Summer 2001 - Unforgettable

I write to you this evening from a drug induced stupor with a purpose. Because I am Purpose Driven. My purpose originally was to write this grand statement of some sort that would cause minds to be blown and hearts to be broken and so on, but due to the incredible amount of pain resonating through my head, neck and sinus area I have decided to minimize the content of my blog. Tomorrow morning I will be venturing out to Camp Nakamun, the site of this years Western Canadian District Youth Pastor’s Retreat. This will be fun, and I am looking forward to it. Anyway, after that is the Break Forth Conference, which will also be good, probably less fun, but good none the less. The reason I say all this is so that you know that I will not be updating my blog for over a week, and I don’t want you to think I died, or gave up on my blog or anything. I am just leaving.

The song of the day. “Everything reminds me of her” by Elliott Smith. It is a really good song. You should listen to it, I know I listen to it. If you have the desire and or means, you should check it out. It’s kind of slow and melancholy, but can you really expect anything different from the now deceased Elliott Smith? Anyway, I’m starting to go blind, so I am going to leave it at that.
Peace

oh on a side note, i did something today that i havn't done in a very very long time. I listened to the album pinkerton by weezer. It was great i rocked out. I felt like i was back in the summer of 2001, it was unforgettable.

New legislation for mandatory naps

My body is riddled with fatigue. I have become slightly addicted to playing hockey on my PS2, so much so that I have once again had a late night of NHL 2005 action, leading me to a day of fatigue and unabashed exhaustion. But I think I am going to take a nap, so I will be alright. I think I might listen to music while I take my nap; I used to do this in college (more specifically my first two years) and I would often have strange dreams where as part of the dream I would be trying to turn off the music but I wouldn’t be able to. It was very trippy, for more information you can talk to Tim Houghton, he was there. Now that I think about it, the messed up dreams may have been a result of listening to Radiohead’s two albums “The Bends” and “OK Computer” while I slept. Those can mess me up while I’m awake, I can’t imagine what they would do to my dreams!

Anyway, I don’t have anything really deep to talk about right now, so if you are looking for depth and vulnerability, either read my previous two entries or read Matt Russell’s latest one. I suppose today will be more of a recapping day, which is fine by me. Yesterday was a good day, I didn’t have much work to do, so I spent most of it doing things that I like to do. I did quite a bit of reading, I suppose I could get into that, but I don’t feel like it because my mental fatigue at this point equals my bodily fatigue. I am currently reading four books, “Generous Orthodoxy” and “A New Kind of Christian” by Brian McLaren, “Understanding God’s Will: How to hack the equation without formulas” by Kyle Lake, and also another book by Reggie McNeal and the title is escaping me. It’s about shaping the leaders heart. Anyway, I did some reading yesterday which always challenges me, and enriches me and makes me happy, unless it makes me mad. I also managed to watch a film. “Get Shorty” was a funny movie; I enjoyed it except for the incredible amount of cursive language that was used. This one actor Dennis Farina, he plays the same character in every movie he is in, some hard ass gangster guy who’s every second word is F*ck. Now don’t get me wrong, I can handle a few f-bombs, but it was awkward cause the guy whose house I’m living in was sitting in the room using the computer and I could tell he was bothered by it. Anyway, I really did enjoy the film and I look forward to its sequel “Be Cool” or “Stay Cool” whatever it’s called, but it’s coming out shortly.

Also yesterday I went for a nice walk in the snow with my good friend Ryan Adams. That was nice; I had some time to get outside and also to have nothing going on in my head except what Ryan was putting there. I hadn’t listened to Ryan Adams in a long while so it was good to reconnect myself with him. He has this song called “Sylvia Plath” and it’s about this women poet and how he wishes he could have been in a romantic situation with her. The song is about the things they would do, it’s pretty cool, but you can tell it’s such an artsy relationship that he has in his head. Like when I imagine my ideal relationship I don’t imagine some of the things that he imagines but it’s all so very rock-star, which is pretty cool. Anyway, I hope that you are all well, I will now share with you the song of the day, and then go take a nap, because, I can, and I want to, but then I have to ask myself…is it wise? And the answer is yes, emphatically yes.

The song of the day is “Hurt so Good” by John Mellencamp. This Christmas I received his greatest hits collection from my Aunt Betty and have been listening to it today. That is one of the best songs that he ever wrote. It’s got a great chorus line (the chorus lyric, not some girls dancing and kicking their legs up) and it’s just so catchy and infectious. John Mellencamp is a great part of American rock music; he is truly a solid rock in American grassroots music where so many have been total pieces of crap. So, if you have the means and or desire, I implore you to listen to this song and let it take you away to a great place. It’s nap time friends…good night

So the internet stopped working before I took my nap meaning I couldn’t post this till now, and now I just woke up. I thought I would let you know that it (my nap) was pretty great.

"visions of pills that put you in a loving trance, and make it possible for all white boys to dance"

“I love the smell of napalm in the morning!” Actually, I probably don’t, and I never have smelled napalm, but anyway it sounded good to me. It’s early, 10:27 on a Saturday morning, and I have no idea why I’m awake. Especially since I played NHL 2005 until almost 2:00am last night, but hey I’m up and that’s all there is to it.

So yesterday I spoke briefly with my long lost friend Crystal. It was cool, because I had been thinking about trying to call her for the last few days but found my evening schedule, jam packed with this or that. So Crystal and I spoke briefly and made an appointment for me to call her this coming Sunday. Anyway, as I woke up this morning I began thinking about Crystal and all the times we’ve had together. Many of them obviously took place in Regina, but I had a good time remembering skipping out of Faith and Culture class with her and Jeanne as our friendship was developing, having a really big and awesome talk outside of the Woodward dorm one night (only to be visited by my good friend and ally Tim Houghton at the most critical point in our conversation), really wanting to go to the Christmas Banquet with her, taking a trip to her house with Jeanne, Jamie and Tim, her constant encouragement of me and many other things. Now as I look back at my friendship with Crystal (which I cherish very much) I realize that we have had a couple occasions of hard times fall on our friendship for one reason or another.

For instance, you may not know this my faithful readers, but in my freshman year of CBC I started a website very similar to this one. I would write daily events, thoughts, feelings and so on. It was specifically designed for my friends back home, so no one at CBC knew about it, until one day two girls found out about it by accident, which I was ok with at the time, cause we were friends. Little did I know that their knowledge of my web-site would be my downfall! Anyway, I had asked this one girl to the banquet and during the course of the two weeks after I asked her our friendship came to a grinding halt and my friendship with Crystal was blossoming. (Now I’ll admit, I was starting to have a crush on Crystal), but I was stuck with this other girl. Now Jeanne, told me that Crystal wanted me to ask her to the banquet, which at that point in my life, was both the best news and the worst news that I had heard since the day I heard that milk came from cows! It was really good, because I liked Crystal and wanted to go to the banquet with her, but it was horrible because I had already made a commitment to go with another girl. And yes, our friendship really did deteriorate over the course of two weeks; CBC was a very strange place, very emotionally charged! Anyway, the other girl, sensing our lack of connection let me off the hook, told me she was going home that weekend. And I was like woo-hoo! So I ran and found Jeanne, told her of my good fortune, and she told me of my bad fortune. Crystal was now going with Seth, because she thought I wouldn’t be able to take her. AAARGGH. This was a very emotional time for me as a young freshman. So I was without a date. To make matters worse, it came to my attention that Crystal actually liked Seth, and they were going to date. For me, that really did make matters worse, and that is when I penned my most controversial internet update to that point. I wrote of my frustrations to my friends on my website and quoted a Weezer song to help express myself. Now through, those girls who were no longer my friends, Seth saw the website and assumed I was calling Crystal a lesbian, which I was not, and he told Crystal as much, thus putting quite the mis-understood damper of my friendship with Crystal, and the entire world outside of Tim Houghton and Dave Defries.

