1. Kerry isn’t president.
2. All the leaks in our house can be fixed in 15 minutes for about $5.
3. We got a call from a potential midwife, and she’s from Spokane.
4. People are getting more freedom in Iraq.
5. I live in a multiracial town.
6. That we have a generation of young people that we can influence with the Gospel.
7. A lot of people don’t take Michael Moore seriously.
8. While the influence of postmodernism seems greatly exaggerated, and it’s in its baby stages, it’s already making an impact for those that have worked their way through modernism.
9. No matter how unfaithful we are, Jesus is the Faithful One.
10. No matter how poorly we show it, Christ has made all things new.
11. We have great friends everywhere.
12. I had a great conversation about trusting God when you think you’ll never get pregnant.
13. I have a baby on the way!
14. People pray for us.
15. Encouraging emails.
16. I have someone else in my life to love and protect.
17. I made a great King Ranch Chicken Casserole today.
18. Coupons.
19. There is still vestigial morality in America.
20. I’m not arrested for preaching the gospel.
21. I get paid to help people.
22. I have great health insurance.
23. And retirement benefits.
24. We have the money to make all the needed improvements in our home.
25. I have a lot of books.
26. My biggest enemies are anonymous blogposters.
27. Jesus died for me
28. No more late fees!
29. Nathan Blevins
30. Great family.
31. Great in-laws.
32. Forrest and Rebekah
33. I’m an uncle.
34. Ryan and Taneisha
35. The weather is nice.
36. I have a beard.
37. I’m not dead yet.
38. I’m trying to hurry this list up because my wife is here to pick me up.
39. I get enough sleep.
40. I get more than enough food.

I have no doubt that he alludes, at least, to baptism, and even I will not object to have this passage expounded as relating to baptism; not that salvation is contained in the outward symbol of water, but because baptism tells to us the salvation obtained by Christ. Paul treats of the exhibition of the grace of God, which, we have said, has been made by faith. Since therefore a part of revelation consists in baptism, that is, so far as it is intended to confirm our faith, he properly makes mention of it. Besides, baptism — being the entrance into the Church and the symbol of our ingrafting into Christ — is here appropriately introduced by Paul, when he intends to shew in what manner the grace of God appeared to us; so that the strain of the passage runs thus: — “God hath saved us by his mercy, the symbol and pledge of which he gave in baptism, by admitting us into his Church, and ingrafting us into the body of his Son.”

I’m obviously not Reformed. I was surfing through blogs, and it seems like beer, cigars, and the CSA kept popping up on Reformed blogs. I really have no interest in any of those things. I don’t smoke. I have an occasional Smirnoff Twisted Green Apple or Pina Colada. And although I do agree with the whole CSA was better than the North thing, I think it’s usually pretty divisive. I make constant efforts to make inroads with the poor and minorities in my community. And I don’t really like to talk about theology (well, I like certain things like ecclesiology and sacramentology). I love talking about Jesus making all things new. And I love sharing the Bible. I also like to act on my faith instead of talking about it. And I feel like my Reformed beliefs are more of a hindrance in doing all the things I love to do. I’ve long quit saying I am Reformed (though, of course, I am).

I dunno…just rambling here. I really don’t think I’m Reformed any more (though, of course, I am).

I am not even gonna go into the church stuff. I’ll just say I was up half the night because I was so upset with the behaviour of the session. They purposely left out of the case record every email concerning the reasons Rachel would not be able to be present on the dates the session had set her trial (Hello, we were living in NJ), our Feb. 02 weblog post on how we had joined Salem (after they asked Rachel to leave but before they pressed charges…this document was the part of the original charges), and the emails where Rachel asked to be instructed (one of their claims was that she was unteachable).

And for some strange reason, the presbytery denied Rachel’s request to enter these into the case record. Doesn’t make much sense to me.

But wait, I said I wasn’t going to talk about that.

I’m annoyed with much more than that. I’m annoyed that:
1. Rachel isn’t getting any calls returned about potential midwives.
2. Soldiers are dying in Iraq.
3. Bush is polytheist.
4. My own party (Democrats) are a bunch of idiots.
5. Hillary Clinton is trying to claim she’s pro-life.
6. That my students are ridiculously relativistic.
7. That only 8 in a hundred knew what Roe vs. Wade was. When I told them that Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) was protesting for a reversal of the decision on the steps of the Supreme Court last Tuesday, their response was that no one would listen to her because she was changing her mind. She was a flip-flopper. So infuriating.
8. That they think my child isn’t a person.
9. Michael Moore isn’t a mute.
10. Our bathroom and kitchen sink leak. Our bathtub gets clogged.
11. Evangelicals are afraid of postmodernism.
12. Some postmodern Christians give them reason to be.
13. Tim Eaton doesn’t come back to the faith.
14. That we drove him away.
15. That our faith wasn’t holistic enough to really show that Christ makes all things new.
16. There is so much to work on before the baby gets here and so little time.
17. There really aren’t any other people here in Monroe that we’ve connected with and can connect with more consistently
18. That there isn’t a joyful, liturgical, sacramental, friendly, and hospitable church here.
19. That I’m so ungrateful for what we do have.
20. And I’m actually letting these things get to me for the first time in my life because they’re affecting someone else beside myself.