Sigh. Sigh. And Triple Sigh.

It's Tuesday evening. My hubby is gone for the week. My Blue Jays are getting absolutely spanked. And the Leader of my country has gone from someone I was thankful to have at the helm (even if he wasn't perfect) to someone who makes me embarrassed I am a Canadian.

So how is your week going for you?!

Sigh.

I know.....really, that my Blue Jays got royally beat up (pun intended....) is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. Actually, it's not even a deal in the grand scheme of things. So, who cares about them? Well, I kind of still do......but not when I put things into perspective.

And, really, my husband is gone for 4 nights. That's it! Just 4 nights! Yes, he was gone last week for 3 nights and now 4 nights, but really, to put it blunt: he's not dead! I am not a widow!! Not a big deal then in the grand scheme of things. So do I have a right to sigh?! Sort of......but not when I put things into perspective.

Now, to our new Prime Minsiter. Mr. Justin Trudeau.

Marks for good looks? Ummm, maybe 7 out of 10.....if this is what turns your crank.

Marks for Politic knowledge? Can one give a negative?!

My, oh my. Certainly a bigger deal than the Blue Jays winning or losing, or my hubby being gone for 4 nights. When I think of the future with him as our leader, sitting with the bigwigs of other countries like Putin, Obama and others, I can't help but shudder, wince and hang my head in shame.

How is it that Canadians elected someone to lead their country who has zero, that's right, ZERO!!! experience in politics other than living in the Prime Minister's home when his father was Prime Minister?!?! (and don't Canadians remember when his dad was Prime Minister and the damage he did......interest rates, anyone?) I mean, really, I don't even hire someone inexperienced to babysit my kids!! Let alone lead my country! Have we not all applied for jobs where the term "Experience Needed" is mentioned first and foremost?!

What were we Canadians thinking?!

Oiy.

Time for perspective again, or I will sit here, dwelling and disbelieving, become negative and grumpy, which is just not healthy. Or the way God wants me to live. Oh, that's right - God. Wait a minute - there's the perspective: It's actually not Mr. Justin Trudeau in control, my God is the One who has it all in His hands! He is the One who has given Trudeau the authority of leading this country (whether Trudeau recognizes it or not). It is God, our King and Ruler Supreme who has a plan for this country, and maybe that plan is for us Christians to get off our butts (those of us who are sitting on them) and get a voice! We need to be heard! We need to do something. It is time, it is time!!

So, with remembering verses like the ones below, I shall ask for forgiveness of not doing enough. I shall remember and take comfort in the fact that we all have a King to answer to, even Mr. Trudeau. I shall ask for the Spirit's help in not putting my trust in the economy, or platforms, or governing rulers, but only in our God. And I shall not only pray for me, but for all Canadians, including Trudeau. Certainly not our choice of a leader, but a choice has been made, and I must respect that. I pray he will begin to recognize Who put him in this tremendous task of leading our country, Canada.
:
Ps. 72: 8: He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. 

Ps. 2:  Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. 3 "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." 7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery." 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Ps. 146: 3-6:  Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, 6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them-- the LORD, who remains faithful forever. 

Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our Dominion, in thy loving care.
Help us to find, O God, in thee,
A lasting rich reward.
As waiting for the better day,
We ever stand on guard.
God keep our land, glorious and free.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!

A Note of Thanks for Our Schools, As Well as a Petition.....

Now that the kids are getting somewhat older and most of Keziah's surgeries behind us, I have been able to be in the school environment a bit more since September. I have had the privilege of supply teaching a number of times, teaching students in Gr. 4, 5 and 6. Every Tuesday afternoon, I am also volunteering in a Gr. 3 and 4 classroom (our school is small, and so we have split grades).

I have found out, after a 5 year break, that the classroom is still where my heart is. Oh, how I love being with the students, teaching, sharing, guiding, learning and everything in between. Being in the classroom gives me such an adrenaline rush - it is hard to explain. I just love it. The best part though? Unlike 5 years ago, I come home to my *own* children rather than an empty house. Best of both worlds!!!

Now that I am in our schools off and on, I have come to recognize again how blessed we are to have our own schools (I always knew our schools were a blessing, but you really don't get it until you are in it). When I say "our own", what I mean is that the children and teachers that are at this school all come from the same spiritual foundations. These foundations are not only taught in church and in home, they are also taught in the school by staff that believe the very same foundations.

I don't know the exact number, but I believe we have something like 14 elementary schools just in southern Ontario.....plus a number in Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, The United States and Australia, to name a few. That's not counting all the interdenominational school......just schools that are from our churches.

In these schools, we are so blessed to have such dedicated staff and volunteers that care for our children, spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. The love and care by the teachers that is distributed amongst our children is so evident.

