Dealing with Politics with Love and Care

Why bother praying for our Political Leaders and our Government? What good can come from it all? Isn’t it kind of redundant to spend even a short time praying for these people?

Since retiring from active pastoral ministry in the church, I have launched into a brand new arena of ministry. That brand new area is serving as a support to our Members of Provincial Parliament. In Ontario we know them as MPPs. In other parts of Canada we know them as MLAs or Members of the Legislative Assembly.

Women and men from our province have knowingly placed themselves in situatuions where they are making huge decisions that deeply affect the entire population of our provinces. They are among some of the most powerful people in our communities. But they are human and they need support.

I used the word “support” a little bit ago. In our church language we call it “Chaplaincy” or a “Chaplain”. That is a little fancier name – but carries the same meaning as “support”

In my case, with God’s blessing, I am able to conduct this ministry by supporting myself. I do not raise extra monies to do this task. Amazingly the finances are all looked after by “My Boss” – God.

Each morning I pray for each MPP in Ontario. I add others to that prayer list as I am prompted or word comes from some that need prayer. Ministry wise I have never been more fulfilled nor more busy. Good things have happened as I reach out and am available to people that need help.

Each morning I attempt to publish the name and information about each of our Ontario MPPs. This is done on a simple Blog at http://prayforleaderstoday.blogspot.com/ Within the Blog a Prayer is included that encourages readers/followers to pray with me.

The response to this simple effort has been very interesting. Not only are people in churches reading/checking on this Blog – but also our MPPs and staff are doing so. They all want to know what is happening and who is watching what they do.

Personal…
Serving as a Pastor over 35 years I know what it is like to get into hot water. There were times that as I thought I was doing what was the right thing to do – I was caught in the middle of the muddle by conflicting groups. No matter what decision I made or what statement I attempted… I was going to suffer as a result.

(I could list hundreds of example but will leave them to the book in which I eventually will tell the whole truth. It could be a hot seller as names and issues will be outlined clearly… and I will not be under legal pressure to suppress me… all those that fired the darts of fire will be dead by then. Oh Boy!)

As a pastor I entered the position at the beginning of my duties in a church. My passion and excitement to do the best job possible was always there.

In every case I was voted upon by a congregation that had asked me to consider being their minister. After careful consideration and much prayer I allowed them to “vote on my name”. If the vote was higher than 66% I would consider the possibilities of working with and for the congregation – lower than that was a clear signal that this is not a good idea.

In every case where a vote took place it was indicated by the strong vote that we should go there. Over the 35 years the vote percentage remained very high. Some places went as high as 100% - others as low as 87%. The last church we served in gave us a vote of 98.5%.

But while doing the task at hand I would not keep that high approval rating that was given at the beginning. Some times following an explosion in the church groups – my approval rating would drop drastically. If the opposing groups would have been able to carry out the old way of dealing with things or people that they hated – I WOULD HAVE BEEN STONED to death. I would have been a Paul the Apostle to say the least – stoned many times over for saying or doing things that were objected to.

Pastoral Ministry is not a nice thing to have to do. It has hidden issues that you can never talk about – if you did some one could or would sue you. If you did you would or could destroy lives. Oh yes there were good parts to celebrate and many wonderful things to take part in… But… there were times that you simply wanted to die rather than face the angry Mob. I shudder even now after one year away from it all… with the things that happened under the banner of leadership.

Political Circles of MPPs and Their Staff Members…
Within the Province of Ontario at the present time there is a huge political issue brewing in our Health Care Ministry and service.

A short while ago Premier Dalton McGuinty made an appointment of Sarah Kramer to a very important place leading a division of the Health Care Ministry – entitled “eHealth”.

Sarah, a very capable leader, entered her new position with a burst of energy and excitement. She made things happen. And “Yes” she spent some money. And DEFINITELY she raised some ire of opponents to what she was doing. AND IT ALL EXPLODED. She was let go…fired for doing the job she was asked to do with her expertise.

There were other appointments made and more fur flew – more people were let go over similar issues.

At this point it is a nightmare in our Province. The Premier of our Province is taking heat now that he has not known for a long time. Opposition folk have demanded that the heads of other leaders would be chopped off as well. They want the Minister of Health to be fired as well – step down – be forced out for the over spending that Sarah Kramer.

Yesterday Sarah Kramer attempted to tell the truth and gave a Press Release for all to read. I am publishing it entirely at the end of this posting – for all to read. With this PR statement by Sarah there appears to be a huge issue behind the scenes that is simply hidden. And whoever takes the leadership of this volatile department will have to face it. Hidden people have done – and are doing – horrible things with our money.

