October 2008 - Posts
Today the iPod turns 7 which in tech years means that it is actually 726 years old.
I am a total tech geek in that I love gadgets, technology, digital everything, and when my wife gave me a 60gb video iPod for my birthday several years ago I never ever looked back. My only experiences with Apple previously had come via Oregon Trail [link] played out on the 1980s Mac in the library, who doesn't love a good text based game on a green screen? From that point on Apple quickly faded out of my life as another obsolete technology that never really took off. Enter the iPod stage right.
From the first time I fired up my iPod I was completely hooked. What impressed me? I love the styling of Apple's products, I love the inherent features/functionality, but more than that I absolutely love the fact that it is simple to use and it works! Almost every day for the past 3 years I have used my iPod. I subscribe to free podcasts via itunes and listen to sermons, free college course lectures (last year I began a series on C.S. Lewis which was really great), I have watched movies on my iPod while flying and sitting in airports, and of course I have listened to hours of music on my iPod as well.
I would highly recommend an iPod to anyone who loves music and anyone who has to travel or to commute on a regular basis.
What could be better than my 60gb Video iPod?
A 32gb iPod touch!
I was going through some pictures this morning and I came across these and thought I would share them with you as well as share with you my personal testimony. My goal here is to glorify Jesus and minister to anyone who might be facing some of the challenges I have faced in the past.
Before - 199lbs - October 2007
After - 159lbs - August 2008
Back in March I went
through the Setting Captives Free course on eating - The Lord's Table http://www.settingcaptivesfree.com/lords_table/ and it has forever changed my life. The focus of the course
is to teach how to feast on Jesus and how to turn from anyone or anything in
your life that you may have placed in a position of glory other than Jesus.
Setting Captives Free offers free online courses in food addiction, gambling,
pornography, smoking, etc.
I did the course on
eating called the Lord's Table.
I went into the
course thinking I was "out of shape" and that I needed to lose some
weight....what an idiot I was :-) God quickly opened my eyes to show me that I
was falsely worshiping food instead of Jesus. I saw that when I was hungry I
would eat (naturally) when I was stressed I would eat, when I wanted to
celebrate I would eat, when I was bored I would eat, sad, lonely, and on and
on. It also showed me that food wasn't the issue where my love and affection
was placed was what was holding me back. For most of my life I have exercised
and focused on food in an effort either to stay fit, maintain weight, or to lose
weight with little or no success. Yet, since completing the Lord's Table study
this year for the first time in my life I have complete freedom in Jesus!!!! I
began the course at 199 and as of yesterday weigh 159. That's exciting in and
of itself but more important than the weight loss is how my relationship with
Jesus has grown and how I can now see other areas of my life that were similar
where I was not fully worshiping Him.
In addition to all
the personal blessings this has had a tremendous impact on my witness and
testimony! A couple of weeks ago I attended a family reunion and everyone kept
asking me how much weight I had lost and how I did it. At one point I was in
the kitchen when someone asked me, there were probably 10 or so people in the
room, when I began to answer the whole room got quiet and I got to share the
gospel and how Jesus saved me from my sins! As of this morning three of my
family members are going through this study and my prayer is that this will
begin a revival in my family. I have also been able to share my testimony with
two of my customers.
Setting Captive Free
is the name of the ministry and they have courses on purity, gambling, alcohol,
food, smoking, etc.
The online ministry
is comprised of several components as follows:
2. Daily
Accountability - each person who signs up online is assigned a mentor for the
duration of the course - the Lord's Table is a 60 day class
3. Daily
Eating Schedule - no food is off limits, ice cream, burgers, everything received
with thanksgiving is ok to eat as the focus isn't on the food but on Jesus.
There is an eating schedule for the 60 days in order to discipline the body to
turn from food and to turn to Jesus. Here is a
copy of the eating schedule with details http://www.settingcaptivesfree.com/lords_table/Eating_Schedule.pdf
4. Weekly
Accountability - weekly weigh in
Blessings!
Key up the trumpets, Que the firetrucks, bring in the Arabian dancing horses....it's Friday and that means another installment of the Week in Weird 2.0.
1.0 Friday is for photos - this one was taken of L at a party.
Real friends don't let friends wear spandex.
If this guys falls down will he have to burn those?
Here are a some collections I would love to add to the E and C library....the Harvard Classics
The Franklin Library (collection of the 100 greatest Western Authors)
and the complete sermons from Spurgeon
and just for Joe I would add the Time Life Western Collection to the E and C bathroom.
2.0 Moment of Zen? I don't think so....how about Psalm 23..."still H20s"
3.0 Music...right now what is the soundtrack of your life? Mine is comprised of the classics as L loves the CD Wesley made for her a couple of years ago. She is the only 3 year old I know of who asks for Beethoven.
4.0 We all now know about Joe six-pack, Joe the Camel, Joe the Plumber, and of course Joe Napalm......but what about Joe Cool? May we never ever ever forget Joe Cool.
