Faith & Friends April 2018

Jesus’ Sacrifice

EASTER VICTORY P.13

Count Your Blessings

GRATITUDE 101 P.5

They Changed Peter’s Life

TWO WORDS P.8

Faith&Friends I N S P I R AT I O N F O R L I V I N G

faithandfriends.ca

APRIL 2018

A Wrinkle in Time

NEW DISNEY MOVIE CONFRONTS DARKNESS WITH THE POWER OF LOVE. P.16

The Crucified Feet Battered, torn and pierced.

The feet on the cross were the same ones that Mary washed with anointing oils; the feet that travelled hundreds of kilometres to bring the good news, that walked on the Sea of Galilee and on palm leaves on the road into Jerusalem.

These feet were beaten and nailed to a cross, a Roman form of punishment intended to humiliate the victim.

But this attempt to discredit Jesus turned into the triumph of the Resurrection and the Easter miracle, bringing hope and joy to His disciples and all who believe. “ If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved.”

— Romans 10:9-10 (Good News Translation) To learn more about Jesus’ Easter sacrifice, email us at faithandfriends@can. salvationarmy.org or visit your local Salvation Army church.

April 2018

VOLUME 21 NUMBER 4

LAUGHING MATTERS 5 Gratitude 101

Count your blessings, says Phil Callaway—and your toes.

WORDS TO LIVE BY 8 Two Words

The Apostle Peter thought all was lost at Easter, until a friend gave him an important message.

BETWEEN THE LINES

FEATURES

13

COVER STORY

16

22

8

11 Taking My Life Back

Boston Marathon bombing survivor Rebekah Gregory shares her story of faith and recovery.

The Victory Tour

A trip to the Holy Land made Diane Stark see Jesus’ Easter sacrifice in a new light.

Across the Universe

A Wrinkle in Time is a galaxy-spanning tale about the battle between good and evil.

A Penney Saved

Gary Penney found peace through hardship.

LITE STUFF

Cover photo: Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

26 Eating Healthy With Erin

Sudoku, Quick Quiz, Word Search.

FAITH BUILDERS 29 Locked Up

The Apostle Paul takes on the Roman Empire in exciting new film.

REFASHIONISTA RULES 31 Top 5 Thrifting Tips

22

Make the most of your thrift store visits.

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Faith&Friends

FROM THE EDITOR

Message of Love

S

taff writer Giselle Randall still remembers the day she purchased Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time at her local bookstore. “I was in my teens and I loved it!” she smiles. “Having a book with a strong female character helped shape my own understanding of the world, that it’s perfectly natural for a girl to be the centre of a story, to be smart and to have a real role in a drama where there is a lot at stake—in this case the galaxy itself!”

Later, Giselle found out that the novel had been rejected by more than 30 publishers. “Those tired old editors who had a hard time understanding A Wrinkle in Time assumed that children wouldn’t understand it, either,” L’Engle wrote in Walking on Water, her reflections on faith and art. Fortunately, a publisher was found and the novel won the Newbery Medal in 1963. “There is no idea that is too difficult for children as long as it underlies a good story and quality writing,” L’Engle concluded.

For the author, the essential ingredient of a Christian children’s book (or any Christian book) is the message of love. It’s a message Giselle can’t wait to share with her own daughter, Maeve.

Now, L’Engle’s classic novel has received the bigscreen treatment. Giselle’s take on A Wrinkle in Time is on page 16.

Elsewhere this Easter month, Phil Callaway gives us a lesson on gratitude, we’ll see how a trip to the Holy Land made Diane Stark see Jesus’ Easter sacrifice in a new light, and writer and pastor Max Lucado shows us how a simple message from a friend changed the Apostle Peter’s life after the death and Resurrection of Jesus on the first Easter.

Ken Ramstead

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Mission Statement To show Christ at work in the lives of real people, and to provide spiritual resources for those who are new to the Christian faith.

Faith & Friends is published monthly by: The Salvation Army 2 Overlea Blvd, Toronto Ontario, M4H 1P4 International Headquarters 101 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4P 4EP, England William and Catherine Booth FOUNDERS

André Cox, GENERAL Commissioner Susan McMillan TERRITORIAL COMMANDER

Lt-Colonel Jim Champ SECRETARY FOR COMMUNICATIONS Geoff Moulton, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ken Ramstead, EDITOR

Brandon Laird DESIGN AND MEDIA SPECIALIST

Timothy Cheng SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Pamela Richardson, COPY EDITOR, PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR

Ada Leung CIRCULATION CO-ORDINATOR

Kristin Ostensen STAFF WRITER, PROOFREADER

Giselle Randall STAFF WRITER Scripture Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are taken from New International Version Contact Us P. (416) 467-3188, F. (416) 422-6120 Websites faithandfriends.ca, salvationist.ca, salvationarmy.ca Email faithandfriends@can.salvationarmy.org Subscription for one year: Canada $17 (includes GST/HST); U.S. $22; foreign $24 P. (416) 422-6119 circulation@can.salvationarmy.org All articles are copyright The Salvation Army Canada & Bermuda and cannot be reproduced without permission.

