Prayer for the Unremarkable
I work hard every day and try not to get in other people's way or stir up trouble. I don't even ask for much attention, but it'd be nice to have a bit. This world I live in has very little room for the unremarkable.
Is This Your Country?
"Is this your country?" a stranger asked me in amazement in broken English as I sat in a small food stall in Tokyo earlier this spring. I was scrolling through photos on my phone while waiting for chicken skewers to cook over a smokey charcoal grill. I was looking at some pictures of Edmonton's river valley, fields on the Alberta highways, and some scenes from the Maligne Canyon in Jasper.
Travel Like Matt
If your personal, professional, and spiritual journey is helping you become a more humble person, you’re traveling well. If you find yourself building your own brand by endlessly critiquing and “yelping” against your own culture, you might be impeding your own progress. The best way to critique is to build something new and beautiful while maintaining a foundation of love.
Long Road to Osaka
I have experienced success, but I've always had to take the long, unscenic route to get there. It looked to me like these kids had found the shortcut that I had looked for, but I had never found it. While sipping my Old Fashioned, I wondered to myself, "Did I waste my twenties?"
Sake Runneth Over
Restaurants live and die by keeping a close eye on cost controls. A spilled tablespoon of Sake with every customer adds up quickly and ultimately requires the business to buy additional bottles with no opportunity to recover those costs. Restaurant owners want their guests to be happy, but not...too happy.
Keep Going, Keep Giving
Showing genuine hospitality is a constant test of character. It's a test because offering kindness, generosity, and care to someone doesn't always yield the desired results. You can walk into any human interaction with pure motives and still be attacked and misunderstood.
My TV Show Pitch
Dear television executive
I would like to pitch an idea for a new 45-a-50-minute reality-based show called "The Great Canadian Campfire."
The Creative Grace
There are a lot of reasons to be afraid these days. We know this because our news feeds don't offer us a variety of stories to consume. The menu of the day seems to be a buffet of war, destruction, violence, and despair.
Tables and Walls
With terror and horrific stories coming out of Israel and Gaza these last weeks, I feel the deafening roar of both sides of the conflict in my ears. I find myself feeling angry and sad all at once with no clear direction on what I should believe.
Only Human
I'm not upset because I got sick. I've always known it was bound to happen at some point. I'm upset because I had to take time off work. I've always been proud that I'm rarely ill…And yet, a small rapid antigen test has reminded me of the following:
Be Unreasonable
After nearly two decades of working in hospitality and community, I've learned one thing: motivation is a non-renewable resource. There is often an infinite and unending demand for service. We only have so much energy to give, and it doesn't take long to give the little we have. We're only human.
We Went to Quebec
"Your French is better than my English." said the taxi driver to me as he drove my family to Jean Lesage Airport to catch our flight back to Edmonton. I hadn't put much thought into the quality of my French on our family trip to Quebec City, but I did feel a sense of gratitude for my parents' decision when I was five years old to put me in a French immersion school program.
He-Man, Barbies, and The Sound of Freedom
I was a classic child of the 1980s, and my Saturday mornings included watching Masters of the Universe, Droids, Ewoks, The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, and Pee Wee's Playhouse. This was normal for me and millions of other kids, except for one little caveat. Before church, my mom often said, "So, please don't bring up He-Man and the Masters of the Universe at church."
The Pentecostal Diet
This kind of faith pushes Christians beyond the boundaries of comfort and into a world where they could one day sit at a restaurant and enjoy Filipino Sisig or an Argentine Choripan. Not just to enjoy the food but to love the people who serve it. A faith where Christians would learn to speak new languages not just to become comfortable in the world but to better understand and appreciate it.
We Went to Portland: Part II
This is the second of a two-part series of travel blog posts on good reasons to visit Portland, Oregon. In this post, I want to talk about food. Now, I don't want to talk about food from the perspective of a food critic. Food critic blogs are legion, and I'm not interested in joining them anytime soon. I am, however, drawn to talk about food in the context of value and connection.
We Went to Portland: Part I
My wife and I recently spent a few days in Portland, Oregon. Our family stepped up to take care of the kids while we were away, and we had a great time. Why Portland, you ask? There are many great reasons to visit Portland, but here are the four reasons it made sense for us. This is a two-part blog and in this first part, I’m going to cover the first two reasons.
The Adventures of Jorg
The Barista misheard my name, but I admit it was nice to have someone assume a good version of me. Moreover, the assumption improved the interaction.
Give Peace a Like
Like many of you, I was embarrassed and angry to see what happened last weekend in Grand Prairie, where an individual verbally assaulted Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and her staff. Unfortunately, the man's conduct is an example of behavior in Alberta that's becoming far too common. Not just in Alberta but in Canada and around the world.
BBQ Heaven
What is heaven like? Well, friend, I think it's like an afternoon barbeque with everyone at the table. Experiences like this bring heaven to earth. The world would look so much better with open doors and full plates.