Saturday, December 31, 2005

Happy New Wierd!

So.....I spent New Years eve with a bunch of skinned humans down at the Science Center! They called it Body Worlds, and it was quite fascinating. Upon entering the exhibit there was a wall sized banner with Psalm 8 written on it:
4What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
Although there was controversy surrounding the exhibit I found it was pretty amazing stuff. Matt & Hayley enjoyed it the most, with their medical backgrounds, but God's creation is definitely fascinating! Again, I can't understand how someone can look at the amazing way the human body works and not believe it was designed by an intelligent designer. My favorite part of the exhibit was the fat man vs. skinny man, the embryos, pregnant lady and the javelin thrower. My parenting skills were stretched when Lukas asked "why does that man have three legs" pointing to a plastinated corpse who's leg was disected three ways.
Interstingly somebody told us that they thought it was unethical to be displaying dead humans that way. I hadn't thought of it, but is there any ethical or religious reason why displaying dead bodies is wrong?

Congratulations to Matt & Starr

The gentle giant, Matt Wilks, and Starr Lane got married yesterday at Leaside Bible Chapel! It was a wonderful night because of the wedding, but also because Hayley and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on the same day! Now we will be forever united with this wonderful couple in the date of our marriage as well as our love for the colour orange! Congratulations to the newlyweds!

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Parenting 101 - Grinches

Over this past year I've developed a few regular features here on the athensBLOG. The saysings of Lukas (& Sylas), God provides and Random ministry pics are some of the favorites, along with numerous contests throughout the year. Parenting 101 will be a new feature here on the athensBLOG. When I am confronted with a difficult parenting situation, I'll put the issue out there to plumb the depths of the vast parenting knowledge of my beloved readers! Come on you've all wanted to say something to that mother in the grocery store with the screaming child...now's your chance to be a back-! Tell the world how you would instruct the youngsters! Here's the first segment:

Parenting 101: Grinches:

Hayley's family is here and tonight we were watching How the Grinch stole Christmas, when Lukas asked me:

"Daddy, why did God make grinches"?

What response would you have given?

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

What would you do for Love?

Mark McGowan...is pulling 18 boxes of chocolates on strings attached to his arms and legs and a sign saying: "Could you love me?" "You get by being on your own the rest of the year but at this time it is devastation, utter misery," he said. "I am spending Christmas alone this year but I am looking for love because I have had enough - I don't want to be alone any more."
This is one of the saddest things I've ever seen. Obviously it's a publicity stunt, however it does show how important human relationships are. Reminds me of Cindy Lou Who in the Grinch when she said "No one should be alone on Christmas". Find a lonely person today and say hi, give them a hug or do something to show them that they are loved. Tell them that God loves them and spend some time with them. If anyone can find a video of this online please leave a comment because I want to use it for a sermon.

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Happy Birthday Hayley!!

That's right folks, my wife Hayley is celebrating her 24th birthday today - Dec 25! Special props to Isabelle, Cookie and Olivia Campbell for remembering! Hayley's family are the champs when it comes to strange birthdays. Her birthday is Christmas, her dad's birthday is Valentines day, and she has 2 boys born on the same day. So have a Merry Christmas and leave a comment for Hayley because usually everybody forgets :)

Thursday, December 22, 2005

How long is one month?


One month ago today Olivia was born! Actually Hayley and I couldn't decide whether Olivia was one month old on Tuesday, which was 4 Tuesdays since her birth, or today, one calendar month from her birth date. Whatever the case, here are some new pictures, and videos of the one-month-old :) Watch and see Lukas' first attempt at carrying his sister! Merry Christmas everyone!

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Cuthills 2005 year-end report online

Click here for our 2005 Christmas newsletter/year-end report (MS Word). Special thanks to everyone for your prayers, gifts and support over the past year. Merry Christmas!

Testing the "BrethrenPedia"

Just getting started on a little project called BrethrenPedia. I'll be writing more about this project in the new year, but basically we're attempting to document the entire history of the brethren movement, one assembly at a time. Using the same wiki software as Wikipedia.org we'll try to dig up and document the history of every assembly all the way back to the original boys in Dublin! I'll explain more about it soon, but for now just go to http://brethrenpedia.quist.ca and try your hand at editing! Once you get hooked it's lots of fun!

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Barbara Walters goes to Heaven

No she didn't die, she's hosting a show tonight on CTV titled "Heaven: Where is it". She interviewd Catholic, Jewish, Baptist, Buddhist, Evangelical, Athiest, Muslim, Terrorist and Scientific leaders. Should be interesting.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Prime Minister's puzzling proposition

Can somebody explain this to me? I was reading on the CTV website that Paul Martin said:
"In a nation of minorities, the Charter is the guarantor that minorities will be protected, that they will not be subjected to the whim of the minority," Martin said Sunday

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Boys O Boys!

Well, as I was finishing up my last post about all the newborn girls, Josh & Colleen MacFadyen were at the hospital awaiting the arrival of their little BOY Cameron Thomas MacFadyen!! Cameron (happens to be my middle name) was born at 2:20AM this morning (Saturday) via C-section! Here is a little picture Josh sent of the little fella! Congratulations to the MacFadyens!!

Modern day good samaritan


Well it's currently 4:54AM and I doubt that I'll get too much more sleep tonight. The insomnia all of us new parents are feeling cannot be matched by the sadness this mother must have felt when her innocent son was shot and killed by soldiers. Her response is an example to all of us. Here is the article I found a little while ago, detailing how this mother reacted:

Israelis receive organs of slain Palestinian boy

In a gesture they hope will foster peace, the parents of a young Palestinian boy killed by Israeli soldiers have donated his organs for transplants in Israel.

