Meandering Moose

Impact 100 Years from NOW

What am I praying for now that will have an impact 100 years from now? That question was posed during a recent tour of the Leadership Studio at Muskoka Woods. Having worked there for 17 years, I knew the story of Mrs. Lawrason, but had never made it personal.

The example Mrs. Lawrason set is worth examining. She long ago owned the property that Muskoka Woods is now on. Back in the 1800’s she prayed that God would use her property for His glory. That prayer was certainly answered when the property became Glen Rocks Bible Conference and then Muskoka Woods. Thousands of families, kids and youth have heard the gospel message on that property. And MANY responded by believing and giving their lives to Jesus.

So, what am I normally praying for? Well, the usual; health, healing, spiritual renewal, salvation for family and friends, stamina to keep going, for blessing for people I know and love.

Is that enough? What about legacy? What about the future? I believe that praying for my grandkids is part of that. They will outlive me by many years. They are a very big part of my legacy.

Another part of my legacy is the lives of campers and staff and partners who I worked with at Muskoka Woods, Muskoka Bible Centre and Camp Widjiitiwin. They will carry on when I no longer can.

Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest. Wendell Berry

The impact of showing the way to so many staff, campers, co-workers and partners over the 42 years I worked at camps. I have lost count of the number of staff and campers, not to mention retreat groups and leaders that I have been able to influence in some way.

I don’t think that I will see or know the results this side of heaven. I have had the privilege of seeing glimpses into the journey of other people I influenced who have gone on to influence others. And I believe that those others have gone on to influence more and so on. For so much of my life I have been building future leaders and building for eternity in the Kingdom of God.

So, what are YOU praying for that will come to being long after you are gone?

Yelling at the TV!

Have you ever found yourself yelling at the TV? Perhaps during a sporting event at the umpire or ref or a player, political debate, or a mystery movie when a character is about to go the absolute WRONG way?

In many movies people are warned not to do things, but in our foolishness we go ahead and do it anyway. “There’s probably been more stupidity committed in the name of manhood than for almost any other reason.” Colonel Potter (M.A.S.H.)

I’ve been known to express loudly (maybe yell) at a bad play while watching a sports event, usually a Blue Jays baseball game. This season more than others. I have also been known to express loudly at the news, politicians, plus the occasional person in a movie when they go astray.

How many of us would be yelling at the screen if we were watching ourselves do something stupid or foolish? Too often we double down on our foolishness as pride or as a result of our sin.

What or who do you yell at on TV?

Rate times Time equals Distance

Spiritual maturity is not reached by the passing of the years, but by obedience to the will of God. Oswald Chambers

In school, mathematics was never my favorite subject; however, one formula I remember is R x T = D (Rate x Time x Distance). The pace that we sustain and the time we invest determine the distance we cover. This is true in the world of running and driving, and it’s true in our spiritual lives as well.

Paul visited Corinth about five years before he wrote his first letter to them. The Corinthians had five years to grow and mature, but many of them were still spiritual infants. Paul said, I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. (1 Corinthians 3:2-3a).

Little progress had been achieved in five years. The time was adequate for spiritual growth to occur, so the rate must have been very slow.

Spiritual maturity does not take place over night, but focusing on growth leads to quicker results. Pick up the pace this week; study God’s Word, attend church, pray, spend time with other believers, and share what you have learned.

The more we apply God’s truth in our lives, the faster new patterns of thinking and behaving can emerge.

Excelsior,

Dan Bolin

Refueling In Flight Ministries, Inc

Metric or NOT?

We measure things like length, width, height, mass, volume and temperature in units. There are two general systems, metric and imperial. I grew up in a time when I went through high school entirely using imperial. My brother a year behind me used half imperial and half metric. The brother a year behind him was all metric. We are seriously messed up.

But it’s not just us. Measurement in Canada is messy and confusing. We still measure weight in pounds and ounces, height in feet and inches, distance in time to get there. See the chart at the right for how it “works”.

If in Canada, we’re supposed to use the metric system, why don’t we use all of it? When was the last time you referred to a dekameter or a decimeter? A recent news report said there was 900 mm of rain. Seems like a lot and it is, but not 900 worth. Why would rain storm water depth be measured as 900 millimetres vs 90 centimetres or 9 decimetres or 0.9 metres? Does it mean to make it sound bigger? Why don’t we use the whole metric system instead of cherry picking a few parts of it?

It seems to me, if we’re truly going to be a metric nation, we should in fact use the whole system. Not me though, my mind till mostly thinks in imperial measurements. I will confess that, occasionally, I think that cold temperatures make a little more sense in Celsius. True, I may have gone too far with that.

How Gullible Are We?

A freshman at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair. In her project she urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical “dihydrogen monoxide.” And for plenty of good reasons, since:

1. It can cause excessive sweating and vomiting.

2. It is a major component in acid rain.

3. It can cause severe burns in its gaseous state.

4. Accidental inhalation can kill you.

5. It contributes to erosion.

6. It decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.

7. It has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients.

She asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical. Forty-three (43) said yes, six (6) were undecided, and the last one?

Well, only one (1) knew that the chemical, dihydrogen monoxide, was water (H2O). The title of her prize winning project: “How Gullible Are We?”.

Road RANT!!

Those of you who took proper driver’s ed in high school, need to start acting like it. If everyone else has no idea how to drive, here are some thoughts for you.

I am one of those people who is driven near to crazy by other people’s driving habits. No doubt I bother other people sometimes too. That being said, we need to get back to some proper driver’s education in Ontario and everywhere else, so people know how to drive properly and be courteous out on the roads (and even in parking lots).

Turn signals or indicator lights should be used with regularity and more than just once you’re half way into the next lane. The idea is to indicate (hence the name) where you plan to go, whether a new lane or down a different road.

While I’m at it… you should ALWAYS do these things too!!

When you turn from a left lane at a traffic light, you’re meant to turn into the left lane, NOT cross over straight into the right lane!!
If you’re in the middle lane and getting passed on both sides, you’re in the wrong lane!
If you pass me on the highway, keep going. Don’t slide in front of me and slow down.
Stay in the right lane if you’re driving slower.
Use the zipper method to merge into traffic.
Don’t speed up when others try to pass you.
Stay OFF your phone!!
Pull over and slow down for traffic stopped on the side of the road.
Do NOT interrupt or join in a funeral procession. They have the right of way to go through stop signs and red traffic lights.
Pull off to the right for emergency vehicles.
Don’t tailgate people.
Use the onramp to get up to highway speed vs just jumping into the lane at slow speed.
Don’t be a turtle turner; people taking a turn at a crazy slow speed compared to what is comfortably doable.

What would you add that ticks you off while driving?

Zip Zip Shalopski

Our family plays a car game called Zip Zip Shalopski. The origin is somewhere back in my wife’s family story. The essence is to seek and find horses and call them out on any road trip. The first person to see them and call out, gets the points. Zips are any horse but a white one and are worth one point. A shalopski is a white horse and worth two points. A zip holder (horse trailer) counts as five points. You can wipe out all your competitor’s points by seeing a graveyard/cemetery first and calling it out.

Some of the finer details.

Horse pictures and the word horse count for three points each.
The driver can claim a bunch of zips and then have someone else in the car count them. Because they need to pay more attention to driving!!
If your competition is sleeping on the drive, you still have to call the zips out loud.
I even will text my wife when I’m on the road with any points I have claimed during my trip.

Try it out. It can be addicting. If you try it, leave a comment.

There are lots of car games. Here are a few we also play.

License plates either by seeing how many provinces and states you can get.
Using the letters from billboards or road signs to work though the alphabet.
I Spy is well known for sure.
Two Truths and a Lie can get you in trouble, but it’s fun.
Never Have I Ever could lead to more lies.
Name That Tune was never one I was any good at, but many play.
Car Colour Search determines whether red, white or black cars are the most common.
Would You Rather? leads to interesting conversations.

What car games do you play? Comment below with your favourite one.

Agree to Disagree

We used to be able to say that we’ll agree to disagree. I’ll keep my view and you’ll keep yours. You won’t change my mind and I won’t change yours. Sometimes its opinion, sometimes it’s a different view of the facts. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen any more. Almost never! Too often there is their version of the information and that is the only acceptable version.

“Agree to disagree” is a conversational strategy used to resolve a stalemate. It involves parties halting a circular or unproductive argument while acknowledging differing perspectives. It allows individuals to maintain a polite relationship when neither side will be convinced to change their mind.

Tolerance no longer means being tolerant of other opinions if they disagree with you or certain special interest groups. Forcing me to believe what you believe isn’t any more fair than for me to do it to someone else. It’s not hate, it’s disagreement.

My Christian faith informs my beliefs, actions and morals. If you don’t have the same beliefs, you are not held to mine. However, that doesn’t mean that I think your actions or beliefs are correct or moral or right. Nor do I believe that I must or should believe what you do.

