The first girl that I ever had a crush on was named Debbie. We were both only six at the time. Debbie or Deborah is a fascinating name. Deborah is actually a Hebrew word that means ‘bee’. You may remember the boxer Cassius Clay/AKA Mohammad Ali saying: “I float like a butterfly. I sting like a bee.” The original Deborah was aptly named as she stung like a bee to those who threatened her children. Who were her children? Deborah did not just stand up for her own nuclear family; she stood up for the whole community, for all God’s children. That is why Deborah received the title “Mother of Israel”.
I know that there are many Deborahs, many ‘Mothers of Israel’ reading this article, many women who will stand up to protect the lives and health of all the children in our local community. One Deep Cove Deborah is Janet Pavlik, who deeply cares for our local community and has invested heavily in serving others, especially through the Deep Cove Historical Society, the Lions Club, the Deep Cove Crier, and the Deep Cove Theatre. In the past twenty-three years, I have met hundreds of local Deborahs, many of them relatively unknown who selflessly dedicate their lives to serving their family and their community. To each of the Deborahs reading this article, I want to say ‘thank you’ . You are appreciated and deeply valued for the sacrifices that you have made so that our local community can be more healthy and safe. Without mothers creating healthy homes, chaos prevails on the streets.
My wife, my sisters, my late mother and my grandmothers have all been ‘Deborahs’ in my life. Their long-suffering devotion to family in good times and bad continues to inspire me to be a better person. Recently I received an e-mail from one of my ‘Deborahs’ reminding me that it was time to go to my GP for my regular checkup.
Deborahs fight for the significant men in their lives, for their sons, their husbands, their brothers, their fathers. They want them to win. They want them to thrive. They want them to fully live. Deborahs care deeply and can’t stop caring if they tried.
The first Deborah was a very powerful, courageous woman in fearful times. She used to sit under a palm tree and serve as the Judge for all of Israel, deciding the difficult cases that couldn’t be solved otherwise. She was also a prophet, who had unusual discernment about what to do in impossible times. Deborah had an unusually close relationship to God, and had really learned to listen for that still small voice. Judges Chapter 5 describes a song that she received which inspired her whole nation to action.
For over twenty years, the Children of Israel had been trodden down by Sisera, the Canaanite Army Commander with over nine hundred iron chariots, the top military technology of those days. It had become so bad that local town life had been decimated and no one could safely travel by road. Deborah knew that this had to stop. So she approached Barak, asking him to bring 10,000 men and confront this injustice.
Barak, who lacked the military hardware, answered with profound ambivalence, saying: “If you go with me, I will go. If you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” Because of Barak’s timidity, Deborah had to prod him until he finally took action. An unexpected downpour occurred, which landed the Canaanite iron chariots deep in the mud. After this great victory, Deborah led the Children of Israel through a time of peace for forty years.
The Song of Deborah says: ‘Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, break out in song!’ My heart-felt prayer for those reading this article is ‘Wake up, Wake up Deborah! Come into your destiny and calling. Don’t let the fear or ambivalence of others hold you back. Fight for both your family and your community. Stand up for what you know is right and just and fair. Show compassion to the widow and the orphan. Be a Mother of Israel in your local community.’
The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin
– previously published in the North Shore News/Deep Cove Crier
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.
Who can forget the classic 1993 comedy ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ where Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) and Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) find healing and romance through the delightful impetuosity of Jonah Baldwin (Ross Malinger ), Sam’s media-savy son? Seattle is a beautiful coastal city to visit that has much in common with Vancouver BC.
Fifty years later…
A few years ago, my family and a Christian Ashram team had the privilege of ministering at John and Holly Roddam’s Seattle congregation, the original epicentre of Anglican renewal which began fifty years ago in 1960 and continues to impact the world. I believe that the renewal birthed in Seattle is God’s wake-up call to a sleepy, self-absorbed Church. As Paul put it in Romans 13:11, “The hour has come for you to wake up from your sleep…”
You may remember St. Eutychus, the patron saint of teenagers, who was literally bored to death during the Apostle Paul’s all-night sermon (Acts 20:9). You may also remember how Jesus’ closest disciples couldn’t stay awake on the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:32) and the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus even had to say to them: “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Luke 22:46).
