as kingfishers catch fire

On learning that I am going to become a father...

2011-04-04T07:59:00.008-05:00

Hello world. It's true. There is going to be a mini-Gazaneo taking over the world shortly. Sarah and I are expecting our first child in early November. We have been trying for a while (Sarah's been blogging about our desire to become parents for a while). Last month, the day after my birthday, Sarah had a blood test early in the morning because she was late (and had been feeling like she

Hero

2010-08-23T14:13:00.000-05:00

Hopkins:Our Lord Jesus Christ is our hero, a hero all the world wants. You know how books are written that put one man before the reader and shew him off handsome for the most part and brag and call him, My hero, or Our hero. Soldiers make a hero of a great general; a party, of its leader; a nation, of any great man that brings it glory, whether king, warrior, statesman, thinker, poet, or

Rich Mullins

2010-03-18T10:25:00.000-05:00

I just love Rich Mullins. He was such an abandoned guy. "I’m not really sure that God is all that concerned about being entertained, I’m not sure, it’s just a human thing. Sometimes you try to pray, you try to impress God with all the right words and I just don’t think it’s an easy thing to impress God Almighty. Another thing that I think we often forget is that we don’t really have to

On Turning 30 Years Old

2010-02-25T11:55:00.001-05:00

Well, I turn 30 years old in just over a week. As often happens when major life-milestones occur, I am thinking things over. I’m not one of those people who is afraid of getting older... every new year of my life is better than the one before, so I’m really, truly expecting my 30s to be unbelievable. But still. 30. There’s a line in a Phoenix song that goes, “do you remember when 21 was old??”

Calling

2010-02-09T11:59:00.003-05:00

I’ve been counselling a bunch of young adults recently about their callings. Most of these discussions come out of people frustrated with a lack of faithfulness in their lives. It’s amazing how rare and uncommon disciplined faithfulness is amongst young adults. I’ve also really really wrestled with faithfulness this past decade (my 20s are coming to an end next month).As I’ve been thinking, I

on 2009, Michael Jackson, Obama, and Tiger Woods

2009-12-21T09:46:00.009-05:00

Reflection time, my peoples. As I've been thinking about 2009 over the past few days, I've come to the obvious conclusion that this has been a difficult year for the western world. I blogged about Michael Jackson's death because I felt that it incapsulated so much of what was happening in our society. We have become worshippers of idealism and enemies of realism. We have forgotten that we are

Eve

2009-12-01T16:07:00.003-05:00

Genesis 2:18-24 - The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the

It's the most wonderful time of the year

2009-11-20T14:24:00.012-05:00

There's something about October & November that prevents me from blogging.With that said, it's time for my annual Christmas list. I know, I know; you've been racking your brains for the perfect gift. Nearly every year that I've had this blog, I have created a list for my faithful readers (two years ago, I was planning to propose... so, you can imagine, I had other things on my mind). Here you

why i didn't like 500 days of summer

2009-09-30T09:30:00.001-05:00

Call me crazy. I do, I know everyone loved "500 Days of Summer". They all told me about how wonderful the lead actors were and how they loved the movie's playful-artyness, its hipster-coma-inducing soundtrack, it's post-modern-omniscient narrator... But I didn't like it. Well, I did like the above elements... but as a movie, I didn't like it. Here's why: Even thought the movie tells us, in

Why Not Men?

2009-09-10T13:40:00.017-05:00

I've been thinking a great deal about men in church leadership recently. I know there has been lots of debate regarding the role of men in leadership and many areas of the church deem men invalid for church leadership. There is much debate regarding scriptures and the nature of men; I wanted to provide some of my perspective on this controversial issue.Everyone agrees that women's natural

hope

2009-09-01T11:54:00.003-05:00

Thinking about hope recently. Thoughts:The verse, "why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God" appears three times, almost in succession, in Psalms: Psalm 42:5, Psalm 42:11, and Psalm 43:5.This had me thinking about Jer. 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and

non-negotiables

2009-07-14T11:01:00.003-05:00

My lovely wife has been posting an incredible series on on Godly relationships (or, rather, how to prepare ourselves for Godly relationships). She recently mentioned "non-negotiables", a term that we coined to describe character traits that a Godly single man or woman would not negotiate about in looking for a partner. They're usually simple and few. These are not to be confused with lists;

