It’s Monday. On Sunday Jerusalem had been turned upside down by the arrival of Jesus. The people had been stirred . . . moved . . . they were in an uproar . . . in turmoil . . . shaken . . . trembling with excitement because of the Triumphal Entry. The excitement was intense. And the buzz . . . what was to come? We don’t know what happened at the beginning of Holy Week. Some teaching, perhaps. Some time spent with the disciples. Smiles hadn’t turned to frowns and cheers hadn’t turned to jeers. Yet. By Hol...

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I get myself into trouble. Too often. By what I say. And by what I don’t say. For example, I once said that I don’t like country music. I may have been harsher than that in my comment. I know that I have joked that country music is an oxymoron. Since that time, I have had to either backtrack or try to make excuses. If something that we sing is the slightest bit countryish someone will raise an eyebrow at me. I’ve been told “Gone are the days of classic country music! Now it sounds more like pop music with...

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I get myself into trouble. Too often. By what I say. And by what I don’t say. For example, I once said that I don’t like country music. I may have been harsher than that in my comment. I know that I have joked that country music is an oxymoron. Since that time, I have had to either backtrack or try to make excuses. If something that we sing is the slightest bit countryish someone will raise an eyebrow at me. I’ve been told “Gone are the days of classic country music! Now it sounds more like pop music with...

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Tic . . . tic . . . tic . . . the countdown is on. I think. It is March, isn’t it? And that means that we are closing in on the spring equinox – emphasis, spring. And yet as I look out my window I wonder. We’ve gone from cold to warm and from freezing rain to rain to snow . . . and everything in between in these past few days. “Lakes” have formed on our pathways and on our streets (walkers: there is a “splash warning”; drivers: be aware of walkers!). Oh, and potholes develop right before our e...

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The word has been used much too freely in recent days. War. People talk about culture wars. About worship wars. About minor conflicts, as if they were major issues. And then . . . reality reminds us that we in North America are insulated from the horrors of what war actually is. We watch news feeds of a Russian invasion into Ukraine from the safety of our comfortable houses – events that push the complaints that “our freedoms are being eroded by government overstep” on the one hand and that those “fighters&rdqu...

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You may have noticed it: I've been "titling" our weekly Monday Musings. No longer are they just dated, but there's been "just a little bit more" to identify them. Last week was the "Valentine's Day" edition. A couple of weeks ago we had the "it's still cold" edition and the week before that the "snow my" edition (I admit it, I may try to get "too cute" at times). Today finds me in a quandary. We could call this the "2sday" edition (people are maki...

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Happy Valentine’s Day! Or, as one meme put it Happy Unimaginative, Consumerist-Oriented and Entirely Arbitrary, Manipulative and Shallow Interpretation of Romance Day (not that I’ll be that cynical). Or, as my sister said, Happy Singles Empowerment Day! Regardless, it is a day of hearts and flowers and sappy cards . . . and a reminder of love. So grab that box of chocolates. Sign those cards with x’s and o’s. Remember . . . there is love in the world! At the same time, remember that there is pain in the worl...

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The city was “visited” by protesters last weekend. They’re still here. They are freedom fighters. Or they are occupiers. They are just people wanting to make their voices heard. Or they are bullies. They are promising to stay as long as it takes to get their way. Or they need to be removed from our streets. Ah, perspective. The protest may have started out as an “enough of the pandemic measures” rally, but it certainly devolved into an anti-mandate (anti-everything?) demonstration (includin...

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Well, if you don’t consider what just happened in Ottawa ”interesting” I’m not sure what would fit your description! Life in Ottawa was disrupted. Our church life was disrupted. And for many, family life was disrupted! The city was “visited” by protesters this weekend, and life in our downtown core came to a full stop standstill. While most of those who protested were well behaved, sadly some people used their freedom to behave in a manner disrespectful to others. This shows again how much influe...

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A couple of weeks ago I titled our Monday Musings the “it’s getting old edition*”. The tag-line “*”: I was originally going to call it the it’s getting cold edition but Omicron was continuing its grip on us and won’t let go and that the cold comes and goes. The cold has come . . . it just won’t go! I know, I know   . . . it’s January – what do I expect? I expect – in Ottawa – a couple of cold days followed by some decent days (I also expect – or at...

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