first week back

The first week back at seminary has been great. I’ve already had a ton of great conversations on God, one of the great perks of being in seminary. Just started a class on the history of liturgy, and it’s very interesting, though I’ve only read the first three chapters so far, The Shape of Liturgy by Gregory Dix is very interesting, if you are interested in how things have been done, what they meant and so forth.

It has been a bummer to be away from my girl, since we got engaged two weeks ago, and this was our first week apart. I was warned that I would find myself visiting her more this year than I had in the past, and I think my married friends are right, I got back tonight from a weekend up in Portland spending my free moments talking and spending time with her. I beat her in Chinese Checkers today, boo-yah! (yeah it was accidental, shhh!) Spending time with her makes me glad that I didn’t decide to go to seminary way over in Alabama, because well, I don’t think I could.

We have so much fun together. She got mad at me for leaning her out over the river on Saturday, now, I knew I wasn’t going to let her fall in, but she was still pretty mad at me, it only made me laugh the harder. I know I shouldn’t do it to her, but something in me sees it as just giving her a hard time, you know, flirting with her. I think she got the last laugh though, because after I leaned her over the river, I puller her back and she accidentally stepped on my sandal and my foot fell out of it, and I stepped right in the mud. That, she laughed about. I had to wash my foot in the river and I asked her not to push me in, she said she wouldn’t, but that didn’t stop her from poking me, see, she’s not innocent. Since I stepped in the mud, I’ve been called toad toes all weekend.

Now I’m back at seminary and ready to hit the books again tomorrow bright and early. If you want to come and visit, let me know!

so big, I had to blog....

For the past few months, I've dropped off the face of the planet in the world of blogging, but I'm back, with big news.

News, so big, I had to blog.

It's killing you isn't it, you want to know, what does Dumples have for his faithful readers this time?

I'm engaged!!!!! No, really!!!! She said yes!!!! I know, I was in shock too. I think my exact words were, "holy crap! we're engaged!" lol. What a rush of emotions.

My brother told me when I called him that he thought he would be the first to get married, he's seven years younger (and a punk).

All my grandparents were just bursting at the seams for us and very excited.

My dad told me that we'd have a happy and good marriage.

My mom was way, way, way excited for me and so happy.

My fiancee said, "WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!!" in this voice that took the breath right out of my lungs. It was emotional.

If you haven't experienced it yet, let me tell you, it was so surreal. It was like I was watching it happen. That is, until she gave me a hug, so tight, I felt her happiness in a way I hadn't experienced before and I was flying through the roof with joy in my mind.

No new posts...

If you're still reading this, I'm impressed. See, I don't have internet at home anymore. I don't have much time where I sit around either, so posts have become non-existent. If you would like something to read, let me suggest my girlfriend's blog:
http://oldcomfyshoes.blogspot.com/

a poem

My blog has been growing cobwebs I’m afraid. It has become so out of neglect, I’ve been on many adventures and spending much time active. My mind has lost track of stories that would be humorous for my readers, so I send you a short poem instead.

I once lived for myself, for my personal delight
Each breath I used to do what seemed to me right
I served myself, following his every command
Oblivious that sin had destroyed this man

Then Jesus came to me to set me free
My eyes were opened, and I could see
My heart, my eyes exposed to the light
I twisted, gnarling, hating the sight

I tried to justify my thoughts
Not realizing all the time, that I was caught
Sin, wickedness in others I saw
My finger was quick to point and my voice to call

I was a self-righteous man you see
I needed not this Jesus, this Savior,
No, no, no, not me

As time went by, the truth resurfaced at the surface
I was a man, wicked, filled with curses
Through try as I may, it was no use
By my strength, of sin’s chains, I could not loose

In shame, in humility, in weakness, I cried
Dear Jesus, be my Savior, abide!
Come in my life, set me free
I knew once with my mind, now in my heart I need thee

Take control of my life, be my ever guide
Keep me close to thee, by thy constant side
For not by my works can I be healed
Yet through faith you in I am sealed

Each day, I place myself in you
Your Spirit never leaves, you stick like glue
In you I find my strength, my power
In relationship with you, minute by minute, hour by hour

Aced it...

