. Also, I don’t have any pics that make me look pretty .Gassy Dogs
“Goodbye Horses……” – This is the song I am listening to as I await a call from a prospective employer. I keep sitting around here waiting to receive an email from him – but I really need to get outside and get some fresh air.
I have a feeling that the guy and I may not connect by the end of the day – it is Saturday and he is probably handling the overflow of maddening questions and requests from students! The students probably come in once a week, so there is no other time to process requests and such.
My dog farted not too long ago, so I am here enduring the noxious fumes of canine gas. When the dog farts, it is silent, so you can’t really anticipate when it is going to come. Plus, it is not like he can say,”Hey, master, I am feeling gassy. I may emit some foul odor.”
I won’t shoo him out because he is lonely.
Grrr. Well, at least most of the scent has dissipated.
Bible Thumping at its best…my old pastor tells it like it is
Exchurchmouse’s thought *I need a beer*
This pastor yelled at me over the phone in 2005 because I wanted to move on to a church that was not in the same denomination! He accused members of that denomination of “sprinkling babies and saying it makes them Christian!” (So not true!)
The Pastor’s Page
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Dick was known for going strictly by the facts, and his friends regarded him as cold and heartless. His wife Jane was a person who was all emotions and everyone regarded her to be very unstable.
Neither extreme is intended by God. Biblical Christianity is the perfect blend of facts and feelings. Jesus who told us to love God with all the “heart” also instructed us to love God with all the “mind” (Matthew 22:37). Christianity involves both the head and the heart—facts and feelings.
The facts are all in the Bible. Christianity is a religion of the Book.
The Bible is not only filled with facts, historical and geographical, but also with facts doctrinal and moral. There are no shortcuts.
A person must find out what these facts are and make them part of his thinking. This takes time, discipline and study. That does not sound exciting to some people, but the factual foundation of Scripture must always undergird the superstructure of a well-built Christian life.
Feelings change, but facts are always the same. Feelings are subjective, but facts are objective. Feelings spring up from within ourselves, but facts are given by God from heaven. The hitch is that the Bible study is hard work. There is no magic way to acquire the facts.
Because Bible study is demanding, many believers attempt to shortcut by settling for a “feelings only” kind of Christianity. It never works! The philosophy of a feeling is existentialism and it is not Christian.
The religion of feeling is Pentecostalism, most widely expressed in the charismatic movement, and it is not Biblical. Rather than being solidly built on the entire factual content of Scripture it majors largely on feelings. The bumper sticker “If It Feels Good, It Is Good” seems to be the rule applied by many people to discern spiritual matters rather than using the Word of God.
No debate! The “feelings plan” is easier, but no movement can long endure without an adequate foundation, and no individual can have a solid Christian life without an adequate Biblical foundation.
Being entertained by Christian television programs is never a substitute for real Bible study. Endlessly hearing testimonies may be spiritually exciting, but we cannot build our lives on the experiences of others when they should be built on the facts of God’s Word.
There is no dispute! We have 2,000 years of Christian history behind us and there never has been a strong, stable, spiritual Christian who did not faithfully feed on the facts of Holy Scripture. The person who cannot discern between emotionalism and spirituality is indeed a babe in Christ.
*Church name* is steadfastly committed to historic Biblical Christianity and therefore has always fostered a balance between the head and the heart and realized that facts must precede proper feelings.
Emotion? Yes! Morning worship services with moving awesome moments in the presence of our holy God call for spiritual feelings so exalted that some folk are left behind! Evening services with singing that soars to the very gates of heaven. Wednesday Prayer Meetings with searching intimate moments of approach to God’s throne and the thrill of answered prayer.
Preaching that does not insult the intellect but also lays hold of the heart. All of these are familiar to people attending *Church Name* but this is not all. There is a solid program of Bible study that is a challenge to every believer and offers the opportunity to grow to real maturity in Christ. The feelings must be founded on facts or it is all fantasy.
Folk may be drawn to *Church Name* because its name is widely known, because of a personal invitation, or they are attracted by the music or preaching. But individuals who are looking only for a frothy surface type of religious experience soon move on elsewhere when they discover that *Church Name* is a no-nonsense kind of church which refuses to build on emotionalism.
The Word of God must be the foundation of our faith. The facts of Scripture must be carefully studied and applied to our lives and all the good feelings we have about the Lord must not come from some fantasy world but be based solidly on the factual content of the Word.
As we enter this fall season, we have before us a flood of opportunities to really grow in the Lord. Every serious Christian will be interested in the Bible Institute classes and will determine not only to attend but to study and to pass and receive the certificates until he is graduated from the Institute.
The Sunday Morning adult classes at 9:45 afford an opportunity for study and true Christian growth.
The unparalleled morning and evening services will attract people who are deeply interested in hearing the truth of God, and experiencing great moments in God’s presence because their lives are firmly based on the factual foundation of Scripture. Yes, there can be the same Scriptural blend of facts and feelings.
Am I being stalked?
Hello again!
Between You and Whistlin’ Dixie
Well I only signed up for this site because I was looking for you, so didn’t really plan on putting anything here . Also, I don’t have any pics that make me look pretty .
