Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Echo Within - Blog Tour



I'm participating in a blog tour this week for The Echo Within by Robert Benson. It's a great and quick read about how to find your true calling in life and live your destiny. I found myself "amening" Benson many times as he shared from experience how God directs us into different vocations, locations, and circumstances. This is not a 1-2-3 approach to knowing God's will. Rather, Benson's approach involves introspection, listening, and following the heart.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture regarding God's will for your life is Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." I kept hearing this verse as I read The Echo Within. This is a classic verse and, for me, the message Robert Benson had in mind in his book. For when we are delighting ourselves in our relationship with the Lord, he places his desires for us in our hearts and then he allows us to pursue those desires and achieve those desires.

The Echo Within is illuminating, thoughtful, honest, and a profoundly affecting account of Benson's own search for and eventual discovery of what one is truly called to do and be.

I have a copy of The Echo Within to give away. Respond via comment or email before midnight on Friday, March 6, and I will send a copy to the winner of a random drawing. It's worth the read. You will enjoy no matter what stage of life you are in.

Monday, February 23, 2009

She’s a Proverbs 31 woman…and I’m a Proverbs 30:2 Man

Proverbs 31 is the national anthem for Christian women. It is the standard by which all godly women strive. It is the ultimate in female spirituality. It is the holy grail of womanhood.

And it was written long before Oprah came along.

My wife is a Proverbs 31 woman. It’s one of the many reasons that I fell in love with her. I, on the other hand, am a Proverbs 30:2 man - “I am the most ignorant of men.”

I’ve always thought that Proverbs 31 put a lot of pressure on women. It truly is a high standard. When I read it, I’m glad it doesn’t apply to me. Whew! I say to myself when I read all of the qualities of the perfect woman, I’m glad I’m just a stupid guy. (Which, by the way, is how the New American Standard Bible translates Proverbs 30:2 -“Surely I am more stupid than any man.”)

My wife is definitely smarter than me. Like most guys, I married up. She deserves far better than me. I’m lucky she took my hand on our wedding day. 25 years later, she still lets me sleep with her and she still tolerates my stupidity.

When I wanted to get involved in get-rich quick businesses, she tolerated my ignorance. When I had the boys over at our house for backgammon games almost every night during our newlywed months, she allowed it. When I’ve wanted to move to seek passions and dreams, she packed our bags. When I neglect the yard for the sake of college football, she lets the weeds grow higher. When I wanted to buy a motorcycle, she said, “As long as you keep your life insurance policy up.” When I take vacation days to write instead of saving them all for her, she encourages me to write. When I refuse to put on suntan lotion, she tells me so later. When I popped a lung trying to make a diving catch in a church softball game, she sat by me in the hospital all four days.

Bless her heart. No wonder she’s such a great mother. She’s been practicing with me all these years.

I never thought it was fair that God wrote a whole chapter of the Bible about godly women but he didn’t devote an entire chapter to godly men. Why isn’t there a Proverbs 32? Clearly there are many specific verses in the Bible that describe what a godly man looks like. He gave us strong men to emulate like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and David. He even sent Jesus to earth to model godly living for us. Paul the apostle gave us specific statements about holy and righteous living. But we never got a whole chapter.

Knowing that men are ignorant, maybe God figured it would be a waste of time to write an entire chapter for godly men. He knew we wouldn’t read it or do what it says. Why waste the papyrus on ignorant guys? Do you realize how much effort it took to write a chapter of the Bible in those days? The Old Testament writers’ word processors were papyrus, quill, and ink. Heck, they probably had to concoct their own ink before they could record something on paper. Can you imagine having to go out in the woods to gather plants to make your college-ruled writing paper?

Papyrus is made from the stem of the papyrus plant. The outer rind is stripped off, and the sticky fibrous inner pith is cut lengthwise into thin strips. The strips are then placed side by side on a hard surface with their edges slightly overlapping, and then another layer of strips is laid on top at a right angle. The strips were soaked in water, then two layers were hammered together, mashing the layers into a single sheet. After drying, the sheet of papyrus is polished with a stone, seashell, or round hard wood.

