tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83567157819887261952024-03-04T20:43:46.224-08:00A Sprig of HopeMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435895149947654624noreply@blogger.comBlogger144125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-70508778899064561802012-11-05T07:06:00.000-08:002012-11-05T07:06:34.799-08:00The Old Chapel Record<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsuwOGl6BuXJswopGS_WphE8DWvRq4uKl6aG4iqpjcdAmvVeuPK-Vi8jYo90XS-MQtRmLJKkYTledJvtiKgbYSZFRRDnY8WqqpTMjgsIUZY1D-DiiEJAwKtN61eEACG6GauFfc_pzmZKQ/s1600/2720466485-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsuwOGl6BuXJswopGS_WphE8DWvRq4uKl6aG4iqpjcdAmvVeuPK-Vi8jYo90XS-MQtRmLJKkYTledJvtiKgbYSZFRRDnY8WqqpTMjgsIUZY1D-DiiEJAwKtN61eEACG6GauFfc_pzmZKQ/s320/2720466485-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am overjoyed to share with you The Old Chapel Record by my best friend, Cliff Hutchison. Its been fascinating to see these songs birthed and developed over the past few years. I'm so proud of Cliff and love his music so much. I'm sure you will too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Cliff's Bio</b>: <i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 11.666666030883789px;">Like the blues, Cliff Hutchison was born and raised in the North Mississippi delta. At an early age he discovered a love for music that has been a light to his feet ever since. Like the delta musicians before him, Cliff's music has reflected his life: joy and pain, lament and praise, love and loss.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 11.666666030883789px;"> </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 11.666666030883789px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 11.666666030883789px;">He is the second of three sons raised by a tough-as-nails but sweet-as-sugar mom. While possessing</span><div class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; line-height: 11.666666030883789px;">
an adventurer's spirit that has taken him across the globe, Cliff has remained firmly rooted in the fertile soil of his Southern heritage. His travels have taken him all over the South, Australia, Colorado, and finds him now in Little Rock, AR.<br /><br />This journey for Cliff has been one of both great reward and suffering. “Much of my recent music seems to have been birthed out of leaving places and people that I’ve fallen in love with. However, I would never trade the friendships and the new experiences in those places for anything. It’s always worth it. This has also been a very spiritual journey for me as I’ve searched for my identity within the Church and spent much time reflecting on home. These are the ideas, emotions, and experiences that you hear on “The Old Chapel Record”.”<br /><br />As he looks forward down the road, Cliff is aware that he doesn't travel alone. And as he looks back, he realizes that he never has.</div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Get it here: <a href="http://cliffhutchisonmusic.bandcamp.com/">http://cliffhutchisonmusic.bandcamp.com/</a></span></b></div>
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michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-30547165556390156322012-07-07T12:38:00.003-07:002012-07-07T12:38:27.895-07:00(Big) Sister BlogWhile I have taken a long and deliberate break from a Sprig of Hope, I will begin posting again here very soon. Until then, please read my newest blog<a href="http://comfortingbittergrace.blogspot.com/"> Comforting Bitter Grace</a>. It is my daddy blog, enjoy!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyOww_YR4fWqjFweJURyyco31bEvqHPn6tAYv0K9DMH6cI7NpdCoc8QKm5ukuqboYknzqpdzxqgs2pnN8shSiEahnuamVxqALMkREj2hCMAuzFqoBH9voIi_SiSyRlinombZkwlxa6BA/s1600/IMG_2523.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyOww_YR4fWqjFweJURyyco31bEvqHPn6tAYv0K9DMH6cI7NpdCoc8QKm5ukuqboYknzqpdzxqgs2pnN8shSiEahnuamVxqALMkREj2hCMAuzFqoBH9voIi_SiSyRlinombZkwlxa6BA/s320/IMG_2523.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-91461061155702201572012-04-03T09:44:00.007-07:002012-04-03T10:21:41.935-07:00The Easter Heifer<a href="http://www.heifer.org/alt-gift/easter-media?msource=SOELC12YT01" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; "><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 148px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P-Myt2rrbfg/T3svPgQtZ3I/AAAAAAAAAJ4/tJ2TvyhDtI8/s400/easter-facebook-timeline.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727223294536279922" /></a><br /><span ><span>As we prepare for </span><span>Resurrection</span><span> Sunday this Holy week, we can participate in Jesus' mission of new life. While our standard Easter celebrations are often self-gratifying, perhaps we could embrace the nature of our </span><span>celebration</span><span> and offer life through sacrifice.</span><br /></span><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><span>We act mercifully </span>because<span> we have been mercifully acted upon. "In view of these mercies...offer yourselves as living sacrifices." In no small way is the power of </span>Resurrection<span> to be passed on. Through one supremely </span>sacrificial<span> act, the entire </span>trajectory<span> of world history was altered, the order of things flipped and life triumphed over death. Thus, through us and our acts of sacrifice, we are joining in on the party. We align ourselves with Jesus' upside down kingdom where power and authority is found in submission and meekness.</span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><span>So, how are we to practice </span>Resurrection<span>? We are to die so that others may live. Instead of </span>conceding<span> to the rat-race we find ourselves in, we stop seeking self-</span>fulfillment<span> and begin to give ourselves away. It took an act of God to shift the tide and it is an act of God in our hearts that will save us from ourselves. </span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><span><span>This </span>Resurrection<span> life, this self-giving-away life is to be totally consuming, yet it must start somewhere. </span></span><span>There are several practical ways to live this out and it starts in the simple yet supreme command: love your neighbors. We must decrease so that they can increase. On a larger scale, we can align ourselves with groups that promote </span><span>resurrection</span><span> throughout the world.