TheLittlefields

Josiah is here!

2007-03-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

Josiah was born today 3/31 at 5:17. He is 19.5 inches and 7 pounds 10 ounces. I'll try to post some pictures. We are also in the process of switching over to a new blog server. You can check it out at http://thelittlefields.wordpress.com --dirk

Ever heard of this?

2007-03-23T04:31:00.001-07:00

This past spring break my aunt came down from Austin for a visit. She is a fabulous 3rd grade teacher, and she infomed me of a new craze in elementary life science classrooms across the nation: owl pellets.

An owl pellet is really code for owl vomit. When an owl eats a field mouse, do you ever wonder what it does with all that fur and bones? Me either. But apparently they form it in to a ball (i.e., pellet) and throw it up. Some adventurous person came along and was not fooled by its appearance as furry fecal matter and decided to poke around and reform the bones nestled within. Then he realized you can make money selling these little balls of refuse and VIOLA! A business is born. And business is booming.

It has become popular in many classrooms because it is considered more humane than disecting a frog--since the owls will eat field mice regardless of our feelings about it. Students unwrap the refridgerated pellet out of its tin foil casing, pick apart their respective pellet and attempt to piece together the bones. Sounds like smelly work.

My aunt said she would bring me back an extra one to play with since I missed out in elementary school. I'll let you know how it goes...

Note: Dirk has just informed me that at his school's Science Club has disected them. He got to help them out with it. He said they didnt smell because they superheat them to kill off bacteria. He said you can figure out what your owl ate by the shape of the skull. Interesting.

WOOHOO!

2007-03-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

You might not have known, but about a month ago I lost my ipod. I was sick about it because it was a gift from Dirk for my birthday. I would like to say that I have never lost an mp3 player before, but that woudl be a lie. So when Dirk trusted me enough to get me another one, I was so excited. I really wanted one because I get distracted easily in the teacher's lounge and I would end up not not getting much done because I would just listen to the banter instead. It's definitely entertaining and fun, but not so great if you HATE taking work home (which I do).

So one Saturday morning I went to take it out of my purse and it was gone. I panicked and searched through everywhere I could think of in the apartment and even drove back up to school in my pjs (Dirk was meeting with a friend) while they were having a literature festival to search around my desk. I was sick. For two days I didnt tell Dirk. I was hoping it would be found before he ever knew it was gone. Finally, a discussion in Sunday school about the conviction of sin broke me and I had to confess to Dirk that I lost my ipod. I was so miserable and ashamed. In the big scheme of things its really JUST an ipod, but to me it was a symbol of responsibility. I lost it after two weeks!! I had no excuse, no explanation. It was just gone. And to think that in a few short weeks I'll be in charge of the care of another human being. yikes!

So the other day when I spotted an earphone and then a whole ipod at the bottom of my backpack, I was elated! I couldnt believe it! It had been there the whole time--riding back and forth to school all this time. I am relieved and thankful. I might have a chance at being a trustworthy mother after all!

So this wasn't that exciting of a story, but I just wanted to tell you--especially if I 've told you previously that I had lost it.

Another thought

2007-03-15T07:06:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about my last post and realized that I am drawing inspiration from the wrong Edwards. Very soon I should be looking to Sara as a role model (minus 13 kids) of how to be a godly wife. Not that Jonathan is not an inspiration, but withing a few weeks I will need to find contentment in changing diapers, doing laundry and cleaning up spit up. My job will also be to support Dirk as he studies, goes to work and adjusts to our new family. This is the role that the Lord will have for me and I should not look to the wrong model as I learn what it is to be a godly mother. I will probably not have time to read deep books or study intently--as I will probably just be trying to cope with a new sleep(if I'm lucky)cycle. I pray that I will not compare myself to the wrong people(husband instead of wife), and learn to love my new role as wife and mother instead of wife and teacher.

Oh, and happy Ides of March!

Paper, paper everywhere but not a thought to think

2007-03-14T05:30:00.000-07:00

I played this blog entry in my mind this morning when I couldnt go back to sleep. We'll see how it turns out...

I remember hearing a story about Jonathan Edwards that always made me sad. His wife helped raise his (14?) kids and was known for her hard work and self sacrifice. One of the ways that Jonathan liked to dote on his wife was to spend a little of his money on chocolate for her (a rare commoditiy back then, I'm sure) when he sent money to town with someone for paper for his sermons. One day, he asked his church for a little more money so that he could afford more paper. They told him that he should spend the money he spent on chocolate if he needed more. I always thought that was so sad...the one indulgence(I'm sure Sara did not have many) that she was given by her beloved husband was taken from them in order to meet the needs of his office--which should have been gladly supplied by the church, in my humble opinion. I'm sure that Sara could give up chocolates, but it must have made Jonathan sad to let go of one of the ways that he showed his love to his wife.

But I was also thinking about another angle of this small anecdote. I know that paper was not in great supply back then, but what must it be like to write so much, and have so many thoughts that need recording that you run out of surface area? The man was a deep thinker--you know this is true when you try to read his works--and it is amazing with all that he left us with, that he did not have enough space to say it all.

This makes me sad because we live in an age of plenty, where paper is everywhere and cheap. I could write myself a novel and get it copied for friends without so much as a dent in my spending money. OR, I could do what I'm doing now and write drivel(for free!) that will probably never be recorded with paper and ink.

It is an interesting paradox where we now have enough paper for all of Edward's thoughts, and reflections, yet we have no Edwards.

I could make some sweeping statement that this is because our culture is steeped in mindlessness and triviality. I could blame it on the prevalence of television and pop culture that keeps me from deep thoughts and introspection--the kind that I feel compelled to write down for my own reflection. But the reality is, I'm just lazy. I have the choice to turn off the tv, push aside the magazines, and read something meaningful and then record my own thoughts on the matter, but I'm just lazy. I know that it is possible in this life--even today--to be like Edwards and commit yourself to reading, study, and writing (all committed to absolute devotion to the Lord) because I have seen it done. But the cost is denial of self. And by 'self' I mean the trade off of being entertained by television, movies, music, magazines, internet surfing, and various time wasting activities that have eaten up my leisure time(by leisure I mean spring break). I could at the very least commit myself to read what was so important for Edwards to record that he would sacrifice comfort and indulgence to put on paper--even if it meant wrapping my mind around his difficult use of the English language.

I remember Dirk asking one of these people that sometimes remind us of of Edwards' devotion to study how he was able to read so much and get so much accomplished in a day. His answer was "it is easy, you just do something different with your time."

Indeed.

--Kathy

Spring Break 2007

2007-03-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

Dirk is gone to Ecuador for the week with a couple other men from our church to meet a missionary and his family and to build up a relationship with a church there to partner with. I'm really excited about what they will be doing there and I am glad about Dirk being able to go.

Dirk and I have spent time apart before, thats not unusual--I went to Scotland for 11 days and he has gone to Hamlin for a week or so, and we've been apart a few nights here and there too. I don't usually get sad when we part because I know its only for a short time--maybe its because my dad was gone a lot when we were little that goodbyes are ok because they always end.

But this time its different.

It is probably the surge in hormones from being pregnant, but it was REALLY hard to part from him this time. I missed him before he left and I was so weepy the whole day. I know the Lord is with him, I know that the He has planned Dirk's steps and I know nothing will happen to him that the Sovereign Creator hasn't ordained beforehand, but it was still hard. I do not want to go into labor or have any problems without Dirk with me. I can't sleep very well, and I need things to fill up my time. Dirk and I are pretty much inseparable whenever we have vacation time (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, Summer) so its such a bummer to have all this time off without him here. Again, I dont grudge him at all for going to Ecuador, I'm excited about what he's doing and all that he'll get to see and experience, I just miss him.

OK. Enough with the sappy stuff.

What have I been doing?

Saturday night I met up with some students at the movies to see 300. I was so pumped that there was FINALLY a movie about Greek history, I HAD to go see it. Looking back, I'm not sure if I liked it. I don't think thats a good sign. As a history buff and a lover of all things classical(Roman and Greek) there were a few elements missing and many liberties taken. On the other hand, it got several things right and was true to the essence of the story. I was amazed at the art of the blood spatter, and at the same time, I was shocked that NO ONE actually got blood ON them. It was interesting--very much like a video game--or at least I think it was .

Then today, after spending the night, Jenny and I went to see Amazing Grace. In case you dont know, its about William Wilberforce's fight in the British parliament to get the slave trade abolished. It was a great movie, I enjoyed it a lot and it was much more edifying than 300, for sure! I recommend you go see it.

Ok, I have definitely met my quota for going to the movie theaters for the year! I can't believe movie tickets now are NINE DOLLARS! Crazy.

I'll keep you posted on the rest of my exciting week.

Please pray for Dirk, Russ and Eral as they spend the week in Ecuador
Oh! And also pray for safe travel for my parents--they are in Washington D.C. until Thursday. They are even getting to see Robin and Jason!! Lucky ducks. :)

--Kathy

BIG NEWS!!!

2007-02-07T19:04:00.000-08:00

I have the honor and privilege to announce to the blogworld that Jamie and Kris had their baby today! Asher Owen Rives was brought forth into the world on around 2pm. He weighs 4lbs and 13 oz--which is a good size for being six weeks early! He was not due until March 19, so this is a big surprise to everyone, but very exciting! I'm sure when Jamie feels up to it, so will share her whole day--from her water breaking to incision--but for now you have me to share the news. :)

Jamie will be home this weekend and Asher will follow in 2 weeks, hopefully Feb 21. Please keep the Rives family in your prayers as they celebrate the joy of their new arrival!

--Kathy

Six Weird Things About Me

2007-02-06T15:14:00.000-08:00

I have been holding off on posting my 'six weird things' because what I could come up with were either not weird, or too weird to share. Here's the list I could come up with:

1. I do not like watching movies I have never seen before.

I know that doesn't even make sense if you think about it, but its true. For some reason, it makes me anxious to sit down for a movie for 2 or 3 hours without any guarantee that I will enjoy it. I'm much happier with movies playing in the background while I clean or do laundry (I know that makes me sound way too industrious or driven--please dont get the wrong idea.)

2. I write sideways.

I never noticed that other people don't write the same way I do until I went to college and started taking notes next to people in classes. Apparently other lefty's curve their whole arm around the paper. This is much easier.

3. I absolutely LOVE onions.

I love them all. 1015's, Vidalias, Reds, Sweet Yellows, Peruvians, Green Onions.....it doesnt matter. Any and all meals are made better with some onions.

4. I carry a copy of the U.S. Constitution in my purse.

It was a gift from the Rives who might have actually meant it as a joke. Ever since I received it though, it has been invaluable. I pull it out when I get bored somewhere without a book and refresh myself on the ammendments.

5. I have a real problem with tardiness.

I am consistenly exactly 10 minutes late anywhere I go. I dont know how I do it, but it seems like my internal clock needs to be turned back a few ticks. Dirk has really helped me with this but its a constant problem.

6. Whatever book I am reading, I have to explain to someone else.

Dirk can vouch for this because he has vicariously read dozens of books because I pretty much recap every chapter of every book I read for him. He must love me very much because he is always able to seem interested. (This is also true for Claire, Jenny and Nancy!)

