Thoughts in the Presence of Fear

…the substitution of rhetoric for thought, always a temptation in a national crisis, must be resisted by officials and citizens alike.

Wendell Berry
Thoughts in the Presence of Fear

An important essay - that is even timelier today than when it was written...you can read here…

http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/214/

Harry Potter Spoilers- if that is possible...

It's been two years since the last Harry Potter movie, and in the meantime, my interest has waned. Nonetheless, I was curious to see how the sixth book in the series would be portrayed on the big screen, and I was not really surprised. The book it is based on is a sort of plodding, transitional piece that, in my estimation, could have been removed from the series and not missed.

The darkness of the story line is reflected cinematically in the shadowy, dreary imagery throughout. Time and again, wands provide the only source of light to dispel the encroaching darkness. This is especially true in the scene that replaces Dumbledore's funeral. Rumor has it that this will open the next movie.

There are several themes that were hinted at in the movie but were not fully explored- that of Draco's suffering for fear of his life and that of light overcoming darkness, the nature of trust, the trustworthiness of memory, and the pitfalls of celebrity both for those who attach themselves to it and those who are afforded it. Some images were left unresolved- such as the reason for Dumbledore's withered and burnt hand.The battle at the end of the book is no where to be found.

One of the problems with the movie is its dependence upon what went before and what will come. Obviously, if one has read the series, there was little to be surprised about. For instance, the shock of the non-resistance and "murder" of Dumbledore will lose its impact if one knows "the rest of the story." The movie starts with the supposition that one remembers how the fifth movie ended, inserting the viewer into the aftermath of the public revelation that Lord Voldemort is back. The detail that made the book tolerable is missing in many places in the movie.

Many of the reviews I have read lament the daunting task of depicting the books in another medium, but surely -isn't this is the very basic thing we expect from the multimillion dollar effort? Is it asking too much? In my opinion, the makers of the movie could have by means of memory devices or flashbacks filled in some of the blanks. Instead the movie cannot stand on its own merit, rambling through some considerably less important chapters and covering other parts of the narrative in seconds, such as the explanation and point of horcruxes. Altogether missing are symbolically important passages, such as the lament of the phoenix and, as already mentioned, Dumbledore's funeral.

Fans will fill in their own blanks with details from the memory afforded by the reading of the book. I'm not so sure it will make any sense whatsoever to a non-reader.

Bursts of Color

We have wild strawberries on the vine. And here is another web gallery of the flora adorning our homeplace...

Oldie but Goodie

I ran across this image sent by friends some years ago- it's still funny today..
Click Here for larger image.

Work then Rest

I worked hard yesterday to create an exercise space in my garage/ library area- I was pleased with the results. We picked some of the firstfruits of our garden last evening; and today visited Bardstown for a return trip to retake photos at the
Heaven Hill Distillery Bourbon Heritage Center display. Yep- that's right - this teetotaler has an interest in the history of distilling in Kentucky as half my ancestors were involved in this trade. My great grandfather was the first distillery supervisor at Heaven Hill and I shot pix of their historical display today.It is a top notch exhibition site and spared no expense in the display and graphic design.

Then we retired to Kurtz' Restaurant to tear up a chicken and have a little dessert- which served as supper as well...

Anthony's Musings on Face to Face and Facebook

In the past couple of years I have had the delight to make contact with many new friends who are distantly and not so distantly related to us. Just the other day we ran into a cousin I had not seen in at least a dozen years, and we connected via email. We now have contact with a first cousin Earnie had never met till now. Email and the net, again, made this possible. The Facebook friends connections are growing and I have had several occasions where an update on their site registered with me and I find the issues arising at prayer time. One of my best friends just started a substantial blog of his own and I am excited about reading his thoughts there.

All in all the social networking phenomenon has begun to touch our lives in a bigger way, and there is no turning back, I think. Not to say that the face-to-face contact it can lead to is replaceable. Some of the greatest memories IN recent memory have come from cousins who drop by to visit or renewed acquaintances when we drop in to see my grandmother. It's become a both/and world as we get most of our news from the net these days and I am looking into how I can replace cable with Netflix and streaming video.

Wonder what things will be like in my lifetime? I sometimes wonder if the ratio of continuity to change we experience will surpass that which my mother in law saw in her 97 years on earth?

I also hope to have some time to write a bit on the sacredness of place and how that translates to a virtual world...

Anthony muses: Society on and offline...

Anthony sez: Musings on Online and Offline Society

In the past couple of years I have had the delight to make contact with many new friends who are distantly and not so distantly related to us. Just the other day we ran into a cousin I had not seen in at least a dozen years, and we connected via email. We now have contact with a first cousin Earnie had never met till now. Email and the net , again made this possible. the Facebook friends connections are growing and I have had several occasions where an update on their site registered with me and I find the issues arising at prayer time. One of my best friends just started a substantial blog of his own and I am excited about reading his thoughts there.

All in all the social networking phenomenon has begun to touch our lives and there is no turning back, I think. Not to say that the face to face contact it can lead to is replaceable. Some of the greatest memories IN recent memory have come from cousins who drop by to visit or renewed acquaintances when we drop in to see my grandmother. It's become a both/and world as we get most of our news from the net these days and I am looking into how I can replace cable with Netflix and streaming video.

Wonder what things will be like in my lifetime? I sometimes wonder if the ratio of continuity to change we experience will surpass that which my mother in law saw in her 97 years on earth?

Check out the world's ugliest dog contest...

HERE

The Effects

I went back and quantified a feeling...I sense that my creative energies these days are consumed with filling out matrices for curriculum design and inputting data for research and solving cognitive problems to the point I fear my brain is getting rewired in the process. I note as evidence of this that my output of music has dried up to a trickle and I have to ask myself if this is die to living in a broken cistern, as it were.

Three lyrics this year, and no music to accompany the words.

In the past I have been able to track my spiritual well- being by the journalling effect of the songs i write. They are evidence of what is going on internally-

Set Me To Singing

Lord set my heart to singing
In this barren wilderness
I have so much Lord to praise you for
I have so much to confess

When I bare my soul to the one who sees
With my unpure offering you’re pleased
And I’m lifted as I fall on my knees
And I sing my song to you

Lord set my soul to singing
Change the rhythm of my heart’s beat
Purify my store of wickedness
And remove all the deceit

For my weeping eyes I turn to you
Give me back my sight and my joy renew
When I’m drowning show me what to do
Let me sing a song to you.

Lord set my mind to singing
Bring new order to the strife
Let me set my mind on things above
Renew my fragmented life

In the stillness of the deepening night
In the clamor of the morning light
In the fever of the daily fight
I would sing a song to you

Anthony Foster
June 27, 2009

A Poem from the Past: 1990

It's about the vanity of presuming to be creative of your own accord...

