Personal Stuff

Well, after posting in March...life has remained tough for me. Down to 345...but not a lot of weight loss in two months. I've been up & down on my diet. I have been working out...I'd like to believe that I've added some muscle which has slowed my weight loss...and people have been saying that Jeannie & I are looking good (losing weight), but in our minds...we're still the same. Your mind can really play tricks on ya. I appreciate the prayers that you have been offering...and still hope you will offer them on our behalf. Love you guys!

OT Posting Board #2

When comparing the OT to other documents from the ancient Near East, what implications can be drawn for us as Christians as to how we are to relate to our culture today?

Moses was a masterful writer, educated by the best of the best in Egypt by God's leading in his life. As a prince of Egypt, nothing was withheld from Moses as he learned and he knew the culture that he would lead as well as minister in. He was God's minister to God's people. Moses dealt with what was going on in the culture in his day. God directed him what to write, but there wasn't much if anything that was left untouched by the Mosaic Law. Social responsibility, justice, order of worship, care of animals, honoring others, friendships, marriages...all this and more were covered. In much the same way, the Laws of Lipit-Ishtar, the Laws of Hammurapi and others covered many of the same things...but in light of men, not in light of the one, true God. Moses directed the attention of the people to God through the Law. The Law did not save them, but it told them what God expected of them and told them how to maintain their relationship with God and each other. We see this in the Ten Commandments. The first four commandments deal with the vertical relationship and the next six deal with our horizontal relationships.
Just as Moses did, we must direct the attention of people to the one, true God. We MUST know our culture. The Word of God, the Bible, is just as applicable today as it was for the early church and for the nation of Israel. We may see it as history, not prophecy, but it applies just the same. This fact should spur Christians to learn more about the Word of God and the CONTEXT in which it was written so that we can then apply it to the CONTEXT of our world today. We cannot speak in a language that people do not understand...we must seek to meet people where they are...we must speak with our lives, as the OT writers did. They weren't perfect...we aren't perfect. The persevered...we must persevere. They sought God...we must seek God.

OT Posting Board

Has the reading of these ancient Near Eastern documents raised specific questions or difficulties concerning your understanding of the OT or how we as Christians are to read the OT?

It's always so funny to me when I have a question raise in my mind about something God says in Scripture or a time where I just don't understand something and then God allows me to answer my own question through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. He is the revealer of all TRUTH!
While reading the creation and flood accounts of the ANE, questions about the validity and the originality of the OT were raised in my mind. What documents came first? Did the other civilizations copy the OT or did Moses "borrow" material from the other writings of the ANE? If Moses did reference material from another source, does that really effect the inerrancy of the accounts? I was a bit unsettled.
I spent time in prayer and thought about those questions while continuing to read and compare. The conclusion I came to was that the other writings of the ANE did nothing other than to solidify my belief in the Pentateuch as the Word of God. These events REALLY happened! The very existence of other accounts only ground the events in history! Men were trying to answer the questions of why the flood occurred...how were were made...where man came from...MEN were trying to answer those questions. The gods that the ANE wrote about where not God-like. They acted as men. They even depended upon men to an extent (Epic of Gilgamesh and the sacrifice of Utnapishtim). They quarreled...all of this points to god-men, not God. GOD answered those questions through his servant, Moses. God is in control...He has no equal. He always acts in love toward His children.
The documents and culture of the ANE plays a part in how we read the OT. The context is so very important...the context of the text AND the culture. I love the illustration of this in "Introduction to the Old Testament" by Longman and Dillard. Song of Songs 1:9 states, "I liken you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariot horses." I read that the first time and went...HUH!? Upon learning a bit of the culture, however, there is a bigger picture in this passage. Egypt never used mares to pull their chariots, they only used stallions. A stallion is VERY distracted by a mare because of procreation! There was an actual battle tactic of setting loose mares amongst chariots to distract the stallions and throw the enemy into a bit of confusion. Solomon is basically saying, "Honey, you're so hot that I can't even think about work!"
While I hope this brings a smile to your face...the need for context is greatly seen here. Placing the OT in its context allows us to more fully understand what Moses meant, grounds the historical records of the OT in our history and allows us to better apply God's Words to our lives today.

How much should the ancient Near Eastern setting of the Mosaic Law influence our application of the law in our own lives today?

