As In a Mirror

I had heard Ray Comfort and Tony Miano talk about the comedy/drama on evangelism made by Greg Elsasser, Dru Morgan, and the Last Words Ministry gang a few times, and their positive comments sparked my interest. My interest was further sparked by the times that Greg was a guest host on their On the Box show. They showed the trailer and gave the film an honorable mention, and Greg shared some “Behind the Story” insight that made it seem very interesting. As he and friends would evangelize, and awkward though humorous things would happen, Greg would think to himself, “Why isn’t anybody writing all this down? This stuff would be great to incorporate into a fictionalized story!” That got him thinking, as to how some people won’t watch how-to’s on evangelism, but they would watch a drama or comedy about average folks evangelizing. So the Last Words Ministry folks put three television-type episodes together. Here’s the description for the first three episodes:

Lifelong friends become bungling partners in an adventure toward deeper Christianity that you won’t soon forget. After the gangly, socially awkward Roman decides to actually put into practice some teaching he heard on evangelism, comedy ensues as his street-wise, church-going co-worker, Jorge, tries to get him to settle down and stop taking the Bible so literally.

Amidst the laughs, serious moments will surprise you with their depth. So if you’ve ever thrown your family to the ground to avoid the Jehovah’s Witness at your door or been heckled by a ventriloquist and his dummy… this is a series for you!

Our family got a chance to watch all three episodes in one sitting just the other night, and we loved it! From the start, it gets your attention because it’s on the average church-goer’s level. A middle-aged church-goer, who has known that he should share his faith with others, hears a practical message on why we should share our faith and how. This new realization gives his life a new focus, and he sets out to learn more, practice, and encourage other Christians to share their faith. His best friend, Jorge, is at first ticked off by the message, but in a short time gets totally on board with Roman, and they start to get into evangelizing together. As one who has heard some stories from the Greg and the guys at Living Waters, it was especially funny to see some of their humorous real-life experiences incorporated into the film.

The first three episodes of this series did a great job of not of not only telling a story from an accessible setting, but it creatively addresses common oppositions to average Christians evangelizing strangers using the Law to bring an awareness of sin, then introducing Grace and preaching repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. It addresses circumstances in life that get us thinking more about what our priorities are and how we are taking the responsibilities Christ left us with. Each of the three episodes ended with a powerful Gospel presentation from one of the Living Waters team, each with their own style and signature, similar to what they use in open-air settings.

Being produced “non-professionally,” I found this DVD to actually be quite impressive. It didn’t come off cheesy, and the setting and humor made it accessible to average folks. I know that when I watched Roman and Jorge bumble through some of their “first-timers,” I thought, “Now I can identify with this.” Hence, I was encouraged that I, too could do it, and I think my family was, too. They all made positive comments throughout and after watching it. I totally look forward to the next episodes of The Adventures of Roman and Jorge, and fully recommend it to any Christian family.

Check out the teaser! You can also visit the website here, and purchase a copy from Living Waters here.

Filed under : Gospel, Querky, Reviews

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CoUrTnEy, The Christian Music Junkie, awarded me the One Lovely Blog Award! Isn’t it purdy? Thanks, Courtney.

Award Rules: 1) List 7 random things about yourself. 2) Award 15 other blogs. (yikes!)

Random facts about Yours Truly:

1) I love summer; yes, a generous 70-90 degree radius is what I like. That’s what temperature I will be in heaven. I love the weather, the plant and animal life, the birds, and the school vacation!

2) I hatehatehatehate cold weather. Yes. Seven-to-eight months out of twelve in New York State are covered in snow. Blah. I have to live here!

3) With seating and ladders, I get down on the left side and get up on the right. Not sure why that is.

4) I don’t really have close friends. Minus my two brothers. I don’t really know why; maybe it’s because I like work, and am always doing it. Either work, study, or listening. I really am not a recreational or social person. In addition, I’m as shy as a moonflower! I mean, I can be courteous or helpful, but don’t seem to be able to do this whole social and acquainting thing.

