I just finished a second reading of Sarah A. Lanier’s book, Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot- and Cold-Climate Cultures. I got this book maybe ten years ago, when our family was living in the Netherlands. I remember appreciating the … Continue reading
It’s that time of the year for retrospection. After posting my Top Ten Songs of 2019, Top Ten Books of 2019, and Top Ten Hikes of 2019, I thought that I would turn my attention to things that might be considered more substantial, … Continue reading
Many cultures believe that ethnicity in conferred through their women (I just learned that the word for this is matrilineality). For instance, Jewish tradition (and Israeli law) stipulates that a Jew is someone with a Jewish mother, or someone who … Continue reading
Spotify is sneaky-smart in the way it’s established itself. The product itself is grounded in slick engineering. But they’re also super-savvy with the way they handle the social media dynamics of their user interface. They’ve got sharp visuals to accompany … Continue reading
As we come up on the end of a decade, it’s natural to look back and see how much has happened in the last ten years. With this particular decade that’s drawing to a close, it’s become popular — especially … Continue reading
“It’s Sinterklaas weather.” It’s a reference to a December 5th holiday in the Netherlands. But the first time I remember hearing this phrase was actually in the month of August, in Amsterdam. It was a joke. But any cool, wet, … Continue reading
I recently finished reading Ian McEwan’s book, Amsterdam. And in all honesty, I have to say that it was pretty disappointing. I can’t really recommend the book to anyone else, but I’ve made it a goal to catalog this year’s reading … Continue reading
Missions trips can be hard to summarize. But I’ve found that one of the most helpful ways to process an experience such as the last week I spent in Sweden is to ask, “What was the best hour of the … Continue reading
We made it to the end of our time in Stockholm. It’s been an incredible week. Our team worked together well and discovered new levels of trust, experience, and vision for church leadership and church planting. The city of Stockholm … Continue reading
Over the last couple of days, our team from H2O Kent has been gradually shifting our time and attention from the refugee communities of Tensta to the center of Stockholm. We’ve enjoyed brilliant blue skies and golden sunshine as we’ve … Continue reading