Sunday, October 31, 2004

Disturbing the status quo, one door at a time.

Seems that this story is more legend than truth:



October 31, 1517: Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg with hammer strokes which echoed throughout all of Europe. This act has been portrayed numerous times thoughout the centuries, and until the 21st century it was accepted as fact. It has become a symbol of the Reformation as nothing else has.


Ahh well, it was provocative enough to become a symbol of the Reformation.


Symbols can be powerful things, a cross, a red octagon, a T-shirt...


On this last day of October, as I reflect on the past 4 weeks of blogging, I'm not sure if I'm pleased or disappointed that the most provocative thing I've posted, is a T-shirt.


I am glad it got people talking. But I hope it also got people thinking.


 


Anyway, I'll be out into the nether regions for the next couple of days. If I see a keyboard, I'll think of you all and I'll try to post a "Guess where I am" note.


Cheers, and Blessings


 

Saturday, October 30, 2004

And thus ends a perfectly weird week.

I think the XP is mostly back from the dead, although I am having some trouble with some programs.


And, we've been fighting the flu here too. I get tired after a long day and get all achy and sore.


The highlight was a congregational meeting Thursday night. It was a good time of review and refocus. Of sharing stories and caring for each other. We're heading into a busy time of year, so we're going to set aside a week for prayer and waiting on God again this year just before advent begins.


And, after working on ideas for a sermon, then finding a lack of peace and rest about it yesterday, I went back to the drawing board last night and today. With the new idea and direction I'm going, I feel like I have "His" peace about it.


So, I head into Sunday with a deep sense of peacefulness, finally!


It's been a long week. And I look forward to tomorrow.


Tomorrow is special day, when many people will celebrate and worship their gods. Gods who most of us have unknowingly worshipped at one point or another.


I am glad that God is in the business of bringing us from the darkness into the light.



Take pity on me, Lord, and listen to my prayer. Alleluia.
When I called out, he heard me, the God of my righteousness.
When I was in trouble, you gave me freedom: now, take pity on me and listen to my prayer.


Sons of men, how long will your hearts be heavy?
Why do you seek for vain things?
Why do you run after illusions?
Know that the Lord has done marvellous things for those he has chosen.
When I call upon the Lord, he will hear me.


Be vigorous, but do not sin: speak in the silence of your heart, in your bed, be at rest.
Offer righteousness as a sacrifice, and put your trust in the Lord.


Many are saying, Who will give us good things?
Let your face shine on us, Lord, let the light of your face be a sign.
You have given me a greater joy than the others receive from abundance of wheat and of wine.
In peace shall I sleep, Lord, in peace shall I rest: firm in the hope you have given me.


 


Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace. Alleluia.
Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace.
You have fulfilled your promise.
My own eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples.
A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness;  the glory of your people Israel.


Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,  world without end.



Amen.



Friday, October 29, 2004

Lunch and Peace

This morning I feel the stillness that usually comes when my body is fighting the flu.


This has been a most difficult week for many people I pray for. Yet there has been an envelope of peace settling about me. My body does feel like it's fighting something, and my spirit feels it too. It's like being in the eye of the storm. The battle rages about me, others are drawn in and spit out. Yet I feel the stillness, the peace.


And I am grateful for that.


During lunch, as I was listening and praying, I returned to the Northumbria Community, and prayed the noon day office.


(Said or sung all together. + indicates that you may make the sign of the cross.)



+ In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen


Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.
Establish Thou the work of our hands;
establish Thou the work of our hands.


Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil. Amen


We believe and trust in God the Father Almighty.
We believe and trust in Jesus Christ His Son.
We believe and trust in the Holy Spirit.
We believe and trust in the Three in One.


Teach us, dear Lord, to number our days;
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Oh, satisfy us early with Thy mercy,
that we may rejoice and be glad all of our days.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us;
and establish Thou the work of our hands.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us;
and establish Thou the work of our hands, dear Lord.


