In the last two installments (Part 1, Part 2)  of this limited series, we examined the problems facing ministry to youth. Today, I want to unpack some further issues and provide answers to why we continue to lose kids and how we can not only stem that tide but reverse it.

Rather than have some great build up, I’ll head right into my thoughts:

1. Encapsulating the Gospel and then preaching it is our highest calling.

When the Church no longer knows what the Gospel is, it can’t transmit that Gospel to the next generation. How scary is it that many of the most learned and vocal Christians out there, the ones often in leadership roles, can’t articulate what the Gospel is?

We can only …

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Having spoken just yesterday about the fine line between self-promotion and hiding one’s light under a bushel, it might surprise you that I would share a video at the begining of this post in which  Terry Virgo (who incidentally has recently joined Facebook) begins his slot recommending books at the Brighton conference by commending mine. There are a number of reasons why I feel very comfortable doing this, however.

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, Terry’s book review segments have been a major part of my conference life for three decades. No one who has ever heard him passionately commend a book could ever forget the very helpful way he does this. After all, this is the man who single-handedly sold the entire first UK print …

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As the Christmas season draws closer, so does the conclusion of Key Bearers’ 15th year of ministry. By the time 2010 wraps up, more than $2 million will have been donated to Key Bearers during its existence, providing well over 9 million copies of the Pentecostal Evangel and the Spanish-quarterly Evangelio Pentecostal to America’s incarcerated since 1996.

This year the Evangel has already received the 7,500th salvation report from an inmate since tracking began in late 2003. That figure is a great indicatorof how the Key Bearers program is changing the lives of the men and women serving time in correctional facilities throughout the United States.

Besides those behind bars who come to the Lord through the gospel witness provided by the Evangel, thousands more are encouraged …

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What is it within mankind that we feel the night to fight against the simplest of things… and the best of things?

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives ALL your iniquities,
Who heals ALL your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

(Psalm 103:2-5)

So much energy is spent within the Church by people who are desperately trying to STAY sick!

Yes, you know what, if you’re sick, you should deal with it in a temporary fashion however seems best. Need a wheelchair? Ride in one. Need medicine? Take it. But seek healing. Seek …

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This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of NMEDA. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’ve mentioned this via twitter a time or two, now I’ll talk about it in more detail.

If you need a wheelchair van or specialized transportation for a disabled person, make sure you work with a NMEDA member dealer.

NMEDA is a non-profit trade association. They don’t sell anything, they educate consumers so they can make informed decisions, and the dealers who are members are required to adhere to very exacting safety standards for their handicap vans and vehicle modifications for disabled people.

Having used a wheelchair myself for a season, I can speak from experience – no two people are the same. Needs vary and you really do …

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Story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11161493
Verse: http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Psalm+14 (verse 1)
… or perhaps it's just shameless self-promotion.
Apart from the theological reason, again we have a public voice speaking about something they simply don't understand. Normally it's Bishops talking about economics, but this is just as embarrassing.
I’m not a Times subscriber so I haven't read the full extracts, but his argument reported by BBC simply pushes the question one stage further back. Even if gravity makes things like Big Bangs necessary, why is gravity necessary? Why is gravity-that-leads-to-such-scenario~ necessary?
I don't use the fine-tuning argument much for other reasons, but not only does Hawking's argument not work but it can't work. Like an annoying child, we can just ask 'why?' one more time. And as long as scientists/atheists still proceed from empirical evidence … [Link]

New Day the Church at High Point is holding its second semester of Healing School on September 18th from 9-4:30 (registration at 8:30). If you are involved in healing ministry at any level, or want to be – or if you just want to find out what this “healing stuff” is all about – please come!  All are welcome (whether you were at the first School or not).

Registration is $25 and includes lunch; pay at the door. You must, however, register in advance and get details at New Day’s website.

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment here, email, or call me!

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Richard Sibbes (1577-1635) was among the warmest of the Puritans and a true heir to the Reformers, a man of affectionate, experiential, heart-centred evangelicalism continues to lay out the sweetness of Christianity in his series on the Song of Songs, Bowels Opened. There's not much of Sibbes online so I'm hoping this blog series fills a gap and introduce you to the man who was known as The Heavenly Doctor and The Sweet Dropper.


