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I’m sure we all would love to give the Ghost Of Christmas Future a script. We all have an idea of how we want future Christmases to go. Some would hope for a little more money to be able to give their children more gifts at Christmas. Some just hope for enough money that they can enjoy Christmas without worrying about money for rent or groceries. Some, like myself, really hope they can spend Christmas with their family once more. In " A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, Scrooge is not the best of people in Christmas Present. The Ghost of his...
The account of the Shepherds seeing the angels on Christmas is my favorite text associated with the birth of Jesus. It tells the announcement of Jesus’ birth to these guys who were out in a field, working in the middle of the night. The shepherds see the angels, hear the announcement, and are amazed. I guess that is not so surprising considering the experience they had. They immediately went to the nearby city of Bethlehem to see what the excitement was all about. There they saw the newborn Jesus and shared what they had heard. Afterward, t...
Charles Dickens wrote that the three ghosts of Christmas visited Ebenezer Scrooge. Christmas Past, Present, and Future. I believe that once you get to my age and have had children, you, in fact, have three Christmas pasts added on to your present and future. Let me explain. Your first ghost to visit would be your childhood ghost. What a merry soul that would be, in most cases. A time when magic was possible, no, definite. The belief in Santa is absolute. This magic colors everything you experience around Christmas. I recall the large family...
As I mentioned before in my article, Christmas Pasts, I can’t return to Canada right now due to the virus. My tree and decorations, including my children’s homemade items, are stored in Canada. I remember the elves all my children had to put on the tree. My mother’s ornaments from the ‘40s and earlier and the paper candy cane I laboriously made when I was four usually go on our tree every year. My firstborn has a tattered old felt hobby horse that we always put around the top of the tree. I have none of that this Christmas. Well, that’s...
During my college years (25+ years ago), I did a semester of study in Chicago along with my internship at Voice of America Radio. For the class, we did all sorts of tours and visits to different communities and organizations. We spoke with people from many different segments of society with different backgrounds. One of the panel discussions that had the biggest impact on my view of the world happened in a housing project. The projects in Chicago are very poor and crime-ridden. At the time, there was one exception. One of the housing projects,...
This weekend, the Disney+ streaming service released a new 3 part documentary on the Beatles. “Get Back” features all sorts of new footage and offers a unique behind the scenes video and information. My wife and I are big Beatles fans, even going so far as to naming our daughter after the last Beatles album. We are both looking forward to watching the series, so when reviews started appearing online during the first few days after the release, I jumped on the opportunity to read peoples reactions. What I found most interesting about the res...
Nowadays, we see Christmas cards with jolly Santa’s, merry Christmas scenes, and some nativity scenes. It was not always so. The first Christmas card was produced in 1843. This was the Victorian era, and as with many other things, the Victorians did Christmas cards very differently than those of our generations. The Victorian era saw murderous mice, Santa kidnapping children, and blood-thirsty snowmen’s Nick was often teamed with the devil to decide if children were good or naughty. The naughty were whisked away by the devil. Charming! Christma...
This morning I found out that our adult Sunday school teacher wasn’t going to make it in for his class. Our regular backup was out of town, so I was the fallback teacher. I wouldn’t be truthful if I said I was excited. I enjoy taking the time before church to review the sermon material and get my mind focused on the service. Still, I got up, went to church, and taught the class without any preparation. I am not a fan of not studying in depth in advance of teaching anything, but I was blessed by the folks in the room and found a ton of thi...
This time of year, when the bright colors of fall have fallen off or blown away, driving to work is rather dull, with faded goldfields, brown dirt, dry grass, and dead stems. Usually, I'm a little behind on a Monday. Monday is the Mountaineers' most hectic morning, and I have always told myself to get there earlier. Still, I delayed either because I was enjoying my morning sleep or enjoying a slow cup of coffee while reading my bible. It is also always possible I have left a responsibility from...
Georgia: "I'm thankful for god, my family and my sister." Belle: "I'm thankful for my land my friends and my family." Charlie: "I am for candy, friends, and my sister." Kiley: "I am thankful for family, my house and my brothers." Aliyah: "I am thankful my grammas, my family and my sister." Charlotte: "I am thankful for my mom, dad and friends." Kiki: "I am thankful for my family, God and Jesus." Payton: "I am thankful for my family, God and my house" Hudson: "I am thankful for my dad, my mom,...
I am nearly finished reading Tolkien’s novel “The Hobbit.” It is one of my all time favorite novels, and I have read it enough times that I have actually lost count. One of my favorite things about the novel is that the main character, Bilbo the hobbit, loves comfort and ease in life. He lives in a protected world where he never faces any difficulty or challenge apart from annoyance over inconvenience. For those unfamiliar with the story, Bilbo is recruited as a burglar to help a group of dwarves in their adventure. During the story, our hero...
In ancient Israel, every Jewish boy would learn the Torah in school. Specifically, they would memorize the Jewish religious writings starting at an early age until the rabbi teaching them decided they had reached their potential as students. At that time, they were sent off to work in whatever field their family had always worked in. Some students would be sent away early to work, while others would progress to the point that they were accepted as a disciple to a rabbi. This was sort of like earning your doctorate. Anyone who studied under a...
