So I read a couple of books in the past few weeks. Nothing really heavy or spiritual. Kinda liking reading fiction and, I don't know what you would call it, uh, real life stories/biographies/first hand accounts. I am speaking of Krakauer's books. Can you literary people (who are familiar with Krakauer) tell me what you would call them?
Anyway, Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer reminded me that I'd love to climb Everest but that I never will. It's a great read for you adventure lovers. Be warned - not exactly a happy ending,
Hornet Flight by Ken Follett was allright. It is set in Denmark during World War I. It involves spying and old airplanes which is kinda cool. Some of the book was cheesy so I don't know if I'll read anything else by Follett.
Because I really liked Into Thin Air, I thought I'd read another of Krakauer's books: Into The Wild. It was good. It's about a wandering young man who decides to spend some time in the Alaska Wilderness - alone. He died out there and Krakauer retraces his steps with this book. He tries to find out what kind a person would head out into the wilderness to live alone. The idea is romantic but like Krakauer's other book, I am reminded that I will not be heading into the wilderness alone, for a length of time, any time soon.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Books
Those Photos
I don't know why blogger messes up the photos when it resizes them. Sorry about the bad images. You'll have to click on them to see the full size image.
I don't have the time at the moment to learn how to fix it so anybody got some ideas?
The Boyz
Just wanted to show some pics of our last trip to the park.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Speaking of doing the right thing
It's interesting because as I am still thinking about the ipod situation, I read John Piper's post this morning:
By John Piper March 28, 2007
Since my father died on March 6, I have been looking through his papers. I found a small sheet with the following fifteen counsels, titled “Things I Have Learned.” They have again confirmed the obvious: I owe my father more than I can ever remember. The comment after each one is mine.
Things I have Learned
by Bill Piper
1. The right road always leads to the right place; therefore, get on the right road and go as far as you can on it.
with comments by John Piper2. There is only one thing to do about anything; that is the right thing. Do right.My father was totally persuaded that wrong means do not lead to right ends. Or, more positively, he was persuaded that living in the right way—that is, doing the right things—are means that inevitably lead to where God wants us to be. This is why he told me, when I asked about God’s leading in my life, “Son, keep the room clean where you are, and in God’s time, the door to the next room will open.”
This is what one might say to a person perplexed by a difficult situation whose outcome is unknown. The person might say, “I just don’t know what to do about this.” It is not useless to be told: Do the right thing. That may not tell you exactly which good thing to do, but it does clear the air and rule out a few dozen bad ideas.
There is more, of course, but this was fitting for me today.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
How do you know if you have done the right thing?
I won an ipod nano at Tim Hortons. Well, not really but kinda.
This past week, we had a video technician install our new video projector and video system at the church. He is a really nice guy and did a great job.
On Friday morning, he showed up with his breakfast: a coffee and a muffin from Tim Hortons.
He finished his work Friday afternoon and headed back to the coast - job well done.
On Saturday night, I was working late in the sound/video room playing with the projector and setting stuff up for Sunday. On my way home, I noticed his discarded Tim Hortons cup in a box of garbage that he had left from Friday. It seemed to me that the rim had not been rolled up yet. My curiosity got the better of me and I checked it out. The first word I saw was "ipod"! My heart raced. My suspicions were confirmed once I fully unraveled the rim: I was holding a winning Tim Horton's cup and the prize was an ipod nano!
I did know that the cup wasn't mine. I knew it was Terry's (video tech). And my immediate thought was that I should tell him and offer to send it to him.
I had Angela read the rim at home and proceeded to burst her bubble when I said it was not mine.
Now, Sunday morning rolls around and I'm telling people this story. The overwhelming response was: "finder's keeper's, loosers wheepers." Everyone except my parents and my senior pastor said that I should claim it as mine. Terry would never know. So, untill I talked to people about it, I didn't feel like I was suffering from a moral dilema.
After weighing the decision, I decided to still tell Terry about the cup. And this morning I did. I asked him what he wanted me to do with it. He wants me to mail it to him!
