Be Quiet

The last couple days I have been listening to NPR and CNBC in the background at work, but by late in the afternoon today I had to shut it off. I am so sick of all the cantankerous debate on social issues and the shortsighted nature of the financial markets. It made the disciplines of silence and solitude that we have been reviewing in Kairos all the more appealing. Sometimes it's good to shut out all the noise of the world and realize that all the things that are being so hotly debated and fiercely contested are not what makes the world go round.

Books

I love to read. I just finished re-reading Lord Foulgrin's Lettes by Randy Alcorn. Written in the vein of the Screwtape Letters, at one point the "victim" is in a Christian bookstore and Foulgrin advises the lesser-demon Squaltaint, "Restrain Fletcher from going back to this store. If you cannot, then at least distance him from books of substance, particularly those dealing with the Enemy's attributes. I'm attaching a list of authors you must keep from him. On it you will see such contemptible names as Edwards, Spurgeon, Tozer, Packer, Piper, Lewis, Schaeffer, Colson, and others. My list isn't long , and many on it are rarely carried now in bookstores anyway." I was thinking of books I have gone through and I found a couple lists. Most of these I highly recommend.


2005 Reading List
A Hunger for God - John Piper
Abiding in Christ- Andrew Murray
Blinking with Fists- Billy Corgan
Epic - John Elderidge
Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ - Madame Guyon
Faith Works - Jim Wallis
Financial Planning Process and Environment - American College
Go Ye Means You - Norman Lewis
Hearing God's Voice - Dallas Willard
Hinds Feet on High Places - Hannah Hurnad
Hope Lives Here - Janet Bly
If You Want to Walk on Water You Have to Get Out of the Boat - John Ortberg
Income Taxation - American College
Lord Foulgrin's Letters - Randy Alcorn
Love is a Choice - Hemfelt, Minirth and Meier
Love and Respect - Emerson Eggerichs
Love Must Be Tough - James Dobson
Plain Living: A Quaker Path to Simplicity - Catherine Whitmire
Planning for Retirement Needs - American College
Secret Power - D.L. Moody
Shattered Dreams - Larry Crabb
The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life - Hannah Whitall Smith
The End of Poverty - Jeffrey Sachs
The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis
The Hidden Smile of God - John Piper
The Ishbane Conspiracy - Randy Alcorn
The Singer Trilogy - Calvin Miller
The Wonderful Spirit Filled Life - Charles Stanley
Touching the Soul of Islam - Bill Musk
Transformations of the Heart - Dallas Willard
Unveiling Islam - Ergun Caner
Secrets about Men Every Woman Should Know - Barbara DeAngelis
What Women Want Men to Know - Barbara DeAngelis
With Christ in the School of Prayer - Andrew Murray

2006 Reading List
Captivating - John and Staci Elderidge
Devotional Classics - Richard Foster (editor)
For Women Only - Shaunti Feldhahn
Fundamentals of Insurance Planning - American College
God Is Closer Than You Think - John Ortberg
Healing Damaged Emotions - David Seamands
Knowledge of the Holy - A.W. Tozer
Living High And Letting Die - Peter Unger
Mountains of Spices - Hannah Hurnad
Poems - C.S. Lewis
Renovation of the Heart - Dallas Willard
Simplicity - Richard Foster
The Dangerous Duty of Delight -John Piper
The Republic -Plato
The Treasure Principle - Randy Alcorn

Unimpressed

So, James Cameron, the director of Titanic and Terminator 2, claims to have groundbreaking evidence that disproves the claims of Christianity regarding the resurrection of Jesus. We've seen your kind for 2,000 years now Mr. Cameron. You can enjoy and no doubt profit from your controversial moment in the sun but in another 1,000 years people will have discarded your claims in the same bin with all of the other heretics and people will still be responding in worship to Jesus Christ.

