Friday Ramblings (04/22/05 - 0 Comments)
It has been a while since I have taken the opportunity to write a post of ramblings. Of course some might argue that all my posts are ramblings, and I could hardly argue against that.
Today is a significant way in the life of the Challies family. You see, five years ago we moved to our current home, which just so happens to be in the wealthiest town in Canada. We moved here to be in close proximity to the office where I worked at that time. Newly married, with an infant, and earning less than $30,000 per year, we knew we would not be able to afford living here, so we decided to take in a boarder. And so Kristin arrived in our lives. For five years she lived with us as she attended the local college. She has been part of my son's life since he was less than a year old and has been part of my daughter's life since she was born. We suffered with her through some tough times in her life and celebrated when she became a believer. We watched her profess her faith and be baptized. Today Kristin, having finished her program, moved out. While we have gained a bedroom and a cupboard in the kitchen, we have lost a friend. We'll miss her. I expect my son to miss her most of all as they were great friends.
Worshipping Worship (04/20/05 - 0 Comments)
This evening I began reading Worship by the Book which is edited by D.A. Carson. Just thirty pages in I found a great quote that I thought I would share. Carson is talking about (obviously) worship and expanding on a rather lengthy definition he provides of the term. I should point out that he is not condemning contemporary worship any more than he is questioning what is right and wrong in traditional worship. What follows is from Carson:
“In an age increasingly suspicious of (linear) thought, there is much more respect for the “feelings” of things – whether a film or a church service. It is disturbingly easy to plot surveys of people, especially young people, drifting from a church of excellent preaching and teaching to one with excellent music because, it is alleged, there is “better worship” there.
A Quick and Captivating Contest - Wrapup (04/20/05 - 0 Comments)
On Monday I announced "A Quick and Captivating Contest." This was a short and silly contest to see who could correctly guess the number of movies mentioned in John and Stasi Eldredge's new book Captivating. Eldredge's love for movies and his reliance on them as a teaching tool is well-documented and is a critique often used against his books. Those who are troubled by his references to movies will find more grounds for concern in this book.
Many readers decided to take a guess at the number of movies referenced. Without actually doing the math, I would estimate the average guess was about 14. Oh ye of too-great-faith.
New Web Sites (04/19/05 - 0 Comments)
In what is fast becoming a tradition around here, I thought I would introduce a few new web sites today. These are all sites that I have completed in the past week or so.
First up is my portfolio site. For those who do not already know, my company is called Websonix. I am self-employed and am the lone employee of this company, though I do outsource a fair amount of work. I took the old site down a few weeks ago because I felt it no longer represented the type of work I am doing these days. Just recently I relaunched it, basing the entire design around a rather bizarre-looking mad scientist. The site isn't perfect, but I simply have not had time to clearn up the last few details. So here it is, Websonix.com.
A Quick and Captivating Contest (04/18/05 - 0 Comments)
One of the pleasures pains of my new site, Diet of Bookworms, is that it is really only useful if it has reviews of the more popular Christian titles. One of the new books I am about to begin reading is Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul written by John and Stasi Eldredge.
I suspect this book may become one of Eldredge's most popular, and it may even outsell his previous titles. Why, you ask? I am sure you would find that at least half of the men who read Wild at Heart did so with the "encouragement" of their wives.
Sunday Reflection (04/17/05 - 0 Comments)
Today is the Lord's Day. Many of us will have the privilege of partaking of the sacraments - either participating in the Lord's Supper or watching a baptism. Perhaps some will even be baptized today. What a blessed thing it is to enjoy these ordinances given by the Lord.
This week I read an helpful metaphor for the sacraments and would like to share an adapted version of this.
Suppose you were interested in purchasing a new computer. Using your old, outdated computer, you visit Dell.com and look at all they have to offer. Eventually you select a slick new system, complete with all the bells and whistles.
April Book and DVD Giveaway Wrap-Up (04/14/05 - 0 Comments)
Thanks to all who participated in the giveaway of Hells Bells 2: The Dangers of Rock & Roll and Blog by Hugh Hewitt.
Unfortunately, as with the previous giveaways, there can be only two winners.
