Back to School...Sort Of

Today I begin a voyage back to school of sorts. Specifically, I'm taking a "mini-mester" class at Armstrong Atlantic State University (ASU). Armstrong is located just five minutes from our home here in Savannah; it's also where two of my kids currently go to college. Our third child has already graduated from ASU.

I've already earned a Bachelor's degree (from here) and two Master's degrees (from here and here). So why return to school? The answer is simple. In order for me to become re-certified as a school psychologist, I have to take a couple of college classes. I'm taking one this fall, and another in the spring. My goal is to become re-certified through the state by next April and then apply for a school psychologist position in the local schools. I worked as a public school psychologist from 1996 to 2002, so the transition would not be difficult.

I'm pursuing this not because school psychology is a wonderful thing. It has plenty of pros and cons. However, it would be a life improvement over my current situation at JCB. I'd have a much nicer schedule, including a large chunk of time off during the summer. I'd also be on salary, which would allow us to set a budget. Additionally, it is an occupation that I could do until I'm 70ish (almost no physical component).

The class should not be too difficult since it is just entry level. However, it is fully online. I've never done that before. It should be interesting. My kids can help me since they are of the technology generation.

My schedule is about to go insane for the next month. Not only am I starting this class, but I'm also in training for the Savannah Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. I'm hoping to not only complete the 26.2 miles, but also to do so fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon. We'll see about that.

Due to all of the above, I have no idea how much blogging I'll be doing between now and Thanksgiving. It may have to take a backseat for a while. I'm certain that the world will not come to an end because of it.

Hurricane Matthew Approaches

Here it comes.

Hurricane Matthew is gradually creeping toward the southeastern coast of the United States. Although the slow-moving storm could still deviate from its present course, the projections have been fairly consistent over the past few days. Florida is going to take a beating. We in Savannah won't get it that bad, but it's still going to be unpleasant. The worst of it for us should occur between tomorrow morning and mid-day Saturday. We'll almost certainly have at least tropical storm force winds, multiple inches of rain, and power outages.

I'm thankful that we won't have to deal with anything like the poor residents of Haiti. While we may have a hot house for a few days due to a lack of air conditioning, many Haitians probably now have nowhere to live and nothing to eat. In light of that, I'll try not to complain too much.

On the positive side, JCB closed down for today and tomorrow which means an unexpected four day weekend! That means time to hang out with family around the house. Sweet. While some Savannah residents are evacuating, most are going to stay put like us.

Savannah is usually spared from hurricanes because we sit relatively far west. Our longitude is almost the same as that of Cleveland, Ohio. Hurricanes sweeping up the coast almost always miss us as they barrel into the Carolinas somewhere. I guess Matthew didn't get the memo.

I'll likely be off the blogging grid for a few days. Therefore, if you leave a comment please don't expect a quick response. I may schedule some posts a few days in advance, but that doesn't mean I actually have internet access.

I appreciate your prayers to our sovereign God for me and my family. Matthew shouldn't end up being that big of a deal; however, a storm of this nature has the potential for quite a bit of damage, especially from flooding.

Thank you.

Well This Is Fun

Click here.

The Best Thing I've Seen on Facebook This Year

A couple of weeks ago I posted The Stupidest Thing I've Seen on Facebook This Year. On the positive side of things, today I came across the best thing I've seen on Facebook in quite a while. It's always good when Batman puts Robin in his place, especially when sound theology is on the line.

The Stupidest Thing I've Seen on Facebook This Year

The above nonsense showed up on my Facebook feed a few days ago. Just to be difficult I left this comment, "I kept scrolling."

Happy Reformation Day!

Piper GIFs

John Piper is one of my favorite authors. I've read more of his books than any other. One thing Piper is known for is his gesticulations while preaching. Well, somebody took the time to put together a few classic Piper GIFs. Fun stuff. Enjoy.

Thanks to Arthur Sido for finding this.

"Christian Girl Instagram"

A Sad Day for Blogger.com

I've been using Blogger since 2007, and never have I been more saddened by the company.

Yesterday I received the following notice from Blogger:

An update on the Blogger porn content policy

This week, we announced a change to Blogger’s porn policy stating that blogs that distributed sexually explicit images or graphic nudity would be made private.

We’ve received lots of feedback about making a policy change that impacts longstanding blogs, and about the negative impact this could have on individuals who post sexually explicit content to express their identities.

We appreciate the feedback. Instead of making this change, we will be maintaining our existing policies.

Blogger was apparently considering doing away with people's ability to use Blogger for public porn blogs. Sadly, after whatever feedback they received Blogger has decided to allow porn after all. This is a sad statement on both Blogger and our culture as a whole.

If I was more techno savvy I would probably switch to Wordpress or something else.

Step It Up Man!

The Book Gets the Last Laugh

Social Media and Sermon Pressure

The One Anothers in Visual Form

I copied (with permission) this graphic from Tim Challies' excellent blog. According to Tim, "The New Testament contains at least 40 passages that contain the words one another and each one points to a way that Christians are to treat, or are not to treat, each other. This graphic seeks to display the whole lot of them."

You Might Want to Turn Off That Phone...

Organic Preference

I made my own meme this time at this site.  This one's better.

Fifteen Favorite Films

Every once in a while I like to write something that has nothing to do with church stuff. Therefore, today I'm listing my fifteen favorite films. Why? The answer is simple: it's my blog and I feel like doing it.

To clarify, these are my fifteen favorites. That means they are the ones I'd most like to spend time watching. I'm not claiming that they are the fifteen best films (that should be clear by the inclusion of number 15). I'm also not saying that they should be your favorites. They are mine. This is an up-front, entirely subjective post.

With no further explanation whatsoever, here they are (linked to IMDB):

15. Napoleon Dynamite

14. Casablanca

13. Some Like it Hot

12. Luther

11. Gettysburg

10. A Beautiful Mind

9. Singin' in the Rain

8. Forrest Gump

7. The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy)

6. Slumdog Millionaire

5. Gone with the Wind

4. Raiders of the Lost Ark

3. The Godfather

2. Star Wars

1. Chariots of Fire (my all-time favorite)

63!

Just out of curiosity I went to Google images and looked up the word "church." The first 63 (!) images that came up were photos of either the inside or outside (mostly outside) of buildings. Sigh.

It was not until the 64th image that any people appeared. I'm not sure how Google selects which images to show, but regardless this is some sort of statement about how our culture both views and defines the church.

My Rapper Moment

Yesterday I tweeted the following:

"Able to teach" does not equal "monologue preach."

I was thinking, of course, about the I Timothy 3 passage dealing with characteristics of overseers. Little did I realize that my tweet rhymes. My brother-in-law commented that I'm a house church rapper. I kind of like that. Although, since I have little rhythm, my rapping would probably look something like the dude at the left.

New Missions Page

I've added a new page to my blog. It's specifically devoted to whatever I've written about missions. The easiest way to get there is to click on the missions tab above.

While I do not believe that missions is the primary reason for the existence of the church, I do believe that God has a heart for the nations. Amazingly, God's plan is to use sinful us to take his glorious message of salvation to the ends of the earth. We are all missionaries wherever we are. What a privilege!

How to Blog

My only reason for this post is that I simply like the above graphic. As for real blogging advice, I have only one thing to say: blog about what you know and are passionate about. And if you don't have a blog, start one.