During the cold, snowy months, my gelding, Frank, does not get out of the corral very often. Once in awhile, though, I deliberately leave the gate open when I go in to feed and clean. When I do, Frank is quick to take advantage of the … Read more

Sunrise is moments away, and I eagerly wait to capture the moment for the hundredth time. I do this almost daily, waiting to snap the perfect picture. A few seconds one way or the other changes the result completely. Click. What moment … Read more

It all began so innocuously. One day last summer, I noticed a small bump, about four millimetres in diameter, close to the outer corner of my eye. I poked and prodded it a bit, and it bled a little, so I knew that I should probably just … Read more

Three years ago, I volunteered at Gleanings for the Hungry, a mercy ministry in Dinuba, California, USA. One of my jobs was gardening. I like weeding, usually. I like the way that a neat and tidy garden looks, as a result of pulling up … Read more

My husband was unemployed, so I needed a job. I was writing a monthly column for a national Canadian church paper, but we couldn't live on that. I was invited to an interview by an American firm that had just bought out the oldest … Read more

One of the dearest memories that I have from my teenage years is living in an old two-storey cement block house that had very little insulation. In the winter, we put plastic on the inside of the windows in the upstairs bedrooms to reduce … Read more

I met him on an informational walk on the Foothills Trail. He had thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, all 2190+ miles of it from Maine to Georgia, USA, within a twelve-month … Read more

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives the meaning of the common expression, "go the extra mile" as "do more than one is required to do." This phrase is based on the teachings of Jesus in today's text. Our world is so much better when we … Read more

One morning, I opened the jars of spices — cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger — to make gingerbread. Inhaling carefully, I closed my eyes as I tried to visualize God's purpose for His creation of spice-bearing plants and trees … Read more

I have been saying the Lord's Prayer for more decades than I like to admit — more than six now. In its original form, it was passed on to the disciples for their training. Hence, it also holds true for us, as modern-day disciples. Like … Read more

We were headed to Whitehorse, Yukon, with three dogs and two kids under five. An unexpected snowstorm was making driving very difficult. My daughter, needing to find a rest stop, pulled into one that we have used frequently. I didn't … Read more

Gazing at a favourite painting can bring feelings of joy and pleasure, bringing back good memories of a happy time in our lives. Perhaps, the painting holds significance for our family, or maybe, we just like the colours. As an artist, I … Read more

Hooray! I had successfully made a pot of delicious homemade cream of tomato soup! Successfully making cream of tomato soup is not always easy, given the tendency of milk to curdle when it is combined with acidic tomatoes. I enjoyed a hot … Read more

My grandfather had many admirable traits and a few that made life a bit difficult for his rambunctious grandkids. Grampy was a perfectionist. He was a boat builder who would tear out complete decking if things did not line up perfectly. … Read more

At the restaurant, I handed out little bags of candy hearts, the kind with words printed on them, to each of the volunteers with whom we were working for the month of February in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Valentine's Day was a good excuse to … Read more

How many of us can remember the image of Charlie Brown, of the comic strip Peanuts, sitting with his back against the mailbox post? He was dismayed that he had found no note from the little red-haired girl, who was the object of his … Read more

They were called filling stations, and for a good reason. When I was young, filling stations were places where people went to fill their vehicles with fuel. But they were quite different than they are today. They were full-service … Read more

Love and beauty fill every nook and cranny of an oak-tree-covered foothill farm, nestled in Penn Valley, California, USA. A young woman works at her dream to turn her grandparents' "Splendid Farm" into a self-supporting business so that … Read more

I've made many mistakes through the years, both foolish and sinful, so I often look to Jesus not just to accept and forgive me, but also to fully understand my failures and to redirect me onto the path that He hopes that I will follow. … Read more

My granddaughter was busy playing with a Play-Doh™ ice cream sundae machine, which she had received as a gift. I could tell that she was getting frustrated with one aspect of the toy, so I went over to see if she needed help. She said … Read more

Most of us think of investments in monetary terms. However, we can also make investments of time and energy by what we do and the actions that we take. The Oxford English Dictionary's first definition of the word "invest" is to "clothe a … Read more

White, puffy clouds billowed like fluffy mounds of whipped cream at my feet. At my feet? Yes, I was looking down on the banks of clouds from my window seat in the airplane. Seeing fluffy white clouds below with brilliant blue sky above is … Read more

When I was a young girl, The Sound of Music had just been released to the theatres, and I was invited to join neighbours on an evening outing to watch it. My friends were immigrants from Austria, and the father, Walter, had been raised … Read more

I can handle myself pretty well on social media, and I'm not taken by surprise very often. I do have 700 "friends", and there has been a time or two when that word "friend" has been pushed to the limit (really, who are you?) It was a bit … Read more

Is there anything cuter than a chuckling baby — happy, curious, and squealing with delight with every new toy? A baby exudes love, trust, and dependence to everyone in the room — often being the centre of attention. But how quickly the … Read more

It's amazing how one lump of putty can mimic life. Though I can't imagine many kids being satisfied with it now, Silly Putty™ provided hours of entertainment when I was a child. Unlike Play-Doh™, which would turn hard and crumble if … Read more

Although age is a privilege that many poor souls are denied, age is certainly not kind in numerous ways. Pain, critical health issues, and loss of loved ones come along, uninvited, to hinder our lives and deny us peace — so much so, that … Read more

My adventuresome 16-year-old brother was an avid fisherman, who, in times of flooding, hunted ducks, of which he had two in the back of Dad's 1967 Ford Bronco. He and his friend were exploring the creek that had flooded into a marshy … Read more