This is becoming much too familiar.

I live on a fault line so earthquakes get talked about fairly often. But in the 15 years since I moved out to the coast I’ve only ever felt one, a single tremor that made the building tremble once and then snap back to center.  I cannot imagine what it feels like to see the ground open up at your feet.  Maybe it’s time to start putting together that emergency pack I started thinking about when I heard the news New Zealand a few weeks ago.

I don’t subscribe to doomsday thinking, but there is wisdom in being prepared.   If you want to put together your own emergency kits there are lists of what to include.  It wasn’t us this time, but who knows when the earth will shift again.

There is always a lot of confusion at a time like this: the chaos of people on the ground trying to find which way is up, and the confusion for the rest of us wondering why this keeps happening.  Where is God in all of this? If you find yourself wondering that this morning, our free interactive lesson Why does God allow disaster? can be a great place to start.

If you world got shaken up today and you need someone to talk to, our mentors are always available.

“The details remain to be determined. However, Canada’s contribution will not include funding of abortions.”

This was one of International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda’s statements regarding the Canadian government’s recent decision to not include abortion funding along with other G8 funding for things such as family planning and the use of contraceptive methods. This decision (at odds with the other G8 countries) has again sparked the abortion debate.

One of the things that is most frustrating about this debate is how little actual discussion occurs. What flies back and forth is usually rhetoric that ignores the most central questions and does little to bridge divides or change minds.

For example, Mark Fried of Oxfam Canada commented that “imposing Canada’s ideological beliefs is ridiculous.” (MetroNews) But this seems to me to be meaningless rhetoric. At the face of it, Mr Fried is decrying imposing of ideological beliefs while simultaneously doing exactly that. It’s like saying “You shouldn’t tell people what to do!” If people shouldn’t do it, why are you doing it? And note carefully the unwritten assumption behind Mr Fried’s remarks: Taking an anti-abortion stance is “imposing Canada’s ideological beliefs”, but taking a pro-abortion stance would not be. This however is wrong. Either way, Canada would be taking an ideological stance on the issue. The question is whether or not it is the correct stance, and name-calling one stance “ridiculous” does little to further constructive discussion.

Elsewhere in the same article, Paul McPhun, operations director for Doctors Without Borders, decries at one moment excluding abortion in a “black and white way”, and the next moment says that “If you want to reduce maternal mortality, you can’t do it in half measures.” It sounds like Mr McPhun does indeed favor treating abortion in a “black and white way”, except that he favors abortion for all instead of abortion for none.

All of these rhetorical flourishes and tangents ignore what seems to me to be the central question in the abortion issue: Is the unborn a human being? If not, then go ahead and kill it. But if it is, we necessarily must be very careful about any talk of killing it at all! Of course we should be concerned and compassionate towards needs of fellow human beings, especially women in third-world countries, but this compassion should not come at the expense of the lives of other human beings. And so we return to the “central question” above: What is the unborn? For a thoughtful exploration of this issue, please pay a visit to Scott Klusendorf’s CaseforLife.com.

If you are considering getting an abortion, or have had an abortion and are dealing with your decision and/or post abortion syndrome, or just need someone to talk with, please feel free to contact an online mentor confidentially to talk privately via email.

Tim Tebow will be featured in a 30 second advertisement during Superbowl XLIV. In the ad (which no one in the public has seen yet) Tebow will speak about how his mother, Pam, was advised to have an abortion when she was pregnant with Tim, due to medical complications. Pam decided to continue to term, and Tim was born. Today, Tim is a Heisman Trophy-winning American football quarterback for the Florida Gators. He and his family are Christians, and the theme of the ad will be “Celebrate family, celebrate life” and will not specifically mention abortion.

This ad has some pro-choice organizations upset. There has been pressure on CBS, the television network showing the Superbowl and which approved the commercial, to not run it. The National Organization of Women called the ad “extraordinarily offensive and demeaning.”

But columnist Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post, herself a pro-choice advocate, responds that “if there is any demeaning here, it’s coming from NOW, via the suggestion that these aren’t real questions, and that we as a Super Bowl audience are too stupid or too disinterested to handle them on game day.” She notes that “If the pro-choice stance is so precarious that a story about someone who chose to carry a risky pregnancy to term undermines it, then CBS is not the problem.” (Source: Washington Post)

The outcry comes at a time when, for the first time, more people in the USA are pro-life than pro-choice according to a recent Gallup poll survey.

What do you think about this ad controversy? Do you think the controversy is justified? Should CBS run the ad, and why? Does this ad go far enough to educate people about the reality and affects of abortion? Let us know what you think.

