COVID-Speak: Christmas Edition

2023-06-01T11:02:32-06:00Categories: Articles|Tags: , , |

This past month, I wrote COVID-Speak and then COVID- Speak Part 2 and urged everyone to live out Phillipians 4:8. Well, here comes Part 3. The Christmas edition. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. - Philippians 4:8 (NIV) Of course, I am not going to retract my thoughts on the importance of thinking positively or reaching out in love toward others. Sending encouragement to your friends, family, neighbours and co-workers is very [...]

A Christmas Nugget from ’57

2021-10-07T14:45:36-06:00Categories: Articles|Tags: , |

The following story has been borrowed (with permission) from the Father of a dear friend. Originally emailed to his immediate family, the story has been adapted to spread encouragement to your heart as well. Enjoy :) For as long as I can remember, I have loved to sing. Sunday School was always a big deal for me because I got to sing with others and listen to the harmonies of the choir. I thought it was marvellous. Heavenly, really. Finally, I was old enough to perform in the Christmas Eve program with all the big [...]

COVID-Speak PART II

2023-06-01T11:02:20-06:00Categories: Articles|Tags: , , |

Use Your Words I recently caught a cold/flu. Normally I would take a day or two off, take some Tylenol and head to bed knowing that in a few days I will feel better. Not in this season! In this season, it is not that easy! I analyzed my symptoms, second-guessed them, analyzed some more and then decided to go get a Covid test. My symptoms were not severe but I had several that were on the self-assessment list, so I decided that I should self-isolate and get a test. I am a '7' on the enneagram (personality typing system). [...]

COVID-Speak

2023-06-01T11:02:24-06:00Categories: Articles|Tags: , , |

A Covid Vocabulary Lesson for Mental Health To say that our world wide pandemic (the COVID-19 virus) has affected each and every one of us is an understatement. Even if you identify as being laid back or one who likes change - no matter how flexible you may be, there has been a disruption to your professional and personal flow of life. If you identify as one that struggles with anxiety, depression or OCD, we know that this is especially hard for you. Know that you are not alone. Stats say that 1 in 4 struggled with mental [...]

Flatland

2021-10-07T14:45:55-06:00Categories: Articles|Tags: |

As the world-wide pandemic continues to spin out of human control, Pastor Bob assures us that God sees and understands all of it from a perspective that has always known the beginning and the end. Imagine a fictional world called "Flatland" where everything is only length and width – there is no such thing as up. This world could be modeled using two-dimensional patterns to represent buildings and metal objects to represent inhabitants. We could then add people like Fred and Wilma, who live in one house, and their neighbours Barney and Betty, who live next door (sound familiar?). Also [...]

Lest We Forget

2023-05-29T21:41:09-06:00Categories: Articles|Tags: |

Thanks to COVID, I am now the primary academic instructor of my children (yeah, I'm a homeschool mom). What I'm teaching them seems to hold new importance. What I want them to know weighs heavily on my mind. Remembrance Day is coming up. What a great opportunity for me to instruct my children in... in what, exactly? If I affix the poppy to their coats, teaching them how to wear it so it doesn't stab them and tell them we do this, "because people died," well, that doesn't seem like enough. So I've ordered books to help me tell the [...]

An Unexpected Journey

2023-05-26T12:48:56-06:00Categories: Articles|Tags: |

Have you ever had to eat your words? When I addressed staff and students in fall 2019,  I told them to prepare for an uneventful year. (You can see where this is going...) It's a transition year, I reasoned. We're winding-down at Jackson Ave before relocating to our new campus (we thought) later that summer. I compared us to the second and, I suggested, least exciting instalment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two Towers. Fans of the trilogy know the second instalment describes what takes place between the action – after the heroes have received their quest [...]

Faith in Action

2021-10-07T14:46:43-06:00Categories: Articles|Tags: |

During this time of waiting precipitated by COVID-19, Pastor Bob challenges us to live out the gospel by finding the right mix of faith and practical works to make an explosive impact on our world. Most of us know the story about the day that started as an ordinary teaching session between Jesus and his disciples but turned into a mega-event hosting an audience of over 5,000. Jesus had compassion on the crowd, talking to them until day stretched into evening and everyone started getting hungry. In what we have come to know as the miracle of feeding the five thousand, [...]

Are you listening?

2021-10-07T14:46:52-06:00Categories: Articles|Tags: |

In a time when we all have unprecedented access to information and are inundated daily with a constant stream of messages, Pastor Bob reminds us of the importance of taking time each day to absorb the messages in God's word. Clearly, electronics touches countless aspects of our lives nowadays, but how many of us have any understanding of just how they really work? Focusing on a small facet of this modern phenomenon demonstrates how far electronics have come since the 1930s. Nearly all of our electronics back then were run by a small sealed glass tube. A high voltage was [...]

A Book Called Meh

2021-10-07T14:47:59-06:00Categories: Articles|Tags: , |

I don't often recommend books I haven't yet read, but I recently did with Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer, A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture (Tyndale, 2020). Partly this was because I thought the topic to be timely. I'm sick of hearing about prominent "celebrity" pastors failing and their ministries' toxic celebrity culture brushing off victims and voices in opposition. McKnight and Barringer (McKnight's daughter) had both attended Willow Creek in the past with front-row seats to their handling of Bill Hybels' fail. I also recommended the book sight unseen because I very much like and trust Scot [...]

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