Insomnia kicking in

I can't sleep. When I do get to sleep I then find myself waking up as many as five times a night. Seems that there's something going on and I can't figure it out. The only time I seem to sleep through the night these days is when I ingest something to make me sleep and that just tiring, I know that's a bad pun.

Apparently there's something funny going on in my blood stream. I went to my local phlebotomist the other day and a few days later received the dreaded call from the health centre that the Dr. wants to see you about the tests. Something to do with letters and numbers and levels and who knows what. I am a man and I don't make a habit of seeing the Dr. real often. Actually they are nice people. They are two doctors who share a practice. And why do they have to practice anyway, shouldn't they be good at it by now? When I started my new job, I had to practice (read role play) for two days and I was off and running, but I don't get to prescribe mind altering drugs, although there are some people who could use them if I could prescribe them. Now I'm way off topic, as usual.

There is something bothering me. That situation about those people who adopted all those kids and then were murdered in Florida is bothering me. You know all the fuss about Michael Jackson dying and what did he do to help humanity? OK maybe he gave a few bucks to some telethon sometime (he might have under an assumed name) and then maybe not, I think he was flat broke when he died. But these folks had done so much to help all those kids and where's the big hullabaloo about them. Oh it will die (another bad pun) down soon and then they will be forgotten except for all those kids who lost the Mommy and Daddy.

Where do people get off just killing someone like that? It's almost unforgivable you know. Just about all this stuff is so bad, I think I could never forgive if it happened to me or my family and then I am reminded about a story that Jesus told in the bible about a man owing the King 10, 000 talents. I heard that a talent was equal to 20 years wages, so someone owing 10, 000 times 20 years of their salary would owe a lot. You think about your salary and determine what it might be if you were owing 20 years salary times 10,000. It's is so large it would be impossible to pay back in many lifetimes and that is the point Jesus is making!

We (the individuals in the human race) are represented by the man who owes Him, the King, the debt. It is unpayable (I doubt that it's a word, but I just made it up) and the King forgives the debt. So no matter what I have done, or will do, if my relationship with the King is right, then my debt is paid as in "forgive us our debts as we forgive those who owe us" my paraphrase. So, no matter what is "owed" to me out there, the hurt, the damage, the disrespect, the failed promises and no matter what else, I must forgive and then set myself free and the debtor free as well.

Those men in Florida will deal with the Florida department of justice and in the words of Dr. Mennan, "someday there will be a reckoning" and someone with greater power than the Florida department of justice will determine who has been forgiven and who has not. Either way, they will face the King and He will "reign for ever and ever".

My reading list

It's summer holidays and I get to do what I like to do (well most of the time). For me that means time alone with my beloved just hanging out, long chats over coffee (or you name the beverage), cooking favourite meals and even trying some new ones, washing the car, resting, reading, sipping, and even time alone. Now that's what I call a vacation. We will also spend 5 days next week sans enfants.

The rest of this week (and the majority of next week) will be comprised of a combination of resting and reading. I have continued to journey through the bible, in fact I am more than half way through the entire book and I plan on continuing my bible reading on a daily basis(can't quit now and don't want to).

In addition to this, I will be reading everything from the Sun (Toronto and Ottawa, to see what's up with the latest Heater saga) to simple reads like: "The Shack" (I have tried reading it at least five times), "tuesdays with Morrie", the latest Cussler (or some older ones), a biography on Churchill and some marriage related books. No we are not in trouble, we are doing well thank you very much and have been given the opportunity to mentor others in their marriages. We will ensure that we are not considered counsellors, because we are not. Our role is to walk beside people as they need someone to chat with as they navigate the roller coaster that marriage invariably is. We will also use the "Love and Respect" material, by Emmerson Eggerichs. We have used this material in a small group setting and will be presenting it to a larger group on Sunday mornings at our church in the fall. I am excited to go through this again, more opportunities to learn to be a better husband.

