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When I reflect on my life, as I'm about to turn 55 on July 01, 2023, my heart and my mind keep going to the topic of wisdom. As an Indigenous man who's also from the Sixties Scoop generation, and whose mother and uncles and aunts went to residential school, I realize we were all left with what is called intergenerational trauma. As a follower of the Jesus Way who's born again and set free from sin, I'm also told in the holy scriptures from the apostle Paul that our struggle wi...
Words fascinate me. I like word paintings where wildflowers carpet a meadow and chipmunks chatter above the breeze whispering through the nearby pines. What sights and sounds would you add to your scene? I enjoy imaginative words like kaleidoscope. The colourful pieces at the end of the telescopic tube dramatically change patterns with the slightest turn of the tumbler. Combined words are the most meaningful. Chocolate is a good prefix to any word. What word would you use to...
This past week, my parents and I travelled the Needles Highway. For those of you who are not familiar with this highway, it is a 14-mile scenic byway that lies within Custer State Park, among the Black Hills of South Dakota. It offers sharp turns, narrow tunnels and winding routes. My mom, who is fearful of heights, especially when mixed in with twists and turns, managed to get to the eye of the needle at the top of the eroded mountain-without fainting. I prayerfully...
Kids help me laugh. My grandson said, "Grandpa, you're bald. You look extinguished." Animals help me laugh, too. If you've seen a naked mole rat or a hairless cat, you know God has a sense of humor. Then there's the platypus. I can picture God designing the prototype as angels look on in wonder: "I'll give it a body with flippers on its feet, a little like a beaver. Then, why not a duck head? And have it lay eggs. That will amuse and confuse the humans." I imagine God saying,...
The process is very aggressive. Some might even classify it as violent. But no one in the world would ever try to stop it-it's a process that needs to be endured to achieve the essential result. Dunking it into water and keeping it submerged until the very last air bubble escapes is only the first step. It must immediately be pulled out of the water and then dunked back into it. After this second immersing, it is yanked back out and thrown on the floor. Lying on the ground,...
What are your plans today? We had an ice storm early this morning so I cancelled my previous plans, put on some warm, comfy clothes, made some orange-cranberry scones and a cup of tea, and sat at my computer to write you a note. Plans change for all sorts of reasons. Through my TV, I rode along with some storm chasers yesterday. I thought they got a bit too close to those tornados for my comfort. I cannot imagine facing such monsters, and the fact that many come at night...
Spring is here, and it's so nice to have this change in season, I'm comforted by some simple things. I'm comforted as I leave the window of my office open and hear the birds, squirrels, and wind. I find comfort and healing from these aspects of nature that surround me each day. Most of us already know that animals, no matter what kind, size, or where they inhabit their living space, communicate with each other all the time. They warn each other of danger. They fight with each...
About a month ago, we had the joy of witnessing believer's baptism. A young man from Sandy Bay First Nation wanted to obey the Lord and identify with his Savior's death and resurrection by being immersed into water, as the scriptures teach. Since it is winter, the lake wasn't available, and we didn't have a bathtub of any sort. In situations like this, we use a large animal trough that a water truck fills, since we are not on a waterline. A couple of days before the baptism,...
I don't know about you, but I've never really liked pain. In ninth grade I weighed a whopping eighty-one pounds if I was carrying a suitcase so I decided to beef up by gorging myself on triple cheeseburgers and lifting weights. One Saturday, as I lay on my back thrusting a barbell into the air, those thirty pounds got away from me. I can still recall the event in vivid technicolor-in slow motion, sometimes in the middle of the night. That barbell came crashing toward my nose....
I was at an engagement party for friends of a friend. I didn't know the couple and was caught by surprise when I was asked to make a toast. I lifted my glass of punch and said, "May you always steal, lie and cheat . . . " The bride-to-be slammed down her glass and rushed out of the room, followed by the groom-to- be. The mother-in-law to-be put down her glass and left the room. People stared at me. "I wasn't finished yet . . . " I explained. "The toast is supposed to be, may...
Wait!" I said, catching him by surprise. "Don't throw that away yet. What can we use it for?" He picked it up and examined it. Ad Seg (the Hole) deprives us of many basic tools; things we take for granted on a daily basis are noticeably absent in here. So, we adjust and make do. According to the law, prison is the just consequence for certain crimes. The court metes out the punishment; the prison's job is to keep the criminal away from society and rehabilitate him. It is not...
I've got this pineapple water bottle. The pineapple itself is yellow, with the lid and straw being green. It's really nothing special. I bought it from the dollar store when all the summer stuff started coming out. I think I was just so tired of winter and so eager for spring and summer, that once I saw it, I thought I could somehow will all of the snow to melt. At least that's what I pictured. During this season of my life, I work part time at a preschool in the mornings....
