Musical Stethoscope

Great 2 minute video compliments of Heather!

Spiritual Food and Exercise

Here is an excerpt from the latest post from my faith blog:

Jesus said (in John 4:34) that His nourishment came from doing Gods will. In this I think that we see a link from just eating and getting spiritually fat to being spiritually fit.


Check the rest out here.

Vision

Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. -Jonathan Swift

America was established not to create wealth but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal - to discover and maintain liberty among men. -Woodrow Wilson

People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision. -John Maxwell

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. -Helen Keller

Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps, down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision. -Ayn Rand

The question is not what you look at, but what you see. -Henry David Thoreau

Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe. -St Augustine

Java-Logs

Java-Log is the most innovative, funky new fireplace item that has quickly become the people’s choice firelog including even Ellen Degeneres’. It offers a wonderful solution to the much detested chemical smell associated often with other firelogs since Java-Log has No Chemical Smell, contributes positively to several environmental concerns and burns beautifully, hassle free. (HT: Kristen)

Casual Friday

This cartoon reminded me about a time around 1990 when we started this whole idea of Casual Fridays - those were the days when I wore a tie to work every day.. and absolutely no jeans or sneakers. When our group was asked via email about "Dress Down Fridays" one of the guys responded with this:

I guess I am okay with that.. but count me out for pants down Fridays!

What followed was a barrage of email messages (yes we had a crude version of inter-company email back then) asking about pajamas, shorts and bathing suits.. we all got a huge laugh out of it.

What about you? Do you have any Casual Friday stories?

Loosen Up, Before It’s Too Late!

Christian author and funny writer John Shore today encourages pastors and other Christian leaders to act themselves on his Suddenly Christian blog. Here is an excerpt:

If you are a pastor or a Famous Christian Leader, consider the possibility that maybe, when you’re up at the lectern, or doing your thing before the cameras or microphones, you could loosen up a little. Relax! Be who you really are, instead of who you think you’re supposed to be.
...
I have had a fair number of occasions to hang with people whose job it is to essentially represent God to truly vast numbers of people. And I’m always sitting around with these people, and they might be having a drink or two, the way normal people do when they’re hanging out with their friends, and they’ll be way funnier than you’d think. (Or that I expected, anyway.) And I don’t mean the kind of humor where you chuckle with restrained verve and then ask someone to pass the rolls. I’m talking Teamster humor. Rude stuff. Jokes that make you wish you hadn’t just taken a bite of a roll.

It’s awesome.

But then, later, I’ll see those same people on TV, or hear them on the radio, or whatever, and it’s like they’d gotten attacked and treated by a taxidermist.

I love this stuff (read all of John's post here) and I think that it is applicable to all of us. Take John's advice.. loosen up and be who you really are in whatever you are doing.. even if it is not religiously correct. Like the sign says - an original is always worth more than a copy.

Cartoon Chatter

You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes. -Winnie the Pooh

Well whaddya expect in an opera, a happy ending? -Bugs Bunny

Can you imagine anything so ridiculous as majority rule? -Daffy Duck

Being a genuis certainly has it's advantages. -Wile E Coyote

Those earth creatures, always shootn' off their mouths! -Yosemite Sam

That's the first time somebody else shot my mouth off! -Foghorn Leghorn

One thing I've learned while chasing the bird... Avoid the dog!! -Sylvester the Cat

You'd be puny too if all you ate was birdseed! -Tweety Pie

You are my peanut. I am your brittle. -Pepe Le Pew

Th-th-th-th-That's all, Folks! -Porky Pig

Obama Validates Bush Policies

Columnist Michael Gerson wrote an opinion piece today on President Elect Obama's cabinet appointments. I found this excerpt to be an interesting one:

Obama's appointments reveal something important about current Bush policies. Though Obama's campaign savaged the administration as incompetent and radical, Obama's personnel decisions have effectively ratified Bush's defense and economic approaches during the last few years. At the Pentagon, Obama rehired the architects of President Bush's current military strategy -- Gates, Gen. David Petraeus and Gen. Raymond Odierno. At the Treasury Department, Obama has hired one of the main architects of Bush's current economic approach.

This continuity does not make Obama an ideological traitor. It indicates that Bush has been pursuing centrist, bipartisan policies -- without getting much bipartisan support. The transition between Bush and Obama is smoother than some expected, not merely because Obama has moderate instincts but because Bush does as well. Particularly on the economy, Bush has never been a libertarian; he has always matched a commitment to free markets with a willingness to intervene when markets stumble.

I have to admit that I have not been surprised by Obama's appointments but I had not seen them in this light. Made me reconsider my thinkings of President Bush a bit and wondering if his disapproval ratings re more a matter of style than substance? Of course most of Bush's disapproval came from his administration of the Iraq War.. I suspect that Obama will not have that problem.

What are your thoughts about the President Elect's appointments? Any surprise you?

$250 Solar Powered Backpack

Is this really needed?

Would you buy one?

Is your name Indiana?

Christmas Music

I voted with the 31% in this Christianity Today poll.

My favorite all time Christmas song is the traditional O Holy Night.. nothing matches it.

I also like a lot of other genres as well. My favorite CD album is A Vineyard Cafe Christmas.

How would you vote and what is your favorite Christmas song?

Compressed Air Fun

Complements of Small Paul

Losing My Religion

Assembly of God pastor George Wood posts a review of William Lobdell's book at AG Think Tank. Here is the way that it starts:

Losing My Religion is William Lobdell’s memoir of becoming an evangelical, then a Roman Catholic, then a reluctant atheist. It is an engrossing and quick read. And unlike Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, Lobdell is not vicious. He disagrees with believers, but he does not despise them.

Lobdell is an award-winning journalist who covered the religion beat for the Los Angeles Times. As a one-time resident of Costa Mesa, California—where Lobdell lives—and a former reader of the Times, I personally know some of the people Lobdell reported on, and I remember reading some of his stories. His reportage on the sins of Paul and Jan Crouch and their Trinity Broadcasting Network sticks in my mind even to this day.

The book begins with Lobdell’s life in a mess. A friend tells him he needs God, and he ends up going to Mariners Church, an evangelical megachurch pastored by Kenton Beeshore. As he matures in his faith, he switches to St. Andrews Presbyterian, pastored by John Huffman. Eventually, however, he finds himself drawn to Catholicism, and he and his wife enroll in catechism classes.

I recommend reading the whole review that goes on to describe how Lobdell eventually got disgusted with the church and Christian behavior. He eventually lost his religion.

Do you know someone like William Lobdell? I do. It would be so easy to for me to sit here and cast stones at Lobdell and people like him. The truth is that I am also often disappointed by the same things that he was. I honestly don't know how I would have responded if I had to investigate and report on the things that he did.

I do know that I am often challenged by health struggles.. by heartbreak.. by sometimes unbearable pain.. by unanswered prayer.. and for some reason I hang in there seeking to embrace God in different ways.. discarding a belief system and religion that was so obviously broken. Maybe William Lobdell's fate was somewhat sealed by the type of religion that he embraced? What do you think?

You can check out William Lobdell's blog here.. it is where I initially read the review.

Searching with Firefox

Ever since I switched internet browsers I have been discovering some of the great features of Firefox. One that I'd like to highlight today is the search menu and bar.
I love that I am able to do a simple search of the bible (Via Bible Gateway), the dictionary (via Websters and dictionary.com), YouTube, Wikipedia and weather.com as well as doing a traditional Google search using the search menu feature.

Vader vs Picard

HT: Locusts and Honey