Biker killer finds God

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2008/05/27/5678831-sun.html

A Bandido biker who killed a member of the Hells Angels found God after the shooting and is hoping to only do a year or two in jail.

"I started reading the Bible daily and asked the Lord to come into my life. I have read the Bible from start to finish," Francesco "Cisco" Lenti told Justice Michael Brown in Newmarket court yesterday at his sentencing hearing.

The 62-year-old pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the shooting of Hells Angels sergeant-at-arms David (White Dread) Buchanan

The sayings of Olivia volume 1 - Narnia!

It was inevitable. First Lukas started his 'sayings', then Sylas, and now the athensBLOG is proud to launch the very first "Sayings of Olivia"!

The other day we took all the kids and Cookie to see Prince Caspian. At the triumphant scene where Lucy finally sees Aslan Oliva gasped in anticipation:

Olivia: Look mommy
Mommy: Yes, it's Aslan
Olivia: No...it's a Lion that can talk! Wow.

Video of the week - The answer to homelessness (no joke)

Got this in an email this morning - here - is the answer to homelessness

Why are all Toronto ghetto's called "Park"?

There is an interesting phenomenon here in Toronto where all the lowest income and run-down neighbourhoods have the word "park" in them. Thorncliffe Park, Flemingdon Park, Regent Park, Moss Park etc. Recently I found this interesting article - here - that gave some explanation and documented the history of Toronto's high rise glory:

I am intrigued by the history of Toronto's development and growth. Toronto is indeed a city of towers, sometimes in the most unexpected locales...Some 50 years ago, Canada's first planned community was built. The Don Mills development...

The 60's saw a boom in tower construction. In the 'burbs, the typical land requirements allowing for up to 60% of the property to be green - essentially parkland. The result was tower developments "in parks" suited for the middle class. Developments such as Flemingdon Park, Thorncliffe Park, Bathurst and Steeles, northern Keele and Jane St, the Peanut and Crescent Town went up at a dizzying pace...Developments such as Flemingdon Park, Thorncliffe Park, Bathurst and Steeles, northern Keele and Jane St, the Peanut and Crescent Town went up at a dizzying pace.

So there you have it, way back in the 60's Toronto was already thinking 'green'. Three cheers for ghetto's named "Park"!

Thorncliffe teens united by war-torn past

Monday's Toronto Star had a great article - here - about Thorncliffe teens that are helping each other overcome the wars they have experienced back in their home countries:

Jerry Gezaw and Assumpta Muhimpundu met not too long ago at Marc Garneau Collegiate in Thorncliffe Park and now they finish each other's sentences, go to movies together and share secrets.

When they aren't helping each other forget the wars they grew up with, that is...

At Marc Garneau, they and five other kids, from Afghanistan and the Philippines, became a team helping each other adjust to Canada. "We watch movies, play volleyball and scream around," says Muhimpundu, who arrived here three years ago.

Video of the week - Sylas hiding spot

Sylas is the king of hide-and-seek:

Thorncliffe map

Found this great interactive map of Thorncliffe. I can't post the image here so click here to see it

My new favorite song - Do you know what you're getting yourself into?

This song came up as my MP3s were shuffling and as I listened I thought I'd blog it with a few comments. I really believe most Christians do barely anything for God because of fear. They are afraid to really let go and abandon themselves to God. Think about it. That's what kept the Israelites from taking the land, when Joshua & Caleb said God could do it. That's what kept the army paralyzed, when David stepped up to kill Goliath. That's what has probably kept you where you are right now instead of following your dreams and stepping out in faith and trusting God.

Fear - 2 Tim 1:7 - God has not given us a spirit of fear!
Trust God! Stop being scared! Make up your mind! Get into the battle! Step out on faith! It's not easy. It's worth it.

Video of the week - Dave the friendly Goth

Pastor Smith shows us how to behave when a strange person shows up at church. While the content is provocative Pastor Smith is warm and loving in the way he engages Dave, the friendly Goth:

Amazing historical piece on Thorncliffe

This article from ERA architects and the "Tower renewal project" documents some of the original designs and pictures from Thorncliffe Park.

Thorncliffe Park was a bold 1950s plan by the Town of Leaside to redevelop a former racetrack overlooking the Don River. Conceived in 1955 it was proposed to be the first apartment neighbourhood in Canada...The apartment towers themselves were the peak of modernity, for the first time offering panoramic views of the city, underground parking, indoor pools and other amenities unthinkable before the War. In something of a ‘Jetsons’ aesthetic, Thorncliffe’s modern towers were a symbol of a prosperous and confident nation after the war...

...Today the area one of the City’s most prominent immigrant reception zones. It is home to Canada’s largest Islamic community and is one of North America’s most diverse neighbourhoods, with a vibrancy and street life usually found in the central city

Check out the full article here

Early church quotes - volume 2

Fellow blogger Lon posted a great early church quote - here:

It is the Christians, O Emperor, who have sought and found the truth, for they acknowledge God. They do not keep for themselves the goods entrusted to them. They do not covet what belongs to others. They show love to their neighbors. They do not do another what they would not wish to have done to themselves. They speak gently to those who oppress them, and in this way they make them their friends.

It has become their passion to do good to their enemies. They live in the awareness of their smallness. Every one of them who has anything gives ungrudgingly to the one who has nothing. If they see a traveling stranger, they bring him under their roof. They rejoice over him as over a real brother, for they do not call one another brothers after the flesh, but they know they are brothers in the Spirit and in God.

