Testing, 1,2,3,

I'm testing out Flock's blog editor. We'll see how this works. . .

Blogged with Flock

30 Day No Shave: Day 10

Looking Back, Surveying the Present, and Peering into the Future

National Adoption Awareness Month begins next week. It's a month to raise awareness; a month to call people to action. Our church will be having our second annual 'adoption Sunday', and I'll be preaching. I've found it relatively easy to lay out a biblical call to care …

Great Book: The New Friars

I just finished The New Friars: The Emerging Movement Serving the World's Poor. It's a great introduction to global poverty, and the sacrificial love of young adults who are choosing to make a difference. If you're interested in working with the poor on a sacrificial, …

If You Care at All About the Future of the American Church..

Then you need to read this.
Programs are not the answer. Willow Creek (yes, THE Will Creek) has come to the conclusion that the program-driven approach isn't working. Bill Hybels (yes, THE Bill Hybels) puts it bluntly: "We made a mistake."

They're wiping the slate clean …

This is gonna get ugly...

Today marks the beginning of a '30 day no shave' for the men of VOX. Solidarity. Devotion to God and one another. Just because. Because of my 'adoption protest beard', I'm going into this with a few weeks growth; an already pathetic excuse for a beard. This won't be pretty...

Climbing on a Good Day.

(a snippet from my journal...re: our adoption journey, and some other stuff)

"I'm only just now realizing what a dark valley my soul was in. But now I'm on the arduous, but exhilarating journey above the tree line...

I'm tired, but alert. I'm aware.
Blood is coursing …

Flirting with Libertarianism...

(So here's what I'm thinking re: libertarianism. I'm considering this political philosophy for a number of reasons. These are all 'in-process' thoughts, not intended to be considered concrete conclusions. Also, just a reminder: These are solely my opinions, not the …

My weekend...

What a weekend! We potty trained Ben this weekend, and let me just say...my son is a potty training fiend, and I have never been so glad to get through a weekend. It was 3 days of torture, but well worth it.

For the record, we implemented the 3 Day Potty Training Method. …

Libertarianism?

I've been flirting with libertarianism for awhile now: any libertarians out there?

Fascinating Op-Ed: Read It.

A Nation of Christians is Not a Christian Nation, by Jon Meachem, via the N.Y. Times.

Thoughts?

Tozer is one wise sage...

I've been reading Tozer's The Pursuit of God again (it's been years), and man...this guy is slappin' me upside. Here are a few quotes:

"...I wonder if there was ever a time when true spiritual worship was at a lower ebb. To great sections of the Church the art of worship …

David Crowder: Remedy

I've been listening to the new David Crowder album, Remedy. Good stuff. Time will tell if it is as amazing as A Collision, but regardless, Crowder is a breathe of fresh air in Christian music.

My favorite song BY FAR is "Never Let Go." Chalk it up to the adoption junk …

Mint: Easy, Simple, Online Money Management

Wow. I just signed up for a Mint account. I took less than 5 minutes to enter our credit card account, savings account, and checking account.

I now have instant access to account transactions, spending trends, etc. Very, very cool.

Now, if they can allow me to access …