Posts by Trinda Jocelyn

By Jennifer Wallace I love my neighbourhood.  It isn’t perfect by any means.   There have been sirens on occasion.  There have been events that have left me concerned.  Despite these moments, I know that I really do love my neighbourhood.  It has lovely established trees.  It has houses that have lived.  But overall, it is the neighbours that make it where I love raising my kids. Over ten years ago, I started canvassing for the Canadian Diabetes Association.  It is a cause that is near to me as I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 29 years ago in January. …

Painting By Samantha Ratcliffe I only really started painting in March of 2015, after attending a one-month program that helps people struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses. If you do not know, I have struggled daily with these for the past 4 years. I realized, from this program, that I needed to have some kind of hobby and so I decided to try out painting. This painting is one of the first ones I made. I wanted to paint a lotus flower because of its symbolism and what it means for me in regards to my struggles with depression.…

It is 5 o’clock in the morning, and no, I am not up enjoying the prospect of an earlier sunrise. I am cat-sleeping. A couple of hours at a time – which is OK in some ways, but something about which I feel guilty, or tell myself that I ought to feel guilty! It’s not a new thing; I love sleeping, but I don’t seem to be able to do it when everyone else does. There is a lot of advice out there about what one ought to do to sleep, but of course it’s contradictory and, for me at…

I love watching children’s faces as they get to the best part of the song: “And the house on the sand went SPLAT!” Everything about their body language—the violent slapping of the hands, the hard wrinkling of the face, the wicked crook of the mouth- suggests that the SPLAT moment is not something we want to experience in life. Yet, there are SPLAT casualties all around us as God’s chosen people—people who no longer have a spirit of fear, but one of boldness—people who have access to the same power that raised Jesus from the dead!  Why is that?  Why…

By Andrea Muirhead Spring is in the air and maybe that has caused me to do some spring cleaning in my mind. I have been challenged to look deep and I fear I found an attitude of privilege. It has slowly grown and invaded my view of the world, giving me a sense of superiority, and I don’t like it! “Love each other in a way that makes you feel close like brothers and sisters. And give each other more honour than you give yourself” (Romans 12:10 ERV). Powerful words that speak to my heart. “Live together in peace with…

By Sara Pippus We walked, wandering down the winding smooth path through the shrubs and pines all bunched together in the riverside park. The muddy edges of the path gave way to patches of brown grasses and dogwood bush. It was that time when spring was just around the corner. You can smell spring for a long while before it arrives, and on this particularly warm March day, the air was full of promise. The river followed us along, still frozen on the surface, giving no indication that it agreed with the rest of the spring things. Strange how a…

By Natasha Coroluick Today, I am not a pillar of strength. I am weak, fragile, and on the verge of giving up. Today, the tears flow like a monsoon down my cheeks and I can’t keep up with wiping them away so I stop trying. Today, my heart aches and my mind shakes and my body quivers as I let go of all I’ve been holding onto trying to be strong. Today, I feel angry, bitter, guilty, sad, alone, grief, no joy, no love, no understanding. Today, I don’t feel God. Today, I am not willing to be understanding of…

By Tamara Tucker Milestones are amazing, aren’t they? They are the stuff of victory, hallelujahs, and satisfaction. Often they are met with elation and relief in equal measure. Milestones call for celebration! And they feel glorious when reached. Recall a milestone moment in your life. I bet that just the memory of it brings a wave of satisfaction to your heart and a smile to your lips. On one such day, I hit a milestone in a project that had literally taken years of my life. The final stretch leading up to that moment took every ounce of meagre courage…

By Victoria Utman Do any of these words resonate with you? Do they strike a chord? Do you know the meaning of these words? Have you heard them in a sentence before? Read them out loud. Reflect on how each one feels in your mouth, on your tongue, ringing in your ears. For me, withdraw smacks me upside the head and makes me pause. I’m not good at withdrawing. That doesn’t surprise anyone who knows me. I’m loud. I like being the centre of attention. I am always busy and on the go. Even the connotations, the underlying meanings, associated…