What is man that Thou art mindful of him?

I’m reposting this series with the pictures and not the link.

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Thanksgiving for the Lives of Flawed Saints

from John Piper 

God ordains that we gaze on his glory, dimly mirrored in the ministry of his flawed servants. He intends for us to consider their lives and peer through the imperfections of their faith and behold the beauty of their God.

Read the rest…

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Life has been full lately

…and obviously posting has been slow.  Take heart and read a good book while you’re waiting for me.  Here’s what I’ve been reading, and here are some recommendations.

Respond to this message and leave a comment about the best of what you’re reading right now.

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John Williams became a cannibal feast on this day

John Williams encountered hostility when he landed on Erromanga, New Hebrides (Vanuatu) on this day, November 20, 1839. He tried to dash back to his ship, but he wasn’t quick enough. Swift-footed natives captured him. The missionary who had hoped to feast them with the Gospel became their feast instead.

Read the rest from the Christian History Institute.

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Thank you, Veterans!

Thank you, veterans!

God Bless America / Irving Berlin

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home.

(picture taken Easter Day 2006, Scotts, MI — Boomershine homestead)

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Photoblog

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A word about Narnia

My college buddy Josh [er....Dr. Alley] wrote this article about The Chronicles of Narnia almost a year ago.  I just came across it on his blog and thought it was a good take.

Josh’s take

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An injection of civility

I love the NBA’s enforcement (some would call it a new rule) of it’s rule about whining.  The temper tantrums, arm-swinging, rolled eyes and loud long disputes are quickly dissipating.  The league has shown it is serious by consistently enforcing the rule and issuing every caliber of player his due technical foul for showing up the referee.

Admittedly, my team was one of the worst.  The Pistons won their championship two years ago while simultaneously demonstrating how not to respond to missed calls and wrong calls.  Rasheed Wallace has called this the ‘Sheed Wallace Rule and takes pride in it.  “It just means I must be doing something right. Any time they change the rules of the game for one specific player, you must be doing something right,” Wallace says.

 On my sick bed on Saturday, I watched most of the Pistons/Celtics game.  There was a different feel to the game than in years past.  Just a few games into the season, after a good handful of ejections on previous nights, there was an obvious effect on the game because the refs were not being challenged after nearly every call.  There was the look of submission.  Wally Szczerbiak of the Celtics, who I think has a nice-guy persona in the league, was called for a foul and started to make his strong objection; he quickly realized how he was acting and put his hands up and bowed his head in deference and submission obviously seeking to recant his strong reaction, but it was too late…he had already received the technical.

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Quote of the Day

Paul David Tripp in Age of Opportunity (p. 54)

“I am convinced that we miss these dynamic [teaching] moments [with our children] because we don’t know what to talk about.  Our Christianity often becomes fuzzier the closer it gets to real-life, everyday experience.  So we clumsily throw out-of-context Bible passages at our children in the hope that they will somehow motivate them to do what is right…

“The goal is to root our children’s identity in the existence and glory of God.  We want them to understand that they were made by him, that they belong to him, and that they are called to live for his glory.  We are called by God to do theology, that is, to live our lives with a moment-by-moment consciousness of God.  he is the reality that gives sense and shape to every other fact we discuss and consider.”

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Lessons in Logic

Lessons in Logic

Fallacies of Distraction

Fallacy #3  – Ad baculum

Ad baculum is an appeal “to the stick.”  It occurs when when an argument presumes you will either agree or suffer consequences/discomfort.  Such as…

    ”If you don’t vote for my dad, the state will fall apart.  So you should vote for my dad.” 

or (from Calvin and Hobbes)

     “If you don’t give me your lunch, I’m going to pound you, you little twerp.”

or the fallacy will appeal to your personal anxiety…

     ”You should switch to our toothpaste because you don’t want your friends to laugh at you when you have to have all your teeth removed do you?”

or

     “You don’t like Taco Bell?  Hahahahaha!!”

From real life…

“You don’t like Taco Bell?  Hahahahahaha!!”

Beware the ad baculum.

Also, I would welcome you to comment with any ad baculums of your own.

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