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The Power to Risk in the Cause of Christ
Passion | Atlanta, Georgia
The following is an unedited transcription of the audio.
What Corky meant when he said I was going to pursue the thought process is this: When I was finished thinking through what I said this morning, I thought, well, now if it takes and God does what I'm praying, namely, that you would find the ability through gutsy guilt to overcome the obstacle of guilt and regret and remorse and unworthiness, you could overcome that by the gospel, you're going to hit a lot of other obstacles in your pursuit of obedience.
And one of them is fear. And so I want to talk about risk. That's what was in the folder. And mainly it's a very simple point — I'll try to make it mainly from the Bible — that God wants you to take risks with your lives. And I hope that you will be emboldened to do that by what I say.
My experience now, after 32 years in the ministry of the Word, is that very little happens of any significance in an individual life or a church or a family or an organization . . . very little happens that does not involve taking risks. And so I want things to happen in your life. I want you to be able to accomplish things that you never dreamed for the cause of Christ. And I promise you, you don't have to be a big great person in order for God to use you to do extraordinary things for him. But you do need to take risks. So that's what we're going to talk about.
So let's start by defining risk. Risk is an action that exposes you to the possibility of injury or loss. Risk is an action that exposes you to the possibility . . . it might be small, it might be big . . . of injury or loss.
And the loss could be money. It could be face. You lose face. It could be your life. You could lose your life. There's a whole array of risks from the little teeny ones where you're just going to get some egg on your face to the big one where you could be killed. And you have to take those kinds of risks in order to, I think, move forward and make an impact for Christ.
Now let me distinguish foolish risks from Christ-exalting risks. Both of them might cost you your life. One would be pleasing to God, and the other would be unpleasing to God. Foolish risks are forbidden in the Bible. And we have illustrations of them.
You have Paul taking risks. He put himself right in harm's way over and over again. But you also have him escaping out of Damascus in a basket. You have him being whisked out of town in Thessalonica because a mob is forming.
And so you don't always throw yourself into the lion's mouth. Sometimes you do, and sometimes you don't. And it's a huge issue in the Christian life. Well, when do you? And when don't you? When do I take the risk of my money, my face, my life, my family? And when don't I?
The best book I have ever read on that issue was written by John Bunyan. Most of you have heard of Pilgrims Progress. John Bunyan, Puritan Baptist pastor from 300 years ago who spent 12 of his years in jail, even though he had a little blind daughter who needed him very much, wrote a book called Counsels to Sufferers.
So if you buy the collected works of John Bunyan, which some of you might want to do, in one of those volumes is this 80 page, double column book called Counsel to Sufferers. And his whole effort is: How did I decide to stay in jail when my wife had four kids at home, and one of them was blind? And I could have gotten out of jail any time I wanted by simply signing a statement, I will not preach.
How do you make that choice? We've got missionaries all over the world and here facing those decisions day after day after day. Stay or go. Stand and risk your life or flee. And both can be right.
And I just want to make sure . . . while I don't have any formula for you to figure out, oh, now when do you do that, when do you risk your life and when do you go for safety . . . I want to make sure that you know the Bible blesses, ordains, and calls you to take risks. If I could just settle that and fix that in your heart, then I think the Holy Spirit will use all the necessary things in order to help you decide when to do one and when to do the other.
So that's so much for the definition of risk and distinguishing it from foolish risks. Maybe just a practical statement about foolish risks. I'll risk alienating people here who like to do these kinds of things. I personally would probably . . . I mean, I shouldn't say it absolutely, but I probably will never skydive for fun. I'll probably never hang glide for fun, and I'll probably never bungee jump for fun.
Now the reason is that there are reasons I would risk my life. Jumping out of a plane or jumping with a rope tied to my foot or jumping off a cliff with plastic wings . . . there are reasons I would do that but not for fun. That feels almost . . . let's see, here's where I'm going to lose you . . . that feels almost blasphemous to me. There you go.
I'm created in the image of God for a significant reason on Planet Earth, and I'm going to risk my life for this surge? I don't think so. But you make that call yourself. But that's my call on what would be foolish risk for me.
But to go to a country where they tell me, you may not get out of there, that's worth it. If I'm going for Jesus . . . if you're hang gliding for Jesus, if you're jumping out of planes for Jesus, you're hanging by the rope for Jesus, okay, amen. But watch out that you not just do an Evel Knievel. That's another generation, you know.
Here's a second or third observation, whichever one I'm on here. In order to clarify the nature of risk and how God relates to your risk, you need to know this loud and clear: God can take no risks. And the reason he can't is because essential to the meaning of risk is ignorance. You have to be ignorant in order to take risks. If you know you'll lose your life when you do this, it's not a risk. It's a sacrifice. Risk assumes ignorance about what's coming. God cannot take a risk because he has no ignorance about what's coming.
And if you've been influenced by open theism, which is a, I hope, passing fad of a theology that says God doesn't know the future and, therefore, does take risks, I hope I can uninfluence you now, because God does know the future, and, therefore, he cannot take risks.
When he sends his Son into the world, it is no risk for Jesus. He's going to die-period. God negotiates with the Son in heaven. And he sends the Son to die. It was the will of the Lord to bruise him. This didn't sneak up on Jesus.
"I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there's none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, declaring my purpose will stand, I will accomplish all my good pleasure."
God knows and runs the future and, therefore, makes no risks but makes huge sacrifices. He knew his Son would die. That's why he sent him. And so with the creation of the world.
One of the key texts that make me hate open theism is John 13:19. Here's Jesus at the last hour of his life predicting that Judas would betray him. "This is going to happen. Judas will betray me."
And then John writes . . . he said this so that . . . oh, this is Jesus talking . . . "I say this to you before it happens so that when it takes place, you may believe that . . ." And then would that everybody knew Greek. In English, it always says "that you might know that I am he." There's no "he" in the Greek.
"I'm telling you that Judas is going to betray me, that you may know when it happens, my having told you that I am," which, as you know, is taken from Exodus 3:14: When they ask the name of God and what name should be spoken in Egypt, God said, "Tell them I am sent you," which means that Jesus' predictions about the future proved, in his mind, he's God.
So for somebody to say it doesn't matter whether he knows the future or not is a major attack, I think, on the deity of Christ. So, let's close that parenthesis on open theism. I don't want you to go there.
I hope you steer clear around those people who are so hip and cool today that think they've discovered a new theology about how God doesn't know the future, and, therefore, it solves all kinds of problems with evil and suffering. It doesn't. It doesn't pastorally. I deal with suffering all the time, every day, especially children in my church. It solves no problems pastorally.
What gives people strength is the goodness and the sovereignty of God, unshakably, undividable. God is God. God is good. I don't understand why I've got this pain or this cancer or my parents are getting divorced or my little brother got hit by a car. I don't understand it, but God is good, and God is God. God runs the world. And God is good. I will see some day what he is up to in all of this. That helps pastorally.
So God can take no risks. The reason I belabor that point is because he can't, you can. I'll come back to that at the end. The ground, the power of your being able to take a risk on a campus or in an unreached people group or individually in some way is because your God knows exactly what's coming. And he works it all and controls it all so that you can take the risk because he doesn't. He doesn't-period. God intends for us to be ignorant about the future.
You remember the passage in James 4: Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow, we will go up to such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and get gain." Come now, you who say that. We're going to go to Dallas tomorrow. You don't know your life. Rather you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."
So you hear what the point of that text is? That's James 4:15, following. That text is saying: When you plan your future, when you think about tomorrow, don't think you know. You don't know about tomorrow. If the Lord wills, you get to Dallas or Minneapolis. You don't know. So you risk.
And I hope that I can disabuse you, free you from the illusion of security that most people live for in this world. It is an illusion. It's a myth of safety. An enchantment. People live in an enchantment of security, constantly padding their locks and putting big air bags in their car and operating as though life could be made secure, and it can't. And it shouldn't be. And God is summoning you now to wake up to that and now not to risk for your own private pleasures but to risk for Christ.
So let me walk with you through biblical examples of risk. At least what happens to me when I see these is that I get inspired to do it. Some of them are tailor-made for women, and some of them are tailor-made for men. They both work both ways.
Let's start with one of my favorites. You don't need to look these up if you don't want to, but I'll point you to where they are in the Bible, 2 Samuel Chapter 10. Here's the situation: Nahash is the King of the Ammonites. He died. David loved Nahash. So the King of Israel admired and loved the King of the Ammonites. Interesting relationship. His son is named Hanun. So David sends a delegation to Hanun to pay respects to his father.
These young whippersnapper counselors around Hanun say to him, "You don't trust David, do you? These are spies. They're not coming to pay respect to your father. They're coming to spy." Hanun believed them, cut off their clothes right here, cut off half their beards right here, shamed them, in other words, and sent them out into public to go home.
David was furious. Well, when a king gets furious, it's not a personal thing. It's a global thing. So the Ammonites see that David is enraged, and they send to the Syrians and hire the Syrian Army to protect them against David's rage. And David sends his army with Joab at the lead and his brother, Abishai, at his side.
I've got four sons, and I love to think about things like this. I get chills up and down my back when I think of this kind of camaraderie in conflict. So here's Joab, here's Abishai. Here's the Army of Israel, and they are surrounded. You've got Ammonites on one side and Syrians on the other. And they're coming as pincers against Israel, Joab and Abishai.
