Random Ramblings

Another night of insomnia. SO boring just laying here....

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

Another night of insomnia. SO boring just laying here....

We so often use the "no time" excuse for not reading God's word; maybe God's giving you the time?

Our church is about to start a reading the Bible in 90 days.  Should be pretty intense.

Got me a super cool NEW Bible for 2017 !  It has LARGE print (for us old folk)   and has HUGE margins on each side for notes. It took 10 years for me to finally replace the one that was stolen, as I thought I could just go 100% digital, but it's not the same. I've had a tablet that I do my reading and study on for nearly a decade, but I've decided it doesn't have the "feel" I used to have. I need something more tangible.

There's just something about holding a real book while you read.

You've got that right!  Sadly, the rest of the world doesn't agree.  While Books-A-Million still does fairly well, most of the bookstores around us are now gone.  People who read either buy eBooks or just get them from free sites or libraries.  Even the Christian bookstores left in my area (Lifeway) have cut back on the amount of books that I like to read.  They have increased their church curriculum and suppliy departments while majorly cutting back on good fiction and music.  The DVD area is full but there is a lot of that that isn't really high enough quality to watch or buy.  Face it--the day of physical product for music, books, magazines, and movies is just about over, folks.  We will enter the fully digital age kicking and screaming, but we will enter it.

And that really sucks imo. I get that it helps cut down on destroying forests and all that, but tangible products are so real, so accessible.
As many of you who have known me for more than 10 years know, I honestly tried the digital route in many areas of my life. First I went 100% dig with my music. I didn't have a CD in my house for a few years !  That died when I got tired of losing files, including entire backups on externals that would fail.. then there was the desire to hold that CD insert and read the lyrics, credits, etc. Today I own more CDs than I have my entire lifetime !  
When my Bible was stolen, I thought welp, I'll go 100% digital then. That way all my notes and Bibles will be backed up and re-accessible if something happens. Well, it's just not the same as others here attest to.

So it looks to me like 2017 will be the year I'm totally back to the tangible. If I can't buy anything new that's physical, then I WON'T ! No kidding ! If a band releases a new album and I want it, but they only release it as a download ? Oh well, I'm sticking with the 5000 albums I already have. Same with books and magazines. I still buy MAD magazine cuz it's physical. Soon as it goes only dig, forget it.
I mean, I even spent 2 years digitizing every page of every issue of HM magazine '85 to '95, with full intentions of reading them all ! I did the work - ME ! And yet I've only pulled out my tablet and read about 4 issues. FOUR ! I hate reading a screen for any length of time.

I'm apparently going into the digital age kicking and screaming

I agree with the consensus here but it saves space for me to download everything but man, it seems the soul a book or album is in the tangibles.

And that shows our age.  We were marketed to with the physical product.  The younger generations are marketed to that nothing is real or permanent.  They don't even buy music.  They steal or stream.  The product, even the quality of the music, means nothing anymore.

Drove over to the Eastern Washington yesterday to watch my son graduate from the Basic Level Course of the Washington State Police Explorer's Academy (it's a one week course that mimics some of what you would do if you went to the full-fledged Police Academy, but geared towards teens....so kind of like a mini police boot camp).  He did pretty well (we are little worried because of his learning disability).  They single out some of the teens for outstanding performance and it turns out he got the best Fire Arms training score out of all 65 Explorers.  A bit of a surprised to him as he has never fired a hand gun before...not a major surprise to me because he took to archery the first time he tried it as well.

Very cool!

I'm back on here for the first time in a bit. In the meantime, I went with my girlfriend to meet my parents in Ontario (she only got to meet them for about a half-hour, back when we first started dating in July) for a week, then we drove out east to the Maritimes for another week to hang out with some of her family's friends. The latter journey involved a flat tire. And now I'm back in Sherbrooke, trying to motivate myself to get outside and work off some of the pounds I've gained over the holidays. Ugh.

Driven wrote:

I'm back on here for the first time in a bit. In the meantime, I went with my girlfriend to meet my parents in Ontario (she only got to meet them for about a half-hour, back when we first started dating in July) for a week, then we drove out east to the Maritimes for another week to hang out with some of her family's friends. The latter journey involved a flat tire. And now I'm back in Sherbrooke, trying to motivate myself to get outside and work off some of the pounds I've gained over the holidays. Ugh.

Uh oh! Spendin' time with the not-yet-in-laws can only mean one thing ...

Through The Dark Radio wrote:

Our church is about to start a reading the Bible in 90 days.  Should be pretty intense.

I did that a couple years ago. It was very intense but when i got done, it was very rewarding.

I'm currently doing a plan to read the Bible over the year.

I agree about Daily Planet - LOVE that one !
I retired my from-scratch html music collection organization in favor of a more simplified Google Docs. So far so good. I can access it from anywhere on my cell phone, esp when I'm at a store and can't remember if I already own an album 

Through The Dark Radio wrote:

Our church is about to start a reading the Bible in 90 days.  Should be pretty intense.

Why wait 90 days to start reading the Bible?

messiaen77 wrote:

Through The Dark Radio wrote:

Our church is about to start a reading the Bible in 90 days.  Should be pretty intense.

Why wait 90 days to start reading the Bible?

Your church is going to read THE Bible?  Do you only have one and you all have to share? 

Betcha it's a King James.

Driven wrote:

Betcha it's a King James.

Actually, it's NIV

Whaaaaat? Everyone knows The Bible is KJV only, through and through. Tsk.

College ministry sometimes involves setting up camp on the edge of a church parking lot, across from a pub, and serving free hot chocolate and cold water to more-or-less inebriated students from 11 PM to 3 AM. It's awesome to see students' faces light up.

Driven wrote:

College ministry sometimes involves setting up camp on the edge of a church parking lot, across from a pub, and serving free hot chocolate and cold water to more-or-less inebriated students from 11 PM to 3 AM. It's awesome to see students' faces light up.

I think that is pretty awesome, Driven!  Most churches/Christians are not that gutsy.  Keep it up!!!

I am preaching today at a church in Hermitage, TN that is very traditional and stuck in its ways just as my current church is.  My message that I feel God has given me will definitely rile them up.  I hope to be able to deliver it without coming off as harsh and judgemental.  I believe that this is the message I am supposed to deliver.  Since I am being considered for the pastor's position here, this could knock me out of being considered.  Because I believe this is what I am to speak, I am not afraid of not getting the job.  IF this is where God wants me, I believe the Lord will open the door.

Praying for boldness as well as grace for you alldat. Let us know how it goes.