1. They say it takes 21 days to make a good habit.

2. I don’t know who “they” is but I’ve heard that a lot, so it must be true.

3. I’ve been blogging for 34 days straight now.

4. I’m considering my next steps after graduation. I’m thinking about getting a Doctorate in human sexual ethics. Any suggestions on where?

5. I want to write on how the image of God is reflected in our culture especially familial and marriage relationships in the sexual culture.

6. I want to write works that help shape our world. I desire for a civil dialog that looks more like the image of the Kingdom of God. I hope that my children and theirs will inherit a more perfect world than the current one.

7. I want to write works that last. I want to be a writer that writes well with wit. I’ve been getting more interaction on my blog lately but I am not sure if I am accomplishing my goals. What do you think?

Bonus question: How do you like the picture I went with for the front page of my aside on willadair.com?
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1. Saw on Reddit a WND article questioning the meaning of African-American.

2. First I’m amazed a World Net Daily article was on the front page of Reddit.

3. Where has our society got when we have to play semantic games and not address the real issue of ethnicity in America?

4. Why is achievement for blacks in America celebrated one day of the year instead of every day of the year?

5. In regards to the WND article. There was a South African white kid that moves to America. In his new school, they have a Martin Luther King Day with a award to go to the most Achieving African American student voted on by the student body. He was told he could not participate by entering the contest. He practiced civil disobedience by handing out flyers asking for people to vote for him in the next years election. He was suspended according to the principal for it being “offensive to the individual being honored.” Somehow I don’t see any part of this actually honoring the legacy of Dr. King.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

6. Has our society began to live up yet to this dream?

7. I was nine when I first discovered a biography on Martin Luther King Jr. in the library. I read it like 10 times the first week I had it. He changed my life. He showed me one of the ways that Jesus is changing the world.

8. I had two friends in high school that were both from Africa. Paul was born in Africa to American missionaries. His skin was white. My other friend, Ibrahim had black skin. You know what made them different? One was taller than the other and was the better basketball player. The tall guy happened to be the white one.

9. I now have comment karma of 201 on http://willadair.com/?p=68978 Continue reading →]]> Surprise presentations, bible memorization, and a groundhog named Phil.

1. I gave a presentation tonight that I volunteered for two hours before I gave it.

2. I shared in part the founders story and then told people how they could volunteer.

3. Telling someone else’s story is not easy.

4. It is easier if you make it your own story as well as theirs.

5. There is a Gospel parallel somewhere in there.

6. Both are hard to do faithfully to the original story. I hope one day that I can do both faithfully and well.

7. I’ve decided that is time to get serious about memorizing scripture. I downloaded the Bible Fighter Verses Memory App.

8. I’ll soon be ready for the UFC cage match.

9. Maybe not so much on 8.

10. My day started at 6:00 am and has finally quieted down at 9:31 P.M. “Golden is silence.” – Yoda.

Bonus: Old post on Groundhog Day. Apparently Punxsutawney Phil stated there is going to be six more weeks of winter. It was 70 today here in the Wilmington area.

image credits

I’ve been having a hard time trying to do the current billboard campaign for my Church. I did my first billboard back in 2007. That local church is no longer in existence. I’m a bit scared that I’m going to mulligan the current job. I’m also reassuring myself that ultimately it isn’t about my work. Anyway what do you think?

Currently I’m working with two similar designs. One with the building we are going to use. The other with people.

or

Anyway what do you think?

1. My former professor said in his social media feeds:

“The current trend in Southern Baptist life to imitate the Reformed movement is a major step backwards & must be resisted.” Paige Patterson”

I said in his feed, I thought Patterson meant to say “step forwards & must be celebrated.”

2. I am amazed that I say so much less in public by trying to practice a gracious faith. I do not always succeed.

3. Is laying down the law ever an act of grace?

4. Sometimes we say more when we say less. Do you find this to be true?

5. I wonder what Reformed theology is in most people’s minds.

6. Why is Reformed theology so scary to some Christians?

7. Why is Reformed theology not known for humility by those who associate with it?

8. Is it just me or is it funny seeing 21st c Presbyterians quote 19th century Baptist that quote 16th century Reformed theology?

9. I don’t want to do my taxes this weekend. I don’t want the government keeping my money even more.

10. Can you believe January and the first month of the year is over?

Bonus. Did you know that Abraham Lincoln would say “and I quote” and then just make something up? People listened because it was being quoted.

1. Today I deposited my first church paycheck in over three years. It was awesome.

2. Finishing a month in the black is awesome to.

3. I helped set up and found a host for a friend in Jinja Uganda who is helping kids in Uganda at the Afaayo Foundation.

4. I love spending time with my wife.

5. We watched Chuck together. We watched the last one last Friday. We watched the first one together tonight. I started in season 3 and she started in season 4. We are now going to fill in the gaps.

6. Watching a show out of chronological order is kind of like reading Revelation in the Bible. You know how it ends but not all the parts that lead up to it.

