What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use — men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men — men of prayer.

- E. M. Bounds

No Comments »

Apparently, New Jersey has just issued a warning to its Ringwood residents regarding the hunting of squirrels…. yep, you read right… squirrels. According to the state, the Ringwood area has a toxic waste dump that is right next to a popular hunting ground for squirrels. In recent weeks, researchers found a dead squirrel that was contaminated with lead and they have been deemed a health risk.

Are you laughing yet? Oh, trust me… it gets better.

The Department of Health, along with the Department of Environmental Protection, sent out letters to warn its residents to “eat squirrel no more than twice a week and even less for children and pregnant mothers.” (Yes, eat… as in these people are hunting the radioactive suckers and then deep-fat-frying them.) Some sources are saying that these wildlife are undergoing changes due to the toxic nature of the area and are warning residents that the squirrels are contaminated with lead, and consuming them can cause health defects.

One of the greatest quotes (in my opinion) comes from Myrtle Van Dunk, who stated “we’ve known for a long time something was wrong here, we just didn’t know what it was.” Not sure, Myrtle, but I’d guess that the squirrels shouldn’t be glowing. Heck, maybe what was wrong was that you were EATING squirrels in the first place…

So for those of you planning a trip to New Jersey, take caution… If your squirrel is glowing, has two tails, three heads, and comes pre-nuked, you may want to consider having the Caesar Salad instead…

oh, for those interested, here is a link to one of the articles about this.
http://www.topix.net/content/ap/1182678018278752136308043974640667544681

1 Comment »

Di! Ecce hora! Uxor mea me necabit!
God, look at the time! My wife will kill me!

Estne volumen in toga, an solum tibi libet me videre?
Is that a scroll in your toga, or are you just happy to see me?

Si Hoc Legere Scis Nimium Eruditionis Habes.
If you can read this you’re over-educated.

Raptus regaliter!
Royally screwed!

Si hoc signum legere potes, operis boni in rebus Latinus alacribus et fructuosis potiri potes!
If you can read this sign, you can get a good job in the fast-paced, high-paying world of Latin!

Noli me vocare, ego te vocabo.
Don’t call me, I’ll call you.

Fac ut gaudeam.
Make my day.

Utinam barbari spatium proprium tuum invadant!
May barbarians invade your personal space!

Utinam coniurati te in foro interficiant!
May conspirators assassinate you in the mall!

Radix lecti.
Couch potato.

Mellita, domi adsum.
Honey, I’m home.

Magister Mundi sum!
I am the Master of the Universe!

Te audire no possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure.
I can’t hear you. I have a banana in my ear.

Prehende uxorem meam, sis!
Take my wife, please!

Nihil est–in vita priore ego imperator Romanus fui.
That’s nothing–in a previous life I was a Roman Emperor.

Recedite, plebes! Gero rem imperialem!
Stand aside plebians! I am on imperial business.

Vescere bracis meis.
Eat my shorts.

Fac ut vivas.
Get a life.

Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam.
I have a catapult. Give me all the money, or I will fling an enormous rock at your head.

No Comments »

I have always considered God to be my refuge or shelter. A place to run in times of trouble.

Pr. 18:10 - The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run in and are safe.

He has been my hiding place, my shelter, and my safe haven during some horrible times. And it is true…He is there for us when we need Him. He will shelter and protect us when we are in need. But he wants so much more for us.

Psalms 91 - He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him will I trust.

The Father doesn’t want us running to him in times of need . . . that implies that at other times we are not with him or near him. God wants us to be with him at all times, he want us to dwell with him.

Dwell - to live or stay as a permanent resident; reside.
Abide - to remain; continue; stay: to have one’s abode; dwell; reside
Abiding implies a staying or tarrying…to remain.

To dwell is to take up residence.
The house where my mail is delivered is not just someplace I run to when a bad storm hits, although that is where I prefer to be at those times and if caught out in a storm I probably would make haste to get there. My house is my residence, my dwelling. It is where I find more than just shelter from the outside world, it is where I rest, relax, recharge; it is where I find things to satisfy my hunger and my thirst (provided I have been to the grocery store recently!); it is where I clean up, shower, shave, wash off the grime and the smell. It is where I dress; it is where I keep my stuff, all of my worldly possessions, my valuables.
It is my home.

Continue Reading »

2 Comments »

From Its a Guy Thing: Show me the Money - available March 1st
——

No lie will ever serve the purposes of God.

Truth must occupy the very core of our being. You must always be conscious of continually having to make the choice of conforming to the culture around you or insisting that the culture conforms to you.

In Benjamin Friedman’s The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth he says that as a nation gets wealthier, it’s people become more generous and more morally aware. History proves him wrong. Rome was at it’s economic high and fell into moral depravity, same with the Greeks and every other major civilization. The prosperity of any nation, company or family does not lay with the virtue of its wealth, but the wealth of its virtue.

You assassinate your own character when you, through fear of man or fear of the consequence that will result because of your own actions, lie.

Truth stands the test of time.
Truth will always prevail.
Truth will always be discovered.
Truth does not change according to your audience.
Truth is a revolutionary act in a time of universal deceit.
Truth is the standard for a man’s character.

