Anchorage Daily News | Salvation Army steps up to save leg : Staph infection made work impossible; antibiotics were too costly.

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Over at Studio 360 (Part of Public Radio International) check out the Nov 22 show feature Evangelical Pop w/ Randall Balmer. They take a look at everything from POD to the Left Behind Serries. Six minutes into the stream.

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A couple of stories from /. on Google

Google Blocks 'Optimized' Pages.
Looks like IdeaJoy has gotten caught in this, IdeaJoy was number one for Dave King but now it's not even in the first few pages. Now you have to enter 'Dave King' blog to find it. Oh well it was fun while it lasted.

Also via /. an article from Fortune Can Google Grow Up?.

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Eugene Peterson - The Contemplative Christian - Christianity Today Magazine

'We can't participate in God's work if we insist on doing it our own way.' [Peterson] cited two examples of 'doing the right thing the wrong way': congregation and Scripture. We consider both to be our matters, not God's. Instead of forming communities that embody self-denial, sacrifice, and patience for God to become present in them, we form 'consumer churches,' using commercial methods to attract people and cater to their wants. And rather than reading Scripture as a way of 'listening to God revealing God,' we treat it as information for us to process to become more successful and enlightened people. In both cases, the ways and means—bowing to the gods of salesmanship and efficiency—are out of sync with the ends—forming a community of believers submitting to God's work within them.

Thanks Jordon

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Ananova - Pamela Anderson has revealed that she's now working as a Sunday school teacher.

The average lifespan of a Web page today is 100 days. This is no way to run a culture.

Job 6 15 - 20

But my brothers are fickle as a gulch in the desert--
one day they're gushing with water

From melting ice and snow
cascading out of the mountains,

But by midsummer they're dry,
gullies baked dry in the sun.

Travelers who spot them and go out of their way for a drink,
end up in a waterless gulch and die of thirst.

Merchant caravans from Tema see them and expect water,
tourists from Sheba hope for a cool drink.

They arrive so confident--but what a disappointment!
They get there, and their faces fall!

This morning it struck me how this is the flip side to what Jesus said to the woman at the well

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

John 4:13-14

Not sure that means anything, other than I like contrasts.

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Best Review of Cat in the Hat
Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/21/2003 | Myers coughs up a furball

It pains me to tell you,
But really, it's true:

The Cat in the Hat
Is a piece of dog doo.

Not the book, you silly,
That's the cat's meow,

But Mike Myers' movie
Is a feline bow-wow.

Shades of pistachio
Avocado and lime

Had me feeling green -
What a terrible time!

The stars did not shine,
The sun was not sunny,

This movie's a snooze -
Do not waste your money!

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MP3.com's Content to Be Destroyed

As a long time fan of MP3.com I'm sad to see it go. My favorite find the Echoing Green, great power techno songs of faith and life.

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CANADIAN POLITICAL LESSON NEEDED

Brad wants to know why Paul Martin, is considered to be a fiscal conservative but is the head of the Liberal Party?

I've taken my best shot at it, but feel free to jump in.

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I've been quite for almost a week, now if I could just learn to do that in my real life.

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Today is Rememberance Day in Canada. I allways think of my grandfather who flew with the RAF durring WWII. He flew spitfires in England and Kity hawks in North Africa. He met my Grandmother while training at Moose Jaw. They wrote letters back and forth for the four years he served and they married when he returned.

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The Salvation Army and Disney Team Up for the Holidays

One of the things I've noticed about the Army is how it partners with others to serve people. While the Southern Baptists has a boycot of Disney, we're working with them to feed the needy.

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Isle Salvation Army facing funding crisis

GALVESTON — Salvation Army officials, facing losses of $10,000 a month in Galveston, are considering cutting services.

The agency is the largest provider of food and shelter for the poor in Galveston.

To be honest, the Salvation Army is in decline right across North America. But here's a place where it looks like they are doing what they should be doing, (talking care of the poor) but the Church (corps. in army speak) can't keep up.

I can't help but wonder if past mistakes in how the Army ran it's churches has lead to it's current issues. For instance in the past the army would move officers every two years like clock work. Stability in the pastorship is the one thing that everyone from Rick Waren to Eugeene Peterson agrees is required for a healthy church, and for years the Salvation Army underminded that. So now we have declining corps and increased demands for help.

God have mercy on us.

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"You know you’re living in 2003 when…"

Worst Album Covers Ever

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One of the great impoverishments of many adults lives is the absence of children's stories. - Eugene H. Peterson, Leap Over a Wall, ch. 4: Imagination.

Designer Funerals: The Final Getaway

A lot of people are very un-church; they don't go to church, they don't have a church, so it makes them even sadder if they have a minister at the time of death.

Not sure what to make of that, are we Christians that bad a mourning with those who mourn, or do people just want to avoid thinking about eternal consequences? Should we worry that people don't want a religious ceremony, or be glad that church is being freed from it's role as provider of empty passage rituals?

as seen on Thunderstruck

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"I love mankind...It's people I can't stand" - Linus

as seen on HONEST TO BLOG