Making Magic!

Glasses, converse sneakers, and a composition notebook somehow make anyone a good writer. At least, you feel like you're a good writer. It's like somehow these are the key ingredients and as soon as the ink hits the page there will be magic! It's too bad there's so much more to it. Hard work, for one. Persistence, for two. Patience, above all. The sneakers remind me of childhood and innocence and how you think you can take on the whole world. The glasses help me pretend I'm someone else - which is the meat in writing fantastic stories. The notebook? The notebook brings it all together. It's the inspiration. Blank pages. Beckoning the writer to fill them. And of course when writing in a Composition notebook, you aren't just writing, you are in fact composing.

Retail.

You know, the worst part about working retail is coming to learn the hard fact that most people arn't living up to their mother's expectations. Tisk tisk. "You're mother taught you better than that!"

Cute & totally gross!

Just don't think about how dirty that place really is and this looks like fun!

Kids are wiser than we think...

WRITTEN BY: KIDS OF AMERICA


HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY?

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like
sports, she should like
it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
-- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry.
God decides it
all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
-- Kristen, age 10


WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?

Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
-- Camille, age 10


HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the
same kids.
-- Derrick, age 8


WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?

Both don't want any more kids.
-- Lori, age 8


WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each
other. Even
boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
-- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure)

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets
them interested enough
to go for a second date.
-- Martin, age 10


WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?

I'd run home and play dead The next day I would call all the newspapers
and make sure
they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
-- Craig, age 9


WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?

When they're rich.
-- Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that
- - Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them
and have kids
with them. It's the right thing to do.
-- Howard, age 8


IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to
clean up after them.
-- Anita, age 9 (bless you child)


HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?

There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
-- Kelvin, age 8


And the #1 Favorite is........


HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.
-- Ricky, age 10

KC

I'm getting excited to take a little time away to seek the Lord and visit a friend. It's time for a little adventure! I'll be heading east to Kansas City on April 13th and will be returning on the 16th. Just a quick trip, but I'm hopeful to find what I'm looking for!

Will any amount of begging and pleading affect the Lord God Almighty? Father please hear my cries!

From MySpace

So Rachelle tagged me to post ten random things about myself, so here's my go at it:

1) I NEVER eat at Jack-in-the-Box, unless it's with my brother Jason.

2) For my 21st birthday my father bought me a .22 pistol. Then we went and registered for a concealed carry license together. Sometimes I pull out my .22 and pretend to be a spy. I think it'd be fun to go duck hunting.

3) I like to make up words. It's totally fabulious.

4) I WILL name one of my sons Cornelius. And you can't stop me. :)

5) I really wish I had a twin sister. Maybe then I would like myself more.

6) I like to visit the library, or used book store so I can fathom the bravery of the authors who put themselves out there in hopes that someone would learn something.

7) I wish I knew how to stand up for myself so people wouldn't walk all over me.

8) When I was in junior high, I feared I might loose my right hand so I would practice writing with my left hand, just in case.

9) I fear I can't have the best of both worlds. Then I fear I won't choose the right world.

10) I want to live a life reflective of the foundation my great great grandparents laid many years ago, so that when I meet them in Heaven I will have something to make them smile about.

I'm starting to get that restless feeling again...

Hello, My Father Just Died

Click here to read a moving entry from John Piper, after his father died.

Question.

Ever feel like you can't tell someone how much you appreciate them or admire them because you don't want them to feel obligated to say something nice back, or because they might think you're trying to get something in return from them?

I wish I believed in 'no strings-attached' compliments.

A word from my pastor.

(I just felt like passing this on.)

Sin (Greek it means: missing the mark, or...not hitting the target) is something all of us struggle with. Each of us 'misses the mark' at one time or another. The woman Jesus is dealing with in Luke 7 is a bit different than us. How? In verse 47 Jesus says her sins are MANY. A very strong and telling word! It literally meant she had a LOT of sins and......all of them were MAJOR. This lady was not only missing the mark, she stopped long ago even trying to hit the target. She had actually reached the point of sinning deliberately. Perhaps she felt ....why try, I'm so far gone there is no more hope for me. Fortunately for her, one day all that changed. That day was the day she met the Lord Jesus and He forgave her.

Jesus forgives us. All the mess we make, all the laws we break, all the times we 'miss the mark'. He never kicks us off the shooting range! He says, your'e forgiven. Perhaps then the part that perplexes us is probably what went through the woman's mind in our text; How can I forgive myself? How can I live with myself knowing I failed God and let others down? Have you been there? The guilt, the fear, the anxiety that eats away at you and is like a gnawing and pounding feeling that seems to constantly remind you that you failed. Jesus wants you to let it go! He never, ever came to condemn you (John 316-17; Rom. 8:1-5). If you have asked forgiveness He IS faithful to forgive you and CLEANSE you (I John 1:9; Rom. 3:23-26; II Cor. 5:21). Cleansed people need not feel dirty because Jesus says they are NOT dirty. For he whom the Son sets free is free INDEED (John 8:36).

