Books I'ver Read - Monster

Monster
By Frank Peretti

A very entertaining read.  The message was perhaps a little too obvious (I prefer novels that get their message across a little more subtly) but the story was still very entertaining and suspenseful.  This is a book that will draw you into it and keep you on the edge of your seat as you go through.  It has a good elements of suspense, mystery and intrigue and I would very much recommend it. This book is different than most of Peretti's books in that it is not about demonic presences or anything of that sort, but is an adventure story that does not rely on spiritual beings interacting with the physical world. All in all, I found it to be an enjoying read.

Random Quote: (Page 220)
Those eighteen-inch footprints had given Reed a whole new way of looking at shadowy trees, obscured stumps, and breeze-rippled bushes. He'd already chambered a round. The safety was off. Thinking of Beck was the only thing that kept him pushing into this madness.

Happy Pi day. And other nerdy stuff

Of course you already know that today is pi day (3/14) so don't forget to draw a Euclidean plane circle and look at the ratio of the circumference to its diameter...

In other nerdy news here is a game you can play in the url of your browser
Hunt 'Animals' in your url

Did you know that daylight savings can be bad for your health?  When are we going to stop this silly practice?  I don't like having to get up an hour earlier.
Daylight saving bad for health?

Red Green's solution to global warming

If we would all only watch more Red Green this world would be a better place. And junkyard owners would do booming business.  Red Green can solve any problem with just a little duct tape and some ingenuity and things that others might consider junk.  This guy is my hero.

Books I've Read - Take Charge of Your Life

Take Charge of Your Life...Before It Takes Charge of You
 By Richard Ganz

Richard Ganz was a psychologist who was captured by Christ and became a pastor. In this book he talks about how we can take charge of our lives and stop being victims of our circumstances.  It was a good book in that it was a good reminder, but I found it a little on the simplistic side of things.  His message is basically that your circumstances do not need to control how you think, act and feel, but that if you look to the objective grounding in God you can be in charge of you life and rise above your circumstance.  I totally agree with his stance, but I'm not sure it needed to take 250 pages to convince me.  This book, however,  is worth a read (maybe skim read) as a reminder to not be the passive recipients of our situation in life.

Random Quote:(page 164)
The Bible contains a mountain of truth that can negate any negative psychological state we may be in today, or may find ourselves in tomorrow. This includes despair, anger, anxiety, loneliness, and so on. The truth demands a verdict! The problem for us as we face this is simple. If we do not know the Bible, we lack the ability and knowledge to counter disabling thoughts.

Things to Pray For - Patience

We live in a fast paced society and we can start to internalize the instant gratification ideals that area  part of our culture. In the age of high speed trains, high speed internet, and instant connection through facebook, chats and phone calls, we can forget that sometimes good things take time.  Pray with me this week for patience. Patience to wait for the good things God has in store for us. Patience to continue pursuing those good things that take time and energy.  Patience towards those around us.  Pray that we will be a patient people, not just passively but also actively.  That we would pursue patience.

Sex should be good

I recently read this article in the Telegraph and it really made me think about the sexualisation of our culture. We all know that we live in a culture where we are exposed to a lot of sexual imagery and ideas on a daily basis.  We have it in music videos, on TV, in ads, on the radio, in movies and even in our daily conversations. Although we live in an almost sex-saturated culture, we do still have a large movement again the sexualisation of our youth.

Yes there are those who are chipping away at this and trying to teach our youth about sex at a younger and younger age, but there is a debate around this.  Those of us here in Ontario will remember the recent attempt to of Dalton McGuinty to change the sex-ed program in our public schools to teach more explicit material at an earlier age and the resulting outcry that ended up in the program being scrapped for the time being.  There is an ongoing debate about when we should teach our kids about sex and about how much we should teach them, and I'm glad this debate is happening and people are thinking about these things.

However,  I agree with Robin in the article mentioned before; we are really asking the wrong questions.  The timing and the quantity of sexual material that our children are exposed to does matter but there is a much more important issue that we should be dealing with.  What are we teaching our children (and ourselves) about sex? I think we are in danger of letting the debates about time and quantity hide the importance of what it is they are taught.

