it's about 7:15am on Saturday morning. Some may be wondering why I'm up this early on a Saturday. Well I start work at 6:30am Saturday mornings. Some may be wondering how I am blogging while I'm at...oh the light just came on.
Yeah I totally turned off my alarm and slept through it all. I can't even say it was an accident because somewhere in my psyche something said, "turn that wreched noise off, I don't need that this early!"
The worst part about it all is that on Saturdays I'm only available until 1pm, which means that he (my manager...whom I was supposed to open with...yeah bad time to be late) had to wake some poor soul up to cover for my sorry keister, then try and fill shifts accordingly. So, basically, because I turned off my alarm, 7 other people's days are messed up.
I'm being hard on myself because I just hate being late. It bothers me, and especially these kinds of things where you really screw some others over because of your tardiness. I definately know that I wouldn't want to be the one getting the early morning call on Saturday.
At any rate, now I'm waiting to hear whether he even wants me in today or not because of my availability on Saturday, or lack there of... not being able to cover for a shift later in the day.
So if anyone of my Starbucks homie's who work Saturday are reading this...sorry.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
really?
there is a middle aged fellow who, quite regularly, comes into the Starbucks I work at. Every time he comes in he's talking about job prospects out in the rich west; be it working on an oilfield, or as a truck driver somewhere, or whatever. In fact, he left Winnipeg a couple months ago and headed for B.C. for a big money job, but was misled as to what he was actually going to be paid. So he returned.
Last night he came in for a coffee, and once again he was talking about the money to be had out west. He was talking about some position in Alberta, I'm sure on an oilfield, where 18 year olds are making $15,000/week...(which I hardly believe), and he said something interesting as he finished talking about that and was leaving, "That's what I need."
really?
Immideately my mind had flash images of mom's and dad's, children, and grandparents in our third world contries who can only wish for $15.00 a week, and that would be incredible for them. By the way, most of the world lives on less than $1.00 a day...Which if you do the math is $7.00 a week...Not quite $15,000/wk. My soul was filled with grief as I realized the kind of trickery and false hope that has gripped so many of us North Americans.
Now I know that we live in North America, and nobody could live on $1.00 a day here, but let's think about it; What do we really need?
It's been blowing my mind to read about Jesus these days in light of all this, because Jesus definately was not shooting for $thousands of dollars per week. In fact Jesus says, "don't even make that your primary concern...what should be primal in you (if you are my true disciple) is my Kingdom...a kingdom that worries about the hungry, the thirsty, the broken, the down and out...these are to be your concerns. If you seek this out first, then you will be fine in these other things you so easily worry about." Jesus tells us, the smartest creatures on earth, to take a lesson from ordinary sparrows..."Look at the birds of the air, they do not stockpile in barns or store away just in case things might run out...they know they will be fed, they know they will be okay... If you only knew how much more important you are to me than sparrows, you'd realize how silly it is to spend all your time worrying about money things."
Now, if I think back to the man that comes into starbcuks always worried about money, I could say; "now here's a perfect example of the opposite of what Jesus is saying, a man that lacks trust, a man that focuses on all the wrong things..."
I am that man so often, and I need help to make the Kingdom of God my primary desire over any other thing this world could ever offer me...
Help me to trust your better way of living.
"Aim at Heaven, and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth, and you will get neither."
-C.S. Lewis
Last night he came in for a coffee, and once again he was talking about the money to be had out west. He was talking about some position in Alberta, I'm sure on an oilfield, where 18 year olds are making $15,000/week...(which I hardly believe), and he said something interesting as he finished talking about that and was leaving, "That's what I need."
really?
Immideately my mind had flash images of mom's and dad's, children, and grandparents in our third world contries who can only wish for $15.00 a week, and that would be incredible for them. By the way, most of the world lives on less than $1.00 a day...Which if you do the math is $7.00 a week...Not quite $15,000/wk. My soul was filled with grief as I realized the kind of trickery and false hope that has gripped so many of us North Americans.
Now I know that we live in North America, and nobody could live on $1.00 a day here, but let's think about it; What do we really need?
It's been blowing my mind to read about Jesus these days in light of all this, because Jesus definately was not shooting for $thousands of dollars per week. In fact Jesus says, "don't even make that your primary concern...what should be primal in you (if you are my true disciple) is my Kingdom...a kingdom that worries about the hungry, the thirsty, the broken, the down and out...these are to be your concerns. If you seek this out first, then you will be fine in these other things you so easily worry about." Jesus tells us, the smartest creatures on earth, to take a lesson from ordinary sparrows..."Look at the birds of the air, they do not stockpile in barns or store away just in case things might run out...they know they will be fed, they know they will be okay... If you only knew how much more important you are to me than sparrows, you'd realize how silly it is to spend all your time worrying about money things."
Now, if I think back to the man that comes into starbcuks always worried about money, I could say; "now here's a perfect example of the opposite of what Jesus is saying, a man that lacks trust, a man that focuses on all the wrong things..."
I am that man so often, and I need help to make the Kingdom of God my primary desire over any other thing this world could ever offer me...
