What Say You?

I've got that feeling again. Time to move. Time to push again. Time to step out.

We had our 1st staff meeting of sorts. Myself, Jason, Watson, Branum & Barrett. I have to digress to last names on the last 3, 'cause they're all Josh's...I know...weird.

I tried to see where all of this is going. Nobody seems to know. We just know that we're called.

I've seen the impact & felt it 1st hand. I'm pretty sure that the genie ain't going back in the bottle. I'm cool with that.

We've decided to move forward with some of what we've already started. Without definition as to what we are, but definitely with vision. A vision to reach out. Through movie, cd & possibly game reviews. Through independent blogs and communal discussion. Through interviews & local events. Through whatever it takes to constantly gauge an honest existence that illuminates authentic relationship with our Creator, in whatever form that assumes.

This brings me to the question with which I need & would love input.

I believe that the next step for us is to incorporate DW into a not for profit business. To accept funds from those interested in kingdom work & to dream a little bigger, al beit, completely out of the box. To fund local shows with national acts & to follow where He leads.

My question is, does anyone else see DW as a legitiment ministry or am I just delusional? Are we in proper standing to receive the 1st fruits of an offering to use as God leads us or is this how Benny Hinn started out? Is He calling us to this new land or am I seeking my own kingdom?

I know what I like to think. Either proposition scares me somewhat. However, knowing what to do & not doing it scares me more.

What say you?

Piece of Polyester

I asked my class a couple of Sunday mornings ago if it were possible to have sin w/out conviction. Still I wonder. In fact, I may be further away from an answer than when I first began to question.

I've always loved Eric Davis. He was my hero growing up & could do no wrong in my eyes. My obsession w/ED bordered idol worship. I know...sad.

I got the catalogue last week sometime. My disenfranchisement w/mlb still intact as I confidently turned that pages. Then it happened.

As I scanned the last portion of the mag, my golden calf arose straight from page #10. My eye began to twitch, my hands started to tremble & I got an awful ache in my stomach.

Check it out:



It may not look like much to you, but it embodies my childhood fantasies. My idol. My hero. All for $274.99.

I was already to reach for the mastercard when I thought of some of the charities we'd been working with lately. Charities that represented people that don't even have a pot to piss in or even a window to throw it out of.

The article I read in Risen magazine by Mark Hoppus also came to mind. How he'd recently visited Tibet w/Cameron Diaz for MTV & how people there waste nothing, 'cause that's exactly what they have. Nothing. To use a plastic cup over & over again until it's completely spent, while we think nothing of it.

So here I am regretful to even admit that I long for a piece of polyester that's price could sponsor a family in Ghana through World Vision for 7 months or a boy in Brazil through Compassion for 10 months. I would have never thought of this or like this a year ago. How can this be anything but sinful?

I'm scared to death that I'll get to the end of my run & like Oskar Schindler wonder how many more could I have helped by the price brought by a ring, a car or even more disgraceful, a piece of polyester...

forgive me...

Moving On

"Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. 12If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.

I want my life to count for plenty. I don't want for my life to be wasted. I won't be erased when my physical existence ceases. This is simply not an option.

While the bread that molds & is devoured by the birds of the air is forgotten tomorrow, I pray that the seeds of my spiritual existence continue to germinate & produce the fruit that remains. I believe the lies no longer. I refuse to accept the falsehood that my pleasure & His glory are 2 mutually exclusive events. They are as homogeneous as a match on a fire.

Indistinguishable.

I couldn't believe the words that fell from my lips. The moment surreal. The offer genuine. To 1 spiritual bigot, who I really don't care for, but love.

How does this happen? This doesn't happen in the 'real' world. It happened in mine.

Lately I feel more like an observer of 1 who looks vaguely familiar. Sure, the shell looks the same, but inside something's gone awry. A good awry.

I continue to press on. To explain the paradox upon which my house stands. The physical mirrors the unseen now. Perhaps it has always tried to, but went unrecognized & had to be reeled back in & be put under proper 'subjugation.'

The spittle now still moist in my eyes, I see clearly for the 1st time. This new sight is matched with resolve to forsake the half-light for complete radiance from the Son. This place always scared me before, but not now.

Now's the time. To emerge from dimly lit lamps & blaze into the darkness. We've tried it the other way around in attempts to give the lamps their worth, but they refused to be. How worthless is a lamp that refuses to shine?

No matter.

I've got my orders. Some may be angry & not understand. This is just more of the same.

