Bloglines and Blogs

I'm so glad to be able to use Bloglines to keep track of new posts on the blogs I follow. I tell you what, though: there are an awful lot of interesting blogs out there. I think I could spend all day reading blogs and following links and commenting on posts. Several times a week I add new blogs to my Bloglines notifier. I do occasionally take one off of the list if the blogger hasn't posted for a month or so. Or if it ends up that I'm not bothering to read it when there are new posts. It is really hard to know how many I should be trying to follow.

Speaking of commenting on posts: there are a lot of times when I look at someones blog and I think of some little something I could say, but I often don't post because I am unsure about commenting. I suppose people wouldn't have the "leave a comment" option if they didn't want comments, but it doesn't seem like many people post on the blogs of people they don't know. I wonder if there is such a thing as comment posting etiquette?

Being Rich Towards God

As I've been contemplating being "rich towards God" these last few days, thoughts about things like hospitality, worship, bible reading, prayer and all manner of things that make up Christian living have been swirling around in my head. It almost seemed to me like being generous with our money was too much of a gimme to dwell on. Today I followed a link from LivingRoom to an article in Books & Culture Magazine on ChristianityToday.com: The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why don't Christians live what they preach? By Ronald J. Sider, and found an interesting quote about Christian giving.

John and Sylvia Ronsvalle have been carefully analyzing the giving patterns of American Christians for well over a decade. Their annual The State of Christian Giving is the most accurate report for learning how much Christians in the richest nation in human history actually give. In their most recent edition, they provide detailed information about per-member giving patterns of U.S. church members from 1968 to 2001. Over those thirty-plus years, of course, the average income of U.S. Christians has increased enormously. But that did not carry over into their giving. The report showed that the richer we become, the less we give in proportion to our incomes.

In 1968, the average church member gave 3.1 percent of their income—less than a third of a tithe. That figure dropped every year through 1990 and then recovered slightly to 2.66 percent—about one quarter of a tithe.

I found that to be very interesting. So, while I do think that there is more to "being rich towards God" than just giving money, perhaps being generous with our money is a place that we need to start. It could possibly even be safe to say that we can not live richly towards God in all areas until we have mastered our "building of extra barns". Jesus' reminder that life does not consist of possessions continues to be very timely.

How Nerdy are You?

I guess I didn't do very well on the nerdiness scale.

The Parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 12:13-21

Today in Bible study group we did the Parable of the Rich Fool. If you aren't familiar with it, goes like this: There is a crowd around Jesus. Jesus is asked by a man "Tell my brother to divide the family property with me". Jesus responds by asking the fellow "who set me over you to judge or arbitrate?" Then turns to the crowd and tells them the parable, beginning with "Beware! Be on your guard against greed of every kind, for even when someone has more than enough, his possessions do not give him life". This statement is illustrated by the following parable: 'There was a rich man whose land yielded a good harvest. He debated with himself: "What am I to do? I have not the space to store my produce. This is what I will do, "said he": "I will pull down my barns and build them bigger. I will collect in them all my grain and other goods, and I will say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid by, enough for many years to come: take life easy, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.'" But God said to him, "You fool, this very night you must surrender your life; and the money you have made, who will get it now?" That is how it is with the man who piles up treasure for himself but remains a pauper in the sight of God.'

Rather than telling the man's brother to share, Jesus says that it is not his place to judge or arbitrate. He then turns his attention away from the man and directs his comments at the crowd. He warns that an abundance of possessions will not give you life. Perhaps the man is to get the idea that having a share of the inheritance was not going to make everything okay for him - that there is something more important than the having of things - and that Jesus was there to tell about it. So, if following in that vein, then the parable is intended to show that having all this stuff did not guarantee that this fellow was going to get to live a long and happy life. That when he dies that night, he'll have nothing. The barns full would give years of ease on earth, but nothing to carry on into the next life. This is the situation of all those who neglect spiritual things in pursuit of wealth.

This has gotten me thinking about what I would do with a good "crop". I think I would likely do the same thing. Put it into a retirement fund instead of barns, but you get the idea. It is our practice to try to give at least 10%, but I have the feeling that is not exactly what Jesus is saying needs to be done. So, what does it mean to not remain a pauper in the sight of God? That's not very easy to understand. Ditching the REB for a minute and going to the NAS helps a little. "... and is not rich toward God." Now this I think I can get my mind around a bit easier. Being rich towards God. Gonna work on it a bit. More later.

