Image by Keith Johnston from Pixabay By 1812 conflicts between Britain and France spilled over into a war between Britain and the USA, in which most of the action took place in Canada. When the war began, the US government assumed that the Canadian colonies would grasp the opportunity to throw off British colonial rule and become part … Continue reading The importance of being Canadian
Maintaining order in the home
This morning my wife got up early and went to town to get some groceries, especially oranges to feed the orioles. I got up later and puttered around, having my morning devotions and then had breakfast while doing a couple of cryptogram puzzles. Pookie hung around my chair, bunting his head against my leg a … Continue reading Maintaining order in the home
Funerals I have attended
Image by Valerie from Pixabay Since many of our kinfolk are not Christian, the funerals that my wife and I have attended have varied widely in their approach to saying good-bye to the dear departed. There have been funerals where the one officiating, minister or layman left us with a very positive assurance that our relative was now … Continue reading Funerals I have attended
Jesus the stage manager
Chapter nine of the gospel of John describes how Jesus healed the eyes of a man who had been blind from his birth. There are a number of details in this account which are easier to understand if we see how Jesus took this occasion to set the stage for a trap for the Pharisees. … Continue reading Jesus the stage manager
Don’t be a tumbleweed Christian
What is wrong when a Christian feels ill at ease among the people with who he worships? Is he a seeker, longing for a place where he can feel at home, put down roots and begin to flourish spiritually? Or is he ashamed of the people of God, thinking their way of living and expressing … Continue reading Don’t be a tumbleweed Christian
Biblical mush, or solid food?
“Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, … Continue reading Biblical mush, or solid food?
A Question for Older Christians:
Are you leaving a spiritual heritage for your children and grandchildren and others who come after you? Image by -Rita-👩🍳 und 📷 mit ❤ from Pixabay Grandparents can help children feel secure – help them know that they are loved even when they make mistakes. Children, young and old, love it when grandparents tell them stories. But what … Continue reading A Question for Older Christians:
The stubborn refusal of French people to stop speaking French
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay After Wolfe defeated Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham in 1759, the victorious British fully expected that the French of Quebec would quit speaking French and become Anglophones. Eighty years later in 1839, Lord Durham advised that being patient with the backward French Quebeckers would be the best policy, for they would … Continue reading The stubborn refusal of French people to stop speaking French
Basketball hoops and education
Image by David Mark from Pixabay When James Naismith invented basketball in 1891, he placed the net 3 metres above floor level. That is still the official height of a basketball hoop. But let’s imagine that the net has been lowered one centimetre every year, without telling anyone. The change would not be noticeable from year to year, … Continue reading Basketball hoops and education
The war against the family
Image by Alisa Dyson from Pixabay Since creation, the family has been the basic social unit, the basic building block of society. A solid home, knit together in love, where each one cares for the others and where the core beliefs of the parents are passed on to the children, is a major problem for Satan and the … Continue reading The war against the family
Flatlander Faith 