Love 'em all, Let God sort 'em out

"And let’s look at the reality in Tunisia. Between one in ten and one in five Tunisians have a..."

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 08:39:01 -0600

“And let’s look at the reality in Tunisia. Between one in ten and one in five Tunisians have a Facebook account - not that surprising when you consider that half the population is between 20 and 30, well educated, relatively secular and denied public forms of expression. In that revolution, the ability to upload videos of police brutality and post them on Facebook was central to why this time, the movement spread.”

- Rich And Gladwell, Wallflowers At History: Tunisia - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Day 4 - You are not the center of the universe! | Habit-Forming Success

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 08:38:13 -0600

Day 4 - You are not the center of the universe! | Habit-Forming Success:

Great post from a great site.

"Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes."

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 09:01:46 -0600

“Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes.”

- Proverbs 1:28 NLT - YouVersion.com

Paying it forward

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 08:19:23 -0600

Paying it forward:

Remember the Muslims that protected Christians for Christmas? The Christians in this photo are returning the favor during a protest.

Billy Graham's Regret: 'I Would Have Steered Clear of Politics'

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 09:27:12 -0600

Billy Graham's Regret: 'I Would Have Steered Clear of Politics':

Billy Graham, the beloved evangelist known as “America’s pastor,” says that looking back on his long life and public ministry, one thing he would do differently is to avoid the political entanglements that have been one of the rare blots on his otherwise hallowed legacy. “I … would have steered clear of politics,” Graham, now 92 and in need of round-the-clock care, said via e-mail in response to questions from Christianity Today, the evangelical monthly he founded in the 1950s. Graham also said that if he could go back and do anything differently he would “spend more time at home with my family, and I’d study more and preach less.”

Is Facebook making us sad?

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 11:27:07 -0600

Is Facebook making us sad?:

“Misery Has More Company Than People Think,” a paper in the January issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, draws on a series of studies examining how college students evaluate moods, both their own and those of their peers. Led by Alex Jordan, who at the time was a Ph.D. student in Stanford’s psychology department, the researchers found that their subjects consistently underestimated how dejected others were–and likely wound up feeling more dejected as a result. Jordan got the idea for the inquiry after observing his friends’ reactions to Facebook: He noticed that they seemed to feel particularly crummy about themselves after logging onto the site and scrolling through others’ attractive photos, accomplished bios, and chipper status updates. “They were convinced that everyone else was leading a perfect life,” he told me.

Some food for thought next time you log on to Facebook.

"Everybody’s got a secret, Sonny, Something that they just can’t face, Some folks spend..."

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 17:33:13 -0600

“Everybody’s got a secret, Sonny,
Something that they just can’t face,
Some folks spend their whole lives trying to keep it,
They carry it with them every step that they take.
Till some day they just cut it loose
Cut it loose or let it drag ‘em down,”

- Bruce Springsteen | Darkness On The Edge Of Town Lyrics

As I start the recovery process with a fantastic group of guys, I couldn’t get this lyric out of my head. Feels like Springsteen is speaking just to me. Obviously that’s part of his appeal, writing pop songs that are universal, yet feel specific to an individual.

But whatever you may feel about this song or The Boss (or God, for that matter), this is absolute truth. And it comes from a fantastic album about self-discovery and adulthood.

What an amazing picture tweeted from Egypt.

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 09:15:33 -0600

What an amazing picture tweeted from Egypt.

After browsing the lyrics and using The Simpsons theory that...

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:03:56 -0600

After browsing the lyrics and using The Simpsons theory that regular rock and Christian rock are the same if you simply “change ‘Jesus’ to ‘Baby’”, perhaps GNR’s “Patience” is actually one of the best worship songs of our time.

All We Need is Just a Little Patience

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 10:29:00 -0600

We live in a culture relentless devoted to immediacy. Virtually anything we desire can be made ours in an instant. Even the things that may “take some time” can be accomplished absurdly fast thanks to the overwhelming technological advancements of the last few decades. I think God probably enjoys our ingenuity in creating these systems and tools, but we must realize our culture of now does not apply to Him.