The point is, we patched things up, and Crystal forgave me. Later on in our friendship, Crystal dated a guy, who we as her friends didn’t like, and who didn’t like us, so unfortunately there was a bit of a split. And this was very painful, I wish I would’ve been more proactive in not allowing this to happen but I was concerned with a girl named Val, what a gong show! Anyway, when it was all said and done Crystal forgave me for acting like such an ass, and not treating her the way a real friend would have.

So what am I saying in all this, I realized my experiences with Crystal have taught me about forgiveness. Forgiveness is not an easy thing to do, even at the best of times, but I am commanded to it by God. I am even told to go so far as to love my enemies and pray for them. I think that goes against the cultural norm in this day and age don’t you? Now I’ve always understood that I have been forgiven by God, but i struggled to think of a good time when someone forgave me that wasn’t God. I’m thankful for Crystal’s friendship and for her forgiveness of all my stupid actions, she has taught me about friendship and she has shown me God’s forgiveness. Thanks Crystal, I miss you a lot. You should move to Calgary!

Today’s song of the day is a gem by Ben Folds. The song is called “Annie Waits” and is the first track on Ben’s solo debut “Rocking the Suburbs”, and is the pre-curser song to “Zak and Sara”. Anyway, it’s a grand song, and I think Ben plays it on a Grand Piano. I listened to it this morning, and I decided that I would share it with you as the song of the day. If you have the desire or the means, I challenge you to check it out. On another note, I wonder if I could put together an album of all the songs of the day and have it be like the soundtrack to my website…man that would be cool, how many of you would buy that?..or at least listen to it?

Pizza in Derwent and discussions about the clothing item called a gourd

I am an older brother. What this means is that I have a sister, who is not older then me. I am in fact older then her, I was born earlier in the last century then she was. Interesting isn’t it? Now, I don’t wish to implicate my sister in some sort of crime or moral indiscretions, but I have something I’d like to talk about. How many of you out there have younger siblings? For me, part of my role as an older brother in particular has always been to protect my baby sister. I can remember one particular time when my sister was in like grade three and I was in grade seven and some boy was picking on her. I got wind of it on the other side of the school yard and ran as fast as I could (which at the time was pretty fast) around to where it was going down and I tackled the kid (he was in grade four, I’m pretty tough huh?) and beat the crap out of him. His name was like Gareth or something. I got in trouble but I don’t care, I needed to protect my sister, that was my job. It’s like Gino Odjick and Pavel Bure, Gino needed to protect Pavel, and if he needed to beat the crap out of someone to do it, that was fine with him. (Gino and Pavel are former Vancouver Canucks…hockey players, Pavel was the really good one, and Gino was the protector, for those of you who had no idea what I just said…Russell I’m looking at you) Anyway, as I have gotten older it has been more difficult for me to be this enforcer for my sister because I moved away to go to college and she was kind of on her own, which I am sure she appreciates a bit, she didn’t have to have some insane older brother always watching over her shoulder. But she had some boyfriend for like two weeks, I don’t remember him, but I do remember being so mad cause she got her first boyfriend and I wasn’t around to intimidate the kid. Now, as a younger man, I made many mistakes in my life. I had bad relationships, I decided to be a partier instead of someone who lived out their faith, and in general I made some bad decisions which affected my life greatly. And not just my life, some decisions I made affected and hurt other people as well. Now I was always pretty up front with this stuff, my sister knew what I was doing, or she would find out later. Part of the reason for that was I needed someone to tell, and feel rebellious, but also, I tell my sister about my mistakes because I want her to not make the same ones I did. I was talking to her about this idea today and confessed to her that if I could I would follow her around trying to help her stay away from painful situations that she could avoid. If I could keep her from all the pain that I experienced, and all the pain that I knew would follow certain decisions, I would do it. That’s what big brothers are supposed to do! Unfortunately, people often need to learn things the hard way to actually learn it themselves. I know I did, people told me, people warned me, but I didn’t listen, I was to interested in being a rebel against my parents and in the process conforming to be like every other high school kid. Ironic how that works out, I rebel so I can conform. Knowing this, that people often have to learn things themselves doesn’t make it any easier to see people that you love go down the road into the brick wall you ran into four or five years ago. How do you deal with it then? I guess my role has changed. I don’t get to beat up guys anymore, besides I know that’s not how Jesus wants me to react to people. I guess my role as an older brother is three fold. Tell my sister what I’ve learned and hope that she can learn it from me before she figures it out the hard way, and I can pray for her, so that God will work in her life to help her figure out the wise things to do with her life before she learns the hard way, and I can be there for her, to help her pick herself up after she learns the hard way. My role is to pick her up and set her on her feet again, of course with the help of God, and all the time just loving her. It’s difficult and painful, but that’s the way things go, I guess people did the same thing with me, tried to tell me and then sat and watched as I made dumb decisions. Now I’m not saying that this is the case with my sister, it has been the case in the past, and we were just spending time reflecting on this today, so those of you who read this and feel like you need to start some sort of “Saved-esque” intervention program can forget about it. My sister is fine, I have just been thinking on this subject and talking about it with her and came up with these results. Today’s song of the day is “Someone saved my life tonight” by Elton John. Elton is a master performer, especially when teamed with his genius song writing cohort and former lover Bernie Taupin. I’m not sure if Bernie wrote this one with Elton, but that doesn’t matter. Bernie was instrumental in some of the greatest Elton songs of all time and so deserves mention. I just finished listening to “Someone saved my life tonight” and every time I hear it, I realize what a great song it is. It is a long song as well, nearly 7 minutes long, but I really love the passion Elton exudes in the track. Beautiful lyrical imagery, fantastic piano, it’s an all around great song, and it seemed appropriate after today’s subject. Although it’s not really all that applicable to the situation I discussed once you know what the song is about. It could be about a number of things, a relationship, but part of me thinks the song is about Elton’s insane addiction to cocaine. Regardless it’s a great song, and if you have the desire or means, I urge you to partake in it. Thanks for reading, and Ashley, props to you, I could not imagine a better sister. Well maybe one that didn't listen to rap.. .haha

The President was sworn in today....coincidence? Maybe, Maybe Not!

