Grades!

So I've finally completed the semester. I'm mostly pleased with my grades, especially given the ever-changing circumstances of the past semester ... moving twice (once during finals), many doctors visits for my wife, getting adjusted to a new school, work, finding new jobs, etc. Current GPA: 3.7 ... and my major was approved, so I'm now officially in the "Master of the Arts in Intercultural Studies" program. I was also pleased to discover that the registrar approved my transfer credits from Kingsley College (in Melbourne). Actually, they approved twelve credits rather than the expected nine ... so I have one less semester to complete at Asbury than I was expecting!

Still looking for another job, but I did get a call from Starbucks, so your prayers that it would pan out well are appreciated. The place they interviewed me for is actually closer (I think) than Coldstone, which would be nice so I could save on gas (which is currently at an exhorbitant $3.09.9/gal).

But I get to read books I want to this summer! Woo hoo! Here's a portion of my reading list:

Stuff I've already read since school let out:
The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis
Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card

Books I'm Currently Working On:
Exiles, by Mike Frost
Stone Tables, by Orson Scott Card

Books I'm Looking Forward To:
Fiction:
Treason, by Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card
Xenocide, by Orson Scott Card

Children of the Mind, by Orson Scott Card (are you sensing a pattern yet?)

NonFiction:
Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis
The Problem of Pain, by C.S. Lewis
The Everlasting Man, by G.K. Chesterton
Finding Life, by Ash Barker
The Forgotten Ways, by Alan Hirsch (a FORGE mate)
The Story We Find Ourselves In, by Brian McLaren
The Celtic Way of Evangelism, by George Hunter (an Asbury Prof, no less)
Credible Witness, by Darren Cronshaw (a FORGE mate)

So we'll see if I make it through all of them. In addition, I have a few others that I've been given by relatives I'd like to peruse, most notably a book written by a deceased relative, a medical missionary, called "Little Stories of China" (by Jennie Manget Logan). She served in China for 41 years starting in 1873, and given the extraordinary exponential growth in the Chinese church as of late, it should be a fascinating read.

The Cost of Freedom

Our freedom has a cost. Christians and Americans know this well: as Americans we have time and time again had to beat back bullies who would take our freedom from us and from others - in the Revolutionary war, it was about freedom from unfair taxation, in the civil war, from denying freedom to African Americans and abolishing slavery, in WWI and II it was about freeing the world from tyrrany. In the Cold War we fought our own to regain our civil liberties from the McCarthyists, and In the Gulf War we were party to freeing Kuwait of an invading army.

There have been many times that the freedom of others - a freedom that is very important to Americans - has been paid in blood; the blood of the enemy, and the blood of our own soldiers, men, women, and even sometimes children. We loathe the cost, a cost that should never have to be paid. But there are men and women who willingly lay down their lives so that the freedom of others may continue.

I've been watching a lot of movies about freedom lately. The other night, we watched The Majestic. One character says "When bullies rise up, the rest of us have to beat them back down, whatever the cost. That's a simple idea I suppose, but one worth giving everything for." Kingdom of Heaven is another great example. In a conversation about religion, a priest says,

"I put no stock in religion. By the word religion I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will of god. I have seen too much religion in the eyes of too many murderers. Holiness is in right action, and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves, and goodness. What God desires is here [points to head] and here [points to heart] and what you decide to do every day, you will be a good man - or not."

Two nights ago we once again watched King Arthur. Some memorable quotes:

"No man fears to kneel before the God he trusts. Without faith, without belief in something, what are we?"

"There is no worse death than that of hope."

"Deeds themselves are useless unless they are for some higher purpose."

"What other purpose do we serve if not for such a cause?"

"Knights! The gift of freedom is yours by right. But the home we seek resides not in some distant land, it's in us, and in our actions on this day! If this be our destiny, then so be it. But let history remember, that as free men, we chose to make it so!"

I highly recommend you go rent it.

There was a man, many years ago, who embodied such a message. He died for the men and women he loved. He beat back the bullies so that we - his creation - might taste freedom. This is why Christians know the cost of freedom - our God paid the ultimate price so that we might know such freedom.

On memorial day, we remember the men and women who have gone before us, putting their lives on the line and, when necessary, sacrificing themselves so that we may continue to enjoy the freedom we have.

To those of you who serve in the military, the government, the police, the fire corps, the national guard, the coast guard, and many others; thank you for your sacrifice. Never forget the purpose, the duty with which you have been entrusted, and never forget that we, the people you serve, love you, honor you, and remember you.

Deaton and the Ray Brown Trio

My sister found this on YouTube. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

And my Aunt recommended this one, saying (and I quote) "Gene Harris' piano playing will transport you to a lazy river and around a crazy bend into another dimension." I think we'd all agree she's right.