SASKATCHEWAN’S Signs of the Times

The huge sign dominates the visual of the intersection in downtown Regina. It certainly catches your eye. Whoa! There it is – promising that the Liposuction that the Clinic does will remove the unnecessary fat you have collected over the winter. The most striking thing about the sign is the middle section of the ‘young female’ that is likely 20 feet high covering the whole billboard. Look closely… yikes!

The photo shown here is not that billboard – I would have been killed in that intersection if I took the shot – so this one is from a Liposuction Clinic’s Web Site… same results….super flat tummy…cute navel…and young!

Why in the name of all things correct and proper would a pastor show a young woman’s tummy on a church Blog? Holy Cow – what is this world coming to?

Well it is ‘sign of our time’. Below the giant billboard at the Regina intersection walked at least three very large and overweight people. My apologies to large people for pointing this out…but there was NO WAY that any suction method would reduce what they had hanging around their mid section. (And after the long cold and snowy winter that we have had – my own mid section is in need of a reduction…)

THERE IS NO WAY THAT LIPOSUCTION WILL GET ME TO LOOK LIKE THIS PHOTO ON THE BILLBOARD!

Out front of a very popular garden center in Regina is a prominent sign that states clearly who they are what they believe in…(Closed Sundays – Growing Family Values)

Along the highway north of Regina, while traveling to Craik, we saw the huge metal figures created by a local artist. The one shown with me is a depiction of a Buffalo Hunter in the early days of Saskatchewan – it is an impressive sign.

In a totally different direction in a small town called ‘Sintaluta’ recently two Ontario people came and bought all eight houses that were for sale. Both women that came with the real-estate person bought everything – one woman got 3 and the other took 5. The price was ridiculous according to a local farmer that lives near by. “Who are they going to sell these houses to…the price they paid is unheard of here! It is NUTS!”

It is another sign of the times in Saskatchewan – the price of property is hotter than anywhere in Canada. The house that we bought in Regina for $89,000 in 1994 and then sold for $97,000 in 1998 – is now going for a possible $315,000….at least that is what another one across the street went for last month and it isn’t nearly as good as ours was!!!

In a series of stores locally I collected the following signs and sayings…
“Sing like no one can hear you. Love like you'll never be hurt. Dance like no one is watching.”

Another states the obvious….
“God invented mothers so that someone in the house would know where everything is.”

The most striking sign that caught my attention was that the many friends that I met in Regina are a whole lot like me…they are running out of time and they are doing it at a very rapid rate.

We have little time for the things that we want to do – or have dreamed of doing. I met five old friends this week and all of them are too busy to get time off. Time is slipping by very quickly for them. There is no time for a holiday, there is little time for a day off, and as to the jobs at home – none of us have time to get to any of the jobs at hand…instead we stumble over piles of undone work and our ‘to do lists’.

The last sign that I give you and myself… I took a photo of this one in the Craik Cemetery…. The words inscribed on the top says it all… “At Rest” – the shape suggests comfort and relaxation… but please note it is entirely made of stone. One man recently stated a fairly obvious but unspoken thought… he said… “I am going to take a long dirt nap soon…I want to live a good and long life filled with great stuff…so I have lots to think about in my long dream.. I got to get started now.”

I think that I will do the same – starting now.

~ Pastor Murray Lincoln ~
PS – Thanks Saskatchewan for a wonderful holiday and the wonder of all your Signs of the Times! And a Special Thanks to Jo-ann and Phil Robertson - for your Guest Suite!
http://www.philrobertson.com/