Life is all about waiting: waiting for people, waiting for an appointment, waiting in traffic, or waiting in line. Well, you get the idea. These days, people are waiting for spring. When we were kids, we had to wait to get to our summer …( read more )

For years, I've spent many pleasurable morning hours with my Bible and coffee, immersed in Bible journaling. Curled up on the couch, I watch the birds outside while listening for God's small voice inside. I thank God for His creation, and …( read more )

Today, our firstborn would have been 60 years old. I wrote about that a few years ago in devotional called God's Comfort . In it, I explained in some detail the events of the day when our first child was born but did not live. Over the …( read more )

This past summer, my three goats, Marshall, Lilly, and Aggie, went on a holiday of sorts. The community greenhouse project willingly accommodated them, as they had large areas of lush grass and other growth to be cleared, and the goats …( read more )

I once heard a story about a child who was taught a special tune in his native village. His teacher told him that if he forgot it when he grew up and went out into the world, he should come right back home and learn it all over again. We …( read more )

Monday morning arrived, and I couldn't remember what I needed to do first. For the last four years, I've had the same morning routine. My profession as a school teacher required me to arrive at school by 7:30 a.m. Now things are …( read more )

I am going through some health struggles, which can affect me both emotionally and spiritually. It often means that I don't deal with other people very well, especially if I feel ignored, misunderstood, mistreated, rejected, or alone. When …( read more )

When I read gospel stories like this one about Jesus and the centurion, who believed that Jesus could heal his servant by just saying the word, it makes me wonder if the days of "great faith" are well and truly over. A lot of folks that I …( read more )

I was overwhelmed by the responses to my New Year's Eve devotional, Which Way To Go . Readers were very loving and understanding as I outlined my future needs while facing a move to residential care. I really appreciated the love and …( read more )

From January 1967 until December 1970, we lived in Vienna, Austria. At that time, Vienna had two major-league soccer teams, one near to where we lived and the other not too far away. Quite often on a Saturday afternoon, our young son and …( read more )

It was my 88th birthday, and I was receiving e-mails, cards, and flowers to my great enjoyment. One more event was coming, when one of my three sons and his wife drove some two hundred kilometres to take me out to lunch. I thought nothing …( read more )

God gives us different abilities, and mine is gardening. Our property lies beside the road and can be seen by strangers passing by. From spring to fall I'm outside, trowel in hand. The perennials obediently come into bloom every year …( read more )

With the coming of winter in the north, the cold, dry air quickly takes its toll on a person's skin. One must learn to be prepared and diligent to prevent problems. So each winter, I begin to use moisturizer, especially on my hands and …( read more )

I had to laugh when saw this Facebook meme the other night, because it's so true: "My entire life can be summed up in one sentence … 'Well that didn't go as planned.'" For sure, everything that we plan doesn't always work out the way …( read more )

Our challenge seemed simple but proved more difficult than we imagined. The final day of school is always a half day. Following our breakfast feast, it's off to the gym where eligible students receive various awards. What follows is two …( read more )

"It's not all about you!" a grade three teacher proclaimed one day when a pupil raised his hand and told her to stop reading. He needed to go to the washroom, but didn't want to miss story time. He expected the entire class to accommodate …( read more )

Last fall, I had a contents sale of my mother's personal stuff that she no longer needed or would have use of, as she had moved into a retirement facility. There were glasses, dishes, oil heaters, a wall unit, a sofa, a table and chairs, …( read more )

It was a very snowy winter. Snow after snow fell, day after day. We lived in a very white world. As spring thaw began, a team of horses pulling a sled suddenly went down so deep beside the winter-packed tracks that they threw snow over …( read more )

Sadly, I have read of many Aboriginal and Inuit teens attempting suicide in remote northern Canada. They experience depression at twice the rate of the rest of Canada. Many years ago, I worked in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, helping street …( read more )

I have moved house recently to a chalet bungalow on the very edge of town here in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The house is rather run-down and in need of major TLC. There was a holly tree that was planted some twenty years ago …( read more )

During the time when I lived in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, I saw many flocks of sheep in the desert area where we were building a 175-mile pipeline. On several occasions, I had to fly to our field office in the interior of the …( read more )

This past summer, my washing machine broke down. The part to fix it costs almost as much as a new machine. While debating what to do, I began to wash clothes by hand. Hanging dripping items outside on a hot, sunny morning is a pleasant …( read more )

Some years ago, I checked in at a high-rise hotel, and was instructed by the hotel clerk how to find my room. I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the floor to which I had been directed. When the door opened, I stepped …( read more )

Every morning, I clean up the manure in the corral. I use a short rake and a large shovel for picking it up and tossing it into either a sled or a wagon for hauling, depending upon the season. This morning as I was going about this daily …( read more )

As a child and teen, I fought my parents' rules tooth and nail, only realizing later how much obeying them had profited me. Forty-seven years later, I can still see the rules hanging in a frame on my bedroom wall. I can't remember them …( read more )

I am a person living with a mental illness. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder many years ago, when I was in my thirties. Given the nature of the illness, I have naturally had ups and downs. Each and every day, I need to make sure …( read more )

Can you imagine anyone risking their life for the sake of a selfie (a self-portrait using one's cell phone)? It happens, and that's why "Selfie-Free Zone" signs are posted in various areas of the world. Some spots are especially appealing …( read more )

While I was eating lunch with my sister-in-law and her little lad about three-and-a-half years of age, my sister-in-law's phone rang, and she left the table to answer. Just then, the little lad finished his bowl of spaghetti and cheese, …( read more )

What a glorious day it was when I discovered the undo button on my computer! "Undo" is a command in many computer programs that allows us to undo almost anything that we have done. With a click on the button, I can undo my last action or …( read more )

At the start of each year, it has been and continues to be my practice to revisit the routines for my quiet time with the Lord. Over the years, I have journaled after reading a daily portion of the holy Bible. I have also underlined …( read more )

I had once given up on making New Year's resolutions, because I never kept them. I now realize that the problem was that I had not consulted the Lord. They were my ideas of what I should do, or what other people thought! The image of a …( read more )