join the honda choir

Honda U.K.'s latest sensational TV commercial features a 60-person choir singing about the experience of driving the new Civic.

No, they don't sing a song expressing the virtues of the top-selling compact car, but instead vocalize all the sounds a driver hears emanating from the car and the road beneath the wheels during a drive...

The commercial, produced by London-based Wieden and Kennedy, begins with the choir standing in a multi-storey parking lot, looking as though they are about to sing a serious piece.

But the scene switches swiftly to the Euro-styled Civic's Engine Start button and the choir begins its performance. Every sound made represents one the car makes, everything from driving over gravel, the windshield demisting on a frosty morning, a CD being inserted and played to the rush of wind felt by a pet dog with its head stuck out of a rear passenger window. The visuals flit back and forth from the choir performing -- their facial expressions are a treat -- to the driving experiences they are replicating in sound.

(Read rest of "Selling Civic a 60-person job in U.K." - The Province)

View commercial and rehearsals.

Very cool!

Tags: Honda Civic, commercials, choir, advertising

roll call

Hubby got back from Kelowna on Wednesday. In the past two days we’ve resumed noon-hour walks on favorite paths. Yesterday we went to Crescent Beach. Today it was Elgin Park.

Even though the world was white when we got up this morning, the sun has been doing its thing and everywhere there’s the sound of trickling water – just like spring in Saskatchewan. To add to our enjoyment, this is the time of the confluence of birds - the water birds are still hanging around while the summer birds are starting to return.

Today on our walk we saw herons, widgeons, mallards, buffleheads, green-winged teals, a loon – very dapper in his mating plumage – robins, crows of course, some winter wrens ( the mice of the bird world – they’re always flitting in and out of the bottoms of bushes), robins and we heard some red-winged blackbirds.

Photos:
Elgin Park - V. Nesdoly
Loon - Government of Canada Website

promptings' potpourri

First, for some substantial reading, check out this week’s Christian Carnival. (I actually entered something after taking a long hiatus.)

For all parents and lovers of kids, this lengthy but gripping ‘cinema verite’ account of one girl’s childhood comes via my Polish friend Jesus' Friend who blogs at Building on the Chief Cornerstone. (I also found it posted on the website of Sunday Adelaja’s church in Ukraine)

Now if you’re in the mood for something lighter, Joe Carter’s "The virtues of being ugly" should put a smile on your face.

Cat people will enjoy the Cat of the Day blog - with instructions on how to get your cat or other pet added to this or the Pet of the Day's collections of centerfolds.

(Hat Tip: Something Beautiful)

For whimsy, red clay at home is where one starts from never fails to get my whimsometer clicking - with her fanciful drawings and happy musings about what it feels like to be in love. (Here’s the online kiosk where her drawings are for sale.)

alien plants

“Alien plants attack parks” is the headline on p. 13 of one of our weekend papers.

I like plants and I like parks, so I read on:

Local parks and forests are under alien attack. The proliferation of invasive alien plant species is a growing problem in the Lower Mainland. These are plants not native to the area that thrive here and overpower domestic species.

[...]Because they are very hardy, reproduce easily and are often immune to diseases and predators that affect native species, the invaders crowd out indigenous plants.

[...] Many of the invaders have been around so long and have become so common, few people realize they don’t belong.

And what are these deadly invaders? Himalayan blackberry. Lamium. Holly. Canada thistle. Scotch Broom. English Ivy.

No way! Some of these are pretty, others useful, and they’re all part of the landscape!

Despite appearing benign, these plants are apparently deadly. English Ivy, for example, encroaches on the forest floor eradicating all native species, creating an ivy desert. When it gets to a tree it wraps itself around it and climbs up, taking the tree’s water, nutrients and adding stress with its weight.

Sadly, I’m reminded of my life. After reading through the Sermon on the Mount in the last few days, I can’t help but contrast the attitudes and actions that so easily take over my little corner of the Kingdom of God with what should be growing there. There’s a whole patch of independence where trust should be growing. There’s a showy stand of pride and wanting to be noticed displacing unremarkable and lowly humility. Instead of forgiveness there’s a blooming and odorous patch of grudges and gossip. A prickly hedge of dislike – hatred even – has choked out love. Meekness is dwarfed by standing up for my rights and retaliation. Covering the forest floor and starting to climb the trees is the wiry vine of worry which has displaced faith altogether...

Like those alien plants in the park, not only have these alien attitudes and actions choked out Kingdom plants, but because they’re so established, and flourishing everywhere around me, they seem like the ones which really belong. On top of that, some of them are beautiful, even useful in their showy, assertive ways.


The park managers in our city have begun to tackle the alien plants. Mostly they’re depending on volunteers, who spend hours pulling out and cutting off these tenacious aliens by hand, working to again make the parks hospitable for native flora.

Similarly I need to voluntarily deal with all these alien attitudes and actions in my life. After I’ve recognized them I need to start cutting, pulling out and destroying so that Kingdom ecology – the environment in which all that is truly good and lasting can flourish – will once again be restored.

"There were about seven plots (of ivy) when we started. We’re down to three now,” says the city’s main volunteer. “In about half a year or so, it should be under control.”

Oh to be able to say that about all the alien plant plots in my life!

****************

Photo Credits:
- English Ivy: National Park Service, Washington DC web site
- Scotch Broom - Government of B.C. web site

book review: Waking Lazarus

Title: Waking Lazarus
Author: T. L. Hines
Publication: Bethany House, July 2006
Genre: Adult Fiction - Thriller
ISBN: 0-7642-0204-9

Thirty-two year old Jude Allman has cheated death three times. But the outcome is not what one would expect. In the psychological thriller Waking Lazarus, T. L. Hines explores the what-ifs of such a state, superimposed on story events which take place over a few weeks in the very ordinary town of Red Lodge Montana – where kids from the surrounding towns are mysteriously disappearing. The result is a page-turner that is both satisfying and chilling.

Hines’ confidence with language and storytelling skill was a highlight of the book for me. He sets mundane tactile scenes – like vignettes of a five-year-old interacting with his live-out father, a man ordering food in a restaurant, a janitor taking abuse from kids in a middle school – back-to-back with scenes of outright psychological creepiness. He serves up these story segments in scrambled order and in telling the story this way had me questioning my own perception of what was real and looking with suspicion, at least in passing, at most of the male, and some of the female characters. I was intrigued from start to finish.

Besides the challenge of figuring out what Jude Allman is all about and who’s abducting those kids, the story addresses several weighty themes. Hines explores the philosophical dilemma of what’s real and what isn't, but also probes the more accessible themes of parent-child relationships, coping with being different, the paranormal and whether / how it meshes with the Christian faith.

Speaking of the latter, Hinds handles the Christian message aspect of the book subtly and with a light touch. In addition to the overt allusion to the Bible character Lazarus of the book’s title, it comes mostly through secondary character Rachel - Jude’s girlfriend. Although her dependence on prayer and hearing the internal voice she thinks of as the voice of God (my paraphrase) seemed somewhat slight and subjective theologically, I appreciated Hines’ attempt to spell out Christian experience in understandable non-jargon language. I guess what I’m trying to say is if you’re looking for some theological beef - a treatise, sermon or altar call, you’ll be disappointed. But as an appetizer the book succeeds.

It’s great to see Christian fiction cutting this new swath. As a debut novel, I’d say Waking Lazarus is quite an accomplishment and will no doubt make a big splash* when it’s released this summer. And of course the book needs a sequel. Because by my calculations Jude has another five lives left – no wait, make that four, definitely four!


*************************

*Hines is inviting readers, via his website, to be part of that spash. He also blogs.

Filed in Book Reviews

'testimony' at pacific theatre

It was a fabulous evening last night. This Second Stage event was called Testimony and had the same format and feel as Christmas Presence only on the theme of being human, vs. Christmas. Ron Reed and others read short pieces interspersed with music. For example Ron read pieces by Frederich Buechner, Garrison Keillor, and three or four others. Carolyn Arends read part of her testimony telling of the summer she went through a crisis of faith. She ended it with “It Has to Be You” which was birthed out of that experience.

