ByGrace

Tomorrow, November 11th, is Remembrance Day in Canada. The holiday corresponds to Veterans' Day in the US, and is widely celebrated in this country. Most everyone wears a red poppy to remember the veterans of Canada who have given their lives in the service of their country. We've been invited to attend the annual Remembrance Day ceremony in Victory Square in Vancouver tomorrow morning, then for lunch with our friends. We're honoured to be included in yet another facet of Canadian life. One thing I've noticed about Canadians and war. They don't like war - they are very vocal about President Bush and the Iraq war - but they greatly honour their war heroes. From my recollections of Veterans' Day in the US, Canadians put Americans to shame with Remembrance Day ceremonies and observations - and Americans are the ones who are considered more patriotic! To any veterans who may be reading today, American, Canadian, or otherwise . . . thank you for serving your

I don't know about you, but prayer is one area where I struggle. My husband's sermon last night was on the Science of Prayer, so I wanted to share my notes, mainly the ones about how to pray. These are the suggestions for making your prayer time more meaningful. Take a piece of paper and divide it into four pieces. On each piece, write the things you want to pray about and "present your case" before God (this is just one way to do it, of course!). I like this method because it keeps the mind focused on what you're doing, making it harder for the mind to wander, which is one of my biggest problems. I start out praying for someone's health and end up thinking about what I'm going to fix for supper! 1. Confession - take a few minutes to write down the things you need to confess to the Lord as sin. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring things to your mind. After you write them down, tell the Lord about them and ask Him to forgive you, then throw the paper away.

I don't remember where I found this or what it's called. I re-discovered it yesterday in an old journal. It's in a section of quotations, and I wanted to share it here. I'm sure you've probably seen it before, but when I first found it, my children were still small and it made a profound impression on me. To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding celebrations, labors, banquets, and holidays; To be Sears within a certain area, providing toys, boots, cakes, and books; To be Aristotle within a certain area, teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene; I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about the rule of three And a small career to tell one's own children about THE UNIVERSE? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, And narrow to be EVERYTHING to someone? No, a mother's function is laborious not because it i