A Blast of Awe by Rose McCormick Brandon

God pulled back Heaven’s curtain for Daniel. What he saw turned his face pale and drained his strength. He gasped in amazement as the Ancient of Days sat on His throne. Daniel is the only Bible writer to use this name for Jesus. He uses it three times. The number three shows completeness, as in the Trinity.

As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated and the books were opened. Daniel 7:9,10

Writing of Christ’s birth, the prophet Micah describes Him as one “whose coming forth is of old, of ancient days” (Micah 5:2). Hundreds of years before Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, Daniel saw Him, not as a babe, but as One who is timeless, without beginning or end, One who has seen ancient times and lives eternally in the past, present and future.

Humanity creaks with age, stiffens with years and wrinkles from sun exposure. Jesus is ageless, undying, changeless, the same yesterday and forever (Heb. 13:8).

A blast of awe struck Daniel when he saw the Ancient of Days. The only appropriate response was to worship. Worship the One who takes the fear out of death, the Holy Ancient One, who was, and is, and is to come (Rev. 1:8).

O worship the King, all glorious above

And gratefully sing of His wonderful love.

Our shield and defender

the Ancient of Days,

Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

Robert Grant

Ancient of Days, we are awed to the core when we think that we, like Daniel, will meet you face-to-face in your heavenly kingdom. 

* * * 

Rose McCormick Brandon lives in Caledonia, Ontario with husband Doug. An award-winning personal experience and inspirational writer, Rose contributes to denominational publications and devotionals. She writes and teaches Bible Studies, authors biblical essays and is the author of the Canadian history book, Promises of Home – Stories of Canada’s British Home Children. Her book, One Good Word Makes all the Difference, contains stories of her personal journey from prodigal to passionate follower of Jesus. She is the mother of three adult children and grandmother of four.

Life is a Poem by Rose McCormick Brandon

If you build your life on my words, said Jesus, you will be like a house built on a rock. When rains pour and rivers flood, your house won’t collapse. (My paraphrase of Matthew 7:24)

The Greek word Jesus used for the idea of building a life on His word is poieo. The English word poem comes from this. Poets use words in creative ways to build something original. 

“Be a poet,” Jesus is saying. “Take my words and build a life with them.” His words build solid foundations. His words decorate our lives and turn them into something beautiful. 

I met a pretty mother of two. She told how she’d been addicted to heroine, sold her body on city streets. Since childhood she had lived in constant rage. One rainy night, in the grizzly downtown core, she went berserk. Slashed her arms. Screamed like a mad person. An ambulance came and took her away. 

When I looked into her clear eyes, I couldn’t picture the wild person she used to be. "I was living in hell," she said. A hurricane had rushed in and flattened her life. In her agony she remembered Jesus loved her. A pattern of self-abuse would have continued had He not stepped in and turned her jumbled life into a poem. 

That awful night Jesus began to build a meaningful life in her because, as Corrie ten Boom said, “No darkness is so deep that Jesus is not deeper still.”

As long as there’s breath, it’s not too late for God to take a meaningless messy life and turn it into a beautiful poem. Build your life on the foundation of Christ’s words. 

“One well-chosen word at a time. One stanza of service at a time. And with our words and deeds, we can leave something beautiful behind in the lives of others.” Eugene H. Peterson.

***

Rose McCormick Brandon writes biblical essays, devotionals and inspirational pieces. She is the grateful winner of several awards from The Word Guild. Her book, Promises of Home, is a collection of stories of Canada's British Home Children. Some of her writings are compiled in the book, One Good Word Makes all the Difference. Rose is married to Doug, the mother of three adult children and three (and another on the way) grandchildren. They live in Caledonia.