And guess who is responsible? The Premier and all his counter parts in the ruling party – The Liberals – of course. I mean after all... the media has uncovered partial truths and told part of the story… just enough to sell more papers… and Sarah Kramer is GUILTY as they charged her.

My reaction to that is BULL! I have served in Politics for 35 years – and you can’t pull that one on me! There is way more to the story than what is said by loud people… WAY, WAY MORE.

So that is one of the reasons I that I feel so compelled to pray for leadership.

I may never get a chance to tell Sarah Kramer how I feel – and I doubt that she will ever read this Blog… BUT Sarah Kramer I care… and I pray for people like you. I also pray for people that may follow you in this unlovely position.

I know what this is all about. I was a Pastor and I worked in a CHURCH!

And the Political Leaders that approved the Hiring of Sarah – need even more prayer… That is why I support them with one simple prayer each morning.

"Heavenly Father, I pray that “the Leader’s Name goes here” would know your great blessing for her/his Life and Work today. I ask that the staff working in the Riding Office and doing the work for the community would also know God’s blessing on each one of them. May this day be a GREAT DAY for each one and that they would know “the peace and prosperity” that we pray for them. ~ Amen"

~ Murray Lincoln ~

http://www.murraylincoln.com/

Source:
Sarah Kramer’s Press Release… August 13, 2009
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/August2009/13/c4908.html

Statement by Sarah Kramer

TORONTO, Aug. 13 /CNW/ -

Since leaving eHealth Ontario in June, I have refrained from public comment about my time as CEO, or the controversy that prompted my departure from the organization. However, in the last few days, a number of media reports have appeared, filled with new and misleading allegations. In these circumstances, I now feel compelled to make thefollowing comments.

The Auditor General of Ontario is currently conducting a review of the consultant fees and all other financial matters relating to my time at eHealth Ontario - and the period that preceded me at Smart Systems for Health Agency (SSHA). These latest media stories are an attempt to pre-empt that report andits findings.

The simple fact is that when I took over as CEO at eHealth Ontario last year, I was charged with turning around a failing behemoth - SSHA - which had already run through more than $600 million dollars with hardly anything to show for it in terms of moving Ontario closer to the goal of eHealth, and modernizing and improving the quality and safety of health care for Ontarians.

With the clear direction and full support of the Board and thegovernment, I worked hard to jumpstart what, as SSHA, had been a moribund and deeply troubled and dysfunctional organization. An essential part of this was shedding an internal culture that prized process above results. This had two important consequences: ruffling the feathers of an entrenched and ineffective bureaucracy, and bringing on outside consultants - among the most respected eHealth experts not just in Canada, but the world.

As with any major change, our efforts were met with strong, intractable resistance and outright hostility in some quarters, including within the Ministry of Health and among a few other vested interests in the health care sector. Indeed, much of the sensationalized media coverage over the last several months has been based on the unchallenged accounts of those interests who opposed and sought to forestall these essential reforms which the government had mandated me to implement.

The immense opposition which confronted us made the work of outsidehealth care and eHealth experts even more essential. The sums involved in recruiting this expertise were not negligible. But I - with the full support of the Board of Directors - believed that was an essential investment in turning around what was a badly drifting organization. Given the many hundreds of millions that were squandered under the auspices of SSHA, it is ironic that the much smaller amounts spent on these consultants that have garnered so muchattention.

These are the facts.

Rather than a continuation of these misleading and destructive newsstories, I look forward to the Auditor General's report.

For further information: Marion Mackenzie, (416) 970-5909

(Also...)

Way Back when they appointed Sarah Kramer...

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2008/31/c3431.html

WHY GOD MADE MOMS

My friend Jim forwarded an email that is perfect for this day. It is all about Moms and how they are viewed by 2nd Graders.

Isn’t it funny when you look on as a Parent or Grandparent the way that Kids see things? Then again – I used to be a Kid too. How about you? Boy did we see things differently!

Maybe you would like to pass this on to someone else. You are welcome to – do a Copy/Paste of the text in your email to your friend – or simply forward this link http://murraylincoln.blogspot.com/2009/08/why-god-made-moms.html

Have a great day.

I am planning on doing so…

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

WHY GOD MADE MOMS
Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.

What kind of a little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

And one more…

THE MOMMY TEST
I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that.

"Why?" my daughter asked.

"Because it's been laying outside, you don't know where it's been, it's dirty and probably has germs" I replied.

