Andy Naselli

BCS recently announced that we are hiring Andy Naselli as our new Assistant Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology. I am very excited about him coming on staff and his family being a part of our community at BCS. I really like Andy and look forward to years of service together for the furtherance of our mission.

Nevertheless, I laughed out loud when I read the following sentences on his blog, where he was describing five reasons why he was coming to BCS.

On Christmas Day 1998, I read The Pleasures of God. I was riveted.

Riveted? I’ll say. I would have been starving. And tired. And late for work. Probably a week late.

Middle-aged Git Goes to Switchfoot

I may be a middle-aged git, but I also love rock-n-roll (especially the classic rock genre; I’m in good company, so does Carl Trueman). Therefore, I jumped at the chance to take my awesome kids to see Switchfoot on Thursday night.

Waking Up

Why is waking up so hard to do,
When the day is work and not play,
And the bed is warm and
The room is cold?
Why is the alarm hard to hear
And the sleep so deep?
But on Saturday, O for shame!
My eyes open and thoughts begin
It’s too early, why can’t I sleep in?

—Anonymous

Statistically Speaking

For as far back as my early college years I have always had a strange notion that when I get to heaven I would be able to ask strange statistical questions and get answers. For instance, at precisely 7:36pm, Friday, May 27, how many people in the world are sleeping? How many are eating? How many are eating salmon? How many leaves are blowing in the wind? Of course, these are totally inconsequential statistics, but God knows the answers. I mean, he knows how many hairs are on my head, and has to adjust his tally every time one falls out or a new one grows. Why not strange statistics? Wouldn't it be cool to know how many people actually enjoyed The Brothers Karamazov?

In today's world, with more powerful computers and a lot more people thinking about how to display information, we could expand my strange fascination by taking my question through time. How many people actually enjoyed The Brothers Karamazov over time? Can I see an infographic showing the total worldwide population of people who enjoyed that book since it was published to the present day?

Now, provide a graph comparing this number, over time, to the number of people who disliked it.

Yikes! Gas Prices Too High!

I am thankful that a I have the opportunity to work from home a day or two per week. In January an average fill-up at the gas station ran me $53. Today it is running $72 per tank.

We have noticed a similar increase in food prices. Prices have increased somewhat dramatically from week to week, while we are purchasing the same set of staple foods. Between food and gas, our family of six is feeling the pinch. What choices do I have to save money?

1. Drive less. Plan trips accordingly. Work from home.
2. Buy a more gas efficient vehicle. Hmmm. Not very practical.
3. Ride a bike. It’s cold 9 months out of 12.
4. Eat less. Don’t let my 13-year old son have free reign over the fridge.
5. Use more coupons. Lots of work; could be helpful.
6. Charge my kids rent. Child labor laws?
7. Get a second job. Not realistic.
8. ????

What are you doing to fend off higher prices at the grocery store and the gas pump?

301 Posts

The post just before this one, titled “Your Help is Found in Christ,” was the 300th post on this blog.

I didn’t think about it or plan it, but it is fitting that a milestone, small or big, be accented by the saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

The Incredibles Sequel

Did you hear that they were casting for the live action version of The Incredibles?

Alphabet Soup

Mom, and any one else stumbling by who knows my friend Joe, check out the latest video of his son and the alphabet.

Stars Wars Toys Photographed: Awesome

As linked from Daring Fireball, look here. Please go look. They are fantastic.

Only in Minnesota

Quote from my oldest as she left the house tonight...

“Oh my. It’s 24 out. What do we need coats for?”

And then there were 10

Since I am not on Twitter or Facebook, I will write a purposeless “what am I up to now statement” in this outdated mode of social media, a.k.a. blog.

I am down to 10 emails in my inbox. My inbox hasn’t been this low since June 2010.

Hy-pathetical

My son’s definition of hypothetical: Really pathetic.

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Apparently the post at Hogwarts has recently been filled.



(HT: AyJay and litfolksarehip)

Addicted

Chipotle

Check out picture 219 at the link above.

[Update: Chipotle changed their site and our picture disappeared, but they still sent me TEN free burrito cards. How cool is that?]

The Chestnut King

I just finished N. D. Wilson’s latest book, The Chestnut King. Wow. It was fantastic. The Chestnut King was the third and final installment in the 100 Cupboards series of children’s books; however, they are not your mother’s children’s books. There is magic, suspense, swords, good, evil, love, and baseball—all of which you would expect. But the evil is really evil, and the blood is spilt blood, and the hero—a twelve year old boy—does some of the spilling. Don’t let that stop you from reading. Instead, remember what C. S. Lewis said about that.

