{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1", "title": "Dan Alcantara", "icon": "https://micro.blog/danalcantara/avatar.jpg", "home_page_url": "https://danalcantara.me/", "feed_url": "https://danalcantara.me/feed.json", "items": [ { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/28/its-always-an.html", "content_html": "
It’s always an intellectually and spiritually tiring week when I’ve got two sermons to write. Preaching Matthew 27 tomorrow and part of 1 Corinthians 15 on Sunday.
\n", "date_published": "2024-03-28T12:28:36+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/28/its-always-an.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/26/nothing-feels-quite.html", "content_html": "Nothing feels quite like being back to work as moving WhatsApp back to the dock and re-enabling notifications. Had a lovely weekend away, but it’s definitely time to get to work.
\n", "date_published": "2024-03-26T09:34:44+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/26/nothing-feels-quite.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/25/matching-boots.html", "content_html": "Matching boots.
\n\n", "date_published": "2024-03-25T13:48:36+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/25/matching-boots.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/20/i-was-just.html", "content_html": "I was just thinking today (randomly) about how people smugly say that the Titanic was built by professionals whereas Noah’s ark was built an amateur, as if that somehow means something. The ark also never had to deal with an iceberg.
\nThe Titanic Was the Safest Ship of Its Time
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2024-03-20T19:39:37+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/20/i-was-just.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/20/at-this-point.html", "content_html": "One of the biggest surprises of the series for me was hearing that the Titanic was, in fact, the safest ship in the world at the time of its christening – and the time of its sinking.
\n
At this point, I’m not sure if it’s cheaper to have short hair. Pretty sure I’ve spent more on haircuts in the last six months than I would have on shampoo and conditioner.
\n\n", "date_published": "2024-03-20T11:35:54+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/20/at-this-point.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/16/i-picked-up.html", "content_html": "I picked up a new chilli oil from the shop and made some pepcorn. What I didn’t account for what just how much spicier this particular brand is compared to Lao Gan Ma. 🥵
\n", "date_published": "2024-03-16T14:29:48+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/16/i-picked-up.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/15/a-soothing-if.html", "content_html": "A soothing, if slightly noisy, end to sermon-writing day. 🍺
\n\n", "date_published": "2024-03-15T16:32:18+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/15/a-soothing-if.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/15/i-can-think.html", "content_html": "I can think of worst views for a late lunch break.
\n\n", "date_published": "2024-03-15T14:54:28+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/15/i-can-think.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/12/why-am-i.html", "title": "why am I so fussy", "content_html": "For as long as I can remember, I have been a bit of a tinkerer. I’m constantly tweaking something in my setup somewhere. This is tangentially related to what I was writing about yesterday. Some of this might be a result of my work history. Several of my jobs were very metrics-driven. I had to meet certain standards of speed and accuracy while working in logistics. I had to increase yield of finished product and speed of delivery while working in kitchens. Everything was about continuing to make small adjustment and practicing to become more accurate.
\nAnd so I would tweak how I had things set up. Hold the knife this way. Set up jigs for cutting cables. Make small adjustments to the CNC code without breaking the program.
\nThis mindset has carried on over to my work in ministry. I don’t know if it’s particularly helpful.
\nTake for example, the never-ending quest for the perfect note-taking app. Recently, I had to cancel my subscription to Ulysses. I was very happy to pay for it but then I started to get sync errors and the team there simply blamed iCloud Sync rather than actually doing anything about the problem.
\nAll of my writing was stored there, and it was set up in a way that made sense to my brain. It was where I drafted blog posts and made sermon outlines. I didn’t care that it didn’t support wiki-links (though if they decided to introduce that feature and also fix the syncing issues, I would be back in a heartbeat).
\nWhy am I saying all of this? I’m saying it because I still find myself torn between various platforms and trying to figure out what to use. A lot of my work, at least in note-form, lives in Bear. I’m writing this post in iA Writer. I have stuff living in Drafts, which I recently started to use again.
