When I was a child, I used to like to play a game called King of the Hill. In this game, there would be a hill, and the person standing at the top of the hill was the "king". The object of the game was, of course, to be king. To get to … Read more

Do you ever try to tell God what to do? At times, I have certainly tried to orchestrate things. I say, "God, if You could take this step, then this step, and make this person do this and that, then I think that we'd have the problem … Read more

Harvest season has come to the Ottawa valley, and most of the crops have now been gathered, as the winds become cold and clouds scud across the fall skies. Yet, some fields still carry their corn and soybean crops, as the farmers wait for … Read more

When I was growing up, radios were quite different from what they are today. The digital world — not to mention satellites — changed everything. Now, I punch the scan button, and the radio automatically advances to the next clear … Read more

Throughout our lives, we all teach and are taught, some by profession, others only by example. We had a Sunday School teacher once who led us in Bible study, prayers, and hymns. On the odd warm Sunday afternoon, if we begged hard enough, … Read more

Like everyone else's, my days are full of decisions. What time do I want to wake up? What do I want to have for breakfast? What direction will I take to get to work on time? What am I going to do for dinner? Am I going to wash or iron? … Read more

When a friend of mine was evacuated from his home and town due to wildfire, I asked him if he had taken all his important legal papers, identification, and medical files with him. He told me that he had not. He had simply left quickly. My … Read more

On the Caribbean island of Antigua, a fellow-teacher and I followed a tour guide as she described the interior of a historic building. We were at Nelson's Dockyard at English Harbour, a cultural heritage site on the island. All of a … Read more

In our church, we have recently had a week of more concerted prayer. I am now free of the various causes of pain that I have had, so I was again able to stand and play my guitar in the group during the worship time on Friday. Jesus came … Read more

The other night, I had been crying for several minutes, totally depressed and sad about my friend, Susan, moving away, back to Ontario, 2,600 miles away. Then, I decided to pick up a devotional book which this same friend had borrowed … Read more

Recently, I said my final goodbye to one of my dearest friends. Jan and I met as freshmen at our small Bible college in Portland, Oregon, USA. Though we studied hard, we also wholeheartedly enjoyed all the fun that college life had to … Read more

I think I love this tree because it was on "death row" for so long. When we first even considered buying this house, we were sure that this tree had to go. It was with other trees that had overgrown and hidden the house. After all, it was … Read more

During the trip that my sister and I made to Italy in October, we travelled by train five or six times. The second day, we left our hotel in Rome, on our way to Naples. At the train station, the elevator was broken, so to get to the train … Read more

My daughter's dog, Pepper, is an escape artist. If there is a way to get outside of the yard, she will discover it — something which she did recently. Twice in two days she escaped the fence. I was charged with the task of finding out … Read more

One type of things that make personal computers easy to use are the little pictures on the screen called icons. Icons are interesting things — they take up almost no memory, and they exist for only one purpose: to point to the main … Read more

When I left my place of employment 35 years ago, I was given an hibiscus tree in a pot. We moved it with us, and it grew into a beautiful tree that was about four feet tall and three feet wide. In the summer, we would put it outside, and … Read more

Stopping for directions sometimes took a great deal of courage. In the days before GPS systems, smartphones, Google maps, Alexa, and Siri, finding an unfamiliar location could be challenging. Filling stations offered maps to travellers. … Read more

We all tend to get attached to the churches where we worship. Within the bricks and walls, stones and stained-glass windows, we find a womb-like sanctuary where we can feel the presence of God as we pray silently or praise God with … Read more

One of the positives from being incapacitated and not finishing the restoration upstairs was that I had some money left to employ someone to finish off the re-glazing of the doors of the French windows in our dining room. Earlier this … Read more

This is a story of two men. The first was my father. His name was Grant. Grant was born and raised on a small farm in Ontario, Canada. In 1939, while he peered into a mirror and carefully scraped shaving soap and a few sparse whiskers … Read more

In my experience, the Lord usually takes His time in answering prayers. Sometimes, we receive the answers that we are looking for, but sometimes, the answer is not what we expected. His answer might be Yes, No, Wait, or "I have something … Read more

Children are so motivated by rewards. When I teach French to my grandchildren, we usually play number bingo, using cards from my teaching days. They listen as I call out the numbers in French, and when they have a complete row, they shout … Read more

When Minnie, our miniature donkey, arrived, we were excited to meet the new member of our livestock family. Within a short time, however, we realized that something was wrong with her feet. Her hooves all pointed slightly upward, instead … Read more

One of the newest members of my congregation is Jeffrey Alexander. He is nine months old. You should know two things about him. First, he loves to cuddle, and second, he can sleep anywhere. He teaches me things about trust. I've heard … Read more

Today, I washed my windows and found myself happy and sad: happy when I found tiny little fingerprints on the window, but sad because I miss the one who put them there. A few weeks ago, my daughter, Missy, her husband, John, and my sweet … Read more

One of the ways I cope in difficult situations is to remind myself Who God is and how He has shown up for me in the past. These are three of my treasured touchstone memories. Anointing: As I trudged to work one morning feeling … Read more

She ran from her past, but she couldn't hide from it. Frances and her sister lived with an abusive father. Their mother died when they were both very young. Their father molested them sexually and drank continuously. Finally, child … Read more

As we visited multiple churches to worship with extended family and friends, my young son had become quite a connoisseur of the sacramental communion elements. He voiced his pleasure or displeasure in loud whispers from the pews. … Read more

I suspect that most of us have a predisposition to want more in life. Presently, I want more time to work. I had a minor surgery last month, and as a result, I am still not finished with the refurbishment that I undertook over two months … Read more

This past summer, I had the great privilege of attending a performance by the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. I was surprised by the crowded stage of 90 devoted youth musicians. Our local symphony is made up of only 60 members, so what … Read more