Agent of Hope

If you're like me, you've probably found the Haiti tragedy difficult to comprehend. So you haven't. You've distracted yourself with Facebook, listening to music, sports, sleep -anything really. With numbers of the dead closing in on 100,00 men, women and yes, children, I don't blame you. That's half of Regina. Dead. 10% of Calgary. Dead. 20 Duncans. Dead. It boggles the mind and breaks the heart. Especially THIS story. You may wonder what you can do, if anything? Giving money is probably the most popular and easy option - and for good reason, without it, relief, supplies etc. would not be available. If you have money, you need to give. Period. If you don't have money, and with an economic year like this last one it is highly likely, you need to get creative. One lady in our church stayed up all weekend and made 80 beautiful cards. She will use the money from the cards for relief and the sold cards will be used for encouragement. What skills do you have? Who do you know? What are you passionate about? What great ideas do you have? It's time we pulled ourselves out of the rubble and became agents of hope. In times like these, it's the only certain thing we possess.

Haiti

Prayers are with the people of Haiti today and indefinitely after they experienced their worst earthquake in 200 years. Tens of thousands are feared dead. Millions are displaced.
We can help.

John

Words of Wisdom?

Here's some things I overheard in my house today.

Alexa - "It doesn't matter cause all old people look the same." (I told the kids that the actors from the first 3 Spiderman movies wouldn't be returning for the 4th movie. Ethan asked "But what about the old grandma?" - to which Alexa responded....

Maddison -"We can't use it, the batteries are out on the light bulb." (The reason why we couldn't hang up her lamp)

Angie - "Yeah, but can you use it to make phone calls?" (My wife questioning the wisdom of acquiring a Blackberry for our business)

Ethan: - "Hey Dad, an actual Olympian who plays Olympics is coming to our school." (No word yet on what specifically he plays)

John - "I think the Oilers might win tonight" (Immediately after saying this John woke up)

Father

Seth Godin

Seth Godin is a business/marketing guru with the unique gift of saying things plainly and poignantly. There is a link to his blog on the right and you can actually sign up to recieve his free wisdom each morning. If you're thinking "I'm not a business dude and marketing is only for blood sucking leeches", his words often transend business, touching the core of what makes us human. His "Tale of two Lemonade Stands" was especially good today. Besides blogging, Seth has authored more than 3o books, many of which are free here.

John

My Friend Tee Y

This week my good friend Ty or (Mr. Tee Y) as the Ugandans called him - came to visit. Ty and I got tight in youth group because we laughed at the same stupid stuff while managing to still take things deep. If you've ever seen our grad videos, you know the stupid I speak of. Ty had never been to the Island which is why he asked "which airport do I fly into - Vancouver or Victoria" and "how long does it take to drive across the island, 1hr?" His ignorance made the prospects of us having a swell time much higher.

We only had 2 days so the pressure was on. Its a curious thing how when entertaining guests we're willing to do all sorts of amazing things we don't ever seem to do on our own, when its just us. We started by canoeing in the Ocean. As we set out Ty asked if I had ever done this before (not that he was nervous). I said yes because I had been canoeing just not exactly here, in the unpredictable and often dangerous Ocean. 2 hours later we rowed back in having been entertained by a curious sea lion, passing jelly fish and splendid views. We also managed to talk about our women and how lucky they are. I mean we. We arrived home just as the kids were getting back from school. Ty is one of the few truly gifted 20 something with kids that I know and so it took all of 3 min before they loved him as their own. We decided to take this energy on the road and found ourselves swimming, sliding, and chicken fighting in the local pool until supper time. After the kids were in bed we spent the rest of the night laughing ourselves sick at old grad videos and stories from days gone by.

The next (and last) day Ty came with me on a lawn consultation (what a professional) and then by some small miracle we were able to borrow a full set of hockey equipment and play drop in hockey at Fuller Lake arena. I name the arena because rumor has it the Russians will be using it as their Olympic practice facility next month. Greatest player in the world practicing at my local rink. Anyways, hockey is one sport Ty and I had never played together so it was awesome. He's a magician out there with his passes which explains how even I was able to score, conveniently in the final minute. In the afternoon we met Angie's family at EVE's Park, an undiscovered jewel just east of Crofton. There we witnessed 300+ year old Douglas Firs still stretching for the heavens. After, we spent the rest of the day drinking coffee, honey brown and re-watching our stupidity. Later that night we watched Blood Diamond, Ty's favorite movie. Angie and I had never seen it before. WOW best describes Dicaprio's performance and the film's message. Conflict free diamonds folks, when buying, always make sure.

Ty left the next morning having recieved a full Island Experience. Aquaintances are dime a dozen in this world but great friends are hard to find. Thanks for the visit buddy. See you in the Spring.

John

Don't live a Grisham

A few months back I wrote about my life as a starter. I excel at starting stuff but when it comes to finishing, like the Oilers, I need a lot of work.. I'm already excited about starting a new year, a new decade in fact. 2010. Sounds like such a futuristic year. But its here. Pregnant with possibilities. My mind's already resolving to do... To start.

Get up at 6am. Go to bed at 10. Get lost in the moment. Centre myself. Strengthen my core. Read Dostoyevsky. Run a successful business. Be a family man. Make a difference in my community.

The problem with all these resolutions is unless they're connected to a greater story by February I'll be back on the couch drinking Honey brown and living my life through Jack Shepherd. Donald Miller says he has resolved to no longer make resolutions, instead he' going to live a good story. That makes good sense although part of me wants to just add it to the above list - Live a good story. For Milller, living a good story isn't one more thing we resolve to do but the only thing we do. The list should be defined by the story not vice versa which means as I sit here on January 1, 2010, my focus should not be on making a list but on the kind of story I wish to live. When my great grandchildren hear my story 100 years from now will they be proud? Will they share the story? Will it stay with them, helping to inform their own stories? Or will it be a Grisham? An entertaining yet forgettable read.

Forget that. I'm living a Dostoyevsky.

John