mumblety-peg

A Tale of Two Women

2010-05-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

I had to go show an office space my company owns to a prospective tenant this week. Immediately before I showed the space, I went to the office next door to talk to them about keys, janitorial service, etc.

The woman I talked to was named "Shasta". She was 28ish and drop dead gorgeous (if you are into a Barbie kind of good looks)--every one of her features was flawless. She had a picture of a 3 yr old boy on her desk. If the boy wasn't her son, he looked a heck of a lot like her. After talking to her for 10 minutes I got the strong feling she was single--I'm not quite sure why I got that impression so strongly, but the missing wedding ring was only a part of it.

20 minutes later Catherine, the prospective tenant, shows up. She's 55ish and scary looking. She was attractive from about 15 feet away, but when you got up close you could tell she'd had a lot of cosmetic surgery. She looked good if you were into a Michael Jackson/alien sort of look. She kept calling me "honey" and "sweetie" and touching me at every opportunity. I guarantee you that I could have asked this woman I had just met to have a drink with me later and ended up in bed with her. It was just tragic. Through her plastic shell she was exuding loneliness and brokenness and was looking for love in all the wrong places. I got out of there as quickly as I could.

It wasn't until I was driving home that I realized that Catherine and Shasta were the same woman. I would bet anything that the main thing separating them was thirty years. Shasta didn't flirt desperately, but that's because she could turn heads at the drop of a hat. Give her 30 more years of loneliness and she will probably call men "sweety" in a strained attempt to get whatever attention she can.

The American idols of sex and good looks are hell on women.

Flannery Again

2010-03-09T21:57:00.000-06:00

"Mrs. Hopewell had no bad qualities of her own but she was able to use other people's in such a constructive way that she never felt the lack."
From the short story "Good Country People"--one of my all time favorites.

You Have to Love a Good Atheist

2010-03-07T06:45:00.000-06:00

Pet Care by the unraptured.

My favorite quote:

He needs to assure the Rapture crowd that his pet rescuers are wicked enough to be left behind, but good enough to take proper care of the abandoned pets. To resolve that paradox he vets the atheists on two grounds: They must sign an affidavit to affirm their disbelief in God, but they must also clear a criminal background check.

You Have to Love a Good Atheist

2010-03-06T20:51:00.001-06:00

Good Stuff From Touchstone Magazine

2010-02-25T14:45:00.000-06:00

"Sex education is being used to subvert sex; the very term is a camouflage for the sexualization and homosexualization of children. Sex ed is used to attack not only the individual but also the married couple, the husband and wife who together form the procreative parents of the family, which is the irreplaceable foundation of all societies. The very concept of male and female is being deconstructed into a mere “social construct.” The right understanding of marital sexual union is being subverted and replaced with a view of “sex” as any activity between any two (or more) persons that results in orgasmic sensation. The young are groomed for self-destructive promiscuity, with only subsidized condoms to defend their bodies against disease and nothing at all to safeguard their souls."

They are trying to raise the tobacco tax by 778%

2010-02-20T14:30:00.002-06:00

from $2.83 a pound to $24.78 a pound.

Contact your rep now. Mash here to complain.

Just a Great Quote From Groucho Marx

2010-01-12T13:48:00.000-06:00

"Outside of a dog a book is mans best friend. Inside of a dog it is to dark to read."

Wow

2010-01-05T14:02:00.000-06:00

Very rarely to you get this in national television.

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The Problem

2009-12-24T20:31:00.005-06:00

The problem with songs like Faith Hill's "A Baby Changes Everything" (besides being sappy Evangelical sentimentalism) is that they have a "hook". The hook in this work is that you think the song is talking about a modern day teenage girl who has gotten knocked up by her boyfriend. Halfway into the song you realize that it is talking about Mary.

The first time you hear it, you think that. The next 17 times you hear it, you "get it" much, much earlier.

Good Stuff

2009-09-09T21:03:00.000-05:00

An Astonishing Story

2009-08-05T20:27:00.002-05:00

90% of the non sports television I watch is in front of a cardio machine at the "Y". Last week I saw a story about girl strippers/prostitutes in New Jersey. In NJ the age of consent is 16, so 16 year olds can strip and actually charge for sex as long as it's in private (I suppose that means they aren't having it on stage somewhere).

The reporter was obviously trying to pull at the audiences emotions, and actually got personally involved in the piece. She said things such as: "Can you believe men are allowed to ogle, lust after, and even have sex with these girls? It is twisted and sick. I get nauseous thinking about those dirty old men putting their paws on these girls." She went on and on about how demeaning it was to the girls.

First of all, I was floored to hear the "L" word. I have come to believe 1/3 of the American economy is based upon men lusting for women. We don't want to mess with that.

But I also thought that if it is "twisted and sick" to do all that to 16 year olds, is it so different for 18 or 21 year old women? I'm certainly against 16 year olds becoming strippers, but as a culture do we really think we are so morally superior because we require two more years before the ogling, lusting, fondling, and sex? Could we ever get the reporter to admit that the whole sex industry is "twisted and sick", and not just when teenagers are involved?

I doubt it.

I Can Only Imagine

2009-07-30T16:06:00.004-05:00

Lamar Outdoor Advertising (who own most of the billboards in Alabama) refused to rent billboards such as the above. While I appreciate their stance, I also wonder what Christians are saying by such censorship. Are we afraid to imagine a world with no religion?

I would want no part of such a world. We have a hard enough time living up to the commands to love God and love others as we love ourselves. It would be a scary place--a world in which we think "this is it. Eat drink and do what you want to because in 100 years no one will care about anything".

Would you like to be President or molest a small child, have at it because it's all the same in the end. I can buy atheism, but I can't buy the atheism that says, "there is no God, there is no truth, but you shouldn't kill your grandmother for her millions, anyway." Maybe I'm just too thick between the ears, but the relativists' argument that we shouldn't kill or screw(literally or figuratively) each other because society can't survive, holds no water whatsoever. Why should I care if society survives or not? Why should I care about anything?

Was it Sarte that said the only relevant question for modern man was whether or not to commit suicide? I'm sorry to say, Mr. Sarte that if there is no God, even that question doesn't matter in the end.

Imagine a world like that.

Lesson from the farmers market

2009-07-26T17:17:00.001-05:00

It matters not if your corn meal muffins are homemade with fresh hand ground corn and buttermilk made from your neighbor's cow...

if you burn the biscuits.

2009-06-29T10:51:00.001-05:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Christianity--A Crutch for the Weak?

2009-06-25T20:53:00.002-05:00

In college I had a student in Philosophy 101 class who said that Christianity was just a crutch for the weak. Immediately 10 or so other students (myself included) jumped all over her and said that was absolute crap. Many leaders, star athletes, politicians, authors--you could go on and on--were Christians.

