Old Bottles

Today I found two old bottles on the floor in the library.  I took them home and cleaned them.

The Green Bible

This weekend I was delighted to be in Black Mountain, NC at the Blue Ridge Assembly Center for Uptown Church’s biannual Church Retreat.  I have many nostalgic feelings toward this city and center which peppers every visit with contentment. 

During this trip during the last half of free time on Saturday three of us left campus to lollygag around downtown Black Mountain.  As we were walking and talking in the rain I spotted a little bookstore and we stopped in.  Each of us walked away with a new book.  Mine was The Green Bible.

Before I say anything else I know that buying a new Bible packaged with my biases in mind is exactly why students major in marketing.  A publishing company is selling a repackaged Bible hoping to capitalize on growing positive sentiments regarding the environment.  Normally I scoff at these sorts of thematic Bibles; Saturday I didn’t.

Over the last few years I have become more and more convinced about the need within Christianity to take care of the Earth.  From the beginning God intended Adam and Eve (and all of humanity) to be “fruitful and multiply…and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth (Genesis 1:28).”  This command in the Genesis account gives the basic framework of how humans are to interact with each other and with the Earth.  According to Genesis soon after this things changed dramatically in regards to people.  They fell from grace through direct disobedience to God, what is commonly referred to as sin, and everything changed.  As sin entered the picture how people were fruitful and multiplied and demonstrated dominion over creation changed to ways that were basterdized versions of what God had in mind. 

What the Green Bible aims to point out is how God has commanded men to take care of the Earth.  He commands humanity in regards to the land, animals, and people.

Jeremiah 9:12 – 14
Who is the man so wise that he can understand this?  To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may declare it?  Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through?  And the LORD says: ”Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it, but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.

Proverbs 12:10
Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.

Proverbs 19:17
Whoverver is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.

These are but a few passages that speak to what God expects of His Church.  Scripture is replete with God’s exhortations about the result of human sin and the land.  When people act how God prescribes the land (land, animals and people) will benefit but when they do not the land (land, animals and people) will struggle.

 I’m excited to engage the Scripture with this Bible. 

What Was Lost May Be Mine

Lately I’ve rediscovered the joy of finding.  This began a few weeks ago when I found a shirt on the ground by my car.  I picked it up, took it home, washed it and I wore it Sunday.    

Whenever I find anything of note I’ll post it.  I may even take a picture!

So, What am I Celebrating?

from Indexed.com

One out of Six…

The first week of March I, along with four others, chaperoned the class of 2009 Covenant Day School senior trip to New York, NY.  Being my first time in the city I was a tad bit apprehensive about being responsible for a group of students.  Thankfully (nearly) everything went well!

Throughout the three days in New York we visited many of the usual places.  Rockefeller Center, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State building, Broadway, and Chinatown were some of the places Team Legendary (the group of students I was responsible for as we walked through the city) enjoyed.

Some highlights…

• Rockefeller Center.  Being a fan of television shows on NBC tooling around Rockefeller Center was quite fun.  I found a great Office shirt for my brother’s birthday present.
• Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island.  We took a ferry beside the Statue of Libery and spent quite a bit of time on Ellis Island.  Here I hoped to find some information about my mother’s grandfather as he, along with his brother, immigrated from Sweden in the late 19th century.  Unfortunately the library was closed.
• September 11th, 2001 Memorial Museum.  This museum was quite raw.  It was filled with stories and pictures from that dreadful day.
• Wicked on Broadway.  I developed a love for musicals in college and this was by far the most engaging musical I have ever enjoyed.
•  Observation Deck of the Empire State Building.  One evening we made our way to the top of this building.  Unbelieveable views of the city.
• Conversation.  Being with the students this much led to some interesting conversations.  
  At one point we were reading bizarre statistics on billboards and one student told us about a statistic his mother read in a magazine.  Apparently 1 out of 6 students will die at their high school prom.
  Shocking…I know.  Abusrd…I’m aware.  At the time…hilarious.

I’m thankful I was able to go on the trip.  Hopefully I’ll get to chaperone next year’s trip as well. 

Ants in the Bathroom

Lately I’ve been reading The World Without Us by Alan Weisman.  I’ve found this book to be an exercise in the obvious but nevertheless quite interesting. 

Weisman’s premise is that the Earth would look quite different without humans.  If humans disappear from the Earth eventually (read: a very long time) nature would eventually take over.  The urban would be overrun by the rural.

This morning I got a taste of a natural attack on a small slice of the urban…ants had taken over my bathroom!  

Egg Drop Failure

Recently, via the Freakonomics blog, I was introduced to xkcd.  It makes me laugh.  If you check it out be sure to allow the cursor to hover above the comic; it’ll be worth it.

“I hear my brother Ricky won his school’s egg drop by leaving the egg inside the hen.”

Modern Radio

A few years back I came across Roman Candle on a Paste Sampler.  I decided I liked them and bought their album The Wee Hours Review.  After I listened to the album my liking them was a fact.  

Their second album is going to be realesed in a few months and my excitement is growing.  

Here’s a favorite song of mine.  It’s about the radio.

more about “Modern Radio“, posted with vodpod