Moderate Christian Blog Aggregator
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Moderate Christian Blog Aggregator


This blog aggregator is open to any blog that fits a few basic rules. For more information see Moderate Christian Blog Aggregator Standards.
Note that this aggregator was started August 12, 2006. Keep returning as we add new blogs.


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One Woman's Search for Understanding
  • Road to Emmaus Today
    Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:45:00 -0500
    A renowned theologian, Karl Barth once said something like this, ?Preaching should be done with a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.? Which to me, means that we should never focus so close minded and completely on the Bible alone that we fail to realize what's going on in the world around us, and we should never become so consumed by and engrossed in the world around us that we forget the Bible.

    I?ve been thinking a lot about this sort of thing lately. And- I was re-reading the
  • UMC General Conference
    Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:14:00 -0500


    Let me start but just filling you in a bit about General Conference. General Conference is the Top policy-making group for The United Methodist Church. This group meets once every four years. The Conference can revise church law, as well as adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy and economic issues. It also approves plans and budgets for church-wide programs for
  • The wonder we call and fail to call God
    Sat, 08 Mar 2008 09:01:00 -0600

    I just absolutely loved this and had to post it here for you all. Read it twice- take it in.

    "CONSIDER THE WONDERS WE CALL AND FAIL TO CALL GOD

    How sweet the taste of wax when it?s blessed with honey. Though we seldom mistake it for God, we speculate. A hive might figure the intricate divine. This you can chew,and abstraction, too. The exhausting world up
  • Short term Missions and my personal calling
    Mon, 31 Dec 2007 12:02:00 -0600


    This blog has been a long time coming. I know several of you have asked me to write about my short term mission experience. I have not been able to----because honestly, I have been so busy, with work, family illness, moving and the holidays-- But also if I am really honest it is because the trip was a pressure cooker for my own personal growth and it has taken me this
  • Praying for Rain
    Thu, 27 Dec 2007 09:33:00 -0600

    So, in the midst of the worst drought in my lifetime, I?ve been praying for rain. Today it has come to me, that I need rain in more than one way. I have so much going through my heart and mind and I?m just not able to put it in words completely. Maybe it is because of the enlightenment obtained on my mission trip in October...or maybe it is because my brother almost died at age 45 from a

Praise the lord Jesus Christ - Believer blogs
  • Love the Lord God
    Fri, 07 Aug 2009 02:54:00 -0500
    ?The upright love thee?
    - Son_1:4

    Believers love Jesus with a deeper affection then they dare to give to any other being. They would sooner lose father and mother then part with Christ. They hold all earthly comforts with a loose hand, but they carry him fast locked in their bosoms. They voluntarily deny themselves for his sake, but they are not to be driven to deny him. It is scant love which the fire of persecution can dry up; the true believer?s love is a deeper stream than this. Men
  • Overcoming self
    Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:25:00 -0500
    "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city." _16:32

    What a foe to one's peace is one's own spirit! And what shall I call it? It is often an infernal spirit. Why? Because it bears the mark of Satan upon it. The pride of our spirit, the presumption of our spirit, the hypocrisy of our spirit, the intense selfishness of our spirit are often hidden from us. This wily devil, SELF, can wear such masks and assume such forms;
  • Be spiritually minded
    Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:22:00 -0500
    "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Romans 8:6

    Spiritual-mindedness is life. We fearlessly challenge every believer- What has been the effect in your soul of a low state of grace? What has been the effect of carnal indulgence of allowed sin- of needless communion with the world- of conformity to its policy and its pleasures- of unruly temper- of a volatile disposition, yes, of any species of carnality whatever: has it not been
  • God's Promises and God's Rest
    Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:51:00 -0500

    Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest.  (Heb_4:1-3)

  • Job's Reasons to Praise the Lord
    Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:07:00 -0500
    When Job's life fell apart, and God was silent, Job still found reasons to praise God:

    ? He is good and loving (Job 10:12).
    ? He is all-powerful (Job 42:2; 37:5, 23).
    ? He notices every detail of my life (Job 23:10; 31:4).
    ? He is in control (Job 34:13).
    ? He has a plan for my life (Job 23:14).
    ? He will save me (Job 19:25).

    From Rick Warren's notes:

    Thomas
    Note: This is a blog meant only to be a daily meditation on the word. I am glad you

It Seems to Me . . .
  • questions and doubts
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:36:00 -0500
    Despite the name, Perl Monks is not a religious website. It's a computer programming forum; the monks' mission is to help novices grasp the mysterious complexities of the Perl programming language. But sometimes they teach a lot more.For example, when an anonymous user posted a question with the title Regular Expression Doubt, monk Merlyn offered helpful grammatical advice:I suspect you are not a
  • first image of atomic bonds
    Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:54:00 -0500
    Scientists at IBM have built an atomic force microscope powerful enough to photograph an atom of pentacene:Like the venerable electron microscope, but more powerful and with an eye for the third dimension, the AFM is able to make the nano world something we humans can appreciate visually. Using a silicon microscale cantilever coated in carbon dioxide (tiny, tiny needle), lasers, an "ultrahigh
  • root bridges
    Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:07:00 -0500
    Here's a way to work smarter, not harder:The Ficus elastica produces a series of secondary roots from higher up its trunk and can comfortably perch atop huge boulders along the riverbanks, or even in the middle of the rivers themselves.The War-Khasis, a tribe in Meghalaya, long ago noticed this tree and saw in its powerful roots an opportunity to easily cross the area's many rivers. Now, whenever
  • being honest about health care reform
    Mon, 24 Aug 2009 03:01:00 -0500
    Charles Krauthammer is concerned about the language in the health care reform bill HR 3200, and makes his concerns known in an essay titled Let?s Be Honest about Death Counseling. Noting that the bill contains a provision in section 1233 for a Medicare-paid advance care planning consutation between the patient and the doctor, Krauthammer opines:What do you think such a chat would be like? Do you
  • snipe hunting
    Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:09:00 -0500
    Where I come from, snipe hunting is a popular form of entertainment. My high school cross country coach first introduced me to this unusual bird. Unfortunately I never could work it into my busy schedule to actually go on a hunt. I have no regrets about missing out on this rite of passage; knowing my luck I would probably have gotten lost in the woods and not caught anything.Here's a sort of

Threads from Henry's Web
  • Living Romans 12
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:11:12 -0500

    Alan Knox has reposted a series on how the church can live Romans 12:9-21 along with some current thoughts. He points out that Romans 1-11 are theological, but starting with Romans 12, Paul begins to speak about how the church can live out the theology of the first chapters.

    This all reminded me of one [...]

  • Am I a Doubter?
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:03:50 -0500

    Bruce Alderman has written a post that is making me think. That’s a good thing!

    He thinks that we are misusing the word “doubts” when we suggest that believers may have doubts. To quote:

    Questions can and do lead to a more mature faith. Genuine doubts do not.

    Hmm! I must say that I have [...]

  • Seventh-day Adventist Education and Evolution
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:05:27 -0500

    I recently wrote with appreciation about my Seventh-day Adventist education in Biblical studies over on my Participatory Bible Study blog. Today a friend sent me an e-mail directing me to a post on Inside Higher Ed, discussing a problem with the teaching of evolution at La Sierra University, a Seventh-day Adventist school. I [...]

  • Beware Friends Bearing Manuscripts
    Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:31:50 -0500

    That’s something every editor should have laminated and stuck on the wall. There is nothing to make me cringe like a friend or relative telling me that they have a manuscript they’ve been working on for a long time. Inevitably this leads to the question, “Would you be interested in looking at it?”

    Depending [...]

  • The Bad Name of Evangelism
    Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:45:31 -0500

    Via Shane Raynor on Twitter and the Wesley Report, I found this article on UMPortal about early Methodist evangelism. What struck me, was how many of the ideas there could be found in Acts.

    Here’s a key quote:

    She [Rev. Laceye Warner of Duke] defined evangelism as preaching the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ and [...]


Pastor Tom's Sermon Seeds and Sprouts
  • No Title
    Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:41:00 -0500


    Sermon By Russell H. Conwell
    Sunday Morning, December 1, 1912.
    Courtesy of Grace Baptist Church of Bluebell, PA.
    http://gracebaptistbluebell.org/



    We are here to unveil this picture of Hattie May Wiatt, a little girl who died in 1886. Years have gone
  • No Title
    Sat, 31 May 2008 05:53:00 -0500
    Some good background on the Beatitudes.



    On site.
  • No Title
    Sat, 24 May 2008 08:24:00 -0500
    Next Sunday, in the first Beatitude, I will preach on, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the Kingdom of Heaven. Tevyia gives us an insight into his desire to wish wish. The sweetest thing of all would be to discuss the Torah seven hours a day.

    What are true riches?

    Enjoy the song.
  • No Title
    Thu, 03 Jan 2008 03:23:00 -0600
    Pay Day Someday by R.G. Lee



    "Enjoy" this classic.
  • No Title
    Mon, 29 Oct 2007 05:00:00 -0500
    The Giving Tree - Narrated by Brennan Manning


Bible study by a student
  • LIES THAT WE ACCEPT AS TRUTH!!!!!!
    Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:32:53 -0500
    It amazes me when I realize that I have been accepting a lie as the truth and didn?t see it. It happens because I do not stop to reason out whether it is true or not. I see this in others as well as myself, and I, as well as others, have built complicated understandings on [...]
  • AS CHRISTIANS WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT OUR GOVERNMENT?
    Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:51:30 -0500
    If you have read anything I have said about this country you know I have little respect for the system of government that we have. In case you haven?t just let me say this, ?This Country was formed in rebellion to God?. I didn?t always have this view, but I read Romans 13:1&2 and applied it [...]
  • I FEEL LIKE AN OLD TESTAMENT PROPHET.
    Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:36:29 -0500
    Many times many prophets in the Old Testament would tell God?s people their Country was corrupt to the core and the people would say, ?This is God?s country. We have nothing to fear: God will protect us.? It is the same today! This Country is corrupt to the core and you say, ?This is a Christian [...]
  • IF I WERE A CALVINIST
    Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:54:01 -0500
    In some of my posts I have tried to explain why I think man has free will to either accept salvation or reject it and I have been verbally assaulted for my efforts. That doesn?t bother me until it becomes the goal of those who do so. If that is their goal then Bible study [...]
  • DID GOD SAY, ?YOU MUST DESTROY ALL THE PEOPLE THE LORD YOUR GOD GIVES OVER TO YOU??
    Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:30:53 -0500
    Well, no I don?t think that He did! He didn?t say that in Exodus. I would print the verses here, but it would only make this post long, so read Exodus 23:20 to 32. These are the words of God and He does not say kill anyone. He also does not say destroy the cities. The [...]

Ploion
  • Screwtape letters read by John Cleese
    Mon, 11 May 2009 09:35:00 -0500

    If you asked someone to come up with a perfect narrator for C. S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters" many names would surface, some would probably sound like a rather good choice, by all would be trumped as soon as you retorted: "Now, how about John Cleese?" Sure enough, in the 1970, at the very peak of Monty Python's
  • If Chicago exists, so does God
    Sun, 01 Feb 2009 06:05:00 -0600
    Writer John Hodgman, who owes most of his dubious notoriety to the appearances as "PC" in often misleading Mac commercials, is better known amongst intellectuals, such as myself, for his outrageous, albeit somewhat well supported, claim that the city of Chicago, Illinois does not exist. The so-called Windy City is purely a figment of
  • John Eldredge. Epic - A review
    Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:41:00 -0600
  • Existence of God: Watchmaker argument
    Wed, 14 Jan 2009 03:15:00 -0600
    Rick Warren tells the story about being invited to an academic conference where he felt as if a trap had been set up for him, because he was seated smack in between a couple of hard-core atheists. In the end, it turned out not so bad, and Rick ended up saying to these fellows that he envies their faith. He said, "When I am walking in
  • Darwin's objection to Christianity
    Sat, 27 Dec 2008 01:19:00 -0600
    Darwin once wrote,

    I can hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true; for if so, the plain language of the text seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my father, brother and almost all my best friends, will be everlastingly punished. And this is a damnable doctrine.

    It would seem

Faith from 9 to 5
  • Attention: The world does not revolve around you
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:02:35 -0500
    It can be very easy for us to believe our version of reality is in fact the truth. Before you rush to judgment about others stop to think about things from their perspective.
  • Forgiving -- the real challenge of living our Christian faith
    Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:05:13 -0500
    Michael Vick is scheduled to play in a preseason game tonight with his new team, the Philadelphia Eagles. I'm not a fan of pro sports in general but I have to admit I'll probably be watching tonight. Not to see...
  • Can you forgive Michael Vick?
    Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:30:53 -0500
    Like many people I was surprised to hear the Philadelphia Eagles had signed Michael Vick after being out of prison for 3 months. I was sure he WOULD end up being signed but I thought it would take more time...
  • Stop snapping at people online or off
    Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:43:24 -0500
    Do you contribute to blogs (rather than just reading them?) or forums? Do post or respond to the posts of others? I do occassionally and am trying to build more of a presence online in my business. Last week I...
  • Stop snapping at people online or off
    Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:43:24 -0500
    Do you contribute to blogs (rather than just reading them?) or forums? Do post or respond to the posts of others? I do occassionally and am trying to build more of a presence online in my business. Last week I...

Heaven's Highway
  • Daily Devotions: Embracing Eternity
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:35:00 -0500

    Ephesians 1:19b-21 That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

  • Daily Devotions: The Wrong Path
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:12:00 -0500

    Psalm 119:104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

    There?s a controversy brewing over an ad that the World Wild Life Fund had commissioned in Brazil. The ad depicts over one hundred airplanes heading directly to Manhattan with the intention of impacting the

  • Daily Devotions: Remembering God
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:49:00 -0500

    Psalm 111: 4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate.

    Sometimes I envy the people of the past, particularly those in the Old Testament. I wonder what it must have felt like to escape from the clutches of Pharaoh and wander around in the wilderness for a whole generation, in

  • Daily Devotions: Seeing Everything
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:46:00 -0500

    Job 28:24 For God views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

    I love using Google Earth on my computer. It amazes me that satellite cameras can focus on my neighborhood, allowing me to see my house from outer space. I also use it to look at

  • Only in Gaza: Holocaust Teaching Considered a War Crime by Hamas Cleric
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:45:00 -0500

    Even though the United Nations has suggested that Palestinian children be taught the truth about the Nazi Holocaust, spiritual leaders in Gaza vehemently oppose this and call such action as a hate crime.

    How can the rest of the world take Palestinian claims of injustice seriously, when their leaders deny the


Sunday's Child
  • Reflection on James 2:1-10, 11-13
    Sun, 06 Sep 2009 08:26:00 -0500
    James wrote to the Christians of his day "What good is it to say you have faith if your neighbors need food or clothes?"

    If Christians of today were asked the same question, how would we answer?

    Causes of Poverty
  • Lectionary Readings for Labor Day
    Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:20:00 -0500
    To help prepare for Labor Day, read Amos 5:12-15(Seek good and hate evil; work for justice); Psalm 2 (Serve the Lord); 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 (Don't be idle); and John 6:5-14, 26-27 (Know the difference between bread that perishes and bread that sustains forever).
  • Security, a Reflection on Psalm 125
    Sat, 05 Sep 2009 07:21:00 -0500
    Psalm 125 begins with a statement of confidence: Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people from this time on and forevermore.

    As I thought about these verses, I was struck first by the psalmist's use of place. That is, he looked around him where he was and saw God right there right them, and further knew that God had always been there and always would be. We are like that big
  • Reflection on Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:05:00 -0500
    The Book of Proverbs is a collection of lessons, instruction to the young (as well as to the rest of us). It is both practical and inspirational.

    This week's passage focuses on the need to help the poor--a common admonition in the Old Testament. Note: the gate is the place where disputes between litigants were decided.
    Do not rob the poor because they are poor,
    or crush the afflicted at the gate;
    for the Lord pleads their cause
    and despoils of life those who despoil
  • Who do you trust? a Reflection on Psalm 146
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:26:00 -0500
    Every once in a while I hear someone say to somebody who has just gotten something great, "That shows that God really loves you." And, sometimes, I read Psalm 146 and wonder.

    This psalm begins by acclaiming praise for God and disdaining trust in powerful men. They won't last. God will.

    According to this psalm, God cares about the oppressed, the hungry, prisoners, the blind, immigrants, orphans, and widows.

    Jesus lived out this psalm. How is the church doing?

Unmasking the Goddess
  • Hiding Behind the Walls of the Church
    Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:39:35 -0500
    "Too many Christians are hard pressed to give first and last names of a dozen unbelievers in their lives ... Our absence not only removes the light from the lives of of people trapped in darkness, but it also limits...
  • God as "a big black woman" in THE SHACK, a new million copy bestseller
    Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:21:35 -0500
    "Well, Mackenzie, don't just stand there gawkin' with your mouth open like your pants are full," said the big black woman as she turned and headed across the deck, talking the whole time. "Come and talk to me while I...
  • How Paganism connects with kids: A conversation with Christian activist Linda Harvey
    Tue, 03 Jun 2008 01:39:32 -0500
    "These new gods are dressed in Christian garb with an altered "Jesus" who is no longer a savior, but can morph into a sentimental sap or a receiver of self-focused prayer as needed... these squishy spiritual beliefs allow the self...
  • Like to browse blogs? Try the new Google Reader!
    Thu, 01 May 2008 03:29:23 -0500
    I don't know if you're like me, but I have about 10 or 12 blogs that I enjoy keeping up with. The problem is that sometimes I forget their names or web addresses, or forget to check them for a...
  • Goddess Worship in the News & Expelled: The Movie
    Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:52:52 -0500
    A few newsy snacks relating to goddess worship and paganism... Earth worship on the rise among evangelical youth. Concerned Women for America reports that "many young people in evangelical churches are experimenting with the Wiccan religion....[citing] an article in Religion...

Thoughts from the Shower
  • Change your blog subscriptions!
    Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:39:00 -0500
    Hey, everyone,
    I wanted to let you know that my blog is moving to this new address:
    http://anneelliott.com/blog/

    My new blog has a button on the bottom right that you can click on to subscribe in your favorite feeder. I love Bloglines, if you don't have a feeder!

