Guest Blog From A Colleague Of Angie's

http://teachingmusic.posterous.com/dont-mind-me-thats-just-my-heart-breaking

This link is a blog of a colleague friend of Angie's. I thought it was very well written. Please take a moment to check it out.

Tell Your Story

On your feet—I have a job for you. I’ve handpicked you to be a servant and witness to what’s happened today. Acts 26:16

I read this verse yesterday and it really "struck a cord" with me. You see, too often we are so caught up in what struggles we are going through, we forget to really live. Each of us have a story to tell. God has uniquely created you and given you a "story." He has chosen you to tell the story that only you have. It's your story. It's special and is God given. It doesn't get any more special.

So, share your story. Be a witness of what God's doing in your life. Together, doing this, we will truly live.

Haiti

I know I haven't blogged in a few months, but have been completely shaken by the events in Haiti. My heart bleeds for the people of Haiti. We have so much in the United States, by far the best country in the world, that I can hardly fathom the experience of being a person of Haiti.

As Christians, we are to help the poor! Care for women and children! Care for widows! Feed the hungry! And, care for the sick and wounded of Haiti!!!

The video is of Mark Driscoll, Teaching Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, and his 32 hours in Haiti. He has helped form an organization "Churches Helping Churches." The video will give you some feeling for the reality of the tragedy in Haiti. Please take a little time to view it and ask God, "How can I help your people in Haiti?"

There are several great organizations that could use your support. Churches Helping Churches and Convoy of Hope www.convoyofhope.org/ are two that I can personally recommend. In addition, my church, Harvest Chapel www.harvestchapel.net , is raising money to specifically help with projects in Haiti.

What would God have you do to help those in need of Haiti?

Jared, My Boy

Can I just say how proud I am of Jared. Without prompting from Angie or I, Jared came to us saying he wanted to be baptized. Angie and I were both surprised and excited. Wanting to make sure he understood what this meant, we quizzed him on what it means to be baptized and why he wanted to be baptized. In short, his answers were all right on. He told us he wanted to be baptized to show that he "loves Jesus and wants to live for him the rest of his life." Talk about thrilled and excited. Our hearts jumped for joy.

If you know Jared, he is not one that likes the attention or spot light to be on him. This makes his desire to be baptized even more special.

In addition, he asked if I would baptize him. I so love him. Needless to say, tomorrow Jared will be baptized. I will get to baptize him with Pastor Barry. I can hardly keep from crying just blogging about it.

It's our heart to raise our kids to "Love God, Love People, and Love Life!" Seems to me Jared is headed in the right direction. I couldn't be prouder!!!

Ben Stein Comments On God

remarks from CBS Sunday Morning - Ben Stein

I Only hope we find GOD again before it is too late ! !



The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don ' t feel threatened. I don ' t feel discriminated against. That ' s what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn ' t bother me a bit when people say, ' Merry Christmas ' to me. I don ' t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn ' t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it ' s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don ' t like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don ' t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can ' t find it in the Constitution and I don ' t like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren ' t allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that ' s a sign that I ' m getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it ' s not funny, it ' s intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham ' s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her ' How could God let something like this happen? ' (regarding Hurricane Katrina).. Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, ' I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we ' ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone? '

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O ' Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn ' t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn ' t spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock ' s son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he ' s talking about. And we said okay.

Now we ' re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don ' t know right from wrong, and why it doesn ' t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with ' WE REAP WHAT WE SOW. '

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world ' s going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send ' jokes ' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you ' re not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don ' t sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.



My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

Swine Flu and Whine Flu

Carl Edwards gets upended at Taladega. Wow!