Thursday, September 27, 2007

Non-Motivational Posters

I'm a child of the seventies, that great decade when we were all told that we could be whatever we wanted when we grew up. Oh, really?

The motivational poster was also birthed out of that line of thinking and was intended to reinforce those fantastic positive thoughts so that we could go out and achieve great things. Even as a child, I remember thinking that if we could all grow up to be president...that would be one heck of a fight during the election.

So I found these...a great remedy for the smarmy motivational poster. And further proof that I have a warped and twisted sense of humor. (It's my dad's fault.)





Because, let's face it, not everyone gets to be president.



Check out more of these "de-motivators" from despair.com.



I have this one on my office wall. My co-workers all ignore it.

Anna Karenina Update

I seem to have made it over the hump, and can now pronounce all the characters names quickly in my head, and remember who they are. So now I am engrossed. It took me 120 pages to get that way...but now all else is put aside for the sake of knowing what happens to the faithless Anna.

Quote of the Day: Will Rogers


Live your life in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.

~Will Rogers 1879-1935

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Quote of the Day: Michael Douglas

Yes, really. Michael Douglas.

Many times people make more of an effort toward strangers than the people closest to them. ~from a recent interview

How often is that true in our lives? It is easy, especially in ministry, to get wrapped up in "outreach" and doing for others...and then neglecting our own. And let's face it, with strangers, you don't live and work day in-day out with the flaws.

Interesting thought.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Yesterday's Church Message

For Sunday service yesterday we had a guest speaker, Seth Wetter from Calvary Chapel Fargo. Thanks, Seth!

He brought up a couple of interesting points about grace...and how we try so hard not to receive it freely. It's funny how the Word speaks to people differently. Most of what I retained came out of Seth's introduction!

Ephesians 2:8 and 9...we all know, or have heard..."For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

Grace is free...we know this.
Yet we often still strive to "work for God", to do great things for Him.
Liken this to when you receive a generous gift from someone to whom you would not usually bestow the same "cost" of gift upon.
Our flesh rises up and does one of a couple of things:
  • Oh, no...I can't possibly accept that!
  • I'll have to give something back that is equal or better to what I have been given.
...rather than just receiving with thankfulness. Oh, that's so hard.

How much was the gift that we have been given by the Father? It was everything...His Son.

So our actions in response to that should not be an attempt to earn the gift, but instead, just a natural response of love to the One who has given all for us.

Otherwise, it's just another works-based religion. And that only leads to discouragement, and ultimately, hell...because my "good" works are never going to be enough.

We cannot save ourselves, that's the work of the Father. And that's relationship.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Reality Check

Leave it to the Lord to give me a little dose of conviction this week...much deserved. The blog at OldTruth.com posted an article yesterday entitled "Why Me, God" about the sovereignty of the Lord as it relates to suffering. A good read, with a video attached, and a reminder to me to quit complaining about my allergy-related sniffles. The ragweed was bloomin' in Omaha last week!

Monday, September 10, 2007

The Creator and Designer

Here's an interesting phrase that caught my eye in my Bible reading:

Job 26:13a By His Spirit He hath garnished the heavens


The NKJV uses the word "adorned" rather than "garnished", but it was the garnished that captured my imagination. Think of how a restaurant places a decoration on your plate; a garnish...not for any purpose other than to just give you a little visual pleasure. I thought of the Lord of Creation flinging the massive stars into space just so that when we look up, we have something lovely and intriguing to look at in the night sky.


Just a thought.

Great Things about the Upper Midwest

Last Saturday night on the regional evening news:
  • The native American PowWow was rained out
  • Minot Air Force Base sponsored it's annual airshow
  • and Minot's Downtown Fall Festival was enjoyed by all
Not one murder, rape, or assault. Boring, yes....but isn't that refreshing?

Friday, September 7, 2007

For the Beauty of the Earth


For the Beauty of the Earth
lyrics: Folliot Pierpoint

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies.

Refrain: Lord of all to Thee we raise, This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour
Of the day and of the night
Hill and vale, and tree and flower
Sun and moon, and stars of light

For the joy of human love
Brother, sister, parent, child
Friends on earth and friends above
For all gentle thoughts and mild

For the church, that evermore
Lifteth holy hands above
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love

For Thyself, best Gift Divine
To our race so freely given
For that great, great love of Thine
Peace on earth and joy in Heaven