but I'm not.

Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

Death to all fanatics!

An oral contract isn't worth the paper its written on.

If we do not succeed, we run the risk of failure.

I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous!

I always wanted to be a procrastinator!

Rehab is for quitters!

The shortest distance between two points is how far apart they are.

Don't be redundant by repeating yourself.

Grammar has gots to be one of the most importantest things ever?

My identity lies in not knowing who I am.

I am becoming increasingly worried that there isn't enough anxiety in my life.

I have this nagging fear that everyone is out to make me paranoid.

Free advice is worth what you paid for it.

Entropy just isn't what it used to be.

I keep telling myself that I am a pathological liar, but I am not sure if I believe it.

There are only three kinds of people; people who can count and people who can't.

Reality is a big, nasty, vicious dragon, but I don't believe in dragons.

Life is full of uncertainties...or I could be wrong about that?

Not only am I redundant and superfluous, but I also tend to use more words than necessary.

Always remember you're unique...just like everyone else!

www.dribbleglass.com

Here is my 'slice' of life

Hi
So what is life about? no realy what is MY life about and how do I live that, every day, every moment of that day? How do I follow my script for life not some one eles?
If only I could stop the world for just a week mabey I could think about that. Its seams as if I can never get to what matters (I'm not sure what that is any more either) in a day cause so much other stuff happens.
Here is my delema: Was what I set out to do, all my plans and hopes for the day, was that what mattered? And did I fail at the day (and ultimatly my life) cause I didn't get to any of it? OR is what actually happened what matters? Is that the stuff that my life should be made of?
Example:
Ah its Saturday morning and its beautiful. Today I want to finish a bit of laundry and clean the floor in the morning. Then I think it would be nice to fill the pool and make a drink and play outside with Micah. Enjoy life, enjoy the birds singing, feel the sun kiss my skin. Perhaps for supper we will bbq some hotdogs, pick up a move on the way home from icecream and just hang out with each other tonight. Thats a great plan. That sounds like a good day. A nice balance of 'nessecities' - the laundry and the floor and then the things that will make me look back on the day and smile.
Reality:
How did it get to be 11:00 already? I haven't got to any thing yet, I've been doing a dame soduko and now it's 11:00. Ok so the floor doesn't need to be done but these breakfast dishes do... Micah would you stop whinning. Why are you so cranky. You need a nap......yes you do. Ok lets have a little nap then we can do something this afternoon. Ok now she is down for her nap. I'll just do these dishes . ok there done, now finish folding the laundry... what was that?. Micah get back in bed!. I need to flip the laundry but I should fill up the pool first so that it can warm up just a bit. walk through the bed room, sit on the bed ( big mistake), Oh I need a nap too. So now its 1:00 and I'm rested and so is Micah, but I still need to get the laundry done. As I was changing the laundry I realized the cats have no food. Well I'll have to run to walmart for that. I gues while I'm there I could pick up a few other things. I should make a list.. no I'll just remember.
Micah get your shoes on we have to go to wal mart for cat food. Yes the cats need food. Why?.. beacuse there hungry. Yes there tummys hurt cause there hungry, now get your shoes on!
Home from wal mart and its now 3:00. Micah hits the pool. I finaly get the laundry done. Oh crap forgot to get a movie. well I guess well watch Nemo, again.
Should start the bbq. hummmm we have no buns, well thats ok, who needs buns!. No buns today Micah. I know you like buns but we dont have any. Yes, mommy forgot at the store.
Ok quite finger painting with the katchup, no its not a good thing to wipe it in your hair and on your cheeks, no not on you legs either. Ok in the bath with you. humm more dishes. Oh I realy want that drink now but I will wait till Michas in bed then I can have some quite timea nd realy enjoy it. Micah quit splashing!
Ahh ok, now She is in bed, we've watched a movie. I need to vaccumm to cause theres pop coren ion the carpet now. I should do the kitchen floor too, its so sticky. Micah waht do you want now?. We already read three stories. We already snugled for a bit, its time for sleep now. I'm going to bed, yes i am and so is swiper and Romeo. No dad isn't here, hes at workie. Yes he'll come home tomorrow. Ok good night sweet pea. I love you.
Forget the floor, forget the movie, forget the drink, I;m just going to bed.

And so there was no relaxing and there was no kiss from the sun, there is still a sticky floor and the laundry is clean but not put away. The bathroom is soggy and the table has catchup smeared all over it. the cats are feed but have no clean litter cause it forgot that too. I still haven't made my drink and just watched the world go by but now I'm far to pooped to do anything but flop in a heep in the bed.
Oh my book, mabey I could read for a bit...... no I just want sleep.
This is a slice of my life.
M.

Re: Tired

J,

I bleed with you. I don't know anything else to say, so I won't.

D

I'm Tired

So I just had my yearly evaluation on Wednesday. It sucked. I hate these evaluations. It makes me feel sick to my stomach all day, and even for a few days after. It is not something that is helpful or constructive for me. I can't imagine how it is helpful for anyone. First of all, is it even ethical to have the "clients" (so-to-speak) do a performance review on me? What other job works that way? And since when is a performance review about someone's character? Why are people allowed to make criticisms with no specifics and nothing to back it up? And why are they allowed to do this anonymously?

More than anything, it is hurtful to me personally. Why does Peter Suderman Jr. say every year "I could have written pages and pages of the good comments people said about you", but he never does? Why are there only 5 or 6 lines of good comments, and the rest of page is filled with negative comments, criticisms, "opportunities" and "threats" to my ministry? Why am I told that it is mostly positive, but I never see or hear evidence of this? Why do we spend 5 minutes talking about the good comments and 75 minutes talking about the things I do wrong, the things people don't like about me and my ministry, the things that I should do better, my weaknesses, all the things that are wrong with me? (I am not exaggerating any of this) How is this helpful to anyone? How is this constructive or beneficial? Why do I have to sit here and take it?

And it becomes so confusing - comments are made by parents or youth with no specifics or details to back them up. The exact same criticisms are the same ones made every year, so I have been very careful to address them and change them. Laura has even told me that I have changed in all these areas, and these criticisms are still made. So when I say to Peter and Phil "Listen, I don't believe that I am doing these things. I have made the changes people want, and here's how." And I give them actual examples of what I do and how I have changed. They are then confused because they believe me, but they also don't have anything to go one except these criticisms with nothing to back them up. So they can only side with the comments made by others and ask me to do better. This is so frustrating for me!

But you know, this performance review isn't really the kicker. It's not the "last straw". It is just one more thing piled on top of me while I'm already down.

I have been really low for the last few months. I'm tired of so many things. I'm tired of pouring my life into these kids, becoming parent and friend into them, and then having to say goodbye to them when they leave youth. I hate graduation - it absolutely rips me apart inside. It affects me for months before it happens, and for months after. These kids walk away with a piece of my heart, and it kills.

I'm tired of feeling physically sick when I wake up and realize that I have to go into the office. (Again, I am not exaggerating). I'm tired of having a job that makes me sick. I'm tired of hearing 1 good and uplifting comment for every 5 criticisms and negative comments about what people don't like about me or what I've done. I have to live with this all the time. This church (and churches in general) suck at understanding what true appreciation means and looks like. I'm tired of the things that I hate about my job sucking the life out of the things that I love about it. I'm tired of having the only times (at least that I can remember) that Phil says something good about my ministry to be followed immediately by negative criticism. Why do people only think to say something good when they really want to give you criticism? That completely nullifies any good comments.

I'm tired of feeling like I'm still being treated like a kid in some respects in my job - of feeling like I can't make all of my decisions for myself - like someone's always looking over my shoulder and second-guessing me.

I'm tired of focusing on my weaknesses instead of playing to my strenghts.

I'm tired of being out more evenings than I'm home.

I'm tired of losing all of my good sponsors and not having enough help.

I'm tired of not seeing my friends and spending needed time with them.

I'm tired of having a church of 240 people's expectations placed on me and trying to live up to all of them (this is what I hated most growing up as a pastors kid). I'm tired of being a people-pleaser.

I'm tired of giving Laura so much of my worst.

I'm tired of feeling trapped.

And I'm tired of myself. I'm tired of whining so much. I'm tired of only thinking and saying negative things about my life and my job. I'm tired of not being happy most of the time. I'm tired of this feeling of wanting to give up. I'm tired of not changing the things about myself and my ministry that I can and should. I'm tired of living in such a mediocre state and not taking control of changing things, changing my attitude. I'm tired of disappointing God, Laura, and myself.

