Come on ring those bells

     

     I've just returned from taking my turn manning the Salvation Army collection kettle at one of our local stores.  I really enjoy volunteering at this time each year. 

      
     I like people, so greeting them with a smile comes easy for me. It's great watching them throw in their loonies and toonies as, "every little bit helps, and no amount is too small." 
     

     But, I am especially pleased when someone digs down deep in their pocket, pulling out a whole handful of change or better still, a shiny, large bill. 

     Today, I had a delightful helper for a short time. Four-year-old Hayden — fascinated with my bells and the coins as they clinked into the bucket — began encouraging other passersby to donate too. Many did, giving him the opportunity to place their donation into the bucket, which was part of his plan. Of course, his charisma helped, special to a child his age. 

     

     The history of the Salvation Army kettles began with Captain Joseph McFee in 1891. McFee wanted to help the vulnerable in San Francisco during the Christmas season but, he didn't know where to get funding. 

     During his earlier days in Liverpool, England, McFee recalled seeing a large kettle, where passengers of boats that docked nearby, could toss coins in to help the poor. 
     Captain McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing, and encouraged the public to "keep the pot boiling." He collected enough to host a Christmas dinner for the poor. 

     The first time a kettle was used in Canada was in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1906. 

     These kettles give the public an opportunity to donate whatever they can to support the work of the Salvation Army.

     The money goes to help their annual Christmas toy and food hamper fund, and also supports many other programs that the Sally Ann provides year round.  

     So, why not sign up as a volunteer and ring at a kettle!

— beulah

Report card on God

     

     I've been hearing from the teachers in my family that report card time has arrived once again. This always brings a wave of nostalgia, as I recall my own busy teaching days. 

     
     I continue to find children at any age, interesting and so very special. The following article is too precious not to share with my blog readers. 

     Again..."out of the mouth of babes"... often comes truth. Could we describe God any better? This was written by an 8 year old from California for his Grade 3 homework assignment.      

     The assignment was to explain God.  

     "One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. 
     I think because they're smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers. 
     God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people like preachers and things, pray at times besides bedtime. 
     God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or T.V. because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off. 
     God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps him pretty busy. So, you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have. 
     Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in my church. Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. 
     They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him. But, he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said OK. 
     His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself, without having to bother God — like a secretary, only more important. 
     You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time. You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God. 
     If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know he's around you when you're scared, in the dark or, when you can't swim and you get thrown into deep water by big kids.    
     But, you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases. And that's why I believe in God."   

     

     Quite mature thinking from a young brain. 

     As Art Linkletter said many times, "Kids say the darndest things."




— beulah

So, this is my prayer for you, Rob Ford

Another day.  Another apology.  Join the conversation.    

     Since we live in a fallen world filled with imperfect people, another fiasco revealing more imperfect leaders — blazing the news headlines — shouldn't surprise us anymore. 
     I confess, I have been watching this painful drama unfold each day, with compassion and heart-felt sorrow. I see Rob Ford, mayor of one of our largest cities, continuing to damage his own reputation. He is trying to be relevant and stand tall against a "no-win" situation; it has caused him to exhibit erratic behaviour, using vulgar language, and revealing a lack of self-control. He is carrying a heavy load of pressure no man should be under, and my prayer is that he will soon relent and seek the needed help.  

     

     Today, during my Bible study, I was directed to the book of Titus. Paul's letter to Titus gave instructions as to qualifications necessary for "overseers"(those with authority over others).

     He first describes what they must not be: not over-bearing, not quick tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not addicted to much wine, and to slander no one. 

     On a positive note, they must be: worthy of respect, self-controlled, disciplined, peaceable and considerate, show that they can be fully trusted, show integrity, seriousness, soundness of speech, so that those who oppose may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about their leader. (Check out the three short chapters of Titus). 

     
     Sounds to me, our today's leaders would find helpful guidance if they chose the right source. I believe God has appointed us, not only stewards of his physical creation, but also of his design for society. We are to respect those he has placed in authority, giving honour to those who have earned it. 

     
     The aforementioned character traits cannot be produced on one's own. Rob Ford's greatest need is to have Jesus' Spirit and Power in his life, thus, helping him to find calm, peace, humility and sensibility he so desperately needs. 

So, this is my prayer for you, Rob Ford.   

     "You will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."                                                             

 – Isaiah 26:3

— beulah

Carpe diem; Carpe deum

     What if every day was Remembrance Day? What if we were conscious of our daily blessings that most of us enjoy in this great country — remembering to thank our Provider? 

     It must please our Heavenly Father when His children respond with a grateful heart. 

     Nothing makes this Grandma's heart feel more blessed than when she has her family surrounding her at the dining table.

     Thus, it was this past weekend, when 14 family members were reunited once again. 

     What a delight to watch the camaraderie between siblings, cousins, nephews and sister and brother in-laws —catching up on the latest happenings in each of their lives! 
     My one-and-only great grandchild (to date), two-year-old Evie, stole the show, "wow-ing" everyone with her vocabulary and natural ability to entertain. 
     

     

     My lovely granddaughter, Sarah's recent significant other, Tyler, added excitement to our weekend, as our family anticipated meeting him for the first time. 
     

     

     Everyone willingly offered their culinary talents, creating a smorgasbord of delicious dishes. 

     

     Whether participating in a table game, watching the sports channel on TV, or cousins teasing one another as they related a long ago forgotten memory or, quiet moments of vocal harmony 
— blending voices as we recalled

the songs of yesteryears, everyone would agree... "a good time was had by all." 
     