</span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><span>One such </span>organization<span> is Little Rock's own, <a href="http://www.heifer.org/alt-gift/easter?msource=SOELC12YT01&utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Banner&utm_content=YT_EasterBanners_12&utm_campaign=Easter_2012">Heifer </a></span><a href="http://www.heifer.org/alt-gift/easter?msource=SOELC12YT01&utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Banner&utm_content=YT_EasterBanners_12&utm_campaign=Easter_2012">International</a><span>. I've <a href="http://asprigofhope.blogspot.com/2009/12/advent-reflections-part-2.html">blogged about them before</a> but I want to give them another plug. Through giving that hardly amounts to sacrifice for the average American </span>household<span>, Heifer provides much needed aid for developing </span>communities <span>across the world. Watch the video below for a brief </span>explanation<span> of how this works</span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fDIedFMSN64" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><span>This Easter, you can join Heifer's efforts by participating in their <a href="http://www.heifer.org/alt-gift/easter?msource=SOELC12YT01&utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Banner&utm_content=YT_EasterBanners_12&utm_campaign=Easter_2012">Hatch Hope Campaign.</a> As they put it: "</span><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; ">This Easter, put eggs in someone else's basket and hatch hope for a family in need. When you give a gift of livestock and training in their care, you are providing a way for families in need to lift themselves out of poverty and into lives of dignity and self-reliance."</span></span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Maybe this Sunday we can celebrate Resurrection not through over-consumption of chocolate but through life-giving sacrifice.</span></div>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-80728225552489413912012-03-27T09:52:00.002-07:002012-03-27T09:56:24.142-07:00I am Mother<span><span style="font-size: 100%;">My friend, <a href="http://briansbigboyblog.wordpress.com/">Brian Pappalardo</a> works for the <a href="http://www.voiceproject.org/">Voice Project</a>. Watch.</span></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><span><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/38709196?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=14e0da" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/38709196">I Am Mother</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/voiceproject">The Voice Project</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p></span></div>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-91012199422816325422012-03-16T06:39:00.005-07:002012-03-28T20:18:07.088-07:00Psalm 19<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48E13GJWb55mm9wX8cbZSjvVWHeOB9MYlY9m-hoE0BF-9zazs_ml3mKPD1lE4V7qKwwU13M7wmCY41ikIpm5DZdzia1G_JKQTGXkwaPVFpWMUREMX_4zIKsQoSN4DkX0xMh6QcnDBris/s1600/422122_10100706901271107_12603147_52734314_1140432693_n.jpg" style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48E13GJWb55mm9wX8cbZSjvVWHeOB9MYlY9m-hoE0BF-9zazs_ml3mKPD1lE4V7qKwwU13M7wmCY41ikIpm5DZdzia1G_JKQTGXkwaPVFpWMUREMX_4zIKsQoSN4DkX0xMh6QcnDBris/s320/422122_10100706901271107_12603147_52734314_1140432693_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720489558018114402" /></a><br /><div style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto; "><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; "> <b>For the director of music. A psalm of David.</b></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> The heavens declare the glory of God;<br /> the skies proclaim the work of his hands.<br />Day after day they pour forth speech;<br /> night after night they reveal knowledge.<br />They have no speech, they use no words;<br /> no sound is heard from them.<br />Yet their voice</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> goes out into all the earth,<br /> their words to the ends of the world.<br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.<br />It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,<br /> like a champion rejoicing to run his course.<br />It rises at one end of the heavens<br /> and makes its circuit to the other;<br /> nothing is deprived of its warmth.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> The law of the LORD is perfect,<br /> refreshing the soul.<br />The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,<br /> making wise the simple.<br />The precepts of the LORD are right,<br /> giving joy to the heart.<br />The commands of the LORD are radiant,<br /> giving light to the eyes.<br />The fear of the LORD is pure,<br /> enduring forever.<br />The decrees of the LORD are firm,<br /> and all of them are righteous.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> They are more precious than gold,<br /> than much pure gold;<br />they are sweeter than honey,<br /> than honey from the honeycomb.<br />By them your servant is warned;<br /> in keeping them there is great reward.<br />But who can discern their own errors?<br /> Forgive my hidden faults.<br />Keep your servant also from willful sins;<br /> may they not rule over me.<br />Then I will be blameless,<br /> innocent of great transgression.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span > May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart</span><br /><span > be pleasing in your sight,</span><br /> LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.