2 Corinthians 6:10

As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

As we enter this week of “Thanksgiving” we want to look at things that we can be thankful for.  In 2 Corinthians chapter 6 Paul is talking about the things that he has suffered through and endured in his ministry.  We see his mindset as he continues to look on spiritual things and not physical circumstances.  The things going on in his life, he could feel sorry for himself and ask the question “why me?” but instead he is rejoicing.  What is he rejoicing in, is it the sufferings that he is enduring?  No, Paul is rejoicing in who and what he has in Christ, not thinking of physical things but spiritual.  Then Paul tells us that he is poor not having anything, we know this because he had to work and make tents for a living.  Paul was not in the ministry for money but for helping others as he tells us when he says that he is making many rich.  This is not physically but spiritually by edifying one another so that he can present them perfect in Christ Jesus.  Paul doesn’t have any earthly things but still he possesses all things, how is this?  Because the things that he is possessing are again the things that he has in the Lord Jesus Christ as an heir of God and joint-heir with Christ.

Rejoicing in Grace,

Keith

2 Cor 5:14-15

www.richeofgrace.com

Who knew that cooking could be so much fun!  I wanted to try a new dish for our vacation.  Of course, Ratatouille came to mind.  I searched the internet for a simple, but tasty, creation.  There were so many choices.  But, one – The Chosen One- made the cut.  The photo that accompanied the recipe sealed the deal.  I thought,”I can do that”.  Today, while shopping at the Piggly Wiggly, I felt a little overwhelmed in the produce section.  Egg plant, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Roasted Peppers… I was in over my head.  But, my daughter was excited when she heard “Ratatouille” and encouraged me.  Yes, my 12 year old encouraged me.  I love Disney!

The girls helped me prepare our meal.  I sliced, they stirred.  The best part was placing the spiral slices on top!  I couldn’t believe how much it looked like the movie and the recipe photo.  YEAH!

Cooked and Eaten, it was great. And, I am not just saying that because I made it.  My 4 year old son ate his and like it!  The seal of approval.  So, I share with you, my greatest cooking avhievement – Ratatouille by Me!

I’ve had four solo exhibits in the past 18 months — lots of time spent making art, very little time for thinking. We finish installing the fourth exhibit this coming Monday, and after that there are only a couple of commission projects still on the horizon. And so the unknown yawns ahead in a spreading void; inhabited only by the possibility of all things.

I’ve been looking forward to it. This is, for me, the most mysterious part of the artistic process — the unstructured time of waiting, watching, and listening that must always precede the time of making. New ideas require empty time and open space to take on form and life. And so I wait.

Stephen Cottrell describes the act of waiting as “not a waste of time but, as we see in nature, a time of change, growth and transformation.”* For artists — perhaps for all of us — the discipline of waiting is an opportunity to participate in the Spirit’s creative movement over the face of the deep; to listen in anticipation for the sacred Word that speaks all things into being. In waiting, we embody not the creating Spirit, but the boundless void itself: a wide, expectant womb in which the unknown and formless can be made flesh.

I don’t know what comes next. I am staring into the possibility of all things. And I am waiting.

*”Rediscover the benefits of waiting this Advent,” The Church of England, 24 November, 2008. Those at Asbury will recognize this as one of the central ideas behind my recent “Breath” installation.

We wore our Halloween costumes to work today.  I was “Minnie Mouse”.  My boss was a pimp.  Most of the Ladies in the office were Hippies.  It was fun!  I think everyone enjoyed our enthusiasm for Halloween.

Well, I left work and needed to stop by the grocery store.  I planned to make “Jack Skellington” cupcakes.  I received the Disney Family Newsletter with the recipe and I knew I had to make them.  I must admit that I forgot I was in costume, until I walked into the grocery store and everyone immediately noticed.  I received a lot of looks, some “hello Minnie” comments, and several “great costume” remarks.  It wasn’t until I was checking out and the Lady in front of me made a profound statement.  She asked if wearing my “Minnie Mouse” costume made me happy and if I just smiled all day.  Of course, I answered yes (I had been smiling Ear to Ear all day).  Then she stated that the World would be a better place if we could all wear costumes that made us happy!  The revelation – The world should wear varying Disney costumes to reflect the happiness that Disney brings!  Yes, you see, Disney is the key ingredient for Global Peace.

