Today marks 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses (statements) to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Some years ago, we were on a Cities of the Reformation Tour, and even though I was raised in the Calvinist …( read more )

When the practice of Hallowe'en is upon us, I am bothered by the activities of the day. It just rubs my spiritual health the wrong way. I have seen the dark side of that day and night. For many, the scarier the decorations for the day the …( read more )

This was the scriptural theme for a new Bible study, the verse to memorize. Later in the same day, as I opened the mail, a pamphlet from an evangelistic association proclaimed the same verse. Coincidence? This is how God gets our …( read more )

For a number of years, I found myself in an extremely difficult job situation where harassment and bullying from a co-worker was simply part of life. In time, however, it took more and more of a toll on me — body, mind, and soul — as no …( read more )

The past summer was unusually rainy here, so I've seen more rainbows than usual. The rainbow is surely one of nature's most stunning splendours. Its spectrum of vibrant colours never fails to capture our wonder. Furthermore, of all the …( read more )

Of all the sayings of Jesus, I find this one to be among the hardest to put into practice. Whenever people upset me, whether it be family, friends, or acquaintances, I initially find it difficult to forgive them. I think unkind thoughts …( read more )

Hearing about ugly episodes is a normal part of any day. The early settlers in the Virginia Colony along the James River — in what would become the United States of America — had some ugly in them, even though they were responsible for …( read more )

One of the big news stories of the past summer was of the wildfires that plagued British Columbia, Canada. Two months without rain made the forests tinder-dry. Lightning storms lit new fires day after day, and high winds spread them …( read more )

When we immigrated to Canada, we had to rent flats in various houses until my father and mother had saved enough money for a down payment on a house of their own. I remember my mother telling me that the very first flat that they rented …( read more )

I had gone around the neighbourhood as usual handing out some of my devotionals. Many took them, saying, "Thank you." A few said a bold "No!" That's how it was when a young lady told me "No". I still had the copy out in my hand when I saw …( read more )

Are you feeling lonely today? Loneliness is a hollow emptiness, a feeling of isolation and disconnection, of not knowing what to do, as no one seems to care. In reading about this subject, I note that loneliness is increasing everywhere. …( read more )

I miss my homing pigeons. I miss seeing them flying around the property, walking on the lawn, or sitting on the loft sunning themselves. I miss feeding them twice a day and just looking after them. After we returned from 20 years away from …( read more )

Baking bread in the summer mornings can be somewhat of a challenge, for I do not have the wood stove going, and the house is quite cool until late afternoon. Thus, once I have the dough formed, I scout about the house looking for sunbeams …( read more )

Several years ago, I received the following anecdote from a clergyman and saved it: There is a monastery whose members gather around a new candidate and ask, "Why do you want to join?" Candidates may say things like "I am seeking peace", …( read more )

She'd been in the closet for five years. Now she was coming out. Collecting old picture frames with photos of unknown dead people is a hobby that my wife doesn't particularly appreciate. She does love the old frames with the ornate …( read more )

There are some parts of the Bible that both intrigue and disturb me. Take, for instance, today's passage. Moses is being told by God what to do in order to free His people. It requires a face-to-face meeting with Pharaoh. Moses is scared …( read more )

This past winter, our family decided to renovate the kitchen in the cabin at our waterfront property on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. We had to rip out the old cupboards and wallboard, trash the old rusty range, roll up the …( read more )

Was there ever a time in your life when you just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide away from reality? Sometimes, I have thought that it would be so nice to fall down a rabbit hole, like Alice in Wonderland, and find a fantasy world at …( read more )

Presently, I have the children on holiday with me. I ask their help to enable me not to become snowed under with mess and noise. "Good luck!" I hear in the distance! As a retired teacher and old parent, I know that redirection, …( read more )

Our grey tabby cat, Joey Been, was so called as it truly seemed that he had been everywhere — a born adventurer. We never knew where we might find him next. One day, however, Joey and his whereabouts really took me by surprise. It was …( read more )

I'll never forget the "Holy Room" in my childhood house. We didn't call it that, but that's how it got treated. Although holy means sacred and consecrated, it also means set apart and separate from common use. This is the definition that …( read more )

Communication is an art — and difficult to master. Life is never easy when parents lose an infant or a young child. Though I've never said it myself, I've been in the presence of others who said to grieving parents, "God just wanted …( read more )

Long ago, a Thanksgiving Day was gloriously decorated with shades of autumn colours. It had been a busy day in my restaurant 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the Trans-Canada Highway. There was a break with …( read more )

In many parts of the world at this time of year, the leaves on the trees turn shades of orange and red. One of my favourite memories of Thanksgiving is of a friend and I driving to her cottage on Oxtongue Lake, near Algonquin Park in …( read more )

On the afternoon and evening of September 29th, we had a violent storm here in southern Ontario, Canada. Early in the afternoon, the branches on the trees in front of our house started to whip around. As time progressed, the wind became …( read more )

Throughout our married years, as times and people came and went, our Thanksgivings consisted of hosting parents, relatives, friends, university students, and then, our adult children and little grandkids. However, as time moved on, …( read more )

Shortly after seven o'clock each morning, I take our dogs for a walk. One day this past weekend, one of my sisters, who was staying the weekend, joined me. That was fun for all of us: she and I enjoyed watching our animals, and they …( read more )

Tragic events that have occurred over the past few weeks have had an emotional impact upon us. Hurricanes and floods, mass murder and terrorism, and even the deaths of music icons like Tom Petty, have severely dented the well-being and …( read more )

As I turned off my television last Saturday night, I was nearly in tears. I had been watching the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, last week. Wounded veterans from 17 countries, 550 of them, many …( read more )

This past summer, friends of ours flew in unexpectedly to nearby Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for a holiday. By the time that we had found out about their visit, they had already rented bicycles and cycled all around the lengthy …( read more )

What is happening on our planet? Wildfires are raging in one part of our world, devastating hurricanes and tornadoes are destroying buildings and lives in other parts of our planet, and protests and an impending war are headlining the …( read more )