Category: Helpful Stuff

Getting from God what we need when we need it

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Of First Importance is a great site that, each day, “provide(s) a thoughtful quote to help you remember what’s ‘of first importance’: the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

I especially enjoyed today’s entry:

“Take Heart”

“God’s grace means that I can rest assured that I’ll have everything I need to be what he wants me to be and to do what he wants me to do in the situation in which he’s placed me.

I’m no longer restricted to the limits of my own strength and wisdom. By his grace, I’ve a new identity and a new potential. I’m a child of God; the risen Christ now lives inside of me. I need no longer fear people or circumstances; I don’t have to feel weak in the face of suffering or temptation, because I no longer rest in the resources of my own ability. I’m in Christ and he’s in me.

This new identity gives me new potential as I face the realities of life in this bent and broken world. God’s grace gives me reason to ‘take heart.’”

—Paul David Tripp, “Psalm 27: Take Heart”

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Do Hard Things study guide

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\As if the book wasn’t good enough, Alex and Brett Harris are now providing a study guide (for free!):

If you’re like us, talking with others about what you’re reading helps you decide what you think and how to respond to what a book is saying. This chapter-by-chapter study guide is intended to help you do just that.

Use it for personal study, if you wish, but we think it works best in a group. And the best group is one where you’re surrounded by others who care about the same things you do and are ready to put truth into action.

Don’t feel you have to process every question. It’s not a test, and as often as not, there’s no one right answer. Also, don’t let our questions limit what you ask or where you go. Ask God to direct your thoughts and decisions. And ask Him for courage — lots of it. Because big ideas are weak ideas if we’re not willing to let them shape how we think and live.

So use this study guide to zero in on the ideas, choices, and actions that seem most promising and helpful to you and your friends. Then expect great things to happen in your lives as you do hard things for the glory of God!

Your Fellow Rebelutionaries,

Alex and Brett

Both my son and daughter are reading through it and I look forward to going through the study guide with them. Thanks, Alex and Brett, for a great book and resource. Keep the mission!

Hold the tomatoes

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Roma TomatoesThis is news that my daughter will applaud:

OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) — McDonald’s said Monday it has stopped serving sliced tomatoes in its U.S. restaurants over concerns about salmonella food poisoning linked to some uncooked varieties.

This could be bad news for BLT lovers out there:

Restaurants, fast-food chains and supermarkets across Southern California removed fresh red Roma, plum and red round tomatoes from their shelves and took them off their menus this weekend as the U.S. government warned of a widening outbreak of salmonella.

The Food and Drug Administration said consumers should avoid raw red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes, which have been tied to 145 infections reported since mid-April.

Consumers may continue to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and tomatoes grown at home, the FDA statement said.

Major supermarket chains including Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons have stopped selling the three kinds on the FDA list. Other types of tomatoes remained for sale, said Brian Dowling, a vice president of public affairs for Vons owner Safeway, based in Pleasanton, Calif. “It’s a precaution.”

When We Left Earth

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“Get ready for the ride of your life.”

OK, I’ve been waiting for this since I saw the trailer played in a movie theater before “Prince Caspian” in May. If space travel doesn’t give you you goosebumps, then I think you should check this out for sure. If it does already, then you don’t need me to tell you this looks like it’s going to be awesome.

Here is how the mini-series is described on the Discovery Channel site:

When We Left Earth is the story of mankind’s greatest adventure, leaving the earth and living in space. For the first time this series has digitally re-mastered the original film and audio recordings from NASA’s vault, including and all the key on-board footage filmed by the astronauts themselves. From John Glenn’s Mercury mission to orbit the earth, to Neil Armstrong’s first historic steps on the moon, to the unprecedented spacewalks required to repair the Hubble telescope, these epic stories are shown in stunning clarity and told by the astronauts and engineers who were there.

This week’s episode:

ORDINARY SUPERMAN
Premieres Sunday, June 8 at 9:00 p.m. E/P
NASA selects seven men to become the first astronauts. They’re all test pilots, prepared to risk their lives. No one has ever survived a vertical launch on top of a rocket, but it’s the only way they know to put an astronaut into earth orbit. The Mercury astronauts and engineers need to figure out how to launch a man into space on top of a converted intercontinental ballistic missile.

