Changing the World... and Other Small Things: Part 2

The Leader

"He is greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own."
- Henry Ward Beecher

You’ve all seen them. Walking around, usually with a group of followers. It doesn’t matter if the group is large or small. Or if the members are young, old, or about the same age as whomever it is they are following. Leaders usually stick out. But what is that magic spark that they have which allows them to lead?

That spark which is within us all, just waiting to be fanned into flame.

I like to call that spark influence. The ability to affect what people think, how they act, what they say and do not say… influenced by what you do, what you say and how you say it. Or what leverage you have on them, as the case may be. Everyone has some sort of influence, whether great or small, over something else. Ever changed a friend’s mind about something? That is influence.

“The humblest individual exerts some influence, either for good or evil, upon others.”
- Beecher

Influence is what makes a leader. Have you ever seen one without it? And the degree of influence is directly tied to your capacity as a leader. The more influence you have, the more you can lead. The more challenging it is to lead as well. Leadership also depends on the kind of influence you hold. If you can only influence people because you are holding an axe over their head, that is not true leadership. If you get your influence through bullying, that is not true leadership either. It may be a form of leadership, but it is a negative one and only fakery.

So then, what is real leadership?

A couple thousand years ago, there was a philosopher who had a pretty good idea of what makes a true leader. And true influence. He suggested that a true leader was one who served the people. That influence was not given to someone because of what or who they knew, but earned through good service. Leading not by what you say, but by what you do. Servant leadership. Leadership based on stepping back from your own ambitions and leading in a way which benefits others. A pretty decent philosophy. And seeing that Jesus is who He is… well, I think He would know a thing or two about the world.

“Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary use words”
-attributed to St. Francis Assisi

Influence is subtle at its best. Leadership is subtle in its truest form. And what is the best way to be subtle? To say nothing at all. Words can say a lot, but, as many a mother has pointed out, actions speak louder than words. We gain more influence through how others observe us - our interactions with other people, how we live our day to day lives - than through the things we tell them. It doesn’t matter what we say to people if our actions, our lifestyle, doesn’t endorse it. “Do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t pan out for a leader. To truly lead, your words must match your actions. And your actions should be such that others want what you have, and they will follow you to get it.

It may sound as if I am saying that only Christians can be leaders. That is not true. At all. Gandhi certainly led by his actions, and though he was not a Christian, he held up peace in through his lifestyle and people followed him for it. People still follow him for it. And I am sure that you can think of people surrounding you who are not Christian and have the same effect. What I am saying though for Christians is that it is necessary to fan that leadership spark into flame. Otherwise you are not fulfilling your purpose here. Evangelism depends heavily on leadership.

Now, I think, would be a good time to make a distinction. There is a difference between leading and being called into a leadership role. Not everyone is called to a leadership role. To be that public figure from the get-to-know-you game. Everyone who has influence, which means… everyone, is a leader capable of leading. End of story.

So what is a leader? Someone who allows their actions to speak for themselves and who others follow because of that example. A Servant Leader.

Someone who has taken the first step to changing the world.


Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3


Michael
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=Annwas Adeniawc=

The Open Door - FortMac'08

Changing the World... and Other Small Things: Part 1

The “Get-to-Know-You” Game

Who are the people we look up to in this world? When asked – as is almost inevitable in ice-breaker/get-to-know-you games – who you would have lunch with if you could lunch with anyone in the world, what kinds of people are chosen? One answer suffices for both questions: leaders. Influencers. People who have an impact on the world around us.

What do Martin Luther, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Lester B. Pearson and Barrack Obama have in common? They all, in their own way, changed and challenged the world as they know it. Luther challenged religious practices, and so the Christian faith was revolutionized. Einstein gave us a new way to look at the world. Obama has already, and is continuing to, alter centuries of American politics. And the list of people who do the same continues ad infinatum. These are the people who are commonly chosen in that get-to-know-you game; these are all examples of great leaders and world changers.

Aren’t they amazing?

The short answer: no.
The long answer: still no, because they aren’t supermen. Because for every public figure chosen in this game, someone else will bring up a parent. Or a grandparent. Some other relative. A friend. Someone (usually) out of the public mind. Definitely not a great leader or someone who can change the world.

Or are they?

This, then, leads to two possible conclusions about my “sufficient” answer. Either a) I’m wrong and it is completely chance, the person picking the first person to come to their heads, or b) I’m right and there is something about this whole changing-the-world thing that we are missing.