I'm sure those of you who know me at all could come up with many other weird things about me, but this is all I have right now. Everything else is normal for me. :)

--Kathy

A great quote

2007-02-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

I was looking around the web trying to find some fun stuff for Black History Month and I came across this quote. I thought it was very true:

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous that sincere ignorance and conscienctious stupidity."
--Martin Luther King Jr.

Just wanted to share.

--Kathy

My New Books

2007-01-24T08:10:00.000-08:00

I ordered these books with my Amazon Gift Certificates (Thanks Mimi!) I'm posting them up here for some sort of acountability so that maybe it will urge me on to read all these before my due date. (That is a lofty goal!) Anyway, here they are in no particular order:

I'm working on my photo placement. These are taken from Amazon. I'll establish hyperlinks to the pictures as soon as I figure out how to do so. I'got recommendations for these (at least the Gladwell books) from the Discerning Reader.

I'm really excited about them all and as always it will take me a few days to settle on just one to get started with. --Kathy

Fun Book Meme--Dirk

2007-01-15T16:36:00.000-08:00

Kathy tagged me with this meme thing. But first the Houston Half Marathon update:

I SURVIVED! That was a big concern of mine, especially about mile 11. I was feeling good all the way until I got there. Then for some reason, going down the hill on Montrose right before Allen Pwky my quad started to cramp. Then my calves started to cramp. So I had to slow down my pace and stretch ever 1/2 mile or so. I have been around running long enough to see crazy runners that pushed harder and ended up with full leg cramps....I have vivid memories of lots of screaming from them. Besides the lack of preparation, the warm weather (70 and humid), and the dropping out of my running partner I survived. I also need to say that I think that picture was of me between miles 4 and 5. I was hurting more by mile 6. Maybe next year I'll train better and win the race...ok maybe just train better.

Back to this meme thing. Here are the directions:
1)Grab the book closest to you
2)Open to page 123, go down to the fourth sentence.
3)Post the text of the following 3 sentences on your blog
4)Name the author and book title
5)Tag three people to do the same

#1--The first book I picked up was a Greek Morphology book. Did you know there weren't four sentences on pg 123? So next was God's Indwelling Presence: the Holy Spirit in the Old & New Testaments by Dr. James Hamilton.

#2--In line with Romans 12:1-2, Skaraune points out, "the new people of God are not in a temple, attending a service led by priests, they are the temple and they are its priests, themselves conduction the service." Whereas formerly it was right to worship in Jerusalem at the temple (deut 12:5), God's people are now His temple through the indwelling of the Spirit. This salvation-historical order of events is precisely what we saw in John.
(There are a couple of footnotes in this passage of the book, but this blogger won't let me put them in.)

#4--God's Indwelling Presence: the Holy Spirit in the Old & New Testaments by Dr. James Hamilton

#5--Now I have to find three people that actually look here at this blog. hmmm.....I think these are the last 3:

1. Joe
2. Ryan
3. Jonathan

Pictures from the Houston Marathon

2007-01-15T15:39:00.000-08:00

This is Dirk running the half-marathon at mile 6. Looking good!

Here is my precious niece cheering on her daddy running the full marathon. (She made the poster herself)

Dirk and I after the race.

Fun Book Meme --Kathy

2007-01-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

Robin tagged me for a "Fun Book Meme." (I've never heard of this, but I'm a sucker for anything 'survey-esque')

Here are the directions:

1)Grab the book closest to you
2)Open to page 123, go down to the fourth sentence.
3)Post the text of the following 3 sentences on your blog
4)Name the author and book title
5)Tag three people to do the same

The book is How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster

"Okay, so the heavy-metal sound isn't in the hymnal. And this character would be very hard pressed to take over Savior duty. No literary Christ figure can everbe as pure, as perfect, as divine as Jesus Christ."

(From the chapter, "Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too" I'm not even going to try to explain, but its a good read if you want some insight in literature) I'm tagging Dirk :), Jenny, and my dad (I know I'm being a little too optomistic) although I'm only pretty confident about Dirk responding. If you're reading this, you're included too. Join in the fun. :)

Does anyone read Flannery O'Connor?

2007-01-03T17:43:00.000-08:00

I was inspired to read some of Flannery O'Connor's short stories after reading a post by Justin Taylor extolling her skill as a storyteller. So over Christmas I purchased a book of all her short stories at Barnes & Noble and dove right in. So far I've read 6 of the 31 stories included in the anthology ("The Geranium", "The Barber"-my favorite, "Wildcat", The Crop", The Turkey", and "The Train"). I like her writing style and she is an excellent writer, but I'm afraid I dont get it. Most of her stories are a little dark and I get the feeling there is more going on than I'm aware of. I would like to appreciate her work more--if only I understood what she wanted me to see in her stories. I feel like I'm too dense to understand what she's saying and I really want to love her stories, but I dont grasp her point.

In college I read her short stories "A Good Man Is Hard To Find", and "Everything that Rises Must Converge" but those were a little easier to understand. I liked those. I'm not really saying I dont enjoy reading her work, but I'm afraid its a little out of my reach at times.

Does anyone else read or enjoy Flannery O'Connor? Can anyone explain or offer insight to some of her stories preferably ones I've already read?

I'm back, maybe

2006-12-23T20:06:00.000-08:00

I finally finished the fall semester and took a week off without much other work. I did spend some time in Hebrew and Kathy and I are trying to memorize some of 1 John in Greek, but that is the fun application that comes from the hard work of this past semsters. Besides that I have not done much that relates to school, which includes writing (this blog is included in the writing). I hope to post a couple of my book reviews in the next couple of days that I had to write this past semester. I doubt that anyone cares to read them, but what the heck I'll post them anyway.

Here is a rundown of what has been going on this past semester, not that you care. I am now teaching 8th grade science,. I took Hebrew 3, Greek 1, and Philosophy of Religion at SWBTS-Havard. We have been going to Dr. appts every month, and we moved during finals week. Yeah you heard me, 2 finals and book review in the middle of moving....I don't recommend that. I have also been "training" for the Houston half marathon. I wouldn't say it was much of a training schedule, it turned into long runs on Saturday morning and not much else. I did about 10.5 miles this morning and feel confident that I can make the 13.1 without passing out. The last few months I don't think I have done anything very well and most times felt like I was just trying to survive. I hate that feeling, my sinfulness doesn't want to rely on a Holy God to provide.

I'll have some post coming up in the next few days that deal with more than just me. Also Kathy wants to blog about some heresy isms of church history. She is reading Heroes and Heretic which I think is a very helpful overview of church history. I recommend it to anyone who wants a beginning place to start studying the history of the Christian church.

Pretty much the worst song ever

2006-12-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

I hate to cut off the lively (5 comments is a lot around here) discussion about Jesus' birthday, but I coulndt keep this to myself. We've found a lot of old cd's that were recovered as we moved our stuff to our new place. One was (Amy's) top 25 greatest old country hits. Its a great cd, but there is one song on its list that we dont understand how it got there. Its GOT to be the worst written song ever--on so many levels. All I can say: If Dirk listed off coffee, grass, birds of the world and squirrels--oh, and me too--as things he loved, I'd be pretty ticked. Here's the link if you'd like to enjoy it too: "I love"

--Kathy

Happy Birthday Jesus

2006-12-19T08:54:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to my sweet neice Evelyn's Christmas recital/peagant. It was really cute; there is nothing better than watching a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds dressed up like livestock and various nativity figures space out and sing off key. It was fabulous. Evelyn, however, did not lose focus--she was one of the few who actually sang all the songs and didnt start playing with her costume. We are so proud of her. :)

I had a thought, though, while we watched the program. They sang the song "Happy Birthday, Jesus", you know the one: its always sung by little kids as mostly a ploy to manipulate the parents to tears. So I sat there thinking, " Is this a theologically sound song? Isn't this fostering Arianism in our children? Does this matter to any of their parents?" I know, I know, no one is trying to make little heretics out of our children, but seriously, is that song helpful?

It seems like people are missing the point when they put up signs and sing songs that celebrate Jesus' birthday instead of the incarnation of Christ. I admit that maybe its a hard concept to grasp, and it may seem like I'm splitting hairs, but if parents dont get it, will their children? If you treat the 'meaning' of Christmas as Jesus' birthday, doesnt that make Jesus 2006(or 2009 depending on your sources) years old and in effect a created being?

Instead, it would be wiser if we shifted our focus from 'baby Jesus' to celebrating the fact that Christ came down and took on flesh and became man. John 1:9-18 and Philippians 2:5-11 would be better passages to meditate on in December than Luke 2 and Matthew 1-2. The fact that a member of the trinity stepped down and became a man and lived among us is more astounding than any events we attribute to December 25 --Kathy

Littlefield Update: we have moved to our cozy one bedroom apartment!

Watch this space

2006-12-15T07:59:00.000-08:00

I know, its been a looong time since we've updated--we'll be back on our game soon. Check back often. :) --Kathy

Big News

2006-11-09T09:53:00.000-08:00

My apologies to those who come here for serious reading....we've digressed a little bit--mostly because Dirk has been too busy to post. He'll probably be back in the saddle in December. In the meantime you, my dear reader, are stuck with me.

So, our big news: We're having a BOY! We are so excited about having a little Josiah. I can hardly wait. The Lord has blessed us with a healthy baby--we got to see him swallowing and stretching, and we are confident he's a HE.

If you have a little imagination, this is a shot looking up between his legs, and you can see his "distinguishing feature" (below)

This shot is of course a profile. (above) It was really neat, we have a video of him swallowing, and you could see fluid in his bladder!

--Kathy

For a Laugh...

2006-10-25T12:56:00.001-07:00

By wasting time and navigating through blogs I found this post by Gary Shavey. Its a video clip from the Colbert Report on the Daily Show. I know that Colbert's agenda is just to get people to laugh and not to engage in serious apologetics but even still, this clip is hilarious. I think my favorite line is "95% of americans believe in God so doesn't that disprove your theory, or do you just not believe in democracy?"

Watch it if you need a laugh

--Kathy

What's up with people??

2006-10-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

I decided that I am going to keep a running list of outrageous things people say to me while I'm pregnant. I've got two already:

1. "Are you expecting? I mean, you've always been able to keep your weight down..." (I was only 8 weeks pregnant--I mean, what if I wasn't!?!)
2. "Are you sure you're not carrying twins? You look a lot bigger than you should for being only 15 weeks. You should have them check for twins." (HELLO! I get that I'm getting bigger, couldnt you point that out in a more tactful way, or better yet--keep it to yourself?!?)

In all honesty, I'm not huge. I think my long torso was made to look pregnant, but I'm not that big. And NO, I will not be doing those side shots of my belly until I'm at least 5 months pregnant.

--Kathy

New Laptop!

