If you or have colleagues who smoke, you will notice that there is a ’survival need’ to take smoking breaks at an intervals of approximately 2 hours everyday…. mid-morning break, before lunch, late afternoon, and right after office hours.

If you have a need to check your e-mails, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Linked-In at the similar intervals, you are the new addicts..

So simple for retrieving that not-quite-perfect photo, and yet I’ve never bothered with it:
Only sharpen what needs sharpened.

There’s a new version of Google doing the rounds – Link.

A clear answer, from the Lawyer’s Christian Fellowship, to ‘Is God Just?’:

Man is capable of some pretty impressive stuff.

Israel is being investigated by the UN for supposed war crimes in Gaza, despite evidence from those in the know to the contrary. They also seem rather singled out for sanctions on the world stage. Link.

The planned “Colvin Estates” subdivision will be one of the most important new market rate residential projects ever undertaken in the history of Buffalo.  At full build-out, the development should generate more than Six Hundred Thousand Dollars in real estate taxes and user fees per year.  Over a twenty year timeframe, even with a conservative estimate of housing sales, this equates to over $12,000,000 in real estate taxes and $2,000,000 in sewer and water charges.  The local share of sales tax generated by construction of the new housing units is conservatively estimated to be in excess of $1,000,000.  The project will also create 30 new construction jobs for several years to come.

The public infrastructure will take what was an abandoned, underutilized railroad right of way and provide sorely needed new housing development in one of the City’s best areas for competing with suburban housing markets which continue to draw away City residents and contribute to the City’s declining population problems.   This property can be shovel ready in 2010 for new housing development with the provision of the same level of public infrastructure that the City has provided for every other housing subdivision, including Waterfront Village, William Gaiter Parkway and Carey Street.  The property owner has agreed to donate to the City the land needed within the subdivision for this infrastructure, as well as an easement for a pedestrian/bike path.

The City of Buffalo Planning Board has approved a 126 unit residential subdivision plan for the 23 acre former railroad right of way in North Buffalo between Colvin Avenue and Starin Avenue.  Streets, sidewalks, sewer, water and streetlights have been designed for the subdivision with the approval of the City, a plan for a pedestrian/bike path has been included in the subdivision plan, all environmental reviews have been completed and the railroad berm removal has been fully permitted and is on its way to completion..

By providing a range of affordable housing product not currently available in Buffalo, the development will be attractive to empty nesters looking to downsize to a single floor plan, as well as to those looking for their first house, like young professionals and young families desiring to live within walking distance of public transit and the Hertel Avenue entertainment and shopping district, and a short drive to the larger North Buffalo shopping area.  The ability to develop a new affordable market rate housing proximate to these kinds of amenities is, but for this property, practically unknown in Buffalo.

What do others learn from you? What do they see as “normal”, with regard to the life that you live? Where did you learn it? Are you content, in what you have learned? Are you content, as those around you, will inevitably learn it from you?

What do you “promote”? What do your actions “glorify”? What do others witness, as you “emphasize” those actions? Can you justify them? By whos standards, are you able to justify them? Your own? Were they “pre-justified”, when you learned them from someone else?

Regarding those “actions” of yours. Are they justified in the eyes of God, and if they are not, will you continue to perform anyway, simply because many before you have somehow created the mindset that they are, in fact, “normal”?

As you read these words, many people will take their last breath here on this earth, this is the inevitability of our mortality. The God given heart that beats inside my chest is literally overwhelmed with desperation, as I am faced with this very real question. How many of them are taking their place for eternity, right now, in hell?

Is the enemy of our Creator smiling, as he awaits your death, or is he desperately trying to separate you from your purpose in Jesus Christ, before it happens? On what ground, do you stand? Who commands your heart?

Luke 13:27-28 – “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you came from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.

Where will you spend eternity, and who will follow you as a result of your “actions”?

One world, at the feet of Jesus Christ. God Bless!!

For anyone who hasn’t been following, I like to review a lesson before I move on, even when I ace the test the first day. Today was pretty simple and I had an easy time with it. Tomorrow I shall move on and hopefully have an easy time with that lesson too. =P

I think I got about 5 hours of sleep last night (with nobody to blame but myself), but that didn’t stop me from doing my Japanese lesson. I’m actually surprised at how quickly I’m progressing through. At this rate I’ll be done with the first set of lessons from the japan foundation in another 15 or so days. It’s a little slower than I’d like to be comfortable enough for Final Fantasy XIII, but that may be a little far out yet. Besides, I never really expected to be comfortable with the language at a quick rate.

