text:
NEW: Get a 20,000 Avios sign-up bonus with Capital on Tap's new small business Mastercard
Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.
EDIT: This article is now out of date. Capital On Tap has relaunched with just one Avios card, Business Rewards, which is better than both of the cards described below. Click here to read our review of Capital On Tap Business Rewards. We still have a higher sign-up bonus for our readers!
Capital on Tap has launched a second small business Mastercard, the On Tap Club card, which earns Avios – and we have negotiated a higher sign up bonus for our readers.
This card offers a generous 20,000 Avios when you take it out, with an extra 500 Avios for you as a Head for Points reader.
Back in February we looked at the new Capital Club small business Mastercard. This was the answer for all of the people who have emailed me in search of a good travel rewards card for their business purchases.
You can find out more about Capital Club here. The card has a £99 annual fee (tax deductible as a business expense) and earns 0.5 Avios per £1 spent. There is a sign-up bonus of 5,000 Avios if you spend £5,000 within three months. As this Capital Club article explains, you also get 250 extra Avios as a HfP reader.
Capital on Tap has launched the 'On Tap Club' card for bigger spenders
There is now a 2nd way to earn Avios with a small business Mastercard via Capital on Tap.
And, as with the cheaper Capital Club card, we negotiated a special extra sign-up bonus for Head for Points readers if you use our promo code when you apply.
This is the card:
It's called the On Tap Club card.
Interest rate information: Your interest rate is based on your business profile and can be as low as 9.9% APR. The standard interest rate for marketing purposes is 39.9% APR.
You can find full details on their website here. Read on first, however, because there is a special higher sign up bonus for HfP readers.
What does the On Tap Club card offer?
The On Tap Club card is aimed at small businesses and sole traders. Whilst you may not have heard of Capital on Tap, it already has 50,000 customers for its existing 'no rewards' payment card. The Avios cards are their first move into the rewards market.
This is what the new On Tap Club Card offers your business:
20,000 Capital on Tap points (converts to 20,000 Avios) for signing up and spending £5,000 within 3 months
1 Capital on Tap point for every £1 you spend (converts to 1 Avios)
No foreign exchange fees when spending overseas
No ATM fees if withdrawing cash on the card
Up to 56 days interest free credit on purchases (minimum monthly repayment is the greater of 10% of balance or £250)
Up to 20 free supplementary cards for your staff
The card has an annual fee of £249. This is obviously tax deductible as a business expense.
The maximum credit limit on offer is £50,000.
And an extra bonus for Head for Points readers!
If you use promo code headforpoints when signing up for the On Tap Club card, you will receive an additional 500 Capital on Tap points. This is worth an additional 500 Avios.
The site will still show 20,000 Capital on Tap points as your bonus but the extra 500 will be added separately. If there are any problems, let me know and I can quickly chase it up.
Who can apply?
The On Tap Club card is aimed at sole traders as well as small businesses. The company appears to be flexible in who they accept:
if you are a UK limited company or limited partnership with turnover of £24,000+ then you should be eligible
if you are a VAT registered sole trader then you should be eligible.
if you are a sole trader under the VAT threshold but above the £24,000 turnover threshold then applications are looked at on a case by case basis – if you have a functioning website and are clearly in business then I am told you should be eligible
Applicants must not have a CCJ against themselves or their business in the past 12 months.
Whilst it doesn't make any day to day difference in how you use the card, On Tap Club is not a credit card. It is structured as a prepaid Mastercard which is funded by Capital on Tap. As far as I can see this doesn't make any difference to your legal rights, as Section 75 protection does not apply to business credit cards. In the event of any disputes over purchases, you request a Mastercard chargeback.
How do the two Capital on Tap cards compare?
Here is a quick summary of the two Capital on Tap products. It is slightly confusing because they do not have the same points conversion rate.
The £99 per year Capital Club card offers:
10,000 Capital on Tap points for signing up and spending £5,000 within three months
1 Capital on Tap point per £1 spent
A 2:1 conversion rate into Avios so the sign-up bonus is worth 5,000 Avios and the on-going earning rate is 0.5 Avios per £1
15 free supplementary cards for your staff
No FX fees and no ATM fees
500 bonus points (250 Avios) if you use code headforpoints when applying
The new £249 On Tap Club card offers:
20,000 Capital on Tap points for signing up and spending £5,000 within three months
1 Capital on Tap point per £1 spent
A 1:1 conversion rate into Avios so the sign-up bonus is worth 20,000 Avios and the on-going earning rate is 1 Avios per £1
20 free supplementary cards for your staff
No FX fees and no ATM fees
500 bonus points (500 Avios) if you use code headforpoints when applying
Some sole traders, including myself, use a personal credit card for their business expenses. A lot of self employed people – or their accountants – are not happy doing this, however, and it is clearly not sensible to give personal credit cards to your staff. You need a dedicated business payment card in these circumstances.
Until now, if you wanted to earn rewards from a small business payment card you were reliant on American Express Gold Business or American Express Platinum Business. These are good products but obviously have issues over Amex acceptance, especially with small suppliers.
The Capital on Tap Mastercards are small business cards that can be used everywhere that Mastercard is accepted.
You need to look at the maths based on what you spend, including how much you spend in foreign currencies (the card has no FX fees). The £99 or £249 annual fee is a deductible expense so the net cost to you will be lower. In Year 1 you are getting a sign-up bonus which converts into 5,000 Avios or 20,000 Avios respectively.
(Use the special headforpoints promo code and that increases to 5,250 Avios or 20,500 Avios respectively.)
Day to day you are collecting 0.5 Avios per £1 spent (£99 card) or 1 Avios per £1 spent (£249 card). If you and your staff have a high level of business expenditure then this could work out very nicely for you. Remember that you can have 15-20 free supplementary cards.
HMRC accepts Capital on Tap
Here is one good reason to get the card. HMRC accepts Capital on Tap cards to make tax payments with no fees. This is because HMRC treats it as a personal debit card.
This means that you can earn Avios on all of your PAYE, VAT, corporation tax and indeed personal tax payments. At 1 Avios per £1 on the new On Tap Club card this is a valuable extra benefit.
But don't forget …..
Capital on Tap points can be converted into cashback as well as Avios. You can choose to take 1p of cash instead of 1 Avios.
If you don't value Avios at more than 1p (and in most scenarios you can get more than 1p for them as this article shows) then take your Capital on Tap points as cashback instead.
Remember to use our Capital on Tap promo code when you apply
If the Capital on Tap Capital Club or On Tap Club cards sound interesting for your business, you can find out more and apply on their website here.
Remember to add promo code headforpoints to receive the extra 500 points as a sign-up bonus.
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.


text:
Don't know where to start? You need a plan.
Planning reduces stress and overwhelm. It's that simple.
Planning is such a key component of running a business because it's the map. Like starting out on a bush walk, you need to have made the decisions about what to take, how long, where to go, obstacles to look out for. If you don't do plan your walk, well, here in Australia, that's dangerous and risky!
Planning is the key to clarity and being productive. It's hard to make decisions when you're already tired. It's hard to know what to do next. It's hard to stay focussed, and not be distracted by bright shiny objects.
So, as you can see I'm a big advocate for planning and all of it's many forms: brainstorming, daily planning, 90 day planning, content planning, launch planning, to do lists… and I have templates for each and every one!
I feel so much more confident when I know what to do next, or once I've extracted all of the stuff cluttering my brain. There is instant clarity and momentum, and that's powerful.
Download Your Weekly Planner and Bonus To Do List
Start planning your weeks for better consistency using my Weekly Planner.
I've added a bonus Daily To Do List, so that you can keep your head clear of clutter and be more focussed.
Add your email address below, and I'll send you the link to download, plus some instructions on how to get the most out of your planning.
More about Planning and Getting Things Done
I've written A LOT about planning, productivity, focus….Here's a few of my favourite blogs.
When you work without a plan, you have no filter.
Pulled in every direction – with no direction
and bright shiny objects everywhere!
Create your plan & know where
you're going with confidence.
Are you ready to make a plan, get clear, and add some accountability into your business?
Momentum is a 90 Day Planning & Accountability Group Program. Find out when it's launching next.
Visit my Services page to find out more, or book a Discovery call here.
"Before working with Aerlie, I really had to weigh up the Cost v Benefit, as I was only really breaking even.
I was a mess and out of whack, and struggled to figure out my priorities let alone actually manage my time to get things done.
