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Journal — June 2007 |
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AN ONGOING
SPIRITUAL WEBLOG
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June 28, 2007
There is no question that the use of the Internet for churches and ministries
continues to grow. There is a vast number of people that can be
reached in various ways through evangelistic sites. We consider Living
the Solution to fit that category, but there are many other world
wide web destinations, such as large Christian portals, search engines,
magazine and cultural sites that have a Gospel or religious theme. Plus
the huge blogosphere that includes many excellent and insightful blogs.
Where is it all headed and how do Christians do Internet ministry well? We
must grow with the technology while making sure we don't lose the focus
of our calling. It helps to have gatherings that will inspire and
educate those of us who are reaching people through the technology of
the Internet. The Internet Ministry
Conference (IMC
2007) will be held in Grand Rapids, Michigan on September
19-22. The conference organizers claim there is something for everyone,
but especially for Pastors, Bloggers, Evangelists and Technologis. More
info here.
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June 25, 2007
Do you wonder about your true purpose? Do you think God is calling you
to something, but you are not sure what that is?
It is not unusual to ask these questions. I believe God puts into our
heart a longing for our true purpose and He is calling us to be available
and to do meaninful, sometimes great, things.
Now it is easy to get off the beam on this. I believe proper discernment
(a gift of the Holy Spirit) can be necessary. Getting with others who
can help us with spiritual direction, including those who are gifted
with discernment, can be helpful. And over the course of your life you
may discover that what you are called to becomes clearer. I personally
juggle three occupations and I'm still not sure exactly where in the
workplace God most wants me to be. But I do believe that God first calls
us to be faithful. Over time we become aware of opportunities to be most
useful to God's purpose and where our gifts can be made manifest.
I marvel at those who surrender to God's call and are willing to stay
dedicated to it. Pete Reinbold, our Daily
Thought commentator, has discussed this and the June
25 entry is on this subject. I know of a Christian poet in Mississippi
(Ahrend Walters - go
here for more) who is quite dedicated to God and Jesus Christ and
dedicates his daily poetry writing to the Lord and to how it can help
others discover Jesus as the answer.
I also heard an amazing story over the weekend of one man discovering
his true purpose. John Corapi went through different
phases in his life seeking what he believed he was meant to do. He had
incredible financial success, and he also lost it all and became homeless
and despondent from a cocaine addiction. He lived through hell to discover
the call of God on his heart to become a priest. His story is available
on CD for free at Catholicity.com (donations
welcome, not required).
Surrender to the idea that God wants what is best for you, just as He
does for us all. Ask God to guide you to the places where you can willingly
serve, with your God-given talents. You are not required to be successful,
just faithful (as Mother Teresa often said).
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June 20, 2007
I had the opportunity to see an advance screening last night of Evan
Almighty, the new movie from the director of Bruce
Almighty and starring Steve Carell. It's very funny, very
entertaining and with a good message. It is not just a remake of
the story about Noah and the Ark, although on the surface that seems
to be the case. It is really about truly listening to God and doing what
God wants each of us to do. What that is can be personal and individual,
but it also boils down to just being good and loving people. We
need to love and support our families and take care of the planet and
help others. Pretty basic stuff wrapped up in a major blockbuster Hollywood
film. Director Tom Shadyac has successfully delivered a "God" message
without a bunch of pious preaching or condemning.
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June 18, 2007
Writing and posting articles about spirituality and Christianity is a
big part of the ongoing work here at Living the Solution. Now, after
four years of our site being online, there are quite a few articles you
can read - here.
I thank all who send articles for consideration - from time to time we
do post original articles by others (writers
guidelines here).
If you have a website or ministry that would like to use some of our
articles we will consider your request, but please email us
first with your request and mention which article(s) you are interested
in and where you would like to post them. Please keep in mind that any
articles on our site are copyrighted and permission must first be given
to reprint any of them. Of course, you can always link back to the article
if you are not reprinting the article. Blanket permission for linking
directly to the article is granted.
May God continue to enrich and encourage us by inspiring the writing
of insightful spiritual articles.
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June 15, 2007
Yesterday Ruth Bell Graham, longtime wife of the esteemed
evangelist Reverend Billy Graham, passed away. She was 87 and had been
in poor health. But I have a suspicion her spiritual health was very
good. She was involved in ministry throughout her life and Billy said
she knew the Bible better than he did. She was also authored several books.
She was born to missionary parents in China and also spent some of her
youth in Pyongyang (now North Korea). She met Billy Graham while attending
Wheaton College and they were married nearly 64 years. You can read more
about Ruth Graham and her inspiring life at Christianity
Today -
here.
My mother was also very spiritual and she passed away one year ago today.
I miss her, but I'm so grateful for what she taught me and my family.
