daily life as life goes on . . .

Franklin Pyles, President of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, has got some new thoughts on his blog — part 1 deals with a new book out called "Jim and Casper go to church", published by Tyndale, 2007 — asking questions like, "what is a real worship service?", and "was the establishment of the church the real mission of Jesus?".  Part 2 is a continuation of the discussion touching on faith, belief and truth. Here is a section of that discussion:

• We truly need to hear a condemnation of smugness in stating our beliefs. We need to be honest that we are beset by doubts and assailed by fears. But, we must also say that our belief is not something that has been made up to make us feel better, but something that can be inquired into and about which an assessment of truth can be made.

With the end of the day, a walk is a good thing!

Out we ventured with Trixie, the dog.  The sky had poured forth most of the day.  By evening a slight wind had evaporated the worst of the splashes.

The lawn next door was growing mushrooms — a rarity for drought ridden prairies.  That was not the only encounter with the dome-topped sprouts.  Around the block we encountered further evidence of a higher than usual water table.

One yard had neatly trimmed grass.  The front yard included bricks and chipped wood arranged in pleasant patterns.  A few houses away the lawn was populated with various grass varieties along with plants of the weed variety.  At the corner two triangular shaped stones were engraved with paint signifying the address and the owner.

A truck passed and we waved.  Such is the custom of small town.  No idea who was in the truck other than another of God’s creations!  A young couple briskly navigated the cement sidewalk, intent on exercise with little talk.

Upon our return we settled in to an evening of Scrabble.  The withheld rain appeared once again. 

On the bright side of a cloudy evening, we don’t have to water the newly laid sod!

David Fitch has 10 signs that Christendom may be over.  A good (sometimes humourous) list that will start you thinking.  When the memory of a Christian society is no longer a part of our memory, we need to look new approaches to planting churches/congregations/groups.