The musical line-up, besides Carolyn Arends, included Sheree Plett (beautiful plaintive voice which has that flexible flip-into-flasetto thing happening a lot), an excellent songwriter / singer named Lance ? (I’m terrible at remembering last names), and Wyndham Thiessen. The latter was very funny. Sang his own comedic creations in mostly bluegrass style. His song “Eschatology” was hilarious.

The usual Christmas Presence band backed up the singers – a collection of acoustic instruments played by the musicians Nelson Boschman assembled, including lots of guitars - even a lap one - a couple of keyboards, a double bass (double bass adds so much!), violin and mandolin the last two played by the Spencer Capier who switched from one to the other as easily as a person goes from talk to a whisper.

The atmosphere of these evenings is informal, a get-together-in-the-living-room-to-play-music feel with the musicians and story-tellers mostly in jeans and such. But the content last night was, as always, rich – a thoughtful satisfying menu with the deep stuff balanced by humor, answers countered with questions and the threat of tears erased by the urge to laugh. Not surprisingly, yesterday evening the house was full with a program long enough to warrant an intermission. But even though it was a good 10 o’clock by the time the last story was told, the last note played, I still felt like a kid who was being sent to bed in the middle of the party, and had to restrain myself from shouting out “More!”

life is good

Do you have some blogs you visit that you come away and you just feel like writing? One that does that for me is Peacefulady’s (Irene’s) blog Seasons. Just now I read a post of hers where she writes about feeling doused in blessings. And I can relate – even to the extent of feeling vaguely guilty that I’m getting all these blessings when others are swamped in busyness and life-threatening challenges.

She asks:

What do you think? How do you find it? How do you appreciate your blessings? How much do you think about special gifts God seems to send your way? Have you gotten extra blessings in certain seasons of life?

You’re right, Irene. We need to appreciate and celebrate the times of blessing when they come and not let the fact that others may be going through hard times silence us. And yes, I have felt particularly blessed in the season of life I’m in right now, with my kids grown up and my hubby newly retired. Here are some blessings of the last week:

- Ten days of living all alone. Hubby’s away, doing elder-care. Of course I wondered how I’d do this. I haven’t lived alone for more than about two days since before I was married. Other times when E. was gone, I had the kids. Now it’s just me.

Well, I’m loving it. I’ve been eating salad and pizza in front of the TV while I watch the Scott Tournament of Hearts (B.C.’s Kelly Scott ended up first in the round robin!). On Wednesday I worked well into the evening to get a couple of manuscripts into the mail. Last night I came home from choir and felt so light and happy from being immersed in music, first in choir and then from playing my CDs on the way home, I decided to carry on. I lit a candle, put in our new Rita Springer CD “I Have to Believe" that we got for Christmas and just lay on the couch letting the beautiful music wash over me. After Rita Springer was through, Robin Mark started singing. It was wonderful, drifting in and out of sleep, all the while being baptized by this worshipful music.

- Tonight I get to go to Pacific Theater with my friends Mel and Jill. This is part of the package of tickets I won at the end of last year. When I found out E. would be gone for today’s production, I knew I’d have to arrange something because I don’t do the drive into Vancouver at night - especially not by myself. Well it’s worked out perfectly - these favorite friends of mine can come and will do the driving to boot!

- Then just about half an hour ago, I got a call from my band boy. He’s now the drummer for Mongoose, and they’re on a cross-Canada tour. The thought of them driving in a van across Canada in the winter had me saying lots of prayers. This morning he called from Toronto. He was happy because he’d seen Pinball Clements in the lobby of the Royal York, went up to him, shook his hand and said, “I love you, boy.” Pinball answered him, “I love you too baby!” (Ah yes, basking in more reflected glory – but then, isn’t that the only kind?)

Today the sun is shining here and I have whole busy-work list to tackle - a little banking, a little shopping, a little cleaning, maybe the laundry, more curling, more pizza! Life is good.

(But, if you’re reading this, Babe, I do miss you!)

book review: The Bark of the Bog Owl

Title: The Bark of the Bog Owl
Author: Jonathan Rogers
Publisher: Broadman & Holman
Genre: Juvenile Fiction, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
ISBN: 080543131-4

Take places like Tambluff Castle, Feechiefen Swamp, Bonifay Plain and Greasy Cave. Now mix them with characters like King Darrow, Bayard the Truth Speaker, Dobro, Aidan Errolson. a contingent of scheming Pyrthens and you have The Bark of the Bog Owl, the first book of Jonathan Rogers’ Wilderking Trilogy.

In this series Rogers retells the story of David from the Old Testament. However, with the exception of the main plot line there is little else predictable about the story. The reworked characters have been transplanted to a medieval fantasyland which includes symbolic alligators, a tribe of outcast Feechiefolk and a seer who goes around with a pair of goats.

The book is a lively read. Twelve-year-old Aidan, Dobro, the Feechiefolk, his brothers and the Pyrthens mix it up in play, celebration, arguments, hand-to-hand fights and even a genuine battle. The action and adventure are also delivered with generous doses of humor in silly songs, rhymes and Mr. Rogers’ droll way with words.

Themes that come out in this tale are love of God and country, bravery, honor and on Aidan’s part, a thirst for action and adventure.

Though we get to know Aidan best, there are other interesting characters as well - the mysterious Dobro, Aidan’s somewhat jealous and condescending brothers and my favorite, Bayard the Truth Speaker.

It is Bayard’s wisdom, delivered in the mysterious voice of an authentic but weird prophet that had me, adult that I am, reaching for my highlighter. “Live the life that unfolds before you,” he tells Aiden on their first meeting. Later he reassures him, “Do not ask, ‘Am I being a fool?’ Ask, ‘Am I being the right sort of fool?’” It is this sage foundation that expands the story from being just an entertaining tale and gives it value beyond the hours of entertainment reading it will provide.

Kids in Grades 3-6 will enjoy this series. If I were the parent though, I wouldn’t give it to one of them to read. Rather I’d read it aloud to them myself and join in the fun.

*******************
Disclaimer: The book The Bark of the Bog Owl was sent to me by Mind & Media as a gift from the publisher who donated the books for reviewers.

Filed in Book Reviews

missionaries of all sorts

We’re in the middle of the annual missions conference at our church. It always starts with a Sunday morning flag parade. This year the choir sang the flags in. Since I’m in the choir I was part of the festivities. One of the requirements was to wear an ethnic costume. E. and I went thrift store shopping for ours - a colorful shirt for him, a purple sari for me.

On Sunday morning when we went through our song for the first time I could hardly sing because of the lump in my throat (and so I ask myself how will I ever handle the celebrations in heaven when a little church flag parade gets me all choked up). It was wonderful!

(To watch the 5-minute flag parade pull the video bar to 6:50.)

Then today I went to the women’s missionary luncheon. There Elizabeth Sakala a pastor’s wife, from Zambia shared her mother-heart for the women and kids of Africa. Then Helena Purshaga, wife of Alexander, who was put in prison in Russia last June, encouraged us. Finally after yummy exotic food – vegetable rice, some kind of sesame chicken, carrots, a creamy yam casserole and hot samosas speaker Marie Miller, who started out as an Air Canada executive but realized there was more to life than climbing the corporate ladder, challenged us with the thought that no price is too high to pay for one soul.

I also met June. She sat at my table and I wondered what kind of exceptional lady she was when our before-lunch chat kept getting interrupted by people coming to talk to her. I soon discovered this remarkable 95-year-old is a missionary of sorts herself – to street people and recovering addicts. What's really amazing about this is she felt God's tap on her shoulder to do this 14 years ago - when she was 81! One of the things she does now is regularly visit the Teen Challenge house out in Yarrow where she’s a counselor. The men (recovering addicts) love to talk to her and tell her about their lives.

