I’ve tried, but when it comes to text-messaging, I’m all thumbs!

Click here for more Random Thoughts.

The leadership development organization Growing Leaders recently asked focus groups of young adults (ages 16-24) how they prefer to receive communication. Their order of preference was:

    1. Text messages,
    2. MySpace and/or Facebook,
    3. Podcasts,
    4. Instant messaging,
    5. Cell phone,
    6. CDs,
    7. DVDs, and
    8. Email.

Source: Pastor’s Weekly Briefing 4/4/08 (HT: Sam Lamerson)

See related post: Why Email is Dying Out with Younger Generation

Update #1:  Click here for In Memory of Maria, a special blog set up just for Maria. There is a video of Steve and Maria goofing around in the kitchen , as well as a place for people to express condolences. There are already over 8,000 comments.

Update #2:  Click here for video from the memorial service.

Please be praying for the family of Christian singer, Steven Curtis Chapman, whose 5-year-old daughter was killed in an accident yesterday afternoon. “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15)

(Left to right:  Will Franklin, Maria, Steven, Shaoey, Mary Beth, Stevey Joy, Caleb and Emily)

From the Christian Post:

The 5-year-old daughter of Grammy-winning Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman was struck and killed Wednesday by a sport utility vehicle driven by her brother, authorities said.

The girl, Maria, was hit in the driveway of the family’s home Wednesday afternoon by a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by her teenage brother, said Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The brother, whose name and exact age weren’t available, apparently did not see the girl, McPherson said. No charges are expected.

“It looks like a tragic accident,” she said.

Several family members witnessed the accident, which happened in Williamson County just south of Nashville. The girl died later at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, hospital spokeswoman Laurie Holloway said.

A publicist for Chapman’s charity organization said the family was expected to release a statement later Wednesday night.

From the Steven Curtis Chapman website:

NASHVILLE, TN…5/21/08… At approximately 5pm on the afternoon of Wednesday May 21st, Maria Sue Chapman, 5 years old and the youngest daughter to Steven and Mary Beth Chapman was struck in the driveway of the Chapman home in Franklin, TN. Maria was rushed to Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital in Nashville, transported by LifeFlight, but died of her injuries there. Maria is one of the close knit family’s six children and one of their three adopted daughters.

More than five years ago, Chapman and his wife MaryBeth founded The Shaohannah’s Hope Ministry after bringing their first adopted daughter, Shaohannah, home from China. The ministry’s goal is to help families reduce the financial barrier of adoption, and has provided grants to over 1700 families wishing to adopt orphans from around the world. Chapman is a five-time GRAMMY ® winner and 54-time Dove Award winning artist who has sold over 10 million albums and garnered 44 No. 1 singles.

See related posts:

• Steven Curtis Chapman on Good Morning America
• Maria Sue Chapman Memorial Service

My son is taking physics this year, and we came across these neat video demonstrations of the Ruben’s Tube, also known as the Standing Wave Flame Tube. The first Rubens tube was created in 1904 by German physicist Heinrich Rubens. Rubens drilled 200 small holes at 2 centimeter intervals into a 4-meter-long tube and filled it with a flammable gas. After lighting the gas, he noted that a sound produced at one end of the tube created a standing wave the same wavelength as the sound being made.

Seeing we couldn’t do this experiment ourselves safely at home, these videos were the next best thing. Enjoy!

Here is one from Flash Forward (video length: 2:48):

 
And here is one from Mythbusters (video length: 1:57):

Living Together Before Marriage Series:
    ● Statistics on Living Together Before Marriage
    ● Scriptures on Living Together Before Marriage
    ● Living Together Without Sex
    ● What If We Already Lived Together Before Marriage?

“The honeymoon was over before the wedding day ever arrived.” (See the testimony below.) Last month I posted some statistics on living together before marriage. Since then I have received a number of inquiries as to what the Bible says about living together. So in this post I would like to share some of the Biblical teaching about living together before marriage.

The statistics in last month’s post showed a high correlation between living together and undesirable outcomes. This should not be surprising, because the Bible has some strong things to say about living together. God is a loving God, and he gives us his commands for our protection. Those who choose not to live together before marriage will likely avoid many of the negative outcomes described in the earlier post. Here are some Scriptures on living together before marriage:

