Finding direction

7 February 2004

A few bugs…

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a blur around here. I’m afraid we’ve had our share of whatever bugs there are that are going around (in other words, we’ve been sick!). But it has been nice to have a bit of warmer weather (I think it got up to around 13C or 55F around here today). Hannah and Shari are at the zoo at the moment, which gives me a few minutes to say hello. 🙂

It has been a difficult couple of weeks, not just because sickness has been floating around, but also because a two year old has been…well, learning about obedience. Hannah has certainly had her days of frustration, bringing us all along with her! But we hope and pray that she’s learning.

Of course, there has been lots of good too. Hannah is growing in her understanding about God and the world around her. Recently she was trying to understand such diverse things as what it means to trust Jesus, and how the internet works. Today she was actually trying to learn how to use a browser (we use mozilla) because she wanted to have a look at a bunch of pictures of ladybugs (also called lady beetles or lady birds, depending on where you are!), and of course wanted to do it herself! 🙂

Think of us next week as we are heading into a very busy time. We’re looking forward to sharing in front of groups, sharing through letters, booking appointments (there are a lot to book!), and doing paperwork. I think we’re going to need that energy that…well, that we don’t have! Maybe Hannah could lend us some of hers…

3 February 2004

Heaven

Jim Devotional and Bible 0

It’s really amazing how little the modern Canadian Christian culture seems to think about Heaven. The past couple of Sundays our pastor has been speaking on the topic. We were leading worship on the 25th of January, and you wouldn’t believe what a hard time I had finding current music about Heaven.

It’s amazing too what weird things we tend to believe about Heaven. Our thinking sometimes seems to go like this:

In the beginning, God created everything. He created amazing variety, a world full of wonder and mystery that would still fascinate after thousands of years. He created people, relationships, love.

Then it came time to make Heaven. Unfortunately, He had run out of fun ideas after making earth, so Heaven ended up being pretty boring. He made it as bland as possible, and tried to make sure everyone would be doing the same monotonous things over and over and over. He decided He’d have people worship Him using only music, and only very lukewarm, slow, sleepy music. Harps would be preferred, especially for people who didn’t like harps. Maybe He could give everyone all knowledge about everything instantly, so there would be no surprises or challenges for eternity. Maybe He could make sure no one could have any real relationships in Heaven. Wait – here’s another idea – He could force everyone to go to Heaven, especially the people who didn’t want to go, and who didn’t like Him. Then everyone would be stuck in this peacefully, blissful, yet amazingly boring place forever and ever. Thankfully, His last idea was to do away with time, so we’d never know how long we’d been stuck there.

If you think that’s what Heaven will be like, open up your Bible and check again. Heaven is LIFE – all the wonder and joy and excitement that you may have experienced in life will be there unpolluted by all the garbage that messes it up and brings it to an end. It’s going to be like the best of everything, and yet unlike anything. Look forward to it!

23 January 2004

A visit from the east…

Jim Ministry glimpses 0

Today we were delighted to be able to see Larry and Jayme Hower, who direct the CAM Canada office. The Howers were on their way out to BC to do some ministry of various kinds, and they had a stop over in Calgary that was long enough for them to stop by our place for a little while.

With our mission offices being so far away (the CAM Canada office is about 36 hours’ drive, and the CAM USA office is about 32.5 hours’!) it’s a rare and wonderful thing to have some human contact, although we have lots of contact via phone and email.

So if you’re reading this, Larry and Jayme, thanks for coming! The Howers have been a tremendous encouragement to us from day 1. The Howers also enjoy their visits to Cuba, and were able to go this past November, where they had some great times with churches and pastors. If you’re ever interested in being involved with what’s happening in Cuba, I’m sure they’d love to hear from you! You can email them at CAMIntlCanada@aol.com.

20 January 2004

What do you think about Mr. Rowe?