If they hear that one of them is imprisoned or oppressed for the sake of Christ, they take care of all his needs. If possible they set him free. If anyone among them is poor or comes into want while htey themselves have nothing to spare, they fast two or three days for him. In this way they can supply any poor man with the food he needs. This, O Emperor, is the rule of life of the Christians, and this is their manner of life.

- Aristides 137 AD.

How to get aid to Myanmar

While many aid organizations are attempting unsuccessfully to get into Myanmar to deliver relief, the Salvation Army is already working hard in this ravaged country! A recent press release - here - details the relief effort and how Canadians can help:

The Salvation Army in Myanmar continues to respond to the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis...Any public donations received by The Salvation Army that are specified to the Myanmar Cyclone Relief Fund will also be directly allocated to the relief effort in addition to this initial $50,000...The Salvation Army’s efforts continue in Myanmar as cooked meals and water are provided to the public. At two specific Army locations, clean well water is being pumped for those in need.

**The Salvation Army began its work in Myanmar (then Burma) in 1915 and now includes over 40 ministry units, children’s homes shared farms, pig loan programs, 60 well projects to deliver clean water, education and tuition programs as well as several health clinics**

Please support The Salvation Army’s relief effort in Myanmar. Financial contributions can be made by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769), by visiting our website, www.SalvationArmy.ca, by mailing donations to The Salvation Army Territorial Headquarters, Canada and Bermuda, 2 Overlea Blvd., Toronto, Ontario M4H 1P4, or dropping off financial donations at the closest Salvation Army unit in your area. Donors should specify their gift to the Myanmar Cyclone Relief Fund.

Please consider a gift to the Salvation Army today

Lego Bible - Temple

...the true name of the most famous building endeavor from the reign of King Solomon is The Temple of Yahweh. And in this week's update of the Brick Testament - here, the world can finally behold this most sacred of ancient monuments in perhaps its most beautiful form, rendered entirely out of LEGO bricks, inside and out.

The sayings of Sylas v15 - Mustard

The other day we were eating hot dogs when Sylas and Lukas started talking

Lukas: So Sylas, do you like mustard?
Sylas: No, it tastes like mushed birds!

Walking Thorncliffe Park

For the past 2 years an initiative called Jane's walk has encouraged people to walk through the less desirable areas of Toronto. Thorncliffe Park is on the list and a recent walker has an excellent article about our sweet neighbourhood!

http://spacing.ca/wire/2008/05/08/walking-thorncliffe-park/

As I noted earlier, Thorncliffe Park is built in a “U” shape with a series of tall and mid-sized towers wrapping around a series of amenities in the middle - the East York Town Centre mall, an elementary school, and a park. Connections can be made both along the “U” of Thorncliffe Park Drive, and through a pair of pedestrian pathways crossing each other in the middle of the “U”. The elementary school, located right behind the mall, has 1,900 students, making it the largest elementary school in North America....

Although Thorncliffe Park is reasonably coherent in terms of internal walking, it remains desperately isolated from the rest of the city

Read the rest of the article and see pictures here

Thorncliffe mall rules!

Found this story about our local mall the East York Town Center:

the mall is more community-driven than most. There’s a surprising amount of independent local retailers here. Surprising because many malls are booting out such retailers, many of which cater to the various ethnic communities living around the mall.

As soon as I enter, I pick up the community vibe. The food court, for one, is in the centre of the mall slightly to one side instead of being tucked away in some dark dingy dungeon-like corner.

To read the entire article click here

Video of the week - Anime Jesus!

Some of you may have seen the new comic Bible titled Manga Messiah. Recently a group connected with the Jesus Film started putting together an anime movie titled "Who is he". The first scenes look pretty awesome! Check it out - here - and then let them know what you think at http://en.whoishe.org:

Four Cooks in the Kitchen!!

I'm happy to report the birth of a brand new cook!! Asha Cook is here

"This big guy is going to make a lot of money in the NFL"

A while back I reported on one of our old Bridlegrove youth named Orlando Franklin - here. When we met Orlando he was 6 foot 7 and 250 pounds in Grade 10. Now he's playing college football for the Miami Hurricanes and I found this scouting report on him:

Orlando Franklin: This big guy is going to make a lot of money in the NFL some day and he’s probably going to do it at offensive tackle. He’ll play guard again this season and, unless he has a monster year, will return for his junior campaign and switch to tackle. Cha-ching!

Way to go Orlando!!

Lego Bible - Solomon

Lots of updates from the Lego Bible:
King Solomon yo! Click here

The Sayings of Sylas v14 - Royale

The other day Hayley was grocery shopping with Sylas. As they came home, Sylas was helping carry groceries up the elevator when he noticed the soft, fuzzy kittens on the cover of the Royale bathroom tissue. Fixing his gaze on them he said:

Sylas: "Mommy how could you!!"
Hayley: "What do you mean, Sylas"
Sylas: "They had to kill kittens to make that toilet paper!"

Facebook hacked!!??

My sincere apologies to anyone who got a spam message from me on facebook. I was not online or even at home at the time and am investigating.

