At regular intervals, I have a telephone conversation with my lifelong friend in the Netherlands. Our loyalty to each other has been solid since our high school years. Even my move to another part of the world had no bearing on it. … Read more
Nutricia — that's one name that I'll never forget! It was given to a baby girl. Her mother got it from a label on a tin can. She liked the name, so called her daughter by that name. Nutricia was a brand name for milk supplements. In … Read more
When I read this verse, it hits me hard, because, as I look back on my life, during so little of it was I aware of the need to keep in step with the Spirit. When I look back at my training in the deaconess school, or even in seminary, I … Read more
Some time ago, I was asked to visit a lady in the hospital. She had just survived a serious operation, she was in extreme pain, and she was worried about her husband who was at home alone and not coping well. She wanted to tell me about … Read more
One of my goats developed the ailment called pink eye. This necessitated putting drops into her eye to clear it up. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong! Every medicinal episode developed into a dreaded wrestling match. Even when she was tied … Read more
How could it be that I had read this verse yesterday — glossed over it, really — and today, the same verse spoke to me poignantly? Today, my prayers were those of the destitute: the tired, the downtrodden, and the humble. How could it … Read more
During a Bible study class, I learned that some of the older women had asked for and received a verse from God for their wedding, a verse that sustained them through the ups and downs of married life. I had thought that the "Love is…" … Read more
An interesting television show, "Canada's Worst Driver", has been on the air for a dozen years. The premise of the show is to find bad drivers and turn them into better drivers. Along the way, the host reminds them of one of the most … Read more
Rehearsed materials tend to stay around longer. For the final two weeks of school, I required my middle school language arts students to rehearse what they had learned during the year. The final exam would cover the entire book, so I … Read more