To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less.
Colossians 1:28 - do you even have to ask what version?
Thursday, March 30, 2006
American-style Prayer
this was written by michael gembola. we need this
American-style prayer
When I was a little kid in Sunday School, we used to sing the spiritually hollow but physically engaging song "I'm in the Lord's army."
Of course there was the main verse listing all the army-related things that we would act out--march in the infantry, ride on the cavalry, shoot the artillery, etc.
But I also remember other versions, like Mexican style or Cowboy style. These versions had their own stanzas with their own motions (e.g., "I may never wear a big sombrero, ride a donkey oh so slow, eat a cheesy taco...").
If you have sung it before, I'm sure you can finish it for me. But perhaps we all could use some brushing up on the words and motions for American-style prayer. It's familiar, so I’m sure you'll all recognize it.
What everyone needs to know to pray American style:
1. Stay distracted. Continually strive to reduce your miniscule attention span by constantly letting your mind chase rabbit trails so that you forget that you were even praying and then suddenly realize it 10 minutes later.
2. Pray on the go. If you miss the time when you had planned to pray, try to make it up while driving and apply the same ADD techniques from step 1.
3. Be brief. This is integral to praying American style. Try to do it in less than a minute. If it's a confession, remind yourself that asking for forgiveness or repenting is all you need to do to restore fellowship, and that those who are too heavenly minded are of no earthly good--and you sure have a lot of earthly good to do.
4. Don't think of anything doctrinally demanding. This takes too much time and effort.
5. Avoid listing or rehearsing characteristics of God. This generally applies to any of the -tion words as well. But this is not an absolute. Just make sure that if you use them, don't explain them, rehearse them, or remind yourself of what they mean.
6. Ask for things. You obviously have needs or at least you always need something. And you definitely know someone who is sick. These can be a quick prayers. Make these count for your daily prayer.
7. Use archaic words that sound good to you. Cliches are great. Choc your prayers full of them.
8. Be vague. Ask for God to be "with" someone.
9. Fill in the gaps. So that you can pray without stopping to think, insert God's name whenever you might pause if you were in a normal conversation.
10. Use stock leads. Another way to avoid stopping to think is to start with a phrase like "we thank you for..." or "we pray that..." even if you have no clue how you'll end the sentence.
11. Say something about the weather. It's easy, it's always there, and it doesn't require much thought. Referencing weather like this is a lot like any other superficial conversation people have, just more wordy.
12. Close your eyes. Just do it. You don't need to know why.
(read more)
Group Prayer
1. Power nap. If you're sitting down, rest your head on your knees. You might actually get in a power nap if it’s a decent sized circle or a long invitation.
2. Stock leads for the group. Start out the prayer with a phrase like this: "I just thank you for this time where we can come together and..." Everyone else has already said the phrase, so it will be familiar and you won't have to think about it.
3. Go solo. Don't pray along with the person who is praying. (Side note: This is where American style prayer may get confusing: even though you're not really supposed to be thinking about what you're saying, you need to say something that sounds good. For this reason you might have to think about what you will say while the others are praying).
4. Yawn a lot and rub your eyes
5. Bow your head. You don't need to know why about this, either. It's just something we do.
6. More stock leads. Start out with the phrase "Thank you for this day." Be careful, however, because you will be tempted to say "Thank you for this food" right after that since it’s your stock lead for your pre-meal prayer, too.
Important Final Note
This list should put you well on your way to American style prayer. But remember, just because you follow the letter of the law on these steps won’t guarantee that you are praying like an American. Many people who do not pray American style will ask for a blessing on the day or the food or “to be with” sick a person. They may bow their heads or use a stock lead. They may even do most of the things on the list. The key difference is this: you have to ignore the actual meaning of these phrases and use them only in the cliché sense.
Essentially, American prayer can be reduced to these 3 axioms: don’t think, be distracted, and be brief.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
alone time with Him
i've never needed time alone with God like i needed tonight, so i took it. and sure enough, it was exactly what i needed. i need to be plunged into the deapths of his love and overtaken by his mercy. he is God! and i had to crawl up to him, and tell him what i needed.
eph. 3 folks...eph. 3
eph. 3 folks...eph. 3
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Major Prayer Request
if you see this post...pray for a young man I know. his name is scott. the Lord needs to get a hold of his life/heart. please lift up a young man in prayer, if he doesn't turn around now, he may never come. thank you.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Grew up in the 90's!
Yeah..this is by far the best email I have ever gotten. It really hits home to those of us who were kids in the 90's.
1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE!"
2. You can sing the rap to "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air"
3. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey from "Blossom" and that "How Rude!" comes from Stephanie from "Full House"
4. You remember when it was actually worth getting up early
on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
5. You got super excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
6. You remember reading "Goosebumps"
7. You were there for the Yo-Yo craze and had to have the Bumble Bee
8. You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, wax off"
9. You took plastic cartoon lunch boxes to school.
10. You remember the craze then the banning of slap bracelets and slam books.
11. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after (almost) every sentence...Not...
