one thousand pennies

2006-02-06T13:23:00.000-05:00

JANUARY'S BEST DILBERTS
For Christmas, my good friend and sister-in-law, Rose White gave me a DILBERT DAILY CALENDAR. Since the year started, I've been saving all the best ones. At the end of January I looked through the ones I collected, and chose the best three. I think I'll do this each month, so by the end of the year I'll have a collection of only the best Dilbert Comicstrips of the entire year. So, without further adieu, and in the spirit of the Olympics, here's January's Gold, Silver, and Bronze: (click on the picture to view)

2006-01-19T18:22:00.000-05:00

A NEW EUROPE?
Could this be the future of North America? probably not. It is, however extremely intersting if you like geography, as I do. So this is for all of you Geographers and Politicians. You know who you are. I got the idea of re-inventing N. America from a project where we had to think about the future in new ways. Interesting eh?
Fortunately, "interesting" is as far as this image goes because even if this was the future, it really doesn't matter. I'm part of a Kingdom without borders whose King is King regardless. This Week:
FUNNIEST POST- Kickparthestarty "A Good Old Fashioned Top Ten List"
MOST ENCOURAGING POST- Down on the Corner "One More for the Kingdom"
BEST LINE - "I have been challenged to see how [Jesus] always was moving in the supernatural (If you are a christian; read natural) "
Eagle's Nest "Meet Needs"
BEST PICTURE- Blueberries From Heaven "Happy New Year"

2005-12-15T10:37:00.000-05:00

1st SEMESTER'S SCHOOLWORK
Well, as most of you know, I haven't had a great post in awhile. Instead I have been restricted by my work. I know that's not healthy, so praise God it's over, and I will never have such an intense course load ever again! Anyhow, I thought I'd show you some of the interesting things I do at school. I am in the Advertising Bachelor of Design Program at the Ontario College of Art & Design. I thought I would keep the essays and boring things out because well, frankly they even bore me. So, here's the fun part of my program, and the results of a tough semester:

Newspaper Ad, One Colour

Research project on US Imperialism. also see http://www.uselessfriend.com/coup_mainimage.htm

Billboard Ads

In this project, I had to record EVERYTHING I did for 48 hours

to discover how much I consume as a human being. These are my results:

Magazine Ad

In the future....

Fabulous Posting:

MOST ENCOURAGING - "Speak in Tongues" http://rogeraubrey.typepad.com/

MOST HILARIOUS - "Ho Ho Ho kids!" http://caugh.blogspot.com/

BEST LINE - "beth... you need to work now""I don't want to. can't we pray some more? don't you want to talk?""yeah... let's talk about you finishing this degree so that i can use you in new and exciting places""oh"and that kind of ends it for a bit... then we start over again..."

"So they pulled their boats up..." http://elimakee.blogspot.com/

BEST PICTURE -

"Top of the Muffin to Ya" http://stickituk2000.blogspot.com/

2005-12-12T22:10:00.000-05:00

NEW BLOGGERS

if you haven't heard, we've got some new bloggers amongst us. check 'em out.

BILL CLARK
CHANDRAKANT CHAVADA
KATIE & ROSIE NICHOLSON

2005-11-21T21:06:00.000-05:00

NEW PROFILE –––>

hey everybody, check out my new description. I'll post something more substantial later in the week, but until then, "keep on lovin'!"

2005-11-12T15:41:00.000-05:00

LOOK ALIKES

After having such a great time seeing friends last weekend, I thought I'd play a little match game with them and a few others by matching them with an animal, a celebrity, and a fictional character. This is all out of fun and love, so if you are actually offended- just tell me and I'll whip that picture down faster than you can say, "Caleb's a Koala!" My point is, I've made an effort to be non-offensive.
I love you all:)

P.S. If you're not on here, don't fret. I'll get to you.
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THIS WEEK

Most Encouraging Post- "Passing on the Baton" - http://www.designed2bdifferent.blogspot.com/

Funniest Post- "Ode to Sweater" - http://www.manymeetings.blogspot.com/

Best Line- "we should make sure that all those close to us know where we stand, and share Christ with them." Evangelism or Extinction - http://trebmal.blogspot.com/