I didn’t hear her whole story but I got her phone number and her promise that some day soon, we’ll get together. I’m going to bring my handy little recorder because I want to write up her story into a little profile piece.

i've touched the blog

of the mom of a couple of East Coast Music Award winners (the slenderest claim to fame I know). Islandsparrow is the mom of two members of the Chunky Danger Band who won the prize in the Top Pop Recording of the Year category for "6-Pack" in Charlottetown a few hours ago. In fact, they even opened the show!

What a great sound! I'm sure we'll be hearing more from them.

(Actually I think Islandsparrow should get an award too, for letting them practice in the basement. My question is, is that orchestral combo that accompanied them last night, part of Chunky Danger? If not, I'll bet now they wish they were!)

huh? what'd you say?

So, do you clean out your ears with a Q-tip? I must admit, all the warnings against it notwithstanding, I’ve done that very thing often, although probably for the last time. Because two weeks ago one of the dire predicted things happened to me. The wax I was trying to clear out got tamped down good and proper, deep in my ear canal.

Instantly I was deaf on one side. For though my right ear felt entirely normal and not like it needed to pop, I suddenly couldn’t understand words that weren’t e-n-u-n-c-i-a-t-e-d clearly or even hear the click of my keyboard or mouse.

Over the next 18 or so hours I gained a lot of empathy for people who are partly deaf. I felt as handicapped as I do when I lose my glasses and began to understand that part-quizzical, part-irritated look on the faces of the hard-of-hearing. Not only can’t they hear but they’re a little bugged at the world for failing to speak up!

I did get the old ear irrigated the next day – well worth the momentary unpleasantness. In fact, I think ear wax has been dulling my hearing for a while because I’m still surprised at how rattley is my keyboard, how raspy my slippers.

As for that wonder earwax - there are all kinds of informative pages about it on the internet. They explain how it’s there to collect dead skin and sweat, is supposed to drain naturally, is a protective barrier which contains enzymes that help prevent infection, and in medieval times was even used as an ingredient in the pigment for illuminating manuscripts.

Oh yes, and I found a blog, run by a doctor no less, devoted entirely to ear wax (and boogers and phlegm)!

how sweet it is!

Update Saturday:

And what about that Cindy Klassen - not only our multi-medal speed skater, but an outspoken woman of faith!


The Brad Gushue rink from Newfoundland just won the Olympic gold medal for Canada - men's curling!

Photo: TSN

Put up a little prose here today.

promptings potpourri

Bonnie Bruno is branching out! After 28 years of writing articles, stories and books for kids, God is taking her in yet another direction on her writing journey.

Now He has asked me to branch out again, by providing me with the opportunity to write a book of inspirational stories for adults, tentatively titled When God Steps In: Stories of Everyday Grace. My proposal was accepted for publication a couple of weeks ago, and we're in the process of contracting. So, I'm writing this especially to those of you who feel you have a story that would fit the theme of this book--moments when you sensed that God was interrupting your day, as if to say, "Listen closely. Remember this moment."

If you have a story for Bonnie contact her.

Bonnie blogs several times a week at the beautiful MacroMoments.

************************

Further to the poetic thoughts about depression (below), Dulciana writes about her own experience and the very likely link that can be made between depression and allergies.

coast to coast

Canadian bloggers are hitting the newsstands!

It all started with Rebecca Writes from the Yukon.

Then Islandsparrow put out this gorgeous and glossy rag from Prince Edward Island, followed by my very own promptings from the opposite coast.

Carol’s Storybook from New Brunswick looks like a warm, thoughtful and friendly read (though the web site seems to be down at the moment), while the Crusty Weekly from Ottawa will be a godsend for all of us who are curmudgeonly in any way.

If I’ve missed you tell me in comments and I’ll add you to the list.

challenge your writing

Faithwriters.com – a web site for Christian writers – has a weekly writing challenge that might be of interest to some. In a nutshell, you join Faithwriters (it’s free) and then can submit articles, poems stories, plays etc. to the general article bank, or enter them (choosing your appropriate level - "Beginner," "Intermediate" and "Advanced") in the weekly writing challenge.

• ~ How it works is here.
• ~Rules and submission details are here.

Each week a set of judges chooses eight winners.

• ~Some previous 'Beginner' winners are here [click on the weekly writing challenge word which opens a page listing winners from that week].
• ~Previous 'Intermediate' winners are here.
• ~Previous 'Advanced' winners are here.
• ~Editors' choice winners are here.
  

These winning pieces are published (by Xulon Press) in an on-going series of FaithWriter’s books, available through Amazon and the FaithWriters web site. (In fact if you click on the 'table of contents' of the first book, you will see yours truly had several included in it.)

java and a 24-meme

Drink up, Vicki at Windows to My Soul. You'll need that caffeine burst to get through the 24-meme you tagged me for, below...

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites. And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4...
“...burst through the brown earth and the ashes and everything.”- The Book of Small, Emily Carr

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can and see what you touch.
A cute snowman gift enclosure card which I saved and left sitting on my CPU since Christmas!

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
The 6-o’clock news on Global

4. Without looking, guess what time it is?
7:30

5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time?
7:59

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
The click, click of the second hand of the Westclox wall clock and my husband’s computer keyboard from the other room....oh, and there’s the sound of kind of vehicle, maybe a truck, on our street.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
At 3:00 p.m. I went for a walk after a long drive, Abbotsford and back, to take Mum to see her friends for Monday coffee hour at the place she used to live.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
Papers and more papers on my desk.

9. What are you wearing?
Shades of black, with a bit of red in the pattern of my sweater.

10. Did you dream last night?
No. You’re not getting me there - I already told too many dreams on this blog!

11. When did you last laugh?
Very lately... but can’t remember exactly when as I don’t keep a laugh log.

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
- Two framed Kim Jacobs puzzles - “Conservatory” and “Sewing Room”,
- Four Ken Gibbs paintings of children, made into cards
- A pen-and-ink drawing of a child’s face with an adult hand on his head. Under the drawing: “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me and I do not forbid them, for of such is the Kingdom of heaven.’ And he laid His hands on them.” Matthew 19:14,15
- A black and white Westclox wall clock.
- a messy bulletin board
- a small wooden craft wall hanging with a heart and the saying: “A Friend, Like an old quilt, is both a treasure and a comfort.”

13. Seen anything weird lately?

What about this?



or this


or this?

14. What do you think of this quiz?
Long - very long.

15. What is the last movie you saw?
“Chronicles of Narnia”

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
Several houses in the Village of Hope in Uganda for the AIDs orphans, a nice townhouse in White Rock for us, and then I’d buy a little time to think about how to spend the rest by putting what was left in the bank.

17. Tell me something about you that I don’t know.
I dislike most melons; they are one fruit I will refuse to eat.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
No more need for alcohol, street drugs etc, i.e. no more need for help from destructive sources.

19. Do you like to dance?
Yes, when I know the steps.

20. George Bush?
Hmmm

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
It was. I’d stick with the name we chose (Sonia Marie).

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Again I’d stick with the name we chose for our boy which was our second-born (Benjamin Walter)

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Yes. England. Portugal. Hawaii would be nice.

24. What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
“Violet, you did exactly what you were created to do; well done! Now, are you ready for your next assignment?”

melancholy

In the last few days several of my blog friends have written about depression (here and here). Clinical depression is something from which I’ve never suffered. But if the description of those who have is to be believed, it is horrible and not to be wished on anyone.

American poet Jane Kenyon had bouts of depression her whole life. In the suite of poems "Having it Out with Melancholy" she explores its many faces:

1 FROM THE NURSERY

When I was born, you waited
behind a pile of linen in the nursery,
and when we were alone, you lay down
on top of me, pressing
the bile of desolation into every pore....

to

3 SUGGESTION FROM A FRIEND

You wouldn't be so depressed
if you really believed in God.

on to:

9 WOOD THRUSH

High on Nardil and June light
I wake at four,
waiting greedily for the first
note of the wood thrush. Easeful air
presses through the screen
with the wild, complex song
of the bird, and I am overcome

by ordinary contentment....