Help me to trust your better way of living.
"Aim at Heaven, and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth, and you will get neither."
-C.S. Lewis
Monday, July 16, 2007
old friends...
hey this is a blog post devoted to connecting with an old friend. I saw that "Mike" wrote a reply to my last blog. If you're reading this, which Mike is this...Mike Baumann a.k.a. haus, Dean Mike, or Mikey Borely....I dought it's the last, but I'd like to connect with whichever Mike that was that left the reply.
You're all good mikes.
more later...
You're all good mikes.
more later...
Thursday, July 5, 2007
better...
for teen camp this year, we've been diving into the book of Hebrews (not an easy book to understand let me say) and thinking about our theme "better."
"For the law made nothing perfect, and now a better hope has taken it's place. And that is how we draw near to God." -Hebrews 7:19
If something is better, it has to be compared to something else. I was thinking about this as I was reading a story in John 4, about a Samaritan woman. In it, it speaks of a woman in the first century who, in my opinion, is trapped. She is trapped because she is a woman, and in that culture, at that time, women were not treated with much dignity... She is also a promiscuous woman, having many husbands, giving away of herself to many yet lacking one who can satisfy her need for security. She has a daily ritual of going to the water well to fetch water right in the heat of the day. This is her duty. This is her life...
One day, as she is going to do her daily task of getting well water, she finds a man sitting there at the well. This is where our story picks up...
She notices that he's an out-of-towner...not one of her own kind. She was hoping that she could just get her water, and leave quickly without having any sort of confrontation with the man. Much to her surprise, the man spoke to her. "Please give me a drink," he says. The woman replies "why are you speaking to me, can't you see the difference between us...you don't talk to people like me, and yet you are asking me for a drink." Then the man turned things personal and made a bold claim, "if you knew who I am, and the gift I have for you, you would as me for a drink, because I have living water." Thinking the man was talking about the well the woman replied, "you don't even have a bucket or rope, look how deep this well is...where would you get this 'living water' you speak of... besides, this well was built by Jacob, (arrogantly) yeah, maybe you've heard of him, Jacob, the great ancestor of ours. Jacob dug, drank, distributed, and delighted in this water, how can you have better than this?" Again, the man calmly made a bold statement..."People become thirsty again after drinking this water...but the water I have, you drink it, and it takes away your thirst." He caught her attention now, "please! give me some of that water," the woman replied.
For the woman, the thought of a quenched thirst, the thought of leaving the laborious chore of coming to the well in the heat of the day everyday enthralled her. She wanted what was better.
After continuing their rich conversation, the woman eventually realizes that what she really wants, what she really needs, is this mysterious man who seemed to find her. She left her water jar at the well, signifying she had traded in what she thought would satisfy her for this offered living water, for what was better. She juxtaposed what she had, and what the man offered, and came to the conclusion that what he had was better... She, excitedly, rushed to find some people to share in her joy, and said, "Come! meet the person who told me everything I ever did!" Deep within her, her soul cried out with joy because she had met someone who knew her better than herself. Not only that, but she had met someone who released her from her prison of dissatisfaction. She met the living water, better life, better hope, better promise, and better choice.
"now a better hope has taken its place. And that is how we draw near to God."
"For the law made nothing perfect, and now a better hope has taken it's place. And that is how we draw near to God." -Hebrews 7:19
If something is better, it has to be compared to something else. I was thinking about this as I was reading a story in John 4, about a Samaritan woman. In it, it speaks of a woman in the first century who, in my opinion, is trapped. She is trapped because she is a woman, and in that culture, at that time, women were not treated with much dignity... She is also a promiscuous woman, having many husbands, giving away of herself to many yet lacking one who can satisfy her need for security. She has a daily ritual of going to the water well to fetch water right in the heat of the day. This is her duty. This is her life...
One day, as she is going to do her daily task of getting well water, she finds a man sitting there at the well. This is where our story picks up...
She notices that he's an out-of-towner...not one of her own kind. She was hoping that she could just get her water, and leave quickly without having any sort of confrontation with the man. Much to her surprise, the man spoke to her. "Please give me a drink," he says. The woman replies "why are you speaking to me, can't you see the difference between us...you don't talk to people like me, and yet you are asking me for a drink." Then the man turned things personal and made a bold claim, "if you knew who I am, and the gift I have for you, you would as me for a drink, because I have living water." Thinking the man was talking about the well the woman replied, "you don't even have a bucket or rope, look how deep this well is...where would you get this 'living water' you speak of... besides, this well was built by Jacob, (arrogantly) yeah, maybe you've heard of him, Jacob, the great ancestor of ours. Jacob dug, drank, distributed, and delighted in this water, how can you have better than this?" Again, the man calmly made a bold statement..."People become thirsty again after drinking this water...but the water I have, you drink it, and it takes away your thirst." He caught her attention now, "please! give me some of that water," the woman replied.
For the woman, the thought of a quenched thirst, the thought of leaving the laborious chore of coming to the well in the heat of the day everyday enthralled her. She wanted what was better.
