A Good Thing

When I think of a “heart cry,” I think of a deep yearning, struggling to find response, affirmation and fulfillment. If left unexpressed, it aches and restlessly pervades the whole of one’s being, making it impossible to ignore until recognized. The bearer must finally say, “Yes - I know you’re there and I’ll do what I can to give you peace.”

My heart cry, in recent years, has been of a dual nature. On the one hand, it has been for the young people of our world, so many of whom have been left to their own devices, absorbing negative influences of 21st century media, video games, values and social inertia. I am not blind to the wonderful young people who, raised by responsible parents, are becoming trained and prepared to contribute to society in meaningful ways. But for every one of those, there are a thousand Johnnies glued to computer screens with disconnected dads gaming at other computer screens and moms so stressed from compounded responsibilities that they have no patience for dealing with the Johnnies and the Emmas. On the flip side, my heart cry has been for the precious seniors who are being ignored, neglected or simply deemed irrelevant by their busy, self-absorbed families.

Clearly, the youth of today are going to be faced with unprecedented challenges for which they lack preparation. There are those who say that the coming economic meltdown is going to make the Great Depression look like a cakewalk. I’m not sure what a ‘cakewalk’ is, but no matter how the pundits try to spin the current situation, anyone with a brain knows that the illusion of normalcy is dissolving into an uncertain reality.

Back in the day, while mom and dad did what had to be done to provide for the family, grandpa and grandma were generally available to ‘be there’ for the kids, tending to their needs, giving a reproof when earned and sharing insights about life, gleaned from experience and years of observation. They were often the ones who taught life skills and filled the gaps left by busy parents.

These days, society has become age-segregated through the advent of seniors’ housing developments, age-segregated schools and parental work obligations that take them away from the home. The barriers between generations have robbed every age group of the benefits of inter-generational interaction. Texting has replaced talking and Facebook has become the new living-room of interaction. The voices of seniors without these skills are being muted. Unless we take steps to strengthen the links between generations, the new ways people communicate will widen the gap irretrievably.

The wisdom of our elders are the wells from which we draw understanding, knowledge and warnings against repeating the evil elements of history. We must find a way to open these wells and give our young people opportunities to drink deeply from the life-giving flow. Wherever possible, we must reach out to seniors and help them become equipped with the new avenues of communication. We must help them to become comfortable in the new living rooms of communication. There’s no one better equipped to teach them than the very ones who need their wisdom - our teens. Linking teens and seniors for mutual mentoring can have tremendous benefits.

Technology is not going to go away. Its advent has been a wonderful boon to our world - but we must not allow its potential for isolating people to rob our young people of the natural, centuries-old, methods for gaining life-skills. We need to use it to strengthen our world - not to weaken it. We need to use whatever tools we have to channel the wisdom, insights and experiences of our elders to prepare our young people for the challenges ahead.

Those who scoff at the importance of what seniors have to offer are forgetting that things like industriousness, integrity, financial management, ingenuity, kindness, unselfishness etc. are timeless values that determine success and can’t be taught by a video game. They forget that our kids need to know how to survive in a world without electricity. One swipe at our grid by any act of nature or terrorism could demand that they know how to survive in a pre-wired world.

In responding to my heart cry, I designed legacy journals in which seniors could record their values, insights and observations for the benefit of oncoming generations. http://www.bydesignmedia.ca/store/index.html

My heart song is sung when I see young people helping seniors to complete the journals and doing what they can to coach them in the new social media, welcoming them into their wired world. My heart strings are played when I see precious seniors lift their downcast gazes and smile in response to someone who recognizes their value - to someone who wants to hear about their life experiences and their words of wisdom. That’s a good thing!              

Diane Roblin-Lee is the author/co-author of over 20 books, several of which have been award-winners or Canadian bestsellers. Some may recognize her as a former host (for seven years) of Crossroads' Nite Lite and occasional co-host or guest on 100 Huntley Street. Diane now does custom-publishing and graphic design through her company, byDesign Media, in Uxbridge, Ontario. She works with Winning Kids Inc., promoting their Plan to Protect and serves on the Board of the Heart to Heart Marriage and Family Institute. Her present focus is her Legacy work, through which she founded My Legacy Links with a view to bridging the generations. Diane has two sons and four grandchildren. She is available for speaking engagements. Contact Diane at diane@bydesignmedia.ca or visit  "My Legacy Links" at www.mylegacylinks.com.

