Free Pastor Bike

I'm not someone who believes that these things do any good, but it seems that in this case taking the 2 minutes to sign the petition is a good use of time on the off chance that it could work. God has used lesser tools than internet petitions in the past I'm sure.

From the website:

On August 6, just two days before the Olympics began, Pastor Zhang "Bike" Mingxuan was arrested, along with his wife and a coworker. In response to these arrests, The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association have launched a petition drive to free these three Christians and to let the Chinese government know that the world is aware that these Christians are being detained.

Pastor Bike, as he is affectionately known, is considered to be one of the most outspoken evangelists in China. He is a bold believer willing to cross borders, hand out Christian literature and Bibles, share Christ with those under age 18 and lead thousands to Christ. All these actions are considered "illegal," in communist China. Earlier this year, Pastor Bike pleaded with VOM staff and China Aid Association to create the China Prayer Bands so that Christians in the free world could know more about persecution of Christians in China.

Click here to sign the petition

Why you don't get animals from pet stores

If you want a pet, get one from a breeder.

Hillsong Healer Update

So I just found out that the story behind the song "Healer" is not true. The writer Mike G. is not suffering from cancer and he is not terminal.

The first reaction is one of sorrow and anger, sorrow that he lied and anger that he made us look like fools to the world.

However, when you see the true intent of the song, it changes things, when you realize that he came forward to confess, he wasn't caught in a lie and forced to confess, he knew that he needed to be clean and needed to break free. He lied to his wife and his parents about this, that is how bad off he was.

I think we all should be praying for him to be able to trust in God's power to break him free from
the sin of lust. The first step I'm sure was the hardest and I think in some ways he is an example of courage, losing everything for the truth.

The words of his father I think explain the situation best. The addictive behavior that is talked about is an addiction to pornography that he had hidden from the time he was 12.

Original Here

THE father of fallen pastor Michael Guglielmucci, Danny, read this brief statement to a packed congregation to explain his son's actions.

"Today is a very sad day for our family and church family.

For many years our son, Michael has suffered from unexplained illnesses. We have been worried as we have seen him suffer and spend periods of time in hospital.


Two years ago our lives were totally turned around by the sad news of our sons' cancer diagnosis. The love and support shown by our local church and all of our many friends around the world helped us get through a very difficult situation.


During the last two years we have experienced the favor of God, his love and grace, and also the constant pain of the possibility of losing a son.


On Tuesday 12th of August we received a call to come and meet with Mike and Amanda but weren't ready for what we were about to hear. Mike began to share how he has lived a lie for the last 16 years of his life because of addictive behavior he couldn't break free from.



He loved God and would throw himself into prayer, worship, and serving God with full energy and enthusiasm but still couldn't break free.



In September in 2006, Mike had an accident and went to hospital. It was at this time, because of his torment of living a double life, Mike thought he could escape the pain by creating a diversion from his addiction to adult pornography, so he created the cancer scenario.



The pain of this addiction was so deep that he started something he couldn't stop and proceeded on a downward spiral that led to him experiencing pain and suffering that resulted in constant vomiting and many other symptoms of a genuine sufferer.



Sharonne and I witnessed these episodes and pained and wept over his suffering. Michael wrote the song Healer because he wanted God to set him free from his addiction but hid it behind the lie of a fabricated illness.



Once he had started down this track he felt he couldn't stop so he continued to act out this sickness, feeling he had gone too deep into the lie.



I can't begin to tell you how much this is hurting us on the inside. A few weeks ago Mike had a dream of Jesus on the cross looking down on him saying, 'the truth will set you free' and so he decided to confess and bring everything out into the open.



I immediately contacted our National Executive and submitted to their advice and council. Church, our family needs your prayers at this time. We are so, so sorry to bring you into this.



I have lead you with openness and integrity and declare that we have not lived a lie before you. We fully understand the questions, shock, disbelief and even anger you may feel over this announcement. Please pray for us and we will pray for you.



Michael is struggling with a different kind of illness and is receiving professional help and will do so as long as is needed. On the council and advice of our executive and board, after our up and coming Edge conference, we will take time to be with Mike and get him all the professional and spiritual help he needs to come to full recovery.