Now I'm a lot more organised, yet also a lot more flexible. I have clarity, I feel organised and on top of my
I can manage information and clients on the go and log and track information as it comes in.
My jobs are all organised electronically and accessible on any device, as a result of Aerlie's knowledge of the systems and platforms available that suited my business and life.
Aerlie gave me great insight to be able to work smarter not harder.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The facelifted Octavia RS has a redesigned front-end with an RS logo and new headlamps that, for the first time in the RS version, can be fitted with xenon units combined with an adaptive front lighting module. Other details include new bumpers with integrated fog lamps and LED daytime running lights.
The car's sports-tuned chassis has also been lowered to 127mm, while its weight has been reduced by 20kg in the petrol version and 15kg in the diesel one.
The engines fitted to the Octavia RS include a 2.0L TSI petrol unit with 200hp (147kW) and a 2.0L TDI turbodiesel with 170hp (125kW). Both engines come exclusively with a six-speed DSG transmission.
Also new to the lineup is the 2009 Skoda Octavia Scout. The new vehicle has been facelifted to toe the line with the other models of the Octavia portfolio, including a redesigned radiator mask and new headlamps.
With 179mm of ground clearance, the Octavia Scout is well geared for off-road driving. The AWD system includes the fourth-generation Haldex clutch able to transfer as much as 85% of the torque to a single wheel. Like the RS model, two engines are available: a 160hp (118kW) 1.8L TSI petrol unit and a 130hp (103kW) 2.0L TDI turbodiesel.


text:
Remember a few weeks ago when civility was cool? Or, had you already forgotten?
Remember the days after Rep. Steve Scalise was bleeding out at second base in Alexandria, Virginia? "Kindness builds communities." Everyone was Mr. Rogers, glad to be your neighbor.
Not anymore. Not with the Four Horsemen of the Voter Suppression Apocalypse on the loose.
All it took to forget that civility was cool was for the President's Commission on Election Integrity to hold their first meeting. I'm on that Commission, and I get to experience the ugliness and dishonesty directed at it up close.
The President's Commission on Election Integrity is going to do what no academic, no law professor, and certainly no group funded by George Soros has been willing to do: inventory and catalog the extent of voter fraud using all available data.
Naturally, a smear campaign sprung into action as soon it was clear that the president was serious. The groups that raise money telling Americans there is no voter fraud led the effort. They have a lot to lose, so they have a lot to do. After all, if they're wrong, their donors were had and their claim that voter fraud is a myth risks being exposed as one big lie.
President Trump flipped the script on this crowd. He inverted the risk calculations. That's what they hate.
And hate they did.
"This not about voter fraud. This is literally about stripping the right to vote from millions of Americans," Joya Taft-Dick of Washington, D.C., told NPR's Pam Fessler. To them, Kris Kobach is "one of the country's foremost architects of voter suppression." Hans von Spakovsky is "the Dark Prince of voter alarmism" in a story by Leon Neyfakh.
More articles than I can link to say I specialize in "disenfranchising minorities." Never mind that I brought more cases to create minority voting districts and to protect minority language rights while I was at the Justice Department than the DOJ brought in the eight years of President Obama. I never saw any of the groups suing over the Commission helping me fight raw racial discrimination in federal court. They were selectively AWOL — but are happy to label someone as racist in a pleading.
But the hate was even spicier on Twitter:
"Racist!" is a favorite slander of the Commission foes. Kobach is a racist. Von Spakovsky is a racist. Pence is a racist. I'm a racist. Ken Blackwell is a … oh wait.
But they've got other slurs for Ken.
For good measure, @jennycohn1 even published Blackwell's home address on Twitter. I'm sure Twitter will ban her right away. Oh, be careful there, loons — Ken is an NRA board member.
I'll let you in on a secret, Jenny and Joya. None of us are affected by your Rule 12 Alinsky attacks. We are far past the point of caring. In fact, the attacks are great fun. Nothing is quite as reassuring, invigorating and humorous as an unhinged leftist attack, so please keep them coming. It makes all the effort worthwhile.
But there are also the high-minded slurs. Consider Justin Levitt.
This leftist academic (I repeat myself) is known as the Smartest Man in California. If you didn't know he was, he'll remind you.
Levitt is part of the academic crowd that pushes the Voter-Fraud-Is-a-Myth narrative to the legacy media. Levitt doesn't like anyone talking about aliens getting on the voter rolls. When the Public Interest Legal Foundation documented over 5,500 voter registrations cancelled for citizenship problems, Levitt went to work. See, he was at the Justice Department during the Obama administration and was part of the neglect that led to corrupted rolls. Because some of the people who were removed in Virginia were eventually put back on the rolls, he thinks the whole report can be ignored.
The problem is that governments shouldn't be removing citizens from the rolls as non-citizens any more than governments should be putting non-citizens on the rolls. In Virginia, they are doing both.
Our report called any improper removal of citizens "a serious problem with list maintenance in the Commonwealth. Legitimate voters should not be removed from the rolls for not being citizens. If this explains the 5,550-plus instances of removal for citizenship defects, then that circumstance is also appalling."
Honest academics confront both problems — aliens getting on the rolls or Virginia removing citizens mistakenly. But Levitt isn't an honest academic, or his version of the report didn't include the language above.
Then there is former DOJ Civil Rights Division head Vanita Gupta's attacks on the Commission. She's the one who blamed the Baltimore riots and burnings on slavery. David Steinberg dismantles her "'moon-landing was faked-level' attack" on the Commission better than I ever could.
And what effort to deny voter fraud could be complete without the NAACP? They filed a lawsuit that devotes page after page to political smears of the commissioners. For me, they have copious quotes from PJ Media articles, complete with links! In one article, I describe the danger of American's growing impatience with jihadist attacks at home, and how that circumstance creates a dangerous situation that risks a backlash. In other words, I borrowed the same narrative that CAIR and Gupta have been pushing, and warned of the danger. They missed the point, but thanks for quoting the article.
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla joined in, chirping personal attacks at me through government servers using government employees. That's no surprise. California was the last state to finally implement anti-voter fraud database mandates in the Help America Vote Act of 2002 — over a decade after the law passed. Padilla may be sitting on top of a big rotten batch of mess in his voter rolls. I can understand his worry.
One thing the foes of the Commission have in common: they have something to lose.
Whether it is clout, or face, or donations, the truth about vulnerabilities in our elections threatens their position. Why let civility get in the way of self-preservation?
Here's my written statement from the Commission's first meeting:
I would like to thank President Trump for initiating this long overdue effort. I would like to also like to thank the other members of the commission for their willingness to examine the integrity of our electoral systems, seek the truth about vulnerabilities in our systems and contemplate ways to improve the process.
Most Americans value truth, and value elections systems deserving of our faith. It's been said that "truth enlightens our intelligence and helps shape our freedom." Clean elections protect our freedom. Elections tainted by fraud disrupt the consent of the governed.
I believe all of the Commissioners are dedicated to an inquisitive and robust search for the data and for the truth about vulnerabilities in and ways to improve our election system.
There are areas of serious concern. For example, people are getting registered to vote even though they mark the voter registration forms "NO" to the question, are you a United States citizen. Again, they checked the box on the registration form that they were not citizens, but were still registered to vote. What fair minded American could support this? What serious, inquisitive American wouldn't ask: how does this happen? How often does this happen? How can we improve the system?
Yet there are plenty of special interests who would rather that these questions not be asked. They don't want to seek the truth. They don't even want anyone to ask any questions.
That's the wrong approach. Americans have never assumed we couldn't accomplish the mission, couldn't improve the way things work.
There are ways to examine the truth about our elections without harming a single legitimate voter registration. I am sure the members of this Commission will do their best, as I will, to improve our election systems. For the first time, we have the tools, the will, and the support of the majority of the American people who are concerned with voter fraud, to document any vulnerabilities in our election systems and suggest improvements. I'm excited to help.


text:
Local green products company featured in sustainability film
Green Planet Productions' new documentary will include interviews with EnviroIngenuity
Laguna Beach-based
EnviroIngenuity, a green
products and consulting
services firm, has announced
its involvement with a documentary that focuses on sustainability
features Envirolngenuity's Hyroponic Vertical Farming Division.
Santa Monica-based Green Planet Productions is heading the film and visited the hydroponic farms July 3. EnviroIngenuity Managing Director Erik Cutter, who is leading a team of urban farmers to develop sustainable and efficient hydroponic vertical farming processes in the state, was interviewed during filming.
