2010 Books

My goal was to read 60 books this year. I failed. However, for the first time since 2006, I've read 50 books in a year. Below are the books in the order I read them. The bolded books were my favorites of the year. Feel free to comment below.

1. The Runaway Jury by John Grisham
2. Understanding Four Views of the Lord’s Supper ed. by John Armstrong
3. Peace Like A River by Leif Enger
4. The Reason For God by Tim Keller
5. College Ministry 101 by Chuck Bomar
6. Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong by John MacArthur, et al.
7. Adopted For Life by Russell Moore
8. The Art of Pastoring by David Hansen
9. Jesus and the Gospels by Craig Blomberg
10. John Calvin: A Pilgrim’s Life by Herman Selderhuis
11. The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
12. Calvin and the Atonement by Robert Peterson
13. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
14. Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller
15. What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert
16. The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
17. Start Your Family by Steve & Candice Watters
18. A Little Exercise for Young Theologians by Helmut Thielicke
19. Pendragon by Stephen R. Lawhead
20. Invitation to Biblical Preaching by Don Sunukjian
21. A Harmony of the Gospels by Stanley Gundry and Robert L. Thomas
22. The Words and Works of Jesus Christ by Dwight Pentecost
23. Grail by Stephen R. Lawhead
24. Ashamed of the Gospel by John MacArthur
25. Rescuing Ambition by Dave Harvey
26. Sticky Teams by Larry Osborne
27. War by Sebastian Junger
28. Taking Your Church to the Next Level by Gary McIntosh
29. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
30. The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
31. Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung
32. Going Solo by Roald Dahl
33. The End of the Law by Jason C. Meyer
34. A Painted House by John Grisham
35. Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris
36. The Deliberate Church by Mark Dever and Paul Alexander
37. Looking For Calvin and Hobbes by Nevin Martell
38. The Green Mile by Stephen King
39. Trail of the Spanish Bit by Don Coldsmith
40. Radical by David Platt
41. The Universe Next Door by James W. Sire
42. Life After God by Douglas Coupland
43. Here Today, There Tomorrow by Gary McIntosh
44. Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
45. The God Conversation by J. P. Moreland and Tim Muehlhoff
46. The Elk-Dog Heritage by Don Coldsmith
47. Follow the Wind by Don Coldsmith
48. The Rainmaker by John Grisham
49. Buffalo Medicine by Don Coldsmith
50. The Heart of a Great Pastor by H. B. London Jr. and Neil B. Wiseman
51. More Than A Carpenter by Josh and Sean McDowell

The Christmas Story

Here's the Christmas story via our friends' daughter Gracie. This is great!

Shocking...

Just read this quick post entitled "So, Why is Incest Wrong?" on AlbertMohler.com. Wow.

Alice Vs. Butternut Squash

 

Amy recently made tons of meals for Alice from butternut squash, carrots and yellow squash. Alice got most of it in her mouth . . . I think! New pictures on the right sidebar under Web Album 2!

How About Some Peas?

Alice's face in this video is priceless.



Also, check out new pictures in "Web Album 2" on the right.

Alice at Work

I think this video is hilarious. I know, I know, I'm her mom, but it is pretty excellent. Enjoy!

Change of Scenery

Yes, you're at the correct blog. I just decided that it was time for a new look for our blog. Thoughts?

Should we keep the old videos on the sidebar? Bernal videos? Hawaii videos? Should we add any elements? Tell us what you think!

Meanwhile, In Garden Grove . . .

First things first, there are hundreds of new photos (mostly of Alice!) if you just click the link to Web Album 2 on the right side of the page.

Last night, Amy and Alice and I visited our friends Jacob and Sarah Ailes in the hospital and got to see and hold their baby girl, Lucy Amanda Ailes. Sarah's blog details the meaning of Lucy's name, which I think is very thoughtful. That, and I'm a Narnia fan!

October is a busy month. This Friday is our "dateiversary" and we'll be celebrating six years since we started dating/courting/going out/"liking" each other. It's a surprise to Amy where we'll be going, but it's going to be a blast!

I have an exam on Wednesday and one on Thursday.

On Sunday I have a missions team meeting after church on Sunday and then we have a youth fellowship night that evening.

