here we go.

Beautiful Guilin
Originally uploaded by shengangxi.

on november 10th jon slywka and i are heading to china, and will meet up with nicole laliberte there. a week in shanghai to watch the TENNIS MASTERS CUP! which will showcase the top 8 mens tennis players in the world! wow. and if that isnt enough, we are heading to Guilin, in Guangxi province to take in some sights like the one posted here, thanks to recommendations from jay, shannon and harmony. speaking of harmony, we will also be stopping in hong kong, for about 10 days to visit her and check out her new place. thats it, thats all.

this is for dave mostly

one of the funniest guys i know has a photoblog that i just found out about. he lives in oklahoma city, his name is adam avery cole, and you can check out his pictures adam

one more reason to not live in vancouver...

if, for some reason, you thought vancouver might be a cool place to live, read this article. not only do they break in and steal your stuff, they leave a great surprise in your porch. its funny, so go read it here

farming

on sunday nite we played the farming game at tim and tara's house. always a great time because it is such a great game. if you are ever at tim's house, make sure you ask him to play with you. especially since he isn't any good at it. cody won this time. but next time, its all me. i think you can buy it here

inspiration

breakfast inspires me...seriously. not so much the food, however, the food can be pretty stinkin good depending on where you go. but usually at breakfast a good group of people, or just a few get to hang out, talk, listen, share, and learn with each other. ive had a lot of good breakfasts over the years and they have been the times when i have felt closest and most at peace with things in life. ive shared countless tables and coffees with kris, blair, dave, tim, dad, ed, jonny, john close, pete, grandparents, harm, colby, joel, nic, vince...and a whole other list of people that i am forgetting. there is just something special about that time and a sweet cheap breakfast.

"shot to the nuts"

nic, my smarter, funnier, better looking, younger brother is blogging. check it out. nic

back in the knife

a trip to regina/dauphin in back in less than a week. that means 60+ hrs of driving. on the way down i didnt think it was going to be worth it. but here are some highlights....
-visits with jay and matt
-visit with grandpa in regina, so good to see him smile, hear his laugh, and hear some of his stories. definitely the number one highlight
-seeing the family
-quick visits with kris, and other regina people.
-hanging out with people in dauphin for the wedding.
-jumping off bridges at the lake of the prairies and wascana lake

lots more. check out the pictures for a better idea of what went on.
its funny how pretty much all the highlights involve people. in fact, they all do. kind of what jay and i talked a little bit about.
how important it is to be in relationship, sharing, encouraging, building with each other. so even though i spent a lot of time in a vehicle, the time i got to spend with people was well worth the trip.

the bible: inspired or expired? (good one, john)

well, that is a hard question, and something that i have been wrestling with since i have taken a few religious studies courses at university (all three were from pastors of a church, so they weren't atheists trying to change my mind, just presenting the facts, so here is what i've been thinking about for the last few years, a lot of it will be things that i learned in those courses, or read elsewhere)

the bible is a collection of stories, letters and other forms of prose that were obviously written thousands of years ago, so how do we make it fit into our lives in the present?
- in my opinion, maybe it should be treated as a love story (not a self help book). a love story about God loving us so intensely that he often goes to ridiculous lengths to show that to us. (i.e. Jesus death)
- i dont think it is a biography of Jesus life, or direct, exact recorded history as we have come to know in our textbooks in
the 21st century, it is more like a collecion of stories from communities that had been passed on through the generations.

in my church background i was taught (whether intentionally or not) that the Bible was infallible, and i still find peers that i kind of clash with on this opinion, but no matter how hard i try, i cannot convince myself that this book is without errors. countless times in my university courses, i was pointed to places that would have required us to bend over backwards to prove the infallibility of this book. men wrote it. of course it is full of mistakes. "well", you say, "God inspired it, so thats why it is infallible". and yes, i do believe that God was likely with these people as they wrote, but i dont think he controlled their hands, or their minds as they wrote. it was likely these guys writing down things that they had been told or they observed while with Jesus, or people that were with him. it was oral tradition finally being recorded some 30+ years after Jesus left.

