April 27, 2005
Biang Trivia
While eating dinner, we were discussing who said some phrases on a regular basis. See if you can guess who said, what.
1.) it's not my fault
2.) I'm not listening,....bar, bar , bar, bar, ....
3a.) what was I going to say?
3b.) get off my computer you little ...
4.) I don't want to go to Memphis
5.) no father pleeeeese
6.) mom, it's people like you that cause kids to become psychopathic killers
7.) no
8.) dad, I don't want you going to any more parent conferences
The winner gets a prize to be announced soon.
Posted by Chris at 06:35 PM | Comments (6)
April 06, 2005
Ripple Effect
In our dark moments we can visualize our lives as being the one pebble that didn't cause any ripple in the pond, as it quietly slid through the surface.
Last year a young lady with troubles at home got involved with an older guy who introduced her to his friends and their drug escapes. She soon was emotionally and physically hooked. What started as a reaction to overbearing rules became a struggle for life. She became a victim of her own choices, other's manipulation and was laying in bed in the emergency room when I first saw her. She was tied down, heavily sedated, artificially breathing, all because of an overdose of heroin. The big concerns were about her brain waves, her ability to breath, her blood pressure. Two days of sedation and they carefully pulled her breathing tube, as she woke up and began to function on her own. Several days later she was moved to the pysch. unit for observation. Soon she will be released to go home where nothing has really changed.
She had wanted to make a quiet ripple one morning but really made a splash. She influenced, paramedics, police, parents, many realatives, many dctors, nurses,neighbors, a whole church praying, not a small ripple but large waves of love and concern. Hundreds of people had their lives altered by her small needle. Will she know it, believe it, and be changed by all the love and concern? Probably not, unless someone chooses to believe that their good work in choosing to be a new pebble in her life will make a difference. Her life which she was choosing to end made a huge set of ripples. Negative consequences effecting many are easy to see. What about our opposite effects of love's ripples? Will our lives make a ripple of good impact? With her it reamins to be seen.
Posted by Chris at 08:35 AM | Comments (0)
January 31, 2005
The Trouble With Fear:
What fears are legitimate for a Christian?
The reverential “awe” type fear is certainly good and desirable. In contrast the negative fear leads us to put up walls and stay away from intimacy with people and God. Why are we afraid, why are we fearful? It seems from our 1 John verses that there is no fear in love. When we fear God negatively we make it clear to ourselves that we need to learn more about His love. We need to renew our minds and hearts with His disarming love.
1 John 4:18-19 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us.
Fear can also be a type of faith, it is what we believe may happen in a certain circumstances. Many of us fail to walk in Biblical faith because we are afraid. Afraid that God won’t come through, afraid that if we let God in, we will be hurt by Him or others. Fear is a paralyzing force that keeps us from obedience.
Prov 10:24 What the wicked fears will come upon him,
But the desire of the righteous will be granted.
There are at least two ways to change our hearts in regard to illicit fear. Any guesses out there?
Posted by Chris at 09:11 PM | Comments (1)