Barnabas Piper's Blog, page 65
March 6, 2018
Happy Rant Sports #5 – Weird Free Throw Shooting, Weird 90s, and Bucket List Events
In this episode of Happy Rant Sports Ted and Barnabas discuss the following:
Our favorite weird NBA free throw shooting motions and tics
Why 90s basketball players were so much cooler (or dorkier) than today
Sports venues and events we would love to attend
Be sure to visit HappyRantPodcast.com where you can:
Order fresh roasted coffee from Lagares Roasters
Order your Happy Rant swag from Missional Wear (Use code RANT to get discounts on swag and/or shipping)
Order your tickets for our next LIVE event – Together for the Rant – to be held in April. THIS WEEK ONLY – use code Ronnie to get a 25% discount too.
Please consider supporting the podcast financially as well. We have set up a Patreon page, and your donations help us cover production costs, do live events, and grow the podcast by trying some new things. Oh, and of course there are perks for those who commit to helps us such as free books and coffee!
To listen you can:
Subscribe in iTunes.
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Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
Listen using the player below.
Episode #5
March 5, 2018
New Happy Rant: Good Film/Bad Movie, Support Dogs, and Gospel Issues
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted and Barnabas meander through the following topics:
5 rules of social media sabbaticals
Good films that are bad movies
How to handle annoying alpha males
What’s the deal with all these support dogs?
Why it’s dumb to call every complex issue or tragedy a “sin issue” or “gospel issue”
Be sure to visit HappyRantPodcast.com where you can:
Order fresh roasted coffee from Lagares Roasters
Order your Happy Rant swag from Missional Wear (Use code RANT to get discounts on swag and/or shipping)
Order your tickets for our next LIVE event – Together for the Rant – to be held in April. THIS WEEK ONLY – use code Ronnie to get a 25% discount too.
Please consider supporting the podcast financially as well. We have set up a Patreon page, and your donations help us cover production costs, do live events, and grow the podcast by trying some new things. Oh, and of course there are perks for those who commit to helps us such as free books and coffee!
To listen you can:
Subscribe in iTunes.
Listen on Google Play
Listen on Stitcher.
Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
Listen using the player below.
Episode #185
March 1, 2018
3 Things I Like This Week – March 1
Each week I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.
1. Big Al’s Deli
[image error]Nashville is a foodie haven with all sorts of New American and Fusion this or that moving to town. Well, Big Al’s is old American comfort food without the fusion. It is fried chicken, catfish, shrimp ‘n grits, and Nashville’s best burger (my rating, not some janky listicle). It is part corner store and part restaurant that serves up coke in cans, tea that’s sweet, and all of it on checkered table clothes at shared tables. It’s the kind of place where people don’t go for business meals but for conversation with whoever you rode with and whoever you end up sitting with. Big Al’s is a treasure, so be sure to hit it up when you’re in town.
2. Moleskine Notebooks
[image error]I love Moleskine notebooks. At any given time I am using one for budgeting and home management, one for writing notes, one for work notes, one for journaling, and one for creating writing – that’s 5 Moleskines in rotation right now. Why these slightly more expensive ones instead of any old bound notebook? Why these instead of some other high end German engineered writing receptacle? I could argue their quality; they are nicer than most other notebooks. The paper is of just the right weight not to bleed through and just absorbent enough not to let ink smear. Really, though, it’s psychological. Just as an Apple computer makes users feel creative and forward thinking and a nice suit is dressing for success so a Moleskine makes users feel like a writer or a creator a journaler. You don’t get that from spiral bound or composition notebooks. You don’t get that from legal pads. Those feel like homework or meeting notes, and they feel disposable. Moleskines feel like a creative investment that will last.
3. “Bored of Education” by Propaganda
He’s a licensed and former teacher. And he expresses my thoughts better than I can on this one.
February 27, 2018
New Happy Rant: Black Panther and Declining “Connections” You Just Don’t Want
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ronnie is sabbaticaling with all his leisurely might, so Ted and Barnabas step up to discuss the following:
The infamous ski run that was exactly what Ted hoped for
The Black Panther – sorting through they hype and discussing why the movie is actually really good an important
How to handle invitations by people who “just want to connect”
Be sure to visit HappyRantPodcast.com where you can:
Order fresh roasted coffee from Lagares Roasters
Order your Happy Rant swag from Missional Wear (Use code RANT to get discounts on swag and/or shipping)
Order your tickets for our next LIVE event – Together for the Rant – to be held in April.
Please consider supporting the podcast financially as well. We have set up a Patreon page, and your donations help us cover production costs, do live events, and grow the podcast by trying some new things. Oh, and of course there are perks for those who commit to helps us such as free books and coffee!
To listen you can:
Subscribe in iTunes.
Listen on Google Play
Listen on Stitcher.
Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
Listen using the player below.
