JAB

London, Day 1

2009-08-29T15:48:00.008-05:00

Day one's main job was staying awake until some semblance of a normal bed time. Got to London Heathrow about 40 minutes early. Got through customs. Rode train to Paddington Station. Took taxi to hotel. Checked bags (room not ready). Walked around a bit. Joel climbed onto lion statue in Trafalgar Square. Ate some food. Walked around some more. Listened to a brass band play in St. James' Park (John Williams selections, Beatles selections, James Bond themes, ...). Finally checked into the hotel. Went swimming w/ Joel at hotel pool. Went and ate a quick dinner. Got back to room. Did some iChat with Rebecca and the girls (joined by Nattie after he woke up from his nap). Got Joel into bed. Updated photos on Facebook. Posted this blog. And headed to bed. Busy day. More fun tomorrow!

Fast

2009-08-20T22:34:00.000-05:00

Now that is fast.

Greenland

2009-08-08T13:41:00.000-05:00

Pardon the pun, but Greenland looks like a very cool place.

Tolkien Stuff

2009-08-02T15:41:00.002-05:00

A few days ago, Justin Taylor compiled a bunch of audio clips of J.R.R. Tolkien reading and talking about The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (found here). If you are interested in his tales of Middle Earth you should listen to them.

Funny

2009-07-23T23:58:00.001-05:00

Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl

2009-07-16T23:46:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite authors lately is N. D. Wilson. His latest is Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl. I'm only part way through it, but it is quite good thus far.

The whole family liked his Leepike Ridge. I enjoyed 100 Cupboards, but the kids thought it was getting bit creepy toward the late middle part of the book (and it was a bit creepy, but in a really good book kind of way). I haven't gotten around to reading the second book in the 100 Cupboards series, Dandelion Fire, yet, but should make it to it before the end of the year. We even like his retellings of Bible stories (The Dragon and the Garden and In the Time of Noah)

Anyway, check out his stuff. He has an Amazon page. There is also a Q&A with him over at Powell's Books website.

Stewardship

2009-07-16T23:23:00.001-05:00

Here is a link to a wonderful article on stewardship and The Lord of the Rings (hard to beat a deal like that!).

Enjoy.

Church: Love It, Don't Leave It

2009-07-16T22:47:00.002-05:00

I posted a link to this article over on my Facebook page, but think it is good enough to post here as well.

Vacation Ideas

2009-07-16T22:22:00.001-05:00

It is a little late for this year, but I think several of the places on this list look very nice for a vacation.

Hello.......

2009-07-16T21:39:00.003-05:00

Hi there!

I am going to start blogging again. I've only been away for 6 months, so it may take some time for me to get back into the swing of things.

Thunder Game w/ Joel

2009-01-10T11:45:00.002-06:00

Joel & I went to the OKC Thunder game on Friday night with some friends. It was a good game, and through work I got some very good seats.

(view from seats)

After the game, Joel got to take a free throw on the court.

I missed a picture of the actual shot because the usher moved in front of me to direct the kid before Joel off the court (ARGH!!!!!) Anyway, I didn't have a real camera so I had to use my phone. So they aren't great pics, but they are better than nothing.

Lord's Supper Frequency

2009-01-08T21:58:00.002-06:00

As a Presbyterian, who attends a church that has Communion each week, I thought this article by a Baptist seminary professor to be very interesting.

2008 Reading List - Final thing....Really!

2009-01-08T11:42:00.001-06:00

I just noticed that I forgot a book on my list for 2008. And the really bad thing is that it was my favorite book of the year. I even had it on my list. I just didn't type it when I did the post. Anyway, here it is:

Gospel & Kingdom by Graeme Goldsworthy

Revised Maslow's Hierarchy

2009-01-06T21:22:00.002-06:00

I read a post about Maslow's hierarchy of needs today. I didn't know about the revised version. Interesting stuff.

2008 Reading List (Final)

2009-01-05T23:45:00.003-06:00

Ok. Here is the 2008 reading list. As mentioned, it is not impressive. Last year was a very strange year, but really I think I was just lazy for large chunks of the year.

The Gospel for Real Life - Jerry Bridges (re-read)
Don't Waste Your Life - John Piper
Above All Earthly Pow'rs - David Wells
The Bruised Reed - Richard Sibbes
Understanding Four Views of Baptism - John H. Armstrong, ed.
Family Driven Faith - Voddie Baucham
Worldliness - C.J. Mahaney, ed.
Book 2 of Calvin's Institutes
Evening in the Palace of Reason - James R. Gaines
100 Cupboards - N.D. Wilson
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

w/ Caitlyn & Elia for their school reading logs:

2 or 3 of the Little House on the Prairie books
The Borrowers - Mary Norton
Around the World in 80 Days - Jules Verne
probably a few other shorter books that didn't come to mind

Modesty in Children

2009-01-03T22:08:00.002-06:00

Here is an article on the struggle with instilling modesty in your children when the surrounding culture is working against you. Very important and very difficult to master.

