I went on an uploading frenzy last night. I got some great Ella clips online for your enjoyment:
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Shaun King – pastor at Courageous Church in Atlanta, GA just recently launched their new church and instead of spending their “promotions budget” on billboards, flyers, etc., they invested in providing a free breakfast to anyone who wanted it! No strings attached!
Sound familiar? I posted about this idea thanks to Shaun and others’ talking about it a few weeks ago!
This video speaks volumes of their first go at becoming FreeBreakfastChurch!
Check out FreeBreakfastChurch.com for more information and follow their progress of Loving God! Loving People! And Proving It!
By now, most of the world has read about the church shooting in Maryville, IL where a man opened fire on Rev. Fred Winters at the First Baptist Church.
I caught wind of the news just after our morning services on Sunday (thanks to Twitter) and we paused to pray about the situation and those involved before our evening Bible study at our church that same evening. Today, too, after my meeting with Pastor Tim, we spent time together praying for those involved.
The tragic event has been on my mind almost constantly since Sunday afternoon. I have had a range of emotion and a range of thoughts about “what I would do” in a similar situation.
By Monday I was already reading ministry-posts about “protection”, “safety”, and having “escape routes” planned and such.
It seems that most-people are revolving their thoughts around what they would do in a similar situation. Would they shoot-to-kill to protect their pastor?
My question: How does Jesus want us to respond in situations like this?
My thoughts are jumbled but include the following: should Christians be armed to protect themselves in situations like this? Should one protect oneself even in the case of religious persecution? Where does “protecting one’s family” interfere with the testing of our faith that God always provides? Could a weapon be that “providential provision”? How does shooting a perpetrator fit with “turning the other cheek” as Jesus teaches?
Anyone else wrestle with these thoughts?
My mother turned ## years-old yesterday, so today we met her and my father in Johnstown, PA for a day-of-adventure.
Mom and Dad got a late-start, so Jess, Ella and I enjoyed a quick-visit to the Inclined Plane of Johnstown – a literal people-mover that was built back in the late 1800’s. It is famed as the world’s steepest inclined plane and proved to be well-worth the visit. We had great conversation with the folks at the top of the hill who told us interesting facts about the plane as well as sold us worthless treasures from the gift shop!
Mom and Dad arrived after 2PM and we headed over to the Johnstown Flood Museum for a tour. Some amazing photographs and a LOT of reading proved interesting, but not overwhelmingly awesome like I was hoping.
Our museum admission also paid for admission to the Johnstown Heritage Center where each of us was given an identity of a different immigrant that came to the area in the 1800’s. We walked through the center as that immigrant and learned what it would’ve been like to walk in their shoes, get their job, and live their life. It was interesting, but a little out-dated technology-wise. I couldn’t bring myself to pick up the telephone headset that thousands of others had already put to their ear and face before me, thankyouverymuch.
After our two museum-visits, we finished the evening with dinner at Red Lobster to celebrate my mom’s ##th birthday. We are so blessed to be within 3-hours of them!
Special note: our Pontiac Montana hit the 100,000-mile mark tonight! I meant to capture the moment on digital-film, but must’ve slipped into a driving-coma and missed it.
Pictures from the day are here.
Tonight our quick-supper consisted of McDonald’s. Ella was her usual social, adorable self tonight and I was able to capture one of her interesting little twists on an everyday phrase.
Tonight, instead of, “I love you, Daddy!” it was – “I love you Stevan”
Seconds after this video ended it was “I love you Pastor Stevan!”
If you don’t think kids repeat what they hear, you’re WRONG!