Let nothing disturb thee,
nothing affright thee;
all things are passing,
God never changeth!
Patient endurance attaineth to all things;
who God possesseth
in nothing is wanting;
alone God sufficeth.


+ In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen


Amen.


 

Thursday, October 28, 2004

Unbelievable

It's like it's not enough that I'm the guy who brings home food for my children to eat, and the guy who somehow manages to keep two vehicles going, and tries to keep a house in good repair, and be a husband and dad, but I have to be an IT person too????


It's day three of being up past 1am, working on getting this XP demon spawn up and running. We use it for most everything round here, and so there are 6 unique users who all have their own emails and setups to re-set up.


I  think I'm nearly there. But I'm hosed.


Things will get better.


I hope.


 

XP H E double Hockey Sticks

We are having major trouble with the computer, so if you are trying to email me, for now at least, you can reach me on my Contact Page.


We will return to normal viewing ASAP.


 


Thanks

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

someday's its good...

This morning I awoke to the sound of the hospital's cell phone ringing me awake. Someone was in code blue and could I come.


I think the time was before 6 am, so at least it wasn't in the middle of the night. Off I went, groggy but able.


That started the day.


From there I went to work. Processing some difficult emails, then meeting one, meeting two, meeting three, then preparing for tonight's worship practice, and, here I am.


A hard day, on some fronts. And a wonderful day, in terms of connecting with people. Three meetings resulting in four good connections with people. I could easily stay home tonight, feeling like I accomplished a lot. But tonight I get to jam with our worship gang. We are easing some younger members of the church into the band and it's great. We need them to help us worship God.


And, the time marches on right into Christmas. As my friend Sharon would remind me, only 60 more sleeps till Christmas.


 

Another one to check out

I missed the grand unveiling, but here is another very cool guy writing down stuff on the internet!


Steve Menshenfriend 


(Yes, that is his name, don't wear it out!)

It continues to spread

Welcome to Grace McKenzie, who is now blogging too.


 

Sunday, October 24, 2004

Jeff and Heidi

Late last spring my brother met this young woman named Heidi. He was smitten from the start. Then things got really busy for him. Grandma and Grandpa passing away, back surgery to repair a ruptured disk, changing jobs...


Finally last night, he found the time to ask her to marry him, and she said yes.


So, it seems my little brother is getting married!


This is so very very cool.


UPDATED PIC:



 

Saturday, October 23, 2004

Prince Albert, Saturday morning

I was up early this morning to take a girl to work early. So I decided to take a ride downtown and see if there were any shots to be taken. There were.


Prince Albert, on a foggy October Saturday morning.


 



Wednesday, October 20, 2004

New Guy

Tonight Lauralea and I had to attend our first Grad Parents Meeting, so I was the new guy. I don't like being The New Guy, especially at such a function. It was, in my estimation, a bit of a joke.


We were introduced to the new principal, who seems like a very nice guy, if a little nervous.


He read the required letter from the school board stating their willingness to support and give cash towards a "ChemFree Grad." But, due to moral and legal obligations, they would not support a safe grad. The parents would have to plan that themselves, if they wanted one.


By that point I was confused, ChemFree? Safe? And why wouldn't the Board support a safe grad??


Well, he was done speaking. Then four or five ladies got up who were the Grad parents council last year. They basically blew off the School Board's offer of cash towards the chemfree grad. They stated; "We all know what our kids are going to do, so lets help them do it safely!" And a murmur of approval arose from the Catholic crowd. (It's a High School in the separate school board system here in Saskatchewan.)


Apparently, based on last year's hugely successful post grad celebration, this is what a Safe Grad looks like. They hire buses and vans, and some DJ and drive to a farmer's field far outside of town. They bring in guards from the Federal Penitentiary to police the place. There's plenty to drink if you buy tickets to get the provided beer and liquor, and get your parents to stamp the tickets so you can drink.