The reader of the Old Testament accounts and specifically the Mosaic Law MUST take into account the culture in which that text was written in order to fully understand it. So many practical things are covered in the Mosaic Law that dealt with specific instances of wrongs, sins and even what to eat that were specific to the culture and the time period.
Exodus 21:28-32 speaks of a bull goring a man or woman that causes that person to die. If the bull has done it for the first time and no one knew that the bull had that tendency, the bull must die and the owner has no responsibility. However, if the bull had been known for goring and the owner had been warned and the owner takes no precaution in order to prevent it from happening again, the owner is held responsible and BOTH the bull and the owner must die unless the owner has the opportunity to redeem his life by paying what is demanded. I liken this to owners of dogs today. I can't say that we got this law or way of acting specifically from the Mosaic Law, but it make sense. We don't own bulls...but we do own dogs....pretty easy application.
Exodus 22:16-29 speaks of various social responsibilities that we can read today and not be able to make heads or tales out of unless we learn a bit of the culture. This passage can be read word for word and not be heeded because we don't see the SPIRIT of the law that is here. God is worth our best. We don't necessarily give our firstborn children to God, but yet we do give Him our hearts...we are to give Him our BEST. God delivered the firstborn in the Passover...the people of Israel are God's chosen, His firstborn. The firstborn belonged to God because of the salvation given to them as they left Egypt. Our "firstborn" or the BEST of us now belongs to God because of the salvation afforded to us through the gift of Jesus Christ on the cross! What a parallel and what a gift given!

The OT and the Ancient Near East (ANE)

Genesis 16 relays the story of the "help" that Sarai and Abram felt they needed to give to God in order for the Abrahamic Covenant to be fulfilled in their lives. Abram and Sarai had not had any children and it seemed as though Sarai was getting impatient about having children so she hands Hagar, her maidservant, over to Abram for him to sleep with and hopefully concieve a child. This passage has always been a mystery to me. I could never fully understand why a wife would give her husband another woman to him in order to have an heir. The cultural significance of this practice come heavily into play in this passage of scripture. In the "Adoption of Shennima" it describes a situation where a wife or concubine would be given to Shennima if his wife, Gilimninu, does not bear children. An heir was of utmost importance in this culture as the family line could not continue without children...family was the "politics" of the time period. A whole civilization's way of live could end if no heir was born!
In the same story, but a different part of the story in Genesis 16, Sarai has now become pregnant and become jealous of Hagar and Ishmael. She does not want to be "bested" by her maidservant, so she goes to Abram and speaks of this to him. Abram places the fate of Hagar in the hands of Sarai and she mistreats Hagar. Hagar flees from the family and goes to the desert with Ishmael. I had always wondered why Ishmael "fell off the face of the planet" after this happened. I had the understanding that all children were heirs of their father, but those born to a concubine didn't have as much of a share. However, after reading in the "Laws of Lipit-Ishtar," the Sumerian laws (where Ur, Abram's homeland, was located)1 allowed for a man to free his slave woman and her children. The child born of the slave woman would have no rights in the estate of his father(Arnold, 108). The culture plays a role here that would be missed had I not studied it.
Finally the stark contrasts and similarities between the creation account of the Old Testament in Genesis 1-2 and the Akkadian account in Enuma Elish really suprised me. The splitting of Tiamat's corpse to create the two spheres of water and the dividing of the firmament on the second day is one of those similarities. Both split the firmament in order to create the sky and the waters. The manner in which the world was created as a whole is the most stark contrast. God spoke everything into being. There was no anger, no hurt, no selfish intent...it is about God's glory! The glory He alone deserves! In EE, Marduk creates humans from the blood of Tiamat's friend Kingu and the universe from Tiamat's corpse! Man is created for the sole purpose of freeing the gods from their work. I count it a privilege to see the different creation accounts and the fact that, in the case of EE, they are trying their best in order to answer the question of where we came from. However, this is MAN'S idea, it is not born from the mind/heart of the one, true God. This is evidenced by how the gods in EE react to their plight and their selfish and humanlike attitudes. There is really no separation between the gods and man other than their "powers" like superheroes. God is God...God spoke out of love and thus we were created....all to HIS GLORY! It's not about war or conquering, unless you are talking about the conquering of sin. That comes later...:)

Introduction to the Old Testament

I have now begun my next course in my graduate program with Liberty University, OBST 591, Introduction to the Old Testament. I have been learning A LOT in this class as well, and future posts will be about this course.