And it's the words that come out of Joab's mouth that make my spine tingle. And I'll read them to you. He says to Abishai, his brother, "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall come and help me. And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. Be of good courage and let us play the man for our people and for the cities of our God. And may God do what seems good to him."
What's that? That is pure risk. You might have expected him to say "and God will give us the victory." He didn't say that. "You stand against that enemy. I'll stand against this enemy. If I'm starting to lose, you come help me. If you start to lose, I'm coming to help you. That's the strategy, Abishai. Stand for the cities of our God and may God do what seems good to him. We're going against the Ammonites." That's just pure risk. He didn't know if he would win or not.
And there are going to be places in your life where that's exactly what it looks like. I've got an enemy here. I've got an enemy here. I've got a few comrades. What should we do? We could flee. We could run. That'd be safe. We know we'd save our necks, and we'd be there for our kids.
And you look at each other, and you say, "No. We're moving forward. You take that one. You take that one. We'll do the best we can. May God do what seems good to him." Just let that ring in your ears. "May the Lord do what seems good to him. We're going forward and risking our lives for the cities of our God." That's example number one.
Here's Esther. This is especially for the women. Esther . . . there's a movie about Esther recently. But what happened was remarkable. So here's the situation. You know this, but I'll rehearse it anyway briefly. In the exile, after the Jews went into exile, there was a man named Mordecai. He had a younger cousin named Esther. Esther was an orphan. I don't know what happened to her parents, maybe killed in the Siege of Jerusalem. And so Mordecai adopts Esther, and she grows up to be beautiful beyond words.
And the King Ahasuerus, the King of Babylon . . . he gets out of sorts with his Queen Vashti and says "you're out of here." And in order to get a new queen, he has kind of a beauty contest. And Esther is chosen. She doesn't have a choice in this. And there she is the queen of the empire as a Jew. He doesn't know she's a Jew.
Haman is wicked and hates Jews with all his might, especially Mordecai, because Mordecai, being a good Jew, doesn't bow down to anybody except God. And so Haman designs a strategy by which he will kill all the Jews in the kingdom and, thus, Mordecai. And so he gets a day on which they'll all be destroyed.
And Mordecai finds out about it and says "our only hope is Esther." And so he sends word to Esther, "You have to go to the king. You have to tell him who you are, and you have to get a hearing with him and plead for your people." And she sends word back, "Don't you know, uncle, that if you walk into the presence of the king unbidden, you die unless he lifts the golden scepter?" And Mordecai sends word back, "If you aren't used to raise up salvation for us, God will use somebody else. You better do this."
And she writes back or I guess it's a note . . . I'm not sure how they did it, but she sends this message. Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai . . . this is Esther 4:15: "Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf. And neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. And I and my maids will also fast as you do. And then I will go to the king, though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."
I love Esther. I hope there are a lot of . . . I hope there are thousands of Esthers out there. You stare right into the possibility of being executed. It's not pretty. It's not romantic. It's ugly. It's gross. It's shameful. And you say, "If I perish, I perish. I will obey the call of love here." That's exactly the same as "may the Lord do what seems good to him," coming out of Joab's mouth. "If I perish, I perish," coming out of Esther's mouth.
These are stories that are in the Bible to cause men and women in this room today to go home resolving "I will take godly risks for my king."
Story number three: Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. You know the story. The king builds a 90-foot tall idol. He says everybody has to bow down and worship the idol. Everybody goes on their face except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They get brought before the king. He says, "Don't you know I can throw you into that furnace there and burn you to a cinder?"
And they respond with these words. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up."
If not, if God will not save us, we're not bowing down anyway. May the Lord do what seems good to him. If I perish, I perish. Whether we live or whether we die, we're not bowing down to your image. So, God, whatever you want to do with us, we are yours.
The most famous risk taker in the Bible . . . in fact, I think the person who probably more than anybody, including Jesus, lived a life of risk was the Apostle Paul. I love the Apostle Paul very, very much. I have lived with him a long time and would like very much to at least walk in some of his shoes.
He bound himself in Acts 21 to go to Jerusalem. He had been collecting money for the poor saints in Jerusalem just like you've been collecting money for lots of things here. And he knew that it would be trouble in Jerusalem.
Thus, says the Holy Spirit, "So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this girdle and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles." Now that much is secure prophetically. You're going to get arrested. But it's going to be into the hands of the Gentiles, and what they will do with you, we do not tell you. It's just going to be bleak in Jerusalem.
And they plead with him. The saints plead with Paul "don't go to Jerusalem, don't go to Jerusalem." And Paul says, "What are you doing weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." And then it says: And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, "The will of the Lord be done."
May God do what seems good to him. If I perish, I perish. Whether we live or die, we're not bowing down to your image. The will of the Lord be done. We don't know what it's going to be. But Paul's intent on going to Jerusalem to keep his word about the poor saints there and money he's been collecting.
Paul's whole life . . . now, this is hard. Some of you have and will face periodic risks. Paul's whole life was risk. I mean, when you read the passages in 2 Corinthians . . . just listen to this. Let the force of this [lay on you]. There are only a few in this room who are going to be called to live this way. Maybe you'll know even as I read it. "Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews . . . this is 2 Corinthians 11:24, following: "Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews, forty lashes less one."
Now I'm going to pause there and try to help you feel what I feel when I read that. "Five times I received forty minus one lashes." That's 39 lashes at five times in his life. Now you all saw the movie The Passion. That was more than 39 lashes. But by the time you get to 39, your back is pretty well shredded. Okay. So you've got long leather strips. Maybe there are little shells in them or little studs, maybe not. But if you've got a good executioner, then 39, that's a lot of times on the same back.
So by the time it's done, your back is flayed. And they say, "Okay, you've done your part, now throw him out." And he falls on the ground, and dirt gets in the wounds. And he gets infected. And he's got a fever for a week. And they wonder if he's going to survive. And then a few months later, it's gradually healed. They don't know anything about stitches. They don't know anything about bacteria. They don't know anything. Just kind of wash it off to get the dirt out. And it heals all crooked once, twice, three times, four times, five times. Same back.
Wouldn't you along about the third time say, "God, this is not a good deal. This is not what I signed up for"? In fact, it is what he signed up for. It says so plainly in Acts Chapter 9: "I will show him how many things he must suffer for me." Five times they shredded Paul's back with 39 lashes. This man wrote the greatest book that was ever written, the book of Romans.
Let me keep reading. "Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I have been beaten with rods; once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been adrift at sea; on frequent journeys . . ."
Now here's the list that makes me say he lived a life of risk, not just experienced a risk here and a risk there. He lived a life of risk. He says, "in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from the Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brethren; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, without food, in cold and exposure. And apart from all these other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches."
Paul never knew where the next blow was coming from. It would be like ministering in a dark room filled with about ten people that he lists here who as soon as they feel you, hit you. And it comes out of the blue. You don't know what . . . I thought they were brothers. The river . . . we tried to get across the river, and it's swollen. And on and on and on. God called Paul to an unbelievable life of suffering. But he never knew where it was coming from, and so it was risk.
Can you imagine? Here's Silas or Timothy or Titus, and they're traveling. And there on the horizon is Philippi or Thessalonica or Berea. And they pause on the outskirts of the city, and they pray. What must those prayer meetings have been like?
Every city, it's trouble. Every city is pain. He's beaten with rods with Philippi. He's thrown into jail in Philippi. His feet are put in stocks in Philippi. And he knows that it happens over and over again.
He bows and he says: God, there are people in there that you've chosen for yourself, and you have designed that they come to you through the gospel. And I would like to plant a little church. Maybe there'd be a Lydia. Maybe there'd be kind of a businesswoman type. And maybe there'd be a demon- possessed girl who could be liberated, and then maybe there would be a jailer, an employee of the city. And the three of them would make a good little church start. So if you would use me, if you would use me to find them, I would be most pleased and willing.
And then he risks his life over and over again. So you can see why perhaps I have a strong affection for Paul. That's enough illustrations of risk from the Bible.
Let me ask this question now. What happens if you don't risk? What happens if you say: Okay, I'm just not going to go there? I'm going to do what I pled with you this morning not to do. I'm going to go back to school. I'm going to get a real practical education. I'm going to get a good job. I'm going to get a nice house with lots of locks on the doors, far away from the inner city. And I'm going to get old and be happy and have lots of sensual pleasures and have wrinkles and uselessness in my rocking chair by the lakeside until I drop, leaving my middle-aged children a fat inheritance to confirm them in their worldliness. That's what you'd choose. No risk, you think.
Now I'm pleading with you not to go there but rather to embrace the cost. What happens if you go there?
There's a story in the Bible about that, more than one. But you know this one. The 12 spies are sent into the Promised Land- right?-including Caleb and Joshua. There they go to check it out. Is it worth going in there for, and can we do it? Because there are giants in there. Fortified cities like Jericho with walls. And they come back, and ten of them say, "We're not taking that risk." And two of them say, "We can do this. With God, we can do this."
How many churches . . . I wonder if you belong to some of these . . . how many churches have walked right up to the edge of some new calling, and the non-risk-taker stood up in the business meeting and killed it? We must have the furnace fixed before we can add the staff member. This is good stewardship. You can't add staff because we don't know if we can pay them, and we've got a $6000 furnace bill, and that may or may not come in, in this new year, and so, Pastor, we're not going to add the staff until we're sure we can pay for the furnace repair.
