Dec 09
Book Review: Grace by Max Lucado
Grace…
Such a big word to only be 5 little letters. It’s a subject that even a child can understand, but we never fully grasp the full meaning.
Max Lucado does a great job, as usual, of crafting the narrative to keep the reader involved and intrigued. He suggests that grace is available to all – and needed by all. Yet it is only effective to the extent that we allow it in our lives.
The book itself is well-written and easy to read. It has resources that easily lend it to a study or discussion group. It could also be used as a devotional book – and is well-suited to be a gift book.
Here are some questions posed – and answered – in this book about grace:
Do we really understand it?
Have we settled for wimpy grace?
Do you believe in grace?
Have you been changed by grace?
Are you softened by grace?
Has grace snatched you by your neck and shaken you to your senses?
The book is fleshed out with the author’s personal stories about grace, along with the stories of others. It accomplishes it’s purpose as we meditate and reflect on grace – how it affects us personally and the effect of grace in the lives of others.
Nov 26
5 Minute Challenge – Kazakhstan
Following the example of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan adopted new religious legislation.
Kazakhstan’s prime minister Karim Masimov officially signed the laws on September 1, 2011 and within a month they were unanimously passed by the lower and upper house, with only minor amendments. The drafts were then sent to president Nursultan Nazarbaev to be signed into law.
These drafts consist of two parts. The first one is completely new and replaces the 1992 legislation on religion; the second amends nine other existing laws touching on religion – bringing them into line with the new religion law and imposing harsher punishments. Together this legislation restricts religious activities to a great extent. Both laws were drafted by the government’s Agency of Religious Affairs (ARA), with no advice sought from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), as in previous cases.
While the 1992 version was named “The Law on Freedom of Religious Confession and Religious Associations”, the new Law is officially titled “The Law on Religious Activity and Religious Associations.” The dropping of the term ”freedom”’ in the title is significant.
Since this law has passed, more than 200 out of approximately 660 churches are being closed down.
- Pray:
- For protection on all evangelism and outreach activities, especially among young people.
- For those involved in distributing Bibles and Christian literature.
- For wisdom for church leaders trying to register their churches with the authorities.
Nov 18
Fear Not!
To those who think your prayers have all been
worthless, to those who think your chains are yours for
life, to those who think you cannot leave the darkness
and bring your brokenness into the light,
Fear not, our God is with us, Emmanuel; redeeming
love has come, Fear not, we have a Savior, and nothing
is impossible with God, fear not.
Come bring Him all your worries for tomorrow,
surrender all the things you can’t control. He will be
your joy through ev’ry sorrow, the Prince of Peace that
whispers to your soul;
Our hearts will not be troubled, our God has overcome.
Our hope will not be shaken, look what the Lord has
done. Our hearts will not be troubled, our God has
overcome. Our hope will not be shaken, look what the
Lord has done, look what the Lord has done, look what
the Lord has done.
Oct 02
That divine cry rings in our ears…
[taken from http://www.indybikehiker.com/2012/03/divine-cry-rings-in-our-ears.html]
“Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer once found himself walking through the streets of Kolkata, India, so enraged by the poverty that he wanted to scream at God, ‘How can you allow such suffering?'”
“Then he came to a powerful realization: ‘In the suffering of the poor God was screaming at me, in fact at all of us and at our institutions and social systems that cause and perpetuate hunger, poverty, and inequality.'”
“That divine cry rings in our ears, exhorting us to engage these mighty powers in the strength of the Holy Spirit, that human life might become more fully human.”
– Walter Wink in The Powers That Be
Sep 27
Do you march to a different beat?
Great feat of unity or death of individuality? Pay attention to the guy in the last column on the right. [It takes about 4 minutes to watch this, but it’s weirdly mesmerizing – and there is a point.]
How it happens: When a metronome is ticking in sync with the tables movement it’s being assisted, when it’s out of sync it’s being resisted. Give it enough time and they’ll all eventually fall into place and the more that are in sync the stronger the force becomes and it forces the rest to fall into line faster.
Same effect as Millennium Bridge
Psalm 26
Clear my name, God;
I’ve kept an honest shop.
I’ve thrown in my lot with you, God, and
I’m not budging.
2 Examine me, God, from head to foot,
order your battery of tests.
Make sure I’m fit
inside and out
3 So I never lose
sight of your love,
But keep in step with you,
never missing a beat.
