The United States (3-1) never trailed against the mustachioed Croats (3-1)…

In an article entitled “No. 44 Has Spoken,” Der Spiegel’s Gerhard Spörl writes:

Anyone who saw Barack Obama at Berlin’s Siegessäule on Thursday could recognize that this man will become the 44th president of the United States. He is more than ambitious — he wants to lay claim to become the president of the world.

It was a ton to absorb — and what a stupendous ride through world history: the story of his own family, the Berlin Airlift, terrorists, poorly secured nuclear material, the polar caps, World War II, America’s errors, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, freedom. It’s amazing anyone could pack such a potpourri of issues into the space of a speech that lasted less than 30 minutes.

Indeed, Barack Obama has his own sound — it’s more utopian, he speaks of the general human desire for better conditions for all of humanity; and he speaks of the longing for strong and dynamic presidents and chancellors who are capable of acting on a global scale. With this drive and this radiance, he managed to drive Hillary Clinton out of the campaign. It is also the way he will outpace John McCain by November 4. It is the way he took the hearts of Americans by storm, and it is the way he is now taking Europe by storm.

Tim LaHaye, please call your office.

Premium Christian Sunglasses

Does this mean I can’t wear my Wal-Mart sunglasses anymore?

Man, so many great slogans that could apply here.

• Premium sunglasses for premium Christians.
• The only sunglasses company that recommends looking directly at the Son.
• What would Jesus wear?
• Because the Helmet of Salvation doesn’t come with UV protection.
• Blocks the Sun, not the Son.

From the beginning, God has always been able to do things in and with my life.  Either by his design or by his desire, though, the magnitude of those things has always correlated very closely with my willingness to change myself to be more like who he wants me to be.  And not surprisingly, those changes become harder and harder to make as they cut closer and closer to the very foundation of who I am.

What is surprising to me, though, is how unwilling I can be to make those changes.  Not that I outright refuse to do what he wants me to, but rather I am one of the world’s great rationalizers — finding “good” reasons to do something just a little differently than he wants me to do it.

It’s surprising to me because I have for years acknowledged that the success that I have had was not based on my performance at all — so much so that I took the name of my consulting company from Ephesians 3:20:

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think

However, it’s not surprising to me because I have had a very difficult time translating that from something I know to be true intellectually to something I know to be true deep in my soul — moving it from head knowledge to heart knowledge.  I can tell by the way I act that — while it is definitely becoming more of a truth to me every day — it’s still largely something I think rather than something I believe, and there’s a huge difference between the two.

The picture at the top of this post is a Ferrari Scaglietti 612. I have it on my desktop to try to remind me constantly that my ability to accomplish things that have an eternal value has very little to do with me.

Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson called it one of the most astonishing cars made the year he tested it, but as amazing as it is, it won’t even start without gas in it.  Even the Bugatti Veyron, the world’s fastest street-legal car, won’t do much for you without fuel.

To think that I can accomplish the things that I want to accomplish without the one who makes it happen is as inane as the guy who buys a Veyron thinking that the 6 MPG in city driving is a non-issue because gas is really optional anyway.

FBI lab workers say ‘CSI’ not realistic

I hate it had to be me who broke this to you.  I know it comes as a shock.

Of the 85 million videos on YouTube, this one is currently my favorite.

Problems reported as new iPhone launches

I’m shocked — shocked.  Everyone knows that Apple products are always bug free.  Someone must be mistaken.

Manager suspended over armpit tirade

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/discipleship-movement_an-army-of-ordinary-people

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/dream-with-me_s-baldwin

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/basic-math_n-cole

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/failing-the-mission_d-devries

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/lifespan-organic-churches

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/long-live-organic-church

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/secret-to-church-multiplication-movements

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/discipling-viral-disciples

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/person-of-peace-in-the-west

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/stages-in-the-journey-of-organic-church

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/ltg-email-dialogue

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/the-journey-of-discovery

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/the-power-of-2-or-3

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/starfish-vision