\nAnd the reason why I’m feeling ridiculous about all of this is that I have some expectation that I need to be able to export, print, and distribute things. That seems reasonable enough but both Bear and iA Writer implement a hashtag system that lives within the note itself and there is no export option that removes the hashtags.
\nAnd that tiny little niggle is literally the only thing that makes me feel like I can’t go all-in with either of them.
\nThat’s a ridiculous thing to think about though because, in reality, I am the only person who will ever see these notes. I almost never print them out and when I do print stuff, I move it over to Pages or Google Docs to format them and make sure they fit on the number of pages I need them to.
\nAnd so my fussiness is over an aesthetic issue with the most valuable function of either app. Using hashtags to organise things is quick, easy, and flexible. It means I can do things with smart folders and search. It means that I can very quickly find what I need related to a particular topic.
\nThey’re just a bit ugly on the page.
\n", "date_published": "2024-03-12T13:30:39+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/12/why-am-i.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/11/trying-to-make.html", "title": "The Habitus: Trying to make the system work", "content_html": "I’ve written before about how I try to wake up early in order to make time for Scripture reading and meditation. There is no getting around the fact that it has been very difficult to keep that up.
\nThe Habitus is on a little bit of a hiatus at the moment and that’s largely due to the fact that I’ve also struggled to make time for writing and thinking about this stuff. These days have very much been days spent doing rather than thinking about the doing.
\nIn some ways, that could be considered progress, particularly when it comes to building up a habit of prayer and Bible meditation. It’s so easy to get hung up on finding the system rather than just doing what works to make progress.
\nThere’s a writer whom I enjoy on Youtube and she regularly tests out various writing routines. She’s done everything from Brandon Sanderson’s wake-up-at-noon-stay-up-all-night method to Neil Gaiman’s “Sit with your notebook and pen and you can do one of two things, write or not write but you can’t do anything else” routine. Then, a commenter asked what her own ideal routine would be. She had tried so many but nobody knew what her own routine was.
\nI worry that I might end up going the same direction when it comes to putting together a habitus, a deliberate, regular structure of prayer and meditation… for the purpose of godliness1.
\nSo I suppose the main reflection from all of this is that I am still continuing to work at things. I’m nearing the end of Job in my morning quiet time and I am looking forward to starting the Psalms in a couple of weeks. It will be a good excuse to make use of the Scripture Journal I have for the Psalms.
\nI also plan to continue studying Job because I find it absolutely fascinating. I’ve just finished Elihu’s speeches and I noticed the way he addresses many of the things that the Lord questions Job about in the coming chapters. I had never noticed that before and it was an exciting revelation the other day.
\nThere is still much that I want to write about when it comes to spiritual disciplines and prayer in particular. As noted before, I recently finished reading Tim Keller’s book on prayer and found it immensely helpful. His tone was encouraging and his example methods or routines are doable, even including a simple structure for those who are just getting started with building a daily practice of prayer. As I mentioned in that post, I do highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get a picture of how Christian prayer is different to other kinds of prayer and how to grow in experience and fruitfulness in prayer.
\nI also came away from it with a list of other books that I’d really like to read.
\nCredit to Don Whitney for his book reminding me that all of these things are for the purpose of growing in godliness, not an end in themselves. ↩︎
\nShe wanted cheese toasties for dinner this Mother’s Day and I was glad for the excuse to use up some sourdough. 🍞
\n\n", "date_published": "2024-03-10T19:06:04+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/10/she-wanted-cheese.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/08/a-feast-of.html", "content_html": "A feast of 한국 과자!
\n\n", "date_published": "2024-03-08T19:38:49+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/08/a-feast-of.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/07/currently-reading-spiritual.html", "content_html": "Currently reading: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney 📚
\n", "date_published": "2024-03-07T21:02:46+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/07/currently-reading-spiritual.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/06/finished-reading-prayer.html", "content_html": "Finished reading: Prayer by Timothy Keller 📚
\nThis was a joy to read, and incredibly practical. I’ll be recommending it to our church.