    Drop me a line and let me know what you think of my new look!
    ~Anne
  • Worship His Name
    Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:32:00 -0500
    Our church currently has some banners on the wall that feature many of the names of God. As we sing, I love to look at the names and meditate on what they mean to me.
    The Lord our Righteousness
    The Lord Our Provider
    The Lord Who Sees Me
    The Lord Our Salvation
    These names led me to begin studying more about His name in the Bible. I wanted to know which names (and their meanings) applied to me and which might not. Could I be sure that He would always be my provider, for
  • Mondays on Mothering -- Salvation
    Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:11:00 -0500
    What a joy it is to sit with our children and share the plan of salvation with them.  My husband is especially tender toward the need of people to accept their Savior.  At breakfast this morning, after reading some Scripture and a passage from Our Daily Bread, he gently led the discussion toward salvation, since we have a few little ones who haven't yet received Jesus as their personal savior. 

    I was able to get my
  • Thankful Thursday
    Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:38:00 -0500

    Today I'm thankful for my husband...

    Maybe this isn't anything super unique, but my husband has been so kind to me this week, helping me when I didn't feel very well, offering to play Mr. Mom so I could catch up on some work, giving me little back rubs, designing images for my websites (oh, I really don't like that job!), teasing the little ones and making everyone laugh, praying when things are tough (how that
  • Hard of hearing
    Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:08:00 -0500
    I went to Wal-mart yesterday, and two cashiers were talking at the checkout stand, and I couldn't hear a word they said.  Something about chocolate.  Then they asked if I had ever had some.  Too embarrassed to say that I couldn't hear them, I just said yes.  (I guess I love chocolate enough that I probably have had whatever brand they were talking about...)  But still!  Am I too embarrassed to ask them to repeat themselves?

    So my hearing isn't as good as

Moderate Christian Blogroll Blog
  • Reactions to the Tiller Murder
    Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:45:50 -0500
    I saw a number of reactions to the murder of George Tiller on the Moderate Christian Blogroll today and decided that a links post would be in order.  I won’t comment on the contents of each, except to say that they each strike a different tone. A question from Rick at Concept 53 Are We Back to [...]
  • Christian Carnival Plug
    Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:03:09 -0500
    You can read about the Christian Carnival this week here. Two ideas: Participate in the carnival, publicize your blog and your best writing, and become acquainted with how it works When you’re comfortable, volunteer to host.
  • C-Orthodox is Moving
    Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:19:12 -0600
    From Blogger to WordPress. Details here. I’ll be updating the various blogroll links shortly.
  • Progressive Christian Beliefs
    Sun, 22 Feb 2009 03:05:08 -0600
    Shuck and Jive links to a list of ten and discusses them. What do you think?
  • Freedom for ALL?
    Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:11:25 -0600
    Blogroll member Peter Kirk is engaged in a dialogue with David Ker over U. S. behavior in foreign policy. It’s heated, but I’ve found it interesting. Occasionally light is generated along with the heat!

Tithe Stewardship and Church Tithing
  • Testimony from Rory Moore
    Sat, 05 Sep 2009 07:42:57 -0500
    At times when i hear something good from others, i think it is great to publish it here on the blog. This testimony comes from Rory Moore, the author of “The Tithe That Binds”. His website is called, Prepare His Way. I have Rory’s book in my office and on my “to do” list, but [...] Related posts:My Tithing Testimony I haven’t done so
  • Tithing Before or After Taxes
    Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:52:14 -0500
    I just received  a question in an email, “Should i tithe before or after taxes”. It’s a good question. Even though there are many other difficult questions in regards to tithing, many people have been confused for some time about whether they should tithe on the gross or net. Everything seemed pretty cut and dry [...] Related posts:Tithing on Taxes Probably
  • Tithing is Not a Christian Doctrine
    Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:13:26 -0500
    I consider Russel Earl Kelly to have the single best resource out there to defend and refute the false doctrines of tithing. If you are looking for a resource that uses scripture to dissect the irrefutable facts about tithing, then you need to read Dr. Kelly’s book. Below is a 2 hour video titled, “Tithing [...] Related posts:Should the
  • 10 Solid Arguments Against Tithing
    Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:49:23 -0500
    Abraham gave 10% of the spoils of war while Israel was required to give less from the spoils of war. (Hebrews 7:4; Numbers 31:28-30) Of all the recorded events about giving in the New Testament Church, there is not a single one about tithing. Are the children required to pay tribute? (Matthew 17:25; Galatians 4:5) Jacob freely [...] Related posts:Bible verses
  • Art Of Manipulation Vol 2
    Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:57:33 -0500
    No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Sharing a Journey
  • Musical Monday: Of nothing in particular
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:22:00 -0500
    My busy week extended somewhat longer than I had planned. There are many things I wanted to write about, but I'm not particularly inspired at the moment. Instead, here is one of the songs that helps at times like these:

  • Celebration
    Sun, 16 Aug 2009 09:39:00 -0500
    Yesterday, we celebrated India's Independence Day by watching a movie, Chak De! India. It was a great movie if you like sports-themed movies, and is definitely worth watching even if you don't. Although not about the struggle for independence that culminated in the events of August 15, 1947, it deals with the very real aftermath--prejudice and bigotry that still exists in India today (and in many other countries around the world).

    This
  • Musical Monday: Celebrating life
    Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:58:00 -0500
    This weekend, D and I celebrated 16 years of marriage. I was also at a celebration of a different kind, for a life that touched many others. Bitterroot was remembered by family and friends, and what struck me most of all was that she lived more in her 62 years than many of us will do in several lifetimes, if we had them.

    Today I found out that another friend had recently said goodbye to her canine companion. And then I read Songbird's
  • Another update on F
    Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:52:00 -0500
    I've been meaning to post about more profound topics (ha!) but somehow the week has gotten away from me. F was back at the vet today, with his "good" eye swollen shut. We discussed how well he (F, not the vet) was looking, considering he's coming up on a year since his cancer diagnosis, and was given 3-6 months at most, even with radiation and chemo (which we opted not to do).

    It turns out that the swelling is due to an infection, not an outgrowth of the tumor, so we'll see how he does on
  • Set free
    Sat, 01 Aug 2009 08:04:00 -0500
    My friend Bitterroot died Thursday morning, surrounded by her family. She was, at various times in my life, an employer, a mentor, an inspiration--and always, a friend. Thanks to her efforts, millions of people around the world with kidney disease have a better quality of life, and are living longer. I was privileged to be a small part of that effort, but what I will remember even more is the timeless beauty captured in the photographs on her blog.

  • US job situation also bad for those who are at work specially this guy...
    Sun, 05 Sep 2010 11:08:00 -0500
    by Steve KellyAfter Pelosi drained the swamp, she must have replaced the mud with feces.  In the history of Congress, there has never been a collection of criminals, nuts and perverts.  Did someone relocate the felons and emptied the sanitariums there?
  • Pre-nups for Catholics? And my 2 word pre-nup.
    Sun, 05 Sep 2010 08:45:00 -0500
    I wonder how beneficial pre-nuptial agreements are for Catholics who believe that divorce is a serious wrong doing.  What's the point if there is no plan to use it anyway.

    For one thing, it can emphasize the fact that you're not marrying someone for her money.  Albeit a gesture, it is legally binding and when the marriage is compromised to sin, then the other keeps whatever she owns before the marriage.

    My wife and I have a pre-nup.  Not that any of us own much.
  • US gov't creative semantics and rithmetics.
    Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:54:00 -0500
    by Glenn Foden
  • There's optimism & then there's Joe.
    Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:47:00 -0500
    by Glenn FodenThere's optimism & then there's Joe - who's wacko.
  • How I explained my drinking to my kids.
    Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:44:00 -0500
    My 10 year old poured my Vodka down the sink. He didn?t know of course because it was in one of those plastic water bottles. I transferred it there so as not to scandalize him because, he identifies drinking as bad. I was seriously considering giving it up until I heard that those who consumed alcohol lived longer. Also my cardiologist says it is good for the heart.

    But I cannot just drink and let my kids think that I am being hypocritical. I would lose my moral authority and they won?t do

Reason for the Hope
  • Sex and Marriage
    Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:48:00 -0500
    That is a title which should get your attention. The link is to a thoughtful article from Christianitytoday.com on the subject of marriage. The author suggests that Christians should encourage early marriage among our youth. Don't worry, he's not suggesting teen brides, but rather that we should encourage and not discourage Christians in their early 20's to marry.

    The article makes some really persuasive points. It challenged my own beliefs. I recently attended the wedding of my wife's
  • Meek? Not in America.
    Sun, 26 Jul 2009 08:56:00 -0500
    The link is to a good article by John MacArthur on Christianity.com.  How hard is it to be meek in our culture?  Self-centeredness and self-promotion are the fine arts of our society but are in direct conflict with our calling as Christians.
  • Gay Marriage and the Church
    Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:53:00 -0500
    This a thoughtful article from Christianity Today on the subject of gay marriage. I found it to be particularly interesting because it goes beyond the issue itself and raises deep problems with the American church which undercut its ability to speak powerfully on the issue.
  • Liberal Catholics?
    Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:03:00 -0500
    From The American Spectator (prior post had wrong link).
  • A Person's a Person No Matter How Small
    Sat, 03 Jan 2009 08:05:00 -0600

    Joshua's current favorite movie is Horton Hears a Who.  It is a great movie.  Like many of the animated flicks these days, it is funny for adults and kids.  Also, it has a great, pro-life message.  Here is a link to a review, written in verse.
    In addition to

The Dream Factory
  • Social Media News: Get More Out Of Social Websites!
    Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:30:42 -0500
    Both ?YOU and YOUR? Company Needs To Get More Out Of Social Websites! News Day, By Jamie Herzlich? With the explosive growth in social media, it?s no wonder that more companies are turning to sites like Twitter and LinkedIn to...
  • Back up and back it up! - Computerworld Blogs
    Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:09:23 -0500
    September 2, 2009 - 6:49 A.M. Back up and back it up! The wildfires in California are nothing new. They do however serve as a stark reminder that life is unpredictable and that data could be wiped out in an...
  • Religious News Compiled by PEW - 9/1-9-4
    Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:52:47 -0500
    September 4, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal China Responds to Fresh Protests in Urumqi SHANGHAI -- Authorities stepped up already heavy security in Urumqi -- the northwestern Chinese city torn by deadly ethnic riots in July -- after thousands...
  • Listening to Randall Thompson and singing "Alleluia!"
    Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:28:24 -0500
    This evening, I am enjoying some of the works of Randall Thompson and wanted to share them with my friends. Randall Thompson (April 21, 1899 ? July 9, 1984) was an American composer, particularly noted for his choral works. He...
  • 15 Awesome Tutorial Websites You Probably Dont Know About - Dumb Little Man
    Sat, 05 Sep 2009 12:56:30 -0500
    StumbleUpon WebToolbar - 15 Awesome Tutorial Websites You Probably Dont Know About - Dumb Little Man Good list of valuable resources. "Good counsel has no price." - Mazzini "Many receive advice, only the wise profit by it." - Syrius Have...

John Meunier's Blog
  • The Live Young Methodist
    Sat, 05 Sep 2009 02:19:31 -0500
    In the late 19th century, the Methodist Episcopal Church organized the Epworth League, a youth organization. In the ground-breaking league newspaper, The Epworth Herald, the ideal Methodist youth was described in an early editorial: THE LIVE YOUNG METHODIST Is not a bigot. Stands by his pastor. Speaks out in meeting. Lives on the sunny side. Speaks only kind words. Is a student [...]
  • Peter, Paul, and Mary
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:23:50 -0500
    Peter on Pentecost: Jesus of Nazareth … you crucified and killed by the hands outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death …. This Jesus God raised up and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father [...]
  • Most horrifying thing I?ve ever read about church
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:39:59 -0500
    Dan Dick’s is on a rant. The first part of his rant includes the most horrifying thing I’ve ever read about church. I got a shiver up my back when I read it the first time. Dan quotes a church-plant specialist dispensing his advice: Your industry is hit-or-miss at the moment.  The problem is that every church has [...]
  • Another view of Methodist fundamentals
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:58:08 -0500
    Donald Haynes recently shared his views on the core fundamentals of Methodism. Craig Adams has pulled out another of his historical gems. He gives us Bishop W.F. Mallallieu’s statement of the things Methodism has always stood for.
  • Jurgen Moltmann on your computer
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:24:28 -0500
    Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is hosting Jurgen Moltmann September 9 and web casting his talk. This flyer (pdf) gives the details. I am not certain what his topics will be, but here is a little bit of Moltmann in an interview with Miroslav Volf: Our state churches know only the charisma of the preacher; he is hired specifically as [...]

Simple Life in Christ
  • Sorting Out the Unsolvable
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:17:05 -0500
    In the last couple of posts, I’ve asked, ‘What does it mean that the Kingdom is here on earth?’  What does it mean to the way I think and act?  We then looked at the history of modern thought and it’s impact on thinking in the church of Christ.  Particularly, we considered the mentality that [...]
  • Idealistic Cynicism
    Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:01:57 -0500
    One of my good friends here in Perth is named Jim.  Jim is mentally handicapped.  He has paranoid schizophrenia and is bi-polar.  For most of the time I’ve lived here, Jim has been homeless, and has required my help and others’ to find places to live.  There are many places here that will help people [...]
  • Have we co-opted our faith?
    Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:44:23 -0500
    So, I was listening to a sermon this morning as I was working out at the gym.  Go ahead, say it; I’m a nerd.  Anyway, as I listened I had a bit of an epiphany.  I don’t know about you, but often as I listen to someone else speak, my mind leaps away from what [...]
  • Grace That is Greater
    Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:13:02 -0500
    In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul said, ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.‘ Do you find yourself thinking, ‘Yes, but…’ when you read that?  I’m not here to [...]
  • Followup to God Bless America
    Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:00:05 -0500
    I would like to start out by thanking all of you who took the time to respond to my last post.  I especially appreciate the comments/emails from those who disagreed with me.  It is very important that we have such conversations, and the only way we can truly do that is to lovingly share with [...]

The Wordwright
  • WHO OR WHAT DO WE BELIEVE?
    Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:25:50 -0500
    PICTURE YOURSELF facing your spouse about to draw their last breath after 57 years, the only one you ever lived with, sharing thousands of meals, tears of pain, tears of joy and now you just might recall hearing those words...
  • I SURE MISS VERNE McLAIN...
    Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:49:20 -0500
    When I was a young man, and it came time to take our car for routine lubrication and oil change at a SOHIO service station at the Southeast corner of Broad and King Streets in Lancaster, I was never disappointed...
  • STOPLIGHT PRAYERS
    Sat, 15 Aug 2009 09:53:35 -0500
    Aside from becoming frustrated at a stoplight and wondering when it is going to change, this brief essay from OUR DAILY BREAD might just be the solution. Of course you should not "close your eyes and bow your head"...
  • NEARLY HALF A CENTURY AGO...
    Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:16:35 -0500
    Lately we have been doing some nostalgic writing and when July 28 came up on the calendar I just had to put something down on paper to share with readers of THE WORDWRIGHT, so welcome to my world as Jim...
  • HOBBY VIGNETTES OF VENRICK
    Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:33:35 -0500
    IN A PREVIOUS VIGNETTE I touched on some subjects or incidents that may create a "didn't I read that before" syndrome when you read this essay. This story I am about to share, although similar or paralleling my interests in...

joelgillespie.org
  • Themes are GPL, too
    Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:50:35 -0500
    If WordPress were a country, our Bill of Rights would be the GPL because it protects our core freedoms. We’ve always done our best to keep WordPress.org clean and only promote things that are completely compatible and legal with WordPress’s license. There have been some questions in the community about whether the GPL applies to [...]
  • WordPress 2.8.1 Beta 2
    Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:06:31 -0500
    2.8.1 Beta 2 is ready for testing.  Download it, check out the changes since beta 1, and review all tickets fixed in 2.8.1.  We especially suggest, recommend, and beg that plugin developers test their plugins against beta 2 and let us know of any issues.  Notable fixes in beta 2: Translation of role names fixed wp_page_menu() defaults [...]
  • WordPress 2.8.1 Beta 1
    Sat, 20 Jun 2009 08:05:14 -0500
    We’ve started work on the first maintenance release to 2.8.  2.8.1 will fix a handful of bugs that turned up in 2.8.  Today we’re releasing the first beta of 2.8.1.  Download it, and check out the bugs fixed so far.  Here are some of the notable issues that are fixed in beta 1. Certain themes were [...]
  • 2.8 Release Jazzes Themes and Widgets
    Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:01:39 -0500
    I’m very excited to announce to everyone that the latest and greatest version of WordPress, version 2.8 “Baker,” is immediately available for download. 2.8 represents a nice fit and finish release for WordPress with improvements to themes, widgets, taxonomies, and overall speed. We also fixed over 790 bugs. This release is named in honor of [...]
  • WordPress 2.8 Release Candidate 1
    Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:29:49 -0500
    With Release Candidate 1, we think WordPress 2.8 is ready and complete.  Download it, test it, and tell us what you think.  If you don’t uncover any bad bugs, 2.8 will be released on Wednesday the 10th. If you’re interested in what has changed since beta 2, consult the changelog.

Sub Ratione Dei
  • Theologians and doubletalk
    Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:30:58 -0500
    The Barefoot Bum has been getting pretty annoyed with theists recently, and on the basis of most of those he’s linked to I understand why.  I am a theist (whether I am, to use his deligtful phrase a “fucktard” I will leave to others to decide) but must admit I am a little sympathetic to [...]
  • April Books
    Tue, 05 May 2009 12:07:56 -0500
    Incoming Terrence J Rynne, Gandhi and Jesus: The Saving Power on Nonviolence, Orbis, 2008. Outgoing Alistair Kee, Domination or Liberation, SCM, 1986. Terrence J Rynne, Gandhi and Jesus: The Saving Power on Nonviolence, Orbis, 2008. Mary Kenny, Germany Calling: A Personal Biography of William Joyce, New Island, 2003.
  • On Thomas and Hume
    Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:40:29 -0500
    As often happens as I was sat in church not listening to the sermon last Sunday I had some good thinking time. However, as happens even more often much of what could have been a good post has been written earlier and better than I would elsewhere. Maggi’s “Honest Thomas” is, I think, far more appropriate. [...]
  • In Defence of Spiritual Abusers (i)
    Sat, 18 Apr 2009 05:25:38 -0500
    When at theological college I was placed at a church that I quickly considered to be manipulative, abusive, ego obsessed and anti-christian in its leadership structure and praxis - it was one of many pentecostal-charismatic churches where charismatic leadership (in the Weberian sense) had morphed into - for want of a better word - a [...]
  • Credit Crunched …
    Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:31:12 -0500
    I’m having a purge of my bookshelves and listing on Amazon, currently there’s 260 books listed but there’ll be more, maybe another couple of hundred shortly. Feel free to browse. I’m especially interested if you are a banker (note the “b”) with a big bonus to spend, although not sure Sir Fred reads this humble [...]

