Thursday, June 30, 2011

Their First Big Day at Lang Pioneer Village

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post

Their First Big Day at Lang Pioneer Village
Oh boy… I have three boys that are hungry… now rolling out of bed. Time to run… in fact we have two days of the same schedule. Roll ‘em out, get ‘em fed, pack ‘em up and get to the Lang Pioneer Village on time.

This is another School Visit day for the last School this year. There will be other visitors as well in all likelihood… from all over the world.

The three boys are my three grandsons from our younger daughter. She kept one and we have three. One is playing baseball in Ohio while the others get to play with grandpa. Yipeeeee!!! Talk about excited.

We have Jonathan, Thomas and Christopher… while Michael’s team is playing in a large American Tournament over this weekend. Michael’s team is good and they have won a lot lately.

Today we are learning about all the tools of 1856. Tomorrow we will be showing the whole world as the whole world will come for the Canada Day Celebration at Lang Village. Hundreds are expected and I will be talking a lot.

I think that this may be one of those most magic moments for the boys – and me. There is nothing greater than having them close to me. Some day they will remember… wow!

Gotta run I hear them coming!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

A Friend Request – by Bruce Lindsay

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post

A Friend Request – by Bruce Lindsay

I met a new friend. His name is Jim and his dog is named Lucy. He used to work for the power company up in Yellowknife, and has moved down here to retire. I’m going to meet him again tomorrow.

This is a story to encourage you to be friendly.

I used to think it was tough to make new friends. For the longest time the only friends I had were the ones from High School. I had about 12 friends. I was happy with 12 friends. I thought ‘That was enough’. If I went out I was happy to say hello to people, but I didn’t need them to be friendly, and I didn’t go out of my way to be friendly either, which worked out just fine, because I lived in Toronto. Most people aren’t that friendly. Most Toronto people talk to you in a courteous and professional way only. If you act extra friendly, they look at you funny. The only really friendly Toronto people are con-artists. Act friendly and people think you are up to something.

That was OK though, because I felt the same way. In fact, I can tell you honestly that I once met a man who seemed friendly, and we got along well. But then he told me he wanted to be my friend and I told him that I didn’t have time for that kind of thing.

I joined Facebook. But when people requested to be my friend I would say NO.

I moved to Peterborough 10 years ago and didn’t really have any friends here. I didn’t know what to do. I decided to force myself be more friendly. To accept that if someone was acting friendly, it was genuine. I would try being friendly right back, and accept their friendship.

I was at a grocery store and a kind old woman saw me shopping. She said, “Hey! You’re buying bananas. What do you plan to do with the bananas?”

I answered, “I eat them. I often put them in my kid’s lunch box, so they can eat them too.”

She said, “Do you know you can use them to make banana flavoured rice
crispy squares?”

“I didn’t know that.” I answered.

“Sure,” She said, “there are lots of different ways to use bananas. You should spend some time with me in my kitchen and I’ll teach you.”

So I’m in this lady’s kitchen. She shows me how to use bananas in about 12 different recipes. I made a friend. Her name is Wilma.

She lives in a nursing home now. But I still see her once in a while.

I went to the sportsman’s show when it came to town. I met a guy named Phil. We talked about fishing. He liked to hunt moose, I don’t. I like canoe trips and roughing it, he doesn’t. Still, he said. “If you only came to visit our hunting cabin up north, even for a few days, you would want to join our group and moose hunt with us.”

So I’m driving up north, somewhere west of Algonquin Park, with Phil’s directions to a logging road that leads to his cabin scribbled on a paper. And I have to be honest, I’m scared. I’m way beyond cell phone range. The directions say to go up highway 6 until it ends, then turn right and stop at the general store. In the store, ask for William, and he will call the cabin and let us know you are there.

Phil will come out and meet you with his 4 wheeler.

I wonder if it’s a trap. This William that I am supposed to meet might be an axe murderer. Or maybe the group of hunters is planning to kill me. I wonder if I ought to have a video camera running, just in case. Then maybe there would be some way to get word back to my wife and family what happened to me, although I doubt that anyone would ever find my body.

As it turned out, I had a wonderful three days in the wilderness with Phil and his friends. I never saw a moose, but the other guys got their limit.

Recently, I got a dog. A Jack-Russell puppy. We named him Sherman – like the tank. I thought my kids were old enough to handle it and help with the work. What I didn’t know was how friendly dog-owners are and how easy it is to make friends when you have a dog.

It is good for dogs to get together, to play and be social. My puppy looks forward to meeting other dogs in parks or trails and playing together. While the dogs play, I chat with the other dog owners. Dogs tend to behave like their owners too. Friendly owners tend to have the most friendly dogs. Grouchy, miserable people tend to have grouchy, angry, miserable dogs. So it’s good to stop before you get close to other dogs, and ask the owner if his or her dog likes to play. If they say “yes”, then let them go and have fun. If they say “No.” just be glad you asked, and keep walking on by.