• Proverbs 14:12 – “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”  This Scripture stands against the arguments, “Everyone is doing it. It’s the new way. It’s accepted in society.” That may all be true, but just because a path seems right doesn’t make it so.
• Ecclesiastes 3:1,5 – “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven … a time to embrace and a time to refrain.”  As the following Scriptures indicate, the right time for living together is after marriage — not the year before, not the month before, not the night before. There is a time to embrace, and a time to refrain.
• 1 Corinthians 6:18 – “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.”  Living together almost always involves premarital sex. By living together before marriage, you dishonor both yourself and your partner.
• 1 Corinthians 7:8-9 – “Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.”  This isn’t the place to get into why Paul recommends singleness over marriage in this particular passage. However, it is important to note that the Bible encourages a couple that is struggling with sexual temptation to marry rather than burn with passion. Of course, this assumes a couple that is ready for marriage. I recommend that all couples get good premarital counseling from a pastor or Christian counselor before getting married.
• Galatians 6:7-8 – “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”  Although the original word in the Greek means “to sneer or to scorn,” the English word “mock” is instructive when it comes to living together. “To mock” means “to imitate, to pretend in order to deceive.” You can’t do that to God without consequences, and you can’t do that with marriage. Living together is literally a mockery or imitation of marriage in that it does not require a public commitment or lifetime vow of faithfulness.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:3-6 – “It is God’s will that you should … avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him.”  To “wrong” someone in this verse means “to exceed the proper limits.” To “take advantage” means “to defraud, or to take more than you’re entitled to.” It is the picture of someone who takes more than they should while selfishly disregarding the best interests of others. When we live together, we exceed the limits God has set for us. We take more than we’re entitled to.
• Hebrews 13:4 – “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”  The marriage bed can only be kept pure when the sexual relationship is kept within marriage. Anything else brings God’s judgment. Do you love your partner? Then why would you invite God’s judgment into their life? Why would you willfully rob them of God’s blessing?

You will notice from these Bible verses that I am assuming couples who live together are also sexually involved. And I think in most cases that’s a pretty fair assumption. I will address the (much rarer) situation of couples who live together but are not sexually active in a later post. But let me end this post by sharing the testimony of a young woman that I think effectively sums up some of the major problems of living together before marriage.

I wish I could tell every young adult in America that you truly will reap what you sow. Living together may seem wonderful initially … but eventually it creates more problems than you can imagine. I lived with my boyfriend for two years before we got married. I knew I was breaking my parents’ hearts, as well as my Heavenly Father’s heart! My boyfriend was not a Christian, but I figured I could change him if we moved in together.

The “this-is-yours, that-is-mine” mentality that enabled us to “successfully” live together completely unraveled once we got married. We had become too separate and selfish, making it nearly impossible to become “one flesh.”  The honeymoon was over before the wedding day ever arrived.  (Excerpt from letter printed in “Family Feedback,” Focus on the Family, May 1994, p.23)

Do you have any thoughts or response to all this? Feel free to share them in the comments.

Check out the other posts in the Living Together Before Marriage series:
    ● Statistics on Living Together Before Marriage
    ● Scriptures on Living Together Before Marriage
    ● Living Together Without Sex
    ● What If We Already Lived Together Before Marriage?
____________________________________________________________

Did you find this post helpful? Click to subscribe by email or feed reader so that you don’t miss any future posts.

Click here for Narnia products at Amazon.
Click here for more Narnia related posts.
Click here for Narnia sermon series.

In a letter written March 5, 1961, C. S. Lewis identified the main religious theme for each of the seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia series. Here is Lewis’ own account of how “the whole series works out.” (Ligonier Ministries)

• The Magician’s Nephew:  the creation and how evil entered Narnia
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:  the crucifixion and resurrection
• Prince Caspian:  restoration of the true religion after a corruption
• The Horse and His Boy:  the calling and conversion of a heathen
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader:  the spiritual life (especially in Reepicheep)
• The Silver Chair:  the continued war against the powers of darkness
• The Last Battle:  the coming of the Antichrist (the Ape), the end of the world, and the last judgment

Click here to take part in the Narnia poll:  “In which order do you think the
    Narnia Chronicles should be read?”
Click here for more Narnia related posts.
Click here for Narnia sermon series.

Meet Orazio the cat, who has been dubbed a real life Garfield in his hometown of Eupilio, Italy. Orazio weighs a whopping 35 pounds.

Click on a month for more Garfield Mondays:  January, February, March,
    April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Click here for Garfield Monday Extra.

Check back the first Monday of each month for more Garfield Mondays.

Yesterday’s message in the Life of Samuel series was called My Heart Rejoices in God, taken from 1 Samuel 2:1-10. The main idea of the message was that God is in control; therefore, we should rejoice! Here is a brief outline of the message:

I. There is no one like God. (1-2)
    A. No one rescues like God.
    B. No one is holy like God.
    C. No one protects like God.

II. God humbles and exalts. (3-8a)
    A. Do not be arrogant.
    B. Do not be discouraged.

III. God rules over everything. (8b-10)
    A. God will establish his people.
    B. God will shatter his enemies.
    C. God will give strength to his king.

