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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370919542016-06-26T11:41:17.625-05:00Morning RushTerry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-78990627319479685622016-06-26T09:06:00.001-05:002016-06-26T09:07:25.485-05:00MOVE FROM THE PRACTICAL TO THE POSSIBLEGod's story is a fascinating one. You and I recall the impossible becoming possible throughout Holy Writ. The world is in danger of missing God while each spends a bit of time on earth because the church has made a dramatic shift from possibility to practicality. If we use our best business minds and not our best believing hearts we will produce and reproduce a stagnant sort detached from the wild array of Holy Spirit avenues.

God's ways are not our ways. This needs to be one of my constant reminders. He does the impossible through impossible people....just like me. The fascinating thing about this to me is that He never used any other kind. Moses hesitated and Esther hedged. We want the God-sized work; but we continue to believe that this needs to fit within our human-minded framework and chart-able ledgers.

God won't fit into boring routine. He is, after all, known as Creator to the Universe. The sun, moon, and stars obey Him. We will want to continually try to fit into His capacity rather than seeking Him to fit into ours. He has places to go and people to see....through us! Let's go for it!!!Terry Rushhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-14271022476630993102016-06-24T08:48:00.002-05:002016-06-24T08:48:58.333-05:00WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE?What is it going to take to reach the entire world with the powerful good news that Jesus is the resource for hope? What can be thought, said, or done to make aggressive impact on our neglected, our forgotten, our lonely, and our broken? I believe that the hope lies within one mighty seed of human behavior that will stun society and shake the world.

Humility.

It is going to take humble spirits to wreak favorable havoc in a dark and selfish state...of which each of us tends to participate. From top to bottom and side to side the range of personalities all have one thread in common; we are impaired because the cream of self-awareness perpetually rises to the top. Jesus devastated such aggression.

What is it going to take? This is such a monumental question because we already understand the question and know the answer. Yet, we struggle to attain it. Humility appears to be not so simple. It takes the grandest self-sacrifice known to the heart of any man or woman. Yet, we treat the subject as if it is a rather sweet character and a mild disposition like trying to be good. Hardly.

Humility was the commitment of Jesus. He was beaten, tortured, and died due to the truth that He could elevate each of us above himself. In humility Best regarded us as superior. It is within this framework that compassion is both allowed and then executed.

What is it going to take to inspire the church, reach the neighbor, and change the world? It will not be due to church affiliate nor will it be because we regularly sit in church buildings. It will only be because and when we can express authentic humility that there will be a hopeful surge of renewal.

For myself, I have yet to master this element of the Christian walk. Many of you could attest to this from your experience with me. Yet, it is the call and the direction of every believer. Until we each grasp the truth that we are the least in any room, we will take up a few waking hours seeking or serving, proving or disproving; but we will not make impact like Jesus.

We are encouraged (no, called) to take up our crosses and follow him....day by day. As we drag them through the streets, visible to all, may we dare hold the bravery to look bad in order to make even our enemies look good. This....it what it is going to take to awaken a society which has rocked itself to sleep by our rampant self-serving. Via the eyes of humility we are able to see the value of every man and every woman regardless of religious (or non) bent, educational level, or independent callings.

What is it going to take....practically speaking?

We must never write any person off as hopeless. Jesus was always mingling among, what the religious leaders posed as, the wrong crowd. We must get over the sense that what we each think, individually, is what God thinks. Only by a downward shift will we truly be open to the upward call. God has mighty and magnificent things in store for His children. We must be open to changing our minds, reversing some courses, and redirecting ministerial energies in order to discover more clearly what it is going to take to win the most souls in this day and time.

This might be a portion of what it is going to take....to reach more, teach more, be more.

Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-12553493543865485662016-06-23T09:19:00.001-05:002016-06-23T09:22:07.127-05:00IF "BEYOND IMAGINATION" WOULD BE EXERCISEDYou know that one of my all-time favorite verses is from Ephesians 3:20; Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask of think, according to the power that works within us... God is able to do the big three--exceedingly, abundantly, beyond--according to the power of the Holy Spirit who works within (see the text, Eph. 3:14-21). I'm proposing that each of us has light-years of advancement to make regarding this electrifying fact.

Fear shouldn't be a factor. Faith should be.

The very nature of faith is to walk where there is no path. Human nature wants routine, management, and eventual control. This is why the WORD ONLY rule was spun in years past as it effectively skirted the Holy Spirit involvement which will not be controlled by human judgment. One of the phrases often quoted to me when arriving as a young preacher at Memorial was the warning: We don't want any surprises. And guess what? We had none. All went according to the controlled thermostat of manly correctives with no room for the what if, what could be twins of Holy Spirit possibility.

What would it be like if we could continue to mature in the beyond imagination exercises of the faith walk? What is it about our stances that we would discover it difficult to fulfill the doctrine of this Ephesians text? Why would leaders hedge on this most impacting Word that would let the church productively soar?

The probe begins with me (of course, yours begins with you). For 40 years beginning in the auditorium in Quincy, Illinois I would spend time with God asking that He help me/use me/guide me to reach the whole world. I want to impact the have-nots, the has-beens, and the could-bes. I hunger to reach even the strongest churches/leaders who are strong on regulation of church pattern and weak on relationship with Jesus. I need all of this.

Would any of you need a nudge to move off of what you might regard as live-center when its rote movement coupled with repetitive phrases has left you quite stuck on dead-center? I think so. Due to the immeasurable size of God and the lavish work of the Spirit, I believe this need to be of constant wonder and hope.

What system have you developed that works well for controlling people; yet, it simultaneously blocks the adventuresome Spirit. I believe many of our congregations are in serious trouble. Our blindness to doing-things-the-way-we-have-always-done-them doctrine is drooping; not just in the smaller congregations, but the larger ones as well. If the Spirit of God isn't leading, then we must be. And if we are, our energy will eventually begin fade with age. The good news is that if our ministry is of the Spirit, we are newer and more energized for it day by day (II Cor. 4:16).

So, Terry, what is it exactly that you think we should consider? Wouldn't we make progress if we moved from preserving the church to engaging with Father? Wouldn't it be something if we could dare let go of those controls which we believe provides us security and then actually step out into the swollen waters of the Red Sea to experience what God could do? Are our congregations supplying energy to the lower grades, interest to the high-schoolers, but finding that the college group begins to wither on the vine right before our very eyes? This is one challenge to see if we are providing form or are we offering life.

What I'm suggesting is not that we focus upon an age group; but upon our system of weakening safety...our adamant insistence that we set the organization in motion, keep it under our control, and hope that new families move in. The Spirit of God is all about three stretches to the human heart; excessive, abundant, beyond. Contrarily, self wants regulation in the name of prudence, management, and non-disturbance.

We do not want to be caught off-guard. This is major to our humanistic effort to walk with God. We don't want to appear different from our conservative critics so we walk in safety of reservation. When this goes on we find that we have not died to self; although that doctrine is one of our favorite discussions in Bible classes. Rather, we have died to kingdom expansion.

IF "BEYOND IMAGINATION" WOULD BE EXERCISED, we would find wowing and wonderful supplies and surprises of God. I experience this at times and so do many of you. May we cheer the church on to letting go and letting God....even when we thought that in itself was nothing but a mere slogan. It is more than a slogan. It is the call of the Spirit to the flesh; Move over!

Terry Rushhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-70933650775378878922016-06-18T09:39:00.001-05:002016-06-18T09:45:06.584-05:00GOD: FACT OR FICTION?Is there really a God? Is the idea that Christians put forth as to His reality some sort of inherited fabrication merely perpetuated by family lineage? Does God exist? Or, is this idea a hoax of silliest dimension by the thoughtless or weak-minded? I understand the questions. They are usually honest.

Probing minds which search are willing to give fair evaluation as to whether there is anything substantive to believing in the invisible God. So let's talk about some things we already believe by faith because we see results. Too, we regard them as most common which, I believe, makes the idea of faith feasible as well as most practical.

While the probe could take us into various zones of useful assistance, let's consider one idea for now. Is it really possible that there is life after death? Is the concept of Heaven legitimate? Or, is this mere folklore in order to keep the church attendance thriving? I believe the life-after-death issue is both defining as well as clarifying as well as convincing.

Is there a "back again" dynamic among us? Or is this, once again, the grandest of wishful thinking? We are free to probe as well as imagine. Therefore, I would point us to a couple of things we can clearly grasp with hope that a seeker might give the spiritual evaluation credibility.

How many times, as a child, did you ponder on a quiet summer day the activity of what we called the woolly worm? Yes, we believed. We believed that in some wild and unexplainable process this fuzzy crawler would one day take off in flight. Our faith thought that transformation would one day occur.

