Happy Birthday Canada !!! The Best Country in the World !!!

The flag of my country

144 years ago, on July 1, 1867, 3 British North American colonies (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada (Ontario & Quebec) became the 4 provinces of Canada. Today is a time to celebrate the birth of our great nation. It's not a time to protest, criticize, or complain - of course you are free to choose to do so, but there are 364 other days to do this.

I love my country. I believe that Canada is by far the best country in the world. 10 provinces and 3 territories make up the federation. We are a small country by population with 34.5 million people, but we are the second largest country by area in the world (almost 10 million square km's). That gives us one of the lowest population densities in the world. We also have the longest coastline in the world - 202,080 km's.

We enjoy four beautiful seasons - each one is uniquely different. 

In the winter, we get lots of snow and can get to -40 C.  

In the spring flowers bloom and the grass gets green.  

In the summer, it is hot and can get to 40C (104F). We have thousands of fresh water lakes to cool down in - not to mention the three oceans that surround us. 

 In the fall (Autumn) the leaves turn brilliant reds, orange and yellow. 

Yes, Canada is a kaleidoscope of colours:)

We have the Rocky Mountains in the West, and the cliffs of Newfoundland in the East. We have the Arctic in the North and the Great lakes in the South. We have fresh water, clean air, blue skies and green forests all through the Dominion.(Canada Day use to be called Dominion Day).

We have the right to vote. The freedom to practice personal religion. The freedom not to practice religion. We have Universal health care for all Canadians. We are free to go from British Columbia to Newfoundland anytime we want. And the nice thing about our free country, if you don't like it - you are free to leave. No one forces a person to remain here. I am not being sarcastic or trying to be funny. For many people in this world - the country that you are born in, is the country you will die in - you are not allowed the freedom to leave.

Our culture is unique and complicated. We have two official languages - French and English. Different regions of our country are diverse, yet we all try get along. We'd rather sit down and talk an issue over than fight...unless we're playing hockey.

Canada has two official sports - Hockey in the winter, Lacrosse in the summer. 
Yes, Canada is by far the most diverse country in the world...but it is my country :) and I am blessed to live in such beautiful country. 

Happy birthday Canada !

Bitterness - a poison root that hurts the one holding it.

Bitterness is a lonely place

Bitterness - the only person it is really hurting is the person holding on to it. All to often, I see the effects of bitterness on people. It could be a sarcastic remark, a rude comment, a glaring look or a simple "hmm" during conversation. Lets get something straight - bitterness is like cancer, eating a person from within. The Bible is very clear on this - it calls bitterness a poisonous root....and if it is a root, the means it is the start of something bigger.

Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.Hebrews 12:15

I would go as far to say that if you have bitterness, you may not have forgiven the person you are bitter at. This is very dangerous. Jesus warned us about this - in Matthew 6:14-15 He says, " “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins." You have to think to yourself....is that really worth it?

So you may be asking yourself, "How do I know if I am holding onto bitterness?" Here are a few examples I found from the Mayo Clinic:

• Dwelling on the events surrounding the offense
• Hearing from others that you have a chip on your shoulder or that you're wallowing in self-pity
• Being avoided by family and friends because they don't enjoy being around you
• Having angry outbursts at the smallest perceived slights
• Often feeling misunderstood
• Drinking excessively, smoking or using drugs to try to cope with your pain
• Having symptoms of depression or anxiety
• Being consumed by a desire for revenge or punishment
• Automatically thinking the worst about people or situations
• Regretting the loss of a valued relationship
• Feeling like your life lacks meaning or purpose
• Feeling at odds with your religious or spiritual beliefs

If you find yourself having several of the above examples, you may need to forgive someone...remember - the forgiveness frees you, not the other person.

And here are some benefits of forgiveness also noted from the Mayo Clinic:

Forgiveness, on the other hand, offers numerous benefits, including:

• Lower blood pressure
• Stress reduction
• Less hostility
• Better anger management skills
• Lower heart rate
• Lower risk of alcohol or substance abuse
• Fewer depression symptoms
• Fewer anxiety symptoms
• Reduction in chronic pain
• More friendships
• Healthier relationships
• Greater religious or spiritual well-being
• Improved psychological well-being

The choice to forgive and let go of bitterness is entirely up to you. No one else can make it, but you. The choice should be obvious, the benefits are overwhelming - Now the decision is yours.

Here is a quote that I found today. I think that it is a very fitting way to end today's Blog.

