IT'S ALL AROUND US.

I think the next Pittsburgh sports statue should be a depiction...

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:00:00 -0500

I think the next Pittsburgh sports statue should be a depiction of Andy Van Slyke sitting dejected in the outfield after Sid Bream scores the winning run for the Atlanta Braves in Game 7 of the 1992 National League Championship Series. Erect it after the losing streak ends and call it,

“For the fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1993-20__. We will never forget the canyon.”

Let’s go Bucs.

Bon Iver in studio.

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:44:00 -0500

Bon Iver in studio.

Take that, Wikipedia. Copyright 1978. (Taken with instagram)

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:00:17 -0500

I could watch The Civil Wars cover Michael Jackson all day. This...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:11:16 -0400

I could watch The Civil Wars cover Michael Jackson all day. This is awesome.

Great idea about eBooks

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:02:00 -0400

Great idea about eBooks:

(from Wired.com)

My thoughts? Pretty simple: Fill my shelves and my eReader, and you have my business.

iPad, meet Kindle Fire

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:52:00 -0400

iPad, meet Kindle Fire:

“Amazon started out with a mission to make a low-cost, entry-level tablet that felt as fast as an iPad and cost so little that even people who would balk at the iPad 2′s cheap $499 price could afford to buy one. And it looks, like all accounts, that they succeeded.” - The Cult of Mac

"Indeed, many foreign students eventually arrive at the shameful conclusion that the Chinese are..."

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:24:00 -0400

“Indeed, many foreign students eventually arrive at the shameful conclusion that the Chinese are mastering English far more quickly than vice versa. “There is no competition!” said Prof Li. “The passion that Chinese have for learning English is much greater. All of our exams, the university exams and the exams for professional certificates judge you on English skills. So unless the rest of the world implements an identical scheme in its schools, Chinese will never manage to penetrate as deeply.””

- The rise and rise of Mandarin – but how many will end up speaking it? - Telegraph

translation: “you foreigners are too lazy to learn Chinese.”

My church, Providence PCA, is currently offering a masters-level...

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:08:00 -0400

My church, Providence PCA, is currently offering a masters-level course on Biblical counseling (or more simply, discipleship) taught by seminary professor, Dr. George Scipione (from Pittsburgh’s RPTS). Since we’re also posting mp3s of Dr. Scipione’s sessions each week online, feel free to take advantage of this awesome resource! (Or just click to play the first session, an introduction to Biblical counseling.)

Chuck & Beans, via 22 Words.

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:12:00 -0400

Chuck & Beans, via 22 Words.

Photo

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 20:17:00 -0400

Hayao Miyazaki

Princess Mononoke

Spirited Away

Ponyo

Kiki's Delivery Service

Castle in the Sky

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

We Are The Tide

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:01:05 -0400

We Are The Tide:

NPR Music’s First Listen is streaming the new Blind Pilot album in its entirety, now until September 13th (the day it’s released). I love their album 3 Rounds and a Sound (2008) and will be purchasing We Are The Tide in two weeks! Until then, listen away…

"If a person sees and delights in the beauty of your language, but does not yet see the beauty of the..."

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:24:00 -0400

“If a person sees and delights in the beauty of your language, but does not yet see the beauty of the Lord Jesus, you have given them not only a witness to his beauty but an invitation. You have said, “It’s like this, only better. The beauty of my words is the shadow. Christ, who created and sustains and mercifully accepts imperfect beauty, is the substance. Turn to him. Go to him.””

- John Piper, from a talk asking the question, Is there such a thing as Christian eloquence?

Quick thoughts on why we pray

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:48:00 -0400

[Note: I originally published this on a different blog when I was in China, then decided to take it down for various reasons. I’m going to put it up again here, and I’d love to hear your own thoughts or comments.]

My team and I were discussing prayer the other night when an interesting point came up. I want to pray for the salvation of those I know and care about—for the lost all around me. That’s a good thing to do, for sure. As followers of Jesus we’re called to do that, in fact. As someone whose heart aches and sometimes breaks for those around him, I long to do that and to see those prayers answered. But what happens when they seemingly go unanswered—is our Father in Heaven not listening? Isn’t His heart for those who are far from Him? Where are you, God? Save your people!

I have a friend here in China who I desperately want to see come to know the Lord… I see potential in her. I see possibilities. I see her need and her longing, and I pray hard for her to come to know her Maker and Redeemer in a saving way. I look around my campus and I see ten thousand students, most of whom are far from Him—living for and believing only in themselves. My heart breaks for them and aches for revival. And yet I don’t even know their names. I even forget the names of my own students sometimes. There are days when I forget about my close friend—I don’t even think about her. She lives down the hall from me.

How much more does the Father—their Creator, the one who formed these loved ones in their mother’s wombs and knows each hair on their head and worry in their heart—care about them and love them and long for a restored relationship with them? Who am I to say, “Where are you, God?” when His heart breaks for His lost children. Doesn’t He know what’s best? Isn’t His timing perfect? Isn’t His heart so much bigger than mine, and His wisdom so much deeper?

These words are also a great comfort to me (they are Romans 8:22-28 in the ESV translation):

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

These are humbling and comforting thoughts, and thoughts that make me long to know God’s heart even more. And I suppose that, in the end, is why we pray.