28.4.03
SABBATH REFLECTION
Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth!
Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth!
Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth!
Behold, his glory filleth all the earth!
posted by kristen stewart | 00:55 | thoughts? |

25.4.03
MORE LIFE
I am finished with my last classes at UNC. 3 take home exams and one in-class final and I am finished. Wow! The lent laptop I have been using certainly smokes crack when I am not around. Either that or it is demon possessed. It keeps crashing in the weirdest ways. I am very sorry to all the people I've rudely left IM convos with lately. Blame it on the laptop. I am really beginning to tire of IM lately, in general. I have too many people on my buddy list and i feel overwhelmed most any night I happen to log in. I can't wait to go to Austin tomorrow. I think it might help to renew my spirit.
posted by kristen stewart | 13:21 | thoughts? |

23.4.03
THE LIFE
Today, the high is hovering right at 70 degrees, the sun is shining brightly and I am headed over to Dook to see Wilco play a free show on the quad. There are few things that make life better than this.
posted by kristen stewart | 15:47 | thoughts? |

A POST FOR NICOLA
When I was working in Colorado and the lovely Banchory Scots came over to do a missions trip, we had a ceilidh. Pronounced Kay-lee, a ceilidh is basically a Scottish barn dance, and at this event I learned how to do the Gay Gordons. Flash forward to this year: at balls and ball practices, we do the Gay Gordons, but I swear we do it differently. Here's the American way:
Everyone in the same circle, men inside and women outside, in pairs.
Man and woman in promenade position (M with right arm over W's shoulders)
Four steps forward
Pivot, take four steps backward (in the same direction)
Four steps forward (changing direction)
Pivot, take four steps backward.
Lady steps in, and out, then swings across (now on inside of the man)
Lady steps in, and out, turns and joins a new partner.

Please, save me from insanity. Is the Gay Gordons a "mixer" dance in Scotland?
posted by kristen stewart | 00:52 | thoughts? |

22.4.03
BOOK PLUG
A few weeks ago, some of the young men in my church were standing around discussing what they ought to study next in their men's meeting book study. They are currently working through Back to Basics after finishing Future Men.
-- We should study the church.
-- Yeah!
-- We ought to read Mother Kirk.
-- Yes, because Doug Wilson is so neglected among us. We read all those other authors and just never get around to reading Wilson.

That said, I've been reading Reforming Marriage and it's great. I highly, highly recommend it, and not just because Doug Wilson wrote it. It may be the finest book I've read that he's written, and one of the best contemporary, practical treatments of marriage.
posted by kristen stewart | 19:30 | thoughts? |

21.4.03
I WANT TO BE A SUPERMODEL
A month or so ago, I got my picture taken for the commencement bulletin. With a school as large as Carolina, obviously not everyone gets a picture in the commencement bulletin. To break up the long list of names, They include between a dozen and 20 photos of graduates with a quote about their Carolina experience. This is what parents, siblings and friends look at during the slower parts of graduation exercises. So, I got an invitation to be a part of the shoot. You have to bring a prop. I brought my license plate collection. I finally got around to emailing the picture to Mike yesterday, and he reduced it from life-size and uploaded it to his server. Here I am with my license plates.
posted by kristen stewart | 10:13 | thoughts? |

20.4.03
SABBATH REFLECTION
"Christ the Lord is risen today," Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say; Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high; Alleluia!
Sing ye heav'ns, and earth, reply: Alleluia!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal; Alleluia!
Christ has burst the gates of hell: Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids his rise; Alleluia!
Christ hath opened Paradise. Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King; Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once he died, our souls to save; Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head; Alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise: Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies. Alleluia!
posted by kristen stewart | 20:20 | thoughts? |

19.4.03
LISTS, LISTS
Paedocommunion.com has a list of paedocommuning churches, but I think there is a great need for a list of reformed churches who have the Eucharist weekly. This could come in handy as people vacation, relocate, etc. Hmmm....
posted by kristen stewart | 21:14 | thoughts? |

SEMI-ADDICTIVE GAME
Collapse!
My current high score is: 152,466 (Level 9). [Ed. 271,841]
posted by kristen stewart | 01:07 | thoughts? |

18.4.03
LOOKING BACK AND FORESHADOWING
Be not far off, for grief is near, And none to help is found;
For bulls of Bashan in their strength Now circle Me around.
Their lion jaws they open wide, And roar to tear their prey.
My heart is wax, my bones unknit, My life is poured away.

