Jesus Wants the Rose

Here's an excerpt from Matt Chandler's excellent sermon in the last Desiring God conference. The full sermon of "A Shepherd and His Unregenerate Sheep" can be downloaded here.

Comparing Tunes with DownloadShopper.com

Downloadshopper.com allows you to compare the prices of song and albums between iTunes, Amazon.com, and Walmart.com.

If I found this earlier, I would have seen that U2's new album was $9.99 on iTunes but only $3.99 on Amazon. That's six buck I could have spend to feed my old 80's Christian metal nostalgia.

It's worth looking around to save a few bucks.

Teleprompter Blues

Hey, Dum-Dum, Austrian is not, nor has it ever been, a language. Austrians speak German. You speak only teleprompter.

My Rejection Letter

From: Steinbeck Institute <steinbeckinstitute@gmail.com>

Date: April 2, 2009 10:10:26 AM JST

To: ron.coia@mac.com

Subject: Steinbeck Decision

Dear Ron,

The review of applications to our summer institute, John Steinbeck: Voice of a Region, Voice for America, has been completed, and we regret to inform you that we will be unable to offer you a place in the institute.

We received 157 applications for only 25 positions. The decision-making process was challenging, as there were many more excellent applications than we could accept. Consequently, a considerable number of deserving applicants had to be passed over. We can assure you, though, that the selection committee reviewed each application with great care, and that the criteria for evaluation were fairly applied.

As you know, the National Endowment for the Humanities plans to continue to offer seminars and institutes in subsequent summers. We urge you, therefore, to apply again next summer.

My co-director, Mary Adler, and I are honored by your interest in our institute and commend you for your remarkable service to the intellectual development and growth of your students.

Sincerely,

Dr. Susan Shillinglaw

Professor of English

San Jose State University

New iPod Shuffle

Sounds a bit ahead of its time, but not in a good way.

http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/guidedtour/tour/medium.html

Zombifying a Generation

A.W. Tozer writes in The Knowledge of the Holy:

"Secularism, materialism, and the intrusive presence of things have put out the light in our souls and turned us into a generation of zombies. We cover our deep ignorance with words, but we are ashamed to wonder, we are afraid to whisper "mystery." 

The Wright Thing to Do

Obama's recent about-face regarding Daschle's appointment for the
Health and Human Services secretary is reminiscent of his turn with
his former pastor, the racist hate-monger Jeremiah Wright. Obama
defends and defends, even though he is well aware of the offensive
behavior, until the public fervor grows loud enough to disassociate
and then publicly condemn the individual. He will then have an
interview offering his mea culpa, then wait for his adorning crowd to
praise him for his honesty and bravery.

Obama is not honest or brave or responsible. He simply wants to look
good, and is willing to sell out those around him for political credit.

A few more times doing this, America may be the one telling Anderson
Cooper, "I screwed up."

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/04/obama.daschle/index.html

Denny's Power Breakfast

You heard this about how folks lined up for hours just to get a free
breakfast at Denny's. I found this illuminating quotation from one of
the recipients of the Grand Slam breakfast:

"You couldn't beat it. I mean it was a beautiful, beautiful breakfast.
It was fit for a queen or a king," diner Annah Shoffner told CNN
affiliate WNCN-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina.

We all love free stuff, but to call a Denny's meal something for a
king is overstating it a little, no matter the economic climate.

News link: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/02/03/dennys.grand.slam/index.html

Be Courageous, Mr. President

A powerful message to our president about "reproductive freedom" by John Piper. Are you listening, Obama? Women's rights start first with the right to be born.

South Koreans Find New Way to Evangelize

Christian activists in South Korea sent hundreds of thousands of
gospel tracts over North Korea's closed border in November using
helium-filled balloons. Equipped with a time-release mechanism, each
balloon carried 10,000 leaflets that tell the story of a 1907
Christian revival in Pyongyang, and compare Kim Jong-Il to
Nebuchadnezzar. The effort is part of a resurgence of balloon
launches, used for decades by political and religious groups to send
propaganda past the North's information blackout. Such launches
worsened relations between North and South in 2008. In response, North
Korea's government further restricted travel and communication between
the two countries.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/special/photo_balloons.html

Most Frequently Heard Words in Obama's Speech

How to Read More

Advice from a bibliophile on how to read more in one's daily life.

http://spurgeon.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/tip-1-capture-reading-time/

Girl Scout Cookie Time!

In the midst of New Year's resolutions and commitments to better health, Girl Scouts are selling their infernal cookies. Last night over a few episodes of The Shield, I ate an entire box of Caramel Delights (formerly Samoas). Kristie was attending Bible study during this time of gorging and gluttony.

And I thought Vic Mackey had temptations and trials.

Mars Hill and the New Calvinists

New York Times ran this piece on Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church in Seattle. It's a fair look at both him and the New Calvinists movement. (I think I just used "New York Times" and "fair" in the same sentence!).

