photo by Warren Thiessen Copyright 2004

C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity"

It's been a long time since a book other than the Bible has got me good and excited. I started reading this book just before camp, but I forgot about until today. I'm feeling quite below the weather, so there's little else to do right now except read. I would like to convince you to read this book. It is good. C.S. Lewis was a genious. His reasoning is unusual, and exciting. Here's what he says to people who say that a perfect God could not have created a people capable of sinning, and therefore a perfect God cannot exist:
"Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong; I can not. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made eveil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, coluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free."
Another section explaining why history is riddled with pain and brokeness: "The reason why it can never succeed is this. God made us; invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."

This hit me pretty hard. As a Christian I should know this. I know that Jesus is the Bread, the Life, etc., and yet I am still forever trying to feed the engine with the wrong fuel. It's not that I intentionally seek fulfillment in other places, but the times when I don't fuel myself with God, I find myself drawn more towards the things that just won't cut it: music, solitude, sports, the search for Miss Right, all things that in and of themselves are great, but useless in trying to run an engine that is designed to run on God.

Big News of the Day

Howdy! So maybe I told some of you about the job I applied for at Something Digital...well, I got the job! Yee ha! However, I gave my notice at the sports shop the other day, and my boss wouldn't let me quit :( Actually, he offered me a nice little promotion...manager! So, I'm not quite sure what they were thinking making a 22 year old kid the manager, but I guess they didn't have a lot to lose.
On another note, I am sooo looking forward to this weekend. About 20 guys from our church our renting a bunch of cabins at Moose Lake (about 6 km from Lake of The Woods). It's supposed to be a fishing trip, but I have neither the equipment, the knowledge, or the patience to fish. So I'm gonna do a little hiking, and take a ton of pictures. My goal for the weekend is to come home with at least one awesome shot of a moose, and maybe a nice lake picture or two. Should be some good action shots of a little cabin rowdiness too! Good times. Well, I gotta head to work...hey, here's a verse for the day: John 15:12&13 "This is my command: Love one another the way I love you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends."
Talk to you later...

Lyric Of The Day

Hey! It's back by popular demand! Apparently some people actually read my blog, so that was motivation enough for me to give it a second chance. So, to start it off again nice and easy, here's a new LOTD:
In This Diary by The Ataris: "Here in this diary I write you visions of my summer / It was the best I ever had / There were choruses and sing-alongs / and that unspoken feeling of knowing that right now is all that matters / All the nights we stayed up talking listening to 80's songs / and quoting lines from all those movies that we love / It still brings a smile to my face :) I guess when it comes down to it... [Chorus] Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up / These are the best days of our lives / The only thing that matters is just following your heart / and eventually you'll finally get it right"
I love these summer-time-feeling-good kinda songs. This year I've had them playing over and over, just to remind myself that yes, despite the lousy weather, it IS summer. Now with my friends moving off and heading back to school, and the leaves on my neighbors tree turning yellow, it has set a bit of a more somber feeling. However, it was an awesome summer...my first year at camp was amazing...Sonshine festival was awesome...I got to do a ton of mountain biking and running...yep, it was good indeed. Hey...post a comment, and we'll take a poll...list your top 3 favorite things you did this summer! Later, Warren