Author: Dan G.

A few thoughts and a plug for a friend

So who would have guessed that it is a lot easier to write when you have a purpose to what you are writing? Apparently not I. After receiving a few suggestions on what to write, I’ve been pounding away at the keys writing on what they have suggested and doing further research into the topics. Overall it has certainly brightened my mood; there is something I find inherently relaxing about writing.

I’m still listening to Driscoll. Over the last three or four days I’ve listened to probably at least 12 hours of his material, which is very unusual for me – I can read studies for hours on end, but listening tends to wear on me quickly. I’m hoping this is evidence of a (sustained) renewed interest in study, and I’m certainly picking up on things I had not before. The man has his opponents throughout the web; one of my favorite sites is run by a guy who regularly mentions Driscoll as a preacher he has issues with. This, though, only makes me think he’s doing something right, and doctrinally I still can’t find anything we’re at odds over.

And last but not least, I have been listening quite a bit to the musical stylings of my friend Michael Birch, aka Flexstyle, especially his latest album Elements of Creation. It’s a solid album overall and he’s set to release his next one soon, so now is the perfect time to check him out.

Shameless begging

So, in order to help get me going for November’s writing: is there anything you’d like me to write about? Any questions, subjects, concerns, whatever that I can address here? Anything you’ve always wondered about me or what I believe? Give me some ideas and I’ll cover them as best I can.

NaBloPoMo & Me

So Elisabeth, my old friend Silas’ wonderful new bride, recently posted about NaBloPoMo – a blogger’s answer to NaNoWriMo, for those of us less inclined to writing novels and more interested in filling our websites with drivel and nonsense. Or maybe that’s just me, not really sure. Anyway, the long and short of it is that you pledge to update every day in November, the idea being to “force” you to write. I think I’m going to give it a shot, though if there’s anything my track record here shows, it’s that I am inconsistent at best.  The timing will either work really well or really poorly, as I’m starting a new job (yay!) on November 2.

In the meantime, I’ll just let everyone know that I’ve been spending hours and hours this week listening to Mark Driscoll’s sermons at MarsHillChurch.org – and it’s really feeding a need I’ve had for a while to digest some good, solid teaching. I recommend these sermons wholeheartedly, as I have yet to find anything I fundamentally disagree with in any of his teachings. One thing you will quickly find that may turn you off is that he’s a “complementarian” – which is a fancy word used to mean that he believes that men and women have different roles in the family and the church. In other words, he believes what the Bible actually says. Some people don’t like that, I suppose, but it kind of comes with the territory. Maybe that can turn into a November blog post.

Until then, readers…

Edit: Holy crap! Jennifer Knapp is back! YAY! Thanks to reader sami for pointing it out.

I don’t think this headline was supposed to elicit a guffaw

Obama awarded 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

This is full of money quotes. Bear in mind that the guy had only been in office for a week when the nominations were done.

[Chairman of the Nobel committee Thorbjorn] Jagland said he hoped the prize would help Obama resolve the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, last year’s laureate, said it was clear the Nobel committee wanted to encourage Obama on the issues he has been discussing on the world stage.

“I see this as an important encouragement,” Ahtisaari said…

And Wangari Muta Maathai, the Kenyan environmentalist who won the 2004 Peace Prize, said the win for Obama, whose father was Kenyan, would help Africa move forward.
“I think it is extraordinary,” she said. “It will be even greater inspiration for the world. He has shown how we can probably come together, work together in a cooperative way.”

“Probably.” They’re giving away the Nobel prize on “probably” and “encouragement” now. To a guy who claims he wants to push for war in Afghanistan and has created international incidents in Honduras, Iran, Israel, and Poland.

Well, maybe this will encourage him to do something worthy of the prize, right? Like Yassir?

Where’s my prize? I could maybe unite some people.

Seriously though, I wonder what possible justification could be used for this other than shameless pandering.  It’s absurd to the nth degree, and the fact that the world is so publicly assuming the position for this hollow shell of a president – note that Nobel is not an American institution! – makes me nauseous for what the next three years will be like.

(EDIT: Even HuffPo thinks it’s absurd. When you lose Huffington…)

(EDIT) More prize quotes from around the web:

Continue reading I don’t think this headline was supposed to elicit a guffaw