Missional Athletics

I love participating in sports! It engages the mind and the body as circumstances display the release of emotions of the heart in various ways. As a believer in Jesus and His Word I have come to ask myself many times why we should engage in athletics. The Bible uses forms of athletics as illustrations of the Christian life- endurance, determination, pursuit, competition. But, is that the end? Is the illustration to illuminate the gain of pouring our heart and mind and soul into a sport? SO- one asks- what is the prize that we set our eyes on?
Php 3:14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (NKJV)
1Co 9:25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. (NKJV)
What is the call and what is the imperishable crown?
Without doing in-depth word studies it is obvious that the passages are referring to the call to Christ-likeness. As a believer we learn to see everything in life with a God-ward eternal focus. In other words, if what I am doing right now has no eternal purpose then it is a waste.

All of this is stirred up in my mind because I overheard a parent counseling some other parents the other day on why their son was allowed to play sports. The comment was made: "If he wants to play football for the sake of learning a sport and learning it well- pouring his heart and determination into it, then that is what he needs to do. But I made it clear to him that he is not going out there to make friends".

I'll let you determine what is more important to you- seeing the end as sports or as people in need of relationships that point them to Christ.

Bible Mapper

This is amazing!

What a tool! It is well worth the download.

http://www.biblemapper.com/index.htm

ESV Study Bible

ESV just published a website today on the new ESV Study Bible- coming October 2008

Here is the link:

http://www.esvstudybible.org/#home

Church Sign Sayings

I was looking for a saying to put on the church sign today. I dread this project because I struggle with what to put on the sign. I don't want it to be preaching or condemning. I don't want it to be some overused statement that is meaningless. I want it to be either thought provoking or informational. My heart is for the Gospel of Jesus, but there is absoulutely no way to shorten the gospel to a one sentence phrase. Here are some thoughts I stumbled across from some lady named Karen Stonecypher:

As much as I love the church, I have to admit that I really have a problem with church sign messages. In my opinion the church sign message is just a bad idea nearly any way you look at it. Most of them fall under these categories:
1. Pun
2. Platitude
3. Pop-psychology
4. Preachy and judgmental
5. Down-right damning
Some times, rarely, I’ll come across one that just has a verse on it. Those are perhaps the best ones depending on what verse is chosen (sometimes they are the worst).While a verse is nice, it is just that, one verse, lifted out of context of what is around it, out of context of the gospel and usually virtually meaningless to a non-Christian. I guess the question is, who are church sign messages for? The members? The non-Christian? I think they might tend to make the members feel self-righteous and the non-Christians to feel judged, preached at, or like they just read a cute bumper-sticker. I’ve never seen one that actually speaks to my daily life. The gospel can’t be boiled down to one sentence for a church sign. Any attempt to do so gives entirely the wrong message to people about what the gospel is. It makes the church look cute, quaint, banal, a little on the preachy side, moralistic, and entirely irrelevant to life. I think there must be a book out there called “The Big Book of Banality” from which churches choose the church sign message for the week.
What I’d like to see sometime is a church sign that says something like, “We’re volunteering at the shelter this Wednesday, show up here at 5pm to join us.” Rather than “Turn or Burn” (which I had the privilege of seeing on a Southern Baptist church sign in Little Rock, Arkansas). “Jesus Loves You” isn’t so bad. It would actually be a great message to have on a church sign except that everyone has heard it so many times it has become meaningless. I think people read it now and roll their eyes - perhaps because they haven’t seen enough evidence of that love from anywhere - especially from churches with preachy, judgmental signs.
Anyway, I think the church in America has a bad image, and in some cases for good reason. And the message we put out there for the passer-by to see every week says something about what the church thinks about people, and about what its role is to those people.
On the flip side, I do know several people personally, whom I love dearly and am good friends whith, who love these signs and who actually take the messages to heart. I would guess, however, that they are a minority. What do you think?

Expelled The Movie

Click Here to see the trailer

Below are a couple of reasons why the message of this movie is important:

“Big Science Academy” is proud to have the support of the “Mainstream Press” in stifling the rise of freedom of speech in our science classrooms. In so many ways, “Big Science” and “Big Media” are on exactly the same page, when it comes to making sure that dissenters and troublemakers are properly expelled. Click here to see press articles.

