Veggie Power

In lighter news I have found an alternative to buying a smart car that is Rachael approved: the greasecar. Yes, that's right, a car that runs on vegetable oil! You see it all started some time ago when Rudolf Diesel invented an engine that ran on peanut oil...zooph...fast forward to today, where the diesel engine is relatively unchanged and presto! an engine capable of running on any kind of used vegetable oil. Now there are some mods needed to keep the oil from congealing at lower temps (essentially you install a whole separate tank and fuel line for the veg power), but it runs the same and removes almost all of the downsides of diesel fuel (no carcinigens, no excess CO2) and reduces the already stellarly low emissions of the diesel engine. The only down side is collecting used oil and filtering it, but once you have that down you are totally independent of the petroleum industry and have free fuel for life and you get to smell like french fries everywhere you go!

So you can all jump on board by visiting the site www.greasecar.com and buy diesel cars to convert and we can all go together to pump oil out of the back of a chinese restaurant, yeah!

Mmmm...Turmoiliscous

As I sit here at Dabar, having just booted 3 homeless people from the cafe, I can't help but feel a great turmoil within me. As an employee of this business I must ensure that profits are made, which includes not giving hand-outs and ensuring that customers are not offended by the "lessers" of society. If "they" are almost passed out drunk (or worse) and hollering at passers-by and inconveniencing everyone I must remove them. But as a child of God, called to care for all my siblings, where is the line? As a Christian business what is Dabar's obligation? Why do we may stipulations where businesses are exempt from helping people because they have a "higher" calling - money?

Put Me In Coach, I'm Ready

Do you ever feel like there is a part inside of you that somehow got missed in you life? No, I'm not talking about the God-shaped hole or anything so cliche. Rather, an aspect of your make-up that seems to be every bit a part of you and yet has had no outlet or nurturing in the life you've lead so far. Perhaps you have a drive to play music or sing, but have never been surrounded by people (family, friends, passers-by) who have shared, encouraged, promoted that side of you. Not that they have stopped you or poo-pooed your efforts, but it just wasn't a part of what you did. No?...me neither...oh wait, I mean yeah, I feel that.

For me it's been an outdoor lifestyle. If you ask me (and others, for that matter) I get most excited talking about camping, hiking, climbing, canoeing, etc, and yet this has been a relatively small part of my life (relative to how much I would like to be doing, that is). Growing up in central Alberta with the mountains 3-4 hours away and an excrutiating lack of water, my family wasn't really into camping or hiking and certainly not any of the other, more extreme sports. On the same hand (is that a viable expression?) most of my friends' idea of camping was a kegger in the bush.

Every time I partake of outdoory goodness I feel alive and that this is what my life should be comprised of and yet it seems foreign. It seems like such a huge part of my character and such a small part of my actual life. Now, I reallize (thanks Erika) that I am by no means old or washed up or out of time. I realize that I can still head in this direction, I'm simply looking at the "fact sheet" of my life and on paper I'm an outdoor enthusiast, while on the field I have a lot of gear that is nowhere near its potential usage marker.

...or maybe this is all just an attempt to steal some of Rach's carthartic blog love-in.

Wayne Christ Superstar

I met Jesus yesterday. He said his name was Wayne, but I knew different.

What struck me the most (other than the fact that we've had the wrong name all these years) was how dirty and uncomely he was, not at all like in the pictures, and he was just hanging out in front of Starbucks, not reading his Bible or planning the next big tent revival. But I'm positive it was him.

Let me explain...no, there is too much...let me sum up.

At first I didn't recognize him at all. I walked right past this shopping cart full of cans and other sundry items on my way to Starbucks for a tasty beverage. But something called me back to that cart and lo and behold the very Son of God was standing there, unkempt, unwashed, and unnoticed. So what do you do when you meet the saviour of the world?...well, you buy him a coffee, that's what. So I did, and we chatted about our favorite music (he knows all about M.C. Hammer...dance and all!) and the blessings of rain. It wasn't exactly what I expected meeting Jesus to be like, no bright lights, skillful worship bands, or powerful sermons.