Here's a video that explains more about how people can hack into your facebook account. be careful everyone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AdFA6WWJ7E

**UPDATE** As was predicted by many of you my facebook account is now disabled. Has this happened to anyone else? Any tips to getting it back? I've sent them a number of messages asking for clarification on how my account sent messages to all my friends while I was not logged in.

**UPDATE2** Account is now back up and running

Video of the week - Baptism diving!

This is the way to get baptised!!

Monday's hot topics - God in government

I've had a few awesome comments since last Monday's post on my blog about the Ontario Governement considering removing the opening prayer each day.

I've received many emails from panicked Christians saying we have to save this prayer at all costs or else our country is doomed. Others state:

In my opinion, the proposal for removing the Lord's Prayer (repetition issue aside for a moment) from the formal proceedings of the Ontario Legislative Assembly is just one more attempt to entirely remove God from our lives as Canadians...As Christians, I would really hope that we believe in the value of having God's name mentioned (one of the last places where it is) in the Legislative Assembly.

I disagree.

Instead I would agree with Josh Duffy who stated:

I think the govt should launch a massive national persecution campaign against Christianity. Then maybe the Church would be driven underground and the real fruit would begin!! They could start with a simple thing like banning the Bible!!!

What do you think of prayer in government? Should church and state ever be together? Should we gasp, or cheer, when our government starts removing God from government? Post your comments below or on the forum - here

Wednesday prayer requests - Cookie coming for the summer!!

You may remember Cookie (video below) from our Bridlegrove days. Well this summer Cookie is coming to live and work with us! We are thrilled to be able to continue the mentoring process as Cookie finishes up high school.

Cookie will be a summer intern, which will be a summer job for him, and we hope to pay him something as he works with me. Please consider sending financial support (to Leaside Bible Chapel) so that we will have the funds to pay him something. Most importantly remember him in prayer as he prepares for his future, that God would continue to mold him into a fine young man!

Thoughts on Lord's Prayer in Government

A government committee in Ontario "has been convened to review the traditional practice of reciting prayers at the opening of each business day".

What do you think of this practice? Do you support repetitious prayers said by some who may not believe them? Does God accept these prayers? Should the government continue this practice in order to continue some sort of covering that God places on us for doing this?

Well, the good news is that they are asking for your inupt on the matter! If you're a resident of Ontario click on the link below (then scroll down and click "Consultation on prayer in the Legislative Assembly"):

Welcome to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Video of the week - Olivia

Yes thank you, my daughter is the cutest thing on earth:

Towers of power

A friend sent me this picture he took of some of the apartment buildings in our neighbourhood

I heart Fonebook

Yesterday I synced all my Facebook contacts with Outlook using an amazing little program called Fonebook - here. The best part of this is birthdays. Each and every facebook friends birthday is now in my Outlook calendar, which also syncs to my Treo!! Give it a try - here

"I’ve found God" says man who cracked the genome - UK Times

This article is pretty amazing - click here:

The Sunday Times
June 11, 2006
Steven Swinford

The scientist who led the team that cracked the human genome is to publish a book explaining why he now believes in the existence of God and is convinced that miracles are real.

Francis Collins, the director of the US National Human Genome Research Institute, claims there is a rational basis for a creator and that scientific discoveries bring man “closer to God”...

“When you have for the first time in front of you this 3.1 billion-letter instruction book that conveys all kinds of information and all kinds of mystery about humankind, you can’t survey that going through page after page without a sense of awe. I can’t help but look at those pages and have a vague sense that this is giving me a glimpse of God’s mind."

The buffalos win

So depressing being a leafs fan. I waited all year to take Lukas & Sylas to their first Leaf game - here - and when I do they lose a heartbreaker in a shoot-out. How does it feel Leafs that you make little boys cry???

Best April fools reaction ever!!

I got this message on facebook from one of my friends. This has to be the best reaction ever:

haha o man... So I saw on the newsfeed that Shawn cuthill is now listed as single... I was like, NO no WAY, I dont believe it, so I went to your page and for the past few days your status said it was a bad day and then on monday it said you didnt want to talk about it. A million things ran through my mind and So I just had to pray... I was seriously thinking, wow if this can happen to them, I dont ever want to get married...I couldnt get it off my mind so to be alone i left the house before I even ate anything and took my prayer journal to go and pray for you guys, I walked awhile to Tim Hortons and just prayed...

then i skipped on over to wal-mart, this is where it gets crazy, I remember leavning to check out and all the sudden I wake up with 20 ppl around me as I'm being put in an ambulance...I dont know what happened but they tell me I collapsed on some lady and then I couldnt stop shaking because I had no strength. After bein a tiny bit nervous and then getting some tests done, the doctor told me I should never go on that long of a walk without eating. I can't remember if I ate supper the night before but its just funny because I was really worried about you guys and thats the whole reason i skipped my meal and went out... then i end up collapsing in wal-mart, very embarassing ;) and going to the hospital... later to find out it was a JOKE!!! haha

So in closing, remember to mark your calendar so if strange things happen on April 1st you'll know why :)

Cookie on the mic!!

Here's what happens when Cookie comes to visit!

South Asians rule!! Literally

As the Toronto Star reported recently "Today's Thorncliffe is tomorrow's Canada". Need further proof? Today's CTV news report -here- provides more data from the 2006 census::

Canada's ethnic makeup is changing dramatically, with the latest census numbers showing that for the first time, South Asians have edged out Chinese as the top visible minority group in the country.

