A Quote from Chris Columbus...

It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel his hand upon me) the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me with rays of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures...
I am a most unworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy His marvelous presence. for the execution of the journey to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah prophesied...
No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our Saviour, if it is just and if the intenion is purely for His holy service. The working out of all things has been assigned to each person by our Lord, but it all happens according to His sovereign will, even though He gives advice. He lacks nothing that it is in the power of men to give Him. Oh, what a gracious Lord, who desires that people should perform for Him those things for which He holds Himself responsible! Day and night, moment by moment, everyone should express their most devoted gratitude to Him.

Talk amongst yourselves...

Greatest Days In Dallas/Fort Worth Sports History

• January 16, 1972: Cowboys get first Super Bowl victory against Miami

• May 1, 1991: Ranger Nolan Ryan pitches a record-setting seventh no-hitter versus the Toronto Blue Jays
• February 11, 1996: Jason Kidd become the first Maverick to play in an NBA All-Star Game
• June 20, 1999: Stars Winger Brett Hull scores in triple overtime in NHL finals Game 6 against Buffalo to give Dallas it's first and only Stanley Cup
• June 23, 2005: Shawn "the-Praying-to-Joseph-Smith-Mantis" Bradley retires with career totals of 8.1 points/game, 6.3 rebounds/game, and 38.5 wussified tantrums/game.

Cuban: Bradley leaning toward retirement

Oh...were we still boycotting? Gosh, I fogot.

Southern Baptists end 8-year boycott of Disney

The boycott cost Disney millions, Drake said. Disney officials have denied that. They had no comment about Wednesday's action.

So many things wrong with this on so many levels. Can anyone name one?...

My Problem with Dignity

This Sunday at church, the A/C went out in the auditorium, so we held the service in the Commons (a smaller auditorium). It was crowded and hot, but I liked it. It reminded me of when we used to hold five services in that room before we built the other auditorium. There were two older ladies sitting two rows in front of us. During the music, they seemed to be doing their best to focus on the Lord and not on the conditions. One of them kept raising her hand. She would do it falteringly. Like she was unsure of herself. Not sure if she should raise her hands or if she was doing it right. She would do this funny little half-raised thing with her hand open, and then point up with a finger, then kind-of lower her arm but then wag a finger upward from shoulder-height. Occasionally, she would glance at her friend to the right or at the person on her left as if to see what they were doing with their hands. Or maybe if they approved of her finger-wagging. I guess you would have had to see it. Kinda funny.

But I can really identify with that lady. I think she might be a lot like me when it comes to corporate worship. And a lot of people. We’re unsure. We’re easily distracted. Of course, we’re concerned with what the people around us think. But it’s more than that too. I think if my private worship was more intimate – if my experience with God was more profound during the week – then my worship on Sunday would be less inhibited. I wonder what keeps me and that lady from throwing our hands up and falling down on our faces right in the aisles. Probably two things: decorum and neglect. Decorum b/c we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves. And neglect of our day-to-day walks with God that would allow us to see Him more clearly and thus adore Him more genuinely.

David danced before God mostly naked. He must have been so focused on the Lord not to worry about seeming “undignified.” I would have been like what’s-her-name who scolded him for behaving that way. And if I ever found myself in a loincloth between the Ark of the Covenant and a whole crowd of people, I doubt I could focus on anything besides what those people must be thinking of me. But David’s focus was the other direction – on God’s covenant goodness and what He must be thinking. Guess I’m way too dignified to rank with the likes of King David of Israel.

Masonic Musings - Part 2

There's an interesting article about this very topic on Yahoo news today. You can read it

here.

or here's an excerpt:

Civic participation is not creating more bowling leagues or boosting membership in traditional community groups such as the Lions Club or the Elks, whose numbers have dwindled for decades. Today's social capitalists are investing their time on their own terms.

"People are not members of the old hierarchy organizations," says Ronald Inglehart, professor at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research and president of the World Values Survey, which conducts surveys about social values and beliefs of people in several countries. "They have much looser ties but many more ties. Lots and lots of loose ties."