Bouncing kitties and other phenomena

And now, back to our regular programming...

I wish I could catch them at it. 'Tis the season of flies mysteriously finding the dead centre of a room and orbiting around it. 'Tis therefore the season of cats randomly jumping in the air after said flies. One second they are out of sight behind my easy chair, and the next they're leaping in the air and chattering at the flies. It's adorable and insane at the same time. The other day Emma pulled a moth off the wall at least 5 feet from the floor. Crazy stuff! Of course, the minute I pull out my camera, they turn into writhing exhibitionists on the floor, apparently incapable of supporting their weight on their cute little paws.

I regretted that special leaping ability on Saturday. We lived through quite an adventure. Mr. K. got a Starbucks gift bag stuck around his middle (I guess he tried to crawl through the handle), and took off in a great tear to try to outrun the bag that was chasing him. This spooked Emma, who leaped up onto the windowsill in my bedroom. This window sill sits at least an inch above my head, a leap of 5 and a half feet from the floor. On one side, cozy and safe bedroom. On the other side, a four-storey drop to my neighbour's patio. I pulled Emma down, with my heart in my throat, then managed to corner the black blur and remove the offending bag, and we all sat back and let the adrenaline drain out of us. Enough excitement, already. Leaping should be outlawed.

Yes, I Believe

Ok, here's the post that I really wanted to write yesterday. But then I found a different soap box, stepped up onto it, and, well, I gave a little rant. Now that's out of my system (and really, should I be surprised that yet another TV offering is superficial and contrived?), and I can get back to what I was really thinking about.

I was listening to one of the "speakers" in TLC's The Messengers yesterday. A woman was espousing her point of view that we, as a culture, are pressured to "believe" religion, to "believe" in whatever we call true, to "believe" in the facts of our lives, and thus we cheat ourselves out of realizing that what we have right now is perfect. Her solution? To grasp the moment by knowing these same things, not simply believing them.

So I started thinking. What is this distinction between knowledge and belief? Are we as Christians missing something by emphasizing belief? So many songs speak of belief. By definition, we say we are Christians because we believe in Jesus. Is this somehow a lesser expression of trust than to say that we know?

But really, faith is both. It's "being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1). I know that God exists, that He sent His Son to live as a man, that Jesus died to pay the penalty for my sins, that He rose from the dead, that He offers eternal life to all who put their trust in Him, that He provides the Holy Spirit as a counsellor and guide in my life. These are all things that I have not directly observed in the past or present, or they are things that I hope for in the future. But I know them all to be true, by historical record as well as personal experience of the effects of these facts in my life and in the lives of others. So, to agree with the contestant on TV, I know these things.

But it's also true that I believe them. If knowing implies a certainty of mind, so that I accept these things as real, there's still something missing. And that is belief. A choice of mind and heart. A choice to trust in the promises made. I believe in Jesus. I believe in salvation by grace, not my works of good. I believe that I will live eternally with Christ in Heaven, and I believe in His working in and through me by the agent of the Holy Spirit.

I know these things to be real, but beyond that I have committed my heart to also believing and trusting them.

That's what was missing. It's great to say "I know" something. But if I know it and don't let it change my life, if I simply stop there and am satisfied with accepting these things as facts, the knowledge stays in my head. I want it to live in my heart, my very being, as well.

Conversely, belief without knowledge is equally incomplete. I don't want to believe in something about which I can't say "I know this to be true". What would be the point? As Paul wrote to the Romans, if I believe in Christ's resurrection, but it didn't really happen, then my faith, my belief, is futile.

So the speaker had one kernel of truth in her argument. It's pointless to simply believe, believe. We must know. And knowing, we must believe.

A different kind of post

Once again I have been disappointed with a new "reality tv" show.

I'll admit it, I'm a bit of a TLC junkie (my favourite tlc life lesson is the one about becoming the crazy cat lady - big surprise). So I've seen the promo ads for their new show, The Messengers. From how it was portrayed, I thought it was supposed to be about following some ordinary people as they went out and experienced the hard lives of others, and candidly related to the rest of us what they had learned. Already over-exposed to this sort of thing by tear-jerking WorldVision ads, I thought I would give this a pass, also becuase I imagined it would not really offer any real solutions, unlike the afore-mentioned tear-jerkers.

But tonight I left the TV on while I went out for some last-minute shopping (got to get those windows clean for the screen-installer-guy tomorrow). When I came home, The Messengers was on, and it turns out to be some American Idol rip-off, a competition for "America's next inspirational speaker". I stood there with my jaw hanging open for at least 10 seconds (quite a long time when there are three flies hovering around the centre of my living room). Is this a new low, or has North American culture so watered down sincere presentations and expressions of truth, that it is now open for competition? Have we stooped so low that we're ready to listen to people, completely irrespective of how true their statements are (never mind whether or not the speaker believes what they're saying), as long as their speaking is impassioned and convincing enough? Is morality so relative that we choose to act on what the best (most convincing) speaker is saying?

What about the people that help the competitors arrive at the insights that they then exploit to win the competition?

I could have expected something like this from some other networks, but TLC? I am more inspired by the life-changing experiences of people on What Not To Wear. At least these life changes are real and not made to be voted on.

To top it all off, the final prize of this moralized "Idol" knock-off? A publishing deal! Words fail me. Look out for a new bookstore shelf category: TV Inspired Inspirational. The content of these books? Doesn't really seem to matter, as long as they look and sound like a successful "inspirational" speaker. Parallel thought: sensational criminals get book deals; this competition could fit with politics - "America's Next Top Politician" or "America's Next President" (now there could be a good show!).

I started this post with a different thought, while listening to one of the speakers (maybe I'll get back to that in another post). This was before I realized that it was a competition. When I still thought that the people were actually speaking because they wanted to get a point across, not to get votes from the audience on their presentation.

Dare I wonder what would happen if someone stood up there and presented Truth?

Not my usual kind of post. A bit more cynical and more tongue-in-cheek than usual. But I had to get it out of my head.

Cool kitty

I know we can't complain about a 3-day heat wave, when much of the rest of the continent is suffering worse than we are. But in typical Vancouver fashion, even this weather extreme is much-discussed, analysed, emphasized, and sensationalized. And it does provide some interesting challenges. What do you do with a black cat who insists on sitting as close to a sunbeam as possible, without actually baking? Especially when his sister is smart enough to find the coolest spots in the house? Yesterday during the hottest part of the day she even sprawled herself in front of the fan (about three feet away, mind you) to stay cool. Well, I've discovered something new. My brush-adoring kitty also seems to like a damp cloth to cool his overheated fur. Maybe I'll have to try a wool vest in winter. Or would studded leather suit him better? I'm open to suggestions. Just no bonnets, please.

Celebrating Summer

What do you do to celebrate the end of another school year, the beginning of summer, and wonderful weather in one of the best cities in the world in which to live? You put on an Italian/Australian feast! The Italian part is obvious (bread, prosciutto, bocconcini, tomatoes, and fresh basil), and the Australian part is courtesy of Gord with a tasty Cabernet Merlot direct from Australia.


All that's missing is some German bratwurst, and we would have had a feast to also celebrate Italy's semi-final decisive victory. Forza Azzurri! Viva l'Italia!