Fall has Fell

Angela and I were marvelling at the autumn colours last week as we drove along the highway. The woods were a kaleidoscope of colours, no two the same. It wasn’t hard to imagine Jack Frost painting each leaf individually. One of the many things we missed during our time in Australia was fall colours. As beautiful and gorgeous and wonderful (have I used enough adjectives yet?) as the weather was in Australia, and it was beautiful and gorgeous and wonderful, their trees didn’t change in the fall. To be truthful, I don’t think I ever truly appreciated the various hues that paint our forests until they weren’t there to see. That’s a sad reality of life as well—you don’t realize the good you have until you don’t have it anymore.
As much as I enjoy the fall scenery I don’t appreciate what it takes to make the leaves change—chilly fall mornings leave me cold, so to speak.
That’s human nature though isn’t it? We never seem to want to pay the price, no matter how small. The great thing about the beauty of heaven is that the price has already been paid, and all we have to do is claim it.
  
Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Arab Spring? Not so much.

What’s with all the protests?  And I guess if I have to ask, then I’m probably part of the problem.  The occupy Wall Street and now the Occupy Canada movements have been all over the news and I have heard at least one commentator compare these protests to the, “Arab Spring”.  The Arab Spring involved protests in Tunisia and Egypt; a civil war in Libya and civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria and a host of others.
And again, maybe it will identify me as a part of the problem but those involved in the Arab Spring were demanding things like the opportunity for free elections and enough food to eat and in response their blood flowed in the streets.  Not sure if that’s a fair comparison with what is happening on Wall Street and the Grand Parade in Halifax.
But the protestors are angry for a reason, and with Wall Street executives taking bailout money and bonus money in the same year, they make an easy target for that anger.
Personally, I think if everyone who laid claim to the name of Christ actually lived like Christ wanted us to, you know the entire, “Love God and Love others” thing, there would be less to protest and fewer protesters. 
Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

A Life to Live

56 years ago, a life was saved and a world was changed.  When 23 year old Joanne Schielbe discovered she was pregnant, she was a student at the University of Wisconsin and she knew two things. She knew she wasn’t in the position to raise her unborn child but she wanted the very best for that child.  Paul and Clara couldn’t have children of their own but they promised Joanne that if she would allow them to adopt her son, that they would do their very best to raise him right and by all accounts they did.
I wonder what the world would look like today if Joanne had of chosen to abort her child instead of allowing him to be adopted?  If she had of decided that his life wasn’t worth her inconvenience and the heartbreak of giving him up? 

We’ll never know because  the decision Joanne made would have a profound impact on how the world looks today.  And that decision was reinforced by the love that Paul and Clara would show the child they had been entrusted with.

So we can only wonder: what would the world  look like today if Steve Jobs had of been aborted instead of adopted?

Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Nothings is worse than. . .

After I gave blood last week, I decided to enjoy a bowl of soup and a fig newton in exchange for the platelets that had been removed from me.  Before dishing up my bowl of soup from the po,t the volunteer tried some to make sure the temperature was fine and apparently it wasn’t because she burnt her mouth.  The other volunteer seeking to comfort her friend said, “There is nothing worse than burning your mouth.” And her friend agreed.   Well, I immediately thought of at least a dozen things worse than burning my mouth and that didn’t even include being eaten by a bear.

Denn being Denn, sometimes when I hear someone make a, “there is nothing worse than. . .” statement, I will offer suggestions of things that might be worse.  “What about . . .?”  Normally my suggestions are not considered helpful.

With the exception of, “dying and going to hell”, in most cases there is something worse than whatever it is that we are experiencing right now.  Even if you were eaten by a bear you would at least have the notoriety.   Let’s be careful that we aren’t guilty of blowing some things out of proportion while ignoring the obvious blessings that surround us. 

Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.