The Tiger Within

I'll tell you what I was thinking... I wasn't.

The puck is in our end of the ice. There is a scrum in front of the net... the puck goes away. I hear my goalie exchange words with one of the opposing players… Not nice words… the beast inside growls… I lose interest in the game itself.

The puck is shot in from the point… my goalie makes the save… the whistle goes… this player runs the goalie (or at least tries to… I mean, there were a few people there and it wasn’t much of a run but I know the intent). I don't think... I pounce.

237 pounds of Sean comes crashing down behind my right hook which lands square in his face mask… a scuffle ensues… someone pulls me off.

2 minutes for roughing (the secret is to hit once, and leave the gloves on - with a little more luck, it might have looked like I merely fell - although the fans tell me that it was pretty clear that I was hitting him.) He got two minutes for roughing the goalie.

I wouldn’t describe myself as an angry person… in fact… I don’t think that I actually hit him out of anger… I think that I hit him out of some deep code embedded into all defencemen… I didn't have to think... my goalie was hit and there was only one course... If I were in minor hockey, my coach would have praised me when I got back to the bench... but what I am impressed with is how quickly it all happened. One second we are playing hockey… the next I’m pouncing. Perhaps it’s just a cultural thing and not an anger thing at all. He got the message and there was no more trash talk with the goalie after that so perhaps it was just my way of saying ‘don’t do that.’

I wonder if these skills can transfer over into church council meetings?

No Sleep

4:30am - wake up to screaming child. The ugly realization that this isn’t a go back to sleep situation slowly sinks in. Grrr...

4:45am - take Daughter to potty. Not effective but new diaper put on.

4:50am - Sick wife returns to bed - take children to play room.

6:45am - Having thoroughly exhausted all the possibilites of colouring a cardboard box, knocking over wooden blocks, driving cars on heads, and reading stories that are either too boring for the 3 year old or way beyond the 1 year old - I make breakfast.

7:00am- children happily munching on Christmas oranges - then eggs with milk - then yogurt.

7:30am - Then I lose it. In a bough of insanity I decide to get in a power struggle with a one year old - this must be a ridiculous sight to the well slept and thinking among us - I’m pulling the spoon, she is pulling the spoon - the yogurt is flying - no one is backing down - the noise level escalates and the sick/tired wife is awoken.

7:35am - 3 year old is playing video games. Dad is standing in kitchen… can’t return to bed - 3 year old will destroy the world. Can’t give wife sleep - that battle is lost. Quick! Look busy… clean kitchen, empty litter. To tired… can’t think…

7:50am - sitting beside 3 year old, playing video games… I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s going to be a long day...

MAC cult member

I’ve become a walking MAC advertiser. I don’t know how it happened but in a kind benevolent sort of way I’ve begun to compassionately listen in a patronizing way to people as they relate there computer problems. Of course in the conversation I’ll slip in how it’s not a problem for me as I try to give good advice on how to deal with the problem.
I’m sitting in Tim Hortons in a highly visible place and I can see the envy of people as they look over and see my white baby sitting here. They are sitting without MACs. I have MAC.
How did I get in this cult? Don’t know… but I really don’t want out.
I wonder if there is a special rite in the Cranberry for the ‘blessing of a MAC?’

Florence

I think that feelings waste themselves in words; they ought to be distilled into actions, and into actions which bring results.
-Florence Nightingale

Be the Church

What does this mean? Was ist das? The great Lutheran question that gets at the deep meaning.

But do we now ask the question “What did this mean?” Do we stop at an intellectual belief?
We need to work towards “Who am I.”

Now, read “Lest Innocent Blood be Shed” by Philip Hallie. This is what it means to be church.


Be Church!!

I once got caught in a lie, and I learned an important lesson that day about lying more convincingly.
- Brent Butt

A reason to go to church

In Sunday School 101 we learned that Jesus loves us.
Then life happened and many days it's impossible to remember to Love God, Love them, and Love yourself so the message seemed trite.
So then there is the Liturgy and Church.
On that day that you can't forgive yourself, there is a group of people saying that you are forgiven.
On that day when you can't see the love of God, there is a group of people that will proclaim it for you.
When you can't forgive, you spin around and face that nieghbor and share the peace that passes all understanding.
If life were easy, we'd only need Sunday School 101.
Thanks be to God for the gift of community and the body of Christ.

Listening

People aren't good listeners.

Tonight, I wasn't a good listener. I had something to say and I wanted to say it so I looked for someone to say it too. I found someone but the problem was that they also had something that they wanted to say so we both said what we had to say. I think we were both left with that feeling of not being heard... it was pretty insatisfying.

Anyway... I don't want to be a one issue person who has the same one thing to say on every issue. I think I want to be a listener.