I took my BCD (Basic Christian Doctrine) Exam today. Aced it. Took the hardest professor we have on campus, I wanted to make sure I get my theology down hard core. I even know all about Supralapsarianism. It was a great feeling. Two more to go....

making grandma cry

I called my grandparents today to wish my grandpa a happy birthday (it was on Saturday). Well, my grandma answered the phone and was so happy to hear from me she started to cry! I didn't know at the time, but she handed me off to grandpa and then he hung up. So I called this evening to talk to grandma (I didn't want to seem rude by calling right back). She told me she was crying on the phone and was sorry she got so emotional. I had no idea, but then realized I guess I need to call my grandparents on a regular basis. I just forget to call people with school. Now everyone is going to think I'm a horrible person, first the story about my brother and now about how I never call my grandparents. I do love them, my family is just dysfunctional and I'm trying to learn how to be a better grandson... one day at a time. One day at a time.

good brother award

Today at dinner, through a conversation with some friends, I remembered how good of a brother I am. There was a time, when my little brother was actually little, maybe 6 or 7 and I was like 13 maybe 14. I was asked to babysit for my mom. No problem. We basically ran around and goofed off like it was Lord of the Flies or something, chaos under control... Almost. Anyway, I had this great idea that I would tickle my little brother, and tickle I did! I tickled him and tickled him, through the point where he couldn't breathe and then... He puked, on mom's couch. Ah, what a good brother I am! I made him laugh so hard he puked! Give me an award!

Single or Married?!?!?

"Single or married, you'll be sorry."

-A prof.

What does that mean?!?!?

How to Lose Two Fish

The dreaded relationship fish appeared at my dorm room about a year ago, hand delivered by my girlfriend (friend at the time). Now if I remember correctly, at the time they were not relationship fish they were buddy fish, that is fish given by a group of buddies who thought it quite humorous to give me fish after I specifically asked that I not be given plants or animals.

There they were, swimming around in this little tank one of my friends had sent me in the mail, I fed them with fish food sent from another friend, and was suppose to receive decorations and gravel from two other friends. In all the five of them conspired to give me fish. Supposedly my friend Scott was the mastermind, but my girlfriend was the follow through executioner, who made sure that I would get those fish.

After we started dating within the month, the fish soon took on a dynamic known as the relationship fish. It was not admitted to until long after I had them. Many of you wonder why the fish didn’t get the boot the first day after she left. Let me explain. I couldn’t bring myself to kill fish, especially if my friends just drop them on me. I fed them, cleaned their tank, and bought a bigger tank with a bubbler.

As spring of last year turned into summer, I bought a bigger tank, then a larger tank still, I use that term “tank” in a loose sense. It was actually a storage tub, the sides were bowing out and it was voted ghetto by everyone that came over (what do they know!). This tub was approx. 15 gallons so they were pretty much living in the Taj Mahal. I threw in some plastic seaweed, some new rocks, and of course a brand spankin’ new water filter/pump.

At this point you’re wondering how in the world did you ever get rid of this monstrosity? Instead of downgrading I was upgrading at a fast pace. You’d almost expect to see a manatee swimming around in a pool in the backyard by the end of summer. What happened was I pawned it off on my girlfriend at the end of summer as I was leaving, claming there wasn’t enough room in my dorm (which was true given it was a 15 gallon tank). She was gracious enough to take it. I think that’s when I realized she really liked me. She was even taking my jumbo storage tub filled with fish.

She downgraded the tank to a five gallon, one made of glass, the kind that is designed for fish. She moved them into her apartment. After a while she suggested I take it back, luckly she had bought a glass tank designed with panels, and my dorm doesn’t allow us to have that kind of tank. Then glory of glories, they changed the policy and we were no longer allowed to have any pets, fish included in our dorm. I don’t think she believed me for a long time but eventually the reality of the situation sunk in. She had been stuck with the fish. I was home free! And that my friends, is how you lose two fish.

What ever happened to those fish? She got sick of them and they were “returned to their natural habitat”. No, she didn’t flush them, she sent them into a pond, to swim with the fish. (Note: I don’t recommend anyone who receives relationship fish to dump them, find a way to give them back, trust me, its better this way)

clowns...

On my one year anniversary of dating my girlfriend I thought I would be mushy and make up a little scavenger hunt with a prize at the end. It started with a card that on the back had a picture of the first place she was suppose to go. She reads the card, smiles, gives me a hug and sees the back of the card (at least that’s how I remember it).

She guesses where the first place with a grin and then is off in search of what could be there. She arrives and reads the card; it says something mushy and then has a picture of the next place she’s to go to. She can’t figure out what I drew and begins to poke fun at my drawing. At first I think it’s funny and then she says, “Seriously, I have no idea what this is suppose to be.” At this point she’s looked around the apartment trying to figure out what it is and has just about given up.

