Years ago, a friend from a small group Bible study showed me this verse: The phrase "take delight in you with gladness" haunted me. I wondered over and over how the Lord God takes delight in me with gladness. Recently, a face-to-face … Read more

A fellow Sunday School teacher says that she gets more out of Sunday School than the children do. This devotional is about one of those experiences. Recently, while teaching Sunday School, I watched a second-grade student working on her … Read more

One morning in March as I stepped out my front door, I was greeted with "Dr-eee!" — the territorial call of a red-winged blackbird. That first "Dr-eee" was echoed by at least three more. On our wetlands, the song of a red-winged … Read more

A few weeks ago, the leader of our Bible study group took us through an experience of Lectio Divina (Latin for "divine reading") using the Scripture passage where Jesus speaks of Himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10:3-15. *Lectio … Read more

Last New Year's Day, I received by email a New Year's poem written by Frances Ridley Havergal 140 years ago. With research, I found that it may be sung to the tune used for the hymn, "The Church's one foundation". Another year is dawning, … Read more

Each year during Advent, I marvel at the angels' part in announcing the birth of Jesus to shepherds in a field. This year, I am paying special attention to the words "glory" and "glorifying" in Luke's Christmas passage, because they were … Read more

When we met on a sunny fall morning recently, my friend, Nina, offered me a wonderful idea as food for thought. Nina pointed out that because most of the leaves were off the trees that day, when roadside trees cast shadows on the country … Read more

Maybe you've had this experience: you open your Bible, begin to read a familiar story, and then, suddenly, your attention is taken by something you have not seen before. It is fresh and invigorating, and calls you to a new understanding … Read more

Recently on quiet summer mornings as I walked our country valley road, I was aware of sounds made by creatures and machines that I could not see. I heard engine noises from jets and propeller-driven aircraft. Truck and car tires hummed, … Read more

Perhaps you are like me. I have a good imagination and can let it wander with ease into conjuring up worst-case scenarios and doom-and-gloom pictures. I was well aware that Jesus told us not to worry. When I noticed that my thoughts … Read more

The writer of the Gospel of John does not identify himself by name in the text, but five times, he describes himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved". One day as I thought about what it must have been like for John to know Jesus' love, … Read more

A few months ago, at the first meeting of our Bible study group focused on the Gospel of John, I learned the context of the book. Jewish-Christians in Rome before 90 A.D. were shunned by both their synagogue and their extended families. … Read more

When I want to understand something, I use three questions to guide my inquiries: "What do you mean?" "How do you know?" and "So what?" As I read the gospel of John in preparation for discussions at our adult Bible study group, because I … Read more

The other day while working in the kitchen, my CD player provided a dramatic reading from Luke 24. The words from the recording that grabbed my attention were about the two disciples' Resurrection Day meeting with Jesus on the road to … Read more

Now, I think of it as Big Snow Blower Day. In January this year, after three consecutive arctic blizzards, it was a delightful relief to watch our neighbour, Don, drive his tractor and snow blower into the huge snowdrifts blocking our … Read more

For the first time ever, this winter, I strapped on a pair of snowshoes and hiked off at speed over head-high snowdrifts into our scrubby wetlands. It was giddy. As I made those initial strides, the thought came, "I am walking on water — … Read more

I discovered recently that one of the strategies used to tuck a large amount of information into human memory is to visualize an imaginary "memory house" where each room gives a place to store specific, important details. In preparation … Read more

The Spark Sunday School Curriculum lesson plan for preschoolers focused on how the Old Testament story of God providing manna, quail, and water for the children of Israel throughout the forty years they wandered in the desert teaches a … Read more

Perhaps you are familiar with this little song of praise and adoration to God: Lord, You are more precious than silver. Lord, You are more costly than gold. Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds, And nothing I desire compares to You. … Read more

I wondered whether it would be just empty words if I wrote "Happy New Year" to PresbyCan Daily readers. Then I remembered the two prayers written by the apostle Paul to the Ephesians. I pray those prayers almost every morning for loved … Read more

Perhaps you are familiar with the expression "ear worm". Most of us have experienced an annoying snatch of song that sticks in our memory and plays over and over inside our heads. The refrain from the Christmas hymn *Angels we have heard … Read more

With the book entitled Red Moon Rising, the authors, Pete Greig and Dave Roberts, make reference to a rising full moon known as a harvest moon, as seen by people in the northern hemisphere in the autumn. In their book, they recount the … Read more

I had a problem. After a long time of wishing it would go away, I finally prayed about it. "Father, I carry an abiding sense of being not good enough, being wrong somehow, and not acceptable to You. I wait upon You, Lord, for an answer I … Read more

For a while this summer, we saw no hummingbird visitors at our feeder. We wondered whether, with more flowers in bloom, perhaps the "hummers" did not need the feeder. When my husband climbed the ladder to bring the feeder in to refill it, … Read more

From May until September each year, my husband keeps a hummingbird feeder outside our east-facing window. One of the delights of summer is the wondrous pleasure of watching the daily dance of "hummers" as they swoop, dip, sip, reverse, and … Read more

Recently, the Lord brought to mind my experience of what I called at the time, "The Blessing of Clear Sailing". Beginning in 1999, throughout a 21-month regime of medical treatments requiring many long car rides, we travelled without … Read more

In homogenized milk, the fat-rich cream molecules are dispersed throughout the skim milk so that the liquid is all the same. Knowing God's wide, deep, high, and long love, made available to me by Jesus, is the rich cream of my life. God … Read more

Almost 60 years ago when I was a young child, my father supported our family by working shifts in an auto parts manufacturing plant. When my dad worked nights or afternoons, he slept during part of the day. I internalized a rule, "Don't … Read more

A landscape architect of my acquaintance envisions outdoor sport and recreation facilities, then draws plans so that others can build what he sees as possible. He supervises construction in the role of project leader while project … Read more

In the book What Happens When We Pray For Our Families, Evelyn Christenson described a prayer discipline that she uses at the time of major events in her family. For example, when Christenson learns of a new grandchild, she searches for … Read more

Each April for the past three years, our household has received a picture postcard from the office of the Grey County Weed Inspector. The cards advised of an invasive plant called Wild Chervil that threatens forage crops. The postcards ask … Read more

Let's read again the account of Christ at Gethsemane just before His arrest, but this time, watch the words "nevertheless" and "but". Luke and Mark also recount Christ's "nevertheless … but" prayer. In our English Bibles, two different … Read more

During Lent, I meditate on the prayers that Jesus prayed for us before He went to the cross. The Charles H. Gabriel hymn My Saviour's Love drew my attention to Christ's prayer in Gethsemane. I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the … Read more