At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, "Wow! How do you know all this stuff?"

"Uh," ...I was thinking quickly, "All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mommy Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mommy."We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information.

"OH...I get it!" she beamed, "So if you don't pass the test you have to be the daddy."

"Exactly" I replied back with a big smile on my face and joy in my heart.

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

God never said life would be easy. He just promised it would be worth it

“Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Love the ones who do not, just because you can. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Kiss slowly. Forgive quickly. God never said life would be easy. He just promised it would be worth it.”

It is a simple quote that I picked up recently… and a good one to put into action. It is so true.

Sitting with a couple recently I heard the complicated route that had brought them together. There was so much that could have destroyed them. So much that had happened along the way to cripple them – yet today as they make the next set of plans for a future together – they are amazing. They truly live by what is contained in the quote.

The last part of the quote grabbed my attention… “God never said life would be easy. He just promised it would be worth it.”

As I have been sifting through emotions again I have found this to be so true.

Last evening as I went through another old box of really old material – the box released a huge amount of emotions. It was as if the emotions were packed right along with everything that was in there.

The box was loaded with many of my old drawings and cartoons from all the years before. Some of the pieces are over 45 years old. As I touched them again memories flooded back over and over again. What a rush!

As I touched one, I stopped and held it looking deeply at what I drew on the paper. The memories flooded back of the moment that I created the piece. At that very moment in the past I was struggling with thoughts about the future and what might be. I was weighted down by the circumstances that existed around me. Everything had looked impossible. I remembered the thought, “How will I ever make it through this stuff that is happening?!?”

Life was not easy at that point in time. It was down right impossible and not worth going on. I was ready to quit everything and just give up entirely. “God never said life would be easy. He just promised it would be worth it.” was oh so true as I look back now.

I have done very well. I have not only survived but gone way past the obstacles that I had planted firmly in front of me at that moment. I was a failure then – a complete and absolute failure. But that isn’t the way that I stayed.

Life has been more than “worth it”, life has been excellent!

Sometimes I wish that I was at the mid point in my life… and that I had another 50% left to live. At 65 years old that is probably not the case. I don’t really need to live another 65 years… I just need to enjoy deeply what I have right now.

Regrets? No way – not really. Stuff? I do not have a lot. I have enough. And realizing that is the most important thing in the world. I am satisfied. I have been blessed and I will continue to be so.

Yesterday…
Yesterday I had the joy of watching a boy of 10 years old discover something new. Devon’s eyes sparkled.

He is in my drawing class that I am teaching this week.

Like all kids his age they are able to do some things okay. They draw their own way… and have not changed much over the years.

With his pencil in hand he created something new on his paper. The deep joy as he saw something new was expressed by his words… “Oh WOW… Wait till I show my Mom this!”

He stopped what he was drawing and said, “You were at my Baseball game. I saw you.”

He was playing in a game that I attended with my grandson Clifford. Clifford was the Umpire and I sat over the way in my lawn chair enjoying the kid’s game.

Little did I know that Devon and I would share another moment through the art experience this week.

Life is not only worth it… it is much more. It is sharing what I have and am able to do. And when that happens… even just sitting at a Baseball game for kids has an impact on the boys like Devon.

But realizing that this is taking place and something powerful is happening… makes me very young at heart… and keeps me going!

I have to run now. I have about 15 wide eyed, fun to be with sparkling kids to draw some pictures with this morning.

I am alive today with the ideas and thoughts that are needed for now. Wooie… I can’t wait for today to get going!

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

Under Over – Over Under, Tatting Crazy

I must have said it a million times so far. I have taught about 800 people how to do Tatting… and each one has heard my words over and over again… “Under Over- Over Under… Under Over- Over Under…
Under Over- Over Under… Under Over- Over Under…”

One of the times that this became very important was in about 1983. We were living in Hong Kong and I was teaching many different kinds of Crafts – tatting was one of the crafts.

Our Canadian Friends Janet and Henry lived in Macau – a small island country that snuggles up to the coast of China. It is about 6 square miles and has about 750,000 people living in those tightly packed square miles.

Our friends came across on the high speed boats to Hong Kong for business and a time away from the work they were doing there.

On this particular day Janet and Henry were in our home for a meal and also for Janet to be able to pick up the craft of tatting. I was the teacher – she was the student. Her intention was to be able to enjoy this craft on her own and perhaps teach some one else how to do it.

