Change!

Conversations about change can and do make people, families and organizations nervous. Change is something that happens whether we desire it or not...so long as we don't fixate on Calvin's way of doing it...

Testing, testing....

So, how much do you know about religion?

Go to the Pew Forum and check it out...there are only 15 questions, you've got time!

Thoughts for Sunday....

Time Lapse

I just love time lapse photography and this one is really cool!

DEATH VALLEY DREAMLAPSE 2 from Sunchaser Pictures on Vimeo.

Filmed in Death Valley and using some techniques called "moonpainting" and "starscraping" it really makes me want to travel there and see the stars! Even though we live in an area that is very "low" light at night (which means we see more stars than you can in the cities), we can't see this many! Wow!!!

It even spends a little time showing the unexplained "sliding" stones in Racetrack Playa...
check it out!

Quote Day!

An apology doesn't necessarily mean that you were wrong, or that the other person was right. An apology can mean that your relationship is more important than your ego. (unknown)

Nothing so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength. (Indian proverb)

When God pushes you off the edge of difficulty, trust Him. Only two things can happen. He will catch you when you fall or He will teach you how to fly! (unknown)

Sometimes the wrong choices can bring us to the right places. (unknown)

The greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye but felt by the heart. (Maryanne Williamson)

May you never forget what is worth remembering, nor ever remember what is best forgotten. (Irish Blessing)

It's always nice to have someone in your life that makes you smile, even when they're not around. (unknown)

A relationship is not based on the amount of time you spend together, it's based on the foundation you built together. (unknown)

Being male is a matter of birth, being a man is a matter of age, but being a gentleman is a matter of choice. (Drake quotes)

It is easier to leave angry words unspoken, than to mend the heart those words have broken. (unknown)

If you want to know where your heart is, look where your mind goes when it wanders...(unknown)

If you do only what you know you can do - you never do very much.  (Tom Krause)

Fall seven times and stand up eight.  (Japanese proverb)

Worship

Great quote from the people at YouthworkTalk.com

Worship is more than a preferred music style.  It’s more than a relevant message.  And it’s way more than an hour in any given week.  Worship is life.  It’s an existence dedicated to maintaining and relaying to others a connection with God.

 

 

Noblesse Oblige

Noblesse Oblige: is the obligation of the nobility to the poor much like Luke 12:48 "...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded;and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." When this first appeared in print the early 1800's, the concept was there, but not the terminology.

Translated from the French, noblesse oblige means "nobility obligates." Originally, the term was used to suggest that certain requirements of behavior could be legitimately imposed upon persons of noble birth. Noblesse oblige in modern English is a broad concept which implies that anyone who possesses special talents or gifts is required by society to make the best use of those gifts; that he or she is duty-bound to do his or her best. It is required by society, but, I put to you that it is even more so by God.
 
What if we took this principle to heart and believed that we are held personally accountable for our stewardship in all things. What if we knew there is a direct correlation between what we are given and what we give? That God looks not only at how well we open our heads, our hearts and  our hands, but also at the attitude with which we do these things.

In 1994, Forbes magazine profiled a man who lived in the USA but was the son of a Czechoslovakian aristocrat who fled the Republic at the age of 10. When the Czech government was democratized he was able to reclaim his family's wealth and estates. His holdings are vast and include castles, artwork by the masters, a phenomenal library, original musical manuscripts by Mozart and Beethoven, thousands of acres, a vineyard and a brewery (dating from 1466) and well, you get the picture. The surprising fact is, rather than sell off the bulk of these holdings and make himself obscenely wealthy, he has taken a different approach:   "We are merely custodians of the cultural treasures that must be preserved for future generations" (Berman, 1994). He feels it is his obligation to maintain all these irreplaceable objects for the people of the Czech Republic. Societal pressure here compels him to act selflessly and honorably—the very essence of noblesse oblige.

 

The strength and power of this concept can be rightfully applied to Christians. If we know the depths of God's love and mercy and if we know that His grace is available to all who will call upon His name, then we are obligated by His word and this concept to show the world "a life lived in Christ". Who among us can deny that to call ourselves Christians is the very definition of noble? ..."possessing outstanding qualities"...Not through any work we may have done but by the grace of God. Who can hold to such a gift and not share it with a hurting and troubled world? 

We are blessed to hold the key to locking up the evil that prevails in our world. We are called upon by God to gratefully share this key with anyone and everyone. We are obligated to share so that the world may know what manner of God we serve.