2006-10-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a few lines on this, my inagural post on my shiny new laptop! I've never had one all to myself and its a good feeling. Woohoo! --Kathy

Purpose Driven Translation

2006-10-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

My brain had to rest for a minute from studying all day. I thought this was an interesting article over at the Slice of Laodicea.--Dirk

So true

2006-10-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

My dad posted another great blog about the upcoming CityFest here in Houston. Its definitely on my "Top Ten Places I Won't Be" this weekend. Lets all remember that Luis Palau is the "other Billy Graham" that pulled a very Graham-esque stunt when he was toured around China by the government and emplored all the undergound Christian Chinese churches to come out and be 'registered' by the communist government. The true church wept for such a crass and hurtful statement. Its hard to embrace the gospel by such a man who uses such tactics.
--Kathy

Updated Reading List

2006-09-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

I updated my reading list with most of the books for this semester of seminary (I left off the lexicons and vocab books). That list may make you think that I am a crazy fast reader that doesn't just read but devours books. Not so. I am a crazy man that is taking 9 hours of seminary and teaching full time.....I may never get all the work done. Well enough of a break, back to Greek.--Dirk

An immeasurable blessing

2006-09-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

I don't think its been officially announced on the blog that we are pregnant yet...maybe it has. I'm not willing to go back and check right now. Well we are in our 12th week and it has been a ride! I'm very thankful for all of it--the fatigue, the soreness, the puking. They are GOOD signs and just what I prayed for. I have to keep telling myself that.

So Dirk mentioned the 'vomit story' Its really not much--and at the time it was only ONE anecdote, but now I have my pick. I've thrown up in various places: the kitchen sink, the trash can, in class, parking lots, but this morning was new experience. I had dropped off Dirk at school and was winding my way through a neighborhood to get to the high school and I started to feel sick. For some reason, I seem to think that by sheer willpower I will be able to overcome the puking reflex--not so. I had to pull over after a stop sign to puke out the door of my car. It was a new one---Its amazing how many cars will whiz by a puking lady at 6:30 in the morning. They probably thought I was a hungover teenager and I deserved it. Figures.

It can be easy to forget what all this is for--that the small inconveniences are part of a bigger picture that the Lord has His hand on. Sometimes I feel like a poor victim suffering under all kinds of ailments: overwhelming tiredness, weight gain, and of course the puking. But yesterday I had a beautiful reminder about the amazing and humbling miracle that is happening inside of me.

For the past week or so I had been feeling uncomfortable occasionally when I would sit down. It didn't happen all the time and wasn't especially painful, but it made me feel like I needed to lay back or stand back up. Something like pressure in my pelvis. I was describing the sensation to my mom and she suggested that I check with my doctor if I was nervous. I called after school yesterday, and I guess the way I described it made the nurses nervous and they told me to come quickly to be examined. I hurriedly picked up Dirk and rushed off to the medical center. I was so scared and upset all the way there fearing the worst from the visit. They were able to work me in and the nurse practitioner spent extra time with me, checking everything out and reassuring me. I even got to see an ultrasound of our baby. It was climbing and kicking all over the place! It was so amazing to see the little fingers and toes, and even the brain and spinal cord! It even looked towards us at one point and we could see its face! for a few moments it looked like it was clapping its hands...it was so sweet.

I get teary eyed just thinking about it right now. My God is so gracious to me to remind me of His wonderful miracle and the beauty of his creation even while I secretly made myself the martyr for carrying this sweet little baby. I am so honored that He would heap such a blessing on us. I can't imagine complaining about puking or being tired when I remember this little life growing in me.

For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand
When I awake, I am still with You.
Psalm 139: 13-18

Praise the Lord!

--Kathy

read 'em and weep

2006-09-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

Read this and then weap over the current state of the church in America. --Dirk

HT: Slice

New Link

2006-09-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

I added the League of Reformed Bloggers to the "Links to Good Ministries" over on the side bar. I hesitate to do this for a number of reasons:

#1 This is a new thing and I don't know much about it. I read about it here at Challies, I suggest you do the same. Although it sounded like a good resource for my readers (all three of you) that may be reformed it may be a flop.

#2 I'm afraid people will think that I agree with all the blogs listed and their content. I do not claim that, I haven't read them all.

#3 I'm not part of the league, I want to see how it is all going to unfold before I put my blog on the list.

So why did I list it? The main reason is so that I have easy access to the shortcut. I tend to come to this page before going to any other page, those links it make so darn easy (dang I'm lazy). Who knows, it may disappear if it turns out be to be bad thing. Let me know what you think about the league--Dirk

Travis hits a homer

2006-09-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

This has nothing to do with baseball, but my friend Travis has posts linking to two great articles. The first one is funny, and the second is a great paper on Calvin's missiology. I love how people don't know or care about what he believed.--Dirk

HT: Travis

I CAN'T STAND THE PEER PRESSURE

2006-09-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

I've caved after all of the peer pressure put on me to post on this blog. And by all the peer pressure I am referring to two comments on the last post. Blogging has always been in the backseat, but now it is sitting on the bumper. I'm having trouble keeping up with Greek so be warned: there won't be much here by me in the next few months (I know I captivate my readers..ha). Kathy may post if she can stay awake long enough to type something. Maybe someone can get Kathy to post on the vomit story at school, I wasn't there.

OK here is the good stuff. If any of you do not keep up with Dr. Hamilton's blog, you are missing out. He post good things, and you will not disappointed with his articles and essays. He recently posted this in which he lists books all seminary graduates should have read. I'm not there yet. I would go so far as to say that many of the books on this list should be read by all Christians. Yup, you heard it here. I am calling for Christians to be educated....scandalous in this "theological slum" we call a convention (I'm quoting someone else here, don't get mad!). Anyway, once you have read everthing on the list I'll be back to posting--Dirk

Snakes!!!

2006-08-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

In my mind this is one of Purgatorio's best posts. Although it is NOT funny as so many of his are, it is very good at pointing out a problem.--Dirk

Crazy Roman Catholics

2006-08-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

This article confirms to me that Roman Catholics are mislead on some (or most....maybe all) things. Why would you ever pray to Mary to begin with, and why would you ever pray to a chocolate Mary??? I think Isaiah 44 pretty much covers this chocolate prayer thing. Reading the story reminded me of the Jesus that showed up on a polaroid in my home town one year. I saw the picture and it was pretty freaky, but that is for another day.--Dirk

Update: I somehow linked the wrong story. It should be fixed now.

New Blog

2006-08-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

Just to prove that I really am not trying to play favorites with people's blogs and place them in a top to bottom favorite order(I keep making this point, but no one has accused me of it....oh well), I have added a new blog to the "blogs of people we know" roll. Ok, that isn't all true. What really happened is that Mike Thompson started a blog and the "T" in Thompson happens to be after the "S" in Stephenson when I put them in alphabetical order. No matter the reason, there is a new blog on the roll, check it out.--Dirk

Reorganization...ok just Organization

2006-08-05T19:46:00.000-07:00

My wonderful wife suggested that we change the "blog roll" links on the side bar. I too thought it was a good idea to do so now that I am somewhat familiar with changing the blog template. For a long time I was just happy to have those links on the side bar, it took forever to figure that out. So let me explain the method to the madness so that hopefully no one will get their feeling hurt.

At the top you should see "blogs of people we know." I would have said friends, but Kathy doesn't know all of those people. This section is listed top to bottom in alphabetical order. I was NOT trying to just find a way to put Robin at the bottom. It has nothing to do with them leaving us for Virginia.....really it doesn't.

Next you should see "other blogs we read." This section too is posted in alphabetic order (sorta). I did the best I could without listing out everyone who posts on the group blogs. This section was originally titled "blogs we read," but I thought it would imply that we don't read our friends blogs....I mean the blogs of people that we know. We do read those.

Continuing down the list the "ministry links" were only put in alphabetical order (big surprise). I have some ministries to add, but I need to track down web addresses.

Finally you have "the church we attend." It too went through naming revisions tonight because I thought "our church" indicated ownership. It isn't Lakewood and therefore isn't owned by anyone person. Yeah you heard me Lakewood is owned by good 'ole Joel....that's for another blog.

I hope that you find the renovations pleasing. If you don't well I really don't care...just kidding. Send any suggestions my way--Dirk

Praying Beyond Health Concerns

2006-07-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

9Marks has a great new article by David Prowlison on praying for more than just physical needs. I think this article is a must read, not because we have to agree with everything in it but because we need to be striving to pray correctly. Hopefully this article will help drive us back to the Bible to study for a better understanding of Biblical prayer. --Dirk

(HT: Dr. Jim Hamilton)

UPDATE: For some reason the link to the article will NOT work. It will work if you go to Dr. Hamilton's blog, then click on the link, but not from here. I don't claim to understand it either--Dirk

Another sad church

2006-07-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

The good folks over at Slice of Laodicea (yes you too should read it daily) provided another interesting article. This one is from the New York Times and highlights a pastor that started a church in Arizona. Here is a small piece of that article that should either 1) make you want to read about this church or 2) cry that the WORLD pointed this out:

The spiritual sell is also a soft one. There are no crosses, no images of Jesus or any other form of religious iconography. Bibles are optional (all biblical quotations are flashed on huge video screens above the stage). Almost half of each service is given over to live Christian rock with simple, repetitive lyrics in which Jesus is treated like a high-school crush: ''Jesus, you are my best friend, and you will always be. Nothing will ever change that.'' Committing your life to Christ is as easy as checking a box on the communication cards that can be found on the back of every chair. (Last year, 1,055 people did so.) (page 3 of the web article, emphasis added)

I hope that we all weep when secular sources have more insight than some churches. May we all pray that the Lord would have mercy on us so that we can seek His face!--Dirk

Summer Reading # 3: Guns, Germs, and Steel

2006-07-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. I made myself finally complete this book about a month ago. It was one that I bought about 2 years ago thinking it would make me more enlightnened, but then i got bogged down in all the technical aspects and gave it up. Since I'm teaching World History this next school year (that is coming all too quickly, by the way) I thought I should at least finish it so that I'll sound smarter than my students.

The book's ambitious goal is to explain why the world is the way it is. Why do European nations (including the US) have all the wealth and places like Papua New Guinea are left in the Stone Age? Why did Europe colonize North America and not the other way around? The book drops all notions of racial or cultural superiority and looks more at geography to explain each area's circumstances.

I was going to explain some of the interesting factors that Diamond listed that will decide if a location has enough to offer its inhabitants in the way of advancement, but there are so many, that I would give up this review before I finished. I was convinced of his theories by the end of the book. I would scrap the first chapter or two that explain his hopes of evolution, but the rest of the book is engaging, and you will be able to see the hand of God and how He orders the world.

--Kathy

Summer Reading # 2: Brave New World

2006-07-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

I decided to read this, my favorite of all high school reading, because a friend of mine said he wants me to read Planet of the Apes and I said I would if he would read Brave New World(by Aldous Huxley) .

So I thought I should reread it to refresh myself. I know most high school seniors that have to read this book loathe it. I absolutely loved it. I love any dystopian novels (Fahrenheit 451 is up there at the top of my list too) and Brave New World is one of the best. It really allows you to examine the aspects of our society that we take for granted. Our values, truisms, desires and goals are all turned on their head to allow us to see the merit in what we have.