Be Mindful to be a Blessing in 2017 by Rose McCormick Brandon

As a new year begins, I’m struck by my need to care, not about things, the condition of the world, politics, entertainment and other things, but to care about people.
Our purpose for living is to love, to care. Specifically, to care about God and others.
God cares about people. Jesus perfectly demonstrated this by sacrificing His life on the cross. He showed that, above all else, people matter.
People are confused, lost, in denial, wounded and broken. Our purpose for living, the reason we’re alive, the reason we know Christ, is to share His love with them.
Someone said, “Most human problems stem from the fact that we treat people as things and things as people.” God’s interest is always in people, not things.
This phrase in Galatians 6:10 touched my heart - "Be mindful to be a blessing.”
I love the word, “mindful.” Wherever we go, whatever we do, we should be mindful to bless others in our conversation and actions. Being mindful means that we’re conscious of our actions and words, conscious of their effect on others. Their effect should be to bless.
A tall order.
Can I be mindful all the time? Probably not. But, I can try. And with God keeping my mind full of His purpose, I can definitely improve.
God’s incredible purpose for me is that I lift the fallen, encourage the fainthearted and give hope to the hopeless. Without purpose, my life shifts in whatever direction the winds of change take it. Right now, winds of unrest unsettle the globe. As a Christian, I can’t become unmoored by these but remain constant in my endeavor to bless.
What I notice in others who are steadfast in their purpose of being a blessing is that nothing, no loss or unrest, changes them. They keep on blessing others, speaking of Jesus at every opportunity, praying with diligence; their love for others motivates them.
They are my mentors.

Prayer: Father, as I drag myself into a new year, fill my heart with purpose. Remind me of the reason I exist – to be a blessing. Let me not run away from this responsibility but help me to embrace it. People are your priority. Help me to make them my priority.


Rose McCormick Brandon is the author of four books, including One Good Word Makes all the Difference and Promises of Home - Stories of Canada's British Home Children. She writes personal essays and devotionals for several publications.

No More Goodbyes by Rose McCormick Brandon

Goodbyes don’t come easily for me. When moving meant saying goodbye to co-workers, I feared being swept away by sentimentality, weeping uncontrollably like I did at my graduation. In photos of that event my eyes match my bouquet of red roses.

I come from a long line of crybabies and I blame them, especially the Irish, for the maudlin gene. I need a dose of my Scottish friend's favourite rendition of goodbye - "Shove off!" Nobody at the office told me to shove off. They dripped kindness all over me. The memory of their hugs clings to my shoulders, a reminder of how blessed I am to have people in my life who make saying goodbye so hard.

Snoopy summed up my feelings about the word goodbye:

“Why can’t we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn’t work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say goodbye. I hate goodbyes. I know what I need. I need more hellos.”

Goodbye is a useful word, a short form of "God be with you." We use goodbye when we fly out the door to run an errand or to end a telephone conversation. We wave it, blow kisses with it, and even slam doors with it.

Goodbye always brings up questions: Where are you going? Can I come with you? How long will you be gone? When will you come back?

These are the same questions asked by Jesus' followers when He was making his goodbyes. (John 14:1-14) Jesus answered: I'm going to the Father. Yes you can come but not yet. Don't worry, I won't leave you alone. The Holy Spirit will be your constant companion. I'll get a room ready for you so you can come and live with Me. I'll be gone for what I consider a short time. When we meet again it will be forever.

Goodbye is an earthly word not an eternal one. We won't use it in our forever home with Jesus. No more goodbyes. Only hellos.

"I'm on my way to get a room ready for you. and if I'm on my way to get your room ready, I'll come back and get you so you can live where I live." John 14:3,4

 Rose McCormick Brandon is the author of four books, including One Good Word Makes all the Difference and Promises of Home - Stories of Canada's British Home Children. She writes personal essays and devotionals for several publications.

Prayer Bench by Rose McCormick Brandon

Boardwalk along St. Mary's River at Sault Ste. Marie

I worked in a large office building steps away from a boardwalk that follows the curve of the St. Mary’s River along the Canada-U.S. border. For longer than I should confess, I spent my lunch hours in the mall across the street, running errands and browsing, until one day I looked out the mall’s entrance at rapids glistening in June’s sun and thought, “Shame on you!” The next day I joined walkers, joggers, in-line skaters and nature lovers who spend their lunch breaks by the water.

            Twenty minutes into my first trek on the boardwalk, I noticed a bench perched on a steep bank on the river’s shore, half-hidden in a grove of pine trees. The bench caught my attention for its view of the river but when I sat on it, its solitude enveloped me in arms scented with pine. A not unpleasant fish odor hung over the water. Below, ducklings floated on waves behind their mamas.  I sensed God saying, “This is a place where you and I can get re-acquainted.” 

When I was a stay-at-home mom, I set aside the afternoon hour between one and two for prayer. Television and phone silenced, children either at school or napping, I knelt or sat on the living room sofa for my special alone time with God. This private prayer time reduced my worries because I daily transferred them to Him. Confidence to teach a ladies Bible study in my home, witness to my neighbors and accept speaking invitations came from that special hour. Worries and frustrations shrank when I poured them out in prayer to the Father. I found that prayer increased my creativity, my zest for living and even healed my heart of past hurts. 

