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Sep 28, 2023: It feels like a proper autumn evening.
Sep 27, 2023: Was able to have a full day off today (Wednesday mornings are usually off but the afternoon and evenings are full). Baked a loaf of fig & fennel …
Sep 27, 2023: Aaaaaaaaaand I just had my first real haircut in nearly three years. ✂️
Sep 24, 2023: Autumn feels mean it’s time for me to switch to black and white photos.
Sep 23, 2023: I am not a fast runner by any metric but it feels good to finally start getting some proper distance in each week. 🏃🏃♀️🏃♂️
Sep 21, 2023: One of the cool things about running Christianity Explored is hearing the questions people want answered. Some questions seem simple on the surface …
Sep 15, 2023: Can confirm, after movie night with the kids, that Back To The Future holds up. 🍿 🎥
Sep 14, 2023: Christianity Explored starts today at Ardgowan Square. Both nervous and excited to see how it goes.
Sep 12, 2023: Just back from our weekly prayer meeting. Normally we look at a question from the New City Catechism but we are starting Christianity Explored this …
Sep 11, 2023: reflections on the residential week Last week was spent at a Scripture Union activity centre thinking really big thoughts about God with a group of around 20 pastors, women’s workers, …
Sep 11, 2023: It’s been over a year since I did any serious run training but it was good to start a new training plan today to bring down my 5k time. Running was a …
Sep 6, 2023: Climbed up Loudoun Hill for the first time.
Sep 4, 2023: My training course starts a new term today which means the annual residential intensive. We’re studying the doctrine of God for this module and the …
Sep 1, 2023: Started reading: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner 📚
Aug 30, 2023: Really excited to finally have a source for East Asian food in Greenock. 🍜
Aug 28, 2023: Finished reading: The Trinity by Scott Swain 📚
Aug 27, 2023: Today marks five years since we left America to start doing gospel ministry in the UK. There have been many ups and downs(and a year in Poland) since …
Aug 24, 2023: some observations on being a disciple I’m preaching through a bit of a topical series at the moment, where the topics are from the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. My normal mode of …
Aug 21, 2023: We went for a day trip to Edinburgh last week to see old friends and for one last hurrah before the kids go back to school.📷
Aug 9, 2023: Old Communion Cups and Someone’s Coat (cover song)
Aug 7, 2023: publicly christian As I write this, I’m in a trendy food hall in a town that was not trendy when I left. Gentrification has taken hold of this place and now you’re more …
Jul 30, 2023: in two parts I am a dichotomy. Both rushing river and dried up river. Mountain framed by off-green and tan scrub. Mountain with springs flowing down. Cactus wren …
May 22, 2023: Looking back at 2 Timothy We finished up our series in 2 Timothy at Ardgowan this week and I found the whole process really rewarding, personally. Some of this was down to the …
May 11, 2023: what are these words for? One of the things that I’ve been trying to figure out recently is what to do with this blog. Part of the issue is that time to write for my own …
Apr 14, 2023: Photolog: Millport We went for a day trip to Millport. it’s great to be able to travel around as a family on public transport.
Apr 9, 2023: What does Christ’s resurrection mean for us? Christ triumphed over sin and death by being physically resurrected, so that all who trust in him are raised to new life in this world and to …
Feb 27, 2023: that time we didn’t see the northern lights There was a chance that the aurora was going to be visible in Scotland. We missed out on it yesterday but when we found out there was a chance to see …
Feb 20, 2023: analogue system update It’s the middle of February, so I’m a bit late to the whole techo kaigi scene. However, I’ve recently finished a notebook so it seemed like a good …
Feb 18, 2023: what this throne of grace is Cannot recommend this book enough. This throne of grace is the humanity, or heart and soul of Jesus Christ, in which God sits and rests for ever in …
Feb 16, 2023: waiting for spring It’s been a very wet and windy winter so there hasn’t been as much opportunity to explore the area or be outside. But there have been the odd days …
Feb 10, 2023: If he’s unchanging I had the privilege of having a short prose poem published over at Clayjar Review! Go check it out, along with the other entries from the most recent …
Feb 8, 2023: Comfort for times when prayer feels empty The life of the Christian, like ordinary daily life, runs in seasons. Just as there is time spent in green pastures, there are also times spent in the …
Jan 11, 2023: Obvious things that aren't obvious Illness is a physical and mental burdenTaking part in a retreat week on top of work that still has to happen is maybe not going to be restful or …
Nov 7, 2022: Fourteen Fourteen years ago we said, "I do." Here's to another fourteen.
Oct 4, 2022: Quiet Contemplation One of the benefits of pastoring a church that has been blessed with its own building is having a place to go to pray. On Sundays, I stand at the …
Sep 23, 2022: A life of radical dependence If it was all up to us, the work of gospel ministry would look a lot like building the Tower of Babel. Over the course of my time as a ministry …
Sep 1, 2022: new month, new vocation, new home It already feels like autumn. Growing up in the American Midwest meant that autumn didn’t truly begin until October (PSLs notwithstanding). But in the …
Aug 1, 2022: Burnt toast and catfish Jesus saved me while I sat at the kitchen table with my mother. I was just a boy, still obsessed with Power Rangers and Lego. Looking back 25 years, I …
Jul 17, 2022: Edinburgh - a photo log I got to catch up with an old friend in Edinburgh this weekend. Here’s what I saw.