I dont know if this was the author's intent, but I enjoyed the total dismantling of the family(where 'mother' is a dirty word) and its effects on people. I also love the discussions that take place about what true happiness is--is it really the removal of all pain or is pain necessary to achieve happiness? I think what I like most about this book is that is a discussion of culture, brainwashing, and the value of the struggle of life, all in an interesting story.

I know I am not doing this book the justice it deserves in this short book review. The book has much more depth than I can convey in a few paragraphs, so if you are at all intrigued, please check it out.

--Kathy

You know that creepy commercial...

2006-07-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

If you've ever wondered about that weird TV spot that advertises the stuff that you actually rub onto your forehead to relieve a headache, you've got to read this. I felt validated after knowing that we weren't the only ones scratching our heads...

--Kathy

New Person the Blogroll

2006-07-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

I would like to point out that we have added a new person to the blogroll on the left. Robin and Jason are members of our church and will be moving in a short time to Virginia for Jason's job. I am sorry that I did not put her blog up there earlier. We look forward to hearing about the D.C. area through your writings!--Dirk

Software Review

2006-07-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

I have fallen down on the job of reading the last few weeks. I just can't seem to finish The Reformed Pastor and I can't really get excited about Women's Ministry in the Local Church. I have my reasons why I struggle with each. Couple that with summer slothfulness and you get me not reading. So instead of a book I thought I would write a software review. During the past year I have been using a program called e-Sword and it has proved very useful. It was recommended to me by Mike Thompson and for that I am grateful. Read below about it.--Dirk

E-Sword: The Sword of the LORD with an Electronic Edge
By: Rick Meyers

e-Sword Bible software is a freeware program that has been in use since April of 2000. Rick Meyers developed it as a tool for students and teachers to help in their studies. Since that time it now has been downloaded over three million times and is growing to be one of the most used freeware bible study tools.
To start freeware needs to be defined for the people who may not know computer lingo. Freeware is software (a program run on a computer) that is free. It may be downloaded as many times as needed or wanted, but MAY NOT BE SOLD.

HOW IT IS SET UP
Once e-Sword is downloaded and running on your computer Bible versions, commentaries, and other resources need to be downloaded. This allows you freedom to pick and choose what resources that you want to study with.
The e-Sword desktop is divided into two sections. On the left will be the Bible versions tabbed at the top with a dictionary below the Bible. The right of the screen will contain tabbed commentaries, study notes, and topic notes. This set up is changeable with the option of maximizing each of the windows to full screen for easier reading or use.

THE GOOD
Obviously the best thing about this program is that it is free! Rick Meyers has graciously made the program available to anyone who wants to use it. The only part of this program that may cost you money is some of the add-ons. Unfortunately, the NASB and a few other resources require that you pay the publisher the license fee.
Besides being free my favorite feature of this program is the ease of use. The Bibles and commentaries are tabbed at the top of the screen for easy navigation and movement. Mr. Meyers has also built in a synchronizing tool that will keep the commentaries and Bibles together. So as you change Bible verses your commentaries keep up.
The note taking features of this program are also very good. Two different ways are offered. The first is a study notes tab that allows for note taking on specific chapters and verses for later use. As you navigate to different scripture references in the study notes sections your notes are saved under that scripture reference for later use. It makes for simple, yet effective, organization. The second, is topic notes section that allows note taking on different topics. In the same way the subject notes are saved by verse these notes are saved by the topic it is assigned. There are also several downloads for this section written by popular theologians and Christians of the past that are most helpful. For example the Psalms of David set to Metre, Institutes of Christian Religion, Foxes Book of Martyrs, and the Westminster Confession may be downloaded as resources for study.
For all those out there who are on the go and want to study the Bible from the convenience of a PDA a version has been created for Pocket PC. Unfortunately, at this time PDAs running a PalmOS cannot use this feature.
Lastly, there is a STEP reader that supports books that may be downloaded for free. The entire works of John Newton, A. W. Pink, and John Bunyan’s are a few examples of what may be downloaded.

THE BAD
The necessity of downloading each add-on individually, while allowing customizing options, makes this program time consuming to set up. It most likely will turn into a process that takes unless several hours may be set aside.
The language section of the program leaves a little to be desired. While it will help with definitions through the dictionary section, it lacks in a good version of the Hebrew Old Testament and a parsing tool. But this is beyond the scope of most studies, and the program is never promoted as a Biblical language program.

CONCLUSION
Overall this is the best and most simple Bible study program that I have used. It contains a multitude of options yet does not take over the computer’s memory when running. This is a program that all Christians who study their Bible need to at least download and review.

It can be downloaded and researched at www.e-sword.net

Church Rock Concert or Church Heresy Promotion

2006-07-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks again to the Slice for bringing this article to my attention. I don't have a problem with concerts at churches (not on the Lord's day I might add), but this line up of bands is shady. In the Slice article please read the lyrics to one of the songs and look at the names of the bands. May we weep over churches who promote this type of teaching to students. Yes it is teaching!--Dirk

(HT: Slice of Laodicea)

Crazy Rick Warren

2006-07-12T15:50:00.000-07:00

I found this rap video, yes rap video, here on the Purpose Driven site. And NO I was not there looking around, I got the link from The Slice.--Dirk

Change of mind

2006-07-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

I have decided that it is more important to prepare for Sunday morning instead of transposing all my notes about conference. Look for it next week instead.--Dirk

Founders Conference Tulsa, OK

2006-07-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

Ok we are really in Owasso a suburb of Tulsa. Brad could not go because of deaths and funerals that happened this week in our church, so they called in the relief. Mike and I had a good drive up and so far have enjoyed our stay. Besides my computer giving me a few problems, so far so good. I thought I would try to "live blog" the event. But I'm not going to do it live, and I might not keep up with it. I obviously am no Challies. Look for the the first episode tomorrow. We've been through two sessions tonight and both were good. The two sessions were Psalm 51 by Joe Thorn then Revelation 5 by Sam Waldren. Both were excellent and I didn't let my fear of Revelation talk me into leaving (j/k).--Dirk

Guilded Age of Christianity

2006-07-07T15:56:00.000-07:00

I know Dirk is the one who normally does all the links to other articles, I felt compelled to point out this post at Slice of Laodicea(if you dont check it out regularly, you ought to) . Ingrid does a great job at discussing the perils of our own Guilded Age of Christianity that we as Americans are in the midst of. Please read and join us in prayer. --Kathy

Concerns about Dr. Page

2006-07-07T13:35:00.001-07:00

I recived an e-mail recently written by one of the elders of our church. He has some interesting thoughts about the Presidents Page of the Southern Baptist Convention. I thought these were very insightful and he said I could post it here. --Dirk

As reported by Al Mohler, Frank Page has his own SBC web page. Note the "Important Issues" tab at:http://www.sbc.net/PresidentsPage/FrankPage/ImportantIssues.asp If you read the "Calvinism" section, several things become clear:
(1) he has no historical perspective on what the "doctrines of grace" mean (an old Mormon trick--use the same words as they have been recognized throughout history, but with a new meaning, therefore disguising the real intent--like others who use the term "Hypercalvinism");
(2) he does not know or understand that Calvinists believe in free will--which tells me he is unfamiliar with Jonathan Edwards, Spugeon, et.al., or worse, deliberately ignores what he knows to be true; and
(3) if "salvation.........is universally offered and atoned for by our Lord Jesus Christ" then all are saved and no one is condemned--thus no hell for any human being; therefore the Page formula is "universal offer and atonement equals universalism."
This is the result of a "no doctrine but the Bible" mentality; combine that with a "sweet spirit" and you have the recipe for lethargic, ignorant congregations (and preachers, teachers).

Note also his comments in the "Women in Ministry" section. When he says he supports the BF&M and specifically supports the statement that "the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture," I assume that does not mean Assistant Pastors, as his own church has a female for "Minister for Adults." See http://www.taylorsfbc.org/templates/custaylorsfbc/details.asp?id=32297&PID=313167&mast = If the key to this is his adherence to Scripture (as he claims), is he applying 1 Cor. 14:34-35 and 1 Tim. 2:11-12? If so, how does he justify Kathy Dority's position in his church? Is it even credible or possible that a "Minister to Adults" does no teaching? Is the title of "minister" used to avoid the clear spirit and intent of the Scripture that Mr. Page so highly values? Evidently Scripture is to be obeyed except when it interfers with what he wants to do in his own church. But remember that the title of the section is "Women in Ministry"--I suppose there is an intention to relate "ministry" to "minister" and therefore avoid the"pastor" label--which I would see as a blatantly clear attempt to avoid the authorial intent of Paul in Scripture. These are troubling indicators.--Mike

Seeker Sensitive Results...Are They New

2006-07-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the bloggers over at "the slice," as I like to call it, I found this interesting article. It compares the results of the seeker sensitive movement with the results of the Charlemagne era of the 770s A.D. It is well worth your read, even if you don't agree with it. We should all strive to honor God in our worship!--Dirk

Great Article on Rick Warren's trip to Asia

2006-07-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

Brothers and sisters many of you know that I don't care for Rick Warren too much. I appreciate some of the work that he and his church has done. For example they funded many pastors that were caught in the hurricanes last year so that they could continue to minister. But, unfortunatly, I don't see him proclaiming the gospel of Christ. Read this interesting examination of his trip to Asia. We need to pray that he does not "drop the ball" while speaking and that the Holy Spirit would speak the gospel through him. I would agree with this article that he is allowed to speak there, because he is not seen as a gospel proclaiming threat.--Dirk

New Website that is a MUST SEE

2006-07-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

I just found out that Tim Challies now owns and runs Discerning Reader. Challies is known (in my mind at least) for his great book reviews and faster than greased lightening live blogging. Discerning Reader now has all of his book reviews and he has an editorial team that is writing reviews too. So the next time you want to know if a book is good or if it will be a waste of time and money check it out on the Discerning Reader.

Why do Southern Baptists oppose Premarital-Sex?

2006-07-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

Because it leads to dancing.

Lame, I know. I thought of that joke--a great reminder of what getting caught in the periphery issues can do to your logic--as my parents and I perused the new issue of the Southern Baptist Texan.

Check out this article, or at least just the title.

There is a lot I could take issue with about the SBC and SBTC, but let's just stick with the periphery issues, shall we?

An interesting line from the article about the lengthy discussion banning alcohol at the recent SBC said:
“The use of alcohol as a beverage can and does impede our testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ,” [one supporter] insisted, prompting strong applause from messengers. He called for the amendment’s passage so that messengers might speak to the matter and “leaders might take the high road in our walk with the Lord Jesus.” (emphasis added)

Now, I'm assuming this supporter equates any consumption of alcohol with drunkeness. Also, I suppose that so many in attendance felt that any action that might, or could 'impede our testimony' should be banned in a resolution and passed at the next Southern Baptist Convention.

Another quote:
[Another Supporter] said, “The resolution is to take a stand against something that is destroying our world.” After being interrupted by applause, [he] added, “The resolution states very plainly alcoholism has led to countless deaths on our nation’s highways.”