"Green Planet Productions has always produced influential environmental films and its productions have inspired many people to invest in new energy efficient technologies and reduce wasteful habits," said Cutter. "Their production team was top-notch and we enjoyed showing them how we are making a difference."
Currently, EnviroIngenuity is working on the development of a new commercial demonstration center in Laguna Canyon, which is scheduled for completion this summer. Additionally, the company recently completed two 22-tower hydroponic system in Laguna Beach that feature about 1,000 plants. Both projects use Verti-Gro, a sustainable system that uses no soil, 70 percent less land, 50 percent less fertilizer and 90 percent less water than traditional organic farming, Cutter said.
"Verti-Gro hydroponic commercial and home garden systems produce clean, natural food much faster than traditional farming and allow plants to grow bigger and stronger," he said. "These systems are especially effective in small urban spaces and can be set up to re-circulate and automatically water the plants for even greater resource efficiency."
Although no release date has been set for the Green Planet documentary, Cutter said the film would assist in teaching young people where their food comes from, and learn more about the Verti-Gro system.
"Three years of research and testing of hydroponic vertical farming systems led me to the conclusion that Verti-Gro offers the most easy-to-use food growing process with the best yield and most efficient use of resources and space," said Cutter. "I am happy to see that Green Planet Productions felt our work in this area was important enough to capture on film."


text:
So my 5-day venture in DC has already turned into a 10-day stay thanks to little bro forgetting to announce he was going on vacation. WAY TO ABANDON YOUR CAT, LITTLE BRO! I was warned that the place was a mess, but I could not be prepared for the level of destruction I see. There's barely enough room set up a workspace!
Work today has to be laptop-associated. I finished coding the archive page for the new website, and I may even upload it later! Work involving art stuff will have to wait until I have the energy to clear some of this junk. I'm thinking a controlled fire is needed.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Hey, there's a cat here!
Posted by Christopher J Paulsen at 7:20 PM
Labels: pets, photos, squalor, web design
1 comment:
Is he hinting that the cat needs a new home?
- July 20, 2009 at 1:36 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter!
Related Links
Gaming News
Analyst: Hesperia Casino Project is History29 August 2006
HESPERIA, California – As reported by the Hesperia Star: "The troubled Hesperia casino project is history, according to one of the Victor Valley's most-influential real estate analysts.
"Speaking as the guest of honor at the Hesperia Chamber of Commerce's monthly luncheon last Monday at Hesperia Senior Campus, Joe Brady of Bradco told the assembled business owners and civic leaders that the proposed Timbisha Shoshone casino is effectively dead.
"Casino developer Gary Fears has put the property, on Main Street near I-15, across from the Bob's Big Boy Restaurant, up for sale, with an asking price of $32 million.
"…The property being placed on the market follows a bumpy two years since Hesperia voters indicated their approval for the project in March 2004 when they approved Measure X. The Timbisha Shoshone have been engaged in fierce internal disputes, with accusations of tribal council members being bribed by the Rinaldo Corporation, the company originally slated to develop the casino.
"…In May 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger included Hesperia in a list of communities where he would not approve gaming…"


text:
Blog Archives
Ministry formation at its best… in our own Gethsemane
Devotional Thought for our Days
6 What should I bring before the Lord when I come to bow before God on high? Should I come before him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? 7 Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousand streams of oil? Should I give my firstborn for my transgression, the offspring of my body for my own sin? 8 Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:6-8 (CSBBible)
"I didn't learn my theology all at once. I had to ponder over it ever more deeply, and my spiritual trials were of help to me in this, for one does not learn anything without practice."
I am not an anti-academic, I wouldn't have a master's degree and be on the final lap of a doctorate if I were.
But having those degrees did not prepare me to a pastor. They gve me tools that assist me in some parts of my ministry. Even preaching dosen't come primarily from the studyof Greek and Hebrew, or the communication skills honed of twenty-three years of pastorl ministry, and another 6 as a chaplain.
The biggset lessons have come serving the drunk at 3 am before they head home to a wife they no longer loved, (or so they thought) They came at 2 am standing beside a nurse who cared for the hospice patient as they breathed their last. As I prayed for them, and prayed with the family, the nurse would wash the body once more, while waiting for the mortuary.
Ministey occurs there, in the brokenness of strangers, and in the times where I myself struggled. I am not alone, of course, nor have my battles been as severe as Job's, Jeremiah's, Peter's or Paul's battles.
Ministry is shaped when we have to depend on God's promsied righteousness, when we realize we can depend on Him, for that is what it means to adore faithfulness, for He embodies what we are unable to accomplish. To simply walk with Him, letting Him shape our work, just as He shapes our eternal destiny. It is learned as we have to find the stillness to meditation in the middle of the tenseness and brokenness and anxiety of God.
Those battles we endure, they drive us to our Lord, teaching us how faithful He is to us. They drive us to the communion rail, and again we encounter Him. Not in a mechanical way, in a forced compliance. But in despair, looking for some hope, some comfort.
Academia provides the tools, But they cannot provide the suffering (though some students think they do!) that drives us to the Lord, the Lord in whom love us, the Lord who shows us mercy.
The Lord whom we praise, as those praises are generated from our hearts and souls, from the depths of our beings.
For He is there, the Lord is with you!
Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 54: Table Talk, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 54 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 50.
A Different Approach to Grief.
Devotional Thought for our Day:
It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High! 2 It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, a harp, and the melody of a lyre.
4 You thrill me, LORD, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. 5 O LORD, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts. Psalm 92:1-5 NLT
Our griefs cannot mar the melody of our praise, we reckon them to be the bass part of our life's song, "He hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad."
As you look at the Psalms, the early ones are through of trials. You see problems with the government in chapter 2, you see the brokenness caused by sin in 22 and 51, you see dealing with grief throughout and despair throughout the Psalms..
You also see worship, and it almost always comes after a lot of grief, and pain. I even heard one pastor say that the Psalms end in worship even as they start in the complaint.
As I meditated on this, this morning, I realized we have made a crucial error. The quote from Psalm 92 made this point, and Spurgeon hammered it home.
Grief and trial are not what precedes worship. In the middle of them, we find worship. Worship that realizes the faithfulness of God requires that we see Him faithful to us in the midst of suffering. If there is no challenge, no pain, no sin, or resentment to deal with, there is no need for Jesus.
God meets us there, in the midst of our brokenness, in the midst of our pain, even in the midst of guilt and shame.
It is there the grief is realized to be the bass line – and often the volume of a teenager's stereo's bassline. But it still resounds with praise and awe. THis is lament.
He is there, with you…
C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896).
Do I Have Any Value? How Do I know?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
10 For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
20 Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood— 21 may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21 (NLT)
345 What a great discovery! Something you barely half-understood turned out to be very clear when you had to explain it to others. You had to speak very gently with someone, who was disheartened because he felt useless and did not want to be a burden to anyone… You understood then, better than ever, why I always talk to you about being little donkeys turning the water-wheel: carrying on faithfully, with large blinkers which prevent us personally seeing or tasting the results—the flowers, the fruit, the freshness of the garden—confident about the effectiveness of our fidelity. (1)
There are days in our lives when we wonder if what we do has any meaning. What we are questioning is our worth as individuals. Do we mean anything to anyone?
I've been there, and I've been there when others are asking those questions. Some of these people are older, people near 100 years old who live in retirement homes; some are a little younger, those trying to make the adjustment to retirement, as they have spent 40-60 years of defining themselves according to what they do. Some asking the question are younger, the 11-15-year-old, or 20-25-year-old who is not sure what to make our of their lives.
Pastor's aren't immune either. Especially those of us who know that the church doesn't depend on us for our brilliance, our steadfastness, even our gifts, and abilities.
The church existed before us; it will be long after we have gone.
I have to admit, I am tempted to measure my value as a pastor. (For me that is measuring my value as a person as well) It isn't about numbers in church; it is more the comments and questions I get from the sermon, or in Bible class. It is the way people call on me to remind them that God is with them.
My question – do people know, trust in and depend on Jesus more, because I am here. This goes for this blog as well, though I admit that I look at the numbers of hits and comments here! But the question remains, "will people call out to God for help, will they turn to Him and realize they dwell in Him."
The question helps me keep focused in ministry. And the few times I do get a response, it lifts me considerably. I hate to admit it, but I need that encouragement. As do elders, and all church staff, whether volunteer or professional, ordained, commissioned or lay person. I don't have to measure how effective, as much as doing what we are called and put in place to do.
So how do we know we have value? How do we know if we truly have any meaning?
