OMG!

Walk on the wild side!

This is from a show called KEY LIFE...

In regards to taking faith risks -

"Go out and do something that will make uptight Christians doubt your salvation."
-Steve Brown

Do I smell undignity in the air???

More!

This is a video compilation from our fabulous Sunday of Freedom! Nice work, Ryan! One of my favorite songs, too!

Mark Lowry has some good thoughts on the underlying tendency toward "earning" that can still be part of us even after we understand that we can't earn God's love.

Are we saying salvation is a free gift but if you keep it, it's up to you? The Gaither Vocal Band sang a song, several years ago, called We Shall Wear A Robe And Crown. It's a nice song. But it had a line in it that said, "When I get to Heaven, I'll tell King Jesus how I made it over." I told Bill I'm not singing that line. When I get to Heaven, I'm not gonna tell King Jesus how I made it over. He's gonna tell me how He brought me over! I can't make it to Heaven if He doesn't bring me. I don't know where Heaven is. The smartest minds on earth sent a toy car to Mars ... How are we gonna find Heaven? He's got to save us; He's got to keep us saved; He's got to take us home ... or we're not going.

We say we believe salvation is a free gift, unmerited favor - it can't be earned to receive it. But, then, we act like we have to earn the right to keep it. You can't earn it to get it, and you can't be good enough to keep it.

Who am I?

I kept hearing about this...Now I have seen it...It is very cool!

God's sense of humor

This is an OLD post from MySpace...It's from 2006. I was re-reading some old ones and this was such a great example of how God deals with people in such personal ways. It's why He is such a good Father! I respond well to humor. And He knows this...So this was how he dealt with me on pride:


May 1, 2006

Last week I was slighted by the Bible study leader at Shiloh. She made a really insensitive comment to me when I shared something that was kind of personal. One morning after that I was laying in bed thinking of skipping the next Bible study. In my mind I started composing an e-mail to the leader explaining why I wouldn't be there. I daydreamed about how I would dish out some biting sarcasm. In the middle of relishing in those verbal one-two jabs, I suddenly had an image of myself...I shrunk down into this little cartoon character, punching away at the air. A huge hand came down and with thumb and forefinger plucked my up by the hood of my sweatshirt. There I was dangling from these huge fingers and saying in this little voice "C'mon! Put 'em up! lemme at her! lemme at her! I'll punch her in the mewf!".

Then God spoke with calm firmness: "Child, I will put you down when you can handle this situation with gentleness and grace. You just go on and get the sarcasm out of your system. When you're through, you may go."

It was one of the most vivid communications I have had with Father so far. I love that He uses humor sometimes to make His point. Needless to say, I never wrote that e-mail and I did go to the next class. :)

Hmmm - this is a word art thing that shows what words you use most in your writing...I plugged in my blog and this is what was created. My friend tells me I need to brighten up my blog a little bit! hahahaha!

Awash with tears and grace

At Vineyard Westside we think baptism weekend is the best day of the year - even above Christmas! We have a big outdoor party with worship and food and baptisms. Usually there's a group of people who sign up for baptism but many feel called to publicly declare their faith right there on the spot. Yesterday we had a lot of folks who have been believers for a long time who either re-committed or were baptized for the first time...Here are some of my favorite pics from the day:

Ryan - one of our pastors and his wife, Allison

This is my friend who 6 months ago didn't want to live. Today she is a shining example of what the abundant love of Christ can do.


Dave praying over his daughter just before baptizing her.


Dave's wife, Colleen and their older daughter praying with them.

If you want a total tear fest, check out all the pics on slideshow!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Sketchisfuzzy/Baptisms2008/photo#s5225453654259894578

Plug of no shame!

I have submitted some photos to Capture Cincinnati - a coffee table book that will be in print next year. The selection of photos relies partially on votes...So if ya have a minute and feel like voting, please visit!


2 of my friends also have pages:

Virgie

Greg

Do you have photos to submit??!

Go for it!

Now THAT's a Bible!

I'm a-scared a-dis!

Specs: 4 1/2 inches thick, 2 times the height of a DVD and bigger than a human cranium!

It bothered me...

...I didn't want it to, but it did...And I have to tread carefully in my wording here so as not to give the wrong message.

My Aunt is staying at a Hospice house in South Carolina...It is a beautiful place. The people who work there are wonderful. They are caring and kind and go out of their way to serve. I have always heard good things about hospice and now I have experienced it first hand. The care and concern is a gift from God, I know.

