April Reflections

-
" You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." - What I want

Top 3 Posts from April
1. "Daddy, Be a Monster..." - With a resounding lead for traffic this month, we have a brief reflection on playing with my daughter and experiencing heaven. 
2. Prayer: A Word I Need to Hear - Also with higher than average traffic, and a strong second place, a brief reflection and response to some words from Timothy Jones. 
3. Forgiveness: A Hard Word From Luther - Third place goes to a good quote. 

Three Most Visited Posts in April
1.  "Daddy, Be a Monster..." - It has been a long time since my top most "googled" posts have been knocked off the top. Clearly I need to write more about Hannah :) 
2. Heaven and Hell - ... but some things don't change...
3. We're Sinking - Indeed...


April has been a hard month. For some time now I have been doing my best to exercise discernment in what to prioritize and what to let go. Now, I feel like things are slipping even when I don't want them to. I suppose what is really happening is that I am getting closer to the top of my list, in terms of what I just can't do, and the more that I can't do the less that I like it.

I know, that is rather cryptic. Oh well. 

In the meantime this supports me: "... and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." Col. 2:10

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Forgiveness: A Hard Word From Luther

-
"Those who follow Christ grieve more over the sin of their offenders than over the loss or offense to themselves. And they do this that they may recall those offenders from their sin rather than avenge the wrongs they themselves have suffered. Therefore they put off the form of their own righteousness and put on the form of those others, praying for their persecutors, blessing those who curse, doing good to the evil-doers, preparing to pay the penalty and make satisfaction for their very enemies that they may be saved. This is the gospel and the example of Christ." - Martin Luther (Quoted by Miroslav Volf, Free of Charge, pg. 161-162)
Read more

A Good Tree Bears Good Fruit....

-
Image
"Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." - Matthew 7:17-18 "One of the most powerful ways to influence the behavior of a system is through its purpose or goal. That's because the goal is the direction-setter of the system, the definer of discrepancies that require action, the indicator of compliance, failure, or success toward which balancing feedback loops work. If the goal is defined badly, if it doesn't measure what it's supposed to measure, if it doesn't reflect the real welfare of the system, then the system can't possibly produce a desirable result. Systems, like the three wishes in the traditional fairy tale, have a terrible tendency to produce exactly and only what you ask them to produce. Be careful what you ask them to produce." - Donella H. Meadows, Thinking in Systems. 
Read more

A Gracious Reading of Rob Bell

-
The Journey So Far The controversy rages on over Rob Bell's upcoming new book. No matter what happens now, this controversy has effectively guaranteed that 'everyone who is anyone' will need to read this book. Either to find out what is wrong and bash it, or because someone we generally disagree with also disagrees with the book so it has to be good stuff! Then, because 'everyone' is reading it, people like me will 'have to' read it to. After all, I am a pastor, and if many of my people are reading and being influenced by a book, don't I need to know what is going on as well?  Or so the reasoning will go... and perhaps I will read it, who knows. In the meantime, none of this will stop me from continuing to join this fray which I probably ought to have stayed out of in the first place. Onwards, Christian... :) The Latest Salvo The latest salvo has been fired by DeYoung  claiming that not only do we not need to talk with Bell but, more importantly, it
Read more