What is the message of Evangelism?

In our present study we have discussed the priority of evangelism and the motives for evangelism, all without getting down to the brass tacks of what evangelism is.  So without further ado…
But first, lets look at what the message of evangelism is not. It is not:

• A message of goodwill; nor exhortation to live good/better life.
• An attempt to raise morale of people at difficult times.
• A protest against social sins and social institutions.

These things may come as a result of preaching the gospel, but they are not the essence of the message.
The main fundamental message of evangelism is:  God has provided a way sinners can be reconciled to Himself; through Christ alone.

Note that the message contains four key elements:

• Message about God
• Message about sinful man
• Message about Christ, his Person and Work
• Message about the call to response; i.e. call to faith and repentance

Next week we will look at how to test our message of evangelism.

            For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
            For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
            “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
            Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, (1 Corinthians 1:17-23 ESV)

Resolutions for the Tongue Based on James

I've put consistent, daily blogging on the back burner since there are simply other priorities to attend to right now.  This morning while praying I realized my readers may be interested in the below - a series of resolutions for the tongue based on the book of James. This is not original to me. If I recall, I may have found it via Justin Taylor's blog.

I trust you find it useful. Note that in parenthesis is the reference where the resolution is drawn from.

1. I resolve to ask God for wisdom to speak out of a single-minded devotion to him. (1:5)

2. I resolve to boast only in the exultation I receive in Jesus Christ and also in the humiliation I receive for Jesus Christ. (1:9-10)

3. I resolve to set a watch over my mouth. (1:13)

4. I resolve to be constantly quick to hear and slow to speak. (1:19)

5. I resolve to learn the gospel way of speaking to both rich and poor. (2:1-4)

6. I resolve to speak in the present consciousness of my final judgment. (2:12)

7. I resolve never to stand on anyone's face with the words I employ. (2:16)

8. I resolve never to claim as reality in my life what I do not truly experience. (3:14)

9. I resolve to resist quarrelsome words as evidence of a bad heart that needs to be mortified. (4:1)

10. I resolve never to speak decided evil against another out of a heart of antagonism. (4:11)

11. I resolve never to boast in anything but what I will accomplish. (4:13)

12. I resolve to speak as one subject to the providences of God. (4:15)

13. I resolve never to grumble. The judge is at the door. (5:9)

14. I resolve never to allow anything but total integrity in everything I say. (5:12)

15. I resolve to speak to God in prayer whenever I suffer. (5:13)

16. I resolve to sing praises to God whenever I'm cheerful. (5:14)

17. I resolve to ask for the prayers of others when I'm in need. (5:14)

18. I resolve to confess it whenever I have failed. (5:15)

19. I resolve to pray with others for one another whenever I am together with them. (5:15)

20. I resolve to speak words of restoration when I see another wander. (5:19) 

The Butter Battle Book book review, or: why restricting immigration makes no sense

It's been awhile since I've read a Dr. Seuss book. Too long probably.  A couple weeks go Abi invited me to come to the library with the fam. Sure! Cracks me up, at just 4 years old she is such a first born.

Off to the kids section we go. Hmm, hadn't seen this one before, "The Butter Battle Book" by Dr. Seuss. 
By page 3, I was hooked.

"On the last day of summer, ten hours before fall… my grandfather took me out to the Wall.  For a while he stood silent. Then finally he said, with a very sad shake of his very old head, "as you know, on this die of the Wall we are Yooks. On the far other side of this Wall live the Zooks.  Then my grandfather said, It's high time that you knew of the terribly horrible thing that zooms do. In every Zook house and in very Zook town every Zook eats his bread with the butter side down!" (italics his)

So begins the story. The story continues on til the very end with the two sides constantly one-upping the other with weapons until…  Well, that's the end.  Dr. Seuss really made this one anti-climactic.

The key elements here that got me thinking were: The relatively minor difference between people groups, the militant force or nationalism one will use to protect his own way of life, and the wall.

It only took the wall to remind of the current immigration debate in the States.  There are some who would like a wall built on the border of Mexico to keep people from getting in. 

The brilliance of Dr. Seuss is that he shows how the differences are so petty - in the book nothing more than butter being the other side of the bread.  But how much different is it in reality?  So others might speak a different language, they may have an accent, their skin may be a different color, they may have different food preferences, and so on. But in the grand scheme of things aren't those minor differences.  How often we lit petty differences get between us.