Jesus is a bum who lives on Jasper Ave. He doesn't bite, I don't think I got any diseases from him, he likes M.C. Hammer and the only thing in the whole world for which he is in wont is love.

Crazy? I Was Crazy Once

I am slowly going crazy 1 2 3 4 5 6 switch!
Crazy going slowly am I 6 5 4 3 2 1 switch!

Must...get...out...of...city!
Must...become...one...with...nature!
Must...scare...off...would-be...commenters!

There, that should stop them from commenting...yeah, that's it...act crazy and they'll leave you alone...ahehaheeheehaheha...whoo!

Ah! Finally! A jacket with sleeves that are long enough.

Guess the well has to run dry sometime.

Faith, Hope, and Beer..I Mean Love

I wanted to follow up my previous discussion-inducing post with something lighter like bunnies and rainbows, but let's be serious.

I came to a realization last night that my thoughts, understandings, beliefs have no impact on what other people think, understand, believe, save that I can share them and perhaps enlighten everyone around me (read: stuck-up, egotistical jerk-face). There was some intense discussion last night at the Globe over wings about guns and whether or not a society with guns is polite/safe. It soon became apparent that there were differing beliefs on the issue. For instance, the idea of "greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for a friend" was completely ridiculous to some, and no matter what I believe on the issue or how I try to persuade someone, they will not be changed by my belief. The same is true of my perception of life, the universe, and everything. Just because I know the truth about God as Creator (insert questioning remarks here) doesn't mean that it helps a homeless person and just because I might have a deeper understanding of the Bible (and here) doesn't mean other Christians see it or are affected by it.

I was despairing over this fact and what the value of knowledge and understanding is if it only benefits me and I must take it to the masses. And then I thought of 1 Corinthians 13:

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

And there it is. Knowledge and revelation are gifts from God to be sure, but love is what it's all about. People don't want you to preach at them or change them or debate with them (well, some do), they want and need love. The trick, I guess, is to find the balance, as Christ did, between teaching in parables and simply extending love, between furthering understanding and meeting needs.

It's kind of like drinking beer...no, not even I can pull that off.

You See Son...God Is Like A Beer

Last night Matt and I spent more time pondering the idea of making the extraordinary things of God ordinary. At first this seems derogatory – debasing God’s magnificence. That’s not the point at all. What it means is that prayer, worship, service, community, fellowship, conversation, and study are all things that become regular parts of our lives rather than making them something special, only happening at certain times. Otherwise, worship is isolated to worship sets on Sunday, prayer happens at meals or when we’re in trouble, etc. Taking these things from the realm of extraordinary to the ordinary leaves God as the only extraordinary thing. When emphasis is taken off of how well the worship band plays or how good you feel about giving to the poor all that’s left is the fear of God.

One analogy I came up with, while talking with Matt, was that of stealing sips of beer or wine when you were a kid (but of course all members of The House would never have done that). When you’re a kid you are limited in what you can do, how late you stay up, what you watch on TV. At Christmas dinner when you would get to try a taste of wine or when your dad let you sip some beer it was the greatest thing ever, but why? Do kids actually like wine or beer? No, it’s rotten juice, it’s repulsive. But you get to do something that only adults do – the extraordinary is to be found in the doing not in the actual essence of the drink. When you grow up you can have all the beer and wine you want, whenever you want it, just go to the store, buy a flat, get happy. There is no longer an emphasis on the thrill of getting the drink, all that’s left is the enjoyment of the drink itself. Now you can decide whether or not you actually enjoy beer. You can grow to appreciate the different brewing methods, flavors, ingredients, aromas, stout, lager, porter, ale, mead…aghlghglhglhhghl, now I’m thirsty. Or you can decide that beer is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels and find something else inspires you. The point is that the drinking becomes ordinary and we are left only to enjoy the drink itself.