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Everywhere I Go

There are some great songs in the World. As a pop-culture enthusiast, it’s my passion to find them and listen to them over and over and over again. You know how I am, right?

Anyway, I always like to bring you the things that make me happy, especially when they involve music, books, films or TV shows.

In the world of music, there are so many things to be thankful for. Johnny Cash, U2, Dylan, Beethoven and this little gem. In all honesty, this is one of my favorite songs ever. It comes to us via “Moose A. Moose” who is a host on Noggin, a show on Nic Jr. Yeah, you heard me. One of the greatest songs ever written is performed by a cartoon moose on a kids show.

I stand by this. Give it a listen.

Everywhere I Go

CAFFEINE AND GREEK

A lot of people ask me what kind of Bible I read and the answer isn’t as easy as you might think.

You see, I tend to use several. Here is an approximate break down-

My standard reading Bible is the NASB. There are a few reasons for this, but the main reason is that it was the required text from Bethel Theological Seminary in St. Paul where I received my Masters degree in “Uppity Theologian Who Thinks He’s Always Right”.

For sacred occasions such as reading the Christ Birth at Christmas time, I prefer the St. John Bible. This is a hand scribed book and I never cease to be amazed at it’s beauty.

I still casually read from my NIV Bible that I was presented upon my graduation at Lee University. The inside has an inscription by President Paul Conn himself! How’s that for your tuition dollars at work?

Now things get a bit trickier.

If I’m studying the New Testament in an effort to introduce context and proper meaning, I use Marshall’s NASB-NIV Parallel. It’s a nice sturdy hardbound edition that April got for me years ago, and you can read all three translations (Greek, NASB and NIV) at once.

I also like to read The Message (not a true translation, I know…) when preparing a lecture or sermon. I thing Peterson is a linguistic genius and we can probably get closer to the spirit of the text from the Message on most days than we can from any real “translation”.

I have a small pocket version of the ESV that was presented to me on the evening of my Ordination into the ministry. I don’t read it much, but I do often keep it in my back pocket just in case.

You will notice that nowhere on the list is the King James or the New King James. I know that many pastors love the sound of the King James while screaming it. It definitely has an air of authority to it and with the proper Southern twang it can sound downright brimstone-y. A definite must-have if reminding people that they have a one-way ticket to Hell.

In my opinion, neither of these texts are better than the NASB or ESV and in most cases, The Message will serve your purpose better anyway.

Now, on to the matter of Coffee…

Starbucks or Dunkin. Period.

Growing up, my Dad always made sure we were in church. ALWAYS. I mean, if the doors were open, the Alderman clan was there.

On the rare occasion that we didn’t go, (and some Saturday mornings as well) Dad would cook the “Big Breakfast”. Sausage, biscuits, gravy, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, juice and milk. We would sit and feast like kings.

This morning, Riley had a bad cough, so we stayed home. I was feeling industrious, so I locked myself away in the kitchen and tried to make my old man proud.

We are now stuffed and ready for a nap. I think I’m gonna read my Bible for a bit now while I drink my morning coffee.

Yes, there are leftovers if you would like to come get some…