TREVOR'S WRITING

We were getting ready to go somewhere, and my daughter, Hannah - who is 4, is standing in front of the shoe rack trying to decide what footwear to put on. She always puts a lot of thought into what she is going to wear...she wants to always make sure that what she wears fits the 4 year old equivalent of "matching" (notice the ice cream matching the clothes). All of the sudden she declares with great satisfaction and glee, "I know, I will wear my pink camouflage flip flops!" I know that I am her dad and that I should know what sort of footwear she owns , but pink camouflage flip flops!? Seriously, I can't believe they even make that. When she wears pink camouflage where will she actually be camouflaged, at a Hillary Duff concert?

While I was in Cambodia, our group did this concert, and I spoke at it. I wasn't really prepared to speak and I had never really spoken through an interpreter before, so that was interesting. I was asked to do an "altar call" as part of the speaking (asking people if they want to become Christians, and give them a chance to come forward...to the "altar" to make that commitment at that moment). I was pretty uncomfortable with doing that and did not feel great about the way it came out. I was very concerned because I wanted to make sure that people would not be manipulated into doing something that they did not mean or that they did not really want. So, basically, I told them how difficult it is to be a Christian, but in the end 20 people came to the front of the church to become Christians...I guess (I wasn't really sure since I was not sure what the translator said and I could not talk very well to anyone who came forward). I was very overwhelmed with the wh...

There were a bunch of tornadoes in Manitoba (I think 7) over the weekend. We heard Sunday morning that 2 of Nicky's brother's homes were hit by one of them (they have a farm close to Boissevain). We decided to go out there and try to help with the cleanup over the last few days. It is crazy what we saw...there are trees everywhere, there are buildings that have been crushed, and grain bins that have been thrown sometimes as far as a mile. We were so thankful that, in spite of all this damage, nobody was seriously injured. Where Nicky's family lives, there was only minor damage done to homes. But it is very scary what a tornado does, it really makes me take seriously those tornado watches I hear from time to time. Here is some video of the system that came through their yards, make sure to check the menu, on the YouTube link, it has a bunch of different videos as well. Tornado's are crazy, one man we talked to had his machine shed blow over and spread out over a field......

What is culture? The culture that is around me, the culture that I live in, the culture that other people live in. I don't even think I really understand my own culture. A lot could be accomplished if we understand our own culture, and also seek to understand other peoples' culture...with an open mind. I think we live in our own culture without realizing what defines it. We don't even realize that what we do is different from other people, and that other people do not live in the same way. I have lived in a "Christian culture" for much of my life. We have our own language, customs and traditions that many people outside that culture may not understand or may even think is wrong, or just plain weird, but I am just used to it, I live in it without realizing that it may be different from other people's culture, if people from outside church come to my church I am shocked (not really any more) to hear that they don't understand words like "testimony...

I have three kids, and everyone says the two oldest, Ben and Hannah look like me...and the youngest, Owen looks like Nicky. I would like for you to judge for yourselves...does Owen look like me? Here is a picture of me when I was his age. ...and here is a picture of Owen. I just want to set the record straight...my genes are really strong...sorry kids, I wish you looked like your Mom!

Christians hardly talk about it, and secular discussion is rarely more then jokes, but yet there is a book of the bible that is almost completely dedicated to it...and it does NOT say, "don't do it!" The book of the bible is called Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon. It is about King Solomon and his "beloved." You see Solomon had a number of wives (700 actually) and concubines (300), but apparently he had one favourite, and he wrote this song probably to tell a story about that relationship. It could be a parable (a story that didn't actually happen) and therefore a metaphor for something, it may be a true story...either way it is a little (I use "little" in a way that actually means "a lot") racey. There are a number of descriptions of both the man's and the woman's body, and there are quite a few metaphors for sexual acts. It is probably the early Jewish version of Gangster Rap (is that Gangsta?). I believe that Christians should...

This Saturday I was at two weddings...one that started at 11:30am and the other that started at 6:00pm. I have been to quite a few weddings, but I don't remember doing that before! It was an interesting day. The next day in church another couple that I know well got engaged. A couple months ago our church had at least one engagement announced each week for 7 straight weeks! All this makes me concerned for marriages...not that I am specifically worried for any of these marriages (congrats to Wes and Ashley, Kelly and Jeremy and Matt and Andrea by the way). So many marriages suck and/or end in divorce. I decided to pray as hard as I could at each wedding this Saturday during their vows (pretty weak, but it was what I could do at the time). Does anyone else have some suggestions on how we can help improve other people's marriages? We all know our own marriages are perfect.

