“I am a bee, and I pollinate.” Did I get your attention? Two important parts of a flower are the anther and the stigma. The anther, part of the male stamen, produces and releases pollen. That pollen is then transferred to the stigma, the receptive tip of the female pistil, where fertilization can begin. My blooming amaryllis is ready for pollination. I can see plenty of yellow pollen on the anthers, and the stigma has opened at the tip, ready to receive it. So where are the

My two W’s are Word and Writing . Grammarly has been tracking my writing since December 26, 2016, and to date it has recorded a total of 30,003,120 words. Since ChatGPT became part of my workflow, I now write around 100,000 words a week. Today, one unfamiliar word crossed my desktop, and through word association it led me to another. That small link sparked this reflection. One little letter can make a world of difference. Take the word badge. A badge is usually something pos

What belongs outdoors in summer has been carefully kept alive indoors through winter. These geraniums may be inside for now, but they still need what living things need: sunlight, warmth, water, fertilizer, and tender loving care. And they are responding. One pot is producing more and more buds each week, as though it senses that a new season is near. Perhaps it is the longer daylight after spring forward. Perhaps it is simply the quiet signal that spring is on the way. But a

After more than 20 years in parks and playground design—working in the private sector (ENVision / The Hough Group) and later in the public sector (City of Hamilton)—I had the privilege of collaborating with suppliers such as Landscape Structures, KOMPAN, Playworld, GameTime, Henderson, and Bienenstock. Those years taught me that a playground is never “just” a collection of structures. Behind every climber, panel, swing, and splash element sits a deliberate set of objectives—a

Cantonese has a fascinating “water culture.” So many everyday expressions end with 「水」, showing how flexible and alive this character is in the language. Water can suggest conversation, money, profit, confusion, luck, or atmosphere, depending on the setting. For example, 吹水 can mean casual chatting — something close to the English phrase “shoot the breeze.” Perhaps that is part of the beauty of water itself. It flows, adapts, and takes the shape of its surroundings. Yet water

I received an email today from StackSkills with this line: “The Skill Every Applicant Needs.” What is that skill today? The Skill Every Applicant Needs Interestingly, it is not hacking, but defensive cybersecurity. I like that word: defensive. It means learning how to protect yourself online — your accounts, your devices, your passwords, and your data. Not long ago, a friend sent me a link, and when I clicked it, NordVPN warned me that it might be dangerous. My friend said hi

March 8, 2020, was spring forward. March 8, 2026, today, is also spring forward. This one hour forward is truly living up to its name, bringing spring a little closer here in Canada. Today we have 11°C, with rain in the forecast. The white snow piled in the backyard is giving way to patches of green grass. Even nature seems to know the season is changing. My wife Betty spotted a Black Squirrel with a patch of lighter hair, as if it were shedding its winter fur for a fresh new

At the Cantonese cell group, Pastor David Hoi asked: Why was Jesus raised in Nazareth—small, overlooked, even dismissed? And why was He labelled “the carpenter’s son”? (Matthew Chapter 13 verse 55) In the Gospels, the word used is the Greek tekton—closer to “builder / craftsman” than a narrow modern idea of carpenter. A tekton measured, cut, joined, repaired, and solved real problems on site. Yet in a status-driven world, that identity wasn’t “impressive,” so people tried to

While AI-assisted art is remarkable, encountering poetry that marries spiritual depth with divine grace is truly rare. This Lunar New Year, Brother Lawrence Cheng of Rock House Publishers has composed two evocative poems, beautifully paired with imagery by Brother Joseph Yu. Together, they invite us to journey from the dawn of creation to the promised covenant of the rainbow. The Second Day: Praise from the Beginning of Time (On the "Opening of the Year," Lawrence reflects on

I recently read about how parts of the Gobi Desert—long seen as barren and unproductive—have been transformed into forest land capable of producing high-quality rubber. (See article: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3341641/it-flourishing-chinas-man-made-forest-gobi-produces-good-rubber-military-use?utm_medium=email&utm_source=cm&utm_campaign=enlz-china&utm_content=20260130&tpcc=enlz-china&UUID=ab2fb359-7cfe-40df-b3d0-ed1e850e6259&next_article_id=3341618&articl