(read "Having it Out with Melancholy"...)

coming soon

to a news stand near you!


To make your own magazine cover go here.


Hat Tip: Rebecca Writes

blackie's spit

A heron at Blackie's Spit.

tumbling into sunday

Some days when I get weary of writing and bored of hearing the sound of my own voice, the best thing is to read someone else. And so this week I pulled The Book of Small from my bookshelf.

I was first introduced to Small on a ferry from Vancouver to Victoria. It was browsing through the on-board gift store that I first came across this memoir of Emily Carr’s. (Yes, Emily Carr the artist, known for her paintings of the Indians and artifacts of the British Columbia west coast and Queen Charlottes Islands.)

She’s authored seven books in all, most of them memoir, written toward the end of her life when she could no longer see well enough to paint. The first one, Klee Wyck, is about her travels and the people she met up-coast. It won the Governor General’s Award.

The Book of Small, though, is memories of her earliest childhood in Victoria. The book jacket of my 1966 edition explains:

“Who was Small? She was the embodiment of Emily Carr’s childhood – a phantom child. In this collection of vignettes, the reader sees life in Victoria B.C. at the end of the last century, as observed by a little girl of intense imagination – delightful and memorable storytelling.”

That it is indeed. Here is the first page of the book – and a perfect read for a Saturday:

All our Sundays were exactly alike. They began on Saturday night after Bong the Chinaboy had washed up and gone away, after our toys, dolls and books, all but The Peep of Day and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, had been stored away in drawers and boxes till Monday, and every Bible and prayer-book in the house was puffing itself out, looking more important every minute.

Then the clothes-horse came galloping into the kitchen and straddled round the stove inviting our clean clothes to mount and be aired. The enormous wooden tub that looked half coffin and half baby-bath was set in the middle of the kitchen floor with a rag mat for dripping on laid close beside it. The great iron soup pot, the copper wash-boiler and several kettles covered the top of the stove, and big sister Dede filled them by working the kitchen pump-handle furiously. It was a sad old pump and always groaned several times before it poured. Dede got the brown windsor soap, heated the towels and put on a thick white apron with a bib. Mother unbuttoned us and by that time the pots and kettles were steaming.

Dede scrubbed hard. If you wriggled, the flat of the long-handled tin dipper came down spankety on your skin.

As soon as each child was bathed Dede took it pick-a-back and rushed it upstairs through the cold house. We were allowed to say our prayers kneeling in bed on Saturday night, steamy, brown-windsory prayers – then we cuddled down and tumbled very comfortably into Sunday.

dreams

Yesterday I wrote out a five-year plan – a writing prompt activity found in this book. There was release in that for me – goal-oriented person that I am – just spilling out all the things I dream of getting done in the foreseeable future, quantifying, taking stock of my various interests and seeing how they fit into the whole, saying, if I get these things done it will be enough.

Last night we went to choir, which was good as usual – singing the fabulous songs. I always come home with my mind full of music. I went to bed early, slept well.

This morning I had a dream. Two actually. In the first one, I was at a conference and was wanting to use the washroom. The washroom facility was actually a large room with many toilets but no stalls, everyone was in plain sight of each other. It was a humiliating thought to have to use it.

There were a lot of women in saris there and some of them would leave their used toilet paper but on top of the closed toilet seat (I’m thinking, this must be their custom). When it was my turn, I walked toward one of those commodes when, just before I got there the attendant, a young thing, took that soiled piece of paper off the seat I was about to use, so I wouldn’t have to do it. Then I noticed she was singing – a song about Jesus being alive. As I listened, I was struck with the beauty of her song. I wondered how all these immigrant women were taking it. And I realized, what she was doing – drawing attention to Jesus and praising Him – was the only thing that really mattered, no matter what kind of work she did. And then I woke up.

In the second dream, as I was going down the stairs, I noticed some mushed apple on one of them. When I got downstairs, I saw hubby was looking pale and was cleaning up some mess with a bucket. I asked him if he was sick and he said he was. I sent him back to bed and made a mental note not to forget to clean up the stairs. Then Sonia came into my dream, not the way she is now but as a three-year-old. “I love you mummy,” she said, and moved my face with her little hands to look right into hers. “I want to give you a kiss.” Then she kissed me very thoroughly and I saw the big, big smile on her face that is on one of her baby pictures. And then I awoke from this dream, overwhelmed by the sense of being in a family where you look after each other and are loved.

I’m not sure what the juxtaposition of these three dreams means (or whether there even is a meaning – although maybe the fact that my Quiet Time has me in Daniel is why I’m even searching for significance in night dreams at all). And I must say the tone of these night dreams after I’d written out my daydreams was not scolding or chiding in relation to them. I did not get the sense that writing out a five-year plan was a bad thing. But I did take away one simple and strong impression. Jesus and family need to remain a priority in my life over anything I could ever desire to achieve in any avocation or ‘career.’

the right light answer...

These are answers that children have given to tests in various subjects at school:

- The future of "I give" is "I take."

- The parts of speech are lungs and air.

- The inhabitants of Moscow are called Mosquitoes.

- A census taker is man who goes from house to house increasing the population.

- A virgin forest is a forest where the hand of man has never set foot.

- Water is composed of two gins. Oxygin and hydrogin. Oxygin is pure gin. Hydrogin is gin and water.

- (Define H2O and CO2.) H2O is hot water and CO2 is cold water.

- The general direction of the Alps is straight up.

- A city purifies its water supply by filtering the water then forcing it through an aviator.

- The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 opossums.

- Most of the houses in France are made of plaster of Paris.

- The spinal column is a long bunch of bones. The head sits on the top and you sit on the bottom.

- We do not raise silk worms in the United States, because we get our silk from rayon. He is a larger worm and gives more silk.

- One of the main causes of dust is janitors.

- A scout obeys all to whom obedience is due and respects all duly constipated authorities.

- One by-product of raising cattle is calves.

- To prevent head colds, use an agonizer to spray into the nose until it drips into the throat.

- The four seasons are salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

- The word trousers is an uncommon noun because it is singular at the top and plural at the bottom.

- Oliver Cromwell had a large red nose, but under it were deeply religious feelings.

- Syntax is all the money collected at the church from sinners.

- The blood circulates through the body by flowing down one leg and up the other.

- In spring, the salmon swim upstream to spoon.

- Iron was discovered because someone smelt it.

- A person should take a bath once in the summer, not so often in the winter.

(Thanks to Marilyn in Thunder Bay)

mondegreen

is the new word I learned yesterday. Thanks Dulciana. She posts a list of mondegreens, with more in the comments.

~happy valentine's day~

A SURE SIGN

Here’s the mail, sort it quick–
Papers, letters notes,
Postcard scenes,
Magazines;
Our hearts are in our throats.
Something there
White and square,
Sealed with wax, and bumpy–
At the edges flat and thin,
In the middle lumpy.

When you feel the envelope,
Do your fingers trace
Something narrow,
Like an arrow?
Or a part
Of a heart?
Or a Cupid’s face?
Is your name across the back
In a crooked line?
Hurry, then; that’s a sign
Someone’s sent a valentine!

– Nancy Byrd Turner

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Instead of sending you a Valentine, I will send you to it!

- Go here for Victorian Valentine cards at the Lilly Library

- Valentine pop-ups

- And lace-paper Valentines

Have a LOVE-ly day, all who read here!

mondays

I’ve just spent five days, working my way to the top of the week. I’ve slogged through must-dos, tasks and errands, every day fulfilling my obligations and getting a bit closer to the summit. Finally it’s Saturday – almost there, tie up the few last loose ends, take those final steps. Then it’s Sunday. I’ve reached the top of the mountain. I can become a slack rubber band, rest from routine, relax, sit down and survey my life from a tranquil distance.

