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From NATIONAL POST: "Iraq's Poisoned Babies have made me a hawk"

When I came to autonomous northern Iraq - which since 1991 has been protected from Saddam's reach by British and U.S. warplanes -- I was intensely skeptical of the wisdom of Washington's insistence on deposing Saddam. Its claims of links between al-Qaeda and Baghdad seemed tenuous. As for the assertion that Saddam will soon have the bomb, well, the evidence was pretty flimsy.

Indeed, I could have reeled off a host of counter-arguments. At a time when the Western world is entering a long, drawn-out struggle against Islamist terrorism, it made little sense to fritter away resources to oust a man whose regime was weaker than ever. A war also risked alienating hundreds of millions of moderate Muslims whose support would be essential if the threat of Islamist extremism was to be neutered...

But nothing could have prepared me for the odious evil of Saddam Hussein's rule...Thousands of Iraqis are still being executed without trial, and tens of thousands routinely tortured. Millions live in a state of numb fear...

One doctor who works in the town told me: "A woman came to see me two months ago. She had given birth to a little girl who had no feet." Who could argue with taking action against the regime responsible for such outrages?

Assos Hardi, the editor of the liberal newspaper Hawalati in Sulaimania, was more mathematical in his appraisal. He said: "How many people do you think will die if America attacks Saddam? It will probably be less than the number of people he kills in a single month."

As the drums of war beat ever louder, I am still unsure of the strategic wisdom of opening a second front in the war against terror. But of the moral rectitude of such a course, there can be no doubt.

Posted by Darryl at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 )

From NASA Earth Observatory, an image of London, England taken from the International Space Station at night:

I wonder if you can be homesick for a place that's not your home.

Posted by Darryl at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Mississauga MP on U.S.: 'Hate those bastards'

OTTAWA - The Liberal government faced new accusations of anti-Americanism yesterday after an MP who is an outspoken critic of George W. Bush said she hated Americans and called them "bastards" intent on going to war with Iraq.

Carolyn Parrish, the Liberal MP for Mississauga Centre, later issued a statement apologizing for the comments, which came on a day when Jean Chrétien spoke to the U.S. President in an effort to reach a United Nations compromise in the Iraqi crisis.

"Damn Americans. Hate those bastards," Ms. Parrish said after the weekly Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa.

I don't wish for great oratory or soaring logic. At this point I'll settle for any logic. Why is the debate on war with Iraq conducted with so much invective and so little logic? Why is the Ad Hominem fallacy so much in vogue these days?

Posted by Darryl at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 )

Like it or not, who we are is, in large part, a reaction to the previous generation. This is true in the church. The emerging church is shaped not only by a vision of what the church should look like, but also as a reaction against what it has not been in the previous generation.

Part of our calling is to deliver a church - not an institution, but a living and organic body that's alive and coursing with Spirit-life - to the next generation. What the emerging church will be in another generation may, in part, be a reaction against the sort of church I'm helping to shape today. What kind of church is that? What is it in my generation that the next generation will react against?

My generation is marked by cynicism. Granted, the cynicism is there for a reason. I sometimes wonder, though, if the next generation will view my cynicism the same way that I view the traditionalism of the generation that went before me. Every generation seems to have a fatal flaw. I'm wondering if my generation's fatal flaw is cynicism.

Posted by Darryl at 8:51 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

The possibility exists that my life, my church, my tradition, my denomination, even my Bible will become relics of religious curiosity instead of living instruments of God. Men and women will be ordained, earn Ph.D.s, and launch evangelical magazines, publishing houses, colleges, and seminaries with solid evangelical commitments, and it will all be for nothing. Empty canals. There are specialists who can cite Scripture and verse, who can measure orthodoxy with exacting precision, who can identify the religious speck in someone’s eye from a great distance, but in whom love for God does not exist. (Gary M. Burge, NIV Life Application Bible: John)

Posted by Darryl at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Day 5 of longing for Pot Noodle soup. It's getting so bad that I could settle for some spicy soup in Saskatoon with Coop, despite news of random lickings.

Posted by Darryl at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Found in djchuang's pensive journal:

McLaren and Campolo team up for a new book Adventures in Missing the Point: How the Culture-Controlled Church Neutered the Gospel, probably a more Campolonian title than a McLarenesque one; and instead of 95 points, they're going to stick to 18 points, for this first go around.

Here are some of the 18 points:

If you think you’re cool because you’re postmodern, you’re missing the point.

