Year: 2009

An old martial arts saying was passed around: "If you are going to have to go into a den of rattlesnakes, become a rattlesnake." The rattlesnakes do not prey on each other; they attack others. This is just another way of saying that we … Read more

When I was at high school, I had a part-time job on an ice cream van. For four nights a week, I used to serve up cones, wafers, and popsicles to families all over the subdivisions where the van travelled. On hot summer nights, the kids … Read more

With a new baby and a wreck of a house, I have a tendency to be focused on the job to be done: it is easy to do. Consequently, I am task-orientated, with a noticeable sense of satisfaction when a task is done. However, as I get older, … Read more

The sky was the most elegant blue I have ever seen. Our church building is located just on the edge of our city, surrounded by trees and farmers' fields. As I looked down the road in the distance, I saw the homes, the beginning edge of … Read more

Recently, I joined Facebook. I really enjoy reading what other people are up to each day and sending them words of encouragement and laughter in the "Comments" section. It's a wonderful way of keeping in contact with friends, both near … Read more

I grew up in a time of peace, not war. I immigrated to my adopted country, and have lived here in war-free peace. In the early days of my renewed Christian life, I came across today's Scripture verse. The phrases "great peace" and … Read more

One winter's evening, I arrived to collect my mother-in-law from where she had arrived at the coach station. I was a few minutes late, so, like a gun dog, I feverishly scanned the horizon for my target. There in the gloom of the … Read more

I didn't know it at the time, but my name and telephone number were etched onto a wall inside a cell of the local police station. At some point, I must have helped someone in the Scottish town I was serving, and he or she had marked it on … Read more

How many of us like novelty tunes? Novelty tunes are funny songs. They were very popular when I was a teenager. We listened to such tunes as "The Purple People Eater", and "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini". But one of my … Read more

It was a beautiful spring Saturday morning — not a cloud in the sky. After a long and harsh winter, it was a welcome sight. After collecting a few dried-up leaves and some wayward recycling from the yard, I was ready for a stroll … Read more