redemption Archives - Keith Shields

Hansel and Gretel

As I walked to the repair shop to pick up my car, I noticed a roadside sign for the local community theatre group. They were performing Hansel and Gretel. I thought about this story and silently wondered why a group would choose this play to perform in Calgary at this time of year. As a…

Broken

I am damaged on the inside My soul don’t quite work true There are foul spots on my right side And my wrong side’s looking cruel I am broken on the upside Spirit’s broken down There’s downsides to this arrangement But I’m hanging in for now Broken, damaged, injured, Wounded, cracked, beat-up Somehow we are…

Small Steps

Resolutions or irresolution; we hear many opinions. You may also hear many statistics telling us that only about 7% will have kept their resolutions by the second week in January. You don’t even want to read a blog about resolutions! Neither do I. So instead I would like to advocate for small, feeble, steps throughout…

The Road Goes Ever On and On

The Road goes ever on and onDown from the door where it began.Now far ahead the Road has gone,And I must follow, if I can,Pursuing it with eager feet,Until it joins some larger wayWhere many paths and errands meet.And whither then? I cannot say.– J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring At 54 years of…

Steve Taylor and the Perfect Foil

For those of you who loved Steve Taylor in the 80’s, he’s back; and back in style. The creator of such music as “Meltdown (At Madame Tussaud’s)” (1984), “On The Fritz” (1985), “Lifeboat” (1985), and “This Disco (Used To Be A Cute Cathedral)” (1985) has released a new album. He used a Kickstarter campaign to…

God’s Providence

I like this description of city and garden and Fall and Redemption in Making the Best of It.1 We must be careful, however, to see the Fall also in its context as just one part of the story. Some Christians instead have interpreted our current existence as if we are in a world utterly fallen,…

New Man

(Click here to listen) Mike Charko and Keith Shields (SOCAN 2012) (Rom. 8:19, 22; 2 Peter 2:19) I’m a new man a neon sign fleeting footsteps mark my time Pooling money worn out shoes a trusting spirit nothing to lose Waiting for the sons of God to be revealed Waiting for the Son to shine…

God at Work

Our community of faith was blessed to see God’s redemptive hand at work this past week. Some of us have been serving a man who is a contemporary “leper” and an outcast from society. He is a man who spent a long time in prison for things he has done. We have walked with him…

Puppet Strings

PUPPET STRINGS: I can’t keep from mourning for this topsy-turvy world / With all its strife and pain /Mourning for the lost and the desperatechildren / Who can’t remember theirnames And I can feel it in my soul / Now the endis getting near / I can hear the devillaughing / And its ringing in…