Cuthill of the day 27Sept2021 - Pastor Larry Cuthill

Alright athensBLOG fans, i'm rolling out a new feature on this blog, which is part of a project i've been working on through Covid/lockdown/plandemic to trace my family tree! Cuthill isnt the most common last name so while everyone was shut-in watching Tiger King i started sorting through some amazing old documents my grandpa Alex Cuthill gave me before he died in 2005.

That lead to starting the 'Cuthill ancestry' facebook group to help find other Cuthills and see how far back i could track my line:

https://facebook.com/cuthillancestry

Many Cuthills joined and we also spun off a private discussion group which has been amazing. I've met so many Cuthills, but the search continues for how we're all related. If you're a Cuthill please join and let us know how we're related!

One other feature i started was a 'Cuthill-of-the-day' to post in the facebook group when i would find interesting or newsworthy Cuthills. I figured one way to increase the google searches would be to feature these on my blog. So here is the 'Cuthill of the day for September 27, 20 21:

Pastor Larry and Patti Cuthill, Glenwood Presbyterian Church, Deland, Florida:

https://beacononlinenews.com/2021/09/18/glenwood-church-sows-a-garden/

"Pastor Larry Cuthill with his wife, Patti Cuthill...said the idea came about five months ago, as church members were asking themselves how best to serve the Lord and their community.

“It’s not new,” Cuthill said. “Other churches and organizations have offered space, guidance and materials for a ‘community garden.’”

Also, a short bio on the church website: 

https://www.glenwoodpc.org/leadership/ 

Dr. J. Lawrence Cuthill (Larry or Dr. C) came to us from Winter Park Presbyterian Church where he served 19 of the 47 years he has been ordained in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. He is fond of saying he retired but “failed at retirement”, returning to serve as Pastor in late 2012 at Glenwood Presbyterian Church.

Bitcoin frenzy turns 17-year-old Sylas Cuthill into Canada's youngest millionaire

Look who made the paper again! 

A little back story on our bitcoin boy. As many of you know Sylas was a very active child, very interested in how things worked. When you'd tell him not to do something he would always ask why, or try it to see why you told him no. He had a very hard time in school and one year his teacher gave him a certificate awarding him the title "King of Questions" in the class. He developed a love for puzzles and Rubix cubes, solving 3x3, 4x4, 5x5 and other specialty cubes 

After this he began taking computers apart. All manner of gadgets, motherboards, monitors and wires. Whenever the school would have a computer problem they would call him over the intercom to come down to the office and fix it. Tech support, AV club, Minecraft servers consumed him. Even when he got suspended (several times) it was for changing teachers passwords, giving himself admin right on the TDSB network and emailing the entire school board! 

At this point Sylas was in middle school (where he won the IT award) and a few teachers really encouraged his potential. They would all talk about a new currency called "Bitcoin" and how it could be "mined". Sylas was still young but started slowly accumulating these "coins" along with all the other things he was trying. After this he was accepted into the STEM+ program in highschool and really started to get interested in tech and finance. We weren't sure what all these "coins" were but they were sure accumulating!! Could they really be worth something??

After 10 years of mining these coins Sylas was able to cash them in and become the youngest Millionaire in Canada!! We're so proud of our inquisitive little guy, who also got his drivers license this week. And can you guess what he wanted to do with his money?? That's right, buy the car he's been talking about his whole life - a TESLA!

Here he is at the dealership picking up his brand new car!! As you can see on the video his first reaction was "It smells like a million dollars baby!"

Previous years April fools jokes click here

Coronavirus drove me Amish: The true story of a city family that left it all

Dear friends,

Over the years many of you have connected with me on various internet platforms. From early tools the web offered us to communicate with like Hotmail, ICQ, Napster and MSN, it was a thrill to connect with so many of you. Then as the internet matured past the "Dot Bomb" era into 2.0 applications like blogs, discussion forums and Wikis, writing tools gave independent publishers power to share their ideas with the world! Next video sharing startup Youtube made sharing virtually any video of anything possible.


Then everything changed again when one Harvard student coded his new social website "The Facebook". At once all those shared items could be pooled together in profiles and our lives truly began to be lived out online for all the world to see. Like you, I dove head first into this promised technological utopia creating blogs like this one, forums, wikis, youtube channels, facebook pages and the like. After studying at college I worked in the IT field at a major bank. Technology was my life.

