Category Archives: Uncategorized

On family economy

3 Replies

We all need to avoid “recreational purchasing.” It makes sense to address that issue.

And debt is a monster. Anyone with a brain should fear it as far as consumer spending is concerned.

Having said that, I don’t think much of the focus on reducing spending to get one’s finances in order makes much sense. To name just one problem, any consistent use of this advice would mean telling couples not to have children. I just don’t see that as compatible with Christian stewardship.

I’d like to see more responsible, non-exploitative, Christian counseling aimed at helping people make a lot more money. I just don’t see any other way to do it.

James Jordan’s series teaching the book of Ephesians

1 Reply

WordMP3 / James B. Jordan / Studies in Ephesians

It is simply a travesty that the name “Paul” for most people, summons up a pastiche of Romans and Galatians while the other letters are relatively neglected. Ephesians 2.8-10 might make the cut but not much else.

I say it is a travesty because the evidence indicates that Ephesians was probably Paul’s generic tract–a circular letter meant to summarize the Gospel for any Christian in particular rather than an ad hoc letter dealing with a specific pastoral agenda for a particular church. Thus, if one wants to understand the foundations of “Pauline Theology,” Ephesians would be the natural place to begin.

(Is it not amazing, given the rhetoric in the Reformed & Predestinarian Baptist nanocosm, that Paul could write a letter describing God’s work through Christ and our personal salvation in Him and yet not use the term “justification” even once?)

Jim Jordan’s Sunday School lessons are amazing. They give the listener the background he needs to understand Paul’s thought world that explains how he wrote. If you want to see a basic summary of the Christian Faith from an inspired source explained through a knowledgeable and godly teacher, these eleven lectures will be valuable.

For those of my readers who check the weather in teapots (if you are unaware, consider this God’s grace in your life), Jim Jordan’s lessons are also fascinating in that he directly addresses issues such as the appropriateness of attending non-Evangelical churches, the priority of truth to glory in worship, and the relation of the Gospel to the question of Jew-Gentile relations and identity. He does all this at a time when the wind was considerably calmer.

Get the lectures. You will greatly appreciate them.

WordMP3 / James B. Jordan / Studies in Ephesians

(Disclosure: I receive no revenue if you order, but I do sometimes do work for WordMP3.com)

Related: Entry from the WordMP3 blog.  (If you are interested in promoting WordMP3.com consider linking this entry.
Related: Biblical Horizons

Don’t waste your late thirties and early forties

2 Replies

Both Dr. Helen and Jon Barlow blogged about this study.

Whether they are mourning the passing of their prime or struggling to cope with the demands of a job and young family, those aged 35-44 invariably hit a mid-life crisis when their happiness level plunges lower than at any other age, according to a study for the Government.

It makes them the least satisfied members of society, scoring well below teenagers, the elderly – and women of all ages.

Researchers found that it takes men until they reach the age of 65 to start enjoying life as much as they did in their late-teens and early-20s.

Actually, if we could trust this interpretation, I think we would see a way to help men 35-44 be happier.  Telling them that they will eventually “get over it” and be much happier in a couple of decades would be quite helpful I think.

But from what I see, as far as we know, the sixty-five-year-olds might always have been happy.  How can we be sure this is a report on the way all males go through life and not a report on specific generations?

Regardless, how do we deal with the problem.

Preparation: Don’t allow yourself to think of youth as the happiest time.
One thing I think doesn’t help is the saying I’ve heard other people say to college students (not my parents, thankfully): “Enjoy yourself!  These are the best years of your life.”  That is, if you think of it, a horribly depressing view that dooms you to pine for your college years forever.

Duration: most bad times can be made worse by wallowing in misery.

There are people you meet who have suffered such loss that all you can do is keep quiet and weep with them.  But for the vast majority of us, we have plenty of blessings, but because a particular one was taken away or never given to us, we decide to ignore everything else and concentrate on mourning for what we don’t have.  As an initial response this may be appropriate, but why let what you can’t have take away what you do have?  Why not focus on the blessings that remain and enjoy them?

I used to think that “happiness is a choice.”  But that is simplistic.  Your emotions are reactions to reality–or they should be.  Happiness is hallucinatory if it is merely volitional.  But for most people, especially for contemporary Americans, there is some reason to be happy, and the choice is whether or not to focus on that reason.

War against Southern Bad Losers

Leave a reply

A lot of this is right and is worth considering in an environment of the typical “the government is always right” propaganda.

But it misses the point, I think, as to why many were motivated to go to war and why it should have been expected and even understood when the South attempted to secede.

That point that is missed?  Simple: When you try to take fold your hand and leave the table with your chips after you have already all displayed your cards and clearly seen that you just lost, then you are going to get shot at.

Southern politicians were not any less ambitious than the Northern politicians, nor were their ambitions any less national in scope.  They ran for office and voted in order to win the nation.  Only when they clearly lost did they decide to take from the pot and “peacefully” abandon the game.

I’m not saying that the Lincoln was right to do what he did.  I’m just saying it was understandable and predictable.  Legality never means much when it comes to national politics anyway.

Web Widget Wednesday (abbreviated): moneytrackin’

1 Reply

I am way busy getting the house ready for visitors, so WWW will have to be truncated.

I have loved moneytrackin’ for budgeting projects. I will eventually want something tied to my bank account, but for now this is just fine. The use of tags is really helpful.

My only advice would be to think of some overarching categories and distinguish them from other tags. I do this by capitalizing some words. See what works for you.

Getting Things Done with text files

Leave a reply

I don’t use a palm device, but I noticed this blogger uses his notepad. I think it is a good idea. I have a generic text file I keep in my dock to use as a scribble pad. I got the idea from a dashboard widget, but then realized that the dashboard is an evil invention of the devil.

So now I use my own “widget” using the dock properties.  A desktop shortcut would also work on both the Mac or the PC.

I plan to actually devote a folder to notes and then see if I can use the spotlight search feature within the folder to find what I need. I think you can do this on the PC as well.