the next (and 1st female) VP: sarah palin

So, from what I have learned so far, it seems as if I will like Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Initially is appears as if she is first and foremost a conservative (not a republican). And although she is virtually unknown to a large part of the American population, I think her presence on the McCain ticket will prove to be enormously valuable in the coming months and hopefully, the coming years in McCain's administration. Here's a snippet of what Glenn Beck had to say about Sarah Palin today on his radio program,

"She knows how to run against all odds. This woman ran against not only the Democrat, she ran against the incumbent Republican, and she won. She won against the Republican in the primary and then she won against the Democrat. She has bipartisan appeal. She's a woman, but she's not a feminist. She's a strong woman, but she doesn't hate men. She is so pro life that when the doctors came to her and said, "Oh, boy, you've got a kid with Down Syndrome, what do you say, should we kill him?" She said, "Absolutely not." And she wouldn't allow them to perform any more tests. "We know he's going to have problems; we'll be able to deal with any of them.""

just curious.

How many people are going to vote for Barack Hussein Obama now that he has picked Joe Biden as his veep? Who will John McCain announce as his running mate later in the week?

The plot thickens as we march closer toward November. Strap on your seat belts, I have a feeling the next couple of months could be a wild ride!

a walk through humility

As Laurin so eloquently put it in her comment on my previous blog post, Andrew Murray’s book Humility is indeed rocking my world. In an effort to attempt to convey just a small portion of how this book has "rocked my world" over the last couple of weeks I submit to you a selection of quotes from Murray’s work in hopes that it will whet your appetite to pick up this book and take your own journey toward discovering genuine, Christ-like humility. I apologize for the length but it was tremendously hard to distill this book down... you absolutely must read it for yourself!

Chapter 1:
-Humility is simply the sense of entire nothingness, which comes when we see how truly God is all, and in which we make way for God to be all.

Chapter 2:
-It is pride that made redemption needful; it is from our pride we need, above everything, to be redeemed.
-Christ is the humility of God embodied in human nature.
-Study the humility of Jesus.

Chapter 3:

-Christ was nothing, that God might be all. He resigned himself with his will and his power entirely for the Father to work in Him.
-Every child of God, is to be the witness—that it is nothing but a vessel, a channel, through which the living God can manifest the riches of his wisdom, power, and goodness.

Chapter 4:
-Make humility the first and most essential element of discipleship. Here is the path to the higher life. Down, down, lower down!
-Jesus, the meek and lowly One, calls us to learn of him the path to God. Let us study the words we have been reading, until our heart is filled with the thought: "My one need is humility." And let us believe that what he shows, he gives; what he is, he imparts. As the meek and lowly One, he will come in and dwell in the longing heart.

Chapter 5:
-It is only by the indwelling of Christ in his divine humility that we become truly humble.

Chapter 6:
-Our love to God will be measured by our everyday intercourse with men and the love it displays.
-It is easy to think we humble ourselves before God: [but] humility towards men will be the only sufficient proof that our humility before God is real.
-It is in our unguarded moments that we really show and see what we are.
-Our humility before God has no value, but as it prepares us to reveal the humility of Jesus to our fellow-men.
-Let us look upon every brother who tries or vexes us, and God’s means of grace, God’s instrument for our purification, for our exercise of the humility Jesus our Life breathes within us.

Chapter 7:
-Humility is the bloom and the beauty of holiness. The chief mark of counterfeit holiness is a lack of humility.
-We have as much of holiness as we have of God.
-Come and let us flee to Jesus, and hide ourselves in him until we be clothed upon with his humility.

Chapter 9:
-Jesus discovers [reveals] to us that it is indeed pride that makes faith impossible.
-Nothing can cure you of the desire of receiving glory from men, or of the sensitiveness and pain and anger which come when it is not given, but giving yourself to seek only the glory that comes from God. Let the glory of the All-glorious God be everything to you.

Chapter 10:
-Accept every humiliation, look upon every fellow-man who tries or vexes you, as a means of grace to humble you. Use every opportunity of humbling yourself before your fellow-men as a help to abide humble before God.
-Self can never cast out self, even in the regenerate man. Praise God! The work has been done, and finished and perfected forever. The death of Jesus, once and forever, is our death to self.
-Sink every morning in deep, deep nothingness into the grave of Jesus; every day the life of Jesus will be manifest in thee.

Chapter 11:
-Nothing but the presence of God can reveal and expel self.
-The danger of pride is greater and nearer than we think, and the grace for humility too.

