Archive - September, 2010

Photo Contest Winners!

September 30, 2010 in Abundant Life with 0 Comments

It’s time to announce the winner’s everyone! But first, a special thanks to everyone who participated by submitting pictures, voting (all 131 of you), or donating to Charity Water. If you are interested, you can view all of the pictures that were submitted in this slideshow (or Click here to view the album in Picasa):

And now…the moment we’ve all been waiting for!

Second prize goes to “Farm in Pennsylvania” by Nathan Klein. Nathan is a professional photographer, and you can view more of his incredible portfolio at his website by clicking here.

Pennsylvania Farm by Nathan Klein

First Prize goes to “Summer in the Tetons” by Loftin Johnson. Loftin traveled to Wyoming this past summer and had a great experience. Pretty easy to understand why when you see this picture.

Summer in the Tetons by Loftin Johnson

Both Nathan and Loftin will receive itunes gift certificates and Loftin will get $100 donated in her honor to Charity Water.

Photo Contest Finalists!

September 27, 2010 in Abundant Life with 0 Comments

Over 50 photos were submitted for the photo contest! Thanks to everyone who submitted their work, it was very cool to see your amazing work. I am working on creating an album that will have all of them, but first we need to choose a winner! There are 5 finalists and you can view them all below. The top vote getter will receive a $20 itunes gift card and the second place vote getter will receive a $10 itunes gift card. The first place winner will also have $100 donated in their name to Charity Water. In order to vote, select your favorite picture in the poll at the bottom of the page and share this link with your friends!

Before getting to the finalists, I wanted to remind everyone about the 30/30/30K cause I am a part of. 30 different bloggers are working together to bring hope to people who have none. Just a $20 donation will provide clean drinking water for someone for 20 years! And if you have a favorite picture, donating $20 to this cause will give them an extra 20 votes! Just specify the picture in the comment section. To learn more and to donate, click here.

And in case you missed it, here is a very cool video about Charity Water:

And now…The Top 5 Photos! (Click to enlarge)

Taking Flight by Kelsey Hill

Pennsylvania Farm by Nathan Klein

Summer in the Tetons by Loftin Johnson

Smiling in Shades by Thomas Tyner

Plitvice Lakes by Chelsea Morgan


Voting ends on September 30 at noon! Tell your friends and get as many votes as you can! Thanks again to everyone who participated. Click here to subscribe so you can know who won!

Who wants a Wishy Washy God?

September 20, 2010 in Cultural Connection with 1 Comment

I just heard about a book called, Conversations with God. After some research, I saw that there is actually a trilogy. as well as a version for teens. The premise of the book is that the author had all these questions for God, and wrote down what God allegedly
told him. A book like this definitely catches my attention, so I did some digging.

I will confess that I have not yet read the book, but regardless it is important to say that anytime we think we hear from God, it is essential that what we are hearing matches up with God’s Word. God’s Word is eternal, it does not change, and if we hear something that goes against His Word than it is not His Word. I do, however, strongly believe that God still speaks to people. So, does this book match up with God’s Word?

There is a quote from the book that really sticks out to me. I am not going to give an entire book review, but rather focus on this particular quote. Whether you believe in the God of the Bible or not, this is very important and worth reading. The quote from the book is this,

“I do not forgive anyone because there is nothing to forgive.. There is no such thing as right or wrong and that is what I have been trying to tell everyone, do not judge people. People have chosen to judge one another and this is wrong, because the rule is “‘judge not lest ye be judged.”

Now this sounds really nice. We all like to feel good and say that we haven’t done anything wrong. Surely God is friendly and just up in Heaven laughing whenever we do something we “shouldn’t” and loves watching his children play no matter what we do.

As nice as that sounds on the surface, when you think about it, the idea is total garbage and we all should hate it. Why? Because a wishy washy God is one of the worst possible realities that could happen to the world. Imagine with me, for a moment, a rather unpleasant situation. You are on a vacation with your entire family when a gang attacks and murders all of them in your presence. Unlikely? Maybe. But events like that happen to people every day.

If that sort of event happened to you, would you say in your prayers, “God, I am so glad that there is no right or wrong and I am glad you got a laugh at the crazy actions of this gang. Please protect them!”

NO!

You would be angry! And rightly so! Because what they did was WRONG. There actions demand justice, and if there is a God in charge who does not believe in justice, than He is not a God I want to follow.

Now before you leave thinking I am a ranting Christian who loves to condemn people and shout for their blood, there is a rather important clarification to make. Frankly, everyone deserves death and justice rebelling against God. But even though He is a just God, He is also a loving God. He sent His son to die, so that the demanded justice would be satisfied. It is through His blood that we are redeemed, and you can be sure that a wishy washy God would never go through with the Crucifixion.

And so, will the people who deserve justice receive it in the end? Yes. Maybe not today, but it is coming. Will we also receive the retribution we deserve? Yes. Unless, of course, we repent and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When we do that, our sins are justified because he paid for them! And this forgiveness is open to anyone! Asking forgiveness is not a path to slavery and condemnation as some believe, it is the path to freedom and abundant life. Through Christ, we can enjoy life with a strong, powerful, just, loving, and certainly never wishy washy God.

Nice Finds 09.17.10

September 17, 2010 in Good Stuff with 0 Comments

Well unfortunately my site got hacked this week so things are a little haywire. I had to start over from scratch and even though my posts were backed up, categories and pictures were not. But, despite the efforts of evil internet users, the Nice Finds are here! If you are looking for the photo contest, find it here.

Nicest attempted use of a Star Wars Character (it’s a trap!)

