Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The Cremation of the Helium Digital HDBT-990 Bluetooth wristband

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

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Today’s Blog Post



The Cremation of the Helium Digital HDBT-990 Bluetooth wristband

As my wife was preparing our supper last evening – everything was going so well. Two pots were on top of the stove and the chicken was in the oven cooking nicely at 350 degrees.

In front of our oven is a Baby’s High Chair that holds “stuff” for us. Among the “stuff” is the collection of our portable telephones and communication devices. There are two cell phones, two blue tooth ear pieces and one fancy arm bracelet, the Helium Digital HDBT-990 Bluetooth wristband, that is kind of like a “Dick Tracy” wrist watch/communicator. (You have to be my age to remember that one…!)

I bought the wrist bracelet for her this past Christmas. The ear piece gets hot and is sometimes uncomfortable. The arm bracelet feels better.

Back to preparing supper…
Alida opened the oven door, which then comes fairly close to the High Chair. The heat rushed out as she checked the chicken.

Then it happened… her right elbow hit the High Chair top… knocking the small box filled with the telephones and communication “stuff” over… and as it fell over her cell phone and an blue tooth ear piece headed over the side and on to the oven door. Plop, slide, swish and the two were under the red hot element at the bottom of the stove!

She quickly grabbed her oven mitts, moved the chicken out of the way, and retrieved the cell phone that was now steaming hot having been just below the red element about ½ inch. She grabbed again towards the blue tooth ear piece which was now at the back of the oven and under the other red part…! As she grabbed it the oven mitt burst into flames as she had touched the red element.

At that point she had called me and was more than a little bit shaken by what had happened.

She got the chicken back in the oven. I tried the cell phone after it cooled down and it worked fine. The ear piece came on and off fine.

A few minutes later… Alida called again. This time in a panic. She had opened the oven door and ball of blue smoke had met her face… it smelled like plastic burning… and it was plastic just about to burn!!!!! The kitchen was stinking big time now – and it wasn’t chicken burning either!

The chicken came out again… and YIKES… there at the other side of the oven was the Helium Digital HDBT-990 Bluetooth wristband – right under another part of the very hot element… but this time it was now in a very flattened form.

Carefully applying ice cubes to the plastic puddle made it possible to retrieve the Helium Digital HDBT-990 Bluetooth wristband – or what was left of it.

I laughed and giggled the whole evening. My wife couldn’t see the humour that I did. Sorry… I am made that way.

The High Chair is now adjusted slightly to the right… the box is not going to be used the same way again… and the communicator are working well… all except the Helium Digital HDBT-990 Bluetooth wristband.

I am thinking of going back to ask if the store can do anything about this one.. but I kind of think that it will not be possible.

Too funny!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

Resource
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/09/helium-digital-hdbt-990-bluetooth-wristband-gets-reviewed-given/




Monday, March 21, 2011

Stress and the way it nearly killed me

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

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Today’s Blog Post


Stress and the way it nearly killed me

It is a long story how I discovered my old notes while looking for a part to install my new trailer hitch on my newer vehicle…

It kind of happened because of a previous time of stress… and acting under stress I wasn’t thinking too clearly. In a hurry and under great stress – I stashed an extra box of books right where I would be able to deal with it when I had time.

In three years of dealing with the new stress in my life, I forgot about the box.

This last Saturday I pulled the box out and asked my self… “Where did that come from… I wonder what is in it?”

‘Myself and I’ had a great time looking at my old friends in the box… some of my old books. In fact I really enjoyed it because under the stress that I had entered three years ago I had dumped or got rid of all my old friends – my old books.

There in the box was a wonderful set of notes that I had treasured when I wrote them. They were created in 1996… two years before another very stressful time in my life would begin and that would last for 10 years.

As I thumbed through my notes and read what was on each page I was rocked by waves of emotions. The waves came almost like the Tsunami waves that destroy some many lives over and over again. But unlike waves of sea water sweeping ashore… this was emotional waves of human conflict that lasted for 10 years of my life.