Honestly, when I recieved that reply via email, I was crestfallen and I still am. I let myself believe that he was a nice person who would probably let me keep it since he allready had an ipod and since he did throw the cup in the garbage. I thought he may operate by the "finder's keeper's" rule but I guess not.
So, I was a winner for a while. Now I am not.
And I don't really know if I have done the right thing.
One of the pat answeres I heard was "well, you will be rewarded in other ways." Not what I want to hear and I would argue that it is not necessarily true.
But I need something better to raise my spirits. What do you think? Did I do the right thing?
Thursday, March 15, 2007
My friend has a Beemer
Yeah, that's right. One of my friends owns a BMW. I just found out today. (I am using the word friend here a little loosely - the 'friend' in question recently moved to our area, started attending our church, comes to our home group, and we are getting to know each other.) Until tonight, I have only seen my friend and his wife in their Suburban - a beautiful new 'suburban' Suburban.
I knew they had some cash, having just sold their house in downtown Vancouver but I didn't think they had that much.
So, Angela and I leave to go home after our care group meeting and parked behind me is this beautiful, black shiny BMW. I didn't take a closer look at it because I didn't want to make it obvious that I was gawking but it was definitely worth a bit of coin (and yes it was theirs and I was not mistaken - we were on an acreage and I know what everyone else drives).
I do admit that a severe jealousy has come over me. And that is one reason for this post. I really quite ashamed that I even care that much about what someone drives. I am ashamed that I want a car such as theirs. I am ashamed that I have judged them based on their vehicle choice.
It's now been maybe 20 minutes since this all came to light to me and I am amused at the context in which this falls: our group just started a little series on Marriage by Andy Stanley and tonight he talked about the transition that happens in marriage when our desires become our expectations. Like when a couple is engaged and they have dreams of what their life will be together - their desires. And then, sometime into their marriage, those desires may become expectations. "So dear, doing the laundry is your job cause that is what the wife does" or "when are we going to put a down payment on a house because you sir promised you would provide for our family." And Andy was saying that when we live with expectations and don't put them back in the "desire" category, the marriage relationship erodes. As I was listening, I was thinking about my relationship with Angela, sure, but I was also thinking about my discontent with my "faith." I realized tonight that I expect quite a bit from God. I realize that I have been saying to God: "OK, so I am serving you. I am in ministry. You owe me one, God. You owe me blessings. You owe me a decent salary. You owe me a reliable car. You owe me more than this." Well, I haven't really said all that stuff outright but that is basically how a have become to feel about my relationship with God. And that is probably why I have become bitter with God. I am angry that he hasn't followed through on his end of the bargain.
Andy Stanley says that one way you can find out what your unknown expectations are taking not of what you don't thank your spouse for. For example: Angela does all our laundry. We haven't really talked about who's job it is. She just does it. And she seems to not mind. The problem lies in the fact that I rarely, if ever, thank her for it. I only seem to mention something about it when I am low on socks or something. And according to Andy, this is because I expect her to do the laundry. And he's right. One day I may have desired for my wife to do our laundry but somewhere along the way, it changed to an expectation. This is not good. If I could get it back to a desire, I would have gratitude that Angela is doing our laundry and in tern might be more likely to do the laundry out of love for me. She would be doing it to fulfill my desire, not live up to expectations. If she is always trying to live up to expectations, then she may get tired of it, get bitter, angry and she could perhaps quit it all together but one thing is sure: it would become an issue of contention. And not realize that it is my expectation that started it in the first place, I wouldn't understand what the problem was. You get what I'm saying?
And I do the same thing with God. I have desires, but I've somehow, for some reason, turned them into expectations. The Bible talks a lot about God wanting to give us our desires but says very little about living up to our expectations.
And after we watched the talk about this, of course Andy says we are going to learn how to move expectations back to desires in the coming weeks. We all wanted to find out how right away. Oh well, it gave us lots to think about as couples.
