If you love family drama in a Christian setting then this book is for you. A pastoral couple, Ed and Janice Hird, who have led marriage and renewal conferences around the globe, write BLUE SKY. Ed and Janice understand family dynamics and bring their Blue Sky drama to life in this Spokane city setting. This book draws you into the family, but also into the redemptive and loving character of God during life’s difficult places. If you love Karen Kingsbury’s books, you’ll want to read about the ups and downs of the Brown clan.
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.
The Wrapup of the Word Guild Conference with David Kitz, the national Word Guild Chair. Click on this link to view his moving brief talk.
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 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.
-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.
Rose Seiler Scott’s book Threaten to Undo Us (available on Amazon) is engaging and compelling.
Those of us in the West have rightfully connected with the tragedy of the holocaust experienced by six million Jewish people during WW2. Most of us however have been unaware that countless innocent German civilians ended up in the very same concentration camps that the Jews had been liberated from. The anger by the Poles and Russians against the Nazis resulted in many innocent Germans being raped, starved, expelled, tortured and separated from their families. Humanity’s inhumanity to humanity is accurately recorded in this compelling story. Leisel, a committed follower of Jesus Christ, walks the way of Christ in relentlessly sacrificing for her family and others against impossible odds. This book is hard to put down. Most of us know little about this untold story. Rose Scott is a gifted writer who enables you to enter her family’s world. One suggestion is that the first chapter could use tightening up, as it took me a while to get the direction of the novel. This book could benefit from a sequel.
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…”
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
-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.
A key to going from good to great in writing is following your heart and your gut where it leads you. If your writing doesn’t grip you, it will not grip anyone else. One of my and Janice’s passions, as expressed in our latest book For Better, for Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship is for strengthening marriages. My 500+ newspaper articles found on edhird.com (with 815,000 readers) emerged out of my passion for history and biography. Many of these articles have later become chapters in my books like Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit. I am currently doing a biography series for the LightMagazine covering BC and Alberta. Lean into your passions. What wakes you up in the morning? What really matters to you? What are you willing to sacrifice for?
Nonfiction has more to do with facts and history. Many readers are women who are looking for a break from the stress of life. A high percentage of books are purchased by women as Christmas presents. How might your nonfiction book give people a break from the stress of life?
Another key to greatness in writing is the willingness to initially write badly. Turning off the inner critic for a time. Anything on the page is better than brilliance in your head. Fight your clever ways that you procrastinate.
Learn to respect your creative rhythms, your waves of inspiration. If you are a morning person, be a morning writer, or vice versa. Surf (write) when the creative waves hit. You can prepare for the wave, but you can’t control it. Our co-presenter the Rev. Jim Wilson, by the way, cut his teeth on surfing. This inspired his recent amazing novel Generation which tells a compelling story about California surfers in the 1960s. Click to watch Jim explain how to get a breakthrough in your writing.
Most ‘good’ books stay good rather than great, because of inadequate editing and inadequate marketing. Are you willing to sacrifice your time, talent and treasure in order to go for greatness? Writing is an act of Kingdom stewardship. I have been privileged to serve twice on the faculty for the TWG Write! Canada conference, teaching on marketing books. Rob Eagar’s material is an excellent resource in the marketing area.
Marketing cannot just be added after the book is written. It needs to be built into the very DNA of the book. The back cover must not be boring or self-centered. Good marketing gives the potential reader a reason to care. Readers in the internet age are suffering from information overload. Communicate clearly about how your book will benefit your readers’ lives.
What is your marketing ‘elevator speech’? Every book needs a hook. What is your hook? Build the hook into the text of your book, as well as your back cover. Try completing this ‘hook’ sentence about your book: What if I told you that….?
Learn how to maximize Amazon which is where most people buy books nowadays. Offer both eBooks and paperback. Experiment with targeted Amazon paid ads, focusing on age, education, geography, interests. Rob Eagar says that Amazon ads are more effective than Facebook ads. Experiment with both. To increase Amazon visibility, aim to have at least thirty people write brief Amazon.com book reviews. You cannot pay them, but you can ask them. Sometimes they are more likely to do a book review for you, if you have already done one for them. Think of the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do for you.” I have 36 Amazon book reviews of my Restoring Health book. Later usually means never in terms of book sales. Strengthen the closing of your sale (pulling in the net) by offering on amazon and other contexts a time-limited $3.00 savings. Think FOMO (fear of missing out).
