Dulse

It’s algae.

And humans eat it.

My mother says she loves it.

It grows on rocks on North Atlantic coastlines.

Harvested by hand or rake.

Dried in the sun.

And it’s good for you.

A good source of minerals and vitamins.

And fiber (or fibre for Canadians).

Salty. Bitter.

(not a great combination in my opinion).

After 50 years of trying,

I still can’t eat more than a small amount

while others eat it by the bagful.

Read the Wikipedia article here.

Buy it from Amazon.com (no kidding!) 

(see immediately below)

Dingle the Beautiful

Dingle, Ireland

            one of my favorite small towns

            County Kerry

            breathtaking mountains

            hills and valleys

            sheep

            lots of stones

A pub called The Small Bridge

            (“An Droicead Beag”)

            button accordion

            guitar and bodhran

            impromptu dancing

            It felt like joy

Breakfast at half eight

            Mainstay Guesthouse
            granola cereal

            French toast

            orange juice

           

Moran’s Slea Head Tour

            minibus

                        Jason our guide

            Lord Ventry’s estate

                        Ogham stones –

                                    ancient Irish writing

            beehive huts

                        fifth century stone igloos

                                    monks lived here

                                    prayed here

            Cooumeenole Beach

                        beautiful sand

                        bare feet in the ocean       

                        most beautiful beach

                                    I’ve seen in the world

            Jason says “National Geographic

                        called Dunquin

                        ‘the most beautiful place on earth’”

                        Far and Away filmed here         

            Gallarus Oratory –

                        perfect stone chapel

                        (seventh century)   

                                    in the cow pasture

Delight to walk around town

            Fungie the dolphin

                        free in the harbour

            shops

            other pubs –

                        good food, good music

Great place for a two-week holiday

On My Father's 86th Birthday

He’s an old man now
Set in his ways

Vitamin popper

One mile walker

Reader, thinker, preacher

He visits people in that remote Canadian village

Relatives, friends, church folk.

He works on his house

Paints it

Tarred the roof last year
Mows the grass

Splits firewood

He cares for Mom

Drives her places

Pays the bills

Buys the groceries

He’s an old man now

Once young and vital

Hard-working, thrifty

Conservative but unconventional

No cookie-cutter

He watches every Christian show on TV

Too lenient on his tenants

But Jesus is OK with that, I think

He doesn’t exactly get what I do

And for some reason I still look for his approval,

His blessing, even with grandbabies of my own

What’s up with that?

I feel guilty living 1000 miles away

My sister lives near him

And too much responsibility falls to her

Sorry, sis

It’s great to have a phone plan

That lets me call my folks

Every day if I want

Usually twice a week now

I hope to see him in seventeen days

He’ll be waiting for hugs,

My wife broke down his hug barrier

Thirty years ago

He expects it now.

We’ll take my folks out to dinner

Drive them around

Celebrate the birthdays we missed this year

And the sixtieth wedding anniversary

We’ll talk politics and theology

Walk together in the morning

Maybe chew spruce gum

He may say something important about his estate

Maybe not

We’ll listen to his stories

Treasure ten brief days

He’ll pray for us

Before we get in the car to go

He’s an old man now

A good man

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden

Last night at dinner we were reminiscing

about our vacation in Vancouver, Canada

in July 2005.

One of our good memories is visiting

the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.

We spent several enjoyable hours there,

in the heart of Vancouver’s Chinatown.

The beauty and quiet were remarkable,

there in the middle of a bustling city –

ponds, trees, classical Chinese architecture.

You may want to read the Wikipedia article here.

Ella Hadassah Sanders: Heroine

Ella Sanders was one tough lady.

She raised 8 kids on the African frontier for over 20 years.

No household appliances, no internet, no cell phones.

She was a missionary, the wife of a missionary doctor.

The first woman in Canada to be ordained as a minister (in 1901).

In her book “The Communion of Saints,” 
my friend Vesta Dunlop Mullen tells the story of Ella (1871-1962) 
and her husband Herbert (1869-1941).

Herbert was raised in Port Maitland, Nova Scotia,

and Ella moved there with her widowed father 
when she was about 14.

Herbert’s father was a fisherman, and Ella’s dad a pastor.

As teenagers they were both part of a church youth group

called the “Union Band of Willing Workers.”

Their love for Christ and for one another grew in these years,

and they shared with each other God’s call to foreign missions.

Ella began keeping a journal at 16.

Even then she was full of faith and prayer,

a determined young woman.

She preached and held evangelistic meetings 
while still in her teens.

