This was the morning after Christmas....

imagine what the morning after New Years will be!

mural

Rot, Papal, Fissures

My kids love this movie, and I, I detest it. One of Johnny's worst. Anyway, this is for my kids I'm sure they'll appreciate this, or...maybe not. (hehehe)

smart bird

sometimes it's just better to be in the boat...

Holiday fence

Make a Blanket Statement

Every year some of my students go downtown and walk around with blankets, and coffee, and...hope. Our venture is not to see who can hand out more blankets to those in need, but rather to spend some time looking for Jesus. Noticing the city, the sounds, the smells, the people.

Jason van Genderen created a profound and poignantly beautiful video, titled Mankind Is No Island. Amazingly shot entirely on a cell phone, the video asks us if we should love a place or love its people.

My friend Jim Hancock say, "my mind’s eye flashed to Jesus walking through the streets of ancient Israel. And while those around him may have been in awe of the accomplishments of culture, business, and government — Jerusalem was, after all, renowned for it’s architecture; a cosmopolitan city of 80,000 that swelled to more than a 100,000 during the Jewish festivals — Jesus made hardly a mention of any of that. But he would bring the whole crowd to a halt and zero in on a blind man that no one else could see or hear. No, it wasn’t that their hearing or sight was impaired, but that their focus was on themselves, their goals, their experience — not on others."

In our commercial lives, it’s not only easy to look past the homeless person we pass on the way to the office, but also the waitress, the janitor, the cashier, the secretary, the gardener — all these who have become invisible to us because they are just a part of the machinery we use for our lives like a gasoline pump. They aren’t people, but service dispensers. But Jesus notices them.

We can also look past our spouses, our kids, our parents, our neighbors so preoccupied are we with how we are doing and where we are going.

So take 3 1/2 minutes to watch this video and listen to what God might say to you.

design

These are sweet bookshelves...

Espresso

(got this from Rob in Edmonton)

Espresso is different from normal coffee in that it requires the beans be crushed/ground to a finer degree, it also requires alot of heat and pressure. But these things do not guarantee a great cup of espresso. In fact, you could have the best beans roasted in Italy, and a $30,000 espresso machine, and still not achieve a great espresso. It seems that it also depends on subtle little details that affect the result. The fineness of the grind, how compact the coffee in the filter is, the temperature, and purity of the water, and a host of other nuances go into making a great espresso. When you taste espresso made by a master... it is like nothing else.

Just like life – crushing, heat, and pressure are inescapable, but that does not guarantee that I will develop inner character that will enrich the lives of those around me. It depends on subtle attitudes I take daily while in the process that will determine the flavour I become. As I run to God, seek Him, and choose to live by faith even when the darkness and despair of life seem to prove that God is not just, or loving... an aroma begins... then a beautiful product starts to emerge. I slowly and sometimes painfully develop an inner character that shares the greatness of God to whoever “tastes” me.

Next time you have a great espresso beverage, crack open your bible to Hebrews 12: 1-13, and Romans 5:1-5. And choose to trust the Master who is making something beautiful out of your struggle.

Close call

music is pretty hideous, but there's some amazing clips here, my favorite is the bank robbery...

It's the WEEKEND!!!!!

FEE - FI - FOFAMA

You no doubt saw this:



And it was a brilliant piece,
but here's some others
you may not have seen;

Whew!! Report cards are done, ...I should post something