Texas Bluebonnets
Enjoy these bluebonnet pics. We probably won’t see this many in ’09 because of the drought.
Thanks to Jerry Cole for sending these.
April Fool’s Day
One of my favorite pranks:
1998: Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a “Left-Handed Whopper” specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, “many others requested their own ‘right handed’ version.”
“Oh, PromiseLand!”
While studying at Texenza Coffee Shop on Monday morning, I had a really cool experience. I walked by the bulletin board and it was totally blank so I posted a couple EASTER AT THE EMBASSY business cards so everyone could see both sides. I then quitely sat and worked on my computer.
About an hour later, one of the workers walked by the bulletin board and started looking at our cards. She said out-loud, “Oh, PromiseLand!” That is all she said.
However, the sentence was dripping with meaning. Obviously, the cards caught her attention enough for her to read the content. She could not tell who was putting on this event, until she read long enough. By the way, this is a great testiment to the designer (Harry). If an ad captivates someone’s attention this long, it is a great success. Her quest paid off when she saw our logo and name. She proclaimed loudly, “Oh, PromiseLand”. The way she said it meant that she had heard of it before, and it seemed like it meant “of course, this is PromiseLand.”
Now, the responsibility lies with us all when “Oh, PromiseLand” people actually visit. Have we all prepared spiritually to welcome these people?
+Robin
Sermon Disclaimers
It seems like every sermon that I preach has some sort of disclaimer. I will be hitting it hard up on the platform and make a bold statement. In the back of my mind I will hear a little voice that says, “That is true, but in this other situation it might be different.” It is not that I lied or said a misleading statement. In fact, what I say, I believe to be the truth, but it seems like there are situations that are odd or irregular. My dad used to say, “Robin, we must follow the rules, but sometimes there are exceptions to the rule.” Does that mean you throw out the rules? No.
So, I was plowing along Sunday and talking about the Grace and Mercy of God. I capitalize those words because they mean so much to me. I said, “Judas, went to the temple leaders to pay back the 30 pieces of silver, and that was the wrong thing to do. That is not the way you receive the forgiveness of God.” Immediately in the back of my mind, I hear this voice say, Read the rest of this entry
The Price of Freedom
Here is a nugget from my studies this week:
[The Religious leaders] might have offered him ten or five pieces of silver, and he must still have stuck to his bargain. Yet none the less do we mark the deep symbolic significance of it all, in that the Lord was, so to speak, paid for out of the Temple-money which was destined for the purchase of sacrifices, and that He, Who took on Him the form of a servant (Phil 2:7), was sold and bought at the legal price of a slave (Exodus 21:32). p. 803 –The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah – Alfred Edersheim
Judas might have sold out Jesus for a third of what they offered. However, what was done was done and the actual price not only lined up with scriptural prophecy, but came from the actual money that they bought sacrifices with. How amazing is that?
+Robin
Robin Steele 