As I look back now I wonder how I survived 10 solid years of this stress.

Then following this 10 years another solid 3 years filled with emotional stress waves again. A totally different kind of stress – but stress just the same.

Now if you haven’t already figured out what I am writing about – I should explain. I am an Ordained Minister – the church kind – that has been serving in this role for the previous 34 years of my life in 2008. In 1998 I became the Pastor of the last church that I would serve – Northview in Peterborough. In 2008 I entered the new retirement role as I left the role of Pastor/Minister/Leader in the church.

A note on the Notes…
As I read through the 1996 notes I was struck by the one page. It leaped out at me… grabbed me by the shirt and shook me hard. Then it made my eyes pop out. The page was all about Stress and what it does to you. How it affects your life and changes your perspective… and can hurt your physical body, emotional health and well being.

I was stunned as I went over these 15 year old notes. The information in front of me was as if it had been written this past week.

I now understood as never before what this was all about. It was as if I could be the ‘poster boy’ for the topic I was reading!

I went to my Browser and typed in the words “Life Change Units” – the topic heading for the page written in 1996.

WOW! There on my screen 15 years later was exactly the same information that my notes contained!!!

It was a list of words describing things that happen in a person’s life… and a number beside it showing the estimated stress factor out of 100… or perhaps I should say up to 100… the highest number shown.

Here is the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale…
Life event – Life Change Units
Death of a spouse - 100
Divorce - 73
Marital separation - 65
Imprisonment - 63
Death of a close family member - 63
Personal injury or illness - 53
Marriage - 50
Dismissal from work - 47
Marital reconciliation - 45
Retirement - 45
Change in health of family member - 44
Pregnancy - 40
Sexual difficulties - 39
Gain a new family member - 39
Business readjustment - 39
Change in financial state - 38
Death of a close friend - 37
Change to different line of work - 36
Change in frequency of arguments - 35
Major mortgage - 32
Foreclosure of mortgage or loan - 30
Change in responsibilities at work - 29
Child leaving home - 29
Trouble with in-laws - 29
Outstanding personal achievement - 28
Spouse starts or stops work - 26
Begin or end school - 26
Change in living conditions - 25
Revision of personal habits - 24
Trouble with boss - 23
Change in working hours or conditions - 20
Change in residence - 20
Change in schools - 20
Change in recreation - 19
Change in church activities - 19
Change in social activities - 18
Minor mortgage or loan - 17
Change in sleeping habits - 16
Change in number of family reunions - 15
Change in eating habits - 15
Vacation - 13
Christmas - 12
Minor violation of law - 11

How do you use this list? What does it mean?

To measure stress according to the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, the number of "Life Change Units" that apply to events in the past year of an individual's life are added and the final score will give a rough estimate of how stress affects health.
Score of 300+: At risk of illness.
Score of 150-299+: Risk of illness is moderate. (reduced by 30% from the above risk)
Score 150-: Slight risk of illness.

I did it… for the past year… and I should be sick.

I did it for the past 3 years and I should be in the hospital.

I did it for the past 13 years and I should rightfully be DEAD!