The census data from Statistics Canada, released Wednesday morning, shows surging immigration from Asia has fuelled a phenomenon that has visible minorities for the first time comprising more than five million people, or 16 per cent of the population.

That marks an increase of 27 per cent in the immigration of visible minorities between 2001 and 2006.

Since 2001, three-quarters of Canada's new immigrants have been visible minorities, and the total now sits at 5,068,100, the census shows.

According to the census, 96 per cent of the visible minority population live in a metropolitan area. That's in sharp contrast to the 68 per cent of the total population that live in major cities.

Video of the week - April fools jokes

For April fools *each *year I rack my brains to think of the best possible prank to play. This past year I noticed that many people (cough*Jerry*cough*Steph*cough) use the facebook relationship status to shock & awe & quickly inform their friends of their new mate. So this year Hayley and I conspired to fake a 'facebook break up' using this very same relationship status apparatus. I'd say it went pretty well this year, I fooled people in at least 4 countries and had many many concerned messages (thank you by the way it's nice to know we're loved). However the severity of the prank caught some off gaurd, since I guess they forgot that we have freakin tattoos on our fingers so a break up of any kind is the farthest thing from ever happening. Next year perhaps I'll take some tips from these guys and plan something a little more low key:

Lord we just....

Amazing post - here - about how many times Evangelicals use the word "just" in their prayers:

This is seriously one of my pet peeves in evangelical pseudo-cultural, pseudo-spirituality: The repetitive use of the word "just" in extemporaneous (is there any other kind?) prayers.

Lord Jesus, we just wanna just thank you for....and we just ask that...and just that you just would just...so just that we just could just...and just then just the pagans just would just...just because just we just love you just so much....

Lego Bible - David's Psalms of Victory

Some of these are hilarious - click here

Wednesday prayer requests - Hayley's eye

Just a quick prayer request from us. This morning (5AM) Sylas crawled in bed with us and in the process scratched Hayley directly in her eye. It hurt so much she couldn't open her eye and it freaked me out so we went to Sunnybook Emergency where they actually got us in to see a doctor in about 15 minutes (perhaps the writhing in pain helped get us ahead of the line). Now we're back home with drops, a patch and some tylenol 3. They say it will heal in 48 hours but she has to go back in tomorrow to get it checked. It's not just like a little scratch on the white part it's directly in the middle so the doctor wants to make sure it heals properly. So if you finish praying for the overwhelming needs of the world and have some spare time left we'd appreciate a quick prayer! Thanks everyone

Need a title v41

Hayley found this pictures the other day. Can anyone think of a good title?

Wiggle Wiggle

Video of the week - It's too late

Yes Alvin & the Chipmunks sing Timbaland, and yes my kids are awesome dancers!

Sad but true...

Monday's hot topics - Darby the Calvinist?

Matt Cook posted some interesting findings on Darby on the forum - here:

just happened upon a neat little letter written by everyone's hero, JND. Here are some neat quotes that grabbed my attention: "To leave him to his free choice, now that he is disposed to do evil, would be a cruelty. "

I've heard from a few sources that Darby was a Calvinist, so if he leaned that way why are the Brethren generally opposed to Calvinism?

Hmmm...why are the brethren generally opposed to Calvinism if one of the main founders of the movement was a Calvinist?

What's a bored kid to do in his room? Joe Cook shows us an exciting new way for a kid to entertain himself:

Improper use of quotation marks

An English teacher friend of mine sent me
this set of improperly used quotation marks - click here

Video of the week - We stand on God for babies

Here is the boys wonderful rendition of O Canada. Wish I would have got the dramatic crescendo on tape too:

Only 26 kindergarten classes

Previously I had reported that Sylas was in one of 32 kindergarten classes. A recent Toronto Star article - here - puts the number at 26:

Thorncliffe Park Elementary School, believed to be the largest in North America, has 26 kindergarten classes – 13 in the morning and 13 in the afternoon. Its teachers tend to work in groups of two or three planning lessons, with Dianne Hillier as a lead teacher for the entire group

A food tour of Thorncliffe

Thursday's edition of the Toronto Star has a great article on Thorncliffe's South Asian Food variety - here. The best line in the article is the first one:

Today's Thorncliffe Park is tomorrow's Canada...

It's a striking statement and one that Jehad Aliweiwi makes over a Pakistani meal of haleem, shish kebab curry and chicken tikka masala at Iqbal Kebab & Sweet Centre...Statistics Canada predicts visible minorities (mainly South Asian and Chinese) will be the majority by 2017.That's already true in this little-known Toronto neighbourhood."This is maybe the true global village of the city," says Aliweiwi. "It's not a random neighbourhood with troubles or a bad reputation that's to be avoided. It's a neighbourhood with something to offer."

"This neighbourhood is 90 per cent Muslim," explains co-owner Jenny Hsiung, who comes from Calcutta and is happy to see Hakka (Indian/Pakistani/Chinese hybrid) taking off in Toronto...

Thorncliffe Park, which housed a farm that bred racehorses in the 1800s and then a racetrack from the 1920s to 1950s, retains a unique, circular feel. Aliweiwi loves how the area's apartment dwellers have taken ownership of its public spaces and, especially in warm weather, head out to stroll, chat and gather...

"As a cultural experience, the food and the people are something to be really proud of in this diverse city."

