ITunes Gift Cards Burning a Hole in my Pocket

I received some ITunes Gift Cards as gifts this year. So far I've picked up a couple of albums and some audiobooks.

Modern Heart Exhibit by Ill Harmonics
I have all of Ill Hamonics other albums and wasn't even aware this one was available. It's a bit of a departure from their normal rap style, but they pull it off well. This is one of the most unique worship albums I've ever heard. I'm looking forward to many hours of enjoyable listening.


PC Tools by Phonetic Composition
Phonetic Composition is comprised of Playdough & Freddie Bruno. This is an enjoyable album comprised of the rap stylings we've come to enjoy from the both of them. They also have a more recent album titled: All Smiles.


The Bible Experience
I first heard of The Bible Experience from a post on Ben Witherington's blog. This is a dramatized Bible based on the TNIV. I picked up the book of Job & the book of Revelation. I listed to Job at the gym this morning enjoyed it. I'll see how Revelation is tomorrow.

Book Review: In the Shadow of Grace

I've been itching to start all of the new books I received for Christmas. I decided to start with In the Shadow of Grace. It is a quick read at only 121 pages. The 8 chapters cover different periods of time in the life of G. Campbell Morgan. Each chapter brings together the difficulties and challenges he was facing with the sermons and writings he delivered during that time. Although this isn't a traditional biography, it presents a unique look into the mind and spiritual life of a man who was greatly used by God is his generation. Happy reading!

A Dead Sea Scroll in Stone?

The January/February 2008 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review has an article by Ada Yardeni titled: A New Dead Sea Scroll in Stone?. According to the article, paleography dates the slab to the same period as the Dead Sea scrolls. One major difference is that the text isn't on leather, it's on a 3 foot by 1 foot slab of stone. You can read an excerpt from the article here: LINK.

When the drain won't drain....

It's that time of year again... No, not Christmas time, it's bathroom drain cleaning time. I can't really say that plumbing projects are a favorite of mine. However, they are necessary when the drain won't drain. After taking apart the trap in the bathroom sink and a bottle of Drano, all is well again. I've also found a unique way to clean out the tub drain. Rather than using drano, I acually suck the drain out with my shop vac. That generally clears any hair or other goopy stuff out of the drain and puts it back in normal operating order. The worst part is cleaning the shop vac when it's all done.

What's your theological worldview?

I came across a reference to this quiz over on metacatholic. I figured I'd give it a shot and see how it categorized me. A few of the questions were a bit vague, so I ended up choosing a lot of middle of the road answers, not agreeing or disagreeing strongly. It ended up scoring me as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. : ) If you're interested, you can take the quiz here: LINK.

Logos is offering Shibboleth tool free for personal use

I was catching up on blog posts this morning and came across this on the LOGOS Softgware blog. They are offering their Shibboleth tool free for personal use. This is a useful tool that will assist you in typing ancient scripts. You can read the blog post here: LINK and download the tool here: LINK.

Who needs the gym...

I was down on myself for not going to the gym this morning in light of the falling snow and unplowed roads. However, I made up for it by spending the last 2+ hour shoveling my driveway, which is big enough to hold at least 6 mini vans. At one point I wondered if it would've been wiser to buy a house with a shorter driveway. One of these days, I should buy a snow blower. Until then, it'll have to be me in my snow pants with my trusty shovel. : )

Merry Christmas

The Birth of Jesus Christ

¹⁸ Now the birth of ^uJesus Christ⁵ took place in this way. ^vWhen his mother Mary had been betrothed⁶ to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child ^wfrom the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling ^xto put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, ^yan angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and ^zyou shall call his name Jesus, ^afor he will save his people from their sins.” ^{22 b}All this took place ^cto fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

^{23 d} “ Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name ^eImmanuel”

(which means, God ^fwith us). ²⁴ When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, ²⁵ but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And ^ghe called his name Jesus.

The Visit of the Wise Men

2 Now ^hafter Jesus was born in ^iBethlehem of Judea ^jin the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men¹ from ^kthe east came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is he who has been born ^lking of the Jews? For we saw ^mhis star when it rose² and have come to ^nworship him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴ and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where ^othe Christ was to be born. ⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

^{6 p} “ ‘ And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who will ^qshepherd my people Israel.’ ”

⁷ Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” ⁹ After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, ^rthey offered him gifts, ^sgold and ^tfrankincense and ^umyrrh. ¹² And ^vbeing warned ^win a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

^u ver. 1; Mark 1:1; John 1:17; 17:3; [ver. 16]

⁵ Some manuscripts of the Christ

^v Luke 1:27

⁶ That is, legally pledged to be married

^w Luke 1:35

^x [Deut. 24:1]

^y ch. 2:13, 19; [ch. 2:12, 22]

^z ver. 25; Luke 1:31; 2:21

^a Luke 2:11; Acts 4:12; 5:31; 13:23, 38; [Acts 3:26]

^b ch. 21:4; 26:56; John 19:36

^c ch. 2:15, 23; 4:14; Mark 14:49

^d Cited from Isai. 7:14

^e Isai. 8:8, 10

^f See ch. 28:20

^g ver. 21

^h Luke 2:4-7

^i Luke 2:15; John 7:42

^j Luke 1:5

¹ Greek magi; also verses 7, 16

^k [Gen. 25:6; 1 Kin. 4:30]

