Magazine, Past Issue
The July/August 2026 issue
The 2026 “Log out. Look up.” 10-day screenfast 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 screenfast!: 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
More homeowners facing insolvency
Canadians have long been struggling with personal debt, but Scott Terrio, a manager at Hoyes, Michalos Licensed Insolvency Trustees told The Hub that the bigger story is who is now feeling the pinch.
“The big thing we’re seeing now that we weren’t seeing a year ago or a year and a half ago is homeowners calling us…. We didn’t speak to homeowners for a decade in this industry because of the housing boom. When houses are going up 20 percent a year, and you’re swimming in equity, you don’t need an insolvency trustee.”
The latest data from Statistics Canada reveals this marked increase in household debt, up 4.4 percent from a year prior. Canadian households now have the highest debt burden among G7 countries and the second-highest of 38 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries (only Switzerland is higher).
Hoyes Michalos has a homeowner bankruptcy index, which shows that insolvent homeowners have an average of $112,000 in unsecured debt in addition to their mortgage. The index shows that the percent of bankruptcy filers who own homes has increased from 0 percent in 2022 to 11 percent today and “we are going to be back at 36 at some point. Guaranteed,” Terrio added.
The fact that 1 out of every 7 dollars is now being spent on debt payments verifies the wisdom of the Teacher in Proverbs 22:7 when he said that “the borrower is slave to the lender.” A home can be very attractive, especially when home values increase year after year. But the Great Teacher also reminds us in Luke 14:28 to first count the cost: “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” Sadly, many don’t, and are now paying for it.
Today's Devotional
July 1 - Introduction to Ruth
We find the story of Ruth between the books of Judges and Samuel. You might say it’s a bridge-book. It is a story that illustrates what it was like to live in the time of the judges while also making clear the need for the leadership of a king. Moreover, the story of Ruth re-introduces into the Biblical story, the biological family line from which the king after God’s heart >
Today's Manna Podcast
Serve the King of Kings
Serving #1255 of Manna, prepared by Rev. Cody Swaving, is called "Serve the King of Kings".