I saw a similar quote about Christianity recently, and I had a markedly different response to it. "Yes," I thought, "Christianity is for the weak."

Think about who Christ hung around--prostitutes, tax collectors, fishermen--hardly the high class types.

And Christianity has often made in roads into the poor and downtrodden. Today in India it is the lowest of the castes where Christianity is spreading like wildfire.

And who can come to Christ in strength? We must come in weakness, admitting that we have nothing of our own to bring him, and are nothing without him.

I would probably say that Christianity is the legs of the weak rather than a crutch, but other than that, I have no quibble with the quote.

Thanks Again to Miss O'Connor

2009-06-13T21:15:00.001-05:00

“What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.”

2009-06-12T17:01:00.001-05:00

Special Boy With Freakishly Large Brain Wins Spelling Bee

The Debate is Raging Over Homosexual Marriage

2009-05-27T14:26:00.001-05:00

and well it should be.

As far as threats to American Christendom, however, I think gay marriage pales in comparison to divorce--it's not even close.

I just heard Gene Cheeseneck say

2009-05-17T17:47:00.001-05:00

that the SEC was head and tails better than any other conference.

I dare say.

The Greatest Salesman in the World

2009-05-10T07:58:00.001-05:00

I lost my pocket knife a few weeks ago. I was in a hardware store that had "reconditioned" (they just looked used to me) Swiss Army knives for approximately 1/3 the cost of new. The salesman had two I liked. The main difference between them was that one had a corkscrew and one had scissors. I was leaning toward the corkscrew when the salesman said, "Well, I have taken informal surveys of customers, and most say they only use a corkscrew 3-4 times during the life of the knife, whereas they will use scissors fairly often."

I looked at him in wonder. "To use a corkscrew 3 or 4 times"? I gasped, I gawked. "3 or 4 times"? I regasped and regawked. "My good man, I'll take two of them."

From this month's Touchstone

2009-05-06T13:55:00.000-05:00

The question is not, "Do I love my wife?"

The question is, "Will I love my wife?"

That's good stuff there, gentlemen.

I have been married almost 20 years

2009-04-20T07:20:00.003-05:00

During that time I have carefully guarded my marriage--being careful not to spend much time with other women, doing special things for my wife, and being careful about what films and television shows I watched. I had an argument with a PCA pastor in town because he thought I needed to see the gospel in all kinds of books, movies, and t.v. shows. The problem was that all I could think of was how sexy the leading lady looked, so I thought it best just not to partake.

Well, after all my safeguards, I have fallen. I will probably never act on my infatuation, but it is there, nonetheless. I must confess to my wife, family, and the world at large.

I have a schoolboy crush on Susan Boyle.

I had some posts I wanted to make last week

2009-04-08T20:37:00.002-05:00

and then my wife broke her neck.

It's amazing how priorities can change.

I just heard a song whose refrain was,

"God is great.
Beer is good.
And people are crazy."

That about sums it up.

The Lord's Supper: How Often?

2009-03-30T21:14:00.000-05:00

The Lords Supper How Often

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Humanities Other art artist

Mrs. Archibald Bruce McEachin

2009-03-06T15:01:00.005-06:00

I just recently discovered that my grandfather was a manic depressive alcoholic.

I found years and years of letters he sent my grandmother that sounded like the ravings of a lunatic. When I approached my mother about it she confessed that her mother's life was a living hell. My grandfather drank himself into oblivion nearly every day. He lost all my grandmother's family money and the attorney's office where he worked was going to fire him, but he talked them in to letting him come in every day without pay.

My mother said for years she begged my grandmother to divorce him. She said my grandmother's answer was always the same, "I was married Mrs. Archibald Bruce McEachin, I had my daughter as Mrs. Archibald Bruce McEachin, and I will die Mrs. Archibald Bruce McEachin."

She did die Mrs. Archibald Bruce McEachin seven years ago today. We grandchildren never knew her pain--the daily anguish of life with a husband who kept track of her every minute because he didn't trust her. Her sacrifice allowed us to have a stable and intact family that I have passed on to my children. The ghosts that haunted her lived (and to a much lesser degree still live) in my mother, but they have almost disappeared in my generation, and not a hint of a trace of them survive for my children.

Protestants don't have saints, but if they did I would nominate her immediately. I know that she is praying for her family.

only in the ham

2009-03-03T08:03:00.001-06:00

Langford wants to threaten some local banks

Posted by Thomas Spencer -- The Birmingham News March 02, 2009 3:34 PM

The city should pull its money out of major banks, set up its own credit union or transfer its money into an existing credit union that is actively lending to potential homebuyers in Birmingham, Mayor Larry Langford told a committee of the City Council today.

Langford told council members he was working on a proposal to counter what he claims to be discrimination in lending, and he would provide details soon.

"Today, red-lining has been replaced by a new term: a credit score,"
Langford said. "We need to pull our money out of banks that won't lend in these communities and put them in a lending institution that will."

Roman Catholic Scholar Converts to Evangelical Faith

2009-03-02T09:51:00.001-06:00

Read the News here

i should have my child tested for Mensa

2009-02-21T19:48:00.001-06:00

Intelligence just oozes out of him.

grilling tips

2009-02-20T20:27:00.002-06:00

I have been to one too many dinners where the meat is bordering on terrible. Here are some tips for great grilled meals.

1. Grill to temperature except for fish, steak and hamburgers. Chicken should be 165 in the breast, 175 degrees in the thigh or leg. Pork should be 165 degrees. A pork butt or a beef brisket (for bbq) should be cooked VERY slowly (5-12 hrs) at a LOW temp (225ish) until it gets to 200 degrees.

2. You want as much fat and skin and bones as possible. They all protect and flavor the meat. You can take them off after you grill. Anyone who grills boneless skinless chicken breasts should go at least to grilling purgatory, but more than likely straight to the hot place.

3. Put on sauces at the last.

4. You don't need to boil ribs before grilling.

5. Never press down on hamburgers with your spatula.

6. Use salt and pepper and the freshest herbs you can get to flavor meat. Dizzy Pig makes some great rubs if you want to go the prepackaged route. Dale's is ok for hamburgers or steak.

I'd never noticed

2009-02-15T06:20:00.001-06:00

I opened my New Geneva Study Bible last week and saw on the title page:

"Bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture."

Shouldn't that be the other way around?

Tetzel's Last Laugh

2009-02-10T10:58:00.004-06:00

Rome is re-introducing the practice of plenary indulgences. I guess my aspirations of Rome rolling back Trent (and the attached anathama's on on things Protestant) is Just a Pipe dream.

Or How About This

2009-02-06T13:33:00.002-06:00

St. Valentine icon

2009-02-05T11:39:00.003-06:00

Here is an Icon for St. Valentine's Day

Why are Protestants ok with one icon and not the other

2009-02-04T11:28:00.005-06:00

Our age is an age of visual images. By and large Protestants are ok with the one on the left which represents money, sex and entertainment, and don't even recognize the one one on the right which represents devotion to Christ and his Church.

