Category: personal

If you haven’t been following Tapestry’s Lenten Project website then you have been missing the music that has been released each week. I love the various creative things that the “threads” are able to do. I am regularly impressed.

Here are the songs that have been released thus far:

Week # 1 How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
[esplayer url=”http://lent.sptapestry.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/How-Deep-the-Fathers-Love-for-Us.mp3″ width=”200″ height=”25″]

Week#2 – Beneath the Cross of Jesus
[esplayer url=”http://lent.sptapestry.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Beneath-the-cross-of-Jesus-EQ.mp3″ width=”200″ height=”25″]

Week #3 – Nothing but the Blood
[esplayer url=”http://lent.sptapestry.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Nothing-But-The-Blood.mp3″ width=”200″ height=”25″]

Week #4 – Were You There
[esplayer url=”http://lent.sptapestry.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Were-You-There.mp3″ width=”200″ height=”25″]

I saw the above image thanks to my friend Perry. Actually it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Westboro did picket something Perry was involved in. He is just that kind of guy. Not such a bad thing. Living this way reminds me of the following quote from the man, C.S. Lewis, because a comfortable faith isn’t what Christianity is about.

I have a couple of dreams that are pretty consistent. Most of them involve being chased by various things. One dream that I regularly have is driving a bus full of people. It usually shakes me to my core. Why? Well for so reason in my dreams the driver’s console is always around the middle of the bus. That’s right, I am 15 to 20 feet from the front of the bus and there are people sitting in front of me and I am expected to safely drive every one to their destination at highway speeds. Shiver. I always wake up nervous after this dream.

Last night the dream became a little worse. Instead of driving a bus I was driving a semi-trailer where the tractor portion of the semi-trailer was a bus loaded with people and, once again, the driving console was in the middle of the bus. I have no idea why but in my dream the Terrell family was moving (something that isn’t happening). All our earthly possessions where in the full size trailer behind the bus/tractor and for some strange reason we had decided it would be nice to bring lots of people along with us. The dream was anxious enough for me and then we started going down the world’s longest downhill incline. The trailer was fishtailing and people were still moving around in the isle in front of me.

You could probably analyze my dream and say that I fear that I am leading people while being completely inadequate and not really able to see where we are going. You would probably be correct in saying that. All I know is that I never want to drive a bus from the middle of it and I definitely don’t want to drive a tractor-trailer where the tractor is a bus.

As many of you know Tapestry participates with several other churches in feeding around 300 kids a day in Diriamba, Nicaragua through our friends the Baltodanos. I just received word from Jim Wallace (a great guy who I am glad to call my friend even if his jokes aren’t as funny as he seems to think they are – you should hear him laugh at his own jokes), who is the lead of the meal program and much more, that the daily meal program is running low on funds and we may have to cut some of the meal locations if other funds don’t come through by March. Jim has asked the members of the church he leads to give $1 a month. You would be amazed how far that goes in Diriamba. They are a large church but I think the threads are better than them. 🙂

So how about it? What about $2 a month per person? $3? $5 sounds like a pretty good number to me. I am asking you to consider giving $1 – $5 a month in addition to what you normally give to what God is doing in and through Tapestry. This money will be specifically used for providing meals to kids in Diriamaba and nothing else. Jesus has a pretty warm spot in His heart for feeding the hungry so we should have a warm spot too.

If you are interested please write on your giving envelope, check, or electronic gift that this money is for Diriamba. As a matter of fact, if you want to give something at the Super Bowl Gathering this Sunday I’ll have something set up.

Just read this quote from Stanley Grenz (a theologian I respect greatly, wish was still alive, and who serves as one of the two major theological underpinnings of my dissertation).

Folk theology is inadequate as a resting place for most Christians. It encourages gullibility, vicarious spirituality and simplistic answers to difficult dilemmas that arise from being followers of Jesus Christ in a largely secular and pagan world. It stunts growth and blunts the influence of Christianity in the world. Further, it is often difficult to distinguish Christian folk theology from the canned answers and pasted smiles that cultists display on the doorstep as they peddle their “new revelations” from door to door. — in Who Needs Theology?: An Invitation to the Study of God

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Folks you don’t have to read hard theology but please read, listen to, and discuss good theology. Pop/folk theology is the bane of existence. It serves no useful purpose and deceives and hurts a large number of people. The true God is involved in the nutty gritty of life with us and His answers and hope in that nutty gritty are almost always NOT platitudes.

Want some good books / discussions of it? I’ll throw some out in the next day or two. I can say now that Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship is a great work to read. Heck his work Life Together is a great one too.

Just sharing a few things from tonight. For those who want it here is the salsa recipe with double the Serrano peppers for a little more kick.

• 5 Roma tomatoes
• 1/4 onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 Serrano chili peppers
• Cilantro (1/4 of bunch or to taste)
• Juice of one small lime
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Secondly, for those who wanted to see them again below you will find the two videos I showed tonight during my message.

First, here’s the Kid President Pep Talk

 

And here is the video from Mrioslav Volf.

 

SIDE NOTE – if you are involved in UWSP’s InterVarsity chapter I hope to see you tomorrow. I’ll be speaking at the large group meeting tomorrow night.

It is going to be bad out there tonight folks. Therefore I share with you this infographic.

I love Winter in Central Wisconsin. The cold seems to make the Spring and Summer feel all the better. The snow is a ton of fun. Cross-country skiing and sledding = awesome. To be honest running when it is snowing make me feel like a beast. With all that said I could really do without the ice. The ice is the only part of Winter that I don’t so much like. Except when it forms all over trees. Ice covered (not broken) trees are gorgeous. Winter Mix is the worst weather ever. It is an accident waiting to happen. ARGH!

Anyhow, I’m not sure if it is true or not but it makes sense and I think it would be fun to watch every one walk like a penguin.

ht lifehacker