Ahmed Khatib, 12, was shot by Israeli soldiers last Thursday, during a military raid in Jenin.

Like so many children across the West Bank, Khatib was playing with a toy gun when Israeli soldiers were hunting militants. Mistaking his toy for a real gun, they shot him in the head and chest.

He died of his wounds in an Israeli hospital on Saturday.

Ahmed's mother says the decision to donate her son's organs was made Sunday as a tribute to his brother, who died at 24 while waiting for a liver transplant. But the desire to help others -- regardless of nationality or political beliefs -- is also directed at sustaining Ahmed's spirit.

"We made the decision to show we want peace -- even if they're Jewish," she said in Arabic. "This way I feel he is still alive."

A chronic shortage of donor organs in Israel is typically explained by Jewish religious taboos against the practice.

Friday, December 16, 2005

Girls, Girls, Girls

Well since we (or should I say Hayley and Theresa) had our girls on November 22nd, Keith & Beth Sparrow also had a girl, Rebecca Faith and Dave & Amy had a girl, Camille Frances. The only exception to the rule is Marko & Laura who had a boy, Sean. Congratulations to all the happy sleepless parents! So far we still haven't heard from Josh & Colleen MacFadyen. Stay tuned :)

I swear to God

Found this from the french political debate last night, CBC leaders debate
Interesting. The moderator would not let the leaders off without actually answering the question: Would they swear on a Bible to keep their promises? Layton, Martin and Harper all replied with the same word: "Absolument. (Absolutely)." Then they went on to pound home their messages again, not willing to lose a chance to say more. But for a second time, Duceppe did not answer with a "yes" or "no."

Monday, December 12, 2005

Welcome to Nanavut

Taking Lukas to daycare is always an adventure! As you've seen, there are always new things to discover...like toilets and kitchen sinks on neighbours lawns! You can never guess what is just around the corner. Walking those 3 blocks from our house to the chapel has so many twists and turns, and today was no exception. Lukas found a stick and started drawing in the snow. Any idea what Lukas is drawing? He said to me "Look daddy it's......"
Any guesses?

Gosh

Considering that my brain is complete mush from so many sleepless baby nights, I had a great laugh at this link. Just click on the flippin link.....dang

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Thursday, December 08, 2005

The sick olympics

With a newborn, sick kids and a sick wife this week (and sick myself), I got to wondering if there's some kind of world record for the most throw ups, phlegm, poops and boogers in one home in a week. If nobody's keeping track here on earth, then I'm sure we'll find out who won when we get to heaven. The condition of my family also made me wonder when it would end! So what are we to do when everyone is down for the count? Grab the banjo, call the in-laws and have a concert! Yeehaw! Here are some videos of Lukas singing some favorites, and here are more pictures of Olivia! :)

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Indoor gas stations

Pulling up to get gas tonight in the freeeeezing -17 windchill cold, when the thought hit me....why hasn't anyone invented INDOOR gas stations??? I'm standing there freezing to death looking over at the "Mr. Lube" attached to the Esso wondering how come they can't have a drive-in gas station to keep everybody warm, check your fluids, sell you Tim Hortons, etc. I mean so many things would be easier. No line-up issues. Nobody backing up in front of somebody else, no honking, no jockeying for position. Just a straight line in and straight line out. Has anyone thought of this before? Would you go to an indoor gas station? I know I would. I'd probably choose to drive an extra block or two just to get there. Maybe I should give Esso a call...hmmm...don't go stealing my idea on me now, OK! Has anyone else thought of this before or am I crazy?

More Babies!

Congratulations to Marko & Laura Peric on the birth of their son! He was 9lbs 5oz and they're naming him Sean or Shawn or Shaun, but hopefully not Shone. Hopefully they'll have some pictures up soon on their site - here. Congratulations!

Sunday, December 04, 2005

So Roman, how did you like CRUX2 @ Leaside?

Roman is demonstrating the featured game from the second CRUX event, the spit-the-banana-through- the-panty-hose-over-your-head game. Quite fun to watch...not sure how much fun it was to play but I'll put some videos and pics up soon so you can see for yourself! Thankfully there were no permanent injuries, except perhaps some bruised egos.



It was a great night, with over 150 teens (and yes we allowed parents) from at least 7 assemblies represented! Sadly none of those assemblies brought anyone with freestyle rapping skills so we were subjected to a rendition of Wierd-Al Yankovics "amish paradise" by Wilks & Brewster during the rap competition. The Leaside praise band was rockin, Matt Wilks spoke powerfully about how Jesus had changed him from a life of drugs, to a life of serving God. As you can see from this picture, the objective was accomplished - Christ Raised Up! Markham Bible Chapel will host the next rally in February, so stay tuned for details!

Thursday, December 01, 2005

December logging in

16Dec05- Fri - youth
15Dec05- Thur
14Dec05- Wed
13Dec05- Tues
12Dec05- Mon
11Dec05- Sun - BofB, FBH with 2 (Cookie, Jamoy)
10Dec05- Sat - Christmas banquet (4) Kevin, Jamoy, Cookie, Katherine
09Dec05- Fri - @Chapel - sermon prep, youth prep, admin. Youth, set up for banquet
08Dec05- Thurs - sick
07Dec05- Wed - sick
06Dec05- Tues - off
05Dec05- Mon - @chapel - Lukas home sick
04Dec05- Sun - Sylas sick
03Dec05- Sat - CRUX leaside
02Dec05- Fri - 25@youth
01Dec05- Thur- @chapel