In the fourth sermon, having begun by showing the necessity of gospel wakefulness he asks: HOW DO WE KEEP OUR SOULS AWAKE, ESPECIALLY IN DROWSY TIMES?


1. "None will sleep when a thing is presented of excellence more than ordinary… What made Moses to fall from the delights of Egypt? He saw the … [Link]

I made an incredibly difficult decision today. One of the toughest decisions I've made in a long time. Over the past month I've met with half a dozen publishers. I'm trying to figure out where to partner with my next book. Here's the challenge: I genuinely loved every publishing team I met with. And every one brings a unique strength to the table.

Some decisions are 80/20 decisions and those decisions are easy to make. It's the 51/49 decisions that are agonizing. That's where you need supernatural discernment. That's when you need to hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. And then you hope you heard Him right.

The hardest decisions are rarely between good and bad. The hardest decisions are usually trying to decipher … [Link]

Dane Ortlund asked a lot of interesting people this question: What is the key to healthy Christian growth in Godliness? I really enjoyed reading the answers. Perhaps if we got all these people in a room and asked them the question, there might be some "Godly" contention, since the answers are fairly wide-ranging. Personally, at the moment anyway, I think Joe Thorn's answer is the one that resonates in my own heart:I believe the key to healthy growth in godliness is the cultivation and exercise of Scripture-saturated prayer by which we express and experience our dependence on, joy in, and work through Jesus Christ.But you should read the others. It's a great post.

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Jeff Dunn lists his five favorite non-fiction books (along with some honorable mentions) … [Link]

• Long day but fairly productive (didn't get my hair or fishtanks done though!) Dinner and a movie at home w/hubby. #
• Ad: http://spn.tw/tw0Rj Sprucing up your house during long weekend? $20 rebate on 5-gal of Glidden Premium Paint Labor Day weekend 9/2-9/6. #
• @ lasttrumpetlvng it's too big a fail for # fail Even for # epicfail # CATASTROPHICINSANELYTRAGICSUPEREPICFAIL is best I can do. in reply to lasttrumpetlvng #
• Too warm for coffee. Lemonade instead. Reading a book but maybe should pull some weeds. #
• let me get this straight: there are NO workable FTP extensions for Chrome? #
• Just missed Firefox for 1st time since switching to Chrome. WAIT! Where is FireFTP? AGGGGHHHH #
• @ lasttrumpetlvng that's why I gave them an "out" at the …

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(Jerry Brown via Wikipedia)

The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in state court in order to force California’s governor and attorney general to defend the Prop. 8 Marriage Amendment. 

So far Governor Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown have both refused to appeal California Supreme Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling which overturned the  voter-approved traditional marriage amendment.

The lawsuit asks the court to enforce a state code that commands the attorney general to defend the state and its officials against any legal challenges. Commenting on the lawsuit Brad Dacus, president of PJI said:

“By refusing to do their jobs, the Attorney General Jerry Brown and Gov. Schwarzenegger are effectively vetoing the voices of seven million voters in California. This is …

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Last night I taught at Celebration on finding a higher perspective in adversity. How many people give up before even giving God an opportunity to do a miracle?

Larry always says all that is necessary for a miracle is a need. A good pastor friend of ours, Keith Jones, always says everybody wants a miracle, but nobody wants to need one! So true.

Problems and trials are really just dressed up opportunities for an amazing testimony. I was thinking about this the other day and the majority of sermon illustrations I share are about miracles that were once problems in my life — some that I thought would swallow me up! Thankfully as I clung to Jesus, my rock, He was there to rebuke the devourer … [Link]

"The Church can learn much from the life of Ezra. Spending time being attentive to the Spirit of God through fasting and prayer is a far more effective way to solve church problems than endless hours in debate and confrontation." Richard Foster….

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

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The kitchen/fellowship area of our church smelled wonderful last night. The tables were set invitingly. Large glass bowls contained a colorful fruit salad. There were crock pots of side dishes. One large roaster held fragrant rice and another contained chicken breasts and homemade gravy. Sodas were chilling in ice chests; coffee and milk were on a side table. Another table held an amazing array desserts. We were ready for visitors, who soon began to arrive, some in cars and others on a yellow school bus.

