Who are the "Huthis" in Yemen?

https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/helen-lackner/introduction-to-yemen%27s-emergency

Background to the rise of the Huthis and their overthrow of the Yemeni government.

Work and Rest in the Image of God

Sunergoi on the work-rest balance for image bearers.

http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/the-right-balance/

On workaholism: "Rest for the land was so significant that the failure of the Israelites in this regard is the trigger that Moses (Lev. 26:34) and the Chronicler (2 Chron. 36:20-21) give for the exile—the land had not been allowed its proper Sabbaths. Such passages should sober us since they indicate that a personal rejection of rest may result in a divine imposition of it."

On a fruitful retirement: "To be sure, our day-to-day work can and should evolve as we grow older, but that does not mean that we lose our call to participate in the cultural mandate as God’s image-bearers." 

Old Quotes for a New Year

Stumbled across a few good quotes, the kind that help bring perspective in a sentence or two.

"In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him." Ralph Waldo Emerson

This pre-dates a piece of advice I've heard that Newt Gingrich gives about his approach to cocktail party conversation, and captures a notion that has gotten my introvert-ish self through 10 schools growing up, through 24 moves, and through numerous parties and meet-and-greets.

In social situations, you can retire from people and shrink away, you can buck up and suffer through, or you can enter conversation with a goal of figuring out what a person has to teach or share with you. People are brilliant--even (especially?) the boring- or different-seeming ones. Everyone has a speciality or experience to tell. Trying to figure it out acknowledges the image-bearer in each one of us and has a side benefit of making things more interesting for everyone. You can view casual conversation as a treasure hunt or a torture chamber. Humility helps you do the former.

"You want to know the difference between a master and a beginner? The master has failed more times that the beginner has even tried." Unknown [anyone?]

Echoes of T. Roosevelt's "person in the arena" quote. In our hyper-critical, hypocritical, knee jerk, tabloidesque, lack-of-context culture, you can plunge in a do-fail-learn-succeed approach -- and a try-sin-repent-grow spirituality -- or you can shrink back. Courage helps you do the former.

"What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and work flow." Martin Luther 

Good news for everyday people who are busy doing regular work for God and other people.

The guy administering vaccinations in Appalachia and the guy manufacturing the plastic for the syringes are both doing God's work, if they do it for him. Faithfulness in small, everyday things.

"In raising children, I have lost my mind but found my soul." Lisa Shepherd

The secular, and humorous, version of "Yet she will be saved through childbearing--if they continue in faith and love and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:15) Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

The Beginning and the End

Then He who sat on the throne of God said, 'Behold, I make all things new.' 

And He said to me, 'Write, for these words are true and faithful.' 

And He said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.' 

Revelation 21: 5,6 (ESV)

He Came for the Sick

A short reflection on the nativity from sunergoi blog.

http://sunergoi.blogspot.com/2014/12/why-christmas-is-for-losers.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+Sunergoi+(sunergoi)&m=1

What Christians Can Learn from Veterans

Military people understand the intersection of Faith and Authority. The centurion understood Christ's sovereignty over nature, space, and time -- that all of nature was under the authority of it's Creator and would obey. He didn't need to see Jesus touch his servant to acknowledge Christ's Lordship over this illness. "All things were made through him" (John 1). 

Matthew 8: 5-13

5 When he [Jesus] had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant,[c] ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel[d] have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said,“Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

(Source: cut and pasted from Bible Gateway)

The Meaning of Exile

Some Christians are predicting an imminent exile for the church in modern times. Whatever you believe about our future, what does exile mean about the church historically?

What Exile Means