"As Jesus walked this earth, living and working among all kinds and classes of people, he gave us the divine paradigm for conjugating all the verbs of our living."--Richard Foster
Minstrel
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Friday, July 17, 2015
Help Elizabeth Get Around!
As a missionary, my job involves a
fair bit of travel. My present need is not for partners to help me
reach a place far across the seas, however, but to assist me with
reaching the places I need to go for daily life—errands, out to our
training facility near Columbus, WI, and visits to family and
friends.
My current vehicle is now out of
commission, and because of its age (1984) and numerous problems, is
no longer a vehicle that is worth saving. I am currently in the
process of fund-raising for a new vehicle. Would you be interested
in partnering with me? My goal is to raise $6500, which would allow
me to purchase a fairly sound vehicle as well as covering the cost of
vehicle registration etc.
If you are interested in contributing
to this cause, you may do so online by going to
http://www.ywammadison.org/donate/. Please designate your donation
toward Elizabeth Johnson's car. If you would prefer to send
something in through the mail, donations may be sent to YWAM Madison,
PO Box 8503,Madison, WI 53708. For tax-deductible purposes, please
make the check out to YWAM Madison, and indicate the donation is for
me on a separate sheet of paper.
Thanks for your consideration!
Bing images |
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Discipleship
"Making disciples is a matter of pulling people, of drawing them in through who we are and what we say.
Disciples are those who have been so ravished with Christ that others want to be like them. Others look at those disciples' life in the kingdom of God, and they say, 'This is the best thing I ever saw in my life. I must have that' ".--Dallas Willard
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Immanuel
Long ago there were three very wise men who studied the stars. In
the course of their studies, they became aware of the advent of a
star that hailed the birth of a great king. So the rulers prepared
for a long journey. They traveled many days and nights until they
came to the place where the king-child was. They presented the child
with gifts, and his mother with the questions that had been heavy on
their hearts...
“CASPAR:
Alas! The more we know, the less we understand life. Doubts make us afraid to act, and much learning drys the heart. And the riddle that torments the world is this: Shall Wisdom and Love live together at last, when the promised Kingdom comes?
MELCHIOR:
We are rulers, and we see that what men need most is good government, with freedom and order. But order puts fetters on freedom, and freedom rebels against order, so that love and power are always at war together. And the riddle that torments the word is this: Shall Power and Love dwell together at last, when the promised Kingdom comes?
BALTHAZAR:
I speak for a sorrowful people—for the ignorant and the poor. We rise up to labor and lie down to sleep and night is only a pause between one burden and another. Fear is our daily companion—the fear of want, the fear of war, the fear of cruel death and of still more cruel life. But all this we could bear if we knew that we did not suffer in vain; that God was beside us in the miseries of His own world. For the riddle that torments the world is this: Shall Sorrow and Love be reconciled at last when the promised Kingdom comes?
MARY:
These are very difficult questions—but with me, you see, it is like this. When the Angel's message came to me, the Lord put a song into my heart. I suddenly saw that wealth and cleverness are nothing to God—no one is too unimportant to be His friend. That was the thought that came to me because of the thing that happened to me. I am quiet humbly born, yet the Power of God came upon me; very foolish and unlearned, yet the Word of God was spoken to me; and I was in deep distress when my Baby was born and filled my life with love. So I know very well that Wisdom, and Power and Sorrow can live together with Love; and for me, the Child in my arms is the answer to all the riddles.”--The Man Born to be King, Dorothy Sayers
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his named shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end...
“CASPAR:
Alas! The more we know, the less we understand life. Doubts make us afraid to act, and much learning drys the heart. And the riddle that torments the world is this: Shall Wisdom and Love live together at last, when the promised Kingdom comes?
MELCHIOR:
We are rulers, and we see that what men need most is good government, with freedom and order. But order puts fetters on freedom, and freedom rebels against order, so that love and power are always at war together. And the riddle that torments the word is this: Shall Power and Love dwell together at last, when the promised Kingdom comes?
