The National Post has an interesting on-going series in which it invites guests to publish a daily diary for a week. I appreciated this one for obvious reasons:

 

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This week’s diarist is Canadian designer John Fluevog, who has been providing "Unique Soles for Unique Souls" for over 37 years.

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This coffee is killer; it’s not bitter and contains more antioxidants. It’s fair-trade and comes as green beans for you to roast yourself (merchantsofgreencoffee.com). It’s a neat idea — I think I’ll try doing that in the future. The trick is to use half as much when you make a pot.

I put on Oscar Peterson’s Hymn to Freedom this morning and jotted down anything that came to me. I’ve been doing that for three days now. I may gather up all my scraps of paper and do a little ditty to it.

Hopped on my bike at noon and rode around Stanley Park. It’s emotional, to say the least. After that storm, it’s like a clear-cut. It’s just not the same park I have known all my life.

I spend the afternoon getting the patterns done for my new signature shoe–delivery is set for June/July. You’d think after doing this forever it would be a breeze, but sometimes, I gotta tell ya, it’s hard work. I have the heel and the platform down, but I need an upper pattern. I see it in red with a huge bow, but we’ll see what my dreams come up with. If anyone has any ideas, by all means upload them to the Fluevog Open Source Footwear Program (fluevog.com/files_2/os-1.html).

I got a call from my 23-year-old daughter who wants to volunteer in Africa with an agency called Visionledd. As it happens, Ruth and I had dinner last night with Jim and Kathy Cantelon, who started the charity. Jim thinks he can single-handedly stop the spread of AIDS in Africa — and help the orphans and widows!

After talking to him, I start to think maybe he can. He is mobilizing the churches that have so far been in denial. The churches could have the largest political influence in Africa — more than the UN or any government body. Plus, it’s all volunteer, which means small cash for big bang. I started to read his book When God Stood Up … scary.

Check out Cantelon’s website at – http://www.visionledd.com/

 

 

I just finished reading The Hammer of God, by Bo Giertz and I am indebted to Rev. K. for the loan. Originally a professor of mine in seminary recommended this book and when K. brought it I knew I had to read it. This review will not do the book justice but will give you a hint of what it is about and the value.

 

Author mini-bio (from back of book): Bo Giertz, a Christian theologian and author, is Bishop Emeritus of the diocese of Gothenburg, Sweden. An internationally respected clergyman, he has published several books and numerous articles on the subject of religious doctrine and Christian life.

 

The book is a work of fiction and is broken into three sections. Each section tells the story of a different pastor in a different age, each story getting closer to the time of the books publication in 1960. It would be easy to under-estimate the value of this book which not many outside of the Lutheran tradition would be aware of (and perhaps only a few within the tradition). Giertz weaves a masterful teaching on the nature of salvation, obedience to the law versus grace, and the atonement. The final sermon by Pastor Bengtsson on the atonement is perhaps the best I have ever read on the subject.

 

I have always wondered why pastors and theologians don’t read and write more narrative considering the masterful narratives and parables of scripture – we tend (and it seems a mark of our age) to treat fiction as though it were in some way frivolous and not nearly as helpful as non-fiction. There could be nothing further from the truth however.

 

Giertz is a masterful writer and empathizes with his protagonists in a way that suggests he is intimately familiar with their trials and successes. There is much to recommend in this book and it is encouraging to see how much unites our different Christian traditions rather than divides. I found one section of infant baptism interesting but somewhat out of place in the narrative and, though it was well supported, I was not convinced by the argument (that may be as expected).

 

Some quotes which I appreciated include the following:

 

 

Today was the last day of the prayer retreat and it was a fitting end to a great day. I had a good breakfast with some Korean pastors from Regina. The final session was VERY good filled with prayer and worship and a great message from Lon Allison on being imitators of Christ.

 

I am still processing things from the retreat but some thoughts that have come to me through prayer and reading focus primarily on the nature of faith, grace, salvation and obedience. In regards to faith here are some thoughts:

 

faith is an open heart

into which God pours His grace

not removing the corruption

but overwhelming it

and covering it

 

We’ll see where God leads my thoughts out of all this.