In his book “Blue Like Jazz” Donald Miller asserts that there is no feeling, no emotion, and no state of being worse then that, of loneliness. I am inclined to agree with Donald on that point, but at this point in my life I feel that being uninspired is a close second. I wish that I could be brimming over with deep thoughts, thoughts that are relevant, thoughts that inspire other people, but alas I without inspiration. I envy people like Matt and Michelle who are so immersed in a new culture that everyday (or at least every other day) yields a new adventure (in missing the point?) a new smell, a new emotion and so on. This is not to say that I don’t have new experiences, because I do, internship is an exercise in new experiences, but not on the same level. I love what I am doing, I love the place where I am serving, I love the people, but it has become normal. I was having a conversation with a friend today and I asked her if anything new and exciting had happened in her life since I had spoken to her last, and she said no. Then I thought about it for a bit and came to the realization that dramatic and life changing things don’t happen all that often. Or do they? Do we minimize the events of our lives so that they have less effect on us? I know it works the other way, I know people who make everything in their lives out to be the biggest deal since Mickey Mouse. Those people I don’t get along with very much and I can see the harm in living your life exaggerating every little detail to add some intensity to your life that would not otherwise be there. But what about people who shrug everything off as nothing? Is there harm in that? There must be, every extreme has some sort of fault. Either way, at either end of the spectrum you are missing out on reality, and that is never a good thing. I suppose that the goal is to realize that life can be exciting and boring, there are ups and downs and that’s the way life is. What do we take from that? I think we can take a reality check? Which one am I? I think I am a mix, in some areas I have been overly dramatic, exaggerating things a tad, but I think that’s part of having an emo heart. But I also shrug things off, some things that maybe I should consider more. But now I realize since I am writing about this, and discussing it, I am probably more of the drama queen, I mean look at me, making a big deal about such a stupid thing. That’s embarrassing! Anyway, I guess the goal is to find the balance and not swing to high and not swing to low. So heed my words, they seem like a good idea, but it’s all muddled. I feel like I’m trying to write out my thoughts in a mud puddle. But anyway, it’s getting late, and I have work tomorrow, hopefully God will allow me to see the beauty in the mundane and regular aspects of my life so that I can write something good for you.

Music is beautiful, music speaks to the soul, music speaks to the heart, and music soothes the savage beast…aka…me. The song that I have chosen for song of the day does all those things. Today’s song is brought to you by Ryan Adams, and it is my absolute favorite song by him that is featured. “La Cienga just smiled” track four on his album “Gold” is that song. It is slow, it is beautiful, it is passionate, and it is just great. I don’t know what else to say about it, it brings back fond memories for me, introducing Adam Loewen to Ryan, and having this be his favorite song as well. Then Adam and I played it at a coffee house at school last year, I screwed up one chorus, but I still thought it sounded pretty good, and the ladies loved it which is what I was all about. Anyway, it’s a beautiful song, Ryan Adams at his best, if you have the means and or desire check it out, you shant be disappointed.
Thanks for reading, especially you Carmen….You Win Again!

Times like these

Greetings again my friends, how are you? I am well, although I am feeling very fatigued, I feel like I could fall asleep right now here at the computer, and it’s only 9:00pm Vermilion time. Maybe I should go and get a soda so that I can pep things up a bit. Hold on while I go get one. Ok, I’m back. I’d like to tell you about life as an intern.

As an intern, your life purpose is to learn. All you do is work, and read and practice doing all the things that you love most and the things that God has made passionate in your heart. Who am I kidding! The life of an intern is all about getting invited out for meals and hanging out with people from the Church! Literally, I just got back from one of the biggest most intense meals the world has seen. A Roast Beef Dinner, Mashed potatoes, Carrots, gravy and the most incredible perogies I have ever tasted. It was so amazing, and this happens all the time. People just want to me hang around with them, and the figure the best way to do that is to feed me, and that isn’t far from the truth. It’s a fairly awesome gig; I recommend it to any of you out there.

Ok, this is the worst blog ever. I have nothing to say, I don’t know why I am even bothering to write, I’m still so mentally spent from last night’s blog. There wasn’t a whole lot of commenting on it, except from Chemo and Russell, and in some ways I guess I expected that. Anyway, life is good, I spent some time with Mark T today, and we chatted for a while about my desire to be involved with the Missions Executive Next year at school. For those of you who never went to CBC, the Missions Executive is like the missions team of the school, they promote missions and anyway, it’s a group of people who are passionate about missions. Mark encouraged me and affirmed my gifting, making me think, maybe I should apply for President, but I’m still not convinced. According to the current prez, I have until March to decide. This has actually been on my mind a great deal lately because I want to make sure I am making the right decision and making it for the right reasons. I talked to Mark about a desire to revitalize the mission’s executive in the school, and also spread a passion for missions and at the same time show that you don’t have to want to be a missionary to be passionate about missions. The more I think about it, the more excited I get, and it helps me cover up my despair of leaving Vermilion.

Song of the Day, hmmm, what did I listen to today? I know! The song of the day is “Fall to pieces” by Velvet Revolver. Now, many of you might question this choice, and call me a loser, but here’s the deal. I am pretty mellow with my music these days, but there is something about the music of Velvet Revolver that brings me back to a time in my life when rock stars were rock stars and rock music rocked! It awakened something in my soul that no new song had done in a very long time. The combination of Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N’ Roses showed me that it is ok to rock again, and that electric guitar is not dead. As long as Slash lives, Rock and Roll will never die….unless he does another album with Slash’s Snakepit, they weren’t very good. Anyway, it’s a rockin’ song, and I love it, so if you have the desire and or the means, check it out, you will only be disappointed if you are a closed minded rock snob, or if you are a girl who doesn’t like hard rocking music. Anyway that’s all for today, much love…..

"I won't always live in my regrets"

Truly, Truly I was not feeling all that great today. For some unknown reason I was a bit down in the dumps today, so I did what any self respecting former depression addict would do….i listened to music. Well, first I started off with some Sarah MacLachlan “Ice Cream” and then moved onto some Jimmy Eat World and more specifically the song “23” which I have mentioned here before. Here are the lyrics to that song. (The lyrics are good, but the music makes it, so don’t judge the song solely on the lyrics)


I felt for sure last night
That once we said goodbye
No one else will know these lonely dreams
No one else will know that part of me

I'm still driving away
And I'm sorry every day
I won't always love these selfish things
I won't always live...
Not stopping...

It was my turn to decide
I knew this was our time
No one else will have me like you do
No one else will have me, only you

You'll sit alone forever
If you wait for the right time
What are you hoping for?
I'm here I'm now I'm ready
Holding on tight
Don't give away the end
The one thing that stays mine

Amazing still it seems
I'll be 23
I won't always love what I'll never have
I won't always live in my regrets

You'll sit alone forever
If you wait for the right time
What are you hoping for?
I'm here I'm now I'm ready
Holding on tight
Don't give away the end
The one thing that stays mine

You'll sit alone forever
If you wait for the right time
What are you hoping for?
I'm here I'm now I'm ready
Holding on tight
Don't give away the end
The one thing that stays mine...

