May 20, 05 by ed
<%image(20050520-disc golf.jpg|119|92|disc golf)%> Monday is Julie’s birthday, so of course, just like Homer Simpson, I bought her some brand new discs for disc golf. Buying her 3 discs, you have to know that I’d get to use at least ONE of them! But seriously, the discs were in the trunk of my car, awaiting the big day. Last night I couldn’t resist concealing them when Julie proposed playing disc golf at Tinicum park. Birthday, smirthday, the discs were coming with us!
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May 17, 05 by ed
At tallskinnykiwi.com, the web site of Andrew Jones, he has been blogging about some of the critique and criticism regarding the emerging church of late. In particular he has been covering D. A. Carson’s book Becoming Conversant With Emergent and a blog called emergentno (not the most creative name). Though Carson’s book aims to make a level-headed critique of the emergent network, emergentno appears to step over the line at times.
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May 16, 05 by Josh
“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” - Philippians 3:7-10
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May 16, 05 by ed
<%image(20050516-scroll.jpg|110|53|scroll)%> While looking up some OT Apocrypha books for the pastor I work with, I came accross an amazing web site. It’s the Wesley Center Online. Though it’s not exhausitve, this page has almost every intertestamental period work and most of the works by the early church fathers and the writings that followed the NT.
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May 15, 05 by ed
Yesterday and the day before something came up that I just don’t want to deal with. It’s an issue that is so important and relevant for the church. But it’s hard, messy, and flat out unpleasant. I don’t want to talk about it, but it must be done.
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May 14, 05 by ed
<%image(20050515-Ed and LT smallest.jpg|164|123|LT and Ed)%> Decked out in my hat, robe, and hood, I lined up for graduation at Biblical Theological Seminary. Having finished my classes in December, graduation day had meant little to me, merely a mandatory, vague exercise required of me. The MDiv degree was already in my living room, what more need I do. After shmoozing with my fellow graduates (less than half of whom I knew), we lined up to process in. And then the weight of four years came rushing upon me.
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May 13, 05 by ed
<%image(20050513-marathon.jpg|141|106|marathon)%> As Julie and I dove into a number of humongous cleaning projects this past week, I realized a crucial thing about us. Borrowing from the language of Joe Meyers (author of The Search to Belong), Julie is a sprinter, while I am a marathoner. We can both work, but we both do it in very different ways. The lessons learned from sprinting and marathons applies to numerous other areas as well.
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May 11, 05 by ed
The concluding prayer to this morning’s selection from the Divine Hours really captures the heart of morning prayer: thankfulness, request for protection, and submission to God’s purpose and leading.
The Concluding Prayer of the Church
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
May 09, 05 by Josh
<%image(20050509-apple1.gif|60|80|iPod)%>After a conversation with a fellow blogger, the term “podcast” came up. Well, after a little enthusiastic research, I’ve installed a podcasting plugin for our blog here. If you’re not yet aware, you can pick up our news feed at:
www.inamirrordimly.com/xml-rss2.php.
This new podcasting technology allows any of the posts here to contain audio content that you can automatically download to your IPod, MP3 Player, etc.
Let us know what think. Any others involved in the world of podcasting?
Here’s a great utility for your podcasting needs: Ipodder.
May 09, 05 by ed
<%image(20050509-flames.jpg|105|70|flames)%> In light of his latest book, The Last Word and The Word After That, Brian McLaren has been posting on some blogs today. There are some great conversations about the Gospel and in particular how it relates to hell (the topic of Brian’s book). Andrew Jones has some good thoughts and a long discussion that’s worth checking out. Here is
Brian’s opening question:
“For you personally, is the gospel primarily information on how to avoid hell, largely but not exclusively for hell avoidance, partially but not mostly for it, peripherally for it, or not at all for it?”
“And if the primary purpose for the good news of Jesus is not to get individual souls out of hell after this life, what is its primary purpose?”
This strikes me as a worthwhile topic to consider . . .
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May 08, 05 by ed
I’m in a needy time in my life. Julie and I are planning to move to Vermont in June and could really use a little extra cash, jobs in the Green Mt. State, and a smooth transition. My Step-Mom is recovering from a major operation that removed a cancerous tumor for mher stomach, so I’ve also been asking a lot of God on her behalf. In addition, I am working on a project that is bigger than my wildest dreams. I get overwhelmed often and add this project to my stack of needs. In praying the divine hours last night, I was struck by the first line of the one of the Psalms: “It is good to praise the Lord . . .”
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May 08, 05 by ed
<%image(20050508-disc golf hole.jpg|84|110|disc golf)%> The sun was out, the birds were chirping, and the discs were stowed away in my Corolla. After tanking up on fuel and coffee, I wound my way through the country lanes to Tinicum Park down by the Delaware river. I had been restraining myself all week from the disc golf course. Now that the weekend had arrived and the day was picture perfect, I imagined myself heaving my discs toward the baskets in green fields, quiet groves of trees, and amid the towering ridge near the river.
Pulling up to the park I noticed a virtual sea or cars, mobile homes, and tents. Something was terribly wrong . . .
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May 06, 05 by ed
<%image(20050506-shabbat.jpg|83|111|shabbat)%> In a conversation with a friend the other day we hit on a funny thing about us Americans. Here’s the jist of the situation: we tell people in our church that we’re taking a month off, just to relax and refit. Yet the instant we think of having free time, we start planning something to do!!! I see this happen with my weekend as it fills up a break-neck speed almost without fail. When do I plan to do nothing?
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May 04, 05 by ed
<%image(20050504-peculiar people.jpg|57|90|peculiar)%> <%image(20050504-nextreformation.jpg|60|90|next ref)%> These are just a few of the books laying about the house this week. I’m home alone, free time abounds, and there is no shortage of good books to read. But my problem, which I sometimes attribute to my hyper-consumptive Americanisms, is that I overwhelm myself with too many GOOD things to do.
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May 03, 05 by ed
<%image(20050503-hitchhiker.jpg|100|76|hitchhiker)%> I can’t quite explain the appeal, but I have to say that The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a really great movie. I saw it the other night with my wife and bro-in-law Joel, and we all agreed that it was a big thumbs up. And the thumbs up is not just the result of clever marketing, it’s because the makers of the movie somehow created a hysterical sequence of incredibly ridiculous events that left us in stitches. Don’t expect a plot or anything from this movie. It’s far too random for that. It’s most like a collage of loosely connected events that surpasses all norms of normalcy. If you’re in the mood for a good laugh, I strongly recommend Hitchhiker’s. If you want something deep and meaningful, all that this movie will give you is . . .
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