There are well-meaning Christians who put much emphasis abiding by correct doctrine, even adding numerous rules of guidelines as rules of conduct. The intention is to construct a barrier around the people of God so that they would know not to stray far from the truth as given in the Word of God. But where … Continue reading Living in the presence of the Shepherd
Never alone
I expect most people know where I am headed with this post, but there is some rough terrain to be covered first. Alone with God is a wonderful place to be, but there are a host of other spirits vying for our attention. When destructive thoughts come – anger, envy, lust, suspicion, resentment and the … Continue reading Never alone
The intelligence of cats
Last Wednesday we put Angus, our middle cat, into the cat carrier, put the cat carrier in the car and drove off to the vet's office. We dropped him off there to get his annual shots and left for the human health clinic, where my wife and I had our flu shots. Now Angus is … Continue reading The intelligence of cats
Colonial Christianity
The colonial conquerors all considered themselves to be Christians and were convinced that they were bringing enlightenment to the poor heathen of the conquered nations. Francisco Pizarro and his men went for the direct method – they rounded up the Inca leaders, forcibly baptized them and then executed them. In their minds, this expedient served … Continue reading Colonial Christianity
Raccoon intelligence
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
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
Flatlander Faith 