Our car muffler was making an awful racket. Previous muffler failures had taught us that we could expect a bill of at least three hundred dollars. We prolonged the agony, preferring to spend money on almost anything else. Finally, desperate … Read more

My friend has a chronic disease, one of those debilitating medical conditions that leaves her weak, often unable to work, and almost always in pain. Lately, except for visits to her doctor and an occasional visit to church where she … Read more

This morning while I was washing my dishes, I noticed a bird fluttering here and there. She was desperately trying to fit into a small opening in the eave of my neighbour's house where she was building a nest. I … Read more

I started teaching church school at the age of eighteen, and continued teaching children for many years. I have been fortunate to watch my earlier students grow up and become productive citizens in the community and leaders in their churches. … Read more

I love to watch the sun rise, to see it push away the shades of night and shine in all its splendour, prancing across the morning sky, like Joseph dancing in delight as he showed off his fashionable coat of … Read more

We have inherited two huge family Bibles from the Poole side of our union, which are resting on the bedroom floor, all twenty-four-plus kilograms, until I find a permanent home for them. Between their inch-thick covers is a tremendous amount … Read more

Often, I go for a walk at lunchtime, allowing my brain to be refreshed from the melee of students and computers, and giving my eyes a rest from the screen. One day, the streets were dirty and slippery in places, … Read more

When I was growing up, there was a period when my parents struggled to put food on the table for their growing family. That year, in the days before hospitalization plans, I was in a hospital several miles from home … Read more

My cordless phone sits cradled on a charger close at hand. I use it all the time. The other day, I picked it up, and there was nothing — no dial tone — the phone was silent. I thought at … Read more

My husband drives for an automotive dealership, transporting new cars from one dealership to another. It is almost incomprehensible to the human mind what some of these new vehicles can do. They are filled with computers that monitor functions from … Read more

My mother tried everything she could think of to encourage her youngest grandson to eat his supper. The two boys were visiting for the first time without their parents, and she wanted their mealtime to be a happy experience. However, … Read more

How often we have heard a few bars of a tune, or caught a faint fragrance of perfume, and are mentally transported to another place and to another time. Whenever I participate in congregational singing of that lovely song, "As … Read more

I recently joined a memoirs class. Memoir writing is popular because the way of life has changed greatly during the past century. There are many experiences my generation had that are no more. Progress has deleted them. The only way … Read more

It's spring. (I think!) Once more, closet clutter rears its ugly head. This is my basic rule: the person who inherits from me will throw it out. Give away anything you haven't used in the past year. Toss out clothes … Read more

"You should try this new product," a friend told me, after I complained that my hair was hanging down like Bugs Bunny's ears on a bad "hare" day. I hadn't been at the breakfast meeting very long before I began … Read more

Many grandmothers, like me, without a doubt, have a drawer in their dresser where they have stored up treasures over the years to give to the grandchildren when they are around. Like mine, they probably were quick to catch on … Read more

As I was away most of the fall doing "grandma duty", there wasn't much water consumption at my home. And so it was quite a shock to receive a water bill that was hundreds of dollars and gallons beyond our … Read more

It was mid-January, and the coldest January in recent memory. My car is relatively new and well cared for, so imagine my shock and frustration when I went to go out one frosty morning and it wouldn't start. The Motor … Read more

Our friend, Glenn, always delights us with stories of when he was working as a crane operator in a foundry. He used to work in the high overhead crane up in the rafters in the foundry building, moving metal around. … Read more

On our trip through the Holy Land, at the side of the road was a tomb, with the stone rolled to one side. The bus stopped, and those with cameras were given the opportunity to leave the bus for a … Read more

I have been privileged to visit some of the great palaces of Europe: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Scone Palace in Britain, Versailles in France, Rosenborg Castle in Denmark, and Drottningholm Palace near Stockholm, Sweden, to name a few. I … Read more

Last week, our choir director asked me to write a word picture about the meaning of compassion. As I prayed about how to word this, my thoughts turned to the anguish that God must have experienced when Adam and Eve … Read more

Like Peter, we often choose to watch from a distance. This is a part of our human nature. For example, my house is a short distance from the fire station that serves our neighbourhood. Even after many years of the … Read more

When I was growing up, my father always finished his breakfast with a sugared donut, often freshly made earlier that morning by my mother and left in the centre of the kitchen table under a domed dish. My younger brother … Read more

One of my dear friends absolutely loves roosters. She has replicas of roosters on cabinet tops in her kitchen. She has a mirror and cabinet in the front hall with roosters painted on them. She has salt and pepper shakers … Read more

For years, I've wondered how followers of Christ can inflict such deep hurts on others, and still call themselves Christians. About a year or so ago, I was revisiting the Scripture passage on the arrest of Jesus, and I noted … Read more

In the year of our Lord 2000, I traveled to Israel. With a group in the Holy Land, I came to experience the steps of Jesus, as we walked His route through Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday and His … Read more

Like most women, I do not like snakes. I run from their presence. I switch the channel if one shows up on television. I shudder at the very thought of being near one. In Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of … Read more

The wind blew and the trees swayed as a harbinger of the coming storm. The sky grew dark and the clouds rolled in to unleash a heavy snowstorm. Within a few minutes there was an inch of snow on the … Read more

My granddaughter firmly attached her tongue to a steel pole at school the other day. It took great effort and several people to detach pole from child. When she could talk, she explained that she wanted to see if it … Read more