During the week between this past Christmas and New Year's, two white, pea-size eggs were carefully deposited in a nest the dimensions of an enlarged, thumb-sized thimble. The nest had been painstakingly constructed from spider webs and …( read more )
Search Results for: "Matthew 6:"
Power Lines
The message on the billboard caught my attention as we travelled the highway to home. It read, "STAY AWAY FROM POWER LINES", in large bold letters, along with an icon of a power pole. The message was obvious: the local power company was …( read more )
Family Day
Since Family Day was introduced in our province as a public holiday on the third Monday of February, I have taken a walk to the organized fun fair in the city. Streets closed for other traffic allow vendors to set up their tents, and many …( read more )
Why Worry?
Our city of Brockville, Ontario, has lost a lot of well-paying jobs as industrial plants close or move elsewhere. It is a time of worry for many affected, but one of the workers said this to me: "Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives us …( read more )
The World Or Heaven?
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 )
My Heart Sings
Last night, I was listening to the late news, and it was all doom and gloom: wars, devastating floods, murders. Why did I bother to listen to all of this upsetting stuff just before bedtime? I turned to a channel where I knew a good …( read more )
Kingdom Living
Several years ago after shopping in a Christian book store, I returned home to find a holiday gift included in the bag with my purchase. The gift was an inspirational book entitled "101 Resolutions for the New Year". Although this little …( read more )
The Relationship
What if my prayers always started with "Lord, I trust You to provide me with what I need", rather than "Lord, this is what I want"? As I have moved along in my walk and my relationship with Jesus over the past twelve years, I am still …( read more )
Establishing Priorities
When my career in education (now in its fifty-first year) began to move towards administration, I enrolled in a course called "In the Vice-Principal's Chair". It was an event on Thursday evening and all day Friday. On Thursday evening, …( read more )
Be Content
As I write this, it has just been announced that a number of baseball players have been suspended for the use of illegal, enhancement-performing drugs. They continue to be the subject of different news sources. These players obviously had …( read more )
Business On The Throne
The latest project that I am working on right now is compiling all my journal entries and transferring them onto a disc, as a sort of memoir for my children. I found one journal entry that I wrote a few years ago that intrigued me: Today, …( read more )
The Holy Name Of Jesus
Recently, while dining out with some friends and acquaintances, one person at our table began a tirade about the food that had been presented that evening, using Christ's name in vain. This has happened on more than one occasion, so I …( read more )
The Footprints
With numerous dogs running about the place, I also have numerous water bowls spread about, and these numerous dogs, drinking from their numerous bowls, often leave numerous muddy footprints on the floor with all their slurping and …( read more )
Know Your Own Story
Many years ago when we had three young children, our family went to Storybook Gardens in London, Ontario, Canada. It was a lot of fun — until my five-year-old son, Jonathan, disappeared. He had been firmly told to stay close by us, but …( read more )
Serving With Sincerity
I was serving, but deep inside, my motives were tainted. Fresh out of college and pastoring my first church, I was eager to impress … someone … anyone. So began my journey for recognition. In addition to pastoring and teaching …( read more )
Kindness, Gentleness, And Forgiveness
As Christians, what a tremendous challenge is presented to us in the prayer which our Lord taught the listeners of His day. We sometimes repeat the Lord's Prayer so glibly, without fully considering the responsibilities of our words or …( read more )
Looking Straight To Jesus
When I am kayaking out on the ocean, sometimes it is glassy calm. At other times, there are waves — lots and lots of waves. When I'm paddling with the wind, I find it exhilarating to surf the big waves, … (read more)
Our Father
It was Christmas. The family had gathered for the usual roast goose dinner. A spanking white table cloth and dishes graced the table in readiness for a fine meal. The youngest child, a four-year-old girl, sensed the warmth of the … (read more)
Yield Not To Temptation
What a time we had this morning on our walk. It was simply gorgeous! The sun was warm and caressing on my skin, and the breeze was so refreshing that I wondered if I should convert from being a night … (read more)
A Toy For The Offering
One Sunday morning, I was late for church, so I slipped into the corner of a back pew marked, "For Parents with Small Children." All around me were mothers and fathers with wriggly youngsters. A little lad beside me quietly … (read more)
Morning Commute
As I was driving to work this morning, on my normally two-hour-long commute through what seemed to be heavier than usual Monday morning rush-hour traffic, I was listening to the local radio announcers talk about an interview that they had … (read more)
Live Like A Sparrow
Once the snow has melted and the ground has thawed, I stop filling the bird feeder on a regular basis. It is during this early window of springtime when the mother squirrels are fattening themselves up that they commandeer the … (read more)
Return To Sender
When I collected my mail today, I found a greeting card that I had mailed weeks ago, returned to me marked "Return to Sender". It surprised me because the address I had mailed it to was the address given to … (read more)
A Perfect Circle
It began as a good day, those many years ago. Behind the steering wheel of my brother's car, I was about to have my first lesson in learning to drive. Beside me in the passenger side sat my brother and … (read more)
Stewardship Season
Like most churches, it's stewardship season in our congregation. For six weeks, we are all supposed to focus upon what we give to God through the local church. Each Sunday, church members give testimonies about why they support the congregation … (read more)