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064794 ISSN 1702-0131

Faith&Friends

LAUGHING MATTERS

Gratitude 101 In between taking things for granted, take time to count your blessings—and your toes.

Illustrations: Dennis Jones

by Phil Callaway

E

ach and every day, I awake and immediately take 101 things for granted. Such as the fact that I woke up. And that I woke up in a bed. The ceiling did not cave in on me in the middle of the night.

Spiders did not descend. My wife did not put a pillow over my head to halt

my snoring. I’m told that 95 per cent of people die in their beds. I was not one of them.

Sweet Bliss I take a breath, unaware of the miracle of such a simple act, then stagger to the bathroom, never

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Faith&Friends

LAUGHING MATTERS

I’m told that 95 per cent of people die in their beds. I was not one of them. PHIL CALLAWAY doubting that water will be there waiting for me. Clean water. Warm water. Coming from a tap. I take a few steps toward the kitchen. The dog is completely out of her mind to see me, but does not bite me, like dogs in bad dreams. Mine just dances in circles, drooling on me like a toddler.

In the kitchen, the fridge lights up when I open it, the coffee pot gurgles when I touch a button, and the toaster pops up a slice of golden brown. We have a table and chairs there. A view. Winnie-the-Pooh did not visit overnight to polish off the honey. There’s peanut butter, too. I sit, munching away, taking for granted the fact that I can taste. See. Hear. Talk. And touch.

I say goodbye to my wife when I should be asking myself, “Why am I among the chosen few whose wife wants to kiss me despite morning breath and whiskers?” Not her morning breath. Mine. How was I singled out to spend the day engaged in meaningful work in an office far from the threat of turmoil and war?

Unbullied. Overfed. Appreciated.

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Grumble, Grumble …

The whining begins at 5 p.m. as I leave the office for home, when I stub my toe on a door jam. I hop around on one leg, holding my injured foot, squealing, “Ow, ow, ow!”

A concerned co-worker pokes his head through my doorway and laughs. I’m the funny guy. I must be joking, right? “I’m fine,” I mutter.

But the truth is, I’m not. A swollen toe is just one more ailment on a growing list called “The Perils of Aging.” Wrinkles on my face. Hair in my ears. Too much natural gas.

Outside, a bank of clouds moves in front of the sun, and the temperature dips. My new leather shoe is too tight. My pinky toe throbs with each stride.

When I walk through the door, my wife senses within seconds how my day went. I mutter something about cold weather and sore toes and hard shoes. I limp to the table where steam rises from a bowl of soup next to a sandwich. I lift a spoon to my lips. The flavours dance across my palate.

My gaze falls on two badly needed reminders. A picture and a book. The picture is of our sponsor child dressed in worn clothing, sporting a grin. My wife prays for Aldi from Indonesia. Thank You, God, that because of Your goodness to us, Aldi will go to sleep with a full belly tonight. He’ll study at a school

tomorrow. And learn a trade. And read a Bible. And hear about Jesus.

My eyes drop to the book on the table, one I was too busy to read this morning. It’s still open to the most Googled Psalm in the book: Psalm 23. “You prepare a table before me …

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (English Standard Version).

Thank You, God, for Your promises. For Your presence with me in the midst of my whining. Thanks for 101 things I take for granted each day. For chocolate pudding and dinner with the girl who made it. For a dog who is hoping to sample it. Thank You, God, for nine good toes.

(left) Phil Callaway’s Laugh Again radio program airs 700 times a week in Canada. Visit him at laughagain.org.

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Faith&Friends

WORDS TO LIVE BY

Two Words

Photos: © Anneke/stock.Adobe.com

The Apostle Peter thought all was lost at Easter, until a friend gave him an important message.

by Max Lucado

I

n Max Lucado’s classic, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, he writes of the Apostle Peter, who’d boasted to Jesus before His Crucifixion that he would never betray Him. “Truly, I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times” (see Mark 14:29-30).

And so it came to pass. Fearful of being found out as a follower of Jesus, Peter denied three times that he knew Him. “Immediately the rooster crowed the second time” (Mark 14:72). Peter’s grief at his actions was profound and inconsolable. After such a betrayal of the One he loved most, who would ever forgive him? And how could Peter

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ever forgive himself?

Max now picks up the story after Jesus’ Resurrection: Hidden Treasure It was like discovering the prize in a box of Cracker Jack or spotting a little pearl in a box of buttons or stumbling across a $10 bill in a drawer full of envelopes.

