December 2011
1 post
November 2011
2 posts
Going to Grandma's
This is the last poem or lyric I ever wrote. I don’t know why I stopped here, but I did. In the winter of 2002 I re-read IT by Stephen King. There is a scene that takes place in an abandoned, possessed house near a rail yard that haunted me. Something in its description made me recall my Grandparents house in the woods near Timpson, TX.
This poem is an imaginary trip to that house.
Going...
Past-perfect Tense by Injury
(download)
This...
September 2011
1 post
Robert Sean Leonard playing and singing...
August 2011
3 posts
There Are Crashes...
The amazing album There Are Crashes by B E L L S ≥ is available on iTunes for only $5.94.
Listen to the whole album below.
<a href=”http://bells.bandcamp.com/album/there-are-crashes-2” _mce_href=”http://bells.bandcamp.com/album/there-are-crashes-2”>There Are Crashes by B E L L S ≥</a>
Unboxing the NIV 2011
Large Print Reference edition in Premium Leather…
Sermon Title: Preaching as a Means of Grace...
April 2011
3 posts
Absolute (Fatherly) Sovereignty
Jonathan Edwards is often quoted as saying, “Absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God.” I love that portion of Edward’s testimony, and I love that quote. However, for me, it’s not quite true. If I had penned that line, it would read:
Absolute fatherly sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God.
The difference may seem subtle, but for me it is huge.
Other...
Dependent upon others
“What I am trying to envisage then is a form of political society in which it is taken for granted that disability and dependence on others are something that all of us experience at certain times in our lives and this to unpredictable degrees, and that consequently our interest in how the needs of the disabled are adequately voiced and met is not a special interest, the interest of one...
February 2011
2 posts
My Heather Burdeaux Top 10 at 10...
Today is exactly 10 years from when I convinced Heather to say “I do.” I don’t have a history of getting things right, but she is the main and greatest exception.
To celebrate, NewToy is selling Words with Friends and Words with Friends HD for only $.99 each. No more adds or pop-ups. Treat yourself.
But I wanted to offer this list of my top 10 favorite things about Heather (in...
Highlights from the Desiring God Pastor's...
I wanted to get some quick thoughts down on my experience at the Desiring God Pastor’s Conference this year. This was my 4th year to attend, and before they all start blurring together, I thought I should keep this record.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
Traveling with Bill Streger. Always a pleasure.
The singing. There is something about the robust, nearly-out-of-breath singing of great hymns with 1500...
January 2011
3 posts
Good vs Well
I would pay anything to have a recording of this perfect example of why using “good” when you mean “well” matters…
Overheard at Denny’s…
………………………………..
Girl 1: …he was in a program at school, but he got kicked out for not doing good.
Girl 2: (completely serious) Was it a...
It's Jesus, LOL.
October 2010
2 posts
My decision regarding my educational dilema.
I spoke to various people (peers & professors) about the last post. All affirmed that I have valid frustrations. But I hadn’t prayed about it.
I did so on the way to Starbucks, & an answer came quickly.
My tests/courses & frustrations with them are irrelevant. I am here because my Creator wants me here. He is not surprised by my struggles. He knows exactly what I will learn &...
4 tags
Frustrated with "Education"
I am postponing a life I desperately want because I discerned a need for some time to slow down the hectic pace of my life since marriage almost a decade ago, and get some training before entering the next chapter of life.
So, when we discovered HBU’s accelerated Masters of Theology program, while disappointed about 3 more years in Houston, we jumped at the chance for me to finish my...
September 2010
2 posts
Big Oil and High School Football
4 days ago, on Twitter, Mike Rice (accidentally?) said something so profound that it has haunted me for days.
He said,
Deer Park… [is] a town built on big oil and high school football.
There it is. In black and white, as it were.
I led a church plant that failed in Deer Park, which is, indeed, a town built on big oil and high school football. I did not plant a church that was in any way...
The Priority of Christ
I am reading a book called The Priority of Christ: Toward a Postliberal Catholicism for my Systematic Theology course. It is a fantastic work. Robert Barron is wicked smart: a brilliant theologian and scholar, and learned philosopher, and a gifted writer. This book reads, at times, like poetry.
Example: in a section of chapter 8, where he is describing the effects of Descartes’ philosophy...
August 2010
6 posts
“Eustace had read only the wrong books. The books he read had a lot to say about...”
– C. S. Lewis in Voyage of the Dawn Treader summing up the problem with my entire education thus far.
Living for God's Glory
Living for God’s Glory: What does it mean to be Reformed?
A (brief) look at how the 5 Solas of the Reformation become our response to the Fatherly Sovereignty of God.
Taught on 8.22.10 at Kaleo Church
Living for God’s Glory on Huffduffer
Download
Podcast
Sunday Morning Coming Down by Crooked Fingers
Let me introduce you to god
Let me introduce you to god. (Note the lowercase g.)
You might want to lower your voice a little before we go in. He might be sleeping now. He’s old, you know, and doesn’t much understand or like this “newfangled” modern world. His golden days—the ones he talks about when you really get him going—were a long time ago, before most of us were even born. That was back when people cared what he...
A new term for the faithful emergent...
I have friends that are “emergent”. It’s for their sake that I coin this new term. I don’t like using a label to describe Jesus-loving, bible-preaching, soul-shepherding churches that also includes churches that, well, aren’t any of those things.
So, for the story-of-God-driven, Christus-Victor-emphasizing, garden-desert-garden types who preach Jesus as the way,...
