Quote of the Day - Leadership

A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, 

not by the desire to beat others. 

                                                         - Ayn Rand 

Oren Family Christmas 2011

Last year, when my family gathered for Christmas, 

we had all the cousins get together for a picture...

  

A picture of my nephew, Kaden, who is quite the chess player! 

 

(I still won...barely.) 

Theological Term of the Day

Exegesis

Exegesis is when a person interprets a text based solely on what it says. That is, he extracts out of the text what is there as opposed to reading into it what is not there (Compare with Eisegesis). There are rules to proper exegesis: read the immediate context, related themes, word definitions, etc., that all play a part in properly understanding what something says and does not say.

                                                                                                       - carm.org

Today in Church History

On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II makes perhaps the most influential speech of the Middle Ages, giving rise to the Crusades by calling all Christians in Europe to war against Muslims in order to reclaim the Holy Land, with a cry of "Deus vult!" or "God wills it!"

Born Odo of Lagery in 1042, Urban was a protege of the great reformer Pope Gregory VII. Like Gregory, he made internal reform his main focus, railing against simony (the selling of church offices) and other clerical abuses prevalent during the Middle Ages. Urban showed himself to be an adept and powerful cleric, and when he was elected pope in 1088, he applied his statecraft to weakening support for his rivals, notably Clement III.

By the end of the 11th century, the Holy Land—the area now commonly referred to as the Middle East—had become a point of conflict for European Christians. Since the 6th century, Christians frequently made pilgrimages to the birthplace of their religion, but when the Seljuk Turks took control of Jerusalem, Christians were barred from the Holy City. When the Turks then threatened to invade the Byzantine Empire and take Constantinople, Byzantine Emperor Alexius I made a special appeal to Urban for help. This was not the first appeal of its kind, but it came at an important time for Urban. Wanting to reinforce the power of the papacy, Urban seized the opportunity to unite Christian Europe under him as he fought to take back the Holy Land from the Turks.

At the Council of Clermont, in France, at which several hundred clerics and noblemen gathered, Urban delivered a rousing speech summoning rich and poor alike to stop their in-fighting and embark on a righteous war to help their fellow Christians in the East and take back Jerusalem. Urban denigrated the Muslims, exaggerating stories of their anti-Christian acts, and promised absolution and remission of sins for all who died in the service of Christ.

Urban's war cry caught fire, mobilizing clerics to drum up support throughout Europe for the crusade against the Muslims. All told, between 60,000 and 100,000 people responded to Urban's call to march on Jerusalem. Not all who responded did so out of piety: European nobles were tempted by the prospect of increased land holdings and riches to be gained from the conquest. These nobles were responsible for the death of a great many innocents both on the way to and in the Holy Land, absorbing the riches and estates of those they conveniently deemed opponents to their cause. Adding to the death toll was the inexperience and lack of discipline of the Christian peasants against the trained, professional armies of the Muslims. As a result, the Christians were initially beaten back, and only through sheer force of numbers were they eventually able to triumph.

Urban died in 1099, two weeks after the fall of Jerusalem but before news of the Christian victory made it back to Europe. His was the first of seven major military campaigns fought over the next two centuries known as the Crusades, the bloody repercussions of which are still felt today. Urban was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church in 1881.

- Taken from History.com

Thanksgiving Weekend II

Here is a picture of us celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas in Locust Grove, Georgia. They have a tree lighting and singing at the courthouse prior to Santa Claus' arrival on Thanksgiving Night, and was getting ready to attend that event. 

Thanksgiving Weekend

Tiffany took this picture of Yvette and I on Wednesday last week when we visited Noah's Ark Animal Rescue in Locust Grove, Georgia. 

GREAT JOB TIFFANY!!!

Oren's and Johnson's

Well, at least the kids! What a great day at the beach last week. 

Thanksgiving with Sesame Street!

I know...I have a weird sense of humor. 

But I laughed out loud at this one!

Blessed Thanksgiving!

I liked this cartoon from Ira Coffin...

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Theological Term of the Day

Evil

Evil is moral rebellion against God. It is contrary to the will of God. There is natural evil (floods, storms, famines, etc.) and moral evil (adultery, murder, idolatry, etc.). Natural evil is a result of moral evil. Adam's sin resulted in sin entering the world allowing floods, storms, famines, etc. Evil originated with Satan (Isaiah 14:12-15) and is carried on by man (Matt. 15:18-19)

                                                                                                                         - carm.org

Installation Service

I want to personally thank each person who attended the service this past Sunday, and/or attended the Thanksgiving feast following. What a great day to enjoy God's good graces and spend time living life together. 

If anyone else has some pics of the Installation, please send them my way!

That is me, with Pastor Juan Rodriguez up front. He is the Florida Disciples 

Regional Minister. 

