I can't figure out how to embed the actual surf cam so you'll have to click on the link. HERE Enjoy.
Recently I finished a short essay from John Edwards "The Preciousness of Time and the Importance of Redeeming It". Thanks to our friends at the Rebelution.com for pointing me to it. For me it hit on two very timely topics.
First it provide me the nudging to examine how i spend my time. With The New Wine Conference behind us myself, my family, and the ministry I lead turn to a season of rest. For me this means that my free time actually is free. If you're like me this means that it can also be dangerous. I'm apt to spend hours channel surfing, when i could be actually surfing, it means I spend time reading pointless RSS feeds when I could be feeding by reading things that would nurture my soul, I'm prone to end up interacting with twitter posts when i could be interacting with my wife and daughter. Time will be spent this summer one way is honoring to the Lord the other leads to a life of a sl
uggard. Yikes.
"You have had much time of leisure and freedom from worldly business. Consider to what purpose you have spent it. You have not only had ordinary time, but you have had a great deal of holy time. What have you done with all the Sabbath-days which you have enjoyed? Consider those things seriously, and let your own consciences make answer."Second, Edwards in a very pastoral way urges the reader to view time as the most non expendable, most precious of comedies. I'm reminded of the brevity of life and often of seasons of life. Abbie, my daughter, is a constant reminder of this. Her changes are daily as she grows and matures. Her coo's will soon turn to words, and her seemingly irrational motions to a very active toddler. As my first fathers day passed this last weekend I looked back and realized that every moment that God has given my family is just as important as what we from a human perspective choose to value.
"Second, time is very short, which is another thing that renders it very precious. The scarcity of any commodity occasions men to set a higher value upon it, especially if it be necessary and they cannot do without it. Thus when Samaria was besieged by the Syrians, and provisions were exceedingly scarce, “an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.” 2 Kin. 6:25. — So time is the more to be prized by men, because a whole eternity depends upon it; and yet we have but a little of time."
Here's what we've been up to these past several days...
For the other videos visit Steve's blog.
This is from The Resurgence.com . Hope this challenges you much as it has challenged me....
"Would you like Barack Obama on your kid's work rota? OK, maybe someone with his leadership gift and—assuming he loves Jesus—you'd be pleased, right? Not a man to let go lightly. Well, a former US President (and a legendary one) was let go. Why? As a young man Theodore Roosevelt, serving in a Sunday school, noticed a boy arriving with a black eye. When Roosevelt asked, the boy explained with embarrassment that another boy had pinched his sister, so he'd taken a swing at him and gotten into a scrap. Roosevelt gave the kid a dollar and a pat on the back. The future president was quietly removed that week.
I reckon there's a parable for us, and by "us" I mean the contemporary church. There is an expression of masculinity—an aggression, protectiveness, and a sense of injustice—which is primal in all men. I even see this in my boys. (The youngest seems to have come out of the womb yelling "charge!") Sure it has been horridly distorted in all men by the fall, but it's there.
The Choices
Men are wired with instincts, and it seems we have three choices:
- Abdicate indiscriminately to these instincts. This option leads to ungodly, ill-disciplined, boastful masculinity (chauvinism).
- Exclude them. The second leads to what we have had for centuries: churches that can't cope with men who reward boys for fighting for their sisters. (Churches which, in the words of Leon Podles, are "women's clubs with a few male officers." The husbands stay home or get dragged along, and look glazed till they hear the golden words, "We'll close the meeting there.")
- Redeem and channel them. The third option is the most difficult and the least fashionable, but it's also the most biblical and the most promising when it comes to getting the world changed for good."
New Wine USA is a 4 day conference held at St. Andrew's Mount Pleasant. It's a time to encourage the church, equip the saints, and worship passionately. You can find out more at www.newwineusa.org Watch the set up for it here...(Thanks Chris)!
A few months ago I tweeted (posted a messaged using www.twitter.com) about suggestions as I composed my summer reading list. I find that if I don't aim for something I never end up hitting it and feel like I didn't steward well my time. Here's a rough shot at what I'm chewing on presently and going to be chewing on this summer.
So all of last week I was away from home. It's been a long time since I've been away that long and although the girls (my wife and daughter) were with me for half of it the week still wore on me. It was both trying and refreshing at the same time. Over all however I came out of this week of travel refreshed and ready to hit the ground running.
Our first stop was Myrtle Beach as we traveled north to visit some of our dear friends and worship at St. Paul's for the first time since I resigned as their Youth Minister a year and a half ago. We were really blessed to see how the community of youth has matured and see old friends that we had lost touch with due to the distance.
From our time at Hotel Goff we headed slightly south to Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort for the Diocesan Leadership Forum where I was sitting on a panel discussion titled "People Not Programs" It focused on integrating families as the main disciplers of their students and children. Our time there was good ironically keeping with the theme of the panel my time at the Forum was marked more by great conversations with people than listening to the key note speaker. Lots of laughter and life were shared.
Tues evening we headed out of Litchfield south to stop over at home to do laundry and pick up or 2 dogs who were away at summer camp (boarding kennel ) Wed I spent getting packed again as at 6:00 AM my ride to Durham NC picked me up and we were off again. This time we headed north into NC for Advance09 . Advance is a conference focusing on the advance and resurgence of the local church. Originally the focus of the three day conference was church in the new south. I really enjoyed my time learning and being challenged. I have a journal full of notes and phrases that i'm sure will continue to challenge me for years to come. Including the use of "voltron" as a verb to describe how the church should be formed together. Several people commented on the fact that Advance was like drinking out of a fire hose. If anything there was too much to take in and not en ought time to process. All the teaching was from a solid scriptural base no show no pushing books or cd no flash just a continual challenge for the bride of Christ to press into who she is. All the audio from the event can be found for free here.
One aspect that made the event really memorable for us was that after the evenings were over we passed a eclectic coffee shop on the way to our car. In it was a two day "poetry slam" where spoken word poet teams from all over the state had gathered to throw down. I have some of it on video and will post it once i can edit it a little. It was an amazing juxtaposition of all the theory we were learning during the day paired with the raw emotion we saw demonstrated through poetry. Really cool.
Finally last week held a lot of time in the car which for me translated into a series of video devotionals we'll be using to challenge our students as they travel this summer. I'll embed a few below if you'd like to see the rest head to... http://www.youtube.com/user/studentsofsamp
Whew... My tour of conferences this past week has a ton of hours in the car spanned two states, a bunch of hours of teaching. One of the speakers at the most recent one likened it to drinking from a fire hose. Here's a few snapshots of the Advance 09 in Durham NC.
Thanks Graber for the great pics
This article came out recently about the community I live in... Click here for the entire story.
North Charleston, SC - A Lowcountry neighborhood is ranked as one of the coolest places to live in the nation.
The June edition of Men’s Journal, North Charleston’s Park Circle was chosen as one of the nation’s 30 coolest communities.
Many residents feel their community is beginning to get the kind of recognition it deserves.
"I live two blocks away. A lot of fun, good neighbors, nice merchants, places to go in the evening," Marty Dukes said.
Marty Dukes owns Dukes Garden Center, which is in the center of town.
He says it's been a group effort to turn Park Circle into the community it is today.
"Just the fact that everybody is trying really hard,” Dukes said.
Down the street, Christopher Gaff works at the circle's Big City Barbecue. He commutes, but hopes that will soon change.
"If I had the money, I'd like to build,” Gaff said.
Gaff said it's the constant activity from the farmer's markets to art shows that has him hooked.
The same feeling Mayor Keith Summey believes will attract others.
He said the title will put the city in a spotlight free of charge.
