Living Untethered: Relinquishing Control to God

  I don’t know if this title resonates with anyone else, but I have often operated in a perpetual state of ‘bracing for impact’. It’s exhausting. I sleep with one eye open and one ear to the ground, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. The toughest challenge is when my kids are facing unknown difficulties. I watch helplessly from the sidelines waiting for resolution. How will this end? When will this end? Will it turn out well, or will we have to walk through the valley of trauma again? As a Jesus Follower, why am I not exempt from this sort of journey? Many years ago, when our late son-in-law was still alive, I was in a constant state of ‘bracing for impact’. He was battling mental illness and addictions. Our daughter and their boys were dealing with the fall-out of his choices and behaviour. Addiction is not a choice. One does not wake up one morning and decide, “Today I’m going to become an addict”. It begins with a choice but eventually gains the upper-hand and ...

  If you’ve grown up in the church, I’m sure you have heard the story of Esther and her cousin Mordecai. Things weren’t going so well for them; they were exiled Hebrews living in the land of Persia. The Queen displeased her husband by refusing to obey a ridiculous request he made of her. He banishes her from his kingdom. But not long after, he regrets his rash decision but knows he cannot go back on his word. The king holds a beauty pageant to select a new queen. Mordecai enters Esther into the contest. She wins and gains the favour of all in the palace. However, there is one man who is not especially fond of the Hebrews, so he connives to get King Xerxes to make a law allowing the people of Persia to knock off the Jews. What he doesn’t know is that the new Queen is a Jew. The King is not aware of this either. When the edict is pronounced, Mordecai calls on Esther to go to the King and let him know what is going on. She doesn’t think it’s a great idea because the King hasn’t sent...

  My Journey with the Grief Ninja To grieve is to be human. If you ever feel the joy of loving deeply you will also eventually experience the pain of grief and loss. It’s a price we pay to know and to be known, to love and be loved. “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” ―  C.S. Lewis,  The Four Loves Wounds of grief can serve to soften or harden our hearts. A hardened heart may feel like it is bringing reprieve from pain, but it does not allow healing to come to the deep wounds of our souls. Not o...

  I don’t remember there ever being a time when there was one question for the entire world to come to grips with. To be vaccinated or not to be vaccinated. The internet is inundated with information on the subject. There are fierce arguments on both sides of the question. Many feel the need to defend their choice and it is becoming a serious point of dissention between family members, friends, and the saddest of all, between members of God’s family. There are serious ramifications for either choice. The problem is that we have no way of knowing exactly what the consequences will be. There is no way to run a controlled test. You could die if you don’t get the jab and you could have serious long term health complications if you do. You could slide through the immunization with nothing more than a bit of a sore arm for a day or two, and/or you could skip through a covid infection with nary a hiccough. There is no way of knowing before hand how your body will respond in either sce...

  Many people in Western Canada are disappointed with the 2021 federal election results. It feels like our beloved country is racing toward the edge of a cliff. I wonder what God is up to. The bible is clear that God is in control of who leads the nations. What could he possibly have in mind for us? Sometimes it doesn’t feel like his plans are all that good. I do not know the answer to these musings. But I DO know one thing: the Church must rise up and live as citizens of heaven and ambassadors for Christ. We must stop putting our hope in the government and put it solidly on God! “ Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. ” ( Psalm 20:7–8 , NIV84) Could it be that the Church has become too comfortable and set in her ways? Could it be that God wants to rock her boat a little, so she takes note of what is really important and who is really in charge? On the ...

“[God] You are glorious and more majestic than the everlasting mountains. ” ( Psalm 76:4 , NLT) That verse stopped me in my tracks this morning. There is nothing quite like sitting beside a peaceful lake with the mountains in the background, to bring shalom to my soul. Our family has a favourite spot where we go camping whenever we get a chance. There is no cell reception back there and it is about the most peaceful place we have ever gone. I never get tired of sitting beside the pristine lake, gazing up at those majestic mountains. Mountains depict strength and majesty. They have been around since the beginning of creation. Generations come and go, while they stand unmoved by the busyness of mankind. They can stand against the worst storms assailing them. If they could talk, oh, the stories they could tell. Mountains represent endurance and timelessness, so much greater than anything the most brilliant of humans could build. Yet, as amazing as they are, even mountains crumble an...

  We were on our way home from our grandson’s grade nine graduation. We almost always go via Red Deer when we go see our daughter and her boys, but this time Tom decided he wanted to take the scenic route home. It takes about the same amount of time just has narrower highways, more stops and turns, and not as much traffic, etc. About five minutes north of highway 27, our last turn before we would be home, we saw this clump of cloth beside the road. “What was that?!”, I asked, a little shaken. Tom replied, “I think it was a person.” We had to turn back. What if the person was in need of assistance? If we end up having to call 911, we’ll be up all night. We had no idea what to expect but we knew we had to go back. When we pulled up to “the clump of cloth” it sat up. A young man waved enthusiastically and cheerfully at us. When we asked if he was okay, he replied, “Oh, I’m great. I just got very tired because I’ve been walking all day.” This young man was on his way to Calgary and...