Of mountains and men . . .

Gonna be a short one . . . on my way out the door. If you read this on a day when you haven't been outside to see a sunrise / sunset, or the ocean, or a river, or the glory of the prairie sky, or the mountains, or whatever natural wonder exists near you . . . .

than stop what you are doing

and do it.



You'll thank me later.

Today in the World . . . .

So, not really that up to date on world events. Just seemed like a clever little blurb of a title.

Currently in the season of lent, or lenten season, or whatever would be the proper way ot phrase that. I didn't have the advantage (or disadvantage, if you prefer) of growing up in a form of Christianity that celebrated lent, so forgive my inability to exercise proper grammar when describing it . . . have given up (or tried to give up) all internet but my gmail.

Then I started a blog.

See, the choices for me came down to meat (which I'm quasi serious about), video games (which I tried once before and ended up losing money), or the internet . . . since most food related luxuries have been given up for economical reasons (stuff like chocolate, sugars, etc).

Rather than just do this for a few weeks before easter though, I think I might take something and give it up for good. And what better place than smack dab in the middle of a recession to give up Frivolous Spending.

I hate what I spend money on, especially when so many live with far less . . . and somehow, I feel entitled to a . . . . to an afternoon watching The Watchmen? Another movie rental I'll half enjoy? A video game I'll play through once and never think about again?

If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results, than I'm crazy. Here's why - and I say this not out of a need for confession or honesty. Well, not SOLELY out of that; rather, it's because i don't think I'm the only one. I do this to try to find purpose.

I'll admit it. I've bought the lie. I think stuff can make me happy, bring me joy. Congratulations Madison Ave. You got me. I swallowed it hook, line and sinker while pretending I was immune to it. No more.

No more spending money on that which will rot away.
No more spending on "entertainment"
No more taking the money that's been entrusted to me by God for His Kingdom, and giving it over to Babylon.

Old habits die hard, and I don't expect this to be easy.

I do expect it to be worth it :)

And so it begins . . . .

Hey all. I'll try not to waste your time if you keep reading this thing. Currently feasting on some books about the desert fathers, some cool cats from back in the day who had had enough with the blatant materialism and excess of the later Roman Empire, and retreated to the wasteland of Egypt to live simply. Me? The wastefulness of beauty in Alberta is aight for now . . . and living simply isn't too hard when your next paycheck is already designated a list of expenses. But life's good - don't get me wrong.

Since I don't know how not to think about big things, let's dive right into what's on my mind right now . . . .

1) I think Shane Claiborne and others are geniuses for advocating the "Third Way" of Jesus . . . it's more than black and white people . . .
2) I just ate a tuna sandwich, which was brilliant . . .
#) I just hit the "3" key with my finger on shift right there . . . . which brings me to
4) I have fat fingers
5) Obama is not Jesus and isn't going to save anyone
6) Nor should he

Why in the world are we so dependant on ONE man to fix our problems. And you best BELIEVE that there is a large segment of Canada who is giddy with delight that Obama is in the White House. For all intents and purposes, he'll be a wonderful president, and seems sincere enough to do some measure of good. But a messiah he is not.

For that matter . . . . is a free market capitalistic system worth saving?