Category Archives: Not An Original Thought – I Stole It

Social Media and Spiritual Problems https://mindyourfaithblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/how-social-media-posts-can-signal-spiritual-problems/

Posted on by • Posted in Commentary, Not An Original Thought - I Stole It, Religion • Tagged , , • Leave a comment

Social Media and Spiritual Problems — from Doy Moyer’s Mind Your Faith blog

Don’t end up just banging dustbins

Don’t end up just banging dustbins

Posted on by • Posted in Commentary, Not An Original Thought - I Stole It, Religion • Tagged , • Leave a comment

Worth a few moments of your time …

Stephen Kneale's avatarBuilding Jerusalem

It is amazing how certain comments stick in the mind. It is hard to know whether it is the context in which they are spoken or the sheer simplicity with which the comment nails its intended target, but nonetheless some things remain with you. I am regularly reminded of one of the funniest, and yet searingly clear, comments I received whilst engaged in mission work.

The context was my regular pilgrimage to the Holy Land; or, Llandudno as it is more commonly known. I was co-leading a week of mission. Much of the work involved cold-contact evangelism; approaching folk on the promenade and trying to generate conversation. The aim would be to share something of Christ and perhaps leave them with a Christian book or piece of literature to read in their own time. Sometimes conversations take off – often in ways you wouldn’t expect – and excellent theological discussion can…

View original post 762 more words

Gate A-4

Posted on by • Posted in Commentary, Not An Original Thought - I Stole It, Travel • Tagged , , , , , , , • 1 Comment

Live & Learn's avatarLive & Learn

naomi_shihab_nye

Gate A-4 By Naomi Shihab Nye:

Wandering around the Albuquerque Airport Terminal, after learning my flight had been delayed four hours, I heard an announcement: “If anyone in the vicinity of Gate A-4 understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately.” Well— one pauses these days. Gate A-4 was my own gate. I went there.

An older woman in full traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing. “Help,” said the flight agent. “Talk to her . What is her problem? We told her the flight was going to be late and she did this.”

I stooped to put my arm around the woman and spoke haltingly. “Shu-dow-a, shu-bid-uck, habibti? Stani schway, min fadlick, shu-bit-se-wee?” The minute she heard any words she knew, however poorly used, she stopped crying. She thought the flight had been cancelled entirely. She needed to be…

View original post 408 more words

“Me, Too.”

Posted on by • Posted in Commentary, Culture Wars, Mental Health, Not An Original Thought - I Stole It, Public Policy • Tagged , , , , • Leave a comment

Well said, Randy — thanks!

Randy Daw's avatarRandy Daw

Lust has had its way for too long.  In entertainment, at school, and even in church we hear story after story of women who have been assaulted by powerful or even “trusted” men.

Among the teenaged and adult women you know, probably one in every three has been violently assaulted.  More than half have been sexually coerced or harassed.

Note:  Violence includes manipulation or threats which result in sexual compliance. Any touch is violence when consent is coerced, or when consent cannot be legally given.

abused woman

Many courageous women have told their stories in recent weeks.  Others by the (literally) millions have responded on social media and other fora by answering “Me too.”

Other men have often seen and done nothing.  Worse, they have conspired to keep an assault secret, rationalizing that the woman must have done something to bring it about.  If a man knows something and does nothing, he…

View original post 175 more words

What every church leader needs to know about hymns and hymnals in the digital era

What every church leader needs to know about hymns and hymnals in the digital era

Posted on by • Posted in Hymns, Music, Not An Original Thought - I Stole It, Religion • Tagged , , , , • Leave a comment

Thanks, Kent — well done!

waytruthlifelove's avatarway truth life love

NEW MUSIC IS NOW BECOMING AVAILABLE TO THE AVERAGE CHURCH AT AN UNPRECEDENTED PACE. Simultaneously, music literacy is declining. Church leaders are often ill-equipped to discern between the various sources of music that may be infiltrating the church. Worship leaders may have competing agendas regarding worship styles, new songs to introduce, and favorite arrangements. Composers and song writers may now publish or self-publish instantaneously and your church can download digital music to print and project as well as play audibly. All of this can lead to confusion, impeded worship, and in the worst cases, division. The days of buying a hymnal and coasting for fifty years are over. Church leaders must become educated on trends and equip themselves to gracefully guide the church to filter the noise and select the best worship resources for their church culture and theology. This article attempts to aid toward that end, though it is…

View original post 2,879 more words

Two Are Better Than One

Two Are Better Than One

Posted on by • Posted in Commentary, Family, Not An Original Thought - I Stole It, Sports • Tagged , , • Leave a comment

Lindsay makes her Dad smile, and warms his heart!

