Cuba

A week in Veradaro, Cuba. A really good week. But - don’t like jelly fish.

Cuba was relaxing - I don’t have much to share because I only did two things, over and over. The beach and the bike! The resort and the beach were excellent. 4 star. Everyone was friendly. Food was “ok”. Quiet. No beer-drinking college yahoos to spoil the moments of peace.

The jelly fish were an issue. One day the waves rolled in dozens of jellyfish, left stranded on the beach to die in the hot sun.
One guy came running out of the ocean, screaming. He was tangled by the tail and stung. Lifeguards came running. That cleared the beach for the afternoon.

The food was "ok". I don't think I've eaten so much ice cream - or veggies! Ha! Evening entertainment was "fair". Not cruise ship quality, and very "Cuban". I went to two shows. Nothing competes with American Idol!

We chose the Melia Veradaro because it offered “biking”. Most hotel don’t have bikes. I wasn’t expecting a Fuji Roubaix Pro Series - haha! But the ones they had were not maintained at all - noisy, out of alignment, rusted chain and handlebar and pedal brakes! Yikes! I didn’t want to venture too far in case I had a break down but I still managed to jump on the saddle every day. As I say, a day on a bike is better than a day without!

Seven days in Cuba - good times. Got two books read. Lost weight! (and this was all-inclusive! I dunno what happened!) Now, I'm home with a minor tan, feeling relaxed and VERY happy to turn on the radio to hear English music!

Stamps

The cost of mailing a letter within Canada is now 59 cents. It’s a 3 cent increase. The year I was born (1957) a Canadian stamp was 5 cents!

Isn’t Canada Post shooting itself in the foot with this 3 cent increase? And through Internet access we send letters, photos and music for free. Canada Post has got to be feeling the competition.

Once upon a time, the postman used to deliver mail to your door! Isn’t that a wild idea? Each year, more people stop mailing Christmas cards.

Maybe some entrepreneur would consider an alternative postal service. Privatization means lower rates and better service however its effectiveness has been better in some countries more than others.

I don’t use mail very often. I foresee a day when the post office will close; the Internet will deliver most mail and Fed Ex will handle the bulky stuff.

Til then, may I suggest to Canada Post - “WAKE UP! Raising your rates will not increase your business!"That’s my 3 cents!

Jammin' Jeff

Many years ago, in a radio station that seems far, far away, there was once a baby DJ named Jammin’ Jeff. Each night he ruled the airwaves of LIFE 100.3, playing SLAMMIN’ CHRISTIAN HITS, having fun goofing off and calling it a job.

Do you remember this guy, Jammin’ Jeff?

From LIFE 100.3 he moved to KAOS radio in Peterborough. Then he got married and started a family. He has two sons and a daughter on the way! Jeff and me, and our wives hung out together last night, dining, catching up on family news and reminiscing about “the olden days” and many years at LIFE 100.3 which we affectionately remember as - Jammin’ Jeff.

Where has the time gone?!

Tough Devotions

Today the passage was about unconditional love. With each example in the devo, I found myself thinking - “ya, but...!”

Unconditional love is something we all want. I hope others will show that to me and I, well, for sure I offer it to everyone else. For sure. Well, I have a couple of exceptions.

If somebody really hurt me it’s probably unreasonable of me to try to repair the relationship. Then I read Matthew 5:44 where Jesus says to love my enemies. Ok.

What if someone takes advantage of my kindness and I end up giving way more than I wanted? Then Matthew 5:40 came up. “If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.”

How far do I have to go with this forgiveness deal? The world spat on Jesus and nailed him to the cross. He said “Father, forgive them”. I'm very far from being in that situation and my forgiveness is just as far off.

I’ve thought I should always TRY to be reconciled but Matthew 5:24 says, BE reconciled. "Trying" isn't enough.

All this time unconditional love is something I've expected from others and assumed I was good at doing it but when these examples came up I realized my forgiveness IS conditional. And God doesn’t want my offerings or praise until I’m willing to forgive and show unconditional love.

So - no excuses. Just start loving people - unconditionally.

Man, this is harder than I thought.

705 - 249 - Huh?

Starting this weekend, I’m going to have to dial 10 digits when I make a local phone call. Apparently, the 705 area code is maxed out so our area is being assigned an additional area code - 249. But, not for a while.

I don’t get how it works. Can someone explain it to me?