<span ><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></div>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-87979886256842214152012-03-13T09:38:00.006-07:002012-03-16T06:39:16.112-07:00Eye of the Storm<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_tTFF6_AWbY/T19_FslDB6I/AAAAAAAAAJA/3-ZkheGnEq0/s1600/walm_01_img0134.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 248px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_tTFF6_AWbY/T19_FslDB6I/AAAAAAAAAJA/3-ZkheGnEq0/s320/walm_01_img0134.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719429787626440610" /></a>The world was falling apart all around me. I was five, huddled into a hotel room in Sumter, South Carolina. We had traveled an hour and half inland to seek refuge from Hurricane Hugo. The bumper-to-bumper traffic on every road headed west was over-flowing with our fellow evacuees. Our home was on the very river forecasters were predicting the hurricane to make landfall over, we had no choice but to leave. Hugo was a strong category four hurricane and we rightfully feared the worst.<br /><br />Sumter wasn't far enough as tornadoes ripped the town to shreds during the night. I'll never forget the sounds of that night, as if the wind turned to metal and proceeded to clash with the very gods. The carnage that we awoke to the next day proved greater than we could imagine. As we drove home around downed trees and power lines, witnessing others' homes who had been destroyed, we hoped to find our coastal home still standing. Hope may be an overstatement.<br /><br />Anyone who has lived trough a severe hurricane knows the power that they wield, power to<span style="font-size: 100%; "> destroy. They deserve their names because unlike any other weather phenomenon, they have a personality, a vengeance and sometimes a grace. We talk about them like we knew them, because we did. </span><div><br />One of the unique characteristic of hurricanes are</div><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qzDDM4vlm10/T19_QMqM1hI/AAAAAAAAAJM/3TZnTWM2Z7A/s320/shrimp-boat2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719429968036681234" style="float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 227px; " /><span style="font-size: 100%; ">thier eyes. When you look a satellite image of one, it stares at you ominously. It is from this core the whole storm derives its sheer force but phenomenally, the eye is absolutely calm. The eye of Hugo missed our home to the south but I had friends who braved (or fooled) out the storm and found themselves in the eye. They reported that it was like the storm had ended, they would walk out to a light breeze and rays of sun. But swirling all around them were 150 mile per hour winds ravaging everything in its path. But there was safety in the eye.</span><div><br />Jesus tells his followers that in this world we will have trouble and a quick look around affirms this teaching. When we read the headlines and listen to the stories around us, it can seem as if the world is falling apart. It is more scary than gods clashing because it seems as if the gods have left us and hope in safety is hopeless.<br /><br />But just as Jesus promised us trouble, he promises us joy in its very presence. This is not a disembodied joy where everything is perfect and clean, but joy that finds itself knee-deep in the mud; a joy found in the very eye of the storm.<br /><br />And what is the source of this joy? Jesus has overcome death.<br /><br />As the world rages, we know the story does not end there but that even through that rage, joy will come. Because we do not hope in ourselves or the gods, but in the crucified and resurrected Jesus. The one who found himself in the eye of the storm on the cross, as all the pain of the world cam crashing down on him and death itself took him. But the power of love, the power of God gave him the last laugh. </div><div><br /></div><div>Its a bit like Lieutenant Dan riding out the hurricane from the mast of Gump's shrimp boat, we find our peace with God in the very face of death, in the eye of the storm.<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cGWyRegxMWU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br /></div>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-45670744139672181292012-03-12T08:10:00.002-07:002012-03-12T08:10:15.226-07:00Scripture and Tea<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/26872383?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=cc6633" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/26872383">Scripture & Tea</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/twotp">The Work Of The People</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435895149947654624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-46644749937314543692012-03-07T19:37:00.006-08:002012-03-07T19:45:14.239-08:00He Created the Heavens and the Earth<p style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(247, 243, 238); "></p><p><span><span style="line-height: 26px; ">On a trip through New Mexico about four years ago, Michala and I decided to stop to hike the rim of a dormant volcano in the north-east corner of the state. The hike was not too strenuous due to the paved road that led to the rim, but the vistas we encountered deserved an all-day affair. We were greeted with views of four states: Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. </span></span></p><p><span><span style="line-height: 26px;">We could see the Sangre de Cristos in the west and the Black Hills in the east. Beneath us were the remains of the lava rivers that had shaped the landscape many years prior. We were stunned. And then, with a hushed voice, Michala whispered in my ear, “He created the heavens and the earth.” Such simple words, words we’d heard countless times, words made tremendously fresh as we realized just how big and magnificent the earth really is.