At Big Science Academy we take our motto seriously: “No Intelligence Allowed.” And this year, we are proud to report that in every subject but Science, students and faculty are free to challenge ideas, and seek truth wherever it may lead. But Science is different. In Science, there is no room for dissent, for dissent is dangerous. That is why we at Big Science simply refuse to allow it. Like dancing, “dissent” can lead to other things. As Class President Richard Dawkins put it so well: “Shut up!” As you know…last year we had the misfortune of “presupposition of design” rearing its ugly head, with several students challenging Neo-Darwinian materialism, and arguing incessantly for the right to examine Intelligent Design. They were all Expelled, of course – but still: it just goes to show where academic freedom can lead, if not shut down immediately!

Sincerely,

Charles Darwin

Principal, President, Admissions and Diversity Affairs Officer,Big Science Academy “No Intelligence Allowed”

Merry Christmas from the Friess Family

God is the reason we celebrate once again another Christmas season. He has given us many things this year for which we thank Him, especially the gift of His Son. Here are a few of the things we enjoyed by God’s grace this year.
On March the 28th Nessa Grace arrived. Her sisters and brother were overjoyed to have a sister to hold. Then in April grandparents came to meet her.
In June we spent a few days in southern MN camping with the Anna’s immediate family and then enjoyed our first ever LaPine family reunion in northern Minnesota in July. We were thrilled to see most of the family on Anna’s side and spend a few days at the cabin, skiing, tubing, and fellowshipping with fellow believers. We are truly blessed to have so many Christian family members. Not everyone has that opportunity to be able to sing and praise God in a reunion setting.
In July, Logan went to Camp Fairwood with the Senior Highers, and in August we led our Gilgal Day Camp for the first through sixth graders. We brought the kids to a variety of racing events and activities including sled dogs, a race track, a BMX track, and going go-carting.
In October we helped another church in town with the October Fabulous Fall Festival. Our kids and church people had a blast putting on the Halloween alternative activity. Nina of course dressed up like a princess and Nat and Nora were bears.
Then for Thanksgiving Logan’s family came for a week. We rented the house across the street from ours and enjoyed time together. We hadn’t seen his sister, Lindsay and her husband Michael for two years. And Logan’s dad got to meet Nessa for the first time.
• Logan has been keeping busy this year working for the local Cable TV station. He has his own show called “Around the Corner” where he interviews people in the area about different events. One time we all went to a wildlife park while he interviewed the zoo
keepers. The kids were excited to be on TV in the background petting the animals. He has also done a lot of counseling this year, as well as deer and pheasant hunting, and slowly working away at finishing off our basement.
• Anna is keeping busy now trying to figure out how to run a house with four kids five and under. She has not had time to do a whole lot else. She does try to keep up with her scrap-booking and helping out at church in various ministries. She and her sister, Amy, started a blog this year and Anna also tried her best at some canning. The jam turned out great, and the apple sauce, but the salsa wasn’t quite right.
• Nina (5 years) passed her first year of swimming lessons this past summer and now has started going to preschool once a week. She loves it, especially being able to ride the preschool bus home. Her three favorite things are princesses, flowers, and kitties. She asks for a kitten at least once a month. She also sang a duet in our recent Christmas program which Anna led. Nina loves to play with Barbies and especially loves to do art projects. She is enjoying the snow we have here, and she really loves to go to church. She has lots of friends her age. Her favorite Bible verse is Ephesians 4:32. She wanted me to write that she loves to dress up in dress up clothes, and play with her kitchen set.
• Nat (3 years) doesn’t know what to do at home the day Nina is gone to preschool, but he is slowly adjusting. He, although very much boy, still loves to play princess and dance with Nina. Anna made him a prince costume so that he wouldn’t wear dresses anymore. He will grow out of that stage we are sure and will be very embarrassed by it. He also loves playing games on the computer and was potty trained this year (finally). Nina and Nat started Patch the Pirate Club this fall and Nat has had a blast singing with all the girls. (He is the only boy at church his age—another reason why he loves princesses). He likes to color and play tackle with daddy. And he wanted me to tell you that oranges are his favorite food!
• Nora (2 years) is our most determined child. She just turned two. She knows exactly her plans for the day and can’t seem to stay out of trouble. She loves to climb. At one point in the year Anna actually tried to tie the chairs to the table so Nora couldn’t climb onto the counter, but it didn’t work. Nora pulled the whole table and chairs with her. She tries to wear the same Dora Pajamas every day and night. Anna’s only lifesaver with this girl is that she loves taking naps and will ask to go lay down after lunch.
• Nessa is our little one. She is nine months old now, but still pretty small for her age. She smiles and loves the other kids. She just started crawling and although determined, doesn’t seem to have Nora’s temperament. Praise the Lord! Anna is really enjoying her because she is very sweet and loves to snuggle. She really enjoys playing the piano.
God has been so good to us. We are so grateful for our family and the ministry he has put us in. We are rejoicing this Christmas again for the birth of His Son. We hope you all have a great upcoming year and continue to praise God for what he is doing in your lives.