The Lamentation of the Loon

Genesis one twenty

And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky."

I Am Here, Where are You?

Every year my family vacations at Elim Lodge, a small Christian camp situated in God’s country on Pigeon Lake.  Loons inhabit this same geography and their haunting cry echoes across the lake expressing the deep longing of Genesis. Early one morning while listening to a family of loons crying out their morning prayer, I wrote the following words in my journal:

Overlooking the lake, I see an entire Loon family. I am reminded of our small town festival where I watched an elder silently and lovingly carve out this graceful bird from a piece of discarded wood. He did not say a word.  His peaceful intensity was mesmerizing.  His hands were weathered with age but there was strength in them as they gently carved the loon that one day would sit silently on a shelf.

“Is this how you carved the first loon, Jesus?”

I imagine my Carpenter Father gently carving the first loon into existence. Genesis in the making, He lovingly carves away all that is not loon. As he surveys his handiwork, he quietly whispers, “I will put my longing in you so they will hear my cry.” And breathing on the loon he humbly says, “It is finished, and it is good.” He names him Holy.  Lifting his hands up to heaven he releases the gentle bird that he has so lovingly carved for us. He offers up the loon as a gift to his Father for those he longs for.  He murmurs a quiet prayer for those who listen and hear his longing. And in his incredible mercy, He also whispers a prayer for those who do not hear, “Father, forgive them, for they know not our longing for them.”

My daughter Anna, loves to go tubing and one afternoon while on the water, a single male loon cried out and seemed distressed. Distracted with their water toys; boaters, jet skiers, wake boarders and fishermen seemed unaware of the father loon's cry.

“He can't find his family,” my daughter Anna commented. She recognized that something was amiss. Her words pierced me as I thought of our eternal Father’s heart crying out his longing for his family. A family so distracted with our toys that we miss our Father’s heart cry buried deep within this ancient Genesis creature.

After a few hours of spinning my daughter behind our own toy, we silently cruised back to camp. All was quiet on the water as toys were docked for dinner. As we drifted, my heart prayed across the water.

Suddenly, Anna jumping up from the front of the boat exclaimed, “Look mommy! He found his family!”  In the seclusion of the bull rushes, father loon huddled protectively with his united family.

Bowing their heads in prayer, father loon gave the evening benediction. In the dusk stilled water, one could softly hear the hymn of his holy breath of mercy, "I am here, I am here, I am here."

Isaiah fifty seven thirteen
“When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away. But whoever takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.”

Sarah: A Mother's Heartsong

Proverbs twenty three twenty five

May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!

Helen is one of my best friends and shares the cry of her heart for a daughter. Lovingly and faithfully God stood with Helen through the darkness and blessed her with a preious miracle. She named her Sarah.

Sarah: A Mother's Heartsong

Why is it that sometimes we let ourselves live in a deep dark hole? And to make matters worse why are we the ones who dig it in the first place. I was living in one. Before I even knew it, I had dug my hole and was stuck in darkness silently crying out for help. That’s when He found me or perhaps when I finally found Him. God’s plan for us it not to live in darkness but to live in light, His light.

God didn’t just yank me out though. He helped me climb up and then out, one step at a time. You see for me, it was a journey of trust, “Trust your God with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding in all your way acknowledge Him and He will lead your paths straight.” proverbs 3:4-6

It was after the birth of my third son that I began digging my hole. Although I loved my family more than anything, my heart longed for a daughter. I’m not sure why, perhaps it was God’s way of telling me that I was not finished having children. My head thought it was, but my heart knew otherwise. God had a plan for me and my family to add one more member and in His glorious way led me to see His majesty and power.

Although I believed in God all my life, I did not come to know Jesus Christ until I had attended an ALPHA program that was being offered at our local church. I had given my life, my heart, my dreams, my plans and all that I was to Jesus right there and then. I wanted only His will in my life whether I liked it or not. And so in crying out to God, He started to speak to me. He spoke to me through His word, through His creation and through visions.

