Finding Ways To Care/MANN

Caring for people is not new. Finding different ways to care for people according to their needs may be new. When I was ministering in a pastoral charge, ‘elder’s districts’ was a term that people understood and knew what to expect. And it worked for me as it’s such a simple and efficient way of staying in touch with people and walking with them through different seasons of life. Keeping in mind that  care teams need to understand that  different age groups see pastoral care from their particular perspective and need to honour that. Oh what a fine line all of this may seem and yet, as we continue to learn how important it is for people to feel in the loop, regardless of how wide it is, it’s worth working at it.

Since retiring from active pastoral charge ministry, I’ve had to find a different way to continue my need to care for people. I write letters to Amnesty International, knit prayer shawls, lead volunteer story-telling groups, make soup and casseroles and serve on a few committees.

 

Recently I visited with someone starting her chemotherapy and asked if she’d like a hand knit beanie. She accepted my gesture and shortly after I visited to give her the gift. She immediately removed it from the gift bag and placed it on her head.  We laughed together about how cute it looked and I asked if she would like socks to match. (You can see I was very sure of her response and I had already knit the cuff).

Yesterday I delivered the socks, slipped them on her feet and asked her if she wanted a scarf to match her beanie. When I came home I put the stitches on a needle to begin the scarf.

So what was the lesson here for me? I don’t think it’s about knitting these items as much as it is about three visits of caring. In our conversation, she asked about church and yes, since next week is sacrament of communion, she thought she’d like to attend.

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care and it’s out of that care they respond to other areas of interest around them. That concept was proven to me through several clinical summers in Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy (CPE) and it has been a constant aid through thirty years of ministry.

The importance of this concept is captured in David Oliphant's thesis, A Philosophy of Pastoral Care, "Intentional Friendship" David says, "It is gaining a unique place within our secular society alongside other caring modalities such as social work, community work, and general counselling, specifically to help meet the religious, spiritual, emotional and pastoral needs of the general community."

We can’t all knit and many people don’t have a desire or time to spend in that manner. Other ways to let people know they are not forgotten such as a phone call is important, a greeting card is welcome and email is great to inquire but they are too easy and people soon figure that out.

I think we in the digital world can easily forget that there are many people who are not, either by choice or lifestyle. Face-to-face in whatever way is comfortable is still the best way to go.

Happy caring, folks.

Donna

http://donnamann.org

Top Up Your Tank - Tracy Krauss

Amidst the rush of edits, rewrites, blogging and promotional activities, today’s writer can sometimes get so caught up in the 'business' of writing that they neglect the real heart of the matter – writing for pleasure. I often find that my time is so full with the aforementioned tasks, that I miss the thing that brought me to this juncture in the first place. This is why authors must set aside time for writing that has no other outward purpose than to inspire. Deadlines aside, we must continually connect with that inner muse; otherwise our efforts may come across as mechanical and uninspired. 

I liken it to running on an empty tank. Sure, you could probably get out and push your vehicle to the next gas station, but a lot of unnecessary time and effort are expended while doing so. How much easier and smarter to keep that gas tank topped up! When you feel inspired, the journey is effortless, the scenery inspiring, and the final goal a reward. 

How can an author keep that proverbial gas tank full? One way is to allow yourself the luxury of writing. Period. This might seem like a no-brainer, but believe me, it can be tougher than it sounds. The internet is calling, that manuscript needs editing – there is always something (albeit worthy and necessary) that wants attention. I must make a purposeful effort to ignore my email inbox, turn off the internet, and set aside the WIP for another day.

For those with self-discipline, this can take place on any afternoon. For those that need a little more accountability, a writers' group might be the answer. I also look forward to nanowrimo each year - that crazy frenzied month long writing extravaganza that turns normal people into writing machines. (If you aren't familiar with 'nano', click the link. It is my favourite time of year and coming up in just four days!!!) 

However you manage to do it, allow yourself to reconnect with your passion on occasion. It will make your currant work come alive, and just might inspire something new.