And then, with a flip of the page it's Monday again. I’m at the foot of that mountain all over again. The full page of last week’s accomplishments doesn’t count any more; it’s been ripped out and I’m faced with a new blank page. But I have no zip, enthusiasm, optimism. I am still that slack rubber band, wondering, where will the energy come from to make me feel taut again, and ready for the long climb up again.

I wish Mondays were banished! But then, I guess one would be faced with the same thing on Tuesday.

after reading and enjoying

Rescuing Canada's Right -- who's surprised?

You are a Social Conservative (36% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (71% permissive) You are best described as a: Republican Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Hat Tip: Callmeteem

blogging

here today.

happy birthday bea!

Ciara at Something Beautiful has the exact thing I'd like to give you for your birthday.

Love you sis!

buddhism

This description in the Missionsfest program attracted me to an hour-long seminar on Buddhism a couple of weeks ago:

The Dalai Lama is known to be “against conversion of people, community or an individual, from one religion to another.” This seminar will deal with the myths and truths about Buddhism. It will challenge your understanding about the Buddhist world and how Buddhists can be reached.

Presenter Tom Tan, a former Buddhist himself, began the hour by telling us his story. He came to Canada in 1974 from Malaysia as a Buddhist tentmaker. (“That’s right - a tentmaker,” he said to us. “And you thought ‘tentmaking’ was a Christian concept!”) His intention was to get a job and in his spare time gain a following for Buddhism.

So he worked in a bank during the day and held meetings and seminars about the Buddhism at night and on weekends. He was also an active participant in one of Richmond’s Buddhist temples.

During the time he taught about enlightenment, however, he personally got involved in fraud. He was caught, tried and sentenced to jail. While in prison he read the Gideon Bible and C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity in his cell and over time gave his life to Jesus.

Tan’s personal experience with Buddhism made all of us pay close attention as he outlined its main elements. Here are points, taken from his handout:


General:
- Buddhism is a missionary force. It is the first of the great world religions to become international.

- It is strong in Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tibet, Korea, Japan, India, China, Taiwan, Kampuchea, Laos, Vietnam and spreading to Europe (5 million) and North America (3 million)

- Buddhism has more than 860 million followers today. It is a strong influence in the New Age Movement and Hollywood.

(And I would add, among writers. In almost every how-to book on writing I’ve read recently I have found mention of some aspect of Buddhism: Eastern meditation, the practice of yoga, chanting koans or mantras etc., not to mention actual quotes from Buddhist holy men. This substantiates another aspect of Buddhism Tan pointed out: its syncretism. Buddhism easily adapts to the culture, taking aspects of any particular culture and incorporating them into the Buddhism of that country – thus the inclusion of things like yoga which, I believe, was originally a Hindu practice)

- Buddhists claim that Buddhism is not a religion but a way of life. There is no personal relationship with Buddha.

There are many different strains of Buddhism – understandable, because of the way it adapts itself to cultures, above. The Buddhism which is gaining popularity in North America is primarily Tibetan Buddhism (how popular evidenced by the reception to the Dalai Lama when he came to visit Canada in 2004)


Tibetan Buddhism:
The following are some of the things Tan listed, that have formed and influenced the North American brand of Tibetan Buddhism.

- “Bon” is the native religion of Tibet. It was largely magical, with many rites of redemption from demonic forces with animal and human sacrifices and many superstitions, divinations and occult.

- Tantrism - the word tantra relates to weaving. Thus the theme of tantrism is the interwovenness, interdependence and oneness of all things. Tantrism is a mystical belief system that incorporates magical procedures (by chanting mantras, meditation and the visual aid of the mandala) in the attainment of paranormal power in the quest for Enlightenment. The basic tenet of Tantrism was that woman possesses more spiritual energy than man; therefore the man could achieve realization of the divinity through sexual and emotional union with a women.

- Mahayana Buddhism - a more inclusive and syncretistic school of Buddhism that accepts all native customs and practices, and the occult.


Buddhist Worldviews:
- No absolute moral right and wrong
- Inclusiveness and tolerance
- No concept of a personal or creator God
- No concept of sin as the result of the fall of Adam and Eve
- No concept of forgiveness* offered by Christ on the cross

*Rather, and this is my understanding of how he explained it, sins or failures are dealt with by karma, and if the bad things one does are not cancelled out by doing enough good things, the result is reincarnation in a lower life form)

Keys to Reaching North American Buddhists for Christ:
1. Prayer
2. Personal preparation - spiritually and culturally
3. Paul’s method (Acts 17:22-31)
4. Present the love of Christ
5. Patience

gloria and the buddhist art show

It was reading the story (below) on a listserve yesterday that twigged my memory of the Buddhist seminar (above). I have Gloria’s permission to post her story here, told in her own words. It is a beautiful illustration, I think, of putting into practice some of those “keys” Tom Tan speaks of above:

Well, last night was the Buddhist-display introduction and training where we, at a gallery in which I work, met some of the artists to learn about them and their exhibit. I can't begin to tell you how appreciative I am of your prayers.

How gracious everyone was during the evening although I could not help but discern a certain level of apprehension, surrounded as we, the staff (some who may be churchgoers) were by all the red, by the artifacts, by Buddhism.

Whether the two artists last night were Buddhists I do not really know. But you can imagine, if you can picture it all: there we sat around in a circle munching on the gallery's complimentary gift of foods and drinks, listening all about Tibet, about their prayer flags, about the mantras and devotions, about the nuns' routines, the Dali Lama, about the mountains and the wildlife and the flowers and the chilly, chilly mountain air. Background and ongoing music of Buddhist chants and prayers and devotions infiltrated the empty spaces all around our small gathering as one of the artists spoke to us.

As a Christian, how was I able to show respect?

I used tea and plants, I suppose, and my silver cross hanging from my neck. I'll take you there:

There is a lovely hanging garden of sorts in the gallery and for which I am responsible. Last week end to rearrange the display a little, I changed a few scraggly plants for some fresh ones adding a few little touches of Tibetan flowers and color here and there.

At the last minute I placed in the midst of it all an unlit candle in a glass-and-wooden rustic kind of holder that I use at home for my own prayer time knowing that the Buddhists use the same type (although not having realized this when I bought It.)

I purchased a special Cargo & James blend of herbal green tea, green and mint tea being one of the very favorites of Tibet and, with the help of a few staff members, made a large pot which warmly kept brewing during the hour or so of the gathering.

At the time appropriate, I walked around serving small portions of this special blend to everyone there; mild green tea with its fresh leaves settling at the bottom of each cup. "Of course I don't mind, dear."

I tend to be rather a shy person at the best of times but at this time I became so unlike myself (an iron pillar?) while, at the same time being acutely aware of the importance of what, although beyond what I could understand, was taking place.

My cross around my neck, a delicate but long pendulum of a cross imbedded with a small Tibetan (? I don't know, it was a gift) turquoise stone, swung delicately beside the offering of tea during each serving. As I lowered (bowed?) to offer the small drinks of the green brew to all the seated guests one by one, to the staff and to the artists and to the curator, I began to be so aware of the Holy Spirit touching "all who had entered there." If you can imagine that "lovely spiritual hush" that we have all experienced at the most unexpected of times, it was there. That lovely Spiritual hush.

Thank you for your prayers. I had no doubt that God intended to touch everyone, visitors as well, with Himself during the exhibition.

Jeremiah 1: 17-19
"Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified of them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land . . . They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue you," declares the Lord.

missing summer?

Do yourself a favor and visit Islandsparrow at A Sparrow's Home to experience a P.E. Island summer in soothing words and stunning photos.

book review: Rescuing Canada's Right

Rescuing Canada’s Right
Kheiriddin, Tasha & Daifallah, Adam
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, October 28, 2005
ISBN: 047083692X


Reading Rescuing Canada’s Right hit the spot after the Conservative Party of Canada’s minority win in the Canadian federal election three weeks ago. This hopeful and provocative book by Tasha Kheiriddin and Adam Daifallah, two of Canada’s bright, young (and attractive) small-c conservatives challenges: “We must not only make it cool to be conservative, we must make it uncool not to be conservative,” and then lays out how that can be done.