Walking is the key. You don’t get to meet cat owners, because people don’t walk their cats. Cat owners are the ones who yell at you as you walk by and your dog chases their cat. “Do you think that’s funny? Do you think it’s funny when your dog chases my cat?”

Of course it’s funny. That’s why they do it all the time in cartoons. But I don’t say that out loud to the crazy cat lady.

Making a friend is not always easy. You might have to go out of your comfort zone and drive out of your way or get a dog and go for a walk. But if you want to make friends, remember you are not alone. High School is over. There are many people of all ages who want to make friends. Try it yourself. Be friendly. Accept someone else’s friendship with a warm smile.

I’ll meet you in the grocery store.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Thanks Bruce...

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Clap Out Day

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post


Clap Out Day
This is a special day for our granddaughter Emma. It is “Clap Out Day”!

The school she attends has its top grade as Grade Six. Today she is leaving her Primary School and heading into Junior High in September. Today all of the Dads and Moms together with all the Grandparents, and whoever wants to come, will stand four deep in the school hallways – on each side. As the kids will leave their class room for the last time – we will all clap heartily for them… and cheer them on.

This is their grad day so to speak. They are no longer be little kids. They are moving on to the next level in their lives, growing up and going on.

In another two years they will be a Grade Eight Grad, then in a short four years there will be the Grade Twelve Grad!

Whoa… hang on… that’s way to fast for me!

At the same that she is being clapped out of this school… I am growing old way too fast. Mixed with the pride I have for Emma and the feelings that we have for her growing up… is that nagging feeling of my own time slipping away.

My own life now is flying and sizzling with new opportunities that are simply amazing. In many ways I feel that I am being clapped out as well.

Emma is going up and I am… well… going somewhere too. Maybe not up to the next grade… but closer to a graduation too.

No it is not morbid to think this way. It is realistic.

The difference of Emma and me is that she has more time to plan her next steps. My plan has to be sure and now. There is not enough of it left to blow it or not be ready for the next exam.

If you are just passing into the latter part of your 60s or perhaps have arrived into the 70s – you will know that feeling of the impending “Clap Out”.

Now a funny thought for me is my final day above ground. You know the one that we will all go through. In my mind it will happen this way.

What ever takes me will have happened. I will be lying there waiting for that next and final step… the Funeral Service… that time when the family will gather, they will say some good words and talk about what Grandpa was like… some will cry and some will laugh. We all know that part will come. Right?

Well it is at that point that I have asked my wife and kids to consider the music that I would love to have played. Are you ready for my thought on this? I want the CD played at full gusto of Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band blasting out “Old Time Rock and Roll”. (Oh yah! WOW! I just played it again – words shown below)

Then I would love to have them do my Clap Out at that time! As we leave the chapel I want them to Clap Long and Loud… and they can even give a cheer! Wahooo!

You ask, “How irreverent can some one be?! I mean after all – you ARE A MINISTER! You have attended and conducted hundreds and hundreds of funerals. You can’t do that at a funeral!”

Yep you are right. I can’t do that at any funeral… except mine. And please remember it is MY FUNERAL! Not yours. Yours will likely be sad. Mine won’t be! I have lived an amazing life and I am going out with a bang and a Clap Out!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

Old Time Rock and Roll - 
 – written by George Jackson and Thomas Earl Jones III (1977 Muscle Shoals Publishing Company)
Just take those old records off the shelf
I'II sit and listen to 'em by myself
Today's music aln 't got the same soul
I like that old time rock 'n' roll
Don't try to take me to a disco
You'll never even get me out on the
In ten minutes I'II be late for the door
I like that old time rock'n' roll

Still like that old time rock'n' roll
That kind of music just soothes the soul
I reminisce about the days of old
With that old time rock 'n' roll
Won't go to hear them play a tango
I'd rather hear some blues or funky old soul
There's only sure way to get me to go
Start playing old time rock 'n' roll
Call me a relic, call me what you will
Say I'm old-fashioned, say I'm over the hill
Today' music ain't got the same soul
I like that old time rock 'n' roll

Still like that old time rock'n' roll
That kind of music just soothes the soul
I reminisce about the days of old
With that old time rock 'n' roll

Monday, June 27, 2011

Time Travel back to 1856

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post

Time Travel back to 1856

I am traveling back in time this morning. I will arrive at the date of June 27, 1856 by 9:00 AM.

I will be in the Lang Pioneer Village and walking towards the Hastie Carpenter Shop. I can’t wait.

As I swing the big wooden doors open the warm smell of the wood shavings of yesterday, I will meet the sound of buzzing bugs outside the shop. Just over the grassy area from the shop doors are some goats and some pigs. You can hear the goats getting excited as the feed pails are brought toward their pens. The pigs start to squeal as well.