But this was the context of my thoughts surrounding my friend and his Beemer. And my thoughts about why God hasn't blessed me like I expected him too. And my thoughts about why my desires never seem to be fulfilled. And ultimately, my lack of faith in the whole area of trusting God for providing for me. God is teaching me a few things. It just seems funny to me that He uses a friend and his BMW, a care group that is going through a marriage study, and my wife's commitment to laundry, to teach me about my relationship with Him. My relationship with God lately has been a journey towards gratitude, contentment, and more so - joy. The events of the last 30 minutes have propelled me further along in that journey and I am a more grateful person than I was 30 minutes ago. If anything, I am thankful that there is hope for me to recapture the joy that God promises - to be content and grateful for all that God has provided.
How much R&R is too much?
My intern and I had breakfast supplied by Tim Hortnons.
Then we went golfing.
And then went fishing.
And hiking.
I am wondering if that was too much - especially on church time.
But then I think no and here's why:
We set out initially to only play golf, but since we went early in the morning, I was running late and had to go get a Sausage thing from Tim LLING_ERROR_1">Hortons, and as a consolation for being late, I brought David a bacon one.
On the first hole, we cleard the pond from the tee. As we walked around the pond that we soon realized was covered with a thin layer of ice, we saw that my ball came to rest on top of the ice of a tiny pond which contained a few hundred dead fish. Being the pro that I am, I dicided to chip the ball where it lay (and because I wanted a story to tell). As soon as my 9 iron hit the ice, it was obvious to us that most, if not all of these fish were indeed quite alive! David, having a heart for the living, decided he would rescue these fish and place them in the bigger, life sustaining pond. It seemed to us that these fish were going to die if left too much longer in the puddle. And would you know it, and I am not kidding, there were fish nets right there for us to do the task, or rather David. using his club to chop holes in the ice, he proceeded to catch one of these things and free it. Just as David was moving this suffocating fish to the big pond, it fell out of the net and landed on the ice with a dull thud. So much for saving it's life. He did get it into the water and the fish eventually swam to freedom. Who goes fishing on a golf course? We do.
And even though we only played 9 holes, we had quite the hike. We took in the beautiful surroundings. Ah, it was great. A cool sunny morning. How much better can it get?
And we had the course all to our selves. No pressures.
And we did this all on work time.
And I think I am using "and" too much to start sentences.
But all this to say, you can never have too much R&R.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
I received a sweet compliment the other day that ranks close to the top of my list of best compliments ever received! And I was given by my local garbage man no less!
(put on Jack Johnson's "The 3 R's" before you read on - an appropriate soundtrack for this post)
It just so happens that the owner's of Summerland Sanitation Service go to our church and attend our care group. All of their employees go to to our church and attend our care group. No, we don't have a big care group - they only have one employee and there are only two owners so we are talking three guys and their wives.
Anyway, they started a recycling pickup service about a month ago. This has excited me more in the last few months than anything has! Really. I've always wanted to live in a town that has a recycling pickup service. And since the service has begun, I have bought blue recycling bags, sorted my plastics from the paper and tin, and bundled up my cardboard in a neat pile. When they come around, every other Thursday, I have it neatly piled by the road - just like they asked. Now we are down to one and a half bags of garbage per week. If we start composting in the summer, like I hope to, we could be down to half a bag of garbage. If there was a diaper pickup service, then, we'd have almost no garbage.
Oh, back to the compliment. . . So we were talking about the new pickup service when I asked it I was doing it right. The pickup dude laughed and said "man, you have the neatest most organized recycle pile in town!" And he was serious.
So now I can go to sleep knowing that nobody recycles better than me!
Young Love
So I am supposed to be working on a talk that I am giving my Jr. High youth tonight. In the spirit of procrastination, I thought I'd rather blog about the process rather than carry it out. Tonight's topic and theme is dating . . .
I really just want to tell them they are too young but somehow I need to stretch that into a 15 minute talk. That is the hard part. I guess I could repeat "you are too young to date" over and over for 15 minutes. I could talk about the statistics, maybe. Like 51% of teen marriages end in divorce before the age of 24 (National Center for Health Statistics). But statistics usually only discourage people. So those ideas are probably no good.