And, the party/mudfest goes on all night long.


Now, when you hold that up against, "Let the kids party by themselves, where ever they want," a safe grad seems like a really smart thing.


There's just some things about it that smell.


For instance, the whole assumption that "The kids are going to do it anyway!" 


Yes, many kids are going to do it. But people will often live up to what's expected of them. Sure some will break your expectations, so you come alongside them and help them along. But to ass-u-me that that's what the kids will do anyway solidifies the thought in kids minds that, indeed, this is what we expect of them, so let's get pi--ed!!!


Teaching them how to be drunks, safely. Nice.


But, I suppose the thing that got me the most ticked was a statement by the chair of the committee who, when defending the idea, said something like; Drugs are not allowed. Any kids caught using the stuff would be arrested because that stuff is illegal.


All of a sudden we are concerned with the law?


The age you are legally allowed to drink here in Saskatchewan is 19. Most of the kids partying will be 18, 17, 16.


It seems very inconsistent for us as parents to be worried about breaking the law in regards to drugs, but this other law, this one we can break.


Man, when does parenting get any easier?!?


Thankfully, Lauralea and I had to leave for our small group meeting, so we tried to sneak out the back.


The principal got to us and introduced himself to us. I expressed my gratitude for him and his work, and thanked him for the School Boards generous gesture to give some cash towards a ChemFree grad. 


He seemed kind of dissatisfied with how things had gone, again. He assured me he would fight for a letter to be sent out to all the parents asking their opinion and vote for a Safe or ChemFree Grad.  


I thanked him and shook his hand. It must not be easy being a principal these days.


And I know it's not easy being a parent.


 

64 years ago today...

Grandma and Grandpa were married.


They made it 63 years and some months. Then God took them home this summer. Grandma passed away on the day we buried Grandpa.


I was just thinking about them today and I missed them.


Hope they were together for a bit, maybe holding hands and remembering, and thanking God again for all his Blessings on their lives.


Five days before Grandpa died, we visited with them and Thomas took this picture.


Grandpa was a bit of a Photo guy, so there were lots of pictures of me and Grandma and him. I suppose this will be the last one.



 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

20 years ago today...

20 years ago today was a Friday, and I had a hot date with one Lauralea Hedman.


I was living in Aylmer Ontario at the time, and she was living in the next town, Orwell, where she was teaching at the Aylmer Bible School.


We were going to make a big night of it. Head up the road to London and hit the mall there, and do some window shopping, which we did alot of in those days.


I picked her up at the school, and she slid over next to me, like she always did, and off we went to the mall.


I remember the old Woolco store was located in the mall, right next to a Peoples Jewelers. So I sent her on an errand into the large store, while I ran into Peoples to pick up a package they had set aside for me.


I hid it in my pocket, and went off to find her.


We completed our shopping and began to head back to Aylmer. We wanted to stop in St. Thomas at the new Burger King for an evening snack, which we did.


I remember ordering a cheeseburger, which I also remember being too nervous to eat.


With hands trembling, I reached into my pocket and pulled out this velvet covered box. I recall somewhat summarizing our relationship, trying to steady my voice. Then, right there, over the cheeseburger and rootbeer, I asked her to marry me.



And she said yes, with her voice, and her eyes.



I don't recall much after that, except her smile, and the lightness in my spirit.
After 20 years, she still smiles, and brings a lightness to my spirit.


Happy Anniversary Lauralea, and Thank you.

I may need counseling, but...

this is gross.



Monday, October 18, 2004

Just chilllllin

It's Monday night, my night off. And I'm sitting in the darkened living room with my feet up, drinking a hot tea, with cream and sugar in it. The stereo is playing smooth classics from Classic FM, and it's all good.   


WELL, EXCEPT FOR ALL THE SNOW FALLING DOWN OUTSIDE MY FRONT WINDOW!!


Sigh.


 

Synchronicity?

or just coincidence?


