Braveheart!

Remember at the end of the movie Braveheart, where William Wallace is lying on the slab of wood and the dude is torturing him, he gets asked if he would like to say something. It is at this point that he musters up all the strength that he can and yells FREEDOM.

I feel like William Wallace today, because i finished my exams for the semester yesterday, and with a loud voice, at least for the next three weeks i can yell out loud,

FREEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!

Just thought i'd throw that out there, because i know there are others who feels a similar way.

Wonderful Weather!

For all those who thought the summer weather sucked...

Enjoy this beautiful weather while you can!

Just thought i'd throw that out there.

In Remembrance!

Well, it has been some time since i last posted. The coffee has been on the burner for a while and was starting to bake on to the pot, so i thought i should brew another pot. With school and the youth work this semester is going by so quick, with hardly any time to look after the coffee shop here.

As i have reflected over the last few months something has occurred to me: I love being a student! I know that sounds horrific for most people, but i truly do. I know that i would not have liked it if i had gone to school when i was younger, but i'm telling you, being a student is awesome. Especially now that i'm a second-year. Seeing all the first year students floundering like i did last year is hilarious, not to mention the panic attacks from everyone as their work piles up. I'm having a blast, and the courses i'm taking are great too, especially Judaic Studies. In my professional, personal opinion, I would say that everyone should have to go to a synagogue at some point in their life just to sit with Jews in their world for a little while. But that's just my opinion. Anyway, Christmas is fast approaching and there is still no snow on the ground. We had that scare a few weeks ago, but now that it's getting to the middle of November, it's time to start thinking about snow, and with that then Christmas. While i absolutely abhor snow, it never really does feel like Christmas without it, although i'm sure i could get used to it (think palm trees and sunny skies, plus 25 with a light breeze on Christmas morning).

But i'm getting ahead of myself. Besides Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and D-Day, i don't generally celebrate other holidays on the Calendar Year (I know D-Day is not a holiday but it should be, and i celebrate it as such), Remembrance Day marks a special day on the calendar.

Think of the freedom you have, to walk down the street, to celebrate your heritage, to vote, to gather in churches and praise God wherever you go, all because of the sacrifice of brave soldiers who protect our nation. WWI, WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War, the War in Boznia, Desert Storm (remember the first G. Bush war?), and of course the war in Afghanistan right now. So much War, and our guys fight so we can continue to be free.

This post is for all the soldiers who have sacrificed so much for our freedom, those who have bled and died, and for their families who lost someone so dear to them. Thank-you.

Thank-you so very much.

In Remembrance!

More Brilliance

This wisdom comes from C.S. Lewis once again.

"All sorts of people are fond of repeating the Christian statement that 'God is love'. But they seem not to notice that the words 'God is love' have no real meaning unless God contains at least two Persons. Love is something that one person has for another person. If God was a single person, then before the world was made, he was not love. Of course, what these people mean when they say that God is love is often something quite different: they really mean 'Love is God'. They really mean that our feelings of love, however and wherever they arise, and whatever results they produce, are to be treated with great respect. Perhaps they are: but that is something quite different from what Christians mean by the statement 'God is love'. They believe that the living, dynamic activity of love has been going on in God forever and has created everything else." (Mere Christianity, 174-75)

I read this after a few interesting challenges that occurred over the last week. The first was reading a friend's comments on the will of God. He reminded us, "We should not be asking, 'What is God's will for my life?' Rather we should ask the question, 'What is God's will?'" The second challenge came during a short devo in which the leader challenged the group to remember that the H.S. (God) has called us each to our individual ministries, whatever they are. It is not the nominations committee or some other person from within the church that has called us, IT IS GOD that called us to our ministry.

Lewis has a wonderful observation about who God is. Three in One, Father, Son, Spirit. All Love. If you need a better understanding of God's love, meditate on the passage found in John 1:1, 3:16; 1 John 4:7-21.

Yep. That's my Bombers

I think the title says it all.

55-10 loss against the Sask. Roughriders.

I have no comment.

(Although to the Byggdin family, i say "Congratulations!")

The Brilliant Mind of C.S. Lewis

Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God"

James 2:14 "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?"

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis has a few chapters that deal with Faith. The following is a short excerpt from the second of those two chapters.

"Christians have often disputed as to whether what leads the Christian home is good actions, or Faith in Christ. I have no right really to speak on such a difficult question, but it does seem to me like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most necessary. A serious moral effort is the only thing that will bring you to the point where you throw up the sponge. Faith in Christ is the only thing to save you from despair at that point: and out of that Faith in Him good actions must inevitably come.

There are two parodies of the truth which different sets of Christians have, in the past, been accused by other Christians of beieving: perhaps they may make the truth clearer. One set were accused of saying, "Good actions are all that matters. The best good action is charity. The best kind of charity is giving money. The best thing to give money to is the church. So hand us over $10, 000 and we will see you through." The answer to that nonsense, of course, would be that good actions done for that motive, done with the idea that Heaven can be bought, would not be good actions at all, but only commercial speculations.

The other set were accused of saying, "Faith is all that matters. Consequently, if you have faith, it doesn't matter what you do. Sin away, my lad, and have a good time and Christ will see that it makes no difference in the end." The answer to that nonsense is that, if what you call your "faith" in Christ does not involve taking the slightest notice of what He says, then it is not Faith at all - not faith or trust in Him, but only intellectual acceptance of some theory about Him."

Philippians 2:12-13 "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."

For a more thorough understanding of the basics of Christian faith might i suggest reading "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis

Wisdom.

The pastor we currently have at church is old. 73. Don't tell me that's not old. It is. This morning the sermon was entitled "Moses: The Reluctant Prophet", and after the service, i (remember now that i'm 32) went up to him and told him that he had done a good job. I felt weird saying that to him, but at the same time, i know that he knows what i meant. I have learnt so much from him. The wisdom that he has, which he has past down, sometimes without even his knowing, is a remarkable thing to be a part of. Some people go their entire lives without a mentor like that to steer them in the right direction.

And so the reason for this post. 

As the school year looms, with only 1 day until classes start, i find myself questioning things that i have no control over, as well as things that i do have control over. 

I thoroughly enjoy school, and expect that until the day i see my Lord face to face i will continue to be involved in educating myself to some degree, and maybe passing some of that wisdom onto others. I only hope that God will grant me wisdom such as that of my pastor and mentor.