I give her a hint. She’s completely making fun of my drawing now. She finds the next card, looks at the picture and can’t stop laughing. If she thought the last drawing was bad, she was wrong. She has no idea what this is suppose to be. I thought she was going to fall over laughing or break into tears, apparently I can’t draw. She asks me if it is suppose to be a highway. I tell her "No, it’s a refrigerator." She asks me which one inbetween catching her breath and laughing. I point to the refrigerator and she laughs again. Then she asks again which one is the refrigerator! At this point I realize I shouldn’t have written anything nice on the cards, I should have just written knock knock jokes and drew clowns on the back…. Is that a highway? No, that’s a clown!

She finds the surprise at the end of the adventure and she laughs some more. It's funny now to talk about so I think it was a success. And the moral of the story is, drawing isn’t my spiritual gift. I know my third grade art teacher would be sad to hear it, but her prize student is now a highway designer. (no not literally!) Sorry Mrs. Muntz….

On the Marred Image

We have suggested above that the “image of God” in human beings is in some sense the capacity for self-giving, self-denying love. This, of course, has sweeping implications for the whole range of moral behavior. Above all, the one living out such love can be depended upon to be true in every relationship.

... as the apostle Paul so eloquently demonstrated in the book of Romans, even those who teach these things regularly fall short of them [because of corrupted state].

-J. Oswalt

on Hamartiology (Sin)

"The Bible holds that the Creator has a completely consistent ethical character. When it says that he is good, it is saying that he never acts in a way that is inconsistent with himself, nor withthe nature of his creation, nor with the best interests of his creatures. Thus, sin is not so much an offense against a divine law that has been promulgated by an immutable Sovereign, as it is a broken relationship expressing itself in a lack of conformity with the character of the Creator."

"In Romans 11:22-23, Paul clearly implies that belief in God is to continue to depend on his "kindness" whereas unbelief is to refuse to live a life of such dependence. If we do not trust someone, we will not believe what they say, and if we do not believe what a person says, we most certainly will not do what he asks. That is unbelief."

"There are also 4 occruances of apeitheia ("disobedience") that are used synonymously with apistia ["not belief" 12 occs.] (Rom. 11:30,32;Heb. 4:6-11). This synonymous usage underlines the fact that unbelief is not merely the absence of belief, but is an active refusal to act and live in faith." [Also see Mark 16:48; Hebrews 3:12]

- John Oswalt on Hamartiology (part of book in progress)

Monk-fu Exercises

I would explain this if I could, but you really need to just click the link. Thank Finger for the link.

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.datacomm.ch%2Fkapelle%2FDynamischesvaterunser.htm&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools

a memorable quarter

Have you ever had a nasty quarter? Have you ever tried to give it to someone you cared about? How about pawning it off as a present to your boyfriend/girlfriend? If you were my girlfriend you've done it twice. She first tried to give it to me when were sitting on her couch in Portland when I was visiting her. Then after I failed to take it with me (on purpose) she gave it to one of her close friends who gave it to another friend who gave it to another friend who gave it back to my girlfriend. What did she then do? She packed it in an envelope and mailed it to me. On the way from my mailbox to my room, it worked a hole into the side of the envelope and fell out of it, which I hadn't opened yet (this is why you tape money to the envelope). It was lost, that's about the time she started to refer to it as "our relationship quarter". What a punk! I knew it wouldn't be lost forever, I mean I don't know if you can even spend it, and it has been around the block a few times as you can see from the picture. Today, while walking back from doing my laundry, I saw it laying out on a table in the lounge, someone was kind enough to leave it for whoever lost it (that would be me of course). I picked it up, brought it back, procrastinated from doing my homework and wrote a post about part of the life of a nasty quarter. With such a special girlfriend, I don't doubt I'll have received a "wet Willie" (that's where you stick your finger in your mouth and then proceed to place it in someone else's ear) before Christmas. Then again, with such a special boyfriend as I am, I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up smashing shrubs or being put in shopping carts. I promise our relationship isn't too dysfunctional.

screendoor on a submarine

Yeah, it's official, this blog is as useful as a screendoor on a submarine. That was a good song when I was growing up. Good job, Rich Mullins! This is exam week, so I'm trying to study for the looming exam of Basic Christian Doctrine. Have you ever wondered why you aren't allowed to take your notes into an exam? I mean, when I'm in ministry, you better believe that I'll be looking things up that I'm saying. However, I do see the need to commit these things to memory. In other news, I lost the nasty quarter Andi decided to mail to me. She's so precious! Spring break is almost upon me, which you might think would be a great time to take a break, but looks can be deceiving. Instead, I'm going to be trying my best to catch up on my school work and maybe, just possibly get ahead! If that should happen watch out! I could be making a visit to the birthplace of aviation, no it's not North Carolina! I'll try to post something worth reading next week. And till then, remember, faith without works is like a song you can't sing, it's about as useless as a screendoor on a submarine.

