Category Archives: Canada

Marvelous Monday. Fly like an Eagle

Posted in Canada, My thoughts, Nature by

On our recent visit to British Columbia, a friend of ours brought us to an area where eagles gathered.  It was marvelous to watch the magnificent birds close up as thimageey perched in the trees or flew overhead.  We spent the whole afternoon with our heads looking up and taking pictures of eagles.  I took this photo with my humble i Pad.

Recently my husband was telling a story to his grandchildren, just as he told his children in the past.

He was telling about the farmer who found an egg in the farmyard.  He put it under one of his hens who was brooding over her eggs.  Eventually the egg hatched and the bird grew.  It became bigger than the other chicks.  It had gangly legs, a big beak and sharp claws.  It had only one friend in the farmyard.

It looked up in the sky one day and saw a beautiful bird soaring high.  He asked his friend what kind of a bird is that.  He told him that is an eagle.  It flies all over the sky travelling miles and miles.  It is the king of the birds.  We are not like that.  The awkward bird was a young eagle.  It lived and died as a chicken.  It never got to fly with the eagles.

Brendan encouraged us to fly high like the eagle and do not be limited to the farmyard.  A friend who is staying with us at the moment explained the wings of an eagle represent praise and prayer in a believer’s life.  When we praise God and pray we rise above our circumstances and get free to soar on the wind wherever it takes us.

If you are in a difficult place right now, start praising God for his goodness and mercy.  Pray about whatever is troubling you and leave it with The Lord.  In no time you will feel lighter and not burdened by your impossible circumstances.  Trust God and fly high.  The answer will come.

“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”(‭Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭31‬ NIV)

Family Friday. We Needed a Van for our Big Family

Posted in Canada, Family Friday, Ireland, My thoughts, Travel by

Brendan and I were having coffee in a country farm house built in 1871 outside Vancouver, Canada.  We were having a late St Valentine’s treat.  It had a wooden veranda the kind you see in cowboy movies.  There was a big chestnut tree in the garden and underneath was a long wooden carriage.  We were enjoying the first of the spring sunshine sitting outside on the veranda, just as the original family would had done all those years ago.

I noticed a photo of the family who lived here on the wall inside.  There was a note below telling us the history.  A family with twelve children lived here.

The carriage has sat dormant through the years of change.  Modern city dwellings are all around this old house.  Modern four by fours speed past on the highway nearby.  The city has overtaken the country.  I imagined the family of the house going into town or going to church in that old vehicle.  It would have been their version of a four by four one hundred years ago.

As our family grew so did the size of our vehicles.   When Brendan and I had two children we lived in town and didn’t need a car.   We travelled by bus or train. The only four by four I had then was a pram.  We had a big Pedigree pram.  There was space to put the groceries underneath and two children sleeping, head to toe.  We had bicycles for each of us and the two children.  Then our family became six.  We had a child seat on each of the adult bicycles.  We went for bike rides along the river, where we lived.  Two more children arrived.  There was no time for bike rides.

Brendan invested in his first car.  It was a white Hillman Hunter.  We called it Nimrod.  That is the name of a character in the bible.  He was a mighty hunter.  Our children were very happy with the up grade.  We felt so proud of ourselves with our first car.  Back then wearing seat belts was not necessary.  My six children packed into the back seats.  We didn’t have to use a baby seat either.  One of the older children nursed the youngest child.

Brendan had the opportunity to buy a Peugeot 505.  It had three rows of seats with space for seven children.  Number seven child arrived soon after to fill the extra space.  I remember going on holiday with the Peugeot packed to the gills with children and goods.  We thought we would be pulled in by the Garda as we crossed the border to the south of Ireland for being overloaded.  Some of the children hid as we crossed.  What a relief we weren’t stopped.

When number eight child arrived Brendan bought a Volkwagon van.  We took out a loan to buy it.  Our young children became teenagers and needed more space.  We needed  a van.  Also seat belts for passengers became the law.  It was our biggest outlay.  I learned to drive in our new vehicle.  I often took my children and their friends to the park and to the beach after school.  It is surprising that not many children from the town get to go on holiday or go to the beach.

Unfortunately the power steering went on our beloved van.  It was going to cost too much to repair.  A friend bought it, but we still had to pay off the loan.  We learned from the pain of losing our Volkwagon.  Any vehicle we bought after that was older and we paid for it in cash.  We would pray and ask God to guide us.  One Ford van was an ex Police van.  It had special protection underneath, so a bomb would not attach itself.  That van lasted a long time.  Another van had been used as a school bus and was in pristeen condition.