My daughter, Kris, and my little granddaughter, Trinity greeted our guests. These guests were the carnival workers who come to town each year for the annual county fair, held for four days surrounding Labor Day weekend. This was about the … [Link]

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I hate it when I have multiple choices, especially when I'm trying to discern God's will. The latest example may be nothing to worry about at all. I received what appears to be a positive response from one of my e-queries for my book. It seems legitimate. I sent the publisher an e-query with a synopsis and the first three chapters so the editor who read it probably took a peak at the content. Then again, the last time this happened it was followed up with a request to meet with the "team" via teleconference, so it may be nothing (after more than 50 e-queries followed by a dozen or so rejections and just 2 positive responses, I doubt it, but I could be wrong). … [Link]

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Fall Color Trends

It’s back-to-school season! Are you excited? As you hit the stores in preparation for a new school year you’ll notice a common theme in each store you visit … it’s the new color trends for fall 2010 and we’re excited to explore it more today!

Whether you shop online or prefer the thrill of an in-person experience, simply squint your eyes and …

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The title of this post is a paraphrase of a question I asked a friend a few minutes ago - ”Will you die so that you can live?”

I don’t post this to toot my own horn or say “Look at what I’ve done!” … I post it to say, “Look what God has done in me… and what He wants to do in you!”

Jesus said, ”For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

The past eight months of my life have been an exploration of the limits of this verse… and I’m sure I am not done yet (nor will I ever be)…

I’ve lost my life… my identity…my name… my theology… …

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We have a new member of our media team, Dylan Byrd, doing some branding for us. He's also a very gifted artist. Love these sketches of our six locations! Can't wait for a sketch of our new building, but we'll have to wait a couple years for that one!

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Tonight’s dinner –

I started with a pound each of hamburger and ground turkey, mixed well. Half of the mixture was turned into meatballs (which recipe is an Ancient Italian Secret and is not mine to share).

the other half I browned and dumped into a baking dish, with some corn and green peppers.

On top of that I dumped 1 can each of diced tomatoes, mushrooms, green chilis, and black beans.

I threw some spices in there – cilantro, cumin, parsley.

I’ll top that with 1 (prepared) box of corn bread mix, if i’m ambitious I’ll slice an onion into the it, and bake it.

Does it get easier than that? I don’t think so.

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Nearly 15,000 children, youth and young adults from across the U.S. attended one of the 89 Foursquare camps offered this past June, July and August. Over 1,500 made decisions to follow Christ, some 2,000 were baptized with the Holy Spirit, and approximately 1,200 were called into the ministry. [Link]

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hampton Hotels. All opinions are 100% mine.

Check out the Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes … the grand prize winner receives a FREE stay for themselves and 100 of their friends at a Hampton Inn for one weekend. WOW! Plus they get $5000 to help pay for the tax for the weekend! The contest is open to everyone (not just Hilton Honors members or people who have previously stayed at a Hampton). There’s also 100 first prizes, where you and three of your friends get a free weekend stay.

So – what would you do with a hotel full of all your friends?

I think I’d take the NDHP Healing Team on a retreat… …

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The plan for the new Big 10 divisions has been leaked, and Michigan and MSU are in a western division with Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and Northwestern. That thus puts OSU in a eastern division with Penn State, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois and Wisconsin.

I’d be more inclined to swap Northwestern and Wisconsin, but the west would be rather anemic for big TV markets, so having the Chicago market in the west might make TV sense. It seems balanced, with three perennial bowl teams on each side (Nebraska, Iowa and Michigan/ OSU, PSU and Wisconsin) a competitive mid-packer (MSU and Purdue) each and two bottom feeders (Northwestern-Minnesota/Indiana-Ill~

I’d have liked to have seen cleaner east-west split, with Michigan and MSU in the East and Wisconsin and Illinois in …

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Let's piggyback on what I mentioned yesterday, it's not how you start that counts, it is how you finish.

