Your Predictions for 2009

2009 is nearly upon us.  I thought it would be fun to make some predictions about the coming year.

• The Dow Jones and the price of gas will both be higher at the end of 2009 than at the beginning
• The recession however, will continue through the year.
• G..I Joe will be the highest grossing movie of the year.  Just to hedge my bets I’ll say Transformers 2, Harry Potter, and Star Trek will all be in the top 15
• Blu-ray player sales will still stink, though they will obviously improve over what they are now
• The digital TV transition will go smoothly with no major hitches across the country
• Twitter will catch on with “the kids” and people will see it’s usefulness
• This blog will not reach 1000 comments
• Someone in my youth group will become a Christian
• I will weigh less at the end of 09 than at the beginning

Try your hand at predictions in the comments

What I learned in 2008

Here’s some stuff I learned in 2008.  I started this list in December so It is not that thorough, but it should be at least a little bit fun.

• I cannot write lessons for my youth group that involve them working on their own.  They just goof off and I get angry
• Carolina Bible college requires at least 5 students to hold a class.
• Panko Breadcrumbs are way better than regular ones
• If you write a blog post about Proposition 8, atheism, or the Southern Baptist Convention your stats go way up.
• The baby is using 25
• Blogging 3 times a week is a lot of work

It’s a short list I know, but at least I learned something.

What did you learn this year?

Best of the Best Web Junk 2008

This is the last Friday of the year.  Plus I’m pretty much disconnected from the internet this week, so I’m bringing you my best of the best web junk of the year.  This is my personal favorite links & vids from my best web junk of the year.

Links:

Fantastic Contraption is a very fun flash game.

If you missed it the first time you need to take this opportunity to click on this link for Olan Mills hilarity

I’m not fully ashamed to admit that really enjoy lolcats, I find them very entertaining.  if you don’t know what lolcats are then may I introduce FractLOL (You may have to install silverlight)

The 10 most confusing traffic signs in America (October 10)

Youngme/Nowme – Ryan showed me this link. And it is till fun even after all these months.

I know we all remember baby D’les Elexia Star Spiderbite

I know it’s childish and scatological, but puzzle farter made me laugh out loud, and it provided me hours of entertainment this summer.

Videos:

Why is Dana not at work tonight?

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everybody.  The incarnation changed the world and I hope you can remember it  on this day.   I know nobody is going to visit this blog today, but if you do, here’s a special treat for you.

This is one of my all-time favorite youtube videos and I had forgoten about this video until I saw “Christmas in Washington” the other day.  As a Christmas present to my readers I present this awesome video.  I’ll give you the Christmas in Washington version of Straight No Chaser’s 12 days of Christmas.

A Christmas Acro

Here’s a special Christmas themed acro.  Just make an acrostic rom the provided letters and put it in the comments.  We’ll chose our winner, just vote in the comments.

Since Christmas is about different things to so many people we’ll make 2 acros.

S
A
N
T
A

J
E
S
U
S

Since I don’t know how to delay post a comment, here’s my entry.

S-tupid
A-ntelope
N-uggets
T-aste
A-wful

J-eremy
E-ats
S-limy
U-ncooked
S-ausage

Take your turn in the comments.

What to expect on this blog

I’m going in the basement for the next 8-10 days, but fear not readers, I have planned for your blogging entertainment while I am away.

• There will be a Christmas Eve Acro.  Hopefully more than one of you will play.
• Then a special merry Christmas post
• On Friday will be the Best of the best web junk
• Then what I learned in 2008
• followed by My predictions for 2009

I’ll be back shortly after the new year.

Remember.  While I’m away, I probably will be very slow about moderating your comments.  But I’ll get to them when I can.  I will however be twittering with regularity while away.  It will probably even include a tweet or two from Rupp Arena.  So follow me now on Twitter.

Best Web Junk (December 19)

I finished this quiz with 1:42 left (hint, you don’t have to put in the numbers)

Without a doubt BetaMaXmas is the best link I’ve seen this week

This will never pass.  Someone is actually trying to make margarine & imitation butter legal in Missouri

I have watched The Price is Right occasionally my entire life.  This just does not seem possible.  Apparently it is legit

Reading List 2008

I accomplished a goal of mine and read an average of 2 books per month in 08.

