One more picture

One more picture

One thing I love about summer

Here is a poem from Garrison Keillor's: The Writer's Almanac that is a nice little reminder of one thing I love about Summer

The Ordinary

by Kirsten Dierking
(from Northern Oracle)

It's summer, so
the pink gingham shorts,
the red mower, the neat rows
of clean smelling grass
unspooling behind
the sweeping blades.

A dragonfly, black body
big as a finger, will not leave
the mower alone,
loving the sparkle
of scarlet metal,
seeing in even a rusting paint
the shade of a flower.

But I wave him off,
conscious he is
wasting his time,
conscious I am
filling my time
with such small details,
distracting colors,

like pink checks,
like this, then that,
like a dragonfly wing
in the sun reflecting
the color of opals,
like all the hours
we leave behind,
so ordinary,
but not unloved.

"The Ordinary" by Kirsten Dierking, from Northern Oracle. © Spout Press, 2007.

The Killing of George Tiller

Here are a few links from this recent news story. I just think that it is so cool that we can hop on the internet and hear the thoughts from the "Preachers of our age". When current issues come up, we can get current Biblical thoughts to go along with those issues.

To Kill and Abortionist
by James MacDonald
I like this one. James MacDonald's blog is called Straight Up, which is a fitting name. He always seems to get right to the point. He really nails this one quite well. I appreciated his words.

A Wicked Deed in Wichita -- A Test for the Pro-Life Movement
by Albert Mohler
This one is worth a read. He brings in the similar case of John Brown from American History.

Some thoughts on the Killing of Abortionist George Tiller
by Randy Alcorn
Randy Alcorn always has a great eternal perspective. His blog post includes some other links that you might find interesting, including a "horribly misguided" one from Frank Schaeffer (Francis Schaeffer's son).

To give my opinion, I am going to quote Al Mohler. He states at the end of his post:

Murder is murder. The law rightly affirms that the killing of Dr. George Tiller is murder. In this we must agree. We cannot rest until the law also recognizes the killing of the unborn as murder. The killing of Dr. George Tiller makes that challenge all the more difficult.

If I find anymore good links out there, I will pop them onto this same blog post. Also feel free to contribute other links or your own thoughts in the comments section.

Young Pastors make mistakes?!?

Here is an interesting little video from James MacDonald. It is about the common mistakes made by young pastors.


(original post)
As many of you know, I am planning on moving back to my homeland. In the years I have been away from home, I have filled pulpit, taught youth groups, and taught an introductory Biblical Counseling class. So, even though I am not a pastor, I am hoping to be in a leadership-type role at the church in my hometown. They do not have a pastor right now, and because of the size of the church, it may be some time before they get one. Therefore, I am hoping to have some opportunities to fill pulpit (when needed) and to teach the adult School class. (I would like to share more of my heart on this opportunity in the coming days...)

I really appreciated the points that he was making in the video. I have often noticed that there are good speakers and... well... not-so-good speakers. We all know it, and we don't want to be overly critical or judgmental, but its true. I just don't want to be classified as "not-so-good".

Please understand though, it isn't because of an inflated ego or a enjoyment of praise. It is because I truly believe in this Gospel message. I believe that it is true. I believe that it is valid. And I truly want to share this message in an understandable way to as many people as God would allow. So, to be a better speaker is simply a desire to be able to more effectively relay the good news. We trust in God as the God of the harvest, but we want to be the best laborers that we can be.

As a teacher of 9 years, I have learned some of these lessons the hard way. The first one that he mentioned as a mistake of young pastors is a mistake that I have made more often that I want to admit. I only have one other thing to add to that conversation: Be aware of the people that are listening. I know that he alludes to this in the video, but I have known too many teachers that have no idea that their students aren't engaged in the lesson.

So, Thanks James MacDonald for sharing these common mistakes.

[HT: Challies.com]

A Prayer for Monday: Humiliation

(from the Valley of Vision by Arthur Bennett)

When clouds of darkness, atheism, and unbelief come to me,
      I see thy purpose in love
           in withdrawing the Spirit that I might prize him more.
           in chastening me for my confidence in past successes,
           that my wound of secret godlessness might be cured.
Help me to humble myself before thee
      by seeing the vanity of honor as a conceit of men's minds,
           as seeing between me and thee;
      by seeing that thy will must alone be done,
           as much in denying as in giving spiritual enjoyments;
      by seeing that my heart is nothing but evil,
           mind, mouth, life void of thee;
      by seeing that sin and Satan are allowed power in me
           that I might know my sin, be humbled,
           and gain strength thereby;
      by seeing that unbelief shuts thee from me,
           so that I sense not thy majesty, power, mercy, or love.
Then possess me, for thou only art good and worthy.