Now, in the midst of a global pandemic, we have finally seen the ugly truth about our Brave New Technological World! The Coronavirus COVID-19 has brought to the forefront what we can no longer ignore. We have been reduced to slaves! Lurching from day to day on our phones. Zombies. Captivated. Transfixed. Unable to break free.

I am announcing today that myself, along with my family, will no longer participate in this slavery!

Beloved, consider what this pandemic has shown us about the powers of darkness! Instead of simply hiding in the shadows, they are now not ashamed to show their faces in the light! Data breaches are as common as days of the week! Companies continue to mine data from smart TVs and smart phones despite court orders, fines and outrage! There is no stopping the Antichrist from establishing his one world government and implementing the mark of the beast!

How far can we be from embedded microchips?

Or is it already too late? Are we already in the end times? Beloved take heed!

Join me in taking back our souls, our freedom, our minds and the future generations of children who will be enslaved by this system. Join me in returning to a simpler, more biblical time.

My family and I have sold all our belongings and purchased a farm 

to join with fellow believers who have already awoken to these truths. Make no mistake, we did not make this decision lightly. For years these thoughts have swirled, but now after being quarantined by our own government in our own houses and told where we can and cannot go we knew it was time to act. And act swiftly. Drastically. Emphatically. Our grandchildren and great grandchildren are watching. 

Friends, from this day forward I will no longer be using this grid of information. No more posting on the internet. No more using electricity to determine our movements. No more cell phone towers towering, no more radio waves waving. No more microwaves, ocean waves, flag waves! No more hand-shaking, fist-bumping, mood-altering, chemical-engineering, mandalorian-ing! No more baby-yodas, bird surveillance, drone-footage, squirrel reconnaissance, society-conforming, toilet-paper-hoarding, hand-sanitizing, video-gaming, netflix-binging, insta-gramming, meme-sharing! I will NO LONGER LIVE LIFE THROUGH ANY FILTER

If you see with spiritual eyes, like i do, then join me at our new family farm!

We own 75 acres of pristine land set aside for anyone who wants to be part of God's remnant on earth.

Join us before it is too late!
Join us while there is still time!

Join us in this AMISH PARADISE!!

After much prayer and thought our new community will be know as: 

The Valley of FOOLS

!APRIL FOOLS!

Happy April Fools!! 

For previous years April fools jokes please see this link

Toronto: You my Chick-fil-A

In case you missed the grand opening of Chick-Fil-A in Toronto this fall here's a short video of all the pandemonium featuring yours truly! Recently Chick-fil-A opened their second store in Toronto at Yorkdale mall with much less fan fare. In total 15 stores are planned: 

The decade of double-yoke blessing

Each Christmas I spend the month of December making social media. posts with the hashtag #30DaysOfChristmasSelfies. This allows us to show details of our Christmas outreach and give some insight into our life and ministry.

For my final post of 2019 (and the decade of the 2010s) i posted last picture taken last decade (Dec 2009). 

Hayley was making breakfast with Olivia and cracked 5 double-yoke eggs in a row. Looking back now i can see that it was a prelude to a decade of Gods tremendous double-yoke blessing on our lives!! Here are a few highlights:

*Family blessing as all 3 kids were accepted and graduated from the TDSBs gifted program. 

*Spiritual blessing as God worked in our hearts to heal, grow and break generational sins

*Ministry blessing as we grew to over 10 staff, 7 underground churches in 5 languages.

*Financial blessing as God opened the door for us to buy a (fixer-upper) house in Toronto and rent it on Airbnb

*Personal blessing as we were able to learn how to take vacations and rest in Antigua, Arizona and Disney

And so many many many more!

Lord, you are too good to us! We trust you for the next decade and dedicate it to you!!

Happy New Decade!!

Introducing : Face Tattoos for Christ

As many of you know Hayley and I got our wedding rings tattooed on when we got married.
This was a way to show that our commitment to each other would last forever.
Thinking about my relationship with Jesus recently I was convicted that I wasn't showing the Lord the same level of commitment. So I decided to get a face tattoo. I know i know it's a bit extreme, but talking it over with Hayley we decided it was the right thing to do. Now hear me out.