            Relinquishing this prayer hour was the most difficult aspect of re-joining the work-force. At my busy desk, I often felt lonely for God and wished everyone would take the day off and leave me alone. It’s not that I didn’t pray before feeding my three children and getting them off to school. It’s just that my rushed mornings weren’t conducive to prayer and my sleepy brain often wandered to my daily to-do list.

            The bench gave me a place to be with God and that was an important element to finding my way back to prayer. I heard a Chinese pastor of an underground church tell how, while imprisoned in a crowded, noisy cell, he asked God to provide a place for him to be alone to pray and worship. Not long after sending his impossible request up to heaven, guards assigned him to lagoon-skimming – shoveling off the top layer of the prison’s sewage reservoir. The stench kept everyone away, including the guards. Alone for hours, he prayed and praised loudly.

            In comparison to a prison lagoon, my riverside sanctuary sits in a corner of heaven. At lunch times, I quickly changed my shoes, nearly running from my busy desk to the solitary bench, hoping all the way that no one reaches it before me. As I neared it, I found myself already talking to God – asking for healing for a friend, a teaching position for my daughter, increased creativity for myself, an opportunity to tell a co-worker about Jesus. Some needs brought tears to my sun-glassed eyes. My bench welcomed me. “Sit. Share your anxious thoughts with Jesus," it seemed to say.

            Do you need an alone place for you and God? Ask Him to provide one. Perhaps it won’t be as sense-satisfying as my pine-surrounded bench but it will definitely be better than our Chinese brother’s sewer. Whatever the location, your private place will become precious for what it symbolizes – a place where friendship with God flourishes.

* * *

Rose McCormick Brandon is the author of four books, including, Promises of Home - Stories of Canada's British Home Children. Visit her blogs, Listening to my Hair Grow and Promises of Home. Her books are available here.http://writingfromtheheart.webs.com

Living in the Present Tense by Rose McCormick Brandon

Some day everything will come together; all the stray ends of our imperfect lives will be gathered and tied into an elegant bow. So we wait . . . for perfection, for health, for money.
We defer joy.
A woman once described a day when all the stars of her scattered life seemed to align. The sun shone. She walked to a beautiful park hand-in-hand with her only grandson. They sat on a bench, ate hot dogs, played soccer, chatted with neighbours, then strolled back home to snuggle up together with a book.  "For a few hours my world was perfect. If only every day could be like that," she said.
If only . . . so many days are ruled by that phrase. If only my child would call me. If only my husband would find a good job. If only I'd fall in love with Mr. Right. If only I had a child. If only my body would cooperate with my mind. A life lived in the "if onlies" can't find joy in the present.
Finding joy in the present means accepting present imperfections - little things like messes, unpainted walls, dreary weather and big things like unemployment, sickness, pain, divorce. Joy won't wait. It doesn't dwell in the past or wait for us in the future. It lives in the present - as God does.
When asked, "who are you?" the Father answered I AM. And Jesus carried that message into His ministry.

"Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”

 Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?”

So Jesus said to them, “You rightly say that I am.” Luke 22:69-70

 

Are you living in the I AM of God, in His present? Each day is a joy gift from God; joy can't sit on the back burner, it's a today experience.

Lord, thank you that today you and I are at peace because you have forgiven my sins. And that peace brings me joy. My circumstances will never attain perfection but my friendship with you is perfect. And that gives me deep, heart-warming joy, holy joy, present joy.

***

Rose McCormick Brandon is the author of four books, including One Good Word Makes all the Difference and Promises of Home - Stories of Canada's British Home Children. Visit her website at: writingfromtheheart.webs.com and read her blogs Promises of Home and Listening to my Hair Grow.

Dancing in the Rain by Ruth Smith Meyer

The windows of the worship space in our church are large.  There is no need for stained glass images to enhance the view and adoration of our Maker, for we can see the handiwork of creation—a variety of trees, daffodils, iris and other plantings at their base, the green grass and blue skies. A few weeks ago a steady rain fell during the service. That just added to the lush beauty of the view each time I glanced out a window. 

