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On continual re-entry
15 years ago
05 September 2008
04 September 2008
Some photos from our time in Odessa, Ukraine
I’m putting some pics up from our time in Ukraine at the Baptist Youth Congress.
About 3200 young people (and some old folks, too!) were in attendance. It was quite an experience to see this event. The young people dressed up quite nicely. Many - if not most - of the gals wore dresses or skirts and lots of the guys were in slacks and dress shirts - some even in ties. Believe me, I felt under-dressed - which is worse than feeling over-dressed - especially as an older person!
Many of the speakers wore coat and tie and the orchestra - yes, full-on orchestra - was in black & white - either dresses, skirts or black slacks & white dress shirts throughout the week.
It was a nice change from sweats, baggy shorts with underwear name brands hanging out, t-shirts, flip-flops and all. I’m not opposed to shorts, t-shirts & flip-flops - I grew up with them and am very comfortable with them. But sometimes it’s nice to dress up and look sharp and at this congress it was a breath of fresh youth air!
The Congress did - at first - appear to have the flavor of being organized by older folks FOR the younger, but as the week wore on, the music got more lively & on Saturday night, they offered a concert from midnight to 4 am that rocked!
We met lots of young people and several teachers from seminaries & schools. I was disappointed that Slovakia was not represented, but have hopes that at the next congress we’ll have some representation there.
My brain suffered from cramps in listening to 3 hours of Russian each night - for 2 nights we did have translation - and I reminisced about our first days in Slovakia when we’d go to church & try to understand a few words of Slovak during the sermon, announcements, intro to prayer and all. (It felt worse than Neo’s head during his “training” in “The Matrix,” I”m sure!)
All-in-all it was a culturally interesting & educating event. I look forward to future contact with the youth leaders that I met and trust that the Lord will catalyze more rapidly reproducing churches in the former USSR through these young people!
About 3200 young people (and some old folks, too!) were in attendance. It was quite an experience to see this event. The young people dressed up quite nicely. Many - if not most - of the gals wore dresses or skirts and lots of the guys were in slacks and dress shirts - some even in ties. Believe me, I felt under-dressed - which is worse than feeling over-dressed - especially as an older person!
Many of the speakers wore coat and tie and the orchestra - yes, full-on orchestra - was in black & white - either dresses, skirts or black slacks & white dress shirts throughout the week.
It was a nice change from sweats, baggy shorts with underwear name brands hanging out, t-shirts, flip-flops and all. I’m not opposed to shorts, t-shirts & flip-flops - I grew up with them and am very comfortable with them. But sometimes it’s nice to dress up and look sharp and at this congress it was a breath of fresh youth air!
The Congress did - at first - appear to have the flavor of being organized by older folks FOR the younger, but as the week wore on, the music got more lively & on Saturday night, they offered a concert from midnight to 4 am that rocked!
We met lots of young people and several teachers from seminaries & schools. I was disappointed that Slovakia was not represented, but have hopes that at the next congress we’ll have some representation there.
My brain suffered from cramps in listening to 3 hours of Russian each night - for 2 nights we did have translation - and I reminisced about our first days in Slovakia when we’d go to church & try to understand a few words of Slovak during the sermon, announcements, intro to prayer and all. (It felt worse than Neo’s head during his “training” in “The Matrix,” I”m sure!)
All-in-all it was a culturally interesting & educating event. I look forward to future contact with the youth leaders that I met and trust that the Lord will catalyze more rapidly reproducing churches in the former USSR through these young people!
The simple things remind us of the Great One!
I went to Tesco (our supermarket) on Monday evening to pick up some groceries and what - to my delight - did I spy in the frozen food section but chocolate ice cream - plain chocolate ice cream!
It doesn’t seem like a big deal to you, I’m sure. But when you’ve lived for over 12 years in a country where plain chocolate ice cream can only be bought on a cone from the little stands scattered throughout town - this is indeed a special day! God is good! What a tasty treat to enjoy at home on occasion!
