John Stuart

When I read this verse recently, it reminded me of the beginning of an old nursery rhyme that always puzzled me. Perhaps you remember it as well: How many miles to Babylon? Three score miles and ten. Can you get … Read more

I used to hate a guy called James [not his real name] who lived about five hundred yards from my home. I don't what started the rivalry, but his house was in a different street, so that automatically put him … Read more

I used to play field hockey for my high school. Because I could run fast and score goals, my coach appointed me as the team captain. Field hockey is an aggressive game, played over two forty-minute halves, which means that … Read more

It's amazing how much emotional baggage and physical damage we endure simply because we will not let go of our guilt or own up to our mistakes. Last week, I was at a coaching-counselling centre which works primarily with pastors. … Read more

I learned how to pitch a tent with my Scout troop at a camp in Scotland called Auchengillan. Our scout patrol was full of tenderfoots like myself who knew practically nothing about camping, but we watched the older scouts put … Read more

"Seeing is believing" is an old saying that reminds us that unless some people see proof of a fact, they won't believe it. There is a Scottish play, which is set in a pub, with a bartender who doesn't believe … Read more

They say that a new generation is born about every 20 to 25 years. This may mean that in any given century, four to five generations of one family are born. In the twentieth century, my grandfather was born in … Read more

Scottish people sing the hymn "Amazing Grace" differently from the rest of the world. This is because of bagpipes — and no, it's not because we become tone deaf through constantly hearing them. It's because most Scots grow up hearing … Read more

I can remember, when I was a teenager, falling on my knees in our family kitchen and crying uncontrollably. My mother had just been taken away by the paramedics to the asylum again, after another terrifying outbreak of her schizophrenic … Read more

For years, a pair of collared doves used to nest in a hanging basket outside my grandfather's home. All day long, they could be heard cooing to one another, as if they were saying, "I love you." They were beautiful … Read more