I am not advocating the veneration of icons by Protestants. Bowing, making the sign of the cross, or kissing are too close to acts of worship for us. It's ironic that we don't worship through those means, but we associate them with acts of worship. I am advocating having icons as church art and in our houses and around us to remind us of Christ and the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us, and are now praying for God's people.

If not icons, what else will combat the onslaught of postmodern images of our culture?

Special apologies to Saint Winnoc for putting his picture next to Britney.

Take on Me (literal version)

2009-02-04T07:56:00.000-06:00

a sign of the end of the remnants of Christian society

2009-02-03T21:28:00.002-06:00

Nearly all children's sports have events on Sunday morning now. This is despicable for any culture that would even pretend to be Christian. Next Sunday we have to make a decision to go to a gymnastics meet for Torie on Sunday morning or walk away from hundreds of dollars and she won't be able to compete in the state meet.

The same Sunday Jef is competing in a marathon Sunday morning at 8.

I need to go read Percy and drink bourbon.

The Apotheosis of Obama

2009-01-25T20:54:00.004-06:00

Congress voted to renovate the interior of the Captial Dome. Above is the proposed changes to the Capital dome.
**thanks to Matt C.***

Papal Bomb

2009-01-23T09:23:00.001-06:00

Here’s what the Pope said last November 11: “Luther's expression ‘sola fide’ is true if faith is not opposed to charity, to love. Faith is to look at Christ, to entrust oneself to Christ, to be united to Christ, to be conformed to Christ . . . That is why,” the Pope said, “in the Letter to the Galatians, St. Paul develops above all his doctrine on justification; he speaks of faith that operates through charity.”

Wow. The Pope admitting Luther was right? Could there be a glimmer of hope of reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants?

These people do good work

2009-01-19T16:19:00.002-06:00

They have a holistic approach to ministry--helping people economically, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. They help train nationals to do much of the work. Wes Baker, the head of PM, talked to our church this Sunday, and I'm more excited about their ministry than I have been any other I've heard about.

You can check them out here:
Peru Mission

Looking for a Few Good Men

2009-01-16T10:28:00.006-06:00

FPC is starting a "Men's Intimacy Group".

Topics include:

1. Male touching--being physical doesn't have to be sexual.

2. Male Emotional Closeness--your marriage will be better off.

3. Intellectual Edification--facilitate male cognitive bonding by learning to think like Thomas Sowell.

4. Spiritual Bonding--Men who pray together, stay together.

5. Total Male Intimacy--put it all together; physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual intimacy between you and "the men in your life". This will revolutionize your existence.

Space is limited. Sign up now, and bring a friend--we want to be sure to have an even number!

Mission Impossible

2009-01-06T14:58:00.002-06:00

It is nigh unto impossible to celebrate Christmas in our society according to the liturgical calendar. Folks celebrate Christmas during Advent (parties, decorations, singing Christmas songs, special services, etc.), and then are sick and tired of Christmas come about 2PM Christmas day. My father actually acted like he had performed an act of ministry to poor children by getting the tree undecorated and out to the street by 3PM on the 25th.

Should we high church types just give up and celebrate the holiday like everyone else? When people told me "happy New Year!" I said, "Yes, and happy 8th Day of Christmas". I felt pretty silly.

Maybe I should just chill out and take what I can get.

Happy Second Day of Epiphany everyone.

First Time in a While

2008-12-27T17:31:00.003-06:00

I did something I haven't done in a long time--I sat down and watched the 5 o'clock news. It was a horrible experience. The stories were so truncated and rushed. It appeared to me that they were trying to cram as much as they could in the 24 minutes that they ended up with a "whole lot of nuthin".

The nightly news was a part of my childhood--I can't figure out if I have grown, or if the news has shrunk.

The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis

2008-12-19T14:30:00.004-06:00

Wow, where to start with this one. Although both Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra both have some slow spots, taken together these are some of the best novels I have read, and are at the top of my "all-time favorite" list along with Lord of the Rings.

If you've never read them, you should. I have for a long time wanted to lead a reading group through them; I may do that still. Most folks I talk to have never read any of them. If you want to really plumb the depths, read Abolition of Man and The Problem of Pain along with them.

Divine Comedy, by Dante

2008-12-19T10:56:00.001-06:00

Another classic I missed in High School. I was surprised by two things: 1) the amount of political commentary throughout, particularly in Inferno and Purgatorio, and 2) how pastoral and encouraging this work was overall. It was very difficult to follow from the audiobook (although the reader did a great job), and I probably missed 75% of the nuances, but in the end I was glad I slugged through it.

Paradise Lost by John Milton

2008-12-19T08:28:00.000-06:00

This was another audiobook (unabridged). I had only been through some of the first sections in High School, and it was good to listen to it all the way through. Very Puritan, but a worthwhile read.

Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI

2008-12-19T08:15:00.003-06:00

I had seen this book blurbed favorably by Joel Garver in "Modern Reformation" of all places. I can honestly say that I haven't read a better, more pastoral, more moving presentation of the life of Jesus.

Benedict XVI, previously Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, has been a well-known theologian in Catholic circles for many years (he was apparently John Paul II's chief theological adviser). The breadth of his understanding of biblical theology, and his thorough critique of much of modern liberal theology, shines through this book; although this book is not "academic" in its focus--it is quite pastoral, and even devotional. I highly recommend it.

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

2008-12-19T08:12:00.001-06:00

This one was an audiobook (unabridged). What a great book--I listened to it twice. A deep, rich presentation of sin, grace, and forgiveness, and the "bigness" of the Church behind it all.

A Word to the Wise

2008-12-17T19:56:00.000-06:00

If you ever decide to keep Advent as the Orthodox do and fast from meat and dairy, and you get very weary of the whole affair, so much so that you think you can't live without a little cheese on your black beans--don't go buy Vegan fake cheese. You will waste $4 and even the dog won't eat it.

Book List To Come

2008-12-03T08:46:00.003-06:00

Someone asked me the other day what books I'd read recently. I couldn't remember. Is that bad?

I decided to start posting a book list here on our nearly-defunct and now Edema-less blog. Why here, and not on Musing? Well, I didn't want poor George to be implicated if some of my reading was considered, er, heretical, particularly as he is in the middle of a job search. He doesn't need my baggage.

So, anyway, I'll try to use this space to keep up with books I've read and my thoughts (however superficial) about them. Feel free to comment.

A little Chesterton for election day...

2008-11-04T11:38:00.002-06:00

The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected

The continuing adventures of Nate Preg

2008-10-24T17:49:00.002-05:00

Nate is at it again

Splitsville

2008-10-14T11:18:00.003-05:00

"A married couple in Cambodia who had 'finally had enough' of each other have gone their separate ways by literally cutting their home in half.

