My Secret Is Out
Jul 31, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Good
.:itunes:. Top by Live
Brett took some great pictures of the ground breaking at Riverview this weekend. Unfortunately, in one shot he spoiled the secret of how I remember message notes…
Here are the rest of his pics:
Pray for the South Korean Hostages
Jul 31, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Sad
.:itunes:. Dig by Adam Again
It seems like there has not been much media coverage about the 22 Christian South Korean hostages who are being killed off one at a time in Afghanistan.
Please read this story (via Michelle Malkin) and take a minute to pray for the hostages.
Police in central Afghanistan at daybreak Tuesday discovered the body of a second South Korean hostage slain by the Taliban, officials said…
…The victim’s body was found in the village of Arizo Kalley in Andar District, some 6 miles west of Ghazni city, said Abdul Rahim Deciwal, the chief administrator in the area.
A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said senior Taliban leaders decided to kill the male captive because the government had not met Taliban demands to trade prisoners for the Christian volunteers, who were in their 12th day of captivity Monday.
“The Kabul and Korean governments are lying and cheating. They did not meet their promise of releasing Taliban prisoners,” Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban, said by phone from an undisclosed location. “The Taliban warns the government if the Afghan government won’t release Taliban prisoners then at any time the Taliban could kill another Korean hostage.”
Al-Jazeera showed shaky footage of what it said were several South Korean hostages. It did not say how it obtained the video, whose authenticity could not immediately be verified.
Some seven female hostages, heads veiled in accordance with the Islamic law enforced by the Taliban, were seen crouching in the dark, eyes closed or staring at the ground, expressionless.
The hostages did not speak as they were filmed by the hand-held camera.
C.S. Lewis - Calminian?
Jul 31, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Chosen
.:itunes:. A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton
Thanks to fys for this telling interview with C.S. Lewis. It paints the picture of paradox all Christians face when coming into relationship with Jesus. Does God pick us or do we pick him? My answer (and Lewis appears to agree with me) is both.
On 7 May 1963 C.S. Lewis was interviewed by Sherwood E. Wirt of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Wirt: In your book Surprised by Joy you remark that you were brought into the Faith kicking and struggling and resentful, with eyes darting in every direction looking for an escape. You suggest that you were compelled, as it were, to become a Christian. Do you feel that you made a decision at the time of your conversion?
Lewis: I would not put it that way. What I wrote in Surprised by Joy was that ‘before God closed in on me, I was in fact offered what now appears a moment of wholly free choice.’ But I feel my decision was not so important. I was the object rather than the subject in this affair. I was decided upon. I was glad afterwards at the way it came out, but at the moment what I heard was God saying, ‘Put down your gun and we’ll talk’.
Wirt: That sounds to me as if you came to a very definite point of decision.
Lewis: Well, I would say that the most deeply compelled action is also the freest action. By that I mean, no part of you is outside the action. It is a paradox. I expressed it in Surprised by Joy by saying that I chose, yet it really did not seem possible to do the opposite.
Blog of the Week: The Dawn Patrol
Jul 30, 2007 Blog of the Week
.:medical condition:. Sore Back
.:itunes:. Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N’ Roses
Blog Name
The Dawn Patrol
Blog Author
Dawn Eden. From her bio:
I used to work in the New York City newspaper world, as deputy news editor at the New York Daily News and, before that, a copy editor for the New York Post (one of my Post headlines won the 2004 New York State Associated Press Award). I left the Daily News in June 2007 to become the first director of the Cardinal Newman Society’s Love and Responsibility Program, a multipronged effort to reestablish chastity as the cornerstone of Catholic campus culture.
What is this blog about?
Dawn is the author of the book
“The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On” (Dawn Eden)
Her site goes along nicely with the book (I would guess…I haven’t read it yet). Basically, she is a prolife, prochastity advocate and author.
Why do I read it?
Dawn is very articulate and intelligent and I like her strong stance on issues not many people are taking a stand on, particularly chastity. She portrays abstinence as an intelligent and attractive option, while many others paint it as prudish.
Lust and Sexual Attraction
Jul 30, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Thinking
.:itunes:. Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley Feat. Alison Krauss
OK, this is from an interesting blog I keep up with called Faith Dance. Read this quote (from Lewis Smedes), formulate your opinion on it, then read the rest of the article. Let me know what you think in the comments.
I’ll post my thoughts later…
“Eros, the longing for personal fulfillment, must not be confused with lust, the untamed desire for another’s body. Nor is every feeling of attraction toward an exciting person the spark of lust. It would odd indeed if the Creator put attractive people in the world and forbade us to notice them. But there is a difference between the awareness of someone’s sexual attractions and being dominated by a desire for that person’s body.”
