NO, NO, NO, We do NOT Celebrate Halloween in this Family! I know a few of you guys just have written me off as a backslidder, Two Baseball post, and now this? NO, I want to be clear my family does not celebrate Halloween...We just carved these to scare off wandering spirits.
OK, now that I've lost most of my readers, please forgive the sarcasm. We sell Pumpkins, so of course my girls were just dying to have Daddy carve them, and Daddy caved. Well, it's not that I caved, but I decided that we were going to carve pumpkins this year. We have never done it, because as a family we do not celebrate Halloween. We don't...really I just wanted to roast the seeds...you had to know it had to do with food, right?
Really I'm not for Halloween, and I know plenty of reasons not to celebrate it...I even know there are some good reasons not to carve jack-o-lanterns, that's why I just carved a silly face into a pumpkin, It was just a special time for Daddy and His girls, and it made a cute photo.
Monday, October 15, 2007
This Isn't What It Looks Like
Friday, October 5, 2007
Weeping may endure for a night
That is, when you wake up and hear the Yankees lost again! Hahaha, I knew the post-season wouldn't be a total waste. Indians leading the series 2-0 , and with Thursdays score 12-3 you would have thought that they had Glavin pitching! My favorite is A-Rod, You can always depend on him doing that thing he does during playoffs (see above picture)Sunday, September 30, 2007
Bad Mets, No Playoffs!
The Florida Marlins destroyed the Mets in an 8-1 blowout crushing thier playoff dreams, and my dreams of sitting on the couch watching the post-season with my beautiful wife. I love to hear her root against whoever the Mets are playing. She's sooo cute when she yells at the TV with me. (secretly I know she doesn't care, but she pretends to because she knows I like it)
Well...there's always the Yankee's to root against.
Anyhow I know that none of my five readers care about this stuff. They are all far to spiritual to watch any sports. They could care less about this stuff, but I had to pout a little.
In all reality I don't care all that much. I have way too much work, homework, lesson prep, sermon prep, daddy stuff, hubby stuff, ect... to care all that much. I actually think it may be the Lord's way of making sure I don't get to distracted this semester.
OK...I'm done! Forgive me for such an unspiritual post, I will try to be more edifying with the next post. Oh did I mention there's still the Yankee's to root against?
Monday, September 24, 2007
Just Some Family Pictures
Daddy and Jut-Jut
Justin - My Little Man or Baby Jut
Grace - My Gracie Bear 
Taylor - My Little Taytor BugIs that not the cutest smile?
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Chinese Pizza
Ever wonder why they have pizza at the Chinese Buffet?
That’s easy, to get more people to come and eat there…
I don’t know about your kids, but you set Moo Shu Pork in front to your average five year old and they will turn their nose up like it was lima beans, on the other hand you set pizza in front of them and they will scarf it down like it was going to be a while before they get their next meal. Chinese restaurants know this, and that’s why you’ll always see Pizza on the buffet table.
Mom and Dad may want Chinese food, but since the kiddies won’t eat that, the Chinese folk bring stuff into their restaurant that really doesn’t belong. Pizza for those of you who don’t know is not Chinese, but lots of people like it.
Good strategy right?
I mean it’s not like Pizza is wrong or anything, its just food. It’s not Anti-Chinese, it’s just Not-Chinese. It may confuse people when they are reaching for their Fried Won Tons to see a Pizza sitting next to the Egg Rolls, but they get over it pretty soon. I mean they don’t have to eat it; they can eat their Sesame Chicken and allow the less discerning palettes eat the Pizza, all are happy.
Sounds like a good strategy to me…
Let’s say though that this Chinese restaurant is really starting to generate business. Lots of Moms and Dads bringing their families so that they can eat Kung Pow Chicken and the kiddies can fill up on Pizza, and every once in a while Dad grabs a slice too.
That works right?
Now Mom wants some Chinese, but Dad’s in the mood for some Pizza, where can they all go to get what they want? You got it, the Chinese Buffet! Now the Chinese Restaurant is selling so much Pizza that they need to get rid of some of the Chinese Food to make room for all the different Pizzas that they are selling. Everyone’s happy now!