It is true that there are things a child does not need to know, partially because they won't understand it, and partially because the don't need to understand it.  I wouldn't try to teach calculus to a 6 year old because he would be neither ready or able to understand it, and so there is no need to teach the principles of sexual intercourse to someone too young to understand.  I think that much should be obvious to most. Where we get into an area of much more difficulty is what we are teaching them.  To get back to the math analogy, are we teaching them that 2+2 =4? or 5? or 2345612? It is not so bad to try to teach your 6 year old calculus, they'll just end up staring at you blankly and then go back to playing lego.  What is much worse is teaching your 6 year old that 2+2=5. When they get to calculus they're going to have some real problems with it because their foundation is wrong.  What we teach is a far more important issue than when we teach it.

We need to think about the things we are teaching to our children and I don't mean just in school.  What do we as a culture present about sex?  What do we in our homes teach about sex? What do our pulpits teach about sex?  What do our actions and words teach about sex?  We should look carefully at the messages our children are getting and make sure that we are not just teaching them the right things, but that we are also teaching them how to reject wrong teachings.  If we want to change our cultural views of sexuality we need to start with our children.  We need to show them why Lady Gaga is totally unsexy and why Charlie Sheen has a few screws loose and why the sexual misbehavior of our politicians is so bad and how advertisers and promoters are trying to manipulate us to use our hormones to their advantage.  We need to help our kids see the wrong views of sexuality they are presented with and show them the problems that will come from it, as well as point them to a proper sexual identity. 

Our children will learn sexuality, the question is; will they learn the right things about it or the wrong?

Things to Pray For - Peace

This week join me in praying for peace.  I'm not just talking about military peace (although you could certainly pray for that too!).  I'm talking about personal peace.  Pray for peace in our hearts, churches and countries.  External peace can only come when there is first internal peace.  Pray that we would pursue peace in our lives by confessing wrongs and by making amends and by giving forgiveness. Pray that we would find peace in the Lord.

Music I like - Andrew Peterson

I love music.  I listen to a lot of music and have very eclectic taste when it comes to music.  I think I have somewhere in the range of 900+ artists in my music library.  I can't come close to my wife's musical talents, but I really do enjoy listening to music.  One thing I've found a bit hard though is finding Christian artists that I truly enjoy. I suppose its no different than the secular music scene.  If you listen to the 'Top 40' type music you are stuck with pretty simple generic music (hopefully no Beiber fan kills me).  Its not often that you come across truly artistic music.  One of the things I really regret is the lack of artistry in lyrics.  I suppose I'm a bit of a sucker for a song with powerful, compelling, thought-provoking lyrics.

I have recently come across a couple of artists that have this kind of lyrical brilliance and one of them is Andrew Peterson.  The song embedded below illustrates this very well. Listen to it or read through these lyrics.  There is so much in this song.  Overtly it is of course about marriage, but I think it can apply to all parts of life. Life is a possible minefield of troubles. As Job says, man is prone to trouble as the sparks fly upwards, but that's what the promise is for! We can dance through this minefield of life if we go forward trusting in the promises

Well I was 19 you were 21 
The year we got engaged 
Everyone said we were much to young 
But we did it anyway 
We got the rings for 40 each from a pawn shop down the road 
We said our vows and took the leap now 15 years ago 

Chorus: 
We went dancing in the minefields 
We went sailing in the storm 
And it was harder than we dreamed 
But I believe that's what the promise is for 

Well 'I do' are the two most famous last words 
The beginning of the end 
But to lose your life for another I've heard is a good place to begin 
Cause the only way to find your life is to lay your own life down 
And I believe it's an easy price for the life that we have found 

Chorus: 
And we're dancing in the minefields 
We're went sailing in the storm 
And it was harder than we dreamed 
But I believe that's what the promise was for 
That's what the promise is for 

Bridge: 
So when I lose my way, find me 
When I lose loves chains, bind me 
At the end of all my faith 
to the end of all my days 
when I forget my name, remind me 

Cause we bear the light of the son of man 
So there's nothing left to fear 
So I'll walk with you in the shadow lands 
Till the shadows disappear 
Cause he promised not to leave us 
And his promises are true 
So in the face of this chaos baby 
I can dance with you 

