StevenLaura

A golden sunrise over a sparkling layer of snow
A steely gray lake reflecting the turquoise sky
Family
Friends
1,000 memories with every mile traversed.
THIS is why I love my home state
THIS is why NC will never quite be home.

Singin' in the Kitchen
Apparently many of you, my faithful blog viewers, also enjoy Firefly. As such, I thought you’d appreciate this.

You know you’ve spent too much time watching Firefly reruns when, as making pumpkin pie you find yourself singing the theme song in your head (okay, that’s not TOO weird) and then find you’ve subconsciously changed the words and are now singing:

Take my love, take my land,
Take me where I cannot stand.
I don’t care, I’m still free
You can’t take this pie from me.

Moreover, you eye your housemates as if they truly ARE trying to take the pie from you, and you find comfort in knowing that, as the song says, they can’t this pie from you.

Not that I’m speaking from experience.

Steve, it fits you (all others, see below).
Alright, I just want to say to all of you out there who have not yet seen an episode of it, Firefly ROCKS!
Watch it. It is sci-fi meets the wild west in good script writing, great characters, and hillarious scenes.
I'm going to get through the season, and then watch Serenity (the movie that was based off of it).

Gotta Love the online Quizes!! So I guess this was not surprise. Though I do still have questions about this whole depravity thing.

You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists. Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 82% Neo orthodox 61% Reformed Evangelical 61% Fundamentalist 57% Roman Catholic 50% Classical Liberal 50% Emergent/Postmodern 43% Modern Liberal 39% Charismatic/Pentecostal 39% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

And John Wesley. I guess this might be a good description of me, I am not sure.

"What a mystery is this, that Christianity should have done so little good in the world! Can any account of this be given? Can any reasons be assigned for it?"

You are John Wesley! When things don't sit well with you, you make a big production and argue your way through everything. You complain a lot, but, at least you are a thinker and not afraid to show it. You are also pretty liked by people, and pretty methodological about your life and goals. You know where you're going. Some people find you irritating, so watch out for people leaving you out of things they do.

What theologian are you?

A creation of Henderson

Anselm. Interesting I guess. Maybe I should read some of this guy's stuff.

You scored as Anselm. Anselm is the outstanding theologian of the medieval period.He sees man's primary problem as having failed to render unto God what we owe him, so God becomes man in Christ and gives God what he is due. You should read 'Cur Deus Homo?' Anselm 87% Karl Barth 73% Martin Luther 53% John Calvin 53% Jonathan Edwards 53% Charles Finney 47% Friedrich Schleiermacher 47% J�rgen Moltmann 40% Augustine 40% Paul Tillich 20% Which theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

UltimateBrian?, I have a question for you. See here.

While we're at it, I just wanted to let you all know that I, the ex-Civics teacher, have

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Thank goodness, there is hope for our school children! (Or at least the 100 or so that I taught!)

You scored as Augustine. You have a big view of God and also take human sin and depravity very seriously. Predestination is important for you. Augustine 67% John Calvin 60% Anselm 60% Martin Luther 53% J�rgen Moltmann 47% Karl Barth 47% Friedrich Schleiermacher 33% Jonathan Edwards 27% Paul Tillich 20% Charles Finney 20% Which theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Okay, so they lied. I don't really take predestination all that seriously. I'm not even quite sure I know where I stand on that whole issue. So, I got Augustine! Yeah! But only to find out I'm not a good Augustinian.

Um, so anyone else think it weird that a man from North Africa is portrayed with a white beard, green eyes, and European facial-features? I mean, I could be wrong, I didn't live back then, but I've always pictured him less... White.

"It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he is."

You are Desiderius Erasmus! You have great love for others and will do just about anything to show it to them. You are tolerant and avoid confrontations, so people generally are drawn to you. You are more quiet and reserved in front of strangers, but around some people you open up. When things get tough, you like to meditate alone. Unfortunately you often get things like "what a pansy," or "you're such a liberal."

What theologian are you?
A creation of

And I am EQUALLY as proud of this:

Your Inner European is Swedish!

Relaxed and peaceful. You like to kick back and enjoy life.

I am so cool, k-o-o-l!

Although a small part of me wishes I was Norweigen... Swedish is close enough, I guess.

I am actually fairly proud of how this turned out:

Your Inner European is Irish!

Sprited and boisterous! You drink everyone under the table.

Although I have some real questions about this "drink everyone under the table" thing. Does that mean tea? I do drink a fair bit of water, and Laura and I consume about a gallon and a half of apple juice a week, but somehow I don't think that counts.

I walked the path through the grove of woods that separates my work from the bus stop. The sun was begining to set. Someone was burning leaves. A colorful tapestry of reds, oranges and browns crackled beneath my feet. It took me back to Shamineau, to my Fall Fling days. Some of my happiest moments were at camp. Yet, something was different. The colorful ceiling of leaves, the sun setting, the smell, the time of year, all these were the same.

But the temperature was 80.
Not 55.

Glorious.

Ah, to live in NC!


Note: I also realized today that I have been taking the bus to work for the last three months, and have not once been waiting for the bus in the rain. I only recall one day where it looked like it might rain. What are the odds?

MMM... Fall.
I love fall.
Here's the Duke Chapel, located close to our church.

Not a glorious picture of autumn, but (shrugs) hey, it's Duke. What do you expect? They couldn't even make it to the final four. ("Quick!" Laura thinks, "Get the taunts in NOW before they slaughter us this year.")

So... A shout out to Neal for poppin' the question (and hearing "yes" as an answer!) Marriage is a very good thing. The best thing I ever did. Congrats!

A shout out to Elise as well, for hearing a similar question (from a different guy) and also saying yes. (Also last weekend, from what I can tell.)

And, while shouting out, a shout out to Josh and Kat for your upcoming (two weeks! Yikes!) wedding.

That means that, within a year, I'll be in touch with more married Bethel folk than unmarried.

A bit scary.

I charge y'all with the following challenge: positively reverse the Bethel divorce statistic. We sure are doing our part!