I know I kinda promised to review FFXIII quickly (ish), but with the surprisingly large price tag and the impossibility to ship anything around Christmas at a decent rate it may be a bit longer until I get it. I guess we’ll just have to see how that turns out.

Must… sleep… now…. Oyasumi nasai! =D

-Felirc-

How a cocker spaniel called Bertie is helping school children who have complex and profound special needs…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: teaches. The blog is also related to: high school.

Schoolchildren in Cornwall and Devon are being taught about the importance of washing their hands to prevent the spread of swine flu…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: children education. The blog is also related to: teach.

Everyone of us have skeletons in the closet and at times imaginary friends, no matter how much we want to deny it publically.  It is the part of life we cherish, we are most connected to our inner self, we felt most understood, and we can be who we really want to be….  and very often we wish we can share it with our love ones, our parents, our partners but we can’t…  for the very obvious reason…  they are skeletons…

Hi

Since this is my first blog post, I’m going to tell you a little about what I’ll be doing. I recently got a great idea for a new CoD2 map. I’m not going to tell you anything else since I’m not sure if I’ll even start making it. You’ll have to be patient to find that out. If I decide the project is worth my time, I’ll keep you up to date on how it’s going. I’ll post pictures of the map from time to time just to keep everyone interested. I’ll post about other stuff too. When I learn a new song on the guitar I’ll probably post it here. Maybe I’ll even post a program or two if I’ll feel like it. That is all for now.

pwny

Well, I’ve moved on to my next lesson. I’m happy to announce that they’re teaching me sentence structures again. Today I learned how to state that I want something and how to tell someone what someone else said.

I’d like to make this little post longer, maybe even go completely off topic and rant about how nobody seems to have appreciated the movie Run (from 1991) and that it’s pretty much impossible to find on DVD. Unfortunately I’ve got stuff to do tomorrow and it looks like I’m only gonna get 6 hours of sleep if I were to fall asleep around now…

Oyasumi nasai! =D

-Felirc-

I am going to keep going. I am going to move forward. I will make mistakes, but I will learn. I will respect myself today. I will keep the faith.

Canadian Nutritionist Gets Relief from the Liberator!

Hi Kevin,

I have Bell’s palsy and I am 46 yrs old with 5 yr old twins and a 3 yr old. Life has been very stressful for 6 years now. My weight has escalated to a whopping 176lbs; I used to be 135lbs. I had very little energy to be a mom, wife, and tool & die maker or a nutritionist. My health has been taxed for many years. Urinary, reproductive, digestive, and nervous systems have all been compromised. I started the Liberation Diet a week ago. I have noticed improved energy, reduced stiffness in my knees and have lost 7 lbs. I love the fact my hands are not dried out. I’ve also noticed I am not waking in the night to urinate 3-4 times a night. Thirsty was my middle name. I used to drink 2 liters of water a day, something I learned as a Nutritionist. I would always need a glass of water at my bedside. Now I awaken once and don’t feel the need to drink. I recently went grocery shopping with my Liberation Diet book in hand and I had people asking me “I’ve never heard of this diet, how can I try this diet?” So I am promoting your wonderful wisdom to everyone I come in contact with now.

We have a hot tub and I never had enough energy to get into it. I have started every morning with hydrotherapy while reading my Liberation Diet book, because now I wake up energized and ready to greet the sunrise. My mood has definitely improved already.

My husband Rob is amazed about his tennis elbow, which he has had for years, has disappeared all together. Rob is self employed as a Window and Eaves Trough Cleaner. His energy level has increased and when he is tired at the end of the day, it’s not exhaustion, just a normal tiredness. Rob enjoys pumping iron in our home gym. Rob has scoliosis and suffers daily with back pain. His comment today was, “I don’t seem to feel as much pain lately”and his forearm isn’t hurting either, which has been for 6 months. Rob also noticed he felt 2 of his 6 packs coming back without doing any abdominal work. Our 3 young children are wondering why we are eating so much meat, eggs and cheese lately. I told them it’s because we are learning how to eat real food now.

If all this has happened in one week, I can’t wait to see the improvements in the weeks ahead.

I can truly say I am INJOYING Nutrition now. Misinformed no more..I can educate my clients with Real Food …The Liberation Diet.

Thanks for passing my way.

Lori Ryan, RHN

Registered Holistic Nutritionist

www.injoynutrition.com

lori@injoynutrition.com

This is a follow up to my previous articles, “The Idolatry of Theological Training” and “Is Theology Your Idol?”.

