Taking the Slow Way Home

Things happen fast. Here in southern Saskatchewan, we went from winter to summer in the about two weeks. On Friday, my granddaughter and I went to Regina for a bit of retail therapy and when we returned a lilac bush next to the driveway was displaying the first green of leaves. In the backyard, other

Crafted By the Creator

It's April 20 and, here in southern Saskatchewan, we're under a snowfall warning for the third day in a row. It looks more like January than April outside. One could become discouraged if not for an unrelenting faith that spring will eventually show up. We determined earlier that it wasn't worth the risk of driving

A Gray Day

It is gray and raining. We are still under a winter storm watch, but the above-freezing temperatures give me cause to believe it won't amount to much here in Moose Jaw. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic—time will tell. It's likely to be a different story east of us. The gloom of this morning matches my

This Morning

This morning, we acknowledge the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a day of celebration after the darkness of Good Friday and Holy Saturday. We will make some noise with our church family this morning as we proclaim Hallelujah! He is risen! This morning, I am also thinking about Makiya's friend in Caronport

Good Friday

I wake up early, 4:30 a.m. early, and carry Maya from the bedroom in one hand and my iPad and Kindle in the other to the kitchen, quietly closing the bedroom door behind me. I retrieve my jacket from the front closet and pull it on in a way I've learned to do while carrying

Whispers in the Fog

Saskatchewan is Canada's sunniest province and, since we moved here in December, the contrast to British Columbia has been clear (pun not intended). Save for a handful of foggy or blizzardy days, it's been blue sky and sunshine. This is good for someone prone to Seasonal Affective Disorder in the dark, winter months. Sure, it's

Friday’s Fave Five – March 3

Every evening this week when I close the curtains in my west-facing woman cave, I have seen two bright planets. A little research tells me they are Jupiter and Venus. I’m not especially interested in astronomy but, as with many things in the natural world, the appearance of the two brilliant lights so close to

Paradox

Living in Moose Jaw makes me happy and I feel at peace here. My heart is broken and I’m grieving the loss of my boy, Murphy. These first days of 2023 are paradoxical. I’m reminded of what Frederich Buechner wrote about the paradox of this life in Wishful Thinking. “The grace of God means something

A Good, Good Friday

Never have I enjoyed a Good Friday church service as much as I did the one Gerry and I attended this morning. It's been three years since we sat in a church sanctuary with a group of, mostly unmasked, brothers and sisters in Christ and marked this Holy day by singing, listening to a word

My God, We Are Weary

These nights are restless. Last night I lay awake praying, searching for words, and finally giving up and trusting that wordless heart prayer was enough. This morning I’m thinking of the world my grandmothers lived in, and what it was like for them to say goodbye to their sons who were heading off to fight