On a recent trip to the north-eastern part of our province of British Columbia, Canada, the farther north we travelled, the more I was saddened to see what seemed to be a high number of fatal accident memorials beside the … Read more

This week my wife and I lost a dear friend through death from cancer. She died painfully, struggling to the very end. It is so easy to ask, "How can this happen? Why? Why?" If we try to find a … Read more

It didn't look like a tree, more like a giant white thimble that had been abandoned by some fantasy giant, in the forest where I was skiing. All the other trees had shed their covering of snow and were standing … Read more

There is always something wonderful and stirring about Palm Sunday. Many of us celebrate by waving palm fronds in our churches just the way the people did at the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. We sing songs with the … Read more

A couple of years ago I went on a five-five day hiking trip in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada. There were about ten of us and we had only ourselves, our gear, and our own personal determination. Most people in the … Read more

One day, my wife and I were busy tidying the kitchen when she reached into a cabinet and accidentally elbowed a glass. It careened to the floor and smashed into what seemed like a million pieces. Our cleaning project came … Read more

On a recent road trip into snow-filled country, I was somewhat distressed when I saw a little donkey hunkered down in the snow beside a big bale of hay. How cold and cruel it seemed that the little donkey be … Read more

This past winter in my adopted province of Alberta, Canada, I have experienced something called hoarfrost. This happens when a heavy fog freezes on everything. The most beautiful sight is trees, which have been bleak and dreary one day, covered … Read more

Last spring I found myself continuing to be employed in a job that I no longer enjoyed. I struggled to accept God's will which seemed that I should stay in my present work. I was becoming increasingly desperate. One night … Read more

What trial are you going through right now? Better yet, what has it caused you to do? Has it moved you to draw closer to the Lord, or caused you to wander off the path a bit? Has it caused … Read more

Not being what I would consider "computer literate", I limit myself not only as to how much I know about what my computer can do, but also as to how much I can do with the programs I have. For … Read more

Late last year I wrote Home Before Christmas . It tells the story of a visit I made to my hometown in the wake of my Mother's passing. I grew up on a short side-street of a dozen houses. … Read more

A week ago we said goodbye to Florida's temperatures of seventy-eight degrees, to come back to Ontario. We travelled through rather bleak scenery, as spring has not yet brought bloom to the trees. The roads were dry, no rain or … Read more

When we make photocopies of documents we can only make so many copies before the ink in the copier must be replaced. If we do not replace the ink cartridge with a new one, the copies will begin to fade … Read more

I love to see the dew drops glisten as they cling to the bare branches of my birch tree. Love the way the water whooshes up around the wheels of a car driving in the rain. Love to walk out … Read more

I pray for God's guidance. I continue to be frustrated in my career. I sit silently and ask God to speak to me. Later that evening I take out a counted cross-stitch picture I started months before and laid aside. … Read more

As a child I had always been fascinated with space and I still carry that love with me. I was lucky enough to do some contract work for NASA. Through this work I was fortunate to work with a group … Read more

Upon telling a friend that when our kids were young, they each saved a Christmas gift to keep for opening on Ukrainian Christmas (January 7th), to honour their grandmother's heritage, she asked, "Who chose which gift would be kept, you, … Read more

Walking on the campus of a famous law school, a man fell into conversation with a student. The man asked the student, "When you have completed your studies, what do you intend to do? "I shall take my Doctor's degree." … Read more

During moose hunting season this past year, my father-in-law could not go. Unfortunately, he had the vehicle for getting into the woods, so I had to walk in to the hunting site. In addition, I needed someone else to go … Read more

One day years ago, when we went to church, we were given a round circle with the words "To It" written on it. The minister explained that so many people really have good intentions, but they say they'll do something … Read more

It happened in Nova Scotia during the summer of 1949. The Presbyterian Sunday School children in Orangedale, on Cape Breton Island, were taking part in a Church Service. My wife Jean and I would have forgotten the occasion completely except … Read more

When I was serving in the Navy, I was stationed on a ship for four and a half years. During that time I had a need to achieve. I was not content just to do my job. I had a … Read more

Snow has always come as a gift to me. When I was little, we made snow forts and snow balls. We flopped back into the snow, moving our arms from our heads to our sides, and our legs together and … Read more

WOW! Who could measure up, who could enter His tabernacle on those terms? I think of Job in the passage where he tells God that he does not deserve his severe suffering because he has lived an upright, blameless life. … Read more

On one of the last cruises I was on in the Navy, we got caught in a hurricane. The ship I was on was not very big. Within the hurricane the waves had risen to 55 feet, so our little … Read more

My dog and I walk the same route every day, and yet, to watch her, you would think it to be completely new territory for her, and maybe it is. She steps out into the clear, fresh air, looks eagerly … Read more

Several years ago I was on a train, returning home from a tax seminar. The train was crowded and I was sharing the row with a complete stranger, an older black gentleman. As well-trained and polite travellers should, we acknowledged … Read more

About five years ago I was travelling a lot for work. When I was on those trips I used to enjoy reading a great deal, so one day I walked into a Waldens in town and started to look for … Read more

"Let us run with patience" — it seems to be an oxymoron, for me at least, for I tend to be always thinking ahead. I constantly have to remind myself to appreciate the moment, for it is such a fleeting … Read more

Today I opened an e-mail I had received to find what appeared to be a blank page. As I scrolled down to the bottom of the page, I found a familiar signature, which told me that whatever was written above, … Read more