Tim Chan's Blog, page 4
November 5, 2018
Advent Photo-a-Day 2018
Advent is a season observed by many Christians as a time of preparation and expectant waiting for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. The term comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming.” Many people like to go through a set of readings during Advent. For me, having one word to contemplate throughout the day and looking for an image to capture that word allows me to practice Advent in a simple, accessible, and integrated way that flows with the rhythms of my life.
The practice of ca...
October 11, 2018
10 Things Learned in 10 Years of Marriage
Ten years of marriage feels like both a long and a short time. As we prepared to celebrate our first decade of marriage today, we sat down to reflect on some of the lessons we’ve learned along the way. While this isn’t an exhaustive list, it summarizes some of the main things we have learned.
We realize that our readers come from various places in life – some are married, some unmarried, some are struggling with their marriages, some are divorced or separated. Our intention for sharing is to...
August 6, 2018
Embodied Faith: Meeting God in Our Bodies (Sermon)
On August 5, 2018, I (Olive) had the privilege of speaking at Heritage Mountain Community Church on the topic of “Embodied Faith: Meeting God in Our Bodies.” Below is the audio recording from that morning along with the written version of my message.
https://timandolive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Meeting-God-In-Our-Bodies-Aug-5-2018.mp3
Speaking in public stresses me. How do I know? In the two weeks leading up to today, I experienced ear infections in both ears. Apparently, they don’t...
<![endif]--><!--[if lt IE 9]>August 4, 2018
Book Review: Survival Guide for the Soul by Ken Shigematsu
Survival Guide for the Soul deepened my motivation to restart spiritual practices I’ve given up on and it gave me practical ideas on how to approach the practices differently. Ken’s book is filled with engaging stories and deep insights. I especially appreciated the variety of stories, from leaders in the past and present and “regular” people from Ken’s church community.
I received an Advanced Reading Copy of Survival Guide for the Soul as part of the book launch team. Ken Shigematsu was my...
February 7, 2018
Lent Photo-a-Day 2018
Lent is the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday (not including Sundays). Traditionally, it is a season for fasting and repentance, a season of soul-examination drawing from Jesus’ experience in the wilderness. This year, Lent starts on Wednesday, February 14 and lasts until Saturday, March 31.
For the past two Lenten seasons, I have adopted the practice of reflecting on a word prompt and taking a photo as an expression of that day’s reflections (I have also done this for Advent, i...
January 3, 2018
Our Word for 2018: WONDER
Every January, we set aside a day to assess where we’re at and plan for the year ahead. We call it our “Blue Day” (a more detailed description of it can be found in our free e-book, Fight With Me). We always begin our Blue Day with a bit of silence and solitude, out of which usually arises a word that becomes our theme for the year. For 2018, our word is WONDER.
For Tim, WONDER is the image of our two daughters exploring the beach on Mayne Island last summer: the spirit of adventure and cur...
November 26, 2017
Advent Photo-a-Day 2017
Advent is a season observed by many Christians as a time of preparation and expectant waiting for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. The term comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming.” For the last two years, every Advent season, I have followed a list of photo prompts to help me reflect and prepare for Christmas. Having a word to contemplate throughout each day and looking for an image to capture that word has enabled me to live with eyes wide open, in both a physical and spirit...
November 23, 2017
How My Wife Became a Better Parent than Me
When our first daughter was born almost six years ago, I was the better parent. By a mile. Not to brag, but I was more prepared, more excited, and more skilled. That’s just the truth. But somewhere along the way, either before or after our second daughter was born, Olive caught up and then passed me. This is less of a story of what makes a “better” parent, and more of a story about how grit and effort beat out talent and skill.
Even when I was a 10-year old boy, I had an interest in kids. G...
October 25, 2017
7 Tips and 11 Books for Navigating the Toddler Years
“What are the toddler years like? I’ve heard they’re really challenging.” I was recently asked this question. My response was that yes, they are challenging, but there are resources and ways of thinking about this season that can empower you as you navigate it. As I write this, we have an almost 6-year-old and a 3-year-old. So we’ve weathered one stormy toddlerhood and are currently in the midst of the second.
[Note: This post contains affiliate links.]
June 14, 2017
Paying Attention to Crap: What Potty Training Revealed About Me
For a long time I hadn’t really understood what the big deal was about potty training. It was simple! At least it was for my first child. But when we were a month into training my second-born and still having regular accidents, I could see how potty training earned it’s reputation as “dreaded.”
As I reflected on this particular experience of potty training, I learned several things about myself. They weren’t new discoveries – more like patterns I’d already known about myself that surfaced in...
