Well, I made it back to Raleigh yesterday (12/26). Both plane rides were filled with rolling turbulence because of the high winds (and no snacks or beverages)!
I was so tired because of my early morning that I fell asleep at the Nissan dealership while some stuff was getting done to my car!
I was just checking in to let anyone who might be checking my blog to come back again next week. I'm hoping to download some photos this week and get them ready for here and my web site...
we'll see how that goes.
For now, I'm just trying to stay awake :)
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Study hard
One of my favorite verses to use in college was in Ecclesiastes (12:12b to be exact): "Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body."
I should say misuse when it came to this verse, because I used it to be lazy. I'd get the least bit tired and say, "well, study DOES weary the body. I guess I need to quit."
This photo of a stack of books was every book I used this semester for class, not including library books and some personal reference books from my collection. Did I mention I only had three classes, well, technically I had four, but the fourth didn't count for anything. I just had to read the book and take four tests. Yippee!
I will definitely have three classes next semester, and no faux classes.
While this Ecclesiastes verse is true, you have to be wise in applying it. You need to spend the appropriate amount in study and prayer, as in most things in life ... too much is not a good thing and too little, well ... it isn't a good thing either.
I know that was eloquent, but it is the truth.
I've been finished for a few days not and my brain feels relieved. I am carrying my Hebrew with me in the hopes that I will go over my vocab and get started on my homework.
Please pray for time management, safe travel and some good times with my family.
I should say misuse when it came to this verse, because I used it to be lazy. I'd get the least bit tired and say, "well, study DOES weary the body. I guess I need to quit."
This photo of a stack of books was every book I used this semester for class, not including library books and some personal reference books from my collection. Did I mention I only had three classes, well, technically I had four, but the fourth didn't count for anything. I just had to read the book and take four tests. Yippee!
I will definitely have three classes next semester, and no faux classes.
While this Ecclesiastes verse is true, you have to be wise in applying it. You need to spend the appropriate amount in study and prayer, as in most things in life ... too much is not a good thing and too little, well ... it isn't a good thing either.
I know that was eloquent, but it is the truth.
I've been finished for a few days not and my brain feels relieved. I am carrying my Hebrew with me in the hopes that I will go over my vocab and get started on my homework.
Please pray for time management, safe travel and some good times with my family.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Christmas newsletter
Merry Christmas
Dear friends and family,It is my wish that you all are having a wonderful Christmas season. God sent His Son to earth to become flesh. He is the reason for the season! He faced many temptations and witnessed great sins of humanity. But He was perfect. He was put to death on the cross so that you and I might have life (more abundantly). He was raised from the dead to demonstrate the power of our Savior. His blood paid the price for our sins! May you focus on Jesus Christ, and live out His Will for your life.
What a year it has been! I have survived my first semester at seminary. So much has happened this year. It’s hard to imagine that it began while finishing up my last couple of months as a US/C-2 missionary in Lexington, S.C., and is ending in North Carolina.
Thank you
So many of you have prayed for me and supported me in various ways. Thank you so much! Each time I receive a message or note or a gift/donation, I feel that God is watching out for me and using you to do it. There have been so many instances of trusting in God, and receiving something from one of you that encouraged me or helped me in some way — even paying some unexpected bills along the way.
Early year recap
My last two months on the mission field (January-February) and really up through May were part of the May newsletter I sent out. Of course, many more people have been added to the mailing list since then … so welcome! One thing that God has always gifted me with is the ability to make new friends. He has truly blessed me here in Raleigh/Wake Forest with new friends at work, seminary, church and in my apartment complex … and a veritable plethora of friends around the world who love me and pray for me. I am so blessed!
“Backpacking in Europe”
After my term ended in South Carolina, I had no clue where my next step would be. I was still trying to figure out if seminary was the next step or if I needed to find another job at a newspaper somewhere. This section is titled “Backpacking in Europe” because that sounds much cooler than what I actually did. Some wonderful friends allowed me to stay in their house while I figured things out. I paid for gas and some bills while working as a pet sitter and errand girl. I even did some office work. While I didn’t actually go to Europe, I did do some exploring of the spiritual, my-life’s-about-to-change kind (and without all the weight of a backpack). Upon much prayer and research I settled on attending Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.
Raleigh – Here I Come!
I moved in May and began work at the Biblical Recorder (www.biblicalrecorder.org). You can view some of my work there; just do a search for my name and you’ll find articles I’ve written over the last several months. God has truly blessed my time here. I have some amazing neighbors at my apartment complex and very diverse too! I spent the summer getting settled in and learning my way around some of the major spots – it took me forever to find the closest Wal-Mart. I mean, most of the time map quest is OK, but searching for the closest Wal-Mart did not cut it on that site. There was no major signs directing potential customers to the store. I live less than three miles from work, so that’s nice. I spent the summer catching up on some reading and trying to get organized and ready for school.
First semester
This semester was quite busy with work and school. I managed to be a full-time student and employee. I don’t have my grades yet. My first three classes were Baptist History, Hebrew I and Biblical Counseling. History was pretty easy for me. Of course, it was one of my majors in college (eons ago). Hebrew was challenging but good. I mean, I am reading the Bible in Hebrew. (Don’t get me wrong, it’s really slow and sometimes excruciating when I have to look up every word and figure out the order in English. My brain doesn’t work in Hebrew yet.) Biblical Counseling actually was my toughest class. All my grades came in the latter part of the semester. The professor’s tests were extremely challenging and covered a great deal of reading. But, God brought me through it. I should find out my grades in the next week or so. I know one professor who promised he’d have it in before Christmas.
Scholarship help
Thank you all so much for those who have sent money to help with seminary and supplies. You have made it much easier on me in helping me pay for tuition, fees and books. I am in the process of scholarship applications right now but that is something I can’t count on … yet! Please be in prayer as I apply.
If you are a member of a Southern Baptist church, please make sure your church gives to the Cooperative Program; it helps Southern Baptist students pay for school. If it wasn’t for the CP money, my seminary costs would be at least double what it is now.
If any of you still want to contribute, you may do so:
Christian Women’s Job Corps
2626 Hebron Dr.
West Columbia, SC 29169
Please make sure you put Dianna Cagle in the “for” line on your check.
Also, please do not use this address for personal correspondence. Please contact me through the information provided below.
I’ll be home for Christmas
This statement is true. I’m flying to Alabama before Christmas and staying almost a week. I know my family is excited — as am I. I haven’t been home since early March.
I don’t have many scheduled plans, but there are some people I would like to see and some restaurants I would like to go to …
Futuristic
My break is super long since I’m not taking January classes. Spring semester starts at the end of January. Right now, I’m planning on taking three classes again: Christian Ethics, Counseling People with Addictions and Hebrew II. I’m thankful for the long break, although I do have some Hebrew “not-a-break” homework, and I’m trying to familiarize myself with Turabian, the writing style used most often by the seminary. So far, none of my professors were sticklers for it, so I avoided it. But I know one of my classes will emphasize that style. I also have several projects in the works to get a little more organized and get caught up on filing. Of course, preparing for tax season is always a lot of work too!
Mailing list
Many of you are joining me via my web site. I apologize for not mailing you a newsletter. I am trying to save on postage, as my mailing list is rather large. If you would like a hardcopy, please contact me. If you need multiple copies, feel free to copy this one. Or you can contact me if you need extras. If you wish to be removed from my mailing list, please contact me. If you feel that you have received this newsletter in error, also, please let me know. Sometimes a person is added to the mailing list because of another mutual friend or by request, and of course, being human, I do make mistakes, so I could have inadvertently mailed you one through a wrong address (especially if it’s through e-mail — really some of you do have unusual addresses — I’m speaking to myself as well)
Giving to missions
This time of year is very special. Not only is it the celebration of the birth of our Savior, but it is also the time for the collection of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Please, if you haven’t given already, pray about doing so. All proceeds go to support missionaries on the foreign field. While I’m here I’ll also plug the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering that is coming soon (to a Baptist church near you).
Contact information
(A lot of information has changed, please make changes in your address book.)