It was a week or so ago when I was meeting with a client at a certain place of business. Our meeting was about websites, and his organizations need of one. The owner of the establishment we met at heard us talking website's and, one thing led to another. Now I am working on a site for his establishment too.


The coincidence?


As I went into the shop today, he mentioned a post I had made last winter about his new business. He had thought it was made by the other Randall Friesen here in Prince Albert, but alas, it was me.


I was nervous, what had I written? Boy I hoped it was good. And it was.


I had been impressed with his establishment. More than impressed; encouraged, blessed. And I've watched as they have established themselves here, making a huge commitment to this town.


Now I get to do some work on a webspace for him and his business.


Hopefully I will get to be a blessing to him, as he has been to me this past year.


I'm looking forward to it.


 

Friday, October 15, 2004

I have no title for this!

Tonight the kids are off to youth, so we are hangin with some friends from church. There will be some snackin and laughin and i think there will even be some fire!! outside I hope!


It's been a weird week too, you know. Been walkin with some different people through significant life change stuff, and I'm ready for a bit of a "Let the hair down and laugh a bit" evening. (Unlike Toni who will be having his own kind of fun tonight ! :-)


But for now, the sermon's done and I'm off to visit somebody.


Cheers, have a good night eh?


 

Barf Bag handy?

Here's an interesting quote I picked up at the new site, MotionSickness.



"It´s interesting man, motion, going through the motions is what parents use to make their children fall asleep. A stroller ride, or a car ride? mother rocking baby back and forth. This is what Satan has done to Christians today, we are going through the motions and falling asleep. When we start to get sick of it, motion sickness, we grab a Gravol to numb us, our sin. We us it to dull our senses and our dissatisfaction with life."


I think I like the analogy.


 

Thursday, October 14, 2004

Yes Dave, there IS a Santa Clause

This past weekend was Prince Albert's 100th birthday. 100 years old. Older than the Province, older than the other cities in this big rectangle of a place called Saskatchewan. And something hugely significant happened here for the very first time, today.


Oh, it's been done before, in thousands of other cities around the world, cities much older than us, and cities much much younger too. In that fact there is no justice.


I have waited and waited for this day to arrive, and now, apart from the fact that there is NO CLASSICAL MUSIC STATION WITHIN 137 KMS OF THIS TOWN, I am prepared to live out my life here, retire here, grow old here with hair growing out of my nose and ears, happily.


You know, rumors have come and they have gone, leaving me flat and depressed, but today this man of simple means' dream came true right here in Prince Albert.


They finally opened up a Wendy's.


 


The party's already begun. Conga line forms behind me.


 

More on the thought

Yeah, I thought this quote was similar to the previous one. For those who missed it the first time around:



 More Secular than the culture?
"We have a church in North American that is more secular than the culture. Just when the church adopted a business model, the culture went looking for God. Just when the church embraced strategic planning (linear and Newtonian), the universe shifted to preparedness (loopy and quantum). Just when the church began building recreation centers, the culture began a search for sacred space. Church people still think that secularism holds sway and that people outside the church have trouble connecting to God. The problem is that when people come to church, expecting to find God, they often encounter a religious club holding a meeting where God is conspicuously absent. It may feel like a self-help seminar or even a political rally. But if pre-Christians came expecting to find God -- sorry! They may experience more spiritual energy at a U2 concert or listening to a Creed CD."



Reggie McNeal, The Present Future



Wednesday, October 13, 2004

overheard at the City Ministerial meeting today...

"The Church has become an echo of the culture."


 

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

My new favourite song

Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus


By Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin


 

Monday, October 11, 2004

Walking off the Turkey

After a day that involved Football (Way to go Toronto!), some shopping and, some more turkey, we headed out to Little Red Park and some major hill climbing.


Nice way to spend an evening.


 


 


 

Hey, a day off!!

Happy Thanksgiving! Well, at least for the Canadian readers.


