weird questions

The questions and comments that I hear this time of year sometimes boggle my mind.

"How was your Christmas?" I don't know what that means. Maybe the real question is "Did you get some good presents?" or "Did you get to see your family, and if so, was that a good thing?"

What about, "Have a happy new year!"? Is that like saying, "I hope your stay-up-until-midnight night goes well, and if the first day of the new year goes well too, that'd be great!"?

It's 20 minutes until the new year in Iowa, so happy new year (almost) to those of you in the Central time zone. We have an hour and 20 minutes, and we might not make it that late.

Applying for jobs

Is it just me, or do employers make you fill out some stupid stuff when you're applying for a job? I've applied online to a dozen or more jobs in the last month and a half, and they all ask for the exact the same stuff. Don't get me wrong, applying online is WAY better than driving to a location to pick up an application and then handwriting my responses and driving back to that location to submit it... but their applications are completely redundant. All of the stuff they ask for is the exact same stuff that you would find on a typical resume (or at least a resume that's worth anything). I find myself having to put the application and my resume side-by-side on my computer screen so that I can copy from one to the other. Then at the end, I attach my resume anyway. So every HR department in the state basically has to read two documents that say the exact same thing.

Most applications ask for: Name, address, phone number, education background, previous employers, dates of employment, previous employers' addresses, description of job duties at previous employers, special skills and experiences, and references.

My resume includes: Name, address, phone number, education background, previous employers, dates of employment, previous employers' addresses, description of job duties at previous employers, special skills and experiences, and references.

Apparently if you're hiring, you also have a lot of extra time on your hands to read through two of the exact same thing with every applicant. Wouldn't it make more sense to simply ask for some personal information and a resume? If a resume doesn't include the information above, it's probably not thorough enough, which to me would indicate an applicant who doesn't care enough about the job to put together an adequate resume. I'm sick of writing the same thing over and over and then attaching the same thing over and over.

Oh! And another thing: Who the heck am I supposed to include when I'm asked for references who are neither relatives nor former supervisors? Aren't supervisors exactly who you'd want to hear from regarding my at-work personality and abilities? I don't have that many friends who I just hang out with in professional settings.

That's my rant. Back to looking for jobs.

Don't believe the critics!

Partly because we decided to skip out on Christmas this year (in terms of giving each other a bunch of gifts), Elizabeth and I treated ourselves to the newly released Marley and Me at a theater this afternoon. We had a rough time getting in, first of all. The first place we went was sold out about 20 minutes before showtime (right about the time we got there), the second place was sold out 35 minutes before showtime (right about the time we got there), and the third place (which was actually the first place revisited... for a later showing) surely sold out shortly after we got our tickets (we were about 50 minutes early for that one).

All the seeking and frustration paid off, though. Marley and Me was fantastic. Owen Wilson gave a heartwarming, charming, and funny performance. Marley himself was one of the prettiest and most likable dogs I've ever seen in a movie. It wasn't a movie just about a dog either. It was about marriage and family and hardship and the pressures of life and work too. The movie is based on a book, and now I want to read it. I would recommend this movie to all of you who read this blog. Mom and dad, it'd be great for the kids too (I think). It's rated PG because they make a few comments regarding Marley's "fixing," and because Jennifer Anniston takes off her clothes and jumps into the pool at one point (they don't show anything except her bare back for a moment).

Anywho, I heard that the critics weren't fans of this movie, but Elizabeth and I were (she's blogging about it right now too, I think)... so if you trust our opinions over old men who sit in theaters for a living, go see it!

Word verification words

Below is a paragraph I wrote that's made up largely of word verification words that I've been required to type in when leaving comments on other blogs. You should do the same thing, or something similar (like a glossary where you define all your word verification words). It didn't take long to accumulate these words. You can do it even faster if you cheat and just refresh a window a bunch of times. Anyway, the word verification words are in blue. Enjoy.

After I gybrated about this for a long time, I decided that the lumbreel in my somendia was a sedraic fanti one would usually find only in intubeds inhabited by Gracula. On the other hand, Denumbo has a voast that the lobba cannot prodit, and if the Scurbess of Pygipo isn't too bectic after her shinimmi trip to Mizatir, there is sure to be eftenco afterwards. All this makrent kershi will be worthless unless the papiliz is sisated before Tionymin can wakil among the emeeli bowpere. Finally, I feel glant about the surband debues that the menersad gave me last week.

Following directions

I am blogging because Joel told me to if I thought it would be a good idea for Ashley Lang to blog (she's my sister-in-law's sister, or my brother's sister-in-law). And I do.

That is all.

Moving daze

Today Elizabeth and I will sign a lease for our new apartment, and we'll begin moving some stuff in. Tomorrow we've got friends coming with cars and trucks to help us haul the rest of our possessions away from W 7th Avenue for good. Yesterday was spent trying to pack everything we own into boxes and plastic tubs. We didn't get there (it looks like we're not even close), but we've got most of the stuff from closets and other unseen places (all the kitchen cupboards). I'm almost sick of moving already, and we haven't even been in our new unit yet! We're excited, though, because our new apartment will be substantially larger than our current one, and we won't feel quite so cramped. We'll also be able to offer more floor space when our visitors and their friends (this means you, Jase) swing by to stay for a night or two. My camera seems to be on the fritz at the moment, so we might not get any "before" pictures of our new place, but I'll certainly work on getting some once we've moved in and I can figure out the problem with my camera. The two things we're most excited about: We'll have a DISHWASHER! We'll have laundry machines IN OUR UNIT! These two things combined mean that cleaning up after dinner will take far less time, and that we no longer have to keep a bucket of quarters in our apartment for laundry's sake. The laundry machines also mean that if we realize that we desperately need socks and/or underwear by the next day, we can simply wash a load, instead of worrying about hours of operation, and when our "planned" laundry time was. Believe me, this is way more exciting than it sounds in print.

Obama/Warren controversy

Barack Obama has chosen Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration next month. This choice has apparently outraged the secular left (see the cnn.com article here) because Warren is opposed to gay marriage. Liberals are ticked that Warren supported Proposition 8, a California measure that passed last month which defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

As my friend, Ryan Kearns, points out, all of this outrage is coming from leftists under the guise of tolerance and inclusion. Apparently, tolerance and inclusion only apply if you are in complete agreement with the Democratic party. Again, I cite Ryan's post; "We have not begun to practice true tolerance till we fundamentally disagree with another." If liberals only want tolerance to extend to people who agree with them, then it shouldn't be called tolerance, it should be called agreement.

I also wonder what we'd be hearing if Warren had declined Obama's invitation (as some conservatives I read have suggested) based on Warren's opposition to issues Obama supports (abortion rights, gay marriage, etc.). I have a feeling the outrage would be at Warren's inconsiderate nature and intolerance. I'm sorry, I'm a fairly politically moderate guy, but liberals just piss me off so much I can't always leave it alone. Your thoughts?

Book giveaway!

Trevin Wax, who has a blog called Kingdom People, is giving away ten awesome books including The Reason for God by Tim Keller, Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright, and Why We're Not Emergent by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. In addition, he's giving away an ESV Study Bible! If you check out this post, you can find out how you could be entered to win these books.

Top Ten Selfish Wishes for Christmas

This is my selfish wish-list. For rules on how to construct a selfish wish list, see my sister-in-law's blog post here.

-- Membership to Sam's Club

-- Leather coat and scarf (the scarf probably shouldn't be leather)

-- iTunes gift card

-- restaurant gift card (Red Robin, Applebee's, Village Inn/Perkins, Champps [so we can watch the Cowboys play when they're on cable], etc.)

-- new gas pump for our car (so that the gauge works properly and we don't have to guess how full the tank is based on mileage... cuz we already guessed wrong once, and it's not fun to run out of gas)

-- movie theater gift card

-- waterproof iPod holder/player for our shower!

