Sorted by date Results 176 - 200 of 354
I was reading a story in the book of our Creator Jesus, the other day, and I was forced to determine if I was going to have a positive outlook on life and find true meaning, or if I would become very negative and let my emotions get the best of me. There is a story in the book of Jesus that has the title Ecclesiastes. It is a long story of a king who once had everything but then became negative and overwhelmed as he saw his journey of life on earth coming to an end. This king...
I like calendars. Most people don’t use them anymore as they keep track of dates and appointments on their phones. I’m old-fashioned and I like a calendar hanging on the wall in my kitchen. I like the pictures on the calendar, whether it’s flowers, birds, sunsets or kittens. Every month has a new picture and every month I start out with rows of blank squares that eventually get filled in with things I should do or places I need to go. At the beginning of the new year, all t...
Born in Guam (United States) to Bob Curry (Cherokee/multi-racial), a career Navy man, and Hiroe Nagase, a Japanese national, Ann lived in Japan for several years as a child and attended the Ernest J. King School on the Sasebo military base. Her mother was a Catholic convert, and Ann was reared in the faith. The family later moved to Ashland, Oregon, where Ann graduated from Ashland High School. She attended the University of Oregon and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in...
When sadness comes and firmly clings I try to think of pleasant things Bringing memories to my mind Happy thoughts of every kind Like hiking trails without a care Pure white snow and crispy air Pushing children on their swings All these simple mundane things Big white clouds in summer sky Baby birds in nests near by A cup of coffee, tasty bread Sunsets in the night sky spread A very special book to treasure Going to the beach, such pleasure In my mind these thoughts take...
Sports interviews can be very entertaining. Golfer Greg Norman once said, “I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.” Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees said: “Therapy can be a good thing. It can be…therapeutic.” After a pitcher hit baseball player Tito Fuentes, Tito said, “They shouldn’t throw at me. I’m the father of five or six kids.” My favorite is from NFL superstar Joe Theisman, “Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy lik...
Weather experts in Manitoba told us that we just had the snowiest December in a century. When the snowstorms passed, there was a beautiful array of winter scenery everywhere we went; hoarfrost on the trees, houses were blanketed in white and took on a majestic, fresh appearance. In the flat fields, white oceans appeared that sparkled when the sun shone on it! The snow seemed to clean up the yards and the streets, and clean paths of white now covered the ground where walking...
We paid more for the old truck than we should have. It died the first time out of the yard. We should have returned it; but then we would have set ourselves at odds with the old man who sold it, and we were too vulnerable to chance that. The old yellow pickup reminds me of our youth, poverty, three and a half years spent in the Nevada desert with a controlling, spiritually abusive leader, and a precious miracle. After weeks of repairs and many more dollars, we finally felt like it was safe to drive out of town. We got about 7...
When I read Psalms 124, it is all about the people of Israel being thankful that they were delivered from their enemies because God was on their side. If it had not been for the LORD they would have drowned and been swept away by the waters. If it had not been for the LORD, they would have been caught in a trap like a bird and they would not be set free. What I love about this special song is that it is all about the community as a whole celebrating what God had done for...
White Earth Reservation member Nicole Matthews (Anishinabe) received her Bachelor of Science degree in applied psychology, in human relations and multicultural education from St. Cloud State University. Since 2002, Matthews has served as executive director of the Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition (MIWSAC), a statewide non-profit alliance for American Indian sexual assault advocates. The organization provides oversight and administration to the statewide sexual...
Have you ever thought about your will? I am not talking about the document which states your wishes concerning your estate after you leave this world. What I mean is the will to make daily choices based on your desires and intellect. What do you “will” as a way of life? What do you love? The answer to these questions determines the quality of your life at this moment. If your answers to these questions don’t line up with God’s Word, Scriptures tell us we are living far bel...
It seems impossible anyone could forget Christmas when every store is filled with decorations and TV programs are showing Christmas stories and Christmas music is playing on the radio. Houses are decorated, churches are decorated and the mall is filled with people buying gifts. But last year I forgot Christmas. It was snowing. There wasn’t a car driving down the street and no one was on the sidewalk. It was as if I was the only person in the city. I turned the corner of a b...
I was in second grade when Miss Barzley came to town. Like little lambs, we were lined up single file in the hallway and shot one by one. I stood near the back of the line. Those who had gone on ahead filed by saying “OWWWW!” and clutching their arms. Miss Barzley was an imposing figure, even without that long needle in her hand. She would have done well as a Sumo wrestler, but had gone into nursing instead. Her glasses were so thick she reminded me of a huge insect. “Ro...
Miriam wearily brushed the hair away from her face as she scrubbed the last of the pots in the hot, humid kitchen. It had not been her idea to become a scullery maid in the house of the arrogant family for whom she worked. They paid her little notice. Her only value to them was in keeping their kitchen clean, the vegetable garden weeded, and the chamber pots emptied. She longed to stroll along the path in her father’s flower garden and sit beside the melodic fountain in the co...