The ladies that work in the very old house across from the shop will be preparing their fires for the day as well. They are cooking something good up over there… mmmm…MM!

Early in the morning is a magic time in the Village as it comes back to life again.

Oh it doesn’t always stay that quiet and idyllic. Within a half hour or so after my arrival the kids from surrounding schools start getting off their buses. Then within a few minutes I hear, “Let’s go in here… of WOW… look at all the old tools!”

And then my day really begins as a Volunteer at Lang Pioneer Village. I am Grandpa Lincoln and I work in the Hastie Carpenter Shop. Today I will be very old for a group of amazing young kids. Today I will tell story after story as their imaginations run with me… back to a time when things were very different and almost magical.

I wish you could join me… you would have a blast!

But wait – you can. You can become a volunteer and join an army of very satisfied people at Lang. If you are interested… I can get you involved in a hundred different ways… none of which are boring!

Gotta run and get into the Time Capsule – my 2007 Saturn Vue Hybrid… and away I go to 1856! Wahooo!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

Sunday, June 26, 2011

The Heart Stopping Moment

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post

The Heart Stopping Moment
My heart stopped at that moment. I can say it was the worst moment for our family… well almost the worst.

At that moment I am a grandparent. I am watching my grandson Clifford pouring out his entire energy and full effort to play his part in that football game. His job is to stop the play that the other team is trying at that moment. Clifford plays “defensive linebacker” – meaning if anyone tries to catch the ball or catches the ball, Clifford will put him down.

If you know anything about football you will know that when the opposing football team has given the ball to one player, that player is super charged and his heart is beating the same speed his legs are. He is running full tilt… nothing will stop him.

Well it happened at one of those moments… the ball was passed to the player on the opposing team. That payer was one of the guys Clifford was covering. The player also had a number of guys covering/blocking for him. It was a virtual wall of fast moving human flesh and bones advancing down the field.

Clifford and a fellow player ran full tilt into that advancing wall with one intention of stopping the ball carrier. Bam! Kerpow! Smash and Crash! The play stopped with a muddle of arms and legs and bodies a mere 25 feet from where we were sitting in the stands.

Everyone got up but one guy… who slowly rose and then went down again.

Oh no…! It was Number 35, Clifford Lindsay, our grandson. Something was wrong. He had been hurt in that play. He couldn’t get up – or walk. A signal was given to his sideline folk that then responded and came to check him out. Finally after a few minutes they walked him off the field to the applause of fellow players and the fans in the stands.

What happened?

Well it seems that he now could have a slight concussion. Sheesh! How could that happen to my grandson? He is good at what he does. He shouldn’t get hurt from a tackle; he knows how to protect himself.

It happened because he has the heart of a Lion and the courage of a Pit Bull. And an advancing army of fully charged, opposition, football players doesn’t scare him at all. And at that moment with nearly two thousand pounds of football players coming at him fast… he stepped in and stopped the ball carrier!

But as a grandparent I could do nothing but hold my breath.

The slight concussion he possible has will heal. I have had the same in the past… and he will in the future. But sitting out the next important games will make him more upset than anything in this world.

This is his first year on this team… and he is playing first string… and in almost every play. How do you deal with the heart and courage that has been sidelined?

I went over to the vehicle he was sitting in to offer words of encouragement. Clifford’s response was, “I sucked!” – from a completely discouraged kid.

As we drove home from Oshawa last evening I thought long and hard about him.

He is learning the harder lesson of team sports. You have done your best and something stopped you personally. But at the end of the night his team won 33 to 27. His effort made a difference. If he had not played as hard as he did… the score could have been 33 to 34 – or more!

Again I have been reminded of how much difference the full effort of one player has made. What an important Life Lesson that will be… after he can get his head around it… and his head feels better.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Time for me

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post


Time for me

I think when I was working for a living I was too busy to see opportunity. There were always too many things that I had to do. It covered up all the fun things that I wanted to do.

Now, each Wednesday I sit at the display table that is set up for me in the Peterborough Square, downtown Peterborough. I work alongside of “Crop Circles” – a creative store in the Mall. At the table I have a display of some of the things that I do, wood carving, lace making, Pyrography and other arts and crafts.

My intention is to possibly help other folk that would like to start their journey into something creative. I will demonstrate or actually teach a class for whoever stops by the table.

In the course of the day more than 100 walk by and many will stop to look – or speak with me. Many are on their coffee breaks or lunch times from their place of work in or near the Mall. On top of that a good number of retirees will stop to talk as well.

After I engage them in a conversation, I ask if they do anything creative. The usual answer is, “No, I don’t have time for that kind of thing… I work.”