And I'm tired of writing this and thinking about this. I think I'm going to go to bed, wake up tomorrow and continue building my deck. At least that's something that I can see progress happening and enjoy seeing it take shape.

J

Frisbee

Janine Gunther says we can call her if we need female frisbee players. She loves frisbee she says (of course she qualified that she's "not very good", but that's what anyone says who's facing the prospect of joining someone else's team).

extra! extra! Bekkler has bad day! extra!

Viscious World Targets Hapless Socialist

(CP) - Hardly more than 24 hours after paying SGI's $700 deductable and recovering his stolen Camry, left-wing mouthpiece and reluctant teacher Josh Bekkler discovered his wallet had been nabbed from the self-checkout at the Regina Public Library's downtown branch.

Bekkler, having arrived only moments earlier in said Camry with his wife and daughter, admitted he had been careless in setting it on an unattended counter by the library's exit. "I was having trouble balancing Status Anxiety, P. D. James' The LIghthouse, and ... uh .. the other book, so instead of putting them down to re-adjust my hold on my daughter, I put down my wallet," said Bekkler, looking visibly discouraged. "I never picked it up. Neither did my wife. But I think the asshole behind me at the self-checkout did."

The asshole in question might never have lined up with Bekkler at the library but for another interesting, yet potentially cruel twist of fate. On their way to the library, the Bekkler family noticed a couch, abandoned next to the city dumpster behind their house - next to their Camry - had been set ablaze. "There was just the one tiny flame when we first noticed it. I wish I had grabbed ahold of the kid who was non-chalontely walking away. In seconds the couch was more or less covered in flames."

The time it took Bekkler to move the couch away fromh is neighbor's fence, call and wait for a fire truck, and snap a photo of his daughter with a local fireman, caused Bekkler to arrive at the library at around 7:45, presumably about the same time as the horse's ass who took his wallet.

So we just found out that the offer has been accepted. YAY. We are very excited. Now if only we can get a mortage for 39,000. :)



The bathroom (main floor). There's a little shelf around the corner that you can't see here.



The bedroom upstairs.




Hallway to other upstairs bedroom. It is exactly the same as the other one.



The kitchen- not really a dining area, but enough space to develop one if needed. It has new maple cupboard and ceramic tile flooring (this is Amy).

?Our House

These two are rooms on the right side of the living room

Front of house- some great old climbing trees



back yard- needs some TLC but lots of possibility

living room- two big windows and silver wallpaper. This will be redone hopefully right away

Why we can't trust the World Bank...

Yes, I know, another of roscoes semi-communist tree-hugging quotes. Enjoy. This one comes (again) from Paul Hawken's The Ecology of Commerce.

"It's time we stop pretending that industries which degrade and poison are economic or useful. The present vision that informs 'economic' activity is so grossly misinformed and out of touch with ecological reality that Lawrence Summers, the chief economis of the WOrld Bank, can issue a now widely publicized memo calling the low pollution in African countries uneconomic: 'Underpopulated countries in Africa are vastly underpolluted, their air quality is probably vastly ineffeciently low [in pollutants] compared to Los Angeles or Mexico City.'"

Emphasis is mine.

Underpolluted?

Dear Troubled...

The trite answer would be, "You're not leading them on their faith journeys, GOD is."

Which is, of course, only somewhat true.

One of the things I appreciate about your "style" of ministry is your openness in expressing your own opinion, and your openness in questioning traditional viewpoints. If you're wrong in spite of your genuine search who can blame you? Who in your youth has meditated and searched more diligently than you? I suppose its possible that God expects us to ignore our intellectual drive to question and to find out more and more truth (that is, perhaps he would prefer we merely swallow whole what generations before us have swallowed whole). In that case your thoughtful guidance might be a dis-service to students.

Something tells me that's not the case, however. That your pursuit of God and truth is as precious as God's pursuit of you.

Troubled Spirit

So, tonight for Sr. Youth we had a discussion night. We have these every few months, and I really enjoy them. They are some of my favourite times with the whole group. It is a chance for the kids to share anything about life, faith, prayer requests, their faith journies, ask questions, etc. Tonight was no exception - some very meaningful things shared and some great discussion.

But I came away very troubled also. Some very deep and intense questions were asked (which often happens). My approach is to let the kids talk things out, and if asked or if needed to put my own two cents in. But I found myself talking more than I wanted to tonight. And I'm struggling if I did the right thing or not.

Tonight's questions surrounded some of the usual topics, but they had a more personal ring, and much more intensity to them. Questions like: "What do I do if I'm just having my devotions to have them, and they've recently become very dry and it's a chore to do it?" "I have a Muslim friend who is very sincere in his faith and is a great person, and I'm struggling with what will happen to both of us when we die?"

None of these are knew to our discussion time, but it was somehow different. Some of the youth shared much more freely of their own beliefs. And there is a wide range - from those that hold very tightly and traditionally to Jesus' statement: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." And those that believe that Jesus showed that God is love, and any life based on love has a part in his kingdom. And I try to balance things, play devils advocate, and all the rest. And I ended up sharing more of my own personal beliefs in these matters than I ever have. This is what I am really struggling with.

Should I have? Were they all ready for it? Will some of them understand it in a wrong light? Will it mislead them? Just because I am at a certain point in my thinking should I try to lead everyone there? I don't believe that I should, but I feel like I was pushed into doing that. I had to say something. And I don't even know if I'm right.

What really scares me is this verse from James 3:1 - "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, know that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment." What if I don't know anything and I'm leading them all astray? I know this sounds like an exaggeration, but it really does concern me sometimes. I try so hard to always go back to the Bible and speak from it, but what if I'm miss-interpreting it, or just making it say what I want it to? I come to these questions with so many biases, how do I sort through them all and just teach the truth? I sure hope God takes my best intentions, and that these kids miraculously filter out all my crap.

Sometimes the huge responsibility that I have becomes too much. How do you lead someone in a "faith journey"?

On Cynicism

Sometimes I lie awake in bed, unable to sleep becasue I am scared that I am too cynical.

So the student leading devotions today asked the class whether it was a sin to NOT want to die because of the things and people you'll leave behind.

That is, given then choice between dying a martyr's death, or remaining alive and in relationships, is choosing "alive" a sin?

Not surprisingly, we talked a bit about martyrs. One student mentioned the story about the CHristian husband who allowed a soldier to bury his wife and young child alive rather than renounce his faith. THis story is often used in sermons to glorify the martyrs death.

I had to admit to my class that I couldn't imagine anything that would motivate me to make the decision this soldier made. Maybe physical torture.

The story of Abrahams near-sacrifice of his son also came up.

Just got called to the conference room. THe short of the story is that the students were a little astounded that I would take a side not usually taken by preachers by saying the right thing to do MIGHT be to stay alive and in relationship with family.

Gotta go.

Josh

Easter Monday

What a great weekend we had. Its was nice to be at the farm. The weather was so incredible. It was truly an 'awakining'. Micah loved to just hang around with 'her boys'. I wish I was home now, just a day to relax and catch up on laundry, hang out and eat soup. Days like today always make me want to eat soup. Doesn't matter what kind of soup, anything will do.
Currently I am reading The Da Vinci Code. I can't seam to put the book down. I know I'm a bit late in reading it as I'm sure Kev and I are the last ones in North America to read it but it finally came out in paper back. I'm relay enjoying it. I don't know what the hubbub is all about in Christian circles, the book is FICTION!. As the book its self repeatedly states " every one loves a conspiracy"
At this very moment I'm waiting for said Client as indicated below to come and sign her renewal papers. Should be an interesting meeting. What a great way to kick off the week!!!
Kevin' Girl

AHHH Monday.....

So my first call at 8:43 this am was from a client who apparently had been stewing all weekend and as such has a very large bone to pick with cibc. Long story short, I'm still dealing with her now and I've had to use my "don't you talk to me like that" tone, use big words (I do that when I'm realy mad, how come my vocabulary increases as my anger level rises? hummm....) and in not so many words tell the client that she is acting like a bitch. Yup, all in a days work. Between that first call and now I have also had the pleasure of dealing with three other pissed off clients - may I also just add that none of the issues where caused by me or were a result of my actions or in some cases non actions. I am also putting off calling a fourth client to decline him on for a loan. That one isn't either of our faults, just the policy of CIBC around debt consolidation loans. I wish I could say that this is why they pay me the big bucks, but I'm still waiting for them to show up in the bank account......

A Slice of My Life

I found this word to be remarkable. Did you know it existed?

defenestrate \dee-FEN-uh-strayt\, transitive verb:
To throw out of a window.

