Life Listenings (Hebrews 13 And a Photo)

 ¹ Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. ² Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. ³ Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

 ⁴ Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. ⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

   “Never will I leave you;

   never will I forsake you.”

 ⁶ So we say with confidence,

   “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

   What can mere mortals do to me?”

 ⁷ Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

 ⁹ Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. ¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

 ¹¹ The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. ¹² And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. ¹³ Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. ¹⁴ For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

 ¹⁵ Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. ¹⁶ And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

 ¹⁷ Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

 ¹⁸ Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. ¹⁹ I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.  ²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹ equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 ²² Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.

 ²³ I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.

 ²⁴ Greet all your leaders and all the Lord’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.

 ²⁵ Grace be with you all. (Hebrews 13, New International Version)

My Oh my, what a week it's been.  Let's catch up.

Sunday, VBS started, then Starbucks.

Monday, VBS, then Starbucks.

Tuesday, VBS then Starbucks,

Wednesday, Lauren's to practice for VBS, VBS, then Starbucks.

Thursday, VBS, then Starbucks.

Friday, Opening Night for Annie Get Your Gun.  Whoo.

Saturday, evening performance.

Long week it was.  Didn't wake up all week, was just wiped after every day.

Life Listenings (Colossians 3 And a Photo)

 ^1-2 So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.
 ^3-4Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
 ^5-8And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.
 ^9-11Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.
 ^12-14So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
 ^15-17Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
 ¹⁸Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master.
 ¹⁹Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don't take advantage of them.
 ²⁰Children, do what your parents tell you. This delights the Master no end.
 ²¹Parents, don't come down too hard on your children or you'll crush their spirits.
 ^22-25Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn't cover up bad work. (Colossians 3, The Message)

I'm working on a post, I promise!  I shlept in too much last week...Sigh.

That's Kacy.  She's awesome.

Life Listenings (Philippians 3 And a Photo)

 ¹ And that's about it, friends. Be glad in God! I don't mind repeating what I have written in earlier letters, and I hope you don't mind hearing it again. Better safe than sorry—so here goes.

 ^2-6Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they're interested in is appearances—knife-happy circumcisers, I call them. The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ's praise as we do it. We couldn't carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it—even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God's law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law Book.

 ^7-9The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness.

 ^10-11I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.  ^12-14I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.

 ^15-16So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.

 ^17-19Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I've warned you of them many times; sadly, I'm having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ's Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.

 ^20-21But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! We're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him. (Philippians 3, The Message)

Great words.

In the news, Passion City totally changed my thoughts, and really has another fire burning in me.  Details to come.

We got a kitty! Her name is Mykka, Finnish for Mute. (cause she doesn't talk much!) Cutest cat ever.

Repost from my sissy's blog :)

