June 2008

Scriptural Basis:
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage (i.e. be a man); be strong! Do everything in love.” I Corinthians 16:13-14

Anderson’s Applications:
It is a tragic story; a crisis any father can hardly fathom. Fox News today carried the report of an inquest in Australia yesterday that revealed the story of a father on a canoe trip with his nine year old twins; Billie, his daughter, and Edward, his son. Taking a wrong turn, they tried to turn their canoe around and a surge of water flipped it over. Coming up in the turbulent waters, the father saw only his son, but could not see his daughter. His son Edward yelled at him to save his sister first. As the force of the water began to separate them from the capsized canoe, the father desperately tried to lift it to find his daughter while keeping an eye on his son. But buoyed by their life jackets he was only able to grab a hold of his son as the rapid current carried them away. The father through grief stricken tears told how his son had told him to save his sister first, but that he was forced in the moment to grab the one he could see or he may have lost them both. [click to continue...]

• A simple Tax Forward Turns into an E-Mail Battle! I don't usually pass on forwards, but I loved this one! It actually caused an uproar between me and my wife's aunt, who I don't know that well. For laughs after the forward I will post our conversation! Tax Poem: Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table......
• Top Ten List - What a man needs, What a women wants? I am going to make this really simple. Men need: Support - be supportive of them Encouragement - encourage them Interest in their vocation - show interest in their job and their work day Quiet time - ensure they get some time to themselves to decompress; give them time to......
• Devotional: Opening the Wombs God has a plan. Here is his plan - to select a 75 year old man who is married to a barren woman and make that man into a great nation (Gen. 11:30; 12:1; 12:4). Hmmm. Do you see any flaws with this plan? Praise be to God for his......

Scriptural Basis:
“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18

Anderson’s Applications:
In the last half of the 20th Century we began to hear with increasing frequency God called “She,” as the feminist movement gained more and more adherents, and some of them thought the “shock value” of publically feminizing the name of God fulfilled a missing element of some sort or other. This “novel idea” corresponded with the denigration of human fathers characterized as wimpy, incompetent stumblebums in television programs, commercials, movies, novels and the like. It is often argued that God is a Spirit and has no specific sex, and that even a few verses in Scripture describe him as exercising the compassion or characteristics of a mother toward us. Nevertheless, the overwhelming self-revelation of God in Scripture is His choice to reveal Himself as Father; the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of every believer, and the archetype of what “father” is. God, in Himself, defines what “father” means. Every father whether he is a poor example or an exemplary one derives his name from the infinite, eternal, holy and perfect Father in heaven. [click to continue...]

• Interesting Facts: Volume 1 [/caption] WORLD FACTS Who Made The Marree Man? facts 60 km out of the town of Marree in South Australia, there is the figure of a man etched into the ground that is more than 4 km long. This geoglyph, popularly known as the Marree Man, is not only Australia's......
• Who is Paul? Birth and Training Paul was born as Saul in Tarsus. He was a pure bred Israelite of the Tribe of Benjamin. Gamaliel was a very famous teacher under which he studied. Rising quickly ahead of his peers, he became a Pharisee of Pharisees. He must have been an independent thinker......
• The Paranormal Hero: Angels and Why We Love Them by Madelyn Ford, guest blogger and author of My Avenging Angel Think of Michael casting Lucifer from Heaven, strong, powerful, and protective.  The consummate bad-boy with wings and a huge sword, kicking ass and taking names. What girl wouldn’t swoon with that guarding her? But unlike real life, this......

Scriptural Basis:
“Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment…Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, I find no pleasure in them—.” Ecclesiastes 11:9 and 12:1

Anderson’s Applications:
The Bobby McFerrin song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” is actually a pretty fair description of the practical world view of many people today, but especially young people. And the wise King Solomon agrees with what we who work with young people, or parent them, observe: Happiness is an all consuming pursuit, wherever or however it can be found! Unfortunately, little thought is dedicated to distinguishing happiness that will last. Once gained for a moment and more easily lost, there is a compulsion to restore it in either familiar or increasingly dangerous ways. Solomon certainly agrees that the joy and vigor of youth is an inherent pleasure, a rich blessing for the young person. As we see in the final chapter of Ecclesiastes (Chapter 12), those of us with some years on us can surely relate to the poets apt description of our deteriorating bodies, and the lack of joy they can produce in us. We sometimes view the young with envy and nostalgia. [click to continue...]

• Seve Ballesteros to be Honored at Volvo Masters in Valderrama The officials running the Volvo Masters at Valderrama two weeks from now are trying to come up with the best possible way to honor Spain's favorite son, Seve Ballesteros, during this event which marks the end of the golfing season. Ballesteros is awaiting the results of a biopsy done on......
• Preparing for the Unexpected Financially While many people do not like to talk about the idea of unemployment, being unemployed is a very real concept that can also become very damaging very quickly for anyone who is not adequately prepared. Due to poor planning and the natural process of denial, many people who were unemployed......
• How to Ruin Your Financial Life By Ben Stein Ben Stein is a well known personality that many consider to be a genius. His book, How to Ruin Your Financial Life is incredibly concise, coming in at under 130 pages, and most of it reads, as the title would suggest, as a guide to how to end up in......