In our retirement, my wife and I have been blessed to travel. We were in Paris at the beginning of June, where we took a river cruise up the Seine to Normandy and remembered the sacrifices Canadian soldiers made on Juno Beach. Unlike past vacations, the weather was a disappointment – cool (18-22°C highs) and…
In Matthew 6, Jesus told us to “look at the birds of the air” for lessons that birds can teach us about ourselves and God’s care for us. The word “ornitheology” was coined by theologian and avid birdwatcher John Stott, blending together ornithology (the study of birds) with theology (the study of God). It’s a…
I’ve always thought of algorithms as those sneaky things that monitor my every move online. Oh, it’s for a noble purpose – to filter the information and conveniently present the most relevant material, right? There’s no denying it’s easier than ever to find answers to burning questions like, “Who invented ice cream?” or “How old…
She tends tomatoes on her fire escape, / defying concrete with stubborn green hope. / Each morning, water can in hand, / she climbs three flights to meet her miracle.
“When I was a kid I think [birdwatching] was perceived as uncool by most young people, and most participants were doing it as a retirement pastime and social activity,” Caleb Scholtens, a 27-year-old birdwatcher and ecologist from Hamilton, Ontario, told Christian Courier. “Now I feel like the concept of ‘uncoolness’ has weakened and people are…
When we bought Eskerhazy Farm in 1991, we had an active beaver colony living on the northwest corner of the property. They had created a large pond which was full of all sorts of wildlife, from shoveler ducks, mallards and teal to muskrats and a moose with her calf, the two of them standing up…
Stewardship has been a useful concept to promote greater care for creation, but now the word itself may be more of a barrier than a help for the current debate about pipelines and energy policy in Canada. In the 1970s and 80s, the concept of responsible stewardship was helpful to draw attention to harmful environmental…
There are moments in life – profoundly ordinary and yet captivatingly beautiful moments – when all my senses are engaged. They converge into a kaleidoscope of things intangible, but exquisite; immanent, but somehow just beyond reach. It’s that walk in the woods, for instance, when last year’s leaves softly squish under each footstep. Ferns and…
When my youngest was very small, he always carried a kaleidoscope to church. Technically, it wasn’t a kaleidoscope but a teleidoscope for toddlers: a solid wooden toy he could keep in his pocket. We went to a large church with columns, candles and stained glass windows, and every Sunday, he’d inspect the sanctuary through his…
The news is filled with reports of wars and conflicts, in which modern weapons inflict widespread death and suffering. And those are just the conflicts that reach our feeds. We live in a time when small, local conflicts are increasing. Wars affect millions of civilians, both adults and children. Humans are, unfortunately, experts in the…
I generally dislike allegory. I’m in good company. J.R.R. Tolkien once said, “I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence.” I never could connect with Pilgrim’s Progress. Nevertheless, I have no problem with the allegorical elements of Godhanger by…
I’m often overwhelmed. Too much on the go, too much to do, and too much to keep track of. If it’s not stemming from work-related ambitions and responsibilities, it’s stemming from emotions I fear or am uncertain how to navigate. Recently, I was feeling particularly overwhelmed. I was nearing the end of a degree, working…
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