In the middle of December last year, I went to our daughter's hairdressing salon to get my hair cut and my beard trimmed. It was the middle of the afternoon, and there was no one in the shop. She told me that business was really slow. She … Read more
As I was looking through some of the Christmas carols in the hymn books that we have, I noticed that a fair number of them refer to either the stable or the manger: "Once in royal David's city stood a lowly cattle shed" or "Child in the … Read more
Through media reports of displaced refugees, and even close to home, we are confronted with the poor in the world on a daily basis. I was discussing this with a friend one day, and we concluded that each one of us in our own way would try … Read more
In 1973, there was a perceived crisis: a shortage of crude oil. We were told to conserve fuel, to drive less, and to share rides. In the Netherlands, where we were living at the time, we were given gasoline coupons, which enabled us to buy … Read more
Some years ago, we went on a "Cities of the Reformation" tour. One of the places that we visited was Eisleben, Germany, where Martin Luther was born on November 10th, 1483, and died on February 18th, 1546. Luther boldly protested against … Read more
A member of our church called me one day in September to ask if I could help her. She was born in the Netherlands and followed her Canadian soldier fiancé to Canada shortly after the war. They married and had five children. Her husband … Read more
One Sunday in August, we went to a rural church. In the bathroom, there was a sign that said, "Do not drink the tap water". There are various reasons why water is not fit for human consumption. For example, although the water may taste … Read more
One of our local churches is in a high pedestrian traffic area, just off the main street, next to the post office and close to the library. In front of the church, there is an electronic sign which has a slogan on it, as well as the time … Read more
I was reading a book about camel caravans in the desert and the kinds of goods that they transported from one place to another. It reminded me of the time when I lived in the desert in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman in 1965-1966. At that … Read more
We have a wooden deck behind half of our house. It is a place where we can sit when the weather is good. It is about three feet (one metre) off the ground, with four steps at one end to take us down to the lawn, the vegetable garden, the … Read more