Sovereign Grace Ministries

This last weekend was our annuall "Fall Out Teen Retreat" up at Camp Jim. I was asked to lead music for the sessions. I introduced a new song called "Jesus, Thank you". Several people asked me if they could get a copy of the music. It gave me a wonderful opportunity to introduce them to a minsitry called Sovereign Grace Ministries. There is a group of churches that have come together and formed this ministry. There is a lot of really good music. You will appreciate the theology. I have not listened to all of it, I have purchased a few: "The Look", "Jesus, Thank you", "Surrender All", "O Great God". You can browse through their songs here. Often there are free downloadable songs, but most of them are available in .mp3 for 99 cents. The guitar and lead sheets are free downloads. Piano music is $2. You can also purchase accompaniment tracks.

Have fun browsing. You will appreciate this resource!

Logan

Compass Bible Church

This is a great Chruch website to play around in for awhile. The ministry is called Compass Bible Church. I was introduced to this ministry by a friend of mine a few years ago- mostly for the theology of the messages of Pastor Mike Fabarez. I have downloaded and listened to some great messages in the car. You should too. You'll appreciate his theology.

One of their greatest ministries is the Focal Point Radio ministry. I love themes because I like to think in context. Everything at Compass Bible Church is related to the concept of finding the right direction. Most churches have no direction- they just meet the demands of the moment. It takes time, energy and effort to be proactive. I appreciate thier emphasis.

Organize Your Personal Library

Awhile back I purchased some software for my computer called "Book Collection" which does everything I would need it to do and more. I found the process to be somewhat tedious in entering books (even though it does connect to the internet and download the information off of the ISBN#). However, a friend showed me an online Collection- It's Called Library Thing. YOu can see and search my personal library on the left column of my Blog. Although Book Collection lets you download multiple books at once, Library Thing is very quick and I have found it to be much more sutible for my needs. It is Free upto 200 books. Since my library is quite a bit larger than that I will probably purchase the life membership. The book information can be exported out to other databases, but I'm not sure that I will ever need to do that. The one feature that it does lack, which I have not come across yet, is the abiltity to "check out" books from your personal library.
Overall, I am very pleased with Library THing. Here I can access my personal library form anywhere. It also compares my library with other people who have simliar libaries.
Check it out!

Wilderness Ministry

I firmly believe in the effectiveness of using the wilderness as a classroom. Many people (myself included) love to just be outdoors and have a good time. Clearly, there is a differnce between going out into the wilderness to just "enjoy nature" and going out into the wilderness to get away from the the pressures of the culture to spend time in God's Word and search your heart.

It is truly an amazing, yet humbling, and thrilling experience. God will use His Word, the cirucmstance of "life in the wilderness" and the environment of people around you to cause some friction and prod your heart to respond to His grace and will for you life. I STRONGLY encourage you to learn from the Bible-centred philosophy of this organization. Why not work on a degree while you learn something practical?
Here is their link.

Listen to the philosophy. This is great stuff!

"The wilderness is a prime environment for experiential education, particularly as it relates to interacting with the core competencies taught within PER's Wilderness Institute for Leadership Development... learning theory, leadership skills and mentoring skills.

Why? In short, the wilderness strips away the cultural "noise" that permeates our lives and allows us to interact more purely with the components of our being that motivate us to act. It is potently valuable to pursue such weighty topics as learning and leadership within the wilderness environment, particularly when actual competency is desired in a short period of time. The physical intensity of the environment (not necessarily defined as physical strain) coupled with the psychological intensity that is generated by lack of environmental familiarity combine to erase the noise of "real life" and to focus on very real interaction with self and with the community of the individuals around them. The student begins to need answers to the pertinent questions of learning (self) and leadership (interacting with the group)."