7. The Lamb Wins.

8. Linear is slow. Wouldn’t it be fun to live life outside of it’s proper chronology?

9. Disregard all the tragic stories from 8 where that went horrible wrong.

10. Why did Murphy dislike Mondays so much to create Murphy’s Law?

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESV)

Praying for my friend Jay’s marriage.

image credits: Trevor Morris Photography

1. Confession technically, I’m writing this on Sunday not Saturday, but being my blog I think it’s okay.

2. I was super grouchy for most of my Saturday. Part of it was that I was super tense. Part of it is a friend of mine is going through a terrible personal matter and my heart breaks for the guy. Could you pray for Jay and his family?

3. Sometimes, maybe most of the times, It is better to listen than to speak. I am so learning this lesson.

4. My wife and I hosted our family for dinner. Liv cooked a incredibly good chicken parmesan. My brother in laws daughter was sitting up on her own, she is a little cutey.

5. One thing, amongst many, that I’m asking God is what he wants me to do in my life. I’m learning that listening is perhaps the greatest thing that we humans have to learn to do. Read James 1:19, seems to be a universal issue.

6. Children do not listen naturally, perhaps one of childish things we should put away is our self absorption and learn to listen to others.

7. Apparently Grouch is not spelled Groche. Where’s autocorrect when you need it? Can we pretend that is the French spelling?

8. I started work on a swingset for our kids. Pray for perseverance for this saint.

9. I’m amazed out how bent out of shape we can get over little things. The three foot bolt that only went half in that is bent, so far, made me want to scream. I didn’t but I wanted to, I was afraid if I did scream it would freak out the neighbors.

10. My 2 year old son pulled down his pants to go potty in front of his grandparents. I don’t think I’ve heard my father in law laugh that hard before.

1. I am about to turn 32 in less than a month. A young man who is 22 has gone viral speaking on subjects like religion, fantasy, sex, and marriage. I’m glad God in his mercy has not let that happen to me. Should we encourage young men to take global stages to share their faith?

2. Young men pontificate on what older men meditate on. This is a lesson that I am learning and taking to heart.

3. My daughter told me we could order something on amazone. She insist that is how it is said.

4. I have looked for a week for my Adobe Photoshop install disc. Spent half a day retrieving a serial (yes legally) and getting it to work, which it didn’t want to. I couldn’t find the disc to save my neck. I just found it in the couch cushions.

5. Today I designed an insert that is going to in to every Chick-fil-A in Wilmington. I was told as a kid that doing art was a waste of time.
What do you think about the insert?

6. I know someone that today cleaned their office and found junk mail from the 1980s. Yet people joke about my office. All my unopened junk mail is at least from this decade.

7. I’m listening to Mumford and Sons radio station on Pandora and all it seems to play is Dashboard Confessional. I wonder if I can Mumford if I created a Dashboard station?

8. I just saw my wife’s Facebook status. It is “Eila just ran upstairs to get back in bed singing “dum, dum, dum…another one bites the dust…” Train a child in the way they shall go…

9. Twitter will not let me sign in to their service with their app. How weird is that?

10. I can’t think of Friday now without hearing this.

image credits

1. I’ve been reading the Elephant Girl: a human story, a novel by Jane Devin. It is about a girl who was abused and now one stood in the gap for her. My first thought while reading was where was the Church?

2. I’m glad I work at the Yahweh Center. It helps kids 5 to 12 not have to write stories like Jane Devin. I work as their IT department. It isn’t directly working with kids but I’m really blessed to use my skills to indirectly work there.

3. I’ve been thinking about Paul analogy that the Church is like a body. Cue Casting Crowns.

4. Why is it that whenever I hear Casting Crowns, I think of Third Day? On a aside, how awesome would it be if Green Day became were Christians?

5. No body wants to be the support system but a body dies without it. God reminds me that every time something gets broke at work.

6. How do people with advanced degrees that cost 40K break a printer by getting out a paper jam exactly 1 month after the warranty dies?

7. If the Church is the body that means it has two hands, feet, ears, nostrils, and eyes but only one mouth. So why does it make sound outside of where it is suppose to?

8. I wonder if Paul was thinking about including a section on who makes up the excretory system in the Church but left it out?

9. We had a potluck at work. I’ve worked at the Yahweh Center for like five years. This is the first year where there where more than two guys working in my building which was awesome. We talked about men’s things. I had forgot what that was like at work. I now have people to share the joy of bacon with at work.

10. The potlucks are going to be monthly. How awesome is that?

11. Today I learned that you can wrap bacon around green beans. Where has that been all my life?

12. I recorded my pastor today talking about our new church plant.

13. As a bonus, I got my first check for working in pastoral ministry again. It’s been three years. I kind of am in awe that God is using me, again. I’m a pastor to families and children.

14. I’m starting back on P90X tomorrow morning. My foot has healed so I’ve ran out of excuses.