Just so everyone knows their subject to editorial scrutiny: the "I'm blogging this." t-shirt from ThinkGeek.com.
lutron {loo'-tron}
AV - ransom 2
from Strong's Concordance
"Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me." -- Colossians 1:28-29 (ESV)
Verse 29 caught my attention this week. The antecedent of "this" is "warning everyone and teaching everyone." The purpose behind warning and teaching them is solely "that we may present everyone mature in Christ."
In the verses before, Paul explains the ministry he has been given: "to make the word of God fully known." This mystery was previously hidden from them, but was then newly revealed to God's saints.
Since Paul's ministry generations of Gentiles have come and gone. Some have heard the word of Truth and came to understand the "riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." We have a responsibility now to proclaim Him, "warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom."
"For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me." That thought changes everything. We sell ourselves short in His service by expecting ourselves alone to carry the load in His service. He's never asked us to do that. Paul says, "I toil." How did he toil? "Struggling with all His energy." Christ is omnipotent; He has unlimited energy. The source is adequate. Paul then says, "that He powerfully works within me." It has already happened, or rather, is happening.
We have everything that pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), but here we sit. I often find myself explaining to my conscience and the Spirit why I fail. It too often includes to many, "but I'm not.." or "If only I had..." Both of these stand in denial of "His energy that powerfully works within" us.
We have what we need.
I've mentioned the Semantic Web on here before. One of the most user-enjoyable uses of the Semantic Web would be to create an uber-shoebox (for photos not shoes). 8o)
This shoebox would let you do far more than just store your files. The owner of hackdiary has recently had a paper accepted for XML Europe entitled: A Semantic Web shoebox - annotating photos with RSS and RDF.
I'm looking forward to reading what he writes. I wouldn't mind building a shoebox app myself in the not so distant future.
Laziness now means more work later.
I'm currently reaping the benefits of the later half of that sentence.
Now to keep others from enjoying the same experience.
Back to the grind...
This eating, breathing, walking, sneazing, dreaming, Loving, living, working, praying, talking, reading, writing thing we've been doing all day is Life. It's just that.
Eternal consequence? Certainly.
Vain as catching wind? Definitely.
Vexing? Often.
If we Live for Christ, it makes since, it fits, it works, we thrive, we enjoy, we dream, we Live.
Everything under the sun is vanity and vexation of spirit. Outside of Christ. Inside of Him there is Life and "that more abundantly."
"This is the urgency: Live!" - Gwendolyn Brooks
Carpe diem
corum DEO!
There are those days when production on something goes clipping along and then all of a sudden WHAM! you hit this previously imperceptible blockade (a.k.a. a glass ceiling). Your options now are to either head the other way or beginning looking for (or developing) a glass cutter.
Glass ceilings. These too are vanity and vexation of spirit.
It would seem that Microsoft's UK group (MSN UK) has decided that the loo web console was really an April Fool's Day joke (pay no attention to the May 2nd date on the press release).
iLoo makes Microsoft gag | CNET News.com
For those of you who don't know yet, I will be starting BigBlueHat full time this summer. I have been doing freelance web design for a little over three years now. In the past couple years I have been having a hard time keeping up with everything while trying to get BigBlueHat up and running.
Lord willing, BigBlueHat will be in the Greenville area for the next couple of years or so. Lord willing in two years we will have a large enough client base to support and office of 5-10 full time workers (designers, information architects, writers). Once this is established we will be looking to start another office in at least another state if not another country.
As the Lord provides, we hope to branch out every few years, so that we can cover more territory. Our hope is that the Lord will prosper the business, so that it may someday be a fully global company. This would allow us to live as salt and light in the entire World, not just Greenville.
Our prayer is that the Lord will use this business to show His Love to the nations through our work and our lives.
Carpe diem
Corum DEO.
In seeking to live out the motto Carpe diem Corum DEO, I am seeking ways to Live Christ using the gifts He has given me.
Almost two years ago, some friends of mine and I began a "tract" site called ourpeace.net. It's still up and running. I'm afraid it hasn't changed much in the last couple of years. I have learned a lot more about web publishing since the project's early days, and so I'm ready (armed with a richer focus and more fervent Love for my Savior) to build a site to His glory and for the spread of His Gospel.
