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

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

When I entered the grocery store last week, something was different. Not just the lineups, the tape on the floor marking lanes, and the staff who were directing people to the checkout. Not just the empty shelves. It was the silence. … Read more

There are a lot of old sayings in my memory bank that pop up at appropriate moments in my life. It's a legacy from my grandparents, with whom I lived for twelve years. Recently, one came vividly to mind: "Eat what you can and can what … Read more

Because I was an athlete in my younger years, God often uses sporting illustrations to teach me spiritual truths — they resonate with me. I was reminded of one of those when we took the grandkids to the swimming pool during March … Read more

In the six years since we bought a home built in 1901, I have spent quite a bit of time stripping paint off doors, trim, and walls. The accretions of the ages had become ugly and needed to come off so that repairs could be made and fresh … Read more

What do you want? What a good question! In a course I once took, it was one of the most important questions: Why are you here? What do you hope to gain? What do you want? Many of the exercises that we learned were to help us to attain … Read more

Today, I am making four batches of my favourite dessert: creamy rice pudding. It was in response to a request for the community dinner in two days. I could eat bowl after bowl of it, it's that good, so it has been a bit of a struggle. I'm … Read more

I have a mantle clock. It's quite old. It needs winding about once a week. Because it chimes the hour, re-setting it is a pain if I forget to wind it and it stops, because I would have to allow all the chimes to cycle. So, when it stops, I … Read more

As a member of the Board of the Renewal Fellowship Within the Presbyterian Church in Canada, I have come to appreciate more and more the importance of prayer in our day and time. The prayer initiative for the last few years has been based … Read more