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.

Spinning our Webs

Have you had enough spiders this fall? Incredible, the number of arachnids we have around the outside of our house right now. Mind you, having lived in Australia for four years—where you could saddle the spiders and ride them like ponies—these aren’t a particular threat.

It’s not the spiders I mind; live and let live, right? It is the webs. There is nothing more annoying and frightening than walking into a web, unless it’s the thought you had down under: what spun the web could weigh as much as a small puppy. Yuck!

Spiders aren’t the only things that have webs. So do we! Webs of influence and webs of relationships that are all interconnected to the centre—you. I was told recently that, on average, churched believers have a relationship of some kind with seven people who aren’t in church or in Christ. It might be a co-worker or someone you share a hobby with. It might be the parents of your kids’ friends or a relative. Who is in your web?

Maybe it’s time you actually took the time to see whom you could introduce to your church and whom you could introduce to your Lord. After all, it might make an eternity of difference. Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

I Owed a Debt I Could Not Pay . . .

1.5 Trillion dollars. Imagine, that’s a 1.5 followed by 12 zeros.  That is enough to pay off the national debt of England, enough to give every Canadian $50,000.00 or enough to buy every person in the world an iPod.  1.5 Trillion dollars, if it was paid in $1000.00 bills, it would be a stack 163 km high and in dollar coins the pile would reach to Mars. 

That is the amount of tax revenue that the Obama administration is trying to raise in taxes.  I wonder if the President ever lays awake at night wishing someone would just come along and pay the bill for him.   After all, he didn’t create the debt, he just inherited it. The American public seems to be blaming the President for their folly.

We can’t even imagine a debt that large, but what about the spiritual debt that we owe?  You know the one the Bible talks about when it says, “The wages of sin is death”. 

We are responsible for that one but what if it was just paid off, clear and free?  That is the offer that Jesus makes.  The question is: Will you allow him to pay your debt?  Because he is willing, but you have to be as well.

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