A Time to Kill

After once spending over 6 hours at Heathrow Airport in London I was quite glad to find this little article entitled "Eight Ways to Kill Time in an Airport" One would think that being in Europe's busiest airport would be far from boring but alas an airport is still an airport!

http://travel.sympatico.msn.ca/robinesrock/articles/airports.htm?&pagenumber=1

Nothing ground-breaking here but still it's good to remember for next time.

1) Talk - Simply turn to the nearest person and ask: “Do you feel like talking to a complete stranger because my eyes are glazing over and I’m starting to lose consciousness from boredom.”

2) Shop - The trick here is to not actually buy anything. Kill time, save money. Wander from shop to shop.

3) Look - People watching is always fun, all it takes is a little imagination. Simply look around, choose a person, and create their personal history.

4) Write - In our digital age we forget the romantic, somewhat exotic thrill of receiving a postcard from foreign (or even domestic) shores. Pick up a postcard and write.

5) Hunt - We spend our hours hunting to kill time. Things to hunt for: free wireless signals, bargains, romantic partners, a free plug to charge your laptop or cell phone (note to airports: install some plugs so we don’t have to unplug the vending machines). Hunt for a stretch of floor to sleep on, a clean toilet, a charity bucket to deposit useless foreign coins, a shop that sells toothpaste since yours was confiscated at security!

6) Read - If you don’t have a good book head over to the bookstore for your own private library. It takes a pretty arrogant airport to demand you buy something first and it's easy to kill an hour or two reading.

7) Eat - According to some traditions each bite of your meal should be chewed a dozen times to truly access all the nutritional value and taste. Stretch that burger and fries and savour every speck of spice.

8) Stretch - There’s more to stretching than just pointing to opposite walls when you get out of bed. Frequent travellers should develop a stretching routine. Find a piece of space and bend your body, twist your spine, crack those knuckles.

Jesus Christ: Action Figure

I have actually seen this with my own eyes at someone's house in Germany. Imagine my surprise when I found out they bought it in Canada while on vacation.

Jesus Action Figure
Everyone has a different take on Jesus. Muslims saw him as a prophet. Buddhists say he was enlightened. Hindus consider him an avatar (the incarnation of a deity in human form), while Christians hail him as the Son of God. But, wherever your theological compass points, you will agree that this is the coolest action figure ever made. Each hard vinyl Jesus Action Figure stands 5" (12.7 cm) tall with posable arms to reach toward the heavens and wheels in his base for smooth gliding action!

OR

Deluxe Jesus Action Figure
There is no action figure more deserving of a deluxe edition than the Son of God. This 5-1/4" (13.3 cm) tall, hard vinyl figure comes with eight amazing plastic accessories: five loaves of bread, two fish and a jug for turning water into wine (not guaranteed to work for real). Also features “glow-in-the-dark miracle hands!



Now, I'm all for trying new things and reaching people through alternate means but I think this might come across as more of a joke (dare I say blasphemous) than anything else. But hey, I believe God can use anything to bring people to Him even when it was unintended.

This is a serious post...

ST. LEONARD, Canada (AP) -- Twelve million honey bees have been released onto Canada's largest highway in northwest New Brunswick after a transport truck overturned.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Monday that a truck carrying 330 crates of bees was traveling on a ramp on the highway when the load shifted and the truck overturned shortly after 1000 GMT.

Police said a downpour of rain has helped to contain the bees in and around the truck.

Bee experts from Agriculture Canada were called in to help deal with the accident.

The driver of the truck was not hurt.

This is here for no other reason than I found it funny that there are now 12 million bees swarming the highway. Someone told me that the best preachers can always make a sermon out of anything. I can't think of one at the moment :-D Any ideas?

This is it folks!

As I was browsing the various news sites (as in my daily routine) I came across this comment made by an anonymous poster:

"I find it more amazing that many think there is a god who really cares and that after we die we will go on to something better.

This is it folks....enjoy the ride!"