The husband sawed off his half of the house following the split. The wife will stay put with the upright half while her husband has carried away his half to start again on the other side of the village."

_________________________________

At least someone understands divorce.

What type of church are you?

2008-10-13T05:27:00.008-05:00

I was told yesterday that there were 2 types of churches. there are Attractional churches (defined as, those churches which seek to create an physical environment which would attract an unbeliever.) and a Missional (defined as, going out beyond the church walls and being the church in the wider culture). With the inherent self-centeredness of human-nature (and American frontier can do spirit) this sounded so right. I can be the church apart from the assembly of the saints? Sounds good to me. What is my primary need on Sunday? To get trained and equipped to be the church to my neighbor and co-workers. Wow. So...when do we get around to being a covenantal community? Sorry, I'm to busy being the church out here in the Styx.

The term missional is what has been coined a "hurray-word". Ken Myers speaks of the term "Kingdom" in the same way:

“Some Christians today use the word ‘kingdom’ like a magic adjective that sanctifies any noun it touches. We read of ‘kingdom ethics,’ ‘kingdom theology,’ ‘kingdom values,’ ‘kingdom justice,’ ‘kingdom love,’ ‘kingdom caring,’ ‘kingdom priorities,’ and ‘kingdom relationships.’ All of these terms might well be referring to some good thing. But the glib transformation of a noun into an adjective is almost always an alert that jargon has replaced thinking, and one gets the impression that ‘kingdom’ is being used incantationally, as what New Testament scholar R.T. France calls a ‘hurray-word.’ S.H. Travis has written this warning: ‘Indeed, the current danger in some quarters is that a few mentions of the word ‘kingdom’ in any theological document will be enough to guarantee that it be received with uncritical enthusiasm.’”

Am I only limited to 2 types of churches? I am just mulling this but I suspect that there is a 3rd alternative.

How Appropriate

2008-10-10T07:21:00.002-05:00

I read yesterday that Hugh Hefner has purchased the vault next to Marilyn Monroe and arranged to be buried next to her. How touching. Marilyn appeared on the cover of the first Playboy magazine in 1953 and less than ten years later was dead of a drug overdose. Hefner is over 80 years old and regularly has his picture made with blond bombshells that appear much the same as they did 50 years ago--because they are replaced every few years with new ones.

For all the blather about Playboy and its ilk empowering women, Marylin is the prime example of America leaving the super models behind when their sexual prowess has peaked.

Hefner said it was "natural" that he should be buried next to Marilyn. I don't think it's "natural", but I do think it's "fitting" that the consumer should be buried next to the consumed.

Harper Lee, Jane Austin, and Pat Dye

2008-10-08T11:48:00.002-05:00

This is one crazy story.

If this man were still coaching, I'd have to pull for Auburn.

Mash here for Auburn's coach who lost his pants but loves literature.

I hear he refers to his second favorite author as Jane AUstin.

Economic fix

2008-10-08T08:57:00.002-05:00

I have racked my brain for who or what can lead us out of this mess we call the American Economy. The issues are so complex and the power of the goverment so minimal (at least in the short term) that the situation seems almost hopeless.

Then it came to me. We should put Saban in charge of the economy. He may not have an immediate remedy, but he will have a process, and in a couple of years we will be economically pounding the Chinas of the world.

Union with Christ

2008-10-07T21:00:00.005-05:00

This weekend I went to Church with my parents up in Huntsville. My ex pastor Barney Heyward from Southwood days was teaching the Sunday School lesson on "Union with Christ". The Scripture passage he read was Romans 6:1-14. He went through the standard "we have union with Christ by grace through faith" stuff--which I agree with. But to read verses 2-5 and not mention Baptism as having something to do with it, is a travesty:

"Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. "

Add that with Galatians 3:27 "for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ, " I think that Baptism has to be part of our union with Christ.
I asked Barney about it and he said that when Paul said "Baptism" he meant the inward Baptism of the Holy Spirit when we commit our lives to Christ.

I don't buy it. Take a passage like Acts 22 where Ananias heals Paul: "Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'

That passage has to be talking about water baptism.

The funny thing was that the book they were studying was written by a friend of mine, Jeff Jones, and he's a dispensationalist, but he understood the importance of Baptism and made it clear that being Baptized was a part of our union with Christ. Barney said Jeff was just wrong.

Some people around me in the ss class had their Bibles out and were already asking some probing questions. I hope he can keep a lid on it. Lids seem to be popping off all over.

I would like to stress that I wholeheartedly believe that faith in Christ is vital to our union with Christ. Without faith anything we do as Christians is meaningless. I simply think the Bible is clear that Baptism is also part of the picture.

Flannery was a realist

2008-10-03T08:28:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I was coming in to work on 280 and got behind a red Toyota Avalon whose back end was covered in bumper stickers.
The largest was an orange Tennessee Vols T and "Vols fan" sticker. Right beside that was a "Follow me to Hooters" sticker.Next to that was an "Irish and proud" sticker.

Above the Irish was a sticker that said, "A friend will help you move. A real friend will help you move the bodies".

Then there was a sticker that had a standard silhouette of a woman in a dress like you see on a restroom door--it was entitled "Your girlfriend". Right next to it was one of those nude curvaceous silhouettes like you would see on 18 wheeler mud flaps that said "My girlfriend."

Right above that was "I brake suddenly for tailgaters" and "keep honking while I reload."

Then there was another nude female silhouette, but instead of being black, it was the Confederate Battle Flag.

Then right in the middle was a "Got Jesus?"

Oh, yes.

Chastisement

2008-09-29T14:11:00.002-05:00

I have been duly chastised by a spousal unit of one of our finest contributors for posting about football when so many caticlismic events are rocking the foundations of our country.

Even Finebaum is having Richard Shelby on the show. Shelby is in the midst of the federal bailout debate and has been under intense criticism for being difficult to deal with in the midst of negotians. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say.

Of course the topic of discussion will be the Alabama win this Saturday.

Whistle while you...

2008-09-28T13:57:00.003-05:00

My daughter's book of Snow White has a picture of a squirrel helping Snow White clean the dwarf's home. Supposedly, the little guy is dusting. But my mind thought of something else. It appears the little nut-eater has to much fiber in his diet.

I know it won't end this way, but

2008-09-14T18:12:00.001-05:00

5 out of the top ten teams in the AP Poll are from the SEC.

I know Alabama doesn't like Auburn, and vice versa and everybody hates Tennessee and blah, blah, blah--but that is strong for a conference.

The Trojans and Sooners look awfully tough, however.

Dreamtalker

2008-09-12T21:06:00.000-05:00

When I was young, I was often able to interact with my dreams. I was aware that I was dreaming and would tell people in my dreams that I knew I was dreaming and that they were a dream and I could wake up if I wanted to--I often did if the dream got too scary.

