Whatever He Says

Two friends, Magda Wills and Marilyn Yocum , shared their responses to yesterday's post:  All the Time in the World . Marilyn wrote in the comments and Magda in an email. I am sharing Marilyn's comment so that no one misses it and  Magda  gave me  permission to share her story.  Often the responses to something I've written reinforce or expand on a point, and I love to "carry the conversation" further. Marilyn wrote: I never wore a watch while visiting my mother the last few years of her life. I would try to arrange my visits with no hard stop, running all my errands beforehand.   At times when I was there I'd recall some little errand I meant to do and still had time for, if I hurried off. I'd be tempted, then decide it could wait.   There isn't much you can give a 90+-year-old except your time.   What a gift to visit someone and leave your watch at home. I loved the thought of a "visit with no hard stop."  Magda wrote:...

By Belinda We worked our way down the aisle of the KLM Cityhopper that was about to take us from Birmingham to Amsterdam; where we would connect with our flight to Toronto. We found our seats in row 16; and squeezed into the tiny middle and aisle seats. A man was already seated in the window seat, and as we waited for take off I closed my already heavy eyelids. I could hear snatches of conversation between him and Paul and wondered briefly how my reserved husband would manage with a chatty seatmate, but I had been up since 2.00 a.m. and the pull of sleep was irresistible. I woke short minutes later with a jump, to the plane accelerating and rising from the runway, my foggy brain wondering where I was. Now I found myself straining to follow the conversation over the drone of the plane engine. Paul and the man were sharing details, seeking common ground for conversation. They established where they were going: we to Canada and our seatmate to Africa. Next the man told Paul th...

By Belinda (shared with Lesley-Ann's permission) Tonight I opened my Daily Light on the Daily Path for October 6th  to write the name of a new baby on the top of the page. I gasped as I read the scripture verses written there. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you the whole story, from beginning to--well, hardly the end, but rather another new beginning. Lesley-Ann is one of the managers on my team, and dear to my heart as they all are. We are much more than working colleagues. She came to the cell group at our house for a while and our relationship deepened with the months and years of working together.  We were at her wedding when she got married to Jason, a man with the smilingest eyes you ever saw, and a heart to match. They both have big hearts in fact, and as well as a house full of dogs, they have freely shared their home with others from the start. They were naturals as potential parents and they looked forward to welcoming babies into their household. ...

Colossians 1:19-20 (New International Version) 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Thirty one years ago yesterday, my friend Eileen and I, just 16 at the time, went to Redditch College of Further Education, to see a Billy Graham movie. I was working in an accounts office at the time, and my boss, who was also a pastor, had invited me to go. At the end of the movie, which I believe was called Oil Town U.S.A. , there was an opportunity for anyone who wanted to invite Christ to be their saviour, to go forward. To the hymn Just As I Am, both Eileen and I responded. It seemed a natural thing to answer what seemed to be a call of God, with, "Yes," but I really understood very little of what I was saying , "Yes," to. I was a very raw recruit, strongly influenced by the culture of the 60's and ...

A steaming mug of coffee in my hand, I drove the early morning highway south. I'm not usually on the road quite as early as I was today but I was meeting two colleagues at a car pool and had a drive of ten minutes or so to get there. As I drove into the new day, with a pale full moon hanging in the blue sky above, I passed the rich farm land that is the Holland Marsh. The roofs of the small, neat houses of the community of Ansnorveldt poked up through a morning mist that hung over the fields, looking like the lost city of Atlantis, surfacing from the ocean waves. Although part of me was noticing, appreciating and absorbing every detail of the passing scene, my mind was preoccupied with a comment left on my blog post of today. I had hastily read it as I prepared to leave the house and I'd had no time to respond. I'd been so taken aback at the contents of the comment that I didn't even know what I would have said. My friend Poppy, mother of my 14 year old godson, Jacob, h...

Ever since August 18th, when I posted the story and photo about the rainbow that appeared the day Bill passed away, people have been telling me they saw the rainbow. This is unusual as my friend Susan (who is almost always right and knows a lot about many things) tells me that a rainbow is "place specific," a product of the particular conditions of light and moisture in the air at a given moment. The rainbow that appeared in the late afternoon of August 17th was wider than the average rainbow, very bright and intense and people seem to have taken particular note of it, although by the time I trained my camera lens on it, the intensity was fading. I just felt that I had to share some of the "rainbow sightings" reported since Terry and I saw it late that afternoon. Dave Hingsburger said... (in the comments on the blog) Believe it or not I think I may have seen that rainbow too! The picture was beautiful and the idea that the heaven's radiated in welcome for Bill ...

Her long, straight, dark blonde hair frames a face with serious and sincere eyes. She is one of the young people of Canada--who grew up singing a national anthem with the lines-- God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee --but learned nothing of God as she grew up, and had only scorn for those who believed. Like many young people, Jennifer had dabbled in paganism and the occult--nothing serious--just curiosity--but she thought Christianity really stupid. A history major, she knew that religion, including Christianity, had been the catalyst for much trouble and inhumanity over the centuries. Besides, she had never met anyone who could defend the Christian faith. There was one girl in high school who believed, "But," she said, "We could all talk circles around her." Her mother and sister had a nominal faith. They believed in God, but didn't practice their faith in any way--they didn't go to church or read the Bible. They were pr...

Her van was ten years old and it had seen better days. Between monthly payments, and oil changes, she was spending $1,000 a month and then there were repairs. There's a critical point in the life of a vehicle, when you suspect it's becoming a black hole into which money vanishes. The van was there! Barb was a single mom of two children--one of them,Erica, had spina bifida--a bright spirited little girl who used a wheelchair. Being a student nurse in her fourth year of studies with one more to go, every penny was needed but Barb asked her mechanic if he'd seen any cars that might be within her means and suitable for her needs. The mechanic said that he did have a Honda Accord. It was $3,000--but a lady was coming to see it. "That's okay," said Barb, "If she has the money, you should sell it to her." The other woman was sending a friend to look at the car before she bought it. She had $2,500 to put down as a deposit. Barb also went to see it--on Monday...

The day began with my alarm going off at 4.30 a.m. stirring me from my sleep. I resisted my usual habit of hitting the snooze button. I didn't want to risk a second snooze this morning--I haven't missed an Easter morning sunrise service for the past ten years. There's something about this yearly gathering with other believers from all of the churches in town that draws me. I love the opportunity to meet with our friends from other denominations and worship together, declaring, we small crowd, huddled on the hillside, that "Christ is risen!" Breakfast afterwards is always especially good too, rotating around the churches--old fashioned bacon, sausages, eggs, pancakes and home made preserves.This morning the half moon hung in the gray sky of morning as we left the house, dressed warmly against the frosty cold that nipped at our cheeks. As we drove along still deserted roads, past silent, sleeping households it felt, as it always does, like we were headed to a secre...