Merry Christmas from us!

We're not the types to send out cheesy Christmas cards with our family picture on them but here you go anyway. Merry Christmas!

Three Couches, One With Christ (Part 1)

The first couch was in my friend’s apartment in Nashville in 1998. I had moved there after I finished my undergraduate degree, but now after only a month I sat on the couch with a girl that I had been seeing before I left Memphis. I’m not sure what sort of reaction she expected when she told me the news, but I am sure that she did not expect the first words out of my mouth to be, “abortion is not an option.” It wasn’t the most sensitive and reassuring thing to say and I’m sure it didn’t do anything to instill in her a sense of comfort. She was pregnant and she had driven four hours to tell me in person the news, and I just sat there issuing moral decrees surrounding the results of my own failure. I immediately packed my things, threw them in the back of the truck and drove with her back to Memphis.

The next couch was in a coffee bar near the University of Memphis in 2002. I had just been introduced to a very pretty young lady named Kathryn Wray. Kathryn and I shared a few mutual friends and it just so happened that those mutual friends drug us both out on a Saturday night to hear some guy with a guitar that was apparently playing up on the stage. I wasn’t paying any attention to him. My attention was focused on Kathryn. She was sweet, attractive, easy to talk too, and she demonstrated a level of devotion to the Lord that was instantly noticeable. On our first date we just talked the whole time. By our second date, I was sure that she was the woman I wanted to marry.

The third couch was in a waiting room at the Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women in 2004. This time I was seated on the couch between my wife, Kathryn, and my dad, Steve. We were waiting for the nurse to come out and tell us that my mother was out of surgery and in the recovery room. My mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was in surgery undergoing a radical mastectomy. More than three months of chemotherapy was to follow. Despite the trauma of having this procedure and the horrible thought of facing nearly constant sickness and nausea from the chemo, my mom was in good spirits. She was ready to have the cancer removed from her body.

Exams!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Big plans tonight!

Not really, but I've still been looking forward to tonight for a long time. Here's the plan: dinner with the Oteys at 6 and then we're all off to go see the Goblet of Fire. Kat and I have become huge Harry Potter nerds. We've both finished all six books and have loved the movies so far. This latest looks to be the best of the lot. It'll be nice to spend some time with BJ and Robin too. We haven't really had the chance since we've moved here.

The Real-Life Economic Repercussions of Successful Adventuring

Click on the above image to view it full size.

The Peaceful Fruit of Righteousness

In Chapter 8 of his book Children of the Living God, Sinclair Ferguson discusses the function of Discipline in the life of the child of God. He says that, “Discipline is intended to produce holiness of life and character – a quality of life that is pleasing to God, because it shares in his own holy nature.” By this I took him to mean that God’s hand of discipline upon those who he has adopted as children is intended to help in our sanctification. His discipline helps us to become more God-like. Likewise our attitude toward God’s discipline will reflect our attitude toward holiness. If we eagerly desire to be holy before God we will welcome His disciplining hand.

This discipline which makes us holy is not always a diving thumping for some specific sin on my part. It is often a struggle or trial that God places in our lives with the purpose of driving us to rely on and draw our strength and joy from Him. If our attitude towards this process of becoming holy is not favorable we will fail to grow in Christian maturity and our lives will lack the “marks of God’s workmanship.”

Ferguson draws from Hebrews 12:10-11 in describing the way by which our live yield this “peaceful fruit of righteousness” as the writer calls it. I think that we should examine verses 12 & 13 of Hebrews 12 as well, “(12) Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, (13) and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.” If verses 10-11 provide us with the indicatives regarding this use of suffering by God, then verses 12 & 13 must, at least partially, provide us with imperatives for how we are to live in light of suffering.