Pastor Fred Winters Honored at Convention

Our former pastor, Fred Winters was honored posthumously at the SBC Convention in Louisville. Cindy and the girls were there to accept the award from Thom Rainer.

Our sources tell us that nothing is coming out about the killer- I won't use the silly word "alleged" here- but I am hopeful FBCM will have an interim to lead them through that difficult time when any resolution concerning the killer breaks forth.

Tis the Season...

Here we are on the third day of Summer and I have seen the light. Or at least the lightening bugs, as we knew them. Some people prefer fireflies, so I will grant you that... I was listening to the evening song of the mockingbirds at the time....quite a reverie...

Us-Now

Here we are in Red and White together...

Fragrances and Flowers

See the Slideshow here...
We love our flowers and the advent of blooms is an annual celebration- we have a long way to go to get to the stage we had reached at our Illinois home, but we are on the way....

May He Keep You Close

May He keep you close in times of trouble
In green pastures may you feed
May He be your shepherd when you lose your way
And your provision in time of need

And may He keep you close to His holy heart
For he promised to n’ere forsake
So enter in to his perfect rest
As in His presence now you wake.

May God keep you close as day by day
You fight the holy fight
May He keep you close to righteousness
And give you songs in the deepest night
For the closeness that we seek to know
Is ours as in Him we hide
Till he returns to take us home
And he draws us to His side
He dwells in us and we in Him
So in obedient faith abide

May he keep you close in time of blessing
In times that draw our hearts away
May He do all that a loving Father
Would do to keep you from going astray

And may he keep you close to one another
Bound in the fellowship of peace
That comes from living in His light
Where the lonely find release

Anthony Foster
June 21, 2009

And looking backwards...Old Timers Religion

It's good enough for me, to a point. As long as it makes me love everybody anyways.

I am hoping to further explore my religious heritage on the other side to the degree I am doing now, which takes up way too much time to be healthy right now. Living back in the place where I grew up has been instructive in many ways and as I move into the future and dwell in the present i would seek to know those times as well.

Looking to the future, as well as the past will help us better live in the present. May we become better "men of Issachar" (1 Chr 12:32) in the process. They possessed three exceptional and essential qualities. They "understood the times" - they were men of accurate perception and penetrating analysis. We need that today. As a result "They knew what Israel should do" and they had a passion that was driven by this accurate perception... I look forward to what unfolds!

Regrets and Looking Forward to the Future!

I've been neglecting this blog. After blogging for nigh on seven years, the posts have dwindled here, and for that I am sorry. I hope to make up for it in the future by adding interesting stuff that doesn't take so long and pointing to other resources I enjoy. Case in point, go check out The Future History and see it as this knowledgeable and astute brother delimits some of the mystery about events that are on the horizon.

We Already had a Year of the Bible- 1983

With all the brewhaha on Capital Hill and in the blogosphere over the so called Bible Bill, I thought I'd reminisce- Ronald Reagan declared 1983 the Year of the Bible with full Congressional support. So in my estimation, that may be another indicator of the decline of Christianity in the USA.

News Headlines from 1983

Record $189 Billion Deficit Is Projected

House Votes 228 TO 195 To Bar Covert "Contra" Aid

Korean Air Lines 007 Is Shot Down by Soviet Missile, 279 killed

US and Caribbean Troops Invade Grenada

Legendary Coach Bear Bryant Is Gone

Borg Quits At Apex Of His Career

Polygamy: Arizona Man had 105 Wives

Reagan Proposes Star Wars Plan

All OPEC Members Agree To Cut Oil Prices

Terrorists Bomb US Embassy In Beirut, Over 239 Marines and Sailors Die

Dow exceeds 1200 for the first time

Died, Buster Crab, Jack Dempsey, Arthur Godfrey

Dustin Hoffman stars in "Tootsie"

Supreme Court reaffirms it's 1973 (Roe Vs Wade) Right to abortion

Barny Clark the first artificial heart transplant dies after 112 days

People Express "no frills" airline starts

California Condor hatched in captivity

Hitler diaries are exposed as fraudulent

Israel's Begin resigns, replaced by Shamir

I'm not sure what my point is. I think I'd be satisfied if Christians would just read theirs.

Nascent thoughts on John Galt...

Nascent as in just starting to be formed.

It’s a bit ironic, I think that Ayn Rand’s first job in Hollywood was as an extra on the set of deMille’s King of Kings. From a start in a movie about the ultimate sacrifice, Rand became the ultimate individualist, pursuing a philosophy of the ego called objectivism. In it she posits that sacrifice is evil(oops- that's a misnomer here- she probably didn't use that category) as it constitutes the substitution of a lesser value for a greater one. This goes to a point that what one places value in is the basis of life. Her’s is a view that sees all altruism as wrong. From a Christian worldview, she has all the pricetags wrong.

Sin is ultimately related to an individual’s degradation of the ultimate worth of the Ultimate Being. So that (along with most of the world) is her basic flaw.

This is a sterling example of upside down thinking- what happens when the correct absolute is denied- suddenly everything you know is wrong- a logical conclusion of what Dostoevsky is supposed to have said: "If God is dead, everything is permissible”. Actually he doesn't seem to have said that- more accurately, "If God does not exist, everything is lawful."

Rand's loathing of collectivism in ALL forms found expression in Atlas Shrugged. A leftist leaning Hollywood did not welcome her early novels, which were criticized for their anti-Communist stance. Then an idea came into a favorable time- Atlas Shrugged was published at the height of the Cold War, and its message was welcomed by an America that feared and despised Communism. As a collectivist system that forces individuals to sacrifice their own interests for the good of the state, Communism threatened the personal and intellectual freedoms Rand considered essential.

Christians would agree that "forced sacrifice" is a negation of grace in both positive and negative terms. Just as grace demanded abrogates the concept it embodies, forced sacrifice removes the freedom of response demanded by love. For Rand, and John Galt, the work of a person's consciousness is to perceive reality in its objective sense, to identify and recognize it as what it is, not to invent an alternate reality. The Scriptural view of reality is objective- and it posits that fallen man can not perceive reality in its whole, as he is mired in finite subjectivity. He cannot truly know reality, or his own motivations without a supernatural superintending of that reckoning of reality.

Atlas Shrugged attempts to extrapolate a potential logicus terminus for the world if economic freedom were lost, if emerging collectivist trends were to continue to their logical conclusions. The novel shows the results of a society where the consumers who produce nothing outstrip the producers and the results of the demise of efficient production. The producers in effect bail out in the end, refusing to participate in the chaos. At the end of the day, one might agree with the current application of her ideas in the present milieu, but we must finally come to the realization that Rand portrays the world in a contrast of consumer/producer that denies the paradoxical reality that self-sacrifice results in blessing in God’s economy. The pursuit of excellence involves short term sacrifice for long term gain, and the greatest excellence is revealed Truth of the nature of God and His relationship to the nature of man.