Oh my gosh. I went to Atlanta with Sissy and Jules to Chris Tomlin's church, oh my gosh. It was so powerful! I'll post my take tomorrow if I wake up (promise I will!) but for now, read up :)
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My Fountains are in Jesus!
Oh my. Passion City Church was incredible.
We arrived in Atlanta early so we could shop in Ikea. Let me tell you, I'm in love with Ikea. So dang cool! I saw so many wonderful ideas for my future home. They were so invintive with limited space and made beautiful areas for living. I was in awe. I saw so much I want to be able to buy. Can I possibly buy all of it? Haha, I know. Lord knows I don't need another problem like I have with buying so many books!
After we finished up in there we grabbed a snack because we had a feeling the service might last a bit. It was okay. Honestly I was suffering from nausea and cramps. No fun, let me tell you.
After getting a little confused and frusterated we arrived at 515. The church is actually called 515 instead of Passion City Church. The building was soo cool! Its solid white with giant red 515 painted on the building. We walked up to the door and these super nice people greeted us and welcomed us in. They've got this incredible area for the kids but they aren't restricted just to that area. Louie wants the children in the room. He said that they are our future generation (which is true) and said he wants them to be able to see all the generations together leaning towards the love of Jesus and worshipping Him with all our hearts. I thought that was incredible!
Evie and I bought shirts to support the summer camp coming up for the students of the church. I love my shirt and it was totally worth the $20. I saw this great project I want to help with. If you want to help with me go visit www.haiti-rising.com and look into this project. Its to help purchase heavy machinery to remove the rubble left over from the disasters.
We went into the auditorium to get seats and my mom made friends with this really sweet lady named April. Honestly, everyone I came in contact with was so sweet and so welcoming and so passionate about God. They were so in love with our Father! We waited patiently and then before we knew it, Chris Tomlin was onstage ready to lead us all in worship. He began with "How Great is Our God" and I was crying in the first song. Everyone was praising God together and loving Him with all that was inside of us. We were all so passionate for Him and the music was powerful. He then began on this song about how our fountains all flow for Jesus and it had this wicked awesome clapping beat and everyone was dancing and excited. We did "Oh Happy Day" and some other song I didn't know but it was lovely and powerful and wonderful. I was in awe of the music. Chris was a wonderful worship leader. Everything was so intimate.
Louie Giglio came out and began to talk to us about the open heart topic they had all been talking about the past few weeks. He talked about Revelations 3:19-20. How Jesus is speaking and saying that He loves us so much that He has to discipline and rebuke us in order to lead us onto the right path that He has planned for us. Then Louie read verse 20. Jesus says "Here I am!" with an exclamation point. He is here for us. He loves us so much. He's not saying "here is what you need to get to this path" or "here is a ticket to forgiveness", He is saying "here I am" for us all to have in our lives. He says that He is waiting at the door of our hearts knocking and if we hear His voice and let Him in He will dine with us, and us with Him. How wonderful is that?? Our Jesus! Wanting to have intimacy with us! Can you imagine how blessed that makes us? He wants to sit one-on-one with us at Starbucks sitting side-by-side to have intimate discussions with us about
our deepest desires in our hearts! How blessed we are! And all I can think is, shouldn't it be us banging on Jesus' door begging to come in and dine with Him? Why is it that He has to knock on our door? But He loves us enough that its no problem to Him. Louie said that Jesus sees all the crud in our lives and that is why He is knocking. He wants to come in and fix all of that. How is it that He came to love us so much? Why are we, such wretched sinful creatures, the love of our perfect Savior's heart? We're His. That's all I can say to explain. He loves us because we're His.
Chris came back out and did another song I didn't know that was so moving, then they started up in "Blessed Be Your Name" and the whole room was singing so loudly and proudly to worship our King! I'm still in awe. There were so many full on proud Jesus Freaks celebrating our God's love for us! It was an incredible experience.
If you ever get the chance, go visit Passion City Church in Atlanta 515. It will be well worth the trip to visit that church. I'm so in love with my Savior. I'm so proud to be the daughter of a King!!
Xoxo
S.Graciebelle<3
Posted by S.Graciebelle at 6:16 PM
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The building is so contemporary and lovely. Don't even get me started on the tech side of it!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Life Listenings (2 Thessalonians 1 And a photo)

 ^1-2I, Paul, together with Silas and Timothy, greet the church of the Thessalonian Christians in the name of God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ. Our God gives you everything you need, makes you everything you're to be.  ^3-4You need to know, friends, that thanking God over and over for you is not only a pleasure; it's a must. We have to do it. Your faith is growing phenomenally; your love for each other is developing wonderfully. Why, it's only right that we give thanks. We're so proud of you; you're so steady and determined in your faith despite all the hard times that have come down on you. We tell everyone we meet in the churches all about you.

 ^5-10All this trouble is a clear sign that God has decided to make you fit for the kingdom. You're suffering now, but justice is on the way. When the Master Jesus appears out of heaven in a blaze of fire with his strong angels, he'll even up the score by settling accounts with those who gave you such a bad time. His coming will be the break we've been waiting for. Those who refuse to know God and refuse to obey the Message will pay for what they've done. Eternal exile from the presence of the Master and his splendid power is their sentence. But on that very same day when he comes, he will be exalted by his followers and celebrated by all who believe—and all because you believed what we told you.

 ^11-12Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he's called you to be, pray that he'll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely. (2 Thessalonians 1, The Message)

Stay strong and true in your faith.

Goodness gracious!  So busy this past week, my apologies for not getting content up!