The Heavenly Man

No one sells a product like someone who isn’t the salesman. And when the non-salesman is excited about it, man, everybody and their brother is interested. Especially if the person excited about it is someone who never gets excited about anything. That’s my intro to my friend Dj, who started reading the book, The Heavenly Man. This guy is pretty much apathetic to everything thrown at him here at seminary, but now he’s like a little fireball hopped up on this book. Of course this means I ‘m going to have to read it, I just have no idea when I’m going to make time. I’m suspecting it will be spring break, which is coming up in a few weeks. If you’ve got time laying around, maybe you should look at it too.

Changin' tires! Boo yah!

Many times when I post, I think my only motivation is to not be a quitter. I don’t know if that resonates with anyone else, but I hate to quit on things, and I would hate to quit on a blog out of laziness. Today I attempted to change a tire on Andi’s old car, which now has been passed on to her sister. In all honesty, I was feelin’ pretty stinkin’ manly. I thought to myself, “Yep, I’m going to be doin’ man-work. Changin’ tires.” I jacked up the car detorched the bolts (Andi finished taking them off while I was jacking the car up). Then I pulled the wheel off. And then I pulled the wheel off. And then… the stupid wheel wouldn’t come off!?!?! What the heck!?!?!? I pulled, I leaned against the car and pulled. I lifted the tire up and pulled. I pulled and my back started crying. All to no avail. The stupid wheel wouldn’t come off! Andi got some WD-40, I sprayed it in the screw wells and then pulled again. Then Andi’s sister got out the rubber hammer and I tried tapping the wheel off. It still didn’t budge. The car was moving, but the tire was firmly affixed to it. I even tried praying. Nothing. Trust me, many a times I couldn’t get something to work, we prayed and it just started working. God has a sense of humor like that. After a while of pulling and twisting, we gave up, put the stuff away and left the car jacked up just a bit. Maybe I should have offered the tire a bribe. Maybe it knew it was going to the big tire pile in the sky... or Xenia.

The landscape of Christianity – Part I

As I look back and look towards the future of my journey, I doubt the road behind will not be traveled again. The bridge of “once saved, always saved” has long been engulfed in flames and mere charred wood pieces remain. Take a walk through the history of the church and you’ll soon find this theology is a modern invention, not any of the early church nor did the reformers believed this, all affirmed that a believer can indeed fall away, either by God’s sovereign choice or by the choice of the person. The Scriptures testify to this as well. I know this ostracizes me from modern Evangelical America, but who can submit when their convictions are that Scripture teaches otherwise. None of us are above it, nor should pass judgment on what it says. If we find our experience differing, then we should examine it to make sure we understand it as it was originally intended to be understood.

the burbs.

"There has been considerable crying in these latter days that the church is moving to the suburbs and isn't that too bad? It is too bad if the inner city is left without a ministry of Christ. Yet the suburban church need not be a feeble reflection of modern suburbia. It should and can be a powerful force; for suburbia is where the people are going and those of us who are working in this area ought to see it as a fresh new challenege in American Prostestantism."

Charlie W. Shedd

Absolute Knowledge & Ed

The past two weeks have flown by and yet no new posts have gone up on the blog. If there are any people out there that really wish they had a new post to read should just call me. I’m terrible at posting. I just got through a class where we talked about the use of “absolute” in philosophy and in general talk. I have to admit that the thoughts my dear friend Ed tried to express last year were somewhat skewed and unclear from what the professor tried to explain. Basically while the professor believes there are unchanging truths, he would not refer to them as absolute truths because of how the term absolute is used in philosophy. Further, because of the relatively finite things we know that do not change, that are unchanging, with complete certainty, these being laid out in the Bible as characteristic of God (as my opinion goes) by God’s divine revelation (how else would we know any truth as certain, just look at the history of science and human thought), it is best to shy away from the modern use of knowing things absolutely. The professor went on to say that we do not need to prove the Bible because to know something as truth does not require proof and proof of the Bible is completely true in all that it affirms is impossible from a scientific standpoint as history has shown, much as the bagel I ate last Friday cannot be proved, only evidenced to at best, yet I can still know that I ate a bagel last Friday through faith in my memory of eating the bagel based on its track record (as I remember it) of remembering what I ate accurately. Again, as I pointed out in the fall, knowing something is true is possible and honest, given the correct conditions, even when we can’t prove it. Enlightenment thought has come and been shown to be flawed, as all human systems have historically been seen and probably will continue to be, although probably not in their own era. Being freed from the modern mindset that we must prove everything for it to be true should be a freeing thing and also introduces instability (that always existed although not always seen) to truth and knowledge. Thankfully, we have divine revelation, even if the secular world does not recognize it.