We have an amazing team. Thank you, executive, board, staff and church, for your love and support. We will do what is right before God and man and see this situation turned around for the glory of God. We love you. "

Prayer for the Day from Spurgeon

When will the day dawn, and the shadows flee away? O Jesus, if thou come not in person to thy waiting Church this day, yet come in Spirit to my sighing heart, and make it sing for joy.

Hillsong - Healer

The first video is them performing this song, the second video is the story about the song and that performance. The singer is on oxygen and he has cancer. You can choose which order to watch the videos in, but they are both well worth watching.

Brilliance by Spurgeon

"Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn."

-- Ruth 2:2

Downcast and troubled Christian, come and glean to-day in the broad field of promise. Here are abundance of precious promises, which exactly meet thy wants. Take this one: "He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax." Doth not that suit thy case? A reed, helpless, insignificant, and weak, a bruised reed, out of which no music can come; weaker than weakness itself; a reed, and that reed bruised, yet, he will not break thee; but on the contrary, will restore and strengthen thee. Thou art like the smoking flax: no light, no warmth, can come from thee; but he will not quench thee; he will blow with his sweet breath of mercy till he fans thee to a flame. Wouldst thou glean another ear? "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." What soft words! Thy heart is tender, and the Master knows it, and therefore he speaketh so gently to thee.

Wilt thou not obey him, and come to him even now? Take another ear of

corn: "Fear not, thou worm Jacob, I will help thee, saith the Lord and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." How canst thou fear with such a wonderful assurance as this? Thou mayest gather ten thousand such golden ears as these! "I have blotted out thy sins like a cloud, and like a thick cloud thy transgressions." Or this, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Or this, "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come, and let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely." Our Master's field is very rich; behold the handfuls. See, there they lie before thee, poor timid believer!

Gather them up, make them thine own, for Jesus bids thee take them. Be not afraid, only believe! Grasp these sweet promises, thresh them out by meditation and feed on them with joy.

Stephen King

I just finished Dreamcatcher last night, I actually read a book rather than watch TV while riding the bike, don't worry, I will get back to filling my brain with nonsense soon. Anyway, the book was quite good, a stunning beginning and an ending that was quite agreeable.

There were times when I was reading that I would skip ahead to the bottom of the page without meaning to, I was just reading so fast that my brain couldn't keep up, I just wanted to know what happens next so badly.

I also read Cell while on vacation. Very good, end of the world stuff, half the size of Dreamcatcher, so not as involved. Cell has a quite interesting ending, part of it reminded me of The Stand in a way.

Well worth the time to check both books out.

Hear! Hear!

From Bill O'Reilly's most recent column, which can be found here.

"Under the Republican Bush administration, tax money presently pays for abortions, Viagra, condoms, sugar-laden food, dangerous housing in blighted neighborhoods and prescription drugs that will send you to the land of Oz.

But if you complain about any of this, you're an uncharitable greedhead.

Well, I am complaining. I don't want my money supporting some layabout who wants to get high all day long. Robin Hood wouldn't give those people money. The feds shouldn't either."


We are a nation out of control.

Beauty and Wonder

MORNING:

"And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that

hear will laugh with me."

-- Genesis 21:6

It was far above the power of nature, and even contrary to its laws, that the aged Sarah should be honoured with a son; and even so it is beyond all ordinary rules that I, a poor, helpless, undone sinner, should find grace to bear about in my soul the indwelling Spirit of the Lord Jesus. I, who once despaired, as well I might, for my nature was as dry, and withered, and barren, and accursed as a howling wilderness, even I have been made to bring forth fruit unto holiness. Well may my mouth be filled with joyous laughter, because of the singular, surprising grace which I have received of the Lord, for I have found Jesus, the promised seed, and he is mine for ever. This day will I lift up psalms of triumph unto the Lord who has remembered my low estate, for "my heart rejoiceth in the Lord; mine horn is exalted in the Lord; my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies, because I rejoice in thy salvation."