</span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 26px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Psalm 19 rightly states that “the heavens declare the glory of God.” Creation is singing His praise as it shouts to those who will listen, “Look at Him, He is beyond worthy or all our praise. He is Beauty.”</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 26px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">While God’s glory is found in civilization as well, many find the undisturbed wilderness particularly revelatory. This was true of the romantic artists of the 19th century, especially those of the famed Hudson River School in upstate New York. Thomas Cole wrote of nature as giving our soul “a sweet foretaste of heaven.” And his works certainly displayed this conviction. He made detailed, sprawling landscape paintings that sought to display God’s glory by manipulating light to illuminate certain aspects of his work or to paint a cross shining through the leaves. He created a series of allegorical paintings known as the “Voyage of Life” that visually told the story of life from birth to eternity.</span></p><p style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; "></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 26px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/hj3_S2MuQgLBbdGtyRSKed5gU89YVNIjMXk9JqilyEgC06InKS2BJQL_gUHfBivC_XtmBaPX8ixiUAr5YJJEqmm_DUBZbqArRELhG8j_6FTO2vOeaek" alt="" width="297" height="200" style="font-size: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.5em; " /><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Nm0-ck-taTlSD6PBTs0v1cQdinx_pGl8Z59O9IJwKZqihB3R-xcfPIlitBLHejynOn-KQMqlHknd25LqFlT0HXyPIyOEA4Mlayx1Pb-OQJ0DGhVFM24" alt="" width="290" height="199" style="font-size: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.5em; " /><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KDTLdHmuGmDW7GkJUZNY1NgQ7FSesmvvs1VtVIU7zFy9DqlbftgaBF1BpahACv0QXdF5CHhuKdUXt2M-Rq8-kbMV3MYFl3q-2gN3fNpRWXo1FqRhGyQ" alt="" width="298" height="196" style="font-size: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.5em; " /><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wbmYmICRBmngFKsrPpmC3dPJ-o0vwukQw18RnNusj0ZoU4YDrEB81gQv47COUIcz_TiwjUGsRqt7Hn09FWhBzBL-Q7kODOtzU0WbB96-_qzSkIayuqg" alt="" width="289" height="195" style="font-size: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.5em; " /></p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 26px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span>Another famous Hudson River School artist was Fredric Edwin Church, my personal favorite. He painted massive landscapes (his most famous “The Heart of the Andes” was five feet by ten feet). He sought to not only display what was visible in nature but what was not so visible, the great depth of God’s glory just beneath the surface. Here’s a<strong><a title="Fredric Edwin Church" href="http://antiquesandfineart.com/articles/article.cfm?request=855" target="_blank"><span> </span></a><span><a href="http://antiquesandfineart.com/articles/article.cfm?request=855">link</a></span><a title="Fredric Edwin Church" href="http://antiquesandfineart.com/articles/article.cfm?request=855" target="_blank"><span> </span></a></strong>to his entire collection of works. May you spend a few moments to meditate upon those same words Michala whispered on the volcano top, “God created the heavens and the earth.”</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 26px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/OS6_c43HLNkGCj_RtTMgyzj6Fg0iSulAHidgBAKas677zHXloCNTwKPCpbRkCfjlS8aJy9yxXyD3VxvObjpqyvxoz4_Zp66NGLbrZZwwUBNkZc1aV7I" alt="" width="598" height="331" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; " /></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 26px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">He is glorious!</p>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-91241282294622983392012-03-06T21:25:00.001-08:002012-03-06T22:58:35.848-08:00Stop Kony 2012<div><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">KONY 2012 is a film and campaign by Invisible Children that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice. </span> </div><span><div><span><br /></span></div><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/37119711?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=d13030" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/37119711">KONY 2012</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/invisible">INVISIBLE CHILDREN</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><p>Learn more here: <a href="invisiblechildren.com">invisiblechildren.com</a></p></span><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-9212659283722281902012-03-05T19:17:00.003-08:002012-03-05T19:20:28.209-08:00Giving Up Bad BBQ for Lent<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3yT9h7A7sK5YVqJBeeaq8U0usD70TY5IRtPE4psLVUS4eOdz1DB1oMZxYETp-AxE4xwpAtrSheSARnX0Ri2N6Cis56NRRfMoc3ATc7cGDHHgHOfKO50Z_JSykh1edO3bAuy3agW9jxM/s1600/402888_268334006560558_100001518826324_712985_546410764_n.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; "><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3yT9h7A7sK5YVqJBeeaq8U0usD70TY5IRtPE4psLVUS4eOdz1DB1oMZxYETp-AxE4xwpAtrSheSARnX0Ri2N6Cis56NRRfMoc3ATc7cGDHHgHOfKO50Z_JSykh1edO3bAuy3agW9jxM/s320/402888_268334006560558_100001518826324_712985_546410764_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716618135122073474" /></a><br /><span ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">A</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">s a little kid, my Dad’s office was a magical place. The walls were decorated with football memorabilia from years ago. He had a model plane of the one my grandfather flew in World War II. But perhaps what enamoured me most of all were his trophies. He had a plaque remembering his hole-in-one and a couple with pigs at the top. He was an award-winning pit-master. My dad had not only practiced the art of smoking meat and making sauce from scratch, he had been rewarded for his prowess. I was especially proud of those trophies because of where we lived: South Carolina.