Well, except for the personality test I took on Matt’s Redbook, this is the only online test I have been tempted to take. Just answering the questions was a lot of fun :)

Originally spotted at Knowledge Jolt with Jack: Nerd Score (time for bed)

Status: Looks Interesting.

Readerware appears to be an interesting product. From what I see you can use the software not only as a database of your books, but help you find where the book should be (even if they are packed in a box as long as the box is labelled). It would be nice to search for books I have at home in the same way I can search the library’s collection.

If you love books, are an avid reader, collector, researcher or anyone who needs to maintain a collection of books, then Readerware is a must have product. Readerware is the ultimate book lovers tool, there is no easier way to catalog and maintain your collection. Its unique auto-catalog feature will do the work of building a database for you by scanning the internet. It will find the book, and build a local database with all the relevant information, including cover art. You feed it a list of ISBNs or bar code scans and Readerware does the rest. No data entry required!

And you can keep track of who has borrowed your books to for followup when they forget to return them. Or for those who might want to boast you can even generate HTML of your collection and post it to the web for all to see.

And there is even a Palm OS version of the database reader so you can take your catalogue with you. Ever run across a book at the bookstore and try to remember if you have a book?

http://www.readerware.com/

Have always enjoyed maps - and now Google has maps! What next? TV?
From the GoogleBlog:

We think maps can be useful and fun, so we’ve designed Google Maps to simplify how to get from point A to point B. Say you’re looking for “hotels near LAX.” With Google Maps you’ll see nearby hotels plotted right on a crisp new map (we use new rendering methods to make them easier to read). Click and drag the map to view the adjacent area dynamically - there’s no wait for a new image to download. Or get step-by-step directions to where you’re headed. If a particular intersection on the route looks tricky, click on that step in the directions to see a magnified view. Play with the keyboard shortcuts (arrow keys to pan or the +/- keys to zoom in and out ) too. The tour shows you even more.

Although this article is written for those facing the interviews, I will be on the other side of the desk and might just have to use some of these questions.

• What do you know about our organization?
  
• Why do you want to work for us?
  
• What can you do for us that someone else can’t?
  
• What do you find most attractive about this position? What seems least attractive about it?
  
• Why should we hire you?
  
• What do you look for in a job?
  
• Please give me your defintion of [the position for which you are being interviewed].
  
• How long would you stay with us?
  
• Your resume suggests that you may be over-qualified or too experienced for this position. What’s Your opinion?
  
• In your current (last) position, what features do (did) you like the most? The least?
  
• What do (did) you think of your boss?
  
• What do you feel this position should pay?
  

Originally spotted at getting things done, productively

I borrowed Laugh and Learn Spanish, Featuring the Number One Comic Strip for Better or for Worsefrom the Kennewick Library and found it enjoyable. Will have to check it out again as my Spanish gets better and I understand more.

FROM THE PUBLISHER
Pictures and humor help readers build their Spanish language skills

To its millions of fans, the Pattersons are just like their own families, facing universal issues among daily concerns. Containing a selection of 100 syndicated Spanish-language versions of the strip that is widely read in Latin America, Laugh ‘n’ Learn Spanish provides an entertaining and effective way to expand and polish conversational skills in Spanish.

Readers learn by understanding and learning natural, everyday verbal interactions at home and about town, following John and Ell Patterson as they attempt to come to terms with middle age; daughter Elizabeth as she spreads her wings and goes off to college; son Michael dating and then marrying his childhood sweetheart, Deanna; daughter April as she rebels against discipline, anther grandpa who finds a second love in the autumn of his life. Each strip is graded by difficulty—Beginning, Moderate, or Challenging—and is accompanied by:

• Glosses that translate difficult vocabulary
• Usage notes to build proficiency
• A summarizing activity that tests comprehension
• Additional exercises for key idioms and word patterns appear at the end of each section

SYNOPSIS
The most popular, most-read comic strip in North America is now the most fun way to learn Spanish!

Learning a language should be fun! So sit back, laugh, and learn Spanish by following the antics of the Patterson family in Lynn Johnston’s hugely popular comic strip “For Better or For Worse.” Now featured weekly in several Latin American Spanish-language newspapers, these cartoons will have you laughing your way through your lessons as you expand your vocabulary, comprehension, and conversational skills.

