During Holy Week, many Christians throughout the world symbolically follow Christ's journey to the cross to enhance their spiritual experience of the journey from Pilate's judgment hall to Calvary. Prayers and reflections are considered …( read more )

Leo was a 20-year-old student from France who came to my hometown of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, in order to complete his second year of a business program. He stayed with my family for much of his six-month Canadian visit, fitting …( read more )

I remember many, many years ago that every spring, my mother did her spring cleaning. It seems that a lot of people on our street did that on the same day or in the same week, as soon as the weather turned nice. There would be blankets on …( read more )

Contemplating the glorious scene at the empty tomb, I am intrigued by the positioning of the two angels, one at the head and the other at the foot of Jesus' sepulchre. Years ago, I heard an interesting illustration that has stuck with me, …( read more )

All through the season of Lent, we have been on a journey: a journey to the cross. Christians remember Good Friday as the day that Jesus died and Easter Sunday as the day that He arose. For six weeks, we have been reading and thinking …( read more )

Sometimes, instead of listening to Jesus, I listen to my own thoughts and ideas. I end up making foolish choices and stupid mistakes which Christ could have helped me to avoid. I thought that the older I got, the wiser I would become. …( read more )

I love the psalms! They express for me what I am unable to — thoughts and feelings that I would not think of putting into words — like disappointment, restored joy, abandonment, thanksgiving, grief, trust in God, or a cry for justice. …( read more )

Snowflakes drifted slowly down from above, all shapes and sizes. I remembered from a long-ago science class that supposedly no two snowflakes are the same. Since I have not examined all the snowflakes in the past, and I really doubt that I …( read more )

All of my life, it seems to me that I have been in a hurry for some reason or other. For example, I have always been the first person at the table to finish my meal. I never thought much about it until recently, when God opened my eyes to …( read more )

One winter evening many years ago, when I was in active ministry, we held Bible studies in my home, the church manse, where we read the Bible, prayed, and shared. We often finished our time together with the Lord's Prayer. We gathered in …( read more )

Gardening has been one of my favourite pastimes for a number of years. As the warm temperatures of spring make their arrival, I'm always eager to plunge my hands into the dirt. My anxiousness often has its drawbacks. Many replanting …( read more )

As a young adult who was fond of long hair, I noticed that, with few exceptions, many female movie stars had shortened hair styles. I recall the 1970 movie, Love story: Actress Ali MacGraw revived the trend of long hair in the film …( read more )

I was born and brought up in Glasgow, Scotland. At one time, there used to be over a million people living in the city. Glasgow prospered due to being situated on the banks of the River Clyde, where great ocean-going steamships were …( read more )

During the week between this past Christmas and New Year's, two white, pea-size eggs were carefully deposited in a nest the dimensions of an enlarged, thumb-sized thimble. The nest had been painstakingly constructed from spider webs and …( read more )

The message on the billboard caught my attention as we travelled the highway to home. It read, "STAY AWAY FROM POWER LINES", in large bold letters, along with an icon of a power pole. The message was obvious: the local power company was …( read more )

Are you looking for a book to read, one that contains history and mystery, interesting facts and inspirational stories, as well as an occasional romance? If so, I would like to recommend one that I have read a number of times. The book is …( read more )

The first mountain I ever saw was the Blue Mountain in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada. Actually, as mountains go, it is really only a very big hill. Not only did I see it, but we also lived on it. My dad worked in an orchard, and we lived in …( read more )

For the first five years of life in our present home, we lived with walls throughout most of the house that sported pink and yellow insulation covered in vapour barrier. At first, this took a bit of getting used to, but over the years, it …( read more )

The grease-stained pizza boxes were piled high in the corner of the upper room as youth group neared the half-way mark of the night. A delightful assortment of teens chatted away, filling that tiny space with a cacophony of giggles, …( read more )

"Many is the night when I awake and there is a song going through my mind." "Too many times to count, songs and music have sustained me." These are a few of the many responses to my recent meditation, " My Songs In The Night ". Actually, …( read more )

As I was perusing an article in my monthly health magazine, I was astonished to read that 500 to 1000 species of bacteria inhabit our intestines, and that equates to roughly 100 trillion micro-organisms, all prepared to defend our bodies …( read more )

She suffers patiently. I'm not sure that I could under her circumstances. Though a relatively young woman, my wife suffers from numerous health issues. Fibromyalgia makes each day painful. Several hernia surgeries prevent her from doing …( read more )

Like most people, there are some days when I would like to run away from all of my responsibilities, travel somewhere remote, and just be all by myself. I sometimes daydream about getting in my car, driving as far west as I possibly can …( read more )

Many years ago, when I first started hearing audible voices, I was in touch with a dear friend from my teenage days. She gave me the following good, sound advice: This is hard advice to follow, but it helps me very much: Keep an attitude …( read more )

In North America, we have what is called Daylight Saving Time, which merely means turning our clocks ahead one hour. This action is done on the second Sunday of March. In actuality, we don't get a minute more of daylight. What we do get …( read more )

Due to caring for elderly parents and dealing with family health issues, some days have felt especially dark and heavy, and I haven't been writing lately. But recently, today's verses challenged me to look for joy in the Valley of …( read more )

I'm not saying that God created a storm just to give me a gift of His love, but here's what happened. It all started a few months ago when a fellow writer sent me a note encouraging me in my new life as a widow. It became the basis of the …( read more )

Over the past few years, I have attended three live animal programs. These shows included presentations by air, land, and sea animals. I saw everything from camels to mice responding obediently to the voice of their trainers. One of my …( read more )

Some time ago, someone asked me a question: "Why does someone your age keep so busy? Isn't it time you slowed down?" This question made me think about seniors who do all kinds of work. There are seniors who volunteer at long term care …( read more )

It is seldom now that others mention or even remember that grief continues to be a big part of my life. That's why this note from a fellow devotional author caught me by surprise. Dear Brenda, I guess you are now settled into being the …( read more )

Frank was enjoying his gallop along the winding road every bit as much as we were. The evening sparkled and hosted just enough breeze to deter the bugs and bring refreshment from the heat of the day. As we approached our friend's …( read more )