FAY ROWE

I just came from Write! Canada, the annual conference put on by The Word Guild, an association of Canadian writers and editors who are Christian. It has become a highlight of my year for many reasons, one of which is the morning worship time. My favorite song this year--the one that wouldn't leave my head--goes like this: "Turn my heart, oh God. Make it ever true; Turn my heart, oh God. May I be like you."

I thought about that song again this...

A pagan society is one "which does not acknowledge the God of the Bible" according to Webster's New Edition Dictionary. If by "not acknowledging" we mean paying no attention to his expressed will and ways, his wisdom or even his warnings of what will harm us, then to a great degree we are already living in that world. Even if our own sphere is one in which the fear of God is present, at least to the point that we search out his wisdom and acknowledge him in almost all ou...

With all the "Winning!'" hoopla started by Charlie Sheen's shenanigans, one can't help but ruminate on what it really means to win in this life.

To my way of thinking, winning in life is important, and I can't wholeheartedly subscribe to the "it's how you play the game" theory touted when one loses some sporting event or competition. Don't get me wrong here. How you play is important, for sure. Winning by cheating isn't the kind of winning...

It's been a long hot summer here in Southern Ontario, my days moving as slow as the season.

One of my favourite summertime occupations is dinner on the patio with my husband. Sometimes friends join us for a long, lazy chat, and as we watch the sun set slowly from my patio most evenings, it seems that the days themselves are reluctant to end. Like the sun, I'm not in a hurry, perhaps lulled into laziness to match the days.

 ...

When I was a child I often heard in church, "God is no man's debtor."

There's a lot in the Bible to support that statement: the whole sowing and reaping concept found in Corinthians; the "give to the the poor and God will repay" concept found in Proverbs; the "put first the kingdom" teaching in Matthew, to name several.

When you think about it, many of the Old Covenant Laws had to do with repaying w...

Why do we hate to wait?

We rush to grow up, get married, make money, buy a house, spend money, change locations, make decisions.

To those of us who are chronically in a hurry, waiting can be an extremely dangerous occupation.

While we're waiting for something to happen, whether that something is good or bad, we feel so much pressure to act that the result...

Sometimes, when my father would go to the farm, a few of us kids would pile in the back of the truck and go with him to pick berries, swim, or whatever else tickled our fancy for a few hours in that wonderful Newfoundland summer air and sunshine.

Sometimes, if there was not much of a breeze and the water was smooth, we'd be drawn to skipping rocks. We all knew our best bet for excelling in this was to find the smoothest, flattest stones and angle the throw just ri...

I just read a note from a young man named Benjamin. He's a writer.

Benjamin isn't published yet, but I've heard him read from his manuscript and he's good. He has a story and a distinct voice, and the heart to get both on paper and out into the world.

His note today was about a verse of scripture that spoke to him this year at Write! Canada, a verse that he decided wasn't all that encouraging. It was the one that talks ab...

I've just been working on my revised version of What's In A Name.  

I took the book to Write!Canada, the annual conference of The Word Guild, to show to a couple of editors in order to get their perspective on substantive editing. One suggested my introduction should be my first chapter. The other one liked it just the way it was and warned me about the trap of perfectionism.

It seemed everyone harped on it--w...

In April I happened upon a blog by a young woman who lives on a farm somewhere in Ontario. I thought it was the most beautiful use of the language I had read in a long time. The words gently touched my heart and I was compelled to share it with my Facebook friends right away.

Some time later when I wanted to visit her site again, I couldn't remember where it was. I didn't have the FB savvy to realize I could scroll down and find the link, or even just check out my link...