Minding our own Business

April

2010-05-03T06:55:00.000-07:00

Gotta make hay when the sun is shining and that's what I've been making. I had a record month and managed to pay off a nice chunk of our biz startup debt as well as secure many new customers. I'm up over 80 now, some weekly, many monthly, many more seasonally. Cory Straker stayed with us for a few weeks and helped me bang out 2-3 treatments a day, which I know doesn't sound like much, but they are usually 6-7 hour jobs for one person so you do the math. Cory also lectured, I mean educated, us on nutrition introducing us to such wonders as Cocunut Oil instead of Margarine, Walnut Oil instead of salad dressing, Yams instead of Chips among other things. It was great actually. Besides, we introduced him to stuff too ok.

May is beginning a bit slower than April mostly due to the fact that Cory helped me do six weeks of work in 3 - so today I am going to go back cold calling like I did in the beginning, to ensure business continues to move ahead strong. Actually I have an exciting meeting this morning as I'm sitting down with an ecologist to discuss eco lawn/landscape plans for the grounds of the local university. I'll let you know how it goes. Anyways, in case you're interested, most of our treatments involve power-raking, aerating, liming, seeding, compost top dressing and then 2 other treatments unique to our company that are garnering great results. Mycorrhizae Fungi and Effective Micro-organisms. These are the new innovations in lawn care and will be standard one day, especially in 2012 when Canada bans pesticides. Amazing stuff you should try in your lawn and garden.

Angie has been more supportive, helpful than is possible by continuing to make our company look good online and in magazines as well as keeping me fed and loved each night as I roll in exhausted at 8pm. In her spare time she works for Nurse's Next Door, is an excellent mother to 3 high energy kids and has transformed the clay pit outside our house to a lovely landscape. She also has been doting over her other kids, veggie plants. I can't get enough of this woman and I shudder to think what life would be like without her.

You may have heard about our Disneyworld plan. Next January we are flying down (thank you Visa Avion points) to South Carolina to visit my parents. They are only 7 hours from Disneyworld - which I know sounds like a lot- but not to 3 motivated kids. We made a deal with the kids that if they wanted to go they would have to work for it just like us. They called our bluff and said, fine, we'll start our own business. And that's exactly what they've done. Ethan and Lex are the neighborhood Pooper Scoopers and have gotten quite busy. In fact, Ethan said the other day as we were driving somewhere "I only have Sunday and Wednesday off next week." haha. Currently they are bringing in over $100 a month heading towards their goal of $1500 for the year. Maddie has been baking delicious cookies and selling them along with home-made lemonade and after a strong first Saturday ($50 profit), she's been busy the past few weekends but excited to get back at it. We never wanted kids who saw places like Disneyworld as a right instead of a privelage, so we're hoping that working for it will help.

As usual, I gotta get back to it, so tales of church, wine tasting at Averill Creek and movies will have to wait until next month. Speaking of next month, our good friends Darcy and Hope/Family are coming to stay with us for a ENTIRE night. Can't wait....to convince them to stay longer.

John

Ressurection: Factual Truth?

2010-04-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

I hesitate even further to open this 4 gallon pail of worms because casting doubt on the factual ressurection of Jesus Christ is analagous to denying the existence of God. In fact, that would be the expected reaction to anyone doing such as thing. So, I'm not about to be one of those people. You can relax. Dad. :)

Instead, I will share 3 lines from "For the harvests of the spirit" - a song we sung just this morning at our church's easter service. These words perfectly sum up where I'm at on the issue.

For the wonders that astound us
For the truths that still confound us
Most of all that love has found us, thanks be to God.

Happy Easter family and friends.

John

Jesus' Death: Divine Necessity?

2010-04-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

I hesitate to open such a large can of worms but I will for two reasons. The first is connected to my current distance from such matters. There was a time when all I thought about was questions such as these but now that I'm a small business owner of an organic lawn care business, I'm up to my knees in dirt and any spare time I do have is spent catching up on invoices and sending out quotes. I miss these questions and the discussians they create. The second reason is my apparent "love of controversy" as my wife jests - to which I respond - go make me supper woman.

As you may recall, I opened a smaller can of worms last Christmas when I intimated that Jesus was not born of a literal virgin but was written that way as an alternative to Caesar (also suposedly born of a virgin). A spirited discussion resulted - one that will hopefully continue here.

When it comes down to it, Crossan and Borg are quite right. Jesus' death was either the result of divine necessity (God needed him to die) or human inevitability (Jesus message destined him to die). I guess the third alternative is unbelief (there is no God and Jesus may or may not have existed either) but let's assume they both exist, because I believe they do (not that that is evidence).

Most of us were raised to believe, and still believe, that the death of Jesus was out of divine necessity. God's creation was steeped in sin and previous attempts to break them out of it had fallen short (flood, visions, animal sacrifice etc). God needed a permanent solution. It was decided (at some point or was known all along) that the only suitable long term solution would be the death of God's perfect and only son. Only a perfect human could free imperfect humanity from their sin. With the plan in place Jesus would appear just at that right time to accomplish God's plan. With centuries of prophecy behind him, Jesus appeared on the scene miraculously and after thirty years of stone masonry/ carpentry Jesus brought about the discussed plan.

Approximately three years later, Jesus freely gave up his life, was crucified on a Roman cross, and in his death, brought about the salvation of mankind. Three days later Jesus walked out of the tomb, spent a month preparing his disciples to take over and then returned to the God he had left 33 years ago. This of course is a brief summary of the plan of divine necessity.

