Happy Canada Day!

Canada celebrates 142 years today. There will be plenty of fireworks, barbeques, parties, parades, red and white, maple leaf symbols and anthem singing around our fair country this day.

I happen to love our national anthem. We sang it in church this past weekend and I have to admit... each time I sing it I'm moved to tears. (It could be an over-abundance of female hormones at this stage of life... but nonetheless, my cheeks get a little moist each time.) I wonder how throngs can sing it for sports games and not see the essence, the beauty, the Divine.

This particular rendition of the first verse (and only one ever sung in ceremonies or sporting events) is one of my personal favourites. (That, my friends, is the Canadian spelling of a wonderful word!)

After you view the very, very short video, please read the words to the rest of this prayer. Our anthem is a description of our beautiful country - the trees, the vast expanse, the skies. It is a challenge to raise up strong boys and girls to be mighty men and women. The last verse is a prayer. I wish we'd sing this part more often.



Verse 2:
O Canada! Where pines and maples grow.
Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow.
How dear to us thy broad domain,
From East to Western sea.
Thou land of hope for all who toil!
Thou True North, strong and free!
Refrain:
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Verse 3:
O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies
May stalwart sons, and gentle maidens rise,
To keep thee steadfast through the years
From East to Western sea.
Our own beloved native land!
Our True North, strong and free!
Refrain

Verse 4:
Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our Dominion in thy loving care;
Help us to find, O God, in thee
A lasting, rich reward,
As waiting for the better Day,
We ever stand on guard.
Refrain

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends.

(I'm not sure why this didn't post properly on July 1st... but I'm posting it today, July 4th. Sorry about that, my friends!)

If Only

My friend Nicola and I were on our way home from a wonderful trip to see water. I love water. I miss the beach, the view, the horizon. I love the way birds soar over the open space without fear or itinerary. I simply love standing at the edge of Lake Ontario – one of my favorite bodies of water.

There are no great lakes in Manitoba. Well, actually we have hundreds of fabulous lakes, but none of the Great Lakes. The scenery is so different. Fewer trees. Different foliage. Smaller.

God’s given the province of Ontario some great scenery when He plunked those massive bodies of water where He did.

I’ve lived in Ontario and have had my share of opportunity to sit on the shores of those fine lakes. I’ve lived in New York state, where I had a just-out-my-window view of the best rolling hills, Harris Hill Soaring Center and a quick drive to the rugged beauty of the Finger Lakes. Living in Southern California gave me a love for desert scenery, snow capped mountains and ocean waves. Growing up in Manitoba, Canada developed my love for the wide open, colorful sky and brightly painted fields. Nowhere else in the world is the sky as gorgeous as in Manitoba.

Yet, in every place I’ve lived I’ve missed what I didn’t have. If only I was close to a really good beach. If only I could see mountains now and again. If only I could feel small sitting beside the ocean, gaining perspective on a life running on fast-forward. If only I could hike through rolling hills picking wild flowers. If only I could see the sky.

If only. If only. If only.

If only we’d dated longer. If only we’d had a longer engagement. If only the kids hadn’t come along so quickly. If only we had never had to move. If only I had more family support. If only we had a more stable income. If only my husband had a 9-5 job. If only… If only… If only.

The crazy thing is we live out our if-only’s in every area. We just are not always willing to admit it.

If only I could live this moment for the glory of God. (And why can’t I?) If only I would be given another opportunity to empty my savings to support the homeless. (I don’t need the opportunity offered, I need the guts to give it.) If only I could share my faith with my kids. (Now is the perfect moment… the really good set-up only happens in movies.) If only I was a stronger Christian. (And what am I doing about that today?)

I have to admit that I find myself in an if-only world too often. I’d really like to blame someone else, my circumstances or even God for the way things are in my life.

Truth, though? I’m not content to take responsibility, action, or live sacrificially.

This trip back to Lake Ontario taught me something. Every situation in life will pull me from something or someone else I love. It calls me to action. What will I do, how will I engage in the situation I’m in to see the beauty God’s hidden in it? How will I live without if-onlys?

Beyond Next Transfer

I recently arrived home from a trip I took to the Toronto area. We used to live there so it feels like going home. When I pulled my rental car onto the 401 Freeway, my heart raced with delight at fourteen lanes of traffic and even my foot was having memories of its own – faster, faster, faster!!

I love going fast. I love the feeling of smoothly flowing vehicles going more than 120 km per hour (in the slow lane). There’s a thrill of keeping pace with those around you while reading all the information needed to navigate these highways well. I got excited as I drove past exit signs with street names that felt like friends. I eagerly read each green sign so I’d know when to move from the Express Lanes into the Collector Lanes. Finding myself reciting the order of the exits I realized Toronto will be part of my heart and mind for a long, long time.

One of the days I travelled across the top of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) the rain was pouring. I’d left a little later than I’d planned, and those fifteen minutes meant that rush hour was seriously underway by the time I’d gone halfway to my destination. That’s when I noticed a sign I’d forgotten about. The sign that every driver along this route eagerly looks for, the sign that tells her what lies ahead.

Wouldn’t it be great if we got a sign like that showing up in our email or even a kind message on our voice mail?

Life is hectic beyond next transfer.

Maybe if I got a message like that I’d actually do something about it… like get extra sleep or hire a temporary housekeeper. Who know? I might even get drastic and cut all the unnecessaries out of my lifestyle.