Guess what: I’m not wrong.

Think about it for a moment. From the time you were young, who changed your world? Who lead you through your trials? Whose actions influenced the decisions which molded your life into what it is today? Who had the greatest impact - for good or bad – on your microcosm of a world?

Parents. Peers. Friends and family.

I am suggesting – and am personally convicted – that everyone, no matter their personality type,is a leader. I really, truly believe that. And, by extension, I also believe that everyone has the potential to change the world.

A rather challenging thought to live up to.


Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3


Michael
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=Annwas Adeniawc=

The Open Door - FortMac'08

Pirates, Ninjas & Dragons: Living in a World of Imagination

Crossing blades with pirates on the high seas. Going hand to hand against ninja Jônin in the forests of Japan. Wreaking havoc on hordes of horrid wer-creatures astride a fiery dragon. Alas, the days have long past that such thrilling events could pass in any realm but the imaginary. Yet imagine we can.

We have been obsessed with the imaginary and fantastic from the time the first child asked their parent for a bed-time story. And as that first parent spun for their child a tale of unknown wonder, so too does the tradition of fashioning fantastical tales from nothing continue today. I am sure that everyone can think of a favourite tale from their childhood: a tale of princes and princesses perhaps, or of a troll under a bridge or boogiemen under a bed. We are, from a very young age, immersed in a world of imagination.

Take the entertainment industry. It feeds, and is fed by, the imaginations of the writers, singers, painters and spectators who immerse themselves in its many branches. Television programs and films create and display for us the marvellous images in the heads of their creators. Novels and plays allow us to see what is unseen; that is, use our minds to fill the gaps of what is not shown. It is easy while reading a novel or watching a play, to imagine yourself taking part in the events and become completely immersed in this land of the mind. And still there is art - the physical manifestation of imagination - and music, which harkens back to the oldest forms of storytelling and the bards who wandered Tara with their tales.

What is it that attracts us to the imaginary? There is so much to see, so much our world is filled with. Why, then, do we come up with tales of things outside of what we know?

The answer lies in the question itself. We create stories and fiction because of the Unkown. Where did the trees come from? What are stars? What lies *just* beyond that horizon? A thousand, indeed thousand upon thousands, of tales of imagination have sprung from those questions and others like them. It is inevitable, as anyone who has observed small children will tell you; we are curious beings and, especially in small children, even the smallest unknown can beget the greatest of tales.

And it is by observing children that we can discover the greatest truth about imagination; that it is, in fact, their domain and kingdom. Children are the kings and queens of that amazing, marvellous realm called imagination. That is not to say, however, that adults have no place in this world. No, even though we may grow up on the outside, inside that undeniable force - manifested outwardly in the form of a look of childlike innocence or in a glint of mischief in the eye - called the Inner Child reserves for us our place in the halls of the imaginary. Imagination is, in its deepest essence, the much sought-after Fountain of Youth.

So although we may grow old and our swash-buckling skills may decay, we may still conquer that beastly giant. Or rescue a beautiful princess. Or simply take a stroll with Nyads in a quiet wood.

For we do, after all, live in a world of imagination.

Michael
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=Annwas Adeniawc=

The Open Door - FortMac'08

Thinking About...

… nothing. Any yet, everything.

I've been having some trouble lately with thinking. I have so many thoughts running through my head – fragmented, scattered, disorganized – that I just am not sure how to express them. I feel like Arthur Dent in the beginning of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: bulldozer and yellow are just floating through my head looking for something to connect to. I know they will eventually. Hopefully.

There are so many things I want to get down here. Things about the new theme. As in, a central focus perhaps? I have a rough idea of where that is going… I'm just having trouble expressing it.

Currently reading: Microserfs by Douglas Coupland.

Mmm… here is another thing I could just write on. This guy is a brilliant writer… and Canadian! Had I read jPod and Microserfs months ago, I might have used them for my English culminating task. Then again, I think I like these books too much to psychoanalyze them that much. I still could write an essay on them though. For fun. On geek culture. Or just culture in general… these books are so loaded with cultural analysis (ok, that phrasing is totally spooging what I want to say) that there is so much which can be taken away. You have to get through a little junk to get there, but the junk is very rare and almost negligible. It's getting harder to find books without junk I'm finding.

