Marks of a Good Listener

Here's something most of us could use some work on: how to grow in our love for one another by becoming a better listener. Gavin offers these twenty marks.

HT: Challies.

Environmentalism and Christian Stewardship - Update

There has been a change to the program announced here a few weeks ago. The change was prompted by the sudden passing of Dr. Hilton Terrell, the primary speaker for the conference. The following is from Amanda Smith, the course coordinator:

The course has been reorganized due to the home-going of the primary speaker. It will now be held all in one day (April 1st) from 10:30 a.m.-- 3:00 p.m. Dr. Timothy Terrell will be giving 3 lectures discussing environmentalism and Christianity. We are looking forward to having our minds sharpened!

Related post.

Cancer Journal (09.02.17): By the Numbers

2 . . .
Health-related issues I thought I had when 2008 began: my vision and my cough


2 . . .
Months (Jan-Feb 08) before my vision was corrected
(Thank you, Drs. Bogart and Brown)


10 . . .
Months (Sept 07-June 08) that my cough went unexplained


12 . . .
The maximum number of months I would have lived had my cancer not been found


5 . . .
Doctors who cared for my body through this process
(Thank you, Drs. Fleming, Abreu, Nguyen, Curran, and Curtis)


18 . . .
Elders who laid their hands on me and prayed for my healing
(Thank you, Danny, Eric, Sandy, Warren, John V., Mike, Loyd, Dan, Sam, John S., Joel, John G., Gary, Tom, Brian, Lee, Rich, and Dick)


12 . . .
Injections of Adriamycin, Bleomycin, Vinblastine, and Dacarbazine -- my chemo cocktail


3 . . .
Injections of Neupogen


11 . . .
Injections of Neulasta


472 . . .
Miles I drove (alone!) the day after a chemo treatment to join my family on vacation


0 . . .
Scruples it took to do that


17 . . .
Radiation treatments


2,755 . . .
Total miles that I traveled for health purposes since January 2008


$60,657.51 . . .
Total amount in benefits that Blue Cross has paid for me since July 1, 2008


40+ . . .
Meals provided by members of Heritage Bible Church and other friends


114 . . .
Cards, letters, and get-well wishes I received


50? . . .
Estimated number of people who wore LiveStrong bracelets for me


2 . . .
People who ran a LiveStrong race for me
(Thank you, Heather and Sebastian)


521 . . .
Members of the Facebook group, "Praying for the Hoskinsons"
(Thanks to all of you)


1 . . .
Wife who carried our family on her back for nearly a year
(Thank you, Kimberly, for fulfilling your promise to love me in sickness and in health. All my heart is yours alone.)


0 . . .
Treatments remaining
(My last radiation was today.)


Praise be to God!

The Legend of Speedo Guy

I was already laughing out loud while watching this. But the twist at the end of the story caught me completely off-guard.



I'm so glad that Michigan fans are much more civilized than Duke fans.

The Lord's Plow

Samuel Rutherford:

If the Lord's plow make furrows in my soul,
it is because he purposeth a crop.

HT: Bob Carver.

Cheering for the Other Team

Here's an inspiring story about a football coach who asked half of his team's fans to cheer for the other team--a team composed of inmates of a maximum security prison many of whose parents had disowned them. After the game, one of the players on the other team prayed, "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank you, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us."

HT: Josh.

Mahaney on Phelps

Once again, C. J. Mahaney offers tremendous, gospel-driven insight on the world of sports. As he did with his article on Bill Belichick after the Patriots lost last year's Super Bowl, C. J. now addresses the sad revelation of uber-Olympian Michael Phelps and his apparent drug use.

Here's a taste of what he wrote:

This is what I find so striking: A man whose chest has been covered with gold medals, has achieved international fame, showered with awards, and blessed with an incomprehensible amount of money, still feels compelled to press his face to a bong.

Mahaney's conclusions will lead you to humility--and the cross.

Younger Women and Motherhood

For years the trend has been for women to wait longer to have children. That era may be coming to a close. Sue Shellenbarger of the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday on a new study from the National Center for Health Statistics. It reports the first decline in the average age of first-time mothers since data have been recorded. Highlighting this trend is twenty-two-year-old Candace Parker, last year's MVP and Rookie of the Year in the WNBA, who announced last month that she and her husband are expecting. Shellenbarger reports:

Ms. Parker's parents were in their 30s when she was born, and "I kind of missed out" on shooting hoops with her dad and other shared play, she says. She wants her children to have the benefit of young parents.

The whole article is available online.

Cardboard Testimonies

I don't know much about the church, but this video is powerful.