No Comments »

I was thinking today about books that will probably never get written:

The Joys of the Catholic Church by Martin Luther
How to Underachieve by Brian Houston
The Joys of the Liturgy by Darlene Zschech
Why I speak in Tongues by John MacArthur
There is Real Hell and You are Going There If You Don’t Repent by Joel Olsteen
A Tribute to Ken Starr by Bill Clinton
My Success After Florida by Al Gore
Stewarding My Personality by Howard Dean

3 Comments »

Matthew 15:8-9 This people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines, the commandments of men.

Do you live two lives? Do you have one that everyone knows about and everyone sees, and do you have one that no one knows about; that secret life behind closed doors when no one is looking? Do you sing the worship songs with closed eyes and raised hands, and at the same time think to yourself, “I hope this doesn’t last long because there are better things I could be doing with my time?” Do you follow strict rules about how you should dress, how long your hair should be, or how much TV you should watch, in effort to win over the approval of God and fellow man?

You are merely paying God lip service. You are lying to God and to yourself. When you sing, “I’m desperate for You,” you’re really singing, “I really don’t care about You.” How can you be close to God, when your heart won’t break before Him?

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, not the other way around. You can cry out to God in a loud voice all you want, but until your heart cries out in brokenness, you’re just a loud liar. You see, man looks on the outside appearance, but God looks at your heart. Whose attention do you want? Man’s or God’s?

If you want man’s, keep doing what you’re doing. You’ll impress a lot of guys, I’m sure, but you’ll be far from God. If you want God’s, humble yourself, come before God with a broken heart, and repent. He will not deny your broken heart.

No Comments »

Victory graces those whose basic attitude is action and strength rather than vacillation and meekness, that even knowing what to do is not enough without the will to do it. Winston Churchill said “If you travel the earth, you will find it is largely divided into two types of people-people who say “I wonder why such and such is not done” and people who say “Now who is going to prevent me from doing that thing?”

Most people never move beyond there current station in life because:

First, they lacked the will.
Second, they lacked a plan.
Thirdly, they wanted perfection.

If you want to achieve all that you are called to you must mobilized while others micromanage because the details can be changed on the run, the critical need is action. Perfection for some is paralysis. They will spend weeks agonizing over the nuances of a letter, justifying inaction under the guise of perfection. And in the mean time opportunity moves on down the road and takes up residence in the house of someone far less pedantic and a lot more passionate and willing to learn on the move.

Courage is always the substance of who we truly are. This never manifests itself in day to day life, but in the heat of the battle.

The battle for our marriages, the battle for our friendships, the battle for our dreams.

If we have a clear view of what we are fighting for, then we will have the courage to fight.

What vision do you have for your children, your spouse, your your community, your job/business?

3 Comments »

One of the things that religion has done is teach us to be in bondage to mediocrity, failure, and poverty. Religion says it is a sin to achieve great things. Men all over the world are bound by that today, and as a consequence they are frustrated because of the gifts, talents and attributes they have buried in an effort to achieve spirituality. The devil is a usurper. He’ll steal everything he can from you. He’ll usurp your character and personality, and put you into bondage if you allow him. But God quickens you. He makes you alive. He plants creative ideas in your mind.
He creates desires in your heart-not worldly ones, but godly ones. And then He fulfills His will by enabling you to realize those dreams. The problem with many men is that they heard humility preached in the church, but saw inferiority practiced, and inferiority is what they learned. It’s an error in understanding. God created men to be successful-to be heroes and champions-and He placed that desire in every man’s heart, in his ego. But men who base their lives on error will never fulfill that God-inspired goal for their lives.

Continue Reading »

2 Comments »

As you know three of the staff, including myself kickbox. We train with Steve Goin at the church (he is an Olympic boxing coach and current World and USA kickboxing champ).

There is Cameron, who is a lightweight and I am very grateful he is in a different weight class than me, his hands and feet are very fast. When you fight him it is like trying to hit butter in a hot pan, he is everywhere at once.

Then there is Joni (the perpetrator of this entire episode).
Now, Joni is probably my wife’s best friend, she is my PA, the kids call her Aunty Joni. The dog even likes her. She is the first person on my 4 year olds birthday list. You get the idea. You know the plot. They make their way into your life and reap havoc.

Well any way, last night at kickboxing we are doing sparring rounds just with kicks.

And I connected with her elbows. Not once, nor twice, but a dozen times.

I thought I was kicking her gloves. But she would just lift her elbows just a bit and CCRRAACCKKKK me on the top of my foot.
So after three rounds I walk off and I notice my feet are hurting.

By the end of class I can hardly stand.
I have to sleep all night with both feet pocking out of the bed because the sheets hurt them.

She has broken at least two toes.

Now, here is the WRONG part of this whole story.

Beccy and I are going to bed and I get this text message… Oh my arms they are so sore. They are all bruised up.

She plays the sympathy card.

I know how this goes. She will come into the office with magnificent bruises. She is probably at home right now hitting herself with a broom stick. The staff will get on me. My wife won’t talk to me, her dad will be on the phone, my kids will whisper about me.
You got to remember, this woman has a DEVASTATING right hand. She has busted my nose three times and given me a black eye on at least one occasion.

So while she walks around telling look how bad the Pastor is stories, look what he did to my arms - guilt tripping me into buying her lunch for a week. All the while I have to sit around the office and preach tomorrow night in bed socks because both feet are swollen up like balloons and I can’t get my shoes on!

4 Comments »