He gave me a vision of my children, my wonderful boys and my sweet daughter. But wait, I didn’t have a daughter. What did it mean? Maybe I made it up in my mind, I wasn’t sure. It was hard to imagine that the creator of the world was actually speaking and revealing Himself to me and I struggled with knowing what to do. However, God in his loving and caring ways continued to speak and I continued to listen. He spoke so clearly at times that it became unmistakeable what I was to do. But I was still afraid.

In my twenties and early thirties, I had struggled to have my children, they did not come easily. It would be years of trying and 2 miscarriages later that I conceived and gave birth to my precious sons. I knew it would be very difficult to conceive at 40.

After 5 years of intensely reading God’s word, praying (on my knees and with my sisters in Christ), fasting, giving God control, and just plain old believing, I jumped off the cliff in faith. I needed to trust God not only with my death, but also with my life.

Sarah was born December 10, 2008. God really was speaking to me and I wasn’t just imagining it. My husband and I had decided to try and conceive just once and leave the rest up to God. God in His miraculous way made the impossible happen. I believe He was waiting for me to trust Him completely and I thank Him with all my heart for His grace and His love, my God who allows me (a sinner) to be in His presence.

I urge you not to live in your dark hole. Look up, for our Lord Jesus is waiting patiently for you. He is wiping every tear that you cry and is calling out your name. I know from personal experience that God can handle anything that you are willing to give Him. Just trust Him, for He is speaking right now to you.

John sixteen twenty one

“A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.”

The Cry of the Gospel Donkey

Zechariah nine nine

The Coming King… “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

“Song of the Donkey” is the first poem Barbara wrote for “Duet for Wings and Earth,” and it is very close to her heart. It came to Barbara as a dream in the night and speaks of her cry to write about, and pray for, those who are in great distress and sorrow.

The Song of the Donkey resonates in my own heart as I reflect on our Lord entering Bethlehem on this holy throne. The cry of the gospel echos from the heartsong of the lowly donkey and I pray that we reflect the humility of God as we bear the gospel across our great nation as our hearts sing,

'Hosanna'!

Song of the Donkey

Lord God, there is much I don’t understand, and to me almost everything is a mystery.

If I could count the stars and give them names, I could tell you why you named me Sorrow; and why my old master beat me every day, so I am marked with stripes along my head and underneath my belly.

Yet, Lord God, you chose me, least of donkeys. You came to the field where I was hobbled for the night; you patted me, fondling my ears; you spoke into my healing welts and bruises and told me that the song of the angels, shepherds and wise men would be incomplete without me!

Now you send me on a journey with my new master, and a woman who is going to have a baby. The woman strokes my muzzle; she makes for me a bridle of tenderness. Each evening the man brings me fresh hay and water; with gentle words, he makes for me a harness of mercy. My ears swivel to the sound of their voices.

Under the majesty of the stars, I trundle along with saddle sores: this is the only prayer I know.

If you had asked me to carry the sun and moon and stars on my back, I would have knelt and tried. But you have only asked me to join my harsh heehaw to the song of the angels. I will sing to you as long as I live. I will open my mouth and bray for the homeless, the lost ones.

Lord God, I have tried to bray your name and failed; but when all creation catches its breath in pain, I cry out Heehaw, and it is the cry of the beaten child, the wheeze of the refugee---

Lord God, I am practising, I am practising all along the road to Bethlehem:

Heeeee....
           haw    
                   H’Jee....

                                 haw...h’s

                                    Jh’eee...h’s   saw  hs

Is it enough?

Lord God, I can almost say

J’eeee
            s’aws.

About the Author

Barbara Colebrook Peace is the author of two poetry books: Duet for Wings and Earth (Sono Nis Press, 2008), which won an award from The Word Guild, and Kyrie (Sono Nis Press, 2001.) She also co-edited P.K. Page: Essays on Her Works (Guernica Editions, 2001.) Her work has been published in major literary journals, and several poetry anthologies. She has performed her poetry on CBC, and in settings ranging from cathedral and university to Word on the Street. Her poetry has been displayed on buses in the B.C. Poetry in Transit programme. She lives with her husband, Terry Peace, in Victoria, B.C. Contact Barbara at:  www.barbaracolebrookpeace.ca.

Mark eleven seven ten

Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

Hosanna!

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David
That comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!”

The Psalm of Poetry

“And in the hidden part, you will make me know wisdom.”

psalm fifty one six

Heartsong poetry touches the hidden place buried deep within us. Over the next few weeks, poets will offer a cry that only the heart can defend to the mind. As with David’s ancient cry, God’s wisdom is released to those daring enough to receive the psalmist’s offering. May the cry of the poet, heal the ache of our great nation.


