The Great Separation

My First Ribs!

Have mercy and pass the beans! - We kicked off the Memorial Day Weekend with some smoke and fire!

And oh man my mouth is still watering.

Jimmy, a friend of mine, left his smoker in the parsonage backyard some months ago (his loss, my gain) because we were having a church garage sale and he thought it would be cool to smoke something.

Well, I've been smoking a number of things with it since. I'm starting to get proficient at it now. You might say I'm doing Jimmy proud.

Well, at the first of the week my pop scored two packages of beef ribs from WinnDixie at $1 a pound and I smoked them today. My first time ever smoking ribs!

I put some Emeril Rib Rub on and let those wonderful pieces of meat soak up some smoke for almost six hours for some fall of the bone happy mouth goodness. I think the next time I'll do maybe around five hours because a few ribs were a bit dry, of course now that I think about it they were probably the bottom rung which I put on first and would have had over six hours of cooking time on it, hmm. Have to remember that for the next round.

Anyway, the Good Lord knew what He was doing when He thought up beef, fire, herbs, and a tongue to taste the outcome!

My dad whipped up some wonderful beans and also BBQ'd on the grill one rack of ribs that I couldn't fit in the smoker. They came out pretty good too. But, oh those beans!

Topped the night off with some friends and fellowship around the table.

And yeah, Jimmy was there. I have to invite him to all meals where I use his smoker. ;-)

I'm a Big Spender at Panera Bread. Here's Proof.

Can you make change for... - I went to one of my favorite spots to work on my novel today. Panera Bread. Easy to relax there. Good music. Good food. And more importantly free refills on decent coffee.

I started out today by getting a cup of coffee and a Cinnamon Chip Scone which I killed over a three hour period of bleeding on my novel.

The Penara Bread I go to is a relatively new store and the nice woman who waited on me was obviously new. She had a slight problem when she rang me up; making change for the large dollar amount I used to pay. Bless her soul, she got so flustered by the mistake I had to remind her some minutes later I hadn't gotten my scone yet.

Check the scan out of my receipt (click on it to enlarge). I've smeared out the store and receipt number just because I don't want to get anyone in trouble. It was an easy enough mistake to make, particularly for someone new.

To her credit and my surprise she was able to give me the right amount of change by figuring it in her head and not relying on the computer. That is something you don't see often now.

Complete Gospel of John Bible Study Questions.

Seeking as for hidden treasure. - Well, it took me long enough to get them all done and posted here to The Great Separation, but that's because I was writing them as they were needed for our adult Bible study group in my church.

At the time of this posting we still have the last three questions to cover in the Chapter 20 study. Last night was a very good meeting I thought. We were challenged to think about our walk in Christ.

Anyway, here is a link for downloading a compressed folder (zip) for all of the Bible studies for the Gospel of John.

If you find the Bible studies helpful in your growth in the Lord, please consider giving a donation through the button below. Thank you.

Technorati tag: Bible Studies

Bible Study, Gospel of John Chapter 21.

Seeking as for hidden treasure. - Here is the Bible study questions for John chapter 21.

You can download the PDF file here (John 21, Bible Study). (Right click and select the save option to save it to your computer. Clicking the link will likely load the pdf in your browser.)

(Added 2006.05.22: For download of the complete Bible study [all 21 chapters] follow this link.)

If you find the Bible studies helpful in your growth in the Lord, please consider giving a donation through the button below. Right now all donations will be used to pay for the week long mission trip I'm taking in July to Tampa where I will be working with an organization that ministers to migrant workers, homeless, needy, and children. I've not been notified of the final cost by our group leader yet, but it's expected to be $400. Thank you.

