The sayings of Lukas v46 - mice

Tonight I was tucking the kids in to bed when out of the blue Lukas had a thought:

Daddy, if mice believed in God they would give back all the cheese they stole

Crowded, stressed in Canada's most populated immigrant neighbourhood: Thorncliffe

Amazing article appearing in Toronto Star today:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/748969--thorncliffe-park-community-crowded-stressed#article

Severe overcrowding and poverty is heightening stress and ethnic tensions in Canada’s most populated immigrant neighbourhood, says a study of the Thorncliffe Park community released today.

The U of T study of changes in the Toronto neighbourhood between 2001 and 2006 found more than 30,000 residents — mostly newcomers — are crowded into 34 highrise and lowrise apartments in a 2.2-square-kilometre concrete jungle behind Don Mills Road and Don Valley Parkway. Front-line workers are worried the population is outpacing programs and services, hindering their ability to quickly integrate.

“Thorncliffe Park will continue to attract high volumes of newcomers, relative to most neighbourhoods across Greater Toronto. Settlement services, therefore, should remain a high priority,” says the report. “If population and household numbers continue to climb at the same rates, overcrowding and other issues will present increasingly greater challenges.”

The study found each household has an average 1.4 bedrooms compared to 2.7 across the city, but twice as many sleeping in a bedroom as in an average Toronto home. Half of residents live below Statistics Canada’s low-income cut-off, three times the rate for Toronto.

Wisdom 102 years in the making...

A few years ago Hayley sat down with her grandpa and wrote a notebook full of information about his life. From this book she compiled the following for his funeral:

Letter from Hayley

I want to share some things that I think grampie would like to say if he were here. Five years ago he gave me a journal full of his memories and reflections on his life. Those writings seem more precious now than ever before. Here are some of his own words:


About life he writes:
“My philosophy in life is to do the best I can for as long as I can.”
“There have been many high points in my life and some low ones. I feel I have achieved a great many things in my lifetime and climbed a few mountains.”


About his wife he wrote:
“The best thing in my life that changed things for me was when I married my wife, Phyllis.”
“Our wedding vows were the usual ones…I was awful proud of my wife to be.”
“I liked my wife’s looks, her attitude, her friendly ways, and the loving attention she gave me.”
“My feelings of love go to my wife for being steadfast with me for over 60 years”


About his children he says:
“I am always proud of my children for their many accomplishments.”
“When my children were young I was busy providing a living and did not have the time to spend with them I’d have liked to.”
“The best part of being a parent was watching my children develop and grow into teenagers and responsible adults, and (later) parents.”


To his grandchildren he writes:
“My wish for my grandchildren is that they live good lives, be generous, make the best they can of themselves and always believe in God.”
“I’d like my grandchildren to respect their heritage, respect their parents, and be true to themselves. I’d like them to remember me for any kindness (I’ve done) and my love for them.”
“I would like to pass on traits of honesty, God fearing, and family closeness.”
“Believe in our Savior (Jesus) as a mediator between us and God.”


“Regarding my Epitaph:
"I would want to be remembered as a just man who did unto others as he would have them do to him.”
“I appreciate that I was able to live my life taking care of my responsibilities and family.
I am proud of my wife.
My happiness has outweighed any regrets.”


“My note for future generations:

Put your faith in God and in Jesus as your Savior
Be honest and trustworthy
Honor your commitments
Be a good a neighbour
Cheat no one,
Help those in need,
Thank the Lord for a true conscience and listen to it.”


Signed,
Daniel H. MacLeod
September 18, 1907- December 24, 2009

Compiled by Hayley on December 27, 2009

The sayings of Olivia v2 - India

Today we were walking through the mall when Olivia said to us:

"Mommy, can we stop at India on the way home? I want to buy something"

Then she pulled out the rupees i had brought back from our trip this summer :)
Some day Olivia, some day.

Remembering Daniel MacLeod 1907-2009 (Hayley's grandpa)

On Christmas eve, Hayley's grandpa passed away. He was 102. Hayley was able to be at his 100th birthday party a few years ago.

http://www.inmemoriam.ca/announcement-29234-Daniel-MacLeod.html

Daniel MacLeod

Peacefully, at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Thursday, December 24, 2009, of Daniel Harris MacLeod of Charlottetown and formerly of Hopefield, age 102 years. Husband of 65 years of Phyllis Campbell MacLeod. Father of Verna (Bob) Delahunt, Leamon (Florence) MacLeod and Gerald ( Sharon) MacLeod. Grandfather of Danny, Kimberley, Roberta, Gary, Mark Brenda, Cathy, Matthew, Ryan and Hayley. Great-grandfather of 23 great-grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren...

Online condolences may be made at www.macleanfh.com

_______________________________________________

Please pray for Hayley and the MacLeod family in their time of grieving.

