At the end of a Sunday evening dinner, some of us observed a resident taking the fresh flowers from several different tables. She assembled them into a small bouquet and left the dining room. Each Monday, fresh flowers are placed on our … Read more

This was the first Bible verse that I ever learned as a child. One of my elementary school teachers, Miss McKenzie, led an after-school program called Scripture Union. Each Wednesday, we gathered in the gym hall to sing choruses, watch … Read more

A grandmother purchased a book designed to introduce teen-aged readers to Jesus Christ. After reading it herself, she mailed it to her adolescent grandson for his birthday. About a week later, she received a letter from the lad thanking … Read more

In my garden, there are several beds of perennials. Each bed has a different name in order to identify it when I am describing a location to my husband. Apart from the obvious, like the Iris Bed and the Hosta Garden, there are the … Read more

"If you know who you are, you will know what to do." – Dr. Hendrik Kraemer Are you struggling with unsolvable problems? Do you feel lost? If so, I suggest the approach that my four-year-old son took when he got lost in Storybook Gardens. … Read more

We were in the Netherlands for three weeks during the spring of this year. On the evening of May the fourth, there were ceremonies, which were shown on television, to remember the people who had died in conflicts in which the Dutch were … Read more

"Fingerprints all over the place." My oldest grandson called the dirty storm door window to my attention as he and his younger brother stood looking out over the backyard. Of course, he failed to mention that both of them were the reason … Read more

Several years ago, one of the members of a church we attended lost her son to a drive-by shooting. As she grieved, and as we all did, I prayed and asked God how I might be used to be a comfort to her, and the following story was dropped … Read more

As I'm driving down a nearby street, I see two young girls playing croquet in their front yard. It's a simple game involving a wooden ball, a wooden mallet, and some wire hoops. The goal is to get the ball through the hoops in the right … Read more

Recently, we had a church picnic planned for a Sunday afternoon at a local conservation area. The weather forecast for the entire weekend wasn't good. Saturday was dull all day. The forecast for Sunday didn't look much better. Early … Read more

During the winter, Agnes, our goat, suffered a ligament injury to one of her hind legs, which resulted in her being fitted with a solid brace. The brace was meant to hold the damaged area in place, allowing it to heal and to give Agnes … Read more

I believe that God is continually eager to use us to help others if we are ready and willing. On June 29th of this year in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a blind gentleman stumbled and fell from the subway platform onto the tracks. A brave … Read more

"Sally has to go!" lamented the farmer. "It's because of her bad influence on the other cows. She's the dominant cow in the herd; and that's bad." This farmer, in the video that I watched, had seen enough of Sally's bad influence on … Read more

I like to look at Facebook several times a day. Because my family is so far away in Scotland, it gives me the opportunity to see what they're doing and to comment on their exploits. I am able to keep in touch with them in a remarkable way … Read more

I was fifteen when I went out to work at a farm, far from home, cleaning and cooking for the harvest crews in the wheat fields. I had no knowledge of the facts of life, nor could I have known that the farmer was used to taking advantage … Read more

Most of my time in the work force was spent working evenings, nights, and weekends. It seemed to be a good idea, because my husband was with the children when I was not. But I often missed family celebrations and church. My faith … Read more

Pulling cuckaburrows was a new experience for me in farm life. Visiting my maternal grandparents on the farm was always enjoyable. Every day was a new adventure, doing things that I had never experienced in the city. Along with my … Read more

One of my great pleasures in life is reading, but guilt sneaks in whenever I sit down to imbibe in a gluttony of chapters. "A waste of time," whispers the little voice in my head. "You must vacuum, dust, write something, or cook a meal … Read more

Do you believe in miracles? Over the past few days, the entire world has been watching the discovery and rescue of a team of twelve Thai boys and their coach, who were trapped in a cave in Thailand. It was a miracle that they were even … Read more

I was on my way to an appointment. I had only left the house and been driving for a matter of minutes, when I realized that I had forgotten something. I hurried back home, opened the front door and walked in. Immediately, I could sense … Read more

I never really thought too much about the first verse, and certainly not about the results that it could create. I have had situations that caused a lot of hurt and mixed feelings in the past. Then one day, it hit me: *Is there something … Read more

Now that the really warm weather has arrived, the horses get down to business shedding the last of their winter coats. They groom one another with their noses. They sidle up against the fence and then drag themselves along it to loosen … Read more

Sometimes, the things that we see deeply affect us. It may be a tragic news report on the television, or a picture posted online of some disaster far away. It could be the hurt that we see in a loved one's eyes, or real disappointment in … Read more

Among the two most repeated biblical commands are those that call us to fear God and those that call us not to fear. Today, I aim to demonstrate how these two key commands work together for our good. Healthy fear is a precious attribute, … Read more

I listened with delight to my eighteen-month-old granddaughter's attempts to repeat the words with which her brothers and sisters were coaching her. As I saw the pride on her parents' faces, I remembered my own children's first words. I am … Read more

To be honest, sometimes, I feel like the work that I do for the Christian church is too much for me to handle. Quite often, there are too many things to do and not enough time to do them. There are church services to prepare for; there … Read more

The peeping alerted me that something was amiss. A mother bluebird had hatched several nestlings in a birdhouse outside my office window. As I worked, I enjoyed hearing their peeps as the mother and father bird made numerous trips to … Read more

When my husband and I were asked to lead an Alpha small group at our church a few years ago, we were in the right place at the right time. Thus began many Bible studies and many special relationships with so many wonderful people in our … Read more

"Oh, no, he doesn't need any bottled water. He likes the tap water here. It's pretty good." The lady standing next to me in the bottled water aisle of my neighbourhood store continues her phone conversation, giving more details about that … Read more

Shortly after I came to know the Lord as my personal Saviour, I was going through an extremely difficult period in my life. The pot that was my life had been formed and fired, but it had imperfections that had to be corrected. It was then … Read more

Last year on Canada Day, I decided that the pony and cart would have to stay home, but the dogs could go. So I decorated my three-wheeled trike, put the dogs' Canada Day scarves on them, hitched four of them to the trike, while the other … Read more