in the arena
My wife and I appeared on In the Arena with Msgr. Harrington talking about living holiness in family life. We're at minute 24:40. We also speak about participating in a wonderful ecclesial movement called Heart's Home.
Oh, and I got the scripture reference wrong. It's 1 Thessalonians 2:8: "So we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well." So good this verse. What is critical in this generation is that as we share the gospel, even more we share our lives. Enjoy.
We previously appeared on In the Arena talking about marriage, family, and love.
Finisterre, Spain - taken with my iPhone
iphone essentials
A friend recently purchased his first iPhone and he asked me what to do. Here’s what I wrote:
so you bought an iPhone.
I have so much to say right now, but first off, good choice. This computer you have in your hand is three things - an ipod, a phone, and an internet communicator. Here is what I recommend beyond the stock apps that come with your new iPhone:
essential:
Dropbox - E S S E N T I A L
1Password - also essential
faith:
Divine Office 2 - pray, pray, pray
Accordance - my Bibles with commentaries, concordances, hebrew, greek, and archeology
ReadingPlan - great way to plan and complete your daily Bible reading
Mass Times - when can I receive the Lord next
The Pope App - because …
financial:
YNAB - our budgeting software and philosophy
Cash - simplest way to pay and get paid
Ångström - conversion of moneys, units, etc
health:
Nike Running - track my runs and geek out at my efforts to be the better version of me
Tabata - excellent timer for interval training
Withings - yes, I have a weight scale connect to the internet, what have I become … several pounds lighter, but still … come on
Training Peaks - a way for me to see my workout plan for the day/week
photography:
Carousel - an easy way to backup all photos to dropbox and then view them in a very nice timeline
Pixelmator - advanced and beautifully designed editor
SKRWT - very good for correcting iphone distortions in photos
VSCO - lots of people like this one too
social:
Tweetbot - I’m @doctorsutton - ninjustu-style professor of trinitarian theology at st. john's, loving husband, and happy father of five girls--blessed among women
Instagram - I’m @samuraimoses - cutting the Red Sea with a katana
travel:
Google Maps - better
Yelp - it sometimes works
Seamless - “Honey, I’m cooking tonight.” Quickly goes to phone and orders an awesome take out meal. Nice
synchronize - timezone calculator
Google Translate - Learn important words in Spanish - “Cerveza Grande”
utilities for work:
PDF Pen 2 - the best PDF viewer, editor, and creator on your phone - so much more to say here
PDF Pen Scan+ - the best way to take images of papers, books, and text to convert to PDF on your phone. And it does OCR - Honey!
Papers 3 - all my research all the time in PDF and citation forms
Textexpander - type less and better
Fantastical - a better calendar in so many ways
OmniFocus - this is a world - I implement the GTD method and this is my app for getting the better things done
weather:
Dark Sky - it’s like sticking your hand out the window
Check the Weather - it’s like Dark Sky but prettier
writing:
Scratch - Just get it down - I used to use Drafts for this, which is great also
Byword - a delightful way to write
Day One - a wonderful way to journal
it is also an ipod:
Apple Music is always on and I’m enjoying it, but most importantly, I listen to …
podcasts
Overcast - it’s the best app right now, but I also loveCastro so much and those guys are working on a new version soon. Here are the podcasts I’m listening too:
doctorsutton - yes I have my own podcast channel - talks, presentations, much more soon
- Above & Beyond: Group Therapy
- Analog(ue)
- Back to Work
- BONANZA!
- Connected
- The Critical Path
- The Flop House
- In Our Time
- The Incomparable
- Inquisitive
- Jesus Culture Leadership Podcast
- Jesus Culture Sacramento Church Podcast
- Mac Power Users
- Passion City Church Podcast
- Philosophy Bites
- Rodrick on the Line
- Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me
So much more to say here. But, these are some of the apps I’m using now. I know you’ll discover more so please share them. Oh and I also wrote a blog post about how I use my iPad in my teaching. You can find it here.
And, of course, people are more important than tech. Always.
i ran the half - jesus ran the full
On April 12, 2015, I ran the Queens Half Marathon. It was an awesome experience. It felt so good to run big again after so many years of just not running. At the end of the race, it felt like a hors d'ouerve of heaven, especially since my friends were there - especially since they were there. Do you know what I mean?
Here are the stats: 13.1 miles in 1 hour and 43 minutes. Average of 7:55 a mile. 100th place out of 863 finishers. 33rd in my age group. These aren’t superhuman stats because so many run faster, but I’m huffing and puffing to be better and it felt great.