I got the tattoo this weekend and a few close friends and I saw the impact the tattoo had as i ordered McDonalds, walked through the mall and rode the TTC. So many people asked me about it and we realized it wasn't just a way for me to show my commitment to Jesus, it was also an amazing way to reach out!
The next generation is tattooing their faces at an alarming rate. Everyone from Justin Bieber to Post Malone has a tattoo on their face. We realized having tattoos of Jesus on our faces was the perfect way to reach the next generation!!

So with a little help and prayer a new ministry was born:

Face Tattoos For Christ!

FTFC seeks to reach the next generation where they are in a way they understand
As the Bible says: we should become "all things to all people that we might reach some"
If Paul were here today perhaps he would say: "to the thug i became a thug", "to the mumble rapper i became a mumble rapper", "to the instagram model i became an instagram model"

Get involved in this exciting ministry:

DONATE: If we can raise $10,000 another pastor in our network will get a face tattoo! https://www.gofundme.com/face-tattoos-for-christ-ministry-ftfc 

TAT YOUR FACE: Send us a pic of your face tattoo for Jesus

GUEST SPEAKER: Invite a guest speaker to your church to share about Face Tattoos for Christ

More info about this exciting ministry on our facebook page: www.facebook.com/facetattoosforchrist

Since we are a new charity we will only be accepting donations until 12 noon on April 1st.
Happy APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!

Lukas' baptism!

Proud moment in the Cuthill home as Lukas decided to get baptized this fall!! Him and a few friends provided a very special service on Dec 16, 2018. Below are two videos. One is his testimony and the other is the baptism. Pray for Luke as he grows into a wonderful young man:

Terrorism or Autism? The Alek Minassian dilemma

Toronto van attack: Terrorism or Autism? 

The events of April 23rd rocked those of us that live in the city of Toronto. A lone attacker, Alek Minassian, rented a van and drove on the sidewalk at pedestrians, southbound on a 3km stretch of Yonge Street from Finch to Shepherd Ave. Horrific scenes of bodies and emergency vehicles followed in the media for days. Our daughter was on a field trip at this intersection the week before. Far too close to home in so many ways.

As the city mourned the 10 dead and 14 injured, many continued to cry out in despair: "WHY?!". Who would do such a thing? Did he have ties to extremist groups? ISIS? Anti-women groups? What did his facebook say? Lots of questions but not many answers. While we wait for answers let me attempt to put a few of the puzzle pieces together (Autism pun intended!). This in no way is an excuse for Minassian's behaviour, or an exhaustive investigation. The Police will provide further details, however based on what has already come out this is simply an attempt to learn from the situation in order to get perspective and help those in Minassian's situation in future.

Minassian's highschool picture

Further details may emerge but so far here is what we know:

1. Minassian had social problems in elementary school: 

According to Shanon Goel who attended Sixteenth Ave Public School with Minassian: "“I just remember him acting out,” she said. “He would throw fits, he would always act out, and it was hard for people to control him.”

2. In highschool Minassian was in a program for teens with special needs at Thornlea Secondary School:

a high school program for students with special needs where he would often walk the halls with his head down and hands tightly clasped, according to former classmates...making meowing sounds

3. In 2009 Minassian was part of the Helpmate program: 

Minassians LinkedIn profile

In 2009, Sona Minassian was quoted in a story in the Richmond Hill Liberal lamenting that her son, who suffered from a form of autism, was at risk of losing access to a special program called Helpmate that assisted the teen to “work though his cognitive barriers and prepare him for the workplace.”

4. Minassian attended Senecca college for 7 years (from 2011 to 2018) and had just graduated:

One Seneca student in computer studies said Mr. Minassian had graduated from the program just last week. The student shared with The Globe and Mail a message Mr. Minassian sent to the group “out of the blue” on April 19 telling off his classmates. He added that he believed Mr. Minassian was at Seneca for seven years because he held down several software development jobs.

Few of these details are being mentioned or focused on by authorities, politicians or the media. Piecing together the special needs of someone like Minassian should be an important step in the investigation and perhaps this will eventually become the focus, however from my personal experience this is often sadly overlooked.