Episode #184
He Reads Truth: From Defeated Ruler to Conquering King
I have the privilege of contributing to He Reads Truth, a website of whose purpose is “To help men become who we were made to be, by doing what we were made to do, by the power and provision that God has given us to do it, for the glory of Jesus Christ.” They do this by providing scripture reading plans accompanied by reflections that can be accessed for free online or purchased as print books. For those of you looking to engage scripture in a fresh way – either because you are dried up or have been away from it, these studies/plans will refresh your soul and engage your mind.
What follows is one of the pieces I wrote for the Minor Prophets plan. You can find the full plan HERE.
Micah 5:1-15, Psalm 72:1-11, Luke 1:26-33
Growing up, every Christmas Eve at 10:45pm, I could be found seated with my family in a front left pew of our church, waiting for the candlelight “Lessons and Carols” service. Every year the same rich, familiar texts were read, and the same songs were sung. The same feeling of sleepy hopefulness and joy would waft through the sanctuary, or so it seemed to me. It was a simple tradition with strong roots, not least of all because it was laced with prophecies and promises of the coming King.
It was in these services that I first heard (maybe the only time I heard) the sentence “Bethlehem Ephrathah… one will come from you to be ruler over Israel” (Micah 5:2). It was a Christmas promise, a candlelight lesson to precede a carol, and it was so much more. These words are a Christmas promise for all time, a promise of a coming eternal King who will conquer enemies and rule to the ends of the earth forever. He is a King who will bring peace.
What exactly does “peace” mean? It means all false gods and idols will be removed; no more will people worship the work of their hands, whether an accomplishment or a physical product. It means God’s people will be shepherded, cared for, protected, and directed. It means God’s people will not be run down or defeated by enemies any longer. The poor will be lifted up and oppressors thrown down. And all this will have no end, either in time or in place; it will be eternal and cover every inch of the earth.
This is a Christmas promise: the line of Judah will continue, and the King will sit on the throne of David as God’s chosen One. We know this to be Jesus. But this is not a Christmas promise contained in lessons and carols. It is not a soft glow and gentle melody. And it is not bound to two days in December.
This promise roars through all time. The King is coming, the Son of the Most High. We celebrate Jesus’ humble beginnings on Christmas, but we should also rest in the promise of His peace every day. We sing of His birth in December, but we should live under His reign, always. We remember when our King came to earth the first time, and we should look forward eagerly to His return. For His kingdom will have no end. In that promise we have peace, and when He returns we will have perfect peace.
February 26, 2018
Read Widely and Read Curiously
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.
― Dr. Seuss
Nothing has grown and shaped my curiosity like books. I do not think there is a single medium in the world that so effectively shares information, opens new worlds, and ignites the imagination as books. It would seem you agree since you are, after all, reading or listening to a book. Books are largely what made me want to write. Books have shaped my perspectives on God, friends, sports, civil issues, faith, church, art, and nearly everything else. I read for fun and I read to learn. My greatest risk in reading is that I will collect knowledge but do not act on it, that I will become a card catalog of knowledge instead of being intent on bringing my curiosity to bear in the world.
I have friends who say things like “I really only read non-fiction.” For some it’s a matter of not connecting emotionally with a fictional world. For others it’s a matter of investing in facts, in what is “true.” They see fiction as a fanciful, fruitless, fatuous waste of time.
Here’s the thing: fiction can be truer than facts. A good novel reveals the real in a way an essay or a biography usually fails to do. A novel shows truth, it presents a deeper layer of truth that, if described, would be boring at best and unrecognizable at worst. But when we find it woven in a story we know it to be true. Good vs. evil, nobility, honesty, courage, friendship, self-sacrifice – these are truths that fiction reveals in a way non-fiction often struggles to do.
Have you ever read a sentence then sat back and breathed out real slowly because, wow, it was just that incredible? It packed so much beauty, so much truth into just a few words. For lovers of great writing these are transcendent, pinnacle moments like the way musicians will play back a bridge or chorus over and over again or film buffs will rewatch a scene twenty times out of sheer amazement at the camera work or cinematography. Not all readers are lovers of great writing, though. Many are lovers of information whether or not artfulness and craftsmanship is present. And yet other are reluctant readers. They know they ought to read and enough people recommended a book that they decided to soldier through it.
If you are in the first group I hope this book meets your expectations. If you are in one of the latter two groups I challenge you with this: explore what makes great writing great; seek out the best. Find a few favorites – authors who wow you, stories that draw you in or move your soul, genres you gravitate toward. Reading is about more than just message; it is about method too. It is about the means by which a message is communicated. There is truth communicated in both substance and style, and often substance without style actually diminishes the message. The craft of writing displays God’s fingerprints.
Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.
– Charles William Eliot
For the curious, or for the aspiring curious, books are a treasure trove. You can start almost anywhere. Pick a subject, pick a style, pick a length, pick an era in history then grab a book and read. Read a little bit at a time. Find what you like and go.
For those who are already readers find something new. If you love non-fiction, read fiction. If you love novels, read a biography. If you love both, read poetry.
In reading you’ll learn what you set out to learn and along the way you will absorb truth and beauty in unexpected ways. Your brain will latch on to things you never suspected and remind you of them at unexpected times. If you find a book you love and find another person who loves it too you have found a friend. Books are a curious person’s greatest treasure and the gateway to experiences, people, and knowledge. So dig in.
