Our house burned to the ground when I was a young teenager. At that time, clear across town, the city was planning to build a highway through a fancier neighbourhood, which meant tearing down every house that stood in its way. With our …( read more )

The sound of the violent wind roaring around the house was terrifying. As I peered nervously out into my backyard, I could see the wildly swinging branches of the trees tearing at my eavestrough as they whipped back and forth along the …( read more )

I once counted up the times that I have moved through my life — a total of 35. That meant moving everything — pets, books, dishes, furniture — sometimes to another country, city, province, or state — changing mailing addresses and …( read more )

There have been times in my life when I have listened to the nudgings of the Holy Spirit, like in the early 1970s when we sponsored our first foster child, Marilou, from the Philippines. I was very faithful in writing letters and sending …( read more )

Recently, we had a church picnic planned for a Sunday afternoon at a local conservation area. The weather forecast for the entire weekend wasn't good. Saturday was dull all day. The forecast for Sunday didn't look much better. Early …( read more )

I believe that God is continually eager to use us to help others if we are ready and willing. On June 29th of this year in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a blind gentleman stumbled and fell from the subway platform onto the tracks. A brave …( read more )

Almost two decades ago, a young girl from Zimbabwe won a scholarship to study at a university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. This was quite an accomplishment, and she was understandably very excited. However, three weeks before she was …( read more )

In mid-April, we in Ontario, Canada, experienced an ice storm that lasted three days and covered the previously showing grass with snow and then freezing rain. Over that same period, our mountain ash tree was inundated with robins that had …( read more )

My toddler granddaughter loves prune plums. My daughter buys the canned ones, as they are much softer and easier for the baby to eat. Not long ago when I was minding the baby, I had to open up a new can of plums for her breakfast. I …( read more )

Our grey tabby cat, Joey Been, was so called as it truly seemed that he had been everywhere — a born adventurer. We never knew where we might find him next. One day, however, Joey and his whereabouts really took me by surprise. It was …( read more )

This past summer, friends of ours flew in unexpectedly to nearby Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for a holiday. By the time that we had found out about their visit, they had already rented bicycles and cycled all around the lengthy …( read more )

Some time ago, I was asked to visit a lady in the hospital. She had just survived a serious operation, she was in extreme pain, and she was worried about her husband who was at home alone and not coping well. She wanted to tell me about …( read more )

My mare, Mama had a crippled front leg when I bought her. How it happened, I don't know. For many years, she wore a leg brace, which was helpful in keeping her comfortable and mobile. One morning, however, we looked out to the corral and …( read more )

Whenever my husband and I travel upstate to visit our son, we pass by a home that has a sign on the front lawn. In bold, red letters, it says, "Psychic Readings". Then underneath, it advertises, "$10 special". The sign always brings back …( read more )

Tomorrowland, the movie, is a 2015 American science fiction adventure film. The film tells the story of a former boy genius, jaded by disillusionment, and a young girl, bright, optimistic, and bursting with scientific curiosity, who …( read more )

Devastation! — the only word to describe the horrendous scenes of destruction caused by vicious tornadoes and torrential rain which built up into furious flooding, washing out dams, sweeping away countless homes, and resulting in loss …( read more )

Bastian, a quiet boy who loves to read, is accosted by bullies on his way to school. He hides in a bookstore, interrupting the grumpy bookseller. Bastian asks about one of the books he sees, but the bookseller warns him that it is not …( read more )

We have had a Yellow Labrador Retriever from the age of six weeks. We brought him into the house as a pet for the boys when they were little. Well, if the truth be known, it was I who wanted a Lab, as we had had a black one when growing …( read more )

"God willing": I used to say those two words all the time. Whenever I talked to someone on the telephone, and, at the end, I said, "See you soon," I would add those two words: "God willing." It seemed that whenever I set up a future …( read more )

As a little girl, for a time, I kept a journal. In it, I would write about the ups and downs of my days, scoldings I didn't deserve, maybe, or picking strawberries down the road at our neighbour's house. Each day was a new beginning, an …( read more )

As I looked out my window this morning, I noticed a large, dark cloud looming behind the big evergreen tree on the front lawn. As I continued to look at the cloud, it became evident that the whole cloud had a glowing outline — something …( read more )

In the late springtime, I found myself outdoors in the early morning, enjoying the quiet part of my day before entering into the business of Saturday. My family and weekend house guests were still fast asleep indoors, soon to wake. As I …( read more )

I had always wanted a horse, and our neighbour seemed to have just the right one for me. He was an old, retired pack horse, reliable, friendly, well-mannered, and very, very large. So large, in fact, that when I was in the saddle and he …( read more )

Recently, I received an interesting e-mail in response to a post I had written in 2006 on ancestry.com. As you can imagine, I was very surprised and delighted finally to receive an answer after all this time! Even more amazing, this …( read more )

Some seasons in life bring triumph, some bring trials, and some bring a little of both. As winter transitioned into spring this year, to my dismay, it nudged me further into my season of spiritual stillness, a season designed to … (read more)

Thud! Something hit the glass, and I guessed it had to be a bird. Looking outside, sure enough, there on the ground was a goldfinch, lying on its back — stunned! Not wanting to leave it there, I immediately went … (read more)

When I was in graduate school, I was part of a group that modelled a certain technique to the class using a fish bowl exercise. How it worked was that a group of six of us plus the professor sat … (read more)

"I didn't climb the corporate ladder as quickly as I wanted." "I am not able to have children." "My family isn't as close as I wanted them to be." "My job isn't as prestigious as my friend's." "My car isn't … (read more)

Entertainment is rare at the doctor's office, but on one visit, a young mom and her four-year-old twins kept us all in smiles. We needed a smile because my husband, Ron, was in the last stages of cancer. Likely hoping … (read more)

My almost-two-year-old great-nephew, Levi, is a curious tot. Knowing that, it was only natural for him to reach for a slice of the lemons that the waitress had put on the table. Immediately, several adult hands reached out to stop … (read more)

About six years ago, when I was nineteen, I was in a serious car accident, and survived by a matter of centimetres. I broke a vertebra in my back, and was forced to lose a semester at college. I later … (read more)

Besides looking at old family photos, I sometimes enjoy listening to the voices recorded on an old fashioned reel-to-reel tape player. These familiar voices of my past brought back many childhood memories I had since forgotten. I heard a six-year-old … (read more)

I enjoy word puzzle searches. Word puzzles are made up of a grid composed of letters which form words. There is a list of words with each puzzle. The trick is that the words can go in any direction on … (read more)