Sports is heartbreak 💔 ⚾️ but Canadian ads are worse; Making a Food Show; The Brave Women of Iran

3 Things this week and a poem

Thanks for spending some time this weekend with Things I Wrote Down.

I’ve been on the road a lot in the last few weeks traveling in the States. Palm trees and southern cooking were daily experiences. Travel is such a privilege (and yet so different when there’s a family waiting at home!)

In this remote-work world where we experience so much of our daily as a disembodied talking head on a small square on a flat screen, it’s nice to see people up close, feel sand between the toes, eat food that makes you believe in God and everything good all over again.

Have you had an in-person, “real life” experience lately that made you appreciate your embodied-ness, your humanity, people, and the world? I’d love to hear about it. Drop a comment!

Here are three things that stood out this week, with a new poem (that emerged from some of the travel).

Sports is heartbreak but Canadian ads are worse

Like me, you may have stayed up late with big hope in your heart. It’s been 32 years, and it was time for the Blue Jays to be the World Series champions again. Everything aligned. A home game. Loaded bases. All we needed was a run. And we had the chance more than once.

And it didn’t happen. Sports is heartbreak.

All the sports analysis aside, let me say this. Having been in the States the last two weeks, I saw most of the series there. And I gotta say, the state of Canadian advertising is absolutely embarrassing. I’d even say abysmal. The ads (which I muted and ignored as I watched on Sports Net on Rogers, the network that owns the team, were so BAD). I actually still can’t believe it. Betting services that used a single powerpoint slide and text.

No creativity, no budget, no punch. In the States, watching the commercials was like watching a Hollywood movie. Every ad seemed to have a star: Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, special effects. They were scripted, clever, laugh-out-loud funny.

My ridiculous Instagram Reels to promote my new Christmas book (which are all about making fun of being an independent author to break through the doom scroll, and which have absolutely zero budget) are funnier, more thoughtful, and have higher production value, even though I’m just shooting it on my phone.

Maybe it’s just my sports-grief talking. But the state of the Canadian commercial is dire. Something, perhaps, to unpack at a later date and see what it might say about our culture, economy, and basic enthusiasm.

What we really needed was the 1993 Coke commercial, which I still remember.

Making a Food Show

Ok, a pivot from disappointment and grumpiness to tangible, tasty joyfulness.

There is so much joy in Aarti Sequeira‘s home kitchen.

I can’t wait for you to experience the food, faith, joy, and conversation coming your way through this new content for Compassion’s Unto Jesus campaign.

It’s amazing what can happen when you open your home and heart to hospitality!

In Aarti's home kitchen for the series Made to Share, by Compassion

I can confirm these recipes are DELICIOUS. You will absolutely want to make them at home for guests or bring one of these dishes to a party in the upcoming season of gathering and fellowship.

We’re putting together a six-part series that will live on YouTube, that will have amazing snippets on Instagram, and an incredible downloadable recipe guide so you can cook along, and prepare some surprising, tasty dishes as you entertain in the upcoming months of gathering and feasting. Stay tuned.

The brave women of Iran

Where we’re from and where we end up: there couldn’t be a more wild story then the story of a woman who escaped Iran and had a hitman from the regime try to take her out in her New York garden.

How the Country I Was Taught to Hate Saved My Life, is in the Free Press this week, and is written by Masih Alinejad. Worth your time!

Her would-be killer was sentenced by a judge this week and she continues to walk free.

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Poem

When I was in Santa Barbara recently, I got to be a fly on the wall at an amazing event where multi-millions of dollars were raised for the work of releasing children from poverty. It was incredible to witness the passion, dedication, and generosity of artists, donors, and charitable staff at work. A true honour.

I wrote this poem at 39,000 feet as a reflection on the worlds of paradox we all inhabit, the richness and poverty all around us (wherever we are), and the astonishing grace of God. I hope you enjoy it.