once, there was a small group of kids who decided to go to a park in the middle of the city, and dance and play, laugh and twirl. they thought to themselves as they played in the park...
maybe another child would pass by and see them.
maybe that child would think it looked fun and decide to join them.
then maybe another.
then maybe a business man would hear them from his skyscraper.
maybe he would look out the window.
maybe he would see them playing... and lay down his papers, and come down.
maybe they could teach him to dance.
then maybe another business man would walk by, a nostalgic man, and he would take off his tie and toss aside his briefcase and dance and play.
maybe the whole city would join the dance.
maybe even the world.
maybe…
either way, they decided to enjoy the dance.

lithuanian border police nab ice-skating cigarette smugglers. man i wish canadians would have thot of that...
sometimes it doesn't pay to advertise.
i wish i would have thought of this...
a black hole of suck will be forming over 'will and grace' this week.
large bulldozer in front yard possible clue.
only in america... and possibly hawaii (ya i know, that's in america too. well technically i'm in america, course canadians don't call ourselves americans...) - a breakfast corn dog, made with chunks of SPAM that have been dipped in an apple-cinnamon pancake batter. the sunnydogs are cooked until golden and dipped in maple syrup, applesauce or honey.
hopefully he didn't take the law in his own hands.

and now for the stupidest family alive...

finally someone has come up with a way to help those poor people who need my 300 bucks in order to release the millions that they promise me...

from jordon:
Over on Resonate, there has been a discussion about women in ministry. The vast majority of people who make up Resonate don't even understand why this is controversial. Like me they have grown up with women in ministry leadership. Sadly, a lot of people think we are heretics.

read the rest of his article here.

wendy tagged me:

Four jobs I’ve had:
d.j.
group home director
screw at youth psycho jail
i.t. guy

Four movies I can watch over and over:
boondock saints
princess bride
replacements
band of brothers

Four places I’ve lived:
denver
ottawa
moose jaw
fort mcmurray

Four+ TV shows I love:
family guy
anything on history channel
king of queens
simpsons
harvey birdman, attorney at law
the daily show

Four places I’ve vacationed:
hawaii
germany
switzerland
moose jaw

Four of my favorite dishes:
korean bbq
baby back ribs
teriyaki wings
anything with garlic

Four sites I visit daily:
jordoncooper.com
Gmail
van's word spill
all the club blogs

Four places I would rather be right now:
scotland
the highlands
corryvrechan
stirling castle

i laughed at sue's courses for men and thought that turnaround was fair play. remember, it's humor:

Whatsamatta University's Seminars For Women Fall Catalogue
Once again, the male staff at Whatsamatta University will be offering courses for women of all marital status in an attempt to help males and females understand each other better. Attendance in at least 10 of the following is required.
1. Combatting The Impulse To Nag.
2. You Can Change The Oil Too.
3. How To Properly Fill A Beer Mug.
4. We Do Not Want Ties For Christmas.
5. Understanding The Female Causes Of Male Drunkenness.
6. Your Husband Gave You Children So You Could Have Someone Other Than Him To Boss Around.
7. How Not To Sob Like A Sponge When Your Husband Is Right.
8. Get A Life - Learn To Kill Spiders Yourself.
9. Balancing A Checkbook - Even You Can Get It Right.
10. Comprehending Credit Card Spending Limits And Financial Responsibility.
11. You, The Whining Sex.
12. Shopping - Doing It In Less Than 16 Hours.
13. If You Don't Want An Excuse, Don't Demand An Explanation.
14. Living Without Power Windows - How To Turn A Crank.
15. How To Retain Your Composure While Your Husband Is Relaxing By Himself.
16. Why You Don't Need To Invite Your Mother Over Every Weekend.
17. Payday And Shopping Are Not Synonymous.
18. How To Act Younger Than Your Mother.
19. You Too Can Carry A Backpack.
20. Female Friendship - Why Your Best Friends Are Not The Women Who Complain About You The Most.
21. Attainable Goal - Catching A Ball Before It Stops Moving.