If you are struggling with issues regarding abortion (past or present), unwanted pregnancy, or know someone who is, please contact us if you would like to talk. There are mentors who are familiar with your struggles who will talk with you via email, privately & confidentially.

Related reading: From Tears to Triumph – One author’s story of healing and forgiveness from the guilt she felt from having been through abortions.

Tim Tebow will be featured in a 30 second advertisement during Superbowl XLIV. In the ad (which no one in the public has seen yet) Tebow will speak about how his mother, Pam, was advised to have an abortion when she was pregnant with Tim, due to medical complications. Pam decided to continue to term, and Tim was born. Today, Tim is a Heisman Trophy-winning American football quarterback  for the Florida Gators. The theme of the ad will be “Celebrate family, celebrate life” and will not specifically mention abortion.

This ad has some pro-choice organizations upset. There has been pressure on CBS, the television network showing the Superbowl and which approved the commercial, to not run it. The National Organization of Women called the ad “extraordinarily offensive and demeaning.”

But columnist Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post, herself a pro-choice advocate, responds that “if there is any demeaning here, it’s coming from NOW, via the suggestion that these aren’t real questions, and that we as a Super Bowl audience are too stupid or too disinterested to handle them on game day.” She notes that “If the pro-choice stance is so precarious that a story about someone who chose to carry a risky pregnancy to term undermines it, then CBS is not the problem.” (Source: Washington Post)

Regardless of your stance on the pro-life/pro-choice issue, what do you think about this ad controversy? Do you think the controversy is justified? Should CBS run the ad, and why? Let us know what you think.

If you are struggling with issues regarding abortion (past or present), unwanted pregnancy, or know someone who is, please contact us if you would like to talk. There are mentors who are familiar with your struggles who will talk with you via email, privately & confidentially.

Related reading: Abortion changes you – One of our mentors who went through an abortion shares advice based on her experiences

In a report for CNN, anchor Anderson Cooper reported that in Haiti it’s rare for buildings to use reinforced concrete.  When a quake hits, buildings just crumble.  Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas are incredibly densely populated, putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk in the wake the disaster.

“Because of the earthquake’s proximity to the capital, and because the city is densely populated and has poorly constructed housing, ‘it could cause significant casualties,’ said Jian Lin, a senior geologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.”(CNN.com)

Reports are pouring in of people running screaming from a collapsed hospital. There are photographs of incredible damage to the presidential palace – a beautiful building just days ago.  Ethan Park arrived in Haiti a couple of hours before the quake and was on the road outside the capitol when it hit.  He wrote, “we were in our vehicle on the way out of Port aux Prince when it struck…the road lifted and people were flying [through] the air.”

Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the western hemisphere.  Most of Haiti’s nine million citizens survive on only $2 a day.  Year after year terrible hurricanes slam into the island displacing hundreds of thousands of people.  Haiti has a hard enough time surviving on a good day.  A quake like this can be catastrophic.

You can help

Global Aid Network (GAiN) is an aid provider who has worked in Haiti before.  They are preparing Emergency Response packages with water purification tablets, food and personal hygiene supplies.  All it takes is  $115 to feed a family of six for a week – that’s less than $1 per meal.  You can donate now and know that your aid will arrive in Haiti as quickly as possible.  Since it began in 1998, GAiN Canada has mobilized resources to help people in over 35 countries around the world.  GAiN is a registered NGO.

Where is God in all this?

When disaster strikes, it’s common to wonder “does God care?”   The pain and agony of fellow human beings in the midst of disaster goes beyond our comprehension. Our minds scramble to make sense of human suffering and we simply cannot.  We can agonize over the possibilities as we seek to answer the heart wrenching, “Why?” Yet we cannot understand God nor can we always determine the answer to the difficult “why?” even though we try desperately. Is God on our side?

Tell us what you think

We want to hear your thoughts as you watch the aftermath of this disaster unfold.

*Photo courtesy of  US Department of State. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/pix/index.htm

Join us as we pray together for Haiti in our daily online chats, or anytime … visit our online chat room to pray along with us.

On January 12, 2010 a devastating earthquake hit Haiti just a few miles south of the capitol.

In a report for CNN, anchor Anderson Cooper reported that in Haiti it’s rare for buildings to use reinforced concrete.  When a quake hits, buildings just crumble.  Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas are incredibly densely populated, putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk in the wake the disaster.