Next Wednesday I fly up to Oakland to help move my 86-year-old grandpa move out of the house he bought in 1954. It's time for grandpa to move to an assisted living place across town from my parents. It will be a bittersweet time as a lot of family says goodbye to the home Grandpa raised a family in. I'll be driving home on Saturday. Amy and Alice will meet us in Santa Clarita so that Grandpa can meet his great-granddaughter.

Then, on Reformation Weekend (Oct. 29-31), we'll be in Santa Maria celebrating my maternal grandmother's 75th birthday.

Phew! A lot's going on, but God is gracious in supplying strength and his power is made perfect in weakness. Amy continues to work hard at Pan-Pacific and I'm working at church and going to school full time. Alice is growing up so fast and we're amazed at her alertness. She brings lots of laughter and joy into our lives.

So often I'll see something while driving and think, "I should totally blog about that!" only to forget about it until I'm going to bed or before class or before church. Maybe some day soon I'll stop and blog about one of those things.

Gospel For Life

I'd like to direct you to my friend Eric Durso's blog to check out the series he is blogging about called Gospel For Life. So far, it's been helpful and clear and I highly recommend it to you as food for thought or as resource.

Why Give?

This video is desperately needed in the American Church to wake us up from our American apathy:



HT: The Resurgence

The Not-As-Old Age-Old Story

The title isn't referring to the "old, old story,/How a Savior came from glory," but to the seemingly eternal debate between Calvinism and Arminianism. So often it's not put in those terms, but involves vitriol and disgust over terms like "free will," "predestination," "election," "prevenient grace" and the like.

I've declared myself to be a Calvinist many times and mainly read books and listen to sermons by Calvinists. And however much I believed in reading and listening to those I disagree with, I haven't practiced that very consistently. Okay, so not really at all!

That is going to change and part of the way I am endeavoring to change by reading Arminian Theology by Roger E. Olson. I'm only on page 30, but so far it has already been helpful to read the views of someone on the other side of this intramural debate. I think that Roger Olson is a brother in Christ and loves God with all his heart. His tone is irenic, but he is not willing to become a doormat for Calvinists either. I appreciate that very much.

I'm also reading Radical by David Platt. It's currently ranked #27 on all of amazon.com! The book's subtitle is "taking back your faith from the American Dream," an apropo title to worry this reader who grew up in a wealthy Los Angeles suburb. I love David Platt's preaching and listen to his podcast religiously. I would already encourage to pick up this book and read it. It's fairly amazing/amusing to me that a book about a young man who downsized his house and regularly calls people to give most of their money away has made it on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Have a good weekend!

Growth Spurt

Alice has been going through another growth spurt over the last several days. Today it seems like she's really heavy. I think yesterday she felt heavy, but today she feels particularly heavy. Weird how she grows so much in such a short time. Her next doctor appointment is Tuesday so we'll find out how much she's gained since her two month check up. In the meantime, here is a picture of Alice today at work :-)

Russell Moore on Glenn Beck

Here's a quick link to an article that I found very helpful. I'm pretty sure lots of evangelicals give Glenn Beck's Mormonism a pass simply because he doesn't like President Obama. Russell Moore's insights are always penetrating and valuable in an age of manipulative soundbites.

Here's a taste:

It’s sad to see so many Christians confusing Mormon politics or American nationalism with the gospel of Jesus Christ. But, don’t get me wrong, I’m not pessimistic. Jesus will build his church, and he will build it on the gospel. He doesn’t need American Christianity to do it. Vibrant, loving, orthodox Christianity will flourish, perhaps among the poor of Haiti or the persecuted of Sudan or the outlawed of China, but it will flourish.

Some things

Well, it's Friday of my first week back in school and there's a few things to update y'all on.

Tonight is the final night of the summer softball season. We get to play twice: at 8:00pm and 9:15pm. The later game is against Bloodline, a team made up of a large extended family in our church (along with some friends) and our rivals. I'm really looking forward to it. This is my fourth summer playing softball with the men from our church. I love it because I get to play a sport (which doesn't happen much anymore), but more than that, I love it because I get to know people in the church that I wouldn't get to know any other way. Also, our games have tons of fans in the bleachers because bunches of people from the church come and watch our games, which just adds to the fun.

In other exciting news, our friends the Rehrers are in the process of adopting a little girl from Africa! That's really exciting and something Amy and I have tossed around as an idea for the future. It will be fun and informative to see them go through this process.

