By Maury Robertson

I received an urgent text from my wife. The fountain in front of our house had sprung a leak. I added the broken fountain to my to-do list, along with the fence that needs rebuilt, the floors that need refinishing, and the garage that needs...

We were lost in conversation by the edge a lake when the eagle appeared. It doused our talk so suddenly I could practically hear the sizzle. We stood there smoldering, eyes cast reverently upward as the great bird soar from one edge of the sky to the...

I was sitting in an orchestra with a french horn in my lap, counting rests, feeling the pressure mount. My big solo was coming up. In just a few moments, a hush would fall over the room and all eyes would be on me. I felt sweat dripping down my back....

Dark clouds were boiling up from the horizon as I picked my way up the stairs of the abandoned lookout, looking nervously at the rotten boards. I had spotted the old lookout from the road and parked the car to take a short hike through the snow. That...

About a decade ago, one of my kids was going through a first crush. He pursued the object of his affection by texting — 2,165 times in one month to be exact. At 10 cents per text, the bill came to $216.50. I called to plead for mercy. It was...

This week, I strapped on my backpack and wandered into the wilderness of Point Reyes to soak up some nature. Thanks to my faulty rain gear, I absorbed far more than I intended to. My wife and family think I have a death wish. They expect hypothermia...

Last week, we went to Los Angeles, but it could just as easily have been Minneapolis or Dallas or Boston or Roseville. Our hotel window looked out on a bleak parking lot surrounded by the inevitable cast of characters: Lowes, WalMart, T.J. Max,...

I have never outgrown my childhood fascination with candles — I'm staring at one right now. The most amazing thing about a candle is the wick. How can a three-inch piece of string burn for hours? The answer, of course, is that it doesn't. The heat...

Two months ago, my wife and I drove past the wildest worship I have ever witnessed. It was a field of sunflowers. Bright yellow heads were lifted in praise, stretching as far as the eye could see, a host that no one could number. No choir ever wore...

Last weekend my wife and I returned to the bed and breakfast where we honeymooned 23 years ago. We loved it. In fact, when people ask me what my life passion is, I tell them it is to travel all over the world with Julie, living in bed and breakfasts,...