Category Archives: friendship

An Open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada

June 11, 2018

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau:

I want to apologise to you and the Canadian citizenry at large, for the shameful disrespect and open hostility U.S. President Donald Trump has displayed to you personally, and all of Canada.

Canada has always stood by her American ally. Anyone with a modicum of education, knows that Canada did NOT burn down the Whitehouse in the War of 1812. Under Trump’s leadership, the United States has alienated all her friends. The administration policies, do NOT reflect the value and core beliefs of this once proud nation. A cloud of suspicion hangs over the President who seems unencumbered by truth, ethics, and moral character.

A state of hostility exists between our nations. Economies are global. There is no reason to punish Canada, Mexico or any nation with tariffs. The economics of tariffs as you know, are a tax on consumers. The U.S. Government is filled with Crony Capitalism. As one journalist said, Crapitalism. The government now determines supply and cost.

My interests in Canada are personal.

Your priorities are distilled into protecting Canada, and its citizens from harm, whether that be physical, or economic. I believe Canada and Mexico have been diligent partners in negotiating a new NAFTA accord. I would not blame you (or Mexico) from walking away. I have always found Canada to be polite and reasonable. That can not be said of the current political landscape that exists in these former United States.

I am neither Democrat, or Republican. I am an Independent, whose dissent is quashed by current political underpinning. I wrote to you, to let you know Canada still has friends in America.

Rex Murphy said it best: “Twitter is NOT a conduit of enlightenment.” Q.E.D.

Respectfully,

Wayne Guerrini

Precious Gifts

We hear the word “precious” bantered around like it is something ordinary. We might hear: “Oh doesn’t so-and-so look precious?” The word seems pedestrian. We hear it everywhere.

I like this definition of precious: (from dictionary.reference.com)

(something) highly esteemed for some spiritual, non material, or moral quality:

It is uncommon. It is exceedingly rare.

This past week, I realised I had two very distinct precious gifts.

A person who is part of my extended family was ill. He came home from the hospital, to die. We didn’t know when, but was certain that we had a few days. He came home on a Friday. Despite all, we had a great evening, enjoying each others company. The next day, Saturday, we also enjoyed a wonderful (awe filled) day. He wanted sausage. I went home to prepare the peppers and onions that would accompany the meal. He didn’t eat a lot, but as I jokingly said, he always ate with gusto. He savoured every morsel. It was time to rest. He was having difficultly moving, so his wife called me to help him back to bed. A few hours later, he had passed. No lingering illness. No suffering. He was gone.

The Bible says:

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.” (Psalm 116:15 NIV)

While I was saddened at the loss of a dear friend, I realised that God had given me a great honour. I was privileged to help prepare the last meal he would eat on this earth. While I wasn’t there physically when he passed, I knew that he was safely in the arms of our beloved Saviour.

Exactly a week later, I was visiting a friend who is severely autistic. I have high functioning Autism. I share a kindred bond with other Autistics, that Neuro-Typicals (our name for people who are NOT on the Autism Spectrum) would not understand. One of the other residents there, a non-verbal Autistic, had been seated in the living room. He enjoys playing with toys, and I asked the staff if it would be okay if I gave Michael a toy. They said it would be fine. As I carefully placed the toy in his lap, he took my hand in his. He looked at me, then carefully took my hand, and kissed it. People with Autism are usually poor at non-verbal communication. This simple act communicated volumes. God had again bestowed, a precious gift.

“The closer we are to the Lord, the more likely He is to commit precious things and precious people to our care. Let’s love him deeply, that we might be privileged to serve our Lord as John served Christ.”

Richards, L., (1990). The 365 Day Daily Devotional, pg 810, Wheaton , Illinois: Victor Publications

Robb K. Looks back 5 years after Battling Cancer

Robb K.

Robb K.

Robb K.
May 6, 2014

Five years ago, to the day, I awoke long before the sun was up to prepare myself for the longest and the shortest day of my life. I took the hottest shower I could stand. I swallowed a small bluish-purple pill to calm my nerves and make me compliant.

I sat in darkness in our living room trying to mentally prepare myself for surgery and not knowing how the procedure was going to turn out. Prior to that day, I had never had surgery, received stitches or even a cast prior to that day. I’d never visited the emergency room because I’ve lived a mostly safe and boring life. In the four-ish month stint prior to that morning, I had completed 25 treatments of chemo and several weeks of a bleeding edge chemotherapy treatment taken via large beige pills. I can remember their slight chalkiness, their warning labels for no one else to touch them but me (even touching them was hazardous to the non-sick).

I remember putting on my stupid basketball shorts and stupider pajama pants over top of them. I remember looking at myself in the mirror and trying to imagine where my new scars would be and if they would be distinguishable from my fat fatterson stretchmarks.