5.0 Have you voted yet? I went yesterday and am glad my ballot has been cast. Now we wait and pray. Don't forget to pray for our country regardless of where you stand or who you vote for please pray for our country.
6.0 Weekend watch.....word on the street is that the Virginia Creeper trail is due for a full on assault by the family and a whole horde of bikes. Never heard of the Virginia Creeper? You have now [link].
7.0 Personal update....my first semester of class is almost over, M is feeling somewhat better but still not at 100%, it's me and the kids this weekend as mama goes to visit a girlfriend, and the air is cool, the night skies are bright, the moon is full, and fall is here with all of it's brilliant color.
That's it, that's all I am out.
Shalom to you and your home.
Joe is famous for his library blogging [link]. I came across this article and thought he would really enjoy it as this library kind of reminds me of the Napalm library.
Jay Walker's Personal Library
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-10/ff_walker#
You won't believe some of the items housed in this personal collection.
Enjoy!
Change brings about hope unless the change is not good which dashes hope but hope brings about change which I hope does not nor never changes. Hope, change, both very good words that I hope you do not miss out on and I hope this change of tone does not throw you for a loop of change which would not be hopeless but devoid of the hope that usually comes with change. Change your mind in the hopes that hope that comes with change will really usher in a new era of hope.
Hope you enjoyed this....
Here at bjnotbk we strive to make the user experience excitable, enjoyable, and entertaining...the three "E's" of marketing. Our goal is complete satisfaction and remember that every post comes with our 100% satisfaction guarantee. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with your post we will refund up to 200% of your purchase price.
What can I expect out of W.I.W. 2.0? Here is a short, but certainly not exhaustive list.
-fresh content - each post marked with a born on date to ensure the cleanest, purest post possible
-new pictures - Friday is for photos so look forward to new, interesting photos
-new format - time to change the format up a bit in terms of design and layout
-new paint - there are plans in the future to paint the walls here at bjnotbk and I'm not talking about just rolling over the nose gold with the same ole same ole
-twice the sarcasm - all readers will be asked to sign a wavier before being granted access to the archives, please note that women who are pregnant or who are planning on becoming pregnant should not handle bjnotbk without first asking you physician
On with the show
1.0 Friday is for photos - I pity the fool who ponders to punk Mr. P (To see more incredible Mr. Potato Head Mash-ups visit here [link].)
I have to give my props to Joe Naplam for some great witting as of late. I guess that case of Wheaties I sent you is finally starting to pay off? What is the world's most expensive action figure? You got it...G.I. Joe [link]. This baby will set you back a cool $200k but with the recent financial crisis I am told that the owner will trade for one used moped or one ham sandwich...please no mayo.
Speaking of expensive...I know that many of you are asking yourself...."self, what can I do for bjnotbk?" And I have to say...great question. Have you thought about this beauty? At a cool $730k this is by far the world's most expensive pen. One owner was quoted recently as say..."doh, doh, doh!" When realizing he had left his pen at the Chucky Cheese along with his credit card receipt.
2.0 Moment of Zen? There are several things we do not do at bjnotbk. We don't tug on Superman's cape, we don't do feung shuai, we don't eat lima beans, and we don't do Zen. We do Psalm 23 - "still H2Os"
3.0 Music is my passion, no it's books, no it's my family, no it's Jesus. I love music, books, my family and Jesus. Anybody can play the guitar but not everyone can be the world's greatest air guitar hero.
4.0 I am all about technology and I think I would really dig a kimble [link] but there is something very cool about holding a book in your hands, walking through the stacks of an antique bookshop that connects me back to humanity and gets me closer to the authors than mere bits and bytes blinking at me on a screen. Here is an old school bookstore that I love.
I am completely consumed with Psalm 119 right now.
5.0 Bumpersticker blogging
2 new favorites of mine - 1. CLIMATE CHANGE IS A HOAX - Sea levels are rising because Jesus is crying 2. Picture of a whale - "SAVE THE HUMANS"
6.0 B****** Oba**** is a traitor [link].
7.0 B****** Oba***** is not the Messiah [link].
8.0 On the personal side...M is still feeling yucky as the first trimester is almost over. School is going well. Work is going well.
Shalom to you and your home. Peace out
![]()
Yesterday I had the privilege of taking part in a neat celebration of God's word. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the NIV translation, I know some of you clutching your KJV just fell from your chairs, and to mark this event Zondervan is hosting a cross-country, one of a kind promotional tour called Bible Across America [link].
The gist of the tour is to create what will be called "America's Bible" where if you visit one of the stops along the promotional tour you can hand write a verse of the Bible that will be published, mid July 2009, in your own handwriting and the handwriting of those who participate. What a really cool way to promote the Bible.
Well, yesterday the tour was in Knoxville and I was able to stop by. As I stood in line one of the team members explained the process...."Currently we are going through Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus. You can choose which one you want and...oh, look, Leviticus just came open if any of you want to you can go ahead to the Leviticus line."