If you think that social action dilutes the gospel, you’re missing the point.

If you think salvation means walking down an aisle and saying a prayer, you’re missing the point.

If you think that Christianity is simply a matter of objective truth, you’re missing the point.

If you think the only thing to do with the Bible is study it or preach it, you’re missing the point.

If you think the CEO is the best leadership model, you’re missing the point.

If you think that what St. Paul wrote about women forbids their ordination, you’re missing the point.

If you think that doubt is always bad, you’re missing the point.

If you think worship is about achieving a good feeling while singing inspiring songs, you’re missing the point.

If you think that seminary will make you a preacher, you’re missing the point.

If you think you can argue people into becoming Christians, you’re missing the point.

Posted by Darryl at 9:29 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Charlene is back from her retreat at the convent. She had a great time away. It's amazing what a single day can do to re-orient the soul.

While there, Char discovered a book called When the Well Runs Dry: Prayer Beyond the Beginnings. I'm going to order the book. For now, here are some excerpts that she copied into her journal:

The real problem of the interior life is not that we don't have the time or the proper conditions to live it...The snakes and the parish meetings and the children are real enough...What really hinders our growth is that we don't really want badly enough to discover God in our lives. We do want it in some sense or else we would not have come this far. But the mystery, the paradox, the incongruity of God's ways, the "cost of discipleship" all give us pause. It is much easier to say, "Circumstances prevent me from going on," than to say, "The cost is too great."

That is why I have always loved the rich young ruler of Luke 18; he went away sad but he was honest. He made no excuses, no rationalizations.

On what we really mean when we say our marriage vows:

What do we really mean? "I hope and believe it will all be 'better', but if the 'worse' comes I will try to survive it with God's grace." It never enters our minds that the 'worse' is just as necessary to the growth of love as is the 'better'...The hard times are not obstacles to the growth of love, although they will certainly seem to be such when we are young. Rather they are part of the experience by which real love comes to be..

I realized that any love, whether it be for God or man, comes to maturity in the hard times. Thus a really good marriage is just as costly as a genuine interior life with God. It is probably almost as rare, too, and for the same reasons.

This looks like a rich book, full of the wisdom of the centuries rather than easy formulas. It's about the emptiness that we sometimes feel, which make us like "terrified children who take for disaster what is really salvation." I'm glad Charlene discovered the book; I look foward to discovering more of it myself.

Posted by Darryl at 7:59 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

We really need new labels. I'm not sure that pro-war and anti-war really fit. Is anybody really pro-war? Mean Dean writes:

War is an obscenity. Colin Powell said it best yesterday when he talked of how he has lost so many of his comrades. How he had seen first hand the horrible carnage.

I don't think any rational person - even the most ardent supporter of military action against Saddam Hussein - should be comfortable being called pro-war. I'm not sure there's a better label, though.

Posted by Darryl at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

I promised to take a break from blogging about Iraq. I should know better than to make promises I can't keep.

Those who have been blogging about Iraq are smart people. That being said, we're talking past each other. I'd like to see more effort to find common ground.

Here's a humble attempt to summarize what I think most of us can agree on. Read over the list and let me know if I'm wrong.

1. War is bad. We disagree on how bad: some think all war is wrong; others see it as a necessary evil. We are united in believing that war is not the outcome that we prefer. As Brian McLaren has said, "War must always be seen as a defeat, before the first shot is fired or the last body is buried."

2. There is a problem in Iraq. We agree that the situation in Iraq merits some sort of response from the world community. Our views on the appropriate response differ, but this should not be seen as a defense of Saddam Hussein or the status quo.

3. The United Nations is our preferred body for dealing with Iraq. The United Nations has a legitimacy that exceeds that of any individual country or coalition of countries in dealing with this situation. The United Nations will be diminished by any military action against Iraq that takes place outside of its approval.

4. We do not claim to be perfect. Many criticisms have been made of the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries. Even those of us who are patriotic citizens of our countries are ready to admit that we are not above criticism, and that our countries have not always acted appropriately on the world stage. We may not agree with all the criticisms, but our concern for the situation in Iraq is not predicated upon our perfection or lack of perfection as individuals and countries.

5. Our response to Iraq should bring the least possible damage to the country and its people. While some of us believe that any use of force is wrong, even the most militant among us want as little death and destruction as possible.

Am I wrong? Do we not all agree on this much? Let me know if you don't.