Chapter 12:
-Do what God says is your work: humble yourself. Trust him to do what he says is his work: he will exalt you. What the command does mean is this: take every opportunity of humbling yourself before God and man.
-May God teach us to believe that to be humble, to be nothing in his presence, is the highest attainment, and the fullest blessing, of the Christian life.

overdue update on life.

So, my new job has been keeping me quite busy (which is great!) and I don't have internet access at my house (which sort of stinks) so I far less time to update my blog... after all (and sadly enough), I don't get paid for blogging. At any rate, here's a small update of things that have been going on over the last couple of weeks...

(1) I got up VERY EARLY (earlier than usual) this past Saturday to run 19 miles. It was the first time I have run the distance in quite some time and was pleased to discover that I was not sore when I woke up Sunday morning.

(2) I love my new job! Yep, I do. So far, the move to Legacy Wealth Management has proven to be a good one. I am grateful for the opportunity the Lord has provided by placing me here.

(3) I saw the Buddy Holly Story at Playhouse on the Square on Saturday night and it was surprisingly good. I knew very little about Buddy Holly before the show and was therefore slightly skeptical about actually enjoying the show. It was fabulous!

(4) Unfortunately, in this past Friday night's rain, I backed into the building behind Belmont Grill as I was leaving their VERY tiny parking lot. My bumper now carries permanent remains from that fateful evening. Tragic.

(5) Andrew Murray's book Humility has in some ways wrecked perceptions of my life. I now carry serious doubt that I ever knew anything about what true, Christ-like humility really is prior to reading this book. More on this later...

(6) I am very much enjoying the weird weather that Memphis has been having the last couple of weeks. Humidity has been (for the most part) at bay and the temps have been in the low 90's. In fact, there are reports that, though it might rain, tomorrow's high could be 85! What? It is August. In Memphis.

(7) I had to purchase a new air conditioner for my home last week. Fun.

(8) I still have the leak from my upstairs bathroom, through my ceiling, into my kitchen. O the joys of home ownership continue.

(9) I have really enjoyed watching the Olympics and am completely amazed at each athlete's determination, discipline, and raw talent that has jointly propelled them this far in their "quest for the gold." However, I question how many of them pursue the prize (the gold medal) with all their might and upon the achievement of it still find themselves lacking. How many of them achieve the pinnacle in their sport but never find the treasure that is found in Christ. Just a random thought...

(10) This story on the Drudge Report today about a mountain/ski resort in New Zealand having the largest snow base ever, really made me want to go snow skiing. I'm not extremely picky; I don't have to go to New Zealand... I would settle for Park City, Utah.

sunday's song... "Only Jesus"

Here's a great song by Marc Heinrich that we sang yesterday at Grace Church...

When the trials come, and all hope seems lost,
I will find my strength in the might cross

Only there, only Jesus,
Only there can I cast my burden down
Only Him, only Jesus,
Only there, is joy in sorrow found.

If my love grows cold, and my faith feels lost,
I will find my heart in the healing cross

window into our soul

This morning, as I was reading the upcoming sermon text at Grace Church, Mark 12: 1-44, my heart began to meditate particularly on the story of the widow's offering in Mark 12:41-44. In this passage Jesus sitting and watching people put their money into the offering. As he was doing this he noticed a poor widow place 2 small coins, worth 1/64th of a laborer's wages, into the offering. When Jesus saw this he pulled his disciples aside and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

This story is not just a simple story about how we allocate our money but it is about how we order our life! This poor woman had no husband to depend on to provide for her, yet she gave all she had to the Lord. When this woman gave all she had, she proved that she lived with childlike faith in dependence upon a very able and faithful God. There was no murmuring as she dropped the coins into the plastic basket (which we use at Grace Church :) about how she was starving and needed dinner or that the mortgage was due in a week. How we handle our money can be a window into our soul! What this poor widow woman did with her money was the outworking of her faith, a faith that rested solidly upon her sure Saviour to provide for her every need, regardless of the fact that she was husbandless.

I suppose this story hit a little closer to home with me as I began to think of the many clients that I come in contact with on a daily basis. As a financial planner in the wealth management field, I see firsthand everyday how scores of individuals spend their wealth. Whether the client actually realizes it or not, a lot about a person can be determined by how they spend their capital. Therefore as believers, we need to remember that how we tithe (or the lack thereof) is not merely a duty to be done begrudgingly... Our finances reflect our faith!!!

first day at the new job

So today I officially had my first day at the new job... it was good, except for the fact that you feel like the awkward 5th grader who had to change elementary school in the middle of the school year. All in all, I think I'm going to like it...