The promise of resurrection/transfiguration remains one of the greatest artistries of the Creator to this day!

Okay, so we have the caterpillar/butterfly concept. Are you convinced that life after death is of possibility? Or is this just another matter of wishful believing which has no actual bearing on the reality of life? Do you think there is life and then death and then nothing? Nada? It's done?

I don't blame any who question. We need to/want to know. Is faith legitimate or hoaky? I propose that this is serious stuff. We would like some sort of signal that there is actuality beyond the grave. So I encourage you that there really is reallyness; even once we die.

One of my personal convincers for my questioning mind is that of a seed. It is never planted to become what it already is. Wouldn't that be weird if planting three kernels of corn in a garden hill would produce three kernels of corn? So first, seed it is sown just hoping (on the part of the sower) that it will die. And if it will die it will become...more...more than it could have ever imagined.

Every cornfield is God's chemistry lab doing all it can to persuade seekers that there really is life after death. Seed is planted. It must die in order to give birth to a newer, larger, more detailed order.

God: fact or fiction? I believe He gives us ample reason to believe for He shows us in beautiful simplicity season by season.

Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-73119166147817563022016-06-17T09:08:00.002-05:002016-06-17T09:11:10.522-05:00WHAT IN THE HEAVEN IS GOING ON HERE?How many times we find ourselves living in that negative (but real world) of, It seems to be just one thing after another!

This pattern seems to create one big question. Can there be hope when there are no signs of any on the horizon? Are there simply not pockets of loneliness or defeat that would seem to officially cancel any reasonable expectation of hope?

One of the aspects of faith that I find so extremely legitimate is that what society needs most God offers most. The ancient one's, Abraham, trademark was that of hope. Hope when there was none to be calculated according to the human mind. This is where faith knocks at the doors of our hearts. Would you please open the door that I might show you an alternative way to living?, the gentle voice pleads.

By unexplainable (and really, unreasonable) perspective known as faith, the Bible says that Abraham went out not knowing where he was going. Really? Headed out to succeed...while directionless? Wouldn't this image be more of goof-ball than faith? And then later he and Sarah had their firstborn when they were the age of the baby's great-grandparents. Oh, that waiting period surely would have given them time to doubt God's promises of having a child. But, no, they would not quit hoping.

And then there's that other time when this newborn grew up to be a hunk of a young man and God asked Abraham to sacrifice this boy upon a woodpile. In his heart against hearts, Abraham prepared to do what God wanted with definite and incomplete unawareness as to what in the Heaven was going on here. Abraham did it; no assurance that this wasn't just his wild imagination, no manual, no counselor, no hint of reason why. And God intervened.

At one juncture Abraham and aged wife were childless with nothing but a promise from God that they would eventually become very key parents. Decades passed. No baby. In their what would have been their great-grandparent years, they were pregnant! And we want faith to fit our reasonable style? To ice the faith cake, this most treasured one God gave them was later required of God to be offered as a sacrifice...by his most aged dad.

What? They had waited oh so long. Just how dear, dear, extremely dear must this lad have been in mother's eyes? Say it ain't so God. Oh, please say it ain't so. Say we aren't hearing you correctly? But...okay...you gave him to us and we trust you...by faith...so....okay. We believe that even if he die, you know how to bring him back to life. Okay, God. We're okay with this.

We call this living with nothing more than a promise and a prayer. And, yes, we call this living! Don't be afraid to believe God at what may seem to be the most obviously wrong times.Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-80515284904763249812016-06-16T08:48:00.000-05:002016-06-16T08:50:12.209-05:00HE AGONIZED OVER US
And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. Luke 22:44

The above is extracted from a scene in the Garden as Jesus faced execution. He agonized during deep and penetrating prayer as he approached his assignment to die that the world would have hope. He wasn't reluctant. He was driven to offer legitimate reason for the rest of us to hope.

You do get it, don't you, that we are called to follow his steps? You do get it, don't you, that church life isn't about whether you like the preacher or the music? You do get it, don't you, that the world around us cannot get well until followers of Jesus die for the enemy? Right?

We are living in heavy, serious, times. Complexity confuses. Discouragement distracts. Yet, real honest hope is to be found in this One who faced the cross head on. Many of our hang-nail ailments might dissipate when we persistently grow into the true nature of being believers by living/dying that the wounded might be healed from their intensely discouraging days, months, and years.

Jesus did not say, Take up your songbook and follow me. Nor did He call out, Be sure to find the church that both comforts you and notices you. Not quite. He agonized over us...and then handed us the like-painful baton. And. We. Will. Not. Flinch.

Terry Rushhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-77648390002313709432016-06-15T14:34:00.002-05:002016-06-15T14:40:15.780-05:00HEY. YOU MIGHT WANT TO KEEP WHAT I'M ABOUT TO TELL YOU UNDER YOUR HAT.There's a slick talker roaming within each of our own minds pushing a propaganda of sorts. It's a snow job on how bad others are doing, looking, or being while we rationalize within our biased heads that we are above all of the them and they failings. If they would only... If they could just see themselves... Why, if they were as quick... or as smart...or as... Oh how we do carry on within ourselves about our obvious (but subtle) superiority.

And...because of this selfie-attitude, our communities are in a world of hurt? Why? Because we are a dishonest mess. We profess that our failings are only slight and if they should be desperately visible we admit we have them; but we tend to blame someone else for our lack hoping to get ourselves off of the hook. Really, we are no better than any neighbor. No better.

Society is on the prowl for something; something meaningful, something rich, something far beyond the stagnating routine of normal. Fortunately, many have the drive within to still want to find that treasure; to get there. Be encouraged. There is a grand secret embedded within the rolling hills of life's pursuit. Brennan Manning (I just love this man's heart) mentioned that when G. K. Chesterton's detective priest, Father Brown, is asked how he could be so astute as to get into a criminal's mind, he answers that it came from the discovery that he is a criminal himself.

Before I quote his next paragraph, hear well what is said. To get into a criminal's mind one must discover that he is a criminal himself. At that point, one will know how a criminal thinks. God's genius already knew this. If Father was to get into man's mind, he absolutely would need to become a man himself. And that He did. We know him as Jesus. No Divine one ever understood us better than the one who became as we.

No man's really any good, Chesterton continued, till he knows how bad he is, or might be; till he's realized how much right he has to all this talk of "criminals," as if they were apes in a forest ten thousand miles away; till he's got rid of all the dirty self-deception of talking about low types and deficient skills; till he's squeezed out the last drop of the oil of the Pharisees; till his only hope is somehow or other to have captured one criminal, and kept him safe under his own hat.

Should you be inclined to have a yearning to tell another how low and sinful someone else is, we will all do well to keep it under our own hat. It is at this point in one's life that genuine good begins to come forth. Hurrah for Jesus showing us how. No man is any good until he knows how bad he is. This fact would transform the church into a mighty influence of both substantial relief and authentic hope...and it would let the neighborhood in.Terry Rushhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-59276664452145459072016-06-12T09:18:00.001-05:002016-06-12T09:18:53.461-05:00JUST WHEN YOU THINK THAT IT CAN'T GET WORSEI think about you, dear reader. I wouldn't know personally the many who have signed on to reading these posts. But be assured, I write with you in mind...every day. My calling is to cheer you on when other voices may have gone temporarily hoarse...or even silent. You are worthy of encouragement for you are created in His image.

Life is very broken. This is one of the strongest verifications that the Bible is true. Its story begins in the Garden and not one person has broken the code for recovery other than Jesus. That gives us motivation to learn of him because Jesus broke brokenness.

Be not discouraged...even when it is deemed intensely so. See through it. Such is a fake trying to mislead you; trying to convince you that life only gets worse. It doesn't. Just when you think that it can't get worse....it can get better. That's a good, new, even adventurous twist.

God isn't around to ruin our Sunday schedules; making us go to church when we'd rather golf, fish, or read. No, God is around to pump hope, and joy, and life into our hearts. He lived--and died--and arose--to affirm that the bad days are significantly ugly; but are no match for profound resurrection power. You and I get to live in resurrection power; not just someday beyond the cemetery, but right now.

So just when you think that it can't worse is the very time to remember that the best is already here...right now! Do what you can to drop the worry from around and lean into the promises from above.Terry Rushhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-46452801429601705142016-06-10T08:13:00.000-05:002016-06-10T08:19:31.538-05:00WHEN YOU'VE ABOUT HAD IT WITH YOURSELF.Jim Cymbala makes an astute statement when wording, Just as our culture in general is taken up with a victim mentality, where everything is somebody else's fault, to be relieved by psychotherapy, government handouts, or litigation, so in the church people are saying, "It's the devil's fault.
Don't blame me." No wonder there is little brokenness of spirit among us.

