Aug 29

Living Water…

Beautifully written by Karen Spann

Heavy, oppressive; any promise of breeze paralyzed and defeated in the heat, she walked. No scarf or covering could have shielded her from it; the sun intent, unrelenting; burning itself deep into her skin and beneath, as though it could see inside of her, judging her; knowing. Like the rest of them. It is good, she tells herself; this sun that beckons her; assuring her, having long ago taken the cool morning air and the others with it, baking the earth into crusted and curled scales like the skin of snakes.

Fill the jars, hot and dry; empty now, they are no burden as they are. And then… did she speak out loud? Emptiness itself is heavy; unbearable…she hears herself; what is left of her heart. Jerking her scarf over all but her eyes, she quickens her pace. The intrusion is unwelcome and angers her. There isn’t any point in such riddles.

Head down now and determined, this day like hundreds before it; she can almost find her way in the shape of the stones as they pass beneath her feet; bread crumbs lining her path; familiar. Her eyes raise only as she nears the well; ears intent on any sounds or shadows; relieved each time at the silence; only the occasional warnings of a bird circling watch over the cold and gray oasis. She considers the well, imagining herself inside it; falling, falling,, breathing stilled, quiet, quenched. Pure. Clean.

He smiles at her. Startled, she steadies herself and the jug; refusing to meet his eyes, confused, embarrassed. Caught. The noise of the rocks under her feet, she longs to turn and run, sending them flying behind her; into the air between herself and the stranger, farther and farther between them as she runs. He carries no jug or vessel. Surely he is here to make sport of her; jeer, speak to her as they all do, except in the dark, alone, secret.

Her back to Him, facing the well; she draws the water even as something draws her to stay, and desperate to go; shaking it off again, another riddle. She studies him; his face visible in the mirrored water. Hurry, she tells herself, wondering if she’ll get away in time; and frozen, immobile, unable to move; wondering at the depth of this well; this heart of hers, colder now it seems, the deeper she draws from it.

Lowered, it is filled; water rushing; turning the earthenware brown and smooth, overflowing; running over. Empty no more, for now.
Behind her, His reflection still evident in the rippled well. She doesn’t see the love in His eyes.

Heavy under the weight of her jug, she readies herself for the journey home.
And then she turns at the sound of His voice…

John 4

Aug 28

Easy recipes?

 

Here’s a new place to look for “easy” recipes.

www.crockpotgirls.com

Aug 26

Google+ Privacy?

[from http://churchm.ag/google-plus-privacy]

Google+ Plus was launched towards the end of June, and has reached over 10 million users who share 1 billion shares — per day!

Although Google+ Plus has inherently more security, there are a number of things you can do and keep in mind, to make sure you’re doing all that you can to maximize your privacy options.

Even if you have a, “let the world know” perspective, it’s still a good idea to understand just how Google+ Plus handles privacy.

1. Circles

If you’re not using Circles, you’re not using Google+. This is what sets Google+ apart from Facebook and other social networking tools. One you create your Circles, you can safely share information with specific circles of friends. Don’t worry, either, only you know who is placed in specific Circles.

2. Profile

Your profile on Google+ is defaulted to public. So, if you don’t want the entire world looking at your profile, you’ll want to change the settings so only those in your Circles can view it.

3. Search Visibility

Just like your profile, this option is set to public by default. Your profile will appear in Google search results. If you don’t want Google or any other search engine (is there any other?) indexing your profile, change this in your settings.

4. Lock Down

Here are a few privacy-related settings you may not notice:

Limit who can see who’s in your Circles.
Limit who can send you email.
Block users.

5. Select the Right Circle

Although Circles are Google+’s greatest strength, they could lead to some pretty foul screw-ups. When you create a new post, be sure you select the right Circles! It’s also good to keep in mind, that by default, Google+ will remember the Circles you selected in your most recent post, and will automatically select the same Circles used before.

6. Posts Can Go Public!

Whenever you comment on a friends’ post, their privacy settings may allow anyone to see their comments. So, when you comment, remember: It might be public!

Aug 25

a bit of perspective…

 

So today I took a look at my Google Reader feed. As usual, there are more blog posts than I want to read – so I skim. I came to this one and thought I needed to share it. You see Kelsey is not starting college now like most of her friends who graduated a few months ago. She is taking a gap year in Zambia. Go back and click the link – she talks about culture shock and she’s really experiencing it in a big way. You can support here by clicking here. Pray that God will use this time and these experiences to mold her into the person He wants. Thank Him for her safety and protection, and for her willing heart and hands.

Aug 23

Hope of the Broken World

Watch Selah’s latest title track video

In the beginning, into the darkness
The spirit moving upon the waters
You spoke the words “Let there be Light”
And out of the chaos came the promise
The universe rose and applauded
When You commanded the newborn sun to rise

You are the DaySpring
You are the Morning Star
Creation’s splendor speaks of You are
You are Salvation
You are the joy of the earth
Restoration comes
The hope of the broken world

Into my weakness, into my darkness
Your Spirit’s moving upon my heart
And You speak the words, “Let there be Light”
Into my chaos comes Your promise
The new is rising, the old has passed on
You are reviving and making all things right

You are the DaySpring
You are the Morning Star
Creation’s splendor speaks of You are
You are Salvation
You are the joy of the earth
Restoration comes
The hope of the broken world

Arise and shine
The glory of the Lord is risen
Arise and shine
The glory of the Lord is risen
Arise and shine
The glory of the Lord is risen
Arise and shine
The glory of the Lord is risen

You are the DaySpring
You are the Morning Star
Creation’s splendor speaks of You are
You are Salvation
You are the joy of the earth
Restoration comes
The hope of the broken world

Aug 22

A Professor Professes Christ in Libya

By Wayne Pederson
Special to ASSIST News Service
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (ANS) — As I’ve been watching the incredible events in Libya, I’ve been thinking about an amazing man I met last year.

