2023 was a decent year for reading for me. I made more space in my life for doing puzzles but still managed to read a total of 52 books. Quite a few were books I read at bedtime with my kids, including the Chronicles of Narnia series, the Hobbit, and the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy (which I consider an accomplishment in itself!). It was actually not too hard for me to choose my favourites for this year. In case you missed last year’s list, you can find my list from 2022 here.
Read MoreOlive’s Top 5 Reads of 2022
Here we are at the end of 2022. It’s been a good reading year for me – finished 52 books and found many gems along the way. It’s a difficult task to boil it down to 5 top reads, but I will try! (In case you missed it, here’s my list from 2021). I’ll also include a list of honourable mentions at the bottom of this post. I’ve linked the books to Amazon here, purely for convenience of reference. If you’re able to support your local bookstore or get these from your local library, please do so.
Read MoreBlue Day Conversation Guide
Early on in our marriage, we realized that most of our everyday conversations were superficial in nature but we didn’t often get around to talking about the deeper things that mattered most to us. We decided to address this by booking off a day to discuss these topics. After all, businesses and organizations have annual planning retreats, why couldn’t we? That’s how Blue Days were invented. Over the 13 years we have been doing Blue Days, many people have asked us what we talk about. We put this post together to outline the topics we cover.
Read MoreAn Example of Dying Well: My Dad’s Final Gift to Me
In the morning on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, after a relatively uneventful night where I fell asleep to the sound of my dad’s steady breathing in his palliative care hospital room, I suddenly noticed his breathing sharply slow. I hurried over to his bedside and gently caressed his head, watching intently. His inhales and exhales were irregular and drawn out. Inhale. Long pause. Exhale. Another long pause. Inhale. Even longer pause. Exhale.
“Is this the end?” I asked him. “Is Jesus coming for you?” A small tear glistened from the corner of his eye. Here we are, at the edge of eternity. As I watched, a change occurred in his irises and I saw his spirit leave. “I love you, dad,” I whispered. I looked at the clock. 7:51am.
I leaned my head on his chest.
All was still.
Read MoreOur Word for 2019: Enough
Back in January, Tim and I did our annual Blue Day – a day to review our direction, plan, and dream for this coming year (we explain this idea more in our ebook “Fight With Me“). We also chose a theme word to focus on for the year. For 2019, our word is Enough.
Read MoreEmbodied 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.
God in the Winter: My Burnout Story
On January 18, 2015, I had the privilege of speaking to our local congregation at Heritage Mountain Community Church in Port Moody, BC. We are currently going through a series on meeting God in the various seasons of our souls. I shared my story as part of meeting God in the Winter. Although it was not video or audio recorded, I wanted to share the written version here.
Read More