Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Rebelution History

Joshua Harris' younger twin brothers, Alex and Brett recount the history of their collaborative blog The Rebelution in this interesting post. It's a good read for those who are unfamiliar with their blog.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Thinking Biblically about the news

My husband who is a more consistent reader of Triablogue pointed me towards this post about our collective reaction to the recent murders at Virginia Tech.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Reading and History

An interesting post by Al Mohler: David McCullough on Reading and History

Sheep on a Blog


Check out these funny, rhyming books for kids. There are other titles in the series, but these are the three I recently found. Sheep in a Jeep(my current favorite), Sheep on a Ship and Sheep in a Shop

Supposing Him to Be the Gardener

Two great posts for Resurrection Sunday.
Tim Challies has a truly edifying post about Mary and her encounter with Jesus in the garden after His resurrection for this Easter Sunday.
Tony Reinke, from The Shepherd's Scrapbook has this Easter meditation on Mary as well.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Easter Eggs Dyed with Onion Skins

This egg dying craft comes from Instructables, a website where instructions by anyone for making any and everything, known or unknown, can be found. My mom sent me the link several months ago, but I just recently took the time to explore the site.
I saw this entry Easter Eggs and thought it might interest someone preparing for the Easter holiday. What is great about this site is that the comments following the entry help you discern how well the project is explained and how successful your attempt at the finished product will be. In other words, the experienced feedback is necessary and helpful when taking on these projects. Each project comes with step-by-step pictures and detailed instructions. So go check it out and let me know if you try the Easter eggs!

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Missional

This is a thought provoking post by Irish Calvinist, Erik Raymond, entitled Note to self about sharing the gospel.
Here's an excerpt:
How differently would I live my life if I lived in France? If I was a missionary in France I would walk the streets, go to the shops, restaurants and marketplace with the expressed goal of evangelism. Sadly, I have slowly drifted away from this number one priority.
So I am encouraged greatly with this recent dose of conviction, served up by the Holy Spirit. Yesterday we were at a shopping mall and I had the opportunity to talk with two men at different stores about the gospel. Their response was so encouraging. One gentleman was saying how he has been recently identifying the fact that his religious views did not bring hope. Through our conversation he willfully admitted that the biblical gospel does indeed bring hope. This is the type of thing that flames the embers for me. In addition, last night I heard Christie on the phone evangelizing someone out of state. I know that my laziness rubs off on her, and so to my zeal. So husbands, know that you are leading and you are accountable. This scares me.
I am thankful today for an increased burden and obligation to talk of Christ to others. To see everyone I meet as a gospel prospect, those who need to hear of the love and grace of Jesus. I need to remind myself that I am a missionary here in Omaha and wherever God brings me and that my job is to at all times have my words and actions pointing to the King. Join me in praying for better eyesight to see the opportunities that God has given us, along with a more faithful and burdened heart to walk in this path of faithful and zealous evangelism.


The ensuing comments left by a poster identified as Omaha Catholic were interesting and Erik's responses are helpful

Mr. Pipes


The Children's Hour blog has produced some great book recommendations over the years. The latest series that blogger and pastor, Ray Van Neste highly recommends are the "Mr. Pipes" books by Douglas Bond,(author of the Covenant and Crown books) which starts with Mr. Pipes and the British Hymnmakers.
Van Neste also posts here about another Pipes book, Mr. Pipes and Psalms and Hymns of the Reformation.
One other note about this blog is that he will deal honestly with the books he posts about. If he likes it, he tells his readers why. If he feels that it is not a good book, he writes graciously as he explains the problems he sees with the book. His thoughtful approach to book reviewing is very helpful in saving his readers time and money on unworthy materials.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Jars of Clay


My husband and I attended a show Monday night where Leigh Nash and Jars of Clay were the main acts. We had a great time despite having to leave our sick son in the capable hands of close friends. We noted that the show drew fans of varied ages which might surprise some who think loud music and light shows are only for the "younger" crowds.
The opening act was a performance by Leigh Nash, formerly of Sixpence None the Richer, now on a solo album. She sang about six songs accompanied by two members of the Jars band who provided her with music. She has a very unique and soothing voice. It was a great way to start the night.
Following Leigh Nash was a "warm-up" band out of South Carolina, Need to Breathe. They were okay, but too loud for my tastes.
By 9pm, they had the house lights back on as they set the stage for Jars of Clay. And within 20 minutes the band was on stage, 'rockin the house'.
While I'm not a follower of the band, my husband is, so the music is played quite frequently in our house, often by my husband's guitar strumming.
So I did recognize and know most of the songs and was able to sing along on the choruses.