Bitterness imprisons life; love releases it. Bitterness paralyzes life; love empowers it. Bitterness sours life; love sweetens it. Bitterness sickens life; love heals it. Bitterness blinds life; love anoints its eyes. - Harry Emerson Fosdick

Fireworks, Friends, Family

The start of the fireworks display

Sunday was quite a day. Church in the morning, then a fellowship lunch, yard work in the afternoon, and fireworks at night. Busy day, but a good day. So many smiling faces, so many people just happy. That rubs off. A beautiful day, nice weather, good fellowship, an excellent fireworks display.
Not much more to say than that - and also that my kids had a great time as well....here are a few pictures of what I saw.

Do your best, Let God do the rest !

A happy bunch !

Do your best, Let God do the rest - that is a saying that the youth group I work with are living. We are not just saying it - we are believing. Let me explain... I know of  a group of teens that want to make a difference. They want to be a help to their community. They want to serve. And they are doing just that. "Tim, What can I do?" is what I hear almost constantly - that is desire. So what did we do - we prayed and set goals. We have a vision. (Proverbs 29:18a - Without a vision the people perish). We are focused, united and are looking forward. The have decided that the past is just that, the past. 

Goal #1 - Camping retreat - An opportunity to enjoy God's creation without the hustle and bustle of tv, internet, computer and radio.

Goal #2 - Youth Conference. - An opportunity to fellowship with fellow teens from across our great province.

Goal #3 - Short term Missions Trip. - An opportunity to serve others and show God's love and kindness.

In order to meet these goals, we are focusing on prayer. And God is showing His blessing on us. For example: The last four days have been rainy, cloudy and wet, and yesterday the forecast was to be the same. Well when you are going to have a car wash as a fund raiser, rain is not a good thing to have. Instead of looking at this as a problem, we looked at this as an excellent opportunity to see what God can do! On Friday night I told the youth, "Yes I know what the forecast is, but watch what God can do." So we prayed. We prayed that the rain would stay away for the car wash and BBQ. We prayed that our financial goal would be met. And then we believed that God's Will would be done.

Here come the cars !

Saturday came - it was cloudy and most of the area was drizzling, but we still went to set up the car wash. At 10 am we started the car wash and BBQ. Cloudy, but no rain. Then the cars started to come in...one after another they came. An hour into the event we were half way to our goal. I will be honest with you - it was an aggressive goal, it was a stretch, but it was not impossible. If we made $100 for the day, I would have been pleased. So what was our goal? It was $300. Yep, we wanted to raise $300 in 4 hours for our camping retreat. That is the number that popped into my head the week before. And guess what - by 1:30pm...3 1/2 hours after we started we surpassed our goal ! We even had a lovely couple that heard of our event bring a cake for the youth. After a few hours of working, the cake was so good! It was a blessing to all of us to see such kindness from the community.

How can I sum up yesterday's events? - The youth were amazed - first that the weather had held off and second that our goal was exceeded. I heard a lot of them saying - "I can't believe it!" and "Wow, God is good!" 

It is amazing seeing their faith grow. And I will tell you right now - as their faith grows, it will spread !

Do your best, Let God do the rest !

Words can hurt - often more than you realize.

I've lived a little over 4 decades. I've seen quite a bit in those years. One thing that keeps amazing me is the amount of time and effort that people put into tearing others down. Back biting, hurtful language, telling of half truths, sowing discord....it takes a lot of energy to do that. Imagine for a minute if people actually took that effort and turned it into something good. Instead of tearing people down, build them up. Instead of telling half truths, tell the whole truth. Instead of sowing discord, actually try to work together toward a common good.

And often - it is the "mature" people that are the cause of all this discord. Kids and teens - they don't know any better (no offense teens). But truthfully, they are just following the lead of their adult examples. Here are a couple tools to help you if you find yourself being negative, backbiting and hurtful:

1) If you have a problem with a man/woman - be an adult, go to them and talk about it. It may just be a simple misunderstanding that can be sorted out before the rumour mill gets wound up.

2) Make sure that you are not hurting someone just for the simple reason that someone has hurt you.

3) Sowing discord between friends is nothing more than evil. 

4) A half truth mingles truth and falsehood in order to deliberately deceive. (a half truth is a full lie)

5) Instead of being critical - ask how you can help, then follow through.

6) And if you are a man/woman of faith - remember what is said in Proverbs 6:16-19 -

 ¹⁶ There are six things the Lord hates— no, seven things he detests:
 ¹⁷ haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent,
 ¹⁸ a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong,
 ¹⁹ a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.

And lastly - never forget - "be kind today - you never know what another person is going through."

Have a great day friends !