Quiet Solitude, We Hardly Knew Ye, Part I
On Tuesday nights, my wife and I have the unbelievable honor and privilege of helping with a small group for our teens who attend youth group here at Calvary. I remember vividly how bewildering adolescence and high school was, what with the mixture of hormones, the burgeoning awareness of one’s identity, the pressure to conform AND be individual, and trying to gain footing in a world that seems to grow exponentially the closer one gets to college. → Read more...
Spring Fever!
Well, February has faded into the mists of time and March has arrived. With its arrival comes the Daylight Saving Time. It begins anew this weekend at late Saturday evening/early Sunday morning at 2 a.m. So, don’t forget to change your clocks ahead one hour this weekend. This is your official Calvary reminder! So, I’ve been waiting, as many of you probably have been as well, for the passing of winter. The meteorologists are forecasting the mercury rising into the 60s again tomorrow. → Read more...
Comfort Makes Me Uncomfortable, Part II
Part I is right here. Money. It’s pretty much the dominant topic in the world today with the economies of most of the developed countries taking a severe hit in their financial markets. Stock markets are down. Lending is down. House sales are down. Even consumer spending is considerably down. In a market driven by capitalism and spending, this has a lot of people worried. Many a finger has been pointed at many different targets, but ultimately, we have ourselves to blame. → Read more...
Comfort Makes Me Uncomfortable, Part I
So, what does it mean to be comfortable? Let’s look: comfortable (kum’fər-tə-bəl, kumf’tə-bəl) adj. Providing physical comfort: a comfortable chair. Free from stress or anxiety; at ease: not comfortable about the interview. Producing feelings of ease or security: a comfortable person; a comfortable evening at home. Sufficient to provide financial security: comfortable earnings. I think we all can easily understand what that word means. There’s nothing I love more than coming home after work, kicking my sneakers off and plopping in my couch, remote in hand ready to cue up my TiVo DVR to watch whatever television goodness it has recorded for me. → Read more...
Zoning Christianity
Last week I talked about a book I was reading that discussed the coming end times framing them through current events and biblical prophecy. One of the things that has been on my mind ever since picking up the book is the fact that we shouldn’t be separating our secular and religious life into different, distinct zones. This has been nagging me for a couple of weeks now, which I definitely interpret as the Holy Spirit that dwells in me tugging on my conscience, trying to reveal a truth about my life to me. → Read more...
A Growing Urgency
Ok, kids, it’s Book Club time. For Christmas, my mom gave me a book by Dr. David Jeremiah called What in the World is Going On? This book is a discussion about the end times and the return of Christ and what events might have to unfold for it to pass. It explores some of the biblical prophecies such as the one Nebuchadnezzar had in which Daniel interpreted for him (see Daniel 2). As the book talks about these prophecies, it frames them around events that are going on, such as the rapid rise of radical Islamic terrorism. → Read more...
Happy Trails 2008
Well, for many of us, 2008 was a bewildering year. It had its moments of joy and gladness, although those seemed to be overwhelmed and overshadowed by the economic gloom and doom that descended rapidly in the second half of the year. Jobs were lost, wages were cut, prices were either driven low or high, depending on what you wanted to buy. Through it all, the earth kept turning, the sun continually rose and set, and the tides came in and went, all on clockwork, reminding us that regardless of what happens with our economy, God is there, watching it all and has things in control. → Read more...
Seven More Days Until Christmas
Yikes. Just seven? I’d better get to shopping and finish off my gifts! I’ve got a lot to do between now and then. There’s wrapping to be done, last minute gifts to be gotten, packages to be delivered and Christmas cards to be sent! And I have to do all of this while balancing my budget and making sure we can pay for everything that we need this month! Wait a minute. Why is it that when I hear that there’s only seven days until Christmas, it fills me up with stress and dread, reminding me of all the work I have yet to do to get ready for the holiday? → Read more...
Quiet Solitude, We Hardly Knew Ye, Part II
March 19, 2009
Calvary
Comments Off on Quiet Solitude, We Hardly Knew Ye, Part II
Matt
Three observations. One. Last week, I briefly mentioned how I’ve been noticing the ubiquity of cell phones with teenagers. As cell phones have shrunk in size and increased in power, we’re starting to see live TV streams and iPod-like capability on them. So, not only is anyone able to reach you at any time, you can listen to music and watch TV anywhere and any time you want away from home. Two. I was at the mall the other day and I noticed there were TVs EVERYWHERE in addition to rotating printed oversized posters in the hallways, not to mention the normal store window advertisements. → Read more...
1 Kingsadvertisementscell phonesDVRGodlight pollutionnoisequietsolitudetalk