Jesus Camp

Laura and I saw this documentary last night.

My only comment is that you should check it out.

Real Sex

"Real Sex" by Lauren Winner is a fresh, 21st century contribution to the complex subject of human sexuality, specifically from a Christian perspective. The author was very personal in the book, and since you knew exactly where she was coming from, it made her writing on the subject easier to comprehend. Basically, Winner took the very "uncool" virtue of chastity, and made it a cool Christian spiritual discipline. I especially appreciated her chapters on the myths or lies both the church and the world tell about sex. The book is a terrific read for anyone struggling to think theologically about sexuality, and would be a fantastic resource for anyone who works with teens.

Jane Eyre

"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte was on my classical reading list. I am really enjoying reading through this list, because it is forcing me to read books that I never would have otherwise. Jane Eyre is a perfect example of a book I would otherwise never even bother to pick up.

The story is set in England during the 18th century. Quite simply, it is a story about a woman who starts off as an orphan in a poor school, becomes a governess (a tutor for rich kids) and ends up falling in love. She falls in love with a man who is out of her league socially, but then it turns out that she inherits money, but none of that matters because their love was real and able to overcome social status.

Those of you reading this may be shocked that I enjoyed a sappy old love story. However, it was not so much the story I enjoyed. What really captured my attention about this book was the prose. Bronte wrote beautifully, and really made the book interesting. The story line was just good enough to keep me reading, but the writing style literally blew me away. Trust me on this one, pick up the book and start reading. I promise it will capture your attention and no one will think any less of your manhood.

Better World Handbook

Recently I have been using "The Better World Handbook" by Ellis Jones. The concept behind the book is that our consumerism makes a difference. Meaning, buying products from certain companies is like voting in favor of that company. This handbook rates the companies we buy from based on the criteria of how well they treat their employees, how safe their products are for the environment and for consumers, etc. Basically, we should buy our gas from BP and avoid Wal-Mart like the plague.

It is really a simple way of making a large impact. I strongly encourage you check out the book, although the website is just as good an contains all of information found in the book. Here is the link.

I stink at blogging

So, yeah. I have not "blogged" since February.

The combination of having a job where I am actually busy and no internet access at home has created the perfect storm that has resulted in no blog posts. While the latter is still a problem, the former has eased off a bit, so let me quickly catch you up on everything.

My blog basically has 3 parts to it:

1. Updates on what I have been doing
2. Book Reviews of what I have been reading
3. A list of what has been annoying me

In regards to #1, the following has happened since I last posted:

• In March I went to a conference in Orlando for Registrars. Getting together with 2,000 other registrars - now that was a wild time!
• In April I went to Chicago for my buddy Erik's wedding. It was a good time and it was great to see old friends.
  
• In May, Laura graduated from Campbell with her MA in Community Counseling. Praise Jesus, we are both done with school (for now, at least...). My little sister Nicole also graduated from Olivet, so we went back to Chicago for that.
• In June, Nicole got married (it has been a busy summer for her) to Matt Pollock, so we went back to Chicago once again. I actually got to perform the ceremony, which was a great honor. It was also my grandparent's 65th wedding anniversary on the same day, so that was a special day.
• On June 4, Laura and I bought our first house. I have had debt in my life, but I now have six-figure debt, but I am told that this is "good debt," so I guess that makes it alright. I am still struggling through that, but at any rate, Laura and I absolutely love our new place. It is a ten-minute bike ride from Duke, so I am loving the new commute. Please come visit us!

In regards to #2, I think I am beyond the point of giving a review for all of the books I have read, so let me just list out what I have read since February:

• "The God We Never Knew" by Marcus Borg
• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King)
  
• "Serve God, Save the Planet" by J. Matthew Sleeth
• "The Crying of Lot 49" by Thomas Pynchon
• "Resurrecting Excellence" by L. Gregory Jones
• "The Sabbath" by Abraham Joshua Heschel
• "Worship as Theology" by Don E. Saliers
• "The Moral Vision of the New Testament" by Richard B. Hays
• "On the Incarnation" by Saint Athanasius

As far as #3, I think that I have had too much going on in life to allow petty things to annoy me. Sorry to disappoint.

Well, Laura and I have talked about getting the internet at home, so if we do, that could increase my blogability. At any rate, I will attempt to post more often than once a quarter.

Peace!

Look alike?

I have a family member who is a senior in high school and is receiving all kinds of junk mail from colleges. A few months ago he received the postcard to the left. The first thought that came to his mind was, "I wonder why Todd is posing for Anderson University." He later discovered that this is not me, and gave this postcard to me over Christmas.

Most of the time I hate it when someone tells me I look like someone else. But in this instance, I think that the dude does look a lot like me. Even my own mother mistakenly thought it was me at first.

The guy has the same hair style, facial structure, body frame, posture, and even dresses in a similar manner as I do. The scary thing is he went to a small Christian college (like me) and was a Religion major (like me).

Perhaps this whole cloning thing is a lot farther along than people think....

Power Companies

I have been very dissatisfied with my power company lately. If you remember from a previous post, I was able to decrease the total wattage needed to light our house from 1610 watts to 364 watts and I eliminated all forms of phantom power. So far, I have noticed zero change in our monthly power bill. Our power bill for the month of November was around $80. I was excited to get our power bill in December because we were gone for 10 days visiting friends and family in the Midwest. We used our heat sparingly in the 20 days we were home, so I thought our December bill would be at least 33% less than November. However, when I got the bill, it was $96.

This means that one of two things is happening: the cost of power is rising at a rapid pace, or, the power company is charging me what they think I owe and not basing it on actual usage. I am inclined to think the latter, and it ticks me off.

I am annoyed with power companies because of their monopoly. It is next to impossible to function in our modern society without them. Even more frustrating is that there is no way to "prove" that the power you are using is less than what they are charging you for. Sure, there is that meter, but how do we know that it is actually connected to anything? It could just be programmed to randomly go up based on the profit needs of the power company. The whole thing is a conspiracy if you ask me.

If I had free time, I would figure out a system where thousands of hamsters running in little wheels could provide the power we need. Since I do not have this free time, I will just add power companies to my list to pacify my rage.

1. Wearing a cell phone on your hip
2. The idea that a nice smile is the "normal" way to pose for a photograph
3. People who cut to the front of a traffic back-up when they know they need to get over
4. Local TV Newspeople
5. Confirmational Reactionist
6. Wearing a blue tooth headset as a fashion accessory
7. Putting Bullethole stickers on your car
8. Placing a fake baseball on your car that gives the allusion that it has shattered your window
9. People who litter
10. Ignorcycles
11. Bumper stickers
12. Cheesy Church Signs
13. The player introduction part of Jeopardy!
14. Power Companies