Abraham Lincoln once told the story of a backwoods traveler lost in a terrific thunderstorm. The rider floundered through the mud until his horse gave out. Then he stood alone in the middle of the road while lightning streaked and thunder roared around him. One crash seemed to shake the earth underneath, but he made a petition short and to the point: “0 Lord, if it is all the same to you, give us a little more light and a little less noise.”
One of the B.C. Transit Advertisements that always impressed me used to say: “it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” The famous musical “Godspell” had a beautiful song entitled: “You are the light of the world!” Whenever I listened to that song, I was reminded that I could make a difference, if I was willing to let my light shine brightly.
The Vancouver Sun told us that Raffi sang “This Little Light of Mine” at a Presidential Inauguration. Once again I was reminded that even though I may feel small and insignificant, my little light can make a difference, if I let it shine. The amazing thing about light bulbs is that no matter how dark the room, once you turn on the light, it always drives out the darkness, Jesus said: Let your light so shine before people that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
The second verse of” This Little Light of Mine” says: “Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m going to let it shine!” This verse is a direct quote from Jesus who said: “… People do not light a lamp and put it under a bushel (bowl). Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to every one in the house.” Jesus is saying that our faith and love is meant to be a light that shines brightly all throughout the whole community.
My Grandmother Olive was the kind of loving neighbour whom people called “the salt of the earth,” Even when she was stuck in a wheelchair, she exuded such love that people flocked to her house from miles around. Grandma always used to tell us about what great neighbours she had. But the truth is that it was her graciousness and love that brought out the best in those around her. Even when she was dying of cancer, she did her best to make others feel welcome. Her physician commented that Grandma made him feel better whenever he came to make a house call. When I gave communion to Grandma just before she died, she prayed with an unforgettable love and depth. Then she turned to me and said: “I’m ready to go. I want to be with Grandpa, my parents, and my good friends. I have such a good family. I love you very much.”
Grandma Hird was truly “the salt of the earth.” Jesus said: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by people.” Salt adds taste to life. San preserves food from rotting. Salt heals wounds by destroying infections.
I thank God for Grandma Hird who in her own quiet way added taste to life, preserved relationships from rotting, and healed wounds in the hearts of little children. May all of us that seek God’s love become like Saltshakers and Light Bulbs. It is better to pass the salt and light a candle than curse the darkness.
-previously published in the Deep Cove Crier/North Shore News
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
Dean Inge once said that worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due. Another person said that “worry, like a rocking chair, will give you something to do, but it won’t get you there.” In Canada today, there are all kinds of things to worry about if we let ourselves: the economy, the health crisis, the epidemic of broken marriages. But the truth is that worry is completely worthless, Worry drains away our energy for living, and makes us far less efficient and productive. Research shows that 95% of the things we worry about never actually happen. From a cost/benefit analysis, worrying is not worth the bother. That is why the most famous person on earth said, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
Many of you reading this article will be thinking: “Yes, I agree that worry is a waste of energy, but how can I stop worrying?” One helpful solution is to view worry as an addiction, just like an addiction to alcohol or drugs. Addictions are broken, by admitting our powerlessness over our addiction (worry) and turning to a power higher than ourselves. Jesus said that the solution to worry is to “seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness . . .” We worry most about things over which we have the least control. We feel most secure and in control when we think that we have our life figured out. Yet often our very desire to be in control causes us to alienate the ones we care for most, whether at home or at work. When we feel in control, others tend to feel controlled by us, and will often distance themselves from us. As we give over our need for control to our Higher Power, then we stop pushing others away from us.
Alcoholics Anonymous is famous for popularizing the phrase “One Day at a Time.” Very few alcoholics can imagine being sober for the rest of their lives, or even for one year. But they can imagine being sober for one day. Similarly the solution to worry is found in focusing our energy on today’s concerns, rather than tomorrow’s
That is why Jesus said:
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” It is the future that we worry the most about. The future scares us more than our past or present, because we can’t control it. As one person said, “Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday!” Yet worry is broken when we realize that Jesus is the Lord (in control) of our future, as well of our past and present.