There are still miles to go before the setting of the Son. I wasted too much of the day already. I pray that I'm not too late.

I'm moving on...

Silvertide

KOTH bible study was called off for the nite. Great news in my book, but not for the reasons that you might suspect. It's not that I'm a slacker, oh well, at least not this time.

I got the call about 4:45. Jason was psyched at how well it went. After I think about, I am too. It just may go down as the most unusual bible study time in the history of Wednesday nites or any nite for that matter.

Jason & the Josh's pulled off an interview w/Silvertide who's opening for 3 Doors Down in just a couple of hours tonite. It may amount to nothing, but I just can't help but think that this is the very epitome of 'go ye therefore.' These guys aren't going to join our church or anything, but who knows what could come of this?

They got to question the guys on music, life & faith & I can't wait to hear the answers. This ain't yo' daddy's evangelism of handing out tracts & knocking on doors. This is real, God-breathed & Jesus at it's very core.

Stay tuned for the interview to follow on DW. While you wait, feel free to check out our new buds Silvertide & maybe even pray for them & their tour...

KOTH: Peggy the Boggle Champ

All Jesus did that day was tell stories--a long storytelling afternoon.

Peggy the Boggle Champ #9 (rank #57) 4/13/1997

When Peggy goes to Dallas to represent Arlen in the Texas State Boggle Championships, she brings Hank along as her coach. But Hank abandons his coaching duties and sneaks away with his friends to see the Dallas Mower Expo. Meanwhile, back in Arlen, Bobby and Luanne fear that they have ruined the house when Bobby puts a glass on a table without using a coaster.

Quotes:

Hank: There's nothing in Dallas but crackheads and debutantes!

[After losing $13 to Peggy at Boggle.] Minh: Thank you for Boggle lesson, Peggy Hill. Maybe next weekend I teach you mah-jongg. Bring your checkbook!

Analysis:

Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.

It doesn't take Hank long to forget his first love in this 1. Fortunately for him, he is allowed to experience redemption & restoration not long after his betrayal of what should be & is really important to him. He delivers the best line when he tells Peggy that it doesn't matter where he was, but that he now realizes where it is that he should be.

Peggy responds very uncharacteristcally for her, by not delving into the wrong that Hank has done, but rather allowing for his complete restoration, by her unconditional forgiveness. This example shines brightly on another who forgives kindly & completely.

They'll get to know me by being kindly forgiven,
with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean.

I don't know if you've seen the shirts, but they do ring of truth. To err is human, but to forgive is divine. This is not our original nature or disposition. Thank God He's into making all things new...including us!

Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. 10Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. 11Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

Everyone defined & included in Christ...

now that's a world with which I can't wait to make my acquaintanceship.

Up Next: Fellowship of Christian Hooters Girls

check this out...

More Christian schools opting for faith-based cheerleading

By KRISTEN WYATT Associated Press Writer

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — Bare midriffs. Short skirts. Bump-and-grind routines.



Cheerleading has strayed far from the 2-4-6-8 routines of yesteryear, and that can leave parochial school cheerleading squads wondering how to craft routines that fit their values without looking downright retro.

That's where Christian cheerleading camps come in. A growing number of Christian schools, put off by the sometimes-seductive dances and cheers taught at secular camps, are opting instead for faith-based camps and competitions. It's where Bible study meets basket tosses and the music doesn't have to be bleeped out.

Jaime Fulton, cheerleading coach at Western Christian High School in Covina, Calif., remembers going to regular cheerleading camps when she was in high school. When her Christian school squad got home, they'd have to rewrite many routines, putting them to music that didn't fit and taking out hip movements.

When she heard about the Fellowship of Christian Cheerleaders — a Lawrenceville, Ga., company that mixes religious messages with cheerleading — Fulton signed up her 20-girl squad for a camp and found it a perfect fit.

"It's very different," she said. "I would never go back to a secular camp. What we're trying to teach our girls goes against all the media, all the sexual stuff and bad sportsmanship."

At FCC camps, Fulton said, cheerleaders learn they don't have to sacrifice modesty to have hip routines: "It's not dorky. It's not '80s cheerleading. They just take out the gross stuff."

It's an approach that's growing into big business for the two leading Christian cheerleading companies, FCC in Georgia and Christian Cheerleaders of America in Winston-Salem, N.C. FCC now works with 15,000 cheerleaders a year in faith-based camps and competitions, with a staff of 100 coaches. CCA teaches 7,000 cheerleaders a year and recently built a 27,000-square-foot gym.

