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My life changed that day. I had prepared a visual feast for my Sunday school class. I loaded books on mountains and waterfalls, colorful birds and fish, animals from every continent, galaxies and snowflakes into boxes in readiness for the next morning. Just as a funny thought, I asked the Lord if He had anything to add. I did not really expect an answer; I thought I had covered His creation well and I was just doing a lesson. But He did answer me. I heard, "All things were...
Have you ever bumped into someone and asked them, "What's new?" Maybe they replied, "Same old, same old." Maybe you have felt bored with life to the point where you were tired of waking up every morning, doing the same routine and looking at the same face in the mirror every day. If this is your experience, I would love to remind you of some amazing facts. You are living at this moment among seven billion people. Every day, 155000 people young and old die from various causes;...
I am an extremely young grandpa, still able to outrun and outjump thirteen grandkids. It helps that they are seven and under. When they're worn out from trying to catch me, they say, "Read to me." Sweeter words were seldom spoken. My second grandchild, Eowyn, snuggles up on my lap and listens, wide-eyed as three little oinkers set out to seek their fortune. She loves pigs. Loves it when the first little porker buys a load of straw. Loves it when the sweet little swine builds...
I've been thinking a lot about my home lately. Home should be a place of safety, comfort, rest, and acceptance. Sadly, many homes do not reflect these endearing qualities. Home life can be messy, painful, lonely and loud. Sometimes people don't get along at home, and there is no rest in our homes. Even if we were to stay in the solitude of our bedroom, we know what exists outside our four walls isn't always pleasant. Home life is extra difficult when addictions and abuse are...
Many times, when the world, non-believers in Jesus, talk about the issue of power, they refer to using your inner power to obtain success. The world says you just need to focus on the positive and tap into your inner child and focus on yourself. They say spoil yourself, look after yourself, and treat yourself. These are common catch phrases associated with personal accomplishment and reaching your dreams. In North America we saw the abuse of power with the way some early settl...
Imagine how you would feel if you and your loved one had a harsh disagreement; painful words flew back and forth until you separated into different parts of the house or maybe even different parts of town. The next day you received a beautiful bouquet of flowers; you hurried to open the card, hoping to see words of comfort and unending love. As you tore open the card, unfamiliar handwriting assaulted your hopes; a friendly neighbor just thought you might need some cheer for yo...
OK, Scrooge didn't save the world but it is hard to think of Christmas without thinking about Scrooge. In 1843, Charles Dickens didn't realize when he wrote "A Christmas Carol" that 175 years later people would still love the story. We can sympathize with Scrooge, he had a horrible childhood, he was orphaned, his sister died, he lost the woman he loved . . . we can understand why he turned into a bitter, miser who only loved money. Then comes redemption. He changes, he has a...
When my aging parents lived in our granny suite, they bought a new stereo because they could no longer hear the old one. The old one was an attractive little unit, complete with record player and 8-track. I think Noah used it on the Ark for weather reports. I was showing Mom and Dad how to set the digital clock on their new unit when my son Jeffrey, who had been admiring the 100-watt speakers said, "Um, Grandpa, you should put this thing in your will. I'd like it." My father...
During these COVID-19 times, I have greatly enjoyed walking in the country. My dog, Blessing, and I find old fields that are acres wide to walk through. He loves sniffing and chasing the deer, and I enjoy quiet time with the Lord. This past week, I looked up from my deep thoughts and realized I didn't recognize my position that I found myself in, nor did I realize how much time had passed and how much walking we had done! I didn't know where I was as I looked at the winding bu...
One of the things we have accepted today in our world is that we live in a pluralistic society. This is more noticeable in the larger cities where you see a multiple of people everywhere with different cultural backgrounds, different religious beliefs and who keep their own traditions. In a pluralistic society there is racism by the mainstream society towards a minority or marginalized people. Native people in the past, and even today, have been marginalized along with immigra...
I once heard a man wiser than me say that looking at someone's worldview is like looking at an iceberg. There is what you initially see on the surface of the water and then most of the iceberg is under water. The same is true with an Indigenous person's worldview. You see the behaviors on the surface of someone's life, but there are the reasons for these behaviors that the average person does not know about unless they understand that person's worldview, such as the unseen...
I'm saying good-bye to a Gospel Musician friend of mine today. We're singing a few songs at his wake and then the funeral is tomorrow. I'm really going to miss the guy! I'll remember him as one who lived his life victoriously! Attending a funeral brings to mind our own mortality-something that most of us try to avoid thinking about till the harsh reality of it slaps us in the face! Like the milk carton in your fridge, you and I have an expiry date. The biggest difference is...
