Category: daily manna

even still, I believe

even still, I believe

So, I haven’t been in this space for a while. Honestly, it’s been hard to sit down and really write. It’s comparable to leaving the light and descending into that basement studio where a slab of marble awaits its sculptor. Not that I’ve ever sculpted […]

searching for the beautiful city

searching for the beautiful city

for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God…therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:10, 16 I did this exercise at the start of 2017, […]

reducing the gospel, by Nish Weiseth

reducing the gospel, by Nish Weiseth

if there is no room for nuance, there is no room for being human -Nish Weiseth In thinking about living missional, I came across Nish Weiseth’s writing on culture, politics and faith. how we bridge the gap, step over boundaries and connect with what means […]

living missional: keeping my eyes wide open

living missional: keeping my eyes wide open

These two weeks have been quite enlightening for me. They have not been easy to say the least, but the alone times have forced me to seriously consider what Paul meant when he said: I press on toward the goal for the prize of the […]

the reality of starting a PhD in a new city

the reality of starting a PhD in a new city

I’m curled up in a little corner at Tommy Cafe, a beautiful respite of vintage-white in the heart of Old Montreal. A centrepiece of verdun-green vines hang from the ceiling. Waiters bustle about, delivering glazed raisin croissants, mochas with cream swirled into a leaf. My […]

farming lesson #5: a day at the calf nursery

farming lesson #5: a day at the calf nursery

My series on agriculture is coming to an end. I started off writing about the fruits of the Spirit, on letting our fields lie fallow, then on what seeds taught me about seeing prophetically and finally, on how the metaphor of grafting should shape a […]

farming lesson #4: grafted in [our Jewish heritage]

farming lesson #4: grafted in [our Jewish heritage]

The characters were barely indistinguishable to my untrained eye; the black squiggles on the page more resembled shepherd’s staffs, doorposts and upside-down L’s squished together. Then, my professor put sound to them – and magic happened. Prof Meshel spoke extremely fast, his hands gesturing wildly […]

farming lesson #3: planting seeds and seeing prophetically

farming lesson #3: planting seeds and seeing prophetically

Three mung beans and a wad of cotton wool was my first science project. We were to wet the cotton wool, carefully embed the beans in it, give the wool a bit of sunlight and bring our (hopefully) sprouted beans to class the following week. […]

farming lesson #2: the fallow field

farming lesson #2: the fallow field

but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard…then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it […]

farming lesson #1: on fruits

farming lesson #1: on fruits

Mom bursts in the door, arms heavy with fruit. It was the sale at Duchie’s (our local Mennonite grocery), she explains between excited breaths. I start unpacking the cartons: a flush of bright-red raspberries, blueberries plump and fresh, straight from the farm. Fruit is my […]