AnotherJohn.Com

Today in class we discussed the Psalms.  I thought I would share my three favorite Psalms. Yes, I know---a totally original thing to do. Watch now as the creativity flourishes....what's your favorite psalm? The first favorite is the first written.  In my early faith days it was important to me to learn about everything I had been missing out on.  The day and night thing I tried to work on. I found out that doesn't always mean reading. This was the first psalm I learned as a Christian.   1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked wil...

I can relate to most of the list.  Funny. You know you're living in 2009 when: 1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave. 2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years. 3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 4. 4. You email the person who works at the desk next to you. 5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have email addresses. 6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries. 7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen. 8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it. 10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee. 11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : ) +KemMeyer

Vincent Van Gogh had many relatives. Among them were: * His obnoxious brother...............................Please Gogh * His dizzy aunt.....................................Verti Gogh * The brother who ate prunes..........................Gotta Gogh * The brother who worked at a convenience store.......Stop’n Gogh * The grandfather from Yugoslavia.....................U Gogh * The brother who bleached his clothes white..........Hue Gogh * The cousin from Illinois............................Chica Gogh * His magician uncle..............................Wherediddy Gogh * His Mexican cousin..................................Amee Gogh * The Mexican cousin's American half brother..........Grin Gogh * The nephew who drove a stage coach ..............Wellsfar Gogh * The constipated uncle ..............................Kant Gogh * The ballroom dancing aunt...........................Tan Gogh * The bird lover uncle................................Flamin Gogh * His nephew psychoanalyst.................

+lookatthis

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The Southwest Texas Annual Conference has recently redesigned its website. Whew! I was never a fan of the constant flashing of images at the bottom of the screen. Their site again is umcswtx.org. Stay blessed...john

lucubrate v. to study at night The four year story of my life! +futilitycloset

Every so often I check Oak Haven’s site statistics. I have been interested (when I have had the chance!) in who has been visiting and what they have been doing. For these statistics Statcounter has been my choice for the past two years, but I recently (months ago) employed GoogleAnalytics ; some of the drawbacks I found in Statcounter are made up with google’s tracking. It was a sunny day when I was looking at how visitors got to the church site. For the most part, I noticed most of the referring sites. There was one in particular I wasn’t sure about. So, I was a little eager to see who or what was out there sending people our way. This referring site was a blogger account; that is the same platform used for Oak Haven’s site and this one. Hey, it works! Unfortunately, I was denied access into the site. There are legitimate reasons for blocking readers online. I didn’t apply for a pass to get in the site, but it did get me thinking. To what extent do we deny “access” to othe...

This is a ten minute video.  It is a great take on some of the things I have wanted so desperately for churches to realize about their relationship to young people.  Those of you who may have had to endure that spill a few times will know how this really jerks me.  The video is good though; I think it would be something good to offer volunteers and others who work with youth.  A few pastors might even benefit from it.  Stay blessed...john Ignatius from travis hawkins on Vimeo . +morethandodgeball

I purposely try not to do this too much. Let’s face it there are some things that are too good (really, that are just too universal) to pass up. Gloria usually comes out on the “winning” side if/when I do let one of these slip—sure I’m a lot of things, but outright dumb is not one of them. So, you pastors out there: how much do you let home stuff creep into sermons and lessons? +thewilderness

+blueollie

Wow! It all makes sense now. No need to finish the last two years of seminary now :)

My Emmaus Walk table group name was Lost and Found... Good video!

Here's a post appropriate for our Lenten season. It talks about giving stuff up for Lent. Actually, it is about giving up giving up something for Lent. Make sense? My only issue is with the #2 Chocolate Ain't a Cross theory. Read it here and enjoy . Stay blessed...john

See all the fun here: Urban Camouflage

It's the Jesus Lamp ! I'm wondering if these can be adjusted. Something to go right behind the pulpit would work a little more for me. But I would still be certainly willing to use it for studying. This could be for the saint who is having the bad day. You can still keep up your image for all to see! +Interior Design 1 Peter 1:15-16 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." As I was writing I rememberd this picture:

So this isn't the faithful dedication of one's day to God that I have in mind when I hear this prayer. But it's pretty funny. "See you in the morning...maybe...I don't know." Hilarious. + Crazy Christian Clips

I wonder if my church members think they need something like this for some of our sermons? It looks like it could be a great tool. But how will I learn how to loose 106 lbs in two days or pay off my debt on someone else's credit if we get rid of all the junk around what we're reading on a website? +swissmiss

From an email: Little Tony was 7 years old and was staying with his grandmother for a few days. He'd been playing outside with the other kids for a while when he came into the house and asked her: 'Grandma, what's that called when two people sleep in the same room and one is on top of the other?' She was a little taken aback, but she decided to tell him the truth. 'It's called sex, darling.' Little Tony said, 'Oh, OK,' and went back outside to play with the other kids. A few minutes later he came back in and said angrily, 'Grandma, it isn't called sex. It's called Bunk Beds. And Jimmy's mom wants to talk to you.'

This guy was big when we were in school.  Things haven't changed too much.  I'm happy for him and and excited that Galveston is getting this.  Let's think: are these the biggest sports names that the island has had at one time?  I think so.  This will be a great event! Gloria and I have been wanting to get there so bad to help do something.  I will say that volunteers and agencies like UMCOR  (I'm not sure which others to name, yet, but I will) have begun work on my family's house.  They've done excellent work in a short amount of time.  It's like they're getting a new home.   And since we're talking about home.  I'm got a hold of another classmate ('96!) that I hadn't seen since graduating.   Go check out his site .  I'm happy about what he's doing as well. The city of Galveston will be able to celebrate the career of native son Casey Hampton later this month. In return, he’s giving back to the island. Hampton, a Ball High and U...

We’ve participated in the Flat Stanley adventures. Last year Ashlei’s class was given the project. Stanley traveled to McAllen to visit our family down there. I don’t think his time in the Valley was anywhere near the excitement he found in New York : “Hello Gina, It's taken me a long time to write … I went to New York! Here are a couple photos when I visited Times Square. It's full of lights and big billboards. Then I saw the Empire State Building. Amazing! After that, I was on a plane that landed in the river near New York. At the time I was in Eric's briefcase. Luckily he carried me off the plane! … What an adventure! I'm safe and dry now … and no need for you to worry … Your friend, Flat Stanley.”

Movie bloopers are fun to watch. Initially, if you waited for the credits to run after the movie you would be able to watch the gag reels. Suddenly, bloopers and outtakes are common features to any movie on DVD. There’s something human about watching our favorite actors stumble through lines and scenes. The final productions play out so perfectly that sometimes we forget it took months, sometimes years to get through all the blunders, mishaps and other logistical aspects. If anything, we can remind ourselves that the most perfect actor or story told on the silver screen isn’t all perfect. There is a misconception that the Bible is full of people who have it all together. Is the Bible a blooper reel? No, but in studying the Bible we find the most vivid examples of people stumbling through life and their relationship with God. These bloopers aren’t always very funny. They can, however, provide insight into how we live our lives. Our circumstances may not mirror biblical charac...