\n", "date_published": "2024-03-06T16:26:17+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/06/finished-reading-prayer.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/06/swoon.html", "content_html": "swoon 🎸📚
\n\n", "date_published": "2024-03-06T07:35:19+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/06/swoon.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/05/161348.html", "title": "35", "content_html": "Tomorrow, I turn 35. It’s a little bit weird to think about because I can still remember when my parents were this age. The last year hasn’t been easy. Ministry is no joke. But it’s been amazing to see how the church has become nearly unrecognisable to what it was when we first arrived.
\nGod has brought people to us, not only from the local area but all the way from Nigeria. In an area that has been quite homogenous for a long time, to see a real, international diversity in the local church has been a great reminder that it’s bigger than any local gathering.
\nWe’ve had a taxing year as a family, but we’ve also had the chance to grow and be shaped. To learn what it is to be a family with multiple teenagers in the house. To learn what it is to be a family in ministry.
\nWe still have a lot of learning to do. I still have a lot of learning to do. This was slightly (way more) rambling than I expected it to be. But a blog isn’t a place for perfect writing, it’s just a place for writing.
\n", "date_published": "2024-03-05T16:14:23+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/05/161348.html", "tags": ["Thinking"] }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/03/02/have-been-at.html", "content_html": "Have been at a ministry couples retreat for a couple of days. Will probably share about it at our family blog.
\n\n", "date_published": "2024-03-02T10:07:54+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/03/02/have-been-at.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/02/29/one-of-my.html", "content_html": "One of my more recent experiments has been moving away from writing a full script for a sermon to using a detailed outline. While it does save some time in the week, it does make for a slightly nervey Sunday morning.
\n", "date_published": "2024-02-29T14:39:04+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/02/29/one-of-my.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/02/26/one-of-the.html", "content_html": "One of the ways that I force myself to slowdown while studying a passage to preach is I write out the whole thing longhand. It’s an excuse to use nice stationery and to keep my handwriting in check. This week’s passage is Genesis 11:10-32.
\n\n", "date_published": "2024-02-26T11:33:58+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/02/26/one-of-the.html", "tags": ["Stationery","Sermon prep"] }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/02/22/one-of-the.html", "content_html": "One of the advantages of having a midweek day off and living near the sea is that we can make a date of tea and coffee in flasks, while watching the waves come in from the shelter of our car.
\n\n", "date_published": "2024-02-22T15:17:09+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/02/22/one-of-the.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/02/19/ive-really-been.html", "content_html": "I’ve really been enjoying working on posts for my Substack. It reminds me a bit of when I first started blogging a long time ago.
\n\n", "date_published": "2024-02-19T15:12:21+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/02/19/ive-really-been.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/02/08/finding-myself-falling.html", "content_html": "Finding myself falling down PKM rabbit holes after finally having enough sync issues mean that I can no longer trust my beloved Ulysses. I haven’t found a solution yet, but the main thing is needing it to be mobile/iPad-focused as I won’t be getting a new MacBook any time soon.
\n", "date_published": "2024-02-08T22:21:54+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/02/08/finding-myself-falling.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/02/05/i-wrote-a.html", "content_html": "I wrote a bit about my new commonplace book on The Habitus. 🖋️📝
\n\n", "date_published": "2024-02-05T12:39:36+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/02/05/i-wrote-a.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/02/03/today-in-things.html", "content_html": "Today in things that simply cannot be, I am now dad to a 14-year-old.
\n", "date_published": "2024-02-03T09:56:14+00:00", "url": "https://danalcantara.me/2024/02/03/today-in-things.html" }, { "id": "http://danalcantara.micro.blog/2024/01/31/days-into-my.html", "title": "31 days into my Bible reading plan", "content_html": "I originally shared this as a note on my Substack.
\n\nHere are some quick reflections on this month’s Bible reading. As I wrote previously, I am slowing my reading down to spend longer in the wisdom and poetry portions of the Old Testament. This is what I’ve found:
\n