NEW BLOG LINK!

RABBONI...which is to say, Master

Bye Bye Blogger

My track record with blog locations has not been that good. My first had a lot of traffic, was easy to work with, had a lot of support; it was just ideal! Then came the notice that they were no longer going to offer blog service and said I could transfer all my information to this new pay site, only 8.95 per month. It looked the same, worked the same, had the same amount of help and was supposed to be a different company - NOT! Just a bait and switch - I hate that! Blogger was next. The support was the pits, but it seemed to work well. It was used by many of the blogers I read, so I switched to Blogger. Hey, it was free, why not. That was in November of 2005. If I was more familiar with HTML language, and more computer savvy in general, I would probably stick with Blogger through their growing pains, but that is not my temperament, so I am off to my new site at Blog.com. I have archive links on the new site to material here, in the event you would want to go back and get a past post or look for information. Blog.com is fairly easy to work with, the lay out and side columns are much easier to change and add to. It can be easily upgraded and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to do so. All in all I think it will work fine - for now. (-: So don’t forget to change your bookmarks or do what ever you do to keep up with your favorite locations. OH, I almost forgot! Here is the Link: Rabboni Hope to see you there!

Words of Wisdom from the Corporate World...Not!

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow is not looking good either. I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by. Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days the statue. Needing someone is like needing a parachute. If he isn't there the first time, chances are you won't be needing him again. On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key. Don't be irreplaceable -- if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted. After any salary raise, you will have less money at the end of the month than you did before. If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit, and remove all evidence that you tried. No use being a fool about it. You are always doing something marginal when the boss drops by your desk. If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done. When you don't know what to do, walk fast, carry a clipboard, and look worried.

No Commentary Needed

There are some quotes that don’t need commentary, just meditation. This is one of those quotes. “When faith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit, when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendor of the past; when faith becomes a heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion – its message becomes meaningless.” (Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, NY, 1983, pp. 3). Dual Post at: Rabboni

The Least Of These

I posted the following song on my blog a year ago. Apart of being incarnational is often caring for those we would consider "The Least Of These" That is the title of Michael Wallace's song. I’ve Seen Innocent Eyes Cry Innocent Tears They did not deserve their hunger They did not earn their fears I’ve seen single mothers Struggle to leave the past Trying to balance children With jobs that will never last And I’ve seen their hope disappear And I’ve seen their eyes filled with fear But I’ve walked right by With my hands in my pockets And my head down to the ground Cuz they don’t’ look like I do And they don’t talk like I do And they don’t act like I do They sure don’t smell like I do You see I have not done unto the least of these And so I have not done unto you I’ve seen prostitution Spilled out into the streets They’re willing to sell their bodies For anything to eat I’ve seen an alcoholic Fall down upon his face No better than this self-righteous Christian In the freedom of God’s Grace And I’ve seen their hope disappear And I’ve seen their eyes filled with fear But I’ve walked right by With my hands in my pockets And my head down to the ground Cuz they don’t’ look like I do And they don’t act like I do And they don’t talk like I do They sure as hell don’t smell like I do You see I have not done unto the least of these And so I have not done unto you (Dual Post can also be found at: Rabboni

I Never Watch Soccer...

I never watch Soccer. That is until yesterday when I tuned in to the final match of The World Cup, just in time to see the infamous head butt. What a dirty shot! I am glad France lost. There I said it and now I will go back to never watching Scocer. Mike Cope shared some lessons learned from watching Soccer with his sons yesterday. 1. Reports of religion being out of favor in Europe are incorrect. It’s just that soccer is the religion. 2. Remember what you learned in kindergarten: no head-butting. Especially if a billion people are watching. It’s considered rude. 3. A 2-hour game can come down to about an inch — that must be about how much lower the ball hit on the crossbar early in the game for France (when it came down across the line as a goal) than it did in the shootout (when it come down on the line). 4. When watching the World Cup Final with teenage boys who actually play soccer and love soccer, do not try to make insightful comments. You only look like an idiot who ought to stick to coaching baseball. ********************************************* Patrick Meads post from Friday the 7th is a must read. Here is just a short burb from one of his best yet! "We sit in worship with people who look like us, who like the things we like, and with whom we are comfortable. Outside are single mothers, rockers, slackers, addicts, the divorced, the slaves of consumerism, gray minions of corporate America, skateboarders and.... you get the idea. None of them will ever feel comfortable with our ways or in our buildings. In those rare instances in which they want to be a part of us, we force them to become us first! They have to be more like us, agree with our preferences, and behave themselves.... then and only then are they allowed access to the Kingdom.That's not okay with me." Read the rest, it is excellent.

Lifting Holy Hands

Back in April I did a post dealing with posture in prayer. One thing I didn’t touch on in that article was lifting hands in prayer. I had never seen anyone from our tribe pray with lifted hand(s) until recently. (Maybe its because I always keep my eyes closed) Now before I go any further let me say that I know that the posture of the heart is what is important to God. But I can’t help but wonder why it has never been a practice within my tribe? We are the folks that preach loud and long to , "Speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent." Well the Bible isn’t silent on this one. Take a look... "I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands." (Ps. 63:4) "I call to you, O Lord, everyday; I spread out my hands to you." (Ps. 88:9) "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord." (Ps. 134:2) "Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, ’Amen! Amen!’" (Neh. 8:6) "Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens." (Lam. 3:41 KJV) "I fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God and prayed." (Ezra 9:5-6) "Solomon knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven." (2 Chron. 6:13) "As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword ... Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, ’For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord.’" (Ex. 17:11-16) "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer." (1Tim. 2:8) "Everyday," David says in Psalm 88:9, "I call to you and spread out my hands to you." Note the following from Buddy Owen in an article adapted from his book, "The Way Of The Worshiper" "Look at your hands. They aren’t going to hurt you; just look at them for a moment. Magnificent aren’t they? Who gave us our hands? God gave them to us. What do we do with our hands? Well, we work with our hands. We feed ourselves with our hands. We play with our hands. We give gifts and receive gifts with our hands. We show affection with our hands. We also fight with our hands. We sin with our hands. Why are we so hesitant to worship God with our hands? Lifting our hands to God is a biblical posture of prayer. It is another physical demonstration of a spiritual truth. Just as we bow our hearts when we bow our knees, so we lift our hearts when we lift our hands (Lam. 3:41). By kneeling before God and lifting our hands to him, we are presenting our bodies to God as a spiritual act of worship. " When we lift our hands with palms open it is a physical display of openness. As with kneeling in prayer, lifting our hands is simply another posture of devotion, humility and worship.