Posted by Darryl at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Two links on the subject of the Iraq situation:

No War Blog - "The left-right blog opposing an invasion of Iraq"
I find their position unconvincing and inconsistent, even in opposition to Hans Blix, and I think their marches have emboldened Saddam Hussein and possibly made war more likely. Nevertheless, I share their goal. I think we can all agree that it would be great if there was no war in Iraq.

Current Thoughts and Trends on War
Some short summaries of various Christian positions on war. I think you have to be a subscriber to get at some of the good stuff.

Posted by Darryl at 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

The show doesn't look nearly as good as the movie. I'm not sure I like the laugh tracks.

Posted by Darryl at 7:11 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

I wrote about my craving for Pot Noodle soup the other day - the Bombay Bad Boy Hot Noodle variety. Through the wonders of Google, my friend Sandy found a service that will allow me to order Pot Noodle soup and get it shipped to Canada, but I just can't bring myself to pay a pound shipping per container of soup.

So here's my plea. If you live in the United Kingdom, please consider putting some Pot Noodle soup on eBay, and then let me know. If you know someone who lives there, e-mail them and encourage them to do this. I think about 60 cartons should begin to satisfy the public's need.

I just can't believe that you can buy rocks from Napanee, the hometown of Avril Lavigne, on eBay, but you can't buy something really valuable like Pot Noodle soup. Where are our priorities, people?

P.S. To those who say that eating soup shouldn't make you feel like you've just had intestinal surgery, I disagree. That's exactly how eating good soup should make you feel.

Posted by Darryl at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

This is in honor of my wife, who's leaving us tomorrow for one night. When we got married, she really didn't have a high need to be alone. That was before she had to look after kids 24/7, especially one who's been sick and miserable for the past couple of weeks. She's also pretty busy with some freelance work and other commitments.

Tomorrow, she does for the first time what I've done many times over the past few years - in fact, what I need to do again soon. She's going to the local Anglican convent for a personal retreat. There's nothing like getting alone with a notepad and Bible for a period of solitude with God. It's a time for some inner work, for re-centering life. Char, I hope you have a great time.

Posted by Darryl at 9:11 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

I love finding a new blog that's worth reading. I just stumbled across Steve Thompson's - it looks great. His take on the Iraq issue is a bit more nuanced than most I've read. Another blog I'll be reading regularly.

P.S. Speaking of the Iraq issue, I think I'll take a break from blogging about it for a while.

Posted by Darryl at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

TheologyBooks.com | welcome!

In light of the current political crisis engulfing our world and nation, we thought it might be helpful to suggest some titles related to the issues of war and peace as seen from various Christian perspectives.

Some of the recommendations look good. I think I may order War: Four Christian Views.

Posted by Darryl at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

From the National Post:

Abdel-Majid Khoi, son of the late Grand Ayatollah Khoi, Iraq's foremost religious leader for almost 40 years, spoke of the "deep moral pain" he feels when hearing the so-called "anti-war" discourse.

"The Iraqi nation is like a man who is kept captive and tortured by a gang of thugs," Khoi said. "The proper moral position is to fly to help that man liberate himself and bring the torturers to book. But what we witness in the West is the opposite: support for the torturers and total contempt for the victim."

Khoi said he would say "ahlan wasahlan" (welcome) to anyone who would liberate Iraq.

"When you are being tortured to death you are not fussy about who will save you," he said.

Posted by Darryl at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Sports Illustrated has one...now Saturday Night has one, even National Geographic has one. Coming soon: Christianity Today - The Swimsuit Issue.

Posted by Darryl at 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

There are many things I miss about being in the United Kingdom. One of them is Pot Noodle Soup. What I wouldn't do to get my hands on some Bombay Bad Boy Hot Noodle soup made by Pot Noodle.

Is there nobody among the sixty million good people of the United Kingdom who could help me out by sending me some spicy Pot Noodle soup? My PayPal account can be all yours.

Update: My friend Sandy found a service that sends British foods worldwide. The shipping cost is a killer, but after all, it is Pot Noodle soup.

Posted by Darryl at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

I've faced a few issues in which I've wanted to take a side and then come up with the logic later. The war on Iraq debate is one of those. I'd love to be convinced that there's a better way than the use of force to solve this one. I'm begging for the logic, but so far, it's been hard to find.

I'm not the only one. Dean Peters sent me this link:

Unfortunately, as Evan Coyne Maloney's protester-interview video demonstrates, most "anti-war" protesters seem far more anti-Bush, or anti-America, than they seem anti-war. Pictures like these, showing Bush as Hitler, etc., tend to underscore that impression. It's no wonder that commentators as different as Lee Harris and Nick Cohen find the "anti-war" movement unserious: long on criticisms and moralizing, but short on realism and solutions, and fundamentally incoherent.