And here are the questions contained in this study:

1. Read through the questions of this Bible study. Now read chapter 21 of John and write down any questions and insights that come to you.
2. What do we learn from the beginning of this chapter that the disciples were doing following the resurrection of Christ? Verses 1-6.
3. Compare the boating incident here with the boating incident in Luke 5-11. What are your thoughts on the two incidents? Is there a lesson to learn? John 21:1-14.
4. What's the important lesson in verses 5-6?
5. What lesson(s) is Christ teaching the disciples and us in that He already had a fire going and fish cooking but still asked that they bring fish to the fire? Verses 9-12.
6. Why do you think John is exact on the facts about the fish caught? Verse 11.
7. Who or what are "these" that Christ is referring to in verse 15.
8. Why does Christ ask Peter three times if Peter loves Him? Verses 15-19.
9. What kind of death was Christ telling Peter he would suffer? Verses 18-19.
10. Why do you think that Peter asked about John in verses 20-21? What is Christ's answer? 22.

May the Holy Spirit guide and lead you in your desire to know Christ more fully.

-Hal

Well Worth Reading- Overcoming Inertia: Take a Step

Is this you? Me? - When Peter took his eyes off Christ he became inert on that turbulent sea and sank.

How often is that me?

How often do I look away and see the worries and pressures and desires of this world?

Too often.

A Fear takes the steering wheel. A Fit of Depression eats pieces of my life like some foul beast.

And I cry out to God in self pity, "Where are You? Why have You brought me here?!"

As if it was His fault and not mine. Or the circumstance was beyond what He could overcome and see me through.

It happens to all of us. Sooner. Later. In seasons of our lives we wouldn't expect or didn't know we were in.

How did Peter get out of that drowning state? He called upon Christ and took the small effort of reaching out a hand.

All this to say I was blessed by Victoria Gaines's post Windows to My Soul: Overcoming Inertia: Take a Step.

When life smacks with disappointment, my natural response is to stagger a bit, then sink into the quicksands of inertia. If I'm not careful, depression will have its way with me.

Life's setbacks and losses are inevitable. If my faith is wobbly, I'm prone to hesitate, procrastinate, or lose heart entirely. My prayers hit the wall whenever I ask the Lord, "So what do I do now? What are you gonna do?" But, as Oswald Chambers explains, "God does not tell you what He is going to do--He reveals to you who He is."

Today's Search Smile: 'why are females so crazy'!

Isn't Google something!?! - My recent post, Females Drive Me Crazy!!!, has earned me a number four spot on Google today for the search:

why are females so crazy

LOL! Oh, mercy. That's good for a grand laugh.

Brother, I don't know who you are but you have my sympathies!

I hope you enjoyed the post!

I might should add. You may want to take a look over at the Boundless Webzine article by J. Budziszewski , "Office Hours: New, Improved, and Lowered Standards."

Not that it will help all that much. Though it sheds some light on the why, the answer might also frustrate you as the nice guy that I imagine you are. But don't loose heart.

I found the link through Carolyn McCulley's wonderful weblog, Solo Feminity. The post is That Masculine Edge. So I look at that as being proof that there are some women out there who aren't so crazy.

The Power of TV: Soap Opera Virus.

Influence? What influence? - Here's an interesting problem Portuguese schools and doctors are faced with, Teens suffer soap opera virus | Reuters.com.

More than 300 children have complained of symptoms including rashes, breathing difficulties and dizziness at 14 schools in different parts of the country. Some schools have been forced to close.

The outbreak came a few days after the popular "Strawberries with Sugar" teenage television show aired an episode about a life-threatening virus descending on a school.

That can't be possible. The visual mediums aren't supposed to have an affect upon the minds of children?

Those silly chill'ns must be using that TV program as some grand scheme to get out of school. Yeah, that's it.

Ian McKellen: Bible is Fiction.

You gotta love it. - Drudge had a link to this article on NewsBusters: Da Vinci Code Actor: Bible Should Have 'Fiction' Disclaimer.

On the Today Show Matt Lauer interviewed Ian McKellen, famed actor known for Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, Magneto in X-Men, and now some character in The Da Vinci Code.

When asked about the notion of the movie The Da Vinci Code carrying a disclaimer that it's a fictious story McKellen replied:

"Well, I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying this is fiction."

---

Related Posts:
Aiding and Abetting the Da Vinci Code?

Christian Persecution Round-Up.