This dream interaction became more and more infrequent and quit altogether by the time I was 7 or 8 yrs. old. So for 33 yrs I have been unable to be a conscious participant in my dreams. Until last night.

I dreamed my grandmother was hanging her socks to dry around the curtain rod that encircled her clawfoot bathtub. I was talking to her when all of a sudden I realized that my grandmother was dead and this was a dream. So I told her, "I know you are a dream because my grandmother is dead. I think I can wake up if I want to." What I perceived as my grandmother was sitting on the window sill. She stared hard at me, closed her eyes, leaned straight back, and became rigid--then her body began to shrink. I woke up.

I have no idea what it means.

Jesus People pt 2

2008-09-09T20:00:00.001-05:00

Jesus People pt 1

2008-09-08T18:57:00.000-05:00

The cold shower

2008-09-04T11:48:00.003-05:00

“Calm down, everybody, please. It’s only politics, for goodness sake. None of these gasbags is going to lower your taxes, eliminate a major government program, establish orderly and rational immigration, ‘defeat evil,’ outlaw abortion, give five seconds’ thought to congressional term limits or the prohibition of public-sector unions, or do any of the other things that conservatives want done. We stared down the U.S.S.R. till the thing fell apart from its own internal contradictions. That was the great conservative achievement of the later 20th century. Possibly there’ll be another one in the 21st century, but not for a few decades yet. In the meantime, government power will steadily increase, individual liberty will steadily decrease, our economy will get still more gummed up with litigation and regulation, more and more kids will attend college to less and less purpose, we shall lose a couple more tall buildings to crazy terrorists, we shall go trash a couple more no-account ‘countries’ in retaliation, and the Republic will stagger along somehow, electing a Tweedledum or a Tweedledee to supreme executive office every four or eight years. This you can take to the bank.”

-John Derbyshire

Say it ain't so...

2008-08-31T22:17:00.000-05:00

One down--twelve to go

2008-08-31T14:14:00.003-05:00

So is the Tide this good or is Clemson this bad? This is the best the ACC has to offer? Oh, and Auburn beat a team 34-0 that we lost to last year. Looks like it's going to be another long iron bowl for us.

The Muses descend on T-town

2008-08-30T07:20:00.001-05:00

Y'all ready???

2008-08-26T21:13:00.005-05:00

Lyle Lovett is a weird dude

2008-08-22T20:42:00.001-05:00

but he can write some cool songs.

"And if I were like lightningI wouldn't need no sneakers
I'd come and go wherever I would please
And I'd scare 'em by the shade tree
And I'd scare 'em by the light pole
But I would not scare my pony on my boat out on the sea

And if I had a boat
I'd go out on the ocean
And if I had a pony
I'd ride him on my boat
And we could all together
Go out on the ocean
Me upon my pony on my boat"

Julie walked out of church

2008-08-21T15:18:00.002-05:00

and is ready to kick someone's %+* ( I hate to be graphic because I don't want to offend Brian Murphy).

Link to a woman frustrated about the modern evangelical church.

I feel dirty

2008-08-16T21:04:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I went to work out at the YMCA. After 1/2 hr. I went back to my locker, got my towel, and hit the shower. I came back to my locker, put on my boxers, and noticed that my shoes looked strange. Then I realized they weren't my shoes, and the boxers I had on were not mine. I had on another man's dirty underwear. I shucked them off in 0.8 seconds and threw them in the locker, and quickly looked around to see if anyone noticed.

No one did, but I still felt violated. Should I have written the guy a note, like you do when you hit some one's car? What's the proper etiquette when you have worn a strangers underwear? Can I ever live a normal life now?

I have been accused of heading to Rome

2008-08-13T22:16:00.002-05:00

I don't think I am.

BUT if the Pope will issue an edict banning the word "like" from pubescent girls' vocabularies, I might consider converting.

The Art of Procrastination

2008-08-13T05:13:00.001-05:00

This sounds strangely like me...

“Procrastinators seldom do absolutely nothing; they do marginally useful things, like gardening or sharpening pencils or making a diagram of how they will reorganize their files when they get around to it. Why does the procrastinator do these things? Because they are a way of not doing something more important. If all the procrastinator had left to do was to sharpen some pencils, no force on earth could get him do it. However, the procrastinator can be motivated to do difficult, timely and important tasks, as long as these tasks are a way of not doing something more important.”- Structured Procrastination

new blog...

2008-07-29T09:36:00.002-05:00

Some of us are involved in a new blog called Musing the Profundities. It is somewhat different than this one was, but if you shared the interests expressed here you will find those same interests alive and well over there. Here is the new address - www.musingtheprofundities.wordpress.com.

Jack

2008-07-28T09:36:00.000-05:00

If anybody is still reading this blog...

I have talked to a couple of you about my conversations and email discussions with Jack Jones, an exboyfriend of my sister. Jack's family was nominally (and I mean nominally) Catholic until he was about 6 years old, at which time they quit going to church altogether. Jack still considered himself a Christian until high school. At that time his grandmother got Alzheimer's and he watched her die a slow and ignoble death. He decided a loving God would never allow such wanton suffering so he became an atheist.He is now reconsidering his position after talking to me. I would greatly appreciate prayers for him and wisdom for me. I feel completely inadequate. Thanks.

glory days

2008-07-23T22:10:00.003-05:00

I have been reading in Samuel and Kings about the "glory days" of Israel, i.e. the reigns of David and Solomon. You can almost hear Jews of later years telling their children about the "good ole' days". Yet these times were beset with trouble. The first seven years of David's reign, the nation was in civil war. Then Absalom revolted and David was again on the run. After that a man named Sheba revolted, and only Judah remained loyal to David. After that rebellion was put down, David sinfully ordered a census of the people and God in his anger killed seventy thousand Israelites.

Solomon's reign was tainted by 700 wives and 300 concubines--many of which were foreign and led him (and the nation) into idolatry. At the end of Solomon's reign, the people of Israel were so oppressed by Solomon's forced labor and taxes that they told Rehoboam he had to ease up on them.

And those were the good times, the pinnacle of Israelite history. It makes me think there probably wasn't a golden age of America, either. There is good and bad in every age. We have penicillin and Paris Hilton--Lord have mercy upon us.

Beethoven's Hair

2008-07-22T05:55:00.003-05:00

Most nonfiction books can be summarized in a page or a paragraph--and some even a sentence or two. I had, however, never read a book that could be summarized in one word until I read "Beethoven's Hair".

Once you know the premise of the book, that a man bought a lock of Beethoven's hair at an auction and had it chemically analyzed to see what the great composer had in his body (and therefore what might have killed him) at his death; you can encapsulate the book in one word.

That word would be "lead".

