One of our memorable Christmas pageants had the junior Sunday School playing the parts of the Biblical characters. Mary and Joseph, with their ceramic doll Jesus, sat quietly and almost beatifically until the arrival of the bathrobed magi. Then as … Read more

Most of us have, or have had a wonderful, warm comforter. Something to snuggle in on cold winter nights. A "friend" to wrap around our weary bones which ache with arthritis, or call out for comfort when we have a … Read more

Last fall, I went through what some would call a "bad patch". A bad patch is an experience that comes at the wrong time, just like when one is driving through a bad patch, it causes sluggishness to one's wheels. … Read more

I was living in Monterey, California, USA, at the time, 2,000 miles away from the man I loved. The phone rang late one night, waking me up. It was Randy! The minute I heard his voice I was instantly awake. … Read more

One of the sheer delights of taking a "nature walk" on these West Coast Islands, comes in seeing plants and flowers flourishing in places in which they are not indigenous. The birds "planted" the seeds. Oh, I'm sure it occurs … Read more

John Westerhoff was invited to Northern Ireland to lead a spiritual retreat on reconciliation with a mixed group of Catholics and Protestants, young and old. He was feeling like a failure as the week slipped by and old animosities seemed … Read more

I've always thought of today's verse in much the same terms as throwing a bottle with a message in it into the ocean, to see if and where someone would find it. And there's a spiritual analogy to that. Because … Read more

When I am reminded of these verses about the tongue, I am reminded of the children's story with a tube of toothpaste. The children are asked to squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube which they usually do with much … Read more

Thirteen of us from our volunteer group had been looking forward to attending a workshop with great anticipation. This was going to be such a great experience. This one was going to offer us new tools, more answers, enable us … Read more

On January 1, 1998, I made a New Year's resolution. Normally I try to avoid resolutions because I believe they set me up for failure. It's so hard to start new things in the dark cold winter. Yet, each year … Read more

Hugh Martin in a wonderful work, "The Parables of the Gospels", tells the story of a rather rough, uncultivated man who fell in love with a beautiful vase in a shop window. He bought the vase and put it on … Read more

A radio or television commercial usually consists of three parts: the "intro", which signifies the beginning and is usually a bit of catchy music; the "donut" or middle, which contains the message; and the "extro" which signifies the ending, and … Read more

In the child's game, King of the Hill, the object was to be king. I find that I like to be at the top of my "hill". I like the heady feeling of being in control, of having the best … Read more

When I was a child I used to like to play a game called King of the Hill. In this game, there would be a hill, and the person standing at the top of the hill was the "king." The … Read more

The head nurse on the floor on which I volunteered gave a deep sigh. Upon my acknowledging it, she said she just wished she had some time, so the next day I presented her with a little bottle of thyme, … Read more

Our congregation gave a gift not long ago. It was a gift in honour of a wonderful woman of one hundred years. What do you get for someone turning one hundred? Let me tell you what we did as a … Read more

A short time ago I began to make a close study of Matthew, Mark and Luke to discover exactly what Jesus had for his top priority. I learned that the first move of the newly baptized and Spirit-filled Jesus was … Read more

E-mail is so wonderful. It is quick and inexpensive. It enables you think out a message, change it, fix it, and "zip it off". An answer can be obtained immediately. Messages can be sent back and forth several times a … Read more

What do you say at a memorial, or funeral service where the deceased has lived a lifestyle not quite like yours? A few years ago I was called by a mom and dad whom I had married some years before. … Read more

You know who Dear Abby is, don't you? Many people open a newspaper to her column first thing, while others are scanning the obituaries for familiar friends. The format of Dear Abby and copycat columns (see how many of the … Read more

Last night at church, after readings from John and Isaiah as part of our "Listening in Lent", we were given some interesting instructions. If we were people who were used to embracing others, offering an extended hand or a gentle … Read more

A primary grade teacher was doing a unit on magnets. For the quiz on the subject, she posed the question, "My full name has six letters. The first one is 'M'. I pick up things. What am I?" To her … Read more

My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite; silk, handmade … Read more

In our home, one sure sign of spring is the beginning of Little League. Sometimes I think we live on the field, between scheduled practices and games for two sons on different teams. As a non-ball playing parent, I have … Read more

After being sent yet another attachment for which I did not have the necessary decoding programs, I decided to "clean out" my computer… purge it of all the unwanted, undeciphered attachments that were just taking up space in my e-mail. … Read more

I'm not a bad cook when I put my mind to it and I love to come up with new creations from time to time. But it is never wise to ignore the advice I get from the 'experts' in … Read more

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried: Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied. I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate, And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait." "Wait? You say 'wait'," my indignant reply, "Lord, I … Read more

It is fine to give someone the gift of a tool, or a gift which states "some assembly required"… but not if you leave out the instructions. The gift then becomes a burden because they want to use it, but … Read more

Your life will be enriched as you give and as you are willing to receive love. Your release of love toward others will affect their health for the better. An experiment involved giving a dozen rabbits tender, loving care. Their … Read more

The Chinese have a way of saying a great deal using simple characters that join together to convey meaning. They have a character that stands for peace. It is made up of three separate characters. The first is ping, meaning … Read more

A friend invited me to a workshop in her church, which was to be conducted by an Anglican Priest. "There's a write-up about her on the religious page", she said, "they've called her the 'Hermit with a Permit.' ". Sure … Read more