I am such a geek. And I am OK with that. Interesting: in Microserfs they say that the thing which divides the geeks from the nerds (other than the fact that girls can't be nerds… or maybe as a by-product?) is that geeks are more marketable, more chic, than nerds. For me that is important because it settles the question as to which I am in my mind. At least, I hope I'm marketable… whatever that means…

But as to my geeky-ness… well, I actually enjoy writing essays. Strange, no? Now that I have kinda moved beyond the clear-cut, this-leads-to-this-leads-to-this method of essay writing, I actually enjoy them. I had to write an essay on Tuesday for my English class about… anything. So I wrote about imagination. And, in my opinion, it was pretty darn good. I was even learning from what I was writing. It was a little scary seeing what was stored in my sub-conscious come out that way… so, when I get it back I'll post it and see where we go. Hopefully somewhere good.

I've also been agonizing lately over my blog… I don't know if you noticed, but I'm having some layout issues with my sidebar… there is some messed up code in my last post somewhere, I just haven't found it yet. Hopefully I can get that cleared, but mebbe getting this up will work in lieu of going through all that code *fingers crossed*.

So, the primary Ft. Mac (not the accurate spelling, but meh…) team leaves next week. Mmmm… mebbe I should talk about that a little here, since I don't think I have mentioned it yet. KAOS Radio has put together a team – mostly of college and university students with the exception of high-schoolers such as my sister and I – to go up to Ft. McMurray Alberta to work with at-risk youth and young adults. As I mentioned, the primary team of ten is going up next week. The second team of four is going up June 20^th. Because I still have to graduate, I am gong to be the last one up. I'm a mixture of emotions over this… excitement, apprehension, and everything in between. All for the same reason: because it is gong to be new and unusual. Outside of the box. Outside of my comfort zone. WAY outside of my comfort zone – though not into the panic zone, I hope. This summer is going to be a huge learning curve for me. I am going to see and experience things I have never seen and experienced before.

So, I am thus not going to see Seana for about a month- since she is headed up with the primary team. But one of the more exciting things, for me at least, is that when I do get up, we are going to be able to work together – for the first time since Hope Valley – and experience these things together. And hopefully it will help us grow – not only individually, but also as a couple. And that is, as the ninth Doctor would say, fantastic!

(Seana, ps. 8 days... lol)

I wonder if this is what posting is going to be like for me from now on… discovering what is on my mind by just talking and typing as thoughts come to my head…

Who knows? It could be good for me.

Either way, I've rambled on for a while here, and if you have made it this far, I applaud you. You should probably comment so that I know exactly who I am applauding though. I don't particularly want to be applauding a spider-bot.

May this day – whichever day you read this on – be filled with joy and wonder.

Michael
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=Annwas Adeniawc=

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A Challenge

Every once in a while it seems to be that I get an email - usually a forward - that speaks to me in some way. I posted one previously, but it was... not in an even remotely comparative category to this one. Mostly because this one wasn't made as a forward. It just ended up that way. Anyways, it was written by a guy who goes to my church who was a pastor, and is an all around cool guy. He calls me Benji or Gabriel for some reason... anyways, I'll shut up and let you read this.

Michael
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=Annwas Adeniawc=

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My heart is heavy because I am seeing so many people and hearing so many people who are trying to work out where God is calling them to be used by Him and seem so disatisfied and confused and hurting.

May I say that most of the times I am disatisfied, confused and hurting, the root is not what is going on around me but my own personal life. When I don't seem to have control of my life and am not obedient to God and am so busy making plans for Him and not spending "MUCH TIME IN LISTENING" to His wee small voice, I fail Him miserably. I forget that I am a part of the BODY OF CHRIST . . . I forget that I was not created to live out a solo life in isolation from the rest of the Body, I forget that the Holy Spirit has been deposited in my life to give me wisdom and discernment if I am willing to spend time with Him . . . lots and lots of time . . .and truly listen. I was not called to make all decisions on my own. The hand, the foot, the arm, the leg . . .yes, even the toenails, fingernails and hairs in the armpits have a reason for being . . .there is no part that is not important . . .thus it is with the Body of Christ . . . there is no insignificant part or person . . .each has a "special mission" that only he or she can fulfill when in harmony and obedient to Him. My message at our Men's Breakfast at Calvary yesterday morning had the theme, "USE ME!!!"

My point is, and drawing from the theme of a Ladies' conference that my wife went to in 1975, we need to "Bloom Where You are Planted" . . . which means to me, where you are at any given time, God calls you to minister there.