     No doubt, we all felt a great sense that these shared moments, were to be treasured.   

     These are the moments we'll look back upon and cherish. 

     

          

     I love each of you. 

     So many things make you unique. You are important in God's plan and highly-valued by Him. 

     As I think of each of you, I renew my goal to seek God more earnestly in my daily prayers, on your behalf.
     

     My desire is to be a living example of God's love and grace — an encourager to each of you as you journey through life. 

     

     Your life is God's gift to you. Make it your gift to God, and play the game of life well.   

     Grantland Rice, a gifted sports writer in the first half of the 20th Century, wrote a little poem for which posterity will probably remember him best. 
     

     It says: "For when the one great scorer comes to write against your name, he marks not that you won or lost, but how you played the game."     

Carpe diem; Seize the day. 

Carpe deum; Seize God.




— beulah

In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow

In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow, 

Between the crosses row on row, 

That mark our place; and in the sky 

The larks still bravely singing, fly — 

Scarce heard amid the guns below. 

We are the dead, short days ago 

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, 

Loved and were loved, and now we lie 

In Flanders fields. 

Take up our quarrel with the foe: 

To you from failing hands we throw 

The torch; be yours to hold it high. 

If ye break faith with us who die 

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow 

In Flanders fields.  

     This poem — that I first learned in school — had special meaning for me, when, a few years ago, Nels and I were travelling on a bus tour through Flanders Field, Belgium. We actually saw the poppies blooming there! 
     It remains a poignant reminder of the awful horrors that war brings. It was written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae M.D., during the terrible battle in the Ypres salient (in Belgium), in the spring of 1915. 
     

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae M.D 1914

     How it came to be written is quite interesting. McCrae, as acting surgeon, was attached to the First Field Artillery Brigade. He was part of the McGill faculty in 1900, after graduating from the University of Toronto. 
     In this assignment, he had spent 17 days treating injured men. He wrote of the ordeal: 
"I wish I could embody on paper some of the varied sensations of that seventeen days... seventeen days of Hades!" 
     One death that particularly affected McCrae was a young friend and former student from Ottawa, as he took part in his burial, in the cemetery nearby. 
     The next day, while sitting on the back of an ambulance parked near his dressing station, McCrae vented his anguish by composing this poem. 
     

     While overlooking his friend's grave, he could see the wild poppies that spring up in that part of Europe, being blown by a gentle east wind. 
     After spending 20 minutes of precious rest time scribbling 15 lines, dissatisfied with it, he tossed it away. A fellow officer later retrieved it, sending it to newspapers in England. It was published December 8, 1915.    
     As the Second World War was declared that September, 1939, I distinctly remember the dark clouds of fear and gloom that hovered over our community. 
     Everyone rallied, wanting to do their part. To aid the war effort, my dad went off to Goose Bay, Labrador, to help build airstrips. 
     

     Nels, as a young lad of 20, joined the R.C.A.F., and was posted to a base at Patricia Bay, near Victoria, B.C. 

     When his unit was transferred to the Aleutian Islands, he remained at Patricia Bay, because of his specialized training as an aero-electrician, teaching future pilots flying skills on link trainers.

     

     His oldest brother, Basil, however, did get to serve overseas as a Lieutenant, with the Field Artillery Regiment in England. 

     McCrae's poem inspired Moina Michael, an American college professor, to write her own poem to those lying in Flanders Fields, entitled, We Shall Keep the Faith (1915). 

     



The concluding stanza of her poem declares:  

And now the Torch and Poppy Red, 

We wear in honour of our dead. 

Fear not that ye have died for naught; 

We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought in Flanders Field.    

Let's proudly wear our red poppy, not only as a sign of remembrance, but as an emblem for keeping the faith with all who died for our freedoms.   

— beulah

Remind me of what I'm supposed to be forgetting

     

     November is the month of remembering. It's a time for us all to pause and honour those who willingly fought for the freedoms we now enjoy. 

     But, sometimes it is also healthy for us to pause and acknowledge those things from our past that we should have already forgotten — memories, we may still be carrying with us, allowing them control over our thinking — as we continue regretting what no longer can be recovered. 
     
     We all have unfulfilled dreams. Perhaps, disappointed with past failures, financial setbacks; a sought-after educational degree left unfinished or, a desired career; the promotion you thought was deserved instead, given to another; a promising relationship that went wrong; unsolicited and hurtful advice that caused deep wounds; or, others made you feel small or not accepted.   
     Forgiveness is necessary. We can't go forward by looking in the rearview mirror. Sometimes we need to reinvent our lives or, redefine ourselves. 

     

     "Each morning as we wake-up, we have two choices: to continue our sleep with bad dreams or, to wake-up and forget our past disappointments and chase our dreams — the choice is ours."

— Beulah Eagles 

     
     The following excerpts from an article written years ago by Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933), American author, educator and clergyman, seems to put it in perspective: 

     "Am I willing to ignore what the world owes me, and to think what I owe the world? To see that my fellowmen are just as real as I am and try to look behind their faces to their hearts; to realize that probably the only good reason for my existence is not what I am going to get out of life, but what I am going to give to life; to close my book of complaints against the management of the universe, and look around me for a place where I can sow a few seeds of love."      

     So, don't let the heart go to waste — use it to bless others. Treat everybody as if they were somebody. 

Remember these five things that you cannot retrieve in life...

• a stone after it's thrown 
• a word after it's said
• an occasion after it's missed. 
• the time after it's passed 
• a person after they die

— beulah