Sunday Scattershooting

August 24, 2008


News, Notes, Comments . . .

During our visit to Birmingham for our 34th anniversary, we stayed at the Hotel Highland near Five Points. Almost everywhere you look, you can see evidence of regentrifying as a younger generation rediscovers downtown Birmingham. We had supper with Nick and then ate lunch with Nick and two of his friends before driving back to Tupelo. 

Fred Sanders has some excellent comments on voting as a spiritual discipline. Wise words as we enter nonstop political coverage for the next two weeks—and still more leading up to November 4.

We have been drenched with rain all day from the dying remnants of Hurricane Fay. At the moment what is left of the storm is centered over south Mississippi. We’ve been getting bands of rain and wind since early this morning. Looks like the rain will continue through Wednesday. 

Two comments I jotted down in church this morning:

"Be kind to everyone, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." 
"Church is not a noun; it’s a verb."

Gail Blanke explains how to think on your feet. Her three tips, taken from experts in comic improv, will make anyone a better communicator. Try the “yes and” technique the next time you need to “move the scene along." 

James Kushiner says Roe v. Wade must be destroyed. I agree with every word he writes, especially his very stirring conclusion.

Today we ate lunch with Alan and BJ Lundy who is moving to Las Vegas this Friday to begin a new job. While we are happy for this new opportunity, BJ will be sorely missed by his many friends in Tupelo and across Mississippi. Looking on the bright side, we now have a legitimate reason to visit Las Vegas, right?

It’s never too early to talk about college football. The Ole Miss Rebels kick off the 2008 season with a home game against the Memphis Tigers this Saturday. In this part of the world supporting your favorite team is a family thing—a heritage issue. For some it’s Georgia or Alabama or Florida, and in other parts the country, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas, Colorado or UCLA. We plan to go to the game on Saturday. Don’t have tickets yet but that shouldn’t be a problem. At the moment I am full of optimism, partly because the Rebels have a new head coach and partly because we have nowhere to go but up after going winless in the SEC last year. Anyway . . . Ole Miss 38-Memphis 10.

Looking at the week ahead, we’ll be talking with our friend Peter in China about the further development of the Keep Believing China website, and I’m working on our first-ever email sermon/podcast combination that we hope to release on Wednesday.

It’s good to be back home after spending the better part of eight weeks traveling and speaking. We’re using these days not simply to unwind but also to think about where God has been leading us in the 2+ years since we started Keep Believing Ministries. We’re thinking about where we’ve come from, how God is leading us, what God seems to be blessing, and where we think the Lord is leading us in the future. One thing we already know is that God has raised up a host of friends for this ministry. It is no exaggeration to stay that the Keep Believing family stretches around the world. 

We’re working hard on that project in preparation for our KBM board meeting in Chicago on September 6. 

 

 

 

 

 

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