Count Them!

Well, as much as I want to talk about the Canucks/Bruins game that will be over by the time you read this... I'm not going to. Whatever has happened has happened. The world continues to turn, and the sun continues to shine (I think). It would be nice if it turned and shined on the Canucks' Stanley Cup parade... but, I'm not talking about that.

Being worried about a hockey game is such a trivial thing. I got a wonderful story from the my Mom's cousin (my first cousin once removed for those who are keeping track) of her teenage years living through, and after, WWII as a German speaking person living in Poland. I found myself up past 1am reading the amazing story of her plight, flight, and rescue through those terrible years in Eastern Europe. I hope to have a link to the story soon... but having her share about needing to worry about getting food, water, avoidiing bombs and rapes, losing and trying to find her family... makes any stress that we feel nowadays seems trivial, at best. We really are a blessed people living in a blessed nation at a blessed time! Count them!!

So even if my team loses (not that I'm talking about that)... I'm blessed!

Lottie's Story

This is the story written by my Grandma's niece (making her my Mom's cousin... and my first cousin once removed). Most of the spelling and grammar is as she wrote it.

Lottie’s Story

The beginning: First of all I want to say that my family and I are German, born in Poland. We not for a moment thought of ourselves other than German. We had our own churches, all denominations, Lutherans, Baptists, Mennonites, what have you. The government of course was Polish, and Poles held high-ranking offices, like president etc. The main language was Polish of course, but we in the village spoke German all the time. My grandmother understood Polish but never learned the language, and pretty well those in our village that spoke Polish, did so with an accent, at least my relatives. In our nearest little town, Gombin, business was done in both languages, and the business people were mostly Jewish, also Polish or German. To that little town the farmers took their stuff to the market and also that was where you bought larger items like clothing etc. In school we were taught Polish and German and we kids spoke our language among ourselves. We had two Polish families living near us, they were for hire, when some farmer needed help, they were called on.

They spoke German as well as we did. Their kids went to school with us and there never was any trouble between us all. The Polish government was very satisfied with the German farmers. They paid their taxes on time, and the farms were very well looked after. First of all the earth was very rich, and the German people had everything in order, in other words they prospered. We also had many orchards. My family grew all the fruit possible. What we could not use ourselves was sold.

We lived very close to the largest river in Poland, called Vistula. In German Weichsel. Large boats and barges went up and down to larger cities, including the Polish capital Warsaw. There my father would take the fruit, mostly apples and plums for sale. We lived about 80 km from Warsaw. On two occasions my Dad took me along. I remember on the large market you could see all kinds if things that we did not grow. One man was selling something that looked so good, so I asked my Dad to get me some. It was watermelon. I sure did not like it. But with my Dad, you ate it, even if you hated it, so I did. My Dad also took me on a streetcar in Warsaw, we went to a zoo. For a kid seven years old or so, that was really something . None, absolutely none of my friends had ever been to Warsaw, never mind to a zoo. There I remember mostly big beautiful birds that talked. That impressed me the most, of course all the other animals like lions elephants etc. did too. One other thing I remember on that trip was that we got lost, and my dad was worried we’d miss the boat, and I was very very worried, probably cried. However, we made it home safely.

I also remember going on a school trip on the boat to another larger city called Plock, about 30 km from home. My parents gave me one zloty to spend for the day. That was a fortune in my eyes, but I blew the wad. That was were I tasted ice cream for the first time. Imagine that I was probably 8 or 9 years old and had an ice cream cone for the first time. How times have changed.

Our school was a typical country school. One teacher, one room, and the teacher had taught my uncles, so you can see, he was pretty old. But I was his pet. I was asked to do all the neat things, got to sing a solo in school plays, all kinds of neat things that happen in school. When the weather was bad, like snowy or raining, he asked me to stay over. The teacher and his family lived in the same building as the school, and the church was very close, just a few feet away. The teacher was also a very close friend of my grandfather. When we visited Poland in 1991 we stopped by the school, and after not seeing the place for 50 some years, there was hardly any change. It was not a school anymore, a family lived there, the kids were bussed to some other place, but the building had not changed and the church was used for Catholic services. Mind you it was very very run down. It brought tears to my eyes.