Chorus: 
So lets go dancing in the minefields 
Lets go sailing in the storms 
Oh lets go dancing in the minefields 
And kicking down the doors 
Oh lets go dancing in the minefields 
And sailing in the storms 
Oh this is harder than we dreamed 
But I believe that's what the promise if for 
That's what the promise is for

Books I've Read - Blink

 Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell has had several best-sellers and for good reason.  He writes in a very readable and interesting style while getting across a very thought provoking point. This book reads almost like a story and was a very fun read, while at the same time pointing out some interesting an expected things about us and our brains.  The power of the subconscious brain in incredible and Gladwell brings that out in a compelling and interesting way.  This book may not change your life, but it is a very interesting book and well worth a read. 


Random Quote (page 34)
Imagine that you are considering me for a job. You've seen my resume and think I have the necessary credentials. But you want to know whether I am the right fir for your organization. Am I a hard Worker? Am I honest? Am I open to new ideas? in order to answer those questions about my personality, your boss gives you two options. The first is to meet with me twice a week for a year - to have lunch or dinner or go to a movie with me - to the point where you become on of my closet friends. (Your boss is quote demanding). The second option is to drop by my house when I'm not there and spend half an hour or so looking around. Which would you choose? -Gladwell goes on to show you when the seemingly obvious first option may not be the best way.

Reasons to Believe - Number 5 - Rest

Do you ever feel tired? Do you ever feel burdened and crushed by the weight of what you have to deal with in life?  Perhaps work is overwhelming or perhaps its family and relationships,  or perhaps it is an illness or death, or maybe its just the suffering that a friend has shared with you.  We all have burdens and sorrows in our lives and they can weigh down on us sometimes.  Jesus shares these words with us; Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.   

Knowing our need for rest, God designed it into the very creation order, giving us one day in 7 to rest through his example.  Come to Christ again and again and cast your cares on Him.  He cares for you and listens, and you don't need to be worried that he will not be able to handle it.  He will give you rest, and just bringing the burden to him can ease the load on your shoulders. God made us. He knows how we work and how we tend to burden ourselves down with things that we have no need to bear.  Drop those burdens onto the shoulders of Christ.  Bring them to him and leave them at the cross

Things to Pray For - Joy

May our hearts and lives be filled with joy. Not just joy in the passing pleasures of the time we have here on earth, but also joy in the things that have been done for us on the cross.  Rejoicing in the Lord. Rejoicing in the things he has blessed us with. Rejoicing in the life he has given us. Rejoicing in the promises we have received, and rejoicing in the nature and glory of our Saviour. 

Join with me this week in praying for family, friends and churches that are full of the joy of the Lord!

Monopolies and my Internet service

Dear Bell,

Ok. You have made your point. You hate us. We don't subscribe to your TV service because you charge way too much for it.  We use VOIP phones because, again, you charge way to much for your phone lines, and we use alternate ISPs because your internet it too expensive.  I get it.  We aren't lining your pockets with cash and providing you with all those nice cars you need to have and you hate us for it.  Fine. I can live with that.  But are you sure that being as obnoxious as you possibly can to people, and forcing down monopolistic, anti-competive, irresponsible, and irrational rules on us is going to make us suddenly want to give you more money?  Perhaps you like giving money to people that are doing their best to prevent you from doing what you want to, but I don't.   I want to use my internet connection to watch movies.  I want to use it to view stuff on youtube, maybe even on more than one computer at the same time (*gasp*).  I want to stream music.  I want to play games.  I want to work from home.  I want to watch sports.  I want to download and upload pictures. I want to use Facebook. I want to use Skype (with video even!). I want to have more than one computer hooked up to my connection.  And what do you want to do?  You want to force me to use only 25 gigs of data a month.  You want to force me to fit into your pretty little 'cash cow' picture and make sure that I am always a cash cow.  You want to make sure that I keep your mattress stuffed with money so that you can sleep at night knowing that you have accomplished a good days work and prevented millions of us from doing what we want.