Celebrations and blessing flow beyond next transfer.

I might be tempted to go through life even faster in pursuit of that next section.

Relationships bring pain and years of heartache beyond next transfer.

I don’t know what I’d do with one like that. There’s probably a reason God doesn’t give us signs like that.

I know this… I’m glad I didn’t read a sign somewhere around age 22 that said:

You will live the life of a married single mom beyond next transfer.

I’d have gotten off the road. There's no way I would have stayed heading in that same direction.

But if I had I’d have missed my incredible four kids and the beauty, hope and healing that has come from living on this road. I'd have missed the wonder of marriage after 16 years.

I'm glad I stayed. I’m better for it. I understand God more deeply. And I’m grateful for the traffic… even on my personal road. Even without the signs.

Father's Day

We Need You Dad

Married Single Moms can easily begin believing that because we handle so much of the parenting and home life so much of the time that Dads are somewhat disposable.

The truth is our kids need Dad. They need to see him in action. They need his words of wisdom. They need his arms around them when they fail. They need his high five when they win. They need his wink of encouragement across a crowded room.

It's our job as moms to make sure we give them every opportunity to receive what they need from their dad. Long distance phone calls, getting up in the middle of the night to make a phone call to chat with dad in a different time zone. Getting a webcam so they can see him and model a new dress or show off a great exam mark or even to cry about the last friend problem. Email accounts for the kids give them something to look forward to - an email from Dad is more important than anything else.

This Father's Day, give your kids and their dad every opportunity to soak in his masculinity, his wisdom, his fun, his humor, his love.

Dad... we need you.



(Those of you receiving this via email may need to click through to watch the video.)

A Field of Promise

Can you see this field?

Can you see the potatoes? The corn?

Can you see what I see?


My daughter and I planted approximately 180 seed potatoes in that field and plenty of corn. We spent one and a half hours digging holes, placing potatoes, then covering them up. I gently dropped pink corn kernels into the black rows of earth while my daughter covered them up.

We turned as we left and saw nothing. There was no evidence of what we’d done – other than dirty fingernails and feet, a sunburn and a huge thirst.

We saw nothing.

We saw a field of promise.

How much has God planted within me that I just can’t see?

When God looks at me does he see a field of promise or a barren plot of ground? A dry and unusable heart or one whose potential is ready to burst into bloom?

The Bible says that God can turn our heart of stone to one of flesh. That means He can bring life to what would otherwise seem dead.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26, NIV

O Lord, my God. Please change my heart to flesh. Bring life where there is barrenness. Pour your love like rain on me. I want to be a Field of Promise that will one day bloom with the Fruit of your Spirit. Amen.

Kids and Weeding

My kids have taken on a weeding job. You’ll find my kids in a huge raspberry orchard in the morning these days if the weather is reasonable and the ground is not too wet.

They are pulling out weeds that would otherwise take over the plants.

The owner of the raspberry plants took great care in choosing the type of raspberry she wanted growing in her field. The she prepared the soil. She started with just a few rows. As those bushes began producing she planted more.

But she didn’t stop her constant care of those first rows!

As a woman who knows her crop, she also needs to know her crop’s enemy.

Weeds.

If she just picked off the dandelion heads, or mowed down the thistles with a whipper-snipper, the root system of the weeks would only grow stronger.

This reminds me of parenting.

As parent we carefully choose the kinds of character traits we want to see in our kids. We starts slowly – manners, please, thank you, excuse me, etc.

Then they graduate from that to Grade Whine. We try hard to cut the whining and complaining from their vocabulary. (And we wish our friends would do that with their kids, right?)

We move on to work ethic, study habits, modesty and more. We dream of the fruit our kids lives will bear.

Somewhere along the line, though, weeds start to creep in. Attitudes, sinful desires, a rebellious heart and an angry spirit try to take root.

We must, as parents, be diligent workers in the garden of our kids’ lives.

Just like the “Raspberry Patch Lady” must pull weeds out from the root and cut out any dead branches we must prune our children.

Nasty attitudes cannot be ‘whipper-snippered’ – they must be dug up with a spade and removed completely. Mowing over a rebellious spirit will encourage the sinful root to grow deep and more solidly.

Moms – it is difficult to prune our children’s lives. Your friends may say you are too strict. They may scold your way of disciplining your children.

Stand strong!

A mother who lovers her children will not allow the weeds in her kids’ lives to grow – not even under the surface! Her desire is for much fruit – beautiful fruit – in the hearts and lives of her children.

Parenting is hard work. It’s dirty work. It’s exhausting. Bugs bite, thorns tear at tender skin, and the scorching sun beats relentlessly on your head. You might be thinking I’m talking about that raspberry patch, but I’m talking about parenting. I’m talking about the hateful words kids throw which bite us deeply, the disobedience and rebellion that rips our hearts in two and the constant brain-game that seems to be going on, convincing us that no matter what we do it’s always going to be the wrong thing.

Raspberry patch? A piece of cake compared to parenting.

There is not a farmer anywhere who would let the weeds win and still expect a bountiful crop of quality fruit. Not one.

I’d suggest that as parents we need to seriously consider whether we can let the ‘weeds’ in our kids’ lives grow and still expect beautiful, godly characteristics to bloom. We do not want our children to “die for lack of discipline, led astray by [their] own great folly.” (Proverbs 5:23, NIV)

Are there weeds growing in your family’s garden?