“Because of the earthquake’s proximity to the capital, and because the city is densely populated and has poorly constructed housing, ‘it could cause significant casualties,’ said Jian Lin, a senior geologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.”(CNN.com)

Reports are pouring in of people running screaming from a collapsed hospital. There are photographs of incredible damage to the presidential palace – a beautiful building just days ago.  Ethan Park arrived in Haiti a couple of hours before the quake and was on the road outside the capitol when it hit.  He wrote, “we were in our vehicle on the way out of Port aux Prince when it struck…the road lifted and people were flying [through] the air.”

Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the western hemisphere.  Most of Haiti’s nine million citizens survive on only $2 a day.  Year after year terrible hurricanes slam into the island displacing hundreds of thousands of people.  Haiti has a hard enough time surviving on a good day.  A quake like this can be catastrophic.

You can help

Global Aid Network (GAiN) is an aid provider who has worked in Haiti before.  They are preparing Emergency Response packages with water purification tablets, food and personal hygiene supplies.  All it takes is  $115 to feed a family of six for a week – that’s less than $1 per meal.  You can donate now and know that your aid will arrive in Haiti as quickly as possible.  Since it began in 1998, GAiN Canada has mobilized resources to help people in over 35 countries around the world.  GAiN is a registered NGO.

Where is God in all this?

When disaster strikes, it’s common to wonder “does God care?”   The pain and agony of fellow human beings in the midst of disaster goes beyond our comprehension. Our minds scramble to make sense of human suffering and we simply cannot.  We can agonize over the possibilities as we seek to answer the heart wrenching, “Why?” Yet we cannot understand God nor can we always determine the answer to the difficult “why?” even though we try desperately. Is God on our side?

Tell us what you think

We want to hear your thoughts as you watch the aftermath of this disaster unfold.

Talk about disaster and pain

*Photo courtesy of  US Department of State. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/pix/index.htm

The shooting began at about 1330 (1930 GMT) on Thursday at a personnel and medical centre at Fort Hood – the largest US military base in the world, home to about 40,000 troops.

The commander of the base, Lt Gen Robert Cone, told NBC News that, according to eyewitnesses, Mr Hasan had shouted the Arabic phrase “Allahu Akbar!” [God is great] before opening fire.

He was shot four times during the attack and is currently being treated in hospital under armed guard.

Reports suggested that he had been increasingly unhappy in the military and that his work at his previous post – Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC – had been the subject of concern.

The New York Times said the FBI had been investigating internet postings by a man called Nidal Hasan that appeared to back suicide bombings – but said it was not clear whether it was the suspect.

How can we respond to such acts of terrible violence? Recently, Gary, a young man with a family living in Canada, faced an attack of his own: A package bomb left on the back steps of his home. Not knowing what the package was, he picked it up, and it exploded in his hands. Read Gary’s story of his survival, and how he was able to respond to an act of senseless violence.

If you are grieving or dealing with disappointment or despair, please contact us today to talk about it, we’re always here to listen.

Image credit: Daniel Greene, used with permission, Creative Commons 2.0 License.

The G8 leaders summit

US President Barack Obama is heading the Major Economies Forum, attended by all eight G8 nations (Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States) as well as Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. These nations are responsible for approximately 80% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions:

Despite the G-8 leaders’ pledge to cut emissions, developing nations may not follow suit — and G-8 leaders stopped short of calling on them to set specific targets.

Instead, they “called upon major emerging economies to undertake quantifiable actions to collectively reduce emissions significantly below business-as-usual by a specified year,” the White House said. (CNN)

Are you concerned about the environment and climate change? Do you think that meetings among world leaders such as the G8 summit are effective, or are different measures required to cause real change?

Related reading: Can you be an atheist and an environmentalist? – Sure, but the harder question is why?

Today the Toronto Star provided a helpful list of questions and answers about Swine Flu:

Q: What can I do to prevent myself from getting the flu?
A: Wash your hands and cough in your sleeve. “If you don’t have access to soap and water, use an alcohol gel,” advises Dr. Richard Besser.

Q: Should I get a seasonal flu shot, and if so why?
A: The seasonal flu shot will not protect against swine flu.

Q: Can you get this swine flu from handling or eating pork products?
A: No. “It is perfectly safe to eat pork because that’s not a means of getting swine flu,” Dr. Andrew Simor says. (Read the rest of the Toronto Star’s Q&As)

One question not addressed by the Toronto Star is how does a person know if they have it? The symptoms are very similar to regular flu symptoms, and include fever, cough, headache, general aches, and fatigue. Others who have swine flu also report nausea, runny nose, sore throat, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Are you worried about Swine Flu? Do you have feelings of fear for yourself and your loved ones? Please feel free to share your concerns with us in the comments section, by contacting us privately, or consider Dr Muriel’s article Why Worry Yourself Sick?