When Marge Jetton turned 100, she didn’t slow down—she renewed her driver’s license for another five years. What keeps her going, she says, is not just good habits, but her Christian faith. Marge lives in Loma Linda, California, a community long studied by scientists and first brought to global attention by Dan Buettner in National Geographic as part of the Blue Zones research. People there—many of them from the Seventh-day Adventist Church—tend to live 4–10 years longer than

January 1 always carries a quiet question: What does “new” really mean? A new year gives us another beginning—but not a blank slate. We do not start from zero; we start from experience. The past 365 days have shaped us: through success and failure, clarity and confusion, joy and loss. Newness, then, is not denial of the past, but an invitation to step forward differently. In everyday language, we speak of new starts, new habits, new energy. In Scripture, the word “new” goes d

I have been a person of faith since childhood. Yet today, on Christmas Eve, I felt a gentle spiritual nudge to pause and ask a simple question: Why is there a Christmas Eve, followed by a Christmas Day, to remember the birth of Jesus? The answer reaches deeper than modern tradition. In Jewish culture—shaping daily life in Jesus’ time and rooted in the Bible—a new day begins at sunset, not at midnight. Scripture repeatedly tells us, “There was evening, and there was morning…”

I received a Chinese Winter Solstice (冬至) greeting from a friend, featuring five blessing buns. Those buns immediately drew my attention to the five Advent candles, and from that moment, reflection and creative ideas began to flow. On December 21—the shortest day of the year and the Fourth Sunday of Advent—I re-interpreted the image by adding the date and a short reflection, allowing Eastern cultural symbolism and Christian faith to meet in a quiet, meaningful way -- "The sho

As Christmas approaches, our hearts are drawn again to the birth of Christ and to Mary’s Song of Praise: “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” (Luke 1:46-47, 49) Mary’s response to God’s redemptive work was gratitude—deep, humble, and joy-filled. It is a fitting posture for this season, as redemption draws near and grace is freely offered to all who receive Christ with a repentant and humble heart. Interestingly, gratitude is not expressed by

National Geographic just released their Pictures of the Year 2025 (November 19, 2025), [ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/graphics/pictures-of-the-year-2025 ]  and one photo immediately caught my attention — a tiny “chimney bee” nestled deep inside a sunflower, already drifting into its evening zzz’s after a long day of pollinating. A beautiful moment of rest, captured by photographer Karine Aigner. And then I remembered…I actually photographed something almost

✨🍁🍂🕰️❄️✨🍁🍂🕰️❄️ No pain, no gain — and this weekend, the pain is almost gone! The gain? A full extra hour of sleep as we “fall back” at 2 a.m. Sunday morning. 😴🍂 Remember to turn back all your clocks — digital ones may be obedient, but the analog ones still need a little human touch. How nice it’ll be to wake to a brighter morning! Though, yes... evening will now tiptoe in by 4 p.m., as if to say, “Enough productivity — light your lamps and rest.” 🔦 Ah well, it’s cold

Many of us join a gym or take up jogging, yoga, or swimming to stay fit and healthy. Some exercise daily, others occasionally, and some merely think about it while sitting comfortably on the couch. Many listen to upbeat music, podcasts, or watch TV while working out — trying to make the time pass faster or to distract from the effort. But what if physical exercise could be more than a health routine? What if it could become a sacred moment — a time to connect with God, to ali

I read an article in Popular Science by Leah Hudson, published September 18, 2025, entitled “The 21 grams experiment that tried to weigh...

我們是如何得到聖經的？— 這本有人奉為生命指南，有人卻爭議不斷的書？ 這正是 《The World’s Greatest Book: The Story of How the Bible Came to Be》 一書所要講述的精彩故事。作者 Jerry Pattengale...