We are not to be merely passive recipients of God’s disciplining. Instead, we are to seek within the painful circumstances of that discipline the lessons for greater holiness and dependency upon God. Interestingly, verse 13 seems to be a warning to us that failure to have a positive attitude towards suffering leading to holiness can actually cause harm to us rather than provide healing growth. My mother is a wonderful, godly woman and a breast cancer survivor. Last year while undergoing treatment I saw her suffer greatly and, at times, despairing, but the one thing she kept reminding herself (and all of us) of is that God works all things for our good. Today she is healthy and cancer free. It is kind of strange to hear her speak of the cancer now as if it was almost an old friend (an old friend we never want to see again). There is a sense of fondness in remembering that time, not necessarily for the cancer its self, but for the days and months during which we were all driven to rely on God. Today my mother bears more prominently the marks of God’s workmanship by his loving discipline.

What time is it? It's gyro o'clock!

The Greek midterm exam is over and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Anyway, that is over and I'm glad. On to the next thing...my theology paper.

Seriously... >__<

Inner and Outer Peace by Gregory of Nyssa

"We must not allow hostility to rise up in our hearts; it must be killed absolutely and permanently. We should never give way to anger or nurse grudges, because this would threaten our souls. And, above all, we must never act on these feelings, as this will only fan the feelings into an ever greater blaze. We bear the name of Christ, who is peace. For this reason we are called to put an end to all hostility. In every situation where people are divided, Christ can breakdown the wall which separates them, and make peace. Thus when people attack us, we should, through prayer, invite Christ to reconcile us with our attacker. But we can only do this if we ourselves are free from all hostile feelings. So our spirit and our flesh are not in conflict. When we are at peace within ourselves, then Christ can work through us to make peace with others."

Gregory of Nyssa
From A Treatise on Perfection

This is a selection from one of the readings from my Ancient and Medieval Church History class that I found very convicting as an American Conservative Christian in 2005. I'm not exactly a pacifist and I'm not sure quite where to stand in the current conflict in Iraq. Anyway, I'm interested to hear what some of you have to say about this selection as it relates to the current war in Iraq. Is this reading even applicable? Is it convicting to you, particularly if you are an American?

Dr. Robert Smith and the J.R. Wilson Preaching Lectures

Robert Smith is an associate professor of Divinity at Beeson Divinity school and he is preaching right now. Yesterday he preached at chapel and it was one of the best sermons I have ever heard. He spent about 2/3 of the time dealing with the text and his subject in the hermeneutical sense and the last third just tearing it up (homiletically). He uses that Sing-song style where his voice got very lyrical and he followed each sentence with a sort of grunt/laugh, “heh.” I felt kind of bad because I am sure that if he hadn’t been preaching to a chapel full of white-bread Presbyterians there would have been dancing in the isles and “amen’s” all around.

Today is an event at Covenant called the J. R. Wilson preaching lectures. Each year a guest lecturer is brought in to show us how it is done. Classes are canceled for the day and everybody goes into the chapel and listens to lectures on homiletics all day. Dr. Smith is the guest lecturer this year. I admit that I was planning on using the day to play catch up on some other work that I need to get done, but now that I am here and Dr. Smith is teaching I am much more interested in listening to his lecture than in anything else.

Ouch! My frikkin' arm hurts...

OK so I have a slight case of tennis elbow. Although it's not really tennis elbow per se because, well, I don't play tennis. It is lateral epicondylitis brought on by long-term, repetitive thumb movement.... I have , video game elbow.

The only cure for video game elbow is to go in every six months or so and get a nice big cortisone shot. I went in yesterday after my arm got so bad that I could hardly straighten it. The Doc hit my tendon with a huge dose of medicine delivered in what has to be the most painful shot in medical history. To get the medicine wher it needs to go he has to stick the needle right down into the tendon. He hit the mark and I blacked out.

Today my arm feels like a truck back over it, but it takes a day or two for the medicine to do it's thing. I should be back to playing Chaos Theory by Sunday.

Pandering to my constituents...

Dealing with the schedule of a very full semester has been hard on my ambitious Blogging plans. I'll try to post more short, sometimes silly, usually pointless, things more regularly and get in one or two longer more serious and thoughtful pieces in per month.

