This year when I started to work in our rock garden, I decided to take out about half of it that had been taken over by Gooseneck Loosestrife. Doesn't the name tell you that it doesn't know how to play nice? When we moved here ten years … Read more
Search Results for: "Colossians 2:"
The Righteous Will Flourish
Twenty-four years ago, the area on which our home was built was a farmer's field. Once the subdivision was established, trees were planted along the boulevard in front of or to the side of the homes. As I looked out the kitchen window this … Read more
Rooted And Growing
I have another hobby, a new one: I'm rooting plants. About fifteen years ago, I led services on a regular basis at a church in our area while they were without a pastor for a couple of years. In appreciation, they gave me a rosebush about … Read more
Is It Good Or Is It Bad?
This summer, we bought new garden furniture for our backyard. We unpacked it from the boxes, removed all the plastic, and set in groups all the pieces to be put together. Then, as it was a very hot day, we went inside for a break before … Read more
Vital Connections
When my brother was young, he would be the one to check the family before we went away on a holiday. "Did you unplug the iron?" he would say to our mother. "Is the stove off?" We could go once he was satisfied that nothing was left … Read more
Knit Together In Love
Have you ever witnessed a large flock of Canada Geese flying overhead? It takes one's breath away. Their perfectly synchronized flight pattern leaves even non-believers asking themselves, "What kind of higher power could orchestrate such a … Read more
Staying Close To God
I have a habit of listening to, and inviting myself into, other people's conversations. So the other day, as I was making a purchase, I was intrigued by the clerk's comment: "I'm looking for shirt stays." "Shirt stays?" I inquired as I … Read more
The Speeding Ticket
The reflection of blue lights flashed in my rear-view mirror. Embarrassed, I pulled over. "Ma'am, can you explain why you were speeding?" "Officer, I wasn't paying attention." When I got home, I looked up the potential consequences: a … Read more
The Illumination
The other day, I was sitting reading, when the sun burst forth, streaming through my window. The window held a recent stained glass piece that I had hung to allow it to dry fully. As the sunbeams hit the already beautiful glass, every … Read more
Deeply Rooted
A couple of years ago, we added a rockery to our church campus through a gracious donation from some church members. It was built on the side of a slope which had been perpetually covered in moss and weeds. The whole area, right next to … Read more
From The Lips Of Children — And Adults
While I was eating lunch with my sister-in-law and her little lad about three-and-a-half years of age, my sister-in-law's phone rang, and she left the table to answer. Just then, the little lad finished his bowl of spaghetti and cheese, … Read more
Have A Healthy Thanksgiving
Have you noticed how often the apostle Paul opens his letters with expressions of thanksgiving for people, specifically the believers? – I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. *(1 Corinthians 1:4 NIV … Read more
The Eighth Day
Preaching from the book of Leviticus, my pastor recently discussed the significance of the eighth day in light of biblical teaching. His message inspired me to explore this idea. Interestingly, the eighth day may be likened to a musical … Read more
Putting On The Grace Face
Supposedly, it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. While the saying has been around for quite some time, the numbers used to prove the conclusion vary with each story. In spite of the discrepancies, the basic premise is … Read more
The Everyday Miracle
I have suffered on and off from depression since I was about ten years of age. My depression is caused from a hereditary dietary problem; the two things go hand in hand. I can be fine for days or weeks or months and then the darkness … Read more
A Sacrifice Of Thanksgiving
Giving thanks doesn't rate highly in the socially-networked world where everyone is texting — very often to the person sitting next to them. Too many of us are so busy being "connected" that we have become disengaged from the world … Read more
True Freedom
Have you ever wondered what true freedom really is? The dictionary defines it as the power to do what we want to do and to go where we want to go without being controlled; not being a slave or prisoner; not having or being affected by … Read more
The Flash Of Light
I was lying on my bed, listening for the familiar sounds that come before someone falls asleep. I could hear my parents talking, and I was wishing that they would go to sleep already. My room, located off the kitchen … Read more
Jesus, Our Earthly And Heavenly Treasure
In 1980, our estranged family reunited after we became reconciled to Lord Jesus. Such mercy and grace! Praise His ever-saving name! I'd been lovingly warned, but inside and outside, the old farmhouse appeared exceedingly beyond its hundred-year age — every … Read more
Principalities (2)
During a past frightening experience, a young, panic-stricken woman unexpectedly walked into the home where our weekly Bible study group was in progress. She was hyperventilating and her hands were shaking. Suddenly, we found ourselves in the middle of a … Read more
One Hundred Percent
Sometimes, life's most valuable lessons begin with failure. Recently, I embarked on one of these lessons by allowing thoughtless words to fly unchecked. Too late to retrieve them, I found myself in an acute state of unrest and basic … Read more
Jesus Our Covenant
Years ago, in the early days of my walk with Jesus, I attended my first retreat weekend with a group of women. The main theme was about each believer's choice to have, or not to have, a closer relationship with the Lord Jesus by choosing … Read more
Look More Closely
Having a father who was a gardener and loved to be outside planting and working the soil has left a deep impression on my life. Recently, as I was cutting the lawn, a co-worker passed by and stopped to chat. She commented how green, lush, … Read more
Tending The Grass
In the spring, our neighbourhood was busy with people working on their lawns after a long winter. People were out raking, seeding, replacing sections with rolls of sod, and cutting their grass. In the early spring, we did not have … Read more
Wisdom And Knowledge
The time came for me to buy a new computer, and I had some decisions to make. Should I continue with a Windows PC, knowing that I would have to obtain some new software, or should I choose something totally … Read more
Energy From The Word
Many of my days begin with an early morning trip to the YMCA for water aerobics. I'm not interested in breakfast at this early hour, but I've found that if I'm to discipline my body in exercise for a full … Read more