keeping up with the Joneses with a chance of incoherency

Apparently I don't post enough.

Summer has most definitely arrived in all of it's various forces, including the unrelenting heat and the drenching rain. Cloud watching was a possibility last week ... this week we observe them roll over with the thunder.

quotes of the week:
"Where do you live?"
"Ev'rybady need somebady."



We live in a materialistic society, constantly on the look out for that one extra shirt or that really nice book that will make us happy. It is never enough. So often discontent, we need to see the sun behind the clouds and appreciate the rain for what it does (beyond making us wet). Every action is determined by the pursuit of happiness. Seeking heavenly pleasure provides glimpses of true pleasure, a promise anticipating the glory which is to come.

crazy little thing called love

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who
loves has been born of God and knows God. [1 John 4:7]

Love isn't easy. Then again, sometimes it is. The natural affection felt for parents, siblings, family, friends at times seems to ebb and flow. Sometimes you want to burst into song and dance while at others you wish to never associate with them again.


Friendship love is a strange thing. It begins, strengthens, fades, and resurfaces. Or else becomes naught but a shadow and a semi-sweet chocolate memory. Other times it is just there, waiting on the sidelines for the opportune moment to remind you of the special times.

Love asks for self-sacrifice, other-love instead of self-love.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it
keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres. Love never fails. [1 Corinthians 13:4-8]

Our earthly love is to be a reflection of the heavenly love which God has shown to us. Through the love which we show others should be able to see the Trinity at work in us.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son
as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we
also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one
another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. [1 John 4:
10-12]

sittin', wishin' but definitely no waitin'

For those who have seen the Lord of the Rings films, you should remember the leather-bound, hand-written edition of the Hobbit.

This is as close as I'll come to it with this not even being the real book.

the things one doesn't forget

I rode my bike again today. It was a strange feeling.

evening peace

The sky was darkening as I set out, with the sky dramatically lit with dark clouds and golden highlights. Gormley is quiet at 9 on a Friday night. A rabbit froze on a lawn, the Great Blue Heron took to flight, various other birds made their way home, the frogs began their evening lullaby. A few notes snuck through a window from someone practising violin. My shoelaces tipped while I enjoyed the upbeat music playing on the iPod. As I crossed the train tracks a slight breeze tumbled down them, rattling the sign as if in a ghost town. The scent of flowers and freshly mown grass accompanied the breeze. As I passed home, the dog joined along, her nails clicking eagerly ahead of me. The wind found on higher altitudes caused my shadow to look more like Scarecrow than a blackened reflection of myself. The point of return had arrived, the sky dark and blue above the orange glow of downtown Toronto. The front door had been left ajar, welcoming both me and the mosquitoes home. It was quiet, peaceful, a good place to return to. There is no place like home.

thinking

I was thinking today that I don't think enough. Work becomes a mindless activity, where thoughts traverse the spaces of meaninglessness and nothingness.

We are called to be an example and a light to the world (Matt 5:14), to be an example and win others for Christ (I Cor 9:20-22). It is such a huge task set before us, one of which I often fall short.

Why is it hard to stand out in such matters? Anything else I like to be the stubborn one not blending in like a pine needle jammed into your palm, but when I am called upon to stand up for what I believe in my tongue remains silent.

Not that all conversation need revolve around matters of the Church, but it is difficult to make faith shine through in normal, everyday type of conversation.

Aim for the week: to have a love that radiates.

following the yellow line

Sometimes you just can't see the line, at other times it is chipped and patchy. Sometimes, the way is clear and bold. Sometimes we can dance along beside it or follow it carefully, one step in front of the other. Sometimes we like to deviate completely from the line and wander up a hill to watch the sun dip behind the trees.


Downtown Toronto is beautiful in the evening, with elongated shadows over the fields and the light hitting the buildings, glinting off of them. The clouds behind it just turning pink and orange, while the rest of the sky remains blue with a white moon.