I cannot pray, my Lord, I cannot pray… I locked the door to you and cannot find the key to open it.

The road between Orangeville and Listowel stretched ahead of me, endlessly. A fine drizzle obscured

Times were different then. Workers at farms and factories did not earn much and there were few social services. In the depression era, farmers could barely keep their heads above water.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, when, with a great artillery of suspicious, black-and-white, theological wordplay, we gloss over the precious precedent of your long suffering and mankind’s.

This story is about three daddies and their firstborn babies. It happened at the first AACS Conference held at Niagara Christian College. It is better not to mention names.

we always gave . . . ach, ja . . .to so many good Christian causes. On New Year’s Day he’d get the shoebox and dump it all on the table . . . all the good Christian causes.

Once in Canada, Dirk Bult quickly climbed the social, church and Christian associations ladders. In all areas, he rose far above the average immigrant. His well-founded opinions were valued on the boards of Christian organizations. At church meetings, he tested the church council against the principles of the Reformed world view.

I brought the conversation to the town gardens where I had first met her father and which we had both enjoyed for so long. But now, Jan Koning was finished.

he was a stalwart man fierce eyes under bushy brows. here a foot there a foot as if the zeeland clay still stuck to his wooden clogs

The Lord bless you and keep you. The little boy peeked up at their pastor — Just for a moment! It was a sin if you opened your eyes while praying

Almost every Canadian family has a dog or a cat. A quarter of supermarkets is used to display food for those pets. There is a very wide choice of all kinds of brands, because like humans, pets are very picky.

Good Friday morning. I climbed
the spiraling, creaking stairs
to the organ loft,
young and inexperienced,
I needed to practice
for the evening service.

She is small and sturdy. He, tall and lean. Looking at him, you’d know that they are over-65s. They’ve been shopping here for years.

This story, by Herman de Jong, about a social visit and the troubles it deals with is full of humour and grace.

On the edge of our bathtub is a little green elephant. It has stood there since the children were small. My wife keeps it there to hide the soap behind it.