The second option of human inevitability claims crucifiction was simply the logical end for any man living in the first century who taught the kind of things Jesus taught. Like Martin Luther King after him, Jesus was killed because the ruling powers/culture of the day was not able to absorb the implications of his words. If Jesus is Lord, Caesar is not, which means he's no longer all powerful and without an all powerful leader the (ironic) Pax Romana can be threatened. Rome responded swiftly to this threat and although the bible portrays Pilate as an "aw shucks, do we really hafta kill him" kind of guy, it was Rome through Pilate in the end who tortured Jesus, nailed him to a cross, and carried out his death. Sure it was the Jews idea, but the Romans made it happen.

It's important to note here that Rome didn't crucify people willy nilly. It was a brutal capital punishment reserved only for those unfortunate souls who subverted Roman law thereby disturbing Pax Romana. In other words, the Romans would not have crucified Jesus because some orny Jews pressured them "crucify him crucify him crucify him" and like tired parents they finally caved. We must remember this was an empire built on doing what it wanted, when it wanted to whoever it wanted and so in the end, they chose to crucify Jesus along with two other revolutionary, freedom fighters, as the greek word for "thieves" implies- thus killing off 3 potential threats to their rule and ideology. Rome had the Jews to thank for alerting them to this potential threat so in an odd friendship, these two enemies killed Jesus Christ.

As I reflect on the options before me, I find the second option of human inevitability to be more likely and thus inspiring to my journey of faith. Jesus passionately preached his beautiful message knowing full well it would one day lead to his death. His predictions in the gospels "the Son of Man will be.."were not indicative of his rememberance of the heavenly deal he made with his father 33 years prior but rather his intuitive sense that the world in which he lived was not yet ready to hear a "pray for your enemies, turn the other cheek, religion is not important, woman are not inferior and Caesar is not Lord" kind of message." Jesus continued preaching anyways, knowing full well it would cost him his life. And when it did, Jesus died with love in his heart for the humans he served, even the ones who brought about his death. It was a Good Friday.

A few days later an awakening occured. But that's another story.

John

March Update

2010-03-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

It has actually stopped raining 9 days a week so I can finally get some work done.. I remember a good friend telling me "you'll love the Island but get used to the wet winters." Didn't sound too bad then but after 3 months I get it sky. Time for something new.

It's amazing how much our business has changed since its inception. I think about what we knew last fall and what we know today and there's simply no comparison. I think besides the financial struggle, having this winter "off" was the best thing as it allowed Angie and I to really think things through, plan, plot and learn. I took an extremely helpful Organic Turf Management course, had a coffee with the world's foremost organic turf guru, devoured every Seth Godin word, solidified my product line, made great connections, and Angie created our phenomenol website. You know you take pride in something when a visitor to your site elicits a bottle of wine and dance around your house (not that we did any of that)

With a spring of Lush growth ahead of us (hey, Lush, that's the name of your..) we are feeling confident, secure, assured for the first time in some time. In the last month we've gotten over 30 new customers and its grows every day. We are the only chemical free lawn company in the valley and the word is getting around. We hadn't plan to hire this year but we may have to re-examine things. In the meantime, I'm working from dawn to dark trying to get the treatments (seeding) in so the grass plants have time to establish themselves before the heat of summer hits. Yes, I am a farmer now. Never checked the weather so much in my life.

Next month I'm teaching 4 workshops on how to care for your lawn naturally. This is important as I've really missed the teaching part of my past life and this is a way to keep that alive.

Anyways, the sun's up so I'm off. Miss you, wherever you are.

John

Humus

2010-03-05T06:50:00.000-08:00

Not the eating kind, although just as healthy, humus is literally the place where new life springs up. Humus is what's left when micro-organisms (bacteria) consume organic matter (vegetable waste, leaves, grass clippings etc). We call this finished product compost. Our composters or compost piles are host to this process. This black gold when used at the time of planting or to topdress tired lawns will inject health and vitality into otherwise barren places.

The interesting thing about humus, besides its ability to grow things well, is that it comes from the same etymological root as the world humility. I don't know about you but due to my "hold nothing back, live out loud, risk it all" personality, I have experienced my fair share of mud on my face. In fact, sometimes my whole self has been so mired in mud I've required the help of others just to get moving again. The unfortunate thing about these muddy times, is all I'm thinking about is getting out so I don't take the stuck time to think or notice. It's only when I'm out that I'm able to realize my growth.

The humus analogy is apt (and not my own). New life grows out of mud. So next time you're in it, don't waste your time trying to get unstuck. Let it grow you up.

John

I'm an Athiest?

2010-03-01T07:06:00.000-08:00

Having always been a person of deep faith I was struck across the face this morning as my author of choice suggested otherwise. He claimed that many people of faith actually function as athiests believing that they alone are in control. The result of this unbelief is it leads a person to impose their will on others (control) the only real option if its all up to them. This of course puts enormous stress on all their relationships (who likes to be controlled?) and if left unchecked, will cause breakage. The end result is burnout, depression and despair as the person learns that they can't control others and the world will not bend to their will. As depressing as this all sounds, its much worse living like this. And explains a lot. If you're this person.

In other news, I wouldn't say I "enjoyed" yesterday's gold medal game. Most of the time involved me biting my nails and ignoring my stomach pain. Perhaps the stress came from the fact that I knew I couldn't control the outcome? Hmmm. That being said, I did predict at the onset of the game that Crosby would score the winner so maybe I did control things....

