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
My parents lied to me
I don't recall how it was taught, but right from my very earliest memories of Christmas I knew that most of my gifts came from Santa Claus. Of course there were other gifts from family members, but the most important ones came from Santa Claus. We lived in a rural area, there were no malls … Continue reading My parents lied to me
Brotherhood aid
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite began mission work in the Philippines about thirty years ago (I couldn't find an exact date). A number of small congregations have been established and ministers and deacons have been ordained. While the numerical growth has not been rapid, there has been real spiritual growth in the members … Continue reading Brotherhood aid
It’s what’s left that counts
This was the motto of Cliff Chadderton, who died a week ago at the age of 94. In October of 1944 Cliff was the commander of a company of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles as the Canadian army began the push to liberate Belgium and Holland from the Nazis. He was injured for the second time … Continue reading It’s what’s left that counts
