One thing leads to another. We wanted to change the floor covering in a room from carpet to linoleum. Lift the carpet and you discover the flooring beneath the carpet isn't all the same. That would take some plywood to remedy that, but if you do the plywood, then you change the height where it meets the ceramic tile. When it was all said and done, we realized that if you had lots of money and time, you could switch to linoleum, but carpeting was much easier to work with. So, in the end, we opted to go with carpeting after all.
A friend from church volunteered to help with the kitchen work. By work, I mean removing the 30 year old cabinetry. I sure appreciated his know-how. He got all the cabinets out, and safely disconnected plumbing and electrical connections.
I have been painting. That is something I know about. The whole house is getting new paint inside. The former occupants liked very bold and dark colors. That just made the rooms appear smaller. It also required two coats of primer paint to subdue the bold colors.
Today or tomorrow, I get the job of going under the house in the crawl space. When I was a kid, I would have enjoyed the adventure of going in the dark confined space under the house. As someone who is much older than a kid, I don't find the job so fun. I hope I don't meet up with snakes or Black Widow spiders down there.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Surprise!
Buying a house in Canada is much different than what I knew from the USA. The vocabulary is different. In the States, the final meeting where the keys are exchanged and papers signed, is called a "closing." I suppose it comes from the sales marketing lingo for closing the deal. In Canada, it is a "completion."
In the States, all the parties involved meet together and the seller and buyer get writers cramp from signing a huge stack of official forms, that you have no idea of the contents. You just trust your attorney and sign, sign, and sign. Finally, it is over, and every one sighs, and keys are surrendered.
In Canada, the buyer does more "foot work" for individual tasks. The buyer has to secure the insurance on the new dwelling. In the States, that is done for you...(maybe because they don't trust you to do it?)
Today, I got a shock when I learned that the bank did not request a transfer of certain funds. The closing/completion date is only 7 days away. I thought they would do that, as the mortgage provider. They assumed I would do it. So, with my blood pressure surging, I Faxed the forms into cyber-space where I hope they safely arrived into the loving hands of a clerk at the other end, who would devote themselves wholly to a speedy processing of my request.
In seven days, if all goes alright, we will meet at our attorneys office and sign a few forms, hand over some money, and that is the completion. No inch thick pile of documents to sign.
The whole thing ought to be done in 15 minutes. The attorney then files a new registration certificate for the property. Two days later, the realtor hands us the house keys.
I just hope there are no more surprises, even though in reality, the experience of buying a house in Canada is a new one. I hope my surprises are good ones then.
In the States, all the parties involved meet together and the seller and buyer get writers cramp from signing a huge stack of official forms, that you have no idea of the contents. You just trust your attorney and sign, sign, and sign. Finally, it is over, and every one sighs, and keys are surrendered.
In Canada, the buyer does more "foot work" for individual tasks. The buyer has to secure the insurance on the new dwelling. In the States, that is done for you...(maybe because they don't trust you to do it?)
Today, I got a shock when I learned that the bank did not request a transfer of certain funds. The closing/completion date is only 7 days away. I thought they would do that, as the mortgage provider. They assumed I would do it. So, with my blood pressure surging, I Faxed the forms into cyber-space where I hope they safely arrived into the loving hands of a clerk at the other end, who would devote themselves wholly to a speedy processing of my request.
In seven days, if all goes alright, we will meet at our attorneys office and sign a few forms, hand over some money, and that is the completion. No inch thick pile of documents to sign.
The whole thing ought to be done in 15 minutes. The attorney then files a new registration certificate for the property. Two days later, the realtor hands us the house keys.
I just hope there are no more surprises, even though in reality, the experience of buying a house in Canada is a new one. I hope my surprises are good ones then.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Illustration
I went bear hunting with a joung friend recently. It was 12:45 in the afternoon when we noticed a bear on a area below us, about 100 yards away. The bear looked up at us in the truck as we eased to a halt. I put the truck in reverse and quietly backed away the same way we had come. I stopped about 200 yards away and parked.
My friend took his bow and arrows and quietly went down the raod again to see if mr. bear was still there. He was. So, I brought a range finder and judged the range at 54 yards, downhill. That was well within the range of my muzzle loader matchlock rifle, but I would only take the shot if my friend said that he couldn't try it with the bow and arrow. I thought it was a pretty good chance that I would soon get a chance, when my friend hunched over to get lower, and off he went down the road.
He went another 200 yards and then turned off the road onto a trail that would bring him back to the bear. The wind was not good. It was blowing past the hunter and nearly straight to the bear. Still, the archer pressed on, with me watching from a perfect vantage point above.
