The Cedar Life
Living for the Long Run
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Salty Snacks Imagine a man sitting on a couch, alone on a Saturday afternoon. He is watching a football game with a bowl of salty chips and a beer within arm’s reach. With this limited information, how would you describe the scene and the man within it? It was in a recent interview with podcaster Matt Fradd that Christopher West painted this picture and asked the same question of the listeners. Reflecting… Read More
Timely Words Towards the end of 2019 and into January of 2020, I was trying to discern a word or phrase that would help guide the year ahead. Word of the Year was a new category for me, but I spent time in prayer and reflection listening for the word. Eventually, two words emerged: light and joy. I remember thinking at the time that “light and joy” as my words of the… Read More
Lessons in Dentistry Following a recent visit to the dentist, we instituted a rule in our home that all the kids must floss every night before brushing their teeth. Keep in mind that we have four kids 8 and under, and it is dad’s job to make sure it gets done, which often means I am the one doing the flossing. Trying to get little people to stay still with their mouths… Read More
You Still Hold the Pen In a recent interview, author and business coach Bedros Keuilian was asked what the biggest factor is in preventing people from reaching their full potential. Bedros’ answer was simple: the story. Everyone has a story, he said, hardwired into them about why things are the way they are. Why they don’t have the life they desire or good health, or whatever it is that is missing. But… Read More
Toy Ninjas As the father of young children, I often endure the shows they like to watch on Saturday mornings. I like to be present and pay attention to what they are watching, but the watching is not always entertaining. Recently, however, this changed. My older two kids (7 & 8) discovered Ninjago. The show caught my attention to the extent that if I have to leave the room momentarily, I will… Read More
Ending the Day on Fumes A few weeks ago, my soccer team played our final game of the season. It was on a Sunday afternoon, and there was a trophy at stake. Even though my league is for ‘older’ players, most of us still have a bit of competitive drive and we wanted to win the game. For what it was, the game was hard-fought, and the good guys won. At this… Read More
Goals and Permanent Records I recently watched the Amazon Prime documentary, Rooney, which recounts much of the life and career of retired professional footballer, Wayne Rooney. Today, Rooney is only 36 years old, but he has been in the public eye since bursting into the English Premier League as a 16-year-old goal scorer and has experienced a lot of life over the last 20 years. As a Manchester United fan, I have… Read More
Creatures of Comfort I don’t need an alarm clock anymore. Every morning, between 5:30 and 6:30, my four-year-old daughter comes and wakes me up. Most mornings, I would give anything to have her sleep until 7, but at this stage it remains highly unlikely. Every morning I wish I could sleep more. I often wake up as I hear the door open down the hall and think about how much money I… Read More
Oh, Canada These last few weeks have been challenging for our country. Regardless of where you stand on the truck protests that took place in Ottawa, most of us find the images of riot police and horses breaking up crowds this past weekend jarring. Beyond the images, the lack of leadership on display in the nation’s capital has only exacerbated the problems. I have never witnessed anything like what we are currently… Read More
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Masculinity is Bestowed Until a few years ago, Masculine Initiation was not a category that I had spent much time thinking about. I used to see things in terms of transactions. I have skills and abilities. I can see that some men are skilled and comfortable in parts of life that I am not. I am compensated for my productivity and output, and I compensate others to do things for me that… Read More
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