To help you focus on the learning level with which you are most comfortable, Laugh ‘n’ Learn Spanish is divided into three sections: beginning, moderate, and challenging Through the comic strips and their universal themes of family values in a modern world, you’ll learn how to talk in Spanish about everyday things: making demands and requests, expressing hope and plans for the future, discussing household chores, going shopping, asking for types of food, exploring relationships, and so on. The engaging storylines offer a strong incentive to keep reading and learning.

Using laughter to break through the language barrier, Laugh ‘n’ Learn Spanish features:

• Vocabulary notes that translate difficult or new Spanish vocabulary
• Language notes that provide guidance on correct usage
• Entertaining, picture-based review questions that test your grasp of vocabulary and commonly used structures
• Plus the original English text for the cartoon strips, should you need to check your understanding

Looks like I will have to look into this.

UBCD4Win is a bootable CD which contains software that allows you to repair/restore/diagnostic almost any computer. All software included in UBCD4Win are freeware utilities for Windows®. UBCD4Win uses Bart’s PE© which is how the CD boots into a Windows® environment with network support. Perfect for recovering deleted files on your harddrive without accidentally overwriting them or scanning a virus infected system. This project currently has 50+ utilities included in the download. Anti-Virus, CMOS password recovery, password finders, file recovery, Networking tools, CD burning software, MBR backup and recovery, etc. types of applications are all included in the download. Please visit the “List of Tools” page for a complete list of what is included in the project.

Originally spotted at The Lockergnome: Chris Pirillo

I saw a blurb about CastleMagic, a company out of Sandpoint, Idaho, and immediately thought of my son-in-law, Matt. Except for the out of pocket expense to get one of these built I am sure he would have one built somewhere a few miles (minimum) out of town.

We build custom stone dream castles from start to finish using methods of old and new. We strive to use all natural materials to produce a structure that is strong, lasting, and healthy for the castle dwellers. This involves combining the old castle building methods with modern reinforcing steel, non-toxic materials and finishes, and a few physics tricks and knowledge to produce a warm and dry castle interior.

CastleMagic - Building dream castles since 1980

In a really old issue of Issues, Etc. Journal (Fall 1998 - Vol. 3 No. 2) the author, Don Matzat, says he often challenges callers to his radio show to:

… share their testimony without ever talking about themselves. I have developed the pet phrase, “This thing called Christianity – it’s not about you!”

He contrasts the “theology of glory” with the “theology of the cross”.

The Place of the Gospel
The Protestant theology of glory begins with a one-time trip to the Cross of Jesus Christ. The preaching of human sin and divine grace is only directed at the unbeliever in order to “get him saved.” The person who gets saved can sing, “At the Cross, at the Cross where I first saw the light and the burden of my sin rolled away . . . and now I am happy all the day.”
…
The theology of the Cross is quite different. The preaching of sin and grace or Law and Gospel is not only intended to convert the unbelieving sinner but is intended to produce sanctification in the Christian. The preaching of the Law continues to convict the Christian of sin, leading to contrition, and the Gospel continues to produce faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ.

My spiritual roots are in the theology of glory. Make a trip to the alter - now you are saved. Life is hunky-dory. And if you find that you are not measuring up to the standards of the holy life - the problem is you - you must not be praying enough, you must not be living in the spirit, you , you, you.

Sanctification
A theology of glory separates the Christian life from the Gospel. Once you are saved you are given a list of do’s and don’ts. More often than not, these are “evangelical house rules.” If you continue to break the rules or backslide, the solution is the rededication of your life to God or, in some cases, the emotional determination to keep your promises. You wouldn’t go back to the Cross again because you already did that when you got saved. Rather, you rededicate your life, because “once saved, is always saved.”

The theology of the Cross never gets you past the Cross. The preaching of the Law is not intended to provide you with a list of do’s and don’ts. Rather the preaching of the Law is intended to drive you back to the Cross through the hearing of the Gospel. As a result of the Gospel, your faith is strengthened. Out of faith, the good works defining the Christian life are produced.

How great it is to hear the the Law & Gospel preached every Sunday - and not because there might be an unbeliever present who might get saved but because believers are present - so that we can see our need for grace and grow in sanctification.

