As much as I love God — and believe me, I really do love Him — it seems that there are times when I feel so far from Him. Now if I'm going to honest — and that I must be — the feelings of isolation usually start with a decline in my …( read more )

Before Christmas, my husband and I were in England when the big news was the rail strike. England enjoys a complex network of both surface and underground trains. They interconnect like a giant spider web: a maze of tunnels, escalators, …( read more )

As I go through each day and get to an advanced age, I tend to be more mindful of the blessings that God bestows on each of us. He has sent showers of blessings to us over the years, just as He has promised. One of those blessings is the …( read more )

Christmas and shepherds go together! But I've discovered that focusing instead on Baby Jesus as the promised Shepherd brings a new level of meaning to Christmas. One of the little-quoted prophecies of God Himself coming as a shepherd is …( read more )

We've been hearing alarming reports on the disappearance of honeybees around the world. Bees leave their hives, never to return. It's called colony collapse disorder. The hives cannot be sustained in the absence of worker bees, and …( read more )

In 1965, Pierre Berton wrote a bestseller entitled The Comfortable Pew: A critical look at Christianity and the religious establishment in the new age. He ends the book with an optimistic prescription that a transformation is …( read more )

I have a clear picture of a host of Christians who have gone before us sitting around the banquet table with Jesus in heaven. The fellowship and meal are a greater experience than our limited words can express. The bounty … (read more)

Recently, a beagle wandered into our neighbourhood behaving like a lost dog. Doubtless, in his doggy mind, he was having an adventure. Trailing a chewed-off leash behind him, he was having the time of his doggy life. He saw absolutely … (read more)

My eldest daughter was travelling from Roanoke, Virginia, USA, to Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, one morning for a business conference, a distance of about 265 miles. Even although she is twenty-one, I always pray for her safety whilst flying. I woke … (read more)

For many years when I was a child, we never had running water. Or maybe we did: someone would have to run out to the well to pump it into a bucket and run it to the house. Mom much … (read more)

Years before she was married, my mom used to work on a farm which, strangely enough, was in the heart of the parish where I later ministered for nine years. She usually worked alongside the shepherd and learned many of … (read more)

Over the past several years, I have enjoyed reading books about plants of the Bible. There are so many interesting stories about biblical plants, but often there are many controversies, as well, regarding the exact plant referred to in a … (read more)

Oh, but I do want! I want sparkling, riveting words to appear on the computer screen as my fingers press the keys. I want to approach "parent-teacher conferences" with smug confidence rather than fearful apprehension. I want more time to … (read more)