1. If ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. (3:14-15) No matter how right I am about something, if I let myself become angry and bitter, I am wrong. 2. The wrath of man … Continue reading Lessons for life from the epistle of James
love
Fifty years ago
It is 50 years since the Jesus people movement began in California. It followed close on the heels of the Summer of Love, that brief period in time when disillusioned young people believed they had found the solution to all the world’s problems. “All you need is love” by the Beatles was their theme. They … Continue reading Fifty years ago
25 Flavours of Mennonites
When we lived in Ontario it would happen from time to time that someone I had just met would ask me what kind of Mennonite I was. “Does your church allow cars? electricity? telephones?” I knew these questions arose because there were at least 25 flavours of Mennonites within a 100 km radius of where … Continue reading 25 Flavours of Mennonites
How can killing make the world better?
It's in all the news media today. A man in Pittsburgh believed the world would be a better place without Jews and this morning he did his part to make it happen. This seems to be a time-honoured tradition; if you can't handle your own problems then blame them on somebody else and try to … Continue reading How can killing make the world better?
Reality
This is my Father’s world. I did not ask to be here. I cannot choose to be in another world. This is it and I may as well make the best of it. I am made in my Father’s image. Even though I am earthly, like the animals, with all the capacity for savagery that … Continue reading Reality
A time to learn
Suddenly, almost unexpectedly, we were parents. We placed our baby into the blanket lined oval laundry basket on the seat between us and drove home. Up to this point we had thought we knew all about how to raise a child. What we really had were strong ideas about the mistakes our parents had made … Continue reading A time to learn
And then we were three
“Herb and Hilda are applying to adopt a baby,” Chris announced one day. Herb and Hilda were a young couple around our age in the Lowe Farm church. That simple bit of news started wheels turning in our minds. We wanted a family and so far there was no sign of that happening. Adoption had … Continue reading And then we were three
Memories of a Bridge Builder
My mother was born to a family that spoke Plautdietsch at home and German in church. Those languages, sometimes called Low German and High German, were meant to be a protective wall, preventing folks of that heritage from feeling at home with the people around them. They also served to exclude the people around them … Continue reading Memories of a Bridge Builder
Fire Road – a book review
FIRE ROAD - The Napalm Girl's Journey through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness and Peace, by Kim Phúc Phan Thi. June 8, 1972, a nine-year-old girl had the clothes burned off her back by napalm during the Vietnam war. The photo taken by AP photographer Nick Ut won him a Pulitzer Prize and … Continue reading Fire Road – a book review
Can there be peace in Babylon?
Jerusalem had been destroyed and the Jewish people carried away as captives to Babylon. There were prophets among them telling them that God was soon going to set things right, punish the horrible people of Babylon and bring them back to their own land. Jeremiah sent a letter to the Jews in Babylon, saying essentially, … Continue reading Can there be peace in Babylon?
Flatlander Faith 