My motto for 2011

"The blessings of ministry often come to us first disguised as inconveniences."

- a BR original
[photo:juliefeilen.com]

Them's Strivin' Words ...

'The human race is divided into two races, those who love holiness and those who do not. The former are having their humanity restored in Jesus Christ, and the latter are actively pursuing the gollumization of humanity. So the human race is divided by the grace of the gospel in accordance with the Bible's description of God's character. This description is something that less squeamish generations of Christians used to call God's "law."

Those who love God recoil from the things that nonbelievers both do (Eph. 5:12) and applaud doing (Rom. 1:32). They despise even the garments that are stained by the flesh (Jude 23). But a Christian might protest -- "I don't agree with the way you are approaching this. I'm a Christian and I don't have that kind of detestation." But that argument would only have weight if you really were a Christian. That's where the argument falls down.'

-Doug Wilson

The Unconstitutional Separation of Church and State

It is often noted that the so-called “Separation of Church and State”… is not found in the Constitution. In fact, it is an UNCONSTITUTIONAL notion. After a discussion yesterday with some friends, I've decided that from now on, whenever I hear that phrase used in conversation I am going to politely interrupt in order to assert this. What the constitution says on the subject [in one of the parts before the "in the year of our Lord" line...] is – and I quote, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”


So, out of the 5 words – “Separation of Church and State” – not a single one is actually found in the text of the constitution. If you insist on keeping the terminology, the Federal Constitution establishes the  “Separation of Church and CONGRESS”,

On TSA Scanners, Speed Cameras, and Big Brother's Boot

"If Orwell were to come back now, what do you think he would be more shocked by -- the number of cameras all over the UK or the number of people who had read his book and yet did not see any connection?"

-D. Wilson

Happy Ratification Day!

“The more you read the Constitution, the more you will begin to understand that we are not living in ‘Post-Christian America’, we are living in ‘Post-America’.”


-attributed to Historian, John Whitehead

POP U.S. HISTORY QUIZ:  Q: Today is December 7th … besides the bombing of Pearl Harbor, what great even of American history took place on this date?

Appropriate Backlash



4th Amendment undergarments are now being sold by several online retailers.  Sadly, this may be the first time many of the airport military personnel have read a section of the constitution they've sworn to support and defend. 

5 GOLDEN RESUME POINTERS

1. CUT AND PASTE 
Copy the key words from your desired job description/posting.  [If your resume says "supervise," but the job post says "manage," change it.]

2. SELL YOURSELF

Include a few bullet points highlighting your most noteworthy achievements.  Quantify whenever possible.

3. CUT THE FLUFF

Get rid of redundancies and obvious statements. Also, experts now recommend dropping the ‘purpose statement’. Brevity is key.

4. USE STRONG VERBS

Several "power verbs for your resume" lists are available online. Find one and use it.

5. KEEP UP APPEARANCES
[Turn your resume upside-down and look at it from a distance. This will help you analyze its appearance separately from its content.] One HR rep admits: "Sometimes a resume will catch my eye simply because it's formatted beautifully. I know the most important component is the content on the page, but you should also pay attention to the packaging. Trust me, hiring managers notice!"

[Summary of Charles Purdy’s recent article for Monster.com – Creative Ways to Improve your Resume]

You Dropped the Ball ... Again!

Steven Johnson is the now-infamous wide receiver on the Buffalo Bills who dropped what would have been the game-winning TD pass against the Steelers last week.  He then issued a statement to the world in the form of the above 'tweet' to God.  It is sad and sadly representative of the state of popular Christianity in our world today.  The God-is-my-vending-machine-in-the-sky theology is as easy to drop as it is to adopt [... or maybe I shouldn't use the word 'drop'.] Hopefully, those words were just a foolish venting that he will be quick to repent of.  True faith, living faith, ... saving faith ... perseveres - there is no other alternative [see Hebrews ... the whole book.]
For a more faithful option, consider with me the words of our spiritual forefather, Job [who, incidentally had lost a lot more than leverage for a potential future signing bonus]:
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him..."
May God grant us Job's heart.

A faith that can be destroyed by suffering is not faith. - Richard Wurmbrand