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CHAPLAINS TO THE INVICTUS WARRIORS

The Invictus Games aren't about the finish line – they’re all about making it to the starting line. This is an event where everyone gets a medal but there’s no coddled attitude for participants. For every competitor, just playing the game is important, courageous and admirable. The 3rd version of the Invictus Games - Toronto 2017 - featured more than 550 competitors from 17 nations participating in 12 adaptive sports. Wounded Warriors Each competitor is a wounded warrior. Melanie Harris, 42, from Edmonton, competed in bioarchery. She spent twenty years in the Armed Forces, serving four tours, including two in Afghanistan.  Harris lives with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and lingering pain from a back injury sustained overseas. In 2008 she…
Bob Jones
October 1, 2017
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FIERY TALK AND FATAL MISUNDERSTANDINGS

President Donald Trump's “Rocket Man” speech at the UN could well become the most memorable of its General Assembly moments. Fiery Talk In his forty one minute speech President Trump threatened to “totally destroy North Korea.” He called Iran “a corrupt dictatorship” whose “chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos.” And he said Venezuela’s government “has inflicted terrible pain and suffering on the good people of that country.” Totally destroy North Korea? Wipe out a country of twenty five million people? U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned, “Fiery talk can lead to fatal misunderstandings.” Or does it? Stark Clarity John Bolton, lawyer and diplomat who served as the US Ambassador to the UN, disagrees. He said, “In the entire history of…
Bob Jones
September 20, 2017
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YOU’RE LOOKING AT MERCY

You’re looking at mercy. An answer to a mother’s prayers. And a grateful wife too young to be a widow. What Mercy Looks Like Police officers, hospital staff and everyone else couldn’t believe the condition Ryan Gabert was in after suffering such a horrific accident. Some called it a miracle. On a deadly foggy Friday September 15th morning in northern Alberta, Ryan didn’t see the intersection. He T-boned a semi. His truck was totaled. Ryan was pinned for what seemed like an eternity before he was cut out with the jaws of life. The ambulance arrived at the Royal Alec Hospital in Edmonton around 10:00am. Grateful For Mercy His wife Lindsay arrived about the same time. At 2:00pm Ryan was…
Bob Jones
September 17, 2017
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TO ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS: DOROTHY VISSER

Upset. Angry. Judgmental. That was me before breast cancer. Yes, before. From Fear to Peace I am sitting on my deck reflecting on the day and feeling so peaceful. These past couple of months have been the hardest and most blessed in my life. Cancer. The diagnosis terrified me. Would the cancer kill me? My fear made me feel guilty. An inner voice nagged me, “Isn’t love supposed to cast out fear? Doesn’t God love you? Where’s your faith?” I was afraid of chemo and radiation and everything associated with cancer. Then I discovered how something life threatening could teach me how to live. In February 2017 Dorothy Visser's doctor informed her that she had breast cancer. Dorothy sat in…
Bob Jones
September 10, 2017
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MY LOVE HATE LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH SPORTS

To be honest, you and I have had a turbulent relationship. You’ve caused me late nights and early mornings, disappointment and heartache, and you’ve made me wipe tears from my children’s faces on more than one occasion.  I have resented you, cursed you many times and some days you have even stolen my sanity. The life of a sports family is often chaotic, tiring, scheduled and trying but I wouldn’t give it up for anything. Alisha-Jans Lemoine is a part of the North Pointe Writers Group. She is a skilled writer and an even more awesome mom. This post first appeared on Alisha's blog at yegsolomom.   Teacher And Mentor You have been an amazing teacher and mentor. You have taught…
Bob Jones
September 6, 2017
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ON THE DAY I DIE

On the day I die the world will be busy. All the important appointments I made will be broken. The “new-to-North Pointe”-er wanting to become connected will be left sitting at Starbucks wondering why. If I were still alive I’d feel embarrassed. So embarrassed. The calendar that organized so many of my days will now be irrelevant to me. My messy desk that haunted so much of my conscious thought will finally be cleared. Material things I guarded will be left in the hands of others to care for. Or sell. Or discard. Jocelyn gets it all. All my incoming emails, SLACK, Instagrams, texts and calls will go ignored. The ambition behind my unfinished posts, tweets, messages, articles and books will be unrequited. Every superficial worry…
Bob Jones
September 3, 2017
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HOUSTON: WE WILL SURVIVE

Everyone comes together when there’s a tragedy. Houston is a tragedy. Hurricane Harvey A week ago families were focused on summer BBQ’s, picnics, the Texas sun, Houston Astro’s baseball and back-to-school sales. Now they were scrambling for their lives to survive America’s worst rainstorm and the worst natural disaster in Texas history. Hurricane Harvey created a disaster immense in scale, encompassing thousands of square miles of Southeast Texas. Well over four feet of rain was dumped on a city of seven million in forty-eight hours. That amounted to 19 trillion gallons of water 30,000 residents were displaced. The death toll mounted. Where Is God Professional first responders couldn’t handle the thousands of calls from people endangered by rising waters. The…
Bob Jones
August 30, 2017
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28 TOP LEADERSHIP QUOTES: GLS 2017

You have influence. Your small daily decisions add up. They leave a trail for your family, friends, and others to follow. Leadership is influence. Use it wisely. Bill Hybels, Marcus Buckingham, Sam Adeyemi, Juliet Funt and Bryan Stevenson challenged leaders on using their influence at The Global Leadership Summit 2017 at Willow Creek, IL. 28 Of Their Best Quotes Marcus Buckingham (started the "Strengths Revolution" /Author) 1. “When you take bad and invert it, you just get ‘not bad.’ Good is something so much better.” 2. “Excellence has its own pattern. You learn nothing about excellence by studying your failures.” 3. “People say they want feedback, but they don’t. They want attention.” 4. “A year is 52 little sprints.” 5.…
Bob Jones
August 13, 2017
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MIRACLE TREAT DAY

On August 9th, 2018 all Blizzard treats at Dairy Queen are calorie free. Really. Buy one and let someone else eat it for you. They'll love you for it, you'll enjoy the pleasure of helping the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton and no calories gained in the process. A triple win. Miracle Treat Days On Miracle Treat Day, net proceeds from every Blizzard Treat sold at participating DQ locations will be donated to local Children’s Miracle Network member hospitals, like the Stollery. Every day, 4,900 children enter a Children’s Miracle Network member hospital for treatment. Some are battling cancer. Some are suffering from a traumatic injury. Others require constant care because they were born too early, or with a genetic…
Bob Jones
August 9, 2017
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THE FUNNIEST AND COOLEST DAD ON TWITTER

James Breakwell is considered the funniest and coolest dad on Twitter. Why? He shares on Twitter daily conversations with his four baby girls who are all under the age of six years old. His Twitter account XplodingUnicorn is literally exploding with 965,000 followers. His girls are loving the attention and his popularity shows every parent can use a laugh. Dad makes his girls the star of the show... Their family is into biblical accuracy... The girls do the kindest things... How can you beat this kind of joy... James is sought after for helping the world ready for the Zombie Apocalypse... ...and more... ...and one more... He offers insightful lessons on social justice and freedom... His girls are tiny philosophers...…
Bob Jones
August 2, 2017