That mindset is murderous in the church. And, oh, may God grant you, as you both vocational ministers and laypeople filtering out into your churches, not be that kind of person. That you stand up right after that person and say, I think God wants us to take a risk. Tell them the story about Esther or something.
Oh, that there would be churches that would not do what Israel did here. They walked right into the Promised Land, sent a few conservative in and two radical believers in, and the ten held sway. Now here's the cost . . . 40 years of aimlessness.
Are you living in the middle of that curse on a church? Don't let it happen to your life. You walked right up to the edge of a dream. And then some counselors come to you and they say, "I think maybe you're cut out for this. It's safer." And everything in you is crying out, I want to do this for Christ and his kingdom. And you throw it away and enter 40 years of wandering in middle class, prosperous, happy fame, success.
There are perhaps some of you tucked away in little corners of this room that are 60 years old. And you're right at the end of 40-year wandering. Good. It can end. It can end at 20, 10, 15, 2. It can end. That's why you're here, I think, to walk out of that 40 years of waste. That's sad. That's really sad.
Well, let me . . . we're going to move to our Q and A time in just a few minutes. So be thinking what do you want to ask this guy, because there are microphones out there somewhere, and we're going to take time to do it.
But here are a few more things. Okay. So far, I have tried to define risk, and I've tried to say God can't risk. And I've tried to summon you to the biblical rightness of taking risks. And I've warned you against the folly of wasted 40 years if you won't risk.
And now, finally, risks like what? What are some examples that you might face or that I have faced that might put some meat on this skeleton? I'll give you a couple of examples . . . relational, money, witness, ministry ventures . . . just an example or so for these.
Relationships: If you love anybody, care about anybody, you're into risk. And you're into pain. I just wrote . . . my wife and I have been married 38 years, and we went on our 38th anniversary on the 21st of December to Red Wing, Minnesota. We have a tradition on our bed and breakfast outings once a year. And the tradition is to choose a chapter or a short book in the Bible. We've, like, gone through Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians, can't remember. We just chose 1 Corinthians 13 this year, and we pray through it, read a little bit, pray, read a little bit, pray. Just sit on a couch. She reads, I read. Pray, read, pray, read about our lives, our marriage, and our kids. You never stop being a parent, even when they're married.
And we read verses 4 to 7 of 1 Corinthians 13, and it walloped us. It goes like this: Love is patient and kind. It does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
And we stood back from that, and we tried to pray our way through it. And what hit us is that of those 15 things that are said about love there, all but two of them, it seems, fit in two categories that we did not expect. The first category is endurance. The old King James says: Love suffers long, bears all things, endures all things. And it just clobbered us. If you love, you suffer.
If you have a relationship with anybody . . . parent, brother, sister, friend, fiancee, wife, husband . . . if you have a relationship, you suffer. Love suffers long. Love bears all things. Love endures all things. To enter a relationship is to enter pain. And love is all over that. Love doesn't cop out. Love doesn't run away. Love doesn't throw in the towel. Love doesn't return evil for evil. Love endures and bears and comes back with kindness.
And so we just embraces that because there have been some hard things in our marriage and our family recently. And we said we're going to embrace that. We're not going to get ugly about this. We're not going to get mean about this. We're not going to be embittered. We're not going to become hard towards anybody. We're just going to say this is what loves does.
So in relationships . . . a lot of you come out of such broken homes, you're scared to death of marriage. God doesn't call everybody to marry. Paul wasn't married. Jesus wasn't married. John Stott wasn't married. But he calls most people to marry. It's the way the world gets populated- legally. And so, there you are. Everybody I know has gotten a divorce, you might say. I don't want to do this. And you do want to do it. And you don't want to do it. And may God give you grace. He is able. He is able to keep two very different people married-exhibit A.
The other category besides endurance was . . . before I tell you . . . if I did a little survey here and said what's the opposite of love, I think most people would say hate. That'd be true. That's not at all what Paul says. If you just took those words that I gave you from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and said what's the opposite of love, almost everybody examining those words would say pride. Love doesn't boast. Love is not puffed up. Love doesn't seek its own way. It's not about pride.
And Noel and I looked at each other. We said, okay, that's our major problem, isn't it? It's everybody's major problem. But let's be honest, I like my own way. And you like your own way. And that's why we don't get along. And so we're going to work on this pride thing. And you pray it into reality. All of that by way of just illustrating one whole sphere of risk taking is relationships.
I'll give you a very concrete example of a risk that we took as a couple. A phone call came probably 23 years ago from a national magazine. What was it called? I think it was called Partners at that time. It was a Christian magazine. Every magazine had a smiley-faced Christian couple on the front, usually in ministry, more or less well known. And there they are. And then an article. Somebody came and did an interview and wrote the article about them.
Okay, so this phone call comes, said would you and your wife be willing to have us come as a team from CTI and do an interview and put you on the front and exhibit your marriage to the world. Kind of like we're not talking to each other. They want to come interview us about our marriage. She said okay. I said, can I get back to you? Okay. So I hang up, and we talk it over.
And we said, now look, this is a phase. We're going to come out of this. Divorce is not an option, so we could fake it. We can fake it. And let them come. We'll tell them all the good times and smile. Or we could tell them, you know, right now, things are just perfectly awful, and you don't want to come here. But if we say that, the word's going to get out down there at CTI, John Piper has a problem marriage, and they're on their way to get divorced.
Now that's a risky phone call. But we said that's what we're going to do. So I called them back up. I said, look, you don't want to interview us right now because things are really hard in our house, and we wouldn't be smiling on the front of your magazine. So thank you anyway and please handle this information with all due appropriate regard. Thank you anyway. Goodbye. They never called back. That was 23 years ago.
That's the kind of risk you face. I mean, the risk of just being honest. People can turn your word against you real quick. And the more enemies you have, the more people think you're off base, the more quickly they'll take your words and turn it. So that's the relationship cluster.
Another cluster is money. Oh, my, there's more in Jesus' teaching about money than sex, way more. Money's a killer. Money ruins more lives than sex. If we had another big session, maybe I would talk about money instead of sex because that's a killer. So I'm pleading with you now to take risks with your money, meaning live on less than you think you can and give more than you think you can.
Here's a little story from Jesus to help you do that. Jesus looked up, and he saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins. He said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them, for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had.
Now there is a word for that that certain church leaders in your church might use. She was imprudent. What about your rent, groceries? I mean, this is amazing to me. She put in all that she had, and Jesus doesn't get on her imprudent case. He celebrates her. That's weird. A lot of people would mainly get on your case if you did something imprudent with your money. Oh, how many things Jesus has to say, sell your possessions, give alms, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where no moth and rust destroy, and thieves can't break in and steal. Your heavenly Father loves to give the kingdom to those who ask him.
So take risks with your money. I would plead with you that as you get your education and begin to rise in your vocation, whatever it is, simple, complex, high powered, low powered . . . as you begin to rise, if you're competent, you get paid more. What are you going to do? Bigger barns every year? Bigger car every year? Longer vacation every year? If you have it, spend it. It's yours. Every ad tells you to. Have the accoutrements of wealth about you. The right watch . . . cool little band here, huh?
No. Set a cap. That's not easy to decide where that should be. Set your cap, and everything else you give it away. And some day, you may make $800,000 a year and live on 70. God will like that very much. He will like that very much. I mean 70 may be too much. It depends on where you live.
We Americans stink in this regard. And Christians justify our lifestyles because we've just got it. It's just there. Why would you not buy it? You can afford it. And the reason is because of those eight things under the do something now category are eight out of 800,000 possibilities to bless the world.
I've got to stick this in here. I think it's of the Lord. I don't like the prosperity gospel, the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. Here's the main reason. The world watching the Christian Church is never drawn to Christ by our prosperity, never. They may be drawn to the church that tells them they can prosper. That's not being drawn to Christ. What draws people to Christ is people who could have and, because they value Jesus more, don't keep. That's what draws people to Christ.
They look at you, and they say, hmm . . . so you could be driving that and living there and having that kind of security and that kind of comfort and that kind of notoriety, and you're choosing this . . . hmm. So you must have your treasure somewhere else.
I don't know of any other way that the world will be impressed with the Church of Christ than by our suffering, our self- denial, our sacrifice. Our big buildings, our fancy programs, our cool music is not going to draw people to Christ.
What draws people to Christ is love and sacrificial love. Love that costs something. The world loves cool music. The world loves big buildings. The world loves successful programs. This is no big deal.
To try to imitate the world in our churches by having the biggest, flashiest, best does not impress the world at all. They're way better than we are, even at entertainment. And so, why in the world would we not want to make an impact for Christ and namely call our people over and over again to live simply, [war time] for the world. That's what we want to do. So that's money, risking with your money.
A third category would be our witness. Listen to these words: "They will lay hands on you." This is Jesus talking now to his apostles, "They will lay hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and the prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be a time for you to bear testimony. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death."
And I simply want to draw your attention to the word "some." You live faithfully to Jesus in this world globally, some of you in this room will be martyred, no doubt about it. No doubt about it. But not all of you. So since it's some of you and not all of you, there's risk. Am I the one? Maybe. That would be glorious, wouldn't it? Saddam Hussein thought it would be glorious in his cause, at least he said so. It wasn't glorious. But it might be for you.
Remember that picture in Revelation 6:11, where the martyrs are under the altar in heaven, their souls, and they're crying out "how long, O Lord, until you vindicate our blood?" And Jesus says an amazing statement. He clothes them with robes, and he says, "Be quiet. Until the full number comes in of those who are to die for the sake of the name." He's got an appointed number in this room who are going to die for Christ explicitly because of martyrdom. But we don't know who they are. And we all risk with our witness.