I've been reading The Radical Reformission by Mark Driscol l and I came across something that helped clarify my thoughts on my Jesus is the Question post I put up a while ago, Mark says, "Jesus is not a means to things such as wealth, health, heaven, happiness, wisdom and success in marriage, church ministry, theology or politics. Any time that Jesus is used as a means to an end, a false gospel has been introduced..." Jesus is not the answer to all of life's problems, we tend to make him out to be that, and when Christians have problems (with wealth, health, heaven, happiness, wisdom and success in marriage, church ministry, theology or politics) we can't figure out why that is the case. If we live life like Jesus we would live a sinless life, having compassion on others, and Jesus will help us with our life...but it does not mean it will not be difficult. I wish it were not so.

I have often wondered why I get mad when someone can't hear me. For instance, if I yell downstairs to Nicky something like, "I AM JUST GOING OUT TO GET SOME GROCERIES, DO YOU NEED ANYTHING?" and she yells back, "...WHAT!" I will repeat myself only a little louder, if she doesn't hear this time, I start to get mad...at her! If I have to yell it a third time, I am now yelling out of anger. When I think about it logically, it makes absolutely no sense. If she can't hear me, why would I be mad at her? Does anyone else experience this?

This is one of the funniest things I have seen:

In the Bible Jesus says, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" I think Jesus probably shouted this at God. Well these days I feel like shouting at God as well. I feel like shouting at God, "WHY HAVE YOUR FORSAKEN MY FRIENDS!" I know people in Cambodia, who can not afford to keep their daughter in the hospital for $2 a day, I have friends whose Mom died right at the time when they were supposed to have their baby (they had the baby less then 12 hours after the funeral), talk about sucking the joy out of a joyful occasion. There are so many situations that I have seen lately that make me question God's wisdom. Is it OK for me to do that? Why do I have it so good? Is it because I was born in a country with economic stability? Is it because my family cares about me, and is healthy? I haven't earned these things. I don't feel right about having it good...it's not fair!

I just came back from a "mission trip" to Cambodia - May 2-19. There were 23 young adults that went from our Church. We went to Cambodia to work with kids, bring a tonne of supplies and to help (mostly financially) with a building project. Sometimes I have questioned the value of these types of trips, and I still do at times - but I will leave that for another post. This whole experience affected me in ways I am just beginning to understand. I saw things there that you just don't see in North America - the poverty, the prostitution (VERY aggressive), the social needs. We may have a large problem with these things in North America, but we have found ways to hide them better so that middle class people like me don't have to see them too much. I found the needs impacted me so much, that I can't wrap my head around the needs I see here at home. We have meetings to discuss how we should change the programs at our church...my kids feel they "need" new things ...

I like this template. It reminds me of my Grandma's wallpaper. The 70's had many great things about them, not the least of which was the textured wallpaper. I also appreciated the shag carpets, and the HUGE glasses.

I was in Cambodia and I saw a bumper sticker that said "Jesus is the Answer." It really bothered me and I couldn't really figure out why. I guess it was probably because that saying always has always bothered me and the fact that someone all the way in Cambodia thought that this would be a great bumper sticker (in english nonetheless) kind of bothered me. The saying bothers me because it seems so flippant, like any question can be answered by Jesus. Question: "What should we have for breakfast?" Answer: "Jesus." Question: "What should I believe?" Answer: "Jesus." Question: "Who should I hire to be the manager?" Answer: "Jesus." There are a lot of things that I believe Jesus can and should be the answer for, but I actually think the better saying would be... "Jesus is the Question." Because there are a lot more questions that come from Jesus, than answers. Did he really exist? What does it mean to me if ...

I realized today that I have had this blog for almost two years, and have never made an entry. I know that may have discouraged a few people from checking this blog on a regular basis...so I am making a new commitment, I WILL NOW BLOG. So I would love it if you checked up on this from time to time and made comments. My thoughts aren't really all that profound, but I hope that you (people in blogland) find something that grabs your attention, and maybe you can add the profundity. I welcome comments that disagree totally (in fact I encourage them). And look forward to a real open conversation.