Traveling

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Lynn

Pumpkin RV'sWe started off this summer with a family reunion at a little lakeside RV resort in the Kootenays in British Columbia.  We have been going to this lake since our youngest child was a baby.  My husband and I set up our campsite, parking our fifth wheel, a week before our adult children arrived.  This was the first time we had been back to the lake in six years and it was sweet fellowship to gather once again, renew old acquaintances with fellow RV ers, and then spend quality family time with our children and grandchildren.

I’ll be honest, it’s been a tough year so far for the Doves.  My husband had to shut down his business due to the economic downturn here in Alberta and since then he’s been debating whether or not to retire or pursue something new.  It’s an ongoing prayer.  Our children have gone through several trials and struggles and being at the lake allowed each of them to escape (at least for a week) and just relax without worries crowding in on them.  Being surrounded by my children and grandchildren is always my greatest joy, but also my greatest distraction so for a week all I did was focus on being with them…the worries of the world were forgotten (at least for a week).

After a wonderful week at the lake, the children returned back to Alberta and to reality.  My husband and I decided to continue our travels and forego reality for a little while longer, so we spent two more weeks in beautiful British Columbia.  It was the first time in our thirty-six years of marriage we had ever taken a month-long holiday.  Exploring small towns en route, meeting interesting and at times quirky people allowed us time to discover what being “retired” may mean in our future.  Finally ending up on Vancouver Island to visit with family and friends, our hearts and minds turned to thoughts of retiring near the ocean.  Throughout that journey, we were in constant prayer for our kids and we were (are) praying for God’s direction in our lives.  It’s an ongoing prayer.

I was fortunate years ago to have a wonderful and candid conversation with Henry Blackaby (Experiencing God) when I was faced with a life crossroad that had me struggling to know which way to go.  His advice then is applicable now as my husband and our children face  crossroads: “Until God has given you clear direction, go back to the place where you clearly heard His voice and stop there.  Keep doing whatever God called you to do then and wait until He tells you what to do next.”

It is great advice.

I have a tendency to disengage when I struggle.  I turn away from church, from doing my devotions, from being around God’s people.  I listen to the voice of the enemy who says that God has abandoned me and is not hearing my prayers.  I drift in my spiritual malaise and wallow in self-pity.  The further away I turn from God, the quieter and quieter His Voice gets.  Oh, He’s still talking, I’m just not listening.

I know if I stay disengaged, it is harder and harder to re-engage.  So, I’m taking Henry’s advice, once again :), and going back to a familiar path I once traveled when I knew I was connected and engaged with God.

I am going back so I can move forward!

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Scandalous – A VW Bug

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Lynn

SmokeswagonMy first car was a 1959 seasick- green coloured Volkswagon Beetle.  I absolutely LOVED that car!  My father worked for Volkswagon, Canada close to thirty-five years and so I grew up knowing the insides out of every VW that was made from the 1950’s on. When I started university, Dad surprised me with a little red Kharmann Ghia and it was my pride and joy until my brother wrote it off on the slippery, slidey, wintery streets of Calgary.  If I were honest, I was probably more choked up about my car’s demise than the cuts and bruises my brother sustained in the accident.  Sorry, Jack!

When my husband was looking for a second car so I could drive to university in Calgary, he bowed to my pressure and bought a used 1976 VW Rabbit.  On the way home, my husband discovered that “lemon” was too kind a word to describe the car.  We drove it only when it would run, which was seldom. “Live and learn,” he said in frustration as he spent hours trying to figure out the ins and outs of German technology and design.  We had it a year and that was enough for my husband to declare that he would never own another VW vehicle in his life.  My Dad was retired from VW Canada then and held no ill-will towards us because we had lost favour with the brand.  He had served the company faithfully for so many years and was proud of the product even though he admitted that our car was one of the few “duds” he had ever come across.

When my Dad was close to retiring, he told me that all VW Beetles were soon to be retired in favour of a new look and because the company could not economically or mechanically bring the original Beetle up to the standard of current environmental standards of emission that was being expected of all vehicles on the road.  I was heartbroken to think that the Beetle would no longer be seen on roadways and I just couldn’t get excited about the “new and improved” Beetle.  The “punch buggy” I knew and loved was gone only to be replaced by other VW cars with obscure names: Passat, Jetta, Golf, Touareg, and Tiguan.  Is it just me or do those names just sound ridiculous?

But the names of the cars are the least of Volkswagon’s worries this week.