Best Pic- Yellow Apples- "A moment" - http://jamoebest.blogspot.com/ &

Philips Darth Vader "Weekend Fun (Nov5)" - http://rogeraubrey.typepad.com/

2005-10-31T11:02:00.000-05:00

KING OF KINGS AUTO BODY
knowing & trusting Jesus
God has been showing me some great things. So, let me "Tell of his wonderful acts." As many of you know, my Father-in-law, Gunnar White has graciously been supplying April and I with the most delightful mode of transportation: a ‘95 Buick LeSabre. It has power everything; from steering to windows, to locks and volume. Unlike our last vehicle, it even has a working horn, an uncollapsed ceiling, windows that roll down, and armrests which are still attached to their corresponding seats. We are extremely grateful for this car.
There is however one small downfall to this luxurious, spacey, light blue beauty. This downfall is 275,000 miles on the ticker. For all you metric lovers, that’s 442, 569 kilometers. I know it seems big, but my God is bigger!
The car has actually failed to start a few times since we got it in the summer. At first, we had it repaired and Gunnar helped A LOT. But each time after that first incident, I have gone straight to the Lord in prayer, instead of to Gunnar, and each time I have done this the engine starts right away. The crazy thing is, that each incident has occurred when my relationship with the Lord was taking a back seat to my busy life. It’s as if God was reminding me that all things are By Him and For Him, including the running of this car.
“It is not by mechanics, nor by tune-ups, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord.
God literally runs this car.

This situation has brought me to a challenging question: Do we trust ourselves more than God, the maker of the Universe? Do we trust our senses more than the Word? How many times have you been given a prophecy/ word of knowledge to share, and instead of sharing it right then, you try for weeks to discover its level of truth?
Myself, God gave me 2 words of knowledge last fall- both VERY edgy. In one the Lord told me to tell a Christian to stop sleeping with their boy/girlfriend, in the other the Lord told me that a specific guy at school was pondering suicide, and I was to share with him God’s love. Embarrassed to say, I pondered over one for about 3 weeks before sharing it (it turned out true and helpful). The other, I never shared; I was too scared that it may be false, and I would embarrass myself.
What made me think that God, the Master of the Universe was wrong? Or even that my interpretation was wrong? Trusting our physical senses more than our spiritual ones is equally as stupid. Jesus is more trustworthy than anyone. He loves you, He wants to help you, He cares about your situations, He is on your team. Trust Him!

"The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes." Ps. 118:7-9
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funniest post: AMY DOHERTY STRIKES AGAIN, http://amydeee.blogspot.com/
most encouraging post: ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD, http://trebmal.blogspot.com/
best line: "i have seen teachers go in and come out. my theory is, of course, that that is another bathroom for them with velvet toilet seats and free chocolate bars, and nice music playing too." OOO, MY BAD", http://happyincandyland.blogspot.com/
best picture: WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS, http://presentjourney.blogspot.com/

2005-10-21T11:22:00.000-04:00

BLOG PSYCHOLOGY & RAISING THE BAR, BABY
As many of you may have noticed, my blogging presence exists in wave format. In other words, on a day that I post something new, I also check all the other blogs on my blog list (about 30 people), and try to comment on many. This is quite the fun experience.

I also find that there are two types of posts: the "news/needs" post and the "Creative" post. The "news/needs" post is very necessary in the blogging world, and is the main reason for the blog. The "Creative" post is 100% for the viewers, to either encourage them or make them chuckle; these are the ones that you write when you are in a spritually or imaginatively creative mood.
When I read these "Creative" posts, sometimes I find myself spiritually provoked into action, and sometimes I'm falling off my chair from extreme laughter. So, each time I check the blog list, I'm going to note the post that made me laugh the most, and the post that encouraged me the most. This way, you can visit the post if you haven't, and hopefully it will force out some even more extreme thought, creativity, and generosity than what we've seen already.

Today,
Funniest post- Living Rock n' Roll, http://caugh.blogspot.com/
Most encouraging post- "Because I am a Christian" http://mustseed.blogspot.com/
Best Line - "My understanding of myself, my plan, my identity, my agenda can only take me so far." - Peter Is My Name, http://www.manymeetings.blogspot.com/

2005-10-11T21:19:00.000-04:00

SOME FRIENDS OF MINE

Matthew Clark,
Cross Country Runner
University of Massachusetts

Lindsay Kraft,
Medal Winning Skiier,
British Columbia

Cam Fraser,
Professor,
University of Alberta

Amy Doherty,
Lawyer,
San Diego

Nathan Coffey,
Coldplay Fan,
Oklahoma City

Nathan & Lynnsy; please excuse the spelling differences.

2005-09-30T17:51:00.000-04:00

WILL THE REAL JOSHUA BEST PLEASE STAND UP

Bonjourno!
I have posted a picture of Joshua Best- the American. I'm not sure if anyone has posted about this before, but I'm going to anyways.

As I already mentioned, this man's name is Joshua Best, and as you can see- he is not me. Here is the challenge: google yourself, and try to find a PICTURE of someone who has the same name as you do. Then, copy the URL where you find them into your comment. Like this:

http://www.oobsports.com/AboutJVB.html

I can't wait to see what turns up.

