Watch this if you need help understanding the new Tim Hortons cup sizes…
My Facebook Friends Like Books
It was just a simple little question, really: What book has most influenced your life and thinking? 28 comments later, here is the result:
Desiring God, Revised Edition John Piper
Mere Christianity C. S. Lewis
Here We Stand!: A Call from Confessing Evangelicals for a Modern Reformation James Montgomery Boice and Benjamin E. Sasse
The War of the Worlds H. G. Wells
The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien
INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION… John Calvin
Lectures to My Students Charles Haddon Spurgeon
The Hero With a Thousand Faces Joseph Campbell
The Perks of Being a Wallflower Stephen Chbosky
The Pursuit of God A. W. Tozer
Chronicles of Narnia Box Set C S Lewis
Dynamics Of Spiritual Life Richard F. Lovelace
The Problem Of Pain C S Lewis
Pagan Christianity? Frank Viola, George Barna
The Naked Gospel Andrew Farley
One Thousand Gifts Ann Voskamp
The Gifts of Imperfection Brene Brown Ph.D.
Abba’s Child Brennan Manning
Let the Nations Be Glad! John Piper
Radical Reformission Mark Driscoll
Don’t Waste Your Sorrows Paul E. Billheimer
The Communist Manifesto Karl Marx and Frederick Engels
Irresistible Revolution Shane Claiborne
Radical David Platt
A Tale of Three Kings Gene Edwards
The Screwtape Letters C S Lewis
Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond
The Holiness of God R. C. Sproul
Beyond Good and Evil Friedrich Nietzsche
Reason within the Bounds of Religion… Nicholas Wolterstoff
The Crucified God Jurgen Moltmann
The Doors of the Sea David Bentley Hart
Another B.S. Night In Suck City Nick Flynn
Joy and Grief at Christmas
My sister lost a dear friend on the weekend. Eva Peters, her husband Bill, and their daughter Lilly were almost finished the long drive from Ontario to Alberta, where they were moving to work and live on a horse farm/resort. This was a dream they’d had for some time but the opportunity had come as a surprise. So on fairly short notice, they packed their stuff and left for a new life in another province.
The picture you see was taken last Friday night. That’s Eva on the left, my sister Tammy on the right. Bill and Eva and Lilly said their goodbyes and left on the long journey. On Sunday night, on a snowy road – just 20 or so kilometers from their new home – Eva lost control of the vehicle she was driving and went off the road and was killed.
She was just 31-years-old…
Many in our church community are grieving. Eva was dear to us, Bill was one of our elders. The funeral is Saturday – the day before Christmas, so as you can imagine there are a lot of mixed emotions here.
Here is a song I came across yesterday that’s fits the occasion, sung by one of my favorite singers and writers, Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls.
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There’s Still My Joy
I took my tree down to the shore
The garland, and the silver star
To find my peace, and grieve no more
To heal this place inside my heart
On every branch I laid some bread
And hungry birds filled up the sky
They rang like bells around my head
They sang my spirit back to life
One tiny child can change the world
One shining light can show the way
Through all my tears, for what I’ve lost
There’s still my joy
There’s still my joy
For Christmas day
The snow comes down on empty sand
There’s tinsel moonlight on the waves
My soul was lost, but here I am
So this must be amazing grace
One tiny child can change the world
One shining light can show the way
Beyond these tears for what I’ve lost
There’s still my joy
There’s still my joy
For Christmas day
There’s still my joy for Christmas day
Bloodlines: An 18-Minute Documentary on Racism
John Piper’s newest book, Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian, is now available. Earlier this year his publisher traveled with him to his hometown of Greenville, SC to revisit the world in which he grew up. This 18-minute documentary takes us through his experience of racism in the 1960′s American South.
This is a really touching documentary and even if you don’t agree with his Christian perspective on the world, it is still worth watching:
Bloodlines Documentary with John Piper from Crossway on Vimeo.
Order the book online, or call 888.346.4700 between 9:00 and 5:00 (CDT), Monday to Friday.
Get a free download of the Introduction [PDF].
Album Artwork and a FREE SINGLE
Lovers on the Edges of the Twilight…
August 29 is the release date! The album will be available online and on CD for you to buy. I’m really proud of the work Deni Gauthier and I have done on this album and I know you’re going to like it too.
