13 songs for space travel

The Crew of Atlantis' Final Flight | Photo by Thomas Gardner

Today, the crew of Atlantis is scheduled to pack their things and prepare for their ride back to earth.

The return home will take approximately two days and then after their landing, the US Space Shuttle Program will be no more.

It’s kind of sad in a way. In many ways I grew up with the space shuttle program.

But luckily we have plenty of songs to that will last light years beyond that of the closed program.
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Thoughts on Google+

Google+

I’ve been asked to serve as a #digidisciple over at the Big Bible Project in the UK. There are some really cool things going on over there and so I’m honored to have been asked to share my input.
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A house for all people

This weekend we attended my cousin’s wedding at Texas A&M in College Station.

The ceremony was held in the All Faith’s Chapel on campus.

As I walked in, I noticed a particular plaque mounted above the guest book.

A house of prayer for all people | Jonathan Blundell

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Three questions with Shaun Groves

Shaun Groves and his "girlfriend" in India | Photo via ShaunGroves.com

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, Shaun Groves has a new album coming it — Third World Symphony. It’s sweetness!

The album drops Aug. 30, but you can listen to the entire album here and pre-order your own copy of musical greatness here.

And being the gracious guy that Shaun is (I mean how many other artists stream their entire album online two months before it’s released), Shaun offered to take some time to answer three questions for any bloggers out there that were interested (hint, he’ll answer questions for your blog as well) — so naturally, I had to take him up on it. Here’s what he had to say:
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For the love of hamburgers

Angry Dog Hamburger | Photo by Jonathan Blundell

One of my mentors, Charles Diffee, shared a story with me a story about the work they’re doing with African refugees at their campground in Kaufman, Texas.

The campers come from a variety of countries in Africa and most have grown up in the Muslim faith, never hearing the story of Jesus and his love for the world.

On the first hour, of the first day, of their first refugee camp, one of the campers dove into the above ground pool and ended up diving right into one of the other campers, knocking out one of his teeth.

Charles and the staff went into action and called his dentist right away.

The dentist told them to find the tooth, put it back in the missing spot and bring the camper to his office.

At the office, the dentist told them they did the right thing and told them to return in a few months for a followup.

While they were away, the camp staff talked with the other camper who had been involved in the accident and suggested he take the other camper under his wing and show him some extra care and love during the week of camp. The relationship continued even beyond the week of camp.

A few months after the camp, the young camper was heard telling his new friend that he had become a Christian. The friend was amazed and asked him why.

He told him, “Those people at the camp showed me love like no one else had. They took care of my tooth, took me to the dentist, bought me a hamburger and then let me come back to camp! I had to become a Christian after that!”

In addition to the immediate change in faith, the camper’s principal told a member of the camp staff later that year that he was amazed at the changes he had seen in the boy’s life.

During the previous school year the camper had been a trouble maker but after attending the camp and dedicating his life to following Jesus, the boy made many positive changes in his life and was now an exemplary student.

A life changed because someone took the time to show someone in need a little extra care, love and grace.

May we all look for these opportunities in our own lives.