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Alone Make Much of You

With mercy make me free Posted: 30 Jan 2011 12:01 AM PST “O Jesus, take my bent away For thinking much of me, And kill my pride, and from this day With mercy make me free. O Jesus, grant the gift to see The treasure that you are, And as the night eclipses me, O be my Morning Star. And now if I should serve, or lead, Or give, or mercy show, O Jesus, let my love be freed, And like a river flow. O Jesus, be the treasure of My heart and all I do, And may the river of my love Alone make much of you.” — John Piper "Using Our Gifts in Proportion to Our Faith, Part 2" (Minneapolis, Minn.: Desiring God Ministries, Nov. 7, 2004)

Social Media Revolution

Listen Twice; Speak Once

Have you ever heard the saying,

"with two ears and one mouth you should listen twice and speak once." Anytime I hear someone speak on listening, I perk up.

Recently, I heard an attorney speak on the topic of synergy. Okay, sounds like an interesting topic. Synergy makes the world go round. But it wasn't the topic that impressed me, it was what he did. He walked into the room, introduced himself and then had all of us tell him our first names. Okay. Polite guy. Like him already. However, what he was doing was showing us what real listening is like.

He proceeded to teach his material all the while using our names throughout the time. Whoa! How did he do that? Does he have some magic trick that helps him remember stuff?

How about this. He listened. He was focused on us. He wasn't just giving the appearance of politeness. He was engaged. He was humble.

"It's the arrogant person who thinks they are picking up everything someone is saying."

He said that we all tend to wander off but says the remedy for that is to acknowledge you are doing it and then apologize for it.

"I'm sorry but I was distracted while you were speaking and really wasn't listening. Would you please repeat what you just said?"

Thanks Albert. I'm all ears.

Why do we celebrate??

Why We Celebrate

Why do we celebrate
Jesus’ birth at Christmas,
though we don’t know when He was born?
It was necessary and inevitable
that we select a date
to celebrate an eternal miracle--
the coming to earth
of God in human form...Jesus,
Who changed the entire world
with His message of love,
forgiveness, humility and peace.
Christmas is an obligatory
and indispensable holiday
marking the transformation
from guiltless selfishness
to striving to follow His example
of service to God and our fellow man.
That is worth celebrating.
- Joanna Fuchs-

Random Acts of Glory!

Parenting in the Thick and Thin

Do you ever feel beat up in the day? Ever heard yourself utter, "how long O Lord, how long?" I remember with acute vividness a defining moment in my parenting world. It was right after the birth of my second daughter. I looked at her, all sweet and pudgy-cheeked. I scooped her up towards my chest and cried. Yep. Cried. The reality of who I was as a person, as a parent had been revealed to me already. I knew that I couldn't promise her that I would never get angry with her or raise a harsh voice. No, I had discovered that after my first child. I didn't know I couldn't be perfect. I had all those good examples around me. I was intentionally raising my daughter in God's way. How could I not be perfect? I didn't understand. I didn't understand grace. I didn't know that God would fill in all the gaps, fill up all the leaks. What mom needs the Savior when she's got "it" all together? Can I say it. I'm hopeful in all my weakness. He shows up so brilliantly in my darkness!

Experience has taught me not to make a promise I couldn't keep. However, I did (and still do now that I have teenagers!) point them to Jesus Christ. He's the Rock. He does the impossible really well. Look to Him kids. He won't disappoint you.