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
Search Results for: "Matthew 6:"
Attention, All You Who Worry And Are Fearful
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
Silence Is Golden
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
Lessons From Toddlers
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
Inspecting Our Treasury
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
Safekeeping
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
Treasures In The Snow
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
Where Is Your Heart?
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
A Deep Winter Sleep
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
The Lord's Prayer
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
Perspectives On Possessions
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
Fluffy Sparrow
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
A Picture Of Trust In God
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
Forgive As God Forgives
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
Investing Wisely
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
Roller Coasters And Hurdles
I've never been one to enjoy wild rides at the exhibition! No! No roller coasters for me! Watching others was enough to make my stomach churn! In high school, track and field wasn't a favourite either, especially the hurdles! No, I … Read more
Worrying Ahead
"Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength — carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worry doesn't empty tomorrow of sorrow; but it empties today of strength." – Corrie ten Boom Am I the … Read more
Creatures On Alert
During our evenings, my husband and I have enjoyed watching nature shows on television. We marvel over the professional, hi-tech motion photography depicting the world of wildlife. Recently, however, I felt the need for a break. It was … Read more
When I Fall In Love
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
The Thieves
The broccoli was looking wonderful as my daughter and I discussed whether to cut it then or to wait and harvest it the next afternoon when we would have time to blanche and freeze it. We decided to leave it until the next day. The next … Read more
The Illusion Of Privacy
The other day, I received two emails from Google. The first one mentioned my privacy features; the second displayed my recent whereabouts on a Google map, as tracked through my cell phone. Both emails required my response — to protect my … Read more
Daily Interlopers
Our society bombards us with advertising for every imaginable need and want. When we order from online companies, we receive non-stop advertising from those enterprises. Our smartphones notify us about everything. We can strap on activity … Read more
The Stuff in Our Closets
If someone peeked inside this mobile home's overflowing closets, they might wonder why stuff crams every corner. The answer is revealing. Gone-to-glory relatives leave stuff behind, like old family photos, to become the flotsam and jetsam … Read more
Be Right With Jesus
In the blink of an eye, what once held us spell-bound in movie theatres is now our reality. The world reels and drops to its knees as the invisible COVID-19 pandemic sends blow after blow. Adults have gathered their children, like mother … Read more
On Layaway
We were very poor, and the J.C. Penney store carried good quality clothing. Mamma would put them on layaway until they were paid for. What a happy day it was when she brought the clothing home for us to wear for school. We didn't have to … Read more
Greed Or Fear?
Did you ever hear about The Great Gold Robbery of 1855? A train shipment of 200 pounds of gold was stolen on its way from London to Paris by four greedy conspirators. When I look back on 2020 and COVID-19, one event will stand out: I … Read more
Pray, For The Devil Prowls Like A Roaring Lion
From my kitchen window, I enjoy the heavy, low-flying, distinctively coloured, quiet, slow-mannered pair of wood ducks that like to rest on their webbed feet awhile on the horizontal branches of my big, old maple trees almost every morning … Read more
Fool's Gold
When my brothers and I were young, we avidly collected chunks of mica and pyrite. Because the minerals sparkled and were beautiful, we assumed that they were valuable. Pyrite is known as "fool's gold", because its metallic shimmer and gold … Read more