I can’t remember who drove to the hospital, if Christina drove… or if I did it.

I remember walking from the car to the waiting room in the surgery center and seeing some family there. I remember seeing friends in the waiting room and people from church praying with me just before a nurse calling my name to go back to a cold room to change into a gown.

I remember smelling iodine. I remember crudely joking about the cold. I can remember the anesthesiologist’s Siberian Husky-like blue eyes. I can remember Dr. Shedd turning on a radio and reassuring me that he was going to do the best job he could do. I remember the white plastic bar of the surgery table. I remember thinking I was too fat to fit on it. I think I remember looking at the ceiling and the lights before I blasted off into infinity. I remember the being all cares and phobias being removed by pharmacology as if each one were a finger to pluck from a ledge.

I can remember waking up and seeing three things. A boring clock like you imagine every hospital has. The OR nurse who was crying. She had long blonde hair in tight curls. Those kinds of curls always remind me of some kind of fancy pasta whose name I don’t know because I was born too low for it to be important. Standing next to the nurse was my wife. She was also crying and holding my hand and touching my face. (These three things are in ascending order of importance , before someone says something about me recalling a nurse before my wife).

I can remember feeling around my abdomen trying to figure out where the surgery site was. If it was high, that was good. If it were low, it was… less than desirable. Because I am always at the mercy of the universe’s statistics, my new wound was in a third and previously undiscussed surgery sight. I didn’t understand why everyone was crying and if they were good tears or bad tears or if I was even awake yet. Good news was tempered with bad. Positively ebbs and flows with occurrences of set back and disappointments.

I don’t remember talking to the surgeon but I do remember repeating the words “Thank you” aloud. I remember saying it after everyone left. I remember saying it before falling in and out of sleep every day and night I spent in the hospital and I remember saying it when I finally came home.

I am not always thankful. I thought I always would be. But today, tonight, I am remembering and I am thankful to still be here.

Where can I go, when I’m addicted?

addiction-title

Where can I go, when I’m addicted?

Betsy is an attractive middle aged blonde, living with her parents. In this economy it is difficult to make ends meet. Appearances are often deceiving. Besty had travelled from the mid-west, to take care of her parents: her father has senile dementia, and her mother just had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour, and has a feeding tube.

One day I heard a knock at the door. It was Betsy. Her hair was a bit dishevelled, she slurred her speech, and she was not steady on her feet. As she passed by, I knew the reason. She was drunk. I could smell it on her breath. God must have had a reason to send her my way. Like the prophet Nehemiah, I shot a “prayer arrow” (Neh 2:4-5) to God asking for wisdom.

She wanted to go to the store for more booze. She had the keys to her car in hand. But she realised that she could not drive. Okay God, what do I do now? Almost by instinct, we have a tendency to do a knee jerk response. We want to play junior Holy Spirit, and judge. I sensed that was not my role. That is NOT what God wanted. It was a “woman at the well” (John 4:1-26) scenario. There is an old saying: “In vino veritas.” In wine, there is truth. I have 2 ears and 1 mouth, so I did twice as much listening, than talking.

As I listened, I discovered that she was trying to take care of her parents by herself, with no respite (rest and relief.) My family reached a point with my Dad, where we could no longer provide for his care. I understood where she was coming from. Betsy’s mother is very critical of her, and did not appreciate the sacrifice. Her parents did not drive her to drink, but they contributed. Scripture warns parents not to exasperate their children (Eph 6:4)

I asked Betsy, what role God played in all of this? She said: “I can’t believe a loving God would allow my parents to suffer this way.” “Ahh” I muttered to myself: “The Disneyland Syndrome.“ For a moment, I was able to share good news. I gave her a card for an online church, which she can access from her computer, on her schedule. God opened the door, just a crack.

There are many people who are on the fringe of society. Drunk, poor, addicted, gay, hiv/aids, lonely, widowed. Where can these people go? I could have just shut the door, instead God provided an opportunity to share the good news.


can i take my addictions into your theology
is it big enough to feel my pain
or will i stain your glass
with street smells and sweat
and where can i go
and where can i go
when i’m addicted?

Steve M. – outcastpress.org

What is a Cyber Minister?

wayno_cbc

People have often asked. Just what are you?

To use a phrase coined by Pastor Dave Hart from Sanctuary San Diego: I am a Cyber Minister. I have been performing ministry over the Internet, for over 20 years.

A lot of my ministry is on-line using a computer, mouse, a keyboard and the Linux operating system. (Thanks Joe.) Why a particular operating system? Linux is what’s called a free open source system (FOSS.) For me FOSS isn’t just a philosophy, it is a way of life. It has a level of transparency and openness that permeates my entire life.