After continuing their rich conversation, the woman eventually realizes that what she really wants, what she really needs, is this mysterious man who seemed to find her. She left her water jar at the well, signifying she had traded in what she thought would satisfy her for this offered living water, for what was better. She juxtaposed what she had, and what the man offered, and came to the conclusion that what he had was better... She, excitedly, rushed to find some people to share in her joy, and said, "Come! meet the person who told me everything I ever did!" Deep within her, her soul cried out with joy because she had met someone who knew her better than herself. Not only that, but she had met someone who released her from her prison of dissatisfaction. She met the living water, better life, better hope, better promise, and better choice.
"now a better hope has taken its place. And that is how we draw near to God."
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Long weekend in the city...
While most people were heading out of the city to various wilderness vacation destinations, I stayed. I remained in the city mostly because I had obligations here in the form of work, but it didn't turn out to be a bad thing. Actually on the contrary, it was one of the better long weekends I can remember.
See, as my buddy Clayton Nelson says, "I love being in the city on the long weekends, because no body is here." (that's probably not an exact quote, but the idea)...he says he likes the fact that the coffee shops aren't busy, that the traffic isn't as bad...it feels sort of like you're actually able to slow down even though you are still in the concrete jungle.
What I liked about this weekend was the fact that going for ice cream, or going to a movie, or just napping half the afternoon away was not such an imposition... What a freeing feeling. For example, today, I went to church then went to have lunch with Dana and some other friends at the Old Spaghetti Factory at the forks (we took our time there, no rush right)...then after that, Dana and I went to her parents house for about 5 hours, just chilled, played some boggle and had a good meal. What a beautiful thing it is to forget about schedules and deadlines and all the things we do to become more free but (mainly) only leaves us more constricted. It's nice to drop those things and to just be. It's nice to just do what you like, do what you want to do for a day.
So, next time you think you are stuck in the city for a long weekend...think again, you're not stuck, you can actually be quite free.
See, as my buddy Clayton Nelson says, "I love being in the city on the long weekends, because no body is here." (that's probably not an exact quote, but the idea)...he says he likes the fact that the coffee shops aren't busy, that the traffic isn't as bad...it feels sort of like you're actually able to slow down even though you are still in the concrete jungle.
What I liked about this weekend was the fact that going for ice cream, or going to a movie, or just napping half the afternoon away was not such an imposition... What a freeing feeling. For example, today, I went to church then went to have lunch with Dana and some other friends at the Old Spaghetti Factory at the forks (we took our time there, no rush right)...then after that, Dana and I went to her parents house for about 5 hours, just chilled, played some boggle and had a good meal. What a beautiful thing it is to forget about schedules and deadlines and all the things we do to become more free but (mainly) only leaves us more constricted. It's nice to drop those things and to just be. It's nice to just do what you like, do what you want to do for a day.
So, next time you think you are stuck in the city for a long weekend...think again, you're not stuck, you can actually be quite free.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
another day, another latte...
perhaps just past 6am on a Saturday morning is not the best time to be blogging, but here I am trying to make sense of life already at the early stages of the day... (by making sense of life, I mean wondering where my work shoes are) Yes I'm heading off to make sure addicts have their fix in the form of coffee's, latte's, and frappuccino's. One of the things I like about working on Saturdays is the fact that most people that come in on this day always come in on this day...you get to know the folks a little bit, beyond just another latte for the customer. It feels real good to have someone come in, recognize you, and even call you by name as if they are happy you are working that day, serving them.
we'll see how this day goes, maybe there'll be some crazy event that happens and I'll have some fantastic thing to write about. or maybe, it'll just be another day, another latte...
we'll see how this day goes, maybe there'll be some crazy event that happens and I'll have some fantastic thing to write about. or maybe, it'll just be another day, another latte...
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
An old franciscan once said...
If you feel the call of the spirit, then be holy with all your soul, with all your heart, and with all your strength. If, however, because of human weakness, you cannot be holy, then be perfect with all your soul, with all your heart, and with all your strength.
But if you cannot be perfect because of the vanity of your life, then be good with all your soul...Yet, if you cannot be good because of the trickery of the Evil One, then be wise with all your soul...
If, in the end, you can neither be holy, nor perfect, nor good, nor wise because of the weight of your sins, then carry this weight before God and surrender your life to his divine mercy...
If you do this, without bitterness, with all humility, and with a joyous spirit due to the tenderness of a God who loves the sinful and ungrateful, then you will begin to feel what it is to be wise, you will learn what it is to be good, you will slowly aspire to be perfect, and finally you will long to be holy.
But if you cannot be perfect because of the vanity of your life, then be good with all your soul...Yet, if you cannot be good because of the trickery of the Evil One, then be wise with all your soul...
If, in the end, you can neither be holy, nor perfect, nor good, nor wise because of the weight of your sins, then carry this weight before God and surrender your life to his divine mercy...
If you do this, without bitterness, with all humility, and with a joyous spirit due to the tenderness of a God who loves the sinful and ungrateful, then you will begin to feel what it is to be wise, you will learn what it is to be good, you will slowly aspire to be perfect, and finally you will long to be holy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)