I've moved the blog to a new place

Look for me here.

Some girl doing awesome animal sounds

Party Magnet.



(Source: http://www.tastefullyoffensive.com)

Plant Fungus and God's Mercy

I could never be a farmer. The only thing I can plant is my tail on the couch.

But I know farmers. They work all around me. My house is next door to the farm headquarters of a farmer named Leech. (Or is it Leach?) He and his employees work from dawn till well after sunset on big green pieces of metal.

They make designs in dirt. They put little things in the dirt. Then it looks like they spray stuff on the dirt. Then green things grow. Rice. Cotton. Corn. Soybeans. All of these are a rock's throw from my front deck depending on the time of year.

It looks like hard work. It's supposed to be. It is the only job that God expressly said He would make hard.  A very small thing can render months of money, sweat and acres of dirt useless. Too much chemical. Too little chemical. Too much water. Too little water. And don't dare forget plant diseases. Did you know plants can get strange fungus spots just like humans?

How would it feel to gaze as far as you can see and observe months of effort to be in vain?  I have never felt that. At least not about crops.

But haven't we all felt like our efforts weren't giving us the results we wanted?  

I do. Even right now, I do. I feel like some relationships are pointless. I feel like my job is stretching my faith. I feel like I have wasted days. 

I feel like it is harvest time and

there are no crops in the stinking field.

And then I am reminded of the two words at the beginning of the previous four sentences. "I feel." I. Feel.  My mind and emotions are hard at work raising my frustration and annoyance.  

My flesh is my enemy.

I need grace to respond to life from a place of hope.  Look at what the prophet Habakkuk says:

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
   nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
   and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
   and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
   I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
   he makes my feet like the deer’s;
   he makes me tread on my high places.

I do not know where your herd is or how your olives are doing, but I know where your joy and strength should be. I know where mine needs to be.

This week, I was talking with a friend whose crops are worse than mine. She was discouraged yet hopeful. She recalled to me that she has a friend whose marriage is in shambles and another friend whose young child was recently diagnosed with cancer. Her observation was that in her "merely financial" trial, she felt God's mercy. She gratefully recognized that her marriage is source of stability and her children are at this moment very healthy. She saw hope where she could have seen despair. Instead of resentment, she saw mercy. She said,

 "God's trials are often full of mercy."

I don't always see so clearly. 

I struggle to see past dying fields of withered feelings. My once vibrant expectations now lay rotting on twice-plowed ground.

But Salvation is not found in the fulfillment of my self-centered dreams.

Salvation is Jesus. Hope is in a Higher Place.

The Schrute Method

“Whenever I am about to do something,

I think, ‘would an idiot do this?’ 

and if they would, I do not do that thing.”

-- Dwight Schrute

G.O.S.P.E.L. by Propaganda

Hip Hop G.O.S.P.E.L. is awesome. I had a little problem with this video running smoothly till it had completely loaded.

Reasons Why It Is Good to Play a Co-Op Video Game Is Good

This is a silly little presentation that Jake Shivley and I collaborated on. More him than me. I understand that most parts are taking the Bible grossly out of context, but such is the nature of the humor. After all, Love Wins.

IF YOU WATCH IT ON AN IPHONE, YOU MISS THE AUDIO.

Reverse Thinking

Please watch this. All of it.



(HT: The Resurgence)

My Wife Can Handstand Longer Than Your Wife

I can barely stand on my feet that long.

When should a girl let a boy kiss her?

The San Jose News answers this question in the below 1930 advice column.

I am going to be the worst dad ever.
Source: (QuestionableAdvice)

A Book I Read: Personal Evangelism and The Gospel

Mark Dever thinks clearly. He prizes concise and precise thought. This book reflects his thinking. If you are looking for a book to help you witness and challenge the obstacles that stand in your way, this book is spot on.

Dever outlines the Gospel then discusses why we often do not witness.  The book consistently uses scripture to encourage and illustrate evangelism.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the scripture he uses to prove all Christians are responsible for evangelism, not just pastors or those with a "gift"of evangelism. He also establishes that personal evangelism is a fruit of a culture of evangelism within the local church.

He also deals with ideas that are often confused with evangelism. These were worth mentioning specifically:

EVANGELISM  IS...

1. Not an Imposition: Sharing the Gospel is not an imposition "anymore than a pilot can impose his belief on all the passengers that the runway is here and not there."

2. Not Personal Testimony: Although testimonies are powerful and can contribute to evangelism, a testimony alone is not the gospel.

3. Not Social Action and Public Involvement: Being involved in mercy ministries help commend the gospel (Matt. 5:16), but such actions are not evangelism. Proverbs 11:30 says "...He who wins souls is wise."

"When our eyes fall from God to humanity, social ills replace sin, horizontal problems replace the fundamental vertical problem between us and God, winning elections eclipses winning souls."

4. Not Apologetics: "Apologetics is answering questions and objections people may have about God or Christ or about Bible or the message of the gospel." While Dever agrees apologetics are a good thing, he clearly and correctly observes apologetics are not the gospel. Rightly answering questions about original sin or the problem of pain is not evangelism.

Dever also includes a stern rebuke against the "closing the sale" mentality of evangelism that crept into the church since the early 1960's. He explains the awful disservice done to the church and the kingdom of God through such evangelistic methods.

This book was useful to me because it challenged me about the fundamental urgency of evangelism. I recommend it to any christian.

I am including below a short video about the book produced by its publisher.

"The Gospel & Personal Evangelism," Mark Dever from 9Marks on Vimeo.