Why I Wish I Could be More Like...

...Wayne Gretzky. I think of this in comparison to Mario Lemieux's playing style. A biographical author wrote of Lemieux that part of the reason he never quite broke through Gretzky's stratosphere (injury plague aside) was that he only played his best when his dominance was challenged. Gretzky, however, played as if every game was his last; as if it was the most important one he would ever participate in.

I fell into one of the most hypocritical traps of my life last summer. I did things for the kids that I thought were cuter (or even that I liked more) in an extremely preferential way. My understanding is that I did it because I wanted to see them smile. Implicitly, I supposed I wanted them to like me. I am more than moderately ashamed of myself. What's worse, I'm not sure I would never do it again.

My professor gave us an extension on our term paper for another week (with th possibility of a further extension after that). I am more than happy + surprized and hope I will not take this for granted. I am getting the ulitmate catch-up time here, this week. whoop


Says Jim Cymbala in Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, "Prayer cannot truly be taught by principles and seminars and symposiums. It has to be born out of a whole enivronment of felt need. If I set out to pray, I will soon run out of motivation and quit -- the flesh is too strong. I have to be driven to pray."

Another word: "Little is much, when God's in it" (Downhere).


The other day I thought about the idea of putting God first... and concluded that there is nothing I could reasonably make Him second to.

What could I do for my country? I don't even know how to vote and I have no intention of joining any armed forces. I guess I ought to keep praying.

Two weeks ago I took the challenge to write down all the prayables I could from an hour of news coverage and work them for the remainder of the week. The theme was our government; I realized how important it is to pray for the Canadian government. I don't feel a need because Canada is safe(er), healthy(ish) and fairly rich. I feel like I'd be rocking the proverbial boat. I am content so let me not lose all on account of greed. People say (or someone said) that, as long as we are OK with being good, we will never be great and I am inclined to agree. I would not, however use such words because, when it comes to humans, the term "good" is toujours problematic. As long as we are satisfied, we will stop moving toward what God wants for us. That sounds almost harsh and defeating but I cannot deny the truths in it. In this experience I also had realized to me the importance (that word here fails me) of a ministry like Campus Crusade for Christ. With this prayer challenge I was asking for officials to "do the right thing" in not so many words; for them to be forgiving and for justice to be served and I thought, hey, how swell would it be if all the men and women in power in my country knew the great I Am. I'm not asking for a Christian nation (that's about as palpable an entity as Christian music) nor am I asking for political addresses to be decorated with churchy words [yes, I'm writing against the Bush administration] but I want these people, in their hearts, to be in the positions they are for God's sake. I want to live in a country where my Prime Minister's first priority is God. (How can we lose?) If God wants him/her in that position (and if they are godly indeed then this will be true) then God will do great things through that servant for the country but hey - that doesn't mean that people of any other faith system need to be isolated (marginalized?) or even explicitly aware of the PM's beliefs. It will of course leak and reek through his clothing but whatever. that can't be helped. I like 2 Corinthians.