One marriage book is called: "How we Love" by Milan and Kay Yerkovich (great name eh?). They are a married couple who are trained marriage counsellors. I've been trying to read this book for some time and now have finally been able to crack the pages and have begun to delve deeper into the things that affect our current state. Interestingly, they point to childhood issues that now continue to affect our lives in the present. Those issues are comfort, touch and listening. They suggest that how we were comforted (or not at all), how we were touched (lots of issues for lots of people here) and how we were listened to (or not at all) have a significant affect on our adult to adult (married and other) and adult to child relationships.

I feel like I am back at school and studying and I am enjoying it. I want to take all of it in and then pass it on to as many people as I can. I love this stuff because it makes sense. I realize that I need to be in "the mood" to get this stuff. I need to be away from the daily demands of work and be able to focus my attention on the material at hand. Fortunately, this being vacation time I can take as much time as I want to read, take notes, commit it to memory and then continue to learn from it.

I am sure that there will be many blogs coming from my summer reading material, so be prepared to hear(read) some of my thoughts about the material.

Just thinking and reviewing

I've been thinking about my blog and my musing on this Tuesday.

If you know me, you know how much I treasure family and friends and guests that are new too. I do not want to be misunderstood so to be clear, I like my quietness and privacy, I do not dislike my family and friends and new guests. I actually try to demonstrate love and kindness to them whether they are old friends(family) or new acquaintances. OK now that I've said that, I am at peace.

Tuesday Musings (#44)

Happy Tuesday everyone

Day two of summer vacation and so far it's gone pretty well. The weather has been good, at least I think so. There has been enough sun, some heat to stay warm on the deck and little rain, so far. We have had house guests for almost the last two weeks. The first half was a guest of Josh's and the second was the sister of my beloved. I like both of them and enjoyed being with them, although Josh's friend may not return, but that"s a story for another post in another time.

I know that in the past I have blogged about house guests. I do not particularly like having overnight guests in my home for prolonged periods of time. Don't get me wrong, I think I am quite hospitable and I love to entertain, I just get tired of people being in my space (another type of social networking) on an ongoing basis. Our little abode is not that big, well to be honest it's not big at all so invariably, I retreat to my bedroom or to my office(where the computer and itunes are) for some peace, quiet and personal time.

Thankfully, the weather has been good and most activities have been outside. Maybe I need to look inside and see why I don't share so much when it comes to my home. I love cooking for guests and enjoy the pleasure that they receive from the meals that I prepare. I usually play nice in the sandbox, so to speak, and I am looking forward to the next few days of just my beloved and I (well Josh is still around too, but Alex is at camp) spending some time together without interruption and ceaseless additional noises.

I love family and friends and just like medicine I take them in small doses and only when prescribed. I guess I just like my own little family and my little bungalow and the simplicity of our existence. I hope I don't sound rude or small minded, but this is who I am and what I experience. I'm not usually rude intentionally so I'm sure they didn't even notice my forays in privacy as they did their thing.

Just so you know, next Tuesday I will be at the cottage, so there may not be any musing online until I get home. I will probably just sit on the dock with pen and pad and write it out, ahhh serenity .....pretty tough to handle eh?

Happy Tuesday everyone

Obscure lyric for the week of July 13/09

Hello and welcome to the second week of July. I'm beginning to transition to my tribute to the music and the amazing music event that was Woodstock. I wasn't there, I hadn't even entered this country, never mind the good old US of A. I wonder if any of those who read this actually attended the festival.

This is a summer song and was sung at Woodstock, by whom I guess you will have to figure. I am away from work right now enjoying the sunshine and the rest. I am reading as much as I can.  It looks like it's going to be nice for the next two weeks (good for me) and hopefully the uplifting benefit of summer will encourage you as it is me.

here are some lyrics from this weeks song:

I'm gonna raise a fuss, I'm gonna raise a holler

About workin' all summer just to earn a dollar

Every time I call my baby, and try to get a date

my boss says, "no dice son, you gotta work late"

I would like to know:

The name of the song:

The writer of the song:

Who sang it at Woodstock:

Approximately what time this song was sung at Woodstock:

Have a great week. I'll send out the big reveal on Friday. If you would like to guess, feel free to write to me at my home address.  

