Praying.
Homeschooling. Not just my own (which has already started to a degree) but a six year old who has already overcome so much, and cannot be lost to public school.
The Lord is so quiet on this. Why?
Friday, June 12, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
I'm a thinking
I wandered around the job listings today, and saw that Highlights for Kids was hiring in Columbus. I wasn't qualified for the open positions, nor am I ready to work, what with K being preschool age, but it was interesting to think about.
And I wondered ... is there a strong Christian Highlights-like magazine for kids? I think I will need to pick the brains of some of my homeschooling moms for the answer. I have always loved that magazine's format, especially as a child, and what if there were a way to publish a Christ-centered version? I know lots of lovely Christian writers. Food for thought, hmmm.
And I wondered ... is there a strong Christian Highlights-like magazine for kids? I think I will need to pick the brains of some of my homeschooling moms for the answer. I have always loved that magazine's format, especially as a child, and what if there were a way to publish a Christ-centered version? I know lots of lovely Christian writers. Food for thought, hmmm.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
When will we learn?
Churches are starting to make me angry.
It's not a social club; some aren't "great" and others are "misfits."
We're all saved by grace and equally important and valued by the One who matters.
When will we learn to treat others better?
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Offer Restoration and Unity
(Today's message is from Germaine Copeland, received in a devotional email.)
Prayer is one of the pillars of the universal church. Earnest, heartfelt prayer will produce results and bring restoration to wounded intercessors. God has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. God wants His wounded ones restored. We cannot fix one another, but prayer prepares the way for God to undo our erroneous efforts to keep everything together.
Prayer and sound teaching prepare hearts to receive revelations that displace wrong mind-sets, attitudes, and motives. Prayers of manipulation are replaced with Spirit-led prayer.
Accusations no longer fly back and forth like a badminton game. Emotional wounds are healed, and old emotional and psychological patterns of self-protection are brought down.
In prayer, strongholds that emotionally isolate us are destroyed, and we learn to trust one another. An overloaded pastor welcomes a willing heart that commits to pray and lead others in prayer. May we who intercede honor those who brought us the Word of God and imitate their example, following them as they follow God.
If we are to develop healthy relationships within our church families we have to hold the same vision, be of one mind, and be in one accord. In God’s presence we learn to esteem others, and our respect for ourselves will be reflected in our respect for others. Then we will have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin (1 John 1:9).
As a family we acknowledge our flaws, our shortcomings making ourselves accountable—and pray for one another that we may all be restored to a spiritual tone of mind and heart. (See James 5:16, AMP.) If you want to see your prayers answered, pray—and work—for the restoration and unity of all believers, especially those in your local congregation.
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. —James 5:16
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:
For these things I weep;My eye, my eye overflows with water;Because the comforter, who should restore my life,Is far from me.—Lamentations 1:16
TODAY'S PRAYER: Father, in Jesus’ name, You are the great reconciler! Of marriages! Of children! Of families! Of brothers and sisters! Of all relationships! It is in Your strength and by Your grace that I will go to the person with whom I have had conflict. You have planted the seed of love in my heart, and I will humble myself by asking forgiveness regardless of who was at fault. I pray that the relationship will be healed and the breach mended. I purpose to do this in obedience to Your Word and for Your glory, Lord Jesus. The repairer of breaches in relationships is working on my behalf! Amen.
Prayer is one of the pillars of the universal church. Earnest, heartfelt prayer will produce results and bring restoration to wounded intercessors. God has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. God wants His wounded ones restored. We cannot fix one another, but prayer prepares the way for God to undo our erroneous efforts to keep everything together.
Prayer and sound teaching prepare hearts to receive revelations that displace wrong mind-sets, attitudes, and motives. Prayers of manipulation are replaced with Spirit-led prayer.
Accusations no longer fly back and forth like a badminton game. Emotional wounds are healed, and old emotional and psychological patterns of self-protection are brought down.
In prayer, strongholds that emotionally isolate us are destroyed, and we learn to trust one another. An overloaded pastor welcomes a willing heart that commits to pray and lead others in prayer. May we who intercede honor those who brought us the Word of God and imitate their example, following them as they follow God.
If we are to develop healthy relationships within our church families we have to hold the same vision, be of one mind, and be in one accord. In God’s presence we learn to esteem others, and our respect for ourselves will be reflected in our respect for others. Then we will have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin (1 John 1:9).
As a family we acknowledge our flaws, our shortcomings making ourselves accountable—and pray for one another that we may all be restored to a spiritual tone of mind and heart. (See James 5:16, AMP.) If you want to see your prayers answered, pray—and work—for the restoration and unity of all believers, especially those in your local congregation.
