I don’t really know what to write about these days, so I thought I’d make a list of some of my favorite apps on my iPod Touch!

Games:
- Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor
- DoodleJump (of course)
- Angry Birds
- Manic Mail
- Leap Sheep!
- Fruit Ninja
- PuzzleQuest
- Castle Smasher
Utilities:
- Feeds (RSS reader)
- TweetDeck (for Twitter!)
- Bible NASB
- Dropbox
Other:
- Brushes
- Pianist

I can’t wait until the new iPod Touch comes out so I can use some camera-related apps too. Um…what else? I was messing around with Photoshop the other day and made the picture below. I like it cause it’s old school!

I have a huge stack of books to read, including a biography of Charles Spurgeon by Arnold Dallimore, “The Essence of the Reformation” by Kirsten Birkett, “The Bruised Reed” by Richard Sibbes, “Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong” by John MacArthur and “Coming to Grips with Genesis: Biblical Authority and the Age of the Earth” by Terry Mortenson. So…maybe I should get off the computer and start on that! Peace out.

Puppy eyes, originally uploaded by nebraska_becky.

Exactly one week ago, I got a dog! Meet Daisy, the laziest, most lackadaisical dog you’ll ever know. Her favorite activities include being petted, sleeping, sniffing around outside, sleeping, and sleeping. She loves to cuddle, too.

She has a very sweet, calm disposition. She’ll even let me hold her paws and look at her ears and teeth without pitching a fit.

I know it’s been a really long time since I’ve written. It took me awhile to remove some dangerous links that hackers put on the site (you probably noticed the Google malware warning). The problem is fixed now, and hopefully it won’t happen again!

God has really been doing some great things in my life lately. I had a blessed time with my mom when she came to visit a few weeks ago, although I wish she could have stayed longer. I’m all moved in to my rental house, thanks to my friends and church family! God has graciously provided me with a job for the next two months in the Education department, doing things like filing and copying. I already can’t wait until August, though. Anyway, that’s all for now…as usual, I’ll try to update more often!

So, one of my favorite bloggers, Tim Challies, has begun a new book in his “Reading the Classics Together” series. The book is The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes and since I have about seven or eight other books waiting to be read I thought, why not begin a new one? It would be financially irresponsible for me to order a copy of the book at this time (mostly because I would be tempted to spend the full $25 at Monergism books in order to get free shipping, when in reality The Bruised Reed only costs about $5…) so I will be reading it online right here.

I just read Chapter 1 and have been thinking about how it relates to my life. Specifically, I have been thinking about the following quote: “After conversion we need bruising so that reeds may know themselves to be reeds, and not oaks… …Hence we learn that we must not pass too harsh judgment upon ourselves or others when God exercises us with bruising upon bruising. There must be a conformity to our head, Christ, who `was bruised for us’ (Isa. 53:5) that we may know how much we are bound unto him.”

Now, I am the sort of person that is predisposed to being melancholy (I’m sure this blog has more than reflected that over the years). Lately I have been very troubled over how often I fail in my battle against sin & temptation…to the point where I just want to lay down and give up. I see the same patterns of sinful thoughts & behavior in my life over and over again and it’s as if I’m helpless to prevent it, but instead must watch it run its sad course. I long for heaven just to be free of my stupid self. When I think of what Sibbes is saying, though, I feel encouraged. Maybe it’s hard for me to detect any improvements in my character since I’ve been saved simply because my sensitivity toward sin has likewise improved. Perhaps through all these low points, all these bruisings, I really am being changed somehow, and being conformed to Christ. Even if I can’t see it myself.

All I know is that I must keep growing. The Christian life is one of continual growth, and there is no such thing as standing still. You’re either growing, or you’re backsliding. So we have a choice: either to keep learning and being changed, or to resist the bruisings and thus hinder ourselves from glorifying God, and enjoying God’s many gifts for those who believe.

I am currently reading Vance Christie’s wonderful biography of David Brainerd entitled David Brainerd: A Flame for God. Although I’m not yet halfway through it, several things have stood out to me about this famous missionary that I would like to share.

