The Friday Wrap-Up...

Spring Break is nearing a close, and it's obvious in BlogWorld. I can imagine we will have lots to say in our blogs next week... can't wait. Enjoy your weekend! Here it is, the week that was, in no particular order...

Jeff gives us a great read on 'Creating Community'.

Life's a gamble...read about it at Robert's.

Jason's been on a tear...he has 3 great posts...you can read them here ..... here ..... and here.

There's a new blog in town...drop by and say hello to Ryan.

See ya next week...

Truth...

Truth…is a four-letter word…

I am not an educated person. Never have been…never will be…nor will I profess to be. Even though I graduated with top honors at my high school, spent some six years toddling about on a college campus chasing a double major and currently take off-campus seminary classes, I’m constantly reminded, daily, that I am drastically un-educated. However, the life that I’ve accepted…the life I’ve been called to, is a breeding ground for knowledge…and wisdom. One thing I have learned, is, that the absorption of knowledge and wisdom is a choice we each will make. As for me, just call me a sponge.

One thing that I am becoming increasingly concerned about, is truth. Ask a hundred people the question, “What is truth?”, and you could receive up to a hundred different answers. And to each person, their answer is the correct answer.

The concept of truth, is changing. The application of truth is disappearing. As I observe my world around me, it’s becoming distinctively clear that the definition of truth is changing daily. We seem to define truth as it best fits our needs. What once was a world…a society where black and white defined our every move, now has become redecorated with shades of grey…and the boldness of black and white are quickly fading into oblivion.

Politicians, today, are prime examples of this. The political ‘houses’ they are building, are nothing more than a snap-shot of suburbia where all the houses are constructed using the same masterplan with bland shades of grey used for every sheet of wallpaper and trim, down to the lack-luster granite of the counter-tops. But the exteriors are another story….boldly fashioned with vibrant colors, sure to excite our mind’s eyes. What’s on the outside, isn’t always…I’ll let you finish the sentence.

There’s another neighborhood being built however, just across life’s interstate that has the potential of being the homestead of many strangers who are longing to relocate. Home sites have been cleared and foundations poured that appear to be the strongest around. Highway billboards and websites point to the excitement as these new homes are being built at a rapid pace. A Master Carpenter has been selected…the blueprints have been approved…and Phase I is nearing completion. The new subdivision is filled with pulsating colors and children’s voices echo throughout the streets. But secretly meeting in one of the unfinished homes is a group of laborers who are planning a coo against the Master Carpenter. “He doesn’t know what’s best for us,” they say, “We know how to do things better…and cheaper.” And look, the new homes have added a new dimension, they've added steeples.

So for the most part, the Master Carpenter has been asked to leave and a new hierarchy of leadership has taken over. With tears in his eyes, He walks away heart broken, knowing what His plans were for the neighborhood will no longer see reality…unless something changes.

The new leadership starts out strong, trying to maintain the status quo...with one huge exception. Now, the new occupants are allowed to choose the paint scheme for their new homes. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem. But after a great deal of inspection, the new homes have taken on an eerie resemblance of another neighborhood just a few exits away. Now it's become hard to tell one neighborhood from the other.

The Master Carpenter stands in the distance…longing…yearning, while the occupants are busy making painstaking trips back and forth to the paint store where they are overstocked in multiple shades of grey.

Truth is a four letter word...I'll let you fill in the blanks...and it's not found in a paint store.

The Friday Wrap-Up...

The pollen is falling and Spring Break is here. I'm sure that each of us have a great week planned. We're off to Ohio on Saturday morning, returning on Tuesday night. DP will reopen on Wednesday morning @ 7:00am. Enjoy reading, the blogs have been busy all week. Here it is, the week that was, in no particular order...

Amanda's 21 years of wisdom.

Dean thinks he's a car...wait, so does James.

The Germans had nothing to do with it...just ask Jason.

Jeff is still monkeying around with his twitter...too funny! Pic of the Week!

Take a look at Mark's big board.

T.J. has narrowed it down to 5 American Idols.

Can you say "FIRE" or "CATFIGHT"! Check it out, only on ML!

And I'd like to invite you to put a little color back into your life.

Have a great week...

The Friday Wrap-up...

Great week...great week...great week. And only one week left till MHS & DCHS have their Spring Breaks...hang on! Super week in Blogsville, have a fun time reading. Here it is, the week that was, in no particular order...

Kristy and her bunch look like bumps on a log. Cute post!

Check out the quiet at Brandi's.