It's been a beautiful Thanksgiving weekend up here in P.A. so far.


Yesterday we had some friends over for lunch and ate turkey till we gobbled. Then we sang Happy Birthday to Prince Albert, and finally ended it in a Post-Turkey haze.


Then last night the kids wanted a fire so we got one lit in the back fire pit for a while. It has been beautiful up here these days, +19 C and sunny and warm, just gorgeous.


Last night we slept like the dead, in fact it's 10:41 and I and Micah are the only ones up yet! We haven't had a day off for so long...


So, I've got the Tea brewing, I just turned on BBC3, and it's partially overcast outside. Looks like a good day to do not much but be thankful.


So, to you and yours, Happy Thanksgiving Day, Canadian style.


 

Saturday, October 09, 2004

It's a Dry Cold

Tonight Lauralea and I attended the play, "It's a Dry Cold" which was a part of Prince Albert's 100th birthday celebration this weekend.


We got dressed up and went and had a great time.


Then, afterwards, we tried to go out for coffee with some friends. The first two places advertised that they were open till 11 pm. The time was 9:45pm. They were both closed.


This probably says more about P.A. than the historical play did.


 

Thursday, October 07, 2004

So, how come

when I wore this Tshirt I got like 3 comments?


 

Party on Wayne, and Phil, and Grace, and Paul, and Toni, and Matt, and Marc and Tammy...

I really appreciated the dialogue on the previous post. That was (and still is I see!) a blast. My conclusion? Context is just about everything. Today's context finds me preparing a funeral for a man I never met. This is never easy, but I rediscovered a neat passage in Isaiah that is a wonderful reminder of our future. It also isn't as controversial (well, unless you wanna have a go over the "well aged wine" thing!)
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Isaiah 25:6-9
Sounds like we've got invitations to a real blowout, a party to make all other previous parties seem like quaint little get-togethers. This is one party I don't want to miss, for anything.


The Shirt is Mightier Than The Sword

Well, this will go down in the history of randallfriesen.com, as "The day the T-Shirt came to Town."


Kinda cool discussion going on about it, very interesting.


So, I was running it through my mind thinking, what would be the opposite of this shirt. What would it say?



We are Great...
We have everything to offer...
We know most everything...
We have a great deal of people who attend our church. And we meet in a wonderful large well equipped space where we listen to speakers tell us about God.
Come, and have all the answers with us.


?


What should a shirt say?


A shirt to get people talking to you. A shirt that may provoke a conversation, or strong feelings.


Many of you commented on what the shirt should not say. Let's start talking about what the shirt should say.


What would you put on your shirt?


Enter your Shirt Statements in the comments box below, and let's see what we come up with.


 

This deep thought brought to you by Thomas Merton


"Many poets are not poets for the same reason many religious men are not saints: they never succeed in being themselves. They never get around to being the particular poet or the particular monk they are intended to be by God. They never become the man or the artist who is called for by all the circumstances of their individual lives.


They wear out their minds and bodies in a hopeless endeavor to have somebody else's experiences or write somebody else's poems or possess somebody else's spirituality.


...humility consists in being precisely the person you actually are before God, and since no two people are alike, if you have the humility to be yourself you will not be like anyone else in the whole universe.


To the truly humble man the ordinary ways and customs and habits of men are not a matter for conflict. The saints do not get excited about the things that people eat and drink, wear on their bodies, or hang on the walls of their houses. To make conformity or non-conformity with others in these accidents a matter of life and death is to fill your interior life with confusion and noise.


He is able to see quite clearly what is useful to him may be useless for somebody else, and what helps others to be saints might ruin him. That is why humility brings with it a deep refinement of spirit, a peacefulness, a tact and a common sense without which there is no sane morality.


It is not humility to insist of being someone that you are not. It is as much as saying that you know better than God who you are and who you ought to be. How do you expect to arrive at the end of your own journey if you take the road to another man's city?"


