HARMLESS THOUGHTS

I just heard about a Twitter Scam.  I guess it comes via e-mail and sends you to a site that looks like Twitter ... but it isn't.  You are asked to sign in, so when you do, this site obtains your username and password! I took a screen shot of what it looks like. (Notice the URL.) (click the image to see larger version) If you didn't know this already, this is an example of phishing.  Here is a video on phishing from the site called Common Craft : (It is worth a watch!) This is another reason why I am glad that I use Google Chrome .  When I tried to go to the site so I could get the screen shot, Chrome stopped me.  This is what i saw: I learned about this particular scam through Free Technology for Teachers .

(This week's challenge:   Well Groomed ) Don't ask which one is well groomed!

20 years ago, this Halloween, I went on a date with a beautiful girl.  If that girl's name wasn't Charity, I could get into trouble for this post... but it is, and I can honestly say that I love her more today than I have at any other time. It just continues to grow and develop in ways I couldn't have imagined. I was driving home a couple of months ago and I was listening to the song, Hey there Delilah , thinking about my wife.  I don't know why.  My wife wasn't in New York... I wasn't a thousand miles away... And I most definitely couldn't pay the bills with my guitar!  But there was just something about it that reminded me of her. Maybe it was when he said, "Times Square never shined as bright as you." or "I'd walk to you if I had no other way." (the 1000 miles in mind) I think it is those little things.  They remind me of her in small ways.  From the greatest epic love story to those little crushes, they have all become focu...

In our Adult Sunday School Class we are going through R.A. Torrey's book on prayer.  It has been OK, but not my favorite old book.  The concept of prayer, and our discussions on prayer have been really good though.  I have thought more about my prayer life in the last few months than I have at any other time in my life.  I have been convicted at my lack of prayer and motivated to question what it is that I am really praying for. For example, when I pray for the church, and I pray that God will bring visitors:  The reality is that I am praying for some change within myself and those around me.  I am praying that God will make me the sort of person who is sharing the truth of the Gospel... unashamedly.  Just like when Jesus encourages his disciples to pray for workers in the harvest, and then turns around and sends those same disciples out to work (Matthew 9:35-10:10).  Even though God can use a phone book to bring people to church (which happened...

From the Chicago Tribune : Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate have spent the spring, summer and fall grappling with how to fix the health care system. They're still trying to craft a bill they can sell to Americans -- or even explain in plain English. And the Republicans? Well, as the minority party, they're mainly on the sidelines. They've become the party of "no," sniping at every Democratic health care reform idea without promoting any of their own. Right? Not entirely. Over the summer and fall, Republicans in the House and Senate have introduced six -- yes, six -- health care reform proposals. You didn't hear? Well, those plans didn't produce much of a ripple because Democrats dominate the Congress. ( Read the Rest ) Six Health Care Reform Proposals from the Republican party. I haven't heard about any of them! Have you? It is amazing to me how one sided the media is! Jim DeMint's blog has the same article .

Logic and Mathematics Metaphysical truths Ethical beliefs Aesthetic judgments Science itself [HT: 22 Words ]

I have a Google Voice Number. Wow, I feel like I am at a Google-holics anonymous meeting! It is true though.  I love Google stuff:   Gmail , Calendar , Documents , Reader , Wave , Search , Blogger , Voice , and Google Apps !  (There are actually more, but I don't want to lose you right away. Google Voice just made it possible to have all of your voice mail from your cell phone go to the Google Voice Voice mail.  Now I will get all of my voice mails in one place!  I would bore you with the details, but instead I will steer you to this little movie: So, there you go.  Now when you call me... no matter which number you call you will be getting your voice transcribed! [HT: Google Blog ]

Here is the next house that we are looking at. View Larger Map That last one just wasn't going to work.  There were too many unworkable variables involved with the last one. I was almost ready to make an offer, but I just didn't feel right about it. This new one actually has more square footage than the last one.  I has a two car garage.  It is a lower price, but a nicer neighborhood.  We made an offer on Friday, so now I am simply waiting to hear what the owners are going to do.