PFNut
  • Confessions of a Shopaholic
    Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:14:22 -0600
      It is not very often there is a movie which deal with spending habits.  However, I was very pleasently surprised when I went to see with my wife and daughter “Confessions of a Shopaholic. The movie was a great romantic comedy with a great message.  The movie is about Rebecca Bloomwood who is [...]
  • Does the Christmas debt have you blue?
    Mon, 22 Dec 2008 06:40:48 -0600
      At Christmas we need to remember that Jesus Christ is the reason for the season.  Remembering the birth of Jesus cost you nothing. On the other hand, purchasing Christmas gifts on credit cards can cost you alot.  If you purchased gifts on credit do all that you can to pay them off in [...]
  • AllPointNetwork is Surcharge-Free!
    Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:39:30 -0600
    Are you tired of paying fees when using a non-yourbank ATM machine?  AllPointNetwork has the answer. AllPointNetwork.com is the largest surcharge-free ATM network in the states.  AllPointNetwork has over 3874 surcharge-free ATM machines in California.  There are over 3060 surcharge-free ATMs in New York. Why pay an ATM free of $2, $3 or ever more to get $40 [...]
  • Redbox Can Save You Money
    Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:30:04 -0600
    One of the newest ways to save money on DVD rentals is Redbox.  Redbox is a vending machine for DVD rentals. I like Redbox for a few great reasons: The price.  The rental cost is $1.00 per night!  I have to pay sales tax so the grand total for a movie night is $1.07.  What a [...]
  • Teaching Teens Financial Accountability
    Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:37:40 -0600
    What are we doing to teach teens financial accountability?  For teens that do not have a job a great place to start is with an allowance and a budget. Below is a budget a friend of mine uses with his teens:  The allowance is $50 / month. 10% tithe                      = $5 10% Savings                 [...]

The Shoestring Conspiracy
  • No Title
    Sun, 01 Jun 2008 01:12:00 -0500

    Sermon By Russell H. Conwell
    Sunday Morning, December 1, 1912.
    Courtesy of Grace Baptist Church of Bluebell, PA.
    http://gracebaptistbluebell.org/



    We are here to unveil this picture of Hattie May Wiatt, a little girl who died in 1886. Years have gone rapidly
  • Build Hope
    Sat, 31 May 2008 06:09:00 -0500
    A bit more than a shoestring ...




    A lot less than a less rewarding vacation
  • Leadership Investment Strategies
    Sat, 11 Aug 2007 07:07:00 -0500
    Vanishing Leadership

    It is one of the tasks of a great leader to vanish.

    There are many leadership skills involving our hands: the hand up, the extended hand, the hands on demonstration, the hand on the shoulder and the hand off.

    That's right, the hand off with its accompanying attitude of "hands off." It is also called, "the hand over."

    In business and ministry, we will

  • What Counts?
    Sat, 19 May 2007 06:32:00 -0500
    What you count is an alert to what counts in your life and work. If you are in ministry and you value people, you will count people. If you are in business, you will count contacts, activities, and profits even if quality comes first. If you value time, you will measure it. If you value effort, you will keep track of it.

    Whatever counts, you count.

    That does not make it "all about numbers," but numbers are among other factors, a useful tool for measuring how much time, effort, and
  • A Block Party Baptism
    Sat, 28 Apr 2007 07:53:00 -0500

42: My life, the universe and everything
  • Greenbelt update
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:28:29 -0500
    Having a great weekend. Far too busy to blog. Some great talks, great meetings with friends, great coffee and food. Currently learning about intersex conditions. Eye opening. More talks planned, more friends to meet plus a big book shop visit.
  • Greenbelt 2009 - Arrival
    Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:11:34 -0500
    Today (Friday) we arrived at Cheltenham Racecourse for Greenbelt. This year we were organised better. We came away on Monday for a few days holiday in the Cotswolds first, so today we only had a 30 minute drive. Hence, we...
  • Bible Study responding to a Shane Claiborne Challenge
    Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:52:36 -0500
    Tonight we took two quotes from Shane Claiborne as a challenge for out Bible Study. The idea came from a blog post by Bishop Willian Willimon: A Peculiar Prophet: Claiborne?s Call to Young Christians. In it he had a collection...
  • Advice to Complementarians
    Sun, 16 Aug 2009 08:41:11 -0500
    As any regular readers will be only too aware I am generally not considered a complementarians (that is male headship supporter to the rest of us) best friend. So I thought I would change this with some excellent advice. Two...
  • I love Muslims in the NHS
    Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:31:45 -0500
    The video from Fox I have watched at clayboy » All go mad on health care made me really, really angry. Two people who ought to be in jail for racism made horrible accusations about Muslim Doctors in the UK....

Adventures in Revland
  • Sermon - James 2:1-10, 14-17 - Dead Faith
    Sat, 05 Sep 2009 10:47:00 -0500
    James 2:1-10, 14-17
    Dead Faith
    09-06-09

    There has been a ton of talk this past year about the Middle Class. Some are saying that the middle class is dying. Some say that it is the middle class that has put us in this current economic crisis. They wanted to be higher up the socioeconomic ladder so they borrowed their way up a few rungs and then fell off the ladder completely. Others say the middle class is simply taking the most hits because they aren?t rich enough and not poor
  • NIMBY - reflections on James 2:1-10, 14-17
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:23:00 -0500
    NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) has been around for a while and it has recently hit the news cycle again as the look for places to store Gitmo detainees. In this week's epistle text James throws us another point that many of our churches start to cry, NIMBY!

    During a recent conversation with a parishioner they were talking about a family who visited our church
  • No Title
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:26:00 -0500
    Sad news reported on Neatorama. Reading Rainbow is going to be canceled. It wasn't till I started watching kids shows on PBS again (by the way World Word is awesome!) that I realized Reading Rainbow was still on. Here is what the post said...

    After 26 years of teaching children (literally my entire life), Reading Rainbow is being

  • Podcasting
    Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:33:00 -0500
    I stated to podcast my sermons recently and I have found it quiet fun. A couple of weeks ago one of my parishioners came up to me and told me how much he is enjoying listening to the sermons later on in the week. He actually told me, ?Jim, your much better on podcast!? Now he said this with the caveat of saying during worship he is easily distracted and
  • My Interview with Letterman
    Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:32:00 -0500
    This was a great experience for me.

New Epistles
  • Facebook has agreed to let third party advertisers use your pictures without your permission
    Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:01:00 -0500
    Facebook has agreed to let third party advertisers use your posted pictures without your permission. Click on "Settings" up at the top where you see the "Logout" link. Select "Privacy". Then select "News Feed and Wall". Next, select the tab that reads "Facebook Ads". In the drop down box, select "No One". Then save your changes. Do it now. Help your friends...cut and paste this into your status.

    Note, the "Facebook Ads" page is visible on Internet Explorer and Apple's Safari, but not on
  • Church on Sunday?
    Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:33:00 -0500
    Cartoonist Jon Birch has some great funnies on The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus. I love it because it makes me laugh when I need something less serious.
  • Switching over to WordPress...some day
    Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:29:00 -0500
    Brian (at Living the Crucified Life) asked me:
    ?When are you coming over to Wordpress? You can transfer everything over with no problems and get tons of more interaction!?
    I?ve been thinking and thinking about moving over to WordPress for a long time but well, as a thinker who just keeps thinking about it but doing nothing about it, I ask myself ?Will I ever get to it?? I see my friend Gary Zimmerli (
  • Who really deserves the Honest Scrap Award?
    Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:06:00 -0500

    Who really deserves the Honest Scrap Award? I have been tagged by TC Robinson who was in turn tagged by Polycarp (and I don?t know how much further back other taggers go?)

    I?m supposed to

  • Was Bishop Schori really talking about the heresy of selfishness?
    Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:17:00 -0500
    I know others have already blogged about this but I will continue doing so here. Concerning the previous post on Bishop Schori?s claim on heresy, I had emailed her office about this paragraph below and asked for some clarification about

Beyond Just Mom
  • one way to get by
    Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:36:31 -0500
    Here in the midwest, the economy is a bit tough, but we’re fortunate to have a few staples on hand at the moment:  water and wood.  So, if things get really desperate, my resourceful in-laws have figured out one way to keep enjoying the finer things in life: They pump water from the nearby lake into this tub and heat [...]
  • a heavenly banquet
    Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:13:03 -0500
    The venue is booked  the tables are set and a standing invitation is offered The guests:  About one hundred men and women of varying ages, races and persuasions.  Some drive or ride from home; others walk from the shelter down the road.  All, without a doubt, are welcome. Dress:  Casual.  Some find fresh clothes on the open rack.   Some wear professional attire, [...]
  • on liking and loving
    Sun, 23 Aug 2009 01:12:50 -0500
    Just sharing some quick food for thought after a lovely respite in northern Wisconsin, enjoying this peaceful view:  I’ve been thinking about a prayer in today’s church bulletin all afternoon.  I thought you might find it interesting too: Gracious and Loving God, Your Son calls us friends and commands us to love one another.  So often [...]
  • knowing when to say when
    Wed, 12 Aug 2009 08:38:27 -0500
     Lately I’ve been feeling a bit stressed, but it doesn’t make much sense. We still have a few more weeks of summer.  (I know, many of you are starting school already, but while you were jumping in the pool we had school until mid-June, so no complaining).  My kids are at wonderful ages of gaining independence, [...]
  • someone is struggling today
    Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:03:21 -0500
    I know someone out there who is struggling today, and I want her to know she is not alone.  I want her to know that adjusting to parenthood is one of the most amazing growing experiences of life.  It is also hard, SO hard, even though something in our society makes us pretend that it is not.  I think [...]

Mild-Mannered Musings
  • My New Paper in the JRRT
    Sun, 30 Aug 2009 09:24:00 -0500
    Sweet! It looks like the new issue of the Journal for the Renewal of Religion and Theology was just posted, with my paper "In Defense of a Christian Pluralism" included! This is the first of three papers I have slated for publication within the next year. I'm very psyched to see my name in print in some professional academic venues.

    Fair
  • Did Joseph Smith Identify Moses and Aaron's Signatures on the Papyrus?
    Sun, 30 Aug 2009 04:48:00 -0500
    When Boston statesman Josiah Quincy visited Nauvoo in 1844, he reported having been shown the Book of Abraham papyri as follows:
    Some parchments inscribed with hieroglyphics were then offered us. They were preserved under glass and handled with great respect. "That is the handwriting of Abraham, the Father of the Faithful," said the prophet. "This is the autograph of Moses, and these lines were written by his brother Aaron. Here we
  • Pit Tomb 33 and the Book of Abraham Papyri
    Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:33:00 -0500
    I recently received the following inquiry from a commenter at Mormon Expression named Ray:
    Some elderly members of my family went on an LDS tour of the holy lands, and one of the stops was in Egypt to visit the pyramids and, of course, the tomb where (they indicated) the BoA papyri was found. They took a picture of a wall painting that shows what looks like a person (woman?) wearing what appears to be robes and possibly an apron. They were
  • "Written by His Own Hand upon Papyrus"
    Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:05:00 -0500
    The header to the Book of Abraham in the current Pearl of Great Price reads,
    A Translation of some ancient Records, that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of Egypt.?The writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus.Critics of the Book have occasionally appealed to this header as evidence that Joseph Smith believed the papyrus in his possession contained the actual handwriting of Abraham-- that it was what text-critics would
  • An Apology to John Gee for an Old Grievance
    Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:32:00 -0500
    I have spent many hours on Internet message boards debunking the so-called "missing papyrus" apologetic for the Book of Abraham, which has been most forcefully advanced by John Gee. Unfortunately such discussions can get pretty ugly, and on one occasion I lost my cool and referred to one of Gee's more absurd arguments as a "blatant lie" and his book on the subject "bull****" (asterisks in original). (Gee, by the way, was not himself a participant in the discussion.) Needless to say, a lot of people got mad

Living Dangerously
  • Evangelism Strategies For Latinos
    Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:51:59 -0500
    Latinos are the largest ethnic group in the US. 45.5 million live in the US, comprising 15% of the total population. According to recent research conducted by the Barna Group, Latinos indicate that faith is very important in their lives. Most Latinos are associated with the Catholic Church; however, this percentage has dropped 25% in the [...]
  • Watch Your Language!
    Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:26:52 -0500
    As the above video so aptly illustrates, words matter as we seek to relate to people outside the church walls. Often times, we use ?christianese? so naturally we forget that others may not understand us. Examples of christianese are: Holy Spirit, testimony, witness, assurance, redemption, resurrection, confession, and justification. If you didn?t grow up going [...]
  • Worldwide Cancer Prayer Day
    Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:40:04 -0500
    People from 160 nations will be praying for a cure for cancer today. According the American Cancer Society, 7.6 million people die every year as a result of cancer.  Worldwide Cancer Prayer Day was founded by Daniel Kennedy, CEO of Oasis of Hope Hospital. Prayer requests are sent to Kennedy, who maintains a list of [...]
  • Pro-Choice Doctor Murdered in Church
    Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:43:30 -0500
    Last Sunday morning, Dr. George Tiller was shot in the foyer of the Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas. For many years, Dr. Tiller had been the subject of controversy for performing late-term abortions at his clinic, Women’s Health Care Services. In 1986, the clinic was bombed by pro-life protesters, and in 1993, Dr. Tiller [...]
  • US Government Burns Soldier?s Bibles
    Wed, 27 May 2009 06:22:18 -0500
    A Pentagon spokesperson recently acknowledged that Bibles owned by soldiers serving in Afghanistan have been seized and burned. The Bibles, which were printed in the two common Afghan languages, were sent privately to soldiers serving in Afghanistan to use as gifts to local residents. Muslims in Afghanistan have been angered by video footage of a worship [...]

Jevlir Caravansary
  • Who Felt God?s Presence?
    Sat, 22 Aug 2009 11:38:55 -0500

    [This is a work of fiction, Copyright © 2009, Henry E. Neufeld.  Any resemblance between the characters in this story and any in the real world is purely coincidental.]

    It was a small hotel room in a small town, and Jack had driven three hours on small county roads to get there.  Now he was [...]

  • Christian Carnival CCXC Posted
    Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:58:18 -0500
    … at Fish and Cans.  Though I don’t want to detract from my great appreciation for every Christian Carnival host, I do think Annette did an exceptional job on this one with excerpts or descriptive notes on every post.  Quite handy!Related Posts:Christian Carnival CCLXXXVII PostedChristian Carnival CXLVIIChristian Carnival #203 PostedChristian Carnival PostedChristian Carnival Reminder
  • I Have No Gifts
    Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:32:51 -0500

    [This is a work of fiction, Copyright © 2009, Henry E. Neufeld.  Any resemblance between the characters and the church in this story and any in the real world is purely coincidental.]

    He was surprised to see her in his office.  She was one of those members who attended regularly, but you didn’t really get to [...]

  • Traitor Tad: A Disorienting Morning
    Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:47:28 -0500

    [This is a work of fiction.  Copyright © 2009, Henry E. Neufeld.  It is part of the Traitor Tad Series.)

    I wake up to silence and only the limited light provided by the main system monitor in the shuttle. It is light enough outside that I can see the aliens packed into the canyon in [...]

  • The God-Talk Club and the She-Bears
    Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:48:49 -0500

    [This is a work of fiction, from my God-Talk Club series. - added 11:42 central time]

    Small talk was dying down and everyone had their drinks.  Mark had a question:

    “I’ve been given an assignment,”1 he said to the group, and I’d like your thoughts.

    “What is it?” asked Mandy.

    “We’re supposed to write a 10 minute homily on [...]


The Pen of the Wayfarer
  • Fuji Flies His Kite
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:55:00 -0500







    I met this little dog, Fuji, on the beach
    in Rockaway Beach, Oregon. He was a rescue
    dog, very much loved. His family was flying
    kites, and if you look very closely you
    will see that his blue leash is attached to
    a kite,
  • The Invisible Church: Indefectible
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:45:00 -0500


    "What is in ruins? The invisible church,
    composed of all Spirit-baptized persons, is
    indefectible, it cannot be ruined;
    against it "the gates of Hades shall not
    prevail." The local assembly may indeed be
    sadly ruined; but it can be restored,
    as, by the grace of God, has been seen times
    without number--at Corinth, for example.
    The only
  • Believing Impossible Things
    Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:03:00 -0500


    There is no use trying, said Alice;
    one can't believe impossible things.

    I dare say you haven't had much practice,
    said the Queen. When I was your age, I
    always did it for half an hour a day.
    Why, sometimes I've believed as many as
    six impossible things before breakfast.