Now I see. This not only is an issue with personal holiness but also with public safety. Aparently those who choose to partake in alcohol responsibly are still ruining their witness and making the highways unsafe.

So should the SBC ban cell phones, high heels, computers, and coffee shops because they all could lead to sin and might inhibit public safety?

I guess Paul should have consulted with the wise messengers to the SBC before he wrote Romans 14. Who needs to be 'convinced in his own mind'(v5) when the SBC has it all figured out for you??

--Kathy

Free Theological Training

2006-06-30T17:51:00.000-07:00

For all of you that are interested in some free theological training, I have got the websites for you. I recently became aware of two websites that would be of help for any Christian wanting to go into deeper study of scripture. These two sites seem promising and I know that the speakers are very credible. Many of them are evangelical leaders in their field of study. Remember that you can't earn a formal degree for free, but these are lectures given in seminaries. Enjoy--Dirk

First is the Biblical Training website. It has such well known teachers as Bruce Ware (The Southern Baptist Seminary), John Piper (Bethlehem Baptist Church), and Paul House (Guest Lecturing at Beeson Divinity School). I started Paul Houses OT course, but haven't gotten very far.

Secondly is the Convenant Theological Seminary funded by the Presbyterian Church of American (PCA). There is a LONG list of free courses on the right side of the page. Even if you aren't a paedobaptist these courses would serve you well. I plan on listening to a few of them during Christmas...I got too much to study now.

Lastly, I found this free course on the book of John offered by the Southern Baptist Convention. I haven't listened to it, and I don't know of the professor. Listen at your own risk, but I imagine that it will be good. It is at the very bottom of the web page. (yeah I know I said two websites and posted three, but this is just one course does it really count?)

Did God Create Evil

2006-06-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

There has been much talk of this subject in the group that I discuss theology with over the past year or so. Phil Johnson has a very interesting post on this subject, which has caused me to dive back in to the Bible for some more study. I think this topic demands our study. Read the article here.--Dirk

Another reason why I don't like Rick Warren

2006-06-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

"(Rick) Warren told Wolfson his interest is in helping all houses of worship, not in converting Jews. He said there are more than enough Christian souls to deal with for starters."

Jewish Journal of Greater Los AngelesJune 23 Edition

I tried to access the full story but the server was down. I would love to read it all--Dirk

(HT: Slice of Laodicia)

Dirk's Summer Reading...and some others #3

2006-06-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Ok this one I did read this summer.--Dirk

The Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel
By: Mark Dever and Paul Alexander

Why do churches function the way that they do? Have the leaders of those churches ever evaluated their action in light of Scripture? In this book Mark Dever discusses the functioning of Capital Hill Baptist Church where he is the teaching pastor/elder and through that he challenges ministers, and laymen, to evaluate the way their own churches function.
This book is broken down into short chapter that are broken up by “think tank” sections. “Think Tank” sections are reflection questions about the topic at hand and the Scripture that teaches about that topic. This type of structure makes for a easy read because of the frequent chapter changes. Although it is a easy read it can be time consuming (in a good way) because of the probing question that are asked. It is healthy for Christians to evaluate all that is done in light of scripture and the functioning of the local church is no exception
The Deliberate Church is broken into four parts: Gathering the Church, When the Church Gathers, Gathering Elders, and When the Elders Gather. In these sections almost all parts of church life are touched. Topics range from the preaching of the Word, the music, and the elder and member meetings. Dr. Dever has a high view of Scripture and a high view of the importance of the local church. These ideas and methods are firmly defended with scripture and Capitol Hill Baptist church seems to be a healthy and thriving local body that we all could learn from.
While this may be the best books that I have ever read on practices of the local church there are a few ideas taught in this book that I am not completely in agreement with. That however does not take away from the fact that I endorse this book wholeheartedly and recommend it for all pastors, elders, deacons, seminary students, and laymen who want to be challenged to evaluate the way their churches function. Dr. Dever has done the Church a great service by being willing to teach and disciple not only those at his local church, but others in Christendom as well.

This book is available in the GRBC library and at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1581347383/sr=8-1/qid=1151290964/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-4833473-6924711?ie=UTF8

Dirk's Summer Reading...and some others #2

2006-06-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

Ok this book I had to read for a missions class for seminary. But, I can't stand to not tell you all about it. This one along with the previous book are must reads, and they are short. Please pick it up and enjoy.--Dirk

And the Word Came with Power
By: Joanne Shetler with Patricia Purvis

Why should Christians read and study about Missionaries? Missionary stories should encourage and inspire Christians to continue to go and support missions around the globe while teaching of the work of our God. This book tells the story of Joanne Shetler and her ministry to the Balangao people in the northern Philippines. Settling with headhunters and becoming part of their village with the purpose of translating the Scriptures was no easy task, but it was accomplished. Reading this book’s story is captivating. Over a 20 year period Joanne Shetler learned the language, proclaimed the gospel of Christ, translated the New Testament, established a church, and watched the Word come with power to change the hearts of head hunters.
While this book is encouraging to read there are some parts that challenge the thoughts of contemporary western Christians. The Balangao people worshipped evil spirits and slaughtered animals as sacrifices to satisfy the spirit’s requirement. The stories of the mediums being possessed and their salvation through the work of the Holy Spirit is not normal for westerners to see, but it shines light on the true state of man’s unregenerate soul and the power of regeneration by the Holy Spirit. These stories paint a vivid picture of how humans truly are an enemy of God without His saving grace. The progress of this small group of believers is humbling. As the scriptures were translated and they read them for the first time the elders of the village immediately changed their action to line up with the instruction from the Bible. The end of the story is most encouraging. The Balangao church started taking the gospel to neighboring villages, making missionary journeys of their own.
And the Word Came with Power is a short read at 176 pages and should not be missed. Pick up your copy today:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0938978314/sr=8-2/qid=1148000430/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-6728147-3384905?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Dirk's Summer Reading....and some others #1

2006-06-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

Not to be outdone by my beautiful wife I have decided that I need to review/recommend books that I have read this summer. I read part of the book during the last semester but finished it after finals. Here goes number 1 (it isn't as long as Kathy's)--Dirk

Heroes and Heretics: Pivotal moments in 20 Centuries of the Church
By: Iain D. Campbell

Dr. Iain Campbell is the pastor of the Free Church of Scotland in Back on the Isle of Lewis (UK). Dr. Campbell is the author of several other books on the doctrine of sin and on the gospel. He also serves as the Review Editor of the Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology.
Regrettably church history is commonly reserved for the seminary student or laymen who love history. Many Christians have little or no knowledge of the seven ecumenical counsels, the major impact of the reformation, or the early church fathers. If you are one of these people and want a concise overview of church history this is the book for you.
Dr. Campbell has set aside a chapter for each of the last twenty centuries in this book, which makes for an easy read. At 15-20 pages per chapter this book is great for bedtime reading, carrying around to read during short breaks in the day, or lunchtime reading. Heroes and Heretics contains a simple chart at the beginning of each of its chapters that gives important dates, events, and people of the century. The rest of the chapter expands on those topics in a way that is not overwhelming to the new budding historian.
While this book is very helpful for general information and a great overview of history it is by no means an exhaustive resource. For more specifics about church history one may find the endnotes and a further reading section helpful.
For the Christian who is just starting a study of church history, or the Christian who wants a overview book to refresh his memory this is a must read book. A copy can be purchased here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/185792925X/qid=1148000565/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-6728147-3384905?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Al Gore Wrong??? NO WAY

2006-06-14T08:05:00.000-07:00

I found this link on drudgereport about Al Gore being wrong about global warming. How does a former vice president get that wrong....I mean doesn't politics qualify you for scientific research??--Dirk

Read it here

Oh yeah, I'll be posting some book reviews too...I can't let Kathy do more than me--Dirk

Summer Reading #1 : Quo Vadis

2006-06-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

I thought since I lack inspiration for posting that I would try to keep a running list (complete with synopsis and critiques) of books I read this summer. I'm doing thise for a few reasons: 1) Accountability--to make sure I really do read what I started out this summer with a desire to read. 2) To Summarize what I read and write down my a few of my thoughts about it--causing me to reflect on and evaluate on the work(keep in mind that I'm not much of a writer and my musings will not be long) 3) Possibly spark some discussion on various works.

First installment: Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Quo Vadis is a historical novel by Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz first published in 1896. The setting is 1st century Rome and contrasts the decadent, pagan lifestyle of Nero and the other influential figures in his court(complete with references to the various philosophies prevalent at the time) with the underground Christian community in Rome--mostly made up of the poorer classes with a few exceptions. The story centers on a wealthy Roman tribune, Marcus Vinicus, and his obsession and eventual love for a Christian woman, Lygia, who eventually plays a part in his conversion to Christ--all around the time of the burning of Rome and the following Christian persecution(the scenes of Christians in the coloseum are pretty graphic) .

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was an interesting interpretive look at the personality of Nero, and of Rome as a whole. I especially appreciated the development of the various characters and his ability to portray various characters and their competing philosophies in Nero's court. However, there were a few faults that I found with the book. First, were the several historical inacuracies. For example, the author puts Paul in Rome ministering to the Christians there multiple times even though the New Testament makes it plain that the only time that Paul was in Rome was during his trialand execution. Also, I felt that the portrayal of Christianity was extremely incomplete. The scant explanations of the theology of Christians was grossly incomplete. Lastly, the heavy bent of Catholicism was a little problematic for me. The author seems to be laying his case for Peter as the first pope throughout the story and especially near the end where Peter accepts the heavenly mandate to build the 'city of God' in Rome and his assignment to be the 'viceregent of Christ' on earth. It is more of the author's commentary and tribute to his own faith than a historical novel that instructs about the time period. But then, that would explain Dirk's complaint with the whole genre of 'historical fiction': It should not be used as a replacement for the actual study of history.

So thats my take on Quo Vadis in a nutshell. (I've decided the rest won't be this long)

--Kathy

Side note: "Quo Vadis" is a Latin phrase meaing "Where are you going?" In the novel Peter starts to flee when he hears that he was wanted by the Roman pretorians and on the way out of the city, he receives a vision of Christ asking him where he was going (quo vadis) and why he was leaving His sheep. Peter returns to the city to complete his work as establishing Rome as the future 'holy city'.