I NEVER saw, what I am about to share, in Haliburton or Caledonia where I pastored, but I sure see it in Peterborough . . George Street United Church, Edmison Heights Baptist Church where I pastored and of course with people of other churches in our city. There is a greater disatisfaction or groaning among members of the "Organized Church Institution", and so much of it is within the individual lives of those people as they try to figure out, many way back to the original question, "Why am I here?!" I see people shuffling from one congregation to another trying to figure out where they fit in . . often being upset what seems to them as the essence of their faith. It is like a giant spiritual smorgasbord and people are looking for bargain spirituality where they can be scratched where it itches. We seem to be more concerned about being the scratchee rather than the scratcher.

The early Christian Church and right up today . . .the greatest mission field has not been so much within our congregation on Sunday mornings or during the week in our institutional churches . . . that is were we go to strengthen our faith, to fellowship with other believers, to get charged up, to confess with one another our sins, to lift each other in prayer, to strenghthen one another in the Lord.; it is where we go to participate in Christ's love and regeneration, not to be a spectator.. . . it is no different than when the early Christians worshipped in homes. The greatest MISSION FIELD, is what is happening outside the church building structure. God is waiting for the thousands of people who claim to be Christian in our city, to serve Him . . .truly serve Him . . to say to Him, "Use Me" and walk out into the "real world where the rubber hits the road."

Before we can begin to look at the individual congregations of our city and ask, what are "they" doing for the cause of Christ, we need to be asking ourselves, what are we, as individuals, doing for the cause of Christ. I am now 63 years old and I have fewer years ahead of me than I do behind me. How much am I doing as an individual that really counts for Christ's Kingdom? How much is merely "Doing Church" and how much is "being Church--the Body of Christ"? I attend Calvary Church in Peterborough . . but am I merely attending or am I participating? . . . am I a part of the problem or am I a part of the solution? As Norman Vincent Peal once said, "How do we turn crosses into plus signs"? Well, I need to stop playing God and wanting to be the "Divine Orchestrator" and controlling what is going on around me. I need to be obedient to Him. . . . I need to listen more and talk less and yes, it may be listening to the wee small voice of God which means there are times I need to be so silent I can hear a pin drop . . . and it means that I need to listen to the voices of others around me whom I know have a very close walk with God. We pastors don't have it all . . . God doesn't only speak through pastors . . .what a revelation, eh?? I need to spend more time in prayer, and again if prayer is communication with Him, it is a two way street . . . I need to LISTEN.

Here is an exerp from my thesis of 1994. . .a parable by Howard Clinebell. Even if you have seen it before, please don't just speed read it and gloss over it. It is very poignant!!! Ask yourselves: what stage are you in corporately as a congregation and individually as part of the Body of Christ?

Read on . . . and blessings . . . Don Nicholson.

"The Parable Of The Lifesaving Station"
On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves, they went out day or night tirelessly searching for the lost.

Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station, so that it became famous. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding areas, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews were trained. The little lifesaving station grew.

Some of the new members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and so poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea.

They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in an enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they redecorated it beautifully and furnished it as a sort of club.

Less of the members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work.

The mission of lifesaving was still given lip-service but most were too busy or lacked the necessary commitment to take part in the lifesaving activities personally.

About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boat loads of cold, wet and half-drowned people.

They were dirty and sick, some had skin of a different color, some spoke a strange language, and the beautiful new club was considerably messed up. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's lifesaving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal pattern of the club.

But some members insisted that lifesaving was their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a lifesaving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the life of all various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast.

They did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. They evolved into a club and yet another lifesaving station was founded.

If you visit the seacoast today you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but now most of the people drown!

ps. As an aside, I have my new vision pretty much hammered out, so now it is just a matter of putting it into practice. Look for changes in the next few weeks!

Babes, Teens and "Do Hard Things"

Bought Do Hard Things. Read Do Hard Things. Re-read Do Hard Things. LOVED Do Hard Things.

Waiting a year for this book to come out was totally worth it. Amazingly and clearly written, inspiring, convicting, challenging. I am SO making all my friends read it.

Reading it has made me re-evaluate some of my personality traits and how… good they actually are. Like procrastination. If I didn’t procrastinate and got work completed early, how could the time spent doing meaningless things – too much recreational reading, vidja games, internet browsing in excess (all staple diet for the procrastinator) – be spent in pursuing other meaningful, even big, things?