Ah well. I'll come up with something. I just wonder if I'll believe the same things and feel the same way about Jr. Highs and relationship issues when my boys are in Jr. High.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
SAC Happiness
SAC stands for Summerland Alliance Church and Happiness stands for happiness.
There are a lot of cool things happening within our church family these days.
I haven't mentioned anything about it here yet but I have an intern working for me. He started in January and is around until the end of April. He's a guy that was in my youth group when we first started serving here. He is in his third year at Briercrest Bible College. And he is a close personal friend.
This internship is a really great thing. He's not sure what kind of ministry heading he's going to take but he sure has options. He is great with kids and young people so it's awesome to have help with our youth ministry. He's developing into a good worship leader and it has been my pleasure to have him play and sing with me and a pleasure for me to play, sing and worship under his leadership. He's passionate about drama and is getting our church family passionate about it too. And he's great with seniors. I believe he was going to learn to knit this afternoon as a matter of fact.
Anyhow, he preached in our service today. His first sermon ever in front of a church congregation. He did really well. I never grew up hearing the phrase "good word" but I heard it many time today: "David, that was a good word!" "David, thanks for that good word." Anyway. I was proud of him. He sure made me think and that kinda ticks me off cause I know I have some changes to make in my life. This is, however, how I know the Spirit used David to speak to me.
And speaking of our service and "first ever's", I conducted my first baby dedication today. I have to admit it was fun. I did put quite a bit of effort into preparation, practically rewriting the pastor's handbook, but that was a pleasure cause the son I dedicated was the son of friends. Very special.
Another cool thing is that we axed our 4-year-old prelude. Yeah, we do anywhere from 7 to 10 songs in a service. I think that is more than average. I mean, doing a 3 or 4 song prelude has been cool but practicing 10 songs in a short amount of time is hard even for pro musicians. Now we do 6 songs which allows us to do more than just make sure we know how to play the songs. We can actually work towards a great tight sound and be creative within it. I'm enjoying music and leading worship a little more now.
I was at a PK (Promise Keepers) breakfast yesterday. I only went because a friend of mine was going to go. I didn't really want to go but I did. It was interesting. The major thrust of the discussion was on "the call of God" or rather "what the heck am I supposed to do with my life?" I weighed in on this one more so than usual. I am usually the youngest one at these things (that was until David, my intern, came along) and so I approach life, God, faith, church etc. rather differently than these men. I usually keep my mouth shut. Not so yesterday. Rather than get into what I said, I'll just say that I was quite alone in my views on the matter of calling and deciding what we should do for careers and stuff. I put myself out there. I was thinking for the rest of the day that I should have just kept my mouth shut but two of the men approached me later to share their appreciation for what I said. I made them think, so they said, and I tell ya, it was good to hear. Anyways, my challenge has always been to work up enough courage to speak my mind/heart and I'm starting to speak up more and more, with favorable results.
I've seen a lot of people struggling with marriages lately but some are taking a positive turn and you could never know how excited I am to see it.
Angela's Caterpillar Club is doing well and she has new moms showing up every Friday. We've seen some of them in church since. I have a feeling this thing is going to grow.
There was some drama with one of my sponsors and myself about my philosophy of doing youth ministry and this actually caused me a lot of stress. I hate strained relationships like this but we're working it out and I am quite happy that we can restore our tattered friendship. I think the incident will turn out to be merely a bump in the road of our friendship.
So I felt like writing this post to kinda count my blessings. And even though I haven't said it, the goodness I see in our church family these days (there is more than I just typed) really shows that we have found favor with God. I am thankful that He is using our church to reach our community. I am thankful that we are an "alive" church family and that we are passionate about striving for holiness, reaching our community for the sake of His kingdom and seeing His kingdom come in the whole world. Yeah, to God be the glory, now and forever.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Parking Etiquette
Is there some sort of official parking etiquette established that I don't know about?
