The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us

© John August Swanson

Christmastide

Born is Christ the Lord by Deborah A. Reeder

I may not go to-night to Bethlehem,

Nor follow star-directed ways, nor tread

The paths wherein the shepherds walked, that led

To Christ, and peace, and God's good will to men.

I may not hear the Herald Angel's song

Peal through the Oriental skies, nor see

The wonder of that Heavenly company

Announce the King the world had waited long.

The manger throne I may not kneel before,

Or see how man to God is reconciled,

Through pure St. Mary's purer, holier child;

The human Christ these eyes may not adore.

I may not carry frankincense and myrrh

With adoration to the Holy One;

Nor gold have I to give the Perfect Son,

To be with those wise kings a worshipper.

Not mine the joy that Heaven sent to them,

For ages since Time swung and locked his gates,

But I may kneel without--the star still waits

To guide me on to holy Bethlehem.

Christmastide by E. Pauline Johnson Tekahoinwake

I wish you a Christmas season filled with love and fun.

My prayer for you and I is that we will take the time to be led 'back to Bethlehem' during these blessed days.

With love, Nicole

Are We Using The Poor?

Morteza Katouzian

"Philanthropy has the potential of immense good and yet it can crush the souls of the recipients when it’s mixed with the ingredients of a new-colonialism or an insistence on superiority of race and pride; the ancient injunction to ‘love our neighbour as ourselves’ will eventually produce the inevitable diabolical result of dehumanizing others."


A perspective on service that encourages us to search ourselves.

Read the full post on SoulGardeners

Our Epic Quest

There are 3 key elements in all GREAT and enduring stories or myths:

1. Things are not what they seem.
2. Some great struggle or quest or battle is well underway.
3. I have a crucial role to play.

--Don Sawatsky

Your friends, your family, your co-workers. Things are not what they seem. Each of their lives is a quest, with many hidden battles. And you have a crucial role to play. What would you like it to be?

Mystefied Kitty

Saffron's first view of snow.

This inside cat is not too sure why her world has turned white.

She has judged it and found it wanting.

Winter Wonderland

24 hours after returning from Winnipeg, and its unseasonably plus-zero weather, I was treated to a winter wonderland in my own front yard.

I found Winnipeg to be a beautiful city. I've posted some pics of its arcitecture and artwork here.

Winnipeg On Grey Cup Sunday

I flew into Winnipeg on Sunday, and took this picture of the stadium from the plane right around the time the BC Lions won the game. Pretty cool!

Visiting The Viv

On Sunday I went with some friends to view The Vivian - a shelter for the hardest to house women in Vancouver, run by Triage. It is my company's chosen charity, and is dear to my heart. The Viv was gutted in a fire last May. My company has committed to raising $100,000 in the next 5 months to help rebuild this home of hope. If you're inspired to give to this worthy charity, get in touch!

Where Would YOU Shop?

If this was an option, I'm not sure I would choose IKEA, but I love this commercial!

Ask An Evangelical

"Jesus loves me and I love him. But my story is part of a much bigger story that tells me about who God is, and why human beings exist, and why — in the midst of so many bad things happening in the world around us — there is hope for a better future."

That's what evangelical Christian Aileen Van Ginkel wrote when we [Globe and Mail] asked her to explain a bit about her faith. What do you think? She came online Monday to respond to your questions about her religion.

Christian Aileen Van Ginkel was the guest of Globe and Mail for a 1 hour online forum titled "Ask An Evangelical." Ms. Van Ginkel presented a surprisingly balanced view while fielding questions like:

• I am a homosexual. Does Jesus still love me?
• How do you feel about the efforts of the so-called "Moral Majority" or Christian Right in North America?
• If the Bible is the inspired word of God, how do you justify the negative parts of the Bible, such as slavery, killing your neighbour, the plagues of Egypt (which God states he prolonged to glorify him), and hell?
• I was raised an evangelical Christian and left the church in my late teens. Why is it that when an earthly leader says "love me, obey me, serve me, be faithful to me....or else I'll torture and kill you," he is recognized as evil, but when God says the same thing, He's supposed to be supreme Good and Love?

Kudos to you, Ms. Van Ginkel, for taking on this challenge. Thank you for representing Evangelical Christians so well.

See the full interview at globeandmail.com.

The Truth Is Better Than Fiction

Sometimes it's nice to have a legend proven true.
Snopes.com, a site dedicated to finding the truth behind urban legends, has verified this picture and the moving story associated with it:

This moving photograph shows Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt, superintendent of the 22nd Wing Medical Group at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas, holding an injured Iraqi girl. The picture was taken in October 2006, while Sgt. Gebhardt was deployed to Balad Air Base in Iraq. According to the Air Force Print News, the infant girl Sgt. Gebhardt held in his arms "received extensive gunshot injuries to her head when insurgents attacked her family killing both of her parents and many of her siblings."

Sgt. Gebhardt is now back home in Wichita, Kansas, with his wife and two children. An Air Force Link article about the sudden fame he gained as the subject of this photograph reported that:
The chief had a knack for comforting [the injured Iraqi girl] and they often would catch a cat nap together in a chair.

"I got as much enjoyment out of it as the baby did," he said. "I reflected on my own family and life and thought about how lucky I have been."