unhindered by any real evidence a lot of people like to beak off about how left-wing, relativistic, deconstructive, destructive, bible bashing, soft selling, theologically obscure the postmodern church is.
problem is i have never actually met a postmodern pastor who is anything like the caricature portrayed in pissed off blogs and frightened articles. a vast majority of emerging pastors would agree with pernell's excellent descriptive:
What Is An Emerging Church?
I like this definition by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger in their book Emerging Churches:
Emerging churches are communities that practice the way of Jesus in postmodern cultures.
Gibbs and Bolger also identify nine practices of emerging churches:
1) They identify with the life of Jesus.
2) They transform the secular realm.
3) They live highly communal lives.
Because of these they:
4) Welcome the stranger.
5) Serve with generosity.
6) Participate as producers.
7) Create as created beings.
8) Lead as a body.
9) Take part in spiritual activities.
Some folks (like Andrew Jones and Jonny Baker) say this is the best book written on the emerging church yet. I disagree... but it is good, for sure.

Jail inmate escapes, but falls down hill
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Lance H. Gauthun had barely escaped from the Thurston County jail before he was hollering for help and back behind bars.
Authorities heard the cries of Gauthun, 20, and a police officer pulled him to safety after he ran or fell down a steep embankment behind the jail late Tuesday and found himself stuck with temperatures in the low 30s, sheriff's deputy Daniel D. Kimball said.

you're probably looking for that perfect gift.
via

The US army is being stretched, by its deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan, into a "thin green line" in danger of breaking before the insurgents are defeated, claims a report commissioned by the Pentagon.
more here.

One of the few articles of clothing that a man won't try to remove from a woman is an apron.-Marilyn Von Savant

...as the disgruntled children of evangelicalism declare heresy to be hip.And this just isn't true.
How many of you that have joined into the emerging conversation have decided that heresy is hip? Raise your hand.
Just what I thought. Nobody I know.(You can put your hand down now.)
more.

seriously, what a whoosy country for news...

TOKYO (Reuters) - A middle-aged Tokyo man found to be living with 10 younger women said he attracted them by reciting an incantation that came to him in a dream.
link

happy robbie burns day to all my haggis eating, english loathing, kilt wearing scottish brethren!

remember, it's a joke...

van is probably my favourite blogger. and he lives in the same flood zone i do:

For most the last month the weather has been listed as “rain, followed by showers” or “showers, followed by rain”. Those creative blokes a the National Weather should go into real estate marketing, it sound so interesting. Its not a “dump”, it’s a “fixer up that just needs the right creative touch.” We have to make up weather words just to change the monotony of it all. What is the difference between rain and showers? I could perceive none looking out my window, it was all wet and grey.

the rest here.

That man is successful who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has gained the respect of the intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.
- Robert Louis Stevenson

via

Your church does a great job of ministering to the poor, but you are not a church of the poor. Imagine if the empty seats here were filled with the poor, broken, and the crazies of the community. What would it look like if the church decided it was its mission to take in the poorest of the community? This is the calling of the church.

darryl squares off here.

i've been thinking about relationships this week. about how god must have a sense of humor. if you don't believe me, just think about our sexual maturation... and sexual preferences, and sexual communication... well pretty much sex in general.

women spell love – attention
don’t just say the words, attend to me. protect me. do things for me. ‘show’ me you love me, don’t just tell me. i’m a princess – sweep me off of my feet.

men spell love – adoration
praise me, compliment me, look up to me. i’m a warrior knight. tell me i’m tough. feel my muscle. pull my finger – no maybe not that.

here’s a scenario you are probably familiar with.
1. man comes home with flowers. wants to be romantic. tells his wife he loves her, tells her she’s special and as soon as she finishes putting the kids to bed and cleaning up he’s going to show her how special she is. what is wrong with this equation?
2. wife decides she wants to do something nice for her husband so she cleans the house all saturday, washes the floors and paints the bedroom. then she cooks him a big meal and he doesn’t seem to even notice. why?

