This is my wife's account of her sister's funeral. I think Rose was nine when I first met her. Her older sister was pretty young then too, and I didn't pay much attention to either of them. In time the big sister became much more interesting and through her I had the opportunity to get … Continue reading Sister’s Last Good-Bye
Whimsy
My Sister’s Obit
My wife posted her sister’s obituary.
The obituary for Rose Pearl Free can be read at the Funeral chapel website. Seeing her photo brought tears to my eyes; that was so her! So alive! I’m going to post (and flesh out) the obituary here, in case anyone is interested:
Rose Marie Pearl (Vance) Free passed away Sunday, December 29, 2019, at the age of 61.
Rose was born in Melfort, SK, the fifth of seven children to Allen and Louise Vance. In poor health as a toddler, she went to live with her aunt and uncle, Fred & Myrtle Forsyth, and sister Christine in Saskatoon for four years, returning home to Pathlow, SK, in time to start Grade One.
The family moved to Moose Jaw in 1969. At the age of 15 Rose married her best friend Butch Free; they celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary in October. The couple had two daughters.
Rose worked…
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Pressing On
Another inspiring post from Bill Sweeney.
Happy New Year!
I believe 2020 will be a great year.
Regular readers of my blog know that I’ve had ALS for twenty-three years. I’ve been on hospice for the last fifteen months, and in that time, I’ve had three close encounters with death. I don’t mean to make light of this, but I think you could say that I have one foot in the grave, and the other is on a banana peel. Knowing this, and reading that I’ve declared that 2020 is going to be a great year, you might be questioning the state of my mental health. I get it, but please hear me out.
I’ll admit that my mental health is not as good as it once was. I recently watched a movie for twenty minutes before realizing I’d seen it before. I don’t know if this is related to the ALS or just getting old…
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2020
2019 is almost done; a brand new unspoiled year lies before us. May we begin it by thanking God for bringing us safely thus far, and trust our hand into His to lead us safely through all that 2020 will bring our way.
Why Mary?
The story is hardly credible to our modern minds. A fifteen-year-old girl informs her parents—I am assuming her parents were still living, though there is no mention of them—that an angel has visited her and now she is pregnant with the long-awaited Messiah. We don’t expect the birth of Messiah, and few people know the … Continue reading Why Mary?
Too close for comfort
The days are getting short, the nights cold. These are the days when folks used to gather around the Quebec heater to visit. Stoves like the one in the picture below were found in most Saskatchewan farm homes, and in most stores. Most wood stoves still come from Quebec, for the same reason that most … Continue reading Too close for comfort
Suspicions of Suppression
Some years ago, a backyard mechanic on the Canadian prairies invented a new carburetor that got fantastic gas mileage with no sacrifice of performance. He drove a car equipped with this carburetor from Winnipeg to Vancouver, averaging 130 miles per gallon for the trip (or 107 miles per US gallon). Or did he drive 217 … Continue reading Suspicions of Suppression
When did you reach adulthood?
If a man is not a Socialist at 20 be has no heart, but if he remains one at 30 he has no head. -Anselme Barbie, 1828-1887; mistakenly attributed to countless others. In my youth I stressed freedom, and in my old age I stress order. I have made the great discovery that liberty is … Continue reading When did you reach adulthood?
We try to do too much
Trying to save the planet leaves us frustrated, angry, bitter and in despair. Trying to compel other people turn to Jesus will do the same thing. These jobs are too big for us; leave them to God. We can be kind to others because of the love of God n our hearts. We can respond … Continue reading We try to do too much
The world is a mess
• The world is a mess. • Most of the mess was caused by people who thought they were mending it. • We are no wiser than they were. • We are not good people. • We can’t mend the world because it is made up of people just like us. • We need to … Continue reading The world is a mess
Flatlander Faith 