Hebrews alludes to this paradox in Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Again in Philippians 2:8-11 we are told that “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

By way of contrast- think on the ramifications of this quote: "I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine." Part Three, Chapter IX.

Christ despised the shame for the sake of the glory set before Him. It was purposeful self-sacrifice dedicated to the ultimate glorification of God, the greatest value in reality. This is realized in the foolishness of the cross that confounds the wisdom of man (1 Cor 1:18-25). It is for Gods sake that he lives. Man benefits from this love but it is the love of the Glory of the God who IS Love that sources the light of the world. In leaving the God who created man in the imago Dei out of the equation, Rand’s Objectivism is doomed, as it can never find the proper perspective or basis in an ultimate against which to define rational thought.

And this quote:

“John Galt is Prometheus who changed his mind. After centuries of being torn by vultures in payment for having brought to men the fire of the gods, he broke his chains—and he withdrew his fire—until the day when men withdraw their vultures.” Part Two, Chapter V.

Galt represents man’s mastery over nature and the principle of capitalistic economic advancement for the sake of man’s advancement. Thus it perverts two principles: First that all authority and stewardshjip of creation is delegated by the Creator, not man, and second, the principle that sacrifice is like a crop of seed that gives supernatural yield to those who labor diligently in this world. The principles of evil and injustice are out to abrogate this arrangement and the result is hubris, economic plight, and material and spiritual suffering. It is not only political collectivism that is the danger- it is the basic human fallenness that pervades power and dominion in society.

Under Rand's way of thought, people have no obligations to each other beyond the obligation to respect the freedom and rights of other self-interested people. This eiminates any concern for righting the ravages of a fallen world and denied the interconnectedness of the human species, and denied the propensity and clear witness of the nature of man to trample human rights and subjugate the weak. Prometheus unrestrained will become a vulture himself.

Jesus is still being persecuted today but by the power of the resurrection he has become the resurrection and the life who will never leave or forsake his own. He alone has the power to turn that which men mean for evil into that which avails for our good. He comes in judgment after a long patient wait for many to come to know him, to vindicate the faithful and to punish the wicked. It is only by the power of the cross that the vulture becomes the sparrow who rides the eagle’s wings.

Me So Holy-Not

Apple is paying a bit more attention to what apps it OK's these days...but I think they missed the boat that has departed....

Remembering Our St. Francis

Twenty-five years after the philosopher-evangelist's death, Os Guinness recalls a great man's influence.

Take a look at the comments on the site as well, they are instructive. FYI, I agree with Os.

Sparrow

Sparrow

Once I was a wanderer on the wistful, wailing wind.
The wind still blows but I know the song it sings
Now I go with knowledge of the places it can send
I am but a sparrow but I ride on eagles’ wings.

This sparrow it has found its house, a nest that never falters
In a tree that knows no bending, here I sing
Where this sparrow surely lays its young, here upon your altars,
O LORD of hosts, my God and righteous King

I watch alone as upon the house top I now stand.
I cannot buy nor spend, I do not sow or reap the land,
Nor gather into barns from which to make my offerings
Fed by the Fathers all sufficient hand
I am but a sparrow but I ride on eagles’ wings.

A grateful soul set flying- as out of the fowlers snare:
The trap is broken, and we are set free
We are escaped to fly our flight above where eagles dare
To take our rest in heaven’s most blessed tree.

And in the living and the moving
My true Being God is proving.
In the feeding on the surety of the feast trusting brings
I am safe, secure, and resting on this rock that I am loving
This sparrow waiting on the Lord mounts up on eagles’ wings.

Anthony
May 14, 2009
Matthew 6
Psalm 84:3
Psalm 124:7
Isaiah 40

Mark Eckel Writes like I Think

And somehow His intentionality in making Jesus the center of all things/thinks quenches the thirsty soul in the process. You can belly up to the bar at Warp and Woof...

Your assignment for the week: Listen to Good Music

Check out Andrew Case on Jango. I love his clear melodious voice and his soundly theocentric words...

Eat this...

I must say I am thoroughly enjoying my acquisition of TWO of Zinczenko and Goulding's Eat This Not That books.They are entertaining as well as eye opening, just the thing I needed to jumpstart my serious move on losing some serious weight- most of which has piled on in the last five years...I have the Supermarket Survival Guide and the Food Swaps volumes, as well as the Jillian Michaels book I saw last week on Huckabee's show.

A good old song...

From a very underrated album, in my humble opinion...

Property of Jesus

Bob Dylan 1981

Go ahead and talk about him because he makes you doubt
Because he has denied himself the things that you can't live without
Laugh at him behind his back just like the others do
Remind him of what he used to be when he comes walking through. He's the property of Jesus
Resent him to the bone
You got something better
You've got a heart of stone.

Stop your conversation when he passes on the street
Hope he falls upon himself, oh, won't that be sweet
Because he can't be exploited by superstition anymore
Because he can't be bribed or bought by the things that you adore.

He's the property of Jesus
Resent him to the bone
You got something better
You've got a heart of stone.

When the whip that's keeping you in line doesn't make him jump
Say he's hard-of-hearing, say that he's a chump
Say he's out of step with reality as you try to test his nerve
Because he doesn't pay tribute to the king that you serve.

He's the property of Jesus
Resent him to the bone
You got something better
You've got a heart of stone.

Say that he's a looser 'cause he got no common sense
Because he don't increase his worth at someone else's expense
Because he's not afraid of trying, say he's got no style
'Cause he doesn't tell you jokes or fairy tales, say things that make you smile.

He's the property of Jesus
Resent him to the bone
You got something better
You've got a heart of stone.
You can laugh at salvation, you can play Olympic games
You think that when you rest at last you'll go back from where you came
But you're picked up quite a story and you've changed since the womb
What happened to the real you, you've been captured but by whom ?

He's the property of Jesus
Resent him to the bone
You got something better
You've got a heart of stone.

News Links: Educational Technology and Distance Learning

New Resources Available-

• Rare written works go online-

• MIT makes research available on the web-

• YouTube EDU- YouTube EDU is the new Educational version of YouTube which features videos from various College and University partners on YouTube-

• Common Cartridge news

• Virtual Operating Room in Second Life- Educause-

• Twitter (Micro Blogging) As a Learning Tool. Really. From ASTD-

• Pico Projectors- will these change education- I expect so.-

• The Semantic Web and E-learning

• How to Teach Yourself About Social Media When J-Schools Fail- from Mediashift (PBS)

• ID’s-Instructional Designers- as IA’s- Information Architects-

• Universities “irrelevant” by 2010?

