What I got in the mail

I'm not usually one to write about politics as I don't follow elections as closely as others do. I do follow them and try to learn the different platforms and research a bit about the candidates who run in my riding. So when I receive mailings about platform policies and info pamphlets, I try to spend some time to read them.

The Conservative candidate sent a pretty slick looking info card and it starts promising with short, informative blurbs about himself. Although there are no platform type of promises on it, the card looks professional and the presentation gets high marks. The drawback is that he is trying way too hard to look cool in his pictures. It doesn't really work because a) he obviously has makeup on (and way too much at that) and b) his poses are too contrived (nobody stands like that). But, I must admit, these are not the most important things when you go vote for a person. I'm sure he looks and acts fine in real life.

On the same day, we received a general Liberal pamphlet that promotes Stephane Dion's Green Shift. It starts off with the following:

Dear Friends,
Today our planet faces the most serious environmental crisis in recorded human history. The global scientific community is agreed that climate change is caused by human activity and we much act now.

I had to do a double take on the last sentence - "we much act now." After chuckling and then laughing out loud, I wondered how this pamphlet got past the many proofreading editors in the Liberal campaign (well, I hope they have proofreaders for this kind of stuff). For, what I think, is a nationally distributed flyer, you would think that someone would have taken the time to fine-comb through the wordy text to make sure there were no mistakes (I can hear the jabs now, "He writes similar to how he speaks").

This is unfortunate and probably won't help Dion gain any more votes for the Liberal cause. Furthermore, the rest of the flyer is wordy, not attractive (printed in B&W and hardly any white space), and has no concrete explanation on how the Green Shift carbon tax works. They give two examples of how families can receive tax benefits from the carban tax, but does not give the exact calculation on how it arrives on those numbers. If you want, you have to go to their website for more information... which I did.

And to tell you the truth, it is quite confusing - on one hand you caculate what your tax benefit is for your family with a calculator provided ($650/year for our household), but it still does not give you the mathematics or the logic on how it arrived at the end number. When I clicked to get more info, it showed how the Green Shift carbon tax adds cost to a family. So what is it? A "benefit" or a cost? The extra info doesn't even talk about a "benefit" at all!

I don't think this Green Shift plan is going to go anywhere. If Dion is staking the whole election on this, we will see the Liberals go from Official Opposition to be the official laughing stalk of Election Canada 2008.

Tim Keller Speaks at Google Campus

As I'm writing this, I'm listening to Dr. Tim Keller speak at the Google campus in Mountain View, California. I write this because I'm glad that quality people, like Keller, are speaking to the mover and shakers of this world. With Google taking over many small start up companies and releasing their own web browser, Chrome, Google is threatening Microsoft.

Check it out at The Resurgence at http://theresurgence.com

Best Meal So Far

When we went to Vancouver to visit a couple of our best friends, they planned a surprise evening for us. They did a very good job in not letting on what the night was about. After taking us around Granville Island, they drove us to an apartment/condo. Deb and I had no idea what was going on. It turns out that they have a friend who is a professional French gourmet food chef!!! He cooked for us that night and it was the best meal in my life so far...

Citrus "cooked" scallop appetizers. I usually don't like scallops, but this was delectable and I could not taste the fishyness that accompanies seafood. (sorry for the loss of focus)

It was hard to choose my favourite dish of the night, but I think this would be my choice as favourite. The combination of fresh mozzarella cheese, asparagus and truffle was fabulous!

This was a close second - butternut squash soup. I have a sudden craving for this as I write this.

My wife's favourite! This is duck's feet spring roll with duck meat and skin on different kinds of mushrooms. Delicious!

To cleanse our palate, we had raspberry in champagne in a shooter lined with custom made/flavoured suger.


Rare charbroiled grilled lamb in parsnip and vegetables.
White chocolate panna cotta - amazing, considering we had a choice of hot or cold dessert. He gave us both!


2nd dessert - souffle with sugared champagne grapes

After dessert appetizer! We were so full after the previous dessert, but the ultra blue cheese was extremely tasteful!