Holiness
A theology of glory produces people who think they are better than other people. “Getting saved” moves you to a higher level. You are now a better person, a step above those who are not saved. You can think of yourself as a part of the “moral majority” as opposed to the “immoral minority.” You share your testimony so that other people will get saved and be a good person just like you are.
…
The Pentecostals (and Charismatics) add another step on the ladder of holiness. They promote a baptism in the Spirit with speaking in tongues which gives you spiritual power that you didn’t have before. Former Southern Baptist pastor Charles Simpson said, “Before I got baptized in the Spirit I almost wore out my rededicator.” In other words, now that he has received power, unlike other Baptists, he no longer has to rededicate his life.
…
Living in a theology of the Cross never makes you any “better” than anyone else. Every day in every way you are not getting better and better. In fact, the preaching of Law and Gospel will not lead you to an awareness of your holiness, but rather to greater awareness of the depth of your sin. As a result, you will develop an ever-increasing faith in and appreciation for the redeeming work of Jesus Christ.

Did you catch that last paragraph?

Every day in every way you are not getting better and better. In fact, the preaching of Law and Gospel will not lead you to an awareness of your holiness, but rather to greater awareness of the depth of your sin.

I immediately thought of the saying “The more I learn the less I know”. Some people will be uncomfortable with the statement - “you are not getting better and better” - but really - I was saved at age 17 - I only had 2 major temptations/problems at the time - getting married solved one of them. Now I am 45 29 and wish I only had those two problems/temptations.

This is the joy of the Reformed Christian’s life. To be able to trust my Savior for my salvation because I know it is nothing in me or by me that got me saved. My salvation is only dependent of God’s faithfulness, and I have a whole Bible that testifies to the dependability of that!

The Reformation theology that characterizes both Lutheranism and traditional Calvinism is a theology of the Cross. There is no doubt that the theology of glory appeals to natural man. It is a theology of Adam. It is self-focused. It defines “popular Christianity.” The reality is, it is not biblical Christianity.

Originally spotted at Boar’s Head Tavern

Thought iMonk in his weekend file hit it pretty well again - especially the final paragraphs where he states:

Christians aren’t trying to turn an earthly Kingdom into the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is already here, and it’s power to transform isn’t political or military, but the power of love and grace. This Kingdom doesn’t coerce, but wins the heart. It doesn’t even triumph. It loses at the cross and the resurrection isn’t seen by the world. Only the transformed disciples.

So here are his thoughts - and I will ask with the same question he does at the end: Are we on the same page??


A few thoughts about Christianity, Judaism and Islam, and how they differ on religion and the state. This huge outline is in my head, and I may never get it out, but that is what this space is for.

Judaism was always about an earthly Kingdom, and a literal physical Kingdom of God on earth. Israel really stunk at being God’s Kingdom people, but that doesn’t stop us from seeing that it was never out of line to combine religion and government. Immoral and illegal were the same thing. The King was God’s vice-regent. Historically, most Jews gave up on this arrangement, but it was always where Israel was going. A real Kingdom, with God ruling his people so that a blessing could come on the whole world.

Islam is clear on this as well. Mohammed saw faith and state as unified. In fact, it is the state that is the instrument of Allah’s justice, judgement and command. There are some secular Islamic states, but they stand in tension with Islam itself, which is always about Allah working through the state, and the state being the hand and arm of God.

Christianity is puzzling. Jesus is a Jew, but he subverts the entire notion of the Kingdom. It is here. Really. You just can’t see it. You can experience it. It can transform you and will transform the world, but right now it’s a seed. There is no king, and yet there is. There is no Kingdom of this world, though Jesus is Lord. The Kingdom doesn’t come as other kingdoms do. And so on.

When you start looking at Christianity and the state, this deeply affects everything. Christians aren’t trying to turn an earthly Kingdom into the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is already here, and it’s power to transform isn’t political or military, but the power of love and grace. This Kingdom doesn’t coerce, but wins the heart. It doesn’t even triumph. It loses at the cross and the resurrection isn’t seen by the world. Only the transformed disciples.

