Tim Keller podcast

3/4/08 EDIT: Here is a link for more Keller Podcasts from his church

(I get lots of hits from people searching google for this, so I thought I'd be helpful and give you the link you are probably looking for... you can thank me later. ;) ) Now on to my original post and link to my favorite Keller podcast so far:


I got an MP3 player for Christmas! So - you can look forward to seeing more podcasts promoted here. The following was a very good podcast from Tim Keller. You'll want to at least listen to the part where he talks about Jesus being True and Better... He finishes up at the end with an allusion to LOTR (gotta love that).


Special Audio: Gospel-Centered Ministry
Posted: Sun, 09 Sep 2007 20:48:44 -0700
Play Now
In this plenary session from the Gospel Coalition Conference 2007, Dr. Tim Keller teaches from 1 Peter 1 and 2 on what Gospel-centered ministry looks like, based on seven characteristics of the Gospel. The Gospel is historical, doxological, christocentrical, personal, cultural, massively transformational, and wonderful—and each of these aspects has ministry implications. (The Gospel Coalition, May 23, 2007

via Mars Hill

ideating

I want one....

I mean, BUG wants one. yeah... Bug wants one.

I'm a survivor

In case y'all didn't notice, Christmas came. It didn't matter that I wasn't ready or not in the mood for it. It didn't matter that thoughts of Christmas trees, wrapping paper and shopping only made me sigh. It didn't matter that I would have rather pretended that the whole mess wasn't happening around me. It didn't matter that I thought I was too spiritually minded to enjoy all of the materialistic, base things of Christmas - it came anyway. I don't have any sappy happy endings for you. No moralistic little story of some sweet moment where the stars aligned and I found joy. No darling moment where my son said something that made all of it worthwhile. No spiritually saturated moment that took my breath away. No "aha" moment. Yet, as I sit here, the lights are twinkling in the corner of my eye. We've spent the last couple of days enjoying new toys. There are good leftovers in the fridge. I guess it wasn't so bad after all.

Now - what's next? Ah yes. New Years. *sigh* New Years Schmoo Years. humbug. :)

yo ho ho ho

yo ho ho ho,
originally uploaded by greynotgrey.

escargot de Noël

escargot de Noël,
originally uploaded by Benoit, simple escargot.

The Christmas mood is moving slow as a snail this year... Only a few more days to work myself into being jolly.

I'm blaming Muller, strep throat and a stomach virus.

Finally! (for real this time)

(Insert sheepish grin here)

NOW I'm done with Lord of the Rings.

I finally finished watching all of the LOTR dvds. And the special features. And the appendices.

Now that I'm done, maybe I'll quit dreaming of quests and cloaks.

Watching all of the special features was very interesting and now that I know more about Tolkien and how they made the movies, I am even more of a fan of both.

The amount of work and detail that went into the movies is most impressive. Dresses were hand dyed and embroidered, even garments that were layered underneath what were not seen. Much of the movie that I thought was CGI turned out to be models and miniatures. For one scene, they made tens of thousands of tiny skulls the size of grapes. The Shire was built a year ahead of time, just so it would have time to grow and look lived in. Three or more different locations were shot just for a minute's worth of footage. Viggo Mortensen groomed his horse daily and spent his free time riding so that the bond between him and the horse would be natural. All of the armor and blades were hand crafted, with beautiful tiny details (over 250 pieces just for one scene in Rohan). One of the artists that was interviewed made this comment (paraphrased) "I've never spent so much time on such little details. It's a joy. Peter Jackson allows us to take this risk and commitment to put ourselves out there."

Did you know that Tolkien was 62 when LOTR was published? LOTR, in a sense, came about to give history to the elvish language that he had already invented. One word (non-Elvish) that he did coin that I am particularly fond of is, "eucatastrophe." The definition is quite the opposite of a catastrophe which is the sudden onslaught of misfortune. This idea, used frequently in LOTR, is summed up in the Resurrection, where it seems all hope is lost, but there is a sudden victory - the ultimate happy ending.

I found a reformed blogger whose title is Eucatastrophe - as you might assume, he has a post that has link after link of information on LOTR.

Errr... so maybe I'm not done w/ Lord of the Rings after all. (The book How to Find More Time in Your Life will just have to wait.) Don't go thinking I'm all obsessive or something - y'all can have an intervention once I've joined the Elvish Linguistic Group.

