New direction

So, it's been a long time since I blogged. Recently, Ive been thinking. I do that sometimes. I would like to do some writing about music. Mostly songs, but some individual band stuff too. I won't be critiquing, because I don't really have a desire to do that. You know, the "to each their own" thing. No, I'll be suggesting, praising, breaking down stuff in my own non-qualified no-technical skills way. So, be ready, cause this will happen soon. Enjoy, and see what you think.

God Loves You More Than That by Dandi Daley Mackall

I wanted to take some time and read this book, "God Loves Me More Than That", to my kids, and let them give me feedback. Because I think it's fantastic, with wonderful illustrations, and a great message. My kids, 7 & 4, love the story. My son was struggling a bit with self-esteem issues, and this book gave him a kind of a boost, a clarification of the love of God for him. My daughter just adored the drawings. She too thought it was pretty cool hearing how much God loves her. This is my first time reviewing a kid's book, and I made an excellent choice. I highly recommend this one. You will know how much God loves you. Enjoy.

A Review Of A Multi-Site Church Road Trip

Before I started this book, my view of multi-site churches was negative for personal reasons. I thought the idea of a message presented on a screen was impersonal. I don't even like watching our pastor on the screens at our church, and he is right on stage. I thought it was about churches growing just to make a name for themselves. And I thought church should be one building, one pastor, one crowd. I was a fool.
Geoff, Greg, and Warren have presented some churches that have made great strides in the setup and execution of excellent multi-site churches. I especially like places like Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, with their 3-in-1 setup. Or Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where any new location doesn't follow a template, but caters to the area it is planted in.
These ideas would have never occurred to me before. And although I'm still not totally sold on video pastoring, the fact that churches are doing the rest of the service live, like worship, prayer, intro, there would still be a community worshiping together, which I believe is very important.
I also like that the authors went to different churches around the country and personally experienced each one. They could have easily mailed it in and just talked about each one, but instead they visited, and through their times there, relayed those encounters to us. That shows a real passion, which shows throughout this book.
Overall, I liked it. I would definitely recommend (I already have), especially to anybody considering or just starting the idea of a multi-site church.

I hope you enjoy!

A Review of 'The Gospel According To Lost' by Chris Seay

It took me a while to finish this book. I was able to put it down, and come back to it after periods of time. Each chapter is separate from the others, which is good, because some of the content was deep, and I couldn't always give a lot of time to reading.

I came to this book as a fan of the show, Lost. If you are not a fan, some of the content will be hard to follow. The chapters are each based on a character or characters from the show.

It is a very interesting book. Chris does a great job of tying things from the show to the Bible. He makes some interesting points, and although some of them seem a bit of a reach, I really enjoyed it.

Although I think some of the content may be hard to understand or see in the show, I think this is a good book, and I would recommend it.

I am a member of Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger's Program, which can be found at http://brb.thomasnelson.com/

Thank you and enjoy.

Thank you and enjoy.m a member of the Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger's program, which can be ii

Thank you, and enjoy.

Live. And Live Well.

This is an excerpt from an unfinished sermon by the late Kyle Lake, who passed away October 30, 2005. I haven't taken this from a book called "The Gospel According To Lost", by Chris Seay.

Breathe. Breathe in a nd breathe deeply. Be present. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now.

On a crystal clear, breezy seventy-degree day, roll down the windows and feel the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.

If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool autumn day to freeze your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be alive.

Get knee-deep in a novel and lose track of time.

If you bike, pedal hard...and if you crash, then crash well.

Feel the satisfaction of a job well done-a paper well written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well performed.

I you must wipe the snot from your three-year old's nose, don't be disgusted if the Kleenex didn't reach it all...because soon he'll be wiping his own.

If you've recently experienced loss, then grieve. And grieve well.

At the table with friends and family, laugh. If you're eating and laughing at the same time, the you might as well laugh until you puke. And if you eat, then smell. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven. And taste. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of life. Because it is most definitely a gift.

I apologize if I should not have reprinted this. I just thought it was spectacular.

A Review of '5 Cities That Ruled The World' by Douglas Wilson

Douglas Wilson presents a very in-depth and intriguing portrayal of 5 cities around the world that have, at one point in time, in fact ruled the world. The 5 cities are Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and New York. Now, this is through each city's involvement in the start or elevation of different beliefs, practices, spirituality, military stature, and so on.

Each city is given a chapter's worth of facts, explanations, backgrounds, and stories of what their respective importance was to the world at a certain part of time.

In his introduction, Wilson asks the reader to remember these basic principles when looking at these cities: "1-Cities are objects in the world that can be found. 2-Cities, like the men and women that live in them, have life spans, and that life span is approximately 250 years. 3-Cities are moral agents. 4-Cities are loved by their sons and daughters. 5-Cities are the world." With these principles in mind, it is easy to understand how Douglas Wilson could present these 5 cities as he does. Also, Wilson does suggest that there are summarizations and generalizations about each city, for example, that Jerusalem taught us the importance of spirit; Athens, thinking and reason; Rome, the importance of law; London, literature; and New York business and commerce. These are also presented in his introduction, so going into this book, there is no misunderstanding that each city is categorized in one way.

I found the book very deep, in facts and in presentation. I could tell that Mr. Wilson is very passionate about the history of each city, and how we can learn from successes and failures of the cities.

I had a hard time keeping up with some of the things that were presented, but that is from my lack of understanding, not at all with anything Douglas Wilson presented.

I believe this is a great book for history buffs, and for those that are interested in learning about the 5 cities place in the world's history.

I am a member of the Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger's program, which can be found at

http://brb.thomasnelson.com/.

Thank you, and enjoy.

Matthew 22:39

A forward came through my email a while ago. I say 'through', because like most forwards, I let them pass right to the trash. Anyways, this one was a little different, because it came up in a later conversation. The summary of the email was something like this: 'The prime minister of Australia has taken to banishing Muslims from the continent'. Sounds silly, right. Banishing a group of people, because of something they believe in. But, then the conversation continued. Maybe the President of the United States should do the same. Deport Muslims from the country.

See, the idea is so general, it's ridiculous. I lean on this thought for my defense of that statement:there are missionaries that believe in the Lord God our savior who are in foreign countries, risking their lives to share the gospel with non-believers. Their lives are at risk because governments do not want them to share their "religion", and are willing to kill for these acts. And we say 'this is awful, these atrocities'.

So, what's the difference. People of Muslim faith want to live in our countries. They want to enjoy the same freedoms and privileges we do. And I'd say most of them aren't even trying to convert us to believe in their 'God'. And we want them out? Where is the 'neighborlyness Jesus spoke of in Matthew?

Muslims are not terrorists. Terrorists are terrorists. Terrorism is selfish acts done by those who have twisted their "faith" to make it work for them. Let's not be as selfish.