After performing for over an hour, the band finished up and headed off stage. But with the crowd clamoring for more and chanting "Jars-of-Clay", the band reappeared much to everyone's pleasure. They played a few more songs, including one with Leigh Nash and then they asked for song choices. As the crowd yelled out suggestions, the informal nature of the concert became more apparent. At one point, the lead singer laughingly shoved the mike towards the audience, not just to hear us sing along, which he had done several times before, but because he forgot some lyrics to the crowd-pick.

Those type of moments made the show seem unique rather than just a generic set list dictating the performance. The show finally ended around 11pm with the audience singing the last notes. It was a great night out together for us. Thanks Norma for tending our sick little boy.

God's Sovereignty over Government Paperwork

For those who know my situation, we are praising God that my health card arrived yesterday. We are also thankful that he kept me healthy during these last few months without health coverage.
Also, my American passport after being reissued a week ago without the correct name was sent back for revising. It should be arriving on my doorstep,(after being over-nighted at no expense to me)tomorrow morning. Then I will send a copy of it to Immigration Canada as another step in obtaining my Permanent Resident card.
All of this should reduce the number of documents we pack when we cross the border.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Odds and Ends

I enjoyed reading a P.G. Wodehouse novel for the first time and will be adding him to my list of great authors. Often when I am at the library, I borrow books on a whim, hoping to find a winner. Suffice to say, I did.
I found Leave it to Psmith, where the character "Psmith" has amongst other quirky behaviors, added the "silent-P" to his name as a means of separating himself from all the other ordinary Smiths. Since Psmith is a central character in several of Wodehouse's novel, he is considered to be his own series with overlaps with other series in the Wodehouse collection.
And there's nothing better I like than great characters in multiple series.

With warmer weather promised and a new backyard of my own to cultivate in the coming months, I am looking to get some seeds planted indoors. My fanciful checklist grew so long that I was forced to scale back. But after a trip to the local hardware store, I was discouraged due to the price per package for the properly marked seeds. And by 'properly marked' I mean, they actually tell you the year the seeds were packaged for. Another rack in the store was displaying the cheaper seeds, but there was no stamp indicating what year they were for. Soooo...I came home with nothing and now need to find other seeds places in the area. Fortunately, there are several notable farm and garden stores in the city, so perhaps my list can be purchased soon.

Our son has come down with a terrible cold and cough which produces the most horrendous hacking and gagging combination ever. His chest has been listened to by a doctor and it appears to be clear. So now we must wait for it to pass. If you remember, please pray for him. He is in good spirits despite this uncomfortable affliction and for that we are thankful.

My packing list has seen some items crossed off, but it has not produced that many boxes yet. As I hope to be visiting my mom for over a week starting with Easter, I will be making up the boxes later this month. I'm not worried yet, as we have most of May to finish up before we move. However, as any homemaker knows, the minutes race by the hours and dinnertime with the family always come faster than one can imagine.

The Uniqueness of God's Word

I've posted previously about Nancy Ganz's commentary set for children that I have been using and I wanted to post another exceptional excerpt. If you are not familiar with theses books, you are missing out on fantastic lessons from the Bible for children and adults alike.
In the first book on Genesis, her first lesson is about the Word of God.
She teaches the children that we as people use words in different ways, three of which she lists as 1)Writing, 2)Speaking, and 3)Thinking. She then goes on to show the children what she means by each activity. After showing how humans use words, she explains that God also uses words in those three ways as well.
Nancy shows from the Bible how God's mind is the source for the Wisdom of God which is eternal. Next she discusses how the Word of God was also spoken by God as in passages like Hebrews 11:3 and Amos 4:13. And of course, then she teaches about how God gave us His written Word, starting with the giving of the Law on two stone tablets.
This is a great lesson already, but it's her final point that I found so striking, yet so easily passed over and forgotten.
I quote:
If you treasure God's Word in your hearts, you will have it forever, but it will also overflow to others. Out of this treasure you have stored in your hearts, God's love and truth and life will flow to other people. If you have treasured God's Word in your hearts, it will be part of you, in what you think and speak and write...and do! It will be a blessing for you and for others all the days of your life. God's Word will guard you and guide you until you reach heaven, until you see the Living One, who is called "The Word of God"(Revelation 19:13).
Who is this person called the Word of God? It is Christ Jesus, our Lord. You see God did one more thing with His Word, something that we cannot do with our words. We can think and speak and write and live our words, but God caused His Word to become flesh. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning...And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us"(John 1:1,2,14). God's Word became a Man, who walked in this world with us. God sent this Man to us, who was the Word of God incarnate. He was the highest expression of God's Word and the greatest expression of God's LOVE.