Away From Home

I had to borrow the Hillers' computer to post this. We spent the night at their house last night. Yesterday, a bunch of people from chuch showed up to help clean up our house. It now has a fresh paint job and new shingles. The grass and the trees could look better, but you can't make out the words that Ben sprayed on them anymore. Dad's truck still needs to be repainted. Anyway, after we got done, we all went to eat together. We were gone for a couple of hours and when we got back we walked in the front door and there was this horrible smell in the house. We found what was causing it in my room. There was a huge pile of cow manure on my bed. It wasn't the nice dry stuff that comes in a bag either. It was the black gooy stuff the you find in th pasture. We are pretty sure that Ben and Tina did this. Dad says he is going to spread it on the yard.

Bro. Wayne came over to help us clean it up and then offered to let us stay at their house until we can get rid of the smell. Mom is worried, but I think it is just proof that I'm finally getting to Ben. So the verse of the day (week?) is Acts 5:41, "And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name."

You Should See the House

I told people that I would post pictures of what Ben did last night, but Bro. Wayne says he doesn't think they are appropriate for a church blog. I decided to post one non-offensive image. The rest of our yard, the house and Dad's truck have a other words spraypainted on them too.

Bro. Wayne thinks I'm crazy, but I think its a sign that I'm getting to Ben. I think he is under conviction or he wouldn't have done this.

What if we all did what was right?

Just imagine if people all did what is right. One of the big problems with the movie, recording, publishing and software industries is that people copy things without permission. When this happens, the creative people who produce the entertainment we enjoy do not receive payment for their work. To counteract this problem, restrictions are built into the digital media that is used for transmitting these products to paying customers. Imagine if a person could simply tell people the rules concerning his work and people would abide by those rules.

Think about it. A musician could offer his music freely on his website with the statement that anyone who wants it must pay him for it. Perhaps he could tell them that they may listen to any of his work once, but if they want to listen to it more than that then they will have to pay him. There would be no more thirty-second preview, but rather people could listen to the whole song before making a decision. Stock photo sites would not need to add a watermark to their pictures. If someone used the photo then they would simply pay for it.

Is that a world that you would like to see? Would you like to be able to examine intellectual property before you decide to buy? Would you like to examine a book online before making a purchase? We may never see that world, but we can move in that direction. Do you abide by the rules set by the content creators? If you do not then you are adding to the problem. Are you cheating people out of the money they deserve for their efforts? You cannot control what other people do, but you can control your own actions. If may be that you do not think that the content is worth the amount of money the owner is requesting. Perhaps it is not, but that does not give you the right to copy it without paying. If you don’t like the price then don’t use it. The choice is up to you, no one else.

Bumble Bee's a Grand Mother

Talk about a big shock! I went to church this morning and thought it was going to be as boring as usual, but when I got to class we had a visitor. I didn't even know that Bumble Bee had any children.

Prayer Boring? I Don't Think So.

Rachel Hauck says that she most often hears people describe prayer as boring. Well I never do and I have never heard anyone describe it that way. I have to wonder what kind of person would think that prayer is boring. Prayer isn’t boring. You try waking up with a train on top of you after praying and see if you think prayer is boring.

So maybe most people don’t end up in a train wreck, but I still don’t see how prayer can be boring. I’ve heard some boring prayers. I once heard a guy pray for ten minutes. That was boring, but when I pray it isn’t boring. What can be boring about talking to God? That’s all prayer is. Does it bore you when spend time talking to your friends? I know that I am never bored with talking my friends. If I get bored with a subject I change the subject. If you are talking to God and it is boring you then change the subject, it is probably boring him too.

God is our heavenly father. He cares for us. He wants to know what is important to us. If we are bored with what we are telling him or what we are asking of him then it probably isn’t important to us. Instead of talking about stuff that isn’t important, talk about the things that are.

Under His Wings, Behind His Shield

I want to talk about Psalm 91:4 for a moment. It says, "He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust; His truth shall be thy shield and buckler." Isn't it such a wonderful picture? It is the picture of a hen calling to her chicks and shielding them under her wings. But why must a chick hide under his mother's wing? Chicks don't like to hide under their mother's wing. They want to be out running around, eating bugs and learning new things, but when there is danger, she calls to them and they run to safety. The song says, "under his wings I am safely abiding." As much as I love the old song, I don't think we are intended to stay under his wings. His wings are a place of refuge when the dangers are more than we can handle. But he verse continues and says, "His truth shall be thy shield and buckler." A shield is a big heavy thing that is intended to protect against things like arrows, stones, or dead animals flying through the air. The buckler was used more in hand to hand combat. It was much smaller, held in the hand and was used to deflect the blow of a sword. I was also used as a second weapon.

The verse implies that we will do more than hide within his protection, we are called to go out and fight. As we go, we have something to protect us. What is it? The truth of the Lord. As we go out into the world, we are going to be facing the enemy. It won't be arrows or a sword that will be coming at us. The fight we face is one of words and ideas. People have many ideas that they believe to be true. They will be throwing them out there, trying to convince us that they are correct. They may become angry and accuse us when we disagree. If we do not have protection then we may be sucked into their lies. The truth is what will protect us. It will shield us from evil. There are many religious beliefs out there and many of them seem very logical. If we go on logic alone, we will lose the fight, but when we compare the beliefs of the world with the truth of God then we will not be taken in.

Where do you find God's truth? In the Bible. Look to the Bible for guidance. Study it and use it to help you determine whether a preacher is telling the truth or lying. Be like the people of Berea who we see in Acts 17:10, 11 "received the Word with allreadiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily to see whether those things were so." Don't take mine or anyone else's word for it, search the scriptures and see if what we say is correct.

Something Died

When we got to church this morning, there was this awful smell in the foyer. Something died in there and I'm pretty sure that it was the rat that Bro. Wayne was trying to catch. When we covered up all of the holes, it probably got trapped in the wall and died. Some of the smell was in the auditorium, but it wasn't so bad up front.