1031-C Hunting Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC 27615, (919) 414-6999
e-mail: duabba_c@hotmail.com; web site: www.diannacagle.com;
blog: www.diannacagle.blogspot.com; work web site: www.biblicalrecorder.org
Jeremiah 29:11 — “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Remember, God is always there for you no matter what.
May you have a blessed Christmas,
Dianna
Friday, December 08, 2006
Remembering Pearl Harbor
A tract used in the 1950's and 60's by the League and signed by Captain Fuchida with a reference to Luke 23:34 to demonstrate how the Gospel of Jesus Christ can change lives anywhere.
While I'm not old enough to remember Pearl Harbor, I do have enough sense to realize what a devastating event it was and how it has changed generations of people.
One of the web sites that sends me updates is the Pocket Testament League. This is their post about Pearl Harbor:
Today commemorates an event that stunned the world and dramatically changed the lives of all Americans. For The Pocket Testament League, Pearl Harbor Day has special meaning because it reminds us of God’s grace and His amazing desire to transform even the most seemingly unreachable hearts. Let me explain why.
Captain Mitsuo Fuchida led the Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. On that fateful morning, he flew the lead plane of the 360 aircraft diving on the idle U.S. Pacific Fleet and he was the last pilot to leave.
During World War II Captain Fuchida had many close brushes with death, including six crashes at sea. During the battle of Midway, a bomb hit his ship, breaking both his legs and hurling him into the sea. He was rescued and sent back to Japan. God had other plans for Captain Fuchida.
At the request of General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied forces, the Pocket Testament League shipped 10 million New Testament Bibles to Japan. Captain Fuchida attended a League meeting at the Shibuya railroad station. After League members went through Scripture with him, he committed his life to Jesus Christ on April 14, 1950. He went on to work for the League, passionate about saving lives for eternity.
Check out his full story at Pocket Testament League
Thursday, December 07, 2006
HEAVEN: A GUIDE FOR TRAVELERS
1. ACCOMMODATIONS
Arrangements for first-class accommodation have been made in advance.
"In my Father's house are many rooms......I am going there to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2).
2. PASSPORTS
Persons seeking entry will not be permitted past the gates without having proper papers/credentials and having their names registered with the ruling Authority.
"Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life". (Revelation 21:27).
3. DEPARTURE TIMES
The exact date of departure has not been announced. Travelers are advised to be prepared to leave at short notice.
"It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. (Acts 1:7).
4. TICKETS
Your ticket is a written pledge that guarantees your journey. It should be claimed and its promises kept firmly in hand.
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." (John 5:24).
5. CUSTOMS
Only one declaration is required while going through customs.
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
(Romans 10:9).
6. IMMIGRATION
All passengers are classified as immigrants, since they are taking up permanent residence in a new country. The quota is unlimited.
"......they were longing for a better country-a heavenly one..........he has prepared a city for them." (Hebrews 11:16).
7. LUGGAGE
No luggage whatsoever is necessary.
"For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it." (1 Timothy 6:7).
8. AIR PASSAGE
Travelers going directly by air are advised to watch daily for indications of imminent departure.
"After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
9. VACCINATION AND INOCULATION
Injections are not needed, as diseases are unknown at the destination.
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain....." (Revelation 21:4).
10. CURRENCY
Supplies of currency may be forwarded ahead to await the passenger's arrival. Deposit your heart, mind/soul & life.
"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." (Matthew 6:20).
11. CLOTHING
A complete and appropriate new wardrobe is provided for each traveler.
"...For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness...." (Isaiah 61:10).
12. TIME CHANGES
Resetting of watches will not be necessary to adjust to any/night schedule.
"The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp........for there will be no night there." (Revelations 21:23,25).
13. RESERVATIONS
Booking is now open. Apply at once.
".......now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
14. CORONATION CEREMONY
The highlight of the journey is the welcoming reception and coronation which await the arrival.
"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8).
--Author Unknown
Arrangements for first-class accommodation have been made in advance.
"In my Father's house are many rooms......I am going there to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2).
2. PASSPORTS
Persons seeking entry will not be permitted past the gates without having proper papers/credentials and having their names registered with the ruling Authority.
"Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life". (Revelation 21:27).
3. DEPARTURE TIMES
The exact date of departure has not been announced. Travelers are advised to be prepared to leave at short notice.
"It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. (Acts 1:7).
4. TICKETS
Your ticket is a written pledge that guarantees your journey. It should be claimed and its promises kept firmly in hand.
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." (John 5:24).
5. CUSTOMS
Only one declaration is required while going through customs.
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
(Romans 10:9).
6. IMMIGRATION
All passengers are classified as immigrants, since they are taking up permanent residence in a new country. The quota is unlimited.
"......they were longing for a better country-a heavenly one..........he has prepared a city for them." (Hebrews 11:16).
7. LUGGAGE
No luggage whatsoever is necessary.
"For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it." (1 Timothy 6:7).
8. AIR PASSAGE
Travelers going directly by air are advised to watch daily for indications of imminent departure.
"After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
9. VACCINATION AND INOCULATION
Injections are not needed, as diseases are unknown at the destination.
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain....." (Revelation 21:4).
10. CURRENCY
Supplies of currency may be forwarded ahead to await the passenger's arrival. Deposit your heart, mind/soul & life.
"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." (Matthew 6:20).
11. CLOTHING
A complete and appropriate new wardrobe is provided for each traveler.
"...For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness...." (Isaiah 61:10).
12. TIME CHANGES
Resetting of watches will not be necessary to adjust to any/night schedule.
"The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp........for there will be no night there." (Revelations 21:23,25).
13. RESERVATIONS
Booking is now open. Apply at once.
".......now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
14. CORONATION CEREMONY
The highlight of the journey is the welcoming reception and coronation which await the arrival.
"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8).
--Author Unknown
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Would you like a doughnut?
Each Christmas I get a joy unspeakable. I love the crisp weather that starts becoming more frequent, even if the promise of snow is elusive! This is the season we celebrate the Birth of Jesus. God came to earth in human form to face the same struggles we face, only He did it without sin.
The story I'm sharing below really strikes me as the meaning of the season. The birth also means the death of our Savior, because without His death, the resurrection would not be possible. Our many penalties we rack up in our sinful lives have been paid for by one man -- God in the flesh!
If nothing else, read the story below. It has a great meaning behind it. God came for everyone, but only a few accept the gift.
DON'T LEAVE IT ON THE DESK!
There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States.
Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his or her freshman year, regardless of his or her major.
Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously
This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman but was studying with the intent of going into the seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well-liked and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the Professor's class.
One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. "How many push-ups can you do?"
Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."
"200? That's pretty good Steve," Dr. Christianson said, "Do you think you could do 300?"
Steve replied, "I don't know. I've never done 300 at a time."
"Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson
"Well, I can try," said Steve.
"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of 10 for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it!" said the Professor.
Steve said, "Well, I think I can. Yeah, I can do it."
Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."
Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room.
When class started, the Professor pulled out a big box of doughnuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of doughnuts; they were the extra fancy BIG kind with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.
Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these doughnuts?"
Cynthia said, "Yes."
Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a doughnut."
"Sure." Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten.
Then Steve again sat in the desk. Dr. Christianson then put a doughnut on Cynthia's desk.
Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a doughnut?"
Joe said, "Yes."
Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a doughnut."
Steve did ten push-ups; Joe got a doughnut. And so it went, down the first aisle. Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their doughnut.
Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacked for female companionship.
When the Professor asked, "Scott, do you want a doughnut?"
Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own
push-ups?"
Dr. Christianson said, "No. Steve has to do them"
Then Scott replied, "No, I don't want one then."
Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a doughnut he doesn't want."
With perfect obedience, Steve started to do ten push-ups.
Scott said, "Hey! I said I didn't want one!"
Dr. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desk and these are my doughnuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it."
And he put a doughnut on Scott's desk.
Now, by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now, the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a doughnut?"
Sternly, Jenny said, "NO!"
Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve would you do ten more push-ups so that Jenny can have a doughnut she doesn't want." Steve did ten; Jenny got the doughnut.
By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room.
The students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten doughnuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each doughnut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.
Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push-up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all those uneaten doughnuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely. Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the Professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.
Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next.
Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.
Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"
Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your push-ups.
You're in charge now. You can do them any way you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.
A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"
Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No. Let him come in."
Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in, you will have to do ten push-ups for him."
Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a doughnut."
Dr. Christianson said, "Okay Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a doughnut?"
Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "Give me a doughnut."
"Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a doughnut?"
Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a doughnut and sat down.
Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time, sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room.
The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?"
Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."
Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Linda can have a doughnut that she doesn't want."
Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.
Then, Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a doughnut?"
Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?"
Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone. I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a doughnut whether they want it or not.
When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade.
Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes."
"Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a doughnut."
As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.
Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'into Thy hands I commend my spirit.' with the understanding that he had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up his life. And, like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk uneaten."
Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile. "Well done, good and faithful servant," said the Professor, adding, "Not all sermons are preached in words."
Turning to his class, the Professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not only His Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept his gift to us, the price has been paid.
"Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?"
--Author Unknown
The story I'm sharing below really strikes me as the meaning of the season. The birth also means the death of our Savior, because without His death, the resurrection would not be possible. Our many penalties we rack up in our sinful lives have been paid for by one man -- God in the flesh!
If nothing else, read the story below. It has a great meaning behind it. God came for everyone, but only a few accept the gift.
DON'T LEAVE IT ON THE DESK!
There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States.
Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his or her freshman year, regardless of his or her major.
Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously
This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman but was studying with the intent of going into the seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well-liked and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the Professor's class.
One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. "How many push-ups can you do?"
Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."
"200? That's pretty good Steve," Dr. Christianson said, "Do you think you could do 300?"
Steve replied, "I don't know. I've never done 300 at a time."
"Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson
"Well, I can try," said Steve.
"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of 10 for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it!" said the Professor.
Steve said, "Well, I think I can. Yeah, I can do it."
Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."
Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room.
When class started, the Professor pulled out a big box of doughnuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of doughnuts; they were the extra fancy BIG kind with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.
Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these doughnuts?"
Cynthia said, "Yes."
Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a doughnut."
"Sure." Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten.
Then Steve again sat in the desk. Dr. Christianson then put a doughnut on Cynthia's desk.
Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a doughnut?"
Joe said, "Yes."
Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a doughnut."
Steve did ten push-ups; Joe got a doughnut. And so it went, down the first aisle. Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their doughnut.
Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacked for female companionship.
When the Professor asked, "Scott, do you want a doughnut?"
Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own
push-ups?"
Dr. Christianson said, "No. Steve has to do them"
Then Scott replied, "No, I don't want one then."
Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a doughnut he doesn't want."
With perfect obedience, Steve started to do ten push-ups.
Scott said, "Hey! I said I didn't want one!"
Dr. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desk and these are my doughnuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it."
And he put a doughnut on Scott's desk.
Now, by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now, the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a doughnut?"
Sternly, Jenny said, "NO!"
Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve would you do ten more push-ups so that Jenny can have a doughnut she doesn't want." Steve did ten; Jenny got the doughnut.
By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room.
The students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten doughnuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each doughnut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.
Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push-up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all those uneaten doughnuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely. Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the Professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.
Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next.
Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.
Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"
Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your push-ups.
You're in charge now. You can do them any way you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.
A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"
Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No. Let him come in."
Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in, you will have to do ten push-ups for him."
Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a doughnut."
Dr. Christianson said, "Okay Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a doughnut?"
Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "Give me a doughnut."
"Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a doughnut?"
Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a doughnut and sat down.
Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time, sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room.
The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?"
Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."
Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Linda can have a doughnut that she doesn't want."
Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.
Then, Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a doughnut?"
Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?"
Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone. I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a doughnut whether they want it or not.
When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade.
Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes."
"Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a doughnut."
As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.
Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'into Thy hands I commend my spirit.' with the understanding that he had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up his life. And, like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk uneaten."
Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile. "Well done, good and faithful servant," said the Professor, adding, "Not all sermons are preached in words."
Turning to his class, the Professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not only His Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept his gift to us, the price has been paid.
"Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?"
--Author Unknown
Monday, December 04, 2006
TV Land lists 100 greatest catchphrases
This report strikes a chord with many people. So many people know these phrases, who says them and what show they come from... How about you?
In alphabetical order, TV Land's list:
—"Aaay" (Fonzie, "Happy Days")
—"And that's the way it is" (Walter Cronkite, "CBS Evening News")
—"Ask not what your country can do for you ..." (John F. Kennedy)
—"Baby, you're the greatest" (Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden, "The Honeymooners")
—"Bam!" (Emeril Lagasse, "Emeril Live")
—"Book 'em, Danno" (Steve McGarrett, "Hawaii Five-O")
—"Come on down!" (Johnny Olson, "The Price is Right")
—"Danger, Will Robinson" (Robot, "Lost in Space")
—"De plane! De plane!" (Tattoo, "Fantasy Island")
—"Denny Crane" (Denny Crane, "Boston Legal")
—"Do you believe in miracles?" (Al Michaels, 1980 Winter Olympics)
—"D'oh!" (Homer Simpson, "The Simpsons")
—"Don't make me angry ..." (David Banner, "The Incredible Hulk")
—"Dyn-o-mite" (J.J., "Good Times")
—"Elizabeth, I'm coming!" (Fred Sanford, "Sanford and Son")
—"Gee, Mrs. Cleaver ..." (Eddie Haskell, "Leave it to Beaver")
—"God'll get you for that" (Maude, "Maude")
—"Good grief" (Charlie Brown, "Peanuts" specials)
—"Good night, and good luck" (Edward R. Murrow, "See It Now")
—"Good night, John Boy" ("The Waltons")
—"Have you no sense of decency?" (Joseph Welch to Sen. McCarthy)
—"Heh heh" (Beavis and Butt-head, "Beavis and Butthead")
—"Here it is, your moment of Zen" (Jon Stewart, "The Daily Show")
—"Here's Johnny!" (Ed McMahon, "The Tonight Show")
—"Hey now!" (Hank Kingsley, "The Larry Sanders Show")
—"Hey hey hey!" (Dwayne Nelson, "What's Happening!!")
—"Hey hey hey!" (Fat Albert, "Fat Albert")
—"Holy (whatever), Batman!" (Robin, "Batman")
—"Holy crap!" (Frank Barone, "Everybody Loves Raymond")
—"Homey don't play that!" (Homey the Clown, "In Living Color")
—"How sweet it is!" (Jackie Gleason, "The Jackie Gleason Show")
—"How you doin'?" (Joey Tribbiani, "Friends")
—"I can't believe I ate the whole thing" (Alka Seltzer ad)
—"I know nothing!" (Sgt. Schultz, "Hogan's Heroes")
—"I love it when a plan comes together" (Hannibal, "The A-Team")
—"I want my MTV!" (MTV ad)
—"I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl" (Larry, "Newhart")
—"I'm not a crook" (Richard Nixon)
—"I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV" (Vicks Formula 44 ad)
—"I'm Rick James, bitch!" (Dave Chappelle as Rick James, "Chappelle's Show")
—"Is that your final answer?" (Regis Philbin, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire")
—"It keeps going and going and going" (Energizer Batteries ad)
—"It takes a licking" (Timex ad)
—"Jane, you ignorant slut" (Dan Aykroyd to Jane Curtin, "Saturday Night Live")
—"Just one more thing" (Columbo, "Columbo")
—"Let's be careful out there" (Sgt. Esterhaus, "Hill Street Blues")
—"Let's get ready to rumble!" (Michael Buffer, various sports events)
—"Live long and prosper" (Spock, "Star Trek")
—"Makin' whoopie" (Bob Eubanks, "The Newlywed Game")
—"Mom always liked you best" (Tommy Smothers, "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour")
—"Never assume" (Felix Unger, "The Odd Couple").
(Story Continues On Next Page...)