Finally!

I finished Lord of the Rings. No surprise endings. I'm pretty sure that was the third time I've read it through. I don't think it's my most read book... here's my list:

Harry Potter series (Not that I've read each them so often but that there are so many of in the series! I've probably read most of them twice, except the last.)

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (series) - H2G2 is one of my favorites. My Dad turned me on to this book so it has a special spot for me.

A Wrinkle in Time - I couldn't begin to count how many times I've read this. I'll guess somewhere between 10 and 15 times. This book was my favorite as a pre-teen and I pick it up from time to time. In fact, I'm reading it to Bug now. I have a theory that Calvin is Rowling's muse for Ron.

The Hobbit - eh...I'm guessing 6 - 8 times.

Lonesome Dove - 4 - 6 times. I even named my previous dog after Gus.

Clan of the Cave Bear series - I liked this book in my teens, when other kids my age were reading Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret I was reading stuff like Flowers in the Attic and lots of Stephen King.

Watership Down - maybe 4 times.

and I can't leave out Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. That is one of Bug's favorite books up until recently. I've probably read it 50 times.

Almost forgot the To Train up A Child Series by the Pearls. I read those frequently to remind myself that I am the Mama and to think outside of my normal parenting box.

So, not a very distinguished and learned list, but entertaining at least. Most of them read in BC (before Christian) years... It's only been recently that I've regressed to reading novels again. As a new Christian, I gave away most of books (save Wrinkle in Time).

What books, whether for entertainment or Christian development, have y'all found worthy of re-reads?

Another muller-ism.

"Faith has nothing to do with feelings or with impressions, with improbabilities or with outward experiences. If we desire to couple such things, then we are no longer resting on the Word of God, because faith needs nothing of the kind. Faith rests on the naked Word of God. When we take Him at His word, the heart is at peace." George Muller

Alas! Taters!

I'm reading Lord of the Rings... again. DH, whose personality is not nearly so compulsive or addictive as mine, is able to pull out a book, read a bit on it here and there and then just put the book away. Actually, it doesn't get put away, it lays around the "reading room" where once I find said book, get stuck reading the whole thing through, regardless of how many times I've read it before.

While I was reading up on George Muller, I found one biography that said before his conversion, almost every form of sin was indulged in by him, like lying, stealing, gambling, licentiousness, extravagance and (gasp!) novel-reading. It's easy to laugh at novel-reading being included with such sins, but there ya' have it. When you're as compulsive and addictive as I am, it fits right in. Would that I had the same passion for the Word.

So, alas! I'm stuck reading LOTR... again. Not that LOTR is a bad choice, mind you. Not exactly a quick read as Tolkien does get a little wordy. Just as soon as you try to skip ahead a bit, you find you've missed something and have to go back and reread. And certainly, Tolkien was committed to his creation, devising songs and poetry and languages. Sometimes, I find myself impatient with the meanderings. However, I'm committed to seeing Sam and Frodo through to the end, though I'm pretty sure it will end the same way as the last three times or so that I've read it, and probably not much different than the movies either.

(SPOILER ALERT) Assuming that you've never read the books or seen the movies and intend to, perhaps you'd better plug your ears for a bit...

Can anyone tell me why the eagles didn't just fly Frodo to Mordor from the get go? I should have been at Elrond's council - I would have made short work of the whole sticky mess.

Other than the video, here's another one of my favorite parts, though I'll spare you from my spiritualizing it:

"For a while the hobbits continued to talk and think of the past journey and of the perils that lay ahead; but such was the virtue of the land of Rivendell that soon all fear and anxiety was lifted from their minds. The future, good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have any power over the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with each good day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal, and in every word and song. "

time to unpack

What gave adults the cheer to tolerate their hypocrisy? Even his mother praised generosity and hoarded; she preached industry and barely worked. Perhaps every generation passes to the next, to hand down to yet more children, an untouched trunk of virtues. The adults describe the trunk's contents to the young and never open it.

-Annie Dillard

via Bug's school epistula

Sound familiar...?

Dluxe's World: when speaking of the 'e.c.' ....