BALTHAZAR:
I speak for a sorrowful people—for the ignorant and the poor. We rise up to labor and lie down to sleep and night is only a pause between one burden and another. Fear is our daily companion—the fear of want, the fear of war, the fear of cruel death and of still more cruel life. But all this we could bear if we knew that we did not suffer in vain; that God was beside us in the miseries of His own world. For the riddle that torments the world is this: Shall Sorrow and Love be reconciled at last when the promised Kingdom comes?
MARY:
These are very difficult questions—but with me, you see, it is like this. When the Angel's message came to me, the Lord put a song into my heart. I suddenly saw that wealth and cleverness are nothing to God—no one is too unimportant to be His friend. That was the thought that came to me because of the thing that happened to me. I am quiet humbly born, yet the Power of God came upon me; very foolish and unlearned, yet the Word of God was spoken to me; and I was in deep distress when my Baby was born and filled my life with love. So I know very well that Wisdom, and Power and Sorrow can live together with Love; and for me, the Child in my arms is the answer to all the riddles.”--The Man Born to be King, Dorothy Sayers
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his named shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end...
Sunday, November 17, 2013
The Prophet's Lament
Prophet, why do you sit on the
watchtower?
Prophet, what do you see?
Child, cover your eyes.
As you walk down the street, shut
your ears.
If you look, you will see men
kissing the wives of their neighbors.
If you listen, you will hear the
weeping of the widow cast from her home.
If you look, you will see the
judge extorting money from the foreigner.
If you listen, you will hear the
screams of the children thrown into Molech's lap.
Even you, little one, carry bread
for the idols.
You take flour for your mother to
make her Asherah cakes.
Is this why you weep, O prophet?
Is this why you cry perched on
your tower like a bird?
My heart is shattered, Child,
like a dropped cooking pot.
Anger consumes me like the flames
of a dry forest burning.
For
our courts oppose the righteous,
and justice is nowhere to be found.
Truth stumbles in the streets,
and honesty has been outlawed.
and justice is nowhere to be found.
Truth stumbles in the streets,
and honesty has been outlawed.
Hurry home, Child, for the night
is coming soon.
And you, Prophet?
Will you go home to your fire?
No, Child, I will sit here.
I will sit here underneath the
bright stars of heaven.
I will sit under the bright stars
of heaven and wait.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Daybreak in Alabama
When I get to be a composer
I'm gonna write me some music about
Daybreak in Alabama
And I'm gonna put the purtiest songs in it
Rising out of the ground like a swamp mist
And falling out of heaven like soft dew.
I'm gonna put some tall tall trees in it
And the scent of pine needles
And the smell of red clay after rain
And long red necks
And poppy colored faces
And big brown arms
And the field daisy eyes
Of black and white black white black people
And I'm gonna put white hands
And black hands and brown and yellow hands
And red clay earth hands in it
Touching everybody with kind fingers
And touching each other natural as dew
In that dawn of music when I
Get to be a composer
And write about daybreak
In Alabama.
I'm gonna write me some music about
Daybreak in Alabama
And I'm gonna put the purtiest songs in it
Rising out of the ground like a swamp mist
And falling out of heaven like soft dew.
I'm gonna put some tall tall trees in it
And the scent of pine needles
And the smell of red clay after rain
And long red necks
And poppy colored faces
And big brown arms
And the field daisy eyes
Of black and white black white black people
And I'm gonna put white hands
And black hands and brown and yellow hands
And red clay earth hands in it
Touching everybody with kind fingers
And touching each other natural as dew
In that dawn of music when I
Get to be a composer
And write about daybreak
In Alabama.
--Langston Hughes
bing images |
The Acorn That Wanted To Be An Oak Tree
Once
upon a time…
...there
was an acorn that wanted to be an oak tree.
The
tallest tree in the forest was the great oak tree. Its massive roots
were twined among the boulders alongside the river. Its strong
branches were home to many forest creatures. Its leafy crest towered
above the rest of the trees of the forest and seemed to touch heaven.
