the day i suddenly knew kung fu...

do you ever wake up in the morning and feel like something is different about you? that you suddenly have an incredible ability that you never had before? i often wake up with a wish that i could unleash my inner kung fu. i often joke about it at tg. i even have some nice sound effects to go along with my moves. for many reasons i have needed some reasons to laugh lately and this was something that provided me a moment of joy. here is a video that just cracks me up and hits at the heart of my longings! enjoy!

acts 11v1-18

so i'm preaching again this Sunday on Acts 11v1-18...which in my opinion is one of the most pivotal sections in all of acts. the bottom line is something that i think is pretty easy for us to say and acknowledge, but not too easy to truly show in life as it happens. it is something that has great potential and yet can be easily and unknowingly squelched. anyways, i'd love your thoughts as you read this text. what stands out and what hits you and how does it look today?

Acts 11v1-18[msg] - God Has Broken Through
1-3The news traveled fast and in no time the leaders and friends back in Jerusalem heard about it—heard that the non-Jewish "outsiders" were now "in." When Peter got back to Jerusalem, some of his old associates, concerned about circumcision, called him on the carpet: "What do you think you're doing rubbing shoulders with that crowd, eating what is prohibited and ruining our good name?" 4-6So Peter, starting from the beginning, laid it out for them step-by-step: "Recently I was in the town of Joppa praying. I fell into a trance and saw a vision: Something like a huge blanket, lowered by ropes at its four corners, came down out of heaven and settled on the ground in front of me. Milling around on the blanket were farm animals, wild animals, reptiles, birds—you name it, it was there. Fascinated, I took it all in. 7-10"Then I heard a voice: 'Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.' I said, 'Oh, no, Master. I've never so much as tasted food that wasn't kosher.' The voice spoke again: 'If God says it's okay, it's okay.' This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the sky.11-14"Just then three men showed up at the house where I was staying, sent from Caesarea to get me. The Spirit told me to go with them, no questions asked. So I went with them, I and six friends, to the man who had sent for me. He told us how he had seen an angel right in his own house, real as his next-door neighbor, saying, 'Send to Joppa and get Simon, the one they call Peter. He'll tell you something that will save your life—in fact, you and everyone you care for.'15-17"So I started in, talking. Before I'd spoken half a dozen sentences, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he did on us the first time. I remembered Jesus' words: 'John baptized with water; you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' So I ask you: If God gave the same exact gift to them as to us when we believed in the Master Jesus Christ, how could I object to God?" 18Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. "It's really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!"

and i may even dare to show this as an illustration, but won't go into sharing my thoughts about it. i will just leave you with the pondering of the possibilities.

plumbing or buried treasure?

so my very old house has been having some serious plumbing problems and as a result I have been working on digging a six foot deep hole with about a 4 foot diameter. lets just say that i'm sore. but what is even worse is that i was supposed to find these two pipes that were meant to be connected, but that had collapsed. instead you can see what i found. it is not one but two gigantic solid cement slabs that are about a foot thick. and it looks like since my house was built in 1928 and the sewer system on our street didn't come till 1948 that I am now the proud owner of a crazy old speptic tank that is literally full of CRAP! am i the only one who seems to find that all the house projects that seem to be quick fixes tend to be HUGE! so all that to say pray that all of the stuff that needs to happen for our plumbing to get fixed would happen quick and in a not to expensive manner! yeah right!

enjoy the pictures of my archeological find below!

 

 

 

 

request for review...

hi all,

I am humbly writing a request to you all. As you know I have been doing weddings, counseling, and pastoral work for quite some time. I was just informed that I am in the running for a reward on one of the websites I advertise on called www.weddingwire.com This potential reward is based on the amount of reviews that I have had in the last 6 months, along with the number of clients that I have been able to connect with, and “clicks.” Basically I have been getting a lot of attention on there site and for it they will reward me if I end up having the most at the end of the month. The reward would be a write up in a number of different websites including Martha Stewart, they would cover the cost for me to be on there site for another year and would keep me first on the list of there preferred providers.

As you know I love working with people be it counseling, weddings, or pastoral work in its many forms. If you feel like you could write a short review about me in this regards that would be fantastic along with simply being incredibly kind. I don’t spend a lot of money to advertise, in fact almost 90% of what I do is through referrals and word of mouth. So if you feel like you could help me in this it would be much appreciated.

It is very simple…all you do is follow this link RE.VIEW.RICH and click on “write a review” – it will only take a few moments and will go a long way!

Thanks for taking the time to consider this and for your partnership in helping me share my gifts, abilities, and talents with others!

Grace and peace!

rich

PS: make sure to bookmark my new wedding site i'm working on... SEATTLE WEDDING PASTOR

perfect symmetry...

well it has been a while, it is new music tuesday, and the sun is out so why not check out some good new tunes? the new soon to be released album by KEANE is really good. i thought you might like a listen! enjoy...

click here to stream it KEANE.PERFECT.SYMMETRY