I just received my invitation to preview Google Wave . I jumped on it... like I do with most Google stuff... but now I don't know what to do.  I clicked everything that I can click and moved everything I could move... but I wasn't all that excited.  I think that wave is geared toward the "community" experience.  So... If you would like an invitation to Google Wave , let me know.  I have 18 invites remaining.  I don't think they send you something right away, but according to them, "Google Wave is more fun when you have others to wave with..." Leave your e-mail in the comments or e-mail me . If you are already using Google Wave , wave me something or add me to your contacts!

Every Saturday I start thinking to myself... "What have I gotten myself into?" Then I get to Sunday morning and I really start thinking that, but saying... "Well, I am here, and Lord... If something good is going to come of this... It is going to have to be YOU." I have that mental awareness of my need to depend fully on God, but the recognition of my own shortcomings, which will sometimes increase my dependence on God, will at other times bring doubt. After the service today, I was left wondering... I sat down at the computer to start browsing some of my favorite blogs through Google Reader . The very first one I ran across was Challies.com who had just done a post titled " A Minister's Strength ". In that post he quoted a prayer from The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions , which you may know, if you frequent this blog, is one of my favorite books. The prayer which he quoted is one that I hadn't noticed bef...

First Baptist Christian School Class of 1990  |  Promote Your Page Too

Yesterday's sermon came from Matthew 5:17-20. I have been impressed so much with the truth of the Gospel as I have gone through the Sermon on the Mount and this week hasn't been any different.  I did feel that this week's could have been a little controversial, but I haven't heard any negative reports yet. If you would like to take a listen, you can find the audio of all of the Sermon on the Mount sermons by clicking here .  Feel free to give me your thoughts or opinions in the comments section. If you would like to subscribe to all of the sermons from Edgewood, then visit this blog: http://audio.edgewood-danville.org .

Just because I found out that you could embed street views... View Larger Map

Here is the house that we are looking at: View Larger Map We are still doing a little research before we make an offer, but we are leaning in this direction. I am going to find out about the power bills today, and we are doing a little background research on the neighborhood. It is a really cool house. There is one full bath and two half baths, three bedrooms, living room, dining room, sun room, attached garage, plus... the basement is basically like a one bedroom apartment, complete with kitchen... Then there is a finished attic with a spiral staircase in one of the bedrooms going up to the top. It is also a quirky, odd house. My wife, of course, loves it. I just struggle with the other stuff: What direction is the neighborhood going? Is it going to be a money pit? Can my wife take a walk and feel safe? etc. Here is the listing .

What are they expecting to hear today?

I have been preaching through the Sermon on the Mount at Church .  It has been really good so far... not necessarily the preaching... but what it is doing in me.  I have been learning so much about the truth of the Gospel that is wrapped up in every little spot of the Sermon on the Mount. Every time I study the next passage I feel like another little light bulb has been turned on in this big room.  It is similar to the experience of turning lights on in a gym.  Especially one of those old gymnasiums where the lights come on a little at a time.  As each one flickers into its own brilliance, the features of the room become more clear. I just saw this quote over at the blog titled Tolle Lege (which is one of my favorite blogs to read and you should really add it to your list of must reads). The quote is by D.A. Carson, it says, "The more I read these three chapters– Matthew 5,6, and 7– the more I am both drawn to them and shamed by them. Their brilliant l...

Another Danville favorite!

Some positives points were presented...

If you use Google Reader, or some other sort of feed reader, you can now get the Edgewood Sermon Audio as a feed.  Just go and subscribe to this blog: http://audio.edgewood-danville.org

Just recently, I made the switch to the ESV.  I think that I did a post on it a few weeks ago, but I wanted to mention some more about it.  For those of you who don't already know, the ESV is the English Standard Version of the Bible. If you are a reader of this blog and you fall into the KJV Only camp... I hate to disappoint, but I am most definitely not in that camp.  In fact, I don't really even visit that camp anymore and I may have even moved myself to the KJV Hardly Ever camp. I don't mean any offense to the King James Translators.  I really admire what they did and would uphold their translation philosophy.  I would even go as far as to say that by switching to the ESV I am more in line with what the King James translators were trying to do than those people who cling to the King James Version. From the ESV website I am borrowing this quote which really summarizes what I am trying to say, way better than I am saying it: "The true heirs of the King...