I realize that not everything needs to be a great work of writing and that many people just want to know how my day was or something.

"Theologizing"

I didn't even know that "theologizing" was an actual word until about 2:30 this afternoon. I had heard others say the word "theologizing" so I was aware that it existed as a combination of letters which formed syllables which lots of people then inserted into conversations when trying to sound smart, but as for it's actual official entry into the English language, albeit as jargon, was still unknown to me. Wouldn't that be like verbifying a noun?

An Equal Insight

I haven’t really taken the time to point out the little section just to the right of the main posting frame which is titled “Cause/Effect.” I guess the reason why I haven’t taken the time is because, well, it’s pretty obvious what that section is set apart for. It’s where I put the obligatory Bible verse. I say obligatory not out of scorn for the Bible or even because it might seem to be an overly obvious element for a blog that is defiantly coming from and evangelical Christian point of view, but I say “obligatory” because of the sincere desire to ever frame my thoughts and expressions in a way that prominently features scripture within its frame work.

1 John 2:11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

You can never begin to know anything about anybody unless you first seek to care about them in some way. That is why events like the ones of the past week generate a sense of nation unity and even community. It is at these times (usually only at these times) when our hearts extend to those with whom we may have very little in common and find there not just a fellow countryman but perhaps even a brother or sister, because in our compassion for them we are extending not just a hand of help but an equal insight into our lives and burdens.

As we give sacrificially, we take upon ourselves a portion of a burden that was not placed directly on our shoulders. By willfully and compassionately entering into the burdens of another we acknowledge a very personal truth that all share which is this: We are all broken at some level.

New church decision...

I guess finding a new church to call home is never an easy task although for Kathryn and I it wasn't an unpleasant one. Lots of prospective member luncheons help ease the burden a bit.

I've been relishing the almost unprecedented freedom I have in being a prospective member. I mean, nobody wants you do DO anything. Heck, they won't even let you get your own coffee much less drag you into a room of 3rd graders and tell you to "start teaching!" It's nice being new, nobody expects anything from you and everybody is willing to give to you.

Anyway, our new church is Crossroads Presbyterian Fellowship and it is a plant of Covenant Pres. They just bought an existing church building and last Sunday was their first Sunday in the new (new to us) building. It's an exciting for this young church, not just because the Dusenbery’s are joining.

Nothing more than animals...

I guess if you want to get your point across this is a good way to do it.

Take eight attractive men and women, put them on display in a London Zoo, and put up a sign saying "Warning: Humans in Their Natural Environment." Soon you'll get the attention of the press and the public. Here are a sample of quotes from people who have visited the display. See if you can spot the trend...

"Seeing people in a different environment, among other animals ... teaches members of the public that the human is just another primate."

"A lot of people think humans are above other animals. When they see humans as animals, here, it kind of reminds us that we're not that special."

"I've lived in this country for nine years and have never come to a zoo. Humans are animals too!"

"They're not doing anything. It looked lots better on the news."

And my personal favorite:
"You can tell why some people came here, like the big muscly men who clearly like parading around in thongs."

Two things:

1. Sitting in an old bear paddock in your swimsuit is not what I'd consider a "natural environment" since humans have developed something no other animal has...progressive society (i.e. we're smart enough to build zoos and capture other dumber animals to put on display).
2. Why attractive people? Why not pick human specimens that are the zoological equivlivilent of the other animals at the zoo, fat, lethargic sods who get winded bending over to grab the remote off the coffee table.

5 Days Untill Class Starts!

Neighbor Leaving for Afghanistan

Chris Allen, is one of the guys I met this summer in my Beginning Greek class. He also lives at Gulf Drive. About halfway through the course this summer he was called up for active duty and was told that he would be going to Afghanistan. His first child is due in October. So, he'll miss the birth and most, if not all, of the first year of his child's life.