2009 Reading Goals

2009-01-02T20:47:00.004-06:00

I was going to put the list of what I read in 2008 up first (not that impressive), but I left the sheet with the list at work. Since I can't remember them for sure I'll wait until I get the list.

Anyway, here are the books that I would like to read this year.

Bible (using ESV Study Bible schedule) - I didn't use a reading plan last year so I didn't make it through. So to help head off that I'm using a schedule.
Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (beginning 1/5 using the Ref21 schedule) - read books 1 and most of 2 over the last two years. Maybe a schedule will help me get through the whole thing
A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards by George Marsden - read his big biography of Edwards a couple of years ago. Good stuff.
Spiritual Depression by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Parts of Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics - got them for Christmas.
Don't Stop Believing by Michael E. Wittmer
The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy
The Reason for God by Tim Keller - was planning on reading it in 2008, but didn't get around to it.
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen
God in the Dock by C.S. Lewis
To the Rising Generation by Jonathan Edwards

New Year

2009-01-01T22:50:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!

It is the end of the first day of 2009. Hope your year has started off well. Mine was pretty good.

I'll be putting my list of 2008 books read and goals for 2009 reading up tomorrow. I don't have my lists with me so instead of trying to recreate them from memory, I'll just put them up tomorrow.

If you're going to be up for a little bit go here for a little reading.

Well, I'll have my lists up tomorrow.

Something to Think About

2008-12-25T16:17:00.001-06:00

Go take a look at this comic.

A Little Light Reading

2008-12-25T16:06:00.000-06:00

Here's what I got for Christmas.

Cait Talks

2008-12-25T15:42:00.003-06:00

Here is a video of Caitlyn being silly for Joel's camera (Joel is providing the voice of "Mom"). My parent's got them (and Elia and eventually Nathanael) a Wii for Christmas. Anyway, I thought it was funny. It ends abruptly because the camera's batteries decided to run down.

Pandora

2008-11-28T09:09:00.004-06:00

I know I'm only ridiculously behind on finding this, but check out Pandora. It is internet radio that lets you pick an artist or song and finds similar music for you to listen to. It is great, and its free! I found it because of the iPhone application for it (which works really well) and worked backward to the desktop version. Anyway, it is worth a look.

Read It

2008-11-07T09:54:00.001-06:00

This morning's Of First Importance quote was good.

http://firstimportance.org/2008/11/07/checkmate/

A Few Brief Thoughts on the Election

2008-11-05T09:18:00.002-06:00

I purposely avoid politics on my blog (lately it seems I've been avoiding posting!), but I think last night's results deserve a short response.

1.) I do not agree with the political views of Barack Obama on pretty much anything, BUT the fact that he won is impressive. For anyone to win the presidency is an accomplishment of immense proportions. But for a non-white candidate to win is a milestone that will hopefully help ease and possibly start to heal some of the racial and ethnic strife that has been a part of the American political landscape for the last century and a half.

2.) Even though I do not agree with President-elect Obama, I will pray for him and his administration. I will pray for wisdom. I will pray for sound judgment on the issues that will be put before him. I will also pray God would bless him.

3.) BECAUSE I do not agree with President-elect Obama, there are things I will be praying that God would frustrate for him. For example, his support for abortion has been shown to be extreme, and I will pray that God will put up all kinds of roadblocks to slow his support of this atrocity.

4.) It is so easy to get wrapped up in the political events and forget that no matter who wins elections it is God that reigns. He is the one who lifts up and brings down nations. He is the one who makes the sun shine and rain fall on the righteous and the unrighteous alike. So no matter who is president, my hope is in the Lord.

So, now that I've said that, back to regular programming.

Joel's First OSU Football Game

2008-11-01T20:58:00.001-05:00

My friend Daniel and I got to take Joel to his first OSU football
game. The Pokes obliged by beating Iowa State 59 to 17.

Inactive Blog?

2008-10-09T09:47:00.001-05:00

I have not abandoned blogging. I've been busy with other things, and also struggling to figure out what I want to say (and how to say it).

I'll be back soon, and should be as boring and rambling as ever.