I live in 705. Right now I dial 7 digits in the 705 area. And if I dial a long distance number in 705, I dial “1 705". But starting this weekend I need to dial 705for a local call. Why? If it’s a local call, it’s obviously 705. What changed in 705? There can’t be two phone numbers the same within 705 - either in Barrie or in Kapuskasing or Sudbury or Moose Factory - coz they are both 705 areas. So how does dialling 705 locally any different than dialling 705 for long distance?

Well, my friends I have it all figured out.

It’s like Y2K. Someone is making money from this erroneous 705 thing. It’s probably a conspiracy. Like, every time I dial the local 705 (for no reason), someone is accessing my bank account! Or maybe my phone is being tapped!

Listen - 249 isn’t even active. In the meantime, we’re wearing out our fingers.

Plagiarizing David

I’m not gonna mention any names - but...

Have you ever noticed that the lyrics on most praise and worship songs come directly from the Bible? It’s cool to sing scripture. But, wait a minute - isn’t that plagiarism?

David wrote most of the Psalms, right? And today’s songwriters are copying his words, verbatim!

As a radio guy, I need to know who wrote the music and lyrics to the songs we play so we can pay out royalties. Well, why are artists claiming to write the music AND the lyrics? Sure, they wrote the music but the lyrics ...? Not if David wrote them.

Obviously the royalties are not going to go to David’s estate but I don't think the artist should be claiming to be the lyricist. In the 60's the Byrds write the classic rock song “Turn, Turn, Turn” and they credited the song to Ecclesiastes - says so right on the record label.

So what to do with the royalties for the lyrics? Perhaps the artists could donate the royalties to Kingdom building - a food bank, or clothing depot or something like that.

Artistically, aren't they plagiarizing Daivd?

I won’t mention names but does anyone know the area code for Australia?

Two Movies

On the weekend I watched two Christian movies.

“Unidentified” is a movie about UFO’s. There’s no major stars, the acting is only fair and it isn’t a big budget but the plot goes places I wasn’t expecting - and that was pretty cool. It connects UFO’s with the rapture. Good family movie.




The other movie is “In The Blink of An Eye”. If you’ve seen “Groundhog Day” you’ll remember the guy in the movie keeps waking up and reliving the same day over and over. It’s a bit like that, with a rapture spin-off. Check 'em out.

Today

A Start To A Better Me

I know Jesus doesn’t ask us to make new year’s resolutions but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. So many people say they don’t make New Year’s resolutions because they know they'll break them. Sounds like a cop-out to not even bother.

Yes, I made some resolutions this year and I'll continue throughout the year. I have written them down in my journal so I can be reminded of them and check my progress, or lack of it. Hmmmm. Maybe if I post my resolutions it will inspire you to get on board, too. Here it is.

Relationships. I have one friend who is a new Christian and I want to encourage him, regularly. I have one friend who is not a Christian but seems open to the Lord. Another person is totally closed to Jesus so they need my prayers. And I’m not giving up praying for salvation for a certain rock star.

Doing. I want to expand my territory, both personally and professionally. I’ll leave it at that. I’m also burdened by the need of people who need food and clothes. I’m tired of praying for them. I need to take action. Will I do it? Right now I don’t have a plan. Maybe I should get a plan together.

Spiritually. I need to become a better worshipper.

It’s about me. I want to shut up. I hear the Holy Spirit telling me to shut up all the time. Often I will. Other times I don’t. I’m resolving to get it right.

That’s it. By tomorrow I’ll regret this blog posting because it’s vulnerable. I’ll get emails from people, people I know, who enjoy telling me “that won’t work; you can’t do that”. We’ll see.

A new year’s resolution is a start to a better me.

New Year's at MBC!

For many years, Janice and I have hosted house parties on New Year’s Eve. We’d invite a few married couples to join us for games, snacks and ring in the New Year over a bottle of coke.

We have good conversation and there's no need for a designated driver!

Muskoka Bible Conference held a New Year’s Eve party this year, so in lieu of a house party, we went there. We invited our friends the West’s to join us. (photo of Charles and Nancy with Janice and me.

John Friesen, the operations director of MBC, threw a great party for about 150 people, that started with a buffet feast with live music by a three-piece music ensemble, entertainment by an illusionist, games, a free photo session, fireworks at midnight and another massive brunch buffet the next day! Whew!

Thanks MBC for an awesome event! I hope you had a great New Year’s, wherever you were. Happy 2011!