It is easy to be a madman: it is easy to be a heretic. It is always easy to let the age have its head; the difficult thing is to keep one's own. It is always easy to be a modernist; as it its easy to be a snob. To have fallen into any of those open traps of error and exaggeration which fashion after fashion and sect after sect set along the historic path of Christendom - that would indeed have been simple. It is always simple to fall; there are an infinity of angles at which one falls, only one at which one stands. To have fallen into any one of the fads from Gnosticism to Christian Science would indeed have been obvious and tame. But to have avoided them all has been one whirling adventure; and in my vision the heavenly chariot flies thundering through the ages, the dull heresies sprawling and prostrate, the wild truth reeling but erect. - G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Civic Infusion

At lunch today, I enjoyed a great conversation with Joe F. regarding the civic and environmental responsibilities we have as followers of Christ, and he referred me to Evangelicals for Social Action. I am very impressed by the careful, deliberate and effective message they share. One excerpt reads:

As Christians we confess our primary allegiance is to Christ, his kingdom, and Christ's worldwide body of believers, not to any nation. God has blessed America with bounty and with strength, but unless these blessings are used for the good of all , they will turn to our destruction. As Christian citizens of the United States, we must keep our eyes open to the potentially self destructive tendencies of our society and our government. We must also balance our natural affection for our country for a love of people of all nations and an active desire to see them prosper. We invite Christians outside the United States to aid us in broadening our perspectives on American life and action.

In another blog post on social action, a few people responded that they would like to see BVBC begin some programs to help with job training and placement. While I am not necessarily opposed to the idea, I would propose that instead of attempting to bring these services in-house and expecting the community to come to us for their needs, we infuse existing religious and civic institutions that are already in place and have experience in these areas. There is an opportunity for us to "engage with the world with gracious discernment" and to be salt and light by coming alongside like-minded people in our community and aid in their cause, influencing not only those we serve but those with whom we partner. I think it also brings responsibility back to as as individuals to involve ourselves now rather than to wait for the leadership of the church to draw on its own limited resources to create a new platform for service. I could be overstating things, but I think sometimes churches can take a sort of feudal approach with their resources instead of partnering with and sharing their resources with other groups for a more optimal impact. There are gains to be made by certain economies of scale and diversity of experience and perspective.

Along these lines, I am excited that BVBC will be partnering again with other churches in the state (the program of course was initiated by the Catholic diocese) with a "Rose and a Prayer" to overcome the legislature that will be re-presented in the Delaware Legislature to allow and fund embryonic stem cell research. I confess that while I supported the measure last time I failed to actually sign up. I will not repeat that mistake again. I am also excited that we have another Habitat for Humanity day on the calendar for March 31st.

"And they'll know we are Christians by our love."

Studies

Studies for the NASD 6-3 continue:

"These instruments must meet the four-pronged test of the Howey decision. For example, interests in farm animals must represent an investment of money in a common effort of others (the breeder or trainer) to realize a profit from the sale of the animals. A farmer's direct ownsership of a cow is not a security - it is a cow."

Ohh, that cracks me up everytime.

It Wouldn't Surprise Me

It wouldn't surprise me if after a year into the presidential campaign, the frontrunners in each party (Clinton and Obama, McCain and Guiliani) so mortally bludgeon each other that a dark horse emerges from the outside with 9-12 months before the elections.

Lunchmeat

So, I went shopping a few days ago to Super G and not only did they move the deli counter, but they no longer carry my favorite item: Dietz and Watson premium turkey breast. It seems that Boar's Head is taking over the universe so I gave it a try. I got their turkey and it's actually quite good so all is not lost. I get tired of lunchmeat after about one day though. I used to order 1/4 pound at a time, but I kept getting strange looks and snide response from the deli servers. Now I order 1/2 pound at a time. I wish I liked the taste of food more than I do.

Digital Imagery

Okay, so I finally broke down and joined the other 90% of Americans who have a digital camera. I have wanted a Canon Elph since my Indonesia trip in '05 when my teammate took the most amazing pictures with hers. Today, my dream came true. The only bad thing is that I really do suck with technology, and it's probably going to take me about six months to figure everything out.

Back in the day, Mrs. Bean had requested shots of my new pad. I have accommodated.

Super Serious Steve . . .

Not So Serious Steve . . .

Song of the Day: Audioslave - Like A Stone

This is a dreadful day in rock music. Chris Cornell announced he is leaving Audioslave. Dang it, just when there was finally a band out there making some solid rock music.

Financial Tips For The Newly Employed

I came across this helpful article at Morningstar. Enjoy.

Safari Story

A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa , taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles, along for the company. One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch. The old poodle thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap the old poodle exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?" Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!", says the leopard, "That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!" Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine! Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?", but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old poodle says. "Where's that damn monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!

Moral of this story.... Don't mess with old farts...age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill! BS and brilliance only come with age and experience.

