The Maxson Homepage on the WWW
Well, the spam count is up above 800 now (I don't have an exact count because I deleted around 80 pieces of spam before I thought it would be interesting to track how mush spam I received over time).
I knew I got alot of spam, but I never realized I got this much!
Every week we have chapel at work. It isn't manditory for anyone to attend; however, I usually do. It breaks up the week and helps keep me focused on why we are here. Anyway, at this week's chapel, an MK spoke. She was born overseas, lived overseas her entire life, and only came back to America to go to college. She has since graduated and is going back overseas. Her story was very moving–I won't go into all the details, but she arrived in America shortly before the Sept. 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. Well, back on track.
Her story would have been similar to that of a "real" military brat. One who was born in Germany, and moved every 2-3 years to bases here in the US and around the world. She talked of the struggles she had to relate to America having never lived here.
Intertwined with this was three ways we can pray for MKs as their parents are on the field. I'll post them here so I can remember them and to share them with you:
Pray for their ministry — Pray that the MKs would find their purpose and how to be involved with God where they are. Give them a sense of purpose and being.
Pray for their family life — Some MKs are sent to boarding school where they are separated from their parents. Some MKs have to learn how to interact in a foreign culture as 6th or 7th graders. This can put a stress on the family.
Pray for their sense of purpose — Pray that they would have a sense of purpose where they are. "Home" could be multiple places and in multiple countries. They need to know that God is where they are and they need to be with God (wherever that may be).
edited 8 Aug by Matt. I added the third thing to the list
One of my co-workers recently had a baby. I thought I would post this here (with permission) so everyone could enjoy. I sent him the URL, so if you want to congratulate him, leave him a message in the comments.
For those of you into this sort of thing, here are the stats: born at 2:18pm (21 hrs labor) 7lbs 10oz, 20.5 inches
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My boss knows a lady who works at one of the universities in town with international students who are coming here to school. This lady has a program where she tries to hook internationals up with local people who will show them around, be friends to them, have them over for dinner, etc…. Basically, you befriend them. I'm interested in this program because I have been wanting to try and find a way to hook up with people from other countries. I think it would be cool to have a chance to get to learn more about other cultures, learn how to cook their food, speak a little of their language, and be friendly to someone else (on a side note, it could also give me a chance to witness to them).
Once I talk to Cyndi about it and, if she is agreeable, find more out about the program, I'll post some details here. Who knows…it may serve as an inspiration to others.
After lunch, I usually take 5-10 minutes and walk around our building. This time is reserved for prayer for co-workers and anything I may have on my mind. Anway…. on today's lap around the building, I got some interesting ideas and wanted to share them with everyone to get some feedback.
1. – offer to watch neighborhood kids one or two days a month while the parents go out and run errands, etc…. I'm thinking something like "We'll watch your kids from 10am – 2pm on the first and third Thursdays of the month.
2. – I offer to spend 1 Sat a month helping whoever with yard work, chores, etc….
3. – Offer computer help to the people as they need it (call and we'll arrange a time kind of thing).
4. – Game night. Have a neighborhood game night once a month at our place. We live across the street from a Jewish center or a church we may be able to borrow space from if it gets too big.
We would introduce this to the community (I'm talking 1 or 2 blocks initially) by passing out flyers, explaing what we are doing, and inviting them all over for a community cookout in Mid September.
What do you guys think?
FOr those of you who don't know, I am a history buff (some would say that is an understatement). A part of history that I really enjoy is Civil War History. Currently, I'm rewatching the movie Gods and Generals. Right now, I'm at the 1st Battle of Bull Run (or Manassas depending on where you are from). For those of you who don't know, this is where Gen. Jackson got his nickname "Stonewall." The story goes that one officer was trying to encourage his troops to stand firm. He saw Gen. Jackson mounted on his horse while the battle was raging about. He pointed this out to his men and said something to the effect of "Look men. See Gen. Jackson standing like a stonewall."
I think we can learn quite a bit from the life of Gen. Jackson. He was only a man. He wasn't perfect. So, we shouldn't imitate him; however, we can take some qualities he had and apply them to our lives (after bouncing them off the Bible, of course).
First, he was deeply spiritual. In the movie, he is shown reading his Bible with his wife, praying, etc… Was he a Baptist, Presbyterian, or some other religion? I don't know; however, from what I have read, he took his faith in God seriously and appears to have a solid relationship with God.
Second, he knew his life had a purpose. In the movie he is portrayed waling alone and praying to God prior to the battle of Manassas. He prays to God and tells God that 1)he knows God wills him to be there at this time and 2)he knows God will watch over him and only let him come to harm if it is God's will.
Finally, after the battle, Gen. Jackson is asked by a soldier how he can stand there unwavering in the line of fire. Gen. Jackson's answer basically says that he trusts God. When God wants to take him home–to heaven–God will do so. Before that time, Gow will watch over Jackson therefore he has nothing to worry about.
What can we as christians learn from this? Well, if Gen. Jackson believes God can protect him in battle from bullets, explosions, etc…, can He not also protect us? If God is protecting us, why do we refuse to go to the limit and do what God wants?
Google Earth is cool! Here is a picture of the place Cyndi, Kevin, Ronda, and myself stayed at the Outer Banks. We stayed in the condos with the swimming pool in the center of the picture. To the right is the ocean.
[Update 2012-12-26 07:02:19] Put the picture on flickr and changed the image to point there.
The spam count is over 650 this evening. Thanks Gmail!
Here is another interesting site I came across this evening. http://www.globalopps.org/. THis is an interesting idea. In fact, it is a really cool idea. What a way to gain access to "closed" countries. Enjoy!
http://www.missiology.org. I found this site by surfing the net this evening. It looks interesting to me. Possibly someone else out there will find it interesting too.