Today in U.S. History

On November 19, 1863, at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of the most memorable speeches in American history. In just 272 words, Lincoln brilliantly and movingly reminded a war-weary public why the Union had to fight, and win, the Civil War.

The Battle of Gettysburg, fought some four months earlier, was the single bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Over the course of three days, more than 45,000 men were killed, injured, captured or went missing.  The battle also proved to be the turning point of the war: General Robert E. Lee's defeat and retreat from Gettysburg marked the last Confederate invasion of Northern territory and the beginning of the Southern army's ultimate decline.

Charged by Pennsylvania's governor, Andrew Curtin, to care for the Gettysburg dead, an attorney named David Wills bought 17 acres of pasture to turn into a cemetery for the more than 7,500 who fell in battle. Wills invited Edward Everett, one of the most famous orators of the day, to deliver a speech at the cemetery's dedication. Almost as an afterthought, Wills also sent a letter to Lincoln—just two weeks before the ceremony—requesting "a few appropriate remarks" to consecrate the grounds.

At the dedication, the crowd listened for two hours to Everett before Lincoln spoke. Lincoln's address lasted just two or three minutes. The speech reflected his redefined belief that the Civil War was not just a fight to save the Union, but a struggle for freedom and equality for all, an idea Lincoln had not championed in the years leading up to the war. This was his stirring conclusion: "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Reception of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was initially mixed, divided strictly along partisan lines. Nevertheless, the "little speech," as he later called it, is thought by many today to be the most eloquent articulation of the democratic vision ever written.

Taken from History.com

Theological Term of the Day

Eucharist

The Eucharist are the elements of the communion supper in Christian Churches where the bread and wine are consumed as a representation of the sacrifice of Christ. They correspond, and represent the body and blood of Christ.

                                                                                                                        - carm.org

Where in the world is...

Guess Where?

The first person to guess the correct location (country) will get a very special gift. 

Why the Bible?

Great, but cerebral, discussion about the Bible. 

It is only 6 and a half minutes long, go ahead, and listen!

Quote of the Day

People who think they know everything are a 

great annoyance to those if us who do.

                                                                             
                                                                                       - Isaac Asimov

Theological Term of the Day

Ethics

Ethics is the philosophical study of human action and attitudes as right and wrong, good and bad.  Ethics deals with moral principles, the examination of what is right or wrong.   Ethics is a set of moral codes held by a person or persons.  It is a standard of morals by which actions and people are judged as right or wrong.

                                                                                                               - carm.org

Quote of the Day

O Lord, help me to be pure, but not yet.   

                                             - Saint Augustine

Prayer

“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me insufficient for that day.” 

                                                                           ― Abraham Lincoln

Theological Term of the Day

Eschatology

The study of the teachings in the Bible concerning the end times, or of the period of time dealing with the return of Christ and the events that follow. Eschatological subjects include the Resurrection, the Rapture, the Tribulation, the Millennium, the Binding of Satan, the Three witnesses, the Final Judgment, Armageddon, and The New Heavens and the New Earth. In the New Testament, eschatological chapters include Matt. 24, Mark 13, Luke 17, and 2 Thess. 2. In one form or another most of the books of the Bible deal with end-times subjects. But some that are more prominently eschatological are Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Joel, Zechariah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, 2 Thessalonians, and of course Revelation.

                                                                                                                 - carm.org

Apropos Duex

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.            

                                                                                            1 Timothy 2:1-2

Aprapo

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

                                                                    Psalm 20:7

Trunk or Treat

Last week, a church in Venice help a "Trunk or Treat" and had pony rides available.

Here is the tail end of Tegans ride.

Quote of the Day

"Politics is not the job of a Christian."
                                                                - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Day Off at Downtown Disney

A week ago, we went to Downtown Disney on my day off.

Great weather, not very crowded, great meal, fun day. 

(I make sure I put that second sentence in there so my friends and family who life in Indiana will be jealous!)

Hmmm....

Sometimes I wonder why God puts up with me! 

Have you ever felt that way? 

Romans, chapters 5-8

-----

Just read a really good devotional and I keep being reminded of God's amazing and unending love. Have a great Sabbath day. 

Halloween Pics

So, the kids got lots of candy, we ate like kings, and Tristan's outfit was so good he was followed by a fan club. Best Halloween in years!

Our kids went trick or treating with Nick and Rachel Hayes, and little Noah. 

Here are a few pictures from the whole day.

The kids BEFORE all the candy! 

Tegan at the Preschool Halloween Parade with his teacher and Batman. 

 The Tricker's posing in front of our home...

Tristan and Nick right before treating,

Tristan is on the left with the Pickaxe...

Tristan and a "Minecraft Creeper." 

Day Off

Check back tomorrow...

I have taken today day off...

Life

Jesus replied... "Only God is good. If you want to have eternal life, you must obey his commandments.”