A man asked for advice on how to keep raccoons out of his sweet corn patch. One man said to plant lots of pumpkins around the garden; raccoons will not go through heavy vines. The next man said to lay newspapers in the patch; raccoons will not walk on them. The third man said to … Continue reading Raccoon intelligence
Author: Bob Goodnough
A tree falls on the prairie
One hundred years ago, settlers came to the flatlands of Saskatchewan. No need for axes and saws to fell trees, just a team of oxen and a plough to turn the virgin sod and prepare it for a first crop. Of course, the lack of trees also meant a lack of building materials, so the … Continue reading A tree falls on the prairie
Trust and obey
We must not interpret trust and obey mean that we trust in our obedience. That is works, and we will probably choose to obey that which we think we understand. Rather, we obey because we trust that God has a purpose in what He asks of us, even if we don't understand it. That is … Continue reading Trust and obey
Saskatchewan – the sensible time zone
The world is divided into 24 time zones and Canada sprawls across 5½of those zones (more on that later). When the Canadian Pacific Railroad was being built, Sanford Fleming realized that the vastness of the country was going to be a problem. People still set their clocks by the time the sun stood directly overhead … Continue reading Saskatchewan – the sensible time zone
The Logging Bee
There was a man in our town, In our town, in our town – There was a man in our town, He made a logging-bee; And he bought lots of whiskey, To make the loggers frisky – To make the loggers frisky At his logging bee. The Devil sat on a log heap, A log … Continue reading The Logging Bee
But God can save us yet
The winter and spring of 1834 had passed away. The latter was uncommonly cold and backward; so much so that we had a very heavy fall of snow upon the 14th and 15th of May A late, cold spring in Canada is generally succeeded by a burning, hot summer; and the summer of '34 was … Continue reading But God can save us yet
Really Simple Testimony
“Tell what He’s done for you” should be a key part of sharing the gospel with others. It’s more powerful than any canned approach. Our testimony should sound natural and conversational, not scripted like a telemarketer. Nevertheless, there is value in writing out a significant experience to think through which details to include and what … Continue reading Really Simple Testimony
Put down that hammer!
If the only thing in your toolkit is a hammer, it's surprising how many things look like a nail. -Anonymous Some Christians are like that: "If you don't know Jesus, you're lost!" Pow! "You're living in sin." Wham! "You're on the road to hell!" Smack! "You need Jesus in your life!" Thud! All true, but … Continue reading Put down that hammer!
The myth of incompetence
“It’s just not my gift to witness to other people about my faith. I get all flustered and nothing comes out right. Other people can do it, but I just can’t.” Have you ever said something like that? I don’t know if I’ve ever said it, but I’ve certainly felt that way. After experiencing those … Continue reading The myth of incompetence
Foreign to Familiar
The Delta flight was leaving on time. Three of us were strapped in, one next to the other, each finding it easy to make small talk. As the plane lifted off, so did our burdens of office work. We were off to Glorietta, New Mexico, for a week-long conference, and our minds were filled with … Continue reading Foreign to Familiar
Flatlander Faith 