The story of Jonah spending three days and three nights in the belly of the fish is one which many people find hard to swallow. For them, it seems like the biggest fish story ever. Today, I'd like to highlight an element in the story that …( read more )

Once again, I was not connected to the Internet, and I was in need of assistance. I contacted the service by telephone, and after the usual drill, the technician recommended that I let him walk me through fixing the problem. …( read more )

Last summer, our family took a trip that included Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming, USA. We learned that the park is situated over a dome of lava near the surface of the earth that creates a "hot spot" that fuels a huge number of …( read more )

I've been reading a lot about grace lately, and the more I read, the more I realize how amazing God's grace really is. G – God's R – Riches A – At C – Christ's E – Expense Grace, grace, God's grace, Grace that will cleanse and pardon …( read more )

I surely love the song, "Wonderful grace of Jesus"; the music alone fills me with joy and gladness. But understanding God's grace is not easy, for it takes honesty: it's not me that shines through what I do today, but God does, for …( read more )

Tomorrowland, the movie, is a 2015 American science fiction adventure film. The film tells the story of a former boy genius, jaded by disillusionment, and a young girl, bright, optimistic, and bursting with scientific curiosity, who …( read more )

In chapter sixteen of his book, The Power of Prayer, Andrew Murray deals with a subject that I am sure many people find difficult to deal with. It is the age-old problem of answers to prayer. So often we hear the complaint, "I prayed …( read more )

Preparation and patience — often these two do not go together. Preparation suggests activity, getting things done, perhaps working through a "to do" list. Patience, on the other hand, suggests waiting and, perhaps, slowing down. Each year, my children and … (read more)

According to Wikipedia, the expression "normalcy bias" refers to a mental state in which people underestimate or ignore the obvious signs of a coming crisis simply because it has never happened before. This reasoning can be applied to the attitudes … (read more)

Recently, my husband and I were driving through nearby New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Gazing absentmindedly out of my passenger window, I observed the city's landscape. At one point, we drove past a scrap metal dump where a large backhoe … (read more)

Every now and then, I have to remind myself that Christ can return at any minute. I often take it for granted that the world will continue indefinitely and that the seasons will come and go, just as they usually … (read more)

By an unexpected incident, I ended up visiting in a well-kept and stylish retirement home. Standing at the nicely-carved front entrance, I waited to be let in. The plush carpets, leather chairs, sofas, and mahogany furniture were many grades up … (read more)

My friend hung her purse on the back of the door of the public bathroom cubicle, and while she was otherwise engaged, someone stole it. "Once bitten, twice shy," I said. "I guess you will never do that again!" To … (read more)

We came to visit. This was little more than a boarding house and our Youth in Mission team was trying to offer a little variety to a summer's afternoon, a little variation to the tedium of the tenement house. The … (read more)

I am 73 years old, with four children (three boys and a girl), eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. My husband went to be with the Lord eight years ago. My native language is Finnish. My three-and-a-half-year-old great-grandson is extremely interested … (read more)

The thought came to me of an example of a driving force to go home. It is not very pleasant, but it exemplifies the message. I observed a dog, someone's pet, crossing the road for the last time. He darted … (read more)

If we take a Canadian five-dollar bill (or any bill for that matter), it tells us on the face of it what denomination it is, and we believe it. If we take it to the store and see something marked … (read more)

The Chinese have a way of saying a great deal using simple characters that join together to convey meaning. They have a character that stands for peace. It is made up of three separate characters. The first is ping, meaning … (read more)

Our God is awesome. Consider for a moment the wonder of our God's infinite all-knowing and all-seeing power. As a youth I remember a lesson in Youth Club which illustrated our relative understanding of things divine. It focused around an … (read more)

What is your dream, this December, this Advent season? What Christmas miracle would you like to see? It would be like a dream if we could wake up on Christmas morning to news that all the fighting had ended, all … (read more)