See results of my new video camera on You-Tube

Well, I just got a new video camera and tried it out today. It is a Flip Camera with 8 gigs of on- board memory. I got out my guitar and played a classical piece by Francisco Tarrega called Estudio in E minor. Then I uploaded it to You-tube. You can click on this link to see it on You-tube. Check it out. Ed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll3mnom9hvk

I turned myself in!

The Whitehouse

Well, I did it. I turned myself in. I learned from Fox News about the White House Blog that drew fire for suggesting that its supporters send in e-mails to flag@whitehouse.gov turning in e-mails, rumors, or even casual conversations with "fishy information" about HR 3200, the Health Care Reform bill. Well, I'm as full of fishy information as anyone so I turned myself in and sent this e-mail to the above address:



Dear flag (whoever you are),
I hereby turn myself in for holding "fishy notions" about HR 3200, the supposed "health care reform" bill. I have the fishy notion that you want to control as much of every one's life from cradle to grave as possible. Don't worry, I didn't get that notion from reading the 1,100 page bill. Heaven knows I would never take a step that other reps in Congress would not bother to take. But I hear some say that the bill contains provisions to provide govt. funding for abortions. We'll never know till the bill passes (largely unread) and such actions are taken to crank up increased "family planning" procedures. I also hear that there may be population control measures implied in the bill (also unknowable unless one reads the bill and interprets the legalese within it.) And speaking of wackiness, someone said the bill contains language to encourage the elderly to just go ahead and drop dead and do us all a favor, some kind of "end of life" counseling every five years. But we'll never know because no one will actually read the thing (certainly not me or anyone else in Congress for that matter.) Some also declare, in a fishy, wacky way, that major funding for this bill will come from discovering savings in the Medicare program meaning that we will begin rationing health care services to the elderly in this country. Oh well, it's gotta come from somewhere, and after all, we will be counseling them to take advantage of some "end of life" options anyway. Kudos for working hard to take over another 1/6th of the American economy. Well, there you have it, I have more "fishy" ideas, but I won't take time to bore you with them here. At any rate, like the good, compliant citizen I am, I hereby turn myself in to you. So, flag ol' boy, what do you plan to do about it? I know you're already watching me, after all, I've been to a "tea" party or two. I'm one of those "right wing wackos" who just might infiltrate into a town hall meeting and stir up something irrational and, well, fishy! Oh yes, I've carried a sign or two at protest meetings, a real nut job, eh? And yes, I plan to keep it up as long as the first amendment stays in place to protect my right to be as fishy as I choose to be. Sincerely, Citizen Ed

She read the entire health care bill, Listen and Learn!

Fred Thompson

Right now so much is being said about the health care bill and naturally we wonder what is and isn't factual truth and what might be hype and fiction. Well, how about this! Below is a link to an 8 minute audio track of a call in conversation between former New York Lt. Governor Betsy McCaughey and Fred Thompson on the Fred Thompson show. The link will take you to Fred Thompson's site and (after a brief pause) will start the interview. This lady has read the entire bill and knows what she is talking about. Listen to what she says about HR 3200, the Health Care Reform Bill being considered in Congress.

Betsy McCaughey former New York, Lt. Gov. Interview with Fred Thompson July 16, 2009Patient Advocate and Founder of the Committee to Reduce Infectious Deaths Betsy McCaughey calls in the show.
http://tw8.us/if

I won again for the third time!

My caption: "Is this the 12-step group for recovering non-conformists?"

I picked up the latest edition of the Leadership Magazine, turned to page 92, and found out that, for the third time, I am a winner in the caption contest. The cartoon and caption I submitted are above. Other captions submitted included:

• After 13 years of doing leadership training classes, Pastor Ray found he was completely beside himself. (Scott Mueller)
• Ed decided not to report the copier problem (Neil Young)
• "John Maxwell was right:'You teach what you know, but you reproduce what you are.'" (Ray Jones)
• "Welcome to your first Anonymous Anonymous Meeting." (Dolly Bilstad)
• "Is this the seminar on identity theft?" (Deborah Griffin)
• Bob finally found a church where he wouldn't have to compromise. (Doug Spinney)
• Stunned, Brother Ed realized he had forgotten to check an important box on the eHarmony compatibility form. (John Beukema)

The artist who drew the cartoon is Tim Walburg

Enjoy! Ed

The Twofold Meaning of the Lamb

Image of the Lamb of God

After 37 years in ministry, it is a serendipity for me when I read something that is a new insight for me. I had such an insight when reading a book by Dan Stone and David Gregory called "The rest of the Gospel (When the partial Gospel has worn you out)" (2000, One Press, Corvallis, Oregon) The fifth chapter unfolds the picture of the Passover in Exodus 12 explaining that the purpose of the lamb's blood was to save the life of the first-born in each family when the blood was sprinkled over the doorposts of each Hebrew house. The authors went on to explain that the blood of the lamb was only part of the story. The meat of the lamb was also provided for the family to eat to provide nourishment in preparation for the beginning of the journey from slavery in Egypt out of bondage into freedom and the inheritance of a new homeland in Canaan. We have a tendency to think about the blood of the lamb, but forget to think about the meat of the lamb as God's provision.





