Trying to capture and keep all the memories that are actively being made on Christmas Eve is challenging. The flurry of activity goes by so quickly that it is hard to take it all in and lock it away in our hearts and minds. However, one … Read more
Search Results for: "Romans 8:"
Hand Me That Thingamajig
Do you ever try to tell God what to do? At times, I have certainly tried to orchestrate things. I say, "God, if You could take this step, then this step, and make this person do this and that, then I think that we'd have the problem … Read more
The Shaping
One of my hobbies is paper quilling. This involves taking thin strips of coloured paper and rolling them around a spool into a tight circle. After the finished circle is removed from the spool, the coils can be released to the size … Read more
Survivor's Guilt
He was a young, talented rugby player, and he was hospitalized after a very bad accident. She was a petite young nurse who nursed him back to health. Soon afterwards, they fell in love, got married, shared a beautiful life together, and … Read more
The Mind Reader
"You're in a 'spazzy' mood today. I'm sure you'll break something." The mind reader had struck again. Let me clarify. I've never visited a mind reader, but I live with one. My wife and I have an uncanny ability to read each other's … Read more
A Turning Point
A few years ago, our family was finishing up a meal at a restaurant. My husband and I were visiting our eldest son who had just started a new job at Adult and Teen Challenge, which rehabilitates those struggling with drug or alcohol … Read more
More Than a Pocket Hug
Our church has a sewing group called The Thread Bearers. This Christmas, the group put together stockings filled with goodies and trinkets — some handmade and some bought. Our over-fifty-years-of-age group delivered the stockings to the … Read more
The Benefit Of Hindsight
"But you didn't have the benefit of hindsight," I was assured. Through this timely advice, I felt a burden lift. I remember that lovely, comforting feeling, but forget what prompted that remark. Probably, I was berating myself over having … Read more
That Damnable Label
I dislike how damnable labels get attached to people. It can harm their reputation. Yet, in Scripture we see that damnable label, "prostitute", attached to a woman named Rahab — five times! We're given no insight into her conduct. She … Read more
Seeing The Big Picture
In September of my high school graduation year, ceremonies were over, and I was heading off to the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. My dad had always wanted me to pursue a higher education, and I looked forward to a new … Read more
Artificial Intelligence
Several of my relatives have discovered that with proper instruction, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is capable of writing poetry, essays — the possibilities are endless. There are articles on how AI is going to impact society, like … Read more
The Upcoming Move
In early May, we will be relocating to a lovely acreage in the Tawatinaw Valley, Alberta, Canada. As I think upon all that such a move will entail, I become more and more aware of what will need to be packed and what will need to find a … Read more
Hard Decisions
The phone rang; it was the chairman of our annual quilt show. "Sharon, we have to cancel tomorrow's show." This was a really big deal! The quilt club at my recreational vehicle park has been having these shows for many years. We have over … Read more
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Do you ever feel as though your life is an endless cycle of one step forward, two steps back, despite your greatest efforts? To be sure, there are stretches when things run smoothly for a while, but then, there inevitably comes a bump in … Read more
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
Bring In The Misfits!
A church that I once attended had a truly gifted minister. This man was articulate, yet compassionate; learned, yet able to explain Bible teaching clearly; and humorous, yet never in poor taste. He had a fine singing voice and played the … Read more
God Knows Our Future
In the summer of 2014, my husband Jim was the lay minister at K-Bar, a recreational vehicle (RV) resort in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona, USA. He was also suffering the side effects of chemotherapy, so he sat on a stool to … Read more
Truck Tire On The Beach
When I was about a year old and my sister was two, my parents deposited both of us in an old truck tire on a beach of the Bering Sea. Then, they went away to search for the glass balls that came off Japanese fish nets and floated up to the … Read more
No Disconnect
"I'm supposed to bring a plate to the hockey banquet next week," my young son announced. "Bring a plate? What do you mean, Stephen?" I asked him, perplexed. "That's what the coach said." I wasn't familiar with the idiom "bring a plate", … Read more
What Does Jesus Pray About?
Do you ever feel like giving up on the Christian life, as if God doesn't hear your prayers, or even care? Growing up in a Presbyterian church in Ottawa, Canada, I learned a lot about prayer. I memorized the Lord's Prayer in Sunday School, … Read more
Sackcloth And Ashes And Sighs Too Deep For Words
Moshe Reuven Asman, chief rabbi of Ukraine, called on Christians and Jews to say together the following words from Psalm 31 as Russian forces attacked the Ukraine on various fronts. People of faith are drawn together to offer comfort and … Read more
The Singer
My two-and-a-half-year-old grandchild, Lindy, loves to sing, even though she doesn't yet speak, other than the odd word here and there. What better place to sing but at church? After all, everyone else is singing, so she loves to join … Read more
Junking For Jewels
Jewels can sometimes be found among the junk. My wife calls it "junking", and she does it quite often. When possible, I usually tag along. We don't actually visit junkyards or stores, but we call what we do junking because we do it among … Read more
Best Lists Ever
We often travelled by skin boat (called a umiak) when visiting our family's tin mine in the White Mountains in Alaska, USA. The boats were made of walrus hide stretched over a framework. In my first year of life, wrapped completely in … Read more
God's Timing
This has always been one of my favourite Bible verses. However, Paul says nothing about when all things will work together for good. I recently received an e-mail that emphasized this fact for me. It read, "It's wonderful how God … Read more
The Past Year
Like many of my pastor peers, for the past year, I've been leading online services and preaching each week from my office desk. This pandemic has changed everything about church, and I now wonder: when all of this is over, what will the … Read more
Turning Negatives To Positives
The other morning, I was looking out the kitchen window at a fair amount of water lying on the concrete landing. I turned and said to my husband, "Too bad that when the man did that work out there, he didn't put a bit of a slant on the … Read more