My strength is only broken clay; My mouth and tongue are dry,
For in the very dust of death You there make Me to lie.
For see how dogs encircle Me! On every side there stands
A brotherhood of cruelty; They pierce my feet and hands.

My bones are plain for Me to count; Men see Me and they stare.
My clothes among them they divide, And gamble for their share.
Now hurry, O my strength, to help! Do not be far, O Lord!
But snatch My soul from raging dogs, And spare Me from the sword.
—Psalm 22C
posted by kristen stewart | 16:05 | thoughts? |

DEATH AND GLORY
If you weren't reading Jim Hart last spring, and even if you were, you ought to check out these meditations for Good Friday through Easter.
posted by kristen stewart | 15:53 | thoughts? |

17.4.03
MAUNDY THURSDAY
Commenting poll: Please indicate whether or not you went to services. If you went, what denomination was the church and did the service have communion and/or footwashing?
posted by kristen stewart | 22:27 | thoughts? |

16.4.03
I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM
Today i had Guinness-flavoured ice cream.
posted by kristen stewart | 19:06 | thoughts? |

15.4.03
MUSICAL WOES
I love Pierce Pettis. My old blog was even named after a PP song. About a year and a half ago, I randomly met this guy named Peter and he and I ended up discussing Pierce Pettis and i mentioned how i wish i had some of his out-of-print stuff. Lo and behold, about two weeks later, I got a copy of Chase the Buffalo with a post-it note from Peter promising to bootleg a concert for me soon. Well, you know how burned CDs are, they just don't last as long as professionally pressed CDs, and my copy is too worn to listen to. Do any of you delightful readers have this CD? I will gladly pay you a few bucks to send me a new copy.
posted by kristen stewart | 23:32 | thoughts? |

ANNOUNCEMENT
Today is J.T.'s twenty-first birthday. Please go wish him well!
posted by kristen stewart | 15:20 | thoughts? |

BASKETBALL
It has been written on banners hung around campus, spoken by the chancellor and etched into the hearts of Tar Heel fans everywhere: Welcome home, Roy.
posted by kristen stewart | 15:08 | thoughts? |

14.4.03
MY CONFESSION
Today, my good friend Matt Harper posted about a confession I made in the company of others, over martinis at Sullivan's, after the ball on Friday. Read it here. Speaking of balls, can a ball really be a ball if it lacks live music, hoop skirts and "Dixie"?
posted by kristen stewart | 11:23 | thoughts? |

SELF-IMPORTANT DRIVEL
I recently became the number one hit for kristen on Google. Out of approximately 1,420,000 hits, i'm first. That's so bizarre.
posted by kristen stewart | 07:16 | thoughts? |

13.4.03
SABBATH REFLECTION
All glory, laud, and honor to thee, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring!
Thou art the King of Israel, Thou David's royal Son,
Who in the Lord's name comest, The King and blessed One!

The people of the Hebrews with palms before thee went;
Our praise and prayer and anthems before thee we present:
To thee, before thy passion, they sang their hymns of praise;
To thee, now high exalted, our melody we raise.

Thou didst accept their praises; accept the prayers we bring,
Who in all good delightest, Thou good and gracious King!
All glory, laud, and honor to thee, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring!

NB. i am breaking my own rules for Sabbath Reflection by posting this as it was not sung at Christ Church North Carolina this morning. But i did sing it all day. It just doesn't feel like Palm Sunday without "All Glory, Laud and Honor."
posted by kristen stewart | 22:37 | thoughts? |

12.4.03
DOSTOYEVSKY AND COMMUNITY
"So long as man remains free he strives for nothing so incessantly and so painfully as to find someone to worship. But man seeks to worship what is established beyond dispute, so that all men would agree at once to worship it. For these pitiful creatures are concerned not only to find something that all would believe in and worship; what is essential is that all may be together in it." --the Brothers Karamazov V:5.