I would have all those that hear of my great deliverance from hell, and my most blessed visitation from on high, laugh for joy with me. I would surprise my family with my abundant peace; I would delight my friends with my ever-increasing happiness; I would edify the Church with my grateful confessions; and even impress the world with the cheerfulness of my daily conversation. Bunyan tells us that Mercy laughed in her sleep, and no wonder when she dreamed of Jesus; my joy shall not stop short of hers while my Beloved is the theme of my daily thoughts. The Lord Jesus is a deep sea of joy: my soul shall dive therein, shall be swallowed up in the delights of his society. Sarah looked on her Isaac, and laughed with excess of rapture, and all her friends laughed with her; and thou, my soul, look on thy Jesus, and bid heaven and earth unite in thy joy unspeakable.

Worst Hold Music Ever

I am on hold right now. The hold music is Blues Traveler.

Over and over and over and over.

Just Blues Traveler, and only that one song that people liked for no good reason.

Garfield Minus Garfield

I saw this on a blog recently and thought it was rather amusing, so here it is.

No Garfield, all about Jon Arbuckle

Weezer

This is a pretty good music video, they took all the popular youtube videos and have used them in their music video. If you have seen the videos it is pretty amusing, if not you can still enjoy the song.

Embedding is disabled so I have to link it, sorry.

Morning from Spurgeon

"We live unto the Lord."

-- Romans 14:8

If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for our preparation for immortality that we should tarry here. It is possible for a man to be taken to heaven, and to be found meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light, though he has but just believed in Jesus. It is true that our sanctification is a long and continued process, and we shall not be perfected till we lay aside our bodies and enter within the veil; but nevertheless, had the Lord so willed it, he might have changed us from imperfection to perfection, and have taken us to heaven at once. Why then are we here? Would God keep his children out of paradise a single moment longer than was necessary? Why is the army of the living God still on the battle-field when one charge might give them the victory? Why are his children still wandering hither and thither through a maze, when a solitary word from his lips would bring them into the centre of their hopes in heaven? The answer is-they are here that they may "live unto the Lord," and may bring others to know his love. We remain on earth as sowers to scatter good seed; as ploughmen to break up the fallow ground; as heralds publishing salvation. We are here as the "salt of the earth," to be a blessing to the world. We are here to glorify Christ in our daily life.

We are here as workers for him, and as "workers together with him." Let us see that our life answereth its end. Let us live earnest, useful, holy lives, to "the praise of the glory of his grace." Meanwhile we long to be with him, and daily sing-

"My heart is with him on his throne,

And ill can brook delay;

Each moment listening for the voice,

'Rise up, and come away.'"

More Funny Stuff

Steven Curtis Chapman

For those who don't know his 5-year old daughter was killed yesterday when his teenage son accidentally hit her while driving. I cannot imagine the pain the son must be feeling right now. Be sure to pray for this family.

Today my daily devotional from Spurgeon was so fitting:

"He led them forth by the right way."

-- Psalms 107:7

Changeful experience often leads the anxious believer to enquire "Why is it thus with me?" I looked for light, but lo, darkness came; for peace, but behold trouble. I said in my heart, my mountain standeth firm, I shall never be moved. Lord, thou dost hide thy face, and I am troubled. It was but yesterday that I could read my title clear; to-day my evidences are bedimmed, and my hopes are clouded. Yesterday I could climb to Pisgah's top, and view the landscape o'er, and rejoice with confidence in my future inheritance; to-day, my spirit has no hopes, but many fears; no joys, but much distress. Is this part of God's plan with me? Can this be the way in which God would bring me to heaven?

Yes, it is even so. The eclipse of your faith, the darkness of your mind, the fainting of your hope, all these things are but parts of God's method of making you ripe for the great inheritance upon which you shall soon enter. These trials are for the testing and strengthening of your faith-they are waves that wash you further upon the rock-they are winds which waft your ship the more swiftly towards the desired haven. According to David's words, so it might be said of you, "so he bringeth them to their desired haven." By honour and dishonour, by evil report and by good report, by plenty and by poverty, by joy and by distress, by persecution and by peace, by all these things is the life of your souls maintained, and by each of these are you helped on your way. Oh, think not, believer, that your sorrows are out of God's plan; they are necessary parts of it. "We must, through much tribulation, enter the kingdom." Learn, then, even to "count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations."

"O let my trembling soul be still,
And wait thy wise, thy holy will!
I cannot, Lord, thy purpose see,
Yet all is well since ruled by thee."