I love life. Allow me to be more specific. I love to look around me and see the lush trees, bushes, leaves and plants, teeming with life. It amazes me to see the variety of places the 'life' grows from. Sometimes it is planted in rich dirt, and sometimes the roots are forced to push through rocky soil. Often times, when I see something growing where I can't imagine how it does, I need to stop and ponder. Lately, I have been reminded of a passage in Deuteronomy that says:...
Being thankful is a powerful emotion. It keeps our focus on that which is positive, and allows us to think about things that are lovely, admirable, pure and worthy of praise. But let's be honest, it seems to be a lot easier to focus on those things that are challenging and difficult. So, it takes intention, and a ton of practice. Someone once told me that faith is like a muscle. The more you work and train it, the easier it becomes to use. The same principle can be applied to...
When you go to West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, there are many attractions. When I was a teenager, I went on the roller coaster that goes upside down and twists, while rushing forward at high speeds. When I reflect on this teenage experience, I remember it as fun but a little tense. Then about six years ago I went on the roller coaster again because my daughters, who were teenagers at the time, went on some rides and somehow, I went on the roller coaster with my wife. When I...
Depression, anxiety and the Bible don't really seem to go together do they? I mean, the Bible is supposed to be a book of hope and depression/anxiety are very dark places, which we often don't like to admit we suffer. God's Word is full of stories of people who actually underwent much anxiety and depression. Since these struggles are part of the human experience, shouldn't they be documented in God's Word, the ultimate history book of human experience? What makes the Bible so...
I asked my 4-year-old grandson for the highlight of his day. He said, "Growing tobacco." Where he heard this, I'll never know. Here are other unfiltered thoughts from children: Jeanie said, "People are composed of girls and boys, also men and women. Boys are an awful bother. They want everything they see except soap." Reminds me of the thief who stole 30 bars of soap. Forgive me, but he made a clean getaway. A five-year-old was peeking into a baby carriage and saw twins. He...
Over the last few months, we have been working hard on creating apparel for ILM. Because we are coming into the summer months, where warm weather abounds, we're excited to announce that T-shirts sporting the Creator's Path logo will be available! The Creator's Path logo was designed by Don Monkman and tells the powerful story of the Creator-how He created the world, and everything in it. It tells of how the Creator sent His Son to the earth to take on the form of a baby. This...
One of the things that we work with here in NEFC (Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada) is Radio Broadcasting. We operate Native gospel radio stations across Canada. It's exciting to see God at work through our FM broadcast! The radio towers we use are an interesting concept. The freestanding (no wires) 96-foot tower stands tall and has no problem handling storms and gale-force winds! Sure, it's built pretty solid, but the key reason for its staying power is the tower...
Q: What does Creator God say about the way I should treat my spouse? A: The wording of the question could tell us a lot. If a person refers to God as Creator only, without realizing that it was the Son of God who was the Creator: "All things were made by him and without Him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:3). "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not" (v. 10). "Matthew 1:2 tells us, "You shall call his name Jesus [Savor]."...
When I'm having a bad day, I'm glad I'm not alone. At the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge England, a loose shoelace, a lack of handrails and a marble wall conspired to give one ill-fated patron an Inspector Clousseau moment while bringing a shattering conclusion to the earthly pilgrimage of three Qing dynasty vases. Mr. Flynn's misadventure began when he ascended the wrong staircase, pivoted, and tripped on an untied shoelace. "I couldn't stop myself," he said. Hurtling...
After the political animosity, the protests, riots, killings, fires, floods, and COVID19, I need a break. Even though I did not lose my home or a loved one in the past few months, I feel the weight and stress around me. I get frustrated with the lawlessness and saddened and stressed by other people's losses across North America. (I don't keep up with the rest of the world.) Jesus warned His disciples about difficulties coming when He told them, "At that time many will turn awa...
One of the constants and givens of living life is change. Most of us don't like dealing with change, but there are always a few who will absolutely thrive on it! I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. Indian Life Ministries has come through a lot of changes over the years to survive and continue as the newspaper entity that it is. We have had to do some fairly significant morphing to keep going. Many of our readers wouldn't see those changes. You just continue to appreciate a...
"There's darkness down there," our four-year-old granddaughter whispered as she peered down the stairs. She was right. Bright spots on planet earth seem scarce these days. I love cheering people up. In April, 2020, during COVID-19, I told my wife, "I'm pretty excited about my car. We just got 43 days to the gallon." But life can drain our joy tank. A few years ago, we made a can't-miss-investment in a hotel. The bank foreclosed. Thankfully, I invested in some airline stocks. O...
The windshield was cracked. Not just a hairline fracture but a spiderweb that had the potential to make Spider-Man sit up and take notice! So I got it changed. Such a difference-from the gravel-battered glass of yesterday to the clear, shiny drivability that I could now experience. It reminded me of how God's Word talks about His forgiveness in Isaiah 1:18 (NIV). "Come now, let us settle the matter," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as...
