Go Bowlin

These guys are funny and super creative. An ode to one of the greatest haircuts of all time.

T4G - A Conference for Gospel Faithfulness

I am excited about attending this conference in Louisville, KY in April.  Looking forward to catching up with some old friends and hearing some gospel-centered preaching.


T4G 2012 Trailer from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Something to Cook - Beef Tips and Rice

I like to cook. My wife hates it.  So, I get to cook a lot. Now, I don't "LOVE" to cook.  I don't sit around conjuring up dishes in my kitchen in my spare time.  However, I do like the art of cooking.  And my wife is not a bad cook.  She's actually gotten pretty good lately.  She just doesn't like cooking and has no patience in the process. So from time to time I thought I might give you some things I have tried that my family seems to enjoy.

Tonight, we're having beef tips and rice.  I realized about 4 months ago that I really liked beef tips but had no idea how to make them.  I also wanted to find a recipe I could cook in a crock-pot because I didn't want to have to tackle it when I came home.  So I researched the internet and read through about a dozen recipes on beef tips in a crock pot.  I combined what looked good for me and this is what I came up with.

3-4 pounds of beef tips or stew meat (They are usually cut pretty big so I cut them in half)
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can Golden Mushroom or Beefy Mushroom soup (depends on what your grocery store carries)
1 packet Lipton Onion Soup mix
3 cans of beef broth
Salt and Pepper

Season the beef tips with salt and pepper (and maybe some Cajun Seasoning) and dredge in some flour. Lightly brown the tips in a skillet in some vegetable oil. Put the dry onion soup mix, Golden Mushroom soup, and Cream of Mushroom soup in the crock-pot and mix in one can of beef broth.  Add the browned beef tips and cover with remaining beef broth.  Cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-5 hours.  Serve over rice. Enjoy!

This is one of my kids favorites. Now I'm hungry and going to eat some!

Around the Internet

Here are a few of the best blogs and articles I have come across the internet the last week.

Jared Wilson's Response to Jesus>Religion - There's a new video circulating around Facebook and the internet by an artist named Jefferson Bethke where he conveys why being in love with Jesus is better than just being religious.  It's very creative and thought-provoking.  It also can be misconstrued to advocate an alarming trend that we can love Jesus and live the Christian life outside of the church. While many American churches have become self-serving institutions and guardians of the moral police, it is also the institution that Christ created and that he died for. Wilson does a great job looking at some of the deeper issues raised by this popular video.

10 Thoughts on Tim Tebow mania - I love Tim Tebow.  My wife absolutely loves Tim Tebow!  She has become an NFL and Bronco fan just because of Tim Tebow.  He has become a polarizing figure in our society that reflects a larger reality of the divide between those who follow Christ and those who follow the philosophies of this world.  Nathan Busenitz wrote a very good article on 5 positive things about Tebow-mania and 5 concerns.  Very much worth a look.

If Jesus Tweeted - My friend Chad Gibbs is one of the most creative and humorous guys I know.  He has a great blog and put together a funny look at what Jesus' Twitter profile might look like.

Mark Driscoll on Rick and Bubba -Mark Driscoll has a new book on marriage and a conference tour. I have a copy of the book I hope to read and review later.  He appeared on a radio interview with Rick and Bubba.  Here is the interview and gives you a good idea of the contents of the book. Sounds like it's definitely worth a read.

Loving Movies (or anything else) more than Jesus - I saw this link on someone's facebook this week.  It's a blog post from John Piper on our tendency to elevate our love and affections for created things over the Creator. It's not overly critical, but a very positive and encouraging article. 

The Jesus Mission (Book Review)

Last month I received a copy of the book The Jesus Mission by Steven Scott to read and review.  Personally, I was a little skeptical before I read it.  I had never heard of Steven Scott before.  His bio in the dust jacket talks about how he "learned the laws of success by studying the book of Proverbs" and lists his successful business ventures.  The book says that Jesus has "4 missions He assigned you."  At first glance, I thought this was going to be another Joel Osteen or Prayer of Jabez "secret to personal success" type book.  I was wrong. 

Steven Scott writes from a very strong theological and biblical background.  His writing reflects someone who has deeply studied Scripture and has invested a lot of time in personal study of God's word.  This is no "pull out a verse and then show how God has promised to bless you" type book.  The author makes no apologies for the power of God's word and its necessity in the life of a follower of Jesus.  He does a solid treatment of describing salvation and what it truly means to be "born again".  He challenges modern-day Christianity that teaches people to rely on past experience, walking an aisle, being baptized, etc. as the basis for proof of salvation.  He does and excellent job of challenging readers to "count the cost" of following Jesus. 

Every chapter in this book is loaded with advice that is directly from the pages of Scripture and a solid exegesis of those passages.  By his own admission, the author spent two years reading and organizing all of Jesus' statements in Scripture into 1900 commands and teachings.  He then categorized them into 225 topics and wrote a book about it.  He uses those Scriptures that he has immersed himself in as a spiritual compass.  The reader is invited in to discover what God wants and in doing so finds himself challenged to reject easy, passive religion and embrace the cost of following Jesus and being obedient to his teachings and commands. 

I would highly recommend this book for personal study, for a Sunday School class, for new Christians, and for those who are looking for something with some substance in a Christian book marketplace that is full of self-help pablum.  Put this book on your reading list this year!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Students "Do Something Now"

I got to go to Passion 2012 last week.  It was my 9th or 10th time to take students to a Passion event.  It always inspires with awesome music and the power of God's word.  This year the students were challenged to unite to bring awareness to modern slavery and human trafficking.  This was a feature that CNN did about the movement.  The goal was $1,000,000.  By Thursday, over $3,000,000 had been raised!

Read through the Word in 2012

Since it's the beginning of the new year, many of us commit to read the Bible more intentionally.  There are lots of great Bible reading plans out there.  I have tried several of them.  This year I am going to read through the Discipleship Journal plan.  One reason I like this plan is that the readings are broken down into 25 readings a month so it gives you some extra days to catch up if you fall behind.  If you aren't behind, you can spend the extra days studying some of the passages you read that are meaningful to you. 

I am using a paper copy in my Bible and also YouVersion to track my progress.  If you are signed up on YouVersion, then look me up and be a friend so we can encourage one another and share any notes or insights. YouVersion also has some great apps that you can use on your smart phone to help you keep up. 

Are you reading the word more intentionally this year.