househunting

So we're looking for a new place to live.

Here are some places that we have decided might not be for us.

Enjoy!

eight random facts

I got tagged by www.justonesheep.blogspot.com, so here's my response.

Apparently, I have to post the rules of the game - "Each person starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their eight things and post the rules. At the end of your blog, tag eight people and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog."

I'm with Kelly (who was also tagged) - I don't think I know any bloggers who haven't already been tagged. So I may not tag anyone else. I'll see.

But here are 8 random facts about me.

#1 My first kiss was when I was about 6 years old, with a crush on a boy named Davey, who kept beating up my dolls. (Hey, it was a town of 4,500 people - there wasn't a lot of choice in boys.) His friend Peter had a crush on me, apparently. So one day, Peter ran up, planted a smooch on me, and kept running. I was so mad, I went into the house, and stood at the front door, glaring at the world through the glass.

#2 One of my dreams since Grade 4 has been to see the clock in the middle of the night without reaching for my glasses. That dream became a reality a few years ago when they invented 30-day contact lenses. It was weird to get used to. I felt like I was going to bed with my shoes on!

#3 I would LOVE to try hang-gliding over the Grand Canyon.

#4 I would LOVE to hear Aimee Semple McPherson preach, or read transcripts of her sermons. (I have a written excerpt of one of her sermons framed on my desk.) She was an AMAZING storyteller.

#4(a) I think "Storyteller" would be a great job title.

#5 I once participated in the marriage of 2 bunny slippers, and I have the photos to prove it. But I'm not posting them.

#6 I skipped Grade 2. Which meant I didn't learn cursive writing until Grade 4, when a teacher noticed I was still printing.

#7 A big part of my heart is in Ukraine.

#8 I would LOVE to have the money and expertise to buy and renovate an entire street of run-down houses in the downtown core, but keep the resale value reasonable so regular people could live there - participating in urban renewal.

Tagging Jade and Dwayne.

God phoned

We had an AWESOME prayer time on Sunday night. A small number...but every single one there participated, which I thought was GREAT.



So we were working through the different kinds of prayer we've talked about in our Experiments With Prayer series (see www.experimentswithprayer.blogspot.com) and we came to silence.



We had just finished some musical worship, everything is very reverent, and we stop playing all the instruments, and go entirely silent.



count one-mississippi, two-mississippi, three-BRRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!



Yup. Cell phone. Cheeriest, loudest ring EVER. And the owner was enjoying the prayer so much, it took her an eternal moment to realize it was her phone ringing. So she dove for it, hung it up, shoved it back in her purse, back into silent prayer....



one-mississippi, two-


BRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



That's right. It rang again.



It was just too much for my funny bone. I leaned into the mic, and quietly said, "Maybe God is phoning us."



It was a moment I couldn't pass up -the timing was perfect! We all laughed, and then moved on to the next kind of prayer. (I phoned the cell phone owner today, to ask if I could laugh online about it, without offending her, and she said, "Oh sure," so I'm sharing the laugh with you!)



And on another note...



I went to get a slice today from Pizza Pizza. The woman who works there really likes me, I don't know why, so today we reached a new level of conversation.



Today, she asked if I was gaining some weight in the face. I said, "No...I don't think so."


She said, "Hmm. Are you sure? Maybe it's just the hair."


I said, "Maybe".

She said, "Are you pregnant?"


"Nope," I said.



"I'm not saying you're fat," she said.


"That's OK," I said. "I didn't think you were. Must be the hair."


"Yup," she said. "Must be the hair."



ROFL!!!!!

butterfly blog

Well, as you are quite aware, there are many people out there smarter than me.

So I'm borrowing from a friend's blog today. The story is about feeling a "nudge" to give a toonie to a stranger on the street who asked for help, and the internal debate - "do I, don't I?" In the end she did, and then thought online about it. (You can read her full thoughts if you click on the "butterfly girl" link to the left - it's the "fulfillment" post.)

Here's the part of her pondering that I thought was very attention-grabbing:

How often do we complain about not being fulfilled, about our lives being too mundane and boring, about never having the opportunities to do something significant for God…and then we walk right by the potential opportunities he places before us because they come at an innopportune time or don’t look the way we anticipate?