Don't miss watching the video he mentions.

I'm sure many of the anti-war protestors have something good to say. There are too many that I respect for me to believe there's nothing there.

But there are a lot of people you're not convincing, and it's not because we don't want to be convinced. I know I do. But your statements have to be more than just criticisms of the U.S., blanket statements of opinion (e.g. "war is always wrong"), and insults against those who disagree. Please make your case, or point me to where it's already been made convincingly. I want to believe.

Update: I respect pacifists like John O'Keefe, even if I don't agree with them. At least they're consistent, and they have a position that can be argued and defended. I'm also not as frustrated with those who are defending the U.S./U.N. positions, because, like it or not, they have a position that can be defended, even if you don't agree with them. What's frustrating to me is that I've been unable to find a good non-pacifist anti-war position beyond, "The U.S. is evil" (okay, different topic, and besides, isn't Saddam?) or "Why should I explain myself to you? It's obvious." That doesn't cut it. Especially confusing are those who argue against war because Jesus is the Prince of Peace, but then advocate sending in an elite group of U.N. soldiers to extract Saddam Hussein. At that point you're not anti-war; you're just debating strategy.

I'm sure a good defense of the non-pacifist, anti-war position is out there. If you've found it, please let me know.

Posted by Darryl at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Christianity Today Magazine - Bono's Thin Ecclesiology

Bono has said repeatedly that Christianity without an element of social justice is empty. We agree. But a Christian's pleading for social justice without worshiping God regularly within the community of the church is little more than activism for its own sake. Any person can stand outside the church and critique its obedience to the gospel. Part of God's call on a Christian's life is to walk inside and die to self by relating to other human beings, both in their fallenness and in their redeemed glory.

I understand those who leave the church. It's sometimes hard to continue to believe when the church seems so far from what it should be. But it's not an option. To leave the church (not the institution, but a group of believers) is to miss out. We all need others, even in their fallenness.

Posted by Darryl at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

I'm not a pacifist. I believe that there is a time and a place for war - always a regrettable time, but a time nonetheless. I'm not sure we're at this point right now, but it's sure leading to an interesting discussion.

One of the things I admire about Martin Luther King Jr. was that he thought through his strategy of non-violent civil disobedience, along with the consequences. History has shown that his strategy was right.

I'm finding a lot of the anti-war rhetoric has stopped short of presenting an alternate plan, along with the consequences. I'm ready to be convinced, I really am. How do we stop a Saddam Hussein without going to war? What does loving our enemies look like? Inaction? Going in with all kinds of humanitarian assistance? What are the consequences? I hope you'll help me understand, because so far I haven't seen a lot of compelling answers to these questions.

Update: Regan, husband of Rachel Cunliffe, provides some alternatives in the comments section of Rachel's site:

"I've heard more on what's wrong with the war than on a better way to proceed"

Is that because you live in America?

But seriously... Options have been outlined here on a number of occasions. Unfortunately they get dwarfed by theological rhetoric. Let me present some options again to avert war:

1. Allow the UN Weapons Inspectors more time
2. Increase the number of UN Weapons Inspectors
3. Have the US work with the UN and provide them the details they have on Iraq's said WMD's so that the UN don't waste time looking in the wrong place
4. Deliver much needed medical supplies and food to the Iraqi people
5. Land UN Peacekeeping troops on the ground in Iraq to police distribution of medical supplies and food
6. Lift the sanctions
7. Locate Saddam Hussein and send in an elite group of UN soldiers to extract him as was done with Melosivich.

And finally, my favourite:

8. Change US foreign policy so that the world doesn't have to keep finding itself in these friggin situations

Ignoring the sneer in the comment, "Is that because you live in America?" - no, as a matter of fact, I don't - Regan presents some good ideas. Well, not all of them would work, but why aren't we looking at numbers 5 and 7?

Posted by Darryl at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

We just got these pictures given to us by Charlene's sister Janette. They were taken at Cape May, New Jersey. I may be biased, but I think our kids are pretty cute.

Posted by Darryl at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Rachel's got a new look - looks good.

Posted by Darryl at 11:32 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Last week I wondered about the flow of life. Why, at some times, does life seem to flow in the right direction with very little effort, while in other seasons, nothing seems easy?