Defenestrate is derived from Latin de-, "out of" + fenestra,
"window." The noun form is defenestration.

Some of his apparent chums . . . would still happily
defenestrate him if they caught him near a window.
-- Andrew Marr, "No option bar the radical one,"
[1]Independent, July 5, 1994

I defenestrated a clock to see if time flies!
-- Lane Smith, "quoted in Who's News," [2]Time for Kids,
September 25, 1998

N

Lilly

Watch for Crickets in Times Square.
(Anybody read the book...?)

New York

Hello everyone, just on a break from my course and wanted to write a quick note. We are learning so many great things that it is almost hard to take it all in. So far I have managed not to get mugged and even spent some time walking the streets by myself last night. We ate in a diner just like on Seinfeld and we have even hailed a cab. Tonight we are going to check out Time Square, and we hope to buy some pizza from a street vendor. Also we will be doing some shopping on 5th avenue.
Laura

Creative Writing

Here is an old essay I found from my days in U of R's "persuasive & expository writing" class.(dated 1997)

God
by Yoshua Brekkner

I am not God. I am a university student.

As a student, however, I know that it is never sufficient to make such a statement without backing it up. So I've prepared a list of reasons supporting the assertion that I am not God. I believe you will find it to be irrefutably true.

I was born on a Thursday. My mother, my father, and the doctor whose face I peed into in my first few seconds of life can all testify that it was the seventh of October, 1976, somewhere around noon. This year, therefore, is my twenty-first year of life. The church at which I am currently a member, however, was established in 1942. We must assume that God was alive at that time, and it follows, then, that God must be at least 54, going on 55 years old. In fact, if the witnesses of many texts and documents are to be believed, God is substantially older than that. The reason there is some uncertainty is that God's birth, unlike mine, was not a witnessed event -- or at least nobody that we know of recorded any such event. God could be hundreds of millions of years old, but suffice it to say that he (she?) must be significantly older than I.

Still not convinced? Then consider this: it is commonly agreed that, by definition, God knows everything. That's prerequisite for the job. It is quite easy to prove, however, that I do not know everything. Just a few weeks ago, I proved it as I wrote a Math 214 midterm exam. Surely God could have scored better than 25%. I prove it again each time I answer the telephone and ask who is speaking. In fact, if I were God, I would seldom have to talk to anyone at all since I would know exactly what would be said anyway. Surely, then, I am not God.

God is also capable of doing anything -- that is, God is all-powerful. Omnipotent, you might say. We know this because God alone in history has been able to exist for such a long time without the government having any record of that existence. Because we have this knowledge of God, many people, when desperate, call on God to perform some act that they have been unable to perform themselves; yet nobody calls on me with impulsive and unlikely promises when it's forty degrees below zero and the car won't start. I can't even start my own car on mornings like that. Can someone as incapable as I, then, be God? I think not.

We know that God must be everywhere at once. Although this is impossible for us to understand, we know it must be true because if it wasn't, God could only help one or maybe two people at a time with his knowledge and power. In a world packed with nearly 6 billion people, God often needs to save people from terrorist bombs in Palestine, and help raise money to bail out Jim Baker in America at the same moment. I, on the other hand, take 15 minutes just to drive from my house to school -- if all the lights are green. If I were God, I would not be much use to anybody.

God is not asked to pay taxes, and yet I have no choice.

Lastly, but most surely, God, with all of that trademark wisdom and power, would not be subject to such humbling problems as acne, diarrhea, constipation, and male itch, all of which I have helplessly suffered from at some point.

The few similarities that may exist between me and God are easily dismissed in the light of the above evidence. I am not God. Yet, my mind is not yet at rest; if God exists, but I am not God, then I would like to figure out which one of us is God so I can introduce my humble self.

---

My prof wrote: "Interesting - I actually enjoyed it. 75%"

Where is every one.....

I feel the need to confess that I am addicted........ its all I think about, if I can just get my hands on it, I know I can get through the day, it helps me forget the problems in my life and it makes me feel soooooo good when I'm doing it. SoDuKo

Every 7 minutes there's a lull in the conversation...

Since I have to return my book, The Ecology of Commerce to the library (they won't let me renew it anymore) and since that means I have to un-dog-ear all of the pages I've noted ... here are the pages I've dog-eared (for my future reference ...)

pp 29, 30, 33, 43, 48, 54, 55, 82 (bottom of first full para), 89, 90.

I know you're all fascinated.

Kevin, if you're reading, the water heater's been turned down, and the cats have been fed. I'm about to head over and feed them again.

I think this was the word...

Veracious
1-Truthful, honest
2-Marked by truth- accurate

Is this Legal? - Not that it Matters

So i guess my boss, Mary didn't like me attending to my sick child. she came to me yesterday and told me that I would have to use 3 days of my holidays beacuse of it. I'm not sure that she can do that, but what eles can I do. If i make a fuss, I have to work with her and things will get ugly, I don't want that. So I'm feeling very abused today. In an effort to make he actions seam much mor acceptable she told me that my district manager thought I shoul dhave to use all 5 days of my holidays, but shes not going to do that, she didn't think that was fair.
AHHHH.
M

What global warming? I don't feel anything...

from Christian Century.org

"Some evangelical leaders, such as Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, oppose activism on global warming, saying there is neither a scientific nor an evangelical consensus on the topic..."

see http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=1855 for the full article, "Evangelicals split on global warming", by Adelle Banks

Sick......still

I've been home all week from work. Would be nice if Micah hasn't been so terrible sick and I as well. Seams like we are on the mend. I'm not going to work tomorrow either. You all can pray for the softness of my bosses heart in this matter. Even though she is a mother herself, I'm not so sure she realy understands what is like to have a sick child, a husband that is working shift work as well as being sick yourself. Not a fun time. Of course In my head there is no where eles I would rather be that with my sick little one, thats when kids need there moms the most. Any way I have been trying to come up with something insightful to say, since I have all this time on my hands.... not. But my brain is currently cloged with snot so thinking only exasterbates the matter. So I though I would post some pics for you all to enjoy.
First we have Micah and our new cat, see Josh's blog a few down. He is currently unnamed. Kev is deciding but so far he doesn't like any of the suggestions I have given him.
We have Micah and her Princess. This is Cara, My new step-sister-in-law.
I though I woudl include a wedding picture as well. The groom is my step brother Sam and the best man is my step brother Jordy (Larrys sons). They are good guys and I realy like Cara. There first offical date was attending my wedding. So they have been together for a while as well. In fact they were ingaged for 4 years!!.
And I realy liked what they did for a cake... Cup cakes!!!!!Ummmmm.
M.

Lent

Yessss! Now we can talk about Jason. What a nerd.

So Long - for a while

Well, today is Ash Wednesday. The beginning of the season of Lent. A time to follow Jesus into the Wilderness. I am going to lead the youth on this journey, and I am going on this journey myself.

Lent is traditionally a time to give something up and a time to take something on. I have decided to go offline for the season of Lent. That's going to be tough. Except for work and email, no internet for me. No blogging, no surfing, so checking things out, no keeping up to date. In place of this, I have decided to take on reading large portions of the Scriptures. I was recently challenged by Henry Braun in this area. I was convicted that I have lost a love for God's Word. So I am going to take his advice to heart, or at least try to.

So, that's it for me. See you on the other side of Easter.

J

P.S. - Kevin, I do believe you have to back up the fact that you are on Jason Hildebrand's blog. You must give some evidence to that regard.

Soul Mates

About every year or so I read a book that is so in-tune with my own thoughts and where my soul is at that I wonder why I didn't write the book, and I wonder why I'm not best friends with whoever wrote it. The book Blue Like Jazz (written by Donald Miller), that I am currently reading, is just such a book.

I am about half-way through the book, and I have probably underlined, starred, checked, circled about half of the text. It is that good and that relevant to me.

Let me give you some tidbits from the second chapter, titled Problems: What I Learned on Television.

I sometimes wonder whether we are moving through time or time is moving through us...I believe that the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time. This is why the devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If he can sink a man's mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God.

If you don't love somebody, it gets annoying when they tell you what to do or what to feel. When you love them you get pleasure from their pleasure, and it makes it easy to serve. I didn't love God because I didn't know God.

An observation on the human condition: We have to be taught how to be good. It doesn't come completely natural. In my mind, that's a flaw in the human condition.

The problem is not "out there". The problem is the neady beast of a thing that lives in my chest...I went there to try to get my head around this idea, the idea that the problem of the universe lives within me. I can't think of anything more progressive than the embrace of this fundamental idea.

