Last Minute Shopping?
Check out OFB's gift buying guide for last minute gift ideas. While you are over there, here are some other Christmasy things you may want to read:
- Mystical Advent-ure by Ed Hurst
- Nothing So Sweetens Christmas Memories as the Passage of Time by Dennis E. Powell
Gifts of Christmas
- Fujifilm F70EXR by Dennis E. Powell
- 3G Netbooks by Timothy R. Butler
- Macs and Accessories to Go With by Timothy R. Butler
- HTC Pure on AT&T by Timothy R. Butler
- Eris is Not Just Droid “Lite” by Timothy R. Butler
First Snow
The first real snow of the season is now occurring. It's beautiful.
Another Semester Gone
It is amazing to me that I have completed another semester of seminary. Semester six of eight. There is something profound to me about that particular number. I think it was the same way in college. Hitting the three quarters mark symbolizes having made it through not just a simple majority, but really the bulk of things.
It is not that suddenly I am getting a false sense of security about seminary. And, as much as it feels good to accomplish things, I find myself of mixed feelings that I am this close to being done. But, in any case, in another year, I will be done with that “project.” It feels like I just started.
Actually, thinking back, maybe that's not odd — some conversations around Christmas finals times in college seem like they were just yesterday (Jason Kettinger can read into this if he wishes). I looked up an e-mail conversation I had with a professor in December 2005 tonight and found myself amazed it was that long ago.
But, here we are about to enter the second decade of the new millennia. And therein lies another interesting observation. The '10's will be the fourth decade in which I have been present for at least a portion.
Time's winged chariot flaps rapidly forward.
Happy Thanksgiving
I hope everyone had an especially good Thanksgiving. It has been a roller coaster ride of a year… and while quite a bit of it has been rough, I am really thankful for where things are now. The last few weeks have been a much needed time of healing and refreshment; I am thankful for that.
I am thankful God has taken that roller coaster to get me closer to where I believe he wants me to be. I am also thankful that I have been blessed with such a great family and circle of friends. In so many ways, my cup runneth over.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Late Night Haiku XXXI
LXXXVII. Time is dripping slow,
Stalactite of memory,
Not there, but past then.
LXXXVIII. Memories of joy
Build upon the memories
Of sorrows now past.
LXXXIX. The past is the block,
Which with desire mortared,
Builds story and song.
A Joyous Occasion
I'll go into the details sometime soon, but I just had to post a post noting that a joyous milestone has been passed today that I really think is related to where God has been leading me.
Tonight, I am thankful.
SpiderOak vs. Dropbox
I'm testing SpiderOak and Dropbox as possible ways to keep my documents in sync between home and when away with my laptop. Anyone have any thoughts on which might be the better choice? Right now, I'm leaning towards SpiderOak, since it includes a built in utility for choosing which folders are synchronized with different computers and twice as much space as its similarly priced competitor. On the other hand, actually using the service is more helpful than comparing the basic gist.
Incidentally, if anyone wants to join either service, below are links to get a referral. The referral links with give you additional space in your account (and, as a bonus, in mine, too!).
Beneath the Stars
One of the most beautiful works ever written is Dante Alighieri's la Divina Commedia. As I was plundering bits of the Inferno for a sermon illustration, I soaked up the end of that cantica for the first time in too long. It finds Dante and his poet-guide, Virgil, in the very pit of hell. There, Virgil points Dante to a dark space where there is a hole carved by a little river (the Lethe, which is busy sweeping away all memory of the sins of those in Purgatorio down into the Inferno) and they climb through that hole to again come to the surface.
Dante observes,
He first, I second, without thought of rest
we climbed the dark until we reached the point
where a round opening brought in sight the blest
and beauteous shining of the Heavenly cars.
And we walked out once more beneath the Stars (trans. John Ciardi).
Dante ends each of the canticas with reference to the stars, which remind us of God's glory and hope.
The Comedy is so beautiful that I have for years pondered learning Italian so that I could read the work in Dante's own tongue. One of these day, I just might.
The Blessed Martin
In honor of Reformation Day, I finally got around to changing my “Notable Quotable.”
The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God. — Martin Luther
All Councils "May Err and Many Have Erred"
So says the Westminster Confession of Faith (section 31.3), one of the key confessions of Reformed theology. This realization concerning the fallibility of human instruction goes along with ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda (“The Church reformed, always reforming”) to remind us of the church's need to constantly seek the truth of Scripture and never allow our flawed interpretations to override that truth.
Martin Luther realized that when he nailed the Ninety-Five Theses up on the door of Wittenberg Church 492 years ago today. Tradition and the wisdom of men supported indulgences, but the Gospel of Grace condemned it. We should similarly stand against the wisdom of men today, insomuch as it stands against the Gospel and the freedom that comes through union with Christ.
To celebrate the 500th birthday of John Calvin, which occurred earlier this year, Open for Business has offered varying perspectives on the Reformation over the past few weeks. With today's piece written by Steve Braun, the trilogy is complete:
- Biblical Challenges to Church Leadership by yours truly.
- Reformation Day Is a Stupid Holiday by Jason Kettinger.
- Ever Reforming by Steve Braun.
If you're hungry for more, you might also want to check out a very fine piece I stumbled upon over on the PC(USA) web site:
Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda. This motto calls us to something more radical than we have imagined. It challenges both liberal and conservative impulses and the habits and agendas we have lately fallen into. It brings a prophetic critique to our cultural accommodation—either to the past or to the present—and calls us to communal and institutional repentance. It invites us, as people who worship and serve a living God, to be open to being “re-formed” according to the Word of God and the call of the Spirit.
That is definitely the lesson we should take away from Reformation Day.