-- Powerball ticket (w/power play)

-- another coupon book from Elizabeth (last year it included "get out of vegetables free" coupons, and those were invaluable to me)

-- Laser Vue TV (those go for about $8,000 so I'm not real optimistic, but I think it fits all of the rules, and I'm running out of ideas)

There you have it. Now you write one.

I AM ALL DONE

I'm sure you're sick of my finals week countdown, but I've GOT to say.... IT'S OVER.

Four minutes ago I turned in two blue books filled with essay answers, and my final final is over. I'm pretty sure I've got carpel tunnel or something in my right hand from writing so much.

It's gonna be a PAR-TAY tonight!

One more day

24 hours from right now I will surely feel 15 pounds lighter (oh, if wishing made it so). At that point, I will have completed ALL of my finals work, and be free to sit around and watch football... and work... and pack... and move... and find a different job... (ok, so maybe "free" isn't quite the right word, but I will feel a whole heckuvalot better!)

Finals week

Of the items on my to do list from last week, all I really have left is two tough final exams. I'm really excited to have what I believe to be "the worst of it" behind me.

It was a rough weekend, made rougher by the Cowboys' tough loss, but in just a few more days I'll be out of the proverbial woods, sort of.

Gay marriage arguments are everywhere!

At first I wondered why so much of my blog-reading was dealing with gay marriage lately. Then (silly me) I remembered that California passed Proposition 8 last month, which defines marriage as being between one man and one woman. Now the media are out in force to tell Californians (and residents of other states where similar propositions were passed) how massively they screwed up.

Here is a link to the latest Newsweek cover article on gay marriage. Here is a link to the editorial note in Newsweek that accompanies the aforementioned article.

When you're done with those, if you want to read about what Christians really believe (and not just the liberal distortion of it), check out this post by Al Mohler, and this harsher post by Mark Hemingway.

And let me add one personal note in reference to Lisa Miller's Newsweek article above; As a serious student who is working his butt off every day in pursuit of a rather difficult-to-attain degree in Biblical studies, I found Miller to be not only completely offensive and insulting, but a downright mockery. I feel bad not just for Biblical scholars who have been so nastily misrepresented, but for all Christians everywhere.

Same-sex marriage: The logical fallacies of Tony Jones

I encourage you to read this post by Rob Bowman regarding the logical fallacies of Emergent Church guy, Tony Jones, on Jones's support of same-sex marriage. Bowman argues against Jones's logical fallacies in part because he gets sick of "defenders of same-sex marriage claiming that their opponents have no response other than to quote the same Bible verses over and over."

To-do list

I have a 10-page paper over a book I haven't read yet due on Thursday morning. I have a 3-page paper over 80 pages between two commentaries I haven't read yet due on Thursday afternoon. I have an integrative summary (a couple of pages, largely reflective) to finish, I think, by Friday (or sooner). Then I have 50 more pages to read and prepare to discuss by next Tuesday morning, and three KILLER finals to prepare for which take place next Monday morning, Thursday morning, and Thursday afternoon.

I'm really looking forward to next Friday.

It's the obligatory post-Thanksgiving post

Thanksgiving was... different for me this year. Neither Elizabeth nor I were around any family. We were invited to my mentor's house where we met a few new people and had a scrumptious late lunch, followed by some pie and a chunk of the Cowboys game.

Other than that, we spent most of the morning doing laundry. Most of the week was getting things taken care of (the car needed to be fixed, we needed groceries, had to clean our apartment buildings, had to make a Sam's run -- planned on Saturday in order to take advantage of maximum free samples, etc.) and the rest was spent doing HOMEWORK (bummer).

Our next two weeks will be rough to say the least. This is the last week of classes (when papers and projects are due) and next week is finals (probably my toughest round of finals yet). If we emerge from December 11 in one piece, it's smooth sailing... except not really, because the next week we have to pack up everything we own and prepare to move. But then it's smooth sailing... except not really, because then we have to unpack, and I have to get a job or we won't be able to afford the rent, but it'd be nice if the job was one that let me go to California over New Year's so I can see my family and celebrate Christmas. But then it's smooth sailing... except...

I think these are the first videos I've ever published on this blog

Here are a few videos that are long overdue. The first two

are from our trip to Iowa over the 4th of July. The theme

seems to be "drumming," whether on actual drums, or on

my head.

This last one is from the Rohde RONDAYVOO last month.

You've got some toddler dancing going on, and if you stick

around until the second half, you'll notice some air-guitar

and head-banging too! (I think my favorite part is all of the

adults trying to get Gabriel to dance by dancing themselves.)

weather

On our local forecast just now I learned that tomorrow in Denver the weather is described as "cloudy, foggy and cold with freezing drizzle and snow showers." Looks like it's gonna be a peach of a day!

Fight the Freedom of Choice Act

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) will by signed by Barack Obama as his first act in the Oval Office, unless he's a liar (he told Planned Parenthood that's the first thing he'd do).

You can go here to sign a petition against this legislation, which would nullify ALL state and federal mandates regarding abortion, including bans on partial birth abortion, requirements that women considering abortion be given information about the risks of the procedure, and parental notification and consent if a minor wants an abortion.

It takes about four seconds to do this. You give them your name and address and click "submit."

I frankly hope that Obama turns out to be a liar rather than an advocate for genocide, but only time will tell.

"True Confessions" Inspired by Pam

I'm taking my sister-in-law up on her offer for her readers to write a true confessions post.

1. I watch television shows on hulu.com whenever I get the chance. It's mostly limited to The Office and House, but if I happen to have a chunk of time free and there are no new episodes of those two available, I'll watch 24. Sometimes this comes at the expense of my homework.

2. I like McDonald's food. I say this as a "confession" because I feel like many people in my circle of friends since college see McDonald's as disgusting, cheap, greasy, nasty food that they'd never eat. It's much more hip to eat from Subway and to shop at Whole Foods. Well, I like McDonald's. The fact that it's cheap is one of the reasons. Eating off the dollar menu is the smartest way to eat out (next to Taco Bell, the cheapest fast food there is). I also think it tastes good. Their nuggets beat everyone else's. So there. I said it.

3. I know more about The West Wing than many would consider healthy. I refer to it constantly. At least 5 times every day, something someone says triggers facts, lines, jokes, and snippets from the show in my mind. I've also chosen The West Wing as my "pet project" that I'm using to learn how to use iWeb on my MacBook (iWeb is a program that comes on a Mac that basically lets you build and publish webpages. I'm building a West Wing website as a way to familiarize myself with and learn the program.).

4. I'm a huge procrastinator when it comes to anything I don't like doing. The dishes -- we can do them tomorrow. Dinner -- let's just throw something frozen in the oven, because I don't want to cook. There are many others. Believe me. (if you're Elizabeth, you already do)

Church (part II)

Last night I attended Scum of the Earth Church (SOTEC) in Denver for the first time. I was invited by my former boss, who is one of the church's pastors, and her boyfriend, another of the church's pastors who was preaching last night.

SOTEC meets in a super funky building that used to be a church and then was home to an artist of some kind and is now a church again. The artist who used to live there used basically the whole building his art studio. There's random glass and tile mosaics on the floors and on the walls of the bathrooms, and different paintings and designs on the walls, and photograph collages and other artsy fartsy kinds of things. It's a totally cool building that completely fits SOTEC's congregation. It's made up of 20- and 30-somethings, for the most part, but there are also plenty of older people. When worship began last night there were two gentlemen sitting behind me who seemed to either be high, be drunk, or have some kind of mental disability (it very well could have been a combination). At one point they started crying and repeating the words we were singing to each other. We would sing, "God is faithful," and the men would affirm to themselves, "He is SO faithful! God is faithful to us, isn't he? And you know Jesus, he's our savior!" It was cool. These men, in just about any other church I've ever been to, would have been scolded in the minds of everyone around them for being inappropriate and distracting, but not at Scum. There, they're just loved.

