Magazine, Past Issue
The July/August 2026 issue
The 2026 “Log out. Look up.” 10-day screen-fast is here, and we’re doing this together again! Find all the details inside this issue, including how to sign up and the answers to these five Ws:
• When it is
• Why you should join
• Who you should get to do it with you
• What you can do with all of the extra time you’ll have on your hands
• and How your fasting can help raise $20,000 for charity
This month's highlights:
- Join the summer screen-fast!: Get all the details and sign up here.
- More of Your Turn: More wonderful entries from the Your Turn contest, including a comic, four poems, and more!
- Have you heard of the dumbphone?: Check out these alternatives to the smartphone that can help you take back your time.
- Come and Explore: The map!: What happens if you stray from the straight and narrow?
Choose how you'd like to read:
- Flip through the Digital Edition for a classic magazine experience
- View the PDF directly in your browser
- Click here to download the PDF (12 mb) to read offline
INDEX: Love thy neighbor. Love thy neighborhood encampment...? / Why I'm grateful for the notwithstanding clause / RP's screen-fast challenge / "What can I do?" Part II / On being smartphone free for five years / What I like about my dumbphone / Give your kids a superpower / Don't. Just. Read. / Can I watch a move during my screenfast? ...and other FAQs answered / The day is not an age /Is AI helping you, or dumbing you down? Yes. / Teachers lead the way in adopting, and sometimes restraining, tech / 9 in 10 Canadian women in their 20s who "practical a religion" are now childless / Federal spending increases under Carney / Opposing rainbow crosswalk results in human rights trial in Alberta / Radicalized and Reformed? Someone we know tried to kill the president / 1 in 7 dog owners would give up their partner to prolong Fido's life / "Transition" victims and supporters decry conversion therapy law / BC midwives now allowed to kill / Greener pastures? East losing residents to Alberta & BC / Thoughts from tulips on TULIP / If we confess our sins / Trust and anxiety / Borrowed language to thank my dearest Friend / Because / The ring / Sonnet for an unknown God / Made New / Lessons from the dirt / Parenting – it's not about me / Laura Kroesbergen's hyperrealistic animals / ED update: Blessed through the US / Come and explore: The map / Another reason everyone should study economics / Do you like being corrected? David did. / Presuppositions / When John MacArthur visited a philosophy class / Big brother can't be father or mother / Berra-isms / Are we conservatives? / Showing and telling / Never read a Bible verse / If dad told only dinosaur jokes / How he learned he needed to preach Mark 2:28 / Movie review: Mr. Smith goes to Washington / Book review: Graphic novels of all sorts
News
Saturday Selections – June 27, 2026
Envy is a sin. Wealth isn't.
If you could make everyone twice as wealthy, would you do it? This is an odd fellow, making a great point about how poverty, not income inequality, is a problem.
And secular fellow that he is, he's making that point without even factoring in the 10th Commandment. God cares about the plight of the poor, but nowhere does He condemn Abraham or Solomon for being rich. Envy is a sin. Being rich is not. Poverty is a problem, and one that can only be addressed by trying to "raise the floor" – raising the level of prosperity shared by the lowest income-earners. But concerns expressed about income inequality are simply envy disguised as virtue, and used as a justification for trying to pull down the ceiling – income inequality can be effectively addressed by kneecapping the wealthy to make them less so.
Why non-experts can still fruitfully question the "experts"
Philosopher J. Budziszewski, author of Pandemic of Lunacy: How to Think Clearly When Everyone Around You Seems Crazy, explains why it is that non-scientific sorts like us can still ask some pretty good, very important questions of the experts.
UK report says thousands of girls were systematically raped while the gov't ignored it over optics
If you haven't already heard about the rape-gangs in the UK this is going to be even more of a shocker. Authorities in the UK government knew about rape gangs operating in their country, but turned a blind eye to it, because the gangs were made up of Asian immigrants – police and others didn't want to seem racist.
The figure that will leap out is the report of 250,000 victims, so it's worth noting that this is an estimate without a lot of firm grounds. But that doesn't mean it is wrong either, or overblown. It could be higher even. But it should be understood as a guess and not a fact. What is a fact is that authorities knew, and chose not to act.
Ontario "conservative" gov't opposes opposition bill that would have banned gambling ads
"A recent study found that since iGaming Ontario was introduced, total monthly wagers increased by 654% between April 2022 and August 2025, and the number of active player accounts rose 239%. Calls to Ontario’s mental health and addictions helpline rose at an accelerated annual rate (7% above previous trend) after iGaming Ontario was introduced in 2022. The highest increase in calls was among young men aged 15 to 24."
It's probably safe to say that not a lot of this newsletter's readership votes for the NDP or Liberals. So it's all the more frustrating that it is the Conservatives who are doing this to our neighbors. And then, when the opposition proposed a way to rein in this runaway train of destruction, the government said no. Sure, they offered up some reasons to oppose the bill, but they didn't propose an alternative to it, making it evident they are fine with the status quo.
What's wrong with gambling can perhaps be best understood in contrast with how others seek to become rich. Gamblers make bets that, should they win, are covered by those who bet the other way and lost – your gain is done at the expense of their pain. Meanwhile, if you get money any other (legal) way, your wealth will come to you only by benefiting others. Whether you are a housepainter, an author, or a server, the money that you can be thankful for comes from others who are thankful too, for what they've gotten from you in exchange. Your gain is their gain too.
In addition, even if you are a good gambler, the odds are always stacked in favor of the gambling establishment – the government is making huge amounts of money from this, and that has to come from somewhere. So gambling is, over time, going to be a net loser, so even if you weren't hurting others to get your money, you are still making bad use of the "talents" God has entrusted to you.
More could be said, but I'll offer up just one more – even if you've got your gambling under control, every bet you make is that little bit more motivation for the government to keep at this... to the great harm of many, who aren't in control of their gambling. If you love your neighbor, you should be lobbying the government to stop pushing, and just simply stop running, such a destructive enterprise.
A sea of orange took over Kansas City
You don't have to like soccer to appreciate the intermix of cultures brought about by the World Cup this month. Whether it's Japanese fans cleaning up the stadium afterwards, or this sea of orange-clad Dutch fans, there's been so much to love off the field.
This linguistic collapse of late-stage civilization
"Take this introduction from a Herald-Sun article during the week:
'Prison authorities were warned not to transfer a transgender murderer to a women’s prison amid warnings they would sexually assault another prisoner if moved.'
"A transgender murderer? It’s the sort of phrase that makes English quietly weep in a corner."
This article might be inspiration for a great English class assignment... in a Christian school – try and write an assignment in the most politically correct fashion possible, to highlight the insanity. (In a public school they'd assign the same task to encourage sensitivity.)
Lost & Found - Running home
A quick toe-tapping rhyme based on Psalm 51.
Today's Devotional
June 27 - Angelic wonder
“…things into which angels long to look.” - 1 Peter 1:12
Scripture reading:1 Peter 1:3-12
I’m curious about angels. Not the fat little-winged baby cherubs depicted in medieval art, but those beings depicted in Scripture – the ones that elicited great fear in humans. Far from cute babies floating on clouds, the Bible portrays them as powerful warrior-like beings.
God >
Today's Manna Podcast
I thirst
Serving #1250 of Manna, prepared by Steven Swets, is called "I thirst".