It was small enough to overlook.

Only two words. I know I’d read that passage a hundred times. But I’d never seen it. Maybe I’d passed over it in the excitement of the Resurrection. Or, since Mark’s account of the Resurrection is by far the briefest of the four, maybe I’d

just not paid too much attention.

Or, maybe since it’s in the last chapter of the Gospel of Mark, my weary eyes had always read too quickly to note this little phrase.

But I won’t miss it again. It’s highlighted in yellow and underlined in red. You might want to do the same.

Look in Mark, Chapter 16. Read the

Now tell me if that’s not a hidden treasure.

Second Chance If I might paraphrase the words, “Don’t stay here, go tell the disciples,” a pause, then a smile, “and especially tell Peter, that He is going before you to Galilee.”

It’s not every day that you find someone who will give you a second chance— much less someone who will give you a second chance every day. MAX LUCADO first five verses about the women’s surprise when they find the stone moved to the side. Then feast on that beautiful phrase spoken by the angel, “He has risen! He is not here” (v 6). But don’t pause for too long.

Go a bit further. Get your pencil ready and enjoy this jewel in the seventh verse (here it comes). The verse reads like this: “But go, tell His disciples and Peter. ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee.’ ” Did you see it? Read it again.

(This time, I italicized the words.)

“But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee.’ ”

What a line. It’s as if all of heaven had watched Peter fall—and it’s as if all of heaven wanted to help him back up again. “Be sure and tell Peter that he’s not left out. Tell him that one failure doesn’t make a flop.”

Whew! No wonder they call it the gospel of the second chance.

Not many second chances exist in the world today. Just ask the kid who didn’t make the little-league team or the fellow who got the pink slip.

Nowadays, it’s more like, “Three strikes and you’re out.” Or, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world!”

Jesus has a simple answer to our masochistic mania: Sure, you can

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Reprinted from No Wonder They Call Him the Savior by Max Lucado. Nashville, Tennessee: W Publishing, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2004

Faith&Friends

WORDS TO LIVE BY

have a second chance.

Just ask Peter. One minute he felt lower than a snake’s belly and the next minute he was the high hog at the trough. Even the angels wanted this distraught netcaster to know that it wasn’t over. The message came loud and clear from the celestial throne room through the divine courier. “Be sure and tell Peter that he gets to bat again.”

Those who know these types of things say that the Gospel of Mark is really the transcribed notes and dictated thoughts of Peter. If this is true, then it was Peter himself who included these two words!

And if these really are his words, I can’t help but imagine that the old fisherman had to brush away a tear and swallow a lump when he got to

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this point in the story.

It’s not every day that you get a second chance. Peter must have known that. The next time he saw Jesus, he got so excited that he barely got his britches on before he jumped into the cold water of the Sea of Galilee. It was also enough, so they say, to cause this backwoods Galilean to carry the gospel of the second chance all the way to Rome where they killed him. If you’ve ever wondered what would cause a man to be willing to be crucified upside down, maybe now you know.

It’s not every day that you find someone who will give you a second chance—much less someone who will give you a second chance every day.

But in Jesus, Peter found both.

Faith&Friends

BETWEEN THE LINES

Beyond the Blast In Taking My Life Back, Boston Marathon bombing survivor Rebekah Gregory shares her story of faith and recovery.

by Barbara Ashley

O

n April 15, 2013, Rebekah Gregory and her five-yearold son were waiting at the finish line of the Boston Marathon to support a friend who was running when the blasts of terrorists’ homemade bombs packed with nails and screws went off a metre away.

Rebekah’s legs took the brunt of the blast, protecting her son from certain death, but she feels that, in a way, her entire life has been a series of smaller blasts, preparing her for that monumental, unthinkable day.

In her new memoir, Taking My Life Back: My Story of Faith, Determination and Surviving the Boston Marathon Bombing, Rebekah brings readers along with her on her personal journey through abuse,

mistakes, pain and, ultimately, love and renewed faith.

Not Alone Rebekah vividly recounts her horrifying experience on the day of the bombing, her desperate desire to locate her son despite the pain and paralysis from her personal injuries, and her extensive and trying path to recovery, which included 18 surgeries, 65 procedures and the eventual amputation of her left leg.

“Writing this book was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it’s real and honest—and I think that’s what we need in life,” says Rebekah. “I share deeply personal stories about things I hadn’t fully healed from yet, but the writing

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Faith&Friends

BETWEEN THE LINES

Rebekah’s legs took the brunt of the blast, protecting her son from certain death. brought healing. I hope others will find encouragement and hope from the challenges I’ve experienced, and know they’re not alone.”

3D Puzzle While she’s known as a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing, Rebekah wants readers to know that there’s more to her story and the faith that sustains her.