Here is a link to the Chapman blog with a video about Maria on it.

What is the thought this story leaves you with?

My thought is tax dollars being wasted.

Remembrances

July 19^th will mark the 5^th year anniversary of my mother dying.

In Christian circles we call it “going home” or other such terms, and they are true, but it doesn’t change the fact that my mother is no longer here with me. While we don’t mourn with no hope we still do mourn.

Merlin died a few months ago and I run into the same issues when I think about him that I do when I think about my Mom. Some of the clearest memories are the ones of them dying. The memories that stand out are them in the hospital never to leave. Their lifeless bodies lying there with tubes, eyes closed like they are sleeping, and me knowing that they will never be waking up again this side of paradise.

And that is not how I want to remember them.

I force myself to remember happier times when I think of them.

I think of Merlin sitting next to me on the arm of the chair watching sports with me. Merlin running along beside me as I carry some yummy canned cat food into the bedroom so I can close the door so the other cats can’t chase Merlin away from his treat.

Merlin with his meows that sound more like barks, the way his eyes get so wide when he would be playing with a toy. How we had to take some of his teeth out, due to improper blood flow we know now, and sometimes when he was playing with me he would try to bite me. I would be more worried that he was injuring himself by gumming my arm than I would be in pain.

I remember how gentle he was, how he would curl up by my pillow at night and sleep next to me. He had a specific spot he would sleep in, I could put him anywhere on the bed and he would go to that spot and lie down.

And for my mother, I think of corn on the cob fights. And indoor water fights. I think of her spraying us with the sink hose when we thought we had the upper hand. When I think of my mother I think of her reading the Prydain Cycle to my brother and me at night before bedtime, reading the Chronicles of Narnia. Knowing it was past our bedtime but all three of us wanted to see what happens next so we would continue on.

I think of the movie Alien. My brother and I were trying to watch this suspense filled movie in the living room and over in the dining room Mom was sewing using her sewing machine. We would be at a super scary part, leaned forward in the chairs, then suddenly, chug-chug-chug, the sewing machine would start up, causing weird lines to cross the TV screen. Even then it was funny.

Going for walks so we could talk to each other. I have such a clear recollection of the conversation when we started a new school and I didn’t like the people as much as I did at the old school. I remember camping, the three legged bear, campsite 74 that we always got, wasn’t super close to the road like 73 was, but still closer to the bathrooms than 75. Going to the beach for picnics, that is something I really miss now that I live somewhere with no beach nearby.

One memory that I can laugh about now was when Mom wanted some concrete sidewalk slabs for her garden path. Some people were tearing up their yard and they offered them to us if we dug them out and took them. We were using pitchforks to pry the slab up and I caught a pitchfork through the foot….well through the shoe actually. If went straight through so it was only in the sole. That was nice not having to go to the hospital, but my shoe made squishing noises when it rained from then on.

The time Mom got a metal stake stuck in her foot. I remember the circles that the doctor drew on her foot showing how far the infection had spread in her foot. I remember the joy I felt when the circles started to get smaller.

I remember when Dad wouldn’t participate in apple bobbing and so she splashed him. He got mad, at the time it wasn’t funny, but now I can’t help but grin since it showed how entirely different those two people are, but also how perfect they are for each other.

When I think of Dad when I was younger and Dad now after Mom had years to soften him up he is such a different person. Different in a good way.

The liquor story memory is one of my favorites. I had just got my license and I wanted to drive everywhere. So I drove Mom to the liquor store to pick up some wine. We were at the cash register and she had a memory lapse and couldn’t remember where the $20.00 bill was that she had brought to pay for the wine. She was digging through her purse looking in pocket after pocket trying to find it. The cashier had that look in his eyes like he wasn’t sure if he should be selling alcohol to some lady who was acting like she had one or two too many already.

When I sit and force myself to think of the happy times there are so many, too many to remember them all.

But mostly I think about corn on the cob fights.

I think I like this band

I know I like this song



Coheed And Cambria -In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth 3

Music to work to

Project 86 - The Spy Hunter

Letters to the President

I like this song, so I am posting it so that other people can like it too! Yay!!