Tracy Krauss lives and writes in British Columbia. Visit her website to see her many published novels and plays. http://tracykrauss.com

Holy Spirit Whispers - Gibson

Inez the Mexican, God-lover and Jesus-follower, stands before me. Red plaid shirt, graying hair, beard. A burly man, with gentle mannerisms and eyes like dark pools. We have not met before, but those eyes tell me something: this man has a story.

I want to hear it. Even more, I feel I’ll want to tell it.

We have a common acquaintance, Inez and I. A man named Doug. Almost every time we meet, Doug brings me a story, and sometimes the people they belong to. True stories. Hard stories. Sad, sad, happy. Happy sad, sad. Like life. This one spins out long. Moisture gathers in the big man’s eyes as he tells it.

Inez and Veronica own a nursery business in Mexico. It makes a little; but not enough. To supplement  their income, Inez works as a long haul trucker.  They have four children, or did until a few years ago.

“God told us,” Inez says. “He told us our son would die two weeks before he did.” On that day Adrian, three-and-a-half years old, the youngest, attended a funeral with his family. At the cemetery, he asked an unusual question. “Mama, do they only bury adults here?”

Shocked, she responded, “No, children are buried here too.”

“Good,” he said. “Because I’m going to be here soon.”

I wait for the main character to enter the story. God. He always has a part in the stories Doug brings me. I don’t have to wait long.

In the next weeks, little Adrian often climbed onto his mother’s knee. “Hug me, Mama,” he whispered each time. “I will not be long with you. “

We’re on holy ground now. The hurt, the heart, the humanity, and yes, the hope bleeds through his words. One by one, Inez continues to list God’s gentle nudges; the things he used to prepare Adrian’s family for the ending of his short life on earth.

“I recognized the premonitions,” he told me. He begged. Prayed. Agonized. Pled with God, “Please, do not take away my son.” But when the end came, in the form of a horrific vehicle accident, Inez looked back and realized that the Holy Spirit, in love, had repeatedly assured them that God would take care of their beloved Adrian from that point on.

After the accident, Inez, who had not been nearby at the time, had the difficult task of shopping for clothes in which to bury his son. With heavy heart, he selected a checkered shirt and pants.

After the family re-united, his eleven-year-old daughter showed him her latest artwork, inspired by the reassuring words of Psalm 23, which she had copied beside the picture. “The Lord is my Shepherd…”

“Jesus watches over us when we rest,” she had titled it. The picture showed her beloved brother, sleeping. Flowers and loveliness surrounded him.  A blanket covered him. A checkered blanket, very like the fabric in the shirt his Papa bought.

But she had drawn the picture days before her brother died.

God knows. God cares. Adrian is safe, and Inez has peace.

 

************  

Among other places, author, newspaper columnist and broadcaster Kathleen Gibson ponders faith and life in her newspaper column, Sunny Side Up. The above Sunny Side Up column ran in various Western newspapers earlier this month.

 

THE POWER OF SPEAKING BLESSINGS-by Heidi McLaughlin

Someone sneezes and we quickly respond with a vague “God bless you”. We sign our e-mails and greetings cards with “Blessings” and it sounds nice and Christian and friendly. When we don’t know the full power and potential of this age old cliché, we throw it around like a meaningless penny.But I came to realize that speaking blessings has unparalleled power.

 I discovered this power of blessings two years ago when I was privileged to write devotionals for “THE STORY” for Scripture Union Canada.  I was given the task of writing in Genesis and one of the first eye opening and starting revelations about blessings was the story of Jacob and Esau. “When (Esau) heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, ‘Bless me-me too, my father! “(Genesis 27:34 NIV). Why was a blessing so powerful that a mother and son would conspire to manipulate and steal a blessing from its rightful owner? I set out to find out why.

I discovered that when we speak blessings into each other’s lives, we are, by faith, imparting God’s image into their being. Blessing is God’s primary mechanism of imparting deep into the heart of a person His image...to help that person understand his identity (Who am I?) and purpose (Why am I here?).

