Aloha-or, how Hawaii kills push ups

While many of our friends went to the RP conference at Calvin college, we went to Hawaii. They're back and we're back. But we're more tan. Plus, we swam with sea turtles. The downside, though, is twofold: I hear we missed a lot of great preaching and fellowship. And it turns out that it is physically impossible to stay on the push up routine in Hawaii. So, for all my push up buddies, I'm a week behind, maybe two. I'll let you know.

pushups and other

(for my push-up buddies) I wasn't able to start the push-ups until Wednesday...let me assure you that doing them three days in a row is killer. I've only been able to max a little above the minimum.

Someone asked if we could get together at the RP international conference -- alas (for you, not me) I will be in Hawaii tomorrow evening, Lord willing. This providential trip to Hawaii has cancelled our attendance at the conference. But we'll be praying for God's blessing on you who are going!

The 100

Here's my push-up project update--First week is completed with no snags. After the 5 sets each day, I maxed at 15, 15, then 21. How about you?

Praying for Pastors, even Spurgeon

I received a kind note the other day that included this from Charles Spurgeon on praying for pastors; I pass it on for the sake of your pastors, that it might encourage you to pray for them.

"Brothers, pray for us!"
--I Thessalonians 5:25

Today I want to remind you about the importance of praying for your ministers. In the most earnest way that I can I ask every Christian household to grant this request of the Apostle Paul on behalf of every minister of the Gospel.

Brothers, the fact is that our work affects the eternal benefit or curse of many; the souls of men are our eternal business. A very heavy responsibility rests upon us, and we strive to be innocent of the blood of all men.

As officers in Christ's army, we are the special point of attack of those who hate Christ. They watch for us to fall, and work to trip us up in any way they can. Our sacred calling requires us to endure certain temptations from which most are exempt. We see some go back into a life of sin, and we see millions dying without Christ. We long to be useful both to saints and sinners.

And so, we ask you, pray for us! Your spiritual blessings come from God, and not from us; and yet, how many times has He given those blessings through His ministers. In our behalf, please pray that we may be the humble jars of clay into which the Lord may put the treasure of the gospel. On behalf of all those who are called to minister the Gospel today, I ask YOU to "Pray for us."

Because we don't kill babies for no reason

George Grant has started a new blog exposing the genocidal legacy of Planned Parenthood. It's worth plugging into your Google Reader, if only to be reminded more regularly of the ongoing homicide bloodying the hands of our nation. This historical reminder is from a recent post:

...dark and malignant seeds were already germinating just beneath the surface of the new century's soil. Josef Stalin was a twenty-one-year-old seminary student in Tiflis, a pious and serene community at the crossroads of Georgia and Ukraine. Benito Mussolini was a seventeen-year-old student teacher in the quiet suburbs of Milan. Adolf Hitler was an eleven-year-old aspiring art student in the quaint upper Austrian village of Brannan. And Margaret Sanger was a twenty-year-old out-of-sorts nursing school dropout in White Plains, New York. Who could have ever guessed on that ebulliently auspicious New Year's Day that those four youngsters would, over the span of the next century, spill more innocent blood than all the murderers, warlords, and tyrants of past history combined? Who could have ever guessed that those four youngsters would together ensure that the hopes and dreams and aspirations of the twentieth century would be smothered under the weight of holocaust, genocide, and triage?

(thanks to Jeff for the link)

Quote, unquote

If you go into the future, there are evil robots. If you go into the past, they don't have toilets. So, why bother?

-Meg Morton on the philosophy of time travel

Happy Independence Day

A day late, but hopefully not a dollar short, here's a great version of our national anthem.
May God see fit to bring this independent nation into her rightful dependence on King Jesus.

100 push-ups project

100 push-ups is a popular strength-training program that seems quite simple to do.

I linked to it last week and asked if anyone wanted to have a go with me. Check it out if you haven't - the idea is that everyone will be able to do 100 consecutive push-ups at the end of the program, regardless of where they start.

Anyhows, it seems a couple folks are interested, so here's the plan: if you want to do the program together (well, as together as we can be over the internet), take the initial test sometime today or tomorrow and reply to this post with your initial level (I'll put a comment with my level later today - we're all friends, so there's no shame here). Then I'll post my progress once a week and have everyone participating use the comment section to post their progress as well.

The more folks participate, the more fun we'll have!