A poem by C.S. Lewis:
All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you.
I never had a selfless thought since I was born.
I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through;
I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn.

Peace, reassurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek,
I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin;
I talk of love - a scholar's parrot may talk Greek-
But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.

I think Jesus feels strongly about communicating the idea of our brokenness, and I think it is worth reflectioin. Nothing is going to change in the Congo until you and I figure out what is wrong with the person in the mirror.

Fantastic stuff. I think Don Miller is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors (guess I'll have to see about his other books though).

J

Everything Bad is Good for You

I just finsihed an interesting book called Everything Bad Is Good For You. The subtitle is How Today's Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter. Interesting, not phenomenal. It was quite a "heady" book - lots of psychology, media theory and neuroscience involved, so at times it was tough to stay with the train of thought.

Anyway, the author's premise (Steven Johnson) is that over the last 20-30 years (and especially in the last 10), popular culture has actually been developing our brains and making us smarter. Contrary to the popular thought that mass media will always gravitate to the lowest form of intellect, and head us all in an increasingly downward spiral.

He calls this upward trend the "Sleeper Curve". The Sleeper Curve basically suggests that popular culture (and he is looking at all forms of media and entertainment) is becoming more and more complex, thus demanding greater cognitive abilities to follow it and to navigate the various and new interfaces.

Johnson argues that to truly evaluate what pop culture is doing to our brains, you cannot look at it from a moral perspective. And I would have to agree with this. If you put morality and ethics aside, the trend is definitely toward more complex ideas, and it is forcing us to learn at a greater rate. We are becoming smarter as a society in relation to complex decision making, complex systems, and understanding how to explore new interfaces. At the very end, Johnsons also makes a small argument for the idea that pop culture is not making us morally bankrupt either. He points to evidence that most of the "research" done that points to a morally downward trend is completely unreliable because it is based on too many assumptions. Again, I think he has a case there.

One thing that he does say is suffering in today's pop culture is the ability to stay with a sustained, long-term argument. He gives the example that contrary to popular belief we are actually becoming a more text-based culture (emails, blogs, chat rooms, etc.), but that these texts come in short bursts. Whereas a sustained argument (like the book he is writing) is beginning to suffer in this reality. To counter this, he calls for a balanced approach between all forms of media that interest you (gaming, TV, film, print, etc.).

So, if you want a complex read, check it out.

J

Cool, not cool

I'll tell you what cool is, Jason Hildebrand writes about me on his blog. Truly, I'm the standard. I refuse to have to back up this statement as it is self evident.

Here's something not so cool.http://avokatsomo.com/arkisto/2006/02/23/romanialaista-hockeytaituruutta/
No ethics whatsoever in this little hockey scrum. These guys need to come to Canada to learn the gentleman's rules to ice conflict. Even Bertuzzi could teach these guys a few things.

Who's Jason Hildebrand

I guess cool is in the perception of self, or of others, but perhaps for not the same reasons.

Thought regarding economy: (FINE PRINT: This is not an original idea, but one that has kept niggling in my head, and yes, niggling is a word I made up and will continue to use until it finds its way into a dictionary). Does money grow on trees? Is money or profit ever generated without being at someone eles's expense in terms of labour, exploited resources or talents? and is it ever ethical to get money for doing nothing, but rather being in a position where it (profit, goods, money) can be taken or produced without the original producer sharing in the benefit? The next question then, and perhaps one that is hardest dismoss, is where are my investments and who am I damaging by trying to save for retirement? What is interest and whose money becomes my gain? Is it ever right to benefit at the exploitation or expense of others?

Related but perhalps a random thought, also not my own, but from Daniel Quinn's "My Ishmael": The lie of our culture's need to make money, work the rat race, hating it, and yet feeling that this is the only option available all started when somebody decided to lock up our food. Who would really work the crazy hours we do, for as many years and more as we do, and continue this way of life for hundreds of years if we could just take our food from our environment. We would of course labour enough to generate or find our food, but that would likely be it because we would have what we needed to survive, Perhaps another lie of our culture is that we would not be content with that simple of a life, In fact, it is that very lie that keeps our economy afloat, isn't it.

The Ecology of Commerce

Reading The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken.

Hawken argues that there are design flaws in the way we do business, and that business needs to not only adapt in order to become sustainable, but also restorative. To model itself after nature's process.

Here are some interesting tidbits...

The problem is, in part, in the language of business ... "In the language and accounting of classical economics, resources do not technically exist until they are drilled, extracted, pumped, or cut; in biological accounting, the principle is reversed."
...and...
"If Hawaiians had 138 ways to describe falling rain, we can assume that rain had a profound importance in their lives. Business, on the other hand, only has two words for prift - gross and net. The extraordinarily complex manner in which a company recovers profit is reduced to a single numerically neat and precise concept ... it does not factor in whether people or places were exploited, resources depleted, communities enhanced, lives lost, or whether the entire executive suite was in such turmoil as to require stress consultants ... "(p10)

---

He quotes a farmer / essayist named Wendell Berry: "However destructive may be the policies of the government and the methods and products of the corporation, the root of the problem is always to be found in private life. We must learn to see that every problem that concerns us ... always leads straight to the question of how we live. The world is being destroyed -- no doubt about it -- by the greed of the rich and powerful. It is also being destroyed by popular demand. There are not enough rich and powerful people to consume the wohole world; for that, the rich and powerful need the help of countless ordinary people." (p15)

---

"... 27 years worth of stored solar energy is burned and released by utilities, cars, houses, factories, and farms every 24 hours." (p22) Translate - what the earth (natural processes, God...) took 10,000 days to create we un-create in a single day.

Why I'm cool

Jason Hildebrand performed at RCS's High School retreat during my first year at the school. But, then, that was before his face was EVERYwhere.

Blue Like Jazz

Well, here I am at Youth Quake, sitting in my host family's home in my room, just before I go to bed. Lucky for me they have a wireless internet hub here, and I brought my laptop along so that I could check up on how the Olympics are going and such.

I just came from one of the coolest performances I have ever been to by an actor from Toronto, Jason Hildebrand. The performance was called Blue Like Jazz. It was an hour-long piece, that would most closely resemble a monologue, but that doesn't evoke the right images. Here is the official description in the YQ handbook:

"A solo theatrical multimedia performance based on the book by acclaimed post-modern author, Donald Miller. It is a raw, personal, humourous reflection on spirituality, God, and community and an honest and unexpected journey - a scrapbook of one man's life."

I had actually heard of this book a few months ago, and have wanted to have a look at it. After seeing Jason's performance of it (I believe he was quoting directly from the book the whole time), it has inspired to buy the book, and so I did tonight right after the performance. But back to the performance - I have never seen anything like this. It was a combination of monologue, music, projected images, and even the live character talking to himself as a projected image. It was fantastic, very funny, very sarcastic in just the right way, and very insightful. It was also way over any highschool student's head or experience (I heard many comments all around me of "this is so random", and "I don't get it"). But it was exactly where I am at. I certainly didn't want it to end.

Two of my favourite quotes from the performance:

"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes. After that I liked jazz music. Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way. I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened."

And...the character speaking as his twelve-year-old self: "I had found something to live for - Naked Women!"

Good stuff in an unexpected place.

J

PS - Cindy Klassen is now the single greatest Olympian in the history of Canada! Go MB's!

Here's a photo of the cat we found who's wandering about our house right now (much to the distaste of indignant Trudeau).

Speaking of crazy things kids write...

I was just marking my Grade 11 students Math B30 exams on probability, and had some rather ridiculous responses (amazing alliteration, agreed?) to the question "Explain the difference between dependent and independent events, using sentences".

The person that I'm marking right now wrote:
Dependent evens depend on another even.
Independent evens do not depend on one another.

Nice.

Here's a photo of Saffron hiding - so all those internet perverts don't want it.

CBC Sports Saturday

Oh yeah, I forgot that Terry does all the equestrian stuff. That got me thinking about CBC Sports Saturday. I watched Sports Saturday religiously as a kid growing up. It didn't matter what sport was on (even bowling or equestrian show jumping) I watched it to the end. That was my Saturday afternoon for so many years. Because of it I became quite versed in the finer points of all sports. I know all the rules, the strategies, who was hot and who was not. I could name and recognize the top contenders for any international competition and sport (Olympics, Commonwealth Games, World Cup circuit, you name it). In fact, I still recognize a lot of the names in sport from those days. I kinda miss having the free time to watch CBC Sports Saturday.