And so on it went.  After the Volkwagon we got a Ford van which can carry fifteen people.  We have our seventh Ford van at the moment.  Even though our children have  left home we still have a Ford van.  The good thing about the Ford model is that the seats can be removed.  We use it to help people move house, move furniture, take lawn mowers to get fixed, collect fire logs, take the dog for a walk and trips when my grandchildren come to visit.

A friend of my daughter called us the “Minibus” family.  She envied us going off on holiday with everything but the kitchen sink packed.  So we progressed over the years from having a pram to having a minibus.  I think we will continue to have a van even though we are pensioners.  We will remain “The Minibus Family.”

I said to Brendan,  “That would have been the family van back in the nineteen hundreds”.  We finished our coffee.

Celebrating St Patrick along the Ancient Pathway

Posted in Canada, Ireland, My thoughts, Nations by

I returned to Co Down sixteen years ago.  I was born and lived in Co Down till I was eighteen.  I went to university in Coleraine eighty miles away from home and remained there to get married and rear my children.  In those days I might as well have been moving to another country.  God led us to live return to Co Down.  This scripture spoke to us,

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’ (‭Jeremiah‬ ‭6‬:‭16‬ NIV)

Today, St Patrick’s Day, I am savoimageuring the blessing of living along the shore of Strangford Lough.  There is a small bay below our house where gulls play about on the water.  The water is still. A lone heron stands on a stone for long periods of time looking out for food.  A flock of Brent Geese fly in low over the water.  They come to get some fresh water from a stream nearby that flows into the lough.  My soul is at rest.

I am amazed that these Brent Geese’ only winter habitat is along the shores of Strangford Lough.  Thousands land here after a long journey from Northern Canada in September.  Most are to be seen along the sunny side of the Lough.  They feed on Eel Grass and return in April to the tundra to have their young.  The Brent Geese link me to the past.  For generations  they migrated here.  Their generations back would have been here when St Patrick arrived as a migrant.

In the fifth century St Patrick came to these shores.  The main means of transport in those days was by boat.  A boat could access inland by river.  He came to Ireland answering the call of God to go as a missionary.  He would have sailed up the entrance to Strangford Lough and up the Quoile river.  It is recorded that he settled in Saul near the river.

The tourist board of Northern Ireland has mapped out the St Patrick’s trail which helps visitors travel to areas where early Christians settled.  I have lived in three sites that are along this trail.  I lived in. Saul St,  Downpatrick for sixteen years,  one year in Bright, and now in Portaferry.  I can imagine those early Christians coming ashore like the Brent Geese to get some fresh water after their sea journey.  They could have built a shelter and fished from the sea that was teeming with fish in those early days.  No pollution or over fishing then.  They may have even built a settlement on this land where we now live.

St Patrick’s writings mention scriptures, dreams, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  It is interesting that the Christian denominations, Evangelical, Pentecostal and Catholic all look to St Patrick as their patron in Ireland.  At least we are united in the heritage St Patrick left us.

In Ireland we are blessed to have a Christian heritage for 1500 years.  Ireland is known as the Land of Saints and Scholars.  Many missionarys travelled from these shores into Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas.  God is calling the Irish men and women to remember the God of their forefathers. I celebrate St Patrick today, not with green beer, leprechauns, or parades, but by being quiet on this ancient site remembering the God of St Patrick.  He is the same God I worship, 1500 years later.  Praise Him.

Hope in British Columbia, Canada is a Special Place for Me. https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/places/

Posted in Canada, Cancer, Healing, My thoughts, Restoration, Travel by

I was in Vancouver recently.  As we drove along the highways in Vancouver I saw the sign for Hope on every overhead signpost.  I thought it must be a large city up country.  But it is a small town in the Fraser Valley, but if one wants to drive east in BC you will pass through Hope.  As you drive towards Hope there are magnificent views of the mountains and the river Fraser.

In October 2008 Brendan and I were speaking at a conference in BC. imageCanada.  On the Sunday afternoon we were driving back to Vancouver along the Fraser Valley.  We stopped for a coffee break in this town called Hope.  The cafe was known for home cooked pies.  Our host said you can get mile high pie here!  I wondered what he meant.  In the display cabinet was a variety of home baked pies, blueberry, chocolate, banana, summer fruits, apple, lemon meringue and rhubarb.

I chose the biggest, the lemon meringue with a good helping of cream.  It was the biggest lemon meringue I have ever seen.  Lemon meringue is my favourite.  In Canada the vans  and the trucks, the rivers, the mountains, the highways and the bridges are big.