Steadied by the hand of God, Alice Marlene Reback pens the cry of her heart with holy purity. God uncorks her bottled up pain and releases a healing fizz that balms the soul.

From Tragedy to Triumph

   by Alice Marlene Reback

How is it possible for me to explain?

My tragic life so bound by pain.

Each day I wake up raring to go.

Driven by pain, refusing to go slow.

A perfect mask was achievement and success.

But deep down inside, everything was a mess.

The greater the pain, the more I’d suppress.

Fearful that one day, the pain I’d have to address.

Exhausted and broken, that day finally came.

The years of pain I could no longer contain.

The tears poured like never ending rain.

Vulnerable and frail, my strength was gone.

What was left for me to depend upon?

Thoughts were racing through my mind.

How could I have been so blind?

Thinking I could hide it all.

Never expecting that I would fall.

To my pain I’ve come face to face.

No matter what I do, it’s happened and that I can’t erase.

One day at a time, I will try

and on God I will rely.

Yesterday’s pain I’ve left behind.

My life’s a journey and serves to remind.

Victory and blessing await the courageous and kind.

About Alice Marlene Reback

Marlene has a deep compassion for those in pain and writes poetry after much time in prayer. Marlene’s love and faith in God remains strong for she believes that God is good all the time. Her book of poetry entitled from Tragedy to Triumph is available through Guardian Books at http://www.essencebookstore.com/.

You number my wanderings; Put my tears into your bottle; Are they not in your book? When I cry out to you, then my enemies will turn back; this I know because God is for me…

psalm fifty six eight nine

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

by John Boyne

“The thing about exploring is that you have to know whether the thing you've found is worth finding. Some things are just sitting there, minding their own business, waiting to be discovered. Like America. And other things are probably better off left alone. Like a dead mouse at the back of the cupboard.”

Bruno, an eight year old boy moves from his childhood home in Berlin to a dark and mysterious house at a camp where his father is the Commandant. Bruno goes exploring in his backyard and discovers the camp separated by a barbed wire electrical fence. He approaches the fence and meets a boy his age named Shmuel, dressed in striped pajamas.  The two forge a deep friendship through the man made fence, unaware of humanity’s chaos that surrounds them.

The film, based upon the book by author John Boyne explores the deep desire for intimacy in the human heart and the friendships that can exist in the midst of generational worldview chaos. 

An electrical barbed wired fence separates the two boys, limiting the physicality of their friendship but not the intimacy of their conversation. In hushed voices they speak:

“We're not supposed to be friends, you and me. We're meant to be enemies. Did you know that?”  Bruno adds, “Why do you wear pajamas all day?”

“The soldiers...They took all our clothes away.”

“My dad's a soldier, but not the sort that takes people's clothes away.”

I watched the movie with my thirteen year old son, Michael. I am not sure which moved me more; the poignancy of the movie or the raw emotion expressed by my son.

“They just want to play with each other, don’t they mom?” Michael asked with tears in his eyes.

With mirrored tears I answer, “Yes, Michael, they just want to play with each other.”

Later that night I explored the response of my heart and discovered the dead mouse at the back of my heart’s cupboard. I build fences. I hand out worldview striped pajamas making the decision that some friendships are not worth exploring.  My own heart has been electrocuted by the generational worldview fence that separates us. I play peek-a-boo through the wire longing for intimacy with the very one who handed me pajamas.

But if we stay focused on the love of our Father, together we can remove worldview fences. A hole is dug not to let Shmuel out but to allow Bruno in. Hand in hand they walk through the dangerous camp understanding that intimacy through the Father is worth overcoming fences and worth putting on the enemy’s striped pajamas.

It takes generations to build worldview fences but it only takes one friendship to tear it down. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a brilliant film that rips the heart wide open if we are willing to explore the dead mouse that sits in the back of the heart’s cupboard.

Forgive us Father, for the stripes and fences that separate us. Thank you for loving us so much that you took our stripes and died on the very wood whose fruit fenced us from you.

Do it Afraid

Recently at Write Canada, a writer’s conference sponsored by The Word Guild (www.thewordguild.com) I had the privilege of sharing a meal with Grace. When I expressed the cry and hope of my heart she smiled and said, ‘do it afraid, Jane.’

