Author Archives: Sheila Scherlin

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. Galatians 4:8 As an only child, growing up with few friends and an often absent father, I spent much of my free time playing with my dolls. My dolls were my comfort and my companions. I didContinue reading “When Love Hurts”

We had been shooting Winter Range for two days. Not that we had practiced that much, but the hopes that we would shoot fairly well vanished soon after the first day. Winter Range is the National Championship of Single Action Cowboy Shooting, in Phoenix, Arizona. It is held, annually, at Ben Avery Range and isContinue reading “Match DQ”

Arizona is not known for it’s rain, but this year we have had more than most, making for a plethora of weeds. Looking out the glass slider of our dining room, I could see thistles and tuffs of grass growing all over the yard and even through our patio clay tiles. Armed with a weedContinue reading “Tares of the Heart”

Hi. My name is Curo Chan, which means “little black face”. I am a genuine Siamese cat and live at Washington Heights Air Force Base in Tokyo, Japan. I live with Daniel San, the dad, Vivian San, the mom, and Sheila Chan, the kid. I have tried to see the whole base, but the familyContinue reading “Curo Chan”

I knew him, as a child. My mother taught me to pray to him, speak to him, and she made him real through the nativity, at Christmas. We lived in Damascus, Syria, for a few years and on our way back to the US, we traveled through the Holy Land. I was still young andContinue reading “My Jesus”

When I was a child, my catechism teacher suggested that we “pray” a gift for Jesus. She had made a diagram of x’s to look like a manger. Each x represented a prayer that made up the manger bed for the Christ child. I was very inspired by this and was determined to do thisContinue reading “The Gift”

In the Christmas carol, A Partridge in a Pear Tree, I have wondered about the significance of the words and why a pear tree was chosen but not an apple or a peach tree. Well, when you sing the song, you quickly realize the words “a partridge in an apple tree” or “a partridge inContinue reading “Why a Pear Tree?”

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village in Judah. Yet a ruler from Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the ancient past. The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the time when the woman in labor gives birth to her son. Micah 5:2 IContinue reading “Have You Set Up the Manger, Yet?”

As soon as the leaves start changing into their brilliant colors, thoughts of the holidays come to mind. Years ago, the holidays came one by one and you didn’t see Thanksgiving or Christmas (heavens-to- Betsy!) decorations until Halloween was over. Anticipation for each holiday wasn’t foreshadowed by the push to Christmas that we have today.Continue reading “Be Thankful In All Circumstances”

I think most people want to give others a good impression of themselves. However, showing the “real you” is sometimes risky business. I have heard people say, “If you really knew me, you wouldn’t like me.” Have you ever said that? Not that I am advocating to “let it all hang out”, so to speakContinue reading “The Face Behind the Mask”