One omission from the article was the recent closing of Thorncliffe's Burger King, which was unable to compete in this South Asian community. That's today's Thorncliffe Park, that's the future of Canada.

On vacation

Hey everybody, we're on vacation in a top secret location. Be back soon.
While we're gone, check out the latest update from the Lego Bible - here

Video of the week - Best Valentines present ever

Today Sylas came home with a Valentines present that he made at school:

Who was Valentine?

My good friend Josh Duffy has an amazing post on his blog -here- about the real hero of Valentines day:

St Valentine of Rome lived some 200 yrs after Christ. In that time the Roman Emperor Claudius II proclaimed a law that young men should not be married because single men made for better soldiers than married men. Valentine continued performing marriage ceremonies and was found out and was eventually brought before Emperor Claudius. Claudius had great respect for this man of God and tried to get Valentine to renounce Christ so that he could spare his life. Valentine refused and in turn, tried to convert Claudius from paganism to Christianity. Claudius refused and subsequently had Valentine imprisoned.

In prison Valentine befriended his jailor's daughter, who was blind. He prayed for her and she was miraculously cured which resulted in the jailor's conversion to Christ. The night before Valentine died he wrote a note to her and signed it "from your Valentine". On February 14, 269 AD, Valentine of Rome was beaten with clubs and beheaded for his faith.

This story is much different than the one we think of on Feb 14. Let's get back to the root of some of these holidays we ignorantly celebrate.

Amen Josh. Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Monday's hot topics: Rediscovering the early church

Over the past few years on this blog and on the forum - here - I've been digging in to the "early church". It seems I'm not alone. New forum member Elisa tipped us off to the cover story of this month's Christianty Today. The article focuses on this trend, a new generation looks for much deeper roots than their denominations offer. Here is an excerpt from the CT Feb08 cover story:

In Massachusetts, Campbell spoke with Sharon Carlson, a young woman raised in the Plymouth Brethren movement, a free-church tradition that eschews liturgy, tradition, and hierarchy. Carlson described the Communion experience as "tearing up bread and passing around cups of grape juice after men in the assembly spontaneously stood and repeated the words that they felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to say," and she felt that was no longer enough. As Campbell reports, " 'I want to be more connected to history, the history of the Christian church,' said Carlson, who relishes the knowledge that she is worshiping the way Christians have for centuries. 'There have been generations of people before me saying the same prayers.'

How do you feel about this trend to discover the ancient? As Protestants do we get frightened by reading about the ancient (Catholic) church? Or is it helpful to rediscover how people did church in the first century? Isn't that what the brethren movement was all about? Post your thoughts in the comments below or on the forum - here

Best candidate for the economy - "Unquestionably Ron Paul"

Money Matters reports which candidate "unquestionably" would be best for investors

On the Republican side, the picture is pretty clear. Ron Paul was unquestionably the most investor-friendly candidate based on the fact that his plans to downsize the government and end the United States’ Middle East involvement would both increase the resources available for the private sector and reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Again, if you're in the US please take another look at Ron Paul and consider voting for him.

Rate it!

I just added a little widget to my blog so you can all rate my posts. At the bottom of each post will be a starry scale from 1-5 measuring the level of awesome contained in my writings. 1 is really bad, 5 is really good. Give it a try!!

The sayings of Lukas v43 - Three wishes

Today's sayings come in picture form. For homework Lukas had to write down what he would wish for if he had three wishes. Here they are:
(click for larger image)

Careful everybody...

Interesting article from Al Jazeera:

Then I had a life-changing incident in 2006, when I was stopped at an airport in New York and prevented from boarding to my airplane because my T-shirt had the words "we will not be silent" in both Arabic and English printed on it.

A TSA [transportation security officer] told me that coming to a US airport with Arabic words on my T-shirt was equivalent to visiting a bank while wearing a shirt that read "I'm a robber".

After making me cover my shirt, the officers changed my seat from the front to the back of the airplane.

Making high-rises green?

I found this article called "Concrete City" about how architects are talking through making high-rises green. It features a great picture of Thorncliffe.

Christian & Muslim numbers

Very interesting article from The Economist - click here.

...over 100m copies of the Bible are sold or given away every year...available all or in part in 2,426 languages, covering 95% of the world's population...

Islam had a better 20th century than Christianity. The world's Muslim population grew from 200m in 1900 to its current levels...Islam's expansion has mostly come about through population growth and migration, rather than conversion...Many Christian scholars predict that Islam will overtake Christianity as the world's largest religion by 2050

Last look at Ron Paul before Super Tuesday

Well who would have guessed that Ron Paul would still be in the Republican race after Rudy, Fred and many others have dropped out. Today marks another in a long line or Ron Paul money bombs - here that have helped him shatter single-day fundraising records.

Please, if you live in the US and haven't done so already, take another look at Ron Paul before Super Tuesday. As a Canadian I am quite concerned about what will happen to the US if they don't get their house in order and Ron Paul is the only candidate who can make that happen...or at least that's what the latest endorsement from the National Taxpayers Union states - here:

According to a report released Tuesday by the National Taxpayers Union, Texas Congressman Ron Paul is the only remaining presidential candidate who proposes net spending cuts. According to the report, Congressman Paul’s proposals would cut government spending by over $150 billion, a conservative estimate of the spending reductions Dr. Paul has proposed. The report concludes that the other remaining Republican candidates, Romney, McCain and Huckabee, have proposed spending increases of $19.5 billion, $6.9 billion and $54 billion respectively(eek!!) . In ten terms in Congress, Ron Paul has never voted for a tax increase or for an unbalanced budget

Here's the video from the latest Republican debate:


Ron Paul is a medical doctor who has delivered 4,000 babies before entering politics and he is endorsed by Roe (of Roe v Wade) as the best pro-life candidate. He's been a congressman for 10 terms and never voted for a tax hike or unbalanced budget.

