Hey everyone – it’s Short Rounds time again! This week I’ve got a little bit of everything, from fun stuff, to highly intellectual, to something that might be a bit self serving.

Let’s get to it!

Fun Stuff – Church Sign Smackdown!

Sure, this isn’t real – but it’s funny! The language gets a little rough towards the end, so if bad language offends you, you might want to skip this one.

World War Two Photos:

You must knew World War Two would pop up here didn’t you? This site features some great pictures taken by the owner on his trips to Normandy. They show how things look today, and are very instructive.

Intellectual, Pt. 1 -Close Only Counts In Horseshoes:

This site is a great study in how internet rumors spread. Made all the more timely because today at church we got another one of those Madalyn Murray O’Hair rumors!

Sheesh!

Before you believe anything like that – please read this and think carefully!

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Hi All,

A few months ago I was interviewed over the phone by Rheta Murray for Purpose Driven Ministries. The interview covered my personal experience with Celebrate Recovery and how I used it to lose weight, get in better shape, etc.

You can read it online now here - or as part of Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox if you subscribe.

I’d love to know what you think of it!

It’s nearly 9 PM and I find myself sitting in front of the old laptop with nothing in particular to write about.

What to do? Just let it flow!

Among the several hundred things I’ve been doing this week I have begun the process of trying to decide what sermon series I ought to preach after Easter.

My current series, Encountering Christ, will last till Easter. After that I have no real plans, and precious idea as well!

What to do?

Open it up to you! Anyone can comment on this, but of course I’m especially interested in those of you who are local.

If you could choose a topic for a series of sermons, or a book of the Bible to preach through, what would it be?

Give me several ideas if you have them.

I do have one idea in mind, but it’s far from certain at this point, so take advantage of this chance and give me some of your ideas!

Thanks!

One of the first surprises we encountered on our recent trip to Myanmar was the fact that the place we would stay at hand changed.

We ended up saying at the YMCA, downtown near the river. It was a great place to stay because it put us right in the middle of the city.

Yangon is a HUGE city, and it’s not like any city in America. That fact was driven home over and over again as we walked it’s streets, encountered it’s people and saw the sites.

We stayed on the sixth floor, and had some great views of downtown. Below are three for your viewing pleasure!

Sorry this is so short – but I’m up at 5 AM to do my radio thing, and it’s 10 PM now, so I’ve gotta go!

Enjoy the pictures!

Today I thought I’d talk a little about the guy who went with me this year, and some of what you experience on a trip like this.

I took Rick with me this year, it was his first trip out of the country, so he’s started his international traveling with a bang! Rick owns his own business, a auto body shop, and also plays drums and sings in Nexus, the band that plays at our CR ministry and other places.

We went to teach about CR, what it is how to begin a ministry, etc. A tough topic to talk about in the third world given our cultural and educational differences. He also went to help out a bit with the music and worship end of things too.

Here we were at his place doing some planning for the trip. Little did we know what lay in store! Actually the trip was good, but the schedule went through many changes, and we even ended up teaching separately with me in Mytkyina and him down in Yangon.

One our first, and really only day off in Yangon, we got to go out to EBI – Eastern Bible Institute. A favorite place of mine since that’s where I did all my teaching on my first trip. It located on the outskirts of Yangon, so you get to see a more rural lifestyle, oxen pulling carts, etc.

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WORLD WAR TWO GEEK OUT!

Hey everyone, I thought I’d kick off this week by sharing with you some pictures and information about the Short Term Mission Trip I just returned from in Myanmar.

I went with someone from here in Parker (more on him later this week) and we were part of a fairly large team. We spent time in Yangon, and I was blessed to get to go to Myitkyina and spend four nights there.

Our first night there we went to a resturant near our hotel called the River View Resturant, It’s right on the banks of the Irrawaddy River.

The river is beautiful, and I just fell in love with it. But it’s what I found below the outdoor deck we ate on that caused me to have an no holds barred, full fledged, World War Two Geek Out!

Lying before me there were all sorts of large, mostly beached old boats. They looked vaguely familiar, and after a few minutes I realized they had to be left overs from the British and or American presence there during World War Two. They were clearly parts of a pontoon bridge making unit. Some of them still have numbers that are clearly visible on them!

Some are still being used and lived in, most just appear to be lying there. After 60 years they remain silent witnesses to the bloody struggle fought for possession of Myitkyina and it’s airfields. The last major juncture needed to open up the Burma Road.

So there it is – what a great thing to see for a World War Two history nut like myself!

What’s that? This is a Christian blog and you were expecting some really deep spiritual insights and stuff?

Soooooorrrrrry!!

It’s my blog! And it’s about all my interests – because the Lordship of Jesus Christ covers them all – even military history! I’ll be sharing some of the spiritual insights and experiences later though don’t you worry.

BTW – for all in the area Rick and I will be sharing our experiences with the congregation this Sunday morning at 10:30 AM, Arizona time. Join us if you can!

Judging from the responses I’ve gotten I seem to have hit a nerve with this topic. I know I’ve only gotten two responses to part one as I write this – but for this blog that’s a lot!

Let no one say I don’t listen to my readers!

Unfortunately I don’t have all the answers. I’m not the accomplished expert on this topic, just a fellow struggler on the road that somehow, somewhere leads to Christ likeness. (Unless you define expert the way I like too – then I am a expert! Expert = “A drip under pressure.” That would be me!)

I want to look at that verse again, and look at another phrase from it:

Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
Psalms 86:11 (NIV)

When people ask me about this topic I almost always say that I’ve been working on my “heart issues” for years now. The last four years in particular it has been an overshadowing presence in nearly everything I’ve done.

From mission trips, to recovery, to dieting to dating; working on opening up my hard heart has been behind it all. It all stems from the realization (revelation, whatever) that hit me on my first trip to Myanmar about the rather sad, divided conditon of my heart.

Since then I’ve worked very hard, with varying degrees of success on trying to end the compartmentalization of my heart. It’s been a long, tough road. I’ve had a lot of encouragement along the way, and am grateful to all of you who have cheered me on. I’ve also encountered a lot of misunderstanding and even some opposition as well. All part of the process.

It’s been a lot of work for me.

Which makes David’s words all the more compelling to me. He asks God to “give me an undivided heart.”

Give? What’s up with that? You mean I’ve been working all these years for something I could just have recieved as a gift from God? No work, no struggle, no hassle, it just sort of comes to me down out of the sky?

I don’t think so.

I do believe that ultimately an undivided heart is a gift from God, and cannot even be approached much less achieved without Him, His Spirit, grace, Word, etc.

But I also believe you have to struggle to get there.

All of which shouldn’t have come as such a surprise to me I suppose. After all Salvation is a gift isn’t it? Yet how often do we remember what Paul said?

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed–not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence–continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)

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I came across this verse today, it’s one that I’ve looked at before, and it always arrests my attention.

Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
Psalms 86:11 (NIV)

There’s a couple of phrases here that I’m thinking about right now. The first one is “an undivided heart.” Not exactly a modern expression is it?

That’s too bad because it ought to be!

We live in a time and a culture which both creates and is cursed by divided hearts. Most of us have far too many irons in the fire, too many people and things all competing for our attention and demanding first place in our lives.

We usually respond by giving each of them a little piece of our hearts. My job gets this one, family that one, friends another one, community service yet another, oh and don’t forget yourself – after all you deserve a break today right?

Oh yes, and then there’s God. Hmmm, not much left, but I’ll scrounge around and find something for Him!

So we end up over committed and under satisfied. Our little hearts filled with divided loyalities, interests and duties. All of them given some attention, but few if any of them are really given the right amount of time.

Somehow in all of this God seems to come in last. He gets what’s left, which is usually precious little of our time, talent, treasure and energy.

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Sorry to be so slow getting back to regular blogging, but beating this case of Jet Lag is proving a little harder than usual.

At any rate, I’m going to try and get with the program – so here goes!

I’ve thinking about how odd preaching can be at times. Sunday was just such a day, and I’ve been thinking about it ever sense.

I preached the 9th sermon in my current series “Encountering Christ.” This one was on the resurrection of Lazarus. We are running two services right now, so of course I preached the “same sermon” twice Sunday morning.

Only they weren’t the same sermon at all.

Of course there’s always going to be some differences between messages. Even if you read your messages, which I don’t, you’ll say somethings differently. Since I preach off an outline that’s usually pretty bare, mine tend to vary quite a bit.

But Sunday I felt like I was doing two different messages, even though I was using the same outline. I had my usual share of compliments after first service, but I wasn’t all that happy with it. I tended to stumble over words, have longer than usual awkward pauses, etc. “Blame it on the jet lag,” I kept telling myself.

Second service was very different. It wasn’t just that I’d had some practice, I felt very different. There seemed to be more passion and power in the message, and I couldn’t tell you why.

I just know it was there, and it moved people. I usually burn both messages on CD’s and take them home to consider which message I’ll use to put up on the web and make copies of. I didn’t even bother Sunday, I just took second service, there was no doubt in my mind which was the better message.

If you want to hear it you can check out the church site’s Sermon Page and see if you think it’s a moving message or not!

As for me, well I don’t often even attempt to explain why these things happen or how. I just accept it as part of the art, not science, of preaching and let it go at that.

It’s enough for me to be in the moment and hopefully be used by the Spirit to comfort, challange, convict and clairify God’s Word and will for His people. Such a calling isn’t anywhere close to easy, but it’s more than satisfying when you let yourself be used by God.

Because that’s what life is really all about.

Hello again everyone!

I am back from my two week short term mission trip to Myanmar. I got in last night at 9:20 PM. Woke up at 6 AM, preached two services, did the Pot Luck, put today’s second service online at the church site’s Sermon Page and then this afternoon went to the county fair to sing with Nexus, the band I’m in.

After two weeks in hot and extremely humid Myanmar/Burma, it’s cold and cloudy and very windy here in the Arizona desert! I nearly froze! When it was finally our turn to sing we did two of our three song set before it started raining and we had to quit!

Am I Jetlagged? Oh yeah!

I’ll return to regular blogging either, which I’m taking off, or Tuesday!

Thanks for visiting the site so much while I was gone, it’s very encouraging to return and find my hits hadn’t totally gone into the toilet!

God bless and I’ll be blogging soon!  – Louie