Where I spent the summer

Some pictures from my summer residence in beautiful Coeur d'Alene Idaho. Well, that's where I worked, but these are from nearby Post Falls Idaho where I spent the second half of the summer with Luke (first half over in Rathdrum ID--didn't take pictures though). I need to carry my camera around with me more, because photos bring back great memories:

No jumping. Luke and I did that off smaller cliffs down river a couple miles (except off rocks).

Biking up the hills

Overlooking Post Falls

This was in my backyard. For real.

Definitely a beautiful place to spend a summer. Good times.

Unity through Humility: Philippians Part 3

Study Notes on Philippians 2:1-11. Looked up lots of Greek this week.

I decided to separate the notes from the questions, which will mean less page-flipping for me during the small group time.

Logos

"Lord I don't know where all this is going /
Or how it all works out /
Lead me to peace that is past understanding /
a peace beyond all doubt"

Great song by the Newsboys.

The next section in Philippians is amazing!

Been looking at Logos Bible Software Bible Study Edition, which looks like a really great tool. For just Bibles, Biblegateway.com has it all (great site). What appeals to me about Logos is the built in concordance, cross-references, lexicons, Bible Dictionaries, maps, commentaries, and more. Right now my Soma Prep involves 4 Bibles open (NIV, ESV, NASB, and the pocket Gideon NKJV), BibleGateway.com for the NLT version, the free E-Sword Bible Study software for Strong's Numbers referencing the original words, the StudyLight.org lexicon for definitions of those words and to see other uses in Scripture (of course for a serious word study you want to cross-reference the original word, not the English word!), and maybe some commentaries. Logos puts that all in one place. Granted I still really like bound books, hence the multiple physical bibles, but I think I'd use Logos a lot. It's just a little pricy.

I'm so grateful to have a lighter class load this semester to have more time for all this good stuff. :)

Philippians - Part 2

Chapter 1, verses 12 through the end, here we go! Here are my notes for anyone who may be interested, and please do let me know if you have any comments, especially if you find anything wrong or iffy. (Much of this came from great discussion with Neil, Josh, Joe, Peter K, Liam, and Dan.)

Will we be so passionate about Christ that trials-—far from deterring us-—only make us bolder witnesses and draw us closer to Him?

Sarah Palin and Down's Syndrome

This is a really cool story about a family with a child with Down's Syndrome that met McCain and Palin:







Sarah Palin, of course, has a baby with Down's Syndrome that her family loves to death. And speaking of whom, McCain's choice of Palin was simply brilliant. It's turned me (and millions of other conservatives) from "I guess I'll vote for McCain" to an enthusiastic McCain-Palin supporter. I had resigned to the fact that McCain could no way beat Obama (who's a great guy but probably the most liberal candidate ever nominated by the Democrats, and least experienced too), and now McCain is ahead in the polls for the first time. Maybe Rudy Guiliani's super great speech helped with that too. (Although Sarah Palin's speech steals the show.)

Today there's an opinion article in the Evergreen that Palin's decision to "keep her child" was purely political. My response was something to the effect of "!?!?!?!?!!?!!?!?!!!" (Just ask my roommate.) The idea that people even would consider not "keeping a child" is absolutely appalling to me, although it happens all the time with Down's children. But to suggest that she didn't have an abortion because it was politically expedient is nonsense. She didn't have an abortion because it goes against every thing she believes. And that helps explain why I'm a huge fan of Palin.

Philippians - Part 1

I've been having a blast making notes on Philippians. I got to put principles of hermeneutics (Bible interpretation--took a class from Pastor Doug last year on it) into action: things like word studies, analyizing thought structure, understanding the context... good stuff. You gain an appreciation for how rich and full scripture is.

Tonight I gave an introduction at Soma and then when we split into groups, I went through the material here with my group. This being the first time we've done this, I have a good idea where things need to be adjusted for next time. I certainly have a lot to learn about homiletics--how to teach Scripture. Although our main focus with the small groups is lots of discussion and interaction, the group leaders still put homiletics into action. (We follow an inductive Bible study method, focusing on three types of questions: What does it say? What does it mean? How does it apply to me?) Hearing other people's perspectives is wonderfully encouraging. I'm excited to prepare for next week.

If you're interested, my notes are posted here: Philippians 1:1-11. By all means, if you see anything wrong or questionable, please let me know!

Why I support John McCain

Please don't hate me for this, and if you disagree with me, we can still be friends, ok?

He wasn't my first choice, and there are things I don't like about him, but here's why I plan to vote for this guy over the other one (named Barack Obama. Maybe you've heard of him.) From John McCain's issues website, these are the quotes that make me say, "Right on!!"

"Overturning Roe v. Wade. John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench. Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat. However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion..."

"Protecting Marriage. As president, John McCain would nominate judges who understand that the role of the Court is not to subvert the rights of the people by legislating from the bench. Critical to Constitutional balance is ensuring that, where state and local governments do act to preserve the traditional family, the Courts must not overstep their authority and thwart the Constitutional right of the people to decide this question. The family represents the foundation of Western Civilization and civil society and John McCain believes the institution of marriage is a union between one man and one woman. It is only this definition that sufficiently recognizes the vital and unique role played by mothers and fathers in the raising of children, and the role of the family in shaping, stabilizing, and strengthening communities and our nation."

"Addressing the Moral Concerns of Advanced Technology. Stem cell research offers tremendous hope for those suffering from a variety of deadly diseases - hope for both cures and life-extending treatments. However, the compassion to relieve suffering and to cure deadly disease cannot erode moral and ethical principles. For this reason, John McCain opposes the intentional creation of human embryos for research purposes. ...As president, John McCain will strongly support funding for promising research programs, including amniotic fluid and adult stem cell research and other types of scientific study that do not involve the use of human embryos."

"Expanding Domestic Oil And Natural Gas Exploration And Production. The current federal moratorium on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf stands in the way of energy exploration and production. John McCain believes it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use... We have trillions of dollars worth of oil and gas reserves in the U.S. at a time we are exporting hundreds of billions of dollars a year overseas to buy energy. This is the largest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind. We should keep more of our dollars here in the U.S., lessen our foreign dependency, increase our domestic supplies, and reduce our trade deficit - 41% of which is due to oil imports."

"Investing In Clean, Alternative Sources Of Energy. ... John McCain Will Put His Administration On Track To Construct 45 New Nuclear Power Plants By 2030 With The Ultimate Goal Of Eventually Constructing 100 New Plants. Nuclear power is a proven, zero-emission source of energy, and it is time we recommit to advancing our use of nuclear power. Currently, nuclear power produces 20% of our power, but the U.S. has not started construction on a new nuclear power plant in over 30 years.... "

"Seal the Pork Barrel. Among the most glaring abuses in Washington is the willful setting aside of taxpayer dollars for the pet projects of special interests, often through last minute additions to appropriations bills. Pork barrel spending is an insult to taxpayers, a waste of public resources, and an abdication of our leaders' responsibility to be good and honorable stewards of the public treasury, for the benefit of all Americans, not just a few."

"America's Space Program. 'Let us now embark upon this great journey into the stars to find whatever may await us.'"