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Life FormationLife Stories

SILVER LININGS: VANESSA GLEW’S STORY

On April 8th, 2013, I heard the words you never want to hear, "You have cancer." My life was never the same from that day on. Fortunately for me the mass in my sigmoid colon was operable. They found what was causing my grief and it was going to be removed.  This was my FIRST Silver Linings moment. What's A Silver Linings Moment? The easiest way to explain a Silver Linings is when people are put into difficult situations, they need to look past the hardships and find the light at the end of the tunnel. Its about turning their negative situations into positive ones, finding their inner peace and the "will power" to overcome anything. When handed lemons, make lemonade!…
Bob Jones
April 2, 2019
Life FormationLife Stories

STIGMA AND ITS EVIL COUSIN SHAME

Stigma and shame kill more Canadians than your worst nightmares can envision. Sons. Daughters. Spouses. Grandkids. Friends. Their deaths leave anger, guilt, frustration, grief, sorrow, hopelessness. Broken dreams. Broken hearts. What’s enraging is their deaths were preventable. So that’s why I am writing this. To ensure that my granddaughters or grandson or their friends never get to a place in their lives where stigma or shame speak louder than truth and love. (more…)
Bob Jones
March 23, 2019
Life FormationLife Stories

The Real Deal: The Velveteen Pastor

“The Boy’s Uncle made me Real,” the Skin Horse said. “That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.”(Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit(1922) (Avon Books Edition, 1975), pages 12-13) (more…)
Bob Jones
February 24, 2019
Life Stories

WHEN EVIL STRIKES

Inside Commonwealth Stadium the Edmonton Eskimos football team were racking up their sixth straight loss of the season. That was bad enough. Outside Commonwealth, one man went on a Saturday night rampage leaving a police officer and four pedestrians injured. An ISIS flag was found in his vehicle. (more…)
Bob Jones
October 5, 2017
Life StoriesUncategorized

Undetoured in Facing the Greatest Challenge of Life

I first heard Zig Ziglar in 1997 in Edmonton. Zig is the kind of communicator who makes you wish that your first time hearing him won't be your last. Zig has been one of the most admired communicators of our time. His positive attitude and energetic style has inspired millions worldwide. In 2007 he had a fall that resulted in a serious brain injury. He lost his short term memory and developed extreme positional vertigo. The "old Zig" was gone. He was facing his greatest challenge.  In 1997 I heard Zig say, "Getting knocked down in life is a given. Getting back up is a choice." In 2008 the "new Zig," "got back up." Since then he has traveled with…
Jones Bob
April 12, 2011
Life Stories

ONE OF OUR HEROES – MANDI SCHWARTZ (1988 – 2011)

This morning (April 3rd) we prayed for Mandi Schwartz, as we have many times before at NP. Mandi has faced cancer - leukemia to be exact - since 2008. At 10:35AM our time today Mandi passed away. She was only 23. Women's Hockey Player Mandi was a student athlete at Yale, a women's hockey player from Wilcox, Sask. We first heard about her through Jen Matichuk, a Yale teammate from North Pointe. Jen tried to help Mandi by initiating a drive to sign people up for bone marrow donations. Mandi and her family are well known in the hockey world - one brother was drafted by St Louis, a Canadian Junior Player and the other brother playing NCAA hockey in…
Jones Bob
April 3, 2011
Life Stories

Undetoured

April 4th. Not April 1st.  This is the day the 167 Ave detour begins, and its no April Fools joke. For 7 months a route that sees over 17,000 cars a day drive by North Pointe will be shutdown. Over the past five years, dozens of families and hundreds of people have been able to connect with North Pointe because of their familiarity with our facility and sign. The shutdown is a short-term pain. A new 167 Ave will be built, along with a new sub-division.  In the next two years it is anticipated that 3,000 residences will be built and over 10,000 people will become our "next door neighbours." So, what can you do with a detour? Take the…
Jones Bob
April 1, 2011