Though taken completely out of context, this small bit of Brothers K resonated with me. I have seen how the desparation for true community has led people to major on the minors and shun all who don't agree with them on every jot and tittle. We long for the perfect unity of heaven, and we won't find that on earth. The best we can do is make sure that the gospel is the centre of our communities and let people decide what they may on the secondary issues that aren't directly addressed in scripture. The fall has left us broken, dependent on our faculties instead of on perfect communion with God and one another. We'll never all agree on everything, but we can't let that destroy us.
posted by kristen stewart | 14:03 | thoughts? |

10.4.03
A GENERAL UPDATE IN REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
I graduate from college in 38 days. In between the end of classes and the beginning of exams, I am slipping off to Austin to have a job interview or two and do some visiting. I have a paper due on the Brothers K in a week, and though i really love the book, i am no where near the end of it. This Friday (technically tomorrow) is our first ever church ball, at the Senior Center in Bond Park. If you live nearby, you ought to attend!
posted by kristen stewart | 00:22 | thoughts? |

OFF SABBATICAL
I actually wrote something new for Chasing Hats! It's funny, I was the first regular contributor, but I haven't written anything for six months or so. My hope is to get back on the wagon, so to speak.
posted by kristen stewart | 00:18 | thoughts? |

8.4.03
DEAR KRISTEN: ADVICE FOR MALES:
an occasional series... submit any questions via email to unckristenmarie [at] yahoo [dot] com
Dear Kristen, what do you think about sweater vests?
That's an excellent question. A sweater vest can be a classy and versatile addition to any wardrobe. In order to demonstrate several of the rules of sweater vests, we are going to turn to everyone's favourite blogging lecturer: Dr. George Grant. In the left frame of his blog, Dr. Grant demonstrates classic sweater vest style. You can note that he is wearing a nice, button down shirt beneath the sweater vest. Most men are able to pull this look off with very little problems. It is the tie with the sweater vest that causes complications. The traditional tie with sweater vest look screams british schoolboy. This is appropriate if you are cast in a Harry Potter movie, teach at or attend a private school, or are extremely thin and need the sweater vest to bulk up. The more complicated bow tie with sweater vest--modeled by Dr. Grant if you click enter--is only permissible for those over thirty, with a Ph.D., and at least two published works over 100 pages in length. More generally, sweater vests can be worn from October to April north of the Mason-Dixon line and from November to early March south of the Mason-Dixon line. Please make adjustments depending on your climate. Using these guidelines will help you to dress in classic fashion.
posted by kristen stewart | 16:10 | thoughts? |

7.4.03
TALK OF THE WEATHER
Pollen has descended upon North Carolina, leaving her trail of yellow and green dust everywhere. It is currently so thick that it necessitates windshield wipers if your car has not been driven for twenty-four or more hours.

As spring has sprung, our birds have returned and the bird droppings that accompany them. I left worship Sunday morning, got into my car and looked in my rearview mirror. My back window was covered in perhaps the largest bird dropping i have ever seen. It was so large it significantly obstructed my view. After arriving at the location of Sunday lunch, we all sat on the back porch and commented on the dogwoods blooming and the beauty of spring. I mentioned that it also brought the annoyance of bird droppings and commented that i had acquired a large one that day. Several hours later, both Matt Harper and i left the gathering, in our seperate vehicles, going towards the Renches. I left a minute after Matt, but he ended up behind me on Maynard. I only noticed him behind me after he honked at me excessively and i noticed him pointing and laughing at my back window. I asked him later if he'd consider serving me by washing my car, but he declined. Perhaps today's rain is doing the trick. I do want to see out my rearview window in the near future.

