Who do you wish you were like? Who's your (American) idol?

Ever wish you could be prettier, thinner, more attractive, more muscular, wealthier and more successful, more competitive, more attractive to the opposite sex ... and more confident of yourself?

If you could push a button and pick any celebrity, model, business tycoon, politician or movie star on the planet, whose button would you push if you could instantly become that person?

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 

But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

- Galations 4:8-9

Espresso maker express shopping

(goteos adicionales del tocino) *

Mentioned here yesterday that I don't have an espresso maker on the boat (mine's in storage), so I went googling for a few minutes to see what's available online.  Here's four options ... which one would I pick?

1. The Starbucks Sirena Espresso Machine

There's a Starbucks across the street (adjacent to Safeway), making the Sirena the fastest and easiest solution.  Except that the Sirena looks like something you'd find on Darth Vader's countertop in the Death Star kitchen ... and the price is $350.  Pass.

2.  The Bialetti Moka Express 3-cup Espresso Maker 

This handy little model from Italy totally caught my attention.  Its design is classic, the capacity is perfect for one person, and the price is right at $19.95

3.  The Classic Aluminum 9-cup Stovetop Espresso Maker

No doubt about it hijos y hijas, this model speaks with authority: it's what a real stove top espresso maker should  look like.  It's an all-out classic that'll last a lifetime, and at $16.59 it's an absolute bargain.  This model's only handicap is that it makes 9 cups ... which is considerably more espresso than I drink in a month.

4. La Pavoni ESC-8 Stradivari Espresso Maker

Are you kidding?  With all those knobs, cantilevers and dials it'd take me a cat's lifetime, all nine of them (and several sprained joints), just to figure out where the water goes.  Plus, it's priced at 850.   Dollars, not lire.

So take a guess ... which one would I choose?

¡Es obvio!  If I was gonna buy a new espresso maker I'd go with Number 3: it's closest to the one I already got waiting for me in storage.

* goteos adicionales del tocino means "extra bacon drippings" ... today's substitution for "blog lite."

How important is your time ... really?

(from today's "Drive-Thru Faith Window" department)

Feeling frazzled by life's hectic schedule?

Find yourself so pressed by appointments and deadlines that there's never any time left over for prayer?  Ever feel like every single minute of your life is already committed ... not to God ... but to the daily meetings, workouts and routines that count and matter most?

Relax ... because now there's a time-saving solution available on the interwebs.

Information Age Prayer is a subscription service utilizing a computer with text-to-speech capability to incant your prayers each day. It gives you the satisfaction of knowing that your prayers will always be said even if you wake up late, or forget.

We use state of the art text to speech synthesizers to voice each prayer at a volume and speed equivalent to typical person praying. Each prayer is voiced individually, with the name of the subscriber displayed on screen.

At Information Age Prayer we think our service should be used like a prayer supplement, to extend and strengthen a subscriber's connection with God. Traditional prayer is an integral part of this connection and should never be forgone, even after signing up.

So you see it's a supplement ... available in your choice of Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim or Unaffiliated prayer flavors. 

Can I get fries with that?

 

the summer of Picadillo

(de la cocina del cubano de Bluebook)

No more kidding around when it comes to making Picadillo. Earlier this week I went online, and got in touch with my inner cocinero.

(above, L-R: El Ebro canned Picadillo, Goya Sofrito, Goya Adobo Seasoning)

(above: Edmundo vino seco para cocinar ... er, "white cooking wine")

(above: apron from the Columbia Restaurant. ¡Sí, es auténtico!)

(above: Cafe Bustello Espresso, even though I don't own a demitasse ... and don't have an espresso maker on board. Maybe next time :-)

(above: 7th Avenue, Ybor City. January 26, 1927)

doctrine, dating, disorder, dinosaurs

I started thinking about dating and relationships, the prospects of which have, for the past few years, required almost as much imagination as speculating what life must've been like walking with dinosaurs.  But that's ok and I'm not complaining.

While some folks are less focused on or dominated by their issues, the fact remains that everybody's got 'em and everybody deals with 'em ... at least until they start dating and become involved in a romantic relationship, at which point both parties' emotional issues fall in love, join together and go forth to multiply.

Lots, and I mean lots, of the romantic relationships I see remind me of competitions rather than co-operations, as if each person must continuously assert themselves, their goals and their agenda in an on-going tug of war of wills that unfortunately not only persists into marriage, but often becomes its foundation and function.