5) I don’t like meeting new people. Maybe that also explains Random Fact #4?

6) I LOVE hymns! I like their sound– the melodious, soulful music. But mostly I love the deep theological poetry of hymns. Music is not just a pretty sound, and lyrics are not just expressive or factual words that rhyme; both are artistic. Every artist has a style, but there are always certain critiques for what is good art. Hence, not every song is good art. I happen to like hymns and songs that are written in similar style.

7) I’ve been having memory issues. Don’t know why that is, either, but I know that it’s extremely frustrating and messes up a lot of stuff. (This is going to sound funny: my brothers recently told me what amnesia was. I’ve heard the word tons of times before, and I know I’ve looked it up… Problem is, every time I look it up… I forget what it means! Boy, did they laugh at that…)

Now, time to pass on the One Lovely Blog Award to 15 other bloggers… they’ll have to be ladies…

1) My Mom, Rebecca at Freaky Frugalite.
2) Rena at Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
3) Joy at The Stay-at-Home Missionary

Uhoh… I think that’s it! Yikes! Oh well, enjoy the award, ladies. Y’all have very lovely blogs.

Filed under : About the Blog, Querky

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Hey, for all ya ladies out there, who may be looking for some good Christian women speakers and events, I’ve been looking around a bit myself, so wanted to share some stuff I’ve found.

I’m totally into Living Waters stuff, as you may know. The Gospel is amazing and I want to learn to share my faith biblically, effectively, the way of the Master. Hey, that’s their motto! So I devour their resources as much as I can. On their Youtube Channel they’ve got a whole bunch of witnessing clips and teaching videos, which are great. They’ve got a popular TV show called The Way of the Master, but we don’t get TV. :S They do, however, also have an internet show called On the Box, and it’s just great! Now, these shows mostly show men demonstrating how to witness, and it’s REALLY great that they’re doing that, but as a woman I want to know from women how they do it! Never fear, Trisha Ramos is Living Waters’ girl! She’s got a website and a blog, Fish with Trish, and there she’s got articles and videos to help women and teach them how to share their faith. She’s an amazing lady.

Trisha does have a page on her website detailing how you can book her for an event. She’s a pastor’s wife in Texas and is quite busy with Living Waters, but you can send a request for her to come and speak at a women’s event or a women’s Bible study.

Women of Faith also is coming to Rochester, New York a few times: November 4-5, 2011 and September 14, 2012. The events are a bit pricey, though. The events are $99 per person, though; if you come in a group of 10 or more, it’s $89 per person. I’ve never been to an event like this, but I’ve heard a little bit of stuff from speakers Sheila Walsh and Luci Swindoll. I love what I’ve heard from Sheila, and if I ever got the chance, I think I would go to see her speak. She loves the Word of God, and that’s what I love to hear. She’s someone who has suffered, and has such compassion in her voice, it is therapeutic. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anything like it: she speaks with that awesome, sweet Scottish accent, loves Jesus, loves the Scriptures, and has a great sense of humor. I know I can listen to somebody who doesn’t just share clever stories, have an interesting personality, and some knowledge, but who has walked through the hard circumstances of life, only to love God more. Everybody likes to come up with some new solution or revelation about what women need most today, but there aren’t many who say like Sheila, “The Word of God is what you can stake your life on.” So if you think you could afford a big event like this, it may be worth checking out. Matter, of fact, let me give you some previews into the Women of Faith speakers:

This is Sheila Walsh.

And Luci Swindoll:

Beth Moore also does some nice Bible studies for women; I haven’t been to an event but have seen video and they’re pretty nice. She’ll be hosting a Bible teaching in Reading, Pennsylvania on September 15, 2012; admission is $65 per person. You can find information here.

Here’s some Beth Moore samples:
“Stuck in Your Circumstances”

Classic: “The Hairbrush” It’s a bit long, but hysterically encouraging. “You know, Jesus is the bossiest thang.”

A lot of ladies in my church also really like Lisa Bevere, and she’s come to Western New York a couple of times, but it doesn’t look like she’ll be around here for the next two years, but rather will be speaking at a lot of places in Europe and the Western states.

