Yesterday Carolyn brought home the journal of one of her kindergarten students, to show me one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. This little girl had drawn a picture of a girl in a dress with a big smile and pigtails, carrying a purse. Underneath it she wrote (with every “s” and one “y” written backwards): “I Lev Misr HidEy. She is my sidreLe.” Translation: “I love Mrs. Hyde. She is my Cinderella.”
How sweet!
(10) Napoleon Dynamite has probably influenced the fashion world more than any nerd in history.
(9) This morning I read the Book of Jonah in the Bible. This short little story is absolutely amazing. I could study it and meditate on it forever.
(8) Today the SonRise Church staff went to lunch. As usual, we laughed hard for most of the time. I’ve laughed harder and more frequently with this group of people than with anyone else I’ve ever known.
(7) My wife absolutely loves little children. Many days she comes home stressed out from teaching kindergarten and says she doesn’t want to talk about it. But before long, she’s laughing and telling me all the cute and funny things her students said and did that day.
(6) My brother Jason and his wife Kristi have their third kid on the way. They churn out some pretty cute ones.
(5) I like the scrambled eggs at TC Diner in West Ocean City, but they sure don’t look very scrambled.
(4) We’re starting a new series at SonRise this Sunday. It’s called “Just Walk Across the Room,” and it has the potential to revolutionize our church.
(3) Our secretary, Terri, turns 42 today. I hope she doesn’t mind me sharing that with our little global community.
(2) Some dead guy in the Middle East is now famous because he’s been mistaken for Jesus Christ. I bet he never saw that one coming.
(1) That’s weird how every day people have to eat and drink stuff and use the bathroom. Wouldn’t it be simpler, faster, and cheaper to just avoid both? (Look, it makes sense to me.)
I forgot to mention earlier that the podcast for “Walk the Line,” the message from a couple Sundays ago, is now available for download. You can find it here.
You’ve gotta be kidding me. I hesitate to even comment on this whole James Cameron/ tomb of Jesus thing, because it’s so dumb. First people confused The Da Vinci Code with reality, and now a filmmaker is stepping outside the fiction veil and trying to legitimize these ideas about Jesus being a mere man, a husband, a dad, etc.
If you’re interested in things like archeology, ancient writings, and evidence for the various claims surrounding Jesus, it really doesn’t take long to sift through the false evidence.
But you could spend a lifetime exploring the authentic evidence corroborating the scriptural claims about Jesus Christ, the virgin-born Son of God who died on a cross, was resurrected three days later, and ascended to Heaven to live forever and ever.
If you’re more interested in hype than evidence, I’m sure you’ll have ample opportunity in the coming weeks to indulge yourself.
But if you’re actually interested in reality and genuine scholarship, there’s a whole world of evidence to explore. Probably the most comprehensive and reliable one-stop source is The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict, by Josh McDowell. This covers everything. It’s very readable and absolutely fascinating.
Online, some other great resources include the websites of Christian apologists Ravi Zacharias and Josh McDowell. I’d encourage you to check them out if you’re interested in the actual truth.
The past few months my father-in-law and I have tried to get together at least every couple weeks or so over breakfast. I’m reminded of what a blessing it is to have in-laws that are such good friends. You hear all the time about people who constantly have conflict with their in-laws. Not only do I not have conflict with mine, but they’re actually some of my favorite people to hang out with.
If you know Carolyn, then you know that she had to have some pretty special parents. They gave her a solid Christian upbringing and taught her the value of things like education, compassion, and stewardship. They pretty much taught her everything she needed to know except how to find the right guy! Her dad is a great listener and someone who’s just easy to hang out with. Her mom is really entertaining and is also a great cook–I’m frequently reminded of this because she cooks us dinner at least once a week!
Call me sentimental (or just mental), but I’m grateful that I married into a family where I not only gain in-laws, but friends and family in Christ as well.
More famous last words:
(10) Ludwig van Beethoven: “Friends applaud, the comedy is over.”
(9) Albrecht von Haller, Swiss physician and scientist: “My friend, the artery ceases to beat.”
(8) George Jacques Danton, French revolutionary, giving instructions to his executioner: “Show my head to the people. It is worth seeing.”
(7) Our very own local, Stephen Decatur: “I am mortally wounded, I think.”
(6) Thomas Favras de Mahay, French revolutionary, on being handed his death sentence as he was led to the scaffold: “I see that you have made three spelling mistakes.”
(5) Edmund Gwenn, actor: “Dying is easy. Comedy is difficult.”
(4) German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Hegel: “Only one man ever understood me. And he really didn’t understand me.”
(3) 19th-century British surgeon Joseph Henry Green, after checking his pulse while sick: “Stopped.”
(2) British musician John Field, when asked whether he was a Papist or a Calvinist: “I am a pianist.”
And #1, which doubles as the all-time grossest understatement:
(1) Luther Burbank, American horticulturist: “I don’t feel good.”
Glad it’s Friday. Over the holiday weekend, we lost power in the refrigerator at the office. Everything in the freezer melted, and it oozed some unidentifiable yellowy substance down into the fridge. Everything in the fridge–much of which had already gone bad–really went bad.
But here’s why I’m glad it’s Friday, my day off: Somehow, a bunch of rotten food was left sitting in a box in the kitchen area overnight on Tuesday. So now the whole office reeks like old cheese mixed with pickle juice and…well, general funk.
The back door has been open to air the place out, but I think we may be stuck with it for a while. Hopefully we’ll get used to it, but our poor visitors….
My brother Dylan sends me the weirdest stuff. Yesterday he sent me an article about a young man who was highly creative in getting himself into trouble. Read the full account here.
Recently I read something very cool in the Book of Daniel. After praying and fasting for three weeks, Daniel received a visit from an angelic being. He told Daniel, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.”
It’s so neat the way this messenger tells Daniel that the moment he turned his heart toward God and began to pray, God was listening. And God responded. It reminds me of another passage about God’s responsiveness to our prayers. 1 John 5:14-15 tells us: “And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for.”
When we humble ourselves before God and speak to Him, He listens. And He responds. Just a comforting truth to let sink in.
In the sidebar on the right, under “Links to Check Out,” I’ve added a link where you can go to download messages preached at SonRise Church. Just wanted to let everyone know about the happy little addition!
Surfing the Inner N8 