Jim's blog

As I have discussed this with several people over the past few days and have had some good discussions about it, I decided to post information about the daily Bible reading I will be doing this year.

In 2007, I did (most of) the NET Bible's daily Bible reading schedule.  Overall, there are some things that I really like about the NET translation, web site, tools, and notes, but there were also some things that I didn't love and had me looking for a different reading schedule and translation before 2007 was up.

I found the reading schedule to be a bit too long on certain days with just too much to digest.  I realize that there is the same amount of text to be read no matter how you slice it, so I guess that particular plan wasn't the one for me.  The bigger thing, though, is that what I really wanted was a good chronological reading schedule.

With regards to the translation, like the NIV, I find the NET to be a bit more interpretive than I would like.  I recall several instances where I thought the translation choice was "interesting," and the provided tn (translator's note) did little to lower — and in some cases lifted higher — my raised eyebrows.  No, I don't remember any specific references; I am not trying to start any debates.  Suffice it to say, that in reading the vast majority of the NET, I didn't find it to be my cup of tea for my primary, daily use.  That's cool...it's OK.  The same can be said of most translations for each and every individual.  I do still use it frequently for study and research.

So, here we are several days into 2009, and, yes, I am several days into my new chronological daily bible reading.  This time around, I am using the newly-released ESV Study Bible.  I have been watching and waiting for the release of this study Bible for well over a year, and Lissa got me one for Christmas.  I like its more literal translation and have been happy with the study notes for the most part. What I have especially liked about the ESV Study Bible is that when you buy a printed copy of the book, you get free access to an online version that includes all of the study notes, articles, pictures, maps, etc.  This has been great!  When I use my hard copy, I (obviously) have access to all of the study materials, but now I can also get to them at any time from any computer.  This was a big selling point for me.

As for the reading plan I am using, there is an online ESV version, or you can check out the schedule itself and use other translations on the Chronological Reading Guide page.  This schedule was created by Back to the Bible, and they have several other reading plans available, including historical, beginning-to-end, and more.  I am not that far in yet, but I have enjoyed the reading schedule thus far.

So, since I have put this out there, you can all hold me accountable.  ("All" is a relative term, since I have no idea who, if anyone, will actually see this.)  If you have any questions or comments on the translation/schedule I'm trying or want to do the reading with me, e-mail, IM, or comment.  I'd love to know!

Did pigs start flying and hell freeze over also, and I missed it all?
Seriously?!

Written on the drive-thru sign at Burger King:

PICTURE MENUS AVAILABLE AT WINDOW

Hmm...

Sometime shortly before 7:00 CDT this evening, Lissa and I will have been married for exactly eight years! They have been eight crazy, amazing, scary, challenging, wonderful years. We left everything and everyone we knew in western New York to go to Dallas with nothing but jobs and dreams. (At least we had the jobs!) We struggled to find a church home where we both felt comfortable yet challenged to grow, and we were richly blessed.  We bought our first house.  We went on a mission trip to Serbia.  We had Brennan.  We became debt free except for the house.  We were trained as financial counselors.  We grew in faith — in ways we never could have imagined — together.  (Still so much growth to do!)

This past year or so has been especially trying...and rewarding.  We heeded God's call to again leave everything and everyone we knew in Dallas to go to Nashville and truly serve God in my work, something I had been praying about for years: work that matters.  We worked (and worked and worked ...) on the house to prepare it for a sale.  We packed up everything and moved it to Nashville, uprooting our entire little family and throwing ourselves into chaos.

This year has been unbelievably hard.  We have struggled, disagreed, worked tirelessly, argued, cried, prayed, and, at times, cracked.  But, through it all, we did it together, with God's provision, guidance, and grace.  There is no one else I would want — or who would have been able — to have shared this time with me.

I love you, Lis!

Reference: http://holloway.me/post/36934056/nerd-alert

But, you really do have to be a nerd to understand it¹.

¹http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2821.txt

I have said it before, and before that, and probably even before that.  I really do intend to be better about posting — to be more deliberate and consistent — each time I say it.  It's not that I don't have things that I want to say or share on this site, but I guess I have a hard time getting up the motivation to actually sit down and write, not to mention that we have a 2-year-old running all over the place.

