Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Need a title v14

Here's grampy MacLeod with Lukas. Can anyone think of a good title for this picture?

Monday, May 29, 2006

Monday's hot topics - The depravity of man

De-prav-i-ty? Yes I said depravity, that non-bible word which calvinists use along with the first letter of their TULIP (T=Total Depravity). In two weeks this topic has generated 17 pages of intense discussion on the forum. To jump in to the miry clay of the depravity discussion click here!!

Saturday, May 27, 2006

How much is your site worth?

Do you have a website? Ever wondered how much it's worth? Give Leapfish.com a try:

ShawnCuthill.com = 7,142.00
SimpleGathering.com = 10,584.00
Athensblog.ca = 11,094.00
bbc.quist.ca/bb = 32,414.00

How much is yours worth? Click here to find out

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Need a title v13


Phew, it's late. We just got in from Shania-Twain-ville (aka Timmins, Ontario). Sorry we missed the hot topics and prayer requests this week, they will resume as normal next week. For now, here's a picture we took up north. Can anyone think of a good title?

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Random ministry pics V6 - Leaving on a jet plane

Friday I took the boyz to Buttonville airport where we got a private lesson from our instructor GW. GW (not JW, that's his son) is a flight instructor at Senecca college and was gracious enough to give a few of us from Scarborough an inside look at the aviation course! Since the boyz are still in highschool they are still deciding what they are going to be when they grow up (aren't we all) so we wanted to whet their appetite for flight.

Unfortunately Jamoy (right) was a bit scared of the planes so instead he tried to flap his arms in order to gain altitude and avoid having to learn what those pesky dials and buttons did ->


GW took us through a number of areas of the flight training. From how to read the weather, to sitting in a number of plains (above), to even taking us in to do a real flight simulation on a massive flight simulator!

It was an amazing experience, and as you can see in the video below, Kevin and the boyz really enjoyed it! Thanks GW!

Thursday, May 18, 2006

oh dear

Do a google search for "theology chat". If you're too lazy, just click here. Whodathunkit?

Is Jesus hiding something?

No I'm not talking about the DaVinci Code here, rather I had a thought this morning about why Jesus told parables.

Matthew 13:9-11:
9Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
The reason I thought of this was that yesterday I found myself giving someone advice in parable form. Afterwards I was reflecting on this and my immediate reaction was to think "Oh no, I didn't explicitly give them any advice, I didn't spell things out for them, I didn't tell them what to do". The next thought I had was that Jesus told stories so maybe it's ok to not give people advice. Maybe Jesus was hoping people would clue in without him having to spell things out? If people asked him to tell them the meaning of the parable he would but rarely does he treat people like we do and blurt out advice. Was he trying to hide things from people? Was he playing a spiritual game of cat and mouse? Why wouldn't he just tell them things plainly?

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Wednesday prayer requests - New picture!

Last wednesday I posted a picture that a friend had designed for us. As some of you have mentioned, it is time for a new "prayer picture". Well thanks to Colleen MacFadyen here it is!!

We'll be printing up some prayer cards/magnets and sending them out soon to our wonderful supporters! If you'd like one just leave a comment below. Thanks for your prayers!

Monday, May 15, 2006

Monday's hot topics - Money

Well folks, this past week has been so hectic I haven't really checked in to see what's hot on the discussion forum. The BrethrenPedia continues to be hot though, gaining contributors worldwide who are adding bits of information about their local churches. Today instead of focusing on those two sites I wanted to touch on a pretty hot personal topic - money. Yikes, talk about a taboo! If you don't talk about it everyone thinks you're fine, but if you talk about it too much everyone thinks you're begging.

To avoid both of these extremes I've managed to load a few donation buttons on the left side of the blog under the "To support our ministry" section. Lots of ministries and ministers put little donations buttons like this on their sites, actually it was from one of those sites that I learned how to set it up! Naturally the first way you can support us is through prayer, but for those of you who just keep bugging us about how to send money here are the new shiny buttons:





Or if you don't have paypal, just send a donation our way via credit card and we'll make sure our 3 kids are full of food:




Hot stuff! Thanks for enduring that everyone. For the record, this post has absolutely no connection to the fact that I was watching The Apprentice when I posted it :)

Sunday, May 14, 2006

A very special mothers day

I spent a lovely day with my mommy today. She's had a tough week. Just got out of hospital. Say a prayer for her. Here is a picture of her and my dad just a few years ago :) I love you mom! Happy Mothers Day!

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Yearly haircut

Well folks it's that time again. The sun is out. The temperature is in the 20's. The long-johns are put away for another year (yes I wear long-johns well into May) and Hayley gives me my yearly haircut. Here's the evidence:

BEFORE:


AFTER:

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Monday, May 08, 2006

Monday's hot topics - Why did God create men with nipples?