A victim of domestic abuse, Rebekah’s childhood was marked by violence, a strong impulse to please and pacify her father’s outbursts, and a formal, hollow relationship with God and the church. But through God’s love, a committed stepfather, the birth of her son and a fateful car accident, Rebekah found the kind of faith that transformed her into the wife, mother and woman she is today.

She was never more in need of that faith than when she was called upon to return to the city of the bombing to testify against the suspect.

“I didn’t travel to Boston for the sake of the sentencing,” she writes.

“For me, the trial and sentencing were vital pieces of the three-

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dimensional puzzle I call my life and the process of taking my life back from the fools who tried to steal it.”

The surviving bomber is now in prison.

In Control “Do I wish things were different?”

Rebekah asks. “Every day. There is nothing I wouldn’t give to have one more afternoon with my precious son before terrorism became part of our lives. But that is not possible.

Instead, what is possible is to cherish the life God has blessed me with, because I have seen what it is like to almost lose it for good.

“While we cannot predict what will happen to us or if a bomb will go off at a marathon we’re attending,” Rebekah writes, “I believe we can take comfort that God is in control.”

Rebekah Gregory is now a motivational speaker who lives in Houston with her son, daughter and college-sweetheartturned-husband, Chris Varney

Faith&Friends

FEATURE

The Victory Tour In the Garden Diane and Eric Stark at the Garden of Gethsemane.

“You can see the 2,000-year-old olive trees in the background,” Diane notes

A TRIP TO THE HOLY LAND MADE ME SEE JESUS’ EASTER SACRIFICE IN A NEW LIGHT.

by Diane Stark

D

“

id you see the sign?” I asked my husband, Eric.

“It’s called The Sanctuary of the Anguish of Jesus Christ.”

Eric nodded. “I’m sure He was experiencing tremendous anguish, knowing that Judas was about to betray Him and turn Him over to be crucified.”

Between Past and Present We were in Israel, on the trip of a lifetime. So far, the trip had been amazing. We’d taken a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus had calmed the storm and walked on the water. We’d visited a church built on the ground that many believed to be Jesus’ burial site. Even better, we’d faithandfriends.ca I APRIL 2018

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Faith&Friends

FEATURE

On the Doorstep of Eternity Diane stands in front of the open tomb that many believe to be Jesus’

been baptized in the Jordan River, the same river where John the Baptist had baptized Jesus when He’d first started His ministry on earth.

But now, we were at the site believed to be the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus had prayed the night before He was crucified. He asked His disciples to stay awake and pray, but they fell asleep. Jesus experienced such anguish that night that the Gospel of Luke says He actually sweated blood.

As I stood there, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I imagined Jesus sitting on the ground underneath one of the giant olive trees in the garden, knowing the great pain and suffering He was about to endure. I could almost picture Him 14 • APRIL 2018 I faithandfriends.ca

praying, asking His Father if there was any other way, but in the end, Jesus accepted that God’s will would be done. I imagined Jesus that night thinking of each one of us with love, knowing that the great sacrifice He was about to make was the only way to save us from our sin.

I also imagined His disciples, sleeping when they’d been asked to pray. I put myself in their shoes.

I wanted to believe I would have stayed awake as Jesus asked me to, but in my heart, I knew I wouldn’t have done any better than Peter and John had.

And in that moment, standing in the garden where Jesus had suffered, I felt the tremendous weight of my guilt in a way I never had before. I’m

sorry You had to go through that on my behalf, I thought to myself. I’m so, so sorry.

The next day, our tour group went to the place in Jerusalem believed to be the Crucifixion site. In the Bible, it’s referred to as Golgatha, or “place of the skull.” There was a rocky cliff and in it, I could see the eyes and nose that formed the shape of a skull. It was easy to see why biblical scholars had determined that this was where Jesus had been crucified.

broken body inside. I’m so sorry, I thought.

After we’d looked inside the tomb, I sat down on a bench, emotionally drained. “This whole trip is like a tour of Jesus’ pain and suffering,” I told my husband.

But Eric shook his head. “Go back inside. The tomb’s empty. Jesus isn’t there because He rose from the dead and He is alive today. And that means this trip isn’t a tour of His pain. It’s a tour of His victory.”

In that moment, I felt the tremendous weight of my guilt in a way I never had before. DIANE STARK I imagined Him hanging there, with the crowd mocking Him, urging Him to save Himself. But if He saved Himself, He couldn’t save me, I thought. It was my sin that kept Him on that cross.

From Guilt to Gratitude We moved on to view a nearby empty tomb. “We don’t claim that this tomb is Jesus’ actual tomb,” the guide was careful to say. “But based on the Bible’s descriptions, it could be.”