But first, if you have signed up for this giveaway, I assume you are a reader of books that are of interest to Christians. I have recently opened a new site which may be of interest to you. The Diet of Bookworms is a site dedicated to reviews of books that are of interest to Christians. All of the reviews have been written by discerning authors. There are hundreds of books, reviews and authors to read about, so why not give it a visit?
Feedback Files - 10 Questions (04/14/05 - 0 Comments)
It is time, once again, to open the feedback files. This list of ten questions was sent to me recently by a new reader of this site. He acknowledged being new to the Reformed faith and posed several questions. And by "several" I mean "lots!"
- What do you think about Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron's bibical evangelism ministry of "The Way of the Master?" If you have no clue about this, check out www.wayofthemaster.com or www.livingwaters.com. Is this method biblical? Positives? Negatives
Taking It Easy (04/13/05 - 0 Comments)
My vacation continues. We traded the nearly-freezing temperatures of Toronto for the beautifully-warm, 80 degree temperatures of Atlanta, and we have no regrets. It is beautiful down here this time of year - much more so than when we usually visit (December or July). If it was like this all the time, I would consider moving here!
I have been doing lots of reading and have finally caught up on book reviews. I am also doing some work while I'm here, and sitting in a small room with the windows and doors open, music blaring, has been as relaxing as if I was doing no work at all.
Travel Log (04/10/05 - 0 Comments)
Just for kicks, and because I’m a little too tired to write anything deep and meaningful, here is a travel log for our journey from yesterday.
2:30 AM – My daughter wakes up, convinced it is time to get going to see “Mimi” (her grandmother). No amount of reassuring, scolding or threatening will make her go back to sleep.
3:00 AM – Aileen and I give up, figuring that if we are going to be awake, we may as well be awake and driving.
Godspeed (04/09/05 - 0 Comments)
I grew up within a Christian community that took the Lord's name very seriously. Any expression of surprise or disgust that used God's name was regarded as being strictly forbidden. While foul language was sometimes tolerated within these circles, any use of God's name would bring swift action. Some people went so far as to ban any derivates (or supposed derivates) of God's name, such as "oh my gosh," "oh my goodness," "geez," "golly" and the like. Because of the gravity that was placed on the name of God, I grew to think that the term "godspeed" was also inappropriate.
But it is not. Godspeed, according to wikipedia, is "a term used to express respect and good will when addressing someone, typically someone about to go on a journey or a daring endeavor."
Decisional Regeneration (Further Thoughts) (04/08/05 - 0 Comments)
Over at Pastors.com, one of Rick Warren's ministry sites, I saw the following headline, 4,000 saved during Saddleback’s Easter services. I clicked on the article and read the following, "For the past 25 years, Easter services at Saddleback have been a time dedicated to changing lives. This year was no different as more than 4,000 people, the highest one-weekend total in the church’s history, checked boxes indicating they were committing their life to Christ."
In November I wrote an article about "Decisional Regeneration," the teaching that people are regenerated, or saved, when they make a decision for Christ. At that time I wrote in response to a Billy Graham crusade where some 12,000 people had stormed the altar to make decisions for Christ.
The Lion King and The New Spirituality (04/07/05 - 0 Comments)
Tuesday is "library day" at my son's school, and he is able to go to the library and pick out any book he would like to borrow for a week. This week he was quite taken with The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and brought that title home. It is a Disney book that is based on one of their movies. In my experience these books are terribly-written and in trying to compress a 90-minute movie to twenty-four pages, very little of the plot makes its way onto the pages of the book. Last night he asked me to read it to him, so we sat on the couch and began to do just that.
Great Web Hosting Deal (+ A $20 Amazon Gift Certificate) (04/06/05 - 0 Comments)
As a way of supporting the growing costs of this site, I am now offering web hosting through an affiliate program with the company that hosts my sites. Prices for a feature-laden hosting package begin as low as $6.95 per month! But to make the deal all that much sweeter, I am offering a $20 Amazon gift certificate to anyone who signs up through my site. And as an added bonus, I'll even install your choice of WordPress or Movabletype to this site (if you intend to use the site for blogging).