John

Let your life speak

2010-02-24T07:00:00.001-08:00

It's rare when we read in a book descriptions that so closely resemble ourselves. When it occurs it can be un-nerving, off putting, or, if we're open, convicting. Let Your Life Speak has been one of those books for me. It was wisely recommended by a perceptive friend, years back when I was lost in the thick woods of life, career, vocation. The book's subtitle is "Listening for the Voice of Vocation" and its genius is how it resists the temptation to give 7 steps to Vocational Bliss, or How to Discover your True Self in 15 days - but instead asks the tough probing questions that lie at the heart of who we are. In my experience, it is difficult if not impossible to be at peace until we know why we are. This book has helped me know, time and time again.

John

Shortcuts

2010-02-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

Shortcuts like McDonald's may seem like the best decision in the moment but almost always are fraught with disapointment (and diarrhea) afterwards. My own life has often been an exercise in one shortcut after another leading me further away from my intended destination. The times that my short cuts have seemed to "work" were because I had arrived but not at the place I intended. I could write a book (Close Cuts: Random House, 2012) on the shortcuts I have taken in my life and what I learned from them but for today I'll just leave it at acknowledgement along with this quote from The Dalai Lama:

"When we approach probelms with compassion, sincerity and good motivation our solututions will take longer but ultimately, they are better."

This principle should be applied to the hundreds of situations and scenarios both large and small that each of us experience and avoid each day. The point is, the quickest, easiest most pain free options we are all so fond of take longer, are more difficult and usually cause more pain than we can imagine.

Here's to long cuts, life change and healing our world. And here's to Team Canada taking the long cut to gold.... :)

John

Olympic Controversy

2010-02-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

There is no doubt a lot of money goes into the Olympics. For instance, 25 million dollars was spent on the opening ceremony alone. You would have thought another $50,000 could have been spent to "inspire" Bryan Adams to actually sing or even convince Ms. Furtado to not wear that. Critics of these games claim - the money should be given to the poor instead. Although noble in nature, this re-occuring comment is eerily similar to one made by Judas right before he betrayed Jesus Christ. There is a difference between what's righteous and self righteous.

Besides advertising, money has very little to do with the Olympics and certainly is not its point. The point is what it represents and even more, what it means. And after watching our mogul hero Bilodeau win our country's first gold on Canadian soil and then later embrace his family in studio, its meaning is evident. We play these games because at their core exists the elements that make us truly human - passion, drive, determination, commitment, discipline, unity, success, love. And perhaps most importantly, belief in oneself.

Well done Athletes, you have set the bar high.

John

It's our business

2010-02-09T07:05:00.001-08:00

You may have noticed we haven't blogged in awhile. My apologies. Believe it or not, spring is on it's way here so we've been hard at work on our spring programs, marketing campaign, etc. If you don't believe me, about the spring I mean, you'll have to come over and check out our herb garden, and blueberries/strawberries and lilacs and all the other nature we just planted last week. That's right Easterners, we've been planting. Score.

Nature. I work with it. This is my new life focus. For years I worked with people in church settings, now I work with plants in nature settings. Bill Hart laughed out loud when my parents told him "John started his own Organic Lawn Care Business. No seriously Bill, he did." Growing up in Dauphin, Bill had the greenest thumb I had ever seen. Entering his backyard was like being reborn. The way he arranged his plants and knew them by name, it was boring, to be honest. But now, I get it. I see. Nature is a civilization given to us by God to care for. That's a tall order, one that I resented for years as I pushed our old electric mower across our tree happy property. Bill reminded my parents of this "I remember driving by your house and seeing John out there on the lawn fighting the cord and scowling." I remember too. I suppose until you approach nature on your own terms, it'll feel like a sentence.

Last week I was sitting in my minister's office talking to him about the ebbs and flows of my life. He suggested I must miss the ministry. My answer was muddled as I said yes and no and well, hmm, I guess there are parts I miss. The truth is, there are things I miss like trips and events and causes and classes, and community. Especially the community. I miss our dear friends, like you the readers. I don't miss the boxes. Theological and Professional. Still, ministry was good to me and my family and I will cherish those years for the rest of my life.

In some ways, old ministry habits die hard. I still meet with people one on one to discuss things precious to them. The discussian now favors what's underfoot instead of what's inside yet its amazing how often the two come together. I've already officiated the wedding of one of my client's daughters for instance. I still give speeches. I joined the local BNI (Business Networking International) and each Thursday I meet with 40 other business owners to share. Included in the sharing time is a 60 second infomercial where we stand up and promote our business. It's good still being able to use my gifts. Later this Spring I will be facilitating 5 workshops on how to care for your lawn naturally, chemical free, and why it makes sense. That's the neat thing about owning your own business, you can structure it to support your strengths (and subcontract all your weaknesses :)

Yikes, its 7:35am and the house is still asleep. That's not good when kids are supposed to be in school. Better run.

See you sooner next time.

John

Agent of Hope

2010-01-17T13:15:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

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?

2010-01-12T15:40:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-11T09:37:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

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

Seasoned People of Age

2009-12-31T12:51:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow begins a new decade, my third. Makes me feel young actually, whatever helps. A local lady just celebrated her 100th birthday. 10 decades. I can't even fathom how much wisdom a person like that has to share. I once heard an author say that the most valuable properties in the world are cemeteries because they contain acres of untapped potential. Damn that's depressing. His point was we should all live in such a way that we die empty having used up ourselves on others.