 Suddenly, my eyes were drawn to movement and I watched in awe as several bright yellow goldfinches did an aerial dance, rising and swooping in delight, rising higher and then diving toward the grass before they shifted upward again. It seemed as though they were releasing their spirits in utter abandonment to joy. I’m afraid my attention strayed from the sermon as my eyes were riveted to the in-flight extravaganza.

I thought goldfinches were vegetarians, eating only seeds of plants, but I wondered if I was wrong and they perhaps were catching some of the vast army of mosquitoes that have inundated our area. I would have been less surprised if they had been swallows, but the colour and size of those birds definitely identified them as goldfinch.

As soon as I returned home, I looked on line to see if goldfinches eat mosquitoes. But according to the sources I investigated, I was right—they are vegetarians.

Maybe those delightful, bright coloured birds were frolicking in exuberant jubilation just for the sheer joy of it.

I felt a tug in my own heart.  We’d had a difficult week with an emergency ambulance trip for my husband, a real scare that his symptoms were life threatening, several days of uncertainty and some still hanging over our heads.  

Could goldfinches be a reminder to me to let go of the resistance to the rain of difficulty and uncertainty? Could I dance too, knowing that grey showers would water my soul just as surely the rain was watering the earth?  Could I just enjoy God’s care for us and do my own dance in the rain?

Over the next few weeks, that picture from the sanctuary window vividly played over and over again in my mind. It seemed every time uncertainty and distinct possibility of more health challenges arose, that scene of joy in the rain came back to me to urge me to dance in spite of or amidst the rain.

Habakkak 3: 17.18 says:

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
    and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
    and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
    and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
    I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!”

I could substitute some of the seeming lacks in my own life and that of my husband’s right now, but the good prophet has the idea and we will rejoice in the the God of our salvation—even in the rain!

“(For) those who (go) off with heavy hearts
    will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.” Psalm 26:5

www.ruthsmithmeyer.com.  Come visit me and read about my newest book, Out of the Ordinary--the story of my life. 

Life is a Poem by Rose McCormick Brandon

If you build your life on my words, said Jesus, you will be like a house built on a rock. When rains pour and rivers flood, your house won’t collapse.  (My paraphrase of Matthew 7:24)

The Greek word Jesus used for the idea of building a life on His word is poieo. The English word poem comes from this word.

Poets use words in creative ways to build something original.

“Be a poet,” Jesus is saying. “Take my words and build a life with them.”

His words build solid foundations. His words decorate our lives and turn them into something beautiful.

I met a pretty mother of two small children. She told how she’d been addicted to heroine, sold her body on the downtown streets and lived in constant rage. I looked into her clear eyes and soft face. I couldn’t picture her slashing her arms, screaming out for help on that rainy night, in the grizzly downtown core where she went berserk. She was in hell.

She’d built her life on a sand bar. A hurricane had rushed in from the sea and flattened her life. In the middle of her destruction, she remembered that God loved her.

That night this young woman began to build a meaningful life, a poem, because, as Corrie ten Boom said, “No darkness is so deep that Jesus is not deeper still.”

As long as there’s breath, it’s never too late for God to take the meaningless hellish jumble of a life and turn it into a beautiful poem.

Build your life on the solid foundation of Christ’s words. And your life will become like a poem.

“One well-chosen word at a time. One stanza of service at a time. And with our words and deeds, we can leave something beautiful behind in the lives of others.”   

Eugene H. Peterson.

***

 

Rose McCormick Brandon writes personal experience, faith, life stories and the stories of Canada's child immigrants. She is married to Doug and lives in Caledonia, Ontario. Her books are available at the website, Writing from the Heart. (http://writingfromtheheart.webs.com)  

Visit her blogs: The Promise of Home (http:littleimmigrants.wordpress.com) and Listening to My Hair Grow (http:rosemccormickbrandon.wordpress.com). Contact address: rosembrandon@yahoo.ca

Inspiration in Aloneness by Glynis M. Belec

     When I need to refuel, there are three places I go – to the Word of God, to my daily planner and to the words in my ledger.  Inspiration comes to me in my aloneness.

       I wish I could be the kind of person who could go to busy malls to people watch; to libraries with wonderful treasures of inspiring words; to a coffee shop to be stirred into writing longhand while staring at the interactions of those around me and worst/best of all— I wish I could be refuelled by going outside to take in God’s amazing creation.

       I feel a little ashamed confessing that these don’t do it for me, but it’s no use kidding myself. I know they are a sure way for some to refuel. But I know my brain.