Some people have been waiting - with bated breath no doubt - to hear about why I shaved my head. In fact, I believe my mom's exact word was "yuck." Thanks mom. Anyway, two weeks ago I was trying to hustle so I could get to church in time for our weekly staff meeting. I needed to shave and my sideburns were also getting a little long, so I decided to pull out the hair clippers and give the burns a little trim. However, in my rush, I forgot to put a guard on the clippers! So when I whooshed upwards with the clippers, my sideburns did not get trimmed, they got shaved! Not only that, but I went past the sideburns.

I called Amy and told her what happened. I said that I thought I would have to shave my head. She said not to. I took a picture with my phone and then sent it to Amy. She said I should shave my head! That's the story.

New Sneakers

Remember when you were little and you got a new pair of sneakers and really believed you could run faster and jump higher? I used to wear my new sneakers (or shoes) to bed at night before wearing them outside because I was so excited about the new-ness.

That's how I feel today.

Alice has been sleeping "through the night" since she was 5 weeks old, but that really only means she slept for 4-5 hours at a time, which was wonderful in comparison to only 2, but not quite enough for mommy to function on a day to day basis. For the past week or so, she's been sleeping 8-10 hours at night, allowing mommy to now have a full week (minus one night) of being well rested.

The sun is brighter, the breeze is sweeter and the Lord has perfect timing!

Palm Springs and a New School Year

Sunday through Tuesday, Amy, Alice and I were in Palm Springs with Pastor Ron and Susie and their three kids: Mark, Jeffrey and Alicia. As you'd expect, it was hotter than hot, averaging about 110 degrees while we were there. We stayed in a two-bedroom condo that a generous person in our church let us stay in for fairly cheap. The air conditioning was cranked up (down?) the whole time we were there, making for an almost 40 degree difference between the outside and inside temperatures during the hottest part of the day. We took several pictures and videos, which you can view here.

This coming Wednesday marks the beginning of my fifth semester at Talbot. I'm taking Apologetics, Biblical Leadership & Management, and Exegesis in Acts and the Epistles. Yep, that last mouthful is my last required Greek class! That means two things: 1) People now will (mistakenly!) expect me to be proficient in biblical Greek, and 2)I can begin taking Hebrew in the spring!

Last night I checked online to see if any of my professors had posted syllabi and was ridiculously excited to see my Apologetics syllabus up. My professor, Garrett DeWeese, not only posted the syllabus, but also all the supplementary reading, the first day of class' powerpoint slides, and other miscellaneous links and resources. Besides the last day of class, I think the first day of class is my favorite day of the semester!

Today I have Alice until 11ish and then a church friend will be watching her. She's getting big, but especially growing long. Here's a video for you to enjoy!

Blog, Interrupted

So I was going to blog today about the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World that started today. However, the inimitable Justin Taylor covered it well at his blog. I'm praying that God uses this next month to transform my own heart in my attitudes, understanding and love for Muslim people.

As long I'm linking, see what Dr. Mohler has to say about Prop. 8 being overturned last week. As always, expect insightful analysis.

Daddy-Daughter Day the Fourth!

Today was another Daddy-Daughter Day, and a pretty successful one methinks. Of course, when your almost-three month old daughter is wearing her Cal onesie (thanks Grandma!), it's automatically a great start!

Alice slept really well and we had some good play time before and after her meals. In the afternoon, she guzzled almost seven ounces of milk and then slept for almost three hours. This allowed me to read a bunch today and with school coming in two weeks, this was very much appreciated.

Go here to see more pics!

Another New Daddy

Check out my friend Eric Durso's blog. He blogs much more consistently than we do and has some good thoughts on the recent birth of his daughter Emma.

Daddy-Daughter Day Dos

Try saying that 10 times fast!

Today was my second Monday watching Alice. Pan-Pacific Plumbing has been very gracious in providing a nanny three days a week in the same building that Amy works in. Those days are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Fridays are days where various people in our church watch Alice and Mondays are all mine!

Alice hadn't eaten from a bottle for five days, so I was a little scared she wouldn't drink from the bottle and just cry all day. She wasn't as voracious as she was two weeks ago during our first Daddy-Daughter Day, but she did pretty well nonetheless. I had her at my office at church for about three hours and she did just as well there as at home.