Research Paper: Constantine the Great's Influence on the Church

You can view the document at: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=d36dmsw_1c6bbkc . Enjoy!

The Crusades: A History Book Review

You can access the book review at : http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=d36dmsw_0cqn9t5

What about monks? Why did monks like Antony (anchorites) pursue the solitude of the desert? Why did the cenobites like Pachomius prefer community? Wha

The church in the third century had been presented with a freedom that had never been known under the emperors of Rome. Constantine, along with Licenius, had stopped the persecution of the church with the Edict of Milan in AD 313 and made Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire in AD 323. Christians almost didn’t know how to live for Christ anymore, as martyrdom was no longer a possibility. The world entered the people of the church through the widespread freedom that the church now enjoyed. One of the biggest controversies in the church during this period was what to do with the individuals that had forsaken Christ or surrendered the Scriptures to Rome while under the persecution of the empire. Many of those that had denied Christ desired re-instatement into the church, but what did Christ have to say about denying Him during hard times and then coming back? A large schism developed. “The narrow gate of which Jesus had spoken had become so wide that countless multitudes were hurrying past it – some seemingly after privilege and position, without caring to delve too deeply into the meaning of Christian baptism and life under the cross.”[1] Since it seemed like so many were coming into the church for selfish and worldly reasons, and many in the church had the goal of obtaining power and wealth rather than Christ himself, many found their answer by living the monastic life.

Those in the monastic movement desired to live their lives totally for Christ and apart from the world. It seemed as though it would be an impossible task within the church as corruption began to spread in the middle third century. They felt that “therefore in order to live fully in the spirit it was necessary to subdue and to punish the body.”[2] The anchorites decided that the best way to obtain this was to move into the desert and get away from society completely. This term actually means to be withdrawn or to be a fugitive. These people did not desire any other human contact and avoided it as much as possible. “For these people, the desert was attractive, not so much because of its hardship, but rather because of its inaccessibility.”[3] The cenobites, on the other hand, desired to get away from the world, but not necessarily live in solitude from other people. These monks lived together in community and developed rules that would dictate everything they did with their lives totally devoted to prayer and the Scripture.

The church of today can definitely learn from the principles that started under the monastic movement. So many individuals that attend church and claim to be Christians do not fully understand what being a follower of Christ is truly about. While this is each person’s responsibility to seek God, it is also a responsibility of the church to disciple those that do not know what it means to follow Christ. A life that is devoted to prayer and God’s Word is one that can go beyond just a “fire insurance” type of Christianity. However, totally separating from the world is not what God wanted for us, either. Christ indicated in John 17 that his desire was not that we would be taken out of the world, but that we would be separate from it. We have to be in the world in order to impact it. Since God has called us to “make disciples of all nations,” we must have relationships with those around us in order to make disciples. If the church separates itself from the world completely, we completely lose any possibility of impacting that world for Christ.


[1] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 136.
[2] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 137.
[3] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 138.

Is man free or God sovereign? Articulate and analyze the positions of Augustine and Pelagius on man’s nature and ability to be holy.

Pelagius believed that Augustine’s and Jerome’s views on salvation allowed for a lot of moral laziness. He felt as though God doesn’t dictate our lives and we, as mankind, have a choice as to whether or not we will be a sinner or be a follower of God. He did not believe in any type of “original sin.” Free will was given at creation and mankind is not born into sin. Adam’s sin does not pass down through birth and he was created to have a physical beginning and ending; sin created spiritual death (separation from God), not a physical death. All members of the human race that would follow would not be effected by Adam’s sin as all are born into the world in the same way that Adam was (physical death was a given, spiritual death was not). “He saw the Christian life as a constant effort through which one’s sins could be overcome and salvation attained.”[1] Pelagius had been raised in a Christian home and his experience was one of a constant battle against sin. Through his experience, he was led to believe that one’s sin could be overcome by one’s will.

