2 Years of Wedded Bliss!

It was two year ago today that I watched Heidi walk down the aisle and took her to be my wife! She's been more of a blessing to me than I ever could have imagined. I praise God that He brought her into my life and placed in each of us a love for the other. As I think back over the past two years, I know that my prideful stubborn self could not have achieved the beauty our time together has shown. All glory and praise to God our father for placing in us a supernatural love and patience toward each other. Not that it's been a perfect love or a perfect patience, but, thank God, He's refining us more every day. I look forward to many wonderful years together as we grow towards our Savior's likeness.

I love you Heidi Knapp.

Beautiful Mind

Stephen Wiltshire has been called the "Human Camera." In this short excerpt from the film Beautiful Minds: A Voyage into the Brain, Wiltshire takes a helicopter journey over Rome and then draws a panoramic view of what he saw, entirely from memory.



Psalm 139:14 - I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Preaching

I recently read an article by John Piper explaining what he means by the word "Preaching". Here are several quotes that struck me.-The preacher's job is to minimize his own opinions and deliver the truth of God. Every sermon should explain the Bible and then apply it to people's lives.
-The preacher should do that in a way that enables you to see that the points he is making actually come from the Bible. If you can't see that they come from the Bible, your faith will end up resting on a man and not on God's word.

-Preaching is also exultation. This means that the preacher does not just explain what's in the Bible, and the people do not simply try understand what he explains. Rather, the preacher and the people exult over what is in the Bible as it is being explained and applied.
-Preaching does not come after worship in the order of the service. Preaching is worship. The preacher worships—exults—over the word, trying his best to draw you into a worshipful response by the power of the Holy Spirit.

-I standing vigilantly on the precipice of eternity speaking to people who this week could go over the edge whether they are ready to or not. I will be called to account for what I said there.

-That's what I mean by preaching.

Landscaping

This is what my wonderful wife did Wednesday, on her day off. It makes our house look so much more "homey". :-)

Building Feat

Life has an interesting slide show on the construction of the Empire State Building.

Things above

Colossians 3:1-4 NASB
1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

We had our young couples Bible study last night on Colossians 3. I was drawn to the commands in verses 1 and 2. Keep seeking the things above...Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.

Our thought processes drive our motives, and our motives drive our actions. How often do we get caught up in horizontal earthly thoughts and end up making decisions with the wrong heart motives?

Christ never once lost his eternal perspective. His thoughts were always focused on the Father. He never once acted out of earthly/fleshly motive.

As I see how far short I fall from this standard, I'm drawn to verses 3 and 4. My life is hidden with Christ and when, in the last days, he is revealed in glory, I will be there with him!

What an awesome promise to come right after such a high calling. Let's remember that it is only Christ who can work out such a high calling in our hearts and give him all the glory honor and praise for any and all our spiritual successes.

Kids!

They say the darndest things!

Plug for Alan

My friend Alan recently started back to graduate school to get a master's degree in social work in order to work with troubled children and families. As a result, he will not be able to keep his full-time job, but work part-time instead for the next two years. In an effort to try to supplement some income, he has started his own business that he can manage during his free time. A part of his business is hosting an online store for exclusive Amway Global products along with many regular name brand products from partner stores such as ACE Hardware, Barnes & Noble, Dell, and Office Depot.

He is looking for people that would have interest in setting up an online shopping account for his store (no cost) and consider purchasing some of the products. There is a wide variety of products to choose from. Some that you might shop for on a regular basis, such as snack bars, juice, bottled water, laundry detergent, tissue paper, skin care, etc... and others that might be just for special occasion shopping like wedding and baby gifts.

If you are interested in checking out the store, you can go to www.quixtar.com and browse it. If you like what you see or have any questions, drop Alan an email at alan_banwart@yahoo.com and tell him you would like a free online account. Alan also mentioned that if anyone sets up an account and place an order by the end of the month, they will be placed in a drawing to receive a $50 gift certificate to the store. Thank you for considering this opportunity.