Petra Zantingh

May 12

2011-05-12T06:29:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Kay has written a book about conspiracy theories and our paranoia about who is directing world leaders. Well, God directed Samuel who directed Saul....

I Samuel 12:16-17 NP A12

May 11

2011-05-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

Madeleine McCann has worked hard at keeping her family intact after the abduction of their oldest daughter in Portugal in 2007 and has written a book about it. Unfortunately she is still be criticized, poor woman, with the empty arms.

Proverbs 15:1 NP A3

May 10

2011-05-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

Acai berries are supposedly a super food but I prefer the food described in John.

John 6:35 NP AL5

May 9

2011-05-10T07:01:00.000-07:00

Last May I wrote about a man with no name, who allegedly is known as Kribi and he says that God told him to tell the truth. No one is really believing his story.

John 6: 20-21 NP A3

April 7

2011-05-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

I wonder where Hannah fits on the "mommy matrix"?

I Samuel 1:24-28 NP A12

May 6

2011-05-10T06:55:00.000-07:00

Ignatieff and Ruth— new beginnings.

Ruth NP A4

May 5

2011-05-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

The last paragraph of a brief biography on bin Laden asks us to imagine how different things could have been, if he was a leader who used his power for good not evil. I wonder if he had ever been offered living water.

John 4:13, 14 NP A18

May 4

2011-05-05T06:25:00.000-07:00

The world's population is to surpass 7 billion this year, and that's only one year in history. But someone predicated this.

Psalm 104:24 NP A14

May 3

2011-05-03T05:18:00.000-07:00

Comforting to know that He wraps himself in light and splendor and knows exactly who we are.

Psalm 104:1-23 NP A1

May 2

2011-05-02T07:42:00.000-07:00

Samson had some serious angry issues and killed lions as well as people. This holds a place in history and the bigger plan.

Judges 14:5-18 NP A1

April 30

2011-05-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

Our politicians use so many words with so many meanings. Thank God for the word that became flesh.

John 1:1 NP A

April 29

2011-04-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

I wonder if there was anyone in London who didn't know what was going on.

Luke 24:18 NP A2

April 28

2011-04-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Preparation.

Luke 23:55-24:8 NP special section

April 27

2011-04-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

Rio de Janeiro is complaining to Google maps because their slums are apparently very prominent in the viewing. Psalm 98 makes me think of a bird's eye view of the earth with nothing hidden.

Psalm 98 NP A16

April 26

2011-04-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

Do you know your Royals?

Luke 23:11 NP AL1, 2, 3

April 21

2011-04-26T19:37:00.000-07:00

Righteous and justice are the foundation of democracy, but this side of Eden, people don't always make the right choices.

Psalm 89:14-15 NP A12

April 20

2011-04-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

We are told to give to Caesar what is Caesar's but what does that mean when you live in a corrupt system live Cuba?

Luke 20:25 NP A3

April 19

2011-04-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

Linguistic research suggests that people use a metaphor every 10 to 25 words. Reading scripture, this does not strike me as being an unusual way of communicating.

Proverbs 13:12 NP A12

April 18

2011-04-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

Is our health care system being buried under bureaucracy?

Luke 19:22 NP A1

April 15

2011-04-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

Six in 10 Canadian girls regard their mothers as top role models— lovely to think about in the context of Psalm 84.

Psalm 84:3 NP A8

April 14

2011-04-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

Things that cause people to do awful things seem out of control, like the two mothers who tried to drown their children.

Luke 17: 1-3 NP A3

April 13

2011-04-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

After last night's debate, I wonder if you can serve your country and yourself at the same time.

Luke 16:13 NP A1

April 12

2011-04-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

Is the Catholic church helping to find the lost by changing the translation of their mass?

Luke 15:7 NP A1

April 11

2011-04-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

A book by K.S.Coates entitled Campus Confidential, talks about the entitlement and shallowness of some our students. Would they come to the banquet table?

Luke 14 NP A13

April 9

2011-04-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

The recommendation in the Post is to repeat the "happy. happy joy, joy" mantra and do something positive as the grey skies continue to cloud spring. In Proverbs, the recommendation for a heavy heart is a kind word. My hearts feels like it's made up of bricks and mortar.

Proverbs 12:25 NP TO1

April 5

2011-04-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

The Bloc Québécois's electoral po;icy statement reminds me that a house divided cannot stand.

Luke 11:17 NP A5

April 4

2011-04-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

The Liberal government is asking for a chunk of change for some of their social engineering programs that center around food.

Luke 10:9-13 NP A8

April 2

2011-04-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

Self-esteem is going out of style and the replacement is self-compassion. I think when compassion is directed elsewhere, esteem rises.

