.

Accountability

2009-06-16T09:19:00.001-04:00

Accountability provides training wheels for self-discipline.

Uncertainty

2009-06-14T21:22:00.003-04:00

Recently my wife and I had our plans and dreams for the next three years or so dashed on the rocks. I think we've handled it pretty well. However, I'm beginning to see this: the slow nag of an uncertain future is worse than the shock of a huge setback.

Imagine you're about to be stranded on a deserted island...

2009-02-11T20:27:00.004-05:00

I may not have mentioned it here before, but my wife and I plan to pack up our family and move around to the other side of the world for two or three years. Our departure date is a little hazy - but we're hoping and expecting it will be about a year from now.

We're trying to take action to prepare for this in a few different ways. For one, I'm trying to lose weight. So far I'm down about 25 lbs., but I have about 50 more to go. The other way in which we're trying to 'trim the fat' is to get rid of stuff.

A human being can accumulate a lot of stuff. And a book geek can accumulate a large library. So my mind of course turns to which books I can get rid of, which I need to store, and which some kind soul might like to "borrow" from me for three years.

What gets my pulse racing (again, book nerd), is thinking... "what books will I take with me?!" So, my new obsessive quest is to identify 10 books to take with me. It's kind of inspiring to think about really. I want to take books that I will enjoy. I also recognize this as an opportunity to 'force' myself to read something that I might not normally pick up. For example, I might take some old books with me, cutting out my ability to go buy the latest flashiest coolest book that appeals to me.

Here are some categories I'm considering:

the Bible
Bible reference
other books about my faith that should prove beneficial
books about the faith and culture of the people in our new region of the world
other random books

The Bible

These days I try to write notes to my son in my Bible, and my wife pointed out that our host culture is one that would be offended at the idea that one would write on pages that are supposedly from God. So I'll need to have two Bibles. Additionally, I don't plan to leave home without my son's Jesus Storybook Bible. Which brings my count to three. Argh!

Bible reference

I'm not sure what to bring for this category, but I want some texts that could help me, even if I'm trapped in a world of slow or no Internet access. I've considered Carson/Moo/Douglas' Introduction to the New Testament, which gives an overview of each book. Not sure what else would be good

Other books about my faith

I may take two or three books on a common theme here - seeing and teaching Christ in the Old Testament. In fact, while looking through my library, I discovered that I already own a book that my friend Wes recommended on the topic - The Unfolding Mystery. (Apparently my wife owned it and I didn't know it! Awesome.) Additionally, I have started reading a collection of Spurgeon's sermons on the topic, from the Treasury of Spurgeon on the Life and Work of Our Lord series. This would qualify as one book that I wouldn't be very disciplined to persevere through sitting in my house in America. It is slow to read and at times hard to understand -- but I can't seem to go more than a few pages without a really helpful insight.

Books on culture

I'd love to take a biography or two, and some resources recommended by others who have lived among the same people.

Other random books

For some time I've wanted to pick up Kevin Mitnick's Art of Deception. It's about social engineering -- bypassing the human element of security. Which of these books does not belong, right??? :-) Also I might take the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Does that count as three? :-)

Help me

Let me know what you'd change about my list and tip me off of any must-take books. If you don't, I will be forced to write a script that analyzes all of my friend Steve's top 5 books lists and picks the most popular of each. And what fun would that be?

Another Running Effort

2008-12-13T14:29:00.004-05:00

After a long lapse, I went for another run today. I followed the podcast that someone that someone made to help people follow the Couch-to-5K running plan. It provides music with a beat and queues for running/walking intervals.

Week one alternates 60-second runs with 90-second walks. I laugh to myself when I hear the voice telling me that I shouldn't be breathing hard and should be able to have a conversation during the running intervals.

I don't know what the best running attire for cold weather, but after the five minute warm-up I didn't feel too bad. I'm sure there are colder days ahead, though.

I finished the run and feel good.

Benefits of Duplex Living

2008-12-10T16:04:00.002-05:00

Apparently some part of my neighbor's power box needs replacement - it could go out totally, soon. That in itself is not/would not be a problem for me. When it gets replaced, however, we will have a break in service.

We have electric heat, and my wife and I both work at home. So the question is, do we schedule the repair (and thus plan to be without power for a few hours) or wait to see if it will last, and maybe it won't break for a while.

Makes sense to go ahead and get it fixed, right, this time of year?

Except it's not my power that's broken, and it's not me that will be without power even when it breaks. Only when it's repaired. So the decision rests in the owners' hands, who live an hour away. They won't get cold when it gets repaired, and then tenant works out of the home, so it might not be too bad on her either.

The electrician knocked on my door today and explained the situation to me. He's supposed to keep me posted. I'm thinking that if it breaks at an inconvenient time (e.g. Christmas Eve), we just invite our neighbors to crash with us until we're "ready" to be without power.

Christ in the Old Testament

2008-12-04T00:34:00.003-05:00

I am inspired in recent days to learn better how to recognize how Christ lies as the center of Scripture - whether it is obvious or not.

Tim Keller, in Preaching the Gospel (partial transcript):
Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.

Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.

Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.
Listen to the whole message or read the fuller excerpt.

In the same teaching, Keller contrasts two ways of reading David vs. Goliath -- moralistic (we all have Goliaths, you too can slay the giant, here are three "stones" to help you, you can do anything with God's help) vs. Christ-centric (as young David was a champion over the unconquerable giant on behalf of the people of Israel, so was Christ the champion over sin and death on behalf of all who trust Him). Even before this I believe I have had enough discernment to past the pitfalls of an Osteen-esque, "4 stones to slay the giant in your life to make you happy and successful" reading of David. However, I am afraid that far to often pastors teach (or I have taught!) in a way that falls short of the fullest and most powerful meaning of Scripture.

Keller suggests a booklet by Sinclair Ferguson - Preaching Christ in the Old Testament (via) Aside from Keller's teaching, one of the sources of my inspiration is The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every story whispers His name.

I'm open to hear suggestions for either books, audio, or simply practices to help me grow into reading Scripture in this way.

A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

2008-12-03T23:44:00.002-05:00

Great phrase. I believe I first heard it from Neil McClendon. He may have drawn it from Eugene Peterson's book. Peterson apparently took it from Nietzsche.

Discipleship, marriage, sanctification. Even making code better. Even short steps, in the right direction, over a long period of time, takes on far toward success.

What does your Google history look like?

2008-08-13T21:49:00.001-04:00

Had to share this comic.

@#$&! Time to Upgrade

2008-07-11T01:23:00.002-04:00

Windows 3.11 is being discontinued!

The bad news:

for those that were not aware, we recently announced that effective November 1st, 2008, OEM's will no longer be able to license Windows for Workgroups 3.11 in the embedded channel.

Read more about Windows 3.11 on wikipedia.

Sane questions to ask before installing new software

2008-05-03T22:35:00.004-04:00

I am dabbling in the world of Twitter, after resisting it for some time. The folks at Twitter offer several different ways to update -- and I've been mostly using Google Chat to do it. It's pretty slick - I can get updates from other people and send updated to my own account simply by messaging the Twitter user.

However, there are also clients out there for Twitter, and one popular one seems to be Twhirl, built on Adobe Air. Cool new web technology I guess.

I don't think I'm being paranoid by being annoyed by the warnings that comes through at installation. The Publisher is UNKNOWN and the level of system access is UNRESTRICTED. What a great combo! Sorry, but I think I'll stick with my instant message updating, or look for another client.

1) Why does Twhirl require unrestricted access to my computer?
2) What does it take to be listed as a known publisher to install the application?

Honestly I care less about 2 than 1. Anyone know any good Twitter clients?

The Remedy of Adoption

2008-05-03T16:27:00.002-04:00

The salvation that the New Testament describes has many aspects to it: conversion, sanctification, justification, sanctification, etc. Justification remedies our condemnation before God. Regeneration overcomes our spiritual death. Our sanctification relieves our contamination by sin. Although the Bible makes clear that God cares greatly about orphans, this is not the family-relational problem that the New Testament emphasizes: sinners are slaves in bondage. A believer is “no longer a slave, but a son.” (Galatians 4:7) Adoption brings sinners from the status of slave to the status of son.

This is part of the paper I am working on now and the above comes very directly from Adopted by God, Robert Peterson (29)

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
-1 John 3:1

Calvin and Luther on Freedom

2008-05-03T13:29:00.004-04:00

We temper our freedom for the weakness of ignorant believers, but not for the rigour of the Pharisees.
-Calvin

A Christian is a free lord of all, subject to none: a Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.
-Luther

Source: Children of the Living God, Sinclair Ferguson (103)

Kimball on Hell

2008-04-22T17:57:00.002-04:00

If Dan Kimball isn't careful, he's going to have some more Baptists thinking his beliefs are orthodox, or that he is not Emergent, or not emerging, or something. He writes today about the Gospel, Heaven, Hell, and social justice.

Excerpt:

What I am wondering about, is how do we avoid patterns of the past when the church jumps strongly in the realm of focusing on the gospel's impact for this earth and in this life - but slowly neglects teaching and reminding people of the gospel's impact about the reality of eternal heaven and eternal hell in the life to come after we die?

Check out the full post here. Good stuff to see here - hopefully he won't get voted off the emergent island.

to: world ; from: noah ; message: hello

2008-04-05T21:58:00.007-04:00

Lots of clock-watching in Ashlee's ~ 22 hour labor.

My dad was engrossed by the machine that measures the contractions. I can't blame him though; I watched it like a hawk and enjoyed learning that the docs use integrals to figure out the strength of the contractions. Or at least their machines do.

Surprise! Despite a superhuman effort by Ashlee, it turned out that Noah would be most safely delivered by C-section. Here I am transporting Noah from the delivery room to the nursery, past my family. Ashlee does all the work and I get the victory lap. How fair is that?

It turns out that Noah's birth was not without complications. We've been on edge for a few days and Noah is under close watch by the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Check out that hair!