A lot of people start strong – very few finish strong. The Apostle Paul was a finisher. Peter was a finisher. Joshua was a finisher.

God’s desire for us in this relocation process is that we finish strong.

When Ralph Houk was manager of the New York Yankees, baseball schedules were even more exacting than they are now, with double-headers almost every week. Occasionally a player would get sick of the grind and approach Houk, asking for permission to sit out a game.

“I know how you feel,” the manager would say genially. “Sure, take the day off, But do me a favor. You’re in the starting lineup. Just play … [Link]

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I’m working on creating a child theme for my template (I use Suffusion & highly recommend it as THE MOST extensible and customizable theme for WordPress) …

However, I’ve never done this before, and the results could be quite amusing. If the blog looks wonky, just be patient, it’ll come back to its senses eventually.

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The Medlock and Brogdon Radio Show?!!! Ohh awesome, I can't wait!!! I'm totally going to…(uhh, Steven…there's no such thing).

Wait what? (Yeah, it's just an idea right now..)

Dang it! (I know right? It would be awesome!)

Well…okay, if it is just an idea, what can we do to make it a reality? (Good question Steven, you need to go to this facebook page, "like it" and then share it with all your friends. If we can show that there is enough interest in the kind of thoughtful local talk radio program that Medlock and Brogdon would provide, it might get picked up!)

Nice, I'm going to do that right now…(Uhh, you already did like 10 hours ago… Not only that, but you already knew … [Link]

I ran across this quote from Neil Cole's book "Church 3.0" today, and I honestly cannot make up my mind about how I feel about it.


“We want to lower the bar of how we do church so everyone can do it, and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple so that everyone will do it."


One part of me… the biggest part, says that Cole is absolutely right. I've often spoke about re-thinking and re-doing "how we do church" and believe that most of the world feels they cannot "do" the religion/church thing the way we do it. Still, in this statement is room for something that scares me, and that is what has been embraced by most of the seeker sensitive … [Link]

My sabbatical is officially over with. So grateful to our team for holding down the fort. The truth is, we don't skip a beat when I'm gone! That is a big time blessing because it means I can get away and not lose an ounce of energy worrying about things.

I spent the last day of my sabbatical at the National Cathedral. One of my favorite places in DC. Love praying there. And there is something about the observation gallery that expands my vision for this city. I honestly feel like I need another month to really recalibrate, but I'm grateful for the month I got. I'm not sure I received any new revelation. I was simply reminded that I need to "do the things I … [Link]

I just posted a challenge to a Mormon friend on Facebook and I think I’ll echo it here, with a bit of a twist.

If you’re an LDS Church member and you disagree with what I said in yesterday’s post, please – educate us. This is your opportunity.

NOTE: THIS CHALLENGE IS ONLY OPEN TO CURRENT, PARTICIPATING MEMBERS OF THE LDS CHURCH. Not to Christian apologists, not to ex-Mormons, or anyone else (y’all feel free to comment on the original post and share your thoughts there, though!)

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Here’s the challenge:

Answer the following questions. State what your church teaches/what you believe/what you practice in daily life. Back up everything you believe using ONLY the Bible as your source.  You may either answer in the comments …

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Richard Sibbes continues from the Song of Songs in the fourth of his Bowels Opened series:
“I sleep, but my heart wakes, etc.” SONG 5:2. He defines the heart as "all the powers of the soul, the inward man" and observes:
(1.) There is good and evil in a Christian. We are mixed. We can be sleepy. (2) A Christian may know how it is with himself.
“In a dungeon where is nothing but darkness, both on the eye that should see and on that which should be seen, he can see nothing; but where there is a supernatural principle, where there is this mixture, there the light of the Spirit searches the dark corners of the heart. A man that has the Spirit knows both; he knows … [Link]

