tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35853556698261161092024-03-19T12:49:49.022-04:00Pursue HolinessReflections on pursuing holiness in the midst of everyday life.Pursue Holinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03195174621108567540noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-46310566344194367282021-06-08T17:04:00.000-04:002021-06-08T17:04:15.253-04:00Joining a New Denomination - Answering Jack Harnish's Questions 2.0 The Reverend Jack Harnish recently published a "Monday Memo" called Joining a New Denomination....2.0. He asks some very good questions about the opportunity many United Methodists will potentially have to join a new Methodist movement, which will be known as the Global Methodist Church.I've not posted on this blog for a L-O-N-G time, and yet it is an appropriate forum for me to provide my Pursue Holinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03195174621108567540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-74265870287740080332014-03-06T23:47:00.000-05:002014-03-06T23:47:28.015-05:00Service=Fruit; Fruit=Success?This year, I am privileged to participate in co-mentoring a group of individuals considering God's call to ministry within the United Methodist Church. We had a gathering tonight, and I asked them several "curious questions" to provoke discussion.
The first question was "Explain your agreement or disagreement with the following: Service = Fruit. What does fruit look like?"
The Pursue Holinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03195174621108567540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-46467254381375600562014-03-05T15:35:00.001-05:002014-03-05T15:35:36.481-05:00Should United Methodists Observe Lent? What Difference Does It Make?Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian season of Lent. I've committed myself to re-engage this blog during this season in order to further pursue holiness! Since that's the point of this blog, it only makes sense to do so.
There are many reasons for allowing this site to languish in the internet dustbin for the past two years, but I sense a need to shake off the dustPursue Holinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03195174621108567540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-52690417338416280622012-03-22T15:58:00.002-04:002012-03-22T15:58:33.168-04:00Lenten Bible Reading: Week 3, Thursday
During
the season of Lent, I am attempting to follow a Bible reading plan and
offer reflection on the Scripture text. Today's reading is from Thursday in the 3rd week of Lent. I welcome feedback. What
are these Scriptures saying to you?
Colossians 3:1-17 New International Version (NIV)
Living as Those Made Alive in Christ
1
Since, then, you have Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-72437319215880898732012-03-21T10:58:00.000-04:002012-03-21T10:58:00.721-04:00Lenten Bible Reading: Week 3, Wednesday
During
the season of Lent, I am attempting to follow a Bible reading plan and
offer reflection on the Scripture text. Today's reading is from Wednesday in the third week of Lent. I welcome feedback. What
are these Scriptures saying to you?
Philippians 4:1-9 Common English Bible
Therefore, my brothers and sisters whom I love and miss, who are my joy and crown, stand Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-24984584320925939242012-03-19T21:59:00.002-04:002012-03-20T09:45:43.075-04:00Lenton Bible Reading: Week 3, Tuesday
During
the season of Lent, I am attempting to follow a Bible reading plan and
offer reflection on the Scripture text. Unfortunately, I'm not doing so well at making this a daily practice! Today's reading is from Tuesday
in the 3rd week of Lent. I welcome feedback. What
are these Scriptures saying to you?