But there was a constant undercurrent in my spirit that kept coming to me - and that was that part of this culture of dying necessarily includes an embracing of a work of the enemy. A beautifying of the curse of Adam. It almost seemed like a shrine to death. Not that I believe that was at the heart of the Hospice movement. In reading about it, it was largely born out of a concern for the way dying people were treated. Everyone should be honored and respected and the hospice movement should be credited with bringing about this dignity. If I am ever in a bad way, I would enjoy very much to be in one of these facilities. They themselves are happy when someone "fails" hospice and goes home.

Maybe that's the issue for me...Hospice has a connotation of meaning 'where you go when there is no hope'. Where you go to die. The expectation then is set.

At this particular place, they provide the book "On death and dying" by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. It explains the stages of dying that she observed.

Yay for preparing people.

Boo for seting up an expectation of death.

Kubler-Ross wrote 21 books on dying and eventually became involved in contacting the dead through mediums. Spiritually this disturbs me. Her life was spent focused on the enemy's crowning glory. I don't want Kubler-Ross's tome about accepting death and embracing it as a transition into the next life. Death lost it's sting at Jesus' resurrection - that doesn't mean it is no longer a work of the enemy. Sin also lost it's sting. That doesn't make it good.

While it is important to accept the reality of death, I also know that we aren't to conform to the patterns of this world. Could one of those patterns be the passive acceptance of "we're born, we move on we die, that's life"? Even if things look grim, are we supposed to sit and just wait for a loved one to die or are we supposed to live with hope at all times? Even if it requires getting up out of our grief and hoping again the next time we see cancer or AIDS or whatever ravaging a loved one's body? Even if 99.9% of the time there is no healing, are we called to the
Hope - the knowledge, the faith that God is more powerful than death and He can override it anytime in anyone. old people, young people, Christians and non Christians?

I ask this of myself because hoping against hope can become extremely painful.

Yet, I remember that the disciples huddled in the boat as a storm raged, knowing they would surely die. Jesus said "where is your faith?" and rebuked the storm. They all survived and Peter walked on water.

Am I to take this as a story from long ago - maybe just a myth - or am I supposed to live it and stand in the face of every storm knowing that the God of all creation is in the boat with me?

My Comet where art thou?

We have a place here in Cincinnati, a little bar in Northside called The Comet. They are known for their nicely priced ($5) burritos which look something like this (only a bit fatter):


Denny and I went there for dinner last night...And something has gone terribly wrong! After waiting 25 minutes because it was extremely busy, the cook finally came out with our plates. I could hardly contain my excitement until I looked down at my plate...My burritos looked something like this:


I used to rate Comet's burritos as the only ones that could top Chipotle. They have shredded chicken (as opposed to the chunkier bits at Chipotle) and the beans are prepared more like refried so you can fit lots more in. However after last night I will have to lower their rating. I used to leave feeling like I couldn't eat another bite. I left feeling sad, unfulfilled. Denny says its because of the economy. They have to slim down the portions so they can keep the prices low. I say it's time for Boston Bean Party in this country!

When Comet burritos have to be sacrificed we have reached a point of desperation!

Everyone has a story...

I got to be a part of my friend's photo project for VWS...Here is his completed piece...Awesome job, Ryan - thank you again for asking me to be a participate. I had a great time!

Getting old when...

This is part of my breakfast! The yellow ones are B-Complex for Stress. The white ones are Magnesium, Zinc and Calcium for my aching bones. I will be adding Glucosamine and Chondroitin for my aching joints very soon

Yes, my little old-age cocktail of vitamins...

Here is my latest portrait:

Havin' Church in my livingroom!

More David Phelps...The boy can SING!



LET THE GLORY COME DOWN

Here we stand with our hand up
high.
Give us a reason to testify.
Oh, break
the chains, tear down the walls.
We wanna feel it when the spirit falls.

Oh, we sing glory, glory, let the
glory come down. Oh, glory,
glory, let the glory come down.

With a force that we can’t
explain.
Oh, let it fall like a holy
rain.
OH, bring it on, bring it strong,
bring us to our knees.
Show us Your presence, Holy Spirit, please.

Oh, we sing glory, glory, let the
glory come down. Oh, glory
glory, let the glory come down.

Oh, we sing glory, glory, let the
glory come down. Oh, glory
glory, let the glory come down.

Now we’re gonna praise His
name.
Let the glory come down.
Let the glory come down.
and down, and down.
Let the glory come down.
Praise Him, let
the glory come down.

There’s a hunger down in our
souls.
Glory, let us see where the glory
rolls.
Oh, we sing glory, glory, let the
glory come down. Oh, glory
glory, let the glory come down.

Oh, we sing glory, glory, let the
glory come down. Oh, glory
glory, let the glory come down.

Break the chains - we want to
testify. Bring it on, bring it
strong. All the glory, let the glory
come down.