Finally, 19 hours after delivery, Ashlee is able to hold Noah.

Our son is on the mend, and as 9 pounds 5 ounces one can only imagine that he dwarfs many of the kids in NICU. Hour by hour he is making improvements, and we look forward to the day we will take him home with us.

We are thankful for God working as our provider in all of these situations - He is a giver of good gifts. For me, a lovely wife who has given us a beautiful son. Hello world!

Big Life Update - Baby on the Way

2008-03-27T20:09:00.004-04:00

I haven't actually mentioned here that my wife is pregnant. We're going to have a son - in about a week and a half (or less). It looks like if Noah (that's his name) by April 6th, she will be induced.

It's a very exciting time in our lives. Here's an image of Ashlee at a marriage retreat in the fall and then another from today - at about 39 weeks! Our lives are about to be turned upside down!

Monergism Interviews Tim Keller

2008-03-26T23:14:00.002-04:00

Monergism interviews Tim Keller about his ministry, new book, and apologetics.

Here's an excerpt, with Keller responding to questions that questions that skeptics might pose:

There are no absolutes. My view of values is that they emerge from lessons widely drawn from human experience and around which consensus has emerged. Human rights as a language and as a normative construct came out of the horror of WWII. Such ideas emerge through consensus-building and eventually take on axiomatic existence for most people. Slavery IS bad. Torture IS wrong. Racism IS repugnant. These ideas emerged socially and became axiomatic socially.

…. There are a lot of problems with this view.

First, you seem to be saying that slavery wasn’t wrong until there was a consensus that it was wrong. Or that torture wasn’t wrong until we came to a consensus that it was wrong. Do you really want to say that--that slavery and torture wasn’t wrong in 1750, because then the consensus was that both were OK? If you fall back on saying that slavery was wrong in 1750 even though most people didn’t feel that way—then you do believe in absolutes, I think.

Second, what if you saw the consensus about slavery and torture eroding? What if you saw that half the world was moving toward a new consensus that slavery and torture were OK in many circumstances? (There are a surprising number of people who do think torture is OK if it might stop a nuclear attack, etc. It could easily happen.) On what basis, then, could you argue that the emerging new consensus is wrong, since, in your view, something is only wrong if there is a consensus that it is wrong? It seems that the only way you could say “reverse the new consensus” would be if you grant that torture is wrong even if the consensus changes.

Third, this is an elitist argument, because the fact is that there are plenty of cultures and places in the world that don’t agree with your ‘consensus.’ You are saying, then, that the part of the world that believes in human rights is the enlightened, correct part. When you say these beliefs take on axiomatic existence for ‘most people’ you mean ‘most people I know, the ones who are thinking properly.’

Fourth, if you don’t believe in absolutes, you can only offer at best a pragmatic argument against these evils. If you were living in 1750 and you came to believe slavery was wrong when few others did, you could not argue from consensus. You would have to argue that slavery is impractical for us, that it makes for a society in which we are all unhappy. You could only appeal to people’s self-interest. Only if you agree that there are moral absolutes could you say that “Slavery is wrong regardless of whether you feel it benefits you and society or not. It is simply wrong to treat people that way. Period.”

Be sure to check out the entire interview.

HT: Justin Taylor

Worship Music for Blokey Blokes

2008-03-21T12:36:00.002-04:00

Here's an interview with Matt Redman on songs that make some people cringe - "Jesus is my girlfriend" songs.

HT: Mark Riddle

Clutter

2007-11-14T21:00:00.000-05:00

"My system is chronological by height."

Larry in Numbers Season Two

Chessboxing

2007-11-11T08:45:00.000-05:00

I've found my sport: chessboxing. Alternating rounds of chess and ... boxing.

Excerpt:
The rules of the game are simple. Bouts are composed of a maximum of 11 alternating rounds of chess and boxing, with checkmates or knock-outs resulting in instant victory.

Fighters can also triumph if the boxing match is stopped by the referee, or if their opponent times-out at the chess board.

Chess rounds last 4 minutes each, and each player has a maximum of twelve minutes to make all their moves.
Frank Stoldt and David Depto

If there is no winner after 11 rounds of punching and castling, victory is awarded to the fighter with the most points in the boxing ring.

Rowan Atkinsons (Mr. Bean) and the Invisible Drum Kit

2007-11-08T21:23:00.000-05:00

HT: Justin Ross

Email Hacks: Eye on the Prize of Inbox Zero

2007-10-26T23:06:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of this month I wrote about flushing the email inbox, pointing out Merlin Mann's Inbox Zero Series.

I thought I'd share with you some of the crazy Zen goodness that comes from looking at an empty Inbox.

Happy deleting, delegating, and doing. :-)

20% Odds that You and I are Simply Sims in a Virtual World

2007-10-26T22:46:00.000-04:00

It's not exactly a new idea, but I'd never before seen anyone guess the odds that we actually live in a virtual world -- our reality is not real - just a simulation in some advanced computer creates a virtual universe.

Check out this New York times article exploring the theory.

Excerpt:
Dr. Bostrom doesn’t pretend to know which of these hypotheses is more likely, but he thinks none of them can be ruled out. “My gut feeling, and it’s nothing more than that,” he says, “is that there’s a 20 percent chance we’re living in a computer simulation.

History of Religion in 90 Seconds

2007-10-21T20:11:00.000-04:00

HT: Justin Taylor

Fitness Challenge: Run 15

2007-10-15T23:24:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have been a loser and haven't been running. Van and I hit the pavement again tonight, logging another 1.1 mi. We ran about six tenths of a mile.

I have had meetings on Monday mornings, from which I have to leave early to make it to class on time. So I have missed my weekly weigh-ins for several weeks.

Forefront Church -- More from the Bar

2007-10-10T20:55:00.000-04:00

A week ago I posted about Forefront church, that gathers in a bar (among other places). Their pastor, Vince Antonucci, has posted another update, including this great story from after the service:

So check this out: Last night (week two) immediately after the service I went up to that guy and said, "Thanks for coming back." He said, "No, thank you. I would never go to church on a Sunday morning. This is perfect for me. Thanks for doing this for me." I answered, "No problem, man, I'm glad to be here." So he says, "Can I ask you a question. How much would it cost me for a service?" I was like, "Sorry, what do you mean?" He said, "How much would it cost me to have a service?" Me: "Sorry, I don't get what you mean." Him: "How much would it cost to get the guys to come out?" Me: "Do you mean our band?" Him: "Yeah." Me: "Ohhh, yeah, they play at stuff. I don't know how much it would cost. You'd have to ask Joe." Him: "Okay. See, I have a huge back yard, and I throw huge parties. Huge! So I'll buy all the food and all the drinks, and I'd like to have a service." Me: "A service?" Him: "Yeah, I'm going to invite all my friends, and then surprise them with a service. Just like what you guys did tonight. I want the sermon, the videos, the music." Me: "Wait a second. You mean that you want to have a church service in your back yard for your friends?" Him: Yeah. Just like you did tonight. How much would I have to pay?" Me: "Dude. If you invite all your friends over and let us have a church service in your back yard, you definitely don't have to pay!" Him: "Really?!?" Me: "Really!" Him: "Well, then I'll have you picked up in a limosine." Me: "Uhh, no, that's okay, I have a car." Him: "So you'd come out and do church for my friends for free." Me: "Yes!" Him: "Okay, then you can count on it, we'll do it on a Friday night."

Check out the entire post here.

What happens when a NY journalist tried to follow the rules of the Bible for a year?

2007-10-10T20:06:00.000-04:00

Check out The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. I have not read it, but it sounds fascinating. Tim Ferris (of 4-Hour Work Week fame) has written this post describing an interview with AJ Jacobs, the author of The Year of Living Biblically.

Excerpts from the interview:
Two types of rules were hardest for me. First, there was avoiding the sins we commit every day – no lying, no gossiping, no coveting. I’m a journalist in New York. That’s like 70 percent of my day.

The second type of difficult rules were those that will get you into trouble if you follow them in modern-day America. For instance, the Old Testament rule that you should stone adulterers. Luckily, I was able to stone one adulterer. I was in the park dressed in my biblical garb (white clothes, a beard, sandals, walking stick) and a man came up to me and asked why I was dressed so strangely. He seemed hostile right from the start. I explained to him my project. And he said “I’m an adulterer. Are you going to stone me?” I said, “That would be great.”

I took out a handful of pebbles – because the Bible never specifies the size of the stones. This man actually grabbed the stones from my hand and chucked them at my face. I felt I had the right to retaliate, so I tossed a pebble at him. And in that way I stoned.
...
What was the hardest for your wife to put up with?

Well, my wife’s a saint. At one point, I built a biblical hut in our living room, and she didn’t appreciate the construction project in our apartment. Also, the Bible says not to touch women during that time of the month. Even more strictly, though, it says you shouldn’t sit in a seat where an “impure” woman has sat. My wife didn’t like that, so in retaliation, she sat on every seat in our apartment. I was forced to do a lot of standing that year.

This is not my normal kind of book but I'll be very interested to take a look at this book!

...or did you think I was too stupid to know what a eugoogoly was?

2007-10-08T22:36:00.000-04:00

I have penned my first eulogy. For a computer part.

My good friend, Wes, called on me to fix his computer.

Symptoms: the "click of death"
Diagnosis: not good
Treatment: put the hard drive in my freezer
Results: data saved, a still-dead hard drive, and one fine eugoogoly.

Wes' comments are turned off, so you will have to leave your comments on my creative and technical genius HERE! Also, leave a comment for Wes telling him to turn his comments back on so I can spam him.

ForeFront - A Church that Gathers at the White Horse Pub

2007-10-03T22:18:00.000-04:00

Check out this news story covering a church that gathers weekly in a bar (the bar is open and this is one of the churches weekly gatherings). They have music, beer, preaching, the whole she-bang. For some time I've been following the blog of Vince Antonnuci, Lead Pastor of Forefront in Virginia Beach. This is one of their "campuses".