Some options when we don’t agree.

“I hear your perspective.”
“I understand where you are coming from.”
“It’s okay that we have different approaches to this.”

Fyodor Dostoevsky said, “Tolerance will reach such a level that intelligent people will be banned from thinking so as not to offend the imbeciles”.

Dostoevsky understood that the preservation of intellectual freedom is often uncomfortable. When a culture begins to value social politeness over the rigorous pursuit of reality, it creates a vacuum where critical thought is viewed as an act of aggression. The ultimate irony he points toward is that true tolerance requires the endurance of ideas we find disagreeable.

We won’t always agree. We won’t always believe the same things. Let’s have a conversation instead of telling me that I’m intolerant or hateful.

Let’s talk.

The Psalm Project

In our small group at church, we had a church wide study for five weeks. After that, we tried a new idea where each member of the group participates in leading a study based on their favourite Psalm. Each person picks their favourite Psalm and shares it with the group. We called it “The Psalm Project“.

Some may need to read some Psalms to discover their favourite one. For me, I chose Psalm 19. It reads

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. This is one of the clearest biblical statements that nature itself is meant to show the greatness of God. These words are in the present tense. That is, the heavens “are declaring,” and the sky “is proclaiming” the creative work of God. It’s a continual display. What we see in nature is meant to constantly show us that God exists and tell us how amazing a Creator He truly is.

Here are some of the things I discovered in Psalm 19.

We are created by God for his glory
Science keeps discovering more the the universe, it’s God sized
Without uttering a word, creation shows God’s glory and righteousness
I cannot discern my own errors
The heavens declare and we are without excuse to believe in God
Who am I? The servant of the Lord
The law serves to reveal sin and it’s consequences
Willful sins; Paul said the same thing, “the very thing I don’t want to do, I do.”
Lord = ruler; rock = solid foundation; redeemer = Saviour

To do:

Give God the glory, honour and praise
Follow the law of the Lord
Pray for forgiveness

I suggest you watch Indescribable video by Louie Giglio and follow NASA on Instagram, the pictures are astounding

To help do your own study, you can use the attached guideline to help you in your preparation (posted below). Pick your favourite Psalm (or other Bible chapter) and answer the questions below.

OBSERVATION

Where are the action words?
What stands out to you?
What seems strange?
Was there something here that you hadn’t considered before?
What questions do you have about the text?

INTERPRETATION

What is the author trying to communicate to the original audience?
What is the point of the passage?
What’s the overall message?

APPLICATION

The general question here is who am I in this story?
How am I going to respond to that?
What will change in your life today, this week or this month?

Add any additional notes that you think of. Make note of any other Bible verses you are reminded of and be sure to review those as well.

Enjoy!

Betty’s Charm Bracelet

Today is my birth mom’s birthday. She went by Betty. She would have been 87 today. I wish I got to meet her.

This charm bracelet was given to me by my sister Jill when she came to visit in October 2021. It belonged to our mom. Each charm tells a story, especially (for me) the one that is separate from the bracelet.

Jill told me the following story.

When Mom was in the nursing home, she often mixed up her days and nights and would call me in the middle of the night wanting to talk. I always answered, never knowing if the call might be something serious, though it usually wasn’t. Most of the time, she had the same “good news” she couldn’t wait to share.

She would tell me, with excitement, that she was pregnant. Because of her Alzheimer’s, I went along with her story every time. I’d congratulate her, ask how far along she was, and whether she knew if it was a boy or a girl. She’d say she did know but then ask me which I wanted. I always told her I wanted a sister—that boys were gross. She would laugh every time.

We’d talk for a few more minutes, and then I’d tell her it was time for bed and that I’d call her tomorrow. An hour later, the phone would ring again. She’d be just as excited as before, announcing that she had the baby-and it was a boy. I’d congratulate her again and tell her she needed to go take care of the baby, hoping to go back to sleep.

I always assumed she was confused and was telling me that she was pregnant with Sam as he was younger than I was. That same conversation repeated every few days until her schedule settled back into place.

Once Jill (and Sam) came to know me and my story, they knew that the pregnancy story was about me. When Jill found the single charm of a boy with the bracelet, she figured it was about me. There are already charms on the bracelet for Jill and Sam. The boy head charm was separate from the bracelet in an older plastic box from the 60’s.

When Jill and Sam were sending me pictures of our mom, they sent me one from the fall of 1962. I wrote back that I was in that picture, though well hidden.

It’s been a fun time learning about my family.