Anyway, adding those lyrics will make this a very long post, but I don’t care. As I lay upon my bed and listened to Jim Adkins bear his soul like this, I got to thinking: “Am I misinterpreting this song?”. You see my initial reaction is to think that the guy in the song is bearing his soul and his heart and finding only rejection. (I relate) But then he throws in this seeming guilt trip where he say’s “you’ll sit alone forever if you wait for the right time”. Then I thought to myself, is that the lie that I buy into? In my life I have had relationships, and I have had potential relationships, and I have cared about people who didn’t care about me the same way. Not bitter, I’ve learned a whole bunch. The point is, over the last year I have struggled and come to the conclusion that relationships and the pursuit of them have become two things in my life. 1. They have become an idol. Something that takes away my focus from my relationship with Christ, something that puts my relationship with Christ in the passenger seat, something I don’t want. 2. They have become my security. It’s like I don’t matter until I can be like all my friends who have found that special someone. Not that my friends make me feel like that, but I have somehow over the course of my life put that expectation on myself. It’s totally a pattern that I can trace back many years. Even if I’m not dating a girl, the simple pursuit of one, and the hope that I can finally find the one for me, gives me security and confidence in myself, confidence that should come from God, confidence that quickly fades once sweet rejection stares me in the face. Now I’m not trying to throw things in peoples faces, or make you feel sorry for me, I’m just expressing my realizations, pain is a thing people can’t avoid, so don’t feel bad for me or anything, this is just how it has been. So as I was listening to this song I was wondering “am I scared that I am going to sit at home forever if I wait for the right time/person? Am I scared that God won’t honor this passion and desire in my heart for love and intimacy from another human being? Am I scared to wait for that right time/person, so I create romance in my head and try and make it work? I think the answer is yes to all three questions. That’s not a good thing, but it’s a good thing that God is showing me another area of my life where I need to trust him and stop falling in love with every girl who opens up to me. I have to admit it’s difficult. God has put some amazing women in my life, and to not see the potential in them has been impossible, but it’s about listening to him, and hearing his voice when I am trying to impersonate him to convince myself I am doing the right thing. It’s not easy to be on this side of a relationship (the side where one doesn’t exist) but I’d rather be here knowing that God loves me then on the other side in a relationship that is totally a bad scene and never going to last. Well, I say that now, we all know how difficult it is to be alone, and scared of staying that way, but I guess that’s neither here nor there. What am I trying to say in all of this? I think what I’m trying to say is that I have screwed up. I have used relationships as a tool to make myself feel good or bad about myself and in the process I have hurt real friendships I have had with girls because I convinced myself that there was something more there. I’m not saying its bad to pursue relationships, or that the girls that I have cared about were not worth caring about, they were, they are, but I lead myself on so that my life would be worth something, and I used them, and I put dents in our friendship that will never come out. In some ways I don’t regret it, if it had worked I would be dating one of the best girls ever, but I do regret it because I gave away another bit of my heart to someone who doesn’t want it. I need to give my heart to my creator, the only one who can heal and fix the damage I have done to my own heart, and the only person who is qualified to give it to the right person, who I want to believe he is going to show me. I realize now that my relationship with him has to come first, and things will progress from there. How can I be a man in a relationship if I can’t lead my potential spouse spiritually because I am too focused on me and her. I had a married friend once tell me a story, he was not living up to his God given standard of leading his family spiritually, and his wife called him on it. I realize we aren’t perfect, but I want to lead my family in God’s strength, not my own, because I don’t have much strength, I seem to run out a lot! Anyway, this is my rant for the month, it’s difficult looking in the mirror, but God doesn’t show us things to shame us, he shows us our imperfections because he wants to show us how much more we can be if we would only abide in him. I want to do this in the pursuit of relationships in my life. I can really relate to this song by Jimmy, so many different aspects of the song that I can feel resonating in my soul, but I could go on for pages just about that so I’ll save it for another time, your eyes must be tired of reading by now.

Anyway, all that’s left for me to do is tell you about the song of the day, and I will do it, even though this is a stupid long blog because I care about music and I care about the consistency of my blog. So today’s song of the day, although by Jimmy Eat World (again) is not the song at the basis of my thoughts today. It is a song that isn’t even on a full length album release by Jimmy, it’s on an EP. The song is also a cover; it’s a cover of a Prodigy song called “Firestarter”. It’s truly an amazing song, it is totally different then the original in a good way and it is able to invoke the passion and sound that only Jimmy can create. I really love this song, it brings back a great deal of good and painful memories for me and so I listened to it today, and was able to sing and scream at the top of my lungs releasing all this pent up emotion that I didn’t even realize was there. Oh well. This is an awesome song so if you have the desire and or means, I implore you, no, I beseech you, check it out. That’s all for today, maybe even for two days cause it’s so long. Have a good one, thanks for listening, sometimes that’s all you need is for someone to listen. (Sometimes, all I need is the air that I breathe and to love you!...whoa did I not just say I was going to try and get away from all this romantic, and relationship stuff for a while, what am I doing!) Anyway, Pray for me, I’m gonna need it!

Fall like Fire...this burning desire

Have you ever had a good weekend? I have; for instance, this last weekend was a good one because I was able to spend it with good friends, here in Vermilion. Tim and Jamie came to visit me, and we spent the weekend hanging out, and enjoying each others company here in the thriving metropolis of Vermilion. I did have a great time, but I wish I would’ve had more time to spend with them, but I guess that’s what happens when you work. After they left, 8 College and Career people from Vermilion headed to Lloydminster for a College and Career Potluck and Worship Night. I was not really feeling like going at first, it had been a busy weekend after all, but I went anyway, I knew it would be good to hang out with some people my age and get to know some new people. So I went, had a greasy dinner, and then had a time of singing worship songs, which was really good. I really enjoyed it, and realized it was something that I needed. Just to be surrounded by people my age, worshipping God, meeting new people, talking about things that matter, or don’t matter, it was awesome, and something I don’t have an opportunity to do very often here in Vermilion.
Actually, speaking of conversations, Tim and I had a couple good conversations this weekend right before we went to bed, this weekend. We talked about Christian writers (in particular those two who are the kingpins behind the “Every Man’s battle” series) and how often many theories are not even considered as a possible truth, simply because it goes against what we have believed for so long. As Tim and I spoke I realized that’s where I was at on some issues, and to try and break down those walls is difficult. In breaking down walls I don’t want to be a relativist. I don’t want to accept what people say as truth simply because they say it, but I want to treat people with the respect that I expect to be treated with and listen to them. You don’t have to agree, but it is nice to listen to people and not berate them for thinking what they think. This is something I am guilty of, my personality and my method of debate after a while begin to be about whoever speaks the loudest must be right, which is not true, or fair to other people who also have a right to their beliefs but can not stand up to my loud and vocal arrogance that often assumes that I am right. I’m trying to make room in my head for other people’s opinions, and getting over myself in that, I am not always right. Case in point: I used to be a huge fan of the band Metallica, now they are my enemies, but regardless, over Christmas break I had an argument with a guy over it, and I just kept getting louder to prove my point, in the end, we figured out that he was right, and I was totally wrong. So not only does it make other people feel like crap, it makes you look like a total idiot if you are wrong. Talk about being humbled! It’s one thing if it would’ve only been the two of us, but it was in front of 3 other guys we were playing poker with. How have I done this in my Christian Faith? How have I intimidated and isolated people through my big mouth, and how many times have I been wrong? Who knows? Thank goodness that God is a God of grace, and is an all powerful God that is refining me into his image and can still use a bone-head like me.
Anyway, back to work tomorrow, life is getting busy with several big, important events up-coming, but I’m looking forward to it.
Today’s song of the day is brought to us from a Canadian Band called Starfield. This Winnipeg band has a song called “Alive in this moment” and it’s from their debut release “Tumbling After”. It’s a really passionate song talking about being made alive by Christ; every time I hear it I remember how much I love Starfield. The vocals are great, the music is great, the lyrics are great, it’s a song that I love singing along to. Anyway, if you have the desire and or the means, check it out.
Peace and Goodwill to all men

In English Please!