Herbert and Ella married in their early 20s 
and moved to Brooklyn, New York 

to attend the Union Missionary Training Institute.

Then Herbert studied at New York City’s Homeopathic College for four years, graduating in 1900 to become a doctor of homeopathic medicine.

Herbert, Ella, and their children sailed to South Africa in 1901.

After studying Zulu, they moved inland from Durban, 

preaching and sharing the love of Jesus.

There were many adventures. 

They faced opposition from white Afrikaans farmers. 

Once the family survived a frightening storm of wind, rain and hail, protected only by the tent in which they were then living.

This intrepid couple established preaching points, new churches,

and eventually two mission stations:

Hartland in Natal and Altona in Transvaal.

Their life’s work was focused in eastern and northern South Africa.

Herbert and Ella were missionary pioneers.

They blazed a trail followed later by their children

(most of whom also became missionaries),

and by other Christian workers.

Returning to Canada by the age of 60,

Herbert and Ella spent another ten years in pastoral ministry

in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

At 90, Ella wrote, “…I am still busy trying to fill up the remaining time of my life in winning souls for Jesus and helping others.”

God grant that Ella’s love for Christ and indomitable spirit will infect many other young men and women in this 21^st century!

Beulah Camp

Beulah Camp begins today.

Ten days of “holy conferencing”

on 85 magnificent acres

overlooking New Brunswick’s beautiful Saint John River

in eastern Canada.

Worshiping, learning, swimming, walking, visiting.

That’s what goes on here.

Started in 1894 by the fledgling Reformed Baptist Church

(now the Atlantic District of The Wesleyan Church),

it was originally reached by riverboat, train and highway.

The district encompasses 

all four Maritime provinces

and the state of Maine, 

so its churches are far-flung.
Friends gather year by year 

and decade by decade,

building lifelong friendships

based on ten days of togetherness each year.

Within the past 30 years, a nearby island of 120 acres

(Caton’s Island) has been purchased.

Children’s and youth camps are held here all summer long.

Over 350 cottages, dorms and RV sites cover the campground,

but it is dominated by The Tabernacle,

a wooden wonder of architectural art built in 1897.

The Tabernacle seats about 1500 persons.

On Sundays as many as 3000 persons may be on the grounds.

North America was once home to many such campmeetings,

but they are mostly gone now.

Beulah remains, probably Canada’s largest.

As a boy, Beulah marked the beginning and end of each year.

I played with friends, swam with friends, fought,

went to Bible school on weekday mornings.

As a teen, I dated girls there.

A date almost always meant an evening walk

along Beulah’s roads and pathways.

At 18, I experienced God at Beulah 
in a way that transformed my life.

At 26, I was ordained to the Christian ministry at Beulah.

My father was one of the elders who consecrated me

by the laying on of hands.

He hugged me and said, “I love you.”

Beulah has become a “sacred place”

where God has met thousands.

Lives have been upended

and yielded to the service of the Master.

God, do it again this year!

Happy Canada Day!

Happy birthday, Canada!

On July 1, 1867, the four British colonies of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia came together to form the Dominion of Canada.

(The word “dominion” is taken from Psalm 72:8 – “He shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the rivers unto the ends of the earth.”) This holiday was called Dominion Day from 1879 until 1982.

The original four provinces were soon joined by Prince Edward Island, British Columbia and Manitoba. Alberta and Saskatchewan were added in 1905, and Newfoundland in 1949.

My favorite Canada Day was in 2005. I was vacationing in Vancouver with my wife Connie and daughter Shannon. We celebrated with thousands of others (mostly Asian-Canadians) at the waterfront, at the convention centre.

There was a lumberjack show, and the lieutenant-governor swore in about 100 immigrants as new citizens of Canada.

I remember what seemed like hundreds of Chinese-Canadian children, celebrating with red maple leaves painted on their cheeks.

Canada has been formed by a peculiar combination of First Nations, French, English, Scottish, Irish and recent immigrants from around the world. For better or worse, multiculturalism is enshrined in law as a preeminent value.

At 143 years old, Canada is still a young nation, in some respects still trying to understand its own identity apart from both the United States and Britain.

Canadians may be a bit less “rah-rah” patriotic that USAmericans. But most of us are “glad to be” Canadians, “where at least” we know we’re more-or-less free. The words “liberty” and “freedom” are not so bandied about in Canada as they are by patriots in the USA.

There will be parades and fireworks here and there. Queen Elizabeth II, our British monarch, is in Ottawa today, and this attracts some interest (though not from me). Canadians will enjoy the day off, which for many will make for a very long weekend.

So here’s to you, Canada. Happy birthday!