Retrospect

i never met a bear i didn't like.

i had a bear skin once. A friend of mine had to shoot the bear outside of their lodge, because he was becoming a nuisance and he was concerned for his customers. This being a fly-in lodge in Northern Quebec.

He told me the story of sitting on the roof of the lodge waiting for him to come to the trap they had set up with some smelly fish.

He also told me about the moonless night before, when the bear was out behind the lodge.

There is a road between the lodge and a steep hill that runs along the road going east and west for about a 1/4 mile. There are many small trees and rocks and the rest is scrub bush, with the exception of some tall pines on it. Down the road to the left is the old sawmill and some derelict vehicles and a couple of boats. To the right the road curves left and away from the lodge to an opening where the generator is, with one of the few lights that break up the darkness. But the hill obscures any light on the road behind the lodge. About the only sounds you would hear are a couple of loons on the lake, some frogs in the distance, and the quiet drone of the generator.

The bear was being noisy as he climbed up on the back of the old truck where the garbage was.

Upon hearing this my friend grabbed the gun, a flashlight and ran out the door of the lodge, down the steps and around the corner of the building towards the truck.

He heard the bear jump off the truck and go towards the hillside and stop. It was so dark that the flashlight barely lit up the sites on the gun. He could hear the bear breathing, sniffing the air and he could smell him, but he couldn't see him. Waiting for a few moments he thought this was useless. He then realized he was standing there in sock feet and no shirt on. He'd have to come up with another plan.

The next night brought the same occurrence, but he had a little surprise set up. His young assistant and himself sat on the roof with a large landing light from an old airplane. Connected to a truck battery for power they flicked it on as he got a bead on the back of the truck. BANG!!

The loud gun shot echoed across the lake. The bear jumped from the truck and took off up the hill going about 200 ft before dropping. He had made a perfect shot and was surprised at how far the bear had run.

It was a young black bear around 300 lbs, of whom i became the owner of his skin.

Of all the times i flew up there and spent time on the trails, fishing, building, hiking and the like. i saw one large moose, but never a bear. This bear skin was as close as i was going to get.

(A card, add words from my heart, a particular bottle of wine, a movie, and a special dinner out)

Valentine's Day

Just another great way to spend some quality time and share your heart once more with the one that is so special.

For me the special one is my best friend and beautiful wife.

Like Christmas, Birthdays and Valentine's, it's never a last minute thing. i like to put some real thought and love into the things i do for her.

In a special relationship, like the one we have, doing something special or engaging is an almost everyday occurrence.

i believe it can be in any relationship, with friends. You simply put others ahead of yourself as much as that is possible and the rewards are enormous.

We've all seen the looks and felt the joy when you touch another heart.

The greatest and best feelings of joy i have encountered have been distinctive or unique because God has set up these moments. And sometimes a moment is all it takes with him. Then there have been those specific intervals that you look back on and know there was no mistake in that, that he put his heart and Spirit into it.

i know he set in motion the road of love for my wife and myself, that there was no coincidence here.

This was our first of many Valentine's Days to come as husband and wife. But with God in the centre almost everyday has that same flavor to it.

i hope you can experience the same.

Doors, Gates, Handles & Latches

It seems that there are always doors, windows, holes, roads, highways, streams, passages, entrances and exits to this life. We are either entering or we're leaving, while passing others along the way.

We enjoy the entrance of new life. We celebrate with friends and family. The demise of older life is expected but still hard to bear.

The extinguishing of life for no reason, unexpected illness, accident, suicide or by murder or ruthless war, resonates and leaves us empty.

At these times choices are made, some by force, a new road to a new life, leaving what you had behind. Travelling to a different place, perhaps across an ocean. None the less, another journey begins. Starting all over perhaps, with only the clothes on your back.

Families divided because parents have died. Loss of one parent places a financial strain on everyone else. Loss of a home and family through a natural disaster. These are all part of reality.

We live in a safe place much of the time. We have escaped the ravages of war, famine, genocide, and Holocaust. Natural disasters seem to happen in other places than right here.

We wake up in a home where three meals, clothing, money, are a second thought. Our children are educated, our churches are safe from storm troopers. Our borders don't have armed guards in military uniforms with machine guns and dogs. There are no check points on every town and city roadway.

We can speak what we want, when we want and to whom we want at anytime night or day. There are no curfews, no one looking over our shoulder. You're not worried about your neighbour or co-worker spying on you. Reporting any suspicious movements to authorities. There are no threats, not on your street, your neighbourhood, your town, as far as you are aware.