J

FYI

Terry... yes she is a bit of an odd one. But I have seen her doing horse jumping and swimming and sking and sometimes curling. Although now joan mcusker is doing it and shes great. So yeah I have wondered where she has been.
M.

Crazy Terry

So, does anyone else wonder what the CBC does with Terry Leibel in between the Olympic games? Do they put her away in cryogenic storage somewhere, and thaw her out for the next Olympics? I mean, you never see her any other time, and she never seems to age. Something's fishy.

J

Mennonite Pride

I just got home from youth, turned on the TV to the Olympics, and caught the tail end of an interview with Cindy Klassen, shortly after winning her gold medal today (the fourth of the Olympics - a new Canadian record in summer or winter!). Cindy Klassen is an unashamed Christian and wears her Mennonite heritage with pride. In the interview she was unafraid of expressing genuine thanks to God and to her roots, and solidarity with her "Mennonite Brethren". And CBC was very willing to recognize her faith and its importance to her. Unusual for a Canadian to be unabashed about their faith, and for the CBC to give airtime to it. Refreshing. And Cindy may not be done yet! She has one more race and a chance to do something no one in the world has ever done - be the first female skater to win 5 medals in one Olympics. Go Canada, and Go Mennonites!

J

Hey Kevin

I'll score your draft!

J

Music, God, and Worship

Last Wednesday I had an excellent time of discussion in the youth Bible studies surrounding the idea of music, God, and worship. We started out with a discussion on the popularity and importance of music in our lives/culture, and then everyone had a chance to play a song for the group to listen to and explain why it was meaningful to them. (If you're wondering what song I chose it was U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - see my previous blog on "Songs that have been meaningful in my life" if you want to know why I chose that particular song.) It was a fantastic night, one which gave some great insights into the minds/lives of the youth that shared a song.

Part way through our opening discussion, I posed the question: "Do you think there is such a thing as "Christian" music?" If so, I asked them to define it. I let them throw around their ideas and opinions, which were often well thought out, and then I gave them my view on the subject. Here is what I think of that question:

This is a bit of a hobby horse for, really the idea of anything in mainstream culture being labeled "Christian" (ie. books, music, movies, etc.). I don't believe that we can label any music "Christian". Here is why:

1. First of all, what makes something "Christian" (in other words, how do we deside what to assign that label to)? Basically it is if "Christians" make it/produce it/perform it, and/or it has explicit references to God, the Bible, Jesus Christ, etc. in it. Does that automatically make it "Christian"? Does that make it morally better than all other music? By placing the label "Christian" in front of it, we are saying that Christ endorses this, and that he endorses it above all other music. It is Christ's music. Do we really believe God endorses one person's creation and expression over another's just because it has these certain characteristics? On the other side, I feel that some of the music labelled "Christian" isn't, whether it invokes the name of God/Christ or not. Sometimes it is not fully truthful, and just plain false at other times. How can anyone claim that Christ is a part of that? Care must be taken not to disrespect the name of Christ by labelling it "Christian".
2. This means that no music created by the great classic composers (Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Schubert, Handel) would have much merit under this classification. This music was not made by Christians (well, some of them were), nor does it have any references to God (or anything else) within it to let us know where the composer stands on spiritual matters. And yet this music is glorious, and are some of the best musical creations that we know of. How is it that God doesn't endorse this music?
3. O believe that God enjoys all creative acts that are authentic, truthful, and that add something positive to the hearer/viewer/reader (new thoughts, new experiences, challenging ways of thinking and worldviews, lifting spirits, make you laugh, help you express pain and struggle, etc.). God is Truth (Jesus says "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life), and He seeks Truth and appreciates Truth in any form of expression. There is a whole lot of Truth in music all around us (sometimes I feel there is a whole lot more Truth in "secular" music than in "Christian" music), and that needs to be recognized, appreciated and celebrated. I believe God does. God is in that Truth (if Christ is Truth, than all things that are Truth must be a part of Him) - how can that not be defined as "Christian"? To illustrated my point I used the song "Raven" by the Dave Matthews Band. This song is full of Truth about the gift of the created world given to us by God and our responsibility (and failure of that responsibility) to take care of it and protect it. This song is neither written by Christians nor explicity is about God, yet it is an incredibly Truthful song with a message that inspires and convicts. How dare we say that God is not a part of that, or that it is any less than music by Michael W. Smith, the Newsboys or Audio Adrenaline?
4. God shows up in music all the time when I'm listening to it. And I don't listen to much "Christian" music (basically none). Music that I listen to turns my thoughts toward God, makes me think of life, the pain, the joy, the struggle, love, relationship, creation. I find myself continually listening to music with God, and he speaks to me through it. It helps me express my own thoughts, feelings, emotions, questions, and ideas to God. This is communion with God - this is worship. If Christ is not a part of that, then I don't know what is.
5. I believe very strongly that God wants us to redeem music (and books, and movies, and other art): To look for Truth and goodness in it, and affirm it and call it out. God wants us to partner with him in redeeming the world, and this is part of how we do that.

Closing thoughts: Maybe we should have a "music night" where we get together and share songs with one another. I think it would be fun and uplifting. And along the topic of music influencing our lives, we must get together and watch the movie High Fidelity. It is a fantastic.

J

Crash

Last night I watched the critically acclaimed movie Crash. This movie is up for a number of Oscars this year, including "Best Picture". Don Cheadle stars in it, along with a number of other great performances by lesser-knowns (Sandra Bullock also has a role - which made me wonder "Where has Sandra Bullock gone lately?"). Once again my belief that any movie Don Cheadle is involved in (Ocean's Eleven, Hotel Rwanda) will be excellent was proven correct.

This movie deals with racism and how we are forced to interact with each other, even if we don't intend to or want to. But as the movie suggests, maybe we so desperately crave connection that we will "Crash" into one another, if it's the only kind of connection that we can get. I can see why this movie was nominated for various Oscars (fantastic directing and acting, deals with a powerful subject head on and in a convincing and engaging way), but I am having a hard time thinking that it is a great movie. I know that it is an attempt to portray real life, but I still felt like I needed some more closure on some of the various story lines. Also, the style of the story telling is old hat - it is in the same vein as movies like Magnolia, 13 Conversations About One Thing to name a few (both of which are excellent movies). It starts out with seemingly unrelated people in seemingly unrelated situations, and they converge with each other in the end. The style has been done, and you can see things coming from way off. I hate when I can see things coming from way off. It ruins the movie/story experience for me because I have "figured it out".

Anyway, I would still recommend it as it is a wonderfully real portrayal of people and life, and how we truly need each other, even if we don't want to believe that.

J

Snappy comeback

I'll draft you.



Score!

Why kevin's post appeared in the wrong spot

Kevin I think you saved your post as a draft, then came back to it and finished it a couple of days later. But Blogger published your post on the DRAFT date. To avoid that, next time start a new post and cut and paste the draft post onto the new one.

Good day at work

I didn't want to go to work today but as it turn out it was a pretty good day for a Monday. All my appointments cancelled, this was a good thing today. I had so much 'stuff' to do and no tme to get it done. I hate being behind on paper work and having our back office send me nasty letters saying I need to send 'stuff' in. So i got that done and then I went and watched the Womens hockey game. I watched the entire first and third periods. I watched with my boss to boot, so not like I was sneaking away to do it. Its getting better. Its now 4:30 and I'm going to publish this post and turn off the computer, go to the van and drive home!!
See you later,
Kevins Girl

Crazy things kids write - volume IV

Crazy Things Kids Write - Volume IV.

How did the Renaissance man’s attitude toward life differ from medieval man’s?
- Renaissance man differed from Medieval man was the Renaissance said they were a sharp break with the ignorance and superstition of the middle ages…


Here’s one that helps explain why general opinion is that Christians are closed-minded and unintelligent:
Many Renaissance artists boasted of their talent and ability. What should be the Christian’s attitude toward his talents and abilities? What does the Bible say about this in II Corinthians 10:12 – 18?
- God’s word says we are supposed to be Christianly in every thing we do.


“The printing press was the most important invention of the Renaissance period.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?
- [This one is for little chicken liver] I agree that the print press was the most important invention. This is because it allowed Western Culture to develop.
- I agree because it helped out with cost of books and it made things easyer with art all you can do is look at it which isn’t very helpful.
- I agree because without that other innovation certains ones made during the renaissance wouldn’t probably had happened. It made things easier to mass reduce and it was a stop in the direction of positive innovations of the renaissance period. And I also think that they achieved something they would have liked, they became somewhat like the Romans, because the romans were also coming up with new inventions, so they sort of achieved part of their goal to model their lives after the romans (and greeks).

