Nate here.
The ranking of my favorite bands is such a hard thing to do, mainly because I enjoy so many. My qualifications for my Top 5 is that the band has to be one that I could listen to in most (if not all) situations. They are my “go to” bands when I am not sure what to listen to or don’t want to make a decision. In no specific order, my top 5 favorite bands are:
- Jack Johnson
- David Crowder
- Mae
- Explosions in the Sky
- Copeland
Filed under: Music Monday
Nate here.
You either love U2 or you hate U2. I am a U2 Fan. I only recently (past 2 years) became a U2 fan. This is a pretty cool thing because it is something that my new-found friend (since moving back to Newburgh), Braxton, and I have in common. If you missed the Grammy’s last night, U2 walked away for the first time without an award in hand.
I was going through my cd case that is in my truck last week and found something that I have been looking for for a while now . . . U2’s newest album, No Line On The Horizon! It made my day to find this great album again!!
If you are a U2 fan and have not checked out No Line On The Horizon you definitely should. If you are not a U2 fan, maybe you should reconsider?
Nate here.
Together for the Gospel recently took a tour of Al Mohler’s library and I was wondering if someday I could have a library like his? His is definatlely big. Big enough that he has different rooms in his library. I don’t have to have that many books but, I am definitely going to start having coffee beans in my library! Not only will it help keep my older books in good condition but when I start to get sleepy I can snack on a few!
Filed under: Forever Friends Friday, Friends, Trinity College of the Bible, marriage
Nate here.
Braxton and Sarah Hunter are an awesome couple! Time with them is always sweet, encouraging, fun and full of laughter. Han and I are truly blessed to have them as friends.
I met Braxton through Trinity where we work together in ministry. Braxton and Sarah also joined Riverwind Church, so we now get to see them on Sundays!
Braxton is one of the smartest men you will ever meet. He loves his wife and his daughter, Jolie, like Christ loves us. He is a spectacular public speaker and communicator of God’s Word, making it always a pleasure to hear him preach. Sarah, a great wife and homemaker, also loves Jolie and Braxton as Christ loves us. She is also a renown crocheter (see her works of art here). They are a huge example of what marriage and parenting is to be.
Han and I are grateful to spend time with them just because we are friends, but also to learn from them.
If you ever have the chance to meet them or hear Braxton preach, don’t miss it!
Filed under: Politics
Nate here.
With President Obama’s State of the Union Address, given on January 27, 2010, being the first State of the Union Address that I can remember watching I have a few not-so-serious observations to share. For a more serious analysis of President Obama’s Address, I recommend that you take a Slice of Polis.
- What a workout, with all that clapping, standing and sitting, for the Senators and distinguished guests.
- Is it acceptable for a President to wear a dress shirt in a color other than white?
- It was definitely enjoyable to watch Vice President Biden’s and Speaker of the House Pelosi’s facial expressions throughout the Address.
Nate here.
This quarter I am taking Pastoral Ministry class at Trinity. Through the online discussion, myself and another student have been talking back and forth for a few days now on the importance of marriage and family in the life and ministry of the pastor. My marriage is one thing that I cannot neglect while in ministry. I am thankful for this class in helping me to be reminded of this.
Derek Prime in On Being a Pastor: Understanding Our Calling and Work, writes, “If we neglect our families, we eventually undermine our entire pastoral and teaching ministry. Pastors’ families are the objects of special attack by the enemy of souls; if he can ruin our home life, he mars our total usefulness.”
Paul in the book of 1 Timothy 3:4-5, writes, “He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?”
Men: Loving our wives as Christ loves the church is of up most importance. Marriage is a picture of the Gospel. Period. What saddens me is the high number of marriages that are giving the world a twisted picture of the Gospel. Loving our wives as Christ loves us and them, is a hard thing to do. I have not been married as long as some of you but 8 months is long enough to know that living a life that sacrificially loves Han is hard, simply because of my own selfishness and sin.
Next time you read Ephesians 5:22-33, read the whole chapter. Paul begins chapter 5 by saying “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” We are all to be imitators of God because he loved us and gave himself up for us, we are to walk in love. Men, we are to walk in love as Christ loved us, imitating Him, as we love our wives.
Practically speaking I have learned a few things that help in learning how to best love our wives as Christ loves us.
1. Read books by godly men who love their wives and love the Gospel.
2. Spend time on a regular basis with such men.
3. Be constantly in God’s Word and in prayer personally and in prayer for your wife.
4. Talk to your wife. Though hard to do sometimes, and though it may seem silly, talking to our wives can be a lot of help in learning how to best love them. Asking our wives to help us love them is not a sign of weakness but of strength and leading in your marriage.
5. Date Night and time at home on the weekends are important. Time with our wives and family is important.
Filed under: Gospel
Nate here with exciting news!
I am over Strep-Throat! To all who have been praying for my recovery and healing thank you, and your prayers have been answered!