That is why Hebrews 13:8 says that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Viewed from that perspective, worry is essentially a failure to trust God with our problems. If we can really trust that God is in control and will never desert us, worry ceases to paralyze us.
My prayer for those reading this article is that we all will learn to break our worry addictions, and leave them “in the hand of the Man who stilled the Waters.”
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook.
To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
The story is told of two men, Harry and Stan, who have known each other for some time. Harry has fallen upon hard times and has come to his old friend asking for some help.
“Why come to me?”, Stan asks. “Why should I help you out? What have you ever done for me?”
“What have I ever done for you?”, Harry gasps. “Why, don’t you remember when your house burned down several years ago, and you and your family moved in with me?”
“Yes, I remember. But…”
“And what about the time your child was in danger of drowning and I jumped into the lake to rescue him?”
“Yes, but…”
“And how about the time that you lost your job and I gave you all that money? Don’t you remember? I’ve done lots for you through the years!”
“Everything you say is true enough”, Stan says. “But what have you done for me lately?”
Most of us on the North Shore have many things to be grateful for: employment, children, family, food on the table, a roof over our head, the forest, the mountains, the beaches, the sunshine. All these things are wonderful gifts from God. Prayer is simply a way of saying “Thank you” for all these wonderful gifts. It is so easy to grumble and complain. It takes work to be grateful and thankful for what we have. When we make the decision to say “thank you”, things begin to change in our lives. When we make the decision to acknowledge our “Higher Power”, more peace and contentment can enter our personal lives. Prayer really changes things, but first it changes us!
Dr. Reginald Bibby, the famous Canadian sociologist, has done some very interesting statistical research on the prayer habits and beliefs of Canadians. He found that 75% of Canadians pray privately at least once in a while, 30% pray daily, and 28% say grace before meals at least once a week. Close to 50% of Canadians acknowledge the possibility of having experienced God’s presence in their daily lives. Bibby also notes that more than 40% of the nation’s 15 to 19 year olds believe that they have experienced God. Clearly prayer is still a meaningful activity for the vast majority of Canadians. But Canadians, especially the Baby-boomers, are wanting prayer to be much more experiential and informal than in the past.
Even though Canadians are people of prayer, they are also very private about their prayer lives. Often even their spouses, or their closest friends don’t know about the extent of their prayer lives. In previous decades, the taboo subjects were sex, death, and politics. In our “liberated” age, the one topic that people still feel embarrassed to mention in polite conversation is their prayer lives. Yet studies, referred to in Newsweek, show that spouses who can pray together report greater degrees of marital satisfaction and greater sexual intimacy. One study showed that while up to 1 in 2 marriages break up, only 1 in 20 marriages break up where both of the couple regularly attend church. More significantly, the study showed that only 1 in 200 couples break up where both couples go to church regularly and pray together on a regular basis. It is encouraging to see research confirm the historic belief that “the family that prays together stays together.” Prayer, it seems, really changes things.
Even medical science is beginning to confirm that prayer really makes a difference in the health and recovery of individuals. In an experiment at San Francisco General Hospital, reported in the Southern Medical Journal, a researcher asked outsiders to pray for a group of cardiac patients. Even though the patients weren’t told that prayers were being said for them, the study found that they recovered faster than those in an otherwise identical control group. Studies by Harvard Cardiologist Dr. Herbert Benson showed that patients that prayed were more successful at lowering metabolic rates, slowing the heart rate and reducing other symptoms of stress. Even science is showing that prayer really changes things.
My prayer is that more and more of us will be able to break the taboos around prayer, and begin to discover for ourselves that prayer really changes things.
-previously published in the Deep Cove Crier/North Shore News
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
When Michelangelo had completed his famous piece of sculpture on King David, the Gonfaloniere Soderini of Florence who had ordered it came to inspect his purchase. Among his many complaints and criticisms of the sculpture, he grumbled the most about the nose. He said, “It’s too big. It doesn’t fit the statue. David didn’t have such a big nose.”
So he insisted that Michelangelo do a nose job on the statue and reduce its size. Michelangelo knew that he had no choice, but hated to deface his masterpiece. So he mounted the scaffold of the 12 foot high figure, and giving a few noisy but harmless blows with his hammer on the stone, he let fall a handful of marble dust which he had scraped up from the floor below. “Wonderful”, said his critic. “You have given it life indeed”. His critic was so excited about the improvement that Michelangelo received a major financial bonus for the improvement.
