NoelHeikkinen.com

Which Theologian Am I?

Aug 30, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Torn
.:itunes:. Everybody Knows by Leonard Cohen

Stolen from the blog of Brett Maxwell:

You scored as Martin Luther, The daddy of the Reformation. You are opposed to any Catholic ideas of works-salvation and see the scriptures as being primarily authoritative.

Which theologian are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

Final South Korean hostages freed!

Aug 30, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Hmmmmm
.:itunes:. Rebecca by PJ Harvey

The final South Korean hostages were released today.

Interesting note in the news report…not the bolded section: (via Yahoo!)

JANDA, Afghanistan - Taliban militants on Thursday released the final seven South Korean captives they had been holding, bringing an end to a six-week hostage drama, witnesses said…

Under the terms of a deal reached Tuesday, South Korea reaffirmed a pledge it made before the hostage crisis began to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year. Seoul also said it would prevent South Korean Christian missionaries from working in the staunchly Muslim country, something it had already promised to do.

Interesting that both of the conditions were re-affirmations of previous commitments. It makes me wonder what else is going on…

Understanding Poetry

Aug 30, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Goodish
.:itunes:. Best Sides by The Gold

Jimmy Kimmel explains that the key to understanding Miss Teen South Carolina’s answer in the pageant last week is understanding it was poetry. Here’s the video via Hot Air.

You’ll have to click here to see it because the embedding wasn’t working.

The Best of All Worlds

Aug 29, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. YYYEEEEAAAAHHHHH!
.:itunes:. This Love by G-Dragon

Finally, my love for K-Pop, Maroon 5, and cover songs come together in one amazing package.

Enjoy

Prayer for the Korean Hostages

Aug 29, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Made
.:itunes:. Tried & True by Poor Old Lu

Just got a great note in the mail and thought I’d share it with you all (I got permission to share it):

Hi Noel,

I attend Riverview and read your blog. I just wanted to tell you how awesome it is that the Korean hostages are being released. It was a news story that I only heard about through your blog and I have been praying for their release every night for about a month now. I’ve never prayed for a news-type event before, and it’s been an awesome experience doing so. I know that God has answered so many prayers for this event.

Recently I found that I like to pray by using verses from the Bible. I feel that my prayer is more powerful that way (like what James Granger was discussing in the “Prayerful” message).

So what I did when I was praying for the Korean hostages was pray through all or some of Psalms 69, 70, and 71. Those three just made me think that was how the hostages might be feeling. Now I guess we should be praying for the Gospel to reach that part of the world. I can’t wait to see what God’s plan is.

Thanks for you blog!

-Kaci Gala

This note made my day.

Quote of the Day

Aug 29, 2007 Quotes

.:mood:. Good
.:itunes:. Take Off Your Cool (Feat. Norah Jones) by Andre 3000

“Following Jesus is more like driving a taxicab than being a librarian–you never know who you’ll meet or where you’ll go next.”

- Brian Jones

Unresolved

Aug 29, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Slow
.:itunes:. Under The Milky Way Tonight by The Church

From Letters from Kamp Krusty comes this great bit…make sure you click the link and read the whole thing. The story he tells is way better than this illustration…Curious, aren’t you?

There’s a story about Bach — or maybe it was Mozart — and how, even as a little kid, he had to hear resolution. He was in bed, upstairs, and someone was playing the piano, and that someone got distracted and stopped, just before the last chord.

J.S. — or W.A.? — couldn’t stand it. He tromped downstairs, pounded out the resolving chord, and then went back up to bed again, without a word. He just had to hear it.

We’re all like that. I think about all the stories I’ve heard, and then all the ones I’ve lived, and there’s the big difference: We get resolution in the former, but the other just…lay…out there, somewhere, and, much as we pretend, there are no finish lines, no final chords, no official victories, no ends-of-story. Not yet, anyway.

The Price of Freedom

Aug 29, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Bittersweet
.:itunes:. Love Song by 311

OK, we now know the price that was paid for the release of the hostages. According to FOXNews.com, here’s the price:

To secure the hostages’ release, South Korea reaffirmed a pledge to withdraw its 200 troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year and prevent South Korean Christian missionaries from working there. The Taliban apparently backed down on earlier demands for a prisoner exchange.

Let me put it in bullet form:

1) Withdrawal of South Korean troops this year
2) No more South Korean Christian Missionaries in Afghanistan

The second condition made my stomach ache. Seriously.

I am so happy for the hostages and their families, but I am sad for the Gospel. Luckily, I have the word’s of Joseph I am teaching on this weekend:

Genesis 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

God is in control. He has a plan.