</span></span><div><span ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Read the rest of this post at <a href="http://bibleconversation.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/giving-up-bad-bbq-for-lent/">The Neighborhood Cafe</a></span></span></div>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-91517613840401952882012-03-03T14:51:00.002-08:002012-03-06T12:38:03.558-08:00Love Like You<span ><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lFgego8brg4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></span>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-4282017392790693742012-03-02T07:25:00.004-08:002012-03-02T07:31:05.691-08:00The Peace of Wild Things<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto; "><blockquote><div style="font-family: arial; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 24px; text-indent: -1em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">When despair for the world grows in me</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em; "><span>and I wake in the night at the least sound</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em; "><span>in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em; "><span>I go and lie down where the wood drake</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em; "><span>rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em; "><span>I come into the peace of wild things</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em; "><span>who do not tax their lives with forethought</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em; "><span>of grief. I come into the presence of still water.</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em; "><span>And I feel above me the day-blind stars</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em; "><span>waiting with their light. For a time</span></div><div><span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 24px; text-indent: -1em; ">I rest in the grace of the world, and am free</span> — Wendell Berry</span></div></blockquote></div>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-51775558607104781052012-02-26T12:47:00.006-08:002012-02-26T14:14:54.730-08:00Happy Birthday Johnny Cash<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-534642aymL8/T0qddGLQH5I/AAAAAAAAAIY/cvlU7FgI200/s1600/gretouch2101_00033_35_neg_n_bw_orig_v001.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-534642aymL8/T0qddGLQH5I/AAAAAAAAAIY/cvlU7FgI200/s400/gretouch2101_00033_35_neg_n_bw_orig_v001.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713552200472469394" /></a><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Today would have been Mr. Cash's 80th birthday. This Friday, I'll turn 28. </span></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Perhaps I'm a bit full-of-myself to compare </span>Johnny<span style="font-size: 100%;"> Cash to myself. I'm certainly not a renowned musician nor do I offer respite to prisoners all over this country with whatever gift I may have. But I have long felt a connection to the man in black.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">I was first exposed to him with the release of "Hurt" (video is below) a cover of the Nine Inch Nails </span>original<span style="font-size: 100%;">. </span>With<span style="font-size: 100%;"> this song, Johnny awoke a whole new generation to his prophetic voice. Not since George Jones moaned "He Stopped Loving Her Today," had I FELT music like this. Cash </span>famously<span style="font-size: 100%;"> refused make-up for the shooting of the video to expose his fragility and the </span>result<span style="font-size: 100%;"> was both shocking and disarming. Here was the man, not the celebrity, not the recording artist, but simply a man hurt. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">While I agree that we as a culture elevate </span>celebrities<span style="font-size: 100%;"> to unfair </span>heights<span style="font-size: 100%;">, some deserve </span>their<span style="font-size: 100%;"> place. Johnny was one of those </span>deserving<span style="font-size: 100%;"> persons a man who was not famous </span>solely<span style="font-size: 100%;"> for his talent but for his soul. His story, now immortalized in Walk the Line</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">, portrays a gifted but troubled young man who finds a second chance with God in the love of June Carter. But his story, and all of ours, is far more complicated and diverse than hollywood's </span>portrayal<span style="font-size: 100%;">. At its </span>heart<span style="font-size: 100%;">, his story is yours and mine as well. Redemption wrapped in black. numerous second chances and undeserved love. Immense promise mingled with </span>immense<span style="font-size: 100%;"> failure. Desperation meeting hope.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">I will not </span>attempt<span style="font-size: 100%;"> any biography here, only a salute: To the Man in Black, thank you for </span>truly<span style="font-size: 100%;"> living.</span></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SmVAWKfJ4Go" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></span></div><div><span><br /></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div></div>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-85687964723869873682012-02-12T14:40:00.000-08:002012-02-12T15:24:10.042-08:00Treasure Where?<blockquote><i>"There's an old story of a bishop whose cathedral was about to be robbed. The bandits demanded the "treasures of the church." So the bishop went into the shelter and gathered up the poor, saying, "These are the treasures of the church." The bandits left empty-handed that night."