Thorncliffe gets some love from Mayor Miller

1.1 million in the budget is going towards childcare in Thorncliffe!

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/552036

$1.1M Open new child-care centre at Thorncliffe Park with 56 spots.

That's pretty handy considering Thorncliffe not only has the biggest elementary school in North America (1900 kids from K-5) but also the largest age demographic from the 2006 census is 0-4 year olds!!! click here for graph

The sayings of Lukas v44 - Obama

Ahhh welcome to 2009. The year of Obama. To start the year off right I thought I'd share an experience I had over Christmas. Lukas & I went to Swiss Chalet for some father-son bonding time. Football games were on the TV. Quarter chickens were warm and tasty. Then our discussion took an interesting turn:

Daddy: Look at that catch by the football player Lukas
Lukas: Daddy, (frowning) stop watching TV!
Daddy: but Luke did you see that catch? It was amazing, he dove and caught it in...
Lukas: Daddy! If you don't stop watching TV I'm going to tell Obama to destroy all computers and TVs in the world!!
Daddy: huh?
Lukas: Obama will listen to me!! So stop it!

"Afghan discourse" in Thorncliffe

Interesting article in the Globe & Mail about challenges facing afghan youth in Thorncliffe:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081230.AFGHANYOUTH30/TPStory/National

As an Afghan-born youth living in Toronto, Nadera Ahmadi leads a hectic life. The 22-year-old attends York University full time, works part time in a big grocery store, and lives with her parents and family members in a small apartment in Thorncliffe Park.

But on a recent evening, she still took time to join about 30 young people in the basement of a local community centre to hash out a touchy subject: Should young people correct their parents on cultural issues?

The debate, moderated by a new grassroots forum known as the Afghan Discourse, touched on typical intergenerational conflicts. But for Afghans struggling to find work and adapt here, sometimes tensions erupt between tradition-minded parents and children lured to the wrong crowd.

10 bears in the bed and the little one said...

10 people in this Thorncliffe apartment!

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2008/12/22/7823976-sun.html

Habitat for Humanity also provided new lodging next door for the Rabbani family, all 10 of them. The Pakistani family also got to tour their home yesterday, a welcome relief from the three-bedroom Thorncliffe apartment they've been crammed into for years.

"We're so happy to have this home now," said Mirza Sajid Rabbani, the father of eight. "God has made this easy." Rabbani has been driving a taxi to make ends meet since arriving from Pakistan in 1996. He and his son, Ukkashah, 16, laugh when they are asked if they will miss their tiny apartment.

"There are three boys in my room," Ukkashah said. "We won't miss how overcrowded it is, no."

Video of the week - Christmas baskets!

Here's a quick video of us unloading all the food for the Christmas baskets! Thanks to everyone who has donated so far to help us get all this stuff! Please pray as we give out the baskets over the next week:

Video of the week - Lukas & Cookie freestyle!

Citizenship ceremony in Thorncliffe

When I saw the article and video about Thursday's Thorncliffe Park citizenship ceremony I immediately recognized one of the boys from Lukas' class!

http://www.thestar.com/article/548846

Raza, a telecom worker, moved from Pakistan three years ago in search of a less volatile environment for his two sons.

Yesterday, he and dozens of others took the oath of citizenship in a ceremony at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute in Thorncliffe Park. Family and friends proudly beamed from rows of benches, many waving miniature Canadian flags.

Thorncliffe Powerpoint!!

I found this awesome Powerpoint on the Thorncliffe school website:

http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/thorncliffepark/whats_happening.html

To go directly to the Powerpoint click here:

http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/thorncliffepark/resources/welcome07-08.pps

Health update - volume 2

Last Friday I visited the specialist to get the results of my CT scan.
The diagnosis was Crohns disease: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crohn%27s_disease, which is sort of what we expected. This is a bowel disorder that is chronic and causes varying degrees of functionality due to unexpected 'flare ups' and discomfort possibly for the rest of my life.

One option is surgery to remove the affected part of my small intestine (about 15 inches). The other option is to wait it out, as the doctor said "You could go on living normally for 5 years before another flare up". I will be meeting with a surgeon in the near future to discuss options. We have really valued the input of others who have similar conditions. The doctor also said that I am pretty much back to full strength and am not scheduled to see him again for 6 months.

So we're really thankful for all your prayers and support during this time! I've never been in a situation where there's uncertainty about my health and all of you have made us feel well cared for over the past few months. Not sure what the future holds but it is difficult at times to slow down and face hard realities when we're so excited about what God is doing.

This is the contradiction of life I guess. Strong when we are weak. As Rich Mullins put it:

We are frail, we are fearfully and wonderfully made
Forged in the fires of human passion
Choking on the fumes of selfish rage
With these our hells and our heavens so few inches apart
We must be awfully small and not as strong as we think we are

Thanks again for your prayers,
Shawn

The sayings of Sylas v19

The other day we were talking about Lukas' latest loose tooth:

Shawn: Sylas, do you believe in the tooth fairy?
Sylas: No way, we keep all our teeth in a jar
Shawn: What about Santa Claus?
Sylas: ...he doesn't believe in the tooth fairy either!

My little girl is 3!!

Happy Birthday Olivia!!

Need a title v45

Can anyone think of a good title for this picture?

The day evangelicalism died

Isaiah 1:5: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

Today marks the death of Western evangelicalism.

It's 2 years to the day since Ted Haggards fall from grace and only now he feels safe to open up about his deepest wounds

Am I condemning him? No
Am I condemning Christianity? No
I am condemning the evangelical smiley-face system that shuns true openness about sin and problems and pushes things into closets.
I am condemning the church-on-sunday suits-and-pews, pretending we have it all together that keeps people from truly sharing their struggles.

I am heart broken that it has taken Haggard this long to finally speak out about being taken advantage of sexually as a child. In all his years in churches, conferences, seminars was he unable to find anyone to confess to??? Was no one able to help him? In all the glory of the evangelical system did it ever come up? Did anyone pray for healing in this area of his life?

He was the head of the NAE!! There was no one higher in evangelicalism! But still the system would not allow him to open up about his deepest secrets. Think about it. Would you actually feel comfortable opening up about your deepest darkest secrets to those in your church? Could you see yourself requesting prayer for deep wounds you suffered as a child? Or does the evangelical system tend to sweep those issues further and further under the rug each and every Sunday?

Folks, what is the point of this whole charade if our churches are not places where we feel safe opening up and finding forgiveness?

RIP Western Evangelicalism - Rest in Pieces

Lego Bible - King Asa's foot disease!

Yuck:
http://www.thebricktestament.com/king_solomon/asas_foot_disease/2ch16_12a.html

Video of the week - Fix you

New stats on Thorncliffe from 2006 census

Every time Canada does a census the data is released slowly, by category. Recently released statistics confirm some amazing trends in Thorncliffe:

1. Even though Thorncliffe has the largest elementary school - the largest demographic is not even in school yet!! 0-4 year olds!!!

Here -> http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/cns_profiles/2006/pdf1/cpa55.pdf


2. Despite already having the largest South Asian community in Canada, the South Asian population has actually doubled since the 2001 census!!

Here -> http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/cns_profiles/2006/pdf2/cpa55.pdf

Go Thorncliffe!!!

Here is the link to the City of Toronto neighbourhood profile:
http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/cns_profiles/cns55.htm

Video of the week - Worst Birthday countdown ever!

Don't ever start a birthday cake countdown unless you know for sure that your lighter works!

Health update - volume 1

Good morning everyone. I know I've stated before that this blog will be winding down so it may seem strange to start a new feature! But I figured this is the best way to keep many of you updated on some health concerns I've had recently. We've really appreciated all the prayers, cards, baskets etc. that have flowed in from so many of you. It makes me feel cared for at a time of uncertainty so thank you very much. I haven't been very public about this illness because I'm a typical male and would just rather brush it off and move on, but I felt today was a good time to make a bit of an announcement.

So for those who don't know what I'm talking about - here goes!:

Back in August I was hospitalized for a week for what is called an "Upper GI" bleed. This means part of my intestine began bleeding unexpectedly, so much so that I lost significant amounts of blood. Since being released from the hospital I have undergone a number of tests trying to figure out what is wrong. Thankfully the bleeding has not returned, but it has taken longer than I'd like to recover from the hemoglobin blood loss. One possible diagnosis is Crohns disease and another requires surgery for removal of the Ileum.

So today I'm blogging because I go for a CT scan this afternoon and thought it was an appropriate time to mention this more publicly for prayer. Please pray as I go for the scan today and in the weeks ahead when results will be compiled and decisions will be made.

Thank you for standing with us and for so many who have already been helping Hayley while I'm out of commission. More updates in the near future!

The sayings of Sylas v18 - Child proof!

In the car the other day Sylas discovered child-proof lids:

Sylas: Mom, I can't open the lid on this medicine
Hayley: Well Sylas that's because it's a child-proof lid
Sylas: ooh...how does the lid know that I'm a child??

Birthday boys!!

Yesterday was Lukas & Sylas' birthday!!
Hard to believe I'm the father of a 7 & 5 year old!
Happy Birthday little guys!