I suggested that part of the answer could be busyness. Well, duh. I got thinking about the types of things that I tend to skip when I get too busy: reading, exercising, sleeping, thinking, writing, relational time. And then I ask why life doesn't seem to be as good?

It's amazing how one can identify the illness, and have a pretty good idea of the treatment, but still feel like the cure is out of reach. How does one live today without being busy?

Posted by Darryl at 9:01 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Church planters under 30 whom I'm meeting don't seem interested in planting churches that will become megachurches. Rather, they want reproducible small churches - which, incidentally, matches what's happening in the business world. Leadership guru Warren Bennis' The Future of Leadership speaks of elephants and fleas: The elephants get all the attention, but the new ideas mostly come from fleas. (Eddie Gibbs, author of ChurchNext: Quantum Changes In How We Do Ministry)

Posted by Darryl at 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

From x3watch.com:

This is a FREE program helping with online integrity. Whenever you browse the Internet and access a site which may contain questionable material, the program will save the site name on your computer. Approximately every 30 days, a person of your choice (an accountability partner) will receive an email containing all possible questionable sites you may have visited within the month. This information is meant to encourage open and honest conversation between friends and help us all be more accountable.

Looks like a great idea. Check out their anti-pornography website as well.

Posted by Darryl at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

From The Four Loves:

I can hardly help regarding it as one of God's jokes that a passion so soaring, so apparently transcendent, as Eros, should thus be linked in incongruous symbiosis with a bodily appetite which, like any other appetite, tactlessly reveals its connections with such mundane factors as weather, health, diet, circulation, and digestion...It is a continual demonstration of the truth that we are composite creatures, rational animals, akin on one side to the angels, on the other to tom-cats. It is a bad thing not to be able to take a joke. Worse, not to take a divine joke; made, I grant you, at our expense, but also (who doubts it?) for our endless benefit.

Lewis's discussion of love and passion is the most perceptive I've ever read. That's even before he agrees with the view of the human body expressed by St. Francis, who called his body 'Brother Ass'. A good read indeed.

Posted by Darryl at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Simple answers to complicated questions drive me crazy. I'm not convinced by the stand of those who marched for peace this past weekend. Their positions seem pretty simple, almost naive at times. I'm not saying that they aren't right in some respects, but I'm not prepared to say that war is never necessary. As one editorial said last week, "War is hell. Appeasement is worse."

I'm not convinced by the U.S. position either. War is always a defeat and should be our last resort. Has the U.S. demonstrated that war is inevitable? I'm not sure.

Some appeal to Jesus' teaching, which is a good thing. He said, "Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also...Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:39,44-45). Some conclude that we should just love Iraq, or greatly simplify Jesus' teaching to say "Jesus wouldn't drop bombs on people." Really? The issues are a little more complex than that:

No matter how much we wish to follow Jesus seriously, we discover, sooner or later, that seriously following Jesus entails hard thinking about what he said and what he did not say. We may not come to perfect unanimity on all points; but we must agree that absolutizing any text, without the due respect for the context and flow of the argument, as well as for other things Jesus says elsewhere, is bound to lead to distortion and misrepresentation of what Jesus means.

As I understand these verses, I do not think that Jesus has policemen and soldiers in view...Instead, Jesus is speaking in Matthew 5:38-42 of personal abuse and personal self-sacrifice, using the misunderstandings of Old Testament law as his starting point. The four examples he gives bear this out. (Don Carson, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount)

I wish I could say that war is always wrong. It isn't. I believe that war is always regrettable, but sometimes necessary. You can't just quote a verse from Jesus and conclude that all war, in all circumstances, is wrong.

The U.S. hasn't been completely convincing, but neither have the anti-war protestors. The people who are making the most sense to me on this issue are the ones who don't yet have closed minds on either side, and who acknowledge the tensions that demand some hard thinking and serious reflection.

Posted by Darryl at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

They say that the President of the United States is the most powerful person on earth. Last week, UN Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix stopped the President dead in his tracks, or at least delayed him. For these few days, Hans Blix is the most powerful person on earth.

Posted by Darryl at 7:23 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Scenario One
Man goes to movie store. Sees DVD that wife would enjoy. Rents said DVD. Gets kids to bed. Wife takes longer to come than planned. Starts DVD. Man falls asleep within minutes. Wife enraptured by DVD; man very sleepy, but nudged back to consciousness repeatedly by wife.

