The Bookshelf Project...Finally Done!!

For all of you who have kept up with my bookshelf project, I'm finally done!!! Here's a picture (the kitten is for scale only; Sis, I would use my geology hammer, but it's buried in the garage):


We're still working on cleaning up the office (as you can probably tell) and getting furniture in the right place, but we're excited to have that part done. YAY!

In other news, Orbit is all ready for Halloween, though perhaps a bit crabby about his costume...

A pair of book recommendations

Normally I would only recommend books or music to specific people who(m?) I know would enjoy them, but I have two book recommendations that I think just about anyone who might come across this blog would enjoy.

1. What Americans Really Believe, by Rodney Stark. I haven't actually read this one yet -- only skimmed it -- but it looks really interesting. It's based on results from the Baylor Religion Survey, but written in a very lay-friendly manner. Many of the chapters bust myths. For instance, the survey found that megachurches actually offer more intimate community than small congregations do. Who knew? I've written much more on the Survey and the book here, but I think it's a nice, fairly light, entertaining read.

2. Red Letter Christians, by Tony Campolo. I got to hear Tony Campolo speak on campus last week, and my memory of him as one of the best speakers I've ever heard was reaffirmed. In this book (which I just finished), he tackles a bunch of issues and viewpoints generally more emphasized by "liberals" (as opposed to the religious right). He makes the point that Christians need to realize that, as my friend Mike loves to say, Jesus is neither a Republican nor a Democrat. 

For instance, Campolo says the Bible certainly emphasizes the sanctity of life, but notes that that issue doesn't stop at birth -- that the idea not only applies to abortion, but other issues regarding poverty. My big nitpick is that in the book, he seems to assume that the Church can't solve issues regarding poverty, because we don't/won't give enough, and so the government must tackle those for us. He tempered that in the speech I heard, urging Christians to help more in addition to supporting programs for those less fortunate.

I don't necessarily agree with everything he writes in the book, but he certainly made me re-examine my thoughts (and what the Bible has to say) on a lot of issues, and I think the same would apply for just about anyone I know reading this. So check it out!

Disaster Movie of the Week...

Hey guys, I wanted to update you on why there haven't been any installments of my "Disaster Movie of the Week" Review. We cleaned out the $5 bin at Walmart!! We kept hoping they would get more, but it seems they have not in the last couple months. As soon as we find some more, we'll get that going again. Stay tuned!

Joseph's third birthday

While most of Texas was worried about where Hurricane Ike was headed a week or so ago, we were driving from Waco to Austin to celebrate our nephew Joseph's third birthday (and also my mom's birthday!).

Thankfully, the weather didn't hit us bad (Waco officially got 1/4 of a inch of rain, and Austin saw only blue skies all day) and we had a good time. Hope y'all enjoy the pictures! (Also, this video of Joseph and Elizabeth talking to Orbit.)