
Personal Accounts


Christmas on the road
Some years back, my husband and I were serving as missionaries in northern Brazil when an opening came up for us to take part in a new venture helping young people in Bue... »

Last Christmas…
Christmas 2020 looked like it was shaping up into a bleak affair. The newspapers were swamped with letters from people mourning for past days when they were able to get t... »

The best part of Christmas
As I rushed around the streets of Morelia, Mexico, the stoplights were crowded with beggars. It was Christmas Eve, and I had gone out with my 10-year-old daughter Cathy f... »

Advent ideas
I love the idea of Advent, though I admit that I’m not too great at observing it. It comes at the busiest time of the year when I’m rushing to meet year-end goals and dea... »

How i replaced stress with peace
I had a solo and five or six ensemble/quartet pieces to practice, a music exam coming up, and a speech (partly in the local Xhosa dialect) to prepare for. And not only th... »

Joy in the moment
I sat quietly, listening to the birds, drinking a cup of tea, feeling the rays of sunshine on my face and I felt perfect peace. I wasn’t letting my mind run over things t... »

Positively grateful
I recently stumbled upon a fascinating book in a used book store. The premise of The Secret Life of Water, by Masaru Emoto, is that water reflects the positive or negativ... »

Thanks for everything
Paul says in Romans 8:28, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” In Proverbs we read th... »



Absence makes the heart fonder
Several months after our third child was born, I found myself struggling to pull out of a “post-birth slump.” My daily routine was blurring into a continuum of chores and... »

Two secrets
Everyone has an idea of what peace and contentment look like to them. I think of green rolling hills and a cottage in the woods with a beautiful garden. I think of spendi... »