Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Of This and That




  • I am in the final pages of H. C. Willmontt's "coffee table" edition of World War I(Dorling Kindersley, 2006). Though all war is depressing, WW-I was one of the most depressing wars of all. The reasons it started, the expectations versus the reality, the slaughter of trench warfare, the self-serving political maneuverings on both sides; utterly tragic.

    This "coffee table" book has "tons" of photographs, side-bars, and informative insets. I'm not entirely confident about some of the assertions Willmott makes regarding some of the events. For one example, I'm a little skeptical of the devaluing of the U.S. Army's offense in the Argonne Forest in relation to the ultimate collapse of the Hindenburg Line and the German defeat. That said, this is another good resource for gaining an understanding of World War I.

  • Death is inconvenient. It upsets the pattern and flow of life. Back on June 2, I was at work when I got the call that my sister Joy had died. After hanging up the phone, I felt all other concerns for work and the other press of life drain away. I was going to take a timeout from the world for a few days. The world would have to just get along without me. And it did... A week latter, after the funeral I was back at work, picking up and going on with my life in this world. Death be not proud... Death is an enemy, and one day death will be put to death...

  • I have concluded that Covenant Theology has just as much bologna in it as Dispinsationalism does. God did not speak out of both sides of His mouth...

  • We watched the DVD version of The Blind Side. It was pretty good. Unfortunately the best line from that movie is not one you want to repeat without careful consideration of who will be hearing you quote it. It would be well though if many a momma would say the same thing to their college bound son.

  • The year I started kindergarten, this was one of the top hit songs of the time.

Friday, June 11, 2010

On Personal Ministry



"Personal ministry is not about always knowing what to say. It is not about fixing everything in sight that is broken. Personal ministry is about connecting people with Christ so that they are able to think as he would have them to think, desire what he says is best, and do what he calls them to do even if their circumstances never get "fixed". It involves exposing hurt, lost, and confused people to God's glory, so that they give up their pursuit of their own glory and live for his. It is about so throughly embedding people's personal stories in the larger story of redemption that they approach every situation and relatinship with a "God's story" mentality. We need to be filled with awe at what the Lord has called us to participate in!"

(Instruments In The Redeemer's Hands ; Paul David Tripp; (P&R Publishing, 2002); pg. 184)

Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Neukomment Files: She had a "Baby" Brother



My oldest sister died last week. The above link will take you to my family blog where I have a post about it.

~ The Billy Goat ~