This is a video project that Vadim, our exchange student from Tajikistan, made for school.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Widows, Water Damage and Black Mold
In the past week I have had the opportunity to be in the homes of two widows. One whose husband passed away 18 years ago and another whose husband has passed away within the last two years. I felt like the Lord was speaking to me after leaving the home of the second lady. You see, both of these women have water damage in their master bedrooms. One had a water heater leak in the closet of her room, the other a roof leak into the corner of her room (this is a new revelation as I write this... it was both of THEIR rooms, not just any room in the house... more on that in a moment, hope you will hang with me on this!) Not only was there water damage but black mold had started to form. If you've heard or read anything about black mold, it is just plain no good stuff! Clearly work needed to be done to eradicate the cause of the damage, tear out the damaged parts and replace them with new ones.
For me it was no coincidence as the Lord hit me with a two by four concerning His love for us. Certainly His love for these widows was evident. Some times the natural things speak of the invisible and I think that this is one of those times... grief, pain, disappointment, discouragement and hurt are akin to the water damaged bedrooms (places of intimacy perhaps - it can often be that those closest to us can hurt us the most) and left unchecked and alone will cause greater damage like the black mold. And left long enough can do major health damage. The only way to get rid of it is to bleach it and rip it out and replace it with something new. While first making sure that you have fixed the problem that caused the leak in the first place. It is not enough to just fix the leak though, the damaged pieces and black mold must be taken out.
I think that is what God desires to do with our grief, pain, disappointment, discouragement and hurt. He wants us to allow Him to take out the damage pieces, fix the problem and replace the hole with Himself as The Healer. But, why don't I allow Him to do so? When I am discouraged, I often neglect my times alone with God, fearing that He may ask me to go to a place in my heart hat I am not yet willing to go, but all the time knowing that by going there I will not only find encouragement but healing and wholeness. I will find a place where water damage (tears over my emotional state maybe?) and black mold are eradicated for ever. I will find a place of health and wholeness.
"I want to be in the Light as You are in the Light, I want to shine like the stars in the heavens. Oh Lord be my light and be my salvation, cause all I want is to be in the light" DC Talk
"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." 1John1:5-7
For me it was no coincidence as the Lord hit me with a two by four concerning His love for us. Certainly His love for these widows was evident. Some times the natural things speak of the invisible and I think that this is one of those times... grief, pain, disappointment, discouragement and hurt are akin to the water damaged bedrooms (places of intimacy perhaps - it can often be that those closest to us can hurt us the most) and left unchecked and alone will cause greater damage like the black mold. And left long enough can do major health damage. The only way to get rid of it is to bleach it and rip it out and replace it with something new. While first making sure that you have fixed the problem that caused the leak in the first place. It is not enough to just fix the leak though, the damaged pieces and black mold must be taken out.
I think that is what God desires to do with our grief, pain, disappointment, discouragement and hurt. He wants us to allow Him to take out the damage pieces, fix the problem and replace the hole with Himself as The Healer. But, why don't I allow Him to do so? When I am discouraged, I often neglect my times alone with God, fearing that He may ask me to go to a place in my heart hat I am not yet willing to go, but all the time knowing that by going there I will not only find encouragement but healing and wholeness. I will find a place where water damage (tears over my emotional state maybe?) and black mold are eradicated for ever. I will find a place of health and wholeness.
"I want to be in the Light as You are in the Light, I want to shine like the stars in the heavens. Oh Lord be my light and be my salvation, cause all I want is to be in the light" DC Talk
"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." 1John1:5-7
Friday, June 6, 2008
Victory Ranch
Victory Ranch in Eastover, SC is a place and a people that shaped my first years as a Christian (1986-88). It is located between Columbia, SC (Fort Jackson) and Sumter, SC (Shaw Air Force Base) on 7 acres with an awesome home and a beautiful lake. It was established a weekend retreat ministry to soldiers from Fort Jackson and grew to include airmen from Shaw AFB and interns from Columbia Bible College and Seminary (where I attended in 1992) as well as many churches that supported the ministry. The ministry is still active today as a retreat center under Cadence International. Everyone should have the opportunities that VR allowed me so early in my Christian journey. Between the Navigators group (that will have to be another post) and the people at VR, I was able to have a Christian foundation built into my life that I continue to draw on today. The summer of 1988 I had the privilege of living at and assisting in the day to day ministry of VR... what a joy! The following March, Patti and I were married and our involvement in the ministry has waned over the years. We have however kept up with a few people, which prompted this posting after a week-long email fest of pictures going back and forth!
So, here are some pictures of VR...
So, here are some pictures of VR...
Monday, May 19, 2008
LOST
(an email that I sent to the WoodsEdge staff team after we had a training time answering questions that related to "lost" peoples thoughts)
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." Brennan Manning (apparently) via DC Talk's "Jesus Freak CD
Here is the rest of the song entitled "What if I Stumble"
Is this one for the people? Is this one for the Lord?
Or do I simply serenade for things I must afford?
You can jumble them together, my conflict still remains Holiness is calling, in the midst of courting fame Cause I see the trust in their eyes Though the sky is falling They need Your love in their lives Compromise is calling
What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
What if I stumble, and what if I fall?