We can't evaluate it. As with St. Josemaria's donkey, I can't say know what benefit I have given to this world, to my community, or even to my family. It's beyond my ability to measure.
That's okay. It's not my job to judge. Which is a good thing, because the person responsible for the quality, the worth of what I do, isn't me. My worth comes from the fact that He works on us, in us, through us. That is why St. Josemaria can discuss the confidence about our effectiveness as we trust and have faith in the God who created us to be masterpieces.
That is ultimately our key, to stop trying to worry about our worth, knowing that is in the hands of the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1604-1609). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Can I Faithfully and Firmly Believe This? (Audio and Manuscript)
Can I Faithfully and Firmly Believe This?
Isaiah 6:1-8
May the grace and mercy of God our Father, our Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, sustain your trust in their love, and reveal to you more and more, Their Presence in your life!
Can I?
A moment ago, if you were paying attention as we began the Athanasian Creed, you might have had a moment of concern as we began, as I said,
Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the Christian faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally.
But the nature of reciting a creed gave you only a few seconds to say this, and before you could process it, we were moving on to the next phrase.
A little way down, perhaps some of you gasped as we read,
Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.
If you had a moment to think at that point, you might have jotted down a question for me during Bible Study, and if you did, that is awesome – I will try and answer it then. But really? How can we believe in these words we barely can comprehend as we are reading them off of the page.
And then, my last words,
This is the catholic faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.
Which brings me to a question. Can I faithfully and firmly believe something I just read, even though I don't understand it completely? Pastor, someone is thinking, if this is that important, shouldn't we do it, maybe once a month or so? At least more than once a year?
What do you think Chris? Do it monthly?
Back to the more important question….and the one that follows…
Can I faithfully and firmly believe this ancient mind-twisting, theological statement? And if can't understand it, does that mean I am not saved?
We will answer that in a few moments.
The Isaiah Moment –
In many ways, saying the Athanasian Creed is like the situation Isaiah finds himself in, as we hear it described in the Old Testament reading this morning.
He's overwhelmed, and confused. Everything he thought he knew of, he is unsure of, all he knows is that God is a lot bigger, than he ever contemplated before. His eyes can't keep up with all he sees, and you will notice that the one thing he doesn't describe in any depth, is what God looks like.
Isaiah sees Him, but all He tells us is that God is sitting on the throne, and God is wearing a robe that would take Carol, Linda, Barbara, and Cyndee a lot longer to sew than 18 stoles!
As Isaiah is overwhelmed, he forgets everything he knows about God, and is intently aware of how he doesn't belong in God's presence. He's a sinner, a man who can't filter his thoughts, and he is surrounded by people just like him.
All he can think of, is I don't get it, and no maybes, (CLICK) I don't belong here in God's presence.
That is where his thoughts are going, as he realizes the glory of God, as He encounters it.
As he finds himself dropping to his knees, in awe, unable even to plead for mercy…
Encountering God
That is what happens to us when we sit down, and start to consider what we do know about God, when we try to summarize it, whether in 12 verses of the Apostles Creed, or the fifty of the Athanasian Creed, or in a sermon, or in a book.
It is not easy to get our minds wrapped around all the scripture teaches about God. Heck I could teach for forty-five hours just on the titles we have for God, and on His name, and on the one line from this creed,
But the whole three persons are coeternal with each other and coequal, so that in all things, as has been stated above, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped!
The Grace of God
And in those four underlined words, we find our hope. We find out that like Isaiah, we belong in God's presence. Not because we are good enough, or qualified enough, or know and understand enough, but because of the reason we worship Him.
There was one more line that should give us pause…
And those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire.
He has judged us already, as Christ bore the iniquities of us all. Because Jesus bore the stripes on His back, and the nail scars in His hands. That judgment comes when the Holy Spirit is poured out on us, as we are declared His people, as we are promised eternal life. Because He loves us, because that love and mercy sent Jesus to die for us, and rise again. Because His death and resurrection brings us into a relationship with Him, a covenant with Him, where God judges us and says, you are righteous, you have done good.
In awe and confusion and fear, we find ourselves in the presence of God.
We hear the angels and archangels, the seraphim and elders, singing the words Holy, Holy, Holy…. And then we are touched, our lips and heart cleansed as God comes near.
And we join in the praises….
For God has judged our trust in His work, our need for Him to do that work, our need to cling to Him, and it is enough.
Enough so that God not only welcomes us into His presence, but sends us out to bring His message to a world that needs it, but needs the work of the Spirit to help them hear it.
There is s a lot of truth in this creed, this statement about the God who we trust, who we know, in who are beliefs are found, revealed to us in Christ. The creed puts what we know is true, and what we know isn't true.
Yeah, it's long and complicated, it helps us know that things like Gnosticism and Subordinationism, that donatism and other things are wrong. What it does best? It reveals to us the God who reveals Himself is bigger than our thoughts, is bigger than our theories that try to explain what God keeps as a mystery.
I wrote yesterday that the mysteries of God aren't there primarily to be solved and explained. These mysteries are here to leave us in awe, to bring us to the point where we are silent, where we know He is God.
Like Isaiah, before the throne, like us as we bend a knee, and take and eat, and take and drink, the body and blood of Christ.
This is our God, trust in His promises, revel in what He reveals, and know that He is your God, and we are His people, who dwell in His peace, and Christ guards our hearts and minds in that place, and no one can change that.
The Challenge of Being Faithful Is Found in the Little Things
Devotional THought of the Day:
37 "If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. 38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it. Matthew 10:37-39 (NLT)
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24 (NLT)
204 Many who would let themselves be nailed to a cross before the astonished gaze of thousands of spectators won't bear the pinpricks of each day with a Christian spirit! But think, which is the more heroic? (1)
You hear of the mother of the martyrs, who would share a meal with those who killed her son, and you are amazed.
You hear of the missionaries, who risk their lives, serving those with ebola, or aids, or in places where war is more common than peace, where churches are burnt.
You hear of men and women, giving up lucrative careers, to serve in the ministry, trading comfortable lives fro those who are suffering.
You read the book of Acts and see Peter and Paul, Stephen, Phillip, Dorcas, and the wife and husband team of Priscilla and Aquila doing miracles, preaching to great crowds, ministering to others in ways that reveal the Spirit of God is in them, and you are amazed.
Then you comment that you could never have faith like that, that you admire it, but you know that you cannot be that faithful.
You are wrong.
Faithfulness isn't about trusting in God to only do the miraculous, and the awe-inspiring. Faithfulness is tougher than that, because faithfulness isn't measured by an event, or a moment in time, faithfulness is measured by a life that is lived under the burden of the cross.
Faithfulness is about living in the presence of God, no matter what the circumstances. To be aware of those around us, and be willing to sacrifice to help them. To be willing to spend the time to not only note sin and the damage it causes, but to be able to speak of the healing that God's forgiveness brings. To think before we speak, understanding not only what we want to communicate, but who we are communicating that message to, so that we can speak with love, so that lives will be healed. To live under the cross means that we give up trying to justify our sins, or the sins of those we love, but we set the example, running to the throne of grace.
To live under the cross, to strive for holiness on our own merits seems difficult, challenging, impossible.
But it was never meant to be just our work.
This is why we've been given the Holy Spirit, who works in our lives through God's word, through the sacraments, those sacred times when we breathe, and know we are in the presence of God.
The heroic life of faith is one revealed by a change in behavior in the little things. The words we use, the attitudes we have towards others, the willingness to sacrifice, not in the big things, but in the little things. Be patient with the antagonist, spending time loving your adversaries, and praying for those who annoy the hell out you. (they actually do this if you have to run to the Father to find the strength to endure them!)
Even though the faithful life is revealed by these things, it originates in the time we spend with God. In the moments where we realize His love at work in us. We grow in faithfulness when we run to Him, rather than deal with things on our own. Faithfulness is about our relationship with Him. Knowing He is with us, and so cherishing the time that we make the time to spend it with Him. Treasuring that time,
Be faithful in what the world considers "little". Walk with God, hear His voice, encourage people, lift them up. Take up that cross, it isn't as heavy as you thought. In fact, you might just enjoy it, when you realize you carry it in His presence.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 587-588). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Hillary Duff's View on Marriage, and Church Shopping
Devotional Thought of the Day:
25 Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. 26 Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, 27 dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. Ephesians 5:25-27 (MSG)
22 So let's do it—full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. 23 Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. 24 Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, 25 not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. Hebrews 10:22-25 (MSG)
In the interview she also admits that, when it comes to a relationship, happiness might be more important than the commitment, which is why her perspective on love isn't all that straightforward. "I don't want to sound bitter because I'm definitely not, but I don't know if people are meant to be together forever," she tells the magazine. "Things happen over a long relationship that you can't always fight. A marriage of 20 years, the accomplishment of that must feel really great, but there are also huge sacrifices. I just always want to fight for happiness." (1)
As I read the article with Hillary Duff, and the quotes above, I was grieved. She notes how great it must feel for a relationship to last 20 years, the comments that the sacrifices are huge, too much for her, for her marriage has now failed.
