Month: January 2025

When I first arrived in Alberta, Canada, at a new pastoral charge, there was great anxiety and stress. Could I survive without my wife of 25 years and my family for such a long time? We had never been separated for more than a few days at … Read more

I love to travel with my husband, whether it is by road, ship, or plane, but for some unknown reason, for the last two years of my mother's life, I developed a fear of flying. The thought of going to the airport and getting on a plane … Read more

It was a trip my dad was not to forget. It was a fishing trip to Canada with my husband, Larry, and some other guys from the church. My dad was the greatest fisherman I ever knew. He fished on the hottest of days, or he would drill a hole … Read more

I am familiar with hiding. Apart from the regular game of hide-and-seek, my cousin and I often invented other hiding games. We invented imaginary giants to hide from in my grandfather's barns. If we chose to play cowboys and Indians, one … Read more

A common theme these days seems to be focusing on forgiving. Several news stories have zeroed in on it and a couple of documentaries have featured people who have forgiven someone and how healing it has been. A woman forgave her husband; … Read more

Sienna, my Yorkshire Terrier, weighing in at just over five pounds, is the smallest of my seven dogs. Being tiny, however, has never stopped her from keeping up with the pack on woodland trails, snowy paths, or anywhere else we might … Read more

I remember the iconic RCA Victor trademark found on old record labels depicting a dog intently listening to "His Master's Voice" coming from the old windup cylinder phonograph. Do you? A dog's rapt attention to his master's voice is an … Read more

Each day when I leave the house, I give myself a little pat-down. Bulge in the right pocket — that means I've got my wallet. Lump in the left-hand pocket. That's my house keys. Need those. Bump in the top pocket. I've got my pen. Bump in … Read more

I have had athlete's foot, a fungal infection, since I was a child at school. It comes and goes, but never goes far. I used to use a well-known make of antifungal cream, but it was useless to stop the fungus. Then one day, I found a … Read more

One afternoon, around three years ago, I came to our church and saw a middle-aged man sitting on the pavement outside. As this was a church for students (and I was an undergraduate), his presence was odd. Also, the fact that he was just … Read more