It was also the only church I've ever attended where upon leaving I saw a couple of shopping carts holding the earthly possessions of a couple of the attendees. In my one visit to SOTEC, I got the feeling that they truly take care of the "least of these." Cool.

(This post could also be much longer... but it won't be. I'll probably refer to this stuff in the future.)

Church (part I)

This is the first of two (probably very long) posts about my church-going experiences yesterday. I attended two services at two different churches that were very similar in some ways, and radically different in other ways.

(For the record, I've been writing these posts in my head for hours, trying to make them organized, but I fear I've failed. Also, I wrote all of part I last night and then lost it because my computer malfunctioned -- so this is actually a rewrite.)

NEW HOPE BAPTIST CHURCH

New Hope is a predominantly african-american church in Denver. When I say "predominantly african-american," I mean that Elizabeth and I were two of about four white people in the 500+-person congregation. All the men at New Hope wear suits with ties. The women wear dresses and hats of all shapes, sizes, and colors. The church reminded me of southern baptist churches in the movies (for some reason, Forrest Gump comes to mind), with the choir dressed in robes and the whole church swaying with the music, clapping along, and freely shouting out exclamations at all points of the service ("Amen!" and "Preach it!" were two of the most common).

The people at New Hope were exceedingly friendly. Many of them seemed genuinely happy to have us there. One large, exuberant woman gave us a warm hug and demanded that we return. The preacher was tremendously animated. He raised his voice so often and for so long that I can't quite figure out how he didn't go hoarse. 

A few of my observations:

I've never felt like such a minority as I did in church yesterday morning. No one did anything to suggest that they had a problem with their white visitors, but it was so evident that we were the "different" ones. It was kinda weird. A bit of insight, perhaps, into what blacks must often feel in a white-majority world.

This church seemed to have a better understanding of corporate worship than many of the churches I've regularly attended over the years. No one is ever worried about being thought of as "weird" if they worship in whatever way they feel led. Some stood, some clapped, some sang, some shouted, some frequently stood up in the middle of the sermon just to give a few claps of encouragement for whatever the preacher had just said... and it was all just fine. Everyone there seemed to care much more about gathering with fellow believers to praise God than whether or not they were going to miss the second half of the football game if the preacher ran long.

(When I wrote this post last night, before it got eaten by cyberspace, it was much longer. Sorry if you feel short-changed.)

Part II will follow, telling a little about my OTHER church-going experience yesterday.

Priorities

As Elizabeth and I watched election coverage on Tuesday I saw an interview that, for some reason, is still in my mind. A local reporter was interviewing a newly-elected democratic member of the US House of Representatives, who was excited to talk about the democratic majority that congress would enjoy in both houses, and of course, the White House. At one point she said something very similar to this (I obviously don't have a word-for-word transcript): "Well, our number one priority will be getting our economy going strong again, and creating jobs for people, and finding new sources for renewable energy, and bringing our troops home from Iraq, and getting people the health care they need."

Someone needs to tell this US CONGRESSWOMAN that you can't have FIVE number one priorities. By definition, that's impossible. That's roughly similar to me saying, "Well, my favorite team in the NFL is the Cowboys, and the Packers, and the Colts, and everyone in the AFC West except the Raiders."

Now, I understand that many, if not most, voters are significantly uninformed about their choices, especially on any race that's not the US Presidency. I will freely admit that I voted straight-ticket republican -- not because I knew about all of those candidates, but largely because I didn't want the democrats to have a huge majority in Washington. So, I would feel the same way if my republican choice said something really stupid on television the night he was elected. But hearing this particular interview made me wonder, who voted for this woman? What might be even more disturbing, however, was that I got the feeling that no one else seemed to think there was a problem with her having five number one priorities. Maybe they can't count to one either.

Puritans weren't as bad as we think they were

Today I learned about a couple of really cool guys from church history.

John Bradford was a puritan who always measured his time by whether or not it was being used to benefit others. Bradford is also the one who gives us the saying, "There but for the grace of God go I," which he uttered while watching criminals being led to their execution. He also developed a practice of recording in a journal every day his own faults, and others' virtues, so that he could learn the things about himself he needed to avoid, and the characteristics he saw in other people that he would like to emulate.

The other cool guy was John Owens, another puritan, who was a pastor. He developed a system where he would visit families from his congregation (7-8 families a day, two days a week, for an hour per family) in order to be more involved in their spiritual development. For part of his meetings Owens would quiz the family on its knowledge of scripture, the ten commandments, and catechisms and confessions. He would also encourage them in their own personal study, and make sure he was engaged with their lives.

Both of these men have a lot to offer us today, I think. Bradford seems to have had an incredible understanding of grace. I want to find if he has any published works and read read read! Owens could add a lot to our modern-day pastoral models. I realize that his exact model would probably be somewhat impractical, but wouldn't it be cool if American pastors were that engaged in the lives of their congregants? Maybe they wouldn't have to quiz the families about the same things, but they could provide some accountability, and a regular interaction about life.

Anywho... those are my thoughts at the moment.

Holes

Last week while in a vacation cabin with my family I was re-introduced to a breakfast known as "eggs-in-the-hole," which is made by cutting a hole out of a piece of bread and frying an egg in the middle (a kind of egg and toast combination).

For my wife this was the first time she'd ever had such a dish, and she loved it... which led her to ask me yesterday, "Hey, tomorrow for breakfast can we have... uh... hole-in-the-toast?" That question led me to laugh very hard. Then she asked, "Well, what's it called? Hole-in-one?" So I laughed harder.

Now "hole-in-the-toast" is what we call that meal.

(and congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States)

I voted

I voted today. Since then I've had two free coffees from Starbucks and one free donut from LaMar's. I don't need incentive from food places to vote... but I won't deny them either.

P.S. My brother Jase (blog link to the right) posted a pretty funny post on his very first election vote.

We're home

Well, the Rohde RONDAYVOO is officially over, and it wasn't nearly long enough. It was great to spend time with my family with no real agenda except to be together.

Wouldn't you know it, Elizabeth and I were gone for two and a half days and when we got home we had seven messages on our answering machine -- all of which were from political campaigns trying to make sure we vote for them. We just got another call (this one from Joe Biden himself) a few minutes ago. I'm sick of it. Tuesday can't come fast enough.

It's been somewhat of a bummer for a day. I love that it was relatively relaxing (no real commitments once we got home, other than homework), but I already miss my family a bunch, and I can totally tell it's back-to-the-grindstone in terms of school work. In addition, my football team got smoked today (as I predicted), which is never that fun.

I'll post some pictures from the RONDAYVOO soon.

It's finally (almost) here!

On Tuesday my entire family (mom and dad, 3 brothers & one sister-in-law, my wife and I, a nephew, and a foster brother) will be together for the first time since New Year's. The ten of us are staying in a cabin in the Colorado mountains for 5 nights. I have been looking forward to this get-together for MONTHS. I love my family, and it kills me when I can't be around them. Elizabeth and I are working overtime today and tomorrow to get ahead on our homework for later this week so that we don't have to spend all of our "family time" on class work.

In short, today and tomorrow might not be that fun... but Tuesday thru Sunday will probably be the best week of my year so far.

A very good election-themed article

Here are two articles, one by a white guy and one by a black girl, saying things that a lot of people are too politically correct to point out -- that just as there are those racists who will NOT vote for Obama just because he's black, there are also those racists who WILL vote for Obama just because he's black. These two Christians write of an election that's more important than race.

Enjoy.

bloggin'

It's been a bloggy-kind of night for my wife and I. We took an accidental nap for quite a long time this afternoon, and then I drank three cups of coffee while watching a movie this evening, which is probably why this is my third post in the last half hour.

Anywho.