The book’s introduction illustrates the present off-the-rails state of Canadian conservatism. It begins:

Proclaiming oneself a conservative in Canada today is (check one): a] unusual; b] a lonely endeavor; c] political suicide; d] all of the above.

It goes on to explain how Pierre Trudeau and the policies put in place by him have led to the present situation in Canada where the

“...political status quo is not liberal, conservative, right wing or even classical liberal – it is statist. Statism, as defined by the Acton Institute, is ‘a program or viewpoint that looks to the state for resolution of social and moral problems rather than to individual effort...where nongovernmental institutions of a society develop an overextended and unhealthy reliance upon political structures for the solution of problems.’”

Following the introduction, the book is broadly organized into three parts.

Part one (chapters 1-3) is a history of conservatism in Canada to 2005 (not including the election just past, of course).

In part two (chapters 4-11) the authors do a detailed analysis of how and why conservatism has languished in eight areas: 1] the grassroots; 2] think tanks, policy research and pressure groups; 3] the media; 4] the charter; 5] academia; 6] Quebec; 7] new immigrants; 8] leadership development.

Part three (chapters 12-16 and the Conclusion) lays out a vision for a strong conservative movement in Canada by spelling out a conservative position in four areas: families, health care, environmentalism and federalism.

The back of the book contains an Appendix of conservative organizations and contacts, and an index.

I especially appreciated the historical first section of the book. Questions I've had, like where did the ‘Red Tories’ come from, and why have past Conservative party platforms been almost identical to the Liberals, were answered.

The middle section of analysis and proposed redress was revealing and informative, though I felt in places overly hopeful (like we’ll see conservative thought encouraged in curricula and universities in Canada any time soon!). The chapter on the media explained a lot of things I’ve been noticing and I entirely agree with the prescription in the book’s final section - abolish the CRTC! The section which dealt with the charter was also enlightening. It explained how a ‘reading in’ of sexual orientation in Section 15 of the charter has caused it to be a prohibited grounds of discrimination, analogous to race, sex, religion, and age.

My favorite section, though, was the vision proposed in the last four chapters of the book and the template proposed for formulating policy especially as it relates to two areas:

The family: “Pro-family and pro-marriage policies that make it an economic advantage to wed and have children...with the goal of establishing strong families as a counterpoint to dependency on the state.”

(However, the words I left out “These policies should include all families both opposite and same-sex ones,*” highlight the point where social conservatives [so-cons] will disagree. Kheiriddin and Daifallah’s position on so-cons is that they need to concede to the status quo in abortion and gay marriage. And yet they see so-cons as playing a role:“The key contribution of so-cons to social policy is their belief in the importance of family and children” [P. 204]. I would submit that so-cons oppose abortion and gay marriage for the very reason that they are seen as destructive of the family. So at this key juncture I find the authors’ position inconsistent, even oxymoronic. But, I remind myself, this is a book about making conservatism cool, not logically consistent.)

And health care: “Health care policies that permit the development of a parallel private health care system”.

At last someone is talking some sense. The Canadian Conservative Party win on January 23rd followed by finding and reading this book has left me with the hope that a forward-thinking, strong, self-reliant Canadian populace may not be just a pipe dream after all.

********************

* emphasis mine

Filed in Book Reviews

watoto

Yesterday our church had a visit from the Watoto African Children’s Choir. From the first beat of drums to the dancing exit - what a treat! These 18 eight to eleven-year-old Ugandan orphans and their chaperones are full of energy, rhythm, playfulness, exuberance and joy.
(Have a listen - see a video)

The choir is made up of kids who live in the Watoto Childcare Ministries orphan villages of Kampala Uganda – started by Canadians Gary and Marilyn Skinner and run by the Kampala Pentecostal Church. Watoto takes in kids who are orphaned (by war and sickness such as AIDs), gives them homes, feeds and educates them, teaches them about God’s love and gives them hope.

And hope they have. The music was interspersed by the kids’ stories – each with its own unique blend of disease, abandonment, child-headed households, begging, and fear with a dramatic turnaround when the kids were taken into Watoto. At one point each child introduced him or herself and said what they hoped to be when they grow up. These kids have no small ambitions. They dream of being doctors, pilots, pastors, engineers, teachers, lawyers, musicians - even president. And this is the dream of the founders and house-parents of Watoto - that these kids will be the next generation of Ugandan leaders.

As mentioned, they’re touring Canada from B.C. to Ontario. I peeked at this choir's schedule and noticed they still have lots of openings. (There are also other choirs touring in other places.) You might want to invite them to your school or church. They won't disappoint!

slow saturday

We had a bit of a strange day yesterday. It started routinely enough and I had plans to get a lot done. But at 9:15 the electricity went out as a result of a windstorm that blew in overnight. So we went to Mom’s where everything was bright and warm.

She was still basking in the glow of a visit from her brother and sis-in-law and a friend on Friday. The activities coordinator of her building (M.) had organized quite an afternoon celebration for Chinese New Year complete with a dragon dance. "But they had a bar," Mom said, her voice full of disgust.

Yes, the secular atmosphere in her building is a first for my sheltered 91-year-old mum who has lived her whole life to this point in a Mennonite enclave of one kind or another.

"Did you see this, though?" She showed us the Villa’s monthly newsletter that serves as a communication between residents and staff. There in the news item about exercise classes was Mom’s name - twice - as part of the team that set the record for the most volleys and again on the one that broke that record in balloon volleyball. (Mom does these exercise classes sitting down - don’t ask me how it works). She is also on the February schedule to teach the craft of quilling one morning a week.

Another item on the monthly schedule is church – and a Bible study. There is a Protestant service every Sunday afternoon, and now one of the pastors is going to head up an evening Bible study as well. (If you ask me, M. is doing a great job of trying to keep everyone happy - the bar notwithstanding.)

On the way home we detoured past Future Shop where E. wanted to browse for something. But when we got to Whalley it was a tangle of traffic because the lights were out there too (four-way stop procedure at every eight-lane intersection - let’s get out of here! - FS was closed anyway.)

Back at home the lights were still out. We had cold bagels and cheese for lunch with lukewarm coffee from the thermos. I willingly tidied the kitchen glad to have an excuse to pour a sinkful of warm water.

Then E. put on his jacket and pulled his armchair next to the window while I wrapped myself in couch throws and afghans and, with just the feeble light from the window, read and read and read while the wind whistled, scolded and moaned through the trees and around the house.

Finally at 3:25 - flick! The lights came on and all over the house electric motors (fridge, printer, ceiling fan) swung into motion. Somehow I never regained my morning ambition though. Instead I stayed on the couch, dozing in and out of the "American Justice" enjoying the warmth, but also feeling a bit demoralized to think what a little thing it takes to bring my life to a grinding stop.

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have low extroversion. You are quiet and reserved in most social situations. A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you. You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people. Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

The Five Factor Personality Test

HT: Rebecca Writes

garden notes

Spring seems very early this year. The primulas, which I find in various and surprising* spots in my garden, are starting to bloom. Because of the winter weed patch, though, I can hardly see their colors. So I spent about an hour this morning in the yard, pulling weeds and disturbing the soil a bit so that spring blooms will stand out against the black.

A lot more than blooming primulas is happening in the yard, though:

1. The crocuses are in the middle of their season; some are already beginning to droop.

2. The lilac tree has buds.

3. The parsley overwintered and is a potfull of green lace.

4. The daylily shoots are about 8 inches high.

5. Tulip and daffodil shoots are about 3 inches high.

6. There is action in the clematis – behind the skeleton pinwheels left from last year’s blooms, velvety leaves are sprouting from nodes all along gangly stems.

7. Love-in-a-mist plants are up from self-seeding – I’m not sure if they’re new or just plants that never matured and never died from last fall.