Yes, definitely read this book if you can. You may see through this parable parallels to your own life or country.

The Butter Battle Book: (New York Times Notable Book of the Year) (Classic Seuss)

Future Grace: Book Review

This is the first John Piper book I have read in a long time.  Like his other larger books, this one is heavy sledding.  And like his other books, the rewards are tremendous for working through it. 

The book is about why and how to have faith in future grace from God.  He applies this to various temptations and sins as well such as anxiety and lust such that an alternate title for the book could be something like, "How to fight sin".

I found myself spiritually strengthened each time I read this book.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with sin.  Piper clearly lays out why the struggle exists and how to biblically fight it. 

The only problem I had with the book is how big it was compared to how simple it's message is. The book weighs in at 400 pages and I imagine it could be cut down to around 350 pages for a bit more brevity.  A nice addition to the book, perhaps in appendix form would be a comprehensive list of the promises of God for his children.  Piper so many times in the book talks about how we need to rely on these promises but very rarely mentions what they are. 

Future Grace

Be Present - Ignore Electronics

Many of the readers here know I try to live a Paleo lifestyle (as much as one can in the modern world anyway), not for it's own sake but for a better quality of life.  The results have been incredible and I have no good reason to go back to the way I used to eat/sleep/exercise. 

I've been working on my sleep a lot lately, namely, getting enough and making sure it's quality.  One of the benefits of that is more energy, better memory, and clearer thinking. Today, for instance, I've been going strong  for over 6 hours and plan on 9 more yet (post written noon of the 27th).  Getting quality sleep has been yet another change in my life recently where I've seen dramatic improvements from a simple switch.

One of the ways to get quality sleep is to avoid looking at electronic light before bedtime.  Electronics are things like tv, computer screen, phone, etc.  They emit blue light and that stuff just ain't good for the brain prior to shut-eye.  I used to aim for turning off all electronics an hour before bed.  I recently learned though that I should be doing more than that, something around 2 hours, and more than that, the electromagnetic waves have a negative affect on the brain for sleep. 

That's the sciency stuff but then there's the whole element of just being present. being where you are, with what you have and who you have.  Does your quality of life truly increase substantially by scrolling up and down your Facebook newsfeed on your phone or computer?  I'm really thankful for Dallas Hartwig at The Whole9 for encouraging me to shut my electronics off two hours before bedtime for this reason.  Now I know that however busy or stressful my days are they are going to end with 2 hours of "peace", away from email, phone, alerts, whatever. They'll end with books, conversations, hand writing, prayer and silence. 

So from now on, for the most part, my electronics go on off or "airplane mode" at 7pm every night, and will be off til I wake up around 5am. 

I won't hold to this rule as if my life depended on it. Last week someone pointed out to me I broke the rule. "Yes, I realize that. Thank you for pointing out that I'm not perfectly consistent in everything I do."  Sometimes I will make evening phone calls for appointments, and to call friends. And sometimes I will get on Skype to hold a meeting with a team of teachers about to head to the other side of the world.   But in general, I am aiming to be more present and thoughtful in my evenings prior to rest, saving things that can be done without an electronic til that time, and making use of that time to be present with others, and "be still and know that [He] is God."

I encourage you to do something similar.  Some (I think of my parents generation) have little problem with these things at all. They never let electronics control them, but instead lived such as to control their electronics.  Others do have to be much more conscious about being present in the particular moment and in their particular place.

Blessings to you,
Ben

The Paleo Solution - Book Review

The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet



Those of you following this blog know that I've taken up a new hobby or interest rather seriously in the past year, namely learning about healthy living and putting it into practice.  The subject has really fascinated me; I have a mind that likes to know how things work so learning the molecular makeup of different foods and how they are processed by our body and how they impact the body intrigues me.  Maybe I would have enjoyed Anatomy & Physiology in college after all had I taken it. Probably not. Though I may look for a Teaching Company course to take. Anyways, part of my effort to learn more about a healthy day and way of living has been to read The Paleo Solution: the original human diet, by Robb Wolf.

The book is fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed. One of the things that really helped my reading of it is that I had already listened to many of The Paleo Solution podcasts featuring Robb Wolf.  That was crucial for me I think because it helped me to understand his personality and style, as well as already gave me some exposure to all the technical vocabulary in dealing with digestion etc.  Robb is pretty laid back.  This is not an academic treatise. He jokes around and writes as if he's talking to you.  You'll have to read it like that.