This week with wherewithal

Monday-Wednesday: Completed a curriculum design for a Physician Assistant program which was one of the more complex programs I have encountered.Had a tree removed that we tried to save after the ice storm.
Thursday completed a Pre- PA curriculum and sent if off to have books mapped.
Friday- almost completed a Clinical Lab Tech curriculum for an AS degree sans competencies mapped-will get to that asap.
Tomorrow- attending a seminar on alternatives for disciplining special needs kids.
Sunday- Teaching in Hebrews 2:1-4 in the Expositors class.

Reality and reality

My wife asked me to take a listen to the Susan Boyle videos on YouTube this weekend. My initial gut reaction was joy at a bit of reality breaking through inside the context of some of the most pretentious cultural fare television has to offer. The blogs variously take for granted she has never been kissed, that she is Shrek-like (Rosie O’Donnell quote), and that this is her fifteen minutes of fame.

Susan Boyle has a God given gift to go through life with. I hope she is able to share it in a way that does not take away from it. The very appearance on the show and the desire to please such a crass, jeering, sarcastic audience makes me wonder. There is already talk of makeovers and contracts. I can only hope the marketing machinations will not mitigate the beauty of the gift.

It is my belief, and my experience, that most of the most beautiful displays of God given talent emanate from hidden sources, away from the limelight, in place such as country churches and family gatherings, in impromptu jam sessions and coffee houses for a limited and intimate audience to savor. Turning the spotlights on tends to distort the effect of beauty and simplicity.

Most of the blogs I've read are focusing on her outward appearance- they cannot seem to help themselves- to me she looked like a normal human being, like many (most) of the people I know. The very idea that such a person has anything to offer seemed to blow away the crowd and judges, which says far more about them than it does about Ms. Boyle. I hope she is able to have the peace to be able to continue to visit her church’s shut-ins, something far more important in the eyes of the Lord than all the media blitz. Perhaps she will be able to become a role model based on the beauty of her voice and the compelling soul she bared. I also liked her response to Simon Cowell's contention that she was a "tiger," dismissing the idea out of hand.

Talent is a curious thing. Most of what passes for talent in today’s world is a corruption. I look at the talent present in the early vaudevillians, and early movie performers - they seemed to have true talent based on the hard, hard work they put into perfecting their acts. Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell in Broadway Melody of 1940 springs to mind. Or an early Pavarotti concert captured for the ages. No fancy editing, no cutting room editor’s enhancement, no special effects. Just pure, raw talent perfected by hard work into a diamond.

Wotta Lotta week

*Monday- Finished the information Technology program Core then worked on Prospectus after work.

*Tuesday- Began BA/BS Business with a Healthcare focus curriculum design and after work worked on Prospectus continued until 5:30 AM

*Wednesday- Got up at 8AM Drove the Prospectus, Research Profile, and Ethics Committee forms to Southern. Done! Came home and finished the Business Curriculum and sent it off. Went to Highview and filled out cards for ABF event.

*Thursday- Curriculum Design- Medical Assisting with a Certified Nursing Assistant Certification Designed and sent off. Met with Missy for home study. Watched a really bad Fred Astaire movie we had never seen- Second Chorus...

*Friday- GED curriculum designed and sent off. Checked MERLOT again and their server is down YET AGAIN. They say "sorry for the inconvenience"- I have a collection of those now I should try to sell on ebay. But who would buy that?

My mind...where di di ditit go? Ready for a weekend as I have already written-a week ahead- the Expositors class lesson for this week at Highview.

Last week-

*Defended prospectus Thursday successfully- but I don't get an extension on time must finish the revisions over Easter weekend.

*Good Friday- Was supposed to be off, but worked on a Information Technology core curriculum Design instead.

*Saturday- Prepared ABF lesson and then worked on Prospectus rest of day into the night.

*Resurrection Sunday- He is Risen! He is risen indeed- but I barely am.

I taught on the exaltation of the stone that was rejected and the link between 1 Cor 15:24 ff and Hebrews 1:13-----Psalm 110:1. We had dinner at Moms with the family but I wasn't much company. Came home and napped.

New Tools for EdTech

• The Chronicle- How to create MicroLectures- and a bit of controversy- HERE

• Campus Technology- Abilene Christian University and Embanet have developed a new ePortfolio system for use with ACU's Moodle learning management system. HERE

• StudyBlue.com- takes social networking to create a space to trade and compare class notes, form study groups and utilize fellow students as resources for academic success. HERE

• Blackboard has released a new LMS tool for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch- THE Journal- HERE

Innovation

From FutureThinking:

It's been an exciting few weeks for some of the world's most famous innovators. Apple unveiled the latest iPhone/iPod Touch operating system (who knew software could be so exciting?) and unveiled its third-generation iPod shuffle. Amazon released the Kindle2, a welcomed follow-up to its popular eReader. Facebook updated its homescreen layout. Google released a new 'Undo Send' feature to GMail. The list goes on—you get the idea.

The point is that things are still happening—despite all the negativity out there, smart companies are still plugging forward and improving their offerings.

The Strangest Week in Memory

We watched the stream of Pastor Fred's memorial service yesterday as it was happening. I have watched video of similar broadcasts, but this one was different in that we were able to identify with what our friends were experiencing as it was happening.

I was really proud of the way Cindy glorified God in her eulogy. She did much good in her affirmation of the body there and in here modeling of self control and grace. Joy in the death of a loved one is such a bittersweet paradox, yet she displayed it to a watching world powerfully and peacefully.

We continue to pray for our friends at FBCM- for as the pastor who is speaking this weekend alluded, hard times are still ahead. the memory of what happened last sunday will linger on and it will be a challenge to some more than others to focus on the priority of worship. God's grace is sufficient in even this.

Link to FBCM Slideshow

Here's one from KMOV
VIDEO
KSDK

God Stories

I wrote this for the Spring Production at First Baptist Maryville back in 2001. I was reminded of the theme by the stories on the FBCM site. May we all be as faithful and bold a witness to our communities and places we are called to serve as Fred was to his calling!

