Happy Thanksgiving and War Eagle!

Just a quick update post.  What Ryan and I have done the last 3 days...

Wednesday:

• Ryan came to see me at the dental school, as my patient.  I did a cleaning and took some x-rays.  No cavities, although he did have a couple deep pits with staining on some of the back teeth, so I did "drill" a little and placed some sealants.  Awesome. He was freaked out.
• I did a marathon cleaning at home.  Everything had to get organized in preparation for the Christmas decorations that will most likely start being pulled out tomorrow. Once I get it all up I will post some pics :) 

Turkey Day:

• Ryan and I went to his grandma's for thanksgiving lunch.  There we got to hang out with his mom, dad, sister, some aunts and uncles, some cousins, some kids of cousins, so on.  Needless to say crazy house, but we had fun!  Rachel, Ryan's sister, brought home a friend from school for thanksgiving.  Her name is Ahlen (pronounced Alan) and she just recently moved to America from China to get her doctorate.  Needless to say, it was her first thanksgiving, but I think she enjoyed it, especially the rousing round of Uno we played!

Black Friday:

• No, we did not go shopping. (Ryan and I both pretty much despise crowds unless we are at a sporting event or just people watching.)
• We watched "James and the Giant Peach."  I had never seen it.  I enjoyed it, but Ryan is a huge fan.  Any other fans out there?
• Watched Auburn come back from a 24 point deficit to beat Alabama and stay undefeated on our way to the SEC Championship! WAR CAM EAGLE!

Interwebs Roundup

Hey friends. Here are a few links from around the internet that are worth the time to watch or read.

The Dangling Wires of Our Generation - I have enormous respect for John Piper. His heart for the glory of God in all things has helped transform how I read Scripture and live life in multifaceted ways. I've especially loved watching some of my friends get a better grasp on the grandeur of God by Piper pointing them to Scripture to see God's majesty. This clip is a challenging piece that requires some reflection I think.

Where Our Hope Lies - This is in some ways a response to the above link, calling for a discerning look at how we think about the Christianity and the arts (TV in particular).

The Church in North Korea - One of my favorite professors was able to go to the Lausanne Movement conference held in South Africa last month. She shared a week or two ago about a powerful testimony that an 18 year-old girl from North Korea gave. The video is finally up, and I highly encourage you to watch it. We cannot forget our brothers and sisters who are in chains across the globe, and we need to lift our sister up as she shares the love of Christ with her native people.

National Geographic Winners - These are great photos from the annual National Geographic photography contest.

Street Trials Biking - One more fun link for the road. I'd never heard of this type of biking, but it looks awesome! This guy has to have the best balance ever.

Finally Friday!

Sorry for my lack of blogging lately!  School is insane for Ryan and I both as we enter into the home stretch till Christmas.  I have a light school week next week before Turkey day and Ryan is out so, needless to say, we are both excited this week is coming to a close.  And we are both really excited about this weekend and next week for several reasons:

  1)  Harry Potter!  Ryan and I have pre-purchased tickets to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, in the new IMAX at Patton Creek.  We are seeing it with our awesome friends from small group Josh and Rebecca who are huge HP fans like us.  Ryan and I have both read all the books, we even stood in line at BAM to buy the 7th and final book a couple years ago.

2) R&R:  Even though Ryan and I will both have some school work over the next week or so, we are going to take some time to relax!

3)  Seeing Family:  This Thanksgiving Ryan and I will be with his family here in Birmingham (Christmas this year with mine) which will be very fun as always.  Unfortunately, we cannot be in 2 places at once so my mom and dad will be in Hattiesburg for the holiday without us, but Ryan and I will being getting to spend time with them over the weekend before they head to Mississippi to be with my grandmother, sister, brother-in-law, and others.

4)  Thanksgiving treats:  Thanksgiving means yummy food, desserts, and best of all, the official kickoff to the Christmas season, meaning lights start going up and the Christmas music marathon begins!

I'm Still Alive

Image from Turn Back to God

Yes, I am here, just busy. School is still crazy, so I apologize for the very infrequent posts, though Laura has done a great job posting regularly. Right now, I'm working on a paper and sermon on Genesis 49:1-12, a sermon on 2 Timothy 4:1-8, a paper on the historicity of Genesis 1-11 based on the New Testament's use of those passages, and a paper on C. S. Lewis's impact on my spiritual formation. Please pray for resilience in these last few weeks. I am tired of school and the end is in sight (I was measured for my cap and gown last week!), but I also need to take advantage of these classes. Pray that I will see them as opportunities for growth, not simply academic exercises.

For your reading pleasure, I give you a piece from C. S. Lewis's sermon, "The Weight of Glory." It is really beautiful, but here is my favorite portion.

"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendours."

From The Essential C. S. Lewis, edited by Lyle W. Dorsett, p.369.