In the early days of the horseless carriage, a plank road was built through the deserts of Imperial County, California, USA. Thousands of planks were laid horizontally in an attempt to access that most difficult part of a commerce route … Read more

Do a favour for a person, and the world will reward you with a flat tire — or so it seems! The last few flat tires have had the same scenario: call the tow truck for a ride home, just after I had done a favour for a friend. My … Read more

I didn't want to, but God was telling me, "Take the boat." Tuesday was a beautiful, blue-sky day, again, and the kayak lay out in the courtyard, its wheels tucked up under its keel, beckoning to be used. But I had a Bible story to prepare … Read more

"It is hard to forget pain, but it is even harder to remember sweetness. There is no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace." (Chuck Palahniuk) "Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, … Read more

Every day can be an adventure with the Lord, a "God day", even if we don't see it at the time. God always seems to give me a personal analogy when I give the Sunday School lesson for the kids at church.

My lesson was from the book of … Read more

It took much too long for October to get to November. Decorations of horror and death littered neighbourhood lawns, and automated electronic hands moved on the desktops of fellow workers when I passed, reminding me of unseemly things that were … Read more

"Random" is a trend term. Middle school-age students use it for a level of cool. Random is out of our control — we're unable to manage, manipulate, or direct it. Random is unrelated to the thought process of a conversation. … Read more

I bought my husband an ocotillo cactus last week. It is supposed to grow rather large, but it looks rather dead. The roots are hacked close, and we really have doubts that it will grow. What we need is good soil for this dead trophy in … Read more

I have noticed in our travels some very uninviting environments where the people are very poor. The water is at a public faucet or a water truck, or existence requires many hours hauling water for household use, bathing, cleaning, or … Read more

I live in a dirt area. The rainfall is twenty inches a year at best. As I write, the last measurable rainfall was six months ago. The dirt we have is a good dirt, as a farmer views it. We do have agricultural crops planted strategically … Read more

Rules structure our lives. If we don't have enough laws of the land to police ourselves, we make more rules — for our homeowner associations, for example. It seems like we cannot do anything correctly without some governing organization directing … Read more

At a Bible study the other night, we were amazed at the spirit given to martyrs as we discussed Daniel chapter 3. We look at our own weakness, and we just know that we could never be so strong to … Read more