FRIENDS AND RIVALS
Premieres Sunday, June 8 at 10:00 p.m. E/P
For Project Gemini, a new generation of astronauts arrive at NASA — their mission, to test all the procedures required to land men on the moon and bring them safely back to earth. Each Gemini mission launches two men into space, leading to some of NASA’s greatest moments — Ed White’s spacewalk, the first orbital rendezvous of Gemini 6 and 7.

I know my friend Scott has been waiting for this, and I know he didn’t need anyone to tell him it was the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” playing in the background of the trailer, either.

Bella and why you should see it

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\"Bella\"

Earlier, I had posted about the movie Juno and its life-affirming message. Well, there is another movie, just out on video, that is just out on DVD that I would strongly encourage because of its clear pro-life message.

Bella is the love story of a soccer star and a waitress whose lives become entertwined through her pregnancy. It is a small movie that opened and didn’t get as much notice as Juno probably because its pro-life message is more overt. In fact, among the reviews that I saw, most gave it an unfavorable rating simply for the fact that it was unashamedly pro-life.

But for those who can look past their own biases, there is a beautiful movie here. This review (second down), from Colin Covert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

There’s not much more happening here than two people getting to know each other as we come to understand them both, yet that’s a story we never tire of, so long as it’s told well. And here, it is. Writer/director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde’s film is utterly touching and captivating, wisely humanist in refusing to cast even the most unpleasant characters as cardboard villains. A loving testament to the beauty of family, “Bella” won the People’s Choice Award at last year’s Toronto Film Festival. Rarely are crowd-pleasers so effortlessly artful.

\"Bella\"

Are you comfortable? Should you be?

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Last weekend, Cyclone Nargis raged through Myanmar, causing widespread damage and killing at least 22,000. Twice as many people are missing. Let that sink in. 22,000 people. Gone. And, there are thousands more who have not been found yet. From the Associated Press comes a report from Yangon, Myanmar:

Hungry crowds of survivors stormed the few shops that opened in Myanmar’s stricken Irrawaddy delta, where food and international aid has been scarce since a devastating cyclone killed more than 22,000 people, the U.N. said Wednesday.

Corpses floated in salty flood waters and witnesses said survivors tried desperately to reach dry ground on boats using blankets as sails. The U.N. said some 1 million people were homeless in the Southeast Asian country, also known as Burma.

“Basically the entire lower delta region is under water,” said Richard Horsey, Bangkok-based spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid.

“Teams are talking about bodies floating around in the water,” he said. This is “a major, major disaster we’re dealing with.”

Suffering is all around us. We can’t escape it. But we try hard. After all, I had a good night’s rest, woke up to see my family and live comfortably in a nice house. In my local paper, Myanmar is a place far away, buried on page 8. The message is clear: If it doesn’t happen in my back yard, it is filed way back somewhere in that category of tragedies that happen to people I don’t really know. Besides, we have problems of our own. We aren’t making money as fast as we used to be. It costs more money to put gas in our cars. Our lives are not as comfortable as they could be.

We all are happy to thank God for our blessings. But God did not bless us to live more comfortable lives. We are blessed so that we may bring more glory to His name and show that we live for him and not for our own comfort. Sometimes I need to ask myself, “Would I trust God as much if I didn’t have food, clothing, a house, my health?”

I came across this from John Piper about ways to react to the tragedy in Myanmar. These are all good things to consider. For a great meditation on why God allows suffering of this, or any, magnitude, read this. The point is, we can’t ignore suffering. See it, react and tremble before God.

Here’s one way to help right now: The American Red Cross

Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord

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Just a quick post here as I think about my precious friend who is battling leukemia and whose mom keeps us all updated on her progress. She is a beautiful, brave little girl who inspires us all to trust God more fully than we do.
I am reminded of the passage in I Corinthians 1:26-31 where Paul reminds us that God chose the foolish, the weak, the low and despised so that he would be exalted and not us. Lord, you are a great God and we are weak, needy people — all of us. Strengthen our faith.


Don’t waste your time, energy and money

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This is a video I’ve viewed before, but it’s something I’ve revisited and thought about often. Because this is a new year and, like me, many have made resolutions, I think it’s worth thinking about.

For more great video and counsel, go to Don’t Waste Your Life