Live your theology.

I saw this photo and found it vaguely disturbing. I also couldn’t figure out whether Luke or Leia looked prettier…

I ultimately found Leia to be prettier, but Luke’s hair kept him in the game.

It’s always a good idea to read through the Bible at least once a year. There are several yearly Bible reading plans available, but I thought I’d highlight Dr. John Battle’s. This plan will take you through the Bible chronologically. Assuming you start today, you’d read the first three chapters of Genesis and then end 2008 by reading Revelation 20-22. If you haven’t done so already I recommend reading the Bible in its chronological order. Often times we see the Scriptures as a loose confederation of verses or books, some more precisely connected than others. But this isn’t the case. The Word of God was unfolded throughout the centuries by different men, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and there stories come together to weave a wonderful tapestry of God’s unfolding salvation.

So check it out. It’s really quite interesting if you haven’t looked at when exactly everything written in the Scriptures takes place. Job offers a nice segway in between Genesis 11 & 12 – and reading Samuel with the Psalms that were written by David at the same time as well as King/Chronicles and Acts along with the concurrent epistles.

Bible Reading Plan.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Also, Happy New Year!

This is a pretty cool database of numbers you can use to bypass  all those incredibly annoying automated prompts whenever you call a company for service, etc.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to call customer service only to spend 10 minutes wading through prompts and adds before I can have the privilege of waiting to speak to a live person…

gethuman 500 database from Paul English

I wasn’t sure when I’d be back on the blog between now and Tuesday so I thought I’d leave this post to wish you a Very Merry Christmas!

If any of you are in south Pierce County, you’re invited to attend church services at TBPC. Breakfast is a 9:00, singing at 9:30, worship at 10:50, lunch at noon, Christmas Cantata at 2:00.

Stop by for any or all if you have time + desire.

Merry Christmas!

Most of us have seen A Christmas Story more times than we can count. It’s one of my favorite Christmas movies, though it remains a distant also-ran behind National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the single greatest Christmas movie ever. A Christmas Story is a nostalgic piece of Americana that peaks with Ralphie Parker getting his long coveted “Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time” from his father.

You all probably have your own “Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time” gifts that you’ve received through the years. For me it was the Nintendo Entertainment System we received circa 1987 (my brother and I had to share it, but we didn’t mind). While it would be fun to muse on the times we received that one gift that we wanted more than all else, I’d like to instead take a look at those “Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time” presents that weren’t stowed away in a corner just waiting for us to find them. The “Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time” that we never received, and have pined for ever since…

1. The U.S.S. Flagg

Words can’t properly convey the awe that came over a kid when gazing at the Sears Wish Book at the mother of all playsets: The G.I. Joe U.S.S. Flagg:

The size of the toy alone was staggering. 7.5 feet long, 3.5 feet tall, 2.5 feet wide. Just look at the size of that thing. Those aren’t miniature Skystrikers parked on deck or Rattlers buzzing the control tower – those are the full sized real things, and the Flagg absolutely dwarfs them. It wouldn’t have even fit in my room without removing a bed or two. But that would’ve been OK. I would have gladly slept on the couch or even outside if it meant having this plastic piece of paradise. Though the Flagg cost a hefty $130 (which is the equivalent of $230 in today’s economy), I really think it was the ginormous size that prevented my Mom from buying it for me. That and the fact that one of my cousins would no doubt destroy it within hours of it being assembled. Sorry Chris & Jeff, but I still hold those snapped TIE Interceptor wings against you – I showed you where explode button was and you still broke it! ;)

If, for some reason, I found the Flagg under our tree this Christmas, it would be my definitive Ralphie moment.

Some honorable mention:

• A synthesizer. I wanted one of these after I saw Ferris Bueler’s Day Off. I’ve always wanted to create theme songs for people and then start playing them whenever they walked into the room, something along the lines of the Beverly Hills Cop theme. If anyone gets me a synthesizer, your theme will be the first one composed.

So how about you? What was that one present you wanted above all else but never received? Leave a comment of write a post on your own blog. I’m truly interested.