The acorn
wanted to be an oak tree.
When the
acorn expressed this desire to one of his friends, the other acorn
laughed. “Have you seen yourself lately midget? You could never be
an oak tree.” And he went away, still chuckling.
Another
acorn overhead the conversation.
“You
can be an oak tree,” he said.
“I
can?”, said the first acorn. “Please tell me how.”
“You
must do oak tree exercises every morning and every night” replied
the other. “If you practice enough, you will become a very great
oak tree.”
The acorn
began that very night. He exercised with all his might. Every day
when he woke up and was still an acorn he said to himself “I will
work even harder today. Then surely, tomorrow I will be an oak tree.
But he
never was.
One day
the acorn was in the middle of his exercises when a squirrel came by.
“What are you doing?” asked the squirrel. “I am doing my
exercises, so I may grow into a great oak tree,” replied the acorn.
“But I have been working for a long time and I don't feel any more
like an oak tree than before”.
“The
material world will not help you come an oak tree,” said the
squirrel with a wise expression.
“Then
how am I to become an oak tree?,” asked the acorn.
“You
must go to the Great Mountain and think oak tree thoughts for
seventy-nine days and seventy-nine nights. On the morning of the
eightieth day your soul will have absorbed the fullness of oakness
and you will find yourself to be an oak tree.”
So the
acorn traveled through many dangers to the Great Mountain. He climbed
to the summit where the icy winds whistle and emptied his mind of
everything but oak trees for seventy-nine days and seventy-nine
nights. But when the sun rose on the eightieth day, he was still an
acorn.
The acorn
climbed down the mountain and made his way back home. He passed
through a great city and saw a large building filled with books. “Maybe
one of those books will tell me what I need to know to become an oak
tree” thought the acorn. So he
enrolled himself as a student in the oak tree school and studied with
all diligence. The acorn
studied at the university for many years. In time he became an
expert, and taught classes on oak trees. But he grew old, and his cap
became dusty and brittle and he was no closer to being an oak tree.
“I will go home to the forest,” said the acorn. “There at least
I can look at the oak tree even if I cannot become one.”
The acorn
returned to the forest and went to the great oak tree. “You are so
beautiful,” he said to the oak tree. “But I have searched my
whole life, and now I know that I will never be anything more than an
acorn.” And a silver tear fell from the acorn to the ground.
“Why
are you crying?” said a voice suddenly. The acorn looked up, and
saw the oak tree fairy sitting next to him. “I am crying because
all my life I have tried to become an oak tree, and now I know that
it is impossible”.
The oak
fairy looked thoughtful. “Do you know where you come from acorn?”.
“No,” said the acorn peevishly, feeling the fairy was intruding.
“You came from the oak tree. You were designed to grow into an oak
tree”.
“Well
I haven't,” said the acorn.
“Of
course not,” replied the fairy. “For that you have to die”.
“I
have to die!?” cried the acorn aghast. “What if I don't want to?”
“Then
you will never become an oak tree” said the fairy matter of factly.
The acorn
thought for a moment. “I want to be an oak tree more than
anything,” he said. “Show me how to die”. “Let me bury you in
the ground,” said the fairy. So the acorn let the fairy cover him
with the velvet darkness of the soil, and fell asleep.
When the acorn awoke, he was confused. No longer was he a small nut, but he was not a great tree either. “What have you done!” he said to the fairy in outrage. The fairy raised an eyebrow. “You are now an oak tree”, he stated. “Did you think that you would be a big tree overnight?”
“O,” said the acorn. “How do I grow?”
“Drink
in the sun and rain. And take your acorn cap off. You won't be able
to grow wearing it.”
The acorn
did as the fairy said. He took off his acorn cap. He drank in the sun
and rain.
Days, and
weeks, and seasons, and years passed.
And in
time…
The former acorn grew into a mighty oak.
The former acorn grew into a mighty oak.
His roots
twined among the boulders by the river.
His
branches housed forest creatures.
And his
leafy crest seemed to touch heaven.
Photo: Bing Images |
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