     

As we have seen from the Chazz Petrella saga, kids with Autism need routine and a different learning environment. In Patrella's case his special program was coming to an end and the fear and dread of being put back into the regular school system was too much for him to bear. Petrella eventually chose to end his own life at 12, rather than go back to the system that he didn't understand and didn't understand him. 
More on Chaz here: http://www.shawncuthill.com/2015/09/parent-of-problem-child.html 

Our own son Sylas (here) has had his own unique challenges with the school system. He was on the Autism spectrum but was not diagnosed by experts or teachers for the first 10 years of his life. Suspensions, children's aid, safety plans and progressive discipline all were unable to get to the root of the problem. Finally in Grade 6 a proper diagnosis by an observant principal literally saved his academic career. We thank God for her every day.

Recently Sylas was participating in an Autism study where he went for a brain scan. While talking with the nurse she commented on how kids who are "high functioning" - like Sylas, like Patrella, like Minassian i am guessing - are only just now starting to receive support in the school system and through specialized programs. She continued with a comment that I will never forget: "Older kids unfortunately didn't get this chance - the school system chewed them up and spit them out and they either ended up in jail or worse". Only now are we starting to understanding and get help for the Sylas' of the world.

What am I saying here?

More programs are needed for kids with Autism. Young kids who are misunderstood. Teenagers who are bullied. Kids who graduate out of the school system and are launched into an unforgiving, confusing, harsh world. Pray for parents who are out of options as kids age-out of special programs. Time will tell what the issues were with Alek Minassian, however my guess is he completed school and had to face a world he was very afraid of. A world he didn't understand. A world he didn't feel part of. A major issue for parents like us with Autistic children. While we grieve the loss of lives and look for a motive, let's prepare to do something if we indeed find out this is what it is. 

God help us all understand these wonderfully confusing difficult challenging complex children on the Autism spectrum!

*UPDATED 01May2018:

Some great reporting from Global News as they interview Bruce McIntosh of the Ontario Autism Coalition (side note, their website features the hashtag #AutismDoesntEndAtSchool which may be very relevant to the Minassian situation). Watch as he rightly explains: 

"People with Autism don't always recognize when something is not quite right about the way that people are perhaps manipulating them"

Also, helpful commentary on the Toronto Star's article: 

Lewis said many incels self-identify as autistic. “You get a lot of people kind of embracing that identity, whether or not they’ve actually been diagnosed with autism,” she said. “It’s become this broader meme for being socially awkward and that’s yet another reason why they don’t see themselves as advantaged or privileged in society.”

Billy Graham's successor announced

Local Toronto man to fill big evangelical shoes

By Daniel Burke, CNN Religion Editor  
Updated 6:42 AM ET, Sun April 1, 2018 Asheville, North Carolina

Weeks after the passing of famed American Evangelist Billy Graham, executives at the organization he founded were stunned to read of the successor Graham laid out in his will. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association President Franklin Graham announced that Toronto native Shawn Cuthill had been chosen by his father to head up the ministry.

"It was a shock to all of us" said a visibly dejected Franklin from their ministry headquarters in Asheville, North Carolina. "I've never seen this Cuthill guy wear a tie and he barely gets to church on time!" the younger Graham huffed at a hastily organized press conference. "Every day this clown either wears a Flyers jersey or a Salvation Army hat. How is he ever going to be ready to preach to millions?!"

Evangelical backlash was swift in the US, as many denounced the unorthodox Canadian choice. Cuthill is a little known Toronto pastor who can be found mainly in the inner-city rapping with gang-bangers or giving Christmas presents to Muslims. Chick-fil-A immediately pulled their support for the ministry.

"He looks more like a homeless person than a preacher!" tweeted @redstateforjesus, one of many negative tweets directed at Cuthill. "I heard he spends almost all of his time with non-Christians. He hasn't even released his birth certificate yet!" raged @trutherteaparty, creator of the hashtag #CutHELLNO which was trending #1 worldwide.

Cuthills wife Hayley though was praised by the evangelical establishment, being compared to Ruth Bell Graham and Mother Theresa. She was even born on Christmas and grew up on an island named after a Prince.

In an undated photo found attached to Grahm's will, Cuthill is seen on stage with Graham waving to thousands of onlookers. It was not immediately evident when the photo was taken as the photographer had only written the date on the back: April 1!!