HT: PariCom and Matias.

Facebook, Advertising, and Your Info

According to the (London) Telegraph, Facebook is moving forward with plans to take the information you've put on their site and transform it into "one of the world's largest research databases" for marketers.

HT: Challies.

On Confessions and Unity

Michael Horton:

Whatever the differences between the churches of the Reformation, the strength and vitality of a Lutheran church committed to its Book of Concord, an Anglican church that lives out its faith and practice from the riches of the Thirty-Nine Articles and its Book of Common Prayer, a Reformed or Presbyterian church shaped by the Three Forms and Westminster Standards, and Baptists who interpret their mission in the light of the London/Philadelphia Confession are a stronger witness for the common truths that bind evangelicals than all of the statements of faith that the evangelical movement seems perpetually to generate.

To be sure, as we dig more deeply into the Scriptures and our confessional identity, we become more aware of the distinctives of a particular tradition; but if we resist the temptation to indulge the narcissism of a party spirit, we may also discover that we understand and appreciate the truths that we all confess together and there discover a genuine openness to each other as "evangelical," even if not altogether satisfied to be called "evangelicals." Traditionalism is as mindless as perpetual innovation. When confessional convictions become reduced to slogans, knee-jerk reactions, and narrow-minded loyalty to a heritage, that tradition has already become dangerously moribund. However, a rediscovery of the truths that others have discovered before us provides resources that help us to make real contributions instead of settling for a generic and shallow consensus. Those who have themselves become fully persuaded that covenant children should be baptized should be eager to come together with brothers and sisters who disagree and in the process, with their Bibles open, come more fully to realize their shared love for the authority of God's Word. And where we do agree together, our common witness can only be stronger, more unified, and more profound.

From "More Confessional and More Open?" Modern Reformation 17.7 (Nov/Dec 2008): 60.

Related article: Michael Horton, "To Be or Not To Be: The Uneasy Relationship between Reformed Christianity and American Evangelicalism," Modern Reformation 17.7 (Nov/Dec 2008): 18-21.

Environmentalism and Christian Stewardship

Greenville Classical Academy is hosting a special mini-course called "Environmentalism and Christian Stewardship: Thinking Green as a Christian." The following is from a promotional brochure.

Purpose. Ideas on the environment have become a powerful force in politics, the economy and our culture. We hear phrases like "energy independence," "carbon footprint," and "think green" used almost daily. At the creation of the world, God instructed man to "tend and keep" the earth. How does this command apply? Is drilling in ANWR poor Christian stewardship? Should we be concerned about global warming? Is energy independence a worthy goal? What is the role of government in resolving environmental issues? How does evolution relate to environmentalism? What limits should the Christian have on his efforts to "tend and keep" the earth? These questions and more will be considered during this seminar. Join us as we seek to transform our students into discerning followers of Jesus Christ.

Speakers. Dr. Timothy Terrell earned a Ph.D. in economics from Auburn University and has taught at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC since 2000. His dissertation and some subsequent writing has focused on environmental regulation. Dr. Terrell writes extensively on economics and public policy, and has lectured internationally on economics and ethics. He is the father of three children.

Dr. Hilton Terrell has been practicing medicine and teaching in Florence, SC for over twenty years as Associate Professor of Family Medicine in a medical residency program. He holds an M.D. degree from the Medical University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. He is board certified in Family Medicine. For nine years he edited the Journal of Biblical Ethics in Medicine. As part of his residency teaching he has directed the residency curriculum in environmental medicine. At present, he is president-elect of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. In 2007-08 he tried his hand teaching high school biology and found it to be one of the most challenging things he has done.

Description. Designed for 7th-12th grade students, the course will cover a variety of environmental topics such as global warming, energy, pollution, evolution and creationism. Students who attend the full three-day series of lectures and complete all required out-of-class assignments will receive a grade and a certificate of completion.

Auditors. Adult students and auditors are welcome. Auditors will not be required to do take-home assignments and will not receive a grade or certificate. If your child is in 6th grade but would still like to attend, auditing the course is recommended.

Dates and Times. The lectures will take place on three Thursdays next month: March 5, 19, & 26. The schedule includes three lectures and Q&A sessions each day beginning at 11 a.m. and ending at 3 p.m.

Location. The lectures will be held at Greenville Classical Academy, which meets at the facilities for Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church (map).

Cost. Tuition for the entire series of lectures is $35 per student (for grade or for audit) with a $50 maximum per family.

Registration. The registration form is available online and may be mailed to Greenville Classical Academy, 2519 Woodruff Road, Simpsonville, SC 29681. The registration deadline is February 20, and space is limited.