Family came to visit (round 2)

Darla used to live out in this area in PA a few years ago, and has several friends still in the area. She had come out to visit some of them... and while she was in the area we were able to spend some time with her!

It's always nice to see family, and now that those times are few and far between, it makes them more special.

So anyone who wants to drop in, your more than welcome.

Just call first!

Family came to visit (round 1)

I know that I'm a little behind the times... but my little sister Andrea got engaged a little while back to friend of the family, Steve Skaron, that she's gown up with.

Well it just so happens that his grandfather lives out here in PA... so they decided to come to visit him. Since we were in the neighborhood (only 4 hours away instead of 18), we thought we'd say hello to family!

It was fun to spend time with family (and future family) when at this stage of life it will get fewer and farther between visits.

So a congratulations, best wishes, and prayers are in order for the engaged couple... and we can't wait to see them again!

A true temple...

We are reading through the Bible, specifically the Old Testament. Just starting into 2 Chronicles where Solomon takes over the kingdom from his father David. He has just started work in building the temple and it is amazing to think of what it was he actually did...

"... and inside he overlaid it with pure gold. He overlaid the main room with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and ornamented it with palm trees and chains. Further, he adorned the house with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim. He also overlaid the house with gold-- the beams, the thresholds and its walls and its doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls. Now he made the room of the holy of holies: its length across the width of the house was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold." (2 Chronicles 3:4-8 NASB)

It would have been a sight to behold, gold completely covering everything. God's dwelling place, the place His presence would reside.

How much more should our lives reflect this dedication. These acts which were preformed in molding a building into a perfect, glorying, and completely dedicated to one purpose... should be reflected in the way Christians live.

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19 NASB)

"... so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10 NASB)

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:14 NASB)

God's temple is no longer a building made by human hands but is spread amongst His people in that God dwells in us, we are His temple. So just as Solomon's temple was build to reflect the God He served, let us do the same with our lives as God's temple.

On condition of anonymity...

"On condition of anonymity..." is the line much of the news media seems to be hiding behind these days.

In nearly every article I read about political escapades or the war in Iraq, it seems there is one condition, "anonymity."

Everytime this phrase appears in the article or story, it is always followed by "because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly." And yet the story must go forth. The reason for things remaining unsaid is laid aside.

The Bible even says that "for everything there is a season,a time for every activity under heaven." This is true, there is a time for everything. But for there to be a time for something, there must be a time for it not to be. You will never have the harvest if you do not have the season of planting... and the season of waiting.

The word wait does not seem to be in the vocabulary of the media. If someones mother's surprise birthday party would sell their story, there would be no surprise. This is so glaringly evident in the coverage of military activity. There are many reasons people should not publicly announce the internal goings on of military endeavors.

If the Greek media had proclaimed their tactics in building their hollow Trojan horse, do you think a "anonymous" informant would have gone over very well? Dare I say that such an act would fall within the realms of treason, and the punishment of long ago is far different from what we find today.

(Disclaimer - The reason for the Trojan Horse is due to it being a recognizable example. The place where this does not fit exactly is that the media should investigate when lying is being covered up, but not devulge important information that should be withheld.)

So this is a call to all within the media:

Let that which is to be discussed among the select few remain there. If it is not for public knowledge, then don't make it. There is a reason it is not meant for public knowledge. Let all of us treat the lives of our fighting men and women with the value they deserve by foregoing our own personal curiousity.

Frist Year Done!

Sarah and I have just finished up our first year of graduate studies at Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary. It was at times long and arduous, but in the end was challenging and stimulating creating a hunger to continue learning.

Having a desire to know God, and learn more about Him is always expanding nad growing into something deeper than when it began. As soon as you learn something new and amazing you realize that you have merely scratched the surface and so much more lay beneath.

A couple of classes over the summer will keep us on our toes, but not before a few weks off to enjoy summer as God meant for it to be.