The ones on the left are better.

Here is the list and a few brief words about each.  This list is in the order of the books in the photo.  The books that are not pictured are at the end.  There’s some good ones there that you should not ignore.

1. Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations – Alex & Brett Harris.  This was the best book I read this year.  I reviewed it here.
2. Reason in the Balance – Phillip Johnson.  Excellent book.  It is slightly outdated and it isn’t as good as Darwin on Trial.  But it is definitely worth your time.
3. Chasing Daylight: Seize the Power of Every Moment – Erwin Raphael McManus.  I reviewed this book here.
4. Done. – Cary Schmidt.  This is really a long-form religious tract.  But it is really great.  I may give it out in the future.
5. Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism- Douglas Groothuis.  A good book offering context to the gospel.
6. Baptists and the Bible – Russ Bush.  I read this because Dr. Bush died this year, and it is clearly a classic.  Easily the most important book of the conservative resurgence in the SBC, it is very academic and not for the weak.
7. The Problem of Evil – Chuck Colson.  Nothing special here.  But not bad
8. The Case for a Creator – Lee Strobel.  Exactly like all the other “Case For” books.  If you liked them, you’d like this.
9. Rumors of Another World: What on Earth Are We Missing? – Philip Yancey.  Yancey wrote one of my top 10 books ever so I find myself reading him regularly.  But I honestly cannot even remember what this book was about.  Though it was better than the next book on this list, it was nothing special.
10. Reaching for the Invisible God – Philip Yancey.  See above.
11. Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God – Mark Batterson.  I reviewed this book here.
12. Orthodoxy: The Annotated Edition – G.K. Chesterton.  Nobody in the history of literature has been more clever than Chesterton.  This is a good book but a bit inaccessible.
13. Brothers! Calling Men into Vital Relationships- Jeff Gorsuch.  We read this for a small group Bible study at my church.  It’s pretty good for that purpose.
14. Right Thinking – Bill Hull.  My official review…meh
15. Radically Unchurched: Who They Are-How to Reach Them – Alvin Reid.  This book was good, but not as good as Raising the Bar.
16. Sinful Silence: When Christians Neglect Their Civic Duty – Ken Connor.  I got this book free at the SBC.  It was interesting but I did not buy into its thesis.  If you want to know more, ask me in the comments.
17. A Christian Manifesto – Francis Schaeffer.  Usually Schaeffer ages well, but this book felt oddly dated.
18. Night – Elie Wiesel.  I read this in high school.  It is haunting, fascinating and great.  Read it in one afternoon.
19. The Princess Bride – William Goldman.  Another reread, this book is laugh-out-loud hilarious.  better than the movie which is also great.
20. Brave New World (P.S.) – Aldous Huxley.  I read this because it is a cliché.  It is similar to 1984, but not as good.
21. Prince Caspian (Narnia) – C.S. Lewis.  I read this when I heard the movie was coming out.  it took 2 hours 15 minutes to read, the movie was 2:36 or something.—>Here through 27 are freebies I read to get through my bookcase<—
22. Building Your Spiritual Resume (Developing A Testimony That Will Outlast You) – Johnny Hunt.  this is a free book I got during my seminary days.  I read a bunch of those this year.  Hunt’s testimony is entertaining.  Otherwise the book was pretty dull.
23. Lasting Investments – Kent Humphreys.  Another free book contains a great ministry idea.  I probably would recommend this book to my pastor friends.
24. How to Get Promoted – Michael Fletcher.  This book appeared on my door as a gift from a local charismatic church.  It was okay but I would not buy it.  If you are interested in workplace success, I’d recommend virtually anything by John Maxwell over this book.
25. Drawing the Net: 30 Practical Principles for Leading Others to Christ Publicly and Personally – OS Hawkins
26. Good News For Great days 2 – OS Hawkins
27. The Pastor’s Primer – O.S. Hawkins—–>These are not in the picture<—
28. unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity… and Why It Matters – David Kinnaman.  This is the second best book I read this year.  It should be at the left of the photo above but I loaned it out.  For a further review ask me in the comments.  Seriously an excellent book.
29. The Final Quest – Rick Joyner.  I borrowed and read this book because every charismatic person I know thinks this book is excellent.  I did not really like it, but it wasn’t terrible.  The problem is that it was sort of boring, but it was meant as a devotional.
30. 3:16: The Numbers of Hope – Max Lucado.  Like every other Lucado book…fluffy, devotional, and interesting.
31. Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card.  I actually listened to this as an audiobook.  (Checked out from the Cumberland County library)  It was utterly fascinating from start to finish.  I absolutely loved this book.  Maybe it was just well-done on audio, but I would put it third from the left if I had a physical book.