DISNEY = HAPPINESS

When I arrived home, I attempted to make the cupcakes.  Who knew there was a science to cupcakes.  I wanted to be fancy, so I used the cupcake paper.  Um, I didn’t realize that you couldn’t fill the entire paper cup with cupcake batter.  So, yeah – the first batch got thrown out.  But, I believed that with a little pixie dust, I could do it!  And, see for yourself…

I told you that Pixie Dust was powerful stuff!

October 27, 2009, the return of 180 day Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs) AND the day for notification of advancement to the final phase of the 2010 WDW Moms Panel Search.  Needless to say, I couldn’t sleep last night and I didn’t think I was so excited or nervous.  I just thought it was my mind racing with thoughts of an early AM rise for attempts to book March 2010 ADRs.  Soon, I realized it was more, as I kept checking my Blackberry for emails and stealing moments to both, check the Disney Dining online ADRs site for “availability” and check emails.  So, after a 9:30 failed attempt at calling DVC MS for ADRs because “the system was down”, I decided to only check online once per hour (that seemed reasonable at the time) and to distract myself by reading the Boards.  Well, that made matters worst, everyone was discussing the down ADR system and the Mom’s Panel.  EVERYONE.  I was not safe anywhere online.  And still, no email and no ADR availability.  I was going MAD! Then, the pixie dust started to swirl around me… I made my afternoon call to DVC MS and the CM was able to get into the ADR system!  The magic was getting strong, I could feel it like Luke could feel the FORCE.  The restaurant, the date and the time, but then… the screen went blank.  And yet, the Sunshine of Florida was pouring into the phone, because the CM was kind enough to ask my plans for Dining in the World and once I shared with him my well thought out plan, it happened.  A full magical EMP blasted my way – those magical words from one man, the CM said that he thought if I called in the AM, I would get every one of my ADRs, including a Treasure Cruise! 

The Magic is Real!

He did mention that Cinderella’s Royal Table, Chef Mickeys and Le Cellier’s Steakhouse were in high demand, a fact that I immediately messaged everywhere I could log on.  Anywho, I thought I had received a full helping of pixie dust and then it hit me, I had not checked my Blackberry in 1 hour for emails.  1 whole hour!  I panicked and then sulked; no email.  Oh so quickly I had forgotten that Pixie Dust is powerful stuff.

The Magic is Real!

Oh no! – I read a message that someone received an email and they were not selected to move forward!  Another message, and another, everyone was posting and still no emails for me.  TORTURE! Someone stated that the email was recalled, but no one knew why.  Speculations.  No plausible answers.  Time went by so slowly – seconds seemed like years and minutes like an eternity.  Suddenly, thank TinkerBell, the pixie dust poured my way and my Blackberry was alive, I had received an email.  And yes, I was selected to proceed to the final phase. Me. Cloud 9 does not begin to describe my emotions.  I shouted, I cried, I called my husband, I sent out messages, I emailed, I tweeted, I PMed, and I SMILED, SO THE WHOLE WORLD WOULD KNOW – The Magic is Real!

Romans 8:18-28

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

The events of life can challenge our trust in the Scriptures. Romans 8:28 teaches that God can bring good out of “all things.” But in August 2004 “all things” seemed hard to fathom. Some longtime friends of mine contacted me and others asking prayer for their son and his fiancee who were missing. It was so out of character for Jason and Lindsay that we feared the worst. Several days later, their murdered bodies were found, just 2 weeks before their wedding.

In those troubling days, “all things” seemed incapable of including such a senseless act. Yet the victims’ families were amazing in their resolve to trust Jesus Christ, reaffirming their confidence that God would graciously bring good out of great evil.

In the following months, incredible stories began to roll in. Through letters, email, and phone calls, we heard of people who had seen the families’ example in the media coverage and had come to Christ. Eternal destinies had been changed and lives had been won through the testimonies of Jason and Lindsay and their families.

Nothing could ever justify these murders or replace precious lives cut short. But we are drawn again to hope, for we see God’s ability to bring good out of evil. —bill crowder

We comprehend Him not, yet earth and heaven tell God sits as sovereign on the throne and ruleth all things well. —gerhardt

God can turn tragedy into triumph.

