How could it be that I had read this verse yesterday — glossed over it, really — and today, the same verse spoke to me poignantly? Today, my prayers were those of the destitute: the tired, the downtrodden, and the humble. How could it …( read more )

Looking back over the years, I note the number of times when I have felt ill, weak, and off balance. As I write, my health speaks to me of pain and frustration. I feel as if I just can't do it. I don't trust my own ability to get the job …( read more )

One morning, I decided simply to gaze at some blue jays just outside our window. I did that for a reason: I felt that I was becoming too complacent about blue jays. They're always around — plenty of them. I saw them mostly as raucous …( read more )

For many years, I went down the path of setting worldly goals and making New Year's resolutions, some of which were short-lived and left me feeling defeated when I inevitably failed. There were goals that I reached, but these achievements …( read more )

It has become difficult for me to position my left hand over the keyboard. I keep on finding new words coming out that do not make any sense. It is like having a strange limb that does not know what it is doing. I am, of course, asking …( read more )

Exceeding abundantly? Above all that I ask? Beyond what I can even imagine? How can that be? These are questions I asked. Each year end, I used to take some time to reflect on the closing year, to take stock of accomplishments, review my …( read more )

Our family was blessed with a spectacular mountain holiday this summer in Banff, Alberta, Canada, a vacation that has long been on my bucket list to experience with my boys. Our mountain holiday involved the literal climb out of the …( read more )

I had always wanted a horse, and our neighbour seemed to have just the right one for me. He was an old, retired pack horse, reliable, friendly, well-mannered, and very, very large. So large, in fact, that when I was in the saddle and he …( read more )

Some seasons in life bring triumph, some bring trials, and some bring a little of both. As winter transitioned into spring this year, to my dismay, it nudged me further into my season of spiritual stillness, a season designed to … (read more)

I was told that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. However, as a young girl, I was not very domesticated, and the kitchen was an unexplored terrain that I did not desire to explore. That left … (read more)

Each of us will face the stark certainty in the last day, the last hour, the last second of our lives — that there is nothing else remaining — just us and God. A few of us may be destined … (read more)

I have a sweet friend who always makes negative, unkind comments about herself. I look at her, smile, and respond, "Don't say bad things about my friend!" How many times do you hear someone making negative, disparaging comments about the … (read more)

Recently, my family experienced the loss of my husband's mother. During the final weeks of her illness, I was encouraged to see that she was comforted by her children and grandchildren who stood by her side until the time of … (read more)

My first job, when I was very young, was as an orthodontist assistant. The office was in the basement of a building owned by an alcoholic who lived upstairs. From downstairs, we could hear the verbal abuse and the arguments. … (read more)

I remember a song called Me and My Shadow. I was my father's shadow. Every Friday evening, we would go for groceries. Often we would have to walk because the car was not working yet again. We did the same … (read more)

Being an avid golfer, I do not miss many golf courses as we drive around the countryside. We were out and about a few months ago, and I noticed that this particular golf course had closed. To my dismay, it … (read more)

It was a rainy day and the air was rather fresh, when I thought about today's Scripture. I had been talking with several friends who were suffering, in particular, from cancer or from the loss of a loved one by … (read more)

Fields of blooming sunflowers always make me smile. In the early light, their bright faces are lifted to face the sun in the eastern sky. As the day progresses, though still rooted in the same place, their cheerful faces chase … (read more)

There are many functions involved in Advent: preparing, watching, and praying, but it's the waiting that is hard. We know Advent is here again when every parking spot at the local mall is full, and every square on the calendar … (read more)

My friend and I were to assist with the visit of a group of handicapped children to an animal farm. When I arrived at her house to pick her up, she introduced me to her daughter, who was going with … (read more)

After the birth of our first child, I had a longing to share her with members of my family. However, my parents lived in the northwest, and the trip from the east coast wasn't financially possible at that time. The … (read more)

"Wait! Watch! Pray for the One…" the choir sings. It's an anthem for Advent, and we have been practicing hard to perfect it, along with many others, all new to me. My problem is, I miss the alto note for … (read more)

I never thought of myself as a person "living alone". I just happen to be living by myself for the first time in nearly three decades. But others saw my life differently and responded in wonderful and affirming ways. I … (read more)

All of us, at some point in our lives, have wanted something so badly that, as the saying goes, we could taste it. Because of our fleshly nature, we have a built-in desire to obtain those things we want in … (read more)

The day after Ash Wednesday, as part of my Lenten discipline for this year, I participated in "a quiet day". It was a wonderful way to start Lent! There were eighteen of us, together with a trained leader, and we … (read more)

How often do we see or not see the amber light? We travel through our lives on the go. Referring to traffic lights green, amber and red, are we travelling too fast on the green? When the amber light shows, … (read more)

Nearly twenty years ago my family (my parents and brother) began studying with the Jehovah's Witnesses. Because my parents were disillusioned with their own church, they were very open to the teachings that were being presented to them. It was … (read more)

Bang! What a racket underneath us! It sounded like a bomb going off behind as the van rocked violently from side to side. Scary! Scary! Now what? Waving to passing cars is dangerous but I did it anyway, with a … (read more)

One thing I have struggled with in my life has been the fear of rejection. I just never wanted to face rejection. When I was in high school, I never had a date, because I was afraid of being rejected. … (read more)

A new paraphrase from the new Book of Praise for this psalm begins: "Safe in your hands O God who made me, what can there be that I should fear? You are my light and my salvation; strong is your … (read more)

Recently I was talking with one of my neighbours over the back fence as we hung out our laundry. Suddenly the conversation plunged from trivialities into one of those deep places that are always there, just under the surface. She … (read more)

There is a famous tale about the visitor who went to the great cathedral at Chartres while it was being built. Spying some men cutting stone, he asked them, "What are you doing?" They replied, "Cutting stone. Can't you see?" … (read more)

When the waves of grief swell and break upon us like ocean breakers, soaking us with pain, then in that moment, have we felt abandoned and alone? With the Psalmist do we cry, "Do not forsake me, O my God, … (read more)