• YAY GOD!! The last hurdle for Kayti's college classes has been cleared right out of the way! #
• :puts the hatchet down and backs slowly away from the Greek lexicon: #
• @ lasttrumpetlvng thanks in reply to lasttrumpetlvng #
• @ lasttrumpetlvng you didn't read all that on your iphone did you? ::blink:: in reply to lasttrumpetlvng #
• @ lasttrumpetlvng @greglaycock here's what I wrote – rough, but finished – http://iamhealed.net/2010/08/31/are-mormons-christians/ in reply to lasttrumpetlvng #
• @ josekjar here's what I wrote, thanks for help – http://iamhealed.net/2010/08/31/are-mormons-christians/ in reply to josekjar #
• @ josekjar doesn't seem to be referring to "destinations" to me… interesting. in reply to josekjar #
• @ josekjar thank you for answering ?'s – when I write about others I want to represent accurately …

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(Image by Getty Images via @daylife)

This week Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi has been visiting in Italy and has caused a stir by giving away Qurans and telling everyone that Europe should convert to Islam:

“Islam should become the religion of all of Europe.”

“Islam is the last religion and if we are to have a single faith then it has to be in Mohammed."

In another speech Gaddafi suggested that Europe needed to pay Libya $billions or risk the onslaught of illegal immigration from Africa that would turn the whole continent ‘black’. Many European leaders considered this statement to be tantamount to blackmail.

Meanwhile the government of Italy did agree to spend five billion dollars to build a 1,700 kilometre (1,050 mile) highway in …

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Over this summer I have been teaching my way through the book of Esther as a part of a summer school that my church has been running. I’ve also been blogging my way through the subjects we touched on during that series. I wanted to finish my seminar series with a look at the question, “Is the Gospel to be found in Esther”?

At first glance, the answer might be no. Not only is God not mentioned in the book, but given the distinct lack of mercy to be found in Esther, we might despair of finding Jesus in there at all. Even the great Martin Luther apparently felt that there was a distinct lack of gospel to be found in the book of Esther. However, …

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The past few days I've been …

Following up from Sunday…
Getting about 10 church projects done…some small, some larger…
Doing engagements for NextJob…
Keeping things going at home… (ya know, food, basic cleaning, dog care, yada yada)
Working on special things in honor of my friend who passed away…

Last night I was up late writing letters to people — some I know, and many more that I don't, informing them about Deb’s page and what we're doing for her. I have a very early morning appointment and needed sleep but I kept telling myself, "one more letter…just one more" and then I'll sleep. [sigh] I am feeling driven because I think, "what would I want if this had happened to me?" I would want someone to tell my friends, … [Link]

Fasting From Food, Matthew 4:1-4 1 THEN JESUS was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil. 2 And He went without food for forty days and forty nights, and later He was hung…

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

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I've been thinking recently about the power of our words. I'm hearing about it all over the place.
I’m not in to things like "negative energy" or "name it and claim it" type ideas. I would not describe myself as "New Age" or part of the "Charismatic" Church tradition that gets into all of that In fact I kind of have an aversion to it. But I don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water. The power that a small compliment to someone can have may be immeasurable. On the flip, the damage of well placed jab may have an equal impact.
Recently, I had someone (via Facebook) question my spirituality and share some "concerns" about my faith being asleep and to suggest that … [Link]

Following just over a month of this  self-imposed near-total break from my online life (obviously not including my paid work!) what have I discovered?

1. Wordpress’s auto-publish feature is bullet-proof and a real gift
2. You hardly missed me as a result of 1. and my kind guest bloggers. Indeed, traffic remained pretty high considering it was August.
3. Phil Moore is better than I am at explaining  why digital fasts are so important.
4. A week is definitely not long enough It took me much longer before I even began to experience digital withdrawal symptoms.
5. It really is hard to stay away from the Internet for several weeks. My “fast” wasn’t total as the weeks drew on. I did scan-read Twitter, Facebook and a couple of blogs a little towards …

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Last night I watched the National Geographic channel's decomentary Witness: Katrina. I had to turn it off before it was finished, because it was just too painful to watch. Seeing people headed into the Superdome, assuming that they would be uncomfortable but safe, was wrenching. Seeing people say, while holding a toddler by the hand, "I survived Camille so we will be fine…." made me feel almost ill.

I can hardly comprehend that five years have passed since my husband and I, watching the television coverage of events in New Orleans and the surrounding area, determined that we just had to help somehow.