Luke 10:30-37 NP A3

April 1

2011-04-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

What a dreadfully sad story about Alzheimer patient Joe McLeod who killed a another patient. He has no memory of it. Perhaps he should have the kind of leniency described in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 19:4-7 NP A3

March 31

2011-03-31T12:27:00.000-07:00

"Never-say-die" is what many oncologists believe and so they go to extreme lengths, often without compassion, to avoid death, without reducing suffering. Jesus did suffer and he knew that he had to die.

Luke 9:22 NP A2

March 30

2011-03-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

Greenpeace co-founder, Patrick Moore says that using more wood will save our forests. His reasoning sounds very redemptive, kind of like canceling debt every seven years.

Deuteronomy 15:1-6 NP A17

March 29

2011-03-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

Jesus, please calm the madness of human smuggling.

Luke 8: 24-25 NP A1,2,3

March 28

2011-03-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

Nothing can be hidden, not even human smugglers.

Luke 8:17 NP A1

March 26

2011-03-30T18:27:00.002-07:00

I thank God for our children.

March 25

2011-03-30T18:27:00.000-07:00

Is the Canadian government building on a rock solid foundation?

Luke 6:46-49 NP A10

March 24

2011-03-24T12:26:00.000-07:00

Blessed are you who mourn.

Luke 6 NP A17

March 23

2011-03-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

The people in Japan, including babies, have no choice but to fast. I pray for the return of the bridegroom.

Luke 5:34 NP A24

March 22

2011-03-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

Bloodshed pollutes the land.

Numbers 35:33 NP A6

March 21

2011-03-24T10:45:00.000-07:00

The rescue of a grandmother and her 16 year-old grandson in Japan, is nothing short of a miracle.

Luke 5:1-11 NP A4

March 19

2011-03-24T10:42:00.000-07:00

Such immense hardship for Japan, hear our cries Oh Lord, from the ends of the earth and lead us to a rock that's higher.

Psalm 6:1, 2 Montreal Gazette A1 A8

March 18

2011-03-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

How long will you assault a man?

Psalm 62:3 International News (Paris) 1

March 17

2011-03-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes images are too much.

Psalm 60:2 Libération (Paris) 3

March 16

2011-03-24T10:34:00.001-07:00

Thank you God for being a refuge in times of trouble... are people in Japan feeling that too?

Psalm 59:16 International Herald (Paris) 1

March 10

2011-03-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath.

Proverbs 11;14 City AM (UK) 1

March 9

2011-03-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

If Jesus disciples had cell phones, would he still have asked "couldn't you watch with me?"

Mark 14: 37, 38 Toronto Star A1 A4

March 8

2011-03-09T07:47:00.000-08:00

We all tend to complain.

Numbers 11 NPA14

March 7

2011-03-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

One of the goals of Canadian defense researchers, is to push biometric science to develop a system that can secretly scan people's brains in order to look for hostile intent. We try so hard to know everything.

Mark 13:32-37 NPA4

March 6

2011-03-07T18:02:00.000-08:00

The Lord make His face shine upon you.

Numbers 6:24-26 WP16

March 4

2011-03-07T16:14:00.000-08:00

In a parable, Jesus tells the story of the man who owned a vineyard and sent his son to protect it. The son was killed. Six women were killed trying to protect their rights.

Mark 12:1-8 NP A11

March 3

2011-03-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

Be still and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10 NP A12

March 2

2011-03-07T16:08:00.000-08:00

Gaddafi is blind and delusional, Bartimaeus may have been delusional but he had faith.

Mark10:46-52 NP A3

March 1

2011-03-07T16:05:00.000-08:00

More seniors are going bankrupt, the young man who Jesus loved, choose not to give away his wealth.

Mark 10: 21 NP FP 4

February 28

2011-02-28T16:13:00.000-08:00

If any one wants to be first, they must be the very last—imagine what an uproar that would cause in Hollywood.

Mark 9:35-37 NP AL1-7

February 26

2011-02-28T16:09:00.000-08:00

Fr. Webb, a Jesuit priest chooses to live in a cramped utilitarian apartment in Toronto, among the poor. It's like leaving some of the grapes on the path during harvest.

Leviticus 19:9-10 NP A11

February 25

2011-02-25T08:56:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I just want to close my eyes and ears and plotz to all of the violence and unrest. Jesus healed many people.

Mark 7:33-35 NP A3

February 24

2011-02-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

Psalm 40 is a metaphor for the quake in New Zealand. Lord, please comfort those who are mourning.

Psalm 40 NP A3

February 23

2011-02-23T05:05:00.000-08:00

In middle of incredible worldly turmoil and upheaval, Jesus walks on water and quiets the storms.

