That's Why They Call it a Desert

Yesterday it was over 110° F. (This reading was based off of a thermometer that was in the shade!)

This morning it was 90° F at 08:30 a.m.

...and it is only the end of May.

Oh, this summer is going to be brutal. :P

When I Say We Had a Sandstorm...

...I mean a SANDSTORM!

One morning, not too long ago, we looked up and saw... this dwarfing everything (note the tiny buildings and vehicles at the bottom of the photo to get the scale):

...and in under an hour, we were surrounded by this:

...and it remained like that for the rest of the day before it started to clear up.

...but it was days before we saw any blue in the sky.


The pictures do not do it justice.

Some Highlights and Random Thoughts

I have been gone for a couple weeks. I went on back home for some R&R leave from my deployment. I resolved not to blog during this time for obvious reasons. Here are just a few random thoughts and highlights to get back up to speed:

1. Thanks be to God for making it possible for me to return home for Holy Week! I got to hear Law and Gospel properly distinguished. I sat in rapt attention as I heard entire chapters of Holy Scripture being publicly read in service. I almost forgot how much I missed the Lutheran hymns and rich liturgy. Above all, I had my first opportunity to receive the Holy Eucharist since Christmas! What a rich blessing!

2. You don't appreciate how important having a strong church family and proper pastoral care is until you no longer have it.

3. I have institued quite a few changes in the way that I do business. The issues in my left wrist are becoming greatly improved. (No, Dan, I will never resort to Twitter.)

4. I have to brag on my wife. We were talking about an ancient theological dispute among early Lutherans. As we were talking about it, I mentioned that Martin Luther had voiced his opinion on the matter. I was about to tell her what Luther had said, but she interrupted me and said, "...but, before you continue, I have to ask: is this opinion of his supported by Scripture?"

Apparently her discernment detector is working just fine without me. =P

5. I have come to realize that a shocking majority of people waste most of their time looking at the macro-perspective. They worry about things they cannot change, debate issues that they are not in any position to influence, and exert maximum effort in the areas of their lives where they will get the least benefit. And then they spend the remaining time and energy complaining. I will develop this thought better in the coming days.

6. The Soldiers of the US Military constitute a largely untapped mission field for the church that is not being properly addressed. Case in point: When I was returning from leave, I was in a room with over 300 Soldiers. A chaplain gave a short welcome brief as we were processing back into theater. At the end of his presentation, he asked how many of us went to church during leave (which was the week before and after Easter). I counted only eight hands to include my own.

7. I ordered my copy of the Treasury of Daily Prayer and it is in the mail. If the sandstorms will cooperate, I might get it before the end of the month. I can hardly wait.

The Diagnosis

The diagnosis from the CASH is a volar ganglion cyst and the early onset of carple tunnel syndrome.

Your prayers have been answered: BOLL will now feature shorter posts since this author now has only one typing hand. =P

I'll have to work on my brevity. Doctor's orders.

Let's Chat

I published my new AOL IM screen name on my profile and blog. Let's chat!

Solifidian1518

...because if I'm online, I am probably sitting in my hooch... bored out of my mind! =P

A Personal Note About On Demand Podcasts

First of all, I hate the term "Podcasts" because real mp3 users don't own an "ipod". I own a sansa and all of the ipod users that I know are jealous when they see what this baby can do at a much lower sticker price (like record live FM radio and then drag and drop the files onto my computer desktop for example.)

More importantly, I would like to express my irritation about how alot of people post their sansacast (or zunecast if you're a microsoft slave) archives. It falls into two major categories:

1. If you are publishing broadcasts "on demand" then I, as your listener, demand that you provide me with a simple link (preferably on the same page as the archive list) to download your program as an mp3 file. Do not link me to a place where I can stream your broadcast. Do not link me to a place where I have to buy your broadcast. Do not link me to some other site that will only give me your broadcast if I fork over my personal information. Certainly do not refer me to *spit* iTunes.