If you're looking for a good book that: explains why eating paleo is best for your body, how to do it, explains other crucial elements you need to look, feel, and perform your best (like sleep), and gives practical suggestions, you've found your book.

Even if you don't agree with everything Robb says (most of conventional wisdom doesn't), the book is still a fascinating read form a "how does that work?" perspective.  I was impressed with how he made complex subjects understandable.  There's only so much an author can do for a lay audience and I think Wolf did a superb job. Some portions I did have to reread slowly just to get it but that's not his fault. I've just never read the vocabulary before.

For me, most the book's value is in explaining why this stuff works, and giving a thirty day meal plan (complete with recipe's) in the back. I highly recommend it and rank it 5/5 stars.  I greatly look forward to his next (more in-depth) book.

I recommend checking out his website and podcast:
http://www.robbwolf.com/
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-paleolithic-solution/id340221970

Blue Like Jazz: A book review

By now, a number of you are probably thinking that all I do is read books.  Not at all. I can perhaps post later on how and when I read.  Suffice to say that half marathons are completed one step at a time.  Lately I've been reading two chapters a day - the first thing I do after waking up and the last thing I do before shut-eye.  I'll throw other books in when on the road or for a couple hours on a Saturday/Sunday.  No more books reviews after the next one I post (on Future Grace) as I'm in the first halves of about 8 books right now.

Ok, Blue Like Jazz...I'm usually behind the times on things (exaggeration alert), and this book was one of those things. You may remember it as super popular a few years back. I'm trying to figure out why it was so popular within the Christian community because it hardly read as if it was written for believers.  It came across more as, "Ah, you've been disenchanted by the church too? By how Republican and anti-gay the church is? Well, let me share with you my thoughts and story."

The first half of the book was decent, then it went downhill.  Unfortunately, I came away from the book being more disturbed than edified and learned.  All that said, I'm glad I read the book and there were certainly some good nuggets in there.  It's important for us to read what is popular from time to time to know what others are reading - we are informed as to how are friends are thinking and what assumptions they are making.

My issues with Miller in Blue Like Jazz:
-I have stated this about another author in a review: very little (in this case, none) reliance on the hard, solid foundation of Scripture and a lot of "I think..."'s.  How sure can the reader be of what Miller is saying if he only supposes or conjectures or is pretty sure of something? It would be helpful if what he is trying to show was based on more than his thoughts.  Fellow believer: start and end with the Scripture.  There will be gimmicks and books and quick fixes and devotionals and sermons and self-reflection until the end of time.  They can all wait. Go first and last to Scripture.  You will find in it rock solid truths. The loving kindness of our God is nowhere better displayed and explained than in the Bible.  For every moment in your life, for every situation in your life, no book but the Bible is always applicable and relevant.

-He is often (though not always) ambiguous. "Ok, what are you really saying here, Don?" I want to ask.  I don't understand ambiguity in communication, especially in dealing with eternal and Spiritual truths.

-He is plain wrong in places (as I indicated earlier, mainly the 2nd half).  "But, Ben, aren't all authors wrong at some point?" Yes, of course. But there's a difference between calling a 1,000 meter deep lake shallow or deep vs. calling a 1 meter deep pool shallow or deep.  The lake is most certainly deep no matter how you look at it. The pool may be deep for a baby, but shallow for Paul Bunyan.
Examples:
-Miller realizes that Jesus loves him not merely out of principle, because it was the right thing to do, but because there was something inside him that caused Jesus to love him.  Biblically this is not true.  God does not love anyone because of anything in him. Ultimately, he loves us and saves sinners for the sake of his own Name.
-"[He] wondered whether any human being could be an enemy of God." Wonder no longer, Miller, and read your Bible. Prior to conversation, a human is an enemy of God and God is enemy of man.  This is the wonder of the Gospel. God saved enemies, not people who had some intrinsic value in them.
-One of his friends describes hell as loneliness and Miller declares it as the most accurate description of hell around. Really? Again, read your Bible, Miller. It gives a pretty accurate (if not understated) descriptions of hell.