Mark 6: 47-52 NP A3

February 22

2011-02-22T11:46:00.000-08:00

We are mere phantoms as we go through this life, although some phantoms leave an incredible path of destruction. Oh Lord have mercy upon us.

Psalm 39:4-6 NP A2,3

February 21

2011-02-22T11:43:00.000-08:00

Margaret Burroughs, an artist, printmaker, author and educator founded the South Side Community Art Center (1940's) and DuSable Museum in 1961. I often equate art with healing.

Mark 5:1-43 Chicago Sun Times 14

February 19

2011-02-22T11:37:00.000-08:00

Will words get lost without the Dewey Decimal Library system?

Mark 4:1-24 Chicago Tribune 1

February 18

2011-02-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

We will all wither like the grass, but when we trust God, he will make our righteousness shine like the noon day sun even when the runaway Dems put Wisconsin politics on ice.

Psalm 37 Chicago Tribune 1, 14

February

2011-02-17T05:23:00.000-08:00

The righteous Pharisees giving Jesus a hard time, for giving someone their hand back, made me think of the bigotry of the CAUT charge against faith based schools.

Mark 3:1-6 NP A21

Febraury 16

2011-02-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

The people who opened up the roof to let down a paralytic in order for Jesus to heal him, had few words to say. Actions speak louder than words.

Mark 2:1-5 NP AL8

February 15

2011-02-16T18:49:00.000-08:00

You rescue the poor from those too strong from them. We don't though. According to Ezzat Fattah, one of Canada's pioneers in victim studies, we are very prejudiced against particular victims, like prostitutes for example. Forgive us.

Psalm 55:9-13 NP A8

February 14

2011-02-16T18:44:00.000-08:00

Psychologists Arthur and Elaine Aron use brain imaging and photos to learn more about love. Jesus' friends saw him and loved him.

Matthew 28:8-10 Globe & Mail A3

February 12

2011-02-16T18:38:00.000-08:00

Mubarak escapes to a resort — in a way Barabbas escaped also...

Matthew 27:21 NP A9

February 11

2011-02-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

There are signs of a power struggle behind the coup that wasn't.

Exodus 32:22-24 NP A1,2

February 10

2011-02-10T14:02:00.000-08:00

A 71-yearold woman in Britain stopped some thugs, who were guilty, from getting away by hitting them with her purse. Jesus, who is guiltless stopped the violence in the garden and surrendered.

Matthew 26: 50-51 NP A3

February 9

2011-02-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

Jasper National Park in Alberta may be "selling out" to commercialism, which will have environmental consequences. Judas sold out with deadly consequences.

Matthew 26:14-16 NP A4

February 8

2011-02-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

Two brothers, Sean Caulfield, a printmaking professor, and Tim Caulfield, a research director have collaborated in an art exhibition exploring stem cell research. It's not the first time that art and beauty have been debated.

Matthew 26: 6-13 NP AL8

February 7

2011-02-07T06:29:00.000-08:00

Frank Gehry, Canadian born architect has been ordered to stop production on a $134 million glass complex in Paris. Apparently, he is outraged. God's instructions were quite explicit when he ordered the Israelites to build the ark. I don't think He would have been stopped.

Exodus 26, 27 NP A14

February 5

2011-02-06T17:40:00.000-08:00

Mike Harcourt sees the problem in Vancouver's Eastside as one of housing, not drug abuse. He wants to solve it. Maybe he needs to look at the model on compassion, described in Exodus.

Exodus 22: 26, 27 NP A6

February 4

2011-02-04T08:27:00.000-08:00

Jesus rebuking and chastising the Pharisees sounded like the world reprimanding Egypt.

Matthew 23: 24,25 NP A2

February 3

2011-02-03T05:16:00.000-08:00

The control of a country or people should be by the majority of its members.

Exodus 18:17-24 NP A2

February 2

2011-02-02T08:16:00.000-08:00

I know that grumbling about never getting a snow day, and then getting so much snow, that it felt like I was parting the Red Sea is nothing like the hungry Israelites complaining about no food and then getting food that looked like frost but...

Exodus 16: 4-15 NP A2

February 1

2011-02-01T05:40:00.000-08:00

Clement's cartoon says it all "Let my people stay... you go.

Exodus 13:17 NP A14

January 30

2011-01-31T06:34:00.000-08:00

My reading of the Israelite's exodus from Egypt corresponds with the continuing turmoil and protests in Egypt. Seven horrible and violent days now.

Exodus 12: 29-36 NP A2

January 29

2011-01-30T14:41:00.000-08:00

Financial Post has endless suggestions on how to get rich. I wonder how oil would fit through the eye of a needle.

