I don’t know about you, but I’m just about ready for a weekend. And it’s almost here… The Cult of the Moleskine – This news story (a few years old) talks about the Moleskine notebook (which I always first misspell as “mokeskine”) and its Internet-fueled tipping point. I love my Moleskines as much as the…
There’s a strange phenomenon in the Christian world right now: middle-aged white pastors are talking about rap music and, even more strangely, actually listening to it and recommending it. Suddenly 65-year-old pastors who wear plaid jackets are interviewing dudes who wear their hats all funny and say things in their songs like, “They got ya…
Some people are wondering about the state of my new book (The Next Story). Here’s a really brief update: It is in the final stages of production (page layout); it will release on April 1; it will be available soon with a great pre-order offer. So stay tuned and I’ll have details very soon. The…
On November 11 I bookmarked 2 blog articles. Bookmarks usually last about 24 hours before they get a) archived b) used in A La Carte or c) erased. But these ones are still sitting there. Several times I have gone back to read the articles and each time I’ve wanted to think about them a…
I realized something yesterday when a friend of ours from church turned 13 and on that very day opened a Facebook account. This is a new rite-of-passage, isn’t it? You turn 13 and you can get onto the world of Facebook. I wish I had thought of that when I was writing my book, because…
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I enjoyed reading Eric Metaxas’ biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Actually, it’s one of my all-time favorite biographies; it’s readable, engaging and it deals with a fascinating part of history. But lately I’ve come across a few articles by experts in Bonhoeffer who say that it’s just plain…
Yesterday Aileen and I went shopping to buy me a new coat (such are the fascinating things we do when we date). Here are a few of the things you would have heard over the course of that time had you been following us: “That looks like something Josh would wear” (people who go to…
In 1969 Leonard Cohen released a record entitled Songs From A Room. The fifth track on that album is “Seems So Long Ago, Nancy.” The song has become one of Cohen’s more popular ones; it has found its way onto one of his live albums and has been covered by several other artists. It is…
I woke up this morning and realized that the house seemed a little bit cold. I checked the weather and saw that it’s currently 19 degrees below freezing and, with wind chill, 26 degrees below. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be 3 degrees above with a bit of rain. Canada has weird weather. Facebook Hype Will…
Do you ever find that you just don’t know how to pray? You know that you need to pray for someone, but you don’t know how? That is a great time to turn to the Bible and to pray to God the words of God. Mary Kassian once wrote a brief overview of praying Scripture…
Here’s the second edition of Weekend A La Carte (since last weekend’s effort seemed to be appreciated). I’m running a wee bit late this morning. But it’s Saturday, so it’s all good… Depression’s Odd Filter – Ed Welch on depression: “Somehow, from the mouths of other people to your ear, all words of blessing and…
This week’s sponsor of Free Stuff Fridays is Bob Kellemen of RPM Ministries. Bob is a biblical counselor who has written 5 books and who writes for Discerning Reader, Gospel Coalition, and other ministries. Bob is giving away 5 prizes. There will be 2 packages that contain Soul Physicians and Spiritual Friends (which together retail…
I took my van in to the mechanic to have the rear wiper fixed (the whole arm had sheered off). On the way there I realized I was only a few kilometers away from needing an oil change, so figured I’d get that done as well. And now the mechanic calls to tell me that…
I don’t know that I’ve ever done something quite like this before, so let’s try something new. A year ago, two days after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, I took a stab at suggesting what the late Neil Postman, the author, media theorist and cultural critic, might have to say about it. I suggested that…
There appears to be a truck from the electric company parked out on the street. So I’m going to hurry today’s A La Carte out onto the Interwebs just in case they’re about to shut down our power. I’m hoping that’s not the case since it’s well below freezing today and we depend upon electric…
A short time ago, while posting a poem titled “I Looked for Love in Your Eyes,” I lamented that while there are many, many books written to help men overcome an addiction to pornography, there is very little written to help the women who have been victims of a husband’s addiction. Shortly after I received…
Here in Toronto we largely avoided the first bunch of winter storms that pummeled the continent. But it appears that we’re now making up for lost time. We had a big one last week (a completely unexpected, ninja kind of a storm), we had a good one last night, and apparently several more are on…
Continued from Part 1 Shortly after the birth of baby Helen, John and Betty Stam received their posting to the city of Tsingteh. And this brings us back to where we began in the beginning of the first part. After only a couple of weeks in their new home the Communists took over the city,…
This morning I turned on the radio and heard the mayor of Woodstock, Georgia, talking about the recent snowstorm and his hope that no one out there is dumb enough to brave the roads. And so I post this as a courtesy to my sister and brother-in-law who happen to live in Woodstock. Stay off…
It was a dreary December day in the city of Tsingteh when John and Betty heard a rumor that Communist soldiers were drawing near to the city. The Communists were battling for control of the country and, of course, hated Christians or anyone else who would bring Western influence to their country. At the time…