What's to like about the book?
-It is incredibly readable.  Look, I'm one of John Piper's biggest fans and he's a favorite author of mine but the style of Miller is far more readable than Piper.  This is partly because Miller writes stories and Piper writes theology.  Piper stands on the shoulders of giants and writes with the influence of authors long dead. Miller writes as if he's conversing in 21st century vernacular.  You get the idea. Neither style is better or worse. One happens to be more readable.

-He does make some astute points that caused me to sit back and say, "Huh, that was good point."  --He's right on when it comes to self-centeredness and until I saw what he had to say at the end about why Jesus loves us, I thought he hit human depravity square on the nose. 
--He understands that no church is relevant to a culture unless it believes in Jesus and the power of His Gospel.  I was surprised to hear that come from an emergent guy, but ok.
--He's on to some good thoughts regarding modern temptations, like being passionate about nothing, and frittering away our time. Some of Satan's most reliable and used temptations today.
--"When I was in love I hardly thought about myself. I thought about the other person and how beautiful they were."  Miller didn't make this point, but maybe he intended the reader to come to it: There is a good analogy here for loving and being in full allegiance to Jesus. The more we look to him, the less we look at ourselves. And in the vein of Phillipians 4:8,9, we ought to be thinking on the good, true, and beautiful, namely, Jesus himself, and how beautiful he is.

A decent book, I give it 5 out of 10 stars. I'm glad I read it, though I wouldn't recommend it to others. For those interested in Miller or his style, I would encourage you to read G. K. Chesterton instead.    Chesterton is a far better story teller, and there are no questions about his orthodoxy.

I commend to you: Orthodoxy and Tremendous Trifles.

The Kindle: A Review

Last fall I purchased a Kindle.  For years I had sorta balked at the thought of even using one. I love books - and have perhaps loved them too much at times.  More specifically, I love the physicalness of a book. I can leaf through the pages, make pen marks, pencil marks, stick post-its inside, put a book mark in, let someone borrow my physical copy.  When the Kindle came out I figured that was all well and good but I just would only use it for novels or books like that - books that I wouldn't be interested in marking up.

O how things change.  I have a 6" Kindle touch and I take it nearly everywhere I go.  I remember hearing people say that by using the Kindle you will want to read more....I saw what they meant the first day I started using it.  I'm not sure what it is, perhaps the ease of use. You can just sit there and with one hand read a book, tap it with your thumb to turn the page...incredible.

Why do I like the Kindle?
-A plethora of books are at my fingertips at anytime, particularly the ones I have downloaded or purchased, though those not yet purchased are literally at your fingertips 24/7 as well if you have 3G.
-This translates into convenience and redeeming the time. No more waiting in the post office line with nothing else to do.  Now I can knock out a chapter of a book.
-Thin and lightweight it is super weight and convenient for traveling.  No more trying to decide which physical books to bring and end up taking too many or too few.
-Kindle can hold and play audio too. I haven't used this feature yet, but I've loaded a few lectures on here to listen to at a more opportune time.
-The battery life is amazing - I usually charge it once a month, if that (I also keep wireless off most the time and turn it on only for specific purposes).
-The highlight and notes feature.  Ah, this is what I liked so much about books.  Ok, writing notes in a kindle is a bit more difficult than a physical and this transaction costs has probably led me to take fewer notes. But, here's the clincher, the notes and highlights you make on the kindle go straight to your online account.  Whenever I finish a book one of the things I do is review it by going back through all my notes and highlights and underlines and copy them to a digital format.  Kindle makes these digital for me.  All I had to do was copy 20 pages worth of highlights yesterday from a book to a word document yesterday and make a few edits and we are good to go.  This feature is worth a ton to me.
-Amazon has great sales going all the time. 90% of the sales I don't take advantage of because I don't want the book, but one can get some pretty good books at super cheap prices (or free) if you keep your eyes and ears tuned.
-The books don't take up space. Perhaps this goes unsaid, but really, it's great.  Books start to become more of a burden than a joy with every move...

What I don't like about the Kindle?
-You can't flip pages.  Flipping through the book or from bookmark to bookmark is plain cumbersome. Not a big deal.
-I can't give someone else a book permanently or to borrow on the kindle, nor can you resell it when you're done with it. Once it's yours, it's yours.  Now I'll add that there is a feature for some books (depends on publisher decision) for a kindle book owner to let another kindle user borrow the book for a limited time.

When all is said and done, I wouldn't want to go back to not having The Kindle.  I look forward to using this for many years to come.

