July 1 - Canada Day

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians!!

Psalm 33:12  Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance

Canadian Flag - elcivics.com

Canada is my Home

Canada's Birthday is July 1, 1967

Our National Anthem

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.


Things about Canada

In Canada we like to say ...eh?
Canadians are known to be a very nice, polite people. That doesn't always prove true though. Manitoba's license plate even has the words  "Friendly Manitoba" inscribed into it.

example of Manitoba license plate - mpi.mb.ca

Stephen Harper is the Prime Minister. He has a majority Conservative government and I am happy for that. He is a good Christian family man, who loves his wife and children.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper - thestar.com

 He provides stability to our country in these days of financial and general world crisis.
In Canada, we are free to worship the true God and our Saviour Jesus Christ without fear.
The federal government works out of Ottawa, Ontario
Our police force is called the RCMP - Royal Canadian Mounted Police

RCMP - rcmp.grc.gc.ca

Canada has a good military
Canada is a friend to the nation of Israel and I believe God has blessed Canada for that.
Canada is the land of Tim Horton's coffee

everycup.ca

We use the loonie $1 coin, and the toonie $2 coin
The capital city of Manitoba is Winnipeg. The province of Manitoba currently has an NDP ( New Democratic Party) government with Greg Selinger as Premier.
Manitoba is home to the NHL team the Winnipeg Jets as well as the CFL team the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Canada has a reputation of having extremely cold weather. Sometimes people even refer to Winnipeg as Winterpeg. The truth is we have good and not so great weather in all of our seasons. Every season of the year brings nice days.

Winter in Manitoba fineartamerica.com

Canada has an excellent health care system. A lot of care is covered by taxes so therefore, in Canada you can see your family doctor at no charge as well as receive the required hospital care at no charge. Medications prescribed by the doctor (outside a hospital) are paid by the individual family unless the family's income is very low or the medications required exceed the income-based level.
Canada's seniors receive good care in the nursing homes. Seniors start receiving old age pensions from the government at the age of 65.
The CBC ( Canadian Broadcast Corporation) and CTV are Canada's main news networks.
Canada's most popular TV news broadcaster is Peter Mansbridge on CBC's The National nightly news broadcast.

Peter Mansbridge - cbc.ca

Queen Elizabeth and all the royal family are Canada's royal family and loved by most Canadians.
British Columbia is known for its beauty. Alberta is wild rose country and rich with oil. Saskatchewan is home to the comedy show Corner Gas. It was very popular among Canadians though some of the content of the show would not meet Biblical Christian standards.
As Canadians, we love our North and cherish the people who live up there.
The story of Anne of Green Gables is set in the PEI ( Prince Edward Island) on the eastern coast.
Canada is a bilingual country with both English and French being our nation's languages.

Hello in French -   
Quebec is made up of mostly French people, and though we love them, many of them would like to separate from Canada and it is always an on going debate.


May God Bless Canada!!

Good-bye Canadian Penny...

 

Take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves....That is a quote my dad used to tell us.
Or another common saying is .... A penny saved is a penny earned! BUT...


A handful of Canadian pennies - my picture

....today we are saying good-bye to the penny here in Canada. To tell the truth, it is just a bit sad that we have come this far in our hurried lives and in our greed in this country. My local grocery store has not wanted to deal with pennies already for most of a year. They will always give or take, which ever is required so they can go with the nickel instead.  They tell me that at the end of the day when they add things up, it makes very little difference at all.
I have fond memories from my childhood saving up every penny in my little change purse and then the joy of going along to the store with my dad to get some toffee. Oh so good!!!
I was thinking about the penny earlier today and remembering how the penny was used in school to teach the value of each coin, ( the nickel, dime, and quarter) and the dollar bill. Yes, back then we had 1 dollar bills. Now of course we have the loonie ( which is $1 coin ) and the toonie ( which is the $2 coin). I began to wonder how the schools will teach the children what the value is of each coin. eg. the nickel is made up of 5 pennies - what will the teacher say now? The nickel is worth 5 pennies but the children will not even know what a penny is or was. This is a confusing thought.
I also heard on the radio today that there is now talk of getting rid of the nickel as well. What??  Call me old fashioned but I would rather keep things as they were in the old days...keep using the penny and the nickel!
 As Bible believing Christians, we know where this is all heading. Where you ask - to the cashless society and the mark of the beast. Someday no one will be using any real money at all. There will be no buying or selling except with the mark of the beast...666. None of God's people will take the 666 mark. Sadly those who accept this 666 mark will be doomed to hell.
Revelation 13:16-18  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation 19:20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone



The Canadian Penny - my picture

Here is a short piece on death of the penny from the GLOBE AND MAIL:

The penny is beginning to drop.

Canada’s most ubiquitous coin will play a dwindling part in everyday business beginning today, as Ottawa phases it out to cut costs. The passing of the penny will affect the full spectrum of the nation’s economy, from big banks to the corner store – forcing businesses and consumers to change some of their habits.



Some retailers are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to revamp their cash-register systems to automatically round total cash purchases to the closest nickel and train staff about the changes.

But many smaller shops are far from prepared for the overhaul, and will count on cashiers to calculate the rounding manually, potentially slowing the checkout process.

Ditching the penny will inevitably cause confusion in the coming weeks as retailers adopt an array of different strategies to deal with the move. Discount giant Wal-Mart Canada Corp. will continue to take and give change in pennies until next month, when its systems will start to automatically round out total cash transactions (including tax) to the nearest five cents.

Grocery titan Loblaw Cos. Ltd. will begin this week rounding down cash purchases to the closest nickel. And Sears Canada Inc. is leaving its cashiers to manually figure out the rounding, without current plans to update its systems.

Most major retailers, including Tim Hortons, will round cash transactions to the nearest five-cent increment. But the coffee chain, which still does most of its business in cash, will stop giving out pennies as change this week, although it still will accept them

The Royal Canadian Mint stopped producing new pennies in May. After Monday, it will stop shipping them to retailers and banks, saving the federal government about $11-million a year in production costs.

The move was announced nearly a year ago in the federal budget. Still, Canadians are mostly in the dark about the death of the penny, according to a recent poll commissioned by Home Depot Canada.

There is more to the story  link here : http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/currencies/retailers-banks-and-shoppers-adjust-to-life-without-the-penny/article8155151/




Thank-You Veterans - Remembrance Day......

Proverbs 21:30-31 There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord.  The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.

I want to take a moment here to say thank-you to all the veterans of war for your sacrifice for our country. As Canadians, we all benefit from your personal sacrifice and we respect you. We live in peace and freedom and for that we are truly grateful. Thank-you.

I admit that I am not the most qualified person to write a post for Remembrance Day as I do not have close friendships with people who have fought in the wars though I do know people in my community who are veterans. My Dad worked in the bush camps as a conscientious objector but that was many years before my time.
I remember the solemn assemblies on Remembrance Day in my school days at Graysville and I also have attended some of the local Remembrance Day services in my children's school. I guess I began to feel more of the pain that many people feel on this day was when I worked in the nursing home. Seeing the tears of the elderly people as they watched the Remembrance Day services on TV made me it more personal and real for me.




    In Flanders Fields
(by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae )

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.

It's Thanksgiving in Canada!

Leviticus 22: 29 And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the Lord, offer it at your own will.
Psalm 69:30  I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

It is Thanksgiving time in Canada. Thanksgiving Day is on Monday October 8. It is good to gather together with family and friends to celebrate and remember the wonderful acts of God in our lives. How blessed we are  to share good food together and be happy in the Lord. This past weekend I cooked a simple Thanksgiving supper for my family. My husband and I enjoyed a simple meal - our daughter and all three of our boys were home. We had  baked chicken breast, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes and corn from our garden, a fruit salad and homemade apple pie.

