Are canker sores reverse pimples? Or are pimples canker sores that grew outward instead of inward? What would you call it if you had one of each at the same time at the same spot on the inside and outside of your mouth? What would you even call that? A Cankimple? A Pinker Sore? Why has no one figured this out yet?
Are Valet Parking Rates Negotiable?
If you park your car right in the way and just sit there long enough, will the valet service agree to park your car for a discounted rate, just so you will allow them to move your car out of the way? I’ve never actually experienced valet parking, so I’m really not sure how that works, but it seems like if you just show up an hour early and sit there in the way, you could get a sweet rate on the valet parking.
Does Water Float?
When you pour a small amount of water into a larger amount of water, what happens to the smaller amount of water? Does it float on top, sink to the bottom, or mix in somewhere in the middle? Does it depend on whether the water came from the same source or is the same temperature? What about when you put ice in water? When it melts, where does it go in relation to the water you placed it in? More importantly, is there any way to really know and does it even matter? Probably not, but now that it’s been brought up, wouldn’t you like to know?
The World’s Best Hand Dryers
I’ve never been much of a fan of hand dryers in public restrooms, and I still almost always choose paper towels if given the option, but these two hand dryers are about as good as it gets if paper towels are not an option.
The Xlerator was the first hand dryer that I ever used that actually gets hands completely dry the first time. I’m pretty sure it could also be used to exfoliate your skin since it nearly blows the skin right off your hands. If you have ever wanted to see the skin on your hands ripple like the waves in the ocean, this is the hand dryer for you.
This Dyson Airblade hand dryer is fairly new and cutting-edge as far as hand dryers go. Instead of placing your hands under the dryer, your hands are lowered into the dryer and slowly raised out. Fortunately for me, it has a picture on the dryer to explain how it works and is not nearly as dangerous as the name makes it sound. This is probably the coolest hand dryer I have used .
Do you prefer paper towels or hand dryers? Do you have a favorite hand dryer or know of any others that the world needs to know about?
Weird Things I Do
Everyone has their share of weird habits, right? At least that’s what I choose to believe to make myself feel better about all the weird stuff I do. Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about:
- When I drive over a cigarette that someone just flicked out their car window, I always pretend that it blows up my car (complete with sound effects).
- When I hear one of those air fresheners in a public restroom that sounds like someone opening a bottle of pop, I always think (and often say) “Can I have a drink?”
- I like to pretend that the interference/break-ins that come through my iPod’s FM Transmitter are part of the song I’m listening to.
- When I see someone buying a fountain drink, I often try to guess which kind of pop they are going to choose (I get it right approximately 31.8% of the time).
- Whenever I am making a sharp turn into a parking space I always lean in the direction I am turning, as if it’s going to help me turn sharper or keep from scraping the car next to me.
Every time I catch myself doing weird things, I reassure myself that it’s okay because everyone has their own quirky habits.
Do you have any weird/quirky things that you do…or am I alone in the weirdness?
“Choose Life” Billboard
It’s a little tough to read the whole thing, but it says “Choose Life…Your Mother Did.”
While I agree with the words on the sign, perhaps a cemetery is not the best location.
Kissing Hands And Shaking Babies
Jadon stayed home sick from school one day, but we had to run by and drop off some stuff for his teacher. When we got to the school, his class was playing outside and got excited when they saw him get out of the car. A bunch of the kids ran up to the fence and were reaching through, trying to get to him.
Some of the kids were yelling for Jadon to give them a five or a hug, but some were just yelling “Touch me Jadon, touch me!” I figure he’s either practicing for his future life as a preacher, a politician, or a celebrity. It will be good practice for later, when he’s shaking babies and kissing hands…or however that saying goes.
Plan B by Pete Wilson
Have you ever felt like you stepped out on faith and smashed it to pieces?
Maybe you honestly felt like God was calling you to do something or go somewhere, but once you did it everything seemed to begin to fall apart. Now you’re trying to pick up the pieces and get your life back on track, while wondering how you could have felt so sure about something that ended up being so wrong.
They say every cloud has a silver lining, but does it ever feel like the silver linings of all the clouds are tarnished?
You are desperately searching for a ray of hope in the midst of the storm that is your life, but it seems like every time you see a light shining down from the clouds, it turns out to be a bolt of lightning that knocks you back down. You know that storms are inevitable and rain is necessary if fruit is to be produced, but you are wondering if the storm is ever going to end.
Do you ever feel like you are asleep and can’t wake up?