[image error]This post is adapted from an excerpt in my book, The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life. If you are interested in seeing what kind of curious person you are (or are not) visit CuriousChristianBook.com and take the short assessment.
February 24, 2018
Sports Book Saturday – E-Book Deals
With a hat tip to Jeff Bezos and the fine e-book proprietors at Amazon I present you with a pile of delightful e-book deals on various sports book, most of which I have read an enjoyed and the rest of which are highly rated and reviewed.
3 Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager
[image error] by Buzz Bissinger
$1.99
Stan Musial: An American Life
[image error] by George Vecsey
$4.99
Playing Through the Whistle: Steel, Football, and An American Town
[image error] by S.L. Price
$1.89
Dream Team: How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Foreve r
[image error] by Jack McCallum
$2.99
Diamonds from the Dugout: 115 Baseball Legends Remember Their Greatest Hits
[image error] by Mark Newman
$3.99
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
[image error] by Michael Lewis
$5.38
I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson
[image error] by Jackie Robinson
$1.99
When the Game Was Ours
[image error]by Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Jackie McMullen
$2.99
Boys Among Men: How the Prep-to-Pro Generation Redefined the NBA and Sparked a Basketball Revolution
[image error] by Jonathan Abrams
$5.99
QB: My Life Behind the Spiral
[image error] by Steve Young
$2.99
The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
[image error] by Wayne Coffey
$3.99
Orr: My Story
[image error] by Bobby Orr
$4.99
The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It
[image error] by Neal Bascomb
$2.99
Mr. Hockey: My Story
[image error] by Gordie Howe
$6.99
February 22, 2018
3 Things I Like This Week – February 22
Each week I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.
1. The Sandlot
[image error]It’s that time of year – football season is behind us, basketball season is in the doldrums, and spring training has just begun. All of which means boredom and anticipation. Nothing greases the skids for the greatest baseball movie ever like boredom and anticipation. In fact, this season is what I call Sandlot season. Smalls, Squints, Yeah Yeah, Benny, Ham, and the gang will get us through this sluggish part of the sports year, I promise. They will lift your spirits, make you laugh, and bring back all the nostalgia of a youth you wish you had.
2. Haribo Gummy Bears
[image error]Many gummy bears vie for the crown, but only Haribo rules them all. Some are too rubbery, some are to sweet and not tart enough, some are flavorless. Haribo bears are practically perfect in all these ways. They even taste fruity enough to alleviate some of the guilt one feels for eating acidic rubberized corn syrup!
3. MyCharge
[image error]Like many of you, I am regularly going from one place to another (as if there is anywhere else one could go) or in some place away from a convenient wall outlet. This means I can’t regularly charge my iPhone. This means I am regularly out of touch with social media and news outlets and digital connections to the WORLD. Enter MyCharge – it is small enough to carry with you (especially if you carry a purse or murse) and easily rechargeable itself because it can plug directly into an outlet. It has cords for iPhones and micro-usb built in so that you don’t need to carry a tangle of cords with you. And it can charge a phone 2-3 times before needing to recharge. I take one on every trip and to any long day at my daughter’s swim meets. How else would I survive?
February 20, 2018
Happy Rant Sports Episode 4: NBA Trades, NFL’s Dumb Rules, and Random Favorite Players
In this episode of Happy Rant Sports Ted and Barnabas discuss the following from the wide world of sports:
NBA Trades – who came out better, who came out worse, and so forth
Fixing the NFL’s dumbest rules
Which obscure, non-star players are our all-time favorites from various sports?
Be sure to visit our website to get fresh roasted coffee from Lagares Roasters, order your Happy Rant swag from Missional Wear, and order your tickets for our next LIVE event – Together for the Rant – to be held in April.
Please consider supporting the podcast financially as well. We have set up a Patreon page, and your donations help us cover production costs, do live events, and grow the podcast by trying some new things. Oh, and of course there are perks for those who commit to helps us such as free books and coffee!
To listen you can:
Subscribe in iTunes.
Listen on Google Play
Listen on Stitcher.
Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
Listen using the player below.
Happy Rant Sports Episode #4
February 19, 2018
New Happy Rant: Winter Olympics, Enneagram Numbers, and Worst Worship Songs
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas suss out the following:
What kind of people actually like the Winter Olympics?
What are our Enneagram numbers and what the heck do they mean?
What are the worst worship songs and a couple good hymns too?
Be sure to visit our website to get fresh roasted coffee from Lagares Roasters, order your Happy Rant swag from Missional Wear, and order your tickets for our next LIVE event – Together for the Rant – to be held in April.
Please consider supporting the podcast financially as well. We have set up a Patreon page, and your donations help us cover production costs, do live events, and grow the podcast by trying some new things. Oh, and of course there are perks for those who commit to helps us such as free books and coffee!
To listen you can:
Subscribe in iTunes.
Listen on Google Play
Listen on Stitcher.
Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
Listen using the player below.
Episode #183