Babes and Teens

One of the most convicting parts of the book came nice and early in chapter 3 where Alex and Brett are outlining what they refer to as the “Myth of Adolescence.” In it they state that:

It has almost gotten to the point that people expect less of teenagers than they do of toddlers. Think about it. Why do babies… experience nearly 100 percent success in overcoming difficult challenges, while teens often falter? Well, one is expected, and the other is not.

(Do Hard Things, p. 39)

That just blew me away. To think, I’m not living up to the same standards as my year-and-a-bit cousin Isaac! Holy crap! Talk about a paradigm shift! I can’t go away from that idea without changing something… so my challenge to myself, and to you, is to expect to overcome difficult challenges and work my tail of to get there.

Are you in?

Mike
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=Annwas Adeniawc=

God and Tetris

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
-Philippians 2:12-13

How often have I let things get between myself and God? Too often have I let myself slip into a mindset where I think that I can do things without God or keep Him out of my day to day life. Too often have I put things of this world - video games, books, school, friends - above my relationship with my Saviour and Redeemer. Far too often have I let these things fill up my life like so many coloured blocks.

Our relationship with God is like a game of Tetris: life throw us distractions and we have to consciously work to clear them and keep our field of focus clear so that we can keep our eyes on Christ. We have to work continually to persevere, mature and grow in out walk with Christ. And like in Tetris, the further we grow in our walk, the more difficult life's distractions become to ignore and yet the more we are enabled to deal with what is thrown at us: in Tetris because we become more accustomed to the rhythm of the game and in our walk because we are empowered by God.

So may you persevere in your walk and keep those coloured blocks at bay
Michael
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Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

Catchup, a Launch and What is on My Mind

So, two months later... lol

So what has happened in the last while?
Let's do a quick run through.

December:
Christmas, obviously. A kind of hectic period of time... driving down to London, driving up to Ajax, driving back to the Pdot, driving back to Ajax... followed by a drive back to the Pdot... whew. However, Christmas with my family is always exciting... and I think Seana was excited that she wasn't the only non-Foster at the huge family blowout. It was fun. And crazy.

January:
Exams. Those were fun... not. But I'm glad to see French gone... its not that I don't like French, I just disliked the teacher. A lot.
January was also turn 18 time. Yes, that's right; I'm now legal. w00t! I can... vote??!? There are other things I can do too... but I really don't want/need to.
Another anniversary was in January: Seana et moi have been going our for one year now (well actually, more than that now now, but meh... close enough). I haven't really talked about Seana much here... so there you go, now you exist on my blog ;o).

Other than that... I've just been making it through school, trying to get homework done... get my University stuff all finished (I hate PSEs, officially). Ohh... and I launched another blog... yesterday... so now I have to work twice as hard to keep up to date, lol. Not actually. My other one is where I am putting on display some pictures of what I get up to and any schweet graphics I feel like designing. So, I present to you Ma Vie en Photo (in French, just because I can).

And now for some things that I have been following lately.

1. CoS vs. Anonymous.
• This hasn't really been making a huge splash in mainstream news coverage, but in the online community, the war between the Church of Scientology and the (so called) hacker group Anonymous has been really interesting to follow. You may or may not have heard about the protests that were held world-wide in front of CoS centres, but this whole thing really threatens to shut down the CoS, or at least change the way it operates today. If you want to know what is going down, check out Search Engine (CBC Radio).
2. Fifth Business.
• I usually don't enjoy books that I have to do for English class (Shakespeare excepted). However, this book is just so fantastic that I can't help but like it. If you haven't read it yet, you have to. Though I may just like it because I identify myself as Fifth Business... but you will have to Google it, Wiki it or read the book to find out what I am talking about ;o).
3. Do Hard Things
• The Rebelution book comes out in APRIL. YAYS!!!! I am so psyched for this book... they have an excerpt available on the Rebelution website and it reads absolutely fantastic thus far. If you haven't heard about the Rebelution, I highly recommend checking it out.
  

Umm, so I think that's about it for now.

Have a very awesome day
Michael
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Brother in Arms
Proverbs.17.17

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When Life Gives You Lemons...

Sometimes life is tough. Everything can be going well and then suddenly... BAM!... a family member is really sick, a friend had been in an accident, you're struggling with something huge, or some other major tragedy has happened. And you're sitting there thinking, where's God??

Why is it that we always jump to blame God for everything bad that happens in life? I guess it seems so easy... we can't see Him, and therefore we believe that there will be no retaliation for using Him as a scapegoat.

