Pastor Tom's Journal

If this seems a little under-serviced, it is because I do most of my blogging at The Dream Factory.

Skating in the Garden in High Heels under my Alb.: RIP Edward M. Kennedy, February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) Wonderful reflection by Pastor Joelle Colville-Hanson. My thoughts: Senator Edward Kennedy, 77, dies - the end of an era

Thanks, Mike. We all miss you.

Very tender and thoughtful

There is a chuckle value here along with an interesting thought jolt. I hope you enjoyed it.

Lewis was not converted by argument. He comes to the conclusion that the story of Jesus is differentiated from other myths in that it is a true myth along his journey toward genuine faith in Jesus Christ based upon the power of eye-witness accounts. Lewis had to sneak past the watchful dragons of self-consciousness. It was on a trip to the zoo with his brother that he realized that he believed, like a man who, after a long sleep, becomes aware that he is now awake."

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Deacon Fred Kandra has posted a moving tribute to Jane Wyman with information about her faith and commitment that I did not know. The Deacon's Bench: Jane Wyman: buried in a habit It always warms the heart to hear of people with large public profiles who love God and humbly serve Him. i especially love the comment from her son, Michael RWeagan that she was in the business of building men and not boys.

From the Coral Ridge Ministries WebSite Time Line November 3, 1930 – Dennis James Kennedy is born to George and Ermine Kennedy in Augusta , Georgia . 1936 – The Kennedy family moves to Chicago , settling in an apartment just 50 yards from Lake Michigan . 1945 – The family relocates once more to Tampa , Florida . 1952 – Arthur Murray Dance instructor Jim Kennedy meets Anne Lewis and signs her up for six months of dance instructions. 1953 – Sleeping late on a Sunday morning, Jim Kennedy hears the Gospel for the very first time from a radio preacher. Shortly thereafter he professes faith in Christ. December 3, 1955 – After fighting God’s call to full-time ministry for nearly a year, Jim Kennedy, with great trepidation, quits his job as a dance studio manager. December 3, 1955 – Jim Kennedy and Anne Lewis become engaged . December 4, 1955 – Jim is given the chance to preach at a local Presbyterian church and, to his surprise, is employed as th...

Songwriter, singer, pianist, actor, and protoblogger Steve Schalchlin responds to the recent news about Mother Teresa's prayer correspondence - actually her deepest, most personal prayers to a God she ultimately and effectively trusted with her life - and shared with her spiritual advisers. Steve makes the assertion at the end of his excellent reflection, Living In The Bonus Round: The Doubting Faith of Mother Teresa : "Faith is not belief. Faith is what you have when belief is out of reach." My take on the subject is at Mother Teresa and Faith Struggles in The Dream Factory. My conclusion there was: "This glimpse into the personal, deep, spiritual struggle within Mother Teresa makes me love and appreciate her more because she moved beyond the superficial religiosity of one who never asks and struggles with hard questions. She not only wrestled with the doubts and questions, but like Jacob, she wrestled with God himself." "For her, it always came back to ...

There are four keys words and three key principles. I will explore: Flee, Storm, Sleep, and Fish. The three principles are that you can choose, lose, or cruise. First, God called Jonah and Jonah fled from God. At least he attempted to FLEE. God never leaves us without choices. we can choose fight, flight, or flow with His purposes. Fight becomes less and less of an option the more we know God. Flow requires surrender of our will to His. too often, we choose to FLEE. The principle here is YOU CAN CHOOSE. F - FROM God. It is always away from Him. You can't resist His will and enjoy the same fellowship as ever. L - LUNACY - It is an absurd idea that we can run from Him. The psalmist said that even in Sheol, He was there. E - EFFECT on others. As Jonah endangered others, so do we when we disobey. E - EVIDENT - You can't really hide it. It all hangs out. There is another spelling possible that helps us understand some of what causes...

Henry Neufeld is our distinguished Author of the Month in both the Religion and Christian Fellowship Forums . Pick up copies of Henry's books and join the discussion. Author of the Month What's in a Version? by Henry, E Neufeld $10.39 To the Hebrews: A Participatory Study Guide by Henry, E Neufeld $9.99 Revelation: A Participatory Study Guide by Henry E. Neufeld $9.99 Identifying Your Gifts And Service by Henry E. Neufeld $9.99 I Want to Pray! by Perry M. Dalton $7.99 Not Ashamed of the Gospel: Confessions of a... by Henry E. Neufeld $10.39 Identifying Your Gifts and Service: Small G... by Henry, E Neufeld $10.39 Discipleship: Jesus With Us by V., Riley Richardson $7.99 When People Speak for God by Henry, E Neufeld $12.23

Drink it in; be lifted, be moved; be inspired; worship! This is the start of a concert that Rich Mullins did in Lufkin Texas. Some excerpts from this concert made it to the homeless man video also available on You Tube. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Inspiring video presentation of Awesome God by Rich Mullins

A Word of Encouragement from Tom Sims, The Dream Factory ... Yesterday I suggested that the very desire to make another person's day is an indicator of character and a predictor of success in that endeavor. Today, I will start to spell out how to do that by examining the word, "D-A-Y." First let us look at a proverb for today, Proverbs 19:1: "Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse. " To apply that to our theme, we might paraphrase it this way: "While wealth and prosperity can open doors, create opportunities, and enable us to do much good for others, it would be better to do without it if it meant that our words wounded rather than healed, deflated people rather than inflating them, and discouraged rather than encouraged." Words are powerful and how we use words will determine much of our success in making someone else's day. And the god news is that if you make the day of enough people, it will eventua...

A moving musical and video thanks to Billy Graham.

Parts 1,2,4, and 5 of Homeless Man, a tribute to Rich Mullins are found on the side panel. To view Part 3, click below: Homeless Man = Part 3