Scenario Two
Man goes to movie store. Sees DVD that he would enjoy. Rents said DVD. Wife isn't planning to watch anyway. Gets kids to bed. Starts DVD. Man enraptured. Wife suddenly appears and can't believe man's choice of movie. Man enjoys DVD but mocked mercilessly by wife.

Scenario One happened tonight.

Posted by Darryl at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

From: Canadian World Domination:

Welcome to the General Headquarters of the Campaign for Canadian World Domination! Your future tyrants are General Claire and General Jenny. The Generals are Canadian chicks who are taking over the world and re-designing it to suit their aims.

At least we'll be polite about it.

Posted by Darryl at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 )

From Morph:

Out of the interior life of the leader flows a certain kind of aura, ethos, and culture. I call this the leadership "leak."...What is going on inside of us automatically flows out. Everyone leaks...Leaders are no different. Who they are - for better or for worse - directly impacts the flavor, feel, and health of a local church.

When I was in England last Fall, I travelled two hours by train each way to attend a church, in large part because of its "flavor, feel, and health." Every Sunday, I remind myself that I have the privilege of helping to shape the culture of a church. It's exciting, and scary.

Posted by Darryl at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

The late Robertson Davies, one of my favorite authors, would have been a great blogger. I'm savoring a collection of his early letters, written from 1938-1975. After reading the following letter, I can imagine him taking on the likes of Josh Claybourn. I love his wit.

Dear Madam:

I think I understood you to say, in your Wednesday night radio address, that the tempo of living in Australia is markedly slower than that of this continent. Madam, beware! You have trodden on the rattlesnake of local patriotism! Here in Peterborough I venture to say that we can show you a tempo of living slower than any in the world! Let the kangaroo tremble in his bed! The Beaver of the Kawarthas can out-drowse him any day of the week! Adieu, rash Antipodean -

One of the Seventy Times Seven
Sleepers of Peterborough

Posted by Darryl at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Here's what I've learned about blogging so far - some good, some bad:

1. Hits and links aren't everything - Some blogs get them; some don't. It's a status symbol to get them, and hey, who doesn't want to be read? But it's just the same as having a big church vs. a small church. Bigger doesn't always mean better. It can be just as meaningful to have a conversation with a few friends and strangers through a blog. It's also gratifying to get to know other bloggers around the world, even a small number of them.

2. You're blogging for yourself, or God - Well, you could be blogging for something or someone else, but most of us will never get the attention needed to say that we're blogging for fame and fortune. I don't think anyone's getting fortune through their blog. You'll probably need a more personal motivation to sustain your interest in blogging.

3. Comments can get out of hand - Sometimes, comments are the best part of a blog. Sometimes they're the worst. It doesn't take much for things to get out of hand in the comments section. Bad arguments, personal insults, and, of course, some great insights can be found there.

3. You will get criticized - You will get nasty e-mails. You will be misunderstood. People you know may even read your blog with a critical eye. That does create challenges - how do you blog about a co-worker, or church, or personal situation knowing that some of the people you're blogging about will read your post? But no matter what you do, you will get criticized.

4. Blogs are real - We're all tired of the corporate websites with no personality. News websites are good, but they're not the essence of the Internet. The best part of the Internet is that real people are there - not just in the personal sites with cat pictures circa 1995 (not that there's anything wrong with that) but in the gritty, uncensored accounts of life, the daily ramblings, the fascinating arguments.

5. I like your blog. If you don't have a blog yet, I like the one you're going to start (I hope). As Bene Diction would say, blog on.

Posted by Darryl at 7:42 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

From Streams of Consciousness - fun stuff emanating from my brain:

There's a difference between writing for a living and writing for a life. If you write for a living, you make enormous compromises, and you might not even be able to uncompromise yourself. If you write for life, you'll work hard; you'll do what's honest, not what pays.

Posted by Darryl at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

I occasionally hit these periods you could call flow. Things go well; I have high energy; relationships are good; work is good; life is good. If I try to do something, I hit the usual obstacles, but things go pretty well.

I don't know what you call the opposite (I have a few ideas), but life seems to default there. I got to thinking - 2002/3 has been one challenge after another. 2002 was a good year, a necessary year, but also a tough and miserable one in terms of enjoyment. So far in 2003, our whole family has been sick, relationships have had more challenges, and no matter how hard I try to stay on track, I can't seem to get traction.

Why is this? Why, for no discernable reason, does life go from flow to spurts? Is there no reason? Maybe this is just life. Most of it is out of our control. Maybe some of it is about soul conditions. (I do have one theory: I think being too busy could be part of the problem.)