(...Story Continued from Previous Page)
—"Nip it!" (Barney Fife, "The Andy Griffith Show")
—"No soup for you!" (The Soup Nazi, "Seinfeld")
—"Norm!" ("Cheers")
—"Now cut that out!" (Jack Benny, "The Jack Benny Program")
—"Oh, my God! They killed Kenny!" (Stan and Kyle, "South Park")
—"Oh, my nose!" (Marcia Brady, "The Brady Bunch")
—"One small step for man ..." (Neil Armstrong)
—"Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?" (Grey Poupon ad)
—"Read my lips: No new taxes!" (George H.W. Bush)
—"Resistance is futile" (Picard as Borg, "Star Trek: The Next Generation")
—"Say good night, Gracie" (George Burns, "The Burns & Allen Show")
—"Schwing!" (Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as Wayne and Garth, "Saturday Night Live")
—"Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" (Lloyd Bentsen to Dan Quayle)
—"Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids" (Trix cereal ad)
—"Smile, you're on `Candid Camera'" ("Candid Camera")
—"Sock it to me" ("Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In")
—"Space, the final frontier ..." (Capt. Kirk, "Star Trek")
—"Stifle!" (Archie Bunker, "All in the Family")
—"Suit up!" (Barney Stinson, "How I Met Your Mother")
—"Tastes great! Less filling!" (Miller Lite beer ad)
—"Tell me what you don't like about yourself" (Dr. McNamara and Dr. Troy, "Nip/Tuck")
—"That's hot" (Paris Hilton, "The Simple Life")
—"The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat" (Jim McKay, "ABC's Wide World of Sports")
—"The tribe has spoken" (Jeff Probst, "Survivor")
—"The truth is out there" (Fox Mulder, "The X-Files")
—"This is the city ..." (Sgt. Joe Friday, "Dragnet")
—"Time to make the donuts" ("Dunkin' Donuts" ad)
—"Two thumbs up" (Siskel & Ebert, "Siskel & Ebert")
—"Up your nose with a rubber hose" (Vinnie Barbarino, "Welcome Back, Kotter")
—"We are two wild and crazy guys!" (Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd as Czech playboys, "Saturday Night Live")
—"Welcome to the O.C., bitch" (Luke, "The O.C.")
—"Well, isn't that special?" (Dana Carvey as the Church Lady, "Saturday Night Live")
—"We've got a really big show!" (Ed Sullivan, "The Ed Sullivan Show")
—"Whassup?" (Budweiser ad)
—"What you see is what you get!" (Geraldine, "The Flip Wilson Show")
—"Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" (Arnold Drummond, "Diff'rent Strokes")
—"Where's the beef?" (Wendy's ad)
—"Who loves you, baby?" (Kojak, "Kojak")
—"Would you believe?" (Maxwell Smart, "Get Smart")
—"Yabba dabba do!" (Fred Flintstone, "The Flintstones")
—"Yada, yada, yada" ("Seinfeld")
—"Yeah, that's the ticket" (Jon Lovitz as the pathological liar, "Saturday Night Live")
—"You eeeediot!" (Ren, "Ren & Stimpy")
—"You look mahvelous!" (Billy Crystal as Fernando, "Saturday Night Live")
—"You rang?" (Lurch, "The Addams Family")
—"You're fired!" (Donald Trump, "The Apprentice")
—"You've got spunk ..." (Lou Grant, "The Mary Taylor Moore Show")
In alphabetical order, TV Land's list:
—"Aaay" (Fonzie, "Happy Days")
—"And that's the way it is" (Walter Cronkite, "CBS Evening News")
—"Ask not what your country can do for you ..." (John F. Kennedy)
—"Baby, you're the greatest" (Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden, "The Honeymooners")
—"Bam!" (Emeril Lagasse, "Emeril Live")
—"Book 'em, Danno" (Steve McGarrett, "Hawaii Five-O")
—"Come on down!" (Johnny Olson, "The Price is Right")
—"Danger, Will Robinson" (Robot, "Lost in Space")
—"De plane! De plane!" (Tattoo, "Fantasy Island")
—"Denny Crane" (Denny Crane, "Boston Legal")
—"Do you believe in miracles?" (Al Michaels, 1980 Winter Olympics)
—"D'oh!" (Homer Simpson, "The Simpsons")
—"Don't make me angry ..." (David Banner, "The Incredible Hulk")
—"Dyn-o-mite" (J.J., "Good Times")
—"Elizabeth, I'm coming!" (Fred Sanford, "Sanford and Son")
—"Gee, Mrs. Cleaver ..." (Eddie Haskell, "Leave it to Beaver")
—"God'll get you for that" (Maude, "Maude")
—"Good grief" (Charlie Brown, "Peanuts" specials)
—"Good night, and good luck" (Edward R. Murrow, "See It Now")
—"Good night, John Boy" ("The Waltons")
—"Have you no sense of decency?" (Joseph Welch to Sen. McCarthy)
—"Heh heh" (Beavis and Butt-head, "Beavis and Butthead")
—"Here it is, your moment of Zen" (Jon Stewart, "The Daily Show")
—"Here's Johnny!" (Ed McMahon, "The Tonight Show")
—"Hey now!" (Hank Kingsley, "The Larry Sanders Show")
—"Hey hey hey!" (Dwayne Nelson, "What's Happening!!")
—"Hey hey hey!" (Fat Albert, "Fat Albert")
—"Holy (whatever), Batman!" (Robin, "Batman")
—"Holy crap!" (Frank Barone, "Everybody Loves Raymond")
—"Homey don't play that!" (Homey the Clown, "In Living Color")
—"How sweet it is!" (Jackie Gleason, "The Jackie Gleason Show")
—"How you doin'?" (Joey Tribbiani, "Friends")
—"I can't believe I ate the whole thing" (Alka Seltzer ad)
—"I know nothing!" (Sgt. Schultz, "Hogan's Heroes")
—"I love it when a plan comes together" (Hannibal, "The A-Team")
—"I want my MTV!" (MTV ad)
—"I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl" (Larry, "Newhart")
—"I'm not a crook" (Richard Nixon)
—"I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV" (Vicks Formula 44 ad)
—"I'm Rick James, bitch!" (Dave Chappelle as Rick James, "Chappelle's Show")
—"Is that your final answer?" (Regis Philbin, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire")
—"It keeps going and going and going" (Energizer Batteries ad)
—"It takes a licking" (Timex ad)
—"Jane, you ignorant slut" (Dan Aykroyd to Jane Curtin, "Saturday Night Live")
—"Just one more thing" (Columbo, "Columbo")
—"Let's be careful out there" (Sgt. Esterhaus, "Hill Street Blues")
—"Let's get ready to rumble!" (Michael Buffer, various sports events)
—"Live long and prosper" (Spock, "Star Trek")
—"Makin' whoopie" (Bob Eubanks, "The Newlywed Game")
—"Mom always liked you best" (Tommy Smothers, "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour")
—"Never assume" (Felix Unger, "The Odd Couple").
(Story Continues On Next Page...)
(...Story Continued from Previous Page)
—"Nip it!" (Barney Fife, "The Andy Griffith Show")
—"No soup for you!" (The Soup Nazi, "Seinfeld")
—"Norm!" ("Cheers")
—"Now cut that out!" (Jack Benny, "The Jack Benny Program")
—"Oh, my God! They killed Kenny!" (Stan and Kyle, "South Park")
—"Oh, my nose!" (Marcia Brady, "The Brady Bunch")
—"One small step for man ..." (Neil Armstrong)
—"Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?" (Grey Poupon ad)
—"Read my lips: No new taxes!" (George H.W. Bush)
—"Resistance is futile" (Picard as Borg, "Star Trek: The Next Generation")
—"Say good night, Gracie" (George Burns, "The Burns & Allen Show")
—"Schwing!" (Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as Wayne and Garth, "Saturday Night Live")
—"Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" (Lloyd Bentsen to Dan Quayle)
—"Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids" (Trix cereal ad)
—"Smile, you're on `Candid Camera'" ("Candid Camera")
—"Sock it to me" ("Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In")
—"Space, the final frontier ..." (Capt. Kirk, "Star Trek")
—"Stifle!" (Archie Bunker, "All in the Family")
—"Suit up!" (Barney Stinson, "How I Met Your Mother")
—"Tastes great! Less filling!" (Miller Lite beer ad)
—"Tell me what you don't like about yourself" (Dr. McNamara and Dr. Troy, "Nip/Tuck")
—"That's hot" (Paris Hilton, "The Simple Life")
—"The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat" (Jim McKay, "ABC's Wide World of Sports")
—"The tribe has spoken" (Jeff Probst, "Survivor")
—"The truth is out there" (Fox Mulder, "The X-Files")
—"This is the city ..." (Sgt. Joe Friday, "Dragnet")
—"Time to make the donuts" ("Dunkin' Donuts" ad)
—"Two thumbs up" (Siskel & Ebert, "Siskel & Ebert")
—"Up your nose with a rubber hose" (Vinnie Barbarino, "Welcome Back, Kotter")
—"We are two wild and crazy guys!" (Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd as Czech playboys, "Saturday Night Live")
—"Welcome to the O.C., bitch" (Luke, "The O.C.")