Thomas Merton,


"New Seeds of Contemplation"

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

Your church need a Mission Statement?


 


via.


Just Visiting



March 18, 2002. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- A manhunt is under way in Pakistan for suspects in a grenade attack on a church in Islamabad which left at least five people dead and scores of others injured.
An American woman and her 17-year-old daughter have been confirmed as among the dead, officials said, killed after male attackers threw grenades into the church during Sunday services.
More than 40 people were injured, including at least 10 Americans.

via. or here.

Lauralea's Uncle Gary was in Islamabad that day, and he was attending worship that morning, in that church.

And because of that terrible event, life has changed for him and his wife, Joan.

One of the grenades went off near his head. His hearing is mostly gone. The effects of post traumatic stress disorder continue to be a part of their lives, although he's much better these days. And the biggest change? They are having to leave their beloved Pakistan to return home to work in their mission's headquarters here in Canada.

Now, you would think that a fair response to such terrorism would be anger, rage, grief and many levels of frustration and bitterness. But not these two.

Oh, don't get me wrong, they have gone through seasons of these dark times, and Uncle Gary reports that the telling of the story stirs up all kinds of emotions and pain again. But, my observation has been that these are indeed seasons of time for them. They choose not to live there perpetually. And while they have more reason than most to be angry and bitter, they exhibit real love and acceptance.

Uncle Gary and Aundt Joan have been at our house yesterday and today. Last night they told their story at the church, and we have been blessed to hang around them for a while.

Their love for Muslim people, and the people of Pakistan in particular, is amazing.

Their love for God is even more so.

They feel very deeply God's love for them, and have experienced it first hand. And, because He loves them, they respond in kind. And so they love. As deeply as they have been loved.

I think that this is part of the answer to the question of violence I was asking about the other day. In fact, I really believe it's the only answer.

How can you forgive somebody for violence? How can you love somebody deeply? How can you love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you? Well, by experiencing those things yourself first.

We need to know God's love and forgiveness in our own lives first, before we can ever pass those gifts on to others.

The world will do what the world will do, and evil men will continue to plot acts of violence. The only difference in this world will be in how the followers of Jesus respond to the violence. If we respond as the world does, then we will not be heard, in fact we will just add to the noise.

But, if we react the way our leader taught us to, there is hope. Hope for us, hope for our children, hope for our neighbours.

Monday, October 04, 2004

7 down

I've been thinking lately, how it's been seven years, to today I think, that the search committee of Gateway Covenant Church flew me in for a sneak visit to the church. It's a bit fuzzy, but as I recollect they had brought in a possible candidate or two to present to the church, who turned out to be rather a poor fit. So, they brought me in to meet with them as a committee, and I attended church, kind of as a visitor on Sunday morning.


I remember it was a weird, fun weekend. I wasn't motivated to leave the place where I was pastoring, so I felt no pressure to perform. I was able to relax, and be myself.


I recall that the search committee was huge, as in 15 people or so. The thinking was to have all the different groups that made up Gateway, in that group. I remember feeling like the task was way bigger than I was, that we could fit here, but my work would change from church planting/building to church care and healing. I had felt God leading me in those directions for some time already.


Sunday morning the church thought I was a guest, and treated me as such. I remember feeling welcomed, but the Sanctuary was so open and empty ...


After the service, the search committee and I went out to lunch, and I saw how they interacted with one another. That was kind of a neat thing, I recall being impressed.


Later that afternoon I flew back to Winnipeg. And a couple of weeks later the church called and asked if we would like to bring our family down for a weekend, which we did.


The rest, as they say, was history.


Mostly, I love it here.


I love the generosity and patience of the people. I love the city. I love that we've been able to explore different kinds of worship. I love that the church has been getting healthy, that the children have been growing up and going into ministry themselves.


And, after 7 not always easy years, I can say I do love being here still. And I'm ready to remain as long as the head of this church wants me to stay here.


