Who knew that one compact disc (CD) could change the entire service? Our music leader was off for the day. My wife had spent hours putting music together, meeting with the sound technicians, and practicing with the praise team. Sunday … Read more

In our area of Canada, we have been inundated with bugs this summer. Having received record levels of snow during the winter and torrential rains amidst the spring, there was standing water and flowing creeks, rivers, and ditches … Read more

The forests of eastern Ontario are susceptible to fires in the hot summer months, especially if there has been a drought. The usual fire ban prohibits campfires and the burning of brush; even a cigarette butt tossed aside can ignite the … Read more

Last summer, my daughter and her husband came to a momentous decision. They purchased a business here in our small town, and decided to move in with me. Along with them came my six-month-old granddaughter, their two cats, and two dogs. … Read more

Sometimes, I wonder if, as Christians, we're losing our understanding of sacred space and holy ground. For some folks, the church has almost become a leisure activity in the same league as weekly sports, pastimes, or hobbies, instead of a … Read more

"Tag" has come to mean many things over the years. Items are tagged with graffiti. People are tagged for speeding, with wins/losses in sports, and now in pictures online. But when I was growing up the only "tag" I cared about was our … Read more

Sometimes I feel like I'm auditioning for a comedy show as I stamp my feet to create vibrations, wave my arms like a windmill, and shout as loudly as I can. Yes, having three very elderly canines in the house which are all at one stage or … Read more

The pastor of my new church has been preaching verse by verse through the book of Exodus. I like his expository approach, as it's helped me to examine the Scriptures carefully. In particular, I was struck by the verses in today's passage. … Read more

On my yearly read through the Scriptures, Exodus has engrossed me. In the third chapter, where God called Moses from the burning bush, Moses waffled. He gave the Lord all sorts of reasons why he was the wrong guy to … Read more

I am reading in Exodus. In the chapter where God calls Moses from the burning bush to lead Israel out of Egypt, Moses waffles. He gives all sorts of reasons to God about why he is the wrong guy for … Read more

"Join the Word Guild," they said. So I did, and before my membership card had even arrived in the mail, I suddenly found myself shoved (no, it was more I was being encouraged to jump) into the 21st century. Because … Read more

Here in England, we have had a bicentenary anniversary commemoration of the abolition of the slave trade on the 25th March 1807. Despite the hard work by William Wilberforce, I cannot but have mixed feelings concerning the bicentenary. For how … Read more

Yosemite National Park in California is world-renowned for its stunning glacier-created landscape. Into its glacier-carved valleys flow leaping waterfalls. Giant Sequoia trees dwarf their human visitors. Gigantic masses of unbroken granite rise thousands of metres above the valley floor. For … Read more

The day after Ash Wednesday, as part of my Lenten discipline for this year, I participated in "a quiet day". It was a wonderful way to start Lent! There were eighteen of us, together with a trained leader, and we … Read more

On the last weekend of June, I was in front of a ham radio set, listening to the babble of Morse code dots and dashes in my earphones. Each June, amateur radio operators in Canada and the United States stage … Read more

I know I'm not the only person who gets "road rage" — that incredible urge to yell at other drivers when they get in your way, pass too closely to your fender, take the parking spot you had your eye … Read more

Recently, I talked to a lady from China via the Internet. As we chatted, the topic of religion came up. She told me that she went to church, but that she could not believe in Jesus. I asked why, and … Read more

For the past four or five years, our family has been involved in the camp programme that our Presbytery offers on Vancouver Island. Each year I go, I have realized that I really need to become more knowledgeable about manoeuvring … Read more

The power of prayer is receiving a lot of "press" these days. People in "positions" are sitting up and taking notice that prayer works. Courses are being taught in the "art" of praying. Most people, if not regular pray-ers, do … Read more

Two prominent figures in biblical history are described in two different situations as standing barefoot before God. Both Moses and Joshua were sought out by God, and given a very special task, perhaps humanly speaking. The thought occurs that whoever … Read more

In membership classes we share a prayer which expresses how little we can say about God, a prayer from the St. Andrew's Press, which goes like this: Lord, we are ill at ease in a world we cannot regulate with … Read more