South Korean Hostages Being Released

Aug 29, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Hopeful
.:itunes:. You Still Love Me by The Seventy Sevens

Just got this link from my friend Rick. He got it from Bloomberg.com

Taliban militants began freeing the 19 South Korean hostages from almost six weeks in captivity in eastern Afghanistan today after the rebels and government officials from Seoul agreed to the terms of their release.

Eight hostages, seven women and one man, were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the head of the ICRC delegation in Afghanistan, Reto Stocker, said by cell phone. He was en route with some of them to the town of Ghazni, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Kabul.

Five newly released captives were in the convoy to Ghazni and were to be transferred to South Korean officials there, Stocker said. Three hostages were released hours earlier. The Red Cross brokered face-to-face talks between the Taliban and the South Korean government.

I’m stoked that the hostages are being released, but secretly (or not so much since I am blogging it), I wonder “at what price?” We can only pray that God intervened in the Taliban’s hearts. I also wonder “what’s next?” We live in a fallen world and these things are just the price of sin.

Let’s keep praying for the hostages, their families, and their captors.

Christian Unity

Aug 28, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Unified
.:itunes:. Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright

So on the heels of repenting of my attitude problem toward John Calvin this weekend at Riverview, I come across this great article by James White. Here’s a snippet, but it’s definitely worth reading the whole thing at Serious Times.

I was asked an important question this week in the context of a gathering of future evangelical leaders: What one thing would bring about renewal and revival in America?

Who could claim to know the answer? But I do know what first entered my mind.

If there is going to be real renewal, real revival –at least in America – there will have to be widespread repentance for how we have failed to answer Jesus’ plea for demonstrable unity and shared grace among those who follow Christ…

The irony is staggering: we spew venom in the name of defending our sense of orthodoxy and in so doing destroy the vibrancy of our faith and our witness to the world more than a thousand heresies.

This I know: until we do repent, and condemn that which truly needs condemning among our own, the world will not be listening.

And Jesus has given them permission.

Coffee

Aug 28, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Caffeinated
.:itunes:. Restless by Brooks Williams

Thanks to PastorHacks for this one.

Blog of the Week

Aug 28, 2007 Blog of the Week

.:mood:. Sore, a Bit
.:itunes:. Born Losers by Matthew Good

Blog Name
Overheard in New York

Blog Author
Everyone in New York who is listening. Here’s a list of all the contributors. Here are the top contributors (BTW, does Rachel W remind anyone of someone?)

What is this blog about?
Basically, they just quote the funny / stupid / crazy things people say on the street. I’m sure they are sometimes made up, but it’s funny nonetheless. Sometimes the quotes can be off-color, so watch out for that.

Why do I read it?
It’s funny.

PhotoBooth

Aug 27, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Chillin’
.:itunes:. Scandalous by LaToya London

Since I got my new computer, I really haven’t played around with a lot of the new features. In fact, I had totally forgotten about PhotoBooth. The boys and I found it today and here is the result:

Miss Teen South Carolina

Aug 26, 2007 Uncategorized

I don’t envy this poor girl. Blonde jokes are going to plague her forever. (via glumbert.com)

Quote of the Day

Aug 25, 2007 Quotes

.:mood:. Simplified
.:itunes:. Big Man’s Hat by Peacock, Charlie

Amazing Music

Aug 25, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Amazed
.:itunes:. Jacob’s Ladder by Bruce Hornsby

I think I may have posted something from Zack Kim before, but I must do so again. This kid is off the hook.

You can watch all of his videos here.

Foreign Policy

Aug 24, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Political
.:mashup:. Mary Rocks Right Now by C.H.A.O.S. Productions

I try to stay away from politics on this site, but I love this video enough to break my own rules.

Say what you want about Jon Stewart, he knows how to ask the right questions through my love languages: sarcasm and mockery.

Watch out for some language.

Finnish YMCA

Aug 23, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Inspired
.:itunes:. Heart for the Lost by John Freeman

Quote of the Day

Aug 23, 2007 Quotes

.:mood:. Tired…
.:itunes:. The Longest Night by Bruce Hornsby

(via achievable ends)

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original.”
- Sir Ken Robinson

Joke of the Day

Aug 23, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Ha ha
.:mashup:. Perpetually Wrong by VNV Nation VS EBTG

Patient: “Doctor, doctor, I’ve got problems with my hearing.

Dr “What are the symptoms?”

Patient: “They’re those yellow people on TV.”