It is a really strange phenomenon. The Bible is full of examples of how much God loves us, how he knows how when a sparrow falls and that we are far more precious than any sparrow. He knows what is in our future and has a plan for us, no matter how dark things seem right now. I love the hymn

Happy (Belated) Christmas!!!

"On the Twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me/Twelve drummers drumming/Eleven pipers piping... [and all the rest]"

We are finally (past) there! I hope everyone had a holly, jolly Christmas; I certainly did. Anywho, let me finish this off so we can be done with it. Eleven pipers piping... aka the eleven FAITHFUL (12 - Judas) apostles. And twelve? The twelve points of doctorine in the Apostles Creed.

This year I didn't ask for many gifts. Getting gifts is something that is slowly waning in my life... it is really tough now to come up with things to ask for... But over my lifetime I have recieved so many gifts it is not even funny. But most important to me are the gifts that I have that are not material. Like my family. What can I say about my crazy family? I swear, every Foster has inherited some sort of gene that makes them crazy and wierd and however else you want to describe it. But no matter how zany my family is, when we get together we always have a good time. They are so special to me, and are the greatest gift I have recieved.

And then there are my friends...and what can I say about them? Guys, you have made such a huge impact on my life in so many different ways... and I thank God every day for blessing me with your friendship. Even when the F-gene comes out and I go off the wall. ESPECIALLY when that happens, lol. I don't have words to say how much you guys mean to me.

So, now comes the end. Unless something huge comes up, I'm probably not going to update 'till the New Year. So, until then, God Bless and I'll cya on MSN.

Michael
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By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

The 10th Day...

"On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me/Ten lords a leaping/Nine ladies dancing/Eight maids a milking..."

Don't hate me because I miscounted again... I should actually be on day nine, but seeing as I probably won't be updating for a good while yet, this will work. Man is it annoying when this happens... lol.

Catchup mode: The eight maids a milking are a reference to something which Catholics take great pains to teach in grade nine religion, but apparently get a wrong/incomplete meaning out of... the Beatitudes. The nine ladies dancing... hmm, for any of you who have team led at or been to a camp where they sing "The Banana Song," you should be able to get this one. For the rest of you, you're missing out. The Banana song rocks. However, the line of particular concern for this post goes something like "The Fruit of the Spirit/ From love to self control...". Yes folks, the nine ladies dancing are the nine parts of the Fruit of the Spirit. Numeros dix, the ten lords a leaping have to do with a bearded old man standing on a mountain and talking to God. Though that really doesn't help much I suppose... that could have been a couple other people as well. However, everyone should be able to guess what ten has to do with. The Ten Commandments. Fun fun.

Merry Christmas!

Michael
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By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

Wherefore on the Day of the Seventh...

"On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me/Seven swans a swimming..."

Day number seven...we seem to be going through these very swiftly.... Seven swans a swimming is not as obvious as many of the others have been. It makes reference to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. But I have no clue what those are exactly because there are over 20 odd listed in various places in the New Testament. FUN!

In other news, life right now is really lazy. Things are winding down before Christmas. There are three more school days before we go on break, and one is a write off (Christmas assembly, one of the major highlights of the school year). Actually, today was a write off as well. My school ran Participaction, a day where we (the school populace) get out and do some good physical activity, or in the case of many students, go Christmas shopping. *shakes head* I suppose some might consider that physical activity, BUT... I went skating for the first tome this year/in a year. I get a massive blister, but other than that it was ama-za-zing fun!!! Skating rocks!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... I white Christmases ROCK!

Michael
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By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

Day the 6th

"On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me/ Six geese a layin'..."

Six geese a layin'... bet you would have never guessed what this represents (unless you are a cheater and looked it up...lol). The six geese are the six days of creation. Not seven, six. Before you say I'm wacko, think about it. What did God do on the seventh day? He rested. SO, He only created for six days. Eh, eh... isn't that clever???

Only seven more days...

Mike

Day 5/War of the Words

"On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me/ Five golden rings.../four calling birds/ three French hens/ two turtle doves..."

So, if you do the math, you may be thinking to yourself "But wait, Mike started his count 6 days ago...why are we only on day five??" If you are thinking that, my head is screwed on properly, I just started my count a day early (and no one told me!!). So, today is actually the fifth day (depending on how you count...).

The gifts (in catch-up order): Two turtle doves are the old and new testaments; Three French hens are the three "Theological Values" (Faith, Hope and Charity), which I really don't understand... mebbe I'll Wiki it...; Four calling birds are the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; aaaaand the five golden rings are, to use some Christian terminology, the "Pentateuch," or for us normal people the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy).