I know you all must be convoluted with rage, due to the fact that I didn’t do an update today, and that today’s is very short and sweet, but it has been unavoidable. Last night I was doing a youth event until 11:30 and also my friends Tim and Jamie are here visiting. After they leave tomorrow I will do a good chronicled update as to what has gone on, and what I have been thinking about.

Song of the Day: “23” by Jimmy Eat World. This is a song of epic proportions. It is among the most passionate on the latest Jimmy disc “Futures”, and touches my soul in a way only a great Jimmy song can. The lyrics are show that Jim Adkins is at the top of his game and is still capable of reaching into his tortured soul and spilling his guts for all to see. Something I hope Rivers Cuomo can do on Weezer’s fifth full length album due out this spring sometime. Anyway, check out “23” by Jimmy, it is well worth your time and brought much happiness to my life today as I drove around with Tim in Lloydminster. So if you have the desire and the means, check it out, I beseech you, but I don’t besmirch you.
Love Always
Mike

Search by my Username....Micheal_W

Well Hello my Friends! It’s good to see you again; well I wish I could see you. Well, tomorrow I will see you, well at least two of you, and that is exciting. I wish everyday could be as exciting as tomorrow. Not only do I have a totally radical youth event happening, but two of my best friends are coming to visit me from the land of Calgary, which is totally awesome and mind blowing. My earnest prayer is that they arrive safely.

To be honest with you I tried to write the update earlier in the evening, but felt totally uninspired and felt like I was writing mush, I so I left the computer and engaged in a very intellectually stimulating time of watching professional wrestling. Now you can debate the pros and cons of watching wrestling with me later, because later on, I did something more intellectually stimulating and I want to talk about it now.

I literally, just finished watching the film “Cold Mountain”. The truth is, I enjoy watching films, and even more so I like watching films that are nominated for Oscars. I also enjoy watching movies that are not nominated for Oscars, but hey, that’s not within the context of my tale so I shall continue on course. I had low expectations for this film. Nicole Kidman, who I find very attractive, is not someone who I believe to be an amazing actress. She’s alright, but she’s no Scarlett Johansson. Jude Law, I have no feelings about him one way or the other, and Rene Zelwegger, I’ve had a crush on since Jerry Maguire, but anyway, the point is, I didn’t think it was going to be all that great for one reason or another. You know what, I really liked it! There was a fantastic array of stunning visual images, dialogue and monologues were very good, and the story itself was pretty good too. So overall, out of 10 I would give it an 8, or maybe an 8.5. Now, let me explain where the film lost marks in my books. It was not cameo appearances by the lovely Jenna Malone or the lovely Natalie Portman, in fact, if anything those two raised the marks this film got. Where I had a problem was the two scenes of brazen sexuality and blatant nudity. I am not the kind of person who thinks that sex is evil, or that nudity can’t even be art, but it was not this way in this film. If a scene of nudity can add to a films beauty, then I will accept and appreciate it for what it is. (See Braveheart), but if a scene of nudity and brazen sexuality is used in such a way that does not advance the plot in a necessary way, or is used in a way that is simply to glorify the soft core porn that it is, I don’t like it. It seems that this is happening in every film that I enjoy these days. “The Royal Tenenbaums”, “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”, “Gangs of New York”, “Cold Mountain”, “Lost in Translation”, and the list goes on and on. This really makes me sad because the nudity or sexuality is used in such degrading and pointless ways, that in fact it takes away from the film more then anything else. (The Royal Tenenbaums and Lost in Translation especially) I wish that the film industry could stick to making great films without sticking random shots of soft core porn into their movies so that they will sell 1000 extra tickets to 15 year old boys looking for some boobies! I would have bought Cold Mountain had it not been for the ridiculous sex scene in it. How is a Christian supposed to live a life of purity and be able to watch high quality films at the same time, I’m beginning to think it’s impossible. So if there are any directors, producers, writers of films reading this, think twice before you put smut in your film, because people like me are getting sick of you ruining your masterpieces with unnecessary filth.

Whew, quite the rant!
I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending of the movie either, (if you’ve seen it you know what I’m talking about, if you haven’t you probably have no idea) I could see myself appreciating it, but I was really engaged with the film, and so the ending frustrated me, which is a good thing, because when a film can really engage you and cause you to feel emotions (not emoticons), that’s a very good thing.

The last thing to do, before I possibly play some video games, and go to bed is reveal to you the song of the day. This isn’t easy, because although I did listen to music today, my mind was so engaged by Donald Miller’s book “Blue Like Jazz” and then this film that a song has not engaged me today. That doesn’t mean I won’t come up with a song of the day though! Today’s song of the day is “Apparitions” by Matthew Good Band. When I was a young lad, the album that this song comes from was one of the first I ever bought. I bought it largely thanks to the power that this song had in my life. It re-introduced me to the world of Matthew Good (as I had heard some of his previous music and enjoyed it) and it’s a world I have been in ever since. I own all his albums, one t-shirt, have seen him in concert 3 times and have even met the man. In my opinion he is the best Canadian Artist, and certainly the best Canadian song-writer…currently…not of all time, though I still rank him high in that category. Anyway, I love the song, and I love the man, I love his music, and if you have the desire or means, I think you should check out “Apparitions”, if you don’t like it, I give you free reign to verbally abuse me, but you also have to check into a mental hospital, because you’d really have to be insane not to love this song. Anyway, until next time, keep on being alive, because if you don’t, I’ll be sad.
Love Mike