Excerpt from Vince's report from their meeting:
People were totally into it. They loved the music. You could have heard a pin drop during the sermon. (Actually right towards the beginning of the message two guys were talking at the bar and one said, pretty loudly, to the other, "Bullsh*t!" - which is something I'm not used to hearing while I'm preaching. The cool thing is that several people around him, including the owner, were like, "Sshhhhh," "Shut up!")

See some updates from Vince here:

Report from the first "real" service(they had "practice" services too!)
Pics from the first "real" service
More pics from the first "real" service

I wonder how many years the sum would be if Forefront asked each person in the bar that night how long it had been since they had listened to a sermon from God's word and added them together. It might be larger than several months for many congregations, even in large churches!

Junk Hours: Developing Ministry Leaders that Matter

2007-10-02T10:01:00.000-04:00

Steve Argue posts this article on "junk hours", which he parallels to "junk miles" in running - when people who seek to excel aren't intense in their workout and really aren't getting the return for their time. He is talking about how leaders can be enabling ministry volunteers to be putting in "junk hours" - a small investment in them that doesn't really have so much of a return.

Here's an excerpt:

At least we had a leaders’ meeting (But what did you rally around?)
It’s easy to convince myself that people love just getting together for a meeting and that meetings will run themselves. In a healthy community, volunteers do enjoy being with each other. Reality proves that people’s lives are full and any ministry meeting needs to be more than hanging out. Questions like, “What’s up?” or “Do you have any questions?” won’t inspire confidence in the parents who navigated schedules to make the meeting or the college student who has an exam the next day.

Come into meetings prepared. Make leaders’ meetings a high priority by treating them with high investment.

• Prepare an agenda for the meeting so that you and others are clear on what the plan is for the meeting.
• Send your agenda out prior to the meeting to give your volunteers time to think about the topics you hope to address.
• Ask questions to volunteers ahead of time so they can share out of reflection rather than reacting to a pop-quiz.
• Commit to starting and ending on time. This communicates respect for everyone’s time, honoring those who come on time and being true to your word about the length of the meeting. End meetings meeting on time with energy, rather than in exhaustion and ambiguity.

Check out the entire article here.

How many "junk hours" have I asked volunteers to invest? What about you?

Email Hacks: Flush the Inbox

2007-10-01T21:36:00.000-04:00

There have been times when my email inbox has been hopelessly full. It generally say something about the state of my life honestly. There is something very sweet about looking at an empty (or nearly empty) inbox.

Do not use your email inbox as your system for organizing tasks. It's a good way to let important tasks slip through the cracks. Instead, act on your email and archive it OR note the task in another system and archive it.

Merlin Mann of 43 folders has done a series on "Inbox Zero". Check it out, including the talk he did at Google.

Fitness Challenge: 5K Results

2007-09-29T12:28:00.000-04:00

My brother and his girlfriend were kind enough to run/walk with me at my pace. We finished in 40 minutes. I have probably been at around a 15 minute-mile pace on my shorter runs, so it looks like I probably shaved a minute per mile off, in the much longer run.

During the second half of the 5K, my running intervals were very short. It was a stretch just to run for five minutes during those times.

I feel good.

Fitness Challenge - 5K Tomorrow

2007-09-28T23:18:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I'll be running in a 5K run for breast cancer here in Lexington. We'll see how it goes -- I'm thinking if I run 1/2 mile, walk 1/2 mile, run 1/2 mile, walk 1/2 a mile, etc. I'll make it pretty well.

Pics from Stolen Laptop End Up on Flickr

2007-09-28T12:14:00.000-04:00

If you steal a laptop (or buy a stolen laptop) be careful of built-in cameras. this Canadian guy, who allegedly bought the laptop from a friend, ended up with his shirt-less pictures across the Internet. He turned in the laptop to the police after the news spread like wildfire -- and with his abundance of tattoos, it must have been easy to identify him once it spread to his area.

Be careful of buying laptops from friends. And this kind of makes me glad my Powerbook doesn't have a camera built-in!

HT: Lifehacker

SquidWho: Mark Driscoll

2007-09-26T23:05:00.000-04:00

I have made a Squidoo lens about Mark Driscoll. It is in a somewhat basic state at this point, but I have added some content. Go check it out! Proceeds as of today are going to the Blood:Water Mission.

FItness Challenge -- Run 13

2007-09-25T23:00:00.000-04:00

Total Distance: 1.6 mi
Running Distance: .93
Longest Run: .8 mi

We pushed it tonight and made it to about eight tenths of a mile. It looks like we could hit the one mile mark pretty soon! I think after we can run a mile comfortably we can start incorporating longer runs once a week or so - I've seen that in running schedules.

Fitness Challenge -- Run 12

2007-09-24T21:54:00.000-04:00

Non-Stop Running Distance: .66 mi
Total Running .8 mi
Total Distance 1.1 mi

I was able to up my distance for running without walking tonight. My buddy was not able to join me this time. I did bring an iPod with me and listened to Steve Fee on the Catalyst Podcast. I think it was a helpful distraction during the run.

As my running distance begins to take up my entire route, I guess I will start looking to up my distance. Still feeling good. Occasionally my knee feels a little weird. That was my worry coming into this -- I am putting a lot of pressure on my joints.

Someday I would like to...

2007-09-24T20:41:00.000-04:00

establish a regular frequent pattern of family worship
plant a church that plants other churches
weigh less than 200 pounds
adopt a child
serve as a cross-cultural missionary
finish seminary
speak another language fluently
establish a routine of getting out of bed early
run a 5k

Disclaimer: these aren't exactly goals. Some of them are. Some are things that I care about but am still really seeking direction and calling in. FYI.

Dr. John Piper Shares A Prayer Concern

2007-09-24T20:21:00.000-04:00

Dr. Piper has been expecting a new grandchild - Felicity Margaret Piper. He recounts their loss of the child in this note.

The phone call came to me first. It was Abraham through sobs, “We lost the baby.”

Noel and I arrived in a half hour. No explanation of the loss, not yet. After a couple hours they go home to get ready to induce later in the afternoon. At 1:30 PM they come to our home on the way to the hospital. Abraham’s brothers Karsten and Ben and their wives Shelly and Melissa are there. I read 2 Samuel 12:15-23, John 9:1-3, and 1 Corinthians 15:58 acknowledging that the word play on “labor” in verse 58 is not meant to be cute. We gathered around them and prayed. Ben drove them to the hospital. I went to church and dedicated 9 babies and preached from 1 Samuel 12:1-25, “The Sinful Origin of the Son of Man.” Then I went to the hospital to keep vigil.

I feel deeply for Dr. Piper's son and daughter-in-law. This must be difficult beyond what words can express. Can you imagine going from this to a baby dedication?

Fitness Challenge -- Weeks 10 & 11

2007-09-24T19:40:00.000-04:00

The past two weeks yielded a net loss of three pounds. This put me at 33% of the way toward my goal. My rate of loss has slowed, to just under three pounds per week. Hopefully these last few weeks of running will help (and have been helping) me keep from hitting any hard walls in weight loss.

I know that my diet has not been as strong (I have eaten some more bread, not as many salads), but still have been rather consistent re: desserts, fried foods, and sugary drinks. I would like to think this is a pretty sustainable lifestyle for me, but perhaps I need to step it up a notch (again) and put the diet in overdrive.

My host doesn't seem to want me to upload an image today, so you won't see my lovely graphs just yet.

Life Update -- Job Change

2007-09-22T22:51:00.000-04:00

Ashlee and I have lots of life transition going on right now. I haven't shared everything widely here on my blog, and won't share everything just yet.

However, I will share this now. This past Wednesday was my last day on staff at church - I put in my resignation a few weeks ago. It seems like such a huge change for us, but I have really felt like this is what we need to do. The hardest part was telling our Student Pastor that I was leaving!

I have really enjoyed and appreciated my time on staff there, and we are definitely leaving on good terms. Ashlee and I are still going to be part of our church. Tomorrow I'll be going to Sunday School with my wife! We are looking forward to that opportunity.

So what am I doing, you ask? I will continue in seminary; this semester I have a great church planting class with Dr. J.D. Payne. I am also increasing hours working as an IT consultant/software developer. This is something I have been doing part-time (in addition to my part-time ministry position and part-time seminary) for the past several months. I am increasing my hours with this.

As part of this change I will be working at home most of the time, and therefore I need to learn how to be my own boss and run my own business in a sense. Sometimes I think I already need a part-timesecretary, and it can't be Ashlee because she is covered up with teaching, graduate school, and other things. Instead I need to learn to manage better on my own.

This is an exciting time for us -- I'll share more in the future, more life updates, and more about how Ashlee and I will be involved in the ministry of our church.

Fitness Challenge -- Run 11

2007-09-21T10:39:00.000-04:00

Van and I went 1.6 mi again last night. We ran to our goal (Waffle House -- we joked that we should stop for an omelette. I'm sure that would would have stayed down on the run back.) Last night was harder than Run 10. I developed a slight, dull pain in my side at the end of the first running leg. Later, at the end of the 2nd leg of running I started to get pain in one of my shins - shin splints I guess. It wsn't too bad, but scary because I hear about people being forced to stop running because of it.

We probably ran about 3/4 mi of the total 1 1/2 miles. Van had to stop to check his mail at the end of the street and I was ready to stop anyway!

Sometimes I think figuring out what causes your body to react differently while running is like some kind of black magic! Here are some possibilities:

Need new shoes
Shoes too new
Need to drink more water before running
Drank too much water before running
Didn't get proper energy supply for running
Ate too much before running
Ate too soon before running
Mercury and Venus aligned poorly for running
Too hot
Too cold
Too many things on mind
Need distraction in head
Over-doing it
Under-doing it
Poor motivation
Bad horoscope

Email Hacks: Use EndJunk to Fight Spam

2007-09-21T10:17:00.000-04:00

It doesn't take long for first-time email users to realize that when they use their personal email address to register for on-line accounts, they have a sudden influx of spam. Many people combat this problem by setting up a separate email account for all their 'junk' registrations. This is a good fix, but not the best.