Desiring God Conference

2008-09-27T17:43:00.002-05:00

They have started posting the audio from the sessions at the Desiring God conference I'm at (click on the title to the post to go to them).

Anyway, here is a question asked by Bob Kauflin that I think is worth some thought.

"If the teaching in your church were limited to the content of the songs sung, how well taught would your church be?"

Football Update

2008-09-05T23:31:00.002-05:00

I meant to take some pictures on Tuesday night at Joel's football game, but I forgot my camera. It turns out it was a good thing. It POURED down rain. By the end, we were all soaked. My camera would have been ruined. So, my dad is supposed to be going to next week's game, and should have some pictures (weather permitting).

Catching Up

2008-09-01T18:27:00.000-05:00

I'm getting pretty bad about not updating this thing.

I'm at Joel's flag football practice. Their first game is tomorrow
night. I'll try to remember to get a picture or two.

School is back full steam, and Joel, Cairlyn & Elia seem to like their
classes. Rebecca and Nathanael seem to be adjusting to the quiet (well
as quiet as a 2 yr old will let things get).

Work has been on perpetual crazy, but hopefully things will start to
settle down.

I want to recommend Gospel & Kingdom by Graeme Goldsworthy. He does a
good job of showing why and how Christians should interact with the
Old Testament. Good stuff... and an easy read too!

That should do it for now. I may have more later.

The Gospel

2008-08-12T10:26:00.002-05:00

What is the gospel? Pick any ten Christians and ask them this question and you will probably get ten different answers. Perhaps none of them will be wholly wrong, but the difference will suggest a certain confusion.Take two extremes to illustrate. The liberal Christian often stresses the humanity of Jesus. Jesus was a good man, in fact the only truly good man. The gospel of the good man must be reduced to some kind of example to follow, a demonstration inviting us to try to do likewise. There is obviously some truth in this view. On the other hand the evangelical often stresses the divinity of Jesus. The Christ is the supernatural Son of God who is alive today in the hearts of believers. The gospel of the divine Christ tends to be one of the supernaturally changed life. And there is obviously some truth in that.

Let us be clear on this point. To suggest that these two views are extremes containing some the of the truth is not in any way at all to propose that we need a balance or a middle road which recognizes a little of each extreme. It is rather an invitation to come to grips with the biblical perspective.

Essentially the gospel is a declaration of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, rather than (as is often implied) what God does in the believer, although we may not separate the two. It is the objective historical facts of the coming of Jesus in the flesh and the God-given interpretation of those facts. When Peter preached the gospel at Pentecost he was quick to divert attention from what God had done in the apostles by the giving of the Holy Spirit, and to concentrate on the facts concerning Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 2:14-36).

The facts are those of the incarnation, of the perfect life of Jesus of Nazareth, and of his dying and rising from the grave. The interpretation of the facts is that this took place 'for us men and for our salvation'. In these two simple statements of fact and interpretation we sum up the breath and depth of biblical revelation.

In referring to the birth of Jesus as incarnation we take seriously the biblical assertion that this was no mere man, nor even a man with some divine qualities. The baby in the manger was at one and the same time, in one and the same person, both Son of God and son of man - both fully divine and fully human; both God and man. Without the recognition that Jesus Christ was truly God and truly man we cannot maintain the gospel as good news nor as the power of God for salvation. This is why belief in the incarnation is not merely a theoretical matter. The gospel is saying that, what man cannot do in order to be accepted with God, this God himself has done for us in the person of Jesus Christ. To be acceptable to God we must present to God a life of perfect and unceasing obedience to his will.

The gospel declares that Jesus has done this for us. For God to be righteous he must deal with our sin. This also he has done for us in Jesus. The holy law of God was lived out perfectly for us by Christ, and its penalty was paid perfectly for us by Christ. This living and dying of Christ for us, and this alone is the basis of our acceptance with God.

Only the God-Man Jesus Christ could both live the true sinless human life and rise victorious over death after paying the penalty for man's sin. We cannot understand how the one person, Jesus Christ, contained two distinguishable yet inseparable natures. No more could the apostles understand it, yet they were driven to accept the fact as integral to the gospel. ...

To sum up: the gospel is what God has done for us in Christ for our salvation. And as the two natures of this Christ must be distinguished, so also we must distinguish what God does for us and what God does in us. Likewise, as we must not separate the two natures of Christ, neither must we separate the gospel from the fruit of the gospel. It is by the gospel that we are born again (1 Peter 1:23-25), it is the gospel that evokes true faith (Romans 10:17), and it is the gospel which produces the sanctified or Spirit-filled life (Colossians 1:5-6) (1).

