I don't know how old this is, but I thought it was funny. Although he probably could have used the peep hole.



Stay blessed...john

Here are several pictures of what our world might possibly be like if E.T. and his friends were to make themselves more comfortable here on our nice little planet.

I'm smelling some Ephesians 2:12 youth illustrations coming out of this.

If Aliens Took Over Our World

The National Park Service is standing its ground in not allowing visitors to climb 168 steps up to the crown of the Statue of Liberty despite a House Democrat's efforts to use $1 million to study how to reopen it safely.

Of course, I don't know all the ins and outs of government spending, or research efforts. And I'm not criticizing (because I don't know), but $1 million to research something like that. Please enlighten me (seriously) on what that much money would be used for in a study like this.

House Democrat Wants $1M to Study Reopening Statue of Liberty's Crown
Stay blessed...john

This is pretty cool. This guy apparently does a lot of wood work and has built an adding machine made of wood that uses marbles. Here is a blurb from his website:

The core of the invention is a modification of the divide by two flipflop to retain the marble that falls off the right side, and keep it until the flipflop is flipped to the left by the next marble.

He's provided an explanation of his work here:Binary marble adding machine.



stay blessed...john

the Mr. Rogers book. I wanted to share with you a couple of lines from it that were important to me.

Fred Rogers was one of those who was very far advanced in the Lord's service and who often employed the prayer of silence. It wasn't just the absence of noise he advocated, but silence that reflects on the goodness of God, the goodness of what and whom He made......He knew that silence leads to reflection, that reflection leads to appreciation, and that appreciation looks about for someone to thank: "I trust that they will thank God, for it is God who inspires and informs all that is nourishing and good...."

Psalms 91:1,2 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust."

Stay blessed...john

See, you should always do your own research.

Well, VBS is all done (whewwww). It's always a lot of fun, but it's always a lot of work as well. Watching the little ones do their motions to the songs they learn and listening to them retell the stories they have heard is a blessing. We'll post the VBS video in the next couple of days.

I was in the chapel this morning. As I sat there in the quiet, my attention was directed to one of the stained-glass windows. The image was that of a dove with an olive leaf in it's mouth. The imagination kicked in as I thought about what that experience must have been like (Noah and the ark). By the way, we watched Evan Almighty on Friday with some of our youth group members. I'd recommend it. Anyways, all these thoughts about smells, dirty sandals, no quiet that I would think would have to be a part of taking care of that many animals came to mind. Just for the added effect, it began to rain outside and you could hear the drops bouncing off the roof. Thanks God for the silent moment to think about your words.

I'm trying to rediscover the power of quietness. By coincidence, of course (wink, wink) I have been reading The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers; I'm not finished with it just yet, but I'm sure I'm going to recommend you read it. Almost on purpose, at the beginning of the book, the author speaks of the importance Mr. Rogers placed on silence, and the things that can happen when we are silent. Her description of his thoughts impressed me. I'll leave that thought with you; praying it will bless your faith. Stay blessed...john

When is it exciting to watch a game that finishes with a score of barely 83-82? Well, of course, when it's Game 4 of a sweep to win the NBA championship!

All that dynasty stuff can wait. Let's talk about what matters now. Leaving San Antonio after last night's victory was pretty cool. Everyone was honking their horns, yelling, using the other finger to really say we're #1, high-fiving and just having a good time. I've been watching the Spurs since David Robinson came on board; these last several years have been so much fun. The whole dynasty question will be answered in a few years for sure. Now, if I can just get the Eagles to do the same kind of things.

The only thing that bugs me is this whole Eva Longoria thing. Is she our new mascot, or what? Anyways, I'll leave that one alone. Go Spurs Go!

Stay blessed...john

Talk about a road trip. This bus is going from California to New Hampshire, then to Iowa. There's a reason:

The Topsy-Turvy Bus, lovingly known as Topsy, was designed to dramatically depict America’s upside down budget priorities. Topsy is a brainchild of Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s and noted artist Stefan Sagmeister , and was constructed by artist-mechanic Tom Kennedy.

Here's the website with more information:
Topsy-Turvy Bus National Tour

Stay blessed...john

Neatorama's blog has featured some nice church buildings/cathedrals. If what is pictured isn't enough for you read some of the comments for more links.

10 Divinely Designed Churches

Stay blessed...john

One more to go!!

I had given Cleveland (2) games, but now I suppose they'll be fortunate to get one. What a game. Bruce Bowen comes through on offense, Manu scored three points, we went wild on threes. Whatever it takes.

Stay blessed...john

I'm at one of the hospitals in San Antonio Sunday night to see one of our members; I've only been to this particular hospital a couple of times. Now, me and hospitals don't always see eye-to-eye. I'm mainly the problem because I have a habit of getting lost in them--they don't like that---neither do I! The usual volunteers weren't there during my visit this time to direct me where I needed to go.