But if you're still not sure who to vote for take this Survey - here and find out who's policies you most align with. Happy Super Tuesday everyone! :)

First woman horse racer got her start in...Thorncliffe Park!!

Found this interesting article the other day about a horse racing story that began in ...Thorncliffe Park

..the fight Williams put up on behalf of all women in the sport began long before that, defying even her husband's wishes against her being permitted to race to embark on a 21-year career, beginning with her first win in 1951 at Thorncliffe Park in Toronto and running through 1973, retiring as the winningest driver in North America.

If you didn't already know, Thorncliffe Park used to be a racetrack - one it seems that has historic significance!

Shenk & Shabir

One of the neat things about being in BC last week was that I got a chance to hear and meet Dr. David Shenk, one of the most respectful and thoughtful Christian scholars when it comes to Muslim/Christian dialogue. His book "A Muslim and a Christian in dialogue is used as a textbook in many places in the world as a platform for understanding between these two faiths. I saw him speak in Abbotsford and he spoke about his recent trip to Iran -click here- where he was an invited guest, asked to share the message of peace through Jesus with 1500 Mullahs as well as the President. I appreciate Shenk's respectful discussions with Muslims and his emphasis on the peace and forgiveness through Jesus.

I looked up his videos -here- when he had a dialogue with Shabir Ali. Check em out and see what I mean. I would encourage all Christians to clothe themselves with this attitude of peace when engaged in dialogue with Muslim friends.

The sayings of Lukas v42

Gotta log in to read this one. It's definitely the best one yet.

Parenting 101 v16 - Days of our lives

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....Here is our sixteenth edition of Parenting 101.
__________________________



Today we were driving in the car when Lukas said:

Dad...how many days have there been? Including today?

Any ideas for a good response?

Video of the week: Chillawicka-wicka-wack

My entire neighbourhood would fit into this campground:

Attention Christian conservatives - Roe (yes that Roe) endorses Ron Paul

Yesterday Ron Paul got his biggest endorsement yet - Norma McCorvey aka Jane Roe - click here. This is a huge endorsement from the pro-life movement and hopefully will make alot of Christians in the US take notice

Thorncliffe "Running & Reading" Club starts Jan 23rd

For a while now we've been hoping to help get a kids club going in Thorncliffe. Lots of kids need help with English since, for 93% of the kids at the school, English is not their first language. Last summer we started discussions with an amazing organization called Kidsfest Canada and so starting January 23rd Thorncliffe Park Public School will have their own Running & Reading program!!

We need loads of volunteers so if you'd like to run around and read to kids from all over the world one day a week, just email me!

Video of the week - best video ever!!

Ladies and gentlemen, I have just viewed the greatest video ever posted on the internet. Behold:

Ron Paul 4th in Michigan

I was excited to see Ron Paul coming in a solid 4th in Michigan, well ahead of both Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson - here. This is the second time Paul has defeated both Giuliani and Thompson and solidifies him as the 4th place candidate in the race, officially part of the "top tier" candidates. It will be interesting to see how the media handles this.

Halal meat thief sells to drug dealer

I found this article interesting:

In less than an hour of watching the location on Wednesday night, detectives allegedly caught the store’s 46-year-old owner selling pot to a patron and buying cheese and halal meats from a customer who had stolen the food from a store in Thorncliffe Park.

So first of all the guy is selling pot, but then he is buying stolen Halal meat? It seems funny to me that he would keep halal even though he's breaking other basic laws like drug dealing :)

Videos of the week - More reasons to love Ron Paul

During the South Carolina Republican debate Ron Paul spoke the best one-liner of the entire campaign so far (5:30-5:58)

Paul: Let me see if I get this right. We need to borrow 10 Billion dollars from China and then we give it to Musharaff who's a military dictator who overthrew an elected government, then we go to war we lose all these lives promoting democracy in Iraq? I mean, what's going on here

:


Another great quote was when he smacked John McCain about the middle east - here - for McCain's quip about foreign policy (7:57-9:41):

Paul: So why don't we trade with everybody and talk with them (instead of endless wars), and then there's a greater incentive to work these (Middle East) problems out...

McCain (smiling like an idiot): I'm not interested in trading with Al Qaeda all they want to trade is Burqas. I don't want to travel with them they like one way tickets"

Paul: Can I answer that...that's what I've been talking about, we USED to support Saddam Husein and we USED to be allies with Osama Bin Laden!! What I want to do is stop that. Who's our friend one day turn out to be our enemies the next...the senator says we need to be in Iraq for 100 years if necessary...I say BRING EM HOME!

As a Christian I whole heartedly agree with Ron Paul. War is never right and the war in Iraq especially needs to end immediately. The troops need to return home and bases in the middle east closed so that the US can salvage what's left of their international reputation. That is the only way to reduce terrorism.