2005-09-15T20:56:00.000-04:00

CAMPAIGN POSTER

2005-09-15T00:02:00.000-04:00

JOIN THE COALITION!
for the unveiling of the QUAKER OATS GUY
also known as : the CFTUOTQOG

OUR GOAL:
To gas out this Oatmeal Loving Mystery Man with Accurate Forensic Non-Circumstantial Evidence (clues from his blog).
NOTE: This post is in reference to the most recent post on Comrade Caleb's Blog, www.landtaker.blogspot.com

RISE UP! UNVEIL HIM!
-He loves Oatmeal. We must find out why!
-His blog is encouraging at times. He must not go unthanked!

INITIATIVE #1
Sign up for Coalition Membership; Use my example below:
Name: the Muffin Man
Coalition Position: Captain
Special power: Fresh-Baked Super Smell

INITIATIVE # 2
Find clues to reveal the secret identity of the Quaker Oats Guy
try http://quakeroatsguy.blogspot.com/ or his posts on other blogs.
*if he has posted on your blog, tell us, so we can find clues out of it.

INITIATIVE # 3
ALL NEWLIFER'S:Try this,On Sunday, leave a trail of Qauker Harvest Crunch (with raisins) going from the entrance, outside to the shed (baby newlife). when Quaker Oats Guy enters the shed and finds a steaming hot bowl of Oatmeal, promptly close the door and voila! you've got your spiritually and nutritionally intriguing culpret.

Signing Out,
CAPTAIN MUFFIN

2005-09-12T00:28:00.000-04:00

POPULATION RESULTS

Since I am a geography geek, last Thursday I posed the question, "what is the size of your city?"
By this I was not referring to the Area, but the population.
Well, the results are in, and here they are:

7. Rose White - Ada, Michigan 9,882
6. Cameron Fraser - Milton, Ontario 47, 500
5. Benjamin James - Methyr Tydfil, Wales 60,000
4. Cameron Fraser - Peterborough, Ontario 74, 600
3. Rose White - Grand Rapids, Michigan 189,126
2. Cam Fraser & Ben James - Cardiff, Wales 305,340
1. Joshua & April Best - Toronto, Ontario 2,481,494

Well, the facts don't lie, my friends. It seems that we CAN call Toronto a big city....at least in our circles.
However, I must admit: Canada is not really big as a whole. To display this to all of you, especially my international friends, I have created and posted a simple image.

Remember kids,
we are ALL precious in his sight.
much love,
Joshua

P.S. Toronto's Metropolitan population is 4,682,897

2005-09-09T11:25:00.000-04:00

REVELATION ON: TRUST
God has taught me a lot this summer, especially about trust. During one week this summer, April and I had our car break down, our apartment half-flooded, our money run out, and more. To tell you the truth, I felt like Job. After all this (and obtaining supernatural joy), God blessed the socks off of us in every way, and took care of every situation perfectly. The Bible says that God knows all, and in Job's case God even allowed Satan to take things away from Job. Yet God wants the best for us. Puzzling?

Here's what I've learned: We must believe God to intervene in our problems- He wants the best for us. However if he doesn't intervene, it doesn't mean He's oblivious to what is going on. It means that the outcome is BETTER for us. Whatever is happening to us at that moment is more important than the eradication of the problem. It will create something in us, that will bring Him glory more than the other. This is serving God: submitting to His will, and trusting that He is smarter than we are.

ADVICE from RECENT EXPERIENCE:
Have full faith in Jesus that he will clear up the situation; if we do not believe God will fix it, how can we expect Him to? Then, whether it clears up or not, continually trust that He is making something great from it, even if we don't know what it is. His thoughts are higher than ours.

P.S. don't just have faith in general. make sure it's in Jesus, the Man. faith doesn't love you; Jesus does.

2005-09-09T02:18:00.000-04:00

THE PLACES WE LIVE, THE PLACES WE GO
Hey everyone, school is back on. Wow. That went by so quickly, however I must say that with this being my first summer married AND my first summer living in the big city, it has been very enjoyable. Yes, we do consider Toronto to be big, maybe not compared to the largest cities in the nations of our American and British friends (NY, LONDON), but honestly how many people reading this blog actually live in one of those cities? Actually, that's not a bad poll to take: Please comment on what size of city you live in. If you don't know the population of your city or town, I encourage you to research and discover! It can't be anything but healthy for your brain, not to mention super fun. I've also included a picture of my school for you to see. I think it is the craziest place in the world; good and bad crazy, also the best place to learn creatively. I love it.
Hope to hear about your city.

2005-09-03T02:46:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone, and welcome. I have decided that to resist this blogging trend any longer would be absolute ludicrous. The truth is that I can't let you all have so much fun without me. Although I may not be as frequent on here as some of you, hopefully I can still cheer you up once in a while with a good post. April will be creating a blog and joining in on the party sometime soon as well. So, for those of you who would like to hear the elegance of my better half, rather than my own chuckles on life, this is good news for you. Can't wait for a good year!