Another challenging situation is for people that have web sites. It can be valuable to post one's email address, but at what cost? Spammers spider web sites and find email addresses just the same.

Gmail has done us all a favor by setting up an excellent spam filter. I have just a handful of false-positives (genuine emails that get marked as spam) over a period of months, and perhaps ten spam emails that slip through the filter.

My secret weapon against spam is EndJunk.com. When you register with EndJunk, you get a subdomain of email addresses. Any email address at that subdomain gets processed however you want it. I could have one email address always get deleted, another always get forwarded to my personal email address, another get forwarded to some secondary email address.

Here are some of the beauties of this situation:

Each time I register with a new web site, I give them their own unique address. If I set up an account with... typepad, I would submit typepad@sundog2000.endjunk.com . (sundog2000 is my endjunk username, and therefore my subdomain.)
If I receive spam directed at an endjunk account -- I can tell who sent the spam! If I get spam at typepad@sundog2000.endjunk.com, I'll know they're the jerks that sold my email address! (Or, after posting this on the internet, it may be that the spam came because this site was crawled by a spambot.)
If I get lots of spam from a particular address, I can turn it off at EndJunk - no more spam to that address. Endjunk even keeps stats to let you know how many emails you've received at each address

In addition to these measures, I have my EndJunk account forwarding to my gmail account -- I can process my emails in one place, and Gmail's aforementioned excellent spam filter also scrubs them when they come in.

Gmail offers a plus-addressing feature that provides similar capabilities (emailaddress+typepad@gmail.com) but I've found that some web sites don't accept email addresses with +'s in them, and I don't trust this to spammers either -- it's pretty easy to lop plus addresses off of gmail accounts with a simple script.

Check out EndJunk, and leave your spam-busting tips in the comments.

Piper on Discerning the Will of God

2007-09-20T11:30:00.000-04:00

How do you discern the will of God when faced with a choice between two non-sinful choices?

This is a loose paraphrase of John Piper's answer to this question, about 80% of the way through this audio.
99% of your life is lived un-premeditated. Almost all the choices you make in life you don't think about ahead of time. You think you do, but that's just because you only consider the big ones: getting married, going to school, etc. You make hundreds of decisions every hour.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2

Your main effort as a student should be not to come up to lists of pros and cons but to become a kind of person that intuitively does the right thing.

The Bible for Children

2007-09-20T11:10:00.000-04:00

I am interested in learning about Bibles to share with children.

I've heard The Jesus Storybook.

Justin Taylor just posted recommendations for this book and two others: The Read-n-Grow Picture Bible and The Big Picture Story Bible.

Any other recommendations?

First "Mega" Church Plant in Laos a Success

2007-09-20T11:01:00.000-04:00

See the entire article here.
Ba Na, Laos - The village of Ba Na is small and simple. The residents are poor and rely heavily on their annual rice crop to feed and sustain them through another year. The people of Ba Na often struggle with finding adequate drinking water and basic health care. Most of the residents have no education and live in simple, small grass and wooden huts. The infant mortality rate is high, and the average life expectancy for men is only 39 years.
...
Over the course 18 months the church raised almost $47 million dollars toward starting up a new work in Laos. The village of Ba Na was picked because many of the residents remember the extremely poor conditions there.

Fitness Challenge -- Run 10

2007-09-18T23:59:00.000-04:00

Again a great night of running. Van and I ran together, this time in his neighborhood. Upon measuring the distance after we finished, we realized that we went 1.6 mi, but further than that, we ran 1 mile of it. We are already half-way to completing a 5K, running and walking.

My brother is entering a 5K this weekend and the next; I am considering joining him. By alternating running half a mile with walking, I believe could complete the 5K without falling over.

Fitness Challenge -- Run 9

2007-09-17T20:40:00.000-04:00

I didn't run at all last week. It doesn't help to have a running partner if you don't get on the same schedule and then you use that as an excuse not to run at all! (Says Nick to himself.)

Tonight I ran alone -- and this was my best run so far. I ran further than ever before ~ six tenths of a mile before stopping. Even at that point, I could have run further -- but I wanted to save myself for one last leg of running before I walked back down my street to my house. Again, that last leg came pretty easily.

Two people yelled at me from across Man'O'War while I was running -- I think it was a couple from my Sunday School class. I yelled and waved, but I had just passed my personal record distance and I didn't want to stop running to talk.

Today I was running too late for class to go to the church to weigh in, so I don't know what my weight change was this week, if anything. Pastor David has suggested that I start adding in weights. I don't care much for the time commitment that would entail...

Then again, I don't really care much for not being in shape either.

The Church - Part 4 - Analysis

2007-09-15T23:05:00.000-04:00

This is part four in describing a minimalist definition of church.
1 - Importance of
2 - What the church is not
3 - Definition

Irreducible Ecclesiological Minimum Analyzed

“A community…”
At its core, the church is a community – people gathered. (1 Corinthians 6:19)
“… of believers with a common faith in Christ as Savior and Lord…”
The people share the same faith in the same God, sent to earth as a man to save them from their sins, now reigning in glory. (Romans 10:9, Ephesians 2:8-9)
“…seeking to both believe and live out the teachings of the Bible together…”
The Bible is the source from which they learn of Christ and grow in their faith and Christian practice. (2 Timothy 3:16, James 2:26)
“…carrying out God’s commands to love Him with heart, soul, mind, and strength…”
This “greatest” commandment will summarize their orientation toward God. (Matthew 22:37)
“…loving their neighbors as themselves.”
This second greatest commandment will summarize their orientation toward people.
(Matthew 22:38)
“In this they are compelled to carry out the Great Commission of making disciples, teaching their faith and baptizing as they go.”
Christ’s commission gives the church its mission. The church is grown and the faith is passed along. Baptism will remind all of the work of Christ and welcome new believers into the church. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Closing Thoughts

The task facing church planters is immense. Beginning this process with an unclear or unbiblical view of the church will either grow the burden of church planting or worse – equip a church planter to grow something that truly is simply a building, a charity, or a political machine, or a performance.

The Church - Part 3 - Definition

2007-09-14T10:44:00.000-04:00

This is part three in describing a minimalist definition of church.
1 - Importance of
2 - What the church is not

Definition

A community of believers with a common faith in Christ as Savior and Lord, seeking to both believe and live out the teachings of the Bible together, carrying out God’s commands to love Him with heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving their neighbors as themselves. In this they are compelled to carry out the Great Commission of making disciples, teaching their faith and baptizing as they go.

On the "Over-use" of Quotation "Marks"

2007-09-14T10:34:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you just wish that invented a web site yourself. I guess "someone" beat me to it.

HT: Marko

Irreducible Ecclesiological Minimum The Church - Part 2

2007-09-13T10:19:00.000-04:00

Here is part two in describing a minimalist definition of church. Find part one, on the importance of definition, here.

What the Irreducible Ecclesiological Minimum is Not

Considering what a church is not can be a helpful exercise. Sadly, the primary perception of many people about the church could be included in such a list. One of the most common offenses, even among Christians, is to speak of the church as if it is a building or a place. Many would explicitly deny this, agreeing with Stephen that God “does not live in houses made by men”, but implicitly they teach this, referring to events which happen “at” church or directions to the church at its address. (Acts 7:49)

Others may view church as a charity (complete with tax deductions), a political machine (to be courted by Capitol Hill), a performance, a worship service, a Bible study, or a social gathering. Each of these is either an incorrect or incomplete view of the church. The social gathering view sheds light on the fact that the church is people gathered together, but it fails to recognize a purpose or common bond. As important as corporate worship and Bible study are, the church is neither a service nor a study.

The Irreducible Ecclesiological Minimum

2007-09-10T19:51:00.001-04:00

This semester I am taking Introduction to Church Planting, and our first "personal reflection paper" is to define the Irreducible Ecclesiological Minimum. What a mouthful -- what is the most minimal definition of the church, such that it could be taken to any people in any place at any time?

I love the class and this topic has given us good conversation fodder for the past few weeks. Here is the beginning of my paper. Influential in the second paragraph is Mark Driscoll; I believe I first read him talking about this topic in Radical Reformission: Reaching Out Without Selling Out. I don't remember if these are the exact terms he uses or not.

The Importance of Defining an Irreducible Ecclesiological Minimum

The advantages of having a clear, minimalist definition of the church are multi-faceted. Simply phrased, the church planter can know what to start and what not to start. Without a clear goal, leaders lack direction. They will expel energy building something that may not be a healthy church. Perhaps most discouraging of all, church planters without a clear goal of what they are starting are not equipped to measure their progress or even know when or if their mission is complete. A driven, faithful planter could invest his blood, sweat, and tears into a community, only to wake up two years later and not know how to measure the fruit of his labor.

There are two extremes the planter should be aware of in knowing what not to start: 1) starting non-churches, and 2) expelling great energy attempting to create a church with the cultural artifacts of a different church in another culture. These two errors may be described as syncretism and Fundamentalism. The syncretistic church blends in so much with the culture that it neuters the Gospel and fails to even be a church. The Fundamentalist church fails to distinguish between the church and the culture as well – instead presuming that replicating aspects of the culture falls within the goal of starting new churches. Here the Gospel is added to, and the result is a crippled Gospel and irrelevance in the host culture. Thus neither the syncretistic nor the Fundamentalist approach to church planting generates a God-glorifying church that is reaching people in culture.

With the prize available to the planter in having a clear definition of a church and the pitfalls of failing to have a clear definition, one may move on to the task of defining an irreducible ecclesiological minimum (IEM).

Fitness Challenge -- Runs 7 & 8

2007-09-10T19:38:00.000-04:00

Run 7 was miserable. I was sick to my stomach before I began running. After about 1/8 mile or less I developed a sharp pain in my side. I probably only ran about 1/4 mile before slowing to a walk.

