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Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit


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My first Facebook Live Sermon ‘Rising Life in 2017’

By Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

Through visiting my friend Pastor Marcel Kurtz at Valley Church, I learned how to do Facebook Live.  To test it out, Marcel and I recorded a Facebook Live conversation, viewed by 195 people.  Then I tested it a second time, seen by 365 people, with Pastor Owen Scott who co-ordinates the North Shore Pastors Prayer Fellowship with myself.  After that, I did a Facebook Live about the upcoming Festival of Hope, viewed by 216 people.  Then I did a Facebook Live at the gym on Restoring Health, viewed by 225 people.  The next Facebook Live interview, with 191 viewers, was with Bob Grahame whom I am coaching about his upcoming book The Future Never Arrives: at least not as expected.  Then Janice and myself did a Facebook Live Christmas Greetings, viewed by 730 people.  On Christmas Day, we did a Facebook Live for our son Mark’s sermon, with 238 people watching.  Our most widely viewed Facebook Live has been a Christmas Carolling with the Hird family, seen by 1511 people so far.

On January 1st New Year’s Sunday, I preached my first sermon being recorded on Facebook Live, viewed so far by over 1,800 people. You are invited to check out the New Year sermon from Hebrews 2:10-18 ‘Rising Life in 2017’

Blessings,

Rev Dr Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, Dmin

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…”

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 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.

-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 “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.

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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Pastor Owen Scott endorsing Restoring Health

Owen Scott was the Senior Pastor of Valley church from 1986 to 2018. Owen was born and raised in Davidson, Saskatchewan. After high school Owen attended and graduated from Full Gospel Bible College

Owen then got married to a wonderful woman whom has never left his side since. He then interned in Regina, Sask, pastored in Fruitvale, B.C and Calgary Owen then taught at Full Gospel Bible College for 4 years Owen and Val then moved back to Regina where he was Associate Pastor for 6 years. Finally in 1986 they came to Vancouver and Valley Church and they have been a blessing to Valley Church ever since.

Questionnaire to Pastor Owen Scott

What is your favorite quote?
“He flung himself from the room unto his horse and rode madly off in all directions”

What is your favorite restaurant/coffee shop?
Pajo’s at Steveston for fish & chips…The Red Onion for hot dogs…almost ANY coffee shop will do!

Who is your hero?
Ernest Shackleton (led an expedition to Antarctica)

Who inspires you?
SULLY – successfully landed a plane with 155 passengers in the Hudson River recently

What is your favorite meal?
Macaroni & cheese with a hot-dog on the side!

What do you not like to eat?
Cottage cheese

What is your favourite book – other than the bible?
“A Prayer for Owen Meany”

What is your favourite junk/snack food?
Black Licorice (ie Panda…in case you were thinking of getting him some…)

What is your favourite outdoor activity?
Walking/hiking

What is your best thing to do on your day off?
Walking…exploring…finding a great coffee shop or bakery

What do you avoid doing?
Going anywhere near snow…

What is your favorite childhood memory?
Opening Christmas presents

If you could pick a super power what would it be?
??????? I have a SUPER POWER living within me!!!

What was your nickname when you were a kid?
Didn’t have one

What did you want to be when you were 6?
Cowboy

What was your childhood ambition?
To join the circus

What was your first job?
Setting pins at a bowling alley

What is your favorite word?
Can’t think of one…how about JESUS!

What word do you dislike?
Dysfunctional

What sound do you love?
Birds singing

What profession would you choose if you didn’t do what you do now?
Running a hot-dog stand

What is your favorite characteristic of Christ?
His grace

Obscure Info about me:
Enjoy making folkart…reading…watching a good movie…taking road trips…

Pastor Owen Scott - Head Pastor of Lynn Valley Full Gospel Church

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…”

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 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.

-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 “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.

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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40 Years of Serving the Community

By Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

Murray Bowen

Dr. Murray Bowen once said that longevity has more potential lasting impact than frequency.  For the past forty years, the North Shore Pastors have been gathering together in order to better serve our community.  Some people mistakenly think that North Shore churches and pastors are competitors.  One of the things that troubled me as a new Christian was the infighting between all the different denominations.  Why couldn’t the Anglicans, Baptists, Pentecostals, Mennonites, Presbyterians, etc learn to get along and stop competing?  One of the wonderful gifts of living on the North Shore is that denominational bickering is at an all-time low.  Clergy and pastors speak well of each other’s congregations.  There is a generosity among North Shore pastors that allows us to bless each other instead of cursing each other.  This hasn’t happened by accident.  It is the fruit of forty years of prayer by the North Shore clergy, first at Hillside Church, then at Valley Church, and more recently at Sutherland Church.  Because we meet together, share together and pray together, we have become each other’s best friends and advocates.  God has used the North Shore Pastors Prayer Fellowship to deepen our love for each other and our conviction that there is really only one Church on the North Shore.  While there are many diverse congregations, we believe that our unity in Christ is greater than our individual differences.

Some of the original founders of the North Shore Pastors Prayer Fellowship included Arnie Toews of North Shore Alliance Church, Jim John HardyLucas of Canyon Heights Church, John Hardy of Hillside Baptist, and Bob Allison of St. Andrews & St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church.  All these have since either retired or moved to other communities.  Those currently attending the fellowship picked up the torch from the pioneers who believed that we could better serve the North Shore in unity rather than apart.

By praying together for an hour, God has been teaching the North Shore pastors how much we need each other.  We busy North Shore Clergy have been learning that we are too busy not to pray.  By focusing on Jesus Christ, we have been rediscovering that we are on the same team.  Denominations are second.  Jesus is first.

Owen ScottPastor Owen Scott of Valley Church commented that being part of the North Shore Pastors Prayer Fellowship has been one of the most helpful things for him, knowing that he is not alone.  Rev. Ken Bell of St. Timothy’s Anglican Church says that praying together gives us an opportunity to share with one another and participate with each other on the North Shore.  Pastor Scott Anderson of Cap Church said that our gracious embrace of one another is evidence of our experience of God’s gracious embrace.

Every denomination has its own strengths and weaknesses.  Instead of putting down another group for their flaws, we are learning to hold them up in prayer that they may become all that they are meant to be.  Presbyterians don’t need to become Anglicans, and Anglicans don’t need to become Baptists.  Our real calling is to love each other with the life-changing love of Jesus Christ.  Many churches have formed because someone was hurt.  We have been learning over the past thirty-five years that it is time to forgive, time to heal, time to pray.  Why fight when we can pray?  The North Shore Church are family, God’s forever family.  My prayer for those reading this article is that we may rediscover the deep truth that the family that prays together stays together.

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

-previously published in the Deep Cove Crier/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.

“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”

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 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.

-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 “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.

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.