This guy was really big! He was skating around the back of their net with his head down when I decided to hit him! Gearing up, I took a good run and put everything I had into this mano-a-mano open ice demolition! Understand that I was young, bulletproof, 6 feet tall, 175 lbs, and had a pretty good record of coming out on top in these kind of showdowns (I always gravitated to the grittier side of hockey!). Anyways, he never looked up once. Just kept coming . . . I lined him up...
The heat was unbearable. My body didn't want to peel itself off the bunk. I tried to convince myself that maybe today I could take a break and just veg out . . . until I saw him. He was all alone, and scurried frantically about. He moved left. Then right. Forward. Then left and right again. I was intrigued, and soon found myself mesmerized by his movements. His rhythmic walk invited me to join him. I have lots of time on my hands, as I wait in Ad Seg (the hole) for my...
Whenever I've spoken to a group of people or when I wrote my first two books, I've focusd at some point on experiences that I've gone through from birth until later adulthood, including my being a residential school survivor. One reason I do this is from wanting to connect with people more deeply. When I focus on my story, I hope my account can connect with other people's stories and make my main points more visual and relatable. We all love stories. That's why most of us grew...
This Winter I got the opportunity to drive to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. I hadn't been there in more than eight years and was impressed with the complete makeover of the tourist resort of Elvis Presley. The classy exhibit presentations of his life in various showrooms contained expensive sports cars, his dazzling jumpsuits, black and white photos blown up over 20 feet high, and the walls mounted with hundreds of gold records, awards and so much more, were pretty impressi...
I was picking out a Valentine's card for my wife. One section read, "Apology Cards." I was curious. Flipping through them, I found mostly excuses. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." "I didn't mean it." "I experienced temporary insanity." "I'm sorry for offending you." In school, one child was told to write an apology to a friend. He wrote, "Dear Brody, Miss P. made me write you this note. All I want to say sorry for . . . is for not being sorry cause I tried to feel sorry but I...
How are you today? I'm munching on chocolate. An ice storm roared through earlier today. My husband, Wes, wondered what the noise was, and I explained that a snow plow must be working on the road. After 15 minutes, I realized that the "plow" had not moved; instead the wind was plowing through our community. But that's not the reason for the chocolate; it only adds backdrop to my sadness and uncertainty. How do you feel about the world's trauma and upheaval? The earthquakes in...
When I was a teenager and had my first job, I lived in a motel that charged $1 a day. I had a mean boss and hated my job, and when I went home to my motel room, I was so afraid I'd push furniture in front of my door. I mostly lived on cereal or ketchup I'd pour into boiling water and pretend it was tomato soup. I got fired from my job and only had ten dollars in the world. I didn't know how I'd pay my rent or buy food. There was no one who would help me. While I was walking...
I got the newspaper of Indian Life. Thank you so much. Now let me tell you what happed that weekend. I was reading the newspaper and after I was done, I passed it to a Native American. He read the news and came to me and said he needed to come back to the Lord Jesus. He came to church and now is in the family of God. . . . God is good. And I saw your picture of the banquet you all had; now when I pray for you I can lay hands on your picture. -T. H....
In less than a month our baby boy will be 18, and then in another three months, he will be graduated from high school and off to a polytechnic school in Calgary, Alb. It's hard to believe he was a delicate four pounds when he was born. I was discharged from the hospital before he was. Leaving him there while I went home was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life at that stage. His tiny foot was smaller than my pointer finger. I remember taking a picture of his first litt...
"The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights." Habakkuk 3:19 The power was off here at our country home for a few hours this morning. No lights, no coffee, no phone charger, no "Global Calgary News" on TV (No TV!), no heat, nothing! The obvious solution? Drive 30 km to the nearest town for breakfast, hang around and wait for the repair guys to do their thing! Bacon and eggs should help dull the pain . . . I...
Our vision at Indian Life ministries is to restore hope, healing and honor within indigenous communities through a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. One outreach of Indian Life ministries is that of Intertribal Life newspaper. It is a one-of-a-kind newspaper in North America. That's right. No one else produces what Indian Life does. To God be the glory. Intertribal Life newspaper is filled with 50 percent Indigenous news and 50 percent gospel truth. That means that if a story...
I don't like New Year's resolutions. Year after year I have declared, resolutely, to do or not do something, and year after year without fail, I fall short. I may last a solid two or three months, but I always quit, give up, and fail. And you know how I feel? Awful. Like I have failed. I hate failing. The precious time between Christmas Day and New Year's Day is transitional. It's those precious seven days when we are still living in the old (2022) but are anticipating the...
I have a few times, but there's always been a good reason for it. The road was icy, the road was muddy, the car was too fast, the sun was in my eyes, I was adjusting the stereo, I was reading the map, my wife was tickling me, etc. etc. Yup, there's plenty of solid (and not so solid) reasons for my missing the road! Whatever the reason (or bad excuse) was, my truck came to an abrupt stop! Never mind that I'm a five-million-mile driver. I was in the ditch! Not the place I...
