It's Melting in Manitoba

Today I'm going to try to explain a simple concept. I saw some one trying to explain this before and I believe it's a good concept to learn. I call it the bath tub concept and it's simple.

Imagine you have a bath tub and you have water pouring in and also water going down the drain and so if you want to fill the bath tub you put more water in the bath tub then what goes down the drain. If you want to empty the bath tub you simple put less in the bath tub then what goes down the drain. Now you can temporarily stop putting water in the tub and the water in the tub will continue pouring out until you add more or the bath tub runs out.

I think this has many applications and the one people understand the best is money. The money that goes down the drain is the money you use to buy things and the money that you pour in is the money you make. If you don't make money you will slowly "drain" your resources until you can't pay for things anymore.

The real problem is when you start dealing with a bath tube that every one draws out of and puts into because people want to put in less and take out more which doesn't work for any extended periods of time i.e. goverments. So we pretend that we can just draw out and hope someone else will pay for it.

Now did I really write a blog about money, well that was not the intent. I planned to write it about service, and helping others. You see generally if people are generous to you, you are likely to be generous to other people. But if people arn't generous to you then you really arn't generous to others and so imagine peoples good will as a giant bath tub. This could also be the institutions we have to help people in need such as relief work, salvation army, MCC, Red Cross ... and the list goes on.

This bath tube you can choose to just drain from or you can add to and the level in the tub will change according to what you do. So we can just draw out and someone else will pay for it, or decided to put in and it could be that everyone is taking out.

Why? ... well everyone has their reasons but well for me it's because of my faith.

That seems like a bit of a stretch :(. Well for comical relief check out The Jolly Banker by Wilco on myspace.

Free Promotion for Reinstate

So yesterday one of my friends from high school said his band was playing in the city. So I decided to go and they were amazing.

So here's a promotion for Reinstate
http://www.myspace.com/reinstatemusic
Take a listen and buy some music from iTunes or buy the cd from them if you can.

According to the sound man they were f'n good. lol

So that's right I know the guy on the far right Dan. He's a solid guy!

A broken and a contrite heart

I find sometimes we try to be good,
Sometimes we try to follow moral rules.

But I find that God wants us to search out him,
not for any other reason than to wanting to be close to him.

If we try to be good, or follow moral rules to be acceptable or more "holy" it's not what God wants. God wants us to come to him in our broken state and say that we need him, not for any other reason but that we understand that we realize that we really do!

Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart; these, O God, You will not despise.

I find I have to be careful is easy to get caught up in doing the right things because that's what is expected and not because we are servants of God.

So God I am broken before you
I am hungry for you
Have complete control over me
God bless us
God lead us

Another Reason Why Blogs May be Slow these Days

So I've been having fun with my new Beaver Creek guitar.

Hungry Falling On My Knees Chords by Kathryn Scott

Verse 1:
C                Am7
Hungry, I come to You
G            F
For I know You satisfy
C              Am7
I am empty, but   I know
G                 F
Your love does not run dry.
G       F/A
And so I wait for You,
G/B       F
So I wait for You.
Chorus:
C               Fmaj7
I'm falling on my knees,
C            Fmaj7
Offering all of me.
C                Fmaj7             C
Jesus, You're all this heart is living for.
Verse 2:
C                Am7
Broken, I run to You,
G             F
For Your arms are open wide;
C              Am7
I am weary, but I know
G                 F
Your touch restores my life.
G       F/A
And so I wait for You.
G/B        F
So I wait for You,
So I wait for You.

Chords Used:
C - 032010
Am7 - 002010
F - 133211 (bar)
F/A - X03211 (bar)
G/B - X20033
Fmaj7 - XX3210
G - 320003

God Bless Us
God Lead Us

Redirect

Today is going to be another redirecting link. This is a blog that I read sometimes. Most of the time they have interesting things to say.

http://blog.goshen.edu/devotions/

I recently read Feb. 18 and liked it. (yes I know I am a couple of days behind)

Have a great week!

God bless us
God lead us

Four Years

Four Years now that is crazy.
Four years ago I started rambling, and I haven't stopped. lol

I was thinking the other day about how the phrases like. It was fate, random chance, the right place at the right time, God's will, will of the god's ... and how they are really all trying to describe one thing. How sometimes extraordinary things happen, which shouldn't happen, yet do.

I've been amazed how God works like that. Somehow out of all of the chaos of our lives he brings stability.

We really are unworthy.

God bless us,
God lead us,
God be with us.

Pointing

So things are busier these days so I will again give you a link to check out.

Willems Antique

For me Willem Antique poses many questions.
Why would somebody be self sacrificial?
What is he trying to say with his actions?
Would I do the same thing?
Are we posed with the same dilemma, though not in the same way?
Or was should he have just thought about himself?

God bless us,
God lead us.

Interesting Clip

Here is an interesting audio clip. If you have time I recommend that you listen to it.

Patrick Dodson:Centrifugal-Creativity

Have a great week.

God bless us
God lead us

Humm ...

Recently I've been puzzled by how God works in our lives. I've been amazed. I guess as humans we expect the thunder and lightning of zeus. But many times we see the opposite. It's as if God is saying, that he is so powerful that he doesn't need the thunder and the lightning to do what he wants? Or is it because the thunder and lightning of zeus is ineffective? Do big guns and large forces actually lose the war? Is it maybe that a show of power shows weakness?

John 19:11 NKJV
"Jesus answered, 'You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above.'"

"Czars, Soviets & Mennonites"

So I'm sorry for the delay in posting. I took a break in posting for the Christmas season. I figured since I had posted 80 posts this year that was plenty and a nice round number to end on.

So this Christmas season I read "Czars, Soviets & Mennonites. By John B. Toews" it is a historical book on Mennonites in Russia. Most of the book focuses on the years 1915+. My roots comes from Russia though both of my Grandparents families came from the migration to the new world in the late 18th century due to land issues. Regardless there where many interesting things that I found from the book.

The Russian Mennonites did not know their roots and hardly knew who Menno Simons was. Through slow additions from the few Mennonites who studied abroad, and inside influences the beliefs changed. Though this was not apparent to them.

The prosperous Mennonite culture and lifestyle was destroyed rather quickly. The weath was simply erased by the revolutionary period and then sealed by the communists.

There was problems with separation of church and state. Everyone that was born Mennonite was assumed a pacifist and a christian.

Faith pillars such as non-resistance and pacifism which had been in existence for nearly 100 years where turned down in the matter of a few years. This might tie into the fact that every one was assumed a pacifist.

For me this poses interesting questions about faith, culture, and education. I strongly disagree with assuming someone is a christian because he is born into a culture. It also shows that how prosperity can be quickly turned into famine by war. Also it shows how we are changed by lots of things even though we are not aware of it.

God Bless us
God Lead us

PS (This is my interpretation of the book)