#personal reflection

The Year I Saw Billions of Dollars in Art

This year I visited museums—many, many museums. I spent time in world-class exhibits in Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, and Switzerland. I encountered significant historical artifacts and gazed at world-renowned works of art. I stood face to face with Augustus of Prima Porta, gazed at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and looked with admiration at the works of many masters. I saw tapestries and pottery, crowns and coins, paintings and carvings. I saw art that must cumulatively be worth countless …

Vlog: Happy New Year

Happy new year! Here’s a wee little recap of my 2017 and a brief look forward to 2018. I sure enjoyed doing “light blogging” last week (which meant posting only the daily A La Carte articles) and am now eager to get back to the usual regimen.  

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Next Time: A Tribute To R.C. Sproul

Ligonier Ministries has just announced that R.C. Sproul has passed away. But I don’t think he would want you to cry about it. “You can grieve for me the week before I die, if I’m scared and hurting” he once said, “but when I gasp that last fleeting breath and my immortal soul flees to heaven, I’m going to be jumping over fire hydrants down the golden streets…” So, to honor his memory, I won’t cry. But I will write. …

On Leaving Jerusalem

I have spent the past few days in Jerusalem, combing the city for historical objects that will help me tell the story of the Christian faith. I’ve found some neat artifacts and will describe them soon enough. I’ve also spent time thinking about this notion of the Holy Land, the holy city, and holy places, and will tell you more about that soon, too. But as I head to the airport to fly home, I find myself reflecting on the …

An Update on My Health

Back in October I mentioned that I had largely lost the ability to type. I had experienced some kind of nerve damage that made typing sometimes uncomfortable and at other times excruciating. A little bit of time has passed, so I thought it was probably time for an update. The short of it is this: things are not any better, and at times maybe even a little worse. While my everyday life is unaffected, I continued to deal with a …

The Next Chapter of The Next Story

It is July 1 today, which makes it Canada Day in my home and native land. Technically the day marks the anniversary of the unification of the British colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada into a federation of four provinces. At this time what had previously been the Province of Canada was divided into Ontario and Quebec. This all officially took place on July 1, 1867. However, even at this time Canada did not become …

A Canadian Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving Day here in Canada. Unlike our friends in America, we celebrate Thanksgiving in October. Where the American Thanksgiving has a storied history and ushers in the holiday season, we Canadians really have no idea why we celebrate this day that ushers in the Fall season. Thanksgiving comes when the leaves are entering the height of their glory and the air is just beginning to turn crisp. The last of the season’s produce is being harvested and apple …

A New Career

I spent nearly my entire young life attending Christian schools. From the first grade all the way to the eleventh, there was only one year that I did not attend a Christian school. During these formative years I did not only attend schools where I was taught God’s Word, but I also attended Catechism classes, Sunday school and everything else churches have to offer young people. In my younger days the teachers used to enjoy asking us questions that would …