Broken. Oh how I don't like that word. I can't imagine ever liking that feeling of sheer yuckness that leaves us empty; oh so lonely and empty. Yet, it's where I live, where we live, as well we should.

To avoid occasional inner shattering, we build defense by blaming...some thing or some one. But life won't flow from such a hideout. Each of us is in desperate need of a stabilizing thread; admission combined with confession. We gain momentum when I can admit that it is me that is off-center, it is me that doesn't have my act together, and it is me who is the greater sinner of any other person I would know.

Yet, that's just one-half of the stability force. The other portion is the confession that while we can't, God can. Life, productive and meaningful life, is executed from His muscle; not mine. That Positive Thinking Rally slogan of the 70s, If it is to be, it is up to me, is quite the misnomer. If anything is to be it is up to Him. I (we) haven't the strength nor the mental prowess to orchestrate the big and needed moves for uplifting a broken world.

This is why we believe...in the One who can. This is why we pray. This is why we read the Word to absorb one more time the can do of God. It is from this framework that we set out to reach the whole world...or maybe overcome a moment of discouragement.

Try not to fold up wishing to evaporate when you don't get life done well. If you can, tell God thank you that you can't; but you know that He can. When you've about had it up to here with yourself, you can be assured....God has great work going on in you.Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-42228373526354815392016-06-09T08:13:00.002-05:002016-06-09T08:16:46.103-05:00HOW TO WIN THE BATTLE OVER DISCOURAGEMENTDiscouragement? That's it? That's the topic? Couldn't I write, possibly, on the exponential thesis of exploratory fabricationalistic momentum? Hasn't the chatter of overcoming discouragement sorta become similar to a beating a dead horse theme? Evidently not, because I (and I'm pretty convinced you) face it head on every day. I recently read that every person despairs one hundred times a day. That's why I wish to cheer on the whole world every day. No one is exempt from being targeted by repetitive bummeristic moments.

Circumstances tend to extract the wind from our sails day by day. So do some people. Uggh! Staying on top of our day with strong emotional health is seriously challenging. And we can do it. Too many cave. I want to do what I can to build rather than dismantle. There is constant hope regardless of the size of a problem or the clamoring of an opposing person.

Recently a comment was said to me that flattened me. It was regarding my work and how I just don't see how ineffective it is. Such was spoken with firm conviction. It hurt my one feeling that I had left. But, I needed this because it shoved me back into that treacherous space where we all live...a hundred times a day. I can't be of much help to the frail and injured if I only know insult and suffering by reading a book of how another(s) experienced it. No, if I'm going to meaningfully grasp the swirling challenges facing you and your turbulent world, I have to experience repeated moments of angst.

And so do you....if you are going to truly live as encouragement to those around you. Hard times hit so that we can understand others when their hard times hit. Nothing frustrating or aggravating is ever a waste.

So one more time I was faced with soaking/bathing in the insult. Every time I have to determine to let such arrows (and many do come our way) bless me rather than slay me. In such moments I am once again challenged to think on the things going right. I know...I preach this all of the time...because hurt continues to spread like thistles. Yet, we are allowed to transform these times to serve us rather than destroy us. Opposing winds simply call for resetting of the sails in order to successfully continue toward our destination.

The next time you would like to get down on a person I would ask you to wonder if possibly such a one has taken a significant series of hits themselves over time. I'm saying they have. Even our critics have had a seriously rough go of it. This calls for our sympathy; not our resentment and surely not our rebellion. We live among a wounded humanity. Regardless of social status, all individuals at every level encounter the darts and arrows of devastating comments. It is a routine way of a fundamentally thoughtless life.

What we want to do is twofold; (1) we want to live in sympathy for the ones doing the injuring for these have been dreadfully hurt, and (2) we must be determined to shift from personal resentment to loving understanding. Jesus came to earth to be intentionally hurt so that he could have a true feel for what it was like to be something that he and Father and Spirit had never known; what it was like to be a created (but fallen) timid, injured human being. Jesus became flesh to walk through the flesh highs and the flesh lows. He. Gets. Us.

How do we win over discouragement? We realize that even our bad days are designed to help us have favorable and positive impact on the next person around us who is having a similarly gnarly-bad-ugly-awful day. Even our enemies will win if we can remember why we are called to really live; to offer them an entirely new and heaven-oriented perspective as to how to walk on this earth.

It is here--in our determined hearts--that the battle is victorious over discouragement. We are to care more about the welfare of another than we are about how we are feeling.

Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-13112155733582929452016-06-08T08:13:00.002-05:002016-06-08T08:20:58.115-05:00THE JESUS PERSPECTIVEHope is to reign. If it doesn't, one can be assured that it is antsy to become the heartbeat of our daily walk. When there is hope....well....then there really is hope. Romans 5:1-5 is masterfully pointed that in our good days (and our bad ones) there is ample reason to hope. It is declared to be so strong that no one will be disappointed in its reality for any moment.

Our perspective of Jesus verifies this truth. Once battered and beaten, he eventually succumbed to the pressure of dark and devastating death. The scene was both horrendous as well as notorious. Darkness hovered over the earth as he hung from the Cross as if to say to the Roman guard, I have an announcement from Heaven. You have just killed the Light.

This scene was intentional. It was public. Its account is recorded for all to know. Why? Because awe came about three days later. Jesus arose! He was back. Death didn't, after all, have the last say. From the Jesus perspective, death and all of its cousins went into hiding.

Our hope is never in an earthly person nor a group of people. The church will let you down. Ministers will disappoint. Neighbors will betray and spouses will cause pain. Why is this? Do we not all know better? Of course we do. Yet, everyone of us is caught in a swirl of the dark vs. light argument. These two not only don't get along; they very much oppose each other. Mankind is in an awful fix.

Take a look at the political scene in America. Not only are the parties deeply divided, each party is divided against itself. Division is the trait of a fallen world. We have it within us to get along with others; yet fundamentally we prefer (strongly prefer) that if harmony is to exist one must lean toward our way of thinking.

Churches follow suit. Division within the divisions are too numerous to calculate. To top it off, divisions exist within congregations who fly under the same-name banner. What's this about?

There is a solution; an answer. The response begins with believers believing in Jesus and not in our name-brand system or organization. Unity is anticipated by our Living God. This will bear powerful fruit.

How do we get there? Each of us is to realize that our ideas are not god. Our theories have holes in them. Can we not know truth? Oh, the Bible says we can. And one of the truths I have learned about myself is that I don't know as much as I once believed. Jesus was not my perspective. My doctrinal persuasion was.

So here's what I wish to cheer you on about today. The perspective of Jesus will fortunately cause each of us to dismount from our religious/political high horses. In addition, we will find that care for one another becomes central rather than winning an argument or defending a position. Jesus is to be our perspective and, when he is, life begins to arise from days of darkness and frustration.

Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-6169802426427496472016-06-07T10:53:00.002-05:002016-06-07T10:54:23.657-05:00ENGULFED IN THE WONDER OF THE CHURCHOne must make asserted effort to refrain from living a small life. Our God craves for bigger for us. Yet, our minds are self-convincing that our walk on earth is mainly about us. If not careful, we will shoot ourselves in our own feet and limp through life due to self-infliction of little thinking. With this it seems that each of us clamors for the center stage. From this perspective, life tends to revolve.

We might acknowledge that we know this is a grave mistake to think such. However, there is persistent temptation to make this day (and the next) (and the next) about self. Each of us has inherited a flaw from Adam and Eve. This couple was obsessed with life revolving around themselves and we repeatedly imitate the trend. While we battle for recognition, our faith suffers because, in reality, meaningful life isn't about self. Productive life is higher, wider, deeper, and farther. But, oh how we battle this reality.

In The Broken Church Paul Dawson reflects , The focus is upon the eternal purpose of God, not on my particular (and minuscule) piece of the pie. Yet how often do we judge the validity of the church and of our own faith by the tiny part that we play, what we get, what we understand, and what we perceive is fair? Do we not validate our faith based upon our myopic self-o-scope? Is my life unfolding according to my plan? Is faith working for me? We have missed the entire point. What if life and faith are not even about us?

Engulfed in the life of wonder is to follow Jesus. Real life is the call to live anticipationally; yet, sacrificially. He insisted that if we are to keep our lives we must lose them. Additionally, he is clear that if we lose our lives we will find them. This is risky faith. This is the secret to wonder. Be encouraged to die to self; to your wish, your will, your want. In so doing, a level of life will arise of which each of us dreams.

Watch for the wonder. Place yourself in its realm by being attentive to God and to others. Get ready....to be really blessed!