July 2010
6 posts
We believe in God the Father, (re)maker of heaven...
“The emphasis on the divine as Creator is of utmost importance, not only during biblical times but also today. False religions, then and now, separate the Creator from the Redeemer. In this separation, the Creator is made the source of evil in the world. This way of thinking separates the Redeemer from the Creator - the Redeemer is pitted against the Creator. In this dualistic scenario...
Why and where we're moving... 2 Maps
Pending application, which shouldn’t be a problem, we will be moving 29.9 miles away in mid-August.
This is a difficult move, since both sets of grandparents are less than 15 minutes from where we currently live, and because it feels like we’re finally closing the book on Basilica… we love Deer Park, and we have lots of people we love nearby.
But, let me add some detail to...
Humble Apologetics? (Podcast)
Sermon Title: Humble Apologetics? Church: Kaleo Church Date: July 11, 2010
Humble Apologetics? on Huffduffer
Humble Apologetics?
I’m finishing up a sermon called Humble Apologetics? based on 1 Peter 3:13-17. I have taken a seminary course in Apologetics and have read some of (what’s considered) the best books on the subject, yet I find myself so discouraged by most of what passes for Apologetics these days.
I find it rude, arrogant, distasteful, uncaring, unthoughtful, and ungraceful.
However, I just stumbled...
Elder Training at Basilica
I was asked to share the Elder Training process we used at Basilica, and when I (finally) found it, I thought I’d post it here for anyone else to use/tweak/whatever. This list (especially the reading) is the baseline. This was tweaked on a case-by-case basis depending on the past experiences, passions, or limitations of the man in training.
(For example… since the requirements of an...
June 2010
3 posts
This song is a classic as far as I’m...
Chic-fil-a Nuggets (not exactly, but close)
1/2 Cup Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Thyme
1 Egg
2 tbsp Water
Chicken (cut into small, nugget-sized pieces)
Cooking Oil
(Obvious healthy substitutions - wheat flour, olive oil)
Mix dry ingredients in a large zip-loc bag.
Beat egg with water in a medium-sized bowl, then place all chicken pieces in the mix. Let soak for 3-4 minutes.
Place the chicken pieces into...
Sermon Title: Hope in God Church: Christ Church...
April 2010
1 post
“[Jesus] did not come to teach the teachable; He did not come to improve the...”
– Robert Farrar Capon (I got this from http://boarsheadtavern.com It was a favorite of Michael Spencer, the iMonk)
WatchVideos from the album “Go” by Jonsi (the singer of Sigur Ros). The whole album is amazing, even if he decided to change his name to Sigur Gaga Manson for the “Go Do” video…
March 2010
4 posts
Listen to the new Robbie Seay album for free
Sermon Title: Our Participation in the Trinity...
Sermon Title: Come and Die Church: Kaleo Church...
February 2010
5 posts
Reason #487,391 to buy a Mac
We have a G5 iMac. Here are some of the details…
1. It’s 5-6 years old (WAY out of any written or implied warranty)
2. It’s 4-5 models out-of-date
3. We did not buy this iMac from Apple, or an official reseller, but from an individual, who also got it from an individual.
4. The screen is rapidly going bad, and will probably be unusable within months.
But, the screen issue,...
Social Media Fasts
I’m going to step on a few toes here, but, it’s not like anyone really cares what I say, so…
Something about “fasting” from social media makes me uncomfortable. Mainly, because our lives up until 1.5-2 years ago were largely free from ubitquous Social Media. Sure, a lot of us were on Facebook and writing blogs, but were weren’t live tweeting our morning commutes.
Which means that a fast from...
Jody Willis update
(via text message)
Me: How'd the tests go?
Jody: Came back perfectly normal, but they are keeping me on bp meds and they are recommending diet restrictions and exercise. I'm good with that.
Sermon Title: What Went Wrong? Church: ACTS...
Pray for Jody (& Charisa) Willis
Jody Willis, one of the best men you could ever meet, as well as one of the pastors at the now-defunct Basilica, went to the ER on Saturday with the symptoms of a heart attack (the same symptoms I had when I had mine).
Since he’s not very consistent with emails, Twitter, facebook, etc… I got permission to post updates here.
The following is an email he sent yesterday:
Hey all,
I’m sending...
January 2010
2 posts
My life is about to be turned upside down...
I have applied and been accepted into HBU and will begin classes this coming Monday.
Major: Christianity Minor: Biblical Languages Masters: Theology
They have an accelerated Masters of Theology program that I hope to enter during my senior year that will make some of my courses dual-credit, and in 3 years, I will have both a BA and an MA, with extensive training in the languages under Dr. Jamie...
The Gospel According to LOST
I have read a couple of the “Gospel According to _______ ” books that are out there… The Simpsons, and Tony Soprano… but no release has gotten me more excited than The Gospel According to Lost by Chris Seay. In the others, my first exposure to the television series was the book. In both cases, the books peaked my interest in the series, and made me want to watch them. But,...
December 2009
6 posts
Favorite Movies of 2009
The list to the right is the movies that were released in 2009 that I saw. This is not exhaustive. I saw many other movies. This is also not all of the 2009 movies that my family saw. There are a dozen or so others that either Heather, the kids, or some other combination saw that I didn’t (e.g. Hanna Montana, Phoebe in Wonderland, etc…)
Seeing this list makes me realize how much of...
Grace Has Appeared
12:14 - Kaleo Church -...
Why do we celebrate Christmas?
Paul, why do we celebrate Christmas?
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness...