Haiti Trip Journal: Post 2

Feb 19, 2012

Today was an amazing day! We woke up a little before 6:30 and had breakfast, then dressed in "our Sunday best" and drove to the orphanage to meet the kids for the first time. There were lots of kids there, all behind a big gate.  It was a bit nerve wracking seeing them there and wondering how in the world we'd connect with the.  They let out the girls first to meet us.

A beautiful little Haitian girl (maybe 8 or 9) came over and claimed me - holding on tight. Next the boys were released and two came over and jockeyed for position with the little girl. With all of them clinging tightly and my arms around them we started walking towards the church.

Me, Verline, Mardoche, and Jimmy.

 

Dave and Keith with their boys (I think Dave had 5!), walking to church.

The girl eventually disappeared (ceding the battle to the boys) and I began to feel the frustration of not being able to communicate with them. I wish I knew Creole! One of the boys kept tapping me on my neck and I though "Uh oh, maybe I nicked myself shaving?" But when they kept doing it one of them did the same thing to himself and said "Tony." Aha, he wants to know my name! After introductions were made I started using French which is close to Creole. Suddenly we could communicate!

This began a game of us pointing to things and saying their name in their language (and I did the same). Old words of French long forgotten came back to me and were were able to share some words and laugh. Very cool. I whistled and they whistled too. The 15 minute walk to the church was great. This was our first actual walk around Haiti and the road we walked down had trees, fields, houses, and goats. Fruit trees and palms trees were everywhere. I felt thankful for being able to be close to nature with such fine companions. Exploring down the road was great and got me excited.

The Haitian church we arrived at was wonderful - a church of about 200 people with windows and doors wide open letting in the breezes (which were much appreciated - it was hot in there!). We were welcomed and given a seat in the front. It was about a 2 hour service and very loud! The orphans got to sit to us close to the front and we listened to some amazing singing. One interesting thing that was different was one man who seemed to be something like a cantor. He swayed, danced, exclaimed loudly and basically modeled exuberant worship.  Never saw anything like that before but in the context it seemed to work!  After the service we were invited to stay and given bottles of coke to drink.

Paul amongst the kids at the church

Since it was Sunday, we went to A Samaritan's Purse compound about half an hour away called Jack's Beach.  SP has been renting this "resort" from the owners and used it as a base for staff, heavy machinery, etc.  It was a very beautiful place and while the swimming was great I would have loved to have just hung out there a little more on my own - I felt the desire to spend some time reading, praying, and worshiping - a desire that often hits me when I'm in a beautiful outside locale.  Interestingly, the site felt a lot like "The Others" camp from the TV show "Lost."

Eating Lunch at Jack's Beach

Keith, first time swimming in the ocean

Kelly and Scott, well, no idea what they are doing here actually but definitely an amusing picture.

A beautiful beach in one of the most poverty struck nations in the world.  Even here God's beauty can still be seen sometimes.

We then went for supper to an outdoor local Haitian restaurant and the food was delicious - chicken, avacado, rice, and the spiciest coleslaw I have ever eaten!  It was great to be eating my chicken and seeing the restaurant's live chickens running around outside as well.  Eating in the open air suits me.

Simple but absolutely delicious Haitian fare.

Our team waiting for our food.  We invited one of our security guys (McKenzie) to come with us.

After we finally returned to our house, Judd lead us in our nightly round of "highs and lows."  I really admire this man - Gad has really used him in some amazing ways.  After our sharing time Judd shares inspirational stories his life in a humble way that really makes you think.  Tonight I was thinking about this week and wondering "What can I do here? How can God use me when there are such big needs and I have such limited skills?"  I wish I had more construction abilities (OK, any) or even Keith's computer skills.  Now that I'm finally here I feel a bit of anxiety about what it will be like to begin our actual work.  I'm praying God will be able to use me for his glory somehow - and that I'll be open to whatever comes my way.

Haiti Trip Journal: Post 1

These are some of the highlights of the trip to Haiti that I went on about a month ago. With a few additions/subtractions these are pretty verbatim accounts from my journal that I kept while in Haiti. Sorry its taken me awhile to get to this!


Feb 18, 2012

My day actually began on the 17th when at 2:30 we left Winnipeg to fly to Chicago.