8. Leaves are starting to open at the ends of hydrangea stems.

9. Hard little buds are poking through the shallow earth that covers the tough old hosta root ball.

10. I think we’re sharing a rodent with the next door neighbors. That hole under the fence that separates our garden from their lean-to looks well-worn. I closed it with a couple of hefty rocks. If it reappears somewhere else, we’ll know that last year’s measures will need to be repeated (beware, all you neighborhood cats!).

**************************
* 'surprising' because I move them out of the limelight in early summer after they've done their thing and forget where I've put them.

promptings' potpourri

Jan at The Happy Homemaker is posting her Second Annual Valentine Bonanza -- one Valentine a day from January 21 - February 14th. (While you're there, check out Jan-s 4x4. Why am I not surprised to discover she used to manage a shoestore -- with the wonderful name Pappagallo?)

Amy at Amy Loves Books tells great stories. Read how one of her inner-city students decided he wanted to play for her church's basketball team.

Mel at Actual Unretouched Photo spins a pretty good tale too. Actually three - which lead to her conclusion:

"That's why I believe in erring on the side of life."

A+ for customer service

Since I first discovered them at Costco, I don’t know how many years ago now, I’ve used The Polestar Family Calendar. These coil-bound family day planners are not only attractive and practical with their colorful covers, line drawings interspersed with wise sayings, and week-at-a-glance format, but they also have lots of back-page goodies like a planning calendar for the next year, family profile pages, pages to list items borrowed, loaned, stored, lots of blank pages, and a pocket back cover to hold stray papers.

I have been gradually getting my 2006 calendar in shape, entering birthdays, anniversaries etc. I was doing that on Saturday when, looking to enter a birthday in October, I discovered my calendar was missing not only October, but September and November as well. It went straight from August to December. That was a bit disorienting (and I hope not a prediction of what this year holds for me). It certainly made the thing unusable.

Where to go to replace it? Since I got the book at Costco way back in September, and knowing they sell out well before the end of the year, I knew that I couldn’t go there to get another. The Polestar company does have a web site, though. On a form at their comments link I described my problem, submitted it and hoped for the best.

I got a nice email on Monday saying they would certainly replace the book. But I could hardly believe it when my new 2006 Polestar Family Calendar arrived in the mail yesterday (Wed.) first thing in the morning! That’s great customer service in my books.

So, I’d like to give the Polestar Calendar company (B.C.-based too, in the Slocan Valley) a plug. Not only do they put out a beautiful and practical day planner, but their customer service is the best!

a threat made good

I have gone through with a threat I made a while ago and opened a poetry blog. I posted there today.

I will not, in the future, link here when I post there. Neither is it public or listed on my profile page, as I'm still finding my sea legs on it. If you're interested, there is a link to it in my sidebar.

life is a fugue

Yesterday one of our pastors and his wife announced they have decided to take the senior pastor position in a small church in a neighboring town. It is always sad when a well-loved pastor decides to move on. We’re all a little shook, I think. But I loved his story of how it came about.

Ever since they moved to this area about ten years ago, he had loved the look of this particular little church. There was just something about it that fascinated and attracted him. He took any excuse he could to attend. In fact, it became their family’s summer holiday church – when he needed a break from the church in which he pastored (ours).

Then last summer, the pastor of the little church resigned. When Pastor D. heard that, he said he felt a leap inside – yet didn’t know what to do with his feelings. He talked to the head of the district, who told him to pray. The long and short of it is that in the interim he has come to the conviction that this is his next assignment.

I love this story so much, I think, because it’s similar to how I’ve often seen and felt God work in life – mine and others. He has a wonderful way of giving us signposts to alert us to what He might be doing and what might be down the road for us.

For example, when we sensed it was time to move to a different church a few years ago, the church we’d been attending Sunday nights because we loved their praise and worship was our obvious choice. Or, just a few months ago I had noticed J. in the congregation and had the idle thought she would be a wonderful person to meet. Wouldn’t you know it, there she was beside me during the rehearsals for the Christmas production. It can even happen in the biggies, like we fall in love with and eventually marry the person who once lived in our home town. That happened to me. Long before we ever met, my hubby’s family rented my Grandma’s house, and he played in the community band with my dad and brother. We never attended the same school or church in our youth, he went off to Toronto, I to Vancouver. But eventually when we did get together, there was a feeling of rightness about it - partly, I’m sure, because we had so much background in common.

In this way life becomes a fugue in which God transposes notes of our past into our present. If we’re listening we recognize a theme we’ve heard before, though it never repeats note for note but rather the familiar melody is enriched by our present circumstances and our wiser, maturer selves.

I don’t think one can predict the future by watching for these serendipities and fantasizing about how they might turn out. But I often find, on looking back, there were signs along the way which, when I ponder them now, give me a sense that it was all meant to be.

4 x 4 meme

The lovely Rebecca has tagged me in the 4x4 meme. So in this utterly self-absorbed post I will proceed to tell four facts about myself in four categories.

Four jobs I’ve had:
1. Nurse’s aide in a nursing home (my first job).

2. Unit clerk in a hospital (then called ‘Ward Clerk’).

3. Life insurance sales rep (HA! – and not for long!!)

4. Elementary school teacher.


Four places I’ve lived:
1. On a farm north of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

2. Saskatoon, Sk.

3.Vancouver, B.C. (Kitsilano area in the late 60s, early 70s. I can still smell the patchouli.)

4. Hazelton B.C.


Four vacations I’ve taken:
1. Queen Charlotte Islands - ten days one August, biking from Massett to Sandspit with two other teachers.

2. A six-week western Canadian camping trip with my younger sister, just after she graduated from high school. We started in Saskatoon and looped through Banff, Radium, the Kootenays, Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island Victoria to Tofino, back to the mainland and Hazelton, Fort St. John, Jasper and home.

3. Two six-week summer school stints at Regent College in Vancouver. During those summers I took a course on Acts from John Stott, a course on Hebrews from Leon Morris and I actually drove Dr. Morris and his wife to the dentist.

4. Four months traveling across Europe with a friend. Those were in the days when backpacking across Europe was considered the standard cure for lebensangst.


Four vehicles I’ve owned:
1. 1968 Valiant (with a V8 motor - this car had zip!)

2. 1972 Datsun B210 (gutless)

3. 1981 Subaru

4. 1990 Mazda Protege (I loved this reliable car)


Four blogs I’d like to tag for this 4x4 meme:
1. Irene (if you visit her site, make sure your speakers are on).

2. Carol (who I met through Rebecca's post featuring Canadian bloggers a few weeks ago).

3. Julana (although she’s probably already been tagged)

4. Dulciana (who has just put up a spiffy new blog!)

Majed El Shafie--the heart of the solution

To celebrate hubby’s birthday we spent the day at Canada Place taking in Missions Fest . It got off to a great start with the first plenary session where Majed El Shafie told his story.

Majed was born into a prominent Muslim family in Cairo. He carried on the family tradition and trained as a lawyer. It was during his studies that he discovered it was illegal for Egyptians to build, rebuild or even repair Christian churches. His Christian friend Tamir avoided getting into head-on discussions with him about religious things, but he did give Majed a Bible. It was through reading it that Majed realized the differences between Islam and Christianity and discovered that Christianity offered a relationship with Someone who was alive. And so he made the decision to give his life and service to the Lord.

“Once you know the truth, you have two options,” he told us. “You are either part of the problem or the heart of the solution.”

He determined to help change things for Christians in Egypt and began a mission to bring the same legal rights to the Christian community as the Muslim community enjoyed.

After just two years his organization had grown to 24,000 Christians. One day he was arrested and thrown into Abu Zaabel prison in Cairo. “We know you,” his captors said, “and all about you. Now we want you to tell us the names of the people who work with you.”

Majed refused. And so the torture began.

The first day they shaved his head, and then plunged his head alternately into hot then cold water. He said it hurt a lot. But when they again demanded he name his compatriots, the feisty Majed said, “I didn’t have a shower for a long time. This felt good.”