Terry Rushhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-85425224331520527062016-06-04T08:33:00.000-05:002016-06-04T08:37:09.166-05:00WHEN YOUR HOP CAN'T HOP ANOTHER MINUTEEach person, it seems, has increasingly more activities on our plates. In one way this is good as it means we are functioning. The negative side might mean that we have allowed (or taken on) so much that we find ourselves buried before we ever get to the cemetery. This is a crucial fact about where we live.

For those interferences that come our way, we do learn to make adjustment; even to the point we might find ourselves advantaged. Yet, the lack of personal discipline which finds us likely in over our heads in daily struggle is where I wish to encourage. You likely care about your world and all who are tied in with it.

So I say to you that you might be making life way too difficult by spinning in too many directions. Do you recall the little PacMan yellow face that eats away in puzzle form? We blink and dodge and dart about as if we are little PacMen and PacWomen turning, swiveling, and bouncing; gobbling our own time.

Guilt is placed at our feet if we say No to multiple incoming requests. Frustration weighs on our hearts when we say Yes when what we needed to say (wanted to say) was No. I speak not to the lazy. The lazy don't read this blog. I speak to the productive, the ambitious, the driven. Try not to make simple life way too hard.

So how, might you ask? Practice praying (Oh, you were looking for something new?). Our minds will calm when our spirits are connected to Father. Our walk is not about our image of pleasing people. Jesus didn't and we are to be disciplined, as was he, at drawing the lines. Martha was pretty miffed when Jesus didn't hop to it at the announcement of Lazarus' death.

It is here that we could/should/would find relief. If we are called (as we tend to think) to keep everyone happy, then welcome to the world of eventual failure. This was a very hard lesson for me to learn. If others like you because you always hop to it the day is coming when you have no more hop and they, then, simultaneously have no more support of you.

Each of us must reach a point where we relinquish our desire to serve impressively; pleasing some and keeping others off of our backs. We must know deeply and inwardly by faith that God runs the effectivity of His Show. Serve? Oh, we are in. Everywhere in multiple places all at once...um, that would be where the Spirit of God does the work. Let Him!

Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-73293920821445371572016-06-03T10:09:00.001-05:002016-06-03T10:14:00.461-05:00IS LIFE AFTER DEATH MERELY WISHFUL THINKING?Is Christianity simply a nice element to an already cluttered world or is there a legitimacy which needs to be seriously considered. I believe the latter is the case; yet, I am sympathetic toward any who are not certain. I get it. Would you mind if I share my take on what is a significant question to so many?

I believe that life after death is more than wishful thinking. My conclusion has been reached on the basis of intentional research; not inherited tradition that might include ritualistic habit or whatever indifference. You surely might reach a different conclusion than I; but please....please don't go into eternity with little more than criticism of we religious people who haven't represented God as well as even we had wished.

The reason that a next life is to be believed can come in various formidable facts:

Farmers plant seed in the ground hoping it to die...in order that abundantly more seed arise. The new life is much more seed than was planted. Life comes indeed and even due to death.

Every time one reflects upon today's date a confession is made that Jesus was born. Earth's timetable is an admission that B.C. took a turn into a new calculating system of A.D. Jesus is the reason for the new season.

The Bible can't be eradicated from existence. People have tried. Nations have tried to gather Bibles and burn them in public square. It continues to survive the most organized attacks.

Everyone clearly sees that each of us is composed of flesh and spirit. We are both inner and outer people; two worlds living in stunning combination. The inner includes our attitudes, thoughts, imaginations, etc. The outer is obvious as well. Our dual existence verifies there is a spiritual side to life.

The above items are merely ideas to ponder. Of course, my point is that to believe in life after death is not being superficially gullible as some choose to view the topic. I'm not sure, but I think this issue is basically ignored; not from researched disbelief but from simply not wanting to think about it. Death is what happens to others...so far.

The Word of God calls each on of us to start life over in mid-stream. Born once we are asked that we consider being born again. We are to be born in the flesh and then in the spirit for we are both. The problem arises when we decide that the first birth is the completion of being a person. It isn't.

John 3:3-8 is to be treasured; not debated. Jesus sent his disciples into all of the world hoping the news would spread regarding this very factor, Mt. 28:18-20, equipping them with a message of full, total, and complete personhood. All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Life after death isn't merely wishful thinking. It is substantial and responsible thinking. If one wants to offer thoughtless coffee-shop mocking toward any who believe that God is actual, such a one is surely free to engage in such conversation. I reference this as I might have been in on such conversations in my earlier days.

Every person receives repeated significant messages day by day verifying that this present earthly existence is short-lived. Funerals are a way of life. Even that statement is weird, isn't it? Jesus died on the cross as the absorbent of our sins. Jesus is our exemption. He is the only one who died (and arose) so that we could live. Life after death isn't merely wishful thinking. It is a sobering matter that deserves important evaluation.

Should you conclude that such an exercise is not true, do so please upon serious research and not because a friend gave no thought to it either. You cannot afford to roll with a doubting crowd. Eventually, I believe that you will one day call a friend and tell them that you want to study the Bible with them. This will, it seems, lead you to weigh whether you believe that Jesus calls you to be baptized. For me? I believe He deeply desires to wash our sins away at baptism that the Holy Spirit of God might take up residence within.

Might you begin to lean that direction as well...Acts 8:34-38?

Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-30612694762237714062016-06-02T06:59:00.000-05:002016-06-02T07:01:25.520-05:00HOW TO HOPE WHEN IT SEEMS THERE ISN'T ANYSo one more time I found myself sitting in ER with a family yesterday. The scene is embedded in any who were present forevermore. The body of a loved one is the gathering place. The sobs, the physical collapse of one, the stark and stunning now absence of a beloved....the room was filled with silent screaming. Begging spirits folded as a man full of life was now pronounced dead.

My mind never gets over these repeated scenes that pop up occasionally. The devastation is permanent. And....it is useful. By the latter, I mean that it is a profound moment when the heart vacates the frivolous distractions that routine deems as necessary and takes note of what really matters; love of people while they are with us.

Arguments seem to leave the room rather red-faced in such settings. They (these debates) never did really belong, did they? Frustration within relationships evaporates. It happens at death. So why can't it happen in life? Such has always been the intent of the Spirit which is to have taken up residence within.

...we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us...Romans 5:2-5.

How one hopes when there is no sign of hope to be found is to rely upon the Holy Spirit of God within us for He knows the full story of authentic and lasting life. Our hearts may be stunned; taking our turns to rightfully grieve deeply. Yet, due to the conquering Spirit of God, there is ample reason to live convinced that even at death's door....there is personal hope.Terry Rushhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-69928970099227783822016-06-01T08:00:00.000-05:002016-06-01T08:04:32.799-05:00BE AWARE OF OUR NEIGHBORS THE HURRYS AND THE SCURRYSThere was a catastrophe x-amount of years ago. Its power shook the earth. Reverberation continues. Mankind has been severely wounded. Community has been essentially handicapped since Eden.

In that Garden Adam and Eve rebelled and the result was an eternal obsession with the self. What did this brief moment cause? An undeniable hiding from that day forth continues to the be dilemma known around the world. Men and women hide in plain sight hoping to go unnoticed. Seen, yet unseen, this has been the quest. We want to be honored; but seldom do we wish to honor.

Granted, most everyone that we know has their hands full with schedules, with concerns, and with goals. Our lives reflect the idea that we don't seem to have enough day in our hours. The Hurry family lives next door to the Scurrys. When the alarm goes off in early morn, the race is on. And there is, indeed, a serious problem.

Everyone is seen in the crowd; but few are noticed.

It is at this juncture that we might study the crisis in order to develop a plan for community improvement. One of the things that I dearly appreciate about Jesus is that even in a crowd he was sensitive; even to an unknown person whose touch stopped the parade. Personal sensitivity to those around us is desperately needed in our day....each...and every...day.

Let us promote Other Awareness Day every day. From Monday through Saturday, this would change the world. On Sundays? Oh if even the church people would loosen from fear of being seen and speak to the strangers, the guests, even the other members whom we dismiss as surely somebody in here knows them, we would change the world for the better. Impact would be enormous!

Here's what I think I know. Regardless of location on the social ladder, those on the top, those at the bottom, and all in the middle suffer from the Garden Collapse of early creation. Personal uncertainty and fearful doubt reside in even the most outgoing and popular. We can make a difference because (1) we know this about every person on our floor or street, and (2) we can change the world for the better by noticing these masses who are all around us in plain sight are deeply valuable and highly important.

May we go make a difference for someone who needs and encouraging word or a smiling greeting. This will change someone's world....today.

Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-43013102397276134222016-05-31T10:46:00.001-05:002016-05-31T10:48:59.213-05:00WE BELIEVEBelieving is a most fantastic element of one's life. It isn't religious as some would like to think. No, to believe is a life-long wonder; a conviction by anyone about anything. One may believe they should go to the doctor. Confidence strengthens when we believe in that physician. Another may believe that it's time to change the oil in the car when a neighbor may believe that such isn't the time for theirs.

To believe is that natural and routine element of one's simplest convictions regarding matters everywhere from paint color to clothing preference. No one is without it. We've all got it.

We believe. We believe especially in the realm of the spiritual. We believe God is while others believe He isn't. Both cannot be correct; but the belief system is at play in this zone. What we think is (or is not) is elementarily key to our actions, our goals, and our eventual accomplishments. Each of us must be aware that much of our exertion is applied toward things and events which have yet to happen. This would be called faith.

Why would this be significant; useful? We carry the power of faith to believe (1) in what others who are struggling can become, and (2) in this very process we believe that effective change can actually come about. Think about some who hurt. Consider their loneliness or their depression or their neglect. By faith, we can envision possibility; an entirely new terrain for their walk. Our words, then, align with our vision for them. Change comes about when words of encouragement and hope are produced and then reproduced. Through the faith process life pops open!

We believe. This changes the lives of so many who needed someone to believe that they could succeed, could arise, could make it. We believe. We believe in people when they don 't believe in themselves. We believe. We believe that God can create something from nothing; that He can make life happen in the very core of deadness.

Believing isn't just a Sunday School coloring book to keep a child occupied. It is to tap into a wonder that changes; changes hearts, goals, convictions and the entire course of life. Whether we believe and what we believe are so crucial because this invisible element, as it turns out, is a dynamic rudder which gives us direction of the Spirit of God.

When we believe, life happens!Terry Rushhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-43243340872117948022016-05-28T07:55:00.001-05:002016-05-28T07:59:34.640-05:00THE CHALLENGE, THE CHURCH, AND THE....CHICAGO CUBSBeing from the NE corner of Missouri and then later West-central Illinois, I very much indeed understand one of the greatest rivalries in baseball; that of the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. I'm unique, being from that area, in that I like both teams a lot---the Cardinals first and the Cubs second.

It's a joke world-wide that the Cubs haven't won a World Series in so long that Halley's Comet has passed twice. In 1969 the team had the standings sewn up only to crater in the last few days. This year the team is surely on a power move. Their victories are so many that the are perched upon the top of their division with a sizable lead with no signs of doing anything but pulling further from the pack.

But there is a strong challenge that lies in front of these Cubbies. It's called endurance. I'm not saying they can't make it for some team obviously will. This might be their year. If so I will celebrate...sorta. Yet, the road ahead is filled with significant questions. Will they avoid significant injuries? Will the pitching arms fatigue? Will the September heat become a factor? And, what will happen if the team hits a losing streak along the way? When this happens, will they endure or will they tank? All of these questions will be answered and, when they are, the results will be clear.

This is the challenge of the church; endurance. It's one thing to start off a new (season) of faith where everyone is happy, ministries cooperate, the contributions are strong, and attendance is on the increase. It is quite another matter when hopes and dreams take a hit; when disappointment or disgust begin to be the rule of the day.

Believing God carries a hefty call to endure the hard stuff; the very difficult days. Just as there are fly-by-night fans of baseball, the same disposition resides in the church. The challenge is, the question is, whether one will endure. In baseball, opposition is called competition. In the church it's called the Cross. Both will face threat head-on.

To be clear, I am not prophesying that the Cubs will fold. I am saying that if they are to win, and they very likely might, it will not be due to the team as it stands at the moment. Rather it will be the result of a team that overcomes; bouncing back from injury, fatigue, and frustration over the long-haul. Interference will happen. Skill-set is one thing. Handling loss is quite another. Both are significant factors in the game of life.

It is said of Jesus that he endured the cross despising the shame. That's where our victories are experienced. They are not about our talent only; but are very much about our determination to never give up regardless of insult or injury. The Phillies of 1980 marched to victory because their motto of We believe! was a call to take the good with the bad by never doubting; never giving up.

Endurance will always be the challenge for the Church and the...Chicago Cubs.

Terry Rushhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-27085053462731161262016-05-27T06:54:00.003-05:002016-05-27T06:55:22.438-05:00HOW TO HAVE YOUR BEST DAY EVER....EVERY DAY!What would need to happen to cause you to believe that this is your best day ever? Multiple answers could be offered; each being worthy of comment. For some a response of a bigger house might be given while another would be an increase in income. Yet others could desire improved health. Mine would be to win big on the Wheel of Fortune!

However, there is a more subtle factor that has me quite curious. What would our days be like if we could become anxious-free? What if we could drop the worry over the present (and the future)? Would life be any different if we could quit keeping score regarding personal injuries received from another? Could hard feelings be, shall we say, dropped? Might family tension be an underlying dis-ease in your house?

Conflict is a war-zone within itself. From disagreement to disapproval, blood pressure can escalate. Freely liking and disliking another is our choice. But hating or despising another is as addictive as alcohol or drugs...and likely much more costly.

To have your best day ever is not for you to win that out-of-reach lottery. It is much simpler and much closer at hand. To have your best day ever...day after day...just may be found in your heart. Dare you unlock it? What if we stop our hate which runs rampant out on our streets and in our homes' hallways? What if we could heal broken hearts by healing relationships?

Nothing is impossible with God. Just as the Cross of Jesus reconciled us (as enemies of God) to Father, we carry within us the dynamic of doing the same for others. Taking up our crosses daily isn't a church ritual. It is the secret power that causes all of us to have our best days ever.

If you want to march for something, hit the streets protesting the shame that we can carry in our own hearts by resisting the call of Father to drop our anger. Then, let us move about in the love of the Spirit of Christ. This move will change the world where we live.Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-17839552540509640322016-05-26T08:06:00.004-05:002016-05-26T08:15:32.310-05:00QUIT BEING A BIG BABYThe admonition to refrain from being a big baby begins with me and then proceeds on toward you. Not only do we all have this as a possibility, each of us has our moments when others see it of us; even if we don't.

Yes we know a few things. Compared to all that is known and all that is yet to be known, that which we individually know is quite micro in proportion. So I know three things or forty-eight things that you don't? Three people or forty-eight know tons of facts and figures that I didn't even know existed.

Just because I know that Stan Musial's bat handle was 15/16ths of an inch in diameter and was the smallest bat handle in the Major Leagues during his career does not make me king of knowing stuff (although I do have moments where knowing this fact causes me to feel a bit cool).

My point is that we are all very small compared to the empowering and towering large world of knowledge. So let us not have the big-head...ever. We are not sharper than one other person. Yes, we might know a detail here and there of which others around us know nothing. To be reminded that these also have abundant awareness of definitions and attributions of matters that we are purely clueless should cause us to park the high-horse and dismount.

You are not smarter than another. Maybe in a few things, yes, but when realizing that few is so key, we may also admit that every one who receives my criticism is much more informed in other zones. Our expertise, as we call it, is to be valued; but never as defining us as above another. We never are.

I believe we live in a 1/1,000,000 ratio. If I know one thing that others don't (and I do know some things that some others don't), I can be assured that others combined know one million facts or truths that never occurred to me. This escalates the joy of life; not the ego of it.

So yes, each of us has a significant grasp of information valuable to the populace around. But never let it be thought that because we are in on a very few of these markings that we are smarter, better, or more significant than another. Don't be a big baby acting like we above others. We are not....ever.Terry Rushhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-46903322453690987852016-05-25T09:22:00.000-05:002016-05-25T09:26:03.905-05:00WHAT I LIKE ABOUT GODI'm one guilty of being deeply involved in the church setting while being negligent in relating to God. Loaded with ministry assignments, proof texts, and doctrinal ammunition, I set out to make people into miniature me. Believe as me. Talk as me. Prove as me. Even sound like me.

What a missing of the Jesus target. How sinful.

I had all of these religious ideas I was trying to keep afloat. I would even take a stab at beefing up my prayer life. To take a stab at writing a book or increasing my giving...why not? But there was a major glitch in every bit of the above. I wasn't connecting with God. It felt very much that I was on my own.

Do you have any idea what it's like to begrudge the time spent in prayer while not believing it made any difference anyway? Yet, churchers watching me expected it...so I prayed. The same with ministry in general; keep up the appearance. But I wasn't catching something...something big...so personal puzzlement followed.