One of my favorite things to do that I never seem to do (why do we live like that) is sit and listen to seasoned people of age. Having lived through the Great Depression, The Final Solution, and the unpresedented development of mind blowing technology, these people have literally seen everything. Imagine their perspectives, commentary, stories....Why is it that we don't take the time to listen? Do we honestly believe they have nothing to say or are we so busy trying to construct our own stories we don't care to hear theirs?

A few weeks ago, Angie started her first job outside the home in over a decade. NND, is an award winning company that provides listening care to seasoned people of age (SPOA). A few days ago I, along with the kids, had the privelage of seeing Angie in action. We had accompanied her to give Christmas gifts to one of her SPOA's. This particular woman has a reputation for being particularly difficult (8 health care aids have already been chewed up and spit out by her before Angie came along). Seeing Angie interact with her client was a Masters course in human interaction, one that has not escaped the equally difficult son's attention. Last week, the son came to her and expressed through tears that Angie was a God sent, a literal answer to his prayers. He went on to say that in the 2 weeks Angie had cared and most of all listened to his mother, the transformation was incredible. He concluded by saying the family had been planning to switch his mother to government care (half the price) but after seeing how Angie has performed, she's worth the price.

Imagine the transformation that would take place if we all took time to really listen to a seasoned person of age? I think of my remarkable Roberts cousins Kris, Karl, Jeff, Lia and Lori and how even as young teenagers, they talked weekly with Roland Briggs, an elderly man living out his final years alone in a rest home. Such a small gesture, such a meaningful result.

Tomorrow launches a decade that will see more people become SPOA's then ever before in human history. We're talking 80-100 million people - many who have sacrificed their lives so we could enjoy ours. Who is your Roland Briggs? Lets find him/her together and keep human potential above ground. Die empty. Live full.

Happy New Year everyone!

John

P.S. I chose The Brothers Karamazov, JFK and the Unspeakable and God: A Biography for my Christmas books. Also, thanks for the Virgin Birth dialogue. Very interesting.

Christmas Books

2009-12-26T11:14:00.000-08:00

My most excellent brother in law got me a $50 Amazon gift certificate for Christmas. Since then I've whittled away hours trying to decide which 3-4 books I'm going to order. The issue isn't that I don't like books it's I love them a bit too much so choosing just 3 is torture.

Here's my constantly evolving short list:

1. The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Once called the greatest novel ever written (Freud) this philosophical classic explores themes of God, Free Will, Morality, Doubt, Faith all set against a backdrop of murder. This one is here to stay.

2. When the Game was Ours - Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. One of the greatest rivalries sports has ever known- in their own words. This magical book has been flying off the shelves. (giggle)

3. God: A Biography. Jack Miles. This important 1996 book exploring the nature of God won the Pulitzer prize for Non Fiction.

4. The First Paul. John Dominic Crossan/Marcus Borg. Crossan and Borg team up once again to rediscover what we think we already know. They did this previous in The Last Week and The First Christmas, two other excellent books. The subtitle of this book is "Rediscovering the Radical Visionary behind Christianity's Conservative Icon." How could I not?

5. JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters. James W. Douglass. I've always been interested in the truth behind the JFK assasination and this new book attempts to answer important questions as well as shed new light on these forgotten events.

These total $74 which means at least one must go. Oh the pain.

In the meantime I loved reading the free Bootstrappers Bible by my business Jesus Seth Godin. I am also just finishing Vonnegut's SlaughterHouse Five and am starting New York by Edward Rutherford, a handsome Christmas gift from my kids. I once read that if a person only read 1 book a week they would only read 3000 books in their lifetime. I was depressed for a week after. So much too read, but who has the time? I'm guessing this list will take me far too long, definitely longer then 1 a week.

John

Virgin Birth

2009-12-21T23:30:00.001-08:00

In honor of Christmas I thought I'd pop the questions.....

1. Do you believe Jesus was born of a virgin? Why or Why not?

2. How has this belief changed the way you live?

John

my life.

2009-12-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

i am exsitid for christmas! we have lots of presents. its going to be fun. we didint have a angel for our christmas tree but i made one at school.our christmas tree is about the si ze of my dad my dad is probly 6 feet hes relly tall for me i am only like 3 and a half.by the way i have a brother and sister there names are maddie and ethan my name is alexa .i am 7 my last name is close. each year we get a new decoration this year i got a bird. last year i got a snowman in a snowflake.last year my sister got a girl in a stocking this year my sister got poler bear.i dont no what my brother got last year becouse it broke this year got a ball with mooses on it.each new year we get a new dickens house this year we got a charch.i have a dog named hugo and a cat named clover.

Alexa

Christmas

2009-12-20T12:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas is awsome! i cant wait to open all the presents. it will be so exciting! it might even snow on Christmas! my mom is at work she left at 9:am she will be back at 2:pm. Then we will play yahtzee. My dad or my little sister will probably win.

Ethan

GUEST WRITER

2009-12-20T09:04:00.000-08:00

6 more days until christmas! I am so exited! We are going to have so much fun. My dad played hockey last night. He didn't score a goal but we thought he did.It was suprising when he told us he didn't. My grandma and grandpa came but had to leave early.It was very cold at the rink and we forgot are blanket in the car. Even when my mom wanted to buy coffee from a machine there was no cup so it all poured out into the vent. But otherwise we had really fun!actually we thought that was pretty funny! the game was interesting there was a lot of fighting and there was this one guy on the other team that was yelling at everybody for no reason so he was out for the whole game. But in the end my dad's team ended up winning there team is called the believers. It was funny because last game they were playing talons verse believers so it sounded sort of funny. Last game which was in nanaimo the rink wasn't as good because this rink had CANDY we bought lots of candy and shared it with everyone. It was awesome. I like going to hockey games. today my mom is at work at her nurses next door that is cool to. Goodbye for now!