 

Saturday, October 02, 2004

Friday, October 01, 2004

The World's on Fire

A boy picks up the damaged bicycle of his dead brother after car bombs laid waste to a Baghdad ceremony celebrating a sewer project. Associated Press photo by Khalid Mohammed.



Hearts are worn
In these dark ages
You're not alone,
In these stories' pages
The light has fallen
Amongst the living and the dying
And I'll try to hold it in
Yeah I'll try to hold it in


The world is on fire
It's more than I can handle
I'll tap into the water
Try and bring my share
Try to bring more, more than I can handle
Bring it to the table
Bring what I am able ...


I watch the heavens
But I find no calling
Something I can do to change what's coming
Stay close to me
While the sky is falling
I don't wanna be left alone,
Don't want to be alone...


Hearts break ... hearts mend ... love still hurts
visions clash ... planes crash
Still there's talk of saving souls
Still the cold is closing in on us


We part the veil on our killer sun
Stray from the straight line
On this short run ...
The more we take the less we become
The fortune of one man means less for some


The world is on fire
It's more than I can handle
I'll tap into the water
Try and bring my share
Try to bring more, more than I can handle
Bring it to the table
Bring what I am able ...


Sarah McLachlan


 

It's enough already


"Baghdad, Iraq -- The jeans were falling off the little boy who lay slumped in the arms of his father. Blood seeped from his lolling head. His eyes were closed.


Running through the front door of Yarmouk hospital, the man rushed his son to the emergency room, past the growing pool of black-red blood on the floor underneath the gurney of another patient. He placed the boy, who looked about 7 years old, on a bed, and a doctor in a white coat quickly examined him.


The boy was dead, the doctor told the man.


"They killed my son," shouted the man, as the emergency room went silent for a second. "You killed my son. I killed my son, with my hands. I will die. My son, my son, my son, my son."


The man slapped his head with his hands. He crouched down on his knees and held his boy, tears streaming down his cheeks. A policeman stood behind him, his face crumpling into tears. The doctor pulled a piece of white muslin over the boy. The father picked him up and about three minutes since he had arrived at the hospital, he carried his son in his arms out of the front door again.


Thirty-five children were among the 42 who died yesterday in suicide bombings in Baghdad."


via.


Enough soldiers have died.


Enough aid and care workers have died.


More than enough regular people, trying to carve out a life in a war torn country, have died.


Way more than enough children have died.


Enough.


It's time to call the soldiers home.


It's time to take the 1.47 billion spent each week on the war, and ask another country to go in and help the Iraqi people build good Hospitals and homes and schools and roads and businesses and give what's left to the  people so they can rebuild and get back on their feet. 


Pushing the fight won't make it better anymore. It will just make it bitter.


It's Enough.


And somebody very high up should take responsibility for the mistakes that have been made, and the information that's been wrong.


 


I don't comment on this very often, but this is Enough. It just is.


 



"Three ceiling-high refrigerators constitute the hospital's morgue. They sit at the rear of the compound, with a back door that allows relatives who have identified bodies to carry them quickly away for burial.


All three refrigerators were full yesterday.


A man in a pink shirt and black pants leaned against a metal pole and sobbed. Another banged his head against a wall. Women wailed, clasped each other, rocking back and forth in a rhythm of grief and comfort. There were too many people crying to count.


Inside the refrigerators were piles of bodies, most of them of children. Severed limbs lay next to some.


A group of men found their young relative in one of the walk-in refrigerators, then prepared a rough wooden coffin outside it by lining the box with a pink floral sheet. On a stretcher they carried out a boy of about 12. He was skinny, his hip bones jutting out as if he had been undergoing a pubescent growth spurt. His body looked already stiff with death when the men lifted him off the stretcher and into the coffin.


"This is freedom?" asked al-Janabi, the man who had lost a nephew. He pointed at the dead boy."