That was a little embarrassing. One poll revealed that most Canadians could not identify Samuel de Champlain as the founding father of the first permanent European settlement in what was to become Canada. Most people chose Jacques Cartier, which is understandable, as we credit him with the European discovery of Canada in 1534 and established…
What’s good for the Goose
"Why on my 6th and 7th birthday I coldn’t have a party, and you were?" That question was asked by 7-year-old Isobel in a letter she wrote to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Her letter was sparked by the revelations of sixteen social gatherings held at the PM’s Downing Street residence while the country was…
The Proof of the Spirit
Has anyone here ever grown fruit trees? Maybe an apple tree or a cherry tree. I am not a farmer or a gardener, but in 1990 we moved into a rented house we were told had five different fruit trees in the backyard. When I heard that I thought, “wow that’ll be cool.” The day…
That’s not a Stand
Boy, it’s hard to take a stand when you really don’t want to pay the cost of taking a stand.Earlier in the year, I heard about a potential boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The call to boycott the games began with the US and the UK, Canada, Australia, Lithuania and Kosovo have joined…
The Power of the Holy Spirit
Power of the Holy Spirit A few years ago, we had just arrived back in Port Canaveral from our February cruise and had taken the shuttle to the Alamo car rental lot. We did all the things we needed to rent our car. We showed them our licenses and declined seven upgrades, three insurance offers…
Chapter 37
What was Jesus like as a child?” Mary smiled. “It was easy to forget that he was the Son of God. He was just a kid, but a kid that didn’t seem to get in trouble. Which really annoyed his brothers and sister. I had to be so careful not to compare them with their…
Danger! Falling Iguanas
Beware of falling iguanas! While not a warning that we would hear in Nova Scotia, it has been a reality in Florida lately. It seems that with the recent unseasonable cold snap in Florida, the cold-blooded reptiles are freezing and falling out of the trees that they sleep in at night. Some weather reports in the…
Chapter 38
He was a great storyteller. People may have called him a teacher, but he taught with stories. He told us stories about beggars and kings, farmers and fields, fish and fisherman and brides and grooms. Sometimes the meaning was obvious. Like the story he told about the man who was forgiven the great debt but…
Chapter 39
It wasn’t long after that that Jesus introduced us to his friend Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha. We were on our way to Jerusalem and stopped in Bethany; the group scattered to find rooms where they could but Jesus invited Andrew and me to spend the night with him and his friends. Lazarus…
Chapter 40
Not everybody got it. The next morning, the rest of the group gathered together at Lazarus’ before heading out. Martha outdid herself again with breakfast, and when we were done we tried to help, but Martha wouldn’t let us. She said that it would take a week to figure out where we put everything when…