"We felt that Christian schools needed somewhere to go that's just for them," said Rose Clevenger, founder and president of CCA. At secular camps, "they can feel uncomfortable with the dress code, or maybe they have inappropriate music. Typically cheerleaders look like sex symbols and don't dress appropriately."

The camps work just like secular ones, but with devotional time added in mornings and nights. Most of the instructors are college cheerleaders who went to Christian schools when they were younger, and they're encouraged to talk about their faith. They tell campers that cheering is a God-given talent that can spread Christian lessons.

"We think it can even be an act of worship," said John Blake, FCC's event coordinator. "Being excellent at what you do in any facet of life, that can be a testimony about your faith."

The wholesome approach isn't just to soothe parents. Cheerleaders from Christian schools say they've felt left out at regular cheerleading camps, either because their skirts are too long or their coaches veto the music. At Christian camps, they all fit in.

"There's not the pressure," said Tracy Handey, a 15-year-old cheerleader at Humble Christian School in Humble, Texas. Handey's squad went to a CCA camp, where no one snickered at their skirts that fall to 4 inches above the knee. "I like our uniforms because they don't show everything."

In addition to cleaner music and dancing, there's also a stronger focus on good sportsmanship at Christian camps, coaches said. Handey's coach, Vicki Howell, said that the growth of competitive cheerleading has led to more taunting and off-color cheers.

When her squad placed eighth at a recent competition, but won CCA's Spirit of Competition Award for good sportsmanship, she remembers telling her girls, "That's the only trophy you'll take into heaven with you."
"My goal is not just to coach cheerleading but to make well-rounded women," Howell said.

Cary Coleman, founder of FCC, said the company is doing so well it plans to expand into churches. Many churches already have softball or basketball teams, so why not recreational cheerleading?

"We're calling it 'impact cheerleading,' to impact your community through cheerleading," said Coleman. The first church squad will be assembled at a metro Atlanta Baptist congregation this fall, with more planned. Coleman envisions a day when cheerleaders can go through a faith-based program their entire careers, from learning to cheer at church as a pre-teen straight through high school or college.

The mixture of religion and cheerleading is a natural fit, he said, because while sometimes sports programs focus on culling a few superstars for professional athletics, everyone knows cheerleading isn't a career.

"They're not going to be doing it forever," Coleman said. "We're trying to teach kids to use their talents and abilities to glorify Christ, and that's something that will stay with them a long time, maybe their whole lives."

What's next? Fellowship of Christian Hooters Girls? Are there no lengths that we won't go to to make the world safe for our own?

I'm having trouble seeing the impact that this type of withdrawal is going to have on any community besides the christian 1. Seems like more of the same to me. Does anybody want to be salt & light anymore? Or do we all just want to find the place where we all fit in & feel comfortable?

What exactly is a 'secular camp?'

Anybody else got a problem with this?

But, it's for a good cause!

What is it about the words...

"It's for a good cause."

or

"It's a Christian _____ or it's Christian _____ (fill in the blanks with your favorite garbage of choice for 'His' name)."

...that causes people to loss their minds & every bit of discernment that they would normally use if it weren't? Just because something's for charity or a good cause or a even a great cause like Christ's, does that automatically mean that we are to suspend our values of good taste & judgment & subject our bodies to unimaginative crap? Why all the bar lowering?

It's a damn disgrace!

So please...please, honestly search your heart, mind & soul & decide for yourselves if you can wear this with a straight face..



or



or



Remember...

Friends don't let friends wear/listen to/buy crap!

What Now?

"Are you listening to me? Really listening?

"How can I account for this generation? The people have been like spoiled children whining to their parents, 17"We wanted to skip rope, and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always too busy.' 18John came fasting and they called him crazy. 19I came feasting and they called me a lush, a friend of the riff-raff. Opinion polls don't count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating."

I've got no idea what people want. Maybe they don't either. All that I know for sure is that God wants my undivided attention, love, heart & devotion. I'm pretty sure that He's got it.

What else can I do?

After a Word from Our Spokesman...

If you're a fan of his, please excuse my boldness in the following. You may find it a bit presumptuous, but I don't. The 1st time I heard him, I thought that he'd make the perfect spokesman for DW. It was like he was reading my mind. After reading his book 'don't waste your life', I'm almost sure that he is. His name is John Piper & here's an excert:





When you go home
Tell them for us and say
For your tomorrow
We gave our today

I am deeply moved by the courage and carnage on Iwo Jima. As I read the pages of this history, everything in me cries out, "O Lord, don't let me waste my life!" Let me come to the end--whether soon or late--and be able to say to a family, a church, a city, and the unreached peoples of the earth, "For your tomorrow, I gave my today. Not just for your tomorrow on earth, but for the countless tomorrows of your ever-increasing gladness in God." The closer I looked at the individual soldiers in this World War II history, the more I felt a passion that my life would count, and that I would be able to die well.

