partsofspeaking

Every morning, like many, I imagine, I thank God for his mercy, love, and grace. It occured to me that we do not often thank God for his other traits, if such they are called. Justice.  Righteousness.  Holiness.  Immutability.  And dare I say, wrath? In a sense, though, I am not sure why we thank God for being Himself.  That sounds a bit pretentious, or condescending, or unnecessary, at least.  God is not affected by our thanks or lack of it. And so ends my 1500th post, ready for my ten-year anniversary of this blog Monday. (I actually took a post down and have done so in the past, so the official count is lower but the real count is higher.)

This is a lesson I am to teach May 1.   I don’t get to pick my subjects.   The book we are using right now is written by Ed Stetzer for Lifeway, and I like his material.    The book’s theme is the Israelite experience, and the passage is an odd one, and one of the more challenging.   I hate snakes.   Spiders and bugs do not bother me, even really big ones, but snakes are a totally different matter.   I think we all have a “scared to death by a snake” story.   One was living in the foundation of my house and came out when I was gardening.   I would often find skins in the yard.   I had a student give a speech on his yellow python once—it was in his gym bag and brought it out as a visual aid. I am reminded of Emily Dickson's line about her reaction to a "narrow fellow in the grass"--"zero to the bone." What is even stranger about this lesson is that one might think that Jesus is comparing   himself to a snake.   Metaphors only have one point of conne

Sometimes you just have to say no. I will no longer watch Fox News shows, other than Bret Bair or Chris Wallace.  They are so in the tank for Trump it's sickening. I also will probably not vote for president.  I will vote, just not for one of the two presumptive candidates.  It's a matter of principle.  If Target can open up its bathrooms on principle, I can refuse to vote for candidates I think are lunatics. I am losing my job come late June, but assuming another one at the same college.  It's all good.  I fought it for a while because I liked the job and the money, but I am embracing it now. 

As the header on this says, I have written and published five novels, three with a small publisher and two self.  I have probably only sold 100 books altogether, maybe a few more, although I think a lot of people buy used editions. Tonight I was in charge of an event for adult learner reception event at my college.  A student came up and told me she had read my book and had enjoyed it so much and should have brought it so I could sign it.  I am not sure everyone at the college gets that that is me.  It's a common name. That made me very happy.  Writers dream of being praised by their readers.

I am hereby on April 16, 2016, coining this phrase and copyrighting it.  No one can use it without crediting me. Well, I am kind of kidding, but not really.  I googled it and it doesn't exist.  If there is eco-tourism, now there is evangelo-tourism.  However, my word is derogatory, not something to advocate. I have long been skeptical about short-term mission trips, and was pleased to hear the following last Saturday on Moody Radio.  Julie Roys had the courage to ask these questions and let her speakers have their say.    http://www.moodyradio.org/Up-for-Debate/2016/2016-04-09-Are-Short-Term-Missions-Effective/  To be fair, I went on two mission trips in high school back in the early 1970s, but I would be quick to say that was when it was a rare thing to do, and we worked pretty hard on one of them.  It did enlighten me to missions and I have supported, studied, and written about missions ever since, but I am not on the mission field. Now it seems like a boatload of money

Extremely interesting article here on how employers want soft skills. https://www.eab.com/daily-briefing/2016/04/15/what-employers-really-need-from-recent-grads-soft-skills?WT.mc_id=Email|Daily+Briefing+Headline|DBA|DB|Apr-15-2016|||||&elq_cid=1732171&x_id=003C000001ocYBxIAM This is no surprise to me after 36 years in higher education.  But what bothers me is the term "soft skills."  Talk about a misnomer.   If they are necessary, how could they be "soft," which implies "nice to have to sort of cushion the blow, but not really vital?"  Please. Empathy, leadership, goal-setting and execution, collaboration, writing, oral communication skills, cross-cultural awareness and competencies--these are soft?  Are these easier to teach and learn than technical skills? I heard a joke from a prof (female) at Georgia Tech.  "How do you tell an extroverted engineer from an introverted engineer?   The extroverted one looks at your shoes when talkin

I started this blog in April of 2006, but I started it with a false name and my first three or four posts were just experimental and I should probably delete them now.  On May 2 I admitted to my real name and started blogging in earnest.  Therefore, I consider May 2 the beginning, and I will be blogging regularly up until then, on themes of higher education, communication, arts, and Christian thought in order to get to an even 1500 posts in ten years. I try to make this blog a sort of direction point, by posting ideas and links to other things.  I hope it is provocative and not just a place for me to rant, although I do that, too, especially about "the Donald." What I don't do well is the visual part.  I did post photos of Emily Dickinson's home in 2013.  That is important, I realize, to bringing in traffic. I was able to attend a conference on higher education issues this week, and will be attending one next week in South Carolina.  This is my field.  Hot topic