The archer closed to within 50 yards of the bear, and the animal hadn't seen or sented him. Then, to my amazement, the bear actually began slowly walking towards the hunter. I noted the range at 30 yards, well within the range of the archer, but he kept stalking closer.
The bear kept walking closing the range, too!
At less than 20 yards, I saw the archer stop, and draw the bow string back. The bear raised his head and noticed the archer motionless before him. A milli-second later, I heard the bow string twang, and at the same time, the bear fell to the ground without a twitch.
I thought, how often do we face what may seem like long odds on success and simply give up without even trying? This hunt was clearly a long shot on success, but it did work out.
My friend took his bow and arrows and quietly went down the raod again to see if mr. bear was still there. He was. So, I brought a range finder and judged the range at 54 yards, downhill. That was well within the range of my muzzle loader matchlock rifle, but I would only take the shot if my friend said that he couldn't try it with the bow and arrow. I thought it was a pretty good chance that I would soon get a chance, when my friend hunched over to get lower, and off he went down the road.
He went another 200 yards and then turned off the road onto a trail that would bring him back to the bear. The wind was not good. It was blowing past the hunter and nearly straight to the bear. Still, the archer pressed on, with me watching from a perfect vantage point above.
The archer closed to within 50 yards of the bear, and the animal hadn't seen or sented him. Then, to my amazement, the bear actually began slowly walking towards the hunter. I noted the range at 30 yards, well within the range of the archer, but he kept stalking closer.
The bear kept walking closing the range, too!
At less than 20 yards, I saw the archer stop, and draw the bow string back. The bear raised his head and noticed the archer motionless before him. A milli-second later, I heard the bow string twang, and at the same time, the bear fell to the ground without a twitch.
I thought, how often do we face what may seem like long odds on success and simply give up without even trying? This hunt was clearly a long shot on success, but it did work out.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Want To Be Part of a Divine Moment?
God always chooses the foolish thing of this world to confound the wise.
He shows His might only on the behalf of those who trust in Him.
Humility is the place where all Christian service begins.
Revolution in World Missions,
K.P.Yohannan, p. 65
He shows His might only on the behalf of those who trust in Him.
Humility is the place where all Christian service begins.
Revolution in World Missions,
K.P.Yohannan, p. 65
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Lies
Anybody like a liar? Anybody like the people that create computer viruses? You think you are getting something good and in time, it takes over, sending spam mail or more viruses to all the people on your address book, and destroys your hard drive. Anybody like the guy who asks a little child for help in finding his lost puppy, and then abducts the child, who is never seen again?
Okay, not a lot of room for discussion on those examples given. I think we would have a rather united response of "no". So, how about the person who looks like a grandfather, and smiles kindly, and offers to let you receive from a demon, promised help?
I was invited to attend a class taught by a psychologist on the subject of emotional healing. I looked over the book he had written and didn't see anything weird, so I agreed to go.
I greeted the teacher when I came into the class and shook his hand. He was in his 70's, with flowing grey hair, hazel eyes that smiled easily, and a gentle voice.
He began by introducing himself, and then promptly gave three examples of how he could help people in the class if they would just open themselves to his spirit helper. He looked at me and asked, "Did you hear a 'Yes' in your mind?"
I said, "No."
He continued by asking, "Do you know why you didn't hear a yes?"
I knew why. I knew that the Holy Spirit of God would not allow such a dangerous interchange between a deceptive evil spirit and myself. I could have said that, but I wanted to test him and see if he would say it for me in front of everyone. So, I answered, "Do you know why?"
He answered, "No, I don't know."
Some people in the class looked like they were open to his teaching. They know me as a "spiritual leader". If I said nothing, my silence might be viewed as approval of the lies being spoken. So, I challenged him, "You say that your spirits are all good. That is an assumption. How do you know that they are truly good?"
He went into a dodge, where he shifted into psychological vocabulary and terms and rambled for a while, but eventually it came down to this: he believes the results of their involvement was good, therefore he believes they are good.
In a First Nations context, direct confrontation is rarely done. My challenge was direct confrontation. It was enough to register clearly that I was not accepting his teaching. After that, I would shift to indirect communication. A lady on the other side of the room glanced over at me during a teaching moment. I put on a slight frown and slightly shook my head side to side. She got the message. Later, she asked me what I thought of the morning. The teacher was sitting at a table next to me with his back turned to me. I said that it wasn't helpful for me.
"My personal value, my self esteem is good because I know that God loves me. If God, who really knows me, can love me in spite of my faults, then I can also love myself." I went on to say, "I don't need any spirit to do emotional healing for me because I have the very spirit of God Himself who does that for me. The Holy Spirit of God goes into my memory and heals."
The teacher must have heard me, but he didn't say a thing.