The Chinese Restaurant is always busy and more and more people are coming to try the Peaking Duck, but hey, if they don’t like it, no problem, they just grab a slice of Pizza and all is well. New Pizzas are being introduced to the Buffet, and more Chinese Menu items are being removed to make way for the different Pizza types. Now it’s not just the kids eating the pizza, Moms and Dads are eating it too. (With their Chinese food of course)
Now what would you think about this strategy if over time more and more people started coming to the Chinese Buffet for Pizza, and less and less were coming for the Chinese Food, I mean people are still coming right?
Still more and different Pizzas are added, and more Chinese items are removed, but the people keep coming, the problem is they aren’t coming to the Chinese restaurant for Chinese Food anymore; they are coming for something that really didn’t belong there in the first place. They want Pizza!
Is that really a good strategy? Perhaps, I mean lots of people are coming, but lets not fool ourselves, at that point it’s not a Chinese Buffet that serves a little Pizza…It’s a Pizza Buffet that serves a little Chinese, which is fine…
Unless you really want some good authentic Chinese food!
Monday, September 3, 2007
I was reading “The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit” by R A Torrey and he was comparing the Spirit to the wind. "The wind bloweth where it listeth" John 3:8
I find comfort in Torrey’s words here. This semester is going to have to be a day by day attempt of harmonizing myself with the Spirit and allowing Him to work His will through me…there is no other way to do it. I think this may be one of God’s ways of getting me desperate…that seems to be the way He works best, not because He needs it that way, but because in our arrogance and self-sufficiency it’s the way we allow Him to work best through us. It seems to be we strive less when we don't have anything left in ourselves.
So…( (holding a delicious cup of black coffee high into the air) Here’s to another semester of too much to do, not enough time to do it, and a great God that can accomplish great things regardless of the circumstances.
2 Corinthians 12:9 - And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Monday, August 27, 2007
A Little Something to Chew On
Sorry, I've been insane the past few, and have not had the diligence to post, but here's a little something to chew on from A W Tozer, as you read it, remember that it was written in 1966...and yet, it's as fresh and relevant as could be.
The Old Cross and the New - A W Tozer
ALL UNANNOUNCED AND MOSTLY UNDETECTED there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.
From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique-a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.
The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.
The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.
The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egotist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrill seeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.
The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.
The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.
The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.
That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.
We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.
God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.
What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.
Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.
To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul's day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to God's approval.
Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power. (A. W. Tozer, Man, the Dwelling Place of God, 1966)
Friday, August 17, 2007
"From the Hip"
1 Peter 3:15 - But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
One of the most intimidating aspects (for me) when witnessing is not knowing what question I will be asked. I know that may sound silly, but when you get caught off-guard with a question you can stumble around and lose the opportunity that’s in front of you.
How well can you answer spiritual questions “from the hip”? I mean when someone asks you a spiritual question, can you give a biblical answer…even if your Bible isn’t handy, and you can’t do a word search? Can you answer?
There are people who have questions, and are looking to see if we have answers. I recently talked to an old friend Carl and when he saw that I was reading my Bible he started asking questions that I know have been bothering him for some time. For example: He asked “How can you believe that God literally created the world in a week?”
How would you answer?
Would you just say “Because the Bible says so!”? I mean, that’s good enough for me, but for someone who has no faith in the Bible? His question led into a very good opportunity to explain some of the evidence, and myths that he had been taught. He asked about the dinosaurs, and I got to show him Behemoth in the book of Job, He was astonished!
I say all this to ask my readers (all 5 of them) what questions you have been asked that may have caught you off-guard, or what questions would you predict someone asking in a spiritual conversation. I would like to hear (or read) them so I can examine my preparedness to answer. My idea is to take some questions and try and give my “off the top of my head” answer as if I was answering someone out on the street, and post them so you can in turn criticize me, I mean to make me better not to damage my fragile little emotions : )
So anyways….it’s a cheap way to get comments and material for future blog posts all in one…not bad huh?