The Team at the Winnipeg Airport (click to enlarge photos btw)

Although I could tell there was a little nervousness on our team, there was much excitement as well. From Chicago we flew to Miami where we were supposed to stay in a nearby hotel for a few hours before returning to the airport. But somehow the hotel lost our reservation and so we bravely decided to stay overnight in the airport. Great idea - just like in the movies (or Amazing Race)! Yeah, not quite. Turns out there was no comfortable seating - so we had tried sleeping in an outside garden/park on some benches.

The outside park (palm trees in the background)

(Not as comfortable as it looks!)

I slept a little but the sound of planes, the cool temperatures and humidity convinced me after an hour or so to try a carpeted area inside the airport. Alas, it was freezing cold with the AC and there were extremely loud announcements every 5-10 minutes - welcoming us to Miami or telling us about the perils of leaving our bags unattended. Keith got very ill this night and I was worried for him and prayed for him during our sleepless vigil. Thanks to God he perked up around 4:30am.

Inside the airport - pretending to sleep.

Our flight to Haiti was uneventful and I was struck at both the natural beauty and poverty that were noticeable as we circled the island. Landing went well but baggage retrieval was interesting; they just throw everything into an open area and everyone searches madly for their stuff! Luckily after a few minutes we all found everything. Then, before leaving the customs area we got a strict warning from Dan; “Don’t let anyone touch your bags. Put your backpacks on in front of you, take valuables out of your packets, and look for the Samaritan’s Purse people.” Yikes, suddenly it got serious but as Keith says “It’s go time!” So we walked out and were immediately accosted by people wanting to help us - for a fee. I was OK since I was the last guy out - but I still ended up giving some pushy guys a few bucks.

For their our SP guy, a Haitian named Roosevelt took us on what was the scariest (so far) vehicle ride of my life! We careened through the streets of Port Au Prince honking, accelerating towards people on the street (including children!), swerving, and barely missing people. Motorcycles, taxis, trucks, etc came within inches of us repeatedly! People crossed the street or walked between the stream of vehicles yet no one was struck. Along the way we saw evidence of the devastation of the earthquake 2 years ago as well as the poverty of the people. Tents for houses, shanty towns, and miles of hole in the wall business went by us for hours. After while I felt overwhelmed with it all and then mostly numb - so much poverty.

Tent houses and shacks, with familiar Samaritan's Purse tarps.

The President's house didn't do well in the quake

Imagine this was your "temporary housing" - for over two years!

Finally we made it to the town of Leogane and the walled SP house which was to be our home. Interestingly it was guarded by not one but three Haitian guards - each carried a shotgun, handcuffs, or other assorted weaponry. Our house leaders were Jed and Peggy, a great couple from Minnesota who had previously been in Ecuador for 20 years. These people immediately made us feel at home. I had a quick nap and then took a spiral staircase to the roof where we had a beautiful view of the huge trees (in this area they have some) and mountains in the distance. Because of security, we can’t just go out and explore so I felt sad about that but I did get to enjoy watching our neighbors on each side of us. Both had their houses destroyed in the quake. Apparently 80% of the houses in this area were destroyed or severely damaged 2 years ago.

Me finding what was to be one of my favorite places in Haiti (the roof of our house)

Although we are in pretty good spirits I also felt a feeling of helplessness as I was watching a little boy over at the neighbors house. We were up on the roof smiling and trying to talk to him down below. We were all enjoying this when eventually this smiling boy made gestures like “please give me something.” Boom - poverty shows its face. And the thing is - you really want to give them something (lots of things) - but it’s not that easy. If you do it can have some real negative effects on you, the family, and Samaritan’s Purse. It’s tough to come in as rich North American’s and feel like just giving someone something can be so strangely complicated. I wonder as I go to bed that night, if we can’t even give something to this poor boy, how can we do something meaningful here in Haiti? Luckily I didn’t have to ponder it long as I had only had an hour or so of sleep the night before and quickly succumbed to my fatigue. Note: If you are worried how you'll sleep in a foreign country just go sleepless the night before - you sleep the following night like a baby!

Haiti Update (and Prayer Requests)

On Friday afternoon I'm heading to Haiti! Thanks to those of you who have been praying for me and supporting me through your encouragement, donations, and advice. Good news; or team has managed to raise all of our needed support (something we are so very thankful for) and now we are just getting everything ready to go! Jobina was remarking on my preparation - essentially none - and how different our modes of packing are. For her, packing and preparing is half the trip. For me, packing is done half an hour before you go! I'm not exactly feeling nervous about going - but I do occasionally feel a little unsettled about it as I'm not sure what to expect. Today I found out that we might be able to do an Operation Christmas Child shoebox distribution - that would be extremely cool!

So if you'd like to, please feel free to pray for me. Here are 10 prayer requests for the 10 day's I'll be gone.

Day 1. Safe and efficient travels for me and the team (there and back).
Day 2. Quick adjustment to the new surroundings, culture, and climate.
Day 3. A heart for the people and a desire to share Christ's love with everyone we meet.
Day 4. Unity of spirit as we work on our major project (rebuilding the orphanage).
Day 5. Strength and health (especially my back, protection from disease, etc)
Day 6. That we can do the Shoebox distribution!
Day 7. A love and broken heart for the people of Haiti.
Day 8. Spiritual growth and closeness with God.
Day 9. Courage to do whatever God leads us to.
Day 10. That we come back changed, on fire, and ready to reconnect with our jobs and families.

I think we'll also have a blog going though I'm not sure how often we'll update. The web page is:

www.projecthaitimen.blogspot.com

100%

We had a really amazing lady present in our church today. Her name is Marie Enns and she is a lifelong missionary in Cambodia. I've always been interested in Cambodia - it was the first place I tried going overseas and although the trip fell through I've always felt an affinity with it. Marie has a huge ministry there ministering to hundreds - taking in families devastated by AIDS, receiving children who've been abandoned, rescuing women (and sadly) children from the sex trade, helping the elderly, and so many other things. This woman was amazing - her love for the people, Jesus, and life is contagious. She is an extremely competent and faithful woman - the kind who is rare and inspiring. Kind of a Mennonite version of Mother Theresa.

Check out Marie's website here.

Anyway, Marie said something today that kind of blew my mind. She was talking about the problem of AID's in the population and how quickly it spread. She said this:

"100% of Cambodian men use prostitutes."

I was completely shocked. Could this be true (or even close)? It seems unbelievable. But apparently widespread acceptance of prostitution is a part of the culture. I did some research and apparently over 30% of 13 year old boys have slept with a prostitute and 90% of Cambodian men in university use prostitutes A few other quotes:

"Cambodian men are quite ready to admit that they seek the favours of prostitutes, even though they may be married and have two or three girlfriends on the side. It has become very much a part of life. For many Cambodian men, giving his friend a treat means taking him to a brothel. Men who decline such favours are looked upon as unusual, even abnormal."

Leela Barrock, "'Golden Flowers' a Thriving Trade," Business Times (Malaysia), Oct. 14, 1996

"...[L]ocal demand for prostitutes is estimated to contribute between 49 to 70 per cent of the demand for commercial sex in Cambodia. A 'high demand for virgins from Cambodian men fuelling the flow of underage girls into Cambodia's sex trade' was also cited as a concern...

There is a persistent belief among Cambodian men that sleeping with a virgin has rejuvenating powers and can even cure HIV/Aids."

"Locals Fuelling Child Prostitution," Straits Times (Singapore)/Agence France-Presse (AFP), Oct. 7, 2010

(Worldwide prostitution stats: click to enlarge)

As both a Christian and a counselor I cannot imagine how terrible the results are of such evil. An entire country where the vast majority of men use prostitutes? The mental, spiritual, physical, and relations effect on the people (men, women, and especially children) is unfathomable. Marie mentioned the children and women she met having "dead eyes" and I believe it. It is common in Cambodia for families to sell their daughters into sexual slavery and for men to sexually exploit women and children. It makes me ill to think of this but this is the shocking reality.

The work of people like Marie Enns is just a drop in the bucket, but for every woman or child that she rescues from a life of exploitation and hopelessness she is literally saving them from death. Besides protection, her ministry offers healing, hope in Christ, and love. My hope is someday to see her ministry in Cambodia with my own eyes and get involved. In the meantime I ask you to pray for the people of Cambodia who live in such darkness and ask God to raise up more Marie's to go and make a difference.

Book Review: Real Marriage - The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together

Book Review: Real Marriage - The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together by Mark and Grace Driscoll

Disclosure: Occasionally I get access to books through a few different publishers who are willing to give you a free copy of a book for review. I haven't seen any that looked interesting for awhile until I saw this one on the list and the title intrigued me. A few days later and my advance reader's copy arrived new and shiny. . .