My dear wife

I have a pretty special wife. I love hanging out with her. Last night we went out with a plan to stop at three different places. They included: Wal-Mart (for a few groceries), Sam's Club (to take advantage of their $10 for 10 weeks membership -- it's a trial run for us to see if we'd benefit from a year membership), and Kohl's (to look for and pick up some much needed clothing items and shoes for Elizabeth). Instead we stopped at 5 different places and tried to stop at a 6th but it was closed. The two we added was Whole Foods (a huge-mongous grocery store that we'd never been in before) and a different Wal-Mart (because we remembered a couple of things that we'd forgotten at the first Wal-Mart). The 6th stop that we attempted was Savers (a second-hand store -- we're looking for a couch that's not broken).

Through it all Elizabeth was an absolute delight, which may not sound especially amazing to you, but she has been dealing with some weird sickness for a few weeks now and yesterday she started a special diet that actually makes you feel worse before it makes you feel better. She's quite a trooper, and I'm glad she's the one I get to spend most of my time with.

Last night after we got home, we found out that the mother of one of Elizabeth's mentors had passed away. It was one of those things that was pretty heartbreaking because we knew the woman from church and Sunday school classes. She was an extremely pleasant woman with a lovely southern accent. It's obviously a bummer of a situation, but it made me fall in love with my wife even more, because in situations like these her huge heart for other people just pours out of her. She hates it any time one of God's creatures suffers, and she can't hide her care for them. I love her so much.

Politics and stuff

Today the blogs I frequent were full of good stuff. Below are some links and descriptions of some of the better entries and articles I found. Below that are some of my own rants and raves about those topics.

Here is an article by Princeton professor Robert George called Obama's Abortion Extremism, detailing the extent to which Obama supports abortion. He refers to Obama not as pro-choice, but as pro-abortion, because he seems to oppose anything that would even attempt to curb the number of abortions in this country. It's a little scary.

Here is a blog post by Justin Taylor which summarizes George's article and is very interesting.

Here is a blog post by Dr. Ben Witherington III on pacifism. Dr. Witherington, whom I respect immensely, is a pacifist, and I really loved reading about his position.

A post from Denver Seminary Philosophy of Religion professor Dr. Doug Groothuis that was written back in March. It's about what he calls "fetus fatigue," or evangelical Christians who are sick of abortion being the only issue other Christians care about.

Another Justin Taylor post that picks up on the "fetus fatigue" idea and has some ideas from Al Mohler on the same topic.

Regarding Dr. Witherington's post on pacifism. I completely respect his position, and I don't strongly disagree with very much of what he's written. However, his main argument seems to be that Christians should not act violently against those who act violently toward them. If I'm being beaten I should still take it and be kind to my enemies. I actually don't have much of a problem with that. Witherington, though, doesn't address what we're supposed to do when violence is taking place against others. If I see a woman getting raped or beaten across the street, am I really supposed to let it happen because I'm a Christian? Or when rebels in Africa invade a village and torture all of its inhabitants before killing them, should we stand by and let it happen because we're Christians? Or when a German with a funny mustache is systematically exterminating millions of humans, should we allow it to go on because we're Christians? This is where I don't understand the extent of pacifism. I think even pacifists would probably say that we should intervene in those situations. Does it just mean that we don't kill the perpetrators but instead put them behind bars?

Regarding Obama on abortion. I've been bombarded by pro-lifers pointing out his terrible views on the issue, but today's blog post and article linked above pointed out even more to me. Obama did not support a Democrat-sponsored bill referred to as 95-10 legislation, that would seek to reduce the number of abortions in America 95% over the next 10 years by strengthening the social safety net for poor women. This bill would in no way make abortion illegal, it would simply make it rarer. I could respect a Democrat who believes abortion should be legal but acknowledges that it's tragic and undesirable, and who seeks to make abortion rare. This, however, seems to illustrate the fact that Obama does not want fewer abortions. It's like he wants more of them. Like it would be better for a poor woman to get pregnant and have an abortion than it would for her not to get pregnant at all. Utterly ridiculous.

And regarding the "fetus fatigue" stuff. I understand that Christians shouldn't care about only one issue. We should be committed to peace and to feeding the hungry and being kind to our environment and other very important things. However, as Al Mohler says in the last Justin Taylor post (linked above), "Our vote will determine whether millions of unborn babies live or die. The Freedom of Choice Act [which Obama plans to pass as president], if passed, would lead directly to a radical increase in the numbers of abortions. The abortion industry has told us that themselves. The question comes down to this: How many lives are we willing to forfeit -- to write off as expendable -- in order to 'move on' to other issues of concern? There is no way to avoid that question and remain morally serious."

Good speakers

I just realized that my two most recent posts were both titled "the weekend." Woops.

Over the last four days I've had the wonderful opportunity to listen to three special speakers talk about important issues facing Christians today. On Saturday I heard D.A. Carson talk about suffering. Monday Dr. Ron Sider (founder of Evangelicals for Social Action) spoke in chapel, giving a talk on thinking biblically about politics. Today's chapel speaker was Dr. Darrell Bock, a New Testament professor from Dallas Seminary, who spoke about Christians' engagement with culture and responses to culture's accusations against Christ and his followers.

It's been a good few days, except Elizabeth hasn't been feeling well.

the Weekend

Elizabeth and I spent Friday and Saturday driving to and from Omaha, with a few hours in the middle to spend with Joel and Jase, and to hear Dr. D.A. Carson speak about suffering. It was really a fantastic trip. It cost us less than a trip like that should cost, the fellowship with my brothers was fantastic, and Dr. Carson's talks were intellectually stimulating, theologically challenging, and practically helpful.

By the end of the drive home, we were both totally pooped and I think I slept better last night than I ever have since getting married (the last hour of driving in the dark in the eastern Colorado desert was NOT fun).

Today I did homework and watched football. The "watched football" part can pretty much go without saying for the next few months when I'm describing Sunday afternoons... but I thought I'd let you know.

the weekend

It feels like it's been a really long week. Here, however, is why I'm really excited: I have a two-hour class this afternoon and then I'm done for the weekend. Tonight Elizabeth and I have to do some minor apartment cleaning (like washing the dishes) and then pack up our bags for a trip to OMAHA tomorrow. We're going to get to see Joel and Jase and hang out for an evening, then go to a conference with D.A. Carson on suffering on Saturday, and then drive all the way home... and watch the Cowboys play on Sunday. It sounds like a fantastic 3-day weekend. The tough part is that my 8 a.m. Monday class takes 10 hours to prepare for, so Sunday might not be that fun after all (unless Dallas wins).

Anywho...

Car doctors and trash

I haven't showered yet today (don't worry, I will soon). Elizabeth and I have taken our car in to one of its TWO appointments with the car doctors this weekend. It's got a couple of problems and we need to fix them before we road-trip to Omaha next weekend. After dropping our car off this morning, we're basically stranded here in our apartment until we get the car back tomorrow. We did some house cleaning and some apartment cleaning too. My favorite part was returning a big wooden chest to the yard in which it belongs. See, every time there's a large piece of furniture by our dumpsters, we have to call in a bulk pickup to the trash company, and they charge our building $50. That's fine with us if it's one of our residents whose garbage it is, but this morning we saw an eviction taking place across the street and someone's possessions were strewn out all over their yard. A couple of hours later one of the wooden chests that had been sitting in the yard had been brought down to our dumpster and abandoned. That's NOT okay, because now we have to pay for other people's trash to be taken away... So Elizabeth and I picked that chest up and walked it right back across the street and set it in the now-empty yard. They'll have to find some other suckers willing to pay to have their garbage disposed of.

Grace

(for the record, my wife agrees with my "busy bees" post below)

I'm reading a book by Philip Yancey called What's So Amazing About Grace? because I tend to get very irritated with people very easily. I get mad when I'm driving because most people are terrible at driving -- and it's not that difficult of an activity. I get mad at work because most people lack either common sense or a sense of decency (and the problem is exacerbated by the fact that I have a higher standard for the students, faculty and staff who most frequently visit the bookstore, and who are surprisingly inconsiderate), or both. I get mad at the store because I tend to a) know exactly what I need and where to find it, eliminating the need to lolly-gag in the aisles, and b) be considerate enough to make every reasonable effort to stand off to the side out of the way when I need to take time for decision-making or consulting my wife.