Despite the uncertainty of the tomb’s authenticity, I was incredibly moved to see it. I stood inside that empty tomb, imagining Jesus’

Eric was right. I got up and went back inside the tomb. It looked the same, but it evoked different emotions in me, in light of my husband’s words. Now, instead of feeling guilt over my sin, I felt gratitude for His sacrifice.

“Thank You, Jesus, for loving me so much that You were willing to die for me,” I said. “Thank You for the gift of salvation that Your sacrifice affords each one of us. And thank You that Your victory over sin and death can become our victory, too.”

I dried my eyes and left that empty tomb, ready to visit our next location on Jesus’ victory tour. faithandfriends.ca I APRIL 2018

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Faith&Friends

COVER STORY

Across the Universe A WRINKLE IN TIME IS A GALAXY-SPANNING TALE ABOUT THE BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL.

by Giselle Randall 16 • APRIL 2018 I faithandfriends.ca

On the Trail Meg (Storm Reid) is aided by her friend, Calvin (Levi Miller), in the search for her dad

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Faith&Friends

COVER STORY

ON A DARK AND STORMY night, Meg Murry, her little brother, Charles Wallace, and their mother, Mrs. Murry, are drinking cocoa in their farmhouse kitchen when a mysterious visitor appears at the door.

“Mrs. Whatsit, what are you doing here?” asks Charles Wallace.

“I got caught in a downdraft and blown off course,” replies the old woman, as she unwraps her numerous scarves and pours water out of her rubber boots. “Wild nights are my glory.” She turns to Mrs. Murry.

“By the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract.”

So begins A Wrinkle in Time— the story of Meg’s quest to find her father, a renowned physicist who had been experimenting with the fifth dimension when he disappeared several years before.

Three otherworldly beings— Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which—guide Meg, Charles Wallace and their friend, Calvin, as they travel across the universe to rescue him from a dark planet.

Now in theatres, A Wrinkle in Time is a galaxy-spanning tale about the battle between good and evil and the transforming power of love.

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The Spread of Evil The movie is based on the classic fantasy novel by Madeleine L’Engle, part of a series called the Time Quintet. L’Engle’s writing was deeply shaped by her Christian faith.

“It was the scientists, with their questions, their awed rapture at the glory of the created universe, who helped to convert me,” she writes in Walking on Water, her reflections on faith and art. “The fantasies are my theology.”

Meg (Storm Reid) feels like an oddball in her extraordinary family.

Her parents are both brilliant scientists, and Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) is something more—he seems to know what she’s feeling and thinking. She misses her father (Chris Pine) terribly, and must endure rumours about his disappearance. All Meg wants is for him to come home.

Then Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey) appear. They use a tesseract—a wrinkle in time and space—to take Meg, Calvin (Levi Miller) and Charles Wallace on a journey through the cosmos. There is more at stake than Mr. Murry’s dis-

Photos: Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

appearance. On a mountain peak on the planet Uriel, Mrs. Whatsit shows them a dark and dreadful shadow blocking out the light of the stars. The shadow is evil, and it is spreading.

“All in All” But although the Dark Thing threatens everything, it is also being fought. Earth, although shadowed, has not been overcome.

“All through the universe it’s being fought, all through the cosmos, and my, but it’s a grand and exciting battle,” says Mrs. Whatsit.

“Some of our very best fighters have come right from your own planet,

Lost Meg’s mission in A Wrinkle in Time is to find her missing father, Dr. Alex Murry

and it’s a little planet, dears, out on the edge of a little galaxy. You can be proud that it’s done so well.”

When Calvin asks who Earth’s fighters have been, Mrs. Who replies, “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not”—a Bible verse from John 1 describing Jesus.

“There were others,” Mrs. Whatsit adds. “All your great artists. They’ve been lights for us to see by.”

L’Engle’s work has been criticized —in fact, frequently banned—by faithandfriends.ca I APRIL 2018

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Faith&Friends

COVER STORY

Valuable Ally: (top) “This is my favourite planet in the entire galaxy—no offense to Earth!” says Mrs. Whatsit to Meg Three Misses: (bottom) Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling and Oprah Winfrey play Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, respectively, in A Wrinkle in Time

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some Christians, who fear she is denying Jesus’ divinity. She responded to this claim in Walking on Water. “I don’t mean to water down my Christianity into a vague kind of universalism, with Buddha and Mohammed all being more or

A dark and dreadful shadow is blocking out the light of the stars. The shadow is evil, and it is spreading.

less equal to Jesus—not at all!” she writes. “But neither do I want to tell God (or my friends) where He can and cannot be seen.

“To be truly Christian means to see Christ everywhere, to know Him as all in all.”

The Power of Love Meg’s father is on Camazotz, a planet that has given in to the darkness, where he is being held captive at Central Intelligence.

As Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace search the city and finally come face to face with IT, the evil power controlling the planet, they struggle not to succumb to IT ’s mesmerizing influence. Meg’s anger and stubbornness help her resist, but Charles Wallace comes under IT ’s control.