Augustine, on the other hand, was practically the first Calvinist. He believed, with Pelagius, that Adam was innocent upon his creation, but differed in the fact that he believed that Adam was not a mortal being. Adam would be cursed with BOTH a physical and spiritual death because of his choice to sin. All of mankind would enter into the world with a sin nature as Adam became, after the Fall of Man. “There are times when the will is powerless against the hold sin has on it.”[2] He believed that the sinner has no choice but to sin because of the sin nature that has not been changed by a decision to follow Christ. Mankind has the freedom to choose, but before Christ, the only choice is the types of sin that is committed. “But between the Fall and redemption the only freedom left to us is freedom to sin. When we are redeemed, the grace of God works in us, leading our will from the miserable state in which it found itself to a new state in which freedom is restored, so that we are now free both to sin and not to sin.”[3] Augustine was also heavily influenced by his experience with God as he had a pagan father and a Christian mother. During his younger years he lived for the pleasures of the world and for himself. He would later be called out by God and commit his whole life to Christ and His work.

I believe that sin entered through the first man, Adam. As a result, all men are born sinners and Adam’s sin has been passed down (imputed) to all generations through him (Rom. 5:12). This first sin separated man from the relationship that was designed between God and man. Therefore, man is totally depraved (Rom 3:10-18). I believe that God chooses, out of His goodness and grace, who will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Believers are part of the “chosen” who have been saved from their sin (Eph. 1:4-5, 11-12). I also believe that God wants no one to die, but for all to come to repentance (2 Ptr. 3:9). Scripture also indicates that salvation is a choice of each individual to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; John 3:16-18). This indicates that it is both a choice of God and a choice of man when an individual comes to Christ. I would have to say that I lean heavily in the favor of Augustine and his convictions; however I would take issue with his strong stance on predestination.

[1] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 214.

[2] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 214.

[3] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 214.

Let’s talk about Constantine, the sole Roman Emperor from 324-337. What did he do for the Christian movement? What short-term impact (positively, nega

Constantine was and still is a key player in Christendom as we know it today. His influence began well before he became the sole Roman Emperor in AD 324. He had a Christian mother, Helena, and a father, Constantius, who was tolerant of Christian but was not himself a follower of Christ. Constantine seemed to love the pomp and luxary that the world had to offer.[1]

Early in his reign (AD 274 – 337), he and Licinius were co-emperors of the empire. Constantine reigned in the west and Licinius in the east. Constantine’s tactics throughout his reign always seemed to be very calculated, tactical and political. Maxentius, his neighboring rival just to the east threatened his control of the western empire. Just before the battle at the Milvian Bridge, Constantine had his infamous vision from God, as he believed. He saw the “chi-rho”, the first two letters of Christ in Greek, positioned together to look like a cross. He heard a voice in this vision telling him, “By this conquer.” He took this to be a sign from God to make an alliance with Christianity in order to bring him victory. Victory came over Maxentius and Constantine decided to make Christianity his “official” religion. (AD 312)[2]

The next year, AD 313, he and Licinius got together and created widespread tolerance of Christianity with the Edict of Milan. This effectively ended the universal persecution of the Roman Empire for the entire Church. All those in the Empire knew at this point that eventually Licinius and Constantine would have to go to war to decide who would be the empire’s sole emperor. This was finally accomplished by Constantine in AD 324. He would move his capitol to Byzantium in this year (officially became the capitol in AD 330), which would be named Constantinople after his death in AD 337, because of its central location in the Roman Empire.[3]

Constantine would make Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire in AD 324. The church was going through the Arian controversy and Constantine did not see this as a unifying force for the Empire. So, in AD 325, he called the Council of Nicea in order to get some sort of solution to the controversy. Issues discussed at the council were the ultimate deity of Christ, or whether He was the same substance or different substance of the Father (Jehovah). The council decided on the homousious of Christ, or that Christ was of the same substance of the Father, but not the same person as the Father. This would not prove to be the end of the controversy and Constantine would waiver on his support of the Arian and Nicean positions in this controversy.

Ultimately, Constantine’s effect on the church is weighty. His moves to “legalize” Christianity were more out of a political position than a religious one. However, no one other than God Himself can tell if he was a true follower of Christ or not. He continued to make pagan sacrifices after his “conversion” and continued to accept Emperor Worship from those that wished to continue to do so. He would classify himself as the “Bishop of Bishops,” indicating a desire to have the state control the affairs of the church. He would exile those that accepted the Arian position at the Council of Nicea, only to change his mind later and invite Arius back, along with his position on Christ, into the Church and exile Alexander and Athanasius, both of the Nicene persuasion.

