Heart and Soul: Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Canada! The “old girl” is doing pretty good, but really isn’t that old in the big scheme of things. Here in the Fort, from my perspective anyway, Canada Day was a good day, even in spite of the monsoon rains that were falling while our crew of busy people were trying to put the finishing touches on our Life Church Float (should have been a boat).

But, thankfully, the rains stopped as the parade began and a great crowd was out to enjoy the day and defy the weather… Even better, the day cleared up to be perfectly warm and sunny… of course that was what we ordered as our Band was scheduled to perform early in the evening, and we wanted a crowd to join us… and Jesus loves us!

I’ve heard it said, and I repeat myself, that if you were born in Canada, you’ve won the lottery of places to live. We truly do live in an awesome place. Our only issue is our sense of self-entitlement that gets in our way.

We, as a nation have had a sorted past, but hopefully as we continue to move forward, things will improve — but that can only take place if we all take responsibility to improve ourselves.

In our Nation, there is no room for “armchair quarter-backs”: you know, the guys that have a beer gut, killing themselves with a couple of packs of cigarettes a day, and eating greasy food by the ton, calling the person that’s out trying to make a “play”, “You’re a bum!” Ya, those people!

Actually I shouldn’t point my finger at anyone, but instead would like to encourage us all to bring our “A” game to the table. I can’t blame anyone for my own failed attempts at anything, nor can I sit at home waiting for someone else to hand to me the things I need to earn. It’s easy to criticize the ones who have had some success, but it’s a way harder job to do it yourself!

In our great nation, if you pay close attention, there are many people who are moving here from other countries that within a very short period, are moving into positions of influence. I’ve heard people being critical of this, yet won’t take any responsibility or risk at trying to move into those positions themselves. It’s awesome that we have inherited this amazing land to live in, but unless you manage your inheritance, you’ll squander it and/or lose it completely as others come along and step into what was offered to you!

Whether you agree with me or not, I’ve taken the position that if anything is going wrong in my community, it’s my responsibility. Maybe not to bring justice or whatever, but instead, to do whatever it takes to be a positive instrument of change, to make a difference in changing the atmosphere where I live. You’d be surprised what can be accomplished when you roll up your sleeves and aren’t afraid to get a little dirty.

In our region, many of our youth are struggling with lack of hope, depression and suicide, this is why our float in the parade, spoke of “Love is the movement,” “Stop the Bleeding,” etc. I’m here, along with others, to help bring hope, love, and encouragement to those who don’t have these things operating in their lives. We truly do have a good inheritance, and these things shouldn’t be happening in our back yard. We have the resources given to us by God Himself, working through ordinary people to bring extraordinary change, as well as everything we need to embrace our heritage as a nation that was built on family values.

This is a great country… it’s still a place that’s good for people to live and to prosper as much or as little as they want. We just need to take a close look at the tremendous value there is under our feet, and take our responsibility to govern it wisely. Consider the war-torn countries you see on the news: it’s not happening here… be thankful!