Alas, my friend is gone

Finding a good pen is not so easy. I, with great sorrow, came to the conclusion that one of my two favorite pens is missing, probably for good as is the way with pens. So, I would like to say a few short words for my missing uni-ball Signo MICRO 207 with its wonderful free flowing ink, great grip, and wonderful personality.

Good by pen, you wrote well, and I will miss you.
Rest In Peace my friend.

Totally like whatever, you know?

Here is an excerpt from a poem called Totally like whatever, you know? By Taylor Mali.

In case you hadn't noticed,
it has somehow become uncool
to sound like you know what you're talking about?
Or believe strongly in what you're saying?
Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)'s
have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences?
Even when those sentences aren't, like, questions? You know?

New Years Eve

On new years eve, several people from the Tulare Evangelical Free Church, including myself, decided to jump in an ice cold pool as a fund raiser for our new building. Here is the video....

Managing Oneself

I just read an old article called Managing Oneself by a gentlemen named Peter R Druker. While I am not sure that all of Drukers assertions can be entirely proven, there is lots in this article to stimulate a brain as we analyze ourselves and consider how we work. For myself, perhaps the most interesting section was Responsibility for Relationships. Here is a short and intriguing clip from the beginning of the article.

"Most people think they know what they are good at. They are usually wrong. More often, people know what they are not good at and even then more people are wrong than right. And yet, a person can perform only from strength. One cannot buid performance on weaknesses, let alone on something one cannot do at all."

Krav Maga

I just recently watched a series of youtube videos on Krav Maga. There is apparently a show called Human Weapon where a couple of guys learn a style of fighting, and at the end of a week these guys attempt to test their new knowledge against a master of that fighting style. In this episode they go to Israel where they learn Krav Maga, a self defense technique that is, well, brutal and efficient. It was developed in Israel during WWII as a response to the German aggression. If your are interested in checking it out on youtube just follow this link.

Rev. Manly Jr. on the Call to Ministry

This is an article I recently read while working on a paper about the call to ministry. I found it on the Nine Marks Website. I thought it was a great article by the Rev. Manly Jr. I found it encouraging/convicting to me personally as well as being a good resource for my paper. If you are interested in reading the rest click here.

"Perhaps it is objected that you have not remarkable talents. There is sometimes a mischievous and unholy pride lurking under this plea, notwithstanding its seeming humility; and it is, for a man’s own good, important that it be uncovered and abandoned. You would like, it seems, to be a great minister, attracting attention, applause, reputation; but have no heart for plain, humble, unobtrusive usefulness. Beware!

What are the facts in regard to real usefulness? The great majority of those whose labors God has blessed, have been men of no very remarkable talents. The Almighty could have endowed all his servants with eloquence, commanding oratory, intellect, learning; these are gifts entirely within his bestowment. But he has "chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty." We would not undervalue talent; we would not depreciate learning. We would have all our ministers to prosecute diligently the study of all things which may illustrate the Bible, and bring science in as the subservient handmaid to do homage to the gospel. But it will be a sorrowful day for our churches, when human learning is substituted for piety, or valued more than devotion and integrity; and when the humble, earnest Christian, who loves souls, and has the Master’s anointing for the winning of them, shall be rejected, or discouraged from entering the ministry because he may not come up to some arbitrary standard of scholastic lore.

Do you allege that you feel unworthy? Well you may; for in contemplating the various and extended requirements of the gospel ministry, an apostle could not refrain from exclaiming, "Who is sufficient for these things?" Self-distrust, modesty, diffidence, so far from being disqualifications are necessary prerequisites."

A New Post

Just wanted to put up a new post, so I could say I have done it.