Run 8 was much better - my stomach was better and I made it back to running just under half a mile without slowing to a walk. This was a late run ~ 8:30 pm, and I managed to totally negate my efforts by going to Applebee's with Van immediately thereafter. Actually, I didn't eat anything unhealthy, but I'm sure it didn't help that it was 9:30 at night. We met Shane Parker there for some good late night hang out time.

I have not been running as frequently as I should - only twice last week.

Fitness Challenge Update -- Weeks 8 & 9

2007-09-10T19:29:00.000-04:00

Last Monday we did not have our weekly weigh-in because of the holiday. I weighed in on other scales, and I was discouraged because they showed me gaining several pounds. Today the normal scales showed a three pound deficit from two weeks ago, though, so I think this is merely a difference in scales -- oddly, of about 10 pounds!

I am marking my weight for last week as having no change. I am so glad the scales were wrong! I would have been especially discouraged because I have begun running. This past week I only ran twice, though.

This weigh-in dropped me under a BMI of 35, and puts me at 29% of the way to my long-term weight loss goal. I am down 28 pounds.

Poor Choices and Consequences

2007-08-30T11:09:00.000-04:00

Last night I decided to play basketball with some students after church. Unfortunately I was not wearing tennis shoes, and I eventually kicked off my sandals to go barefoot. After an injury last night, my smallest toe is kind of swollen and purple-ish.

This could have negative consequences on my fledgling running habit. Hopefully a couple days of rest will let me walk (and run) without pain.

Fitness Challenge -- Run #6

2007-08-28T21:16:00.000-04:00

Today felt good. I wasn't sure I was going to make it to our goal, but Van spurred me on. Also, about 5 yards from our goal, another runner met us and told us to keep it up. He must have seen how winded we were. Gmaps-pedometer shows that we were just a hair under half of a mile. Yes sir, I am a runner.

The second, shorter stretch of running came a lot easier this time -- great feeling. I was able to time us this time, and that includes the walking to warm up and cool down.

longest running stretch 0.4745
total distance          1.1823
time                    15:30

Fitness Challenge Update -- Week 8

2007-08-27T20:58:00.001-04:00

After working hard last week by beginning this whole running thing... my official weight checker marked me at having lost eight more pounds!!! However, when I stopped off the scales, they stuck. I think we need new scales.They're often inconsistent, and we sometimes weigh 2-3 times and take an average. Well, after I weighed again it showed a loss of three pounds. Not as exciting as eight, but I'm glad to see it!

By the way, I don't think I've mentioned the tool that I used to track my weight loss and create the graphs I post each week. It's an Excel sheet called Rob's Weight Loss Tracker. It's pretty simple and has been a good outlet for me to see my weight loss in numbers (good for the Alpha Geek in me). I stretched out the X axis on my graph to extend to a date where I can imagine myself being in good condition. May that day come soon!

Today I realized I could add trend lines. I have been wondering what kind of trend line could best represent weight loss -- I'm sure it wouldn't just be linear. I haven't found a good answer, but this image shows both linear and exponential approximations. Probably it should be something that stretches out over a longer distance -- even longer than this exponential approximation. Hopefully I'll be able to continue to lose weight steadily!

Fitness Challenge -- Run #5

2007-08-27T20:24:00.000-04:00

Today my run was different in a few ways

1) I made it shorter -- I would like to build up to where I can run for a longer percentage of time. As it was, it was difficult to measure goals for myself for each run. Now I can build up to a longer run, and if I get comfortable with it, I can either try to decrease my time or increase the distance.

2) I ran with a partner -- my friend Van joined me today. It definitely helped having someone to run with me. Today I think I ran further (without stopping to walk) than I ever have before -- about four tenths of a mile. (I know, you must be very impressed with me at this point.) Van and I are probably at similar running abilities, makes us a good match. Also I don't get to hang out with him as much as I'd like so it's nice. We're planning to go again tomorrow.

3) I ran earlier in the day -- I made Van wait on me because I got caught up in conversation with my friend Chuck. We ran at about 7:30 - it still wasn't too hot, and I could actually see all the cracks in the sidewalk on my street. :-)

Results

I didn't keep track of our time, but here's a distance breakdown, courtesy of Gmap Pedometer. If I wasn't a privacy nut on some level, I'd just show you our route.

walk       0.3376
run        0.3816
walk       0.1388
run        0.1911
cool-down  0.1332

total run  0.5727
total walk 0.6096
total      1.1823

That's it -- Van and I ran four tenths of a mile along Man O'War (to the street that was my goal), walked till we were ready to again and ran back to my street to cool down. The last tenth of a mile running was probably the worst of the whole run!

I feel good.

Fitness Challenge -- How I've Lost the Weight

2007-08-25T20:00:00.000-04:00

Some people have asked me how I've lost weight, and I thought I would share some notes on that here.

Began eating breakfast. This was nor the norm in the past. At the advice of my dietitian friends, I have made this primarily consist of high-fiber cereals. These include brands like All-Bran, Fiber One, and their generic counter-parts. Initially I was pretty hardcore about doing this and avoiding cereals that I had something other than bran flakes or nuggets. I would add blueberries to make it tastier. I found that I really did eat less cereal - I could fill up on one bowl - unheard of in the past. After a few weeks of that (You try eating "Bran Buds" for a few weeks), I switched to Muesli, which is still high-fiber but adds oats, nuts, fruit, that kind of thing. It is much more sustainable. The name-brand high fiber cereals can be expensive so I stock up when they're on sale.

Cut out sweet tea and non-diet soft drinks. When I'm not drinking water or milk, I sweeten tea with Splenda or order diet soft drinks.

Cut back on bread and other starches. Obviously this isn't full-blown Atkins, but I am more likely to try to choose eating some extra turkey bacon or eggs rather than eating another biscuit (as delicious as they are). I have largely avoided potatoes and really limit myself on eating extra bread with a meal, like croissants.

Cut back or eliminate sweets. I don't eat sweets very often now, but today, for example, I had a low-fat yogurt milk shake at Steak-N-Shake. A nice substitute! My replacement for snacking has been high-fiber granola/cereal bars. Fiber One and some other companies make good options here.

My beautiful wife supports me. Have I mentioned that Ashlee is a Pampered Chef consultant and a wonderful cook? She could be my downfall or my savior in all of this. She has scoured recipe books for healthy options that would still be appetizing. Mmmmm...

Replace or supplement meals with salads. I used to hate salads and eventually I grew to tolerate them -- with Ranch dressing. Last year, I believe at Thanksgiving, I had a fruit and walnut salad at Jeremy and Karissa's. I liked it! With a raspberry vinaigrette dressing and crumbled feta cheese over fresh spinach, it was actually good! It turns out I like spinach more than normal ice berg lettuce anyway, and I hear it's better for you. We buy lite dressing to cut out some calories. I don't mind eating this as a meal, or eating it before the "real" meal to make me eat less of the "real" food.

Avoid fried foods. This hasn't been too hard. Even when Ashlee and I went to B-Dubs a few weeks ago, I was able to get some very tasty "naked tenders".

Exercise. Admittedly, this has been my weakest area. I'm becoming more inspired as I am afraid I am getting closer to plateauing on the scales. My first week of the Fitness Challenge I was at Student Life camp -- I walked all over the campus! (And lost 13 pounds!) After that I didn't do so well. Ashlee and I walked together for about half an hour ~ 3 times during the next two weeks, and then not even that. A few weeks ago I began playing tennis once a week, until this past Sunday. As I wrote earlier this week, I went running. I continued doing that each day, Sunday through Wednesday, approximately 1.5 mi per day. I alternate between running and walking. I run until it's difficult for me to run further, then I walk until I have my breath back and system collected. (Sounds very scientific I know.) I'm hoping I will be able to slowly build up to more running and less walking. I've sought a running companion and my stocky Vietnamese friend Van is going to start running with me on Monday. So honk if you see an overweight white guy and a stocky Vietnamese fellow gasping for air running down Man O' War.

Well there's a quick run-down. As I look at the list, it seems like many of these things aren't terribly hard to do. I think the change in drinks alone saves me quite a few calories. Splenda is certainly not the same as sugar in tea, but I think it will be worth it.

Got any tips for me?

I'm all ears. Especially on the running -- I am such a nerd, I read web sites to learn how to run.

Fast Company on Whateverlife.com

2007-08-24T11:09:00.000-04:00

I was fascinated by this article.

Excerpt:

At 17 going on 37 (at least), Ashley is very much an Internet professional. In the less than two years since Whateverlife took off, she has dropped out of high school, bought a house, helped launch artists such as Lily Allen, and rejected offers to buy her young company. Although Ashley was flattered to be offered $1.5 million and a car of her choice--as long as the price tag wasn't more than $100,000--she responded, in effect, Whatever. :) "I don't even have my license yet," she says.

Ashley started whateverlife.com.

Fitness Challenge Update -- Week 7

2007-08-21T22:02:00.001-04:00

This past week was a small week for weight loss -- I only lost one pound. However, I am glad for the forward motion. Two weeks ago I lost the same amount, but then I lost five pounds. I take some solace in the fact that I have heard that weight that is lost very quickly is more likely to return.

However, I'm also afraid that I am beginning to plateau, and this is spurring me on toward actually digging in to some form of exercise. I have been playing tennis with my friend Kenny each Sunday night, but this past Sunday a storm was predicted for Lexington, and we canceled. Stewing over my need to exercise, and already dressed for tennis, I headed out the door to go for a run.

For the guy who was about one hundred pounds overweight a few weeks ago, that's a big step. (No pun intended). I alternated walking and running three or four times in a loop through our neighborhood. It wasn't so bad!

I followed the same course the following night, and then today I ran in my church's gym. With the help of Gmaps Pedometer I was able to determine that my course took me over about a mile and a half.