Per my grandmother's request, I've uploaded a bunch of pictures to our web albums, which you can access here. I'll also be posting some of the many videos that we've taken recently. Enjoy!

Halfway there . . . almost!

So this year I had the audacious goal of reading 60 books in a year. What made this crazy was the fact that I hadn't reached my goal of 50 books in a year since 2007. Below you'll find my reading list so far in 2010:

1. The Runaway Jury by John Grisham
2. Understanding Four Views of the Lord’s Supper ed. by John Armstrong
3. Peace Like A River by Leif Enger
4. The Reason For God by Tim Keller
5. College Ministry 101 by Chuck Bomar
6. Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong by John MacArthur, et al.
7. Adopted For Life by Russell Moore
8. The Art of Pastoring by David Hansen
9. Jesus and the Gospels by Craig Blomberg
10. John Calvin: A Pilgrim’s Life by Herman Selderhuis
11. The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
12. Calvin and the Atonement by Robert Peterson
13. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
14. Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller
15. What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert
16. The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
17. Start Your Family by Steve & Candice Watters
18. A Little Exercise for Young Theologians by Helmut Thielicke
19. Pendragon by Stephen R. Lawhead
20. Invitation to Biblical Preaching by Don Sunukjian
21. A Harmony of the Gospels by Stanley Gundry and Robert L. Thomas
22. The Words and Works of Jesus Christ by Dwight Pentecost
23. Grail by Stephen R. Lawhead
24. Ashamed of the Gospel by John MacArthur
25. Rescuing Ambition by Dave Harvey
26. Sticky Teams by Larry Osborne
27. War by Sebastian Junger

A Sad Day

I was just saddened to hear that today is the last day of the Albert Mohler Radio Program. I've listened to every single broadcast for the last three years and found it a very helpful look at news and events happening all over the world. Dr. Mohler still offers tons of resources at his website, and I will continue to use those to help me evaluate news and offer resources to the parents of youth at our church.
Thanks Dr. Mohler!

Vacation Pictures

We just got back from vacation. Here's some pictures! We'll comment on our vacation later.

A Systematic Summer

This summer I'm reading through Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology. I was spurred on to do it by a variety of influences, one of them being an ambition to know exhaustively the doctrines of the Christian faith.

Every morning I have been reading a chunk of the book and I'm currently on page 118 (of 1,164 pages) in chapter 7 - The Necessity of Scripture. This quote substantively says what I try to tell our youth all the time:

"To neglect regular reading of God's Word is as detrimental to the health of our souls as the neglect of physical food is detrimental to the health of our bodies."

I really do believe that and Grudem does a fantastic job of explaining why that is the case in his chapters on the authority of Scripture.
Another reason that I'm doing this--aside from the fact that I'm a huge nerd AND in seminary--is for a series we'll be doing in Reality Check in the fall called "Boot Camp." In the series we'll be preparing the youth for deployment in the Lord's Army (yes sir!) by covering the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. I feel that the baptistic tradition I've lived in my whole life has so negatively reacted against other denominations and church structures that we've lost the original sense of confirmation classes. No, I'm not interested in baptizing babies, but I do think that making sure our young people are grounded in the truths of their faith is vastly important and vastly overlooked in most churches in Southern California. It is a direct offshoot of our youth's theme for the 2010-2011 year: War!
Our logo was designed by Melanie Brown, a college freshman who attends Reality Check. Enjoy!

The First Day

It's been a long day. It's been a tiring day. It's been a good day.

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24.

We're getting ready for bed here in our post-partum room in the hospital. Alice (I'm calling here Ali . . . no, not like Muhammad Ali; think an alley) is falling asleep in her little bed. She has breastfed well today. We've had some visitors, mostly family. It was fun to see new grandparents and aunts and uncles holding Ali.

We are thankful for all the prayers of the saints. God has shown himself gracious (again and again!) to us today. Amy is doing well. She is smiling a lot!

There's so much more, but I'm tired and need to end this post. My dad read from Psalm 139 tonight:

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

Oh, and here's a picture!

Alice Mary Gilmore

She's here! At 8:08am, Alice Mary Gilmore was born. She weighed 8' 14" and was 20.5 inches long. She's with mommy now and trying to get adjusted to this world of air and lights!

