Thanksgiving

This is a post of Thanksgiving for everyone and everything from the weekend.  For those of you who weren't aware, Washington had invited a number of Youth Groups this past weekend for some work projects and a Bible study.  I think we had around 85 for the work projects and around 110 or so for the Bible study.  The theme of the weekend was an attitude of gratitude.  It was a very convicting weekend for me.  I've got a lot of work to do in that area.  Our giving of thanks is an issue that is close to God's heart, and too often is one we don't take very seriously.

I really appreciated getting to know new people, working at the Midwest Food Bank, and learning from the Bible studies.  As well as a group packing food at the Food Bank, we also had groups of volunteers go to a clothing distribution center and to Morton's home for the handicapped. Thanks to everyone who participated and helped out.    

But I'm Thankful

This weekend is shaping up to be pretty hectic. I still have laundry to do, an upstairs to clean (Thanks Tony for cleaning downstairs), and envelopes to stuff for our Youth Group Calendars before I go to Bible study tonight at 6:45. Also, sometime tonight people are going to start showing up for our Y.G. invite weekend. I don't know for sure how many people are going to end up crashing at my house, but I'm thinking it's going to be quite a few. I'm not sure where we're going to come up with pillows and blankets, but it'll work itself out I guess. :)

So, yeah, I've got a busy weekend. If you think of it, we'd appreciate prayers for our invite.

Our theme is "An Attitude of Gratitude". We're going to have around 75 guest, and we're doing work projects at the Goodfield Distribution Center, the Midwest Food Bank, and the Morton Handicapped Home. We're also doing some singing and a Bible Study Saturday evening. Just pray that God will be glorified whether things go smoothly or not.

Sparrow Aviation Administration Blames Collision on Failure to Detect Pane of Glass

PIERRE, SD—Sparrow Aviation Administration officials are calling the Monday collision of an westbound sparrow with the window of a Mitchell, SD home a clear case of "controlled flight into glass," after the bird failed to detect a transparent windowpane directly in his flight path.

Howard R. Trojanowski, a Pierre-bound, 2-year-old field sparrow who had been licensed to fly since two weeks after he was hatched and had logged over 60,000 flying hours, departed from a ledge near Sioux Falls Regional Airport at 11:04 a.m. CST. Trojanowski never reached his intended tree branch, instead striking a tempered-glass picture window 2.5 miles northwest of Mitchell 74 minutes after takeoff at an estimated speed of 39 mph.

There were no survivors.

SAA Commissioner Vincent Stivolo said the crash was likely due to glass, a "common, yet not fully understood phenomenon" in which an area normally blocked by such barriers as curtains, blinds, or shutters suddenly appears to be an open passage to an indoor facility or an unobstructed extension of the outdoor environment.

Conclusive explanations have historically eluded sparrow-crash investigators, some of whom have themselves apparently fallen victim to the phenomenon. Three investigators dispatched to the Mitchell site failed to show up and have since been reported missing.

"Flight records indicate that Mr. Trojanowski unexpectedly diverted his route above the corner of St. Ray Street and Longfellow Drive, and began a slow descent when he noticed a colorful hanging potted plant about 15 feet below SAA-regulated minimum flying altitude," said Stivolo, a sparrow. "It is at this point that we believe he made the fatal decision to make an unscheduled landing on the plant."

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Trojanowski's wife and four eggs," Stivolo added.
The SAA has officially ruled out sparrow error, finding no evidence that Trojanowski tried to swerve out of the way. Additionally, his Glass Proximity Warning System failed to activate until 0.001 seconds after he came into contact with the glass.

An autopsy performed late Monday evening suggests that Trojanowski's crown struck the impenetrable transparent terrain first, followed by the left wing, which snapped in half on impact.

According to sparrow coroner Stephanie Barlow, an inspection of the scattered wreckage at the crash site revealed no prior damage to the wings, tail, or any other part of Trojanowski.

"This bird was in good, airworthy condition before takeoff for this routine flight—one that he had made literally thousands of times before," Barlow said. "But unfortunately, this happens all too often, even with the most experienced fliers."

Since the advent of the clear glass window in the 16th century, untold billions of birds have been lost or severely injured in similar incidents. In the early 1940s, thousands of brave bluebirds were sent on risky solo missions to break the glass barrier, resulting in the largest full-scale loss of bird life in over 50 years.

