Another Sunday…another set of ramblings. I do look forward to being able to jot down a bunch of completely disconnected thoughts every week. While it’s nice to write a good article that carries a theme, it’s also nice just to be able to touch on the things that couldn’t quite make an article-length piece either.
I continue to enjoy BlogExplosion, though I continue to wonder if it has any real value. I have seen an explosion (isn’t that what they promise) of traffic to the site. Perhaps “explosion” is too strong a term, but there has definitely been a good bit of traffic coming by. However, I’m not sure that it really means much because I’m sure the bulk of the people are waiting for their 30 seconds and then clicking onto the next site. I don’t think I’ve had any of them actually post a comment or indicate that they intend to return to the site as part of their daily travellings. Traffic means nothing if it doesn’t represent people who are somehow interested in the site’s content. This holds true to blogs as much as corporate or e-commerce sites. Over the next few days I’ll continue to monitor this to see if I think BlogExplosion has a real impact or only a fake impact.
I have had the privilege of reading some exceptionally good books recently. Yesterday I finished Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God and found it an excellent study of the Calvinist position on evangelism. I highly recommend it. At 126 pages it isn’t so long and deep that it will turn people off. And Packer is such a gifted communicator that he makes it easy to read.
I am now turning my attention to The God Who Justifies by James White. This is the first book I’ve read that deals exclusively with justification and I am anticipating it will be a tough but rewarding read. It will certainly put my limited Greek skills to the test; I’ve noticed there are several paragraph-length Greek passages within the text. I thoroughly enjoyed White’s treatment of Scripture Alone, so see no reason to doubt that I’ll also enjoy this one.
I guess I have a reputation. During the sermon this morning the pastor said (I am paraphrasing since I don’t have the exact words handy) in regards to contentment in life, “I think it would help us, and Tim will like this, if we were all a bit more Calvinist in our view of God’s sovereignty.” Afterwards I had a couple of people come to me and confirm that I was the Calvinist in question. Indeed I am. And the more I read and study the issue, the more firm I am in my convictions.
Yesterday my mother bumped into an old friend who just so happens to be a very well known Christian author. Strangely enough, my mother and I were discussing this woman just a few weeks ago and wondering when my mom would ever see her again. They used to be very close friends but fell out of contact a few years ago as they both moved a couple of times. And then just like that she found her at a book-signing at the local Christian bookstore. Naturally my first thought was “how can I leverage this for my Web site.” My folks are going to see her again in a couple of weeks so perhaps I can get another set of signed books to give away. We’ll see what I can figure out. I’m shameless!
And now I have to turn my attention to preparing for this evening’s Bible study. I will be back with a couple of book reviews tomorrow. Or that’s the plan anyways. These things have a way of changing.