Janet and I sat at the dinning room table and after some initial instruction she began with to try to get the rhythm down in making the double knot that is the core of Tatting. My words were Under Over- Over Under… Under Over- Over Under… Under Over- Over Under…

Henry was reading the magazines that we had in our apartment. He was totally disconnected from Janet’s world and mine. There could not have been anyone more disinterested in what we were doing than he was at that moment. However Henry knew how important this was to his wife and he waited for her to finish her first lesson.

Later they boarded the vessel to take them back across the water to their home.

Normal events happened when they arrived home and it wasn’t until two days had gone by that Janet picked up her shuttle and tried the Tatting again. Something had happened on her trip home and the waiting in between… she forgot what we had talked about and couldn’t get the tatting to work.

Janet was beside herself. She was about two hours away from where we lived and it would not be until next month that they might return. What would she do?

Henry sensed her frustration and then told her to pick up the shuttle and try again. She protested… but he insisted… and then said.. “This is what Murray said… Under Over- Over Under… Under Over- Over Under… Under Over- Over Under……”

Then he quoted some of the rest that I had said… Even though he was sitting in the corner reading he was listening. He had memorized what I had said and then taught his wife what to do the next week.

This to me was my most unusual Tatting Student(s) – two people learned from one lesson.

I know Janet learned to Tat well. She presented me with a beautiful doily that she made for my big book.

(On the side… I ask each student to Tat me a piece so I can put it in my big book with their name beside it.)

This Fall, as I mentioned in the Last Posting – I will begin classes again. Interest from this demonstration at Lang Village last weekend has grown and more will be joining me in the Tatting Experience. I am excited to pass on what Great Grandpa Phillips passed on to his kids and many others through them…

Isn’t that what life should be about… the older ones that have these treasures – being willing to pass on what they know… before it is too late.

Hey – have a great day. I am off to Teach an Art Class – yesterday – today and tomorrow… Way too much fun being retired…. LOVING IT!

Be sure to look at the videos referred to below…
~ Murray Lincoln ~http://www.murraylincoln.com/Source:Tatting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOimfd-bRdg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_JGTCju4G8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELbqfybMqVU

http://www.langpioneervillage.ca/http://www.langpioneervillage.ca/specialevents.php?page=specialevents

My World of Tatting and Lace Making

At the demonstration I was doing for the Lace Making at Lang Village yesterday and the day before I met many more people with similar stories. Their Grandmother of Mother used to do this special craft of tatting – but they are gone now… so is the craft.

One older lady stood by supporting herself with her cane. She was 82 years old as she proudly told me the story of her past. She told me stories of her mother sitting in her kitchen waiting for the bread dough to rise. As she sat waiting for the next step of bread making she would pull out her tatting shuttle from her apron pocket and beginning the Over Under – Under Over action with her hands. She tatted many, many pieces over the years. This dear lady still had one piece in her possession.

As she stood their looking down – she showed me her hands all wrinkled and swollen. “With these old hands I could never learn how… and my mother and grandmother are long gone…”

Person after person passed my presentation… most of them were aged over 65 years. It was an older audience for sure. Almost all of them can remember someone that had done some of this dieing art form… yes Tatting is almost gone from our present generation.

One younger mom came along. Tagging along with her were two boys – likely age 9 and 11 years old. They watched me show them how I Tat. The older boy asked if he could try. What a delight. With a shuttle in hand and deep concentration he followed my actions.

Wow! “Look at that you made your first “Double Stitch”!” He grinned from ear to ear.

Mom moved the family along so that others standing nearby could see what was happening. Within minutes she was back with her younger son. She asked me if I minded letting her 9 years old try to Tat with me. I told her I was delighted to help him… to which he beamed from ear to ear. Within a minute or two he was making double stitches too.

The two may be part of a new Tatting Class we will launch this Fall Season.

Tatting is a dieing art form. Yes it is a Craft that can be classified under needle work – but because you use a shuttle it is not really a needle art… yet it can be done with a needle… so…?

Whatever… there are not a lot of people doing this fine craft.

What is tatting? Well it is a whole bunch of small double knots mounted on one supporting cord. It is the world’s smallest Macramé – made instead of using Jute – it uses crochet cotton.

It is a whole lot of quiet time with an ability to calm the Tatter completely. In this day and age it should be very popular… but there are not a lot of Tatters that teach.

Yesterday – I had two new students sit with me. I was delighted to have them join me and show their stuff. What a delight to have my Granddaughter Emma begin her first double stitches with Grandpa. I love the photos above. And believe it or not… her dad Bruce joined in too. The photo below is proof positive.