I looked around me and the two ladies who stood beside me blankly stared at me as if to say....'I'm not going to Leviticus...who knows what verse we will get?"
I thought for a moment to myself...."do I really want to write a verse out of Leviticus?" Wasn't this suppose to be a super spiritual event? Why couldn't I write something out of one of the gospels or the Psalms? How about Psalm 119:94..."I am yours, save me." Now that would be a very cool verse to write.
Well, no one was running to the Leviticus line so I stepped up thinking, "hey, it's the Bible, every verse is important, every word has it's meaning, and their is honor and worship in that right? Besides, how bad could it be?"
As I stepped up to the display the lady looked at me and then at the verse I would be writing...'Oh cool! You get to start a new chapter!"
That sounded promising.
Then I looked at the verse. What did I have to fear? Why was I so afraid of Leviticus? Three lines proving that God is sovereign and that God does indeed have a wonderful sense of humor.
Here is what I wrote:
Leviticus 15:1
Discharges Causing Uncleanness
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
Nice!
I couldn't help but laugh. Thank you Lord for the gift of laughter and thank you for your word!
I think I may have a new life verse.
Another week gone by and another installment of the Week in Weird brought to you by Hockey Moms Worldwide or www.hmww.org
Friday is for photos so here a couple to help you ease back into the bjnotbk experience.
1. This one was taken at my mom's house. This is a really old and
really cool door. At first glance it looks like it is made out of
metal but on further inspection you can see it is really wood.
2. This picture was sent to me by Uncle Jesse. Our class recently
finished our study on 1 John and so we ended the study in the Epicenter.
If you like great photography make sure to visit Steve Mckoy's Friday photos here [link] and Joe Thorn's here [link].
Want to see your photo published here?
Submit all family friendly photos to bjnotbk@gmail.com for
consideration. Please note that I reserve the right to publish or not
publish any submission.
3. What are you reading these days? I
just finished The Reformed Pastor, by Baxter, Desiring God, by Piper,
and am getting ready to plow through Lectures to My Students, by
Spurgeon. I am also doing some top secret reading for our new Bible
study series that begins in November. I can't wait to share it with
the class.
4. What are you listening to these days? Death metal? Acid Rock? Alternative Country? Polka?
Uncle Tupelo is one of my all time favorites. Have you heard this song before? No depression? Enjoy!
5. Palin - Biden...yawn....The first
Presidential debate really changed my perception of McCain in a
positive way. I saw him as an intelligent, respectful man.
Unfortunately the VP debate was anti-climatic and left me feeling the
opposite about Palin. To me she came off as cliched and inexperienced
and most of her answers didn't come across as well thought out. Am I
wrong?
6. Less than 35 days until we elect a new President. Is there any way the whigs will put up a viable candidate anytime soon?
7.
Financial Crisis update - I heard yesterday that the Crisis bill
included a section to give employers a $300.00 tax break for any worker
who "regularly" commuted to work on a bike....at last! The crisis may
be averted thanks to cutting edge legislation like this.
8.
The free markets will always find a way to grow and to prosper even as
the government continually tries to kill them. Need a loan? Try an
online lending community and say goodbye to the traditional brick and
mortar establishments [link]. please
note that bjnotbk does not endorse neither lending nor borrowing and is
not responsible for any financial loss....besides, why on earth would
you take financial advice from a blog?
9. Thanks
everyone for reading bjnotbk this week. My prayer is that you will be
entertained and encouraged or challenged each time you stop by. I am
also praying for you, my readers, that is, so be encouraged in knowing
that no matter what someone, somewhere is praying for you. Now go read
your Bible, love your family, lover your neighbor, get outside, and
love Jesus!
I know what you are thinking before you say it. Big brother is cooking the books in an effort to take away our liberties, turn capitalism into quasi socialism, take away our gun rights, and slowly disolve our rights to own property. What next you ask? Bar codes on our foreheads tapping into a bank account full of government credits that allow us to trade our goods and services?
I think the current crisis goes much much deeper and darker than even this scenario. I think all of this was put into motion in 1999 by the doomsday Y2k crowd. You know, the guys who bought 12 cases of canned corne, powdered milk, built out underground bunkers, stocked up on amo, beef jerky, and spam. I blame this so-called crisis on them. Why? I call it recovery of investment.
You see, the Y2k crowd spent untold millions on stocking up for the end of the world that did not come and are still reeling from this loss. Besides, who could ever use up 1,685 cases of spam? Also, the Y2k crowd is still reeling from the taunts and jokes of those who did not prepare. Add all of this together and it looks like this.....
spam+humiliation= failure of Freedie Mac = 700billion dollars
Don't question me on this one....math does not lie and it not partial to partisan politics.
The impending financial crisis will shut down the free market. Trees will no longer grow. The sun will no longer shine. A baby seal will be clubbed to death and hundreds, if not thousands of Y2k doomsdayers wil have their sweet revenge along with a spam sandwich. Ha ha ha ha, insert diabolical laugh here.