what did you do today?

Me, you ask?
Well, I sat for the Theolgy and Worship exams of the PC(USA) church.

6 hours later, and this is what I came up with about prayer, evil, evangelism, preaching, baptism and the Creeds:



Tomorrow, is polity and exegesis, so your prayers would be appreciated.

midnight run

Last Friday I had successfully completed my CPE summer experience--a hospital chaplaincy rotation. Unfortunately, I found myself in the ER that evening...this time as a patient’s spouse.

Lindsay was having severe bleeding in her 13th week of pregnancy. Naturally this caused her and I to fear the worst--miscarrying the child we have hoped and prayed for for so long.

Over the next 8 hours we found ourselves stretched by God. He took us to our most base level...completely helpless. We discovered the reality and frailty of human life. Though we had prayed, and tried, and hoped, and cried for this baby for so many months prior--at that moment we were once again reminded that we are not in control, only God is.

In the deepest moments of fear and despair, I discovered what true prayer is...and we prayed these words

“To you I call, O Lord my Rock,
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who have gone
down to the pit.
Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place...”

While we feared going to down into the pit of losing this child, there was a deep security that God would hear our cry for mercy. And strangely a sense of peace filled the room. It was not because we were (or even now) certain that we won’t lose this child, but because even there--in the worst possible situation we could fathom--we believe that God will be with us.

So we continued to pray this Psalm during the evening. Over and over I would read it, and I felt the Spirit emphasizing different words at different points.

At first was the fear of entering the pit of despair, then the hope that God would hear our cries for mercy.
Towards midnight the final part of Psalm began to stand out:

“Praise be to the Lord,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.

the Lord is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one
Save your people and bless your inheritance
be their shepherd and carry them forever.”

While Lindsay gets to carry this child, hopefully for 9 months, it is God who will carry the child forever (is it not amazing that God allows us to briefly participate in the miracle of creation?).

The nurse, Diane, came in with the doppler machine so we could hear the heart beat for reassurance that the child was “okay,” but also for the first time. These words were no longer my words. Rather they became the words of our child: for at the moment that the doppler found the heart beat we heard it sung, “My Heart Leaps for Joy.”

The pulsing beat was a thankful song that God is our strength and our protector. There was (and is) nothing Lindsay and I could have done to save the child that evening, it was (and is) only by God’s gracious love that we were able to return home after a long, scary midnight run into a pit of despair.

How are we doing now?
We are praying hard and trying to rely upon God more and more.

Pug Bowling

Proof that pugs ran the 100 yard dash in a 90 yard gym. Thanks to Troy HB for this video.

ways to spend your money

Two organizations::Two Missions

Blood:Water Mission

the Blood:Water Mission, committed to clean blood and clean water to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, to build clean wells in Africa, to support medical facilities caring for the sick, to make a lasting impact in the fight against poverty, injustice and oppression in Africa through the linking of needs, talents and continents, of people and resources.

One World Running

One World Running is an international program promoting an awareness of health, fitness and nutrition by providing running shoes to those in need in the United States and around the world. We also put on 5K walk/runs to foster an enviroment of exercise and to increase understanding and goodwill between people.

I realize that providing water versus running shoes is a tremendously different focus.
While one is essential for survival, the other also helps to promote self-awareness; self-worth; and a discovery of freedom.
Just thought I would share these websites.

extreme running

I just returned from an awesome event.

500+ runners, 1000+ shoes, and 13.1 miles of rugged mountain trails.
It is taking road running and making it Trail Running, which is nothing like running on the Raritan Canal.
This was running up and down and up and up and up loose rock paths. It wears into your pace by at least 2min/mile, not to mention your body. So as I meander through the hills of Pennsylvania, with ankles turning, I was reminded the freedom of running.
When I slip on a pair of running shoes, I feel like I can go anywhere, and now I have discovered that I can scamper across rocks, climb boulders, and slop through mud should I choose.

People ask why I have taken up running:
At first it was because I had quit football and needed a new way to "beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize" (1 Corinthians 9:27).
Now however, I have discovered the joy because, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11).

wblog v.02 unleashed

As promised
If you have a popup blocker on, you will need to click this link:
Barry Home,
oh and by the way, Lindsay and I are pregnant...
get more information at the new site.

One warning, if you are using dialup to access this site--I know it takes a long time--then you will not have the patience to visit the new site. So you might want to check out: Bell South DSL.

Tension

One of the greatest discoveries I have had at seminary has been my acceptance of theological tensions. Rather than trying to unravel the mysteries of Christianity and seeming paradoxes, I have willingly embraced the tensions such as Jesus' full humanity and divinity; law and grace; the eschatological already and not yet; being elect and becoming saved...

I was wondering where this acceptance of tension originated and this afternoon I think I discovered it. As some of my friends have recognized I claim both Atlanta and North Carolina as my home town. This tension is the result of my growing up in ATL but spending summers at my grandparents in NC and then living for 6 years in NC.

Diving further into my subconscious I noticed how deep that tension runs:

Atlanta	North Carolina
	**

**the Big Peach is actually located in Gaffney, SC.


Honorable mentions:

for the glory

100degrees, 95% humidity, pads, black jerseys, helmets, windsprints, the red rack (hope it is still there)...why do they do it?
It is not for money, it is not for fame, it is for the love of football.
Unlike those guys with their fancy conferences, and bowl games, and "scholarships,"
The men down at Davidson College are going through two-a-days right now because they love the game.

As for me,
I have tried to run twice in this heat to begin formal training for the Philadelphia Marathon.
Once my 6 miler turned into 3 mile run and a 1 mile walk. It is amazing how zapped, dizzy and weird you can feel running in this heat. Thankfully I was with a buddy and we decided it was rather stupid to keep pushing.
The second attempt, I "smartly" went to the seminary's gym to run on their treadmill. However, since the seminary has not added airconditioning on its list of improvements the temperature in the gym was equal to the 100degrees outside.
So I ended up running for 40 minutes as opposed to my 60 minute training schedule, before running out of energy and sweat.

It begs the same question as folks are asking the boys at DC?

Pride, love of the sport, or...stupidity.