Cuthill Disney Jamboree 2015 commemorative video

Only took me 2 years to finish this video! Now i need to make a new one of our summer 2017 adventures

7 Reasons Why Your Smartphone Is the Ring of Power

Found this funny, but eerily accurate blog post at On This Rock blog:

7 Reasons Why Your Smartphone Is the Ring of Power

1) You randomly worry that you don't have it, check your pocket, your heart rate quickens, you check your other pocket, find it, and then slowly calm back down again

2) Your phone is powerful and magical.  10 years ago, if you told someone all the things your phone would do, they would have thought of it as magic.  Your phone also gives you the power to do everything you would need to do to run a Fortune 500 company for weeks from thousands of miles away.

3) You think sometimes of getting rid of your phone, but every time you get ready to throw it away, you step back from the edge and change your mind

"I can't believe I was thinking of  getting rid of this thing!"

4) To the observer at a distance, for hours on end each day, you look at it, make faces at it, touch it and stroke it and talk to it.

"It's mine.  My own. My precious"

5) Your phone, as studies suggest, through the course of months and years, slowly changes you into a different version of yourself

6) Your phone gives you the impression that you have great power and are in control (see number 2 above) but it actually ultimately gives much more power to "the great eye" (i.e. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung) who, as everyone knows, is storing and cataloging and quantifying every move we make and every single act we perform with our phones, handing over to such corporations an ability to "dominate all life"

7)  When you use your phone, you disappear to all those around you and are instantly transported to something that is like reality, but is a warped and clouded version of it

"It's like living in reality, only different"

The Longest Concert Ever!

It was great to visit some old friends recently. Kevin and Allan and their Epidemic Music Group" were attempting the World Record for Longest Concert Ever!!.

The concert ran from March 17 to April 4 (at 11:59PM) and actually set two world records - one for longest live stream and one for longest concert! Great job guys! More pics at:

April Fools Recap! (Updated)

Over the years April Fools has been a special day in the Cuthill household. Starting waaaay back in the 90s, an April Fools joke on Hayley when we were dating started a tradition of seeing how many people would fall for my tricks. As the internet, blogs and then facebook emerged it became more and more of a family tradition to see how many people we could "fool". Here's a look back at some of the best!

2022 - Ramadan holiday - 30 days off work!

2021 - Bitcoin boy Sylas, Canada's youngest millionaire buys his Tesla - here

2020 - Coronavirus drove me Amish - here

2019 -  Launched our new ministry: Face Tattoos For Christ - here

2018 - Shawn named Billy Graham's successor - here
2017 - Olivia nabs lead role as Anne of Green Gables - here

2016 - Birthday switched to April 1 - click here and here

               BONUS - Lukas gets in on the fun - here

2015 - Sylas stars in Pixels movie: click here

2014 - Sylas suspended for fighting with Paul (reverse - people thought it was a joke but it was true!)
2013 - My phone is stolen phone, please help by calling it!
2012 - Earth Hour started a fire - click here

 2012     BONUS - Burka church visit - here and here

2011 - Sylas suspended from school - click here and here
2010 - Took a year off after being scolded for fooling an entire church - here
2009 - Eviction notice! Click here and here
2008 - Divorce scare - click here, here, here or here
2007 - We're pregnant - click here
2005 - The Pope ascended to heaven - here

Before the internet: Jail for preaching, 

Best April fools reaction - here

See you next year!!! haha!!

Sing it with me: IT'S TRADITIOOOOOON

Toronto girl replaces lead in CBC remake of Anne

Olivia Cuthill named "Anne" amid controversy
By Sarah Fraser CBC NewsPosted: April 1, 2017 6:12 AM 

Controversy struck the set of CBC's hit show Anne this week as it was revealed lead actor Amybeth McNulty had no Prince Edward Island heritage.

"This is an outrage" huffed Angela McDonald, great-great-granddaughter of Lucy Maude Montgomery, as she protested outside the CBC building on University Avenue with a handful of relatives. "Islanders need to stick together and what they did is just wrong". CBC executives hurriedly snuck in a back entrance to attend a closed door meeting about the fate of their new hit show "Anne".