I prayed a lot during the class. I prayed against the evil spirits in the teacher. I prayed for the students that they would be protected for this Neo-pagan New Age spiritism in the disguise of psychology. I knew that at least some of them were not accepting the teaching. One lady just fell asleep, so she wasn't hearing him. Another, got up and left the room and did not return. Another man said that it wasn't working for him.
The next day, I was bold to speak to the principle of the school and I said that I didn't think that this particular teacher was suitable as a speaker for this school on three grounds:
1) He slung out psychological terms without any definitions. Ninety percent of the people listening to him had no idea what he was saying. Therefore, as a teacher, he failed to communicate.
2) By the words of his own mouth, he said that his beliefs were not accepted by the American Psychological Association. He said that as few as 5-10 people world wide respected his views. That places him on the wing-nut fringe, and not worthy to be listened to.
3) He was mixing Neo-pagan New Age spiritism with psychology. This was both unsafe and unprofessional.
The principle listened to my remarks and took note of them.
2 Corinthians 11:14 says that the devils will try to masquerade as angels of light. What a sad thing to see a man in his 70's, who has suppressed the truth of God and chosen darkness instead of Light. Sadness is replaced by a anger when that same grandfatherly character is willingly participating with demons to try to ensnare others with darkness.
Okay, not a lot of room for discussion on those examples given. I think we would have a rather united response of "no". So, how about the person who looks like a grandfather, and smiles kindly, and offers to let you receive from a demon, promised help?
I was invited to attend a class taught by a psychologist on the subject of emotional healing. I looked over the book he had written and didn't see anything weird, so I agreed to go.
I greeted the teacher when I came into the class and shook his hand. He was in his 70's, with flowing grey hair, hazel eyes that smiled easily, and a gentle voice.
He began by introducing himself, and then promptly gave three examples of how he could help people in the class if they would just open themselves to his spirit helper. He looked at me and asked, "Did you hear a 'Yes' in your mind?"
I said, "No."
He continued by asking, "Do you know why you didn't hear a yes?"
I knew why. I knew that the Holy Spirit of God would not allow such a dangerous interchange between a deceptive evil spirit and myself. I could have said that, but I wanted to test him and see if he would say it for me in front of everyone. So, I answered, "Do you know why?"
He answered, "No, I don't know."
Some people in the class looked like they were open to his teaching. They know me as a "spiritual leader". If I said nothing, my silence might be viewed as approval of the lies being spoken. So, I challenged him, "You say that your spirits are all good. That is an assumption. How do you know that they are truly good?"
He went into a dodge, where he shifted into psychological vocabulary and terms and rambled for a while, but eventually it came down to this: he believes the results of their involvement was good, therefore he believes they are good.
In a First Nations context, direct confrontation is rarely done. My challenge was direct confrontation. It was enough to register clearly that I was not accepting his teaching. After that, I would shift to indirect communication. A lady on the other side of the room glanced over at me during a teaching moment. I put on a slight frown and slightly shook my head side to side. She got the message. Later, she asked me what I thought of the morning. The teacher was sitting at a table next to me with his back turned to me. I said that it wasn't helpful for me.
"My personal value, my self esteem is good because I know that God loves me. If God, who really knows me, can love me in spite of my faults, then I can also love myself." I went on to say, "I don't need any spirit to do emotional healing for me because I have the very spirit of God Himself who does that for me. The Holy Spirit of God goes into my memory and heals."
The teacher must have heard me, but he didn't say a thing.
I prayed a lot during the class. I prayed against the evil spirits in the teacher. I prayed for the students that they would be protected for this Neo-pagan New Age spiritism in the disguise of psychology. I knew that at least some of them were not accepting the teaching. One lady just fell asleep, so she wasn't hearing him. Another, got up and left the room and did not return. Another man said that it wasn't working for him.
The next day, I was bold to speak to the principle of the school and I said that I didn't think that this particular teacher was suitable as a speaker for this school on three grounds:
1) He slung out psychological terms without any definitions. Ninety percent of the people listening to him had no idea what he was saying. Therefore, as a teacher, he failed to communicate.
2) By the words of his own mouth, he said that his beliefs were not accepted by the American Psychological Association. He said that as few as 5-10 people world wide respected his views. That places him on the wing-nut fringe, and not worthy to be listened to.
3) He was mixing Neo-pagan New Age spiritism with psychology. This was both unsafe and unprofessional.
The principle listened to my remarks and took note of them.
2 Corinthians 11:14 says that the devils will try to masquerade as angels of light. What a sad thing to see a man in his 70's, who has suppressed the truth of God and chosen darkness instead of Light. Sadness is replaced by a anger when that same grandfatherly character is willingly participating with demons to try to ensnare others with darkness.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Lions
I bought a book on eBay. The title is: Gerard, The Lion Killer. It is a autobiographical sketch of a Frenchman's life from 1844 and lion hunting in Northern Africa among the Arab people. The book used to be in the reference section of the Brooklyn Public Library. It was ceded from the library inventory and lucky for me, I got it.