—"Well, isn't that special?" (Dana Carvey as the Church Lady, "Saturday Night Live")
—"We've got a really big show!" (Ed Sullivan, "The Ed Sullivan Show")
—"Whassup?" (Budweiser ad)
—"What you see is what you get!" (Geraldine, "The Flip Wilson Show")
—"Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" (Arnold Drummond, "Diff'rent Strokes")
—"Where's the beef?" (Wendy's ad)
—"Who loves you, baby?" (Kojak, "Kojak")
—"Would you believe?" (Maxwell Smart, "Get Smart")
—"Yabba dabba do!" (Fred Flintstone, "The Flintstones")
—"Yada, yada, yada" ("Seinfeld")
—"Yeah, that's the ticket" (Jon Lovitz as the pathological liar, "Saturday Night Live")
—"You eeeediot!" (Ren, "Ren & Stimpy")
—"You look mahvelous!" (Billy Crystal as Fernando, "Saturday Night Live")
—"You rang?" (Lurch, "The Addams Family")
—"You're fired!" (Donald Trump, "The Apprentice")
—"You've got spunk ..." (Lou Grant, "The Mary Taylor Moore Show")
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Too involved?
Sometimes, the church members get a little too interested in the lives of their ministers. A recent story out of Mississippi demonstrates what I mean.
A member of a Baptist church was bragging about her pastor and his girlfriend. She thought this young lady would make a fine pastor's wife.
So this industrious woman, on the advice of a friend, decided to make a motion at the next business meeting that the pastor propose.
Thankfully, she asked the pastor's opinion first. He had already bought a ring but hadn't determined how to ask yet.
“Don’t do that. It’d scare me to death,” he initially responded in the article.
But later in the week, he changed his mind.
During the meeting the group was recognizing the pastor for Pastor Appreciation Day; the lady made the recommendation and the motion passed.
The girlfround thought it was funny but didn't realize it was real.
She did accept and the couple will be married next year.
So, readers, how involved is too involved? Is this a sweet story or a sign of busybodies in the church?
A member of a Baptist church was bragging about her pastor and his girlfriend. She thought this young lady would make a fine pastor's wife.
So this industrious woman, on the advice of a friend, decided to make a motion at the next business meeting that the pastor propose.
Thankfully, she asked the pastor's opinion first. He had already bought a ring but hadn't determined how to ask yet.
“Don’t do that. It’d scare me to death,” he initially responded in the article.
But later in the week, he changed his mind.
During the meeting the group was recognizing the pastor for Pastor Appreciation Day; the lady made the recommendation and the motion passed.
The girlfround thought it was funny but didn't realize it was real.
She did accept and the couple will be married next year.
So, readers, how involved is too involved? Is this a sweet story or a sign of busybodies in the church?
Monday, October 30, 2006
A Frightening Thought
I was interviewing a pastor the other day about a youth event, and we started talking about Asheville, N.C. He said that last year (2005) around Halloween in New York about 50 or so witches, warlocks or so gathered.
Not enough to worry about, you say.
In Atlanta around the same time there were about 80 gathered for the same kind of event.
Who cares you say?
The problem is where it might lead.
In Asheville, there were around 600, yes, I typed 600.
The pastor said the witches and other new age, occult leaders believe there's something mystical in the mountains. Some come for the ancient Indian burial grounds.
Below are two articles about pagan worship in Asheville and a woman from Tennessee who says she is a witch and a Christian. The first story had a fairly lengthy list of events associated around the "holiday"
During Samhain, pagans worship the Earth, ancestors
(Asheville Citizen-Times)
ASHEVILLE — On Tuesday, members of the Earth Religions, such as Wicca, celebrate the most sacred day of the year.
Known as Samhain (pronounced SOW-in), the day is the final of three Pagan harvest celebrations and a day to commemorate ancestors and others who have died.
“This is the big one for us,” said Byron Ballard, a high priestess and a founder of the Coalition of Earth Religions for Education and Support. “This is the beginning of the Celtic winter and the celebration of our new year.”
The biggest event in the region this year is Tuesday evening on the grounds of Unity Center for Christianity on Fanning Bridge Road in Fletcher. Several thousand people are expected to attend the 12th annual Samhain celebration sponsored by Oldenwilde Coven.
“People know we do this every year now, it’s always free, and we don’t allow any selling,” said Dixie Deerman, also known as Lady Passion, the high priestess of Oldenwilde. “We have been promoting it on our Web site, so people know about it.”
Deerman said the Oldenwilde Samhain is joyful and reverent.
“What we do has meaning and purpose,” she said.
The event will include a spiral dance, during which participants dance in concentric circles, plus a maze trance dance, tribal music, a costume contest, harp music around the balefires and more. Children can enjoy autumn games such as “bat bowling” and candy corn relay races.
Earth religions are the oldest on the planet, Ballard said. They predate monotheistic religions by many centuries.
“People worshipped the forces that brought them their food and their lives,” she said. “In ancient times, people celebrated the change of the seasons and remembered the people who had come before.”
Pagans — the umbrella term for people of all Earth religions — believe the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest on this night. Originally, Celtic people celebrated the Feast of the Dead by leaving food on altars and doorsteps for the wandering dead. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home, and extra chairs were set at the table and around the hearth for the unseen guests.
Samhain was when cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for eating during the winter, and any crops still in the field on Samhain, considered taboo, were left as offerings to the nature spirits.
Pagans built bonfires (originally called bone-fires, because the bones were thrown in the fire after the feast as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the coming year). Stones were marked with people’s names, then thrown into the fire, to be retrieved in the morning. The condition of the retrieved stone foretold that person’s fortune in the coming year.
Pagans also lit hearth fires from the village bonfire to ensure unity, and the ashes were spread over the harvested fields to protect and bless the land.
Many Pagans believe the six weeks between the autumnal equinox, called Mabon, and Samhain are a time for introspection and contemplation, Ballard said.
Today, Pagan religions are emerging again, after centuries of persecution, Ballard and Deerman said.
“There were times we had to call the police because we felt threatened,” Ballard said. “We have had our religious ceremonies picketed and invaded.”
But the religions are growing as people become disillusioned with what Deerman calls “the dominant paradigm.”
“It’s about universal love of the land and knowing … we’re all integrally connected,” Deerman said. “We find the sacred in the land and in humanity.”
Something Wiccan This Way Comes
By KAY CAMPBELL
Religion News Service
FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. -- Rebecca Walkoff knows that she could never pass a
psychological test. "I hear voices," Walkoff, 47, said as she enjoyed a
cigarette outside her store, The Moon Willow, just off the Fayetteville
Square. "I see visions."
Walkoff shrugged, her green eyes twinkling, and snubbed out the
cigarette.
"Magic is everywhere you look, if you're inclined to see it," she said.
"I'd rather be a person who sees it."
She's untroubled by an outside assessment of her sanity or what people
think of her when she identifies herself as a Christian Wiccan.
Though she considers herself a believer in Jesus, Walkoff also embraces
a label, "witch," that was a death sentence for an estimated 100,000 people,
mostly women, during the European witch-hunting period from 1450 to 1700.
The mass hysteria by church leaders was "one of the longest and most bizarre
delusions in Western history," says Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World
Religions.
Walkoff is quick to assure questioners that she does not worship the
devil -- Wiccans do not believe in a devil -- and that the Wiccan creed is
"And it harm none, do what you will," a creed that guarantees that she tries
to generate only good energy and deeds.
"We don't do black magic," Walkoff said. "According to the Wiccan Law of
Three, anything you put out, you'll get back times three."
Walkoff pushed open the door of the little shop. Inside, a spicy herb
smell lingered around racks of greeting cards. Tendrils of steam wound out
of the nostrils of a dragon perched over a decorative fog lamp. Halloween
costumes crowded a rack next to a pile of chunky crystals. Somewhere a
fountain splashed.
