The Weekly Review: Vol VI Issue 4
Hello friends 👋
I hope the winter thaw is well under way wherever you are. Except for you southerners … may you be enjoying the crisp fall mornings!
Here? We had a February that was the coldest ever on record. But it really didn't bother me for one reason:
☀️☀️☀️
It was cold, but it was clear blue skies every day. Running at –25°C does not bother me at all when the sun is shining down. Now that March is more than half over, the sun has continued and things are poking through the snow and slush. Everything feels right when the end of winter is in sight.
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A sucker for a new bag
Jory Raphael recently tweeted about a new bag he’d picked up. And I must say, nothing piques my clicky finger interest like bags. Messenger bags, duffel bags, backpacks — this is an area of temptation for me and I can never resist scrolling through pictures of people sharing their own.
This last fall I was needing a new bag as I’d given my daughter my old Tom Bihn Smart Alec for school. This time I didn’t jump to a decision immediatly. Instead, I did a lot of research and spent way too much time watching Chase Reeves talking about bags… (seriously though, the next time you’re in the market, Chase has you covered with his BagWorks review site).
Here are a few of the bags I considered:
- Baron Fig Canvas Slimline Backpack $85 USD
- Bellroy Classic Backpack $149 CAD
- Aer Fit Pack 2 $135 USD and Flight pack 2 $160 USD
- Tom Bihn Synapse 25 $200 USD
- Minaal Daily bag $249 USD
- Better Backpack Kickstarter $129 USD
In the end, I went with the Day Pack from Aer.
What's nice about the Aer
There are quite a few things I like about this bag. First, it's a great mixture of form and function. Tom Bihn bags work very well, but they're just not nice to look at. Other bags look great but aren't laid out well.
The Aer is the best of both. It looks sharp. I wasn't sure about the glossy aspect of the front, but this makes it super easy to clean.
As for the design, this one has been well thought out. The top pouch is perfect for AirPods, sunglasses, or your passport. It's easily accessible even when the bag is over your shoulder.
The two main compartments also work well. The front one is perfect for your gadgets and tech dopps. You can also easily fit a light jacket in there.
The rear most compartment (closest to your back) has a nice section for your laptop. In front of that go your notebooks (and an iPad or alternate tablet would also fit easily). In his video, Chase talks about “papers”, but notebooks and novels work perfectly in that space.
This compartment also has a nice water bottle sleeve. The only issue is I think this would be more appropriate in the front pocket. A leak in the back would be an issue with all your electronic gear.
Last, build quality is something to think about with bags. Cheap bags from Walmart feel like you'd expect: they won't last much longer than a school semester. A good bag has a solidity to it. And you know it when you feel it. Zipper and pocket linings are the place to look first. Next are the straps. And the Aer passes the test!
Overall, I'm a big fan of this bag and would recommend it. I would also assume the Fit or Flight bags are
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Items of Note
Oh God, It's Raining Newsletters
My favourite writer writing about email newsletters. This is the epitome of my reading experience. About the burgeoning popularity of the age old technology, Craig Mod has this to say:
Newsletters and newsletter startups these days are like mushrooms in an open field after a good spring rain. I don’t know a single writer who isn’t newslettering or newsletter-curious, and for many, the newsletter is where they’re doing their finest public work.
And while we often discuss this topic in terms of the readership experience, Craig shares a sharp ovbservation about creating a newsletter:
Here’s another, more subtle, point about the grace of email and newsletters: Creation and consumption don’t happen in the same space. When I go to send a missive in Campaign Monitor the world of my laptop screen is as silent as a midnight Tokyo suburb.9 I think we’ve inured ourselves to the (false) truth that in order to post something, in order to contribute something to the stream, we must look at the stream itself, “Bird Box”-esque, and woe be the person in a productive creative jag, wanting to publish, who can resist those hot political tweets.
And best of all:
And of all of my publishing online — either through this site or publications, on social networks, in blips or blops or bloops or 10,000 word digressions on the sublimity of Japanese pizza — almost nothing has surpassed the intimacy and joy and depth of conversation I’ve found from publishing Roden.