Released on CBC and slated for a later release on Netflix, "Anne" has been plagued with criticism from Islanders about McNultys Irish roots. "The girl is a green blooded carrot top!" shrieked Andrew Arsenault as he launched into a round of "From away! From away!".

After hours of deliberation, and extensive DNA searches, it was determined by CBC executives in Charlottetown that McNulty was not an Islander, had no Islander family or friends, had never visited the Island and could not locate PEI on a map. Having no choice, the broadcaster cut ties with the Irish actress.

In an official press release CBC named Anne finalist Olivia Cuthill to be the successor and fill in as the lead role of "Anne". "We feel the actor who plays Anne requires a certain Island heritage to understand Canada's Birthplace of Confederation. Olivia Cuthill has family on the Island, visits frequently, bought a PEI dirt shirt and even drank that horrible Raspberry Cordial we unload on tourists each summer"

After learning of her good fortune Olivia could not be reached for comment, but posted on her dad's facebook page: APRIL FOOLS

(Dont feel bad, this happens every year......)

2016 - Birthday switch - click here and here
             BONUS - Lukas gets in on the fun - here
2015 - Sylas stars in Pixels movie: click here
2014 - Reverse April fools - Sylas suspension for fighting Paul (Paul and Sylas!)
2013 - Stolen phone, please help!
2012 - Earth Hour fire - click here
            BONUS - Burka church visit - here and here
2011 - Sylas suspended from school - click here and here
2010 - Took a year off after being scolded for fooling an entire church - here
2009 - Eviction notice! Click here and here
2008 - Divorce scare - click here, here, here or here
2007 - We're pregnant - click here
2005 - Pope ascends to heaven - here

See you in 2018!!! haha!!

Toronto votes to name "Bob Acton Park"

"Toronto City Council voted last week to name an Upper Beach park in honour of the late, great Bob Acton. Following the January 30 vote, the park on William Hancox Avenue – steps away from Ted Reeve Arena, where Acton spent years coaching young athletes in hockey and baseball – will soon be known as Bob Acton Park." - Full article here

Another great honour for my late Uncle Bob!
Follow Bob Acton Sports on Facebook

Passing of a sports legend - RIP Bob Acton

Sad to lose a sports legend. Not Muhammad Ali, but my uncle Bob Acton who coached thousands of kids in hockey and fought ALS for the past 2 years. Yesterday the CN Tower was lit up purple in recognition of ALS Awareness month. They lit up the city for you Uncle Bob! Pray for those suffering with ALS and their families, that a cure would be found:

Sportsnet article:
Putting ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Into Perspective

Beaches Obituary: http://www.beachmetro.com/2016/06/14/20317/

Happy Easter!

Here's an early Easter present folks! Video of the tallest man in the world, Sultan Kosen of Turkey, being baptized!! Enjoy

Want to help defeat ISIS? Welcome some refugees!

Want to help defeat ISIS? Welcome some refugees!! "The refugee crisis is a blow to ISIS - Muslims fleeing a Muslim land...
Posted by Shawn Cuthill on Thursday, December 10, 2015

Saudi + Qatar + UAE + Bahrain + Kuwait = ZERO

Soooo let me get this straight: there is a huge refugee crisis but the rich Arab gulf "neighbours" of Syria have taken in ZERO refugees?? Lord have mercy:

My daughter Natasha Fatah on CBC News reports on the Syrian Crisis and how Saudi Arabian generosity is drowning the refugees.

Posted by Tarek Fatah on Friday, September 4, 2015

Parent of a problem child?

This CBC the fifth estate piece below on Chazz Petrella gave us chills and tears as we thought of our own unique wonderboy Sylas who was similarly very misunderstood by the system (and by us) and was nearly lost forever in a fog of paperwork, suspensions, case workers and disciplinary hearings.

 We thank God every day that Sylas got the help he needed this past school year, taking him 10 years before a proper diagnosis. We would plead with parents - FIGHT FOR YOUR KID! We sat in meeting after meeting where experts, social workers, teachers, principals, childrens aid etc etc told us what to do or not to do with Sylas and watched him slip further and further out of control. From first hand experience we have seen that the system does not have all the answers for these anomaly genius children who are literally one in a million.

RIP Chazz and our prayers for all the parents and teachers dealing with a huge uphill battle to understand and get help for these wonderfully unique "problem" kids: