Isaiah 58:6: Fasting is to throw off chains, not put more on us.  It is to set us free from this world.  It is to help others become free.
Isaiah 59:15-22: God saw no one acting in righteousness. What did he do? Put on righteousness himself and held them up with his strong arms.
Isaiah 60:15: Instead of being deserted and hated, God will make you an object of eternal pride.
The last part of Isaiah (several chapters; really 40-66) is really quite amazing and energizing. It outlines that even in the midst of rebellion, redemption is still possible.  That God can and will restore you to the way he wants you to be.  When God does this in people and in a community, more than just the people are affected.

Proverbs 31:10-31: The woman of God.  This woman lives in freedom.  She is not constrained.  She knows how she is gifted and how she is to live.

Luke 24:44-48: God’s Word became real when they experienced his resurrection.  How do we get people to experience it today?

Hebrews 12:10: We are disciplined by God so that we can share in God’s holiness.
Hebrews 13:20-21: God will equip/perfect us to do all that is good to do his will. I do not produce my good works. He alone does the equipping.

Here are a bunch. Hope you enjoy.

The first is a gallery of photos of our move and the stuff we had.

Here is a gallery of select photos from the past couple of months.

Basic Training has allowed us to process through some important things like vision, values and relationships.  It was frustrating and rewarding. It was also incredibly draining mentally.  Pray that we will be able to make it through in such a way that will benefit us instead of make us frustrated.  Pray for the boys to endure.  They have someone watching them, but they are long days.  They did good today, but we look to do this for the next two days.

We are gone to basic training.  No we didn’t join the army.  We are just going to NAMB’S version of it.  We will be in 3 days of all day training for church planting.  We should be ready for anything by time we are done right?

I’ll try and share thoughts from what we are gaining.  I’ll also have some pictures and video of the family the next couple of days to keep you guys entertained.

Elijah likes music.  He likes it when I play my guitar–he’s about the only person who does.  Anyway, last night I took my guitar out to play it.  When I put it in the case, this is what it looks like.

I took mine out and Eljiah did this.

To me it was priceless.

We are a week and a half from Oktoberfest here in Baldwinsville.  We are excited to have a photo booth at the festival this year.  We are unveiling the logo, website and “face” of The Bridge Church at that event.

We are going to have 1,000 photos to give away over the course of a day and a half.  We look forward to touching 3,000+ people through giving away the 1,000 photos.  This will give us a great opportunity to be out in the community and establish relationships.

We’re also looking forward to it because we are going to use this to launch our Bridge Groups.  We will be having our first gathering by the end of October.  Our website will be geared toward engaging people and getting them interested in a Bridge Group.

Be praying that God will supernaturally get people interested in what he plans to do.  Pray God will give us the boldness to speak plainly about him.

Nichole left with the boys to go to the library.  As I was catching up on stuff during my weekly review I came across this video.

And cried.

I gave you warning.

A few things come to mind.  Am I cherishing those who live in my home enough?  What can I do to change the answer to the previous question? Would I respond to this like this dad/family?

Isaiah 37:20: Salvation is so God can be seen as the only God.
Isaiah 40: No one and nothing is like God. He made the heavens w/his hand. He won’t grow weary. Anyone who trusts in him won’t grow weary.
Isaiah 41:18-20: People see the teens in B’ville and see deserts.  God is able to turn a desert into fertile land.
Isaiah 42:6-7: God has called us for a righteous purpose. This is so blind eyes can be opened and to bring prisoners from the dungeon. It is to spread.
Isaiah 44:21-23: God describes the foolishness of idols then describes his redemption. Compared to God, idols are foolish.
Isaiah 50:10: The goal is to make people realize they are in darkness. Then make them want the light that we shine.
Isaiah 53:12: He bore the sin of many for the rebels. He became sin for those who knew nothing but sin.
Isaiah 54-55: A love letter from God to his people. We cannot experience ch 54 without ch 55.

Proverbs 27:23-27: We are to pay attention and plan. There is a tension between planning and faith. We must walk that line.

Luke 23:37: The great paradox.  For those who follow Christ, saving ourselves isn’t an option. We are looking to save others.
Luke 23:47-49: People reacted in amazing ways to Jesus death. The centurion affirmed him. The crowd mourned. His followers froze.

Hebrews 10:29: To trample on Christ’s grace is a serious offense.
Hebrews 10:35: To deliberately sin in this way is to throw away our confidence.
Hebrews 11:39: All these people saw, did and went through everything imaginable. Their faith allowed them to be approved-not what they went through. It was also their faith that took them through these things.

I hate that I didn’t check the math on the previous post.  It would be that each tax payer would get $425, not $425,000.

I still like the idea of giving tax payers $425 rather than using taxpayers to “help” a company who practices bad business.

Got this from my dad in a form of an e-mail.  I think it would work, what about you?

The Birk Economic Recovery PLan
T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

Hi Pals,

I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.

Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a ‘We Deserve It Dividend’.

To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bon-a-fide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a ‘We Deserve It Dividend’.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.
Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads
Put away money for college - it’ll be there
Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Buy a new car - create jobs
Invest in the market - capital drives growth
Pay for your parent’s medical insurance - health care improves
Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it…instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( “vote buy” ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it.
Sell off its parts.
Let American General go back to being American General.
Sell off the real estate.
Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here’s my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t.

Sure it’s a crazy idea that can “never work.”

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion ‘We Deserve It Dividend’ more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC.

And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh…I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,

Birk

T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it’s either good for a laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 Billion!!