Year: 2004

My Granny and Grandpa lived on the same street for more than forty years. A beautiful, shady maple tree grew on city property right in front of the house. After Gramps passed away, Granny began to focus all her attention … Read more

Recently, my daughter and I were having a mother/daughter chat. As we talked, we started remembering some of the more challenging episodes in our lives: her leaving home for the first year of university, and searching for her first job. … Read more

Today, students — most of them — are glowing with pride and bouncing with excitement, as they have been online to find out their results. All the nervous energy, now expended, has been suddenly washed over by the jubilation of … Read more

I'm embarrassed to admit that I was recently stopped for speeding. After looking over the necessary papers, the police officer asked me if I had ever had a speeding ticket before. I told him that I had had one other … Read more

I watched them jockey for position along the highway. The tractor-trailer driver needed to move to the centre lane because the bridges were too low where he was. However, the much smaller gravel truck just wouldn't move over. When the … Read more

As a child, I remember watching in fascination when Mr. Jones, the local grocer, weighed items on his scales. He explained that the weight on one side was a pound. When he piled enough potatoes on the opposite side and … Read more

Whew! This verse sure brings back memories. I have been on every low calorie, fat-free, carbohydrate-light diet ever written. (I even wrote some of them!) Each became my personal bondage, my personal jail cell. Like the Israelites, I became a … Read more

After last year's crop of tomatoes, which didn't amount to very much, I decided to change the soil. Early in the spring I removed much of the topsoil and replaced it with new. Now, it is necessary to understand that … Read more

Leah, our choir director's little girl, is a bouncy four-year-old with long blond curls and plenty of energy. One Sunday morning recently, I couldn't help but smile as I, from my position in the choir loft, watched her bound up … Read more

Before I came to pastor in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, I had been a part-time chaplain, as well as a full-time parish minister, at a local hospital in Scotland. I used to go around my assigned wards — cardiac, oncology, and … Read more