Conformed or Transformed?

In my Spiritual Formation class with Mark Wilson , I was given these questions and they were very revealing in my own life. I would encourage you to use them in your own devotional time. They are from John Wesley's Holy Club and Loyola, the found of the Society of Jesus. Here is one set of nearly two dozen questions which John Wesley gave to members of his discipleship groups more than 200 years ago. The questions may have their origin in the spiritual accountability group started by Wesley when he was a student at Oxford -- a group that detractors called "The Holy Club." 1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite? 2. Do I confidentially pass on to others what has been said to me in confidence? 3. Can I be trusted? 4. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits? 5. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying? 6. Did the Bible live in me today? 7. Do I give the Bible t...

December 1-9 there will be a Billy Graham special about the life of Ruth Bell Graham. There are special powerpoint slides, E-banners and also a 90-second promo. video for advertising in your church or with your friends to watch. Here is the link that gives all the dates and times as well as misc. info: billygraham.org/tv

A father passing by his son's bedroom was astonished to see that his bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then he saw an envelope propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to "Dad." With the worst premonition he opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter. Dear Dad: It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you. I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is so nice. But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercings, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes and the fact that she is much older than I am. But it's not only the passion...Dad she's pregnant. Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children. Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyon...

My niece called and asked me about two months ago to see if I would sponsor her for her Girls on the Run. I said, "Of course I will, sweetie! What do I have to do?" ha ha! That's the wrong order of response, for sure! It should have been: "What do I have to do?" FIRST, because to be a sponsor/mentor/running buddy you had to run a 5k. It ended up being almost 4 miles. And, to top it all off.....it was just before the parade, so there were people everywhere. I was certainly not in good enough shape to run, but I did it anyhow and it was really fun. Olivia ran in it as well. I will have pictures when I get them from my Mom over Thanksgiving. The point of the run was to boost elementary girl's confidence to be able to stand up against domestic and sexual violence if it presents itself. It was supposed to be a run for fun! They had fun and everyone finished the run...what an accomplishment for them! There were about 75 girls who ran with their ment...

I have heard quite often lately the term "Worship Wars" and I have been very disturbed in my spirit about it. The one thing that we should be unified about is worship and yet it can be a war....anything BUT unity or worship. I talked with the teens on Sunday morning about worship and how would they feel if we only did children's music on Sunday mornings, how would they feel about that? They all said they would hate that. We went from there to discuss that is how the older people feel about our rock and roll music. We are all at different places in our life and what it all boils down to is likes and dislikes. I like purple and you like red....WHO CARES?! Neither one of them is right or wrong....just different. It's what you DO with your preference that matters! Whether is children's music, hymns, rock and roll, country or somewhere out there, what matters is this: Is Jesus lifted high? Is He the one you are worshipping or is it your style preference? Wo...

I can't believe you are 14!!!! Wow! You have been such a joy to our family. You make me laugh. You love Jesus! You are an awesome big brother to Olivia. You amaze me with the way you pick up and learn how to fix things so easily. You are an awesome teenager! I love you so much, Andrew! Have a fantastical birthday today!