That’s what all I’ve found. Any findings or thoughts yourself?

Filed under : Querky

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… it would be the Deeper Conference, hosted annually by Living Waters. This year their theme is “The Word of God.” I’ve explored the website and the topics by all the speakers look phenomenal, but it makes me almost want to cry because… unless a miracle happens I don’t think we could attend! It takes place October 14 an 15th in Westlake Village, Southern California. That’s in the school year and also on the other side of the country. I certainly hope they upload their speeches so that I can at least hear them, even if from my dinky little office area. But if any of y’all have the ability to go, I tell you, THIS looks like it’s going to be GOOD! Last year I was able to hear part of Todd Friel’s and Ray Comfort’s speeches and they were so awesome. Again, if any of you have the ability to go, it’s not anything to miss! So if you go, come back and tell me how it was

Speaking of conferences, Living Waters is also hosting two more Transformed Conferences this year. They are free events, the first one happening in Brentwood, CA (the northern California one) on August 20, and the last one on September 17, in Littleton, Colorado. Who knows? Maybe someday they’ll be in our area and we can go; but for now, I’m hoping for at least a second-hand experience via the modern wonder of multimedia How ’bout you?

Filed under : Gospel, Querky

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I’ve been doing a little experiment for a little while; well, kind of an experiment. In Bible reading, I’m used to the New King James, it’s what we’ve read from as a family since each us kids learned to read. I also have a big New American Standard that I used for a couple of years. But lately I’ve been reading a little from the New Living Translation, via Bible Gateway and Blue Letter Bible, just to get a fresh look at what has become familiar. Running over the same sentence structures over and over can cause it to lost its originality. Looking Scriptures up in Strong’s dictionary via the awesome program e-sword is great, but I also want to just read the Bible simply in my native tongue!

So I’ve been gleaning a lot from the New Living Translation, especially right now, as I’m reading through the Psalms. The NLT is pretty straightforward English, very nice! It’s easy to memorize Scripture from the NKJV, because it’s got some poetic feel to it, but I did want a fresher, straightforward look, and the NLT seems really nice so far. Take Psalm 111 for instance:

Praise the Lord!

I will thank the Lord with all my heart
as I meet with his godly people.
How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
All who delight in him should ponder them.
Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
His righteousness never fails.
He causes us to remember his wonderful works.
How gracious and merciful is our Lord!
He gives food to those who fear him;
he always remembers his covenant.
He has shown his great power to his people
by giving them the lands of other nations.
All he does is just and good,
and all his commandments are trustworthy.
They are forever true,
to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.
He has paid a full ransom for his people.
He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.
What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.
All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.

Praise him forever!

Isn’t it something? I’m having so much fun I’m taking notes! Reading the Psalms helps us in a lot of things, but right now I’m gleaning in observing the character of God (something we should always be doing!) and a heart pouring itself out to Him.

Here’s a passage from Hebrews 10:

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared… Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

Don’t know about you, but for me it gives freshness to the familiar. It also is helpful with reading large portions, because it’s very straightforward English. I know, I keep saying that. You’ll have to just believe that I’m excited! What are your thoughts?

Oh, and also, I’m still getting to completing a video blog (angel face); I will need y’all to vote for an intro, tho… I’ve made a video with your choices already, but I will have to upload it some other time cuz I’ve just been too lazy to so far!

UPDATE: I guess this is why I liked the New Living Translation; this is part of the description of the translation from Biblegateway.com:

The goal of any Bible translation is to convey the meaning of the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts as accurately as possible to the modern reader. The New Living Translation is based on the most recent scholarship in the theory of translation. The challenge for the translators was to create a text that would make the same impact in the life of modern readers that the original text had for the original readers. In the New Living Translation, this is accomplished by translating entire thoughts (rather than just words) into natural, everyday English. The end result is a translation that is easy to read and understand and that accurately communicates the meaning of the original text.

Filed under : Querky

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