From that point on, the church seemed to be a type of “puppet” for the Empire during Constantine’s reign. Eusebius of Cesarea, the “father of church history,” continually attempted to paint Constantine in the most positive light as possible while not making mention of his pagan sacrifices or his lust for power. In the church’s defense, however, the persecution of the Roman Empire had ended. These were times to celebrate! God had vindicated the church and released them from physical torture and fear.

This would prove to be the period that the church would change drastically. She would become focused on her power and influence in the political world and allow her leaders to raise to a position of intercessor. This is the position of Christ, not the position of a man. The ordinances that Christ commanded became sacraments that imparted salvation. The Papacy would form from this. Instead of the church being the humble servant of Christ, it would become a political giant of the world for centuries to come. As John Leeland, an 18th century pastor, said, “The darkest day of the church was when Constantine made Christianity the state religion of Rome.” [4]


[1] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 113-114.
[2] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 115.
[3] Wikipedia, Constantine I, available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_I_(emperor); Internet.
[4] As indicated by Dr. Carl Diemer in the CHHI 520 Church History I DVD Lecture Series. Liberty University, 2005.

How did the church respond to persecution? How did the Christian movement develop in theology and practice

As I studied about the persecution of the church by Rome from c. AD 54 to AD 313, I am amazed at what the church went through and what it became as a result of that persecution.

There were ten major persecutions of Christians covering the time spans of ten different Roman emperors. These persecutions can be divided into three segments that differentiate the scale of the persecution of the church. Persecution began as “sporadic,” or not universal and not all of the time. This particular persecution was seen under the reigns of Nero and Domitian from AD 54 – AD96. The next segment of persecution would be classified as “organized,” or put together by imperial decree. This persecution ran under six different emperors from AD 98 – AD 211. Finally, a “universal,” or a persecution that was everywhere and all the time, fell under the reigns of Decius and Diocletian from AD 249 – AD 305.

The church would respond in many ways to the persecution they endured. Some “believers” would do what they had to do to stay alive. Many fell away from the church and from the faith during this period. Others would flee the persecution as much as possible, yet not necessarily denying their belief in Jesus Christ. Many during this time decided that they would not deny, nor would they flee any persecution that would come their way. They would be martyred for the cause of Christ. 3,000,000 people would die for their faith during this time of persecution. Those that fled spread the Gospel to the reaches of the world and many more would come to Christ.

I am amazed at what God did during this time. Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna, would be martyred in AD 155. The mobs of Rome were crying out for the “death of the atheists” and wanted Polycarp brought to justice (as a result of Germanicus’ actions during his martyrdom). Polycarp fled for a few days, but then decided that his arrest would be the will of God. He was arrested and brought before the judge. He would not back down from his faith. He stated, “For eighty-six years I have served Him, and He has done me no evil. How could I curse my King, who saved me?” He was burned at the stake while thanking God for deeming him worthy of this kind of death.[1]

Emperor Diocletian’s reign from AD 284 – AD 305 was the toughest persecution the church would see. He had defined his reign in AD 303 as one that would eradicate the church and the world of Christians. God had other plans. Diocletian would abdicate his rule in AD 305 because of his failure to do any harm to the church. He had martyred many Christians, but the church was stronger and more numerous after his reign than it was before it. Tertullian stated that, “The blood of the martyrs is seed.” He that is with us is greater than he that is in the world!!! Praise the Lord!

Through this time of persecution, the church would be forced to make decisions about what they believed and how they practiced that belief. Many in the church weren’t sure if those that fled the persecution or those who denied Christ should be let back into the fellowship as believers. “The question of what should be done about those baptized Christians who sinned divided the Western church repeatedly. It was out of that concern that the entire penitential system developed.”[2] Their meetings would be in secret. They would meet heresy by dealing with who they were in Christ and struggling for purity in the church. Gnosticism forced the church to define its theology, form Christian schools (Alexandria) and develop the canonized Scriptures.[3] Persecution would push the church to the next level in their faith.

[1] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 43-44.
[2] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 90.
[3] As indicated by Dr. Carl Diemer in the CHHI520 Liberty University DVD Lecture Series. 2005.

How did we get the Bible? What factors led to the canonization of what we now call the New Testament Scriptures?