I'm trying to figure out when/how it will get easier for me to run for a larger percentage of the time. I read and heard from friends that it is important to have good shoes -- otherwise you can have injuries/pain. Unfortunately that costs some cash -- but they all say to do it anyway. Maybe if I can keep at this for a couple of weeks it will justify the need and then if I buy the shoes I will feel guilty if I don't run!

Got any tips for me? I've been reading lots of running sites and -- this may sound silly -- reading inspirational stories of other people's success running. I really think it has led me to want more to actually do this running thing!

Related links:

RunnersWorld.co.uk - a vast forum here with lots of Q&A
Run 131 - a man in Louisville has set out to run 131 marathons in 131 consecutive days -- all to raise money for injured marine vets. Check it out! He has posted updates through Run #48. Can you imagine???
Gmaps Pedometer

Seth Godin on Really Bad Powerpoint

2007-08-21T19:22:00.000-04:00

I think that we in the church world have a lot we could learn from Seth Godin. I realize that there is a sentiment that we should avoid learning from marketing gurus -- the Gospel is not a product we sell. I think that Godin's idea of marketing is a lot closer to what we want to be as the Church though -- when He talks about people being the medium of delivery for your message -- man, I hope that my life is transformed enough that A) people ask and B) I talk about it. (1 Peter 3:15) I hope I'm what he calls a "sneezer".

Anyway, if you are a Powerpoint user check out this post from Godin. I'm guilty of breaking some of the rules he talks about! I think this is especially relevant for those of us who work with Middle Schoolers -- how much is 7 lines of bulleted text really going to make a 7th grade boy think?

Excerpt:

The home run is easy to describe: You put up a slide. It triggers an emotional reaction in the audience. They sit up and want to know what you’re going to say that fits in with that image. Then, if you do it right, every time they think of what you said, they’ll see the image (and vice versa).

See more Seth Godin here.

Fitness Challenge Update -- Week 6

2007-08-13T19:23:00.001-04:00

Today's weigh-in brought me to 21 pounds total lost, and 2.8 units on the BMI scale. I am 22% of the way toward my weight-loss goal and have averaged 4.2 pounds/week. I would love to simply continue at that rate -- I hear that if one loses weight extremely quickly, it often comes back.

My friend Kenny has been playing tennis with me the last couple of weekends (thanks Kenny!) which has given me some exercise. I need to do more, but I'm glad to have the tennis -- it's a lot more fun than running or getting on a machine.

My "arch-nemesis" on our church staff did not weigh in with us this morning, but unless he overtook me this week, I'm leading the men's category for the week. :-)

My Fitness Challenge

2007-07-30T13:12:00.001-04:00

I have been overweight most of my life, and I have recently begun an effort at turning the ship around. The immediate catalyst for this was my church facilities manager developing a Staff "Get Healthy" Initiative.

Mostly the Initiative is simply accountability in the form of a weekly weigh-in. He presented a point system which scales the amount of points per pound based on your weight loss goal. Because I have a lot of weight to lose, I will earn very few points per pound. Others who have very little weight to lose will score several points per pound loss.

It was nice to know going into this that several other people on staff were participating, and our facilities manager has the results posted each week for the "biggest loser" in the male and female categories. I won week one with 13 pounds!

Why
I thought I'd share some of the reasons why I want to lose weight:

I would like to be a good steward of what God has given me -- my body
After hearing Mark Driscoll give his Reverse Engineering Your Life talk, I imagined into the future a few years and decided that this is not what I want my diet/body/health level to be like
For my wife -- I want to be fit for her and she has already told me she wants to precede me in death -- so I need to start extending my life potential
Student ministry, seminary, and software development -- none of these are very conducive to good health -- I need to counter some of that
To be better prepared to share in another culture -- so that my fitness would not be a hurdle to the Gospel for people in other cultures that may already view Americans as selfish, gluttons, or materialistic. Also, so that I will be healthy even in an environment that might be sub-optimal
To prepare to meet standards for missions sending agencies -- currently, I would not meet the International Mission Board requirement for Body Mass Index. Whether we seek service with the IMB or some other agency, I hope that my weight will not be an obstacle

As you can see, there are some big reasons for me to get in shape! (Pun intended.)

My Fitness Goal
My long-term goal is to lose 95 pounds. This would put me at 190 pounds and a BMI of ~ 25.5 (which sadly is still in the "overweight" category on most scales. I cannot imagine that I would be unhealthy at that weight, though -- BMI is not a perfect measurement. We'll see.)

Current Progress
I have lost a 15 pounds so far, which puts me at 16% of the way to my goal. I'm confident that the last 16% will be much harder than the first 16%! If I were able to continue at this pace, I would reach my goal by November! I think spring may be a more reasonable goal.

Thanks to my dietetics / nutritionist friends out there!

First Day of Student Life Camp

2007-07-10T17:43:00.000-04:00

This week I'm away with about 45 kids at Student Life Camp. The first day has gone very well - no bus break-downs (like last year and seemingly every other trip), and like always the SLC staff is very organized and makes everything go very smoothly.

I'm sitting beside my buddy Logan, who is considering unlinking me from his blog, because of my inactivity. This post is to court his future linkage. I hope it works.

Pray for us as we have teams ministering in Chattanooga and we hope that our students are presented with God's Word and that it touches their lives and brings them away from camp focused more on Christ and with a better grasp of the Gospel.

Nintendo + Acts Missionary Journeys Mashup

2007-06-06T16:16:00.000-04:00

What do you get when you combine Paul's missionary journeys with Zelda-esque graphics? This. Quite possibly the coolest thing since... playing Bible games on the NES. I love the dramatic music that comes when Paul leaves Jerusalem for Rome. Our Small Groups are going through the book of Acts, and we're in that portion of the book right now.

I've got to show this to my sixth grade boys.

HT: E-Ministry Notes

A Year Ago Today...

2007-05-13T23:49:00.001-04:00

Wedding 1
Originally uploaded by sundog2000.

Ashlee and I got married.

Congratulations Ashlee; you've survived a year! I love you!

Feedback Request on Web Site for Middle School Ministry

2007-05-08T00:10:00.000-04:00

I have been working (occasionally) on a web site for our Student Ministry. It's not developed fully yet, and I've had some input from a few folks at church. I'd love to hear more feedback though. Check it out and leave me some comments. (Either there or here.)

I'd love to see a site develop that:
a) communicated timely information to parents and students
b) is appealing visually
c) is user-friendly
d) is updated regulary (not so much a design issue as one of planning, discipline, and sharing!)
e) fosters an environment where our students want to come and interact

As you can see, these questions are a lot broader than simply the web design itself - it's about a much larger strategy. Any thoughts? Also, how are these questions answered specifically for Middle School students?

Tales from the 'Hood: The First Mowing of the Lawn and The Drive-By

2007-04-28T21:34:00.000-04:00

Today as I returned from a youth fundraiser at church, I saw one of our young neighborhood kids standing in the culdasec, with a handgun. Actually, I'm pretty sure it was one of the two kids I met a few weeks ago, who showed me their gun and pliers. I just noticed the kid and went on to park my car and then crank my new mower, which I bought from my newlywed buddy Wes. I proudly mowed my lawn (I own grass and dirt people! I am a man!), and then I cleaned up and helped Ashlee prepare for dinner.

We were having dinner guests from our Sunday School class at church. Ashlee is a great cook and gifted at hospitality, so moving into the new house (closer to our friends, church, etc.) is great for this. As I looked out the front door I saw a weird reflection of light from one pieces of glass in my car. Upon closer inspection, it was apparent that a small projectile moving at a high speed had struck the glass, causing it to spider out.

I wrestled to know what to do, and didn't do anything at first: we continued and had our dinner. Eventually I called the police, who sent a cop to visit. Ultimately, he asked a few questions, and I learned that I had a pretty shakey case (I couldn't even say with certainty who I had seen with the gun previously) and little would happen to a 7-year-old kid. (Not that I wanted a lot to happen.) I think it would have been nice if the cop could have talked to the shooter and his parents, but like I said, there wasn't much certainty, and not much was going to happen unless I tried to sue or something - which I have no intention of doing. My insurance doesn't cover this, which the cop said was what would normally happen - a police report would be filed in order to place an insurance claim.

Ultimately I filed a report to document what happened. I figure it could be valuable if there ends up being a pattern of vandalism. Just the other day the other half of our duplex was vandalized - paint strewn through the back yard/back of house, and the privacy fence torn down partially.

Mostly I'm hoping that the kids/parents will be more sensitive to playing with these guns/monitoring their kids, and that we don't burn bridges with our neighbors through this. I'd hate for them to be ticked off and lash out at me.

The parent of the gun owner came out and looked at my car while the cop was there, and noted that her son's gun was broken, wouldn't do that damage, etc. and offered to test it on her own car. I wish she'd just said, "I'm sorry - it was an accident".

TextMarks - Ministry Communication Tool?

2007-04-26T18:40:00.000-04:00

Recently in evaluating our Student Ministry, we've seen that communication is one area in which we are lacking. We've already been working to remedy this, especially in our communication with parents.

It's very difficult to depend upon Middle School students to remember an announcement an hour after you tell them. (Who am I kidding; it's difficult to depend upon students to remember an announcement five minutes after you tell them!)

Students
Several weeks ago I saw a tool called TextMarks that allows you to set up a free text message subscription service. I am not much of a text messager - actually I dread the sound, because it sounds like 10 cents dropping into a bucket, to me. However, the idea that all of my students could send a text message to a service, subcribing to receive MY text messages, enabling me to send a message to everyone at once (without paying a dime each) is very tempting. Students would probably think it was cool; they like receiving text messages. In this way, I could update them at will; perhaps this tool could help build an on-line community -- by texting them telling them to go check the blog and comment.

Parents
While parents might be less likely to want to take advantage of this, it could be offered for communication with them as well. The beauty is, they can unsubscribe if they want to. Also notable for parents it that... they might want to know if their kids are subscribing. I'd hate to take the blame for a $150 phone bill from text message charges.