. Also, I don’t have any pics that make me look pretty .Okay fellow bloggers and bloggettes – what do you think?
*Seriously people – WD did not
Can men and women be friends? And friends only?
Hey everybody – read the article at the link below:
http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001845.cfm
Tell me what you think…..
Whirlwind interviews
I sent in a cover letter and resume for a job, and I was called in at last minute for an interview. I do not feel prepared for it at all and I am too tired to practice. I am just going to pray for God to help me have discernment because I am grappling with some difficult news I found out about an estranged friend’s mother’s passing and her husband being very ill. Plus, it is kind of difficult visiting my parents’ home. It is difficult for me to concentrate during such a whirlwind period.
Mom suggested that I go abroad for some language training, but I am really afraid of traveling alone. Well, if I do end up going abroad after the holidays, I am going to just go to study, get involved in some conservative church and make a close knit group of friends. No discos, parties, drinking or staying up late at night. This is a serious Plan B situation that can happen if I do not get any full time job offers by December/January. If you feel so inclined, please pray that I can have a full time job by then and stay stateside.
I hope I don’t come across as being cross at the interview tomorrow, but I really don’t feel as if my heart is in the right place. It sounds like this place is somewhat desperate for a person and I don’t want to assume I will get an offer – but I also want to be mentally prepared not to rush into something or be duped into taking an offer that is a poor fit.
I am indeed flattered that I have been invited in for interviews and I look forward to meeting the hiring manager. I believe that God’s provision is imminent, I am just going to keep on pushing through the natural in order to realize what He has supernaturally planned.
If there are any realist brothers and sisters in Christ – I respect where you are at – but please suspend the comments – I’m not in any shape to handle anymore “reality checks” because frankly, I need to walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Sick of “glass half empty”
As an offshoot of my previous post, honoring the memory of an extraordinary academic, I decided to share my lifelong struggle with pessimism. “Woe is me” “Life sucks” “The glass is half empty” “For every cloud, there is a rainstorm”, etc. etc. etc.
After commiserating with people for as long as I can remember and realizing that the perpetual frowns on their faces may be enabled by my own, I finally hit a major turning point. For awhile, I knew that my pessimistic spirit brought people down and chased friends away, I felt as if it couldn’t be helped, it was just a part of my nature.
Granted, this world is fallen and I can’t wait for Christ to return again, but I think that it is very important to remember that God has given me the following gifts – not in particular order of importance:
1) The gift of God’s salvation throught Jesus’ death on the cross (okay, that is very very paramount in importance)
2) A brain to carry out everyday functions, such as movement and thinking.
3) Funds to buy enough food to keep my tummy full – despite my lack of full time employment.
4) A family of parents, brother and a dog.
5) God has given me a love for animals
6) My friends
7) Solitude – I like spending a lot of time alone.
Ability to cook
9) Coffee!!!!!!!!!
10) Cleaning products. I like the smell of cleaning products and I love cleaning!
Okay, with that in mind, it is time to go wash some dishes!
In Memory of an extraordinary academic
This morning, I found an urgent job posting through my graduate school department listserv. The person who sent the job posting said that they needed to find a qualified person to teach a class because the professor was killed in an automobile accident on Friday. I am praying about God’s direction regarding whether or not I will send my resume and cover letter out to the department chair. I’m not even an academic, but I have the advanced degree and enough relevant background needed to reach out to these students. Plus, I am the queen of “take-over”. I have a knack of being able to just run in and cover for somebody at the last minute with a cheerful attitude. They have to fill the opening quickly, and if I’m not being prompted by the Spirit (hey folks, it takes more than just a split second to make these decisions!), I do not want to waste their time by making them take the time to look at my stuff when they can be reading over someone’s PhD curriculum vitae (I don’t and will never create one of those!).
After I read the article on the university website about the professor, I felt really sad about the loss that her family, community and university is suffering. It was an ordinary day on Friday and she was on her way to a professional development meeting. She got into an accident on the way. She was married and had a son. I am almost positive that she was a believer – because the service is at a Christian church and because of others’ testimonies of the attitude she had that emitted positive energy that can’t be just pulled out by one’s own efforts.
People stated that she was a very nice person, excellent instructor and a great co-worker. She was a positive person who was always willing to take time to reach out to other people. In academia, it is very easy to get caught up in competition, department politics, and performance, but she was caught up in building relationships with people and building them up.
So, if we cannot predict exactly WHEN we are going to pass away, then why do we – or I – for that matter – get caught up in pettiness and pessimism? I would hate to be remembered as someone, similiar to Eeyore or Grumpy Bear, with a perpetual frown on my face and a proverbial cloud on my tummy.
Reflecting on the memory of this professor has reinforced the steps I am taking to enjoy God’s gifts, rather than bemoaning the blessings others have and I don’t.
Mouse’s Return
I have decided to return to my personal blog after all of this time because I miss being able to communicate with others through this medium. I am not one to WANT to spend copious amounts of time behind the computer, but I have enjoyed making new friends and exchanging ideas with others.
So, I am back.