Well, my department leader at my job has inspired both me and Lissa to take up what will hopefully be some more regular posting.  That, combined with the fact that Lissa and Brennan are out of town this week, has given me some motivation to technologically update the site (mostly under the hood) and write this.  Needless to say, much has happened in the past 27+ months since my last post when Brennan was born.  I will try to recap in some semblance of chronological order:

1. We made it home from the hospital safe and sound (as you probably guessed), and got little sleep for awhile.  But, Brennan is amazing and good, so everything has gone smoothly overall.
2. We paid off Lissa's car. No more car payments!
3. We paid off Lissa's last student loan. No more student loans!
4. We are debt free except for the house!  (Sensing a theme?)
5. We led a Financial Peace University class at church.
6. We traveled to Nashville to be trained as Certified Financial Counselors.  Yes, both of us!  Note:  Financial Counselors, not Financial Planners.  There is a huge difference.
7. Brennan turned one.  We rented a pavilion and attempted to have a cookout to celebrate, but it was freezing, and we ended up back at our house. 
8. After much prayer, discussion, angst, and advice-seeking, I applied for a web development position with The Lampo Group, Inc. in Nashville.
9. I — and actually Lissa too — had several e-mail and phone interviews with Lampo over the next 3 months, and when they were seemingly about to hire me, I turned down the job.  It's OK.  That particular position just wasn't a good match for me.
10. We took a vacation to South Padre Island with my parents (my mom was newly-semi-kinda-retired), and we hated it.  The trip and the company were great; it was the area that we hated.
11. While in South Padre, Lampo got back in touch with me about another position that matched exactly what I had told them I was hoping to pursue!
12. <<Insert more e-mail conversations and phone interviews here.>>
13. Lissa and I traveled to Nashville without Brennan for final in-person interviews.
14. I accepted the job as Lampo's new System Administrator, I tendered my resignation to Idearc, I did a knowledge transfer at work, we worked endlessly and tirelessly on the house to prepare it to sell (with immeasurable help from friends), we moved to Nashville, we lived temporarily in a condo, I began my new job, we accepted an offer on the house after three days on the market, we found a rental house in Nashville, we traveled back to Dallas to pack the house and move, and we moved everything we own to Nashville (ourselves) and into the rental house...all in the span of two months!  <<Deep breath.>>
15. We are completely debt free and have a fully-funded emergency fund.
16. Brennan turned two.
17. We experienced the remainder of what have likely been nine of the craziest, most exhilarating, most difficult, most rewarding, most faith-challenging, most relationship-challenging, most emotion-draining, greatest months of our lives as we learned and fought and grew and prayed as a family.
     
     
     
     
18. ... Oh, yeah.  Then we got called by our former neighbors in Dallas to tell us that their had been a police standoff at our old house, and a man had been shot and killed on our front steps by a sniper.

All in all, it has been fairly quiet and calm in our lives since my last post. 

I apologize for the delayed posting, but as you can imagine, things have been crazy. We did the C-Section shortly after 4:30 p.m., and Brennan Jacob was born at 4:53.

http://brennan.jimandlissa.com/

Due to the slow progress, the doctor introduced a very small dose of Pitocin to move labor along. This seemed to work well at first, but as the strength of contractions increased, the baby wasn't responding well. The heart rate would drop each time, indicating that the cord may be wrapped around an arm, shoulder, or something. So, now a C-Section has been scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CST. So, ready or not, here comes the baby!

The next update should introduce him or her!

It seems that the doctor who said Lissa was at 9cm was wrong. When she was checked again at noon, she was still only 5cm. So, unlike what we thought, things are actually progressing slowly. I guess now we just hang in there...

Well, it's the real thing! We got to the hospital at around 8:30. When they checked around 9:00, Lissa was already dilated 5cm. Right now she is up to 9cm and is getting her epidural. (They kick me out of the room during the procedure, so I could take a few minutes to send an update.)

I'll tell you one thing, Lissa sure has been strong. (Thanks for your prayers!) She doesn't have a high pain tolerance, but she has really been amazing.

Things are moving really quickly. So quickly that they weren't even sure they had time to do the epidural. Additionally, the baby finally dropped. (Lissa's doctor wasn't sure that the baby would fit.) It shouldn't be long now!!!