LEg 1 Completed

This year holidys started by loading 2 adults, 3 children 6 and under, and a (decidedly high-anxiety, anti-social) dog into a van with tent and sleeping bags and clothes and driving 1900 km over 3 days.

Apart from the heavy rain whilst driving on the first day. And the bit of rain on the tent that night. And the heavy rain the second evening (which necessitated a retreat into the tent for the evening at 6:00 until the next morning). It was alright. We really are, all in all, blessed with good travellers for children.

Just let me say that we are really glad we brought the portable DVD player and that we were close enough to the power outlet last night to have it available to use without worrying about the battery dying.

One small issue. Anyone know if they make air mattresses that do not get holes? LAst night we had to do some rearranging since the large air mattress for mom and dad wouldn't hold air. It all worked out but was a little inconvenient.

Now the relaxing part of holidays begins........

This quote came on one of the e-lists I am a part of. It is going in the sermon for Sunday. Possibly as the intro?

from: 'Dying Church - Living God', by Chuck Meyers pg. 37-39

Sometime in the early 1970s, the president of AT&T called all his managers into a large room for an emergency meeting. Attendance was mandatory. Speculation ran high as to what announcement would be made. Perhaps a breakthrough in technology. Perhaps a downsizing. Perhaps ...... They could tell by the grim look on his face that something extremely serious was about to be revealed. When all were seated, the president went to the podium and said, "The telephone as you know it no longer exists." Muffled giggles rippled through the room. What game was this? They all knew he was wrong. They had used phones that morning. He continued: "Anyone who does not believe that state-ment can leave this room right now and pick up your final paycheck on the way out of the building." Sober silence prevailed. No one left. They all just stared. "Your job today is to invent one."

He broke the group up into small teams and they spent the rest of the time coming up with a new phone. Some people wanted one with no cord...... in the car, or to carry around.... to know when another call was coming in.......to be able to forward calls to another number, to see the person on the other end, to send other kinds of messages on it. About 60 items that distinguished the telephone they invented. Many are now the features that we take for granted, from call-waiting to individual digital phones, and the list has not yet completed.

In the same manner, at the beginning of the third mil-lennium, we come to church one morning for the Sunday service and, much to our shocked dismay, we find a vacant lot with a little note tacked on a piece of tattered plaster out front. It is written in Hebrew and it is the same note left on every vacant lot of every former church building in the world, from cathedral to clapboard. Translated, it says, "The church you have always known no longer exists; it is gone - walls, pews, altar, and assumptions." The tomb is empty. "How can this be?" we ask in abject puzzlement. In the background, we hear God's laughter saying, "Given the world the way it is, given the devastating problems and the incredible possibilities opening up for the first time in history, given what you now know to be true in the world, the real question is, 'How can it NOT be?' " Then God looks us right in the eye and says, "Make a new one."

I figure I will have a "toolkit" with me to help build the church. Included will be some actual tools (hammer, saw, pliers etc) and a Bible and a copy of The United Church Manual and a copy of the church mailing list. Which of these would be the most useful in building the "House of GOd"? Here's a hint. The sermon title is The House of Flesh.

Will They Even Notice?

Much less act on it?

Who and what you ask? Facebook and threats of being hauled into Federal Court in Canada.

On cbc.ca today one reads:

Facebook shares its users' personal information with developers who create games and quizzes in a way that breaches Canadian privacy law, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has found.

Privacy concerns about Facebook are nothing new. ANd the general reaction of the creators has been "trust us". Now, if they don't act on these concerns the PRivacy commissioner has the authority to haul them before Canada's Federal court. But of course FB is not a Canadian company. SO, as often with the 'net, the question is whose laws apply? Can a Canadian court enforce changes to the system?

10 Days late...

10 days ago was my 4th blogiversary!

I really should have had some words of wisdom for the occassion but oh well, there's always next year!

When Tradition Meets Archaeology...

I saw this story a couple weeks ago but just now got around to blogging it.......

The first-ever scientific tests on what are believed to be the remains of the Apostle Paul “seem to confirm” that they do indeed belong to the Roman Catholic saint, Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday.

So they have confirmed a tomb that tradition claims to hold the bones of Paul may in fact have bones of the right era. Still I find it a bit of a leap to say it is actually PAul's. I find it a convenient "confirmation".

Not that it really makes an iota's difference to me anyway.

A Choice I COuldn't Make...

ANd you have to know that the Gallinger's are not the only family in this situation. But few families would be willing and able to make this public a plea.

Realistically, it is cheaper to provide support to families and allow them to keep caring for their child than to have the child totally cared for by the state. Arguably it is healthier for everyone involved. And it appears to me that it should be the default to support parents to raise their own children.

For more about the situation click here

And while it is admirable how well she talks her way through it, no 5 year old should be that familiar with how to give medication. In a perfect world anyway...