Piper Quote

2006-06-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

Piper Quote of the Day from Desiring God Ministries

"If God were not committed first to vindicate the worth of his own glory, there would be no gospel and no hope, for there would be no glorious God."(Pleasures of God, pg. 166)

Think about that one for a while today--Dirk

Any Answers

2006-06-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

So I was pretty excited that I figured out how to add in to the code my links on the side bar. The problem is I don't understand a thing about code and some how I got the last two sections to indent. I don't want them that way, but it looks exactly like the rest of the code that I have been copying in from the help section of blogger. Any smart internet people out there know how to fix that?? I'm scared to do too much, I'm afraid that I'll loose the entire blog. PLEASE HELP--Dirk

UPDATE:
I don't know why but my problem is now fixed. I'm not sure why it decided to fix the problem....I wish I understood how all this internet html code worked!--Dirk

WOO HOO

2006-06-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

I have finally figured out how to get links to show up in the sidebar. It has been a long frustrating process for me, but tonight it worked! The blogs are some of my favorites to read, friends, and sometimes both. Also check back I will be adding more. I have also posted a couple of ministries that are helpful and links to the church I attend along with the pastor's sermons (they are very good!). Enjoy. --Dirk

Tom Ascol's newest blog

2006-06-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

Today I found this blog by Tom Ascol. Dr. Ascol is a pastor, theologian, and director of Founders Ministry. He is also an Aggie! This blog article addresses the attacks that have been thrown at pastors in the SBC that believe the Doctrines of Grace. If you agree with Reformed Theology or not, this article is worth the read. --Dirk

Teaching Middle School

2006-05-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

I have been long-term substitute teaching the last two weeks (and until the end of the year) for a 7th grade math teacher. I have a new respect for teachers who spend their entire career fighting what seems to be a losing battle. I have been at this one school all year and I like teaching the students, but coming into a classroom at the end of the year has been difficult. A wise woman told me once that "middle school should be a work camp." I'm starting to believe it now.

For all of you that have children please, please, please, do not let your discipline become loose. They desperatly need to be shown in a loving way how the law works. When they understand the law grace will be meaningful. I have learned more than ever this year that our discipline should point children toward Christ. It should reinforce the fact that there is a penalty for sin in not only their lives, but my own. It should also open up doorways to preach the gospel and preach it boldly. I pray that my discipline enforced upon students will not go to waste, but be a teacher to them and a reminder to me of the Holy God.

Be looking back here for bookreviews to come on the GRBC website.

--Dirk

Please go to this website!!

2006-04-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

Go to this blog and request that the T4G discussions and videos be released!!--Dirk

T4G

2006-04-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

I'll be posting in more detail about the T4G conference after Tuesdays finals.....stayed tuned--Dirk

One more thing

2006-04-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

Next week I and seval others will be going to the Together For The Gospel Conference in Louisville, KY. I read somewhere that Tim Challies will be covering the event on his blog. If that is the case (and I'm not sure if he is) you should not miss it. He did an excellent job covering the Shepard Conference earlier this year. Go check it out.

Also check out his article about the Da Vinci code and hypocrisy of Christians.--Dirk

I'm who??

2006-04-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

This cool quiz told me that I'm more like John Knox than any other Scottish theologian.....I'm ok with that. It also says that I'm a Presby....but there weren't any Baptism questions. Oh well. Here ya go: --Dirk

You scored as John Knox. You are John Knox. You are implaccably opposed to the Pope and the 'monsterous Regiment of Women'. (That sounds bad...I like women, just not as the head in ministry--Dirk) You uphold classic Presbyterianism (How can this be??? There weren't any baptism questions!--Dirk)

John Knox

100%

James Orr

95%

Thomas Chalmers

60%

James Denney

55%

Thomas Boston

50%

Which Scottish Theologian are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

(HT: Haykin's Blog)

More Left Behind

2006-04-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

I had a long rant about this story here about the new Left Behind Video game, and it got deleted. I guess that was a sign to get back to studying. So I'll leave you with two links. Read the story, decided if it is good. I've got to get back to translating Jonah.

Slice of Laodicea

Left Behind Video game

Ok two thoughts then back to studying

1) Will the players of this game get left behind in serving our Lord? I mean it is hard to run the race if you are sitting blasting the anti-Christ on TV.

2) Consider this quote from John Piper (it goes something like this) "God will not be used as currency for the purchase of idols"

ok back to Jonah--Dirk

Biblical Languages

2006-04-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

Dan Phillips over at pyromaniacs has written an interesting blog about Biblical languages and English translations. It is worth your time to read it.

I agree with most of what he is saying from my brief experience with translations. He argues that the translators take away some of the interpretation by the words that they render in English (we all come to scripture with certain presuppositions). I agree with that, but I wonder how else it can be done short of all Christians learning the languages.

I hope that everyone that is serious about studying the Bible will at least become "workable," as I call it, in the original Bible languages. I know that not everyone will be fluent in the languages, but I think we should at least be able to understand how the language works so that we can translate and do word studies with the help of some tools (dictionaries, BibleWorks, etc).

I say all this above but want to make very clear that overall I think we have good translations into English. Many Godly men way smarter than me have worked years on making that possible. I never want to come off as saying that all translations are bad, they aren't. But we should be careful and know what type of translation we are using, its intent, and pray earnestly that the Holy Spirit will illuminate it to us.--Dirk

No WHAT?!?!

2006-04-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

As I waited for my coffee yesterday at Starbucks I saw this story. It tells of the Gospel of Judas. This gospel doesn't speak of the betrayal....look at the picture in this story. Maybe it is because that part is now a huge hole!

On a serious note you can read what Dr. Hamilton says about it at his blog.

--Dirk

What in the world??? Should we study the BIBLE?

2006-04-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

I don't have the time to blog as much as I want, so this will be brief. I really like getting in on the discussion of many things in the blog world. I use my study breaks to read other blogs and keep up with current discussions. It has also proven to be a great way to read writing by some of today's most brilliant theologians. Unfortunatly, there have been times when I have been disappointed in some of the things I find on these blogs and on the internet in general. For example on Justin Taylor's blog (he is a great blogger by the way, not a bad one :)) he posted on the trend of pastorial plagiarism in the contemporary church. Justin Taylor linked to Ray Van Neste's blog which led me to find this article on Rick Warren's website for pastors, which was the cause for disappointment, NOT JUSTIN TAYLOR'S BLOG (it is excellent).

I was shocked and speachless (at first) to see that Mr. Sjogren, the author, was advocating the use of other preacher's sermons. So what is the problem you may ask? My first initial shock was the thought of plagiarism. Then as I pondered what was being said my heart was heavy because worse than the use of other's materials was the push for pastors not to study. Pastors, nay Christians, that do not study the Word of God may be the biggest problem we face in contemporary Christianity! I hope that this article by Mr. Sjogren is seen for what it really is, a call for Christians to be lazy and apathetic to the statutes of the Bible! Please read it with caution, if you dare to venture to it.

On a side note, why is there a copywrite at the bottom if Mr. Sjogren says we can use anything of this we want??????

I may try to post on the newest fad at 2nd Baptist Houston next if I can find the time. 85 million for a building seems a bit over the top doesn't it?--Dirk

It's official now

2006-03-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

We talked to the doctor office again today and it is official that we have had a miscarriage. It has been a frustrating past five or six days trying to get information out of the doctor's office, but after a couple of miscommunications we finally got the doctor's confirmation. May the Lord use this to proclaim his Word through us. Please petition Him with us that we will not waste this miscarriage, instead use it as a opportunity to make much of Him.

Bye the way--
There is also an awesome blog here at teampyro on Biblical marriage counseling. I hope that I take these principles and apply them to all problems and hardships in life. For example having a miscarriage has forced me into the Word of God to rely on His truths, and not the world's comforts. Isn't that what we all should do in "bad" situations? I pray that I will continue to rely on him and not the world's solutions to my hardships. May you be encouraged.--Dirk

You mean this isn't a new thing?

2006-02-27T10:20:00.000-08:00

I love reading blogs, good ones anyway. There is much to be learned from other's exposition of the Bible and their convictions on certain issues. There is also much to be learned from Christians of times gone by. For example here at TeamPyro on Mondays Spurgeon can be read. This week's post is about games in the church. I thought this unhealthy trend was a contemporary fad until about a year ago. Let us learn from the mistakes of others and not repeat them. Please read what the "Prince of Preachers" has to say to us today.

May our thoughts be captive to Christ and Him cruxified and not the folly of this world--Dirk

Book Reviews

2006-02-23T16:10:00.000-08:00

We have recently started at our church a list of book reviews and recommendations for our local body, and I thought I would share it with you. At this point there are only 2 reviews but please be watching for more. I know that I am working on a couple of seminary books that I plan on reviewing for the benefit of our church. Enjoy.

GRBC Recommended Reading

I would also like to point out that I agree with my wife and to use my new word we are slothful when it comes to blogging that is. I don't know if we'll ever be to the standard of Phil Johnson or Fide-o, but I hope to get better at this....suffer with us!--Dirk

We're Back!

2006-02-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

I feel like I'm always commenting onhow long its been since my last post--but it HAS been a long time. We're lazy. Thats the real root of the issue. We've had other priorities and blogging just hasnt been one of them. We read other blogs fur sure, but for some reason blogging requires too much action. Christmas came and went and was good--Lots of family time and whatnot. New year has been great, we ran the Houston Half-Marathon and completed our goal of running in under 2:30. My birthday was fabulous. Lots of good things. I can't really say anything else. You're caought up on our life for now. I'm going to get ready for bed now--I'll be back.

--Kathy

Crazy Muslims?

2006-02-13T09:52:00.000-08:00

I thought this was a good article concerning the recent violence and Islam--Dirk

Not much time

2006-02-09T15:27:00.000-08:00

I thought that over the Christmas break I would have time to blog......so that didn't happen. But I did find an interesting link online. Click with CAUTION because you may not want to see these due to the recent violence --Dirk

Drawings that upset Islam

No Christmas Service?

2005-12-21T11:51:00.000-08:00

I did think that the cancelling of Christmas day service by some churches was crazy. Who would cancel service on the "day Jesus was born." But after reading THIS article by Steve Camp, I am glad that some churches are cancelling their services. Thanks for the insight Steve!--Dirk

Don't Eat or Drink Reading This

2005-12-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

I have started a post of my own about children's ministies, but haven't finished it. Until then you should read this post poking fun of Calvinist. Yeah, I know I am one....but it is still really funny. I can relate to several personally! Enjoy--Dirk

http://purgatorio1.blogspot.com/2005/12/help-im-going-hyper.html#links

Back to Blogging

2005-12-07T13:16:00.000-08:00

Do you smell that? That is the smell of final exams being completed!! I have survived my first semester at SWBTS Havard. I hope to be able to write more blogs, maybe it will help with my papers next sememster. For those of you who read this Blog (both of you), you should go to this article. John MacArthur has written (quite well I might add) a piece on the importance of doctrine, for our benefit. There is much to be learned from great writers like this man! Enjoy.--Dirk

http://phillipjohnson.blogspot.com/2005/12/another-guest-post-from-my-favorite.html

PS. I need books for Christmas if you feel so generous!

Study Break

2005-12-01T08:56:00.000-08:00

I found these during a study break. Yes, I too need a break from Hebrew. Check out this link, it might make you laugh...or not:

http://purgatorio1.blogspot.com/2005/11/you-might-be-emerging-if.html

This link too might or might not bring a laugh, but either way it will make you think about some of our Christian "leaders" we looked too all the time. Let us never accept anything because someone we respect said it, but instead test it against Scripture!--Dirk

http://stevenjcamp.blogspot.com/2005/11/top-ten-turkey-awards-of-2005the.html

Wishlist

2005-11-24T18:19:00.000-08:00

Since everyone else is doing it we thought we'd jump on the bandwagon. Here are our wishlists so you can see what we are asking each other for this holiday season. Kathy's and Dirk's

I always love looking at people's bookshelves. To me(since I'm a reader), it tells me so much about the person, so I thought that I'd let you know about us. Mine is a true wishlist--I dont expect to get most of these books this giving season, I just like to daydream--so take it with a grain of salt.

