My mother taught me the basic stitches of embroidery when I was young, and I have continued doing this needlework all my life. It is an enjoyable and rewarding hobby, and I glory in the colourful threads and the canvas slowly revealing the … Read more

When I was a child, prior to the invention of the Internet, I lived in Europe. I missed my family, who still lived in the United States. Once a week, though, my grandparents would initiate a phone call to us. When the phone finally rang, … Read more

In our rural community, we experience power outages during severe winter weather. We prepare by placing ice bags in our freezer, and no one lifts the lid. We hunker down next to the fireplace, play board games, and heat our dinner on the … Read more

The aroma of horse hair overwhelmed me as I buried my face in Princess's mane. She grasped my ponytail scrunchie with her muzzle, slid it off, and waved it triumphantly. If a horse could laugh, she was doing it. This was a deliberate move … Read more

My wife Ruth and I farmed sheep for a number of years, and those sheep taught us many valuable lessons. Farmers are noted for being a diversified group of people, and some seem to be of the opinion that there is nothing that they cannot … Read more

Thousands of people are at the wrong place at the wrong time every day. As I listen to the latest news headlines while eating breakfast, I hear about people who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Some are seriously injured, while … Read more

Some years ago, we were in a church where a young couple gave a report about the situation they were in. They had two children, the youngest one only two months old. When he was born, they discovered that he had trouble breathing, due to … Read more

I am the maddy: the mummy-daddy. Caroline and I work as a team. She earns my living so that, for my part, I can enjoy being at home. I do the majority of chores, running the day-to-day stuff of life and wrangling with the children. I … Read more

Last year, during the Lenten season, our pastor played a song in church called Watch the Lamb by Ray Boltz. This song is a beautiful depiction of the scene portrayed in today's Scripture. Not much is known about Simon of Cyrene except … Read more

In my mind and heart, I walked today where Jesus walked. He was moving up the crowded Via Dolorosa, the traditional route to Golgotha, with a heavy cross upon His back. He heard voices exclaim as He passed by, "What … Read more

In a world with so many different spiritual writings, why should anyone pay special attention to the Bible as a revelation from God? For me, convincing evidence comes from the fact that Isaiah, living 700 years prior to Jesus' time … Read more

The Gospel of Mark describes the darkest hour the world had ever known: When I reviewed a lesson plan for Sunday school, the discussion questions included the statement that all the criticisms we make are another form of autobiography. Contemplating … Read more

The year after Dad died, when I walked down the card aisles and saw all the Father's Day cards, I struggled with sadness. Now, many years have passed, but I still choke up from time to time. I miss my … Read more

A massive digger has just been parked outside of my church study window. The contractors are getting the equipment in place in order to begin digging up the backyard of the church, so that we can lay the foundations of … Read more

Years ago, I spent a lot of time ministering to a handful of people who had addiction problems. Because of my alcoholic past, I became a crusader for each of them, and felt that only I could save them from … Read more

Many of us Christians, at one time or another, have resorted to Bible roulette. We have flipped through the pages of the Bible, stopped randomly on a page, let our finger fall on a passage, and have read what God has to say to us. Like … Read more

What's a crucifixion like? A Jewish writer, Klausner, describes it as being the most cruel and terrible death that has ever been devised for taking vengeance by men against men. Cicero called it the most terrible and most cruel torture. … Read more

As we come to Good Friday, I want to describe what happened to Jesus on his final journey, to the cross. Scourging, or flogging, always preceded crucifixion. Under Pilate's order, Jesus was stripped naked, his hands tied behind his back. … Read more