How can this Kingdom interact with Caesar? How can this Kingdom become entangled with Caesar? Since we know that the Kingdoms of this world crucified Jesus and persecute the church, why are we surprised that these kingdoms have agendas that are far from the Kingdom?

Christians believe that the Kingdom of God will come on earth, but what will ultimately move the Kingdom from secret and unseen to powerful and universal is the triumph of Jesus, not political reform.

Jesus could have been King. He walked away from it. He was ever confident that the Kingdom of God was never threatened by history or tyrants. Are we on the same page?

Interesting subject.

On Alex Arnold’s blog about Joel Osteen, “Osteentatios“, at Dulcius ex Asperis, he draws a word picture I have not ’seen’ before: “Instrumentalizing God”

The problem with Mr. Osteen’s teaching is not so much that he doesn’t preach the Gospel as he instrumentalizes God. And he isn’t the first one. There is a significant stream of Christian tradition that runs up through much of modern-day evangelicalism that does exactly this. Jesus is offered as a cure for all the ills of mankind. Is your marriage in shambles? Well, just “give your life to Jesus” and He’ll fix everything. Are you wasting away from cancer? Pray harder to Jesus and He’ll heal you.

Yes! This is what drew us to a Reformed understanding of the Faith. It is not about me. Yes, I am part of the covenant community - but I am not a lone ranger. Jesus saved ME but not to keep me from ever having problems again. Instead my faith in Him gives me assurance as I face those things life throws at ME. He does not guarantee me a mansion on a hill in this lifetime but he does promise me peace.

I remember a conversation long ago with a friend about ‘prosperity & healing’ and I mentioned that when the three young men were thrown into the fiery furnace they were able to say with confidence, “God is able to deliver us, but even if he doesn’t we will still serve Him”. Temporal deliverance from this world’s travails is not promised to us but our faith is not shaken for our treasures are not of this world.

Christianity is not about converting people Once again I quote Michael Spencer from his The Internet Monk blog. Pretty good fuel for the fire - Again my formative Pentecostal years seem to mirror his Baptist background.

“Imagine a fellow starts a breakfast meeting with a few Christian friends. They drink coffee, joke and enjoy doing little or nothing. One thing is for certain. At some point, someone is going to say that the group is wasting their time. Right? Why aren’t they praying? Why aren’t they witnessing? Why aren’t they motivating themselves for evangelism or missions? All this talking and joking and discussing issues is just a waste of time. Christian are here to make a difference, and this group isn’t solving any problems or making a difference at all.”

So is it acceptable for a bunch of guys to get together on a Friday night for a little friendly poker without feeling guilty that we are not out at the mall ‘witnessing’? Well, iMonk thinks that the focus on ‘witnessing’ is unbiblical.

“Here. Quote me. There is no urgent concern for converting people in the New Testament. Did you get that down? There is also no urgent concern for the numerical growth of churches by the efforts of members to convert others. There are no burgeoning church programs. There are no plans to train everyone to door knock and sell Jesus. There is an urgent concern for doctrinal and personal Christ-likeness. There is a concern for leadership, integrity, honesty and obedience to Christ in our personal lives. The idea that we are here to “win souls” and not to know and show God is bogus.”

There is a ‘Multievel Marketting’ mentality in much of Evangelicalism. Recruit your downline. The product does not matter - just recruit more people to the organization. How many times have I been invited ‘out’ only to find out they were not interested in me - they were just trying to recruit me into the organization.

“What I will say is this: The “wretched urgency” that pervades much of evangelical Christianity isn’t Biblical. It’s a hoax, and a sick one. In fact, I will go so far as to say it is an outright distortion and perverting of the New Testament into saying something it never says, and ignoring plain truths it lays out for anyone to see.”
…
“In the meantime, I will be accused of being a Calvinist, and that is fine, because only a vision of God saves any of us from despair. I will be accused of being anti-missions and anti-evangelism, but my life and priorities should refute that. What I want to be accused of is being a person without wretched, driving, guilt-producing urgency. I want all my urgency to be born of grace and mercy, and lived out in everything I do before the eyes of the Lord. Jesus should make me better than I am, and for that, I am urgent. I close with a passage that puts it perfectly:”

1 Corinthians 15:10-11 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

So we can rest in Christ. This does not mean we are not to witness - anymore than our salvation means we are not to live holy lives - what it does it force me to face the fact that I will save no one - that is God’s job. My job is to live a life pleasing to him and obediently share the Gospel when God gives me opportunity.