What if I stumble, what if I fall?
You never turn in the heat of it all
What if I stumble, what if I fall?
Father please forgive me for I can not compose The fear that lives within me Or the rate at which it grows If struggle has a purpose on the narrow road you've carved Why do I dread my trespasses will leave a deadly scar Do they see the fear in my eyes? Are they so revealing?
This time I cannot disguise all the doubt I'm feeling
What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
What if I stumble, and what if I fall?
Everyone's got to crawl when you know that You're up against a wall, it's about to fall Everyone's got to crawl when you know that
"My love for You will never change" [never change]
What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
What if I stumble, and what if I fall?
You never turn in the heat of it all
What if I stumble, what if I fall?
You are my comfort, and my God
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Blood Diamond part 2
"The diamond controversy merely served as a backdrop to one of the greatest demonstrations of the love of a father pursuing the heart of his son!" Jason Chatraw, great friend and publisher of great books (www.ampelonpublishing.com)
In discussing "Blood Diamond" in a Facebook exchange (yes, I do use Facebook just about every evening for a few minutes to catch up with friends all over, look me up as 'Scott Benjamin'. However, I will leave Social Networking for another blog entry) Jason replied with the above statement. It took my breath away. In all of the drama surrounding the diamond controversy I neglected to see this sub-plot in all of its glory. The drama of a father pursuing his son at risk to his own life and limb is absolutely stunning. I am looking forward to going back and re-watching this movie from the paradigm of the father and not only from the point of the view of the plight of the larger group of people.
BTW, I was in WalMart today looking at some pieces of jewelry for Kathryn Joy as a gift for her induction into the National Junior Honor Society. I could not help but to look at the shiny rocks in the case on rings and necklaces in a different light. It was a different experience. I bought a nice little gold necklace with a dangling heart pendant. My guess however is that gold is not without conflict either. In the end, I want my daughters heart though. Hmmm.
In discussing "Blood Diamond" in a Facebook exchange (yes, I do use Facebook just about every evening for a few minutes to catch up with friends all over, look me up as 'Scott Benjamin'. However, I will leave Social Networking for another blog entry) Jason replied with the above statement. It took my breath away. In all of the drama surrounding the diamond controversy I neglected to see this sub-plot in all of its glory. The drama of a father pursuing his son at risk to his own life and limb is absolutely stunning. I am looking forward to going back and re-watching this movie from the paradigm of the father and not only from the point of the view of the plight of the larger group of people.
BTW, I was in WalMart today looking at some pieces of jewelry for Kathryn Joy as a gift for her induction into the National Junior Honor Society. I could not help but to look at the shiny rocks in the case on rings and necklaces in a different light. It was a different experience. I bought a nice little gold necklace with a dangling heart pendant. My guess however is that gold is not without conflict either. In the end, I want my daughters heart though. Hmmm.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Blood Diamond
... it's hard to go back and sip lattes and talk about interest rates...
female journalist to diamond smuggler in "Blood Diamond"
This movie ranks up there with "Hotel Rwanda" and "Schlinder's List" as difficult to watch for all of the brutality and blood. However, as with the other two, this is a good film. Good in the sense that it shakes you out of your comfort zone and causes you to "be there" if but for two short hours. While some have been anesthetized to brutality and killing from their gratuitous use in many other "non-real" films and media (video games), this is (in my opinion and as I have heard from others who have been there) a close representation of the sort of life that many in Africa and other third world countries live. Their reality is that death is imminent whether by rebel guns or by starvation or by disease. It is hard to imagine that the Western desire for diamonds would fuel war of this kind a world away. What about oil, coffee, and other natural resources and consumer goods that we use? What are the global effects of our use, of my use? Does a man somewhere need to work in absolute fear of his life in conditions that we would never allow our house pets to live in order for me to have what I want?
These are hard questions for me. I have no answers. I only know that I am aware of these things at an increasing rate.
I know that I serve a loving God, who alone can make sense out of the senseless. I am accountable before Him to love and to serve others. God help me.
female journalist to diamond smuggler in "Blood Diamond"
This movie ranks up there with "Hotel Rwanda" and "Schlinder's List" as difficult to watch for all of the brutality and blood. However, as with the other two, this is a good film. Good in the sense that it shakes you out of your comfort zone and causes you to "be there" if but for two short hours. While some have been anesthetized to brutality and killing from their gratuitous use in many other "non-real" films and media (video games), this is (in my opinion and as I have heard from others who have been there) a close representation of the sort of life that many in Africa and other third world countries live. Their reality is that death is imminent whether by rebel guns or by starvation or by disease. It is hard to imagine that the Western desire for diamonds would fuel war of this kind a world away. What about oil, coffee, and other natural resources and consumer goods that we use? What are the global effects of our use, of my use? Does a man somewhere need to work in absolute fear of his life in conditions that we would never allow our house pets to live in order for me to have what I want?
These are hard questions for me. I have no answers. I only know that I am aware of these things at an increasing rate.
I know that I serve a loving God, who alone can make sense out of the senseless. I am accountable before Him to love and to serve others. God help me.
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