Exercise in Futility

Now I know this is blowing your mind, because I have never done two updates in one calendar day, but keep your brains in your head because there’s more to read. So tonight was really something. For those of you who know any interns you may have heard them spouting jargon about how God is “stretching them”, and they are “stepping out of their comfort zone”, and all this may be true, but it was more true to me tonight then it has been in the five or so months that I have spent in Vermilion. WOW, “wonderwall” by Oasis just came on the radio, awesome! Anyway, tonight I had two options, I could either a) go swimming with a couple senior high guys, or b) help with some construction work at the community centre that we are fixing up and opening. Originally my plan was the swimming. I like swimming a lot, and don’t get to go very often also, I wanted to spend some time hanging out with these guys. I was trying to legitimize it by saying I wanted to invest in them, but at the end of the day, I just wanted to hang out and swim, and if I had the opportunity to invest in them, great. Then I talked to Kyle my mentor and I really felt like helping out at the community centre would be a better use of my time, and also it would get me involved in something that I don’t have a ton of involvement it, stepping out of my comfort zone if you will. So I went to the community centre, and was involved in the biggest exercise of futility I have had since my internship began. All the carpenters and electricians and general jack of all trade guys were walking around doing their thing, and I was standing in the room with my hands in my pockets looking silly, and feeling useless. I got involved a bit, carrying some stuff (which I am very good at) and scraping some floor, but for the most part I was just standing around talking to Kyle while we worked. I honestly have never felt more useless in my life, and you know what I think it was good. It showed me that I can’t do everything, and also that I need to try new things. The longer I sit in my perfect little comfort bubble the less I am going to learn and accomplish. I just think it was a good thing for me to do, because it meant that I had to choose to do something that I didn’t want to do. Does that make sense? Even if it doesn’t it doesn’t matter, it humbled me, and I think I needed that. Kyle and I had a good conversation as well, while he worked, we talked about music (mostly 80’s and early 90’s) and relationships and all the crazy things we have done to impress women. We were sad because we can’t use any of our great ideas anymore, so we talked about switching and using each others great romantic ideas that ended up failing. Good times.

The only living boy in Vermilion

Today has been a bit of a bummer. “Life’s a bummer when you’re a hummer”. “No particular reason, just felt like running”. Sorry, I couldn’t resist quoting Billy Corgan again and also Forrest Gump. I really love that film; it’s just so darn good. It’s not a film I could watch over and over again everyday, but it’s like an old friend, you come together and you remember how much you love it. Anyway, since I woke up this morning I have felt out of sorts, just like I have no energy or passion. We all have those days, I guess mine is today. It has come to my attention through various mediums that there is a small army of people who read this blog. I really am thankful for you who read this site. Truth be told, even if no one read it, I would still write it just because it gives me an outlet to express my thoughts and experiences day by day, but it makes it that much more awesome that people read it. As I thought about this small army of people who read my blog, I thought about another army, a very special army, and that army is “The KISS Army”. What is the KISS Army? The KISS Army is the legion of super-crazy KISS fans who are devoted to the band KISS like I should be to Christ (see yesterday’s blog). So if any of you want to start painting your face with some sort of crazy design or tribute to me, go for it, but if you want to continue reading and commenting anonymously you can do that as well. Although I have figured most of them out except one – keebler elf, I have no idea who you are, but that’s ok, and don’t be offended that I don’t know who it is. So today hasn’t been all that interesting, but last night was now that I think about it. Last night was “Fusion” night at youth group. Fusion is our small group night. After Fusion people usually head over to a local restaurant called “Sammy’s”. (Although I usually refer to the joint as Samuels, and if we are going to Samuels I say that we are going to Samuelize…the kids think it’s hilarious!) Anyway, I took one guy in my car with me as we traveled to Samuels and on the way we talked about the part of Christmas that he spent with his father and how tough it is because he and his father don’t get along. Then later on I was sitting with this same youth and another youth, and we were just chatting and I asked the question, who is your hero? (Referring to a real person who inspires you and whom you respect) David talked about his grandfather and how since his father left, his grandfather has stepped up and been like a father to him. It was a sad moment on the one hand because David was unable to relate to Tyson (the other youth) and me who both said that our dad was our hero, but at the same time, someone cared enough about Dave to play that role in his life and that it meant a great deal to him. I was kinda moved, and it made me appreciate my dad (who truly is my hero) so much more. It’s been a real blessing to me how the youth of Vermilion have built up enough trust in their relationship with me that they can share things like that with me. I really love these kids. Anyway, I have been feeling very nostalgic lately; in particular remembering my days and memories from my day’s spent at CBC in Regina. I’ve already written a bunch today so maybe tomorrow I can elaborate on my on-going nostalgia, but it’s been good. The song of the day is a great one. It’s even featured in the film “Garden State” which I also love. The song is “The only living boy in New York” by Simon and Garfunkel. I used to spell Garfunkel incorrectly (Garfunkle) but I learned today the correct spelling which is: Garfunkel. Anyway, it’s a really great song, and Paul Simon wrote it while Art Garfunkel was away in Mexico filming the movie “Catch 22” which is a great book, but I haven’t seen the movie. Anyway, it’s a really great song, and if you have the desire or means, I challenge you to check it out. "The only living boy in New York" is featured on Simon and Garfunkel's classic album "Bridge over Troubled Water". Keep this in mind: A life lived without Simon and Garfunkel is hardly a life at all. Until next time Mike

Mike's Mecca 4.5

What a day it has been. Today started with the realization that it is very cold in my room, and the observation that perhaps more blankets on my bed would be in order. Then I started my car, as I usually do on a morning where work is on the agenda, and came back in and headed for the shower. As I showered I had some thoughts (some of my most interesting thoughts come to me while I’m in the washroom in general) what does devotion look like in the form of devotion to Christianity? I have heard people say that they wish Christians would be as devoted and passionate about their faith as the Muslim terrorists who seem to be some noticeable these days. I’ve heard people comment that if Christians had the passion and devotion that Muslims have…to be willing to kill for their faith…we could really change the world. With that I agree, we would change the world, in that there would be a new Holy War, there was a point in history when Christians were devoted to the point of killing, and it was wrong. I think there is something to be said for raising the standard of devotion among Christians and more specifically myself. There are some key differences though among the devotion that Christians should have, and that which the famed Muslim terrorists have. Christians should be devoted to Christ, not Christianity. I am not bashing organized religion, no, but to be able to see beyond the failings of individual people and denominations and even local churches to see Christ and what he is really about, and following that, while working together with the local body of believers. Next, Christians in their devotion to Christ should not only be willing to lose their lives for him, but they should expect it. If Christians were to go in the streets killing in the name of Christ, people would think less of Christians then they already do. Much in the same way, Muslims are the target of ridicule, hatred and so on because of the actions of terrorists and different Muslim sects claiming their bloody deeds in the name of Allah. I’m losing my train of thought. The point is, as Christians, we follow Christ’s example, and the example of Christ, the teaching of Christ does not point us in the direction of murdering people who aren’t followers like we are. We are taught to be humble, to love, to serve, and when people attack us, we are taught to turn the other cheek. The more I thought about this, the more I realized how crappy a job I have done at this in some respects. I never really thought about devotion this way before. How as a Christian, a follower of Christ do I show my devotion, by loving people, all people. This isn’t easy, in fact it might be more difficult then pulling a trigger or setting off a bomb, but I know this is the direction I headed in. The thing that actually got me thinking about all this was the idea that “how good of a job do I do representing my faith” to quote a friend, “has Christianity made me better, or have I made Christianity worse?”. I started thinking about this, and how people who represent Christianity, myself in particular have probably turned more people off of Christ then on, simply because we aren’t even thinking about it. Every interaction we have is an opportunity to love someone or not to love someone. I then was thinking about prominent Christian figures who have screwed up in a large way in the public eye and given the evangelical church another black eye. Then I got to thinking I wonder if there are Muslims like me, people who are honestly trying to seek their God, yet embarrassed by their own actions of conveying Islam and the actions of terrorists around the world who have made Islam a word that for as long as my generation is around will be associated with terrorism. So this is what I was thinking about this morning. Sorry this wasn’t as humorous or light-hearted as other entries, I apologize to Carmen in particular who reads these often for the purpose of having a laugh, maybe tomorrow will be better. Now, don’t think just because I am talking about Muslims and Christians and heavy stuff like that, that I won’t have a song of the day because I do. The song that has been running through my heart and soul and mind and ears today has been the song “Cold Water” by Damien Rice. Potentially many people haven’t heard of this musical genius but I have, and this particular song is great because as well as being able to see Damien’s great song-writing talent and vocal skills, the song also features the vocal beauty of Lisa Hannigan, she knocks my socks off. Anyway, if you have the desire and or means, I’d recommend checking this song out. Peace out my Children….Mike Ps. I wonder if this blog was a subconscious attempt to be more thoughtful and introspective like Matt Russell?