    Alice in Wonderland
    Lewis
  • Really at Rest
    Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:40:00 -0500




    No soul can be really at rest until it has
    given up all dependence on everything else
    and has been forced to depend on the Lord alone.
    As long as our expectation is from other
    things, nothing but disappointment awaits us.
    Feelings may change, and will change with
    our changing circumstances; doctrines and dogmas
    may be upset; Christian work
  • Sunset, Twin Rocks, Oregon
    Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:22:00 -0500


    You ask then how I knew He was present,
    when His ways can in no way be traced?
    He is life and power, and as soon as He
    enters in, He awakens my slumbering soul;
    He stirs and soothes and pierces my
    heart, for before it was hard as stone,
    and diseased.
    - Bernard of Clairvaux

    photo taken at Twin Rocks, Rockaway

Living with "God Vision"
  • Three Days of Oppression
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:37:20 -0500
    being in Gulu rocked my world. everything i knew about suffering and oppression went right out the window. seeing the huts and experiencing that lifestyle brought me out of my comfort zone but feeling the suffering and oppression on a spiritual level hurt me. i was very thankful at the end of the Gulu trip to have [...]
  • on to gulu
    Sun, 16 Aug 2009 10:01:32 -0500
    sunday (july 19th for those keeping track) we went to our last service at University Christian Fellowship, an awesome church in Kampala that Jesse and Andrea got connected with. this church is rockin — fantastic worship with powerful preaching right from scripture. doesn’t get much better than that! after the service, we piled back into the van [...]
  • Promotional Film for TTW
    Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:05:07 -0500
    For those not on Facebook or friends with me there (get on that – friend me!), here’s a promotional film that I created for Touch the World Uganda as a “resume” video to show off my video style. I plan on returning to Uganda next summer as an intern working for photography and video elements [...]
  • Last Day at SMK?s
    Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:59:28 -0500
    saturday. it’s already been a week since we arrived in Uganda but for me it felt like a month. i felt so at home there and aside from a period of about 30 minutes one day, i loved every minute of it. it was weird going into the last day with the kids there. the kids that [...]
  • Week @ St. Mary Kevin?s Boarding School
    Sat, 08 Aug 2009 11:54:38 -0500
    we spent 6 days working and ministering at St. Mary Kevin’s Boarding School. it was without a doubt one of the most spiritually grounding places i’ve ever been to. i was there only 15 minutes on Saturday and immediately felt that “itch” from the Holy Spirit telling me this was the place for me. i [...]

Christian Personal Finance
  • Bing.com Cashback rewards program
    Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:56:32 -0500

    For as much money as Microsoft has been putting into the Bing advertising campaign, I am surprised at how they give very little mention to one of Bing's best features - their cashback rewards program.

  • The 7 Great Prayers | Review
    Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:03:53 -0500

    The 7 Great Prayers opens up ideas for ways to get into the habit of prayer. By using these 7 simple prayers and adding your personal affirmations, a person should experience a more blessings of health, wealth and abundance.

  • Espresso Machines: A way for Starbucks addicts to save money!
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 09:15:06 -0500

    Linda tells me that her Lattes that she makes are just about as good as the $4 ones from Starbucks and cost a fraction of the price to make. And with the machine itself only costing about $40, I am pretty sure it has already paid for itself!

  • 5 money saving ideas to help you save even in tough times
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:42:45 -0500

    Many people would like to reduce their spending and increase their savings, but it seems like such a monumental task that they simply don?t take any steps in the right direction. Saving money can begin right now, and you can start in small ways. Here are several easy money saving ideas to get you started ?

  • The Government Can!
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:50:40 -0500

    A guy from my church, Tim Hawkins, is a pretty well-known comic and recently released this music video that I thought did a nice job of poking fun at some of the hilarious government policies in the U.S. - Enjoy!


A Man Coming Alive
  • Branded...
    Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:11:00 -0500
    I wrote what I like to call my, "Come Back Post" the other day for the whole world to see.  Today, I re-read it and realized that all of it is true!  But, it was more or less a big pity party for myself.  So, I'm trying to break out of that state of mind, and write about something a little more uplifting. 
    I first
  • Drifting...
    Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:59:00 -0500

    I've been drifting along in a vast ocean... 
    At least that's the way I've felt spiritually for the past year, and it's taken me until now to really see it.  
    In January 2008, I started to drift off, away from the comfortable shoreline that I was so accustomed to and into the rougher, colder waters.  The worst part about
  • Drifting...
    Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:59:00 -0500

    I've been drifting along in a vast ocean... 
    At least that's the way I've felt spiritually for the past year, and it's taken me until now to really see it.  
    In January 2008, I started to drift off, away from the comfortable shoreline that I was so accustomed to and into the rougher, colder waters.  The worst part about
  • Drifting...
    Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:59:00 -0500

    I've been drifting along in a vast ocean... 
    At least that's the way I've felt spiritually for the past year, and it's taken me until now to really see it.  
    In January 2008, I started to drift off, away from the comfortable shoreline that I was so accustomed to and into the rougher, colder waters.  The worst part about
  • Rylan's Miles to Miracles Fondation
    Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:15:00 -0600

    I'm back at Man Coming Alive after an extended hiatus with my family. I am back, and ready to write again, with a new direction as I will be blogging about the foundation that Marci and I have established: Rylan's Miles to Miracles Foundation. Oh sure, I'll be writing all the

JakeBouma.com
  • James K.A. Smith on reading
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:52:00 -0500
    James K.A. Smith’s advice on establishing a practice of reading: “Keep books in every room of the house. Pile them up on the end table or nightstand or back of the toilet. Have the books there, staring at you, inviting you, wooing you, calling to you, shaming you. Keep bumping into them. Pick them up [...]
  • MailChimp kicks tail
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:09:15 -0500
    MailChimp, an email marketing company, recently announced that their free account, which formerly cost $10/month, now lets you send out 3,000 emails a month to up to 500 subscribers. If you’re not using this communication tool for your ministry, you no longer have a valid excuse. Here’s an example email I sent via MailChimp last [...]
  • Sullivan on religious authority
    Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:53:47 -0500
    Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, director of the Law and Religion Program at SUNY?s University at Buffalo Law School, discussing one of the themes in her new book: “[There is] a new openness to seeing Americans as naturally ‘faith-based,’ enabled, I believe, by a convergence between a broad range of humanistic critiques of scientistic understandings of the person, [...]
  • Brains of reckless teens are more mature
    Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:29:15 -0500
    Countering conventional wisdom, a brain-imaging study finds that, in risk-taking teens, the brain’s white matter looks like that of an adult. “After reviewing all of the neurodevelopment stuff, I couldn’t really find any link between brain development and adolescent risk-taking. Nobody denies that the brain develops or that teens take risks, but how the two [...]
  • Brains of reckless teens are more mature
    Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:29:15 -0500
    Countering conventional wisdom, a brain-imaging study finds that, in risk-taking teens, the brain’s white matter looks like that of an adult. “After reviewing all of the neurodevelopment stuff, I couldn’t really find any link between brain development and adolescent risk-taking. Nobody denies that the brain develops or that teens take risks, but how the two [...]

Moral Science Club
  • Tim Hawkins on Government "Solutions"
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:32:00 -0500
  • Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:13:00 -0500
    Hymns sometimes feel from another era. But what if you ran into the 18th Century hymnist on the bus?
  • Revelation Song - Kari Jobe
    Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:40:00 -0500
  • Some confession ideas
    Sat, 22 Aug 2009 09:02:00 -0500
    Confession is a vital part of prayer yet the easiest part to leave out. Most corporate prayers begin with praise (logical), then move to thanksgiving (a reasonable second to praise), and then to petition (decent of us to add this bit last as it is the least important). But confession is noticeably absent from fellowship prayers. Granted, churches print a Prayer of Confession that the congregation recites....but, let's face it, somebody else wrote that, to be sure. We can say, "I know, Lord, that I
  • Reagan's "Trust but verify" Joke
    Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:39:00 -0500
    The only Top Ten President of my lifetime coined a phrase that is oft-repeated although I don't believe many understand its meaning: Trust but verify. He said it of the Soviets when it came to reducing nuclear arsenal. Often we hear things, absorb them uncritically, and go on as if it were a standard when we didn't get it in the first place.

    What President Reagan was saying was that he did not trust the Soviets. Of course, who says "I trust you" and then asks to see what you have in your pants

Seeking After
  • Book Review: The Expanded Bible
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 07:33:00 -0500

    This was an interesting book review. How do you go about reviewing not just the most pivotal piece of literature in human history but also the Word of God? Needless to say, it ain't like the other reviews. So, I'll stick to giving you my thoughts on what makes this version of the New Testament "different" from other translations.

    First thing to
  • Book Review: Rick and Bubba's Guide to the Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage
    Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:02:00 -0500

    Well, this was an interesting book. Aside from the real mouth full of a title, it is chocked full of advice that, if followed to the letter, will lead you to complete and total marital bliss...

    OK, maybe that's not exactly right. But Rick and Bubba have been at this marriage thing for a little
  • Book Review: Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl
    Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:30:00 -0500

    When my wife and I were still dating back in the day, we stopped off at one of those little carnivals that sets up in mall parking lots. We rode several rides (we were too young to think that a mall parking lot carnival would have less than the strictest safety measures...) and then, right before we left, we jumped on the Tilt-A-Whirl. She and I were
  • Book Review: From Eternity to Here
    Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:55:00 -0500

    From Eternity to Here by Frank Viola came into my hands because I agreed to review it as part of a book review blogging round up put on by the publisher, David Cook. The nearest I can tell, I got included because of my review for another of their books, Crazy
  • Book Review: Wasabi Gospel
    Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:33:00 -0500


    The back cover of Shawn Wood's newest book, "Wasabi Gospel", gives you some warning about what to expect inside the covers:
    Have you ever eaten wasabi? That dainty green blob on your sushi plate may look pretty tame, but take a taste - or even a whiff - and you'll find that little dollop packs a powerful punch to your senses!
    If

  • The Salt Lick
    Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:53:52 -0500
    I sat on the deck early one Saturday morning savoring both the strong cup of coffee in my hand and the quiet rustle of the trees as a morning breeze navigated its way through the leaves. It was a time with no distractions and was ripe for contemplation and stealing a moment of silence with [...]
  • Natural Light
    Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:21:57 -0500
    How many times have you heard someone say, “she has a glow about her” or “he just seems to radiate?”. Most of the time we say these things without much deep thought about what we are actually saying. It just seems like the right thing to say and it describes the feeling we are having [...]
  • H.O.P.E a Pathway to the Future
    Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:48:29 -0500
    Over the past few days I have watched the world news with a new perspective. In the past it would just make me angry to see how the people of this world are being manipulated by a few people in high places. How could the people of today so easily buy into the arguments that are [...]
  • Providence
    Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:53:08 -0500
    Not too far from my home, here in the state of Georgia, is a beautiful canyon named Providence Canyon. The canyon is made up of several gorges that intersect, the deepest being about 150 feet. The canyon walls offer incredible views of soil layers colored in various reds, white, browns even black. [...]
  • True Warriors Wear Pink
    Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:44:40 -0500
    A few days ago, I happened to wear a very nice pink shirt to the office.  As I settled in to begin the day, a coworker walked past my office; ?Good morning Dave? was his greeting, to which I gave an equally cheery retort.  ?I takes a real man to wear pink?, were his next [...]

Life at the Wellspring
  • Important Announcements from Lois
    Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:45:32 -0600
    Shalom everyone - Thanks so much for your interest over the past couple years. I have a couple important announcements related to my writing online. First of all, I’ve been working on a brand new site which went online just a few days ago. It is called Our Rabbi Jesus: His Jewish Life and Teaching. In the [...]
  • Can we call Jesus ?Rabbi??
    Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:40:29 -0600
    A discussion of how the term "rabbi" was used in Jesus' day.
  • Those who have much will be given more?
    Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:18:36 -0600
    For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. Matthew 25:29 I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard a sermon based on this tough saying of Jesus. The place where I did find this line was in the book [...]
  • Early Reviews of Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus
    Tue, 09 Dec 2008 10:20:06 -0600
    I thought I’d share few more details about Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, my book that will be released by Zondervan in March 2009. First of all, here is the final version of the cover. (In an earlier post I included a preliminary cover for the book. Feel free to share your thoughts.) And, here [...]
  • Ushpizin: A Great Movie for Sukkot
    Sun, 19 Oct 2008 05:49:47 -0500
    Right now all over the world, Jewish people are celebrating the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) in small “booths” or “tabernacles” they have built in their yards. They live in these little huts for seven days (or at least eat their meals there), in order to remember God’s care during their 40-year wilderness trek to the [...]

Early Morning Inspiration
  • No Title
    Sun, 17 May 2009 06:23:00 -0500
    It was a gloomy day for most of the SriLankan Tamils all over the world. I also felt the impact of what happened in my country. It is amazing how for us Christians' the Lord speaks through His word to strengthen our emotions in Him.

    There is so much of struggle for power and control. to possess this, people resort to even violence and bloodshed.The innocent civilians get slaughtered in the middle. The on lookers sympathize and take sides too. I asked myself where to i stand in this.The
  • Closed Eyes, Ears And Hearts
    Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:25:00 -0500
    When Paul was in Rome, he explained and declared the kingdom of God to the people who came to see him.
    From morning till evening he talked to them. Some were convinced of what he said but the others would not believe.They disagreed among themselves. Finally Paul had a statement:
    He said the Holy spirit spoke the truth to your fore fathers, through Isaiah the Prophet," Go to this people and say, You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing and never perceiving. For
  • Awake To Righteousness
    Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:18:00 -0500
    The news that we hear these days. some times spell a dismal gloom over us.
    Even in the church, among God's people, not so encouraging things seem to happen. Amid all this, today's reading from the word of God, showed God's heart and great hope came to me.

    Isiah52:1to3 says:
    "Awake, awake O Zion. Clothe yourself with strength, put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the Holy city.
    The uncircumcised and the defiled will not enter you again.
    Shake off your dust,rise up.
  • Interesting Information
    Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:54:00 -0500
    The secrets of the bible.
    I read this from a note sent to me from Rod and Janice Hembree and i thought it is worth while sharing and preserving:
    'Speaking of paying attention to the Bible I want to show you something hidden in plain sight. Something that Chuck Missler brought to my attention and it is amazing.

    Every name has a meaning in the Bible.Did you know that 10 generations of names in the bible have meaning in their individual names?Let us have a look at the first 10 names.
  • Be Strong And Do The Work
    Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:01:00 -0500
    I was up quite early. Almost 4.30 A M As I read the scriptures, I lifted my heart in prayer:I read Haggai 2:4 "Be strong all you people of the land" declares the Lord,' and work. For I am with you."
    This is exactly what I needed to hear from the Lord.' I am with you says the Lord almighty.' Then there is nothing to fear or doubt.

    I stared writing from my heart to the Lord:

    ' Lord, you have a blue print for me
    A plan, a purpose, a path specially for me.

the greatest story
  • Rhetoric of Crisis
    Sat, 20 Jun 2009 12:16:12 -0500
    “The church is immersed, in short, in a rhetoric of crisis….  At first I joined fully in the rhetoric of crisis.  I found that it gave me entree to audiences…I began to get uneasy about my zealous viewpoint for three resons….  For one thing I found myself part of a cadre of interpreters who were [...]
  • I would have ruined everything.
    Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:02:01 -0500
    “Lord God, You have appointed me as a pastor in Your Church, but you see how unsuited I am to meet so great and difficult a task. If I had lacked Your help, I would have ruined everything long ago. Therefore, I call upon You: I wish to devote my mouth and my heart to [...]
  • AC Worship: Comments on the Wedding @ Cana
    Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:56:00 -0500
    Tonight I will have a small part in helping the SGA UMC Annual Conference celebrate in worship by doing a dramatic reading of the story of the Wedding @ Cana.  As I have prepared, I have been forced to make some interpretive decisions on the passage: “Jesus must love wine.” “Jesus is obviously a party [...]
  • Call to Ministry? Developing resources.
    Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:22:26 -0500
    Two of the most important things I do in my current job (also two of my favorite things) are: 1. Teach youth and adults about the UMC and Living the Methodist Way. 2. Help students discern a call to ministry. I have found no good video resources for either of these tasks. 1. There aren’t a great deal of [...]
  • Anyone preaching Acts 4 this week?
    Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:13:39 -0500
    Let me know. I’m interested to see how this is playing out in your contexts.

Hit the back button to move forward
  • reflections on weeding : glad God is patient
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:26:10 -0500
    Reflections on Weeding from Gavin Richardson on Vimeo. so i finished weeding out my neglected garden (which i need to go back to since this was recorded a few weeks back) and i had some thoughts. Matthew 13 The Parable...
  • reflections on gardening : why i suck as a neighbor
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 08:37:23 -0500
    Reflections on Gardening from Gavin Richardson on Vimeo. so its been a long summer & as seems par for the summers my yard falls in disarray at some point. this summer, at this point, it was our flower gardens which...
  • ministry tool you might not have heard of : new tech for the old tool
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:39:22 -0500
    United Methodist Reporter & Variable Print as a Ministry Tool from Gavin Richardson on Vimeo. note: i will be open about this one, i sit on the board for the united methodist reporter communications so i'm a bit biased that...
  • transgendered pastor comes out to congregation : what's in a history
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:03:13 -0500
    i stumbled upon this article about pastor david weekley who recently came out to his congregation about his sexual reassignment past. He told them that in 1984, just nine years after undergoing extensive sex-reassignment surgeries, he was ordained by the...
  • new erinandgavin : moving kinda
    Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:59:00 -0500
    way back in the day i created a website for erin & mines wedding. the info and pictures stuff, like that. well, i've continued to keep the site and i finally got around to creating our family site. it's still...

Pastor Tom Sims Journal

Power of Suggestion
  • Still in Beta, Redux
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:55:54 -0500
    Yeah…somebody’s fired. Dear www.afford.com: please add real confirmation numbers. If I have to call and ask about transaction number 123456, we’ll both be pissed off.
  • 3 Things: Catching Up
    Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:25:33 -0500
    Over the last couple of weeks there has been so much to think and write about, but I just haven’t had time. I’ve read almost 200 pages for class in three days and I’m already behind! 1. I’m seriously considering submitting my paper for publication, so I gave it to a friend who’s teaching a writing [...]
  • Elliot Jay Stocks? Nagging Apostrophe
    Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:53:18 -0500
    Web designer/developer Elliot Jay Stocks wants you to get it right, when dealing with “its” and “it’s”. Due to my own love for grammar, I’m pointing you there: Without any shadow of a doubt, the biggest number of mistakes I see online centre around the use of “its” and “it’s” (with most people opting for “it’s” [...]
  • Talent & Humility, Redux
    Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:59:54 -0500
    I originally posted this after seeing Incubus in Dallas over Labor Day weekend 2007. Last night I saw them again at the same venue, and it was another amazing show. The major difference is that this time there were a lot more people, the show was more polished, and I had to sit farther away. [...]
  • What do I do now?
    Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:49:53 -0500
    I just finished my first class at DTS and my TA suggested I submit my final paper for publication in one of three journals of Christian education. I trust his judgment?he went through this same program and has a doctorate in education?I’m just frozen by shock. I was just trying to get out of this [...]