Youth played Ultimate Frisbee Wednesday, but we didn't feel like getting sweaty so we took pretty pictures in the park :)

Life Listenings (Titus 2)

Titus 2

A God-Filled Life

 ^1-6Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don't want anyone looking down on God's Message because of their behavior. Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives. ^7-8But mostly, show them all this by doing it yourself, incorruptible in your teaching, your words solid and sane. Then anyone who is dead set against us, when he finds nothing weird or misguided, might eventually come around.
 ^9-10Guide slaves into being loyal workers, a bonus to their masters—no back talk, no petty thievery. Then their good character will shine through their actions, adding luster to the teaching of our Savior God.
 ^11-14God's readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation's available for everyone! We're being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness.
 ¹⁵Tell them all this. Build up their courage, and discipline them if they get out of line. You're in charge. Don't let anyone put you down.

No photo this week, but new stuff next week for sure.  Got some change going on so I'll get into that soon.

Go to church today.

Life Listenings (1 Corinthians 11 And a Photo)

 ^1-2It pleases me that you continue to remember and honor me by keeping up the traditions of the faith I taught you. All actual authority stems from Christ. ^3-9In a marriage relationship, there is authority from Christ to husband, and from husband to wife. The authority of Christ is the authority of God. Any man who speaks with God or about God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of Christ, dishonors Christ. In the same way, a wife who speaks with God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of her husband, dishonors her husband. Worse, she dishonors herself—an ugly sight, like a woman with her head shaved. This is basically the origin of these customs we have of women wearing head coverings in worship, while men take their hats off. By these symbolic acts, men and women, who far too often butt heads with each other, submit their "heads" to the Head: God.
 ^10-12Don't, by the way, read too much into the differences here between men and women. Neither man nor woman can go it alone or claim priority. Man was created first, as a beautiful shining reflection of God—that is true. But the head on a woman's body clearly outshines in beauty the head of her "head," her husband. The first woman came from man, true—but ever since then, every man comes from a woman! And since virtually everything comes from God anyway, let's quit going through these "who's first" routines.
 ^13-16Don't you agree there is something naturally powerful in the symbolism—a woman, her beautiful hair reminiscent of angels, praying in adoration; a man, his head bared in reverence, praying in submission? I hope you're not going to be argumentative about this. All God's churches see it this way; I don't want you standing out as an exception.
 ^17-19Regarding this next item, I'm not at all pleased. I am getting the picture that when you meet together it brings out your worst side instead of your best! First, I get this report on your divisiveness, competing with and criticizing each other. I'm reluctant to believe it, but there it is. The best that can be said for it is that the testing process will bring truth into the open and confirm it.
 ^20-22And then I find that you bring your divisions to worship—you come together, and instead of eating the Lord's Supper, you bring in a lot of food from the outside and make pigs of yourselves. Some are left out, and go home hungry. Others have to be carried out, too drunk to walk. I can't believe it! Don't you have your own homes to eat and drink in? Why would you stoop to desecrating God's church? Why would you actually shame God's poor? I never would have believed you would stoop to this. And I'm not going to stand by and say nothing.
 ^23-26Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord's Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said,

   This is my body, broken for you.
   Do this to remember me.
After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:
   This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
   Each time you drink this cup, remember me.
What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.
 ^27-28Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of "remembrance" you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe. (1 Corinthians 11, The Message)


Don't forget to go to Church, have an unforgettable experience with God today.

Life Listenings (Ephesians 3 And a Photo)

 ^1-3This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you're familiar with the part I was given in God's plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief.
 ^4-6As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.
 ^7-8This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.
 ^8-10And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
 ^11-13All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we're free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don't let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!
 ^14-19My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
 ^20-21God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

   Glory to God in the church!
   Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
   Glory down all the generations!
   Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes! (Ephesians 3, The Message)


I love this chapter.
Go to church today, have a God Moment.  Connect with Him.

Catsup. Catchup. Ketchup.

Good Morning Everyone!  Shoo, been a wild month.  Let's go over some of the happenings real quick.