She showed us how to live and how to die with dignity. I wrote an article
last year about the experience. You can read Letting
Go With Grace here.
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June 14, 2007
Today is Flag Day, and on this
day this year you can help encourage a soldier with a purchase of a new
book, Dear
Soldier: Heartfelt Letters from America's Children. The
book was compiled and created by Barbara Warfield Baldwin and her daughters
Amber Baldwin D’Amico and Dr. Heather Baldwin Duff. It is
a compilation of moving, poignant and sometimes funny handwritten letters
from children to soldiers.
Our troops certainly can use some heartfelt messages and Dear
Soldier is a great idea. You can order
copies online from our Living
the Solution e-store.
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June 12, 2007
I had the privilege last night of attending a dinner for a friend who
was graduating from a residential recovery program. The program houses
men who are addicts and alcoholics who have hit some tough "bottoms".
When they are accepted into this program they must be willing to follow
direction, live and work together in a sober and encouraging environment,
and if they do this they eventually re-enter society with a chance to
put their broken lives back together.
The dinner was special with a lot of comraderie, good home-cooked food
prepared by a couple of the men in residence, and sharing around the
dinner table about their day and what their favorite thing was about
the man who had lived with them the past nine months and was now moving
on. His young children were there, too. What a delight to hear them share
and to say their favorite thing about their dad was "that he's my Dad".
Despite what we see and hear with the daily news, despite our our often
selfish and petty concerns, there are places of miracles. All these men,
and those who work with them in their residential program, are examples
of God working in their lives. That's pretty cool.
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June 7, 2007
During the summer months many of us have our thoughts turning to vacation
time. It is good and important to make time for rest and relaxation away
from the stressful busyness of our daily lives. Perhaps this year you
will make a vacation destination one that includes a conference or gathering
to improve your Christian faith and deepen your spirituality.
SOULfeast - The Listening Heart: Wisdom for Living and Leading will
take place July 15-19 in Junaluska, North Carolina. I saw the information
at the Upper
Room website and you can find out more here.
Albuquerque, New Mexico will be the site of the 2007 Summer Conference
from the Center
for Action and Contemplation. The Great Chain of
Being: Simplifying Our Lives will include presentations from
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, Sr. Paula Gonzalez, SC, Ph.d and Tiki Kustenmacher
(German author of the best-selling book How to Simplify Your
Life. Details here.
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June 5, 2007
One of the things we as believers are taught is to pray. In fact, there
are many places in scripture where we are encouraged to pray in all things
and to believe with confidence that our prayers are heard.
At the same time it is important to remember that prayers are not just
wish lists for God. God exists everywhere and provides us with strength,
inspiration and encouragement. But our "channel" to God needs to be uncluttered
so that we can "hear" this guidance. This is why quiet contemplative
prayer is good to practice. Just be present with God. I liken it to sitting
quietly with a good friend. Have you ever experienced that? Good friends
can sit together and have fellowship even when you don't talk.
Our lives can be full of anxiety and worry. When this happens I find
it helpful to pray that God remove my worry and fear because it is blocking
me from God's guidance. It is so easy to become a captive of our own
thoughts. This is why another important component of our prayer life
is action. After we pray we should not sit idly waiting for God to waive
a magic wand. Get out and do something constructive and helpful for others.
It is by giving that we receive.
I know this can be difficult. I struggle daily with it. But remember,
Jesus made time for prayer, alone and away from others to commune with
the Father. And he also spent a lot of time with others, ministering
to their needs.
God is at work in and through us. We need each other and the encouragement
we can bring to those who are in the midst of pain (physical, mental
and emotional).
As I continue to read and pray over the prayer
requests we receive here, know that I am ministered to. Yes, even
when I don't want to take time out of my busy day to read and pray over
your requests. That's the time when I probably most need to get out of
my own head and think about others' concerns.
About a year ago I wrote the article, Prayerfully
Living. You might want to read it - go
here.
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June 1, 2007
The Billy Graham library has just been dedicated in
Charlotte, North Carolina. The Reverend Graham is arguably one of the
most visible and recognized evangelists of the past 100 years. He pushes
the ageless Christian message of redemption and salvation through crusades
in stadiums to the outbacks of civilization (such as to the bushmen of
Australia).
Over the years he has maintained integrity and consistency. The new $27
million museum/library is dedicated to his legacy and carrying on his
evangelistic crusade.
Despite age and poor health he maintains his sense of humor, quipping
at the dedication, "I feel like I’ve been attending my own funeral.
All the speeches. I know they meant it. I feel terribly humbled by it
all.”
Story
here.
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Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved
throughout the world. Used by permission of International
Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks
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Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New
Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale
House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All rights reserved.
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PSALM 118:24
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"This
is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad
in it."
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(NIV)
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