  • Faith and Prayer
    Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:00:42 -0500
    There have been times in my life where I need a push or kick in the pants to get me going in the right direction.  A few weeks ago, I experienced just such a ?push.? The other night at 3:00 a.m. I was woken from a sound sleep.  Turns out that I forgot to close [...]
  • Blog Update
    Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:21:20 -0500
    I have not been on my computer much lately.  I logged on today and noticed that even though I have not been on my blog much, there are a number of comments.  I apologize for not responding to the comments.  I would like to start responding to the comments as well as start blogging again.  [...]
  • Innocent As Doves
    Wed, 23 Jun 2010 03:43:51 -0500
    A few weeks ago, I was taking a walk in the evening ? well, it really was at night.  It was around 11:30 p.m.  It was a really warm night but very windy.  As I walked down the sidewalk, I thought I saw what appeared to be a mouse scurry away from me.  I followed [...]
  • Memorial Day
    Mon, 31 May 2010 03:58:21 -0500
    Last night I watched a Memorial Day tribute on television.  The show was a very moving tribute to all the service personnel that have served and/or have lost their lives.  Mankind has been fighting each other since the beginning of time.  Nations have been wiped out.  Men, women and children lose their lives  as casualties [...]
  • Blog Status
    Fri, 23 Apr 2010 01:32:21 -0500
    It is interesting how much I miss reading blogs and writing to my own blog.

Shuck and Jive
  • Montana Wind
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:47:00 -0500
    In addition to making my parents take me to the Glendive Dinosaur Museum, I made them take me to see the windmills in Baker, Montana. This is the Diamond Willow Wind Farm. These thirteen turbines are the result of Montana-Dakota Utilities mandate for 10% renewable energy by 2010.

    According to the More Light Presbyterians are Out and About
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:11:00 -0500

    We have a big weekend. Four from our church will be attending God's Whole Family: The National Conference of Welcoming and Affirming Presbyterians at Second Presbyterian Church in Nashville.

    Check the news story in Out and About:

    There is still time to register so join us!
    The National
  • Jesus, The Bible, and Homosexuality
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:18:00 -0500

    We have a great group that meets Thursday mornings from 10:30 until noon. It is open and new folks join us. You are most welcome to do so. It is a reading group and our next book is by Dr. Jack Rogers, Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church.

  • I Evolved From Jesus
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:04:00 -0500

    Over my vacation to visit my family in Montana I made my parents take me to the Glendive Dinosaur Museum.


    They weren't particularly excited.



    It had just opened and
  • Expand Your Consciousness
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:04:00 -0500
    September 26 and 27 is a big weekend at First Pres., and I hope you will join us and invite your friends.

    On Saturday from 9-4 we are hosting an Awakening the Dreamer symposium. Click the pic for information and see the web page for our Peacemaking Committee.

    T.R.U.T.H. in Ministry
    • Where's the Love?--By T. Michael Cart
      Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:12:19 -0500

      But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
      -Matthew 5:44

      Earlier today, I wrote an article describing the horrible things that a Phoenix pastor has been teaching his congregation. The article is here:
      Phoenix pastor prays for President Obama's death?

      This particular case has affected me

    • Of Love and Boats: By T. Michael Cart
      Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:22:45 -0500

      By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
      -John 13:35

      How did it come to be that the word "love" in the above scripture has been all but supplanted by other words unappealing and base? There are many: words like "rape", "kill", "molest", "cheat", "control" and "conquer". Indeed, there have been many examples of this in history and in homes even today.

      More than ever, as our world deteriorates into darkness, true love becomes the salve of

    • Grace is free, but rent is not
      Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:48:44 -0500

      to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
      -Ephesians 1:6

      As I was browsing a major internet bulletin board this morning, I came across an advertisement for a writing gig in the San Diego area that was calling for people to write articles for an upcoming internet webzine dealing with pop culture. The pitch seemed interesting enough. That is, until I noticed that the employer was not going to pay for those writing services.

      This is

    • Becoming an examiner at Examiner.com
      Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:01:30 -0500

      Are you a writer, blogger or are you just passionate about a certain subject? Are you an expert on something? Anything?

      Examiner.com is a great place to begin a writing career. You can apply to be a regular columnist in a specific subject area in your geographic location. For example: if you know alot about football you would apply to be the Football Examiner or Sports Examiner in your city. Comics your thing? You could apply to be the Comics Examiner. If you decide to apply,

    • More Persecution in Pakistan
      Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:13:19 -0500

      http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,536238,00.html

      I was struck hard, this afternoon, when I read the above article about a family that was killed in Pakistan after allegedly burning a copy of the Koran. In addition, 40 Christian homes were burned in a riot.

      I was affected so much, possibly due to the fact that just prior to reading the article, I was writing


Doing Theology from the Caribbean
  • Quote of the Week
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:53:00 -0500
    "The theologians have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it."

    Philip Berryman

  • Quote of the Week
    Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:18:00 -0500
    "One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over. We must not remember that Daniel Webster got drunk but only that he was a splendid constitutional lawyer. We must forget that George Washington was a slave owner . . . and simply remember the things
  • Dieppa-Báez named EM for Puerto Rican Baptists
    Tue, 02 Jun 2009 06:27:00 -0500
    Breaking news from the American Baptist News Service . . .


    VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 6/2/09)?Dr. Roberto Dieppa-Báez has been named the new executive minister of Las Iglesias Bautistas de Puerto Rico (the Baptist Churches of Puerto Rico) effective on July 1, 2009.

    Las Iglesias Bautistas de Puerto Rico is a regional partner of American Baptist Churches USA.

    A pastor for the past 28 years,

  • R.I.P., Ralph Winter, 1925-2009
    Mon, 25 May 2009 01:15:00 -0500
    Ralph Winter, a former professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and founder of the U.S. Center for World Mission, was one of the leading American missiologists of the 20th century. Read more about his life and legacy here.
  • Colorado Death Penalty Watch
    Thu, 21 May 2009 09:17:00 -0500
    State Sen. Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora) and State Rep. Paul Weissmann (D-Louiseville) have written an interesting commentary regarding the possible repeal of the Colorado death penalty. While they dismiss moral reasoning as being not very helpful to the present debate, they advance two pragmatic arguments. For example, they note that Colorado is a defacto no-death penalty state, having only executed one person in the last forty years. But during that same

Participatory Bible Study Blog
  • Theological German Blog
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:41:47 -0500

    Dave Black linked to this post today for the Barth quote, but I will be visiting the site frequently, I think.  To say that my theological German is rusty is an understatement, but I was surprised by how much I could get first pass.  The word lists fill in.

    This could help scrape off some of [...]

  • Rick Mansfield on the TNIV and NIV2011
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:13:06 -0500

    He has some good thoughts here, more on the technical and marketing side.

    Related Posts:TNIV and REBNew Revision of NIV AnnouncedChristian Carnival CCLXII Coming Here!Living BiblicallyNLT Study Bible - Initial Reaction
  • New Revision of NIV Announced
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:36:02 -0500

    Everybody is writing about this so I might as well get on the bandwagon.  I’ll credit the hat tip to Better Bibles Blog.  I’m pretty sure that’s where I read about it first.  I’ll let you go there for the details.

    To be honest, though I’m obviously pretty intensively interested in Bible translation, having written a [...]

  • Identifying Divine Revelation
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:13:49 -0500

    Alan Lenzi writes a post in response to John Hobbins in which he seems to find it surprising that more Biblical scholars don’t abandon faith, and that their failure to do so says something about their “unwillingness to think historically without being hamstrung to the implications of their work by the fear of divine judgment [...]

  • Biblical Studies Carnival #45 Posted
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:43:22 -0500
    … at The Golden Rule, Bible Theme Park edition.  Lots of good stuff here, and despite my usual delinquency in submitting anything, I got a link in there.Related Posts:Biblical Studies Carnival PostedBiblical Studies Carnival #43 PostedBiblical Studies Carnival XXXVIBiblical Studies Carnival XXXIX PostedBiblical Studies Carnival XXX Posted

  • Luke
    Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:02:23 -0500
    This month we’re reading through Luke. Each of the four Gospels offers us unique experiences with Christ as we read about Him from various perspectives. Although some of us have read through the Matthew, Mark, Luke, and/or John countless times, we all benefit tremendously every time we re-read them. For others of [...]
  • Judges
    Mon, 05 Jul 2010 09:49:43 -0500
    In our Bible reading plan for the month of July, we are reading through Judges. This is a book about how messed up society becomes when people don’t listen to God. It only gets worse as the generations multiply. As you’re reading it, expect to read some messed up and disturbingly disgusting [...]
  • The Book of John
    Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:28:41 -0500
    The blog is back! For our daily readers, I apologize for the confusion. Basically, I felt like posting a blog for every chapter of our Bible reading plan was no longer a good idea, because only a few comments were being made on each blog. However, we have been averaging about 20 [...]
  • John 2
    Tue, 01 Jun 2010 07:41:16 -0500
    Yesterday we started the Gospel of John. Today we’re in chapter 2. If there is anything in chapters 1 and/or 2 that you’d like to comment on, we’d love to read it
  • 2 Timothy 3
    Thu, 27 May 2010 06:23:53 -0500
    12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you [...]

Bow. James Bow.
  • Renovation Creep
    Sun, 06 Sep 2009 10:20:47 -0500

    I’m starting to think that the hardest thing of home renovations isn’t how to wield a hammer correctly or cut things to size, but figuring out where all the dominoes are and making sure they don’t all go toppling down, one after the other.

    We love our house. We bought it in 2001, and since moving in, we have made a number of changes. We painted almost every room

  • It's Time For a Change. Again.
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:25:00 -0500

    Hat tip for this post goes to Stageleft.

    Election rhetoric seems to be heating up, with Michael Ignatieff finally grabbing some media attention and making statements that basically guarantee a fall election, or a fall on his face.

    I have to say that I’m ready for it. It’s time for a change; time to throw the bastards out, as the saying goes. And I know I’m not alone. In recent

  • Congratulations to Arthur Slade for Gaining a Hunchback
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:00:56 -0500

    My apologies for the slow posting of late. The book commissions are done, but the renovations (and cleanup afterward) are taking their toll. But on the plus side, we have a great kitchen floor and a new refrigerator. There should be more writing developments this month. I’m about finished on a new draft for The Night Girl.

    But I’d like to take this moment to congratulate Saskatchewan author

  • The Real Hypocrisy of Stephen Harper's Senate Appointments
    Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:59:04 -0500

    Busy week this week. After the visit to the CNE, I’ve been working on the final book of my three book commission. It’s crunch time, now. I’ve also had to deal with kitchen renovations. I’m excited about both. So blogging has had to take a back seat. But I couldn’t help but notice the pocket controversy surrounding Stephen Harper’s nine new Conservatives to the senate.

    Or, dare I hope, eight Conservatives and

  • Vivi and Me and the CNE
    Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:19:32 -0500

    My parents put together a special treat for Vivian today. Early this morning, they picked Vivian and me up at our home for a trip to the Canadian National Exhibition.

    This trip recalled a number of summers when my parents took me to the CNE. Every aspect of it was special. Even taking the special streetcars the TTC ran to the Ex was a part of the experience. I


Monastic Mumblings
  • American Injustice
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:06:52 -0500
    Various news outlets are reporting that low income wage earners are being cheated out of their meager earnings routinely in the United States. Check out this single story from NPR. Only about ten percent get their just worker's compensation when...
  • Sen. Ted Kennedy
    Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:15:51 -0500
    Like him or not, the Senator has been a part of of American life for almost half a century. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. Deliver Your servant, Ted, O Sovereign Lord Christ, from all evil, and...
  • FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
    Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:56:19 -0500
    Today, August sixth, we remember the radical change in appearance of Our Lord Jesus Christ, while in the presence of Peter, James, and John, on a high mountain. The Transfiguration revealed Christ's glory to His disciples, in shining splendor of...
  • Nicodemus, Rabbi 3 August
    Mon, 03 Aug 2009 06:17:01 -0500
    "He came by night, quiet as the hunter on the stalk, the moon for light, his cloak a moving shadow while he walked," So goes the song from Bob Ayala. It has always gripped my imagination, seeing the image of...
  • Ignatius of Loyola
    Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:44:57 -0500
    Today happens to be the Feast of Ignatius, The Spiritual Exercises were a profound influence on my spiritual growth, and I want to share this posting in toto: Daily Reading for July 31 ? Ignatius of Loyola The Spiritual Exercises...

The Book of Shadow
  • Weekend of Contentment and Philippians 4:10-23
    Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:59:00 -0500
    A hot lazy start to the weekend.

    Cataloguing garden growth*:


    Brinjal plant: alive and fruiting.


    Sunflowers: alive and flowering.

    Some Chinese New Year plant: dead and
  • National Day (2009), The Day (Sometime In The Future), Philippians 4:2-9
    Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:50:00 -0500

    Buah keluak blechan and keropok-induced illness did little to dampen the enjoyment of Singapore's best National Day Parade in recent memory, thanks to the vision of BG Tan Chuan-Jin, creative
  • Of Varicose Veins, Wandering Jews, Investment Portfolios and Steak Sandwiches (Philippians 3:1-11)
    Tue, 04 Aug 2009 06:00:00 -0500
    At a reunion of old mates, it was obvious that the only thing we had in common was merely a shared history. After those years together, decision after decision at crossroads led us well along divergent paths that split and branched. Again. And again, like the advancing spread of tiny varicose veins on a yellowed obese thigh. Until we seemed strangers. And perhaps we were.

    The involuntary backward glance at past life decisions. What if we had the chance to apply the benefit of hindsight of our
  • Philippians 1:27- 2:30
    Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:12:00 -0500
    *

    For we have an unchanging God.

    For, hundreds of years before Paul wrote to the Philippians, Moses had already said to the Israelites:
    this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?'
  • Barbarians in a Pod (Philippians 1:27-2:11)
    Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:27:00 -0500

    In the course of corporate life, there comes a time when you find yourself sitting in someone else's board meeting that had been convened at short notice on a hazy Sunday afternoon, and telling their directors that, actually, their company is the part of the Great Singapore Sale that you're most interested in.

    The

Evangelism 24:7
  • Facing Your Giants
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:12:30 -0500
    Have you ever seen the movie, Facing The Giants? If you haven?t, I would recommend you watch it. That is where I got the title for this blog, but this isn?t about the movie. This is about facing the giants in your own life. I am going to define ?giant? as something that is unusually great [...]
  • Highlighted Posts
    Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:23:15 -0500
    August has been kind of an “off” month for me. I wanted to really take a break from writing for a while. Anyway, I just wanted to provide a quick update to let you all know that I am not completely gone. So, in lieu of a new post, I am going to post some [...]
  • Psalm 119:1-24
    Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:46:27 -0500
    Link to read Psalm 119 As I mentioned in the overview, Psalm 119 exalts God and His Word specifically. The translation that I will be using to explain different points is the ESV. These opening verses are vital to understand because they set the tone for the rest of the verses. Eight of the words that [...]
  • Psalm 119 Overview
    Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:16:03 -0500
    A while back, I tried to go through and break down Psalm 119 word for word, or phrase by phrase to be more accurate. That is what I will be writing about for these next few posts, pointing out some key things from the verses in Psalm 119. This first post will be sort of [...]
  • Do You Want To Comment?
    Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:27:48 -0500
    I appreciate people who leave comments on my blog and my individual posts. However, before you do, you may want to check out my commenting policy. - Adam Smith

Crossinator
  • CSA #18
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:22:13 -0500
    Week 18 of Harmony Valley Farm’s CSA (blog) contained the following: Broccoli romanesco, Yellow onion, Italian garlic, Tomato variety bag, Grape tomatoes, Orange Ukraine, UW Roaster, Jalapeño, Teggia horticultural bean, Green top carrots, Watermelon, Cantaloupe/French orange melon, Spigarello, Cucumber- American Slicer or thin skinned Diva, Summer squash, Red or French breakfast radish, Salad or spinach, Colorado Rose or Carola Gold Potatoes, and Edamame What happened to all the veggies we knew
  • Book Review: Notes From the Tilt-a-Whirl
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:36:36 -0500
    I have to say that this is one of the oddest books I’ve read in awhile.  While I think N.D. Wilson had a plan with a coherent story line, Notes From the Tilt-a-Whirl reads more like a ADHD reader’s dream.  Just as I start to track where Wilson is making a point he jumps to [...]

  • Book Review: Notes From the Tilt-a-Whirl
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:36:36 -0500
    I have to say that this is one of the oddest books I’ve read in awhile.  While I think N.D. Wilson had a plan with a coherent story line, Notes From the Tilt-a-Whirl reads more like a ADHD reader’s dream.  Just as I start to track where Wilson is making a point he jumps to [...]

  • CSA #17
    Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:58:17 -0500
    Week 17 of Harmony Valley Farm’s CSA (blog) contained the following: Yellow onions, Italian garlic, Green beans, Edamame, Sweet corn, Tomato variety bag: You’ll have a mix that could include Carolina Gold (yellow), a variety of black tomatoes, Copia (striped heirloom type), Rose (pink heirloom type) and some red slicing tomatoes. Grape tomatoes, Carrots, Squash, Cucumbers, Watermelon, Melon, Poblano peppers, Jalapeños, Bell pepper, Amaranth, Salad Mix, Eggplant, and Cauliflower As the veggies
  • Ramadan 2009
    Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:04:45 -0500
    Ramadan began over the weekend. A few years ago I wrote this post explaining a little about Ramadan.  The more we’ve been engaging with our Somali/Muslim neighbors the more we have learned the importance of Ramadan.   The 30  day celebration is most known for its daytime fasting ritual but there is a lot more depth to [...]