The knowledge that we all, teachers, parents and students, are children of God, all belong to the covenant family, all are sinners in need of a Saviour, which has been given to us many, many years ago is something that should also be visible. It may not be so visible to the eye, but it is visible through 'feeling'. You can feel it through the hum, the cadence, the rhythm that is in the atmosphere.

How important it is then to fight for our private schools.....but it actually doesn't really doesn't stop there. We need to fight not just for our own schools, but also those around us, the public system.....especially here in Ontario. Why?

I just need to say one name: Kathleen Wynne. If you are not familiar with this name, she is our premier of Ontario. And boy, is she ever using her position of authority to drastically change a few things, one of them being a curriculum taught in the schools, namely the Sex Education Curriculum.

To give you an idea of what she is trying to do and then what YOU can do about it, I encourage you to read and watch the following links:

 http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/3900111008001

Arpa

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-graphic-revisions-to-ontarios-sex-education-curriculum.html

Sign the petition!!! Please!!

I know what you are thinking - but these changes won't affect us because we won't need to teach this exact curriculum due to our schools being private. Guess what?! It could very well affect us, because who knows how long we will be able to continue to teach our children in freedom! Who knows how long we will be able to keep our private schools! Who knows how far this premier will go as long as she has "power"!

So, please, take the two minutes and sign the petition.

And after that? Continue to pray for our schools; be thankful we still have the freedom to have our own schools and be ready to do what we can to keep it this way.

Oh, and one more thing - go thank a teacher. They are such gifts from the Lord that are placed in our lives to help us carry out the vows we made as parents at our children's baptism. And, if you have a moment, go early the next time to pick up your child and stand in the halls. Notice the pulse in your child's school, the underlying current that flows from one classroom to another. And praise God for this blessing: of our own schools.

We Shall Not Forget

Lincoln and I were able to take in the Remembrance Day ceremony at the cenotaph this morning. It's the first one I've been to in forever, and I am glad to have attended it. As others have said, it is one of the last public ceremonies that mention God through prayer and songs. I was actually pleasantly surprised in how often we prayed! And how often God was addressed.

Our school attends, grades 1 - 8, and two of our students were privileged in placing down a wreath. The service overall was beautiful and humbling (we won't talk about the singing though.....yikes. A school band or choir would definitely help in this department). I am thankful I went.

 

The service was quite well-attended, thanks to the beautiful weather; the recent events of the deaths of two of our soldiers on home soil had a large part of this as well.

We don't get to see The Canadian Mounted Royal Police everyday!

Although Lincoln couldn't see a whole lot, and the service was an hour long, he was pretty quiet. His reward for good behaviour?! :o) He was allowed to sit on this:

Watching the News tonight, seeing elderly men cry as they Remember what they were involved in so many years ago was heart wrenching. We just have no idea what they have been through, as well as the images that go through their minds. May we continue to pray for our veterans, as well as our troops in the present day, wherever they are, not only today but everyday.

God, Please Continue to Keep Our Land Glorious and Free

It sure has been quite a week here in Canada, particularly in a city that is 5 hours from where we live. I am sure most, if not all, of you have heard of the events that have transpired around our government buildings on Wednesday. It definitely has made us sad yet alert and thankful once again for the men and women that serve in our military. May we continue to pray for all those who serve this beautiful country that we live in. To read a bit more, here is a link

However, our prayers don't stop there. We also pray for these radicals, the men and women who are so lost in their way that they feel the strong need to take not only others' lives, but also their own. What is so sad about all this is, while what happened in Ottawa is tragic, events like this happen daily in other countries! May these countries remain in our prayers, as well as the leaders that are in positions of authority. We pray for the terrorist groups as well, the many that are around the world who feel they are above and beyond the law. May they see that although they are convinced that they have control and are on top, there is still One higher than they. And that is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Psalm 2 New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 2

¹ Why do the nations conspire^[a]
    and the peoples plot in vain?
² The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
    against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
³ “Let us break their chains
    and throw off their shackles.”

⁴ The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
    the Lord scoffs at them.
⁵ He rebukes them in his anger
    and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
⁶ “I have installed my king
    on Zion, my holy mountain.”

⁷ I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;
    today I have become your father.
⁸ Ask me,
    and I will make the nations your inheritance,
    the ends of the earth your possession.
⁹ You will break them with a rod of iron^[b];
    you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

¹⁰ Therefore, you kings, be wise;
    be warned, you rulers of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear
    and celebrate his rule with trembling.
¹² Kiss his son, or he will be angry
    and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
    Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

 

(Nathan just called me half an hour ago - he happened to be on an overpass on the way to a conference, and stopped as he noticed the processional of Nathan Cirillo's body was passing by. Too hard to describe in words, he said, but man, are we both proud to be Canadians. Here are some photos of the processional)