Why isn't my boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse getting on board with the program and doing more to make my life easier and me happier?  I've already been thinking about bailing out, and finding somebody better.  Somebody who'll be more interested in satisfying me and my requirements.  Why is it so hard to find somebody like that anyway?

The mindset for many married couples and singles involved in dating relationships can easily be expressed as Demand More: You Deserve It!

If Christ's not at the core and forming the foundation of a marriage, or even at the center of a romantic/dating relationship, is it because one, or both partners expect to be the center of attention instead?   Wonder how that's gonna work out?

-- -- --

In the same way, if Christ's not at its center and forming the foundation of a church, is it because certain members of the congregation or church staff expect to be ...  which is a mindset often revealed through an insistence upon silly labels and man-made doctrines purposefully intended to divide believers and alienate congregations?

"Oh no, you see, we only do church the right way and our doctrines aren't silly or man-made at all.  All our rules, definitions, theologies, covenants, by-laws, restrictions, affiliations and ammendments come straight from scripture, not like those other religions."  

Okay, let's go with an artificial example of what I'm talking about: what does your church teach concerning the true, actual length of Noah's ark?

"Well, Genesis 6:15 specifically tells us the length of the ark, and if a cubit is 18 inches long, then 300 cubits x 18 inches means it's required teaching that the ark was exactly 450 feet long ... and even better than that, my church teaches that the ark used so much timber, just the insects and worms in the wood would fill 21 box cars."

So according to that doctrine, if I believe the ark was 488 feet long (measured according to Royal cubits) and that only 20 box cars of bugs and worms were contained in the wood, then my beliefs aren't based on scripture ...  and I need to do a 360 and get my life turned around and headed back on track? 

Can the cause of doctrinal divisiveness and spiritual oneupsmanship be anything except pride ... and can the result be anything except disorder within the body?

I used to be impatient, now here's my thumb (updated)

Let's dive right in before anybody starts getting impatient.

It's 46 degrees today, raining, I'm recovering from the flu and found absolutely nothing at all left on the boat to eat.

So this morning I hiked across the street to Safeway with my list, zipped right through my shopping, and came around the corner just in time to spot a cashier ringing up her customer's last two or three items ... and no one else waiting in line behind him.

I moved in quickly and had unloaded my groceries in about 6 six seconds ... and should've immediately realized things were going way too smoothly.  Because at that point the man frowned at his receipt, realized his coupons applied to none of the items he'd selected, and told the cashier No Thanks, just void my entire order.  Then he walked off.

But I didn't get angry or impatient, even after it took the cashier almost seven minutes to find a manager to void out the order.

I finally left Safeway a moonphase or two later (after overhearing Job ask for a supervisor's home phone number) with my knuckles dragging the pavement (canned goods are heavy) and still had one more stop along the way: a ball-valve I'd ordered had arrived on the truck at West Marine.

How long can picking up one little item like a ball-valve take?  Well, it depends.

(a 1/2" Full-Flow In-Line Ball Valve, above)

In fact, How Long Can It Take? depends on two things: (a) how heavy your groceries are, and (b) how quickly the sales guide can explain to a non-English speaking customer how to use a diving mask with an attached snorkle, neither of which the customer's ever seen or handled before in his life. 

I'm not sure, but the amount of time involved is probably measured in terms of paleontological eons, or radioactive half-lifes.

By the time I'd added the valve to my load I was much looking forward to transferring my bags to a dock cart, and using it to wheel them the rest of the half-mile distance separating me from my boat.

Naturally, for the first time in 8 months, there wasn't a dock cart to be found anywhere within the 500-slip marina.  Not one.  Not anywhere.  What's wrong with people who don't follow the rules and return dock carts to the ramp?  I was almost starting to get impatient.

Let's just say the combined weight of heavy plastic bags carried in the palm is bad for the circulation, and caused my fingers to turn grape-purple and stiff by the time I'd lugged my load down the last stretch of dock to my boat.

But guess what?  My thumb still worked fine ... and instead of getting angry, impatient or saying bad words, my thumb's what the devil got.  Instead of giving in to anger, I had to laugh at how impossibly hard it can be sometimes to get simple things done.  And stick my thumb right in the devil's eye.

Maybe Lucifer gets impatient when his schemes fail and the only reward he gets for his trouble is being laughed at.  And a thumb in his eye.  Maybe Satan gets real angry or red-faced at that point and starts cussing as he storms off to find somebody else to pick on and tempt.  What matters is that he goes away.