The worst individual crash, however, came in 1896, when a flock of migrating birds collided with the bay window of an East Texas mansion, killing all 167 passenger pigeons. In a ceremony scheduled for Friday, a red and green plastic seed dispenser hanging on a tree at the crash site will be renamed "The Howard R. Trojanowski Memorial Feeder."

As news of the tragedy spread, the SAA reported no drop-off in sparrow flights since the fatal crash.

"Of course it's scary, but I'm not going to stop flying because of it," sparrow Darryl Beardsley said, echoing the apparent sentiment of millions of other sparrows worldwide. "I guess it's just my nature."

Am I Blessed Like This?

Blessed are . . . —Matthew 5:3-11

When we first read the statements of Jesus, they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unnoticed into our subconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the "dynamite" of the Holy Spirit. And they "explode" when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of the Beatitudes, we say, "What a startling statement that is!" Then we must decide whether or not we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is as easy as child’s play. But the interpretation by the Spirit of God as He applies our Lord’s statements to our circumstances is the strict and difficult work of a saint.

The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations— it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.

Psalm 100

Well, I definitely didn't get to bed by 9:00 pm last night. Sarah definitely called that one. It ended up being closer to 1:00 am. bleh. Needless to say, I woke up in a "less-than-cheerful" mood. That's why Psalm 100 was a great psalm to meditate on this morning.

Have you ever really thought about the fact that God made us? We wouldn't even exist without His allowing it. When I think about that, it makes me feel completely unjustified in ever wanting to do things my way without consulting the principles of scripture. We should be so incredibly thankful that we have such a good, merciful, everlasting, enduring creator!

Today, regardless of circumstance, let's praise His name. Let's serve Him with gladness!

1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

btw: Sometime today my statcounter should read 0111111. :)

*sigh*

I'm tired.

That's it. I'm tired.

No really, that's all I've got today. I'm tired.

Lightning and Thunder

So I just had the closest experience with lightning I can remember. A tree got hit directly across the road from my office. Talk about loud. It's amazing how much power is contained in one bolt of lightning. Here's some interesting facts I looked up. Each second there are 50 to 100 Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Strikes to the Earth world-wide

Most lightning strikes average 2 to 3 miles long and carry a current of 10000 Amps at 100 million Volts.

One lightning strike can carry enough electricity to power 10 million homes for one month.

A "Positive Giant" is a lightning strike that hits the ground up to 20 miles away from the storm.Because it seems to strike from a clear sky it is known as "A Bolt From The Blue". These"Positive Giant" flashes strike between the storm's top "anvil" and the Earth and carry several times the destructive energy of a "regular" lightning strike.

Daytime lightning is difficult or impossible to see under local sun and/or hazy conditions. Night-time "heat lightning" can be seen up to 100 miles away (depending on "seeing" conditions).

The temperature of a typical lightning bolt is hotter than the surface of the Sun!

How big around is a typical lightning bolt? Answer: About the size of a Quarter to Half-Dollar! Lightning looks so much wider than it really is just because its light is so bright!

Naomi Lyn Wyss

Naomi

7/18/2006

10:36 a.m.

8 lb. 7 oz.

21 in.

Les Miserables!

This Saturday I get to go to St. Louis to see Les Miserables at the Fox Theater! I'm really excited about it. This will be the 5th time I've seen it, but it has yet to get old. There are 15 of us going down on Saturday to see the 2:00pm showing. We're leaving at 9:00am and getting down there in time to eat lunch somewhere and then go to the musical. It should be a lot of fun. I think we do have one girl who wants to sell her ticket if anyone is interested in going.

If you don't have any idea what Les Miserables is about, here's a brief overview...although it's hard to really be brief because of the complex and intertwining story line.

The Fox Theater describes it like this: Victor Hugo's epic tale with its incredible score by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, continues to thrill audiences with its story of crime, justice, redemption, revolution and romance. Les Misérables sweeps through three turbulent decades of 19th century France with the story of one man, the fugitive Jean Valjean, who is pitted against the cruel and self-righteous Inspector Javert in a lifelong struggle to evade capture.

Sounds pretty exciting eh? *grin*

I'm moving up in the world!

