A brontosaurus walking along the fenceline in our backyard. I thought these things were supposed to be extinct! (Actually, Don took this photo at the NC Museum of Natual Sciences)

GPoD: 1.11.2006

GPoD: 1.10.2006

Superabundant Liberality

Calvin, in his commentary on Psalm 104:14-15 ("He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart."), makes the following observation: "In these words we are taught, that God not only provides for men’s necessity, and bestows upon them as much as is sufficient for the ordinary purposes of life, but that in his goodness he deals still more bountifully with them by cheering their hearts with wine and oil. Nature would certainly be satisfied with water to drink; and therefore the addition of wine is owing to God’s superabundant liberality. [. . .] As the prophet in this account of the divine goodness in providence makes no reference to the excesses of men, we gather from his words that it is lawful to use wine not only in cases of necessity, but also thereby to make us merry." What holds true for the fruit of the vine is also true for that of the field--with a little help from His yeast and hops.
This evening we began our experiement in home brewing. Sarah and Stephen Sours, those famed brewmeisters from the north side of Durham, came over to direct our efforts (and supply some equipment), and after dinner we rolled up our sleeves to steep the grains, boil the wort and pitch the yeast. Don and I took copious notes and asked many stupid questions. Sarah wasn't too sure about the smell, but by about 10:00 we had a 5 gallon vat filled with what should be, in a little more than a fortnight's time, a lovely English-style nut brown ale.

Back from Philly

I got back from Philadelphia last night after a very enjoyable trip to the American Historical Association/American Society of Church History annual meeting. The highlight of the event, and the primary reason for which a fellow student and I trekked the 408 miles upcoast, was the special session dedicated to an assessment and appreciation of the career of my academic adviser at Duke, Prof. David Steinmetz. Many of his current and former students and colleagues were present--clearly a critical mass sufficient to justify Richard Muller's identification of a schola Steinmetziana moderna (a.k.a. the "Duke Mafia"), despite the repeated demurals of said school's namesake. It was an honor to be a part of the group this weekend and a deeply satisfying experience to see my teacher honored in such august company.

An Afternoon with the Sotises

Here are a couple of pictures from the afternoon we spent with the Sotises. Above, the proud mommies with their prideandjoys; below, an affectionate little Toby gives Graham a hug. Graham is not quite sure what to make of all this attention from a person so close to his own size.

GPoD: 1.5.2005

Here's Graham chewing on his uncle Josh over break. Nothing like gnawing on a digit to cement the ties of family.

RetroPoD: Five Months

Here's what we were doing five months ago this very eve: grabbing our hospital bags and heading for the door. Note the focused concentration on Sarah's face (contractions will do that!) and the barely-contained jubilation on mine (likewise, impending fatherhood). One cannot believe it was only five months ago.

Creator God

Here is a link to a fine essay in this month's Christian Century by my very own Doctor authenticus on the current debate over "intelligent design." What does the Christian theological tradition prior to Darwin have to say about these matters? Quite a bit, actually.

Home Again

We made it back home this evening after two very enjoyable weeks up in God's Country. We arrived in Minnesota to see the snow falling gently on the trees the next morning, and we never found ourselves in want of the white stuff. Looking out the back window of Sarah's parents' house, one might have even thought oneself in Narnia, but for the fact that Christmas most definitely came right on time. We had a blast showing off our little prideandjoy to scores of family and friends, but it's good to be home at last. Someone asked me last week where "home" was--MN or NC. I had to think about it. "Both, I guess."