Others will say, “I haven’t got time, I am a grandparent that looks after my grandkids!”

Likely 5 out of 20 people have any time to do anything… and even less take the time to do something.

They often ask me where I get my time from to do what I do. My answer is, “I save some of my time for me.”

If I don’t save some for me, there is none left. There is always something that must be done or that someone wants me to do. I have a bad habit of not being able to say no… so I have to block time for what is important to me.

A time will come when my body will break down, the mind may start to fade or not remember, and the general old age will take parts of me away. For that reason I run with my time now, I love my time now and I keep my time now for me… at least a little of it.

In a seminar a few years back the Federal Government presented some stats that they had gleaned from records of their retirees. It was said that the average retiree from the Federal Government a few years back was living only 18 months past their final day at the Government position they had served in.

18 months is not long. The 30 years prior spent in the daily grind had sapped the life out of each person… and they had little to live for afterwards…except Doctor’s appointments and Blood Tests….

There is a great need for Pre-retirement Planning.

I need to live a little for me… not just for everyone else. I need to enjoy what I have gathered together as my stuff. I need my time… and I need to create – just a little.

If you are honest today, you need time for you as well. May I ask how much you save for yourself? I hope you can save a little for you to enjoy.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

Friday, June 24, 2011

5.51 Millimeters in the Coffee Shop

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post


5.51 Millimeters in the Coffee Shop

The old guys with the loudest voice sat near to my chair. His right side was not far from my left side.

We were in one the Tim Horton’s Coffee Shop for a treat last evening.

Across for me was my mom and beside me – to my left was my wife. She was sitting closer to the old guy with the loud voice.

So he says, “I took it down 5.51 millimeters. Even at that it was still tight. I had to hammer it in. The bearings came from New Jersey and the rod came from Michigan.” Then he laughed long and hard. The other three sitting with him chirped in some comment or other that made even less sense to those sitting nearby – but because of the volume – everyone could hear.

All of them in a world of their.

My guess these are old car guys… that have antique cars and spend most of their time and money on getting the parts that are needed to build their beauties up… or keep them running.

These old guys wanted me to ask them something about their latest dealings with their cars. Their wives wouldn’t listen but maybe some one in the coffee shop would.

I admire the old fellow… 5.51 millimeters is something else to accomplish. I doubt that I could be that accurate with my machinery. But then not knowing what the heck he was talking about kind of left me out of the conversation.

At another table the old folk were talking about the Southern Gospel Concert that they were heading off to soon. The bus trip, the clothing they needed, and how exciting the groups that would attend would be… almost as weird as the 5.51 millimeters.

There was another guy not long ago in another coffee shop I entered. He was adamant that his listener know that he must be “saved”… and come to church with him the next Sunday. At least that is what I thought was being discussed. Not a lot of Tact but a whole lot of zeal!

Whoa! What a mixture in my life at the coffee shop.

Being retired now I spend more time sitting and listening and talking. And I guess I can be loud too… when I get excited about my “5.51 millimeters” that I do with my art work. I can get a little worked up about the special events that I attend – the National Gallery of Canada.

Gotta get ready for another coffee shop adventure today.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Imagine… you don’t want their liver to get tight!

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post


Imagine… you don’t want their liver to get tight!

The young mom stood frozen as the baby’s Grandma gathered together the long nightgown the baby wore and lifted him up, upside-down. The Grandma began shaken the baby back and forth, upside down while the baby’s head shook back and forth to what was happening on the other end. Something like shaking a bag of flour to get it to settle.

The young mom shrieked for her mother-in-law to stop! This was her first baby and though she wasn’t a perfect mother yet, and sometimes didn’t know what to do with her new baby boy, instinct told her that this can’t be good for her baby.

She yelled at the mother-in-law to stop… who by this time was letting the baby down again into his crib.

She asked the mother-in-law why she had done that as she picked up the baby and held him close.

The young mom stood in disbelief as her mother-in-law told her that, “I was shaking him to keep his liver loose, it shouldn’t get tight. It is good for him!”

The baby didn’t cry but his head was bouncing from side to side violently.

Wow! What a story!

That story was shared with me out of the blue last night by my 90 year old mother. That baby was me.

My wife looked at me with disbelief and said, “Now we know what is wrong with you…”

I have had all night to think about the violent shaking that I had as a baby. I think I had the dreams because of what I was told.

Now physiologically it made no sense at all, knowing what I know today. But I guess my Grandma Lincoln didn’t know these things.

The liver is located in the abdomen and needs considerable shaking to the get the job done… which means the head is snapping back and forth on the lower end like a whip.

Good Lord… it does explain why I am a little different. My brain was shaken so it wouldn’t get tight! The liver has never given me problems for that matter either.