Seven years ago I would have been bleeding from my colon and hoping it would go away.  Over the next few years I got hopeless for my future.  I was slowly dying.  Until in 2010 I could not hide the bleeding any longer.  I was getting weaker.  I was in despair.  I was unhappy, in distress, lost hope, lost heart, discouraged, I threw in the towel.   I resigned myself that things would not get any better.  I felt lonely and rejected, even though I had my family around me.  I was depressed and felt misunderstood.

Life was going on around me.  I felt left behind.  My children were doing well and leaving home.  My home was getting empty and so was my heart.  My husband was busy with his work.  I didn’t feel I was needed any longer.   Everyone seemed to think mum will be around forever.  I had been strong for everyone one else, but now my strength was failing.  What was there for me to do when all the children had left?   I was hopeless.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭13‬:‭12‬ NIV)

Over the next four months I went through treatment the doctors ordered and my family and many people in the body of Christ prayed for me.   God healed me of 4th stage cancer.  I am alive to tell others that God heals today.  He is not a God far away who does not care.  He is near to help us when we cry to him.  My hope was gone but God in his faithfulness helped me.

Today, nearly seven years later we were back in Hope.  I asked the driver, “Did you know where the cafe is where I can get coffee and “Mile High Pie?”  Hope is a small town.  We found the cafe easily enough, off the main highway.  I checked it out, and yes it was the same place.  The cabinet was full of fresh sweet pies.  I looked them over and found the lemon meringue!  I enjoyed a coffee and pie at ten o’clock in the morning!  Other customers were looking at me.  In Canada people don’t eat sweet pie till the afternoon.

In the seven years since I was in the town of Hope I have gone through the valley of death.  God has brought me through the other side because I grabbed hold of hope in the goodness of God to heal me.  I celebrated my hope being restored as I ate the Mile High Pie in the town of Hope.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/places/

Hunting for Bear or Moose in Dawson Creek

Posted in Canada, Cancer, Healing, My thoughts, Nature, Travel by

Some men in Canada take a weekend off to go Moose hunting.  They travel miles, take camping gear and whatever is needed, in their four by four vehicles.  I did not have to travel far to go hunting.  Moose live wild in Northern Canada.  They normally live in the mountains and forage on food they dig out of the snow.  They come near towns in the winter when they are short of food.

I looked out the back window of the home in which we are staying.  I noticed big footprints in the snow.  Would it be the footprints of a Bear or Moose?  I wanted to take a closer look.  We are in Dawson Creek right now, enjoying the bright sunshine and the snow.  This afternoon I decided to go bear or moose hunting on my own.  I thought I was safe enough.  I didn’t stray far from the house.  I walked along the field at the back of the house.  Yes I found a large footprint.  I followed the tracks up the back .  There were fresh animal droppings, more evidence.  I was excited.  Here I was in the snow up in the North of Canada far from the green grass of home.  I took photos for my investigations.

I was wearing grips on my boots, but they came off in the snow.  I had to go back to find them, alas for they were borrowed.  I found the grips and returned to the house, thankful there was no bear or moose lurking.

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I looked up the internet using my evidence of footprint and droppings to find out what animal had passed by.  I was very happy with the result of my search for large footprints in the snow.  My investigations told me there were Moose about.

I heard a call from downstairs.   Our host told us some Moose were spotted a block away.  We pulled on our warm jackets and got in the vehicle.  We didn’t have to drive far.  There is the bushes was a mamma Moose and a calf.  I had never seen this animal before.  The Moose was well camouflaged in the brown bushes and grass.  When it stood up I couldn’t believe how tall it was.  It looked like a horse, had a hump like a bison and fur like a bear. The young one stood behind in the bushes.  The animals were not startled.  They did not run away.  They just keep a close eye on us.

We stood watching for twenty minutes, face to face with Moose.  Another once in a lifetime event in Canada.  We have had good days in Canada.  God is good.  I am alive.

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. (‭Psalm‬ ‭27‬:‭13‬ NIV)

Reward Seeing Eagles in North America. https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/reward/

Posted in Canada, Holiday, Ireland, My thoughts, Travel by

We had flown eight thousand miles from Ireland to Vancouver, Canada.  We visit different friends in Cloverdale, Coquitlan, Langley, Surrey, Hope, Abbotsford and West Vancouver.  After working with different groups we took a day off.  We were visiting Sescelt, a town on the Sunshine Coast off Vancouver.  The only access to Sescelt is by ferry. Last time Brendan and I visited Sescelt in Vancouver, our host took us for a drive along the Pacific, and told us stories about killer whales and salmon that are abundant in these waters.

