Good Day!

Today was a really good day.

I've had this song on repeat the past two nights, and it's finally starting to sink in. God has made me a new creation, and though I've known that for a long time, my heart is just now starting to rejoice in the understanding of it.

Today I started a sprint through the Bible. Reading about 14 chapters a day, I should finish the whole Bible cover to cover, in the next 90 days. The plan is found here, though I'm tweaking it a little because I'd much rather read another ten verses than split up the middle of a passage. It's one of those context things that bugs me... But I'm really excited to get an overview of The Story quickly - and to focus on the context of the whole Gospel.

And last and regrettably least by eternal standards, today was Opening Day for the 2011 Defending American League Champion Texas Rangers. I couldn't have been more excited. It was a great game, with our offense finally showing back up and a win of 9-5 over the Boston Red Sox. And after Borbon's error in the first play of the game, it was fitting that David Murphy pinch hit and broke the tie with a two-run double. I was happy.

Thank you Lord for your faithfulness and days that are just plain fun!

Mid-Summer Classics

This week saw the 79th Midsummer Classic All-Star game, held in historic Yankee Stadium for the final time. As the most loyal fan of my Texas Rangers, I would like to point out that five time All-Star and Rangers' captain Michael Young had the game winning RBI. Josh Hamiliton smashed the previous record in the Home Run Derby, once again using the opportunity of a national audience to boldly proclaim how God has redeemed and transformed his life. I was proud and grateful to be a hometown Rangers fan.

I'm about at the midway point in my summer, so I thought I would evaluate. The main goals I have are to rehabiliate my leg, read a lot of books, and rest and prep for the coming hectic year. I've been careful to rest and help my leg, which has led to less activity in other areas. I haven't read as many books as I would have liked by now, but I've been steadily working on that in the past week especially.

In late May I made the goal of reading at least twenty (20) non-fiction information books this summer, and I put together a list of some 20+ that I wanted to read. They aren't in any particular order, and I really tried to mix history, science, philosophy, and theology. Here you go:

John Adams by David McCullough
Living as if Heaven Matters by David Shibley
Healing by Francis MacNutt
Politically Incorrect Guide (PIG) English/American Lit by Kantor
PIG American History by Woods
PIG The South by Johnston
PIG Science by Bethell
PIG Islam and Crusades by Spencer
PIG Global Warming/ Environmentalism by Horner
Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton
Sound Reinforcement Handbook by Davis and Jones
How Then Shall We Live? by Francis Schaeffer
The God Who Is There by Francis Schaeffer
God Is There and He is Not Silent by Francis Schaeffer
The Christian In Armor by Gurnall
Ten Books That Screwed Up The World by Benjamin Wiker
The Book That Transforms Nations by Loren Cunningham
The Call by Os Guiness
The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis
Love the Lord With All Your Mind by JP Moreland
A Really Inconvenient Truth by Iain Murray
Let The Nations Be Glad by John Piper
Knowing God by J.I. Packer
Driven By Eternity by John Bevere

So I've completed one on the list, am in process of two more, and have read a couple others not originally listed: The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell (an fascinating look at the New Age philosophy directly influencing much of the media today, including Bill Moyers and George Lucas), Culture Shift by Albert Mohler (a book of essays on various issues today) and What's The Difference? by John Piper (a short, insightful look at biblical manhood and womanhood).

I've got a lot of reading to do!