This post is rated MH-17

All I have to say is - I love Mark Driscoll. If he's not offensive enough for you there's also a Lego Bible update

Move over Toronto FC

Make way for Thorncliffe FC!!!

Monday's hot topics - An Agnostic Follows The Bible For A Year...

Yes I know it's not Monday but forum member Michelle posted a very interesting link today on the forum - here. The article details an agnostic who "follows the Bible literally for one year". Michelle writes:

I thought this was a pretty interesting article to pass along. I know that for myself, even though I don't consider myself Christian I have adopted a lot of the Christian morals and practices. Even prayer. It's not that I don't believe God exists or even that Christ exists. I just don't believe the bible is the full story. Maybe it was divinely inspired, maybe it wasn't.

To check out the article and interact with Michelle on the forum click here

The sayings of Lukas v41

Today Hayley and I were talking about the possibility of taking a vacation in Egypt (if anyone has connections let us know). When Lukas heard this he was concerned:

Lukas: Daddy, if you go to Egypt won't that bad King make you work hard??

Thorncliffe Community center construction finally begins!!

Well, it's been quite a while since Jane Pitfield dug her shovel in the ground in 2006 but construction on the Thorncliffe "Jenner" community center has finally begun! Construction was supposed to start in the fall of 2006, and while there were many delays I'm happy to report the area is now fenced off. Even though the center will be closed for an entire year and a half to double it's size - here - it is good news for residents like myself.

The sayings of Lukas v40

Lukas is reading a bit now and is asking interesting questions about words. The other day he asked me:

Lukas: Dad, why does the word Library have 'lie' in it?

Video of the week & Need a title v40 - Christmas tree disposal

Charlie Chaplin eat your heart out! This video was supposed to have detailed commentary on how to dispose of a Christmas tree in Thorncliffe Park, but now I just have to let the picture speak for itself. Can anyone think of a good title for this video?:

Happy New Year!!!

Wow, you could say I've been a bit busy recently - log in for our latest news.

Here's hoping everyone has a great 2008!!

Best intersection ever!

What do you get when you mix the biggest school with the busiest intersection?? click here to find out

Video of the week - Iowans, don't vote for Huckabee

This video of the week is from the infamous "Talking to Americans" program. I hadn't noticed before but watch carefully to see Rick Mercer interview Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee. Someone this stupid does not deserve to be President (specifically 0:29-1:50):

Bill MacDonald : January 7, 1917 - December 25, 2007

It's a sad day for those of us in brethren assemblies here in North America. One of the great men of God we have come to know and love over the past century has left us:

At 5PM on Christmas day Bill MacDonald went home to be with Jesus. A group of us gathered early in the morning just to hold his hand, to read the Christmas story and to softly sing and pray...At 3 p.m. I spoke with him to let him know some guests had arrived. There was no longer any facial response, but he squeezed my hand for the last time.

Please sign the guestbook - here - with your memories of this great man.

Bill chose to not marry so he could serve God with more of his time. He served as President of Emmaus Bible College for many years and I still have the copy of the book he sent me called "Singleness". While I didn't follow his life choice on the subject, I have always cherished his personal note to me and the email exchanges we've had over the years. He was always an encourager and many of us felt enthused to have known him. May his example encourage many of us to be sold out for God! We'll miss you Bill.

Happy Birthday Hayley!!

Each December 25th it's my yearly duty to make sure Hayley's birthday is not forgotten in all the busyness of Christmas. So again I'm posting up a sweet pic of my sweetheart so she knows that at least one person remembered. We recently learned that the founder of Pakistan was also born on December 25th so it's quite a special day. If you're reading this, please leave a comment below, or leave a message on Hayley's facebook - here wishing here a great big Happy Birthday!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Need a title v39 - Away with the manger

Lukas has had some interesting experiences at school this Christmas season. Tonight he wanted to make a little manger scene to take to school for show and tell. Here is the finished product. Can anyone think of a good title for this creation?

Video of the week - Merry Christmas!!

Like many of you we have found that this week before Christmas is turning out to be quite hectic! So instead of my regular blogging schedule I simply wanted to post this video from all of us to wish you all a Merry Christmas:

Watching a rEVOLution - Ron Paul for President

A while ago I posted a video and proclaimed my new found love for US Presidential Candidate Ron Paul. Today I love him even more and hope to watch him make political history.

A group of Ron Paul supporters have organized a fundraising drive called "Tea Party 07" to commemorate the Boston Tea Party on December 16th, 1773. Their goal is to raise 10 million dollars for Ron Paul in one day. It's amazing to watch this grass-roots revolution. Click here to watch history and find out why Ron Paul is the phenomenon of the 2008 US election. He has more YouTube subscribers and video views than Barack Obama, more donations from war veterans than any other candidate and more donations in a single day than any other candidate. He is the only Republican that has consistently opposed the Iraq war from the beginning, he voluntarily opted out of a government pension and would completely eliminate income tax. If you're in the US I'd highly recommend voting for him.

Video of the week - Christmas party!

Justin comments on the Christmas party:

Check out the triplets - here

The greatest moment ever...

Today was the greatest moment in the history of 614. Log in to find out what happened

And you thought my blog got offensive at times......

Turns out that the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has a blog! - click here

"It's fine for Christ to be the star of the show"

LONDON (Reuters) - Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims joined Britain's equality watchdog Monday in urging Britons to enjoy Christmas without worrying about offending non-Christians.