Something Positive From Obama

I am starting to like Obama for the same reason that I like Gingrich. He seems to genuinely want to find solutions to the problems and issues at hand. And he's even willing to piss off the media to make that point which I think is fantastic. As excerpted from the article linked above, Barrack noted

"a theme out there in the mainstream media" that he emphasized rhetoric at the
expense of policy specifics. He said there were plenty of specifics in his books
and his Iraq plan, "The substance is out there," he said, "but that's not what's
been reported. What's been reported is how I look in a bathing suit." Ouch.Then,
at the end of the presser, Obama squatted down next to three student reporters
and answered a question about the No Child Left Behind bill. He answered well,
in detail and without patronizing the kids. Then he looked up at the rest of us
and said, "Take some notes guys. That's how you do it."

Prophecy

I came across this startling passage tonight: "an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. And these things they will do, because they have not known the Father, or Me" (John16:2,3). This passage has a sadly contemporary feel to it, perhaps most notably in the rise of Islamic Extremism.

Song of the Day: Evanescence - My Immortal

Beautiful, heartfelt song, amazing vocals and a pretty cool black and white video.

More Monkeys

Oh, this cracks me up.

First

Second

Third

Fourth

Fifth

The last one is my favorite. I remember waiting for one of my accountants to turn in one of his long overdue reports, and when I went to see him at his desk he was playing Tetris on his cell phone. I really don't miss the place.

Remembering PFPC

This commercial came up during conversation at work the other day. I remember dying to get out of PFPC when this series of ads was playing. Oh, how I could relate. The clip with the sales chart is the best.

Song of the Day: Dashboard Confessional - Screaming Infidelities

Another great song from a few years ago. Kudos to Brianna for having this CD (well, at least the CD case) around at her party awhile back.

Minor annoyances

As I was driving today, a few things came to mind that fit into the category of minor annoyances:

1. Drivers who see no legitimate reason to slow down at all when roads are covered in snow, slush and ice. Extra credit to drivers in SUV's who see such conditions as reason to drive even more reckless.
2. Drivers who believe any presence of any form of wintery precipitation on roads mandates going no greater than 7 Mph.
3. Following the latter while being followed by the former.
4. Stopping at a red light when there is no cross traffic.

Song of the Day: Unwritten Law - Seeing Red

The video kind of sucks but I really like this song from a few years ago.

Fantasy Baseball

Okay, wait, I have found a way to be even more lame. For all my good friends who participated in my Swirve fantasy baseball league (may it rest in peace), I am trying a replacement this year. CBS has a free fantasy baseball league. Unlike Swirve, you have to choose your players in a draft format. I haven't exactly figured out how it all works yet, but I figured I would set it up anyways and see what happens. The league name is Lamponians and password is Kairos. I look forward to having a reason to still follow baseball after the Indians have been eliminated.

Commercials

I have reached a new low of lameness. Since I'm still on the mend physically I decided to stay in from the Super Bowl party. However, I do not have cable and so I couldn't watch the game from home either. I did however discover that I can just watch all of the Superbowl ads online. I'm not really sure why the ads get all the hype that they do. It's been years now since there have been consistently good ads during the superbowl. And keeping to form, most of these suck too.

Can't Get It Together

Do you ever go through phases when you know you're just not hitting on all cylinders? That's how I feel right now. Granted, I think part of that is because I am temporarily out of commission with a sinus infection, but it's been building. The apartment which has hitherto been kept in a rather immaculate state is now overflowing with dirty dishes. I have 707 messages in my e-mail inbox I need to reply to (literally). My neighbor yelled at me this afternoon for doing a rolling stop at the stop sign by my apartment building. I'm trying to study for an exam I can't schedule to take yet (NASD Series 6) so that I can then schedule to take my last CFP class. I was starting to get on a roll at the Y, but obviously I've been sidelined for the last few days. I missed a day and a half of work and will have a lot to catch up on when I get back. And I can only focus on something for a couple hours at a time before I feel an overwhelming compulsion to go back to sleep. I don't mean this so much as a complaint as an apology to anyone who has been negatively affected by my overarching subpar performance.

BVBC

Hey, did anyone else notice the church updated its website? Sweet! I like it.

Bumper Sticker of the Day

"When Jesus said love your enemies, I'm pretty sure he meant don't kill them."