When a young man and a young woman give in to Satan, when they strip down like animals in the wild and prepare themselves for a lusty round of heavy petting and full-blown sex, what better reminder for them to buck up than a WWJD condom with the image of our Lord and Savior right there on the package, and then, as a fail safe measure, also on the prophylactic itself?

…

Naysayers aside, Morehead has arranged for a manufacturer to produce 100,000 of the WWJD prophylactics that he plans to sell for $5 a pop over the Internet and through Christian bookstores nationwide.

“All the profits will go to a home I’m building for unwed mothers,” says the preacher. “A home that wouldn’t be needed if those girls had been carrying a WWJD condom.”

What can I say except that it was too good to be true.


Originally spotted at the revealer

Challies.com has a very good ‘outing’ of Joel Osteen, Minister Extrordinair - with some very interesting comments by others - one of the comments that I thought hit close to home is the following:

What prompted the rise of Osteen like churches? The hard edged swing of the fundamentalism of the 1990s. That statement won’t be popular here but we have only ourselves to blame. We became so hard edged and mean in the process we took the grace out of Jesus and made him unlovable to the world. No, we weren’t to commend the sin of humanity but we missed the opportunity to share cups of water with sinners vereses marching in abortion clinic lines and throwing stones to stone essentially flaweed people. We got it wrong too, we thought if we just changed people’s habits we’d create a Godly country. But what we missed is what the Word of Faith believers took advantage with in their extreme philosophy (disguised as theology).

As a follow-up to my earlier post re “CastleMagic Castle Builders” I think I have found something even better for my good son-in-law, Matt.

So, anyone’s guess on how odd a 30 ft tower on the front left hand side of the house will look?

Photo journal of the project.

I saw this post at It Takes A Church… and it struck me how much I appreciated my first pastor. He spent 40 years in the church, from it’s very beginning to his end.

It was cold morning in Pasadena but an unusually high number of sleepy seminarians dragged themselves into a classroom for a muffin and weak coffee (this was before “The Starbucks Revolution”). The reason: Eugene Peterson, respected author and “pastor to pastors” was going to speak at the Spiritual Formation breakfast (which, as I have already noted, wasn’t much of a breakfast).

To be blunt, Peterson wasn’t great that morning. Maybe he needed better coffee to get going, too. The hour seemed to drag on and I remember being disappointed. I had come to hear this man whose books had so inspired and shaped my sense of pastoral calling and now I was leaving with a growling stomach and not much food for thought.

And then, the moderator threw out one last question. I think it was meant to be a simple little wrap up question, to inspire a nice feel-good moment of spiritual encouragement: “Eugene, what one bit of advice would you give to our seminarians today as the make plans to start their calling as pastors?”

His response was utterly unexpected. Peterson: “My advice to you is to spend your ministry in one church. Spend your life ministering to the same congregation. You see, pastors of past generations used to think of a call to a ministry las being ike a marriage. They felt betrothed to their congregations. Seek your calling and spend your life there.”

At that moment, the room just went silent. The effect was devastating. Here was a group of maybe 100 pastors-in-training, most of whom had drunk the kool-aid of climbing the corporate ladder. It was the hey-day of the Church Growth Movement. We all wanted to be pastors of big churches and the best way to do that was to keep moving on and moving up every couple of years. But we all really respected Eugene Peterson and he was telling us to abandon that track all together. I found out later that this was a deep conviction of Peterson’s. When one of my friends who knows him personally phoned to tell him that he had been called to a little town in Northern California, Peterson told him, “Congratulations, now go buy your burial plot.”

Peterson’s advice that morning shaped me more than almost anything that I learned in seminary. It slapped to consciousness the ambitions that I had been denying. It made me realize that I was afraid of knowing people too well and what that would demand of me as a pastor. But it also opened my heart to a different kind of ministry, something I really was longing for, something of the past that offered a genuine hope for the church today. The pastor as a genuine community-builder who is deeply bonded to, betrothed to, belonging to a people.

Amen