HARMLESS THOUGHTS

I was inspired by that comic from Doghouse Diaries so I decided to try one of my own. It isn't all that funny, especially if you knew that this actually happens all of the time.

From Doghouse Diaries : click the image to enlarge

The Cloud! Google's CR-48 is all about cloud computing.  What is cloud computing?  Here is a video that will help: Using the CR-48 has forced me to become more acquainted with the cloud. There are several useful sites out there, and you can do almost anything right in the browser. I use Google Docs more and more. I even added the extra storage (20 gig) for only $5/year. That 20 gig spans across all of my Google products, including Google Docs, Gmail, and Picasa(for my pictures). Here is another little video I think you might enjoy.

Thanks to Justin Taylor who blogs via the Gospel Coalition , I just found a couple of great new resources. The First is from the Gospel Coalition website.  This is going to be an expanding work from the Gospel Coalition.  The page is called Preaching Christ from the Old Testament .  Here is the overview from their site. When Christians understand all the scriptures as God’s Word for them, their eyes open to the incomparable beauty of the divine character. God loves us, despite how we persistently rebel against him. God stands over and against us in judgment, yet he pursues us. He has shown us the way to live in the world he graciously created, even as we ignore his perfect law. And from the beginning of all things he planned to take on flesh and dwell among us, faithfully pursuing his unfaithful servants, even unto death on the cross, so that in this death we might find eternal life. Sadly, too many Christians jump into this story midstream. They know bits and pieces...

Q. 1. What is the chief and highest end of man? A. Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever. Proof Texts: Romans 11:36 , I Cor. 10:31 , Ps. 73:24-28 , John 17:21-23 What does this mean for me?  I was not created for myself, therefore my purposes in life should not revolve around me.  I was not created for my comforts, my successes, my dreams, my aspirations, my career, my family, my friends, or even my ministry.  I was created for the Glory of God.  Since that is my chief purpose, I should submit all areas of my life to God and for that purpose. Since God is the greatest good in the universe, living for His glory will also bring the greatest enjoyment of this life and the next.

pink valentine hearts constant reminders of her can't wait to get home

From the 19 year old Jonathan Edwards: They say there is a young lady in [New Haven] who is beloved of that great Being who made and rules the world, and that there are certain seasons in which this great Being, in some way or other invisible, comes to her and fills her mind with exceeding sweet delight, and that she hardly cares for anything, except to meditate on him—that she expects after a while to be received up where he is, to be raised up out of the world and caught up into heaven; being assured that he loves her too well to let her remain at a distance from him always. There she is to dwell with him, and to be ravished with his love and delight forever…. She has a strange sweetness in her mind, and singular purity in her affections; is most just and conscientious in all her conduct; and you could not persuade her to do anything wrong or sinful, if you would give her all the world, lest she should offend this great Being. She is of a wonderful sweetness, calmness and universal ...

Richard Baxter s aid of marriage , "It is a mercy to have a faithful friend, that loveth you entirely, and is as true to you as yourself, to who you may open your mind and communicate your affairs, and who could be ready to strengthen you, and divide the cares of your affairs and family with you, and help you to bear your burdens and comfort you in your sorrows, and be the daily companion of your lives and partaker of your joys and sorrows.  And it is a mercy to have so near a friend to be a helper to your soul; to join with you in prayer and other holy exercises; to watch over you and tell you of your sins and dangers, and to stir up in you the grace of God, and remember to you of the life to come, and cheerfully accompany you in the ways of holiness." I am glad that I have that in my own sweet wife.

This letter was written by Martyn Lloyd Jones when he was 40 years old. My dear Bethan, Thank you for your letter of this morning, though I am very angry that you should have been up till 11:30 PM writing it! I see that you are quite incorrigible! The idea that I shall become used to being without you is really funny. I could speak for a long time on the subject. As I have told you many, many times, the passing of the years does nothing but deepen and intensify my love for you. When I think of those days in London in 1925 and ’26, when I thought that no greater love was possible, I could laugh. But honestly, during this last year I had come to believe that it was not possible for a man to love his wife more than I loved you. And yet I see that there is no reason to live, and that it is still true that “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” I am quite certain that there is no lover, anywhere, writing to his girl who is quite as mad about her as I am. Indeed I pity those lovers who a...

I am reposting this from the 22 words blog. Here is a link to the original... 8 ominously vicious animal photos : These images and their captions are all taken from The Telegraph’s 2010 Animal Pictures of the Year . Shark and Seal A lucky seal launches itself to safety from the mouth of a great white shark – using the predator’s razor sharp teeth for leverage. Photographer Chris Fallows, 38, watched as the Cape fur seal darted left and right in a desperate bid to evade the vicious 11-foot-long shark. The massive creature failed to get a proper grip allowing the seal to launch itself to safety as the shark tried to get a second bite. Miraculously, the seal escaped with a minor flesh wound off Seal Island in False Bay, Cape Town, South Africa Pelican and Pigeon An unlucky pigeon takes its final look at the world – peeking out from a pelican’s beak. The little bird had been eating near a pond in St James Park, London, when it was scooped up by the much bigger bird....

