This is amazing! These little critters are the fastest moving organism on earth… or at least their jaws are. Apparently they can wind up their jaws like a crossbow and release them with an incredible amount of force, which they sometimes use to propel themselves. It appears that they have yet to evolve stabilizers. lol

I stumbled across some old videos of Francis Shaeffer and thought this little review of recent history very interesting.  It is a sober reminder of where we are at today and how empty life is when all we have to live for is ourselves.

So what was left? Apathy. Having been worn out trying to find meaning, forgiveness and love… and failed, all that was left was to go to sleep.

But there is cure for our disease! There is a Doctor.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

I just finished watching the Senate debate over the 1 trillion dollar stimulus package. (I know, I need to get a life)

But it is a monumental decision that represents an additional 12,000 debt for every household in the U.S. (if I understand correctly) In Canada we have had our own debate and have similarly chosen to go the route of massive spending.

I guess I can understand the need to inject capital into the financial system in order to keep credit flowing but I lack faith in our govn’s ability to spend money efficiently or effectively. At some point we have to take our medicine and the prescription is not more debt.

Robert Reich in his book ‘Supercapitalism‘ points out some of the serious problems that exist with the relationship between the corporate world and the gov’n. He points out that our gov’n has to balance the demands of the ‘consumer / investor’ with that of the ‘citizen’. Each one of us is both. For example, as a citizen, I want my town to have a dynamic downtown core. But as a consumer, I want to have the option of going to Walmart where I can buy things for dirt cheap and as an investor, I want my stock in Walmart to go up. The corporate world will always cater to us as a ‘consumer / investor’ but only our elected officials can act on our behalf as ‘citizen’. But our government often doesn’t and this represents a serious problem for democracy. Since the 1970’s, corporate lobbying in the Washington has grown into a massive industry that has effectively drowned out the voice of citzen groups.

Ultimately this is a problem for the markets as well. We can no more have healthy free markets without an uncompromised regulator than we can have a good soccer match without a guy on the field with a loud whistle and yellow cards. As much as we might dislike refs as players, we need them and we don’t want them hitting the pubs with the opposing team after the game.

While Obama is promising change, I wonder if he is willing to make the kind of change necessary? Putting a 500,000 cap on CEO salaries for U.S. financial institutions that have received bailout funds (which is nearly every major bank in the US) sounds like a good idea but I am not sure. We need the best people leading these corporations but how many CEO’s will be willing to take on that kind of responsibility when the pay is no better than that of a lesser position? A CEO at the helm of a multi billion dollar company will get paid more than the rest of us and, hopefully, he will make use of his salary for philanthropy. The size of the salary is not the problem, it is the lack of integrity. I would rather see the gov’n put regulations in place that adjust CEO compensation so that long term success is rewarded rather than year end balance sheets.

At gut level, it doesn’t seem right that some people should get paid so much while others struggle to get by. But what are the options in this flawed world corrupted by human nature? When I worked on a communal farm in Israel, I had a chance to see the effects of socialism on a community. When the idealism of the early days wore off, human nature took over and people got lazy. Many kibbutzim today are nearly insolvent. I read somewhere that socialism is misery equally shared whereas capitalism is wealth unequally distributed. That seems to be true.

But capitalism is only a system of economics. It has no heart. And this is where the church has a great role to play. Our society needs at least one institution (in the best sense of the word) that has a heart and that speaks a different language. That reminds its members to, “lay up treasure in heaven where neither rust or moth destroy” and that the true religion which the Lord our God finds acceptable is to “look after orphans and widows in their distress.”

I was watching Band of Brothers – ‘Carretan’ last night and had to write out this conversation that takes place between two soldiers.

Spears: What’s your name trooper.

Blythe: Blythe sir, Albert Blythe.

Spears: Do you know why you hid in that ditch Blythe.

Blythe: I was scared.