My mom called me a few minutes ago. It's official. I'm a Great-Uncle at the ripe old age of 25. My oldest niece Kristen just had her first child. It's a girl - Naomi Lyn - 8lbs 7oz - 21" long. She went in at 8:30am and delivered at 10:30am, so it went quite smoothly. I'll try and get pictures as they become available.

Can you sleep while the wind blows?

Thanks to Maggi for sending me the following story. I thought it had a good moral.

Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast.
He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were
reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the
awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.
As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received
A steady stream of refusals.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached
the farmer. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him.
"Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help,
Hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from
dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore.
Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed
next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the
little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming!
Tie things down before they blow away!"
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No
sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on
the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm.
To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had
been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens
were in the coops, and the doors were barred.
The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down.

Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his
hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while
the wind blew.

Moral

When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically,
you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the
wind blows through your life?
The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he
had secured the farm against the storm.
We secure ourselves against the storms of life by
grounding ourselves in the Word of God.
We don't need to understand, we just need to hold
His hand to have peace in the middle of storms.

Interesting!

This is a really interesting article if you're interested in technology at all. It's about a guy who built an "invention machine". It's a computer program that can literally invent new things. The article is kind of lengthy, but I found it fascinating.

I won't argue...I have definitely have some nerdish tendencies. :)

Hmmm...

I'm having a hard time formulating thoughts in a coherent enough manner to write them down. I've had several issues on my heart the past couple of days, but I can't seem to pull them together, so I'll just give them to you in list form.1. Church attendance: Why or why not? Dwell on the blessings that come from going to church. I don't know about you, but I've definitely had those times when I just don't feel like going. If you've thought about the reasons you attend church, it makes it much easier to go whether you feel like it or not.

3. Holiness in my priorities: How am I spending my time? Are my priorities reflecting my beliefs and convictions? Am I spending my time in activities that will foster my spiritual growth or hinder it? I don't think there are too many "neutral" activities...Either you're moving toward or you're moving away from Christ. I tend to want to classify things that aren't edifying as "things that don't really matter". This just allows me to continue doing them without feeling guilty. In reality I think everything matters. Every experience I have...every image I place before my eyes has some sort of effect on me whether great or small. I want my life to be about sanctification - with the overwhelming amount of my time being spent in activities that contribute positively to that.

2. Relationships with neighbors: How do you shine Jesus to someone who's upset with you? "Turning the other cheek" is an excellent exercise in humility. We have a condo assocation meeting coming up this Tuesday (18th). I'd really appreciate your prayers that I may use Godly wisdom in dealing with some issues that have arisen.Ok...so when I started writing this, I just had two sentences per item on the list. Then I slowly started adding in thoughts, and things began to solidify in my mind a little more. That's one of the reasons I like blogging! :)

One of God's Favorite Words

This message was written by James MacDonald for his "Weekly Walk" newsletter.

Do you like new things? I do. I like new cars, new seasons, new restaurants and new kids (not in that order). To me, new is a really good feeling. I like new jobs (even though I’m in somewhat of a rut at this point—and sixteen years happily so). I like getting new clothes. I like having new friends, but here’s a wonderful truth: God loves new things. Do you know that about your heavenly Father? He loves new stuff too!

Did you know that God loves new things? All the way through the Bible, He is talking about the new things He has given to us: • God gives us a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26).
• God gives us a new spirit (Ezekiel 18:31).
• God puts a new song in the hearts of His children (Psalm 40:3).
• He has given us a new name (Revelation 2:17).
• He has given us a new self (Ephesians 4:24).
• He makes us wholly new. Second Corinthians 5:17 pulls it all together and says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”God loves new stuff. In fact, among the final words God will speak in human history, will be: “Behold, I make all things new ” (Revelation 21:5).
The Christian life is about being new, different, and changed. If your faith in Christ has made no difference in you, then ask yourself if it has made any difference to God. If you are not changing, being transformed little by little, day by day feeling His victory, then what’s up with your faith? The people who are in Christ are being changed. The words “newness of life” from Romans 6:4 translate a Greek word which does not mean new in time, but new in character, new in quality. A different person.

Now don’t miss this: God wants to make you new. That is His thing. He is trying to change you. That is why it says we should “ walk in newness of life” (verse 4).

