Search This Blog

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

What I am reading tonight…

The Church Is Changing - A Reformation of the Church Based on the Truth of Scripture
http://www.wadeburleson.org/2011/11/church-is-changin-reformation-of-church.html

a snippet from the article:

“For many centuries established Christian churches have attempted to assume the status and function of ancient Israel's Temple worship. From massive buildings erected to inspire, to stained glass windows or elaborate decor intended to tell stories, from the priesthood of authoritative pastors/leaders who separate themselves from 'laity,' to injunctions to tithe into the storehouse of the church or risk being devoured by the devil, the modern church looks more like Old Testament Israel than early followers of Christ. The crystallization of the institutional church into Jewish modes of worship is not limited to Roman Catholicism or even unorthodox Mormonism. Baptist churches, though shouting loudly 'no creed but the Bible,' have ignored the New Testament teaching on the nature of the true church and have replicated Israel's hierarchy of priestly authority (pastors), Israel's emphasis on worship at a specific place (the sanctuary), and Israel's obligation to an 'if-then' covenant with God ('if we will obey God, then God will bless us'). The freedom of a sinner who personally, intimately and spiritually trusts Christ and experiences the power of God at work within is substituted for a form of behavioral control imposed by a spiritual authoritarian (usually a pastor) who uses Old Testament passages of Scripture to bind believers. The pastor who operates in this manner may not realize that God abolished the Old Covenant system of worship and that the early Christians were known for their radical departure from dependence on a worship place, authoritarian priests, and any religious performance through ceremony, holy days or sacrifical 'offerings.'  As Adolph Safir reminds us in his brilliant work on Hebrews: “The Greeks and the Romans were not merely astonished at, but felt irritated by the worship of the early Christians, who without image and altar, without priests and vestments, appeared to them as atheists, men and women ‘without gods’ and at times felt threated by the mysterious power Christians possessed as they rejoiced in suffering and met with calm courage the tortures of death itself” Adolph Saphir.”

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Meals are More than Food, Just Ask Jesus

Dave Black writes:

Over at the Treasuring Christ Church website Sean Cordell has posted a wonderful piece called Meals are more than food, just ask Jesus. He notes that meals are times of community, as seen in three ways:

  • Meals are places to honor one another.

  • Meals are places to serve one another.

  • Meals are places to enjoy one another.

Little wonder the earliest Christians apparently enjoyed a fellowship meal on a weekly basis

http://www.tccraleigh.org/2011/11/22/meals-are-more-than-food-just-ask-jesus/

contribution

I had this shift two years ago where I stopped thinking about my life in terms of success and started thinking of my life in terms of contribution.
I started thinking of myself as a contribution rather than as successful or not. Sean Ritchey.

http://radiofreeschool.blogspot.com/2011/04/sean-ritchey-grown-unschooler.html

what I have been reading today…

Just read this blog post – “notes from an unschooled world wanderer”.  I love her concluding paragraph.

“Through unschooling I’ve learned that, in a sense, I create my surroundings. But “unschooling” to me is only the absence of school. I am not (nor was I before) looking for something to replace the daily tribulations I encountered in school. I am simply living life. Anything I want to learn is at my fingertips because I know how to go out in the world and seek knowledge. I know how to ask questions. I know that if I want to be independent I need to support myself; and if I support myself in a way that’s fulfilling I will be infinitely happier. I know how to have meaningful relationships and I know how to communicate effectively. I know that sometimes I have to experience hard things, and that’s part of learning. I also know that I will continue learning because to stop learning is to stop living. And all of this, I learned in the last few years while I was not ‘forced’ to be in a classroom.

Life is a learning experience. The most important thing is to keep learning; in whatever way fits best.”

 

And at this blog, I love how this 12 year old owns his lifestyle, no worries about fitting in with society (something I can’t seem to shake completely).

 

“So, what do I live without, really?

After travelling for almost 2 and a half years I’ve come to realize I am unique. I am unique in the sense that I don’t have a schedule. I am unique in the sense that the rules of society don’t apply to me. I am unique in the sense that I can be spontaneous. I’ve also realized that most children (or people in general) don’t ever get a chance to break free from the system.”

Monday, November 28, 2011

time

“Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.”
– Earl Nightingale

Sunday, November 27, 2011

If the family were a church

 

Alan Knox wrote:

“People often say that the church is a family. Sometimes they think of church as family in name only. But, usually, people know that the church should actually act like family, that is, they should act like brothers and sisters.