We're very happy and so is Grandma Godwin!

Praise be to God for his unfailing love, faithfulness, and goodness.

Psalm 127:3-5 - Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one's youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Morning Update

Amy decided to get an epidural last night and received around midnight. She's now (7:28am) been pushing for an hour!

Facebook . . . or not!

For some reason I can't get Facebook in the hospital. I imagine some bored employees were caught messing around on Facebook, so it's probably blocked. Oh well.

Hiccups

We're listening to the baby's hiccups on the heartbeat monitor right now!

Quote of the Day

"Doo doo doo doo . . . I'm bored." - Amy Gilmore

Pitocin

I'm typing this post on my Macbook in our hospital room at Kaiser Irvine. Today, Amy's contractions were happening regularly. They had started on Monday night and we went to the hospital to get things checked. Amy was 3 cm. dilated and they sent us home.

We were very excited and thought the baby would be coming post-haste! But then we slept through the night Monday and Tuesday was a long day of mild contractions, walks and waiting.

This morning, Amy called Labor and Delivery to ask some questions about labor taking so long. The nurse said to come in and get checked. We were kind of discouraged about how long it was taking and Amy was very tired from all the contractions.

We were placed in an observation room and when the midwife came to check Amy out, the baby's heart rate dipped a little bit, so the midwife advised induction.

Sooo . . . here we are in the birthing room. Amy's hooked up to the monitors and we're getting ready to welcome the first Godwin/Gilmore grandbaby into the world!

We'll keep you posted!

Human Depravity

"If you want vivid proof of human depravity in abundance, eavesdrop on practically any unmoderated Internet forum, including the ones devoted to discussing theology." - John MacArthur in Ashamed of the Gospel

April 9th

I am a little in shock as I realize that today is April 9th. Baby is due May 9th. Whoa. Granted, I'm not expecting to be "on time," but it does seem strange that the time really did go by so quickly. Here is a belly shot from a couple weeks ago as we put the crib together. Still not used to seeing that crib in our bedroom... And the belly is bigger now. That shirt will no longer stretch enough. Sigh. ALMOST DONE!

Freesia

My new favorite flower. There is one at the front desk (where I am covering phones at the moment) and it smells SO good! Plus, this one is yellow, which is my favorite flower color anyway. If I had a camera with me I would very gladly post a picture of said lovely flower, but I don't. Instead, please enjoy this picture I found on the internet and have a wonderful Wednesday!

Sunday's Comin'!

It's Passion Week and as you study and reflect on death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, perhaps this video might be a help.

Sunday's Comin' from Igniter Media on Vimeo.

Pregnancy Brain?

Okay, I have to admit that I've been skeptical about some of the things I've read about pregnancy brain. If you've never heard of it, I'm sure a Google search will bring up some interesting articles.

That said, I wanted to share a story about myself.

I've been fighting a cold & allergies this week so my nose is completely stuffed up. I thought perhaps I'd try a warm drink to see if that helped. As I pulled the little lever of our coffee machine (which dispenses the hot water for my tea), I tipped the cup a little and missed the cup edge so some of the water splashed onto my hand. It was hot (don't worry, I don't have any blisters forming or anything) so I moved the cup... and CONTINUED HOLDING DOWN THE HOT WATER LEVER. So, I spilled water onto the counter for a good 2-3 seconds before realizing what I was doing and letting go of the lever. After cleaning my mess I thought "WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME??" and it occurred to me at that moment that perhaps there is something with this whole pregnancy brain thing...

Or it's the Benedryl I took a few hours ago... :-)

So Much I See . . .

I have not really lived up to my resolution to blog twice a week this year. The funny thing is that my mind is constantly mulling over blog post topics. I see a provocative bumper sticker and potential topic bursts onto the horizon of my thinking. I hear a sermon and am motivated to write out my thoughts. I read a book (I'm at nine so far this year) and "plan" to write a book review on the blog. I counsel someone at church and that leads to a related topic that would be wonderful to post about. On and on it goes . . .

However, it is obvious that I haven't followed through (much) on those thoughts. As I sit here in front of my computer screen in my office at Village Bible Church, I tell myself it's because I'm so busy with work, school, marriage, baby classes, parties, dishes, laundry, etc. Those things are all true, and I am busy, but that doesn't mean I couldn't make time for a simple blog post two or three times a week.