So, Matt, stick to "Small is Beautiful" and "To Kill a Mockingbird"--I don't want "Beethoven's Hair" to have lead you astray.

I know N. T. Wright is controversial

2008-07-19T21:44:00.001-05:00

but this quote shouldn't be:

"The task of evangelism is therefore best understood as the proclamation that Jesus is already Lord, that in him God's new creation has broken into history, and that all people are therefore summoned to submit to him in love, worship and obedience. The logic of this message requires that those who announce it should be seeking to bring Christ's Lordship to bear on every area of human and worldly existence."

I saw in the grocery store

2008-07-19T10:00:00.001-05:00

that Cosmopolitan had their "sex" issue. I'm waiting for their "non-sex" issue.

Could a really good boys high school basketball team

2008-07-16T06:46:00.002-05:00

beat a WNBA team?

I was working out and saw Connecticut play New York. It was 0-0 with 7:40 left in the first quarter. It was one of the most painful things I have witnessed. It was as if they were playing in lead tennis shoes.

2008-07-08T16:31:00.002-05:00

I've Always Hated Cats

2008-07-08T12:13:00.004-05:00

Since George has not seen fit to nuke the Peg, I have decided that I'm going to keep posting until the Blog Gestapo come and carry me away.

My whole life I have always hated cats. I'm not sure why exactly, but everyone in my family hated cats, and I didn't want to be the black sheep. I viewed cats as having three goals in life: 1. To scratch up all the furniture possible. 2. To make many people's eyes turn red and water. 3. To make the house smell like cats.

Now I have come to the realization that all that is true, but only for "inside cats". Inside cats perform the above three activities with aloofness and overwhelming pride. Indoor cats do no one any good and have not the slightest whiff of affection for their owners.

Outdoor cats are another species entirely. They resemble indoor cats in the same way a fireplace fire resembles a forest fire.

Six months ago my daughter convinced me, extremely begrudgingly, to get her a cat. I required that it not come in the house, but was still convinced I was going to hate this animal. "Lucy" became a member of our family, and my attitude toward her has completely changed.

"Cat" is much too docile a word for Lucy. "Killing Machine" would be more apropos. She has singlepawedly destroyed every mouse, chipmunk, moth, roach, and rat within a three house radius of our home. No rodent stands a chance against Lu. You don't have to give her much attention at all, and she is still happy as long as she has disemboweled some pesky pest in the last 24 hours. I am amazed to see her hunt--it's National Geographic come to suburban Birmingham.

She has become my favorite pet, and I apologize to outdoor cats everywhere.

The End

2008-06-30T13:10:00.003-05:00

I have never been at the end of a blog before. It's kind of weird. Where do all those posts go? It seems to be an indictment of our culture that all those labors of love(I am visualizing Jason pounding out a comment with the veins sticking out of his forehead) can simply disappear into the nether regions of cyberspace.

Well, maybe something will happen next. I hope so because their are so many books to read...

a not-so-eloquent farewell

2008-06-30T09:11:00.004-05:00

Four years ago I was working with Alex at UAB while making plans to move my family from Birmingham to St. Louis to go to Covenant Seminary. Birmingham was the place where my first two children were born, where we, as a family, were first part of a church community, and where I was a coach of a softball team. I was going to miss my friends a great deal and I wanted a way to stay in touch with that world. My job at UAB was one of the more fun jobs I have had. The work was enjoyable, it was down town, and there was loads of free time.

I also had a lot of free time at my previous job (at BellSouth). It was there that I discovered blogs and began blogging myself. My first blog is now lost forever. I recognized early on that traffic was the key to discussion. I am embarrassed to say that I invented commentors for my posts on my first blog. I was hoping that the appearance of traffic and interest would encourage real people to join in. But those were still the early days of blogging and most people didn't know much about it (interestingly, I was reading a person's blog at the time, I don't remember how I found it, that turned out to be the blog of my now good friend, and sometimes commentor, Josh (jsa)). I started up a new blog a year later while at UAB and noticed that my old problem still existed. That is when I came up with the brilliant idea to make it a group blog. The community and discussion would be built right in.

I had great expectations for this endeavor in the summer of '04. Most of those expectations went out the window after a couple of months. But not in a bad way. The reality is that when you have five-or-so different people, with different personalities and visions, trying to share the same space you cannot predict or depend on what will happen. And I am glad for it. That is one of the great lessons I learned over the last four years here. It is a virtual world, but in some ways I learned how to live with people. I learned patience, tolerance, confrontation, encouragement, all things necessary to get along well in life. It wasn't always an easy lesson. There are many things I probably would have done differently in hind-sight, but that is the nature of growth so I don't begrudge my foolishness. Hopefully there are no hard feelings.

Along the way folks came and went, as posters and as commentors. We never had a huge crowd, but we had a good one. Before we left Birmingham I was just getting to know Alex, I knew Jeff a tiny bit, Jed was growing on me, and I had talked to Jason a few times. But through their comments here, and then posts, I feel like have gained true friends. In an effort to keep my old friends I made some new ones. Not too shabby.

So I kept some friends, made some friends, improved my writing, and figured some stuff out about interacting with people. I also learned about theology, politics, the Bible, landscape architecture, YouTube, and a multitude of other things. There have been many wasted hours spent on-line in this or that debate, many wasted energies thinking about or getting angry about one thing or another, but by-and-large mumblety-peg has been a profitable venture. I am grateful for it and for all who have devoted time to this project, both posters and commentors (apparently "commetors" is not a word, and neither is "commenters," I had to pick one).

Posts will cease at the end of the day today. I'm not sure what will happen to the site after that. It will probably remain viewable for a while, then, who knows? We are working on a new idea that will be somewhat different than this in format and vision. If that happens I'll put a link to it in the comments section of this post.

Thank you, everybody.

George

My last post...

2008-06-27T11:22:00.001-05:00

I have been racking my brain for days trying to think of a fitting way to pay tribute to the blog as her end is near. What could I possibly say that could condense four years of life into a single homage? I don’t know about the other posters but I can say that the past four years of my life have been difficult but rewarding and I would like to say thanks to my fellow Pegger’s and the readers for putting up with me.

We have wrestled through the hard times, gloried in the good times. Read about the pain and the joy. We have mused the profundities and waxed poetic. We have argued and agreed. We rebuked and encouraged. But mostly we witnessed community. Not community grounded in place, but the fellowship of bothers which needs no place, only willingness.

I know we will all take different things from this blog as she passes into glory and, just like the events she cataloged, those memories will remain with those who called her home.

As this chapter in my life closes I can only thank those who I was privileged enough to be around and learn from. I would like to thank George specifically for putting this thing together and making himself an example of how to be vulnerable and courageous at the same time.

Many have asked me why we are killing the blog and I can only respond that some chapters need to close so that new ones can start. In this case I need to get ready to be a father.