I don't know what they did to see it through, if there were counselors that were at their side, or if there were people there to encourage, to coach them through. Not only did they fail, their family, their community, and The Church failed them as well.
Yes, I said The Church failed this young couple.
For in the church, there should be the example of endurance, the example of depending on Christ. We are to depend on Him, the Spirit's comfort and strength and ability to bring us through life. We do this, understanding and looking to Christ, who Hebrews 12 tells us endured, for the joy set before Him.
As I thought about this, I also thought about the church, and the commitment we have to each other. While some will look and pray for Hillary Duff, others will be scandalized by these words, The lack of faithfulness to vows made will challenge us, (hopefully?) and the attitude that marriage may not be meant to last a lifetime will see inconceivable.
Yet do we not do that with our churches? We change things, or even change churches, or forgo church for the same reason that causes Hillary to see marriage as temporary. We put our enjoyment (whether we prefer traditional, liturgical, contemporary etc.) over what will cause us to draw closer to Christ. Those of us who lead and plan our services far too often try to make the service something our people will like,
If we don't like it? Well, there is the church down the street, or across town. If we are a pastor or priest, instead we place a call to our district president's office, (or bishop or whoever works with churches looking for new pastors. (please note, I am not talking about leaving a church because of continued teaching that is contrary to scripture)
End result, the death of a relationship, and a further division in the family of God, A division that will be healed in heaven, but nevertheless, the pains of severing that which we pledged to be part of, in times of happiness and time of sorrow.
With each separation, the next separation gets easier, the time between finding a home church becomes less a priority, we find our happiness in other things, in other places.
Until we can't remember the last time that we were at church.
Hillary Duff is right, there is an incredible reward that is found in a relationship that last 20, 30, 50 years. There is the knowledge that the one who makes our marriages and our churches possible will sustain them both, through the times of richness and poverty, through times where we, and the relationship are healthy or sick, the times of grief and the times of joy.
Such is our God, the Lord of Life. Such is what happens when we hear the Holy Spirit, the gift of our baptism. Such is the promise of life, walking with God, both now and for eternity, in the presence of God.
So let us work, to sustain all of our relationships! To do that, may we look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Let us find His healing, His patience, His sacrifice and find in those things, the strength to desire to endure. May we find as well the strength to help others, to encourage them, whether they are struggling in marriages or in being part of their church.
Lord Have Mercy on us!
(1) http://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/a27092/hilary-duff-marriage-divorce/?src=spr_FBPAGE&spr_id=1448_153325098&linkId=12668200
Why Teaching People to Obey God Isn't Nearly Enough…..
Devotional?Discussion Thought of the Day:
16 The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. 18 Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." Matthew 28:16-20 (NAB)
280 You know that you will never lack God's grace, because he has chosen you from all eternity. And if this is what he has done for you, he will grant you all the help you need to be faithful to him as his son. Go forward, then, with assurance and try to respond at every moment.
As I continue to see debates about faith and works online, as I continue see to people demand full obedience to one commandment and not another, I am saddened. For people hyper-focus on the law, and debates about it, much as the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Herodians did in the age of Christ.
Because of this, I know quite a few people who leave the church, dismayed either because of hypocrisy, or because of a burden that they are expected to keep, that they cannot on one hand. On the other, they are dismayed because despite what scripture says, they don't see the life of those claiming to be believers to be all that different. There are the same kind of sinners, justified not by the blood of Christ, but because of their own justifications, they still go about life, unchanged, and in chains to sin.
My contention isn't that we need to teach people to obey the commandments, or to simply live free of them. My contention is that we don't do nearly enough in teaching people to obey God. We go about it wrong in teaching them to obey, and when we reduce it simply to God's commands, we do something even worse.
First let's deal with "obey". In the very well known passage called the great commission, about half of my translations use obey, some use observe, and a few older translations use keep. I think the idea of obey comes from that old KJV era use keep, but they in doing so, they cause a problem. The word in Greek comes from the word to watch over, to guard, to treasure, to protect. As I have noted before, the keep in a castle was the place of the greatest possible defense, the final point of resistance, the place where children and wives were kept, along with the treasure.
Guard them, treasure them, doesn't make as much sense when we combine it with command. or at least it seems awkward. But consider how much the psalms rejoice in God's law, in His commandments. (for example in Psalm 119) Consider the opening of Proverbs 7,
1 My child, remember what I say and never forget what I tell you to do. 2 Do what I say, and you will live. Be as careful to follow my teaching as you are to protect your eyes. 3 Keep my teaching with you all the time; write it on your heart. Proverbs 7:1-3 (TEV)
1 My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; 2 keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; 3 bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 7:1-3 (ESV)
I put the two translations here for a reason, there is something more to commandments than what meets the eye. Normally we think of commands as God's law, the Decalogue, what are referred to as the Ten Commandments.
I would contend that we would be less confused if we replaced commandment with a synonym, commissioned (we call it the Great Commission, don't we?) But we have a slightly different meaning. Commissioned doesn't reduce what is taught to the "do's and do not's". It beings out the scope to include all God has ever commanded about you, as well as what He has commanded you.
For instance, the declaration of our righteousness, the work of Christ's life, lived with one mission.
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed 19 and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people." Luke 4:18-19 (TEV)
it includes His work in completing what He began in us, and in the Holy Spirit's work in transforming us. It includes the entire covenant – promises as well as regulations. That is why spending time heaing and meditating upon what God has commissioned brings such joy, not just bondage to a law. (btw, the commission concepts works with the Decalog/Ten Commandments) as well, including what some dismiss as the prelude – the key to understanding it.
This is why the joy is so complete, for what God has commissioned for you and I is wondrous. It is the full measure of His love, not just His plans for our lives. It is that we are to become His worksmanship (Eph 2:10), a people He made for His own.
Teach His people, those He has claimed in baptism this Truth, for they are His disciples, His children. And the joy will be unsurpassed. As they treasure what God has called and commissioned into their lives, the obedience will follow, naturally and assured of His empowerment.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1137-1140). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Faithfulness, Sex and our Relationship with God
Treasuring God's Gifts
Means We Value Deep
Relationships, especially Marriage
Ex. 20:14, Eph 2:10. 5:27, Luke 10:25-28
In Jesus Name!
May you know well God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who brings mercy, love nad peace into your life!
Really – This Commandment is a Topic WE need to cover?
When I started to write out the topics of this series of sermons, when I came to the 6th commandment, my first reaction is that this would be a fine sermon to hear Chris preach on, or perhaps Vicar Mark, or Vicar Albert.
Simply because talking about Adultery means touching on the subject of the three letter word that begins with S and ends with X.
For me, it is one of those topics I would rather not talk about, it is too personal, too intimate, and like many guys, I'd rather talk about anything else, especially in a group with both men and women in it.
Heck, it is a topic I don't want to talk about with a group of women or a group of men.
But I think my reticence about discussing the topic gives me a hint towards why this commandment, about reserving that level of intimacy, both physical and psychological/spiritual aspects of the relationship, is worth a commandment.
It is because it is so intimate to a relationship, that God treasures it.
And therefore to diminish it, diminishes something God gave us to treasure…..
Because it teaches something about our life, about our relationship with God…..
Let me explain that some..
Why is this so important to God?
While no one will doubt the physical aspects the relationship between a man and a woman, those acts are by no means just physical.
There is a spiritual/psychological aspect to them, something that uses that word that sends shivers down most men's spines….there is something ….
Something that takes all of our walls down, that leaves us and our spouse as one, relating to each other, caring for each other.
It is that level of emotional and spiritual intimacy that God desires us to have with Him. That's why we heard Ephesians 5 tonight as well as chapter 2. That is why the Old Testament Books of Song of Solomon and Hosea talk of marital faithfulness and love as an example of God's relationship with His people, and even the unfaithfulness of Hosea's wife, as an example of Israel's actions towards God.
A bitter betrayal, the deepest betrayal.