I thank God that Jesus never gives up on us. I thank God that He forgives us and does not desire us to feel guilty. I thank God that Forgiven sins will never be thrown back in our face. They are gone for good, forever, never to be remembered (Psalm 103:12; Jer. 31:34).

Forgive yourself, for Jesus already has.

Blessings in the name of the Lord Jesus,

pastor john

What if?

What would happen if we let go of everything we thought we ever knew to be "right" and started life from scratch? Would we end up with a completely different philosophy, or eventually come right back around to what we originally believed?

a lyric for thought

We are young, heartache to heartache we stand
No promises, no demands
Love is a battlefield

We are strong, no one can tell us were wrong
Searchin our hearts for so long, both of us knowing
Love is a battlefield

Juan Mann

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

Funny

Hugh Laurie - 80s Polaroid advert

Who'd have thought this accomplished photographer would become such a cranky doctor?

Facing the Giants!

Two weekends ago, a motion picture that blatantly proclaimed that nothing is impossible with God made it's opening in theaters around America. Facing the Giants is a film about a high school football coach who has his back against a wall in every aspect of his life. His team has been on a losing streak and just lost their best player, which treatens his job. His home and car are falling apart, and he has been unable to provide his wife with the children she wants.

As someone who watches movies with a very critical eye, I had my doubts about this one. Yes, the acting was mediocre and it was at times cheesy, as I expected. However, what I did not expect was to be so emotionally moved. This film reached into me in a way that convicted me. I have failed to give best in so many areas. I forget that with God, all things are possible as long as we give our best.

In one of the more moving scenes of the film, Coach Taylor asks one of his players, Brock Kelley,to perform the "Death Crawl" a second time. The death crawl is an excerise in which one player crawls 10 yards on his hands and feet while carrying another player on his back. In an effort to spur the young man to change his attitude from that of failure, to that of victory, Coach Taylor asks Brock to promise to give his very best this time. Brocks states he thinks he could make it to the 30 yard line. Coach Taylor then blindfolds the ambitious young man so that he won't give up when he reaches the 30 yard line. As Brock starts his crawl, the other players are skeptical and laughing at the whole situation. Coach Taylor walks along side reminding Brock of his promise to give his best. He doesn't let him slow down when he starts to ask if he's made it yet. Brock complains that he's tired, but the coach doesn't let up. As the player moves further down the line, the team stands up and watches closely in amazement at how far he's crawled. Brock begins to complain that his arms are burning and he can't go any futher. Still yelling in his ear, Coach Taylor pushes him to go further. Twenty more steps.... ten more.... 5 more.... Brock finally collapses on the field, crying that he must be at the 50 yard line. He simply must! Coach Taylor removes the blindfold and tells Brock to look up and see where he's at. As Brock pulls himself up, he sees that he's crawled the entire length of the football field, 100 hundred yards. What a stunning example of how much we underestimate what we can do when we give our best. God wants our very best, not just a good effort.



Perhaps the impossible events that took place in the movie are too far fetched for some to believe. If that's the case, take this to heart: the only way that film made it into theaters this September, was by the grace of God. Those folks gave their best, and God took care of the rest. It's really an awesome story of how Facing the Giants came to be.

Face Your Giants!

Chicks Dig It

Cliff Jumping

How many times have you seen a scene in a film where the main character is being chased toward a cliff of some kind and he or she is left with the option of certain death by facing the enemy, or taking a leap that looks just as hopeless? Plenty, right? And every time you see it, you yell at the screen, "Jump! Jump!"

We all have moments like these in our lives. They're just not as easy to see. However, we choose to give up instead of taking the leap when chances are slim to none. If we jump at least there's a chance, right? No matter how small the chance of surviving appears to the film character, he or she always jumps! And we watch, cheering all the while. Yet, how many times do we choose to do nothing, instead of taking the leap? We may be breathing, but when we quit, we quit living.

Keep a look out for opportunities to leap. Cheer your friends to jump as well, when you see them peering over the edge of the cliff. "Jump! Jump!"

Story Time!

What happened to "Coming Out" Parties?

My desire is not to find a husband, but to become a magnificent wife. I do not announce my desire to marry as a way to chase after men, but as a way to make known that I am open to suitors and ready for marriage. I do not wish for you to tell me about any eligible young bachelors that might interest me, but please tell every bachelor you know about me, so he can take action! I do not wish to feminize my husband by seeking after him. I will wait for him to seek after me as a man ought.

"I'm coming out so you'd better get this party started!" -Pink