12. You knew that Kimberly, the pink ranger, and Tommy, the green Ranger were meant to be together.
13. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
14. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates
15. You ever got injured on a Slip 'n' Slide
16. You remember when almost every guy owned a skateboard and the video game tony hawk.
17. You wore socks over leggings scrunched down
18. "Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, all dressed in black, black, black, with silver buttons, buttons, buttons, all down her back, back, back. SHE ASKED HER MOTHER MOTHER MOTHER FOR FIFTY CENTS CENTS CENTS TO SEE THE ELEPHANTS ELEPHANTS ELEPHANTS JUMP OVER THE FENCE THE FENCE THE FENCE"
he jumped so high high high he touched the sky sky sky and he didnt come back back back til the forth of july ly ly he jumped so low ow ow he stumbed he's toe oe oe and thats the end end end of the elephants show ow ow"
19. You remember boom boxes vs. cd players
20. You knew what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare"
21. You remember Alf, the little brown alien from Melmac and Vicki the Robot from "Small Wonders"
22. You remember New Kids on The Block when they were cool
23. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell"
24. You played and or collected "Pogs" and had to have the best "slammer"!
25. You used to pretend to be a MIGHTY MORPHIN Power Ranger and you owned a Skip It
26. You had at least one GigaPet or Nano and brought it everywhere
27. You watched the original Care Bears, and Ninja Turtles
28. Yikes pencils and erasers were the stuff.
29. You remember when the new Beanie Babies were always sold out.
30. You remember a time before the WB.
31. You've gotten creeped out by "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
32. You thought it would be so cool to be Alex Mack.
33. You know the Macarena by heart
34. "Talk to the hand" ... enough said
35. You thought Brain would finally take over the world
36. You always said, "Then why don't you marry it!"
37. You remember a time when you didn't own a computer
38. Best of all you remember the computers with black screens and green letters.
1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE!"
2. You can sing the rap to "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air"
3. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey from "Blossom" and that "How Rude!" comes from Stephanie from "Full House"
4. You remember when it was actually worth getting up early
on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
5. You got super excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
6. You remember reading "Goosebumps"
7. You were there for the Yo-Yo craze and had to have the Bumble Bee
8. You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, wax off"
9. You took plastic cartoon lunch boxes to school.
10. You remember the craze then the banning of slap bracelets and slam books.
11. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after (almost) every sentence...Not...
12. You knew that Kimberly, the pink ranger, and Tommy, the green Ranger were meant to be together.
13. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
14. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates
15. You ever got injured on a Slip 'n' Slide
16. You remember when almost every guy owned a skateboard and the video game tony hawk.
17. You wore socks over leggings scrunched down
18. "Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, all dressed in black, black, black, with silver buttons, buttons, buttons, all down her back, back, back. SHE ASKED HER MOTHER MOTHER MOTHER FOR FIFTY CENTS CENTS CENTS TO SEE THE ELEPHANTS ELEPHANTS ELEPHANTS JUMP OVER THE FENCE THE FENCE THE FENCE"
he jumped so high high high he touched the sky sky sky and he didnt come back back back til the forth of july ly ly he jumped so low ow ow he stumbed he's toe oe oe and thats the end end end of the elephants show ow ow"
19. You remember boom boxes vs. cd players
20. You knew what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare"
21. You remember Alf, the little brown alien from Melmac and Vicki the Robot from "Small Wonders"
22. You remember New Kids on The Block when they were cool
23. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell"
24. You played and or collected "Pogs" and had to have the best "slammer"!
25. You used to pretend to be a MIGHTY MORPHIN Power Ranger and you owned a Skip It
26. You had at least one GigaPet or Nano and brought it everywhere
27. You watched the original Care Bears, and Ninja Turtles
28. Yikes pencils and erasers were the stuff.
29. You remember when the new Beanie Babies were always sold out.
30. You remember a time before the WB.
31. You've gotten creeped out by "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
32. You thought it would be so cool to be Alex Mack.
33. You know the Macarena by heart
34. "Talk to the hand" ... enough said
35. You thought Brain would finally take over the world
36. You always said, "Then why don't you marry it!"
37. You remember a time when you didn't own a computer
38. Best of all you remember the computers with black screens and green letters.
Psalm 48 - A Meditation
Go majestic,
praise abounds in our God-city!
His sacred mountain,
breathtaking in its heights -- earth's joy.
Zion Mountain looms in the North,
city of the world-King.
God in his citadel peaks
impregnable.
The kings got together,
they united and came.
They took one look and shook their heads,
they scattered and ran away.
They doubled up in pain
like a woman having a baby.
You smashed the ships of Tarshish
with a storm out of the East.
We heard about it, then we saw it
with our eyes --
In God's city of Angel Armies,
in the city our God
Set on firm foundations,
firm forever.
We pondered your love-in-action, God,
waiting in your temple:
Your name, God, evokes a train
of Hallelujahs wherever
It is spoken, near and far;
your arms are heaped with goodness-in-action.