Download a pre-mastered track from the album here
This is a picture I took during a visit to Chicago earlier this year. This is a dubious distinction but this is the very corner on which the finale of the latest Transformers movie takes place. I KNOW – you are impressed.
Live performances…
If you’re interested in booking a show, contact me here. Full band show to solo acoustic set – the rates are reasonable and the show will be good! We’ll play in back yards, parking lots, living rooms, churches and anywhere else there’s a few people willing to listen. Here’s a little bit of what you can expect in concert… watch Michael Krahn & Band – “The Love Song (live)”
The Weight of Glory…
It’s been a decade already since I released “The Weight of Glory” and I still think it sounds pretty good. You can listen to samples buy it on iTunes by clicking here.
A Field Remembers The Rain
I can’t stop looking at this painting by local artist Nik Harron called “A Field Remembers The Rain”. I contacted Nik and he’s going to allow me to use one of his paintings for a future album cover. Enjoy!
You can see more of Nik’s paintings here: http://nikharron.com/category/paintings/
Recipe: Moroccan Chicken
Here’s a first… I’ve never posted a recipe before, but we’re having some new friends over for supper tonight and this is always the meal I make for people the first time they visit.
(Serves 4)
1 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts cut into chunks
2 T oil
1/2 c chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
2 c salsa
Herdez brand is my favorite. Hot if your guests can handle it, medium if not
1/2 c water
1/4 c currants or raisins
I prefer raisins and put at least 1/2 c in
2 T honey
Use a bit more to sweeten it up a bit
1 1/2 t cumin
1 t cinnamon
1/2 c toasted slivered almonds
Directions:
Brown chicken chunks in oil; place in baking dish.
Saute onion & garlic; spoon over chicken.
Combine salsa, water, currants/raisins, honey, & spices. Pour over chicken.
Cover & bake 1 hr at 325 F. Sprinkle with almonds.
Serve over rice (mixed with black beans)
The Heckler
Today’s bit of wisdom from Seth Godin:
If you engage with the heckler, if you qualify yourself, justify yourself or worst of all, rationalize yourself, the heckler will pounce, turning a small wedge into a giant hole. Like a standup comedian, it’s almost impossible to outwit or shut down a dedicated heckler.
But there is a strategy that works. Acknowledge and move on.
When the heckler announces that you’re incompetent, unqualified or hardly ready to step forward, think, “oh.” And then proceed.
You give it no purchase. No opportunity to escalate. Each jibe is met with “noted.”
Over time, the heckler gets quieter, because it just isn’t worth the effort.
Read more here.
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My new album “Lovers on the Edges of the Twilight” is almost done… info here: http://bit.ly/pimCw8 Get the previous album “The Weight of Glory” here: http://bit.ly/pFEhs1
Bill Mallonee “Life I Never Lived”
Some of the best songs ever written have as their source an overwhelming sense of regret. Bill Mallonee writes these songs with the best of them. Here’s a new one he just wrote and recorded that’s available for purchase as part of a re-issue of the EP “Electromeo“. The entire EP is well worth the $5 asking price.
(RSS readers may need to click through to here.)
“Life I Never Lived” by Bill Mallonee
Look at al the goodwill i retracted
Look at that deck of cards and how i stacked it
Look at all that fear and how i masked it
look at the life i never lived
look at the life i never lived
Look at all once mistook for wealth
Look at all those gifts i put back on the shelf
Look at all the slack i cut myself
look at that life i never lived
look at that life i never lived
Playback all the harsh words i spoke
Take note on how i squashed some hope
look at all those tender hearts i broke
look at the life i never lived
look at the life i never lived
Look at all the houses i tore down
Look at all the smiles i turned to frowns
Look at all the roads that just went round & round
look at the life i never lived
look at the life i never lived
Look at all the good i failed to see
Look at all i failed to do for Thee
look at what i might one day have been
look at the life i never lived
look at the life i never lived
look at the life, look at the life
look at the life i never lived
Michael Krahn Band – LIVE – August 20th, 2011
Just booked another gig playing at the Sweetcorn Festival in Aylmer on August 20th. The Facebook page for the event is here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=207998552582131
