One thing (out of several) that elevates Dial of Destiny above the last installment in the Indian Jones franchise: it feels like a real movie. A real Indiana Jones movie.

We had a good time at Swingin' Safari Mini Golf this afternoon!

Family D&D night

I will just say I am thankful for the sanity and simplicity of micro.blog in the midst of all this Twitter/Threads/Meta drama.

I hope we get some new community members (not just “users”) out of it, and I look forward to seeing micro.blog grow even more in its ability to facilitate meaningful connections across the Internet.

Updated: site look and feel, now page

Deleted my Reddit account.

The forcing out of third-party apps seemed so egregiously wrong.

As much as I appreciate many of the communities on Reddit, there are alternatives that are less user-hostile (I’m realizing the old-school forums still exist).

Plus, it was beginning to be another time-killing feed in my life. Now it’s not on my phone and I’ll have to access via web as a lurker for any info there.

Now, I’m on Facebook and Instagram only (mainly to maintain a church presence for outreach and communication purposes, since so many people remain there), as far as mainstream social media goes.

Still on Micro.blog.

Exploring some classic forums.

Back at it

New beer to me, quite enjoyable. Good times with family by the pool.

Marvel Munchkin with the fam!

AI and its implications are of pastoral concern right now. As a priest, I’m already walking alongside others as they explore this topic.

TIL what synechdoche means.

Well, it’s happened. An entire church service generated by AI.

What an amazing resource for us Anglicans!

➡️ The Scriptural BCP

Currently reading: Faith in the Age of AI by Dan Scott 📚

My beautiful wife and best friend, Amber.

Feels different to get 8 full hours of sleep.

Good morning! Country Squire Chesapeake tobacco, Costco coffee, sacred reading.

What a blessing to spend some time with one of my spiritual fathers and founding pastor of Desert Mission Anglican Church, Fr. John Dyson. So thankful for how God has blessed me with his ministry and friendship.

Working on preaching with fewer notes. This morning I took about half of what I usually do with me, and was able to fit it all on a single sheet of paper tucked in my Bible.

One of my core “mentors from afar,” Tim Keller, has died. It feels like such a tremendous loss. Although I did not know him personally, he had a tremendous personal impact on me.

Tim Keller’s preaching and teaching and pastoral posture have helped me profoundly, and formed me deeply. So many times, his writing and preaching steadied my faith and brought me deeper into the beauty of the biblical story.

I give thanks to God for what I know of his life and ministry. Praying for that special peace that comes from the Spirit to comfort him and all his loved ones.

NT Wright on the martyrdom of St. Stephen:

In the great Jewish tradition of martyrdom, the dying called down curses on their persecutors; the first Christian martyr followed his Lord in praying for their forgiveness. But forgiveness wasn’t what they wanted (despite the fact that this was what the Temple stood for!); they wanted their worldview left intact. That’s the stuff that stonings are made of. But God has laid in Zion the true corner stone, precious beyond imagining to those who believe.

N. T. Wright, Twelve Months of Sundays: Reflections on Bible Readings, Year A, (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2001), 63.

Finished 2023: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker 📚

Essential ideas for understanding the essentially foundational nature of sleep, written with energy and in some places even poetry.

Finished 2023: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North 📚

Fun and whimsical comic. Great lighthearted reading.

A new retrowave-synth-experimentation: ISIT

Finished 2023: On the Ecclesiastical Mystagogy by Saint Maximus the Confessor 📚

Maximus, helpful and inspiring as always. was gratified to find that his description of the liturgy maps closely to what I participate in weekly as an Anglican Christian.