Better than stats, here's what I learned:
- we run for others
- we can influence more people than we realize
- Jesus makes us new
- if our heart is his, we must grow the strength of this heart for him
- Jesus ran the extra mile for me
- Jesus runs the full
- the only way around suffering for others is through their suffering
- with others is the only way to finish long and finish strong
- friends matter
- friends change everything
- friends are from God
- friends are Jesus Christ
- friends show up
- friends show everything
- friends cheer you on
- friends make you smile - downhill and uphill
- friends make you run faster, harder, stronger, longer, better ...
Please support our friend, Kari.
She's running for you, let's cheer her on! Oklahoma Half Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2015.
Come on, friends, let's make her twitter blow up.
new york city streets
My love for New York City grows every year. See streets.
sports for compassion today
Please support me as I run a half marathon day today for compassion. I am running the Queens Half Marathon and I am running for the Sports for Compassion movement that is raising money for Heart’s Home who help the poorest of the poor in New York City. Here’s a wonderful article in the New York Times about them.
Please support them by donating to Heart’s Home. You can find out how at sports4compassion.
Follow me on twitter @doctorsutton and on instagram @samuraimoses.
Run for Others. Run for Him.
why christians should run for compassion
I believe that Christians should run for compassion because, well, running is so central to the Word of God.
The word "run" (in all its variants) appears at least 149 times in the Bible. From Genesis, where Abraham runs to meet the three angels visiting him (Gen 18:2) to the Letter to the Hebrews when we are encouraged to "run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Heb 12:1).
We do not run in vain (Gal 2:2; Phil 2:16) or aimlessly (1 Cor 9:26), but we are like Peter and John running to the tomb to see that Jesus is resurrected (John 20:4). We're running toward new life - from isolation to compassion.
In my study of the Bible and running, I'm learning a message that God is teaching us that he runs in compassion toward us.
When the father of the prodigal son sees him coming back, he runs toward him to restore him to his care: "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him" (Luke 15:20).
Think about that ... the Father's compassion leads him immediately to running toward us who need him most. That's why we run for compassion because that's what the Father does for us.
Please support my running a half marathon tomorrow (April 12 - Divine Mercy Sunday) by visiting and donating at Sports 4 Compassion.
review of heaven opens
Excerpt of a review of my book Heaven Opens: The Trinitarian Mysticism of Adrienne von Speyr:
"In this ground-breaking book we are treated to an inside look at the thought of the Catholic convert and mystic, Adrienne von Speyr. What is it that makes Christian mysticism "Christian?" Dr. Sutton ably shows that for von Speyr mysticism meant following the Son and led by the Spirit into the Inner Life and Love of God--the Holy Trinity. The first part of the book includes a summary of the Christian narrative of Redemption History from the standpoint of mystical vision--which is worth the price of the book alone. Subsequent chapters look at how the Mission and Obedience of the Son and the Holy Spirit is our paradigm to entering the Triune Life. The last chapters show Trinitarian origins of the Sacraments and Prayer--how the Sacraments and Prayer are the living out of the Holy Trinity! A great introduction into the works of von Speyr and by association to the works of Hans urs von Balthasar."
You can find my book on amazon
prayer for insight
Origen (ca. A.D. 185-254)
May the Lord Jesus touch our eyes, as he did those of the blind. Then we shall begin to see in things visible those which are invisible. May he open our eyes to gaze, not on present realities, but on the blessings to come. May he open the eyes of our heart to contemplate God in Spirit, through Jesus Christ the Lord, to whom belong power and glory through all eternity.
Amen.
goal setting
Goal setting is critical. You must be able to answer the question, “Where am I going - now, next week, and next month?”
One way to begin setting goals is thinking about them as short-term, mid-term, and long-term.
Each of these goals have different results but often times are dependent upon one another. If my goal is to write a paper before Easter (long-term), I need to recognize that the initial outline needs to be drafted by next weekend (short-term) and I should be done drafting ideas before the middle of next month (mid-term).
These three steps will help you not only set goals, but help you achieve them:
Step 1: Define your goal -- I will write my paper.
Step 2: Set a timeline -- I will write my paper by Easter.
Step 3: Action Steps -- I will write my paper by Easter by beginning research tomorrow, completing initial outline by end of next week, and be one hundred percent complete by April 5, 2015.
Now, let's talk about YOU!
What are your short-, mid-, and long-term education goals? It is best to plan them in three-week or monthly increments.
When will you achieve them? Give yourself enough time to achieve them but not so much time you feel comfortable with taking a day off.
What must you do today to start the process? Start right now!
Take 5 minutes and ponder these questions. When you are ready, write them down, in this order, and begin the process.