April 6, 2011 · 11:06 am

This will never do

I have been ignoring this space far too much.  I am not sure why. Perhaps it is just that I don’t have the energy – or the will to give it what it needs.  I don’t have the energy or enthusiasm for it that I once had.  Maybe I should just leave it but I hang on to it anyway.

I have been pouring myself into my studies and they are not particularly conducive to interesting posts.  Well, maybe they would be but that would take almost as much effort as writing one of my weekly responses required for my classes.  And simply posting them would be to present material which no one else has done any research on so could hardly know where I am coming from.

Right now I have been working through “Just War”, Pacifism, and “Just Peacemaking” in my ethics class.  I find the material extremely interesting and productive in the sense that it has helped me to formulate and articulate my views on this.  Our text Love Your Enemies: Discipleship, Pacifism, and Just War Theory by Lisa Sowle Cahill is excellent.   I find myself leaning towards pacifism but think that “Just Peacemaking” is probably closer to where I am philosophically.  There is lots of good material on this concept, which is a rather new one, on Glen Stassen’s Fuller Seminary site http://www.fullerseminary.net/sot/faculty/stassen/cp_content/homepage/homepage.htm

It is challenging to consider how just peacemaking could be put into practical application in some of the worlds hot spots these days.  Thing is, I believe that we need to start working far ahead of time in all potential areas of conflict to promote peace and not just react to a crisis, having ignored conditions which led up to it.

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Filed under Studying, Theology

March 18, 2011 · 10:52 am

Spring ? Break

 

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This has been the week of Spring Break in my seminary schedule. Not that it is spring up here. It is 10 below C at this moment.

This week I have not had the pressure of replying to on-line questions, reading pages and pages of information in books or posted on-line. It has felt a bit strange in some ways to have time to do other things, to watch TV, to have lunch out. It has in general been a good week.

In fact, this morning as I was in the shower getting ready for work (at the dental office) a song I had written a few years ago popped into my head – words of poetry that I never did complete. That got me to thinking; maybe this is one of the things I miss most about being engrossed in studies – being able to write poetry, to do photography as a way of recording my own sense of wonder at God’s creation. If I completely abandon these things, will I be able to take them up again?

Then I thought – it is past time for my winter retreat. Wonder if I can squeeze it in to my weekend?

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Maybe I will take off to a more northern place to just spend some time with God and my camera tomorrow.

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Filed under Day to Day, Studying

March 5, 2011 · 2:52 pm

Just about

I am just about keeping my head above water.  The past few months have been kind of like jumping from rock to rock through this raging stream that has been composed of study, deadlines for papers, funeral arrangements and estate affairs, work at the dental office and work at the church.  The visit to Costa Rica thrown in to the midst of the month was maybe more like an island to rest on than a little rock but coming back to the rush of everything waiting here was a bit of a shock.

Self imposed.  I know it is.  So I don’t expect sympathy.  Just understanding, I guess. 

Someday I will be back here but this space will remain much quieter than I intend it to be – some day.

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Filed under Dealing with stuff, Studying

February 22, 2011 · 6:44 pm

Canadian, eh?

You bet.

And by this time tomorrow there should be two new citizens that have joined the ranks. 

Christian and Yaounde have passed their tests and all they must do is get sworn in.  Massa will have another go at the test but it will come.  Hard stuff to know for a struggling with English guy. 

Celebrations will be in order.

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Filed under Africa, Dealing with stuff, Family

February 9, 2011 · 9:43 am

Endings

It is our last full day in Costa Rica.  We will take the kids on a short nature walk in the jungle this morning and then go off to the hot springs – Tabacon- for the afternoon.

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This is the view from the hotel window.  A stunning view over the lake.The road to Tabacon from here is very slow – about 10K ph slowing for the many rocks – but the hot springs resort is so nice.

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The water in that stream is about 30 C – like a hot bath.  Tomorrow back to winter.

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Filed under Travels

February 7, 2011 · 8:20 pm

Been in Costa Rica a week

This is crazy.  I am relaxing too hard to have time to post any of the pictures I’ve taken.

Actually, when I did have some time the internet was down.  So, I will see if I can squeeze it into my busy schedule in the next couple of days.

We drove about 5 hours today on some of the windiest narrow and rough roads up to the volcano at Arenal.  This resort is no 5 star job.  No coffee pots in rooms.  No clocks in rooms.  Only 2 towels for 4 people.  Pool frigid.  Most items on the menu were not available. 

The saving grace of the place is the exquisite beauty.  We look over Lake Arenal to the volcano.

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Filed under Travels

January 28, 2011 · 1:02 pm

Looking up words

Every now an then I have to look up a word I am attempting to use, so I google it.  This time my search for curmudgeonly led me to the most wonderful blog.  If you are a mom, you will feel a kinship with her especially if your children, behaving just like children, sometimes draw looks of disapproval from proper folks without the joy of companionship. 

I would recommend this blog for a little cheer you up.  Enjoy.  Curmudgeonry.

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Filed under Day to Day, Family, Reading

January 23, 2011 · 7:59 am

I am still here, I think

I have just sent off the first essay to my instructor in Old Testament II.  It seems as if this will have to be a weekly occurrence and since this comes on top of responding to some on-line questions and several lectures plus readings in our assigned texts, this is going to be a fairly heavy class.

Such is the student’s life I guess.  Self inflicted punishment in my case.

Besides this class, I am also taking a class in Ethics and finishing up my research project for my January Covenant History intensive class.

This has been a pretty crazy week.  On top of all these classes, which I think I have mostly been able to keep up with, has been all the work of arranging the funeral for Auntie Florence.

Florence

And it was a glorious funeral.  Glorious in the sense that glory was given to God for her life – as her life itself had been one of following God and service to him.  I will post her eulogy under the pages section of this blog. Click here and a link should take you there.

This week will be busy with wrapping up her affairs plus the ongoing classes and preparing a sermon for Sunday.

After that I will continue on with my on-line classes on the beaches of Costa Rica.  I can hardly wait.  Maybe the time there will give me some moments to relax and finally process all that has happened over the past weeks.

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Filed under church, Family, Studying

January 16, 2011 · 10:38 am

Florence Dice

My much loved Auntie has finished this part of her life. At the end it was simply a fading away in the midst of pretty much constant pain and the fog induced by pain control. I would sit and hold her hand, play her some music, try to give her some water to drink. She seemed to enjoy the last visit oh her great, great niece Kimia even though I think it may have frightened Kimia a little. Now she is free of all that painful end of life stuff and with Christ who was her life’s friend.

Until we meet again Auntie.

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Filed under Family

January 4, 2011 · 7:38 am

Good words

from Henri Nouwen

Fruits That Grow in Vulnerability
There is a great difference between successfulness and fruitfulness. Success comes from strength, control, and respectability. A successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame. Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability. And fruits are unique. A child is the fruit conceived in vulnerability, community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one another’s wounds. Let’s remind one another that what brings us true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness.

 

Visit HenriNouwen.org for more inspiration

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Filed under Quotes, Reflections