It fell to my lot to grow up near a church which we attended on a regular basis. All my siblings and I went from the beginners' department to the Bible class by passing the Scripture examinations. I had three teachers in the Bible class, … Read more

Jack Patrick was just one of the usual tough, uncouth, young boys of our rough neighbourhood. Like the rest of us, he had a command of bad language and his share of bad habits. But Jesus found him and the change was quite evident. He … Read more

In chapter sixteen of his book, The Power of Prayer, Andrew Murray deals with a subject that I am sure many people find difficult to deal with. It is the age-old problem of answers to prayer. So often we hear the complaint, "I prayed … Read more

In the movie The Hanging Tree, three men working an alluvial claim find no gold until a terrible storm knocks over a huge tree near to their site. In the hole left by the fallen tree and among its exposed roots, to their delight, they … Read more

On the first morning of our holiday in Hawaii, we hurried to the beach, eager to enjoy the surf. But as we approached the water, we noticed a group of women, each standing beside one of a number of wheelchairs, each of which was adapted in … Read more

When I was a boy, most churches still had two services on Sunday. An hour before the evening service, which was usually of an evangelistic nature, the members of the Open Air Band would gather in one of their designated … Read more

The lamps that gave light to Solomon's temple were fashioned by Hiram, a master craftsman who worked in gold and silver. He made the lamps of purest gold. Each lamp was fed with a steady flow of the finest grade … Read more

I remember when ballpoint pens first appeared in the late 'forties. Most teachers in South Africa wanted nothing to do with them. They preferred, actually demanded, that all submitted work be done with either dipping pen and ink or with … Read more

A friend sent me a set of pictures entitled "Structural Engineer in Action". They showed a bird building a mud nest on the window ledge of someone's house. Each successive picture showed the progression of the nest from its circular, … Read more

My father-in-law was a French polisher who handed his craft down to his daughter. Everything that can be varnished or given a brilliant surface in our house has one. He was also a brilliant cabinet-maker who made a beautiful mahogany … Read more

For seven years before I immigrated to Canada, I served in my church's outreach to the Bantu. This involved a trip each Sunday morning to one of the so-called Bantu locations or townships where there was a small church hall … Read more

In our family, any instrument, tool, or implement that was both small and very useful was given an extra, affectionate, diminutive "ie", resulting in names like the "smallie pliers" or the "smallie screwdriver". Whenever I read, I am an inveterate … Read more

I have always fancied antique cars. But once I had handed off to my son my beloved 1940 McLaughlin Buick and sold the 1960 Dodge Phoenix, I began to collect model cars. Those became too expensive, so I settled for … Read more

For her seventieth birthday, my wife wanted to go to Las Vegas to see the sights and to take in the Cirque du Soleil show at the Mirage. I was recovering from a very recent right shoulder replacement, which prompted friends to twit [kid] … Read more