Lazy Summer

Is it just me or do we all feel a little more lazy in the summer? Somehow after Jobina and I hung up our skates at being camp directors (which made for crazy busy summers) we seem to shift into "slow" mode when summer time hits. Unfortunately I actually have lots to do so this isn't entirely good. Between doing some real estate fixes, working at OG, counseling a little, getting quotes for siding on our house, finish my last two courses, prepare to teach one in the fall, and trying to enjoy the summer with my family time seems tight. Yet I'm still finding lots of time to procrastinate. I'm even procrastinating on blogging! (Sigh).

Michele recently "tagged" me and though I generally ignore such things I will humor her (she is my sister-in-law after all). Here they are, six unimportant things about myself:

1. Three times a week I do two sets of 40 push-ups and 2 sets of 70 sit-ups. I'm not sure why, but sometime in my mid teens I got into the habit of doing this. I'm guessing that's over 16 years of push ups and sit-ups. That's about 66560 push ups about 116480 sit-ups!

2. I have a great aversion to dolls of any kind.

3. I am an aficionado of late 80's and early 90's rap (the Golden Years). Run DMC, Public Enemy, Maestro, and yes, even MC Hammer. Geniuses, all of them.

4. I have seen several people on bicycle get hit by cars. It's not a pretty sight.

5. I was the first guy in my class to have facial hair, get a growth spurt, and get my voice lowered. In other words, I was the first one to get awkward and I'm not sure if I've ever lost it.

6. When I was 12 years old I decided that I was at the best possible moment in my life. I remember thinking "Well, I guess this is the best its going to be, it's all going down hill from here."

Usually at this point one is supposed to "tag" other people. Nope, not going to do that, however if you don't know what to blog about, here's an easy way to post about something. I leave it to you. It is the summer after all.

Return Of The King

imminent (adjective): likely to happen soon [Latin imminere to project over]


We're having guest speakers during the summer in our church and today we had one that impressed me quite a bit. He did a sermon on the imminent return of Christ. Fascinating! I was moved by his sermon on this often ignored piece of theology. He said that when he was a boy he rarely made it through a week without hearing some sort of conversational snippet about Christ's return. Two things he remembers: one, that he was not afraid of the idea of Christ returning and two, he often thought about how Jesus might return whenever he was eating food that he liked - and this made him wolf down his food quicklyon more then one occasion! In his family, Christ's return was spoken of always in positive terms and that is the feel I got as expounded on the topic in church. It got me thinking:

1. I too had my behavior changed by thinking about the return of Christ. As a hormonal teenager I "worried" that Christ would return before I would have a chance to experience the blessings of marital life (I think you know which ones I'm talking about). This thought entered my mind on more then one occasion and I remember after my honeymoon thinking "Thanks for waiting Jesus, you can come back any time now!"
2. Why aren't we thinking about this more? As Christ followers, shouldn't we be longing and expectant about His return? As I listened to the message this morning I realized that I am a little too wrapped up in this present world and not thinking enough about eternity in the next. It was a great sermon (even Riker listened intently to the first 10 minutes or so which is a miracle in itself) and I was challenged (not "guilted") into thinking and acting more on this.
3. Sometimes I struggle with this doctrine. Imminent means "soon" and it's about 2000 years since Christ returned to heaven. I know that a thousand years are like a day for God, but I still find it difficult to live like he will return soon when it seems to have taken so long already. Also, the Bible seems to say no man will know the day or the hour yet believers should not be completely surprised either as there will be signs. I find it difficult to embrace that Jesus could return at any moment and live a Christian life that plans and dreams about the future. Ah, these crazy paradoxes!

I definitely want to look more into this important doctrine.

May Light increase!

Best Man

Congrats to my friend's Jay and Sarah who got married today! I wish I had a picture, but with all of my best man duties I completely forgot to get any (no worries, I'm sure this will be remedied soon). Aside from almost (it was very, very close) passing out on the stage and muddling through my "toast to the groom" speech, I think I did an OK job in my maiden voyage as a best man. I learned lots and really enjoyed watching Jay and Sarah as they went through their Big Day. I wish them best but as I am exhausted I'm heading to bed. Perhaps I'll report more on my thoughts about the big event later. Adieu.

May Light increase!

Riker's Birthday Today

Today is Riker's 6th Birthday. Although we are going to have the big party on Sunday we had a good time opening presents with him in the morning (he got a fishing rod, a hat, and a minnow trap). I'm proud of my boy. He is growing more and more into a little man and his inquisitive mind combined with a general absentmindedness endearingly reminds me of his old man. At the park today he impressed me by figuring a way of getting himself on top of some high monkey bars. This simultaneously scared his mom and filled me with pride. Happy Birthday Riker! I love you (and like) you more each day . . .

Love,
Dad.

P.S. The picture is taken at the gardens in Camp Morton Provincial Park last summer . . .