Thank you Peggers,

time flies

2008-06-24T23:44:00.002-05:00

Five days left. June went by pretty fast. Now I'm kinda getting sad to see the old site go.

I finished The Pillars of the Earth a couple of days ago. Wow, what a long book! But fascinating. It takes place in the 1100's and the story mostly focuses on the events surrounding a priory in south western England and their cathedral project. The political, cultural, economical and religious descriptions are engaging and informative. And the plot is epic. For a reference think of the setting and politics of Braveheart. Then put those politics on steroids and add the Church into the mix. Then move it into a slightly more economically sound setting than the rocky highlands of Scotland. Now you are getting close. But instead of Scottish rebellion you have a Prior's attempt at building a cathedral when all his neighbors are conspiring against him. Good stuff.

One down side is that the author is a little too graphic for my tastes when it comes to the smoochy smoochy parts. I can see where it was necessary in places but I think he showed himself to be a little too interested in the details, if you know what I mean. If you have ever read John Jakes' North and South trilogy you will know what I am talking about.

For the last three days I read the book I would dream about the world and characters of the book except that I would dream that I was reading it. or I guess it would be better said, in my dream I was reading the book, except that what I was reading was my own additions to the story. Which was weird because it was like I had my dream published. That is what comes of reading a book until three in the morning several nights in a row.

stick in the mud

2008-06-20T12:41:00.002-05:00

Maybe I'm turning into an old fogey, but what is it with comedies these days?

I watched Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro last night and it was terrible. Sure Ferrell was hilarious, as usual, and there were some funny scenes, but so many of the "jokes" were of the crass, sexual humor sort. Does anyone think that is funny? I guess some people do or they wouldn't keep making movies that way.

I only made it 10 minutes into The 40 Year Old Virgin before I had to turn it off because it was so offensive (both in it's language and content and in its insulting posture toward me, the audience, by assuming I'd be duped into thinking such things substituted for true comedy). I only made it 5 minutes into Superbad. Walk Hard was barely tolerable, but the biggest thing is that all these movies would have been substantially better if they tempered their offensive "jokes." In their attempts to be funny they sabotaged their own movies.

I am reminded of a classic Seinfeld episode when the dentist, Tim Watley, converts to Judaism and begins to make jokes about "his people," the Jews. Jerry is asked if he is offended as a Jew, and he responds by saying he is offended as a comedian. While it is true that I am offended as a person who expects a modicum of decency, I am also offended as an appreciator of fine comedy. Shocking and offensive content does not equal funny. It is as if nobody is even trying anymore. Can I get a witness?

is it wine, or a grape-based beverage?

2008-06-19T09:04:00.003-05:00

I had an interesting discussion with Matt the other day about what ought to be served at communion (wine, juice, Mountain Dew, French bread, wafers, Pop Tarts). It seemed like the type of discussion folks here might be interested in.

One of my main concerns in the discussion was how the wine and bread folks are often the most challenged when they are the ones who take the scriptures at face value. They are often the ones who have to defend their position most rigorously when it is the reasoning of the juicers that is suspect and novel. Interesting...

Right now, if I was in charge and my congregation was on board, I'd probably serve red wine with some cups of red wine diluted with juice (for training the youngsters). And I'd use a substantial bread so that one's mouth and stomach could actually experience the eating.

Talk amongst yourselves...

O death, where is thy sting?

2008-06-16T12:40:00.003-05:00

In pontificating about the death of the Peg...

Is it similar to the thirty-two year old father of two who dies a painful death from pancreatic cancer over the course of two years? A tragedy that only those who have gone through it can even imagine.

Or is it more akin to your ninety-eight year old great aunt who passes away in her sleep? You're kind of sad about it, but it was for the best, and her side of the family has the best fried chicken in the world for you at the church after the funeral.

a jaunt through the last month

2008-06-16T11:14:00.004-05:00

I figured it was past time for one of my incredibly interesting personal updates.

I have been devoting most of my efforts over the last four weeks to finding a call to some sort of assistant pastor ministry. It hasn't been going as quickly as I'd want, but there are still some irons in the fire. As long as there are possibilities I don't get too discouraged.

Last week I went to the PCA General Assembly to meet folks and pass out resumes. I had a free place to stay and a free plane ticket so I only had to pay for food, taxi, and parking at the airport (which turned out to be a major hit. but I don't want to talk about it). I was encouraged by how many people I knew. GA is like a big reunion. And if you are from St. Louis, grew up in the PCA, participated in RUF, and graduated from Covenant, you are definitely part of the family. Now, if only those family members could throw me a bone and help me get a job.

I went to a colloquium on the efficacy of the sacraments while I was there. fascinating stuff. Here is a link to the papers and audio. If folks are interested we might could have a separate post about it.

I didn't stick around for Thursday's action. the big deal this year (and probably for the next couple of years) is what to do about the office of deacons and women? One presbytery overtured for a study committee to be formed to help them address some issues brought up in their presbytery. Another presbytery overtured that a study committee not be formed. The vote was close but the "not be formed" guys won. So the issue goes back to the presbyteries to work out. It is a weird situation. On the one hand I don't see how the assembly can refuse to aid a presbytery asking for legitimate help on a legitimately confusing issue. On the other I can see the value of leaving it to the local bodies to work out. The trouble comes when one presbytery brings up another on charges after the worked it out on there own in an unsatisfactory way. But maybe I am being cynical. It is a funny world. One of the things I came away with was the conviction that as a pastor in the PCA (if that is what eventually happens) part of my calling is to take my role in the church government seriously as much as I'd like to avoid the whle mess and hang out in the lobby with my friends. If we don't take it seriously then the ones who take pleasure in such things rule the day. And then nobody wins.

In between job search stuff I have been doing odd jobs to make enough money to get by until we have to move out of our apartment on July 15. After that I don't know what we will do. It is looking like we will have to put our stuff in storage and, depending on the outlook at that time, come up with either a short term or longer term plan for existing.

I tuned 30 last week. Abby planned a great surprise party and I was definitely surprised. It feels good to be 30. When I was 29 the 29ness made me feel bad about how out of shape I was. Now that I am in my 30s my out-of-shapeness feels just right. Plus, when you have three kids in your 20's people wonder if you know what you are doing. When you are in your thirties no one gives it a second thought. So 30 feels good.

I have been reading a lot lately. I read another short John Steinbeck book called The Red Pony. And I am reading an interesting science fiction book called Nightside the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe. I am also reading Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth and Annie Dillard's The Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and Tolkien's Children of Hurin. The last two have been put on hold for the moment because I am really getting into the other ones. So look forward to some posts on that in the next 13 days.

I never got around to posting any graduation info so here is what I began to write about graduating from a while back:

Friday I graduated.

I picked up my genuine diploma today from the registrars office. They hold it hostage so you turn you gown back in. Gown... am I spelling that correctly? What a funny looking word... gown.