Shares of Volkswagen dropped after U.S. authorities accused the automaker of falsifying emissions data. “The company is said to have been caught cheating on American air pollution tests. Volkswagen installed sophisticated software known as “defeat devices” in diesel vehicles issued between 2008 to 2015. This only allowed emissions controls to run full-tilt during official testing, but emitted 10 to 40 times the legal amount while on the road.” http://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/22/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-volkswagen-scandal.html

It is ironic if I believe what my father said about the old Beetle being scrapped because VW could not or would not upgrade their vehicles to meet environmental standards that this may be the same cause of the company’s problems now.

It would seem that Volkswagon’s motivation behind this is not due to lack of skill in modifying the cars to proper emission standards, it is all rooted in deception and greed.  When will businesses, companies, CEO’s and individuals understand that their sins WILL be found out?

For years VW has traveled smooth roads but now they are facing bumpy times and yes, there’s a great scripture to illustrate what lies ahead:

“Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.”  (ESV Proverbs 20:17)

 

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Refugees and Politics

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Lynn

19346Image1Surely men and women with a lot more clout, money and power must be able to see something disturbing on the horizon as I do.  Am I, a grandmother from a small town in Alberta, Canada, the only one that has some serious concerns about allowing Syrian refugees to take refuge in Europe and around the world?  I, too was moved and shocked by the pictures of a little boy’s body washed up on the shores of Turkey.  He was slightly younger than my own sweet grandson, and of course I was outraged by the tragedy of the circumstances that led to his untimely death.  His death has become the symbol of martyrdom in this refugee crisis and no doubt motivates anyone with Christian morality and concern for the poor and broken hearted to action…but at what cost?

I am not talking financial cost, although that definitely is motivating world leaders as they scramble to open their countries to house the hundreds of thousands of migrants who seek sanctuary from their war-torn country.  We will share the financial cost of housing, feeding and providing a livelihood for those people who will want to share the blessings of our lands.  Here in Canada it will mean providing health care to thousands of people who need medical attention, immediately and in the future.  It will mean providing financial assistance to people who will need food, clothing and housing immediately and in the future.  It will mean ensuring that the infrastructure is in place so these people will be able to find school space for their children at a time when teachers are complaining about lack of funding and large class sizes.  It will mean to find these migrants employment in an economy that as of today shows that Canada’s jobless rate is at 7% with thousands of Canadians currently unemployed.  If they are unable to find employment it means opening up the EI coffers of every province in Canada.  Opening our borders is one thing, ensuring that these migrants prosper in our “land of plenty” will be an ongoing concern and financial responsibility for years to come.  Are we prepared for that?

There is another cost that has kept me awake the last several nights.  With so many refugees flooding into Europe, running past border securities with nothing more than the clothes on their backs and their precious children in their arms, officials are not able to check passports, documentation, and backgrounds of people who claim refugee status.  Recently photos have circulated on social media of “refugees” who have had dealings with ISIS (Islamic State).  As heart wrenching to watch the plight of innocent families, with legitimate reasons for wanting to escape the war, we cannot be blind to the fact that this crisis is also aiding and abetting terrorists and other criminals to enter our countries virtually unchecked.  Are we that gullible to imagine that all these migrants are all “good”, “law-abiding” citizens that we must welcome each and every one with open arms?

Canada is in the middle of a federal election campaign and the migrant crisis is becoming a political “hot potato” with each leader taking a stance on the situation.  They all want to help the refugees, supply aid and open our country to those who seek sanctuary.  That is well and good, but only Mr. Harper, our current Prime Minister is saying that as immediate as our response to the crisis should be, Canada must first seek the security of our own people and fight to eradicate the reason why these refugees have fled their country in the first place.

September 11, 2001 changed our world forever.  We are at war with those who terrorize and seek to destroy our democratic way of life.  Now I fear we may be welcoming these very people – terrorists – into our “home and native land”.  These radicals are waging a war not only against democracy but on Christianity in general.  Jonnie Moore, author of the book, “Defying Isis” wrote in a recent article, “Christianity was born in the east, not the west, and we are witnessing a once-in-a-thousand-year attempt at destroying it in the place of its birth.”  They have one goal, eradicate Christianity.  Anyone who follows a doctrine other than the extremist one they espouse is under attack.

So how should we respond?

We must welcome the migrants who flee tyranny and oppression while at the same time we must do everything in our ability to come against those tyrants and oppressors.  I am in agreement with Prime Minister Harper that the security of our peaceful nation must be upheld first and foremost.  Acting without caution will allow wolves dressed as sheep to enter our country to wreck havoc and heartache here in the future.

But that’s just this grandmother’s personal opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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