I haven't tested it yet - partially because I don't want to send or receive any text messages because I don't have a text messaging plan. But I'd be really curious to see if this works well in a ministry setting. Any takers?

Neat Example of Church Serving Community

2007-04-25T21:57:00.000-04:00

This article about a church in California serving its local community in a neat way came to my attention. What are other ways that the church can reach out in a way that show that love of Christ to our communities, and open more doors for ministry and sharing the Gospel? I would love to see the day where our local schools, upon realizing they have a need, say, "We should call the church."

...on the morning of Saturday, March 24, more than 500 volunteers from Shadow Mountain arrived at Logan Elementary. They came ready to paint, clean, landscape, hang banners, plant a vegetable garden, build soccer goals, and tackle any other project that needed to be done. The day was an opportunity to put into action the church's Signs of Life campaign, a six-week series of teaching focused on living like Jesus, with dusty shoes, worn-out knees, rolled-up sleeves, open hands and outstretched arms.

HT: Joe Ball

Current Reading List

2007-04-21T00:29:00.000-04:00

George Mueller: Delighted in God by Roger Steer (Ashlee and I have been reading this together; I read it for my Spiritual Disciplines class in the Fall.)

Humility: True Greatness by CJ Mahaney (a la Kroger bargain book bin- why, I still don't know)

7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley, Lane Jones, and Reggie Joiner (Fantastic book)

An Introduction to the New Testament by DA Carson, Douglas J. Moo, and Leon Morris

Random web tutorials about XML and XSLT

Buy This CD: Glory Revealed

2007-04-17T22:40:00.000-04:00

My beautiful, wonderful, amazing wife bought the CD Glory Revealed: The Word of God in Worship as a birthday gift for me. I love it!

David Nassar and Mac Powell produced it. At first the Nassar thing kind of threw me... what is HE doing producing an album? But it looks like he might have felt about the same way. They assembled a dynamite group of artists - including two boys from the Bluegrass State. The songs are deeply rooted in Scripture, and they are all new songs. One of my favorite tracks is "By His Wounds", focusing on Isaiah 53:5, with vocals by Mac Powell, Steven Curtis Chapman, Brian Littrell, and Mark Harris (of Casting Crowns).

Check out this track listing:

1. He Will Rejoice Trevor Morgan
2. By His Wounds Mac Powell, Steven Curtis Chapman, Brian Littrell & Mark Harris
3. Waters Gone By Shawn Lewis
4. To The Only God David Crowder and Shane & Shane
5. Glory Revealed Candi Pearson-Shelton
6. Altar of God Josh Bates
7. Come, Worship The King Michael W. Smith and Shane & Shane
8. Who Is Like You Tim Neufield
9. Restore To Me Mac Powell and Candi Pearson-Shelton
10. You Alone Brian Littrell

Buy Glory Revealed: The Word of God in Worship today!

Tales from the 'Hood

2007-04-17T22:20:00.000-04:00

As Ashlee and I prepared to leave home one day, I noticed two of our neighbors standing in the culdasec. Two guys, maybe about eight years old, each on books. One was struggling to somehow mount a piece of luggage onto his bike. The other suggested using the pegs on his bike wheels.

I'm anxious to get to know my neighbors, so I introduced myself. From here, it went something like this:

Luggage Kid: "Want to know what's in our bag?"
Me: "Sure, what's in the bag?"
Luggage Kid: "A BB gun!"
Me: "Oh... wow!"

Luggage Kid: "And we've got pliers!"
Other Kid: "No one's going to kidnap us!"
Me: "Oh... so if someone tries to get you what are you going to do -- hit them in the head with the pliers?"
Luggage Kid: "No... we'll PINCH'em. And then shoot'em."
Me: "Oh... I see..."

Me: "What? What's the secret?"
Luggage Kid: "We could do a drive-by!"
Other Kid: "Do you know what a drive-by is?"
Me: "Yes, I know what a drive-by is... but we don't need any of those around here."

I bid them farewell, and then they asked for help with mounting the luggage on the bike.

If you see two kids riding on bikes, one with a piece of luggage expertly mounted on one of the bikes -- don't miss them. They have a gun. And pliers.

Home Ownership

2007-04-14T15:19:00.001-04:00

before 021
Originally uploaded by sundog2000.

Ashlee and I bought our first home two weeks ago, moved into it last week, and this week we're... still... moving into it. At least unpacking things.

So many aspects of living here have been so exciting. My commute time has dropped from 45 minutes to less than 10. We can go home on Sunday afternoons. We can hang stuff on the walls and paint (as we have) and feel like it's a worthwhile investment of our time.

Ashlee and I have begun making a list of all the people we want to have over for dinner. She is excited about being able to offer hospitality to people in a way she hasn't been able to previously. I look forward to having older couples over for dinner so we can learn from them and their journey.

Now we will be home enough that we can be more intentional about meeting our neighbors and sharing our lives with them. We live in a culdasec, and there are kids EVERYWHERE. One of the ladies said that during spring break, the ice cream truck would come by three times a day. He knows the market I guess. I think the two ladies I met on our street our both single moms. They complained about the kids, how they would be on their porches early in the morning, while their own parents weren't even out of bed yet! Ashlee has encouraged me to consider that I could be an influential male in the lives of these children whose dads are not present.

Pray for us as we land in this new mission field and get settled into our new home!

The New One-Stop Shop for Ministry and Theology Texts?

2007-03-26T13:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, it's no secret that I love books. I love bookstores. It's not unheard of for a "good date" in my book, to be dinner and a bookstore.

So when I see a bin of books for sell even in a non-bookstore, I usually can't help but at least see what they are selling. Even if it's the bargain bin at Kroger, where one might find random Christian devotional books and Joel Osteen over-runs.

But I've been surprised before: I found a book that my Personal Spiritual Disciplines professor had recommended, plus an old John Maxwell book that I really enjoyed (for $4.99!)

Yesterday Ashlee and I had lunch with our friends Jason and Lindsey, and we stopped at Kroger to pick up dessert on the way there. There, in the frozen foods aisle, I was drawn to the bargain book bin. I was taken aback at what I found:

Brian McLaren's Secret Message of Jesus
John Piper's Passion of Jesus Christ
CJ Mahaney's Humility: True Greatness
Josh Harris' Stop Dating the Church!
Andy Stanley's Visioneering
... and more... for $4.99 each.

It was beautiful.
Good by Lifeway / Southern Seminary Bookstore, hello grocery store.

Hopefully the non-Kroger branded stores that Kroger owns up North carries the same quality selection so that you Yankees can participate.

Speaking of Yankees, did you know that Ted Nugent might be playing on the new David Crowder Band album? :-O

Seth Barnes on Discipleship

2007-03-12T23:33:00.000-04:00

See the article here and an excerpt here:

If you're an average youth worker you got into the field because you wanted to disciple young people. But something happened along the way. Your church gave you a flawed model of discipleship, one that involves little long-term ministry and results in meager fruit.

Expectations, calendars, and a risk-averse evangelical culture all make your life complicated.

Our culture wants you to work as guns-for-hire babysitting a generation sitting back with arms folded and a smirk that says, "Go ahead and try to hold my attention. I've got satellite TV, an X-box, wireless internet, a cell phone, and a schedule that won't quit. See where you fit in that list."

Jesus said, "Let the dead bury the dead." His terms were uncompromising; ours should be too.

HT: Joe Ball

Something You Never Want to Say

2007-01-15T21:05:00.000-05:00

Oops... I found some library books.

Competitive Cup-Stacking

2006-12-09T15:41:00.000-05:00

I just discovered lots of YouTube - stacking cups!cup stacking videos. Apparently kids are doing this competitively, sometimes in P.E. class. Look at the related videos for other similar ones.

Blockbuster's End of Fees... Sort Of

2006-12-06T14:12:00.000-05:00

Well, it looks like some prediction from the onion may be coming true. Blockbuster is offering free movies... to Netflix customers. This article in the Onion on Blockbusters "End of Fees" campaign brought my buddy Wes and I pretty much to tears on our road trip to Desiring God, where I found print copies of the magazine being distributed on the streets of Minneapolis. Good times!

HT: Lifehacker

D-III hoops team scores 201 in win

2006-12-03T16:24:00.000-05:00

I think I would cry.

Lincoln University set an NCAA division record for points in a game, beating Ohio Sate-Marion 201-78 Saturday.

Lincoln coach Garfield Yuille said he sent his team into the game with a talking to about how disappointed he was following a 90-79 loss to Salem International on Friday.
ADVERTISEMENT

"I said you guys got to come out here and play like you know how to play," he said. "They were really mad that they lost yesterday."

They took out that anger on Ohio State-Marion.

HT: Digital Wilderness

Is Dr. Mohler Playing Games with Me?

2006-12-03T00:59:00.000-05:00

Today I turned in my final assignment of the semester. Three down, eleventy bazillionnto go. . I like school, but sometimes it's almost like our president, Dr. Mohler, is playing games with me.

I keed. I just wanted some reason to show this video. Random. It looks like the guy in the video is half of a comedy duo.

HT: MAD Prayer

Youth Ministers Unite @ Squidoo

2006-11-30T18:06:00.000-05:00

If you're a youth leader of some sort, join me in this Squidoo group for youth ministers! I hope for it to grow to be a really cool resource for networking, resources, ideas, and support. Currently, if you join through that link, make a lens for the group, and earn $15 for yourself or a charity, then the Blood Water Mission gets $5. I might play with the charity settings later, but right now that is one charity that stood out to me.

If you just want to see what the group headquarters looks like, click here.

All You Ever Wanted to Know about Nick on Squidoo

2006-11-29T01:06:00.000-05:00

I just created my first Squidoo lens!

You might be asking, "What is a Squidoo lens?"
Well, Squidoo's FAQ says this:

It's an easy-to-build, single web page that can point to blogs, favorite links, RSS feeds, Flickr photos, Google maps, eBay auctions, CafePress designs, Amazon books or music, and more. Then, when someone is looking for recommended information, fast, your lens gets him started and sends him off in the right direction. It's a place for searchers to start, not finish.