Whether it’s moderating a Facebook group for Christian Goth Kids, Blogging, emailing, instant messaging, etc, you will find most of what I do, on the Internet.

An on-line presence, allows me to focus on here and now. To pray with people, and touch their lives in the present, rather then waiting for snail mail, a phone call, or Sunday services. The need is now. I can pray now.

I am part of a larger community. An on-line community of believers that expands to the outermost recesses of our tiny orb, called Earth.

Come. Join me in this new 21st century adventure.

Connecting to the Disconnected

beforeitsnews.com

 
In a world where even the sparest population has a connection to the internet, there are literally billions of people, who remain disconnected. Not technologically, but socially. Few see the disconnect of the disabled person and spirituality.

In the United States alone, 1 in 5 people fall into some category of being disabled. (disabilitystatistics.org)

Sensory disability (blindness or deafness)
Physical disability (movement impairment)
Mental disability (learning, remembering, concentrating)
Social disability (Autism/Aspergers)

Let that sink in. 1 in 5. 20% of the population of the United States are disabled. Can an on-line ministry bring people together? Let’s explore opportunities that may be next door, or down the street. Those who are shut-in due to one of the disabilities above. How do you minister to a person whose mind is sharp, but whose body does not function? Often we think of special needs. This caters primarily to children. But what about the adult who has suffered a traumatic brain injury or a devastating stroke, that has left them without the ability to communicate? The brain works. The body does not. We may look at someone, and say: “Oh! Special needs,” and lump them in with the children.

Parents with a severely autistic child. It might be just the 2 parents, and a child. Going out is impossible. Where are they going to find a baby sitter? Where are they going to go in public, where people don’t judge or make snide comments behind their back? Where can they go to be with God on their schedule? Their world is just home and work. No social contact with the outside. They need spiritual nourishment as well. Why can’t an on-line ministry serve the needs of this community?

Those of us on the Autism/Aspergers spectrum find social encounters to be awkward, un-inviting and painful. An on-line ministry allows us to be as connected to the world as we want, or to remain as anonymous as we need sometimes.

An on-line church experience is NOT the first thing the pops to mind. There is a disconnect between these people, and an on-line ministry. I am in a retirement village. Everyone here is over the age of 55. Some of the people I encounter are well into their 90‘s. Many can not get out of their home. Elderly and forgotten. How do you reach these people? Nothing will ever replace the care and compassion of the human element. We can minister to physical needs, but do we stop and consider the spiritual component? Why not connect them to an on-line community, where people can worship, meet and be spiritually infused 24/7/365?

On-line church allows people who are the most disconnected from society, to be part of a transforming life experience and enjoy the fellowship and simple joy of being connected to the rest of the world. Begin to point people in the direction of an on-line community of fellow believers.

There are many that are unable to be a part of a brick and mortar church. An on-line community awaits. All of us need to invest time in making a human and a spiritual connection to others, and begin to break the barriers of loneliness and spiritual isolation.

onlinechurch_fronts

not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb 10:25 NIV)

God answers prayer:

If you have read my post Letter to a friend with Cancer then you know Robb has dealt with some very tough issues. I got this note today:

My wife and I have been patiently waiting to announce our pregnancy until we felt like it was the right moment to do so. We’ve had a very tough time with pregnancy and tried for many years without success. We watched many of our friends become pregnant and we always did our best to be encouraging to them while dealing with our own issues of infertility. If this is something that you deal with or have dealt with in the past, please know that we are always willing to lend an ear or to speak with you about your struggle. I know this may be a weird thing to write about as we announce our newest, and possibly only, addition to our family. However, we know what it’s like to struggle and want to be as transparent and compassionate as reasonably allowable. We can laugh with you, cry with you and if you want us to be angry with you, Christina isn’t very good at that, but I’m good enough for the three of us.

At the risk of sounding preachy, indulge me for a moment. We cried when doctors said I had cancer. We rejoiced when I remain cancer free. We cried when we were told we couldn’t have kids because of the treatments, we rejoiced when we found out we were pregnant. I don’t always act like I believe in a Healer. Sometimes, I don’t. Call me fickle, but today I believe in one. Rejoice.

robb_kelley_s

Remembering Steve M.

Steve M. paintingOf all the people I have met in my life, few compare with Steve M.

I met Steve over 20 years ago, when they were doing a radio show, called RadioHope. Steve was in Phoenix, and I was living in Southern California at the time. We corresponded for years. At last I had found a kindred spirit.