I turned 14

Easter

Osama Bin Laden was killed

People were way too happy about it

I got a Ukulele <3

I got a turntable <3

Mother's Day

I didn't see my Mom on Mother's Day

Shot Eowyn's CD Release party, on Mother's Day

Finished Velvet Elvis

Got "The Next Christians" by Gabe Lyons

Sketchers put out some reeaally stupid shoes.  You know what I'm talking about.

Made some new friends

And that's just a tad of all the happenings. Shoo.  There's been Drama, there's been Sadness, There's been happiness.

And there's been God.  Let's talk about yesterday, shall we?  It was absolutely amazing!

Wait, let's do Wednesday first.  Wednesday, Robert had a guest speaker come and talk.  I can't remember his name.... BUT, he's the Sports Chaplain for UT.  Great guy.  He talked for a while and it was all good, but towards the end he really said something cool.

Devote 1 Percent (%) of your day, to God.  Pray, read your bible, praise Him, whatever you want to do, in the presence of Him.  1%.  That's 14.4 minutes.  C'mon, you can do that.

I think it's a great goal to go off of.  1 percent!

Back to Sunday.  So.  I got up even earlier, and read I think 4 chapters of my Bible and listened to some good worship music.  Then it started off like any Sunday, show up early practice all that.  Then worship started. Wow.  My goodness God was in that room.  I really felt Him, it was amazing.  Jules was singing, and she was getting into it which made me smile as well.  Then the sermon came, and God just kept right on moving.  Joe kept making such great, timely points.  The second verse in the sermon I recognized vividly, it was in one of the chapters I'd read earlier.  Coincidences like that always make me smile.

Then he gets into the Parable of the soils, and I can tell it's gonna be great.  I'll do a real sermon view post later in the week.  Moving on...

Joe keeps making points and Jules and I are really clicking and looking at each other, we could see it in each other. 

Second point comes, and it fits perfectly with the 1 Percent goal.  "Allocate a time to listen" Boom.

We both noted 14.4 and high-fived each other. (Yea, that's how we roll)  And Joe keeps going and I'm really soaking it in and you could feel the room soaking it in.  Then his next point comes and it fits perfectly with something Jules and I were talking about just days before.

The point's verse is Luke 8:13, "The Rocky soil represents those who hear the message with joy.  But like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep.  They believe for a while, but they wilt when the hot winds of testing blow"

Friday, Jules had the idea for Wednesday night, to put up four chairs.  It's been 5 months since Resurrection, and she thought it'd be great to see who's really stuck and changed.  Boom.  And Joe keeps going and it's absolutely great.  After service we talked about how we could feel God in the room.

So that's my lengthy wordy story of the week.  Have a story of one of those great Sundays? I'd love to read it!  But for now, I'm off to read the newspaper.  Have a good day everyone! 

Life Listenings (Isaiah 53 And a Photo)

 ¹ Who believes what we've heard and seen? Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?

 ^2-6The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,

   a scrubby plant in a parched field.

There was nothing attractive about him,

   nothing to cause us to take a second look.

He was looked down on and passed over,

   a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.

One look at him and people turned away.

   We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—

   our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

We thought he brought it on himself,

   that God was punishing him for his own failures.

But it was our sins that did that to him,

   that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!

He took the punishment, and that made us whole.

   Through his bruises we get healed.

We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.

   We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.

And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,

   on him, on him.

 ^7-9He was beaten, he was tortured,

   but he didn't say a word.

Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered

   and like a sheep being sheared,

   he took it all in silence.

Justice miscarried, and he was led off—

   and did anyone really know what was happening?

He died without a thought for his own welfare,

   beaten bloody for the sins of my people.

They buried him with the wicked,

   threw him in a grave with a rich man,

Even though he'd never hurt a soul

   or said one word that wasn't true.

 ¹⁰Still, it's what God had in mind all along,

   to crush him with pain.

The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin

   so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life.

   And God's plan will deeply prosper through him.

 ^11-12Out of that terrible travail of soul,

   he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it.

Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,

   will make many "righteous ones,"

   as he himself carries the burden of their sins.

Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly—

   the best of everything, the highest honors—

Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch,

   because he embraced the company of the lowest.