The Hebrew word to “bless” is “baruch”, which means to kneel. So picture this: When you and I bless someone, we kneel before them in humility, speak God’s words over them and literally empower that person to prosper. If you and I bless our children, we empower them to prosper in every area of their lives-spiritual life with God, physical health, emotional well-being, marriage, children, finances, careers, ministry... every area. And when I read this last part: “Children who were blessed by their parents tend to prosper in their adult lives, and children who were never blessed by their parents tend to languish and not prosper”…it stopped me dead in my tracks.

I had never done this with my own children, but I had a plan for all of our grandchildren.  As Jack and I were preparing for a family reunion in the summer of 2012, we orchestrated a family “Blessing Evening.” To begin writing a blessing for each grandchild, we started with the meaning of their name.  For example: Mya meant “Great One” and Breanna meant “Strong, virtuous and honourable”. From the meaning of their names we saw how God had already prepared their character through their names. Then we began to list all their beautiful qualities, gifts and strengths and ended the blessing with a bible verse and prayer.  It went something like this:“

It is said that the name MYA means “great one.”  You have already shown your family and friends what “great” things you can do…..

You are one of God’s great little girls. He sent you down from Heaven just at the right time to bring so much joy into this family. God has great plans for you Mya. He has given you beauty, a radiant smile, a loving heart, a creative mind, a tender but bold and courageous spirit.  God has wrapped many wonderful things up in a great and package called “Mya.”

There is nothing more beautiful than a girl that knows she is loved. Mya…you are Loved! God has blessed you with a family that loves and adores you. May God’s love always strengthen you and give you courage.  God has great plans for you and let Him help you discover all that life has for you on this earth. Do not be afraid!  Even in your young years may you learn to trust God in such a way that you know that there is nothing in this world that can stop you from fulfilling the purposes God has called you to.  You are great…and you are greatly loved. We bless you in the name of Jesus”.

 “For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need” (Phil. 4:13 NLT).

We wrote a blessing for each of our nine grandchildren and read it to them on the evening of our family “Blessing Night.”  There was not a dry eye on family deck that beautiful summer evening.  As we heard the words of blessings spoken it evoked and stirred our souls in their most vulnerable and deepest places; those places of longing that only God’s words can fill.

I have actually seen the power of God’s blessings at work, and I can never again say, ‘Bless you” with a cavalier attitude.  I know that when we speak God’s words over our lives, it changes is from the inside out and causes our souls to prosper. 

In the name of Jesus, I bless YOU! 

 Heidi McLaughlin lives in the beautiful vineyards of the Okanagan Valley in Kelowna, British Columbia. She is married to Pastor Jack and they have a wonderful, eclectic blended family of 5 children and 9 grandchildren. When Heidi is not working, she loves to curl up with a great book, or golf and laugh with her husband and special friends. You can reach her at: www.heartconnection.ca

  

Could the Parable of the Sower be key to Reviews? SUSAN HARRIS

We've known them exclusively as responses to the gospel. Ground and fruit. Soil and words.

Words can fall on many kinds of soil (or lack of soil). In Matthew 13, Jesus identifies four types of ground on which seeds can fall. By the way side refers to hard ground that prevents the seed from even taking roots. Birds swoop and eat the seeds before anything can happen. Stony ground provides a tiny bit of soil that actually allows the seeds to germinate and begin to grow, but because the roots cannot penetrate the stones to get into the earth they wither and die. The thorny ground allows the seed to grow, but the thorns choke the life out of the little plants. Finally, there is the good ground. The conditions for germination are rich and present, and a harvest is predicted. The seed grow into plants that produce much fruit.

Yet is there a connection between sowing seeds of the gospel and sowing seeds through your writing?

Could the hard ground be the reader who hears about your work, does not understand the content but  chooses to plaster 1-star reviews complete with atrocious and defamatory claims? Like Satan who plucks the message away from the could-be-believer, keeping the heart unenlightened and discouraging others who may benefit from the book from reading it?

What if the stony ground portrays the avid reader who delights in words, but she pledges no allegiance to your authorship and when negative remarks comes to the fore, her so-called love for your work rapidly evaporates?