In last year's political landslide in Canada's federal politics, a young Indigenous man was elected to represent the riding of Winnipeg Centre in the House of Commons defeating a long-time member of parliament. Indian Life editor Jim Uttley sat down with Member of Parliament Robert Falcon Ouellette to discuss his first nine months in office over a cup of tea. We began our conversation discussing his staff and family. Robert is a family man and it doesn't take long before you...
I love to hear from children. Not all the time. Not while we are shopping and our two-year-old yells, "Look, that man is gonna have a baby!" But children sure write interesting notes to pastors. Here are a few that are just too good not to share. • "Dear Pastor: Please say in your sermon that Peter Peterson has been a good boy all week. Sincerely, Peter Peterson" • From Arnold: "I know God loves everybody, but He never met my sister." • "I'm sorry I can't leave more money...
After visiting the Ark Encounter in Kentucky with some youth from Sandy Bay First Nation, I was mesmerized with thoughts concerning Noah and his family. What must it have been like to listen to the rain come down upon them for forty days and forty nights? They were safe in the Ark, but friends and distant relatives all would have perished as the raging waters covered everything on Planet Earth as they knew it. The Bible, God’s Word, says that every living creature died. E...
There are many things that happen to us in life that weigh us down and sometimes make us go down the wrong pathway that leads to sadness and sorrow. Residential school experiences, boarding school experiences, adoptions, child welfare involvement, addictions, divorce, death, disease, and betrayal. When I read Psalm 1 in verses one and two it says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the sco...
At what cost O God has this country been born? That of a fifteen-year-old Cherokee boy, Bird Clan-His Father's only son protecting his country from tyranny At what cost O God has this country been born? The blood of a young lad-MacNaughton, killed by the colony's freedom fighters, a world away from the heather At what cost O God has this country been born? A mother's son of ten drumming for the Corp., cannons do not discriminate, by age or jacket color At what cost O God has...
Sometimes there is a fine line between being honest and being mean. I’ve known people who brag about always being honest but their remarks are often critical and cruel. When people ask us for our opinion they usually don’t really want our opinion, they want our approval, they want encouragement, a compliment and to be honest would hurt them. This morning when I walked to the mailbox my ninety-three-year-old neighbor was getting her mail. Sue uses a walker to make her way to...
For many centuries the world has been trying to answer questions like “if a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around, does it make any sound?”or “Does the light in the refrigerator ever go off when the door is closed?” or What is the meaning of life?” or “Why doesn’t a man ever stop and ask for directions when he knows he’s lost?”… Well, the question that I’m starting to ask is, ” Has anyone ever seen a rough, tough—scars-to-prove-it —career criminal, grown man cry?” Thr...
It was so hot and humid as we drove through the fields that the corn smelled like it was cooking on my stove. We had passed hundreds of miles of corn and soybeans that day, and I just wanted to get to my brother’s house and find a bed and some air conditioning. Then I noticed them. The dark fields glittered with millions of fireflies flashing their messages off and on like tiny signal lamps. I had never seen such a sight! The sparkling scene relieved my weariness and caused me to remember our awesome Lord and His d...
Last night I sat transfixed as I viewed a recent NASA photo of outer space. I’ve seen many space pictures over the years, but the clarity and sparkle of this one caused me to pause and think about life on our planet and about our Creator and His plan for us all. I had been researching a news item about NASA’s Kepler Mission. Since 2009, their goal was to explore our region of the Milky Way and locate other planets. They discovered nearly 5,000 planet contestants and ver...
Today we present, “How to have a baby fast.” Are you ready? Call your dad at 3:45 in the afternoon and leave a voice message, “We’re heading to the hospital. Likely a false alarm. It’s 3 weeks early, so I wouldn’t worry at all. We’ll call if anything happens. Don’t worry. Talk to you later. Bye.” It was my son Jeff on the line. What? Me worry? Of course not. It’s just that my third grandchild is about to be born. Eighteen months ago this same son and his wife Raelyn were ou...
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." So it has been said and I know it to be true. It is how one looks at the simple beauty in almost everything around us. There is so much, I fear I sometimes take it for granted, however, when I look with my spiritual eyes, I am in awe. I am able to find Creator's beauty everywhere, in every season. I pray that I always will cherish the bountiful blessings that are freely given to us by the Creator. During the summer, my heart overflows...
It has never been easier to trace our ancestors and our family tree. With computers and DNA and dozens of businesses who will trace your family tree for you, what used to take years of research at libraries and cemeteries and court houses to search for records, can now be done in a matter of days or weeks. We all wonder where we came from, what did our ancestors contribute to make us who we are? Did we inherit our appearance, our talents, our quirks from someone who lived...