^l ch. 27:11, 37; Jer. 23:5; 30:9; Zech. 9:9

^m [Num. 24:17; Rev. 22:16]

² Or in the east; also verse 9

^n See ch. 8:2

^o See ch. 1:17

^p Cited from Mic. 5:2

^q Ezek. 34:23; John 21:15-17; [2 Sam. 5:2; Rev. 7:17]

^r [1 Sam. 9:7; Ps. 72:10]

^s Isai. 60:6

^t Rev. 18:13

^u Ex. 30:23; Ps. 45:8; John 19:39

^v ver. 22; [ver. 13, 19]

^w [ch. 27:19; Gen. 20:6; 31:11; Num. 12:6; Job 33:15]

The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001, S. Mt 1:18-2:12

Christmas Gifts Continued (BOOKS)

My wonderful wife gave me two more books from the RTS Recommended Reading List.

If God Already Knows Why Pray? by Douglas F. Kelly











Called to the Ministry by Edmund P. Clowney










She also gave me a book I've been most excited about and really been looking forward to reading.
In The Shadow Of Grace: The Life and Meditations of G. Campbell Morgan Compiled and edited by Richard Morgan, Howard Morgan & John Morgan

4 Out of 4 Christmas Celebrations Completed

We've completed our last Christmas celebration. We even received a couple inches of snow, which awful pretty through the window. Snow on Christmas in MN seems fitting. I tried my hand at making the entire Christmas meal this year, which went well. We had turkey, stuffing, potatoes, etc. For desert, we had chocolate cake & candy cane ice cream. I supposed it'll take all of us a few days to cover from the last four days of feasting. We opened the rest of our presents as well. I was happy to find another pound of Caribou Reindeer Blend coffee in my stack of gifts. My wife also had gotten me 2 new dress shirts with matching ties. Always useful for work, church and other formal events. And of course there were more books and some CDs and a DVD.

The Yearbook Special Edition by KJ-52
I've always been a big rap fan. Although I have several of KJ's albums, I especially like the deeply personal album Behind the Musik (a boy named Johah). Some of the tracks resonate deeply with my own personal experiences during my teen years.



The Blood by Kevin Max
Kevin's music has always been a favorite of mine. I truly appreciate his vocal range and unique style. This album has a bit of country, gospel and blues. It's a delight to listen to and will be a welcome addition to the music library of every Kevin Max enthusiast.



The Pursuit of Happyness
Some have touted this film as the best performance of Will Smith's career. This deeply touching film, based on a true story, is sure to leave the audience both inspired and challenged.







To Be Continued...........

3 Christmas Celebrations Down, 1 To Go

We've made it to the final day of our Christmas celebrations. Since we will be hosting the meal today, that means we won't need to brave the cold. Following the Christmas Eve service at church last night, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner and exchanged gifts at my mother-in-law's home. She and others have been frequenting my Amazon wish list this year, so I have more books to adorn the shelves in my office. The 2 books I received were:

Reformed and Always Reforming: The Postconservative Approach to Evangelical Theology by Roger E. Olson

I always try to follow the work of professors I've had over the years. Roger E. Olson taught a theology class I attended at Bethel College back in the late 90's. More recently, I had the opportunity to hear him speak at the 2005 ETS conference in Valley Forge, PA.






Signs of the Spirit: An Interpretation of Jonathan Edwards' Religious Affections by Sam Storms

I'm a big fan of Jonathan Edwards. I first heard of this book from a blog post at Desiring God, which referenced an interview with Sam Storms about this book. You can find the blog post and link to the interview here: LINK

Jonathan Edwards Is My Homeboy

I was reminiscing this morning about when I worked at Christianity Today back in 2005-2006 and remembered a cover article that featured a t-shirt with a picture of Jonathan Edwards and the phrase: "Jonathan Edwards Is My Homeboy". This is definitely a shirt I should put on my birthday wish list. It's sure to be a conversation starter among your reformed and not so-reformed friends. The officially licensed shirt is available here: LINK. Your can read the Christianity Today article associated with it online here: LINK.

J.I. Packer makes me think....

I'm working my way through several of the books on the recommended reading list for future RTS students. I'm currently in the midst of Knowing God by J.I Packer and have to admit that I'm pleasantly surprised. Normally, I'm a very fast reader and this book is forcing me to read a bit slower and think a bit deeper. The more I read, the more I realize just how small my idea of God has been. I would highly recommend it to anybody who hasn't read it.

Desiring God Adent Sale Week 4

This week Desiring God has The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God on sale for $4.99. You can also read a sample of the book here: link

Better way to read PDFs

If you're anything like me, you've probably built up a bit of a library of PDFs over the years. I've never felt the standard Acrobat Reader was all that good for actually sitting down and reading a long pdf. While searching around yesterday for a new PDF reader, I came across Adobe Digital Editons reader. It is a great way to read and manage your PDF books. I especially like the "Fit Double Pages" view and the bookmark feature. You can download it at http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/
Happy reading!

2 Christmases Down, 2 To Go

We've made it through 2 Christmas celebrations. Only 2 more to go. So far I've received some new tools, a 2008 road atlas & a book of pictures from the Holy Land. I'm anticipating more and more books. I'll have to make room on the shelves in my office.