You May Have Noticed

But now I am saying it this blog is "Dead". I might bring it back if the mood strikes me, but for now, please take this opportunity to enjoy something completely different.

Blogger

I could hardly be called a Blogger. I am more of a Squatter. I don't have any good pictures to post or thoughts to shout out. So squat I shall.

To Quote: "neither hope nor desire of recovery."

God wants elect men, men of whom self and the world have been severely crucified. Their bankruptcy has so totally ruined self and the world that there is neither hope nor desire of recovery. God wants men who, by this insolvency and crucifixion, have turned toward Him with perfect hearts. Power Through Prayer ~ E.M. Bounds 

Late for me

Trolling through the internet at 10:30 p.m. doesn't do anything for me. I don't find anything more than what I need to know or couldn't wait to find out the next morning. Then I find this post from May and I lose focus on the screen. It is almost like I am reading a horror movie review. I don't even know how I would begin to handle that kind of event/earthquake/WTF in my life. So here is my question that rings fierce now, but will fade to a dull memory by morning, What am I doing here instead at my bed on my knees?

This morning's text is my comfort.

Psalm 23
A Psalm of David.

Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul: He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah for ever.

John 10:1-19

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.  This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture. The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, beholdeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf snatcheth them, and scattereth them: he fleeth because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me, even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice: and they shall become one flock, one shepherd. Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment received I from my Father.

Retweeting the Internet Monk

More things to think about. I have been caught trying to decode God and his actions. This post is a good slap on the wrist to KNOCK IT OFF.

RT: Rain City

This ain't twitter, but the thought is the same. I grabbed this post from Pastoral Musings because his thoughts ring true for me.

Trippel

I didn't know that beer could taste like this. Good.

Walla Walla

I was invited to run around wine country with my Mom and brother this last weekend. I found this place and it was my favorite spot. If you haven't been to Walla Walla, it is a worth while spot to hang out for a day or three or even more if you have the time and money to spend on vino.

A list of 10

Ideas sought here. If you had to take stuff on a walk in the city, what would you take?

To Quote

"A thing may be too sad to be believed or too wicked to be believed or too good to be believed; but it cannot be too absurd to be believed in this planet of frogs and elephants, of crocodiles and cuttle-fish." - Maycock, The Man Who Was Orthodox

Postcards

I like postcards. I like the limited format that they offer. I like the picture on the other side. I found a place on the internet that opens the world of postcards in a whole new way. Check it out here if you like postcards too.

My daughter the Hero?

Her: It's for you. Hands me a flower
Me: Thank you.
Her: It's the antidote to save your life. Skips off.

Playing with a new blog site

I don't know if I will make a switch, but so far I like what I have found at Tumblr. Here is a new post, over there.

More

What we need is one more.

The written word.

It isn't a zine, but the thoughts of my time on the streets of ministry hide within that little black book. The second tip is the black liquid in the cup. It keeps me on top of things in the afternoon. I am thankful that God has given me both.

amen

This world is not simply a theater for individual conversion narratives, to be discarded at the end when we all go to heaven. No, the ultimate purpose of Jesus is not only individual salvation and pardon for sins but also the renewal of this world, the end of disease, poverty, injustice, violence, suffering, and death.

From The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

The whores all seem to love him

"This man receives sinners and eats with them." I have not read this book yet, but having just learning the definition of this word has given me some new eyes for this little gem.

Eastertide

Now that we are in the easter season, I would like to open a couple of ideas. First I would like to offer more sacrifice of the flesh that isn't just "don't eat, don't touch, don't taste." Second, more opening of my storehouse, not that I have much, but I don't have the gracious spirit that the power of the resurection should incite. Third...I am too lazy to write it down, so if you want a cup of coffee you can ask for it, and I would love share #3 with you.

Thought Experiment

If Christians were known for taking in the sick and poor "back in the day" What would a congregation look like?  I am not thinking of the actions of the group but their physical state.

Here's why, I was listening to a woman talking about growing up in Kenya and as a child seeing late stage diseases that here would never be allowed to progress. A child with a cleft pallet was the example she used. So my mind fluttered off to the early roman Christians who would be grabbing the babies from the garbage pile, the lepers, the broken bones that didn't get set correctly and thought about these brothers and sisters being "beautiful feet" brining the good news.

Hmm.

Some days it just is.

And it's hard to step out on them waves
Hard to walk beyond your vision
Oh Lord, it's hard to be a man of faith 


Well, His eye's on the sparrow
And the lilies of the field I've heard
And He will watch over you and He will watch over me
So we can dress like flowers and eat like birds

Gravity Check

One of my favorite S&G songs and a fine way to save my place.



"Let us be lovers we'll marry our fortunes together"
"I've got some real estate here in my bag"
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies
And we walked off to look for America

"Kathy," I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
"Michigan seems like a dream to me now"
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've gone to look for America

Laughing on the bus
Playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said "Be careful his bowtie is really a camera"

"Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat"
"We smoked the last one an hour ago"
So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field

"Kathy, I'm lost," I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all gone to look for America
All gone to look for America
All gone to look for America

January 22, 1973

So many people I will never know .

Theft

My daily reading brought me to a set of questions that needed attention.  So I have taken a very short amount of time and just as little thought answering them. You will notice that some of the questions have been changed to fit my particular circumstances.


1) How is it that I am strong enough to carry my 18 month old daughter in my arms but I am not strong enough to hold her down to change her diaper? 
A. It all has to do with the physics of willingness on the part of the beholden. She wants to be holden.

2) How can wearing socks often be the difference between my being warm or cold? 
A. Heat escapes from the feet and head. In my case, when sleeping I can't wear socks because they make my legs hurt. I don't know why.

3) Why can I play basketball for 3 hours straight but if I go for a run I am ready to die after 2 minutes? 
A. I don't play basketball. March Madness for me is nothing more to me that too many months in the rain.  And I my death meter runs out after 4 minutes.

4) Why are 4 year olds so smart and inquizative and teenagers the opposite? 
A. Teenagers don't want to look stupid. 4 year olds can't look stupid in their own eyes.

5) Why do dogs and kids listen so well unless they don't feel like it? 
A. I'm sorry, what were you saying?

6) When the price of a barrel of oil doubles, why does the price of gas at the pump quadruple? When the price of a barrel of oil drops 70%, why does the price of gas at the pump go down 30%?
A.  This has to be answered by any internet conspiracy theory , make your own, it's fun.

7) Is the sound of angels singing in heaven as good as the belly-laugh of a toddler?  
A. Not even close.

8) How can beer and coffee taste so good when the first time you try them they taste so bad? 
A. It is hard to like coffee and beer when you are 14.

9) When did it become unsafe to put 6 kids in the backseat of a car without seat belts or unsafe to ride in the back of a pickup truck?  
A. My question is this: How did we survive our parents raising us?

10) How is it that I was raised without computers, internet, cell phones, starbucks, and Chipotle burritos but I am not sure life would go on today without them? 
A. Addiction, sweet sweet addiction.

Stoopid books, you go squish now.

So far my lust for new books has led me here .