Our weather that is.
Here is a shot from the web-cam on the Malahat, our mini-mountain just north of town over which the highway up-Island travels:
by on 4.18.08
a good news story – health
I have a Google news alert that brings me news about a certain health topic. I thought I would share with you a good news alert from it:
Gleevec Pushes Advanced Melanoma Into Remission
Gleevec is a cancer drug, one that I follow in the news because it gives life to my wife. My wife has CML, chronic mylogenous leukemia. Gleevec has turned her condition into a daily routine, a pill she takes after breakfast … nothing more.
We know other cancer patients in the ministry. Their path is much more difficult, dealing with the ravages of strong chemical therapy or radiation treatments. My dad likes to say, “All doctors know how to do is cut, burn, and poison.” My dad is a cynic.
But for us, thankfully, cancer is just a chronic condition, one that is marvellously relieved by a modern wonder drug.
This news story isn’t about our situation, though. Someone else has experienced the blessing of Gleevec treatment, this time someone with an entirely different kind of cancer, melanoma. The lady who was taking Gleevec as an experimental treatment had four melanoma tumors.
Four weeks after the woman started therapy, there was dramatic reduction in tumor size and metabolism. Two of the tumor masses had vanished, and several others were much smaller. After four months, the tumors were still in check and, nine months later, the woman was still taking the drug and her condition remained stable.
Isn’t that interesting? It is to me, anyway. Some cancers are becoming more understandable to the medical community. We thank the Lord for giving wisdom and insight to the doctors involved.
by on 4.8.08
uh oh . . . blogging kills
Some of us may need to ease off a bit….
They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home.
This from the New York Times. It must be true, then. Here’s the link: In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop.
PC World is also reporting on this. Blogging to an Early Grave?
Be warned!
by on 3.29.08
rampant secularism
Douglas Todd is the very fine religion writer for the Vancouver Sun newspaper. By that I don’t mean he is a believer, he may be, I just have no idea. I mean that he is an excellent writer with a keen eye for trends in religion. He now has a blog on the Vancouver Sun site. Today’s entry is an eye-opener in some ways … not that it surprises me, but rather confirms what I have long sensed. The post is entitled “Secularism is the new default position – almost everywhere“. A few snippets:
Fittingly, British Columbia, gets a good dose of attention. The study repeats what many already know about B.C.; that it’s arguably the most “secular” region in North America. That 36 per cent of British Columbians have “no religion,” and another 21 per cent say they’re affiliated with a religion, but virtually never attend.
No surprises here, but perhaps outsiders might be surprised to know it. There is a ready antagonism to the gospel that surrounds us when we witness.
More…
by on 3.25.08
vocab of compromise in use
In light of my post ‘the vocabulary of compromise’, it was interesting to see one of the words show up on a fundamentalist blog recently.
This is the post, the word shows up in the comments. I will tell you which word it is after the ‘more’ tag … can you pick it up before you look?
by on 3.24.08
the ant and the grasshopper – maple leaf version
A parable for my American friends…
The ant & the grasshopper … Classic Version!
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he’s a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
The End
The Maple Leaf Version (i.e., The Canadian Version) [with appropriate footnotes to explain things for my non-Canadian friends, eh?]
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he’s a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. So far, so good, eh?
by on 3.19.08
an encouraging sign
We concluded our annual Northwest FBF fellowship this evening with another fine message by Chuck Phelps, president of Maranatha Baptist Bible College.
Chuck preached / taught us on five occasions through two days here. His ministry to us was a real blessing. But more than that, personal conversation with him was a great encouragement to me for the future of fundamentalism.
Chuck became the president of Maranatha just this last summer. MBBC is one of the key institutions for Baptist fundamentalism. His ministry there will make a real mark (for the good) on future generations of young men coming out of that institution. He almost makes me want to go back to school again!
by on 3.15.08
more excellent stuff on culture
By Kent Brandenburg … check it out here: Culture Decay—But Who Cares? part one.
Since this is part one, I assume there is more to follow. A key paragraph:
Like I said, we knew self dominates the world, but what’s different is that now Christians are also about self. A lot of terrain on the Christian blogosphere is dedicated to defense of selfish pursuits. They have staked out their love of booze, the movie theater, dance, rock music, dating touching, and a casual dress philosophy. These are all activities, which have historically been rejected by Christians, but not anymore.
Lest anyone misunderstand the emphasis, be sure to note this paragraph also, commenting on critiquing worldly externals:
So yes, the insides matter the most, but his outsides are also wrong. They conform to the world. His externals haven’t been transformed by the renewing of his mind. His body isn’t a living sacrifice and isn’t acceptable to God. In addition to his spiritual feebleness, he’s also not fashioning himself in a godly manner.
Good stuff, Kent, keep it coming.
by on 3.12.08
conflict is not the same as chaos
So says Walter Russell Mead in a column today found at ChristianityToday.com. Entitled “Why Culture War May Never End“, the article argues that there is liberty and safety in humanity when there is freedom for conflict. Here is the concluding paragraph:
Conflict is not the same as chaos. It may be that in a fallen world, we need the excesses of each party to be held in check by the other parties. The idea that the imposition of a single perfect program on the state and on government, on the country, is the way to perfect happiness for mankind is an old and constant dream in the world. Given that human beings are fallen and that our reasoning processes can be skewed, our understandings of justice distorted, it may be that this kind of open society, which is one of competition and contestation, may over time be the best way for human beings.
Conflict isn’t easy. For those not directly involved in the conflict, it is often seen as unnecessary. Those most stridently involved are often seen as the culprits in the exchange, even if they are reacting to real error.
Mead is making his point about the benefits of conflict in an open society especially for the cause of individual liberty and freedom. I would like to make an application to the world of Christendom.
Consider, for example, the Fundamentalist/Modernist controversies of the 1920s.
by on 3.3.08
the heavens declare!
I don’t want to turn this into an entirely space blog, but NASA keeps providing spectacular pics of our Solar System. Check out this one of earth and moon from a Mars orbiter…
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