Her words haunted me; but they also released me.

‘Doing it afraid’ I created this forum for Canadians to share the cry and heartsong of their hearts for community, for relationships, for our land, for our nation.

Thank you Grace for inspiring me to ‘do it afraid’!

DO IT AFRAID

by Grace Fox

I’m writing this at 32,000 feet, somewhere between London and Budapest. My final destination is Resita, Romania—the industrial city that produced the steel to build the Eiffel Tower. My reason for this trip is twofold: to minister among teens and young adults living with HIV/AIDS, and later, to help lead an evangelistic family camp in Poland.

Upon hearing about this venture, some people said, “Wow, good for you! I’d love to do something like that, but it won’t happen.”

I questioned them. “Why not? What’s holding you back?”

Some replied, “I’m scared to fly.” Others said, “I’m afraid of contracting HIV.” Some said, “I’m afraid of traveling in a country where I can’t speak the language.”

My answer? “Acknowledge those fears and then do it afraid.”

FEAR: FRIEND OR FOE?

Fear wears many faces: the fear of inadequacy, the fear of rejection, of failure, of financial insecurity, of an unknown future, and more. If we don’t recognize and deal with it, it will hinder us from embracing life as God intends and prevent His purpose for us from being fulfilled.

I’ve struggled with debilitating fear in the past, but I no longer let it rule me. I now view it as a catalyst for spiritual growth. For example, I believe that when God gives us tasks that stretch us beyond our comfort zones, saying yes forces us to depend on Him. It guarantees an opportunity for us to experience His presence, power and equipping. Fear, then becomes our friend.

I’ve found this to be true in my writing and speaking ministry. This was not a role I sought. Rather, at age 41, I sensed God telling me to write. He gave clear instructions: interview two specific women and write their profiles. I felt totally inadequate and feared failure. But I said yes and did it afraid.

The result? Ten years later, I’ve written hundreds of articles for more than 40 magazines, authored four books, and produced a Bible study and teaching DVD about—you guessed it—moving from fear to freedom.

My writing ministry quickly expanded to include speaking at international women’s events, writers conferences, and on radio and TV. It’s been a white-knuckle ride, but I’ve experienced God’s presence and power in ways that I would have missed otherwise.

I’ve also found this to be true in my role as national co-director for International Messengers Canada (www.im-canada.ca). My husband and I assumed leadership in 2007 after the U.S. office asked us to do so. At first we wondered whether we were qualified for the new responsibilities. One of our roles would be to recruit, train, and lead short-term ministry teams to Eastern Europe. What if no one volunteered? What if our best attempts failed? Humanly speaking, we had good reason to feel scared. But we believed God was directing our steps, and so we said yes and did it afraid.

The result? We’ve witnessed God in action: He provided housing, a rent-free office, an administrative assistant, and short-term volunteers. This is our tenth ministry trip to Eastern Europe since 2007 and we’ve seen spiritual hunger satisfied as men and women have come to understand God’s unconditional love for them. What a thrill to be part of God’s kingdom-building team in the post-Communist bloc.

My tagline is “Leading Women in Fearless Faith.” Does that mean I never wrestle with fear? No. It simply means that I no longer allow fear to intimidate me. Rather, I counteract it by admitting it to God, asking others to pray for me, filling my mind with the truth of God’s word, and then moving forward—doing it afraid. That’s my prayer for you, too.

When God calls you to a task that leaves your knees knocking, say yes and do it afraid. Move forward and trust Him to equip you to get the job done. I guarantee you’ll discover a greater understanding of who God is and what His purposes are for your life.

Freedom from fear is the cry of Grace’s heart. If we, the church ‘do it afraid’ imagine what we could accomplish together in building God’s kingdom.

About Grace

Grace Fox is national co-director of International Messengers Canada, a ministry that offers creative short-term and career service opportunities in the post-Communist bloc – www.im-canada.ca She’s also an international speaker and author of several books. Her latest release is a Bible study and accompanying 7-part teaching DVD titled Moving from Fear to Freedom: A Woman-to-Woman Conversation. Available at Amazon.com and other online stores, and www.gracefox.com (groups discounts available there). Join her on FB – www.facebook.com/gracefox.author.