As rainy morning wore into afternoon and the fighting bogged down, the Marines continue to take casualties. Often it was the corpsmen [medics] themselves who died as they tried to preserve life. William Hoopes of Chattanooga was crouching beside a medic named Kelly, who put his head above a protective ridge and placed binoculars to his eyes--just for an instant--to spot a sniper who was peppering his area. In that instant the sniper shot him through the Adam's apple. Hoopes, a pharmacist's mate himself, struggled frantically to save his friend. "I took my forceps and reached into his neck to grasp the artery and pinch it off," Hoopes recalled. "His blood was spurting. He had no speech but his eyes were on me. He knew I was trying to save his life. I tried everything in the world. I couldn't do it. I tried. The blood was so slippery. I couldn't get the artery. I was trying so hard. And all the while he just looked at me. He looked at me. He looked directly into my face. The last thing he did as the blood spurts became less and less was to pat me on the arm as if to say, 'That's all right.' Then he died."

In this heart-breaking moment I want to be Hoopes and I want to be Kelly. I want to be able to say to suffering and perishing people, "I tried everything in the world...I was trying so hard." And I want to be able to say to those around me when I die, "It's all right. To live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Thanks John...the checks in the mail.

KOTH: Shins of the Father

All Jesus did that day was tell stories--a long storytelling afternoon.

Shins of the Father #8 (rank #14) 3/23/1997



Hank's father Cotton, a sexist loudmouth who lost his shins fighting in WWII, comes to Bobby's birthday party. Peggy hates Cotton, but Bobby loves him, and starts to emulate his grandfather. But when Bobby gives Peggy a slap on the behind and orders her to make his dinner, Hank realizes that things have gone too far.

Quotes:

Bobby (mimicking Cotton and slapping Peggy on the butt): You heard me, woman, get me my dinner!

Dale: Careful Colonel, he's Japanese.
Cotton: No he's not. (Looks Kahn up and down) He's Laotian...ain't ya Mr. Kahn?

Peggy (after seeing Cotton shoot the pinnata with Bobby's gun): "You gave him a loaded shotgun!?"
Cotton: "You don't give a toy without batteries."

Bobby: "Wow! A super squirter!"
Khan: "Super squirter!"
Cotton: "This ain't no water toy, Khan! It's a 12-gauge shotgun used by the Alamo."
Joseph: "Wow, you got a real gun!"
Peggy: "And now Peggy has a real gun. You're too young to own a firearm."
Cotton: "Did you see that, Hank? Tell your woman to give him his gun back."
Peggy: "His woman? I am my own woman!"

Cotton: "How do you like your mama's new ta-tas?"
Hank: "She is not my mother! Hell, we went to kindergarten together!"
DeeDee: "Hey Hank. Do you still like fingerpainting?"

Bobby: "Miss, miss..."
Cotton: "You're not going to get no service that way! You gotta grab her in the moneymaker!" (slap waitress on the butt)
Cotton: "Hey missy! How about some samiches?"

Analysis:

He holds sons and grandsons responsible for a father's sins to the third and even fourth generation.

The title to this episode alone may remind some of Old Testament passages such as those found in Exodus, warning of the repercussions of present day sin being visited upon future generations. Although this is true, we can't be resolved to wallow in the mire of the past, while the future beckons.

Hank has to deal with honoring a father who is difficult, to say the least, & protecting the future of his family, namely Bobby. By the end of the show, Hank makes great strides in understanding the importance of his family dynamics & how extended family may require for those dynamics to be changed or guarded. As usual, it takes some doing, but Hank finally gets it & stands up for what is right for Him & his family.

When it comes to our upbringing or our past, we can't do much except learn from it. There is a great deal that we can do about our future though. After all, we're going to spend the rest of our lives there. Your parents may have stumbled in spiritual darkness, but you can walk in the light--& take your family with you!

Gideon is an example of such as this. He grew up in a family of idol worshippers. One night God told him,

"Take your father's best seven-year-old bull, the prime one. Tear down your father's Baal altar and chop down the Asherah fertility pole beside it. 26Then build an altar to GOD, your God, on the top of this hill. Take the prime bull and present it as a Whole-Burnt-Offering, using firewood from the Asherah pole that you cut down."