Feel free to share your list in the comments.

Book Review: Do Hard Things

Last week I read Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations.  It is the best book I’ve read this year.

I went to Lifeway with 2 books in mind.  One wasn’t there, the other was either not in stock or misplaced.  I had read a review from Dr. Reid of Do Hard Things earlier in the day, and I wanted something to read, so I picked it up.  Then I didn’t put it down.  The book is incredibly easy to read.  It took less than 4 hours and I was just reading leisurely.

Do Hard Things is written by Alex and Brett Harris.  They are brothers of Joshua Harris who wrote I Kissed Dating Goodbye.  They are also the creators of the Rebeloution.  A Blog for youth about battling low expectations.

The thesis of the book is simple.  Our culture has created a myth of adolescence (a term I believe they stole from Dr. David Black) that has lowered expectation for  teenagers to the point that they can be praised for doing nothing except staying out of trouble.  Do Hard Things urges teenagers to rebel against low expectations and “do hard things.”

There are 5 specific types of hard things they address in the book.

1. Things that are outside your comfort zone.
2. Things that go beyond what is expected or required.
3. Things that are too big to accomplish alone.
4. Things that don’t earn an immediate payoff.
5. Things that challenge the cultural norm.

The book offers example after example of teenagers who have bucked this trend and done hard things.

It would be hard for me to express just how much I agree with this book. It is great in premise and in execution.  After running it by my pastor I may give copies of this book to all the parents of my youth.  I highly recommend it to anyone, youth or adult.

I have been saying for years that I am going to write a book called “Football is Hard”  in which I will investigate why parents of church kids are willing to allow them to spend 20 hours a week at football practice and expect them to work hard to be the third string offensive lineman, but they will not require their students to bring their Bible to church.  In other words, why is it okay for sports to be hard, but  not church?  I actually believe that the problem is more with parents than students, and this book illustrates that.  Parents, expect your kids to do hard things.  Read this book then pass it along to other parents.  Your kids already get it.

One last word.  Alex & Brett Harris are not the only ones who understand this.  The people at Student Leadership University get it.  I believe that there is a rising tide toward bucking the trend of low expectations.  Join the rebeloution.

Knowing people I don’t really know

I read probably 35 blogs regularly.  (Or at least I subscribe to the feeds of probably that many, though I may not actually read them.)

Some of them are my friend’s blogs.  I read Adam, Tim, John, and Scott & Briana, because they are my friends.  They are friends from college, seminary and various other place.

Many of the blogs I read are because they are educational, or because I like to think and be challenged.

Then there is this entire other category of blog that I read.  It is well known in Southern Baptist circles as the “SBC Blog”.  There are varieties of these blogs written for a variety of reasons.  There are some that I generally agree with and others that I believe are written by those just want to keep trouble stirred up.

In this category there is no one who I have ever met in person.  I only know these people from their blogs.  (Except for some of my former professors.)

Now, here is why I really wrote this post

The other day I read as Bart barber posted this link on his blog, and I thought how horrible that must be.  Of course I prayed to the God of all comfort to comfort those involved.  In the Barber family as well as the Scroggs family.

Then Saturday, Bart posted this.  I’ve never met Bart.  He’s commented on this blog 4 or 5 times, I’ve commented on his a couple.  After reading this, I truly felt like I knew him, and I felt empathy.  I guess I’m writing this post to say you should read it as well.  Maybe just trying to express my sorrow as well.  I’m not really sure why I’m writing this.