The big reveal for the week of July 6/09

Yeah it's Friday! Welcome to the weekend. For me, the end of today is the start of two weeks of vacation. I have been waiting for this since January. The last time I had more than three days off was in January, so this break is going to be so sweet. I have very little planned which for me is the best kind of vacation.

Alright now (hmm Argent I think) let's get back to the summer songs. A few of you have identified that you are still reading the blog and the following two people were the first to e-mail with the correct answers: Chris W. (way to go, second week in a row) and Lori S. The rest of you must be on vacation.

Here are this week's answers:

The song: Summer Breeze

The writer (s): Jim Seals and Dash Crofts

The "brothers" who covered the song: The Isley Brothers (not the Jacksons).

As I am on vacation for the next two weeks, I will do my best to get the songs out next Monday and will advise you via my personal e-mail, feel free to reply to that address if you know the answer. The following week I will be away from all computers (yeah) and will just program (speaking of computers) the lyric and answer before I go.

Below you will see a pretty rough video of the song. I prefer to remember the days when this was playing so clearly on my am/fm radio and every time I heard it I would rush to turn it up, especially when we were sitting at the beach in Port.

Have a great weekend. Mine will last more than the usual 2 days, it's gonna be 16 days long. And Oh what a feeling that's gonna be! As Covey says, it's time to "sharpen the saw". Let me just say that this saw needs some sharpening. Over the next two weeks there will be lots of reading and relaxing and then my beloved and I will get 5 days alone just to listen, talk, listen some more and enjoy the quiet and rest of the cottage.

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.

Struck by beauty, drowning in tears

Have you ever been struck by beauty that you just couldn't shake it? I am sure that you have, I have recently been struck by the beauty of a piece of music that I cannot let it go. Amazing that an 8 minute or so piece of music can have such a strong hold on me. The song and its lyric content has had me in tears since Fathers day. My kids gave me an itunes card as a gift and I "discovered" the following song. It's a pain filled song of loss and penitence and hopefully redemption.

The one line that keeps coming back to me is "Lord, how long must this go on"? How many times has this been the cry of my own heart? One thing that struck me about the participants in this version of the song (including the incomparable Billy Preston on the organ) is the amount of emotion spent to play their parts, clearly Clapton wrote and sings the part, but his playing shows such raw emotion exuding the pain. The others, including the drummer, play with such abandon the speaks to their complete commitment to the presentation of this piece. Take a few moments and turn this up, watch and listen, maybe shed a tear for whatever has gone on too long for you.

Remember, at the  end we must move forward and not "drown in this river of tears".

     

Here is another version, I'll let you decide which one you like better, I can't.


Have a great day wherever you are listening to this. How long O lord has been asked by others and He will answer in His perfect timing, not yours or mine. Be patient, wait and persevere. It is this endurance that will have you smile through the tears.

Tuesday Musings # 43

Happy Tuesday everyone

I was driving to Hanover this morning and heard someone on the radio talk about endurance. They were not talking about running a race (or maybe they were) but rather about making a decision in the midst of opposition and then having the internal fortitude to keep going, sometimes against the grain.


How many times have there been when you have made a decision to do something and in the midst of the situation, opposition came and you changed your mind to take the easier road, the road less travelled some say. I have a difference of opinion with someone and I need to express myself (in some ways challenge that person). This is not someone close to me, we have rarely spoken, but "rub shoulders" in a number of arenas and I just can't get the issue off my mind. So to my family, friends work colleagues and others who read this, relax, I won't be calling you anytime soon for a chat. The old "we need to talk" chat.


