NUDGINGS: a journey into the unknown

I’m sure we all have heard the old adage “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. The original phrase ‘‘Eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread” had its first recorded use in the 1860, but the concept is quite old going back to Roman and Anglo-Saxon times. I know I heard it many times during my growing up years.  And I must admit that in late years I have tended to relegate apples to an occasional rather than a daily fruit. That, however, is about to change! The following landed in my inbox not long ago and made me rethink my relationship to the lowly apple. Any one of these claims is certainly a reason to add apples back into my daily diet. “Did you know that –according to Medical News Today, which ranks apples as the Number One healthiest food based on research studies– apples can potentially: * Have the same effect as statins in preventing vascular deaths… * Improve neurological health… * Prevent dementia… * Reduce risk of st...

Seen on a billboard:            'Jesus is Lord and you know it!' My immediate reaction was that the word 'better' was superimposed between you & know, making it read in my mind, ' Jesus is Lord and you better know it!' . In this permissive society we live in, no one likes to be told what to believe, to say, or to do. And that was part, but only part of the reason for my reaction. I had NO idea who had caused the sign to be written and that was a bigger cause for my discomfort. It is bad enough to have been told what you believed but even worst not to know the credentials or the belief system of whoever did so. But this also got me thinking of the importance of language; in this case of one little word. Because had the billboard said 'Jesus is Lord and I know it' , that would have been completely different. I probably would have thought, "Good for you. You have a conviction and you want to share with others." And...

I am tired of continually being asked by people “So where do you go to church now?” or, conversely,  “Where are you going to church on Sunday?” Now I know this is basically our own fault, because every Sunday has found us in church for the last 50 years.  The church we go to regularly on a Sunday morning, was built in the last decade, has a large paved parking lot with plenty of parking for folks like us with handicapped stickers. It is right next door to a Tim Horton’s and every Sunday you can see the people walking into that building with their cups of Tim’s in their hands. Should they prefer something cold, than there are vending machines inside for that. The parking lot, driveways, and sidewalks are ploughed and sanded well before we get there in the inclement weather. The building itself is climate- controlled year round, and has only the newest and most up-to-date equipment, including an elevator and washroom facilities on each floor, is bright and clean, and attra...

Did you make New Year’s Resolutions this year? If in the past you have ever managed to keep these resolutions for more than a month, you have done better than 52% of us, according to the Toronto Star. Today  [January 6th] is the final day in the church's season of Christmas. It was preceded by  the season of Advent which was to allow us time to prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. ‘Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.’ - Isaiah 7:14 But now that that celebration is over, what's the next step?  Are we able to say with Henri Nouwen that Jesus was born in our lives and received as the one we came to know while waiting?   ‘Advent does not lead to nervous tension stemming from expectation of something spectacular about to happen. On the contrary, it leads to a growing inner stillness and joy allowing me to realize that he for whom I am waiting has already arrived and speaks to me in the...