       If I were to take a few hours sitting in a mall watching people, I would be lured in by the hustle bustle and end up writing nothing more than a shopping list of things I wouldn't

mind having from this store or that. Heaven forbid I would see a ‘50% off Sale’ sign.        

     If I went to the library to be inspired, I would browse the aisles checking out all sorts of books from Charlotte’s Web to How to Shed those Extra Pounds on the New Chocolate Diet.

Then I would find a bunch of movies that I would just have to see. Then I would take out too many and end up paying my $1 a day fine on each of them.  Frustration would set in when I remember, once I unload it all at home, that I have a pile of ‘to-read’ books already at my bedside and my own DVDs are collecting dust on my shelf.

         
     If I tried refuelling at the local coffee shop, the only thing I would refuel is my large Apple Cinnamon tea – one bag in, one out. And then I would probably end up buying a toasted cinnamon bagel with cream cheese and maybe even an apple fritter to complement my tea (but not my figure).

      
     And if I dared to try to step outside to gain inspiration, I know exactly what would happen. I mean what do squirrels do outside, anyway? I would dart here there and everywhere. I would need a list of seeds I have to plant this year. I would have to plan the garden; the arrangement of the outside furniture; the tidying up of the garden shed—and that is only in my back yard. Give a squirrel a few acres to contend with and I will find myself gathering nuts and planning holidays.

    

      When I go to my Bible, though, I find the focus I need. God is definitely my inspiration and if I make a date with Him, then I feel like I can leap tall buildings. I try to find a scripture that pertains to whatever I am writing – Christian or otherwise.  God’s Word inspires me and calms my soul. It causes me to reflect on what and why I am writing. It also reminds me how I need to be still and trust God for every idea, notion, approach and action as it pertains to my writing. If it wasn’t for God, I couldn’t create.

      Although I may not come off as the most organized person and if one would gaze upon my desk most days it might be hard to fathom that I really do like to have all my ducks in a row. Reading through my agenda is like encourages me to forge on.  If I take it to bed with me and cross of all the things I accomplished in a day then transfer the remainder to the next day, along with a page full of other to-do tasks, I feel so good and I know the next day will be a good one. Because I am not always wont to be organized, grabbing my agenda before I leave my bedroom in the morning gives me inspiration.  I feel organized, inspired by my focus and will be ready to write –as crazy as that

sounds.

    My lovely big, green ledger, is another way for me to go on feel renewed. My writing life, although I love it, has not all been sugar and spice and everything nice. I have two ledgers where I have faithfully documented 30 years of submissions,  rejections,  and published works; a running account of my writing life. Having this documentation gives me reason to go on; it shows me how hard I have worked over the years to get to where I am today. I still have a long way to go and some days my brain isn’t big enough to take in all the new ‘stuff.’ I try to get on the ball—technologically speaking, but when it comes to record keeping computer files don't cut it for me. I've tried. As I look through my old-fashioned, trusty ledgers I am reminded how God has led me on my journey. I see the odd hiatus in my writing and I remember there is a season for everything.  

       I know these likely seem cockamamie ideas to some, but to me aloneness with God, my agenda and my dusty old ledgers inspire and refuel me. Maybe not your typical way to replenish the muse, but they work for me.  

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

 which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  

Ephesians 2:10

Glynis keeps busy being inspired by God, her old ledgers and her dog-eared agenda, but she always has time to share her passions with anyone who cares to listen. Her latest passion is her children's picture book, Galloping Gus. http://www.glynisbelec.com/Bookstore.html . At this very moment, she is preparing a Galloping Gus colouring and Activity book as a companion book for kids (of all ages!) Hers is a busy office lately. 

Great Things in Small Packages (by Peter A. Black)

She toiled through the evening hours. With every kick and stroke she pushed and pulled through the darkness of night, pressing through the pain.
 

For almost twenty-seven hours, without a moment of sleep, she pushed ever forward, clawing at the water, defying six-foot waves that rushed relentlessly at her, smashing into her face, as though attempting to stifle her breath. Fighting cramping in her leg muscles, while willing her fatigued arms and shoulders to move, she ignored the deepening cold during the long hours from sunset to dawn.

Tempted, but never giving up, she pressed on until she achieved her goal. At less than five feet tall that wisp of a woman was only fourteen years, one hundred and fifty-eight days.