Grumbling can become so compulsive that we actually begin to get a certain “joy” from it. But grumbling always ends up destroying the very things we most want out of life. That is why the Bible says “Don’t grumble against each other, or you will be judged.” What is grumbling anyways? The Concise Oxford Dictionary tells us that to grumble is to growl faintly, to murmur, to complain. In essence, a grumble is a dull inarticulate sound.
Grumbling is a very hard addiction to break. is fed by two very powerful sub addictions: self pity and self righteousness. We grumble because we are convinced that we are being hard done by and that it just isn’t fair. The truth is that all of us struggle with grumbling. I know in my own life that I can slip into it far too easily. I just caught myself a while ago slipping into self pity and self righteousness, and I started to laugh at myself, because I realized that all grumbling is self deception. I said to myself “Oh no, the day is ruined.” But then I forced myself to apologize and say that I was sorry for my grumbling, and I ended up having a good day.”
I am convinced that the cure for grumbling is humbling … humbling ourselves before our spouse, our children, our friends, our neighbours… confessing our bad attitude and asking their forgiveness. Far too many divorces can be traced to the addiction of grumbling. Paul J. Getty, one of the wealthiest billionaires in the world, was reported in the press to have said “I’d give all my wealth for just one happy marriage.” Grumbling is not a harmless pastime. It is a deadly cancer that kills far more people than all other diseases combined. To grumble about another person is to both judge and condemn them. There is only one person in the world who has it together enough to judge others fairly and that is Jesus. That is why Jesus said “Judge not, lest you be judged.” Only Jesus fully knows how to judge without being judgmental, how to judge us without condemning us.
My prayer for each reader is that any tendency to grumbling or judgmentalism in our lives will be replaced by a deepening love of neighbour.
-previously published in the Deep Cove Crier/North Shore News
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
Perhaps one of the most famous and versatile English writers has been the Oxford, and then Cambridge, scholar: C.S. Lewis. Some readers, especially children, find the Narnia tales among the most captivating books they have ever read. First BBC and then Disney have come out with versions of the Narnia Chronicles that have been seen by tens of millions. University students often reserve their greatest appreciation for C.S. Lewis’ science fiction trilogy. Clyde Kilby describes him as “the kind of writer who can usher the reader into a new world, into a continuing process of discovery that reconstitutes his way of thought and life.”
Where did C.S. Lewis get his vivid skill at being able to describe fantasy and science-fiction worlds that fascinate and delight the imagination? Scholars attribute the development of this creative ability to his childhood love of nature.
If C.S. Lewis had moved to Canada, I could easily see him wanting to live in the Deep Cove area, with its magnificent forest, water, and mountains. Lewis’ love of nature was something that he never outgrew. Once his older brother brought a toy garden into the nursery. It made Lewis vividly aware of nature — not as a storehouse of forms and colours but as something cool, dewy, fresh, and exuberant. Years later, he stood beside a flowering currant bush on a summer day. Suddenly there arose within him without warning an “enormous bliss”, a joy that made everything else that had happened to him insignificant in comparison. The rest of his life became the search for that authentic joy that makes all life meaningful. He went through a long period of atheism and cynicism about the world. But he could not ultimately deny the mysterious beauty that he saw in nature.
In his first step to faith, he began to hold that “Beauty is the call of the spirit in that Something to the spirit in us.” Gradually Lewis started to realize that the more that he grasped after the Joy in nature, the less of it he would experience. It was his very tendency to analyze and tear apart all his experiences that robbed him of the joy of his experience. As C.S. Lewis discovered, “It is impossible to both kiss one’s girlfriend and analyze the kiss at the same moment.” To do so is to dissipate the reality of the kiss.
Lewis began to realize that his search for Joy could not be found in Joy alone, but in that to which Joy points. It could not be found in nature alone, but in that to which nature points. C.S. Lewis began to discover the supernatural behind the natural. As Lewis put it in a letter to a friend, “Today I got such an intense feeling of delight that it sort of stopped me in my walk and spun me round. Indeed the sweetness was so great, and seemed so to affect the whole body as well as the mind, that it gave me pause…Everything seems to be beginning again and one has the sense of immortality.” C.S. Lewis later wrote an autobiography entitled “Surprised by Joy”, to express how shocked he was to find that Jesus Christ could make such a difference in his everyday life.
My prayer for those reading this article is that we may open our eyes to the beauty around us and that we may experience the Joy of knowing the Supernatural behind the Natural.
-previously published in the Deep Cove Crier/North Shore News
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
To receive a signed copy within North America, just send a $20 cheque (USD/CAN) to ED HIRD, 102 – 15168 19th Avenue, Surrey, BC, V4A 0A5, Canada.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
One of the most distinguishing marks of the North Shore is the Baden-Powell trail, named in honour of one of the greatest ‘trailblazers’ of the past century. Baden-Powell blazed many new trails in the areas of physical education, character-building, spiritual growth for youth, and peace-making.
Baden-Powell (B.P. as he is affectionately known) hardly knew his clergyman/headmaster father, as he died when B.P. was only 3 years old. Being raised without a dad gave him a keen appreciation of the need for boys to have healthy male role models. B.P. took little interest as a boy in school, preferring to act in school plays and explore the woods around his school. At age 19, he joined the Army where he served in India, South Africa, and the Mediterranean. From his Military scouting and reconnaissance experience, B.P. wrote a book entitled Aids to Scouting. It was published in 1899, just as he was becoming a well-known hero through bravely defending the South African town of Mafeking for 217 days.
Upon his return to England in 1903, B.P. was dismayed by the apathy among English young people: “thousands of boys and young men, pale, miserable specimens, smoking endless cigarettes, numbers of them betting.” As a result, he wrote a second book in 1908 entitled Scouting for Boys (the third best-seller in the world after the Bible and Shakespeare). Within a year, over 100,000 boys had already enrolled as Scouts. Within two years, his sister Agnes, and then his wife Lady Baden-Powell, began the parallel Girl Guiding movements. Today there are 17 million Scouts world-wide, with around 250,000 in Canada. In our own Seymour/Deep Cove area, there are 253 boys in Scouting (Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts) and 500 girls in Guiding (Brownies, Guides, and Pathfinders).
Many misconstrue Baden-Powell and Scouting as merely a recreational diversion for children. In fact, as Mr. John Pettifer the Provincial Executive Director puts it, “Scouting is really an educational program making use of recreational means.” B.P. was a progressive Educator, way ahead of his time, who saw recreation as a key method towards character-building. B.P. described Scouting as “…education in high ideals, in self-reliance, in sense of duty, in fortitude, in self-respect and regard for others –in one word, in those Christian attributes that go to make ‘Character’.” Unlike many today, Baden-Powell was totally unembarrassed about the role of faith in character-building.
At the heart of the Scouting and Guiding promises was their ‘duty to God’. When dealing with conflicts in the Scouting movement, B.P. recommended that people “…ask themselves the simple question, ‘What would Christ have done under the circumstances?’ and be guided accordingly.” Part of B.P.’s problem with Mussolini’s Ballila Youth and the Hitler Youth was that “the essential elements of ‘Duty to God’ and brotherhood with other nations were missing.” Baden-Powell saw a danger in Scouting that the recreational might overwhelm the spiritual side. So he wrote them, saying: “Don’t let the technical outweigh the moral. Field efficiency, backwoodsmanship, camping, hiking, good turns, Jamboree comradeships are all means, not the end. The end is CHARACTER –character with a purpose…the active service of Love and Duty to God and neighbour.”
My prayer for both young and old reading this article is that the character-building and spirituality of Baden-Powell will be rediscovered in our daily lives.
-previously published in the Deep Cove Crier/North Shore News
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
At 5:34 a.m, a shaggy grey and white St. Bernard wanders along. Two black-necked geese are gliding overhead. One solitary shining white cloud awaits the rising of the Summer Sun over the Deep Cove Bay.
Everywhere I look from Panorama Park, my eyes are pierced by trees, a ring of unending trees like a green cocoon that encircles and protects Deep Cove from the intrusions of that other world. There is a stillness about Deep Cove that grips me and will not let go.
Thirty fuzzy grey baby geese, with their adult protectors, casually swim up to the Panorama Park beach, and begin voraciously pecking on the grass by the beach. All is silent, all is still, all is at rest. Not a human is in sight. Not a car can be heard. The only sound is the unending swirl of water crashing down over the rocks in Panorama Creek,
At 6.00 a.m., the Summer Sun is now bursting forth over the nearby mountains. The warmth of the blinding rays touches my park bench, and my heart soars. How jaded we’ve become to the miracle of the returning sun. How grateful our ancestors must have felt to welcome back the day after a dark fearful night.
As I sit on my Panorama Park bench, I am reminded of the well known song Morning has Broken.. “Morning has broken like the first morning. Black bird has spoken like the first bird. Praise for the Singing, Praise for the Morning, Praise for them springing, fresh from the Word.”
How easily I become jaded to the beauty of Deep Cove. How hardened I can be to the wonderful gift of God’s natural beauty. How busy and distracted I can be in the rush and hub-bub of the daily frenzy. Thank you Jesus, for Deep Cove, for Panorama Park, for the beauty you have put right here in our neighbourhood to draw us back to You, to Your peace. Happiness is seeing a beautiful sunrise and knowing who to thank!
-previously published in the Deep Cove Crier/North Shore News
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Work as if you were to live 100 years, pray as if you were to die tomorrow.” Many of us are very dedicated and enjoy our line of work despite its intermittent frustrations. On the North Shore where I live, many have put in numerous years of preparation for our life work, either at University or some other institute. As a result, we see ourselves as responsible hard-working citizens who pay our own way and earn our own bread.
The danger with being hard-working and fairly successful is that we start thinking that we’ve achieved it all by ourselves. We think of ourselves as self-made men and women. Self-made people, however, suffer from the problem of worshipping their “maker”. “Self ” becomes their focus and centre, Whenever self is on ‘the throne’. other relationships (spouse, children, parents, work) tend to suffer. Self-centredness is the greatest disease for successful, hard-working people. The cure for the disease is to begin to see one’s life and “successes” more as a gift than just an achievement. Most of us were probably taught as children either at home or public school to say “Give us today our daily bread.” The value of such a prayer is that it reminds us that receiving a gift is just as important as earning a reward. If we are very intelligent, it is ultimately a gift that we never earned. If we are very artistic, it is very much a gift.
It we are good with finances, once again that is a wonderful gift. Now we are responsible for how we develop and make use of the gifts God has given us. But let us never forget that all of our abilities are ultimately a pure gift.
A few years ago, the Associated Press released a study done by an agricultural school in Iowa. It reported that production of 100 bushels of corn from one acre of land in addition to the many hours of the farmer’s labour, required 4,000,000 pounds of water, 6,800 pounds of oxygen, 5,200 pounds of carbon, 160 pounds of nitrogen, 125 pounds of potassium, 75 pounds of yellow sulphur, and other elements too numerous to list, and, in addition to these things, which no human being can produce, rain and sunshine at the right time are critical. Human beings have no control over these things. It was estimated, the report said, that only 5% of the produce of a farm can be attributed to human efforts.
If you feel led to pray the Lord’s Prayer this week, I encourage you to pray “Give us today our daily bread” with a new sense of thanksgiving and gratitude.
-previously published in the Deep Cove Crier/North Shore News
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
“Now, Susie,” said her placating mother “your brother Jimmy says he’s sorry that he broke our doll, so I hope you’ll forgive him.” “All right,” said Susie reluctantly, “but I’d feel more like forgiving him, mother, if I could swat him first!” Forgiveness is something that we all value in out families, and work hard to teach our children. But sometimes the message of forgiveness seems to land on deaf ears. Why is it often so hard for our children to forgive each other? Why is it often so hard for spouses to truly forgive each other?
Genuine forgiveness, rather than mere excusing someone, is the hardest action in the whole world (especially when we’ve been hurt deeply). We are all fairly good at excusing minor annoyances by saying “no problem” or “that’s okay”. But when we are hurt unfairly and deeply by someone we love, forgiveness often seems totally impossible. Many divorces occur through a long series of minor and major hurts that never had forgiveness applied to each hurt. If we don’t forgive that initial smaller hurt, then each subsequent hurt accumulates until a root of bitterness grows up in our hearts. At that point, our heart grows cold and numb, and we often doubt whether we ever really loved our spouses. But the real issue is not lack of love. It is lack of forgiveness.
Why is it so hard to forgive? Often it feels so unfair to forgive. After all, they’ve hurt us deeply, perhaps again and again. Maybe they seem to be getting away with it. Maybe they seem to have rebuilt their life while you are still reeling. Perhaps you feel that to forgive them would be letting them get away with it. To be honest we often don’t want to forgive. We want to get even. We may secretly even want revenge. Even “nice people”, when deeply hurt, find them-selves wanting “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
Forgiveness is a Revolutionary act. It changes everything. The world’s most famous human being said in the world’s most famous prayer “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” He said that instead of getting an “eye for an eye we are to love our enemies and pray for those who hurt us (Matthew 5:43). His advice, of course, is humanly impossible. How can we bless the very people we want to curse?
Jesus once said “with man this is impossible, but not with God. All things are possible with God.” Alcoholics Anonymous states that change can only occur when we admit our powerlessness over our addictions. Many of us are weak so cry out to the Father and confess how bad you are at forgiving. Ask Him to make you willing to be willing to forgive. Confess your addiction to bitterness and your need for a Higher Power to help you forgive. And remember this: the only person really hurt by your lack of forgiveness is you.
-previously published in the Deep Cove Crier/North Shore News
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
Many of us in the 21st Century have become too busy for our families, too busy for our spouses, too busy to rest, too busy to play, too busy to pray, too busy to read this. Bishop John McNaughton comments that we live in a society where busyness is seen as a virtue and the quality use of time is understood only by a few.
I was somewhat lazy in Senior High School, but by the time I was working on my Masters Degree, I was in full gear academically. I was working 14 to 16 hours a day on major papers and loving it. The only trouble was that I was too busy for my family and never noticed. Only years later did I fully realize how I had robbed my family of vital time that we needed to spend together. Fortunately for me, my family is very forgiving and since then I have learned basic time management principles from the bible that have taught me to be a better husband.
Learning to say “no” as Jesus did is vital to my developing a less cluttered time schedule. So often we can feel put upon with details, frantic with schedules, and wearied by demands. The problem is that we’ve said “yes” to too many time commitments that God never asked us to take on. Listening to God first and obeying Him really helps me to just say “no”.
Procrastination is one of the deadliest diseases which we fight each day whether in our work, family, or spiritual life. Procrastination is such a serious problem that we even procrastinate in facing our procrastination. The bible helps me overcome procrastination by reminding me that time is short (1 Corinthians 7:29). When I realize that time is short and that Jesus could return at any moment, it spurs me to make the best use of the remaining time I do have.
I saw a bumper sticker at Sherwood Park Elementary School that said “The best thing to spend on your children is time!” A key way to restore your family relationship is to begin to trace back the family and marriage time that T.V. has stolen from your family. Research shows that while fathers think they spend 15 minutes a day with each child, they actually only spend 37 seconds a day per child. In contrast, families watch 7 hours of T.V. per day. My prayer for those reading this article is that time for spouse, family, and God will become prioritized in our busy lives.
-previously published in the Deep Cove Crier/North Shore News
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird
l us about what great neighbours she had. But the truth is that it was her graciousness and love that brought out the best in those around her. Even when she was dying of cancer, she did her best to make others feel welcome. Her physician commented that Grandma made him feel better whenever he came to make a house call. When I gave communion to Grandma just before she died, she prayed with an unforgettable love and depth. Then she turned to me and said: “I’m ready to go. I want to be with Grandpa, my parents, and my good friends. I have such a good family. I love you very much.”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Many of you reading this article will be thinking: “Yes, I agree that worry is a waste of energy, but how can I stop worrying?” One helpful solution is to view worry as an addiction, just like an addiction to alcohol or drugs. Addictions are broken, by admitting our powerlessness over our addiction (worry) and turning to a power higher than ourselves. Jesus said that the solution to worry is to “seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness . . .” We worry most about things over which we have the least control. We feel most secure and in control when we think that we have our life figured out. Yet often our very desire to be in control causes us to alienate the ones we care for most, whether at home or at work. When we feel in control, others tend to feel controlled by us, and will often distance themselves from us. As we give over our need for control to our Higher Power, then we stop pushing others away from us.