Needless to say, we often make new friends, but do we keep the old?  While observing my youngest daughter’s Brownie troop this morning, I realized that we often fail to do so.  We better ourselves through education, neighborhoods, associations, and even organizations.   Yet, when we make new friends through these avenues, how often do we reach out to our old friends?  Holidays, Birthdays, monthly, yearly, if even at all.  I watched the girls in our troop interact with “new friends” today and they always returned to the comfort of our group, our troop, old friends.  Why is it when that comfort is no longer comfortable, we move on so easily?  We should try to learn from the Girl Scouts’ example – Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold!

I feel connected to the world!  Between email, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo Groups, The Boards and Blogs, I believe that I have access to everyone – everywhere – all the time.  Pretty awesome!

Thursday

PRaP 10-08-2009

“No Charge!”

1 Corinthians 9:15-18

¹⁵But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. ¹⁶Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! ¹⁷If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. ¹⁸What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.

Paul is speaking of the rights of an Apostle to receive payment for his work and how he refused payment of any kind when he preached and in doing so Paul became all things to all people in order to save a few.  Isn’t that how we should be when sharing God’s Word?  Not looking for a paycheck here on earth but being all things to all people in order to expand the Kingdom of God?  I still stand by this.  I refuse payment to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He died for us and that means everything to me so how can I with good conscience ask for payment for something that just naturally flows from within me?  I don’t know where this is coming from today other than the Holy Spirit is moving on someone or some organization.  May this be the wake up call you needed to understand that ministry isn’t a business of making money but a business of spreading Jesus Christ to the world.  He who seeks his payment here on earth will have his payment here but remember when it is all said and done and you take your last breath all of the stuff you have accumulated will belong to someone else and you get no choice on who it goes to and ultimately God will destroy it all anyway.  Oh you think that your last will and testament will determine who gets your stuff?  What happens to it when their gone?  For those who share the Gospel of Jesus Christ earn their treasures in heaven which will never be taken away or destroyed.  Quit expecting payment and start saying “No charge”.

1 Corinthians 9

Key Verse:

1 Corinthians 9:22

To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
1 Corinthians 9:21-23 (in Context) 1 Corinthians 9 (Whole Chapter)

Jesus Bless,

Pastor Steve

Olá o blog esta voltando e em breve ja teremos novos posts e as páginas serão atualizadas. Aguardem!

Why so snarky on these forums?  I understand when someone asks a question that they could have found the answer to with a minimum of effort, but some of these so-called experts can be real assholes.  It takes just as much time to help someone as it does to be a dick and it takes even less time to ignore the question so that the poster will maybe go out on his or her own to find the answer.

Of course not everyone is a jerk.  There are plenty of people who genuinely like to help others out.  I just think that there are several people who genuinely like to point out the short comings in others.

If you have questions, by all means do a search on the Final Cut Forum on Apple or Creative Cow because you’ll almost always find the answer or at least something that points you towards an answer.  Just be prepared to wade through mean-spirited replies, people with superiority complexes and condescending answers before you get to the good stuff.

We all know that audio is the step child of video production. Most of us don’t know how to treat it and when we do interact with it, we’re uncomfortable, we don’t really know how to treat it and we almost always do the wrong thing and screw something up. I have a few tricks.

Use 2-frame dissolves. You can cover audio edits, sometime with great results, with a 2-frame dissolve. Try starting or ending at the cut instead of settling for a center dissolve.

Never, and I mean never, have complete silence when editing an interview. Nothing says “I made an edit here” like a complete lack of sound. If you’re lucky enough to have a camera person who records room tone drop some of that in there. If you don’t have room tone, look for 10 frames of “quiet” in between a question and an answer and use that. Make sure to use something that doesn’t have any distinguishing sounds in it. The only thing worse than complete silence is hearing a click or a breath over and over and over and over…

Pay attention to the rhythm and timing of the speaker. Everyone has their own cadence. You wouldn’t want to have someone speaking like this and then allofasuddenhavethemtalklikethissothatyoucanmakesuretheysayeverythingintheamountoftime

youhaveallotted and     then    realize     that    you    didn’t    time    the     segment     correctly     so     you     have     to

slow

everything

down.

Spend some time listening before you spend any time cutting so you can make sure you have the speaker’s rhythm down.