I wondered around the hallways for a few minutes looking for anyone who could help with patient information. I wondered around the hallways for a few minutes patiently looking for anyone with information. As I came around a corner I noticed a young woman whose eye I had caught. Only Heaven knows if she was trying to be discreet our not--she was not at all. While I'd love to confirm your assumptions, that yes, this is something I am used to , I must tell you I felt rather awkward. There were no windows to fake look out of. I inadvertently found my way to where she was; I don't think there was any question about that. So, I couldn't pretend I knew where I was going and that I needed to head back the other way--you know like to my other adoring fans. There was no escape.

As I approached her I noticed she had some baggage, and a tight grip on something in her hand. That item was what had drawn her to me. Well, not to me, but to the clergy collar she noticed fashioned around my neck. Unashamed, bold and almost demanding she asked me to bless her rosary. I told her that I would be happy to share a prayer with her, and that I wasn't sure it would sound the same as what she might be used to from her pastor or priest. No problem. She told me about her young son who was not doing well at all. He had already been there for several days, and things were not looking good at all. We spent several moments before God there in the hallway. We even shared a couple of tears. She assured me that even through all this she would do her best to seek God and to stay strong in her faith.

I share that with you to remind you of the calling we all have. You may not wear a clergy collar--they are easier to put on than a tie!--but you are called to the life of ministry. If could be that of prayer, it could be other service. Whatever it is, do not neglect your work/place in the building of the kingdom. If you would, please pray with me for that young woman and her family--we will likely never know of her circumstance again, but we know whose care she is in.

Healing Lord, you offer to us great peace--your peace. In your wisdom you arranged for Christ's sacrifice to be for our redemption. For your peace, wisdom and love we give you thanks. Allow us the opportunities to share these gifts with others. Allow for us to use your message to bring hope to those who are hurting; it is for those we pray now. In Christ's name. Amen.

Stay blessed...john

Watch what NASA is doing up there. One of our members called this afternoon and mentioned he was watching on the NASA channel. I looked it up real fast and found this link. This will bring to you (what it says) live coverage. It's pretty impressive--to say the very least.

NASA Public Channel
Here's the page where you can see the other viewing options: NASA TV

Stay blessed...john

I got my BuzzKill t-shirt at Annual Conference this past week. The cost is $20; half of that goes to buying a net. I've featured Nothing But Nets on the blog before, but I'm sure it won't offend anyone if I do it again today. Here's the link to the Nothing But Nets website and to Cokesbury's site to order a t-shirt.

Nothing But Nets
Cokesbury BuzzKill t-shirts

To help meet this goal, The United Methodist Church has created a t-shirt to allow you to contribute toward sending nets to Africa, and to help educate others about this global health threat. Each purchase buys and distributes an insecticide-treated bed net to a family in need in Africa and provides education on its proper use to prevent malaria. And, you get a BuzzKill t-shirt turns you into a walking advertisement for the Nothing But Nets campaign every time you wear it, and encourages others to do the same.

Stay blessed...john

It's the newest craze. All the kids are doing it. It's the BakersEdge baking pan, "The First and Only Pan For Edge Lovers." The website provide instructions, recipes, reviews and a video. The cost is $34. Well worth the price, I can't wait until they come out with the Lasagna edge pan!

Welcome to BakersEdge Pan

Stay blessed...john

This is a music site that lets you choose the mood of music you want to hear. try it out. Stay blessed..john

Burst Labs

the title on this one is catches your attention. There's some sermon illustrations in here somewhere. complete with safety tips for all motorists. Here's a piece of the article:
Motorcycle accidents involving “born again” riders — those age 40 or older who are coming back to transportation on two wheels after years driving family sedans — continue to rise, officials said this week.

“Born agains” are motorcyclists who rode 20 years ago or so ago but who gave up the practice to marry and raise a family, said Clifton Burdette, motorcycle safety coordinator for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Once their children are grown, they decide to hit the trail once more and invest a lot of money in their new motorcycles, he said.

Unfortunately, many of them have forgotten what they knew back in the day — and they aren’t volunteering to take refresher courses.

Here's the article:'Born-again' bikers raising accident rates
stay blessed...john

This story is from home. The area they are talking about is where my family lives (the house I spent my last years in Galveston in. Expansion is everywhere. There are only so many places you can go on an island. For a long time new developments seem to jump over that area.

I spoke with my step-dad about this and he said all they were doing was helping him out by raising his property value.

West End developer an unpopular neighbor

Stay blessed...john

but not for long. We're heading to Corpus tomorrow night. Graduation was fun; talk about a lot of people! It's always good to see family and visit with them. We attended my dad's church on Sunday and I was able to preach. That's always fun.

Brittani came into the office a little while ago. She had gone to school to pick up her trophy for being the 2nd grade top reader. If I could read as much as she does, you all might actually learn something from me!

Anyways, we'll try to blog in Corpus. If not, we'll see you Sunday. Stay blessed...john