There's no scriptural support for saying this, but it's just my feeling that the enemy enjoys laughing at us when we believe him, and never with us when he's beaten.

Web-based Faith (part 1)

Is this what we can expect when Faith becomes part of the worldwide interwebs?

Wrestling with the devil

New Spring Teaching Pastor Clayton King demonstrates how to break the enemy's figure-four leglock.

Ultimate Training: No Second Place Winners

Ya'll know I watch lots of UFC. 

Something I've noticed is, once a fight's been stopped due to a sudden knock-out, how often the fighter who's been "knocked out" and is lying bowl-legged and dizzy-eyed flat on his back, still keeps fighting ... throwing punches and wrestling ... not his opponent, but the guy who happens to be kneeling over him:  the referee.

It's like even though the fallen fighter's brain's taken a time-out (and doesn't realize the fight's over), whether from reflex, instinct, or maybe something else, his body keeps on battling whoever's closest ... even if that happens to be the guy who's in there solely to protect him from absorbing unnecessary punishment.

One other thing I've noticed in UFC cage fighting is how often a fighter who seems literally out on his feet will somehow step forward, instead of falling down, lock eyes on his wildly-swinging opponent ... and throw a perfectly timed haymaker that suddenly KOs his adversary and wins the fight.

Those amazing last second come-from-behind punches appear from nowhere and happen so fast, seems like it takes two or three slow-motion replays before the ringside cameras can catch up.

-- --- --

Bill Jordan was a US Border Patrol Agent who experienced and survived scores, or maybe hundreds, of shoot-outs with smugglers and assorted villains and desperados during his decades-long career as a law enforcement officer on the US-Mexico border.  

In his book No Second Place Winner, Jordan describes something peculiar about the behavior of scared-to-death, rookie officers as they confronted fear and terror during their first life-threatening gun fights with bad guys.

Even when pinned down under hostile fire, in literal fear for their lives, the rookie agents picked up and pocketed the spent brass cases from their revolvers as they reloaded.  And afterwards, given the adrenaline-charged moment, never remembered retrieving their empty cases.

The agents had picked up their empties because that's how they'd been trained to perform during hundreds and hundreds of hours of instruction, practice and repetition at the shooting range: being budget conscious, the Border Patrol insisted upon reloading their own ammo; hence the requirement for officers to Pick Up and Save Those Empties!

-- --- --

Why bother mentioning any of those things?  Because training takes over when reflex and instinct fall short.

-- -- --

Praise be to the LORD my Rock, 
       who trains my hands for war, 
       my fingers for battle.

- Psalm 144:1

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

- 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Have nothing to do with Godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be Godly.  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

- 1 Timothy 4:7-8

Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

- Hebrews 5:13-14

A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

- Luke 6:40

Footnote: while writing this, in the background, Georges St-Pierre, Keith Jardine and Chuck Lidell got knocked out.  Wow.  

No moment's more amazing, or holds more opportunity ... than the present.

There's a huge difference ...

... between watching the race, and being in the race.

Invaluable ... and tonight it's for free

- from josephsangl.com  23 March 2009

Attend The Financial Learning Experience ON-LINE

NewSpring Church is making the Financial Learning Experience available FREE for one night only TOMORROW (Tuesday, March 24 @ 6:30PM).

It is going to be available at the Web Campus.  We are going to have members of my team in the chat room to answer questions throughout the event.

If you are looking for help with your finances, the Financial Learning Experience is the place to start!

The event will actually be the Financial Learning Experience DVD which was released this month.  This is a great opportunity for you to check out this resource. 

Participants of the FLE will learn:

• Develop a plan for one’s life
• Create a budget that works
• Eliminate debt
• Calculate debt freedom date
• Calculate amount needed for retirement
• Hear about the power of compound interest 

Go invite your friends and neighbors, and we will see you at 6:30PM, Tuesday, March 24!

Tonight on TV

This looks interesting: 

9:00 PM The History Channel

Battles BC: Joshua

Joshua uses spies, secrets and deception as he leads the Israelites in a war against the Canaanites in 1225 B.C. highlighted by the fall of Jericho.

Joe Sangl takes Financial Freedom to Washington, DC

New Spring's Pastor of Financial Planning Joe Sangl will be interviewed tonight at 6:15 PM on WAVA FM radio station in Washington, DC.