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. —James 5:16
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:
For these things I weep;My eye, my eye overflows with water;Because the comforter, who should restore my life,Is far from me.—Lamentations 1:16
TODAY'S PRAYER: Father, in Jesus’ name, You are the great reconciler! Of marriages! Of children! Of families! Of brothers and sisters! Of all relationships! It is in Your strength and by Your grace that I will go to the person with whom I have had conflict. You have planted the seed of love in my heart, and I will humble myself by asking forgiveness regardless of who was at fault. I pray that the relationship will be healed and the breach mended. I purpose to do this in obedience to Your Word and for Your glory, Lord Jesus. The repairer of breaches in relationships is working on my behalf! Amen.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Imagine
This video is a little long, but I think you'll get the point. Imagine if we faced life with the attitude this puppy has ... full throttle in deep snow!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCa72UEYv5E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCa72UEYv5E
Monday, November 17, 2008
Unshakeable Kingdom
Hebrews 12:28-29:
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
I see that the key to staying rooted and grounded in this "unshakeable kingdom" is found in the worship of a most holy God. Thank you, Lord. This brings peace today.
I live in an "unshakeable kingdom."
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
I see that the key to staying rooted and grounded in this "unshakeable kingdom" is found in the worship of a most holy God. Thank you, Lord. This brings peace today.
I live in an "unshakeable kingdom."
Friday, November 14, 2008
What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do
(from my pastor, Les Bowling, this past Wednesday)
Stay Close to God;
(John 15:1-8 )
1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. Stay close, and you will bear fruit. Stay close, and He will stay close.
(1 Peter 5:5)
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
“ God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.” Humble is the key. If we allow pride in our own abilities to overtake our minds, we will not give praise and thanksgiving to who is the true source of our ability. Humility.
(Philippians 4:4-8)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The peace of God can only come when you are close to God; spend time learning who He is; remember that which has been given to you; seek out the promises we have in Christ Jesus; and as always, give credit where it is truly deserved.
Be Faithful (to what He's already told you and what you already know);
(Genesis 6:8-9)
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. You have to be close to God to walk with Him. Trusting in His ability to care for you, being obedient in the face of weeks, months, YEARS of waiting for the delivered promise. Like Abraham, Noah waited, knowing that the Lord had told him to build the ark and expect the rain. Sometimes, we just need to wait.
(2 Timothy 2:1)
1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Remember grace. We often forget that without the grace of God, we would likely lose our minds. We could never accomplish the things that the Lord can accomplish through us.
(1 Timothy 4:12-16)
12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit,[a] in faith, in purity. 13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. 15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. The "how to"; read your Bible, speak out what the Bible says, study and walk out the knowledge of God. And above all, pray!
(Luke 16:10)
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Being faithful in the trying, inactive times is how and when the Lord knows we are ready for promotion.
Stay close to God and be faithful. Simple, and yet difficult.
Stay Close to God;
(John 15:1-8 )
1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. Stay close, and you will bear fruit. Stay close, and He will stay close.
(1 Peter 5:5)
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
“ God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.” Humble is the key. If we allow pride in our own abilities to overtake our minds, we will not give praise and thanksgiving to who is the true source of our ability. Humility.
(Philippians 4:4-8)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The peace of God can only come when you are close to God; spend time learning who He is; remember that which has been given to you; seek out the promises we have in Christ Jesus; and as always, give credit where it is truly deserved.
Be Faithful (to what He's already told you and what you already know);
(Genesis 6:8-9)
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. You have to be close to God to walk with Him. Trusting in His ability to care for you, being obedient in the face of weeks, months, YEARS of waiting for the delivered promise. Like Abraham, Noah waited, knowing that the Lord had told him to build the ark and expect the rain. Sometimes, we just need to wait.
(2 Timothy 2:1)
1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Remember grace. We often forget that without the grace of God, we would likely lose our minds. We could never accomplish the things that the Lord can accomplish through us.
(1 Timothy 4:12-16)
12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit,[a] in faith, in purity. 13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. 15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. The "how to"; read your Bible, speak out what the Bible says, study and walk out the knowledge of God. And above all, pray!
(Luke 16:10)
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Being faithful in the trying, inactive times is how and when the Lord knows we are ready for promotion.
Stay close to God and be faithful. Simple, and yet difficult.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Truth, be told ...
(from 11.06.08 post at LaShawn Barber's Corner, and a thanks to Jordan's View, who has helped me with his mining-of-the-blogs to realize that I'm not out of my mind)
Barack Obama’s Post-Racial Delusion
A somewhat unorganized collection of post-election thoughts. More to come.
Author Shelby Steele, with whom I shared a discussion panel several years ago, writes about Barack Obama’s delusional “post-racial promise.”
After Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, people at my former day job were aglow. (See Barack Obama Goes to Boston) My boss in particular went on and on about this “young man” and his eloquent speech. I told him I hadn’t watched the convention but couldn’t wait to find out what everyone was gushing about. I read the speech and found nothing remarkable about it.
Young, black, and possessed of so-called charisma, Obama was fresh and new. His rhetoric was tired and devoid of substance, but he symbolized a racial idealism, as Steele notes. My co-workers, black and white, were excited about the “articulate” Obama’s potential. It was the idea of him rather than what he said that got people excited. My boss, who was white, could barely contain himself.