I will keep the Peterborough People informed – Tatting Classes will start soon.

I have prepared the following with help from some of my Tatting Books…

Tatting is known as
"Occhi" in Italy from the word oc­chio because the shuttle has the form of an eye, or maybe because of the little rings and ovals which look like eyes.

"Frivolite" in France translated meaning daring and easy going... maybe it had something to do with the fashion and styles where laces were showing ..

"Frivolitat" and "SchifTchen-Ar­beit" in Germany -the first is possibly the same reason as that of the French. The word "arbeit" means work and "Schiffchen'' relates to the form of the shuttle which is like a little boat.

"Karriko" in Finland meaning "reefs and rocks". Finlanders also use the word "Sukkulapitsi"-"sukkula" meaning shuttle and "pitsi" meaning lace.

"Sustikpitsikudmine" in Estonia. Estonia received many Finnish im­migrants.

"Frivolitet" in Sweden as an adap­tation from the French.

"Da Ding" in Cantonese as a transliteration of the English word. “Da" meaning to hit and "Ding" mean­ing the roof top. How appropriate ­in the first few lessons a student could often feel like hitting the roof! In the Chinese language it is also known as "Fa Been" or flower edging .. crochet being including in this general title too.

If you can tie a Half Hitch – you can Tat.

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

Source:http://www.langpioneervillage.ca/

http://www.langpioneervillage.ca/specialevents.php?page=specialevents

Dear Aunt Annie… I wonder what Grandma Lincoln would think?

Dear Aunt Annie;

I am pooped tonight as I came home from one long day. Today I became Benjamin Franklin Phillips. I became my Great Grandpa Phillips to hundreds of people that wanted to know about who he was and what he did.

I wonder what Grandma Lenore Lincoln would have thought about what I did.

(For Readers besides Aunt Annie… Lenore was Annie’s Mom and Benjamin Franklin Phillips was her Grandfather. My Aunt Annie is 93 now and reads the Blog almost every day.)

I was at Lang Pioneer Village to demonstrate Lace Making. Would Grandma be surprised?! I showed so many people how to do Tatting today that my tongue and throat is tired. I lost count after 100! No kidding.

Today and tomorrow is a special presentation of their “Festival of Textiles” which is part of Heritage Celebration Weekend at Lang Village.

At this celebration I am a Guest Artist – the Lace Maker doing Tatting and Bobbin Lace.

I proudly presented the wooden Tatting Shuttle that Great Grandpa Phillips carved for Grandma when she was so young. If I am correct he carved it for Lenore and also one for each of her sisters Clara and Mildred. If I am right in my calculations Great Grandpa carved that in about 1897 – when Grandma was about 10 years old.

A few years ago after Grandma Lincoln had passed away I was in Des Moines, Iowa visiting Great Aunt Clara. When I came into the room she was sitting on her bed and working carefully with a wooden shuttle. I asked her what she was doing and she laughed saying, "You should know what it was – because your Grandma Lincoln was one of the best Tatters ever… and she used to do this all the time!”

She filled me in on how Great Grandpa had carved each of the girls a Shuttle and taught them how to do Tatting.

Aunt Clara really laughed when I asked her to teach me – right there and right then. The desire to learn was so great in me that I just had to know how. She said, “I think it will take longer than I have to teach you!” She thought that it was very funny.

On leaving the Senior’s Home that she lived in my cousin John drove me to a needle work store where I bought a shuttle and a book on “How to Tat”.

One the flight home I taught myself how to do tatting. My product wasn’t very good but was I ever proud of it!

For the next three months I tried out my tatting abilities. I actually completed a doily that was on display today.

Then one day I was in a local shopping mall and there on the bulletin board was an advertisement for ‘Tatting Classes” to be conducted by a Mrs. Tatton. With a name like that she just had to know how to do this better than I was doing.

I attended the class that evening and shyly walked in… one man among about a dozen women… go figure!

When I explained to the class that I was trying to learn how to Tat – they asked to see my work. Ooos and Aahhs followed… then Mrs Tatton kindly asked for me to show her how I did my Tatting. I demonstrated and then she grinned… asking me… “Did you learn how to Tat from the “How to Tat” book?”

“Yes…” was my hesitant answer… “Why..?”

“Let me show one simple change”, she said. In a split second there was the answer. I had spent two months on one doily that could have been done in a week… and my life changed.

Oh I have so many stories… so many.

Come to think of it… I can almost talk as much as Grandma Lincoln did.