This human dynamo is Great Lakes marathon swimmer Annaleise Carr—the youngest ever, at the time of her Lake Ontario open-water swim (August, 2012), to complete the 57 kilometres, from the mouth of the Niagara River to the breakwater at Marilyn Bell Park, in Toronto. Shifted off course and hampered by adverse weather, she actually swam 77 kilometres.

Courtesy: Annaleise Carr's FB Page

In July, 2014 Annaleise cut short her intended 75 kilometre Lake Erie swim from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Port Dover, Ontario, at the 42 kilometre mark, by coming ashore at Long Point. That was a wise decision, for rough conditions and stormy weather prevailed. However, she completed the remaining 33 kilometre distance on September 1st.  

Why does she do it?

Compassion flooded her heart when she visited Camp Trillium in Norfolk County, Ontario, near Lake Erie, and there met children suffering from cancer. She witnessed the wonderful care, companionship and enjoyment that Trillium provides for them, and offered to volunteer. “Give me a call in five years,” said the director. Trillium’s volunteers must be at least eighteen; Annaleise was only thirteen.

A determined and creative individual, who loves God and people, she would not be deterred. And so, she conceived the idea of the swim.

In the two years since that Lake Ontario swim she has received a score of awards and numerous citations and commendations, from many organizations and various levels of Government. Public venues bear her name on commemorative plaques, and the town of Simcoe community swimming pool was renamed after her—Annaleise Carr Aquatic Centre. She was included in CHCH TV’s Top 20, 2012, and was also number 10 in CTV Kitchener’s top stories, the same year.

Listing all her recognitions to date is extensive. To mention here only a short list, selected from among the many:

~ World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) Woman of the year in 2012

~ Ontario Lieutenant Governor’s Community Volunteer Pin, presented by Lieutenant Governor David Onley

~ 2012 Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year

~2012 Canadian Sport Awards Spirit of Sport Story of the Year

~ Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, presented by Prime Minister Stephen Harper

~ Recipient, Peace Tower Canadian Flag, presented by Minister Diane Findley MP, on behalf of Prime Minster Harper.

The list continues to grow as accolades of her more recent accomplishments roll in.

Now a sixteen-year-old highschool student, Annaleise remains unassuming, despite the momentous attention surrounding her. The eldest of four siblings, she laughs and smiles her way through her day with her siblings and school chums. She hopes her passionate motivational talks in schools will inspire young people to aim higher and engage in helping others.

Fellowship room, Eden Baptist Church, ON
Peter, with Annaleise and her dad, Jeff Carr,
.

Despite her slightly restrained demeanour when addressing a mainly adult audience, she doesn’t curtail her passion and evident desire to allow God to use her skills and life to bless others – especially the children who receive help and hope through Camp Trillium.

Her efforts and inspiration has helped mobilize, in a ripple effect, many individuals, organizations and businesses. Their efforts, combined with hers have, to date, raised more than $260,000 in donations for the cause.

My wife and I are honoured to have met this remarkable young lady and her family. She acknowledges she couldn’t have accomplished her goals without them and a great host of others who volunteer.

Annaleise Carr is living proof: Great things can and often do come in small packages! And also that God will make a way for those who live for Him and desire to bless others. :)

~~+~~

Source Credits: 1. Live interview October 2014 – Rev. A. Brndjar and Ms. Carr at Eden Baptist Church, Ontario. 2. Toronto, 2014: Recordbooks / Lorimer; “Annaleise Carr: How I conquered Lake Ontario to help kids battling cancer” by Annaleise Carr as told to Deborah Ellis. 3. Simcoe Reformer / Norfolk County Tourism, Ontario. Booklet, 2014: “Conquering Lake Ontario”; #annaswims.

~~+~~

Peter’s new book, “Raise Your Gaze . . . Musings of a Grateful Heart,” was released in August.

Available from:  Angelhopepublishing@glynisbelec.com ; www.glynisbelec.com ; Email ; Amazon

Peter A. Black is a freelance writer and columnist in Southwestern Ontario, and is author of “Parables from the Pond” – a children's / family book (mildly educational, inspirational in orientation, character reinforcing). Finalist – Word Alive Press. ISBN: 1897373-21-X. The book has found a place in various settings with a readership ranging from kids to senior adults.


