The LVCCM #80 Men's weekend starts tomorrow and i'm quite excited to see what crazy things the Holy Spirit will be doing in the hearts of His pilgrims. Please join us in prayer - that the candidates would be open and receptive to the Cursilo method and God's graces. Thank you and God bless!
Come Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of Your faithful
And kindle in us the fire of your love. Sen forth Your Spirit
And we shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth.
Oh God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit instructs the hearts of the faithful,
Grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise
And ever rejoice in His consolations.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Good night
George Winston The Holly and The Ivy right now, actually his entire December album is running on Youtube whilest I apologise (not '...you shoot me in a dream, you better wake up and apologise', but defense of the faith apologies), tweet, and in general, wind down before bed.
Father,
Thank You for teaching me so much to-day
Thank You for loving me so much that You won't let me stay stuck in my mediocrity
Grant us rest of mind and body tonight, and bring us to the morning refreshed and ready to serve
May our expressions of love be rooted in Christ Jesus, and performed that You would be glorified.
All praise to You, honor and praise and worship.
Amen
Father,
Thank You for teaching me so much to-day
Thank You for loving me so much that You won't let me stay stuck in my mediocrity
Grant us rest of mind and body tonight, and bring us to the morning refreshed and ready to serve
May our expressions of love be rooted in Christ Jesus, and performed that You would be glorified.
All praise to You, honor and praise and worship.
Amen
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Praise God - He is Worthy!
The day begins with the cool 'football weather' temps. The morning birds, drawn to break their fast with sunflower seeds and gather in the dappled willows, I can hear as they join in the song of all Creation. The hummer wth the red neck-tie even squeaks and tweets in between tiny sips of sugar water.
I hear the faint rumble of the trucks on the pavement far away
They're going to their destination, they won't bother me to-day
In His mercy, God has allowed me another day in paradise, another morning filled with quiet song before the duties of the day become the focus.
Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the word
I hear the faint rumble of the trucks on the pavement far away
They're going to their destination, they won't bother me to-day
In His mercy, God has allowed me another day in paradise, another morning filled with quiet song before the duties of the day become the focus.
Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the word
Monday, July 29, 2013
Consider this, if you will
What is love?
Love is the free self-giving of the heart.
To have a heart full of love means to be so pleased with something that one emerges from oneself and devotes oneself to it. A musician can devote himself to a masterpiece. A kindergarten teacher can be there wholeheartedly for her charges. In every friendship there is love. The most beautiful form of love on earth, however, is the love between man and woman, in which two people give themselves to each other forever. All human love is an image of divine love, in which all love is at home. Love is the inmost being of the Triune God. In God there is continual exchange and perpetual self-giving. Through the overflowing of divine love, we participate in the eternal love of God. The more a person loves, the more he resembles God. Love should influence the whole life of a person, but it is realized with particular depth and symbolism when man and woman love one another in marriage and become “one flesh” (Gen 2:24).
Reprinted from Catechism in a Year (http://www.flocknote.com/catechism)
Love is the free self-giving of the heart.
To have a heart full of love means to be so pleased with something that one emerges from oneself and devotes oneself to it. A musician can devote himself to a masterpiece. A kindergarten teacher can be there wholeheartedly for her charges. In every friendship there is love. The most beautiful form of love on earth, however, is the love between man and woman, in which two people give themselves to each other forever. All human love is an image of divine love, in which all love is at home. Love is the inmost being of the Triune God. In God there is continual exchange and perpetual self-giving. Through the overflowing of divine love, we participate in the eternal love of God. The more a person loves, the more he resembles God. Love should influence the whole life of a person, but it is realized with particular depth and symbolism when man and woman love one another in marriage and become “one flesh” (Gen 2:24).
Reprinted from Catechism in a Year (http://www.flocknote.com/catechism)
Friday, July 26, 2013
Recipe #4
This is almost too simple to call it a real 'recipe' but I so thoroughly enjoyed this last night (and again to-day for lunch) that I'm actually typing it out...
I started with about 2 pounds of chicken breasts from my local market. I was on the way home from work last night and I knew we had a big salad that I could add some grilled chicken to. I didn't want to wait for a marinade to work on the meat so I seasoned them and just let them rest at room temp until the coals were ready. I used a generous dousing of Private Selections garlic/black pepper grinder that i bought from Kroger, and rosemary that i harvested about two weeks ago, let dry for about a week, then placed in my spice jars from the dollar store. I don't use a thermometer normally for chicken, but I cooked these six breasts over direct heat for about a half hour total. I moved to the second shelf (bun warmer) rack as the skin was getting browned sufficiently and these were still quite juicy.
If you're a 'list' person and don't need the commentary, here's the bare-bones recipe:
Bone-in chicken breasts
Fresh ground pepper and garlic
Dried rosemary
Grill for 15 minutes direct then flip once. Cook to 160 degrees. Let chicken rest under tented tin foil for a couple minutes. Eat.
{What follows is my narrative on seasoning meat and fish for grilling:}
For years, I would use salt, pepper, and seasoning salt (Lawrey's) and garlic salt to season everything. There was nothing else (unless I was making spaghetti, and I used 'Italian Seasoning').
Salt became a public enemy so I deleted it and changed the garlic salt to garlic powder.
Then, as I matured as a cooker, I discovered herbs and fresh garlic, wonder of wonders!
Now, I grow and cook with sage, parsley, oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, chives, and dill.
The dill and chives give that perfect flavor to my potato salad, and I use the basil for amazing bruschetta. The sage I use mostly at Thanksgiving time for the bird and also in my stuffing.
And, to my wife's dismay, I like to experiment alot!