Here are just a few of the features included in the package:
New Web Sites (04/04/05 - 0 Comments)
I have, once again, finished a couple of new web sites that I would like to link to. These ones may be familiar to readers of my site, so perhaps you've already seen the changes. Before I get to the sites, I'll make a bit of pathetic plea: for some reason April tends to be a very slow month for me. At the same time it is also tax month, which tends to be quite expensive for self-employed folk. So if you have been pondering web design for your blog, your company, church or any other reason, I sure could use some work right about now.
Late last week I made a lot of updates to a site I completed just about a year ago, roncowle.com. Ron is my uncle and is a particularly gifted artist. A couple of days ago I added some of his latest paintings to his porfolio. The design for his site was unique because he sat right here with me when I created it, and we tried to move his vision for his site from his sketchbook onto the computer screen. We both ended up being very happy with the final result.
The Diet of Bookworms (04/04/05 - 0 Comments)
I have been hinting at it for a while now, and if you read the various discussions in the forums you might even know the name. But after several weeks of development and more hours of data-entry than either my wife or myself care to count, I am ready to announce the launch of my new site.
This is a site dedicated to books that are of interest to Christians, and in particular to reviews of those books. However, rather than doing all the reading and reviewing myself, I am finding other discerning reviews from journals, web sites and blogs and am linking to them.
April Book and DVD Giveaway (04/04/05 - 0 Comments)
April is upon us and it is once more time to have another giveaway. I am excited about this month's giveaway, which consists of both a book and a DVD.
As always, two equal prizes will be awarded in April. Each winner will receive an autographed copy of Blog: Understanding The Information Reformation That's Changing Your World by Hugh Hewitt as well as a copy of Hell's Bells 2: The Dangers of Rock and Roll DVD set. In Blog, author Hugh Hewitt helps you catch up with, understand and get ahead of the blogging phenomenon. The race is underway to gain mindspace and to be part of the blogosphere readers' habits and to position yourself as well as your business or organization at the forefront of this information movement. Over three years in the making, Hell's Bells 2, the much-anticipated sequel to the original Hell's Bells series, weaves together science, satire, testimonies, parables, interviews, expansive research, and a vibrant Christian perspective to create a video series that is as fascinating as it is educational and evangelistic.
Safely Through Another Week... (04/03/05 - 0 Comments)
Today is the day of rest - the day God has graciously given us that we might rest in Him. I love to turn to the words of the hymns on Sundays and ponder what God has taught others and has allowed them to record for us. This afternoon the hymn "Safely through another week," penned by John Newton, seemed particularly appropriate. This hymn speaks of God's grace in granting health and safety through the week, of anticipation in meeting with God in worship, of the power of the Gospel going forth through the mouths of God's servants, and finally, of joyous anticipation of the coming of the culmination of so many Sabbath days. "Thus may all our Sabbaths prove till we join the church above!"
Reflecting on the Pope's Death (04/02/05 - 0 Comments)
As you probably know by know, the pope died just about an hour ago. Since we learned about the gravity of his illness I have had some time to reflect on what the death of the pope will mean to Protestants. When I sat down to write about it, I noticed that, as usual, James White had beaten me to the punch. Here are some great thoughts from Dr. White.
"As I have noted on the Dividing Line, the passing of John Paul II opens up a tremendous opportunity for dialogue. Are you prepared? Can you address the issue of the Papacy, the sufficiency of Scripture, and the reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how Rome does not possess that gospel (but instead dogmatically denies it)? The mp3 files available on this website [www.aomin.org], providing debates on all of these issues, would assist you greatly.
Light Blogging (04/01/05 - 0 Comments)
I'd like to apologize for the lighter-than-usual blogging over the past few days. I am hard at work on a new site which I hope to unveil on Monday or Tuesday. I am exceedingly excited about this site, which I believe will be a great resource for Christians. The few people I have allowed into the big secret have generally become similarly excited, so I suppose I must be on the right track with it. It has been an incredible amount of work, but thankfully my wife has pitched in and has shared the burden. It has been a long time since we worked side-by-side like this (we painted together to put ourselves through college) but we work well together.