</i></blockquote>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-5298550209027815612012-02-11T22:06:00.003-08:002012-02-18T15:09:37.623-08:00Love Unlimited<a href="http://www.aardvarkonsea.com/shop.html#lu"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 292px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JP4UEmtElWs/TzdXEtzAjsI/AAAAAAAAAH8/QEkRUzXswSo/s400/il_fullxfull.178220600.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708126791240027842" /></a>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-66551424610518566232012-02-05T22:47:00.000-08:002012-02-05T22:48:49.116-08:00LOL<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/7110050?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="270" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/7110050">universality</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/retainermedia">retainer media</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-56157961081547001492012-02-03T20:36:00.000-08:002012-02-04T19:44:28.604-08:00If Home is Where the Heart Is<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qb0vN4MrTa8/Tyy1-HJqG8I/AAAAAAAAAHg/iz1XgzzRa-U/s1600/camera%2B-%2BJulia%252CMorning%252CNolaroid.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qb0vN4MrTa8/Tyy1-HJqG8I/AAAAAAAAAHg/iz1XgzzRa-U/s400/camera%2B-%2BJulia%252CMorning%252CNolaroid.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705134906647649218" /></a><div><br /></div><div><iframe src="http://www.purevolume.com/_iframe/audio_button_player.php?songId=3167506" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="80"></iframe></div>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-60152634962962841882012-02-02T13:21:00.000-08:002012-02-02T13:21:23.834-08:00The Multi-colored "Blue" Marble<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/32001208?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/32001208">Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/michaelkoenig">Michael König</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: proxima-nova-1, proxima-nova-2, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25px;">Incredible time-lapse video taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbits the Earth at night. Visible cities, countries and landmarks in order of appearance:</span><br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: proxima-nova-1, proxima-nova-2, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font: inherit; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.85714285714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Aurora Borealis Pass over the United States at Night<br />
2. Aurora Borealis and eastern United States at Night<br />
3. Aurora Australis from Madagascar to southwest of Australia<br />
4. Aurora Australis south of Australia<br />
5. Northwest coast of United States to Central South America at Night<br />
6. Aurora Australis from the Southern to the Northern Pacific Ocean<br />
7. Halfway around the World<br />
8. Night Pass over Central Africa and the Middle East<br />
9. Evening Pass over the Sahara Desert and the Middle East<br />
10. Pass over Canada and Central United States at Night<br />
11. Pass over Southern California to Hudson Bay<br />
12. Islands in the Philippine Sea at Night<br />
13. Pass over Eastern Asia to Philippine Sea and Guam<br />
14. Views of the Mideast at Night<br />
15. Night Pass over Mediterranean Sea<br />
16. Aurora Borealis and the United States at Night<br />
17. Aurora Australis over Indian Ocean<br />
18. Eastern Europe to Southeastern Asia at Night</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-size: 14px; font: inherit; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1.85714285714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://penguincreative.com/2011/09/flying-over-earth/"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Originally posted here at Penguin Creative</span></a></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435895149947654624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-60462899622531823242012-01-17T07:29:00.000-08:002012-01-17T08:03:28.815-08:00Saying Goodbye<div>There are few things harder in this life than saying "goodbye." My mother-in-law refuses to utter the words, instead saying "See you Saturday." This week as I left my home for the last 2 and half years in Colorado; I lost count of how many times I said those dreadful words, "goodbye."<div><br /></div><div>I attempted to ease the pain by reassuring friends and family that we would see them soon, but the reality is that we are never sure what tomorrow brings. As I looked into the misty eyes of many of my closest friends I realized that I only could be saying bye right now because of their friendship. Without their sacrifice of time and care the Church @ Argenta would simply not be.</div><div><br /></div><div>And yet, the more these people gave themselves to us, making our leaving easier, it became harder and harder to leave. With each goodbye, a sinking feeling grew within me: I may never see these people again. We all must say that final goodbye at some point. </div><div><br /></div><div>And yet our friends are exactly what makes saying goodbye so hard but possible. It is their love that gives us the courage to face isolation.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jesus said "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" While his death would certainly be for all mankind, his death was most pointedly for his friends. </div><div><br /></div><div>While that final night must have been extremely painful, it was also bearable because of his friends. And even though their love seemed to falter, his did not. And it was his ultimate sacrifice that made us all his friend, that will give us the courage to finally say goodbye.</div><div><br /></div><div>The strength of that courage lies in hope. Because Jesus has shown us that no goodbye is truly final. There is day coming that will never end, a day of homecoming. Another day to look into each other's misty eyes and say "Welcome home!" This is our hope and this is our courage.