When Life's School Will Be Out Forever - Bruce Atchison

June is a joyous time of year for school children. Summer vacation lies before them, offering a smorgasbord of fun and freedom. Walking out of school that final afternoon, children feel such joy and relief from the tedium of study.

When I was a child in the sixties, I had an additional reason to rejoice. Because educators wrongly assumed that I needed special teachers to educate me, I was sent five hundred miles from my home in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta to Jericho Hill School for the Deaf and Blind in Vancouver. Being deprived of my family and all I loved for three or six months at a stretch made me yearn for summer in ways words can't adequately express.

Being home was like paradise to me. Instead of being woken by a dorm supervisor, I slept in my own bedroom until I felt like rising. Instead of eating institutional food, I ate meals lovingly prepared by my mom. Instead of being with strangers, I enjoyed the company of family members. Instead of going on occasional supervised outings like escorted prisoners, I roamed the town freely. Best of all, I was away from the school bully for eight wonderful weeks.

I look at our lives here in this world in much the same way that I once viewed my incarceration at Jericho. Jesus said in Matthew 24:32-33 (KJV), "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." Nobody knows when Christ will return but we can tell that this world is growing worse by the day. As my dorm mates and I waited eagerly at the end of june for the school bus driver to take us to the airport, we knew we would soon be out of that impersonal institution and back home where we belonged.

You can find out more about my Deliverance From Jericho (Six Years in a Blind School) memoir by clicking here. I also post excerpts of my writing here.

What do you need? - Denise M. Ford

A soft jingling in the hallway followed by a pit, pat, pit, pat signals Dusty’s arrival before I sense him peering around the corner. I hesitate to glance his way because I know when I do his bright little eyes will capture mine with a piercing stare. His Maltese hair that flops forward over his brows gives him a needy, messy look that makes me want to scoop him up for a quick hug. I do mean quick, since he only allows me to hold him in a snuggle for a short five seconds before he squirms out of my grasp intent on being on his own. However when he needs something he appears, he waits for eye-to-eye contact with me, and then gives me his message.

I ask, “Dusty what do you need?’’ Sometimes I know he’s hungry, or he requires a trip outside. Sometimes he raises a paw, sticks out his little tongue, and throws a questioning look my way. That means he wants to go for a walk with me. He’ll follow my every move with encouraging looks that I interpret as “let’s go… open the door.” Energy and excitement shine from his eyes as he prepares to follow my lead.

Sometimes during our day together he will surprise me by jumping on my lap, pawing at my face and gazing into my eyes. “Do you need some loving?” I’ll ask him then. I reassure him with gentle strokes on his back, as I lower my eyelids and he mimics with his. Usually a deep sigh signals his contentment. He has learned over and over again that when I ask him what he needs, I also plan to provide for him. He has learned that I am always there for him.

Like Dusty I have someone who wants me to turn my eyes to him, to ask in my needy, messy state for his help. He wants me to willingly walk with him wherever he leads. I am reminded of a lovely painting of Jesus that graces the front of the sanctuary in my childhood church. It features Jesus knocking at a door, as he looks with a piercing stare towards the worshippers.

Like Dusty, I often find that what I need most is calm reassurance. I will slowly close my eyes, picturing Jesus knocking at my door. Then I will hear him say, “What do you need?” As I look into his eyes, I know that he will always be there for me.

If you want to read more about my days with Dusty go to: www.walkingwithDustyandDee.com

ICWF Blog Tour July 2011

WELCOME to the Inscribe Christian Writer's Fellowship Blog Tour! During the month of July, various Inscribers will be posting some of their thoughts and stories about ICWF on their blogs. The tour will kick off on July 4 with a stop at ICWF President Jack Popjes' blog, and wind up on July 27 at member Jan Keats' blog.

Watch this page for updates to the tour, including direct links to the posts as they come up and any added stops on the tour.


July 4 – Jack Popjes – INsights and OUTbursts
July 5 – Tracy Krauss – Expressions Express
July 6 – Marcia Laycock – Writer-lee
July 8 – Mary Waind – Beech Croft Tales
July 11 – Bonnie Way – The Koala Bear Writer
July 13 – Joanna Clark Dawyd – Joanna Clark Dawyd

July 15 - Kimberley Payne – Fit for Faith
July 18 – Violet Nesdoly – Line Upon Line
July 22 – Janet Sketchley – God With Us: Finding Joy
July 25 – Laureen Guenther – Reenie's Resources
July 27 – Janice Keats – The Master’s Path


Leave comments on the blog posts to be entered in our GRAND PRIZE DRAW: an Inscribe book bag with a free annual membership and a copy of Inscribed: 30 Years of Inspiring Writing. The more blogs you comment on, the more entries you'll get in the draw—e.g., if you comment on 10 blogs, you'll get 10 entries in the draw (but one comment per blog, please). Contest is open only to non-Inscribe-members (members are free to comment on blogs but will not be entered in the draw).


For more information about the tour, or to join in, please contact Bonnie Way.

Being Canadian - Karen Toews

My daughter, her husband, and three children recently moved back to Canada after living in the U.S. for 11 years. Work and adventure took them there, and in part, those same reasons have brought them home. They're living with us for the summer so I have a day-by-day view of their initial transition back to our land of "the strong and free". Observing their adjustments, revisiting my history of over 50 years in Alberta and four in Nova Scotia, considering present day world events, and looking ahead to Canada Day are all timely prompts for me to ponder some points on Being Canadian.

- traveling through the U.S. – Canada border, stopping at the Canadian immigration. With their documents in hand, my daughter and son-in-law answer questions regarding citizenship and the value of their household and other worldly goods. No vehicle search, no stress, no “fight or flight” stomach flutters. Pixel the cat sleeps through the whole procedure.

- driving from Alberta to Nova Scotia - we made this trek two times in one year. Provincial boundaries are marked by welcoming information centres, not security checkpoints.

- disputing labour struggles are managed by discussions, strikes and maybe government intervention – citizens don’t (usually) act out their frustration by drawing a gun.

- finding a new church family – our choice and privilege. No government dictation or registration required.

- researching online Canadian shopping - time consuming but cheaper than U.S. shipping costs.

- declaring Canadian residency and citizenship entitles you to health care.

- shopping in superstores, independent shops, outdoor markets. Abundance abounds.

- hiking, cycling, running, kayaking, boating, back-pack camping – all of these family activities can be enjoyed without fear of buried landmines and guerilla terrorists.

- having the wherewithal and desire to do so is all that’s required to live most anywhere in Canada. Deportation is not an issue. We are citizens, we belong.

- writing personal stories, or kudos and criticisms, expressing controversy, opinions about religion, politics, current affairs – we have freedom to speak without fear of late night footsteps and a knock on the door.

- working, learning, progressing, or "chilling" - we have choices, we have opportunities.

- enjoying favor from other nations is what we reap from our forefathers, our war veterans, and our "conservative" nature.

- being thankful and living responsibly - that's how I want to Be Canadian.