--Kathy

Thankful

2005-11-24T16:57:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of things that I could talk about that I'm thankful for--family, friends, Jesus Christ, my husband--but today I'm reminded of something else.

For a long time, even though I'm a Baptist, I didnt want to be labeled as one. "I go to a Baptist church, but I'm not a Baptist"--I saw things in Baptist churches that I wasn't comfortable with so I didnt want to get grouped with them. But through this semester, I've learned a lot. Dirk has been taking a Baptist Heritage class at seminary(a class I had turned my nose up to) and I've learned that the things that I didnt really like about Baptist churches were really not Baptist "things" at all. We discussed this at length last night at church as well, and here is a pretty good list of things that are what historians would call "Baptist distinctives":

Historically orthodox
Salvation by grace (incedentally, "salvation by faith" was deemed a heresy we call Pelagianism at the Council at Ephesus in 431. The orthodox veiw would be "salvation by grace through faith")
Bible as the sole authority
Autonomy of the local church
Regenerate church membership
Priesthood of all believers
Soul, or Religious Liberty
2 Ordinances (Believer's baptism, and the Lord's supper)
2 Offices (Deacons and Elders)

I'm not uncomfortable about any of these things, in fact I like them, I want to be part of a church that values them. All the other parts of Baptist churches that always bothered me like the altar calls (invented by the Charles Finney, a questionable evangelist during the Second Great Awakening), prevalent anti-intellectualism(a reflection of the culture), "canned" sermons(see previous), excessive traditionalism (we've-always-done-it-that-way mentality) and so forth aren't even Baptist.

Interestingly, reformed Baptists can trace their heritage to the English Separatists that came to America from England--Otherwise known as Pilgrims [not all Puritans were Pilgrims, but its safe to say that most Pilgrims were Puritans]. John Adams, one of our founding fathers, called reformed Baptists "the most thorough-going reformers", which is a high compliment.

I am thankful for a church that is distinctively "Baptist" for all the right reasons, that doesnt mimic the prevalent model for Baptist churches, which seems to be the way of the "get-rich quick schemes" or "get-big-fast schemes". I dont think there is another denomination(and yes even non-denominational's are a denomination....whatever) that at its heart is as truly biblical as reformed Baptists.. I'm putting myself out there by using that statement. But shouldn't you feel that way about the church you attend? Shouldn't you search the scriptures to see if what your church does and believes is truly biblical?? And if you haven't, what right have you to attack or disagree?

I'm thankful to be a Baptist. Yes, you may label me, as long as you know what kind of Baptist identity I'm refering to. Now that you know, you separate what is historical and what is a new development. Label me as a historical Baptist. I'm thankful for my heritage.

--Kathy

Great article on Brian McLaren's "A Generous Orthodoxy"

2005-11-24T07:15:00.000-08:00

Steve Camp has a great article on Brian McLaren's book A Generous Orthodoxy. Reading some of the things Mr. McLaren says is down right scarey! Is this what people are being taught???? I hope that Christians will continue to (as Martin Luther said) shake the branches of Scripture. We should all always examine teachings given to us in light of the Bible. Here is the link:

http://stevenjcamp.blogspot.com/2005/11/reinventing-calvinismthe-gospel.html

Enjoy--Dirk

I'm all for separation of church and state!

2005-11-22T06:25:00.000-08:00

Being a Baptist traditionally meant being for chruch/state separation, but recently I do not think church members have been taught it's importance. In fact I would say that we haven't been taught anyting about it. How are people to know what it even means if it isn't taught? Here is a very interesting link to Al Mohler's blog, he mentions what can happen when the state steps into the church. I highly recommend reading more about this IRS case....are they coming to your church????--dirk

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=383

E.Y. Mullins

2005-11-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

I have told several people that I would be posting some of my papers from school on this thing. I guess I better do it. This is a short chapter review over E.Y. Mullins. I recommend reading the entire book, it is very informative. We should all learn about where our denomination came from!--Dirk

Edgar Young Mullins Baptist Theologian and Leader

Fisher Humphreys wrote chapter ten of Theologians of the Baptist Tradition about Edgar Young (E.Y.) Mullins. After being raised in Texas and moving around the country, Mullins became a strong defender of the Christian faith and a leader of the Baptist.

Edgar Mullins was born as the first son and fourth child of his family on January 5, 1860. His father, who was a teacher, farmer, and Baptist minister. His mother dedicated him to Christian ministry without him knowing until he was 35 years old (181-182). The Mullins family moved to Corsicana, Texas because of the war, and in 1869 and Mullins’ father founded the First Baptist Church of Corsicana. The children of the family were encouraged to attend college, so Edgar became a member of the first class of the military school that is now known as Texas A&M University. Not yet a Christian and preparing to pursue a career in law, Mullins was converted to Christianity at a revival in Dallas, Texas. At the age of twenty he was baptized by his father in Corsicana, shortly thereafter he felt a call to full-time ministry and entered the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS). After graduation his desire to become a missionary was halted because of health concerns of his doctor. Instead, he became pastor of Harrodsburg Baptist Church in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. After marring Isla May Hawley, Mullins went on to serve churches in Baltimore, Maryland and Newton Centre, Massachusetts. He then served the Foreign Mission Board and became president and professor of/at SBTS, a position he held until he died in 1928. During his time as president of SBTS he also served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1921 to 1924 and the Baptist World Alliance from 1923 to 1928.

During his three decades at SBTS he had influence on three major theological issues that effected Baptist life. First was the controversy between Calvinism and Arminianism. Although Mullins continued to use a Calvinistic textbook in his class, he intentionally took a very moderate position on the issue (184). He wrote this about the extremes of both sides of the issue: “The really safe leaders of thought, however, are between these extremes (184).”

Landmark Baptist interpretation of history was another issue with which Mullins had to contend with during his ministry at SBTS. These Baptists were insistent that the only congregations permitted by the New Testament were local bodies of baptized believers that were in succession from the time of Christ. To deal with this issue Mullins referred to the same line of history as the Landmark movement, but let the answer ultimately rest with historical scholarship (185). This controversy may have led to the lack of written work on the doctrine of the church by Mullins.

The third controversy Mullins dealt with was the controversy between the Fundamentalists and Modernists. In this controversy the study of history and science was used to threaten or explain differently what the churches understood the Bible to say. Mullins, once again, had a very moderate opinion. His stance would not allow for the Bible to be explained away, and would not let the truthful claims of history and science be rejected. This moderate stance was very similar to the stance he took on the Calvinism and Arminianism debate.

Controversies were just one part of Mullins’ ministry, he also wrote more than six books. In his books he teach on apologetics, Baptist heritage, systematic theology, and the controversies of the day. This achievement should be noted along with his leadership of the Baptist worldwide. Through his leadership in the controversies noted above, he led the Baptist away from the extremes of several different views.

Although many of his stances were in the middle of the issue, he should be respected because of this careful thought on issues and his active engagement of the controversies around him. E. Y. Mullins was a great Baptist theologian that led his contemporaries and trained future ministers of the gospel.

Education gone too far?

2005-11-10T13:40:00.000-08:00

I have had an ongoing discussion with several people about education. Not just public education, but classical, home schooling, discipleship in the church, seminaries and colleges. Being part of the education system can sometimes be frustrating and rewarding, but reading this blog by Albert Mohler makes me think that some people may be going a little too far. He references a recent news article that I fully intend to read, but his blog will fill you in.

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=368

I wonder if my "scissor skill" were bad at age 4?????

And yes I will be posting stuff from this semester...I just gotta have time to get it together.--Dirk

its that time again...

2005-11-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

Wow, its been a while!
I cant believe our last real post was about RITA of all things....the cause of much frustration and anxiety here in the Houston area. I still dont feel like I have recovered--I lost about a week of instructional time in my classroom, and that's really set me back--there is too much to cover in a semester!!! Actually its not, but it takes forever to get students to understand these concepts--mostly because it doesnt even occur to them to maybe read outside of class or possibly DO THEIR HOMEWORK--so consequently, my time in class is precious. I cant have hurricaines come blowing through (or nearly blowing through) and messing everything up. GRRRRR.

I know you (you know who you are) have been checking this blog about once a week always asking "what's going on with Dirk and Kathy these days???" Well, I'll tell you. Lots of busyness. Dirk has been trying to balance a marraige and a social life with his classes--and doing a pretty good job of it. I still love him, we have friends, and he's got stellar grades in class. Just trying to keep up with it all. I just recently had a stomach virus thing this past weekend. Mostly on Sunday, and it was messy. We'll just leave it at that. It was strange because Dirk was able to sub for my classes and so it was nice to not have to freak out and leave detailed messages for someone to pass onto a sub. Its so nice to get to see him as much as I do. In fact, Dirk's coming up with me to school tomorrow--not to sub, but to help me out with a "class activity"--we're going to play Capture the Flag to teach the Revolutionary War--at least I hope thats how it works. :/ Dirk's there for crowd control. I'll let you know how it goes. Student Council is kicking my butt. Everything is, it seems. Too much too fast!!!

But as far as what the Lord's been teaching me....its been good times. Im on a reading track to read the bible in 180 days. I've done stuff like this before, but I always end up getting off track about 2/3 of the way through. I've kept up with this one--maybe because it starts with the New Testament, and its only been about a month or so. But anyway, I just finished Acts and I'm really sad about it. Its been so good to read through the Gospels and then Acts. I like the narrative stuff. Its also been nice to become reacquainted with the person of Jesus. I've liked rereading his conversations and his miracles. (By the way if anyone has Luke 16 figured out, let me know) But a good way to get me excited about the epistles has GOT to be Romans. Nice how that works out.

I've also been very thankful of the Lord bringing to rememberance many of the blessings He has given me. Its been by His grace that I can remember to thank Him for all the good things, especially as they happen. He has been my provision for energy, creativity, lessons, conversations, time, and all the other things that I can so easily assume just "happen." I am so thankful not only for my precious salvation, but for all the little (and not-so-little) things afterward. Its so humbling to know that He really is mindful of me and my ways and that He really wants all of me--oh that I can give Him all of me! I love Augustine's prayer "Lord, command what You will, and give what You command" He provides for what He demands!! What a gracious God.

Well thats about it in a nutshell ("How did I get in in here??") We've been having some pretty great conversations lately, but we'll have to save that for another post. Have a good one(whatever it is)!

He's back

2005-10-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, he is back and I know I missed his blog

http://phillipjohnson.blogspot.com/

--Dirk

Back in Action

2005-10-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

I'm back in action after having to take a couple of weeks off to catch up from studying. The hurricane caused me to get behind in updating the blog because of the increased school work. Be checking back, I think I will be posting a couple of papers I wrote for school...of course I have to figure out how to do that. But until then here is a good link that talks about the storm and church/state issues:

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=337

Things I learned from Hurricane Rita

2005-09-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

When running from a big scary storm there are many things to be learned. I thought I would share a few of those with you today. We spent 6 hours going only 20 miles at one point!

