WHEN IT'S ALL BEEN SAID AND DONE

The desire for personal ‘fame’ is greater now than ever. In fact, it seems that no one wants to slip through ‘unnoticed’.

Do we link ‘fame’ with acceptance? Maybe it’s because we think that only the ‘noteworthy’ count.

Whatever the reason, in a world where most people desire ‘fame’ more than anything else, I was delighted to read about Gordon Phillips in my most recent university alumni magazine.

You know the kind of reading…articles of alumni doing interesting things…and then a column sandwiched somewhere between the covers with short snapshots submitted by each graduate. I read through looking for someone I might know, and didn’t find any. (not sure what this says about my class...but...)  For the most part, these entries involve three areas: career, publication, and awards.

Here is a sampling:

1. assignment as political counselor to the Canadian High Commission
2. appointed Judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta
3. presented his school’s work at the International Conference on Learning in Barcelona, Spain, last year and has co-authored five textbooks
4. chairman of the Calgary Police Commission
5. contributed a short story to the anthology evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead. It’s the first anthology of its kind and her story can be found on page 101

But, back to Gordon Phillips, who painted a very different picture:

Gordon Phillips, BSc’69, has received no awards, honorary or otherwise. He has been granted no titles and belongs to no major organizations. He has never been elected or appointed to any position. You will probably not have read anything that he has written. He lives in Vancouver with his patient wife Diane and some of their five children, practices law and is as happy as a clam.

A huge grin  broke out on my face; Gordon Phillilps, you made my day.  Thank you for this breath of fresh air. Thank you for validating the lives of countless others who, too, are happy as clams, despite their lack of awards, publications, and the noteworthy career movement.

But then, I thought about what really does matter.  It isn't awards, publications, or careers.  But it isn't just being 'happy as a clam' either.  So I turned to God's word: 

“The Lord says: Let not the wise man bask in his wisdom,

nor the mighty man in his might, nor the rich man in his riches.

Let them boast in this alone:

That they truly know me,

and understand that I am the Lord of justice and of righteousness

whose love is steadfast;

and that I love to be this way.”

Jeremiah 10: 23,24

Indeed, when all is said and done, only one thing matters.
Click on the play button on "Joey's Tunes" at the top of the page, to listen to Robin Mark as he shares…

When it's all been said and done,
there is just one thing that matters:
Did I do my best to live for truth?
Did I live my life for You?

When it's all been said and done,
all my treasures will mean nothing.
Only what I've done for love's reward
will stand the test of time.

Lord, Your mercy is so great
that You look beyond our weakness,
and find purest gold in miry clay,
making sinners into saints

I will always sing Your praise
here on earth and ever after.
For You've shown me Heaven's my true home,
When it's all been said and done.

You're my life when life is gone.

When it's all been said and done,
there is just one thing that matters:
Did I do my best to live for truth?
Did I live my life for You?

Lord I'll live my life for You.

Welcome Spring!

Spring is my favourite time ... especially after a long winter.

The sun’s warmth coaxes new life from the barren land…and everything looks cheerful once again.

Here at the end of the road, the crocuses have gone to seed...

but the buffalo beans are out…

The spring storms are out and about…

greening up the pasture quite nicely…

The creek gurgles more than its usual trickle…I can hear it from the verandah if I listen closely.

A new little filly arrived last week…

These parents have their hands full…

The Saskatoons are blooming…

And even the tulips opened their sunny faces…

Welcome, Spring, I’m so glad you’re here. With your presence, I am reminded that all things become new…

II Corinthians 5: 17 says, “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Thank you for the wonder of your creation, Father...

The miracle of new life, both in the world, and inside me.

One Minute Sermon

In a world filled with distractions, sometimes it's hard to hear the still, small voice of God.

In this short video, Tamara Lowe reminds us about the only thing that really matters.

A Time to Grieve and a Time to Dance

GG came to visit not long ago, sporting a lovely necklace – the first ‘girly look’ I’d ever seen on her. Immediately, I thought about my locket from long ago.

The one with pictures of my two boys. One lives in a city 45 minutes away; the other lives in Heaven.

I showed her how the locket opens...

and explained that the picture was her daddy when he was a baby. I didn’t mention that the other one was her uncle…the one who lives in Heaven. She’s too young to understand, but she will…one day…

Many years ago we suffered the worst loss – our 18 month old son. Our first-born.

It was a very black time in our lives, but I held fast to my faith…and slowly – very slowly, the shadows lifted, and life resumed.

Each year, though, on little Jay’s birthday, my heart broke once again, and I started over. When the calendar showed the approaching date, I remembered, and dreaded the inevitable: a sorrow-filled day. We’d make it through that day. Life resumed. And then, again the next year, it would happen again. I wondered if I would ever face that day without such heaviness of heart.

One year, several years after our loss, we received an invitation to my cousin’s wedding. My heart dropped when I read the date. May 2nd. Of 365 days on the calendar, they had choosen our little Jay’s birthday. I just knew it would be a very hard day for us, but we decided to attend, anyway.

The second of May dawned brightly, and I was so busy getting ready to go, I didn’t look at the calendar. We dressed in our finery, drove to the country church, listened to solemn vows, and prayed for the bride and groom as they began their lives together. From there we travelled to a little community hall, enjoyed a wonderful dinner, joyously danced in celebration of fresh new love and new beginnings. We visited with family members we don’t see often enough, and others who are now gone…

Exhausted with that ‘good kind of tired’, we arrived home. It wasn’t until I was getting ready for bed, that I glanced at the calendar and remembered the date.

I’d made it through.

It hadn’t been the day I’d dreaded. In fact, it had been wonderful. It was at that precise moment, I knew I was healing. There truly is

a time to grieve

and a time to dance. 

(Ecclesiastes 3:4b)

Of course, that wasn’t the end of my grieving. But it was a turning point. It was the re-birth of a long-forgotten joy; a much-needed emotion.

If you are in the depths of sorrow;

an inky black hole you can't seem to escape,

hold fast to the One who

gives power to the tired and worn out, and strength to the weak. 

(Isaiah 40:29)  

The carpenter from Nazareth,

the King of Kings

 and Lord of Lords. 

He knows your suffering; he knows your pain. 

Give your burdens to the Lord.  He will carry them.

(Psalms 55:22)

Happy Anniversary, Bobby and Carol. May God bless you all of your days.

Yesterday I learned that my friend had a new grandbaby, born on May 2nd. Welcome to the world, wee Jaime Paul. May God bless you, as well.