A depth of pain that goes beyond our ability to cope with…..
Yet a level of pain God has endured, as again and again He has picked Israel up from her wandering into idolatry…..
It's hard to imagine God hurting as the couples I've had in my office have hurt. It's hard to realize that you or I could hurt the Creator of the universe, that a congregation, that a people could so devastate God by betraying His love.
But we can… and we do…..
We fail to love Him with our entire heart, our soul, our mind, when we trust in our idols the way we are supposed to trust Him. Even when the idol we trust in is ourselves. When what we are proudest of, what we are in awe of, isn't the God who created us, who created this planet.
If how we love our neighbor reveals how we love God, as the apostle John writes in 1 John, how much more does how we treasure our spouse, our faithfulness tell us about our relationship with God?
A Relationship to Cherish, to Guard, to Teach
Hear again Paul's words from Ephesians 5…
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God's word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.
If what we've been working through, that these 10 commandments actually are the Old Testament Beatitudes, the masterpiece of God that is how we, rescued from Satan are to live, then Jesus's work to render us a "the glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or blemish, makes incredible sense.
It is what Hosea did for his wife, the very model of it. Even though her sins, like ours, are scarlet red. It is the depth of Christ's desire for a relationship with us, the emotional intimacy, the being unified as one. Not sexually, but in ways that are just as deep.
He is faithful, even when we struggle. Even when we take the great blessing He has given us, this great example of marriage, that God considers it the model of our special relationship with Him, and we see it trashed around us, and sometimes, in thought or word and deed, we trash it ourselves. Or don't speak up when we see it cheapened, and mocked.
God's faithfulness extends even then, calling us back to our relationship with Him, healing us, restoring us, and yes, He can and has even restored the relationships, He can recreate us, revealing His masterpiece that is creating by uniting us to Jesus.
But it is there, where healing happens, where God ministers to us, Father, Son and Spirit. It is there were marriages find their healing as well, and the example of faithfulness and yeah – intimacy. It is there, in that relationship, that all relationships can find the peace that passes all understanding, that peace in which we find ourselves guarded and treasured by Jesus.
Who is more faithful to the faith? Wrong question!
Devotional Thought of the Day
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you from the right way. It is good to receive inner strength from God's grace, and not by obeying rules about foods; those who obey these rules have not been helped by them. Hebrews 13:8-9 (TEV)
Although it seems a paradox, those who call themselves sons of the Church may often be precisely those who sow greater confusion. (1)
I see a lot of confusion among the people of the church caused by those in the church today. Matter of fact, the old cliche, "we've met the enemy and we are it!" may be at a epic high. It doesn't matter what denomination, what movement, what area, there is a battle who is more faithful. In my denomination, the battle as to who is most faithful often is waged between those who want to abide by the old rules, the old ways and customs and methods of the church in its 1940's-1950's heyday, and those who define faithfulness as being tied to ourreach and mission. We get convinced that only if we can find the right box, with the right walls, then God will bless us – because we are faithful. That God will cause the church to thrive because of our perfect liturgy, our our desire to see people know Christ.
And we lovk ourslves in a box…. Sometimes in fear, sometimes in frustration, sometimes just because we want and need a way to now we are okay with God.
It is ironic. But then, as sinners, we are good about making it all about ourselves.
In other times, it was waged over music, or church governance or finances or any of a number of good and practical things. We focus on concepts, on the theology, on the practice… and we forget about the content, the relationship.. to put it bluntly, what I see lacking the most in these battles, is our desire to know and make known the Lord who loves us.
It's time to cut through the confusion, its time to strip away both new ideas and old man-made requitements and just draw our strength from where it comes. Hebrews says it is a gift of God, it is grace, it is walking each day in His presence, reveling in His mercy, depending on His faithfulness, trusting ourselves into His loving hands…confident of His faithfulness.
Seeing whatever happens as something He is working through, whether it is joyous or a cross, whether it is in abundancae …well… let me quote Paul
8 We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; 9 there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed. 10 At all times we carry in our mortal bodies the death of Jesus, so that his life also may be seen in our bodies. 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (TEV)
Here is the key that stops us from looking for affirmation of our faithfulness- because we don't need it. We have Christ. We have a God who says, "you are my child, I have begotten you… dwell in my love."
And when we do.. all sorts of interesting things happen…not that we'd notice… for our lives would be constantly praising Him… for His faithfulness.
So stop trying to prove your faithful, that your faithfulness is superior or more holy.. and just dwell in His presence, evjoy His love.. and adore Him..for He is our God, and we are His kids.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1664-1665). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Related articles
- Proper Practical Pastoral Care… and a Pimple… (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Thoughts from Celebrating God's Faithfulness to my Dad… (justifiedandsinner.com)
Evangelical Catholicism Pt IV: Why have churches shrunk?
Discussion Thought of the Day:
"If a robust Evangelical Catholicism, formed by Word and Sacrament to take the Gospel of truth and love "into the deep" of the modern and postmodern world, is the deeply reformed Church to which the entire trajectory of Catholic development from Leo XIII to Benedict XVI points, and which the Second Vatican Council envisioned, then the great postconciliar failure of Catholicism— the collapse of the Church in Christianity's historical heartland, Western Europe— comes into sharper focus. Western European Catholicism's demise was not, it becomes clear, the result of an internal civil war between Catholic progressives and Catholic traditionalists. Nor are the prescriptions of either of these exhausted camps likely to lead to revival and reform in the future. The Church in Europe has been in free fall throughout the postconciliar years because too many of its people ceased to believe that the Gospel is true. The crisis of Catholicism in Europe did not come about because the institutional Church faltered and its people subsequently bailed out. The crisis came because the people of the Church (including the clergy) ceased to believe with passion and conviction, ceased to find joy in the presence of the Lord— and sought their happiness elsewhere. Because of that, the institution (which in some countries, such as Germany and Italy, remains extremely wealthy) faltered— and seems to be collapsing in the first quarter of the twenty-first century. The Catholic future in Europe lies not in managerial reforms (although those are needed), but in a renaissance of faith, which will likely come (as such things often do) from outside the formal structures of Catholic life (i.e., parishes and dioceses) and from within renewal movements and new forms of Catholic community. There, the vision of Evangelical Catholicism is alive. And if that vision attains critical mass, following the authentic promptings of the Holy Spirit, it may eventually reform— and transform— the institutional Church." (1)
What I read above, though directed at the Roman Catholic Church by one of its own, I believe is equally true for all churches and all denominations and especially my Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
It's not a matter a matter of who is right in the worship wars, or the supposed division of being faithful versus being missional. It doesn't have to do, as much as we think it might – with who is in power, for I think that where the gospel is preached and the sacraments are administer – that is where the church is. The hierarchy exists to serve – to be a blessing to the people, as they serve the sacraments and are nothing but conduits through which God's love and mercy flows. And I have seen both churches that are contemporary, and that are high liturgical and that are 1950's dream churches – that all are growing – and that all are failing to reach their community. (Recently in Rome, I saw a church filled with people for a high Latin Mass – all of the with great joy as they looked to the sacrament.) As Wiegel notes – we can reform all our admin, we can put allt he right systems in place and run programs and have staffing, but it will be in vain. And our churches will continue to fail – and depend on what god has supplemented the God who came to us, and died.
I highlighted part of Wiegel's words above in red for a reason, this is the only thing I see that makes a difference in a church, no matter the size, no matter the budget, no matter whether it is growing or not. It is, clearly this one principal – do they get that they are in the presence of God, do they celebrate His love and mercy and His presence. Do we get that the Lord's Supper, the focus of this day, isn't about the rote movements – but as one of my oldest favorite songs describes – "God and Man at Table are sat Down" DO we realize His presence, His love, cleansing not just our feet but our lives, healing us, transforming us, the Holy Spirit residing with us!
Do we get that God has invited us to be not just His servants, but as Jesus says, His friends? To dwell in HIs glory, to be adopted children of the King?
You want such and such style of worship? Fine. You want such and such programs? They are out there! You want a cozy intimate church where everyone knows you name? You want a church that is involved in missional work? Or in serving the poor? Or in saving the unborn? Or in educating everyone? All good things… BUT
Above all, desire this – to be in a place that understands these words:
The Lord is with you!
And respond back… with fervor, with conviction, and with love…
And Also with you ( or and with your Spirit)
(1)Weigel, George (2013-02-05). Evangelical Catholicism (pp. 51-52). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.