This had to be far from easy. Hank eventually comes to the place that Gideon did & has to take a stand. The very future of his family depends on it.

So, who's going to change your family dynamics? If not you, who? If not now, when?

Tongue Swallowing

I swore that I'd never let it happen...I was wrong.



I never wanted to be 1 of those dad's. You know the kind if you've been to the ballpark. Constantly barking at his kid, turning his head in disgust, muttering under his breath & otherwise making a complete ass out of himself.

As the tears built in my Cam's eyes, I could feel his pain pierce my soul. I'd done exactly what I never wanted to. I swallowed my tongue for the remainder of the game & hopefully the rest of the season.

I know that the game is supposed to be fun, but I can't help but feel the pull of playing it the right way & to the best of your ability. I often feel that for some strange reason we're obligated to the game in some sense, to do it a service for allowing us to participate. To provide the blemished sacrifice of anything less than our best seems inappropriate & down right shameful.

I remained pretty quiet the rest of the game & tried to collect my thoughts. How do I relate the importance of playing ball the right way to Cam & the rest of the t-ballers? How do I get them to buy into the idea that anything less than our best effort is a disservice to ourselves & our teammates?

The relationship between fun & seriousness in the game reminds me a great deal of our primary Relationship & the shades of grey between good/best, sacrifice/obedience & legalism/liberty. These issues constantly seem to be lost in 1 another & at times leave me wondering if we can ever make sense of it all. Missing the point is almost inevitable from 1 time to the next & it's at times like these that we should digress, do a little tongue swallowing & allow for Truth to reorganize our thoughts appropriately.

On the ride home I tried to refocus, myself 1st then Cam. He thought me to be mad because he hadn't blocked a ball or 2 @ 1st, when in all actuality I was disappointed because he failed to listen, be disciplined & play up to his potential. I tried to relay the fact that I didn't care if he missed a ball or 2 or 200 when he's giving it his best, but to do anything less disappoints his teammates & ultimately himself. I just didn't want for him to look back in regret over what might have been.

He did anyways. He nearly cried when they lost. I know that you may find this silly, but it breaks my heart. I hate to see my kids hurt, regardless of how big or small the injury.

Faith seems to be a lot like the game to me. The game is supposed to be a lot of fun...so is faith, you know the abundant life & all. The game has attributes that are to be respected if you want to be successful & so does faith, you know love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind & soul & love your neighbor as yourself. The game has a static place between fun & seriousness that is to be mastered to play it to it's full & so does faith, you know how the glory of God is man fully alive & this life of man is the vision of God.

Dying to the game, allows us to truly enjoy it. Knowing our role, giving it our best & fulfilling our potential even in defeat, allows us to conquer regret through obedience & live without remorse. Our walks should be no different.

Well done my good & faithful servant speaks of playing the game in this manner. I would that when I depart this field that I could leave it knowing that I held nothing back. That when I'm done my life shows that obedience was my rule irregardless to the majority rule & that I settled not for what seemed good, but held out for the best as was laid out before me. When looking back means that I fulfilled the very letter of the law by doing those things upon which all the law hangs rather than being condemned by the unfulfilled caveats that are too many to number. To live any other way is to rob God & cheat yourself.

Play ball!

It Might Be Easier For All of Us...

Anybody see anything wrong with this?

The Terri Schiavo Case
Judge Greer parts ways with his church on pastor's advice
By Times Staff
Published March 22, 2005

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLEARWATER - Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer left his church last week after the pastor wrote him a letter suggesting "it might be easier for all of us" if he leave.

Greer, whose orders on the Terri Schiavo case have brought him criticism, is a Southern Baptist who attended Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater.




Though he had other unrelated problems with the church, Greer's attendance faltered after a Baptist publication the church supported criticized his decisions in the Schiavo case. He stopped his donations to the church, but remained a member. He briefly discussed his relationship with the church in a March 6 St. Petersburg Times article.

Four days later, Calvary Pastor William Rice wrote Greer a letter: "I am not asking you to do this, but since you have taken the initiative of withdrawal, and since your connection with Calvary continues to be a point of concern, it would seem the logical and, I would say, biblical course."

Rice's letter became public when he sent a copy to the Clearwater courthouse. Rice also said the church supports keeping Schiavo alive, though he said he was "truly saddened and embarrassed by the level of harassment and vitriolic nature of so many comments that purportedly come from people of faith."