Please pray for him, his wife and baby this year, and remember that there are many like him over there. He leaves Sept. 11.

The Gentle Jolt of a Covenant

At potential new church family #2 (a.k.a. Crossroads Pres.) there was a baptism Sunday morning. Enter mom, dad, and pastor. Throw in cousins, grandparents and great grandparents. Add still cameras, video cameras, one with a really large, really annoying flash. Let us not forget one sleeping cherubic baby baptizee in a white gown who slept through almost the entire ceremony.

She slept through the explanation of baptism and God's covenant relationship with his people. The whole, "I will be your God and you will be my people," thing. She slept through her parent’s vows and the congregation's vows to bring her up in a manner that is pleasing and honorable to God. She slept through being passed from mother to pastor, and through being show around the room as the pastor talked about the meaning of covenant and the purpose of this sacrament. She even slept through the large annoying flash of her great grand father's camera. There was one element of her baptism, her very own baptism, that she couldn't ignore: the Water.

Great glops of it hit her forehead and she jolted awake. Rudely roused from her peace by splashes of water, it was easy to ignore all the words, the handling, the grown up voices, even the parental paparazzi. What was hard to ignore was the elemental intrusion of water on head. Water, that means that she is set apart by a covenant of love and will one day be roused once again by these same people to choose for herself.

"I will be your God and you will be my people," is the offer that is on the table.

"The Deep Breath Before the Plunge"

Here is a list of all the things I did today:

1. Played World of Warcraft
2. Ate leftover Chinese food
3. Watched The Two Towers
4. Went to Best Buy and helped my neighbor, Jim, pick out a wireless router.
5. Helped said neighbor set up his wireless router
6. Played more World of Warcraft
7. Took a nap
8. Ate pizza
9. Watched Return of the King
10. Wrote this....

Please note the complete lack of studying done today.

It's nice not to have to worry about a class for a couple of weeks. Although I am looking forward to starting the fall semester, I am going to enjoy these next two weeks. This is as Gandalf says in the movie, "the deep breath before the plunge," before papers and reading and, yes, even more Greek.

Cheers!

Famous last words...

....well, that wasn't so bad.

Basement full of poo...

One of the nice things about our apartment here in St. Louis is that it has an enormous basement that has been partially finished. We have a study space and a guest room down in the basement as well as our laundry area. It's really my favorite part of the house since it's dark and cool and quiet.

Last night, however, our apartment manager came over and asked us to not flush the toilets or let any water out of the drains at all because apparently the sewer lines have backed up. Thankfully it hadn't backed up into our basement that much since we are higher up the sewer line than some of our neighbors.

Todd and Emily, who live two doors down from us has a basement full of raw sewage! They have a brand new baby and their master bedroom is in their basement. You can imagine the horror of finding a few extra gallons of poo in your bedroom. Not to mention the fact that you don't want your baby around all that nastiness either. Babies make enough poo as it is.

Greek final exam tomorrow!

...and I'm feeling pretty good about it, that scares me. I'm not supposed to feel this good about what is supposed to be one of the hardest tests of my seminary career.

The translations will be from John's Gospel and I John. I can pretty much read I John in Greek. Every so often I'll hit a verse that snags me, but I'm ok with the epistle. The gospel is a little more difficult, just because of the vocabulary that I don't know (but I'm not responsible for knowing). If I choke on this test it is going to be on the parsing portion, that always gets me.

Anyway, after Thursday night life will be a little bit better.

Cheers!

Behold, the fruits of our prosperity!

They say that as a society increases in prosperity it begins to produce more art and other cultural works because as prosperity increased so does demand for art. It has something to do with economics and stuff which I have no interest in what so ever.

Thus, 21st century society has so increased in prosperity that we have created the technology that would allow us to bring forth such staggering works as the image in this post. I mean, I am a very experienced with digital imaging software such as Photoshop and I can tell you that there was some hours put into creating the bird/thing you are now looking at. It's good work. Well done mystery artist.