Now… further… for those that read this and have Non-Adult people living with them(we call them children) – here is a list that should shake you and add one more stress to your list…
Getting married - 95
Unwed pregnancy - 100
Death of parent - 100
Acquiring a visible deformity - 80
Divorce of parents - 90
Fathering an unwed pregnancy - 70
Jail sentence of parent for over one year - 70
Marital separation of parents - 69
Death of a brother or sister - 68
Change in acceptance by peers - 67
Pregnancy of unwed sister - 64
Discovery of being an adopted child - 63
Marriage of parent to stepparent - 63
Death of a close friend - 63
Having a visible congenital deformity - 62
Serious illness requiring hospitalization - 58
Failure of a grade in school - 56
Not making an extracurricular activity - 55
Hospitalization of a parent - 55
Jail sentence of parent for over 30 days - 53
Breaking up with boyfriend or girlfriend - 53
Beginning to date - 51
Suspension from school - 50
Becoming involved with drugs or alcohol - 50
Birth of a brother or sister - 50
Increase in arguments between parents - 47
Loss of job by parent - 46
Outstanding personal achievement - 46
Change in parent's financial status - 45
Accepted at college of choice - 43
Being a senior in high school - 42
Hospitalization of a sibling - 41
Increased absence of parent from home - 38
Brother or sister leaving home - 37
Addition of third adult to family - 34
Becoming a full fledged member of a church - 31
Decrease in arguments between parents - 27
Decrease in arguments with parents - 26
Mother or father beginning work - 26
The same rating applies here..
Score of 300+: At risk of illness.
Score of 150-299+: Risk of illness is moderate. (reduced by 30% from the above risk)
Score 150-: Slight risk of illness.

Sheesh! Now I hope you can have real good day! No stress here! Nope! I am off to the gym.. then home to do some work on my Income Tax submissions.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

Resource
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale
http://www.carolinasmedicalcenter.org/body.cfm?id=1523
http://www.harvestenterprises-sra.com/The%20Holmes-Rahe%20Scale.htm
http://www.eruptingmind.com/stress-conflict-in-psychology/

Sunday, March 20, 2011

But just wait until my Peerage comes in

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

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Today’s Blog Post


But just wait until my Peerage comes in

As I read about Francis Ronald Egerton, I “hummphed”! Can you imagine?! Look at that list that Dude is known as...
Francis is the 7th Duke of Sutherland,
Marquis of Stafford, Earl of Gower,
Earl of Ellesmere,
Viscount Trentham,
Viscount Brackley,
Baron Gower of Stittenham and Baronet

Now some nasty low life has posted all of his trivia in Wikipedia.

I cannot imagine how his family must feel when he is posted to the common man’s, free encyclopedia! Here it is for the whole world to see… and have a commoner like Murray Lincoln place it in his Blog, in that horribly wild place called Canada and the remote place entitled Peterborough.

But just in case the other commoner folk that actually want some amusement today and may need a pleasant break from the wild place called Canada… here it is for you to read…

From Wikipedia… quote…
Francis Ronald Egerton, 7th Duke of Sutherland (b. 18 February 1940), known as Francis Egerton until 2000, is a British peer.

Sutherland is the son of Cyril Reginald Egerton, the grandson of Francis Egerton, 3rd Earl of Ellesmere. His mother was Mary, daughter of Sir Ronald Campbell. Sutherland was educated at Eton and RAC Cirencester.

In 2000, Sutherland succeeded his first cousin once removed as 7th Duke of Sutherland and 6th Earl of Ellesmere. Most of Sutherland's wealth is in the form of the art collection put together by the first Duke's uncle, Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, which had been inherited by the Ellesmere line of the family. In 2008 he sold Titian's Diana and Actaeon to the National Gallery of Scotland and National Gallery in London for £50m. He ranked 107th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2009, with an estimated wealth of £480m in art and land.
End quote.

The only difference between Francis and me is that the art work that he owns is worth more than mine. However I actually collected mine or produced mine… where he was given his musty old stuff… from some great uncle.

Now some of the dear folk that are “Peerists” – that is people that are interested in the Peerage of old country… will be having an apoplexy attack about this moment.

Hey I have every right in the world to address this Francis Ronald Egerton as Dude… the way we do in Canada to our equals.

I am directly related to one Samuel Lincoln that came to the USA in its very early days to begin his new opportunity in North America. And Samuel had a great-great-great-great-grandson, President Abraham Lincoln.

But Samuel’s grandfather was Richard Lincoln of Hingham, Norfolk, and the Swanton Morley Manor.

Richard Lincoln gave all that he had to his fourth wife’s family. Edward Lincoln, Richard Lincoln’s first wife’s son, was given nothing except the opportunity to live in a small cottage on the back side of the huge estate that Richard owned.

