Category Archives: Top 12 Tuesdays

12 Things that are great about being 70

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This one is in honor of my mom, who is turning 70 this weekend.  A humorous look at the life of a 70 year old.

  1. When you get carded for the Senior Citizen’s discount you’re not offended, you’re thrilled!
  2. When you don’t respond to someone’s email, they just write it off as you not being “tech savy.”
  3. You can take a nap and the kids don’t bother you. (“Shh..Grandma’s sleeping!)
  4. 4 words – Kohl’s Senior Citizen Discount
  5. Take all the time at JoAnn’s Fabrics that you want – not like you have anywhere else to be!
  6. You can throw parties at your kids house when you’re house-sitting and they are thrilled.
  7. If Diet Pepsi were really bad for you it would have done it’s damage long before now – drink up!
  8. Same with chocolate!
  9. Who would deny a sweet grandma spoiling her grandkids?
  10. After being in a prayer group for approaching 20 years, you can finally see God answering some of those long time requests.
  11. When something comes back in style you can just look in the back of your closet and you’re in fashion again!
  12. Waiting in traffic isn’t nearly as bad when you can compare it to waiting for doctor’s appointments.

Love you mom!  Happy 70th!  Can’t wait to see how God continues to use you to bring joy in the years to come!

12 Theological Terms – simply defined

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Theology, it seems, comes with a vocabulary that is more fit for academic theologians than for the practitioners in the pews.  More ink is spent in seminary defining, refining, and arguing over minute points of theology than it seems anything else!  This is all fine and good for professional theologians, but makes it hard for those seeking to share the good news in relate-able ways to those seeking Christ.  Here then are twelve terms bantered about the church and simple (and therefore somewhat incomplete, but workable) definitions for each.

  1. GRACE – “God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense” – receiving what we do not deserve and NOT receiving what we do deserve
  2. DISCIPLE – not just a student, but one who desires to be like Christ in all ways.
  3. SIN – “Selfish in Nature” – our desire to have things our way instead of God’s way
  4. ATONEMENT – to make amends for sin,  Christ’s death “made amends” or “atoned” for our acts of selfishness (SIN)
  5. JUDGEMENT – God’s final verdict on our life of sin.  All of us will be judged, but not all will suffer the consequences – those who accept Christ’s atonement (through the cross) have there sentence communed
  6. MERCY – undeserved compassion.  God has mercy on us and does not punish us for our sin here on earth, even though He is in his right to do so.  He does, however, allow the consequence of sin to effect our lives.
  7. ETERNITY – the realm of God outside of time.  Not necessarily an infinite time, but rather where time does not exist or has no influence on life.
  8. DAMNATION – eternal separation from God for those who seek to stay in a life of selfishness (SIN) instead of accepting the grace given to us through Christ
  9. SANCTIFICATION – the process by which God continues to transform us from selfish sinners into Godly saints – becoming more Christ-like.
  10. JUSTIFICATION – “Just-as-if-I’d never sinned”  Through faith in Christ we are restored to a right relationship with God
  11. PREVENIENT – “going before”  The way that God works in our lives before we accept Christ to bring us to a point of decision.
  12. FAITH – The active trust in God’s promises.  Faith is more than just belief – it is trusting that those beliefs are truth and living accordingly.

Top 12 John Wesley Quotes

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John Wesley is best known as the founder of the Methodist movement, which eventually gave birth to the Methodist Church.  While many see his strengths mainly in organization and diligent ministry, he was also an accomplished preacher who drew large crowds, even when preaching in the open air.  Here are twelve of my favorite quotes attributed to John Wesley.

  1. “Do all the good you can,
    By all the means you can,
    In all the ways you can,
    In all the places you can,
    At all the times you can,
    To all the people you can,
    As long as ever you can.”
  2. “Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn.”
  3. “I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.”
  4. “When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into my heart.”
  5. “Once in seven years I burn all my sermons; for it is a shame if I cannot write better sermons now than I did seven years ago.”
  6. “Every one, though born of God in an instant, yet undoubtedly grows by slow degrees”
  7. “Beware you be not swallowed up in books! An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge”
  8. “My ground is the Bible. Yea, I am a Bible-bigot. I follow it in all things, both great and small.”
  9. “The best of it is, God is with us.”
  10. “The Church recruited people who had been starched and ironed before they were washed.”
  11. “When I was young I was sure of everything; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before; at present, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to me”
  12. “You may be as orthodox as the devil and as wicked”

* CORRECTION:  I’ve since discovered that #10 is actually a quote from John Wesley LORD, not John Wesley.  Here’s a replacement quote:

“The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion.”

12 Things I loved about Hawai’i

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I’ve been back in Texas just 24 hours, and I already miss Hawai’i!  The beauty and culture of Hawai’i are hard to describe.  It was really the vacation of a lifetime.  Here are 12 things that I love about my trip to the Big Island of Hawai’i.

  1. Malasadas – Think filled donut meets Hawaiian sweet bread.  For the best on the big island try Baker Tom’s – a hole in the wall stop about 4 miles north of Hilo.
  2. The Falls – All of the waterfalls were beautiful, but I think my favorite were at The Inn at Kulaniapia Falls, our beautiful lodging in Hilo.
  3. Wiapi’o Valley – Called the Valley of the Kings, it is probably one of the most beautiful places on the planet.
  4. New land created by the volcano – It’s a 1/2 mile hike in  the dark across a rough lava field, but worth it to see the earth’s newest land.
  5. Kona Coffee – Ummm… Coffee.  Brought back 3 lbs of the best – Greenwell Farms.
  6. Snorkeling – I swam within feet of a sea turtle!  Don’t miss the snorkeling at Kahalu’u – right next to where we stayed at the Outrigger Keauhou.
  7. Beaches – A trip to Hawai’i would be incomplete without a trip to one of the many beautiful beaches.  My favorite light sand – Mauna Kea.  My favorite dark sand – Punalu’u.
  8. POG Juice – Passionfruit-Orange-Guava – a luscious combination!
  9. Flora & Fauna – The rainforest produces the most beautiful flowers!  I think Krystal would wear a plumeria lei everyday if we had a tree in our yard.
  10. Hawaiian Shaved Ice – Ice and sugar syrup as big as my head.  Strangely enough, the best is called Scandinavian Shave Ice.
  11. Tropical Dreams Ice Cream – Shaved ice is nice, but Tropical Dreams is better.
  12. Coqui frogs – Not just the frogs, which have a beautiful sing-song call, but the beautiful weather that lets you keep your windows open all night to hear their call.