Walkoff's store features some herbs, minerals and other basic equipment
used by Wiccans for casting spells or making herbal potions. It also
includes jewelry made of simple semi-precious gems, books about magic and
herbs, but also house decorations, candles and the playful kitsch of Harry
Potter, fairies and elves.
Walkoff believes that her prayers led her to the Fayetteville Square, a
historic district with a thriving antiques clientele and shoppers from
around the region. What she's found in Fayetteville are a lot of friendly
people, she said, even if her shop does raise a few eyebrows.
In case a visitor misses the possibility that the store offers
Wiccan-friendly materials, a banner on the wall is emblazoned with a star
inside a circle. The symbol, for Wiccans, symbolizes that the spiritual
world, the point at the top, rules over the four elements of the material
world: air, earth, fire, water. A Satan worshipper would reverse the
pentagram, asserting that the material world controls the spiritual world,
Walkoff said.
(A Nevada widow recently won a fight to have a Wiccan pentagram placed
beside her husband's name on a veterans' memorial wall. Currently, the
Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize Wicca as an official
religion.)
One grandmother, Walkoff said, wandered into the store with her
grandchildren. When she glimpsed the pentagram on the wall, she reacted
immediately.
"Come on, kids, we've got to go," she said. "This place is evil."
Joanny Simpler, Walkoff's sister, manages the store most days. She said
most people have been very friendly to her, and the customers they've
attracted since opening last summer have been loyal.
"Everybody needs to meet them," said Mary Ann Marsh, who sells
advertisements for The Exchange, a local shopper, which takes her into every
shop on the square. "It's enlightening."
Walkoff enjoys combining whimsy and witchcraft in the shop. The
combination isn't that unusual in Wicca. The religion is still defining
itself after being recovered in 1939 by Englishman Gerald B. Gardner and his
partner, Doreen Valiente, according to the Encyclopedia of World Religions.
The two culled rituals from English folklore, world mythology and other
writers on mysticism and goddess traditions.
It wasn't the physics aspect that attracted Walkoff to Wicca, she said.
It was the inclusion of a female divine force and the emphasis on letting
people figure out things for themselves.
"They say in society one of the biggest problems we have is families
with just one parent," Walkoff said. "I say, in the church, where's the
goddess? Let's put the mother back."
Wiccan rituals, hinged on the changes of the moon and the seasons,
celebrate the rhythms of life and a feminine appreciation of connections,
she said. When she stumbled upon the system of beliefs that are part of
Wicca, Walkoff realized that she had found the group she had been moving
toward naturally on her own.
Walkoff said she knew early that she had psychic gifts. She said she
gave her mother messages from her deceased grandfather when she was 2. She
grew up with an Irish mother and part-Cherokee father and said her household
was filled with folk knowledge about herbs and some shamanistic practices.
"It was never anything but commonplace with my family," Walkoff said.
"It was only when I got out into the world that I realized what other people
thought of it."
Walkoff wishes people would not fear Wicca. In fact, she thinks other
believers, including Christians and Muslims, could even learn something from
Wiccans.
"I think they could learn to relax, to stop being so serious," Walkoff
said. "And to stop killing people in the name of God. There never was a war
fought in the name of Wicca."
Not enough to worry about, you say.
In Atlanta around the same time there were about 80 gathered for the same kind of event.
Who cares you say?
The problem is where it might lead.
In Asheville, there were around 600, yes, I typed 600.
The pastor said the witches and other new age, occult leaders believe there's something mystical in the mountains. Some come for the ancient Indian burial grounds.
Below are two articles about pagan worship in Asheville and a woman from Tennessee who says she is a witch and a Christian. The first story had a fairly lengthy list of events associated around the "holiday"
During Samhain, pagans worship the Earth, ancestors
(Asheville Citizen-Times)
ASHEVILLE — On Tuesday, members of the Earth Religions, such as Wicca, celebrate the most sacred day of the year.
Known as Samhain (pronounced SOW-in), the day is the final of three Pagan harvest celebrations and a day to commemorate ancestors and others who have died.
“This is the big one for us,” said Byron Ballard, a high priestess and a founder of the Coalition of Earth Religions for Education and Support. “This is the beginning of the Celtic winter and the celebration of our new year.”
The biggest event in the region this year is Tuesday evening on the grounds of Unity Center for Christianity on Fanning Bridge Road in Fletcher. Several thousand people are expected to attend the 12th annual Samhain celebration sponsored by Oldenwilde Coven.
“People know we do this every year now, it’s always free, and we don’t allow any selling,” said Dixie Deerman, also known as Lady Passion, the high priestess of Oldenwilde. “We have been promoting it on our Web site, so people know about it.”
Deerman said the Oldenwilde Samhain is joyful and reverent.
“What we do has meaning and purpose,” she said.
The event will include a spiral dance, during which participants dance in concentric circles, plus a maze trance dance, tribal music, a costume contest, harp music around the balefires and more. Children can enjoy autumn games such as “bat bowling” and candy corn relay races.
Earth religions are the oldest on the planet, Ballard said. They predate monotheistic religions by many centuries.
“People worshipped the forces that brought them their food and their lives,” she said. “In ancient times, people celebrated the change of the seasons and remembered the people who had come before.”
Pagans — the umbrella term for people of all Earth religions — believe the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest on this night. Originally, Celtic people celebrated the Feast of the Dead by leaving food on altars and doorsteps for the wandering dead. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home, and extra chairs were set at the table and around the hearth for the unseen guests.
Samhain was when cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for eating during the winter, and any crops still in the field on Samhain, considered taboo, were left as offerings to the nature spirits.
Pagans built bonfires (originally called bone-fires, because the bones were thrown in the fire after the feast as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the coming year). Stones were marked with people’s names, then thrown into the fire, to be retrieved in the morning. The condition of the retrieved stone foretold that person’s fortune in the coming year.
Pagans also lit hearth fires from the village bonfire to ensure unity, and the ashes were spread over the harvested fields to protect and bless the land.
Many Pagans believe the six weeks between the autumnal equinox, called Mabon, and Samhain are a time for introspection and contemplation, Ballard said.
Today, Pagan religions are emerging again, after centuries of persecution, Ballard and Deerman said.
“There were times we had to call the police because we felt threatened,” Ballard said. “We have had our religious ceremonies picketed and invaded.”
But the religions are growing as people become disillusioned with what Deerman calls “the dominant paradigm.”
“It’s about universal love of the land and knowing … we’re all integrally connected,” Deerman said. “We find the sacred in the land and in humanity.”
Something Wiccan This Way Comes
By KAY CAMPBELL
Religion News Service
FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. -- Rebecca Walkoff knows that she could never pass a
psychological test. "I hear voices," Walkoff, 47, said as she enjoyed a
cigarette outside her store, The Moon Willow, just off the Fayetteville
Square. "I see visions."
Walkoff shrugged, her green eyes twinkling, and snubbed out the
cigarette.
"Magic is everywhere you look, if you're inclined to see it," she said.
"I'd rather be a person who sees it."
She's untroubled by an outside assessment of her sanity or what people
think of her when she identifies herself as a Christian Wiccan.
Though she considers herself a believer in Jesus, Walkoff also embraces
a label, "witch," that was a death sentence for an estimated 100,000 people,
mostly women, during the European witch-hunting period from 1450 to 1700.
The mass hysteria by church leaders was "one of the longest and most bizarre
delusions in Western history," says Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World
Religions.
Walkoff is quick to assure questioners that she does not worship the
devil -- Wiccans do not believe in a devil -- and that the Wiccan creed is
"And it harm none, do what you will," a creed that guarantees that she tries
to generate only good energy and deeds.
"We don't do black magic," Walkoff said. "According to the Wiccan Law of
Three, anything you put out, you'll get back times three."
Walkoff pushed open the door of the little shop. Inside, a spicy herb
smell lingered around racks of greeting cards. Tendrils of steam wound out
of the nostrils of a dragon perched over a decorative fog lamp. Halloween
costumes crowded a rack next to a pile of chunky crystals. Somewhere a
fountain splashed.
