Redemption Groanings has Moved

No, the Gospel Coalition has not asked me to join their team of bloggers.

But with the church I serve launching a new website last week, I've decided to start blogging on our site.  It will be quite similar to what I have posted here for the last few years, but hopefully will serve people well over on the church's site.  And I think my fellow pastor Jason Tyrell will also be doing some blogging there as well.

You can track with JCF pastor's blog by clicking here.

Blog Break

The blog is going to be dormant until some time around November 15th. I'll be on a retreat with my fellow elders from Joy Community Fellowship this weekend, and then will be taking 10 days of vacation. In the Lazarus household, vacation means no computers at all.

If I still have any readers left, I'll see you all mid-November.

Blogging Lull

As the lull in blogging probably indicates, I've been questioning whether I should continue keeping up with the blog. I've gone through little seasons (a week or so) where I question whether I want to continue, but I can't recall a time when I've felt this apathetic to blogging for so long.

Can any of you convince me to keep it up? I'm not looking for an ego stroke or anything, but perhaps a little encouragement might show me there's some value in keeping things going.

Let me know what you think...

Why Christians are Jerks Online

Will requested it, so here it is: John Acuff's article from Cnn.com

Blitter

As I mentioned last week, I've been posting a fair amount on Twitter, as I find good short quotes in my reading and re-tweeting some thoughts of others.

One problem with Twitter is that the posts aren't archived (or at least I haven't figured out how to do it), which means, for instance, that the quote I really liked from Elyse Fitzpatrick two months ago is very difficult to find today.

So I've decided that I'm going to be posting those tweets that I want archived here on the blog too. Let's just saying I'm bleeting -- a mixture of blogging and tweeting. That way if I want to find one of those quotes for a sermon or some other purpose, I should have better chances of finding it. I'll still be posting on Twitter too, but I suppose the best of Twitter (at least according to me) will be here too.

This is going to increase the number of posts on the blog (especially as I try to get some of my favorites from the last few weeks all up on the blog), but they'll be short (140 characters at most) in length so they won't take long to read.

Tweets & Blogs

Because of time constraints, I think my Twitter feed has been more exciting than the blog lately. 140 characters make for short, quick posts, which is about all I have time for right now.

When Blogging is Light

As I wrote last week, blogging was light because of my preparation for a wedding this past weekend. I hope to be a little more regular with the blog this week.

This reminded me of the value of RSS readers. Sometimes I make three posts in a day; other times I make three posts in an entire week. If you don't want to bother with checking the blog all the time, RSS readers are a great, time-saving tool.

Instead of checking one blog at a time, RSS allows you to keep track of all the blogs you visit, and automatically notifies you when the blogs you've subscribed to are updated. That way you don’t have to keep going back to them only to find nothing has been updated.

If you've never understood what that funky orange thing was and want to get the RSS reader set up, this tutorial from Abraham Piper will get you going in minutes.

Vacation

I'll be getting some rest this week with my family, which means no internet or email for me. I have scheduled a few posts to go up through the week, but things will be a bit lighter than usual.

I'll plan to pick up normal blogging on Monday, April 26th.

Off for the Weekend

I am headed to Virginia to visit some family this weekend, so I likely won't be blogging until Monday.

I'm looking forward to the time visiting with my sister and her fiance, and visiting Sovereign Grace Church in Fairfax.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

And the Winner Is...

Trevor got in just before the deadline and is the winner of the Counterfeit Gods giveaway.

Congratulations, Trevor! I'll bring the book to church tomorrow. It will give you some added incentive to dig out of the snow!

Last Chance: Counterfeit Gods, Anyone?

Only four takers interested in winning a copy of Tim Keller's Counterfeit Gods?

Come on, people, it's a really good book! If you want in, leave a comment on Wednesday's post by the end of today, and I'll draw one winner tomorrow.

Redemption Groanings: Year in Review

Yesterday, on my day off, I decided to take a look back through the blog posts that I've written over the past year. Similar to looking back on a journal, it was encouraging to be reminded of the ways in which God has taught me about Himself through the ordinary course of every day life.

Here are some posts that, for various reasons, are particular favorites of mine; one from every month since I started the blog:

1. Education on Vocation
2. A World Without Happy Endings
3. Cursed, in Hope
4. So, the Government Can't Intrude on Private Family Matters?
5. A Lesson on Hope, Courtesy of Brad Lidge
6. Cole Hamels and Jesus Christ
7. Don't Take a Minute for Granted
8. The Hypocrisy of Co-Existing
9. Made for the City
10. A Memorial of God's Grace
11. Does He Shine in a Punt Return?
12. King of the Universe, or Cosmic Idiot

And of course, the post I always point people to, explaining what this blog is all about: Why do we groan?

