A song I've liked for a while, and that I just found on YouTube.

Reading, always reading.

I have the privilege of being paid to read a lot, being an English teacher and all. Some of what I read ends up being just plain work, but much of it stays very enjoyable. I have lately had the blessing of reading several things that are making me think in some good ways. Here are the books:
1. Ephesians, and several commentaries on the epistle, all for our Bible study.
2. Holiness, by J.C. Ryle (yes, I will be finishing this soon). This has been one of the best Christian books I have read to date.
3. William Carey by S. Pearce Carey.
4. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (for my 9th graders) - I love this book.
5. Paradise Lost by John Milton (for my 12th graders) - also one of the best things I have ever read. This work gets better and better every time I come to it.
6. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. My wife and I just recently had the privelege to have Mr. Bradbury come to our library and speak, which inspired me to read more of his works. I had only previously read Fahrenheit 451, but now I'm finding I enjoy his writing more and more.

"When we were young the future was so bright..." The Offspring

I read an intriguing article today (link below), that made some very interesting observations about America's younger generations.  The article comments on Mark Bauerlein's book The Dumbest Generation, which asserts that the younger American generations are putting the future of their culture, and their own experience as human beings at great risk as they embrace a self-focused mindset and therefore stop pursuing education with a view of life that is bigger than themselves.  

As a high school English teacher I am constantly bombarded with very negative feelings from my students about reading old books, and about learning in general.  American children, all the way up to college students and some young adults seem to be under the spell of a cultural movement that exalts self-gratification; this leads them away from things like reading for pleasure, or studying for the sake of understanding God, themselves, humankind, the world around them, or anything else of cultural value.

In French-Canadian filmmaker Denys Arcand’s 1986 movie “Le Déclin de l’Empire Américain” (“The Decline of the American Empire”), a professor observes that throughout history the decline of an empire is always preceded by its citizenry’s preoccupation with self-gratification. Emory University English professor Mark Bauerlein makes a similar argument in his new book, The Dumbest Generation. He feels that the millennial generation places an extraordinary emphasis on personal happiness and, thanks to the technological advancements of the day, enjoys unprecedented peer contact and access to entertainment. “Instead of opening young American minds to the stores of civilization and science and politics, technology has contracted their horizon to themselves, to the social scene around them,” Bauerlein writes. As a result, the millennials are at risk of losing the “great American heritage, forever.”

Go here to read the whole article from American.com.  

I am not sure how to combat this way of thinking.  It is saddening to a certain degree; but it can certainly also serve as an inspiration to those who would write to add to our ongoing cultural experience and conversation, or who would encourage others to go to books to seek out the deeper and more rewarding things of life.

"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture.  Just get people to stop reading them."  

~ Ray Bradbury 

Handel's "Messiah"

Go here to listen to Handel's Messiah on NPR.org. Everyone should listen to this around Christmastime.

Holiness - Part 3 (Merry Christmas Eve!)

I am still plugging away through Holiness, and the book is definitely becoming one of my all-time-favorites.  It's a book that you don't want to read through too quickly because you want to savor the journey and saturate your mind with as much of it as possible; I know there will be still more to be gained from this book once I finish, so at some point in time a second reading will definitely be in order.

Again, the main premise of the book is this: modern Christianity is very weak and tepid (at least in more Westernized cultures), and a great reason behind this lukewarming of Christendom is the lack of fervor in the fight for holiness.  

Two nights ago I finished the chapter dealing with assurance.  Ryle makes the claim that assurance of faith in the life of the Christian is very much to be desired, and cannot occur as it should if one is not fighting to leave behind every sin.

Now assurance goes far to set a child of God free from this painful kind of bondage (doubt and the resulting pains), and thus ministers mightily to his comfort.  It enables him to feel that the great business of life is a settled business, the great debt a paid debt, the great disease a healed disease, and the great work a finished work; and all other business, diseases, debts and works are then by comparison small.  In this way assurance makes him patient in tribulation, calm under bereavements, unmoved in sorrow, not afraid of evil tidings, in every condition content, for it gives him a fixedness of heart.  It sweetens his bitter cups; it lessens the burden of his crosses; it smooths the rough places over which he travels; it lightens the valley of the shadow of death.  It makes him always feel that he has something solid beneath his feet and something firm under his hands - a sure friend by the way, and a sure home at the end.

From chapter 7.

Advent - part 2.

My wife and I kept our Advent observances tonight - the theme was the birth of the Messiah.  This is a good year for Christmas - there's lots to think about and lots to do, but God is gracious in granting us a good deal of focus and perspective about the Christmas season.  I feel like our mindset is truly on Christ, and that's when the season becomes really great.  Nothing can give you an empty feeling like Christmas lights and Christmas trees when your sentiments are all misplaced.  

Tonight's Advent Scripture readings:

Isaiah 49:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-2:7

Advent.

Hi friends,

my wife and I began our second year of celebrating Advent tonight.  My wife did this with her family when she was younger, and we are carrying the tradition into our own family.  I love Christmas, but I often get frustrated (sometimes overly so) with the materialism and commercialism of the holiday.  Compare me to Charlie Brown all you want, but I will stand firm on my beliefs about Christmas; I will most-likely blog some thoughts about this in the near future.

When my wife and I have kids, I really do want them to grow up with a love for tradition, even though traditions can become a stumbling block when viewed incorrectly.  Warm, robust, rich-with-meaning, biblically grounded traditions should be a joy to celebrate and follow.  Forgive me for using Wikipedia, but here is a brief definition of Advent in case you were wondering about it.

Advent (from the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming") is a season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus, in other words, the period immediately before Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western Christian year and commences on Advent Sunday. The Eastern churches begin the liturgical year on 1 September. The Eastern Christian equivalent of Advent is called the Nativity Fast but it differs both in length and observances.
The progression of the season may be marked with an Advent calendar, a practice introduced by German Lutherans. At least in the Roman Catholic calendar, Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before December 25; in other words, the Sunday between November 27 and December 3 inclusive.
Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the Second Coming. Christians believe that the season of Advent serves a dual reminder of the original waiting that was done by theHebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting that Christians today endure as they await the second coming of Christ.

First Sunday of Advent - Scripture readings:

Isaiah 1:1-20; Isaiah 9: 1-7