We were taking a walk when someone shouted, “The salmon are running.”  Nearby we saw many salmon swimming up the river to lay their eggs in the sandy water bed.  We stood silent watching this phenomena for a long time.  We happened to be there at the right time.

This time we visited Sescelt we had another once in a lifetime adventure with nature. Hundreds of eagles were gathered in an area in the hills where there was easy access to food.  There were eagles everywhere, perched in trees or flying overhead.  We spent the afternoon eagle watching.  Our host loves using his camera.  He was looking for the perfect shot.  He did get some stunning pictures of the eagles.  I used my iPad to take some shots.  I am not a camera whiz kid.  Not as high defination as my friends camera, but I am happy enough to have captured the event.  We happened to be there at the right time.

Most eagles in Canada live in BC, where they are near a supply of fish.  We love to get a glimpse of them when we are in Vancouver.  Perhaps we might see two or three flying overhead back near the city.  But that day we were in eagle heaven.  Both male and female adult bald eagles have a blackish-brown back and breast; a white head, neck, and tail; yellow feet, legs and beak; and pale yellow eyes.

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Immature bald eagles have a mixture of brown and white feathers, with a black beak and brown eyes in younger birds;  It takes five years for a bald eagle to attain solid white head and tail feathers. For the first five years they gradually change; the beak turns from black to yellow, the eyes from brown to pale yellow, body feathers from mottled to dark brown, and head and tail feathers from mottled to solid white. We saw an abundance of eagles of all ages, a reward for our journey across the land and ocean from home, eight thousand miles away.

I was getting my strength back after two busy weeks.  The eagles reminds me of God’s promise.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭31‬ KJV)

Travel Thursday. Flying Across Canada

Posted in Canada, My thoughts, Nature, Travel by

Brendan and I took a day off from our busy schedule in Canada. We walked in the midday sunshine.  The air was still and warm.  We laid a stone on the grave of a Holocaust survivor.  This is the week to remember the seventieth anniversary of release of Holocaust survivors.

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Two weeks ago we arrived in Toronto to a wintry fall of snow.  I loved looking out at the Christmas scenes from the warmth of indoors.  We walked along the cleared walkways in the winter wonderland.
After a week we travelled by plane to Vancouver over Canada.  I looked out from the aeroplane window to see frozen rivers, lakes and the white landscape below.
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Now we are in Vancouver where it is spring. The crocus open up in the warm sunshine. So I have travelled from Winter to Spring in five hours!

 

 

Family Friday. Our Slovakian Grandchildren Come to Visit.

Posted in Canada, Cancer, Family Friday, Ireland, My thoughts, Nature, Prayer, Slovakia, Travel by

 

I arrived home from Iceland last Friday.  Our son John, Rachel and their boys were waiting for us.  They had prepared dinner.  It was delightful to see the children and their joy at seeing grand Dad and grand Ma.  The boys ran about the kitchen excited to see us.  I could see they had grown in a week.  Joseph said Hello Granny.  He has four grannies, two of them being great grannies.  It is amazing he doesn’t get us mixed up.

John and Rachel wanted to hear what adventures we had while away.  When Brendan came home for trips to other countries me and my children were eager to hear his stories about what he saw and how God used him to help others.  Now Brendan is taking me with him on his adventures.

This week I will see my grandchildren who live in other nations.  My son Aaron and his family are visiting from Slovakia.

imageAaron and Marta have three children. They call our home the Ireland house.  They arrived yesterday.  The children were amazed as we walked from room to room and eventually got to the bedroom where the two girls will stay.  Once again the corridors are full of the sound of little children playing.  Our home is ideal for them to play hide and seek.  A little child can squeeze into a small space, under a coffee table, or in a kitchen cupboard.

Children have a disposition to explore and try out new things.  They can easily occupy themselves, chasing each other outside, climbing walls, trees or making mud castles.  Us adults often instill fear into our child, afraid little Johnny may fall and break a bone, afraid of the child climbing the stairs, “Don’t do that?”

When I was young my brothers and sisters played games or went for walks to give our mother space.  We did not have computer games, television, dolls, Mexicano, Lego, iPads or DVDs.  I loved going for walks through the fields to find out what was over the hill at the back of our home in the country.  I loved paddling in the stream that separated my dad’s field from his neighbour’s, on hot days.

Mummy was busy in the kitchen making a meal for us all, or feeding the new baby that had arrived.  We would return home when we were hungry.  None of us got lost or injured.  If we scaped a knee we would give it a rub and continue playing.  We didn’t visit the accident and emergency at the hospital.