Having said all of that, I'm working really hard this semester on seeing people through the eyes of Jesus; as creatures molded by God who he loves very much. I'm not that great at it yet. People still tick me off.

Busy bees

I wish I knew how life got so busy. Elizabeth and I usually have a week-day off from school and work, but with furniture falling apart, a car that needs constant care, and classes that require (no joke) 10-15 hours of homework per week, we could use a couple more of those days off!

A Weekend in Breckenridge

Below are some pictures from our trip to Breckenridge in August with Elizabeth's family.

Liberal arrogance

For as much as I love The West Wing, I feel like I'm starting to become more and more sensitive to the political aspects of the show that I don't like. I'm sure it's my heightened sense of awareness due to the coming elections. In the episode we watched the other day Josh is frustrated with republicans who won't vote for a bill he needs to pass. Among the contrasts he lists between the two parties is that "one wants to save social security, the other wants to privatize it." I don't know anything about social security, but I find it a little antagonistic and elitist to suggest that in the republican mind the goal is not to save social security.

In another recent episode a female air force pilot was in trouble not because she was having an affair with an inferior (married) officer, but because she was ordered to stop and did not. Everyone on the show (except Leo) seemed to be disturbed by her predicament and thought it was wrong that she be punished. Toby's opinion is that we've invested a lot of money into teaching her how to fly a plane which she does very well, so he'd choose having her do that rather than caring who she sleeps with.  When Charlie is asked what he thinks he says, "I don't think you can reasonably ask someone to control who they fall in love with." The whole time I'm uncomfortable because I think the characters completely miss the point. First of all, I'm not a fan of the lack of moral conscience they all seem to have. I'd like to point out to Charlie that no one is asking anyone to control who they fall in love with, but that having an affair with a married man, and continuing to do so after being told to stop is two counts of wrong.

The underlying frustration that I'm continuing to find not just in the show but in the Democratic party in real life is their elitist attitude. I've experienced enough very conservative groups of people, and I think that whatever you might say about them, they believe, for the most part, that Democrats want what's best they just strongly disagree with how to accomplish it.  Democrats, on the other hand, seem to have a much haughtier view of themselves. The attitude that is portrayed is that Republicans are not merely ignorant but bad people.  They're not out to make things better but to win.  Democrats, in their own view, are simply better people. This attitude can be found on television and in the liberally biased print media (I read it in Time Magazine every week). I'm pretty much sick of it.

Pacifism

Can someone help me understand pacifism?  I'm just a little lost.  First of all, I don't know how extreme the word is.  If you're a pacifist, does that mean that you simply disagree with declarations of war?  Or does it mean that you believe all violence is wrong (including punching a guy in the face who's beating or raping a pregnant woman in the alley)?  Either way, I'm pretty positive I'm not a pacifist (watch Tears of the Sun and try to make a case for it), but I feel like it's one of those where I know a lot of people that I consider to be smarter than me who are pacifists, and that makes me wonder if I should be one.  So I want to be a little more informed.

A night with Coors (the stadium, not the beer)

Last night Elizabeth and I went to a Rockies game (the Rocks won 3-2) for free (a friend bought tickets for a group of us and wouldn't let us pay him for them).  It was a lot of fun.

We sat in the Rock Pile (the cheap bleacher seats way out beyond center field).  Usually that's where Elizabeth and I end up, because when we're paying for tickets, that's what we can afford.  It gets a little irritating out there for me, though, because the people you're sitting with are often much more interested in starting "the wave" than in what's happening on the field.  Or it's a collection of teenagers who would rather flirt and talk about their social lives than notice that David Eckstein and Matt Holiday are really enjoyable players to watch.  The highlight came sometime around the 5th inning.  There was a guy about three rows below us who had knocked a few back and who was desperately trying to get the Rock Pile fans to help him get the wave to go all the way around the stadium.  He would turn and face us and yell, "One!  Two!  Three!  YEEEEEEEAAAAAHH!" as he'd get people going.  Then he'd repeat it.  Not long into this spectacle, we noticed that his zipper was down.  Not just a little bit, but all the way.  We laughed for a few minutes as we tried to get his attention to tell him.  I guess he just thought we were excited about doing the wave.  Eventually my friend Mark was able to point it out to him and he turned red and zipped it up.  We all laughed for about 15 minutes.

The really cool part was when the game ended and we were invited out onto the outfield to watch the post-game fireworks.  The grass on the field was, I swear, softer and cleaner than our carpet.  We laid on the grass and watched the best fireworks show I've ever seen a baseball team put on.

Last year at this time Denver was buzzing about the Rockies because they were in the middle of a huge win streak that would eventually lead to a World Series appearance.  This year the Rockies are way out of the playoff race.  Still, being a part of the team's last home stand of the season was really fun.  When I've been to other baseball games that have fireworks afterwards, it seems that about half of the fans leave before the show.  Last night I would guess that 90-95% of the fans stayed right where they were.  A baseball crowd watches fireworks the same way they watch a game -- with cheers and applause, rather than the oohs and aahs you usually hear at the 4th of July.  Before they started sending fireworks up above the scoreboard, they played an end-of-season tribute on the video screen that was made up of Rockies highlights from the season.  It was weird to me how intimate the whole night felt.  Last year everyone in town was on the Rockies bandwagon, because they were pulling off a historic run to the playoffs and then the World Series.  Last night I got the feeling that the only people in the world who were interested in the Rockies were the few thousand of us sitting there at Coors Field, celebrating the last 6 months with a 3-2 win, a video, and some pretty sweet fireworks.

We're going to the game tonight too, but there won't be fireworks after the game.  It should still be fun.

Cheap baseball rules

This weekend Elizabeth and I are going to two Rockies games (one Friday night and one Saturday night) for a total of $2.  That's an average of $.50 per ticket.  Be impressed.

New Cowboys blog

I've started a new blog (linked to the right as "Valley Ranch" under "Blogging Buds") for football (specifically Cowboys) posts. I understand that for many of the two or three people who read this blog, all the football posting I'm likely to do in the coming months might be annoying, so I'll write about football in a separate place where you don't have to be notified all the time.

Romo moment

One of the most amusing parts of the Cowboys' big division win last night over the Iggles was the post-game interview Tony Romo did with ESPN's on-field reporter.

Reporter:  Early 2nd quarter fumble in the endzone, what are you thinkin' when that happens?

Romo:  Darn it.

Super-Amazing Girl!

She's smarter than you.  She's been to more places than you.  She knows more famous people than you.  She gets more free stuff and therefore owns more than you.  She's had more experiences than you.  She's played more sports more competitively than you.  She's won more awards than you.  She's been in more clubs and organizations (and probably held leadership positions in all of them) than you.  She's accomplished more and overcome more adversity than you.  She has higher aspirations and worthier dreams than you.  And she's done all this while having been alive fewer years than you.  If you ever forget any of this, never fear, she'll always be there to remind you -- usually right in the middle of any sentence you attempt to squeeze into a conversation, lest you actually complete saying anything regarding that on which she cannot best you.  Who is she?

SUPER-AMAZING GIRL!

AFC/NFC debate

I think I'm just about ready for people to stop the "the AFC is so far superior to the NFC" talk.  Last year in NFC/AFC games, each team won the exact same amount.  Oh, and it was an NFC team that won the Big One at the end over the "immortal" Patriots.  After week 1 in 2008 the NFC leads 3-1.  And those NFC wins were over two of the AFC's top contenders (San Diego and Indianapolis) and the third was over an almost certain playoff team (Cleveland).  All three games were also played in the AFC team's home stadium.