After recovering from injuries inflicted by the Black Thing, Meg comes to realize that she’s the one who must rescue her brother, even though she’s weak and afraid. “The weakness of God is stronger than men … God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise,” Mrs. Who reminds her.

“You have something that IT has not,” adds Mrs. Which.

Meg returns to Charles Wallace, where she discovers the only weapon that has ever defeated the powers of darkness: love—irrational, selfsacrificial love, the kind of love that Jesus demonstrated on the cross.

Hope As an artist, L’Engle wrestles with theological issues—the nature of evil, the significance of free will, the difference between faith and certainty, the importance of Christian community—through story. A Wrinkle in Time shows us a universe marred by sin, and yet there is hope.

“In a sense, A Wrinkle in Time was … my affirmation of a universe in which I could take note of all the evil and unfairness and horror and yet believe in a loving Creator,” she writes.

Meg went to a distant galaxy to rescue her father, but we can all participate in God’s rescue mission. We can all be fighters in the grand and exciting battle, and reflect the light that shines in the darkness. faithandfriends.ca I APRIL 2018

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Faith&Friends

FEATURE

A Penney Saved

GARY PENNEY WENT TO BED A GRIEFSTRICKEN ALCOHOLIC AND WOKE UP THE NEXT DAY A COMPLETELY SOBER CHRISTIAN. HERE’S HOW HE FOUND PEACE THROUGH HARDSHIP.

by Melissa Yue Wallace

F

or most of his life, Gary Penney, 62, has lived in Buchans, N.L., a once-busy mining town with a population of approximately 3,000 during its most prosperous years. But in the late 1970s as ore reserves dwindled, production declined and by 1984, mining operations came to a halt.

By 2016, there were only 642 people living there.

“Most people that live here now are kids going to school or retirees,” explains Gary. “There’s not much for young people and not much industry now.”

But despite the shrinking population and lack of varied employment, Gary cannot picture his life elsewhere. “The community is pretty close knit,” he says. “When there’s 22 • APRIL 2018 I faithandfriends.ca

tragedy or triumph, people come together.”

Looking for “Something” Gary is no stranger to tragedy. On May 6, 1984, he was involved in a car accident that killed his fouryear-old son, Shannon. Gary was so badly injured, he was hospitalized for four months and remembers little of what happened. His grief and depression also overwhelmed him.

“For almost a whole year, I hit the bottle really hard,” he says.

“Even with my friends around me and my family, I felt bad and kept drinking. But while you get a bit of relief with alcohol for a short time, there’s no joy.”

Gary was restlessly looking for something, even though he didn’t

Photo: © KatarzynaBialasiewicz/iStock.com

know what it was.

In his childhood, Gary’s mother, a devout Christian, had brought him to church services. He never accepted the faith he was taught, but remained close to his family and his wife, Lynn, during his recovery.

“For a long time, I felt really guilty,” he says. “I always wondered why my son was killed and I wasn’t.”

The night before the one-year anniversary of the accident, Gary

was out drinking heavily and playing poker. He went to bed and was suddenly jolted awake at four in the morning.

“I was scared because when I woke up, I was sober, which is physically impossible,” he says. A voice in his head told him to change his lifestyle or he’d lose his family and possibly his life. He realized that voice belonged to God. Later that morning, Gary got on faithandfriends.ca I APRIL 2018

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Faith&Friends

FEATURE

“ Jesus didn’t promise to take the storms from us, but He does promise to take us to the other side to peace and calm.” GARY PENNEY

his knees and gave his heart to Jesus Christ.

“I could feel a weight come off my shoulders and peace wash over me like a flood,” he says. “I could almost hear Jesus say to me, ‘Look, it’s all right. You’re safe. I’ve got you.’ ” He began attending church, but Gary felt it wasn’t enough.

That’s when he began going to The Salvation Army Buchans Corps on Sunday evenings.

“I enjoyed the people, the singing, the openness of testimonies and being able to express yourself more,” says Gary. “I fell in love with it.”

Gary became an official member of The Salvation Army early in 1986.

Meeting a Need Today, Gary plays the bass drum during worship at Buchans Corps.

He finds joy in attending men’s ministry and special events that join the community together, which has happened more frequently with the arrival of Major Betty-Lou Topping, 24 • APRIL 2018 I faithandfriends.ca

the pastor who was appointed to Buchans in July 2017.

During the week, Major BettyLou, the only full-time pastor that lives in town, is busy with a women’s group, a moms and tots program, and home and hospital visits.

Recently, she started a group to care for people who are lonely, widowed or finding life tough in some other way. She also uses social media to stay in touch with people in the community who are not from the Army or who don’t go to church.

This past Christmas for the first time, the corps organized kettles at Buchans’ only grocery store. After ringing the bells over the holidays, they raised more than $1,300.