Blue Like Jazz

“Today is the greatest…day I’ve ever known” actually it wasn’t, but whenever I begin a statement with the word today I am reminded of and urged to quote Billy Corgan’s masterpiece song “Today”. Today was not the greatest day I’ve even known but it wasn’t totally bad either. Due to the fact that it was not a work day today, I was able to sleep in… and sleep in I did, I didn’t get out of bed till 11:30am, which was good for me, but as I think about it further, that was really a waste of a day. I could’ve and should’ve gone to Lloydminster to do my business there, but I really didn’t think about it till recently. Anyway, the sleep was good, and even though I regret it a bit, I don’t totally regret it.

So how did I fill my short day? Upon my wake, I showered, which was also great, because my body was still stiff and sore from playing hockey last night. I always forget how much pain there is after not skating for like a year, but the shower was good. After that, I did some reading and writing. It was a good time to shut-up and let someone else’s thoughts roll around my head for a while. For instance I just finished reading a book called “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller. It was recommended to me by a very good friend named Monica, and in her recommendation she was not a failure. This book was a very fun, and thoughtful read as Miller wrote about life experiences connected to the church and his quest for spirituality and so on. I would recommend this book highly, in fact I am going through it again, and already seeing some things I missed the first time around. It’s a really great book. Miller also has another book out which I intend to read/purchase when I next get an opportunity.

Other then my reading/writing I also made a trip to get my body checked out due to it’s many illnesses. It turns out my one ear is pretty much taken care of, and my other ear needs some more medication, so the kind South African Doctor gave me a prescription and I went to get it filled while I picked up a few items of large importance. (Nail-clippers, a highlighter, lip balm ect). Then I came home did some more reading and have been pretty relaxed. It’s a good way to spend a Monday.

Anyway, while waiting for my Doctor to treat me, I was hit with today’s song of the day. “Your Time is Gonna Come” by Led Zeppelin. I was waiting for quite some time at the Doctors office, something that I truly despise, waiting long past my appointed time, and so long in fact that people who got to the office after me were going ahead. I was slightly frustrated, because of that fact, and also the fact that I was forced to remove my shoes upon entering the building, so I was considering talking to the receptionist about my concerns. Then this song by Led Zeppelin popped into my head and I thought to myself, “you know Robert, (the lead singer of Led Zeppelin) you’re right, my time is going to come” and I sat waiting and humming that song. So if you have the desire and means, check this song out, Led Zeppelin never disappoints.

So thanks again for stopping by, I’m cold and hungry so I’m going to put on some more clothes and eat some food. Until next time….Mike

All the pictures have been washed in Black

I have re-discovered something great. Last night I had a desire to listen to a local Vancouver radio station known as “The Fox”, and thanks to wonderful world of streaming audio I am able to do this, and am even currently doing this right now. (although they are playing a really crappy song right now, I’m hoping for a good one next)

First order of business is to reply to a comment on my last update. On my last blog update I chose a song by U2 as my song of the day. Someone replied to this update and went on to criticize my choice of song of the day. I felt repugnant, and repudiated, and Rastafarian. The song of the day is not about whether a song is currently popular or mainstream or underground or anything like that, it’s about music, good music, music that impacts me in that day, and I could care less whether or not it’s popular at the time. So with that, I will not comment further.

This morning was good. It was my first time back in church after a lengthy absence, so it was nice to reconnect with many of the people in my church family. I can’t say enough good things about Vermilion and the people in the church here, I don’t think I have ever felt as welcomed in a church as I do in this one, God is working mightily in my life through his children in Vermilion. I did a skit today that was like a rip-off of “Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy” (of Saturday night live fame) and “The Confused Philosopher” (of Royal Canadian Air Farce Fame). It went over well, and it might continue as a running theme throughout this new sermon series we started. The series is about wisdom through the book of Proverbs and how we can apply it to our everyday lives. It’s really practical. Today Shawn preached about the difference between whether something is good or bad to do, and the question we should actually ask…”given my personal situation, my past, my present, and my hopes and dreams for the future is this the wise thing to do?”. I have been hearing a lot about this of late as Kyle (the other pastor) and I have often acted as a sounding board for Shawn as he crafted (props to Crafted) this sermon.

Following Church I had lunch with some friends, some teens from the youth group. It was a good time, we got subway and just chatted and ate. Hanging out with teenagers is such an experience in sociology. Just the things they talk about, the things that make them laugh, and so on. Later on I’m hoping to go play some hockey with these guys on a local outdoor rink, but it is -30 here right now, and they are thinking of chickening out. Other then that, not too much else is going on, although, last night I believe a plan was formulated to bring two-possibly three friends from Calgary up here to Vermilion next weekend, which really excites me. Hopefully this dream will come to pass.

Today’s song of the Day is a classic track from the band Kansas. No it is not “Carry On”, it is in fact “Dust in the Wind”. Dust in the Wind serves to remind us that life on earth is not permanent. Where I disagree with Kansas is that they paint a picture of life being over when we die, but as a follower of Christ, life is so much more then a futile existence ended by becoming “dust in the wind”. Although I have that slight disagreement with the song, I still love it. It’s musically beautiful and the assortment of strings, cello’s and the like are heart-warming. So much so, that I shared it with my Sunday school class this morning. It’s a great song, and if you have the means and desire, I think you should check it out. Anyway, that is all for today, my plans for hockey are coming to fruition as we speak so I must put on my long-johns. Peace and Love…(oh man “Black” by Pearl Jam just came on! This song used to be the story of my life!!)

