07:03:03 txt messagingHere's the Lord's Prayer which fits into a txt message: "dad@hvn, ur spshl. we want wot u want &urth2b like hvn. giv us food & 4giv r sins lyk we 4giv uvaz. don't test us! save us! bcos we kno ur boss, ur tuf & ur cool 4 eva! ok?" txt messaging, emoticons and jargon will kill the language yet... saw this @ http://www.cre8d-design.com/journal/ 07:03:03 a most incredible flash site-http://www.globalchange.com the rest of the site is awesome as well- beware- high bandwith required. Dr Patrick Dixon, Futurist "Global Change Guru" - Wall Street Journal. Fantastic future food for thought. Also saw this http://benediction.houreleven.com/ on Andrew Careaga's blog...check out the March 06 posting.. 07:03:03Started discussion of Purpose Driven Life last night with our group which has burgeoned to sixteen folks. Good discussion , I still talked too much, will rectify that now that everyone seems to be journalling. I was surprised that the participants all came well prepared- but they were very polite- hope they will interrupt me more often in the future- I must facilitate that. I find that Warren is very much a gutter sparrow like all good preachers must be. He weaves his nest seamlessly and though nothing he says is original (probably a good thing) -he communicates very clearly. The book avoids prescriptions from Doctor God and focuses on principles to live by. That is the way for us in this world. A good handbook for aliens and strangers- the parepidemos... It's really humbling to get to know a new group of believers and adapt my teaching style to what is needed. Every situation is different and that makes me stretch- and sometimes in the process the stretch marks show... :-) 05:03:03The SJ Merc interview with Marc Andreessen (founder of Netscape) asks if he has a blog. "No," he said. "I have a day job. I don't have the time or ego need." Saw this initially on JordonCooper. My initial response is that maybe he has a point. Knowing human nature, waitaminute knowing MY nature- it is a good thing to write on this thing as unto the Lord. Have to be aware that now that everyone is a publisher that there is a propensity to believe the press we generate on our own behalf. Blogging is not so much a therapy or ego builder for me as it is a discipline to force myself to communicate in a coherent manner. I tend to keep things to myself and therefore articulation never attains to scald clean the junk that distracts me. Thank God there are no distractions in heaven. As in heaven may it be so on earth. 05:03:03 LentI am giving up Lent for Lent this year... Bad joke, sorrry. 03:03:03 Had this in my files...There are many reasons why God shouldn't have called you. But don't worry. You're in good company. Moses stuttered. John Mark was rejected by Paul. Timothy had ulcers. Hosea's wife was a prostitute. Amos' only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning. Jacob was a liar. David had an affair. Solomon was too rich. Abraham was too old. David was too young. Peter was afraid of death. Lazarus was dead. John was self-righteous. Naomi was a widow. Paul was a murderer. So was Moses. And David if you want to be honest about it. So most of the Bible was written by murderers. Jonah ran from God. Miriam was a gossip. Gideon and Thomas both doubted. Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal. Elijah was burned out. John the Baptist was a loudmouth. Martha was a worry-wart. Samson lusted. Noah got drunk. Did I mention that Moses had a short fuse? So did Peter, Paul--well, lots of folks did. But God doesn't require a job interview.He doesn't look at financial gain or loss. He's not prejudiced or partial, not judging, grudging, sassy, or brassy, not deaf to our cry, not blind to our need. As much as we try, God's gifts are free. We could do wonderful things for wonderful people and still not be...Wonderful. Satan says, "You're not worthy." Jesus says, "So what? I AM." Satan looks back and sees our mistakes. God looks back and sees the cross. He doesn't calculate what you did in the past. It's not even on the record. Sure. There are lots of reasons why God shouldn't have called us. But if we are magically in love with Him, if we hunger for Him more than our next breath, He'll use us in spite of who we are, where we've been, or what we look like. I pray that as Christians, we will step out of our limitations into the illimitable nature of who God is. Then our passion for God and our passion to communicate Him will make mincemeat of our limitations. -author unknown- 03:03:03 How can we be sure of God's call?FIRST, we are all called to become followers of Jesus Christ: Matthew 11:28; John 3:16; Ephesians 1:5; 1 John2:1,2 SECOND, we are all called to work for the Lord in some capacity: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:8-10 When we are born again, it is to serve the Lord. We should make it our highest priority to please God. "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." Revelation 4:11 It seems obvious that we are all called of God. So then, an individual needs to determine God's calling for their life. I know of no better way to begin than to stay close to God by reading His word, Fellowshipping with Him in praise and prayer, and observing the needs around us. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Ecclesiastes 9:10 Also, we need to be careful to follow Christ one step at a time. God does not usually let us see very far ahead in our lives. We must follow by faith and trust Him to lead us. This helps to build character in our lives. Many times God will let some opportunity open, or some "door" be opened to us. This can, and very often will be His leading. THIRD: How do we follow God's call, or leading? Sincerely, faithfully, humbly, excitedly, all the while being thankful that He loves us enough to allow us to serve Him. Remember, it is not drudgery to serve God, but rather it is a blessing and honor to know that He considers us worthy. Because of this, we give it all we've got. Let's get going! 02:03:03My take on the first night of the PDL study.I need to slow down. Like usual, I was nervous the first night. While Earnie has a relationship with eveyone there, I look forward to getting to know everyone. Don't know how receptive everyone will be to my teaching approach for this format since it is very different than stand up- sage on a stage approach that some venues call for. Guess that's God's problem to fix me if I falter. It's not about me. I look forward to everyone's perspectives which we want to honor, but need to walk the tightrope of truth versus perception and opinion. the biggest challenge will be to the hard sayings that hit us between the eyes. Human nature is to rationalize and excuse. Grace is in order but we need to recognize change can be painful and transformation marks that up exponentially. 02:03:03 Is the contemplative life better than a life of action?I
have read a lot of Thomas Merton. I have aunts
that are living at Nazareth in Bardstown now and I grew up within
20 miles of where Merton lived
and wrote at Gethsemane. The same redbud
and dogwood
undergrowth formed my affinities. Beware what you set your heart upon for it shall surely be yours.-Amy Carmichael. We know we are made for the world to come but we are ordained to live in this world. Is there paradox here? Not if you live in the light of eternity and pick up the mantle of an agent of redemption in this world. This is faith. We are to be different for the right reasons or our "righteousness" becomes sin- Romans 16?
Faint Not 01:03:03Faint not in fear Faint not in trouble Faint not in hunger Faint not in adversity. Faint not in your heart Faint not in your soul Faint not in your minds Faint not in your hands So be still and wait and you will see The things we shed in adversity May help us have the victory So Run and you will not grow weary Faint not in reaping Faint not in prayer Faint not In mercy. Faint not in the way So be still and wait and you will see The things we shed in adversity May help us have the victory So Run and you will not grow weary Anthony Foster March 1, 2003 01:03:03PDL study- After the thirty minute teaching time we will have key truths and application questions I generate along with the discussion questions in the appendix of the book and the daily questions at the end of each day's readings. That will last about 45 minutes and then we'll have a time of summary comments, prayer requests and any other sharing. I can tell this will be a hard study for some , not so much because of the demands of the study itself, but the content will hit many between the eyes in a convicting way if we slow down and meditate on the principles God is teaching us. This was just overview, dissemination of materials but I tried a little teaching as well and probably went too far. I definitely want to get input on what everyone expects to gain from the study next week after they have started using the book. And i want to have a time of general intro- didn't do that as several couldn't make the first class. 28:02:03Looks like we're going to have about fifteen people in the Thursday night study! I wouldn't want many more given the small group format I intend to pursue. Our format will be small group -discussion. I will not be reiterating the points of the book in the 30 minute teaching time but rather I will flesh out the concepts Warren covers in the week's readings and offer a supplemental handout which will also serve to keep any absentees up to speed. There will be an outline handout as well which does cover the key points of the weekly readings. We will meet 8 times total with the first week as introduction and the last meeting on the anniversary of the Upper Room discourse- April 17. The final meeting will be a time of reflection and sharing of our own purpose statements we will develop individually during the run of the course. We'll be memorizing the weekly verse and I have provided handouts as well with all the daily verses for meditation during the day as well as the points to ponder that I typed up. I hope these will serve as handy references. I'll also be encouraging participants to look up the scripture references in other translations as Warren uses The Message paraphrase throughout the book.
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