Category: faith

Erin heading back to Nigeria

From Erin Rigsby:

Yes! Tomorrow (Monday) I fly to Nigeria! What a journey this has been. Thank you for being a part of my life.
Prayer points for the journey:

1) I have 10 boxes that need to make it on the plane with me – full of goodies for the kids and my stuff, too. Although British Airways says it should not be a problem, I know things can change when I get to the desk. Please pray that the person who helps me is in a good mood and that all goes smoothly.
2) I fly from Austin – Chicago – London – Abuja, Nigeria. The total travel is about 40 hours and I arrive in Nigeria at 10:40pm Tuesday night, Texas time. Please pray that I will be able to sleep on the flights.
3) When I arrive in Abuja, a SIM driver will pick me up, along with another SIM missionary couple and we will drive 3 1/2 hours to my home in Jos! The roads are dangerous (traffic and other things 🙂 so please do pray for safety.
4) On Thursday at 10:00am TX time – I get to see my boys!!! They are holding a praise and worship party for me and I am so happy to see them!!!!

Thank you for your love and prayers. I will send an email out in about a week or so – from Nigeria.
Praise God, from Whom all blessing flow. He reigns!

Erin

www.webmissions.net/erinrigsby
http://erinrigsby.blogspot.com/ (for weekly updates from Nigeria)

College brings footbaths, and religious worries

Minnesota Technical and Community College is considering installing footbaths for Muslim students, which worries church-state separation advocates. Michele Norris from NPR talks with Phillip Davis, president of the school.
The consideration to install the footbaths came forth after a Muslim student slipped and hit her head while washing her feet in a bathroom sink.
Should public schools consider accommodating religious students for the safety and well being of their students?
Listen to the story from Fresh Air on NPR.

Come alongside me

I’ve subscribed to several newsletters from Smallgroups.com and their e-mail from yesterday caught my eye.

Has anyone ever told you to “mind your own business?” Ironically, the New Testament asks us to mind each other’s business. And in a small group we have the chance to do just that; to encourage one another, to bear one another’s burdens, to weep with those who weep and to mourn with those who mourn… yes, even to “admonish one another.” After all, if my friends in Christ won’t help me recognize where I am slipping or cheer me on to obedience, who will? And how can I grow to maturity if no one helps me?
Hebrews 10:24 says “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” That was written not just to pastors, but to all believers!

Taken from Small Group Dynamics ezine article: “Who Says So” by Steve Cordle, March, 2007.

Last night we finished up our study of Philippians’s and Paul mentions several things to the church of Philippi that I thought were very applicable to this same concept, idea.

  • I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it.
  • It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.
  • You Philippians well know, and you can be sure I’ll never forget it, that when I first left Macedonia province, venturing out with the Message, not one church helped out in the give-and-take of this work except you. You were the only one.

The church at Philippi shared in Paul’s burdens. They helped him when no one else would. They showed concerned and came alongside him in his troubles. They were in Paul’s business and ultimately God’s business.
If we as the church are going to be about God’s business we better be ready to get in the business of others.
We must be willing to help the needy on each and every street corner and in every pew and seat of our church.
“For they will know that we are Christians by our t-shirts love.”
We also better be slow to say, “Mind your own bees wax” and be quick to say, “I’m struggling. I need some help.”
We have to be ready and willing to admit our own failings and leave pride behind.
Why is this such a hard concept for the you and/or the church of today?

A Rabbi looks at Christianity from the inside

logo_npr_125.gifNPR talks to Rabbi Joshua Martin Siegel who has been recently hired by the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church to study Christianity and work on their staff.
Siegel brings out some interesting points…

  • Sometimes out of your pain and suffering you can find God.
  • I’ve learned about how hard it is been to be Christian. They struggle with this image of Jesus. All that He is all that He was and all that He accomplished. They’re beset by the secular culture and they’re beset by a lot of things and they’re beset by this curse of having been all powerful. They’re so used to being everywhere that they don’t know how to be not everywhere so they suffer with this new minority status. That’s a whole new ball game for them.
  • Who’s at the center? You or something larger than yourself which you must give allegiance?

Listen online

Peyton gets some props

My good friends Dane and Marni and their daughter Peyton took part in a Spring Fashion show at Children’s Hospital in Dallas where Laurie works.
A number of celebrities, including Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Emmitt Smith, the cast of Prison Break, and Stephen Baldwin were involved as well as local television news anchors.
Megan Henderson with Fox 4 in Dallas walked the runway with Peyton and blogged about it yesterday.
Check it out and listen to Dane and Marni’s story online from encounterthis.com.