I’ve been so focused on school work lately that I haven’t thought too much about the Christmas season yet nor been in the mood to start playing Christmas carols but this morning it hit. Shopping and Isaiah 52 triggered excitement for the Christmas season.
Read moreStep Back
Examining a painting requires two perspectives. The first is the perspective one gets standing back from the painting to take in and appreciate the whole.
Read moreNew Beginnings
As a student/teacher September always marks a season of new beginnings for me. It’s the start of a new semester, new courses, new teachers, new students, and this year, a new city, new home and new roommates. New beginnings are exciting but also filled with the uncertain and uncomfortable.
Read morePsalms of Remembrance
If you’ve ever gone through the process of renting or buying a house you are familiar with the harrowing process of waiting as the deadline for moving out fast approaches even as prospects for moving in dry up. Will we find something or won’t we? In the waiting, a psalm of remembrance can help.
Read moreCut Off
Photo by Earl Wilcox on Unsplash
Flowers are not perfect. They have flaws and if they are cut flowers they are on their way to being dead. Cut flowers reveal the sobering reality that we are all broken and flawed.
Read moreDesigned
A floral designer creates with intention. They carefully plan a design choosing the appropriate shape, colour and flowers to use so that the arrangement fulfills the purpose for which it is made. Likewise, God designed you with care and intention.
Read moreAn Introduction to Lessons from the Flower Shop
What do a flower shop and a seminary classroom have in common? More than you might think. Explore with me the lessons from the flower shop that highlight the glory of God and his unending love for you and me.
Read moreCorrect Handling
My earlier foray into ministry included volunteering to be “a listener” for AWANA. Each week the church basement would become a hive of kids eager to be with friends, listen to stories, play games and demonstrate their achievement during the course of the previous week in memorizing as many verses as possible
Read moreThe Joy of Grading
One distinct memory I have of growing up was of me playing at being a teacher. I would give my little brother “assignments” and then grade them with big red checkmarks. Have you done any grading lately?
Read moreHow did I get here?
How did I get here? This is a question I sometimes wonder. It seems like one day I was doing one thing and then the next I’m doing something completely different.
Read moreTransformed
How does transformation happen? It doesn’t happen by maintaining the status quo, by just going on as you always have. Transformation requires change.
Read moreWhat is truth?
“What is truth?” This question uttered by Pilate when he questioned Jesus has always intrigued me because it reveals the troubled heart of Pilate searching for truth while blind to the truth that stood before him in Jesus.
Read moreWhere the Rubber Meets the Road
The first time I got behind the wheel of a car I was scared. I was sixteen and had just passed the initial test to get my learner’s license.
Read moreThe Beauty of Genre
One of the things I’ve learned as I’ve practiced acrylic painting is that the beauty and depth of a painting is often dependent on the variety of colours and layers of colour used.
Read moreConnections
L.M. Montgomery wrote the Canadian classic "Anne of Green Gables" and several other less familiar novels, poems and short stories. How is reading L.M. Montgomery's stories like reading the Bible?
Read moreLike a Child
Children ask some of the most thought-provoking questions. Their quest to understand the world around them drives them to ask questions.
Read moreGet Into Character
Getting into character is a crucial step for any actor preparing for a new role in a play or film. This same technique can help when studying the Bible.
Read moreHow to Ask the Right Question
The right question asked of the Bible can light the way to profound and life-altering answers. A skillful Bible studier learns the art of asking good questions because questions open the way for new ideas, possibilities, wonderment, exploration and synthesis.
Read moreHow to Become an Expert
It takes approximately 10,000 hours to become an expert at a particular skill. That’s approximately 10 years of learning, trying things out, making mistakes, growing, honing and practicing. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to take that long to gain some skill.
Read moreTop 5 Resources I Use to Study the Bible
I’ve been on the prowl for helpful resources that can a Bible studier understand relevant historical background. When we read and study the Bible we travel back in time to an unfamiliar location and culture which makes it difficult to understand.
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