Most of the time I have many scattered thoughts that kind of float out there in La La Land. It was so good in school.. others would be sitting there struggling with their school work and I was a million miles away in another country – having a great time. Concentrating on what the teacher was saying was sometimes hard to do… if it was boring I simply looked out the window and I was gone… for an afternoon of pleasure… in the field beside the school… without ever leaving my school desk.

I had two sisters and one brother… that I seriously doubt my mother allowed to be anywhere near the old lady that shook her son.

But I also have many cousins from my dad’s brother and two sisters that were all subject to this old lady’s ministrations. I don’t doubt that the old girl likely kept the gizzard as well as the liver from being tight in all her Grandkids. Hokey Mokey!

Can you imagine how many kids might have died from silly old Grandmas that were just keeping their liver from getting tight!?

After my mom told me about preventing the tight liver incident… she explained further her fear of that horrible moment.

I apparently had a bigger head, small neck and my body was not all that big. With the gathered nightie around my feet I kind of puddled into the nightie around the collar… and mom was fearful that I would slip through the nightie neck and bounce on the floor with my head first.

Good Lord… it is amazing that I survived all of that.

So what do I do with this new bit of important information today? I am off to the Doctor’s Office shortly. Do I tell him or not? He was a little shocked when the he found out my abdomen has buckshot in it from an old shot gun we played with… long ago.

I think I will become a hypochondriac through all of this…

Imagine… you don’t want their liver to get tight! Good Lord – what else don’t I know?!!!!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

“Oh my God I am flying!”

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post

“Oh my God I am flying!”

“I’ve never flown before!” said the small voice behind us.

Then the second smaller voice said, “Neither have I. I have never flown before either.”

We had sat down in our seats on the Westjet Flight 424 from Winnipeg to Toronto. A young lady with two small boys had just sat down behind us and the talk was more than cute as they readied themselves for the big moment that was ahead… their very first flight.

Sean was the 7 year old. He had short hair and new clothes on. His brother David was 4 and he was almost identical to his brother. Two peas in a pod for sure.

Alida and I listened and grinned at each other. What a special moment for us to share with them. No, no… we weren’t with them – but being that close to them you could hear it all.

After a short while of preflight preparations the mighty engine just outside my window kicked in and began to whine. The ground crew was waving their orange sticks and we were being backed up with the help of the pusher vehicle.

I grinned and thought I am a boy also… just like the two behind us in the next seat. This was so much fun… going somewhere. In this case we were on our way home. In Sean and David’s case I think there were some grandparents that were going to meet them in Toronto at the completion of our flight.

As the aircraft backed up and then started to move forward… one of the small voices said, “We’re moving!” I could feel his glee as we started toward our take off runway. For the small voice he was sure that we were flying. The excitement was building… by the second. You could feel the fun emanating from row 13, seats 13A and 13B.

It was then that the mighty thrust began and continued with everything the pilot could find available to him. The aircraft rumbled faster and faster forward on the runway… picking speed up every half second.

Seat 13A and 13B were quiet as they took it all in… then an excited young voice stated the pure pleasure that all of us knew but would never ever say out loud, “Oh my God we are flying!”

I think it was Sean in 13A that had made the declaration.

I grinned again. I am a boy and I love the feeling that stirs deep inside of me as the new adventure rushes at me. I love the feeling of the unknown. I am rushing ahead into life and loving it. This is way better than playing with toy airplanes. This is way better than the nights that mom kissed me goodnight and told me there was only six more sleeps, five more sleeps, two more sleeps… before I would take my first airplane ride. I had never flown before and I could hardly wait. But now… “Oh my God we are flying!” and my boy spirit is soaring along with the mighty aircraft below me.

For the next two hours I sat thinking what it was like to be a boy again. To remember that absolute joy of doing something for the first time… rolled around in me. That feeling of wonder and “Wow!” as my dad and mom took us somewhere for the very first time… was great… all over again.

I think that the day that I become so hardened to what is around me… the day that I lose my, “Oh my God we are flying!” wonder… I will be old. I will be too old to remember that I am really a boy that is about to venture out of where I have been doing my boyhood stuff… and I am about to start something new, better, brilliant and unbelievable! I will be old.

I don’t want to every feel old.. or be old.. or lose the “Oh my God we are flying!” feeling!

In fact that would be the epitaph that I want on my tombstone… yes… that is it… “Oh my God I am flying!”

Gotta run… the motors of today was beginning to rumbled to life. I am ready to take off again. Today is another adventure that is just waiting for me.

Sean and David are having fun at Grandpa’s and Grandma’s place today… and I intend that I will have just as much fun as they are and WOW! - “Oh my God I am flying!”

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Coming through the Floods in Saskatchewan

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post
Coming through the Floods in Saskatchewan
My wife’s encouragement were words that went like this… “Keep going… keep going… slowly… keep going…”. Then she took our camera to take a photo of a cute duck swimming by her passenger side window. It was as close as if we were in a boat… the water was up to the lower part of the car door and rising as we went along.

