You don't take what?

I was back at Enterprise Baptist today, preaching for them. For lunch I went over to a restaurant called Grandpa's Kitchen and got a plate of yummy eastern Carolina BBQ. When I went to pay, I found to my shock that they don't take credit cards. Naturally, I didn't have any cash on me. To my pleasant surprise, the cashier trusted me to go and get the money and come back to pay. Fortunately the chairman of the deacons at Enterprise was gracious enough to loan me the money so I could pay. All things considered, it was a rather embarrassing afternoon. At least the food was good!

Commentary on James: Chapter 2

At long last I've finished my work on the book of James. I've translated the entire book and written commentary on every chapter. Of course, the work would really benefit from a good editor; at times it's quite uneven. Still, it's good stuff, and I'm reasonably happy with it. The five chapters come in at 183 pages, which is not too bad. Certainly more work could be done, but it's a good start, useful for Sunday school teachers and college/seminary students. Enjoy.

Photos: Chesnut Falls

080401 Near Galax VA
Originally uploaded by james.garriss.mar08

We spent a couple days with friends near Galax VA. While there we went hiking and geo-caching. One stop was at a small waterfall called Chesnut Falls. More pictures on our Flickr account.

Mac and Cheese

We were with some friends this week, and during dinner Jacen complained that the mac and cheese tasted funny. We thought he was just be whiney, so we told him to keep eating. Later that evening we had coffee. Knowing that I'm a bit picky about my coffee creamer, Ann had brought some from home in a glass jar. When she got it out of the fridge, she was puzzled; half the creamer she brought was missing. Turns out that our friends thought it was milk and had used it to make the mac and cheese. Sorry, Jacen!

New Camera

When I grow up, I want to be like Ben. Or at least, I'd like to be able to take photos as good as he does. So I got a new camera and began to practice. Here are some of the new photos; most were taken at the park.

Egg nog and coffee?

I love egg nog, and I like coffee. So Ann bought some Vanilla Spice Egg Nog Gourmet Coffee by Southern Comfort. Just in case you're wondering, this is not a case where two great tastes taste great together. We threw most of it away.

Commentary on Ecclesiastes: Chapter 1

Ann and I are studying this very challenging book together in our quiet times, comparing notes on what we've learned and how God is applying the text to our lives. As I've done with other books, I've compiled my notes into a mini-commentary and published it on the site. Let me know what you think in the comments.

15 years

27 Feb 2008 - That was our 15th anniversary! I set up a date night with Ann a couple days later. While some friends watched the kids (thank you Matt and Shauna!), Ann and I went to Second Empire for dinner and to the NC Symphony for a bit of culture. But before dinner, we went downtown Raleigh for a photoshoot. I hired Ben Waddell from Ray Studios to take some pictures of us, and he did a great job. Take a look at some of my favorites.

New look for garriss.org

One of the programs that came with the iMac was iWeb, which is designed to quickly built simple websites. I decided to give it a try and rebuilt garriss.org with a cleaner, simpler look. Take a gander and let me know what you think of the new design.

Book: The Journal of Modern Ministry

For Christmas last year I received a subscription to the Journal of Modern Ministry, edited by Jay Adams. I just finished the Fall 07 issue, and I really like it. At 178 pages, it's a fairly substantial read. And it covers a variety of subjects, including general ministry, counseling, preaching, medicine, apologetics, and book reviews. The articles varied from 2 to 12 pages; none were so long as to bore me or lose me. I highly recommend this journal for everyone who is in ministry in the local church, including pastors, deacons, and teachers.

Book: John Myers' "Doc Holiday"

John Myer's biography of "Doc Holiday," written in 1955, is an interesting read. The style is dry and witty at the same time. For example, in listing the things Doc was not good at, Myers wrote, "Among divers other things, these said that he was not good at distinguishing between his own and another's property." Heh. Doc was a thief. Overall the book is pro-Doc, making him out to be not as bad as other's have claimed. There are a number of holes in the story where information about Doc is scarce, but Myers did a good job of keeping the story going. It's definitely a good read if you're interested old western gamblers and gun-slingers.

Commentary on James: Chapter 1

I'm continuing my work in the book of James. Chapter 1 is now finished and available for downloading.

Photos: Laurel Mill

After we went hiking at Medoc, we stopped by two geocache locations on the way home. One was the very pretty Laurel Mill. Ann found the cache while I took pictures.

Photos: Medoc Mountain State Park

Yesterday we went hiking and geocaching at Medoc Mountain State Park, about an hour NE of Wake Forest. This park wasn't nearly as picturesque as some of the ones we hiked in the Piedmont, like Stone Mountain, Pilot Mountain, or Hanging Rock, but it was cool because we went geocaching. Ann found 4 geocaches for us to try, two in the park and two on the way home. We actually found all four of them, which is much better than the first time we went geocaching and came home 0 for 2. I've posted the pictures of us hiking and exploring the geocaches in Medoc.

Book: Bruce Ray's "Withhold Not Correction"

"Withhold Not Correction" is a good book on biblical correction in the home. The first part provides a solid theological foundation for biblical correction, and the second part details several principles on implemention. I recommend this book in conjunction with Michael Pearl's "To Train Up A Child" for children from birth to around age 8.