Just have to do it.

If you aren't reading Stuff Christians Like start now. HI-larious. And Smart. And true. And funny. I dig the side-hug tee's and will admit I scored an 86 on his Surviving Church as a Single Scorecard. Yes. 86.

Traveling Music

I rarely feel as close to God as when I Embark. Traveling music calls my heart to worship in a totally unique way, and I thrill at the prospect of hearing God say "go to the place I will show you."

Here's the song I've had on repeat for weeks now.

And when I listen to it, I just can't wait to GO.

The way Fuller puts it

THEOLOGY AND THE ARTS FORMAT

The theology and the arts format is designed to prepare students with a strong background and/or interest in the arts to work as practicing artist/theologians or as those able to navigate the intersection between theology and the arts. The goal is to produce graduates who will be shapers/interpreters of culture and/or theologically grounded artists. Those who wish to pursue work as practicing artists, teachers, workers in related fields, or those intending further study will gain the historical, theological, biblical, and cultural preparation that will enable them to work as practitioners/theologians.

Quote of the day

"The purpose of political science is to allow the whole community to live together. If we erect these religious barriers of alienation, we will tear the social fabric. We need to be able to recognize that it is the whole society we have in mind, not a particular part of it, and the society as a whole is not in covenant with God. Although it is clear that Christian principles have heavily influenced our society." from a lecture on the forms of love, while discussing the posting of the 10 commandments in public. Dr. David C Jones, Covenant Theological Seminary

Bible Study Begins Tonight!

Tonight we kick off our 10 week study of Esther, ala Beth Moore. I am excited, because I think we'll have a fun and unique group. I'm also excited because this is, hands down, my favorite Old Testament book. Why? Not because our protagonist is a woman (although that is refresing). Esther is written without direct reference to God--he's never mentioned by name, and is never mentioned as having specifically intervened any way throughout Ester's story. In fact, this has brought the book under scrutiny in the past, with some historical critics claiming that it shouldn't be considered part of the Bible. But I think that the subtlety of God's presence throughout the book is it's brilliance.

How often do you hear a narrator, like Harold Crick, over your life story saying "and then God did this..."? How often do you literally wrestle with angles, encounter burning bushes or see Jesus walk through the wall of your living room? Esther's story reads a lot like how we experince daily life. God's hands are all over it, there's no doubt, but the book is devoid of the dramatic biblical devices that we equate with God's involvement yet hardly encounter in our own lives. I think sometimes when we read stories in the Bible recounting the unbelieveable, we do actually find them unbelieveable. Our familiarity with these stories allows us to categorize them with fairy tales we were told as children. It's not that we don't believe God parted the Red Sea, we just don't think that's the same God we encounter today.

Well folks, it is. And Esther's story--a story that happens right in the middle of a whole lot of unbelievable activity--that reminds us that God is present in our life too; even if we can't hear a narrator tell us so.