Year: 2011

When I try to imagine what the shepherds witnessed, the best description I can muster seems totally inadequate: an awe-inspiring light show, an angelic proclamation, and a chorus of the army of heaven praising God and invoking His peace. What … Read more

A Latvian friend told me this story that took place more than a half century ago when she was a little girl about 6 or 7. That year, her Christmas gift turned out to be two writing/drawing pads. As a … Read more

It had been a long day. It commenced at 3:30 a.m. when I was called into the jail and was just ending now at 5:30 p.m. Ending was not exactly the right word, however, as my daughter had taken over … Read more

I can remember when I was a youngster that the first thing I would do when I visited my grandpa, with my parents, was to go to his closet where he kept his guitar. Sitting and strumming that instrument often … Read more

I don't even remember her name, but I vividly remember the conversation. She was a middle-aged woman, and I was in my early thirties. She spoke English as a second language. We were acquaintances and had agreed to get a … Read more

Last year while shopping at a local thrift store, I was surprised to find a Christmas Bible study book with the odd title, Christmas from the Back Side, written by J. Ellsworth Kalas, a professor who teaches where my son … Read more

I live in a diversified, multi-cultural area to the northwest of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This area I now call home was only a small town sixty years ago. Now it has multiplied into the thousands. And yes, … Read more

This will be the sixth year that our church has presented "Scenes of Wonder" — a display of over two hundred crèches/nativity scenes from all over the world. The crèches are brought in by members of our … Read more

Since my dad passed away three years ago, Christmas at our house has been very different. We do the family get-together about two or three weeks before Christmas, and the family comes for dinner. As Christmas approaches, though, our house … Read more

Their faces were solemn when entering the cafeteria, but smiles soon appeared as we welcomed them with "Merry Christmas" and loaded their plates with home-cooked food. When we offered them seconds, the entire group returned. As they shuffled through the … Read more