Jonathan's take on 'a time to leave'. A must read.

T.J.'s take on creation. A close runner-up to Blog of the Week. Cool Avatar, by the way!

DPDL makes MonticelloLive.

Jeff has two posts that are worthy of the wrap-up:
1.) He's a freak...duh!

2.) He's figured out that he has a Twitter...and he likes to play with , er I mean update it.

But to my surprise, this morning I read an incredible post that spoke so very BOLDLY to me. An absolute MUST READ by Amanda...and hands-down winner for Blog of the Week! Just Boil Me Over! Great job Amanda!

That's it for now...have a great week.

The Friday Wrap-Up...

There were 3 great posts this past week that I just couldn't choose from...so here's to my choice...a 3-way tie for Blog of the Week...




T.J.'s incredible post on Salvation by Osmosis.

Jeff's take on when it's time to leave your church.

Mark got a letter from Jesus.

Have a great week...

Storms...

If we could only have the view from above the clouds…

The temperature had fallen more than 20 degrees since the storm had come through. Electricity had been knocked out for several hours and as evening set in, our world had grown very dark…and was growing cold. Little did I know the storms that had passed a few hours before had almost destroyed a neighboring town. Destruction was everywhere…just a few miles away…

As I stood outside, staring into the darkness that had consumed my neighborhood, the silence was deafening. Houses…homes where children play and run about, now had vanished. Even the creatures that prowled through the night were silent. But something…something kept calling me to stay outside in the darkness…stay…

The wind, still blowing from the storms, was finally beginning to remove the clouds overhead. Those clouds, what were once like cotton pillows, now were stained with dirt and debris from the devastation below. Flashes of light was now piercing through the darkness and exposing the wonder of the heavens above. The moon had never seemed so bright in all my life. But it was in those instances where I could actually see above the clouds…where the moon and stars illuminated my deep dark world…that shadows began to emerge…homes that once were lost, now started appearing slowing out of the darkness. It was there that I saw the calmness, the peace that remained intact even though my view was restricted…restricted to the under-side of the storm. Though all the while, from my vantage point, that terror loomed in the skies, peace was always there in front of me…calling out to me…just above the storm.

It wasn’t all that long ago, when a group of men set out on a journey…a journey that took them out to sea. And in the midst of that journey, a mighty storm arose. Panic and fear set in…desperation screamed from their very souls. As the winds howled and the waves crashed, those men knew their vessel wasn’t designed for such a powerful storm. It was only a matter of time…
Far too many times, I find myself a passenger on that same boat. Everywhere I turn, waves are crashing in around me. And far too many times, I feel the strains of life with every fiber of my being…reaching for life preservers only to have them wash out to sea. Just like those men, holding on to dear life, I find myself cowering down in the back of the boat, pleading for help. And in my desperation, He hears me…He heard them. As my Master makes his way toward the bow of the boat, staring face-to-face with eminent destruction, He stands firm…strong…believing… asking me to join Him…to look at things from a different perspective. I try to make my way forward, grasping for His open arms, but I’m struggling. And He knows it.

But in an instant, He beckons the wind and the waves and the storms vanish and peace becomes still. And in that same moment, I hear Him calling out to me…to look beyond my fears…to realize that storms are only temporary…to see that the light has now penetrated the darkness…to see the view from above the clouds…

The Friday Wrap-Up...

Lots of great stuff to read out there in blog world. Seems like everybody has had something to say the past few days! Great reads everywhere...thanks for making my week better. In the meantime, Dad's Place is a drop-off site for toys and baby stuff for our neighbors in Dumas. Get it to us, Journey Church will get it to them.
Here it is, the week that was, in no particular order...

Mark has found his big brother.

Nominations are screaming in for the Angelina Awards! Get your nominations in now!

He said he tried to say 'No'...but the temptation was too great...Jeff gave in and became a prostitute last week! A Must Read! A tie for Blog of the Week.

A great blog that is being read a lot locally is MMI...put it in you bloglines!

Brandy has it relentless.

T.J. Files looks at passion or passiveness.

Dean takes an inside look at a Playboy Bunny.

Brandi is back!

Twenty For The Future head to D.C.

Check out the latest TiVo & Movie reviews at TiVo Junkie.

T.J. Scott is choosing to lose church attenders. Tied for Blog of the Week.

Meet my new buddy, Jason...he's Melancholy in Monticello.

And what ever you do, the firestorm that's currently taking place at ML is still going! Don't Miss It!

Have an incredible week, see ya next Friday!