BEing Designed by Christ: October 2006

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Aunt Opy—Update

A few of you have requested updates on Aunt Opy's health. This excerpt is from an email Erin received on Friday:

I had a bone marrow biopsy yesterday and will have a kidney biopsy next Friday. Bone marrow was done to help determine if my bone marrow can withstand another round of cytoxin chemotherapy. My blood counts for both red and white are both already low and the chemo would only knock them lower. Of course this chemo is the best treatment and it did work last time. Our van died and we had to purchase another one so we are dealing with that too. Would have cost $6000 it fix and it was only worth $2500 so we junked it. Lots going on now. Glad that God is in control because we would really be in trouble.
Talk to you soon. Love, Aunt Opy

Thanks to everyone for your prayers!!!

—b

Well, what can I say? I hate it when people dress up their pets. Yes I used the word hate. But my wife sent me an email with 31 poor animals who have to suffer the wrath of stupid humans. So what do I do? I'm basically promoting the practice by posting these.

(Sigh)

I guess if you can't beat 'em—join 'em. ;) The following are just a few of the 31 that I found amusing. (Don't worry, you won't find Bella dressed up anywhere.)

—b

If you would like to see all 31, let me know and I'll forward you the email.

Monday, October 30th, 2006/Ezekiel chapters 20 & 21

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one." —Ezekiel 22:30

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
Those of us who belong to Christ are called to intercede (pray) for others. Not just fellow Christians, but those who are still slaves to sin. Being today is Halloween, please pray for those in cults/sects/witch groups. Pray that the Lord would soften thier hearts and seek truth. What a powerful testimony it would be if a former cult member would speak Christ to those still lost in witch craft!

BE IN PRAYER FOR:
WITCHCRAFT IN THE TWIN CITIES
There are an estimated 20,000 witches of all types who live in our metro area who meet in 179 different witch covens/groups. Many witches are drawn to the Twin Cities area because of the many lakes and rivers, which have spiritual significance to them.
• Grove of Celtic Woods, Minneapolis

Monday, October 30, 2006

Baptism

Baptism.

It's funny how one simple word can cause so much division, especially among the church. Even trying to find an official definition is near impossible. I bring this up because I was baptized Sunday morning. For some of you, red flags are quickly being hoisted and others are raising the green kind.

Why I decided to get baptized.
This is something I have wrestled with ever since the topic first came up between Erin and I four years ago. My immediate answer: "I have already been baptized, I don't need to do it again."

Here was my list of objections:

—> I have already been baptized.

—> Why should I have to get baptized just to become a member of a church. I'm a Christian. That's all that matters.

—> Being baptized a second time is declaring that infant baptizm is wrong or dosen't count.

—> The BGC (Baptist General Conference) wants me to declare my allegiance to them. To be batized as a baptist and not as lutheran.

—> It's a slap in the face to my parents who had me baptized.

Here is how I answered them:

—> First off, I needed to pray and seek God for the answers. I had made baptism all about me. It isn't about us at all. As with everything in life, it's about God! After all, everything we do should be to God's glory and not our own.

—> Using the concordance in the back of my Bible, I looked up every reference it had to baptism. The one main theme I kept finding was "repent and be baptized". Over and over again.

—> I am a Christian. I admit I belong to Christ. I don't think anyone would dispute that. But I did not repent when I was baptized. If anyone didn't need to be baptized, it was Jesus. And even He was baptized.

—> So do I think infant baptism is wrong now that I have been baptized as an adult? No. But God really impressed it upon my heart to follow His command as another act of obeying Him. This was something I needed to do (I felt) to further my walk with Him.

—> I haven't declared my allegiance to the BGC. I haven't declared my allegiance to Lutherans. I've declared my allegiance to Christ. I didn't get baptized for anyone or any organization. I got baptized for me. I need to put my relationship with Christ first and foremost no matter what anyone thinks or believes.

—> I love my parents. They know that (at least I think they do). ;) This wasn't an act against them. In fact, it had nothing to do with them. This was between me and my heavenly Father.

—> Last but not least, if I was completely honest with myself, I didn't want to be humbled. And for me, being humbled was a big part of being baptized as an adult.

So there you go. Agree with me or not. I love the Lord. Do I get special bonus points for being baptized as an adult? Nope. It's just an another way I can obey Him and show my heavenly Father that I love Him.

—b

Monday, October 30th, 2006/Ezekiel chapters 20 & 21

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness. But I withdrew My hand and acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out." —Ezekiel 20:21b-22

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
The Lord will never go back on His promises. He had promised the Israelites Israel while delivering them from Egypt. Before they could reach the land God promised them, They were committing acts of "evil" against God. The needed to be punished. God was able to punish them (40 years in the wilderness) while keeping His promise (Israel).

Friday, October 27, 2006

Urbana 2006—Update

you have a calling...but it isn't here.

Well, it's official. Erin and I will NOT be driving to St. Louis the day after Christmas. We will NOT be attending the Urbana conference December 27-30.

Why Not?
Short answer: Money. Long answer: After weighing out the cost of travel, renting a van, hotel, shipping cost, and Urbana related fees, it wouldn't be worth going. That's not even adding to the fact that STEM desparately needs to update their display. That would be an added expense of oh about $1,000-$2,000.

What Happened Between Then and Now?
We were told of several late fees that needed to be paid since we missed registration deadlines. And that's only if they would let us in since we were trying to register so late. Huhhh? Arika and Erin scoured the Urbana website looking for the dates of when the registration ended. Nothing. Even after calling Urbana's people and telling them they couldn't find the advertising deadlines online, the response was "well, I know it's there, but I don't know where". Ok.