God does care about these little things in our lives. Recently, I was GIVEN an iPhone. I have wanted one since they came out, but never could figure how to pay for it - and now, thanks to a special friend, I’m using one on a day-to-day basis. God cares about our “little” desires.
I’m convinced that we don’t see our Lord in the “mundane” things of life. We want hurricane-like experiences. But Isaiah teaches us that He is in the still, small voice - one that is easy to miss in the 150 mph lifestyle we often live.
Last night, we had a BBQ for the first youth meeting of the year. For the first time in a long time, I was able to stay late, chat with those who could sit around the fireside and talk about life, the Lord and what we’re experiencing with Him. How refreshing!
I’m reading a book titled, “I Became A Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.” It’s fresh. The author contends that Jesus lived “at the speed of love” and that we live the hurried & harried lifestyle of the 21st century that causes us to miss His still small voice and the opportunities to see Him in the lives of others as we listen, talk and watch WITH them.
It’s the simple things that remind me of the Great One - the Lord Jesus Himself - these days.
I want to live at the speed of love. What about you?
It doesn’t seem like a big deal to you, I’m sure. But when you’ve lived for over 12 years in a country where plain chocolate ice cream can only be bought on a cone from the little stands scattered throughout town - this is indeed a special day! God is good! What a tasty treat to enjoy at home on occasion!
God does care about these little things in our lives. Recently, I was GIVEN an iPhone. I have wanted one since they came out, but never could figure how to pay for it - and now, thanks to a special friend, I’m using one on a day-to-day basis. God cares about our “little” desires.
I’m convinced that we don’t see our Lord in the “mundane” things of life. We want hurricane-like experiences. But Isaiah teaches us that He is in the still, small voice - one that is easy to miss in the 150 mph lifestyle we often live.
Last night, we had a BBQ for the first youth meeting of the year. For the first time in a long time, I was able to stay late, chat with those who could sit around the fireside and talk about life, the Lord and what we’re experiencing with Him. How refreshing!
I’m reading a book titled, “I Became A Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.” It’s fresh. The author contends that Jesus lived “at the speed of love” and that we live the hurried & harried lifestyle of the 21st century that causes us to miss His still small voice and the opportunities to see Him in the lives of others as we listen, talk and watch WITH them.
It’s the simple things that remind me of the Great One - the Lord Jesus Himself - these days.
I want to live at the speed of love. What about you?
03 September 2008
Logos software
Okay, not only do I get a free book from Logos for writing this entry, but I do get to talk about one of my favorite programs of all - Logos Bible Study Software.
I actually switched from the Mac to a PC sometime back around 1994 almost exclusively because of Logos Research System’s Bible study software. I love the software, but for 11 years I regretted the switch to PC.
Well, almost 3 years ago (December or so of 2005), Logos reported that they had started porting their program over to the Mac and just yesterday, I downloaded the beta version. They seem to be making rapid progress in the past couple of months and I am anticipating the first final version in the next couple of months. I can’t wait.
So, Logos has a promotion and with that promotion, I am able to download a free book. It is actually a hook to get customers buy a set of books (to which the one freebie belongs).
At any rate, I love my Logos program and recommend it to anyone looking for a serious Bible study program.
I actually switched from the Mac to a PC sometime back around 1994 almost exclusively because of Logos Research System’s Bible study software. I love the software, but for 11 years I regretted the switch to PC.
Well, almost 3 years ago (December or so of 2005), Logos reported that they had started porting their program over to the Mac and just yesterday, I downloaded the beta version. They seem to be making rapid progress in the past couple of months and I am anticipating the first final version in the next couple of months. I can’t wait.
So, Logos has a promotion and with that promotion, I am able to download a free book. It is actually a hook to get customers buy a set of books (to which the one freebie belongs).
At any rate, I love my Logos program and recommend it to anyone looking for a serious Bible study program.
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