We had heard that Convoy of Hope, one of our favorite relief organizations, was trying to get there, and we determined that we would … [Link]

For several years I have been a part of the Assemblies of God Ethnicity Commission. Here is a profile of one of the leaders who is a part of this. This profile was provided by the fellowship.

Rev. K.P. Titus
President, India Fellowship of North America
General Presbyter of the General Council

Reverend Titus was born in August of 1941. At the age of fourteen, he accepted the Lord as his personal Savior, took water baptism at age nineteen, and thereafter, the Lord filled him with His Holy Spirit. After graduating from high school, it was God’s will for Rev. Titus to follow his father’s footsteps into the ministry. For that purpose, he studied in several Bible colleges and seminaries in India and abroad, where …

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I posted yesterday that I really like Glen Beck. Seems to be a super guy. He’s a great conservative leader in our country and he’s uniquely positioned to leverage both media and money for the conservative cause. In spite of his views, which are sometimes perceived to be divisive even among conservatives, he’s done an incredible job of making diversity among us a reality. Everything I see, hear, and read indicates that he’s a family man, leads a life of integrity and good moral values, and he really believes in the stuff he talks about. He has the added bonus of being brilliant.

Beck has been able to rally and organize a wide range of people. His recent Restoring Honor gathering in DC is a great …

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I'm still waiting for final word from the publisher I met with last Monday. All the news I've received to date has been good. There was even a meeting of the publisher's production committee the day following our meeting wherein all those present had positive remarks about my book. Then the dreaded "read for content" issue came up. Simply put, an editor is reviewing my complete manuscript along with four others to make sure its content does not offend. I don't think it does, but I'm still nervous.

So here's my dilemma. If I don't accept the positive words I received as assurance that God is in charge, is that a testimony of my lack of faith? After all, Proverbs 16:3 says, "Commit to the Lord … [Link]

The CEFL Warring Women Weekend in NYC was absolutely incredible. God moved. Women were refreshed, restored, set free, committed to keep fighting and most importantly most determined to keep moving forward.

Pictures are up on my Facebook account and of course I’ll be putting some up on my CEFL website but I just am so grateful to God for His goodness this weekend.

If you went to the event, tell me what you thought?

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Well, we are almost there.

You know, I have a lot of weaknesses in life. But one of my strengths is – that I am a finisher.

When I used to play basketball, I loved the get the ball at the end of the game with the score close.

When I have a project at home, I work until it gets done.

When I drive somewhere on vacation, I want to get there with no delay.

We are almost there as a church. Our new church home awaits!

Mark Batterson writes:

“I discovered the importance of pacing when running my first triathlon. I did all my training for the swim leg of the race in a pool. And my times were fantastic. But the Atlantic Ocean is no pool. I was confident … [Link]

In a new three-part series exclusive to Foursquare, we explore the qualities that make a great leader—as well as the pitfalls that, if not well navigated, can derail even the best of the best. [Link]

Clay and Kelsey Goodson of Hverdagskirken Foursquare Church in Kristiansand, Norway, traveled to South Africa this summer, where Clay represented the U.S. national soccer team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Together, the couple, originally from the U.S., has a passion to reach Norway with the gospel. [Link]

Foursquare Chaplains International and Director Robby Booth have developed a new plan to equip 800 Foursquare pastors and leaders to be FEMA-approved first responders, representing the Lord in the midst of tragedy and with the full approval of national and local government agencies. [Link]

Author and former pastor Brandon J. O'Brien examines the strengths of what he calls the "strategically small" church in his new book, "The Strategically Small Church: Intimate, Nimble, Authentic, and Effective." [Link]

"The Slow Fade" is full of ideas designed to get adults, inside or outside a ministry setting, to engage the college-age crowd before they fade away from faith following high school graduation. [Link]

Valerie Alba (aka VLA – Super V.A.) is a Virtual Assistant and guest blogger.  Each Tuesday she provides tools, tips, and tricks direct from her life-saving “utility belt”. 

Episode 14: Let your Android do the walking – Useful Droid & Smartphone Apps

Michelle Mangen, Yoda to the virtual assistant world, recently did a blog post on her page about useful Droid apps in celebration of her new Smartphone.  She has given me permission to share her post on my blog.  Isn’t that nice of her?  So, if you have Droid, please enjoy the following tips and tricks for your Smartphone.  If you don’t have Droid, you can probably find similar versions for your iPhone.

