Reflections on STORY: Part 2 – John Ortberg

I’ve been teaching from John Ortberg’s book The Life You’ve Always Wanted for several years. I use it in complement to Gary Thomas’ book The Glorious Pursuit. Between the two of them, I have created an introduction course to Christian spiritual disciplines where our success is measured not by the length of our devotional time but by growth in the practice of the virtues demonstrated in...

Reflections on STORY: Part 1 – THE VOICE

It is always nice to wait a few days after an exciting event and see which elements of the day stick with you, hang onto your thoughts and won’t let go until you’ve visited with them for awhile. One very specific message from Story is definitely doing that for me. In one of the general sessions, pastor Chris Seay introduced the Bible translation called The Voice. Here is a short clip of Seay speaking (it...

Fearless by Max Lucado

When our kids are fearful at bedtime, we’ve taught them to personalize and recite II Timothy 1:7 – “God has NOT given ME a spirit of fear, but of POWER, and LOVE, and a SOUND MIND!” This book is the adult version of that meditation. From the inside cover flap, a summary: The one statement he [Jesus] made more than any other was this: “Don’t be afraid.” In this book, Max...

My Favorite Part: The Miss USA Pageant

I’m watching my DVR’d version of the Miss USA Pageant alternately thinking the girls would love this and wondering if I know how to explain it to them. I mean, really, The Biggest Loser already has my 5 year-old asking how many calories are in a Rice Krispie Treat. Do I need her comparing herself to what I’m seeing on that stage? My sisters and I have already discussed the fact that despite my...

My Favorite Part: The Oscars

You’ll love Serenity’s post about the Oscar party her friend Michelle threw for her. Red carpet and everything! I wasn’t home and I don’t get ABC anyway, but I did catch some clips on YouTube, especially those mentioned by Seren. I loved the winning song from Once. That was beautiful. Almost as lovely were the acceptance speeches of the writers (who were also the actors in the movie). They...