On December 25, after watching that classic movie “A Christmas Story,” I sat with my family sharing stories about the best Christmas gifts we’d ever received.
Category Archives: Blog
No Ordinary People: The Bible’s Unknown Walk-Ons
Part of my quiet time every morning is given to reading a short section of some devotional book. Recently I’ve deeply enjoyed David McLaughlan’s No Ordinary People: The Unknown Men & Women of the Bible.
Lazarus the Unmissionary: Staying Home for Jesus
Who was Jesus’ best friend? My vote goes to Lazarus, the one He raised from the dead. Much is made of John as the “disciple Jesus loved,” but Lazarus was also called “the one You love” (Jn 11:3).
Christian Hedonism: Fresh Thoughts on Joy
I am pleased to note that the Executive Director of Tourism in the city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, is Jacki L’Heureux-Mason. Her name means “Happy Mason,” a moniker which I too am pleased to claim, ever since 2002 when I published my book on joy, Champagne for the Soul.
C.S. Lewis in Heaven: A Visit to the Real Narnia (Part One)
An American fifth-grader once wrote to C.S. Lewis asking if it were possible to visit Narnia. Lewis replied that the only way, as far as he knew, was through death. But then he added a curious qualifier: “Perhaps some very good people get just a tiny glimpse before then.”
Thomas Traherne: Apostle of Joy
Lately I’ve been savoring Thomas Traherne’s book Centuries of Meditations, in a wonderful contemporary edition by David Buresh called Waking Up in Heaven. I heartily agree with what C.S. Lewis wrote about this book, calling it “almost the most beautiful book in the English language. I could go on quoting from it forever.”
COVID-19: The World Observes Lent
Personally, I am not in the habit of observing Lent in any formal way. I do not give up chocolate or coffee or anything else—at least, not intentionally. But willy-nilly I always end up surrendering something, because that is what Lent does: it drives us, as it did Jesus, into the wilderness.
No Man Is an Island: An Encounter with a Satanist
Many years ago the Lord revealed to me my besetting sin, and He did so through, of all people, a satanist.
Great Love: Steve Bell’s Pilgrim Year Series
For many years Steve Bell has been in the top rank of Christian singer-songwriters. Now, later in life, he is showing himself also to be a gifted writer of devotional prose.
It’s You I Like: The Gospel According to Mister Rogers
One day when Fred Rogers was a boy, his grandfather said to him, “You made this day a special day, just by being yourself. Always remember there’s just one person in this whole world like you—and I like you just the way you are.”