A key to great editing is developing a thick skin so that you can hear editing suggestions. Defensiveness and stonewalling keep your book in the childish stage rather than childlike excellence. CS Lewis, GK Chesterton, and JRR Tolkien had a wonderful childlikeness in their writing. 1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” Mark 10:14-15 “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” How childlike and playful are you in your books? As they say in Family Systems Theory, when everything is serious, urgent and important, something is out of whack.
Paying for a professional editor is worth every dollar. The Word Guild can help you connect with a good editor. On the recommendation of the Word Guild co-founder NJ Lindquist, we used Audrey Dorsch. If you can’t afford a paid editor, draw on the wisdom of other authors.
Canadian writers who are Christians face many challenges in the current market a) the dominance of the American market with most publishers being in the USA b) the collapse of many book stores in the internet age c) finding your tribe d) building your platform. Your tribe are those who share your passions and interests particularly in your book themes. Search for where they hang out on the internet and other face to face settings. Your platform consists of those who you have regular access to through social and traditional media like newspapers, radio and TV. To connect with your tribe and build your platform, offer a free eBook to those who sign up to your blog email. I have 41,000+ social media followers.
Being part of a writer’s organization, like The Word Guild, helps keep you motivated. We are active in the local Word Guild Chapter for Surrey, led by Neil Bramble. When I won a Word Guild award for the book Battle for the Soul of Canada, it helped opened many doors for newspaper, radio and TV articles and interviews. It is very easy when isolated to give in to writers’ discouragement. Sometimes we become too close to our writing and need to walk away until we can become a more objective reader of our own writing.
Establishing your credibility in the eyes of the potential reader is key. Jim Wilson our co-presenter is an example of how to do this. I encourage you to watch Jim’s ‘Writing Weekend’ videos which are posted online on Facebook and Youtube. What has Jim communicated in the videos that lead you to believe that he knows what he is talking about? What might you ‘humbly’ and ‘confidently’ say about yourself? Click to watch Rev. Jim Wilson and myself teach on writing nonfiction.
The book cover, the book title, and the back page are essential for motivating people to try out your book. How have you developed some of your book covers and book titles? Bill Glasgow of Wm. Glasgow Design in Abbotsford has done the book cover and layout for my last three books. Many book stores told me that the professionalism of the book cover and layout was why they accepted my book on consignment. Most back covers do not grab you with a compelling hook.
Conference speaking where you can promote your books from the podium is a major key to selling your books, directing people to a book table at the back that you and/or friends man. Bring a bowl and put a number of five-dollar bills in the bowl to help with change. Make up an attractive mini-poster with your book prices to put in a picture frame. Offering to personally sign your book can help improve sales. If you struggle with public speaking (the greatest fear on earth), consider attending Toastmasters and reading library books on public speaking.
Pray and soaking in God’s Word is key in writing books in Jesus’ name
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 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.
-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.
Keynote speaker Rev Jim Wilson speaking on “Writing Fiction” at the West Coast Word Guild Writers Seminar
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 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.
-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.
“This book serves, among other things, as a commentary on the two Epistles of St. Paul to young Timothy. It’s a text that is very relevant and informative concerning the need for Timothys in this age of spiritual compromise and excessive liberalism, both in the Anglican Church and at times in the Church in General. Just as St. Paul warned Timothy of apostasy and ‘perilous times’ in his day and charged him to warn others of this evil, so the author likewise is warning us that, in principle, we face the same dilemma in this current day and age.
The negative side, however, is well balanced by several positive reflections. For example, the author cites many historical figures, both from the secular and spiritual realms to show how our nation truly has a godly heritage. One of my favorites is the section The Passion of Louis Riel.
