Logocentric (adj).Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).
Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:
I have always enjoyed the longer distance running and skiing. The Marathon in Summer Olympics and the 50km Mass Start in the Winter. My wife can't understand how I can watch the same race for several hours. But they are fascinating to me. I like the Downhill Slalom, Bobsled and Luge sports. Attending a Winter Olympics remains on my bucket list.
My favorite sporting events in the Winter Olympics are the Luge, Bobsled, Figure Skating and curling. Initially, I thought I would be bored with curling but I'm not. It's fascinating how they determine each glide's angle and potential score.
When my children were younger we built them a luge course, they loved it. We were lucky that winter to have lots of snow to build up the walls and with some help with pallets that we covered with snow, it kept them and the neighborhood kids busy until it warmed up and melted. I was a lot more at ease with the luge course than I was when they decided to try arial jumps off our house roof. Never a dull moment when you live in Maine.
I am reading ESV through the Bible this time. Like you, I've explored a bunch of translations. My church uses NIV but my women's Bible study group (part of the same church) varies based on what Bible study we're doing.
Hope you enjoy the Olympics! I agree that the every four year thing makes them feel more special.
I read the New American Bible, which is a Catholic Bible. (NABRE) They include Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, which generally aren't included in other versions of the Bible. I would be curious to read an orthodox bible or the Ethiopian Bible as I hear they have differences as well.
As for the Olympics, I love the Winter Olympics. I'm just crossing my fingers I have time to watch!
In terms of the original texts the NASB has the best reputation among conservative scholars. It looks at more translations, has a sensible hierarchy of text selection and the best principles for approaching the translation task. It favors original texts when possible. The ESV and NKJV are on a similar level. The Net Bible gives the best overview of the discussions in its commentary. The NIV renders the original text to make it more readable. It is a more functional text which is why many churches use it but it is also less precise. Greek or Russian orthodox are more Septuagint orientated and there is a considerable amount of ethical or emotional rendering to the text.The disadvantage of the NASB is that it loses much of the Hebrew poetical style in its effort to be precise as this does not translate into the English
I'm very fortunate to have met some practicing and humble Christians. Truly humble people seek to serve, not attain power and influence. The actions of many Christians make me run the opposite way... as fast as I can.
In his book, Sit, Walk, Stand, Watchman Nee states: "Nothing has done greater damage to our Christian testimony than our trying to be right and demanding right of others. We become preoccupied with what is and what is not right. We ask ourselves,' Have we been justly or unjustly treated?' and we think thus to vindicate our actions. But that is not our standard. The whole question for us is one of crossbearing".
Jeff, this is an excellent book. Perhaps one for your reading list?
"Don't Put Dirt On My Grave Just Yet"
from the Nashville Soundtrack
I'm including the whole scene from the show, including snippets before and after because the context is part of the reason why this song gives me chills every time I listen to it. If you're not familiar with the show, Hayden Panettiere plays Juliet Barnes, a hugely popular country star who gets into trouble when someone edits a video of her out of context saying that there is no God. Fans start to hate her, burn her records, etc. It's basically a fictionalized version of what happened to Dixie Chicks and their comments about President Bush and the war in Iraq. See the "The Long Way Around" for more about that.
BTW, see how this week came full circle?
Anyway, Juliet is already scheduled to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, and the president of the label wants her to use the opportunity to make a grand speech, take all the blame, apologize, and grovel for forgiveness. Everyone thinks she should do it, but Juliet has other plans, even if it means being judged by a whole lot of people and potentially ending her career.
I just really admire someone who's not afraid to do what their heart is telling them, even when it's hard. In life, it's so tempting to do the easy thing, to compromise our values, especially when our careers, livelihoods, reputations, etc. are on the line. Just apologize when you don't mean it. Just say it's your fault when it's not. Just prostrate yourself in front of people with more power than you and hope they allow you to keep doing what you're doing. So I admire the hell out of people (even fictional characters) who follow their values even when it's hard. Because they wouldn't really be convictions if you gave them up at the first sign of trouble, would they?
This song always pumps me up and inspires me to stick to my guns when I truly believe something. And even when times are down, don't put dirt on my grave just yet because I'm never going to just lay down and die. I'm going to keep getting up and keep fighting.
One of the coolest things about the Soundtrackers activity is how you sometimes learn a little something about yourself in the course of blogging about the music that means something to you. If there's one thing I've learned from this "Emotionally Raw" week, it's that most of the songs that are most emotionally resonant with me have the same theme of hope and optimism in the face of difficulty. Today's entry is certainly no exception; Tauren Wells is a Christian rock and pop artist who had this song explode onto the Christian music charts in early 2017.
Whether you're a Christian or not, the song has an important message of having the right perspective no matter where you are in life. Very few people have a steady, even-keeled life. Most of us have, as the song suggests, hills and valleys. When we're at the top of the hill, it's important to remember you didn't get there alone rather than assuming you're solely responsible for your success. And when you're in the valley lows of life, you need to know that people still see you and still love you.
2018 was, for me, a year of both huge hills and deep valleys. I worked on some of the most creatively fulfilling projects of my career, and I ended the year with a job that excites and challenges me. But I also spent a good chunk of the year either in a new job I ended up hating, or unemployed and wondering what direction my career would take next.
This song helped me through both of those times, reminding me to be humble in success and optimistic in failure. As I get older and experience more and more of both ends of the spectrum, I find myself profoundly grateful for all the experiences God has given me, both the good and the bad. The view from the tops of the hills are truly spectacular... but they wouldn't be half as impressive if I hadn't spent a significant amount of time and effort climbing out of a valley to get there. Now that 2019 is well underway and promises a great deal of uncertainty (although hopefully not as much as 2018!), I find myself looking forward to both its up and downs. The ups are what make life so uniquely exceptional, and the downs are what will give me the perspective necessary to truly appreciate the good times.
If you would have told me the pop-rock chick of "Sk8er Boi" and "Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend" fame would, 10-15 years later write a really powerful, almost haunting song about her struggle with Lyme disease, I wouldn't have believed you. But I guess the world forces us all to grow up in different ways and the things we create in response to those challenges are what evolving as an artist is all about.
For me, this song is particularly meaningful because I discovered it in the midst of my job insecurity last year. For those of you who don't know, I left a stable job in June 2018 for a big new opportunity at a startup, only to discover the owner of the company lied to everyone about the stability of the financing and ultimately laid most of us (myself included) off in a very short period of time. I worked at that company for less than four months, which is by far the shortest tenure I've ever had at a job, including that one time I worked for the film department equipment office for a semester when I was in college. I subsequently lined up some consulting work and thought I might be able to make a sustainable living as an independent contractor, and then had a couple of full-time job offers come up within a few weeks... all of which really had my head spinning about what next step I was supposed to take in my career.
I had been listening to Amazon Music and Apple Music for a few days to find some new tunes, stumbled across this song, and it was one of those moments where I literally stopped in the middle of a run to just stand there and listen to the song as it played. And then listened to it again. And again. It just seemed to relevant to my situation at the time... and that was reinforced when one of my wife's coworkers had been praying for me and made me a mix CD of inspirational songs to help me through the career decisions I was making... and this was the first song on the CD.
Ultimately, the job situation worked out for the best, but I think this song is a testament to those times in all our lives when we feel like we're drowning and are calling out for help. Sometimes, we all just need a little reminder to keep our head above water.
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I subsequently lined up some consulting work and thought I might be able to make a sustainable living as an independent contractor, and then had a couple of full-time job offers come up within a few weeks... all of which really had my head spinning about what next step I was supposed to take in my career.