Maybe that's enough. I want to take 30 minutes, actually 26 minutes for Q and A. I could go on with ministry ventures and just say again . . . I'll close like this. And then you be thinking, okay, questions, and there's some microphones out there somewhere.
On what basis do you risk? Not it's romantic to take risks. Even unbelievers climb mountains and lose fingers to frostbite and stand on pinnacles and hold their ropes out like Jesus. No, that's not what's going on. I'm not calling you to be heroic.
You're little children, and you're frightened. And unless you turn and become like a little child, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You're little children. You're frightened. This guy's calling you to take some risks, not to be a hero, and not to be a romantic, rather . . . how do you do it?
You do it like this. What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it written, we are being killed all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
The basis of your risk taking is the fact that you cannot ultimately take a risk for God. Every sacrifice you make, everything negative that comes to you, God takes it and makes you more than a conqueror in it. It doesn't just not defeat you. It becomes your servant to bring you home to glory. So when the martyrdom comes, you look the executioner in the face, and you say: Make my day. You dispatch me to paradise, and I would love to take you with me. I would love to take you with me.


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May 25, 2011 —
DRBC schedules new public hearing on proposed water withdrawal
Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) Executive Director Carol Collier has announced that a second hearing will be held on June 1 to give the public another opportunity to provide feedback on XTO Energy's proposed water withdrawal draft docket.
XTO Energy is requesting to withdraw up to 250,000 gallons per day of surface water from Oquaga Creek in the Town of Sanford in Broome County to support the company's natural gas exploration and production activities within the Delaware River Basin in Broome and Delaware counties in NY.
Oquaga Creek drains to the West Branch Delaware River. The public hearing will take place at the Deposit High School Auditorium, 171 Second Street, Deposit, N.Y. from 4:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. An informational meeting will be held at 3:45 p.m. Registration for those who wish to testify will begin at 3:30 p.m.
Registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis with comments limited to two minutes each. Oral testimony may be supplemented with written comments submitted at the hearing or provided to the commission on or before June 1. To date, the DRBC has received more than 8,700 comments.
The draft docket stipulates that even if the docket is issued, the company cannot withdraw any water at the site unless and until it receives separate approvals from DRBC and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) for those natural gas wells intended to receive the water.
Written comments must include "XTO Energy" in the subject line and may be submitted at the June 1 hearing; by e-mail to email@example.com; by U.S. Mail to Commission Secretary, DRBC, P.O. Box 7360, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360; or by private delivery service or hand delivery to Commission Secretary, DRBC, 25 State Police Drive, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360. Include the name, address, and affiliation (if any) of the commenter. The draft docket can be viewed on the commission's web site at www.drbc.net [1].
EPA seeks more information from drillers on wastewater disposal
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has directed six natural gas drillers to disclose how and where the companies dispose of or recycle drilling process water in Pennsylvania. EPA's action follows a request by PADEP asking drillers to voluntarily stop taking wastewater to Pennsylvania wastewater treatment plants by May 19.
EPA wants to know where drillers are now going to dispose of their wastewater and will work with PADEP to ensure EPA has access to this information. The companies receiving the information requests are: Atlas Resources LLC; Talisman Energy USA; Range Resources – Appalachia, LLC.; Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation; SWEPI, LP and Chesapeake Energy Corporation. These six companies account for more than 50 percent of the natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania.
EPA has also requested that PADEP notify EPA when facilities are accepting hydraulic fracturing wastewater so EPA can assess if a pretreatment program or additional permit limits are needed; apply water quality standards for the protection of drinking water at the point of wastewater discharge, rather than at the point of first downstream drinking water intake; consider more "representative" sampling where drinking water facilities are downstream of treatment plants accepting Marcellus Shale gas wastewater; and be aware that Federal Underground Injection Control permits are required for any placement of hydraulic fracturing wastes in injection wells or bore holes. Visit www.epa.gov/region03/marcellus_shale/ [2] for more information.

subset: commoncrawl


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No reviews have been added for this business.
1809 Beltline Rd Sw, Decatur, AL 35601
Delicious! typical Chick-fil-a - always good service and food! I haven't gotten sick and I have eaten there many times. Make sure you ask for chicken to be cooked without marinade. It does contain gluten.
Nau Dining, Flagstaff, AZ 86011
The grilled chicken nuggets and waffle fries are so delicious and so is the original sauce. I'm not celiac just gluten sensitive but I didn't get sick. :)
1291 U.S. 72, Athens, AL 35611
The reviews are for everywhere but Athens AL. Very misleading. No dedicated fryer here!
2585 East Highway 50, Clermont, FL 34711
This is the only fast food place that I feel safe eating at. I always order the grilled chicken nuggets and french fries. I let them know while ordering that I have celiac disease so they take the precautions.
3000 Doctor M.L.K. Jr Blvd, New Bern, NC 28562
Always have a good experience here. Fries, grilled nuggets, various seasonal salads, and lemonade are my favorites.
321 Marina Bay Dr, Clear Lake Shores, TX 77565
A decent option for something quick and easy. mostly if it's something everyone else wants, you'd have a few options. fruit, salad, and grilled chicken. The best part is that their waffle fries have their own fryer, so no cross contamination.
1370 Interstate Drive, Cookeville, TN 38501
Always so accommodating, this is the only place I trust in Cookeville for a safe meal. Grilled nuggets are gf and fries are in a dedicated fryer. If you tell them when you order that you need it allergy marked they will put a sticker on it.
502 Lane St, Moultrie, GA 31768
Standard Chick Fil A procedures. Manager checked twice to see if gloves were changed.
700 Haywood Rd Ste 102, Greenville, SC 29607
Always great! Always
1400 Dell Range Blvd Spc 89, Cheyenne, WY 82009
Asked if the fries had breading and if they were cooked in the same fryer. Was told that I could try one to find out. 😂
401 W Kennedy Blvd, Tampa, FL 33606
I just want to point out that this is a Chik fil a express inside of the University of Tampa student center so it is a little odd this is listed. A little more limited than the regular restaurant with no grilled nuggets but both grilled chicken salad and sandwich with no bun are okay.
2415 Cherry Rd, Rock Hill, SC 29732
The worst experience I've ever had since receiving my Celiac diagnosis was at this restaurant. The manager was rude and called attention to me and my dietary needs to everyone in line. The owner later tried to justify his behavior. Go to the Chicken Fil A on Dave Lyle instead they are wonderful.
1445 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS 66045
The staff at Chick-fil-A in Lawrence Ks tried to be helpful but had no idea about what gluten free is or would be on the menu and there are no dedicated fryers. We didn't eat. This is not the correct location either
2652 Old Denton Rd, Carrollton, TX 75007
I agree with Lucy! 4/5 times I get the wrong order at the drive thru ... I shouldn't have pull over and park to check the order and go back again in line every single time. I understand that there are peak hours in where staff is very busy and mistakes happen which is more than understandable but the impolite second interactions are unnecessary. Tried contacting them but never heard back unfortunately.
602 N West End Blvd, Quakertown, PA 18951
The service was wonderful and since it was the weekend, two people were taking orders at the same time. This was SO efficient, and definitely raised my customer satisfaction.
148 Melody Farms Rd, Barboursville, WV 25504
Brought my gf sandwich in a bun had to return it fries were not done in a separate frier
14314 Fm 2920 Rd, Tomball, TX 77377
spicy southwest chicken salad and fries are my go-to food. I have never gotten sick.
11820 Fountains Way, Maple Grove, Minnesota 55369
They have a dedicated fryer just for fries, they have gluten free items on the menu, and they are very knowledgeable. All you have to do is warn them when you order and you'll be good to go.
1150 S Campus Dining Hall, College Park, MD 20742
I get the market salad with fries fairly often and haven't had a problem. The staff could use some allergen training from my experience.
661 N Highway 231, Panama City, FL 32405
They have very limited menu options. But most of their sauces are gluten free so that was a nice surprise. I LOVE regular Chick-fil-A food & am so disappointed in gluten free choices. I tried the grilled nuggets today & they were gross; slimy & fatty....not at all like the grilled pictures or like regular nuggets.
2230 S Pleasant Valley Rd, Winchester, VA 22601
I've eaten here and never gotten sick. If you tell them you need gluten free specifically they will make sure everyone changes their gloves, etc.
1752 Us Highway 1 S, Saint Augustine, FL 32084
Safe location, standard Chick Fil A procedures..
1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260
We eat here all of the time and we are very sensitive!!! Just ask for a manager... And ask for them to change their gloves :-)
1 University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701
I don't know about cross contamination, but they have grilled chicken pieces that are pretty good.
912 Pleasant Grove Blvd, Roseville, CA 95678
they do not yet have the gluten free buns like some other locations but their salads are awesome
1031 Hunter's Crossing Drive, Alcoa, TN 37701
I always eat the grilled chicken nuggets and the superfood side salad! Delicious!
5100 N Broadway St, Knoxville, TN 37918
Today was my first time going after a recent diagnosis of celiac. I wasn't sure how it would go but it seemed to work out fine. I don't know if I would be able to tell is if had been glutened as I didn't have usual symptoms. I ordered the fries and grilled chicken. it was so good! the staff explained after I asked how they do things. she said they flag the order to remind preparers that it can't touch gluten foods. happy to be able to get my chick-fil-a fix!