Be glad, Zion Mountain,
Dance, Judah's daughters!
He does what he said he'd do!
Circle Zion, take her measure,
count her fortress peaks,
Gaze long at her sloping bulwark,
climb her citadel heights --
Then you can tell the next generation
detail by detail the story of God,
Our God forever,
who guides us till the end of time.
praise abounds in our God-city!
His sacred mountain,
breathtaking in its heights -- earth's joy.
Zion Mountain looms in the North,
city of the world-King.
God in his citadel peaks
impregnable.
The kings got together,
they united and came.
They took one look and shook their heads,
they scattered and ran away.
They doubled up in pain
like a woman having a baby.
You smashed the ships of Tarshish
with a storm out of the East.
We heard about it, then we saw it
with our eyes --
In God's city of Angel Armies,
in the city our God
Set on firm foundations,
firm forever.
We pondered your love-in-action, God,
waiting in your temple:
Your name, God, evokes a train
of Hallelujahs wherever
It is spoken, near and far;
your arms are heaped with goodness-in-action.
Be glad, Zion Mountain,
Dance, Judah's daughters!
He does what he said he'd do!
Circle Zion, take her measure,
count her fortress peaks,
Gaze long at her sloping bulwark,
climb her citadel heights --
Then you can tell the next generation
detail by detail the story of God,
Our God forever,
who guides us till the end of time.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
the rain is coming
I feel so dry sometimes. Especially when I've missed time in the Word for a day or two. That's whats been going on lately. I fall on my face and feel like I can never get back up. God will slap me on the face and tell me to wake up and then I'll do it again.
It seems so hopeless and miserable. I felt like the Christian life was just a joke that no one could make it in, but then when I was reading the Word, trying to get anything out of it I could, it hit me.
The Israelites never could stay on their "feet." The Lord had to punish them and judge them, and they would turn right away from Him and do everything all over again. It was a vicous cycle of falling and judging and repenting. But you know what? The Lord knows we WILL do that! No man is perfect, and even though we sometimes feel like those around us don't struggle, we're wrong. Because they do! SO take heart and be encouraged Christian. For the rain is coming to this dry land we call our lives.
"He comes as rain comes,
as spring rain refreshing the ground."
-Hosea 6:3
HAPPY SPRING!
It seems so hopeless and miserable. I felt like the Christian life was just a joke that no one could make it in, but then when I was reading the Word, trying to get anything out of it I could, it hit me.
The Israelites never could stay on their "feet." The Lord had to punish them and judge them, and they would turn right away from Him and do everything all over again. It was a vicous cycle of falling and judging and repenting. But you know what? The Lord knows we WILL do that! No man is perfect, and even though we sometimes feel like those around us don't struggle, we're wrong. Because they do! SO take heart and be encouraged Christian. For the rain is coming to this dry land we call our lives.
"He comes as rain comes,
as spring rain refreshing the ground."
-Hosea 6:3
HAPPY SPRING!
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Friday, March 17, 2006
...could be?
i don't know. i feel like sometimes words come out of my mouth and they mean nothing. but that's not biblical is it? meaningless words...why do i say things? is it to encourage? rebuke? offend? to make people laugh? i just wish i had a "verb" for everything i was about to say, and then i could look at that verb and decide if it was good or not. just a situation came up today where i said some dumb stuff. i feel like a true "sophomore." think think think...please, if it's the last thing you do! just think! i know the Lord will help me, and that what keeps me upbeat about this. i just need to talk to Him more, so i can learn how to talk like Him better.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
some thoughts about spiritualness
i know i probably made up a word in the title, but who cares...it's a blog right? it's what i think, and i think that it's a word! anyway, something really encouraging to me lately has been this passage in hebrews 4. it's verses 14-16. and i am quoting from the message:
Now that we know what we have -- Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God -- let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a high priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all -- all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.'
the whole passage is down right amazing, but my favorite part is the end. God is SOOOOO ready to give what we need. why can't we just put our rediculous foolish pride away and ask for it? why can't we take the mercy and accept the help? because we're prideful! Christ has the rememdy. he is the great physician who can cure all our defects and deformities. so those are my thoughts. put away the pride. accept the help.
Now that we know what we have -- Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God -- let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a high priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all -- all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.'
the whole passage is down right amazing, but my favorite part is the end. God is SOOOOO ready to give what we need. why can't we just put our rediculous foolish pride away and ask for it? why can't we take the mercy and accept the help? because we're prideful! Christ has the rememdy. he is the great physician who can cure all our defects and deformities. so those are my thoughts. put away the pride. accept the help.
whatever
i was out for a week for sinus surgery...work is "pyling" up, and now all i can say is...
whatever
whatever
Saturday, March 11, 2006
starting off
i'm sitting in bed on a saturday morning, so i decided to start a blog. i don't know what i'm going to do with it, or if i'll be faithful, but hey at least i'm trying!
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