is this thing on?

anyone still reading this? just checking. if so, i might write something soon. maybe.

Jubilee...

Check out this blog...

I know I haven't posted in a really long time, but I thought this was definitely worth sharing. It's a blog entry posted by a man named Anthony Bradley, who spoke at Jubilee this past weekend. (Read the entry from February 17, 2008.) A quick excerpt:

"Many, many thanks to the Jubilee staff for putting on an amazing, visionary conference and for taking GREAT care of me! I was profoundly blessed by your hospitality and care. Thanks for letting me come! You guys are doing amazing work.

Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO)!! Wow, you're America's best kept college secret. What you're doing needs to be regionally multiplied across America, yesterday! The way you all partner with local churches is inspiring and represents mature, Biblical ecclesiology. I'm indebted and am committed to what you're doing..."

I'd love to tell you more about the conference... it went so well. I'm honored to be a part of this organization. Thanks, everyone, for your prayers.

i'm done!

well folks, i'm done with grad school! tonight i gave my final presentation, turned in my research paper, and walked off campus for the last time as a student. after 21 and a half years of formal schooling, i'm finished! (at least for now.) please enjoy this photo of me pretending to graduate lo, these seven months ago. but now it's for real.

hooray!

library update

"You did it! After hearing from more than 20,000 of us, the Bureau of Prisons has reversed its book banning policy. As they put it in an official statement:

In response to concerns expressed by members of several religious communities, the Bureau of Prisons has decided to alter its planned course of action with respect to the Chapel Library Project. The Bureau will begin immediately to return to chapel libraries materials that were removed...

We can't thank you enough for the crucial role you played in winning this exciting victory for federal prisoners and religious freedom. It couldn't have happened without you."

thanks, guys. well done.

Prison Libraries

i got an email this morning from a friend of mine that was disturbing to me. here's what it said:

Dear friend,

Imagine walking into your local library, planning to read a
theologian such as Reinhold Niebuhr or Karl Barth, or a popular
inspirational work, such as Rick Warren's _Purpose-Driven Life_
or Harold Kushner's _When Bad Things Happen to Good People_.

But instead of finding such important and popular titles, you
discover that the religion section had been decimated - stripped
of any book that did not appear on a government-approved list.

That's exactly what's happening right now to inmates in federal
prisons under a Bush administration policy. As _The New York
Times_ put it, "chaplains have been quietly carrying out a
systematic purge of religious books and materials that were once
available to prisoners in chapel libraries."

I've just sent a message to the Federal Bureau of Prisons
protesting this absurd policy. Will you join me?
Just click here:
http://go.sojo.net/campaign/prisonlibraries?rk=_dSEq5E1p0BpW

Do it.

it has a head!

hey, look! i'm not sure if this is petri or dish, but it looks like a baby! hooray! they're both in there, but this is the best picture, i think. and their little hearts are beating 170 times a minute. wonderful.

in other news, stuff is going well here. i started my new job a few months ago, and i really love it. i had a full day of supervision today at grove city, and i got to visit one of the students who was in my youth group at the church last year who is a first-year student there this fall. he's doing really well, and it was good to catch up.

my mother told me this weekend that my blog is boring, so i felt convicted again to update. i'm not entirely sure what to write about though... i'll tell you one thing i've been loving lately though is my new church. these last few weeks, i've been thinking a lot about it, and i've really been understanding the song of ascent in psalm 122, where it says, "i was glad when they said to me, 'let us go to the house of the LORD.'" the church i've been going to is in my neighborhood, and it is committed to two things: being centered on Christ, and on being intentionally cross-cultural. they (we?) really believe that Christ can unite us over all kinds of barriers, and even though sunday morning is the most segregated time of the week, that's not true at my church. it's a really beautiful picture of the Kingdom, and i love it.
well, that's it for now.

twincredible

so, great news! my older sister, sarah, is pregnant! and better news: it's twins! i'm so excited to be an aunt. and i'm going to be the best aunt ever. look at these babies! the first one is right before they were implanted, at two days after conception, and the second one was taken this week, at six weeks. look at them! if this were a video, you'd be able to see their hearts fluttering. they're about the size of raspberries right now, according to this website that tracks their progress. i'm so excited! be prepared for a lot of talk about Petri and Dish. i'll try to restrain myself from going overboard, but i can't make any promises.