I enjoy reading and thought I would recommend three books that are incredibly short, but incredibly deep. In fact, they will forever change HOW you think about various weighty matters in life:


First -- "Knowledge of the Holy" by A. W. Tozer. This book is a short (less than 200 pages) book on the nature of God and how we think about him. The book opens with the sentence, "What comes to your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you," and it never looks back. It will put God in a righteous perspective, and challenge your own thinking on the matter. (NOTE: this book is in the Grace bookstore).

Second -- "Ideas Have Consequences" by Richard Weaver. This is more of a philosophy and culture book. Again, less that 200 pages, Weaver challenges the notion that words are relative in their meaning and, amazingly, predicts almost with exactness the evolution of culture in the 20th century even though he wrote it almost 70 years ago. For those of you who want to truly understand how media, art, historical perspective, and cultural relativism impact our culture today and the way we think, this book is for you. Read it slowly though... it takes a lot of thought.

Third -- "The Calvary Road" by Roy Hession. Perhaps the best devotional book I can recommend. It truly takes the idea of the Cross of Christ and all that Jesus gained for us there, and breaks it down into a simple, basic understanding for daily life. After you read this book you will never want to sin again, but, more importantly, you will never want to hide your sin again. There is always cleansing when we walk the Calvary road. (NOTE: this book is also in our bookstore).

I hope these books might find their way on your summer reading list.

Jeremy

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I woke up early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. My mind was running. Same thing happened the night before. Ahhh... When I get going too fast internally I find that it shows up in different ways. That's one. I kick it in gear all day, and I have a hard time slowing down when I get home. I don't sleep as well.

Steve Sjogren mentioned to me once the phrase the "speed of soul" - I love it. Our bodies can run at a pace faster than our souls. We have the ability to produce adrenalin and kick it up a notch when it's necessary. Living at that pace, day after day, isn't healthy. It's also not productive in the long-run.

Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz wrote the book, The Power of Full Engagement. The authors help professional athletes train. Many athletes actually over train. They don't allow their body sufficient time to recover and gain full strength. By training so hard without rest, they are actually losing efficiency and effectiveness. They can maximize their output by getting into a healthy rhythm of stress (workout) and rest.

So here's to the SPEED OF SOUL - living with a healthy rhythm of work, rest, family, and fun. Starting your day with a big drink of God - reading His Word and prayer gets you off to a great start.

Be still, and know that I am God. (Psa 46:10)

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So I'm kind of known as the backward tech person on staff. I still use a day planner and notepad instead of a blackberry or iPhone. I don't have a Facebook page, never have, nor ever will, had a MySpace account. I just got cable TV last August, and I'm totally lost on the multiple applications that Google mail, calendar, etc. offers. But this week I stepped into the tech revolution known as Twitter (www.twitter.com).

If you are into keeping up with people online, or blogging, or Facebooking, I recommend it... heck I recommend it even if you aren't. Here are a few reasons why:

First -- it doesn't take much time -- you only have 140 characters per post, so the most you can write is a sentence or two. Likewise the most you will read is a sentence or two on any given person.

Second -- you learn kewl things about those you know. For example, I know Arielle had two latte's before 11am this morning because she was flying to KC to visit her sister. I know Kendrick saw "Slumdog Millionaire" with his wife on a date night, and I know Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, is officiating his sisters wedding this weekend.

Finally -- if you "follow" the right people you can get some cutting edge news. For example, I know that Time Magazine considers "New Calvinism" (a Bible-based theology) the third most influential "new idea" today. It will be included in the next edition of the magazine. However, I've already seen a preview of the article and reviewed several responses from some of my favorite preachers and theologians. Kewl stuff.

So... if you have cold feet, just jump in like I did. Check out Twitter. Oh yeah, feel free to follow me. I'm jgwaltney325.

Bless,
Jeremy

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So... after Jonathan's comment about NC State fans looking forward to badminton season... I just wanted to make this comment...






NC State won the women's gymnastics national championship this year. Take that Mr. Love!

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Here's an update from Emiko Davison, a photographer traveling with our medical team in Honduras. They are having a great time and changing the world with the love of Jesus - practically and spiritually.

hi, friends.
we had the most prfound experience yesterday.
half of us went to visit the hospital in the afteroon and then delivered two bags of 30lb food to two familiies.
the woman came out and she was crying. she had completely ran out of food and was wondering how she was going to feed her family with three children. she said she prayed and prayed as she got a call from church that we were coming.
God answered her prayer and it was such a great testimony for all of us who witnessed there right at her house. her house is more or less a small hut constructed with corrugated metal boards and plastic. pigs and dogs were roaming along the river and trash strewn all over along the river. it was the first time i saw something like this , but I was awestruck by her faith and God's grace. please read Matthew 25. the scripture is alive!!

love,
emiko

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Get ready for this... Kendrick is leading a technology seminar. A bit scary, huh?

Back to the fax machine.

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If you're concerned about what movies your kids watch (and the ones you watch too) and wish you had a way to know what was coming without ruining the movie, then voila... Plugged In.

Plugged In reviews all the latest movies in the theaters - as well as you can search their pretty extensive movie database. They give a brief overview of the movie and then look at the following: positive elements, spiritual content, sexual content, violent content, crude or profane language, drug and alcohol content, other negative elements, and conclusion.

They give a pretty balanced overview while sniffing out all the negative elements. You can easily determine what is appropriate for your standards.

I love movies. Nonetheless, we shouldn't mindlessly drink in all that Hollywood puts out. Paul said in Philippians, " whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

Enjoy the movies. Love the Scriptures. Drink in God.

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