Thou dost not play in convincing me of sin
Satan did not play in tempting me to it,
I do not play when I sink in deep mire,
      for sin is no game, no toy, no bauble;
Let me never forget that the heinousness of sin
      lies not so much in the nature of the sin committed,
      as in the greatness of the person sinned against.
When I am afreaid of evils to come, comfort me, by showing me
      that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch,
           but that in Christ I am reconciled, made alive, and satisfied;
      that I am feeble and unable to do any good,
           but that in him I can do all things;
      that what I now have in Christ is mine in part;
           but that shortly I shall have it perfectly in heaven.

Abortion Debate

Here is a really interesting article from the Denver Post. It is by a guy named David Harsanyi, who starts his article titled The Abortion Debate changing, by stating,

As an atheist and a secular kinda guy, I practice moral relativism regularly. Still, I've always struggled mightily with the ethics and politics of abortion. Apparently, I'm not alone."

I mention this article because he brings about a point, from a different perspective, of something that has bothered me for a long time. I have often noticed that there are many people who have a liberal leaning who use the "if there is a possibility..." argument in so many arenas, yet they are unwilling to apply the same logic to the abortion debate. Harsanyi states it much better than I do by saying this,

After a life of being pro-choice, I began to seriously ponder the question. I oppose the death penalty because there is a slim chance that an innocent person might be executed and I don't believe the state should have the authority to take a citizen's life. So don't I owe an nascent human life at least the same deference? Just in case?"

read the entire article here.

Do you see the logic that is being used?

One other time I saw this sort of logic was in the Global Warming debate. I saw a video on a blog. It was well done, here is a link to the blog where I got it. I liked the video so much I posted it on my blog. It wasn't until a few days later that I got to thinking about the logic behind the argument that it began to bother me.

That was last December, and it has continued to gnaw at the back of my mind. If someone can say that the Death penalty is wrong ... just in case we're wrong, or if someone can say that we should do something about the environment... just in case it is really impacting things they way some say it is, then can't we say that abortion should be stopped... just in case?!?

How much do we need? What if there was only a 10% chance that that fetus was a real human being? What if there was only a 1% chance that they were, in-fact, alive?!? If there was even a 0.5%, wouldn't it be enough to pass some laws to prohibit it?

Think of some of the excuses that people give to not pass laws to prohibit it. What do they have to do with? The economy? The freedom of others? What if I said, "there should be no pollution control laws because it will put a strain on businesses." How do you think a global warming activist would respond?

I think that is really why this whole debate bothers me so much. Besides the fact that I really do believe that those babies are really babies... It is the inconsistency with the logic. I am a Geometry teacher, I spend my days engulfed in logic. The refusal to admit the weakness of their arguments and the lack of consistency with how they reason is infuriating.

As for me, if you know me at all, then you know that our family has felt the loss of two babies that never saw the light of a day, that never breathed a breath of air. They died while still in the womb and we grieved their loss. Making an issue like this one a political one just seems wrong. Harsanyi points that out as well.

Read the article, it is worth a few minutes of your time.

[HT: Challies, for the link to the article]

More Good Stuff...

I just published a post on "Good Stuff" and as soon as I did, I ran across a blog that I can't help but direct you toward. It is called Tolle Lege, which the about section of that blog says that is a Latin phrase which means "take up and read."

It is a blog that is filled with great quotes, and if you have ever been a student of mine, you know that I love great quotes. I usually have them posted all over my room. The author of that blog also states his purpose on his blog Here is a bit of it:

The purpose of this blog is simple. When I come across a quote in something I’m reading that glorifies God and raises my affections for Jesus Christ I want to share it with others. So I type it up, cite the reference, and post it on the blog. I borrowed the Latin phrase “Tolle Lege” (”take up and read”) from the account of Augustine’s conversion to Christ in his spiritual autobiography Confessions.

He then goes on to state an extensive portion of St. Augustine's Confessions.

Anyway, go read it. Maybe I will have some more "good stuff" later.

Thanks for stopping by.