God Stories

Our Life is a story God writes day by day-(Phil 1:6)
A journal of joy and a drama display'd (Jer. 27-28, Luke 22:17-19)
He creates a canvas and on it He paints (Prov 7:3)
A perplexing picture of sinners made saints (1 Cor. 1:28, Romans 5-6)

We are living letters that tell of God's grace (2 Cor 3:2-3)
He speaks in and out and through all of our days (Col 3:16, Acts 17:28)
He molds us and makes us a true masterpiece (Job10:9, Phil 2:12))
A masterwork made for His glory's increase. (Eph 2:10)

The story's no fable, just let it unfold (1 Tim 4:7)
For a story's no story unless it is told (Psalm 26:7)
For ears long to hear, eyes are longing to see (Romans 10:14)
The mystery revealed in you and in me (Col. 1:26-27)

A song made of melodies born in the night (Job 35:10, Zephaniah 3:17)
A poem made of rhymes only Jesus can write (Eph 2:10 -poiema)
Words engraved on hearts purified and made new (Jer. 31:33, 2 Cor 3:3b)
The story ne'er ends and the story is true. (Ro 5:21)

Transformed by His anvil (Jer. 23:29, Ro. 9:20) and shaped on His wheel(Is. 64:8)
A tapestry woven His tale to reveal (Mark 15:38 et. al.)
Expressions constructed for Christ to indwell (Col 3:16, 2 Cor 6:16)
A story that only a Savior can tell. (Jeremiah 29:11)

So now let the storytelling never cease (Psalm 145:2)
We must not be silent- must not keep our peace (2 Kings 7:9 KJV)
For ears long to hear, eyes are longing to see (Ro 10:14)
The mystery revealed in you and in me (Col 4:3, Col 1:27)

Anthony Foster January 18, 2001

Also see 1 Peter 4:10, Proverbs 25:11, Acts 18:9)

And Then Comes Peace

This message on the FBCM site touched us and I thought I would point others to it. It is a great testimony of the difference the Peace that passes all understanding makes...Look for : Submitted by: Sheila Satterthwaite at 4:12:17 PM on 03/11/2009 ...

The More I Read the more it makes me Sick

This is a time of grief and horror for so many of my friends. If I, who cut ties with FBCM as part of my journey years ago am so affected by this-- how much more must they be? I remember once telling Fred just after 9/11 that I wish I had a rocket launcher- I sort of feel that way again today.Anger, rage, deep sadness, and loss. Just like building muscle means breaking it down first, there is an analogy with spiritual growth. Maybe there will come some fruit from all this but it is surely hard to fathom how at this point in time. What men work for evil, God works for good.

Sounds like Terry Sedlacek's lawyer is setting up an insanity plea according to press releases. Sounds like the parents knew he was mentally ill and still allowed him to brandish guns and knives. I've been praying for the Winters family today and pondering the shootings that have been occurring across the country in the past few months. Now we are hearing that Sunday was designated Death Day by the assailant in his day timer. This young man has not only decimated a beautiful family and a man who sought to serve the Lord, he violated a community of people in the body of Christ at Maryville.

Excuse me while I work this out...and I will.

Psalm 110:1 in the Book of Hebrews

The image of Jesus taking His seat at the right hand of God is taken from Ps 110:1 where David writes... The LORD (God the Father) says to my Lord (God the Son): "Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet."

Comment: Literally this begins "Yahweh said to Adonai".

David records a remarkable conversation between two Persons of the Godhead. This Messianic psalm is quoted as such at least 12 times in the NT. In Mt 22:43-45 Christ specifically applies Psalm 110:1 to Himself claiming that He is not just the son of David but David's Lord. In short, Psalm 110 pictures the Messiah as King, Priest and victorious Warrior.

This is the one who is our warrior in trying times such as this. He is the Great High Priest who sits down in satisfaction after accomplishing his work, and who continues to intercede for us. He is the King who rules with earth as his footstool. He is the warrior who is mighty to save and who is on our side.

Church shootings and quiet desperation…

Thoreau said many years ago that the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. The silence is being broken all too often these days as shootings are regularly taking place in places no one could have anticipated. Garden Grove...Knoxville...New Jersey...now Maryville. Recently the state of Arkansas considered eliminating a law that forbade the carrying of concealed weapons in churches. Gratefully, reason prevailed and the bill failed. This context of shootings in a place where people come to cast themselves before God makes the tragedy even more unfathomable. Or perhaps not- there is likely something subconciously or even overtly symbolic in these actions

No matter the motive, a choice was made and a life is gone. A family is devastated, a community changed by a single bullet. I must agree with those who say this is an assault in a spiritual war against the body of Christ.

All around us we discern an encroaching darkness, a disregard for the value of human life and a desensitizing of mens’ hearts to the violence that encompasses us. We also find our own hearts forgetting to ponder our mortality and our need for a right relationship with God. In these dark days we need to remember who it was who brought us into his marvelous light, and take comfort that those before us who walked by faith and not by sight found the light sufficient for the day and for every day, indeed.

Fred Winters was ready to meet Jesus; we must all live with intentionality and be ready to stand before our Creator to account for our lives. Are you ready?

If you are relying on what you think is your own relative goodness to go to Heaven, you should tremble- this is exactly what sends people to an eternity without Christ- what we call Hell. Conversely, if you think you are seeking God, it is actually God who is calling to you. Don't answer the call of competing substitutes- Seek God in His Word, and you will be found.

Things to learn from this:

**It is OK to be angry and question in times of turmoil. God is big enough to love you through the doubts and pain if you will let Him. We must come to terms with our finiteness in God’s way.

**Deep times of trial and calamity and testing can be the occasion for God to glorify himself though us. He will show us how through His Word.

**Suffering can be turned into glory to God if it is not wasted and your respond by trusting and blessing God in all circumstances. This is a key to growing spiritually.

**When chaotic evil strikes, we must remember that this is the result of man’s rebellion against God and that there but for the Grace of God go we all. What men work for evil, God works for good.

**God’s will comes in two forms- his decrees, which always come to pass and his commands, which are for our blessing or cursing, involving our responses. Proper and righteous responses come by the power of God’s Holy Spirit operating in us.

**Just as we trusted Christ to save us, so too we can trust him to sustain us and give us a future and a sure hope.

**We are called to take up the cross and follow Christ- there is no such thing as cheap grace. Comfortable Christianity is a thing we manufacture all too often.

**We must understand that while there is evil and a personal Satan at large in the world, God is on the throne, and man doesn’t require the help of Satan to act according to a fallen nature.

**We must remember that there is a cost to taking up the cross and following Christ, and this is for all Christians, not just the mature ones..

**We must understand that forgiveness is offered to anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord, and that while righteous anger is normal and devastation real, there is peace that passes understanding that flows from grace.

**We all have to learn these things through incarnation in our lives- they do not come to wisdom in us by reciting them as platitudes, but by vitally living them in the real world.

CT Review of Watchmen

Read about it here... I may review later... depending on whether I can bring myself to watch it with purity of justification. I sure won't be able to on grounds of edification of the saints... though social commentary is important for us to stomach. I tend to adhere to the philosophy that the world throws enough images and sounds at me intended to scar my psyche- so I don't want to intentionally add to that. Pretty good principle to live by, I think, though it certainly limits my cultural engagement these days.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/reviews/2009/watchmen.html

News about the FBCM tragedy

I've been availing myself to information on the effects of Lyme disease. My Dad had Lyme disease at one point, but was cured of it. Some of the press is focusing on the mental illness of the assailant allegedly caused by the disease, and others are alleging Satanic attack. Which is true? Both? Neither? Is one related to the other? To read some accounts, the tick is really the culprit.