Anyone else out there have a most memorable post from the past year?

Happy Birthday, Redemption Groanings

Redemption Groanings turns one year old today. Thanks to those who have journeyed with me. I hope that to some degree my musings have helped you to set your mind on heavenly things.

As a thank you for your readership, I'd like to give away a book by one of my favorite authors, Tim Keller. Counterfeit Gods is Keller's most recent book, and is a terrific one. Leave a comment on this post by the end of the day on Friday and I will draw a winner on Saturday.

Merry Belated Christmas...

I don't take for granted that those of you who read this blog make an investment of time to interact with my musings. So to express my thanks to those of you who take the time to read the blog, I want to give someone a $10 iTunes gift card.

Just leave a comment on this post with your name between now and Friday. Then I will pick one name and that person will receive the gift card.

Thanks again for taking the time to check in with me on the blog.

Does Anyone Read My Twitter Feed?

In the last couple of days I've posted some of my tweets here, but I don't want to be too redundant. Do blog readers check Twitter too?

Leave a comment and let me know.

Vacation Time

Vacation time for the Lazarii this week, which means no blogging for me. But so as to keep things moving here at Redemption Groanings, I've asked some of my friends and faithful blog readers to contribute one post each. They'll be going up through the week, and I hope you'll enjoy their musings.

Lord willing, I'll resume with some blogging of my own on November 5th.

32 reasons I'm grateful on my 32nd birthday (in no particular order, except the first one)

1. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
2. Before the ages began, God the Father gave me to His Son to save and keep by His omnipotent power.
3. The hope (not merely desire, but certain expectation) that Jesus will come again and make all things new.
4. My excellent wife, who daily pursues to live like this, by God's grace.
5. Halle, who knows that "Jesus conquered the grave"...may she come to know what it means.
6. Felicity, whose been true to her name for 11 months, except while I write this post.
7. A church growing in their love for the Gospel, who support me and my family.
8. Family who are loving and supportive though they don't share my convictions about Jesus.
9. Common Grace
10. Sports
11. All five of my senses function properly
12. Clean water
13. Even though I'm actually having a hard time thinking of 32 things, God hasn't struck me dead.
14. My small group
15. People who have loved me enough to share the truth with me, even when it hurts.
16. Romans 8
17. John Piper
18. Tim Keller
19. C.J. Mahaney
20. Having the chance to speak to those three guys personally and tell each of them how grateful I am for them.
21. The radical, sacrificial generosity of others that I have been a recipient of (they wouldn't want their names mentioned).
22. People who ask me how I'm doing, and mean it.
23. Twitter -- for challenging me to make God look great in 140 characters or less; not easy for a long-winded preacher.
24. The Phillies are defending World Series Champions (at least for a few more weeks)
25. My iPod
26. I have the privilege of teaching people the Word of God, and I actually get paid to do it.
27. Electricity
28.Trash removal
29. The Bible has been translated into my language.
30. Health
31. Sickness (which keeps me from taking health for granted)
32. From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.

It may not be your birthday, but leave a comment and tell me some things that you are grateful for today.

Why I blog

In a post on the Desiring God blog awhile back, Abraham Piper gave 6 reasons why pastors should blog. This one especially resonates with me: To develop and eye for what is meaningful. Piper writes:

For good or ill, most committed bloggers live with the constant question in their mind: Is this bloggable? This could become a neurosis, but I’ll put a positive spin on it: It nurtures a habit of looking for insight and wisdom and value in every situation, no matter how mundane.

If you live life looking for what is worthwhile in every little thing, you will see more of what God has to teach you. And the more he teaches you, the more you can teach others. As you begin to be inspired and to collect ideas, you will find that the new things you’ve seen and learned enrich far more of your life than just your blog.

This is the kind of person I long to be: one who looks for what is worthwhile in every little thing, and thus sees what God has to teach me in those little things. May all of us, whether we blog or not, labor to glean wisdom and insight from every situation, even the mundane.

A new blog for the twitterly challenged

For those who care, I created a new blog to tweet my daily Bible meditations. For some reason I'm still unable to make posts on Twitter, so I'm doing what I was doing there at this new blog, which you can find here.

Gone Until Monday

I'm heading out in around an hour with some leaders from church for a weekend of vision planning. Then Sunday heading over to Philly after church for a birthday dinner with some family.

So blogging will resume on Monday.