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DONE
I am celebrating the end of year 2 of 3 of my doctoral program by sipping a bit of toasted coconut rum and not writing much on this blog. I finished my 10 page paper just after lunch. On Monday I will write my advisor and find out what the steps are for my dissertation. I think the first two months will be all about me reading as much as I can on my topic. And taking notes. I’m OK with that. In fact, I started yesterday.
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UNDONE
I wanted to finish the final assignment of my doctorate program, a 10 page paper on integrating preaching with the other elements of a worship service. My intention was to turn in my paper by midnight, no matter how lame it might be. But a second option kept distracting me … Maybe I could just skip the paper altogether. I did the math. Currently I have a high A, so even with a big, fat, complete ZERO on the paper, I wouldn’t end the semester with a grade lower than a B-. Tempting – Over and over again. All day…
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THE BUG
Sarah – our youngest – bought a car today. It’s a VW Bug and a convertible at that. It’s a milestone and she can barely contain her excitement. My own emotions, however, are a jumble. On the one hand, since I am largely working from home these days, I have been the one responsible most days to pick Sarah up from school. This has meant dropping whatever I am doing at 3:15 – right smack in the middle of the afternoon – and driving 15 minutes to her school and back. For work flow, it has been a true nuisance. …
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DUST
Psalm 103 is becoming one of my favorite passages in all the Bible. Here’s verses 1 to 14: 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; all that is within me, bless His holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds— 3 He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the Pit and crowns you with loving devotion and compassion, 5 who satisfies you with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The LORD executes righteousness and justice…
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IGNORANCE ON FIRE
“Ignorance on fire is better than knowledge on ice.” – Dr. Ivan Misner I heard this quote today on a podcast and it stuck with me. Misner is the founder of BNI – Business Network International and so his audience is entrepreneurs. But it seems applicable to one’s spiritual life as well. When it comes to theology, we really have no choice but to move forward in ignorance. The other day I heard a pastor promoting a six-week study he had created for church groups called The Whole Truth about God. In six weeks! Whatever the price tag is, if…
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STEEPED IN SIN
A quiz over a quote: “You were steeped in sin at birth.” Who said it? (Besides every Calvinist preacher you ever cared to listen to … ad nauseum.) An Old Testament prophet? Jesus? The Apostle Paul? No, No, and No. But it does come straight out of the Bible. Correct answer? A group of Pharisees – the bad guys of John’s Gospel in particular and the New Testament in general. In the 9th chapter of John, Jesus heals a man born blind and the man ends up in hot water with the local Pharisees. In the course of having the…
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JOHN AND HELL
It’s after midnight and we just got home from the airport. Travel days and packed weekends are both tiring, so I will keep this short. We had an hour and 40 minute flight from Dallas to Indy this evening and since I didn’t have anything downloaded to watch on my phone and I didn’t want to turn a light on to read a book, I decided to read straight through the Gospel of John. It’s an interesting experience to read through large chunks of the Bible in one sitting. I try to put aside my assumptions and notice what is…
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DALLAS AWARDS
A memorable day. Samuel has sold books door to door with Southwestern Advantage these last two summers, putting in 80 hour weeks but somehow loving every minute of it. A big part of why Samuel has enjoyed his work with SA has to be the quality of people surrounding him. The young men and women who are willing to subject themselves to hundreds of doors slamming in their faces each summer turn out to be resilient, confident, and gregarious. We got to know some of them today and at the end of the day, we better understand what Samuel has…
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DALLAS … BUT MOSTLY INDY
Melissa, Samuel, Sarah and I are in Dallas tonight after spending a day in the Indianapolis Airport. We were up at 3:00 am to get to Indy for a 7:30 flight … that became an 8:00 flight. Then 11. Then 3. And finally never. Late in the afternoon we were able to fly to Austin and arrived in Dallas a little after 8 pm – 11 hours later than planned. We are here for an awards banquet for Samuel’s summer internship with Southwest Advantage. Fortunately it’s to be held at noon tomorrow, so we didn’t miss it. We made the…
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A PROPOSAL
A year ago today I received a marriage proposal. I was in Ghana to see Mission Resource’s work firsthand and to see if small loans really can make profound impacts. Koko, I would learn, was a widow whose husband’s death left her a single mother of 7 daughters and 1 son. Still, she radiated joy and good humor. Minutes after our introduction, Koko – with a wide smile and mischievous eyes – asked if I would marry her. When I replied I was already happily married, she said she was OK with that if my “first wife” was! She was…
