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The Fastest Man in the World
In the summer of 1996, Donevon Bailey became the fastest man in the world. Posting a record time of 9.84 seconds in the 100m sprint at the Olympics in Atlanta, the Canadian sprinter won gold and worldwide fame. Watching at the age of 12, I remember every second of his race. And I remember the…
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Mess is Poetry
I listened to a speech recently, and it was an absolute disaster. A mother gave a carefully-prepared speech, but she kept getting interrupted. The culprit was none other than her six year-old son who was, in fact, the topic of her speech. While she explained the miracle of her son’s life – six short years…
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Christmas Reflections
I’m always amazed how quickly, after months of anticipation, Christmas comes and goes each year. November and December are a flurry of preparations and celebrations all pointing to Christmas Day. The Day itself is gone in a flash, after which we all wake up and carry on life as usual. Maybe early Christian traditions were…
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Blood Pressure
“Why can’t you be more like your older brother Why can’t you (blood pressure) Why can’t you do a little more for Jesus Why can’t you (blood pressure)” – MUTEMATH, Blood Pressure Ever feel overwhelmed by all the people telling you to be more and do more than you are right now? These voices are…
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What Do You Want to Do When You Grow Up?
When you ask a child, the answer is easy: “I want to be an astronaut.” “I want to be a fireman.” “I want to be a nurse.” (As a kid, I just wanted to be like my dad). As we get older, though, right when the question becomes really relevant and immediate, the answers get…
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Leaning Into the Fear
The hardest part about learning to snowboard learning to lean forward. The natural thing when you’re strapped to a slippery board at the top of a 12,000ft mountain is to lean back. As if leaning back will help you ease gently down the hill. That’s the fear talking. But fear doesn’t know what’s safe. Leaning…
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The Things We “Have To”
If you’re like much, much of your day is directed by obligation – the things you have to do. You have to pick up some milk. You have to write a quick email. You have to get to work early tomorrow. For most of us, though, most of our obligations are the result of our…
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Just Say Yes
At the Canadian Blood Services luncheon yesterday I found out that only 5% of eligible Canadians give blood. Only 5%! Though we all know this is important, and everyone knows someone who has needed blood at some point in their life, very few of us give. I’ve noticed that whenever given the opportunity to help…
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Reinventing Yourself
In November, Anna and I did a month-long cleanse program, which basically consisted of taking some pills twice each day which were supposed to clean out all the nasty toxins and heavy metals in our bodies. Though the program didn’t really require it, we also tried to adjust our diet to make more health-conscious eating…
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Stories from the Christmas Tree
The Christmas season is filled with symbolism and memories. It’s always interesting to learn about the various Christmas traditions that families have. Now that we have a family of our own, Anna and I have been discussing what kinds of traditions we want to incorporate into our own family’s tradition as well. Growing up, one…