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Another Step Toward Ecumenicalism
Roman Catholic leader stokes already heated debate on religion
AMSTERDAM - A Roman Catholic Bishop in the Netherlands has proposed people of all faiths refer to God as Allah to foster understanding, stoking an already heated debate on religious tolerance in a country with one million Muslims.
Bishop Tiny Muskens, from the southern diocese of Breda, told Dutch television on Monday that God did not mind what he was named and that in Indonesia, where Muskens spent eight years, priests used the word "Allah" while celebrating Mass.
"Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah? ... What does God care what we call him? It is our problem."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20279326/?GT1=10252
Saturday, August 11, 2007
My Public Apology
Greetings,
First – I would like to publicly apologize for the biggest mistake I made in sending out “My Plea to the Street Preachers”, and that was using an “open cc”. Never in a million years did I think that it would have had everyone questioning why they were on the list, or why so-and-so was on the list. I was wrong, and if I sent it out again I would have used a “blind cc”.
To answer why you were on the list you only need to look at the following link http://www.preachtruth.org/fellowlabors.html after meeting Larry Keffer I visited his website, and found this link from there. The others that were on this list are people I know, sites that I had visited in the past, or people who I have looked up to in regards to street ministry. It really was not personal, I just looked for the active street preachers, and your names came up.
Second – I would like to publicly apologize to anyone who either was offended or felt targeted on this list. I got many positive replies sent to me, but as many of you have read, I received a certain amount of replies that were less than favorable. Many viewed this as a public rebuke, and I want to clarify that, that was never my intention. I viewed it sort of like a sermon, you preach and hope to encourage as well as challenge. I did not follow the outline in Matthew 18 as many of you pointed out, and here was my reason why…
Matthew 18: 15-17
15: Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16: But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17: And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
I did not feel that anyone had trespassed against me. I was not personally offended by anyone. I did not feel as that this was dealing with sin in the body, but rather methods in a movement. Not one of us would agree with Bill Hybel’s methods of ministry, and some of us have even preached against such drivel, but we do not go to him personally because he is not trespassing against us personally. We criticize the methods of the emergent church, as we should, but have any of us sat down with Rob Bell or Brian McLaren?
Third – I’d like to publicly apologize for any sarcasm I used in my replies to any of you. I got in the flesh with a few responses, and I was wrong. I wrote most of my replies with a smile, but tone is rarely conveyed correctly through e-mail.
Fourth – I’d like to publicly apologize for the barrage of e-mails many of you have received because of being on my “open” cc list, again this was a mistake on my part, and I am sorry for bringing you all into this.
Fifth – I’d like to publicly apologize for pointing out the motes in my brother’s eye, and neglecting the beam in my own. If I failed to act biblically in sending out my “Plea” it would be in this area. You guys are out there all the time and have been for many years. For various reasons I am not out at all the events I’d like to be, and I do not face the same crowds as you. I do not know how I would react, only how I would like to.
Finally - I would like to close by saying that what I do not regret is opening up the dialog. I think I learned from this, and have been profited by the whole ordeal. I regret upsetting people, and looking divided.
I still believe that calling people names out of spite is wrong, (even if it’s a name used in the Bible), but I will not pretend that I know your motives, and I will make it a point to always try and assume the best.
I still believe that intentionally provoking the police is wrong in regards to Romans 13, but I will try and always assume that when I see this you are obeying God rather than man, and are justified. This is not said with sarcasm; I know that if we just were to roll over that eventually we’d have all our rights taken away in this arena.
I have said from the beginning that our ultimate goal is the same, to see sinners come to repentance toward God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I will do what I can to accomplish this the way the Lord has me do it, and I will pray for your ministries as you do what you can to accomplish this.
I would ask that we end the mass e-mails. If anyone would like to respond please do it in private, or limited to those you are addressing. I will only answer questions or charges that are sent to me. Also if anyone would like me to remove their e-mail off my blog, I will do so at their request.
God Bless you all, and your ministries.
In Christ, for His Glory
Shannon Young,
2 Tim 2:24-26, Eph 3:8