Maddie

Winter Lawn Care

2009-12-14T09:26:00.000-08:00

Like your lawn? Don't park on it this winter. Soil compaction is the number one result and weeds are the number one result of soil compaction which means next Spring you'll be unimpressed when your lawn has uninvited guests. Btw - when the weeds do spring up, please don't spray roundup or any other herbicide on it. Besides polluting the underground waterways and endangering the livelihood of your family it actually destroys the micro-organisms and worms in your soil, without whom nothing would grow. Once these unpaid farmers are gone, your infertile soil will be an even larger breeding ground for weeds creating a vicious chemical cycle all the folks at roundup are banking on. I say make your soil rich instead. Unless of course you have shares in Roundup.

Ecoguy

The Pinch

2009-12-13T19:52:00.000-08:00

The inevitability is now here. The first winter of the first year of our first seasonal business. The sensitive experts remind us that half of all small businesses don't make it to year 3, and over 80% don't make it to year 5. In fact, only 2% of small businesses ever go the distance which means the day we went public we made a choice to probably fail or be one of the blessed 2%. Ours is a pressure packed choice and right now we're definitely feeling the pinch. We've decided to focus our present efforts on networking, education and getting things ready for the crazy Spring but there's still days when we wouldn't mind work now. Bottom line, we trust our plan and are confident in it's execution. We just have to be patient and eat lots of peanut butter.

We had the pleasure of watching our kids perform in their school's winter concert. There was nothing Christmassy about it but it was cute and I was a proud parent none the less. I understand the importance of not using Christmas as a time to Christianize the world but Christmas is Christmas and should either stay as it is or be replaced by something else entirely. Perhaps the replacement has already begun and will take decades longer to reach completion but I have a feeling the completion won't ever occur unless businesses can find a new way to make money. It's interesting how money determines how relevant something is.

As far as I, the writer of this blog goes, I've been loving my Oilers play as of late, even loving my own play as of late scoring on a breakaway last night in front of my cheering wife and kids. Believe me, that doesn't happen every night. Or ever come to think of it. Besides hockey, I'm reading a lot these days, most on Soil Chemistry(I know, yawn but I actually find it fascinating) and the Origin of the Species (Darwin is incredibly misunderstood, its shocking actually) and I'm loving the 5th season of Lost, 7th season of Curb Your Enthusiasm and all our traditional Christmas shows. On top of all this, I'm loving the connections I've been making in my new business and church community.

Life in the pinch can still be good, especially when you're confident of what's coming next.

John

hahaha.

2009-12-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

Nail gun. | Funniest Video of the Day

cutting down our tree.

2009-12-06T19:14:00.000-08:00

Today we went to mount sicker to cut down are Christmas tree. Mount sicker isn't the best place to cut down trees so it was hard to find one. most of them were Douglas fir and we were cold. we were just about to freeze [especially Alexa who just worn a dress] and finally we found one it was not like trees you buy at tree farms all perfect but it was still nice. we brought Hugo our dog with us and he was squished at the back once the tree was put in. but Hugo never complains unless mom and dad are gone. the tree is up to my dads forehead and is a pine tree. we decorated it and then watched small one which is pretty good and Pluto's Christmas and the best one mickeys Christmas carol we had lots of yummy snacks to. Hugo has been sleeping ever since we got home. and clover is exploring the tree. I am happy that we didn't go to a tree farm it is more fun finding your own. It was a really good day.

Maddie

Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

Today we will embark yet again on our annual tradition of cutting down our Christmas tree. People look at us strange when we utter such things but we've never been the practical type. Yes people, we're aware that real trees are messier but needles all over the living room and tracked up the stairs are beautiful because each one reminds us to enjoy this season of good tidings and joy. And that's all I'm gonna say about that (Insert Forrest Gump voice)

We're relatively new to the Island so we don't exactly know where to go to cut down said tree. In Calgary we always took the Hwy 20 express, past the Zorns house and on until we passed others coming from the opposite direction with smiles and trees strapped to their Toyota. I did some research last night and there are Christmas tree farms that let you cut down your own tree but they're ridiculously expensive even with promises of hot chocolate. So....I think we're just gonna wing it. One thing we do have a lot around here is mountain roads so I figure if we take our trusted 4x4 up one of these we'll eventually land upon our Charlie Brown and all will be well yet again.

Ethan is of age which means he'll get a chance to use our shockingly sharp saw. I haven't told him yet because we still have a church service to get through and his thoughts should be heavenward and not on cutting..stuff. Speaking of firsts, this will also be the first year we've had a truck to transport the thing. In past years we've used, believe it or not, our car - which of course meant poking branches on the kids and pine needles in the seats for months. All was forgiven though because Bing Crosby and Company would ring out and Mom's home-made hot chocolate warmed even the most pine filled heart.