I have now established a new policy: If you do not provide a simple, downloadable file that I can right click and save to my desktop for use with my media player than what you say must not be worth listening to. If you want to talk to me, come to the city square and be accessable to everyone. Do not make me climb the mountain to hear you.

2. If you are publishing broadcasts (take a moment to refer back to comment #1), please title your broadcasts topically in some fashion. I understand that you guys like to title your broadcasts by date for archive purposes, but you could go in and put in some descriptive text in any number of the file discriptions available in the mp3 format. You could tag the genre, artist, or album with words like "Epiphany 2 Sermon", "Baptism with Rev. Smith", "Election '08 Roundtable" etc. If you won't do this, then at least leave it unlocked so that I can do it manually after I download it. I have piles of piles of archived files that I have to actually listen to in order to find the one that I'm looking for. It makes sharing a particular program months later very hard to do.

I hope that you will take my comments to heart if you are trying to reach people with your ideas (theological or otherwise). Above all, keep the needs of your listeners in mind and focus on substance rather than style.

BOLL is Back in February

I have my orders and my duty assignment. Technology will permit this blog to come back on in full force by mid February. I have posting during my suspension because I could... and I will continue as long as I am able.

[Google Analytics said that I have only dropped 10% in daily readership anyway. That would be 9 instead of 10 people. hehe.]

See you in February! God Bless!

Link Corrected

The link for the Michael Gerson piece on Gen Petraeus has been corrected. The source is the Washington Post.

I apologize for linking to a location that most of you cannot access.

Hi Ho Lock and Load

Due to a change in my unit's operational mission, this blog will be suspended indefinitely. This suspension begins today. Periodic posts may appear as my new schedule and location permits, but any posts will be very infrequent. This very public forum precludes me from giving out any more specific information. I apologize for the generic nature of this announcement.

I appreciate your prayers and support. Thanks to my readers for your thoughts and emails over the life of this humble blog. It is my intent to restart this blog once this current business is concluded. I do not know when that will be.

You can still reach me at my civilian email: twntysdr@hotmail.com

A Priceless Treasure

I am grateful that God had blessed me with a wife who insists that we attend churches that have Christ-centered preaching and proper practice. Her discernment and steadfast dedication to the truth is inspiring.

A woman of faith and wisdom is a priceless treasure.

Mission Complete

I am back from training. It was interesting. That is just about all I can still say without violating the "best construction" principle.

Being in the field with a 115°F heat index... Free
Eating all of the MREs that I could stand... Free
Learning everything that I did not want to know about my job... Free
Laying my hand in a fire ant mound during tactical training... Free
Spending an hour searching the grass for the cell phone that my buddy dropped... Free
Setting up a one man ambush that eliminated a whole enemy squad during night ops... Free

Having enough down time each day to pull these ziplocked books out of my ruck sack for Matins, Sext, Vespers, and Compline... Priceless!

Leave of Absence

I will be leaving shortly to train in my profession. I will be back in August. It is unlikely that I will have access to the civilian Internet during July.

Quote Question

I found a quote that is attributed to St Basil. It seems relatively popular, but no one sites the source of this quote other than "-St. Basil". In trying to find the source for it, I have found several different versions of the quote. Here is the version that seems to be the most common:

"As the pilot of a vessel is tried in the storm, the soldier in battle, and the hero in adversity; so is the Christian tried in temptation."

1. Is this an actual St. Basil quote?
2. What is the source?

New Look

BOLL now has a new look.

The old look was prettier, but it was squished and hard to read. It also had some technical glitches that were annoying. After spending a month trying to get it to work, I gave up. I think that this layout is much cleaner. The post format is simple and the work space stretches from window edge to window edge. I am not a blogging Pietist who pushes for style over substance; I go with what works.

If you hate this new look, shoot me an email or leave a nasty comment. I probably will not do anything about it other than restate the above reasons for changing it, but I always like to encourage the cathartic experience that comes with venting your opinion to someone who is pretending that they are listening. It is good for the soul.