Real Marriage is not your average Christian marriage book. It strikes me as being radically authentic in a genre that is more so then most. Most books attempt to be authentic, but when the pastor and wife of one of North America's largest churches discusses their marriage failings in striking detail, you can't help but be impressed by their courage to share. Especially in the sexual department. I don't believe I've ever read a more vulnerable, exposing book on marriage. This frankness is applied to difficult topics in a way that is both jarring and refreshing.

The book felt a bit rough as well. I's so used to the spit and polish of self-help psychology books that I've recently been reading, that I was a bit turned off at first. Don't get me wrong, the authors are both great communicators, I think that the editor of this book stayed her hand more then is usual.

The authors approach marriage in a unique, Bible-centered, traditional, and explicit way. The first part of the book talks about marriage, the second about sex, and the third about what they call the "last day." In the same way that the couple is not afraid to share about their own intimate life, they share about the importance of love and submission. They also tackle sexual topics that have affected their own relationship including porn, sexual abuse, selfishness, etc. They include a great Q & A on sexual acts within marriage that ask 3 questions to each topic (modeled on Paul's thoughts to the Corinthians); is it lawful, is it helpful, is enslaving? Interesting that while the couple is traditional in their ideas of how men and women are supposed to relate, they are far from traditional on what they think is acceptable in married bedrooms! There is also great chapter on the topic of friendship in marriage ("Friends With Benefits") which I found unique and probably worth the price of the book. The last section is a unique exercise - reverse engineering your marriage to make it healthy and glorifying to God.

I liked this book overall - would be a great one to read with a spouse (can't really imagine reading it in a group setting, unless you know those people very well!). While it misses the research breadth of a therapist and the polish of a professional author, the book seems quite practical. I'm sure some would find it's understanding of roles difficult to swallow, and I didn't agree with everything they wrote, yet I believe the book has much to offer. I give it 4 ninja stars out of 5. Anyone else out there read it?

Ten Guys & 10 Days in Haiti

So this is kind of exciting: On February 17th I'm going to Haiti with a Samaritan's Purse Haiti workteam. It is an all guy group from my church and we're going to an area of great needs where we will do things like help build an orphanage, love the people, and basically just grow God's kingdom in whatever way we can.

I don't want to sensationalize that I'm going and I really don't want to sound super spiritual. I just want to be real about it so here's my attempt.

There is a great guy in my church, Dan who along with his family have done mission work in many countries. Jobina went to Ecuador to visit these folks and do ministry with them this past spring and had an amazing experience. So when Dan said he was leading a trip to Haiti I thought about it for awhile and came up with a nice long list lot of reasons why it couldn't work for me. But I just wasn't at peace. I decided to take a step of faith and say yes . . . and now I have to get some shots.

Me and Mission's trips have never worked out - I never even thought about one until I went to Bible College. There I got the missions bug but every time I've tried to go on one something didn't work out. Once I tried to sign up for a trip to Cambodia, but the team fell apart. Another time I tried to do a summer with Child Evangelism Fellowship, but for some reason after aggressively recruiting me, they just ignored my application. Perhaps it was because God wanted me at summer camp (which is where I went after these failed attempts)? Either way I've never gone on one until now.

Haiti is still deep in recovery from the terrible earthquake that struck in 2010. 220,000 people died, 300,000+ people were injured, and 1.5 million people became homeless. Samaritan's purse has done some great work there and we are honored to join them. If this sounds interesting to you and you'd like to partner with me and the team there's a few ways:

1. Please pray for me! Send me and email (or keep watching this blog) and I'll post some specifics that we'd love to have covered in prayer.

2. Come to our party! We're having an Information and Fundraiser Dessert Evening at my church on January 21st (7pm at Cornerstone Alliance Church in Winnipeg). We'll tell you all about the trip and there will be amazing desserts and auction (there will be a silent auction too). It would be great if you could attend or if you'd like to donate something for the auction that would be most appreciated. Please let me know by Jan 15th if you'd like to go and we'll reserve a place for you.

3. Share your wisdom! If you've been on a short term mission trip and you have some wise words or advice to share about going on one, please do. I can use all the help I can get (seriously).

Thanks for reading this and I wish you a great day,
-Mark

P.S. A video with more info about what's happened in Haiti and what God is doing there:

I'm Back...