Note: Click on the Sermons tab at the top of the blog for this and other messages.

Melissa Michaels identifies the biggest mistake people make that causes disorganization. “Not following simple daily routines and systems. It is really easy to spiral into disorganization and chaos in any area of life. Success all comes back to basically two things: systems or routines that make sense for our life and our goals, and daily discipline to maintain them.”

Frugal Dad shows how to teach your kids about money with only 4 quarters. “By giving my daughter something tangible to represent our income she was able to understand that there are things you have to pay for (food, shelter, transportation), and things you can choose to spend money on (gifts and entertainment). All categories must be paid for with a finite supply of money.”

Tim Keller describes the practice of frontline prayer. “Maintenance prayer meetings are short, mechanical and totally focused on physical needs inside the church or on personal needs of the people present. But frontline prayer has three basic traits: a) a request for grace to confess sins and humble ourselves, b) a compassion and zeal for the flourishing of the church, and c) a yearning to know God, to see his face, to see his glory.” (Tim Keller, “Kingdom-centered Prayer,” Redeemer Report, January 2006.)

Andrew Jackson of SmartChristian.com is reading the Qur’an (Koran). (No, he is not changing his site over to SmartMuslim.com.) “I am researching and writing a detailed proposal for my next book Islam Explained: What Muslims Teach and Practice … As part of my research, I am reading and studying the 114 chapters of the Qur’an … It reads quite different than the Bible. With revelation chapters named The Cow, The Cattle, The Spoils of War, The Ant, alongside Abraham, Children of Israel, Joseph, Jonah, Noah, and Mary, you can understand that it takes a while to get your footing.”

Allan Fisher explains the origin of red-letter Bibles. “The first red-letter New Testament was published in 1899, and the first red-letter Bible followed two years later … In the first red-letter Bible, the words ‘universally accepted as the utterances of our Lord and Saviour’ were printed in red. So were Old Testament passages that Jesus quoted or that were directly related to incidents to which he referred (with the relevant cross reference also printed in red). Old Testament verses containing prophetic references to Christ were identified with red stars.” (HT: Between Two Worlds)

The countdown is over! The Prince Caspian movie opens in theaters today. Here is a roundup of links to all the Countdown to Caspian posts. Each post contains a favorite passage from the book, Prince Caspian, along with thoughts and reflections for application. I hope you enjoyed the series. And I hope you enjoy the movie. Now, somebody please pass the popcorn!

1. Magic at the Station
2. Precious Gifts
3. Time Puzzle
4. Old Narnia
5. Susan’s Horn
6. Nikabrik and Reepicheep
7. The Time of Greatest Need
8. Aslan’s Call
9. Aslan’s Guidance
10. Aslan’s Return
11. Aslan’s Roar
12. At the Door
13. The Bulgy Bears
14. Healing Auntie
15. Reepicheep’s Tail

Click here for more Narnia and Caspian related posts.
Click here for Narnia sermon series.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian opens in theaters on Friday, May 16. In order to whet your appetite, I am counting down the fifteen days to the movie by sharing a favorite selection from each of the fifteen chapters of C. S. Lewis’ masterful book, Prince Caspian. (Warning: Plot spoilers ahead! But if you haven’t read the book, you should really read it before going to see the movie anyways!) Here goes — let’s count down to Caspian!

From Chapter 15: Aslan Makes a Door in the Air

“Why have your followers all drawn their swords, may I ask?” said Aslan.

“May it please your High Majesty,” said the second Mouse, whose name was Peepiceek, “we are all waiting to cut off our own tails if our Chief must go without his. We will not bear the shame of wearing an honour which is denied to the High Mouse.”

“Ah!” roared Aslan, “you have conquered me. You have great hearts. Not for the sake of your dignity, Reepicheep, but for the love that is between you and your people, and still more for the kindness your people showed me long ago when you ate away the cords that bound me on the stone table (and it was then, though you have long forgotten it, that you began to be Talking Mice), you shall have your tail again.”

Thoughts:  “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” (Romans 12:10) The mice in Prince Caspian illustrate the above verse well. They are willing to cut off their own tails rather than let Reepicheep go without his. God loves it when we put others before ourselves. True brotherly love rejoices with those who rejoice and mourns with those who mourn. (Romans 12:15) Here the mice so utterly empathize with Reepicheep that they are willing to suffer the same loss as he. Do we love each other in the church with this same reckless abandon? If not, why not? (Thoughts? Comments? Do you have a favorite scene or quote from chapter fifteen?)

All the Countdown Posts:  Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

Click here for more Narnia and Caspian related posts.
Click here for Narnia sermon series.