Spears: We’re all scared. You hid in that ditch because you think there is still hope. But Blythe, the only hope you have is to accept the fact that you are already dead. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you will be able to function as a soldier’s suppossed to function…

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Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39

This is Klassen’s custom door opener made with an old hydrolic pump and assorted tractor parts. It is truly a piece of workship.

Yoko Bro’s Fabrication Ltd.

I just read the Pilgrims Progress for the first time recently and understand now why it is such an enduring classic. Interestingly, at the time it was written, high churchmen put it down as simple and naiive. But I think that is beauty of it. This simple allegory contains more truth than volumes of philosophy because it speaks to joys and struggles of ‘everyman’.

Here is my little summary:

An outcast in his own city, Christian seeks the narrow way that leads to the Beautiful Land. He gets off to a rough start when he speaks with Worldy Wise Guy and is led astray. He nearly walks off of a cliff on Mt. Sinai and gets stuck in the Slough of Despondency. Along the way Christian meets a friend and fellow pilgrim, Faithful. Together they face the temptations of Vanity Fair and are not at all sure if they will escape. Faithful is killed there but Hopeful joins Christian and together they climb a mountain where they can look across the valley of death which they had crossed and catch a glimpse of the Celestial City. Later, they take a well worn track that leads to Doubting Castle were they are beaten for days by the Giant Despair. Then, when Christian wants to die and put an end to it all, Hopeful reminds him that there is a key called Promise. It is the only key that can unlock the gates of iron. This Key of Promise can only be turned with Prayer. Later, they cross the enchanted ground that puts the unsuspecting to sleep and have to work at keeping each other awake.

At the end of the journey, the terror of death overwhelms Christian as he crosses the deep Jordan river and loses his footing. But he is helped across the river by Hopeful and together they arrive at the Celestial City, Mt. Zion, the City of the Great King where there is joy in His presence forever…

Well, that is selective and out of order but it is what stuck with me.

No doubt it is complete foolishness to many, but then as John Bunyan writes in his intro,

Art thou for something rare, and profitable?

Wouldest thou see a Truth within a Fable?
Art thou forgetful? wouldest thou remember
From new-years-day to the last of December?
Then read my fancies, they will stick like Burs,
And may be to the Helpless, Comforters.

Would’st thou be in a Dream, and yet not sleep? Or wouldest thou in a moment laugh, and weep?
Wouldest thou lose thyself withou a charm?
And find thyself again without a harm?
Would’st read thyself, and read thou know’st not what,
And yet know, whether thou art blest or not,
By reading the same lines? O then come hither,
And lay my Book, thy head, and heart together.

I posted a news article a while ago about a group of Mennonites who were forced to leave their homes and province because their school’s curriculum did not meet Quebec’s standards…

I just came across another interesting piece in the National Post about a new curriculum being introduced into Quebec schools. It is very ambitious in scope and will be incorporated into students education throughout primary and secondary education.

Here is a link to a video that is basically Quebec gov’n propaganda supporting the curriculum.

I guess it has always been a struggle for me to understand the separation of church and state. If one of the key tasks of the state is to uphold justice and if justice is ultimately rooted in who God is then the idea of separation of church and state is not clear… I think its a legitimate distinction (Luke 20:25) but it’s not black and white.

The church has already been pushed out of any meaningful contribution to public policy but now the gov’n is intruding into what has traditionally been the role of the church. Their message is relativism, the religion of secularism. And… attendance is mandatory. Maybe we could make church attendance mandatory as well!

Trudeau once said that the State has no business intruding into the bedrooms of its citizens… but apparently that is the only place that is off limits.

Anyway, read this article from the NP. I think the writer makes some good points.

People turn to faith in times of trouble but what does that mean exactly?  Here is a little video clip and also a snippet from the article in the Washington Post.

Had a chance to take some friends from Iran up Yamnuska last weekend.  They are petroleum engineers studying at the U of C for the semester on an exchange program.   

Rezza and I with Yamnuska in the background.

A little coffee on the top! 
It was a beautiful day… until a cruel wind picked up and nearly froze us in place.