Life!

Today, new life emerged, that is, life that didn’t exist, now exists. This runs counter to the theory of the indestructibility of matter—or better, that no new matter can come to exist. New life is not simply the reorganization of elements of matter, but completely extra, new, additional—something on earth that hasn’t existed until now.

That new life may only be a lamb; only, in the sense that millions of lambs and other creatures have received new life throughout history. Yet that one birth is a symbol of the miracle of new life that occurs in nature every spring and in creatures every day.

Whether new life will ever arise in a test tube remains to be seen, but the only evidence we have to date is that life proceeds from life. That can only mean life on earth proceeded from Life beyond it. Even the unlikely theory that aliens brought life here, begs the question of where that life came from!

It seems to me, life has an innate desire to unite with its source, and the human soul is astray and lost seeking for its destiny elsewhere. In fact, those who consider independence from that Life their goal will eventually lose the life they have—both in meaning and in fact.

Winter Getaway?

This first blog of 2012 comes from New Zealand, as we visit our daughter and husband in their country home. It’s a promise of a summer getaway from the Canadian winter. That’s the general idea; not sure if that’s what we’re going to experience!

For our first few days here, temperature was about 18 degrees, while Lethbridge was a balmy 15. Can Canada’s winter be so close to a New Zealand summer? This weekend, about five inches of rain fell with warnings of the adjacent river flooding. Happily it hasn’t.

It is all part of a topsy-turvy world climate, becoming more extreme by the year. I commend our godless society for valiantly trying to shoulder blame for global warming. Those of a less secular orientation would blame God or His impotent usurper, Mother Nature.

Our natural approach is to blame God for difficulty and disaster, but claim merit for success or good fortune. So God gets blamed for much he has nothing to do with, and we take credit for events He has everything to do with!

In fact, we are often responsible for the adversity that afflicts us. Cut adrift from God, we sacrifice the beginning of wisdom, and substitute our distorted thinking. No wonder our lives and the world at large are in such a mess!

Failure to recognize and thank Him begins the retreat from Him. But gratitude for the abundance of life He provides draws us to Him. He is the obvious person with resources to reverse our misfortunes, or support us through them.

So I leave three things with you for 2012.

Seek God’s wisdom for decisions and the results. His foolishness is better than our wisdom.

Accept God as the author of life. He fills existence with meaning and purpose.

Identify Him as our resource during adversity. He gives seemingly pointless events significance.

Have a Great New Year

 Last Sunday was Christmas Day, and I should have wished you all a happy and blessed Christmas. But in the focus of Christmas and Ann spending the day with the heaves, I simply forgot to blog! But it’s not too late to wish you all that I would want for myself for the New Year.

I can’t wish you this on New Year’s Day, as this year we don’t have one! We fly east overnight on New Year’s Eve and land in New Zealand on January 2nd. So this early wish will take us to the following Sunday, when I hope to return to a regular schedule.

If there is one wish that all would concur in—except those who are determined to destroy it—is peace and security to raise our families. If 2012 is anything like 2011, many will have their lives disrupted by war, brutality and famine.

But in Canada, this wish will come true for many of us this coming year, if we ourselves don’t destabilize it with our own anger and addictions. Too often, we are our own worst enemy, sometimes unwittingly and often unwillingly creating our own difficulties.

While I am glad of the great resources our country offers for those times, for me the first and final resort is to seek the Creator Himself for answers. Even if the answer is still uncertain, I can find peace in the storm, and a confidence He will take me through.

It is this assurance about life that I wish for you this New Year, and for life

Rudolph

I really must protest in the strongest terms, the use of the carol Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, each Christmas. It is alarming that such content should be broadcast at all, but especially to young children—and, make no mistake—this carol is geared to our little ones.

At a time when provincial governments are introducing legislation to curb bullying, the behaviour of this gaggle of reindeer towards Rudolph is unconscionable. I have always understood reindeer to be gentle animals in need of preservation, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea with this reported behaviour.

According to the record, it was simply his difference to them, namely his peculiar nose, which caused them to scorn and ostracise him. If the report is correct, the reindeer laughed at him and called him names, unacceptable behaviour at any time, but indecent at this time of peace and love.