I'm not going to argue for the dominance of the NFC, but it's not quite as clear cut of a line as most AFC fans would like to think it is.  Don't forget that the toughest division in football by FAR is the NFC East.

Pretty Pissed

For about three weeks now I've been jazzed about the NFL season kicking off. I've been even more jazzed that the Cowboys' week 1 game against Cleveland is what's called a "nationally televised game," which means that everyone gets to see it unless you actually live in one of the other cities who have teams playing at the same time (in this case, San Diego, Charlotte, Phoenix, or San Francisco).  Today at approximately 2:21 pm MT when FOX was supposed to cut away from the end of the Seahawks-Bills game to the Cowboys-Browns game (as had been advertised for more than a week)... they instead cut to the Chargers-Panthers game.  Considering that a) Dallas is closer to Denver than San Diego is by more than 300 miles and b) Foxsports.com reported a story on the NFL's biggest fan bases which included both Dallas and Cleveland in the top 10 (but said nothing about San Diego or Carolina), I'm wondering why my team's game is not being shown.  It's ridiculous.  If you're not going to show it, fine, but you damn well better not advertise for a week that you are.

Obama's at it again

Obama likening getting pregnant with contracting an STD.  Apparently, babies are "punishment."

The NFL is on its way!

If you want to predict that the Dallas Cowboys are going to go 10-6 this year and get second in the division to the Eagles, that's your own business (see this week's Sports Illustrated).  However, please be consistent about it.

At the beginning of the NFL Preview section of the issue, Dr. Z lays out his predictions for every team in the league.  He (rightly, I believe) has New England as the NFL's best team, and winning the Super Bowl.  He lists the Cowboys as going 10-6, making the playoffs as a wildcard behind the NFC-East champion Philadelphia Eagles (with a 12-4 record).  Then, in each team's individual breakdown, we find that Dallas is graded higher overall than both New England and Philadelphia.  In the articles previewing the team, the Cowboys are spoken of very highly.  Dr. Z even goes so far as to say, "Dallas had the most talented team in the NFL before [Adam 'Pacman'] Jones arrived, and now it is even more so."  Make predictions all you want, but don't contradict yourself all over the place. C'mon.

My prediction, in case anyone's interested, is that Dallas will go 13-3 (a very optimistic number, I admit).  They will go 4-2 in the division (losing one apiece to Philly and Washington), and will lose at Pittsburgh on December 7.  They'll win at least one post-season game, and most likely will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.  You heard it here first, folks.

Video

For some AWESOME videos of my nephew being a stud, go to my sister-in-law's blog.

On a completely different note, I think it's funny to watch olympic athletes parading around the track during the opening and closing ceremonies (perhaps the most watched events worldwide ever) with their own video cameras, filming everything they're experiencing.

Snow in August?

Last week was pretty busy for us.  Our friend Amanda was able to visit for a couple of days, which was truly wonderful.  We hadn't seen her in more than a year, and she's a pretty great friend.  We hung out, relaxed, and watched the olympics.  After Amanda left, my youngest brother Jase arrived for an evening (we're his customary stop on his way from California to school at Iowa State).  It was great to see him and hear about his summer trip to Turkey (you can read about that here).  The day after Jase left, we had one more summer trip to take...

Elizabeth and I spent last weekend in Breckenridge, Colorado, with Elizabeth's folks (Mike & Deede) and her brother (Clay).  We stayed in a cabin high in the mountains.  While it was raining all weekend long here in Denver, it was snowing and hailing in Breckenridge.  I think there was a little bit of disappointment for most of our crew, because we had been excited about checking out some of the shops downtown, and doing some hiking... but we actually were able to fit both of those things in even with the weather.  I loved it.  It was about 45 degrees out on Saturday.  Elizabeth and I spent some time in the hot tub.  Elizabeth and Deede did most of the cooking for us (Mike grilled burgers and brats on Sunday night).  The food was great, the atmosphere was great, and it was much more relaxed and life-giving than either Elizabeth or I had anticipated.  We had brought some board games, and the cabin was equipped with an air-hockey table (I won the family tournament), a pool table, and a foos-ball table (oh, and a kitchen table).  When we weren't playing games, we were watching olympics (seeing Michael Phelps become the coolest olympic athlete of all time, or something like that).  Time seemed to crawl by, which was absolutely great.  We weren't rushed for anything all weekend long (until Monday morning when we had to hurry-up and get out so Elizabeth and I could get to our jobs here in town).  If there's a prerequisite I'm going to have for all of my future vacations, it will be to not be rushed.  Not having to worry about the passing of time does wonders for one's soul.  I hope we get to do it again someday.  Thanks to my family-in-laws for being great vacation pals!

(by the way, my chocolate cookie was fantastic)

Smoking

Today I wished that smoking wasn't bad for you.  There are quite a few residents of our apartment complex who are smokers, and they have multiple 10-minute breaks built into their day where they basically sit outside on the ground or on a lawn chair with nothing to do except think and smoke.  It would provide opportunities for relationship-building, and for just taking some time out to relax and put things in perspective.  Not being a smoker, it's hard to find little breaks in my day like that.

Shopping

I want to start by saying that I'd really like to hear arguments from anyone who refuses to shop at Wal-Mart on ethical principles.  I've asked a few people to tell me about their moral qualms with the store and I have yet to receive a satisfactory response.  It makes me nervous, because if there are people who don't shop there because of ethical reasons, then maybe I'm unethical by shopping there... but I don't know it!

Now for the real post...

Elizabeth and I don't have a lot of money.  We take advantage of a church-run program called Manna, which gives away clothing, haircuts, minor medical treatment, games & toys for little ones, and our favorite -- groceries -- to low-income families and seminary students (which are often one and the same).  We also take advantage of our campus food closet which gets stocked (mostly with non-perishables) about twice a month.  Lastly, we take advantage of what's called the bread shed -- a little shed on campus where each week a volunteer drops off various kinds of bread from Safeway that is past its "sell by" date.  Beyond those three things, we try to shop carefully.  The following is the story of our Wednesday night grocery-shopping experience.

We shop mainly at Wal-Mart.  It's cheap.  It has everything.  It's nearby.  It's also TERRIBLY annoying.  It's always jam-packed with people.  We have to wait in long lines.  I swear that not one of the 5,000 carts in the store works completely properly.  Last night we spent some time looking through advertisements from the other two local supermarkets, King Soopers, and Safeway.  We wanted to make sure we were getting the best deals on the things we needed to buy.  This was to be the first real time since we got married that we would go straight from one store to the other to the other in order to compare prices easily and accurately.  Wal-Mart was our first stop.  We got everything we needed except the few items we'd found for less at the other two places.  We had a loud, wobbly cart.  We waited in line for at least 10 minutes.  Our checker had no personality, but the transaction went completely smoothly (as always) because their system is easy and hassle-free.

Next we drove to Safeway.  The store was almost deserted.  Our cart was silent, and it rode completely straight.  The aisles were well-kept and the produce section had a huge, fresh selection.  The "good deals" we'd seen in the ads were misleading.  We spent at least, if not more, on the items we bought there as we would have at Wal-Mart.  Every item we thought to check prices on "just out of curiosity" we had found cheaper at Wal-Mart.  We didn't have to wait in line, but we did walk up to the only check-out counter with its lights on and no one was around.  An employee saw us looking like we needed help and she said, "Do you need help finding anything?"  My wife answered pleasantly, "Nope, we just need to check-out."  The employee responded curtly, "Well all you needed to do was holler."  Then she scanned our items.  I scanned my debit card.  The checker, annoyed, said, "What about your Safeway card?  It needs to come first."  I scanned my Safeway card.  "No, now you need to hand it to me," she complained.  I did.  She scanned it and handed it back.  "Now you scan your debit card."  I did.  Nothing happened.  I hadn't told the machine that I was paying by debit card.  I did.  I scanned my card for a third time.  Success!

