Keeping our Country Strong - Meeting its People - Karen Toews

For the last eight months our daughter (Renee) and family have lived in Quebec. How they ended up on the Gaspe Peninsula is a long story that has to do with: a move from Maine, U. S. to Canada, needing to live close to mountains (not wanting, it's a definite requirement), must be within a day's drive of our home (ditto - a definite must), home-based jobs with flexibility to live "wherever," within the parameters of the aforementioned.

Now we have the ideal chance to get to know this province and its people (my husband and I previously spent a week in La belle province on a rendezvous with our children and families, and in 2007 we drove through the province on our cross-country move). Our daughter lives on the west end of the Bay de Chaleur, a tourist destination, with several large pockets of both French and English speaking people - making their transition and ours much easier. Even in other regions, so far in my experience, the notion that I might be snubbed by not speaking French has been unfounded. (I've been amazed that my high school "book" French resurrects occasionally in my valiant efforts of communicating.)

On our Christmas visit there, one evening we bundled up (they do have lots of snow and cold temperatures) and went carolling. Joyeaux Noel expressing the language of the season, we all met new-to-us neighbours - who stopped by the next day and invited us along on their cross-country ski outing.

For the month of June, our QC family lived in Montreal -  "free" accommodation with a guide semi-familiar with the Metro so we were there! Culture, fashion, historic architecture, foods (I confess this nutritional nut tried poutine) - and more welcoming people.

On our trip home we drove along the Saguenay River - which included an overnight stay on July 1st in Chicoutami. Chatting with our B&B hosts, watching fireworks from their window, I felt a kindred spirit with those who share this diverse, wonderful country we are blessed to live in.

Granted, all of us don't have the same opportunity to personally meet people across the country. But we can connect through online friendships; the neighbours down the street, at our schools or in church.

We can keep our country strong by building friendships with its people. It's a good thing - we all win, and I believe it's God's way and will.

Saskatoons - Unique to Canada by Ruth L. Snyder

Saskatoons are a fruit unique to Canada. Mention Saskatoons to people from other countries, and you'll likely receive a blank stare. However, people who live in Canada have enjoyed the purplish-blue berries for hundreds of years.

The name "saskatoon" comes from the Cree word, "Mis-sask-quah-too-mina". The city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was named after the berry. According to Prairie Berries,

"the berries were a staple for both Aboriginal people and early settlers. The berries were enjoyed fresh, or steamed and mashed and then left to dry into a brick-like consistency for longevity. Pieces of these berry bricks were then chipped off as needed and added to soups, stews or simply boiled to reconstitute them." 

Today saskatoon bushes grow both in the "wild" and as cultured plants. The bushes usually blossom in May and produce berries in late June or July. Canadians enjoy eating saskatoons fresh, or in a variety of baked goods like pie or muffins.

This week my children and I had the opportunity to enjoy picking saskatoon berries. Since we've received ample rain this year, the berries are large and juicy. This afternoon my youngest daughter and I used some of the berries to make saskatoon pie. (I found some great recipes to try on the August's Harvest website.)

Here's the recipe we used

GRANDMA'S TOON BERRY PIE
4 cups saskatoons
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons tapioca
2 tablespoons butter
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.)
In a large mixing bowl, combine saskatoons, sugar and tapioca. Be careful not to damage the berries. Pour into pie crust. Cover with top crust, seal and crimp edges, then cut slits in the top for steam vents. Top with pats of butter.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

What is your favourite recipe to use when you have access to fresh saskatoons?

Ruth L Snyder

Check out Ruth's blogs:

www.trusteesnyder.blogspot.com(Education information)

www.ruthlsnyder.com (Ruth's writing and family life) www.earlyyearssuccess.com (Information for caregivers of children ages 0-5)

Follow Ruth on Twitter:www.twitter.com/@wwjdr

Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth -- Bruce Atchison

How should we read the Bible? It sounds like a ridiculous question, yet it needs to be asked. Why? Because many Christians have never been taught how to properly read it for all its worth.

The Bible contains several genres of literature. The historical books, such as Exodus, 1 and 2 Kings, and Acts, are straight-forward narratives. These are relatively easy for us to understand.

The wisdom literature, such as Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, teach general truths that we can apply to our lives. They aren't exactly promises but applying the principles of wisdom usually bring us good results.

The Psalms are the poetry section of the Bible. They were originally sung but they can be read without losing the beauty of the words. Some of them, such as Psalm 22, are prophetic. Crucifixion hadn't even been invented when it was written, yet it describes Christ's torment in graphic detail. This is also likely why he quoted the first verse while he was being crucified.

Scripture contains many prophetic books. These seem puzzling to those who lack the knowledge of the times in which they were written. Yet the fulfilled prophesies in these books help prove the divine nature of the Bible as being from God and not merely of human origin.

The letters in the New Testament are the instruction manuals for the early church. Though we can learn much from the spiritual principles, matters such as dress and meat offered to idols no longer have the importance they once did.

The most puzzling genre in Scripture is the apocryphal books. Because many Bible teachers today neglect the fact that the readership of those books was the people to whom they were sent, all sorts of bizarre doctrines have been invented to explain passages within them. As The Bible Answer Man host, Hank Hanegraaff has said many times, "The Bible was written for us, not to us."

We Christians would be well served by studying the ancient cultures of the Middle East. By doing so, all of us would gain a deeper understanding of the types and shadows in the Old Testament Jesus Christ and the apostles made frequent references to passages which their audience or readership knew well. This is why it's crucial to study the Bible in its historical and cultural context.

Scripture should not be used as a dictionary. Instead of considering the context of verses, various cults and ignorant persons isolate verses that appear to prove their ideas. Then they build whole doctrines around them, as Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:16. Keeping the context in mind will always result in a better understanding of what the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets and apostles.

Wedding Thoughts for Our Son and Daughter-in-Law - Denise M. Ford

In honor of our son and daughter-in-law's marriage (the wedding was July 21 in Vancouver) I wrote a poem based on their creative relationship that has developed over the years.

For Christopher and Catherine:

Perhaps if we could, we might hear your silent vows to each other…

Your laughter floats above the music of my soul, like a twirling current shaping a sandy shore,

One by one our notes appear, discovering the melody, understanding the harmony, measure by measure composing our love.

Your curiosity intensifies the depth of my dreams, like a rushing wind lifting the morning mist.

One by one our voices blend, discovering the melody, understanding the harmony, measure by measure composing our love.

Your devotion dances with the rhythm of my spirit, like a sparkling meteor streaking through the sky.

Rising in crescendo volume, our solos merge, forging a new harmony, measure by measure composing our love,

Our passion inspires the path of our future, like a soaring eagle swooping towards the precipice.

Our chorus encompasses us, combining our melody, intermingling our harmony, measure by measure composing our life.

Our promises glide freely and willingly to each other, like rippling circles reaching to a sheltered bank.

Hand in hand we will create our arrangement, within our harmony, measure by measure composing our life.

Our future beckons, revealing our possibilities, like a sunrise shimmering beyond

the horizon.

Together, composing, creating treasures for a lifetime, measure by measure our marriage begins.

With love,

Mom

To read Denise's personal blog and writing website go to:   http://www.walkingwithdustyanddee.com/