Return of the 17 Year Cicadas

As a kid I loved hearing my dad tell me about the "17 year locust". The cicadas nymphs live underground for 17 years before they come to the surface to mature as insects. I love to hear the cicada song on those warm summer days. This year my kids found about 30 shells in our back yard and it was my turn to begin to tell the story. "God made this magnificent insect..."

An Important Story

I read the Ethos blog by Randy Elrod regularly and he recently had a awesome post on a young man's conversion from Islam to Christianity.

This Is An Important News Story-Why Have We Not Heard About It????

Son of Hamas Leader Turns Back on Islam...

Mosab Hassan Yousef is an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary story. He was born the son of one of the most influential leaders of the militant Hamas organization in the West Bank and grew up in a strict Islamic family. continue on his blog here

Sunday School Class Week Two

Showing my SS class Blogger!

Knowledge and Wisdom

For my devotions I use some thing called a Life Journal. It combines a daily reading plan with intentional journaling. It is a great way to focus on God's word. I don't normally pulish my journal entries but today's kind of tied in with my post yesterday.

Knowledge and Wisdom

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:7 Always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.

Observation: We are not to merely seek knowledge but truth. Some people spend their whole lives learning about stuff but never live out the truth of what they know. Like spending all you time reading about sailing and never setting foot in a boat.

Application: I need to do both - life is not an academic pursuit. I don't need to just know more about God I need to know God more. I do not need to just know all the answers I need to know the answer! My passion is for Him not knowledge about Him.

Prayer: Father - Keep my eyes on you and not the stuff I surround you with. May I run passionately after you and you only. - Amen

What are you chasing?

I was listening to an interview on the Steve Brown Etc. Show the other day. They were talking to an actor named Eduardo Verástegui from the movie Bella. He said "Greyhounds spend their lives chasing a false dream." He went on to say that once in a while a dog will catch the rabbit and that when they do and discover that it is fake they will never chase it again. It made me wonder how many of us do the same thing. We chase wealth or pleasure or status or peace or comfort or any of the things that appear to have value and yet when we actually get them we find them fake and empty. Some times we get hurt so deeply we decide not to chase anything again - it must all be as empty as that fake bit of fur and metal.

Do you ever feel like you are chasing empty dreams? Are you ever suspicious that the pot at the end of the rainbow might be filled with fools gold?

Paul talks about the race in Hebrews 12:1-3 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Michael Card once said "What we need is not to do more for God but to love God more." We can get so wrapped up in doing good things and chasing good dreams and end up empty because we have lost sight of what we were created to be. We were not merely created to be servants we were created to be companions. We are the Beloved, the Bride and we need to keep our eyes on the bridgroom.

Father, may I pursue you desperately. May my soul thirst for you. May you be so fixed in my sight that the distractions of this world seem pale and empty.
Amen

Pursue Him desperately my friends.
Dan

Pastor's First Blog

Well, at the prodding of some of us my Pastor has finally dipped his toe into the Blogosphere. While I have not been blogging as regularly as I would like (life tends to get in the way) I believe firmly in the impact and influence blogging can have. As a pastor it is a unique outlet for things that might not fit into the traditional role of preacher/teacher. Check out his first few posts at Crouch's Corner - http://robincrouch.blogspot.com/.

God Bless -

Dan

Fun With Trees!

I've been playing with a new sevice Animoto. Very cool - check out this from our California trip in December!