The first trampoline was built by George Nissen and Larry Griswold in 1936 to help them with their circus act.  Griswold – an alarming name! In 1942, Griswold and Nissen created the Griswold-Nissen Trampoline & Tumbling Company and began making trampolines commercially in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

So that is a brief history of the common trampoline.  Today there are above-ground trampolines, in-ground trampolines, mini trampolines and more. Most popular for family yards is a spring-free ’enclosed’ model. This type of trampoline allows the children to safely jump within the confines of the netting without limiting the fun.

The Garden of Genesis 1 was supposed to be such a place.  Completely safe from evil without limiting the fun. Adam and Eve were given permission and, indeed, authority to ‘go for it’. Until they got tricked. The serpent convinced them that God was holding out on them and that, if they could somehow break through the net, they would become Gods themselves. They believed him. And things began to unravel. They didn’t feel safe anymore.

The Father sent Jesus to restore us. To demonstrate that we could be set free from that shame. Strangely enough, Jesus tells us that we actually can be like God – made in His image. Everything that Adam and Eve put on the line. 

Religion is the definition of a platform with no bounce. Flat. Hard. Rigid.  A religious spirit encourages us never to leave the surface – never to try to leave the mat. Jump at your own risk.

Instead, the New Covenant encourages us to jump – jump high. You will always return to the mat.  And there is a bounce in the mat. Grace. The trampoline gently breaks our falls. As we mature we get more adept at jumping higher – seeing further -  whilst still remaining dependent on God. 

I recently took my grand-daughters to a fun park in the country. We went on the bouncy castle with them. It was wild. Hannes, Noah, me and two tiny girls. We jumped and fell over and flew down the inflated slides. The bounce made us fearless and full of energy. We were in our Garden of Eden – safe, shameless, family. And it was great fun.

Today I thank you God for putting the bounce in our faith. You have perfectly regulated the elasticity. Not too soft so as to suffocate us when we fall from a high place. And yet not too hard that we will break our bones on landing. Thanks.

Alasdair MacIntyre, a philosopher,  in his book ‘After Virtue’ offers the following thought:

Religion as a moral measuring stick has been replaced with an age, strangely with a huge evidence of moral pressure, but an age that doesn’t offer a way through – a clear path. Instead we are immersed in a quagmire of politicization, scapegoating, shaming, blaming -  depending on where you fit in the story. The only way to absolve ourselves from being right in the guilt or accountability chamber is to become a watcher and bystander. Watching political, tribal and cultural powers slugging it out. Instead of our lens seeing any moral struggle as something between me and God it now takes on a framework around groups or, as McIntyre notes the story that I find myself a part of.  

The present age, more than any other, certainly gives us a looking glass to see what our storylines are. Technology makes us privy to far more of the story that we sometimes care or need to know. Does our voyeurism then make us responsible? We saw it. Therefore, we know. Therefore, we are responsible? David Brooks points out the danger of this moral crisis:

I am a part of a God Story.  That becomes very relevant to keep in the foreground. I am a part of this world and its storylines but also a part of a supernatural story.

Someone once said that when we get pre-occupied with just knowing stuff about God our spiritual lives become a bit like trying to view the galaxies through a pair of $5 binoculars.  We gravitate towards teaching that shows us what to look for instead of how to look. Methods that speaks things into our ears instead of teaching us how to hear.  And viewing things on a screen instead of giving us a video camera to make movies ourselves.  The modern church structure tends to be happy to feed us this way. The motives are good and stem from a hierarchical system that wants to pass on knowledge and experience.  Like the father/son model.  The majority are happy with this model because they feel comfortable with someone in leadership giving them all the answers.  It makes us feel safe.  We like the duality of good versus evil and black and white theology.  We want order, controlled order, even though we read the gospels and know that Jesus created disorder and seemed comfortable about his messy mission. Then we bring in the Holy Spirit and everything goes pear-shaped.  The prophetic creates futures that don’t seem ordered or sometimes sensible. It’s fun though isn’t it?

 Fathers then hold a very important space in this paradigm to encourage, listen and promote rather than only to teach and direct. These are the type of Fathers that the scriptures tell us are in short supply.  It is the unusual father who will allow the son to dissemble the well-worn path and hack through the bush to find a new way.  The good father is there to encourage and to wipe his brow.  To throw the party when the venture is in harvest mode and to make up the spare room when the son needs to return to the fold.