So this post is mainly just me posting my frustrations with my laziness.

I think this post has been percolating for a while, but a book I started a few days ago has really been the impetus for this post. It's called Gilead. I think I first heard about it from John Piper, and then he posted about it again two weeks ago. I bought it with a Borders gift card and realized that it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005.

Anyway, the book is about a dying preacher in Iowa writing down his memories (some of which are so random that you have to work hard to remember that this is not a real memoir - it is fiction) for his young son to read long after he is gone.

It is good.

It is thought-provoking.

Read it.

Scary Sad.

Couldn't believe this when I read it. This is not someone's else's problem. It's ours. This is not someone else's fault. It's ours.

Isaiah 1:16-17 -
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.

HT: JT

Further Emergence?

For those wondering or intrigued about Brian McLaren and his popular works, here is a helpful panel discussion at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I am very thankful to these men for shining the bright light of truth on McLaren's new book, A New Kind Of Christianity.

New Pictures

Check out lots of updated pictures here!

We are the World . . . Kinda.

When a bunch of uber-talented celebrity musicians and singers got together 25 years ago (I wasn't even a year old yet) to record "We Are The World," something big happened. However, I think that it was only big because of all the big names involved. Can the song bring a tear to your eye? Yes. Was/is the problem of AIDS in Africa and all over the world a huge problem? Yes. But there's only one true answer for an eternal "better day," and that's the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So when "We Are The World 25" was recorded for Haiti, a lot of people were critical of its scope and purpose. Not only that, some Christians got bent out of shape about a line about God being taken out of the new version. I think these Christians are missing the point. Why should we expect a lost and dying culture to speak prophetically and biblically to itself? That's the redeemed of the Lord's job! Let's offer help and justice to the poor and downtrodden, but let's also offer them the life-changing gospel in the process!

Russell Moore offers some helpful comments on our expectations of the world, especially in relation to We Are The World.

Our church carefully decided to help the people of Haiti by donating through Churches Helping Churches. If you're interested, check out their straightforward website to see what they're all about.

Eric and Ashley

Check out my friend Eric's blog post about their little girl who's just a few months younger than mine! The video is priceless, but Eric's words are wise and godly.

Our Church

We're so glad that God has us at Village Bible Church. Check out our website!

Did I Get Married Too Young?

When Amy and I got married, she was newly 23 and I was almost 22. By today's standards, we were pretty young. Compared to 1970, we were just average. I hear a lot of people telling a lot of young people to wait to get married for a plethora of reasons, most having to do with money and an unhealthy approach to what is "normal" (meaning, can you own two cars, a house, lots of nice things in your home and have the possibility of lavishing ridiculous toys and gadgets upon future children).

So it was with much appreciation that I read David Lapp's article in the Wall Street Journal. Read it, but if you must, skip down to the last paragraph and get the gist of his article. I share his view of married life!

HT: Challies and Albert Mohler

Four Years Ago

Four years ago today my girlfriend became my fiance. Less than five months later she became my wife!

Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. - Ecclesiastes 9:9

He who finds a wife finds a good thingand obtains favor from the LORD. - Proverbs 18:22

House and wealth are inherited from fathers,but a prudent wife is from the LORD. - Proverbs 19:14

Thank you God for a wise, hard-working, loving, fun, godly wife! I love you Amy!

The Bible

What if we saw the gift of having the Bible in our own language like these women in Malawi? Perhaps the better question is this: Have we become so accustomed to our Bible(s) that we take it for granted?



Go here to read what is going on the video.

Proud

I'm proud of The Master's College for its work in the community of Santa Clarita. Why? Here's one very tangible reason.

I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

Take it away Mr. Durso! This is what we are consistently not raising our sons to do.

