Wednesday, June 28, 2006

i am dumbstruck

watched a factual horror movie awhile ago. i felt it very deeply and was so impacted by the pure evil of it. i thought of how Jesus took all our sin on Himself and cried as i thought how the evil of just this one person, the blackness of this pure evil taken upon this pure, holy, sinless Person. and that was just one sinner. how many millions of other sinner's sins has He taken upon Himself and suffered for. i can't imagine taking on this one man's evil never mind every sinner from the beginning to the end of time. He knew what was coming, it's no wonder He asked God to take it from Him. it is a wonder that He didn't.

i am dumbstruck to be loved so deeply.

Monday, June 19, 2006

very weird

today i was standing in line at the check out at canadian tire. someone came up behind me to stand in line. without seeing who this person was i thought who it was. it was such a crazy idea there was no way i was turning around to see if it was him. and then he called my name. he was best man at my second wedding 30 years ago and i haven't seen him in years. obviously it was a God thing cuz i don't have eyes in the back of my head. but why? just very weird.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

give voice to your love

men, more than women, often find it difficult to express deep emotions. they may squelch the impulse to put their tenderest feelings into words.

this father's day, many men will receive expressions of love, but they may have trouble voicing their love in return. yet nothing is more masculine than to express love to our loved ones. that's true not only for fathers but for all of us. there is no fear in love, wrote the apostle john, but perfect love casts out fear (1John 4:18) so let us boldly declare our love, not only for our loved ones but for the One who gave His life for us.

this father's day give voice to your love. you can never express your love too often.

(from our daily bread)

happy father's day

to all you dads and single mom's who have been both mom and dad to your kids.

Friday, June 09, 2006

single

Sometimes that's a lonely place to be. Sometimes that's a blessed place to be. I pray that none will feel the pressure or need to latch on to someone, anyone, or the wrong one, just to have a special someone. I pray that they will come to You, bask in Your presence, fellowship in Your Spirit, find comfort and companionship with You, God. I pray that You will be first and foremost in their lives--and in my life. I pray that You will minister to and through them and complete them; that their identities will be in You, Creator and Lover of our souls. I pray they will realize that though they may be single, they are never alone.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

524 Earthquakes...

shake Costa Rica in May - can you imagine?

During the month of May, 524 earthquakes were felt in Costa Rica, a “considerable increase” over April’s 330 earthquakes, according to a statement released yesterday by the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI), based at Universidad Nacional (UNA), in Heredia, north of San José.

The increase in seismic activity was mostly in the Southern Zone, especially the Burica Peninsula, where 300 earthquakes were registered, though only eight were felt by residents there.

The Southern Zone contains the Coco and Nazca tectonic plates, which extend into northern Panama and have a system of fractures that create frequent seismic activity, the statement said.

Despite the impressive number of earthquakes, the observatory said in the statement that “we consider the seismic activity in May completely normal… This seismic activity continues to diminish in quantity and magnitude.”

In May, earthquakes measuring between 3.1 and 5.0 on the Richter scale were felt in the Southern Zone’s Ciudad Neilly, Punta Burica and San Isidro del General, as well as and outside Puerto Armuelles in northwestern Panama.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

world cup

starts next friday with costa rica playing in the opening game against host germany. just checking the costa rican newspaper - government workers are getting the morning off, lots of businesses are giving their employees the morning off, schools are closed for the morning, tv's are being set up in various places around the country so everyone will have a chance to watch their team play. i have also arranged to have the time off.

there was a comment in the paper that the country would be paralyzed. yes i expect it will be. ticos are very passionate about their futbol. everything comes to a standstill when it's a international club tournament never mind the world cup.

the team was in san jose 4 years ago when costa rica won a world cup game. the town was going wild with excitement.

wish i was there with them next friday.

last year when costa rica played canada at swangard stadium there were maybe 100 fans, and most of them were costa rican. soccer is to costa ricans as hockey, football or baseball all rolled together is to canadians.