Lord make us mothers and fathers like that.  Not holding on to our pride or property but giving all generations the green light to be pioneers of the new.

Some people have full but empty lives. Others enjoy a relatively ‘small’ life but enjoy a satisfyingly full world. Some want fuller, richer lives. Other will be putting a simpler, ‘lesser’ life on their New Year wish list.

Ann Voskamp’s almost new classic ‘One Thousand Gifts’ (2010) has a chapter entitled, An Emptier Fuller Life. She puts out a dare for us to lead emptier but fuller lives. I am at that point in my life.  I understand where her train of thought is headed.

Unfortunately, our culture places so much emphasis on the outward expressions or activities that appear to make up a full life. We worry about people who don’t go out much, who enjoy loads of solitude or who just aren’t very talkative. We encourage them to join a group or, in our case, attend one of our community meals.

Often I can find myself dragging others into my world – rather than meeting them in theirs.

Our community groups, social programs and churches can exercise a heavy-handed arm twist to get participants into a ‘third place’ that is of our making and might not be a place of safety or comfort for the participant.

Hannes and I offered a Christmas Brunch as usual this year at our kitchen space at Karis Place. Many of our friends had gone to family and friends for Christmas Day. There were only about 25-30 who sat down for the meal. We had no carols, no entertainment, no special Christmas gifts…..just a table brimming with great food.  Smoked salmon on toast, salads, eggs with hollandaise and a host of other foods. It really was a good spread. But for me it wasn’t enough. I wanted the music, the sparkles and the trimmings.  But Hannes knew it was enough.  He demonstrated that Voskamp-like fullness in simplicity.  He made it simple and family style – noting that of the guests had enough of all the trimmings and wanted a quiet morning.

A community that can work towards developing spaces that are full and yet empty of excess is the challenge. Perhaps it will allow love in its purest form to triumph and not the ‘toys’.

Happy New year Joseph
- out of prison. First son
Manasseh - God has made me forget

Happy New year
New town mums
Wishing divine mercy and forgiveness.
Habakkuk 3 'in wrath remember mercy'.
In the land of your affliction ...
Greatly afflicted
Try not to carry your bags of grief, of madness, of hate... Into 2018

Difficult -  but you know someone who knows affliction
Someone who watched his Boy suffer.
In wrath show mercy
1 Thess 5:18
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is Divine will
2018

Enter with thanksgiving
Forgetting what lies behind.
Moving forward.@

Three Dots 

So much of the Christmas story is about waiting.  The Earth waited for the Messiah to be born. We waited then to see what He would do.  And now the bible says to await His return. 

And the most beautiful thing of all is that He waits for us to come to Him. 

Blessings for a wonderful Christmas Day from Soulkitchen

Sometimes when I am on my way somewhere…. picture the place with me…. a crowded bus, a shopping centre, the library, my office…. the whisper begins…. the melody…. the lyrics. 

Make me a channel of your peace

And I find my centre.

Listen to Sinead O’Connor’s version HERE

I should have known when, after an hour on the road, we stopped at a Caltex gas station for snacks. The kids returned with sweets and Hannes sipped on a cup of coffee.  It was going to be a long night.

We have travelled to Penang on an average of once a year for the past 20 years. It is known as the “Pearl of the Orient” and for us the shimmer and glow of the jewel seems to draw us back each time. The Malaysian government introduced a program to lure foreign investment about 15 years ago known as “Malaysia My Second Home”.  Indeed that rings true for us – although I now claim it as “Our Third Home”. 

A couple of weeks in Penang comprises of both relaxation and mission. This year we felt a stronger sense of missional purpose. We come as ourselves and make ourselves available for whatever and whoever comes our way.

The night I speak of is typical.  We were unsure of where we are going or what is expected. We met our friends at 6pm. We ‘ubered’ to an outdoor restaurant where we shared coffee and roti canai. The pastors told us they were hoping to plant a church up north and tonight was a gathering for prayer and fellowship in the town. 