So things have been kinda crazy lately. I've really been struck by how much damage we do with our words. I know a couple of people who are practically at war with each other over a whole "he said, she said" issue. And it is driving me nuts, partially because it is over something totally meaningless and partially because there is nothing I can do about it. I find that when I get frustrated like that, writing helps. I actually wrote this a little while ago, but it really has a lot of meaning now. And yes, the title is a play on "The War of the Worlds." But no fear, Tom Cruise isn't in it ;D.

Oh the discord of argument A bitter melody, cold fire The breaking of the world On the tongue of humanity A scourge on the soul, A deep bite forced by unruly emotion Fighting as a release Deep pain, shallow irritation Personalities clashing The battlefield erupts in flame Bullets whizz overhead Spit off the tongues of the spiteful Dear Jesus, what have we done? You tell us to love To act as we would have on us Instead we dig trenches Lines in our brows that mar our face We cry out to You "Holy!" And tell You of our love We cry to our brothers curses And flail them with our words This is our hipocracy We need to find Your love

Michael
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By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

1st Day

"On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me/ A partridge in a pear tree..."

Did you know that The Twelve Days of Christmas was created by Catholics to remind them of certain parts of their faith? Each number of gifts represents a different thing (note: the actual gift has nothing to do with it... just the number). So, as it IS only 12 days till Christmas, I'm going to feature a different gift from the song, as well as any other random thoughts/poems that come to mind :D.

(Note note: I am aware that this is in many ways considered to be mere legend. HOWEVER, the arguements against are not enough to dissuade the persuit of this topic.)

In the song, the part "my true love" refers to God the father. The first gift ("A partridge in a pear tree...") refers to Jesus. This is the easy one... :D

Ciao for now!
Michael
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By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

I Have A Dream...

Four simple words started a speech that changed the world. Said by a man that was out to change the world as he knew it. Changing the world is a goal often attributed to people who did great things, people who defied the box they lived in, who fought for freedom, truth, and the like. They are great people, Met by cheering crowds and adoring followers.

 

However, therein lies a problem. By putting these people up on a pedestal, we begin to think that there is no way we (the "normal" populace) can do the same. But when you really start to think about it, these people are "normal" to (note: normal is in quotes because who can say what normal really is?) I mean, who was Oprah way back when? A nobody. Bill Gates? He was (no offence Bill) just a tech geek with bad hygene. - (I would use Nelson Mandela, but he's special...) - Albert Einstein, George Washington, Chris Columbus, Lester Pearson, even Hitler in his own sick and twisted way... none of them were born any greater than any of us. They just took hold of a vision and ran with it. Some changed the world accidentally, some on purpose, and some in a way they weren’t aiming for. At the same time, the things they did were big enough to launch them into the limelight.

 

These well known “world changers” and their deeds aren’t unique. The world is changed every day, on a constant basis, but most of the time in ways that wouldn’t register on the Richter scale of world events. But those actions are like ripples on the water, or the beginning of a run of dominoes. Events can be set in motion that can get bigger and bigger as time goes on.

 

I heard a great example of this on The Rest of The Story with Paul Harvey a little while ago. Bear with me, as my memory is a little sketchy about all the details, but I’ll give you the rough outline. The story was about a young adult in the States who basically played chaperone for his friends. More importantly, he was a Christian. It came to pass that there was a tent revival in a nearby town (thus dating the story) and this guy (I forget his name, so I’ll call him Demetrius) decides to invite some of his friends to go. After much coercing, he manages to convince some of his friends to go. Well, one guy in particular goes and is totally affected and transformed by what he hears. Even in that, Demetrius has totally changed the world. But here is where the ripples come in to play. The guy’s name? You may recognize it, because it is the name of one of the biggest evangelists in Christendom today. Billy Graham. You want to talk world changing or what??!? And it was kicked off by the small action of Demetrius inviting his friend out. Wow.

 

All this leads up to one question: How? How do we actually go about changing the world? I think in the end it all comes back to leadership. I’ve already written about leadership, so I won’t beat a dead horse (or bet on one…lol, Relient K). But I will say that leadership can really be broken down into setting an example and the kind of example you set. So, how do you change the world? Through the actions you make and the example you set. After that, the ripples are in God’s hands.

 

On Doctor Who the other night the Doctor stated that “every man has the ability to change the world. I totally believe that. I have a dream… to change the world.

 

Are you in?

 

Michael

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By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

What's in a name?