Many of us truly want God’s will in our lives and genuinely ask Him to reveal it in prayer, but we want it right this very minute and have been to conditioned to expect an instantaneous response to our wants and desires. When He doesn’t answer us in what we deem an appropriate time frame, we begin to question His faithfulness, our relationship and even His existence. Even a week can seem like an eternity without an answer to your prayers, so a month can feel completely hopeless. Now, imagine how the disciples must have felt after spending close to 3 years with Jesus when he said this to them “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” (John 16:12)

For 3 years, they spent nearly every waking moment with Jesus, the physical incarnation of God Himself, and He still couldn’t reveal everything to them. They could see Him, feel Him, dine with Him, and ask Him questions. For all intents and purposes, they had instant and constant access to the Living God for roughly 36 months and they still didn’t know much about what He was planning to do in their lives. Consider that perspective as you pray for His will in your life and take Axl’s advice to employ a little patience.

Inspired by “Experiencing God” by Henry T. Blackaby & Claude V. King and “Patience” by Guns N’ Roses.

soupsoup: via @KeithStoeckeler

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:42:09 -0600

soupsoup:

via @KeithStoeckeler

"Although we are not in a position to barter with God, he may still choose to answer a prayer that..."

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:56:44 -0600

“Although we are not in a position to barter with God, he may still choose to answer a prayer that has an attached promise.”

- Reading Plan - YouVersion.com in reference to 1 Samuel 1:11

“Embracing intellectual messiness” is a great...

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:11:26 -0600

“Embracing intellectual messiness” is a great phrase.

"Twitter revolution narratives are popular because rather than being about Tunisia, they are often..."

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 07:46:25 -0600

“Twitter revolution narratives are popular because rather than being about Tunisia, they are often really about ourselves. When we glorify the role of social media we are partly glorifying ourselves. Some of us are not only praising the tools we know and love and use every day, but also the tools we build and have stakes in. To proclaim a Twitter revolution is almost a form of intellectual colonialism, stealthy and mildly delusional: We project our world, our values, and concerns onto theirs and we shouldn’t. We use Twitter and so must they. In our rush to christen the uprising, did we think to ask Tunisians what they wanted to call their revolution?”

- Can We Please Stop Talking About ‘Twitter Revolutions’?

aatombomb: ‘Remember when they were called “pamphlet revolutions”? Me either.’

I’m not altogether opposed to the narcissism angle on international news. Have you ever tried to engage an American in a conversation about Tunisia without an angle that makes it about them?
(via johnness)

"True compassion,” King declared, “is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to..."

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:14:24 -0600

““True compassion,” King declared, “is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.””

- FAIR Blog » Blog Archive » The Martin Luther King You Still Don’t See on TV

It ALL goes back in the box

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:22:37 -0600

Always disheartening to put a challenging puzzle you’ve completed back in the box. Kind of a commentary on life.less than a minute ago via HootSuiteJon Pyle
jonpyle

@jonpyle Not to overstate the obvious, but…it ALL goes back in the box.less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhoneMark Richard
MarkRichard_

"Value is a function of perception. So, you want the people you’re trying to reach to perceive your..."

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:10:45 -0600

“Value is a function of perception. So, you want the people you’re trying to reach to perceive your content as valuable, even if people you’re not trying to reach perceive it as worthless.
This is an important point, even though it seems simplistic.
The snarling enemy of meaningful content is the urge to water it down for the lowest-common denominator in the hopes of either (a) reaching an unreasonably mass audience, or (b) not offending anyone.
The result of that approach is content that means very little to anyone.”

- Are You Creating Meaningful Content? | Copyblogger

Muslim and Christian, Egyptians stand together against violence - Boing Boing

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 06:50:57 -0600

Muslim and Christian, Egyptians stand together against violence - Boing Boing:

Inspiring story! Very humbling that two faiths can stand together against senseless violence. However, I can’t shake this question: if the roles were reversed, would Christians have done the same thing?

Habit-Forming Success: Day 9 - More thoughts on thoughts

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:41:21 -0600

Habit-Forming Success: Day 9 - More thoughts on thoughts:

Great insight from a life coach.

A 365 Day Journey to Tackle the Elephant: Welcome ~ Let's Do This!

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 23:09:29 -0600

A 365 Day Journey to Tackle the Elephant: Welcome ~ Let's Do This!:

Very cool blog about downsizing to maximize and achieving financial health.