Kindle Touch 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display - includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers

Finding the right one for you - Book Review

This is perhaps the best book I've read on dating.  In Finding the Right One for You, H. Norman Wright methodically, and matter of factly leads the reader through questions to consider and points to remember if they are thinking about dating and marriage.  It's impressive really. He addresses questions others I've read simply ignore.  And he presents everything in a nice logical order.  Perhaps what what really sets Wright apart here is that he places a large emphasis on knowing and not so much doing.  Or, to be more specific, he emphasizes knowing yourself very well, rather than just rushing into the dating scene. He also places a heavy emphasis on the many warnings signs and red flags to beware of in people and relationships.

This is all easier said than done. What I mean is that you can't just sit here and think, "ah, yes watch out for crazies and I need to know what I want. Great, off we go."  One really needs to work through the book and the questions he asks. And when he talks about the red flags ask if they perhaps apply to the reader as well (and not just the other party in relationship!).

A lot of credit to Wright for emphasizing the difficulty of an intimate relationship. It's not all sunshine and roses and he is clear about that.  Near the end of the book when talking about compatibility he says that it's a myth and you basically need to work to become compatible once you are married. He also spends quite a bit of time talking about the different facets of the Myers-Briggs personality type letters and how the opposites are truly opposites.

This book is well worth reading.  He writes from a Christian perspective but doesn't try to make the Bible write the book (or method) for him.  You will end up learning a lot from this book and marking it up quite a bit should you read it. 


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0046LUL4E/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

Date or Soulmate - Book review

A long-term, serious relationship has been on my mind as of late. Not so much because I'm yearning for one, though I would like that in God's good time but due to: My realizing I do need a helper, I think long term and so thinking way ahead of now I know this is something I should be thinking about, praying about, preparing for now, I'm in a class at church called "the call of husbands" where we talk about love and marriage every week.  Incidentally, the pastor of my church has also been preaching a very good series on marriage.

Part of what I'm doing to be more prepared for marriage and find the right person and be the right person is reading a few books on the matter.  I've read a handful of books on the matter before and I must say, these I've recently read are much better. They are not from the typical conservative Christian camps that try to prescribe the right way to do something (or else!).  The three I've read are written by Christians who focus more on the knowing than the doing. 

Okay, so quickly here: "date or soul mate?" by Neil Clark Warren, PhD.  (Warren is also the founder of E-Harmony).  This is a short and simple book and worth the time. Not sure if it's worth the full price, but if you can rent it or get it cheap, I say go for it.  Like the other author I've read, there's significant emphasis here on knowing yourself well.  Then the emphasis is on knowing what you want/need.  The clincher is this though: don't compromise.  Warren has the reader put together a list of ten can't stands and must haves.  He strong encourages you to hold to every one of those when dating - hopefully you have very carefully thought through those lists to begin with.

Warren ends the book by speaking on the importance of emotional health (to which I give a big amen), as well as differences that must not be overlooked and how to make an accurate and early decision.  He doesn't want people wasting their time in a relationship and says that after 1-2 dates one ought to know whether someone is worth pursuing further.  He places a strong emphasis on marrying right, since so many marriages have and will go sour.  So now is the time to figure out what we truly want and need.  It's also a good time to figure out what we have to offer (as singles).  Am I the kind of person who has ten (for instance) qualities someone may be looking for in someone?  Do I have undesirable habits, or patterns, etc. If no, those need to be worked on. 

This was a good book and I appreciate my friend Lynne for recommending it to me. If any readers of this blog are interested in reading it. Please send me your mailing address and I will gladly send it to you.

You are not a slave anymore.

If you are a Christian, you are set free (John 8:31-33) from the worst kind of slavery one can be in - slavery to sin. 

The Christian is the last person in the world who ought to have a victim mentality.  Why? Because he or she has been set free from slavery.  He has freedom in Christ, freedom to do as he ought, freedom to obey God and delight in God, freedom to be others-oriented.  This freedom is unlike any other we can have on this planet. 

How will you use your freedom this weekend?

Primal saved my life...

Not really… I just wanted a title that would pull you in.

For the past three months I've been about 99% Primal and now adhere to it at 100%.  It didn't take long at all to notice benefits.  Now that more time has gone by I thought it would be good to write briefly on the positives I've noticed.

