Month: June 2009

"Good night, and God bless you!" was said to my siblings and me every night of our childhood, teens, and adult lives. My parents-in-law said the same to their children, and we did to our children, and they to their children and children's … Read more

Mom was a Roman Catholic, so praying to the saints came naturally to her. She had her favourites like St. Monica and St. Theresa, but usually when she was praying for me, especially during my drinking sprees, she would pray to St. Jude. … Read more

Bright sunshine flooded the fields as I drove to church. In one, a Holstein calf caught my attention as it gambolled around, testing its legs. Meanwhile, its mother contentedly chewed her cud. In another dandelion-dotted meadow, two … Read more

I first looked at page 186 over a half-century ago; now it's my computer's screen saver. For my tenth birthday, Mama gave me a small black Bible and said, "Son, wherever you go, take it with you, and when you're alone, troubled, afraid, … Read more

When I was growing up, I often heard the term, "the apple of my eye", usually from my grandmother, who used it for all twenty-two of her grandchildren. We don't hear it so much these days, which is a pity, because it's one of those … Read more

As I was reading the Scriptures the other day, I heard the dog door open and someone come in. Sharing my home with eight dogs and five cats, I never know just who that someone may be until they come into view. In this case it was Henry, … Read more

An old martial arts saying was passed around: "If you are going to have to go into a den of rattlesnakes, become a rattlesnake." The rattlesnakes do not prey on each other; they attack others. This is just another way of saying that we … Read more

When I was at high school, I had a part-time job on an ice cream van. For four nights a week, I used to serve up cones, wafers, and popsicles to families all over the subdivisions where the van travelled. On hot summer nights, the kids … Read more

With a new baby and a wreck of a house, I have a tendency to be focused on the job to be done: it is easy to do. Consequently, I am task-orientated, with a noticeable sense of satisfaction when a task is done. However, as I get older, … Read more

The sky was the most elegant blue I have ever seen. Our church building is located just on the edge of our city, surrounded by trees and farmers' fields. As I looked down the road in the distance, I saw the homes, the beginning edge of … Read more