1. After 10 pm only Spanish speakers listen to the radio. I know this because at that time almost all radio stations switched to Spanish.

2. Those 20 mph school zones aren't really that bad, at least your moving.

3. During an evacuation of a major city TxDot guys in pickups watching random cones that block one lane that isn't under construction yet, aren't allow to move them. Yeah this really happened. We moved down to one lane for about 1/2 mile and the other lane was in perfect condition, and yes there was a TxDot guy in his pickup watching the whole thing!

4. I can't see much with my glasses on, I need to update the lenses.

5. Fox news is broadcast on 1170 am near the DFW area in the late night/early morning. We heard the storm come ashore. That was awesome.

6. The RaceTrac gas station at IH35 and US380 has awesome frozen drinks. 2 types of frozen coffee, I lost count of the other Icee type drinks, and a milkshake machine that adds flavor as you pour it into your cup. It's a must stop place for me now.

7. At 3:30 am it is 61 degrees in Hamlin, I dont' think it ever gets that cold here.....it was awesome.

8. 2.5 million evacuees = 2.5 million cars

9. God's grace was poured out upon us and His wrath was not.....only He knows why. If it wasn't for His mercy everyday we'd all be gone.

--Dirk

Another blog site

2005-09-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

I don't have long to type today, lots of studying to be done. But I would like to post one more blog link that I think is good. This is Steve Camp's blog. Here it is:

http://www.stevenjcamp.blogspot.com/

--Dirk

Rita

2005-09-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

School was cancelled thursday and friday in my district and we haven't returned. Tomorrow will be the first day back. Dirk and my sister Amy (along with sweet little Olivia) and I made our way wednesday evening to Longview to stay with Dirk's dad's family and out of the way of Rita. It took us 9 hours and it normally takes about 4. We finally got in around 5 am and crashed. We spent the next couple days worrying about Shale (amy's hubby) and Beth and Evie (my other sister). Shale had to work a half day on thursday so there was no way he would be able to get out of town--it was WAY too crowded. Beth, however left her house around 4 am and after about 14 hours, she finally had to turn around and head back to Kingwood. She'd travelled probably 30 miles and was tired, desparate and low on gas. I was sooooo upset about them trying to get home and I didnt wanyt to her to be left stranded on the side of some country road with no gas when Rita made landfall. Dirk found some awesome Texas Atlas(that was rank with cigarette smoke) that had every road in Texas listed in it and he and Amy were able to navigate her back home. Beth, Evie, Shale and my dad rode out the storm in our house and enjoyed the hot powerless home. They made good use of the gas grill and cooked up about every frozen piece of meat in the house and then feasted. WE (Amy, Dirk and I) decided on friday that since the storm was predicted to head straight up 59 to where we were, we would be better off heading west to Dirk's mom's house and camping out in Hamlin for a few days. We told Clif (Beth's hubby who was fortunate enough to make it up to Longview) about our plans and he joined us on our 7 hour trip to west Texas. We drove through the night again so Olivia could sleep so we were able to listen to Foxnews on the Radio report the storm hitting landfall. We made it about 3:30 and slept until Olivia had us all awake.

Of course being in Hamlin we ate WELL. So well that we all vowed that would not let the rest of the family know what we ate--we felt bad knowing they were without power and left with whatever food wouldnt spoil while we ate steaks and all kinds of awesome stuff. It was good to see family too. My mom and grandmother were in Austin with my aunt, so they werent hurting either. I felt really bad that little Evie had to suffer through the storm and the heat and the power outages--but she's a trooper.

We got home around 9 or so last night. We took our time and even stopped in College Station for some Taste of the Tropics (yummmmmmmm) and some Wings'nMore. It was so nice to be back in our own beds again too.

I am very thankful that the Lord protected us throughout all our driving and gave us wisdom about what to do. Even my car: we dropped it off wed morning and it needed $700 worth of repairs--repairs that if we didnt get fixed would have cost us thousands on the road out of town that evening; we had it out of the shop that afternoon and were able to take it on the road on our adventurous "Tour of Texas." The Lord sustained us the whole way and I am very thankful. he even allowed us to see some family and spend some time with people we hadnt seen in a while. What a blessing!

Tomorrow is school. Yay. Back to the grind.

2005-09-20T17:15:00.000-07:00

This is for you Jenny.

:)

Some thoughts about Paul, and the workings of God

2005-09-19T16:48:00.000-07:00

For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now. --1 Corinthians 4:9-13

I read these verses last night as I was working on a study of Ephesians. I was in Ephesians 3 and the question was about the sufferings that Paul mentions just breifly in 13 I think. I was so amazed by these verses for several reasons. Paul's not trying to gripe about their situation, it sounds like he's being honest with how he sees things: "For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death" --like he's accepting the reality of his station. PAUL is saying this. One of the most influential men in Christendom. I always imagine Paul walking around with a little invisible halo floating over his head--he's special, the Lord blinded Paul and spoke audibly him, he's always got the right answers--how could he think that the apostles could be last??

I also feel totally like the people he's speaking to. They are prudent, strong, distinguished, fed, clothed and enjoying life--and totally reaping the rewards of the laborers like Paul and his companions. I am not considered a "fool", I'm not without honor...its totally acceptable for me to be Christian--but the reality is that this only happened because Paul endured what he did to bring the gospel to these people.

I'm so convicted reading these verses!! Paul was in the real battle---not sitting on the sidelines like I'm always doing--and it was hard. I guess a lot of us Christians would like to be like Paul, but in reality we dont know what we're saying. "We have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now." I bet it must have been hard to keep going some days, and but for the sake of Christ, there would have been a day he would have quit.

"Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?" --2 Corinthians 11:25-29

The way of the real Christian life (not that one I want so desperately to be) is paved with suffering and hardship. Its difficult and full of toil. And as Paul says in Philippians:

"More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;" (3:8-10)

Do we really want the fellowship of Christ's sufferings? I'm not saying that if we live comfortable lives, free of persecution we arent true Christians, I'm just wondering if we miss out on the rich fellowship of Christ if we stay in our safe environments. But then, is rich fellowship with Christ what some of us wanted when we confessed Christ anyway? I wonder.

These passages made me think about my life, it also reminded me that Paul was human--life wasn't easy for him--and also that he remembered these outward trappings where rubbish compared to Christ--Something I needed to hear.

Makes me want to be a missionary in some remote part of the earth and suffer with Paul in laboring to bring the gospel to those who dont know Him(Christ, that is).

On another note: you should check this out: http://www.myspace.com/derekwebb and listen to the song called "the Wedding Dress" Oh man, if you arent ashamed of the way you abuse the riches of God's grace, then you weren't listening.

Peace,
Kathy

Scotland Pictures

2005-09-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

We forgot to put the link to the Scotland mission trip pictures up....so here we go:

http://photos.yahoo.com/dirklittlefield

ENJOY!--Dirk

HMMMMM

2005-09-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

It's Dirk again. I'm getting ready to study this evening and thought I would pass along this piece of information to you.

I just recently (today) found out that Saddleback Community Church in sunny California was a SBC church. I read it in the Southern Baptist Texan paper. I found that very interesting because on their website, in their name, and by what they say you would never know. Are they scared to be labeled a Southern Baptist? I think I'll start calling these churches closet baptist.....nah that's not too nice. I just thought that was interesting because I had no clue they did anything with the SBC. Did anyone else know this and NOT tell me? This is information I would have like to have known about. If you know of random information like this little piece please let me know--Dirk

Hello Again

2005-09-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

Dirk here with ya. I'll start posting in orange if I remember so that you know it is me.

Ahhh....the blog, a new way to procrastinate from studying. I remember when e-mail was the new fad and then it was high speed internet so we could check that e-mail every 3.252845 minutes instead of studying. I hope that you all read and enjoyed Kathy's rant about the school system. I think now it is my turn.

I do this next section with as much love as possible. Please do not think that I am personally attacking any specific person :) OK, here I go.

I have been less that pleased with the overall quality of speakers that have been in front of us at school chapel. It is very frustrating to hear pastors and laborers of Christ use poor theology and poor Bible teaching when preaching to a bunch of seminary students. I know that I personally would be scared to death to be in front of a bunch of people that are supposed to be the future leadership of many churches. I mean of all people I would think seminary students would be sharp and I would be scared I would slip and say something stupid. Not all, but several of the pastors that have been up in front of us have been less that impressive. For example, at one point one it was said "We blame God for a lot of things He doesn't have any control over!" I am curious what God he is serving? I mean last time I checked the Bible still taught that He is sovereign. More than that I get frustrated when a person speaks on a topic and reads the scripture that he is going to be "teaching" from and then doesn't teach or use that scripture again. I think that it is time for teachers of the Word, pastors, and lay persons to start teaching the Bible and stop abusing it. Christians have gone way too long with finding a topic then trying to find a few verses, that when used out of context, can push an agenda. What we should do is find the scripture that addresses the topic at hand, exegete it, and then obey. It is pretty scary to see some people, who once were in my seat as a student, have been in the church long enough that they stopped teaching scripture. Or worse never learned......yikes.

Ok enough about that. I'm not trying to call any one person out, I just had this revelation the last week or so and have been very frustrated.

Thought for the blog:

Why do Americans "church shop" when they move? What I mean is why are people so comfortable with the different teachings of different denomonations? Do they know the differences? What would you say is the most important attribute for a church (friendly people)? These questions and more are courtesy of my Baptist Heritage class. Feel free to respond, I would love to know your ideas!

Education

2005-09-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

I don't know what the deal is lately, but its only the 5th week of school, and I just can't get excited about it. I think that "new" has worn off or something. I guess also, I know that this is not my ultimate goal in life: to teach American history in a state school to students who dont want to be there. Dont get me wrong. I love the students, but I dont see myself making a career of this. Its just the machine of government schools is so...... I dont even know the word. Depraved? Empty? Aimless? Hostile to the things of God?

I was given several books over the summer that really challenged my thinking about education, and what the true goal should be. The fact is, the children of America are receiving their education from people who don't love God or His Word. What, honestly, does that teach them? That there is an area of life where Christ isn't necessary? Is that the lesson we want them to learn?

I know anyone reading this who isnt a fan of homeschooling for any number of reasons ("socialization", evangelizing, being a part of the "world", fear of poor education, etc) is probably wondering what happened to me. I would have been the first to object to homeschooling a year ago, but my eyes have really been opened to a lot of things.

If you think I'm nuts, or have any interest in what I've been rambling about, I would highly recommend you check out these books: When You Rise Up, by R.C. Sproul Jr and Excused Absence by Douglas Wilson.

The shema in Deut. 6 is pretty clear--its clear about a lot of things--that parents are responsible for their children's education: they are the ones to teach them if at all possible. How can I in good conscience let someone else teach my child (someone who may not know Christ) while I teach someone else's child? It just doesnt make sense.

I could go on forever, but its time for me to head off to church. Maybe I'll continue this later...

Peace,
Kathy