Jul 12, 2022: the value of reading: whole books and big sections Besides putting together my visa application and trying (slowly) to get our house packed up to move, I'm trying to think through the teaching program …
Jul 9, 2022: Hello I'm Dan. Here's how I prefer to keep in touch: By email to dan at danalcantara dot me.All of my public writing happens here on this site. My main …
Jul 9, 2022: Now As of 7 August 2023, this is what's going on: I am the pastor at Ardgowan Square Evangelical Church.Studying with the Pastors' Training Course.Slowly …
Jul 9, 2022: thinking more about music (plus a playlist) When I shared about the latest release from Alvvays, I realised how much time I spend thinking about music and how I listen to it. I usually listen to …
Jul 7, 2022: new Alvvays is worth the wait In general, I’ve found that there are two ways to listen to music. Self-expression-by-proxy or mood-management. I land squarely in the second …
Jun 4, 2022: signs of summer While it’s been difficult trying to return to running, I have enjoyed going for walks. Yesterday, I went out with one of my sons. It was good to walk …
Jun 3, 2022: what's next for my family? It's been hard to keep this one a secret. Something that is inherent to ministry apprenticeships is that they come to an end and are supposed to be a …
May 24, 2022: what I didn't learn in missions training We spend time thinking about contextualisation. Assessing whether we are capable of sharing the gospel. We spend time praying about whatever work it …
Apr 17, 2022: He is risen! Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the …
Apr 7, 2022: Not starting from scratch On more than one occasion, I have had to stop running. This was always due to either illness or injury. At least since I completed the couch-to-5k …
Apr 1, 2022: using a smaller notebook I seem to go through odd phases with the stationery that I prefer to use. For years, I was all-Moleskine-all-the-time. There was something about that …
Mar 21, 2022: we made it two years Two years of pandemic without a positive case in our house. Now 5/6 of us either have or had it in the last week. I have to say, I’m not a fan.
Mar 11, 2022: We lived happily during the war It never ceases to amaze me how effectively poetry can describe a moment. If you'd like to read it, view this poem at the Poetry Foundation.
Feb 18, 2022: a week of serving, learning and eating pies I’m recently back from a week of ministry with Maxwell Church in Kilmaurs and Kilmarnock in Ayrshire. This was an opportunity to experience a …
Jan 30, 2022: Book In A Day: 1 & 2 Kings (a look back) One of the big benefits I’ve found from my time studying with Cornhill Scotland is learning from people who have spent a long time in pastoral …
Jan 14, 2022: Stop making “the Bible in a year” a sacred calf Every year, untold multitudes manage to read the first 11 chapters of Genesis and then they get busy enough that they stop trying to manage their …
Jan 5, 2022: The constrained freedom of a small diary Right now, I’m in the early stages of my time in full-time, gospel ministry. It’s something that I dreamed about for a long time and got close to, …
Jan 4, 2022: the joy of the early hours By my son’s standards, it’s still nighttime when I like to wake up. Though I’m just as groggy as anyone, rising early comes easier to me than some …
Dec 29, 2021: The Year of Establishment I've been following along with the Cortex for a few years now and so much of what I've heard from them has helped me in various areas of work and …
Dec 25, 2021: happy christmas! God-willing, more writing to come in the new year!
Nov 13, 2021: on your doorstep It had been too long since I’d seen scenery that wasn’t the farms around our house, so when my wife told me to text a friend to try and do something …
Nov 7, 2021: our marriage so far 13 years 5 babies (4 with us, one with Jesus) 4 countries I wonder what’s in store for the next thirteen.
Nov 2, 2021: an assortment of things - November 2021 It's time for some more things that I found interesting, entertaining or something in the previous month. How Personal Policies Can Help You Fight …
Oct 25, 2021: 🏃♂️running in the rain The weather continues to get colder while the mornings and evenings are getting darker. Here in Scotland, it’s getting wetter as well. After nearly a …
Oct 19, 2021: ephemeral notes, or writing on a bunch index cards and recycling them before copying down all of the information I preached at church this past Sunday and decided to try a slightly different approach to organising my study time. Because I'm at the beginning of …
Oct 10, 2021: a ferociously crippling cold Over the last week or two, I’ve learned that it’s possible for all creative output to suddenly stop. I’ve written zero words. Made zero notes. I even …
Oct 4, 2021: how I’m reading right now 📚 I do a decent amount of reading as a part of my work being a missionary and ministry apprentice. There’s a certain joy in knowing that reading is a …
Oct 1, 2021: an assortment of things - October 2021 Welcome to an assortment of things. I work slowly to figure out what might be interesting. That's why these are only monthly. The concept of a file is …
Sep 27, 2021: About I'm married to Tracy and daddy to Sophie, Chloe, Liam and Owen. This is where I write things. The Alcantara FamilyA family on mission SubscribeWe …
Sep 27, 2021: a voice like a babbling brook Raonaid looked out at the sea of blue jumpers and wondered how, after years discovering new plant species in the field, she had ended up doing supply …
Sep 25, 2021: it’s nearly here 🍂 The sun is no longer rising at 4:30am. Sunset happens before 9pm. I stepped out of the office to grab a coffee and see the bright blue sky, but was …
Sep 8, 2021: As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning - reflections What is there to say about this absolutely gorgeous book? I first learned about it from watching Alistair Humphrey's My Midsummer Morning. On that …
Sep 2, 2021: For the love of local libraries When we lived in Poland, one of my big struggles was being able to find books to read. I didn’t learn enough Polish to even read a children’s book, …
Aug 27, 2021: the surprising usefulness of lacklustre tools One of the great troubles of becoming the kind of person who tinkers with things or tries to figure out what the best tool for the job is the …
Jul 1, 2021: good enough I’ve had the task of recording a video for our support raising efforts looking over me for a couple of weeks. My hope had been to have a script …