In the small mountain community where I live during the summer, there are hundreds of children who don't have adequate food at home. In response, two faithful young women founded Backpack Snacks. On Friday, each of the identified … Read more

Love will always compel us to do something good for God. The Pastoral Care Ministry in our congregation provides spiritual care to the families in our church and community who are struggling with health issues, among other things. We … Read more

The recreational vehicle park in which I live during the summer has a variety of activities, many of which include a meal, often for as many as a hundred residents. This involves several days of preparation by the person who is in charge … Read more

I stopped into a local fast-food restaurant for a late lunch. The teenager who took my order was obviously a new employee who was still being trained. When my food appeared, he stuffed it into a paper bag. I was waiting at a nearby table, … Read more

As I pondered these interactions of Jesus with children, I wondered how I could best describe us as children. Firstly, children are dependent. From the time of conception and for years thereafter, a child depends on its mother or … Read more

My heart adopted two-year-old Buddy, a little boy who needed someone to lend stability to his life. His mother, an acquaintance, allowed us to spend our days together. When making valentines at five years of age, he told me that he didn't … Read more

In the Peanuts comic strip, Linus has his security blanket. Over a 35-year period, he experienced a love/hate relationship with this well-worn blanket. After all, it had been a part of his life from the very beginning. The blanket gave … Read more

I have been working on the driveway outside the front of the house. This means tapping away at the gravel with a pickaxe, spade, and rake to remove the weeds. As a result of the enormity of the task, it is more than I can do in one go. … Read more

The other morning, I was reading in Mark, and when I came across this verse, it got me thinking. What would I ask for? Would I be so bold? Then, more questions came flooding into my mind. Do any of these questions come to mind? If … Read more

Yesterday, I was standing in the queue, practicing social distancing, waiting to buy my fish, chicken, peas, and chips, when a man approached, singing his own version of a Nat King Cole song: "When I fall in love, it will be for money …" … Read more

When I was a child, Christmas meant my adored grandparents arriving on Christmas Eve with piles of presents to add to the mound that was already under the tree. My mother, and her mother, believed in giving many gifts. They weren't … Read more

What do you want? What a good question! In a course I once took, it was one of the most important questions: Why are you here? What do you hope to gain? What do you want? Many of the exercises that we learned were to help us to attain … Read more

Imagine the scene that day: Jesus, the Man who did miracles and spoke powerfully — unlike any other — was making His way down the street, surrounded by His disciples and a noisy, jostling crowd. Everyone was trying to get close to Him, … Read more

The hymn writer, James Rowe, penned the hymn, Love lifted me. When I sing the first few words, "I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore," I am brought back to my childhood. I was going home from my friend's house, which … Read more

Toddlers toddle forward unsteadily on chubby legs. One in diapers suddenly sits. Some wear big-boy pants, and some twirl in a skirt. All are not yet two years old. One lone toddler scurries after them, and nearing the minister, he sits … Read more

A song written in 1896 still drives me to tears. "I surrender all" by Judson W. VanDeVenter is a tearjerker. Do you know it? Our choir sang it this Easter, and I had to control my tears in order to sing. Mark 10:28 puts it this way: "Lo, … Read more

When I began in ministry many years ago, I quickly realized that I didn't have enough love for all the people in my congregations. I cried out to God for His love. It was then that I experienced an overwhelming flood of loving care for the … Read more

Dear parents and grandparents: Are you stressing over gifts for those precious, darling, little children/grandchildren? Are you planning on buying the latest version of the newest computerized expensive something? When adults turn … Read more

My mother and I always joke about our cat, Simba, having servants. He seems to think that he is entitled to having everyone in the house "wait on him". This comes from the old joke about dogs having owners and cats having servants. When … Read more

I have been reading a wonderful little book called Heaven is for Real. It is the story of a little boy, Colton, who, when extremely ill in hospital with a burst appendix, had experiences of being in heaven. His father, Todd Burpo, … Read more

As I entered the reception area through the main door, a mistaken usher, knowing that I was a relative of the groom, asked me to go to the far end of the room and up a few steps onto the platform where the head table was beginning to fill … Read more

As kids' camps are preparing for the onslaught of the many campers they will minister to this summer, there is always apprehension and doubt. Will the camps be full? Will we get all the counsellors we need? Will we raise all the required … Read more

I joined my husband on a run to the dump to dispose of some spring cleaning from the yard. As we were driving into the dump, I said to him, "Remember that day you saw the doctor at the dump?" … Read more

My work and my living accommodation were both in the same building — thus my little boxer dog was usually at my feet under the desk. But she was getting restless, and I realized that it was time to take … Read more

Our membership had moved to their first church building. I became involved in an activity which gave birth to our women's ministry, which in itself contributed to the overall growth of the church. The women began a monthly luncheon, inviting … Read more

With pot holders in my hands, I took the pan out of the hot oven. I had not realized, until it was too late, that my left thumb was hanging over the pot holder and pressing against the hot pan. … Read more

Recently, an e-mail friend has lost her husband. She faces both the release of knowing that he is at peace and also the sorrow of his departure. This calls for a profound readjustment to accept his absence and allow other … Read more

Don't you just hate them? I mean, really? Who do they think they are anyway? We have all been there when someone pushes themselves to the front of what is happening and declares to everyone else, "I can do it … Read more

A career change for my husband took us to another city where we quickly found a church of our choice. Here, my husband found a great admirer, a very elderly man with the mind of a little child. His vocabulary … Read more

We had chickadees nesting at the side of our home, making use of a nesting box in a small stand of evergreens, protected from attack and the elements. It was delightful to hear and watch their comings and goings during … Read more

Never, ever have these eyes witnessed such an awesome example of childlikeness — the state of being that Jesus spoke of in today's Scripture. I ask myself how something so powerful, so beautiful, could come through such a small child. … Read more

I can sense that spring is in the air in the part of Canada where I live. The signs to me are melting snowbanks and the sun with bone-warming heat in it. Birds are beginning to return, and small patches … Read more

A click here and a click there, and then another click, and another click. The index finger keeps clicking on the mouse and the eyes keep watching the computer monitor to see the white arrow deleting and manipulating the coloured … Read more