Happy New Year to you! If in the past you've been a regular reader of this blog you may have noticed that things have (ahem) been a little quiet around here for awhile. Somehow I lost my taste for this kind of thing. Partially it was the increase in my workload at Riverbend, I simply didn't have as much free time on my hands. But it was also because I felt humbled in several areas of my life and didn't feel the same about putting things out there. As days of no blogging stretched into weeks I began to get reflective on what was holding be back.

It's weird, but after not posting for awhile, I felt . . . strange whenever I would consider it. As I perused my past posts I started to not like the kind of person I was sounding like in my posts. "The tone is key" I always say to my marriage counselling clients and when I listened to the tone of many of my posts I didn't like it very much. Too much that sounded like arrogance and not enough like humility. I decided I needed to take a break long enough to leave my old expectations and ways of interacting in a blog behind. So I went cold turkey.

I'm not sure what's changed (or even if it's enough) but I now feel a little more freedom when I think about it. It's a new year, a great time for new starts. So now I'd like to slowly wade back into the blogging waters, but do so with a little more self-awareness. I guess we'll see what happens . . .

Au Revoir Steve

Shifted

The last few weeks have been a bit challenging around our house. A few week ago we put in a bid on a house with more bedrooms and actually won the bidding war. Amazing. After the jubilation ended we were left with trying to figure out how to sell our house - shall we go private sale or a realtor? Recently the realtors have been forced to open up the MLS so we decided to try and sell privately on the MLS with a flat fee broker. It's much cheaper, but more work. The thing is that we only have a week or so to sell the property and so it's been a bit stressful doing the cleaning, moving stuff out, redecorating, fixing, babysitting the kids, etc. This weekend is our open house (Sunday 1-3) with offers to purchase the following Tuesday. Jobina and I have both felt quite overwhelmed sometimes (OK, I have felt overwhelmed) with business and worry and when I hit that place I start to lose my perspective on what is really important.

Then I saw this yesterday.

Seeing those pictures dumbfounded me. I felt intense grief, grief that children have to suffer like that and are suffering like. I also felt incredulous that a few moments ago I had been worrying about how much money I was going to be able to get for my house when there are literally millions of people who are worrying about if they are going to have enough food to feed their children. Suddenly reality (and God's reality) got through to me for a moment. All I wanted to do was something to help. All my internal worrying and whining about not having enough was shown for what it is - stupidity. I am blessed to have more then I'll ever need.

There is massive famine in Africa right now. But there are people trying to do something about it. I saw an add this morning for Samaritan's Purse who is doing relief work in the drought stricken areas of Africa. Check out some of the details here. And the Canadian government is doing something cool - matching any donations for Africa given to Samaritan's Purse, if it is given before September 12th. Feel free to donate at this link. If you feel lead to give something I know you won't regret it. And please pray for those who are suffering!

Reason: Stop Babying Your Kids!

Perhaps our desire to protect our children has gone too far - this is the premise of the book and blog "Free Range Kids" whose author espouses a more "hands off" approach to parenting then many of us our used to. It is difficult for us to realize that the way we protect our kids (yes, I'm talking to you helicopter Mom) is simply based on our beliefs about kids/the world, and not on fact. Check out how resourceful kids are in areas of the world that do not have the luxuries that we do:



And I was excited when our kids could get their own cereal in the morning!

Surprising

You've heard of the horse whisperer, the baby whisperer, and the dog whisperer. And now for something completely unexpected. Check out this video for something beautiful and paradigm shifting:

Working on My 4 Hour Body

As I mentioned previously (in this post) I have been reading through The 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferris. Definitely a fascinating book. As a fan of experimentation, I asked Jobina if she would like to try doing the 4 Hour Body fat burning diet for a month to see how it goes. I actually have been experimenting with parts of it already (between that and the death diet, I have already lost 10-15 pounds) but I want to see if I can lose 5 or 10 more. Essentially I'm curious and I want assist Jobina with her own goals. This plan is actually quite simple:

1. Avoid "white" carbs
2. Eat the same few meals over and over again
3. Don't drink calories
4. Take one day off per week (yes, a cheat day)

Yes, that's it.