1. Brainerd delighted to spend time alone with God. Sometimes he would spend the better part of a day in fasting and prayer and other times he would spend hours engaging in “secret duties” which included prayer, study, meditation and reflection on Scripture. When his circumstances hindered him from these activities (such as when he was traveling), he would become very distressed and longed to spend more time with God.

2. Brainerd kept his mind on heavenly things, not earthly things. God blessed David Brainerd with a desire to focus wholly on Him. He was not interested in things of the world, but desired to give himself completely to the work of the Lord. When he was visited by two very ungodly men, he couldn’t stand to listen to their talk of earthly or secular things…things that were likely crude & not at all God-honoring. His soul mourned for these men because of the things he heard. (I wish my ears were that sensitive!) Finally, Brainerd never appeared to be interested in marriage, and God prepared him to serve in his singleness.

3. Brainerd longed for eternity. Although only in his twenties, Brainerd often longed to be reunited with Christ. At times when he fell ill he was nearly excited at the prospect of death. Here was a man who spoke again and again in his diary about his convictions of his vileness and unworthiness as a human being. It was obvious that he longed to experience final relief from sin and complete conformity to Jesus Christ. It is interesting, then, that God chose to bring him home only a few years later and before his thirtieth birthday.

Anyway, that’s just what I’ve gleaned so far and I’m definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the story!

I’m blogging from my kitchen on my iPod Touch, which is a first for me. The subject of this mini post is political correctness; specifically, I would like to briefly address the incredibly sexist (and not to mention crude & deragatory) term “cat lady.” There are several things wrong with this term from a politically correct standpoint, the first and most obvious being the clear & hateful exclusion of men from this important socio-economic group. Where are the cat men? Why is it only acceptable for women to smother their feelings of loneliness, despair and inadequacy in the gentle purring of ten to forty cats? Which brings up another issue: the name is inherently numeracist. It is always assumed that a cat man or woman owns multiple felines; however, some aspiring cat persons can only afford one cat. Just because they can only manage to fill a tiny cat-shaped hole in their companionship-starved hearts doesn’t make them deserving of our scorn. Finally, the term “lady” is obviously ageist. What about the millions of young high school & college men and women who know deep down that they will be alone for the rest of their lives and simply want to get a start on the joys of cat ownership? They should have the freedom to be lonely and pathetic in whatever way they see fit.

So what, then? This is clearly an injustice. The first step is to change the language, to raise awareness. I’m counting on you to help me do that. Now, I’ve heard that there are some folks who own multiple dogs as significant-other-replacements. We may want to consider welcoming them into our realm of pathetic pet ownership. [Disclaimer: I don't own a cat or dog...yet. Just give it time...]

Lately I’ve been doing some thinking about prayer. Prayer is something that I struggle with; specifically, I have difficulty setting up regular prayer times, remembering to thank God before meals, and praying out loud in front of others. I have been reading a book called A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers by D.A. Carson. In this book, Carson examines several of Paul’s prayers (especially to the Thessalonians, and Philippians), calling attention to the main foci of each prayer. What is Paul praying for? For whom? Why is this important? How does praying for it glorify God? Anyway, I’m finding it very useful & it even inspired me to start a prayer journal. Now I have in my possession, written down, the things I ought to pray for. I am utterly without excuse for my prayerlessness. And yet I continue to slack off in this important area of Christian life.

Maybe you don’t have a problem remembering to pray at some point in the day like I do, but I bet you’ve found yourself guilty of the following:
Person A: “I’ve really been struggling with [insert struggle]” or “My mother is in the hospital…” or “Pray that I will travel there safely.”
Person B: “Sure, I’ll keep you in my prayers.”

Now, say you’re Person B. Do you really remember to pray for Person A? How often is the phrase “I’ll keep you in my prayers” or “I’m praying for you!” a lie? (even when said with the best of intentions!) What if we actually remembered to pray for each other? I think that it would cause us to grow in love for one another, to focus less on ourselves and to rely more heavily on God. I would like to make it so that I never utter that phrase (“I’ll keep you in my prayers”) unless I truly mean to do it…perhaps even right there in the moment, if I think I’m going to forget. I encourage you to do so too, because it doesn’t do anyone any good to leave so many prayers unprayed.