There are two types of crisis that we tend to go through as humans, an identity crisis usually when we are in our teens and a mid-life crisis when we reach middle age. I never expected to go through either, but that could well have been a part of my teenage arrogance…lol. So maybe that is why my identity crisis took me by surprise. My anthropology (etc.) textbook says that an identity crisis has two questions attached to it: “Who am I?” and “What is my purpose in life?” Tough questions to answer indeed.

I have many names, depending on who you are. No, that does not mean that I change how I act depending on the company I am in, it just means that I have been introduced to certain people by different names. If you have grown up with me, I am most often called Michael or Mike. At camp, I am Flippy. Depending on my friends, you may get different names. I have a short list of people that can call me one particular name, but I won’t get into that…

But the point is, none of that makes me me. If I wrap myself up in my name, what happens when I get a label I don’t like? Do I let my labels control me? Does that make sense? If I move past that, who I am becomes based on my relationships, especially my greatest relationship, the one I have with Christ. Then, who I am becomes what He wants me to be.

Following that thread, figuring out my purpose becomes a little easier. If I let Christ direct who I am, then I already have several purposes to fulfill. The next step is figuring out how to work at these.

Michael

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By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

RE:Discover

This summer was a time of real rediscovery of myself and who I really am. I went through periods where I was feeling ever emotion I think a person can possibly have. Fear, depression, happiness, sadness, joy, et. al. It was a really eye opening time, and I discovered that through all these emotions, God was there with me. It is really humbling to realise that as insignificant as I am on a universal scale, the Creator of everything cares about how I feel. Its simply amazing. It was also really interesting because I started writing poetry again. I love poetry and the freedom it gives to express how you feel, so much of the poetry I write now has been influenced by my summer. SO, if I start randomly posting poetry, you now know the reason :).

Walk good,
Michael
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By the grace of God
Job.33.23-28

(Non) Ignoring

I have to apologise for not posting for a looooooong time. School has been hectic and my life after school even more so... I live a crazy life. Now that March Break is here I would try and catch up, but I'm going to Tennessee and I won't be able to get to a CPU (prob.) so the blog will be silent once again. But I will see what I can do when I get back.

Anyway, just a parting thought; the difference between a leader and a non-leader is that the non-leader will talk about something meaningful (ex. bullying) but will shy away when they can do something about it because they are afraid (of what others will think, about the self reprocussions, it's just scary, etc.). The leader will fight the fear and step up. Everyone has a little leadership in them... let it out! Make someone who always seems depressed smile, or hang out with the "losers". It's a world-changing idea. Go for it!

Michael

Good things can come in forwards!

Cool, so this is a forward that I got today (or so) among the mess of mail I had after being parted from the internet for a while... I thought it was pretty good... so I thought I would pass it on.

Michael

srry if it is a repeat if I already forwarded it to you!

Ask yourself the question if "you would run" after you read this!!!


Imagine this happening to you...
One Sunday morning during service, a 2,000 member congregation was surprised to see two men enter, both covered from head to toe in black and carrying submachine guns.

One of the men proclaimed, "Anyone willing to take a bullet for Christ remain where you are."

Immediately, the choir fled... (assuming we're all on retreat this weekend)

The deacons fled...

And most of the congregation fled....

Out of the 2,000 there only remained around 20.

The man who had spoken took off his hood...
He then looked at the priest and said "Okay Father,

I got rid of all the hypocrites...

Now you may begin Mass.
Have a nice day!"

And the two men turned and walked out.

TOO DEEP TO NOT PASS ON...

*Funny how simple it is for people to trash God, and then wonder why the world is in the condition it is today....

*Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says...

*Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven... provided they do not have to believe, think,
say, or do anything the Bible says.

Or is it scary?

*Funny how someone can say "I believe in
God"...

But still Follow Satan (who, by the way, also "believes" in God).

*Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread
like wildfire...

But when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, you think twice about sharing.

*Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through
cyberspace...

But the public discussion of Jesus is suppressed in the school and work place.

*Funny, isn't it? Funny how someone can be so fired up
for Christ on Sunday...

But be an invisible Christian the rest of the week.

Are you laughing?

*Funny how when you go to forward this message...
you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure
what they believe... or what they will think of you for sending it.

*Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me...
... than what God thinks of me.

Are you thinking?


Will  you share this with people you care about?
Or not? I picked you.  May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you,
And be gracious to you; May the Lord lift up His favour upon you
And give you His peace