Lots of activity

In the last few days I've done pushups, gone bowling, played golf, played baseball, gone skateboarding at a super sweet skate park, gone slalom skiing, slalom snowboarding, and ski-jumping, practiced hitting soccer balls with my head, flew like a bird, ridden a bike, gone for a jog, juggled three balls while standing on one, walked across a tightrope, played tennis, rolled down a river in a bubble, and more that I can't remember right now. Having a Wii is kinda fun. Don't worry, I haven't played it nonstop. And I'm really NOT a gamer of any kind. I've never been into Playstation or XBox or any of the other gotta-have-it video game systems. But Wii is definitely different from those.

One note, though: If you ever get the game Wii Fit, be prepared for a computer graphic on your screen to treat you like a moron if you're at all overweight or lack balance, coordination, or reaction time.

I'm an introvert, and so is Professor Bird. So there.

A blog post from New Testament scholar Michael Bird on his introverted nature can be found here. It's rather funny (as are most things I've read from Bird). My favorite part:

"My personality type is INTJ. Basically, this means that I'm a cold hearted book worm with a super-sized intellect in lieu of a sense of empathy. So I don't really care how you feel, but I know when I'm supposed to pretend to care in order to help someone if they need it. I'm task orientated with a capital "T" and if I'm on a mission just show where to bury the bodies of the people who get in my way."

A Christmas guessing game

Elizabeth and I spent much of Christmas playing with a gift wii got from our parents. Wii really enjoyed using this gift with the whole family. This evening wii're very tired from the workout wii got from using it. Wii are planning to use it quite a bit in the future.

First person to guess what it was wii got wins special Jake-points!

Part 4 is here

On this Christmas morning, here is part 4 of A Christmas Story: From the Beginning to the Beginning of the End.

Part 3...

... of the Christmas story can be found here.

Part 2...

...of Kevin DeYoung's Christmas Story.

The camera has arrived.

Today we got a new toy that I will likely play with for every waking moment until classes start again.

And... here's me playing with it.

A Christmas Story

Part 1 of A Christmas Story: From the Beginning to the Beginning of the End by Kevin DeYoung can be found here. It's totally a cliffhanger. I can't wait for part 2 so I can see what happens! Read it to your kids!

P.S. Does anyone ever follow the links I provide and read the posts I suggest? I'm curious because if no one cares, then I'll (try very hard to) stop posting them.

Why Mary?

The following is a very interesting poem from John Piper on the question, "Why did God choose a girl in Galilee to bear Jesus when his birth was to take place in Bethlehem?"

Why did He choose a northern maid
From Nazareth, who had to trade
Her Galilee for Judah just
To get Messiah where He must
Be born? A strange and roundabout
Procedure for a God, no doubt,
Who values His efficiency
And rules the world from sea to sea!
Why not a girl from Bethlehem?
Well half the girls in town would stem
From David's line. And carpenters
Aplenty there could bear the slurs
And gossip on a virgin got
with child, who blushed and said she'd not
Once kissed her man this whole year past.
Why not? Because God's power is vast,
And in one little virgin birth
His sovereign joy and mighty mirth
In saving us from evil bent
Could never, never rest content.
Instead He turned and set His sight
To spangle Rome with all His might;
And took a girl from Galilee
To magnify His sovereignty.
And made the Roman king conspire
With God, to serve a purpose higher
Than he or any in the realm
Could see—a stroke to overwhelm
A few with faith and cause their heart
To know the truth, at least in part,
That, though God loves efficiency
And rules the world from sea to sea,
He does not go from here to there
By shortest routes to save His fare.
He'd rather start in Galilee,
Then pass a law in Rome, you see,
To get the child down south at length,
And magnify His sovereign strength.
God rules the flukes of history
To see that Micah's prophecy
Comes true. Why did He choose a maid
From Nazareth? Perhaps she prayed
That endless mercy might abound
And take the longer way around.
The mighty mercy we adore
As we light advent candle four.

My Life According to Nouveaux

I took the bait.

Nouveaux is my favorite band of all time. They recorded two albums and a total of 22 tracks (two of them aren't songs, but brief little intros... I used one of them). Since there are 19 questions I didn't have a whole lot of extras to choose from. I still think it turned out pretty well. Enjoy!

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "my life according to (band name)"

Pick your Artist: Nouveaux

Are you a male or a female?
"If Only..."