Indeed, when we arrived about 2 hours later near to the Thai border, we came to a house where women hovered over the stove – cooking up a big pot of Bee Hoon noodles.  We were led in worship by a couple of children on a keyboard and bongo drum.  Throughout the evening the host would receive calls on her phone and race off to collect someone new on her scooter.  A woman obviously mentally disturbed joined us with her mother and she would periodically cry out and rock back and forth until her mother comforted her.  An older man had to be carried in from the car.  We met neighbours, family and church friends.  The host was nervous with so many in her home.  Most had to stand. Our pastor friend scolded her for not providing enough chairs.

We were asked to ‘bring a word’.  Be ready Louise in all seasons!

We worshipped. We prayed.  We ate.

As we departed the woman, who had demonstrated such disturbing behaviour that night, motioned to me by patting her head. She wants you to pray for her, the others said. She was calm as I prayed. Fear left her just for a few minutes.  

We piled into our car. Our friends dropped us at a McDonalds near their home in Penang where we could get onto wifi and organise an Uber to get us back to our hotel. The children in our car were exhausted.  The little boy, Jordan, has been coughing all night. I felt for them.

We entered our hotel at about 2am as a Chinese wedding was just wrapping up.  The gaudy Christmas snowy castle in the lobby looked even more out of place that night.

Dear Friends of Soulkitchen,

We've got sunny skies today and a nice chill in the air. We see the sprinkle of new snow on the local mountains. We love this city - rain, shine or snow!
And the work here continues.  Times are tough for people in the city as housing is so scarce and expensive.  The onset of the cold weather doesn't make life easy.  This year we have increased our focus to include another community in the West End where 450 mostly seniors are housed. Our partners, More Than A Roof, took over the management of that property.  The opportunities to serve there are many and somewhat difficult as the kitchen facilities are limited. MTR is building a commercial kitchen on that site which will be completed by 2018.  Meanwhile we continue to provide meals for our tenant population (which has doubled this year), taking hot meals onto the streets twice weekly, working with local churches to provide support for their outreach projects and taking meals into the homes of those who are sick or needy. We have just concluded Canadian Thanksgiving celebration dinners with over 400 Turkey dinners going out. All this production takes a team.  What is REALLY good is the work with our tenants on a  personal level. Soulkitchen is in a position to provide training, support and hope for many people. We give others the opportunity to redirect their focus - away from negativity and out of isolation. Our aim has always been to create a healthy community while providing wholesome meals to others. The kitchen is where it starts - cooking, training, connecting with others, mentoring. 

More than Food. 

We couldn't do the work without our many volunteers. We have a strong team of 15 volunteers together with a newly appointed Sous Chef. Special thanks to IGA on Robson, Earls Restaurants, Terra Breads and others who partner with us and provide provisions that enables us to serve good food. More Than A Roof are a great organisation and we are blessed to be partnering with them.

We use all three modules to get people into a more healthy state.  Our tenants work with us, we engage with them on many levels and we give them a purpose. Through all this we trust that our tenants and volunteers will find their way to experiencing the love and mercy of our Father in heaven who is ultimately the bringer of freedom.

Pray for us that we can make a big impact by bringing real purpose into the lives of those who are discouraged and poor through love and encouragement.

We are travelling to Perth and onwards to Malaysia this month. We will continue connecting with the churches in Penang and especially with our partners at Noah's Ark.  Hannes will be speaking at Fount of LIfe Outreach Ministries in Perth and Louise will speak at C3 Dunsborough mid November.  Pray for our ministry both locally in Vancouver, and, as we travel.

Blessing to you all.


Hannes and Louise Tischhauser

Poverty and low income have both been found to increase the risk of loneliness and social isolation. A Dutch study ( Hortulanus, Machielse & Meeuwesen Social Isolation in Modern Society 2006) of religiosity in people who are lonely found that people living on low incomes were twice as likely to be lonely and six times more likely to be socially isolated. A similar Australian study (published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing by Lauder and Sharkey in 2006) reached the conclusion that people who earned less than $600 per week were significantly lonelier than those earning more than $1,000 per week. Interestingly enough the Australian study also found unemployment to be one of the strongest predictors of loneliness.

It just seems so obvious that low-income seniors in Canada face an increased risk of becoming socially isolated. No employment and limited finances combine to marginalize this group of people.  We are right to concentrate our efforts to embrace and assist in any way we can to create community. 

Jesus calls us to especially be mindful of the poor.

Today I am tired of helping others.  I want to just enjoy my prosperity and health and sit amongst my 'stuff'.  Instead my ears hear the call of the needy. The Holy Spirit whispers and also helps me.  

