congrats KC, these are your top searches‏

I was sitting in a basement in Kansas City.

I had responded to all my email and I had some time since Paige was puting on makeup before attending a rehearsal dinner for our friend's wedding. 

I had no idea what to do.  

I typed in "a" and Google suggested "Amazon"

This prompted the following mind candy exploration:

Amazon

Bank of America
Craigslist
Dictionary
Ebay
Facebook
Google
Hotmail
Instagram
Jodi Arias
KCTV5
Lowes
Mapquest
Netflix
Old Navy
Pinterest
Quotes
Redbox
Southwest Airlines
Target
USPS
Verizon
Walmart
Xbox
YouTube
Zillow

These are your new ABC's peeps.

High-five world.

what is that to you?

John 21:18-22

18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him,“Follow me.”

20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?”21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come,what is that to you? You follow me!”

Peter was understandably disappointed to find out that he would be killed for his service to God in the future as Jesus points out in vs. 18.

Peter immediately, however, turns his concern to John asking, "What about John? Will he have to die too? If I have to die, I think he should have to too. It’s not fair if I have to die and he doesn’t."  (or something like that ~ VVCSV)

Jesus’ response is to say, “What’s that to you?”

Because of Jesus' response, some people interpretted that to mean that John would never die.  But John is quick to point out that this was not the point of what Jesus said to Peter.

Constantly comparing ourselves to others is always an occassion for pride or despair.  We either get cocky because we judge our neighbors as being beneath or behind us OR we get depressed because we judge our neighbors as being above and beyond our ability to reach.

God rewards and distributes according to His wisdom, mercy and purpose. If He gives some things to some people and some other things to some other people, what's that to you?

 

1 Corinthians 7:17

 

However, each one must live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called him. This is what I command in all the churches.

 

(I know the context of this 1 Cor 7 passage is not exactly an apples to apples situation, but I believe it does speak to the general principle of our duty to respond to what God has designed/assigned for us specifically.)

putting the gun in fundamentals‏

 

This is my slow-pitch softball team.

We are not great.

But we do have guns on our jerseys.

Now that’s playin’ hardball.

Errr…. softball…. hardly?

Yes, we are barely playing softball.

Errr… not bare, but sportin’ pistols on our t’s.

And that’s what really counts.

Unless you count the runs scored.

In which case we don’t count much.
Which means we lose often.

thoughts from church: Romans 12:1-2 by Pastor Jeff Dodge‏

Remember that, as I said, the right direction leads not only to peace but to knowledge. When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse he understands his own badness less and less. A moderately bad man knows he is not very good: a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right. This is common sense, really. You understand sleep when you are awake, not while you are sleeping. You can see mistakes in arithmetic when your mind is working properly: while you are making them you cannot see them. You can understand the nature of drunkenness when you are sober, not when you are drunk. Good people know about both good and evil: bad people do not know about either. “Morality and Psychoanalysis” – part 2 by  C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
 

The one who is sober can comment both to drunkenness and sobriety.

The one who is drunk is in no position to comment on either drunkenness or sobriety

Romans 12:1-2

I appeal to you therefore, brothers,by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The one who is in the Word and constantly seeking to be in Christ can comment on depravity and righteousness.

The one who is out of sync with God is in no position to comment on either depravity or righteousness.

The more we dwell on Jesus, the more we anchor and secure ourselves in Him and the reality of our desperate need for Him and desire to conform ourselves to His image through repentance, belief, faith and faithfulness.

The less we dwell on Jesus, the less secure we feel in our relationship to God as we lose sight of our depravity in becoming more and more depraved and as such desire less and lewss to do anything for, through or to Him in the process.

This is a true principle I have observed in my life as described by Pastor Jeff Dodge this past weekend in his exposition of Romans 12:1-2.

new teen paranormal romance‏tastic

If someone wrote a book about 19^th Century Russian Footwear few people would read it. How many different books about 19^th Century Russian Footwear would have to be produced and read in order to require its own section?

The picture below is an actual picture from Barnes & Noble showing a section of books labeled “New Teen Paranormal Romance.”

SO.MANY.QUALIFIERS!

Where to begin…

Why do teens need romance books? What good could possibly come from teens reading about other teens getting romantic with other teens?

Furthermore, how have so many young girls been duped into thinking a vampire would be a perfect soul mate to require a whole genre of literature devoted to it.

Beyond that, you’re telling me there is such an influx of this stuff that it requires a “NEW” section?

Where is the Old Teen Paranormal Romance section? You know the stuff that we used to read. The books with which we are now thoroughly bored.

Suffice it to say, I by-passed the NTPR section and found my way to the Old Middle-Aged Human Marriage section where I couldn’t find my book because Barnes & Noble did not have it in stock.

you can have all this world, give me Jesus‏

John 6:68-69

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, ⁶⁹ and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
 

If what you really want could be obtained from many different places, why follow Jesus around asking for it? Why not go somewhere or to someone who requires less of you?

What do you want?
Could you find what you want somewhere else?
Could anyone other than Jesus give you want you want?

Consider today what it is that you want and what it is that Jesus provides.

I am confident that if your heart’s desire is redemption, reconciliation and salvation you will find that ONLY Jesus can provide this to you. I expect your heart to be flooded with responsive joy, admiration, loyalty, sacrifice, determination, humility, courage, confidence, belief and faith by the contemplation of this reality.

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

If what you want from Jesus is that which He came to give, died to purchased, lives to secure and rose to assure; your heart will never turn to another.

Ever.

the united steaks of amoreica

 

I saw this on my friend Nate Gainer's (he's the one in front sportin' the tiny ukulele) facebook the other day.

 

Has our country been reduced to a meat market?

 

That was for you pun-lover.

Not lovers.

Just the one.

Other than me.

We are pun-lovers.

But I was talking to the other one.

 

So diatribe aside...

 

Why are Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine like pure fat?

 

Why is Alabama so bloody?

 

Because...it's a metaphor man (insert Tommy Chong inflection for more fun).

 

Too bad soo sad Hawai'i and Alaska.

 

NO MEAT FOR  YOU