We were leaving Costco today. Packing up our car with our two kids and the groceries took us a little time. I finally got in and in my excitement to open the packaging to a cordless phone set we just bought, I noticed another car signaling for my spot. I don't know how long they had been there but it was obvious from the persistent blinking of that evil orange light that they wanted my spot and wanted it now. And this is where I need some rules. Am I obligated to vacate the space as fast as possible or are they obligated to wait till I am good and ready to leave? This is not the first time this scenario has played out and admittedly, I have lingered longer than I have needed just to assert my control over that 5'x9' space.
But really, what should a guy do? I don't like the pressure of having to leave a parking place sooner than I am ready - and as odd as it sounds, I like to get ready to drive (loose items stowed, appropriate song on the ipod, climate controls set etc.).
Once, at the mall during the pre-Christmas shopping rush, I waited in the car with a sleeping child while Angela took the other one inside to shop. In the span of 45 minutes, 9 cars signaled for my spot. One stayed for over 4 minutes before they got the hint that I was not moving! Is a parking spot that valuable that people wait so long?
In our case today, we parked some distance from the store. We don't mind walking. In fact, we prefer to park some distance which is why I was surprised at the interruption. The parking lot seemed to fill out while we were in the store making our parking stall the closest, soon to be available stall. It never ceases to amaze me how persistent people are in their attempts to get a parking space as close to the store as they can.
Anyhow, I was curious to know if I was alone in this. For me it's a case of what is the right thing to do vs. what do I want to do.
Will I linger longer next time? Will I exit promptly? I don't know.
My boyz
Mackenzie and Lukas are growin up soo fast. Just thought I'd post two recent pictures of them for no other reason than to show em off.
Valentines Bitterness
My wife doesn't need Valentines Day to know I love her. Really. Ask her. We talked about it. She knows my dislike for obligatory holidays. OK, I know valentines day isn't a holiday but if it were, I would feel obliged to take the day off and therein lies an exception to my rule: if you are obligated to buy something for someone, don't do it because everyone is doing it. If you are obligated to take the day off - do it because everyone is doing it (or rather because it is a good thing to do). But if valentines day were like all my other holidays in which I am obliged to take the day off, I would inevitably find myself doing work on that day anyways. So either way, I loose. But that is not the point of my ramblings.
I am teetering on the fence of indecision with guilt on one side and defiance on the other. I am teetering because I haven't purchased flowers, cards nor chocolates for my wife.
The other day I drove by one of our favorite bakeries (I was out of town) and I was struck with a brilliant idea - why not buy Angela a pecan sticky bun? She loves them and we usually get them on special outings. So I did. She almost cried. The point: Valentines day is not the one day to love someone. It's really a poor excuse to love someone. If you show affection on that day more than on other days, you need to pull up your socks in the romance department.
I think I've fallen off the fence and landed in the field of defiance.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Confessions in a Barber's chair
So I had a good chat with my barber today. I have two barbers that share the same shop - Peter and Bill - and today I had Peter cut my hair. I tend to go to Bill. And for good reason. About a year ago, I took Mackenzie to get a hair cut cause he was essentially wearing a mop. I was hoping to get Bill cause he cuts kids hair. Peter doesn't. Bill was not in that day but I was determined to have Mackenzie's hair cut. I kinda forcefully convinced Peter to give it a try. I am not a forceful person so this was somewhat out of character for me. It was a disaster. Peter was tense, Mackenzie was in tears, and even though hairs were cut, the "before" was definitely looking better than the "after". Peter finally gave up and sent us home without charging us. He didn't want me to pay for "work he was not proud of." Needless to say, I felt very bad for the whole mess-for Mackenzie for the trauma he experienced but mostly for Peter who was very tense and frustrated. I felt worse for Peter cause as far as I was concerned, Mackenzie needed to suck it up and accept the fact that he needs to be groomed.
Since that day, every time I walk into the shop, I feel pangs of guilt for what I put Peter through. And for that reason too, I have Bill cut my hair. I somehow came to believe that every time I walked into the shop, and Peter saw me, in his mind he was saying: "oh, not him, not the guy that pressured me into cutting his son's hair and putting me through hell".