Good Day

I wanted to share a praise, but I need to get back to work so it will be short (for me). The Lord has brought some very encouraging people into my life lately and I'm seeing answers to prayer every day. That alone is a praise, but there's more! Today is payroll day and my boss came to work barely functioning. He asked me to check the report he usually checks, which is usually when I take my lunch break. I'm about halfway through (I have been eating lunch at the same time), but my attitude is better than it has been in a long time. I thing it's mainly because of the prayers of faithful friends, but I'm sure getting enough sleep for several days on end REALLY helps. Also, I'm feeling physically better today than I have for a while, which just makes the whole world seem brighter. So, praise the Lord with me for His work through friends, prayers, sleep, and gospel-centered music that I can listen to at work :-)

Skipping

I'm a reader. I love reading. I like to think that someone could call me a voracious reader or a committed reader or a diligent reader. I read history, I read theology, I read methodology, I read fantasy, I read modern fiction, I read classic fiction, I read . . .

I (almost) always read the prologue, the introduction, the preface, the acknowledgements, the conclusion, the epilogue, the footnotes, the endnotes (even though I ABHOR endnotes!), the "about the author" page, as well as the front cover and back cover and dust jacket.

Now, you may think that this is a very self-serving post so far. Well, maybe it has been. But here's why I bring this up and why I entitled this post "Skipping." When I'm reading a Christian book (theology, Christian living, textbook, commentary, etc.) I all to often find myself reading everything but the quoted Scripture in the book! I've been challenged on this omission several times by Gunner Gundersen, the Associate Dean of Men at The Master's College, and yet I still do it quite consistently.

Even now, as I'm reading Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong, I keep having to remind myself to SLOW DOWN and go back to read the Bible passage that was quoted. I think I do this because I grew up in the church, God saved me at a young age and I'm now in my 19th year of Christian education. It's like I've inoculated myself against feeling the need to read the Bible verse(s) not because I don't know the passage - I probably am familiar with it - but because I somehow think that I've exhausted all the truth and meaning from the passage long ago.

This is the very thing that I'm concerned about for the youth under my care at Village Bible Church. I continually tell them not to rely on the third grade flannelgraph (most of them don't have any idea of what I'm talking about! I blame this development squarely on VeggieTales.) stories they learned so long ago as if they heard the story and have the content and the applications/implications for their lives stored away forever! May I see this blindness in myself and fight against it with heart, soul, mind and strength!

What about you? Do you find yourself doing this? Do you even read? Do you read theology and Christian living and Christian (auto)biograhies to strengthen and encourage your walk with Christ? Are there other reasons that I/we skip over the Bible passages in the books we read? Let me know in the comments to help think further about this issue.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12

Great Ministries

Here are two fantastic ministries that I've learned much more about in recent days:

Gospel For Asia

International Justice Mission

At Village Bible Church, we are in the process of planning for two big events in the coming months. One is the Program Formerly Known As 30 Hour Famine. I would give you our new title, but I haven't announced it to the church yet, so you'll have to wait on that. Traditionally, the college/career group creates, coordinates, communicates and essentially runs this event. We try to raise awareness of world poverty, AIDS, disease, death and other concerns to our junior high, high school and college aged young people. We also endeavor to raise money to help provide for those with little or nothing of their own. Last year, in conjunction with World Vision, we raised more than $6,000! I'm really looking forward to the event this year. Lord willing, it will all go down March 12 & 13.

The other big event is a mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico. We are going with Caravan Ministries, a ministry that mainly builds houses for the poorest of the poor in one of the poorest sections of Mexico's fastest growing city. This trip will be a different trip than our youth have ever done, so I'm praying that God would prosper the work we will do in Tijuana and broaden the scope of our vision for global missions.

Down from the Mountain

Amy and I spent this past weekend with our church college/career group at a cabin in Big Bear Lake. Most of us went up Friday afternoon and the majority of the group came back yesterday afternoon. Amy and I came back Sunday evening.

It was a good time of fellowship, devotion, movie-watching, game-playing, laughter, some sleep, good walks in the cold and snow, lots of food and getting to know people.

God was gracious in allowing all our vehicles to get down safely and He gave us some good discussion times as well as a great opportunity to attend First Baptist Church of Big Bear. We heard an excellent sermon on the breastplate of righteousness, sung God's praises with his people and even saw one of Amy's college friends!

I love my job!

2009 Reading

For those interested, here's my reading list from 2009. I just missed 50 books for the third year in a row. When at first you don't succeed . . . up the ante! My goal for 2010 is 60 books. Excuse me, but I have some reading to do.