It's amazing really

Good Morning

Today has been a day of minor disappointment. It was my intention to visit the thriving metropolis of Lloydminster and do some banking as well as picking up a few items that I believe I need to properly survive. Unfortunately, my enemy “the snow” was back up to it’s old tricks, starting to heavily fall last night sometime and continuing into today. Oh well, it’s not the end of the world, but trips to Lloyd also give me an excuse to get out of the house for a while and also an excuse to get some Quiznos for lunch. As I was thinking about my situation today, I wondered to myself (cause no one else is around) “Is God trying to teach me something?” I don’t know the answer yet, but I do know perhaps that is a question I need to ask with more frequency in my life. I think that I take things at face value too often sometimes, but I contribute this to my interactions with Christians who ask that question to often. Some people ask that question too much for me, like “the tooth fairy left me a dollar under my pillow, I wonder what God is trying to teach me in this?”. I don’t know, perhaps I am too cynical, but some people I have seen have looked so fake and fake spiritual in asking that question. Anyway, this is about me, not them, I think I will ask that question more, I can’t change everyone else, heck I can’t even change myself, I need God to do that. I guess I should be less critical of people to, seeing we are all in the same boat, trying to get to God, but all at different places in my life, besides they probably look at me and consider me one of the heathens they are trying to save.

I’m not sure what the rest of the day holds for me, I know I will be watching and then returning the new Willem Dafoe film that I rented, but I’m not sure when this will take place and i'll let you know how it turns out. I might also go for a walk and listen to my headphones as I take in the snow and try and find some beauty in it. I think I could find beauty in it a whole lot easier if this walk included a girlfriend, but alas, no dice. Sometimes I think I rely too much on women to find happiness, maybe this is something else God is trying to show me. It’s amazing what you can learn if you just listen and think about things for a while. Mind Blowing actually.

Thanks to Jeremiah for the comment on yesterdays post, I’m glad that you were happy about my selection for song of the day, and speaking of which here is today’s selection. The song that I will recommend today and endorse as my song of the day is U2’s “City of Blinding Lights” which is off their most recent release 2004’s “How to dismantle an atomic bomb”. It is a great song, and the riff that Edge plays in it is truly a thing of beauty. Anyway if you have the desire and means I implore you to give this track a spin, you won’t be disappointed…unless you choose to be just to spite me, which I’m sure you won’t do because you love me right? Anyway, that’s all for today, my throat hurts, all this typing has made me parched I think I will indulge in glass of orange juice. Have a good day friends…..Mike

Getting Post-Modern with Indonesia

Greetings faithful readers, Today has been a decent day. Came in this morning, I was the first one to the office, and then none of the other pastors showed up till like 9:45, which was cool because it afforded me some time to have some quiet around the office. It also afforded me time to speak on the messenger service with my good friend Matt, who is currently doing his version on an internship in Indonesia. Just over a month ago I sent Matt a book (among other interesting items) and we were able to talk a bit about it. It was really a great time of hashing out some post-modern thought with my friend this morning. We talked about how Christians view and respond to homo-sexuality and it’s connection to the fall of man. We also talked about God’s justice, and sometimes how it is a difficult thing to wrestle with, and also how we as finite beings can’t comprehend the mystery of God and the many aspects of his character. It was a really good conversation, it made me think about theological issues which doesn’t come up as much in this form when doing practical ministry. I mean my theology, my thoughts about God (thanks to Bernie) my understanding of his word forms the foundation for what I do in practical ministry, but discussing in this way doesn’t happen as often for me when I’m not in school. Anyway, it was pretty great. Since then I have been hard at work, preparing some things for our youth event tonight. Tonight is Crave, our monthly night of worship and teaching. I am really looking forward to it. The teens lead worship and either Kyle (my mentor in my internship) or I will share the message. Tonight Kyle is doing the message, which should be good, he is generally a pretty high quality communicator. Asides from the work I have been doing for that I have also had some time to do some reading. I am now reading like three different books right now, but out of my conversation with Matt this morning I felt led to begin reading Brian D. McLaren’s classic book “A New Kind of Christian”. So far it has been a good read again, but I am picking up little points that I have forgotten about the book, and also seeing some interesting new things. After all, it has been like 2 years since I read this book last. I would recommend it to anyone, religious or non-religious, it’s just very interesting. So to close out today’s entry, I will share with you my song of the day. David Crowder Band is one of the best Christian bands that I am aware of, and I am aware of quite a few. On their album “Can you hear us?” they cover a Delirious song called “Obsession”. David Crowder and his band do such a remarkable job of covering this song that I have decided to award it the Song of the Day. Despite my ear infection which continues to linger, it was able to be heard by me, and deemed awesome, and also exactly what I needed to hear. If you have the desire or means, you should check it out. That is all for today, I need to type up my Sunday school lesson for this week, and the day is getting short. So have a good one and keep on rocking in the free world…..Mike Ps. Mom, don’t worry I’m going to the doctors on Monday

Some people say I'm a mess...

Hello people of the world. Today is my 5th day back in Vermilion after the break and now it has begun to snow…I have to confess, I don’t like snow, in fact, it is my least favorite Canadian weather phenomenon. Being from Vancouver I learned to love the rain, but snow…snow makes life difficult and frustrating, so in short, I don’t like snow. Other then the snow, my life continues to be pretty good, although I am still trying to beat two ear infections and some sort of bronchitis like chest and sinus infection. Some might say I am a mess, but really, I’m not. Today is a work day, I work here in the office four full days a week, and work outside of the office 1 full day a week as well as 2-3 nights a week. Mondays are my day off, which I enjoy most often by viewing a film or two. For instance this last Monday, I watched the film “Napoleon Dynamite”. Many people who I would consider friends told me to watch this film, and that I would love it. It was pretty funny, I didn’t like it at first, but the more I thought about and talked about it, the more I realized I thought it was pretty funny. I won’t say that everyone should see this, because I don’t think everyone will like it, but if you’re bored at looking for a movie, and can’t see anything, give it a try, you might like it, you might not. So this infection in my ears has made life annoying in more then one way, but the way that bothers me most has been my inability to hear properly out of my right ear. It’s been annoying because more then anything it has limited my ability to listen to and enjoy music. Music is a very important part of my life, in many ways I live and breathe with music. But this infection in my ears has damaged that. Anyway, I should get back to work, I need to work on a leadership training class for our teen leaders here in Vermilion. We call the class “Life in the Deep End” and all our teenage leaders come and learn together some different aspect of leadership. It’s usually pretty good, it’s one of the many things I enjoy doing here as part of my internship. Here’s my song of the day, if you get a chance or have the ability, listen to this song: “Feels like Home to me” – Chantel Kreviazuk. It’s a real dandy, kind of a wussy song, I’ll admit, but hey, sometimes we all need a little wussyness in our lives. So listen to Chantel, cause she has the voice of a songbird….well I like Sarah McLachlan and Christine McVie more, but this is a good song, and she’s a great singer, so enjoy the music, and have a pretty good day. Ps. I’m happy to report that the name Michael remained a dominant force in the world today as it is the sixth most popular male name of 2004, up two spots from 2003. Woo-Hoo

I Really Should be Working..

But the Shaolin has struck again in his attempt to rule the internet airwaves with his brilliant writing and exceptionally entertaining life. Stay tuned....