I'm It

Scott tagged me, and it is my pleasure to share with my friends about the books that have impacted me. As a ground rule, the Bible will not be an answer for any of these questions, because it answers all of them (except the one about "should have never been written"), judges all literature, and transcends man's written words as it is the very Word of God. Pretentious theologizing done, here's my answers.

1. One book that changed your life: The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. (Yes Scott, I know exactly what you're talking about, as Goodnight Moon was easily my favorite book for quite some time.)

3. One book I’d want on a desert island: My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers (and of course, the Bible.)

4. One book that made me laugh: Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller (What an amazing writer. The laughter was basically a "it's funny because its true" kind of thing. It could easily go under #5 and #6 for me, and #7 for a few people I know. Oh well, liberty in Christ, etc.)

5. One book that made me cry: The Complete English Works by George Herbert (If you can read "The Sacrifice" and not be moved, you may not be saved... or human.)

6. One book that you wish you had written: Dune by Frank Herbert (No relation to George. This is the pinnacle of all science-fiction.)

7. One book you wish had never been written: Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications by D.A. Carson. (I do not support the group Emergent, but a blanket dismissal of methodologies via straw man arguments is ridiculous. Not to mention, it uses the TNIV, which should have never been "translated.")

8. One book that you are currently reading: Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture by Graeme Goldsworthy

9. One book that you’ve been meaning to read: The Muslims of Thailand by Michel Gilquin, trans. by Michael Smithies.

Okie doke. Michael Butterworth and Cassie Puskar, you are tagged. So, do this. Now.

Two Decades Down

I started into my third decade of life today, which is a scary thought. My birthday can be surmized by a series of phrases, like church, Taco Bell, Aqua Teen, and Graeters. Rather then detailing the events of the past few minutes, for the sake of modesty and mixed company, allow me to quote Dan DeWitt: "What happens in Carver, stays in Carver."

Happy birthday to me.

Plates and Pre-emptive Strikes

Have you ever seen a clown/carnie/magician/whatever do a plate spinning trick? I possess this skill myself, having been taught the basics during the days when I thought creative ministry was the cutting edge thing that would win people to Christ. Anyhow, they actually have a Guiness World Record for this thing, and it's definitely nifty, neato, etc. It kind of looses a bit of its charm, however, when plate-spinning becomes an active metaphor to describe your life, especially your academic one.

I also like to think of the semester as a war, a war of the classes versus you. In order to launch a pre-emptive strike, the classes drop syllabi bombs on you, and some of them you staggering in shock. Having sufficiently scorched the earth, they then go to work in entrenching themselves, and you have to fight back - one bullet at a time. You have to work dilligently and consistently to dislodge the course work; no one said it would be easy, but hey, the best things in life never are.

It's also helpful to see the semester as God's mercy to you. It is good to see each and every book as something that will inspire your imagination, fuel your thoughts, or deepen your understanding, to see each paper as a chance to increase in resoning and communication skills, to see every action as an opportunity of devotion to Christ.

Looks like plate spinning is glorifying to God after all.

489 Redux

This story ran in my hometown paper. Enjoy.

Rebooting

It hasn't taken too much to snap into Louisville life again. Some things don't change, like hanging out with Toto or Pigg. Other things do change, like the look and feel of the campus, offices, etcetera. My room's in that grey area betweened "moved in" and "disaster" (still lacking the fridge) and already my plate seems to be crowded full (R.L. responsibilities, MS 489 coursework to complete, etc.) And that's how the reboot is coming so far. It is coming, but sometimes it just takes a while to get going.

Here's hoping that everything is going by new student move-in on Friday.

The Best Mistake Ever

The day began at 4:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time. That was wretched. We got to the tiny Montgomery airport to hop on our tiny little commuter jobber, only to discover that the flight was so delayed that we would probably miss our connection in Atlanta. That was irksome. We did indeed miss our plant to Phoenix, but seeing as it was Delta's fault, they bumped us up to first class for the next flight. That was freakin' sweet. They had real food, hot towels for your face, massive leather seats, flight attendents who actually treated you like a person, free headsets for the inflight movie, and more. The friendly skies got a bit friendlier today.

I am once again at home in Overgaard, Arizona. I will spend tomorrow packing, because, at some ungodly hour on Thursday, I'll head back down to Phoenix so I can hop another plane, this one to get to Louisville. (Sigh.) Flying can be fun, but flying this much is way to much of a good thing. Till then, I need to find my checks and my storage unit keys, as they are somewhere in the house.