Today's devotional title may remind you of a bad dream: the nightmarish experience of losing control. What I have in mind is no dream. It's the actual world that we experience: the horrifying absence of brakes on sinful desire — like …( read more )

I recall preaching on the above verse at the anniversary of a church that had closed years and years before. Each year, there was an anniversary service to honour the prairie pioneers who had built the church and built up the faith in the …( read more )

It was Sunday evening, and we were already tired just thinking about the following week. I had committed myself to entertain four days in a row, Thursday through Sunday, ending with a benefit for a cancer patient in one of our local halls …( read more )

On October 10th, the first anniversary of his death, we buried my late husband's ashes at the Cataraqui Cemetery in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Ernie was buried on top of his mother's grave, with the gravestone marker noting "Beloved Son …( read more )

The huge baobab tree still stands strong beside the road to my grandmother's village. It has been an amazing landmark all these years. There are no road signs, traffic lights, or street names on the way to my village back in Africa. …( read more )

We have a Fellowship Team at our church, which has sometimes jovially been called "the Ministry of Parties" because of all the social events that the team organizes. To some people, it may appear that way, but I know the … (read more)

In the area where I spent my childhood, there was an old iron bridge. It spanned the river on a dirt road, marking the one road the residents of Ellabelle community had for getting to the next town. Over the … (read more)

Little Opie on The Andy Griffith Show was devastated. It was report card day. He thought his eyes deceived him, but there they were — all "As". Andy was "proud as a peacock" and bragged of Opie's accomplishments. Opie soaked … (read more)

Winter had already come to the mountains of South Carolina. What we didn't know would hurt us. My brother, son, daughter, and I planned an overnight camping excursion near Oconee State Park. As we turned onto the partially paved road, … (read more)

Once I worked in a technical school where there was a vocational rehabilitation refreshment stand operated to provide jobs for the blind and handicapped. The man who operated the cash register was legally blind, but had enough vision to operate … (read more)

The name of my Ragdoll pedigree kitten's sire is Brightstone Prince Charming, so coming up with a royal name to register it was no easy task. Nevertheless, with a little help from my sister, I discovered that "rey" is Spanish … (read more)

The principal of my rural school in the nineteen thirties and forties was convinced that the today's Scripture was the answer to all child-rearing problems. The parents, who supported him completely, backed up his theory of "tough love". In those … (read more)

From the moment we are born, we are being taught. First, it is our parents, and then slowly, others are integrated into our lives: grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, babysitters, Sunday School teachers, school teachers, friends. We learn even from those … (read more)

I visited an old friend this morning. I shared some happy memories with him and even shed a few tears. I talked quietly with him and fondly remembered some of the things that we did in church. I thanked him … (read more)

He was barely seven when he arrived one recent morning at the building site (a project of our church to build a home for a needy family). He had his little tool box in hand, a bottle of water, a … (read more)

They call them "fairy stones" in Scotland. One sees them in the middle of fields. The owner of the field works around them and tries not to disturb these very large boulders, for fear of bringing a curse upon his … (read more)

My dad, who went to be with the Lord back in 1999 at the grand old age of 96, was a pastor for 65 years. He insisted on having family devotions every night after the evening meal, and all family … (read more)

"Aw! Do I have to? I'm playing a game right now." Unfortunately, when I was a child, all too often this was my response to my parents' call reminding me that it was time for family devotions. These gathering times … (read more)

I don't have gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but I do have treasures. This year I have decided to make memory books as Christmas gifts for our six grandchildren, from age nine to twenty-six. As I pore over treasures they have … (read more)

A few weeks ago, I attended the little Presbyterian Church in Ivy, Ontario, Canada (near Barrie), and received the best 65th birthday present that anyone could receive. My younger daughter sang her first solo — "In the Garden". How often … (read more)

Even though seventeen years and three thousand miles separated me from my youngest brother during his childhood, we've always maintained a close bond. I remember visiting him when he was six. He told me of his first year at school, … (read more)

As a young girl, I was always an "ideas" person. "Ideas" came naturally to me, so it didn't take much imagination at Christmas to suggest to school friends that we should gather together as a group to go carolling. The … (read more)

We are blessed in our retirement years to wake up in the early morning and look out across a lovely yard, and gaze upon a small lake, glistening in the rising sunshine. No, it isn't Canada, but South Georgia. Nevertheless, … (read more)

Sometimes, we who wear chains around our necks will unconsciously finger or twist them as we talk to people. One day, when my young grandson, Jesse (about four years old at the time), was sitting on my lap, he noticed … (read more)

What did the writer of Proverbs have in his mind when recording these words? Why should we read them today? Why should we hear them and place them in our hearts? It seems that God was using the writer of … (read more)

It's that time of year when the new, young robins are out of the nest. Although they are as big as their parents, the only way I can distinguish them is by the speckles on their breasts. All day long, … (read more)

At the age of about 3, and in the sanctuary for the first time, my son jumped onto the pew when the minister "ascended" into the wall-hung pulpit and, waving his hand, called out, "Hi, Mr. God, I'm Kenny." He … (read more)

Have you ever dreamed of finding a gold mine or an oil well on your property? Or have you looked at a rainbow and wished that the story were true about a pot of gold being found at the end … (read more)

My son Lucas, who is four, was sorting the family's laundry, shortly after the New Year. This was not his first foray into the art of sorting lights from darks, but he still sometimes asks for help. While I was … (read more)

The other day I was listening to a grandmother recount her joy at the progress her granddaughter was making in toilet training. She had just had a "successful sit" when the child stood up, turned around, looked down, and said: … (read more)

My earliest recollection of this verse goes back to Sunday School days and my perception of it was that if a child were brought up in the church and if the teachings of Christ were a part of his or … (read more)

A hundred years ago people were different. We were raised on the stories of how hard our grandparents worked, especially as children, and we were told to follow in their footsteps. In the Pictou Advocate of November 1895, an editorial … (read more)