“That amount among approximately 600 people is pretty good because it’s the same people going to the grocery store every week,” says Major Betty-Lou. “People are so appreciative and supportive of the Army, and are willing to help.”

Major Betty-Lou has also

Lucky Penney Gary Penney with granddaughters Layah, 10, and Charleigh, three

organized potlucks and gospel concerts to draw in people outside the Army. And during the Christmas season, she asked five people to share their thoughts on love, joy, peace, faith and hope. Gary shared his story on peace.

“I had no idea about Gary’s story and it was very powerful to hear that he has peace in the midst of all that he’s been through,” says Major Betty-Lou. “There weren’t many dry eyes in the building.”

Calm in the Storm Life did not get easier for Gary after he accepted God. Shortly after, his

youngest son was diagnosed with autism. Then a knee injury caused him great discomfort and pain. And last summer, he lost his mother and father in a span of three weeks.

“Now that I have Jesus in my heart, there’s a big difference in how I face each storm,” says Gary. “Jesus didn’t promise to take the storms from us, but He does promise to take us to the other side to peace and calm.

“Jesus took me out of the gutter and put me on solid ground. The peace He brought me, there’s no other place you can get it. It’s only through Him.” faithandfriends.ca I APRIL 2018

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LITE STUFF

Eating Healthy With Erin CREAMY ROASTED RED PEPPER SOUP TIME 45 min MAKES 4 servings SERVE WITH French bread or crackers

1. Slice bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and membranes. Coat with olive oil and arrange on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake at 230 C (450 F) skin side up for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven once skin has blackened.

2. Allow peppers to cool slightly and remove skins. Place peppers in food processor or blender and blend with broth until mixed. Set aside but leave in food processor/blender.

3. Sauté garlic and onion in 15 ml (1 tbsp) butter until translucent. Add to food processor/blender along with pepper mixture.

4. In a medium-sized pot, place remaining butter and melt over low heat. Once butter bubbles, whisk in flour and continue to whisk with spatula for 2 minutes. Add the contents of food processor/blender, dried basil and oregano. Heat over medium-high.

5. Reduce heat once contents are at a low boil and stir in table cream and Parmesan. Garnish with additional dried basil (optional) and whisk over low heat for 5 minutes.

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Recipe photo: Erin Stanley/veganvirgin.ca

4 red peppers 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil 500 ml (2 cups) vegetable or chicken broth 1 garlic clove, minced 60 ml (¼ cup) onion, diced 45 ml (3 tbsp) butter 45 ml (3 tbsp) allpurpose flour 30 ml (2 tbsp) dried basil 5 ml (1 tsp) dried oregano 60 ml (¼ cup) table cream 60 ml (¼ cup) fresh Parmesan cheese Salt and pepper to taste

Where’s My Sandwich?

STICKER SHOCK P.25

Q&A With Kim Phuc

“NAPALM GIRL” P.10

Busking for a Cause

HELPING THE ARMY P.14

Faith&Friends I N S P I R AT I O N F O R L I V I N G

faithandfriends.ca

MARCH 2018

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Dancing With the Star HOW GYMNAST AND DANCE-SHOW FINALIST LAURIE HERNANDEZ STAYS GROUNDED. P.16

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2018-01-22 4:19 PM

Sudoku Puzzle

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3 × 3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

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QUICK QUIZ 1. Is an avocado a fruit or a vegetable?

2. What is the capital of India?

3. Who wrote the novel Alias Grace?

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© www.kevinfrank.net

HEAVEN’S LOVE THRIFT SHOP by Kevin Frank

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LITE STUFF

Word Search Death and …

D D W L D F R E V E N U E E D D F C N P O A W O E X P E N S E S B N A E E R R R O Z N B B K L O M E V P Q S D E K E R C R A F X L U N R I Y S I I M S D K O E A T A T E D T O G T C V I H E I N F I I I F U A E N F F X I U E F N T U C N I O L I I H Y I E D M E I G R N B T T G N N T A C G T T S T N M I D S V A E R S P I M S N M N A C V B N O I T A R O P R O C E G J E O A U S N U E I O E T A X N M A R R M T T S S E S S O L S G A N T T P A E Y I S T E K C A R B T O E S Y S R N U O D I C N B F I L I N G E D W Y L T N L E G U I L E S U M T V E S U O P S N P R I P S N V K Q W N S T P I E C E R M C N E U B R Y X I D E P E N D E N T E P B G B P X O M BENEFITS BRACKETS BUSINESS CAPITAL GAINS CONTRIBUTIONS CORPORATION CREDIT DEPENDENT DIVIDEND DONATIONS EARNINGS EMPLOYMENT

EXCISE EXPENSES FEDERAL FILING FORMS GIFTS GRANTS INCOME INTEREST INVESTMENT LOSSES PAY

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PENSION PREMIUMS PROVINCIAL RECEIPTS REFUND REVENUE SCHEDULE SPOUSE TAX TUITION WORKING WORKSHEET

Quick Quiz Answers: 1. A fruit; 2. New Delhi; 3. Margaret Atwood.