(1) It will be seen from this that the mystery of the incarnation is of the same order as the mystery of the Trinity - three persons, one God. This is to be expected if Jesus is the supreme revelation of the Triune God. Furthermore, just as we must distinguish but not separate the two natures of Christ, so also we must distinguish but not separate the three persons of the Godhead. To rightly distinguish is to express the unity of the three without confusing them. Thus we must not confuse the Son with the Spirit, not the work of the Son with the work of the Spirit. Hence the need to be clear about the distinctions between God's work for us in the Son, and God's work in us by the Spirit.

-- Graeme Goldsworthy, Gospel & Kingdom, p. 105-108

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-07-25T21:08:00.002-05:00

Today is my birthday. It was a good day. I took the day off work.

Rebecca and I went to see The X-Files. It was ok. It was missing something. I was a little nervous about it because the show had been off for so long when they finally got started on the movie. Anyway, there were glimpses of the stuff that made the show good, but it didn't really feel like it had a story that needed telling (if that makes sense).

Well, I'm going to have some more stuff to post later, but I have to get Joel to actually go to bed sometime soon. He finished a book this evening. Then he was playing Hot Wheels with Nathanael (who is affectionately referred to as Nattie, but I still end up calling him Nathanael most of the time).

The girls are already in bed. They gave me some very nice hand-made birthday cards this morning (Caitlyn's was more of a poster!).

Anyway, on my birthday, I have been thinking quite a bit about the ways that God has blessed me. I have a wonderful family. My wife and children are greater blessings than I deserve. And that is just a small sampling of the list.

Well, I'm going to harass Joel a bit, and get him off to bed. I'll try to remember to post something else later.

Happy Birthday!

2008-07-17T13:00:00.000-05:00

Happy 2nd birthday to Nathanael! He enjoyed his cupcake and ice cream
at the OKC Zoo this morning. I'm still not sure how Rebecca kept him
still long enough for the lady to paint the balloon on his cheek.

Happy Birthday John Calvin

2008-07-10T22:50:00.001-05:00

Today is John Calvin's 499th birthday. John Piper had a post with an interesting appraisal of his pulpit ministry.

Whiter Than Snow

2008-07-05T22:44:00.003-05:00

I just started the new book by Paul Tripp, Whiter Than Snow. It is a series of meditations on Psalm 51. While I'm only a few chapters into it, I have appreciated it a great deal. Follow the link to Crossway's site, and you can read the Intro and first 4 meditations. Good stuff.

The Early Church by Henry Chadwick

2008-06-24T23:57:00.001-05:00

On Monday, I purchased a book, The Early Church by Henry Chadwick. I was on my lunch break, and had been planning on getting it for awhile. Anyway, later that afternoon, I came across this item.

Colossians 2:6-7

2008-06-15T14:08:00.003-05:00

Today's sermon was on Colossians 2:6-7. One of the cool things about my iPhone is that I can look up neat stuff easily. So today I looked up Colossians 2:6-7 in Greek and followed along (in an extremely rusty manner). Anyway, zhubert.com is a very handy Greek website.

So Long Moses

2008-06-01T14:18:00.002-05:00

Of First Importance

2008-06-01T14:00:00.001-05:00

Here is a website that has a daily quote that is Gospel centered in nature. I found it early last month and have enjoyed reading the quotes. Now that I am updating my blog again, I thought I would share it.

May?

2008-06-01T07:45:00.002-05:00

Wow. One post for the month of May. It was a busy month, but one post!

Let's see. The kids finished their school year. They all did well. Now they can "relax" for the summer, and get ready for 4th, 2nd, and Kindergarten in the Fall.

I've mildly gone crazy with my reading. I'm up to 8 books right now. I may have to drop some to actually make progress.

Well, I'm off to church in a little bit, so I'm going to grab some breakfast. I'll try to get another post in this month.

Prairie Wind Photos

2008-05-05T19:39:00.002-05:00

Here is a link to my dad's photography/digital art. He participated in the Edmond Arts Festival this past weekend (his first arts festival). The website is a work in progress, but it should give you an idea about his stuff.

Joel's Baseball Update

2008-04-25T13:03:00.003-05:00

At last night's game, Joel's baseball team did something they hadn't done yet this season. They won. They all played well. The hitting came along nicely. They started making plays in the field. AND the pitching was much improved. Overall, it was a good game. It was combined with the other team having a rough night, but that could have been said for several of Joel's other games. Anyway, Joel is doing well. He's getting a lot of walks. He got hit by a pitch during their last game, so he was a bit jumpy last night, but 3 walks and 3 runs scored aren't bad.

