Almost There

The title refers to the end of the school year and several other major transitions on the horizon. But mainly, I just can't believe we're only two days away from Alice Mary Gilmore turning one! We're celebrating her birthday on Saturday with friends and family and it's just crazy to think back to what life was like two years ago and then just last year at this time. Wow!

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
- Psalm 127:3-5

And I know I haven't continued the "series" that I started last month. I promise it will get moving this summer, if not before then.

Hole in the Head

I'll continue to the What I Listen To series next week, but I couldn't pass up posting this video. Wow.

What I Listen To, part 1

I have wanted to do this series for a long time, but just haven't started (is that the theme of this blog?). So today I was listening to a podcast and the content spurred me to just get something started, hoping that momentum would be started!

The series will focus on all the podcasts that I listen to on my iPod. Today I'll start alphabetically.

The Briefing

The Briefing is hosted by Dr. Albert Mohler, President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I used to listen to the Albert Mohler Program until it ended last year. The Briefing is "a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview." The podcast is updated every weekday morning and covers relevant news from the day or days before. It usually lasts 12-15 minutes and camps out on several topics. Recently, those topics have been Libya, the Middle East, and the US economy. Although Dr. Mohler usually talks about some of the main headlines that would appear in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and other major newspapers, he often finds smaller topics that are not covered well or thoroughly by the press. As you would assume, he also covers news about churches, denominations, missions and legal proceedings regarding religious liberty.

I find the podcast to be helpful, giving me a good summary of some major domestic and world events as I start my day. Dr. Mohler does more than just report; he analyzes and digs deeper than facts and opinions to the worldview behind the news. He is a keen observer of culture and does a balanced job at trying to see things from other points of view.

Today's podcast was especially helpful in dealing with the Florida Koran burning and the continuing repercussions in Afghanistan. Take 15 minutes and listen to it.

Hopefully this series of posts will help you find some good content for your iPod. If it does, let me know and spread the word. Share some of your favorite podcasts in the comment section below.

Next time, I'll share about Dr. Mohler's other podcast, Thinking in Public.

New Pictures

Check out Web Album 2 on the sidebar to see updated pictures from Amy's dad's and wife Belen's California visit!

The Five Best Toys of All Time!

This list is fantastic. I couldn't have said it better myself!

HT: JT

The Move and More Pictures

New pictures of Alice are available in Web Album 2 on the sidebar or by clicking here.

Okay, so that was the big news. In other news, we're totally moved in to our new two-bedroom apartment. We moved a couple hundred yards across the complex we've lived in since March 2009. We are really enjoying the blessing of more space and of Alice not sleeping in our room! She's sleeping so well, too. In fact, this morning, Amy had to wake Alice up to feed her. That almost never happens!

When we signed the lease, we were astonished to find that instead of having a rent of $1,495/month, we were given $100 coupons for the next 11 months of our lease, effectively lowering our rent to $1,395/month! Praise the Lord!

I've started school again and am taking World of the Old Testament with Dr. Ken Way, Evangelism and Follow Up with Dr. Tom Steffen, and Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, which is offered through Trinity International University and will transfer.

Amy and I are planning two vacations coming up in 2011 and looking forward to Christmas in New England. I'm also leading a mission trip to Guatemala June 23-30.

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

Five Years Ago

Five years ago today I asked my favorite girl a simple question. She gave a simple answer. I'm so glad the answer was "yes!" Our lives are much more complicated, busy and draining, but I'm thankful to be living life alongside Amy Frances Gilmore.

For the full story, go here.

What's Going On In Egypt?

David Dolan is an American Christian journalist who has lived in Israel for more than 30 years. He has a very unique perspective on the happenings in the Middle East. I would encourage people to subscribe to his monthly Israel Updates. Here's a little taste of the article:

So the fact that Hosni Mubarak’s police and security forces are rife with corruption has been evident to me for many years. Does this mean I have been advocating the ouster of his autocratic regime? Not at all. This is because I’ve also long understood that the Arab people in general, especially the vast majority who are practicing Muslims, tend to be very proud folks, with the Muslims believing that they are the Almighty’s uniquely chosen sons and daughters, not Christians or Jews. This deeply-held belief contributes to the fact that the Arab masses have often proved to be very unruly, as some of my Arab friends freely admit.

God is Love, Right?

I enjoyed reading through D. A. Carson's little book The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God. Originally a lecture series at Dallas Theological Seminary 13 years ago, the book has been tightly focused and provocative in thinking about the love of God in the Bible. Carson did a great job in translating his mostly serious, sometimes witty style of speaking into the text of the book.

I especially appreciated Carson’s refusal to capitulate to easy, casual explanations of God’s love. It is right that Carson ends the book by encouraging the reader to engage the abstract thought world of God’s love, but not without connecting it to the living, breathing world around us where so many are unloved.

I found the following quotes very helpful:

"Strange to tell, not once is Jesus or God ever described in the Bible as our friend. Abraham is God's friend; the reverse is never stated." p. 41

". . . the love of God in our culture has been purged of anything the culture finds uncomfortable. The love of God has been sanitized, democratized, and above all sentimentalized." p. 11

“God in his perfections must be wrathful against his rebel image-bearers, for they have offended him; God in his perfections must be loving toward his rebel image-bearers, for he is that kind of God.” p. 69

1 & 2 Timothy

I have the privilege of teaching through 1 and 2 Timothy for the next several months on Tuesday nights at our church's youth service called Reality Check. As I continue to learn and develop as a teacher/preacher, I refine my style and habit of study. Of course, my study habits and times are also governed by my school schedule. I still have almost four weeks until school starts, though, so my schedule is much more flexible and open. I am hoping to utilize my knowledge of Greek in a more extensive way than I've been able to previously in teaching. To aid in my teaching, here are the resources I'm using:

Entrusted With the Gospel, edited by Andreas J. Kostenberger and Terry L. Wilder.
The Pastoral Epistles, by Donald Guthrie.
1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, by Gordon D. Fee.
Pastoral Epistles, by William D. Mounce.
1-2 Timothy & Titus, by Philip H. Towner.

I've yet to come up with a title for the series, but I love the intimacy of the letters from Paul to his "true child," Timothy. I also was attracted to the amount of topics that Paul touches on in the 10 chapters of 1 and 2 Timothy: stewardship, the gospel, money, widows in the church, biblical inspiration, church structure, elders, deacons, dealing with false teachers, just to name a few!

I look forward to laboring through these books over the next few months.