My problem was that I didn't know God as Father. I knew Him as Boss. I knew Him as Office Manager; but not as Friend. It might help for me to tell you that for some reason as a new convert I understood by comments made in Bible classes, etc., that God was not on our side. Now that's absurd, but it seemed that God was more of a Spy with a Fly-swatter than a Father with a Son.

What I like about God is that He out-thinks the sharpest of minds, out-works the hardest of laborers, and out-smarts the wisest of teachers. Mankind has read about and experienced the brilliance of God and, yet, we have hardly scratched the surface of His talent, skill, and certainly His graceful love. This doesn't bum me that I'm so far behind. Rather, it frees me to imagine....Him.

What I really like about God is that He cares more about the rejects than anyone can grasp. We study the Word. We read of His sacrificial willingness to be tortured in order to save His creation. And then guys like me come along implying that we have mastered God's trek. Just. Not. So. To follow in the steps of Jesus is simply one constant transference; our preferences shifting to His.

What I really, really like about God is that He will not be boxed in by man's understanding. All through Scripture He broke the rules in order to communicate this very fact; He won't be told by any system order how He will work. He can part a sea to save His people or close it up moments later to extract His enemies. God can cause night to restrain for a fighting soldier or bring about food from a boy's meager lunch for an entire crowd of say 4000....or 5000.

What I like about God is that He is God....and I am not. Therefore, it is my job to let go of my calculating, manipulating, extremely puny ways, and let Him run this show. We will all be better off, don't you think?

Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-41649957924986610392016-05-23T08:57:00.000-05:002016-05-23T09:18:20.818-05:00OBSESSED WITH CERTAINTY OF WONDERA man I never met turned my world around to the point I've never gotten over it. God places people and/or their works in our paths along the way and such is the case for me. E. Stanley Jones wrote a very small book which continues to provide quite large blessings. I've never forgotten my being stricken with absolute possibility embedded within every negative situation.

The Divine Yes impacted me like no other book. Everything is a Yes. Jones based his work on the dynamic words of II Corinthians 1:20:<o:p> </o:p>For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.

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Having served decades in a foreign territory spreading the Word of God in a fantastic ministry, Jones suffered a paralyzing stroke while visiting America. One half of his body no longer functioned. His family pleaded that he retire at his age and stay home. But he refused. And while his body was now a source of daily struggle, slurred speech and all, he returned to his beloved adopted country.

E. Stanley Jones drug his half-dead body for the next fourteen months until his death to show that everything is a yes regardless of interruption or interference. The promises of God are a yes. He wanted his colleagues to see that even drastic discouragement would not cause anyone to call it quits. He would not let such an obstruction of body stop him from ministering to a people dearly loved by God.

This is the spirit of Jesus. Love the people. Care for the broken. Stand by the public rejects. Cover for the enemy. And, count on Father to bring one back from the grave. We are called to do more than go to church. We are called to be an obsessed kind of populace which lives in certainty of wonder; even when the circumstances prove to be less than ideal.

So here's the magic of it all. Our depression, our rejection, our insults, and our failures are not signals of pulling out; but rather, of lighting up. Even in the very center of loss and distress we are learning how others feel who are suffering loss and distress. Nothing is a waste. Nothing. This strong attitude of faith reverses most lives.

The Apostle Paul urged that even tribulation leads us to endurance. Endurance leads to proven character. And proven character? Leads us to hope. Romans 5:5 reveals that such a hope is not fake due to the Holy Spirit of God given to us. We can count on wonder...even in the very center of those things/those people who threaten to shut us down.

This....is the wonder of being a regular person living on a regular road wishing to turn the world upside down!

Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-70887593859257474452016-05-22T08:08:00.000-05:002016-05-22T08:08:32.838-05:00WHY WE GET TO LIKE LIFE!Mankind is infected. Adam and Eve thrust us into an unscheduled, unintended raging battle that leaves families and neighbors strewn from here to yonder. Their failure has massive impact. Life is broken; very broken.

The lesson we must remember is that this is a matter of we; not they. We are in the mix. We are to be blamed for injury to others; daily, weekly insulting and harmful injuries. It is not that some can't seem to get a grip on life; we are in the mix.

Yet, there is a counter lesson of which we must not stop learning. Just as each carries enough soreness and baggage, Jesus died to take the blame. That's what he did on the Cross. Why do you think it turned dark that day in mid-afternoon. All of man's darkness--every hurtful word and deed--had been removed from man's worst behavior and dumped upon his head. He paid for our stupid, selfish, injurious ways.

It is his righteousness that he handed to us. We received not a grade card of earned approval; but a Pass. He went to Hell for us. We go to Heaven. Get it? We must not stop learning this lesson. For as we do--when we remember--our hearts leap within us. Our eyes brighten. Our hopes lift. Our confidence soars. Our interest in our enemies escalates. Purpose takes form. Meaning arises.

Life isn't good because we manage it well. No, life is great because it was handed to us upon a rugged wooden platter. Feast away!Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-8689763252411092412016-05-21T08:38:00.001-05:002016-05-21T08:42:01.790-05:00HOW TO OVERCOME INVISIBLE NAGGING DISCOURAGEMENTCould I ask just how many hats Discouragement has? This is incredible. I mean, everywhere we turn and everyone we know battles what we call "staying up". It's epidemic in persistence and substantial in proportion to the rest of our day. Discouragement isn't necessarily the same as depression; although it could be regarded as a close cousin. Whatever....it bugs us....each of us....without exception.

I face this Mob Boss all of the time. Of the hundreds of things that go right in my life, just let two things (well, okay, just one) go wrong and I'm tempted to curl up in despair. Frustration hits. Aggravation seems to want to cuff me and jail me. Yet, I have learned a thing from God that is mind-saving and heart-building. I have learned to focus on the stuff of life that's going right. He promised peace would come quickly.

Two things wear me down. People.

The people of they and then the person of me. Disappointingly I have turned out to be like them in identical ways that I was just hoping wouldn't be true. We push, pull, shove, and neglect all in one big ball of selfish, injurious, wasteful living. We get upset over how someone treats us and then turn around and treat another the very same way. Romans 2;1-5 speaks a bit about this. None of us are exempt from dishing out insult or neglect; but resent it--oh so very much--when it is dished out to us.

Two things wear me down. People.

Just this morning I had to give myself a talking-to and tell myself to sit down and stop the inner dialog of being bummed. I had to lecture me against brooding, pouting, and well...pouting that I was brooding. But, just as promised, when I shifted my thoughts away from the discouraging and upon the wonders already in my world, on my path, what God said came upon me. Peace, an unexplainable calm, rolled in as the sun peeking along a shoreline.

How shall we overcome invisible nagging discouragement? I would offer the following advice:

Quit courting it.

Quit taking it out for a Coke.

Quit playing its recordings in your mind.

Quit giving it permission to stay overnight.

Two things wear me down. People. Two things build me up. God and patient people.

Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-37091954.post-79259619933427031162016-05-20T09:20:00.001-05:002016-05-20T09:27:27.616-05:00HUMAN REASON AND FAITH ARE NOT TWINSDare I approach the sacred god of the land known as Reason? Could it be that a hefty part of church struggle is due to the accepted terrain of believing that reason is wisdom? Before you reason that I must be unaware that the Bible uses this word 129 times, I am quite aware. Therefore, the word itself is not taboo. The building a god from its timbers is.

Reason is a a double-edged sword. It can accelerate progress or it can stifle it. The beholder is the one on the bubble. Faith or fear sit at opposing ends of the religious teeter-tooter. I reference this matter because I believe we are stuck in some of the simplest matters because reason becomes the very excuse one needs to hedge on stepping out by faith.

The Father of faith (Abraham) went out toward God's call not knowing where he was going. Human reason would have plenty to say about such an irresponsible move, wouldn't you think? Jesus had a faith where he believed that even if he were to die that he would soon be back. Do you really think the cautious side of reason wants any part of such an extreme presupposition? I don't think so. I believe controlling reason would balk just before it mocked.

It is this side of reason that I bring to your table. And I bring it because it negatively chips and nips at our faith. It pushes, it threatens, it bullies the tendency to try to walk by the unseen into the unknown. I believe that in general the masses don't pray because reason explains to our interiors that there is no way it will make a difference. But, faith insists that it absolutely will.

Very bold arguers among churches bellow their controlling opinions about doctrinal matters. Yet, when it comes to the matter of giving of their dollars, some of these hedge in the name of being reasonable; not faithful. Bible study attendees who seldom read the Word in search of anything other than proof of what they already believe seem to major in reason while being steady in walking by a religious nervousness that they might get it wrong; a lack of trust that God can do well in both supply and provision.

