I am not a very political person. I have never worked for any political party, nor have I ever been to any political rallies or demonstrations. It is therefore so amazing to me that during the last few years, we have seen so many … Read more

Some years ago, one of the churches in our area was without a minister for a couple of years. I was one of the people who went there on a regular basis to lead worship services. When the new pastor was about to take up residence in that … Read more

It is a well-known fact that Martin Luther, a former priest, is considered to be the leader of the German Reformation. In 1517, he nailed his ninety-five statements to the Castle Church doors in Wittenberg, Germany. This is an event that … Read more

It was 74 years ago last September 6th that I won a race. It was at a church picnic. All the members of the church were recent immigrants from the Netherlands, and there was a great number of children, so those in charge decided that it … Read more

Because of my previous experience in raising pigeons, I have a real eye for them, and love having them around. We have a bird feeder behind our house, so, when one day a pigeon showed up, we were thrilled. We kept hoping that more would … Read more

There is an abundance of farmland where we live in southern Ontario, Canada. The farmers grow mostly wheat, corn, soybeans, and hay. Most of the hay is baled in round bales that measure four feet (120 cm) across and five feet (150 cm) in … Read more

I never really wondered why bananas are shaped the way that they are until I saw a children's program about them on television. I was intrigued, so I looked up the details on Google, and here is what I found out. Banana plants look like … Read more

It is better to have a good neighbour than a distant friend. – Old Dutch Proverb The other day, I read that since the rise of social media, email, and texting with people all over the world, we have much less contact with the people near … Read more

One of our grandsons, Bryan, who lives here in our town, has pigeons, just like I used to have before we moved into town. I had homing pigeons (homers) but he has fancy pigeons. They are not flyers like mine were but rather just birds to … Read more

During the summer of 1951, I worked on a road construction project. An out-of-town company was paving a long stretch of highway and several other roads in that area. I helped the operator who ran the machine that actually laid the … Read more

There are so many times when we are waiting. For me, recently, it has been waiting for medical appointments and procedures. These days, we read about thousands of people waiting for hours or days at airports, now that people are able to … Read more

We had not been to church for quite a while, mainly because of the COVID-19 situation as well as on account of personal medical issues. But in April, we started attending again. Mind you, a lot has changed: attendance has decreased, and … Read more

It seems to me that a lot of time and effort goes into entertaining our children. During school breaks and vacations, we see reports on television about what to do and where to go: theme parks, craft fairs, hikes, and activities at nature … Read more

One day, we were watching a religious program on television, and the commentator mentioned that in worship, singing is praying. St. Augustine, who lived from 345 to 430 AD, is credited with saying, "To sing is to pray twice." In a … Read more

During the occupation of the Netherlands from 1940-1945, a lot of people listened to Radio Orange, a Dutch radio program aired by the BBC European Service on behalf of the Dutch Government in exile in London. The programs were typically … 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

The word "love" is used a lot these days. I've noticed young people saying, "Love you!" when they leave or part company. Love is expressed by total strangers, at times through cards or letters. So, I was wondering, what is "love"? Here is … Read more

It was 1940. I was just a six-year-old boy. I heard my parents, relatives, and friends talking about the possibilities of war in the place where we lived. I did not understand what that meant, and they explained to me that soldiers from … Read more

Has it ever happened to you that you thought of something, perhaps something in your past, and that made you think of something else, and then something else came to mind? That happened to me a while ago, when I was told that a … Read more

During the COVID-19 shutdown, for more than a year and a half now, Greta and I have watched a great number of services on YouTube from a church in the Netherlands, which we attended a number of times when we went there on a family visit. … Read more

Leading up to and during the Christmas season, we read how the angel of the Lord told Zacharias that he and Elizabeth were to have a child who would be the forerunner of the coming Messiah, how the angel told Mary that she would be the … Read more

Well, isn't that verse the truth! During the last eighteen months, I have been through a series of five medical procedures and one operation, and as I write this, I am facing some more tests and a major operation. The difficult days have … Read more

One day, we received a newsletter from a Christian organization, and much to my surprise, there was a Christmas postage stamp on it. This year's Canadian Christmas stamp has a simple line drawing of an angel blowing a trumpet over a … Read more

In May, I had some correspondence with one of the contributors to these PresbyCan Daily Devotionals, in which we commented on the fact that our small pets or animals can fall prey to a predator at any time. This made me think of the time … Read more

Early this spring, we heard and read about grass and forest fires in various places. We know from the reports that these fires are extremely hard to put out and to keep from spreading. I have a little bit of personal experience with a … Read more

Early in May, I was overcome by a wave of nostalgia. I was driving along and saw a long line of yellow six-inch pipe strung out along the side of the road. Obviously, there was a pipeline project in the making, and in an instant flashback, … Read more

For many years while we lived overseas, I did not have the chance to have a vegetable garden, but when we refocused — not retired — we had a good-sized garden behind the house. Since we downsized to a bungalow in town, I have had a … Read more

One of our daughters lives in the state of Michigan, USA, some 800 km from where we live. For many years, we went there twice a year, in the spring and in the autumn. Going there and coming back, we always went about halfway, stayed … Read more

For the people in the Netherlands during what is called the Hunger Winter of 1944-1945, things were desperate. The country had been occupied for almost five years. It was a very cold winter, there was very little fuel left, food was in … Read more

In his first letter to the "Pilgrims of the Dispersion", the apostle Peter gives all kinds of advice to young and old alike, and then he tells them: These verses remind me of a story that I read some time ago about a vendor on his way to … Read more

Because of the COVID-19 restrictions, there are many people, like my wife and I, who have not been to church for well over a year now. There are different reasons why people miss going to church. Some miss the fellowship of other … Read more

In March 1993, I had chest pains and periods of shortness of breath. I went to see the doctor, and he referred me to a specialist. After a number of tests, it was determined that my aortic valve was defective. It was leaking badly, and it … Read more

One day, we received a picture of our granddaughter and her husband holding their little two-year-old boy upside down between them. We could see their legs and the boy hanging there, laughing. He was not worried; he knew that his parents … Read more