While deployed to Iraq, the chief tried to help out any way he could. He figured holding a baby that needed comforting that would free up one more set of arms that could be providing care to more critical patients.

"I pray for the best for the Iraqi children," he said. "I can't tell the difference between their kids and our kids. The Iraqi parents have the same care and compassion for their children as any American."

More details from Snopes

The Only Good Use For Aspartame

They're back - the geeky yet cool Mentos 'n Diet Coke guys who freely admit they have too much time on their hands. They've inspired me to do a few 'experiments', and now they've published their second video. Enjoy!



Too see the original, go to Eepybird.com

If We Break Faith With Those Who Die

It was very moving to watch the Rembrance Day ceremony on CBC this morning. I was especially moved by the faces of the World War II soldiers, men and women in their 80's and 90's. Two of my grandfathers fought in that war, and lived through it. One volunteered for the British Royal Air Force, and was shot down three times. The other lived his life with shrapnel in his back.

We have no difficulty remembering these great men and women for their sacrifices. My concern is for our soldiers who are currently fighting in Afghanistan. With the ongoing political debate as to whether or not Canada should continue her involvement, it is easy to forget the soldiers themselves. They fight because they know that our freedom to debate was bought with blood, and that freedom will always be bought with blood. We owe them a lot, and cannot afford to sacrifice their efforts on the altar of politics. In the immortal words of Lt. Col. John McRae:

If ye break faith with those who die,

we shall not sleep, though poppies grow

in Flanders Fields.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Ottawa, Ontario
Photo taken from Occasionally Right blog

Spread the Warmth!

Those of us in the leadership training program at work were required to do a whopping one hour of community service this fall. A few of us got together and decided to do something a little bigger - we organized a blanket and jacket drive in our office. The goal - 200 blankets and jackets in 5 weeks.
It was a little stressful -by the beginning of the final week, we had only collected 120 items, which was pretty disappointing, as almost 150 people work in the office! Thankfully, we heard that Superstore was selling fleece blankets for only $3, so we started collecting money. Cam B. went to Superstore on the weekend, and completely cleaned it out! In the end, we blasted through our goal, with over 310 blankets and jackets, which were donated to Triage the following week.

This is one thing I love about my company - it has a huge commitment to giving to the poor. Even though the blanket and jacket drive was a small thing, I felt like I was making a difference.

A Dollar A Day

And here I am, a few days after the experiment ended, and I'm sure of two things:
That what I call "liking nice things" or "looking after myself" or "spending the money which I earn to treat myself" has another name. Gluttony. Forget images of clinically obese, aging emperors gorging themselves on global delicacies, the truth about gluttony in the 21st century is that it wears a thousand perfectly respectable, blinking, flashing, shining, enticing masks. Gluttony is not the preserve of the ultra wealthy; it is the driver that powers our materialism.
And if I'm sure that I've got a long way to go, then I'm even more assured of this eternal truth: that change is possible, that my life does not have to conform, that nothing is written.
850 WORDS OF RELEVANT :: 06.19.06

This is a quote from an impacting article I read by Craig Borlase who lived on 53 English pence a day, for one week. Details on his blog, nothing is written.

One by One

This weekend my good friend Ellie hosted a fistula "party". A fistula is condition suffered by women who, because of prolonged and difficult births, develop a permanent leak in their bladders. In the Western world, fistula was eradicated in the mid 1800's. It takes a simple operation to repair the condition. However, in developing countries the problem is rampant, due to a combination of poor nutrition, early motherhood, and lack of basic medical services.

In many developing countries, when a woman develops a fistula, she is often completely rejected by her community because of the odour that accompanies her constant leaking. Sadly, the $300 that a repair operation costs is often beyond the woman's means.

A few years ago in the US, a couple of women learned about this tragic situation and decided to take action. They formed a grassroots organization named One by One and began hosting Giving Circles, groups of 10 women who would give $30 each, in order to pay for these fistula surgeries and free their sisters overseas One by One! So far they have been amazingly successful! Women all over Canada and the US have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.

At Ellie's place on Saturday, about 15 women attended, and $1280 was raised! That's enough to give four women back their lives! It may be small, but it feels great!!

To find out more, go to http://www.onebyoneproject.net/.

The Changing Of The Guard

With yesterday's election has come a changing of the guard. My sincere hope is that this is much more than just a shift from Liberal to Conservative, or Left to Right, but a change in the fundamental morality of our government.

I don't expect every Conservative MP to share my values, but it will be nice to at least have them represented on Parliament Hill. Take same-sex marriage. It doesn't matter whether I am for or against it, the Liberal government never gave me, or any of it's 30 million constituents an opportunity to even discuss it.

Or abortion. In the last two months, Martin has repeatedly accused Harper of having a hidden agenda, perhaps to change our abortion laws. Well, I wouldn't mind a few changes. Whether pro-life or pro-choice, I believe the vast majority of Canadians would be appalled to know that in Canada, abortion is legal right up until the woman begins giving birth. I think all but the most extreme would be willing to discuss some limits on that. Perhaps our new government is a first step toward a more moderate abortion policy in the distant future.

The Conservatives have for years been painted by the media as extremists, but the platform they ran on in this election has been very balanced. Perhaps we have become so used to gun-registering money-stealing constituent-ignoring pro-everything Liberal extremism, that we've forgotten what Normal looks like.

I, for one, can't wait to take a fresh look.