Nicest way to capitalize on my talent for looking like a nutjob (used for the weekly LUG Skit)

Nicest argument to play rugby (or nicest way to make fun of floppers in any sport):

Sorry to keep it brief. But don’t forget about the Photo Contest!!!

Nice Finds 09.10.10

September 10, 2010 in Good Stuff with 0 Comments

Exciting week for Nice Finds! Some shameless plugs too:

1) Nicest free photo contest on the internet! Click here

2) Nicest way to literally change someone’s life with $20: 30/30/30K

3) Nicest Video that makes you think about the value of Earthly things (my friend Matt sent me this, said it reminded him of Mark 13:1-2. As you know, I love all things in pop culture that point to God’s truth).

4) Nicest photo of baby alligators Morgan and I took (seriously, we saw these in the Forest Preserve in Hilton Head. Mom had her eye on us but we were on a boardwalk)

5) Nicest Picture From LUG:

6) Nicest New Website for student ministry resources: Grace Student Ministries

Photo Contest

September 9, 2010 in Cultural Connection with 1 Comment

*If you haven’t heard of the 30 Bloggers for $30K yet, check it out at mycharitywater.org/30. We are all working together to bring clean water to the people of Africa who have none. It’s an awesome cause, and part of the reason for the photo contest…

A couple years ago I hosted a photo contest on my old website Not Yet Broken. That website is gone now, but the photo contest lives on! I strongly believe in celebrating the arts, and this is a great way to do it.

I had a great response last time, and believe this year’s contest will be even better! If you would like to submit photos for the contest, it is super simple:

Submission: E-mail your photos to me (evan@gfc.tv) by Sunday, September 26 (two weeks from this Sunday). You may submit up to 3 photos.

You can submit any type of photo you like, but I tell you now that my favorites are shots of nature or unique people from around the world. Something really funny might do the trick. The pictures must, however, be appropriate (safe for work/school). People of all ages are welcome to submit their work!

Last year's winner

Judging: I will pick the top 3 photos and then everyone will vote on the winner! There will be a simple poll where you can choose your favorite and send your friends to as well.

When you e-mail your photos, I need the name of each photo and the name of the photographer. Please title your e-mail as “Photo Contest Submission”

Prizes: The top 5 photos will be featured on this blog. I will also be making a slideshow of all the pictures and posting it online so no less than millions of people will see your work (millions is a very rough estimate). First place will win $20 in itunes gift cards plus I will make a $100 donation in your name to Charity Water (that will give clean drinking water to 5 people for 20 years!). If there are more than 50 photos submitted (which I am betting on), there will be a second place prize of $10 in itunes gift cards.

First place gets $20 of these plus $100 in their name donated to Charity Water

I am really excited to see everyone’s work and hope you are too. Let’s make this thing big! While you’re at it, please consider donating to Charity Water. Remember, $20 provides clean drinking water for 1 person for 20 years!

THIS IS HUGE!!!

September 1, 2010 in Abundant Life with 0 Comments

You have just stumbled upon the largest thing to hit the blogging world in history. No, this is not a joke. Yes, this is a long post, but it is extremely important that you read it!

Why is it so big? Because at least 30 (and hopefully more soon) other active blogs on the internet have joined forces to make a difference in the world. A few days ago, I wrote a post about things we take for granted. I said something big was coming, and here it is.

There are over 1 billion people in the world who do not have access to clean drinking water. This is a problem for obvious reasons, but here are some interesting numbers/thoughts on how it effects people:

- In Africa, women and children spend 40 Billion hours walking to find water that is muddy and not safe for drinking, but it is all they have
- Without water, they cannot irrigate farms and provide food
- You have all heard of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Many experts say that there is medicine available to slow the effects of HIV and help people deal with it, but there is not enough water to make it effective.
-4,500 children will die today because they do not have clean water
- Clean water and sanitation education can reduce water related deaths by 45%
- Every year, 443 million school days are lost because kids are trying to find clean drinking water.
- For every dollar donated towards clean drinking water, there is an average of $12 in returns for the people. In other words, clean water makes the economy work.
- Check out the nifty pie graphs and other cool stats by clicking here.

Charity: Water, is an incredible organization. They have private funding, which means that 100% of your donations goes towards clean drinking water. You may not realize it, but that is rare in the non-profit world. Often times, much of your donations go towards paying the bills or advertising. But when you donate anything, it all goes to clean drinking water. They go into communities and build wells with clean drinking water that offer hope to people who have none. Villages build community around these wells and grow as a people in incredible ways.

Here is a really cool video about the organization from last year. If you don’t read anything on this page, watch this video!:

So what is the big deal going on? Well, I don’t have a September birthday, but one of my friends, Tyler Stanton, a hilarious blogger, decided he wanted to make a difference anyway. So he organized 30 bloggers who are going to work together to raise $30,000 to provide clean drinking water for people around the world. Now, $30,000 is a lot of money, but I believe we can make that goal. I think we can even surpass it. I want to double it! But we need your help.

There are a few things you can do that would really make a difference.
1) Donate $20. Why $20? Because $20 provides clean drinking water for 1 person for 20 years. You will literally change someone’s entire life with just $20!
2) Share this cause with people! Do it through facebook, e-mail, twitter, youtube, or your own blogs. We want a huge network and we want to give these people a new story that is full of hope.
3) Stay updated with the action! One incredible thing about Charity:Water is that they keep track of where your money is going. They will post pictures and video of the well you helped build, show you on Google maps where exactly it is going, and keep you updated all the way through.

If you would like to donate or share our donation page, you can find it at http://mycharitywater.org/30. You can also visit this page to stay updated on how the fund raising is going.

Here is another great video about where exactly the donations this September are going:

Thanks everyone! Remember, all donations and people should be sent to this website: http://mycharitywater.org/30.