Mount Zion Bible Institute exists:

To glorify God by teaching His Word, distributing courses worldwide without charge. The courses are all designed to glorify God by “humbling the pride of man, exalting the grace of God in salvation, and promoting real holiness in heart and life.”

Mount Zion Bible Institute is a ministry that provides free, practical, and solid theological training. They have training for all people at all areas of understanding in their knowledge of Scripture. They also offer many books, articles, and sermons on their website for free. I highly recommend visiting them. I’ve included information directly from their website below that will provide some greater detail about them. (For those of you that may be worried about credibility, John Piper recommends them on his website.)

What I’ve seen so far, and greatly appreciate, about MZBI is that they teach theology as well as how to apply it to your life. In case we’ve forgotten: this is why we have theology.

Click here to go directly to Mount Zion Bible Institute.

What is the purpose of MZBI?

MZBI exists to glorify God by teaching His Word, distributing courses worldwide without charge via the internet. More specifically, the courses are all designed to glorify God by “humbling the pride of man, exalting the grace of God in salvation, and promoting real holiness in heart and life.”

Many countries have English as a first or second language. The need to train native pastors and missionaries is urgent and pressing, and each of them have a great need for materials to disciple their own people. Also, all missionaries need on-going Bible study to maintain their walk with the Lord. (See question 2 below.)

In addition, the English language has become the second language of most countries on earth—for business, government, and education purposes. Because of this, there is a wide open door through the internet for useful English materials into every university campus in the world, and also into the homes of their graduates. Internet-based Bible training can be used mightily of the Lord to change many lives. May it be so, O Lord!

Why is MZBI’s internet training so important?

Most third world pastors do not have access to a computer or the internet, but many do! And very often there is a western missionary at least in contact who can furnish materials. The following report is from a missions conference*:

“There is astonishing growth in numbers of Christian churches in Africa, Asia, South America, and countries that were formerly behind the so-called iron curtain. This growth has occurred so rapidly that formal training institutions like universities and seminaries will never be able to train enough pastors to shepherd these churches. Studies have shown that there are at least two million preachers preaching in pulpits in these countries every Sunday, who have never had any theological training whatsoever.

“In many African countries, churches have an average of only one trained pastor for every 20 churches. One pastor from Uganda, sitting next to me, told us that his denomination has 1,000 congregations, but only 8 trained pastors to shepherd them. Another one from the Evangelical Christian Church in Zambia told us that his denomination has 675 churches, with only 31 trained pastors. We were told that since 1973, 29,000 new Christian churches have been planted in the Philippines; and they expect another 16,000 to be planted in 2001. All the formal seminaries and training institutions in their whole country could never train even 5% of the needed pastors for these churches.

“One Chinese pastor from the Peoples Republic of China told us of the phenomenal growth of the house churches in their country, in spite of ongoing difficulties. In many of these churches the pastor will just throw his Bible to his congregation when he is arrested, and the person who catches it automatically becomes the pastor. In some places teenage girls are appointed as “pastors” because they are the only literate people with Bibles. The pastor told us that he is currently running a program of training 20,000 Chinese pastors for these house churches, but mostly without materials, depending upon memory and word of mouth.

“In some of these countries, the church is growing itself to death! The structures simply cannot cope. The structural growth lags behind. The provision of adequate leadership is not keeping pace with the influx of people into the church. There is a vast lack of the most basic Bible knowledge, as well as basic Christian doctrine, amongst church members and even their untrained leaders.”

* In March 2000, an international conference was held in Manila, Philippines, on the training of Third World pastors. There were representatives from over 80 institutions in 50 countries. This report is abstracted from attendee Dr. Flip Buys, Principal of Mahlanga Bible College in Gauteng, South Africa, as shared with Pastor Erroll Hulse of Reformation Today magazine, Leeds, England.

What is the doctrinal position of MZBI?

The heart desire of MZBI is to point people to Jesus Christ as personal Savior, Lord, and King, through intimate application of the Scriptures for changed lives. Therefore, we focus on application of the knowledge of the Scriptures to the heart.

MZBI holds to the classic conservative evangelical teachings of the Reformation, the historic Protestant faith. These can be summarized as follows.

MZBI Short Statement of Faith:

We believe the Bible to be the divinely inspired, infallible, inerrant, plenary, and authoritative Word of God.

We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

We believe in the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, His deity, His sinless humanity, His perfect life, the eternal all-sufficiency of His atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the Father’s right hand, and His personal imminent return to earth in power and glory.

We believe all men are depraved in their nature since the fall, and justly deserve punishment for their sin in hell. While they can do nothing in themselves to earn God’s favor, all men are responsible to call upon God for their salvation.

