March 27, 2009
March 24, 2009
Gordon MacDonald's take on "The Shack"
Check out this very interesting analogy of The Shack to Psalm 23! I like Mr. MacDonald's insight.
"The Shack" by King David| Finish the article |
Why certain stories disturb many and comfort so many more.
by Gordon MacDonald
Soon after William Paul Young's The Shack hit the bookstores, a friend handed me a copy and said, "You need to read this; it's going to be the next best-seller."
I put the book on my "to read" pile, and it remained there for several weeks. Then, in an idle moment, I picked it up and scanned the first few pages. Soon I stopped scanning and started reading.
Spring Book Sale!
It's time for the Friends of the Durham Library Spring Book Sale!!!
2009 Spring Book Sale
Friday, March 27, 4 – 7 p.m. Friends members only—join at the door!
Saturday, March 28, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Everyone welcome.
Sunday, March 29, 2 – 5 p.m. Everyone welcome. $7 Bag Sale, auditorium only.
2009 Spring Book Sale
Friday, March 27, 4 – 7 p.m. Friends members only—join at the door!
Saturday, March 28, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Everyone welcome.
Sunday, March 29, 2 – 5 p.m. Everyone welcome. $7 Bag Sale, auditorium only.
March 20, 2009
March 15, 2009
weekend of milestones
This has been a weekend of milestones for me. Two 18 month projects have reached completion, and at the same time, are to be continued...
Last night, I finished reading the last published volume of a truly wonderful fantasy series by Robert Jordan entitled "The Wheel of Time". A friend of mine and I started this journey 18 months ago, in Sept 2007. This series is one of my daughter's favorites (she has read it many times) and I decided that I wanted to share the experience that she loved so much. In 7,564 pages, 3,430,682 words (who's counting? 
), Robert Jordan transported me into another world, a world so real, and with so much depth, that I feel that I have been there. I know the characters. I love and care deeply for some of them. I have seen the geography. I have experienced the magic. I have learned of cultures and peoples and historical events which shaped the world of "The Wheel of Time". In short, I have taken an 18 month trip that I'll never forget, a trip that will always be a part of me, for the rest of my life. And what a fantastic journey it was!
I'm so grateful to my daughter for giving me the first two volumes, and then for encouraging me along the way. We've had such great times talking about the story, sharing our insights and feelings about the events, the people, the cultures, the history. It has been a fun, fantastic, enriching experience. In addition, I'm grateful to my friend who embarked on this journey with me. He was hooked not very far into the first volume ("The Eye of the World", pictured above). I have enjoyed all the time he and I have spent talking, e-mailing, and IMing about the story. Taking a trip is fun, but it's so much more fun to travel with a companion. I'm thankful to my friend for sticking with me for this journey so far...
I say "so far" because the journey is not complete. Sadly, Robert Jordan died last year, before completing the twelfth and final volume entitled "A Memory of Light". He suffered an untimely death on September 16, 2007 from cardiac amyloidosis. His passing was a great loss to the world, especially to those of us who love his writing. Brandon Sanderson has taken on the task of completing this final volume from the partially completed manuscript and the detailed notes and recordings that Jordan left behind. I am eagerly looking forward to completing this fantastic journey, that has become a part of my life. To be continued...
My other milestone was this morning. 18 months ago, newhope church began a visionary project to build a new home base for ministry in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. This morning was our first Worship in our new building. I do not have the words to describe how wonderful this morning was. How Great is our God! The weather was cold and raining, as it has been for the past 2 days, weather in which no one wants to be. Yet the rain was from Above, a rain of Blessings. Both services were packed, the 2nd service being standing room only. The Worship and the Teaching were wonderful. After 18 months of hard work, planning, prayer, and following God's leadership, as of this morning, newhope church has a base from which to reach out in love, grace, and healing to the people of the Research Triangle and beyond. How Great is our God!
(see The Dream of newhope church)
And once again, this morning is not the completion, but is rather a step, a milestone along the way, as God works through His body at newhope. I am excited and anxious to see what lays ahead for us, and to be a part of His Kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven.
To be continued...
Last night, I finished reading the last published volume of a truly wonderful fantasy series by Robert Jordan entitled "The Wheel of Time". A friend of mine and I started this journey 18 months ago, in Sept 2007. This series is one of my daughter's favorites (she has read it many times) and I decided that I wanted to share the experience that she loved so much. In 7,564 pages, 3,430,682 words (who's counting? 
), Robert Jordan transported me into another world, a world so real, and with so much depth, that I feel that I have been there. I know the characters. I love and care deeply for some of them. I have seen the geography. I have experienced the magic. I have learned of cultures and peoples and historical events which shaped the world of "The Wheel of Time". In short, I have taken an 18 month trip that I'll never forget, a trip that will always be a part of me, for the rest of my life. And what a fantastic journey it was!I'm so grateful to my daughter for giving me the first two volumes, and then for encouraging me along the way. We've had such great times talking about the story, sharing our insights and feelings about the events, the people, the cultures, the history. It has been a fun, fantastic, enriching experience. In addition, I'm grateful to my friend who embarked on this journey with me. He was hooked not very far into the first volume ("The Eye of the World", pictured above). I have enjoyed all the time he and I have spent talking, e-mailing, and IMing about the story. Taking a trip is fun, but it's so much more fun to travel with a companion. I'm thankful to my friend for sticking with me for this journey so far...