Samuel Lincoln made a huge decision and jumped on a ship to go to the Colonies – landing at or near Plymouth Rock in the some day to be Massachusetts. Together with others they built the new village of Hingham, Mass. Samuel was registered as a weaver.

So other than a little hiccup with one nasty – way back and many Great Grandfathers ago… I could have stood up to Francis Ronald Egerton with my nose in the air too.

I might have been forced to go to Eton too… but Innismore Public School, Haultain Public School, Thomson Public School and then Central Collegiate Institute, University of Regina, University of Manitoba, Ryerson University of Toronto, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Eastern Pentecostal Bible College – now entitled Master’s College and Seminary – were way more fun and far more important in my life!

But I did find out if I write to hirhprincekarlvondeutschland@yahoo.co.uk  … His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Karl Fredericke of Germany will get my title in place for the whole world to know.

But for now I will be simply me… Murray Ross Lincoln, born in Ceylon Saskatchewan, on April 13th, 1944 while my father held a flashlight for the medical team to see, which consisted of a doctor of some sort and maybe a midwife. Eventually I would rise to a high position of an Ordained Pentecostal Minister, an artist, a wood carver, a lace maker, a husband, a grand father and a friend.

But just wait until my Peerage comes in. That will be something else!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

Resource
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Egerton,_7th_Duke_of_Sutherland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Lincoln

http://www.imperialcollegeofprincesandcounts.com/

Friday, March 18, 2011

Libya May See Freedom – I need to pray for them

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

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Today’s Blog Post


Libya May See Freedom – I need to pray for them

So few of us understand in Canada and even the USA. It is a tragedy that is taking place right under our nose.

Well Libya is not that close to where you live… but all that happens there will greatly affect what you do in days to come.

Overnight the UN has voted in favour of allowing the world forces to act on a No-Fly Zone in and around Libya. France has stated that within hours they will be acting on this UN vote. Britain has stated that they also will join France in this action. I can imagine that the USA is only a moment or two away from standing up to the bully as well.

Did you catch that?

Two of the highly effective military powers, and perhaps the closest neighbors to Libya, are going to swoop in and clean up the mess that has been brewing in that little country.

I shudder when this kind of thing happens in my life.

I am just reading a very powerful book that is written by a friend of mine – actually edited my a friend of mine. It is a printing of all of his father’s letters to his mother from the time he entered into action in the Second World War in 1940. It is entitled “One Family’s War” by Rollie Bourassa. It is a great read… but heart rending as Clarence pours out his agony of being so far away from his wife Hazel and his two sons Rollie and Murray.

I cannot stop thinking of Rollie and what his family went through.

Then Libya and the most recent actions last night have shaken me again. More families are going to go through this again. What a horrible human tragedy… all because another egotistic man continues to inflict his horrific attitude on other humans.

When will the world finally stand up and not allow this kind of thing any longer.

This simple Blog posting will never stop a Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. People speaking out against Hitler did little either. But because no one would or could stop them before they had destroyed so many lives… they gained power and took more and more for themselves.

Recently as I have re-discovered Hitler and what he did … and how so many in the west had allowed him to do what he did… I am angry again.

I can certainly see why the UN has taken a stand in this way. I hope it is done well and fewer lives are lost. Maybe just the threat of foreign intervention will bring down Qaddafi’s air force with no bullets. Maybe they will surrender and stop.

For the people of Libya that desperately need freedom and a new way to live… I need them to know that we pray for them… support them and will do what we can to stop the monster that has destroyed so many.

Now how can a Christian Minister stand up for these people? They are not Christian! No – they perhaps are not… but they are fellow Human beings. And if my Christianity is worth anything at all… it needs to make me think, act and respond to help those that are hurting so terribly.

God help me to be aware!