Quiet Paths
  • Last night?s La Luna
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:16:53 -0500
    Matthew and I rode our bikes out to the track & football field last evening; we waited around for about 40 minutes for the moon rise.  Hmmm, tapping foot.  Where is it?  It was a lovely evening but the wind was picking up from the northwest. Silly us, we became impatient and cold, so then [...]
  • Onto the water ~ SWF
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:32:32 -0500
    Tall stony stacks step into the sea (say that five times fast) as lonely sailing ships would set out cautiously onto the water so is the mirage of time the ocean slowly erodes the shore wave after wave. Join in on the fun at Sky Watch Friday! It’s still Thursday here but never mind that, it’s close to Friday in other spots [...]
  • Chamomile & summer?s waning days
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:09:18 -0500
    Here is my Sweet Chamomile and the Scamp in the background.  It’s going to be hot here today – close to 90 F but slowly the daylight is shrinking towards another Autumn Equinox.  There are a few plants drying up and turning, the pumpkins are growing into giant oranges under the vine, and the dogwoods [...]
  • Getting close to it all
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:50:50 -0500
    This is our cat Finn on the front step meditating in the Black Eyed Susans, contemplating mischief.  Or something. It’s going to be a couple more weeks before the grapes are ripe but it is getting close!  I’d love to share – we’ll have plenty, so come on over!  If you like to make wine we [...]
  • Blue ~ OSI
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:45:02 -0500
    Blue sky on water there is now no turning back a miracle is doubtful remorse is not an option time is only one journey a step into deep, clear water reflecting cool under summer blue sky around her ankles two steps and already she is half way there off on another adventure where questions are answered and purpose revealed the light shines on her face as she walks across [...]

Bible Money Matters
  • Devotional: Leaning on My Own Understanding
    Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:00:19 -0500
    photo credit: Evil Erin Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6 When I was seven years old, I visited my grandma in Indiana. In the summer, she lived in a cottage on [...]

    Copyright © Bible Money Matters - please visit biblemoneymatters.com for more great content.

  • Going To The State Fair Is Expensive! Post Roundup
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:45:42 -0500
    My wife and I, along with a group of our friends, went to the Minnesota State Fair this past weekend. For those who don’t know the Minnesota State Fair is the largest state fair in the United States in terms of average daily attendance. Daily attendance can average anywhere from 100,000 people all [...]

    Copyright © Bible Money Matters - please visit biblemoneymatters.com for more great content.

  • Lending Club Celebrates 25,000 Investors By Giving Away $2500 Cash And $25 For New Investors
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:01:47 -0500
    About a month ago I posted about how I joined Lending Club as an investor, and I talked about how I thought it was becoming a pretty good way to make a decent return on your money. As with any type of investing it does carry it’s risks, but I believe that it is [...]

    Copyright © Bible Money Matters - please visit biblemoneymatters.com for more great content.

  • ING Direct Review: Why I Am Signing Up For The Orange Savings Account, And Why You Should Too
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:53:51 -0500
    As I mentioned in a previous posting on high yield savings accounts, lately I’ve been looking for a new online bank where we can put our money.  Our current savings account is with the same company as our mortgage (Bank of America), and I decided that I wanted our savings to be at a different [...]

    Copyright © Bible Money Matters - please visit biblemoneymatters.com for more great content.

  • Business and Bible Terms: ?Cost?
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 08:10:16 -0500
    The dollar is a currency.  Each and every country of the world has an accepted currency.  A currency has no value in and of itself.  It only has value as a group if people (1) recognize, and (2) accept its value.  For example, I might have $1,000 U.S.  But when I am [...]

    Copyright © Bible Money Matters - please visit biblemoneymatters.com for more great content.


Nuggets of Gold
  • Ted Haggard on Larry King Live
    Sun, 01 Feb 2009 02:54:00 -0600
    I was in my office two years ago when I walked into the ladies and found a colleague of mine with a long face leaning against one of the wash hand basins. I rushed to her and asked what was wrong.?I can?t believe this.? She moaned as she shook her head slowly?What happened? What can?t you believe?? I asked. I waited and watched with concern as she tried to pull herself together.?It?s Ted Haggard,
  • Kike Adesina - A Powerful new voice
    Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:20:00 -0600
    God gave us our talents for a reason and when we use them to touch our family, neighbourhood and the world at large; everyone takes note.I have always known that my dear friend Kike Adesina, has such a powerful God given voice. The few times I have heard her lead praise worship, the strength of her voice commands a total focus on the lyrics of the song and creates and awareness of the very
  • WHERE IS NIGERIA S BARACK OBAMA
    Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:19:00 -0600
    Today I recall a day early in January when I was in a discussion with some of my colleagues in the office. Everyone was unilateral and emphatic in their agreement that Obama could never win the presidential ticket he was seeking. It is not possible they said. He is a black man with an African father; a minority! It can never happen. Mine was a lone voice. Do not underestimate the power of
  • Toothy Truths
    Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:11:00 -0500
    I would like to share this truthy mail forwarded by a friend but written by Maureen D. Eha"I am not a particularly domestic type. If I have to work hard, I don't want to waste my energy dusting off tables that will look just as bad the day after I dust them as they did the day before. I want to work on words?positioning them, rearranging them, making them sing out the message God has laid on my,
  • SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH
    Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:44:00 -0500
    I remember the story of a man who lived a riotous life, with excess drinking, partying and womanizing. One day as he left his club at 2 a.m., barely sober, he got into his car and started the engine. Suddenly a dark demonic being appeared in the seat beside him and said, ?I have come to take you, it?s time.? The man?s heart thumped erratically at the deep fear that filled him. But somehow he had

If I Were a Bell, I'd Ring

Everyday Liturgy
  • Compassion Concerning Healthcare
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:41:50 -0500

    I went to the doctor yesterday for a routine phsyical.  I was in the office for about 45 minutes and overheard two conversations between very stressed out, uninsured individuals trying to walk the desperate line between finances and health.

    The first lady was very concerned and hovering over the office manager when I came in.  She had had a routine physical and an EKG but was uninsured, so she was setting up an installment plan to pay for the two services.  Two routine services.

    The

  • Seriously Practiced Christianity
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:14:12 -0500

    "America is going to become increasingly secular and hostile to the church. But what will build the bridge to whatever authentic Christianity emerges next is going to be a serious practiced Christianity. I think there's going to be a revival of religion." -Todd Hunter in "The Accidental Anglican"

    In the doomsday, apocalyptic scenario of post-modern, post-Christian society, where beliefs and truth

  • Responding to the Mission of God in Prayer
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:20:57 -0500

    This weekend I had the opportunity to lead the responsive prayers to each of the three teaching sessions on The Plant's annual retreat. 

    For the first section we responded to the last stanza in Gerard Manley Hopkin's poem "as kingfishers catch fire, as dragonflies draw flame":

    Í say móre: the just man justices;   
    Kéeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces;
    Acts in God?s eye what in God?s eye he is?   

  • Of Propositions and Carsons, Pipers, and Veiths
    Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:26:34 -0500

    Yesterday I grouped D.A. Carson, John Piper, and Gene Edward Veith into a pithy statement on their inclinations toward the Western theological mode Eastern Orthodox Clark Carlton critiques as propositional and geometrical.  Most people are not going to say point blank: "I can know all truth absolutely," and I don't think Carson, Piper, or Veith would.  But I think, getting back to the point of humility in theology and

  • The Gloves Come Off Against Western Theology
    Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:56:55 -0500

    In his most recent Faith and Philosophy podcast "Theological Language, Ecumenical Dialogue, and Evangelism Part I," Eastern Orthodox philosopher Clark Carlton takes the gloves off against Western theology and punches us in our collective gut:

    "Theology is not the manipulation of statements about God. In our tradition, no statement about God is


Levellers
  • A Responsive Prayer for Labor Day
    Sun, 06 Sep 2009 03:11:27 -0500
    Tomorrow is Labor Day here in the U.S. (that’s Labour Day to UK and Commonwealth readers).  This responsive prayer is written by my friend, Rev. Ken Sehested, one of the pastors of Circle of Mercy congregation in Asheville, NC. Ken, who for nearly 2 decades was Executive Director of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North [...]
  • Brief Reasons Why Obama is a Centrist: Maybe Even Center-Right
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 09:31:03 -0500
    To many of my readers, especially overseas, this heading will seem obvious. But I am sharing this in a link on Facebook. I am trying to get beyond the bubbles that the internet and cable news puts people in, especially in the U.S.  Too many people on the Left never read or listen to what [...]
  • Afghanistan: Reaping the Poison Fruit of Counterinsurgency
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:46:38 -0500
    This is a link to a great article by Derrick Crowe.  Unfortunately, it reinforces my continued belief that Afghanistan will be to Obama what Vietnam was to LBJ.  I highly recommend the article and wish the Obama admin. was not getting trapped in the D.C.  bubble.
  • C. Melissa Snarr: A New Voice in baptist Theology
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:08:01 -0500
    Unlike the last entry in this series, I do not know Dr. Snarr personally: We’ve missed each other at meetings of the Society of Christian Ethics and the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion.  We’ve never met, though we have mutual friends.  But my encounter with her work leads me to believe she will [...]
  • R. I. P. Jim McGinnis (1943-2009)
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 05:06:21 -0500
    Overlooked in the celebrity deaths this August (Ted Kennedy, author Dominick Dunne, Canadian pacifist Muriel Duckworth), has been the passing of one of the major leaders of American Christian pacifism since the Vietnam era: James B. (”Jim”) McGinnis (1943-2009).  McGinnis was just ordinary American Catholic boy serving in the Indiana National Guard in 1968 when [...]

Rediscovering the Church
  • First big drawing today
    Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:03:42 -0500
    We had our first winner yesterday. Deb Watson, author of Kiss Goodbye: The Story of God’s Presence in the Dark Night (Website, Twitter) won a copy of Aaron Saufley’s The Jumbo Shrimp Gospel. Congratulations Deb, I hope you enjoy it – and a very big THANK YOU to Katdish for donating the book to the giveaway. Today [...]
  • Blogiversary ? A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
    Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:40:44 -0500
    The big giveaway starts tomorrow (although our special extra drawing for a copy of The Jumbo Shrimp Gospel is running until 5pm Pacific Time today (Saturday) Enter it here.) I’ve told you thatI have five copies of Fearless by Max Lucado to give away. I’ve told you that I have two copies of The Jumbo Shrimp Gospel [...]
  • Visit and win? maybe
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:53:55 -0500
    If you’ve never heard of Katdish, you should read her blog and follow her on Twitter. I say that because she’s awesome but also because she has very kindly donated two copies of Aaron Saufley’s The Jumbo Shrimp Gospel to my big giveaway. The big drawing is going to be held next Thursday (September 10th 2009) at [...]
  • Blogiversary ? first book giveaway today
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:01:56 -0500
    The day is almost here. Sunday 6th September 2009 is officially the first day of the giveaway. From then, I’ll be giving books away every day until the official blog anniversary on Thursday 10th September when we will have a grand finale and give away possibly as many as a dozen books in one day! Today [...]
  • Blogiversary ? twitter fun
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:01:44 -0500
    Welcome to my one year blogiversary giveaway! If you’re new here, you might want to check out this post to catch up on what’s going on. The danger with doing a big blog giveaway like this is that it can seem self-serving. That is not my desire at all. Sure, I want more readers. Sure, I’d like a literary [...]

Compassion in Politics
  • Clayton Christensen?s ?Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns?
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 04:03:57 -0500
    “Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns” by Clayton Christensen, Michael B. Horn, and Curtis W. Johnson “Disrupting Class” is a great book on the future of education reform as it relates to technology, but to assume that the scope of this book is limited to the role that education technology [...]
  • Middle School Debate Skills
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:18:15 -0500
    What are the core skills of a successful middle school debater? While I was coaching college debate at a local DC University, I spent a good deal of time working with the Urban Debate League in Washington DC, and a wealth of that time was spent working with middle school debaters. Debate as practiced in [...]
  • Teaching High School Debate
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:51:06 -0500
    Teaching High School Debate: Resources for Teaching Policy and Lincoln-Douglas Debate I’ve assembled these resources to help new and experienced teachers of speech and debate be better equipped to teach their students the tactics, skills and strategies involved in being a successful competitor in high school or college debate. Open Evidence Project is a project which makes [...]
  • Value of High School and College Debate
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:08:07 -0500
    The Value of Debate: Justification for Debate in the Academy 1) The Urban Debate League has a fantastic one pager on the value of debate. 2) Very extensive Debate Justification prepared for Georgetown University by Jeff Parcher. 3) The Value of Forensics by Professor Minh Luong of Yale University 4) Value of debate for USA Today by [...]
  • Research on Creativity and Innovation
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:22:56 -0500
    Handbook of Creativity, by Robert J. Sternberg (incredibly comprehensive) The Nature of Creativity, by Robert Sternberg (journal article “The Nature of Creativity” is also available as PDF download) Wisdom: Its Nature, Origin, and Development, by Robert Sternberg Practical Intelligence in Everyday Life, by Robert Sternberg Research on Multiple Intelligences and Emotional Intelligence Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons, by Howard Garner (specifically [...]

One Thing I Know
  • God Is Not Like Us
    Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:59:00 -0500
    "It is very odd that people should think that when we do good God will reward us and when we do evil he will punish us. I mean it is very odd that Christians should think this, that God deals out to us what we deserve. ? I don’t believe in God if that’s what [...]
  • God’s Wisdom and Strength
    Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:54:00 -0500
    ?God has a way of wanting to be God and refusing to get too involved where we have our own wisdom and strength. Then when we run out of wisdom and strength, He is suddenly present, a lesson I find myself relearning practically every day that I am in my right mind.? ? C. John [...]
  • A Prayer
    Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:52:00 -0500
    My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think [...]
  • The Thicket of the Cross
    Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:49:00 -0500
    ?Would that men might come at last to see that it is quite impossible to reach the thicket of the riches and wisdom of God except by first entering the thicket of much suffering, in such a way that the soul finds there its consolation and desire. The soul that longs for divine wisdom chooses [...]
  • Today I Believe
    Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:46:20 -0500
    Lord, You have always given bread for the coming day; and though I am poor, today I believe. Lord, You have always given strength for the coming days; and though I am weak, today I believe. Lord, You have always given [...]

Kouya Chronicle
  • Do We Really Need Another English Translation?
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:02:30 -0500
    Most of what I post on this blog is too anodyne or too obscure to attract much by way of links or comments (or even readers?), so I was surprised to pick up some reaction on my recent post about the new NIV. Peter Kirk takes issue with me on a number of points and he [...]
  • A Lover?s Quarrel with the Evangelical Church
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:04:52 -0500
    A Lover’s Quarrel with the Evangelical Church by Warren Cole Smith is well worth a read. Though the author describes himself as a recovering Evangelical, it quickly becomes clear that his core beliefs about God, Scripture and redemption are in line with what Evangelicals are supposed to believe. His quarrel is with the dumbing down [...]
  • Underwhelming News: The NIV to be Updated
    Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:32:05 -0500
    The blogsphere and twitter are alive with news that the NIV is to be updated and a new version published in 2011. The official press release states: The global board of Biblica today announced its intention to update the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible, the first time it has been revised since 1984. The [...]
  • How Languages Work
    Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:49:10 -0500
    Some good thoughts from Josh, which apply to translators as well as preachers… A couple of friends of mine told the following story from an experience on the mission field in Mexico: As Samuel was preparing to set up a plastic table for the youth lunch we were hosting, I mentioned to him that the table?s ?piernitas? [...]
  • Ivory Coast on Al Jazeera
    Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:44:47 -0500
    This video is a good introduction to the situation in Ivory Coast. They make a couple of mistakes when referring to Ivorian Ethnic groups and some of the subtitles are a little less than accurate, but all in all it’s a good video. Related Posts:A New Look at Aid to AfricaDancin' all over the world.Why People [...]

Echo of Hope
  • Complex Simplicity
    Sun, 30 Aug 2009 02:24:00 -0500
    It is amazing to me how we often make the simplest things in life so complex. I suppose its human nature, where we think we "know so much", so we devise these elaborate schemes for the simplest of things. Perhaps its pride in some form, where we need to think we are smart, so we have to show it off, with some maze of logic that leads us to the obvious. With road work everywhere in
  • Foundational
    Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:23:00 -0500
    My family and I had a vacation together recently. We flew in to Dallas, Texas... got the rental car and headed to Waco, Texas. After a night of relaxation we visited UBC, a church in Waco where David Crowder leads music and worship. It was a great visit to a unique & impacting church. We had fun in Waco which also involved a visit to the Dr. Pepper museum. Yes, Dr. Pepper was invented in
  • He Gives Us All His Love
    Sun, 09 Aug 2009 06:30:00 -0500
    We were visiting a church in Texas as a guest musician led us in this song...Seth is the lead musician/worship leader for Mosaic in Austin... he is an interesting guy who is also in the bands "Zookeeper", as well as the "Sad Accordions". But as Seth led this song it sounded oh so familiar, yet appropriate. Now I know why. The song was written by Randy Newman (the same guy who gave us "Short
  • WOW!
    Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:50:00 -0500
    It is quite a powerful thing to get a glimpse of what God is doing...it is quite another to share in the experience. Since ECHO began this blog as an attempt to open up discussions that are challenging...helpful... stretching...even bothersome...we have seen many people join in. Our hope is our discussions open us up to the heart of God and how it may be experienced personally and expressed to
  • Amazing
    Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:44:00 -0500
    Ah, summer...beaches... convertibles... sun...cool breezes...ice cold drinks...it can be an amazing time. But it all makes too much sense usually. I mean you don't drive a convertible in the rain or when its 28 degrees, do ya? Ice cold drinks in sub zero weather seem out of place. We like it when it all seems to fit...it all works as it should...and maybe that's why we like summer and all that is

Gentle Wisdom
  • NIV profits go to Bible translation worldwide
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 04:20:26 -0500
    Eddie Arthur, David Keen and Tim Chesterton, among others, have criticised the NIV 2011 update project in ways which I consider unfair. I commented on Eddie’s post and he replied in a further post which I was much happier with. But in view of Tim’s post the point I made needs wider publicity. I entirely agree [...]
  • Jesus does speak about Christian leaders
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 08:28:19 -0500
    My recent posts Leading or Lording and Is it wrong to refer to someone as ?pastor?? have generated quite a lot of interest and comment, especially about A. Amos Love’s rather long-winded contributions. Amos certainly makes some good points. But he also goes too far. For example, in an extract I quoted before, he wrote: Jesus told [...]
  • Controversial rector resigns over ?theological differences?
    Thu, 03 Sep 2009 08:04:37 -0500
    The front page of today’s Essex Chronicle, my local newspaper, and the front page of its website, carries the following story: GREAT BADDOW: Controversial rector resigns over ‘theological differences’ Thursday, September 03, 2009, 09:39 A VILLAGE rector at the centre of a row over his controversial opinions on homosexuality has resigned. Alan Comfort, 44, cited “theological differences” with [...]
  • What will the updated NIV look like?
    Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:00:16 -0500
    The world of watchers of English Bible translations was rocked yesterday by the news that the NIV Bible is to be updated in 2011. Straight away I reported on this, with little comment, in a post at Better Bibles Blog. Today, in the freedom of my own blog, I would like to make some reflections [...]
  • Is it wrong to refer to someone as ?pastor??
    Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:57:03 -0500
    My post Leading or Lording has attracted quite a lot of comment. The most prolific commenter has been a certain A. Amos Love, who I know nothing else about except that he links to a website called God’s Words of Comfort and Healing (this is not an endorsement). Indeed I infer from the idiosyncratic writing [...]