PH Article

2008-04-24T23:14:00.004-05:00

The Edmond Sun ran an article about the kid's school. Good reading. And..... great pictures! The Pre-K picture has an adorable little 4 year old that I think is pretty special (she's the first one on the left). Then there is a picture of a handsome young man that is making me feel older by the minute (but I don't hold it against him). Caitlyn was disappointed that she didn't end up in one of the pictures, but there's always next year (and she was in one for an article last year).

Sudoku

2008-04-16T23:22:00.003-05:00

I hadn't intended to be away for so long, but busyness, mild depression, sleepiness, and general apathy toward blogging conspired to keep me away, but I'm back (for now).
-------------------

Most of you have probably heard of the numbers game called sudoku. Anyway, I bought Rebecca a sudoku book for our trip to Florida last summer. She's worked on them off and on, and would probably admit to being mildly hooked on them. Speed ahead to a couple of weeks ago. She's working on one and Joel and Caitlyn (at different times) get interested in what she's doing. So now we have Rebecca, Joel and Caitlyn working on sudoku in their spare time (translation: not really all that often, but enough for me to find it humorous).

A few times the kids have even been freakishly good at them. Kid: that box should be a 7. Reb: Why? Kid: Because this one over here is a 3, and that means that this other one is a 2, so that one has to be a 7.......

Long story short, the local bookstore had some sudoku books on sale cheap, so now Joel and Caitlyn have sudoku puzzle books in their backpacks for school. Joel's even gotten another student hooked on them as well (all of this school time sudoku occurs during recess).

You can play it online over at Web Sudoku.

C.J. Mahaney - The Resurrection of Jesus

2008-03-25T22:29:00.003-05:00

Batter Up

2008-03-25T09:27:00.002-05:00

Joel had his first baseball game this spring last night. He's still not thrilled that they are the Yankees (they are the "evil empire" after all), but he's happy to be playing.

Children & Easter

2008-03-22T15:42:00.002-05:00

Here is an article about children's Sunday school curriculum for Easter by Russell Moore. Here's a quote.

"The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is the Gospel. That's the first word. If we cannot speak of that, we would be better off not speaking of Jesus at all, rather than presenting another Christ, one who meditates but does not mediate, who counsels but is not crucified, who is accessible but not triumphant over sin and death."

I'm Sorry I'm a Jerk.....

2008-03-22T14:53:00.002-05:00

I was in an irritable mood this week. Anyway, yesterday morning, I read this blog post, and was smacked upside the head.

Hilary Hahn and Natalie Zhu Play Mozart Violin Sonata K.301 2nd Movement (Allegro)

2008-03-22T14:51:00.000-05:00

Tim Keller @ Google

2008-03-22T14:45:00.001-05:00

Bach: Sonata No 1 for Violin Solo - Presto

2008-03-15T10:44:00.000-05:00

In The Hall of The Mountain King

2008-03-14T20:44:00.001-05:00

100 Cupboards (second post)

2008-03-13T17:33:00.001-05:00

100 Cupboards (second post)

I've been swamped, but I finished 100 Cupboards Monday evening. I liked it a lot. It was the right amount of creepy. It is kind of hard to talk about without ruining plot points. Anyway, I recommend it.

I will encourage Joel to give it another shot this summer. He's been sick recently and as a result more tired lately. So, once he's rested and recovered I think it won't freak him out as much.

The Work of Christ

2008-03-09T14:42:00.005-05:00

"See the gracious way [Jesus] executes his offices. As a prophet, he came with blessing in his mouth, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit' (Mt 5:3), and invited those to come to him whose hearts suggested most exceptions against themselves, 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden' (Mt 11:28). How did his heart yearn when he saw the people 'as sheep having no shepherd' (Mt 9:36)! He never turned any back again that came to him, though some went away of themselves. He came to die as a priest for his enemies. In the days of his flesh he dictated a form of prayer unto his disciples, and put petitions unto God into their mouths, and his Spirit to intercede in their hearts. He shed tears for those that shed his blood, and now he makes intercession in heaven for weak Christians, standing between them and God's anger. He is a meek king; he will admit mourners into his presence, a king of poor and afflicted persons. As he has beams of majesty, so he has a heart of mercy and compassion. He is the prince of peace (Isa. 9:6). Why was he tempted, but that he might 'succour them that are tempted' (Heb. 2:18)? What mercy may we not expect from so gracious a Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5) who took our nature upon him that he might be gracious? He is a physician good at all diseases, especially at the binding up of a broken heart. He died that he might heal our souls with a plaster of his own blood, and by that death save us, which we were the procurers of ourselves, by our own sins. And has he not the same heart in heaven? 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?' cried the Head in heaven, when the foot on earth was trodden on (Acts 9:4). His advancement has not made him forget his own flesh. Though it has freed him from passion, yet not from compassion toward us. The lion of the tribe of Judah will only tear in pieces those that 'will not have him rule over them' (Lk. 19:14). He will not show his strength against those who prostrate themselves before him."

-- Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed, p. 8-9

100 Cupboards

2008-03-08T19:45:00.003-06:00

After reading Leepike Ridge to the kids last year, we were looking forward to N.D. Wilson's next book, 100 Cupboards. It came out, we got it, and finally started reading it. All was going well, they were enjoying it. One night, I read a few chapters ahead. Warning lights went off. There is a scene that I thought would freak Caitlyn and Elia out, so no more 100 Cupboards for them. Joel, being a bit older, kept reading. I didn't think it would get to him. I was wrong. The other night he got there... freak out ensued... he's not reading it any more. I'm going to finish it (when I get a chance). Joel & Caitlyn are strange (I mean that in a loving way!). It is hard to figure what will scare them. Anyway, after I finish it I'll be able to tell Joel if he should finish it or not.

Anyway, now I'm reading By the Shores of Silver Lake to the girls, and Joel is reading A Child's History of the World (which is ok after you get past the first chapter).

Tim Keller Interview

2008-03-07T15:21:00.000-06:00

Luther Quote

2008-03-06T23:56:00.003-06:00

There are certain people that are quotable. I think of the likes of Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, Will Rogers, etc. In church history and theology a man that is frequently quotable is Martin Luther. Anyway, go to this blog and check out the Luther quote on "nagging wives".

The post was followed up with another with Luther commenting on family life that was not as humorous, but still worth reading.

Pray for Heritage Presbyterian Church

2008-03-05T13:11:00.001-06:00

Pray for Heritage Presbyterian Church

Please pray for our church. In the last two weeks, our assistant pastor has resigned, and today our senior pastor resigned. It is a big mess, that time and propriety demand I not go into, but needless to say we are going to need prayer. So I would say pray for the session & our associate pastor to have wisdom and strength during this chaotic time.

Later.

The Constancy of Christ's Love

2008-03-02T21:52:00.003-06:00

"The whole chain [of God's love] so holdeth, that all the creatures in heaven and earth cannot break a link of it. Therefore never doubt of continuance, for it holds firm on God's part, not thine. God embraceth us in the arms of his everlasting love, not that we embraced him first. When the child falleth not, it is from the mother's holding the child, and not from the child's holding the mother. So it is God's holding of us, knowing of us, embracing of us, and justifying of us that maketh the state firm, and not ours; for ours is but a reflection and result of his, which is unvariable."

-- Richard Sibbes, The Works of Richard Sibbes, vol 6, p 439 (quoted in Beeke & Pederson, Meet the Puritans, p. 540)

OSU Rocks!

2008-02-29T11:21:00.000-06:00

Caitlyn gave me her latest popsicle stick creation.

Ampersand EP

2008-02-17T20:20:00.002-06:00

I really like the music of Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken. So it is nice to see they have finally put out an album together (actually an EP). Anyway, go check it out at the website. I have enjoyed listening to it several times this weekend.

The Reason For God

2008-02-17T14:27:00.003-06:00

Go check out the website for Tim Keller's new book, The Reason For God. I've listened to most of the sermons that are available for download from the site, and am looking forward to reading the book. (It should get here Thursday, due to a shipping issue which resulted in it taking 7 days instead of 3.)

Ouch

2008-02-15T18:10:00.000-06:00

All I can say is "ouch".

Strange Maps

2008-02-11T23:46:00.001-06:00

I like maps. This blog has "strange maps" (hence its name). It also has some very interesting maps.

Did You?

2008-02-05T16:03:00.000-06:00

Cheerwine

2008-02-02T21:45:00.000-06:00

Cheerwine is a cherry soft drink from North Carolina. My dad is from NC, so we would get it when we were visiting his family. Now, thanks to the internet, my dad is able to order some. So yesterday they dropped off some.

Okie Noodling

2008-01-29T22:28:00.000-06:00

I've been home sick for two days (feeling much better this evening). This morning Rebecca and I watched an interesting documentary titled Okie Noodling. It was kind of like watching a train wreck. Fascinating, but really not what you want to see.

I know someone who goes noodling, and listening to him talk about it was enough to convince me that I'm not cut out for it. After watching the documentary, I not sure I will go into the lakes and rivers of Oklahoma again (or anywhere else).