We do want to participate in reason when it comes to determining whether to believe in the Invisible God or the vocal doubters. We do use reason to sort the spiritual from the carnal. It isn't that reason, therefore, is a villain but it very much can be if such is used as a wedge to barter against vibrant unexplainable faith.

Reason does not of itself provide a guide to truth, says Dr. David Hawkins. It produces massive amounts of information and documentation, but lacks the capability to resolve discrepancies in data and conclusions. Reason itself, paradoxically, is the major block to reaching higher levels of consciousness.

While being reasonable can seem so....reasonable...it can, in fact, be used as a misguiding tool to distract one from concluding the very amazing activities of God. Not only are human reason and faith not twins; they at times aren't even relatives.Terry Rushhttp://email@example.com


text:
Tarlton OH Real Estate & Homes for Sale
1 Properties Found
The median home value in Tarlton, OH is $87,200.
This is
lower than
the county median home value of $124,100.
The national median home value is $177,414.
The average price of homes sold in Tarlton, OH is $87,200.
Approximately 70.59% of Tarlton homes are owned,
compared to 15.44% rented, while
13.97% are vacant.
Tarlton real estate listings include condos, townhomes, and single family homes for sale.
Commercial properties are also available.
If you see a property you're interested in, contact a Tarlton real estate agent to arrange a tour today!
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Courtesy: HER, Realtors Broker Phone: 740-474-7581 Julie O'Day 740-207-5084
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Move in ready! 2 bedroom with 1 full bath home. New roof, new carpet & new gutters in 2015, new mini blinds. Single 1 car attached garage with breezeway with a paved driveway. Large deck off the back of the home with a small patio and partially fenced in back yard. Mature trees on this lot. Full basement ready to be finished. Seller made repairs to basement so exposed drain in now covered by cement along with cracks in wall also dry locked and painted along with fixing exposed electrical wiring and adding a handrail into the basement.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
When strokes strike, quick action can prevent disabilities
SALT LAKE CITY — Identifying and treating a stroke quickly can prevent a lifetime of disability.
Kelly Anderson, whose grandfather died of a stroke, said the time she spent working in the neurological intensive care unit opened her eyes to the necessity of quick response with strokes. About half the people who came in went home with a permanent disability. She said some of these disabilities could have been prevented.
Anderson, a nurse and coordinator of the Intermountain Medical Center Stroke Program, and Dr. Gregory Call, a neurologist in the program, will be featured on Saturday's Deseret News/Intermountain Healthcare Hotline, where they will take questions about the topic "Stroke: What you need to know to save a life." Anyone interested is welcome to call 1-800-925-8177 from 10 a.m. until noon.
Those who suffer strokes lose 32,000 brain cells each second, so quick action is vital, Anderson said.
When a patient arrives at the hospital with a suspected stroke, a team breaks out into what Anderson calls "organized chaos," to diagnose the type of stroke and appropriate treatment.
There are two types of strokes. The most common are ischemic strokes, where a blood vessel in the brain is blocked by a blood clot. This type of stroke can be treated most effectively within three hours of when symptoms first appeared. The patient can receive a drug known as tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA to break up the clot.
"I've seen people get better in minutes," Anderson said of the tPA treatment.
The second type of stroke, hemorrhagic, is when a blood vessel in the brain bursts or leaks. This type is less common and can be treated by other medication or surgery.
More than 800,000 people die per year from cardiovascular diseases and strokes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people Anderson has come across are unaware of the warning signs.
Between community health fairs and media campaigns, Anderson is working to educate the public on signs of strokes. She attended 20 community health fairs last summer where she gave the public information on signs of a stroke and the importance of quick action and treatment.
Intermountain Healthcare created BE FAST, from an existing stroke mnemonic, to help people recognize stroke symptoms, which include:
Balance or coordination
Eyes (vision)
Face sudden facial weakness; or an
Arm or leg
Speech, difficulty speaking
Time — when symptoms began
Anderson said those who see these symptoms should seek emergency treatment immediately.
"When you notice that first symptom that you think might be a stroke, call 911," she said.
Hotline Saturday
The May Deseret News/Intermountain Healthcare Hotline focuses on strokes. From 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Kelly Anderson, a nurse and coordinator of the Intermountain Medical Center Stroke Program, and Dr. Gregory Call, a neurologist in the program, will answer questions from the public. Anyone with questions can call 800-925-8177.
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text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Jul 5, 2011
|Priority date
|Feb 13, 2008
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Brad Porcher Jeffries, Michael R. Elliott
|Original Assignee
|Analog Devices, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (14), Non-Patent Citations (5), Referenced by (6), Classifications (20), Legal Events (2)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates generally to data interface structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the data rate increases in data system devices (e.g., analog-to-digital converters), the reliable transfer of data becomes an increasingly important issue. Because this transfer includes the transfer of data out of one system device and into another system device, it is generally referred to as an input/output (I/O) interface problem. In response to this problem, a number of I/O interfaces have evolved.
An exemplary I/O interface is a low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) structure in which a predetermined current from a current source is switched so that it passes differentially through a termination resistor. In a typical LVDS transmitter, first and second transistors are coupled in a push-pull arrangement to a current source and third and fourth transistors are also coupled in a push-pull arrangement to the current source (this arrangement of the first, second, third and fourth resistors is sometimes termed an H-bridge).
In response to one input data bit, the predetermined current passes in a first direction through the first transistor, the termination resistor and the fourth transistor. In response to a different input data bit, the predetermined current passes in an opposite second direction through the third transistor, the termination resistor and the second transistor.
The termination resistor is positioned in an LVDS receiver which can generally be separated by a significant distance from the LVDS transmitter. If the termination resistor is a 100 ohm resistor and the predetermined current is 3.5 milliamps, then the nominal differential output voltage is 350 millivolts. An advantage of the LVDS structure is that it can tolerate a fairly large ground potential difference between the transmitter and receiver.
Another exemplary I/O interface is a current-mode logic (CML) structure in which the CML transmitter includes a differential pair of transistors that differentially switch a tail current (e.g., 16 milliamps) across resistors (e.g., 50 ohm resistors. The CML receiver can be another differential pair having termination resistors coupled to their bases and delivering output signals through follower transistors (e.g., emitter followers or source followers).
A third exemplary I/O interface is a positive-referenced emitter-coupled (PECL) structure in which a PECL transmitter comprises a differential pair of transistors that differentially switch a tail current across resistors (e.g., 50 ohm resistors) which each provide an output signal through a respective one of a pair of emitter followers. Signal common-mode is referenced to a supply voltage Vcc. PECL receivers are generally differential pairs of transistors having termination resistors (e.g., 50 ohm resistors) coupled to their bases. PECL transmitters typically exhibit low output impedances which enhances driving capability but may generate mismatches that cause high-frequency aberrations.
The present invention is generally directed to data interface structures. The drawings and the following description provide an enabling disclosure and the appended claims particularly point out and distinctly claim disclosed subject matter and equivalents thereof.
As shown in
When used for data transfer, the first and second coupled drains 25 and 26 are generally each coupled to a respective one of transmission lines 34 (e.g., printed-circuit lines) at an output port 35. The transmission lines each have a line impedance and these lines are terminated by a load resistance 36 (Rload) which has an impedance of substantially twice the line impedance. In a transmitter embodiment, the line impedance is 50 ohms.
In the data transmitter described to this point, data output signals are generated via the first and second coupled drains 25 and 26 in response to data input signals between the first and second coupled gates 23 and 24. In another transmitter embodiment, third and fourth complementary common-source input stages 41 and 42 are provided and coupled in parallel. The third stage 41 has third coupled gates 43 and third coupled drains 45 and the fourth stage 42 has fourth coupled gates 44 and fourth coupled drains 46.
The third and fourth stages 41 and 42 are arranged between first and second current sources 51 and 52 and the first and second coupled gates 23 and 24 are arranged to be driven by the third and fourth coupled drains 45 and 46. When the third and fourth coupled gates are driven by data input signals Sin at a transmitter input port 55, data output signals are generated via the first and second coupled drains 25 and 26.
A discussion of the operation of the data transmitter 20 is facilitated by considering an exemplary one of the input data states at the input port 55. The selected data state is indicated by plus and minus signs at the input port which respectively correspond with high and low voltages. In the selected input data state, the high signal turns on transistor 61 of the input stage 41 and current of this transistor through the first resistor 31 lowers the gate voltage of transistor 63 of the output stage 21. This action turns on transistor 63 so that a current flows to the upper side of the output port 35. At the same time, the low signal at the input port 55 turns on transistor 62 of the input stage 42 and current of this transistor through the second resistor 32 raises the gate voltage of transistor 64 of the output stage 22. This action turns on transistor 64 so that a current flows from the lower side of the output port 35.
To facilitate a clear understanding of this selected data state,
In operation, transistor 62 switches the current of the current source 52 so that it flows across the second resistor 32 (as indicated by its respective arrow) to turn on transistor 64 by raising its gate voltage. At the same time transistor 61 switches the current of the current source 51 so that it flows across the first resistor 31 (as indicated by its respective arrow) to turn on transistor 63 by lowering its gate voltage. The current 75 through the load resistor 36 is a function of these generated gate-to-source voltages. With this established current 75, the voltage swing across the load resistor 36 (and the voltage at the drains of transistors 64 and 65) is a function of the resistance of the load resistor.
The output data states can be easily detected by various data receivers. For example,
As indicated by broken line 82, the transmission lines 34 may terminate at a receiver input port 84 of the data receiver 70 and the load resistor 36 can be coupled across the input port and coupled to the differential input terminals of the differential pair 72. Output data states of the data transmitter 20 now cause the differential pair to steer the tail current of the current source 76 across the active load 78 to thereby provide received data states at a receiver output port 86 which is across the output terminals of the differential pair 72.
To insure that the output data states of the data transmitter 20 are a faithful copy of the input data states at high data rates, it is important to minimize signal reflections at the transmitter output. In a transmitter embodiment, therefore, each of the transmission lines 34 is configured to have a predetermined impedance. Preferably, each end of each of these transmission lines should then be loaded with the same impedance to minimize reflected energies. If the predetermined impedance is 50 ohms, a load resistance of 100 ohms will provide a balanced (i.e., differential) impedance of 50 ohms at the output end of each of the transmission lines. The load impedances are thus well matched to the impedances at the output ports of the transmission lines 34.
To also provide a matched impedance at the input end of each of the transmission lines 34, the output impedances provided by each of the transistors 63 and 64 of
Sizing of the transistors 63 and 64, however, also affects the common-mode level of the data states at the output port 35 and, thereby, the shape and symmetry of the output data states. For example, the plot 92 in the graph 90B of
When the gate width ratio was reduced to substantially one, the waveform amplitude reduced to approximately 370 millivolts, the common-mode level dropped substantially and the waveform distorted as indicated by the plot 91 if the graph 90A of
It has been demonstrated, therefore, that the gate width ratio can be selected (e.g., at a ratio of substantially 2.5) to control the common-mode level of the output data states and obtain substantial symmetry of these states. In addition, the actual gate widths can be set to adjust the output impedance of the transistors 63 and 64 so that they best match the impedance of the transmission lines 34 in
Attention is now directed to selection of the impedance of the first and second resistors 31 and 32. As can be seen from
However, the impedance of the first and second resistors 31 and 32 also strongly affects a data eye parameter that can be obtained with the data transmitter 20 of
For example, a receiver which is receiving the output data states is generally configured to acquire data at a predetermined assertion edge and they generally have setup and hold times which are the times at which data must be stable prior to and subsequent to the assertion edge in order to assure successful data acquisition. The setup and hold times thus establish an acquisition window about the assertion edge during which the data must be stable so that it can be reliably captured. Because a number of degrading operational effects (e.g., clock jitter and voltage supply noise) will tend to decrease the width and height of the data eye and reduce the available room for the acquisition window, it is important to maximize the initial width and height of the data eye.
The data eye can be generated, for example, by processing a digital data stream made up of alternating data bits. The graph 100 of
It is thus apparent that transmitter efficiency is enhanced by increasing the impedance of the first and second resistors 31 and 32 but the data eye is enhanced by reducing this impedance. Selecting an intermediate value on the order of 400 ohms (e.g., between 300 and 500 ohms) in the data transmitter 20 of
Another measure of good data transfer through the data transmitter 20 of
Because the transmitter 20 has been found to be efficient (i.e., consuming only a portion of the power of conventional transmitters), to be small (i.e., requiring only a portion of the layout areas of conventional transmitters), and to provide excellent fidelity of data transfer, it is particularly useful as an interface device for accurate and reliable transmittal of data from high-speed data system devices such as analog-to-digital converters.
Accordingly, an exemplary application of the data transmitter embodiments is shown in the data converter 120 of
In an exemplary converter embodiment, N=12 and the converter is housed in a square integrated circuit chip which measures 7 millimeters on each side. The chip, therefore, only has room for a limited number of input/output pins and a certain number of these pins must be reserved for non-data uses (e.g., clock input, supply voltage, ground, and mode commands). It is, therefore, apparent that the chip cannot provide the 48 pins required to present the parallel digital words of each of the four analog-to-digital converters.
Accordingly, the data converter 120 includes a data serializer 126 which converts the parallel digital words of each analog-to-digital converter to a serial data stream 127 in which each bit is presented differentially. If the clock is at a high rate, the bit rate in the serial data stream 127 can be exceedingly high, e.g., 4 gigabits per second. Therefore, the data converter 120 preferably includes data transmitters 128 which are configured similarly to the data transmitter 20 of
It was noted above in the discussion of
An exemplary control system is shown in
The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
|Cited Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Jan 29, 1988
|Nov 24, 1992
|The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force
|Digital phase shifter apparatus
|Mar 20, 1997
|Dec 30, 1997
|Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
|Ring oscillator with two inverters per unit inverter circuit
|Oct 9, 1998
|Mar 12, 2002
|Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.
|Digital optical transmitter
|Jun 22, 1999
|Nov 5, 2002
|Artisan Components, Inc.
|Methods for designing standard cell transistor structures
|Nov 13, 2001
|May 27, 2003
|Primarion, Inc.
|Method and circuit for pre-emphasis equalization in high speed data communications
|Aug 2, 2001
|Jun 17, 2003
|Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
|Universal PECL/LVDS output structure
|Feb 13, 2002
|Jul 20, 2004
|Robert Bosch Gmbh
|Device having a memory element, and a memory element
|May 12, 2003
|Sep 14, 2004
|LVDS driver in bipolar and MOS technology
|Oct 31, 2000
|Sep 14, 2004
|3Com Corporation
|Current-mode differential active hybrid circuit
|Jan 29, 2002
|Jan 25, 2005
|Texas Instruments Incorporated
|Interchangeable CML/LVDS data transmission circuit
|Sep 26, 2001
|Sep 15, 2009
|Entropic Communications, Inc.
|Low complexity high-speed communications transceiver
|May 24, 2007
|Mar 9, 2010
|Nec Electronics Corporation
|Transmitter and control method for same
|Jul 21, 2004
|Oct 13, 2005
|Logicvision, Inc., 101 Metro Drive, 3Rd Floor, San Jose, Ca, 95110
|Circuit and method for low frequency testing of high frequency signal waveforms
|May 23, 2006
|Jan 4, 2007
|Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
|Buffer amplifier
|"I/O Interface Standards", Integrated Device Technology, Inc., Application Note AN-230, Jun. 2004, pp. 1-9.
|"LVDS Fundamentals" Application Nosste AN-5017, Fairchild Semiconcuctor Corporation, Dec. 2000, pp. 81, 82, 84 and 85.
|"LVDS, PECL, and CML", Maxim Integrated Products, Application Note HFAN-1.0, Oct. 11, 2000, pp. 1-14.
|Dehmelt, Frank, "Performance of LVDS with Different Cables", Analog Applications Journal, Aug. 2000, pp. 30-32.
|Ju, Jeff, "Interfacing LVDS with Other Differential I/O Types", EDN Magaizine, Oct. 30, 2003, pp. 81-86.
|Citing Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Dec 21, 2009
|Feb 14, 2012
|Dongbu Hitek Co., Ltd.
|Sep 11, 2012
|Jan 7, 2014
|SK Hynix Inc.
|Integrated circuit chip and system having the same
|Dec 31, 2013
|Jul 22, 2014
|SK Hynix Inc.
|Integrated circuit chip and system having the same
|Dec 31, 2013
|Jul 22, 2014
|SK Hynix Inc.
|Integrated circuit chip and system having the same
|Dec 21, 2009
|Jul 1, 2010
|Dae-Joong Jang
|Apr 25, 2013
|Seung-Min Oh
|Integrated circuit chip and system having the same
|U.S. Classification
|455/91, 455/127.3, 330/310, 330/252, 455/127.1, 327/588, 455/103, 327/335, 455/127.5, 327/108, 330/253, 327/423, 330/255
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Feb 13, 2008
Owner name: ANALOG DEVICES, INC, MASSACHUSETTS
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:JEFFRIES, BRAD PORCHER;ELLIOTT, MICHAEL R.;REEL/FRAME:020567/0197
Effective date: 20080211
|Dec 17, 2014
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4


text:
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