What's the order?

Per his usual stellar self, Pastor Dave Miller from Bellwood Mennonite Church in Milford, NE scores a touchdown, or plants a seed, or loves us like a father, or calls us to respond.  I wish I could have written it myself.  Click the link below, it's not what you may be thinking:)
And Go Huskers!

Pastor Dave's Doodles: The four "F" words: "Now that I have your attention, let me explain what I mean. Suppose an alien were to visit Milford (or any Midwest town). Suppose this vis..."

Pursuing wealth

Yesterday's sermon was a hard one for me.  And it was hard for those who heard it.  When we allow God's Word to evaluate our hearts we find:
hardness, deceit, misplaced love, wrong motives, self-righteousness, mediocrity, sin, treachery, selfishness,...  and that's just my list:(
We should do this more often.
As I was reading the following article this morning, it reminded me of the sermon and how so much of entertainment pulls our hearts to wrong desires, and to be discontent.
http://www.daveramsey.com/newsletters/online/edition/personal-finance-newsletter-092710?ectid=cnl1010.final_11#bighouse
One of the dangers of a "wholesome" cable channel like HGTV, is that it's really just one big commercial all day long.  A constant diet of home improvements, house hunters, redecorating, etc. breeds discontent with what we have; it calls us to finer living, when our hearts should be called to "pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness"  (see 1 Timothy 6:11)

Pain

A couple days ago I was doing an exercise called a "Sumo Deadlift High Pull" (Disclaimer: That is not me in the video).  Evidently my form was poor and I was trying to muscle up the weight with my lower back, instead of letting the momentum of my hips snap the weight to my chin.  Now I have a sore lower back.
  Nothing that restricts movement, but I know it's there and it hurts a little.  I have found relief in keeping the muscles warmed up, and gently stretching all the connected muscles (calves, hamstrings, glutes, trapezoid, rhomboids, latisimus dorsi, etc.)  I also have noticed more relief when I sit and move with a neutral alignment.

Why am I telling you this?  I'm really not a complainer, and I don't want your sympathy, and I shy away from sharing what I do for exercise.  What this is really about is an analogy for our lives.  Sometimes we try to muscle up the good works and get things down on our own power.  Sometimes we are even successful at it.  But it will catch us, when we are tired or lazy and it is going to hurt.  When it does, the cure is to step back, rest, take a lighter load while we work on the details of the movement.  Then we practice supporting movements (Spiritual practices) that realign the framework and move us back into a healthy state where we can run the race, carry the load, and throw off the sin that so easily entangles us.  Finally, when we once again encounter the movement that set us back, we trust Jesus to complete the work that he began in us to completion.  This is Jesus' movement; we join him in carrying the momentum that he has already begun.

Addition, and there was much rejoicing:)

Suzanne, and 3 little girls, left a couple hours ago and drove to Salina, KS.  When she returned there were 6...
Hmm...
This doubling of the girls will last from now until Monday sometime.  It's gonna be a hoot!

The unclothed:) anabaptist

I just finished reading The Naked Anabaptist: The Bare Essentials of a Radical Faith.  It was a thought-provoking read.  Here are some links to give you an idea what the book is about.  If you are:
-Mennonite
-attending a Mennonite church
-avoiding Mennonites
-attracted to the core of following Jesus but don't like religion or church
-wondering about God

THEN - this book just might resonate with you.
I found it challenging and encouraging as one who is or was all of the above at some point.  Stuart Murray does a good job of identifying what they have found to be the helpful things in Anabaptism, while being honestly critical of lessons to learn or things to avoid.  This is a book I will need to read again.