Finally, we headed to King Soopers.  Soopers was nearly empty as well.  It was well-kept like Safeway.  The items were also more expensive than Wal-Mart, and some of them were more expensive than Safeway.  The advertisements had again been misleading.  The roll of pizza dough in the ad (complete with picture) for $1 was actually $1.89 (56 cents more expensive than Wal-Mart), while the one half the size of the one in the picture was $1.  We got our items and headed for the check-out.  The check-out lines are set up awkwardly.  You have to wheel your cart (or set your items) around to the side that the checker is on, then go around to the other side of the post while they unload your cart and scan your items.  Their card-scanning machine was much easier to use than Safeway's.  I got through without any hassle, and without a word from the employee.  She handed me my receipt and politely said, "You saved $2.17 with us today.  Have a good night."  As we walked away Elizabeth pointed out, "We would have saved more than that at Wal-Mart."

The whole experience made us decide that it's not even worth it to look for deals in the paper.  Wal-Mart is almost always going to cost less, and when it doesn't, it'll be just a few cents more expensive than the other guy's sale items.  I'll deal with the people, the crappy carts, the lines, and the personality-less employees.  I'd rather have that than higher prices, club-cards that don't mean anything (I've been to King Soopers four times in the last year.  The first three times when I got to the checkout line they asked, "Do you have a Soopers card?" and when I said, "No," they scanned a new one and handed it to me.  Tell me why I need one), and employees with negative personalities.  Until a store proves to be better than Wal-Mart, I'll shop there.

Marriage

Today my wife and I took part in a focus group for a little company who offers marriage-class type things in order to help marriages be stronger.  They utilize horses and dancing as two unique forms of learning about relationships and marriage.  It's really sort of cool.

During the focus group, we were asked, "Is there a difference between marriage and long-term committed relationships?"  One woman who has gone through a divorce and is now in a "long-term committed relationship" who is not a Christian immediately answered, "Only legally."  Marriage, according to her, is simply a piece of paper that gives a couple certain governmental rights and recognition.  Inside I was fuming.

That's all.

Catching up

There are about 15 things I've been wanting to blog about lately.  I don't remember what most of them were.

First, let me tell you about the awesome (though budget-crunching) deal we got from the Apple Store last week.  We'd been planning to buy Elizabeth a MacBook computer for awhile, we just hadn't found the right one, or the right time.  Then we found out that if you buy a new MacBook with your student discount (which saves you $100) then you can get up to a $299 rebate for a new iPod... which happens to be exactly what an iPod Touch costs.  So we have one of those now.  Along with Elizabeth's new computer.  AND, with the purchase of a new MacBook, you can get up to a $100 rebate on a printer too.  So now we have a new computer, a new iPod Touch (which is really fun, by the way), and a new printer/scanner/copier/fax machine.  All for the price of less than a new MacBook ('cuz of the student discount).  That's $400 in total savings.  Not too shabby.

Next, let me say a few words about the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight."  It was good.  That's all I'm gonna say, because it seems everyone and their brother (including my brother, in fact) has recently blogged about it.  Greg Boyd and Ben Witherington (two prominent Bible scholars) have both written very good posts about it.  They both tie in some awesome niftiness (it's a word) about the theology and philosophy of the movie too.  I'll just say that I agree with everyone's assessment about Heath Ledger's phenomenal performance as the world's greatest villain, the Joker.

My two-week intensive theology class ended last Friday, which is kinda nice.  It was a great class, giving me some much-anticipated knowledge about theological stuff I've always felt like I should know (like what the real differences between Calvinists and Arminians are, and what big words like supralapsarianism mean).  I still have a little after-the-fact work to do for the class, but the really tough stuff is finished.

Last week's Sports Illustrated had some awesome triva-type information about the U.S. athletes preparing to participate in the Beijing Olympics.  Last week's Time magazine had some similar entries, but they were under the heading "100 Olympians you should know about" or some other similar-sounding title.  The Time section didn't focus solely on U.S. athletes, but on many of the notables from around the world.  I'm really excited for the olympics.  They're fun.

Ok, I know there was a lot more to write, but I'm gonna end it right there because I can't remember anything else.  If and when I do, you'll hear about it.

Scribbles

The other day Elizabeth and I made a cake.  It was really good.  So good, in fact, that the two of us finished it off today.  It was something like 5 or 6 pieces of cake apiece over the last two days (we gave one piece to my manager at work... but we took care of the rest).

My family is amazing, by the way.  I'm thinking of writing a biography of my folks.  They're probably the two best parents that have ever been parents before.

Anywho...

First Anniversary!

Last weekend Elizabeth and I went away to Vail, Colorado, in celebration of our first anniversary. We had an awesome time.  Our hotel room was much more fantastic than either of us thought it would be, our hike up the mountain was littered with scenes of beauty, culminating in a super sweet water fall at the end, we took a gondola to the top of Vail Mountain to eat at a restaurant out on the deck overlooking some snow-capped mountains, and we walked around Vail Village to visit local shops and sample the tastiness at the farmer's market.  The whole time, our cell phones were off, and we were relaxed!

On the hike

The waterfall at the end.  We look a little awkward because

there was no one around to take our picture, so we had to prop

the camera up on some rocks, set the timer, take a guess as to

where we should stand, and take a few wobbly steps across

unstable stones to get into the picture before the timer went off.

On the gondola ride up the mountain for dinner.

I'm on... top of the world lookin' down on creation...

That's our 1-year anniversary cake.  It was gooooooooood.

Overdue pictures

Here are some pictures from our recent trip to Iowa to visit family.  The star of the show is our 9-month old nephew, Gabriel.

Summer

This summer has somehow become as busy as the school year for me.  I didn't know that could happen.

I also wanted to say that I miss my friends.

And if you want to read an entertaining and funny book with what's left of your summer, try The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs.

Road work

First things first:  If I'm ever president of the United States, I will sign some kind of executive order that FORBIDS any road construction along Interstate 80 for a single summer.  One summer of my life, I want that to happen.  For one summer before I die, I want to be able to drive for more than an hour on I-80 without having to slow down or risk doubled fines for road construction.  Once.

Elizabeth and I just returned to Denver after a 5 day mini vacation.  We were able to visit with a few college friends for a couple of hours, hang out with Elizabeth's family and extended family for birthday parties, grilling, and fireworks, and spend a solid chunk of time with Joel, Pam, and Gabriel. (note: Prior to this trip I believed that Gabriel only appeared to be the happiest, cutest infant in the history of the world.  Now I believe that he truly is.  It's not a joke.)  We took in a River Bandits game, ate Tropical Sno, played a little Nintendo Wii (I was a first-timer), and generally just hung out.  The driving was monotonous, but not too terrible (as good, I suppose, as a trip through eastern Colorado and all of Nebraska can possibly be).  It was a fantastic trip for us.  Our families all went out of their way to accommodate us and spend time with us, which is very great of them.  We don't get to see any of them enough.

All in all, Elizabeth eased up a little bit on the "I'll never move back to Iowa" rhetoric, and we both plan to give the idea some serious consideration once we get closer to finishing up our studies around here.

I'll be posting some pictures and even a video (assuming I can figure it out) soon.

Hiking

My wife's pretty cool.

Elizabeth and I have been hiking every chance we get, and since we're still pretty new to the area, we tend to choose different parks or different trails almost every time.  Today we were fortunate to have selected a rather magnificent little stretch, and had a fantastic hike.  Along the way, I came to a realization that's been months in the making.  While I tend to get most excited about grand scenic views and big-picture atmosphere of nature, Elizabeth is much more likely to enjoy the little detailed bits of creation.  I like getting to the top of a hill and looking out over the mountains and valleys and rivers and lakes.  I like trying to see how deep into the woods my eyes can look.  She gets a thrill when she spots colorful wildflowers, or when even the smallest of butterflies comes to rest alongside our path.  She pauses frequently to admire the budding pinecones on the trees, or to point out the goofy looking insect that she almost stepped on.  Hiking with Elizabeth is rather refreshing.  I think we both add a little something to the other's experience, and in turn, we each get a slightly fuller picture of our omnipotent creator.