Describe yourself:
"Red, White, Black & Blue"

How do you feel?
"Hurt So Bad"

Describe where you currently live:
"Across the Miles"

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
"Through Heaven's Fields"

Your favorite form of transportation is:
"All That Glitters"

Your best friend is:
"Simply Beautiful"

You and your best friends are:
"We Believe"

What's the weather like?
"Nice"

Favorite time of day:
"Chasing Shadows"

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called?
"Maybe Tomorrow" (I tend to procrastinate)

What is life to you?
"Wonder"

Your relationship:
"United We Stand"

Your fear:
"Bridge Across the Water"

What is the best advice you have to give?
"You Breathe" (cuz otherwise, you die)

Thought for the Day:
"Some Things Never Change"

How I would like to die:
"Never See the Day"

My soul's present condition:
"Listen"

My motto:
"Holding My Own"

A random thought

This is finals week for Elizabeth and I. Since my only two classes this semester are on Monday, I really only have finals DAY. I know that this is where the rubber meets the road, and I plan to succeed through hard work and mental toughness.

I wish the Cowboys felt the same way. They're apparently not as clutch as me. This afternoon's game is basically a must-win for the Cowboys if they want to hold on to a good chance of making the playoffs. They're losing by a touchdown in the 4th quarter as I write this.

It's hard having more mental toughness than the team you cheer for. Oh well.

Charitable giving

Saw this on the Mint.com blog. Kinda interesting, I suppose. Sorry that it cuts off on the sides. For the whole thing, click HERE.

budget planner – Mint.com

How to Write a Country Song

I really enjoy most country music. I still found this video pretty hilarious.

IBS (No, it's not that disease you might be thinking of)

Every student at Denver Seminary is required to take a class on the Epistles and Revelation, and every student at Denver Seminary while taking that class must write what's called an Inductive Bible Study. It focuses on a Bible passage (usually 8-12ish verses) and it consists of the following components: Literary context of the passage, Historical-cultural background, Word studies, Grammar studies, Major interpretive problems, Analytical Outline, Interpretive Summary, and Application. Many students dread the "IBS" not because of it's length (15ish pages), but because of the depth and intensity of the work required.

I wrote on 1 Peter 5:1-11. The following is the scoresheet that my professor, Dr. Klein, used to grade my paper. I hope it's big enough for you to read, because I'm trying to brag about how well I did, and if you can't see what scores I received it won't do any good at all (I think if you click on it it'll get bigger).

If anyone's interested in reading my paper (you know, if you're nerdy like that), I'd be happy to let you. (I'll be honest, I've not often been truly proud of papers I've written either in college or seminary, but I really did put the effort into this one, and it was very rewarding not just because of the grade but because of everything I learned about this passage in the process! Hopefully I'll feel this good about my thesis once I write one.)

An important video that I hope you'll watch

I've mentioned Matt Chandler on this blog before, and I've even posted a video (or two?) of him speaking. He pastors a church in Dallas called The Village Church. On Thanksgiving morning Matt had a seizure and was taken to the hospital where doctors found a tumor in his brain. He had surgery this past Friday to remove the tumor. Everything seems to have gone well (Matt's conscious and doing fine), but pathology tests from the tumor aren't back yet.

Matt recorded a video message a couple of days before his surgery last week that I think you all ought to watch. I'd embed the video (because I know that way it's more likely you'll watch it!), but I don't think I can (or at least I can't figure out how to).

So here's the link. Click on it. Watch the video. Pray for the Chandler family. The guy seems pretty amazing. Praise the Lord!

Current events

Tiger Woods hit a fire hydrant. The world couldn't stop talking about it. Now it's come out that he's apparently had an affair. That's too bad. I'll be praying for him and his family. But I won't be reading every Tiger-related headline or seeking to know every bit of gossip I can about the situation.

A couple snuck into a State Dinner at the White House. A couple of weeks ago wouldn't that have sounded like the most ridiculous sentence in the world? Today I read that some of the secret service agents on duty that night might get fired. I should hope so! I mean, I think secret service agents ought to be respected and thanked for what they do, and I don't like it when people get fired... but if they don't DO what they're paid to do and you're their boss why wouldn't you fire them? Football coaches get fired if they don't win games. I would guess that firefighters would get fired (no pun intended) if they failed to put fires out. If your job is to keep uninvited guests out of the White House and they end up shaking hands with the President of the United States, you should probably not have that job anymore.

Funny Guys

My friend Lisa told me I would love Rhett and Link. So I Googled them. Found out that they're the guys who did this video (which you've probably seen before) in which they sing their drive-thru Taco Bell order to the tune of a folk song.

They also sing The Facebook Song which you can watch here:

They have tons more, which you can see by checking out the videos at their website.