</div><div><br /></div><div>We can with true hearts, in the midst of leaving, tell one another "see you Saturday."</div></div>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-82279405904294549792011-12-29T19:27:00.000-08:002011-12-30T23:00:53.668-08:00Whatever is Noble-2011As with every year, there are those moments and events that not only inspire, but very well may change one's life forever. Here are those such events for me this past year:<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Telluride Bluegrass Festival, June 16-19</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xTIIbJQduJY/Tv06hVxb6eI/AAAAAAAAAEk/uZJ2sUmqu3o/s320/TBF11-Yonder-Benko.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691769848520763874" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My Pastor Eugene is asking us to live 2012 spiritually, to open our eyes to the movings of God in our daily lives. Telluride awakened me to the movement of God is some rather unexpected places. Somehow in a sea of hippies, I found God. <a href="http://asprigofhope.blogspot.com/2011/06/all-of-your-chains.html">Read more about it here.</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Next Step of our Journey</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FNXJ89nibMU/Tv07isw_UvI/AAAAAAAAAEw/5-T9AbecS0k/s320/447553426_7a6106ebf6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691770971384402674" style="text-align: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px; " /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In mid September, Cliff, Michala, and myself had a conversation with a friend in Nashville that drastically changed the direction of our lives. We were invited to join Michael Carpenter and his family in planting a new church in downtown North Little Rock, AR. This oppurtunity has streched our faith, challenged us, but also given us hope. <a href="http://asprigofhope.blogspot.com/2011/09/next-step-of-our-journey.html">Read more here.</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I am a Pastor</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x_hgDMNf22w/Tv089nziBwI/AAAAAAAAAFI/y0QPWU3i1mw/s200/sheepandtile.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691772533420984066" style="text-align: left; cursor: pointer; width: 177px; height: 200px; " /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">While I've been pursuing vocational ministry since 2006, my actual role has been an area of mystery for me. After answering the call to Argenta, I began to explore what it means to be a pastor. Through the example of Eugene Scott and Eugene Peterson's memoir I found myself redefined. A sense of purpose was awakened in me, as I realized this is always who I've been. <a href="http://asprigofhope.blogspot.com/2011/09/i-am-becoming-pastor.html">Read my testimony of this call here.</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">A New Baby!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJ4vqOebcInkFOdfUXGfqkyZbQXvOOn8tBadF0uaf_u6U-ElevwAs1yGOMruGd0IiUyi4SnBcx_8KuQOgX5Y6ljce4Y9ehDYOTumxsDCBiUuaBnjGfN0BSJpKPKZHj1Tw5tgAQ9DNp6U/s200/telle+blue+001.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691779392570379458" style="text-align: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 156px; " /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Although we found out about the new addition to our family back in October, we are just now making the news official to world. We are so excited for Mary Grace to be a big sister. Although we have some amount of fear about how we're going to do this, we look at our daughter and at our God and smile. Blessed Assurance.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-46422118534245595782011-12-27T20:54:00.000-08:002011-12-27T20:54:08.496-08:00Whatever is Lovely<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzlbJdP4PtEXrgcxmT3BEYPU--EbG1WoCkxmfefmPALP3_kkkMlNwsSUxoaMzzpA9hjp8tVvFWr4CyjIX6WlA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><em style="background-color: whitesmoke; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</em><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><em style="background-color: whitesmoke; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8</em> </blockquote>As we approach a new year, our thoughts reflect on the old year. 2011 has been perhaps my best year yet. This week I want to follow my daughter's (and God's) example and give thanks for everything.<br />
<br />
As you can see in the video, our daughter's prayers are basically, "Thank you for that and that and that and that and the chicken and the family and friends, the end....amen." She makes sure that she expresses her thankfulness for everything she has. While I smile at her innocence, I also grow from the example of her pure faith. We have so much to be thankful for.<br />
<br />
So this week, I will take some time to remember the lovely that I encountered in 2011, to give thanks where it is due. And hopefully, this recollection will produce a hope in us for the future, that there will be time again to give thanks.<br />