In reality, the effects of the Fall do trace back to the garden and continue to this day. There certainly is such a thing as evil. Satan is alive and well. It seems absurd to even have to verbalize this truth given the state of the world. Disease and mental illness are real and often confused with demon possession. They are often treatable and we praise God for the wisdom of doctors who can help in cases like this. So much is yet to be revealed in this case and we look forward to focusing on the solution- and not affixing the blame from our finite point of view. We all want to get inside the head of the purpetrator in times like this, and reasonably so. We want to understand.

Perhaps in the middle there is a reasonable answer we can come to, but now is the time to pray and send up petitions, to draw close to God and find out peace that the world has tried to destroy. God is on his throne and Fred's death was no surprise to Him. So while we grieve for the family and friends, we also take assurance that we can trust God to be good, even if it kills us, there is an eternity of blessedness ahead for those who pursue the obedience of faith- to be found in Christ.

My Sinuses

My ethnoid and sphenoid sinuses that is.

They hurt. Must be due to all the work I did trimming trees and bushes this weekend in the wind....

New Barna Survey

This one tracks the worldview changes in Christians over the past thirteen years.

More Americans say they have no religion

This is not a surprise, but informative---see AP story.

Shock and Dismay

As I was on my way to Church yesterday, it never occurred to me that anything was amiss. I taught a lesson on Hebrews 1:3, had some good conversations and discussion, and we went out to Red Lobster. Upon arriving at home we had phone calls from friends in Illinois telling us the news that Fred Winters had been shot.

It took a while for the shock to subside, and even then it seemed surreal. We spent the day following up on news, calling to express our concern, and discussing the events as they were revealed throughout the day. We had ministered at First Baptist Maryville for over six years, alongside Fred, supporting the ministry there in anyway we could, from hanging drywall to teaching for him on Wednesday nights, working with the video and drama ministries, teaching Sunday School and just about anything else one can imagine.

We had different philosophies of ministry, but were still able to minister together for that time until we felt the call to move to Bethel Baptist in Troy, Il- that move led us to here we are today. And now Fred is gone. That is very real. Our heartfelt prayers are going up for his family and the church family as well.

It is a un-real thing to be reading all these accounts, to see your friends and acquaintances quoted in the news, and all this from a distance. The first thing I thought of is the fact that his daughters, Alyssa and Cassidy have lost their father.

On another level, it is a deep sadness I feel for the world we live in where these kinds of things occur. People rush to defend the Lord God saying God is not responsible as if He has to be defended. Other blogs are asking why God can't restrain "people like this." Fred is with Jesus now, and that we should all be ready is a glaring fact in the light of such a tragedy.

I see they have released the name of the alleged killer. A quick search on the net reveals someone of the same name on the St. Louis Lyme disease website - an announcement of a benefit dinner to help a Terry Joe Sedlacek whose insurance was no longer paying to treatment. Todays news in the Post-Dispatch confirms this- "The man suspected of killing a pastor and injuring two others at a suburban St. Louis church on Sunday reportedly had a mental illness after Lyme disease attacked his brain."

I don't know if he knew what he was doing - there was evidence of great intentionality in what happened. 45 caliber semi- automatic magazines can hold anywhere from 7-16 rounds from what I see on the web. So I see it as a great grace from God that the gun jammed.

I also suppose it will be revealed, in time, whether the killer knew Fred, or what triggered the attack. Please pray for Cindy, Fred's wife, the kids, and also the church at Maryville. There is no telling how this will affect the ministry there, but we can all be thankful that our God is more than sufficient for the need, and that we can all rest in Jesus if we trust him in this life.

The FACEBOOK Fiasco

Read more about why I am backing off on Facebook posts...

ONCE TO EVERY MAN AND NATION

While gathering my tax information I ran across a transcription I did some time ago of an article written by one of my G-G-Grandfather's pupils who became a teacher. It ends with a line or two that garnered my attention and upon searching I found it was a portion from a hymn.

Words: James R. Lowell, in the Boston Courier, December 11, 1845. Lowell wrote these words as a poem protest­ing America’s war with Mexico.

Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light.

Then to side with truth is noble, when we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and ’tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses while the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied.

By the light of burning martyrs, Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track,
Toiling up new Calv’ries ever with the cross that turns not back;
New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth,
They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.

Though the cause of evil prosper, yet the truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong;
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own.-
---------------------------------------------------

The reason I am posting it is because I am pondering on the syncretistic sentiments that can slip in and pollute an otherwise good work- there is a sense in which each line rings true- but we must ponder the meaning of whether "time makes ancient good uncouth"- in what way and context? I also decry the sentiment that God is watching from on high-- that is true in one sense but by the implication God is at a distance--not sharing in the midst of the shadow with us. Such is the stuff that has brought us where we are today.

Happy V-Day!

I walked across the carpet just a while ago to give Earnie her Valentine's Day card, then she stated to plant a smooch on me and a spark arced from her lips to mine popping loudly. After the initial shock wore off (literally) we figured it's all part of making memories. Hope you and your love do as well!

WHY GOD MADE MOMS

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:Why did God make mothers?
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1459741/why_god_made_moms.html

How do we serve the interests of the Student?

I’ve often said that whomever owns the definitions drives the debate. The content and standards of the design are based on what is required by the canon. It is the methodologies that should change to accommodate the needs of the students and the learning environment. The doctrine of self realization as it comes to us from the world is actually a doctrine of autonomy which is foreign to the Christian worldview.

I don't think this really has to do with age. Even the developmentally mature adult student should not be the definer of the content in the curriculum. They certainly have the choice of schools and therefore different approaches to curriculum, but we must offer up only what our purpose defines as the course to run. Now in general let me say that the issue boils down to what it means to be a servant leader in the educational milieu. It does not mean that we serve up what the students ask for, as this might be their ruination.

Failure to exercise proper authority is a big problem in leadership, and more difficulties arise from the lack of people taking responsibility than from an excessive desire to assume responsibility. I believe much of the problem with higher eduication in general is related to this lack of a stand on the notion that there is a canon. When I first became an ID (Instructional Designer) the first charge I had was that the organization was going to move from being a teacher centered enterprise to a learner centered enterprise. I made sure that I had the ability to define this as relating specifically to adjustments in pedagogy and methodologies related to teaching the curriculum. I wouldn't have taken the job otherwise. Then decisions about methodology were based on critically appropriated research about how people learn. But this did not mean we changed the standards for what was required for students to pass competency exams in their particular disciplines so the content became more "interesting". The changes in metholdology attained for that purpose.

So the REAL interests are we should be serving includes those of the students, whether they are aware of it or not. But not by catering to felt need or even preferences per se, and certainly not in an effort to allow students to construct their own reality. New technologies and pedagogies should enagage students by necessity but for what their real needs are. The curriculum must be designed to insure this.

