This Side of the Pulpit » Entries tagged with "books"
Discussion Questions, a la Walker Percy, but not as Good as His
But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered and said, ‘I will, sir’; and he did not go. And he came to the second and said the same thing. But he answered and said, ‘I will not’; yet he afterward regretted it and went. “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The latter.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax-gatherers and harlots did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Getting Things Done
After reading about Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity for well over a year on the internet, I broke down, bought the book…and now am about to join the cult. No, dear pious Christians, it’s not a cult like you think of one, but in the full sense of the word: a cult(ure) of work and productivity and organization. You can find all (and more) you want to know about it all over the ‘net, but the fundamental premise is: get things out of your brain. Put everything on paper. Learn Latin? Write it down. Buy cat food? Write it down. Plan the next phase of your career? Write it down. Get all that stuff out of your brain so that you can process it, file it, trash it … Read entire article »
Filed under: Computers&Productivity, Personal
Use the Library
Think of this as a Public Service Announcement. I am learning Photoshop and HTML & CSS right now and have some good resources, but am also looking into some more. Amazon doesn’t always give a good idea of what the book is really like, apart from the reviews, and our local bookstore is good but it is no Barnes & Noble–which I would give a 6/10 for selection…I’m a demanding Bookstore guy. So I found some ISBNs and titles and visited our Library. As far as Libraries go, I give a 2/10…probably the second-worst public library I’ve ever been in (The best libraries tend to be University Libraries). It’s not the employees–they are fantastic–it’s the selection, and that is a budget problem. Anyway, they didn’t have any of the books I was wondering … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal, Writing&Books
Things I Do to Stay out of Trouble
Apparently my Easter sabbatical needs to be over. A couple of people I had no idea read this asked me what was happening here and when I would post again. I guess I have six readers instead of the four I thought I had. But their remarks got me thinking about the blog. It’s gone through quite a few changes since I started it. From obscurity to almost-obscurity, from WordPress to Blogger and back to WordPress–and back to being a pretty quiet corner on the ‘net. For a time I was working hard to make it more popular, and it worked when I posted controversial things, but I found it juvenile to chase ratings and hits, so I stopped. Readers left, too. Ce la vie. So where is it going now? What … Read entire article »
The Lutheran Study Bible: Initial Thoughts
I received my copy of The Lutheran Study Bible: English Standard Version a few days ago. It’s a huge book. I bought the hardback edition and the binding seems good. It stays open well and should hold up nicely. However, the pages are incredibly thin. Think onion-skin thin, and there is plenty of bleed-through. Not good for notes or quick page turning. Having said that, I am incredibly impressed with the book. It is simply packed with notes and helps. Everywhere. There are the usual verse-notes at the bottom of every page–generous verse-notes too, but there are also introductions to each book that address overall themes, Luther quotes, “Challenges for Readers” which introduce isogogical issues and some apologetical issues, vocabulary lists of important terms, outlines and more. Plus, each major category of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology, Writing&Books
Whereof We dreamed as Children…
And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. (Ecc 12:12 KJV) There’s a sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh and House at Pooh Corner. We can add to the thought above that there’s no end to the making of money by publishers. Yet the trustees of Milne’s estate have approved the book. But they also approved the Disney adaptations, as well, so we’ll have to see just how faithful the book is to Milne’s original. The AP article about the release says, in part: In the final chapter of “The House at Pooh Corner,” Christopher Robin asks for understanding, “whatever happens,” and makes Pooh promise he won’t forget about him, ever. Pooh does, and Milne then makes a promise of his own … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
All Time-Low
I knew Sunday was a rough day. It started out well-enough: a good seven hours of rest and made it to church a little earlier than usual. The sermon run-through went fine, and the rest of the preparations went well. But then the pre-service announcements came. I bumbled through them, tried to thank some VBS volunteers and forgot four people’s names. Totally blank. Thankfully, they are all good-humored people, and apart from some teasing about senior-moments after the service, no harm was done. The rest of the day went well-enough, but I was still flustered by forgetting people’s names earlier. Bible study was interesting. We got sidetracked with a discussion of depression and mental illness. I gave them some good theology, but also gave some personal, weird-o opinions. I made sure … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Luther’s Works, American Edition to be Expanded by CPH
Concordia Publishing House just announced they are preparing additional volumes of Luther’s Works. This is an expansion of the American Edition, previously published by CPH and Fortress Press (now Augsburg Fortress). They plan to publish volumes 55-75, the first being released later this year. More information can be found on this page. Currently only about 1/3 of Luther’s Works are available in English. All of them are collected in the Weimar Ausgabe, printed in Latin and German (the two languages in which Luther wrote). … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology, Writing&Books
Book Review:The Noticer
My Father was visiting over Easter, and ironically enough, noticed the review copy of The Noticer I had received. Dad is not a big reader. The books he reads he really seems to enjoy, but most of the time he enjoys so many other things more than reading. But with time on his hands, he read it and was very impressed with the “common sense” proverbs Andrews relates by weaving them around the story of “Jones,” a magical man who appears at just the right time with the right words of wisdom to those in need. My dad was amazed at the simple wisdom in such sayings as “You see shrimp and crawfish. I see Surf and Turf.” My mother laughed at him, saying, “Have you never read a self-help book?” … Read entire article »
Filed under: Writing&Books
Book Confessions Meme
Book Confessions 1. To mark your page you: use a bookmark, bend the page corner, leave the book open face down?Bookmark sometimes, upside down if it won’t immediately break the spine. Sometimes I don’t mark it all, but just sort of remember. 2. Do you lend your books?Sometimes. 3. You find an interesting passage: you write in your book or NO WRITING IN BOOKS!Writing in books? Of course! That’s why the margins are, er, used to be so big. 4. Dust jackets – leave it on or take it off.Dust covers make good bookmarks too, if you take the flap and hold the page with it. But often take it off. 5. Hard cover, paperback, skip it and get the audio book?Hard covers are nice, but so durn expensive. 6. Do you shelve your books by … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
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