Waking up…
I believe that God is blowing the Shofar of renewal across the Anglican Church saying “Wake up, wake up, before it is too late”. Why has so much confusion crept into much of the Anglican Church regarding sexual immorality, new-age syncretism, and mother/father god/dess worship? Clearly we, as clergy and laity, have been asleep at the switch, instead of being watchmen for our nation. “Let us not be like others who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
What is the calling of faithful Anglicans in these perilous times? It is the same calling that many christians parents have on Sunday mornings while attempting to get their teenagers ready for church: “Wake up O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!” (Ephesians 5:14) Wake up, O Canada; Wake up O Anglicans; rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you!
Awakenings…
It is little wonder that previous times of renewal (which means new-again) and revival (which means life-again) have been called ‘awakenings’. We think especially of the 18th century First Great Awakening with the Anglican priest George Whitfield and Congregational pastor Jonathan Edwards, and the 19th Century Second Great Awakening with Presbyterian clergyman Charles Finney and Yale President Timothy Dwight.
How deeply we Canadians need to wake up to righteousness (1 Corinthians 15:34). How deeply we Anglicans need to recover the discipline of morning prayer, exemplified in the heritage of our Book of Common Prayer. Then we can cry out like the Psalmist: “Awake my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.” (Psalm 57:8) Perhaps we can hear Proverbs 6:9-11 as a prophetic calling: “How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?…”God is saying to us: “Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourselves with strength. Put on your garments of splendor…Shake off your dust, rise up…Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O Captive Daughter of Zion.”
Being in Seattle for the Christian Ashram weekend was a wake-up call to me. Like many churches in renewal, the Roddam’s congregation had both a traditional and then a contemporary service on Sunday mornings. Their congregation proves that the traditional Prayer Book service doesn’t inhibit freedom in the Spirit. It was wonderful to see the gift of prophecy graciously exercised in both services. There is such an anointing on their people who have been soaking in the Spirit for fifty years. Being around such godly people helped me shake off my dust and free myself from the chains on my neck.
What a joy to know that a Canadian Anglican couple, the Rev. John and Holly Roddam, were serving the people of Seattle. Canada, through the ministry of the Rev. Dennis & Rita Bennett, has received so much through the Bennett’s extensive travels across Canada. Many Canadians Anglicans can date their awakening to the reading of the Bennett’s bestsellers like ‘Nine O’clock in the Morning and ‘The Holy Spirit and You’.
I believe that God sent Canadians servant-leaders to Seattle as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to Seattle for all that they have given to so many in Canada and around the world. I thank God that the Rev John and Holly Roddam were powerfully used in helping many to be ‘sleepless in Seattle’. While the Roddams have since move back to the Maritimes, they have left a significant imprint in the hearts and minds of many in Seattle. I pray that for the sake of the Anglican Church and our lost world, we sleepy believers will awaken and ‘not rest until righteousness shines out like the dawn and salvation like a blazing torch’ (Isaiah 62:1). Do it again Lord, wake us up for your glory and honour!
Note: The majority of the people at the Roddam’s congregation have now left the old St Luke’s building, re-aligned with the Global South Anglicans and formed a new congregation Emmanuel Anglican Church . You are encouraged to check out this vibrant congregation led by Rev Dan Rice.
-previously published in the Anglicans for Renewal Canada magazine
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
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.
My wife, my sisters, my late mother and my grandmothers have all been ‘Deborahs’ in my life. Their long-suffering devotion to family in good times and bad continues to inspire me to be a better person. Recently I received an e-mail from one of my ‘Deborahs’ reminding me that it was time to go to my GP for my regular checkup.
had been trodden down by Sisera, the Canaanite Army Commander with over nine hundred iron chariots, the top military technology of those days. It had become so bad that local town life had been decimated and no one could safely travel by road. Deborah knew that this had to stop. So she approached Barak, asking him to bring 10,000 men and confront this injustice.
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.
What a joy to know that a Canadian Anglican couple, the Rev. John and Holly Roddam, were serving the people of Seattle. Canada, through the ministry of the Rev. Dennis & Rita Bennett, has received so much through the Bennett’s extensive travels across Canada. Many Canadians Anglicans can date their awakening to the reading of the Bennett’s bestsellers like ‘Nine O’clock in the Morning and ‘The Holy Spirit and You’.
Edhird's Blog 