This is not normally where we take our drives together. Our vehicle was not a boat – yet we were far from shore and in fact in the middle of the raging flood waters in the middle of the prairies of Saskatchewan.

We were on our trip by car back to Winnipeg after spending a wonderful weekend in Regina with our friends.

We had stopped in Indian Head, Saskatchewan at the grocery store to buy something for lunch and then headed out on to the highway again.

The radio reports were from all over the province about the terrible rain storms that had been hitting the south eastern part of the province. In one storm more than 4 and ½ inches had come down. And now the water was trying to find ways to get to lower ground – or into the ground.

Do you know…? Water falling on the prairie doesn’t have a lot of choices as to where low ground is. It is all flat. And when the ground is completely saturated with water from days and weeks before – there is no place for it to go down… it just gets deeper and deeper.

And if there is a low spot – it will flow that way.

Heading east and passing Sintaluta, Saskatchewan we couldn’t see any flooding yet. The radio had told us that there was some problem on the west bound lanes earlier.

As we came over the hill… I said to Alida, “Oh, Oh, it looks like we have got problems up ahead.”

There was a truck sitting on the highway with its emergency lights blinking. Cars were stopped on the highway and ahead of them was a literal lake across the highway. It was more than two city blocks across on our side. On the west bound lanes it was far bigger and much deeper.

There were no cars over there. Only semi-trailers that were slowly going through deeper water in the west bound lanes. The water was over their front wheels and each truck was creating a wake rolling out each side.

After looking the situation over carefully and considering the alternatives… it was better to go into the water and move ahead slowly. If we turned around we had to drive one hour back and then two hours north across a deep valley. Some of the roads that way were closed also.

I watched the car in front of us that was about the same size… he went into the small lake and then further and further… no apparent problems… so I followed.

“Keep going… keep going… slowly… keep going…” Alida kept saying.

When we exited the flood water we both sighed deeply.

We continued to listen to the radio reports on the way to Brandon. Just moments after we exited the flood we heard they closed 160 kms of the highway from Balgonie to Whitewood! Most of the way to Brandon there were no cars on our side of the road. Everyone was on the other side of flood waters.

This morning early it was reported that one the semi-trailer trucks had rolled over in the deep water. I hope the driver was okay and I wonder what his family thought when they saw his truck on the TV news?

We were very fortunate to have left on the trip when we did. The alternatives were not good. The six hour trip could have been ten.

Did you know I have an amazing wife that loves adventure? Hokey Mokey!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

The above two photos show the constant water in the ditches - for 350 Miles to Winnipeg
The flooded Highway #1 - our first sighting below








The red markers were about four feet high at the edge of the roadway

 Halfway through... in the middle of the flood

The duck just out of Alida's passenger side door

The weeds stuck in the grill were some of our souvenirs that came all the way with us

 Entering a portion of the Assiniboine River Valley




 Below - flooding into the farmer's field

The flooding river has taken the road our entirely


Below is an underpass that used to be a road - that is no more


 Hundreds of kms of ditches flooding with water rolling through culverts

Monday, June 20, 2011

Sitting with one of the World’s Little Giants

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post

Sitting with one of the World’s Little Giants
Everyone knows that Giants are big. And everyone knows that Giants usually can influence their entire world around them. Their affect on those around them is profound.

Yesterday I met with a Gentle Giant that is small… very small and has always been small.

Now I am Five Feet and Six Inches tall… but I am taller than this Giant.

The Giants name is Pastor Lorne O. Pritchard… or L. O. Pritchard as some know him… or as his friends know him simply as Lorne.

My Dad and Mom knew him as Lorne. He was a close friend.

As I mentioned in my last post we are in Regina, Saskatchewan. On Saturday evening we stopped by one of our relative’s home… Eldon and Lu Johnson’s place. While there Lu mentioned that her brother Lorne had moved to Regina in March 2011.

Yesterday at about 10 AM Alida and I walked into Lorne’s room in the beautiful new Senior’s Residence that he lives in. What a treat to see him again.

The best part is that he recognized me right away. Imagine after all these years! He still knew me!!! Wow!

Lorne O. Pritchard is a fairly notable person in his world – a real Giant that has become widely known for his strong Bible Teaching and his fiery preaching over the years. In the Apostolic Church of Pentecost (ACOP) he has been a great influence on many, many people.

In my life and world he has always been a Giant… I will explain shortly.

As we sat with Lorne he told us stories of his last 7 years in the Vancouver area.

At about 83 years old some one called him asking, “Pastor Lorne would you think of Pastoring another Church?” Lorne wasn’t sure of that. He was almost 84 years old and the days of pastoring and preaching were pretty well over.

