"I need this thing …". So begins the customer's request upon arrival at the hardware store. My husband, the employee, must next discern what is needed. "They don't always know what it's called," he said to me. "They don't know what's …( read more )
Search Results for: "Psalm 119:"
Our Need For Hope
What kind of sin steals a carefree childhood and spirals it into a world of alienation, shame, and secrecy? An evil that defies the very hope that Christ stands for, leaving hopelessness in its wake. Could it harm a child growing up in a …( read more )
A Contagious Passion For Scripture
That morning, my 94-year-old friend wasn't interested in small talk. She opened my phone call with these words: "I've been reading the Bible every morning! I want to cover whole books at a time! I love it!" She continued, "I just can't …( read more )
What Is Our Word Worth?
I recently upgraded my vehicle from a 2014 Terrain to a 2017 Terrain. I now had to sell my 2014 vehicle. I mentioned it to my neighbour, and right away, she said that she was interested. Thinking that it needed only brakes, I committed to …( read more )
The Boundless Word Of God
"God writes the Gospel, not in the Bible alone, but also on trees and in the flowers and clouds and stars." – Martin Luther I once viewed the Word of God as simply a system of laws and rules to obey. At least, that's what I absorbed …( read more )
Naming The Snakes
"BE AWARE OF RATTLESNAKES AND POISON IVY!" reads a warning about hiking in the Nez-Perce Clearwater National Forest in Idaho, USA. Such a sign didn't exist when I went skipping ahead of my family on a sunny morning across the ancient …( read more )
Will Your Anchor Hold?
When I was a young, ten-year-old boy, we packed up the car, filled the roof-top carrier, and headed 32 miles north of North Bay, Ontario, Canada, to go on a fishing vacation at a place called Beaverland Camp on the Martin River. The first …( read more )
Songs Of Praise
Praise God for the gift of music! Singing songs of praise can lift our spirits and fill us with His joy. I love to sing and give glory to God through praise songs and hymns. I play my favourite CDs when we are in the car. Lately, I have …( read more )
Got Wisdom?
We had just finally found a place to rent, a former karate studio over a downtown business with a beat-up wreck of a kitchen that looked unusable. Moving in that night, I fed the children and put them to bed before retiring ourselves. …( read more )
Hot Dogs And Holy Spirit Nudges
Recently, while I was at a local restaurant, I kept feeling a nudge in my spirit to go to a clothing store when I finished eating. As I arrived there, I recognized a homeless man named Mike. We struck up a conversation. "I can't give you …( read more )
The New Car
Don't get me wrong — I loved my old car. Though it was almost ten years old, it was easy to drive and was still in great shape. My family, however, strongly encouraged me to consider getting a newer car with better safety features. …( read more )
Light Therapy
It's that SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) time of the year again! I don't like the dark, and I'm longing for the days when they get longer again. I've been using my light therapy lamp since the beginning of November. It's become part of …( read more )
The Lamp In The Stable
As I was looking through some of the Christmas carols in the hymn books that we have, I noticed that a fair number of them refer to either the stable or the manger: "Once in royal David's city stood a lowly cattle shed" or "Child in the …( read more )
When I Was Lost
I've always been geographically dyslexic. My family used my inability as a reverse GPS. They'd ask me which way to go, and the opposite direction was always right. But I never thought that I could become spiritually dyslexic. It started …( read more )
The Eye Opener
A lady here in town had just come back from having cataract surgery. While out and about, she met a friend and excitedly exclaimed that she could actually see her friend's eyelashes! She was quite thrilled with this new clarity of sight …( read more )
The Teaching Steps
In November of last year, I had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land, along with my daughter and several others from my church. It was an amazing experience to walk the same ancient paths that Jesus walked and to see a number of …( read more )
Rainbows Of Colour And Flavour
Nostalgic 1940s twelve-pack gift books of Life Savers® and tins of hard Christmas candy in every colour of the rainbow were available at the corner pharmacy. There was candy wrapped in personalized Scripture, boldly printed for us to …( read more )
Faithful Planning
Throughout my career, I was involved in many projects. Some were small, lasting a few hours or days, involving few people, and having little financial impact. Some were enormous, lasting months or years, involving large teams of people, …( read more )
Lessons From Quilting (3): The Right Tool
"Let's go to that quilt show that I saw in the paper," I tell my best friend, also a quilter. And off we go to another display of creations by dedicated quilters. Most shows also have vendors — salespeople with a variety of tools, small …( read more )
Cleaning Windows
I look forward to spring, not only because of the work in my garden, but also for the many household chores involved. In a sudden surge of energy, spring cleaning includes washing blankets and polishing floors, reorganizing closets and …( read more )
Just Google It
Lately, I've been googling everything. If I need a recipe, I can google it. If I want to know how many calories or carbs are in a certain food, I can google it. If I want to find out where a restaurant is located in a city when I'm …( read more )
Gracious Company
The other day, I accompanied my husband to an early morning appointment with his eye surgeon. As he presented himself at the counter, I looked around for a good place to sit. My eyes were drawn to a row of six or seven empty chairs. …( read more )
Sweeter Than Honey
Did you, like me, write your first letters on a slate with chalk? In Jesus' day, it is said that, as a reward, teachers in Hebrew synagogue schools would put honey on the slates of children doing well. They were then allowed to lick the …( read more )
Great Expectations
In an Advent liturgy presented in our church, one word leaped off the page at me: "Expectations". That word rattled around in my brain for the rest of the service. What was so special about that word? As I reflected, I realized that I …( read more )
Shine A Light
Isn't it interesting that the Bible begins and ends with the light? God is goodness and light. Darkness is equated with sin and evil. As a new immigrant in Canada, I walked home alone one evening in the dark. I was confident because I …( read more )
Be Open To God
Recently, I had the opportunity to worship in one of the churches that my mother and I used to visit together. It was an early morning service, and the small church — no more than a chapel, really — was nearly empty when I arrived. I …( read more )
The Woodpecker
The woodpeckers are back. I hear their insistent rat-a-tat-tat from morning until evening. At home or in the bush while I am walking, they are hard at it, looking for the fulfillment of nourishment as they drill into trees in search of …( read more )
To Judge Or Not To Judge
"Judge carefully" … "Do not judge" … "Judge for yourself" … "Stop judging" – the Bible Well, is it okay to judge or not? The above texts aren't helpful, are they? It's no wonder: They're extracted from their contexts! Furthermore, …( read more )
How Have I Spent My Day?
I try to begin my days with a cup of coffee and my time with God. I begin with a few online meditations and continue into whichever specific book of the Bible that I have been studying. I know that my days unfold much better when I start …( read more )
Discerning God's Voice
One text message can change the course of a life. She really didn't want to come to church that Sunday night. After all, they were just showing the movie, God's Not Dead. But her husband wanted to come, so she obliged. Near the end of …( read more )
The Restorer
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 )