This of course is only the beginning, in addition to this I plan to use other powerful techniques the author has tested including:

-daily track my total inches, body fat, and weight
-use thermal loading/cold techniques to quicken my metabolism (ex/ ice water on awaking)
-take a photo of everything I eat and post it on weight loss blog
-use social awareness to increase adherence (public blog charting progress & bets with friends)
-take an unflattering "before" picture and put it in a prominent place
-when I get mid-week cravings, write down the foods I crave and plan/look forward to eating them on my cheat day

Most of the above techniques are psychological and have been proven by research to assist people in their goals. Tracking your progress is by itself sometimes enough to help people lose significant weight. I am 100% convinced that if I follow through on my plan I will lose the weight, possibly all within a month or two. I invite you to visit my experiment blog (here) to ask questions, shout slogans at me, tell me I'm out to lunch, or just say you've stopped by. Please do, it will help me out! After I lose the weight, I plan to experiment with Ferris' other techniques for gaining strength, adding muscle, and increasing endurance. . .

Short Book Reviews

Well, I just finished my busiest month ever counselling wise and my schedule is starting to slow down now. Although I haven't been blogging I have still been thinking, reading, and reflecting (when I have the time!) and here are a few books I've read since the start of the year:

Mark of The Lion Series by Francine Rivers: This trilogy of books is written by often maligned (especially by myself) author Francine Rivers. While lower on the expected romance then I was gritting my teeth for, it was high on sex - shockingly so. Not in graphic detail, but definitely on subject matter. Of course the books are set in ancient Rome shortly after the death of Christ so most of it is understandable. Yet even so I found myself unsettled by it. Perhaps it was the author's intent? I would describe it as Danielle Steele meets Stephen Lawhead, "Gladiator" meets "Acts." I had lost a bet with Jobina so I had to read half of the 1st book but after 4 chapters I was hooked and read them all. I was actually very moved in my spirit with the stories of faith. I rate these books "R" for content and A+ for readability, 4 ninja stars out of 5.

Too Small To Ignore by Wes Stafford: Jobina's friend Lee (who she recently went to Ecuador) lent me this book and it pretty much rocked my world. Wow! It is the best book on the importance of children I have ever read. Stafford is the founder of Compassion International and so it's not surprising that he cares about children. How much though, and why - now that is surprising. Stafford shares with much vulnerability and honesty how his growing up years in Africa shaped him and how God used his painful experiences to develop a super passion for children the world over. Excellent book whether you read it is as a biography or as a treatise on the importance of ministry to children. I rate this 4.6 ninja stars out of 5.


Multiple Streams of Income by Robert G. Allen: I picked this up at my local library and have renewed it twice. This is a great overview of several different streams of income (stock investing, real estate, network marketing, business, internet, etc) that is essential reading for anyone interested in finances. Though a little outdated and a little weighted toward American readers, I learned alot. His view of balancing the different kinds of income is actually done in a conservative way and I think even the most picky person could find at least one form of wealth growing that work for them and their family. If you go to Allen's personal website, you can actually email him for a free copy of his book. I rate it 3.8 ninja stars out of 5.


How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie: This is a classic of American literature and while it is over 75 years old, it's truths are completely applicable today. Carnegie shares the simple but often forgotten truths that help us out in human relationships. This book is about how to influence people in powerful ways, not by control or power but by creativity and patience. Some might see his techniques as manipulations but I didn't take them way. It's funny, 10 years ago I would never have been able to accept many of these principles but Carnegie uses stories to illustrate their power and effectiveness in every day life, especially in business. The principles aren't perfect, but useful to anyone in a significant relationship. I've already recommended this book to several of my clients. I give it a rating of 4.5 ninja stars out of 5.

Busy

“Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.”
-Lao Tzu

Sorry I haven't done any updates in the past while - my practice has suddenly gotten very busy and I'm working to adjust to my newly full schedule. While this change of pace is welcome it is also somewhat disconcerting. Lately I find myself saying to people how busy I am. Important people including friends, my kids, parents, etc. At first glance being busy seems like a good thing, does it not? After a little reflection I'm not so sure.

Being busy and being productive are not the same same thing. Neither is busy the same as being happy, joyful, content, or fulfilled.

I am thinking that having a full schedule and being busy are often two very different things. When I read the story of Mary and Martha, I get the sense that Martha was busy and Mary was not. Yet both had a full schedule. Learning to choose Mary's way vs Martha's is challenging to me. Being slothful is not good, but neither is being over busy.