1. Atheism Remix by Albert Mohler

2. Darth Bane: Rule of Two by Drew Karpyshyn

3. A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards

4. Desire and Deceit by Albert Mohler

5. Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn

6. Christian Psychology’s War on God’s Word by Jim Owen

7. A Little Exercise for Young Theologians by Helmut Thielicke

8. A Skeleton in God’s Closet by Paul Maier

9. Research Strategies by William B. Badke

10. Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond ed. By Darrell Bock

11. Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders

12. Unfinished Business by Greg Odgen

13. Spectacular Sins by John Piper

14 The Church in God’s Program by Robert Saucy

15. The Brethren by John Grisham

16. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

17. Christian Beliefs by Wayne Grudem

18. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

19. What is a Healthy Church? by Mark Dever

20. A Tale of Two Sons by John MacArthur

21. Safe in the Arms of God by John MacArthur

22. 1812: The War that Forged a Nation by Walter R. Borneman

23. How to Thrive in Associate Staff Ministry by Kevin Lawson

24. Moving On Moving Forward by Michael Anthony and Mick Boersma

25. Finally Alive by John Piper

26. The Street Lawyer by John Grisham

27. The Transforming Community by Mark Lauterbach

28. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

29. Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul

30. Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin

31. Believer’s Baptism ed. by Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright

32. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson

33. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

34. The Shack by William P. Young

35. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

36. Get Outta My Face! by Rick Horne

37. The Truth War by John MacArthur

38. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain

39. Show Them No Mercy ed. by Stanley N. Gundry

40. Crazy Love by Francis Chan

41. Knowing God by J.I. Packer

42. Desiring God by John Piper

43. Moral Choices by Scott Rae

44. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

45. What is a Healthy Church Member? by Thabiti Anyabwile

46. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

47. The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World by John Piper and Justin Taylor

Non-Fiction - 34

Fiction - 13

Post MORE??

After Happy's inspiring posts, I thought maybe I should make a resolution to post more on our blog... But then I realized that you have to actually post with some regularity before the resolution to "post more" would apply.

There is a real reason why posting doesn't happen much from my end. The main reason is based on the fact that life for me is just about exactly the same from week to week. I suppose I could share stories about the crazy lady I work with who constantly paces around my cubicle, causing my entire desk to shake and my computer to rock in such a way that I frequently think it's an earthquake... but who really wants to hear about that?

Today was bagel Friday (like every Friday) and (like every Friday) I toasted a sesame seed bagel and put margarine on it. Normally by this time on Fridays I am sitting at the front desk answering phones from 12:30-5PM. It's really exciting. Today my routine was changed by the mail arriving late, causing the "normal" receptionist to stay a little later in order to sort. I am currently waiting for her to call me so I can go down to my duty.

After work today I'm driving up to meet my mother-in-law for the rest of the drive up to Santa Maria because Mike (Happy's cousin) is getting married tomorrow! Okay, that's more exciting than my work schedule. The best part is my mother-in-law is joining me on the ride so it won't be 3-4 hours of me driving alone in traffic. She's pretty great :-) (I promise I'm not trying to suck up, I really think she's great). Perhaps when we return there will be pictures from the wedding...

Okay, I'm sure I'll be called any minute to leave my post (HA, in two ways) so I'll end here with that excellent pun. Happy weekend!

Resolutions

Tonight at Reality Check, we talked about the dangers and benefits of making resolutions. We also discussed how to make a wise resolution. Here's five of mine in abbreviated form.

1. Get down to 165 pounds.
2. Blog twice a week.
3. Read sixty books.
4. Read Proverbs every day.
5. Study through Psalms with Spurgeon.
6. Pray with and for Amy more.

New Goals For A New Year

What's this, a blog siting? An update? Say it ain't so!

Yes, folks, it's a new year and time for a new commitment to this blog. Amy and I felt like the last four months of 2009 went so fast, partially because they were so full. That's part of the reason that blog updates just haven't happened. However, I'm determined to be a much better blogger in 2010. I know that I've said that before, but this year I want this blog to be a place where I discipline myself by forcing myself to write out thoughts, link to important/significant/funny websites, keep family and friends updated on life, and post pictures.

So for today, go here to view six new photo albums from the fall and winter of 2009. There's lots of great church/family/friends/vacation pictures.

Before I sign off I wanted to say that this year my goal is to post at least twice a week on this blog, so be sure to check back MUCH more frequently than normal.