Do you really think this is a good business strategy?  I grew up on a farm, and we would plant less profitable crops sometimes.  Why?  Because we wanted to make less money?  No, of course not.  We did it because it was a good long term strategy.  It kept the land good and kept the money coming in in the future.  The same principle applies here.  Maybe you will make more money in the short term, but do you really think that kicking your cash cow repeatedly to make it give more milk is a good long term strategy?  You better be careful where you step, because these cash cows may just give you a good hard kick in the tail and send you for a ride that could take you a long time to heal from.

I know it can be hard to adjust to a new business climate (and I'm not being sarcastic there), but you really need to figure out a way to do.  Let the TV model go.  It can't last forever, even if you have the government in bed with you.  Look to the future.  Meet the needs and desires of your customers and you can continue to be a successful and profitable industry.  I have no problem with you making a buck, just do it the right way.  Do it by giving consumers what they want and need, and not by stabbing them in the back to protect some outdated idea of where your profits should come from.  I know it must hurt to see people using the internet for their phone and TV and reducing that income source for you, but look at the other side!  The internet opens up all kinds of opportunities.  Leverage those. Use you business skills and marketing sense to find new markets.  A company that is stuck in the past will be left in the past and unless you make some radical changes in direction I look forward to the day when your company will be a blip in the history books. 

Signed,
a bruised cash cow

Ancient astronomy

I sit at a computer all day and work with some pretty advanced software. The kind of things our software can do is pretty incredible and I think as moderns we can tend to think that we are pretty smart. Maybe we are, but the so called ancients had a few marbles rolling around in their heads too.  I always find it amazing to see what they could come up with thousands of years ago in terms of understanding and modeling the world and universe around them.  You may have heard of the Antikythera mechanism which was used thousands of years ago to predict the movements of the planets.  It used a series of gears and dials to predict their motion.  And now....there is a Lego replica.



I thought this was a pretty cool video but you really should read about the actual mechanism as well.  It amazing to see just how smart and innovative humankind has always been!

Books I've Read - Spurgeon Prince of Preachers

Spurgeon:Prince of Preachers
by lewis Drummond

This book was very long  (almost 900 pages), but it was a well balanced summary of the greatest preacher of the 19th century. If you are the type of person who can read long books, I would recommend this.  It covers the life, times, and teachings of Spurgeon in a very thorough manner.  Although on the long side, this book was well written and accessible and gave me a good understanding of the preacher, the times in which he lived, and the way he was shaped by and in turn shaped his culture.  A master preacher and teacher who lived out what he believed, Spurgeon is a character well worth reading about and studying.

Random Quote:(page 398)
Almost unparalleled in church history, the ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon epitomized the perfect blending of evangelistic fervency and deep social concern. We have already investigated in some depth his utter commitment to leading people to faith in Christ. Perhaps the world shall never see a more effective pastor-evangelist than C.H.Spurgeon. But right beside that concern for people's souls stood his commitment to fulfill people's needs. He devoted much of his time and energy to that end. He will always stand as a symbol of a minister who developed his life of service in the beautiful balance of social ministries and evangelistic commitment.

Youtube and Music

Have you been on youtube lately?  I know, I know, silly question.  You have it open right now in another tab. Of course you've been on youtube recently.  Everyone has. And if you've been on there you've probably been listening to music videos (or watching kittens:-p). Youtube is changing the world of music. In fact I think it is revolutionizing it.

There are of course, the big record label associated artists on youtube trying to sell you sex as much as music, but there are also many extremely talented self-made artists who have become very successful. The nice part is, they are usually successful because they are talented musicians, and not just sexy bodies that happen to sing.  Maybe you haven't yet run across some of these bands yet.  If not that situation needs to be rectified immediately! What I think is the most amazing part of most of these bands is the fact that they make these songs with at the most a couple thousand dollars worth of equipment.  Gone are the days of needing a label backing to have the sufficient capital to release a song or to be found.  With equipment that you can pick up at Best Buy, and a bit of talent these bands have had millions of people listen to and love their music.  I think its pretty cool.

Boyce Avenue:


Pomplamoose:


KurtHugoSchneider


gootmusic

Reasons to Believe - Number 4 - Creation

Being a Canadian means I have to live through Canadian winters. But it also means I get to see the glory of God displayed in ways that others may not. I have seen the beauty of gently falling snow first hand.  I have gone skating on a pond on a winter night and enjoyed the time warming up around the woodstove after with a warm drink.  I have seen a side of nature that is both wondrous and dangerous at the same time.