You can click here at 6:15 PM EST to listen live on the web.

Church-tech Treat

This morning I finally got the 5MileWiFi booster on my boat up and running.

A typical laptop has a somewhat feeble 50mw wireless adapter and essentially, the 5MileWiFi booster is a 1000mw (doesn't 1000mw=1 watt?) 2-port USB device including a 9dbi fiberglass external antenna and low-loss cables, that dramatically improves a computer's wireless peformance.

Yep, the results are dramatic: now my network sharing center shows about 20 5-bar networks, when it used to show just two.

Pictured above is the booster's external antenna.   Sorta looks like a digital steeple, doesn't it ... especially since it'll be ushering me online and into today's web campus services.

Need a ride to church? Let your mouse do the driving.

Catch a mouse-ride to church?  Yes ... using your computer's mouse, that is.

Just double-click on the next line at 11:15 AM, 2:00 PM [2:00 PM Pacific], or 6:00 PM.

New Spring Church Web Campus

I'm using an 11.0 Mbps broadband connection; that means I'm taking the wireless road to church, too.   :-)

Notes on staying home with the floo

Somehow I've got it and have had it all week, even though I bought a $35 flu shot at Safeway several months ago.

The vaccine folks would argue the shot is actually lessening my symptoms, or that the vaccine only represents a "best guess" about which form of flu might be prevalent and isn't necessarily 100% on the mark.  

Ugh, ok then.  If you've got the flu it might be a good idea to stay home until you're no longer contagious, to prevent spreading your bug to un-deserving friends and un-suspecting co-workers.  Really.  Stay home, be a good friend and don't make your friends sick.

No, that doesn't mean you have to miss  going to church if you're sick or shut-in.

Just double-click on this line at 11:15 AM, 2:00 PM or 6:00 PM Eastern Time to visit the New Spring web campus, and worship right where you're sitting.    

Even if you're not coughing, sneezing and aching with the flu.  

Ja, we have no bananas today

(Saturday morning blog lite)

-From today's "The Gift of Understatement" Department

$2M worth of cocaine found in banana boxes

(CNN) -- A German supermarket employee got a surprise this week when she opened two boxes of bananas to find them filled with more than 60 pounds of cocaine worth $2 million, police said.

"This is obviously a matter of a logistical mistake," a spokesman for the Bavarian State Bureau of Investigation, based in Munich, told CNN Friday.

- source

Postcards from Havana

My birthday was this week, and a friend sent me this terrific gift through the mail: a 1920s-vintage, unused postcard from the Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana.

Earlier this year, I found the following vintage postcard featuring Havana's jai-alai fronton.

Jai alai is the fastest, most dangerous ball game in the world ... now notice that unlike today, there's no chain-link fence protecting spectators from the ball (players didn't wear helmets back then, either).

Ok great ... but the 1920s happened a long time ago.

What's been happening on the other side of the fence recently?

Here's some excerpts from the 2008 International Religious Freedom Report:

Some sources estimate that as much as 80 percent of the population consults with practitioners of religions with West African roots, such as Santeria or Yoruba.

The Government requires religious groups to register with the provincial Registry of Associations within the Ministry of Justice to obtain official recognition.

The law allows for the construction of new houses of worship once the required permits are obtained; however, the Government rarely authorizes new construction permits. 

House churches are subject to numerous regulations, many of which address location and hours of worship. Directive 43 and Resolution 46 require house churches to register with the Government. The vast majority of house churches were unregistered and thus technically illegal; however, most registered religious groups were able to hold services in private homes. 

Christian Solidarity Worldwide estimates that there are at least 10,000 house churches nationwide. Their numbers have increased in recent years, which religious leaders attributed to the Government not authorizing construction of new churches.

Catholic Church officials estimate that 10 percent of baptized Catholics attend Mass regularly. Membership in Protestant churches increased and was estimated at 550,000 persons. The Baptists, represented in four different conventions, are possibly the largest Protestant denomination, followed closely by the Pentecostal churches, particularly the Assembly of God. The number of Pentecostals is believed to be rising sharply.

Government officials continued to harass, threaten, and fine unregistered religious groups, and state security forces continued to subject officially sanctioned and unregistered house churches to surveillance.

Learn more about Cuban House Churches here.

It's time to make the Transition®

It's a plane that drives ...