So, do I have the endurance to call and speak and express my opinion or do I take the easier (or not) road and not say anything and let the issue die. It's all about communication you see. In my less than humble opinion, poor communication and choices lead to a situation where I felt that I could not do my best in a situation where I try to present my best always. Did anyone notice? My wife did and my kids did, they knew that something was up and that I was projecting something less than usual.


The question I need to ask is will my "endurance" in completing this task cause greater harm than if I do nothing. We have been taught to take our issues directly to the one who we have the issue with, so to do an "end around" to the person in charge just doesn't work, although I am sure that this path (end around) is much easier and more often used, or is it? I am not sure that I have the endurance to keep thinking about it (a common practice) so maybe I'll just avoid it and them. Wow, who would have thought that a simple word about something else heard on the radio would cause such consternation? I know this, I will keep thinking, listening and do what is right, sometime soon. I am on holidays for the next two Tuesdays, I may not have anything to muse about and then again, I may.

Happy Tuesday everyone

Obscure lyric for the week of July 6/09

Wow it's July already. We have just come through Canada day and Independence day (yeah Will Smith) and it's Monday. This week, I have intentionally chosen a song by an American and since I have family, and friends who were "Born in the USA" I need to give them equal places on the stage that is the "obscure musical lyric".

This weeks song was written by one of two people or was it written by both? I am not sure so you will have to let me know what is correct. The song was released in 1972 (the year of the original Canada Russia hockey challenge). The song reached number 6 on the U.S. charts. The song was re-issued in 1974 by a set of "brothers" and covered by many others.

Here are some of the lyrics (apropos as we are now in July):

sweet days of summer, the jasmine's in bloom

July is dressed up and playing her tune

when I come home from a hard days work

and you're waiting there, not a care in the world

I would like to know the following:

The name of the song:

The name of the writer (s) and the band:

The name of the "other" band one of the members is/was in:

The name of the "brothers" who covered the song:

Have a great week, I will be on holidays in one week. I am so ready for a few weeks away. No worries though, I will prepare the blog ahead of time so when I am away you will have something to look at on Mondays and Fridays. Oh by the way, for the month of August I am planning on using some of the music from the original Woodstock, seeing that this year is the 40Th anniversary of the little party at Max Yasgur's farm in upstate New York

The big reveal for the week of June 29/09

Welcome to Friday, apparently, the sun is supposed to return for the next few days. I don't know about you but I am ready for some vitamin d big time. I may not have seasonal affective disorder, but I need some sunshine in my life. There you go humming along with Stevie Wonder...... "you are the sunshine of my life................"

I had two correct guesses this week, although neither knew all of the obscure answers and they admitted to it as well. This weeks winners are Chris W. and Paul K. (my bro-in-law). I have some really bad pictures of him (he normally looks nice) from a family gathering but did not have time to get his permission, so maybe the next time. Congrats to the two of you and I assume many more guessed the correct song and band name.

here are your answers:

The name of the song: Sunny Days

The name of the band: Lighthouse

How they got their name: Duke Ellington (yes that Duke Ellington), introduced them for their gig at the Rock Pile (Toronto's Masonic Temple) as follows: " I'm beginning to see the light........house" and the rest as they say is history.

The band's original name: The paupers

Where Howard Shore (Saxophonist for the band and writer of the music for the Lord of the Rings movies and many more) went to work in 1975: Saturday Night Live

I could not find a version on utube that showed the band live, but you know what just listening to this song makes me smile. There is at least one other version on utube that just didn't fit this blog, so I left it there.

Have an awesome weekend, the sun will return. As a friend of mine says, the sun is shining above the clouds. Enjoy some well deserved time away from the grind stone. Wasn't Canada day great in the middle of the week? I loved it. I am planning on finding a song to celebrate our friends from the south for next weeks song, partly because we have American family and we are (actually my son is hosting a "friend" for a few days) having a young lady visit us next week who is from Alabama or somewhere down there. This should be fun!

Love is to the heart what summer is to the farmer's year - it brings to harvest all the loveliest flowers of the soul