You are drifting in and out of consciousness, knowing that you need to wake up and get going because there is so much more to life than where you are at and what you have done, but you can’t figure out how to snap out of the funk and get things moving in the right direction. You know that for things to get better, you have to stand up and get moving, but it would be so much easier to pull the covers up over your head, shut out the rest of the world, and let yourself fall into a deep sleep.
“What do you do when God doesn’t show up the way you thought He would?”
“What do you do when your life isn’t turning out the way you thought it would? ”
“What do you do when your dreams are shattered? ”
Pete Wilson is pastor of Cross Point Church in the Nashville, TN area and he addresses these three questions, among others, in Plan B: What Do You Do When God Doesn’t Show Up The Way You Thought He Would.
Have you ever read a book that seemed like the whole purpose of it being written was so that you could read it at the exact time and situation you are in? This was that book for me. At a time when I was feeling beat down, hopeless, and searching for answers, this book was a God-send. Literally. As I was reading it, I felt like God was using the words of Pete Wilson to communicate a message of hope and comfort at the time I needed it most.
Thank you, Pete Wilson, for writing this book and for your willingness to allow God to speak through you.
Find out more about the book: planbbook.com
Read Pete’s blog: withoutwax.tv
Find Pete on Facebook
Connect with Pete on Twitter @pwilson
It’s About The Message, Not The Messenger
I was going through some old papers yesterday and found this quote that I had written down a while back:
“There may well be many in the congregation whose faith is richer, more mature, and more tested than the preacher’s. In addition, there will probably be people in the congregation who have more education or more common sense, who have a firmer grasp of human nature, or maybe even know more Bible and theology than does the preacher. To call the preacher an authority does not mean that the preacher is wiser than others. What it does mean is that the preacher is the one whom the congregation sends on their behalf, week after week to the scripture.” (The Witness Of Preaching by Thomas J. Long)
What a great reminder to those who preach and those who listen! Too often, we assume that to preach, a person must be the smartest, wisest, most theologically advanced person in the room. The problem with that point of view is that it is often not true and can lead to arrogance on both the part of the preacher and of the listener. Arrogance in the preacher, if he assumes that this is true; arrogance in the listener, when he feels that he has a deeper understanding of a passage or is more theologically advanced than the preacher.
I once heard Steven Furtick say “How you perceive someone determines how you receive them.” He was talking about our attitude toward people in general, but that statement is true of the preacher/listener dynamic as well. When a preacher gets up to preach, we tend to make certain assumptions based on how he is dressed, how he speaks, and what we think we know about him. The problem with this is that our preconceived notions about a person can often prevent us from hearing from God. What we think about a person does not limit their ability to effectively communicate spiritual truth to people – it limits our ability to receive and understand spiritual truths from God.
How many times have we missed out on something that God was trying to say to us because of our attitude toward or false assumptions about the person God was using to communicate that message? Who are we to say who God can or can’t use to speak through? Often times, we miss what God is trying to tell us because we think too much of ourselves or too little of the person God is speaking through.
Instead of judging what a person says based on who we think they are and what we think we know about them, remember that because of who He is and what He knows about a person, God will use anyone he sees fit to communicate the message that He wants people to hear. If you believe that God can use you and speak through you…He can use anyone. You and I are no better and no more worthy of being used by God than anyone else. We are all broken, sinful, messed up people who God uses not because of who we are or what we’ve done, but in spite of who we are and what we’ve done.
If you are the one preaching, this should be especially encouraging for you. Forget about how much you think you don’t know. Stop focusing on how many people you are speaking to that are smarter, deeper, or more spiritual than you are. It’s not that there aren’t people in the crowd that are smarter or deeper than you are – it’s that there are almost always going to be people in the crowd that are smarter or deeper than you. But they are not the one that God is using to speak through…YOU ARE. Sure, God can use those people to reach who he wants them to reach, but you are the one He has chosen to speak through to the church you are leading. And you are the one your church has chosen to represent them before God in study and to communicate the message that God wants your church to hear.
Whether you are speaking or listening, don’t let what you think you know about other people be a hindrance to the effective communication or reception of God’s message to His people – the message is more important than the messenger.
God IS
God IS Life.
He is the giver of life; we are the receivers of life. Though life is something we possess, it is what God IS. When God gives us life, He is giving us a small part of Himself. God IS life, love, truth, and all that is good. From Him we can possess these things, but only He IS these things. We can have love, know truth, and possess knowledge of that which is good, but only God IS truth, love, life, and all that is good.
TIM PAYNE 