"BE AWARE OF RATTLESNAKES AND POISON IVY!" reads a warning about hiking in the Nez-Perce Clearwater National Forest in Idaho, USA. Such a sign didn't exist when I went skipping ahead of my family on a sunny morning across the ancient …( read more )

What do we do in times of uncertainty? How do we react when anxious people look to us for stability and a road map — when we don't have one? Times of uncertainty are certainly not new, but when they come, we are called upon to act in …( read more )

It always amazes me how, out of nowhere, God softly tells us to do something, and then, I am amazed at the results that He sends. For example, I have always wanted to have painting classes here in Pico. The other day, I debated whether …( read more )

They popped over the tree tops and whizzed along the top of the field. When I was a young lad, crop dusters were common where there was flat farmland. Fields were planted with cotton, corn, and soybeans. Laws preventing certain chemicals …( read more )

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." – Abraham Lincoln In the dining room of our assisted living facility, one of my tablemates told me that she had recently received instructions from her physician to …( read more )

On the first of July, 1983, I had the arduous task of packing up and moving out a music and Christian supply centre that I had been running for about three years. A friend and I packed up his trunk with what remaining stock I had and piled …( read more )

It is always a joy to be with family after a long absence. For many years, I have been settled, living on my own. My large family keeps in touch, except for a few who have become distanced for whatever reasons. A recent family …( read more )

It was a dreary, windy, and cloudy day as some of us went for a long walk to "Gerry's Point". Gerry was one of the friends with whom we had gone camping on Manitoulin Island and who had passed away. One day a few years before, as he went …( read more )

We recently put our travel trailer on a church site for the summer. It is only 45 minutes from home. We plan to have many weekends there, both as a couple and as a family. The irony of this is that the site that best fit our trailer is the …( read more )

As longer days of warming sun return to the north, the melt begins. Drip, drop, splash, crash — the sounds of spring as snow and ice melt and drizzle or slide with a slap from the roofs. How wonderful to envision green sprouts, still …( read more )

A very dear friend of mine married recently. She had suffered the gauntlet of loneliness and uncertainty, but during that time, she had totally relied on God's grace and trusted in His will for her life. She had desolate times … (read more)

When I collected my mail today, I found a greeting card that I had mailed weeks ago, returned to me marked "Return to Sender". It surprised me because the address I had mailed it to was the address given to … (read more)

After a few weeks of repeatedly throwing kitchen peelings, food scraps, waste, and various animal manures on the top of the other rotting vegetation on my compost heap, it is frequently necessary to open up the heap to merge the … (read more)

Not too long ago, my uncle passed away. He had been suffering from Parkinson's disease and dementia for a few years, but it was the last week of his life on this earth that was very hard for his family. … (read more)

Currently, I'm on a four-day personal prayer fast and vision-casting retreat. For the last year, I've been so busy at church that I feel as though (and certainly know) that I've been running ahead of God and expecting Him to … (read more)

"House church", or as others would call it, "prayer/Bible study group", was at my home these past few weeks. I had had knee surgery, and it was a bit hard for me to get around. It was our sharing night. … (read more)

Like many here in Canada, I've been thinking about the changes in our own government and the uncertainty of its stability. I've also thought about the change of government that has taken place recently in the United States. With hopes … (read more)

There are a couple of young men in our city who are planning a bicycle ride in the Rocky Mountains. Their plan is to ride 100 kilometres a day. Doing so, the journey will take them three long days. They … (read more)

How the time passes! It seems only a little while ago that I purchased my tomato plants, and then around the 24th of May, I planted them in my garden. This year, I did what was recommended: I rotated my … (read more)

Another humid summer day with scorching sunshine was challenging. A cold water bottle was growing hot, and a towel was needed to dry up the drips. The ground was sizzling as the sun kept sending more of its rays of … (read more)

A phone call from a friend lasted for hours. Once the light talk was over, we had a deeper quest to talk about our situations. Confessing our concern for family and friends filled our conversation. My friend spoke words I … (read more)

While with our family and grandchildren one weekend, we decided to take the kids to an indoor playground which offered plenty of climbing, sliding, bridges, and a plastic ball area. The whole thing was set up to accommodate adults as … (read more)

Several times this week, I found myself struggling with my impatience. I have been frustrated, and I find myself being argumentative with others with whom I have no disagreement. I have asked for guidance and patience from God while engaging … (read more)

I have been on only a couple of motorcycles in my life. The first time was when my older brother owned a motorcycle, and he took me on a ride for a few miles in the country. I wasn't scared … (read more)

If a person knows where to go, one can find wonderful blueberry patches where one can fill buckets in no time at all. Quite a few years ago, a forest fire went through the area. The regular blueberry pickers were … (read more)

Last summer, the weather was very rare for our part of Canada. We set record highs a few days in a row. The temperature was often over 30 degrees Celsius. One day, I saw on the weather network that it … (read more)

The most beautiful and interesting specialty papers start out as messy, wet clumps of mismatched and shredded papers, bits and pieces of items such as seeds and twigs, yarn and tin foil — all blended into a scary-looking pulp that … (read more)

I don't dream often, but recently I had a dream that was so real. It was kind of mixed up — like dreams are — but there was such a message in this dream. After visiting with a friend in … (read more)

Have you ever opened the Bible at random and taken as your verse for the day whatever verse your eyes went to? I have done this, and sometimes it has worked, but more often than not, the verse by itself, … (read more)

Most of my life, I've been a person who accepted the opinion of others when they said something couldn't be done. That was before a couple of weeks ago. On Thursday, November 9th, I was standing in a gift shop … (read more)

Many days since elementary school, I have battled depression. Even as an adult Christian, the Spirit of God constantly has to remind me that my life matters. One day when I was feeling particularly blue, the Lord gave me an … (read more)

Saskatoon season is approaching soon. Saskatoons are small purple berries that grow in clusters on bushes. Because they grow in the wild, we have to go scouting around to find them. Many years, we have tramped through trees and undergrowth … (read more)

At Christmastime, I bought gift cards for my grandchildren. I bought inexpensive notebooks for the boys and scrapbooks for the girls and attached the cards to them. This added weight to the packages so they would not guess what was … (read more)