A little spending splurge to note here. I've been itching to pick up a Message Bible ever since making my way through Eugene Peterson's series (so far) on spiritual theology. Mission accomplished. Coulda saved some bucks ordering online, but this one looks like it's worth the cost of instant gratification. I don't recall ever opening a Bible at Genesis and just feeling like I'm ready to burn through the entire thing from start to finish, but Peterson makes for an incredibly readable paraphrasing of the Bible and sets up each book nicely as well. My other option was to replace a lost NIV Study Bible, which I still miss. But the way Peterson illuminates with his reading, I'm missing that study Bible a bit less now.

Another impulse buy ... the new Stellar Kart CD. Doesn't really go on sale till Tuesday. I would have waited till then to just get the MP3s off of Amazon (seriously, who uses a CD player anymore?). But once more, instant gratification wins out. Still making my way through an initial listen, so the only song I've got in heavy rotation already is the released single: "Jesus Loves You" ... which IS available on Amazon already.