I had a great time over the last few days. I turned in my final papers Wednesday morning. On Thursday many of my family members came into town. Abby made a delicious dinner of barbecue pork, lemon cole slaw, jello, and beer chips for us all before most of the crew took the kids to the their school for their spring program. Meanwhile, back at the bat cave, I went to the pre-graduation worship service with Abby, Rebekah (Mrs. Iron Truck Ten for those who have been long time readers), and my mom. Baccalaureate was surprisingly enjoyable.

Friday morning I golfed with my dad, brother and grandpa. The course was mighty soggy, but the weather was nice. A good time was had by all. I sunk a beautiful chip shot on the 2nd or 4th hole (I can't remember) and it made all the bad-shot-sufferings worth it.

We came home to the recently arrived Stephen Fitts (early years mumblety-pegger who used the name Iron Truck Ten). Abby had prepared a delicious brunch of egg and sausage casserole, banana muffins, blueberry scones, and fresh fruit. then everyone left but the Fitts family (and Katie) so we could prepare for the gourmet party Abby had concocted for me. We worked like we were on Iron Chef America. It was fun. And the menu of crab cakes, mini taco bites (with shredded chicken, homemade guacamole and sour cream on tiny fried tortillas), lemon marinated steak skewers, and some other stuff. Abby has an extensive post about it so maybe I'll just direct you there. She did a great job.

Then I graduated. Then we partied. Then we crashed. There was more but I suppose I have gone on long enough.

Starting to let go

2008-06-12T15:51:00.003-05:00

The death of the peg is a little more than 2 weeks away. The priest is on stand by for last rights and we had her baptized last week so we are pretty sure she will be with us in eternity (sorry Abby, I don't make the rules). Other than that we are just doing some house cleaning, getting files in order and making sure the will is up to date (I get the side bar and the links btw).

In a comment not so long ago Abby callously brought up the fact that The Peg is no longer a rallying point for a virtual community and that we should all go our separate ways. While this may be true I can't help but feel a little sad for the change that is about to occur. It is kind of like moving out of a house; you are excited about the future but still have that empty feeling.

So I thought, before we bury The Peg we should do some reflecting (and healing) and what better place to do that then to think back to the beginning.

What where you doing on June 30th, 2004?

Oh, you want me to go first? O.K. Let me think.

June 2004 I was in Birmingham for the summer cutting grass and getting ready for my second year of grad school. I didn't have much of a hand in the early days of the blog. My first post was about how they should give you 10% to use self check-out lines. While I still believe that 100% I find myself using u-scans more and more.

I have to say that of all the 30 years of my life the last 5 have been the most formative and beneficial and I am glad you all were there with me.

is posting on the peg

2008-06-11T15:30:00.002-05:00

akin to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic?

Do you know me?

2008-06-11T15:16:00.002-05:00

With enough enthusiasm, any acquaintance may persuade me to read a book. Once begun it is a matter of character to complete the mission.

That is why we are known, not by what we read, but by what we reread.

Question of the day...

2008-06-09T21:55:00.002-05:00

We all hear how churches are supposed to be places where all are welcome. If someone with worldly ills walks through the door we are to greet them with open arms. No sin or condition is too big for God or his congregation.

That being said, would you (with your young kids in tow) sit next to some one with Tourette's syndrome?

wild eyed, crazy larry pt. 45,634

2008-06-06T12:02:00.001-05:00

no mail = good idea

participate

2008-06-06T11:21:00.002-05:00

Virtually everywhere in America, it is difficult for those who either choose to or are forced to live without an automobile to become full participants in society. This is evident in the American life-cycle narrative. Why is being able to drive celebrated by teenagers? Why is the loss of that ability mourned by the elderly? It's evident that those on the margins of the life-cycle are quite severely restrained in the choices available to them. As is true for those who simply can't afford an automobile or are prevented from driving by a disability.

What does it mean to participate in society? What does that look like? How can we foster community in this type of individualistic transportation dependent environment? What happens when we can no longer afford to drive? Are we quarantined from society like the young and the old? Or is there an alternative? What is the Church's role?

I don't know...

What's with the countdown?

2008-06-03T20:21:00.001-05:00

Are you really going to shut down the blog? Did I miss something?

Freakonomics Lesson #141...

2008-06-02T13:48:00.002-05:00

In Freakonomics, Steven Levitt postulates that the decline in the crime rates of the 1990's was a direct result of the Roe V. Wade decision to legalize abortions. It is his theory that the crime drop was due to the fact that the criminals who would commit these crimes were never allowed to be born and come into age as a criminals. He presents this in a very cut and dry fashion but I thought his conclusion was an interesting take on the numbers:

"What is the relative value of a fetus and a newborn? If faced with the Solomonic task of sacrificing the life of one newborn for an indeterminate number of fetuses, what number might you choose?... For a person who is either resolutely pro-life or resolutely pro-choice, this is a simple calculation. The first, believing that life begins at conception, would likely consider the value of a fetus versus the value of a newborn to be 1:1. The second person, believing that a woman's right to an abortion trumps any other factor, would likely argue that no number of fetuses can equal even one newborn.

But let's consider a third person. This third person does not believe that a fetus is the 1:1 equivalent of a newborn, yet neither does he believe that a fetus has no relative value. Let's say that he is forced, for the sake of argument, to affix a relative value and he decides that 1 newborn is worth 100 fetuses.

There are roughly 1.5 million abortions in the United States every year. For a person who believes that 1 newborn is worth 100 fetuses, those 1.5 million abortions would translate into the equivalent of a loss of 15,000 human lives. Fifteen thousand lives; that happens to be about the same number of people who die in homicides in the United States every year. And it is far more than the number of homicides eliminated each year due to legalized abortion. So even for someone who considers a fetus to be worth only one one-hundredth of a human being, the trade-off between higher abortion and lower crime is, by an economist's reckoning, terribly inefficient."

dr. jones, your new adventure is...

2008-05-31T20:24:00.005-05:00

Last week Wednesday (or was it the week before?), Jon called me up to go with him to the 12:01 showing of the new Indiana Jones movie. We were some of the first people in the central time zone to see it. And that is the kind of thing that is good for the ol' resume.

I found out that Abby hadn't seen either of the first two Jones movies. I hadn't seen them in quite a while so I rented them for us this past week. My initial reaction to the new film was that the action was significantly more over-the-top than the previous films. But after viewing ROTLA and TOD, I realized that the action was a bit far-fetched at times in those as well. Still, the new one has some action scenes that are way out there. Too out there, in my opinion. The writing had some serious flaws too. As did the story in general. But it was entertaining, so that was something.

My judgment stands thusly:
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is the best film of the bunch.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is the best for the 8-14 male demographic.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark was the best for its time.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls is the best Jones film released in the 21st century.

What say ye?