Likewise, Jesus blood is provided to us for the forgiveness of sin, but his body is also provided to us for nourishment. Jesus is, for us, the bread of life. We are to remember that during our time of communion. It is common to think of the shed blood of Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But we only see half the picture if we fail to think of Jesus as the lamb who was slain and eaten in preparation of the journey out of slavery. This is the theme of Jesus sermon in John 6 which he preached to the crowds the day after he fed over 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes. The crowds liked it when Jesus miraculously provided food to the masses, but they were unimpressed when Jesus called himself the "bread of life." Jesus told the crowds, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:51 NIV) At this point many in the crowds left him and many of his disciples also left him. They didn't want to hear this even though it was a major theme of his message concerning himself.





For the believer, Jesus is the Lamb of God, and his provision as the Lamb is twofold. The blood of the lamb is for salvation from the prospect of death, and his flesh is provided as our nourishment and sustenance in life. The experience of Jesus on the cross, and our connection to Jesus at the cross, is twofold as well. We thank God for the blood of Christ which cleanses us from sin, but we also need to see our connection to Jesus as the bread of life, who becomes the very life source of all who died with Jesus when he died on the cross. Romans 6 explains that connection to Christ at the cross where we died along with him and were raised up to a newness of life with him. Jesus is now our life itself. Our connection to him is permanent, and it is from him that we draw our nourishment. The message Jesus gave that was rejected by the masses in John 6, is the source for our lives in connection to Him. Jesus is the bread of life. our connection to Him is the very basis for our life as children of God. We need to see both the blood and the body of Christ when we look at the cross. See the forgiveness and the nourishment coming from our connection with Christ at the cross.

How to locate your Congressional Reps.

US Capitol Building:

Pam Hall sent me an e-mail with information about how to easily get in touch with your Senators and Congressional Representative. With us needing to get in touch with these people on so many things being considered by Congress these days. This is really important. Therefore, the information is listed balow:

How to locate and email your senators and representative:

Go to http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
Type in your zip code and hit "Submit It"

Thinking about Leisure Time

"Rest" by Ola Jacobsen

Having just returned from some leisure time in Illinois followed up by three days in Port Aransas, my thoughts turn naturally to the subject of rest and relaxation. Through the years I have often heard certain people brag about never taking a day off and never going on a vacation. It seems that a minority of preachers and missionaries I have known fall into this R and R avoidance category. It seems to me that they didn't just avoid time off; their non-stop work endeavors were worn as a badge of honor. Spouting such cliches as, "I'd rather wear out than rust out," these folks use the "hard work" angle to prove their superiority over the lazy masses around them. Maybe it's just me, but I can't help but detect that these people don't seem to be doing themselves any favors by always staying "on the clock" so to speak. I remember one clergy couple in particular who's argumentative behavior with each other and most people around them, practically screamed out, "I need a good nap!"

Naturally, a topic like this lends itself to the proverbial question, "What would Jesus do?" Fortunately, we can do better than that by looking at Mark 6 to observe one of Jesus' busiest days of ministry. We can look at what Jesus did do and encouraged his disciples to do with him. Jesus had just sent his men out two by two into area villages to preach and brought them back together for a de-briefing session. The text then records (Mark 6:31), "Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'" Thinking about the King James verbiage of this text I remember a preacher's admonition to "come ye apart" or else you will come apart (literally). Jesus is also the one who said, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) While Jesus was certainly a hard working man himself, I can't imagine him boasting about "wearing out rather than rusting out." The most amazing thing about Jesus' leisure time was that he seemed to spend most of it in prayer in a place where he was able to be alone. It seems that for Jesus, communion with Abba Father was blissful relaxation of the best kind. He was not only favorable to relaxation, his rest was spent in union with the Father. If only we could learn to "clock out" the way Jesus did as he talked to God in a quiet and lonely place. Consider Jesus admonition, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Think about that for a while.