I remember having a cut on my forearm.  I was not rushed off to the doctor’s surgery.  I walked around protecting the injured part and the wound closed over in a week or so.  No penicillin or stitches. In those early days seed of believing that God heals were sown.  If I had a cold I learned after a few days I would be well again.  If I fell off my bicycle and grazed arms and knees, in time the cuts would heal.  God made our bodies with an immune system that fights off infection and replaces cuts and bruises.

I now believe that the simple food our mother made us kept us healthy.  We ate home made bread, soups, stews, porridge, eggs and milk from the farm.  In the summer we would have salads, some fruit or the odd apple tart. The fridge and cupboards were not stacked with cereals, chocolate, coca cola, crisps,  biscuits or sugary snacks.

What I learnt when I was growing up helped me rear my own children.  I did not have a fridge or freezer.  My food was bought fresh and eaten.  I did not keep excess.  There was no eating in between meals.

When my grandchildren arrived I had a pot of soup and homemade bread ready for them.  What I learnt from my mother, I did for my own children and now for my grandchildren.  They will play happily while they are visiting grand Dad’s Irish home.

As we sat at night praying and reading the children’s bible with our own children before they went to bed,  so we will do the same with our grandchildren when they are visiting with us.  We will tell them stories of how God answered prayers for us.  Brendan will tell them about his adventures when he travelled in other countries.  I will tell them that God healed granny from cancer;  how God provided our new home for us with space for them to come and visit and many other examples of God’s goodness to us.

Exodus 10 v 2 says,
You will be able to tell wonderful stories to your children and grandchildren about the marvellous things I am doing, to prove I am The Lord.

Today Brendan and I leave to go to Canada.  We will see our Canadian grandchild.  We will have experiences and new stories will be created to journal and recount at another visit of our children and grandchildren.

I Hear the Brent Geese Honking.

Posted in Canada, Cancer, Family Friday, Healing, Ireland, My thoughts, Nations by

My front door is one hundred and ten steps away from the sea shore.  This morning I can hear the honks of Canadian Brent geese that graze along the waters edge.  The sun is coming up over the hill to the left.  It will melt the crisp frost that has whitened the grass overnight.  It’s a new day dawning.

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I think of the song by Matt Redman

The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

[Chorus]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name

You’re rich in love, and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

The Brent geese come to this area of Strangford Lough for the winter.  I always think of our friends from Canada when I see them.  They remind me of the blessing Canadians have been to my husband and family.  Canadians have visited us and we have visited Canada.

There are four aeroplane trails going west to east as I look up in the sky.  Flight paths pass over Ireland from Canada to London.  After the Christmas festivities with friends and family my heart is being drawn to travel and the nations beyond to tell my story of God healing me from cancer.

I was reading from the scriptures this morning.

This message is from the LORD, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit. (‭Zechariah‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬ NLT)

How good it is to sing praises to our God.
He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars and calls them all by name.
How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!
His understanding is beyond comprehension! (‭Psalm 147 v 1 to 4

These scriptures remind me that the God who made the heavens, made me, and he healed my broken heart and healed my wounds and is restoring my life from sadness and sorrow.

I want to sing Bless The Lord Oh my soul.  I am alive to praise The Lord.  Psalm 88 says the dead cannot praise God.  It is good to be alive to hear and see the Brent Geese.

My sons, daughters and grand children were strumming on their guitars, playing a tin whistle and singing last night as we gathered together.  Songs of joy are filling our home and hearts.

One of my grand daughters gets up early to play her guitar and write songs.  She has to rush when her mum calls her for school.

He awakens me morning by morning and fills me with joy.

From Geography Class to seeing the Niagara Falls

Posted in Canada, Family Friday, Holiday, My thoughts, Nature, Travel by

I visited the Niagara Falls on a recent trip to Canada.
When we approached to town of Niagara I could see the cloud of mist that rises up from the Horseshoe Falls. I got excited. I have heard about this feature many times. I remember first hearing about the Niagimageara Falls over fifty years ago. I attended a country school in Co Down in N Ireland. I was standing with other pupils around a map of the world with our primary school teacher. We were having a geography lesson.
Here is photograph I captured on my iPad.  I have a bird’s eye view.

I get to see the Niagara Falls when my thirteenth grandchild is born.

My son dropped my friend and I off at a viewing point. Opposite I could see the American Falls. Then upriver is the bigger Canadian Falls or Horseshoe Falls. What power and beauty in these tumbling waters.
I could not but praise The Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_assignment/photography-101-water/