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Is Thanksgiving worth it?

November 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Is Thanksgiving worth it to you?It’s not a good week to be a turkey in the United States of America. In just a few days, countless tables will be blessed with turkey, potato, pumpkin pie, and who knows how many other kinds of food. And people will — in theory — take a pause from their busy lives to think of their many blessings.

But at too many tables, one chair will be empty. It may belong to a son or daughter or mom or dad, who cannot be there because he or she is serving in a country far away. Or it may be a family member who is a nurse or doctor or store clerk or other person required to work while everyone else is gathered at home. Or maybe a student off to college, unable to get home in time for Thanksgiving.

Sadly though, in too many families, it will be someone who could be there, but chooses not to be. [Read more...]

Filed Under: food, self-improvement Tagged With: , ,

Great news… this is all YOUR fault!

May 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

'Point!' photo (c) 2007, a2gemma - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/Most of us hate to realize we’re the problem. If something went wrong with anything, we’re thinking “I hope I didn’t do that!” Maybe it started way back in whatever sports we played as kids. The game was half over, the score was 123–0 for the other guys, and everyone else on our team was sitting on the bench asking, “Man, what happened?? How did we get here??” Meanwhile, we were sitting there, looking down at our shoes, and frantically thinking, “Don’t say it was my fault!”

Here’s what is easy to miss whenever you find yourself in one of those times… it’s best when it is your fault! True, your grandmother may not talk to you for a few days. Mom may mysteriously run out of dessert just before she gets to you. Your dog may not want to sleep in your bed for a few nights. There may be a For Sale sign on your neighbors’ lawn in the morning. There’s no denying that being the goat is no fun. But admitting you’re the goat is the best way to stop being one.

Consider these situations: [Read more...]

Filed Under: self-improvement

Happy Easter… or is it?

April 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

'Easter Morning Mountain Sunrise' photo (c) 2007, anoldent - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/It’s Easter morning, and in many parts of the world children are looking everywhere they can think of for chocolate. Families get dressed for church, with many making an extra effort to look just a little bit more springlike before they head out the door. In a few hours they’ll be back home or will head to a relative’s house for a great meal amidst more chocolate and even more laughter. It’s a glorious day filled with all the happiness of a miraculous rebirth and joy and love.

It’s Easter morning, and in many parts of the world children are looking everywhere they can think of for food. Families are meeting to worship in secret or marching for freedom. Whether they celebrate Easter or not, many will go with little or no food and even less laughter. It’s a challenging day filled with the tears of constant struggle and not enough joy or love.

For those of us who are blessed with much, it’s easy to celebrate an Easter teeming with even more treats than we already had, but it’s also easy to forget that this is not a happy day — or even a happy life — for some people. It is very unlikely that even one of us cannot [Read more...]

Filed Under: religion, Uncategorized

Christmas videos from Linus, Charlie Brown, John Denver, Rolf, & John Lennon

December 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Sometimes even when we're sure we are failing we should still press on; we may be on the verge of our greatest moments.

Sometimes even when we're sure we are failing we should still press on; we may be on the verge of our greatest moments.

It’s hard to believe, but as I write this we’re just an hour away from December 23rd. Christmas Eve Eve, as it’s always been called in this family. When we were kids this was where the excitement hit fever pitch, but for adults this is where many of us most feel the stress. Still lots of shopping and baking left to do, some decorating left to finish, some cleaning to get done, and a whole lot of wrapping waiting for us in some hidden, guarded chamber. It’s right about now that it becomes perfectly obvious whether or not we still have the magic of Christmas in our hearts, or have slipped toward some Grinchiness.

I realize we’re all different, and the things that spark Christmas joy in one of us may well be the most glaring example of crass commercialism to another, but I still feel led to offer a few of the greatest Christmas moments that have lit up our lives in the past 40 or 50 years, just in case they light a candle in your world too. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christmas, culture, music, religion

30 years later, still saying good bye to John Lennon.

December 9, 2010 By 2 Comments
Lennon invited us to give peace a chance, only to find that happiness is not a warm gun after all.

Lennon invited us to give peace a chance. Turns out happiness is not a warm gun after all.

Thirty years? How could it possibly be that long? I remember being woken by Mom that morning to get ready for university. Knowing it would be important to me, she told me right after waking me up. “John Lennon was shot to death last night.” In my half-awake state, I struggled to understand her words. I was sure she was saying, “John and Linda were shot to death last night,” referring to my twin sister and her husband. She seemed rather calm while telling me though, so I figured I was misunderstanding something. But even when I finally deciphered the message, I still figured I was misunderstanding things. I still do.

I remember later that day, sitting with Pam Osmond at the MUN Education Building library, talking about Lennon. [Read more...]

Filed Under: culture, music

Is religion good?

November 27, 2010 By 1 Comment
Terrible atrocities have been committed in God's name over the centuries. However, many kind and wonderful things have also been done in God's name.

Terrible atrocities have been committed in God's name over the centuries. However, many kind and wonderful things have also been done in God's name.

Is God good? Is religion a force for good or does it drive us apart and cause many of the world’s problems? There was a time not long ago when it would have seemed shocking to ask such questions. Now, if you are religious, you may be in the minority, according to the results of a survey released this week.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid, polled over 18,000 people in 23 countries worldwide. Just over 48% agreed that “religion provides the common values and ethical foundations that diverse societies need to thrive in the 21st century.” On the other side, 52% agreed that “religious beliefs promote intolerance, exacerbate ethnic divisions and impede social progress.”

The story caught my eye during my thrice-daily pilgrimage to the CBC News Website, where their article also offered the table below, showing the results in several major countries: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Canada, God, religion Tagged With: ,

Starting a blog. Finishing dinner.

November 24, 2010 By 2 Comments
Will work for food. Don't we all?

Will work for food. Don't we all?

Hmmm, the first real post for my new blog. Should it be deep and inspiring?

Nah.

I just finished a meal of curry chicken. It was good; I liked it. I’m beginning to realize that I like everything. Was a picky eater as a kid, but I don’t think I’ve found anything in the past 20 years that I didn’t like. And I’m not even sure what changed. I guess, despite my best intentions, I matured. I tried a few new things and discovered most of them didn’t kill me. So I kept on trying them, and usually kept on living.

Over the past few years I traveled quite a bit, hitting most of the major cities across North America and always looking for new foods to sample. That’s not to say I’m a food snob; I can get as much joy out of a good hot dog or Big Mac as most aficionados get out of Peking Duck. There’s very little about me that’s refined, but I’m content with that; it usually means I end up being fairly happy pretty much anywhere I go.

Hmmm, I need to pause for a minute. Are you supposed to just talk about yourself when writing your own blog? [Read more...]

Filed Under: food

Welcome to All I Say… before I even say it.

November 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

This is Day One. Hour One, actually.

I’m just getting set up here, so it will be awhile before the formatting and overall look come together. I’m not even telling anyone about this place yet, but people like you always seem to show up early. So bookmark me and come back soon. I’ll be sharing some ideas about life, happiness, the universe, God, people, and what keeps us all moving. It may not be the wisest stuff you’ll ever read, but I’ll do my best to make it interesting and valuable.

And that’s all I say.

For now…

Filed Under: general