fwiw

grace attracts/judgement repels

how i often feel about ministry work i did...

"It may be, Heaven forgive me, that I did try to be original, but I only succeeded in inventing all by myself an inferior copy of existing traditions of civilized religion." G.K. Chesterton

more chesterton quotes

did not know about this...

the sentinelese are noted for vigorously resisting attempts at contact by outsiders. they  maintain an essentially hunter-gatherer society subsisting through hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants; there is no evidence of either agricultural practices or methods of producing fire.

things that make you go hmmm...

do short-term missions trips hurt more than help?

repost: TGIF

Why Good Friday Matters: Over the years it has become clear that there is a disconnect – a BIG disconnect – between the marking of Good Friday and the way people of faith enter the mystery of this hard day.  Most people avoid it like the plague – partly because it has to do with our mortality – but partly because it calls us to see our complicity in the oppression, wounds and hopelessness of our generation.  What’s more, the language of the liturgy is either shame-based or else empty liberal platitudes.  Most people know their pain – even if they hate it – and don’t need more bullshit… so they stay away.

A different Good Friday expression: ...we are going to use our gifts and imaginations to wrestle with the horror and hope of the Cross.  What does it mean, for example, to follow a Messiah who is a total loser in the eyes of the world?  What does it feel like to have all your expectations destroyed by the Lord?  Or to feel abandoned, alone and forsaken as Jesus did?  ...Consequently, we have tried to remove any false or misleading distinctions that so often separate the secular from the sacred:  That’s why we have chosen mostly secular songs that have spoken to us part of the wisdom of the Cross.  “Isn’t It a Pity” is pure lament. 
When the “Long and Winding Road” is set alongside the story of the Cross we see how often we find ourselves at a crossroads aching for help in choosing the most compassionate road home in the midst of often terrifying options..  When we deconstructed Paul Simon’s song, “The Boxer” it pointed to Christ’s own discouragement and shame on the Cross. And then we discovered a taste of the fear the disciples themselves must have felt in a song called “On the Way Home.”  That will be a hard song for some to hear – it is dissonant and harsh – and all about losing faith, being shamed by trusting Jesus and living for a time without any clear foundation.  But like St. Paul taught, “the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’

the human side of college bball

rick majerus

you're welcome

a church bulletin that gets it

losing their religion

religious affiliation in rapid decline in america

maybe we should change our approach, ya think?

photo of the week

firefall at yosemite

how to have a religious experience

"...there’s only one real way for the Christian to have an authentic religious experience, one that isn’t some psychology-on-crack affair anyways, and it’s this:"

good movie

"He was insulted that we had created David in their image. No matter what was said, that abomination was standing infront of him, so he destoyed it, and punished the puny humans for playing god/engineer.

My favorite theory down this path. Its got elements of us breaking the ten commandments i.e. worshipping false idols. Thou shalt have no other gods" 

todaze cute little nature vid... oh crap

nature has no virtue. it rewards fitness.  it is trying to kill you 24/7.

happy mother's day

She was born May 12, 1923, in Musselburgh, Scotland, and came to America with her parents, William James McKay Bell and Mary Hamilton Bell, at age two.

TGIF

Why Good Friday Matters: Over the years it has become clear that there is a disconnect – a BIG disconnect – between the marking of Good Friday and the way people of faith enter the mystery of this hard day.  Most people avoid it like the plague – partly because it has to do with our mortality – but partly because it calls us to see our complicity in the oppression, wounds and hopelessness of our generation.  What’s more, the language of the liturgy is either shame-based or else empty liberal platitudes.  Most people know their pain – even if they hate it – and don’t need more bullshit… so they stay away.

A different Good Friday expression: ...we are going to use our gifts and imaginations to wrestle with the horror and hope of the Cross.  What does it mean, for example, to follow a Messiah who is a total loser in the eyes of the world?  What does it feel like to have all your expectations destroyed by the Lord?  Or to feel abandoned, alone and forsaken as Jesus did?  ...Consequently, we have tried to remove any false or misleading distinctions that so often separate the secular from the sacred:  That’s why we have chosen mostly secular songs that have spoken to us part of the wisdom of the Cross.  “Isn’t It a Pity” is pure lament.
When the “Long and Winding Road” is set alongside the story of the Cross we see how often we find ourselves at a crossroads aching for help in choosing the most compassionate road home in the midst of often terrifying options..  When we deconstructed Paul Simon’s song, “The Boxer” it pointed to Christ’s own discouragement and shame on the Cross. And then we discovered a taste of the fear the disciples themselves must have felt in a song called “On the Way Home.”  That will be a hard song for some to hear – it is dissonant and harsh – and all about losing faith, being shamed by trusting Jesus and living for a time without any clear foundation.  But like St. Paul taught, “the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’

...by our love

I've given up giving up on him. I'm a 100 percent believer. Not in his arm. Not in his skills. I believe in his heart, his there-will-definitely-be-a-pony-under-the-tree optimism, the way his love pours into people, right up to their eyeballs, until they believe they can master the hopeless comeback, too.

just because

did not know that

There is a common misconception that the word Xmas is a secular attempt to remove the religious tradition from Christmas by taking the "Christ" out of "Christmas".

the "X" comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός, translated as "Christ".

tonight's musical interlude

we shall remain men until...



just sayin'...

there's a day. a day god gives you.  a day that is just blessed.  in all ways.  you're with the one you love.  doing what you most love to do.  perfect.  today was that day. 

and the thing is god gives us every day.  every day.  exactly what we need.  up, down.  hardship, blessing.   growing us.  shaping us.  teaching us.  drawing us.  today was a day.

for lmath1, arrving tonight

the only thing mssing is you