Author: Shirley Dobie

Jeramie, my three-year-old grandson, watched as my teenaged daughter, at the end of a summer's babysitting for my son and his family, helped load the car. My parents had come along with me to Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, to pick … Read more

Have you ever thought of the same old Bible stories as boring, since you've read them so often? Amazingly, after years of reading, I noticed two things in a recent reading about Jesus stilling the storm. The Bible tells it … Read more

Several years ago, I was in the city hospital, far from home. My family were far away, too, and those who came to visit could only spare a day, because of travel time. One day, I heard a nurse ask … Read more

Yorkie pups are so cute, but they must be trained not to bark at every moving thing. My daughter finally had the dogs trained not to bark when her husband came home in the night. The cockatoo couldn't stand that, … Read more

Have you ever noticed how older people love to go for a drive? My parents could hear car keys jingle like a child hears the ice-cream truck. So it seemed natural for his 90th birthday to take Dad for a … Read more

Today, I got an e-mail with beautiful pictures of ice sculptures. Earlier, I had one of sand sculptures, equally beautiful. Neither type is long-lasting and many people would wonder why one would spend time making such fleeting things. I could … Read more

My friend, Nomie, told me about her children. They were sixteen months apart, Lori being the older. One day, Lori's little brother was annoying her. When she complained to her mother, Nomie advised her, "Just ignore him." Later, when she … Read more

It has been almost two years since I drove home through the mountain pass. In early September, the changing leaves were glorious. One mountain had colours so evenly divided with deep green, gold, lighter green, and orange, it appeared to … Read more

When the children were at home, our garden was always monster-sized. Their help was needed to keep it up. On hot summer days when they helped me weed, I drove them to the man-made lake at the edge of town … Read more

Being late and holding people up are common occurrences. It can be very frustrating for the one left waiting. One of my childhood Sunday School teachers put a new slant on it. She said, "God has given each one of … Read more