There is a connection between the newsletter writer and newsletter reader that should not be ignored.
Speaking of which, you can’t go wrong supporting your favourite writers. So please consider joining Craig’s membership.
Forced Marriage: Bravery & Escape
On a much heavier topic, this post from Ratanak well illustrates the need for skilled and ready workers serving in the darkest places. This is not a true story — at least, the names are not. Sadly, the story is all too common.
I’m so glad that we have the option to give towards groups like this. Supporting other humans who actively fight oppression is even more important than supporting the writers we enjoy. If you enjoy basic civil liberties, please consider supporting Ratanak (or any other organization that fights human trafficking).
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Quote of the week
It’s a subtle difference, but that’s the whole point: English is an awfully subtle instrument. A dictionary that ignores these little shades is dangerous; in fact in those cases it’s worse than useless. It’s misleading, deflating. It divests those words of their worth and purpose.
James Somers, You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (yes, I'm still referring to this post)
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What does it mean to “seek the Lord”?
If you’re not new here, I may repeat things you’ve heard from me already. But some things are worth repeating, no?
As we give a continuous, sustained effort to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, that effort starts with seeking the one whom we believe in, depend on, and worship. But what does it mean to “seek the Lord”? What does it look like, practically, in our day-to-day lives?
John Piper puts it this way:
Seeking the Lord means seeking his presence. “Presence” is a common translation of the Hebrew word “face.” Literally, we are to seek his “face.” But this is the Hebraic way of having access to God. To be before his face is to be in his presence.
But are we always in his presence? No. But yes — in some ways.
God is everywhere, so his omnipresence ensures we’re never far from him. And he’s always faithful to the commitment and promises he makes to his children. So in that sense, we’re always with him. Why then are we so freqeuently called to seek? Because:
God’s presence is not our constant experience.
There is a sense in which God’s presence is not with us always. Our carnal condition is always present in this life, affecting how we see him. Piper:
There are seasons when we become neglectful of God and give him no thought and do not put trust in him and we find him “unmanifested” — that is, unperceived as great and beautiful and valuable by the eyes of our hearts.
So what is seeking?
Again, back to Piper:
Both the Old and New Testaments say it is a “setting of the mind and heart” on God. It is the conscious fixing or focusing of our mind’s attention and our heart’s affection on God.
This kind of continual setting of our mind has a few characteristics.
- It is active, not passive
- It overcomes obstacles
- It involves calling and crying out and pleading
- It requires humility
The first aspect is key. Well, at least for me — my nature is to be very passive and to react to situations. But a relationship with anyone rarely goes well this way. Intimacy with your wife, your children, or your friends does not just fall in your lap . You have to work to be close to someone. So too our intimacy with our heavenly Father.
Let’s look at one verse to see the difference between being active or passive.
So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
If I were to take this verse in a passive sense, I would treat others the way I want to be treated. But only in reaction. It's responding to others in love versus watching for need and acting on it. Both are good, but one is only felt when an incident occurs.
How about a practical example? Your coworker sideswipes your car leaving work one day. If you did that, you would hope the other person would quickly forgive you and hold no grudges. And so your graciously do the same for them when they nervously confess their accident.
But applying this verse proactively goes the next step. It might mean making a meal unprompted because you know your coworker’s daughter is dealing with mental health issues. You recognize the extra stress this person is under and take a step to both meet a need and make them feel supported.
So our walk with God should be proactive.
The other aspects are also key, but this is the one that really hit home for me.
Seeking overcomes obstacles because that which you want is worth the effort (think of the parable of the widow and the lost coin or the merchant seeking the pearl of surpassing value).
Seeking involves pleading and calling out because in this life you will suffer. Not everything goes as you wish. You seek comfort and redemption from one who has a strength greater than yours.
And seeking involves humility based on that last point. We recognize we cannot do it all, do life, on our own.
The best part is this seeking always results in finding. He is not far from any of us!
Until next time, I pray you have the opportunity and desire to seek the Lord. This prayer from David when his people brought home the ark says it so well…
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!