I bought the book specifically because of the time it was addressing. The 1840's were when muzzle loading guns with percussion ignition were being used. This was the best that they had at the time. So, with a lot of courage, and I mean a lot of courage, Gerard went after lions with a gun we would think today to be only marginally adequate.
I have less interest in lion hunting than I do in the technical information I glean about the guns and loading of them for such a dangerous animal. I remember aiming at a bear in a black forest and discovering that I couldn't find my front sight! A precision shot was not possible. Just then, a movement to my left caught my eye, I looked away from the bear, only to discover that I was being watched by a much bigger bear about 20 yards away. What did I do? I slowly backed out of the forest, watching both bears. After I survived that little episode, I decided I had to do something about the sighting system. Since then, I put a low powered scope, 1.5-4.5 power, on the gun, and I mounted a powerful flashlight under the gun barrel. Now, I can illuminate a bear in the deep dark forest and have positive sight acquisition, too.
Back one hundred and sixty years ago, Gerard didn't have optical sights or means to illuminate a target in the dark. He went out during the full moon and waited until the lion crept up to within six paces, and then pulled the trigger! Yikes!! He was using an underpowered gun, and poor sights, to engage one of the most dangerous beasts in the world. (Ha hah ha...I shudder to think of it.)
Gerard was despised by the Arabs because he was a Christian and a foreigner. Still, as a representative of Christianity and France, he chose to go face to face with lions that were in the habit of killing the cattle and sometimes, local Muslim people. The Arabs never dared to hunt the lion directly. They might build an armored box to hide in and shoot from, or build a trap, but they would not hunt eye to eye like Gerard. His courage silenced the bigotry of his Arab benefactors.
The book reflects on wars and politics of long ago. It has cultural facts that are fascinating, too. I am pleasently surprised about how much I am enjoying the read.
I bought the book specifically because of the time it was addressing. The 1840's were when muzzle loading guns with percussion ignition were being used. This was the best that they had at the time. So, with a lot of courage, and I mean a lot of courage, Gerard went after lions with a gun we would think today to be only marginally adequate.
I have less interest in lion hunting than I do in the technical information I glean about the guns and loading of them for such a dangerous animal. I remember aiming at a bear in a black forest and discovering that I couldn't find my front sight! A precision shot was not possible. Just then, a movement to my left caught my eye, I looked away from the bear, only to discover that I was being watched by a much bigger bear about 20 yards away. What did I do? I slowly backed out of the forest, watching both bears. After I survived that little episode, I decided I had to do something about the sighting system. Since then, I put a low powered scope, 1.5-4.5 power, on the gun, and I mounted a powerful flashlight under the gun barrel. Now, I can illuminate a bear in the deep dark forest and have positive sight acquisition, too.
Back one hundred and sixty years ago, Gerard didn't have optical sights or means to illuminate a target in the dark. He went out during the full moon and waited until the lion crept up to within six paces, and then pulled the trigger! Yikes!! He was using an underpowered gun, and poor sights, to engage one of the most dangerous beasts in the world. (Ha hah ha...I shudder to think of it.)
Gerard was despised by the Arabs because he was a Christian and a foreigner. Still, as a representative of Christianity and France, he chose to go face to face with lions that were in the habit of killing the cattle and sometimes, local Muslim people. The Arabs never dared to hunt the lion directly. They might build an armored box to hide in and shoot from, or build a trap, but they would not hunt eye to eye like Gerard. His courage silenced the bigotry of his Arab benefactors.
The book reflects on wars and politics of long ago. It has cultural facts that are fascinating, too. I am pleasently surprised about how much I am enjoying the read.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Peace
It has been several weeks since I last wrote. We found our selves in a tornado of activity. Besides our usual ministy activities, we had to do a host of things with regards to buying the house. There was the meeting with the bank, the house inspection, meeting with the lawyer, getting the water sample from the house and running it to the testing facility, and a final meeting with the realtor.
I found myself a bit stretched with the constant strain. Today was the first day I actually had free in three weeks. I didn't do any work and I took a nap. I wish the snow was gone so I could go for a walk in the mountains. We still have a lot of snow on the ground. I won't be walking in the mountains for a month.
Still, I am grateful for a day of peace.
I found myself a bit stretched with the constant strain. Today was the first day I actually had free in three weeks. I didn't do any work and I took a nap. I wish the snow was gone so I could go for a walk in the mountains. We still have a lot of snow on the ground. I won't be walking in the mountains for a month.
Still, I am grateful for a day of peace.
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