TUESDAY'S COLLECTION
+ The more than normal winter rains are turning the desert into a spectacular wildflower theater.

+ St. Barnabas the Encourager church in Austin, Texas, left the Episcopal Church last summer -- a decision made in the wake of the episcopal ordination of Gene Robinson -- and related theological issues. Last Sunday the congregation voted to become a part of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

+ A couple of my current reading projects: Three Views on Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism (Zondervan, 2004) edited by James Stamoolis with contributions by Bradley Nassif, Michael Horton, Vladimir Berzonsky, George Hancock-Stefan, and Edward Rommen. Also, Christ Present in Faith: Luther's View of Justification by Tuomo Mannermaa (Fortress Press, 2004) -- Finnish corrective to Lutheran scholasticism, rediscovering divinization in Luther. Not as esoteric as it sounds.

+ AOL has once again rewritten the AIM terms of service -- clearing up the ownership and privacy issues.

+ Emergency shelters -- add water, inflate, and 12 hours later you have a solid cement structure.