 

 This coming weekend we plan to share a Thanksgiving meal with my husband's parents and family and also with my Mother and my side of the family.
God is good and worthy of all our praise. He is the Giver of all the good things we have and enjoy. He made family and blessed us with each other. He is the One who gives us health and strength, and He is our joy. In Him we have the assurance and hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I want to post things that I am thankful for and in sharing these things I give all the thanks and glory and honor to my Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. As more things come to my mind in the next couple of days, I will continue to add them to my list here:

I am Thankful to the Lord for:
* - my husband and each one of my children
* - our home, a warm bed to sleep in at night and food on the table
* - our garden and crops, and the garden tractors we sold
* - the health that we have though there are many challenges
* - my Bible and how God speaks to me
* - our school and the teachers that help my children
* - that our twin sons are both able to go to Bible based colleges
* - my mother-in-law survived her stroke and mostly recovered from it
* - my sister turned 60 years old and we could celebrate her day with a surprise party
* - our local grocery store and the nice people who run it
* - my husband could pump fill our water pond with water before the river got too dry
* - my son recovered from his concussion with the help of a professional chiropractor
* - my friend Percy
* - the snow that is falling here today ( Oct 4)
* - looks like the drought may be ending!

The Olympics - London 2012

1 Corinthians 9:25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.

London is currently hosting the Olympic games 2012. Many people are caught up in the excitement of it all. Our athletes have worked very hard to get to where they are - able to compete on the world stage and much money and time has been spent to prepare for this event. We are happy for our athletes when they win their medals and we are proud to see our country's flag held up.
I want to discuss two aspects of this applied to our spiritual life. The first is taking pride in our country and the second is putting effort into our goals.

Taking Pride in your Country - I am happy and thankful to be a Canadian. We are blessed with a good life here - peace, freedom, shelter and plenty of food available. You could say I am proud to be Canadian.  More importantly than that though and what I value more than my Canadian citizenship is the fact that I am a Christian. Phillipians 3:20 says  For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ 

Our Citizenship is HEAVEN! When this life is over and we are gathered together in Heaven, it will not matter if you were a Canadian, or American, or Russian, Chinese or Iranian etc. All that will matter is that Christ Jesus is your Savior.  We will not be in competetion with each other - all of those that are gathered together in Heaven with the Lord are one huge happy family. So my question is - Why as Christians are we shy about wearing our Heavenly colors here? If we take pride in our country and earthly citizenship - should we not be even more bold about representing Christ here on earth? We should be willing to take a stand for Christ, be bold in witnessing, and share the truth of the Gospel even if it means we are frowned upon by the world. Christ is our passion. He is our hope. It is for Christ that we live! One thing that I have admired about the Muslim peoples in our world is that they are not ashamed to wear their religion so everyone can see what they believe. If you are out and about, perhaps shopping - you can clearly see the Muslims carrying their faith with them. We have a local doctor here who is Muslim and she wears her head scarf as she works. The Muslim faith is a false faith and can never bring them to God. It is not that I am embracing their faith, I am only saying they are not ashamed to show it. The fact that we are Christians should stand out. People should be able to see it in how we love, in our values, our focus in life, our choices in education and dress and entertainment. James McDonald has said ( this is not a direct quote)  As Christians, we should not allow ourselves to be entertained by pagans who take the Name of our Lord Jesus in vain and deny His teachings we find in the Bible.

Put Effort into your Goals - Just as our atheletes have spent hours, days, months and years in training and disciplining themselves to prepare for the Olympics London 2012, so also we need to be putting effort and discipline into our Christian life on a daily basis. If as Christians, we say that we are living for Christ, then Christ should have His way in every part of our life. There cannot be any part of our lives that He is not welcome in. He must have authority in our jobs, in our marriage, in our sex life, in our recreational choices, in our finances, etc. The Bible has clear teachings on what the life of a Christian looks like. The questions we must continually be asking oursleves are  - Does this please Christ? Does it bring Glory to Christ? Do I want this for a selfish pleasure or will Christ be honored in it? Is it of this world alone or does it benefit for eternity? Will it help another person?