Walkoff's store features some herbs, minerals and other basic equipment
used by Wiccans for casting spells or making herbal potions. It also
includes jewelry made of simple semi-precious gems, books about magic and
herbs, but also house decorations, candles and the playful kitsch of Harry
Potter, fairies and elves.
Walkoff believes that her prayers led her to the Fayetteville Square, a
historic district with a thriving antiques clientele and shoppers from
around the region. What she's found in Fayetteville are a lot of friendly
people, she said, even if her shop does raise a few eyebrows.
In case a visitor misses the possibility that the store offers
Wiccan-friendly materials, a banner on the wall is emblazoned with a star
inside a circle. The symbol, for Wiccans, symbolizes that the spiritual
world, the point at the top, rules over the four elements of the material
world: air, earth, fire, water. A Satan worshipper would reverse the
pentagram, asserting that the material world controls the spiritual world,
Walkoff said.
(A Nevada widow recently won a fight to have a Wiccan pentagram placed
beside her husband's name on a veterans' memorial wall. Currently, the
Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize Wicca as an official
religion.)
One grandmother, Walkoff said, wandered into the store with her
grandchildren. When she glimpsed the pentagram on the wall, she reacted
immediately.
"Come on, kids, we've got to go," she said. "This place is evil."
Joanny Simpler, Walkoff's sister, manages the store most days. She said
most people have been very friendly to her, and the customers they've
attracted since opening last summer have been loyal.
"Everybody needs to meet them," said Mary Ann Marsh, who sells
advertisements for The Exchange, a local shopper, which takes her into every
shop on the square. "It's enlightening."
Walkoff enjoys combining whimsy and witchcraft in the shop. The
combination isn't that unusual in Wicca. The religion is still defining
itself after being recovered in 1939 by Englishman Gerald B. Gardner and his
partner, Doreen Valiente, according to the Encyclopedia of World Religions.
The two culled rituals from English folklore, world mythology and other
writers on mysticism and goddess traditions.
It wasn't the physics aspect that attracted Walkoff to Wicca, she said.
It was the inclusion of a female divine force and the emphasis on letting
people figure out things for themselves.
"They say in society one of the biggest problems we have is families
with just one parent," Walkoff said. "I say, in the church, where's the
goddess? Let's put the mother back."
Wiccan rituals, hinged on the changes of the moon and the seasons,
celebrate the rhythms of life and a feminine appreciation of connections,
she said. When she stumbled upon the system of beliefs that are part of
Wicca, Walkoff realized that she had found the group she had been moving
toward naturally on her own.
Walkoff said she knew early that she had psychic gifts. She said she
gave her mother messages from her deceased grandfather when she was 2. She
grew up with an Irish mother and part-Cherokee father and said her household
was filled with folk knowledge about herbs and some shamanistic practices.
"It was never anything but commonplace with my family," Walkoff said.
"It was only when I got out into the world that I realized what other people
thought of it."
Walkoff wishes people would not fear Wicca. In fact, she thinks other
believers, including Christians and Muslims, could even learn something from
Wiccans.
"I think they could learn to relax, to stop being so serious," Walkoff
said. "And to stop killing people in the name of God. There never was a war
fought in the name of Wicca."
Friday, October 20, 2006
Giving in obedience
When I was little my parents always tithed for me. I never really got an allowance until much later — when I was living with my grandmother and aunt during the week. And then, the money given didn't cover the expenses of buying reeds for my saxophone, paying for lunch, etc. I didn't learn the importance of tithing.
A recent report released by empty tomb, inc. said that according to church members in 2004, giving was down compared to previous years.
The article said: "Church members gave 2.56 percent of their income, down from 3.11 percent in 1968.
"The Illinois-based Christian research organization found that giving to benevolent causes — activities focused outside the congregation — as a portion of income increased slightly in 2004 from the 2003 level. The levels for 2003 and 2004 both rounded to 0.38 percent, the lowest in the 37-year period empty tomb has tracked such numbers.
"Empty tomb reported the rate of giving to congregational finances — the funding of internal operations of the congregation — began to recover in 1993 but was down in 2003 and 2004. The portion of income given to congregational finances declined more than activities focused on benevolences, the study found.
"For each dollar donated to a congregation, denominations spent 2 cents on overseas missions in 2004, down from 7 cents in the 1920s. The study’s authors, John and Sylvia Ronsvalle, said evangelical Christians could complete the task of global evangelization for 7 cents per member per day.
"Using statistics published by the Southern Baptist Convention for 2004, empty tomb determined that 1 cent of each dollar given to an SBC church ultimately makes it way to the International Mission Board to support missionaries.
dditional data is available through the empty tomb website, www.emptytomb.org, and the entire report is available in a book called “The State of Church Giving through 2004.”
I pray this is not correct. One cent of every dollar given to a Southern Baptist Convention church ultimately makes it to the Interational Mission Board. Since Cooperative Program giving and Annie Armstrong reports are up, can you imagine what Lottie Moon might be this year — well, technically next year? And that apparently is only one cent on the dollar given to SBC churches!
Imagine, if you will, a world in which all church members tithed!
I've never seen it, and in a world full of greedy people I don't imagine it will ever happen. But I can continue to pray and share the many blessings I've received by being faithful in tithing to my local church.
A recent report released by empty tomb, inc. said that according to church members in 2004, giving was down compared to previous years.
The article said: "Church members gave 2.56 percent of their income, down from 3.11 percent in 1968.
"The Illinois-based Christian research organization found that giving to benevolent causes — activities focused outside the congregation — as a portion of income increased slightly in 2004 from the 2003 level. The levels for 2003 and 2004 both rounded to 0.38 percent, the lowest in the 37-year period empty tomb has tracked such numbers.
"Empty tomb reported the rate of giving to congregational finances — the funding of internal operations of the congregation — began to recover in 1993 but was down in 2003 and 2004. The portion of income given to congregational finances declined more than activities focused on benevolences, the study found.
"For each dollar donated to a congregation, denominations spent 2 cents on overseas missions in 2004, down from 7 cents in the 1920s. The study’s authors, John and Sylvia Ronsvalle, said evangelical Christians could complete the task of global evangelization for 7 cents per member per day.
"Using statistics published by the Southern Baptist Convention for 2004, empty tomb determined that 1 cent of each dollar given to an SBC church ultimately makes it way to the International Mission Board to support missionaries.
dditional data is available through the empty tomb website, www.emptytomb.org, and the entire report is available in a book called “The State of Church Giving through 2004.”
I pray this is not correct. One cent of every dollar given to a Southern Baptist Convention church ultimately makes it to the Interational Mission Board. Since Cooperative Program giving and Annie Armstrong reports are up, can you imagine what Lottie Moon might be this year — well, technically next year? And that apparently is only one cent on the dollar given to SBC churches!
Imagine, if you will, a world in which all church members tithed!
I've never seen it, and in a world full of greedy people I don't imagine it will ever happen. But I can continue to pray and share the many blessings I've received by being faithful in tithing to my local church.
Giving in obedience
When I was little my parents always tithed for me. I never really got an allowance until much later — when I was living with my grandmother and aunt during the week. And then, the money given didn't cover the expenses of buying reeds for my saxophone, paying for lunch, etc. I didn't learn the importance of tithing.
A recent report released by empty tomb, inc. said that according to church members in 2004, giving was down compared to previous years.
The article said: "Church members gave 2.56 percent of their income, down from 3.11 percent in 1968.
"The Illinois-based Christian research organization found that giving to benevolent causes — activities focused outside the congregation — as a portion of income increased slightly in 2004 from the 2003 level. The levels for 2003 and 2004 both rounded to 0.38 percent, the lowest in the 37-year period empty tomb has tracked such numbers.
"Empty tomb reported the rate of giving to congregational finances — the funding of internal operations of the congregation — began to recover in 1993 but was down in 2003 and 2004. The portion of income given to congregational finances declined more than activities focused on benevolences, the study found.
"For each dollar donated to a congregation, denominations spent 2 cents on overseas missions in 2004, down from 7 cents in the 1920s. The study’s authors, John and Sylvia Ronsvalle, said evangelical Christians could complete the task of global evangelization for 7 cents per member per day.
