Monday Morning Brief 4.26.10

What I’ve Been Enjoying

1. Today is Nathan’s Second Birthday. Susan and I are so proud of our little boy. We had a little birthday party with his little brother and his little friends yesterday. It’s days like these when all is right with the world and we are thankful to the Lord for allowing the goodness to pierce through.
2. Had a great time at the Wheaton Theology Conference with NT Wright. I have so much to write about that and I tend to procrastinate on the things I want to articulate well. I’ll get over it soon. Also wanted to mention, while the theology conference itself was fantastic, I had an amazing time on this road trip with my friends.
3. My niece was baptized last week. She’s the best thing to happen to Phoenix since God created the sun.
4. Enjoyed our Invisible Children Benefit concert at the Back Door Cafe in Nyack. I’ll try to post on that too.
5. Enjoyed our Second Mile service this past week. Mark Allen (youth pastor from nearby Pascack Bible) taught on not losing our identity so that we do not make excuses. He used Daniel’s reliance on God as an example of how we can be courageous in times of trial.
6. One of our closest friends had a baby this weekend. Beautiful baby girl! Welcome Chloe and big congrats to Bassim and Miret.

What I’m Reading –
Beyond Empire: Post colonialism & Mission in a Global Context – by Jonathan Ingleby. To be honest it’s really good. I just don’t feel like reading it in light of “senioritis” (it’s contagious Evan).
Paul in Fresh Perspective – by NT Wright (our independent study that I am so far behind on)
Since my last posting, there have been a couple of books that I read for school. One was Culture Making by Andy Crouch – required reading for those Christians who inhabit the culture (so unless you are returning to your planet, you should get this) and Clemens Sedmak’s Doing Local Theology. Evan did a series of posts that you can check out on his blog.

What I’m Listening to –
Jazz music again. I listened a lot in the 90’s (when Rock ‘n Roll and Baseball were dead). Mostly Coltrane and the tunes of NPR.  Haven’t given up on my rock or indie, (or baseball) just listening to some classic jazz.
Also really enjoyed Homebrewed Christianity’s podcast with Phillip Cary. As listeners will discover, he’s the Teaching Company legend on a lot of their religious education audio. I particularly enjoyed his comparisons on Calvin and Luther.

Who I Never Will Do Business with Again –
Expedia. I’ve been a faithful customer of yours for almost 10 years.  I wish no ill will to those who work in your company but your lack of professionalism and disappointing customer service has led to this.  After my last itinerary is completed, I’m deleting my account and removing your app from my phone.
Fortunately for the online customer, there are many options.

Looking Forward to –
Well, there’s a whole lot. A few gatherings, Dylan’s Baby Dedication, our seminary Vietnam trip, preparing for our student mission trip to New Orleans … yeah there’s a lot.

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