 If we are focused on the Blessed Hope -(Titus 2:13   looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,)   We wait for Jesus to come at any time, and we know that we will give account for our choices here, and rewards are available to us (for that which we have done for the Lord ) at the judgement seat of Christ. We now have a whole new way of looking at our life that we live here on earth.  We love what God loves and hate what God hates.

Luke 13: 23-25
²³ Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”
And He said to them, ²⁴ “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵ When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’

Why I am NorthernSparrow...

Those of you who read my blog regularly may have wondered why I go by the name NorthernSparrow here on my blog and Sister Sparrow on Twitter. I would like to share a bit about why I chose the name Sparrow.


First of all, NorthernSparrow - northern just refers to me being from the North, I live in Canada. SisterSparrow - Sister of course refers to me being a gal. But why Sparrow??
When I read my Bible, I find that God is very concerned about each and every thing that He has created which of course includes the human family as well as animals, birds, flowers etc. I find it such a blessing to read that He has the hair counted on each of our heads. For some of us the counting of our hair would take a while but for others maybe not as long. The Lord goes to such huge lengths to take care of us in detail. But what does he say about sparrows? Matthew10: 29-32 says :
²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
³⁰ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
³¹ Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
³² Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

 Jesus uses the sparrow to teach us how very much He cares about us. He knows who we are, He knows where we are, He knows what we need, He knows what is happening to us, and He is available to meet with us and become real and active in our daily life -even in the very small stuff. I can testify this to be true in my own life.

Sparrows were sold for not much money at all  in the days when Jesus walked this earth - two sparrows costed a farthing which is (according to my Bible's commentary)  1/16 of a rural person's daily wage. So I am thinking in today's world a sparrow would be worth about $2-3. So Jesus is saying that none of us is without significance in His eyes no matter how small we feel or others have tried to have us feel. We all matter to Him. In verse 31 He says : ye are of more value than many sparrows.  So when I call myself Sparrow - I am really saying that even though I see myself as insigificant and I feel that I am not nearly as gifted or bright as many others around me, Jesus does value me dearly. I am His child, He died for me on the cross and I have accepted Him as my Savior and Lord. I belong to Him and there isn't anything that can happen to me without my Heavenly Father taking notice. He watches over me. I am one of His Sparrows and therefore I am not afraid.

Matthew 10:28  And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

I just love the song  His Eye is on the Sparrow posted below: 
(written in 1905 by Civilla D Martin and Charles H Gabriel)

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Chorus:
I sing because I'm happy,
I sing because I'm free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.


"Let not your heart be troubled," His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Chorus


Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Happy Canada Day!! (Reposted)

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians!!

Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance

Canada is my Home!