As for negatives, there really aren't any.  Is it more inconvenient to eat this way and workout etc.? Sure. But I don't really see that as a negative largely because it's my own laziness that says it's inconvenient and I know that in the long run I am doing my body a ton of good in the present.

Ok, so the positives. Note, these things are new to my life since starting primal. I would not be able to describe myself this way on my previous Standard American Diet, and constant chronic cardio.

-I have lots of daily energy.  I generally wake up with the "on switch" fully on.  And I have this energy throughout the day, though it declines til at nightfall I'm pretty well "off".  I used to get the post-lunch drowsiness. No more.  And no more is getting up in the morning a chore.

-While I never had frequent or debilitating headaches, I would get them on occasion all the same. The Headaches are now gone.  I suppose the last time I had a headache was sometime last summer maybe. 

-I am finally building muscle. 6 lbs since the beginning of the year.  Can't be anything other than eating real food and lifting heavy things. 

-Running long distances is easier and far more enjoyable than others. I think this also has a lot to do with form, but it also has a lot to do with the fuel (fat) my body is now using for energy instead of sugar and carbs.  I'm pretty much at liberty to go out and run 10 miles barefoot whenever I feel like it and feel great during and after the run.  That is totally new for me.

Those are the visible benefits. I know the benefits yet to be seen are avoiding astronomical health costs and inconvenience later in life by avoiding a hosts of degenerative diseases (unless I'm wired genetically).  If I keep eating and living healthy I plan to live perhaps a hundred years more.

Maybe just reading those benefits doesn't seem all that great.  I can say this much though, They mean enough to me that I don't even consider switching things up.  Definitely keeping the hard workouts and eating real food. 

Simply to obey Jesus

Today I blogged on the obedience of the apostles at TLI's missions 101.

The light of the world

As a Christian, you are the light of the world (Matt 5:14). 

This world can be and is a dark place.  One has to nearly hide to get away from the spiritual darkness. And it seems it actively pursues us as banality and tawdry items fill the airwaves to our tv's, smartphones and computers.  One can hardly go out to eat without a tv blaring at them. 


But you Christian, are a light in this world:

    that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
(Philippians 2:15-16 ESV)

Darkness runs where there is light.  Shine your light in a dark place this week!

Tree on my car

Last Saturday a huge tree branch feel on my car.  I'm very thankful it landed the way it did and it wasn't the entire tree!

I had gone out hiking with some folks at Vickery Creek in Roswell.  It was a terribly windy day as well. In fact, near the end of the hike, we heard a loud cracking and saw the wind literally break a massive branch off a tree and blow it into the river.  Wild stuff, ya don't see that every day. 

Conversation quickly moved to the time this teacher and her class witnessed and entire tree fall over onto a shed next door to their school. Wow.  We continue on, nearing the parking lot.

Wait, what is that? Looks like a fallen tree in the parking lot. How bout that. As we move closer I realize a massive branch is on top of my car. Yikes! Pictures are below.

Anyway, the care is fine I think.  The branch landed "just right", such that 6 eaches forward or backward would have placed the bulk of the weight or force on the windshield. Instead, the top and the hood took the brunt. They now bear minor dents and scratches.  According to my brother, the car now has personality.  Ah the Taurus. I hope it last me 4-5 more years.

in about the the middle of the bottom picture you can see where the branch broke off the tree.  Hard to give perspective with how high it was though.

Why set goals?

You can be one step closer to achieving your goals if you answer this question.  Are there good, generic reasons to set goals? Yes.  They can help keep us focused, stay on priorities and so forth.

This is all well and good, but unless this is actually what you care about, setting a goal isn't going to do much for you, or move you closer to that direction.  So if you'd like to set a goal for something, go ahead and think about why, perhaps write out your answers in lucid prose or in bullet points.  Truly thinking through why you want to set goal x is crucial to you following through on it. 

What's in it for you and those you care about? What happens to you and your team if you reach this goal?



Some other questions to answer:
-What skills or knowledge do you need to reach the goal?
-What are the major obstacles and mountains to climb to reach the goal?
-Who are the individuals or organizations needed to help me reach this goal? 


Clearly thinking through these things will help you set good goals and increase your chances of reaching them.

What does good look like?

When setting goals, I used to aim for one, stationary object. If I made it, great, goal achieved. If not, fail, goal missed.