BIT FORUM

Only Wonder Understands
  • The End of National Respect ? A Letter to Jim Greer
    Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:05:48 -0500
    "As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology. The idea that school children across our nation will be forced to watch the President justify his plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies, increasing taxes on those who create jobs, [...]
  • Like Breath and Water
    Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:49:34 -0500
    We need prayer ? like breath and water. It keeps us alive. –Ciona D. Rouse from ?Like Breath and Water: Praying With Africa? Last night I went to Africa. I didn?t catch a midnight flight out of Nashville International and head to Lagos, although I confess I might indeed do that sometime in the next year [...]
  • The Music City Center Skeptic ? Part 2
    Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:23:24 -0500
    The last time I wrote on this topic I focused on the financial subterfuge in which we seem to be participating here in Music City. Of course there are many who would say that I am splitting hairs, and I?m willing to plead guilty to a bit of fiber carving. Yet let?s be honest in [...]
  • Gift Stories Wanted
    Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:57:52 -0500
    I am trying to put together a daily devotional guide for our congregation?s stewardship covenant month and am looking for some stories about people receiving gifts. If you have a few minutes, would you be willing to submit your short (a paragraph or two at most) story about receiving a gift? This could include the [...]
  • Did God create Adam and Steve?
    Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:12:37 -0500
    ?After all God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve! For far too many years now the church of Jesus Christ has found itself divided over considerations of sexual identity, orientation, etc. This division is often characterized by name calling and shouting out trite statements like the one above, serving to undermine the church?s witness [...]

Donny's Ramblings
  • I Need Your Help
    Wed, 19 Aug 2009 03:08:58 -0500
    The Quick and Simple Version: I’ve agreed to participate in this event:  Bowlfest 2010 and I need sponsors. The more detailed plea/explanation: Some of you know my story.  You’ve read about my former career ruining lives.  You’ve likely read about some of the intense anger and bitterness I held towards Christians, and you’ve heard how much [...]
  • Conversations with Ted Haggard (Part II)
    Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:56:44 -0500
    THIS SERIES CONSISTS OF: Conversations with Ted Haggard – A Prelude Conversations with Ted Haggard – Part 1 Conversations with Ted Haggard – Part 2 (current article) I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts to share at some point in the future.  Bookmark this blog and return or befriend me on twitter, Facebook or Myspace and watch for [...]
  • Very Bad Mastiffs!
    Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:26:06 -0500
    I stepped out for about an hour to run a few errands and this is what I returned to… As I was down on hands and knees picking up the mess, Mister Moose offered his assistance… BY SITTING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF WHATEVER AREA I TRIED TO CLEAN UP! I couldn’t help but laugh. [...]
  • A July 4th Interview With Mister Moose and Princess Buttercup
    Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:21:30 -0500
    The Senator and his sister weigh in on what Independence Day means to English Mastiffs: Uploaded With My . Posted in Donny Pauling Tagged: English Mastiff, Independence Day, iPhone 3GS Video, July 4th, Mister Moose, Princess Buttercup, Senator Charles Bosworth
  • Breakthrough With Rod Parsley
    Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:38:28 -0500
    For those of you wanting to read the next chapter in my interview with Ted Haggard, do not despair! I promise, it will get here. The reasons I haven’t yet released it are rather boring, but there ARE reasons. Just stick with me for a few…  it’ll be worth the wait. Today I’d [...]

Parables of a Prodigal World

    The Christian Fantasy Review
    • Taliesin by Stephen Lawhead, a review
      Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:36:25 -0500
      The Christian Science Fiction/Fantasy Blog Tour this month is asking each of us to review a favorite book. I chose Stephen Lawhead's Taliesin, Book One of his five-book Pendragon Cycle. Unfortunately I no longer have a copy of this book--I am sure I enthusiastically lent it to various people until someone forgot to return it. But I do remember it pretty well I think.
    • What Others Are Saying About Starlighter by Bryan Davis
      Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:33:39 -0500
      I found out that Bryan Davis is a former computer guy turned writer, and his favorite literary character is Atticus Finch. Now, I'm pretty fond of Atticus too.
    • Starlighter by Bryan Davis, a Review
      Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:02:51 -0500
      This opening book in the series doesn't have a major resolution, but points to the books that will follow. Eventually I got into this book and did not want to put down--it has plenty of suspenseful moments. My only objection to it is that I found Jason and his brothers' obsession with helping the Lost Ones to be a bit unrealistic. They were risking their lives big time to rescue some people they had never met. Is altruism that strong a motivator?--Phyllis Wheeler
    • American Christian Fiction Writers conference coming up
      Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:48:45 -0500
      I joined ACFW last October and bought the conference audios from last year. I've listened to them many times over now. What a wealth of information for a beginner like me! I also have gotten a lot out of the email groups that ACFW offers for free. It's a great organization for aspiring Christian writers, no matter what your genre.
    • The 2010 Christy Awards: fantasies are winners!
      Wed, 30 Jun 2010 04:35:52 -0500
      The 2010 Christy Awards were announced over the weekend. I'm proud to say that three of the recipients were reviewed here at the Christian Fantasy Review, all of them part of the Christian Science Fiction/Fantasy Blog Tour. I gave them all my maximum of two thumbs up, naturally!

    Culture Sham
    • Remember Human Rights!
      Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:35:00 -0600
      Today is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights! Let us remember those around the world who are suffering and may we continue to encourage leaders and the United Nations to stand up for human rights!
      With great power comes great responsibility...

    • When Your Country Disappears
      Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:50:00 -0500
      A heartbreaking plea from Avaaz.org:

      Dear friends,


      Imagine the sea rising around you as your country literally disappears beneath your feet, where the food you grow and the water you drink is being destroyed by salt, and your last chance is to seek refuge in other lands where climate refugees have no official status. This is not a dream, it's the fearful reality for millions of people who live on islands around the world, from the Maldives to
    • Petition To Release Imprisoned Chinese Christian
      Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:29:00 -0500
      Voice Of The Martyrs and China Aid are petitioning for Chinese Christians who were arrested before the Olympics to be released. One such person is Pastor Zhang "Bike" Mingxuan and his wife and coworker. They ask for help:

      On August 6, just two days before the Olympics began, Pastor Zhang "Bike" Mingxuan was arrested, along with his wife and a coworker. In response to these
    • God By Different Names?
      Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:28:00 -0500
      I visited an Episcopalian church yesterday for the first time. Our interest was more in the magnificent building than in the tradition. Grace Cathedral church in San Francisco is beautiful and stunning-- certainly worth a
    • Training Begins
      Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:07:00 -0500
      I am beginning to attempt daily prayer. This discipline is difficult for me (and many other Christians I know!). I will be blogging about my prayer life here:


      http://finallyprayer.blogspot.com/


    Getting There
    • Christian (in/formation)
      Sun, 06 Sep 2009 08:20:53 -0500
      Sermon for 6 September As we listen for the word of God, let us pray: God of the outcast, through Christ, you offer healing to all; lead us to share your love with others, that our faith may be seen in the life we live, for the sake of Jesus our Saviour. Amen. READINGS James 2.1-17 Mark 7.24-37 (I got this idea from Peter Rollins, The Orthodox [...]
    • Discerning with the whole armour of God
      Sat, 22 Aug 2009 09:52:55 -0500
      Sermon for 23 August 2009 As we listen for the Word of God, let us pray: Lord Jesus, we have tasted, and you are good; we have seen and touched you, and your word feeds us for eternal life. Keep us close to you, trusting your promises, for you are the Holy One of God, and we can go to no other. Amen. READINGS Ephesians 6.10-20 John 6. 56-69 Although [...]
    • Liturgical outing
      Sun, 09 Aug 2009 04:15:51 -0500
      I’m off to Sydney (again!!) soon, for some great liturgical conferences ? Societas Liturgica, the English Language Liturgical Consultation and seminar week at United Theological College. Back on 21st ? will try to write while I’m away.
    • The Living Bread in our midst?Worship in the Round
      Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:06:31 -0500
      Sermon for 9 August 2009 As we listen for the Word of God, let us pray: Jesus, living Bread, all-sufficient Saviour, nourish us with your word; feed us, quench our thirst, that we may live in love and be filled with your praise now and for ever. Amen. READING Ephesians 4.25?5.2 John 6. 35, 41-51 Jesus says, ?I am the living bread that came down from heaven.? (John 6.51) Down [...]
    • Thoughts for Hiroshima Day
      Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:53:38 -0500
      From Eureka St, 24 June 2008: In 1965, the Second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church declared: ‘Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities of extensive areas along with their population is a crime against God and man himself. It merits unequivocal and unhesitating condemnation.’ There is no other church moral [...]

    Arrows for the Lord
    • Women of Faith & World Vision
      Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:40:00 -0500
      It's time to refresh yourself and have fun at the same time! Attend the Woman of Faith Conference near you! You deserve it!I just got back from a Women of Faith Conference in Dallas....can I just say WOW! This was my first time, and certainly not my last! I guess I expected it to be a mini-concert and motivational speaking...it was SO much more! I danced, sang, cried, laughed, worshipped and
    • Healing Scriptures...
      Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:01:00 -0500
      I cannot recall if I have ever had a week, quite like this one...ever. Each day, I have learned of someone new that has a chronic illness or cancer. Close friends, family and even people I do not know, like a little baby at Cook's Children's Hospital that is waiting for a donor heart valve. Someones baby has to die to save this little one's life! Heartbreaking...either way.If we are not careful,
    • How to shape your child's character
      Tue, 02 Jun 2009 04:24:00 -0500
      Some fun ways to teach your child about good character:The Put On Chart: this is from a great resource called Doorposts. It will cost a small fee of $11.50, but is well worth it! For FREE you can print this off for you and your children: A Checklist for Sons & Daughters. The Character Journal There are 38 character journals to use. Here is an example for the one over Obedience. The best thing....
    • Wicca - Why it attracts teens....
      Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:55:00 -0600
      (I will continue to update this post over the next few weeks.) This update was made on 4-6-09.After much research, I have come to the conclusion that Wicca looks appealing to teens because it only has one rule. You can basically make it up as you go!A follower of Jesus Christ must not only accept Jesus as their precious Lord and Savior...but let Him be the Lord of their life. This means your life
    • Pornography - A Way Out
      Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:26:00 -0600
      This past week I switched on the TV while I was tidying up the house and saw an interview on Daystar Network TV (on a program called Joni) that I felt led to share with you. The discussion: PornographyPornography is usually a silent sin that many men and women feel trapped in. There is a way out of the destruction that it causes. Seek Christian counseling as soon as you read this, if this is a

    Through a Glass Darkly
    • Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-09-06
      Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:45:00 -0500
      Working on a family budget, getting suitably depressed, and about to hang in the hammock reading Moltmann. # Prepping Torts class: Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress # Heading to U.S. Open tennis. # Over 40 soccer # Prepping Torts class: trespass and conversion. # Missions committee meeting # Another beautiful day for torts. # Orange tilapia # At Intrepid with the [...]
    • The Smell of the Stacks
      Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:42:52 -0500
      Getting a book from my law school’s library today, I realized how much I love the sort of musty paper smell of library stacks.  It reminded me of my freshman year in college, twenty-five years ago, holing up in the library’s abandoned bell tower, getting lost in my Roman History text.  Once a book hound, [...]
    • Test of Faith: Faraday Institute for Science and Religion
      Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:32:40 -0500
      The Test of Faith documentary looks like a superb new resource from the Faraday Institute.  Here is the trailer.
    • Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-08-30
      Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:45:00 -0500
      Prepping for the first day of Torts class # Over 40 soccer # Visiting garrett at hospital # Finished torts class, meeting with students on papers, heading to the hospital later to stay with Garrett. # “The person who has never contended with God like Job does not understand the death cry of the crucified Christ.”. — Jurgen Moltmann [...]
    • Martin Luther: Freedom
      Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:45:16 -0500
      “A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to every one.” – Martin Luther, “The Freedom of a Christian”

    Welcome to Wayne's Bible Study
    • My Bibi
      Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:44:03 -0500
        Photo taken by Wayne Brown

      Original post blogged on b2evolution.

    • Is lying ever okay?
      Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:06:42 -0500

      news.com.AU

      Emma-Kate Dobbin

      The “all men are liars” stereotype is big business. There are blogs, books, TV and radio shows all aimed at helping women find out when a man is lying. We publish articles like: “Reasons to tell her you’ve cheated”. We also put the boot on the other foot with: ”How to tell if your lady is lying”. Because it seems we all lie – in fact a recent

    • Wayne?s Weekend Talk: John 8:34-36 ( posted 8-18-09 )
      Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:03:44 -0500









      Powered by Podbean.com

      Original post blogged on

    • Do single women like taken men?
      Sun, 06 Sep 2009 05:52:44 -0500

      news.com.AU

       

      Emma-Kate Dobbin

      RECENTLY, I read a ”single guy’s opinion” article (which is just that – a single guy giving his opinion) by journalist Justin Prugh. Since the beginning of time, women have been painted as leading (otherwise innocent) men into temptation, he writes. Why? Because – apparently - we just can’t help it: “In the Garden of Eden, Eve sinks her

    • Pastor of closing church: ?Members wanted to keep it as it was?
      Sun, 06 Sep 2009 05:18:54 -0500

      The Gazette

      The Pulpit

      It’s never easy to say goodbye.

      Congregants at Ivywild Community Church in Colorado Springs are discovering this as they countdown to the closing of their 93-year-old church. The last service will be Sept. 13. Read my Sept. 6 Pulpit column at gazette.com for more information on the church closing . Ivywild will be sold by the Presbytery of Pueblo, which oversees Presbyterian USA churches in the area. The church’s approximately $3,000 Memorial


    Life and Doctrine
    • ?The Lost Tomb of Jesus?, part 4 of 10
      Sat, 05 Sep 2009 09:00:00 -0500
      We now continue considering, dissecting and responding to the documentary ?The Lost Tomb of Jesus.?
      Hereinafter DSC denotes ?The Discovery Channel.?

      This parsed essay is divided into the following segments:
      Part 1: Introduction and Utterly Absolute Unquestionable Certainty
      Part 2: Sensationalistic Claims - The Hype is Ripe
      Part 3: Let the Debate Begin?Without Us
      Part 4: Deoxyribonucleic Acid
      Part 5: Statistical Probability
      Part 6: Theological Considerations -
    • Jewish / Judaism : Jewish and Christian? Is Messianic Judaism Possible?, part 3 of 3
      Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:50:00 -0500
      The Talmud-Megillah 13a states,
      Whoever repudiates idolatry is accounted a Jew.

      We now continue considering what the difference id between a ?Jew? who believes in Jesus and a ?Christian? as well as the general question of who is a Jew?

      Part 1: Intro and Individual Jewish Opinion
      Part 2:
    • ?The Lost Tomb of Jesus?, part 3 of 10
      Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:00:00 -0500
      We now continue considering, dissecting and responding to the documentary ?The Lost Tomb of Jesus.?
      Hereinafter DSC denotes ?The Discovery Channel.?

      This parsed essay is divided into the following segments:
      Part 1: Introduction and Utterly Absolute Unquestionable Certainty
      Part 2: Sensationalistic Claims - The Hype is Ripe
      Part 3: Let the Debate Begin?Without Us
      Part 4: Deoxyribonucleic Acid
      Part 5: Statistical Probability
      Part 6: Theological Considerations -
    • Jewish / Judaism : Jewish and Christian? Is Messianic Judaism Possible?, part 2 of 3
      Sun, 30 Aug 2009 09:00:00 -0500
      The Talmud-Megillah 13a states,
      Whoever repudiates idolatry is accounted a Jew.

      We now continue considering what the difference id between a ?Jew? who believes in Jesus and a ?Christian? as well as the general question of who is a Jew?

      Part 1: Intro and Individual Jewish Opinion
      Part 2:
    • ?The Lost Tomb of Jesus?, part 2 of 10
      Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:00:00 -0500
      We now continue considering, dissecting and responding to the documentary ?The Lost Tomb of Jesus.?
      Hereinafter DSC denotes ?The Discovery Channel.?