What I need now is help...
I know many of you who occasion this blog when wandering the web are seasoned writers and/or bloggers. OurPeace.net needs to be more than a static tract that we hope people find, and that they might just read. I think as active Ambassadors for Christ we could provide the web community with a Peace focused e-zine that would give them a Christ-centered view of the World.
I have a blog set up on BensFriends.com for the ourpeace blog. Currently, there's nothing there, but that will change with your help.
Beyond writers, we are going to need translators, dreamers, cheerleaders, prayer warriors, and evangelists.
Last time we endeavored to do this I set the deadline to short and frustrated us all (sorry folks). This time, I'm giving us until the beginning of August. I would like it to be ready by the beginning of the fall semester for most schools.
Even if your not interested in any of the afore mentioned occupations, please comment with ideas and suggestions that we might be able to implement. We'll need all the help from the Body that we can get.
Carpe diem
Corum DEO.
"Now is the time..." I've pondered life long enough and the conclusion I've come to is that life under the sun is filled with vanity and vexation of spirit (special thanks to Solomon for writing this down). 8o)
Two objectives remain:
His commandments are just these two things:
These have been broad, nebulous concepts to me until very recently. Love, for anyone, is made up of actions that express that Love. It takes more than thoughts, and it even takes more than words. It takes life. All of it.
The Call to Action is this:
Carpe diem
Corum DEO
(Seize the day for God).
Today we have been given all that we need to succeed in the tasks we're given.
We have enough joy,
enough sadness,
enough pleasure,
enough pain,
enough strength,
enough weakness,
enough sun,
enough rain.
With Christ providing all that we need, we have only to Live out what He asks.
His Love constrains us. He will keep us focused. He will teach us as a Loving Father. He will not give us stones if we ask for bread. Our God shall supply all our needs.
So for today, I will live for Christ.
Today, I will Love.
Today, I will pray.
Today, I will live.
Today, dream
Today, act.
Today, walk.
Today, run.
That in nothing I should be ashamed.
Carpe diem
Corum DEO.
I compiled a list recently of web design helps for a friend of mine who's interested in getting into the web design business. I thought I may as well share it with the rest of the world. 8o)
Here are a list of good sites to learn from:
- zvon.org - many different references and tutorials
- w3schools.com - good beginning tutorials
- htmlhelp.com - a little old, but still a good reference
- HappyCog's CSS lectures - excellent CSS article; contains links to other resources
- A List Apart - an ezine by the happycog guys; many good articles for tips and tricks with CSS
Some books worth looking into:
- Learning Web Design - the text book we use here in the web design class
- Design with Web Standards - never read it, but he's the guy form happycog and alistapart
Microsoft's "Longhorn" OS promises to have a file system based on queries not on heirarchical folders. This would allow users to organize their files in many different ways at the same time.
It seems that Peter Coffee of eweek has picked up on the same idea. He takes the thought a bit farther, and I think comes a lot closer to what will actually happen.
I'll have to post my thoughts on the "next big thing," but for now, here's the article.
I'll let the article explain.
This site contains some information about terms Christian's generally use and their relation with the Jews. There is some very interesting information about words to avoid using and why. Definitely worth looking at if you ever plan to share information about the Messiah with someone with strong Jewish heritage.
Messianic terminology and definitions: A dictionary for communicating with Jews
I've always been a big fan of super heros, and I've always wanted them to exist somewhere besides comic books and movies. It would seem that someone else wanted this to happen too.
CNN.com - Caped crusader saves the day in English town - May. 4, 2003
I hope he keeps it up.
Sometimes inspiration comes in waves. You find yourself overwhelmed by ideas. You become excited, almost agitated (because of course you can't follow the inspiration right then).
Then there are those other times...
The not-so-happy-times.
The times when you look at a stack of undone projects and your mind wings its way through your entire earthly history enumerating all the things you've never done.
They add up,
and fast.
I want to work out my inspiration.
I want to see things come to fruition.
I have a propensity for being defeatist when it comes to undone work.
I'm not completely sure what the remedy is for this predicament.
I'm sure it involves humility.
I'm sure I've got to get my focus of myself and my projects, and put them on Someone eternal.
I'm sure it needs to happen this morning.