I have come to realize a lack of self-study. Just when I think I have it all together, something happens to make me see a need for a deeper inner look at myself. In a given situation, I often fail … Read more

I am sure that many of us have heard these words spoken at funerals. I just heard them again at a funeral. There are days when I feel that I have had to say good-bye to way too many friends. … Read more

I use hairspray every day, and sometimes more than once a day if I am going out in the evening. I have a can of hairspray in my bedroom where I do my hair. I have a can of hairspray … Read more

What does giving up one's life for Christ mean, and what does this look like today? This past year I have come to know something of what this means. Jesus used a wonderful family to be witnesses for Him. It … Read more

For the first time in twenty years, I visited the town where I grew up. A great deal had changed. However, en route to the banquet I was attending, I passed the block where three funeral parlours still stand. Memories … Read more

I have had a stiff arm for the past few months. It doesn't always hurt — only when I move it a certain way. I went to physiotherapy and it kept getting worse. I went to my doctor, and she … Read more

"Eerie" is how I'd describe my reaction to seeing Stonehenge. Walking around its perimeter in the rain last June was surreal. So many questions came to mind. How did the ancients move these huge stones? How did they raise them … Read more

For several weeks, my ninety-one-year-old mother-in-law has been adjusting to her new life in a long-term care facility. She soon became involved in the daily activities around her. Being a "people person" herself, she enjoys the interaction with staff and … Read more

During the summer, we have ferocious thunderstorms. Often, these storms are in the middle of the night. The thunder wakes me up, and I lie awake until the storm passes. My dad, on the other hand, would sleep his best … Read more

I am dyslexic. For those like me, the cost is high to unscramble jumbled thoughts and turn them into a straight line on a typed page. As a result, this process acts as a filter for what I write. These … Read more

I don't know about your wallet or purse, but mine contains discount cards, membership cards, cards that say who I am, and cards that allow me to receive health care and medical treatment. Most important are the cards that I … Read more

When I was a child, I lived in what was known locally as "the forks of the river". In order to go into town, we had to travel a dirt road and cross the river over an iron bridge. … Read more

All young children like to play the game of "peek-a-boo". Then as they get older, they graduate to games of "hide and seek". In the latter game, we used to hide our eyes, usually against a large oak or maple … Read more

Yesterday, I decided to take Monet, my dog, down to Mundy Pond for a walk around the pond. He loves his walks. Well, I only had to say, "Walk?" once for him to perk up and jump to his feet, … Read more

How often we have heard a few bars of a tune, or caught a faint fragrance of perfume, and are mentally transported to another place and to another time. Whenever I participate in congregational singing of that lovely song, "As … Read more

We grow so used to things always being in place and ready to go. The other morning, my husband said goodbye, went out to open the garage door and to start the car, only to re-trace his footsteps back into … Read more

A young lady pulled up in a car next to Caroline and me as we walked to the local shops. She wound down the window, and asked if we knew the directions to a local street. As it was one … Read more

"You'll know me by the picture on my book," she wrote. I know a little more than that about Anne Russell. By reading her book and her regular submissions to this page, I have learned some things about her faith, … Read more

There have been times when I have dropped slices of bread into my toaster, and gone on with other preparations, expecting to hear the pop that informs me that the toast is ready, only to realize that, after having used … Read more

One of my early school memories is of the Christmas choir concert. Our teacher was a stickler when it came to diction, and she made us repeat the words over and over. After several repetitions, one of the boys, who … Read more

Tonya Butler, place kicker for the University of West Alabama Tigers football team, accomplished a feat one recent weekend. On the opening play of the game, Butler made a twenty-seven yard field goal. She became the first female to convert … Read more

In my little apartment, people might say that my cats rule. Millie, my grey tabby, and Lucky, my deaf white kitty, would agree that they do, though I think that they like to make me believe that I do. They … Read more

I sometimes think I'm directionally challenged. I've been known to get lost in small towns, eventually discovering my destination, but having travelled several extra kilometres. Unlike me, my husband, Hugh, has a remarkable sense of direction. He tells me that … Read more

When I was a teenager, there was a story going around our youth group about a new pastor who was about to preach his first sermon. Apparently all the people in the little village were curious about the new pastor's … Read more

If my friend, Jim, had had any sense, he would have said "no" when I first asked him if he wanted to make some extra money helping me wash down sidewalks, stairs, and walls at one of the students' apartment … Read more

It was in 1994, during a visit from one of our daughters and her infant daughter, that a crisis occurred in our family. This dear child of God was only one month old. She stopped breathing following a cranky time … Read more

Two seemingly small incidents teamed together to direct my thoughts this week. The first incident happened earlier in the week, when over a hundred millimetres of rain (four inches) fell in less than a day. Basements became pools of water, … Read more

"I don't remember going this way before," I remarked to my husband, who was busy piloting our small car down a twisty dirt road through the back woods of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. "Neither do I, but the sign … Read more

Do you sometimes really have a problem making a decision? Sometimes we reach a fork in the road and wonder which way we should go. I travel north from Pittsburgh occasionally, through a little town called New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In … Read more

A number of years ago the volunteer co-ordinator at our local hospital asked me if I could spend some time with "Anna" (name changed) — a palliative care patient. Shortly before my first visit, the doctor had told her that … Read more

Years ago I met a new friend while camping in Newfoundland. Nancy was a dynamo with energy to spare, yet was never pushy or dictatorial. I wondered how she could keep her cool so well. Later I learned her secret: … Read more

I used to lead a Cub pack, and one of the things we taught was how to use a compass for direction, so as not to get lost in unfamiliar territory. The magnetic force of the earth always moves the … Read more

Once again, many are preparing for their summer holidays. We are so fortunate in this area, being only a few days' travel from many destinations. We could travel to the east, and visit the mysterious forces of the Atlantic Ocean. … Read more