One Big Dud!

College football this year has been one big dud. All the teams are underperforming. The three Heisman finalists from last year have been abysmal. Each I watch it becomes more frustrating and more conspicuous that some wizard is pulling the strings behind a curtain. You get rewarded for playing a weak schedule and penalized or playing a tough one. I won’t even get into the officiating which has determined the outcome of more than one important game already.
Which brings me to my team, UCLA. We stink with a capital S. No offense, no quarterback, and a thin line make or kicker the best in the nation. The defense which was supposed to be the saving grace has forgotten how to tackle. We might equal the number of wins we did last year (4). I love our Coach but if he doesn’t pull it together soon it is not going to be good.

Mobile Blogging from here.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Out of Energy?

Out of Energy? on Yahoo! Health

This article lists 9 things that zap your health and fixes to them. Some of the things on the list are things like email, bad posture, and visual clutter.

Out of Energy?

From Bedpan to King

 

Former nurse’s aide in US becomes Ugandan king – Yahoo! News

This is a really cool story of a man who lived and worked in the US since 1984 all the while being a king over in Africa.

The Wise Giver pt II

Yesterday we looked the first part in our series on wise giving. Today we want to look at three aspects of wise giving. We are going to do this by looking at Abigail, the wife of Nabal. When she hears that David is on his way to wipe out her husband she doesn’t give herself over to worry but instead uses some timely wisdom. Abigail was a wise person. Vs 3 says that she was of good understanding and had beautiful eyes. What a package! Wise and smoking hot! Here are three traits of a wise giver:

1. Quick to Give: In vs. 18 she springs into action and loads down some donkeys with a ton of food. She doesn’t consult her husband but instead tries to head off David before he gets to Nabal. This is a great example of a person who is quick to give. It is almost as if she didn’t think about it. A true mark of a wise giver is that they almost give without thinking. That is because God impresses their heart and they give.
2. Covers Foolishness: We have all made foolish financial decisions that have come back to bite us. Abigail realizes that her husband has made a huge one and goes to David to give an offering to cover that mistake. God knows that we are going to make dumb decisions. The problem comes that when we do we rely on creative financing to cover the mistake instead of trusting God. 2 Cor 9:7-8 says “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things… God’s grace will cover a multitude of our mistakes. Give to Him and watch him provide for you
3. Brings Peace: Nothing disrupts peace in a house like financial stress. Abigail restores peace to her house by giving to David. Obviously it stops David from killing her husband but vs. 35 David tells Abigail to “Go up in peace to your house.” If there isn’t peace in your house you need to ask if you have been holding back from giving to God? If so repent and get right by giving what is Biblically required.

Many homes don’t have an attitude of generosity. The Bible tells us that if we cultivate one that God will bless us more than we can handle(Prov 3:9-10 Mal 3:10). It also tells us that if we give he will cover our blunders and bring peace to our house. All of us could use some of that.

Double Take

This is actually a dumby art exhibit by a guy named Mark Jenkins.

The Wise Giver Pt I

On Sunday I spoke out of 1 Samuel 25 and talked about being a wise giver. You can listen to the podcast here. In the message I outlined three ways that we can be a wise giver. We looked at Abigail and how she was wise in how she lived her life. She put that wisdom into action when her husband made some very selfish decisions. Over the next couple of days I am going to share with you the difference between and wise and selfish giver. Today I want to share with you four traps that Nabal fell into in hopes that we can avoid those traps.

1. Foolishness: The name Nabal actually means fool and he definitely lived up to his name. He was a wealthy man who was harsh and evil. Selfish people are often this way. They are only concerned with themselves and neglect other people. The true indication that Nabal was a fool was his heritage. He a descendant of Caleb. Caleb was not only a wise person but bold spiritually. Nabal wasn’t anything like his grandfather. Fools often disgrace their families name
2. Greediness: Nabal profited off of David but refused to do anything for him. It says in vs. 14-16 that David was a wall day and night to Nabal’s flocks. Nabal was greedy because David had to come and ask him for some sheep for the feast. David had the right to take some sheep but didn’t. Nabal should’ve offered it to David before he had to ask. This shows his greediness. We can be greedy with God as well. We use Him for his protection and provision but when it comes time to give God what is required we get greedy
3. Possessiveness: In vs. 10 Nabal refuses to give David’s men anything. In fact he uses the word “my”three times. A big trap that we can fall into is when we begin to look at our possessions as ours and not to be shared with anyone else. Nabal actually demeans David in the process as if to rationalize his decision. Let’s not be possessive with our things. Instead lets be givers.
4. Unwillingness to listen: In vs. 17 one of Nabal’s young men tells his wife, Abigail, that he has snubbed David and David is on the way to destroy the house of Nabal. The last thing the young man says is that Nabal is a worthless man who won’t listen to anyone. That word worthless actually translates “Son of Belial” or the Devil. When we refuse to listen to people we become more like the Devil and less like Christ.

Four traps that are easy to fall into by anyone. Money in itself is a trap. If we become foolish, greedy, possessive, and unwilling to give of our money we will end up like Nabal. People will be after us and in the end it will turn out bad. Check back later for what happens to him.

Sunday Update

Today was a great day at The Village Chapel. There was an overspill effect from our ladies retreat. It seemed like summer again with the heavy fog which wreaked havoc on watching the missle launch during first service. Here are some of my other thoughts:

• Just a great feel amongst the people today even though we had quite a few gone working the launch
• Spoke on 1 Samuel 25 about being a wise giver
• Second service was pumped today
• I got numerous amens and I don’t think I had ever heard one before from them
• Speaking on money, and especially giving, always fires our people up!
• We have a great group signed up to go to the Men’s conference on Satuday
• Our group is also growing for those that are going to the Leadership conference in November
• Got to see Oriah today. Miss that family but God is blessing them in Washington
• Lot’s of ministry going on outside of the main services. Saw several spontaneous prayer groups going on.
• Today was Karl’s first Sunday on paid staff. He is such a great addition to the team
• Had several new families visit today along with several families who were there for the second and third time
• This will be the first normal week in our house for the first time in a long time
• The Dodgers stunk it up tonight. Can’t win games when the hitters are constantly behind in the count.

Toy Story 3 Trailer

I was wondering where they were going to go with this.

Not a Fan but an Air Multiplier

This is Dyson’s new invention, a fan. You remember Dyson of the reinventing the vacumn fame? Well they have reinvented the fan and now you can have it for $300. Read about it here.

Really Cool Fireplace

With the start of fall and more importantly fall weather. (It is raining outstide as I type this) I thought it would be cool to pass along this cool picture of a fireplace I found on Gizmodo.