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Faith&Friends

FAITH BUILDERS

Locked Up The Apostle Paul takes on the Roman Empire in exciting new film.

by Kristin Ostensen

Inspiring Faith Luke (Jim Caviezel) and Paul (James Faulkner) confer. Luke was a physician who was a close friend and travelling companion of Paul

T

he setting is ancient Rome, about 30 years after the death and Resurrection of Jesus.

After blaming Christians for a fire that destroyed large portions of the city, Emperor Nero has made persecuting them a top priority. Followers of Jesus face beatings, imprisonment and even death if they maintain their beliefs. Some are beginning to question their faith.

At the centre of this crisis is Paul, who is locked up in Rome’s Mamertine Prison—alone in a dark, bleak cell. A leader of the nascent Christian church, Paul has been deemed

a threat to the Roman Empire and sentenced to death. As he awaits execution, he feels powerless, unable to provide encouragement or assistance to his fellow believers.

Until his friend, Luke, appears in his prison cell.

A Hateful Man This is the story of Paul, Apostle of Christ, a new film in theatres now, just in time for Easter.

Trapped behind bars, what can Paul (James Faulkner, Game of Thrones) do to help others?

“You can inspire their faith,”

faithandfriends.ca I APRIL 2018

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Faith&Friends

FAITH BUILDERS

“ Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof.” THE APOSTLE PAUL answers Luke (Jim Caviezel, The Passion of the Christ).

As Luke notes in a letter to his Christian friends, he risks his life to see Paul in Rome in order “to write his story, to bring hope … and to remind us all of how God changed a hateful man.”

The transformation of Paul is one of the most inspiring stories in the Bible. In the early days of the church, Paul, then known as Saul, hated Christians. After witnessing the killing of a Christian named Stephen, the Bible notes “Saul just went wild, devastating the church, entering house after house after house, dragging men and women off to jail” (Acts 8:3 The Message).

But everything changed the day Jesus appeared to him while he was travelling to the city of Damascus (see Acts 9:1-19). From then on, Saul devoted his life to telling others that Jesus is the Son of God. The hateful man was no more.

Luke recognizes that Paul’s remarkable story is exactly what Christians need to hear, discouraged as they are by the emperor’s assaults.

“They want revenge,” Luke says.

“No!” Paul insists. “Love is the only way.”

While visiting Paul, Luke writes

30 • APRIL 2018 I faithandfriends.ca

this message of love, the good news about Jesus, for all Christians to read.

But will he be able to leave Rome with his writings without being caught by the Romans?

Public Sinner Number One While the turmoil continues outside, Paul faces his own inner struggle.

After all he did to harm Christians, can God really forgive him?

Given the seriousness of his past, it’s understandable that Paul doubts.

But in his heart, he knows that he is forgiven. As Paul writes in a letter to his friend, Timothy, “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.

I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One—of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy” (1 Timothy 1:15-16 The Message).

As Paul says in the film, “Where sin abounds, grace abounds more” (see Romans 5:20). The more we have done wrong, the more God is able to forgive.

Paul’s message is also the message of Easter: that God loves us unconditionally; that He demonstrated that love by dying for us; and that through His Resurrection we can receive forgiveness, hope and new life. No one is beyond redemption—not even Public Sinner Number One.

faithandfriends.ca I APRIL 2018

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Faith&Friends

REFASHIONISTA RULES

Top 5 Thrifting Tips Ever walked into a thrift store and not known where to start? Make the most of your visits by following these tips:

1

Allow plenty of time for your thrifting adventures. Be sure to browse through every section. A fabulous treasure might just be hidden among those crowded racks.

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Try things on and be adventurous. An item that’s a great colour but looks less than stellar on a hanger could be absolutely amazing on you.

Don’t pay attention to sizes. Labels are misleading and size measurements vary greatly between brands. If you like it and it looks like it might fit, give it a try. You can always make alterations.

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Get friendly with your local thrift store staff.

They can help you find exactly what you’re looking for and, on your next visit, let you know if something that’s just your style has come into the store.

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Always check the accessory section. You never know what awesome bit of bling you’ll discover to accent your groovy preloved outfits.

(left) Sheri Pavlović is the do-it-yourself diva behind the Confessions of a Refashionista book series, channel and blog, which are full of step-by-step upcycling tutorials for everything from clothing and accessories to home décor. She is also a creative expert for The Salvation Army’s thrift stores. Find a thrift store near you at thriftstore.ca.

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