countdowns!

Countdown 1 - On Wednesday it will be two months until Brooke's due date. That means in 64 days (give or take) our lives will be radically changed, flipped upside down, and immeasurably blessed by the arrival of our first child. 64 days!!! Exciting, yes. Makes me sometimes feel like I'm gonna puke because of fear and trepidation, yes. All in all though I'm just curious to meet our child and see what he/she is like (no, we're still not telling) and I think by that time Brooke will just be ready to not be pregnant anymore.

Countdown 2 - As we were getting ready for church this morning Brooke pointed out that four months from today we will be boarding a plane bound for Auckland. That means in 122 days our lives will once again be radically changed, flipped upside down, and immeasurably blessed by this new phase of life that God is calling us into. We are a bit overwhelmed by all that needs to and will take place in the next 122 days (did I mention we're having a child somewhere in that time period!). Leaving our homeland will not be easy and our adjustment to living permanently in a new culture will be bumpy I'm sure. However, I am very eager to get back to Auckland and begin the work that we've been called to do. I'm excited to see what God has in store and what he plans to do in and through his people there. While we have more questions than answers at this point we fortunately know and are known by the one who has the answers and who lovingly holds us secure in the palm of his hand.

palin/clinton open

This video is destined to be a classic SNL moment. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are brilliant comediennes but seeing them take on these two persona's side by side is amazing. There were already over 4,000,000 views of this video on the SNL site alone. Enjoy.

political generic-off

Jon Stewart knocks this one out of the park as he points out the inane nature of our political discourse. What I appreciate about Stewart is that, while he obviously leans and thinks left, he has no problem critiquing the left as well as the right. It amazes me that people still think Obama is representing a "change" in politics. If you listen to his propaganda or pay attention to his record he is as much "more of the same" as the Republican candidate. It saddens me that our system has left us with two poor choices for the next President.

it's a good thing i enjoy it

Here's a partial list of the fall reading and re-reading I'll be doing:

  

The Power of Team Leadership - George Barna

Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices - Thomas Brooks

Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor - D.A. Carson

Urban Ministry - Harvey Conn & Manuel Ortiz

A Guide to New Religious Movements - Ronald Enroth

The Christian in Complete Armour - William Gurnall

Encountering New Religious Movements - Irving Hexham, Stephen Rost, & John Morehead II

Incarnational Ministry - Paul G. Hiebert & Eloise Hiebert Meneses

The City: A Global History - Joel Kotkin

The Kingdom of the Cults - Walter Martin

Why Men Hate Going to Church - David Murrow

The Missional Leader - Alan J. Roxburgh & Fred Romanuk

The Mission of God - Christopher J.H. Wright

Evil and the Justice of God - N.T. Wright

Some of this is for my continued preparation for church planting, some is in preparation for a Sunday school class I'm doing over the next few months, some is for a class I'll be teaching next year at Grace Theological College, some is for two classes I'm taking towards my ThM, one is a new book for a class I'm TA'ing for, and a few are just for personal edification.  This is all supplemented of course by occasional snippets from, "What to Expect When You're Expecting." The good news is that, in addition to actually enjoying it, I've created a fairly comfortable office for myself in our apartment where I can do all this reading.  

WE'VE GOT TICKETS!!!

Yes, you read that correctly.  We finally have our return tickets to New Zealand!  We will be departing from St. Louis late in the afternoon on January 28, 2009.  When that day comes it will have been 2 years, 1 month, and 18 days since we came back to the States.  It has been a long wait as we've been raising support for the work we'll be doing in Auckland and we have a bit of a wait left, but we are thankful that we finally have a return date on the calendar.  There are a lot of things that need to take place before we fly out like getting our visas, raising the remaining 9% of our support, and Brooke needs to give birth to our child (so just a few minor things you know).  While these major things still need to take place the fact that we finally have tickets and a firm return date is cause for much rejoicing and celebration in the Scott household.