how much of the bible should we take literally? (all of it, if you go by what i learned in sunday school)
-this is probably the question that i have struggled with the most. maybe the Job story is just that, a story, not literal historical facts; a metaphor if you will. but does that take any of the meaning or power away from it? i, personally, dont think so.
- or even the words Jesus was "quoted" as saying. if nothing was written down directly from his mouth, im sure a lot of the things he said were somewhat different when the authors of the gospels (whoever they were) finally penned them.

i could write more, but this is long enough...and
to some this may all sound like im totally rejecting my faith, like i have given up, maybe even heretical. i assure you that is not the case. i still believe the Bible is alive. that it holds stories of God's intense love for us that i have missed. i do believe it is an important book, but i wouldn't say that it alone can change my life. sure, God could use it as avenue to work in my heart, but i dont think the Bible alone is capable of that, without God still flowing through it.
please go check out some of the other, more intelligent, people that have written on the same thing, there is a list of them at
tim's blog. and please join in the discussion.

the end of an era

well, in about 56 minutes, one of tennis' greatest stars ever will begin his last fortnight at the U.S. Open. Andre Agassi has been one of my favorite players since i picked up a racket for the first time. so it will be a sad few days, likely bringing tears to my eyes, as he trys to pull out one more grand slam. such a classy guy who plays beautiful tennis, and carries himself in a way that just commands respect. a true champion. he has definitely inspired me and made the last 20 years of watching tennis memorable. we will miss you Andre!

.confused.

so here is the deal, i am confused. well, maybe more just wondering. tim, and francis have posted some great ideas about blogging and putting this discussion into action. and i know i have talked with other friends before about how great sitting around discussing world issues, faith and spirituality can be, but if it just stops at the table, was it really all that good?
so here is where the confused/wondering part comes in. hopefully i can put this into logical, straight forward questions to ponder, and hopefully get some help with.

is discussion wasted if it is just heard and not acted upon? what if that discussion is part of something that, possibly subconciously, enters our minds and changes us from the inside out?
or is that even possible; does this "movement" have to be a conscious decision?
and
how do we challenge those that we are discussing with to put that discussion into action (as well as move ourselves)?

new in yellowknife

dayna, my cousin from weyburn just moved to yellowknife on the weekend. its already been fun having her around, getting the chance to get to know her better and making fun of her for her gypsy outings with melissa as they did the old orpah and morpah. (long story, but dayna and melissa are gypsies). anyway. i was reading her goodbye saskatchewan blog at daynamarie3.blogspot.com and it made me miss home. mostly my grandparents. my grandpa fleming recently had a stroke and is now recovering and working on the motor skills he lost. this guy is so tough. i miss him. definitely a role model in my life, in a quiet, unassuming, joking around, teaching me more than i thought he has, fun, loving way.
its crazy how people like that can love me. i guess it is just one more way that God shows us how much he loves us. and tonite, i am thankful for that. miss you grandpa, hope you are doing well!

jumping off things

yellowknife is great for jumping off things into the water.
there is water everywhere and usually some kind of cliff, bridge or wall to jump off. so ive taken a real liking for diving off things. it is probably one of my favorite things to do...and cody or nic or dad has often been there to snap some of those...so here are a few...if you ever come to yellowknife i know some sweet spots...so lets go. you can find more on my flickr site over there ---->

just move

almost a month ago already(...wow...)harm left yellowknife. before she left we had a good visit. kind of talking about where each other was at on our journey, shared with each other how apathy and laziness were such an easy rut to fall into. one that i have been in for far too long. harm is now in China (check her out at www.harmonymc.blogspot.com) but sent me an email before i left for the weekend that had me thinking any time i got a few minutes of quiet.
i spent the weekend out at a camp and then at a cabin. lots of time in the water, jumping off cliffs, swimming, boating, fishing, etc. beautiful scenery and great friends.
for about 5 minutes this morning i had time sitting outside, sun shinning, blue sky, fire crackling, coffee in my hand, bacon waiting to be cooked. what more could a guy ask for. anyway. i took that time to talk to God. harm had encouraged me to just move. to take even that first step. so in those moments of conversation with Him, i told Him i was ready to move. to climb out of the rut that had too quickly been becoming more than a rut. so here i am, nothing spectacular happened, however i feel like im in more of a place that i want to be. headed in the right direction. not trying things my own way, i have help. neat. help that has been waiting for a long time to be asked. help that has all the answers, the right answers and an amazing love for me that i cant understand. it wasnt a big step, but im moving...