it’s not really a question of fault. it’s a question of understanding. she could have saved herself eight hours of work if she wanted to do something to show her love. cuz he isn’t wired up to receive love that way. is he stupid? no. he’s just different.

comedian on 'just for laughs' this week - ok, women, by a show of hands, how many of you think men don’t really listen and just pretend to hear what you say?
(pause) ok, women, by a show of hands, how many of you think men don’t really listen and just pretend to hear what you say.

women and men gripe all the time about not being appreciated.

men don’t see eight hours of cleaning the house as love. but women might.
women don’t see looking at his old football pictures while he brags as love. but men might. men live out there macho fantasies in sports games and movies.
that’s why guys hate orlando bloom.
that’s why schwarzenegger is famous.
that’s why we liked fight club.
that’s why we hate titanic (i mean really, there was plenty of room on that driftwood, why didn't she just move her fat butt over a few inches?)
that’s why we tease any guy who sat through “the sisterhood of the traveling pants”.
a man doesn’t care if you spent three weeks buying his christmas gift. But a woman might. girls, just buy him a chocolate bar and wrap it in lingerie and he’s good to go.
guys you forget her birthday or christmas or any one of the 57 important love dates on the calendar and you are hooped. it’s not important to you. it may be to her.

seriously, god must find this hilarious...

annette helps us wade through the confusing science of identifying the gender of birds.

times have changed, receptivity has changed. preaching hasn't changed.
i.m. takes a look at the age old art of preaching.

maybe the answer should be, "yes i do mind."

as i tool over the past blogs in and around my world i see one theme over and over again. it is a theme i have helped to create and evangelize. whining.

if you know me you probably know that i don't believe much in self-talk or name-it-and-claim-it. i don't advocate drop-kicked happiness. i am not a proponent of self-help theology. but maybe something has to give.

for months, for years, so many of us have lived a sad-sack brand of legalism. we have, with tearful eyes, written and spoken about how horrible life is (and it can be). we have wondered when something good will break through (and maybe it hasn't). we have bemoaned the pseudo-depression we have been living with (and milking). there have been bad times-a-many for sure. relationships have been destroyed, we have taken some hits. and so we whine. we wear our spiritual bondage like a badge of honor and call it 'real'. we are being authentic, we tell ourselves. and nothing changes.

i'm tired of it. i've said it before but i think it may be real now. i am guilty of calling us to fun, to party, to celebrate - but not meaning it. something in side me loves to hold on to that feeling of self-pity. pity is power.

i heard a cool story recently. it was only a few days ago but i already forget the author: (oh poor me)

someone had a dream that all the people's of earth were standing in a circle and god was in middle. he told everyone that they could cast off their greatest struggle, or loss, or whatever by simply dropping it in the pile at the center of the circle. so people young and old came forward and began, slowly, to cast their burdens down. in the dream the author watched the heap of troubles grow and grow.

then god told everyone they had to take one of the burdens back, it could be anyone's but it had to be someone's.

... and everyone took their own burden back.

our troubles seem so large until we realize that so many others suffer in ways we cannot imagine. we are spoiled and coddled and selfish. we whine about what we do not have, instead of what we do. we wonder why our spiritual lives never seem 'victorious' yet we are unwilling and wholely unprepared to let ourselves live.

reminds me of the quote once again from the 'shawshank redemption'. time to 'get on with living or get on with dying.'

IT firm fires people who moan in the office
would i be unemployed?

he had just finished a speaking engagement in edmonton and ordered a cab. it was 5 am.
the ride seemed to be the same old city cab. yellow of course.

as he sat in the back seat the cabbie leaned over and asked, "can i offer you some fresh coffee?" startled, he assented, only to have the cabbie ask about cream and sugar. sure enough a fresh mug with steaming coffee came his way. the cabbie proceeded to tell him there was a light over his shoulder and he would be happy to provide any of 3 morning papers. furthermore, there was a selection of cd's available to suit most musical tastes.

the cabbie continued, " i don't discuss religion or politics but i do know everything there is to know about edmonton and would be happy to answer any questions you may have. do you have any questions at this time?"

the man had only one, "what the hell are you doing?"

the cabbie went on to explain that about a year and a half previously he had decided to be the best cabbie in the city of edmonton. "and i want you to know" he said, "i am the best cabbie in the city. and i am the best paid cabbie in edmonton as well. in fact, you are lucky to get me. usually i only work the drive time shifts and i take a month off every winter to live in the bahamas."

maybe life is a choice...