He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,

   he took up the cause of all the black sheep. (Isaiah 53, The Message)

Our God is awesome, isn't He?  Go to church today, feed on the eternal food.

Tomorrow or Tuesday I'll be posting a nice long catch up post, sorry for the absence!

Shot Jacob's CD release last week....

Life Listenings (Ephesians 2 And a Photo)

 ^1-6It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.

 ^7-10Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

 ^11-13But don't take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God's ways had no idea of any of this, didn't know the first thing about the way God works, hadn't the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God's covenants and promises in Israel, hadn't a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.

 ^14-15The Messiah has made things up between us so that we're now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.

 ^16-18Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.

 ^19-22That's plain enough, isn't it? You're no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He's using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home. (Ephesians 2, The Message)

Throwback image today, because tonight I'm shooting a CD release party for this guy!  Awesome Guitarist and a real Man of God, he plays in a Rock Christian Band 'Eowyn'.  Very cool dude.

Have a good day everyone!  Bring someone to church with you.

Life Listenings (Psalm 139 And a Photo)

 ^1-6 God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.

   I'm an open book to you;

      even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking.

   You know when I leave and when I get back;

      I'm never out of your sight.

   You know everything I'm going to say

      before I start the first sentence.

   I look behind me and you're there,

      then up ahead and you're there, too—

      your reassuring presence, coming and going.

   This is too much, too wonderful—

      I can't take it all in!

 ^7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?

      to be out of your sight?

   If I climb to the sky, you're there!

      If I go underground, you're there!

   If I flew on morning's wings

      to the far western horizon,

   You'd find me in a minute—

      you're already there waiting!

   Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark!

      At night I'm immersed in the light!"

   It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you;

      night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you.

 ^13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;

      you formed me in my mother's womb.

   I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!

      Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

      I worship in adoration—what a creation!

   You know me inside and out,

      you know every bone in my body;

   You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,

      how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

   Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;

      all the stages of my life were spread out before you,

   The days of my life all prepared

      before I'd even lived one day.

 ^17-22 Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!

      God, I'll never comprehend them!

   I couldn't even begin to count them—

      any more than I could count the sand of the sea.

   Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!

      And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!

   And you murderers—out of here!—

      all the men and women who belittle you, God,

      infatuated with cheap god-imitations.

   See how I hate those who hate you, God,

      see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;

   I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.

      Your enemies are my enemies!

 ^23-24 Investigate my life, O God,

      find out everything about me;

   Cross-examine and test me,

      get a clear picture of what I'm about;

   See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong—

      then guide me on the road to eternal life. (Psalm 139, The Message)

Shot some lightening during the INSANE storms Wednesday.  Lots of Hail and a funnel formed in our yard but nothing more than that for us.

Bear With the Bear

G'Morning All.  My sincerest apologies for not getting much content up lately.  My father hurt himself again Saturday, Easter was Sunday, and now I'm very unsure where some parts of my life are going.  I'm praying and riding it all out.  Any prayers, good vibes and good stories sent my way are appreciated, thanks for bearing.

He is Risen! (Luke 24 And a Photo)

Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, He is Risen!

Good Morning all! It's Easter!

 ^1-3At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master Jesus.
 ^4-8They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, "Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?" Then they remembered Jesus' words.
 ^9-11They left the tomb and broke the news of all this to the Eleven and the rest. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them kept telling these things to the apostles, but the apostles didn't believe a word of it, thought they were making it all up.
 ¹²But Peter jumped to his feet and ran to the tomb. He stooped to look in and saw a few grave clothes, that's all. He walked away puzzled, shaking his head.  ^13-16That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was.
 ^17-18He asked, "What's this you're discussing so intently as you walk along?"
   They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, "Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn't heard what's happened during the last few days?"
 ^19-24He said, "What has happened?"
   They said, "The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened. But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn't find his body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn't see Jesus."
 ^25-27Then he said to them, "So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can't you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don't you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?" Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him. (Luke 24, The Message)

That's what's up.