In what ways did Northen European huimanists differ from the humanists in Italy?
- They spoke with a different accent. They had different relatives and beliefs.

Look down

I just spent some time blogging, and for some reason it showed up 3 spots below. Have a look.

Original Sin

So one of my coworkers sits down at coffee yesterday and asks: " Do you believe that we are born into sin and need to be reborn?". You know how we're supposed to have an answer for everything? I didn't. I know you guys already think I'm a heretic, so I'm going to process out loud again. I think the reason the question caught me off guard because of the first part, because I do believe we need to be reborn. And, of course, we need to be reborn from something dead, right? I guess so, but it sounds so decisive and I think God is more gracious than basing one's destiny on being 49% on the way to being reborn, but if you're not there 52% you're out. I guess what I mean is that our definition of reborn tends to mean a decision followed by prayer and baptism, and a change in life, whereas I'm wondering if God's definition is a little more undefinable, or unquantafiable. As for being born into sin, the problem I have there is those who have no or little chance to be reborn: the miscarried, those who die young or those who have never had a good opportunity to meet God. I know creation gives them no excuse, but that seems a little harsh, you know? The other issue is perhaps that we are created in the image of God, which doesn't include sin, but are we born in the image of God. and do we need to commit a personal sin to be a sinner, or can we be condemned because of societal sin and eventual sin?
In case you're wondering, I sat like a mute while a nurse beside me recited the doctrine of original sin, rebirth, justification and union with Christ. I'm hoping to raise the conversation again today, so please join me in asking God to help me give her truth.

Thanks,
N

A Short History of Nearly Everything

I recently finished reading the book A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. A simply fantastic book. Best book that I read in 2005. It is a very broad, but surprisingly informative look at the history of science: origins of the universe, chemistry, physics, geology, quantum physics, archeology, biology, paleontogoly, you name it, it's probably in there. Bill Bryson is a very engaging writer, and some of the best parts of the book are his little insights into the quirky and fanatical personalities behind the great minds of science. Plus, you'll learn how there are numerous ways we could die tomorrow and never even know it.

Bryson closes the book with some very poignant thoughts about the brevity and delicacy of life. He sees that humans (however we came to attain this level of consciousness) have an incredible responsibility to the rest of life and this planet, and we have done a pretty poor job of it so far. Here are two quotes that I really enjoyed:

If you were designing an organism to look after life in our lonely cosmos, to monitor where it is going and keep a record of where it has been, you wouldn't choose human beings for the job. But here's an extremely salient point: we have been chosen, by fate or Providence or whatever you wish to call it. As far as we can tell, we are the best there is. We may be all there is. It's an unnerving thought that we may be the living universe's supreme achievement and its worst nightmare simultaneously.

If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here - and by "we" I mean every living thing. To attain any kind of life in this universe of ours appears to be quite an achievement. As humans we are doubly lucky, of course: We enjoy not only the privilege of existence but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even, in a multitude of ways, to make it better. It is a talent we have only barely begun to grasp.

J

A Day I'll not forget

I've decided to run a series of bloggs about days that seem like they happened yesterday. Days that the colours were brighter, and everything seemed more real than the others. When I think of them or tell them, I can almost see and smell the sights as though they were happening again. Does anyone else have these neo-hallucitory experiences or is it just me who's crazy?

With the Olympics being on it reminds me of a day I spent in Calgary. As a 19 year old I was recruited to push a bobsled for a rich Bobsled Driver (you have to be rich to bobsled, thankfully he always covered my costs). We slept at the park dormitory and I woke up to the sound of thunder in the morning, which was in fact the sounds of the bobsled. It doesn't matter what sport you're in, but sometimes you hear the sounds of the game, and your whole body is called to attention. Nostrils flare, muscles stand to attention, and time slows down a little. That was the morning.

I had breakfast with the Jamaican bobsled team which was very novel considering the movie "Cool Runnings" had just come out. Let me tell you, these athletes were nothing like they were in the movie. Not ironically, they looked like 4 Jamaicans rejected from the national track team, stuck in Canada for the winter.

I went down the hill with my driver (darren) for his first time all the way from the top. For those of you who don't know, it would be suicide to just go from the top the first time you drive. It takes years of practice, in Darren's case 3. Still, you have a 50% chance of overturning your sled the first time from the top. If you crash, you will not walk away without some kind of injury. When you practice you have to wear 100% cotton because polyester, and other materials will melt to your skin from the friction of a 450 lb sled traveling on top of you at 120km/hour.

We made it down 3 times, everytime exhilarating. Once we went a little high on a turn and made some sparks ( steel runners on cement ) but that was it. After that this guy from San Francisco (I recognized him later on Cool runnings-he got a little face time on the movie) asked me if I would go with him a few times. This guy had a very fast sled and I reached a personal best 137km/hour on the sled and produced 5 g's on the 270 degree turn after the straightaway. The fifth time down I was so tired I couldn't breath all the way around the turn. I also got my first, and probably last look at my own ass without a mirror as my head got pushed down between my knees and beyond from the pressure.

Afterwards he tryed to recruit me to push for him, but I said no almost exclusively for the reason that he was a jackass. I really should have given it a second thought.

After that was done I helped out with the movie "naked gun 33 1/3" I pushed down a sled that appeared for about 3 seconds on the movie. You know, the part where the vehicle emergency light is on and they go through a whole bunch of different places on their way to a crime scene. I didn't show up in the credits or anything, but I've just begun litigation for the royalties I'm owed.

Afterwards, we went out for supper with Darren's old chum, a DJ for the BEAR radio in Edmonton, a bit of a big wig it turned out. He brought these two Australian women so it appeared I was a fifth wheel. To make things more uncomfortable, we went to a very fancy restaurant. I had not been to anything like this as a 20 year old and I was feeling everybit the Mennonite farm boy. I ordered this appetizer dish that I didn't even know what it was. I got this plate full of these black clams (mussels of course) and I just sat there looking at it because I didn't know how to eat it. One of the Australians had mercy on me and showed me what to do.

All the while the sixth game of the world series was on. Every now and again I would ask the bartender (he had a small tv tucked under the bar) what the score was. As the game continued on into the late innings I became more and more annoyed with my companions who didn't seem to care at all about the most exciting sports event since the rider's won the grey cup in '89.

When I asked the bartender what was going on he told me it was the bottom of the ninth, Ricky Henderson was on first, one out and the score was tied. My feelings of insuperiority vanished and I stood up and announced to the table that I needed to get to a TV immediately because Toronto was about to win the World Series. To my surprise, and I think theirs, everyone jumped up threw money on the table and followed me outside. We walked over to Melrose place on 17th Ave. As I walked in, I looked over a guys shoulder, and looked up in time to see Joe Carter hit a home run and win the world series. The city went electric.

In the celebration I met a girl from back home whom I hadn't seen in several years. Actually, she was THE girl, you know, every school has one. In high school I do not believe the thought would have crossed her mind, but she offered me her number very enthusiastically so we could "go out sometime". The experience was very gratifying, but no, I never called her.

It was hard to fall asleep that night.

Random interesting sites

One of the fun things I get to do with my computer science kids at school is show them a cool new website/web service every now and again. For no particular reason, other than the fact that everyone seemed to enjoy it when I shared the Pandora site, here are a couple of neat (and free!) sites:

1. Springdoo -- allows you to send "voice email" instead of text email. All the hard work is done by their site, so it's outrageously easy to send a voice message to someone. I'm sure this type of service will continue to develop, but it's a pretty cool idea.

2. Ma.gnolia -- a really nifty new social bookmarking service. If social bookmarking is new to you, think of being able to access your favorites (bookmarks) from any computer. That's just the beginning. Then imagine being able to join a group, say of people interested in "gardening" or whatever, and being notified whenever someone in that group finds a cool new site/resource related to gardening. Add to the mix the fact that any website you bookmark will automatically be saved to your profile, so that even if the site goes down (ie. off the web for some reason or another), you still have a copy of it. Pretty nifty stuff.

Just some random stuff. Hope someone finds a use for it.