Every pilot faces uncertain weather, rising costs, and ground transportation hassles on each end of the flight. The Transition® combines the unique convenience of being able to fold its wings with the ability to drive on any surface road in a modern personal airplane platform. Stowing the wings for road use and deploying them for flight at the airport is activated from inside the cockpit. This unique functionality addresses head-on the issues faced by today’s Private and Sport Pilots.

Terrafugia’s award-winning MIT-trained engineers have been advancing the state-of-the-art in personal aircraft since 2006. Now you can streamline your flying experience with the revolutionary integration of personal land and air travel made possible by the Transition® Roadable Aircraft.

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Fuel burn: 5 gph  Fuel tank: 20 gallons  Useful Load: 430 lbs  On road: 30 mpg, highway speeds  Light Sport Aircraft (LSA)

Convenience
Front wheel drive on the ground
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Two place, side by side 
Automated electromechanical folding wing 
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Drive in case of inclement weather
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Full vehicle parachute available
Modern glass avionics
Automotive crash safety features

Order Today
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More here.

this is interesting ...

Today, March 19, is St. Joseph's Day:

Saint Joseph's Day, 19 March, the Feast of St. Joseph or Solemnity of Saint Joseph is in Western Christianity the principal feast day of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a Solemnity in the Roman Catholic Church, a feast in the provinces of the Anglican Communion, and a feast or festival in the Lutheran Church. Saint Joseph's Day is the Patronal Feast day for persons named Joseph, Josephine, etc., for religious orders, schools and parishes bearing his name, and for carpenters. It is also Father's Day in some Catholic countries, namely Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Italy.

This date was already dedicated to Saint Joseph in several Western calendars in the tenth century. It was accepted in Rome in 1479, and in 1621 it was inserted into the General Roman Calendar for celebration throughout the Latin Rite. Since it always falls within Lent, Episcopal Conferences may, if they wish, transfer it to a date outside Lent.

- wikipedia

(above: Tampa Municipal Hospital)

(above: The Bachelor Apartments c.1931 , formerly located at 140 Biscayne, Tampa)

Picadillo: the sofrito secret

(Thursday morning musings from Calypso's galley)

Regular readers know I'm a big fan of the Cuban dish Picadillo, and usually cook a homemade batch several times each month.

Never mind that it's impossible to find real Vigo Spanish arroz amarillo in these parts (I'm starting to think Picadillo should be served over white rice anyway).

[above: Picadillo photo from wikipedia]

The other day I found what promised to be the "real secret" of making Picadillo, and decided to give the secret a try last Tuesday night.

Was the result equal to what I remember at Cafe Mercedes in Tampa?

No, but it was a major taste-step in the right direction ... so I'll be tinkering some more with the spices next week.

(above: A view from 14th Street down 7th Avenue in Ybor City, c. 1930- source)

above: Seventh Avenue, Ybor City, Tampa- [DMCA Notice received 10/25/10]

[Note: this image from Google Maps replaces the "above: Seventh Avenue, Ybor City, Tampa" image previously given above. The only difference is that the former image looks like it was shot through the windshield of a moving car.]

Studying the obvious

(Monday Night blog lite)

Saturday night I walked across the street to Safeway, did my shopping, and walked out carrying five plastic bags stuffed full of groceries.  By the time I crossed Boston Street and got back to the marina I was worried the bags would break, so I grabbed a dock cart and used it to wheel my onerous load back to the boat.  

Then I made supper, blogged a little bit and went to sleep.

Around noon the next day I realized stuff from my list was missing.  Lots of items I'd paid for had vanished.  A quick check of my receipt confirmed my worst suspicions:  some of my edibles were missing.

After about three hours of fretting and searching every square inch of my boat I finally gave up and accepted the obvious solution.  The obvious solution was that after arriving back at my boat, I forgot to tote all my groceries on board.   

When I finally went outside and looked up and down the dock, I realized the dock cart was gone.  

So were my groceries.

It's been a couple of days now but still I catch myself wondering, How come stuff like that happens?  I dunno.

Or maybe I just forgot.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mental Abilities Peak at 22: New Study

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

Do you forget where you parked the car? Do you search for words? Well, we’ve got bad news for you: New research shows that mental abilities peak at age 22 — and start to decline by age 27.

University of Virginia researchers tested more than 2,000 men and women between the ages of 18 and 60, over the course of seven years, asking them to solve puzzles, take memory tests and spot patterns. They discovered that in nine of the 12 tests, the 22-year-olds came out on top.