We believe that justification is a judicial act of God on the believer’s behalf solely on the merits, blood, and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Further, that regeneration (the new birth) by the power of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for personal salvation. This salvation is by grace through faith alone.

We believe in the Lordship of Christ over His Church; and the observance of the ordinances of Christian baptism and the Lord’s supper.

We believe in the eternal blessedness of the redeemed in heaven and the eternal doom of the unregenerate in the lake of fire.

A more detailed statement of faith can be found in the Westminster Confession (adopted in 1646) and in the London Baptist Confession (1689).

How are the courses chosen?

MZBI is very careful to include as reading materials for the courses only theologically conservative, proven, and often classic (widely accepted as authoritative) texts, mostly from prior centuries. The authors have withstood the test of time, where Christians over many years have found the texts both very helpful and true to the Scriptures. We avoid the controversies associated with one man over another in our present day.

Our desire is to teach the whole counsel of God. Therefore we are continually seeking to add courses to fill in the curriculum to become a complete lifetime of learning through the entire Scriptures.

How can I utilize MZBI’s materials in my own ministry?

The MZBI resources are available at no charge. You may use them in any of several ways:

For a file on your PC:

- download the courses from our web site; make your own copies.

For printed course booklets:

- in the USA: write to us and we will send them, DV.

- outside of the USA: if one of the foreign branches is in your country, contact it directly.

- outside of the USA: if there is no foreign branch in your country, write us for one course copy sent by surface.

- outside of the USA: if you are a pastor or missionary, you may download a Branch Application (to establish a branch in your city) from our web site (at the Worldwide Branches page). Alternatively, you may write us for a Branch Application. In either case, you must have three references who are pastors also write to us.

The courses may be reproduced as long as 1) the copyright information is printed or displayed on all reproductions, and 2) the material is not charged for. You can include mention of our web address in your materials, or a link to our web site.

In addition, foreign translations of the materials are welcome, and it is possible that your translation of MZBI courses into a local language may be made available through MZBI. Please contact us for specifics before beginning any translation work.

What is MZBI’s philosophy of learning?

Study at Your Own Location

The courses are offered as independent study so that the student can remain in his own surroundings, maintaining his own daily work responsibilities. In this way he can avoid travel expenses, save time, and fit the studies into his own schedule. When there is a local group, there is the added benefit of feedback from others in an environment of trust.

The course materials have wide distribution into several environments:

1.     individuals working in independent study,

2.     groups using the course together, with feedback from a group coordinator. This might be in church classes, home Bible studies, prisons, or home schools.

Administration

The emphasis in all courses is understanding and application of the truth. Grades can weaken the spiritual impact, leading to reliance on self vs. God. The Bible Institute is unaccredited by men, and does not issue diplomas or certificates. Instead, the courses are offered solely for winning the approval of God, as He does a work in our hearts to transform us into the image of Christ.

When printed locally after a course file is downloaded, courses can be used either for independent study (no mailing of lessons), or for traditional correspondence study (lessons reviewed by a course administrator). In “traditional correspondence study,” the student returns his written answers to his course administrator.

Course administration (enrollments, distribution of materials, and review of written answers for feedback) can be accomplished by either a pastor, church worker, or chaplain conducting their own local training.

Design

The courses are practical in nature, since practical application, obedience, and holy living seem to be our biggest struggle in the Christian life. Many people tend to take a course in a mechanical way: getting the ‘head-knowledge’ without a change in the life. Therefore the courses are designed to encourage the student toward understanding and obeying the truth, rather than memorizing information so that a high grade may be attained. To this end, the courses are heart-searching, challenging to the conscience, and practical in encouraging holy living.

We try to avoid the standard didactic approach often used exclusively in formal colleges and seminaries, which uses deduction from a hypothesis to a conclusion only, and can become overly dependent on the intellect to the exclusion of the working of the Holy Spirit. Most courses are therefore centered on studying the Scriptures in the way God intended: meditating on a Bible passage with the Spirit as the teacher, rather than memorizing information and pouring it back out on a test.

Doctrine

We try to avoid using the term “systematic theology,” in order to avoid time and energy given to anything other than our main work: “to humble the pride of man, to exalt the grace of God in salvation, and to promote real holiness in heart and life.” We bring out the basic core doctrines of the Christian faith which are necessary for salvation, sanctification, and service. When other doctrines present themselves, we try to present both sides of the truth, and encourage returning to unity in the major doctrines.