He was a university professor in Libya. Even more amazing, he was a devout follower of Jesus and a university professor in Libya. Amazing, because by his estimate, there are only about 4,500 Christian believers in Libya. Most Christians have been either deported or put in prison.

95% of Libyans will never meet a real follower of Jesus. So as a Christian professor, he was a bit of an oddity among students and faculty.

Most people in that part of the world get their impression of Americans from American television and movies, such as Baywatch and Dallas. They think most Americans are rich, sex-obsessed alcoholics. And their impression is that American and Christian are synonymous.

Well, when the authorities discovered that my newfound friend was a Christian, he was immediately removed from his faculty position and plans were made for his deportation.

His loyal students and faculty friends, knowing he was a Christian, wanted to give him a Christian gift as a going away present. What do you give a Christian? Something American, right? They presented him with a DVD set of the TV series, Friends.
We chuckle at the irony, but it’s really sad. Much of the world thinks of Christianity as an American religion. And they associate Christianity with American culture, which is, this is an understatement, greatly flawed.

So how can we effectively communicate Christ when our image is so tragically associated with Hollywood. We need to present Jesus of Nazareth, a mid-Eastern man who changed, and is changing, the world.

As long as we associate Jesus with American entertainment, or American politics, we create barriers to the real Jesus. Jesus is the God of the nations. The Savior of the world

Hopefully with the change in government, followers of Jesus will have freedom to live out their lives as Jesus commanded. But whatever happens politically, we know that in the end, Jesus prevails. Every tongue, every tribe, every nation, will worship and confess that He is Lord!

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

Aug 19

HUMOR: Teaching Grandma to use chopsticks…

Aug 17

“On This Day”

 

This book gives a brief glimpse into Christian history on a specific day of the year – great if you want to know what happened on your birthday, for example. By it’s nature, it gives a limited perspective on Christian history. If you find a tidbit of information about someone you will need to research elsewhere to find out more. In my opinion this book serves as a quick read to get a person thinking about a topic or time period in Christian history. It functions well as a way to tease the past.

The information seems to be accurate and well-written. There is a Scripture on each devotional page. It seems that this book is an updated edition of a book originally published as “On This Day”.

Aug 16

modern-day Good Samaritan?

This is a real life Good Samaritan story – a story of reaching out to those who don’t have the strength to reach out themselves. It’s heartbreaking and tragic and frequent! It’s human trafficking – modern-day slavery. These girls have been trapped in the sex trade by deceit or sold by a friend or relative; and kept there by pride, fear and/or shame. They don’t see any other options – and having witnessed their circumstances, it’s easy to see how that can be their outlook.

  • Join me in praying for Usha and the many other girls like her, who don’t know hope and love and grace and mercy.
  • Pray for my friend as she walks the lanes and looks into their eyes – pray that each girl would see Jesus’ love reflected back on them. 
  • Pray for the Light to shine in such a dark place.

— shared with permission from my friend who is living and serving in Kolkata India

Oh what a week….

Some years ago, God showed me a picture of Jesus walking down the lanes of Sonagachi and picking women out of the gutters. These women were broken, abused, fearful and so full of shame. But as he picked them up and breathed life into them (Ezekiel 37 ) they began to breathe and as he tilted their head so that their eyes met his…. the shame & pain fell off as they saw the love and acceptance from Jesus

Yesterday, I tasted this picture come into being….

Last week, Alice and I had sat on Rena’s bed for over an hour, chatting, drinking tea, laughing and praying… it was glorious. Her friend also sat with us. Usha is only 30 but looks years older, she is a grandmother. The past 4 years since her husband died have been so harsh for her. As I held her hand she wept, for all that she has lost and the pain she lives in daily. My heart broke….
We arranged to meet Rena and Usha yesterday to cook lunch together in our house in Sonagachi. It wasnt to be, although we met Rena and had tea with her and chatted and prayed. Usha she told us was ‘out working’

Later in the afternoon. Alice and I were walking back home on the main road. We were struck by a horribly painful sight of a women, baring half her chest sitting in the drains and sobbing inconsolably as people just stared. We stopped and looked at each other….. Lord what do we do?
We knelt before this women and I tried to ask her whats wrong, how could we help her? She looked at me and through tears and sobs, she said in bangla, ‘its me Usha, we had tea together…..’ Oh the pain.
And as the crowd grew watching these 2 white westerners talking to a broken sobbing woman on the street, we encouraged her to come back to our house in Sonagachi for a shower and food and a place we could talk in private. The jeering, stares and mocking as we walked with her holding her sari in place to save any more humiliation. She showered and as I sat with her she looked into my eyes , such wildness and such pain. And my unspoken prayer being, ‘Lord, let her see you as she looks into my eyes, let her see your love and compassion, let her know that you are for her and not against her and you will never leave her…..’ Sadly as I went to get food for her she fled.

Prayer for Usha

  • â—¦ She will experience Jesus and his love and mercy and grace for her
  • â—¦ She wants freedom from sex trade. Wonderfully, there is a job for her in Freeset should she want it. Please pray for her to catch a hold of the hand that is being offered and run with it.
  • â—¦ Like so many of the women, Usha tries to push away the pain through alcohol abuse, please pray that this wont be what prevents her from seeking Freedom for herself
  • â—¦ Please pray for my relationship with her as we walk together in these coming days/weeks/months/years…..

Aug 13

Matt’s first touchdown!

August 13, 2011 – Matt Wyatt (#14) picks up a fumble and runs 65 yards for a TD!