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<a href="http://bibleconversation.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/whatever-is-lovely/">(You can read about my favorite books I read this year at The Neighborhood Cafe Blog)</a>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435895149947654624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-89619767396774528542011-12-26T21:29:00.000-08:002011-12-26T21:29:27.197-08:00Hanukkah<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx88tFZXyZB7Q3pQDsNAUjS9WKpU_TWieYhXOype8TNKX89cWWGAYodc-wie7oD2xwTv7Ypyz6_DgKop6LHprMpNwLUOnpQizltP59162QGaTvjN6F3ABw7mxM1Qd9oEce8ybpqAtff_Q/s1600/hanukkah101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="445" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx88tFZXyZB7Q3pQDsNAUjS9WKpU_TWieYhXOype8TNKX89cWWGAYodc-wie7oD2xwTv7Ypyz6_DgKop6LHprMpNwLUOnpQizltP59162QGaTvjN6F3ABw7mxM1Qd9oEce8ybpqAtff_Q/s640/hanukkah101.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435895149947654624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-66886581352180967842011-12-06T18:20:00.000-08:002011-12-06T19:27:36.397-08:00Put the Lights on the Tree<div><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5gKzXlqsOeE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br /></div>We are a little over a week into our Advent conspiracy to give away something everyday of Advent. So far it has been...uneventful. We've been somewhat faithful to our pledge, selecting something each day but waiting to give a lot of it all at once. So we haven't actually given anything away, yet.<div><br /></div><div>The sad thing is that we're starting to realize that 30 or so days are not enough. We can easily see reaching Christmas day and not having felt a bit of discomfort in our giving, not a bit of sacrifice. We simply have too much stuff. </div><div><br /></div><div>We've begun to dare to dream of if we could do this for an entire year, til next Advent. Perhaps then we might actually begin to feel the pain and release of simplifying. </div><div><br /></div><div>Regardless, Christmas is so much more fun with a two-year-old. Mary Grace is determined to see every Christmas decoration in the Rockies. Tonight as we listened to Sufjan Stevens' and put lights on our tree, she exclaimed with sheer joy, "Its Christmas!" Despite our seeming inability to make room, her hospitable heart is making up for it when she she says "Happy birthday, Jesus!"</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRHp3iLFnseXroGGHbccmJKCjgyrAWVcqtYx9C1iYOYK0X8EDSJSXNAmSDA8CJThD0n82dV26yF-EbYVCna-GnRvcaCZu2adhcYTrL9RrWkUsPcZ3fE6VD0x1sVQ7bnSlYqajA2uO-HnM/s320/MG+XMAS.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683222848708467138" style="cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 320px; " /></div><div><br /></div>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-75182509242030651072011-12-02T23:05:00.000-08:002011-12-02T23:08:36.872-08:00great commission…<address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">The sin of greatest omission - to live</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">neither in nor of but merely on, to</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">ref</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">use the world’s magic, eyes sewn</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">shut with fishing line, ears packed</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">tight with doctrine and twigs and</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">mud, a scarecrow’s existence always</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">haunted by the memory of Noah’s</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">raven that never returned.</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "> </address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><br /></span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">But some speak of a redemption,</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">a thorn-sprigg</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">ed hope if you dare:</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">c<span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">ommit, rip-stitch your eyes,</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">unpack your ears, lash yourself</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">to the charmed mast, </span><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">whisper </span><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">the</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">two-word </span><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">incantation of saints -’thank you.’ </span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">To get started memorize her body’s contours</span><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">,</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">or learn to chew tobacco like your Pepaw,</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">or collect amber </span><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">bottles to arr</span><span style="background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">ange </span><span style="background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">on a</span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">shelf </span><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">just so beside the prints a </span><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">friend </span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">loaned </span><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">but you never returned. </span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://thebeautifuldue.wordpress.com/">-John Blase</a></span></address><address style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mkho9jUC2dY/TtnKr7pyoKI/AAAAAAAAAD4/mFD3mpSUJ60/s320/dsc_3921.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5681795261000753314" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 229px; " /></span></address>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356715781988726195.post-53240195424570004172011-11-30T20:08:00.000-08:002011-11-30T20:10:35.858-08:00The Church @ Argenta<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/32923792?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" width="400"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/32923792">Argenta Church Support Video</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user782752">Nathan Willis</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br />We would love for you to support us, find at more at our website: <a href="http://churchargenta.org">www.churchargenta.org</a>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402566701477076429noreply@blogger.com1