Month: September 2007

In recent weeks, the residents of my town, Mission, British Columbia, Canada, were very proud that one of our own, Carly Rae Jepsen, had made it into the top three in the Canadian Idol singing competition on Canadian television. I … Read more

We have had a few worm days in our life recently. Hubby has been taking chemotherapy. Fear raised its head in our house for a while, and made us feel quite worm-like. I thought that meant small, insignificant, cowering, and … Read more

Last summer, we were camping with a group of family and friends. One morning, one fellow came out of his camper, only to meet face-to-face with a bear — yes, a real, live black bear — which was sitting and … Read more

There is something about the coolness of fall — the rain, or in this case, wet snow — that causes me to feel the need to tidy up some drawers that over the summer have accumulated more than they should … Read more

He was barely seven when he arrived one recent morning at the building site (a project of our church to build a home for a needy family). He had his little tool box in hand, a bottle of water, a … Read more

It was four o'clock in the morning on a moonless, muggy night — just the way I wanted it. With 240 pounds of bulging blubber and mushy muscles on a five-foot, eleven-inch frame, I wanted no one to see me … Read more

There's an old joke from Scotland about a wee boy who comes back from his first day of school. His mom asks him how it went, and he answers: "It was okay, but I don't need to go back. The … Read more

My husband works with wood; he does all kinds of woodworking. He has renovated our home; he makes tables for others; he builds shelves or walls where needed at work. Furniture is the thing that he likes to build. He … Read more

Several years ago, I was in the city hospital, far from home. My family were far away, too, and those who came to visit could only spare a day, because of travel time. One day, I heard a nurse ask … Read more

A woman in one of my congregations had numerous sayings, one of which was, "My mother used to say, 'I know you're busy, Isabel, but is it a good busyness?'" That is a good question for us to ponder. We … Read more