10 Traits of Creatives, Artists and Entrepreneurs

Here is a great post I read this week! Lot's of interesting stuff here.

What's your reaction when you read this article?

10 Paradoxical Traits of Creative People

Matthew 25 (How will you use your talents?)

1. Pray
2. Believe
3. Plan
4. Receive

Share your story from the Intersection's reverse offering? How has it impacted you? What do YOU plan to do with the gift you were given?

jeremiah

Green beer, leprechauns and shamrock shakes...

Green beer, leprechauns and shamrock shakes...is this all there is to the greenest day on our calendar? Dig deeper, beyond the modern conventions of the Holiday and you'll find a Holy day centered around the man who gave the day it's name.

This traditional prayer is said to have been prayed by St. Patrick before he radically changed the nation of Ireland during his life on earth. Let these words inspire you to follow St. Patrick's lead and effect your communities and nations with the grace of Christ. 

Pray these words aloud:

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.

I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

~Prayer Attributed To St. Patrick (AD 433)

New Building Update December, 2012

Sudden Thankfulness: Repenting From A Bad Attitude...

A Big Miracle For A Little Blessing

Cori and I took Zion to Hershey Medical Center today for her yearly Spina Bifida clinic to see how she is growing and developing. It involves a lot of energy, expense and effort to load two kids into the vehicle before the break of dawn on a cold October morning each year, but this year we were happy to make the effort...

You see, last year was a very different experience for us. Cori and I did our usual thing, dressing the kids warmly and eating on the run. We arrived early. We waited indefinitely and became...impatient. After four hours, crammed into a tiny doctor's office with a then 3-year old and 7-year old, we were angry, frustrated and begging for an end to the seemingly endless parade of specialists and doctors, surgeons and nurses coming in the door only to say, "she seems to be developing like a normal child."

I would like to say that I accepted the news gratefully, but the truth is, I remember saying something like, "Then why are we here, wasting our day?" As the clinic came to a close and the last doctor left saying "she's practically perfect," I remember mumbling, "It's about time," as we headed quickly for the door.

Standing in line to settle our bill, a stranger interrupted our space from behind us with a question. "Does she have Spina Bifida?" he said, gesturing incredulously toward little Zion who was twirling and dervishing in her own little dance world. "Yes," Cori said.

The stranger who interrupted our day then went on to tell us that he was a grandfather to a child that had undergone several surgeries before her first birthday to reverse the effects of Spina Bifida. He also told us that she was due for yet another surgery in the next month and that the prospects weren't good for his little grand daughter to EVER have a normal life.

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In that moment, a Godly sorrow settled on us like none we have ever known. We decided then and there that we would NEVER begrudge the chance to hear that our daughter was perfect ever again. God had performed a miracle for us that allowed Zion to develop like any other little girl and we weren't going to take that for granted EVER again.

So today we piled in the car thanking God for the big miracle He provided for our little blessing. Another year has come and gone and she is still undeniably "perfect."

URGENT Prayer Post!!

Hey Everyone!

I need your prayers, fasting and agreement!! To be honest, there really has not been a whole lot to say about the progress on our potential move to the Yingling Auction House property at the corner of Rt. 15 & 97 south of Gettysburg until today. Last Thursday, we received a draft of the lease that was supposed to reflect the pre-work we have done thus far with Dave Sites and Mr. Yingling. After taking a close look at this lease we saw that there are some radical differences and unforeseen additions to this new, legally binding version of the lease. In short, we cannot sign this version of the lease in good conscience without some further negotiations.

This can be disheartening, but it is not a game-ender by any means. We are people of faith who do not rely on our surroundings and circumstances. Instead we hold on to prayer and God's Word. Therefore, I am asking all our serious prayer partners to spend some time in prayer and fasting, asking God to do these four things:

• Give us wisdom on how to proceed in negotiations
• Protect us from any pitfalls that could materialize among the legal jargon of the lease
• Work out the things that we have no power to control
• Help all of the parties involved stay at the negotiating table as long as is practical

We love you all and appreciate your help in praying/agreeing over this matter in this way. Thank you!!

Facing the Movie Massacre Tragedy Through Faith

Everyone in America woke up Friday morning to the news that a terrible thing had happened in a CO movie theater in the wee hours of the morning at a Batman Movie premiere. I spent most of the day asking God why this stuff is all around us and I spent some time soul-searching for some answers. In the wake of this tragedy I found a powerful blog that communicates the Faith-Filled response to this rampage so well, I just had to share it with you all. It is written by a survivor of that terrifying night.

 Here is my take-away...

"God is always good..."

"Man is not." 

"Don't confuse the two."

Take a minute and read it through. My guess is that it will say all that needs to be said to help you see God's goodness in the face of tragedy... 

You can read the whole thing here