God saw all of the trouble that people, probably women, had to go to in order to record something on papyrus and thought, “I should probably add a chapter for men at the end of Proverbs. Hmmm?” He pondered for a moment. “Nah, it’s a waste of time. Besides, the women will keep them straight anyway.”

Friday, February 20, 2009

More from "Kneeling We Triumph"

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote some quotes from the book Kneeling We Triumph. Here are some more:

God sets more value on prayer and communion than labor. (A.W. Roffe)

Hurried devotions make weak faith, feeble convictions, questionable piety. To be little with God is to be little for God.

Beware of the barrenness of a busy life.

We are in an age in which speed, production, achievement, and creation are the measuring rods by which all men are judged. These, however, are false standards. The eternal God is concerned with growing a forest of oaks rather than filling the backyard with toadstools. He is more concerned with character than he is with production.

The great business of Satan is to draw us away from communion with God.

In the past century, if the physical birth rate had been as low as the spiritual birth rate, the human race would now be almost extinct.

It is very much easier to work than to pray.

Don't give God instructions - just report for duty.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Thursday AM Brain Dump


Random trivia that keeps crossing my mind lately:

  • Michael Phelps must be grateful that Alex Rodriguez took steroids.
  • Obama's "change" hasn't impressed me. He can't even fill his cabinet because nominees have income tax issues or other moral and ethical slip-ups. Plus, I don't see a lot of new names in DC. It's the same people with different titles, Clinton, Daschle, Richardson, et. al.
  • Last week, a guy in Sweden set the Guinness world record for TV watching - 72 consecutive hours. The dude watched 3 seasons of 24. 72 hours? I know some teenagers that have watched TV that long during summer break.
  • I'm putting the finishing touches on a book titled Laughing With Sarah. It should be available for purchase this spring. More on that later...
  • Someone asked me last week how the empty nest was going. I said it has given me an empty wallet. Two kids in college. Nuff said about that...
  • Now that old people have invaded Facebook, I wonder where all of the young people are going to go? I suspect Facebook will phase out and another social networking site will become hot with teenagers soon. I know they don't like their moms and dads browsing around.
  • I've been reading through the Bible using a chronological Bible this year. It is compiled in the order in which it was written. I'm really enjoying it. Just a different approach to Bible reading.
  • TNC is continuing to expand its influence. Pray for the Decatur, IL campus as they start up on March 1.
  • We ate supper at Chili's last night before going to Element. I wish we had a Chili's in North Augusta. Check out this Facebook group.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Kneeling We Triumph

One of the greatest books on prayer that I've ever read is called Kneeling We Triumph. It is actually a two-volume set that is no longer in print. I was searching for a quote the other day from the book and enjoyed skimming through it and reading the scores of sentences that I highlighted years ago when I first read it. The book is a compilation of writings on prayer from some of the great spiritual minds of the past. I thought that I would share some of them here:

Prayer is not just a good idea, it's God's divine plan. (Armin Gesswein)

Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure. (D. L. Moody)

The one who will not take time for prayer may as well resign all hope of obtaining the fullness of power God has for him. (R.A. Torrey)

Prayer is the Christian's greatest resource and the one least used. It is his greatest obligation and the one most neglected. It is the most common form of devotion, yet the one least understood. Prayer is the gateway to God's presence, but few enter. Prayer is the channel of God's grace, but in most lives it is clogged...where there is no prayer, there is no power.

I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach. (J.H. Jowett)

Prayer is a form of spiritual bombing to saturate any area before God's army of witnesses begin their advance. (Wesley Duewel)

A praying church is strong though poor in all besides. A prayerless church is weak though rich in all besides. Praying hearts only will build God's kingdom. (E.M. Bounds)

Better, far better, do less work, if need be, that we may pray more; because work done by the rushing torrent of human energy will not save a single soul; whereas work done in vital and unbroken contact with the living God will tell for all eternity.

More later...