A rendition of Psalm 23 for the workplace

Bobbi Govanus from Arlin's morning email list shared this rendition of Psalm 23 for the workplace:

The Lord is my real boss, and I shall not want. He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me. He gently reminds me to pray and do all things without murmuring and complaining.

He reminds me that he is my source and not my job. He restores my sanity everyday and guides my decisions that I might honor him in all that I do.

Even though I face absurd amounts of e-mails, system crashes, unrealistic deadlines, budget cutbacks, gossiping co-workers, discriminating supervisors and an aging body that doesn't cooperate every morning, I still will not stop, for He is with me!

His presence, His peace, and His power will see me through. He raises me up, even when they fail to promote me. He claims me as His own, even when the company threatens to let me go.

His Faithfulness and love is better than any bonus check. His retirement plan beats every 401k there is! When it's all said and done, I'll be working for Him a whole lot longer and for that, I bless His name.

A Beautiful Sunday in Chicago

Today is a beautiful day indeed. For the past week we have been suffering from oppressive heat and humidity. Today we had a bit of a reprieve with a temp of only 81 deg and humidity of 35%. Factor in a strong breeze, OK, a wind, and it was an exceptional day.

Today is the day that Willow Creek Community Church Celebrates 28 Years of Lakeside Baptisms. God couldn't have provided a better day for it, even if His people had asked Him to. I was baptized at the same service back in 2005. It was Blistering Hot and nary a breeze. The poor folks who weren't dunked, simply melted.

Just before I began typing this, I checked the North-Mar Church website to see if I could link back to the Father's Day service that I posted on last Monday. Turns out that for some reason, that service is not available for download. Just seconds later I get a message from my mother saying that she picked me up a CD. How is that for God's provision? Since they didn't post it publicly, I probably won't be able to post it here. I'll check the copyright when I get it.

Speaking of messages, today Bill Hybels taught on the passage 2 Kings 5:1-19 . I'll let you read the passage yourself, then contemplate this... I didn't take notes, so let me see if I can get it right.

#1. No matter what you do, do your best. Do it for the glory of God.
#2. Choose to Love. No matter how horrible things are for you, do good for others.
#3. Ask for and Accept help from others.
#4. Be willing to do the "simple" things.

I'm not sure that I have that exactly right, but can you see where those would fit in with that passage? I KNOW that this sermon will be posted. It may be a couple of day, but you will be able to find it here. I probably won't get back to it, so if I am way off the mark, leave a comment and let me know.

BANK ACCOUNT for life!!!

The following was forwarded to me by my friend, Bud.

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. 'Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.' 'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied. 'Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away.. Just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!' Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing. Remember the five simple rules to be happy: 1. Free your heart from hatred. 2. Free your mind from worries. 3. Live simply. 4. Give more. 5. Expect less. Have a nice day, unless you already have other plans.

Partners in Christ at WPC in NOLA

Get it on your calendar and plan to join us!

Join Microsoft partners and employees from around the world

for a time of fellowship and prayer

at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference

New Orleans Marriott at the Convention Center

859 Convention Center Boulevard

New Orleans, Louisiana 70130

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

7:00 - 8:00 a.m.

Click Here to Register Today!

Boyd Bailey has accepted our invitation to come to New Orleans to be our speaker for the 2009 Partners in Christ prayer breakfast!

Boyd is founder and Chairman of Wisdom Hunters, LLC and is the author of two devotional books, Infusion and Seeking Daily the Heart of God; Boyd is also founder of Ministry Ventures, a venture capital firm for early stage ministries which has helped 45 start-up ministries raise over $15.5 million and impact over 35,000 people for Christ. Prior to Ministry Ventures, Bailey was the National Director for Crown Financial Ministries. He was instrumental in the expansion of Crown into 30 major markets across the U.S. He was a key facilitator in the 25 million dollar merger between Christian Financial Concepts and Crown Ministries. Before Crown he and Andy Stanley started First Baptist Atlanta’s north campus; and as an Elder, Boyd assisted Andy in the start of North Point Community Church. In college he bought a service business with five employees. This business endeavor financed his education and the equity from its sale was the economic launching pad for his graduate school experience.

Boyd Bailey was born in Huntsville, Alabama and received his Bachelor of Arts from Jacksonville State University and his Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Seminary in FT. Worth, Texas. Boyd and his wife Rita live in Roswell, GA. They have been married 30 years and are blessed with four daughters and two son-in-laws who love Jesus!

Again this year we will be providing all attendees a free book, Boyd’s Infusion devotional.

We also will be having prayer time on Mon, Tues, Thur and Fri mornings at 6:30 AM. It will be held at the Residence Inn New Orleans Convention Center at 345 St. Joseph Street. Exact room location will be in the daily update where we will count down the days to WPC and the Partners in Christ breakfast. If you won’t be in New Orleans, or aren’t in the technology business, we ask you join us in praying for our industry and the marketplace ministry we are working to establish. We need God’s touch to make things happen for His glory and honor and praise. Hope to see many of you in NOLA.

Questions? Contact mailto:info@partnersinchrist.net?subject=Partners

Happy Monday! Don't you just hate that??? How often do you really have a "happy Monday?"

I suppose that there is really no reason why I can't. I just usually don't. I won't get into that... It's just how the words appeared on the screen...

What I really wanted to focus on was Father's day? Was that happy for you? Mine was a good day! The Bahl family happens to be at the Bahl home... in Ohio. My family is spending a mini-vacation at my parent's house. My daughter is spending this week at a gymnastics camp hosted by Kent State University. Which incidentally is coached by a high school friend of mine.

Anyway, we slept in yesterday and attended the church service at North-Mar Churh. One of their missionary's was home from Jordan and preached an outstanding message centered on Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch from Acts 8. I just check and the message isn't posted yet, but when it is, I'll post a link. I would definitely recommend listening to how he tied the Biblical teaching to action in today's world.

After church, we grabbed a bite to eat and then when out to tour a project that my dad has been working on with the Army Corp of Engineers. The whole family enjoyed a very beautiful day at the lake.

What would the first day of summer be without a BBQ? We had grilled hamburgers and sweet corn. Very good indeed!

I have to share with you one gift that my father received. From my brother, his middle child, he received the gift of Sobriety. Darran's card to my dad contained his "30-day" coin from AA. After 22 years of alcohol addiction, he is well on his way to recovery, and for that we are all celebrating!