Tribute to the Uncle I Never Knew

by Kev Haug on Monday, 06 June 2011 at 18:00

According to my Dad, it is James Haugan's 42nd birthday today. I never knew much about my Uncle Jim, other than that he was hilarious, good-looking, and died in a car accident at the age of 20. I have seen home video's of him making people laugh, and there's a picture burned into my memory of him sitting with Curtis and Dean on a couch with huge manly man-thighs, and golden hair. Looked like a Hollywood Star if I ever saw one. He was dearly loved by all who knew him, a brother, a son, a friend, a fiance, an uncle. My Dad loved his little brother, I know this for many reasons, one of which happened two days ago, which I will explain later. When I visited Uncle Leroy, or Great-uncle Leroy, I was sitting in the basement with him watching some CFL football during this past summer of 2010. We got to talking about life, school, and whatnot, and we ended up on the topic of Uncle Jim. Leroy was living life away from the Lord, and he was sent to live with my Grandpa Miles and was straightened out. He came to know God, repented, and began his life on a new road. Years later, it was his turn to return the favor. Grandpa Miles sent young Jim, 20 years old, or around there, to live with Leroy at Peace River. Uncle Leroy went on to tell me about how wonderful a young man Jim was, how he had a quality about him that could only be described as "angelic", and how he turned his life over to the Lord during his time there in Peace River. There came an evening when they were eating out in Peace River and Jim had his first filet mignon. He, according to Leroy, turned to him and said, "I want to stay 20 forever." Uncle Leroy went on to tell me that he didn't know it at the time, but what he said was prophetic. Jim left shortly thereafter, but stopped in to say goodbye to Leroy and Shirley. Leroy told me that when he came to say goodbye he was glowing. Once again that word came up, angelic. Shortly after that evening, he died in a car crash. I left that conversation feeling that I came to knew my Uncle a little more.

Fast forward to this year, 2011. At a point during my school year I felt the need to see pictures and videos of my Uncle, and to show them to my girlfriend Sheila. I called upon Uncle Joell to hook a nephew up. In a matter of minutes I was in contact of a wealth of photos and a few videos of Jim. I told Sheila about how my Uncle was a movie star, how funny he was and how good he was at hockey. Once again a few blanks were filled.

My father and I watch hockey together. I should clarify, we watch a lot of Canucks together. My dad and his little brother Jim used to watch the Canucks together. It was a point of bonding for them, and it was one of many things that brought them very close. Hockey was one thing, in the very least, that the two had in common. I know for a fact that when my Dad watches the Canucks that he is cheering enough for two people, himself and his little brother.

It all came together during the last game, where the Canucks moved up 2-0 with a Burrows OT winner. The day was June 4th, two days before Jim's birthday. When the puck went in we both let out a holler, one that Richard Phillips would be proud of. We watched Alex Burrows fire an arrow up to the rafters for his late friend Luc Bourdon. I took a peek over to my Dad, normally a stoic Norwegian. His eyes were wet, my old man was getting choked up. Why? It was just game 2, wasn't it? It was much more.

I realized that whenever I watched hockey with my father, over these years, I was taking a spot. This spot was my Uncle Jim's. As brothers they would watch the Canucks, in 82 they lost out in the finals. 22 years after his brothers death, a son turning 20 this year had the privilege of sitting at his father's side finishing something that should have been accomplished a long time ago. When the Canucks score a goal, when they win a game, somehow, in some way, I know that the high-fives exchanged are not only between father and son, but between father and brother. I know that when my dad sees Burrows fire an arrow into the rafters for his late friend, he fires an arrow of his own into heaven for his little brother. Tonight in the Haugan house, as the Canucks attempt to go up 3-0, there will be three Haugan boys watching the game, one from a better seat than the other two.

In the end I can say this to all of those who have been separated from someone they love, from the book of Samuel. In David's own words comes our comfort. "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." We shall go to him. Jim has left us, but all our family will be back together again, where many high-fives will be exchanged over a good many things, including the Stanley Cup we are all hoping the Canucks win this year.

Here's to you, the Uncle I never knew.

Pens!!!