I say "so far" because the journey is not complete. Sadly, Robert Jordan died last year, before completing the twelfth and final volume entitled "A Memory of Light". He suffered an untimely death on September 16, 2007 from cardiac amyloidosis. His passing was a great loss to the world, especially to those of us who love his writing. Brandon Sanderson has taken on the task of completing this final volume from the partially completed manuscript and the detailed notes and recordings that Jordan left behind. I am eagerly looking forward to completing this fantastic journey, that has become a part of my life. To be continued...
My other milestone was this morning. 18 months ago, newhope church began a visionary project to build a new home base for ministry in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. This morning was our first Worship in our new building. I do not have the words to describe how wonderful this morning was. How Great is our God! The weather was cold and raining, as it has been for the past 2 days, weather in which no one wants to be. Yet the rain was from Above, a rain of Blessings. Both services were packed, the 2nd service being standing room only. The Worship and the Teaching were wonderful. After 18 months of hard work, planning, prayer, and following God's leadership, as of this morning, newhope church has a base from which to reach out in love, grace, and healing to the people of the Research Triangle and beyond. How Great is our God!
(see The Dream of newhope church)
And once again, this morning is not the completion, but is rather a step, a milestone along the way, as God works through His body at newhope. I am excited and anxious to see what lays ahead for us, and to be a part of His Kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven.To be continued...
March 4, 2009
Like a Child - Rob Bell
Check out Rob Bell's great teaching on the John chapter 1. Great stuff!
| January 18th, 2009 | MP3 | Like a Child - Rob Bell |
March 2, 2009
Blinded by the Law
John 5:1-17 tells the story of a man who was paralyzed for 38 years. The man was lying on a mat by a pool that was believed to possess healing powers for the first person into the water after an angel of the Lord stirred it up.
Why does this sound so familiar? I think it is because the Truth in this story is timeless. We so easily fall into the same trap as these religious folks did. When we see hurting people healed, broken people mended, dysfunctional people finding direction, when we see God at work. So often, we critique theology or methods that may differ from our own religious traditions, instead of praising God for His Grace and Healing. We should praise God wherever He is at work. We should praise God no matter who He is working through. We should join God where He is at work. God is so much bigger than the religious boxes we try to force Him into.
I think that when we see God in the box of our traditions and religion, the box is really like the frame of a window, a window in a box into which WE have confined ourselves. God is outside, unconfined, like sunshine and radiance pouring in. If we want to see God, we need to keep our window clean and clear of the smudges and haze that this world deposits on it. We need to draw closer to our window, to gain a wider view of the bright Outside, instead of backing away from it. Backing away only narrows our field of Vision. Better yet, we can work to enlarge our window, to let more of Him into our life. Or best of all, open our window and crawl out into the bright Morning of His Day, freeing ourselves from our religious box. Maybe crawling out is not an option in this life, maybe we will instead be lifted out of the window, in His Hands, when this life is over. In the meantime, my hope and prayer is to draw close to my window, work to keep it clean and clear, and to make it bigger, all with His help. If I get close enough, maybe I'll forget about my box altogether. :-)
(photo by swamprose)
6) When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"The reaction of the Jews, the religious establishment, was to attack the man for not keeping their legalistic view of the Sabbath. Their worldview was so firmly rooted in their interpretation of the Law that, instead of seeing a miracle, all they could see was a man carrying his mat on the Sabbath! They must have known the man, he had been living with this disability in their community for 38 years. He hung out at this public pool, waiting for a chance to be healed. But the Jews, instead of rejoicing with the man and praising God for the miracle of healing, judged and attacked him. Their religion blinded them to the Grace and Healing of God. They were witness to a miracle and blew it. They missed it.
7) "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
8) Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."
9) At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,
10) and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
Why does this sound so familiar? I think it is because the Truth in this story is timeless. We so easily fall into the same trap as these religious folks did. When we see hurting people healed, broken people mended, dysfunctional people finding direction, when we see God at work. So often, we critique theology or methods that may differ from our own religious traditions, instead of praising God for His Grace and Healing. We should praise God wherever He is at work. We should praise God no matter who He is working through. We should join God where He is at work. God is so much bigger than the religious boxes we try to force Him into.
I think that when we see God in the box of our traditions and religion, the box is really like the frame of a window, a window in a box into which WE have confined ourselves. God is outside, unconfined, like sunshine and radiance pouring in. If we want to see God, we need to keep our window clean and clear of the smudges and haze that this world deposits on it. We need to draw closer to our window, to gain a wider view of the bright Outside, instead of backing away from it. Backing away only narrows our field of Vision. Better yet, we can work to enlarge our window, to let more of Him into our life. Or best of all, open our window and crawl out into the bright Morning of His Day, freeing ourselves from our religious box. Maybe crawling out is not an option in this life, maybe we will instead be lifted out of the window, in His Hands, when this life is over. In the meantime, my hope and prayer is to draw close to my window, work to keep it clean and clear, and to make it bigger, all with His help. If I get close enough, maybe I'll forget about my box altogether. :-)(photo by swamprose)
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