Sheesh… I have to get to the Gym to work out these frustrations I have with Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi,

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

Resource
http://www.uregina.ca/news/newsreleases.php?release=689
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/world/africa/19libya.html?src=twrhp
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/One-Familys-War/Rollie-BOURASSA/e/9780889772212

Thursday, March 17, 2011

So Who Are You? – Part Two

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

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Today’s Blog Post


So Who Are You? – Part Two
In my ‘community engagement opportunities’ I have found a new and interesting level of connection. It is that next step after the initial introductions.

It is, “What do you do?” Or… “What did you do in your working career?”

At the Mall each Wednesday…
Yesterday I had dozens of people come by my Table at the Mall. Actually ‘dozens’ is not quite true…. They were coming at about 20 some people each hour – from 10 AM to 4 PM. At the end of the day I went to sleep in the van on the way home as my wife drove… I was pooped! I was engaging the community big time!

The questions are usually asked after the initial conversation about the Tatted Lace or the Wood Carvings I am displaying on the table. The things I display seem to break the ice… and open the conversation.

Being interested in what they do is vital to an on going conversation. It doesn’t take long to tell them what I do… but it is delightful to hear about what they do… and the conversation can go on and on when I ask one of the questions above.

I have discovered that during the day there are many retired people that come by to talk to me… each week. I think it is because I listen. I am really interested in what they do or did.

Some of the men are most interesting in that they had not intended to talk as they walked by… but they stopped and then with a few well placed questions, they begin to talk and talk and talk. Then they come back the next week… or sometimes even that day.

But it is the men that I draw your attention to specifically. No matter what age they are, employed or not, retired or not… “They are what they do” or …. “They are what they did.”

When the question is asked of them a little light flickers on in their eyes and they become what they were as they describe in detail what they did(or do). Seeing that flicker of life… and being willing to sit there and have them tell me what it is all about… is amazing.

One man stopped to look at the carvings I had laid out. He was tall and well groomed. He was older than me by a number of years.

Speaking with him I found out that he had no other relatives here in our city. His kids all lived some where else in Canada. His wife had passed away a number of years ago. He lives in a nearby Senior’s home and is a bit of a loaner.

I will call him “John”.

John told me of his work experience as a Geologist. He had traveled many places in the world for his company looking for valuable minerals including gold and copper. His work took him many places around the globe and also to remote parts of Canada. It was an amazing story to hear.

I doubt that any of the folk that John sits with in the Senior’s home and eats with him at his table even care what he might say. For that reason John is quiet most of the time. He says nothing at all.

But as John and I spoke together, he stood for well over 35 minutes telling his story. I had an extra chair… but he preferred to stand. At 84 years old I thought he should sit… but he told me he does nothing but sit in the Senior’s home.

Now each time John comes by we talk. He stands and I am sitting. I have a new friend.

The questions are great… “What do you do?” Or… “What did you do in your working career?”

But there is something about the questions that are important to know. The response may also be hard to listen to.

For some men it is hard to talk about what you did or do. The “did” folk can still be trapped back then and hate the present because it has nothing to do with the past. When they retired.. they lost their identity… they lost who they were.

The “do” people are younger. And in many cases they are in the Mall because they are not working. Because of a recession problem in our community they lost their jobs. Because of a personal problem they lost their work place… they had been fired.

The “do” people without work are the ones that really want to talk. And yesterday there were a lot of them that wanted to talk.

I have presented many of them with the opportunity to learn how to carve wood – with the idea that maybe they could sell a few things and make a few extra bucks. In some cases there is a flicker of hope in their eyes… the same kind of flicker that comes into the eyes of older men that respond to “did”.

As some of you know I am a “recovering minister” (– see yesterday’s post).

This is kind of a side glance… but I can’t stop thinking about the church and its work in the community. For the most part it does not engage the community in any way. It is isolated and alone. In fact not one of the people I spoke with yesterday even knew where the Huge Church I served in and the Wonderful Job I did at that church over the past 13 years.

The “did” and the “do” people had no interest to come there or need the church. In fact if they did come – no one at the church would have the time to ask the “questions”. They were or would be too busy doing nice Christian stuff, singing nice Christian songs, and listening to a man or woman talk about nice Christian stuff. They are the Church – what do you expect.