We got some sample pens at the church office today. This got me to thinking (yes, it does happen occasionally). How many pens have I had in my lifetime? How many pens do I have now (either in my home or in my office)? I just pulled out 15 pens from the top drawer of my desk (not counting the pencils, highlighters, and crayons). 15. There are days that go by that I never even pick up a pen...let alone use 15 of them. At home, I know we have many pens scattered around the house. Probably hundreds. I can't remember buying any of them (my wife may have bought a few for the kids' school supplies) but do pick up all the free ones I can at hotels/conferences/promotions/stores/jail. Nowadays, I type on a keyboard almost every day, but often go days without using a pen.

Throughout my life I remember a few very important pens. I got one for being in the wedding party at Ron and Carrie Stare's wedding (I don't know where it is now). I remember that I used a pen to sign my marriage license, but I don't remember what it looked like. I remember the many pens I used to write exams in high school and college. I remember I used a pen when I wrote a cheque for my first car (a yellow Ford Fiesta). I remember I used a pen when I wrote the names of our children on the government forms after their birth.

As many pens as I have... it seems that when I really need one, I can't find one... or, if I do, it refuses to write.

Pens are now commonplace in our world. Even as little as 100 years ago, pens were hard to find, expensive, and delicate. A family would have only one or two pens for the entire household, and they were kept in special places to protect them. Writing letters was the only way to communicate over great distance so people developed their penmanship and used fancy lettering to impart their emotion and feeling into their writing. Today, people use emoticons :) . Pens, like so many things that had great value and importance in the past, are now so commonplace that we don't even value them anymore (unless we can't find one).

There are more Bibles around than at any time in history. In fact, there are probably only a handful of houses in Canada that don't have one or more of them. Is your Bible (paper and/or electronic versions) becoming so commonplace that you don't value it anymore? You see it lying around the house but never use it? Pick it up, crack it open, read the words in ink (or e-ink), and let this everyday book change your life.

Typed... not handwritten... by Joell

Great Save!

"Great save Luongo!" Jim Hughson is the play-by-play announcer for the CBC broadcasts of the Vancouver Canucks' games this year. In previous years he was the radio announcer for the Canucks... and years before that, he started in radio in my home town of Fort St John, BC on CKNL radio (CFNL in Fort Nelson). Now, to be honest, I actually don't remember him on the radio...although I'm pretty sure I listened to him call a few Flyers' games (that's the Fort St John Flyers) that I wasn't able to attend. (Most of the time, at least one of my older brothers would be going to the game, and I'd beg my brothers to take me with me with them. Usually, that didn't work. So I'd go and cry to my mother, who would call the siblings on the carpet and force them to take me. That still didn't always work though, and I'd take the radio into my bedroom and listen on the radio.)

Hughson went from Fort St John to Kelowna and then to Vancouver, where he became the understudy of my all-time favourite hockey announcer, and Saskatchewan native, Jim Robson. He eventually replaced Robson as the official CKNW Canucks' announcer 1994, and then went on to work TV games for Sportsnet and now for CBC.

Hughson's "calling card" call is saying "great save (insert goalie's name here)", and he does so with great vigour. And, as a Canucks' fan, it gives great comfort to hear those three words "great save, Luongo" time after time as they now head to the Stanley Cup finals against either Boston or Tampa Bay.

Now, as comforting as it is to hear those three words... I have to admit that inserting another name into that catch phrase actually makes a world of difference. "Great save, Jesus", while sounding a little sacrilegious, actually provides comfort to anyone on the planet who simply decides to join "God's team". Of course, Jesus doesn't stop pucks for us, but rather stops the wages of sin... and saves all of us players on the team...not for just one season, but for eternity.

Oh, and by the way, He'd love to have you join his team. Where else can you join a team that is guaranteed to win?

Joell
PS Go Canucks. :)

Jesus is not coming back on Saturday - I promise.

According to a radio preacher in the US (http://www.familyradio.com/), the rapture is going to happen on Saturday. Yes, this Saturday. Let me go out on the limb here and unequivocally predict that it won't happen on that day. I'll be here next week writing another ComBap Update, Lord willing. Yes, I think Jesus will come back again... but, as you've heard in my sermons, we really don't know what that will look like, if there is a "rapture" at the beginning of a "tribulation" or in the middle..or at the end... or even at all. Theologians have been arguing about this for centuries, and they can't come to consensus so how's a lowly preacher like me supposed to come to an infallible conclusion about it?