Back Again

Good morning, people!  I still exist, in case anyone missed me.  I've been in a funk the past week.  I slept in for the first time in a month Monday, Saturday and Sunday were straight up packed, and I honestly haven't had that much material thought up.  This blog is a Jesus Musings blog, so if I don't have something worthwhile to post, I'm not gonna post anything.  I may put up an image to break silence from time to time, but almost always, it's gonna be full content posts only.  Now that I've cleared that up....

Last Wednesday was epic.  Two weeks ago, our Pastor's Wife spoke about her life, mistakes she had made, and basically told us to wait and get married.  Her story had the entire room including myself in tears, and really showed God's grace at work.  And then last week, Sissy played Guitar and sang with Jules.  We did Lay 'Em Down, King Jesus, Our God (Is Greater), and Oh How He Loves.  Epic set.  For the first time in months, the entire group was just singing.  No talking, no giggling, just singing.  It's an unreal feeling when that happens, an we've got it turned up loud, and you can just feel God all around you.    Our God, amazing song.  I've heard it before, but only casually and didn't know it that well.  But we did it and it was awesome and powerful.  But then we did Oh How He Loves, and, wow.  If you know me, you know that song breaks me, but it was different that night.  With everyone singing, Sarah and Jules pouring out, I was trembling.  Taking pictures of the performance was a difficult task as I couldn't see the viewfinder through my tears, and shaking enough to get some blurry shots.  I'll post one in a bit.  So overall, it's been a decent few weeks and I apologize for not sharing more, I'll try to get more up soon.  In the mean time, I'm gonna go read and listen to the rain.  Have a good day everyone!

Have any encounters with God you'd like to share? Leave a comment!

Life Listenings (Galations 5 And a Photo)

 ¹ Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

 ^2-3I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law. ^4-6I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.

 ^7-10You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn't come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don't toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. Deep down, the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect. But the one who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will bear the divine judgment.

 ^11-12As for the rumor that I continue to preach the ways of circumcision (as I did in those pre-Damascus Road days), that is absurd. Why would I still be persecuted, then? If I were preaching that old message, no one would be offended if I mentioned the Cross now and then—it would be so watered-down it wouldn't matter one way or the other. Why don't these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!

 ^13-15It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?

 ^16-18My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

 ^19-21It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

   This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.

 ^22-23But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

 ^23-24Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.

 ^25-26Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original. (Galatians 5, The Message)

Go to church today, you deserve it.

Last Week.

Good Morning Everyone!  Today is Birthday :D

Last Week I...

Laughed out loud.

Danced in public.

Spent hours digging through Scripture.

Was amazed by how God answers prayers.

Found myself singing Praise in everyday life.

Joined a group of strangers in a study of the Bible.

Found self-confidence.

Sang in church like I've never sang in church before.

That was my week.  Elaborating on the Spending hours with Scripture, you should really try just digging through some Bible sometime.  You'll find that you run across a verse that's perfect for how you're feeling, even if you weren't looking for it.  If you are listening, you will hear.

That's all for now folks!  I'm off to drink Birthday Coffee.

Life Listenings (1 Peter 5 And a Photo)

 ^1-3 I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it's like to be a leader, in on Christ's sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here's my concern: that you care for God's flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way.

 ^4-5When God, who is the best shepherd of all, comes out in the open with his rule, he'll see that you've done it right and commend you lavishly. And you who are younger must follow your leaders. But all of you, leaders and followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other, for—

   God has had it with the proud,

   But takes delight in just plain people.

 ^6-7So be content with who you are, and don't put on airs. God's strong hand is on you; he'll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.  ^8-11Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.

 ¹²I'm sending this brief letter to you by Silas, a most dependable brother. I have the highest regard for him.

   I've written as urgently and accurately as I know how. This is God's generous truth; embrace it with both arms!

 ^13-14The church in exile here with me—but not for a moment forgotten by God—wants to be remembered to you. Mark, who is like a son to me, says hello. Give holy embraces all around! Peace to you—to all who walk in Christ's ways. (1 Peter 5, The Message)

Good words.  Today, I want you to go to church.  Go to church and really listen.  Have a want to get something out of it.  Open your ears and find what you're listening to.  Don't just hear it, listen to it.  Listen and take notes.

This is from last month, need to get out for some shooting.

