Bad work is exhausting
"The antidote to exhaustion is not necessarily rest. The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness. You are so tired through and through because a good half of what you do here in this organization has nothing to do with your true powers, or the place you have reached in your life. You are only half here, and half here will kill you after a while."- Brother David Steindl-Rast.
Joy Thief
Comparison can rob us of our sense of value, especially when we focus on what others have and we don’t. More dangerously, it can poison our thoughts if we judge those who do less. Judgement and self-righteousness are toxic and can kill the joy inside us. Self-righteousness is a darkness that masks itself as contentment and confidence.
We will Know Tomorrow
I believe firmly that this year will bring opportunities for good, and I look forward to those moments with optimism.
Six Strangers in Edmonton
Have I gone unaware of the efforts of six or more people who are concerned about my safety and well-being? Probably. I’ve thought about the incident at the intersection, and then, more broadly, about the strangers around me. We’re surrounded by good people who come from many backgrounds. When our stories collide at life's intersections, I’m comforted to know that most people care.
You Have One Job!
Empathy is a beautiful thing. But mixed with Ego, it can sour quickly. Keep the empathy, but confront and ditch the ego. You and I have one job: be human and do your best to be a good one.
I’m the Drummer Boy
Pressure reveals the substance of our faith. The drum has been used to organise armies in a militaristic display of power. In the song of the Little Drummer Boy, the drum leads us gently to a scene that welcomed lowly shepherds, astrologers from the East, and a little baby whose army would one day wave palm branches and not swords.
Sandals in Snowdrifts
The qualities of grace are metaphorical pairs of sandals being used to walk through snowdrifts.
Mom’s Home Alone
For those of us who are children of the 90s.
If I were given the power to produce a sequel in the Home Alone series, this is the movie I would make. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Doomsday Landing Part II
How do you respond If you know the end is coming? The answer is important. It matters, and it’s meaningful.
Doomsday Landing
A driving anxiety for me is the sustainability of the world and whether or not my kids will get to live in a better world than the one I was born into. What many scientists and experts will tell you is that the answer to that question is objectively, no.
That’ll Preach
…I easily resist the temptation to launch into a hermeneutical discourse on the Bible, primarily because I'm laughing. The other reason is that a child's perspective is often enough to see the story through a different lens. A lot of good teaching involves shifting of perspectives.
No Mail on Star Trek
When a public service chooses to go on strike, whether it be teachers, nurses, or mail carriers, our conversations should be guided by generous discernment. Algorithms lead to profits, and Discernment leads us to value.
Remembrance Day at Southgate Mall
Is it disrespectful to be out shopping on Remembrance Day?
I am wearing a poppy, and I will pause for a quiet moment of silence and reflection at the appropriate time.
I have no way of knowing how a soldier would feel about the mall being open today.
Bedtime Questions
There's an old idiom that says that you have to sleep in the bed you make—a poetic way of saying that we have to live with the consequences of our actions. I don't fully accept the concept because I'm well aware that many sleep in beds made by others. However, I have several questions that I ask myself when trying to hold myself accountable for what I'd like to stand for.
Where Others have Gone Before
There are times in life when we think we're unique, brave pioneers, but after some sober-minded reflection, we realize our journeys are rarely exceptional. Over time, others have joined us on this lonely highway of discovering new paths in the journey of life and faith.
Jane Goodall’s Famous Last Words
I'm used to thinking of generosity as people sharing resources like cash or physical gifts. I love gifting, but I am convinced that adding value to others' lives has a lot to do with sharing your story. Story sharing adds clarity and reaffirms solidarity in our most important relationships.
How we Mend
We rarely identify with Zachaeus, a wealthy tax collector who used the system to steal from his neighbors. After reading Mend: An Invitation from Jesus to Return to Land-Based Repair by Jodi Spargur, I see a parallel story of Zachaesus and modern settler Canadians. The story of his redemption could serve as a template for us in our own repentance as a country and in mending the relationship with the First Peoples of the land.
Passport Privilege
Destinations are like books with pages of lessons for us to read. It's up to us how we let those stories shape us. We need to be unselfish with those lessons and apply them to our lives at home.
Do we need an Apocalypse?
Forest fires begin with a spark and spread. We are not immune to this virus of violence that spreads with a specific amount of pressure. Gratitude is an effective anti-viral counteragent. Gratitude is deceptively disruptive to conflict.
Eyes, Teeth & Charlie Kirk
Critics of the faith often cite scripture passages to invalidate the idea of a loving God and creator. There are several passages for them to choose from, one of them being, "Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise," found in the Hebrew scriptures in the book of Exodus.