      This parsed essay is divided into the following segments:
      Part 1: Introduction and Utterly Absolute Unquestionable Certainty
      Part 2: Sensationalistic Claims - The Hype is Ripe
      Part 3: Let the Debate Begin?Without Us
      Part 4: Deoxyribonucleic Acid
      Part 5: Statistical Probability
      Part 6: Theological Considerations -

    Smore for Women
    • Whatsoever Things. . .
      Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:01:02 -0500
      Today is my birthday. I’ve had a life filled with ups and downs-major highs and deep lows. My family was always there for me and I consider myself blessed. Along the way I’ve learned to take note and savor the small pleasures. I happen to be away from home for two weeks. I am at my [...]
    • Techniques for Thinking
      Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:51:20 -0500
      Here are some thoughts I’ve adapted for the single mom. 1. Keep life simple 2. Practice being satisfied. 3. Beware of indecision. 4. Practice cheerfulness. 5. Learn to like people. 6. Live and let live. 7. Use adversity. 8. Don’t take yourself too seriously. 9. Have a sense of humor. 10. Practice objectivity. 11. Tolerate your own mistakes. 12. Forgive yourself. Much could be said about each of [...]
    • Letting Go & Letting God as Single Mom
      Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:54:23 -0500
      Letting your children go-especially to school for the very first time, and another especially plus if you are a single mom-can be like ripping your heart out. We tend to think we are their protector for life instead of their preparer for life. We think we have the power to stand between them and whatever [...]
    • Invitation for Single Moms & Leaders of Single Moms
      Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:44:42 -0500
      Many of you have sent messages to me requesting assistance in  starting something for single moms in your churches and communities. This is my answer to your request – “Something Smore for Single Moms.” On September 20, 2009 our new class just for single moms will begin. The real-life class will take place at Calder Baptist [...]
    • Spiritual Motherhood in Kenya
      Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:52:24 -0500
      I know the single mothers reading this will appreciate this quick family sharing on my part. Kate, my daughter (by way of marriage to her dad) lives with her family in Kenya where she and her husband, Johnny, have extended their family to include eight beautiful Kenyan girls in their home. They’ve established a ministry that [...]

    Reflections from a shallow pool
    • And now a message from the Belove'd Leader
      Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:20:00 -0500
      Here comes more liberal Leftism, folks! Barack Obama is planning to make a speech to the schoolkids of our nation. Now that, in itself, is not so unusual or scary. Other presidents have spoken to our children. President Bush told them to stay off drugs in a televised address. Other presidents have had other messages for our students over the years. However, this is the first time that a
    • How gullible are you - VroomLive
      Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:48:00 -0500
      Talk about a tax on people who are bad at math! VroomLive is the ultimate in this arena! I was recently joining some additional social sites when I came across a link on one of them for something called VroomLive. It was represented as a way to make money online and save on things I purchase. When I checked it out, I found some incredible information on the How it Works page.The way you
    • School Superintendent or Demi-god?
      Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:42:00 -0500
      Well, boys and girls, it has happened again! Another school administrator has declared herself a demi-god, capable of overruling societal norms, commonly accepted behavior, the Constitution of the United States and just good old common sense!Suzanne Lukas is the latest object of self-deification! She is the Superintendent of Bonny Eagle High School which held its commencement on June 12. One
    • Digital TV So Far Not So Good
      Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:08:00 -0500
      The transition of the broadcast stations to Digital TV has not gone smoothly despite the delays, subsidies, millions of messages and public service announcements. Nielsen has estimated that 2.8 million households are still totally unprepared. There are households that were unable to get the government coupons because there were no coupons available, households that were told they were not
    • Fear me
      Sat, 18 Apr 2009 08:42:00 -0500
      I wasn't aware when I got up this morning that I had become someone for people to fear. The country I served well and faithfully for over twenty years is now poised to add me to watch lists and terrorist alerts should I show too much evidence of being disgruntled. After all, I believe in such heinous things. I believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God and that He, not Barack


    The Englewood Review of Books
    • FEATURED: THE EMPIRE OF ILLUSION by Chris Hedges. [Vol. 2, #35]
      Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:59:31 -0500
      “The Cult of Self and The Tyranny of Illusion” A Review of Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle. by Chris Hedges.  Reviewed by Brent Aldrich.   Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle. Chris Hedges. Hardback: Nation Books, 2009. Buy now: [ Amazon ] Susan Sontag?s seminal 1973 book On Photography begins in Plato?s cave, ?still [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "FEATURED: THE EMPIRE OF ILLUSION by Chris Hedges. [Vol. 2, #35]", url:
    • Conversation with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove [Vol. 2, #35]
      Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:59:12 -0500
      At the Ekklesia Project Gathering in July, I had a chance to sit down with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and talk a little bit about his upcoming book, God?s Economy: Redefining the Health and Wealth Gospel, due out October 1 ( pre-order here). ERB:  I’d like to get you to talk a little bit about your upcoming book, [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Conversation with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove [Vol. 2, #35]", url: "http://erb.kingdomnow.org/?p=492" });
    • Brief Review: WHY ANIMAL SUFFERING MATTERS by Andrew Linzey [Vol. 2, #35]
      Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:58:42 -0500
      A Brief Review of Why Animal Suffering Matters: Philosophy, Theology, and Practical Ethics. Andrew Linzey Hardback: Oxford University Press, 2009 Buy now:  [ Amazon ] Reviewed by Marilyn Matevia. Director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, Rev. Andrew Linzey is justifiably recognized for developing an ?animal theology? that attributes what he calls ?theos-rights? to animals.  He has argued that Christians, especially, [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Brief Review: WHY ANIMAL SUFFERING MATTERS by
    • Excerpt: Donald Miller?s A MILLION MILES IN A THOUSAND YEARS. [Vol. 2, #35]
      Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:57:46 -0500
      A MILLION MILES IN A THOUSAND YEARS, the new book from Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz and other books, is one of the fall’s most-anticipated books.  With almost a month until its release, its sales rank among all books on Amazon is just over 1000 (pre-order yours here); the publisher Thomas Nelson also [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Excerpt: Donald Miller’s A MILLION MILES IN A THOUSAND YEARS. [Vol. 2, #35]", url: "http://erb.kingdomnow.org/?p=490" });
    • Win a FREE Registration to the Through the Consuming Fire Conference!
      Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:57:32 -0500
      Win a Free Conference Registration!!! Through the Consuming Fire: Economic Faithfulness in An Age of Consumerism November 13-14, 2009 - Indianapolis http://englewoodcc.com/consumingfire/ Through the month of September, we will be running a contest to see who can refer the most people to register for the Through the Consuming Fire conference. The grand prize will be a free conference [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Win a FREE Registration to the Through the Consuming Fire Conference!", url:

    Joel Gillespie
    • Obsessively Green Gardening
      Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:13:00 -0500
      Something in the air on this gorgeous September morning has me thinking gardening. I love fall gardening. So much neat stuff to do...
      Which has me thinking again about the concept of "obsessively green gardening." I see "green" in the titles of lots of lawn care and landscaping businesses, but what does it look like to take a no-BS approach to green and really obsess over green gardening...
      I am thinking more of existing properties than new construction.
      Here are some characteristics as I
    • Hurray for September
      Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:38:00 -0500
      September starts today. Hurray! I?ve always loved September.

      I even like the name of it, how it rolls off the tongue.

      I think I love those first hints of fall even more than fall itself, you know, that breeze that carries a different smell, air that seems a bit drier, and a touch a coolness unexpectedly on a Saturday morning.

      I love the pennant races in baseball, and the hoopla surrounding the new football season.

      I like the woods in September. There is always so
    • Football in the Air
      Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:44:00 -0500
      This beautiful and cool first day of September 2009 has me thinking college football. It is well nigh impossible for me to think college football without thinking Clemson Orange and the many great games I got to see while I was at Clemson. This slide is of Clemson attempting a field goal during the game against Notre Dame in November 1977. Many future NFL stars
    • Forest Acres Memories
      Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:34:00 -0500
      Inspired by "I Remember" discussion board topic, in Facebook group "Forest Acres Friends"

      ...walking to Richland Mall for lunch in 9th grade. Flora had an insanely long lunch period! We would often go to the Hardies on Forest Drive! (Can you imagine how popular the OLD Richland Mall (RM) would be today! It would be awesome! And busy.)
      ...taking Nanny my grandmother to the cafeteria at RM
      ...looking at albums at that music store in the middle-corner at RM - what was it called?
      ...
    • Why I Support Private and Non Governmental Universal Healthcare
      Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:31:00 -0500
      I would like to take the next 45 minutes to write a stream of consciousness case for why I support universal health care. This is a quick draft, and I will edit as I get feedback. I wanted to put these thoughts out there while I was thinking them.

      Let me say up front that I oppose nationalized health care, any sort of single payer plan, and Obamacare at least as far as I understand it so far. I am also, for the most part, a political and fiscal conservative.

      Neither do I have a good

    Reluctant Catholic
    • Dealing with a dry spell
      Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:27:02 -0500
      I found this article on 9 Tips for Spiritual Dry Spells by Jennifer Fulwiler. As you would expect, it contains advice for prayer, the sacraments, and reading inspiring books. It also has some not-so-common and insightful advice like finding a spiritual director and taking the time to recharge. Interestingly enough, I read this at a time [...]
    • Shouldn?t I be happier?
      Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:14:29 -0500
      I found this 2006 Pew report about happiness and I noticed some trends. Here's a snippet from the survey results: But through this admittedly limited prism, we found some fascinating correlations. Several of them stand out: Married people are happier than unmarrieds. People who worship frequently are happier than those who don't. Republicans are happier than Democrats. [...]
    • Luke E. Hart Series - back on the shelf
      Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:22:55 -0500
      I gave up. The Luke E. Hart series is back on the bookself, and I'll likely not pick it up again. I initially thought it'd be a good way to get back into the swing of things, but I was wrong. I found the series more distracting than helpful. I don't feel many of [...]
    • God as a clockmaker
      Fri, 05 Jun 2009 07:57:40 -0500
      The best illustration I've seen to date of the idea of God as a clockmaker (from xkcd):
    • Prayer
      Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:31:41 -0500
      Another interesting graphic on Prayer in America from the Pew Forum: I don't pray every day. I'd like to, but I don't think I know how. Either I don't think about it, or if I do I'm not sure what to say. I don't have a habit of prayer, and I'm not sure how to start [...]

    TheoPoetic Musings

    Apprehending Grace
    • God?s Changing My Husband Before My Very Eyes!
      Sat, 05 Sep 2009 06:34:01 -0500
      The Lord got ahold of my husband a few months ago and it is so interesting to watch! Phil?s been a Christian for a long time and he loves the Lord. But God gave him an idea and it has totally changed him! First, the back story: This has been a tough year for us financially. [...]
    • The Relationship Between Serving God, Joy and Grace
      Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:40:49 -0500
      If you want to stretch your brain a bit today, read this article by John Parsons posted at http://www.hebrew4christian.org/. The website teaches biblical Hebrew so that the reader can better understand Scriptures ?from a Hebraic point of view.? This article is a commentary on the weekly Scripture reading. To help you understand the article, let me [...]
    • Shine! For the Self-Existent One
      Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:36:02 -0500
      Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who finds great delight in his commands. ? Psalm 112:1 Praise the Lord! Praise ? from the Hebrew word halal ? as in hallelujah! It literally means a number of things that can help us worship Him better today: To be clear (originally of sound, but usually of color) to shine to [...]
    • RARE: September?s Recommended Reading Plan
      Sat, 29 Aug 2009 06:46:54 -0500
      We’ll spend much of September with the Prophet Jeremiah. He is the author of both Jeremiah and Lamentations. Jeremiah had a hard job ? prophecying to a people who didn’t want to hear what he had to say. That made him unpopular and, in the world’s eyes, unsuccessful. I bet there are times that you [...]
    • Jeremiah: A Tutorial on How God Speaks
      Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:57:34 -0500
      If you are reading through the Bible following our Resting at the River’s Edge schedule, you will begin to read the book of Jeremiah today. The book of Jeremiah is many things, but one of the things I love about it is that it is such a primer on how prophecy ?works? ? how it [...]

    C.Orthodoxy
    • No Title
      Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:52:00 -0600
      C. Orthodoxy has moved to WordPress. This Blogger version will remain available, but new content will only be posted to the WordPress site, here:

      http://corthodoxy.wordpress.com/

      Please update your bookmarks, RSS feeders and blogrolls, and come visit the new C. Orthodoxy!
    • No Title
      Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:06:00 -0600
      The new version of C. Orthodoxy is now on WordPress, here: http://corthodoxy.wordpress.com/

      Please update your bookmarks, blogrolls and/or RSS feeds.
    • Goodbye Blogger
      Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:58:00 -0600
      When I started my experiment with WordPress I was motivated by two things especially: the need to do simple back-ups of the blog and the desire for cleaner and more professional look. Along the way I discovered all sorts of other
    • The Lord of the Rings-The Steward and the King
      Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:18:00 -0600
      Inspired by this post (and ready to take a break from my thesis), my wife and I watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy again this weekend and I was once more impressed by Peter Jackson?s films. He didn?t get everything right (it kills me that he left out the scouring of the Shire, though Return of the King was certainly long enough without it!), but he really captured the beauty and grandeur
    • Switching from Blogger to WordPress--Advantages and Disadvantages
      Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:26:00 -0600
      After a few days of experimenting with WordPress, I wanted to make some initial observations on the process of importing from Blogger and the advantages and disadvantages I've found so far.

      I had already set up a WordPress account before, so I could leave comments on WordPress blogs, so setting up my own blog required only a few clicks. I was annoyed, however, that they only allow letters and numbers in your URL, so I had to go with

    SHARP IRON
    • Why Did the Christian Cross the Road?
      Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:25:54 -0500
      He didn?t. And why didn’t he?  Because God told him not to, that’s why.  Too often tist seems to be the answer. Metaphorically speaking, of course. When we were children our parents told us to stay out of the street, avoid all strangers and make sure we were home before dark. Of course, that?s because we were immature [...]
    • The Diary of a Dairy Lover: The Healthy Joys of Butter, Cream and Cheese
      Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:55:07 -0500
      Halleluiah ! My taste came back last week. In full force.  So, I am cooking again. Last night, Ian, who is on leave from the Marine Corps, had a hankering for Fettuccine Alfredo.  Shocked, I said to him; ?What?! Are you nuts?! Don?t you realize how bad that dish is for you?? NOT! Thank God I have [...]
    • You Can?t Have Your Scroll and Eat It, Too.
      Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:24:51 -0500
      More than a couple of Christian fundamentalists have called me a  convenient relativist, usually after I’ve suggested  that it might make sense to read  parts of the Bible metaphorically and not literally.  Their arguments  go something like this: ?Well, where do you draw the line, then? How do you know which parts of scripture to [...]
    • Do We Have to Deconstruct EVERYTHING?
      Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:57:21 -0500
      That’s a question a friend of mine asked me today, in regard to much of what I have been saying on this blog.  I think the answer is; YES. We need to spend more of our time questioning authority and cutting through the layers of crap that have been laid down over the centuries like [...]
    • One God and Three Masks (or more)
      Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:02:18 -0500
      From Merriam-Webster?s online dictionary: Main Entry: per·son Pronunciation: \?p?r-s?n\ Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French persone, from Latin persona actor’s mask, character in a play, person, probably from Etruscan phersu mask, from Greek pros?pa, plural of pros?pon face, mask So, according to Merriam-Webster, the word person is derived from the Latin and Greek words for the masks that dramatic [...]

    The Paranormal Pastor
    • An Exorcist's Field Guide
      Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:32:00 -0500
      My new book, "An Exorcist's Field Guide to Blessings, Consecrations and Eradication of Malevolent Entities" is now available on Amazon HERE.It is a guide for the Lay person to preform a simple customizable ceremony for a house or building consecration or a blessing. I also include how to proceed if there is a possible malevolent entity involved. It is designed to be used in the field as you
    • The Wolf Woman of Mobile Alabama
      Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:17:00 -0500
      For weeks in early April 1971, residents of the Mobile Alabama suburbs of Port City and Plateau had encounters with a strange and bizarre creature.The Wolf Woman of Davis Avenue.Since the dawn of civilization legends of half human half animal creatures have tantalized the curious and helped build mythologies. The Werewolf is one of the more popular of these anthropomorphic creatures and familiar
    • Interview with Pastor Swope By The BAZ Files
      Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:26:00 -0500
      Sorry about the lack of posts, in this bad economy I have taken a second job to meet the needs of my family. So time is a rare jewel that I wish I had more of. However, I sense there comes a lull in the storm soon. In fact my secondary job is in direct relation to Hospice care, which I have been researching for my new book, Echo's Beyond the Veil: Unexplained Events at the End of Life.We shall
    • The Spectres of the Churinga Stone: A Nightmare on Maple Street
      Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:45:00 -0500
      Can objects hold supernatural power or be the focus of paranormal activity? I know of many Missionaries who are sure that they do, from fetishes to totems of aboriginal people. There are objects of power that seem to bleed paranormal phenomena. You don't have to tell that to Pastor Barry Porter of Australia, he knows first hand. They thought it was a simple artifact of the local
    • The Restless Dead of Graveyard Pond
      Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:43:00 -0500

    The Kingdom's Edge
    • Born to be me
      Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:38:00 -0500
      "...we then picture God as a kind of employment committee whose business it is to find suitable careers for souls, square holes for square pegs. In fact, however, the value of the individual does not lie in him. He is capable of receiving value. He receives it by union with Christ. There is no question of finding for him a place in the living temple which will do justice to his inherent value and give him scope for his natural idiosyncrasy. The place was there first. The man was created for it. He will
    • The long, dark night...
      Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:10:00 -0500
      "Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal." John 12:24-25 (The Message)

      Looking back at my Good
    • The longest night
      Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:00:00 -0500
      "I hope no one who reads this book has been quite as miserable as Susan and Lucy were that night, but if you have been - if you've been up all night and cried till you have no more tears left in you - you will know that there comes in the end a sort of quietness. You feel as if nothing is ever going to happen again. At any rate that was how it felt to these two." - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C.S.Lewis)

      It is impossible to fully comprehend the joy of Easter Sunday without
    • The silent saviour
      Wed, 08 Apr 2009 05:01:00 -0500
      "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth." Isaiah 53: 7

      "...we are heirs?heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:17-18 (NIV)


      This holy week if one thing has struck me, it is the poise of Jesus in the face of his suffering. His prayers in the garden reveal
    • Beyond healing
      Sun, 22 Mar 2009 06:29:00 -0500
      "But Zion said, 'The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.'

      'Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.'" Isa 49: 15-17 (NIV)


      My mother's Alzheimer's continues to progress. Each time I see her she seems to shrink a little. There are simple things that she used to do that she no longer

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    What I mean by Moderate Christian Theology

    By "moderate Christian theology" I mean the doctrinal views of those who are moderate, relaxed, and open in how they deal with the world, but who take the Christian religion and Christian spirituality seriously. They will have an interest in the Bible, but will not be dogmatic and will also be interested in interfaith dialog and will not pressure their neighbors. Their primary form of witness is by their life, but they do not hide the fact that they are Christians. They let their light shine through deeds first, then words, and even through signs.

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