By the age of 27, peak scores started to go south for tests of reasoning, speed of thought and spatial visualization. By 37, memory was starting to diminish.

The silver lining? According to the Daily Mail, the report states that "abilities based on accumulated knowledge, such as performance on tests of vocabulary or general information, increase until at least the age of 60." 

What happened yesterday on the web?

(Disclaimer: Though I am a member, I am not on staff nor is this blog endorsed in any way by New Spring Church, its staff, leadership or membership.  Any opinions, impressions or reactions included here are entirely my own, and any responsibility for errors, omissions or other fault is mine.

No, I didn't write that because somebody's been yelling at me :-) 

Instead, I included the disclaimer as an up-front reminder that what you read here is only me, without any coaching, "talking points" or instructions of any kind from anyone else.)

I've been attending both the 11:15 AM and 6:00 PM services at New Spring's Web Campus.  Visiting both services lets me watch the first service full-screen size, so later I feel free to keep the display reduced during the 6PM service, which leaves enough room on my laptop's 10.5" screen to log-in and join the Chat Room.

Yesterday the web campus added a 2:00 PM (11:00 AM Pacific) service, and Joe Sangl's message was so powerful I attended it, too.  And noticed new things happening along the way.

I noticed that a lot of folks who'd never met in "real life," including people who live on opposite ends of the planet, remembered others' log-in names and were welcoming and greeting each other profusely as they signed in.  

Does that sound like a small, So-What thing?  Maybe ... until you've signed in, and discover a half-dozen folks who've remembered your name are shouting a big Welcome in your direction.  Seemingly insignificant things like a personal greeting might even start you realizing There's actually a loving group of believers here! after all.

Just like a "real" church.

 It was amazing to see the web campus bringing worshippers together from Hawaii, Arizona, California, Alabama, New Jersey, New York City, the UK, Estonia, South and Central America (those are just the ones I remember) ... and here's the second thing that caught my attention: it wasn't long before worshippers began chatting back and forth in Spanish.  Lots of folks, not just visitors in Latin America, but Spanish majors attending from Clemson University, too.  

The folks attending from the southern hemisphere hadn't happened upon the web campus by chance, either: Nope, turns out they were both regular visitors ... because in Spanish, the woman in Peru told the man in Ecuador "This church teaches sound doctrine and preaches straight from the Bible."  And he answered, from Ecuador, that he'd found the web campus because he followed Perry's blog.

Seems like they both enjoyed the music, too: the band's all-acoustic set included a cajón.

But now the big thing.  

Yesterday was the first time I'd noticed folks approaching Pastor Nick to seek guidance and counsel concerning specific issues in their lives.  

A man living in a western state, who had no local home church because his job included lots of out-of-state Sunday travel, asked whether it was OK to give his tithe instead to friends who were either in Bible school or living abroad as missionaries.  Someone else was curious about the scriptural difference between a tithe and an offering. 

One woman confessed the terrible crises debt had caused in her life ... and was eager for scriptural-based guidance to get her life back in order and start living according to God's purpose. Another woman wrote seeking Nick's counsel concerning a difficult situation in a dating relationship.

Could just be me, but seems like when the web campus first launched, lots of chat room dialogue focused on technological stuff like server capacity, connection speeds and wireless signal strength.  

But all three services yesterday felt different because folks, lots of them, were opening up to express what was happening inside their hearts, live ... using the church's digital venue to admit their need for sound spiritual guidance and prayer.  

Just like what happens inside a "real" church.  And I can't help but think that's gotta be big.

Could just be me, but it sure seems like the web campus is already creating a palpable sense of community among worshippers.   

Just like a "real" church.

Finally, as each of the three services was about to conclude, I was amazed at the number of worshippers exchanging contact information, to stay in touch and follow-up with each other during the week.  Meaning, keeping in touch during the times when the web campus is off-line.  And I was amazed at the number of worshippers expressing their desire to open their homes for group-viewing the service.

Those two things by themselves sure sound to me like the web campus is spreading the gospel, bringing believers together in worship and sharing the joy of knowing Christ ... not just inside a brick-walled building, but planet-wide. 

Yes, the web campus really is church.

Black Market Barbies?

(Monday morning Blog Lite)  

West Virginia Lawmaker Jeff Eldridge Seeks Barbie Ban

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

© AP

Now that she’s turning 50, Barbie may find herself an outlaw in West Virginia!