Tears are a Gift - Rose McCormick Brandon

When we feel God present, often our first inclination is to cry. His presence melts that layer of toughness we all develop to help us survive in the world. When we come to a moment of truth, when it’s just God and us, the barriers come down, and tears flow.

Humans are the only creatures on earth that produce tears. We are hard-wired to cry. Before we looked at the faces of our parents, before we were snuggled in a warm blanket, we opened our mouths wide and wailed with gusto.

There’s something to be said for bawling like a baby. When stresses accumulate, often the best thing to do is to have a good cry.

We not only cry over our troubles, we also cry for joy – at weddings, births and graduations. Tears are often the only way to express how we feel.

Tears are a gift from God. Never be ashamed of them.

The best thing to do with troubled tears is to mix them with prayer. Many, many times as I’ve cried out my prayers to God, He has helped me see my troubles from His perspective. He’s lifted my burdens so that I no longer feel overwhelmed by them. He’s filled me with peace.
Keep this verse close to your heart -

Those who sow with tears
will reap with songs of joy. Psalm 126:5
 

If you are shedding troubled tears today, I pray you’ll sense the comfort of God in a special way and that when your time of crying is over, you’ll shed tears of joy because God has intervened in the events of your life.

For more from Rose McCormick Brandon, visit Listening to my Hair Grow

Made for God - Rose McCormick Brandon

One of the ways God reveals himself to us is through His creation – everything we see around us in the natural world, including our own bodies.

“By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see – eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being.” Romans 1:20

God’s message of love and hope for all humanity is revealed in every single thing He created. If we are not willfully blind and choose to look for it, we can see God’s “I love you” everywhere. Of course, we don’t have the capacity to study everything in nature but most of us can see clouds, watch the moon move through its phases, feel the warmth of the sun, eat the harvest the earth produces and listen to waves. We drink water pumped from hundreds of feet beneath the earth’s surface. We live in houses and print on paper made from trees grown from seeds that God himself planted in the soil He created long ago.

 Seeds – human seed, animal seed, seeds that produce food. Seeds contain life. Every seed on earth can trace its roots back to the beginning, back to creation, back to when God spoke the world and everything in it into being.

God is the starting point of everything.

A one-time agnostic who came to believe in Christ, said, “I came to the conclusion that the universe did not make sense without God. I set out to search for Him and found that He was searching for me.”

The person who denies God is like a man who walks over to a table each day, takes a look at the food, and turns away in disdain. Eventually, that man will become hungry because his body was made for food. Likewise, the human soul is made for God, and can’t be complete without Him.

 We have a built-in need to come to terms with God. Often people experience a sense of “coming home” when they finally accept that God exists and that He has shown His love to the world, not only through His creation, but through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Making it Personal: Lord, the worries of this world keep me earth-bound. Help me to let my mind and soul take in the wonder of You and all that comes from You.

 

Rose McCormick Brandon's book, One Good Word Makes all the Difference, can be purchased here.

Visit her blogs - The Promise of Home and Listening to my Hair Grow.

No One Should be Invisible - Rose McCormick Brandon

A man dropped in to my blog to read my articles on Joan Sepp. His reason for visiting was the recent death of Joan’s husband, Toivo. (Joan passed away a few years ago.) My visitor left this note - 

"I had a hard childhood and was often upset when I delivered the newspaper (to the Sepp home). On the days when I was most alone, one of them often met me at the door and chatted with me. I can't even count the number of times I didn't do something rash because these strong people had taken time to speak with me."

This caused me to think about the “invisible” people who cross our paths each day. They serve us in restaurants, grocery stores and banks. They deliver mail, parcels, newspapers and fliers, fill our gas tanks, pour our coffee, clean our messes and repair our stuff. They take our complaints, reduce our phone bills, ask us to please subscribe to their magazine, offer us deals on this and that, tempt us to buy chocolate bars and cookies. Mostly, they are front-line people who serve. They don’t control their product. But, often we act like they do.

 

Jesus was always mindful of individuals whether he found them in the synagogue, begging on the street, fetching water, tending sheep, fishing or collecting taxes. He looked past their duties. He spoke to the person behind the job. And because of His approach, lives changed for the good. People realized they mattered to God, that they weren’t invisible.

 

This reader’s comment has stirred me. It has reminded me that it really matters how I treat people, whether I meet them face to face, on-line or talk to them on the phone.

I’ve pledged to be kinder. If a busy man like Jesus always found time for people, can’t I do the same?

Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed . . . Acts. 10:38

Joan and Toivo Sepp lost two children to murder. They suffered many dark days, yet they took time to notice and talk to a lonely paper boy. Their noticing made a difference in his life. “After everything that happened to them,” my reader says, “they still had time for a chubby kid delivering the paper.”

 

Making it Personal: Lord, forgive me for not following your example of showing kindness to every human being who crosses my path. Make me alert and mindful to do better.

The articles on Joan Sepp: one, two, three

 

My book, One Good Word Makes all the Difference, is available here.

Weird and Wonderful You by Rose McCormick Brandon

At an especially difficult period of my life, I learned a valuable lesson. The lesson came to me in stages. Part of my learning came from personality evaluations, especially the one by Myers-Briggs. I discovered a tweaked version of Myers-Briggs in "Creative Writing" by Kathryn Lindskoog. She took the original test questions and appropriated them to writers.

Taking that test helped me to better understand who I am and accept some of the things I don't like about myself. I don't mean that I accept my tendency to sinful habits. What I mean is that we're born with characteristics that tend not to change. For example, having a shy, sensitive nature is like being born with brown eyes or curly hair - these traits are unlikely to change.

Too often, we view our in-born traits as weaknesses.
One important thing I learned from taking a personality test was this: I am a bona-fide introvert. This means that I get my energy from quietness. The majority of personalities energize from interaction with others. While I'm not too bad at socializing and love good conversation, this introvert label helped me to better understand a few quirky things about myself.

I used to feel apologetic about my need for time alone. I didn't know that I was born with this need even though I was aware of it even as a small child.

Even now, when I read of those who write books while raising half a dozen children or run organizations while keeping up a full calendar of other activities, I sometimes feel inferior. But, only for a moment. I couldn't tolerate that life.

The same God who etched our finger tips in unique patterns; the One who gave each of us vocal chords that produce sound waves that no one else can produce, eyes, teeth, ear lobes and numerous other features that no other living being on the planet possesses, has also gifted us with differing personalities.
Man-made tests show only a few personality variations but God sees them as plentiful as the stars.

God helps us to understand ourselves and to accept the things about us that we can't change.

The Lord loves weird and wonderful you. Be yourself for His glory!

I will give thanks unto thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made . . . (Psalm 139:14)

Prayer: Lord, I acknowledge that I'm part of your amazing creation - me, in all my weirdness; me, in the depths of my heart where no one can see but you.
Rose McCormick Brandon's book, One Good Word Makes all the Difference is available here.

Life is a Poem - Rose McCormick Brandn

If you build your life on my words, said Jesus, you will be like a house built on a rock. When rains pour and rivers flood, your house won’t collapse. (My paraphrase of Matthew 7:24)

The Greek word Jesus used for the idea of building a life on His word is poieo. The English word poem comes from this word. Poets use words in creative ways to build something original.
“Be a poet,” Jesus is saying. “Take my words and build a life with them.” His words build solid foundations. His words can decorate our lives and turn them into something beautiful.
Recently, I met a pretty mother of two small children. She told how she’d been addicted to heroine, sold her body on the downtown streets and lived in constant rage. I looked into her clear eyes and soft face. I couldn’t picture her slashing her arms, screaming out for help. One rainy night, in the grizzly downtown core, she went berserk. She felt like she was in hell.
Foolishly, she’d built her life on a sand bar. A hurricane had rushed in from the sea and flattened her life. In the middle of her destruction, she remembered that God loved her.
That night this young woman began to build a meaningful life, a poem, because, as Corrie ten Boom often said, “No darkness is so deep that Jesus is not deeper still.”
As long as there’s breath, it’s never too late for God to take the meaningless jumble of our lives and turn them into a beautiful poem.
Build your life on the solid foundation of Christ’s words. 

“One well-chosen word at a time. One stanza of service at a time. And with our words and deeds, we can leave something beautiful behind in the lives of others.”  Eugene H. Peterson.

 

Rose McCormick Brandon writes personal experience, faith, life stories and the stories of Canada's child immigrants. She is married to Doug and lives in Caledonia, Ontario.

Visit her blogs: The Promise of Home (http:littleimmigrants.wordpress.com) and Listening to My Hair Grow (http:rosemccormickbrandon.wordpress.com). Contact address: rosembrandon@yahoo.ca. 

 

Her latest book, One Good Word Makes all the Difference is available here.