Anyway, if you get a chance to watch it, it is interesting. Check out the website. It has info about the documentary, the tournament in Pauls Valley, and merchandise.

If you need more information about noodling read this.

Power of the Word, and Its Neglect

2008-01-19T20:58:00.000-06:00

For it is certainly the case that the Word of God, read or preached, has the power to enter the innermost crevices of a person's being, to shine light in unwanted places, to explode the myths and deceits by which fallen life sustains itself, and to bring that person face to face with the eternal God. It is this biblical Word which God uses to bring repentance, to excite faith, to give new life, to sustain that life once given, to correct, to nurture, and guide the Church (Jer 23:29; II Tim 3:16; Heb 4:12; Jas 1:18). The biblical Word is self-authenticating under the power of the Holy Spirit. This Word of God is the means by which God accomplishes his saving work in his people, and this is a work that no evangelist and no preacher can do. This is why the dearth of serious, sustained biblical preaching in the Church today is a serious matter. When the Church loses the Word of God it loses the very means by which God does his work. In its absence, therefore, a script is being written, however unwittingly, for the Church's undoing, not in one cataclysmic moment, but ina slow, inexorable slide madue up of piece by tiny piece of daily dereliction.

David Wells, Above All Earthly Pow'rs, 8-9

Joel's Reading

2008-01-19T20:47:00.000-06:00

I have been meaning to mention a couple of the books Joel has read or is reading.

Right before New Year (shows how long I've procrastinated on this post), Joel finished reading the 4 volume set, The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer. I'm not exactly sure when he started them, but I think he ended up reading them all over the course of 2007. He does a reading log for school, and he read them for the bulk of 2nd and the first half of 3rd grade.

Now he is almost finished with a set of books we got him for Christmas, The Wilderking Trilogy by Jonathan Rogers.

And they are almost done with the Chronicles of Narnia in his class at school (they just started The Silver Chair).

The boy is a reader.

Sorry

2008-01-19T10:16:00.000-06:00

Sorry I've been away for so long. I've been sooooooo busy. I'll have more stuff later today (I'm getting ready to go in to work for a few hours), but that is later.

Elia's Ninja Shrek

2008-01-08T23:16:00.000-06:00

2008 Reading List (Part 2)

2008-01-08T22:55:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple more books for 2008.

Above All Earthly Pow'rs by David Wells (w/ men's group at church)
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson (w/ youth at church - even if I don't make it to the discussions!)

2008 Reading List

2008-01-01T22:47:00.000-06:00

Here is my list for 2008. Same as every year, I may or may not read them, and I will read other stuff since I have several hundred books I would like to read. So here goes...

Institutes of the Christian Religion - John Calvin (finish)
The Story of Christianity - Justo Gonzalez (hold over from last year)
Biblical Theology - Geerhardus Vos (hold over)
The Reason for God - Tim Keller (comes out in February)
100 Cupboards - N. D. Wilson (really liked Leepike Ridge last year)
Persuasion - Jane Austen (Rebecca really likes this one, so I'm going to read it)

2007 Reading (the Recap!) - Part 2

2008-01-01T22:46:00.001-06:00

I forgot that I read the 7th Harry Potter book.

2007 Reading (the Recap!)

2008-01-01T15:08:00.000-06:00

These are the books I read in 2007. It is a short list this year. I'll be the first to admit that I am a slow reader, but this year I managed to read slower, and more infrequently than usual.

Future Men - Douglas Wilson
The Unfolding Mystery - Edmund Clowney
A House For My Name - Peter Leithart
Praying at Burger King - Richard Mouw
Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Leepike Ridge - N.D. Wilson (w/ the kids)
Stardust - Neil Gaiman
Coraline - Neil Gaiman
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke

And I didn't finish the whole thing, but I did make it through Book 1 of Calvin's Institutes.

The post with my planned 2007 reading list is here.

I'll have my 2008 list up later. I'm still debating a couple of them.

St. Nicholas

2007-12-24T22:18:00.000-06:00

I read the linked article when it first appeared in World magazine two (?) years ago. I thought it was funny then, and after reading it again on the author's blog I think it still is.

Read it here.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T22:04:00.000-06:00

I didn't have time to get one with Nathanael smiling. I was racing against nap time (and losing).

Christmas Suit

2007-12-23T10:03:00.001-06:00

SciFi Quiz

2007-12-21T20:42:00.000-06:00

	I received 85 credits on The Sci Fi Sounds Quiz How much of a Sci-Fi geek are you?
Guess the Sci-Fi Movie Sounds here Canon powershot

Three Amigos

2007-12-18T19:04:00.000-06:00

Shortly after this was taken bedlam erupted.