It’s safe to say my sixtysomething former boss proudly voted for Barack Obama on Tuesday. No doubt he bought into the “post-racial promise,” the idea that Americans have moved beyond race, and a vote for Obama proves it. For white liberal types, failing to support Obama implies a failure to embrace this ideal.
I read quite a few music and book author blogs, and some are run by Obama-supporting liberals. I can almost see them patting themselves on the back as they try to convince themselves race means nothing, and Obama’s presidency signals the beginning a new era of diversity, tolerance, blah, blah, blah. But they’ve got it twisted. Voting for Obama because he represents some post-racial ideal is to inject race into the equation.
“When whites — especially today’s younger generation — proudly support Obama for his post-racialism, they unwittingly embrace race as their primary motivation,” Steele writes. “They think and act racially, not post-racially. The point is that a post-racial society is a bargainer’s ploy: It seduces whites with a vision of their racial innocence precisely to coerce them into acting out of a racial motivation. A real post-racialist could not be bargained with and would not care about displaying or documenting his racial innocence. Such a person would evaluate Obama politically rather than culturally.”
It the end, it doesn’t matter why white people voted for Obama. He’s the leader of the free world now (shudder). Who I am to interfere with their “I voted for a black man because I don’t care about race” back-patting?
Steele asks what Obama’s election means to blacks. Well, I doubt it will do anything to decrease illegitimacy among blacks (70 percent; as high as 80 percent in some urban areas), or decrease child killing, or strengthen families and communities, or much of anything. It’s a proud moment for many blacks, to be sure, but having a black man in the White House will not motivate black Americans to wait until marriage to have babies, to stop killing their babies (and at three times the rate of white women), or to stop uttering the word racism whenever they don’t get their way.
Of course, Obama never promised that his presidency would have any effect on these things.
As long as families (the foundation of society) are in shambles, conditions won’t improve much. But with Obama in office, white liberals can feel good about themselves and blacks can feel proud, fatherless children and dead babies be damned.
Update: Welcome to post-racial America! Now we don’t have to talk about race anymore!
Barack Obama’s Post-Racial Delusion
A somewhat unorganized collection of post-election thoughts. More to come.
Author Shelby Steele, with whom I shared a discussion panel several years ago, writes about Barack Obama’s delusional “post-racial promise.”
After Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, people at my former day job were aglow. (See Barack Obama Goes to Boston) My boss in particular went on and on about this “young man” and his eloquent speech. I told him I hadn’t watched the convention but couldn’t wait to find out what everyone was gushing about. I read the speech and found nothing remarkable about it.
Young, black, and possessed of so-called charisma, Obama was fresh and new. His rhetoric was tired and devoid of substance, but he symbolized a racial idealism, as Steele notes. My co-workers, black and white, were excited about the “articulate” Obama’s potential. It was the idea of him rather than what he said that got people excited. My boss, who was white, could barely contain himself.
It’s safe to say my sixtysomething former boss proudly voted for Barack Obama on Tuesday. No doubt he bought into the “post-racial promise,” the idea that Americans have moved beyond race, and a vote for Obama proves it. For white liberal types, failing to support Obama implies a failure to embrace this ideal.
I read quite a few music and book author blogs, and some are run by Obama-supporting liberals. I can almost see them patting themselves on the back as they try to convince themselves race means nothing, and Obama’s presidency signals the beginning a new era of diversity, tolerance, blah, blah, blah. But they’ve got it twisted. Voting for Obama because he represents some post-racial ideal is to inject race into the equation.
“When whites — especially today’s younger generation — proudly support Obama for his post-racialism, they unwittingly embrace race as their primary motivation,” Steele writes. “They think and act racially, not post-racially. The point is that a post-racial society is a bargainer’s ploy: It seduces whites with a vision of their racial innocence precisely to coerce them into acting out of a racial motivation. A real post-racialist could not be bargained with and would not care about displaying or documenting his racial innocence. Such a person would evaluate Obama politically rather than culturally.”
It the end, it doesn’t matter why white people voted for Obama. He’s the leader of the free world now (shudder). Who I am to interfere with their “I voted for a black man because I don’t care about race” back-patting?
Steele asks what Obama’s election means to blacks. Well, I doubt it will do anything to decrease illegitimacy among blacks (70 percent; as high as 80 percent in some urban areas), or decrease child killing, or strengthen families and communities, or much of anything. It’s a proud moment for many blacks, to be sure, but having a black man in the White House will not motivate black Americans to wait until marriage to have babies, to stop killing their babies (and at three times the rate of white women), or to stop uttering the word racism whenever they don’t get their way.
Of course, Obama never promised that his presidency would have any effect on these things.
As long as families (the foundation of society) are in shambles, conditions won’t improve much. But with Obama in office, white liberals can feel good about themselves and blacks can feel proud, fatherless children and dead babies be damned.
Update: Welcome to post-racial America! Now we don’t have to talk about race anymore!
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