Go start building a lense right now.

Really it's just a content management system. But there's some sense of community thrown in there too. Go check it out, visit my Squidoo, and leave some feedback for me.

Episcopalians, Education, and Birth Rates

2006-11-20T20:01:00.000-05:00

Check out this interview with Katharine Jefferts Schori, the new head of the Episcopal Church.

Snippet:
How many members of the Episcopal Church are there in this country?

About 2.2 million. It used to be larger percentagewise, but Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations. Roman Catholics and Mormons both have theological reasons for producing lots of children.

Episcopalians aren’t interested in replenishing their ranks by having children?

No. It’s probably the opposite. We encourage people to pay attention to the stewardship of the earth and not use more than their portion.
*****

OOOOOOOoooooo!!! She did not just say that!
HT: Kyle Potter

Kurt Johnston on Junior High Ministry

2006-11-20T15:04:00.000-05:00

You may be the coolest, best-looking, most athletic junior high worker on the planet. You may know how to drop into a half-pipe without breaking your neck. You may be full of wisdom, experience, and patience. You may even remember a few Greek and Hebrew words from seminary. But it really doesn't matter who you are or what you can do. As a seasoned junior high youth worker, I can tell you that effective junior high ministry boils down to two things: The sovereignty of God and the support of parents.

Controlled Chaos

Iraq, Kentucky Vie For World Shooting-Into-The-Air Supremacy

2006-10-24T22:18:00.000-04:00

I recently recalled to memory one of my all-time favorite articles on the Onion. It's about the common bond between residents of Kentucky and Iraq, and their battle for "World Shooting-Into-The-Air Supremacy". The article and the site is a bit on the PG side.

Enjoy! :)

MySpace: Social Networking for Old Folks

2006-10-13T15:13:00.000-04:00

What, exactly, is MySpace turning into? DeWolfe says he sees it as a "lifestyle brand." But a brand has to stand for something. And with all the growth and evolution of the site, it's hard to fathom what that lifestyle even is. No question, the MySpace user base is changing. Some 87% of users today are 18 or older; 52% are 35 or older, according to comScore. Might MySpace become too big and broad and successful to be cool? One MySpace observer, Martin Sorrell, who heads ad giant WPP, believes it could: "MySpace could be like a fashion brand. The more successful you get, the more common you become." DeWolfe disagrees: "We're not deciding what's cool. Our users are," he says. "MySpace is all about letting people be what they want to be."

I don't care to read the big long article, but the idea that basically half of Myspace users are 35 or older... whoa!

So maybe we should re-think using myspace to connection with teens -- 17 and younger only make up 13% of the crew.

However, do the stats take into account all the 12-year-olds that say they're 102 so that Myspace lets them sign up? :O
HT:ChurchRelevance

Wes Is Engaged

2006-10-09T21:43:00.000-04:00

My good friend Wes is engaged!

Congratulations Wes and Jennifer!

Your Best Life Now - The Board Game

2006-10-05T10:56:00.000-04:00

It's sad but true.

The game enables players to step beyond the one-on-one nature of the book and feel, touch, and live Joel’s 7 Steps To Living At Your Full Potential with your friends and family. Your Best Life Now: The Game is an entertaining and educational way to take inventory of yourself and accountability of your actions. Climb the mountain as you

• Enlarge Your Vision

• Develop a Healthy Self Image

• Discover the Power of your Thoughts and Words

• Let Go of the Past

• Find Strength Through Adversity

• Live To Give

And • Choose to Be Happy

HT: Marko

Emergent Speaks On Desiring God

2006-10-05T09:13:00.000-04:00

Or actually, Tony Jones speaks - I imagine he'd be quick to point out the fact that not everything he says is speaking for Emergent Village.

First, his thoughts on his lunch with John Piper. Nothing earth-shattering here, but we do have his perspective on the lunch, and just a tad more info than what Dr. Piper shared at Desiring God.

Second, his complaint against Tim Keller. After voicing his respect for Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC, he has this this to say:

But I have a bone to pick. At John Piper's conference here in Minneapolis last week, Keller responded to a Justin Taylor question by stating that Emergent is 1) moving away from orthodoxy, and 2) not starting any churches or institutions.

Tony bristles at this thought, saying that people are starting Emergent/emerging churches, that seminaries are at least approaching them about partnerships, and that Keller has not addressed how they are straying from orthodoxy.

Probably the conversation with pastors, especially in the context of being asked to predict the future of Emergent, would not be a forum in which for Keller to detail all of his thoughts about Emergent. You can listen or download the audio from that Conversation with Pastors here.

Like Tony, I've grown to respect Keller a great deal. You can find Steve McCoy's bordering on obsessive, one-stop shop for all things Keller here.

Off to Desiring God National Conference

2006-09-28T13:45:00.000-04:00

I'm off to Desiring God with Wes. He writes a little about it here. On the way we're going to see our friends, the "real" McCoys.

A Reason to Buy HP Cameras?

2006-09-28T13:43:00.000-04:00

What's the world coming to? You can now buy an HP camera that can make you look thinner in its pictures.
HT: Seth Godin

Look at me I'm a new driver

2006-09-27T08:28:00.000-04:00

Boldly Warn OTHER Drivers
of Your Inexperienced
New Teen Driver
ARE YOU FEARFUL
FOR YOUR TEEN’S SAFETY
at this Critical Stage of their life??
Of course you are…as you should be!!

“Rookie Driver In Training”™ Alert Products boldly warn other drivers of your teen’s “Rookie” driving status when they first begin driving on their permit, reducing driver frustration for other drivers AND your teen by providing awareness during your teen’s most critical drivers training period…..when they are driving with YOU! . And it is the ONLY product created by teens for teens.

HT: YPulse

Does God Want You to be Rich?

2006-09-11T09:42:00.000-04:00

In a nutshell, it suggests that a God who loves you does not want you to be broke. Its signature verse could be John 10: 10: "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." In a TIME poll, 17% of Christians surveyed said they considered themselves part of such a movement, while a full 61% believed that God wants people to be prosperous. And 31%--a far higher percentage than there are Pentecostals in America--agreed that if you give your money to God, God will bless you with more money.

The TIME article.

HT: Justin Taylor

A Truth

2006-09-11T08:33:00.000-04:00

A little boy was overheard praying: "Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am."

I have the blessing of a grandfather who is living and has become an adept emailer. This brings with it many forwards, and this excerpt I thought was insightful enough to reconsider!

Reconciliation

2006-08-23T15:16:00.000-04:00

Tonight I will talk with our Middle Schoolers about reconciliation. I am using a new (to me) curriculum called Wild Truth Bible Lessons: Dares from Jesus. I think the lessons seem great, and they have laid out lots of great ideas for activities to draw youth to focus on the topic and text at hand. With this curriculum in hand, I think it will also help us to be better prepared both now and down the road beyond this curriculum.

Here is a sermon from John Piper on reconciliation, as seen in Matthew 5:21-26.

A lack of reconciliation poisons our relationships, not only with others but with God!

Obedience in a New Age

2006-08-22T16:50:00.000-04:00

But changes brought about by the new situation could be seen everywhere. Thus, the great question that the church faced at this time was to what degree and how it should adapt to the changed circumstances. All were agreed that some measure of adaptation was necessary. All were also agreed that such adaptation should not relinquish the traditional faith of the church. The disagreement rested on exactly what it meant to be obedient in a new age while remaining faithful to an old age.

I can imagine these words being used decades from now to describe the Western church in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Yet it's not a reflection on the church in a postmodern age -- this is describing the 4th century A.D. when Constantine became emperor of the Roman Empire. Suddenly, Christians were no longer being persecuted, and a new age of a sort of Imperial church was forming.

I've actually really enjoyed the first part of my reading for Church History I. Justo Gonzalez, in The Story of Christianity does a good job of telling the story of the early church.

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. Marriage is awesome. :-) So I'm not all that sorry.

V-R Day

2006-05-13T02:21:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of the recent recognition of VE (Victory in Europe) Day, I declare today VR (Victory in Romance) day.

That's right, I'm getting married today. Perhaps the war terminology isn't the most appropriate. Friday was one of the craziest days ever. I spent so much time on the phone, with other calls coming while I was still on the phone with the original person. It's so weird having family that flies or drives in from across the country, and you still hardly see them. My grandparents arrived from Colorado, and I saw them at the rehearsal dinner, and that was it. They went to their hotel to go to bed, and now I'll see them at the wedding. And then I'll be gone.

Ashlee looked amazing at rehearsal. Our officiant told me that he judges leadership potential by how much one marries up. He said that I will be a great leader some day. He's certainly right about marrying up; we'll see about the leadership.

I don't feel like I've felt nervous for a moment. Friday morning when I woke up and talked with Ashlee on the phone I had a moment of feeling weird, that *tomorrow* I'm getting married. Mostly I've been stressed about getting things done. Tonight I worked on compiling music for the reception. It's not a trivial task to find music that 1) you have access to 2) is good to dance to 3) provides a good balance of slow and fast songs 4) is kind on the ear of multiple generations 5) is clean. Mostly I have found that I was able to get lots of good slow songs but not so many faster songs. We have a few now and I might be able to get a few more tomorrow.

Here in about 12 hours we should be finishing up our ceremony, if it's not done already. I'll then be a husband and Ashlee will be my wife and we'll figure out how to live in those new roles.

I keep getting this impression from some members of my family that Ashlee really must not know me very well if she wants to marry me. And somehow I feel like it's only a little bit of a joke for them. One of our small group leaders at church told us early in our engagement that when you get married you're marrying a stranger.

Tomorrow I'll talk to strangers and I'll be looking for one particular drop-dead gorgeous stranger in a white dress!

Happy V-R Day.

God's calling is not safe

2006-05-10T01:32:00.000-04:00

Kiki Cherry on how : God's calling is not safe.