Ephesians 5:6-20 New International Version (NIV)
6 Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-36280218717723167022012-02-29T17:33:00.001-05:002012-02-29T20:10:00.924-05:00Lenton Bible Reading: Week 1, Wednesday
During
the season of Lent, I am attempting to follow a Bible reading plan and
offer reflection on the Scripture text. Today's reading is from Tuesday
in the first full week of Lent. (And while this is the first posting of
the series, the actual start of Lent was last Wednesday. I am going to
try to work my way back to the start of the reading plan as well as
move Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-13973994215747023852012-02-28T21:11:00.000-05:002012-02-28T21:11:29.280-05:00Lenten Bible Reading: Week 1, Tuesday
During
the season of Lent, I am attempting to follow a Bible reading plan and
offer reflection on the Scripture text. Today's reading is from Tuesday
in the first full week of Lent. (And while this is the first posting of
the series, the actual start of Lent was last Wednesday. I am going to
try to work my way back to the start of the reading plan as well as
move Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-6629666179720877582012-02-28T20:22:00.001-05:002012-03-20T22:13:45.037-04:00A BIble Reading and Reflection Plan for LentDuring this season of Lent, I'm embarking on a journey to read and reflect daily on Scripture and post those reflections to this blog. The reading plan comes courtesy of www.firmfoundation.org. My prayer is that this exercise will not just be something that I do to be busy, or to show off, or any other self-centered expression, but rather that throughout this time, God will do something in Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-25507193372725846832012-02-27T18:25:00.000-05:002012-02-28T20:24:08.036-05:00Lenten Bible Reading: Week 1, Monday
During the season of Lent, I am attempting to follow a Bible reading plan and offer reflection on the Scripture text. Today's reading is from Monday in the first full week of Lent. (And while this is the first posting of the series, the actual start of Lent was last Wednesday. I am going to try to work my way back to the start of the reading plan as well as move forward Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-57776855005863532012011-10-26T20:41:00.000-04:002011-10-26T20:41:06.175-04:00The Most Free and Alive Time in Your LifeLast week, I attended the United Methodist Association of Communicators Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I had a fantastic time meeting new people from all over the world, spending time learning more about how we can better communicate God's timeless message of love, compassion, justice and salvation through 21st-century technologies, and seeing examples of some of the best Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-56300437093729127662011-07-28T11:42:00.000-04:002011-07-28T11:42:21.976-04:00When Was the Last Time...When was the last time the following songs were top-10 radio hits?
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears
"I Wanna Know What Love Is" by Foreigner
"One More Night" by Phil Collins
"Saving All My Love for You" by Whitney Houston
When was the last time the Kansas City Royals won the World Series?
When were the following toys introduced?
Teddy Ruxpin
Care Bears
Pound Puppies
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-37103059671886810082011-07-11T16:24:00.003-04:002011-07-11T16:40:58.207-04:00Getting to Mare Ligure, part 3
Last time on "Pursue Holiness," our daring adventurers had successfully achieved their beach objective, but the plot line was left unresolved ... how are they getting back? No train tickets. No open train station. No knowledge of the language. And worst of all ... blistered feet!
The adventure continues ...
We walked into the center of Vada and discovered a very Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-6222100596342653332011-07-04T11:19:00.001-04:002011-07-07T09:53:48.154-04:00Getting to Mare Ligure, part 2In the previous post, I described the mistakes I made in making arrangements to travel the Italian regionale trains. All I wanted to do was experience the "real" Italy, put my feet into the Mediterranean Sea, and enjoy some together-time with my wife. I indeed accomplished all those goals, but ...
Before going on, I must digress for a moment to help set the context of what happened Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-50889868884161887332011-07-01T18:17:00.000-04:002011-07-01T18:17:48.332-04:00Getting to Mare Ligure, Part 1
27,849 steps. 13.18 miles. 1665 calories burned. Those are the figures reported by my pedometer once I returned from my greatest Italian adventure: the quest to put my feet into the Mediterranean Ocean. Even more specifically, the portion of the Mediterranean known as Mare Ligure, the Ligurian Sea.
I have had the opportunity to wade in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-63583507932182048692011-05-24T18:11:00.000-04:002011-05-24T18:11:28.452-04:00What Goes Up Must Come DownSaturday was an incredibly active day. It started with an early morning exercise program called "Climb the Dome" - the incredible dome of the Duomo in Florence. It's official name is Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, and to climb the dome, one must walk 463 steps UP, plus another 463 steps DOWN.