Living Like We Live Forever

Intellectually we all know that we will die, but we do not really know it in the sense that the knowledge becomes a part of us. We do not really know it in the sense of living as though it were true. On the contrary, we tend to live as though our lives would go on forever."

Frederick Buechner

For some reason, society has a fascination with longevity and staying young. It baffles me at times because on one hand, I don't want to be here. I desire to be in heaven where things will be infinately better - but I know I'm called to be here; however short that may be.

But Buechner is right, we, as the human race, tend to live as though we live forever. I don't think we are blatant about it (i.e. we make statements like, "I live forever"), but we make life choices that assume that all that matters is in this world and that there is no life after that we invest in.

I recently came back from a visit that took me to various urban cities and was amazed at what people spend their money in. I find that I visit these places, need to prepare myself for the extravagance that hits me. Cars that cost more than my house; lavish eating; stores that sell clothes for hundreds of dollars... it makes me think I need these things myself. Whether it is just sinful coveting or thinking that I deserve it, I struggle in my mind with being materialistically content.

Stewardship

While we are traveling to conference with work, we don't always get a chance to check into a local church due to transportation and schedule. However, Deb and I like to listen to sermons online. Mark Driscoll has been one of our favorites of late and this Sunday we got to hear his Stewardship sermon as part of the 13 part Doctrine series at Mars Hill Church in Seattle.

I want to post this link because Stewardship is one of the least preached upon topic and one of the more difficult truths of Christianity Christians in North America don't pay enough attention to. It bothers Christians. I agree with Driscoll that it bothers Christians because we don't fully believe in what Jesus teaches about money. We still buy in that the more money we have, the better off we are.

Check it out...

http://www.marshillchurch.org/sermonseries/doctrine/week_12.aspx

Craig vs. Cooke

Last month, Dr. William Lane Craig participated in a couple of debates in New Zealand against atheist Dr. Bill Cooke.

Check out this informative debate at Craig's website. It is a bit long, but shows great reasons for believing in God and the atheist's response to it.

http://www.rfmedia.org/RF_audio_video/Other_clips/New-Zealand-08/Is-God-a-Delusion-Craig-v-Cooke.php

Profile of the Lukewarm: On Charity

I recently finished a book I picked up on a whim from the local Christian book store, "Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God" by Francis Chan. Perhaps the attraction to it was the author's name - Chan. I haven't run into a Chinese author of N.American origin before.

I must say I was skeptical at first, but the book quickly won me over as Chan writes in a very straightforward way. His chapter on Profile of the Lukewarm is worth the price of the book on its own. It is written not to offend, but to spark a soul searching response in relation to Western Christianity (tradition/popular belief) versus what the Bible actually teaches. Here is one:

"LUKEWARM PEOPLE give money to charity and to the church... as long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right?" Chan, 67.

This really hit home to me because the concept of giving and giving to God and the poor has been on my heart for some time. I was first convicted on my personal giving when I read C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity where he writes in his chapter, Social Morality,

"I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small... For many of us the great obstacle to charity lies not in our luxurious living or desire for more money, but in our fear - fear of insecurity. This must often be recognised as a temptation. Sometimes our pride also hinders our charity; we are tempted to spend more than we ought on the showy forms of generosity (tipping, hospitality) and less than we ought on those who really need our help."

Am I giving to the point where it pinches and hampers my "daily" wants? No, I don't think so. I need to. In addition, I don't think Lewis is saying that we should give to the point where there is no security, but that the fear of insecurity prevents us from giving more.

After the quote in Crazy Love, Chan lists two appropriate verses 1 Chronicles 21:24 and Luke 21:1-4. I believe giving should cost us something and, more importantly, should be of right reason and intent. It should be part of worship and Christian living which, in turn, includes surrender and sacrifice.

How does this contrast Western Christianity? Simple - an overwhelming majority don't give or only give within their means. I could quote some findings, but I think all you have to do is attend a local church and see.