The rain brings another challenge: what to wear on my feet. When it's slick and rainy, I want to wear something comfortable and stable, a nice pair of running shoes usually comes to mind. Except, sneakers aren't waterproof, so socks and shoes get soaked. Why must sneakers breathe so?
posted by kristen stewart | 14:34 | thoughts? |

6.4.03
SABBATH REFLECTION
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
posted by kristen stewart | 21:57 | thoughts? |

5.4.03
CONGRATS!!
Everyone, please remain calm. I'm Mike, and I have once again hijacked this blog. If you will please remain calm, allow me to do my work, you'll all be just fine. Thank you. Please just listen, and then I'll leave.



Congrats to our own Kristen Knox, who won the first annual "Davey Award" for the best template. Now, let's all give her a big round of applause and buy her a book from her wishlist.

Also, a big congrats to Valerie, the designer of this blog. Why don't you buy her a book too?

Thank you for listening, and remaining calm. Goodbye.
posted by kristen stewart | 00:18 | thoughts? |

4.4.03
ON CAROLINA BASKETBALL
Many of you may be aware that Matt Doherty, UNC basketball coach, was forced to resign earlier this week. I think he was a decent coach, and that the decision was influenced primarily by the players and their parents. There's only one way to restore the dignity of our basketball program: fire Athletic Director Dick Baddour, go outside the UNC family to find an AD, and hire Larry Brown as head coach.

Dick Baddour is a putz and a wimp. Show me one good thing he's done for UNC athletics since I've been a student. I'm just tired of him messing things up.

Larry Brown is a good coach who is known for turning teams around. He got the CLIPPERS to the playoffs back in the day. He's also known for having strong relationships with difficult players, and we need someone who's dealt with Alan Iverson to handle Rashad McCants. He can go into a recruiting situation and say, "I know what it takes to make it in the NBA and I will work to get you there if you play for UNC." The biggest deterent from hiring him, to me, is his age. He's 63. He's not staying forever, but he can fix our program. Roy Williams is a great coach. I have tremendous respect for him. He turned us down 3 years ago and it broke my heart. Basically, I don't want to go through that again, but if he agrees to come, I'd be pleased. Without my beloved Heels to root for in the final four, i'm pulling for Texas. Hook 'em Horns!
posted by kristen stewart | 16:43 | thoughts? |

2.4.03
MIKE CONTEMPLATES "LIVING HEBRAICLY"
In his efforts to understand what exactly it means to live Hebraicly on the phone this evening, Mike wondered if he should send his children at the tender age of three to Hebrew School. My first thought was, "yeah, then they can learn to reach out to the Jewish kids."
posted by kristen stewart | 22:41 | thoughts? |

1.4.03
FAILED JOGGING
8th absence = automatic failure = no graduation.
posted by kristen stewart | 20:54 | thoughts? |

Aaron // Alex // Amy // Andrew // Annie // Barb // Ben // Berek // Brandon + Wendy // Chris // Christin // Daniel // Dave + Melissa // Dave H. // Dave K. (mostly) // Davey // Dawn G. // deadyetblogging // Deacon // Dustin // Ellen // Emeth // Francis // Dr. George // Gideon // Hester // Isaiah // J.T. // Jake // James B. // Jason G. // Jason K. // Jason W. // Jeff M. // Jeff N. // Jen // Jenn H. // Jenn N. // Jenny // Jessie // Joel // John Ba. // John Bu. // Jon A. // Jon B. // Jon S. // Jonathan W. // Jonvw // Josh M. // Josh S. // Josh W. // Kelly // Laurel // Lucy // Matt B. // Matt C. // Matt H. // Megan // Melissa // Mike // Nate // Nathanael // Nick // Nikkiana // Paul // Paulo // Phil // Rachel // Real Live Preacher // Remy // Richard B. // Richard O. // Rick // Rob // Russ Y. // Sarah G. // Sarah H. // Sarah J. // Seth // Shane // Shimmer // Sora // Summer // Tim E. // Tim G. // Tom // Valerie // Valerie S. //