Which biblical story do you decide to believe? The story that says god actively rewards and punishes everything we do, and that when it doesn’t seem to measure up it’s just because we can’t see things from god’s perspective? Or the story that god is not a cosmic schoolmarm whacking us on the knuckles, that god grieves when we grieve and rejoices when we rejoice, whether we deserve it or not?
more from the journey

as things move from...
risk to safety
noise to signal
novelty to form
chaos to certainty

more from jordon

the bar at clubchurch

Want to boost your brain power?

in letting adults die there is often money to be made...

infomercial for God

jason kenny is a marxist subversive
via kevin

i ran into someone recently who had just gone through a seriously challenging time. we had lost touch. life happens like that sometimes. he spoke of doing things he was not proud of. of how so many people had written him off. he wondered if people hated him. he was embarrassed. i provided the necessary platitudes.

i have spent some time thinking about this person. i wondered, because i had caught a glimpse into his heart, how people could be so cruel, assume so much. i guess it is easy to assume that person had 'changed' somehow. that they were not the same person we used to know. that they had defiantly marched off a cliff yelling 'to hell with everyone!'

i have spent my life trying to learn and teach what it means to love people in spite of who they are, not because of it. it feels like i am regularly challenged to look beyond the veneer. so often i fail.

i like judging people. it's fun. it makes me feel powerful. it builds my own sense of self-worth. gossiping is awesome as well. there are few things more fulfilling than having and sharing a piece of juicy/damning information.

i really like using the bible to prove my agenda. there is a feeling that i am smarter, more mature, somehow even more holy when i can use a bible verse to put someone in line. i realize it may not really change them but it makes me feel wonderful. it is a powerful thing to assume i know what is right for someone else...to have the grey areas so perfectly exegeted as to dictate morality for my friends. and especially for my enemies.

and i love writing blogs that are a sideways attempt to indict someone or piss them off. i may even be subconsciously doing it right now.

it is harder for me to give grace.

something inside of me wants to react in a selfish manner. sure it is easy to be gracious if i can do it in a condescending way, but that isn't real.

it is often hard to forgive. of course it is easy to say i forgive and act all spiritual and say all the right things with my face purchased just perfectly to reflect the proper amount of humility - because that makes me look good. but to really forgive. to reach out and be willing to accept the ramifications. to not bring up the slight for the rest of my life. to not talk to others about what happened with 'that' tone of voice. that is harder.

i feel challenged to embrace grace, to drink from god's well of humility and pardon - and not just for myself. to ask that my rigid judgmentalism be washed in love. i am a very flawed person and sometimes i forget that others deserve the freedom to be loved unconditionally.

i am reminded again of what ruth graham said about living with a very human billy graham. she said, "you know, it's my job to love billy, it's god's job to change him."

yesterday morning as i was crossing the yard at work i made the customary greeting to a co-worker, good morning. he responded by saying, "how are ya?" now i'm under pressure.
does he really want to know or is he just greeting me?
do i need to tell him how i am doing? after all we are just two guys passing in the rain.
do i need to ask him how he is doing? i once read an article about people who don't enquire as to the welfare of others. they were selfish and self-centered. i certainly don't want to be perceived as selfish so i guess i should ask him back. but now it's a second greeting. now we have to stop. and does he really care anyway?
am i going to be a slave to the socially proscribed roles?
what if he really is having a bad day and i don't ask?
do i really want to hear about his bad day?

maybe next time i'll just pretend to be looking at my paper. too much pressure.