There is a better way and that is to set a range, instead of a single point to aim for.

The lower end of that range = Good.   The higher point of that range = Excellent.

So for instance, in the case of my half marathon next week.  I would like to beat 1:55 (my previous time). However, this may be too easy, and if it is why not set something higher to shoot for such that if I reach it, I know I did excellently, but if I don't reach it and still land within the range I still did well and achieved a goal time. 

Setting a lower and higher number can also keep one from being discouraged when an ambitious goal was not reached.  Perhaps that ambitious mark aimed for was a measure of excellence and a lesser number could have been picked for good.

Add flavor to your world

How do you feel about yourself right now? Alone? of little effect? 

As a Christian, you are the salt of the earth (Matt 5:13).

The beatitudes in the sermon on the mount describe what the Christian is and afterwards Jesus talks about what we must now go on to be.  Or, to put it another way, the beatitudes describe the character of the Christian, and then the sermon moves on to the function and purpose of the Christian according to God. 

In first world countries we don't use salt quite the same way our ancestors did but you'll still be able to follow.  If something needs salt, there's likely something about it that doesn't taste right or needs some more taste.  Salt is also a preservative.  So, if you are salt in the world, that implies rottenness in the earth. Just as meat needs salt for preserving so we can see the world has a tendency to a sort of pollution and to becoming foul and offensive.

The principal use of salt is to act as a preservative and antiseptic.  So in a sense, it's main function is more negative than positive. It acts to prevent putrefaction. 

So down to specifics - what does it mean that you are the salt of the world?

-We are to be unlike the world.  "Salt is essentially different from the medium it is placed in and in a sense it exercises all its qualities by being different" (Lloyd-Jones).
Are you such a person that you are essentially different from everyone else?

-We are to prevent decay in the world. 

Lloyd-Jones puts it like this:

The main trouble is that there are far too few Christian people, and that those of us who are Christian are not sufficiently salt.  By that I do not mean aggressive; I mean Christian in the true sense.  Also, we must admit that it is not true of us that when we enter a room people are immediately controlled in their language and their general conversation because we have arrived.  That is where we fail lamentably.  One truly saintly man radiates his influence; it will permeate any group in which he happens to be.  The trouble is that the salt has lost its saltiness in so many instances; and we are not controlling our fellows by being 'saints' in the way we should.  Though the Church makes her great pronouncements about war and politics and other major issues, the average man is not affected.  But if you have a man working at a bench who is  a true Christian, and whose life has been saved and transformed by the Holy Spirit, it does affect others all around him.

Motives Matter

Had dinner with a friend recently and somehow we got on the subject of motives and actions.  She gave some good advice her mother gave her: Do the right thing, even if your motives are wrong; and pray that God will give you the right motive(s).

If you feel guilty about doing something not because the thing is bad but because your heart isn't necessarily there, go ahead and do it.  Better to obey, than to not obey at all. Or better to be kind even if the true attitude isn't in your heart.  If our actions perpetually mirrored our heart reality there would likely be very little good done.  So go ahead and do the right thing even if you hate doing it...it's progress at least being in touch with your feelings like that. Now go one step further and pray to God that he will change your heart and give you the right motives.

A solution for the difficulty of healthy eating

Crossposted from the primal challenge:

Possibly the hardest (and only hard?) part about eating primal is that it can be pretty extreme. No cheats allowed. I know, I know, there's the 80/20 rule, and that is good and helpful. It was for me as I was getting into this. But now, as I keep learning more, there's little point in cheating, especially, as Robb Wolf emphasizes if the cheat involves gluten.  I've suffered too.  If I have even a little bit my body will tell me about it!   Other diets are likely way easier simply due to convenience and they allow processed foods.

Okay, so all that said, here is a tip to overcome the roadblock presented us in the difficulty:  Find others to be primal with.  

Might be roommates, people across the country, or a group in your town.  If there are others who can hold you accountable and encourage you you'll have a much easier time at it.  Chuck Grimmett was super helpful for me when I was just getting started.  He really threw down the gauntlet: no grains for 30 days, pure primal. Dang, ok man, lets do it!

This Saturday I'm planning on going on a hike with an Atlanta Primal/Paleo meet-up group.   You might look around your area for a local meet-up.

Who do you know that can keep you accountable and you can trade ideas with?

The desperate need of others

I blogged over at TLI today.