And then there's this little verse in the Bible that says "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36). It's not every day that you can drag out one little verse to win a slam dunk on a big theological debate... but this is one of them! Jesus is speaking here, and he unequivocally states that nobody will know the moment of his return... not even himself! Now, does any preacher think he knows more than Jesus? Well, apparently this one does. He has bad theology and he's a bad testimony!

Biblical prophecy is amazingly accurate. The most startling example of recent prophetic predictions coming true was the reformation of Israel as a nation-state. The Bible clearly identified Israel being a nation again in the "end times", which was the source of much mocking and derision prior to 1947. As far as I know... not a single preacher/theologian predicted the way Israel would return (after a 1900 year absence). An amazing resurrection of the nation-state of Israel through the power of the United Nations... and on the heels of the holocaust. Nobody predicted it would happen that way and, yet, it happened....just as the Bible said it would. It's just way easier on the other side of the event. That's the way God designed it.

Today, yes, we can anticipate Christ's return...in whatever form or timeline it takes. I'm still looking for a few more prophesies to become reality (like the temple rebuilt) but I won't be making any predictions...except for that it won't be on Saturday...mostly because I know that God has a sense of humour and keen sense of irony.

I wonder it that guy wouldn't mind donating some of his "soon to be unneeded" cash to our building fund. Hmmm.

To celebrate or not to celebrate...that is the question.

What a week it has been already...and it's only Tuesday! We've got a new majority government. The Canucks are still playing in the NHL playoffs. And, Osama is dead.

Don't get me wrong. I'm very pleased that Osama Bin Laden has been found and killed. I am, however, uneasy with celebrating it. For the most part, the various gatherings around the world have been fairly muted. Thankful people displaying their gratitude that justice has prevailed. Some of the celebrating has been a tad too celebratory, in my humble opinion. We often watch the news of people jumping up and down, chanting slogans, and praising the death of an enemy (or calling for the death of an enemy...often the President of the US). We think to ourselves, "those people are nuts", as we watch them celebrate violence.

For the followers of Jesus, we have two very clear instructions that pertain to this situation. One is to love our enemies. The other is to love justice. There is no denying that OBL was directly involved in terrorist acts that murdered many people around the globe. To state that a just judgment on him would have been the death penalty is accurate. (Some who are not in favour of the death penalty, myself included, may wince at this...but the statement still holds.) In this case, due process and a trial would have been expensive but worth the effort. Nevertheless, we can take comfort in the fact that he has met the end that his lifelong violence deserved. However, it's sad. Very sad. How much better it would have been had he come to his senses and renounced his actions and accepted his due discipline. He would have been better off for it.

We are better off for it when we come to our senses. We also remember that it any of us could have become depraved and murderous. We all have it in us. So, we remember the oft quoted phrase "but for the grace of God, go I", which reminds us to love everyone, even our enemies, because we could, very easily, be them if the table were turned.

God loves it when people come to their senses. We should too.

Joell

The Overtime Edition

I'm sure glad life isn't like hockey. Last night I was on an emotional roller coaster as my beloved Vancouver Canucks ended up in a sudden death (or sudden life for the optimists out there) game with last year's Stanley Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks. To add even more suspense to an already heart stopping game... it ended up in overtime. Both teams' entire season rested on "next goal wins". Thankfully, there was "the big play" where the hero of the game intercepted a pass and shot it top corner over the goalie to win it for the Canucks. My heart remains unbroken (for now), but they have to win three more series in order to capture the Cup.

Photograph by: Mark Van Manen, The Province

There are 30 teams in the NHL... and for every team that doesn't win, there is the label "failure" awaiting. Sure, some of them did better than they did the previous year...and that's an encouraging sign... but for many others, the early season expectations ended up being disappointments. Out of all those teams, only one will end up with the label "winner". I'm sure glad God doesn't work that way!

In God's system, all who take the gift of grace end up being winners. We humans are not in competition with each other but, rather, our adversary is simply trying to keep us from hearing about "the big play". We just celebrated the greatest overtime winning shot that was heard around the world! Christ's death on the cross put the game of life into overtime... and the adversary thought he had the game won but, hallelujah, Christ arose, defeating the power of sin and death forever. It was sudden life for all of us!

