A great picture of the power of God's creation....Chilean volcanic eruption at night.



UPI pic via blog.wired.com

HT: Andrew Sullivan

UPDATE: More pics here

It must be a day for lists. Here is 14 ways to find a wife via the Old Testament:

1. Find an attractive prisoner of war, bring her home, shave her head, trim her nails, and give her new clothes. Then she’s yours. - (Deuteronomy 21:11-13)
2. Find a prostitute and marry her. - (Hosea 1:1-3)
3. Find a man with seven daughters, and impress him by watering his flock.- Moses (Exodus 2:16-21)
4. Purchase a piece of property, and get a woman as part of the deal. - Boaz (Ruth 4:5-10)
5. Go to a party and hide. When the women come out to dance, grab one and carry her off to be your wife. - Benjaminites (Judges 21:19-25)
6. Have God create a wife for you while you sleep.-Adam (Genesis 2:19-24)
7. Agree to work seven years in exchange for a woman’s hand in marriage. Get tricked into marrying the wrong woman. Then work another seven years for the woman you wanted to marry in the first place. - Jacob (Genesis 29:15-30)
8. Cut 200 foreskins off of your future father-in-law’s enemies and get his daughter for a wife -David (I Samuel 18:27)
9. Even if no one is out there, just wander around a bit and you’ll definitely find someone. -Cain (Genesis 4:16-17)
10. Become the emperor of a huge nation and hold a beauty contest. - Xerxes or Ahasuerus (Esther 2:3-4)
11. When you see someone you like, go home and tell your parents, “I have seen a … woman; now get her for me.” If your parents question your decision, simply say, “Get her for me. She’s the one for me.” - Samson (Judges 14:1-3)
12. Kill any husband and take his wife. -David (2 Samuel 11)
13. Wait for your brother to die. Take his widow. -Onana and Boaz (Deuteronomy or Leviticus, example in Ruth)
14. Don’t be so picky. Make up for quality with quantity. - Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3)

HT: Eugene Cho

If you think men are better suited for ministry than women.....think again (all tongue-in-cheek of course):

10. A man’s place is in the army.
9. The pastoral duties of men who have children might distract them from the responsibility of being a parent.
8. The physique of men indicates that they are more suited to such tasks as chopping down trees and wrestling mountain lions. It would be “unnatural” for them to do ministerial tasks.
7. Man was created before woman, obviously as a prototype. Thus, they represent an experiment rather than the crowning achievement of creation.
6. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. Their conduct at football and basketball games demonstrates this.
5. Some men are handsome, and this will distract women worshipers.
4. Pastors need to nurture their congregations. But this is not a traditional male role. Throughout history, women have been recognized as not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more fervently attracted to it. This makes them the obvious choice for ordination.
3. Men are prone to violence. No really masculine man wants to settle disputes except by fighting about them. Thus they would be poor role models as well as dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.
2. The New Testament tells us that Jesus was betrayed by a man. His lack of faith and ensuing punishment remind us of the subordinated position that all men should take.
1. Men can still be involved in church activities, even without being ordained. They can sweep sidewalks, repair the church roof, and perhaps even lead the song service on Father’s Day. By confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the church.

HT: John Frye

Ironman vs. Batman:

I hear this every day at my house.

41 hours.....in that time Jack Bauer would have killed 6 people, tortured 3 others and saved the President from assassination twice. A B-52 would have almost completed an around the world trip with in-flight refueling (42hrs 23min). You could watch the reply of Ohio State's last two National Championship blowout losses (without commercials) approximately 40 times. How would you like to spend 41 hours trapped in an elevator?

First we had "My Two Mom's", now we have "My Beautiful Mommy"



On one hand I can see how kids could be upset or scared of a parent going into surgery. But doesn't this glamorize cosmetic surgery? I haven't read the book so I have to be somewhat careful, but notice the language here:

"Why are you going to look different?" asks the daughter of her mother in the car ride back from the doctor's office.

"Not just different, my dear — prettier!" exclaims the mother.

There are plenty of reasons to have cosmetic surgery, but I don't want to teach my kids that looking "prettier" is one of them.

If you want to look prettier, try working on the inside. Don't think it's possible? Our Board at our church last night got a report on one of our ministries. The leaders of this ministry have watched, over the course of this year, a woman slowly be transformed both inside and outside by the power of the Holy Spirit. She is noticeably different in her demeanor and in her appearance. That's the kind of "Extreme Makeover" I want my kids to read about!

As long we are on the subject of Buckeyes. A church in Sydney, OH as an interesting locale for their meetings. The local pub:

Another round and amen! Beer was on tap and a mechanical bull inspired the sermon as a new church held its inaugural service in a western Ohio bar.

The Country Rock Church drew about 100 people to Sunday night's meeting at the Pub Lounge in Sidney.

I think even my friend Brian might admit that this might be a little too missional.

A former UofM linemen who quit the team last month has decided to transfer to, wait for it, Ohio State. Holy Gerald Ford, Batman!! Are you kidding me!?! How is this even an option? He's excited to help the Buckeyes continue their excellence. Excellence it what, losing to SEC schools? I think they've got that one down.

Our Pastors have begun a series on Exodus recently that has opened my eyes to a new perspective on the book.

One of the great Seinfeld episodes was "The Yada, Yada" episode, and thanks to Charlton Heston, even most non-Christians can "yada, yada, yada" the book of Exodus.  Baby in basket, burning bush, let my people go, yada, yada, yada.

What our Pastors have done though is to stop us and help us realize that there is a lot going on behind that yada, yada, yada.  I appreciate the way they have focused not on Moses, but on God.

Where is God in the midst of our struggles?  Where is God in the midst of our pain? 

Who is God? How is God going to fulfill his promises? 

Why this? Why now?  This is not the way I wanted it!
I'm excited for the rest of the series and I thank God for the men he has called to GLBC.