Michael Jackson

2009-06-26T14:05:00.006-05:00

So, the king of pop is dead. I wish I could say that I'm happy he is free of this Earth but I don't know if he is in a better place. I've admired his music but, having been born in the 80s, I've long thought that Michael Jackson's persona was bizarre. I missed out on the child-star Michael and the early pop-star. My earliest memories of him are from the song, "Black or White". I remember the

poverty

2009-06-17T08:52:00.003-05:00

We had an interesting discussion amongst the youth and young adult pastoral team yesterday. We're currently beginning our planning for Freshwind next year (our annual youth conference). I put forward the idea of bringing someone to speak who serves the poor or runs a NPO because I feel like we need to partner the amazing love of Father God we've been given (and incredible Holy Spirit) with an

brood

2009-04-27T10:07:00.007-05:00

It's been a rough few days with only a few hours of sleep a night... the new puppy is still getting used to being home. I can't complain (because he's awesome) but it's giving me tons of respect for new parents (like Puddle!).So, I was lying in bed last night and I felt the Father remind me of Luke 13:34“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I

from "The Skeptical Hypochondriac"

2009-04-25T16:58:00.001-05:00

A new study indicates that, for some undetermined reason, you’re about 28 percent less likely to get a divorce in the years after your city gets awarded a major league baseball team.Link.When I read this statistic to my wife, she asked, "who the heck does the research and comes up with all these statistics?" Any ideas?

Solomon

2009-04-06T13:40:00.002-05:00

He comes home in two weeks!

megalomaniacal

2009-04-02T10:05:00.007-05:00

megalomaniacal |-məˈnīəkəl| |ˈˈmɛg(ə)ləməˈnaɪəkəl| |-məˈnʌɪək(ə)l| adjectivesuffering delusions of one's own power or importance.I'm realizing, more and more, that our mettle is tested under stress. Our good and our bad is shown when things are at their most difficult. I think, if we all just admitted this truth, the world would be a much better place. I mentioned to someone this week that had

integrity

2009-03-18T10:20:00.000-05:00

Our integrity sells for so little, but it is all we really have. It is the very last inch of us. An inch. It is small and it is fragile and it is the only thing in the world worth having. We must never lose it or give it away. We must never let them take it from us.From one of my favourites.

St. Francis

2009-02-26T12:34:00.003-05:00

"Lord, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love, with all my heart. With all my heart."Hmmm... I'm learning more and more about pastoring. There are days when I feel like I'm really good at it... and then there are others where I'm sure I should give up. I found this great prayer from St. Francis recently and have

from "The Luck of Ginger Coffey"

2009-02-11T13:59:00.006-05:00

Love isn’t an act, it’s a whole life. It’s staying with her now because she needs you; it’s knowing you and she will still care about each other when sex and daydreams, fights and futures—when all that’s on the shelf and done with. Love—why, I’ll tell you what love is: it’s you at seventy-five and her at seventy-one, each of you listening for the other’s step in the next room, each afraid that a

What if the mightiest word is love

2009-01-20T13:26:00.005-05:00

Praise song for the day.Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.Someone is trying to

Apples and green tea

2009-01-05T10:31:00.006-05:00

Well, happy 2009. My lovely wife and I have decided to partake in a cleanse. Before you get worried, it's basically a detoxification for our bodies. Although there's much debate over the validity or functionality of these cleanses, I've seen their (positive) effects in my own body. So, Sarah and I talked about it last fall and decided 2009 was a good time to put ourselves through one. A

almost Christmas

2008-12-19T11:39:00.003-05:00

while some of you are still shopping for my gifts, I wanted to direct your attention to this.Enjoy!

start shopping

2008-12-04T13:43:00.009-05:00

OK... it's been a while but here's my Christmas list. Over the past number of years, I haven't received any of these requested gifts. Here's a chance to make up for previous Christmas errors. 1. A Life-Size Replica of yours truly in LEGO: because then I can leave it at work to keep my staff on task. 2. Since I love music: Thirty-Five Year Collection of Top 100® 45 RPM Records - Each and every