All the guidebooks suggested going to do this as soon as it opened to avoid standing Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-16569415981832000422011-05-22T04:03:00.002-04:002011-05-24T07:26:02.825-04:00Juxtaposing Old and NewFriday was a more relaxed day in terms of scheduled agendas. The only hard and fast event scheduled was a noon guided tour of the Davanzati Museum's upper floors. The Palazzo Davanzati dates back to the 13th century in it's initial construction. It was expanded twice - by adding additional floors above the existing ones.
It's unique in Florence for two reasons: 1) It Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-55870064874064599962011-05-21T02:18:00.001-04:002011-05-24T07:27:03.640-04:00Brava! Tuscano!! Magnificato!!On Thursday, I may have experienced heaven - or at least as close to heaven as I will ever get while on earth. And if that "prophet" from Family Radio is right, I will not have much longer to experience earth. Today, Saturday, is supposed to be the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord. While I anticipate Christ's return imminently, I don't expect it to happen today just because a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-74833058446146182062011-05-20T04:35:00.000-04:002011-05-20T04:35:51.002-04:00Beauty Comes in Many FormsOver the past two days, my wife and I have experienced so much in Italy! Florence is a beautiful city, and over the centuries, that beauty has been expressed in numerous ways. Sometimes, however, the beauty is more difficult to see because our modern eyes no longer see beauty in the same way that our ancestors did.
Wednesday morning, we went to the Central Market. It is next toUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-60277353165101677232011-05-18T14:27:00.001-04:002011-05-20T12:10:23.345-04:00Travel Lessons: Patience and FlexibilityMy wife and I left Monday for our 10-day trip to Italy. I hope to occasionally post updates and pics from our trip while we're away. These entries will be both a way for us to share our experience with family and friends, and also to become a journal that I can look back on this vacation and relive the experiences again.
In my quiet times, I've been praying that God would work to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-58729304802535447802011-05-13T17:53:00.000-04:002011-05-13T17:53:51.783-04:00Where Does the Time Go?
The "big me" before starting the process
I've meant to update both the weekly weigh-down chart and write a couple more posts several times without success during the past three weeks. Every time I think I will sit down and make it happen, something else comes along that takes higher priority. With a pending trip to Italy and a daughter's wedding, my "to do" list has been Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-15102599769725475352011-04-18T11:16:00.000-04:002011-04-18T11:16:59.569-04:00Chasing Methuselah?I'm terribly behind in my magazine reading. I just finished reading the December 2010 and January 2011 issues of Christianity Today. (Guess it's Christianity Yesterday by the time I get to them!) But the January cover story for CT is relevant today - even if it was printed three months ago. It's titled "Chasing Methuselah" and the hook is this:
Exercise, technology and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-16499290084177206652011-04-09T08:52:00.000-04:002011-04-09T08:52:43.491-04:00Shaping Up Without Selling OutLast weekend, my wife bought a pair of Shape-ups from Sketchers. You may have seen them; they look like normal athletic shoes on top, but abnormal on the bottom. In fact, they rock on the bottom - literally! According to their literature, Shape-ups are designed to help burn more calories, tone muscles and improve posture. The tag line is "Get in shape without setting foot Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-45690560839920060032011-03-14T20:18:00.000-04:002011-03-14T20:18:41.423-04:00If He Can Do It, then So Can I (and so can you!)The Toledo Blade reprinted a story from the Dallas Morning News the other day that was incredibly inspirational to me. It's the story of Harry Chapman, who lost more than 100 pounds in two years. His epiphany was very similar to my own, and his starting weight was just slightly more than mine. He was wearing size 44 pants; I was severely straining my size 42s.
Harry lost his Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585355669826116109.post-10033271465655633302011-03-06T23:51:00.000-05:002011-03-06T23:51:53.330-05:00Turning 30 Never Felt So Good!Today, I reached a major milestone: 30 pounds lost since the beginning of January!!
I've got a big pile of clothes on the floor of my closet that will soon go away because I've gotten too little for my britches. Got a whole bunch of clothes dug out from the basement storage that I can wear again for the first time in almost a decade. In fact, the suit I wore to church this morning Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0