Job 3:11-19

11 “Why did I not die at birth,
come out from the womb and expire?
12 Why did the knees receive me?
Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?
13 For then I would have lain down and been quiet;
I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,
14 with kings and counselors of the earth
who rebuilt ruins for themselves,
15 or with princes who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,
as infants who never see the light?
17 There the wicked cease from troubling,
and there the weary are at rest.
18 There the prisoners are at ease together;
they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.
19 The small and the great are there,
and the slave is free from his master.

I’ve been having a lot of questions lately.  One huge doctrine that I’ve been trying to understand is the doctrine of hell.  The majority opinion is definitely that hell is ‘eternal conscious torment’.  However, there is also the ‘evangelical annihilationism’, I believe it is called, which holds that after death is judgment, and then a punishment that ends with the annihilation of the wicked.

I read some Job this morning in my devotions, and I just have to wonder why Job speaks the way he does if most people have eternal conscious torment awaiting them.  That does not sound like the ‘cease from troubling’ or ‘ease’ of which Job speaks.

Books I’ve read on or since vacation (which was the end of June-July 5):

1. Allegiance
2. Death Star
3. Splinter of the Mind’s Eye
4. Balance Point
5. Edge of Victory I:
6. Edge of Victory II:
7. Star by Star
8. Dark Journey
9. Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream
10. Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand
11. Traitor
12. Destiny’s Way
13. Force Heretic I: Remnant
14. Force Heretic II: Refugee
15. Force Heretic III: Reunion
16. The Final Prophecy
17. The Unifying Force

Currently I’m reading:

• The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination
• Dark Nest I: The Joiner King

To be followed by:

• Evangelical Essentials (wherein John Stott explains his belief in annihilation)
• Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen

We’re having a “Biggest Loser” contest at work.  The stat that we’ll be judged on is “% of original weight lost”.  I’m the only one on Atkins, I believe.  [Edit: That's not true.  I think Patty is on Atkins as well.]  I think everybody else is exercising.  Last week I felt inclined to exercise, but not enough to actually do it.  This week I have even less motivation.

I created an Excel sheet with a VBA macro that interfaces with Google Chart API to chart our progress.  Here’s as of today:

I updated slide show #1 below with a legible floor plan. I flipped the whole image, then flipped the individual labels, and added in the master bathroom option, which is what our house has. I also added a few maps to show its location.

I’ve added two slideshows of the house for which we OUGHT to have a contract very soon.

The first was taken on April 18.  It was my boss’s last day, and his last act was to let us go an hour early.  I took this time to go down to the house and take some photos.  Since it was so last-minute, our realtor Judy was not able to make it, which is completely understandable.  Therefore all of the pictures were taken from the outside through windows, which in some cases are more revealing than the photos taken inside.

The second slide show was taken on April 26.  Mandy’s parents came over from St. Augustine and we went down to see the house.  Judy met us there and let us in.  I forgot to take a picture of the elevation, which motivated me to post the first set of pictures.

Any time now…

For anyone who wishes to irrecoverably waste inordinate amounts of their time, might I suggest the game Zuma?

If you can read this, then I guess so!

Nick was talking about his mentor-teacher who experienced a freak accident whereby one of her eyes was severly damaged.

“Were you a pupil of hers?” Dan asked.

We all covered our faces and groaned (as we got it one-by-one). [That's L) in Dan-type-speak.]

“What a cornea thing to say!” I replied.   More groaning ensued.

Then Rob outdid us both:  “Keep a lid on it,” he said.  “Forty lashes for you.”

I’ve been thinking about updating this blog.

Nah.