However, what if we flipped this around? Three years ago, I wrote a post called “If the family were a church,” wondering what it would look like if the family acted like a church. I found it helpful to recognize the many ways that the church does NOT act like family.

What do you think?”

Read his illustrations and examples here:

http://www.alanknox.net/2011/11/replay-if-the-family-were-a-church/

Be the kind of person others admire, can count on, trust, and enjoy spending time with. After you have developed that reputation, people will start to ask you what you do and you will be amazed at how many people will want to work with you. You will attract others based on your character.

Scripture as Remembrance

“When a loved one is absent, especially if they are far away, we keep some pictures of them. It is an act of love, and something we need, to bring out the pictures and look at them regularly. So, when we study the words of scripture, we remember that God is real though hidden. I find that closely, slowly, repeatedly, thoughtfully lingering over the words and puzzling out their meaning and significance is what brings his Presence near.”  - Derek Leman

Saturday, November 26, 2011

“We no longer have to toil in farms and factories for the larger part of sunlight. We have an amazing gift to even have the opportunity to pursue our dreams. To squander that is a crime against yourself.” ~ Jonathon Mead

Friday, November 25, 2011

a family guide to non-conformity

http://www.thenonconformistfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/BAPebook.pdf

Community in Christ develops as we serve together

http://www.alanknox.net/2011/11/community-in-christ-develops-as-we-serve-together/

What Size Should a Church Family Be?

http://eric-carpenter.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-size-should-church-family-be.html

a recipe I don’t want to lose track of…

 

maybe I will make some of these soon  Smile

(from Jenna…)

Varenyky (Perogy)
1 1/2 cups water
3 Tbsp cooking oil
1 egg
4 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
Combine water, cooking oil and egg. Blend well. Then add 3 1/2 cups of flour and salt. Kneed dough, adding the last cup of flour until dough is smooth and soft. Put in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Let rest 20 minutes.
Roll out dough on floured board. (Thinner than pie crust and cut with a round cookie cutter ( I use a small glass cup to cut them out). Out appox a tsp of filling in center. Fold over forming half a circle. Pinch the dough ends together, sealing them. Place the perogy in a clean tea towel while making the rest.
Drop perogy into boiling water. Do not cook many at a time. Stir with a wooden spoon. When cooked they float to the top.
When freezing them, freeze on a cookie sheet and then transfer them to a freezer bag to store.

Varenyky Filling

Potato Filling
1 medium onion chopped fine
1/4 cup butter
3 cups of mashed potatoes
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup dry cottage cheese or grated chedder cheese....
Saute onions in butter, add to mashed potatoes. Let cool a bit. Add salt and pepper and cottage cheese or cheese. Mash well. Let cool completely before filling dough. * we make the filling the day before.  Also a little tip for a different taste is to add Epicures spice "Cheddar, Chive and Bacon" to the mashed potato filling too....yummy.

Sauerkraut Filling
1 QT sauerkraut
1 med chopped onion
1/2 cup oil
salt and pepper
Cook sauerkraut about 20 minutes, until done. Drain and press water out. Saute onion in oil or butter until golden then add sauerkraut, salt and pepper. Fry another 10 minutes. Let cool before making perogy.

Listening to this…

A Life of Growing Trust

Can we trust God to watch over us even if you’re not doing all we think you need to do, or even if things don’t turn out the way we hoped? Because Wayne and Brad couldn’t get their schedules together, Wayne invites Renee Lockey, an OB-GYN from Austin, TX and a previous guest on The God Journey, to be the guest co-host for a conversation that began in Wayne’s living room about growing to trust God in the real issues of and opportunities of life. The conversation explores the joy of finding community with other brothers and sisters in less managed environments, how busyness an distract us from what’s most important in our lives, and dealing with the nagging accusation about whether or not we are “doing enough” to be part of what God is doing in the world.

http://thegodjourney.com/2011/11/25/a-life-of-growing-trust/

It is the nature of man to revere the man who has the most money.
It is the nature of God to revere the man who has the most heart.
~Nathaniel Bronner Jr.~

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

“Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens. If you have them, you have to take care of them! There is great freedom in simplicity of living. It is those who have enough but not too much who are the happiest.” — Peace Pilgrim
"Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree."
-Marian Wright Edelman