"It's time to stop being daft about Christmas. It's fine to celebrate and it's fine for Christ to be star of the show," said Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

A child, child, child is born!

Yesterday our friends Josh & Colleen MacFadyen - here - welcomed triplet girls into the world!! Josh writes:

Christmas came a little early this year! Colleen gave birth to three beautiful and healthy girls at 1:16 PM.

In order of birth:

Kenya Elizabeth, 3 lbs 12 oz, 1:16
Siena Dawn, 3 lbs 13 oz , 1:16
Tori Kathleen, , 3 lbs 6 oz, 1:17

It’s been a wild day and I’ve got to get back to the hospital to run milk, bath another baby or two, and sleep, oh sweet sleep. Everyone is doing very well. I’ll post more soon and put up some pictures of these little angels.

Congratulations guys!

The sayings of Lukas v39 - Rudolph

Once again you'll have to log in to hear what Lukas said to Mommy this week!

Video of the week - Helpdesk

Someone sent this to me with the title "First Mennonite Helpdesk" :)

The sayings of Lukas v38

Lukas had an interesting time at school yesterday, but you have to log in to read what he said - click here

A Mennonite Vision Salvation Brethren Army Ministries Church??!! (Wednesday prayer requests)

This Sunday I was taking in the Lord's supper at Leaside Bible Chapel when the words of sweet old hymn #169 from the black book caught my attention:

We would remember we are one
with every saint that loves thy name
United to thee on the throne
our life, our hope, our Lord the same

What a great reminder of the unity we have with all Christians! I'm glad the founders of the brethren movement made one of their cornerstone doctrines unity. They would welcome anyone that was a Christian to simply break bread with them. Their attitude was that if Christ had received someone, so should they.

Recently I wrote an article for the Vision Ministries newsletter about our little church that's getting started. You'll notice by the title that our church is a blend of many flavours of Christian denominations. And I think that's a wonderful expression of the early brethren.

We really pray that our little church will be an amazing display of what can be accomplished when Christians come together in unity to help those in need. This is why we are partnering with various groups and denominations. Please pray for us, and consider how you could be part of what God is doing here!

The future of Canada: Immigration 4 times birth rate

Today Statisctics Canada released their data on Immigration, citizenship and language from the 2006 Census. As I've been saying for some time now, the future of Canada will be found in immigrant communities like Thorncliffe Park. Therefore I was not surprised to read the report, but I think if the church doesn't wake up fast we'll be in some serious danger of being lost in the multicultural shuffle. As CTV reports:

The latest census figures show that 19.8 per cent of the population in 2006 was foreign born, the highest proportion since 1931 and up 13.6 per cent from five years earlier. By contrast, the entire Canadian population grew only 3.3 per cent in the same period.

Did you catch that? The entire population grew 3%, immigration grew 13%. Immigration is 4 times the birth rate. And where are people coming from?

For the first time, the proportion of foreign-born immigrants from Asian and Middle Eastern countries (41 per cent) outstripped those of European heritage (37)...between 2001 and 2006, language groups from Asia and the Middle East recorded the largest gains

As a final note CTV makes a prediction we should all take to heart:

An aging population and the declining birth rate has Canada on track to becoming fully dependent on immigration for population growth by around 2030, Statistics Canada data suggests.

How will you process this data? What is the immigrant population of your church? If it's low, will your church make any adjustments to prepare for this? What will your church look like in 2030?

HV F8TH

**UPDATE** The Globe & Mail reportsMr. Henry will get his plates after all

Are you offended by this title? Seems the Ministry of Transportation thinks it's pretty offensive:

Russell Henry has had the (license) plate HV F8TH - have faith - for 20 years, and when he applied to replace his old, rusting plates, the Ministry of Transportation denied his request. "It does not meet the ministry's current criteria since this configuration could be considered by some members of the public to connotate religion," the ministry's letter indicated

Minister of Transportation = Jim Bradley - click here. Members of all faith groups (Christian/Jewish/Muslim/Hindu) should write and express their thoughts on this matter to the Minister.

Monday's hot topics - "The Golden Compass"

Not sure about you, but I've been getting alot of requests from Christians to *not* see a movie called the Golden Compass. This movie barely registered on my radar when I saw the previews. My only thought was "This looks like a cheap LOTR/Narnia knock off". I didn't actually want to see the movie until there was all the controversy. Now I'm quite interested!

On the forum, WikkidPerson raises a valuable question about this very issue - wether Christians should watch things that are produced by people who don't hold Christian values - click here

How do you feel about the Golden Compass? Should Christians avoid entertainment created by people whose religious views and world outlook we feel to be incorrect? Post your thoughts in the comments below or on the forum - here

The sayings of Sylas v13 - Cookie

This edition of "The sayings of Sylas" features another one of our Bridlegrove 'homeys'. "Cookie", as he is known to all of us, dropped in on Friday and stayed with us this weekend. You may remember he lived with us for a while last year and so it was lots of fun catching up, reminiscing and hearing about what he's been up to. Cookie is a favorite with our kids so when it was time for him to go tonight we figured our kids would be sad:

Daddy: Sylas, come say bye to Cookie, he's leaving
Sylas: No thank you
Daddy: Sylas, Cookie's going away don't you want to say goodbye?
Sylas: No, i don't have to say goodbye...he's still right here in my brain!!