A few years ago I went to visit our Cousin John McCaw in Des Moines again. It had been a long hot day in the car driving from way past Chicago, Ill. As I walked across the lawn to him he said to me … “I don’t believe it… it is Grandpa Phillips walking toward me!” And John was very serious.

What a weird feeling that was…!

Benjamin Franklin Phillips was born September 26, 1863 and died in January 20, 1944. I was born three months later.

Now I don’t want to make it sound too weird… for some people can get a little cranked up with weirdness… BUT do you think it is possible for me to inherit all this that I do from Great Grandpa Ben Phillips? I sure do… and at times – it is as if someone is there with me when I do some of this stuff… so easily.

Now I know that I freaked half my ‘strong spiritual readership’ out now. OOOOiee he believes in Ghosts, etc…

Nope – not really… I just seem to have a whole lot easier way of doing things… and I think Great Grandpa is some how involved…

Anyway today was good – very good. I think Grandma Lincoln and Great Grandpa Ben Phillips might have been watching from somewhere and saying to each other… “Can you believe that… that is our Grandson!!! And he can Tat…!”

If you are close enough to Peterborough and are able to come to Lang Village.. I will be there from 10 AM until 4 PM… and you will find me in the middle of a whole lot of people – telling hundreds of stories… hundreds of times over and over… Hey I LOVE TO TALK!

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

Source:
http://www.langpioneervillage.ca/
http://www.langpioneervillage.ca/specialevents.php?page=specialevents

YES! Our Leaders are Ordinary People

The report this slow morning is a good one. Air Canada lost the Premier of Ontario’s bags on his way to the Annual Conference on the Federation held in Regina this year. Not only his bags, but the bags of Premiers of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick… and probably others like journalists and others on the same aircraft.

A bad electrical storm along the way caused it to happen states the report from the airline.

I say it is a “good one” in that I feel better after having lost my baggage on different trips on the airlines. To have my Premier go through the same thing is only fitting. He is a normal person in my mind – not an elitist that does his own thing on separate aircraft.

Today it points to another fact that few of the people I know consider – the politicians of our country are very normal people – just like you and me. They face the same issues that we do in their daily living.

When I travel I check in with my wife along the way – if we are parted by the trip. If we are together we check in with our kids back home to let them know we are okay.

When I was younger and with a younger family I always checked in with my wife back home with our girls to see how it was going. And to tell them I was okay… which was a huge relief for the family at home.

On one trip to the west part of Canada when my daughters were very young… there was a big problem. The aircraft that I was on had a tire blow out just as we were taking off. The nose of the aircraft was pointing skyward and the jets were charging ahead full blast… there was no way we were going to stop… when the big BANG took place!

When we arrived over Manitoba it was announced that we were stopping in Winnipeg for an unscheduled stop – due to the problem that we had encountered on the take off. At that stage of the announcement no one in the cockpit knew for sure what we were facing yet.

That delayed my arrival at the airport where my daughters were waiting to see their Daddy arrive.

The girls were little and one cried, “Daddy doesn’t love me any more.” And that was just because the airplane didn’t arrive.

Two little girls didn’t understand big business and travel and all that stuff.

Some of our Premiers have young families. Not only do they carry the weight of their Provincial Offices on their shoulders and the responsibilities of all of it on their person – they have families that love and care for them.

Our Government Leaders are real people.

In Ontario I pray for my leaders – every day – by name. If you haven’t known about that ‘other side of me’ here it is – I do a small (and I think) important ministry(voluntarily) entitled “Ontario Provincial Chaplaincy”. Part of this ministry is to publish the names and information about our Leaders each day on a Blog entitled “Pray for Leaders Today”. You can check it out at http://prayforleaderstoday.blogspot.com/

For years I have heard people in our community complain about the way that our government does certain things. In fact some complain about everything that the Government Leaders do things.

Instead of complaining I chose to support each of them in any way that I can. In my case as an Ordained Minister I can serve as a ‘Chaplain’ – a person on call when needed. It takes a little time each morning – but every minute is worth it.

I support my leaders and will pray for each of them.

So today when the report arrived at my computer that luggage was lost by an airline… I knew these folk – at least one of them – because I had prayed for him many times.

I know that some may not be terribly interested in what I just stated. But my deeply seated belief is that if our Government is Blessed it will do a good job… and when they do a good job – my business and all that I do will be Blessed. And YES – I believe in God that offers great Blessing whoever asks him to do so.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
www.murraylincoln.com

Source:
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/677585