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Lukewarm people don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. ~ Francis Chan

"Love is the felt experience of connection to another being. An economist says 'more for you is less for me.' But the lover knows that more of you is more for me too. If you love somebody their happiness is your happiness. Their pain is your pain. Your sense of self expands to include other beings. This shift of consciousness is universal in everybody, 99% and 1%." ~ Charles Eisenstein

I am thankful

Each day I am thankful for nights that turned into mornings;
Friends that turned into family;
Dreams that turned into reality and
Likes that turned into love.
~~ Unknown

if you love someone…

Found this video this morning on FB.  He is connected to the Occupy Wall Street movement (which I know almost nothing about).  But I am encouraged by what he says as it relates to humanity, he echoes what we have learned from Scripture.  Have a listen.


 

"If you love someone, then their happiness is your happiness. Their pain is your pain. Your sense of self expands to include other beings. That's love -- the expansion of the self to include the other." Charles Eisenstein

 

"Love is the felt experience of connection to another being. An economist says 'more for you is less for me.' But the lover knows that more of you is more for me too. If you love somebody their happiness is your happiness. Their pain is your pain. Your sense of self expands to include other beings. This shift of consciousness is universal in everybody, 99% and 1%." ~ Charles Eisenstein

Monday, November 21, 2011

education

“Education would be so much more effective if its purpose were to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they don’t know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it.”

– Sir William Haley

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Saturday, November 19, 2011

life is but a brief moment

“Life is but a brief moment. The years go by quickly and old age arrives suddenly before we have an inkling. People desire so many things and waste their days in vain. Some yearn for gold, others for power, yet others for glory and a higher station. But when death’s moment nears and they look back at their lives they’ve lived, they realize they’ve been happy only during those moments when they’ve loved.”
~Borje Vahamaki

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

“church is not a business, nor a building. It's not a weekly event to attend, nor just an organization or corporation.”

 

 

A thought provoking article about church as business – (http://cole-slaw.blogspot.com/2011/11/church-no-longer-business-as-usual.html?spref=bl).  I liked this portion of the article:

In the Bible the church is not defined but instead is described with pictures: a flock, a field, a family, a body, a bride, a branch, a building made of living stones. Never is it described by the pictures we typically have today: a building (w/ and address made of the non-living stones with stained glass a steeple and a sign with a logo), a business, a school or a hospital. We have substituted an organic and life producing view for an institutional one that does not produce life but at best simply tries to preserve it and contain it...
...The predominate way of seeing the church today contains, conforms and controls the people. The biblical pictures of the NT are all about releasing and reproducing the life of the church...

Monday, November 14, 2011

a mother’s mission

 

M Mothering with passion!
I Inviting God into every situation I face today!
S Serving with joy, even in the routine and mundane!!
S Saturating my husband and children with love and encouragement!
I Intercepting the devil's attacks with prayer and praise!
O Overflowing with joy and thankfulness!
N Nurturing my children with God's anointing!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Do You Need to Diversify Your Income Sources?

 

Do You Need to Diversify Your Income Sources?

The short answer is yes. For the long answer, keep reading.

The 1950’s Equation for Success:

  • Get through school
  • Go to college
  • Get a decent-paying job
  • Get married
  • Buy a house
  • Have beautiful children
  • Retire on your company’s dime
  • Live happily ever after

The 21st Century’s Equation for Success:

  • Get through school, based on a seriously outdated curriculum adopted during the industrial time period that is mostly irrelevant to the digital age
  • Get through college, preferably without selling one of your kidneys or becoming so riddled with student loan debt that you have to spend the next 30 years digging yourself out

Wait, next is the really fun part…

click on the link to finish reading the article –>

http://www.nateriggs.com/2011/02/28/do-you-need-to-diversify-your-income-sources/content-marketing-consulting#comments

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Poor Piggy :o(

 

100_3115

Deanna Schrock

Tears fill my eyes
As I lay you to rest
Back to earth you go
I wish you the best...
For a short time you were with me
Now left you have
I believe there's a heaven
For even pigs I have...
My heart fills with sorrow
As you pass away
But always I love you
No matter the day...
Good bye my sweet little pig, I only knew you for a day, but that day was wonderful :)


RIP Miracle ♥

100_3116