I do not necessarily like Driscoll and his too-cool-for-school attitude, but I appreciate how his ministry shows that people will come when a church has solid, theological teaching. Someone should tell this to feel-good Joel Osteen.

One note of correction: John Calvin did not have heretics burned at the stake.

Read the article.

Anne Hathaway and Her "Courageous" Anti-Warren Stance

Anne Hathaway spoke out against Rick Warren's selection for Inauguration Day. Of course, she's not the first Hollywood Elite-type to connect Rick Warren prayers with the end of the democratic world. She is even going to wear a bracelet to protest! That's taking it to the streets, sister!

She, along with all the others who are "offended," overlook these three points:

1. It is Obama's choice for him to come. Warren did not muscle his way into the ceremony; Barack invited him. Hathaway is against his inclusion because her older brother is gay. If you think one way about homosexuality, then anyone who think another way must be banished from participation in government affairs. Is that how it goes?

2. Rick Warren did not single-handedly pass Proposition 8. Lots and lots of Californians voted to pass that measure banning same-sex marriages. California joined many other states with similar bans. Was Rick Warren to blame for ALL of the states banning same-sex marriage, or just California's ban?

3. Barack Obama himself is against same-sex marriage. As is Rick Warren. And Hillary Clinton. And John Kerry. And, evidently, most of America.

Anne, if you really want to make a statement, boycott the Inauguration ceremony. I don't know how you got an invite, but make a stand not with your bracelet, but with your absence. Show Barack that you refuse to support his decision that way. It's the president-elect that you should be mad at, not Rick Warren, the man who simply believes differently than you do. I doubt that you or your brother thought of that as a viable option, did you?

Click for article.

Apple's Newest Laptop

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Reading Through the Bible in a Year

Here is a link to many plans to read through the Bible in a year. There are 10 under ESV Study Bible plans that are set up to email you the daily text.

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2008/12/bible-reading-plans.html

The Christmas Stool

There's no Christmas tree or decorations in the Coia house this year,
as we put them in storage when we left Germany. We assumed that we'd
be gone on vacation this Christmas, we didn't want to mess around
with them. We, of course, decided to stay here in Okinawa during
Christmas vacation, and have a very non-Christmas house this year. I
think we have a candy cane dangling from one of our kitchen
cupboards, and that's it.

We improvised and made this Christmas stool. Did you send us a
present in which to place under/on top/beside it?

Abortion Comments: Might makes Personhood

Few words carry more power in the world today than these: I do not want this child at this time.

Listen to John Piper address this issue:

    . . . in a world without God, the will of the strong creates (or nullifies) the personhood of the weak. . . . And the awesome thing is that we endow her will not just with sovereignty over her unborn baby, but with the authority to define it: If she wants it, it is a baby, a person. If she does not want it, it is not a baby, not a person. In other words, in our laws we have now made room for some killing to be justified not on the basis of the rights or crimes of the one killed, but decisively on the basis of the will, the desire, of a stronger person. The decisive criterion of personhood and non-personhood, what is right and wrong, what is legal and what is illegal, is the will of the strong. Might makes right. Might makes personhood. Might makes legal. This is the ultimate statement of anarchy. It is the essence of the original insurrection against God, and against objective truth and right and beauty.

    No culture can survive this kind of anarchical thinking indefinitely. Part of the remedy is to spread the truth: Might does not make right. Desire does not define duty. Wanting does not create worth. All of us know intuitively that if someone desires our destruction, that desire does not justify our murder. We know this. We should say it over and over again. 

Free Christmas Music Downloads

Our Saturday Walk

For breakfast, we went to a new cafe, Cafe Caracalla, near our house.
Kristie saw a sign for pancakes, and that led her in. It's a Venice-
themed cafe.

There's a few herbal teas to choose from, and they come with a little timer to let you know when you can begin drinking. I thought that was a nice touch.

In case trouble goes down, there's a bow for your use.

On the way home, we stopped at a convenience store. A Melty Kiss sounds unsanitary to me.

The travel pack of mayonnaise is "food for ages 0-100." If you need to take mayonnaise with you on every outing, I doubt you are the kind of person that lives to be 100.

Flannery O'Connor

Flannery O'Connor has been one of my favorite authors for years, so much so, that I want to name our yet-to-be-conceived daughter "Flannery." (Don't judge: take a look at those vapid names you've named your children!) After reading and teaching her over the years, I've never heard her speak.

Until this morning.

I found this blog post that has two readings by Flannery, one on Southern Gothic and the other a reading of her "A Good Man is Hard to Find." At the very least, download and listen to "Good Man," the oft-anthologized story that has a callous murderer as the Christ figure: "She would of been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life."

Here's the link to the blog, Morning Oil.

Free Download: Praise the Living God

Grace Evangelical Free Church is offering a free download of their worship record, "Praise the Living God." Go to http://www.songsofgrace.org to enter in your email to receive a free album of worship songs.

Obama's Victory Plate

It's All About the Timing

See a gallery of more of these photos that were snapped at the perfect time.