All these thoughts were going through my head when I walked into the shop this morning. I thought that this time, I would go to Peter. I wanted to send the message that I was not upset at him for his failure to cut my sons hair and I didn't want him to think I was avoiding him cause sometimes, when I go to get a haircut, he says that Bill's not here, assuming that I want Bill to do it. And I wanted him to know that I was sorry for putting him through hell. Well, it turns out that Bill was not at the shop today and wouldn't be for some time since he was on holidays. I wasn't going to let that phase me. My hair was soo long, when I wore my toque, my silhouette resembled a 100watt light bulb. I told him I was going to stay and wait for him to be done with his current client.
As I sat down in his chair, we bantered about. The usual topics: weather, how busy we are, cars. Then the inevitable silence. We were out of things to say. I am usually fine with this silence only today, something inside me told me to talk to him about that "incident". And for some stupid reason, I listened to that voice and started out with "I don't know if you remember but about a year ago I brought my son in for a haircut . . ." I told him the whole story, ending with: "and I still feel terrible for making you go through that." And I'll be darned, Peter could not remember the fiasco. He had no recollection! You don't know the joy I felt this morning sitting in his chair, his shaver buzzing dreamily about my head!
Turns out he thought the story was funny! I told Peter that my son still hates getting his hair cut and it is not because of him but because of another "incident" with an evil lady. It also turns out that there is a place in Westbank that specializes in cutting the hairs of kids like mine! Double blessing!
So the moral of the story is, if you need a barber, and you have kids and you want to take them to the same barber, and you struggle with a guilty conscience, make sure that he has a bad memory.
Monday, January 22, 2007
The Still, Small Voice of Love
Another Nouwen Meditation:
Many voices ask for our attention. There is a voice that says, "Prove that you are a good person." Another voice says, "You'd better be ashamed of yourself." There also is a voice that says, "Nobody really cares about you," and one that says, "Be sure to become successful, popular, and powerful." But underneath all these often very noisy voices is a still, small voice that says, "You are my Beloved, my favor rests on you." That's the voice we need most of all to hear. To hear that voice, however, requires special effort; it requires solitude, silence, and a strong determination to listen.
That's what prayer is. It is listening to the voice that calls us "my Beloved."
Friday, January 19, 2007
Overcoming Life's Obstacles - Part 2
Again, if you are looking for a fluffy feel good story, look elsewhere.
I overcame an obstacle today: I made it up the T-Bar lift on a snowboard!
Yup, that's right! I made it up the T-Bar lift 4 times and I did not fall off! Coming down the mountain is another story but despite the falls, that's the easy part.
Back story: every year, I take our youth to Apex to do some night skiing on Friday nights. It is super cheap on Fridays. Anyhow, having mastered skiing (aka: I can make it down the hill without killing or injuring myself and actually enjoy it), I decided I would be "hip" and learn to snowboard. For the past two years, I never made it past the bunny hill. I tried the T-Bar but until tonight, I couldn't get 10 meters up the hill without falling. And just so you don't get the wrong idea: the fact that I used the word "hip" shows that I'll never be hip, or whatever today's equivalent of "hip" is. And when I said "for the past two years", it's not like I have been trying for two years to snowboard. In fact, I have only gone snowboarding 3 evenings out of those two years so relative to the time I have spent away from the slopes, I have picked up the skills at an alarming pace.
Tonight, on the fourth and last run, I did not fall. It was beautiful. I became one with the board and it was as if I floated down that heavenly slope. It could probably be likened to an out of body experience. I wouldn't know. I've never had one. But it was bliss.
I am on a roll with overcoming obstacles. What should I try to overcome next?
Overcoming Life's Obstacles - Part 1
If you are expecting a fluffy inspirational story, this is not it. It is, however, a story of overcoming obstacles.
The obstacle: A Rubik's cube.
That's right folks, I set my mind to the task of solving the Rubik's cube. I can now consistently solve it in under 2 minutes. It took me about a day to learn.