Arriving home, Angie begins making up the endless supply of snacks that will frame the rest of the evening while I put the tree in its proper place and the kids begin to dress it with home-made decorations and glee. After the tree glows we all settle down for our traditional Christmas shows in this order - Small One, Pluto's Christmas Tree and my favorite Mickey's Christmas Carol. Once the kids are in bed we pull out the real snacks (shh)and drinks (shh shh) and party it up with our favorite Griswald family. "Seriously Clark?" aha ha.

And there you have it, our Christmas tree day. One of the most look forwarded to all year.

John

Sample ladies

2009-12-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

Why do we feel the need to offer hope to the sample ladies at Costco? Is it because their outfits are so pretty and their hairnets so sexy? Or are we actually planning to purchase the free food we just scarfed down not a minute earlier. Maybe we would have considered purchasing the spinach mozarella noodle thing but now that we've just had one, we're kinda good. Still, we feel like a giant dummy if we stuff our face and then just walk away, which is why we engage in the following polite behavior....

1. Wave and point. We wave and point and say things like "wow, these are delicious" followed by a brilliant question concerning the name of the product or its price even though both are clearly displayed. All this is done of course while kinda walking away.

2. Munch and Nod. We do both while looking around at everyone as if to say "you really should buy some of these" (even though we clearly aren't going to)

3. Walk and mutter. After finishing our sample we exit the danger zone while saying just loud enough for the host to hear"we should pick up a couple packs of those."

4. Lie and release. We actually ask for a box of the product then turn down the next aisle and release it into the freezer and/or shelf space.

5. Second swoop. This last thing isn't actually all that polite. In this case we love the product but are too cheap to buy it so we actually return to the host asking for a second sample "for my brother." (who lives in South Carolina, shhh)

As much polite fun as the above is, I say lets throw caution to the wind this holiday season and reward these beautiful hosts with a purchase. If you're brave you can even say something like "To be honest, I'm usually a freeloading pig when it comes to these things but what the heck, its Christmas, I'll take 2."

John

United Church Manners

2009-11-29T13:14:00.000-08:00

I helped teach Sunday School at our new church today where they do things a little differently than what I'm used to. It was grades 1-3, and everything was so sweet and soft and organized so that the children knew where to sit, when to light the candle or get a certain book, how to take turns in circle prayer, who is serving snack and what to do at journal time. No Veggie Tales or slick, sunglasses wearing Jesuses here. A bit of a time warp, but pretty cute.

Of course kids are kids and there was one who kept flicking over the plastic canvas wise men and saying blah, blah, blah and rolling on his back (wasn't one of mine, so phew). Another boy kept commenting on how nice church smells, why does it smell so good, I love the smell of this place and when the teacher lit the candle "mmmm, that smells great!" Ethan argued with him, saying matches smell horrible and the boy said, dude, what are you talking about? Matches smell awesome.

The teachers must be taught not to get involved or react to interruptions, because through it all she kept on going in her nice, soft voice and when she said "this is the Christ baby with his arms outstretched for a hug", my kids burst out laughing (telling them that a plastic canvas Jesus wants a hug will always end badly...). She ignored it and pulled out a mat to mark the advent and Ethan interrupted (yes, again) and asked if it was 100% polyester. She ignored this as well, so we may never know, but I had a good talk with the kids afterwards about how this class is a little more formal than our old class and what that means manners-wise. I also asked them, as we've asked before, how they like class and they both said they love it, which surprises me a bit. It's definately slower paced, no media, no games, lots of old fashioned Bible stories. I had kind of just assumed it wouldn't be their thing.

So, we're learning the ways of the United Church, the standing and sitting and responding and candle lighting; and so are the kids. I think I really get this idea of being in touch with the older traditions- ways of worship that were followed many generations ago, and when it's paired with an open and modern world view it's a refreshing balance. Now if we can only get those manners in check, we'll be set.

Angie

Guest Blogger

2009-11-23T15:45:00.000-08:00

Hi! i am ethan john is my dad. he has been doing great on his business. but he is mostly doing aerating the last couple months. his uniform is nice too! he says when he is done his business he will pass his job on to me.

State of Emergency

2009-11-22T20:35:00.000-08:00

Seems our little town of Duncan made national news this week after it was reported we were in a state of local emergency. With all the rain we've had this month the rivers have struggled to drain into the ocean (especially at high tide) resulting in massive flooding. Over 300 families were forced to evacuate after water entered their homes without knocking and put up its feet. Old men raged against the irresponsible municipality for not somehow preventing this while others wept over floating photos and the reality of the words - no flood insurance.

Meanwhile, the rest of Duncan continued on as usual, some having no idea their home town was in a state of emergency until turning on the news that evening or breaking in front of the newly formed blockade. That was us. Sitting in our living room with scenes of flooding waters and floating homes on the TV and the dawning realization"hey, we live in that town." One of the flooded images showed the school across the street from our brother Jordan's apartment so we rang him up to let him know the chances of him surviving the night were likely lower then normal. Turns out he wasn't even aware of the flood, after all its "way across the street", but just to be safe he hung out with us for the evening. The good news is, the waters have begun to subside and even if they return they'll have sand bags and determined citizens to contend with. Still, its weird to think we were living in a state of emergency and didn't even know it. It makes me think this is probably the way life was for the first 15,000 years that humans walked the earth. Emergency loomed everywhere but nobody knew it until tragedy took over the living room. In this way, I guess I'm thankful for media. Some things are worth knowing.

John

P.S. Happy Birthday Dad. Party like its 1936.

Hiccups are gone....for now.