Well well well, seems nothing is sacred these days on the forum. As if discussing the creation of the world was not stimulating enough, recently there has been some pretty intersting discussion about "Why God created men with nipples?" Seriously. Have you ever wondered that? Why did He? Doesn't seem like they do much. Does it seem odd to anyone else? Really...what are your thoughts...if you've ever thought of it before. I'm not joking here! I want to know. And did God put nipples on Adam before he created Eve? If so, then they must have had a purpose? Right? Am I crazy here? Why Why Why? What are they for? Please...somebody...tell me!! Please...just click here and post your answer on the forum!!

Friday, May 05, 2006

Need a title - v11

This is a recent picture of our butter dish.

Can anyone think of a good title?

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Wednesday prayer requests - 3 months till Greece!


Got this prayer update for the summer outreach in Greece. Lord willing we will be going and if anyone is interested in going, there is still room on the team :) The dates are July 28th to August 9th and it's about half the price of the OG1 Olympic trip. Sweet. We have about 10 on the team so far, but the more the merrier!! Join us for a Greek Island gospel adventure! Email me for more info or check the website at www.operationgideon.org Opa!!

PRAYING FOR GREECE - OPERATION GIDEON II - 12 weeks (3 MONTHS - 86 days) until OG II - Dates ~ July 28 - August 9, 2006

PRAY WITH US FOR:

1…$50,000 USD needed by the end of this month for the first payment towards the 30,000 Bibles (hardbound New Testaments) ordered for this summers island outreach. Our faith is once again challenged. Pray with us concerning this wonderful opportunity and need!

2…the protection of our team members. Lahela tore the ligament in her knee at the Athletic Conference in Leptokaria a few weeks ago, requiring surgery and weeks of bed rest.

3…Roy and Rosemary from South Africa who will be ministering on the Greek islands for three months. They will be praying and preparing the way spiritually for OG2 and sharing their faith on a personal one-on-one basis.

4…the OG2 team from Pittsburgh who have adopted the island of Kalymnos, as one of their team members is battling potentially serious health concerns.

5…Greece as it celebrates its 25-year membership in the European Union this year. Most Greeks view their membership in the EU as positive with benefits both political and economical. Pray that this year many more will put their trust in the Lord rather than in a growing materialistic reality that the EU status makes possible.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Monday's hot topics -Creation-7 days?168 hours?

Monday's hot topics -Creation-7 days?168 hours?
A new forum user named Shasta recently raised some questions about how God created the world.
The 7 days of creation in Genesis, when God created the earth, and everything on it, were those actual days as we know them (i.e. 0:00h-23:59h)? Or merely days in the sense of a greater period of time (i.e. era etc...)?
After a few responses she states her wonder with this "hot topic"
Some people don't believe Dinosaurs existed, some do.
Some people believe that if you don't take the Genesis account litterally, you are doubting God.
Some people believe that if you DO take Genesis 1 literally you are doubting God.
Some people are willing to just say "I don't know, but God does", and leave it at that.
Some people believe there is an answer that lies in the middle between both sides. Fascinating.
How about you? Where do you stand on these issues of origin? Post your thought on the discussion forum - here

May loggin in

May Stats:

Preached 3 times (Awana, Highschool, Youth)
11 average at Family Bible Hour (8+13+12)
33 average on Fridays (32+34)
12 youth help at chapel cleanup
4 youth to airport for tour/flight training
11 over to eat
3 stayed overnight

01May06 - Mon - Video with Mark J, Costa & Jenny over
02May06 - Tues-
03May06 - Wed -
04May06 - Thur-
05May06 - Fri - speak at Awana closing
06May06 - Sat - Chapel clean up (12 youth)
07May06 - Sun - BofB, FBH with 8 (Kevin, Jamoy, cookie, Kellz, Nathan, Kelsey, Dom, Keliah)
08May06 - Mon - office, catch-up
09May06 - Tues->Thurs-Workers & elders conference
12May06 - Fri - youth (32), jesse weeks (7 over after)
14May06 - Sun - at parents
17May06 - Wed - Melissa at airport (Shug overnight)
18May06 - Thurs - read to daycare
19May06 - Fri - flight practise, youth with Nigel (34) 2 over
20May06 - Sat - CRUX video with Mark J, Feast
21May06 - FBH with 13, Timmins till Wednesday 24th
25May06 - Thurs -
26May06 - Fri - Davinci code movie & talk
27May06 - Sat
28May06 - Sun - BofB, FBH with 12
29May06 - Mon -
30May06 - Tues- Josh & Colleen here
31May06 - Wed - elders meet, CRUX meet, prayer meeting