The thorny ground may be the audience that receive your books, but whose minds are full of other distractions and pleasures. Not that they dislike your work, but their attention is elsewhere and thus have no time for your words. (How many books can a person read during the time she takes to browse social media?)

The good ground depicts the one who buys, borrows, reads, receives and is affected positively by your words. Your writing changes his life and he is on a high with rave reviews and enthusiastic accolades. His words ringing out to the world bear much fruit - draw more readers and 4-star and 5-star reviews. The reader described by the “good ground” is the only one of the four types who is truly supportive of your work, because as with the gospel, the proof is fruit.

In Matthew 13:9, Jesus remarks, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" A person's reception of God’s Word is determined by the condition of his heart. A reader's reception of your words is determined by the state of his heart. Your prayer can shape the heart. Be blessed today.

Find Susan at:

http://susanharris.ca

https://www.facebook.com/SusanHarrisCanadianAuthor

https://twitter.com/SusanHarris20


http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Harris/e/B007XMP4QS/


BIO: Susan Harris is a speaker and former teacher, and the author of Golden Apples in Silver Settings, Remarkably Ordinary, Little Copper Pennies and Little Copper Pennies for Kids. Her first submission to Chicken Soup for the Soul is published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cat Did What? edition as Smokey's Lockout, and was released August 19, 2014. Remarkably Ordinary will be released in print on November 1, 2014. Her upcoming children's picture book, Alphabet on The Farm will be released in both English and French. Susan was born in exotic Trinidad but now lives on the Saskatchewan prairies with her husband, daughter and the gregarious cats.

Thanks Giving—Carolyn R. Wilker

When was the last time you were told to give thanks? Could you do it when you’re going through some challenging times?

            I’ve struggled with this countless times, because, being human, I can always think of the negative and struggle to find the positive.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, I read, “Rejoice always, pray continuously, give thanks in all circumstances.”  I struggle with that, even when there’s good stuff happening in the middle of overwhelming tension, and I anticipate and await the outcome or the next big thing, just as in our recent experience.

Recently, my husband had surgery in Toronto. It’s not my favourite place to drive. There are so many cars and people to watch for. Streetcars picking up and letting off passengers.  Construction and too many one-way streets. Driving in a city often does make it more familiar, not that I want to do it frequently. Then the interweaving of highways to get there that my husband calls ‘spaghetti junctions.’ He couldn’t have phrased it better.

One needs to have wits about them to drive there. A carefully programmed GPS helps a great deal. My head filled with directions and I still had to pay heed to everything around me. Focus, focus. It’s just like my mother often said of parenting young children, “You need eyes in the back of your head.” I agree.

We made it, with the help of our GPS, Matilda, and my husband checked in for his surgery the next morning, with me there holding the bag of items he would need after surgery. The wait during surgery seemed long, and fortunately, with no undue surprises—always longer because it’s waiting time. And it’s not just the bag of stuff I was carrying; it was also the collection of hopes and concerns of how the surgery would help.

Post-surgery, my husband faced discomfort of grafts, stitches and swelling, and for me, it included anticipating the healing and the arms-length of instructions and details for recovery—read, high maintenance—for the next week.

Having made it through the surgery, two drives there and back in a short week and a half, and in spite of anxiety, there were good things: plenty of prayers, my trusty GPS to guide me safely through the maze of highways that surprisingly was now becoming more familiar, not meaning I want to drive it often.

Because this is Thanksgiving weekend, I will offer my thanks in the middle of all this commotion and the medical procedures.

For a large hospital, with a solid record

For medical specialists, whose education is used to heal and help, and the assurance that we’re in the best of hands

For nurses with a sense of humour as they go about their work

For the taxi driver who cared about what’s happened in my day

For the bed and breakfast owner who cared about our journey and provided a hearty breakfast for me

For a safe place to lay my head at night, even when my sleep is restless

For conversation with others who are also waiting while a loved one is in surgery

For such things as a GPS that helps us to get safely from one place to another

For a progressing recovery and antibiotics that support healing

For innovations that help patients to better handle conditions

And here I give thanks for the gifts God gives to us: friends and family, grace, forgiveness and the chance to start over each new day because of our hope in Jesus, our Saviour.

 Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving, or at least a grateful one in whatever you face today.

Carolyn R. Wilker, editor, storyteller and author of Once Upon a Sandbox

www.carolynwilker.ca

Eyes to See -HIRD

By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

Recently my eye surgeon Dr. Kirker had me lie face down for three days.  I had just had laser eye surgery for a microscopic macular hole.  This condition was not noticeable until I was out at UBC reading tiny 19^th century print.  Upon going to an eye specialist, I discovered that I did not have either  lense correction, cataracts, glaucoma, retinal detachment or macular degeneration.  Over time, the gel or vitreous in our eyes shrink and detaches from the retina.  In rare cases, it sticks and causes a microscopic hole.  Before 1970, they could not do anything about this.  After laser surgery, the surgeon filled my right eye with gas which temporarily held everything in place.  In order for the gas to do its job, I had to be vertical for 90% of the time.  Fortunately I was able to rent a massage desk and full-body massage pillow.  Sleeping facedown for four nights was a brand new experience for me.   My wife Janice said that I didn’t snore at all.  I never hear myself snore. 

Lying face down prohibited me from watching TV or checking my computer.  Because our North Vancouver Library system has a large assortment of talking books, I was able listen to John Grisham, Louis Lamour, and Elie Wiesel.  All three authors were passionate about justice.  Grisham sought justice in the court room.  Lamour sought justice at the end of a gun.  Elie Wiesel sought justice from God and neighbour.

Lying on my face enabled me to listen to Elie Wiesel’s trilogy: Night, Dawn, and Day. Each of the trilogy was deeply moving and disturbing.  Like my successful laser surgery, Elie’s trilogy gave me eyes to see what I had been previously somewhat blinded to.  As a holocaust survivor, Wiesel has written over 50 books interpreting the meaning of the Holocaust for our modern age.  Wiesel miraculously survived the Concentration camps when so many of his family and friends ended in Hitler’s ovens.  In his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, they said of Wiesel: “From the abyss of the death camps, he has come as a messenger to humanity – not with a message of hate and revenge but with one of brotherhood and atonement.” 

Too many people in our culture have either never heard of or hardened their hearts to the message of the Holocaust.  It seems to some like water under the bridge, as ancient history.  Wiesel’s book help us to enter into the story of the Holocaust as if for the first time.  As a vivid story teller, Wiesel makes you feel that you were right there in the midst of the great tragedy.  Would it be possible for Wiesel’s books to be included in our school systems as a way of reducing hatred and anti-Semitism?  It could give our young people new eyes to see what it is liked to be bullied and rejected.

It is too easy to scapegoat other people and blame them for the problems in our lives.  Racism seems to be deep in many of our cultures.  It dies a hard death.  Without regular self-examination and repentance, racism can easily slip back into our hearts.  Anti-Semitism has proven in the past century to be one of the deadliest forms of racism.  Jewish people have suffered deeply again and again through pogroms, inquisitions, and job discrimination.  When conflict arises in the world, anti-Semitism and racism seem to spike.  What would it take for us to truly forgive and love those who offend us, those who are different? 

Chronic and acute anxiety push us in the direction of requiring that everyone act and smell just like us.  Elie Wiesel’s writings encourage us to celebrate differences and uniquenesses of other neighbours.  Jesus quoted Leviticus in commanding us to love our neighbour as ourselves.  Love is always the answer.  Love gives us eyes to see when we are blind.  Love is an expression of amazing grace, where I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.  My prayer for those reading this article is that God will give us eyes to see that other neighbours are just as human, as valuable and as sacred as we are. 

The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, Rector

St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver

Anglican Mission in Canada

http://stsimonschurch.ca

-Ed’s brand-new sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available inpaperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback andebook ), Amazon France (paperback andebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

-In order to obtain a copy of the prequel book

‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’, please send a $18.50 cheque to ‘ED HIRD’, #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD. This can also be done by PAYPALusing the e-mailed_hird@telus.net . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99 CDN/USD.

-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide : Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada