The Coolest Video of a Water Heater Failing You’ll See Today
Anna and I had a water heater fail at one of our apartments in Phoenix. It was located outside of our apartment in a tiny storage closet on the porch, and the tank ruptured. It burst a hole through our living room wall and sent a jet of water twenty feet across the apartment, flooding our residence and the two floors below us.
When it popped, we were at the Grand Canyon with Anna’s folks, and we missed most of the excitement. So, when I heard Adam Savage (of Mythbusters fame) say that failing water heaters made for his favorite explosions, I had to look for the video evidence. I can honestly say that seeing this makes me just a little bit happier that we weren’t home.
The whole video is good, but the real action starts at 3:25.
Anyhow, have fun checking your T&P valves!
Grace & Peace,
Dan J.
A Brief Note for Moviegoers
Grant Horner has a new book entitled “Meaning at the Movies” which looks like an interesting read. Given my desire to encourage Christians to study art, particularly television and film, I’m looking forward to reading and reviewing it soon.
Crossway describes it as follows:
Meaning at the Movies: Becoming a Discerning Viewer
Hollywood produces, packages, and sells hundreds of movies every year. Many of these movies propagate a distorted sense of morality and ethics. Under the surface of immoral behavior and unlawfulness, however, there can be deeper problems in Hollywood’s messages. What are these stories telling the viewer about life, relationships, and God? What worldviews and ideas do they espouse? If Christians are to tread carefully at the theater complex, they need resources to help them.
This book is just such a resource. By exploring the relationship between Christianity and art, the theology of biblical discernment, and a brief history of filmmaking, as well as through analysis of popular films, Meaning at the Movies equips readers for careful discernment in the cinema. The book does not simply list criteria for judging film art; instead it encourages Christians to develop biblical and critical discernment in regard to not only film, but all aspects of culture.
Vitamin Z has a giveaway this month, where three lucky readers will win a free copy of this book, so don’t hesitate to head over there and sign up!
Grace & Peace,
Dan J.
A Brief Note for Everyone
The Mayer Community Church Doctrinal Statement
So this is cool. Wordle lets you upload whatever text you care to upload, and then it spits out a randomly generated word cloud. I found it to be an enjoyable diversion. Linked below, you can see the results of uploading the Mayer Community Church Doctrinal Statement.
Feel free to check out the original at the Wordle site, or to upload your own. Have fun playing with words!
Grace & Peace,
Dan J.
Retreat at the Rim
One thing I was looking forward to after graduation was the opportunity to take occasional spiritual retreats without the constant press of anxiety over papers and reading. In practice, this means packing up my tent and gear and hiding in the woods for a day or two. Last week, I had the chance to do just that.
I landed at Kehl Springs, which sits at the top of the Mogollon Rim and overlooks Payson, Pine, and Strawberry. The wind was constant, as was the sun, and by midday, I discovered that I had acquired a bright red sunburn on both arms. This was a surprise since it was about 50°, but I’ve heard stories about skiers getting sunburned, so I should have expected it. I’ve posted some thoughts and pictures (of the site, not the sunburn) after the break. The video, though, was made for Anna’s sake–she doesn’t like heights–but I think it gives a good view of where I was sitting for the afternoon.
In any case, it was a good retreat. Nothing spectacular, no booming revelations, no stunning life decisions. Just time to read through a Gospel and to consider ways in which I would like to pray for God’s sanctifying work to continue. Perhaps the most intriguing thought I came away with is this: Do I pursue sanctification because I want to be a better person, or because I want to glorify God?
Windsor Place: The Backyard
Now that I’m done with seminary, Anna expects me to help her make progress on our project list for Windsor Place. That’s fine in principle, but in practice, it means that she wants me to dig out our irrigation trench and move our shed across the yard. I’ve dropped in some pictures below, including a panorama shot of our backyard.