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A review of Pocket Guide to the Bible

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This book was dropped in the mail to me a little while back. It’s another of Relevant Publishings productions in their typical small paperback style (truly pocketable for someone with pockets like mine).
Pocket Guide to the Bible: A Little Book About the Big BookJason Boyett is becoming a master of the pocket guide, having introduced us to the Apocalypse and Adulthood in pocket form, he now takes on the Big Book.

The book is split into Biblicabulary, Know Your Characters, The Bible at Breaknext Speed, Versions and Perversions, and The Brief History of Holy Writ. Each section is done in a humorous and informative way.

I’m not sure there is a really good way to review this book, the explanation above is probably all you need to get a pretty good idea of what it’s all about. Boyett is funny and caters to our short attention spans.
The definition of Apostle clarifies that it’s “Not to Be Confused With: Aeropostale, A mall-based retailer of casual apparel for teenagers. One sells hoodies. The other wears robes and sandals. It’s not hard.”
He covers most of the main characters from the Bible in fairly short paragraphs. The short summary of the Bible is a great reference for refreshing what stories are in what books, covering books like Genesis in just over a page.

All in all, Pocket Guide to the Bible is not a must read, but I won’t argue that it will more then likely serve as a frequent reference for any Bible research.

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If only we all gave away this percentage…

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One of the richest dudes in the world is giving away 85% of his wealth, if only we could all follow his example.

True I’m usually one to rant about our gross superfluous wealth in this country (and if you do the calculations, 15% of Buffet’s net worth is still a heck of a lot of money), but I figure I should try and take a more positive look at the moment.

Jesus gave the example of the women who put her two coins in and how commendable that was because it was all she had. That story can easily be trivialized because two coins really isn’t that much and (in our minds) she could probably find that much on the ground or begging for a few minutes. Regardless, Jesus uses that story to challenge us, and I think there is an opportunity to be challenged by this story as well.

Warren Buffett, and Bill & Melinda Gates for that matter, have been shining examples of stepping out against the values of our society, which argue that acquiring wealth and amassing your own fortune is the ultimate goal. They are making a statement that says something quite different, a hat tip to the pleasure and satisfaction one receives by giving to the needs of others. An acknowledgment that we were created to live in community and were created to serve the needs of one another. Maybe these big time philanthropist will spur others on to some more radical giving (and by radical I mean 99% of their fortune or something like that).

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Initial thoughts on the PAPA Festival

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I’ve been meaning to sit down and write about my time at the PAPA Festival all day, but I kept procrastinating on it, mainly because I’m not sure I have that much to say. This wasn’t an academic or informational gathering per say. There where learning sessions, but the majority that I went to were more discussions then they were information which I could share with you.

I will point out that there where white folks with dreadlocks there then I’ve ever seen in one place. Makes you wonder. Lot’s of very ‘alternative’ folks out there looking very much like the normal crowd because they made of the majority at this gathering.

I enjoyed myself for a good number of reasons. I ran into a ton of random people with all sorts of unique connections which was a pretty cool thing. I think I’ll post on the random people I met next.

Mainly, I think the thing I enjoyed most was just being around a whole bunch of “Christians” that actually shared my value system. Too often I feel outcast or alienated as being too “radical” or liberal or something similar. The folks I seem to share values with are ones whose motivation is not following Jesus at all, but something completely different usually. So it was good to be ‘worshiping’ and fellowshipping with others who share my values and my beliefs and motivation.

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You don’t read, you won’t write

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I’m worried I’m not going to have much material to write about this week. Unless I can buckle down and do some reading (which I have been seriously slacking on) it looks to be an uneventful week in the way of writing.

I love to write, but I don’t feel like I have much intelligent and creative thought all on my own. It needs to be sparked by something. I wish more often it was sparked by deep and serious conversation with friends, but usually it’s the latest book I’m reading or movie I’m viewing. I’m supposed to write an article about a documentary this dude sent me, so I’ll probably give some initial thoughts on that soon.

Hope you don’t mind the little introspective post here.