A Deep Question

At my small group I kind have a "question of the day" to get us thinking and discussing. Last week the question was "Which of the 7 deadly sins do you find the most difficult to resist and which are the easiest?" Like me, the questions are kind of random and are usually tied to whatever I'm thinking about lately. So here's a question I've been thinking about lately:

If a spouse denies their partner sexual intimacy for an extended period of time, is this a form of unfaithfulness?

Just curious what you think . . .

She Left Me!

Yes, my wife left me.

For Ecuador.

Jobina is doing a self propelled missions trip to Quito, Ecuador with her friend Lee. The two of them are delivering supplies to a pregnancy crisis center that is in the start up phase and is being started up by a couple from our church. Jobina is going to have a very full week of holding babies, visiting orphanages, encouraging her hosts, singing in prison, and helping out at a daycare that's situated in a dump. Luckily my wonderful mother in law is staying with us to help out on the homefront (which is awesome!) but I have a few prayer requests for Jobina if you think of her this week:

-pray for her not to get altitude sickness (Quito is 10,000 feet above sea level!)
-pray for safety in travel to/from/and in Ecuador
-pray for the ability to connect with babies, children, and mothers from a different culture and language and show them God's love

Also, feel free to pray for those who are left behind. I'm very proud of my adventurous wife and I hope that God really challenges and blesses her!

Above All Else . . .

I have been reflecting on these words the past week:

20 My son, pay attention to what I say;
listen closely to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to a man’s whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.
24 Put away perversity from your mouth;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Make level paths for your feet
and take only ways that are firm.
27 Do not swerve to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.

Thia is wise counsel for any young man, and even "older young men" like myself. I find that by focusing on this daily passage for awhile that my thoughts and habits are altered. What scripture have you been reflecting on lately?

Places To Visit: Nyiragongo Crater

When I saw this picture it redefined to me what "a campsite with a view" could mean:



Isn't that amazing? The rapidly changing lava lake at the bottom of Nyiragongo Crater is located in the Congo, Africa. It is actually an incredibly dangerous place to visit - the crater has occasionally overflowed with lava and destroyed nearby villages. Until the expedition where this photo was taken happened, no one had survived going down close to boundary of the lava. The winds can quickly change sending 1300 degree heat and/or poisonous gases your way which can quickly be fatal.

By the way, the picture above is a bit deceiving; the surface of the lava is still about 400 feet down. If you want to see more pictures and see how close this brave scientific expedition made it to the lava, check out this link:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/02/nyiragongo_crater_journey_to_t.html

The pictures are really quite extraordinary - they are equally beautiful, mysterious, and kind of scary!

Delicious Library

If you own a Mac (sorry PC users your out of luck as there is no PC version), you may want to check out this great little program called Delicious Library 2. Using your built in iSight camera as a bar reader, it can scan the UPC codes on any book and automatically enter it into your personal library. Besides the surprising fun of simply scanning and adding books, I find the program to be useful for several reasons:

1. You can in not only books but DVD's, music, toys, video games, tools, etc.
2. Want to borrow out a cool book to a friend? Easy, you can do it just like a real library. I wish I had stumbled on this years ago as I have so many outstanding books (with no way to track them) that it's not even funny!
3. You can make a back up of your library (great for insurance purposes) or post it to the internet for others to take a look at.
4. You can look at your library as a list, or in a bookshelf mode that is pleasing the eye.
5. For older or rare books you can input the book info manually and even take a picture of it.

I really love this program as scanning and looking at all of my books made me aware of (and interested in) some old books that I had forgotten I had. I'm thinking next year I'll make it a goal to read mostly books from my own collection (over 300 books). Anyway, thought I'd highlight this great little program (available for $39 on the Mac App Store) or from the Delicious Monster website.

Book Preview: The Four Hour Body

I'm currently reading "The 4 Hour Body" by Tim Ferris, the author of the bestselling "The 4 Hour Work Week." I'm absolutely fascinated with this book, so much so that I'm making notes on it as I go through it. It is a rather unorthodox approach to body hacking and has "how to" ideas on things like:

-rapid muscle gain
-fast weight loss
-strength building quickly
-improving your sex life (and sperm count!)
-being fully rested on 2 hours of sleep
-living longer
-increasing your endurance to ultramarathoner levels
etc,

Check out his web page www.fourhourbody.com for more details. And here is the rather unique trailer for his book:



P.S. Warning: this book is not written by a Christian and some people would find his writing style and some content objectionable.