Others of us who live elsewhere have had the chance to sail the oceans or ski on mountains or glory in the Grand Canyon or marvel at the size and heat of a desert.  There is so much variety and complexity in the world around around us.  There are geographic differences.  There are millions of different species of animals.  There are ecosystems we haven't even found out about yet.  And all this is just on this planet.  We have increasingly become aware of the immensity of the universe that our planet exists in.  The more we see of the immense complexity, and at the same time, clockwork like precision, of the universe in which we live the more it should cause us to look for the creator of all this.

Just like a great painting or song or scientific discovery can make us respect and admire the person who made it, so the great beauty and complexity or the world around should turn us to the one who made all of this and believe in the creator of this universe!

Things to pray for - Love

Prayer is important and we should all be spending time talking to God.  I think it is easy to get stuck in a rut as the saying goes, and just repeat the same things over and over. "God bless my family and protect me and forgive my sins and help me to be a better person...."  But prayer can (and should) be so much deeper than that.  There is of course a need to spend time in adoration and thanksgiving for what God is and what he does, but God also delights in hearing the requests of his saints (Matt. 7:7-11) so I am trying to pray for some more specific things in my life.  Things that go beyond the daily functions of life and that affect character. I am praying that God will apply these things specifically in my life and in the life of my wife and also that his church will be increasingly marked by these characteristics. If you would like, feel free to join me in prayer for these items.

The first of these is Love.  Pray that love would abound more and more.  That we would grow in love toward God and each other and that our hearts would expand to include love as God has defined it.  That our love for Christ would overflow into love for those that our lives touch and that we would express our love well in both words and actions.  Pray that we would have a love that is more than a feeling and that is an active living love. Pray for love.

Maybe We'll be ok after all....

I've never been a fan a hysteria politics.  By that I mean the kind of politics that takes a hold of some issue and blows it hysterical proportions (usually so that someone can benefit from they hysteria).  This includes things like Global Warming, Swine Flu, and Peak Oil and of course many other similar issues.  It is possible that there are problems that need to be addressed in these areas but the level of hype that surrounds these types of issues is, frankly, ridiculous. The problem with hysteria politics is that it whips people up into a hysterical response and often leads to foolish or downright dangerous legislation because 'something has to be done.'  Of course if it really is a problem, something will be done eventually even without government intervention.

You may have heard about the company Joule Unlimited, which has come up with a way of producing hydrocarbons (diesel, gas, etc.) from genetically engineered cyanobacterium.  Now, I don't think this will magically 'solve' all our energy problems (I'm no more a fan of hysterical solutions then I am of hysterical problems), but I do think its an illustration of the kind of solutions that are out there and how people will find them eventually. To panic about The Next Great Disaster that is going to destroy the world is counterproductive.  If its really that bad, get to work on a solution.  And yes, there are solutions to be found apart from the government. Joule Unlimited shows that nicely in that the work that it has done even though it did not qualify for government subsidies.

So be cautious when you hear hysteria politics.  Be careful not to pressure you politician to 'do something' without good solid reasonable grounds for it.  The more an issue is hyped and the more emotional it becomes the more cautious you should be about it. Emotions are easily manipulated by those who have money to be made from a certain agenda.

Books I've Read - John Ploughman's Talk

John Ploughman's Talk Plan: Advice for Plain People By C.H. Spurgeon

This little book of simple practical advice from on of the most effective and beloved preachers of all time is a wonderful read.  For a book written over a hundred years ago it still hold gems that are very relevant to our lives today.  This book is easy to read and written from the perspective of John Ploughman, a simple man who give straightforward advice.  No beating around the bush or pandering to the desires of the reader, just honest practical advice for living out your life.  There is also plenty of Spurgeon's trademark humor in this book as well.  I heartily recommend this book.