I started with about 2 pounds of chicken breasts from my local market. I was on the way home from work last night and I knew we had a big salad that I could add some grilled chicken to. I didn't want to wait for a marinade to work on the meat so I seasoned them and just let them rest at room temp until the coals were ready. I used a generous dousing of Private Selections garlic/black pepper grinder that i bought from Kroger, and rosemary that i harvested about two weeks ago, let dry for about a week, then placed in my spice jars from the dollar store. I don't use a thermometer normally for chicken, but I cooked these six breasts over direct heat for about a half hour total. I moved to the second shelf (bun warmer) rack as the skin was getting browned sufficiently and these were still quite juicy.
If you're a 'list' person and don't need the commentary, here's the bare-bones recipe:
Bone-in chicken breasts
Fresh ground pepper and garlic
Dried rosemary
Grill for 15 minutes direct then flip once. Cook to 160 degrees. Let chicken rest under tented tin foil for a couple minutes. Eat.
{What follows is my narrative on seasoning meat and fish for grilling:}
For years, I would use salt, pepper, and seasoning salt (Lawrey's) and garlic salt to season everything. There was nothing else (unless I was making spaghetti, and I used 'Italian Seasoning').
Salt became a public enemy so I deleted it and changed the garlic salt to garlic powder.
Then, as I matured as a cooker, I discovered herbs and fresh garlic, wonder of wonders!
Now, I grow and cook with sage, parsley, oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, chives, and dill.
The dill and chives give that perfect flavor to my potato salad, and I use the basil for amazing bruschetta. The sage I use mostly at Thanksgiving time for the bird and also in my stuffing.
And, to my wife's dismay, I like to experiment alot!
Almighty Father~
Please forgive my hypocrisy, my Holy Joe attitude, my vain attempts at seeking glory, when You and You alone deserve all the glory. Touch my heart with your perfect hand, remove the sin-blackened self-stain there and infuse Your Spirit to rule and reign there.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Please melt me, LORD, no matter how much I scream or resist; HAVE YOUR WAY WITH ME!
I don't want to run my way any more.
I want Your way: Truth and Life.
I want YOU, more of YOU.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit - Amen
Please forgive my hypocrisy, my Holy Joe attitude, my vain attempts at seeking glory, when You and You alone deserve all the glory. Touch my heart with your perfect hand, remove the sin-blackened self-stain there and infuse Your Spirit to rule and reign there.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Please melt me, LORD, no matter how much I scream or resist; HAVE YOUR WAY WITH ME!
I don't want to run my way any more.
I want Your way: Truth and Life.
I want YOU, more of YOU.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit - Amen
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
LVCCM #80
Midland, Michigan's Trinity Lutheran Church will host the upcoming cursillo weekends sponsored by the Lutheran Via de Cristo of Central Michigan (lvccm.org). The men's weekend is 1 - 4 August, 2013 and I am blessed to be sitting at the Table of Muchacho! An entire host of characters (and I mean characters!), including Mark, Chuck, George, Dave, and Murphy, will be joining me as we serve these candidates on their 3-day pilgrimage. Please pray for these brothers, that our LORD would speak to us in new and wonderful ways, while changing our hearts - all for His glory!!
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| 'All in color, and so must all love be of every bright color to make my heart cry' |
Monday, July 15, 2013
Monday Morning Offering
King of Creation,
We offer you all the joys, hardships, trials, and triumphs of this day. We seek Your guidance through every decision, we call upon Your good Spirit to live and love through us.
I pray this morning for my beautiful bride; that You would keep her safe, cool, and hydrated in this Michigan heat to-day.
I pray for all our family members in the various states they live in; that You would be with them in every circumstance. Protect them, keep them safe, bring them closer to You.
I pray for the candidates who will encounter You on LVCCM #80. Prepare their hearts for Your message, protect their families in their absence, and bring each one into a closer walk with You.
Father, so many of us can talk about spiritual things: Jesus, trust, Your will, Your plan, ... but sometimes we have a hard time actually living out our faith. In those times, Lord, grant us extra graces to over come our self-ishness, and the wiles of the enemy.
Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Amen
We offer you all the joys, hardships, trials, and triumphs of this day. We seek Your guidance through every decision, we call upon Your good Spirit to live and love through us.
I pray this morning for my beautiful bride; that You would keep her safe, cool, and hydrated in this Michigan heat to-day.
I pray for all our family members in the various states they live in; that You would be with them in every circumstance. Protect them, keep them safe, bring them closer to You.
I pray for the candidates who will encounter You on LVCCM #80. Prepare their hearts for Your message, protect their families in their absence, and bring each one into a closer walk with You.
Father, so many of us can talk about spiritual things: Jesus, trust, Your will, Your plan, ... but sometimes we have a hard time actually living out our faith. In those times, Lord, grant us extra graces to over come our self-ishness, and the wiles of the enemy.
Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Amen
Friday, July 12, 2013
Even though I don't conciously do so,
I keep records of my moods, my temperamental tastes, my passing fancies - with 'bookmarks' and 'favorites'.
In the Firefox browser i am currently typing in, I am able to see a collection of snapshots from the various phases i've gone through for the last year at work. The prayer sites, the FHA sites, the music videos, the market indexes, the underwriting guidelines, ... each group sums up what I thought was so important at that particular time in my life.
And so it is with Mozilla at home: music, sports, movies, scripture, church calendar, hummingbird habits, the best soil for my basil, msu football, ...
Almost as revealing as a diary, it is.
In the Firefox browser i am currently typing in, I am able to see a collection of snapshots from the various phases i've gone through for the last year at work. The prayer sites, the FHA sites, the music videos, the market indexes, the underwriting guidelines, ... each group sums up what I thought was so important at that particular time in my life.
And so it is with Mozilla at home: music, sports, movies, scripture, church calendar, hummingbird habits, the best soil for my basil, msu football, ...
Almost as revealing as a diary, it is.
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