So What Now?
Well, we are dissapointed but it was a smart move outta STEM to pull the plug. And for us, it's back to our normal Christmas vacation plans. I don't know what those are but Erin does and that's all that matters. ;)

—b

OOPS! On Monday I had told you Erin and I would be going to Urbana. Anyway, instead of creating a new post I just modified that one. Unfortunately I saved over Monday's post. Oh well.

Friday, October 27th, 2006

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
Go to bed earlier and don't stay up to watch the end of the World Series.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Priceless Fruit...

...in the form of Crayons.

Yesterday, Erin and I received one of our favorite gifts of all-time: a "family" picture drawn by my 5 year old cousin Anna. It (along with several other smaller pieces of artwork) was folded and stuffed in an envelope. The only words included in the envelope was "Erin, Anna, Bella, and Bernt" written again and again in 5 year old penmanship.

I absolutely love it! We don't have kids yet, but I can only imagine this as a small glimpse of the priceless fruit of parenting. Any Picasso or Van Gough wouldn't compare to how much this small piece means to us.

I've also been shown a very convicting message. Priorities. We haven't seen Anna in over a month. Yes we've been busy, but has our busyness been more important than hanging out with Anna? Apparently so.

Yes work is important. But I need to remember that investing time into a life that God loves is more important. Anna's love for us is priceless fruit. We couldn't buy it. We had to invest time into it. If we can be one more vessel for God's love, what more important thing could we do?

So what am I going to do with this lesson? First off, thank you mom and dad for investing in my life. I'm your fruit. Second, after work today, I'm calling Anna and thanking her for her love in Crayon form and setting up a time to hang out with her again.

Thank you Lord for life's lessons...even the bittersweet ones.

—b

Wednesday, October 25th, 2006/Ezekiel chapters 7-9

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
'They will fling their silver into the streets and their gold will become an abhorrent thing; their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetite nor can they fill their stomachs, for their iniquity has become an occasion of stumbling.' —Ezekiel 7:19

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
It's ironic how the stuff we work so hard for (money) will not save us in our most desparate time of need. But the free gift of salvation from God will save us. So we need to ask ourselves on a daily basis, what's worth more to me, money or God?

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Aunt Opy

Special Prayer Request

The following is an excert from an email from Erin's aunt Ruth Ann (Opy). I hope she doesn't mind me sharing it.

I don't know how much your parents have shared about what is going on with me. My kidneys are shutting down again like they were doing when Erin was born. I am having a kidney ultrasound done tomorrow to rule out a few things like a kidney stone, blockage or cancer. The doctor feels that the lupus is shutting them down again. A kidney biopsy will probably follow shortly. Thanks for your prayers. Take care. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Love you both, Aunt Opy

Please add her to your prayer list. I will give you updates to see how the Lord answers us.

—b

Tuesday, October 24th, 2006/Ezekiel chapters 4-6

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols;" —Ezekiel 6:9a

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
Sometimes it can be so easy to think that God can be so uncaring, cold, and callous. But here is one passage which explains that God is "hurt" when we turn awway from Him to worship something other than Him. How do we know that God loves us? The creator of everything does care if we love Him.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

BEing Designed 2.0

Well, as you can see, I've been having difficulties with the blog. And being that I'm now in year two of posting online, I figured why not give it a new look. So you'll be noticing a few more changes to it but for the most part this is what it will look like.

Also, I'm hoping I'll be able to start posting pictures again. It has been really frustrating lately trying to do that. I've notice I'm not the only one with a blogger account experience technical difficulties. Blogger has been slowly working on upgrading their systems as well so who knows how long this "look" will last.

Thanks for continuing to stop by. I'm thinking I'll be back to normal posting anyday now!

—b

P.S. If you want to make your own "web 2.0" logo, click here. It's kinda fun. All you do is type what ever you want and the program makes it.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Jeremiah, Chapters 22–24

Tuesday, October 10th, 2006/Jeremiah chapters 22-24

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
"The anger of the LORD will not turn back
Until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart;
In the last days you will clearly understand it."
—Jeremiah 23:20

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
The Lord's anger has a purpose. Unlike we who get angry and lose our temper only to have to apologize later, God has a reason for His controlled anger. One way to avoid some of God's wrath (as numerous examples in the Old Testament have shown) is to truely repent and turn away from our sins.

Monday, October 09, 2006

"It is Finished"

"It is Finished!"

The famous words of Christ as He gave up His Spirit is the first phrase that came to mind after the last PDF file completed it's FTP transfer. (Sorry, I'm reverting to nerd words.) Obviously I'm not trying to compare this magazine's completion with Jesus dying for our sins, but it sure did feel good to get this thing done!

For those of you who have the now out of print, limited collector's editions Mission Maker 2005 and 2006, this one will be a (hopefully) welcomed change. It has a "different" and "lighter" feel to it. It's great working with another designer (Dena) so it isn't just my designs. Dena brings a refreshing female touch to the "grungy and heavy" look that I seem to dominate with.

Here are a few sneek-peek pages:

NOTE: (Well, I've been done with this post since this morning but I can't seem to post any more pictures. It looks like a problem with Blogger's server.) Maybe by tomorrow I'll be able to post 'em.)

—b

Monday, October 9th, 2006/Jeremiah chapters 18-21

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
'For My people have forgotten Me,
They burn incense to worthless gods
And they have stumbled from their ways,
From the ancient paths,
To walk in bypaths,
Not on a highway,
—Jeremiah 18:15

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
The Lord will "make our paths straight" that we may follow Him and obey Him. He isn't going to try and deceive us. But we get into trouble when we deviate from the tried and true path (ancient paths) and try our own way (bypaths). We need to trust the Lord in that He knows what He is doing.