"Using statistics published by the Southern Baptist Convention for 2004, empty tomb determined that 1 cent of each dollar given to an SBC church ultimately makes it way to the International Mission Board to support missionaries.
dditional data is available through the empty tomb website, www.emptytomb.org, and the entire report is available in a book called “The State of Church Giving through 2004.”
I pray this is not correct. One cent of every dollar given to a Southern Baptist Convention church ultimately makes it to the Interational Mission Board. Since Cooperative Program giving and Annie Armstrong reports are up, can you imagine what Lottie Moon might be this year — well, technically next year? And that apparently is only one cent on the dollar given to SBC churches!
Imagine, if you will, a world in which all church members tithed!
I've never seen it, and in a world full of greedy people I don't imagine it will ever happen. But I can continue to pray and share the many blessings I've received by being faithful in tithing to my local church.
A recent report released by empty tomb, inc. said that according to church members in 2004, giving was down compared to previous years.
The article said: "Church members gave 2.56 percent of their income, down from 3.11 percent in 1968.
"The Illinois-based Christian research organization found that giving to benevolent causes — activities focused outside the congregation — as a portion of income increased slightly in 2004 from the 2003 level. The levels for 2003 and 2004 both rounded to 0.38 percent, the lowest in the 37-year period empty tomb has tracked such numbers.
"Empty tomb reported the rate of giving to congregational finances — the funding of internal operations of the congregation — began to recover in 1993 but was down in 2003 and 2004. The portion of income given to congregational finances declined more than activities focused on benevolences, the study found.
"For each dollar donated to a congregation, denominations spent 2 cents on overseas missions in 2004, down from 7 cents in the 1920s. The study’s authors, John and Sylvia Ronsvalle, said evangelical Christians could complete the task of global evangelization for 7 cents per member per day.
"Using statistics published by the Southern Baptist Convention for 2004, empty tomb determined that 1 cent of each dollar given to an SBC church ultimately makes it way to the International Mission Board to support missionaries.
dditional data is available through the empty tomb website, www.emptytomb.org, and the entire report is available in a book called “The State of Church Giving through 2004.”
I pray this is not correct. One cent of every dollar given to a Southern Baptist Convention church ultimately makes it to the Interational Mission Board. Since Cooperative Program giving and Annie Armstrong reports are up, can you imagine what Lottie Moon might be this year — well, technically next year? And that apparently is only one cent on the dollar given to SBC churches!
Imagine, if you will, a world in which all church members tithed!
I've never seen it, and in a world full of greedy people I don't imagine it will ever happen. But I can continue to pray and share the many blessings I've received by being faithful in tithing to my local church.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Talk about obedience
Part of my job is looking at other articles about Baptists and the work God has called them to around the world. The other day when I was looking at some Baptist newspapers online and came across this photograph.The caption said: If new believers wish to be baptized before Spring, Siberian Baptist church members carve a hole in the ice of a local lake with axes for the ordinance. The Siberian pastor who conducted this baptism last winter gave this photo to members of a mission team from Hillcrest Baptist Church in Pensacola who worked with an International Mission Board strategist to send pastors and wives to Siberia.
WOW! I remember when I was baptized. I was 15. It was February, and the church had just built a new sanctuary in a new location. I was among the first baptized there. The day I was baptized the water heater went out so the water was pretty cold. But I will say it was Alabama cold, not Siberia cold!
To this day tears form in my eyes each time I see a baptism. It is such a public demonstration of complete submission to God and His complete cleansing of our sins. Being raised to a new life takes on a whole new meaning.
PRAISE GOD from whom all blessings flow!
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Feeling the crunch!
Some days it just seems you don’t have enough time to get all you need done. Well, I should say most days. Now that I’m working full time and going to school full time, I have a lot more days like that…This summer, it was quite different. I moved to Raleigh in May and started work. May, June, July and much of August was spent getting to know the area, looking for a few pieces of furniture for the apartment, etc. I also managed to read a few books — for fun!
But that is all over. And, oddly enough, I’m enjoying myself now too. I never thought I would enjoy learning Hebrew as much as I am. Don’t mistake this emotion for in any way being fluent or to indicate that this is easy.
Being one of three women in the class of 50+, I feel the pressure to represent. I am also the oldest woman in the class but definitely not the oldest person.
Since I’ve been out of college a little more than 10 years, I’m definitely feeling the crunch — a certain number of hours to work, homework piling up for all three of my classes, classes to attend, papers to write, quizzes and tests to take, church to attend, orchestra, quiet time — did I say quiet? When do I have TIME for that?
One of things I’ve learned is that if you are following God’s will, which is what I believe I am doing, He makes TIME stretch. TIME has no hold on my GOD! He is beyond all we can imagine.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Facing the Giants
If you haven't already seen it, go see "Facing the Giants". I finally got to see the whole thing Sept. 29. It was wonderful. Please support Christian movies in the theater.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Witnessing
Well, Saturday, I went to an evanglism seminar/class at my church in North Carolina. I attended two classes and then went out into the area to do door-to-door evanglism. We stopped by several houses with no one answering the door, but kept at it. We finally talked to a mother and daughter in a mobile home park. We invited them to church and told them about who Jesus is. They seem to already be involved with church but it seemed to cheer the woman up to have us there.
Anyway, all that to say ...
This cartoon was on Baptist Press' web site. It is a weekly feature on their lighter side section. I'm just glad we made it back to the church safely — not like this guy.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
The Fern and the Bamboo
One day I decided to quit...I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality.... I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
"God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"
His answer surprised me.
"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
"Yes", I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
"In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. The same in year four.
"Then in the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern, it was seemingly small and insignificant.
But just six months later, the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.
"Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you.
"Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful.
"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high"
"How high should I rise?" I asked.
"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.
"As high as it can?" I questioned
"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest, realizing that God will never give up on me. And He will never give up on you.
Never regret a day in your life.
Good days give you happiness; bad days give you experiences; both are essential to life.
--Author Unknown
"God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"
His answer surprised me.
"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
"Yes", I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
"In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. The same in year four.
"Then in the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern, it was seemingly small and insignificant.
But just six months later, the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.
"Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you.
"Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful.
"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high"
"How high should I rise?" I asked.
"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.
"As high as it can?" I questioned
"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest, realizing that God will never give up on me. And He will never give up on you.
Never regret a day in your life.
Good days give you happiness; bad days give you experiences; both are essential to life.
--Author Unknown
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Was it the coffee you wanted?
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor.
Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups--porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal; some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite--telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
"What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other's cups.
"Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, money and position in society are the cups.
They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and do not change the quality of Life. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided.
"So, don't let the cups drive you .... enjoy the coffee instead."
--Author Unknown
Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups--porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal; some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite--telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
"What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other's cups.
"Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, money and position in society are the cups.
They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and do not change the quality of Life. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided.
"So, don't let the cups drive you .... enjoy the coffee instead."
--Author Unknown
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Facing the Giants
See this movie. It is coming to some theaters Sept. 29. Click on the picture to go to the web page to find out if it is showing in a city near you.
For a $100,000 movie, it is really good and has an all-volunteer cast. The only paid people were the NFL cameramen they brought in to film the football games.
Go see it and support this church's ministry.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Why go to church?
A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.
"I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time, my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this.
"They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work.
If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today.
"Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"
--Author Unknown
"I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time, my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this.
"They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work.
If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today.
"Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"
--Author Unknown
Monday, August 21, 2006
Bridge out?
A priest and a pastor from the local churches are standing by the road,
pounding a sign into the ground, that reads:
The End is Near!
Turn Yourself Around Now
Before it's Too Late!
As a car sped past them, the driver yelled, "Leave us alone, you
religious nuts!"
From around the curve they heard screeching tires and a big splash. The
priest turns to the pastor and asks,
"Do you think the sign should just say: 'Bridge Out'?"
pounding a sign into the ground, that reads:
The End is Near!
Turn Yourself Around Now
Before it's Too Late!
As a car sped past them, the driver yelled, "Leave us alone, you
religious nuts!"
From around the curve they heard screeching tires and a big splash. The
priest turns to the pastor and asks,
"Do you think the sign should just say: 'Bridge Out'?"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)