I sigh with pleasure as I slip into bed between crisp sheets and pull up the covers — at least two of them plus a bedspread. I like to sleep with weight on top of me, summer or winter. I feel more secure when cuddled under several … Read more

I once fasted, but not from food. I suddenly found myself saddled with two car payments. Knowing that I couldn't afford both, I had a decision to make. One of the vehicles would have to go. One was a new Chevrolet Tracker that I had just … Read more

Over twenty years ago, my husband and I rented out the house that we have up north to a young family. Their lease was for one year, and we received the first and the last month's rent before they moved in during the late fall. After … Read more

Last month, my husband Terry and I arrived at the YWAM (Youth with a Mission) Base at San Antonio del Mar, Mexico, on the Pacific coast just south of the American border. We had flown down to volunteer, doing whatever needed to be done … Read more

A few weeks ago, an article appeared in the newspaper, entitled "Why GenXers Aren't Going Back to Church." You can imagine that there was a wide variety of reasons for people 41-56 years old. Some were busy with work and kids. Others were … Read more

When I was a young child, each Sunday morning my grandmother made sure that I was ready for Sunday School, nicely dressed in my one and only Sunday best. I remember very vividly my little white socks trimmed with lace and my feet planted … Read more

On a recent trip, I drove from my house in the mountains of Arizona, USA, to a small town about 45 minutes away and considerably higher in altitude. On the way, I noticed a large herd of cattle scattered across a lush meadow, knee deep in … Read more

What fun we have with some of the novices who come to visit our region in the summer. We have a plethora of possibilities when it comes to watercraft — from kayak to canoe, from tender to sailboat. One thing the tourists all have in … Read more

I'm so grateful that our gracious God answers our half-formed prayers. Are you? All too often, I find myself muttering a fragmentary thought as I dash in and out of God's holy presence. My need may be genuine and my thought sincere, but … Read more

I love spring! It's such a beautiful time of the year. The weather is warm, everything is coming back to life, the grass is green, the flowers are blooming, and the birds are singing. It's amazing how God brings new life to the world every … Read more

While I believe Jesus' words that God does feed the birds of the air, I love to watch them flutter around my bird feeders as they chow down for the trip ahead every spring and fall, or if it's summer, to furiously fly off to feed hungry … Read more

Simon, my dachshund, is a thief. Every morning and evening after he gobbles up his bowl of food, he races over to an older, very patient dog and helps himself to her food as well. He edges in to the far side of her bowl and begins … Read more

Springtime brings feathered friends to our feeder. We still see some of the winter birds, but the little birds are returning and flocking to our feeder. To name just a few, we see finches in a variety of colours, woodpeckers, juncos, … Read more

When I was a little girl, I watched a movie on our old black and white television about a little boy who rolled over in bed and fell into a hole and into another world. Hearing his screams, of course, the parents frantically reached their … Read more

Perhaps you, like me, wonder at times how to manage those lengthy prayer request lists which come along. There are so many needs — for friends, family, leaders, nations. Some lists come as emails or letters from various organizations. It … Read more

In 2013, my husband and I retired and bought a two-and-a-half-storey brick house in Durham, Ontario, Canada. Our seven-year-old granddaughter said, "Grandma, it looks like a haunted house." It did. But the real estate agent called it "a … Read more

One Sunday recently, our minister spoke on the passage in the Sermon on the Mount that begins, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life …" (Matthew 6:25 NKJV) and the topic was worry. The message was very much about the … Read more

Some silence is golden. The sound of silence was written by Paul Simon — of the duo Simon and Garfunkle — over several months between 1963 and 1964. In 1966, the song — which tells of a man who failed to communicate — hit number … Read more

I spend a lot of time with my toddler grandson these days. His way of being in the world got me thinking about why Jesus commended little children to us as our role model for entering the kingdom of heaven. What is so endearing about … Read more

How's your treasury doing? You'll have one, of course. I'm referring to your life priority, the one which drives your focus — your consuming motivational reality. Our backyard chipmunk certainly has a "consuming motivational reality". … Read more

Behind a counter inside my local bank stands a huge vault. Behind the open door is another large door with steel bars and a large lock, and inside are walls covered with hundreds of tiny doors, each with a lock that has two spots for … Read more

Lana's mittens dragged along the snowbanks as she walked the snowmobile path through the bush. The snow sparkled in the bright sun. The winter birds filled the sky with their colour, motion, and patterns. Lana was startled by a sudden … Read more

Bible verses about flowers are key for reminding us of the beauty of God's creation and His provision for our needs. In contrast, while the flower eventually fades, Jesus' love for us never does. In the northern hemisphere, spring is … Read more

One day in 1947, my dad mentioned that he had not seen his father for over a week. So, the two of us went over to see him. He was sick in bed — really sick. Dad went and got the doctor to see what was wrong with him. The doctor went … Read more

As winter's first snowflakes began to fall, they danced about like glittering confetti. Within an hour or two, the landscape outside had turned from dull green into the most brilliant white. The surrounding fields of lilies bowed their … Read more

One of the dearest memories that I have from my teenage years is living in an old two-storey cement block house that had very little insulation. In the winter, we put plastic on the inside of the windows in the upstairs bedrooms to reduce … Read more

I have been saying the Lord's Prayer for more decades than I like to admit — more than six now. In its original form, it was passed on to the disciples for their training. Hence, it also holds true for us, as modern-day disciples. Like … Read more

Most of us think of investments in monetary terms. However, we can also make investments of time and energy by what we do and the actions that we take. The Oxford English Dictionary's first definition of the word "invest" is to "clothe a … Read more

Extravagant beyond imagination was all that ran through my mind. George Vanderbilt created Biltmore in 1895 for family and friends as an escape from everyday life. His descendants still own this magnificent display of wealth that rests … Read more

Have you ever noticed a sparrow, or other bird, fluffing its feathers in a sprinkler or during a light rain? Birds spend a lot of time preening, but the amount of time and effort that they put into bathing and dusting indicates how … Read more

Christians say that we trust in the Lord, but what does that really mean in practice? Recently, my neighbours, who took in an evacuee from a wildfire, were able to see the trust component of faith at work. Elise, 90 years old, had made … Read more

It should have been easy to back the Ford Escape out of the garage. After all, it's half the size of our former Ford Expedition. With that big vehicle, I had figured out when to start and stop turning in the eight-metre space between the … Read more

At some point in our lives, many of us will invest money for our retirement. Those of us who are retired may be drawing an additional source of income from the investments that we made when we were younger. Some, however, may have seen … Read more