Snakes!!!

In my mind this is one of Purgatorio's best posts. Although it is NOT funny as so many of his are, it is very good at pointing out a problem.--Dirk

Crazy Roman Catholics

This article confirms to me that Roman Catholics are mislead on some (or most....maybe all) things. Why would you ever pray to Mary to begin with, and why would you ever pray to a chocolate Mary??? I think Isaiah 44 pretty much covers this chocolate prayer thing. Reading the story reminded me of the Jesus that showed up on a polaroid in my home town one year. I saw the picture and it was pretty freaky, but that is for another day.--Dirk

Update: I somehow linked the wrong story. It should be fixed now.

New Blog

Just to prove that I really am not trying to play favorites with people's blogs and place them in a top to bottom favorite order(I keep making this point, but no one has accused me of it....oh well), I have added a new blog to the "blogs of people we know" roll. Ok, that isn't all true. What really happened is that Mike Thompson started a blog and the "T" in Thompson happens to be after the "S" in Stephenson when I put them in alphabetical order. No matter the reason, there is a new blog on the roll, check it out.--Dirk

Reorganization...ok just Organization

My wonderful wife suggested that we change the "blog roll" links on the side bar. I too thought it was a good idea to do so now that I am somewhat familiar with changing the blog template. For a long time I was just happy to have those links on the side bar, it took forever to figure that out. So let me explain the method to the madness so that hopefully no one will get their feeling hurt.

At the top you should see "blogs of people we know." I would have said friends, but Kathy doesn't know all of those people. This section is listed top to bottom in alphabetical order. I was NOT trying to just find a way to put Robin at the bottom. It has nothing to do with them leaving us for Virginia.....really it doesn't.

Next you should see "other blogs we read." This section too is posted in alphabetic order (sorta). I did the best I could without listing out everyone who posts on the group blogs. This section was originally titled "blogs we read," but I thought it would imply that we don't read our friends blogs....I mean the blogs of people that we know. We do read those.

Continuing down the list the "ministry links" were only put in alphabetical order (big surprise). I have some ministries to add, but I need to track down web addresses.

Finally you have "the church we attend." It too went through naming revisions tonight because I thought "our church" indicated ownership. It isn't Lakewood and therefore isn't owned by anyone person. Yeah you heard me Lakewood is owned by good 'ole Joel....that's for another blog.

I hope that you find the renovations pleasing. If you don't well I really don't care...just kidding. Send any suggestions my way--Dirk

Praying Beyond Health Concerns

9Marks has a great new article by David Prowlison on praying for more than just physical needs. I think this article is a must read, not because we have to agree with everything in it but because we need to be striving to pray correctly. Hopefully this article will help drive us back to the Bible to study for a better understanding of Biblical prayer. --Dirk

(HT: Dr. Jim Hamilton)

UPDATE: For some reason the link to the article will NOT work. It will work if you go to Dr. Hamilton's blog, then click on the link, but not from here. I don't claim to understand it either--Dirk

Another sad church

The good folks over at Slice of Laodicea (yes you too should read it daily) provided another interesting article. This one is from the New York Times and highlights a pastor that started a church in Arizona. Here is a small piece of that article that should either 1) make you want to read about this church or 2) cry that the WORLD pointed this out:

The spiritual sell is also a soft one. There are no crosses, no images of Jesus or any other form of religious iconography. Bibles are optional (all biblical quotations are flashed on huge video screens above the stage). Almost half of each service is given over to live Christian rock with simple, repetitive lyrics in which Jesus is treated like a high-school crush: ''Jesus, you are my best friend, and you will always be. Nothing will ever change that.'' Committing your life to Christ is as easy as checking a box on the communication cards that can be found on the back of every chair. (Last year, 1,055 people did so.) (page 3 of the web article, emphasis added)

I hope that we all weep when secular sources have more insight than some churches. May we all pray that the Lord would have mercy on us so that we can seek His face!--Dirk

Summer Reading # 3: Guns, Germs, and Steel

Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. I made myself finally complete this book about a month ago. It was one that I bought about 2 years ago thinking it would make me more enlightnened, but then i got bogged down in all the technical aspects and gave it up. Since I'm teaching World History this next school year (that is coming all too quickly, by the way) I thought I should at least finish it so that I'll sound smarter than my students.

The book's ambitious goal is to explain why the world is the way it is. Why do European nations (including the US) have all the wealth and places like Papua New Guinea are left in the Stone Age? Why did Europe colonize North America and not the other way around? The book drops all notions of racial or cultural superiority and looks more at geography to explain each area's circumstances.

I was going to explain some of the interesting factors that Diamond listed that will decide if a location has enough to offer its inhabitants in the way of advancement, but there are so many, that I would give up this review before I finished. I was convinced of his theories by the end of the book. I would scrap the first chapter or two that explain his hopes of evolution, but the rest of the book is engaging, and you will be able to see the hand of God and how He orders the world.

--Kathy

Summer Reading # 2: Brave New World

I decided to read this, my favorite of all high school reading, because a friend of mine said he wants me to read Planet of the Apes and I said I would if he would read Brave New World(by Aldous Huxley) .

So I thought I should reread it to refresh myself. I know most high school seniors that have to read this book loathe it. I absolutely loved it. I love any dystopian novels (Fahrenheit 451 is up there at the top of my list too) and Brave New World is one of the best. It really allows you to examine the aspects of our society that we take for granted. Our values, truisms, desires and goals are all turned on their head to allow us to see the merit in what we have.

I dont know if this was the author's intent, but I enjoyed the total dismantling of the family(where 'mother' is a dirty word) and its effects on people. I also love the discussions that take place about what true happiness is--is it really the removal of all pain or is pain necessary to achieve happiness? I think what I like most about this book is that is a discussion of culture, brainwashing, and the value of the struggle of life, all in an interesting story.

I know I am not doing this book the justice it deserves in this short book review. The book has much more depth than I can convey in a few paragraphs, so if you are at all intrigued, please check it out.

--Kathy

You know that creepy commercial...

If you've ever wondered about that weird TV spot that advertises the stuff that you actually rub onto your forehead to relieve a headache, you've got to read this. I felt validated after knowing that we weren't the only ones scratching our heads...

--Kathy

New Person the Blogroll

I would like to point out that we have added a new person to the blogroll on the left. Robin and Jason are members of our church and will be moving in a short time to Virginia for Jason's job. I am sorry that I did not put her blog up there earlier. We look forward to hearing about the D.C. area through your writings!--Dirk