Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Did you ever wonder where the word Ebenezer came from? I have.
"Hither by Thy Help I'm Come"October 4, 2009, Broadcast #4177
Some 3,000 years ago, Samuel the prophet led ancient Israel to victory over a powerful enemy. Samuel placed a large stone at the place of their deliverance and dedicated it as a monument to God’s assistance. He called the stone "Eben-ezer," which meant "stone of help." The stone became a symbol of the Lord’s goodness and strength.
This practice of raising memorials to divine help has deep roots in ancient Israel. Generations earlier, after the Israelites crossed the mighty Jordan River on dry ground and entered the promised land, their leader, Joshua, commanded the people to gather 12 stones from the river and build a monument. He explained that the purpose of the monument was to build faith in future generations, that "when [their] children ask . . . in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?" they could tell their children how the Lord helped them in their hour of need.
The beloved hymn "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" alludes to this biblical practice with these words:Here I raise my Ebenezer;Hither by Thy help I’m come;And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,Safely to arrive at home.
Life is full of rivers to cross, full of challenges to overcome. However, those who see with an eye of faith understand that they did not cross their rivers alone. In a way, each of us could raise an Ebenezer, a memorial of the divine assistance, heavenly favor, and forgiveness extended to us. It may not be a monument of stone—indeed, hearts filled with humility and gratitude are the most meaningful memorials. Whatever form our memorial takes, acknowledging the help we’ve received renews our hope that by His good pleasure and in His due time, we will safely arrive at home.
Some 3,000 years ago, Samuel the prophet led ancient Israel to victory over a powerful enemy. Samuel placed a large stone at the place of their deliverance and dedicated it as a monument to God’s assistance. He called the stone "Eben-ezer," which meant "stone of help." The stone became a symbol of the Lord’s goodness and strength.
This practice of raising memorials to divine help has deep roots in ancient Israel. Generations earlier, after the Israelites crossed the mighty Jordan River on dry ground and entered the promised land, their leader, Joshua, commanded the people to gather 12 stones from the river and build a monument. He explained that the purpose of the monument was to build faith in future generations, that "when [their] children ask . . . in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?" they could tell their children how the Lord helped them in their hour of need.
The beloved hymn "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" alludes to this biblical practice with these words:Here I raise my Ebenezer;Hither by Thy help I’m come;And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,Safely to arrive at home.
Life is full of rivers to cross, full of challenges to overcome. However, those who see with an eye of faith understand that they did not cross their rivers alone. In a way, each of us could raise an Ebenezer, a memorial of the divine assistance, heavenly favor, and forgiveness extended to us. It may not be a monument of stone—indeed, hearts filled with humility and gratitude are the most meaningful memorials. Whatever form our memorial takes, acknowledging the help we’ve received renews our hope that by His good pleasure and in His due time, we will safely arrive at home.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
LearnKey
I Love Technology…..
Actually, for me, technology is a love/hate relationship. Most of the time it's fun to discover a new feature on a computer program, cell phone or social networking site, but other times it's like entering into a black hole, hoping that you'll be able to find your way around without spending too much of the precious time technology is supposed to save.
I am currently taking an online class to improve my knowledge and skills in the use of Microsoft Word 2007. I'm taking this class through the Utah Education Network for educators. I enjoy the flexibility of the class time as well as the web interaction the facilitator has required.
As in all technology, playing around with it is the best way to learn, provided that there is a Help resource to turn to in case one falls into one of those black holes.
This is my article that I am going to post to my blog using a new feature I found on MS Word 2007. Woo. I almost fell into the black hole. This feature is found under the Office button on the upper left corner of the screen. Then go to Publish and Blog. Before that I'm going to make this document look really cool. :D
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)