Blogger Idol - Why kids should blog

First I will defend my choice of "kids" to fill the space in this weeks blogger idol topic by stating that I think being a kid *is* a full time occupation. Perhaps this isn't in keeping with the spirit of the question, but it was the best I could come up with.

I doubt anyone would dispute the fact that writing is a good thing for kiddos to do. A Blog gives an opportunity to develop writing skills in a medium that is very popular right now.

Writing on a regular basis will help develop self-discipline and set the stage for a lifetime of writing. Keeping a record of books read, places visited, movies seen, people met, or interesting news items, along with thoughts on each, can provide the opportunity to critique the things encountered in life. A blog can be a good way to express feelings and concerns and get feedback from others.

Reading blogs written by the under 20's crowd is a great way to keep in touch with what young minds are thinking. Which is something every over 20's person should take the time to do.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I listened today, for the first time, to MLK's "I have a dream" speech. Have you heard it before? If not, take a moment and click here to listen (or to read the text). It is about 15 minutes long and worth the time.

Prince Harry

There's a big to-do right now because the UK's Prince Harry wore a Nazi costume to a party this week. The news is reporting that Prince Charles is insisting that Harry go visit Auschwitz so that he'll have a better idea of what he was portraying himself as. Prince William is to go along since he was with Harry when the decision to hire the costume was made.

Here's what I am wondering: why don't they send the person from the costume rental shop along as well?

Blogger Idol Query

I've been enjoying using the Blogger Idol theme of the week for some of my blog posts. This got me to wondering whether the others who are participating read the submitted posts prior to or after writing their own. If you are one of those who is also Blogger Idol-ing and you happen to see this, leave a comment and let me know which way you do it. Cheers!

George MacDonald

I'm enjoying trying to decipher some of George MacDonald's sonnets in his book Diary of an Old Soul. These beauties take some serious thought on my part. Even then I don't always understand exactly what they mean. It's fun to try and figure them out, though. Here's the last one I read:

Thy will is truth - 'tis therefore fate, the strong.
Would that my will did sweep full swing with thine!
Then harmony with every spheric song,
And conscious power, would give sureness divine.
Who thinks to thread they great laws' onward throng,
Is as a fly that creeps his foolish way
Athwart an engine's wheels in smooth resistless play.

Here's my best guess so far:
God's will is what is right and is destined to happen and is stronger than wrong
he wishes that he could keep his will aligned with God's
then he would be in harmony with the earth's song (because the earth is within God's will?)
Knowing that he is within God's will would give him the power of knowing he was doing what was divinely right

However, A person who thinks that God's will can be easily tied in a straight line
is trying foolishly to tie something up that can not be tied (? Very iffy on this last part.)

Any thoughts?

Blogger Idol - "I love . . ."

Tell me I am to say "I love..." and fill in the blank. The mind starts whirring and bizarre! the thoughts that come first are not of my family members - though I love them dearly - but of things like lovely warm bubble baths, ice cold Dr. Pepper and watching the snow blanket the ground on a chilly winters eve.

The custom of English speakers to use the word love for so many different applications can be frustrating. Even the greek words for love: eros, philos, agape don't cover the extent to which the word love is used in this day and age. To say "I love you" should convey more than "I love sandy beaches". People do know that it means something different, but it seems a shame somehow that it is used for both. Perhaps a day will come when the word is no longer used in such a casual way. I think that would be a good thing!

In the mean time, I'll go with what first popped into my mind but call it instead:
"Some of the things that bring me a feeling of well being ...."
(in addition to the things listed above and in no particular order)

• a warm water bed and a good book


• brand new babies


• cuddles from my kiddos (especially ones that they instigate)


• computer gadgets


• good sex


• ordering pizza


• digging my toes in the sand at a tropical beach


• going to church


• girl talk


• walking and talking with my spouse

Book Meme

From Our Green Room. Either on your blog or in the comments section, copy the list, remove from it names that are not in your home library, replacing them with the names of authors that you do have.  Boldface the ones that you add. (I put them in italics as well since it is hard to tell with my font and background that they are bold.)

Michael Crichton
Max Lucado
Jane Austen
Phillip Yancey
C.S. Lewis
J. R. R. Tolkien
Anne Lamott
J. K. Rowling
Terry Pratchett
Henry J. M. Nouwen

I resolve...

.... to try and get my Blogger Idol posts done within a couple of days of their announcement.