Tonight i am enjoying celtic jam at a coffee house. The music is fabulous and i am having a blast!

I'm a blog reader. In fact, I spend at least a half hour if not more surfing through the lists of blogs I have. Since I use Firefox, I have folders organized by groups and I open that folder of blogs all at once. This is a daily if not bi-daily (can I say that? Is Bi-Daily a word?) activity. I find myself getting annoyed if someone hasn't updated in three days, then after a week I start posting annoying comments with the subject of UPDATE!! Usually there's two or three others who have the same idea and (especially in BJ's case) that ends up with a large comment thread.

I started thinking about the blogs I read and why I read them. Most of them are from online friends who I like to know what's happening in their lives. Some of them post thought provoking and informative posts. Some of them don't. My main reason for reading their blogs is to keep up with their lives. It's a form of connectivity, a way for me to feel that I'm still a part of their day to day life - even though I rarely comment.

Why am I thinking about this? Well, Hugh Hewitt wrote a book about blogs (appropriately entitled Blog) and talked about all the different political blogs. He is a large fan of them and thinks they are going to drive the mainstream media out of business. That made me think. How often do I read blogs in order to increase my knowledge of current events? Do I try to keep up with the way things are going in my nation? No to both questions. Sometimes I could care less about what the world is doing.

So I'm wondering if I should put some of those political blogs on my list. If I should try and become more aware of my world. Especially since I'm entering it fresh from college.

Here are a couple questions I want you to answer:
What blogs do you read regularly? Why do you read them?
Do you think political blogs are important?
I hope that generates some discussion.

I actually cleaned my room last night. It was getting to the point of disaster and I needed to have some place to retreat. Even though I claim to be a messy, ocasionally I will need to have some order and cleanliness around. Helps me think. Kinda. Well, maybe not.

David's sick and I'm heading that direction. Annoying me like crazy.

I also don't like the rain. I think this year has been the rainiest of my life here in Eugene. We get maybe a week of sunshine and warmth and then the rain comes back and takes over again. This week has been one of almost constant downpour. Gets me down.

I just went on a wally world run. Picked up some cold pills for David, some milk, and a shower rod to replace the one that just broke. I also bought some picture frames for my prints.

Every so often, I will get an email with wisdom from my father. I really liked this one, so direct from my father's fingers:

Why Go To Church?
Jan 21, 2003

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.”
2 Cor 1:3-7

“…not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…”
Heb 10:25

I often come across Christian people who do not attend a church. They have various reasons for this and sometimes it’s because their doctrine is skewed or because they are control freaks who just can’t fit in. More often it is the result of failure within the church itself. Sometimes it is spiritual abuse where leaders are beating on and using the sheep. Often it is the lack of spirituality within the church causing us to ask the question “Why bother?”

2 Cor 1:3-7 gives a rational for “hanging in there” or at least being persistent in continuing to search for a church body that is at least tolerable.

One good example is in the early 1980’s when Ruth and I purchased and moved to a small farm in Southern Idaho. Our new community boasted around 3000 people and a number of churches, but we could not find one that we felt we could belong to. There was one Pentecostal church that we didn’t find at all acceptable and so, rather than drive to a neighboring community for church (we believed we should “bloom where you’re planted”) we ended up attending a Nazarene Church. They did as good a job as they could without becoming openly Pentecostal and although we weren’t satisfied with it, we attended anyway and became involved and a part of the body of Christ there. And I still value our time in that church.

The passage from 2 Corinthians says that it is for our “consolation” that God tells us not to forsake assembling together into a corporate body of Christ. Vs. 6&7 show that the comfort He speaks of in vs. 3-5 is administered through the body of Christ. The word “consolation” means “to exhort, to encourage, to cheer.” If we try to face the trials of life alone or just within our family, we will miss out on that “consolation” and become jaded and hardened spiritually and emotionally. This stops and hinders the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and we cease to grow in Him. The enemy then takes full advantage of the opening we have given him and has a heyday in us and in our families.

There is no such thing as a perfect church – but there are many churches available. Even if you cannot find a church that is suitable, that you feel comfortable in, it is better that you settle for second best than that you float outside fellowship. There is much consolation and comfort to be found even in a “second best” church.

To my wonderful mother may GOD bless you today!

well, my brain is rather fried right now. I'm 2/3s of the way through my external study guide. I'm making flash cards off of the second Unit Exam. Probably won't do that for the rest of them. After I finish this study guide I will still have a book to read and two papers to write. And all this needs to be done by thursday so I can take the final. Gotta love procrastination.

'course there's still a lot more to do in my other classes. Man, at least Dead week won't be a big deal...

this is a cool site

To do today and this weekend:

• Finish Moreland Questions


• Finish Grunlan Questions


• Work on Ethics Study Guide for Monday's Midterm


• Work on Church Business Paper


• External Study


• Read more about Technology and how it affects our lives


• Finish Procrastination Study


• Call Melissa and several other friends


• Pull out hair

Anyone want to become me for a day? I have a debate to do that I'm prepared for, but I just don't want to do it. I'd rather sit at home, reading and bothering my brother. Oh well, I guess I should get ready for class...

well, the move is officially done. I have everything out of the one bedroom, handed the keys over, and am hoping that they'll have it rented by Friday. That way I won't have to pay ten days worth of rent on it.

The two bedroom is nice, large, spacious, with some really ugly carpet. But hey, you win some, you lose some. David got here on Monday and we've spent the last two days getting him unpacked and settled in. I let him use my desk in his room for his desktop computer and I'll just use my four foot folding table.

We decided to get a TV and Craigslist proved to find us a deal. We bought a brand new Magnavox TV with a DVD player in it for $75 dollars. It's a flat tube and has good picture. Very nice.

There's also the possibility of adopting. There's a pretty little thing that Reese and Alicia picked up a week or two ago. She needs a home, so David's considering paying the money and we'll have a new roommate.

Homework wise I have a lot of stuff coming up. Gotta sit down and make some sort of battle plan to keep on track. The Ministry Integration paper is looming over the horizon, and a couple of other papers are starting to appear. Not to mention Mr. External Course who is due on the 19th.

I have also decided that MirrorMask is a good movie. Very imaginative and insightful. The art is a little weird, but not completely inane.

Well, time to get a little more homework done and then to bed with me.

BTW the pretty little thing is a calico cat. A cat.