Democratic Delegate Jeff Eldridge proposed a bill Tuesday that would ban the iconic doll and all of her plastic clones. The measure, creatively entitled the "Barbie Ban Bill," claims such toys perpetuate unhealthy, unrealistic stereotypes for young girls and women: "I just hate the image that we give to our kids that if you’re beautiful, you’re beautiful, and you don’t have to be smart."

I'm guessing convicted offenders would go straight to the Barbie Big House?  Hmmm.

Web Campus screen shots

'ello L.A.

Starting today, New Spring's web campus is adding an 11 AM (Pacific) service for folks living on the west coast (that's 2 PM eastern).

Now there's three online services each Sunday: 11:15 AM, 2 PM and 6 PM ET ... and one more reason to stop by and see what the web campus is all about.

Not America's Next Top Role Models

Three people were arrested in New York City today after a riot broke out at auditions for America's Next Top Model at the Park Central Hotel. 

Authorities are saying that at least six people were injured when bedlam broke out outside of the midtown Manhattan hotel where auditions were being held for Tyra Bank's 13th Cycle of ANTM. Two of injured were transported to an area hospital for treatment. - source

Comfy Christians

Reading the Bible, sometimes I'll come across a verse depicting an event in Christ's ministry, or a statement made by Jesus himself, that's suddenly very different from what I remembered or expected.

The most recent examples are from Matthew 11.  

When John the Baptist was in prison and learned Jesus was away preaching in Galilee, John sent his disciples to ask Jesus a question: "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

Doesn't John's question seem ... odd?

After all, when he was still in Elizabeth's womb, hadn't unborn-John "leapt for joy" upon hearing Mary's greetings?  Hadn't John told his followers that "one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to unite.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire"? 

Wasn't it John the Baptist who baptised Christ, and who testified to then having seen the Spirit of God descending on Jesus like a dove?

So then why, once John's in prison, does he abruptly start having doubts about Jesus?  What was suddenly on John's mind that was so serious, urgent and immediate that it caused him to dispatch his disciples (and wear out their feet) on a 200-mile round-trip walk so they could track Jesus down and ask him, almost sarcastically, Are you the one we're waiting for...  or is somebody else? 

Languishing in prison, the issue that had seized John's attention (since he was after all, a prophet) was the certainty that his death was imminent.  

And as a chosen, faithful servant and prophet of God's Kingdom, John the Baptist must've been wondering why on earth Jesus was off somewhere preaching in the boonies ... instead of racing back to Jerusalem to hurl a righteous miracle or two at King Herod's head.

John was likely consumed by the idea If Jesus is for real then he must know I'm in trouble, so why isn't he here taking care of my problems ... and bustin' me out of jail?

From John's perspective, was it too much to expect Jesus to show up and throw down with a teeny-tiny miracle ... like a prison-break?  Wasn't John all about furthering the advance of God's kingdom?  What was taking Jesus so long?

See, John was getting anxious ... and wanted an immediate answer to his immediate needs.

How did Jesus answer?  Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

A short while later, Herod ordered John beheaded ... to satisfy a dancer's whim.

--   --   --

Folks who believe in a cozy, God-keeps-me-safe-and-comfortable brand of Christianity would probably argue "Look, God calls different people to live different lives, and to do different things.  God didn't call everybody to do exactly the same thing."

In other words, believers who treat Christ like the ultimate good luck charm are convinced that their dedication and devotion should result in lots and lots of blessings, favors and rewards ... clearly because their righteousness means they've earned God's favoritism.

No wonder Comfy Christians love their religion so much and consider themselves the most faithful,  Biblical, sin-free and deserving Christians on the planet: obviously it's God's will for them to do nothing more than sit back, prosper and stand by ... and watch the blessings keep piling on.  

I'm just guessing, but it's not hard to imagine they might be the same folks who find so many faults with others, and who have the most to complain about in church.

Comfy Christians believe it's always someone else who God tells to take risks; that it's always the other guy who's called to make sacrifices and bear the yoke; that it's only repentant super-sinners (certainly not folks who grew up going to church and never missed Sunday School) who get called to take up their cross daily and live all-out, completely and dangerously for Christ no matter the risk.

Like John the Baptist.  

Like Paul.  

Like Stephen and like Christ's disciples ... followers who were 100% devoted and convicted ... who knew Jesus had not suffered crucifixion and then rose from the grave in his hurry to get back and promise them prosperity,  guarantee their comfort and grant them their wishes (especially when they're disguised as prayers).