In view of these examples, our challenge now is to remain steadfast as a people of prayer and devotion to the Word of God, just as Timothy did through the influence of his spiritual Father and his godly mother and grandmother.
The title of this text truly reflects its contents: There is indeed an ongoing battle for the spiritual soul of Canada and a need for young, godly leaders to help us restore that godly heritage.
Rev. Dr. Les Johnson
Retired minister of Foursquare Gospel Church 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…”
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 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.
-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.
Valentine’s Day’s full title is St. Valentine’s Day, because it was named after two St Valentines. They were both Italian clergy martyred in the 3rd century AD for their Christian faith. Because of their sacrificial love, it has become one of the most popular annual events celebrated by hundred of millions around the world. It has become a traditional date night where a wise husband remembers to take his wife out for dinner, followed perhaps by a movie or theatre production. (Husbands, please note that such dates are much less expensive than divorce lawyer’s fee; so put Feb 14th in your IPhone or Blackberry).
Many years ago in a Deep Cove Crier article about marriage, I wrote the following words: “Inside the heart of each and every one of us there is a longing to be understood by someone who really cares. When a person is understood, he or she can put up with almost anything in the world.” After being posted (unbeknown to me) on hundreds of Romance websites, I was approached to write a chapter for the upcoming Canadian anthology “Hot Apple Cider 2’ about this romantic quote. In Hot Apple Cider 2, I commented that my beloved wife “Janice and I are learning afresh the joy of ordinary pleasures: taking regular time together for peaceful walks, chatting over a cup of tea, listening to each other’s daily experiences, watching a video together, going out for dinner, and even reading together.”
One day I picked up the North Shore News, read Martin Millerchip’s article about Presentation House, and on a whim said to Janice: “Let’s go out on a date night to see Antony Holland’s St Mark’s Gospel.” Being remarkably adaptable, Janice agreed. What a wonderful evening. Unplanned, unexpected, and totally memorable. Happy marriages need to have that sense of adventure, of the unexpected. Boredom in marriage is the devil’s best tool.
Sadly many husbands stop dating their wives after they marry them. “What happened to the man I married?”, many wives wonder. Why was he so attentive before marriage, and now he would rather hang out on the golf course or stay late at work? Our wives deeply need to be romanced, pursued, won over every week. That is one reason why the romance novels are a Billionaire dollar industry, because we husbands are not always putting our wives first. My wife Janice needs to know that she is more important than my work, my hobbies, my writing, my sports. She needs to be Number One under God in my life.
I love to hold my beloved Janice’s hand when we are out on a date. Sitting there in Presentation House, watching Antony Holland perform St Mark’s Gospel, I often reached out to her and gently squeezed her hand when something was really moving. Many people don’t know that Mark’s Gospel is high drama, and when done by a gifted artist, can bring you to tears. The late Antony Holland, at age 91, was literally North America’s oldest leading actor. If I have half as much energy when I am in my nineties, I will be deeply grateful. As Martin Millerchip of the North Shore News put it, Holland’s ‘hard to resist, perhaps like Jesus’. Holland directed plays throughout the Middle East for the WWII Allied forces, and founded Studio 58 at Langara College where my parents attended his plays for many years. (My late mother once told me that Studio 58 initially rehearsed its play in our St. Matthias Oakridge church basement.)
I first became aware of Antony Holland from watching his phenomenal acting in ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’. No one dances quite like Holland in the final ‘Morrie’ scene. Antony Holland is the quintessential actor. He loves what he does. At age 91, he has just started. Love is what motivates him. Love of acting and love of people. In both St Mark’s Gospel and Tuesdays with Morrie, the love of God overflows through Holland.
This Valentine’s Day, may I love my wife even more deeply than Holland loves acting and loves his audience. May my beloved wife know that she means everything to me, that she must never come second, that my heart is still aflame with tenderness for her, forty-three years after I said ‘I do’. May this gift of tender romance be real and life-changing this Feb 14th for your marriage, for your family, for your community.
-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 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
-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.