I'm a Nerd

2007-12-14T23:21:00.001-06:00

I think I may officially be a nerd. I thought this was funny.

Sleepy Girl

2007-12-08T17:13:00.000-06:00

She said she wasn't tired.

Silly Boy

2007-12-07T20:32:00.001-06:00

Here is another picture of Nathanael. For those that are interested,
it is a North Carolina Tarheels hat.

Humorous

2007-12-05T20:36:00.000-06:00

Holiday Advice: Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford

2007-12-01T22:17:00.002-06:00

UPDATE: Youtube took the video down. It can been seen here.

Office Linebacker

2007-11-27T21:19:00.000-06:00

Here is the inspiration for the Evangelism Linebacker.

Evangelism Linebacker

2007-11-24T21:09:00.000-06:00

The commercial for the 10pm news tonight had a teaser about a story on GodTube. Apparently, some Okie had something to do with the founding of it.

Anyway, this one was entertaining. I have a friend who used to work as a bouncer who thinks he could fill this roll in our church.

Start Them Young

2007-11-23T09:44:00.000-06:00

The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World

2007-11-19T23:06:00.000-06:00

While I was working this past week & weekend, I had a chance to listen to some of the messages from the 2006 Desiring God Conference. The title of the conference was "Above All Earthly Powers: The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World". The taking off point of the conference was the book Above All Earthly Pow'rs: Christ in the Postmodern World by David Wells (what I've read of it is good, but haven't gotten around to finishing it).

Anyway, I listened to David Wells, Tim Keller, and Voddie Baucham's messages. Good stuff! I'm looking forward to listening to the other messages (may be a couple of weeks...when work goes crazy again!).

Funny

2007-11-13T20:48:00.000-06:00

Ball Family Hymnsing, Week 1

2007-11-10T19:25:00.000-06:00

Tonight, we started a new thing. On Saturday evenings, we will spend time after dinner singing hymns in preparation for worship on Sunday morning.

The selections for tonight were:

Come, Thou Almighty King (101 in the Trinity Hymnal)
God Moves in a Mysterious Way (128)
Rejoice, the Lord is King (310)
Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me (499)
Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah, O My Soul (57)
Now Unto Jehovah, Ye Sons of the Mighty (45 - Cyberhymnal has a different tune than the one in the TH)
Holy, Holy, Holy! (100)
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (92)

Caitlyn wanted to sing "My God, My God, O Why Have You Forsaken Me?" (79) based on Ps 22, but Rebecca and I did not know the tune. She apparently found it when looking at hymnals during free time at school.

Fortune Cookie Wisdom

2007-11-09T14:13:00.000-06:00

"Life is full of little decisions - like white or brown rice."

Musical Comedy

2007-11-01T23:43:00.000-05:00

These guys are funny.

She's Going To Get Me

2007-10-31T10:34:00.000-05:00

Sick

2007-10-31T09:54:00.001-05:00

Sorry I have been silent for a while. I have had several things to
post, but I've been working on a sinus infection.

I may get some of them posted this evening.

Funny

2007-10-20T10:10:00.000-05:00

Here is a bit of humorous parody news.

Old Blog

2007-10-20T07:29:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm switching back to my blogger blog (this one). I like the new one over at ballfam.org, but ...

Greek Joel

2007-10-13T23:37:00.000-05:00

Joel's class, which has been studying ancient Greece, held the Olympics at school on Thursday. Joel won the "civilized wrestling" (even though the other two boys in his class are bigger!). Anyway, it sounded fun. I wish I had been able to make it to watch.

OKCCRT

2007-10-06T20:43:00.000-05:00

I went to the second day of the Oklahoma City Conference on Reformed Theology this morning. The speaker this year was Dr. Derek Thomas of RTS-Jackson and First Presbyterian, Jackson.

Today's two talks were on justification, and mortification and vivification.

New Blog

2007-10-02T19:45:00.000-05:00

I've had another blog set up for quite a while, but never got around to moving the posts. Well, I finally got it moved. So you can visit my new blog over at http://www.ballfam.org/blog/. I figured since I was paying for a domain I might as well put something on it.

Anyway, I'm not sure how long I will leave this one up, but I'll leave it long enough to finish some formatting on older posts, and to let my 3 readers have time to update their links.

Joel - Minuet in G

2007-10-02T19:37:00.000-05:00

Go over to Joel's blog to see the video of him playing Minuet in G by Beethoven. He has been working on it at his violin lessons.