Matthew 19:23, 24 FP1

January 28

2011-01-28T06:39:00.000-08:00

According to Canadian Catholic bishops only chaste men and women are capable of true love and sex should be approached with purity of mind as well as body. This message of becoming one flesh is not really the one we get from Hollywood.

Matthew 19:4-6 NP A1,7

January 27

2011-01-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

The UN Human Rights Council is undergoing a review of its work and regrettably, it seems, that not much has changed and there continues to be undue suffering. It seems that many countries are still forcing people to make bricks without straw.

Exodus 5:1-21 NP A12

January 26

2011-01-26T06:34:00.000-08:00

A brief article about personal responsibility, in the Post, says that the confessional aspect in most religions actually helps people face their responsibilities. Moses facing his responsibilities was part of a bigger plan.

Exodus 3:11 NP A15

January 25

2011-01-25T12:03:00.000-08:00

China wants to merge nine cities to create one big centre of 42 million people. The Israelites had to make bricks for the Egyptians. What are we asking the Chinese to build for us?

Exodus 1:8-22 NP A3

January 24

2011-01-24T07:37:00.000-08:00

Many communities in Newfoundland are considering resettling their people due to climate change and economics but many of the older residents refuse to go and want to "drown there". Jacob/Israel knew about resettlement.

Genesis 49:29 NP A3

January 22

2011-01-23T08:16:00.000-08:00

The article about the death of personal responsibility in our society resonates with me and made me wonder what Josephs' brothers felt when they finally had to come clean about tossing the poor guy into a well.

Genesis 45:26,27 NP A10

January 21

2011-01-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

Artist Peter Alexander Por who portrays "the story of oppression, pain, suffering, persecution and death" reminded me of the dancing daughter who wanted to see someones head on a plate.

Matthew 14:1-12 NP AL

January 20

2011-01-21T14:08:00.000-08:00

A Toronto mosque for Islamic radicals has received hundred of thousands of dollars of foreign donations and Muslin writer Tarek Fatah says that we will pay a heavy price for this in the future. It seems that seeds are being sown.

Matthew 13:24-30 NP A1

January 19

2011-01-21T14:00:00.000-08:00

Most of the time lies, cover-ups and closed doors cause more hurt and damage—except in Joseph's case.

Genesis 39:1-21 NP A13

January 18

2011-01-21T13:49:00.000-08:00

A tree is recognized by it's fruit.

Matthew 12:33 NP FP1

January 17

2011-01-21T13:47:00.000-08:00

Smugglers are preparing to ship many Sri Lanken refugees to Canada, a ruthless and dangerous business that's more about the bottom line then saving the lives of human beings. Please God bring justice.

Matthew 12:18-21 NP A4

January 15

2011-01-21T13:43:00.000-08:00

A group of women are challenging the rules surrounding praying at the Western Wall. Rachel protested also when she lied about having her period.

Genesis 31:35 NP A

January 14

2011-01-21T13:39:00.000-08:00

Pamela Masik paints huge portraits of Vancouver women who have been killed and her exhibition has been cancelled. Is closing your eyes to groaning of the needy exploitation?

NP AL Psalm 12:5

January 13

2011-01-21T13:33:00.000-08:00

Amy Chua is a tiger mother free of insecurity— God disciplines those he loves.

Proverbs 3:12 NP A 13

January 11

2011-01-21T13:20:00.000-08:00

The Pope would like babies to have biblical names as a way to permeate them with the faith. These biblical babies were named after they were born and were raised in the faith.

Genesis 25:24 NP A1

January 10

2011-01-21T13:11:00.000-08:00

It's so difficult to wrap our minds around senseless crimes. He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases, even the mental ones.

Matthew 8:17 NP A2

January 8

2011-01-09T18:06:00.000-08:00

It seems that the Canadian Museum for Human Rights has created a hierarchy of suffering. Is Sodom and Gomorrah included in their timeline?

Genesis 18 NP A1

January 7

2011-01-09T18:02:00.000-08:00

Give us today our daily bread, with no strings attached, even to those Palestinians who live in welfare-addicted camps.

Matthew 6:11 NP A16

January 6

2011-01-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

I think the Lord heard the cries of the homeless panhandler with a radio voice.

Psalm 6:8,9 NP A3

January 5

2011-01-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

It seems to me that denying access to the Mark Twain's ideas by making his books political correct is like building a Babel tower.

Genesis 11:1-8 NP A1,2

January 4

2011-01-09T17:53:00.000-08:00

I wanted the promise of the rainbow to extend to the Christians who are being attacked and killed in Egypt.

Genesis 9:8-11 NP A1,9

January 3

2011-01-09T17:49:00.000-08:00

Dear God, please be with the people who are suffering loss due to the incredible floods in Australia. Were there kangaroos in the ark?

Genesis 7 NP A3