I would love to be able to claim credit for this creation for several reasons:

1. It would mean that I am a highly talented Photoshop artist
2. and that I have a great eye for character creation
3. and that I am either financially much better off because I have hours to devote to such a pointless thing (or unemployed)

The skills employed by the artist responsible for this image are some of the same skills that are building the foundation of popular culture today. The ability to manipulate pixels is one of the most powerful technological advancements of popular culture (just behind the actual invention of the pixel, of course).You might even go so far as to say that this image represents pop culture its self.

America, this little bird/thing is your soul...

I'm not a Geek. I'm a level 22 mage.

A friend of mine had a t-shirt made with this motto printed on the front and I thought it was a classic statement of sheer flag-waving geek pride!

Cheers!

Why all children should be required to read Harry Potter

Having recently inducted my self into the Hall of Harry Potter Geeks, a depth of geekdom I had until recently left unplumbed, I feel that a few things need to be pointed out about the worldview of the books, and address what some well-meaning Christians see as a promotion of real world witchcraft and occultism.

If you don't know the premise behind Harry Potter....get stuffed. Go read 'em. But briefly: Harry = wizard, Lord Voldemort = evil wizard, Dumbledore > all wizards, Percy is a prat. (If you don't know what a prat is....you're probably not British. Apparently it is a really great put down for uptight suck up yes-men which I shall endeavor to use more in the future.)

So why all the fuss about books that really are nothing more than great stories? Well, for starters there are apparently a lot of prats in the Christian world. No surprise there, Christians are not perfect, and it is easy to see that a little Samuel Paris still lingers so long after Salem.

Some objections about the books are:

• The obvious use of the words "Witch" and "Wizard"
• Descriptions of subject matter learned by the young characters particularly: "Divination" (It should be pointed out that except of a couple of occasions the Divination class it treated like something of a joke)
• Darker subject matter especially as the stories and plots progress
• It's about witchcraft...I mean come on! EVIL!
• The books give children an unrealistic view of how witchcraft works in the real world

The above arguments hold water in my mind only if the reader is under the impression that the way witchcraft and magic works in the real world is in any way related to what goes on at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Which, of course, it is not, and anybody intelligent enough to read through several 700 page books is sure to understand.

There are some really great themes in the Harry Potter books that need pointing out. These theme point to a worldview that is more similar to a Christian ethic that to any thing a modern day witchcraft or Wicca would teach.

• The good guys are really good and the bad guys are really bad. Tolkien-esque romanticism at its finest
• There is sacrificial love displayed amongst the protagonists in almost every book. (i.e. Ron sacrifices himself in the chess game in Sorcerer's Stone so that Harry can proceed and triumph)
• Ethics and morality are upheld by the protagonists. Study habits, sportsmanship (i.e. quiditch), no foul language (apart from a few "hells", a "prat", and a "git" -which I shall also endeavor to add to my vocabulary-) friendship, & loyalty
• **Possible Spoiler** With out giving anything away in the most recent book: there is emerging a definite image of a Christ-like character....

In the end I think too much is being and has been made of the setting of this magical world where the stories of Harry Potter takes place. We need only to read the books as simply very good stories, which they are.

Welcome

This is the obligatory welcome post. Please consider yourself welcomed and feel free to gaze at the wonderful template blogger.com has provided for me, a first time blogger.

Just to the left of this fabulously wonderful bit of welcome text you will notice a very ugly dog and it's crazed owner. Feel free to utter "WTH?" or choke on your sandwich or whatever you usually do to express disgust, shock, outrage, or righteous indignation.

In the future I hope to fill this blog with crap that I think is important to me. I may be wrong at times. So what. This crap may include but is not limited to: griping about school, witty observations on life, cutsey pictures of members of my family, outrage at the world's injustices, theological rantings, and incoherent babblings.

I appreciate your time and attention in these and many more matters. I look forward to interacting with you all in the socially safe and risk-free manner that the internet provides.