One of the things—in my world anyway—which signals that a story, whether book or movie, was good is how long it sticks with me after it is over. If I am still thinking about it two days after it is over, then it was good. I think this is going to be that kind of book. I had an emotional bond with Henry York Maccabee and his family. I feel a loss having finished the book. I want to know more. I don’t want it to be over.

Now, there are only a handful of people who read this blog, mostly because I put it in your RSS feed. So, you know what I mean when I say that you are all working too much and should take a little time out to read a good book, or three. If reading a children’s book sounds beneath you, then you also need to remember what C.S. Lewis said about that. Go out and read this series. Now.

An Alternative to the Flickering God

ND Wilson has become my kids’ favorite author. His latest book, The Chestnut King, moved into the top three books ever for Kenz and the top one for Kayleigh.

I began working my way through the first two in the trilogy—again—before I started this one in order to get my head on straight regarding Henry York and his fantastical story. Kenz begged me today to skip it and just read the third one. “You'll remember, Dad, just read it. I can't wait to talk about it.”

Twelve pages in and I am lost again in a fabulous world. My palms are damp and my hands are cold, which is what happens when I am gripped by this kind of story. Immediate familiarity. Immediate danger, suspense, and a constant desire to read the next line. Good and evil. And most importantly, heroes. I absolutely love stories like this.

ND Wilson posted on Credenda/Agenda about writing for kids, truth, and adultish readers, of whom I am definitely one. (You might remember what C.S. Lewis wrote here and here.) Here are some quotes from Wilson's article. It is worth reading if you enjoy stories like I do.

This first paragraph explains why Nathan writes kids’ books:

I write kids’ books because I can tell the Truth, and the Truth is that The Real is throbbingly fantastic. Ask the nearest grasshopper or rodent or turtle. Ask the nearest star (but show some respect and don’t look directly at her—she’s powerful enough to peal your nose and blind your eyes). I want to paint a picture of this world that is accurate (if impressionistic), and I don’t want a single young reader to grow up and look back on me as the peddler of sweet youthful falsehoods. I want them to get a world vision that can grow and mature and age with them until, like all exoskeletons, it must be cast aside—not as false, but as a shallow introduction to things even deeper and stranger and more wonderful (and involving more dragonflies).

This second paragraph is (partly) why I read them:

A final point, disjointed but related. Many readers of children’s books are, in fact, adults. The line at any bookstore signing can tell me this. I don’t think it’s difficult to understand. Sure, some of the adult readers focus on children’s books for the same reasons that others focus on romance—they’ve developed a particular itch and they scratch it. But others are wandering the store (pickily) looking for flavors they remember from when they were kids, looking for their young eyes again, hoping to once more see the world how they used to. They’re looking for Mom’s apple pie and Grandma’s quilt. They’re looking for a kind of truth that's hard to find up at the adult table, but a truth nonetheless. Often they’re looking for something to fill that role for their own children. And sadly, they frequently bring along a bipedal lump of flesh or two—numbed by the flickering god—hoping I might have some mental-imaginative defibrillator tucked away in my book bag. Sometimes I do (and those are good times). Sometimes I don’t.

(Final caveat: my kids are, by God's grace, not numbed by the “flickering god”; they can be found reading books on the couches any given day.)

News Flash: CO2 is a pollutant

Okay, so I am going to copy Doug Wilson's post in its entirety, mainly because I laughed out loud.

The EPA, under the adroit leadership of Saruman, has now declared CO2 to be a pollutant. As the Staples Singers taught us so many years ago -- "put your hand on your mouth when you cough, that'll help the solution." And after these Hilaritards have regulated all us CO2 emitters into the ground, they will then turn their attentive ministrations to the real environmental challenge of the century, which is that of battling the plague of salt water.

I just want everybody to stare straight at this for about 120 seconds without blinking. The Greens have successfully won their battle to categorize as a pollutant that element which makes plants grow lush and green. Heh. This would be really funny if it weren't so hilarious.

You can read the whole thing here, but then again, you just did.

The Maker of Noses

The title of this post is a direct rip-off of Rich Mullins' song, "The Maker of Noses." You can google it to see the fantastic words.

I have been in a meeting all morning and my mind has drifted from the tasks at hand to looking at the noses of people sitting around me.

When you start looking at a person's nose by itself, as an appendage to a face, there seems to be only one conclusion.

Noses are weird.

What does this tell us about the Maker of noses? He has a sense of humor, he is pleased with his creation, we should be thankful for the ability to smell bread. What else?

imap Fun!

Doh!

Augustin: The Typeface not the Man

I have a friend (here and here) who has introduced me to the world of typography. I am a total neophyte, but hopefully I am learning. I ran across this new typeface today, which I really like. Maybe those with a more discerning eye would disagree, but I like it and would love to print my next exegetical paper in Augustin.