tennis weekend

this weekend was the YK Open tennis tournament up here. so it was super fun. there were 24 entered in the mens singles draw. for some reason they decided to give me the second seed. weird. anyway, i ended up winning the tournament in singles after a 3 setter and nic and i won the doubles about an hour later.
so it was a sweet weekend. i walked away with 150$. cant complain.
the next few days will be for resting sore and tired muscles.
thanks to everyone who came and watch and yelled with me.
see pictures here...http://yktennis.sharepointsite.com/default.aspx

i quit reading daves blog

to be honest, i dont like ready daves blog. not even a little bit. not because it is poor writing--it is actually quite good. and not because i am jealous that he is better than me at soccer--i have come to realize there is nothing i can do about this...
to be honest, i have stopped (not entirely, i only read it when i get enough courage) because he challenges me too much. makes me look at the way im living and makes me realize that im far from where i need to be. thanks dave for your honesty, encouragement, wisdom and 'genuineness'...(is that a word?) i appreciate you and wish i could go out for breakfast with you...
if you are not dave, check out his blog at http://dgainest.blogspot.com/

10 days later

10 days since my parents left. not much is new here. amy tells me i need to update my blog, but the last few weeks im finding i have very little to say. one of those seasons i life i guess.
i am reading a pretty sweet book. it is called "napoleon's buttons: 17 molecules that changed history". its interesting. so far ive learned about pepper, cellulose, nitro compounds, and glucose...read it if you get the chance. i would...
and
for those of you who dont know, my grandpa fleming is in the hospital. he had a stroke on friday and has been in the hospital since then. sounds like he is doing better today so that is good news. keept it steady grandpa. we are praying for you.

back to regina...

not me. my parents.
but it sure was good to have them here. hang out, eat some meals, see the sights, play some tennis. good times.
even though im taken care of extremely well up here in yellowknife, i miss them quite a bit. and melissa and kris too. so thanks mom and dad for coming and hanging out and checking out my new home...
will be home again soon.

1 out of 3 ain't bad..?

well, italy beat france. not good. (italian soccer is boring)
mauresmo beat henin-hardenne, not good. (henin plays more attractive tennis)
but federer beat nadal. that is sweet.
a magician on grass. even compared to barishnakov by some. elegant and graceful on the tennis court. 4 wimbledon championships in a row. and he beat his arch rival, his nemesis on a day when so many thought he might fall again.
heather thinks nadal is cute. gross hey? at least he lost. sorry heather.

cliff jumping at the falls

3
Originally uploaded by xjermsx.

i love jumping off of things. so when i saw this cliff at cameron falls i was pretty stoked. it made the trip out there even better. check out my flickr page for the sequence...dad took these for me. if anyone is up for a trip to cameron falls and a cliff jump...look me up.

italia

well, to say that i was cheering for Italy at the start of the tournament would be an understatement. but i also was not cheering for Germany at all either. so todays semifinal was kind of like the leafs playing the canucks. i hate both the teams, but i will never cheer for the leafs...ever...and so with the analogy, i will also never cheer for Germany. after watching their match against Ireland last world cup, i concluded that i would never cheer for the Germans again.
anyway...italy won. a sweet game. and im hoping they meet france in the finals.
in other news, im back in yellowknife. regina was great. amazing even. thanks to those of you who woke up early to eat breakfast, or watch soccer, or hang out. it was the highlight of the summer so far.
2 more matches in the world cup. it is bittersweet really.