John Wesley on Spiritual Life (particularly of pastors)

Following Jesus may not be easy but it may very well be just this simple.  As trite as the daily "quiet time" might seem, there is absolutely nothing more vital for spiritual transformation than interaction/dialogue with God in prayer and the Bible every day.  Stop depending on other stuff to "feed you," feed yourself.  We don't live on bread alone, after all.

John Wesley, the eighteenth-century founder of the Methodists, wrote of his own spiritual disciplines and his daily time of solitude at 4:30 or 5:00 a.m.: "Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone; only God is here, in his presence I open, I read his book; for this end, to find the way to heaven." In the letter he wrote to a pastor 250 years ago on August 7, 1760, Wesley clearly stated the importance of soul care for pastors: "[This is] what has exceedingly hurt you in times past, nay, and I fear, to this day ... Whether you like it or no, read and pray daily. It is for your life; there is no other way ... Do justice to your own soul; give it time and means to grow. Do not starve yourself any longer."  (From the article Soul Care & the Roots of Clergy Burnout by Anne Dilenschneider)

CLICK HERE to read the full article in the Huffington Post.  

Interesting thought re: Wesley's theology of the providence of God

"The coherence of Wesley's teaching on the omnipotence of God is questionable.  How God is the sole agent whose providence is responsible for everything except human sin is not clear.  Wesley protects human freedom, but even that is to be ascribed to God's grace.  One reason his thought is not very coherent here is that it is peripheral to his primary concern - God's saving grace.  It is God as loving parent he most wishes to describe, not God the agent whose existence explains causality in the physical world." 

| United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center by Scott J. James

Baseball Radio

Baseball is made for the radio. But the radio is pretty irrelevant, so I learned that these Podcast things are pretty cool. Not surprisingly, my favorite one is about baseball. It's by the main prospect guy from that beloved/reviled Baseball Prospectus. If you like baseball/the Reds/Steve Albini start with this one from last week:

"Green Apple Is Not Cool"

Meka vs. Eden in "Movie Hockey"?

Meka: Eden pushed me in the hallway!
Eden: Meka, I'm just playing movie hockey!

Super Slow Mo Slaps from Mythbusters [VIDEO]

Ed Helms (aka. Andy Bernard) on Fresh Air

Fun stuff on Fresh Air today.  Ed Helms & his band, the Lonesome Trio, play music. And talk & stuff.

CLICK HERE to listen.

motown

a remnant of detroit's golden days. check out the whole slideshow of detroit's fall on the link below. beautiful ruins.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,739986,00.html

Amusing Customer Service from theGameShop.com

This was in the email regarding my order:

After months of hard work, our senior toy maker has finally finished making your games. All the game pieces have been carved by hand to your exact specifications. The board was painstakingly hand-painted to be a glorious work of art. Then the contents were inspected by a team of 30 highly trained employees to ensure that your games would be perfect for the upcoming game night with your family or friends. Your games were then given to our packing specialists who placed your games into the finest gold-lined mahogany box that money can buy. We all had a wonderful celebration when it was sealed, and the entire city of Philadelphia came out to wave "Bon Voyage!" to your package as it was loaded into our privately rented FedEx truck.

Grace E-Bike Proves Electric Transport Can Look Tough & Stylish (via @fastcodesign)

Love this description:

The ultralight Grace electric bicycle is greener than a car, less douchey than a Vespa, and looks amazing. 

How do you satisfy a bike snob, a sustainable urbanite, and a slightly lazy normal person at the same time? The Grace Pro E-motorbike, that's how. It's an ultralight commuter bicycle with a handmade aluminum frame and a lithium-ion battery to pick up the slack while climbing tough hills. But with killer styling from handlebar to taillight, the Grace Pro looks respectable enough to win over even a grizzled fixie-riding bike messenger.

See the whole post: http://bit.ly/fWg6ig

Social Media Venn Diagram (via Despair.com)