Keep or Toss

Last weekend I was in saskatoon and finally got around to going through some old things of mine that have been taking up space in the garage (dad couldn't park in there). Why dad didn't just pitch most of it in the first place I don't know but it sure was interesting going through it. I brought home a Easy bake oven, still in the original box, with original cake mixes. Guess I was saving them for a special occasion. A light bright, with pegs. Didn't have any sheets left but I think you can purchase them still. I brought home two doll houses and furniture - one Barbie, one not. I found my Strawberry short cake - still smells like berries. When I showed Micah she was thrilled. "Oh mommy - a Short Cake!!!. thanxs you, thanxs you!!!" I also showed my niece, Sydney, she couldn't believe that it was once mine, I mean how could they have had cool things back in theses days!. For those outside of the loop, strawberry short cake and my little ponies are Big, Again.
I got some other non-toy related items as well. An old churn and crock, but I left the crock cause the van ran out of room!. Some books, some items from my great anties. My great Aunt Molly traveled the world. She never got married and had her master's in Education. She spoke 4 languages. She's my 'favorite'.
Some of the things that Ithrew out included, my school binders from elementry school, hundred of notes from friends, erasers (I had a collection), perfume (it was given to me by my great aunt Molly, I think Iwas about 5).
M

This is me playing the banjo

The other guy's name ... I forget, but he taught me a couple of chords to play while he picked stuff. I can't even remember what state this is, but we're somewhere between North Carolina and Regina.

J pees

That's not a golf club he's holding.

definition

Definition of Extinction: the death of birth.

Modern day Parable

I'd asked bunruh once about where all the modern day parables were. In the Biblical sense - the short, poingnant story designed to be easily understandable for someone in the culture of the time, which teaches a spiritual lesson of some sort.

I'm still looking for a book or a website that does that. But it's been suggested that movies (and other entertainment media) fill that void for our current culture. Probably true. But I wish someone would compile a bunch of short ones.

Anyway, the LP roported on a show at the U of R called The Good Person of Szechwan, and called it a "modern parable". If anyone goes to see it, tell me about it.

Crazy things kids write volume 3

Late Slips: Reason for lateness:
- It was cold
- Don’t know
- Playing in puddles
- In Saskatoon
- Eating cookies
- Running too slow
- Button Broke off
- Attacked by gun-toting aliens
- Just late
- I’m a loser
- Getting golf clubs

Who is called the “Father of Humanism” because he led the way in reviving interest and study in classical literature?
- Francesco Petrarch was him.

What new course of study became popular in Europe during the Renaissance and what disciplines were included in this course of study?

- The new course that is became popular Europe durning the Renaissance is Humanies. Science, history, for doctors and lawaryers.

Blessings

I really enjoyed reading Bono's speech at the prayer breakfast and know that I will have to read it again. One thing that really stuck out to me was the idea of God's blessing. Bono shared that he often would ask God to bless what he was doing until an old friend flipped that idea on him. He suggested that instead of asking God to bless what we are doing we need to find out where God is working because that is already blessed. God has been speaking to my heart about this and again in my quiet time this morning this thought reappeared. When the people decided to build the tower of Babel they did this so that their name would be great, and in the end they received no blessing. Then one chapter later in Genesis you read the story of Abraham who took a journey of faith and obedience and was blessed beyond measure. It made me think about the path that I want to choose. "Efforts focused on building ourselves will profit little, but energy focused on deepening our relationship with God will produce lasting results." How have I been wasting my time pursing things in my life that are only of personal interest to me and then asking God to bless this? And how have I been meeting God where He is working and blessing things already? This is a constant thought process that I go through as I seek to be most effective in this life that has been given to me.

Bono's Speech at the National Prayer Breakfast

While Naomi and I were going to play hockey today at the rink by the Unruh's, we were listening to CBC, and heard the last bit of a speech that Bono gave at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. It was one of the most compelling addresses that I've ever heard. Both Naomi and I said to each other afterwards that his speech had more impact on us than the entire church service that morning. I won't attempt to give a run-down of what Bono says, as I simply can't do it justice (ha ha). Anyhow, you really need to check it out. Here's a link to a page that has an video and mp3 of his speech, as well as a transcript of it if you prefer to read:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/bononationalprayerbreakfast.htm

Evidence of My Geekery

Well, I was showing this to Jason earlier, so I thought perhaps I should share it with the group. Here's a link to the latest WotD (Word of the Day) quiz for the past week. Don't hate me 'cause I'm geekier than you.

borderline schizophrenia

Bunruh,

I read that article and noticed that line. I don't remember if I saw it at the time, but at the moment, I'm not sure just what the schizophrenia refers to. What is the school torn between ... mission and isolation? That must be it. Certainly there something about "our private schools" that's loathable.

ALSO, for anyone interested ...

According to Wikipedia, the UN has consistently reduced it's world population projections over the last 10 years DOWN from 10 million. At present, it is believed that population will "stabilize" at 9.1 billion in 2050.
Thats another 3 billion. Hard to imagine people saying that's not enough.

This One's For You Roscoe

In a recent MB Herald article entitled Cofessions of a Perfetct Christian, (in which the author rambled on and on about the imperfections of the church to the point that he negated his point), he had one line that I loved. He was talking about the things that get in the way of him loving the church that he so wants to love and one of those things he listed was:

the borderline schizophrenia of our private schools

I laughed out loud. Reminds me of a school I know.

J

Snappy Comeback

Roscoe, I'll dib you!

Dear N

I call dibs on borrowing your book when you're done.

Heathen Schellenbergs

Oh My...... Perhaps your bible school should contact Tommy Nelson. Obviously the husbands in question are not 'letting' there wives have children, likly for fear that they will plump up like a ball park frank. Perhaps some chastising from God will improve the situation, I mean we wouldn't want any christian man exurting his rights when god is capable of punishment himself. In any case we must devote ourselves to pray for Dan and Naomi, the entire existance of christianity is on there shoulders cause they not only have to have the 8 - 11 children of there own, but they will have to make up for the short fall in the other house holds as well. Oh my.....
In response to your thoughts on hell. I think if you have 8 - 11 children you would pretty much be living there daily so you would realy hope that Gods grace is bigger than any condemnation.
But seriously, I'm not so sure that we shouldn't be slightly frightened about the prospect of spending eternity in 'hell' what ever or where ever that might be. Shouldn't there be a flip side to the after life? Don't get me wrong I don't think that there is a pit full of molten lava and flames and a little guy with a pitch fork and pointy tail. I do think that there must be a "place" or "state" that isn't good. I don't know..........
Good topic to start the day....
Well better get to work.
M

Good Morning

So, here I am. This is a great idea Marnie- thanks for setting it up. My thought of the week has revolved around hell. I don't think any of us actually believe in Eternal Conscious Torment when it comes right down to it, but some would think we're supposed to. What's the point of evangelism if we're not trying to save souls from Hell, and really, why should we bother being good if we're not afraid of, in the end, actually going to Hell?? What actually defines salvation, what are we saved from if it isn't just ECT? These are not really original thoughts; I got the third McLaren book for Christmas and this is the topic. What he says is that grace is bigger than Hell and that God is incongruent if he is bound by a justice higher than Himself which forces people to Hell when they haven't said the right prayer or attended the right evangelical church. He is also incongruent if grace is actually limited by our weakness. Instead, perhaps it is "Salvation by grace; Justification by works"..... and so on. This is definitely a social and environmental gospel that actually works toward justice and wholeness worldwide where grace is always the last word.

So I lied, there is another thought: I recieved a little newsletter from my Bible School last week and according to what the president wrote, Dan and I are in deep trouble. We have been bound by cultural expectations and financial restrictions, not following what God is obviously calling us to, by not having children yet. Do you know that Canada today is not following God's command to go forth and multiply- the only reason our nation's population is not declining is due to immigration. Plus, most Christians are born and raised in Christian homes- if Christians are not having children (the way God desires of us) then who are our next generations of Christians going to be???? At least most of you are trying, but even two isn't enough. The poster families have 8 and 11 children.

N

Can View Page.

