Will Isaac be another Katrina? As the storm approaches the Gulf Coast, memories of the devastation of exactly seven years ago resurface in everyone’s mind. Isaac is in the headlines at the moment, but this has been a summer of disasters.
When I last checked, 70 wildfires were burning west of the Mississippi. Seventy! With the Waldo Canyon fire just a few miles from our house, I’m well aware of how destructive a wildfire can be.
Have you ever prayed to know God’s will?
Pete and I are at a crossroads, faced with a decision that will have a major impact on our lives for at least the next few years. As you might expect, we’re asking God to tell us which way we should go. Is this an opportunity—or a distraction? Do we run toward it or run away?
Sound familiar?
I expect that most Christians have prayed to know God’s will. After all, it’s clear in Scripture that God wants us to ask, and then obey what He tells us. David had a long string of successful battles, but He always inquired of the Lord when facing a new situation. Sometimes God gave him an expected strategy, while other times He had a surprise in mind. But no matter how skilled a warrior he became, David always took time to ask.
The news items scroll down my screen: death, destruction, evil, hopeless. After years of war, starting from before the U.S. involvement and seemingly without end, Afghanistan has to be one of the darkest places on earth.
Yet, God loves the people of Afghanistan. He has not left them hopeless.
There was big news in the psychology world last week. Headlines proclaimed: “Telling fewer lies linked to better health and relationships.” Some psych professors at the University of Notre Dame actually did a study on lying, and concluded that their test subjects were healthier, both physically and emotionally, when they did not lie. The control group (who presumably went on telling lies) had no such benefits.
I always snicker when some study or other confirms what is obvious. Even people who’ve never cracked a Bible will admit that lying is a sin.
God is pretty straightforward about this one: “Do not lie. Do not deceive one another” (Leviticus 19:11).
Two little kids throwing mud pies at one another—that’s what this year’s presidential campaign feels like. I was wondering if my impression was accurate—that this campaign is worse than usual—when I came across an article on the Time website: Why Deceit Is Everywhere in the 2012 Campaign. Yup, the usual mud-slinging has escalated to a torrential flood.
Even though most Americans dislike negative ads, politicians use them because they work. But this year, both parties are twisting the truth to such an extent that they’re telling blatant lies.
Sitting in church a few months ago, I watched as the guest speaker scanned the crowd, then asked, “How many of you are leaders?”
A few hands went up. He shook his head, “No, you are all leaders! Every hand should be up! Everyone repeat after me: ‘I am a leader!’”
The congregation dutifully repeated “I am a leader!”
I’m sure everyone paid close attention to the sermon that followed. After all, leaders get more attention. They get privileges the rest of us miss out on. They’re important. Don’t we look up to leaders? Think more highly of them? Don’t we all want everyone to think of us that way?
Hey, have you seen the new Nikon D800? It has a 36.3megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor, full HD 1080p video at 30/25/24p with stereo sound, an ISO range of 100 to 6400 (expandable to 25,600), a four-frames-per-second burst rate and their Advanced Scene Recognition System with a 91,000-pixel RGB sensor!
Hey, do you have the new iPad? It’s got that new Retina display, a 4 megapixel camera, and 4G LTE, and it’s only $499!
Hey, have you heard? They just came out with the…
Yes, I’ve heard. And no, I haven’t read the reviews.
Have I got a treat for you. Every so often, I highlight another blog I read. This time, I want to point you in the direction of Frantic Believing. Ever since I discovered Jordan’s insightful writing, I’ve been addicted. As she writes on her About page:
I am young and foolish.
Married and in love.
Captivated, rescued, adored by God.
On a journey, because I am sent [John 20:21.]
(You might notice that I’ve also added Frantic Believing to my list of Blogs I Read at right.)
You think politics and religion get people fired up? I’ve discovered something even more apt to generate extreme views and robust “discussion,” and it has nothing to do with the economy or same-sex marriage. Yup, I’m talking about food.
It seems that everyone has decided they’re an expert. They do or do not eat [fill in soy, bacon, sugar, etc., etc.], and they’re convinced that you should, or should not, eat it as well.
I was chatting with a group of women a few days ago, and someone asked if anyone had a good cold veggie salad recipe. I offered that I make a broccoli salad that is pretty popular at pot-lucks, and started to list off the ingredients. Since we’re all on diets of one form or another, I mentioned that I often substitute turkey bacon for higher-fat “real” bacon—and a lady I did not know, sitting across the table, started screaming at me!
Church was beginning, the band hit their first beat, and the congregation stood up to sing an upbeat song about God. It was two days ago, Sunday, a typical weekend service. I was feeling anything but upbeat.
Earlier that morning, I’d read the first news reports about the victims of last week’s shooting in Aurora, just an hour north of here. While every life counts, I was particularly affected by the mom in critical condition in the ICU who kept asking if her six-year-old daughter was all right. Of course, if you’ve seen the news at all, you know she wasn’t all right. She was dead. And no one could bring themselves to tell the mom.
I could relate too well. I have two daughters and now a granddaughter. Having something horrible happen to them is my worst nightmare.
Compost 