Think back to the time before you committed your life to Christ. Do you remember how you were slaves to certain sins? No matter how you tried, you fell back into those same patterns over and again. The good news is that when we confess Christ as Savior, God connects us with the resurrection power of Jesus Christ and the power of sin in our life is broken. Sin may try to get our attention but it cannot boss us around anymore.

The Teaspoon Slide

Thanks go to Traever for tipping me off to this guy. I'm not quite sure how one decides to develop a talent like this, but it's definitely cool.

Hannes Coetzee - Teaspoon Slide Guitar on Transbuddha

Rubies and Wisdom

Do you want $10,000,000? What if I told you that you could have financial freedom today and live comfortably the rest of your life. Would that be something you would desire?

Proverbs 8:11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

I read this verse this morning, and it really stuck out to me - Mainly because of the word all. Solomon is telling his son that out of all the things he could desire, none of them could be compared to wisdom.

How inclusive do you think that "all" is? I mean...wisdom isn't better than salvation obviously.

Based on the context, my thought is that the "all" that Solomon is refering to, is all of the riches - all of the physical things that his son could desire. In verse 10 Solomon's talking about gold and silver. In verse 11 he prefaces it with "wisdom is better than rubies".

Solomon knew that his son grew up in a pampered environment. He had anything he could ever want in the physical sense. Solomon had riches the world had never seen, and yet he knew that the wisdom God had given him was worth far more than this.

Does this apply to us today? Aren't we the richest people the world has ever seen? Half the world — nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day. source 1 Yes, we are definitely rich. While we may not all be "sons of Solomon", we are still easily distracted from acquiring Godly wisdom. We still get easily wrapped up in our stuff.

Study of the Word

I truly believe that the following article addresses one of the most important fundamental concepts of accurate positive Bible Study. If you don't fully understand the concept that's being discussed, talk to someone who does, and ask them to explain it to you. The Bible means what it says and says what it means.

What Does This Verse Mean To You?

I was once at a Bible study and the Bible study leader read several verses of Scripture. He then pointed out a particular verse and asked people what they thought it meant. The verse was not particularly ambiguous, and it was not explicitly clear. So, people in the room began to give their opinions on what the verse meant. Some of the opinions contradicted each other. I waited to see what the Bible study leader would do with these contradictions and how he would handle what the verse might actually mean. He simply said that all the opinions sounded good and that we must find out for ourselves what God's word means. Of course, this bothered me. Such relativism is dangerous.

The Bible study leader proceeded to go on to another verse where the same thing was done and other opinions were offered. After a few minutes I could no longer remain silent and I spoke up. Not wanting to dominate the study, I tried to remain polite and cautious as I attempted to correct an error that had just happened in the Bible study.

I carefully pointed out that though there are times when certain scriptures are difficult to understand and that our opinions on these verses might be equally valid, if they contradict each other, they cannot all be valid. Furthermore, I pointed out that we must not subject God's word to our opinions. It is a mistake to have a group of people look at a Scripture and offer varying opinions on what it means as though God's word means only what it means to us at that time and that we can contradict each other and that's fine. Instead, we should ask ourselves "what does a text say?" We should work hard at trying to discover the best single possible meaning to the text is -- if that is applicable. We should not view God's word as a well from which we draw whatever feeling, sensation, or opinion that suits us for the time. Instead, we must do our best to find out what the word actually says to the best of our ability instead of "feeling" our way through the scriptures using relativism as a guide. Otherwise, we would be saying that God actually mean anything specific when He inspired the writers of the Bible. If we were to say that God's word can mean different things, then the word of God doesn't mean anything at all? The problem here is that relativism was creeping into the Bible study.

The danger in this is that if taken to its logical extreme, verses could mean anything we wanted them to mean. With no absolutes to draw from, apostasy would begin to creep in. For example, I am reminded of how some major denominations are actually putting millions of dollars into studying the issue of homosexuality to determine to what extent people can be held responsible for this sin... if they determined that it is a sin at all! This, of course, leads down the road apostasy and needs to be stopped.

So I ask you. When you study God's word devotionally, or otherwise, do you hope to find what it actually means so you can subject yourself to what it says, or do you try and find a meaning for Scripture that suits your needs, your feelings, and your desires? I would hope that you do the former. We need to check ourselves.