Summer Book Reviews

The Mosquito Coast, Paul Theroux
I was really looking forward to this book, but overall it kind of disappointed me. Not because it wasn't brilliant (it was), but because because it didn't keep me engaged the entire time. Also, it was quite dark and left me with an uneasy feeling. The main character, Allie Fox, is a brilliant and complex man who decides to move his family to the jungle of Honduras and start his own civilization. Told from the perspective of his son the book focuses on both the genius and the madness of Fox and you are never sure exactly which side is going to win out until the last chapter. The book was fine, but without much of a moral point to take home and I found my enjoyment of it often waned for several chapters before it picked up again. Theroux's Mosquito coast is a commentary on many things; North American consumer culture, atheisim, and the nature of man but without a moral compass it seemed that these points got lost in the story. So yes, a "great" book in terms of it's style, content, and dramatic ending but overall it left me feeling flat. 2.9 ninja stars out of 5.

A Walk In The Woods, Bill Bryson
A Walk In The Woods is Bill Byrson's humorous chronicle of his attempt to (without knowing anything about hiking backpack one of the world's longest trails). His partner in crime is a poor and recovering alcoholic with severe social skill handicaps and their resulting adventures are funny. This book made me laugh out loud on the plane to Belize, while I was relaxing in my hammock, and late at night when I was worrying about scorpions in our bed. As comedy it's pure gold. As a book about "conquering" the Appalachian Trail? Well, let's just say you wouldn't want this to be you only reference on how to do it. This is a great fluffy read, readable by the chapter and a great softcover to throw into your pack on your next camping or canoe trip. Not much for inspiration here, but as fluff it does the job. Just so you know it's a bit crude in places but worth the ten bucks I spent on it. 4.1 ninja stars out of 5.

The Long Way Round, Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman
For me this was a one time read that I enjoyed very much. There is something fascinating about reading how two movie stars attempt to travel around the world on motorcycles. Not only do they have the regular challenges of safety, logistics, and funding that anyone else would have but they also are celebrities and celebrities have completely different challenges to add to the mix. Ewan McGregor (Obi Wan in Star Wars Episodes 1-3) is definitely the "star" of the book but there is enough in this read to interest almost anyone. The authors are quite open about their challenges, moodiness, fatigue, feelings towards each other and their benefactors, and especially about their joy of biking. Some of the things they fall into are quite fascinating, as an example when they fall in with East European mafia types. This book is quite rude and if it was a movie would be probably be rated "R," but it was definitely entertaining, especially if you are a biker or have contemplated a long distance trip of any kind. I rate it 4 ninja stars out of 5.

Epic Battle

This morning Jobina left early to go to the Pan Am Clinic to get her ankle looked at so I was home with the kids. Trying to work at home and watch kids is pretty much an exercise in futility. Around 11:00 I was frustrated as I was trying to work on my computer and being interrupted about every minute and half. Riker seemed to be getting sad. He sidled up to me and said "Hey Dad, want to have a little wrestle?" I looked down into his big eyes and my heart melted. "OK, I said, just a little one." A few minutes later we were upstairs throwing each other around on Jobina and I's king size bed and having a grand old time. Trinity (AKA "Karate girl") joined the fray and we rough housed for a good 10 minutes or so. It wasn't the most productive morning, but I know I at least accomplished one good thing: wrestling with my kids. Schoolwork/real estate investing - zero. Half decent parenting - score!

May Light increase!

Question: Could You Survive An Affair?

I recently read a book about recovering from affairs. The thing I found interesting in the book was that:

1. The Christian author believes that everyone, high in morals or not, and under the right conditions can find them self cheating on their spouse.
2. More marriages experience some kind of infidelity then those who don't.
3. People often cheat on each other because they are not getting their emotional needs met. The 10 most important "emotional" needs include Affection, Sexual Fulfillment, Conversation, Recreational Companionship, Honesty and Openness, Physical Attractiveness, Financial Support, Domestic Support, Family Commitment, and Admiration.
4. Although devastating, it's very possible that a marriage suffering from infidelity can often be better after the couple have recovered from the affair.

The book I read was called Surviving An Affair by Willard H. Harley an expert in helping couples as they try to get their relationship back together after infidelity. I was surprised by how optimistic he was about the ability to help such couples and that life after the affair could eventually be better then it was before. He believes that with the right help and following the right principles a damaged marriage can be restored to a place that is is much superior to where it was. I like this radical optimism. One thinks that one could never recover from an affair (indeed I have thought this) never mind have the relationship improve, but it seems that the author has helped thousands of couples do this exact thing.

So here's my question: could you see yourself recovering and even improving after an affair? Do you think it's possible? What are your reasons? I was discussing the book with Jobina and found that when you get past the idea that such a thing is really possible (most people refuse to go there) you may find yourself surprised by the emotions and thoughts it brings up. Some people think that by ignoring the topic they will be immune to it. I certainly don't think its something we should fixate on, but realizing that one of the results of a marriage where needs are being met could be an affair is just honest and realistic thinking (and incentive to work harder on prevention). Anyway, an interesting and realistic topic I thought. If you'd like to read more on the topic, I recommend Harley's classic book His Needs, Her Needs: Building An Affair Proof Marriage.

May Light increase!

Baching It: Complete

Yesterday evening my family came home and my baching it was over. It was a strange week without them: I spent the first few days staying up late, eating poorly, and not getting anything of significance accomplished. Then eventually I adapted and starting living a somewhat productive single life. I am very thankful to have them home now (I missed them) but it was nice to see that I could survive on my own as a temporarily single person . . .