Random Quote: (page 66)
Husbands should try to make home happy and holy. It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest, a bad man makes his home wretched. Our house ought to be a little church, with holiness to the Lord over the door, but it ought never to be a prison where there is plenty of rule and order, but little of love and no pleasure

Reasons to Believe - Number 3 - Relationship

There is something sad about seeing someone lonely. We can't help but feel sorry for that guy sitting there in the restaurant eating his dinner by himself or that girl who always sits by herself in the back of the class and doesn't seem to have any friends. We all want relationships and we feel that there is something wrong when they are aren't there. We hate death partially because it means the end of our relationship with that person. Relationships are important to us.

The amazing thing is that God offers us a relationship with himself. He offers to be our Father and our friend.  The King of the universes says come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The righteous God has opened up a path for sinners to be in relationship with him.  God has designed us to desire relationships and he has also provided us the path to the ultimate relationships.  As wonderful as they are our human relationships with our spouses/kids/parents/friends will not fulfill us.  That fulfillment is to be found in a relationship with God.

Animals Have a sense of humor

What good is a Monday if not for a laugh? Nothing like some good British humor to start your week off right ;)

Reasons to Believe - Number 2 - Justice

We all love justice.  We hear of atrocities all over the world with people killing each other, mistreating and abusing each other, lying cheating and stealing from each other and we want something to be done about it.  The news seems to be filled with injustices and we seem helpless to do anything about it.  Is there really justice in the world?  Is there justice for the parents who child was kidnapped and killed?  Is there justice for the town that was destroyed in an act of genocide?  Is there justice for the millions of people that have been abused and killed by their governments? It doesn't seem right! These people are getting away with it!  Where is the justice?

The answer is found in the justice of God.  The justice of God is not a very popular doctrine in general.  Most of the time we hear about the love of God and the peace of God and the joy of God but we don't always like to think of the justice of God.  That's sad, because it is such a wonderful doctrine.  There is justice! All that suffering and horror in the world? God will make it right! Being made in the image of God means we have some of his desire for justice and this desire for justice can only be fulfilled if we look for its fulfillment in God.  He alone has the power to bring about complete justice.

Of course, the reason we don't like thinking about this doctrine is that it doesn't just apply to the child molester and the serial killer.  It applies to me. It applies to you.  Its a wonderful doctrine and a scary doctrine, but the true wonder of God's justice is that it allows him to display so wonderfully his love.  Punishment for our sins will happen, but if we believe in God he fulfills his justice marvelously.  He takes those sins and punishes them completely and thoroughly.  He wipes them away forever.  And he does so through his Son hanging on a cross.  What a wonderful thought!  Justice will be served and love will be displayed!

Warning! - Extremely nerdy and corny.

Science comedy. For nerds only :-p

Reasons to Believe - number 1 - God tells us to

Its very simple isn't it? Why should we believe in God?  Well, he tells us to do so and he knows what is good for us.  I know this isn't some long detailed argument.  I know it isn't even a 'logical' argument.  But its right. Think back to when you were a kid and your dad told you not to do something.
'But why not dad?'  
'Because I said so.'
Maybe you hated hearing that when you were a kid, but there were still two reasons in there to listen to him.  First of all your dad was a lot smarter than you and probably knew what he was talking about, and secondly if you didn't listen there were consequences. Its the same with God.  We can whine and complain about it and maybe even rant against his command, but when it comes down to it God knows better than us and if we don't listen to this command there are consequences!

God says to us 'This is how you are saved.  Believe.'  So do it.  Listen to him.  Believe!

Reasons to believe - Introduction

Everyone believes in something.  There is belief in God, belief in Buddha, belief in self, belief in the government, belief in science and belief in any number of other things.  We all have something or someone that we believe in as our saviour or that gives us meaning in life.  Believing is a part of life. 

The question is, why do we believe what we believe?  Obviously there are a lot of answers to that question.  People might say our beliefs come from what we are taught.  They might say our beliefs come from choices we make or they might even say they come from something external to us.  As I'm sure you know, I believe in God and so I would like to present some of the reasons that I believe what I do.

This series is not intended to prove the existence of God or to be a list of 'evidence' in favor of Christianity. It will merely be a list of reasons that we should believe in God. There are many, many reasons to do so and I am persuaded that this is indeed a reasonable faith so I hope you enjoy the series!