How silently, how silently, The wondrous gift is giv'n! So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heav'n. No ear can hear His coming, But in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive Him still, The dear Christ enters in. (O Little Town of Bethlehem, 3rd verse, written by Phillips Brooks) … Continue reading How silently, how silently
Pigment triggered cognitive dysfunction
My personal observations, perhaps not very scientific but still quite realistic I believe, have convinced me that a substantial portion of humanity is afflicted with a strange malady. This malady manifests itself when a person meets, or even hears of, someone with a different colour of skin. The symptoms are that this person then seems … Continue reading Pigment triggered cognitive dysfunction
We need better Christmas stories
No, I don’t mean we should try to improve upon the stories in the Bible. They are wonderful as they are, and true. The problem I have is with the Christmas stories for children, and adults, that take some elements of the Bible stories, add lots of imagination and wind up sounding like fairy tales. … Continue reading We need better Christmas stories
The first day of winter
Today is the winter solstice, the day when winter officially begins. In real life, we've had a month of winter here already, with far too many days when the temperature went down to -30° Celsius at night and only went up by 5 or 10 degrees in the daytime. Our two youngest cats insist on … Continue reading The first day of winter
Getting the most out of church
Whenever I read that part of the Shepherd of Hermas quoted in yesterday’s post, it helps to re-calibrate the way that I view the church. Am I seeing her as a feeble old woman? Then I must conclude that there is some unresolved problem in my heart that is clouding my vision. The church is … Continue reading Getting the most out of church
Why? Isn’t always the best question.. or sometimes Odd is just odd!
Why? Isn't always the best question.. or sometimes Odd is just odd!. Worthwhile thoughts on child raising from a blog entitled Photo's, Hodgepodge and Miscellany.
Hermas’ vision of the church
The Shepherd of Hermas is an ancient Christian writing, probably from the 2nd century AD. These excerpts are taken from the translation of J. B. Lightfoot, first published in 1891. While I was advising and discussing these matters in my heart, I see, before me a great white chair of snow-white wool; and there came … Continue reading Hermas’ vision of the church
The star, the king and the foreigners
While the children of Israel were trekking through the desert after leaving Egypt, the king of Moab called on Balaam to curse them. Balaam found himself unable to curse them, rather pronouncing many blessings for them. The most notable was the prophecy recorded in Numbers 24:15-19, where Balaam says “there shall come a Star out … Continue reading The star, the king and the foreigners
My computer caught a virus
- and home remedies didn't work. Two emails written in Russian found their way to my inbox last week. At least they were written with the Cyrillic alphabet and I think they were Russian. The only part I could read was the dollar amounts. I knew they were not good news and hit the delete … Continue reading My computer caught a virus
A tactless conversation starter
There was a Bible College in the city where I was living forty years ago. At that particular time, there was an emphasis in this school on overcoming the inhibitions that would prevent one from freely following the leading of the Holy Spirit. At least that was the intention. A lady in the church my … Continue reading A tactless conversation starter
Flatlander Faith 