Thought I would try again and looks like I just needed to wait a few hours!!??
Roscoe - tried your tip about the printer being on to upload my pics from the camera to the computer and that worked. Odd. So as a reward here is a picture. LCL - Sorry I have been referring to you as Chicken little rather than Little Chicken Liver, which is no doubt, considering the photo.
Kevins Girl

Can't view page

Well I don't know if this is my problem or what, but I can't see the page. A message keeps coming up saying that the page I'm trying to reach is unavailable. Hummm. Not sure what the gig is about? I can still do all of this so I'm really confused.
Here is my list of jobs in order:
1. Babysitter @ Forest Grove Church Tuesdays and Thursdays for an aerobics group. Paid very well about 20/hr. The best part was I was with my friends and it was more money than I knew what to do with. Loved it, did it till I graduated.
2. Taught caneoing and Mountain Climbing at Columbia Bile Camp in BC. I had soooo much fun. I also was a camp counselor. I always got a 'look' when I said I was from Saskatchewan and was there teaching climbing. Best time. Meet my great friend Cindy the second year I was there. The camp is now called something else I can't remember.
3. Cook at Earls. Hated it. It was hot, greasy and had my first encounter with drugs. Let me rephrase that, I first became aware that there were drugs. I later realized that I was inadvertently was a drug runner. Some guy came to the back door and asked me to give a piece of paper to some one. There was nothing on the paper. Some time pasted before I realized it was acid.
4.Customer service person at Eatons. I sometimes think I single handedly caused the destruction of Eatons. I always told customers that they could get an item cheaper at Sears or some where else if they could. I can't help it if I was so customer focused that I lost focus of the fact that the store needed to turn a profit. It was a great gig threw unni and paid way better than minimum wage. I was laid off in Jan of 98. I was very bitter. They gave me a serverance package that paid me till May. That was great. It was based on my last months hours, which was December (Christmas hours) so I was working all the time. I got paid more in the package than I normally would have if they had me on the schedule till May!
5. Summer Camp coordinator with athletes in Action. Sounds cool but was really an exercise in hitting my head against the wall. I hated raising funds for the organization and Iasn't going to see a dime of it. This experience made me never want to work for a christain organization again. The positive thing was it introduced me to some cool kids from Parliament Church. I thought, if these kids are alright, then the church mustn't be so bad either. The rest is history.
6. Director at Katepwa Baptist Camp. This would have been way more fun if
I wasn't also getting married at the end of the summer. Its hard to plan a wedding while your out of town. I put kev in charge of one thing - to rent a limo. We ended up borrowing Larrys mini van. Camp was a blast. I loved being with the kids and staff and at the lake all year. A really great Board of director's too. I can't really say I was working for a Christian organization cause I wan't getting paid. I was doing my internship for my degree. Unlike other faculties where you can earn a living during your internship, PAS wanted to prepare you for the real world where your degree wouldn't make you a dime.
7. Regina Housing Authority.
I don't remember my title. I was doing a 6 month mat leave cover. I liked the old guys I dealt with, always had something to say. Mainly to complain about, but it was a good job. We were able to buy our first house cause I was working there.
8. Babysitting My nephew.
9. Sask Broomball Association
To tell you the truth I have no idea what was doing there but I tried to stay busy for the 4 months I was there. I just wanted a job so I could reapply for EI at the end of it, which I didn't do by the by. Alos my only experience with sexual harassment.
10. Employment Network. Started my career thanks to them. 3 years as a 'temp' working at RBC. See Next.
11. RBC. The best job I have ever had. The best boss I have ever had. The most I have ever learned about my self, work ethic and finding a place to call your own.
12. CIBC. My own office, My name on the door, business cards, the ability to sink some ones life savings into a shitty stock at the push of a button. Ironicaly I don't qualify for a few of my own lending products cause my yearly income is too low, but yeah, who am I to complain. Not sure how I got here, but I am.
Kevins Girl

Courier vs Driver photos

Maybe you've seen this. Check the photos at www.citynoise.org of the fight that ensues between these two when the driver throws garbage out of his window, and the bike courier picks the garbage up and throws it back into the car.

The newspaper picked up and published the photos without permission.

Some other neat photos on the site also.

Jobs I've had

I was a paper boy. First I helped my brother when it was his route, then when he didn't want the major part of the responsibliity,I took it over and he helped me. Anyone care to guess what kind of paper carrier I was? If you guessed slow and of questionable reliability, you were right. People generally liked me, though, even though I'd go collecting at odd hours.

I delivered bread Saturday mornings for Durston's bakery. In this job, I was given WAY more responsibility than I could handle. Or maybe they didn't take the time to train me properly. For example, they'd say "Take this delivery to Wascana Rehab." Sounds simple enough. So I get to Wascana rehab, which, of course, has several entrances, none of them labeled, "Bread guy enter here." I never went fast enough for them.

I worked the graveyard shift at Mac's in WHitmore park.

I was a tour guide and car operator at the Jasper Tramway.

I was a telemarketer of a $50 coupon book that was (sort of) for charity.

I was a day camp councillor, as every good young christian should be. I never saved a single soul.

One summer I spent a couple of days binding books at Campbell.

I was a maintenance guy on staff at the Bible school I went to in Austria. No, I'm not joking. Maintenance. Maybe that wasn't my official title. I just "helped out". Pulled hair out of drains, etc.

As a side note, when I registered to go to school in Austria, my dad sent the tuition fee for me by cheque. Personal cheque. He just wrote the amount due, crossed out "dollars" and wrote "Schillings" in its place. Apparantly, that doesn't work. They sent the cheque back.

It's time for bed, I guess.

A Slice of My Life

My Vote

Since everyone else is playing show and tell, I think I'll show my voting colours as well. I wrecked my vote in protest. I wrote a little note on my ballot why I thought this whole election was out to lunch and handed it in. It was nothing crazy like " the jews are controlling our minds" or anything, but all the same, the system stinks, so I choose to participate/not participate. I really could'nt think of any party in particular I really want running the country, and now we have another minority party in deadlock for another 2 years. bah!

RE Dog heading below

So I was just finishing up and entry when my boss came in. I felt like I was caught with my paints around my ankles. I don't know what happened to the post. I was frantically clicking buttons trying to get the screen to change and it wasn't working. It's even more bad cause I was quoting her reaction to the election, and it wasn't so nice.
Oh well. Guess that taught me to be more careful and only blog when I know she's out of the office!!
I was actual changing the heading from just dogs to dogs, devils and work and was talking about all three. Here is the short version:
there was a dog at work all day yesterday. A puppy. A 6 week old golden retriever. Very cute. Followed me every where. She also popped and peed on the carpet.
My boss called Steven Harper a 'fucking devil' and referred to Martin as 'one of the greatest fucking leaders the country has ever had'
I wasn't having a good day at work, again. Too busy not enough time to do what I needed to,let alone what I wanted to.
So that about sums it up.
Kevins Girl

And now, for something completely different...

This was sent to me at work today, and I thought I'd share the guffaw.

Re: the Green Party

My school was mysteriously ommitted from the results of the nation-wide Student Vote, but here are some interesting results from Campbell Collegiate in the Wascana riding (same as Schellenbergs).

Conservative: 265
Green: 251
Liberal: 362
NDP: 196

OK, OK, so the Liberals still win, but look at those Greens!

Students in the Palliser riding (mine and bunruhs) who voted in Student Vote more or less mirrored the real election results.

Dogs

Pain & Suffering

I watched The United States of Leland last night. Excellent movie, but I felt it was fundamentally flawed. It was written and directed by Kevin Spacey (whom I really, really enjoy - my favourite role of his is in The Usual Suspects, and I also thought he was great in K-PAX). So far, I have enjoyed all of Kevin Spacey's forays into the world of direction and production. This was no exception - very well done. The entire movie was incredibly believable. It also featured excellenting casting - particularly the role that Ryan Gosling plays as Leland P. Fitzgerald.

The movie is essentially about pain, suffering, and sadness. These things are an integral part of our lives, in fact the movie my even be saying that these things are the basis of life for us as humans. How do we react and interact with pain and suffering?

Pain and suffering is an issue so close to all of our hearts, and it demands an answer. But the answer that this movie gave left me cold and empty. As Leland says, there are 2 ways to see the world. One is to realize that the world around you is full of pain and sadness, and to ignore it. The other is to see and feel the pain and suffering of the world so deeply that it cripples you, and the only way to relieve that suffering is to take those that are suffering out of the world.

I believe this is flawed. Pain and suffering are not useless, and it is not meant to be avoided. It is a fundamental part of what makes us human, and I believe that feeling pain and suffering is part of God's divine imprint on each of us. God experiences great sadness and pain as he seeks to relate with us. Christ experienced the greatest anguish known to any being - death, and ultimately separation from the Father due to the sin of the world. My personal experiences with sadness and suffering have shaped me and in part have made me who I am. I would not be me without them.

There are two ways to approach suffering and sadness. One is to reject it, fight it and become bitter as you lose the struggle to it. The other is to accept it, suffer through it with friends and family, and allow it to clean you, shape you, and give you hope that you are in God's loving embrace and with people who care about you deeply, and come out the other side of those dark times a new person.

There is so much more that I could add within the details of this, but I don't really know how to put it in words. I know what I've experienced - suffering is not stranger to me. And I know that at times I have dealt with it in the first way, and others the second way. Only one way has enabled me to continue in living with joy, hope and happiness.

J