Over the years, you have probably walked over many welcome mats at people's front doors. You may even have one of your own. The mat serves a practical purpose: to clean our footwear. But if it has on it the word "Welcome", it makes a …( read more )

The time had come for the passing of the light at our Christmas Candle Lighting Carol Service. As the light passed from person to person, it finally reached my row. The gentleman beside me held his candle so that the flame caught my …( read more )

It was a few days before Christmas. I was running my little out-of-print book business when a young rocker whose band was usually on tour came in. He'd come home to see his folks. "Have you got a copy of Robert Heinlein's 'Time enough for …( read more )

I sat in my recliner admiring my Christmas gift. My children had bought me a tablet. I was intrigued that I could read my favourite book without turning a page. "Nanna," Matt called. I barely heard my son as I fiddled with the tablet. …( read more )

It was during the era of the Great Depression. Our family knew well what it meant to make do and survive on little. Our home had burned to the ground. As a little child of about three, I had sat in a high chair well away from the blaze as …( read more )

I didn't go home the Christmas when I was 19, living in a Bible school dormitory in Portland, Oregon, USA. I had a job, and I needed the money. My employer was an elderly woman in an architecturally significant mansion stuffed with …( read more )

These days when Christmas dawn rolls around, no little fingers will be tugging at my covers wanting to open gifts; instead, my special adult son will likely be knocking on my bedroom door asking when breakfast will be ready. We plan to …( read more )

Last Christmas, I especially enjoyed the seasonal festivities, with vibrant colours, lights, socials, music, and so forth. It's surely the richest, most enchanting time of the year. Furthermore, the season gives us opportunities to do the …( read more )

"I do not like this time of year," I declare as I close the window shades at 5:30 p.m. "The days are too short and the nights too long." In Arizona, that means less than 10 hours of daylight, and for those of you further north, even …( read more )

We're all familiar with the nursery rhyme: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; All the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again. At times it seems like the world is falling apart, …( read more )