So, regardless of which NHL team you cheer for (if any)... remember, that winning in life is possible for everyone when we put our faith in the "the big play" of the resurrection!

Walking to Rome - FAIL.

Click to embiggen

Why The Vancouver Canucks Will Make It To The Finals

Twitter is a wonderful place to watch the homers and the haters go at it. Here's a quick summary of their oft-repeated rants.

Haters

• The Canucks will not get past their nemesis - Chicago Blackhawks
• Luongo isn't that good in the playoffs
• The Sedins will disappear
• Manny Malholtra is out
• They feasted on the lesser teams to get so many points
  

Homers

• They have dominated all year ever with the most injuries of any NHL team
• Luongo is having a season year and Schneider is ready to go if needed
• The defence has been vastly improved from last year
• Their penalty kills and power plays have been awesome all year

And so it goes back and forth with even Theoren Fluery getting in to the mix on the haters side and suffering the wrath of Canucks Nation.

Still, Canucks fans were pretty excited last year and, frankly, they had a pretty good team. Had Chicago not knocked them off, they may have gone all the way. However, make no mistake about it, this is a very different team. Here's my list of why they will, at the very least, make the Stanley Cup Finals.

1. Defence. The revolving door on the blue line this season has exposed the amazing depth that the Canucks ...and the Manitoba Moose...have developed. The extras in the cast coupled with bona fide stars of Dan Hamhuis, Kevin Bieksa, and Sami Salo (for as long as he lasts) will mean that Vancouver has a solid back end... that can even take an injury, or two... or three.
2. Luongo. Last year he was overplayed, overstressed (thanks to being the captain) and undersupported by the defence. This year none of these are the case and, oh, there's that gold medal hanging around his neck which, in my books, gets any monkey off his back...and then some.
3. Faceoffs. Granted, a month ago this was a much stronger point but the loss of Manny Malhotra has dampened the impact a tad. Still, last year, especially against Chicago, they couldn't win a faceoff if their playoffs lives depended on it... and it did. Kesler has been schooled by Manny (#2 in the NHL) and is almost dominant with the 7th best percentage in the league. Henrik is now a respectable 38th in the league. Incidentally, Chicago has Jonathan Toews (8th) but nobody else about 50%.
   
4. Ryan Kesler. Perhaps more important than his strong faceoffs, if Ryan's newfound discipline and wrist shot. Both he and Burrows and taken their emotional tirades down by, what I figure, at least 75%. If Kes can retain his cool and his focus... he will provide the Nucks with the solid 2nd line that has brought them much success this season. Oh, and toss Maxim Lapierre into this mix too. Alain Vigneault must have some special sauce to keep him from going off the deep end... and it's helping.
   
5. Special Teams. Again, last year the team was not that special in this department. 1st in PP percentage and 3rd on the PK (yes, some say they would have probably finished in first here too had it not been for the string of no-purpose games at the end). Last season, the PK was 18th and the PP was as respectable 6th. They have obviously learned some good tricks and avoided some bad habits.
   
6. Goals for... and against. Yes, we've all seen high powered offensive teams hit the wall time and time again in the playoffs (Washington, last year being the most recent). Last season, who was right behind the Capitals in goals for? Yes, the Vancouver Canucks. Goals against last year? Canucks 12th. Capitals 16th. This year? You guessed it. Vancouver is #1 in both goals for and goals against. A dynamic 1-2 punch that will allow them to win in a horse race or a marathon. Incidentally, only Boston and San Jose were in the top 10 in both categories.
   

What can derail the Canucks?

1. Kesler getting hurt. By itself, not enough... but a serious blow.
2. Kesler-Burrows-Lapierre losing their cool.
3. Chicago getting Dustin Byfuglien back.... :)
4. The Sedins get zero goals.
   

To me, these 6 factors move the Canucks from "contenders" (like last year) to "serious contenders"... or a "really really gonna have a hard time beating them in a seven game series" team.

Joell

What a Gull-A-Bull

Thomas J. Watson was quoted as saying "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers," somewhere around 1943 when he was the head of IBM. This quote has lived in infamy for the past couple decades as computers pop up in every household (and now pockets and purses as well) around the world. The only problem with this quote is: he probably never said it. Researchers have tried, in vain, to find a document that supports that he said that phrase but there isn't even one.

