Grace Blogs

The way of Santa and the way of Jesus clearly mark the distinction in the two fundamental approaches toward spiritual living.

The way of Santa says,

You better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I’m telling you why,
Santa Claus is coming to town.

The way of Jesus says,

“I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:15).
“Whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37).

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Phelps lends a new spin to the phrase “Breakfast of Champions” by starting off his day by eating three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise.

He follows that up with two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.

At lunch, Phelps gobbles up a pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

For dinner, Phelps really loads up on the carbs - …

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ABC News interviews the Chapman family regarding the recent death of their daughter, Maria, when she was hit by a car driven by her older brother. I am struck by the focus and balance the entire family has in dealing with this tragedy. May you be encouraged!

Larry King will be interviewing the family tonight on Larry King Live.

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On 02.04.02 USA TODAY contributing writer, Marilyn Elias, wrote an article entitled:

Doctors Back Gay ‘Co-Parents’

Elias reported that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the nation’s largest pediatric group called for state laws that allow homosexuals to adopt their partners’ children since recent research shows that heterosexual and homosexual parents can fuction with equal effectiveness in raising kids.

Legal “co-parent” status for gays would promote children’s best interests, says pediatrician Joseph Hagan Jr., chair of the panel that authored the new American Academy of Pediatrics policy.
Only a handful of states have approved co-parent adoptions for homosexuals. Meanwhile, a “gayby boom” is taking place as growing numbers of gays adopt or have their own biological children using donor sperm or female surrogates. …

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Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) in his book, It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good recognizes a fundamental truth that America is running away from - a healthy family is the building block of a stable society. While this may not be earth shaking news to many readers of my blog, it is ground breaking for a political advocate to state his position so clearly and boldly.

Santorum along with his wife, Karen, have six children, and the couple has been very generous in sharing their family life with the larger public.
In his book, Santorum points out that the proper focus of government concern should be the family, both its preservation and promotion as the true starting point for …

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One night a wife found her husband standing over their newborn baby’s crib. Silently she watched him. As he stood looking down at the sleeping infant, she saw on his face a mixture of emotions: disbelief, doubt, delight, amazement, enchantment, skepticism. He would stand back, shake his head and say, “Amazing,” while smiling from ear to ear.

Touched by his unusual display and the deep emotions it aroused, her eyes glistened as she slipped her arms around him.

“A penny for your thoughts,” she whispered in his ear.

“Isn’t it amazing!” he replied. “When you take the time and really look close, how can anyone make a crib like that for only $45.99!”

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Dan Brown proposes (through the fictional character, Teabing) that Constantine authored the “gathering known as the Council of Nicaea.” At this meeting Teabing asserts that, “many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon.” One of these items up for a “vote” was the “divinity of Jesus.” Why? Teabing affirms that “until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet… a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal.” (pg.233).

Is this true? As we discussed in the teaching on 05.07.06,
it is true that the first universal council was convened by the emperor Constantine at Nicaea in Bithynia (now Isnik, Turkey) in 325 A.D. …

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A couple had been married for 25 years and were celebrating their 60th birthdays, which fell on the same day. During the celebration a fairy appeared and said that because they had been such a loving couple for all 25 years, she would give them one wish each.

The wife wanted to travel around the world. The fairy waved her hand, and Boom! She had the tickets in her hand.

Next, it was the husband’s turn. He paused for a moment, then said shyly, “Well, I’d like to have a wife 30 years younger than me.”

The fairy picked up her wand, and Boom! He was ninety.

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May this poem inspire you to want to meditate on an eternal home where there are no taxes.

Tax his cow, tax his goat;
Tax his pants, tax his coat.
Tax his crop, tax his work;
Tax his ties, tax his shirt.
Tax his chew, tax his smoke;
Teach him taxing is no joke.
Tax his tractor, tax his mule;
Tell him, “Taxing is the rule.”
Tax his oil, tax his gas;
Tax his notes, tax his cash.
Tax him good and let him know
That after taxes, he has no dough.
If he hollers, tax him more;
Tax him ’til he’s good and sore.
Tax his coffin, tax his grave,
Tax the sod ‘neath which he’s laid.
Put these words …

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Over the past weekend I attended the DARE2SHARE student conference with our church. It was great. While we were worshipping God and being force-fed (in a good way) the need to take the plight of lost people seriously, there was another student event happening on the West Coast. Ron Luce, with the organization he founded, Acquire the Fire, found themselves being hounded and harassed in San Francisco while they sounded the battle cry for our nation to repent. While it is true there are similar rally’s happening at various locations around our country on any given weekend, the fervor this rally incited was different. Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, told counter protesters at City Hall …

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