Rice, who has been pastor at the church for five months, added: "But you must know that in all likelihood it is this case which will define your career and this case that you will remember in the waning days of life. I hope you can find a way to side with the angels and become an answer to the prayers of thousands."

Greer responded with a letter severing his relationship with the church.

In The Sun

I picture you in the sun wondering what went wrong
And falling down on your knees asking for sympathy
And being caught in between all you wish for and all you seen
And trying to find anything you can feel that you can believe in

May god’s love be with you
Always
May god’s love be with you

I know I would apologize if I could see your eyes
’cause when you showed me myself I became someone else
But I was caught in between all you wish for and all you need
I picture you fast asleep
A nightmare comes
You can’t keep awake

’cause if I find
If I find my own way
How much will I find
If I find
If I find my own way
How much will I find
You

I don’t know anymore
What it’s for
I’m not even sure
If there is anyone who is in the sun
Will you help me to understand
’cause I been caught in between all I wish for and all I need
Maybe you’re not even sure what it’s for
Any more than me

KOTH: Hank's Unmentionable Problem #7

All Jesus did that day was tell stories--a long storytelling afternoon.

Hank's Unmentionable Problem #7 (rank #24) 2/23/1997



When Hank is constipated, everyone wants to offer an opinion on how to cure it. After a humiliating visit to a proctologist, he is told that unless his condition improves, his colon will have to be surgically removed. Peggy makes Hank change his diet and his living habits in an attempt to become regular again, but Hank decides he'd rather die with a burger in his colon than live and eat faux-fu.

Quotes:

Hank: (in the health food store) Do you have anything that tastes good? Health Food Store Owner: Uhh...no. Hank: I would rather die with a burger in my colon than live eating faux-fu.

Dale: "This one's guaranteed to work. You take a spoonful of baking grease..." Hank: "I am not eating baking grease!" Dale: "You didn't let me finish."

Doctor: "If you could stretch your father's intestine out, it would go around the world." Hank: "Wait a second. A piece of steak would have to shoot through at the speed of sound."

Analysis:

Hank struggles with issues of pride over the embarrassment of what he deems to be a very personal & private problem. His issues with people knowing more about him than he'd like does nothing but make matters worse as his condition exacerbates. Hank becomes so gun-shy, that he'd rather not get advice or help of any kind.

12Know-it--alls don't like being told what to do;
they avoid the company of wise men and women.

Hank is pushed to the brink & doesn't experience release until he finally opens up to Peggy. This emotional release seems to get things moving & it isn't long at all until Hank's unmentionable problem is resolved. There's a lot to be said for living transparently and the release of being freed from the emotional baggage that usually accompanies our all too valued secrecy.

Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.

"Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you."

Living a life that is freedom filled is a great start to the kind of life that Christ promises when He speaks of providing 1 of more abundance. There is no greater testimony than a life such as this. No amount of apologetics can equal this very tangible evidence of His love for us.

The glory of God is man fully alive.

St. Iraneus

Take the 8

I've heard/seen a lot of stuff lately that makes me cringe, but maybe not for the reasons that you'd think. It's all too easy to fall into the trap. To be floored by what you never saw coming is practically inevitability, but to me, it's more important what you do from there. Do you lay on the mat to be counted out or do you stagger to your feet, take the standing 8 count, regain your senses, learn from your mistakes & vow to give it another go?

This has to be the way. Anything else is cowardice. Plain & simple.

7This is scary: You can tame a tiger, 8but you can't tame a tongue--it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. 9With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image.

James 3:7-9

Does this really surprise anyone? This is not to be used as an excuse, but I would hope that it might bring a little perspective. We're asked to do the impossible, which should point the way to our dependence on Christ all the more.

I often desire a more constructive approach to dialogue, but am realistic in knowing that this doesn't always happen. I pray for patience & understanding in my interactions with my brothers & sisters. The impossibility of the matter doesn't discourage me from the course, but challenges me to be less of myself than ever.

I would that no one temper their passion or refrain from speaking frankly. The last thing we need as a body is to digress in discontent from the attempts to dialogue. We've suffered from muted sin long enough. I would rather progress at the expense of offense, than to atrophy in silence.

Everyone has been wounded in some way, shape or form in the past. If we would but continue to examine and deal with our past mistakes in pontification & learn from them as Christ leads towards the most excellent way, how can we consider otherwise? To withdraw in silence at this point would be criminal.

Take the 8...

listen...

learn...

grow...

I know I have.