I'm looking around now for a good speed cube. I hope to buy one pretty soon. I want to get faster at it. It would be cool if I could solve it in 30 seconds or less.
So, if I bought a good speed cube, I'd put the one I have right now on my shelf next to my Evangecube.
Now that is not an option.
That said, if you know of anyone on this green earth who has decided to give their lives to God because of an Evangecube, please do let me know. If there is someone out there who truly has come to God because of one of those, I'll never mock out Jesus Junk again!
Friday, January 12, 2007
Ok, so I am not in bed yet . . .
You may have heard some rumors about a guy who can speed cube blindfolded. Because of my arduous poking around, I can confirm that rumor:
His name is Tyson Mao. He has held the world record at one time for speed cubing. He is the dude that taught Will Smith how to speed cube for his latest movie: The Pursuit of Happiness. (I can't wait to see it). Anyway, here is a video of him doing it blind folded: Video.
Now I get to go to bed.
What else would keep me up this late?
So normally I would be fast asleep right now. Normally. Tonight isn't normal, however.
Enter: Obsession.
Yes, that's right. I have a new obsession: learning to solve the Rubik's cube.
So I am a nerd . . .
Backstory: last night, one of my youth found a Rubik's cube in the church kitchen. Discussions ensued. Egos grew. I figured I could solve the thing by the next day. I told everyone so. They put me up to it. How could I be so stupid.
With the help of the Internet, I discovered that there are 3, 000, 000, 000 possible configurations a methods to solving the thing. I could handle maybe 2, 000, 000, 000 but not much more than that. Still, I purposed to solve it. . . with the help of my online teachers. . . .
First things first: I had to take it apart to see how it worked. Easy enough. But then I learned that if you don't put it together solved, you have a 93% chance of making the cube unsolvable. I prefer the solvable kind and so I followed those simple directions. Thus, in my hands lay a solved Rubik's cube. As fun as it would be to show my challengers a completed puzzle, I would be lying, and that is not so good for a pastor, so I told the truth.
My new intern proceeded to mess the whole thing up horribly. This became the challenge of the day.
So with the "aid" of some websites that I won't disclose, not that you couldn't find them using our friend Google, I tackled the puzzle.
I made some real progress throughout the day: numerous bathroom breaks, the drive to meet a friend (not recommended in high traffic areas), lunch with my family, etc.
Well, long story short (or rather, shorter), I got as far as I could go late this evening. Feeling dumb and defeated, I plugged my current configuration into a Rubik's Cube solver. The program found a solution before I fully released the pressure of my index finger on the left mouse button. This further heightened my humiliation. When I saw that the solution required 50 moves, I felt less dumb.
I completed the cube at 1:28am, Friday morning. It took my 100, 000 moves of the day plus the solver's 50. I am able to retain a little of my pride.
Now the real question becomes: will this obsession be laid to rest as I go to bed in the next few minutes or will it consume my every thought? We'll see what the morning brings.
In the meantime, check out this video of some dude speed cubing. I figure in a couple of days, if I dedicate my time to honing my mad skillz, I'll be giving this dude a run for his money!
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Fruit vs. Success
I don't feel I'm all that successful. Most of the time, I feel that what I do or who I am as a pastor is of little value to anyone. I know this is false but I think you can understand how easy we believe "the lies".
Well, lately, God has shown Angela and I fruit. He has shown us some things that remind us why we are in Summerland serving our church. Thank-you God.
It's funny how the goodness of those moments can end as soon as I step foot in my office - especially the first time since a nice long holiday. Well, amidst the returning feeling of "what good am I to God and the world while working here in my office", Angela sent me this:
Fruits That Grow in VulnerabilitySo right now, I am encouraged by this. At this moment, I want my life to be fruitful rather than successful. God knows I suck at trying to be in control . . .
There is a great difference between successfulness and fruitfulness. Success comes from strength, control, and respectability. A successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame. Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability. And fruits are unique. A child is the fruit conceived in vulnerability, community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one another's wounds. Let's remind one another that what brings us true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness.
Henri Nouwen: Bread for the Journey