Jim Computers and internet, News and current issues 0

So what do you think of Mr. Rowe? Mike Rowe is a high school student and part time web designer from Victoria, BC. He decided to register a domain name – something catchy, memorable, and uniquely “him”. So what do you think he chose?

That’s right, mikerowesoft.com. Pretty clever, huh? Well, Microsoft didn’t think so. They said it was a copyright infringement, and demanded that he give up the domain name (so that they could have it, of course). But, Mike protested, this is my business! I’ve put a lot of work into this! Generously, Microsoft offered to compensate him. They offered him US$10.

Mike was a little put out. C’mon – this domain is worth at least $10,000! Now Microsoft was even more put out, and Mike got a 25 page letter in response, and no money.

So what do you think? I see Microsoft’s point, but after all, the man’s name is Mike Rowe. And who made the decision to offer him $10? What’s with that? Visit Mike’s site (if it’s still surviving the legal fight) here: www.mikerowesoft.com, or see the latest news on Google news.

17 January 2004

Tortilleria

Jim Mexico 0

I just tried out one of my Christmas gifts – a tortilla press. I made my first tortillas. Yum. It smells like a tortilleria in here. Hannah thought they were delicious, so I guess that’s a good sign. She’ll fit in well in Mexico!

I stopped by the Mexican market and picked up some masa harina. Then you basically just mix it with water, press it with the tortilla press and stick it on a hot grill for a minute or two. The taste and smell just remind you of Mexico (if you’ve been there). You see here a picture of my first tortillas, along with the tortilla press and masa mix.

There are various ways to make tortillas, from the totally authentic from scratch to the simple flour. What I made is something in between.

If you’d like an interesting article to read about tortillas, check out this one at cooking.com. 100,000,000 tortillas are eaten every day in Mexico City. Corn tortillas are low-fat, low-sodium, and contain calcium, potassium and fiber. An average serving contains about 60 calories with 1 gram of fat. Pretty good food. 🙂

7 January 2004

Migraines and Doktors…

Jim Computers and internet 0

There must be a lot of doctors with unique names in Calgary. The other day we noticed a Dr. Doktor. There’s an excellent chiropractor by the name of Dr. Kricken (you know, as in Krickin-the-neck?). And let us not forget the dentist Dr. Chipuer (not sure if I have the spelling right, but it sounds like “Chip-yer…”).

Anyway, this prologue about doctor’s names has nothing to do with this note, except that I thought I’d give a migraine update for those that are interested. They’re the same as always! There, aren’t you glad I took the time to write?

Actually, over the past few months I’ve forced myself to do more research on migraine by developing a website on the subject. If you know anyone who gets headaches, tell them to check out Relieve-migraine-headache.com. (The website is already in the top 6% most visited sites on the internet.) Anyway, my research has certainly shed new light on the topic, even though it hasn’t brought about drastic improvements yet.

For example, did you know that migraine is now believed to be a genetically based disease? Did you know that migraine is not always accompanied by a headache? I’ve had migraine attacks with no headache myself.

For a few months I’m going to try a supplement that has a lot of migraine research behind it, known as MigreLief. It’s just a combination of riboflavin, magnesium (which has been shown to be low in migraine patients), and feverfew (a well known herbal remedy). Nothing too drastic, but the research has shown that it helps lots of people. If it doesn’t help me, it still might help you! 🙂

There are other things I’m trying too, so we’ll see what happens. Meanwhile, it’s back to work after about a week or so off over the holidays, pain or no pain. 🙂 We’re busy catching up with everything that piled up over the holidays. If you’d like to “see” our holidays, take a look at our new photo gallery. You can even leave your comments about a picture, if you’d like. We like to be interactive around here!

Hannah got a beautiful doll by Zapf Creations. If you’re looking for a great quality doll, we’re selling one almost exactly the same on eBay. The auction ends on the 13th, so if you know anyone who would be interested, point it out to them. Hannah loves it. [The auction is over now, of course]

Have a great 2004, and remember a loving Father is in control!

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