But there is a different kind of threat. It is growing and has been growing in N. America for centuries. It grows larger in number with each generation.

Every generation makes a choice of the route it desires to take.

Every new government brings us closer to chaos by the decisions that get accepted. Laws are passed behind closed doors, or with the acceptance of a select few.

Suddenly and out of nowhere your rights dwindle and the people lose control because they chose to let someone else do their thinking for them. Their laziness and apathy sold the farm and they were left with a pile of horse crap.

The nice life gets left behind and you are now out on a slippery road, that soon becomes a huge muddy hole.

We think, come on that's only in the movies, not here, no way!

What would it take to open our eyes to how bad it could change in 24 hours or less? We don't have a clue. Governments have toppled overnight, let alone natural disasters.

When Catrina wiped out most of New Orleans, people had seen storms before.

When the tsunami hit in western Asia, it happened in moments.

What if it rained nonstop from April to December and crops weren't planted. No planting, no growth, no harvest.

You think it's difficult with the economy now?

All the reserves would be eaten up and there would be nothing to sell to other countries.

No way not here, everything always works out.

History sometimes has a way of repeating itself, in one form or another. Before the great depression, some very bad choices were made, by some so called "very smart people."

Tell me where your faith is? Tell me who you're trusting? Tell me who your money is on should the bottom fall out?

I know, let's not open that door.

Let's all make believe that we will live and let die and can't touch me.

There was a prophet that the King of Israel hated, because he would never say anything good about him, while all the others lied to his face, and tickled his ears, giving him what he wanted to hear.

There is a saying, "the more you lie to yourself the more you believe it's really true."

The farm is not sold yet, but we sure are standing in a huge pile of crap.

Enter through the narrow gate. Another choice.

"You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to destruction is broad and it's gate is wide and many choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few find it."

Matthew 7:13-14

If only a few find it, that must mean that there is something to be looking for. We would rather have found that winning loto ticket, because at the heart of it we are all selfish.

Laziness always wants the easy way out, with the least amount of work, and the most amount of reward.

(photo by Heidi H.)

i am taking part in a small group through our church and we are reading and commenting on a book, "Waking the Dead", John Eldredge.

The book's central theme is about the onslaught of life trying to take control of and eventually snuff out your heart, so you become this blinded non-feeling one-celled blob of body and mind absorbed into the vast expanse of nothingness. So you become someone who doesn't question anything anymore.

He uses many quotes and antidotes from films, such as the Matrix. Like the photo above. Not everything is as it seems, there is something else going on here. Remember, Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz. For you sci-fi buffs, Dune, Total Recall, The Thirteenth Floor and so on.

We are at war, and that war is for the protection of your heart.

Most of us go through life never really giving much thought to the strange things that may happen to us. We simply agree that, "well that's the way things go, or oh well, could have been worse".

The author brings about a convincing argument. The subtleties of life that sneak up on us and "WHAM!"

This is written of course from a Christian perspective and if you know anything about your Bible, you would soon see the significance.

But even those who are not taken to serious Christian lifestyle would have to admit, there is something worth investigating here.

i remember reading the Screwtape Letters when i was a young man and being fascinated by C.S. Lewis's imagination and mind stirring impact it had.

If you are a student of the Bible at all, you will soon discover that the heart is talked about throughout, from cover to cover. God has a strong vested interest in our hearts. Where they have been, what has happened to them, what is filling them, what they dwell on, where their attention is focused. Do they need refreshing, healing or even made anew?

"For where your treasure is that's where your heart is also." Mt.6:21 (emphasis mine)

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" God, Jer. 29:13 (emphasis mine)

January Days

Days linger

snow

frosty air

hangs

crisp cold

January breath

holds you

in it's grasp.

You dream

warm sunshine

calm breezes

oceans shore,

awakening

just in time

the snow plow

roars past

on a mission.

You resume

talking

to the heater,

"come on, come on"

your breath

inside fogging

the windshield.

Icicles

hanging crystals

on every other

house.

Pedestrians

scurry along

narrow pathways

bundles of multicolored

bodies bobbing

in a snow white

hinterland

destinations

unknown.

An almost

too warm home

awaits you

radiators

belching

constant heat

the tropics

you get to enjoy

momentarily,

before stepping out

again into

January days.

L.

(photo of barn, mine)

The Path that leads to life.

How easy it has become for us to take the path of least resistance. Why?