Successory of the Day
Jul 30, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Good
.:itunes:. Elvira Madigan Piano C by Mozart
(via TallSkinnyKiwi)
The Real Ground Breaking
Jul 30, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Excited
.:itunes:. I Don’t Want Your Love by Duran Duran
[UPDATE: Nate has posted some pictures here]
So yesterday after our last service, we had our official Ground Breaking for our facility expansion. I’ll post some pictures as soon as I have them.
Today, I pulled into the church parking lot and saw the Real Ground Breaking happening.
It was one lone tractor scraping dirt:”
Here we go!
NoelHeikkinen.com now iPhone Friendly
Jul 26, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Optimized
.:itunes:. When the Roll is Called Up Yonder by The Mars Hillbillies
Thanks to this tip from iPhone Central this site is now iPhone friendly.
That means that everyone who reads it on an iPhone will have it automatically zoomed in to the right size.
In other words, whenever I read my own site.
Anyone else reading this site on an iPhone?
Kanye vs. Zach
Jul 26, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Spectacular
.:itunes:. Jesus I Mary Star of the Sea by Zwan
Thanks to Best Week Ever for making my day with this amazing Kanye West video featuring Zach Galifianakis.
He does drop an f-bomb, though, so watch out for that.
Click on the image for the video:
Quote of the Day
Jul 26, 2007 Quotes
.:mood:. Tee Hee
.:itunes:. Cleaning Windows by Van Morrison
(via Best Week Ever)
Regarding Barry Bonds:
Most fans aren’t buying the “His head grew 1 1/2 cap sizes because he was reading a lot of literature” argument.
Sick People
Jul 25, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Sick
.:itunes:. I’ll be around by Edin-Ådahl
I spent time in two hospitals today. The irony was the two guys I was visiting went in for the same thing. One was released…they told him he was fine. The other is hooked up to a bazillion tubes.
It made me think about this passage…
Matthew 9:10-12
Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”
When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”
Here’s the question: who do we prefer to keep in the church and who do we like to send packing?
“Never Gonna Happen” Dinner
Jul 24, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Invitational
.:itunes:. Close To Cassie’s Cure by C.H.A.O.S. Productions
Normally, I don’t do these things, but I like this one from ysmarko:
If I could invite 6 people (alive or dead) who i have no real chance of dining with to dinner, who would they be?
Here are the rules…
- the person has to either be a) dead, or b) alive, but no way you’ll ever have a chance to have dinner with them.
- real people only. no fictional characters.
- it’s not 6 individual dinners. it’s a dinner party with 6 people (plus you). think of the mix.
- assume no language barriers. in other words, it doesn’t matter if they speak or spoke another language than you and your other guests. you have magic instant translation technology.
- jesus doesn’t count. it’s a dinner party. therefore, 2 or more are gathered. therefore, jesus is already there.
Here are my 6 people:
Robert Webber - Read the link to see why.
Jonah - Contrary to everything I ever learned in Sunday School, I don’t think this nut job ever repented. I want to hear his story in his words.
DL Moody - One of my heroes, Moody saw everything through the filter of evangelism. He shared the Gospel through this fancy new invention: Sunday School. He also worked with soldiers during the Civil War, in Saloons with drunkards and thieves, and in the YMCA.
Noel - After doing missions work in Africa (18 years ago), I learned that my interpreter and his wife named their son after me. I’ve never met him and I don’t know how to contact the family.
Kurt Vonnegut - I would like to hear his thoughts on his life, career, and writings now that he has died and seen the afterlife.
Kim Jong Il - Why? I just want to see him in the room with these other people, that’s all.
Your turn.
Public Nudity, Part Two
Jul 24, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Hmmmm….
.:itunes:. Rocket Queen by Guns N’ Roses
Following up last week’s article on how public nudity is only frowned on when old people (read: out of shape) are the nudist, here is a new article courtesy of Reuters:
BERLIN (Reuters) - A mysterious blonde paid a visit to a petrol station shop in the small eastern German town of Doemitz on Sunday — wearing nothing but a pair of golden stilettos and a thin gold bracelet.
The tall, slender woman strolled into the shop in the town of Doemitz on the warm afternoon and bought cigarettes, petrol station employee Ines Swoboda told Reuters on Monday.
“I wasn’t surprised because she’s come in naked before — she’s a very nice woman,” Swoboda said, adding none of the other customers were bothered. The woman could have faced charges of creating a public disturbance if anyone had complained.
Being Teachable
Jul 24, 2007 Uncategorized
.:medical condition:. My eye hurts
.:itunes:. Diddley Daddy by Chris Isaak
My family has been going through Proverbs for the last month, picking out one verse each night from the day’s chapter (there are 31 chapters, so we just go with the date). A couple week’s ago, this was our verse:
Proverbs 9:9
Instruct the wise,
and they will be even wiser.
Teach the righteous,
and they will learn even more.
We all had the same reaction to this verse: “duh!”
