Archive for August, 2008

Political Recap for the Week

August 30th, 2008

For an truly excellent recap of this week in politics please take a moment and go see Tony Woodlief . I suggest that you do not drink any milk while reading this post, that all small animals are put away and that the family  is comfortably asleep. If you do not do the above things I claim no responsibility for the less than dignified results that will ensue.

P.S. I finally got the internet working at the Apartment. I will try and post more this weekend. There are lots of ideas rolling around in my head waiting for articulation. They may have to wait to be articulated, but I will share them anyway.

I am Home!

August 25th, 2008

I am home, tropical depression Fay and all. I have no internet at the house so bear with me. I have lots to say and pictures to share, but for the time being I am just quietly absorbing what I saw and learned, and praying the fix it soon. Should be Friday.

Thanks for praying for me and my trip. I was dizzy quite a bit, but I worked through it.

Update

August 21st, 2008

So, All is well here. Hot, humid, but no worse the Houston at it’s hottest. I have an eye infection. I was amazed that I can buy antibiotics over the counter here, as well as a whole list of things.

I am amazed at the strength and hospitality of these people, even when they are dirt poor and dying from preventable diseases. I went to a project today that built itself near a dump so it could minister to the children and families making a living ( i use that term lightly) recycling what they find. I turned into a blubbery piece of jello after hearing that.

More to come, if the internet holds. But now, I sleep.

Off to Dominican Republic

August 18th, 2008

Hey team,

I am off to the Dominican Republic this week with Compassion on “official business” The good news in that is when you work for a ministry like mine “official business” means playing with kids.

You can keep track of me on the blog below for the week, and I will try to drop in here ( I should have some internet access)

Take care!

http://2008drfieldtrip.blogspot.com/

A.W. Tozer

August 14th, 2008

“To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love,scorned indeed by the too easily satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart”

Arnold Chiari

August 12th, 2008

Below is an E-mail I sent this morning to friends and family. If I did not have your address, consider this the next best thing. I appreciate my readers and friends and aquaintances that I have made via this blog. I include you in my thoughts and prayers often.
______________________________________________________________

Good Morning friends, family and faithful prayer warriors,

As many of you may know, or now are finding out, I have been battling a rare brain disorder for the last 18 months or so called an Arnold Chiari Malformation. I have apparently had it since birth, but it does not affect you until your adult life. The last 6 months of my life have been affected by it severely. I have had headaches, dizziness, black out episodes, and more. (I will spare the details.) Amy and I went for a consultation with a Neurosurgeon in Denver yesterday and he advised that now is the time for me to have surgery. He is the best in the country at battling this disease and Amy and I have agreed that we need to take this course of action now and not wait any longer. We have set a surgery date of October 9th, 2008.

We are asking that you, our friends and family pray with us and for us over the next few months. Specifically pray for:

1) Our move to be completed very soon. We moved most of our stuff into the new apartment over the weekend and we are very happy there. We need a few more things and will be taking care of it in the near future.

2) Pray for Amy. She has been off of work for a while and will not be going back until next month at the earliest due to her chronic medical concerns. Stress aggravates it and this has been a stressful and challenging time for the both of us, as well as for Jacob.

3) Finances. I do not have a very robust medical leave with my employer. What I have has been used for Doctors appointments, emergency leaves for ill family and so forth. I am going to be off of work for at least 4 weeks, possibly 6. Pray that God will show us where to budget and that he will bless what we have been given.

4) Pray that God be glorified. I know that he will despite any condition of belief or unbelief in my heart. God has been teaching Amy and I many things while we are in the valley, and we both are very optimistic that we are climbing the mountain and soon will be at the top of the hill again.
Amy and I love sharing with you and hearing what God is doing in your life. Please E-mail us, call us, or stop by and say hi sometime.

The Google Fetish People!

August 4th, 2008

So, for the month of July the #1 search that brought people to my website was… (drumroll please)

FART SNIFFING.

I try to provide good content, sometimes it is rants and raves, but ultimately 74 people out there viewed my website looking for fart sniffing. Why do I try so hard?

The Me Centered Gospel!

August 2nd, 2008

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism

or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

As you know, I work in a ministry. A very successful and God centered ministry that is being blessed more and more each day. I work in the contact center with people and encourage them to give to support the ministry and educate them on what our ministry is. Something is bothering me as of late though. It is not in just our ministry, it is rather endemic to the non profit evangelical world right now, and I am getting fed up with it.

My employer over this last year has capitulated and started offering you something in return for your giving to the ministry. Recently we offered to give you a NIV Bible if you gave to a certain project we had going, before that it was getting a photo book if you shared our ministry with a friend and so on. What is wrong with this picture? God did not tell us to give in order to get, he tells us to give and not let our left hand not know what our right hand is doing. He tells us to not do deeds in order to get stuff in return, rather to do it to God and his glory.

I know, this is a bit of a rant, but where have we gone wrong in this scenario? I am getting a little upset at the way the church is co-opting the ways of the world and emulating the world. I had a sponsor so upset with me that she had not received her free gift that she was ready to stop supporting our ministry, she has been supporting us over 10 years. I wanted to tell her that we did not need her to sponsor with us if the free stuff is all it is about, but I need a job, and I love the people I work with dearly.

I hope that I am not a selfish Christian, I hope that I do not fall into the trap of a consumer centered Jesus. Jesus the consumer is not the Jesus I want to follow. I want to follow the Jesus that taught love, taught how to give it all away and be happy, taught that when we put others before our consumer centered selves and our selfish desires we will find peace. I want that peace, I want God to say to me “well done” when I reach the gates of heaven.

Enjoy this short Muppets clip, consider it my free gift to you for reading my blog!

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