Thursday, July 23, 2009

Sad day for Thorncliffe

Please pray for a family from our community who is grieving today:

CTV news:


TORONTO — After three consecutive days of devastating news, a Toronto father is struggling to help his two sons cope with the loss of their mother and two sisters, who drowned in a hotel pool while vacationing in an eastern Ontario resort town.

Naila Yasmin, 43, a wife and mother of four, died in hospital on Sunday. Her 14-year-old daughter, Kinza Kaianad, died Monday evening and 11-year-old Sunaila Kaianad died Tuesday afternoon. All died at Kingston General Hospital.

Autopsy results suggest that Yasmin and her daughters, described as "non-swimmers," likely drowned in a ten-minute span Saturday...

Both girls attended nearby Thorncliffe Public School."

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Mondays hot topics - Gospels in Early Church

Wow, it's been quite a while since I posted any "Hot topics" from the discussion forum but I saw this one and even though it's not Monday thought I'd post it. Here's a good one from "jpurssey" for us to chew on

http://simplegathering.com/viewtopic.php?f=57&p=27853&sid=6324470da731173e1b93da46a8abda43#p27829
I've been thinking about how the Gospels may have been used in the early church and realise that i have heard or read little about it. it is comparatively easy to imagine the letters being read out at some church meeting and also being studied by some church "elders" (I use the word in general terms as I do not want to provoke an argument, but simply to distinguish those with an ability and interest to study them). Even the letters are sometimes long and are quite complex.

I grew up with a lot of verses being used in isolation, and with a loss of context. A lot oi sermons were constructed that way. I doubt very much that the early church used the gospels and letters that way.

I understand that the written gospels were collations of spoken stories that were assembled to give a message to their particular audiences. These would have been the stories that the early christians told to one another and to their non-christian audience. Given the level of literacy, many would needed to have the gospels read to them.

What would have been the circumstances in which the Gospels were read to an audience?

How was a Gospel delivered in its entirety to an audience?

Does anyone know of any scholarship on this matter?
Thoughts? Comments? Ideas? Post them on the forum or in the comments below

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Which businesses are recession-proof?

Found this neat article on the CTV site:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081201/recession_proof_081201/20081201?hub=TopStories

* Comfort foods: Campbell's Soup, Stagg Chili, candy-makers, McDonald's and Burger King -- companies that provide low-cost, feel-good foods tend to perform strongly during times of economic recession, and that is expected to be the case this time around.

* Drug stores: With Shoppers Drug Mart set to open a fancy, new high-end new store in a wealthy Toronto neighbourhood, it seems the company isn't too worried about losing its market share during a recession. Indeed, pharmacies are considered a safe-bet for investors during economic slowdowns because they sell products you can't really do without. Well, maybe you don't need the $90 face cream, but you do need toothpaste.

* Education: No matter how bad the economy gets, the school system isn't going anywhere. Teachers are embedded in one of the safest careers going, along with school administrators and support staff. Those who supply the education sector -- pumping text books and other learning materials into classrooms, are also safer than most.

* Security: Airports, train stations, ports, borders -- travel and transport hubs of all sorts rely on security workers to maintain safety and ensure proper protocols are observed. Those jobs also tend to be safe during periods of recession - because there's simply not much fat to cut.

* Wireless service providers: Cellphones have must-have status across Canada and the world. We need them for work, for fun and for just about everything, everyday. So business in the wireless sector isn't likely to take a tumble. In fact it might actually increase as companies try to cut costs and streamline business, turning to technology like video conferencing to reduce travel expenses.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Video of the week - Old people use a computer

This one is dedicated to my beloved parents. They taught me many things in life so I am privileged to return the favour by teaching them how to use a computer.
If you can't see the video on facebook click here: http://athensBLOG.blogspot.com

Monday, July 06, 2009

The sayings of Lukas double-header v45 - kissing!

Today we have a special double-header edition of "The sayings of Lukas" and it's all about kissing.

1. The other day Lukas & I were going door-to-door giving out Faith & Friends magazines and colouring papers to the kids. I wasn't sure if I'd have enough magazines to finish the floor but Lukas was sure we would. So he made me a bet:

"Daddy I'll bet you 100 hugs and 2000 kisses that we have enough"

It was the best bet I ever lost.

2. The second 'saying' was when we were driving home from watching Transformers. Lukas got thinking about the main characters in the movie and said

"Dad, they must have had to pay him alot of money to agree to kiss a girl! yuck"

So there you have it. Lukas is still at the stage where kissing your dad is better than kissing Megan Fox! May this stage never end!