Whatever He Says

As long as I can remember, I have loved to sing. I must have been only 6 or 7 at  Hagley Primary School in the U.K  when a rotund, grey-haired teacher strolled up and down the rows of earnestly singing students. His head would tilt as he listened for the slightest hint of dissonance among our voices. He taught us to take a deep breath and exhale slowly, carrying sound on our breath. I still remember him, though not his name, across the long span of 63 years! I loved singing hymns during morning assemblies throughout the rest of my school years, and later, as a teenager in a small evangelical church, sang with a gospel band. We were led by an excellent musician and singer who managed to muster the troops into some kind of order. I often wondered, though, why God apparently didn't give me the voice to match my love of singing. People sometimes assured me it had a "nice" or even "beautiful" sound, but I just heard a soft, thin, reedy voice. A few months ago...

We left for the city at 6.30 a.m. with a crescent moon still bright in the morning  sky. By the time we were on the Gardiner Expressway, the sun was up and washing the city of Toronto in a rosy glow as though trying its best to counteract the arctic chill of the coldest morning of the winter. I told Paul that I felt like  Forrest Gump , the movie character who was accidentally present at many historic moments. We were on our way to an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the flag of Canada, the distinctive Maple Leaf. Paul had been invited weeks earlier to be in a commemorative photo; a living recreation of the flag; but a few days before the event had received an email saying that there was still space and a significant other could accompany him if he wished! It felt surreal, and an exciting honour that we would both be in a photograph that would be included in the public record of this celebration.  We made our way to the  Mattamy Athletic Centre ;...

Friends, this was originally posted January 5th 2007. Tonight I am tired, so am leaning on a repeat! :) The thoughts mean much to me because friendship is such a strong value in my life. I pray that it is a blessing. John 15:15 (The Message) Eugene H. Peterson 11-15 I've told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I'm no longer calling you servants because servants don't understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Father. From a place of trust the words come out, unfiltered, tumbling with abandon, expressing the shape of a heart, the set of a mind. With anyone else the words would be more guarded-- weighed, measured--but with...

Philippians 4:6-7 (New International Version) 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The plaque on the kitchen wall said, Life Is All About How You Handle Plan B. I smiled at first, thinking how true the words were, but they were also poignant, for the one in whose kitchen I sat, was mourning the death of a much loved husband, who died just a few months ago; a sudden separation and all too soon. Outside a winter storm was gathering strength as the afternoon drew on, but the kitchen was cosy and welcoming, with sunshine yellow walls and white painted cupboards. Interesting nick-nacks stood on window sills and shelves and the air was filled with the aroma of the evening's supper cooking. We sat across the table from one another and talked the minutes and hours away until the late aft...

Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek it's own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; [Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails;... I Corinthians 13: 4-8 NASV I received in my inbox this week a picture of the ocean. Waves extended to the horizon, yet close to shore, they churned in white foam. Various shades of blues and whites were captivating. On the beach were 4 persons holding hands, two female, two male of various ages. One was Asian, one European, one American and one was African. In bold black letters, written in the surf were the following words: IF YOU COULD FIT THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE WORLD INTO A VILLAGE CONSISTING OF 100 PEOPLE, MAINTAINING THE PROPORTIONS OF ALL THE PEOPLE LIVING ON EARTH, THAT VILLAGE WOULD CONSIST OF 57 ...

It was on the morning of March 4th that Ashna Khanna's world turned into a nightmare. That morning the 14 year old Alliston girl was repeatedly stabbed with a knife by her father; an attack that sent her to Sunnybrook hospital in critical condition. In those few moments, a girl's life was changed forever and her family spiralled into a vortex of horror. Her friends at school, awoke to the news that morning that left them in stunned shock. One of them, Summer, felt compelled to go to the hospital as soon as she could get there, just to comfort Ashna by her presence. In order to do that, she had to go into work with her dad at the Ontario Food Terminal in the middle of the night, so that he could take her to the hospital after work later that day. Her dad was filled with compassion too. When he thought of his own daughter, he couldn't imagine something like this happening to one of her classmates and his heart was full of the desire to do whatever he could to help. Wh...

I was on my way to an appointment in the downtown core of the city of Toronto; a place I am more used to seeing in the distant haze on the horizon than at close quarters. My friend Irene had advised taking the subway and so, having parked my car on the rooftop of a multi story car park at the Madison Centre, I found my way, with the help of kind strangers along the way, through the tunnel to the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) at Yonge and Shepherd. A little breathless from running down the stairs, I was relieved to finally be on the southbound train as it lurched away from the station, along the one of the routes that run like veins from the suburbs to the pulsing heart of the city. As the train zoomed, swaying and rolling through the various stops, to my destination at Yonge and Bloor, I looked with curiosity at my fellow passengers and observed their practiced ability to close themselves off from human contact. I noted the downcast eyes, the studied concentration on a book, or docu...

Tonight Susan and I were talking about Whatever He Says and what it means to us to write on this blog. I've always recorded reflective thoughts in journals but I didn't think seriously about sharing them with others. At a writers conference; Write! Canada, about 5 years ago. N.J. Lindquist, in her workshop, Discovering the Writer in You, said that when God gives you something to say, you should treat it like gold; that he doesn't just give it for you, but you have a responsibility to share it. Marilyn Yocum, another instructor, challenged me when she said, "Don't say you have a 'call' and then disrespect the Lord by not following through on that call." Towards the end of April 2006, I started sharing the thoughts God gave me each day with a group of friends by email. That year I went to Write! Canada, and reconnected with Marilyn Yocum. After the conference we corresponded by email for a while and she asked me what my vision was for my writing. I w...

Deuteronomy 4:7 (New International Version) 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? We gathered, drawn together by a common bond, a desire to deepen our roots in the faith but also by a hunger for community and fellowship. This night each week is when the tables are set for as many as come and a meal is a gathering place. Tonight three or four different conversations were going on all at once over dinner. Two little girls in pajamas and fluffy housecoats were deep in conversation with Andrew, who has the priceless ability to converse with children and apparently enjoy it as much as they do. They are making precious memories and learning that their words are valued and taken seriously. This is one adult that listens and talks back--what a gift he is to them. The meal was ready later than usual, and Susan P. and Michelle had to leave at 8.00--they both rise early for work, so we had prayer after supper s...

1 Peter 2:5 (New International Version) 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Sacred ground, that's what it often feels like--for within these walls God's work goes on and his Kingdom advances. I think of it as a greenhouse where saplings can grow sturdy--a safe place where the atmosphere is steeped in prayer and the peace of God can seep into a soul. There is nothing comparable to feeling the breeze of his Spirit as he is at work in someone's life. It was about 25 years ago that I read Edith Schaeffer's book about the organization in Switzerland that she and her husband Francis founded in their home--L'Abri--French for The Shelter. L'Abri Fellowship began in Switzerland in 1955 when Francis and Edith Schaeffer decided in faith to open their home to be a place where people might find satisfying answers to their questions and practic...

John 15:15 (The Message) Eugene H. Peterson 11-15"I've told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I'm no longer calling you servants because servants don't understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Father. From a place of trust, the words come out, unfiltered, tumbling with abandon, expressing the shape of a heart, the set of a mind. With anyone else, the words would be more guarded-- weighed, measured--but with a friend, words can dance free. Words, sound-symbols for things and thoughts. They need to be out in the light to live--to stretch their wings--to be tested. Held close to the chest or closed within, the...