More pictures on facebook of our final visit in the spring:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1759440&l=19f2e3f2bd&id=505085417

Sayings of Sylas v25 - Santa

Well it's appropriate that Sylas' 25th "saying" is about the 25th of December! The other day we were talking about Santa Clause:

Daddy: So Sylas do you believe in Santa?
Sylas: Of course!
Daddy: But Sylas we live in an apartment, how does Santa get in without a chimney?
Sylas: He comes down the garbage chute!

So now you know! Merry Christmas everyone!! Hopefully Santa brings you something nice tonight, whether he brings it down your chimney or down your garbage chute!!

Saying of Sylas v24 - Rent cheque

This morning we were getting ready to head out the door for school when I asked Sylas to help with a big responsibility:

Daddy: Sylas, can you please take care of the rent cheque?
Sylas: Ok, sure!
Daddy: The rental office is closed so you will have to put it through the mail slot. You've done that before right?
Sylas: Ya with rocks!!

Thorncliffe all-kindergarten school?

I saw this article today on CityTv:

http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/64193--tdsb-reportedly-considering-all-kindergarten-school

the Toronto public board is considering creating an all-kindergarten campus, according to a published report.

Thorncliffe Park Elementary...currently has more than 600 kindergarten students and is struggling to find solutions to deal with its ever-swelling student population.

The high numbers of new Canadians that are constantly moving into the area have caused the entire student population at the school to grow to nearly 2,000 – that’s about five times the city average. Thorncliffe Park Elementary, which has already outgrown a 2003 addition, only houses kids in junior kindergarten to Grade 5...

The TDSB is seriously considering the idea of using a new building next to the existing school as a kindergarten-only facility. A new $16 million building is slated to go up in 2011, but how that building will be used and by which students, is still up in the air.

Ok, I'm not sure if any of these people have been to Thorncliffe lately but exactly where are they thinking of putting a new school? There is zero room for anything around here so I'm interested in how this plays out. 600 kindergarten students is more than we had in my entire elementary school growing up. 2000 kids is more than my highschool! Amazing to think of our kids being part of this mix.

**UPDATE** from CBC: The school has 32 kindergarten classes alone, which have about 800 to 1,000 students.

The sayings of Sylas v23 - Generation gap!!

Tonight we sat down for dinner.
Mommy served chicken fingers & curly fries.
The conversation went like this:

Sylas: Yum!! Mommy!! Curly fries!!
Mommy: Sylas...this one is for you...wow, it's so long it looks like a telephone cord
Sylas: um...what's a telephone cord?

I guess we've only ever had cordless or cell phones since he's been alive. oh boy we're getting old!

Thorncliffe balconies

Very cool pic of balconies in our hood.
From http://www.flickr.com/photos/phil_marion/3776371007/

"More than 500 prospective citizens attend Thorncliffe's citizenship classes annually."

Check out this article from today's Star:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/712232--learning-to-be-a-citizen

Canadian is what each wants to be. These citizenship candidates are here for a six-week class, one of many run daily by community groups in Toronto and across the country. More than 500 prospective citizens attend Thorncliffe's citizenship classes annually.

Need a title v46

Hayley got this picture of Sylas the other day. Can anyone think of a good title??

The sayings of Sylas v22 - MJ lives

Tonight while driving we saw some people randomly lighting off fireworks for what looked like a birthday party. The kids were very excited about it so we stopped to watch:

Sylas: Wow! This is the best day! First we had fun at church, then we played video games at Papa G & Uppas and now fireworks!! What's next...seeing Michael Jackson??!!
Lukas: That's impossible Michael Jackson's dead
Sylas: no no...he's still alive!

The sayings of Sylas v21 - Yogurt

Today Sylas explained to us how yogurt is made:

Sylas: Yogurt starts out as grass, then the cow eats the grass, then the milk comes out the cows milkers, then it's made into cheese, then you cut up the cheese into little pieces and put it in the blender - then you have yogurt!

Question of the day - "as a Christian (do) we need to...oppose all forms of war"??

Recently I came across this article which I had bookmarked and then forgot about. It's from April of this year and offers an interesting perspective from a Christian who refused to fill out the Canadian census because of his anti-war stance. He went through a court battle and was eventually fined $300 but avoided jail time:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090410/census_objector_090412/20090412?hub=TopStories

"After learning that U.S. arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin had been awarded the contract to perform the survey, he immediately decided his religious and anti-war beliefs wouldn't allow him to participate.

Supporting Lockheed Martin Ltd. Canada, a subsidiary of the U.S. weapons giant Lockheed Martin Corporation, which Stelmach says manufactures cluster bombs, would have represented that level of compromise.

I feel as a Christian we need to pursue peace and resist and oppose militarism and all forms of war," Stelmach says simply of his decision."

So what do you think about this? Is this guy over the top? Has he gone too far? Or is he right on in his opposition of all forms of war/militarism? Should Christians oppose wars like Afghanistan and Iraq? Should Christians oppose all forms of militarism and war, including arms manufacturers? Thoughts?

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."

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

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.

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

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!