Happy birthday to this precious little girl! Three months ago she lived in Houston; two months ago in Guatemala; one month ago in Peru; now in Abilene; and soon in Durham, NC.
Archive
“One of the greatest problems of the Western church, ever since the Reformation at least, is that it hasn’t really known what the gospels were there for. Imagining that the point of Christianity was to enable people to go to heaven, most Western Christians supposed that the mechanism by which this happened was the one they found in the writings of Paul . . . and that the four gospels were simply there to give backup information about Jesus, his teaching, his moral example, and his atoning death. This long tradition screened out the possibility that when Jesus spoke of God’s kingdom, he was talking not about a heaven for which he was preparing his followers but about something that was happening in and on this earth, through his work, then through his death and resurrection, and then through the Spirit-led work to which they would be called.” - N. T. Wright
It was a Duke Day.
Not only did they annihilate #15 Belmont (71-70) . . . but we found out that Matt, Jenna, and Reese will be moving to North Carolina, where Matt will be doing his residency in internal medicine at Duke.
HERE are a few pics from match day.
Matt last lived there when he was two years old. I was preaching for the Pine Valley Church in Wilmington. We have a great memory of our visit to Duke and to the Cole Mill Road Church in Durham.
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Don’t miss Garrison Keillor’s “A Pagan’s Thoughts at Eastertide.”
Ten years ago this month, fourteen of us climbed to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, East Africa.
Here is what remains of that trip — beyond just incredible memories.
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Today we’re in Houston for “Match Day.” We’ll know at 11:00 a.m. where our granddaughter will live for the next 3-7 years!
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Counting down to Easter morning . . . .
I know you’re anxiously waiting for picks from blog central before placing your office bets.
So, here they are:
UNC
Kansas
Texas
Duke
UNC
Texas
UNC
Note: never trust the picks of someone who puts his three favorite teams — Duke, Texas, UNC (in that order) — in the Final Four.)
A friend of mine saw an 84-year-old patient and asked her how she was doing. “I’m a bit sad today,” she said. “It’s the anniversary of my daughter’s death.”
He immediately imagined what it must be have been like for her to lose her adult daughter. He wondered if this daughter had her own children and perhaps grandchildren.
“I’m so sorry. How long ago did she pass away?”
“Sixty-two years ago,” the woman replied.
Yes, grief is like that. She’d never forgotten that precious three year old who’d been struck by a disease that today could have been treated routinely.
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“Every Sunday I preach to at least three people who are dying of something. My general rule of thumb is this: any sermon I preach has to be worth the time they are giving to it.” Barbara Brown Taylor
The old Seven Wonders of the World were:
Great Pyramid of Giza
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus
Colossus of Rhodes
Lighthouse of Alexandria
Last summer the New Seven Wonders of the World were announced. They are:
Great Wall of China
Petra
Christ the Redeemer Statue (Rio de Janeiro)
Machu Picchu
Chichen Itza
Colosseum
Taj Mahal
So . . . based on beautiful things you’ve seen (built by people) . . . what would the 8th wonder of the world be?
We might note that if the things God made were included (Grand Canyon, Everest, Caribbean, etc.) NONE of these would be on the list! But we’re excluding God here as an artist/designer/architect.
Outside of things he made, what would be the 8th wonder?
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Don’t miss this editorial by Greg Taylor on Churches of Christ and restoration.
We’re back from a wonderful week in Peru. Matt, Jenna, and Reese lived there for a month while Matt did a rotation on tropical medicine. Diane and I met them in Cuzco, where we all holed up in a hostel.
Then Matt and I set out on one of the most challenging and breath-taking hikes of my life. We did the four-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, which has recently been named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Up and down the Andes for four days. Can you imagine? I bet we didn’t take 50 level steps. Even though I made it fine, I felt like a guy who’s 51! (Let me add this: as I continue to age, I think I like the IDEA of staying in a tent much more than I like actually SLEEPING in a tent.)
Diane, Jenna, and Reese stayed in Cuzco for a couple days, then took a train to Aguas Calientes, and then a bus on up to Machu Picchu to meet us on our final day of hiking. Here are a few pics.
Maybe you’ve seen the news about ACU that is all over the web. The university is the first in the nation to commit to giving an iPhone or an iPod touch to every incoming freshman.
Want to know how this might change the learning environment? (I certainly do since my class has 300 freshmen!) Check out this incredible video, made by ACU undergrad Matt Maxwell. Check here (where you can download the video or follow links to YouTube.)
If you’re a high school junior or senior or (more likely) the parent of a HS jr or sr and would like to know more about this, please just drop me an email. (You can get the email at gina@highlandchurch.org.)
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Here’s the prayer from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime 
Most loving Father, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on you who cares for us: Preserve me from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from me the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
This wonderful church story from my sister-in-law (from their assembly last Sunday):
The funniest story happened yesterday at church. Our minister was preaching about returning to our first love, Jesus. Great sermon, deep. All of a sudden the side door of the auditorium burst open. A little three year old is running and yelling, “No, no, they are after me.”
Mike stops and asks, “Ryan, who is after you?”
“They are after my playdough.”
Mike laughs and yells - “Run, Ryan, Run, here they come. Don’t let them get your playdough. Run to that door over there, that side.”
The little boy takes off squealing, gripping tight to his playdough. The whole congregation breaks out in laughter and applause as Ryan breaks through the side door with his playdough and the embarrassed teacher enters looking for his lost pupil. It was priceless. Ryan was screeching as he broke through the door to freedom.
Don’t let anyone take your playdough!!