2009-11-19T16:30:00.000-08:00

Home

My Man Ethan

2009-11-18T21:20:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I started my own business was I knew it would be great training ground for the kiddoes, Ethan especially. Ethan has always enjoyed grunt work. When he was 4 years old I took him out with the men to cut 3-4 cords of firewood and he worked all day long, so long in fact the men began to grunt words of affirmation. Ethan would just smile and swing the ax harder, which is our secret. *index finger on pursed lips* Years later he's still that same hard worker. Just today I picked him up from school and asked if he wanted to "come work with dad to finish off a job." It was pouring, it always is these days, and so I kinda expected him to decline in favor of warmth and Wii. He accepted though only demanding a snack and his usual pay ($5/hr for light gardening duties, $10 for man work). One hour later we arrived home soaked and weary after filling the back of the truck with drain rock. Ethan showered up then we watched the Oilers beat the best team in the West. See! Own your own business and everybody wins.

John

P.S. Our new Lush website is hiccuping right now. I've tried to sneak up on it and scream as well as dumping water on it but they haven't gone away. Hopefully Angie (webmaster) can do her magic.

disoriented

2009-11-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

I had been working on our website until my eyes started to shrivel up and my brain turned into a giant (because my brain is giant) cotton ball. I really, really would like some feed back- at this point I'm only seeing a series of symbols, which some call letters of the alphabet, and lines and some strange images.
Please help. Please. Any advice will do.
Oh- just click on the pretty little symbol at the top of this page.

Angie

slouchy mc sloucherston

2009-11-16T10:54:00.000-08:00

Should I feel bad that my chiropractor told me I have a sway back, am a toe walker and will likely develop a hunch in my shoulders if I don't do more intensive yoga? He also said things like I don't like to use the word lazy..., and sitting too much on the couch can cause this..., and (with a disappointed look) you really need to work on your core strength.

He was a nice guy, though, and very thorough and now has me terrified into purchasing yoga books and signing up for classes at the gym. In the end, I will thank him I'm sure. Like when I'm 50 and my back is straight as an arrow, my head sitting squarely on my shoulders. I'll walk around pointing it out to everyone because I would hate for all my hard work to go unnoticed. What? Were you looking at my level neck? No, that's just from years of yoga. That's all. *sniff*

By the way, I don't sit on the couch a lot.

Angie

Tongue tingling

2009-11-16T10:42:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back I noticed a tingle in my tongue's tip. I ignored it thinking I had probably singed some taste buds or something. The tingle of my taste buds at the tip of my tongue continued so one night I googled "tingling tongue tip" and after weeding through some nudey sites I found what I was looking for. It seems the condition can arise if the tongue bearer is lacking Vitamin B12. Really? Re a a a llllly. Well, it seemed Vitamin B12 was good for other things too so I bought a bottle and started taking them... and wouldn't you know it the tingling has stopped. So... if you detect a tingle.....

John

I'm a starter

2009-11-15T19:41:00.000-08:00

I'm a starter. By nature. One time I started a "100 push ups 5 days a week then re-evaluate progress after six months" program. Two weeks later I started a new program that didn't involve push ups. I once started reading Les Miserables. Surprisingly I made it half way through before starting Pillars of the Earth. A couple years back I started putting a thin layer of coffee grounds on the top of my coffee as a delicacy. Angie said I was gross and I said you mean the coffee is gross and she said no you are gross. She ended up being right on both accounts and my coffee is once again creamy smooth. Delicacy free. A few months back I started setting my alarm at 6:15am every morning so I could "center myself" and such. It turns out 6:15am is a rather chilly time to get up not to mention dark time to get up so I now center myself here and there....

I started a book club with my family recently. Me, Ang, Jordan (her brother) and Clair (their mother). We all picked a classic. I read the first one and that's it. Book club disbanded. I was to blame. Good news is we started it up again and I'm half way through Slaughterhouse Five. I plan to finish. I always plan to finish. I just need to get started. I started this blog post one time called "I'm a starter" and it was about how I tend to start things but never fin

Little Grandpa

2009-11-11T09:05:00.000-08:00

I never knew my grandfather or great grandfather on my dad's side. They both passed years before I was born. This was one of my great disappointments growing up. A few months back my dad spent several weeks sending us stories of his youth. 90% of the stories I had never heard before and so I would read them eagerly with relish (not the condiment). Many of the stories he shared involved "little Grandpa", his grandfather, my great grandfather. Although small in stature (he was only 5 foot 3 and could stand underneath my dad's extended arm) he was a man of great character. In honor of Remembrance Day and my Great Grandpa, I'd like to share a few stories of his experiences in the war.

Little Grandpa was involved in both World Wars and was a Medic in the Second. It was his job to run out on the field where the fighting was the fiercest and tend to the injured or fallen. On one such occasion he heard a soldier cry out from a small trench. Picking up his supplies he ran towards the hole, jumped in and starting tending to the soldier's injured leg. After a few moments he looked up to find the end of a enemy soldier's revolver pointed at his head. Wrong hole. Without saying a word, my grandpa looked back down, finished fixing the leg and was on his way.

On another occasion, after a particularly difficult day, the mood in the camp was quite bleak. My Grandpa was known as a strong Christian by the other soldiers, one who would never touch alcohol which is why my Grandpa thought it would be humorous to stumble into camp with an empty wine bottle in hand pretending he was drunk. Apparently his performance was so realistic that his Superior, who has witnessed the entire thing called my Grandpa out for his irresponsible behavior. My Grandpa was obviously mortified and tried to explain which of course only made his already laughing troop laugh harder. Apparently his Superior had been planning to ask my Grandpa to be the accompanying medic on an important assignment but due to his irresponsible behavior he could no longer be trusted with the mission. Once again my Grandpa tried explaining to no avail which of course only made the troop laugh even harder. Three men went out on an important mission that day including a less qualified medic. They were never heard from again....