He agreed to come and preach for them a few Sundays and that then led to 7 years of being their Pastor. And in March when his daughter and son worked out the arrangements he moved to Regina and his new home.

As he told us of his most recent congregation he held the photo with great care and pointed out the different people that had meant so much to him over these past few years.
Lorne has been the pastor of many people… and he has been one of the most interesting evangelists in the ACOP and even PAOC movements across Canada. PAOC is another branch of the Pentecostal Churches the same way that the ACOP are. I am PAOC and Lorne is ACOP.

Now for the rest of the story…

Lorne and Bill Rens (or Wrens – I am not sure how to spell his name) were frequent visitors to the Charlie Kirkpatrick Farm at Truax, Saskatchewan. On that farm was a family that numbered about 10. Dad, Mom and eight kids. When Lorne and Bill came along there would be 12 around the table… but often there were many more.

How did I know that? Well Charlie Kirkpatrick was my grandpa… and my Mom’s dad.

Lorne was a Preacher and he Preached at the Kirkpatrick Farm House and also at the Truax Town Hall as the crowds continued to grow. A Revival of sorts broke out in that region and Lorne, together with others came to stoke the Revival Fires. Many people committed their lives to Christ, got right with God and some huge changes to their living.

It was likely this small town and the region of Truax’s Revival that confirmed the Call of God upon Lorne Pritchard’s life… and has kept him going all these years as a Minister… pastoring right up into his 90th year.

Here is where it gets personal….
It was about 1941 to 1942 when these events were unfolding in the Truax region.

It was also about the same time that one Clifford Lincoln came along with Lorne one time to that Farm. My Mom will likely set me straight after she reads this… but it was in about that time that Clifford Leslie Lincoln met Marion Nellie Kirkpatrick.

It was in about 1942 that Clifford started pressuring Lorne Pritchard to get his Ordination and the Official Papers with the Government of Saskatchewan as an Ordained Minister… so that Lorne could perform the marriage for Clifford and Nellie.

Lorne told me yesterday that, “I personally wanted nothing to do with being Ordained. God Ordained you to the Ministry – not MAN! But because Clifford pressured me and wanted me to marry them… I did it.”

My Dad and Mom, Clifford and Marion Nellie Lincoln were the first couple he performed the marriage for in 1942. That happened on the Kirkpatrick Farm with all the family and friends present.

In the summer of 1944 he then performed his first Baby Dedication. He held a tiny little baby in his arms and asked God to bless that baby in mighty ways. That was 67 years ago now… and that Baby was me.

Yesterday the Baby sat beside the 90 year old pastor and thanked him for all that he had prayed. For without a doubt that Prayer of Blessing by Rev. Lorne O. Pritchard over the little baby Murray Ross Lincoln has been answered.

I am blessed and have not yet realized the fullest blessing of God.

My life has been greatly and deeply affected by a Little Giant – and I am so thankful… so deeply thankful!

Oh and if you didn’t realize it… as I was able to sit and speak with Lorne yesterday… it was my Father’s Day present. Wow!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

Resource:
http://www.lornepritchard.com/




Sunday, June 19, 2011

Coming Home to the Cathedral - Regina

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/

* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post

Coming Home to the Cathedral - Regina
Yesterday as my wife and I drove down the familiar old streets again I had a lump in my throat. This was home for us… and is still “home” in a way… even though we live 1700 miles from here.

We are in Regina at the moment. We returned to the heart of it all for both of us. We have lived all over the world but Regina is still “home” for us!!!

Through a unique series of events we were able to come “home” on Friday. When the Retreat in Manitoba, that I was speaking at, closed on Friday, the Director suggested that we might take his vehicle and drive over to Saskatchewan. What a gift!

After a few phone calls and the kindness of our friends Phil and Joanne… we have a place to stay and have had a few days to visit many folks. We actually need about a week to see everyone… but that can’t happen this time around.

The best part of the trip was seeing my wife’s sister at her door… in a bit a shocked moment when she opened the door to her sister standing there grinning. This kind of reunion was more than special! No I didn’t take a photo of that… I was taking in the moment which was priceless!

What a gift… on Father’s Day 2011 – I am home with my bride… but our daughters are somewhere today with their families at a sporting event or two… 1700 miles away! Too funny!

That small introduction to this thought of the “Cathedral”.

My mom used to live in the Cathedral Area of the Regina. Not far from where she lived is a huge Catholic Cathedral that is the centre of much of what we knew. The trees of that part of the city are reaching far into the sky and form a natural arch over the streets… forming their own Cathedral Domed ceiling. It is amazing to drive through… I hope the photos below help you to see what I mean.


 (Above and below - the House that I grew up in... the brown one in the middle)

Now if you know anything of Regina you will know that it is a city that was built in the centre of a Bald Prairie… with basically nothing around it but flat and endless prairie… that goes one forever.