I share my late father’s fascination with history. My father loved to read, research, and learn. ‘Like Father, like Son’ is true in so many unexpected ways. Like my father, I want to keep learning and growing until I leave this planet earth. I believe that we either grow or shrink. You can’t remain static.
Like my dad, I have become involved in the area of writing and journalism. My father was a writer and then the editor of the Telecom Advisor for over 15 years. From 1988 to 2018, I was privileged over the past 30 years to write over 360 articles for the Deep Cove Crier, and for ten years (2,000 to 2,010) co-ordinated the ‘Spiritually Speaking’ column for the North Shore News.
It is wonderful to have a father who has modelled helpful skills. Whether it was helping my father to cut wood with his skillsaw or to cut the grass, my dad always was a coach, a mentor, and an equipper who loves to help me discover new abilities. If my dad was excited about a new book or a new movie, he eagerly shared his enthusiasm and invited our participation. I also find myself being that way with my own three sons!
One of my father’s trademarks was that whenever the family gathered for holidays or birthdays, out came his video camera! In the early days, video cameras required painfully bright backdrop lights. We would all groan when the bright lights came out, but later be thrilled by the immortalized visual memories.
My family and my father are wonderful gifts that I appreciate more and more as I become older. Family for me is inextricably connected with thousands of unforgettable and often hilarious memories. It is also connected with times of great sorrow and loss, great joy and celebration. Family is birthdays, weddings, funerals, baptisms, anniversaries, graduations, Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, and yes, Father’s Day. My life would be much less rich without the gift of my family and my father.
One of my father’s most memorable projects was his family memoirs. The term ‘memoir’ comes from the French ‘memoire’ for memory. We as Canadians are a nation that often suffers from cultural and spiritual amnesia. We so quickly forget the wonderful stories of our pioneering ancestors who helped make Canada what it is today. My dad often commented how he wished that he had listened more closely as a teenager when his now deceased aunts and uncles would talk about family history.
Just like the famous Afro-American ‘Roots’ Book & TV –mini-series, my father’s memoirs are helping me understand better who I am and where I have come from. My Dad, as an electrical engineer, loved anything to do with computers and telecommunications.
Through the use of a scanner and PhotoShop, my Dad incorporated in his memoirs over a hundred pictures that capture the essence of our family life.
So much family history functions as oral tradition that can easily be lost or muddled within one generation. Much of Canada’s rich Christian heritage is being lost precisely that way. Psalm 102 says: ‘Let this be written for a future generation…’. By my father’s writing down his memoirs, I will be able to pass this gift of history onto my children and future grandchildren. They too will be able to learn the exploits of their grandfather being raised in a coal-mining town outside of Edmonton, helping his blacksmith father shoe horses, serving as an Air Force WWII wireless radio mechanic in the Queen Charlotte Islands, becoming an electrical Engineer at UBC, becoming President of Lenkurt Electric, before becoming a hi-tech communications consultant. The inspiring thing about my father was that he has always been able to ‘re-invent’ himself. When one door closed in his life, he would always find another door that would open. Like my hero Winston Churchill, my father never, never, ever gave up! He also never gave up in writing his memoirs.
The Good Book says: ‘What we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us, we will not hide them from our children; we will tell the next generation…’ (Psalm 78). My Father’s Day prayer for fathers reading this article is that each of us will have the courage to never give up, and the wisdom to transmit the cultural and spiritual gifts of our family history to the emerging generation.
The Reverend 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.
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.
Rose Seiler Scott’s book Threaten to Undo Us (available on 
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.
Nonfiction has more to do with facts and history. Many readers are women who are looking for a break from the stress of life. A high percentage of books are purchased by women as Christmas presents. How might your nonfiction book give people a break from the stress of life?
“This book serves, among other things, as a commentary on the two Epistles of St. Paul to young Timothy. It’s a text that is very relevant and informative concerning the need for Timothys in this age of spiritual compromise and excessive liberalism, both in the Anglican Church and at times in the Church in General. Just as St. Paul warned Timothy of apostasy and ‘perilous times’ in his day and charged him to warn others of this evil, so the author likewise is warning us that, in principle, we face the same dilemma in this current day and age.
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.
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