Canada's Birthday is July 1, 1967

Our National Anthem

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Things about Canada

In Canada we like to say ...eh?
Canadians are known to be a very nice, polite people. That doesn't always prove true though. Manitoba's license plate even has the words "Friendly Manitoba" inscribed into it.
Stephen Harper is the Prime Minister. He has a majority Conservative government and I am happy for that. He is a good Christian family man, who loves his wife and children. He provides stability to our country in these days of financial and general world crisis.
In Canada, we are free to worship the true God and our Saviour Jesus Christ without fear.
The federal goverment works out of Ottawa, Ontario
Our police force is called the RCMP - Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Canada has a good military
Canada is a friend to the nation of Israel and I believe God has blessed Canada for that.
Canada is the land of Tim Horton's coffee
We use the loonie $1 coin, and the toonie $2 coin
The capital city of Manitoba is Winnipeg. The province of Manitoba currently has an NDP ( New Democratic Party) government with Greg Selinger as Premier.
Manitoba is home to the NHL team the Winnipeg Jets as well as the CFL team the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Canada has a reputation of having extremely cold weather. Sometimes people even refer to Winnipeg as Winterpeg. The truth is we have good and not so great weather in all of our seasons. Every season of the year brings nice days.
Canada has an excellent health care system. A lot of care is covered by taxes so therefore, in Canada you can see your family doctor at no charge as well as receive the required hospital care at no charge. Medications perscribed by the doctor (outside a hospital) are paid by the individual family unless the family's income is very low or the medications required exceed the income-based level.
Canada's seniors receive good care in the nursing homes. Seniors start receiving old age pensions from the government at the age of 65.
The CBC ( Canadian Broadcast Corporation) and CTV are Canada's main news networks.
Canada's most popular TV news broadcaster is Peter Mansbridge on CBC's The National nightly news broadcast.
Queen Elizabeth and all the royal family are Canada's royal family and loved by most Canadians.
British Columbia is known for its beauty. Alberta is wild rose country and rich with oil. Saskatchewan is home to the comedy show Corner Gas. It was very popular among Canadians though some of the content of the show would not meet Biblical Christian standards.
As Canadians, we love our North and cherish the people who live up there.
The story of Anne of Green Gables is set in the PEI ( Prince Edward Island) on the eastern coast.
Canada is a bilingual country with both English and French being our nation's languages.
Quebec is made up of mostly French people, and though we love them, many of them would like to separate from Canada and it is always an on going debate.


May God Bless Canada!!

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians!!

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians!!

Psalm 33:12  Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance

Canada is my Home

Canada's Birthday is July 1, 1967

Our National Anthem

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.


Things about Canada

In Canada we like to say ...eh?
Canadians are known to be a very nice, polite people. That doesn't always prove true though. Manitoba's license plate even has the words  "Friendly Manitoba" inscribed into it.
Stephen Harper is the Prime Minister. He has a majority Conservative government and I am happy for that. He is a good Christian family man, who loves his wife and children. He provides stability to our country in these days of financial and general world crisis.
In Canada, we are free to worship the true God and our Saviour Jesus Christ without fear.
The federal goverment works out of Ottawa, Ontario
Our police force is called the RCMP - Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Canada has a good military
Canada is a friend to the nation of Israel and I believe God has blessed Canada for that.
Canada is the land of Tim Horton's coffee
We use the loonie $1 coin, and the toonie $2 coin
The capital city of Manitoba is Winnipeg. The province of Manitoba currently has an NDP ( New Democratic Party) government with Greg Selinger as Premier.
Manitoba is home to the NHL team the Winnipeg Jets as well as the CFL team the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Canada has a reputation of having extremely cold weather. Sometimes people even refer to Winnipeg as Winterpeg. The truth is we have good and not so great weather in all of our seasons. Every season of the year brings nice days.
Canada has an excellent health care system. A lot of care is covered by taxes so therefore, in Canada you can see your family doctor at no charge as well as receive the required hospital care at no charge. Medications perscribed by the doctor (outside a hospital) are paid by the individual family unless the family's income is very low or the medications required exceed the income-based level.
Canada's seniors receive good care in the nursing homes. Seniors start receiving old age pensions from the government at the age of 65.
The CBC ( Canadian Broadcast Corporation) and CTV are Canada's main news networks.
Canada's most popular TV news broadcaster is Peter Mansbridge on CBC's The National nightly news broadcast.
Queen Elizabeth and all the royal family are Canada's royal family and loved by most Canadians.
British Columbia is known for its beauty. Alberta is wild rose country and rich with oil. Saskatchewan is home to the comedy show Corner Gas. It was very popular among Canadians though some of the content of the show would not meet Biblical Christian standards.
As Canadians, we love our North and cherish the people who live up there.
The story of Anne of Green Gables is set in the PEI ( Prince Edward Island) on the eastern coast.
Canada is a bilingual country with both English and French being our nation's languages.
Quebec is made up of mostly French people, and though we love them, many of them would like to separate from Canada and it is always an on going debate.


May God Bless Canada!!