God brings people into our lives for a purpose. Fundamentally, he transformed me and my ministry. I used to hang out with the metalhead crowd. As I got to know Steve, I discovered he had compassion for the outcasts of society: the punkers, goths, skaters, cutters, homeless, elderly. Anyone whom God put into his life.

Steve grew up in Arizona, but would spend time visiting a small town in Minnesota, where his family and my friend Cyndi now lives.

I never knew a lot of Steve’s past. But you could tell from his writings, especially poetry, (see Outcast Press ) that he was no stranger to pain, suffering, or brokenness. Complaining is definitely something that was NOT part of his essential nature. Reaching people with the gospel, was his goal. At the centre of his existence, you would find an Evangelist. One who well understood the human condition, and one who would take the time to build a genuine relation with someone.

If I had only two words to describe Steve, one would be hopeful. If you travel around Phoenix, Tucson, or any town that he visited, he did what he called an art installation. He infused hope wherever he went. He would bring healing art (Dia de los Muertos style) to the homeless. If you see the word “HOPE” on a fence or by way, you knew he had been there.
 
 
The other word that describes Steve, is humble. Steve was not ostentatious, and his only penchant in life, seemed to be sports du jour. He loved to watch a good game on TV with his family. Steve had the right balance between ministry and home. A value he passed on to his sons.

For me personally, he was the one who painted my new home. I was privileged to have him as a friend, a kindred spirit, and a fellow shadow dweller.

I will always remember his contentment in life, his dedication to God and his family, and his spirit, which made all men yearn for the Creator of the universe. See you in Heaven, old friend.

”When a man of God dies, nothing of God dies.”
— AW Tozer

Hope in Tucson, Az


“Hope is the thing with feathers,
that perches in our soul.

and sings the tune without words,
and never stops at all.”
– Emily Dickinson


Wayno

Thot 4 the Day — 2013

people


The loneliest people are the kindest.

The saddest people smile the brightest.

The most damaged people are the wisest.

All because they do not wish to see anyone else suffer they way they do.
–Anonymous

The Forgotten Ones: Compassion for the Elderly

Compassion for the Elderly

Reprinted from a Facebook Article

The Forgotten Ones: Compassion for the Elderly

The entire purpose of our existence is to learn how to discipline our natural passions and tendencies, and in the process, develop the highest of all attributes – that of charity. Never forget, however, that charity and service are not the same. Charity is a characteristic trait, service is a kind act! And while charity is certainly developed through continual kind acts of service, charity also seeks no reward and is initiated because of unselfishness and love rather than the hope of recognition.True service and charity are usually not accomplished through great one-time opportunities or philanthropic acts; but they are most often demonstrated best through habits of small, quiet, humble, and unrecognized actions of every day. Albert Einstein perhaps said it best when he penned: “only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” This truth explains why happiness is found from within, not without; and perhaps more importantly, it more fully explains why confidence and self-esteem improve and depression and sadness flee the moment we start to think of and help others. Ironically, our lives are found in the losing of them!

Participation in these simple acts will certainly not be acts sufficient to be recognized on the news, be worthy of some award, or be justifiable to carve a name on a plaque. However, the continual participation in these unselfish acts of service and love will in time produce the greatest reward – that of the development of character, a life of service to others, and the eventual possession of charity. And while the reward for such acts is usually only an appreciative and grateful benefactor of the charitable act, the real satisfaction comes from the happiness that will inevitably result from a life of unselfish service.

Elderly and Senior Citizens:

1) Visit your local nursing home and simply visit and talk with patients, sing songs, tell stories, read books, play games, take them on a walk, put on a performance, etc.

2) Help an elderly neighbor by raking leaves, mowing lawn, weeding flower bed, shoveling snow, wash car, clean house, etc.

3) Visit widows or homebound individuals – make them a meal, stop in to say hi, help around house, etc.

4) Spend an evening teaching a senior citizen how to use the computer or internet, painting or drawing, scrapbooking, etc.

5) Go to nursing home and have a Karaoke night – sing songs they want (the ‘oldies’). Have them teach you their dance moves!

6) ‘Adopt a Grand-friend’ – every once in a while, pick up the phone, send an email, write a letter, or go and visit your ‘grand-friend.’

7) Help an elderly person by picking up their medicine, retrieving their paper, helping them with grocery shopping, taking them ‘out.’

8) Put together a puppet show, performance, or take a game – and have a fun game night with the senior citizens. (Take them a treat too).

9) Make a meal and just go visit an elderly, sick, or widowed person in the neighborhood and just have a fun evening together playing games, telling stories, and talking.

10) Visit grandparents, widows, or local elderly people in the neighborhood or nursing home – and write down their history. Just talk to them, ask them questions, and record their answers. Then, present that history to their family (decedents)