My 53rd Birthday Thoughts

"In him (Christ) was life and the life was the light of men. John 1:4  Send the light. Shine on me. 

If the Holy One does not reside and reign within me here at home... I would not presume to miraculously encounter him on Iona, or in church, or in the supermarket.

What makes a holy place? What makes a place truly thin? Before all else, he answer lies in our own internal landscape. Indeed, the first and best thin place must be our own souls. When, by the grace of God, that which has separated us from him has been removed, we can encounter the Holy One himself in freedom and friendship. Scripture tells us that the veil in the temple was literally torn in two when Jesus was crucified; we now have free access to the Holy of Holies... If we truly want to be open to God and hope and seek for more of him in our lives, we can find him ever nearer and ever dearer in the thin places of our spiritual landscape. Thin Places: An Evangelical Journey into Celtic Christianity, Tracy Balzer, pp 38,39

Lord, I want more of you.

And the cherry pie was really good. Thanks, Bev.

The Worst of Failures

"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure." - George Edward Woodberry

This quote reminded me of a couple experiences I've had. While living in Managua I felt I should do some teaching and support of worship ministries in Bluefields on the "Atlantic coast, but I never did because I never had the money. How wrong I was! Later God challenged me as he let me know that it wasn't that the worship seminars never materialized because I didn't have the money. The reality of the situation was that I never had the money because I never followed through with the worship seminars. Mmmmm.

A few years later, as I began to perceive the need to do a series of praise, worship and prayer meetings in 8 different cities of Nicaragua, I remembered the situation with Bluefields and God's response to my excuse. For this ministry project I needed a very large sum of money and I needed it fast. I decided that I was not going to fail by not trying. I was going to go for it and if it resulted in defeat, at least I was going to have tried. I wasn't going "to die" lying down.

We were not defeated, but even if we had not been able to achieve the complete project we wouldn't have been failures, because we had walked with God and we had connected with His grace and purpose. As George Woodberry said, "Not to have tried is the true failure." The end of the story is that all of the time, the money, and the participants came together and the whole project, Proyecto Josafat, was a God moment. All the needs were met and we visited eight cities in the four corners of Nicaragua. People were touched and we impacted the history of Nicaragua.

God is waiting for his sons and daughters to move by faith, step out of the boat and walk on the water. I am sure that if more of us would take this risk there would be fewer and fewer failures in the Christian world. Instead, we would see the true Kingdom of Heaven advance in greater and more spectacular ways because nothing is to hard for the LORD.

A Few Good Quotes From Our Past

James Madison - "If men were angels, no government would be necessary."
Thomas Paine - "That government is best which governs least."

Woodrow Wilson - "The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people."
Ronald Reagan - "We are never defeated unless we give up on God."

An Interesting Thought

"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition." - Timothy Leary

 

Very interesting for at least two reasons:

 

1. A woman has her own special value in just being a woman, created different than a man. She has her own special characteristics, such as a more caring heart, a perception or intuition that man doesn't typically have, etc.  Why seek to be equal with men? Be who you are! special and unique.

2. Galatians 3:27, 28 "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." God already made us equal in His sight. What do we have to accomplish?

 

This is not to avoid the just application of the law for just and equal treatment, but that is a totally different topic. In fact, from a Christian male perspective I believe that women should receive special and preferred treatment. Peter mentions that they are the more fragile gender and should receive preferential treatment and care from their husbands.

 

I'm thankful for my awesome wife, the woman of my life. She deserves much more credit and recognition for great accomplishments in the Kingdom of God than I do. She far exceeds me in every area of life.

 

I love you Beverly!

Have a Good Day

"If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day." - John A. Wheeler

Humps and Who We Are

"Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel." - G. K. Chesterton

Absurd

"Only exceptionally rational men can afford to be absurd." - Allan Goldfein

The Existence of God

Whoever it was who searched the heavens with a telescope and found no God would not have found the human mind if he had searched the brain with a microscope. - George Santayana -

Enjoy Life

There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. - George Santayana -

Evolution

In relationship to evolution, "it is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man." - HL Mencken

The Future

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." - Alan Kay

Progress

"Those who speak most of progress measure it by quantity and not by quality." - George Santayana

This quote serves as a reminder that quantity is not all there is and quality is not an excuss for no quantity. Where there is quality there will be quantity of some measurable sort. Yes, there can be quantity without quality and I have seen that over and over in so many different ways, but quality in the long run will always result in quantity.

I guess I read this quote in a bit of a scarcastic mode as if to say that quantity is not all there is.

Thoughts on Taking Risks by Babe Ruth

"Don't let the fear of striking out hold you back."

"Every strike brings me closer to the next home run."

"If I'd just tried for them dinky singles I could've batted around .600."

"Yesterday's home runs don't win today's games."

"You just can't beat the person who never gives up."

Babe Ruth

Risk

"Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death." - James F. Byrnes

Uniqueness

"Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else." - Margaret Mead

Taking a Risk

"If at first you don't succeed... so much for skydiving." - Henry Youngman

How to Learn

"When one teaches, two learn." Robert Half

2 Quotes - Bondage / Truth

“Bondage is...subjection to external influences and internal negative thoughts and attitudes.”

"Truth will always be truth, regardless of lack of understanding, disbelief or ignorance."

William Clement Stone

More on Trust

"A person who trusts no one can't be trusted." Jerome Blattner

"It is an equal failing to trust everybody and to trust nobody." English Proverb

"A man who doesn't trust himself can never really trust anyone else." Cardinal De Retz

Mediocrity

"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius."

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, (Sherlock Holmes) Valley of Fear, 1915 British mystery author & physician (1859 - 1930)