There is a couple in my church who appear to have the perfect life. Their most common expression is a smile. They both teach Sunday School, and they share their Christian witness often. Their Facebook posts feature happy events and their … Read more
Search Results for: "James 1:"
When God Calls
The nightstand clock confirmed that it was 2 a.m., yet sleep was nowhere in sight. Completely exhausted, I found myself resorting to counting imaginary sheep. One, two, … ninety-eight, ninety-nine. Then, just before reaching one … Read more
Lessons From Spiders
Spider webs festoon the front of my house, draping themselves over the porch railing, making airy paths between the house and the porch roof, even arching across from the porch to the patio furniture. No, it's not a haunted house — it's … Read more
Anger Madness
One day, I was coming from church on a Sunday afternoon and the rain was falling. I tried to stop several taxis, but to no avail. Everyone was trying to find shelter from the rain, and no driver was ready to drive in that weather. I tried … Read more
In His Steps
"My goodness, you walk your dog a lot!" My neighbour was walking his black Labrador for the third or fourth time that day. "It's a good way to get my steps in," he explained. "Getting my steps in" seems to be the current exercise craze. … Read more
Freezing Out Temptation
The humungous concrete trough begged us to place our parched toes in its tantalizing coolness. Life on the farm was different every day. My cousin and I could find more adventures to take than we had time for. On this one day, we sat … Read more
The Response
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
Those Blessed Worms
Today, I'd like to spotlight those little annoyances which subtly chew holes in our orderly lives. Perhaps, it's yet another telemarketer or an insensitive remark. These may not feel like a big deal, or they may trouble us greatly. … Read more
The Cookies
Have you ever had one of those days? Well, I had one today. It all started when I had to remove a sheet of plywood and screw it back onto a wall. The sheet came off easily, but lining all the screw holes up to put it back on was more … Read more
Theory Or Proof?
It seems that our world has become submerged in a pandemic of scientific theories, all promising hope for an unrelenting virus. How many of those theories have been proven? That's a big question! Only rigorous testing through time and … Read more
Hear, Listen, And Understand
My husband has a moderate-to-severe hearing loss and wears hearing aids. At first, they were the basic kind. As we drove in the car, he would complain, "You're talking to the windshield. I can't hear you." I would get impatient with this … Read more
The Big Push
My little granddaughter sometimes has a problem coordinating what she is thinking about doing with what her limbs are actually doing. Right now, the struggle appears when I am trying to help her get her boots or her jacket on. She will put … Read more
Useless Knowledge
While working in a large technical library, I so often felt great satisfaction when admiring full library shelves after checking in books and filling the shelves with the returned books. The appearance was so satisfying! Looking so neat … Read more
Game Changer
As I have written elsewhere , I have a yearly dialogue with the tax department. Year-on-year, they seem unable to join up the dots between our income and their rules. This year was no different. In COVID-19 times, it was more troublesome … Read more
Let's Do It
When I met my first Amish family, I discovered that they take seriously Paul's message: They deliberately focus on the way that they live. They are concerned to keep their children safe from the influences of modern society, so they … Read more
How Are Christians Called To Love?
According to Wikipedia , "The pandemic … caused the largest and worst civil unrest in the United States history since King assassination riots in 1968." Protests in Canada have also been widespread. Besides activities that "bite and … Read more
What Are We Communicating?
Everything that we say or do communicates what we want others to know about us. Sometimes, we do this by the clothes that we wear. When I wear a bright green shirt, the comments that I receive indicate that I am bringing happiness to my … Read more
Enabled By The Grace Of God
A dear friend once told me that a butterfly can still take to the air even if it had lost 75 percent of its wingspan. What a miracle, and yet society would most likely categorize such a disfigured insect as being disabled. Surely, our … Read more
Got Wisdom?
We had just finally found a place to rent, a former karate studio over a downtown business with a beat-up wreck of a kitchen that looked unusable. Moving in that night, I fed the children and put them to bed before retiring ourselves. … Read more
Storms Of The Heart
My brother lives in the Ottawa Valley, by a lake nicknamed the Lake of Storms. Often choppy, the wind can whip the water into high waves and whitecaps quickly. All wise boaters know when to go ashore! This pales, though, in comparison to … Read more
The Unappreciated Christmas Gift
One Christmas in my youth, I received an artist's easel, a pad of large newsprint paper the exact size needed for the easel, and water colours, complete with brushes. This gift was likely expensive and would have given me hours of … Read more
Pests: Pure Annoyance Or Pure Joy
"Consider it pure joy…" "And what's this?" asked my husband, as I handed him a platter of apple slices. He wasn't pointing to the fruit, but to the wiggly creature which had obviously escaped from it. The poor thing looked lost and … Read more
Do They Know How Much They Matter?
In 1894, the United States mint in San Francisco made twenty-four coins. That's not many. The superintendent, John Dagget, knew how valuable that they would be some day. So, he gave three of the dimes to his daughter, Hallie. "Hold on to … Read more
How To Get Ready For Anything
My son was banned from every hospital in our area for bribing orderlies to bring in street drugs for him as a patient. "What do we do now?" I asked our family doctor. "Try another town where they don't know him," he said. We drove many … Read more
Lessons From Quilting (2): Perseverance
Of the multitude of quilts that I've made, only a few have been large: three queen-sized bed quilts for me and one each for my daughter and my son. I'd much rather make a lap quilt or a wall hanging that I can finish in a week or less. … Read more
If You Spot It, You Got It!
I have a good friend, someone whom I can call in the middle of the night, but someone whom I was giving up on, due to her habit of interrupting me when I was trying to talk and talking far too much about herself. I thought about following … Read more
Mouth Guard
Sadly, I did it again. I unleashed my tongue when I should have bitten it. As my husband was leaving the house this morning, I made a remark to him that I was immediately sorry for, the moment after I had said it. His remark back to me … Read more
How's Your Hearing?
"Many car owners just don't listen to their cars. If they did, they could prevent a lot of damage." This was said by an experienced mechanic. He's convinced that if owners paid more attention to their vehicle sounds, they'd be quicker to … Read more