I am so thankful for modern medicine. God has healed my body of Strep Throat through the means of a shot and Amoxicillin.
Also, Han and I have found a great doctor here in Evansville. This is exciting because sometimes it is hard to find a good doctor that you like. Our doctor, Dr. Schultz, is a man who knows his medicine, but also a man of God, who does not back down from any opportunity to talk about Christ with his patients and people he works with in the doctors office. It is so encouraging to be around him because of this!
Nate & Han here.
C.S. Lewis, in a letter to Arthur Greeves on January 10, 1932 wrote, “I know well from experience that state of mind in which one wants immediate and certian pleasure from a book, for nothing – i.e. without paying the price of that slight persistence, that almost imperceptible tendency not to go on, which, to be honest, nearly always accompanies the reading of [a] good book. Not only accompanies by the way, but (do you agree) actually makes part of the pleasure.”
We are thankful for these words and the reminder, from Lewis, that part of the pleasure of reading a good book is the tendency not to finish. Reading a book to the end requires perseverance and habit. To finish a book in any sort of timely manner it must become part of our routine to sit down and read throughout the course of a day.
It will most certainly take habit and perseverance to finish our book lists for the year as we both lead a busy life (and as Nate has to read the same amount of books, if not more, for school).
Han
- Meditating on the Word by Bonhoeffer
- God, Marriage, and Family by Kostenberger
- Ann of Green Gables by Montgomery
- Shadow of the Almighty by Elliot
- Feminine Appeal by Mahaney
- Crazy Love by Chan
- Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by Piper
- The Pursuit of God by Tozer
- Sit,Walk,Stand by Nee
- Mere Christianity by Lewis
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by Lewis
- The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elliot
Nate
- The Pursuit of God by Tozer
- Forgotten God by Chan
- God, Marriage, and Family by Kostenberger
- Disciplines of a Godly Man by Hughes
- Sit,Walk,Stand by Nee
- Already Gone by Ham
- Elders&Leaders by Getz
- Weight of Glory by Lewis
- The Dark Tower & Other Short Stories by Lewis
- Everyday Theology by Vanhoozer
- The Christian Pastor by Oates
- Youth MINistry in Small Churches by Chromey
- David Coperfield by Dickens
Filed under: Uncategorized
Han here.
My first week as a member of the 5 o’clock club is now complete, and I am happy to say that I was able to participate every morning Mon-Friday. I have decided to not participate on Saturdays and Sundays since Nathan and I are both off work, and we can at least drink our coffee together for two days (that is if I can sleep in past 7 on Saturdays). It has been a bit of a transition to get up at 5am, but it has not been as difficult as I had expected. Every morning, I begin to hear my alarm singing from across the room after a little nudge from Nathan who is a lighter sleeper than I am. Once I hear it, I am up, not to return to bed again for any reason (this is what I tell myself so that I don’t just go back to sleep). My routine now goes something like this:
- Trip to the bathroom
- Start the coffee maker
- Drink a small glass of water and eat a Cutie (the orange) while waiting on the coffee (anybody else HAVE to have something to drink first thing in the morning?)
- Mug up and head to the seat on the couch closest to the space heater.
- I journal first to give me something with movement so my eyes don’t shut as soon as I start reading or praying.
- Keeping my journal open, I read from our ESV Study Bible (wedding gift, awesome!) and follow our family Bible reading plan that Nathan has found, writing down any verses for meditation or memorization as well as any thoughts or prayers from the passages.
- I read a chapter from Bonhoeffer’s Meditating on the Word, still with journal open.
- I write a list in my journal of any specifics that I am praying for that morning, and then usually need to stand up or move around at this point to keep the eyes from getting sleepy.
- I move somewhere different, whether it be a chair at the kitchen table or just something a little less cozy for some time in prayer.
- Then I continue onto shower and get ready for work, still praying.
I haven’t had a morning yet where I have missed my alarm or fallen back to sleep and I really hope to keep it that way, knowing that the first morning it happens will not be the last. My only frustration is that I keep falling asleep on the couch around 7:30 or 8pm, making my time with Nathan in the evenings shorter (I’m used to going to bed between 10 and 11). However, I think we can help this a little by having coffee after dinner. That way I can at least have time to watch a movie after dinner. I am thankful for my encouraging and understanding husband as I am adjusting to the different schedule, and I am praying that the Lord will continue to give me strength and endurance through the days. I have already noticed the difference in my attitudes throughout the day after spending the time with the Lord, and I am so thankful for what I am learning about discipline. I hope that I will continue to have good things to report to you for many weeks to come.
Nate here.
Sometimes I think about how I am only 23 and my whole life is ahead of me. This can be an overwhelming thought to think, wondering where I will be in 20 years, what life situations will have occurred to help make me the man that will be be then.
Is there a certain age people look back instead of forward and have similar thoughts about life? Instead of wondering there is reflecting?