Probably because we are all, for the most part lazy.

There is a saying written down by God, about seeking him and finding him if, you will seek him with ALL your HEART.

What does our heart have to do with where we walk, what path we take?

You have heard it said about athletes putting their heart into it and winning. When you lose heart you lose everything.

We want to put our heart into our relationships, marriage, family, friendships, our jobs, career, vocation.

As a musician you need your heart to be passionate about the music for it to flow from you and touch others.

The artist is the same, pouring their heart into their creation. The craft, work of their hands.

All of us will agree that we have at some place in our life had a close to spiritual encounter with nature, and were wowed by our surroundings, mountains, valleys, ocean scene, touched whales, swam with dolphins, or went to a place hardly touched by man. It forever remains etched upon our hearts.

There is an absolute necessity for our hearts to continually be stimulated by something or someone, so our existence makes a margin of sense.

Why do we want to argue that it seems too impossible for a creator, artist, musician, lover of all things beautiful and the very one who gave us life and to each of us a gift of himself, do we want to believe be nonexistent?

Instead we'd rather choose an improbable theory , an irrational accumulation of unclear jumbled numbers which is also another theory that out of chaos came undeniable mathematical structure and complicated balance in a complete universe.

The fool, in his heart says,"there is no God!"

i would rather believe in a creator who put his heart into everything around us,that we might have and enjoy and then poured us into his mould and gave us the ability to choose, to make a decision in our heart, to believe or not, all the while his creation shouts to us of his existence.

What a great God and he doesn't stop there. He will try everything he can to help you to encounter him, in one way or another.

Why would you want to choose another path?

It would be wonderful to understand all mysteries. The ins and outs of our lives as we journey on our way to the mountain of God.

Death comes many times by surprise and having suffered an infant death as a young man and a young Christian believer, doesn't make the experience any less painful.

All we can do is hold tight to the truths we have come to understand and hold the hand of the person next to us and press into the bosom of our God. We mourn shedding the tears from our broken heart over the issue of death that has caught us completely unaware.

We also draw upon the strength of others who have joined us in our time of grief and listen to their words of comfort or their wordless comfort of just holding you close. Sometimes there is just nothing that can be said.

Our friend and previous pastor shared about King David, who's child dies. He spent seven days on his face before God, fasting and praying, but on the seventh day the child died. He arose, washed himself and ate, knowing that his child was in the hands of God and that he would see him again. King David was a man who chased after the heart of God, whom God loved and blessed richly. If you would think that any one's prayer should have been answered it would have been his.

Whether we are walking with God or not, tragedy befalls us all, but it is of utmost importance to have a faith to help carry you through. It is also comforting to have family or a community of people to lean on.

My stepson and wife suffered a loss of a child who died in the womb just short of being full term. She died of complications caused by a combination of factors and the young mother had to deliver a dead child, and this would have been their first born. They gave her a name, took the time to admire her and decided on cremation, so they could have her with them for awhile before deciding if they wanted to spread her ashes in a favorite place of theirs.

So many decisions, so much pain to bear, and so much to try and make sense of all in a very short time.

There is death and tragedy all about us, every day. People being shot, dying in fires, riots, earthquakes, land slides, war, famine, auto accidents or just being the victims of circumstance, wrong place at the wrong time.

No one is immune, we all will have to face it in one form or another. Some would say that being a Christian is foolishness, and God is just a crutch to our weakness, that all you need is yourself, to be strong, suck it up and move on, don't be a wimp.

The King of Israel sought after God and came to know him as a young man, out in the fields as he spent time with the sheep. He was no wimp. He killed bears and lions and other predators who came to harm the sheep. He was a fierce warrior and greatly admired and respected and other men of valor sought him out so they could be with him and fight in his army. He had one of the greatest kingdoms and was feared because of God who, was the God of David, the God of Israel.

Their is no shame in holding to faith and a faith that shows God as a friend.

So for me God is not a crutch i pick up just in my time of need, or a good story in a best selling book, or a myth that i hope might be true.

He has a place in my heart, he is reality and he is experiential. i love that he has said that he enjoys being a part of our lives, someone we can call upon, lean on, who is willing to comfort us in times of sorrow. He also sheds tears on account of our circumstances and pain.

i always hope for the best and pray and trust as i walk out this life, being blessed and being a blessing along my way.

It's a short journey, make the best of it and don't miss out on being friends with God.

You're going to meet him one way or the other!

(beautiful stained glass art by: Sylvia Laks)