Don’t be afraid to overlap words or use the front half of one word and the back half of another.

Hire an audio engineer.  We all know you’re good at pretty pictures and cool effects and telling great stories but audio engineers are great at sound.  If you can, sit in on an audio session so you can hear what the engineer does.  If you don’t have the budget for your project then go to sites like Soundsnap to grab some effects and music to help jazz up your production.  But, and this is really, really important, don’t overdo it.  Less is almost always more.

Audio will always make your video better.

Colossians 3:20

Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

In the world today it seems cool for children to disrespect and disobey their parents. When God gave up the Gentiles over to a reprobate mind, one of the things that would be a normal thing is for the children to be disobedient to their parents. Paul tells us that in the last days children will be disobedient to parents and what this tells me is that the natural response of an unbelieving child is to disobey their parents. Well the opposite of that is to obey your parents, but what would motivate a child to do this? In letting the word of Christ dwell in us, one of the natural things that happen to children who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them is that they obey their parents. This is not a normal thing for children to do, even at a young age children want to see where the line is, they want to see how far they can push their parents. So as a parent one of the best things that we can do for our children is to give them the word of God, not for them, only but for us also.

Rejoicing in Grace,
Keith
2 Cor 5:14-15

www.richesofgrace.com

Olá pessoal do All Things. Hoje estou aqui para me despedir, fazer parte desse blog foi uma nova experiência, nunca havia feito ou trabalhado nisso. Adorei..quando tiver tempo e coragem quem sabe eu faço um para mim.

Não gostaria de deixar esse trabalho, mas com os acontecimentos vindo, não há porque estar mais, se no dia a dia não se esta presente no campanheirismo, no carinho, no respeito.

Fica o meu Muito obrigado! Por todos que gostaram..pelas amizades que conheci através do blog, pelos posts, por tudo…. Mesmo achando que tudo que fazemos, fazemos pela “coxa”, fiz TUDO com o maior prazer e carinho.

Abraços à todos….

Fiquem com Deus… e bem!

Silvia Prado

Tenho dentes vorases e assassinos.
Tenha medo, eu mordo.

Bem, não posso reclamar de hoje, foi normal, acordei de manha, escovei os dentes, me vesti, tomei café da manhã, escovei os dentes, fui para aula, voltei pra casa, almocei, vi televisão, toquei, escrevi, arrumei um pouco a casa, depois não lembro se fiz algo depois… Ah, sim eu lembro, tomei banho, passei frio, me vesti, e fui jantar co os meus dindos, meu pai, minha irmã e por último, mas não menos importante, meu namorado.
Meus presentes? Bem, contarei só dois, um peixe eu ganhei da Hanna, bem, eu que pedi, estou suprindo uma carência de infância. O segundo? Ainda não sei. Meu namorado encomendou, só ficarei sabendo hoje.
Poucas pessoas me desejaram parabéns, não estou contando aquelas nas quais cheguei com um sorriso no rosto, dizendo que estou mais velha, essas não valem. Na verdade foram exatamente (contando nos dedos) nove pessoas, é, depois de um tempo, ficar um ano mais velha nem é mais tão importante assim, não é importante, mas eu não ignoro…
Bom, hoje eu senti muita falta da minha mãe,
Pensei muito nela, como se ela estivesse do meu lado, acho que foi por isso que o meu dia foi bom, imaginei como seria a minha festinha, minha mãe me obrigava a fazer uma festinha ou uma janta ou algo qualquer todos os anos, por isso que hoje estou escrevendo o meu dia, porque hoje foi diferente em tudo.
Ah, detalhe, hoje acabou o condicionador, e eu me esqueci de comprar! Palmas pra mim, meu cabelo ta ótimo (ironia)
Bem, resumindo o dia foi bom, e eu estou bem e não me pergunte o que é bem, meu bem.
– E amanhã? Amanhã eu tenho uma prova de matemática, ensaio da banda e dou aula de vocal, depois eu passo a tarde com o Pedro, acho que é só.

P.s: Minha mãe iria surtar com o meu peixe-presente.
P.s2: Meu pai não vai gostar.

Sabe que a tua força, a tua amizade e o teu amor, me deram toda a força pra encarar tudo e seguir em frente.

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“Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.””

– Mark 9:23

Do You Believe it…?

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