Audiences

Because the materials are focused on personal application in a realistic daily walk with the Lord Jesus Christ, the courses are used by individuals, pastors, and groups such as home Bible studies and church ministries. Students of The Bible Institute courses also include many who cannot afford, or choose not to pay, the high prices of Christian materials offered in the prosperous marketplaces of Western nations. Therefore the courses are often used in prisons and among pastors and lay people in native churches of underdeveloped countries.

Many students will be in a local church, but will not have experience in personal Bible study. The basic courses will be helpful to this group. Others will have some years in the Christian life, and will be at an intermediate level. Still others will have much Bible knowledge. These may study the advanced courses, which focus on renewing personal intimate fellowship with Christ.

Click here to go to Mount Zion Bible Institute.

The first traditional Thanksgiving between the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans occured in 1621. That’s over three centuries ago! But did you know there were other feasts similar to that one too? Previously, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and his group of Spanish colonists landed in Florida where they held a Thanksgiving feast to celebrate their safe arrival. Near El Paso, Spaniard Don Juan de Oñate decided to give his expedition party a rest and throw a Thanksgiving celebration.

Other interesting facts about Thanksgiving are…

…although today’s Thanksgiving meal usually features turkey and pumpkin pie, the pilgrims and Native Americans actually didn’t eat these! Instead of turkey, they ate  lobster, deer meat, and duck. Also there were no ovens to bake any pumpkin pies, though some historians believe pumpkins and squash were present—just not in pie form!

…the pilgrims and natives had different eating habits. While the colonists ate breakfast, dinner, and supper, the Native Americans just ate whenever they were hungry and often had pots cooking throughout the day.

…the reason the holiday is called Thanksgiving is because the colonists wanted to express gratitude for surviving the journey from England to the New Land. Native Americans already had a long history of harvest festivals and ceremonial dances to give thanks for a successful crop.

…Thanksgiving is also a symbol of friendship and cooperation between the colonists and Native Americans. There was a lot of tension when the colonists arrived because the Native Americans were already there living their lives. This was one of the few moments of peaceful interaction between the two groups.

Want to learn more about the history of Thanksgiving? Visit History.com – The First Thanksgiving, which is where I found a lot of these interesting facts.

How often do we run away from reality… run away from truth, run away from the main issue… and hide behind our career, wrong relationships, material pursued, kids, games, DVDs, meaningless online surfing, blank activities…

How often do we say this little prayer in the darkest stormy night in our soul, ‘Dear God, make me a bird. So I could fly far. Far far away from here.’ 

How often did we live on the advise Jenny gave to Forrest… ‘If you’re ever in trouble, don’t be brave. You just run.’

I began to realized that while I love my career and enjoy what I do for the last 11 years, that has been my great hiding place… the place I find refuge from other disappointment in life… to avoid the confrontations with an ex- of our mis-match for 6 years, to avoid possible conflict with my parents by coming home late, to shut off my frustrations with others and with myself.  The more I get used to running, the more I did it….  it’s like one quotation in ‘Forrest Gump’…

‘That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I’d just run across the great state of Alabama. And that’s what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I’d gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I’d gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going..’.

It’s time to stop running, live life and accept the fact that, ‘Life was like a box of Chocolate.. you never knew what you gonna get’.

This story about a new Bible software called “GLO” was sent to me by one of my ex-co-workers from 13 years ago!

Check out these videos:

Cool. One thing I would add to this software is resources for allowing people to explain the Bible to their neighbors. Probably the most useful thing would be to evaluate major passages to see when they were written, how closely the passage is based on eyewitness testimony, whether it appears in other New Testament sources, whether it passes criteria like embarrassment and dissimilarity, and whether it is confirmed by archaeology or even non-Biblical sources.

Additionally, commenter Matthew has some concerns:

Translations? Only NIV, which is OK but far from exemplary. For $90 this needs every translation known to man, in most languages. And full text of all historic bibles as well.
Scholarship? An article found through google critiques Glo for not having a panel of scholars advise on the extra-biblical resources offered.

I don’t think this thing is meant as a scholarly resource – they are aiming for a different market.

Debates about the Bible

If you think that talking about the Bible with non-Christians is fun, you might want to take a look at these debates:

• Richard Bauckham defends the reliability of the gospels against James Crossley
• Richard Bauckham defends the divinity of Jesus against James Crossley
• Crossley debated against William Lane Craig before on the resurrection
• Crossley against Michael Bird on the origins of Christianity, (part 1, part 2)

If you like seeing fringe historical skeptics of Christianity go down in flames, check out this post for some historical debates with evangelicals and radical skeptics.