Mission Trip to America?

My friend Dave shared this in church a few weeks ago. It is the most moving and powerful little video I've seen recently. Please watch it and remind yourself that the minute you walk outside your door, you've begun your Mission Trip to America!!!

Love At First Sight?

In August 2010, I told you about a book on CD that has had a tremendous impact in our home entitled Preparing for Adolescence by Dr. James Dobson [click here to read that post].What we're still doing is listening to 15 minute segments of this content before Josh goes to sleep [will do the same thing with Lydia soon!!!] pausing when necessary, to laugh, talk, or wonder about what was just said.

While this content contains some of the most helpful ways to discuss Biblical issues of sexuality, CD#5 also contains a very helpful 10 point quiz on true love between a man and woman. So much so that in 2011 I'm discussing each of them during chapels on Fridays with the kids at school. Would you pass this little True / False quiz? Would your kids? If not, maybe you should click the pic and buy your own copy of this content!!! It might save your kids or grandkids a lifetime of therapy and brokenness!!!

1. Romantic love at first sight occurs between some people.
2. It's easy to distinguish real love from infatuation.
3. People who sincerely love each other will not fight and argue.
4. God selects one particular person for each of us to marry and he will guide us together.
5. If a man and woman genuinely love each other, then hardships and troubles will have very little effect on their relationship.
6. It's better to marry the wrong person than to remain single and lonely throughout life.
7. It's not harmful or sinful to have sexual intercourse before marriage if the couple has a meaningful relationship.
8. If a couple is genuinely in love, that condition is permanent and will last a lifetime.
9. Dating for six months or less before marriage is best.
10. Teenagers are more capable of genuine love than are older people.

PS - Dobson says the answers to all these questions are FALSE including the first because love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, rude, self-seeking, easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs [1 Cor.13:1-5] and you can't know whether another person loves like that at first sight.

Weekday Veg?

Becoming vegetarian in a carnivorous culture is a hard change to make. Especially when your son [like mine] is allergic to many of the things that vegetarians eat like nuts, legumes, eggs, cheese, and dairy. But recently I watched this 4 minute talk by Graham Hill who offers a powerful, pragmatic way to do so: Be a weekday veg!!!

It's one way to lose weight, improve your health, reduce cruelty to animals, become a better steward of God's earth, and live longer so you can tell more and more people that God loves them like crazy!!! Click pics for links to a couple related articles on wellness or the triangular play button below.

Abandon God or Abandon Yourself to God?

Larry Crabb, the wise Christian counselor says, "You can abandon God. Or you can abandon yourself to God." On the cross, even Jesus had to make this choice moving from "Why have you forsaken me?" to "Into your hands I commit my Spirit" [I'm grateful to my pastor friend Samir for pointing this out]. So at the beginning of a new year, it should come as no surprise to us that we too have a choice to make. And the good news is all of us can make either of these choices. No matter how long we've been Christian or even if we've never been!!! We can choose to abandon God. Especially when things go bad or we've been hurt or unfairly treated. Or we can choose to abandon ourselves to God. Who we can choose to believe still loves us like crazy even when everyone in this broken world doesn't.

But how do you abandon yourself to God? Well, that's what we're going to be discussing on Wednesday nights during Soup for You starting Wednesday February 2, 2011 @ 6pm. To do so, we'll be using this thought provoking paperback by Lee Vendon called It's All About Him [click pic more info].

The book costs $12.99, but can be yours for $10!!! A limited number of copies are available at church or on Wednesday nights. Why don't you plan on picking up a copy and reading it for yourself or saving one for your son or daughter? Some day they might be eternally glad you did!!!

Valentines for Haiti?

Mary Grace was born with physical deformities. Her right hand is a stump half past the elbow. And her right foot is 8 inches shorter with only 3 toes. But she never allows her disadvantage to hinder her from fulfilling a desire to produce beautiful music for Jesus. She has played the piano with her left hand and right stump [click vid below to see] in Guam, Germany, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Canada and the USA and has been featured in numerous journals [click here to read one article from the Adventist Review] and television ministries.

But on Saturday, February 12, 2011 she will be our guest as she shares her story of hope, faith, and inner strength to transcend limitations. The free one hour piano concert will start at 7pm and will conclude with a tasty "afterglow". Please pick up the invite cards at church and make plans now to invite your friends and family. 100% of the collected love offering will benefit the Eden Garden Orphanage in Haiti. This ordinary outreach is sponsored by the Toledo First Church of Seventh-day Adventists [click here for map and directions].

Dead Man's Hill?

That was the name of the hill under the power lines only the bravest bigger kids would sled down in my neighborhood growing up. This one is not as scary. But Lydia used to think so!!! Click the top vid to hear her commentary or the bottom one to see Joshua in action. Enjoy!!!