The Old Testament Scriptures had been accepted for thousands of years before the early church began. The Jewish nation had the Scriptures passed down through time as scribes copied the Old Testament. The Jewish scribe took such care with the copying of the Scriptures to the point that if even one mistake was made, the whole scroll would be thrown out and a new scroll would be started. There was no question as to the validity of the Old Testament Scriptures. “When early Christians spoke of ‘Scripture,’ what they meant was the Hebrew Scriptures, usually in the Greek version known as the Septuagint.”[1] The Jewish nation had been spread throughout the known world because of Hellenism and, as a result, lost much of their heritage and the ability to speak and read Hebrew. It was finally a necessity that the Hebrew Old Testament be translated into Greek, which was the common language of that day. The Septuagint was the result of the Jewish diaspora.

The New Testament had a different road to travel, however. Many heresies arose in the early days of the church, the Gnostics and Marcionites to name two, and proved to be problems for the believers. Marcion made a “first attempt” to put together a New Testament, but Marcion was anti-Jewish and the resulting work was a total and complete Gnostic heresy.[2]
The church responded with an “early” canon of Scripture. The Gospels were widely accepted as Scripture, albeit that some accepted three Gospels and others accepted all four Gospels as “the Fourth Gospel was somewhat slower in gaining universal acceptance.”[3] Next, the books of the Apostles and the Pauline epistles were recognized and the core of the canon was established.[4] The Apostles’ Creed came out of the desire to solidify what the church stood for and against.
The remainder of the New Testament canon would be solidified later on in church history, but the beginnings of the canon started with the confrontation of heresy in the early church.

[1] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 62.
[2] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 62.
[3] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 63.
[4] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 63.

Liberty University Master's of Divinity Program

I have decided that I will post the papers that I write for my MDIV classes on my blog. This way I can get some feedback and maybe we all can learn something! I'm currently taking "History of Christianity I", so...the current posts will be about Church history! Hope you enjoy!

Everything Treo Review: Central

New review about a security/alarm/options software for the Palm Treo Smartphone.

Check it out at: http://www.everythingtreo.com/d/reviews/central-20070129461/

Everything Treo Review: IM+

New review of instant messaging software for the Palm Treo Smartphone.

Check it out at: http://www.everythingtreo.com/d/reviews/im-plus-review-20070307471/

Updates

It's been awhile since I've blogged...life has been CRAZY! I started my Master's of Divinity program at Liberty University in February, so that has really kept me busy. Kylie is potty-training and youth ministry continues to see God do some awesome things. Life has been tough too. Tough decisions and the like. My struggle with my wieght continues. I had gotten down to 338, but now I'm back to around 350 again. I need to rely upon God more for strength. I REALLY need to get below 300 again...if you're a friend...I'd really appreciate your prayers to that end. Also pray that my school work doesn't get me too stressed. It's a lot harder than undergraduate stuff was! :)

God is really stretching me. I believe that He's teaching me more of what it truly means to trust Him and lean on Him ONLY. My life is getting to a point that I have to lean...I can't do it on my own. I've tried it so many times...as I'm sure we all have. I need His shoulders to carry my burdens...I'm not meant to carry them.

Jabra BT500v Review

I said that I'd post here a link to my reviews over at Everything Treo...and my first review has been published. If you're looking for a bluetooth headset, I reviewed the Jabra BT500v headset. Check out the review at: http://www.everythingtreo.com/d/reviews/jabra-bt500v-review-20061120414/.

Weight Loss Update #2

Well, I'm down another 2 lbs to 346. I haven't done a lot of working out this week as I've been SO busy with ministry stuff. I also haven't been that good on the diet. It's a harder habit to break than I thought it would be. I'm now down 9 lbs overall in about 2.5 weeks. I guess that's not too bad. Jeannie is down 7 lbs...so woot, woot! We are going to a convention this weekend, so we'll see how the weight loss is for this next week! Pray for us!

Weight Loss Update #1

Well, it has been the best of times...it has been the worst of times. I did okay for the first week. I began at 355 lbs and I am now 348 lbs as of this AM. It is hard sometimes to stay "good." I haven't really been all that hungry...it's just that food has always been a comfort to me when I get depressed. Most people that struggle with their weight will probably tell you that. I am farily pleased with this week. However, it is just the beginning. I can't expect that kind of weight loss every week. 2 lbs a week is a good guage. Keep praying for us! (BTW, Jeannie has lost around 4-5 lbs!!! Go Jeannie!!!)