Good, isn't it?

a not-yet-read book

"It could be the pilot script for a sitcom: a pastor hires an atheist to help him critique several Christian churches throughout the United States. For the authors, however, this experiment was no joke. A veteran Protestant minister truly believes that evangelism requires listening to the good, the bad and the ugly about Christianity in order to be a better minister. So he hired an atheist copywriter and musician, to serve as "fresh eyes" and observe how a variety of Christians engage the Divine through worship."

This is a description of a book I'm thinking about picking up. Haven't picked it up yet. Not telling you the title yet. I imagine that if/when I read it, there will be some disturbing stuff, some thought-provoking stuff, some stuff I strongly disagree with, and some stuff that makes me dance around, yelling, "Crossfire does it right!" (And then my cat will attack me; he doesn't like dancing people. How's that for a visual?!)

It's an interesting premise, isn't it? I'm truly not sure what to expect from it. I don't know many true atheists; I'm not sure if I know any, actually. I wonder if the guy is truly an atheist - as in, firmly believes that there is no God, in any way, at all. Or if he's someone who wonders if there is a God, but not sure who he is, or how to find him. I know people like that. And I know people of different faiths and spiritualities.

Anyway - I wonder - What will surprise me? What will be exactly what I expected? What will sadden me? What will make me laugh?

Any guesses?

faith lines

Some semi-serious ponderings today.

I was at the 32nd Annual Hamilton Prayer Breakfast this morning. It's a big event, with the mayor, other politicians, city leaders, and faith leaders in attendance. We filled Liuna Station. (I had to rummage in my closet a bit, figuring CF's normal dress code might not be appropriate!)

The speaker was a Ph.D. who is passionately and deeply involved in providing "hope with a plan" to the people in Africa ravaged by HIV/AIDS. It was informative and encouraging.

As I scanned the room, I realized that I didn't know anyone there. None of the Christian leaders I know were in attendance. Maybe they were busy - maybe they didn't know about it - after all, this was our first time going.

Sometimes followers of Christ (especially the Protestant, or evangelical, or charismatic ones) are a bit leary of multi-faith events like these. They (we?) prefer to organize events that are Christian. I understand the concerns. By definition, beliefs tend to be exclusive. A belief is a belief because you believe it is right. And therefore, there is likely another belief that you believe is wrong. Otherwise - it wouldn't be a belief! And what's the point of connecting with those you believe are wrong? There's a potential danger of watering down your own beliefs, compromising the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I would never want to do that.

So, in that regard, one might feel concerned at a prayer breakfast, where prayers are expressed not only from my faith, but from other faiths as well.

On the other hand...

Can my faith acknowledge someone else's right to practice their different faith? I'm not asking if I agree with it. But do I believe that they have the right to their belief system?

Can I acknowledge that there will always be people in the world who believe differently than I do, and can I connect with those people? Or do I just stay within the boundaries and the circle of people who believe the same as me? And if that's the case - where do I draw that faith line? Do I include the three monotheistic (one God) faiths - Christianity, Muslim and Jewish? Or do I draw the line at Christianity? And if that's the case, who is included on my side of that line? Catholics? Orthodox? Snake handling Pentecostals?

If a Hamilton Prayer Breakfast is supposed to represent the City, how could I insist that only my faith be represented? Wouldn't it be better for me to represent my faith well in a multi-faith setting, not accepting all religions as equal, certainly not, but carrying Jesus where I go, becoming "all things to all people" as Paul did? Finding common ground and respecting others' beliefs, while solidly standing on my own beliefs - isn't this what Paul did in Athens? (Acts 17:16ff)

Let me throw in one other curve ball that troubles me sometimes. Why are we concerned about joining other faiths in an event meant to promote good, but we are fine to function every day in the so-called "secular" world, where belief systems and actions are often based on greed for money and power? Isn't this a wrong belief system, just as much as those that are actual religions?

I realize this could possibly promote some rather intense discussion. (If so - let's stay friendly, OK?) It's just what's on my mind today, and I don't think there are any simple answers. I think I walk out my faith with passion, looking for opportunities to spread the Gospel, and looking for opportunities to connect with the people in my community.

What do you think?