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Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit

Tag Archives: Nana Allen


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God has been faithful in the past 40+ years….

Christmas 1979

Christmas has always been a special time for both the Hird & Cline families. Nana Allen was with us until the Spring of 1982

Looking at this photo from thirty years ago, I fondly remember my beloved maternal Grandmother Nana Allen (on the 2nd right). She was an amazing inspiration in my life. I would likely not be an Anglican priest today without her inspiration and prayers. My late mother Lorna is on Nana’s right. Mom also knew that I would become an Anglican priest. She was an amazing listener, putting up with my lostness and self-pity throughout those painful teenage years. To the left of Nana is dear Vera, my mother-in-law who passed away in 2,000 from cancer. What a prayer warrior she was. How we still miss her. She chose me as a future son-in-law well before my wife Janice clued in. šŸ˜‰

On the far left is my dear late father Ted who was always learning and growing. His Christian faith always was deepening. I want to be like my dad when I grow up. šŸ˜‰

On my Dad’s right is my twin brother Edward Allen Hird šŸ˜‰ As we were all part of a Christian Rock Band ‘Morning Star’, we had the customary longer hair, though I was sure that mine was short compared to others. Don Robinson my brother-in-law is on my right, just behind my beautiful wife Janice.  Don was the mastermind behind our Christian Concert Production agency ‘Living Stone Productions’ which put on an amazing number of outreach concerts.  We were only university students then. Looking back, I am amazed at all that was accomplished. But during the Jesus Movement, we didn’t know any better. So we just went ahead and God supplied.

On Don’s right is my other brother-in-law John Cline who is a good friend and a Baptist Pastor in Edmonton. John is a deeply pastoral person who loves Jesus, and is a great credit to our family.Ā  To the direct right of John is his late father, my father-in-law Rev David Cline who passed away at age 95 in 2019. What an inspiration David was through the years. What courage he showed in standing up to false teaching. What kindness he exhibited to hurting and broken people. Without David and Vera, we would not be active today in the wonderful Christian Ashram retreat movement. Thank God for loving, faithful family, many of whom have since been promoted to Glory. I am truly grateful for the gift of family.

Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin

ā€œIā€™m afraid thereā€™s been an accidentā€¦ā€

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy 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 arenā€™t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happensā€¦

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything sheā€™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 motherā€™s most basic instinct isnā€™t for survivalā€¦ but for family.

If youā€™re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then youā€™ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you. 

-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 ā€œI heartily commend what he has written.ā€ The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titusā€™ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a personally 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 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-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 

Many of our books include references to and stories about E. Stanley Jones.

To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.

To receive a personally signed copy of any of our books within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.


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40 years later….

Our lives are in God’s hands. God has been faithful in the last 40 years of serving him as Anglican clergy. There have been many surprises along the road. He has worked all things for the good in ways that I would not always have imagined. (Romans 8:28 & Genesis 50:20)ļæ¼

Nana Allen, my maternal grandmother, was an amazing lady. She was a devout Anglican Christian who loved the Book of Common Prayer, and knew that something was being tampered with in the DNA of Anglicanism. Nana knew that I would become an Anglican priest, and told me this years before I even came to personal faith. She was very close to God and heard his still small voice.  Nana’s desire was to live until I became a deacon (which she did) and then to live until I became a priest (which she did).  She died shortly before my throat operation on May 25th 1982 when God restored my voice. I wrote her funeral eulogy, but had to rely on Rev Harold McSherry to deliver it.

In the Anglican Church, they ordain you twice just to make sure that it sticks. šŸ˜‰ My first ordination was on May 18th 1980 where I was ordained as a deacon by Archbishop David Somerville. I was wearing a new suit that I had been given as an ordination present. For my ordination as a priest on May 31st 1981, Archbishop Douglas Hambidge ordained me at St Philip’s Church Dunbar. It was a challenging time because I was having speech therapy but my voice had not returned. My medical specialists assured Archbishop Hambidge that my voice would return in another month or so. When this did not happen, my medical specialists encouraged me to leave St. Philips on Oct 1st 1981 to take up full-time speech therapy. They were concerned that otherwise my voice might never come back. This was a very painful but needed transition. I was off work doing speech therapy for exactly one year on Oct 1st 1982 when I moved to St Matthew’s Abbotsford as the assistant priest with Archdeacon Jack Major.  Being at St Matthew’s was life-transforming for me in untold ways.

The Hirds singing a song unto the Lord at St Matthias Oakridge

Absolutely foundational in our Christian walk and growth was our time at St Matthias Oakridge with the Rev Ernie Eldridge.  Ernie+ encouraged us to use all of our gifts, especially the gift of music. Janice my wife is a professional musician who graduated from the UBC School of Music. We loved to sing together, especially with our singing group Morning Star. One of the unfortunate side-effects of my Botox treatments every three months is that while it helps my speaking, it limits my singing voice. My guitar playing has greatly improved after eight years of guitar lessons with Tony Chotem. So even though my singing is limited, I am still able to serve in the area of music ministry. When I get to heaven, I look forward to the complete restoration of both my speaking and singing voice. In the meantime, I am grateful that I am still able to preach and serve as a priest, after being told by my GP in 1981 that I would never preach again. Without the throat operation, the ongoing prayer, and the Botox treatments, this would have been my fate.

Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin

ā€œIā€™m afraid thereā€™s been an accidentā€¦ā€

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy 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 arenā€™t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happensā€¦

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything sheā€™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 motherā€™s most basic instinct isnā€™t for survivalā€¦ but for family.

If youā€™re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then youā€™ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you. 

-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 ā€œI heartily commend what he has written.ā€ The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titusā€™ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a personally 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 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-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.


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The 40th Anniversary of my ordination as an Anglican Priest/ Presbyter

Over 40 years ago (May 31st 1981), Archbishop Douglas Hambidge ordained me as an Anglican priest. This was done at St Philip’s Dunbar where I was serving as assistant clergy. In 1954, I was baptized at St Philip’s. I give thanks that Archbishop Hambidge went ahead with the ordination even though I had lost my voice through spasmodic dysphonia a few months earlier in Dec 1980.  My maternal grandmother Nana Allen wanted to live until I became priested. She did and died within the next year.  This was shortly before I had my throat operation at Vancouver General Hospital on May 25th 1982.  On October 1st 1982, I moved to St. Matthew’s Abbotsford as the assistant priest to Archdeacon Jack Major.

Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin

ā€œIā€™m afraid thereā€™s been an accidentā€¦ā€

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy 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 arenā€™t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happensā€¦

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything sheā€™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 motherā€™s most basic instinct isnā€™t for survivalā€¦ but for family.

If youā€™re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then youā€™ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you. 

-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 ā€œI heartily commend what he has written.ā€ The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titusā€™ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a personally 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 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-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.


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Remembering Dear Nana

By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

Nana Allen, my maternal grandmother, died with her prayer book and bible by her bed. I was never successful in talking her out of using the ā€œold-fashionedā€ Book of Common Prayer, and ā€˜getting with the programā€™.  Nana to me symbolizes the deep Judeo-Christian roots of our beloved Canadian nation.  She knew in her heart that I would one day become an Anglican priest, even when I was running from God on the top of Mount Seymour ski hill.  Nana, while outwardly a very gentle and proper ā€˜Englishā€™ lady, was inwardly a prayer warrior who never gave up on her family or her nation.  Nanaā€™s passionate love for our nation came out most strongly when she watched Hockey Night in Canada, fervently cheering for her favorite team ā€˜The Montreal Canadiensā€™.

I love Nana very deeply, though she passed away in March 1982, just before my throat operation where I received my voice back.  It was hard for Nana to watch me lose my voice, as she was so deeply committed to my calling to the Anglican priesthood.  I remember her saying that she wanted to live until I became ordained as a deacon. Then after my first ordination, she decided that she wanted to live until I became priested which she did as well. Within a year of my priesting, she had gone to be with the Lord.

Why am I an Anglican priest today?  I believe in my heart of hearts that I am a priest because of my Nanaā€™s powerful prayers and personal witness to a biblically faithful Anglicanism.  Nanaā€™s life embodied to me the heart and soul of genuine Anglican Christianity.  Sadly most of the faithful congregations that my Nana attended have since been swallowed by other agendas.

Nana was also a devout Anglophile and royalist.  Though she had never been to England, it very much functioned for her as ā€˜the mother countryā€™.  Nana was probably more English than the English.  My parents finally persuaded her at age 80 to fly to England with them.  While she enjoyed the trip tremendously, she felt that England had changed!

As someone who has been an ordained Anglican clergyman for 40 years, I must say similarly to my grandmaā€™s comment that the Anglican Church has changed.  I value healthy, necessary change, but I grieve when the core values of the Anglican Church are discarded in the relentless search for temporary relevance.  I have sadly had to face that we are now often dealing with another gospel, another religion, another faith than the biblical Anglican Christianity that my dear Nana stood for.

I believe that the Anglican Church is the ā€˜canary in the tunnelā€™ for our great nation of Canada.   Our Canadian passivity has made us vulnerable to serious cultural meltdown of everything that made Canada great.  My grandparentsā€™ and parentsā€™ generation put everything on the line to defend our great nation in World War I and World War II.  How can we do any less in the current battle for the soul of Canada?

We say in the pre-amble to our Constitution that we acknowledge the Supremacy of God.  It is time for us as Canadians to turn our words into actions.  Our founding forebearers were determined in the words of Psalm 72 that ā€˜he would have dominion for sea to shining seaā€™.  Our original name ā€œThe Dominion of Canadaā€ was chosen to deliberately reflect that spiritual commitment as the core of our nation.

My cry is that God would keep our land glorious and free, that God would have mercy upon our rebellious land, that mercy would triumph over judgement.  Godā€™s heart of love is that we would repent of our turning away from our godly Judeo-Christian heritage and turn back before it is too late.

When I remember my dearly beloved Nana, I am reminded that we have a great heritage as Canadians.  Letā€™s not squander it.

The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin

-previously published in the North Shore News

-award-winning author of the book Battle for the Soul of Canada

P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.

ā€œIā€™m afraid thereā€™s been an accidentā€¦ā€

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy 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 arenā€™t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happensā€¦

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything sheā€™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 motherā€™s most basic instinct isnā€™t for survivalā€¦ but for family.

If youā€™re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then youā€™ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you.

-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 ā€œI heartily commend what he has written.ā€ The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titusā€™ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

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 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-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.