I Never Knew

But apparently I am dangerous!

Just check out the "discussion" on this thread (starting about 3/4 of the way down the first page).  This poster and I have been into it before, this is just a sampl;e.

But I never knew I was so dangerous!

Although Gandalf does remind us that we are all dangerous in our own way, even mild little Pippin.

Favourite passages

Over at RGBP Songbird writes:

Twenty years ago, I was on a Pastoral Search Committee, and one of the questions we asked the ten candidates we interviewed in the first round was to tell us their three favorite passages of scripture. I loved hearing the variety of verses quoted and even learned some that I didn't know, such as the last line of one of this week's lectionary passages:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8) 

For today's Friday Five, list your five favorite passages/verses from the Bible and tell us something about why you love them.

 

Before I start let me say that I am SO glad that wasn't an interview question I was asked. ANd this is a real challenge, so many passages that don't make today's cut.  All the passages below can be read here

1. Deuteronomy 30:15-20 "I have set before you today a choice..." I once used this passage when writing a sermon for Ethics in seminary.  It is just such a great way to remind us that our choices matter.
2. Matthew 25:31-46 The Sheep and the Goats Is there a better answer to "why do good things?" than this passage, this is what love of neighbour means.  Besides I always love that way of telling people to go to Hell in verse 41
3. 1 COrinthians 13 Paul at his finest, the hymn to love need I say more?  OVer used and misunderstood perhaps.  But still the poetry and the vision rings out.
4. Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 a passage I always love to use for weddings especially verses 9-12.  They speak so well of the ideal of mutual support, and the reminder of the third strand in the cord in verse 12 speaks so well of the ideal of Christian partnership
5. Amos 5:21-24 let justice roll down like water I had to have something from the prophets and can you do better than Amos?

ANd of course there are sooooooooooo many others.  Depending on mood and circumstance of course.

Apparently it Snowed....

12-18 inches of snow this weekend (after close to a foot last weekend)

The poor dog is really confused about how to get to the yard

At some point we have to deal with the other half of the driveway before the van (which is sitting in the dealership lot) gets fixed

Somewhere in that pile is a BBQ

Book 2 of 2011 -- Lady Luck Smiles Only Once

(Unfortunately I could only pull this image with the big virtual sticker on the cover)

I have had this one sitting on the counter for a few months (since Peter sent it to me) but just got around to reading it now.  It is the second novel Peter has written about Laurence Speke.

Escapist--yes but a good read when I didn't want to be made to think.

And I look forward to the next one Peter!

Classic Vignette

Tonight we are watching a show about jobs in Canadian history.  This week's episode is about settlement era jobs.  One of the fields was logging and they showed the river drive.  And that reminded me of this...

A NEw Toy/Experiment

Shortly after I arrived here I bought a voice recorder and started an archive of sermons.  The hope was to eventually be able to post them on the web.

This weekend I learned of a place that could be made to happen--for free.  So today I started playing.  THe results of the playing are here.  WHat is the sound like?  DO I need to tweak things a bit?

Huh???

On my way home this afternoon the radio station had the answer to their daily "NEarly Impossible Question" contest.

Today the question was "What do 20% more men than women do while driving?'

The answer--Flirt.

Now admittedly I have never counted flirting as a strongpoint (or recognizing I am being flirted with for that matter).  But how do you flirt with people in other vehicles while driving?????

Book 1 of 2011--Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk

This one was a Christmas gift.  I had maybe heard the author's name in passing before but nothing about him in detail.

It is, different.  Enjoyable yes.  But definitely different.  But for a nice diversion during a holiday reading it was just was I needed.

NExt up????

Memories.....

It was the summer of 1981.  I spent many hours in the local hockey arena (which would later be called the "Ducky Dome" after a mural featuring giant ducks was painted on the back but I digress).  We sang, we danced, we practiced lines, we were measured for burlap sack costumes (and oh were those itchy).  And when the time came a group of us waited in the bleachers for our cue.  When it same we marched over the boards and down a ramp singing "13 Mighty Dwarves" in this show.  And so St. Albert Children's Theatre was born.  Tonight (in about 45 minutes as I write this) in a special presentation they celebrate 30 years.  And if I were in St. Albert or somewhere else in metro Edmonton I would be there for the show and to see old friends.

In hte early years SACT was a summer program.  But then it grew.  First a spring show was added in 1984.  Then the summer show became a full camp that same year.  Not only did we prepare a show we took classes in music and dance and drama.  ANd by that 1984 summer the program was so popular the show was double cast (starting the summer of 1985 there were two separate summer shows, divided by age).

All in all I participated in 10 of the shows on the production history on the SACT website (although one of those was actually done as an A.R.T.S show [ARTS was a parallel program with many of the same members that was started as a leadership development program in the fall of 1982] Black Bonspiel of Wullie Macrimmon with WO Mitchell coming to meet the cast and crew).  SOmetimes I was in the cast, sometimes I was on the crew.  But the shows, as enjoyable as they were, were only part of the benefit.

The real benefit is that those people with whom I shared many hours in rehearsal and preparation and in post-show parties were my best friends throughout those Junior and Senior High years.  A few went on to do theatre as a career but most of us didn't.  But we supported each other, laughed together, struggled together.  And of all the people from those years they are among the ones I wish I had stayed in touch with -- although I have reconnected with some through FB.  Yes I developed skillls that a
have served me well in ministry, but the friendships were the really important part.  We were a group, sometimes cliquish, but we were a group.

Not bad for something my mom thought I might find enjoyable to fill the days of summer vacation.

Sunday's Worship....

A month ago, as we were doing some worship planning, the music minister and I decided that we weren't going to plan anything for Boxing Day.  After all, we reasoned, it seemed unlikely that we would have a big crowd.  So we decided there would be no bulletin, no structure.  People would be invited to sit up front beside the piano, we would ask for favourite carols, maybe some discussion about Christmas, coffee and tea and muffins available in the sanctuary....

And that is what happened.  There were about 20 folks present.  We had coffee/tea/muffins available (mind you nobody actually had any until after the service--force of habit I'd guess).  We convinced people, and it took some convincing, to sit up in the choir loft chairs. and here is the order of things actually happened:

• We lit the advent and Christ candles
• sang a carol 
• a short version of the Wenceslas story was told, followed by singing that carol
• people were invited to share some Christmas memories
• a carol was sung
• some Christmas trivia question (from this test) were asked
• a carol was sung
• people were invited to share some memories of a Christmas that was less than merry/more somber
• a prayer was said
• a trip of university students sang a song
• offering was collected with some stories about special gifts told
• a carol was sung
• we broke for coffe and fellowship

It went well, in the opinion of many.  And may be the model for next year when December 25th is a Sunday