O Lord help me not to turn away from you call to care for those who have only a little while I have been given so much.  Give me a spirit of generosity and joy.

This week, during a rather flow-style stretch session, I found myself sweating profusely. The room was stuffy and the temperature high in the late afternoon. Sweat.  A sign of success. The result of my effort to work hard and to remain focused on the instructions from the teacher.

So, what if perspiration is like a spiritual practice—not attractive but a sign of cleansing and reaching a place of release. We have to work hard if we want our inner core – the spiritual one – to become strong and able to hold up in times of stress. We maintain our spiritual practices of prayer and bible study to train our spirits and, of course, to worship.  To worship in order to love better, to fend off the diseases of anger and greed and jealousy. Perhaps a good session of prayer effectively releases the toxins that are harboured in a weak human system.

I snuck a line into that Lamentations verse ' we perspire in our effort to follow him'.  Sometimes it's tough to maintain a spiritual posture. But the results are worth it. It pays off.

In other words, as I stand at the bus stop and wait, after my class, I feel damn good. Feeling it – those beads of kindness running down my back.

Just finished reading Romeo Dallaire’s Waiting For First Light: My Ongoing Battle with PTSD and I can recommend it as a good and interesting read.  It’s such a desperately human book leading us through the despair and anger that Romeo feels as he carries the baggage of war in the form of crippling PTSD through decades of his highly publicized life.  It is as much a politically charged plea for government to care better for returning vets as an exercise in social finger pointing. ‘PTSD has a terminal side to it that demands more urgency’, says Dallaire.

Here is a retired Senator and General writing about his secret life – the one spent so often in total despair and inner torment. He seems to have lost so much of what we would think of as a normal life. His PTSD was left untreated – unrecognized - for too long.  Dallaire says it’s permanent now.  He still takes medication, has nightmares, goes to therapy, and has episodes of terror. I met him a few years ago when he was our keynote speaker at the annual BC Leadership Prayer Breakfast hosted by City in Focus. Although he spoke of his illness at the event, it is only now that I realize the severity and intensity of the illness. It was disguised in a business suit and an intelligent mind.

Spirituality leads us to peer closely at the unseen. Our faith encourages us to notice what is happening underneath the skin.  Surely God wants us to be a people equipped and ready to help those around us.

So often the unknown in others terrifies us. Yesterday as I waited for a bus an older woman ‘came unstuck’ emotionally. The dozen or people acted as if nothing was happening.  I was sitting next to her and began to engage – quite cautiously I might add.  She immediately softened and calmed down.  Just needed to be heard by someone – anyone.

Who is around us and suffering from depression, PTSD, loneliness, mental anguish?

If you do suspect a friend or loved one is experiencing a crisis, then reaching out in a sensitive way is the first step to providing help. Staying calm and doing more listening than talking might be a beginning. Demonstrate that you can be trusted and that you are able to offer support without passing judgement.

I’m flicking through a great little book by Bill Hybels entitled ‘Just Walk across the Room’.  It is yet another ‘How to’ book on evangelism. I like the section called ‘Living in 3D’ which points us to the direction and pace that evangelism should take. 

First, develop friendships. 

Next, discover stories.

Finally, discern steps. 

I like.  Seems like we are so ready to take someone through some steps in their faith without cultivating a genuine friendship or listening to their story. Let’s kill off the arrogance of the evangelical bully and, instead, become champions of love. Now there’s a Christmas thought. 

After six weeks away from my desk I choose to offer you a delicious podcast for your listening pleasure.

Krista Tippett , host of 'On Being' podcast, interviews poet Marie Howe. Her talk has had an effect upon me. It causes me to recognize my own thirst for the creative.  Everyone is creative and we have been hardwired with a DNA that longs to have the power unleashed.

Marie Howe appears to stumble upon the key to unlocking the power of her words. This leads her to a life devoted to poetry.  Kunitz,  from the American Academy of Poets, observed, “Her long, deep-breathing lines address the mysteries of flesh and spirit, in terms accessible only to a woman who is very much of our time and yet still in touch with the sacred.”  Howe composes the poem below as an elergy to her brother, John, who died of HIV Aids in the eighties. It also serves as a reminder to push ourselves to live in the present moment and to find the sacred in the ordinary things.

LISTEN HERE TO THE PODCAST