Unplanned & Perfect

Good Morning!  I have to share my Yesterday with you.  Thursday evening, I went to Vienna (coffeehouse) for a few hours to read while dad was at meetings.  Now lets jump around a little bit.  A while back, on the other, not as cool blog, I posted about Strangers with Fire.  I'll repost here later.  But in that post I included something I'd overheard at Vienna.

"7 Layer Burritos, Xbox, Sex with my wife, all these things are great, but Jesus is a thousand times better than all these combined"

I love that.  But anywho. I had heard that from what seemed to be a bible study.  That's about it, I didn't have the courage to investigate.

Now we jump back to Last Night.

Last night I was just about to start reading, when I heard some dude talking about a Bible.  It being Thursday night, the same night of the week as that other bible study, my ears perked.  After that, I hear some college kids talking about Ichthus.  Ears=Perked.  I was texting Sissy, and told her about it and reminded her of that quote and she pretty much made me go talk to someone.  So I did.  Kinda nervously shaking cause that's just how I roll.  I talked to a guy named Adam.  I told him I overheard talk of Ichthus, and I asked if he was a Christian blah blah, then if he had a Bible Study going on.  He said yes and introduced me to the leader, Ash.  Great dude.  They welcomed me in and the next thing I knew I was part of a Bible Study.  How Cool Is That?!

They didn't ask me who I was or why I was there, they asked my first name and said pull up a chair.  I did.

We discussed the Second half of Romans 15.  Turns out they're a few weeks away from finishing a Two Year Study on Romans. Wow.  They were all amazing, Committed, 1st Chair for Life Jesus Freaks.

We spent a hard 90 Minutes discussing that Passage and Church Planting.  COOL.

So afterwords, I talked to Ash and he gave me a way to contact him and said feel free to come back next week.  Guess what I'm doing Next Week.

So there's my story.  This is what I'm talking about!  Don't stay in your shell.  Step outside the comfort zone and see what happens.  Hear someone talking about the Bible? Tell them you overheard and are interested.  Go outside your Clique of friends and talk to some strangers.  If all goes well that's what I'm doing tonight.  In a Bible Study? Invite a stranger in.  Make a family of Believers.

That's what's up.  I'd love your thoughts, questions or stories of your own.

Need Prayer? Let me know.

Last Week.

Good Morning!  It's that time of week again.

Last week I....

Did coffee with my Sissy. We talked about a lot of stuff.

Correctly predicted a flat tire.

Felt guilty for not being there to change, said tire.

Was tested.

Had some God moments.

Ran ProPresenter, and got really into Worship.

Watched my father hurting.

Went to The Rock <3

Read some awesome Bible.

Had a legitimate Small Groups.

Baked.

People Watched.

That was my week.  Not too eventful, but busy nonetheless.  As mentioned, Tuesday it sounded like we had a leaking tire, but Dad didn't notice so he wasn't concerned.  Before he came back to get me from Vienna, he had to change a flat.  Which someone of his health shouldn't really do. Ever.  So he's in a lot more pain, on top of everything else.  Prayers would be appreciated, he's had a bad week.

Have a good Monday everyone!

Life Listenings (Psalm 145 And a Photo)

 ¹ I lift you high in praise, my God, O my King! and I'll bless your name into eternity.

 ² I'll bless you every day,

      and keep it up from now to eternity.

 ³ God is magnificent; he can never be praised enough.

      There are no boundaries to his greatness.

 ⁴ Generation after generation stands in awe of your work;

      each one tells stories of your mighty acts.

 ⁵ Your beauty and splendor have everyone talking;

      I compose songs on your wonders.

 ⁶ Your marvelous doings are headline news;

      I could write a book full of the details of your greatness.

 ⁷ The fame of your goodness spreads across the country;

      your righteousness is on everyone's lips.

 ⁸ God is all mercy and grace—

      not quick to anger, is rich in love.

 ⁹ God is good to one and all;

      everything he does is suffused with grace.

 ^10-11 Creation and creatures applaud you, God;

      your holy people bless you.