They hate you because of me - Compass Direct is reporting that three churches were attacked by a mob of Buddhists in Sri Lanka: THREE CHURCHES ATTACKED.

A Christian radio station was attacked in Nairobi, Kenya, and one person was reportedly killed. Both Assist News Service and China View have a report on the incident:

ASN: One person killed in attack on Christian radio station in Kenya :

Gunmen attacked a Pentecostal church radio station during a program that compared teachings of the Bible and the Quran, killing one person and setting the building on fire.

China View: Masked gunmen attack Christian radio station in Kenya, 2 killed:

Four hooded men raided a Christian radio station in Kenyan capital Nairobi on Friday night, shooting dead a night guard and a station worker, injuring some others and leaving the studio partly burnt from a petrol bomb, workers said on Saturday.

Finally, the Montagnard Foundation has a press release about the torture of a fellow Christian.

MONTAGNARD DEGAR CHRISTIAN TORTURED TO DEATH ON 24 APRIL 2006 IN VIETNAM PRISON:

On 20 April 2006 Siu Lul (a Degar Christian) was denied food and water by Vietnamese authorities in Ha Nam prison who also commenced beating and torturing him. He was 62 years old and from the village of Ploi Kueng , Habong commune, Cu Se District, Gia Lai Province . He had been arrested, tortured and imprisoned at the prison facility in Ha Nam since 2004. On April 24, 2006 he succumbed and died from the effects of torture and lack of water and food.

The Great Separation continues.

For further information on Christian persecution around the globe the Persecution Blog is a good source.

---

Technorati Tags: Christian Persecution, Christian, Persecution.

Book Review: How to be Your Own Publicist!

So you want to be known. - I'm a book reviewer for Active Christian Media.

What this basically means is that I get free books to review on The Great Separation. Fiction, non-fiction, even the occasional DVD. How cool is that?!

Would you like to be a reviewer too? Well, if you've got a blog all you've got to do is click here and sign up. There's a one time $25 fee to filter out those bloggers who aren't so serious about follow through. But it's well worth it.

And do me a favor, when you sign up, mention that you heard about it from your's truly, Hal Paxton, from The Great Separation. Thanks.

Now the review of How to be Your Own Publicist.

I originally intended to do my review of this book by Jessica Hatchigan over a serious of posts. That never materialized fully. Not because of this well designed and written book but because of my busy life over the last couple of months.

The one post I did do can be found here.

The nutshell quote from that post is this:

I'm impressed with the layout, the way sections are organized and the sidebars called "Bonus Points" which are filled with interesting facts.

Now, I'm not much of a non-fiction book reader as I typically find it rather difficult to wade through most non-fiction because I just don't find the writing gripping enough for me. It's just me, I know.

But I have to tell you I was pleasantly surprised by the writing of Jessica Hatchigan. She kept me entertained with great examples of what she was writing about and did so with active language that moved me quickly along through the chapters.

What's more is that the information which she provides and makes easy for the layman to comprehend for publicizing your business or your product is extremely useful (note: PR for books is not a focus of this how-to-book but the information I think is easily transferrable).

If you are a business owner, this book is a how-to manual to get your company free publicity. Hatchigan provides checklists and suggestions on how to put into words the value of your company or product for your target audience.

Other subjects covered are:

• Putting together Special Events and how to include the media in them.
• Making yourself available to reporters as an expert in your field.
• How media people think and what they are looking for when it comes to printable stories.
• How to write a press release that sings and will grab the attention of those you need to see it.
• How to make a press kit is also described in detail along with how to properly use your press kits.
• Cheap effective giveaways that draw in customers.
• Doing TV and Radio interviews and Media Tours.
• The effectiveness of giving speeches.

Overall this is a great addition to my library of books because I found valuable insight and information that I can apply to my desire to be a published author. Not only that, but I can see how I could even use the information for publicizing church events.

If you're a business owner or are trying to market a product that you've created I recommend Hatchigan's, How to be Your Own Publicist, very much.

---

Technorati Tags: Books, How-To, PR, Publicist, Review.