Useful and Fun Apps for Droid X 

Barcode Scanner – Takes a …

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I’ve been using Intense Debate for comments for a while now, because it’s got some handy features that link up to email and I can manage comment approval from the road.

But the last few weeks, that last bit should read, “I can manage comment approval from the road IF Intense Debate bothers to send me the notice”.

Something is broken. If I do an “import”, (or do it two or three times, more likely), the comments will eventually catch up with the blog. But until then, they’re stuck in la-la-land unless I happen to notice.

So I’m going to delete Intense Debate and go back to the old way of doing things (at least for now) and make sure that solves the problems. I hope …

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• ::mutters:: It's all right there in the Greek… #
• “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God." Rom 8:19 #
• @ kingdom_Info wise American's don't recognize Beck's "Christianity" either (love the guy but he's not a Christian) in reply to kingdom_Info #

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We’re more or less at the end of the book of Esther now. It closes with a postscript that describes how both Esther and Mordecai worked together to write letters and create legislation (e.g. Esth 9:29). Esther has of course grown up from being a girl to a woman during the course of the story. Her relationship to Mordecai is no longer primarily as a submissive daughter, but she now works side by side with him as an equal. It’s hard to deduce exactly which of the two had the most clout in terms of authority – Esther was “royalty”, but it was Mordecai who had the signet ring, and so he probably gave the rubber stamp to new laws. Nevertheless, we don’t see them competing …

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Does what you believe change according to the circumstances in your life or that of someone close to you? The foundation of our faith is designed to be developed to the point where it will hold up regardless of the atmosphere.

I have been in vocational ministry now for 23 years now and here is something I have observed. All it takes for many ministers to change what they believe is for them to experience a failure. If their church would have exploded they would possess a completely different outlook than they do now. When their ministry venture doesn't turn out as they dreamed, they get angry, critical and cynical and find every fault possible with the church world. On the other hand, if their ministry … [Link]

Rejecting the Royal Rations, Daniel 1:3-17 3 Then the king commanded his palace master Ashpenaz to bring some of the Israelites of the royal family and of the nobility, 4 young men without physical defect and handsome, versed in every branch of…

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We’ve seen a few studies plug the benefits of modest alcohol consumption; the anti-oxidants in wine are one possible explanation. However, a study in an alcoholism journal found that heavy drinkers did better than non drinkers-

But even after controlling for nearly all imaginable variables — socioeconomic status, level of physical activity, number of close friends, quality of social support and so on — the researchers (a six-member team led by psychologist Charles Holahan of the University of Texas at Austin) found that over a 20-year period, mortality rates were highest for those who had never been drinkers, second-highest for heavy drinkers and lowest for moderate drinkers.

The study proper is behind a pay wall, so I don't know exactly what the control factors are. However, there …

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They’re still in limbo Down Under. The vote totals seem to have stabilized at the expected 73 for the Liberal-National right-of-center coalition, 72 for Labor, a Green and 4 independents. Three of the four independents are former Nationals, so some sort of center-right package seems the path of least resistance. However, there are some prickly personalities in the mix, especially Bob Katter, that could make a one-seat majority an ongoing high drama.

One interesting sidepoint is that they elected the first Aboriginal MP in Liberal Ken Wyatt. I'm surprised it took them this long; it's somewhat odd that it was the Liberals rather than Labor that managed it, but racism doesn't always go on right-left lines.

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Speaking of racism in odd places, we have …

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Here’s some interesting politics up north; the Conservative government is looking at getting rid of a long-gun registry plan and may have the help of rural NDP MPs to put them over the top. The Liberals are against the plan and will envoke a party line on the issue, but there is enough of a city-rural split in the NDP camp to have it be a free vote for the NDP; that appears to be enough to see the bill passed.

On both sides of the 49th there are a lot of blue-collar hunters, especially as you get out into rural areas. Willie Nelson comes to mind as a guy who'd vote NDP if we had Canadian parties come south, but he's also the kind of …

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