Simple, yet very true. If indeed there is no god than we would be well served to "enjoy the ride." Why is it then that I am one of those people who believes that there is a God who loves us and that we will go on to something better? Is it naivety? Blind faith? It has been said that just as no one can prove there is a God neither can anyone disprove His existence. I believe because I have experienced the work of the Holy Spirit in my life - Jesus is as real to me as my family & friends. Of course, the Bible tells us that most people will laugh and scoff at this. (1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Corinthians 2:14)
I do not believe I can persuade someone to believe in God and the atoning work of Christ. Nor can someone change my mind that God does not exist. So shall I not even try and simply let people believe whatever they want. Hardly. First and foremost I can tell them about Jesus and how He has redeemed us. Then, I can pray that the Holy Spirit would work in their lives and change their hearts. Finally, it is up to me to live an exemplary life which personifies the Lord Jesus Christ. For if I speak of the work of the Holy Spirit and tell of Jesus' love, people must see it in me. (Matthew 5:16)
Which brings up the Holy Spirit. The Christian life is not about trying to do good things as if to curry favour with God. Rather it is built out of a desire to please my heavenly father. Just as I want to do well for my earthly Dad and show him honour and respect I want to do likewise for my Father in heaven. The work of Christ opened the doors for me to have a personal relationship with Him and be called His child (1 John 3:1). He gave us the Holy Spirit as our helper to provide encouragement, strength and counseling (John 14:26, Acts 1:8)
Everything I have is a gift from God. However long this “ride” lasts will only be the beginning of a far greater adventure.

Deutschland, Deutschland...

"Football is a very simple game. For 90 minutes 22 men go running after
the ball and at the end the Germans win"

And so it was true after an exhilarating match against Portugal. There is something special about being over here in Europe during the championships. As big as hockey is in Canada, it does not even compare to the passion & enthusiasm of Football fans. It would be no exaggeration to say that should the Germans win EM 2008, the country may declare a national holiday.

Content to be Miserable

One of the more popular notions going around lately is that God’s purpose or mission is not to make us happy but [Insert Godly characteristic here].

While I agree that God is not a genie in a bottle who is there to grant our wishes, I am disturbed by the notion that He does not care about our happiness or well-being. It’s as if we are saying that God will make our lives a living hell to make us more Christ-like. The more troubles, hardships and sorrows that comes our way, the better it is.

They speak of “taking up our cross” and delighting in persecution, trials, & tribulations. The more miserable our lives are the more content we are supposed to be. I believe this is a classic case of misrepresenting scripture by plucking out several verses while ignoring others. Speaking as one who has been through difficult trials, I believe God IS concerned with our happiness & well-being. He wants us to be successful & happy in this life. If we are to take Jesus Christ as the picture of our heavenly Father, I do not see a cosmic killjoy but rather someone who lived life to the fullest…laughing, spending time with friends, sharing together with family. Jesus loved being with people and providing them with “living bread” so that they too could enjoy life to the fullest.

The rain falls on the unjust as well as the just. Therefore, Christians should be the happiest people in the world. Full of joy and contentment. Knowing that our attitude in this life is a reflection on who we serve.

We are to rise above our circumstances & press on so that people can look at us and clearly see without a doubt that it was only through the power and love of Christ Jesus. All glory will be given to God because what was impossible with man is possible with God.

Gonna be rough

In the classic sitcom "Seinfeld", Elaine and her professing Christian boyfriend David Putty have the following conversation:

Elaine: David, I'm going to hell! The worst place in the world! With devils and those caves and the ragged clothing! And the heat! My god, the heat! I mean, what do you think about all that?

Puddy: Gonna be rough.

I laughed at first but sadly it hit me that I have the same cavalier attitude many times. Outside of my immediate family & friends I don't really have a broken heart for lost souls. As long as those nearest & dearest to me are saved I am content to watch the rest of the world literally go to hell.

I might think I care about a lost world but if I truly and honestly looked in my heart, wouldn't I be doing more? Wouldn't I be proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ on a daily basis to whomever God placed in my path? It sounds and looks good to go to church and talk about evangelism and outreach but at the end of the day it's either "put up or shut up"
The Bible tells us that the world will hate us because of our allegiance to Jesus Christ. (Matthew 24:9) I am to expect indifference and ridicule if I proclaim the good news of the Gospel. But so what? I am not living as a persecution Christian. The most that will happen is that people might laugh at me, insult me or ignore me.
It just comes down to wanting to do the hard thing voluntarily. The funny thing is that someday I might be persecuted for my beliefs and I won't have that choice.