4-5 I don’t hang out with tricksters,
I don’t pal around with thugs;
I hate that pack of gangsters,
I don’t deal with double-dealers.
6-7 I scrub my hands with purest soap,
then join hands with the others in the great circle,
dancing around your altar, God,
Singing God-songs at the top of my lungs,
telling God-stories.
8-10 God, I love living with you;
your house glows with your glory.
When it’s time for spring cleaning,
don’t sweep me out with the quacks and crooks,
Men with bags of dirty tricks,
women with purses stuffed with bribe-money.
11-12 You know I’ve been above board with you;
now be above board with me.
I’m on the level with you, God;
I bless you every chance I get.
Sep 21
HUMOR: Creative Problem-solving
[From: Creative Problem Solving]
There are SEVERAL ways to solve a problem. For example,
consider the following from “The Teaching of Elementary
Science and Mathematics” by Alexander Calandra:
The process of creativity is a mysterious and interesting
one. It is brilliantly described in the following story. A
student refused to parrot back what he had been taught in
class. When the student protested, I was asked to act as
arbiter between the student and his professor.
I went to my colleague’s office and read the examination
question: ‘Show how it is possible to determine the height
of a tall building with the aid of a barometer.’
The student had answered: ‘Take the barometer to the top of
the building, attach a long rope to it, lower the barometer
to the street and then bring it up, measuring the length of
the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the
building.’
A high grade is supposed to certify competence in physics,
but the answer did not confirm this. I suggested that the
student have another try at answering the question. I gave
the student six minutes, with the warning that his answer
should show some knowledge of physics. In the next minute he
dashed off his answer, which read: ‘Take the barometer to
the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof.
Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then,
using the formula S = {frac 1/2}a{sp 8}t(2), calculate the
height of the building.’
At this point, I asked my colleague if he would give up. He
conceded, and I gave the student almost full credit.
In leaving my colleague’s office, I recalled that the
student had said he had other answers to the problem, so I
asked him what they were.
‘Oh, yes. There are many ways of getting the height of a
tall building with the aid of a barometer. For example, you
could take the barometer out on a sunny day and measure the
height of the barometer, the length of its shadow, and the
length of the shadow of the building, and by the use of a
simple proportion, determine the height of the building.’
Fine, I said. And the others?
‘Yes. Take the barometer and begin to walk up the stairs. As
you climb the stairs, you mark off the length of the
barometer along the wall. You then count the number of
marks, and this will give you the height of the building in
barometer units. A very direct method.’
‘Finally, there are many other ways of solving the problem.
Probably not the best is to take the barometer to the
basement and knock on the superintendent’s door. When the
superintendent answers, you speak to him as follows: “Mr.
Superintendent, here I have a fine barometer. If you will
tell me the height of this building, I will give you this
barometer”.’
Sep 20
Major windstorm – resorting to a rope?
Just stay inside and wait it out people! 🙂
[http://twentytwowords.com/2012/09/20/using-a-rope-to-cross-the-street-in-112-mph-winds-9-pictures/]
Montevideo, Uruguay was hit with a windstorm yesterday with gusts reaching 112 miles an hour. In such dangerous conditions, I’m not sure what would be on the other side of the street that would compel you to walk there.
But enough people needed to keep going about their daily business that (at least in this one spot) they tied a rope along a crosswalk between two buildings to hold on to as they crossed…
Sep 11
book review: Unglued
Disclaimer: I have not read this book – at least not cover-to-cover. However, I’ve been following the discussions on it and particularly have followed Lysa TerKeurst’s postingsabout it – from writing drafts to its publication. It’s quite a topic she’s tackling!
Unglued – Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions
Here is my analysis from a little online assessment about communication in relationship…right on target, don’t you think?
Pam’s Result
Stuffer who build barriers
In this relationship you do not express your hurt feelings but instead you build a barrier within the relationship. You don’t like conflict and feel the need to protect yourself from further frustration or hurt. The other person knows something is wrong because of the way you’ve pulled back emotionally in the relationship. But you continue to say, “I’m fine,” even when you’re anything but okay. Lysa TerKeurst’s Biblically-based book, Unglued, will help you break free from barriers that shut down communication. Your relationships will dramatically improve when you know how to establish healthy boundaries where you feel safe enough to communicate honestly, even in times of conflict.