But I have been thinking about this verse a lot since we went through it. I think it has a lot to do with being a teachable person. If we are unwise, then we will not respond well when we are instructed / corrected / rebuked. We then stay in exactly the same place, entrenched and unable to grow.
So how does a wise person respond to instruction / correction / rebuke?
By looking for the nugget of truth (no matter how big or small) in what the other person has said.
Yesterday, Monday Morning Insight republished an old article of mine where I talk about the different kinds of notes I get in a typical week. I talked about the fact that I ignore anonymous notes because they carry no weight. John Morris responded with this comment:
I read every single note, whether anonymous or otherwise, and I attempt to discern God’s voice in the midst of sometimes very hurtful words, and I try to find what in my life might have given even the slightest opening for the criticism. You wouldn’t believe how much you can grow from the hateful words and actions of others if you really take a minute, de-emotionalize the situation, completely un-bias yourself from having to be justified, and try to simply find the tiny lesson to be learned. It’s always there. Our problem is that we look at motives first, then we get defensive. Ever think you might still get the right lesson from it even if the attack was motivated by something completely off-base? After all, doesn’t God work all things for your good?
I have to keep that in mind. Even anonymous negative notes have something to teach me.
On this note, I saw these hilarious videos this morning. As you are watching them, think of the relationship between pastor / teacher / mentor and those who they are called to lead / train / mentor. (Oh, and there is some beeped out colorful language, so if that bugs you don’t watch these.)
More Accurate View of Riverview
Jul 24, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Laughing Outloud
.:itunes:. Bones Are Breaking by Poor Old Lu
Thanks to Gary for sending me a “more accurate” rendering of the new Riverview building. It adds “Super Cool Pastor Dan Price and his Amazing Flying Moped!”
The Sign That Made Me Smile
Jul 23, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Great
.:mashup:. Sweet Home Country Grammar by Nelly vs Leonard Skynard
So, when I was pulling into the church parking lot, I noticed this little sign on the edge of our property:
It’s our official “Notice of Commencement” for our facility expansion.
After years of prayer, planning, and jamming too many bodies into our current building we are finally breaking ground on Phase One this coming Sunday.
It’s going to be a BYOS event, so grab your shovel and join us at 12:30pm.
Please remember we will be parking 3 times as many cars as we have spaces, so be patient and kind to everyone else as you are arriving and leaving.
Here’s a sneak peak at this phase from the outside. The colors are all wrong, but the dimensions are correct. Click on the images for larger versions:
Blog of the Week: Evotional
Jul 23, 2007 Blog of the Week
.:mood:. Getting Moving
.:itunes:. Polar Opposites by Modest Mouse
Blog Name
Evotional
Blog Author
Mark Batterson. From his “official” bio:
I serve as Lead Pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC. I feel as called to write as I do to pastor. In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day came out in October of 2006. My next book, Wild Goose Chase, is set to release in April of 2008. Lora and I have three kids: Parker, Summer & Josiah. And we’ve lived on Capitol Hill since 1996.
What is this blog about?
Almost exclusively, this blog is about Mark’s experience as a pastor in Washington DC. (By, the way, I just added his church to my church locator). Through his experience as a pastor, he pops out great little tid bits that help me out in my own ministry.
Why do I read it?
For me, Mark just appeared out of nowhere, but his site archives show he has been blogging as long as I have. I love reading his blog because he has such singular focus - reaching the Washington DC area for Jesus. He also has very creative ways of doing so. For instance, his church meets in movie theaters in trains stops all across the city. Very cool.
24 Ways Jack Bauer is Carbon Neutral
Jul 23, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Laughing
.:itunes:. Someone Else To You by Course Of Nature
Thanks to Blogs.4Bauer for the 24 Ways Jack Bauer is Carbon Neutral.
My favorite?
Every time Jack says, “DAMMIT” someone plants a tree. Also a fairy dies, but that’s another subject.
Soccer in Amsterdam
Jul 20, 2007 Uncategorized
Just stumbled on this video of a guy playing soccer on a light pole and I realized I’ve seen him do this live several times. This is in Amsterdam (right near the Burger King I go to when I am craving American greasy food).
Public Nudity Only Bad For Old People
Jul 19, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Torqued
.:itunes:. More Than Anything In This World by Lenny Kravitz
Ok, check out this story of a Vermont town that bans public nudity
Notice when they decided “enough was enough.”
Public nudity made headlines last summer when the weather grew hot and a couple of dozen teens took to holding hula hoop contests, riding bikes and parading past stores wearing only their birthday suits. The disrobing has resumed this summer.
But many locals say it has gone too far. Some cite a case in which a senior citizen from Arizona strolled through the center of town wearing only a waist pack and sandals.
Apparently, naked teens were acceptable to the town folk, but not naked old people.
Can we just some this story up with one word?
Perverts.
