Laundry & Sundry

The "laundry" refers to the mountain of clothing that I'm steadily whittling down even as we speak; I can hear the soothing sounds of an over-worked washer/dryer in the next room...

Sundry...

I changed my Comments from Haloscan to Blogger a couple of days ago, as it gives me a few more options when trolls come trolling by. Unfortunately, I belatedly discovered that previous comments from insightful and valued friends vapourized somewhere into the ozone. Dang! Even though Haloscan didn't archive on a permanent basis anyway, it was good to have the most recent comments remain for a season. Now, we're starting all over.

I also updated my links, adding Voice of the Martyrs, Porpoise Diving Life, Bob Hyatt (bob.blog) and Alan Hartung (different perspective). I finally posted the link to our YWAM base, as the website (always a work in progress) is finally looking respectable enough for public viewing.

I had fun concocting a creative link button for Alan Hartung (Bob Hyatt's was too easy), so I decided to update Brother Maynard's link button, and also got Emerging Grace's painted toes into her button as well.

Last but not sundry least, I took one of those silly "which _______ are you?" quizzes and was immensely reassured with this result:
And finally, I guess I must have been temporarily insane or something, but here's a rare piece of original Robbymac artwork. I really have no serious beef with Rick the Warrenite, but whenever I think of lemmings, I always think: "Lemmings have such single-minded purpose, such passionate vision. They look neither to the right nor to the left. But I won't follow them."
There's a sermon illustration in there somewhere.

Boanerges: Part Deux

King Solomon repeatedly observed throughout the book of Ecclesiastes that "there is nothing new under the sun". This has certainly been true when I've observed what some people have described as "trolls" in the blogosphere.

When I was a much younger man, I was one among many who endured the firey anti-Christian rock crusades of the 1980's. There was no reasoning with these crusaders. There was no discussion. Many times, factual exaggerations or outright falsehoods were employed in order to "prove" their point.

"Christian love" was viewed as a weakness to be overcome; the goal was to crush their adversaries. Like St. Paul before his conversion, they thought they were doing God a favour. Anyone who questioned their attitude, methodology, "facts", or conclusions was immediately denounced as rebellious and possibly unsaved.

continue reading Boanerges: Part Deux

Thesis & Thoughts

Thesis: "Forgiveness does not require repentence... ... but reconciliation does." Thoughts?

Real Heroes

Rev. Harry Lehotsky has been a Christian folk hero in Winnipeg for many years. His tireless work in Winnipeg's rough West End has been an example to many about ministry in the midst of the poor. Harry is so well-respected that he even has a regular column in the Winnipeg Sun, where he pulls no punches.

Rev. Lehotsky has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which is a very aggressive form of cancer, and has already spread to other organs and his lymph system. The doctors are projecting that he may have only six weeks to live.

Jamie Arpin-Ricci blogs about Rev. Lehotsky, and Brother Maynard has posted some thoughts as well, and includes this poignant excerpt from local media:

Well known minister and outspoken activist Harry Lehotsky, who has spent years fighting drugs, crime and disrepair in Winnipeg’s West End neighbourhood, now has another struggle ahead of him, this one for his life.

Lehotsky was diagnosed Monday with pancreatic cancer, which has spread to his liver, spleen and other organs. He says his doctors have told him his cancer is inoperable and have given him six weeks to nine months to live.

“Oh, man, you think, ‘Why me?’ and then the next thing you think is, ‘Why not me? What makes me different from anybody else?’ There’s mothers and fathers, daughters and sons that die of cancer and so many other things. I mean, we’re all finite. So I think about that,” he told CBC News on Tuesday.

“If God chooses to do a miracle, that’d be awesome and I’d be very pleased and thankful. If not, what I’ve been living for my whole life is just the ability to meet Him one day and for Him to say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”

I am reminded of William Wallace's prayer in Braveheart: "Give me the strength to die well." Or at least, give us all the strength to give such an answer to the media when asked about our own impending death!

Update

Here is the article from the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC).

Why English Teachers Die Young

Our good friend Chris, who comments here regularly, sent me this in an email today.

Actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays:

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.
   
2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
   
3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
   
4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room temperature Canadian beef.
   
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
   
6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
   
7. He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.
   
8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge free ATM.
   
9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.
   
10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.
    
11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.
    
12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.
    
13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
    
14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
    
15. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
    
16. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East River.
    
17. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
    
18. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
    
19. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.
    
20. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
    
21. The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.
    
22. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.
    
23. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
    
24. Her eyes were like limpid pools, only they had forgotten to put in any pH cleanser.
    
25. She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.
    
26. It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall.

If anyone just did not laugh at any of these, I'm sure there's a money-back guarantee around here somewheres...

