...thoughts expressed here are not necessarily final.

January 17, 2006 Leapblogging

Do you ever wonder why you hear from most religious leaders that America is spiritually healthy, but you see scant evidence of it?  Barna Update addresses the gap between perception and reality regarding the health of the Christian body in America by comparing pastors' views of the spiritual commitment of their congregants and the self-evaluation of churched adults regarding their devotion to God.

BarnaFilms came out with the WatchWord Bible - so far the Gospels and Revelation are available.

The Days of Our Lord has an interesting commentary on how Jesus fared in the pop culture this year...

Multimedia Worship in the news- not necessarily GOOD news... I'm one who is for the value added by technology as long as it does not replace the essentials of worship enviromnment building.

CT's Top Christian Albums of 2005- I  have only heard 2 of 'em. I am offically out of touch.

In the eye of the beholder:
Researchers now say it only takes 50 milliseconds for viewers to judge a webpage. They had thought it took longer.

That's not the End of the Story

Through days of darkness we abide.
I fix my hope upon my guide
God's will prevails
Grace never fails
My search will never be denied
Come split the sky and shake the earth
Come Lord Jesus we've had enough
Come and command
Fulfil your plan
Come demand we worship your worth.
Breathe a soothing sound in my ear
Sweeter than I have ever known
Give unto me the grace of holy fear
To move me on into the unknown.
Longing for lovliness we repent
Of the ache of unspoken discontent
In our hearts display
To show us the way
To the greatness for which we were meant.

Anthony Foster
January 15, 2005

Grace Chills

Rattle my bones and drop me to my knees
I do not deserve these tender mercies
Amaze me and grace me any way you please
Grace chills Grace chills Grace chills

Grace chills wake be from my slumber
Empower me and Lord never stop
As I a tremble in your presence
As I stand on this mountaintop.
Lord as I move through this valley
Shake my trembling soul to its core
Let me give no mind to seeking comfort
Thrill my heart forevermore.
Your grace my soul thrills
Your grace my mind fills
As I ponder your ways
I get grace chills.

Anthony Foster
January 15, 2006

The Worthy One

Shall I dare to enter your presence
Shall I approach your holiness
Shall I presume to lift up my eyes
As you holy name I confess
Shall I dare to ask you to bless this mess?

Shall I be so bold to stand before
Your throne in the room of grace
To enter in behind the veil
To that most high and holy place
Shall I dare to seek your face?

Yes I shall dare to enter in
To dwell with you once and for all
To plead the final sacrifice
To heed your high and holy call
I shall soar as on my face I fall.

Pleasing in your sight as unworthy as I am
Living in the worthy one according to your perfect plan!

Oh this grace tha devastates me
By this grace I am undone
This the power that consecrates me
Living in the Worthy One
Life is in the Worthy One.

Anthony Foster
January 16, 2006

E-mail Wisdom from the Net

The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that, "When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount."

However, I have noticed more advanced strategies are often employed, such as:

1. Buying a stronger whip.

2. Changing riders.

3. Appointing a committee to study the horse.

4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride horses.

5. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.

6. Reclassifying the dead horse as living-impaired.

7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.

8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.

9. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase dead horse's performance.

10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance.

11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses.

12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses.

 And of course, the best of all ...

13. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position.