Remember I stated I am a “recovering minister” – not turned off… just recovering.

I have found a world that needs to talk… to tell their story… to be engaged. And I am ready to listen.

But I have also found a huge world among the retirees – men in particular – that struggle with their past and have a very difficult time living in this present.

That could happen to me as a retired minister. I know some other ministers that are struggling with this big time. But I don’t need it. What I “do” today is far more important than what I “did” yesterday.

Off to the Gym now… more people to listen to and engage.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

So Who Are You?

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

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Today’s Blog Post


So Who Are You?
“So who are you anyway?”

Not – “Who were you?”

“Oh… you’re the guy that sits in that next table to us at the coffee shop…”

“You’re the guy that was at the wedding for my niece.”

“You’re the ‘Rev.’ that did my Nana’s funeral!”

“You’re the guy I saw on TV a few months ago.”

As retirement has come upon me I am different now. I am a ‘used to be’ – if I allow it. I am a ‘once was’ – if I pine for it. I am a ‘should have been’ – if I don’t stop that thinking.

And I could go on… and on.

Staying in what you used to be is not so good… in fact even down right dangerous. It is anything but healthy as we try to stay frozen in the past.

Jokingly I have developed a comment when I introduce myself. It is a great icebreaker. Here it is… “Hi my name is Murray and I am a recovering Minister.”

The typical person that I meet in the Mall stops and asks more. Some are recovering alcoholics and they have heard that intro many times before from fellow AA members at their weekly meeting. Recovering from the addiction is huge… and stating it out loud is even bigger.

I was a minister for 34 years in full time service. I was set free in 2008 when I stopped working in the church. But I am still a minister… just not doing that stuff anymore. Yet a part of me desires to go back and do it again… I shake a little and my body trembles as I consider the possibilities… then I walk away and say no… I can’t do that any more… I am free of that…. And my body trembles…

I am a recovering Minister… once addicted to the hours and the tasks at hand… now set free… kind of… and finding a whole new role.

Now that is only my situation… what about yours?

Kids are gone and some grand kids are now appearing… “I am a grandpa.”

Kids are gone and there are no grand kids yet… “I am an empty nester.”

My wife is dead… “I am a widower.”

“I am divorcee…”

“I am a…” (now you can put your own words in to the spot…)


~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Why I believe in Atlantis

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This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

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Today’s Blog Post


Why I believe in Atlantis
(For some of you that read this Blog regularly, here goes another quantum leap – hang on – from my Sony Camera - yesterday’s post to Atlantis today.)

Well why not…believe in Atlantis!?

Atlantis was a place and I love new places to visit… it is part of my age thing. I love to travel. Some people talk about being a “Boomer” at this age – but I have a feeling it is more likely a “Bloomer”… blooming where I stop over.

Now you know that I am a little nuts. How can anyone go to a place that doesn’t exist?

Further, as a Christian Pastor/Leader, you don’t believe in the fairy tales of all those years ago – do you? I mean – come on… it came from a guy named Plato who told a tall story around 360 BC!

I can remember way back when I first heard of this place called Atlantis. It had the bits and pieces in it of a complete fabrication… a pipe dream. But people were actually actively searching for it off the coast of Europe and the top of Africa.

When I heard about it as a boy in school I trucked home to ask if it was true. Then I continued to ask more questions of my Sunday School teacher too. I think the patent answer given was something to do with Myths and that as a Christians we don’t believe in Myths… we believe in the Bible.

Well that was an answer – but not necessarily one that I could swallow or accept. There was lots of stuff not in the Bible that teachers in school talked about, but Christians wouldn’t (or couldn’t).

I think the Atlantis account was so far fetched for some that they just dismissed it entirely. They felt that it was just impossible for a whole city, let alone a country to disappear altogether.