   They talk about the glories of your rule,

      they exclaim over your splendor,

 ¹² Letting the world know of your power for good,

      the lavish splendor of your kingdom.

 ¹³ Your kingdom is a kingdom eternal;

      you never get voted out of office.

   God always does what he says,

      and is gracious in everything he does.

 ¹⁴ God gives a hand to those down on their luck,

      gives a fresh start to those ready to quit.

 ¹⁵ All eyes are on you, expectant;

      you give them their meals on time.

 ¹⁶ Generous to a fault,

      you lavish your favor on all creatures.

 ¹⁷ Everything God does is right—

      the trademark on all his works is love.

 ¹⁸ God's there, listening for all who pray,

      for all who pray and mean it.

 ¹⁹ He does what's best for those who fear him—

      hears them call out, and saves them.

 ²⁰ God sticks by all who love him,

      but it's all over for those who don't.

 ²¹ My mouth is filled with God's praise.

      Let everything living bless him,

      bless his holy name from now to eternity! (Psalm 145, The Message)

Go to Church, praise God and be thankful for what He's done for us!

Yesterday was beautiful :)

April. What?!

G'morning!  Can you believe it's April already?  Already 4 months into this year!

Not much this morning, though any prayers and good vibes sent towards sissy would be appreciated, she's getting tested for Strep today.  If she gets a negative on her Rapid, she can work, and we can have the Rock tonight.  Fingers crossed for a Negative!

Found a lovely verse earlier, too.

 ^9-12"If you get rid of unfair practices,

   quit blaming victims,

   quit gossiping about other people's sins,

If you are generous with the hungry

   and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,

Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,

   your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.

I will always show you where to go.

   I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—

   firm muscles, strong bones.

You'll be like a well-watered garden,

   a gurgling spring that never runs dry.

You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,

   rebuild the foundations from out of your past.

You'll be known as those who can fix anything,

   restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,

   make the community livable again. (Isaiah 58:11, The Message)

Everyone have a good day, don't get fooled!

Chivalry

Good Morning!  Today I'm gonna talk about Chivalry.  These days, it's hard to find.  That makes me sad.

I try very hard to be Chivalrous, because that's how I've grown up.  I see no reason Men shouldn't have full respect for Women.  Many friends say I'm like an old man from the 40s, 50s, and I even get 20s sometimes.

Awesome!  I wish I was from those days.  Although the 50s-60s brought some of the most appalling, sexist, Male-Superior times, shortly before that, probably until right before the end of WWII, it was still a nation of Gentlemen.  Why don't we have many Gentlemen anymore?  I don't see a reason why.

But it sure irks me.  Even wonderful, Christian men just aren't the same kind of Gentlemen.  The Bible is really the ultimate guide to Chivalry.

 ^3-4Don't allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect. (Ephesians 5:3-4, The Message)

 ²⁹Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. (Ephesians 4:29, The Message)

 ^31-34"Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that's charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that. (Luke 6:31, The Message)

 ^13-17Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God's emissaries for keeping order. It is God's will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you're a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government. (1 Peter 2:17, The Message)

So guys.  Have some respect! To Women, other Men, and to everything around you.

Open doors for Women, let them enter a building/room first.

Stand up when a Woman enters a room.

If a Woman comes in and there's no empty seat, stand up and offer yours.

When walking, offer to carry her coat/bag.

Always offer to pay.  If she declines, respect that.

These are simple things any man should be able to handle!  C'mon, dudes, make a change.

Be Courteous, be Kind, be Gentlemanly.  Be Chivalrous.

Last Week.

G'morning, world!  It's raining :)

Last week I...

Did Coffee with Jules. Whoopie Pies and Lemon Squares.

Woke up every morning.

Listened to some awesome live Piano Jazz.

Drank too much coffee.

Called a scone dinner.

Saw Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors Live En Concert.  Jaw Drop.

Determined Ellie Holcomb is one of the most adorable people ever. Ever.

Experienced the lovely atmosphere that is the Bijou Theatre.

Saw God's beauty everywhere.  Jaw Drop.

Listened to 3 lovely, powerful sermons.  Lots of blog material thought up.

Watched fake people be fake.

That was my week.  How was yours?