text:
Governor Charlie Baker on Sunday returned to the Legislature a sweeping climate change bill he had previously vetoed, this time asking lawmakers to consider scaling back some of the core features aimed at drastically reducing carbon emissions by 2050.
Baker's decision to return the legislation with amendments was expected after lawmakers, in a show of defiance, overwhelmingly approved an identical version of the bill that had died on Baker's desk early last month. But on Sunday, legislative leaders expressed willingness to consider and potentially incorporate some of Baker's proposals.
"I think we found considerable common ground," said Kathleen A. Theoharides, the state's energy secretary. "There is a shared sense of the urgency of addressing climate change as strongly as we can, while making sure we're doing it through clear, practical, equitable, and cost-effective measures.
"Getting a bill of this magnitude right on the technical details really matters," she said.
The far-reaching bill would accelerate the requirements of electric utilities to buy a certain amount of renewable energy, increase the contracting of offshore wind power, and establish new energy-efficiency standards for appliances.
It also seeks to guide the state and its various industries toward the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, a target both Baker and legislative leaders share. But they differed on the methods of reaching it, and in some cases, what they could cost.
The legislation, considered the state's most sweeping climate change measure since the landmark Global Warming Solutions Act in 2008, would require the state to reduce its emissions by 50 percent below 1990 levels by the end of the decade.
Baker, however, favored a goal of cutting emissions by 45 percent by 2030. In his veto letter last month, Baker said a state analysis suggested it would cost Massachusetts $6 billion more to reach the Legislature's more ambitious goal, a figure one legislative leader said was exaggerated.
Baker is now proposing the state reduce emissions by a range of 45 to 50 percent by 2030, and by 65 to 75 percent by 2040. The administration would be authorized to select specific targets within those ranges based on that "best available data," Baker wrote in a nine-page letter to lawmakers Sunday.
"This flexibility will also help the Commonwealth avoid the costs that are expected to result from imposing a higher limit, particularly on those who can least afford it," he wrote.
The change worried some environmental advocates, given the Legislature's bill, for example, required emissions be cut "at least" by 50 percent by 2030.
"The 50 percent [target] was the floor. Now it's the ceiling," said Caitlin Peale Sloan, interim Massachusetts director of the Conservation Law Foundation.
State Senator Michael Barrett, one of the bill's chief sponsors and lead negotiators, said Baker's proposal "opens an entirely new policy suggestion, and it's coming late in the game." But he said legislators would seriously consider his amendments.
"I'm not going to prejudge the outcome," said Barrett, a Lexington Democrat. "Overall, this is a good-faith effort to read a complicated statute and suggest some decent modifications."
The Legislature's bill established mandatory emissions limits for six sectors of the economy, from transportation to residential heating and cooling. Baker is asking legislators to soften the language on specific sectors by changing the sector-specific legal requirements to "planning tools" if statewide reduction goals are being met.
The change has the backing of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, an influential employer group that in a letter to lawmakers argued that some sectors might be better suited to cost-effective carbon reductions than others.
"Binding subsector limits would be a distraction," said Robert Rio, the group's senior vice president. "What we should be caring about is the overall goal."
The bill has been the subject of intensive lobbying, particularly its provision allowing communities to adopt rules requiring that new buildings produce net-zero carbon emissions as soon as a year from now. Developers had expressed concerns, which Baker shared, that the mandate would increase construction costs and cause delays.
Under Baker's proposal, the state would develop an updated energy code, which municipalities can opt into, with the goal of making new buildings "super efficient" but without using the term "net-zero," Theoharides said.
Tamara Small, chief executive of NAIOP Massachusetts, a development trade group, said it could still be "a significant leap" for projects to meet the proposed energy requirements within the 18 months that Baker is suggesting.
Small urged lawmakers and the Baker administration to review the cost and technical feasibility of any energy code changes to ensure housing construction and economic development isn't unduly affected.
Ben Hellerstein, state director for Environment Massachusetts, an advocacy group, called Baker's proposals a "mixed bag." He applauded Baker for preserving some provisions, such as energy efficiency standards for appliances, but said his changes would temper local efforts to set stronger energy efficiency requirements for new buildings.
"Legislators should reject any weakening amendments — and, most important, they should act quickly to pass this bill into law," he said.
The Legislature now must choose whether to accept, reject, or further amend the changes proposed by Baker. The House passed the bill by a 144-14 margin last month while the Senate passed it without a roll call.
Lawmakers could not override Baker's veto of the original bill last month because they sent it to his desk just before their two-year session ended. Baker said at the time he would probably have proposed amendments then had he been given more time.
Baker also offered changes to provisions aimed at advancing environmental justice that he said would make them "even stronger," including a requirement that the state Department of Environmental Protection conduct cumulative impact studies before issuing permits for projects. Normally, the state would evaluate how a project itself would affect air quality, but under this change officials would also consider the existing impact from local industries and infrastructure, Theoharides said.
Representative Thomas Golden, a Lowell Democrat, said Sunday the House wants to make sure the environmental justice language "stays intact or becomes stronger, if it can be."
Matt Stout can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him @mattpstout. Jon Chesto can be reached at email@example.com. Follow him @jonchesto. David Abel can be reached at email@example.com. Follow him @davabel.


text:
QuatroGrade is a beautiful multi color gradient. Basically, it is a 4 vertex gradient.
AndroidColorX is a library to provide color utilities as Kotlin extension functions. Supports many different color models. Generate tints and shades for a color, complimentary, analogous, triadic, tetradic, contrasting and much more.
A curated collection of splendid gradients made in Kotlin.
Provide Multiple Gradients in ImageViews and Texts. Integrate with ViewPager to change colors dynamically.
Android Library to get average / prominent of bitmap / drawable.
Colors is a theming library for Android. It allows your app to use over 4,000 color combinations from the Material Design Palette by separately picking a primary and accent color.
Android library which provides Google Material Design Colors.
android.graphics.Color has a function for color-parsing and supports basic colors of w3c.
This project is for supporting more color keywords. It's based on W3C's Expanded Color.
Colorful is a dynamic theme library allowing you to change your apps' color schemes easily.
A dynamic colouring library for Android.
Android Lollipop Palette is now easy to use with Glide.
A fast and clean way of using Palette in lists.
Every artist needs a place where he can paint in peace and store his tools such as palette and swatches.
Android quick access to 1000+ pre-loaded @colors!
Android Lollipop Palette is now easy to use with Picasso.
Great set of colors from http://flatuicolors.com and converted into Android
Android-Material-Design-Colors provides color definitions of the Material Design.


text:
Joliet, Ill. – Last month, Paul Erschen, University of St. Francis (USF) Art & Design Department Chair and Associate Professor of Visual Art, conducted a week-long Charcoal & Lime Workshop at the ACRE Artist Residency in rural Southwest Wisconsin. The labor-intensive workshop was attended by international, professional artists and involved the construction of two kilns for the manufacturing of hydrated lime (the binding agent in concrete) and hardwood charcoal.
Erschen directed the construction of an earthen lime kiln, created with straw and clay dug from Wisconsin's Kickapoo River. The kiln firing had a strong USF connection, as Joliet limestone was super-heated above 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, thus converting it to slaked lime.
Erschen also demonstrated the construction of a steel barrel kiln for the production of hardwood charcoal, a process technically known as pyrolysis. Erschen plans to use the resultant charcoal, which was derived from Art & Design wood shop scrap wood, in a workshop with his USF students to produce drawing material and handmade oil paint.
"Both kiln firings involved close monitoring and fuel replenishment over a late-night period of four to six hours, which created a wonderful communal atmosphere," Erschen said. "We were able to work together through the processes of preparing the firewood and monitoring kiln temperatures, while also enjoying lively conversation and s'mores."
The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves over 4,000 students nationwide, offering undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 50,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.
University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.
# # #


text:
We are delighted to announce that we will again be hosting our Crime & Punishment seminar on February 21 2019. We have three fantastic speaker. David Tadd, one of the country's top forensic experts, Criminal defence barrister, author and TV presenter Harry Potter and Ian Puddick, who found himself at the centre of a multi-million pound police operation after his wife had an affair with her well connected boss. All will be discussing their unique insights and tales from inside the criminal justice system. Buy Your Tickets Here
Court 8 at 10am trial continues of pilot Andrew Hill accused of the manslaughter of 11 men who died when his jet plane crashed onto a road during the Shoreham Air Show in 2015
Court 9 at 10am trial continues of Mendoza Sillerico accused of murder. The Bolivian allegedly stabbed to death his housemate, Juan Olmos Saca, 39.
Court 10 at 2pm Sentence in the case of David Thomas,73, accused of murder. Sheila Thomas, 69, was stabbed to death in Herne Hill, London SE on 24 July 2018.
Court 10 at 10.15am New trial of Thomas Peter accused of of murder. His wife, who was in her early fifties and mother of their three chuildren, was found dead after a house fire in Romford, Essex. She died of asphyxia.
Court 11 at 10am trial of Obina Ezeoke, 25, who denies murdering Annie Ekofo, 53, and her nephew Bervil in their apartment in East Finchley, North London in September 2016. The pair were shot dead in a case of mistaken identity.
Court 13 at 10am trial continues of Adrian Hoare and her partner, who haven been charged in connection with the death of three year old Alfie Lamb. The toddler was deliberately crushed to death with an electric car seat because he was making too much noise, the court heard
Court 15 Not sitting trial of Nathaniel Lewis and three others accused of attempted murder. The case concerns a shootout with police during a car chase.
Court 15 at 12 noon Sentence of Ahmed Aweys and two others charged with terrorist offences including collecting information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism
Court 16 at 10am trial continues of two detectives, Sharon Patterson and Lee Pollard, who allegedly failed to investigate a string of child sex allegations properly. The pair worked for Essex Police and are accused of deliberately forging documents and concealing evidence over a three-year period. The pair, who were in a relationship, are also alleged to have fabricated witness statements and given other false information which led to abuse investigations being dropped.


text:
Proposed new legislation should make it easier for victims of domestic violence to get barring orders against perpetrators and ban electronic communications if required.
Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald said on Friday the Domestic Violence Bill, which has been approved by Government, would reduce the risk of intimidation to the victim or a witness through the courts process.
The reforms would also allow victims to give evidence through video, protect their anonymity and restrict the people attending the courtroom.
"Domestic violence persists as true horror in too many homes in 21st Century Ireland, " Ms Fitzgerald said.
"In addition, too many incidents of domestic violence still go unreported. Too many victims are afraid to come forward," she said.
Ms Fitzgerald said she wanted to tackle domestic violence and let victims know they were not alone.
The proposed law would also make it easier for a victim to get the perpetrator removed from their home.
"The Bill will remove the requirement that a person must have at least an equal interest in a property to apply for an interim barring order (for 8 working days) in an emergency or crisis situation," Ms Fitzgerald said.
The proposed legislation also includes banning the perpetrator from communicating electronically communications, including through online or phone, with their victim.
The Minister said the Bill was created to improve protections available to the victims.
"It is in the interests of victims that we get this legislation drafted and enacted as soon as possible."
Ms Fitzgerald said the Bill would bring provisions on domestic violence in one piece of legislation to make it easier to use.
She said it was a "major step" towards Ireland's ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, known as the Istanbul Convention.
She said she would seek the Government's approval for Ireland to sign the convention in autumn.
A recent EU-wide study on violence against women showed that 12 per cent of Irish women and girls over the age of 15 had experienced stalking, with 50 per cent of that group being stalked, physically and online, by a partner or ex.
Figures from the Women's Aid Female Homicide Watch showed more than half of 18-25 year old women killed in Ireland since 1996 were murdered by their current or former boyfriend.
Safe Ireland chief executive Sharon O'Halloran, a national organisation for domestic violence, said the proposed legislation would be a "game-changer" in creating a system that would give victims the confidence to know they would be believed and protected.
She said the Bill was well thought-out and a "highly-sensitive piece" of legislation.
"Domestic violence is an enormous problem in Ireland and a problem that is still largely silent. We know that eight out of every ten women who experience abuse never report it," she said.
"It will strengthen a number of vital provisions to protect victims and will make our courts system more accessible for, and more sensitive to, the very specific needs of women in danger and at risk of intimidation."
Ms O'Halloran said it was important adequate resources would be given to meet the aspirations within the Bill.
Fianna Fáil spokesman Niall Collins said while welcomed the draft bill and it was a "step forward".
"I do hope this legislation will assist victims but the Government's record on this matter is unimpressive," he said.
"The (Istanbul) Convention was signed in May 2011. We have been calling for full enactment of its proposals in the Dáil for the past three years."
The full details of the general scheme of the Bill can be viewed here.


text:
Parks and Gardens –
See also Community Resources – Recreation Grounds and Open Spaces
Lullingstone Country Park
Kingfisher Bridge, Castle Road, Eynsford DA4 0JF
Lullingstone Country Park is set in the Darent Valley, between Eynsford and Shoreham. There are great views, excellent visitor...
Swanley Park
New Barn Road Swanley, Kent BR8 7PW
A traditional town park set in 60 acres of landscape parkland with two large car parks. · New and...
The World Garden Lullingstone Castle
Lullingstone Castle, Eynsford, Kent DA4 0JA
Lullingstone Castle is one of the oldest family Estates in the country and dates back to the Domesday. It...
Great Comp Garden
Comp Lane, Platt, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 8QS
Set in the heart of the Garden of England and surrounding a 17th century house, Great Comp Garden is...
Emmetts Garden
Ide Hill, Sevenoaks, TN14 6BA
Interesting hillside garden with year-round features Charming Emmetts is an Edwardian estate that was owned by Frederic Lubbock, and...
Riverhill Himalayan Gardens
Riverhill, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 0RR
There's so much to explore at Riverhill Himalayan Gardens Plan a great family day out in the most imaginative...


text:
Taken off his upcoming third album Myele Manzanza new track 'Itaru's Phone Booth' is everything and more.
It's an impeccably arresting and reflective track that was inspired by the true story of a phone box in a small Japanese town called Itaru that became a place to communicate with belated loved ones following the Japanese tsunami and earthquake of 2011.
Produced with award-winning Australian bassist and longtime musical collaborator Ross McHenry, his new album called 'A Love Requited' brings his skills as a composer to the fore. The LP sees him connect with an array of New Zealand and Australia's finest young instrumentalists.
Using music as therapy the album helped Manzanza work through and come to terms with the life around him.
"A Love Requited' is easily my most personal work to date and my hope is that beyond the music itself it may be of help to others, if only to say that your not alone in your struggle to make sense of the world."
This is a magical return from a truly gifted artist – this might just be his best offering to date.
A Love Requited will be available on vinyl & digital from 28/06 with First Word Records. Pre-order from Bandcamp.


text:
As of July 20, 3,070 major party candidates have filed to run for the Senate and House of Representatives in 2020.
So far, 479 candidates are filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for U.S. Senate. Of those, 381—193 Democrats and 188 Republicans—are from one of the two major political parties. In 2018, 527 candidates filed with the FEC to run for U.S. Senate, including 137 Democrats and 240 Republicans.
For U.S. House, 3,085 candidates have filed with the FEC to run. Of those, 2,689—1,259 Democrats and 1,430 Republicans—are from one of the two major political parties. In 2018, 3,244 candidates filed with the FEC, including 1,566 Democrats and 1,155 Republicans.
Thirty-six members of the U.S. House are not seeking re-election in 2020. That includes 27 Republicans and nine Democrats. Four senators (three Republicans and one Democrat) are not running for re-election. In 2018, 55 total members of Congress—18 Democrats and 37 Republicans—did not seek re-election.
On November 3, 2020, 35 Senate seats and all 435 House seats are up for election. Of those Senate seats, 33 are regularly scheduled elections, while the other two are special elections in Arizona and Georgia. Twelve are Democratic-held seats and 23 are Republican-held seats. In the House, Democrats currently hold a majority with 232 seats.
Additional reading:


text:
Nordstrom has North Face coats, boots and accessories on sale right now for as much as 50% off.
Here are some of the best deals that I see — might be a good time to buy ahead for next winter. (Or for this little bit of winter that refuses to go away!)
'Denali' Recycled Fleece Jacket (pictured above) in Big Boy Sizes (from 6-7 up to 18) – $59.40, regularly $99
'Venture' Lightweight Jacket in Fortuna Blue (some sizes are backordered, but you can still order at this price — and it will be delivered when it's back in stock) – $59.40, regularly $99
'ThermoBall™' PrimaLoft® Vest in Purple or Black (Big Girls, from size 7 – size 18) –$40, regularly $85
Remember: Since you're ordering from Nordstrom, shipping is FREE. And if you should need to make a return, it's FREE, too — either thru the mail, or in the store. So if you're concerned about ordering online because of sizing, you don't have to be!