Twisted Running's avatartwisted running

Last weekend I ate my words and finished a race I had said repeatedly I would never run (and I still haven’t run it-ha!). Though our family in Corning, NY had asked us to combine a visit and a race, we had told them no several times. First, I hate the name. I could spend hours telling you about how much I hate alcohol for all it has done to people I love(d), but I won’t. So running the Wineglass Half, even though there was no real connection between the name and the race, wasn’t high on my list– even though I had heard such amazing things about the course (fast and net downhill), the setting (hi Upstate New York in peak leaf season) and the medal (pretty pretty Corning glass). Secondly, as a Sunday race it was off the boards for us because we have been pretty staunch…

View original post 1,584 more words

A collection of sacred music

Posted on by • Posted in Hymns, Music, Not An Original Thought - I Stole It, Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs • Tagged , , , , • 1 Comment

waytruthlifelove's avatarway truth life love

As a sacred music enthusiast, I have collected numerous compilations of music that has been sung in churches of Christ over the past 152 years. It is a joy to me to pour over the pages of these hymnals and to sing songs new and old. I have not listed every copy here, nor every variation. But I have largely adhered to an edited collection of major hymnals in the churches of Christ in the United States as compiled by Levi Sisemore. I also have collected various supplements, hymn story books, worship music instructional books and workbooks, and worship theology books which have served to edify greatly as I strive to serve in worship leading. I share this catalog for the enjoyment of other hymn enthusiasts.


1865     Christian Hymnbook (Alexander Campbell) – Digital only

1882     The Christian Hymnal* (American Christian Missionary Society) – Digital only

1882…

View original post 311 more words

Which Hymnal or Song Collection Should We Choose?

Posted on by • Posted in Hymns, Music, Not An Original Thought - I Stole It, Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Writing • Tagged , , , , • Leave a comment

Thanks, Tim! Very carefully considered and logical explanation!

singtothelordmusic's avatarGet them singing

hymnals
Selecting a hymnal or collection of songs for a congregation is not an easy task. Oh, it’s easy to grab a book with songs that I like, but choosing a hymnal for a congregation carries the daunting responsibility of providing a primary source of the spiritual language of the congregation, and a couple of generations to come. The average congregation changes hymnals far less often than its ministry staff, about once every 20-30 years. That’s a long time to be singing from a collection. All the more reason to choose wisely.
Our theology is shaped by the hymns we sing–for good or bad–and it should be as we “teach and admonish one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” (Colossians 3.16). How often we hear the cross referenced in prayers and meditations as “that old rugged cross”, or someone refers to our “blessèd assurance” in Christ. In a well-edited collection…

View original post 965 more words

Statue of an Egyptian official found at Hazor

Posted on by • Posted in Archaeology, Geography, History, Not An Original Thought - I Stole It • Tagged , , , , • Leave a comment

Hazor excavations – from Ferrell Jenkins’ blog

Ferrell Jenkins's avatarFerrell's Travel Blog

Hebrew University announces this morning the discovery of a statue of an Egyptian official at Tel Hazor.

— “ —

Jerusalem, July 25, 2016 — In a historic find, a large fragment of an Egyptian statue measuring 45 X 40 centimeters [about 18 x 16 inches], made of lime-stone, was discovered in the course of the current season of excavations at Tel-Hazor, north of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Only the lower part of the statue survived, depicting the crouching feet of a male figure, seated on a square base on which a few lines in the Egyptian hieroglyphic script are inscribed.

The archaeologists estimate that the complete statue would equal the size of a fully-grown man. At present only a preliminary reading of the inscriptions has been attempted, and the title and name of the Egyptian official who originally owned the statue, are not yet entirely clear.

The…

View original post 912 more words

Our “Great River”

Posted on by • Posted in Geography, History, Not An Original Thought - I Stole It, Travel • Tagged , , , • Leave a comment

rtrube54's avatarBob on Books

A_Home_on_the_Mississippi At Home on the Mississippi — Currier & Ives Print

It is 2,320 miles from its headwaters in Minnesota to its outlet in the Gulf of Mexico. Its watershed covers all orpart of 31 states and parts of twoCanadian provinces. That watershed extends from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the western side of the Appalachians in the east. All told, the watershed covers 1,245,000 square miles. The discharge into the Gulf of Mexico varies between 200 and 700 thousand cubic feet per second. You have probably guessed that I am writing about the Mississippi River, a name which derived from a Native American word meaning “Great River.”

Water draining into the storm drain at the corner of our lot ends up in this watershed. Growing up in Youngstown, the Mahoning River was part of this watershed. So are the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers, within 5 miles of our…

View original post 587 more words