You may have noticed that the site looks quite a bit different the last few days. That’s because I’ve totally overhauled it using a new layout (for those of you who are bloggers I’m using the Standard Theme on WordPress). Here are some of the new features you’ll notice:
I’m sitting outside as I write this enjoying a fire in my backyard fireplace. I’m a bit of a pyro and for fun I thought I’d try and build a fire on top of a phone-book (seriously, they are still giving those things out?). In attempting this, I learned that starting a fire on top of a phone-book is not nearly as easy or exciting as you might think.
I had to give this fire much more TLC than normal and in the process I realized there are essentially three elements to building a good fire:
Building a raging fire needs these three ingredients (assuming you aren’t using “cheater” methods like gasoline). All three play radically different parts. The firestarter cannot sustain itself for long but is quick to light. The kindling lights farely quick and will burn for a bit. The heavier logs take awhile to light but can sustain the flame for the longest amount of time. The quickest way to a healthy, natural fire is to strategically incorporate all three.
The beginning of this video is a bit glitchy (he films them on his phone) but then you get to enjoy Nate’s moves… Christmas version! See his previous dance here.
I want to go on record before next year’s baseball season to point out to the untrained eye what is currently happening. The Red Sox just bought their team for next year. They made Carl Crawford the highest paid outfielder EVER. They acquired Adrian Gonzalez with the assumption that he will receive of the the top 10 highest contracts EVER after the season starts (to avoid luxury tax).
Now don’t hear what I’m not saying: I’m not mad that they did this. In fact, I think it was brilliant and I’m quite nervous for what this means as a Yankee fan. What I am saying is that they just did (in grand fashion) what the Yankees get accused of endlessly.
There’s this great moment in Daniel chapter 2 where King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and expects his advisers to tell him his dream and interpret it for him. When none of them can do it he is on the verge of wiping out all of his wise men when Daniel intervenes. Here is how verse 16 describes it:
“So Daniel went in and requested that the king give him time and he would tell the king the interpretation.” v.16
If you know how the story ends it is easy to gloss over an important detail in this story. But notice what the next two verses point out for us:
Here are a few of my favorite thoughts on Dallas Willard’s Divine Conspiracy for chapter 8. Only two chapters left after this and then I will have blogged through this whole behemoth of a book!
