True North Finances Weekly Finance Numbers and Random Thoughts

Just pray

Saturday night, my family pulled into a restaurant parking lot in Clayton. We were met by a frantic mom in her mid twenties. She asked us if we had seen where they went. We didn't know what she was talking about, we had just arrived. Someone had just stolen her van and her two infant children, a 1 year old and a 2 week old, still in the van.

God the Attorney

I have spent the better half of the last month reading license and service agreements for a software product. I have met with attorneys and learned quite a bit about how these terms and conditions work. Warranty, Termination, Liability, Force Majuere, Payment Terms. It has been interesting and boring at the same time. It got me thinking, what would John 3:16 look like if God were an attorney?

All I Could See Was Somebody’s Son or Daughter

I encourage you to read this CNS News Article about a former abortionist that wants U.S. lawmakers to hear graphic details of a procedure he performed hundreds of times -- before a personal tragedy led him to become a pro-life activist.

Guest blogger Shawn Stamp: Abortion

I find it astounding that while we categorically denounce the slaughter of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust, we somehow fail to recognize 50 million legalized abortions as a form of state-sponsored genocide.  And why do we react in justifiable horror at the medical experiments conducted by the Nazis, yet embrace the destruction of embryos to harvest their stem cells...all in the name of science?

Mobile Phone vs. Bible

Got this in an email recently...

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our mobile phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several time a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?

Learning from the Master

Sometimes my mind goes to weird places. Today (this isn't the first time I've thought this), I wondered about Adam and Eve. They had no childhood. They went straight to being adults. They were the only people to not be kids. God's first instruction to the both of them is to have sex.

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.

This is a little puzzling for me. I'm 41 years old and still feel like I don't really know what I am doing. I have 41 years of instruction, observation, experience, yet I'm still clueless. What did Adam have?

A mud hut is not the American dream

I had the pleasure of meeting with missionaries last week. The first is a young lady who wants to develop social justice in Kenya. She'll spend half of her time there living in a mud hut. The other is a couple who want to commit the next 20 years of their families life to China. That is, if they can dodge government spies and not get deported. I also read about a young man that recently got back from Jakarta. There was a picture of him climbing the pole up to his tree house. He had to live up in the tree to stay safe from the wild animals in the jungle. Oh yeah, he is recovering well from Malaria. Amazing. Proof to me that God does indeed exist.

Father Abraham, your skin?

One last Michael Jr. video.
His take on the obedience of Abraham's household.
I would have the same questions.

Jesus lil brother

In this video, Comedian Michael Jr. brings light to the thought of what it must have been like to be the little brother of Jesus.

Oversaved

In this video, Comedian Michael Jr talks about being "Oversaved".

Dog calls 911

Sometimes I just want to pass on a really cool story that I find.

The German Shepherd in this picture has been trained to call 911. His owner suffers from seizures. 'Buddy' recognizes the seizure, dials 911 and barks into the receiver.

My dog can sit, sometimes.

Read full WRAL news story.

How small groups changed me

We moved to North Carolina ten years ago. Finding a church to attend was on our list of things to do but not necessarily something we looked forward to. A postcard showed up one day describing a church that met in a theater, served coffee and donuts, had a live band and encouraged you to wear jeans. Wow, that sounded great to me! So we attended for probably around 4 or 5 months because we really liked the pastor. Something was still missing though.

I can’t be still

This really bothers me. Yesterday, I shut the door of my office at work during lunch and just tried to spend time alone with God.
I've done it before. It is quiet, I pray, I listen. And when I open the door, it is the best hour I've had in a long time.
I don't do this as much as I should. It should be a regular practice.
Anyway, yesterday, I shut the door.

Don’t go to bed angry

Ephesians 4
26"In your anger do not sin" Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold.

-or-

Don't go to bed angry.

You've heard that before. The bible is full of sound advice for life, marriage, parenting, etc. Or, so you think.

Happy Birthday

Today is my son Nick's 12th birthday. Happy Birthday bud!

Guitar Praise

This product is the Christian version of Guitar Hero. One thing I do in life is think gray. That means I do not have enough information to form an opinion. It is not black and white. Also, I may never form an opinion concerning a topic. As far as Guitar Praise goes, I think I will stay gray on this one.

I read about this product yesterday in the Stuff Christians Like blog. Definitely read it for a good laugh.

Just a dot

This picture is from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field lens. It was assembled over 3 months in late 2003 / early 2004 and has an estimated 10,000 galaxies, each containing millions of stars. It is the deepest image of the universe ever taken covering billions of light years.

I have a hard time comprehending the enormity of 10,000 galaxies and billions of light years. I showed the picture to my son Nick and used the term bazillion to help describe what he was seeing.

A Technique for Producing Ideas

Tuesday, I read A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young.  The author was an advertising agent turned college professor. The book is a lecture that he gave to graduate students at the University of Chicago School of Business in 1939. Why would you want to read a book about producing ideas that is nearly 70 years old?

Gigapan

Gigapan is a really cool web site that contains zoomable panoramic photos. The gigapixel-scale panorama is created with hundreds or thousands of overlapping, zoomed-in pictures. These images are stitched together using software to combine the images into one very high-resolution panorama. You will be amazed the first time you zoom into one of the pictures.

I know this doesn't have much to do with our web site. It is just really cool. Enjoy!

Let your heart do the talking

In my life, I have listened to words that build people up and words that destroy.  Words of love and words of hate. Regretfully, I have spoken harsh words in haste.

Psalm 4:4
Complain if you must, but don't lash out.
Keep your mouth shut, and let your heart do the talking.