LaLa Land?

This . . .
Do you remember the quote, "You can do it!"
What movie did that come from?
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One time I was driving home thru my neighborhood, when I saw this girl I knew walking down the street in front of me. I decided it would be fun to slow up, roll down the window and let out a loud "wolf whistle" while she still couldn't see who I was.
So that's what I did. She wasn't the girl I thought she was.
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That . . .
People are being driven from their homes on the west coast by fires.
The temperatures are above 110.
There are floods in Iowa and surrounding areas.
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That's all bad, but get this.
Myanmar Cyclone Disaster - May 2&3, 2008
3 million victims
2-3 million homeless
2 million lack of food
1.5 million in danger of death
0.5 million Children
Over 100,000 confirmed death
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This is That . . .
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Here we are, kind of oblivious in Southeast Arkansas.
Are we just living right? Could be.
Are we just lucky? Maybe.
Are we responding properly? Probably not.
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Sometimes things are good. What meanest thou this?
Sometimes things are not good. What meanest thou this?
If I'm in LaLa Land - I don't wanna be.
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"The Longest Yard"
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Elliott's Bus Ride

This . . .
My son Elliott rode a Greyhound from KC to Pine Bluff yesterday. Not a great way to travel. He switched buses in Fayettville and when he got on everyone was giving him that "don't sit by me" look.
But a 45 or 50 year old lady finally gave him the nod so he sat down.
The first thing she said to him was "You've go alot of hair, boy!"
She asked him what he did, so he told her a little bit about praying in the night watch at IHOP.
Her response, "I think God made you sit with me."
She went on to tell him that she had just gotten out of prison after twenty six years. She kept saying, "You are so wierd."
Elliott asked her, "How long have you been out of prision?"
She answered, "Since 11:00 this morning".
Elliott shared his story with her a little bit and encouraged her to put her faith in Jesus.
Her response? "Wait til I tell my daughter, the Lord done sat me down next to a man of God!"
That's my son, Elliott - "A Man of God".
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That . . .
I went to the grocery this morning and bought some strawberries and potatoes. The clerk rang it up and then said, "That will be $6.66." I hate when that happens.
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This is That . . .
Sin abounds.
The earth is groaning.
Fires. Tornadoes. Earthquakes. Floods.
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Matthew 24:3-14
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

My "Aunt Mae"

This . . .
I have an "Aunt Mae" , my mother's sister, who was a missionary in Mexico for as long as I knew her. I was thinking about her today.
She generally made it back to the states a couple of times a year and we almost always saw her at those times. She would always ask me how my relationship with Jesus was going and talk to me a bit about Kingdom things, and then maybe begin to count my ribs. She never got past three until I was busting out laughing.
Many relatives kind of hated to see her coming . . . I always looked forward to our talks.
The advice I most remember was having her tell me, "Always keep your eyes on Jesus".
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That . . .
Aunt Mae was vistiting us here in Monticello one time. My mom and dad had gone off to work leaving Aunt Mae alone in the house.
It just happened that the "bug man" came to the house that morning. Of course Aunt Mae had no idea who he was. As was his custom, he rang the doorbell, but then just came on in yelling, "BUG MAN, BUG MAN". My aunt didn't know wether to run or hit him with whatever she could find.
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This is That . . .
Aunt Mae started many churches in Mexico, and many orphanages. She lived with some other Missionaries in a rather large house. They would often take people in off the street to live with them for a time, and would put the people to work in various ways to pay their way. Many, many of these came to Jesus as they shared the gospel. And so, as time went on, she developed quite an extended family.
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She always told us that we would be unable to come to her funeral, because in Mexico when people die they don't keep them, they bury them. So when she died, about 15 years ago, none of us could go except another sister, Grace, who immediately got on a plane and arrived just in time for the funeral.
It was a nice service, but Grace couldn't understand why there were so few people. With all the lives Anna Mae had touched it seemed that the church should have been overflowing, but it wasn't.
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And then the answer came. As they made their way to the cemetery quite a distance away, there were people from surounding villages lined up all along the sides of the road on both sides to pay their respects.
And then they all made their way to the cemetery, and after the burial they didn't leave, but stayed singing hymns of praise and worshipping for several hours. I believe the Angels were singing in heaven as well.
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One day I will see my Aunt Mae again. How wonderful it will be to have her tell me all about Jesus and count my ribs again.

Allen Hood - The Blood of Jesus

This . . .
is Allen Hood.
He is a teacher at IHOP.
He loves Jesus.
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That . . .
I don't know who put this YouTube video together. The visual is pretty random.
It might be good to just close your eyes and listen.
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This is That . . .

Old Fogy?

This . . .
I recorded American Idol and watched it an hour delayed so I could fast forward thru the commercials and the boring stuff. So when the time came to name the winning David the announcer guy says, "And your new American Idol is David . . ." and right after the word David my recording ended and the screen went silent and blue.
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That . . .
Old Fogy \Fo"gy\, n.; -- A dull old fellow.
As I watched American Idol tonight, I could feel "The World" tugging at my heart. The rock 'n roll, the glimmer and glitz, ZZ Top, Graham Nash (He is so "far out" as I used to say, but I fear totally lost), so why does my heart want to flip flop a bit when I watch this stuff.
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This is That . . .
God's message for me Sunday was to bow down low and die to the world.
I don't want to be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of my mind.
I don't want to walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
I don't want to be on the wide path, I want to be on the narrow one.
I don't want the world to say, "Way to go dude", I want Jesus to say, "Well done".
I don't want to be average, I want to be a radical lover of the things of God.
"American Idol" - Interesting Title.
I might be an "Old Fogy" . . . or maybe not.

What Man Joins Together . . .

This . . .
I talked to a sales lady on the phone today about buying a battery for our video camera. She asked for the number on the old battery so I gave it to her.
She kind of laughed a not real laugh and then said, "You have about as much chance of finding that battery as you do of seeing Jesus".
I said, "Wow, great . . . So you think you have one?"
She didn't really respond to that, but said she would look.
After a moment of silence she said, "Oh my god, I do have one and it's on sale for half price!"
My response, "Isn't Jesus good? I'll take it."
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That . . .
As I have often been told, "God loves you and has a plan for your life."
This whole plan of God thing was summed up pretty well for me yesterday morning.
Here is God's strategy for accomplishing all that He desires . . .
Get down on your face, die and bear fruit.
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This is That . . .
If you are a believer in Jesus, here is a word of truth.
You are greatly, greatly blessed, for God has given you the gift of wisdom, revelation and knowledge of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And because of your response to this gift, you have eternal life.
The road that leads to destruction is wide, and many are on that path.
But as a believer in Jesus you are on a narrow path and greatly blessed because your gaze is fixed on Jesus the one who loves you, forgives you, keeps you from destruction and gives you eternal life.
What a blessing it is to know what you know.

The wind blows where it will

This . . .
I had a thought about that, but then I thought about that thought and realized I should think again about the thought I had.
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That . . .
Lakeland, Florida
The "Wind" is blowing.
Set your sails.
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This is That . . .
Come on God!