It was a typical Sunday morning with a full house ready for worship. The singing and music were uplifting, the prayers were heartfelt, and God was obviously moving by His Spirit. What wasn't typical was the fact that I had had an … Read more

A universe opens to me when I sit down with a good book. I especially like reading something about which I know little or nothing. A recent example was a book called The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb. I learned that during the early … Read more

It was 74 years ago last September 6th that I won a race. It was at a church picnic. All the members of the church were recent immigrants from the Netherlands, and there was a great number of children, so those in charge decided that it … Read more

Some memories of summer camp days linger — long, warm days at what was then known as Gracefield Presbyterian Centre, near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. As camp counselors, we always planned games for our young campers. One was a group race, … Read more

I feel as though I have spent most of my life preparing for the next thing on the agenda. As a child, school prepared me for life in general. College then helped me to prepare for a career. A first job was a starting point, which would … Read more

Have you ever been handed counterfeit money? Some photocopied counterfeits are easy to spot, but others are really well crafted and hard to detect. Law enforcement officers and banking staff know what counterfeit money looks like. They … Read more

Many moons ago, I was employed as a substitute teacher at a nearby Christian daycare. The regular teacher needed to take some additional training classes, and I would be filling in the K-4 K-5 class until she returned. I asked the … Read more

Sometimes, I find myself thinking that God has no more for me to do, as I am old. Then, I remember that the apostle Paul said that he was old, too, a vulnerable thing to admit. But lately, when people ask how I am, I say, "Elderly", … Read more

Sadly, on May 16th of this year, I lost one of my closest and dearest friends, Parise Arakelian. Often, when I tell others how we met through this PresbyCan ministry, they are surprised to hear that we never actually met in person, but … Read more

The summer of 2018 is bringing a severe drought to southern Ontario, Canada. Farmers are expressing their concerns about the possibility that there is going to be a partial, if not total crop failure of the various types of grains which … Read more

For my first Christmas as a new grandma, I received a very special present from my grown daughter, the sister of the baby's father. It was a collection of books containing her favourite childhood bedtime stories for me to share with her … Read more

My wife loves the challenge of doing jigsaw puzzles. She handpicks each piece and ponderingly places it somewhere on the board. The individual piece may fit, or she may set it nearby for an eventual link to some other piece of the puzzle. … Read more

During His trial, Jesus was asked by Pilate, "What is truth?" (John 18:38 NKJV) It seems that in today's world, the subject of truth is a rather slippery one. Many prefer to live in a world of relativism where there are no absolutes. … Read more

"When I grow too old to dream, your love will live in my heart." How many reading today remember that old song sung by Vera Lynn? Yesterday, we celebrated the birthday of the youngest daughter of my son, who mentioned, "Do you know … Read more

It was one of those games. Three-letter words, one after another. My Scrabble tiles were invariably either all vowels or all consonants. What a task trying to discover words that could link with other words already on the board! I was … Read more

Having begun training my young colt, Jesse, I am amazed to watch Jesse's brother Frank's behaviour toward his sibling. Frank is a cart horse. Since I desire Jesse to be a cart horse, too, so that he and his brother may eventually become a … Read more

A few months ago, I read a thought-provoking sermon based on today's Scripture by the famous nineteenth-century preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. The sermon outlined several important lessons that we can learn from this verse. I was … Read more

When I was a boy, most churches still had two services on Sunday. An hour before the evening service, which was usually of an evangelistic nature, the members of the Open Air Band would gather in one of their designated … Read more

While reading through the second chapter of the book, I Dared To Call Him Father, an autobiography by Bilquis Sheikh, I was struck by her expression, glowing embers — the words she used to describe the effect of God's Word … Read more

"Red" was the horse we used at the rodeos to run in competition racing. Once the race was over and he left the track, he behaved himself, going down the main street of our small town. But as soon as … Read more

"Go, son, go!"; "Stay with the man"; "Run, run, stay with the ball"; "Shoot the ball"; "Go for the net!" All are familiar phrases heard by and shouted by many parents on a soccer field, night after night. "Neither rain nor snow nor sleet … Read more

I was concluding a course I was taking on preaching the Word of God when I was asked two questions: (1) Do you agree that there is theological illiteracy in the church today? and (2) Do you think a distinctive theological (not technical!) … Read more

When my grandchildren visit, I stock up on junk food to make them happy during the short time of their visit. I can get by with this, knowing that their parents will allow me to indulge them, but they will get them back on the straight … Read more

One Sunday during his sermon, our pastor took water in a glass, dry whisky (popularly known in some parts of our country as afawfaw) in another glass, and an earthworm. In the glass of water, he put the earthworm, and … Read more

I could not sleep. I sat looking out the window at the snow falling, noticing how snow crystals shine like diamonds as the street lights shine overhead. I started thinking about how there are seasons to everything and that winter … Read more

I recently went to get an item we needed for our trip. Each store that I went into replied to me that I could not get the item I needed because it was "out of season". How many times we … Read more

Recently I observed my husband as he attempted to struggle with a jam-packed wallet filled with plastic cards. He was looking for a card of his own, with his address on it, to pass on to another. Have you noticed … Read more

"This section is too confusing." "The last paragraph is too long." "The scripture is incorrect." "Are you sure you want to share that story?" I confess that I have had more than my share of editor's corrections. While I have … Read more

One by one, they slipped out and blew away. The breeze from the open car window was systematically emptying the tissue box on the back seat. Sheet by sheet — and, in my mind's eye, blank page by blank page … Read more

As I think back on family get-togethers, I was reminded of one time in particular. There were races for the children, and I especially recall watching our daughter, who was not really wishing to run the race. Her uncle stood … Read more

As I was preparing to go on a mission trip to Honduras, I commented to my wife about how much it meant to me to go, because, for at least one week this year, I would be living the kind … Read more

The amazing come-from-behind gold medal win by Simon Whitfield in the first Olympic men's triathlon event last Saturday was a real thrill for millions around the world, especially for Canadians! Probably the closest I will ever come to an Olympic-style … Read more

I can hardly wait for the Olympic Games to begin, because there's something very special about the Olympics to me. In fact, I've often dreamed of winning a gold medal, and then receiving the honour of standing on that platform … Read more