Most of us, at least in Canada, have heard the sad story of the young couple convicted of failing to provide the necessaries of life to their child. The boy was sick for 2½ weeks, a friend told them it was probably meningitis, but they never took him to a doctor until he stopped breathing. … Continue reading Finding peace in time of sickness
God Save the Queen
It was Wednesday morning, February 6, 1952. I was nine years old and in Grade Five. When I got up that morning, the radio was playing solemn, stately, orchestral music. That was all we could get on any radio station. The eight o'clock news told us why – King George VI had died and his … Continue reading God Save the Queen
The loneliness of the pathfinder
Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. Isaiah 6:16 We have joined a grand throng of pilgrims and strangers, wending our way through a wilderness where we have never … Continue reading The loneliness of the pathfinder
Gossip
Gossip. talk or news about the personal lives of other people that is often not kind or true. The above definition comes from the Harcourt Brace Canadian Dictionary for Students, © 1997. I think this was the best school dictionary ever, but it is unfortunately out of print due to Thompson Corp buying up a … Continue reading Gossip
Monoculture
Monoculture is a term used in agriculture to describe the planting of a single crop in a field. It is also used in a narrower sense to describe the widespread planting of a single cultivar. This is the sense which I will refer to. This kind of monoculture results when a cultivar is developed which … Continue reading Monoculture
Prioritizing doesn’t work for me
My wife had her first round of chemotherapy on Monday and Tuesday. It went as well as one can expect this sort of thing to go – they were long, tiring days but she doesn't appear to feel any worse from it. After another round or two (the treatments will be monthly) her energy level … Continue reading Prioritizing doesn’t work for me
Did King Solomon hate women?
Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account: which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found. Ecclesiastes 7:27-28 This sounds like a pretty severe indictment of women, … Continue reading Did King Solomon hate women?
Am I a soldier of the cross?
“Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof” (Judges 3:1-2). … Continue reading Am I a soldier of the cross?
Robins and skunks on O’Malley Road
The songbirds are back: robins, meadowlarks and others – spring has come to Saskatchewan. Sometimes we can even tell it by the weather. Last Saturday was a beautiful sunny day with a high of 22° Celsius. That would be 72° in Americanese. This morning the ground was white again for several hours and the high for … Continue reading Robins and skunks on O’Malley Road
In praise of a good nurse
At first I was only dimly aware of a discomfort in my side as I chatted with our Sunday guests. I tried to keep up my end of the conversation as the discomfort made itself felt more keenly. Half an hour later I could no longer ignore the pain; I told our guests I was … Continue reading In praise of a good nurse