On another occasion my Grandpa had an artillery shell roll up to him landing right at his feet. It never went off. I'm sure there are thousands more stories like this of brave Grandpa's around the world. Tell yours today. Lest we forget.

John

Lest we forget

2009-11-09T20:50:00.000-08:00

Watching the opening minutes of this movie is the closest I ever want to get to war. Tom Hanks had this to say about filming these scenes, "There were people falling and explosions going off around you...There's terror in our eyes in some of those scenes, and rightly so, because we were genuinely scared...and we all knew it was fake." Many veterans have said these opening scenes are the most vivid and realistic ever put to film. So vivid in fact, many could not watch.

Since 2001 I've chosen to watch this movie every year in and around November 11. I have always felt a responsibility to remember and since I'm a visual guy, this is how I do it. As I type this I remember once again. The impact just as strong as the previous year. That being said, I realize this is probably one of the more shallow ways to remember the ultimate sacrifice of these uncommonly brave men. Watch a war movie, feel bad, then at week end start getting excited for Christmas. Unfortunately, this has been my pattern.

This past week our church did a beautiful job of remembering. There was no slick power-point, stirring video clips or controversial words about the the fallacy of war. Nope, just 23 surviving soldiers clad in their garments of honor walking in, sitting down, reading scripture and later the names of the fallen who had once made this church home. Later on, our eloquent minister shared the need for us to follow the soldier's example by seeking peace in our daily lives. And that's when it hit me. Remembering, although important should never be an end in itself. It should only function to spur us onto the action of seeking peace.

So, I'm gonna give it a try because its sure easy to feel bad (I've been reading through the Holocaust Chronicle as well) and even easier to be against war but seeking peace requires that I get up from my all too lazy self and do something when the movie ends. I've made a little list.

- Shed my ego

- Resist the urge to be right

- Control my anger

- Reserve impatience for injustice only

- Enjoy the moment

- Notice beauty

- Be fully present

- Replace fear with love

- Pray for those I can't stand

And so on.

Lest we forget why we remember.

John

Alexa Remembers

2009-11-08T12:35:00.000-08:00

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

For the past several days Alexa has been standing on chairs throughout the house reciting John McCrae's famous poem by heart. She will be reciting the poem with her class at their Remembrance Day presentation on Tuesday. To say she's taking it seriously is an understatement.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

I've heard this poem countless times and most of us can probably recite the first two lines by heart, yet, its message no longer penetrates as it once did. Each year my only contribution to "remembering" is watching Saving Private Ryan, which I'll do again I'm sure. I wonder if that's enough? I also wonder how the soldiers would like to be remembered.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

I have never heard this verse before. Heartbreaking stuff. One day the soldiers were common folk like you and me, the next they were fighting a war they didn't start for a cause they would never fully understand. And now most of them lie In Flanders fields while the rest still live with its memory.

A recent poll has shown that today's youth are vastly ignorant when it comes to the events of this century's World Wars. Many believe Adolf Hitler was a German soccer coach for instance.There's no doubt war was and is a horrible reality of human civilization. Perhaps this is why most, including me, often choose to forget. Remembering hurts. Besides, it wasn't our war, right?

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

This last verse doesn't allow us to forget. "If ye break faith with us who die we shall not sleep though poppies grow..." I asked Alexa what she thought it meant and she said "oh, it means we must stand with the soldiers."

One way we can stand with them is to tell their stories. I have a few of my own to tell and plan to do that on Wednesday as a tribute to freedom. Please share your own stories with me on that day so together we can never forget.

Thanks!

John

Monarchs

2009-11-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

I used to be a blogger. Every day and twice on Wednesdays. I also used to have something to say. The past year was a curious sandwich. Europe and Launching my own business with a lot of EI in between. It was a year where Angie and I decided to leave church work in favor of a question mark. Thankfully the question mark turned into a period and is continuing its transformation into an exclamation. We expect to be Monarchs soon.

3 nights ago I stayed up past midnight to read our Europe blog from start to finish. I was immediately thankful that Angie and I had taken the time to jot down our experiences as a year later I was able to appreciate their richness and beauty once again. When I had finished I was challenged to pick up the pen and start writing again as I was hit with the realization that a year from now I will wish I had written. The only condition was Angie would have to pick up and write too.

We've called this blog Minding our own Business because we are. It often feels like we entered some kind of reverse witness protection program as everything in our lives has changed except our names. New Province, New City, New Vehicle, New House, New Church, New School, New Career, New Business to name a few. Minding our own Business takes most of our attention these days as we've set our sights high even uttering the word franchise. It's been a great 5 months planning, plotting, dreaming and doing. Our business has been received well by the community and there are many reasons to expect that will continue to be the case.

We're looking forward to December 3, when the Sundance Film favorite Fuel comes to town. Lush Eco Lawns is an official sponsor as, together, we promote our joint message of sustainability. In the meantime, we are finishing our fall treatments, putting the final touches on our website and gearing up for our first winter. We have, what we feel is a great winter biz idea but time will tell, just as we will, next post.

Thank for reading. We plan to update regularly. In other news, we haven't gotten the flu shot...

John and Ang