Rarely is there a newscast that doesn't carry a story of people being saved from burning homes, terrific car crashes, acts of violence, or other incidents which would have resulted in a different outcome had it not been for the valiant …( read more )

According to my wife, I eat some strange things. My wife and I come from different regions of South Carolina, and we have different eating habits. On one of our earlier dates, she was fixing my dinner plate. Out of habit, I said, "Make …( read more )

In 1948, a friend introduced me to his younger sister. In 1956, I married her. From the time we first met, I was impressed by how positive she was. I was all the more impressed when I learned that in 1937, living in Trail, British …( read more )

Sometimes, when situations arise over which I have no control, and I feel particularly overwhelmed, retreating to the comfort of my bed is wonderful. It is especially nice if I am having a good dream. In our dreams, we escape from pain and …( read more )

A friend returned from a blood donor clinic sporting a red Band-Aid® with the words "I gave life". That made me think about blood and how important it is. Blood is life. By the fifth week of pregnancy — the first week that a mother …( read more )

In our area, this past winter seemed like a long time coming, but once it started, it seemed that it would never stop. During the month of February, we had very little snow, but bitterly cold winds with low temperatures to match. Many of …( read more )

He had proudly denied the existence of God and spewed nothing but hate for Him, but that was before he lay on his death bed. The movie, God's Not Dead, details the story of a battle between a college freshman and an atheist philosophy …( read more )

Recently, I attended the memorial service of a Christian friend. While I have gone to many such events, this one impacted me as no other has done. This woman's life, from the time she became a Christian, was one of service to others. The …( read more )

One day, a truck burning diesel fuel passed us, and the smell of the diesel reminded me of two events many years ago. When I was a little boy, some of my aunts lived on a road beside a big canal in the Netherlands. Whenever my mother would …( read more )

Climbing up onto the stable roof and re-tarring all the rolled asphalt shingling is not my idea of fun. In fact, it's one of the last things that I ever wanted to see on my to-do list. And yet there it was: "tar barn roof". Oh me, oh my! …( read more )

It was His last miracle. When Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, one of His disciples tried to defend Christ with a sword and ended up cutting off the ear of one of the high priest's guards. It was a valiant effort, but a …( read more )

We were worming the livestock when the first goat injected began screaming in pain and then promptly fainted. Then, her sister, the next in line, repeated her performance. Alarmed at their reaction, we contacted the vet, who asked us to …( read more )

During Lent, I meditate on the prayers that Jesus prayed for us before He went to the cross. The Charles H. Gabriel hymn My Saviour's Love drew my attention to Christ's prayer in Gethsemane. I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the …( read more )

I don't want to go. I don't want to even think about going. I know it's going to hurt. I don't care about how great it will be for others, I just know that I will suffer. Maybe for a … (read more)

In a world with so many different spiritual writings, why should anyone pay special attention to the Bible as a revelation from God? For me, convincing evidence comes from the fact that Isaiah, living 700 years prior to Jesus' time … (read more)

I can remember taking an anxiety attack several years ago. One night, I woke with shortness of breath, and my heart was racing. I didn't know what was happening, and I feared the worst. I had no chest pains, and … (read more)

I confess. I like Christian romance novels. The hero always gains the affection of the heroine. Usually there is much kissing, but in the books I read, anything beyond that is implied, never stated. When I was growing up, our … (read more)

During one Lenten season, our church held a special presentation: Christ in the Passover. Hearing Jesus depicted as the Passover Lamb, I was inspired by the beautiful setting in which our Saviour instituted the Lord's Supper and shared this special … (read more)

Not too long ago, I was speaking with an elderly person. This individual was telling me the story of an old gentleman in excellent health, who committed suicide. He left a note telling his friends and family that he was … (read more)

A traumatic event in my life many years ago led me to pray these simple but difficult words of Jesus: "Yet not my will, but Yours be done." At that time, I was ready to surrender to God and submit … (read more)

I worked in the school system when my children were growing up. I knew all their friends and classmates. Time has passed. That generation now has school-aged children. Frequently, I meet these middle-aged adults. They always remember me. I haven't … (read more)

The phrase, "I don't know Him", hits me over the head as I read. Have I ever denied Jesus? On reflection, I must admit that I have, maybe unintentionally, but, yes, I have denied Jesus. There are many ways to … (read more)

At first, her story shocked me. "Yes", she said. "God did do a miracle in my brother's life. Even as a child, he was a very gifted artist. Realizing that an unexpected illness would kill him, our prayers refused to … (read more)

My friend gave me an old magazine to read, with the understanding that I should pass it on to someone else. The first thing I do with my own magazines is to rip out all the hard cardboard bits and … (read more)

I have watched many guitarists playing, some just by themselves, enjoying their time with the guitar and the music they are playing, others in a band, playing for a group of people to sing. I watch with amazement as they … (read more)

The loud pop startled me. I thought a stone had bounced off my windshield. But no. Instead, my rear window had splintered into a million pieces. Thankfully, none of the bits had fallen out of place and hurt someone. The … (read more)

Our local newspaper recently carried headlined stories for two days about a theft in our community. A young man, on a dare, stole a five-hundred-pound bronze horse that marked the entrance to a subdivision. He hadn't thought the situation through … (read more)

When my children were growing up, I worked in the school system, as well as having contact with the young people who were my children's friends and classmates. My children now have children of their own, as do others of … (read more)

Like Peter, we often choose to watch from a distance. This is a part of our human nature. For example, my house is a short distance from the fire station that serves our neighbourhood. Even after many years of the … (read more)

When I was growing up, my father always finished his breakfast with a sugared donut, often freshly made earlier that morning by my mother and left in the centre of the kitchen table under a domed dish. My younger brother … (read more)

One of my dear friends absolutely loves roosters. She has replicas of roosters on cabinet tops in her kitchen. She has a mirror and cabinet in the front hall with roosters painted on them. She has salt and pepper shakers … (read more)

For years, I've wondered how followers of Christ can inflict such deep hurts on others, and still call themselves Christians. About a year or so ago, I was revisiting the Scripture passage on the arrest of Jesus, and I noted … (read more)

In two short days last spring, my husband took sick, cancer was discovered in a close family member, my dad was taken in to the hospital, my husband's uncle died, a cousin was diagnosed with a brain tumour, our car … (read more)