To test yourself, I suggest that you read Romans 9:9-23. This section of Scripture is often difficult to interpret and can even be controversial. But it is God's word nonetheless. In it, there is a test. As you read the text, see if you find yourself objecting. See if you find yourself complaining the same way Paul did. See if you ask the same basic objections to the arguments that Paul is raising. If you do not, then you are failing to understand the text. If you do raise the same basic objections as you read through the verses, then that means that you understand what it says... not what you hope it means. Then, see what your attitude is towards what the text says. It can be very revealing.

Let our devotion to God be a subjection to his word.

Semi Illusions

I thought these were pretty cool pictures. I'm about 95% sure they've been photoshopped, but I still thought they were worth sharing.

We've Got it Good

I read the following on James MacDonald's website this morning. I thought it was a great reminder. It meshes well with my last post on perspective and being thankful to our God. What would your life have been like if you had lived one hundred years ago? The average life expectancy was about 47 years, so that would settle it for some of us almost immediately. Six people out of one hundred graduated from high school. Only 14 percent of homes had a bathtub. If your family had a telephone, you would have ranked in the top 8 percent of the country. (Too bad a 3-minute long-distance call to your uncle in Denver cost almost a month’s income.) There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S. to drive on 144 miles of paved roads at a maximum of 10 mph. Ninety-five percent of all births happened at home, and 90 percent of all physicians had no formal training.

Sometimes we have to look back to realize how good we have it.

Hebrews 9 was written to help us do that. It describes in detail the precise regulations that the Old Testament saints were required to follow to approach God. Even then, it was a system of barriers: two lamb sacrifices every day, sin offerings, grain offerings, scapegoats, Sabbath rules, temple taxes, mandated tithes, what you could eat, how you could prepare it. 793 times the law said, do this, don’t do this, do that, don’t do that.

That was the way it was without Christ. The path to God was regulated, remote, restricted, religious, ritualistic; all of it saying, Step back from God—He’s holy and you’re not.

But verses 11-12 tell us when all that changed. “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

In the old system, God was a long way away, and it was impossible to approach Him with any confidence whatsoever. To chance it meant risking your life. But all that changed when Jesus stepped into the gap. “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come…” Jesus became the hinge between sinful humanity and a God who is so holy that He dwells in unapproachable light and indescribable glory. First Timothy 2:5 calls Jesus the “Mediator between God and men.”

How did He do it? Hebrews 9:26 says it amazingly simple: “[Jesus] put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Jesus, the sinless, holy Son of God, became the last sacrifice necessary for the forgiveness of your sin. Through Christ, the barriers were lifted, the gate was flung wide open and a permanent sign was posted, “Come on in.”

If you’ve ever wondered how God would receive you if you knocked on His door, here’s your answer: No sin is too big, no time or distance away from God is too great that He will not receive you with open arms. The old system is gone; 793 barriers to God became a new and living way: Jesus Christ (10:19). Come boldly to His throne of grace (4:16).No question about it—we have it good, real good.

Definitely a Monday

So, it's Monday morning. I'm tired. I'm one of only two people at work today. I have no motivation to be here. I have a ton of stuff to do at home. My kitchen is a mess. I have a list of things I need to get at the store. I desperately need a haircut. I'm hosting our Youth Group after our nursing home singing this Friday night, and I haven't even started planning that. My mom is cooking supper for some relatives that are passing through, and I'm supposed to go to that tonight. I've had company sleeping at my house since Friday night, and they're there now.

Hebrews 13:15
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

I'm thankful it's the start of another week with the door of grace still open for those who have not yet surrendered to Christ. I'm thankful I woke up in a soft bed this morning regardless of the time. I'm thankful I have a good job to go to. I'm thankful I have a comfortable home and a roof over my head. I'm thankful I have a kitchen with conveniences some people have never heard of. I'm thankful we have stores that stay stocked with every necessaty and comfort of life. I'm thankful that God knows exactly the number of hairs on my head. I'm thankful for my awesome Youth Group and the support they provide. I'm thankful my mother loves me enough to invite me to supper. I'm thankful for the friends I've made who spend the night at my house. I'm thankful that they're going to be there when I get home for lunch.

I'm thankful for Christ. I'm thankful and humbled that I was chosen by Him. I'm thankful that His blood covers me from the wrath of a peferctly holy and just God. I'm thankful for the mercy and love that that same God has shown to me.

Ps 30:12
To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.