But through hard work and much endurance the city and the people have transformed that flat prairie into a special city that draws people in.

Now I know many people from other parts of Canada and even the world will not see what we see. It is not the trees… the prairie… the water and rivers… it is the heart of friendly people. People like this start loving you and never stop. It is the one main reason we come home.

I have traveled all over the world. I have walked in and through absolutely amazing Cathedrals of all kinds… and all kinds of faith groups… but Regina is my Cathedral… my special place where my heart rests.

As we bask in these moments through the kindness of special people… we savor every moment. And I say thank you to a whole bunch of people that made this Father’s Day very special.

Yesterday I spent some time at my Father’s grave… that was a very special moment…

How do you go home – when you are home? Oh boy!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 
 A monument downtown - the beauty of our Canadian Geese

 Looking down my street...

Houses so close together... that the pigeon need only step over to the next roof...

BUT why would you build so close to your neighbor when there is so much prairie???

Saturday, June 18, 2011

The Prime Time Retreat – Experiencing Gray Power up front

Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.

My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.

To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post
The Prime Time Retreat – Experiencing Gray Power up front

We have just completed a wonderful week at the Manitoba Prime Time Retreat. Wow! What a week it has been. There have been 72 people in attendance from all over Manitoba. Each one with a different story and a wealth of experience. It has been an honor to get to know these folks.

Our purpose/theme at this camp was to answer one question, “What is in your hand?”

When God called Moses to his major work that he was to do, Moses was 80 years old. Moses also was more than a wee bit reticent to take on the task that he was being asked to do.

God asked Moses “What is in your hand?” Moses responded with a simple, “A rod.” (or in some translations he said, “A staff.”)

It was something that the shepherd used every day… a simple staff that he used to herd his flock. Nothing special, just an ordinary, old, sturdy stick that he has likely carried with him since his early days of becoming a shepherd.

God told Moses to cast it down and immediately it became a snake. Then he told him to pick it up by the tail… okay? Isn’t that dangerous? Most snakes that I have dealt with will bite. But Moses did what he was told to do… and it turned back into his old staff or rod.

God used that old staff or rod in Moses’ hand to perform many miracles in the days and years to come. He took something that was ordinary and made it extraordinary.

This week through my speaking, using examples and illustrations the seniors thought long and hard about the “rod” or “staff” that they each carried all these years. They looked at their talents and abilities that they have each had for so long… and all the things that have become pretty ordinary. Then we looked at how these ordinary things could become powerful in their local communities and churches to help the world that they live in.

In many of the senior’s life experiences they have been sidelined by their own families and communities. They are now old and for the most part many of those around them do not see them as of any great value… in fact many are just now becoming a pain to those around them. They have for years been looking after they own parents and also their own kids… and maybe now their own grandkids too. But they are slowing down… in a fast paced community that knows instant messaging and nothing but more action upon action.

Their family “work” is not what they thought of for their retirement… or for doing the things they love to do.

I can say that this group of people are not at all “done” with it all. They are more than ready to do something great – even though they are older.

A goal this week was to come to a place that each person looked at their own talents and abilities and then discover how these might be used in their own community.

First we looked at the number of talents that each person might have. Then we looked at the number of people around each one that was not in their own personal family.

In one of our last morning sessions the seniors sat in small groups and described the talents and abilities that they each possessed. They told of the joy they had in doing some of the things that they did at home with their talents. They also told of the many ways that these talents could be used. This part alone sparked ideas in others of what they might also do back home.

In that same morning session they spoke about the number of people that they might help in the future. Then listing the people that they might reach out to, they collected numbers and added them all up.

Can you imagine how many people that these seniors are thinking that they may help in the next six months – with the talents they have?

First the number of talents identified in all the small groups totaled 368 – from 72 people.

Secondly the number of people that they anticipate reaching out to is 1191 – to start with.

Did you catch that? 72 people will be helping, encouraging, working with, providing meaning and new life to 1191 other people in the next 6 months.

Can you imagine if we were able to see all the seniors in all the communities across Manitoba doing that kind of thing in every community – wherever they are? The numbers are staggering to say the least.

In this country of Canada and in every one of our communities are hundreds upon thousands of senior people – that individually help some one some where… using their talent and ability in a creative and quiet way.

People have written about Gray Power. I have witnessed the potential up front. I know now that there are 72 people that will likely turn their world upside down – by simply being there to help – and it will take a mere 6 months to do it!!!!

This week among some of the most interesting and talented people… has changed my life. I am now ready to go home and do more to help others as well.

WOW!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 


Prime Time Group Discussion










 Prime Time accommodation 
- Murray and Alida

Prime Time - Strawberry Luncheon 
- All about Quilting