As if that wasn’t enough, they wouldn’t let poor old Rudolph join in any reindeer games. Clearly, they considered him an outsider, conforming insufficiently to their traditions and company—he was not one of them at all.

Rudolph’s stoic response stands out in clear contrast. We don’t hear a word from him of censure or complaint, although I’m not sure whether his absence of retort was loving regard for his erstwhile brothers and sisters, refusing to respond in kind, or he was simply cowed into silence.

There is also no record of Santa Claus intervening. Didn’t he know what was going on? If he chose to ignore it, he was complicit in the reindeers’ actions. Perhaps the magnanimous old fellow didn’t want to hurt their feelings, which wouldn’t help his authority. Donner and Blitzen may now be laughing at him!

If he did sense some awkwardness among the reindeer, perhaps he thought elevating Rudolph to a place of prominence, befitting his nose, would solve the problem. It certainly changed the reindeers’ appreciation of Rudolph, their behaviour changing from derision to adulation in a moment.

I can’t help feeling that this sudden change in attitude might not last. What will happen when age reduces the brightness of Rudolph’s nose and is no longer able to pierce the fog? Will Santa Claus abandon him again to the taunts of the others.

That idea may occur to Rudolph, but differently. Perhaps, if he can find a way to dull his nose—hide his light under a bushel, so to speak—the others would accept him after all. If so, he could teach us each a lesson for caving, er, fitting in to the crowd. Which Way to go Rudolph!?

Christmas Letter 2011

Hello Folks: a great Christmas and happy New year to you all. Here is a copy of our Christma Letter for 2011.

Most events this year were related to our family and writing. We flew to Montreal in February to visit our daughter and family to keep up with antics of their four year old son, Luciano. We had the opportunity to sign and sell books at Ottawa’s Salem Christian bookstore, who always gave us a warm welcome.

Our third book, Gone with the Spirit, shortlisted the previous year, came out in the spring. It gave us options for our book tables that we manned in Red Deer, Calgary, Edmonton, Medicine Hat and Lethbridge through the winter and into the rest of the year. You can see all our books at pebblepress.ca or by inserting Bryan Norford in the Amazon search box.

We learned early in the year that Dan our grandson and his wife Joelle were expecting their third child, a son, Jakob, a brother to Norah and Cole. Later we learned that our daughter, Alex in Montreal, was expecting a brother to Luciano. Due early March 2012, he has already been named Matteo!

In April, we drove to the coast, visiting friends in Kelowna and many friends we made over the twenty years we lived in the Vancouver area. On a visit to Regent College, where Bryan received his MDiv, the bookstore manager told us of a system for self-publishing at minimum cost. He introduced us to another Regent graduate in Toronto who was familiar with the program, and we kept that in mind for our June trip to eastern Canada.

During the spring our granddaughter suggested we all pray on Sunday afternoons for family needs. We prayed by conference call as our family was scattered around the world. We recall one Sunday we were in Lethbridge, our granddaughter phoned in from Toronto, a daughter called from Phoenix, another daughter joined us from New Zealand, and our grandson checked in from China! With gratitude to God and the help of others, the needs were met.

In May we drove to Montreal, stopping in Winnipeg where we made contact with our publisher regarding their latest competition. Bryan was writing a new book he was planning to enter. The following two and half days we drove to Ottawa, where we twice signed books at Salem again. That evening we were in Montreal to be with our family.

We settled home for a summer and fall of writing, book signings and family visits. We were delighted to have our eldest daughter from New Zealand in Calgary for October to help her daughter-in-law during with the birth of their third child. We had the privilege of visiting with them all a number of times and meeting our latest great grandchild Jakob.

In November, we proudly witnessed our only granddaughter graduate with a PhD in Psychology. She is our oldest grandchild, leading a parade of six grandsons, and another on the way. Most of these great guys are still eligible bachelors!

We look forward to a blessed New Year, and in January plan to visit our eldest daughter in New Zealand, and to meet our eighth grandchild in March. With a couple more books on the way, it will certainly be busy and exciting.

We cannot help but be thankful to God for the full life we have and the family He has given us. The love of God, grace and truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the abiding fellowship of the Holy Spirit be yours throughout 2012, as we face whatever changes and challenges may come our way.

            Ann and Bryan