Posted by Darryl at 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

I'm reading a book called Morph. It's exactly the type of book that I like - it focuses on change from the inside-out, instead of on technique. Morph not only identifies the type of leadership needed today in the church, it also describes the path to this type of leadership.

Jordon Cooper has posted an interview with the author, Ron Martoia. It's worth reading, as is the book.

Posted by Darryl at 6:27 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Charlene's grandmother died on Monday. We went to see her last week. She was 91, and had stopped eating a few days earlier. She slept the entire time we were there. I stayed for a while, but then took Josiah out to McDonalds. There's only so much that a little kid can handle (not to mention his father).

Charlene spent hours there. She brushed her hair, moistened her mouth. At one point, her grandmother opened her eyes and focused on Charlene. It was about as nice a goodbye as could be expected under the circumstances.

Now she's gone. Tonight, we looked at old black and white pictures of her. Life is truly very short, and when you get a glimpse of that, it's also very precious.

Posted by Darryl at 11:32 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

We are better paid, better fed, and better educated than ever. Yet the divorce rate has tripled, and depression has soared in the past 30 years. The conclusion is inescapable: Our lifestyles are packed with more stuff, but we lead emptier lives. We're consuming more but enjoying it less. (Polly LaBarre, "How to Lead a Rich Life," March 2003 Fast Company)

Posted by Darryl at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

"We all appear as dunces when feigning an interest in things we care nothing about." (C.S. Lewis)

Posted by Darryl at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Found through Bene Diction: Shirky: Power Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality

In a world where most bloggers get below average traffic, audience size can't be the only metric for success. LiveJournal had this figured out years ago, by assuming that people would be writing for their friends, rather than some impersonal audience. Publishing an essay and having 3 random people read it is a recipe for disappointment, but publishing an account of your Saturday night and having your 3 closest friends read it feels like a conversation, especially if they follow up with their own accounts.

This brings to mind a passage from William Zinsser's classic book On Writing Well:

Soon after you confront the matter of preserving your identity, another question will occur to you: "Who am I writing for?"

It's a fundamental question, and it has a fundamental answer: You are writing for yourself. Don't try to visualize the great mass audience. There is no such audience - every reader is a different person. Don't try to guess what sort of thing editors want to publish or what you think the country is in a mood to read. Editors and readers don't know what they want to read until they read it. Besides, they are always looking for something new...

Relax and say what you want to say. And since style is who you are, you only need to be true to yourself to find it gradually emerging from under the accumulated clutter and debris, growing more distinctive every day.

Posted by Darryl at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Josh Sargent has left the building. His blog will be missed.

Posted by Darryl at 7:13 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Last year, I was introduced to Rachel Cunliffe through Jordon Cooper's website. Since then, I've been a fan of her blog. It's one of the best out there.

Rachel's obviously also very good at designing sites. She's redesigned my template, and I love the results. Thanks, Rachel - it truly has been a pleasure.

Posted by Darryl at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Maybe we remember the few occasions in our life in which we were able to show someone we love our real self: not only our great successes but also our weaknesses and pains, not only our good intentions but also our bitter motives, not only our radiant face but also our dark shadow. It takes a lot of courage, but it might just open a new horizon, a new way of living...

Love is not based on the willingness to listen, to understand problems of others, or to tolerate their otherness. Love is based on the mutuality of the confession of our total self to each other. This makes us free to declare not only: "My strength is your strength" but also: "Your pain is my pain, your weakness is my weakness, your sin is my sin." It is in this intimate fellowship of the weak that love is born. (Henri Nouwen, Intimacy)

Posted by Darryl at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

My Mandarin California Greens Salad at McDonalds today came with Deluxe Trail Mix. Here's what I discovered on the package:

Ingredients: Cashews, raisins, sunflower kernels, candied papaya (papaya, sugar, artificial colour (FD&C yellow #5 and yellow #6), almonds, pumpkin seeds, coconut, vegetable oil (canola oil) and sulphites.

Allergy Information: May contain traces of peanuts and/or other nuts.

"Traces" may be a bit of an understatement.

Posted by Darryl at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

jordoncooper.com :: more living, less punditry

Jordon says, "That happened quicker than I thought..."