New data from Barna

New data from a recent study on how Americans perceive spiritual gifts.

Old Saying, Idioms, and blah, blah, blah...

The list of "old sayings" has taken over our home- We've created a monster (SEE WHAT I MEAN)- we are on our way to more sayings than you can shake a stick at AND THEY KEEP COMING like nobody's business! Head for the hills!
You can check them out here.

Brain Itch Songs

aka Earworms...

The weather outside is frightful

...but I have my Digital fireplace on the TV and the fire is so delightful!

And since I am working from home, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Christian Reality shows

Interesting. Would Jesus say "Huh?"

Thoughts on the Sovereign hand of God in time and space

I was thinking about my father today- how an army dentist somewhere in the early 1950’s encountered this young man with horrible teeth- the result of poverty, non-chlorinated well and spring water and no dental care- and determined he should have all his teeth pulled and be sent to Newfoundland rather than Korea. Thus my sensitive father was spared the horrors of war and a relatively smooth ride in his army career, which also taught him his trade. He returned to his home unscarred, unlike many who were sent to war. I attribute this to the hand of a sovereign God who wanted to bless me with a father who didn’t have to overcome the emotional trauma, or worse, that might have resulted in a theater of war. He used that unknown dentist to change the path of Dad’s life. Now just multiply that simple encounter with the “series of intersecting incidents beyond our control” Benjamin Button speaks eloquently, if mysteriously of. This will drive one to worship. A God who is in control is good news for postmodern man.

Movie Review

Just saw the Curious Case of Benjamin Button this evening. The first thing I note is the liberties the screenwriters took with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story. The infant Benjamin bears no resemblance to the bearded articulate old man of the story. The results are an appropriately lush embellishment of the original which it bears little other resemblance to than its title.

Jonathan Edwards wrote in his Resolutions this ninth entry: "Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death." Chances are this didn't make the top ten of your New Year's resolutions, right?

This film will force you to think about the meaning of life. That holy place is where this movie took me. In spite of its failure to rise to the greatness it held potential for, I believe it is important in the fact that it highlighted the impermanence of real life in a cosmetic world dominated by youth culture. It raised important questions which it ultimately left unanswered, but hinted at- intimations of eternity, and of heaven are present in the various characters Benjamin encounters along his descent into infancy. Benjamin is different, and difference insures loneliness, but also drive him to seek connective relationships.

The sets are gorgeous, the effects are transparent and believable. From the tale of the blind clockmaker (I took this as a veiled, if inappropriate reference to God) to the blustering artist/tugboat captain/naval commander we see types and lessons to be learned. Yet in its concern for becoming maudlin, it seems to have retreated too far from affect. Benjamin is so serene in most cases that his bouts with doubt are hard to identify as real. The story is told against the backdrop of the emerging hurricane Katrina that repeatedly reminds us of the transcience of life in the wake of nature.

I was taken back to the question Forrest Gump powerfully asked- some people think life is predetermined and others think we are floating like a feather on the wind- this film adds a powerful third perspective from Queenie, Benjamin’s mother. She insists the hand of God is in everything. Benjamin is a miracle and it is in no small part the power of her love that is the most redemptive thread of the movie.

It is also a film about hope and the power of making choices to make our lives better and to be willing to start over if necessary rather than succumbing to the droning of life. In this aspect it was very much in the mold of Fitzgerald, but in my opinion it does not descend into the self-made man “lifted up by his own bootstraps” syndrome. This is a strong, evocative film that was a pleasure to escape into for almost three hours. Life is lived in time and we must spend it wisely for we can never recover it. These hours were not wasted, and it will provide fodder for many more good conversations at home. With Edwards, we can see life’s impermanence as a galvanizing force rather than a paralyzing one. Both of the key characters had to deal with this in their lives. So must we all.

Another installment

So far we've come up with 429 old sayings our parents were known to use on a consistent basis. I have a theory that this is in part the reason why Earnie and I are very strong analogical thinkers. Anyway it's just a theory...

I also note that I cannot think of many of these idiomatic/axiomatic sayings that have been created in the past fifty years. They all seem to have emerged over the mid 19th to early 20th century. Other than "jump the shark" I cannot think of many new ones out there. Or am I just getting old?

200. Like a bull in a china shop
201. Tippecanoe and Tyler too
202. They are as thick as thieves
203. He’d rob you blind
204. My get up and go just got up and went
205. Don’t make promises you can’t keep
206. That thunder is just God’s tater wagons turning over
207. He’s drumming up trouble
208. Jimmy crack corn and I don’t care
209. About as useful as a screendoor on a submarine
210. That and a nickel will get you a cup of coffee
211. What this country needs is a damn good depression
212. There’s light at the end of the tunnel
213. A penny saved is a penny earned
214. A penny for your thoughts
215. Children should be seen and not heard
216. Like a wiggle worm in hot ashes
217. Like two peas in a pod
218. Goes together like peas and carrots
219. There are too many chiefs and not enough Indians around here
220. You couldn’t suit her if your life depended on it
221. Like a bat out of hell
222. Like rats off a sinking ship
223. Better get while the gettin’ is good
224. Batten down the hatches, full steam ahead
225. Don’t take any wooden nickels
226. Not worth a continental
227. Not worth a grain of salt
228. He didn’t have one thin dime
229. It’s not whether you win or lose it’s how you play the game
230. Finder’s keepers, losers, weepers
231. When you fall off a horse you have to get back in the saddle
232. It can be here today and gone tomorrow
233. There’s nothing worse than a welcher
234. Don’t be an Indian giver
235. Remember in life there are no guarantees
236. Don’t wear your heart on your sleeve
237. He couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag
238. He’ll soon be pushing up daisies
239. You’d better knock on wood
240. Always a day late and a dollar short
241. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
242. He hasn’t got the sense God gave a goose
243. He hasn’t got the sense God gave a woodpecker
244. You bet your bottom dollar
245. Down to the last pea in the dish
246. He hasn’t got a pot to pee in
247. Better make hay while the sun is shining
248. I declare as I live and breathe
249. Bless my soul
250. Bless her little pea pickin’ heart
251. Monkey see, monkey do
252. That’ll happen when pigs fly
253. What's that Thingamabob
254. That's a Dooma –flotchey
255. No its a Thingamajig
256. It’ll be a cold day in hell when I apologize
257. She’s driving me nuts
258. Jumpin Jehosaphat!
259. Great minds think alike
260. He has one screw loose
261. She is in a snit.
262. One wheel's loose and the other’s draggin
263. My wagon’s draggin’
264. That's the long and the short of it
265. One card short of a full deck
266. Sweeter than candy
267. Too old to cut the mustard
268. Heard anything worth repeatin’?
269. Keep this girl fed and you’ll never have any trouble out of her
270. She’s a Jabberwocky
271. He’s a blabbermouth
272. Not for love nor money
273. It takes two to tango
274. Two’s company and three’s a crowd.
275. Now the fat is in the fire
276. Out of the frying pan and into the fire
277. I am fair to middlin’
278. Take an old cold tater and wait
279. I don’t give a hoot nor a holler
280. That’s a fine how do you do
281. There’s another fine mess you’ve got me into
282. One time shame on you the second time shame on me
283. Now ain’t that a crying shame?
284. The world in going to the dogs
285. The bigger they are the harder they fall
286. Don’t toot your own horn
287. Friends are few and far between
288. He’s lost his marbles
289. Out of sight out of mind
290. You’re going down the wrong track
291. Better late than never
292. A stitch in time saves nine
293. Never look a gift horse in the mouth
294. I’m so busy I met myself coming and going
295. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today
296. It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump from here
297. Better you than me
298. Over there down yonder
299. Way down yonder in the paupau patch
300. She’s high as a kite
301. She’s skinny as a rail
302. Go take a hike

