John Stuart

I used to fence with swords when I was a teenager. A friend and I somehow managed to purchase two foils in a secondhand shop. I think we originally bought them for a play we were doing, but we got … Read more

We have a Crape Myrtle Tree right in the middle of our back lawn. When mowing season begins, I have to struggle past the tree with my lawnmower. The tree is also on the side of a hill, so it's … Read more

Do you remember the old Frank Sinatra song called "My Way"? I can recall some of the lines and the one that comes back to me is "Regrets, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention." It … Read more

I served the Glen Kirk in Maybole, Scotland, for just over nine years. It was built on the side of a steep hill. On one side of the church, a hedgerow and hickory fencing separated the church property from the … Read more

While driving to work one morning, I was listening to a preacher on the radio. He said something like, "It's a lot easier to deal with God than it is to deal with God's people." I thought about that for … Read more

Our society is obsessed with trying to be perfect. People look for the perfect career, the perfect partner, and the perfect house. We struggle, strive, and get stressed out trying to reach that perfection. We purchase the latest gadgets to … Read more

"Bunkum" was one of my dad's favourite words. I don't know where he picked it up, because it's not native to the Scottish tongue. He travelled around the world as a merchant seaman, so I'm guessing that he learned it … Read more

During the mid 1980s a lot of people got interested in the reports of near-death experiences that seriously-injured and gravely-ill patients were having all over the world. Some critical event happened that made them feel that they were finally dying. … Read more

I can remember someone asking me why Christians sing so often in their churches. It puzzled him that we spend so much time in worship using music and songs to convey our praise and prayers. "If you cut out the … Read more

I was reading a newspaper report from Scotland one day recently, which revealed that the number of prescriptions for anti-depressants in the past year has reached an all-time high: 3.5 million in a population of 5 million. It seems to … Read more