Author Archives: davetcourt

Some reflections from my read through the Book of Haggai this morning This tiny, two chapter book packs a punch. Even more worthwhile is considering what it has to say to us during Covid as we experience our own collective, virus bred exile. EXILE IN CONTEXT: THE POWER OF A NAME The context of theContinue reading “Temples, Churches, and Covid: Haggai and the Call to Rebuild”

Some reflections since I was up early this morning. I’ve really been struck this year by how much of our understanding of God seems to hing on Genesis 1-3. It is striking how much of scripture has these three chapters in mind, with Revelation itself essentially retelling the narrative in a contextualized fashion. And reallyContinue reading “Creation and Recreation: Finding a Way Forward through the pattern of Deconstruction and Reconstruction in Genesis 1-6”

According to film historian Daw-Ming Lee, one of the major gaps in scholarship surrounding the study of Taiwan film history is the period before the 50’s. “Relatively few books and essays, in any language, have explored Taiwan cinema during the Japanese colonial period. In the past quarter of a century, most film studies on TaiwanContinue reading “Film Travels 2020: Taiwan”

I first saw the film Tolkien, directed by Dome Karukoski, back when it released in theaters. Back when theaters were still open and when the world wasn’t being held captive by a virus as fierce as any dragon from Tolkien’s mythology. I remember actually showing up to the theater intent on doing a double featureContinue reading “Tolkien: The Power of Language and Love”

My introduction to Director Kelly Reich was her film Certain Women (2016), an incredibly nuanced depiction of four strong willed women who are all different in character but whom share in a visible and felt struggle to overcome the burden of sexism and oppression. The film brilliantly fuses together three different sources under a singularContinue reading “Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow: Reimagining Our Future By Uncovering and Facing Our Past”

In exploring Iran’s important cinematic history, the most striking characteristic is the overwhelming presence of a liberated cinema which, for example, boasts an incredible representation of women in cinema, but which also bears the mark of a heavily oppressed and marginalized industry (heavy censorship). There is a wealth of material attempting to make some senseContinue reading “Travelling the World in Film 2020- Iran”

“It is more important to go slow and gain the lessons you need along the journey then to rush the process and arrive at your destination empty… Every journey that we undertake should have a purpose and a deeper meaning to it. Without a purpose or intention, travel can become just a hollow pass time,Continue reading “Ukraine, Winnipeg, and the Great River Road- A Geography of Spiritual Formation and a story of Being Stuck in the Middle”

Hirokazu Kore-eda, the celebrated Japanese Director (Shoplifters) has returned with his latest film, The Truth. This is the first movie the Japanese writer-director has made in another tongue or country. It also finds him shifting his focus from East to West, the Truth being a French-English film focused on life in its French setting. AContinue reading “Hirokazu Kore-eda’s The Truth: Navigating the Passage of Time”

In the  book Magical Reel: A History of Cinema in Latin America by John King, King writes about the nature of studying, or trying to study Latin American Cinema, suggesting it is a complicated endeavor given that “Latin America Cinema is (made up of) a whole bunch of imperfect sources.” He goes on to suggestContinue reading “Film Travels 2020: Latin America”

We started our adoption blog when we left on our journey to Ukraine about 5 and a half years ago. The hope was to continue with our blog every year until our son Sasha graduated. We decided to wait a little bit longer to complete this final adoption update because this is Sasha’s adoption year.Continue reading “Endings and Beginnings: Looking Back on Our Adoption Journey”