It does to me... I've had similar conversations, at least with myself.

moar funny pictures">

for proof

“If I, a poor man, simply by prayer and faith, obtained, without asking any individual, the means for establishing and carrying on an Orphan House, there would be something which, with the Lord’s blessing, might be instrumental in strengthening the faith of the children of God, besides being a testimony to the consciences of the unconverted, of the reality of the things of God. I certainly did from my heart desire to be used of God to benefit poor children, to seek to do them good in this life; I also particularly longed to be used by God in getting the dear orphans trained up in the fear of God; but still, the first and primary object of the work was, and still is, that God might be magnified by the fact, that the orphans under my care are provided with all they need, only by prayer and faith, without any one being asked by me or my fellow-laborers, whereby it may be seen that God is faithful still, and hears prayer still.” George Muller

Click on this link to a PictureTrail photo of one of the Ashley Down Orphanages (and others)

Spin the bottle

and Kiss a candidate. Part II. Either I've changed positions or the candidates have. I think you can decide which of us is flopping around.

EDITED to add my newest results. Talk over at After Dark reminded me of this "survey." If you click the quiz link: 2008 Presidential Selector there are links to more information on the candidates as well as their websites, voting records, etc.

1. Ideal Candidate (100%)
2. Alan Keyes (82 %)
3. Tom Tancredo (79 %)
4. Newt Gingrich (says he will not run) (74 %)
5. Duncan Hunter (73 %)
6. John McCain (71 %)
7. Chuck Hagel (not running) (69 %)
8. Stephen Colbert (campaign ended) (68 %)
9. Fred Thompson (67 %)
10. Mitt Romney (66 %)
11. Sam Brownback (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (60 %)
12. Jim Gilmore (withdrawn) (56 %)
13. Ron Paul (56 %)
14. Mike Huckabee (56 %)
15. Rudolph Giuliani (55 %)


Following are my previous results way back from June:

Here are Preivous top Results:
1. Theoretical Ideal Candidate (100%)
2. Chuck Hagel (68%) Click here for info
3. Newt Gingrich (66%) Click here for info
4. Tom Tancredo (65%) Click here for info
5. John McCain (64%) Click here for info
6. Ron Paul (63%) Click here for info
7. Duncan Hunter (62%) Click here for info
8. Mitt Romney (62%) Click here for info
9. Kent McManigal (61%) Click here for info
10. Sam Brownback (58%) Click here for info
11. Fred Thompson (54%) Click here for info
12. Jim Gilmore (50%) Click here for info
13. Rudolph Giuliani (50%) Click here for info
14. Mike Huckabee (44%) Click here for info
15. Christopher Dodd (40%) Click here for info
via

McChurch?

I found a site today called A Deconstructed Christian. In the link, the blogger "deconstructs" what looks to be a promo type Youtube video from some church in San Diego. It's worth watching just for the cringe value. Also, she quotes from Jason Zahariades' article Detoxing From Church. I have not fully read Zahariades' article but I gather from my quick scan that he talks of the American conservative Christian being addicted to church. I'm stealing part of the quote:

I need to be engaged in mission. So I go to my local church to connect to their evangelistic ministry and their missions program. Every so often I might volunteer to hand out sodas or serve coffee in a convenient and semi-relational form of "reaching people" for Christ. I might also give money to local missionaries the church supports and maybe participate in a weekend mission trip.

This sort of talk makes me nervous. (I challenge you to check out the links and keep your eyebrows relaxed!) I'm nervous, partly because there is truth in the idea that we are addicted to the "culture" of Christianity more than to our namesake. However, we are to be an alien culture here... walking around hugging each other and looking foolish. Like I said, I haven't read much from either of these bloggers, but I hope to find peace, love, hope and truth amid their condemnation of McChurches. Someone I know makes the comment that the harder we try not to be what we condemn, the more we become like them.

I'm looking forward to spending more time at these sites... just let me know if you find my eyebrows anywhere... I seem to have lost them.

SUPPLY SIDE JESUS: An animated comic strip.

a clip from Al Franken)via Neatorama who found it on here: http://locustsandhoney.blogspot.com

Muller in stress

“My own heart is at present cold and slothful. Oh that my soul did burn with love and zeal! For several weeks, I have had little real communion with the Lord. I long for it. I am cold. But I am not – yea, I cannot be- satisfied with such a state of heart. Oh that once more I might be brought to fervency of spirit, and that thus it might continue with me for ever! I long to go Home, that I may be with the Lord, and that I may love Him with all my heart!”