Also, the topic labels have now been posted as an "Ordinary" (hehe... liturgical jokes are funny) on the main page of the blog for ease of use. It is under the title Here's a Shovel to Help You Dig. Hopefully that will help you sort through the enormous mess that I have made.

In all seriousness, let me know if there is any way that I can further improve this thing.

Post Labels Added

Labels have been added to all previous posts in order to help readers navigate the blog. Feel free to use this shovel to dig through all the mess in order to find what you want.

If you have any ideas for labels that I should add, send your suggestion to me via email. If there are posts that you think should have their labels redefined, send your suggestion to me via email.

In fact, if you have any ideas or advice that would improve this blog.... you guessed it... send your suggestion to me via email.

Clarification for My Audience

Apparently, I have tricked some people into thinking that I am something special. I apologize if spell check and careful editing have given you the wrong impression. I am not that smart and not that wise. We need to nip that foolishness in the bud right now. If I have any mental gift at all, it is the power to regurgitate. This was my response to a post on Adam Roe's blog, but it is important enough to post here:

For the record, I do not consider myself smart. I just listen to smart people and remember what they say. If I open my mouth and something inellegent or wise flies out, you can bet money that I am quoting someone or at least echoing a great idea that I was taught.

This was a great example: I heard you. I remembered hearing Rev. Rick Stuckwisch. I connected you to his post. Ta-dah! I'm a genius! =P

I can honestly say that I have never had an original thought that was constructive. I speak in object lessons, quotes, references, and summaries. I just relay what I learn. You are not looking at a wise man... just a master idea thief who likes to talk.

Let that be the end of such nonsense.

Friendly Reminder

Do not forget that this Sunday, the first Sunday in November, is the new end of Daylight Saving Time. In keeping with the Energy Policy Act of 2005, we will all set our clocks... (hmm... how does it go again? ...spring forward... fall back) ...back an hour this Sunday.

Make sure that you adjust your clocks accordingly so that you show up to church at the right time.

Special Exemption: If you normally like to skip Bible Study and only show up for the late service, you should just forget about this post. Daylight Saving Time does not end for you until Monday.

Roger Wilco

The attempts to drag me further into the world of blogging have succeeded. I was content to lurk in the comment sections of much bigger fish. Opinions about this strategy have fallen into two categories:

• There were those who suggested that I should realize my talent by getting my own site.
• There were those who felt that my opinions were too long-winded and tedious for the comment sections.

Message Received. I now have a blog of my own. I will need help getting this thing off the ground. There is now a central location where everyone can come to watch me embarrass myself.

I'm going to try to leave the standard Lutheran blog subjects to those who are better qualified. I am a Soldier; not a pastor. I am a neophyte; not a theologian. Let us all remember that... especially me.

I wanted to find a niche. It occurred to me that there are lots of people out there who read the Lutheran blogosphere and actually get stuff out of it. Once you cut through all the platitudes, name-calling, and rhetorical exercises, there is helpful information that people actually take to heart and apply. I am one of those people. My introduction to Lutheran doctrine was over the Internet. My first copy of the Book of Concord was in .pdf format. I have yet to meet the pastor who got me in the door of my first LCMS church.

Lives are being influenced by this insubstantial place we call the Internet. Like it or not, what we say out here is an extension of our witness. This hobby is the real deal. This can be service to your neighbor. Wouldn't it be great if we could all get together and learn from the wisdom of the collective? Wouldn't it be great if there were more places like http://wordandsacrament.com/?

BOLL is my brainchild. Like all of my good ideas, I stole it from someone else:

http://call.army.mil/

Trust me, you guys do not want a blog where I ramble about my opinions. The less this blog is about me the better. You guys want a blog where practical stuff is discussed; where distinctions between truth and error can be made. A place for testimony and suggestions. The plan is to provide a moderated forum where we can all learn from each other.

This is my blog. God help me.