4090 River Point Pkwy, Sheridan, CO 80110
no dedicated fryer or grill so no true gf food except their awesome Ice cream. Littleton CO
1564 Laurens Rd, Greenville, SC 29607
Always good at the CFA!
1626 Richmond Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22911
Grilled chicken is gluten free and prepared separately from fried chicken. Fries and hashbrowns have a dedicated frier. Limited to pretty much these options and one of the salads but better then nothing.
4001 Sunset Dr, San Angelo, TX 76904
The grilled nuggets are very good, but I miss the discontinued coleslaw. I don't understand why they quit selling coleslaw "for health reasons" but continued curly fries.
1466 N Dysart Rd, Goodyear, AZ 85395
The grilled chicken nuggets are delicious. I've ordered the waffle fries only after confirming a dedicated fryer. Some locations say yes; others no. Thankfully I've yet to get sick.
8673 Summit Centre Way, Orlando, FL 32810
This place totally sucks for offering gluten-free options. The girl did not note it on the receipt anywhere, nor did she tell the employee who was making the food. Not pleased at all!
156 Federal Rd, Brookfield, CT 06804
Great food, with several options. Manager was waiting on us at the counter and was very helpful and knowledgeable. Food was great.
202 Robert C Daniel Jr Pkwy, Augusta, GA 30909
One of my favorites! Very clean and always friendly service... EVERY TIME!!
3450 Wrightsboro Rd, Augusta, GA 30909
One of my favorites! Very clean and always friendly service... EVERY TIME!!
636 Tuttle Creek Blvd, Manhattan, KS 66502
Good ole Chickafila filling my lunch needs.
2707 N Meridian Blvd, Reading, PA 19610
Disappointing. Staff, including manager, was not familiar with Celiac or "gluten allergy" (I usually describe it as an allergy when ordering fast food because they're more likely to understand). I explained that they would just need to change gloves and they all looked very confused and didn't say anything to instill confidence. Maybe worst of all, they were rude and a bit short-tempered, something I've NEVER experienced in a chic-fil-a. Normally I consider chic-fil-a an easy safe option, but I don't expect I'll be coming to this location again. Here's hoping my daughter doesn't get sick.
110 Louis Henna Blvd, Round Rock, TX 78664
we eat here often and have never had a problem. my daughter has celiacs and loves the fries. they need better information on there website and be able to better train some of there staff on what is gluten free. but other than that we love chick fil a
5101 Hinkleville Rd Ste 540, Paducah, KY 42001
I went here yesterday. They were very helpful and even informed me about the new marinade recipe (which isn't GF) So they red flagged my order and prepared a clean surface and cooked my chicken without marinade! It took I little longer than normal, but it is very much worth the wait!
1696 Stringtown Rd, Grove City, OH 43123
They offered to change gloves without being asked. The order was to go and they bagged it separately from the rest of the order!
3640 Grand Ave, Chino Hills, CA 91709
I love to get a 12 piece grilled nuggets with fries. A note on some of the comments: Most of us know you often have to do your own research and the employees working the drive thru may not always know the answers to questions about allergens - pasted below is the GF menu that is literally two taps away if you follow the link, here for convenience. Entree Chick-fil-A® Grilled Chicken Filet (no bun) Chick-fil-A® Grilled Market Salad* Grilled Chick-fil-A® Nuggets (8 or 12 count) Sides Fruit Cup Side Salad* Superfood Side Chick-fil-A Waffle Potato Fries® Yogurt Parfait* Breakfast Bacon slice Grilled Breakfast Filet Sausage patty Hash Browns Kid's Meals Grilled Chick-fil-A® Nuggets (4 or 6 count) Buddy Fruits® Pure Blended Fruit To Go applesauce Honest Kids® Apple Juice Beverages All Beverages Dipping Sauces and Dressings Honey Mustard Sauce Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce Polynesian Sauce Garlic & Herb Ranch Sauce Zesty Buffalo Sauce Chick-fil-A® Sauce Smokehouse BBQ Sauce Chick-fil-A® Buffalo Sauce Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing Zesty Apple Cider Dressing Light Italian Dressing Fat Free Dijon Honey Mustard Dressing Light Balsamic Vinaigrette Garlic & Herb Ranch Creamy Salsa Chili Lime Vinaigrette * Does not include toppings
6050 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34747
Had the market salad without blue cheese. It was very good! My receipt was marked gluten allergy on it. Only problem I had was being too full! I ate the whole thing!
10501 Westport Rd, Louisville, KY 40241
We eat here way too much! It's nice to be able to eat fries out. I get a grilled chicken breast plain or grilled market salad. Great fast food. They are accommodating at this location and St. Matthews too.
1194 US-22, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865
My daughter eats the fries, hash browns, and chicken grillers without any issues.
210 Andover Street, Peabody, MA 01960
I have Celiacs and have never had a problem with Chick-Fil-A. I usually get the fries and grilled chicken...SO glad I can continue to enjoy it!
2340 North Druid Hills Road Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30329
I am extremely sensitive to gluten & am able to eat their grilled chicken nuggets & waffle fries without any problems. Always good service at Chik fil A. They do an excellent job of training people. I have multiple food allergies. If you tell them what you are interested in eating, they can print out an ingredient list for you - including the sauces.
4625 S Florida Ave, Lakeland, FL 33813
Let them know. They know to change their gloves and what is safe.
Nau Dining, Flagstaff, AZ 86011
Is it just for students? Couldn't find any visitor parking. Don't know if celiac friendly or not.
4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 32816
Food is amazing and customer service is always great too.
6:30 am - 10:00 pm
6:30 am - 10:00 pm
6:30 am - 10:00 pm
6:30 am - 10:00 pm
6:30 am - 10:00 pm
6:30 am - 10:00 pm


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Joanne B. SwahnApril 08,2013
Joanne B. SwahnJoanne B. Swahn
Joanne B. Reed Swahn, 75, of Rutland, died April 5, 2013, after a long illness.
She was born April 23, 1937, in Pittsford, the daughter of John Carmi and T. Kathleen (Riley) Reed.
She attended Pittsford/Barstow High School.
Survivors include her husband, John A. Jack Swahn of Rutland; four children, Kathleen Swahn of Pittsford, John Swahn of Barre, Leslie Nichols of Bellefonte, Pa., and Reed Swahn of Mendon; 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren; three siblings, Sally Turner, Dorothy Dutchie Chastaine, both of Pittsford, and Thomas Reed of Hampton, N.Y.; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
She was predeceased by two brothers, Hayden Sonny and Rodney Whezzy Reed.
The graveside service will be held at a later date in Evergreen Cemetery in Pittsford.
Memorial contributions may be made to American Cancer Society, 55 Day Lane, Williston, VT 05495; or Rutland Regional Medical Center Dialysis Unit, 160 Allen St., Rutland, VT 05701.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Barnard Funeral Home in Pittsford.MORE IN ObituariesCharles T. Baker
Charles T. Full StoryMarguerite Hoose
Marguerite Alice Peggy Hoose, 90, of Rutland, Vermont, died December ... Full StoryLouise S. Full Story
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lol catman even uses craiglist to find his future wife
Man, you are young. you need to just keep pumping the chick full of baby batter (assuming she is on the pill) and have fun with it. Quit worrying about it so much man. you're gonna give yourself a coronary.
if she said 8 that means add another 10 to know the real figure..good luck marrying a whore
nah she said 3 at first...then i came out about my past and she said i want to tell you the truth....8...so i know it was real lol. if it was plus 10 id bounce
lol so she already lied..3,then 8,then...lmao you about to marry a locomotive..i bet she so full of old men cum still squirts it out from time to time to this day..
whats gonna happen to your cat though?
her cats...
Not that funny Sil, especially when your mom still thinks about last summer when i fucked her so deep she blacked out and thought she was giving birth to you again...she kept screaming "NO!!!! He was a mistake to begin with!!!". Kinda baffled me at first, but then i realized it was because she wasn't sure who your father was =/
one....that pic sucks....two everyone is right she is a whore.... promiscuity is normal now tho....three...most relationships and marriages fail...period.... if you work out its like winning the lottery
http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/a...psf75f970a.gif...PASSION IS MY FUCKING PASSION
It's not about judgement. It is about common sense man. The girl is a freak. The odds of her only being a freak with you are extremely slim. If you want to love her, then love her. If you want to get freak nasty with her, then do that to. But marriage is a terrible idea. Either way, good luck.
Fucking Determined!
Dude your obsessed with her past. No way you can marry this chick. Just relax and fuck the snot out of her and eventually you will realize this is crazy talk.
yes she is a freak. when she tells me i am the only one she will ever sleep with again it is the most genuine thing i've ever heard from someone...it really does seem as if it is from the heart and that no matter what she says if she had to wait for me she would.. she said our relationship is not just about sex and that i need to stop thinking it is. She says when i come off cycle, my lack of libido won't be a problem and that she will wait... yes, 8 different guys in 4 months, meeting with some of them multiple times is very slutty, but i did the same so i feel like i have no word and cant judge her because i did the same. She is a VERY shy and quiet girl too, which is hard to believe. not sure if her shyness and quitness is good or bad
she has never cheated in a relationship, but then again this is her first relationship that involved sex. She was "experimenting" she said.
Dude if you like this girl, then so be it. But you have reservations, and it bothers you, as it should. But there are plenty of attractive, wholesome, girls in the world that don't look for" love" on Graigslist.
Cause that doesn't happen.
My advice, have fun, but don't even think of getting married. You both are way to young, and she just loves to throw around her sexuality.
Long story short, this type of woman doesn't make a good wife.
Again, just have fun and you wear protection!
she would say, "i used to throw it around but now i found the love of my life and all i want is you baby. I want to grow old with you and be yours forever. I regret what i did in my past, i was just lost. I am all yours, forever and always baby"
we are like the exact people...we both had casual sex on craigslist with the EXACT same amount of people during the EXACT same amount of time...it is very weird...its just i am sexist i guess....idk
i mean, who the fuck could say no to this face?
yes the whole fucking strangers things kills me. how would you react if your wife/gf had slept with only 1 person she knew, and the rest strangers she knew for seconds before getting a load shot in her in the back of some car or married mans house(true)
A few words of wisdom for ya:
1. Your gals is HO, period.
1. Always wrap up with a HO.
2. Never believe anything your HO says.
3. Craig's list is for hiring day laborers and shit like that, not picking out your future wife
Keep enjoying her smashed out little pussy, but know she's fucking someone else or surfin the web loookin for another dick real soon, so enjoy it while it lasts.
This account and all comments made by account holder are for entertainment purposes only, anabolic steroid use is illegal without a prescription.
Keepin Green.


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College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Navigating by Nature: The Voyage of the Globe Star
Date: September 20, 2012
Ninety-six year old Rowan Geography professor emeritus returns to campus to share his story of sailing around the world using only the stars and his knowledge of geography. Dr. Marvin Creamer is the only human to ever circumnavigate the globe on a sailboat using NO navigational instruments. After 510 days of raging seas and unrelenting obstacles, Dr. Creamer returned to the safe harbors of New Jersey.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Creamer – still an active sailor at 96 – as he brings his epic voyage full circle. Please take part in the conversation on Thursday, September 20th @ Rowan Hall Auditorium as he charts the course of his historic journey and the amazing events that occurred on this 30th year anniversary of his voyage.
Event Details
Time: 4:45-6:00pm
Date: Thursday, September 20th, 2012
Location: Rowan Hall Auditorium
This talk is open to the entire Rowan community and is qualified Rowan Seminar Passport Event.
Questions should be directed to email@example.com.
Stay tuned for more events related to Marv Creamer's journey throughout the coming year.
Location: Rowan Hall Auditorium


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At the Tokyo Dome, the Taiwanese World Baseball Classic team lost to the Chinese World Baseball Classic team. Taiwanese fans cried. Literally bawled. They said they didn't want Taiwan to continue going abroad to play other nations in baseball for humiliation's sake.
Meanwhile at Rogers Centre in Toronto, 40,000 Canadians packed in to cheer on their Canadian World Baseball Classic team. The United States defeated them, however, but it barely made headlines.
Carlos Ruiz is the starting catcher for the Panamanian team. Really, he's the country's most popular player. The focus of that iconic game five photo, Ruiz was coaxed by the president of his country to play in the World Baseball Classic. Barack Obama did not call Jimmy Rollins.
Chan Ho Park wanted to play for his South Korean team. He really wanted to play. But he decided he couldn't — instead, he had to win a starting rotation spot for the Phillies, the major league's top team. He had to stay in America. He cried. Literally bawled.
And yet in America, we don't care. Like when the World Cup invades our televisions — it truly invades — we yawn and carry on after it ends. Baseball is the great unifier, and yet it unifies nothing in the United States.
A division bell
If anything, baseball in America divides. Baseball fans are divided into 30 contingents. The media plays up the rivalries — Yankees vs. Red Sox, Phillies vs. Mets, Cubs vs. Cardinals, Dodgers vs. Giants. When our teams win, we not only celebrate victory, but we laugh in the face of our rivals. When Jimmy Rollins took the stage at the Phillies' victory celebration, he assured a hard dig at the Mets. Why? What's the point?
When the United States team assembled for the World Baseball Classic, we rued the idea of Rollins and Shane Victorino playing alongside David Wright. We expressed caution for the players' performances after the classic. The major league season is much more important — that's where rivarly is cultivated. That's when we expend our emotions.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world cheers and hisses and lives and dies with what occurs on the field. For a tournament created three years ago.
A solution
A solution, then, to keep international interest high and keep major league players out of injury risk, is to turn the World Baseball Classic into an amateur tournament. Half the teams are filled to the brim with amateur players; why should there be an uneven field? Why not make the World Baseball Classic the substitute for the winter leagues every three years?
Most Americans view the classic as an unnecessary problem, and it can be fixed to satisfy everyone; still, we can't deny what importance an event like this brings to other nations.
Chan Ho Park recently waxed about the impact he had on his nation. He was the first South Korean to reach the major leagues, and his fellow Koreans watched him madly. During tough economic times, people huddled around televisions early in the morning to watch Park pitch against major league teams. Early in his career he was astounding. He gave his countrymen hope.
Every fifth day South Koreans watched Park judiciously. If he could do it, anyone could. Children admired and imitated him. He was a national hero.
In 2006, Park represented South Korea in the World Baseball Classic and tossed 10 scoreless innings. He again gave his nation hope.
And here we are, 2009. Now it's the United States under a cloud of economic horror. Some of the greatest baseball players from across the country have gathered to win a tournament, but to us, it's just that: A ridiculous tournament that takes away from the intensity of a major league season.
Maybe a change to the tournament will put it in its rightful place.
43 Comments
How many Americans know about the World Baseball Classic that started in 2006?
If Major League Baseball's World Series was barely watched in 2008, why would this new baseball league be popular in the US?
With our homeless, unemployed citizens barely scraping by and the Yankees spending more than a small country, perhaps some baseball fans have become jaded and have had enough of watching baseball.
I speak only for myself.
I'm only saying that I fully understand why this World Baseball classic thing is barely watched and why most Americans really don't care about it. Its not Olympics or MLB.
In other action in the WBC, both Reyes and Tattise were upset by a team from Northern Europe, the Netherlands. Those pot smoking dutch thightened the noose that allowed two Mets to "Choke" again. I woke up at 5 am to watch China vs Korea. The other night I stayed up late to watch China take on Taipei. The WBC matters to me, a BASEBALL fan. Sure, my favorite team is the Phillies, but if there is one thing I am above all, it's a baseball fan. Tim, I completely agree that most Americans are apathetic towards the classic. But is that a suprise? Hell, nobody cares about the fall classic in this country, unless it is their team jockeying for the title. I think the apathy us Americans feel towards the WBC is right on par with the apathy Americans feel towards anything else that happens outside the confines of this country. True baseball fans will watch the WBC, but seriously, today, how many true baseball fans are there left anymore?
Amanda I agree totally. When watching teams from the far east, its more than playoff atmosphere. It's national pride. You can see on the players faces how much each hit means to them. They live and die by every strike. I was watching the game this morning and the players on team China looked so dejected. They looked as if they let an entire country down. If Canada would have beaten the US, nobody would have cared. As a baseball fan, I think the only thing more exciting than watching two countries who are geographical foes duke it out is watching my team in the Series. I can't wait for the games tonight. I will be glued to the screen. It's a shame more Americans are not.
BTW, you're also right that the tourney should be moved to November. By that time, most players have already had a month off unless they went to the WS so they are rested and do have the recovery time should they get injured. I will say I like the fact that Pedro Martinez is pitching his butt off. That means he'll tire out early in the season, weakening the Mets pitching staff.
I guess that's the difference after all. I'm not a BASEBALL fan. My grandmother didn't just take me to a baseball game in July of 1974. She took me to a Phillies game at the Vet and I fell asleep on her lap.
Why would I watch the WBC? Shane Victorino
Can I watch WBC or Phillies games live here in TN? Its not easy. I live in a state that doesn't care much about MLB baseball. I'm the only Phillies fan in my my county.
So, I'm not a true baseball fan. I'm also guilty of falling asleep sometimes during radio broadcasts when Harry Kalas is talking.
I love the idea of a national competition but I can't see how baseball can consistently put a competition together with the best in the world competing not an abridge version of the major countries.
There's just no time in the year that would work consiering the wear and tear especailly on the pitchers and you have to really worry for the pitchers. It's great for the guys trying to find a way to elavate themselves but it's not exactly a no-holds barred competition of the best fighting it out for supremecy. Arbitrary pitch-counts for starters just take away the essence of the game, it's a glorified series of exhibition games. How can it be the best of the best if neither of the reigning Cy Young pitchers are representing their teams
You can't have a competition where no-one in the league and the fans truely wants to see their players competiting for fear of the effects on their health and that's the reality of the WBC.
^BTW Jason B. The Netherlands team is a pretty good team are the perrenial powerhouse in Europe, except almost their entire roster is made up of players from former Dutch colonies so they basically are a surrogate of the Americas.
But the rivalries have seem to be put aside, at least for me. I'm rooting for David Wright and Derek Jeter, two guys I have had plenty to say about over the years, because I root for my country. I'm very much into the WBC this year. I cared that the team won. If the rest of the country doesn't get it, they are missing out big time on a great event. Even the other games are a thrill to watch.
I like the idea of the WBC and wouldn't want it turned into an amateur tournament. Watching the best players from the MLB getting to represent their home countries is exciting.
funny how u start this article with taiwan, i am a phillies fan from taiwan living in the states now, i watched thru the game and it was pathetic, we flat out didn't show up and i understand all the rage and sadness because i am one of them.
much like Park with Korea, Wang of the Yankees is like that role to us, we watch him every 5th day, when he win, the stock market goes up(i know it sound crazy but it is true) when he was hurt last season, the tv replay some of his early game instead of other team's game and people still watch it.
the problem with WBC is really simple, it will take couple humiliated losses for the US before they finally assemble a real all star team like they do in the NBA.
The problem is it isn't the best players especially on the pitching side. Injury is one thing but honestly you don't hear the tennis players turning down an invite in the olympics, that's not a critisism of the players or those who are at the WBC but the sides could and should be stronger. If your a canadian Cubs fan for example you don't want to see Rich Harden pitch in the WBC when you know he's not going to make 30 starts for the Cubs.
The WBC is a great idea but it has to be structured better than it is now, the competition is watered down.
As a baseball fan i put allegances down if they're playing for my country, U.S.A., I respect their abilities, and I agree with Amanda as well in the fact that the game should be changed, but I think it could actually be a little later, they could probably start in January allowing the players to train primarily with their respected country and allow the minor league guys to get more reps in games and have the coaches watch them more since that's who they really want to see anyway the stars or guys that don't need to fight for a roster spot are the ones who compete anyway. The players such as Park who compete for a starting pitcher spot or a starter spot in general are the ones who don't or won't compete so that they don't lose anytime.
But I do see the argument to make the tournament more of an amateur tournament as well. I just don't see MLB players lasting in this tournament long, i see more of the prospects taking this tournament over in the next WBC.
Pedro isn't on the Mets….yet, anyway.
I think the WBC is the best thing to happen to baseball in a long time, and making it an amateur tournament would take away everything that makes it special.
I would agree that some structure and timing could be improved, but players shedding their clubs and uniting to play for their countries is something baseball has sorely lack for ages.
The USA vs Canada game yesterday was one of the best games i have seen in forever. it had everything you could hope for in a baseball game, and it literally felt like a game 6 in the World Series. How can you not love a guy like Adam Dunn, who has never really had a chance to play in the post season, checking his pulse in the dugout in the top of the 9th. And then telling the press that to him this IS his playoffs. Or the young prospect Aumont getting called on to pitch with the bases loaded, then striking out some of baseballs best hitters.
If America is not paying attention then it's our own stupid fault. Sure the tournament may be a bit lopsided for awhile, but if it gets baseball to grow in other countries then it's worth it.
Here are my two cents.
I think, when debating the WBC, we need to put into context the viewpoint of who is watching it. Living in Puerto Rico, I can very much say thats its a big deal to us. There is pride in our time and when we crushed Panama 7 – 0 yesterday the stadium was going nuts. Its the only time of the year where we can see big MLB stars coming to the island. Heck its the only time of the year I will be cheering for the likes of Beltran or Delgado! It was really fun yesterday, it will be fun next game, and it will be REALLY fun if we get a chance to knock the Dominican Republic out of the tournament. This fun, on our island, we won't get again until a couple years pass when we get the WBC again.
Just because it does not grab as much passion or attention in the United States I do not think we need to rush to change things. Its awesome for the likes of Japan, the Dominican Republic, and my own Puerto Rico and I think this is because the mainland US is spoiled. They get the fun of MLB for half the year every year. We don't so its a very special thing when we get big league talent come and play here. Yes there is an injury risk but I think the good it does outways the potential bad. For all the problems we have in our island right now we are all united this weekend having a blast.
I don't think MLB should tinker with the rules to please the US crowd and end up taking away a good thing for everyone else. We, for example, don't want to see the amateurs. We want to see to big guns. Thats a big part of what makes it special.
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very well stated, Mazinman.
Mazinman, you raise a very valid point. The WBC was not created to please U.S. crowds or to appeal to the U.S. fan base. The reasone for the WBC was to further enhance the brand of baseball worldwide and extend the globalization of the game. In my opinion, making it an amatuers only tournament would take away from that goal.
I do think the WBC has some flaws related to timing, the makeup of the teams, etc…But wathing the U.S. versus Canada game yesterday, I got the sense that the U.S. TEAM is treating this year's WBC different. Does the U.S. fan base care? That is another question entirely. I don't we'll see any U.S. fans bawling over a loss any time soon, but I do think fans should tune in to these games–they won't be disapointed.
I needs to be a real international competition, 2 teams from Europe made up mostly of players from the Caribbean and the Italian about as Italian as their hockey team is hardly exporting the game. It's mostly a whipping for the non-elite countries and the top ones aren't fielding their best teams.
The WBC is kind of like the all-star game, you just don't quite know what it's purpose is at a time my stupid country turfed the game out of the Olympics. There's more exposure made of the young players at the futures game and in winter leagues and it doesn't have the passionate vibe throughout that's brought by the South American countries. It's got a little bit of this and that but lacks any kind of real identity, purpose or statement for the game. If it's the best of the best on the international stage shouldn't Tim Lincecum have been starting game 1 for US? There's pressure to win on what is essentailly a very depleating US team and around the globe it's only really followed by the baseball hardcore outside of the countries that live and die by the game.
The format and the exposure (and purpose) of the WBC needs to be improved. If it's going to be seen to be the ultimate stage for baseball internationally it needs to be seen to rival the world cup, rugby world cup or even the Davis Cup although any improvements to the tournemouth could hurt the future of major league baseball. Most of the NFL's power is in it's structure and status and if the WBC cannot be legitimate while MLB sits on the fence unsure of it's role and fielding a B-team for the country which is essentiall the hub of baseball no matter how you look at it.
Coming from one that isn't I do have to ask do fans outside of the 'baseball countries' care? Coming from the UK I can tell you no-one does, no-one outside of the baseball hardcore cares and even in Holland their more likely to watch a soccer league game than the WBC as I'm sure the same is for Australia and South Africa. The following of the WBC isn't even in the same ballpark as hockey in the winter olympics or basketball in the summer olympics where the fringe teams throw out their best to give everything they've got while and when the best players from the superior countries barely have an invite turned down.
Lets call a spade a spade here, if the WBC's purpose is to export the game it's done an aweful job and if it's purpose is to see the heavyweights slug it out it's failed there too.
This was another good article by Mr. Malcolm. I wish the World Baseball Classic
drew more attention here, but the MLB rivalries are too intense in the US. Plus we really do have at least six months of the best baseball in the world. It is exciting to hear about teams like the Netherlands winning, and China playing baseball. It is good for us to be an example of excellence in this sport and an outlet for great players all over the world. It is very good public relations and will grow into something special — THE WORLD CUP OF BASEBALL.
My frustration at the moment is that I turn on my TV and cannot find a game to watch.
If I don't get my MLB.TV fix some time this month, I'm gonna go bonky.
Phan in Tn:
I'm sorry, I may not have been clear… I wasn't insinuating that if you do not watch the WBC, you are not a baseball fan, I was just saying that is why I watch it. It isn't because I have any vested interest, just that I like to watch baseball. I apologize if I lead you to believe something different. Plus, who doesn't fall asleep on a lazy summer night listening to Harry's pipes. It's like a grown mans lullaby.
I think it is a good tournament that could afford some changes. And saying the Netherlands are the baseball powerhouse in Europe is like saying you are the best Bocci Ball player in Alaska. Just like the majority of Americans don't care about soccer, most Europeans do not care about baseball. You're right, most the players are from former territories, but you cannot make an argument that the D.R. did not get upset yesterday. That was a huge upset.
I understand why it is a bit thin on pitching… In a day where you are considered a workhorse for pitching 200 innings, Anything more at a high level can really be a detriment to a teams success during the regular season. I'm not saying I agree, but that is the age of baseball in which we live. I don't think I would want Hamels pitching 20 innings in the tournament if it meant 20 less in the MLB.
Why not get rid of the meaningless MLB all-star game and play the semifinals and final of the WBC during the All-Star break?
Making it an amateur tournament is a really selfish proposal. The rest of the world likes this tournament in part because teams get to play the Derek Jeters, the Big Papi, the Jake Peavys, the Magglio Ordonez of the world. These "stars" NEED to play to make this tournament interesting for EVERYONE, not just the U.S.
And the "division bell" argument is weak…. I wasn't born in the U.S. and I can assure you that in every country in the world, sports divide a country in the same intensity as here in the U.S. Maybe even more. Manchester United fans HATE (literally, DESPISE) Liverpool FC and wish them the worst, and they are the happiest in the world when the other team loses. It's nature, and it's not unique to America. But when it's time to cheer for the national team, they do it together even though existing rivalries will remain.
The issue is that here in the U.S. the sports culture is self-absorbed. It's the old idea that the U.S. is the biggest, the most important country in the world. So who cares what happens beyond its borders? There's this idea that there's no need to compete against other countries with your best athletes because you're already the best. And I'm sorry to say that this article's proposed solution to the WBC validates that same old and arrogant viewpoint.
Jason B, no offense taken whatsoever. I literally meant that I am not a baseball fan.
I had a discussion with my wife about watching baseball games that don't have the phillies playing. She would say "who do you want to win?"
I would answer with "they both cheat, so i want both of them to lose"
I have a very nice baseball card collection but of course I have my Phils segregated. The groups are Phillies and Not-the-Phillies.
Simplistic? you betcha
Regarding the WBC, I don't think that we Americans can get used to our MLB heroes being equal to other baseball players in a competition.
Jason B. your right it was an upset but don't count on many Dutch people knowing they just upset one of the baseball powers. It's the classic chicken and egg question and what makes things so complicated is the fact that there are really only the two top professional leagues in the world unlike hockey which exports it's best but still have strong home-leagues. Once you take the talent out of countries like Australia and China you've run the well dry without those countries even knowing because it's not like Japan or South Korea, you have to wonder who's actually watching because it's not like in the major baseball countries where you can turn the TV on and watch the game.
You can't be a good door to door salesman if no-ones at home or slamming the door in your face but the international baseball community hasn't quite understood that yet. They have to tailor the top international competition around the MLB and the Japanese league whilst trying to set up proper competitive leagues in Europe, Africa and Asia. You can't just invite a weak side like Taiwan or China with no baseball heritage and expect them to compete, expect countries with even less baseball exposure like Holland and Australia to care and then expect countries like the US to take it serious when their not fielding their best sides (and don't ask the Canadians to care either when they know they have no shot). This tourney is for the countires like the Japan, DR and Cuba to 'prove their the as good as the US', nothing more.
I did the same thing with my cards growing up. As matter of fact, if I didn't have any Phils in the deck, it was a bad deck and I pretty much tossed those that weren't Phils. I wonder how much money I tossed as a kid for doing that.
Manny you make a good point the US is very insular with it's major league sports and as someone who day by day puts up with the English football culture it makes me love sports like baseball even more. The simple fact is don't do the WBC for us or even the Italians or Dutch, no-one who doesn't follow baseball religiously or plays it cares.
BE INSULAR! tailor the competition to be a top-tier demonstration of the best with the passion of winter league play in the Dominican Republic not a half-hearted attempt to export the game to countries that don't care unless you've taken steps to make them care. You can't get the WBC on tv in the UK. To be honest I wouldn't care to much if I was following the US team because it's what essentaily is the back-up team with a FEW of the elite guys, it's only the Japanese, Koreans and Dominicans taking this tournemount seriously.
this isn't about the USA. its about the world. period.
If by world you mean DR, PR, Cuba, Venuzuela, Japan and South Korea…
To NJ: AND the Puerto Ricans! Don't forget about us! 🙂
Something that came accross my mind, what if the WBC took place earlier in the year? Have it be in December or January, for example. Here it will still be plenty warm to have games. The other sites can either be in warm locations as well or in indoor stadiums. That way the players will have a rest period after it is done and before the season starts to get ready or heal up after any injuries happen AND we get something to do while waiting for Spring Training to start.
Yeah, I love the WBC, and I'm an American. Maybe the US team needs a leader to play the role that Ichiro plays for Japan, where he puts this tournament on par with the World Series and browbeats the team's intensity up to 11. They were locked in against Korea.
There are plenty of stars in the US that aren't going near the playoffs anytime soon, as Adam Dunn pointed out, so this is the closest they're going to come to fun, intense, meaningful baseball all year. Why wouldn't players want to be a part of it, especially because it's for their country? Maybe US players don't feel like they need to prove anything, and that it doesn't matter if Japan can more credibly claim that it has the best team in the world, but as a fan, it matters to me.
You can prepare for the season by competing against the best players in the world, for your country, or you can shag balls in Florida, playing against minor league scrubs in meaningless games. Is that really a tough call?
I think it's WAY too early to give out "solutions" for the WBC. It is fine… it will be a slow process. You know how many teams played in the first FIFA World Cup (by all measures, the greatest sports tournament worldwide)? 13… and they were all invited. Most Europeans team didn't want to bother to participate in this tournament which was being held across the Atlantic, in Uruguay. Only South Americans cared, the rest of the world didn't. I think with baseball something similar can happen. It might take half a century, but it will be worth it. It is good to see compromise from some players in the USA team, as well as players from all around the world. I liked the vibe from the USA-Canada game in Toronto and it was hell of a game. The other 2 were pretty good too. This tournament will grow if you leave it as it is…maybe play with the schedule, but the best from each country MUST PLAY.
i'm into it. i can't wait for the USA / Venezuela game tonight. i don't understand why so many people are against it. it's actual competitive baseball in march. what else are you going to watch? you'd rather watch spring training games? plus, you get to see J-Roll and Jeter and Shane and Chipper Jones and all these guys play on the same squad and sit in the same dugout. very cool. J-Roll made a huge defensive play to save the game against Canada yesterday.
and you can tell that these guys actually care. Adam Dunn said its the most nervous he's ever been in a game. that's what makes it work. the fact that these guys actually care
I agree Ryan. Can't wait for that USA – Venezuela game… should be good.
I like the WBC I think it is fun to watch I am not totally into it though, lets be realistic, The best American players are not all playing, I mean Japan's best are playing same with many other countries. I mean Ryan Howard not playing, Hamels not playing Lidge, they are some of the best American players out there. Utley wouldn't have played anyway with his injury, but also one of the best.
Could you imagine Howard, Utley, Jeter, Wright in the same infield, with Pedroia and Rollins backing up. The conflict of many players wanting to be fresh for the season is a tough one.
Not complaininng about Howard not playing but just hoping Rollins and Victorino stay healthy.
J-roll gets a double, but Pedroia can't bunt! Agggh
The tournament to me is cool in a way some of the best players in the world are playing for nation pride. I think asking for amateurs to only be able to play in it is selfish to the rest of the world who look to the MLB as the best players and talent in the world. Outside of Japan and Cuba, The stars of a puerto Rico for example want to make the MLB for them and their country. I like the tournament its not as intresting as olympic basket ball or Hockey but I'll watch and root for USA. People who want to compare it the soccer world cup are foolish because it is the most popular sport outside of the United States and so of course the rest of the world is watching and enjoying it. I didnt even watch a world cup game of the last time it was held. Im watching the USA_ Venzula game right now and enjoying seeing baseball played at a higher level then the average spring game. I think on another note Spring training should be cut down to about 17-20 games and only the month of March and in years of the WBC we have about 20-25 spring games so the players can play a few with the mlb team.
The World Baseball classic will never have chance as long as it is played in early March—Players and most importantly pitchers are not in shape. How absurd is it that your starting pitching is on a low pitch count in the " World Baseball showcase"! Winning baseball is about solid pitching-not 65 pitch tune ups for MLBs opening day.Players are playing not to get hurt! It is just a matter of time before an out of game shape pitcher blows out an arm.This is another "Bud Selig Classic'
Some more tips would be great as the game of tennis seems to change each ten years. Plus more tips are appreciated.
Люблю тексты в таком духе! Спасибочки 🙂


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The horn shark is endemic to the Pacific north-east, and is only found in the warmer waters off the coast of California. The horn shark is most commonly found along the temperate to sub-tropical continental shelves where it spends most of it's time in search of hard-shelled marine organisms to eat off the sea-bed.
The horn shark is a small species of shark that typically measures about 1 meter in length. The horn shark can be most easily recognized by a short, blunt head with ridges over its eyes and two high dorsal fins with large venomous spines. The horn shark is usually a brown or grey colour with many small dark spots across it's body.
The horn shark is a clumsy swimmer that prefers to use its flexible, muscular pectoral fins to push itself along the bottom of the ocean rather than swimming through it. The horn shark is usually solitary, though small groups have been recorded (particularly during the mating season). During the day, horn sharks rest motionless, hidden inside caves or crevices, or within thick mats of algae, though they remain relatively alert and will swim away quickly if disturbed. After dusk, they roam actively above the reef in search of food.
Horn sharks are carnivorous predators and although they do eat fish and marine invertebrates on the ocean floor, around 95% of the horn shark's diet is made up of hard-shelled molluscs and crustaceans which they horn shark uses its short, hardened head to break them apart before eating the fleshy insides. Horn sharks also feed on echinoderms such as sea urchins and star fish.
Despite being quite complex predators themselves, the relatively small size of the horn shark means that they are by no means at the top of the food chain within their natural environment. Large species of fish prey on the horn shark along with other sharks that share their native range. Humans are also one of the horn shark biggest threat as although they are not really hunted, horn sharks are often caught as by-catch when we are fishing for other things.
Horn sharks tend to mate in between December and January with the female laying her eggs 4 to 5 months later. Female horn sharks can lay up to 24 eggs over a period of 2 weeks, which float in the ocean in a spiralled casing. The female horn shark is one of the only shark species to display pre-natal care, as she collects her eggs in her mouth before depositing them into the safety of crevices in the rocks. The horn shark pups usually hatch within a month.
Today, as so little is known about the horn shark population off the Californian coast, they have been listed as being Data Deficient as their is not enough information about their status in the wild. Like many other species however, the horn shark populations are being threatened both by water pollution and commercial fishing in the area.


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#1 The Voice judge Will.i.am turns up to climate change debate...05-24-2012, 10:38 AM
Oh the irony! The Voice judge Will.i.am turns up to climate change debate... in a huge gas-guzzling helicopter
By Anthony Bond
PUBLISHED: 02:45 EST, 23 May 2012 | UPDATED: 05:49 EST, 23 May 2012
He has been picked as an expert judge to help find the nation's next biggest superstar on hit TV show The Voice.
But when Will.i.am arrived at a climate change debate recently, he showed a shocking lack of judgement.
The 37-year-old Black Eyed Peas star arrived for the talk at Oxford University in his private helicopter.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...#ixzz1vnIHQIQiThe difference between pigs and people is that when they tell you you're cured it isn't a good thing.
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