The sayings we grew up with...

This is a work in progress, as we keep thinking of new ones. Earnie's folks, especially her Mom, had a saying for everything, and sometimes she even pulled the old switcheroo and combined sayings in funny ways, We called those Jennyisms. Here is the first installment, as the list grows longer...

1. Don’t step on a crack or you’ll break your mother’s back.
2. He is true blue.
3. A man’s word is his bond.
4. He has more ….than Carter has liver pills
5. He has more ….than Carter has oats.
6. Lord, have murder.
7. He is as good as gold.
8. Good gravy!
9. No grass grows under my feet, big boy.
10. For Pete’s sake!
11. Crooked as a barrel of snakes.
12. She looks like a million bucks.
13. More fun than a barrel of monkeys.
14. Me and Old Willie will get er done.
15. See you later, alligator, after while, crocodile.
16. He is the salt of the earth.
17. Once in a blue moon.
18. He was deader than a doornail.
19. I’m going to hit the hay.
20. Glad you got to talk to me.
21. We’re on an even keel now.
22. I’ll give you a nickel if you’ll get me a cup of coffee.
23. Every man puts his pants on the same way- one leg at a time.
24. Don’t ever do anything in the dark you’d be ashamed of in the light.
25. If you have one good friend in this world consider yourself blessed.
26. The only thing you can take with you is your character.
27. Two heads are better than one.
28. Glad to see your back.
29. You make your bed and then you have to sleep in it.
30. Have a little who shot John? (liquor)
31. Good night and good riddance!
32. Good night, Irene.
33. Trust is the hardest thing to get and the easiest thing to lose.
34. I was all dressed up and no place to go.
35. You sure are all duded up.
36. She is putting on airs.
37. He is cute as a bug in a rug.
38. Look what the cat drug in.
39. That’s as bogus as a two dollar bill.
40. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
41. He come by it honest.
42. Like falling off a log.
43. Like a needle in a haystack.
44. A day late and a dollar short.
45. That went over like a lead balloon.
46. Pride goeth before a fall.
47. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
48. He’s a chip off the old block.
49. Like water off a duck’s back.
50. Like a duck on a junebug.
51. Do you know what this is? It’s the world’s smallest violin.
52. Age is just a state of mind.
53. If you have a roof over your head and food to eat and you are warm, then you are rich.
54. Time is something you can never get back so spend it well.
55. One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and four to go!
56. My dogs are barking tonight.
57. She was pollyfoxing around.
58. He is a gadabout.
59. She is up to no good.
60. That was a boneheaded thing to do.
61. No point in beating a dead horse.
62. No point in crying over spilled milk.
63. This thing is bass-ack’ards.
64. This thing is jerry rigged.
65. Dam the torpedoes, full steam ahead!
66. Mama is having a hay- henhorrage.
67. Mama is pitching a hissy –fit.
68. Cute as a button.
69. Playing with a deck of 51.
70. You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
71. He is meaner than spit.
72. That’s like spitting in the wind.
73. He was tighter than a drum.
74. If the good Lord’s willin, and the creek don’t rise…
75. He spends money like its going out of style.
76. Naked as a jay-bird.
77. If you don’t have anything good to say don’t say nothing.
78. Like a pig in a poke.
79. Go fly a kite.
80. Kick off your shoes and set a spell.
81. Make yourself at home.
82. If you’ve got the money honey, I’ve got the time.
83. For pity sake.
84. Going to hell in a handbasket.
85. No point in beating around the bush.
86. He is as drunk as a skunk.
87. Last but not least.
88. Champagne taste on a beer budget.
89. Mama is throwing a conniption fit.
90. He is an acid head.
91. She is two faced.
92. Mercy me!
93. That’s the icing on the cake.
94. Happy as a tick on a hound dog.
95. It’s raining cats and dogs.
96. She was nervous as a cat.
97. So poor he didn’t have a pot to pee in.
98. That’s like the pot calling the kettle black.
99. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
100. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
101. Here today and gone tomorrow.
102. He’s rolling in gravy.
103. What you see is what you get.
104. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
105. I am plumb tuckered out.
106. She is as blind as a bat.
107. Playing cards till the cows come home.
108. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
109. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
110. Just put one foot in front of the other.
111. She’s been around the block a few times
112. Better safe than sorry
113. God works in mysterious ways.
114. I was between a rock and a hard place.
115. Bless her heart!
116. My goodness gracious sakes alive.
117. Famous last words!
118. We’ll be sure to alert the media.
119. Rise and shine!
120. Top o' the mornin’ to ya!
121. My goodness gracious sakes alive!
122. Beware the red-eyed monster (jealousy)
123. He was like a flash in the pan.
124. I had to rob Peter to pay Paul.
125. As I live and breathe!
126. Pretty is as pretty does.
127. He got too big for his britches.
128. The jig is up!

Vast Lefty Conspiracy

I knew something like this would happen...

It Thrills my Soul

For the past dozen-plus years since we left Dallas, we have been the beneficiary of prayer support from a group of ladies and other friends from our former church. I cannot express (but I'll try) my appreciation when we get a prayer letter from the Mary Lou's. These are now ten ladies who meet weekly for prayer. This is the sort of prayer that avails much- persevering prayers of the righteous sustain us and our life. We stay in contact with these folks and take encouragement that they have not forgotten us though we labored in their midst so many years ago. I also hear on a regular basis from dear friends the Gotts who are ever in our corner. I don't know where we would be without the prayers of our friends. We need all the help we can get!

On the Downside

FInished Comprehensive exams and now it's up to the evaluators... I actually had a weekend (remember those?) before making contact on my prospectus. Back to work and creating a learning portal as of today! Thanks to all who have been praying for the process!