On the second day they increased the torture when they hung him upside down, beat him till he was bloody, tore off one of his toenails. When he still refused to name his friends his captors told him the next day they would loose three dogs on him.

That night in the blackness of his cell Majed did the only thing he could– he prayed. He praised God for allowing him to let Him suffer, like Jesus had. Then he begged that God would let him die before the next day.

The next morning, still very much alive, he heard the dogs coming down the hallway, cowered in a corner, covered his face, listened, and waited. The jingling of the dogs’ neck chains and their panting grew ever louder, but then seemed to fade. He waited for their attack but when the silence continued, he looked up to see all three dogs sitting around him. Despite the jailer’s commands that they attack, the dogs just sat there.

“Something is wrong with these dogs,” the jailer said. But when he substituted three others, the same thing happened.

Majed spent a total of seven days in that prison, the last two and a half lashed to a cross. During that time they sliced open his shoulder and poured lemon juice and salt into his wounds. He still has flashbacks and nightmares from this.

That ordeal led to unconsciousness and he awoke in the hospital. He spent some time there and eventually escaped from Egypt to Israel and through Amnesty International and the United Nations, to the U.S.

This almost 29-year-old now lives in Toronto where he has started the human rights ministry One Free World International. It’s designed to defend persecuted Christians worldwide. Besides Toronto, it also has branches inWashington DC and Florida.

Majed challenged us to pray for the persecuted church. “Do you have a coffee or a tea every day?” he asked. “How long does it take you to drink it - five minutes, ten? Every time you get a coffee, let that be a reminder to spend one of those minutes in prayer for the persecuted church.”

"Seven Prayer Points"

Persecuted Christians are dying but they are still smiling. Men can kill the dreamer but no one can kill the dream. – Majed El Shafie

one poem's journey

While checking on the words and writer of the song “Beneath the Cross of Jesus” this morning, my hubby came across this story about Elizabeth C. Clephane, who wrote the words to that song and another which I loved as a kid: “There Were Ninety and Nine.”

(From Moody Church Media - “Stories of Beloved Hymns”)

Elizabeth C. Clephane was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1830. Throughout her brief lifetime, she was plagued with illness and a frail body. Despite her physical afflictions, she was affectionately known to the townspeople as “The Sunbeam.” Elizabeth enjoyed writing poetry and had several of her poems published in a Scottish Presbyterian magazine entitled The Family Treasury. However, the majority of her writings appeared anonymously in this magazine in 1872, three years after her early death in 1869. She is also well known for writing the hymn, “Beneath the Cross of Jesus.”

Miss Clephane wrote the text for “The Ninety and Nine” especially for children a short time before her death. It was published in a magazine called The Children's Hour. Five years later, the American evangelists D. L. Moody and Ira Sankey were in Great Britain for one of their noted revival campaigns.

The story is told of Moody and Sankey riding a train one morning from Glasgow to Edinburgh to conduct a service in the Free Assembly Hall of Edinburgh. Sankey stopped to purchase a newspaper in the train depot, hoping to get news from America. As he idly turned the pages of the paper during the ride, he discovered Elizabeth Clephane's poem. He tried to interest Moody in its contents, but the evangelist was too busy preparing his sermon. Finally, Sankey simply cut out the poem and placed it in his pocket.

At the meeting that afternoon in Edinburgh, the subject of Moody's message was “The Good Shepherd,” based on the passage in Luke I've just read (Luke 15). Finishing his address, Moody turned to Sankey and asked him to sing some fitting solo. Sankey could think of nothing that was appropriate. Then suddenly he recalled the little poem he had put into his vest pocket.

Placing his newspaper clipping on the folding organ before him, and breathing a prayer for divine help, he struck the chord of A flat and began to sing: “There were ninety and nine that safely lay in the shelter of the fold, but one was out on the hills alone, far from the gates of gold. Away on the mountains wild and bare, away from the Shepherd's tender care...”

Note by note the tune was given, and that same tune has remained unchanged to this present day. Sankey declared that it was one of the most intense moments of his life. He said that he could sense immediately that the song had reached the hearts of the Scottish audience. Sankey continued to sing:

But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed;
Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through,
E’re He found His sheep that was lost.

“When I reached the end of the song,” reported Sankey, “Mr. Moody was in tears, and so was I.” When Moody arose to give the invitation for salvation, many “lost sheep” responded to the call of Christ.

So, who knows where the urge to write a poem will lead ...

I blogged here today.

meme thursday

Google your name with ‘needs’ and post the top 10 results.

I saw this meme on blogs a looong time ago, did it at the time but never posted. So on this day when I’m feeling decidedly idea-deficient, here it is, an even dozen of what google thinks I need. (Hope it’s not too stale - I did keep it in the fridge.)

Violet needs some help

Violet needs water again

Violet needs to make as much money as possible. (Yeah, rub it in - esp. when I'm blogging!)

Violet needs shade or light-speckled sunshine

Violet needs to be transplanted

Violet needs continuous care

Violet needs water again

Violet needs to go to a home that has had Rottweilers previously.

Violet needs someone to help take care of her husband

Violet needs something to change for her

Violet needs more friends.

Violet needs to be a cleaning machine. (Oh, stop reminding me!!)

*******************

Want memes for every day of the week and then some? Check this list

wanted: a canadian Fox

Kate McMillan (writer of the popular Canadian blog small dead animals) has said a mouthful in this thoughtful morning-after-the-election post, found on the CBC website – of all places.

[...] As a conservative on the libertarian side of the ledger, the degree to which speech in Canada has been corralled and controlled by the courts, ever-invasive government institutions and unaccountable "human rights" tribunals is deeply disturbing. The trend has been reinforced for decades by a Liberal party reward system for pro-Liberal journalism, overtly (through diplomatic postings and Senate seat appointments) and financially. In America, the largest advertiser is Procter & Gamble. In Canada, it is the federal government.

As the most recent example of the pervasive liberal-left world view of the mainstream Canadian media, I need only point to the tenor of the final week of the campaign, in which abortion was raised as an issue by the Martin campaign.

Despite the fact that this most contentious of public policy issues offers legitimate arguments both for and against, with huge advocacy constituencies on both sides - no reporter, no pundit, no network head, thought it appropriate to make Mr. Martin defend the Liberal party position of preserving the status quo. That Canada has no abortion law at all, that for-profit clinics operate in many provinces, the costs to the Canada health system - none of these points were considered worthy of debate. No one asked Paul Martin if he thought there was a legitimate case to be made for a more balanced, centrist public policy on abortion.

Instead, the media took the Liberal position as the desired default, and demanded Harper explain himself...*

[...] So in addition to the list of priorities that Harper will be taking on ... the single most important change he can make to restore balance to Canadian democracy is to begin breaking down the stranglehold of government and the Liberal apparatchik on the communications industry....

Right on, Kate! You’ve been reading my mind.

(For more examples of the Canadian media's left-wing bias, check this out.)

*******************************************
*Indeed, many examples come to mind:

-The frequent Martin sound bites played in the last week of the campaign, calling into question the sincerity of Harper’s assertions that he doesn’t plan to open the abortion debate;

Pictures of Global newsman Kevin Newman’s accosting of Harper in the midst falling flakes somewhere in eastern Canada, demanding to know what his position on abortion is and playing the answer – "I don’t have to tell you because it’s not an issue" – still, as if it’s some kind of vindication of the vaguely veiled ‘Harper is scary’ message that has oozed out of Newman since the campaign began.

- The news ‘story’ on the last weekend of the campaign of another of Global’s paparazzi – Reg Hampton – stalking Conservative candidate Darrel Reid. When Reid didn't respond to Hampton's requests for an interview or show up at his office where Hampton was sitting waiting to pounce, Global then ran a piece on the 6 o’clock news full of the bitterness of a reporter spurned, where Hampton read into Reid' actions the message: "See, because he won’t talk to me he’s scared of me and has something to hide."