And add to that a being called Zeus that called all the other gods together to discuss the affairs in Atlantis. Then after coming to a conclusion that Atlantis was not what they liked or wanted, they did something to eliminate it entirely.

Imagine. An entire population snuffed out. But not just a population but also their whole country along with the cities and all the structures – kaboom – zap… it was all gone.

Now any good Christian knew that could never happen. God was in charge. God was not Zeus for sure. He would never do that kind of thing. That was not a “Christian way” to think.

After all, we know that Evolution is not possible. Worldly Scientist have concocted these ideas to weaken our faith… and now they are spreading stories, myths and fairytales through and to our kids in school. Zeus… yah, right!

But then the Bible had some amazing stories that my friends couldn’t believe either. There was the Tower of Babel story where everyone tried to build a tower to reach God. God didn’t like it so he confused all their languages in one fell swoop and because they couldn’t talk to each other – they spread out all over the earth.

The Tower of Babel happened after God had wiped out all the people of the earth with a huge flood that killed every body. The only people to survive were Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives – eight people.

So I could be sure of two things – Adam and Eve were my great grandparents a way, way, way back – and so was Noah and one of his sons… the light colored skin son.

That is what I learned in Sunday School and church… and believed it.

I also learned that God used Joshua to wipe out one city called Jericho… and you can’t find it today!

But long before that Lot, Abraham’s nephew, left Sodom and Gomorrah, just before God roasted everyone alive in those two evil places – by sending down Fire and Brimstone from heaven.

But Atlantis was way too hard for any Christian to swallow because it wasn’t in their Bibles.

I thought about this over this past week as Japan was shaken by the recent horrific earthquake… and then parts of the country were completely snuffed out by the following Tsunami. One minute there was a village or small city, the next there was only refuse – or maybe even nothing. The huge Tsunami simply cleaned off the entire country side with one wave in and one wave out. Swish it was gone.

Further to that the authorities are now telling everyone that the entire country of Japan moved 3 to 4 feet east on the Globe. The World itself wobbled and then steadied with its own axis shift.

Parts of the world will be closer to the Sun now and other parts further away. Global warming will become even a greater issue. And this one is not because of fossil fuel burning… it is Zeus’ fault… ooops I mean it was God’s fault.

Well I don’t know who’s fault it is… but it isn’t mine… so it must be Zeus… or God or whatever.

Yesterday an article was published that quoted Mr. Paul Bauman who is part of an international team that claims it has discovered parts of Atlantis in a Spanish swamp. On March 27, 2011 the discovery channel will broadcast the recent findings.

In an article from the Globe and Mail Siri Agrell states.. quote…
“It(the TV show) chronicles the work of a team led by University of Hartford archaeologist Richard Freund, who believes he has found the mythical advanced society of antiquity in the muddy sediment of a Spanish marsh.” End quote.

After this past week’s events and the video we have watched, one must ask if a Tidal Wave in the western hemisphere that followed a huge earthquake, could have wiped out an entire civilization and made the country disappear.

Maybe my school teacher wasn’t that far off… and my Sunday School didn’t watch CNN or CTV or the CBC TV programs.

But wait a minute… it was sin to have TV in your home when I was first hearing about Atlantis.

Today as a Boomer/Bloomer I can’t wait for an opportunity to go see what they have found of Atlantis. Well maybe I will simply watch the Discovery Channel on March 27, 2011 – or the hundreds of repeats later on.

This week the world was and is shaking still. The earthquake did that… the shifting of one massive plate under another. I understand that now.

This past few years my own life has been shaking over and over again… with new discoveries. It has not shaken my faith but rather increased it. I know now why I believe and that it isn’t wrong to ask questions… of what or why I believe.

So today… going way out on a limb… I state… I believe in Atlantis!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

Resource
Atlantis Story
http://www.activemind.com/Mysterious/Topics/Atlantis/story.html
New Researcher statement and findings about Atlantis
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/europe/researchers-claim-they-found-atlantis-in-a-spanish-swamp/article1941953/