I've been looking forward to Lent for a while now, as if it couldn't get here quick enough. Not because of its austere nature - a lot of people mistake the repentant spirit of Lent for general gloom and masochistic grovelling. I have no wish to be a part of that. My longing for Lent… Continue reading Longing for Lent
Two friends have published good books that I wanted to do a quick review, and then a film promo from another friend. Both of the books train us in the way of mission, how we can get out of our safe church circles and enter the wonderful, wild world God has placed us, loving it… Continue reading Two books and a film – by friends
The mall is not my friend as a dad to two children, not hospitable to raising healthy human beings. Sure, it provides clean and supervised play areas as well as interesting food courts with carousels but the rest of the place is a damn hazard. And not because it is the temple of all things… Continue reading A “pretty” dangerous place
Lent begins this Wednesday and I've landed on this year's soundtrack for this season of repentance - Mumford & Sons Sigh no more. I know I've blogged on them earlier here, but this album continues to capture me and much of the honest, plaintive confession of Lent. The title song Sigh no more confesses: "My… Continue reading My soundtrack for Lent
Get ready to see a peculiar sight this coming Wednesday. You'll likely note a smudge of dirt on the guy serving up your coffee or the woman working in the next door office. They didn't forget to shower; it's not ink from their newspaper. It's Ash Wednesday which begins the season of Lent, and for… Continue reading Dust to dust
I'm going contrarian here and confess my love for winter. Sure, in the moment I'll gripe and mewl about life inside the deep freeze. And we've had lots to grouse about - it's March and all week we've been in double digit sub-zero weather here in Calgary. I've postponed more ski outings than I cared… Continue reading Friday photos – no such thing as bad weather
The best quote I heard last week: "It's difficult to love people who hurt and disappoint us ... but what other sort of person is there?" Those are words wholly applicable to the church. We come to church mostly expecting pure and distilled divinity; what we mostly get is raw and uncooked humanity. What other… Continue reading What other sort of church is there?
Church attendance is in decline - I’m not presenting any shocking news here. What’s surprising, however, is the shifting worship attendance patterns among committed Christians (my own informal survey concludes that twice a month is the new normal for core and committed Christians). Of course we can come up with many fine reasons for why… Continue reading Why bother with church?
I really need to stop calling these things Friday photos - that's the goal but life doesn't always schedule itself neatly. This week I got all touch-feely, gravitating towards the texture of things. I love the amazing array of tactile wonders before us every day in these images.
You've probably heard the stories of Jesus showing up in a pancake. Because its obviously a family trait, his mother Mary has also been spotted in similar guise. These spiritual sightings are not limited to any one food group because there's been sightings of Mother Teresa in the famous but disputed "nun bun" or the grilled cheese… Continue reading Friday photos – “like these pancakes young one you will.”
Squinch 