Friday, December 27, 2013

Good bye Winter





So, by my figuring, spring must be just around the corner.  No really, we’ve had more winter, this winter, then we had last winter and winter has only been here for a week.  So by the time we had this much winter last winter, winter was almost over and spring was almost here.  You still with me?  So put away your snow blowers and pull out your lawnmowers.  If only it worked that way.
In case you don’t know me that well, I really dislike winter; loathe might be a better word and so I look forward to spring with great longing, it’s less than 12 weeks away.

I remember when I looked for the return of Christ with that type of longing and I wonder when and why that changed.  This time of year we celebrate the first coming of Christ and as believers we are told that He will return and even though it might not be tomorrow, it might be.  Are you looking forward to His return?  Or would it put a crimp in your plans?

So this Christmas, as we look back at what His first coming meant, perhaps it would be wise to look ahead and consider what His return will mean for you.    Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

End Thinkism. . . Part 2



It happens to all of us, we read something online that we really enjoy, a post, a news story or just a picture that brightens our day.  And then we read the comments that people post.  What is it with people?  I understand that not everyone will agree with everything.  But do folks really need to be so hateful.  And it’s just as bad for church and ministry posts.  It’s almost as if we need to belittle the ideas of others in order to justify the truth of ours.  And that is . . .thinkism. 

Author James Grippando says that while it’s no longer acceptable to hate or pass judgement on someone because of their gender or race, too many people will say hateful, judgmental things about someone based on their ideas or their thoughts.  Very few folks want to be thought of as a sexist or a racist but many apparently have no qualms about being thinkists.

And being a thinkist may have been fine when folks were speaking to a limited audience.  (No, it probably wasn’t ok then either, but at least the hate was compartmentalized.)  However, today when you post online you are exposing the world to your thinkism.    So again I say:  It’s time to end thinkism.  Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.  

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Must be an easier way



Just this past week a homeless man in Seattle was arrested for stealing... a high speed ferry. When the crew from a local tugboat company noticed early Sunday morning that the vessel seemed to be adrift, they boarded it to bring it back to the wharf, only to discover 33-year-old Samuel Kenneth McDonough onboard. According to police reports, McDonough had managed to get gain access to the locked terminal, snuck aboard the ferry, started it, and was planning on using it to make his way across the border to Victoria B.C.

If nothing else, you need to admire the man for his chutzpah. Surely there must be easier ways to get to Victoria from Seattle.

How often do make the trip to heaven more difficult than it has to be? Over and over again, the Bible talks about our salvation being a free gift. We can’t earn it and we certainly can’t steal it. And yet people are always trying to do it the hard way.

McDonough didn’t make it out of Seattle harbour on his own efforts, and none of us will make it very far on our own efforts, either. But the good news is that we don’t have to. Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.