The world has always been a safe place for bad information. Wars have been fought over events that never took place (anyone have a WMD lying around?). People have been imprisoned and even killed for saying things that they didn't say ("Let them eat cake"). Boycotts have been organized against companies that were not associated with whom people thought they were (Proctor and Gamble). Bad news has always travelled fast... and now, with the internet and satellite TV, it travels at the speed of light.

Last week, reports on the internet were that the rebels in Libya had taken the town of Sirt which, at that time, was essentially the last town before Tripoli. People were celebrating all over the world that Gadaffi's days were numbered. Turns out, it wasn't true. Today, the Colonel has almost taken back all of the cities and is tightening his grip on the holdouts.

Christians should be the least gullible people on the planet. The Bible tells us to be champions of the truth and to test everything before accepting it. This means that it's even kosher to question our pastors and teachers if we find some disagreement between them and the Bible (by the way, if you meet a pastor/teacher that isn't open to being corrected...or at least hearing a different perspective... run away). The head of the Church is Christ.. not the pastor, bishop, or some committee that meets in secret in New York... or Melville. The Word of God is Jesus as revealed in the Bible... therefore we use it as our "rule of faith and practice". The job of a pastor/teacher is to translate the truth of the Bible into today's language and culture (can you say "hermeneutics"). Not an easy task... I might add.

So, the next time you hear some newfangled idea, regardless of what sphere it happens to come from (health, theology, economics, politics, sociology, technology, etc) decide to take that information "under advisement" and then test it from the truth of the Bible... and your own common sense...before jumping in with both feet.

Joell
PS. Thomas Watson may have ended up being right by saying the thing he didn't say. We may end up with just 5 computers in the world.... 1. Facebook. 2. Google. 3-5... to be announced. Just some food for thought.

PPS. The Bible has been burned many times in many places around the world. While, it's a tad sad when it happens, there is no reason to be bothered because the book itself isn't sacred. The Word isn't a book...or 66 books (as in the Bible) rather Jesus is the Word... and the Bible reveals to us what/who that Word is. That Word can't be damaged by fire... or any other means of destruction.

Democracy Anyone?

Unrest continues throughout the Arab world today. Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, and Algeria are all dealing with mass demonstrations as we have seen in Tunisia and Egypt. Of course, Libya has ended up in civil war after the demonstrations were attempted to be put down by Gadaffi. Israel is also facing new unrest in Gaza and the West Bank. Do continue to pray that peace and freedom will prevail. However, both peace and freedom come with a cost and with risks.

So, what makes for a good democracy? Here are a few things off the top of my head:

1. Regular elections. Yes, we kind of hate them when they come too regularly (like here in Canada over the past decade) but, obviously, we need them. The best way to keep our leaders accountable is a free and fair election every so often.
2. Free press. Often criticized by politicians for being biased, the free press is crucial for letting the regular people know what the politicians are doing. Time and time again, a journalist breaks a story that exposes graft and corruption. Time and time again, too, the politicians try to suppress them in order to keep their jobs. The battle over Wikileaks is a prime example of this. Make no mistake about it: having the "truth" exposed may be uncomfortable at times, but it's crucial. Thankfully, most people have video cameras in their hands now (in their phones) which can, and does, expose abuse on a regular basis!
3. Strong judiciary. Everybody jokes about lawyers (see the joke below) but, without a well thought out legal system, those who abuse their power may go unchecked. The court doesn't have power to make the rules...but they have the power to enforce the rules (theoretically).
4. Honest police. In some places in the US, it's illegal to video record the police! That's a very bad sign! The ability to trust that the police have the country's best interest at their core is crucial in building a strong democracy. Most countries trying to become democratic often find the police subverting the people under the direction of corrupt politicians.
5. People who vote. Yes, if nobody actually votes (or very few do), the whole process becomes moot. If you don't vote, you really shouldn't complain about those who end up running the country!
6. A constitution. Yes, as boring as it sounds, every country needs a document that outlines the basic rules. And, in my humble opinion, those based on a judeo-Christian foundation are the most fair and stable. The rules have to come from somewhere... might as well get them from the One who made the rules of the universe!

There. Now don't forget to vote!

Joell