Every day in the news, we hear of people playing the race card or the gender card. Both cards are deemed to be in the wrong. The consensus is, don’t play the race card or the gender card! Well, I’m going to tell you about a card I have discovered that you can play quite happily and no one will fault you. When living in Arizona, I did not feel old at all. I was certainly not feeling like I thought a senior was supposed to feel. However, it came to my attention that you are considered old in the “snowbird” state if you are 60! Whoa, Nelly, I was...
The last two years have seemed like the longest years I’ve experienced in my life. More than a few jokes were told about 2020 being the worst year ever between the murder hornets, Covid, lockdowns, toilet paper shortages, a crazy election, etc. By this time last year, it seemed as though 2020 was never going to end. There’s an interesting principle behind that idea that relates to our perception of the passing of time. It is a well known maxim that years go by faster and faster as you get older. Human brain research has uncovered the rea...
How many of you knew that Canada celebrated Thanksgiving on October 11th.? Instead, we here are celebrating November 25th. Ken and I usually celebrate both days, so why not? However, this year we were too busy to get into a turkey dinner. Instead, we will celebrate in November. Now maybe it’s just me, but I have a hunch it was some man that planned the US Thanksgiving in late November! Canada has done it much smarter You have Thanksgiving, and then enjoy Halloween a couple of weeks later. You then have all of November and most of December to o...
I have been a Christian for around 30 years. The first pastor who influenced my life was Pastor Mike. He was a young guy who spent the time to explain the Bible to me and answer my questions. I believe that he is the reason I am working in the ministry today. Along the way, many other men have influenced me through their ministries. Pastor Jim was my first boss as a youth pastor. I believe I am better at what I do because of how he explained people, church culture, and all sorts of other things to me. Denver, Barney, Rich, and many other men...
In college, I was in a production of “12 Angry Men.” A few weeks before our show date, I struggled with the lines for my mid-sized part. I just hadn’t put in the time and effort to memorize my lines. A few of the other guys began to complain about me to the director, who was my roommate. He sat down with me one evening and encouraged me to put in the work to master my lines so well that it would shut the mouths of everyone who was complaining. Then he told me something that has stuck with me for over 20 years: “You practice like you play....
Last year, while appearing on Saturday Night Live, Comedian John Mulaney told a joke that I will find funny for the rest of my life: ““It’s hard to make friends when you’re an adult. I think that’s the greatest miracle of Jesus. He has 12 best friends in his thirties, and they weren’t his wife’s best friends’ husbands.” It’s mainly funny because it hits so close to the truth. There is a ton of research pointing to the sad fact that men are increasingly isolated in our culture. The number of men who report having “No close friends” has quintupl...
The First Week in October is National 4-H week. 4-H is an organization that assists youth in developing leadership skills and community involvement. We enjoy 4-H because it gives us a good chance to get to know and serve people better in our community. 4-H also helps to prepare us for future jobs or possible scholarships. The SunShine Snippers 4-H club would not be much without the wonderful leaders who volunteer all their time and talent to help us complete our projects and learn so much thought out the year. Mary Ophus and Kristie Rutledge...
This week, I finished reading a biography of Joseph Stalin. I learned a great deal, but the one thing that stood out to me more than anything else in the book was about during Stalin’s early days as an activist before the revolution. The author talked about how Stalin, and many of those he worked with, were aiming to improve the lives of the working class in Russia. The whole purpose of the movement was to raise up the working class. However, Stalin and his co-revolutionaries considered workers to be entirely too stupid to know what was best f...
The first pastor I remember knowing was at the church I started attending as a teenager. Pastor Mike was very down to earth. He drove a beat up old car that I remember him having to push start on more than one occasion. When I was 13 or 14, I heard a story about how he was frustrated with ministry one week because he bought diapers for a young woman who came to the church asking for help. After the encounter, he walked out of the store and decided to go back to buy formula as well. When he did, he witnessed her returning the diapers for cash....
Taking time for me I can't remember when I last took a vacation just for myself. My sister, Dena, asked me if I wanted to go to Yosemite with her for a week. I jumped at the chance because I have always wanted to see the park. This summer was so depressing, and I couldn't find the energy to take my camera out, take pictures, and be inspired! The half dome is so much more impressive in person than in the photos. Wikipedia says, "Half Dome is a granite dome at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley...
I am currently reading a book on speed reading. I have tried to learn speed reading in the past, but have struggled with the discipline and practice elements of the process. An interesting element of the process set for in the book I’m currently reading is the idea of a set of “pre-reading” disciplines. This isn’t like warming up before exercising, but rather is more like surveying the path in front of you. The first is to decide why you are reading the book or article in the first place. What do you hope to accomplish?Having decided on that...
When I return to Saskatchewan, I enjoy the peace and privacy of my backyard. Most houses in Sintaluta have large backyards with beautiful gardens. Mine is huge, with bushes and large trees surrounding it and a willow plop right in the middle. In nice weather, it’s wonderful to sit out there in the morning, having my breakfast in my PJ’s cocooned by nature. Friends who come to visit enjoy a picnic under my willow tree. It’s like having your own park. The dogs and I go for walks down my street and then down a rural lane. I am a block from farmlan...
Dear Editor, I feel it is best that I confess to all your readers out there, especially coaches, parents of Big Sandy athletes and the athletes themselves that I am not and never have been a professional sportswriter. I grew up in an era when they did not even have girls’ sports teams, at least not in the small schools I attended and I wasn’t even a cheer leader, the best I can say is I was a member of the drill team that performed at home game half-times and that’s it for my own personal experience. I admit right up front that before writi...