(note: the late post is the result of me not being able to sleep, and my blog winning the debate between writing and reading yesterday's TIME magazine)

Book list

I'm not that bad.

In the 103 days since I started this blog, I've written 23 posts.  That averages out to one post every 4.5 days, or about 22% of the time.

There are some books coming out soon that would be good for you to at least know about, if not read.  Next month Mark Driscoll is publishing a series of short books called "A Book You'll Actually Read."  They include On the Old Testament, On the New Testament, On Who is God?, and On Church Leadership.  Then in September Driscoll is publishing Death by Love.  These are all published by Crossway.

The ESV Study Bible, also produced by Crossway, will be available this fall as well.  There are 8 formats to choose from including hardcover, and a number of different genuine and bonded leathers of various colors.

Denver Seminary New Testament professor, Dr. William Klein, has a new book out from Navpress called Handbook for Personal Bible Study that looks really great.  

Also, if you haven't heard of Christians at the Border yet, you need to read it.  It's written by Denver Seminary's M. Daniel Carroll R. and it's published by Baker.  Dr. Carroll is Guatemalan-American, and he has a unique perspective on the immigration issue that's both timely and biblical.

Finally, I'll mention Timothy Keller's new book, The Prodigal God, published by Dutton, which will be available in Octobor (Keller's recent book, The Reason for God, was fantastic).

Parole?

Watching the news is disturbing.

This morning on the Early Show there was a story about a man who, 22 years ago, was convicted of raping a 13-year old girl.  In the '70s and '80s he was a serial rapist who stalked women while jogging and then raped them, becoming known as the Jogger Rapist.  After his conviction, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.  Now he's up for parole.  Here's the real kicker, and reason why this story completely pissed me off.  The parole board recommended that the serial rapist be paroled, despite REPEATED PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS THAT SHOW HE IS VERY LIKELY TO REPEAT HIS CRIME.  Who is on this parole board, and would they mind if their 13-year old's rapist was let go if there was a 75% chance he'd rape other little girls?

K, that's my rant.

Bookstore an' more

I like it when my friends post new blogs every now and then, because it helps remind me that I have one too.  It also makes me feel bad for the millions of readers who every day hope to find a new blog post here at "Make My Life A Prayer to You" and are almost always let down.

The transition at the bookstore doesn't seem as bad, looking back, as it did at the time.  It was a tough week, no doubt, but now things are going pretty smoothly with the new folks.  The Denver Seminary Bookstore has always been a really great relational place, where knowing customers by name and discussing theology and having good conversation were prized above all else.  Our new management is done by a secular company, so naturally the goal is now more about making money than making relationships.  The biggest fear that I (and my fellow seminarians) had was that this new company would bring in Thomas Kinkade paintings and Precious Moments figurines and "Jesus Loves You" bumper stickers and cross pendant necklaces, turning it into a Christian trinket store rather than a seminary bookstore.  Today my fears were realized, though in a less terrible way than I thought they'd be.  The corporate office has ordered and sent us a good chunk of those kinds of items ("Christian crap," I've heard it called), but it seems like we'll be able to basically tell them that those aren't the kinds of items we want to sell in our store.  If all goes well (and it seems like it might), this will be the last order of its kind.  I feel like I'm really having to step up and  start becoming more aware of new books that are coming out that would sell in our store, so I can inform my manager and, in turn, the corporate office, so that we can continue to provide the wonderful selection that we always have.  The new owners don't know much about theologies and Bible handbooks and systematics, and they've never heard of Bruce Waltke, Mark Driscoll, Rob Bell, Wayne Grudem, John Calvin, Bill Mounce, D.A. Carson, Ben Witherington, N.T. Wright, or Tremper Longman.  Therefore, I'm working extra hard to educate my manager in the "ways of a seminary bookstore."

(note: It's perfectly acceptable not to know who those people are... but if you're going to own and operate an evangelical seminary's bookstore, you should start learning about them.)

In other news, Elizabeth and I are going to be making a trip to Iowa next weekend, and we're STOKED about it.  We're going to get to hang out with our 8-month old nephew who is way cuter than any baby you're related to.  This will only be the third time in his life we've been able to see him.  The first time lasted about 90 minutes, and the second time was for about two days... and he spent 90% of them crying or sleeping.  We haven't seen Joel and Pam since New Year's, and we miss 'em!

Unsettled

I'm not really looking forward to the next couple of days.

The bookstore where I work is coming under new management/ownership in a couple of days. I feel very unsettled about the whole thing.  I personally have a lot of things I need to finish up at the store before I'm really ready for the "transition."  The new folks aren't supposed to be here until Wednesday, but I found out on Friday that they'll be in on Monday and Tuesday doing some preliminary work too, so now I don't know if I'm going to have the time I need to get things straightened up.  On top of all that, I have a ton of questions that have not yet been answered, because communication from those who know the answers has been severely lacking in recent weeks.  I feel jerked around both by my current employer, and the folks that are "taking over" and will be my new employer, because nobody has been upfront and open about sharing information with me or my coworkers.  At a time when my wife and I have almost no money and we're trying to survive the summer, it'd be really nice to feel some security and peace in my job, and I don't.  It's terribly frustrating and I wish I could skip ahead a couple of weeks so I'd know what my job will look like in the near future.

In other news, we watched a really great episode of The Cosby Show today when we got home from church, which made me feel good.  Church this morning was refreshing too, because I was able to chat with some folks that I hadn't seen in awhile.  And our senior pastor was back in the pulpit after a couple of weeks off, which is always good.

Pirates

My mom and my wife are weird.

These two women are sitting here playing Dr. Mario on my Nintendo, and being weird too.  This post is written largely because my mom just started subscribing to my blog and I want to give her something to read.

"Ooooh, shnikey-poopins!" -- Elizabeth

I'm looking for a chance to take a weekend trip to Iowa sometime this summer... and so far nothing's really working out.  I also want to take Elizabeth to Arches National Park in Moab, Utah, but I can't figure out when I can do that either.  If anyone has a couple of weeks of free time, and a few hundred dollars cash to give away, I'm in the market.  I'll make you a good deal.

Krista, I'm really glad that you reply to almost all of my posts.  It makes me feel really good knowing that SOMEONE is reading this.  You're faithful.

Family

My brother is visiting this week.

I love my family.  All of them.  I had the best childhood I think anyone could imagine.  My parents were probably as perfect as parents today can possibly be.  As evidence, let me point out that my folks raised four boys, the youngest of which is merely 5 years younger than the oldest.  Then, as soon as their youngest graduated high school and prepared to move out, they left their entire life behind in Iowa to move to California in order to continue being parents to foster boys.  To date, they have parented something like 14 boys... and they've done impossibly amazing things with all of them.  My brothers have always been the best friends a guy could ask for.  When I was young and we would visit or be visited by mom's family from California, I wondered how in the world a family could end up living so far away from each other.  Now I know.  I miss them all.  All the time.  If time and money were of no consequence, I would choose to hang out with my family every weekend (or close to it).  As it is, I don't get to see them nearly enough... but when I do it's great.  Jase has been here since Sunday.  Even though my wife and I have work and class for about five hours every day, he hasn't yet complained about being bored.  He doesn't even seem bummed about anything (yet).

Mom is flying in late tonight.  We thought she was going to get to bring her youngest foster boy, but she is unable to.  That's okay, though, because my mom is the greatest person in the world.  I'm looking forward to her arrival, even though she's only going to be here for about 30 hours.

So anywho... I just wanted to write a little tribute shout out to my family.  They're fantastic.