-Click to check out our newest marriage book 
Newsweek, show that spouses who can pray together report greater degrees of marital satisfaction and greater sexual intimacy. One study showed that while up to 1 in 2 marriages break up, only 1 in 20 marriages break up where both of the couple regularly attend church. More significantly, the study showed that only 1 in 200 couples break up where both couples go to church regularly and pray together on a regular basis. It is encouraging to see research confirm the historic belief that “the family that prays together stays together.” Prayer, it seems, really changes things.
By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird
Where did C.S. Lewis get his vivid skill at being able to describe fantasy and science-fiction worlds that fascinate and delight the imagination? Scholars attribute the development of this creative ability to his childhood love of nature.
more that he grasped after the Joy in nature, the less of it he would experience. It was his very tendency to analyze and tear apart all his experiences that robbed him of the joy of his experience. As C.S. Lewis discovered, “It is impossible to both kiss one’s girlfriend and analyze the kiss at the same moment.” To do so is to dissipate the reality of the kiss.
his return to England in 1903, B.P. was dismayed by the apathy among English young people: “thousands of boys and young men, pale, miserable specimens, smoking endless cigarettes, numbers of them betting.” As a result, he wrote a second book in 1908 entitled Scouting for Boys (the third best-seller in the world after the Bible and Shakespeare). Within a year, over 100,000 boys had already enrolled as Scouts. Within two years, his sister Agnes, and then his wife Lady Baden-Powell, began the parallel Girl Guiding movements. Today there are 17 million Scouts world-wide, with around 250,000 in Canada. In our own Seymour/Deep Cove area, there are 253 boys in Scouting (Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts) and 500 girls in Guiding (Brownies, Guides, and Pathfinders).
Park beach, and begin voraciously pecking on the grass by the beach. All is silent, all is still, all is at rest. Not a human is in sight. Not a car can be heard. The only sound is the unending swirl of water crashing down over the rocks in Panorama Creek,
springing, fresh from the Word.”
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Work as if you were to live 100 years, pray as if you were to die tomorrow.” Many of us are very dedicated and enjoy our line of work despite its intermittent frustrations. On the North Shore where I live, many have put in numerous years of preparation for our life work, either at University or some other institute. As a result, we see ourselves as responsible hard-working citizens who pay our own way and earn our own bread.
as children either at home or public school to say “Give us today our daily bread.” The value of such a prayer is that it reminds us that receiving a gift is just as important as earning a reward. If we are very intelligent, it is ultimately a gift that we never earned. If we are very artistic, it is very much a gift.
A few years ago, the Associated Press released a study done by an agricultural school in Iowa. It reported that production of 100 bushels of corn from one acre of land in addition to the many hours of the farmer’s labour, required 4,000,000 pounds of water, 6,800 pounds of oxygen, 5,200 pounds of carbon, 160 pounds of nitrogen, 125 pounds of potassium, 75 pounds of yellow sulphur, and other elements too numerous to list, and, in addition to these things, which no human being can produce, rain and sunshine at the right time are critical. Human beings have no control over these things. It was estimated, the report said, that only 5% of the produce of a farm can be attributed to human efforts.
find them-selves wanting “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
By the Rev Dr. Ed Hird
I saw a bumper sticker at Sherwood Park Elementary School that said “The best thing to spend on your children is time!” A key way to restore your family relationship is to begin to trace back the family and marriage time that T.V. has stolen from your family. Research shows that while fathers think they spend 15 minutes a day with each child, they actually only spend 37 seconds a day per child. In contrast, families watch 7 hours of T.V. per day. My prayer for those reading this article is that time for spouse, family, and God will become prioritized in our busy lives.
Edhird's Blog 