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Abba Ephrem gives his thoughts on Righteousness and Stuff

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Abba Ephrem also said,

“God sells righteousness at a very low price to those who wish to buy it: a little piece of bread, a cloak of no value, a cup of water, a mite.”

Woe to me. How much bigger the plank in my eye then the speck in my brothers. I realize often how far short of the righteous, selfless calling of God that I see in the Bible. I spend the morning writing a post about how surrendering means giving up things, and I feel puffed up pointing out others faults and list none of my own.
I like to eat. Far too often I eat more then I need for my own good and I indulge on the things that I will enjoy. I hide my desire for pleasure in a cloak of fair trade and financial stewardship.
I excuse laziness as faithful stewardship and sacrificial living.

How dare I spend my mornings passing judgement on those around me when I two stand so far from God’s standard and calling for following Christ.

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Threads: Surrender

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SURRENDER: Matthew 20:26-28- “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

-fluid & organic with continual movement
-interdependence
-there are no sacred cows
-there’s no length we won’t go to in order to connect people with Jesus
-ain’t no mountain high, ain’t no valley low
-adapting & empowering not controlling
-we’ll put God first no matter what, anything is going to submit to that
-leave the 99 to get the one
-humble, humility, humble submission
-doesn’t mean there isn’t any structure but God is the structure
-show us the best structure that will unleash the full potential of your spirit
-both structure and spirit are always present together; one is never absent of the other

I’ll be honest this sounds more like a list of catch phrases then any deep practical thoughts on Surrender. The word “surrender” is often seen in a negative light, as it is commonly considered as “giving up” or “quitting.” In our day of constant wars the thought of idea that our troops would “surrender” seems weak and cowardly.
Interesting too that the Bible verse referenced above does not even use the word “surrender” instead it’s talking about serving. My personal thought is this idea of surrender makes no sense, unless seen in light of Love. Christ surrendered his power as God and became a human. Husbands surrender their wants and desires to their wives. Like a little child who wants their way, we must surrender our ambitions to a parent who knows what is best for us. Maybe surrender is an out dated word though?
I’ll be honest Surrender does not sound like a easy thing, and it certainly does not seem like an enjoyable thing. It really is a giving up of something.

I guess I see it as odd that a main tenent of our belief system can be this idea of “surrender” and yet we still look so similar in all that we do to our unbelieving neighbor who has no desire to surrender anything?
I know there’s that song “I surrender All” but when besides the song can one declare something like that? Can you make that statement while eating out with your church friends? Can you say you surrendered when your buying that new gadget, when your living in your comfy house, while driving in your luxury car? Can you say you’d surrendered all when enjoying the latest concert, taking a vacation cruise, or watching the game?

It’s a good song and all, but do you know anyone who is really “Surrendering All?”

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High Speed Internet really is High Speed

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So, thanks to a little storm last night, lightening struck and shorted out our modem. Fortunately, the guy came by today and fixed it. Turns out our old modem sucked big time.
Now I realize we’ve gone almost a year with internet going at about half the speed we’d been paying for. It was decently fast before, but now it’s crazy fast.

Anyways, sorry for the delay this is going to cause in my writing for the week. Hope I catch up quick.

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You live with your stuff and the concept of a Sunk Cost.

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I’m up late trying my hardest to rid myself of stuff. My friend, Bryan, reminded me that you really do “live” with your stuff. It’s me, my wife and our stuff.
And I have entirely too much stuff. There are some big ticket items to get rid of (including about 100 t-shirts) and I just need to do it ASAP. I’ve posted a lot on Craigslist, hoping to make a few bucks in the process, but then there is this economics lesson nagging at me.

Once you have spent money on something and you own it, that price/value is a sunk cost. If I paid $5 a shirt for the 100 shirts I thought I’d sell at a profit, no matter what happens I’ve already spent that $5, it’s sunk. So, when I have to get rid of them I’m desperately trying to make my $5 back, but the truth is that cost is gone, and their value is only going to be what someone will actually pay for them. If I can’t sell them for $5 a piece it’s silly for me to just keep them because I don’t want to “lose money” on the deal, I already did lose money.

Thank you economics class.
So how much will you pay for these shirts?