It's fast! From the Chrome OS website : Chrome notebooks boot in about 10 seconds and resume from sleep instantly. Your favorite websites load quickly and run smoothly, with full support for the latest web standards and Adobe Flash. Sometimes I think that it is even faster. Here is a little video giving a break down of the speed of the Chrome OS. I already knew that their browser was fast.

I've heard this song before, but I really enjoyed this version and thought I would share with you. Fernando Ortega - "Give Me Jesus" from Adamson.TV on Vimeo . [via Justin Taylor ]

A Believer's Assurance by John MacArthur is more of a booklet than a book.  It is only 16 pages long, but frankly, that is an appropriate length for anyone who is struggling with a lack of assurance. The beginning of the book has a quote from Thomas Brooks which I feel is worth quoting, to give you an idea of the importance of a book like this. Assurance is the believer's ark where he sits, Noah like, quiet and still in the midst of all distractions and destructions commotions and confusions... [However] most Christians live between fears and hopes, and hang, as it were, between heaven and hell. Sometimes they hope that their state is good, at other times they fear that their state is bad: now they hope that all is well, and that it shall go well with them for ever; [then] they fear that they shall perish by the hand of such a corruption, or by the prevalency of such or such a temptation ... They are like a ship  in a storm, tossed here and there. (Heaven on Earth, 11) The...

I just finished another Christian Audio book.  This one was called The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. I first read this book back in 2004, and it has continued to play an influential role in my life since that first reading. I just finished writing my review for the Christian Audio site and would like to quote that review here: In searching for the words to write a proper review for this book, I continue to find that my vocabulary is coming up short.  My desire is to write a review that will point you to the purchase of this book, whether you buy the audio version or the print version it is a purchase that I highly recommend. I read through this book several years ago, and find that it still holds a place of prominence in my thinking.  His words stirred in me a deeper passion for God and answered questions that I didn't even know that I was asking.  I hesitate writing this way at the risk of sounding over-dramatic, but it had a truly dramatic impact in my life. ...

I just found this poem over at the blog Tolle Lege .  Loved it and had to share it with you. Jehovah Tsidkenu “The LORD our righteousness” By Robert Murray M’Cheyne November 18, 1331 (The watchword of the Reformers) I ONCE was a stranger to grace and to God, I knew not my danger, and felt not my load; Though friends spoke in rapture of Christ on the tree. Jehovah Tsidkenu was nothing to me. I oft read with pleasure, to soothe or engage, Isaiah’s wild measure and John’s simple page; But e’en when they pictured the blood-sprinkled tree, Jehovah Tsidkenu seem’d nothing to me. Like tears from the daughters of Zion that roll, I wept when the waters went over his soul Yet thought not that my sins had nail’d to the tree, Jehovah Tsidkenu—’twas nothing to me. When free grace awoke me, by light from on high, Then legal fears shook me, I trembled to die; No refuge, no safety in self could I see— Jehovah Tsidkenu my Saviour must be. My terrors all vanished before t...

One Rat Short from Charlex on Vimeo .

I was just accepted by a website that I found called Book Sneeze . They have a program where they will give free books to bloggers. I'm a blogger and I love books, so I signed up. I was just accepted into their program about an hour ago, so I requested my first book. Their selection wasn't huge, unless I am just not navigating the site correctly, but I found one that I think I might enjoy. It is called In Constant Prayer and is by a guy named Robert Benson .  I haven't heard of this guy before, so I am a bit skeptical and I will be cautious as I read it.  I believe it comes from a series of books from Thomas Nelson publishers called The Ancient Practices .  Once I am done with the book, I will offer up my thoughts in the form of a book review. If you have already read this book, let me know what you think... but don't let me know yet!  Wait until after I read it, then let me know.

I think that it is really interesting as you can even see the changing of the days as sunlight crosses over the surface of the planet. [ht: 22 words ]

... and Bing knows it! Check out this blog post from Google showing how Bing is stealing search results. And it all started from the word torsorophy.

I need everyone I know to start using this tool! Was that enough to convince you? No? Well, what about this little video about Google Hotpot ? Still not convinced? Read an official Google blog post about Google Hotpot by clicking here .

Really enjoyed this commercial. Let me know if you like it, and if you've tried something like this on your kids. [ht: 22 words ]

Needing to watch a good movie on a snowy day? Check out this trailer... [ht: 22 words ]

Every month Christian Audio offers a free audio book, and nearly every month I download the book.  I have listened to most of them, because that is what I do on my commutes to work instead of listening to the radio. This month's book is Adopted for Life by Russel D. Moore .  Christian Audio's page has this to say about the book: The gospel of Jesus Christ—the good news that through Jesus we have been adopted as sons and daughters into God’s family—means that Christians ought to be at the forefront of the adoption of orphans in North America and around the world. Moore does not shy away from this call in Adopted for Life, a popular-level, practical manifesto for Christians to adopt children and to help equip other Christian families to do the same. He shows that adoption is not just about couples who want children—or who want more children. It is about an entire culture within the church, a culture that sees adoption as part of the Great Commission mandate and as a sign o...