Posted by Darryl at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Many have been wondering if the impending war on Iraq could be called just or ethical. C.S. Lewis says that patriotism is a far better reason for going to war than ethics (although it shouldn't replace ethics):

Rulers must somehow nerve their subjects to defend them or at least to prepare for their defence. Where the sentiment of patriotism has been destroyed this can be done only by presenting every international conflict in a purely ethical light. If people will spend neither sweat nor blood for 'their country' they must be made to feel that they are spending them for justice, or civilisation, or humanity. That is a step down, not up. Patriotic sentiment did not of course need to disregard ethics. Good men need to be convinced that their country's cause was just; but it was still their country's cause, not the cause of justice as such. (C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves)

Lewis argues that there's a difference between a purely ethical war, and a patriotic war that is also ethical. America is arguing that it is about to wage a war for the cause of justice, not for its own sake. Is Lewis right? What does this mean for the war on Iraq?

Posted by Darryl at 7:36 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Christianity Today Magazine - Columbia Astronauts Mourned, But Their Faith Is Celebrated

Two thousand people attended services at Grace Community yesterday, where Pastor Steve Riggle told of a note Husband had left in case he died. "Tell them about Jesus," it said. "He means everything to me."

Posted by Darryl at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Jordon Cooper: Gone

Less punditry, more living.

Jordon usually seems to be a little ahead of the curve. You've got to give him credit for staying true to himself.

I wonder if there's any significance to this to the broader blogging world? Is it just me, or is the life cycle of trends and movements getting a lot shorter?

Update: Amy Welborn's blog is also shutting down. Seems like some of the early bloggers are giving it up.

Posted by Darryl at 1:31 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

I have this complicated relationship with the States. I have family who live there; I always enjoy visiting the States; I'd even like to live there (in the south, of course, far away from this Canadian winter).

I sometimes tire of over-the-top patriotism. I occasionally wince when Americans don't seem to recognize excess (yes, this applies to Canada as well). There are many things wrong with the culture that, to some extent, we share.

But then I hear the comments that are just over the top. Our Prime Minister's aide calls Bush a moron, and for the longest time, she keeps her job. Mandela accuses Bush of having no foresight, wanting a holocaust, and Americans of being the country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world. A bishop says that America is hated and loathed around the world. And on it goes.

It's not like the US is above criticism, but so much of it seems to be overdone and unfair. No wonder Americans tire of the barrage of words against them.

When the Columbia was lost yesterday, I felt the same way I did on September 11, 2001. I felt like the American tragedy was my own. There are days that my status as a non-American doesn't seem to matter. There are days that I would be proud to be called an American. This is one of those days.

Posted by Darryl at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

From Canoe.ca: The selling of Avril Lavigne

Among the more than 600 "Avril Lavigne" items listed on eBay this week were "Rocks from Avril Lavigne's home town."

"These are pretty unique souvenirs of the young star," wrote rickjc01 from Napanee. "Anyone can buy a poster or a T-shirt, but how often can you have little piece of a star's home town? Buy now, stock is limited."

Posted by Darryl at 8:51 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

I visited the hospital yesterday. I was tired, at the end of a long week, and still trying to get over a cold. I entered the foyer, and my first thought was at how much hospitals have changed. The foyer was bright and attractive, with coffee shops and people sitting and talking. It was like entering an upscale mall.

It's nicer, but I knew it wouldn't be an easy visit. My mind went back to a pastor I heard talk a week ago. The first time he made a hospital visit, he didn't have a clue what to say or do. He just prayed. He really wanted Christ's presence to be felt through him. Now, many years later, he's a professional at making these visits. He longs for that sense of inadequacy he used to have, the sense that apart from the Holy Spirit his visit would be a waste.

I felt inadequate yesterday. There was nothing I could say. I could only be there, and pray that my presence alone would be enough. We did talk, and I did pray. I visited a quiet man who's suddenly found he has only weeks to live. His family is overcome with shock. Lord, what do I say?

When I saw him, he lit up and talked to me clearly. He hasn't been talking; the family couldn't believe it. We chatted for a short while. I prayed. I promised to come back in a few days.

As I left, I walked with my head down. I live so much of the time with a feeling of immortality. It's an illusion. As I left, I felt like I had been on holy ground. Death is an enemy. As a believer, I know it's not the end, but it's still not a friend. How humbling not only to come face to face with human weakness, but to know that nothing - not all my best words or insights, absolutely nothing - was as good as just being there. Holy ground indeed.

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Posted by Darryl at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

CNN.com - Shuttle landing in question - Feb. 1, 2003

Things do not look good. A time for prayer.

Posted by Darryl at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )