TimHowey.Com

"I am the Good Shepherd"

This weekend was a blast to continue unpacking the incredibly rich "I am" statements of Jesus -- this time, we looked at "I am the Door of the sheep" and "I am the Good Shepherd" (John 10).

We showed a clip from a video this weekend. Here's the full video:

Here's another video I watched this week, but didn't show. Interesting story of shepherds in Idaho

Another great resource on this topic is the book, "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23" by Phillip Keller. It's a quick & easy read that's become a classic.

An Ice Pick to the Knee

I saw my orthopedic surgeon yesterday (Dr. Gurley) to talk about the results of my knee MRI.  Two things are going on.

(1) I have a small meniscus tear, but since it's small & without pain or loss of mobility, it's probably no worry.

(2) The bigger issue is that my articular cartilage (the shiny white surface on the end of a chicken bone) on my right femur (where it meets the knee) has a small section gone or rubbed off.  Instead of a nice smooth surface, it's a small circle of dark rough bone.

We have a few options.  The easiest two options are (a) I'll just start trying to workout very slowly, work up in intensity, and see what happens.  If there's bruising & pain, we can try the next step which is (b) microfracture chondroplasty surgery.  That is, taking a small instrument like an ice pick, and poking several holes up into the bone where my smooth cartilage covering is gone, to get the blood & bone marrow to ooze out, and create a new cartilage (his drawing is below).  I thought he said that this new cartilage wouldn't be quite as good as the original cartilage, but it would be smoother than my raw bone.  I found some more info here.

Anyway, I'll start working out veeeeeeeerrrrrrryyyyyyy sloooooooooooowwwwwwwwlllllllyyyyyy and let you know what happens.

Web Bonus - Turning to God

Yesterday, I was back in the saddle after a week off for the Wichita Marathon.  My body feels normal again...then again, I'm not really running yet.  Special thanks to Pastor Brian Gann who did a great job on the topic of "Crying Out to God" in Jonah 2.  As always, you can check out the audio or video at VisitGraceChurch.com.

Yesterday's topic was "Turning to God" from Jonah 3.  We picked up the story of Jonah right after he gets vomited expectorated "ejected" onto the shore by the sea creature.

Hmmm...  What could we say about yesterday...?

• Mmmmm...Ambergris -- I got to teach people about "ambergris"...literally, "sperm whale vomit."  If the mystery sea creature was a sperm whale, then Jonah probably was covered with the stuff.  When it's wet, it's slimy, light-colored & smells like fecal matter.  When it dries, it darkens up & doesn't smell much better.
  
• Mmmmm...Ambergris & Eggs -- You're probably going to have read this to believe it.  But some people prepare a gourmet dish of ambergris with eggs.  Mmmmm...  Let's just say that it has a "unique" flavor.
• Acts 1:8 -- It's been a couple weeks since I mentioned this verse.  Where has the time gone???  Love it...learn it...live it: "But you shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
• The Number 40 -- I didn't have the time to comment on it, but did you notice that Jonah's message to the Ninevites was that they had "40 days" until judgment?  40 is the "number of testing" in the Bible.
• 1. God tested the world with 40 days of rain (Genesis 7:4)
  2. God tested the spies with 40 days of searching (Numbers 13:25)
  3. God tested Ninevah 40 days until judgment (Jonah 3:4)
  4. Satan tested Jesus after 40 days of fasting (Matthew 4:2)
  5. People tested Jesus' resurrection thru 40 days of proofs (Acts 1:3)

• The EASY way, or the HARD way -- I think we ALL -- just like Jonah -- have our shot at living life the easy way, or the hard way.  If Jonah had just pressed "The Easy Button" he would have ended up looking like some angry, hairless, Golum-like, street preacher...

• The RIGHT Way to Dress Fifi -- It's that time of year where some people like dressing up their pets in ridiculous costumes. But I say the only thing you should dress your pet in is "sackcloth" like Jonah 3:8.  :-)

FYI, Wednesday night (6:45-8:00 pm), we continue our "Navigating your Journey" series with a talk on "Contribution" from Numbers 7-8.   Saw some AMAZING things I'm ready to share with everyone as I studied it out Saturday!

Then next Sunday, we'll talk about those times we find ourselves "Wrestling with God" from Jonah 4.  A moment EVERYONE who follows God can relate to.

Web Bonus - MythBusters

Today was a blast!

We busted the same "5 Myths About Jesus" that our elementary students studied this week during their annual Summer Breakout (i.e. Vacation Bible School).  We just took them on from an adult perspective.

Here are thoughts from today:

• The kids did a GREAT job today in their SBO performance!  Kudos to the
• My wife sent me the final SBO registration numbers.  Of the 317 registered elementary students:
  
  • 124 (39%) were children of members
  • 71 (22%) were children of visitors
  • 122 (38%) were children of NON-attenders
• I had a great response to "Flannelgraph Jesus".  One guy told me he was going to buy a nice, soft, safe, easily-controllable "Flannelgraph Jesus" to put on the rear view mirror in his car.
• To dig further into the "Myths about Jesus," check out The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.
• For those of you who were there, which Jesus picture was your favorite?
  • French Fork Jesus?
  • Rico Suave Jesus?
  • Ultra Softy Jesus?
  • Hardcore Hunger Jesus?
    
  • Rambo Jesus?
    
  • Shredded Jesus?
• We had at least 6 people (3/service) raise their hand to say they prayed with me to receive Christ today!!!

L8R.

Storm over Walmart

On Tuesday night, my family and I are leaving the Walmart at 159th & Metcalf.  We had been listening to a storm absolutely pounding the tin roof since we'd been in there.

When we walk out, we are greeting with this wall cloud.  Very impressive.  My wife and I even paused a couple minutes and whispered together about whether we were looking at a tornado (no need to freak out the kids).

And yes, Dad had to "heroically" risk himself by running out into the rain to bring the car up.  :-)

Incidentally, that same storm kept crashing & booming around us all night.  The lightning & thunder was awe-inspiring.

Dead Sea Rescue

A member of our couple's small group sent me this link to a rescue in the Dead Sea.  An 8 year old floated for 6 hours until he was picked up.

As you can see from the photo (click on it to make it bigger), you can just float on top of the Dead Sea.  It would be so cool to do this someday.

[Photo source: adapted from Wikipedia under a GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the Dead Sea Newspaper page.]

Book - The Case for Christ

What a great book!  The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus by Lee Strobel was right up my alley.

The information was well documented and riveting to me.  Lee's writing style was compelling, weaving together his experience as a Chicago court reporter with interviews of recognized experts in the church.  He played the "devil's advocate," voicing many objections that critical thinkers might have about the claims of Christ.

If you want to learn more about the Bible, its relationship to history, to Jesus Christ, and scientific evidence, this book's for you.

Bolt from the Blue

Whoa!

Just saw a story about a man that was killed by a lightning bolt when there was a blue sky -- no rain or clouds anywhere!  It's called "dry lightning" or a "bolt from the blue" and its far more dangerous than typical lightning.

Here is the story from Miami-Dade County.

In the Bible, lightning illustrates the quick and powerful actions of God.  You can see that here and here.

P.S. And, yes, I'm hoping this weather-related FAQ gets my weather-loving wife back to my blog.  :-)

Nap for Your Health

This is what I've been telling my wife (a non-napper) for a long time.  Napping is good for your health.  "Honey, if you love me, you'll tell me to take a nap." :-)

P.S. I love the power nap, especially on Sunday afternoons.