27 days... in 2 days we break the record for consecutive days of rain... let's go rain! (pretty sad)

was hanging with my youngest today.
i tried to do something athletic.
he laughed at me.
i said, "hey i used to be cool!"
he said, "ya, then you had three knee surgeries, got your tonsils out twice, and you've only been intimate with a woman twice and both times something bad happened."

is it that obvious?

i have always wondered at the christian elitism when it comes to music. somehow we have been led to believe that sacred lyrics are all good, secular music all shallow and perverse.

i remember doing media at a bible camp when one of the young counsellors walked in and demanded i shut down a music video by a "non-christian" group. the questions were searching, it was linkin park i think. instead he requested a useless pap christian pop song. i tried to explain, but to no avail.

tonight i ran across these lyrics from thrice - cold cash and colder hearts

They are sick, they are poor
And they die by the thousands and we look away
They are wolves at the door
And they're not gonna move us or get in our way
'Cause we don't have the time
Here at the top of the world
Feeling alright
Here at the top of the world

We hold our own by keeping our hearts cold
Different god, darker skin
They are just not a burden that we'd like to bear
They are living in "sin"
There are so many reasons for us not to care
But I'm feeling alright
Here at the top of the world
Doing just fine
Here at the top of the world

We've learned money matters most
So we keep our cards held close
Here at the top of the world
We hold our own by keeping our hearts cold
And we've learned what matters most
So we keep our hearts cold
They are no one
They are nowhere
They are not our problem
Not worth saving
...Nonexistent if we keep our hearts cold

this guy needs a life or a girlfriend... before it's too late.

...some of us may be in trouble.

nate posts a bunch more pics from china

People who are hurt by others are left with two choices initially. The first one is revenge.The second one is understanding.

from lori's blog.

I'm beginning to understand that many of the so-called freedoms I prescribe to, can have lousy long term effects. Effects I didn't really see coming until they became totally unmanagable areas of life. When everything is justifiable as a freedom without any limitations or controls - it's just a matter of time before they can overtake any good intentions.

cherry acts at club365 this past weekend.

school has changed alot since i went.

i've started working at my part-time job five days a week. i've always known this but am surprised again at how little room there is in my life. afternoons are spent working on club 365. weekends are spent at the club, evenings in planning and socializing. time just flies, responsibilities pile up.

i've mentioned it before but am noticing afresh how busy life gets for people with regular jobs. i have bemoaned for years the lack of commitment among church people, their lack of volunteerism. it's different from this side. the twenty-first century is busy. church life can easily become a book-end. it has been easy to belittle volunteers for their lack of availability but it has become apparent that i have miscalculated when it comes to lay involvement in church. we ask so much of volunteers and find it easy to discredit them when they aren't available. when i was a full-time pastor i enjoyed incredible flexibility. i could work when i wanted, take time off during the day if i so desired. most people don't have that luxury.

i hope i don't forget some of these lessons.

My uncomfortableness comes from the idea that because Baby Boomers are bent towards being a little self-absorbed and they like their McMansions and Double McMansions with Cheese, for some reason that Christianity needs to be fit into that context instead of revolutionalizing that context. When we look at any people group and say, "That's the way they are.", we give up a lot of Gospel and say forget it to the 1500 verses that talk about the poor in Scripture.

more here

I am too busy.
I am gone too much, travel too much, speak too much, and work too much.
I have done an excellent job of convincing the people around me that I am too busy—too busy doing the very important work that I am doing—to have any time for friendships. In other words, I have "snowed" everyone around me. I have convinced them to buy into the myth of my busy-ness to such a degree that the possibility of my being their friend (or them being mine) never enters their mind. That’s what people like me do.

We hide behind the walls of our busy-ness so that we don’t have to worry about anyone wanting to be our friend. You see, people don’t want to impose. They don’t want to rob my wife and me of the very few moments we have together, so they enable us by staying away from us so that we can be even busier.

more from mike yaconelli's archives here.