Boanerges

Jesus gave this nickname to Zebedee's two sons, James and John. The word "boanerges" means "sons of thunder", which describes the character of two young men who, in their zeal for Jesus, once wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy a whole city that did not welcome Jesus (Luke 9:52-56). Significantly, Jesus did not politely and humbly decline their request -- He rebuked them for their attitude. These are the same two, if you recall, who later got their mother to ask on their behalf about James & John getting the thrones on either side of Jesus once the Kingdom came in its fullness.

Again, significantly, Jesus not only declines their request, but rebukes their attitude and instructs ALL of the disciples that they were never to seek to "lord it over" other apprentices of Jesus (Matthew 20:20-28).

What is amazing to realize is that this same John (James was an early martyr, as described in Acts 12:1-2), is the apprentice who went on to write the Gospel of St. John, as well as three letters, and the apocalyptic Book of Revelation.

John is known primarily as the "Apostle of Love". His gospel and the three letters that he penned all stress the love of God, and the love that Jesus commanded His apprentices to have for each other.

Church tradition says that an elderly St. John, so frail that he had to be carried to gatherings of the Body, when asked to bring a teaching, would say over and over, "little children, love one another".

We don't know much about John's life between the time he was with Jesus, and near the end of his life when he wrote the gospel, the letters, and Revelation. What is fascinating to note is that the young man whom Jesus had once nicknamed "Son of Thunder" was now known as the "Apostle of Love". Obviously, a lot had changed in John over the years.

It would not be far-fetched to suggest that the "sons of thunder" approach of John Boanerges in his early years -- which Jesus repeatedly rebuked -- is a sign of spiritual immaturity. Conversely, the love that St. John stressed in his later life is a sign of his spiritual maturity; as he grew up spiritually, he became less of a fighter and more of a lover.

The question for me is: What kind of a man do I want to be known as? Boanerges or the apostle of love?

Store Wars

This is TOO funny! Store Wars is quite possibly the most creative and clever spoof I've seen in years. And including it here is, well... so deliciously random! Enjoy!

Busking: The Next Generation

Years ago, I had a "busking license", which meant I was allowed to play my guitar on Victoria's Inner Harbour (right below the Empress Hotel). For me, at the time, it was a way -- as a worship pastor -- to keep myself in contact with the general (non-church) public. This afternoon, Wendy phoned me from downtown, and let me hear -- in the background -- the sounds of my son Caleb busking! Caleb auditioned today for a busking license, got one, and immediately started busking as a way of fundraising for his commitment to the Gulu Prayer Project (this will make Jamie Arpin-Ricci really happy).

I'm proud of my son's musical abilities, and prouder still that he's already, at a young age, finding ways of serving God with his gift. He's been playing at our worship jams since he was seven, on worship teams since he was eleven, and now he's using his gifts to bless "the least of these brothers of Mine" (Matthew 25:40).

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

These two young whipper-snappers met, became friends, hung out in coffeeshops a lot (any Winnipeggers remember The Blue Note?), went to a few concerts (mostly Resurrection Band), and gradually realized that their friendship was growing into a genuine romance.
Today, we celebrate 21 years of marriage!

God is good, all the time.

URGENT PRAYER NEEDED RIGHT NOW

Further Update May 4

Amy had a daughter, but as you know by now, the baby died. For reasons that only the Miami hospitals know, they weren't allowed to hold their baby and say good-bye. There was probably a good reason for this, but it doesn't make it any easier for Amy or Chris (her boyfriend).

Please continue to pray for Ken, Amy and Chris. Ken is praying that God uses this to bring Amy and Chris to Jesus. And at the same time, there is grieving for all involved. The DTS schools (Family, Korean, and ESL) have been incredible in their support, prayer, and love for Ken; it's been awesome to see the Body in action here in the past few days.

Ken asked me to convey to all of you his deepest appreciation for your prayers. He was so encouraged to realize that people from all over the world, who have never met or even heard of him before Monday, would take the time to pray. Just knowing that was an extremely comforting piece for Ken. Thank you all!

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Update (May 2 10:30 PM, Pacific Time)

Details are hard to come by, which is driving poor Ken up the wall. The news at present is that the baby is still in distress, but alive. Amy is very weak from blood loss, but also alive. We have no idea what kind of surgical things have been attempted or are pending. All we know as of now is that mother and child are still alive.

Please keep praying! I'll update as soon as I hear something... anything...

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One of my fellow DTS students here at YWAM is an expectant Grandpa-to-be. It's a daily topic of conversation around here about Ken's impending Grandpa-ness.

Ken's daughter Amy was induced into labour earlier today in Miami. We just got word that there have been some serious complications. Amy is bleeding profusely and they can't seem to stem the flow of blood.

The baby is also breech (coming out backwards) and the umbilical cord is wrapped around his/her neck. The doctors are saying that there's a 50% chance the baby will die, and they're worried about Amy as well.

Please join all of us at YWAM Okanagan and pray RIGHT NOW for Amy and her unborn child!