I just love the look of this site. I am jealous. I wish our church web site was like this but I know nothing about flash. I've got to find someone who can build one for me.

Submission can be so hard!
"he who attempts to escape obeying withdraws himself from grace. Likewise he who seeks private benefits for himself loses those which are common to all. He who does not submit himself freely and willingly to his superior, shows that his flesh is not yet perfectly obedient but that it often rebels and murmurs against him." Thomas a' Kempis

Andrew Jones writes
"Although i have to say, in the area of missiology and overseas development, which is where i often hang out, women traditionally have outnumbered men, in some cases 7 to 1."

In my experience this has been going on for a long time. Why? Why is mission work seen as women's work?

Media
Shower Slate
Notes under water


Ever have an idea in the shower and have no way to record it...and then it's lost forever? I use a "Dive Slate", a small (4"x6" ) sheet of sturdy white plastic with a plain old fashioned golf pencil attached. They're cheap (around $5--$6), available on the net at various dive shops, fit nicely behind the soap holder or hung in the shower and work well; they're meant to be written on underwater by divers, so unless you shower under Niagara Falls, your thought will be captured until you erase it.

-- Vincent Crisci


I'll be taking longer showers now.... if my kids don't use all the hot water first!

Another sign that I'm getting old -

I went to the Winter Jam concert last night and found myself asking myself, "Why couldn't I have found a seat in the section where everyone sits down while the bands are playing?" I also was thinking how great it would be if there was a hockey game going on instead.

Oh well, at least the kids liked it!

"We are all called to be Christs to each other like that, I think. Like Peter, like Thomas, the Marys, Joanna we are called to be not just human beings but human beings open to the possibility of being transformed by the grace of God as it comes to us who knows how or when - ... We are called by the good God to be the hands and feet and heart of Christ to each other." - Frederick Buechner

Also, we must be open to the possibility of others being transformed by the grace of God. Unfortunately one of the hardest things many face is having been rebellious at one point in their lives but desire to follow Jesus now. Too many so-called Christians apparently fail to believe in transformation by the grace of God.

"I have fallen into the great indignity I have written against - I am a contemplative who is ready to collapse from overwork. This, I think, is a sin and the punishment of sin but now I have got to turn it to good use and be a saint by it, somehow." Thomas Merton

One of the great sins of our time is our failure to rest - mostly due to the belief that our busyness somehow means we are significant and relevant.

One of the greatest and most underdeveloped technologies in the church.... FOOD! Now there is an interesting thought. I'll have to think about that for awhile.

Christ. My son, do not take it to heart if others think ill of you, and say unpleasant things about you. Consider yourself to be even worse that they imagine, and regard yourself as the weakest of men. If your inner life is strong, you will not pay much heed to passing words. A wise man remains silent when beset by evil; he turns to Me in his heart, and is untroubled by man's judgments.

Do not let your peace depend on what people say of you, for whether they speak good or ill of you makes no difference to what you are. True peace and joy is to be found in Me alone. He who is neither anxious to please nor afraid to displease men enjoys true peace. All unrest of heart and distraction of mind spring from disorderly affections and groundless fears. - Thomas a' Kempis - "The Imitation of Christ"

Thomas a' Kempis seems to build a lot from the John 15 passage and especially the "if a man remains in me and I in Him" line of verse 5. I'm not sure that I agree totally with the last line of his quote above (It seems Christ could be described as having 'unrest of heart' in the garden) but the rest I find difficult but assuring.