After minutes of legal rantings, threats, and mild physical torment, I received the rights to my own domain name at wordpress.com! Thanks Truman, your fingers will heal nicely if you do not play the keys too much over the next few weeks.
Anyway, you will now find me at rondowning.wordpress.com and the project is almost over so look for a new spurt of writing from your's truly.
Ron
p.s. it was such a good feeling logging on to blogger and clicking the 'remember me' button one last time, knowing that my hopes will not have to be crushed next time I sign on as it never did remember me!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Monday, May 7, 2007
Not quite like I thought...
Well, since Truman has taken my name at wordpress, I will continue to blog here for the moment.
This morning something has been stirring in my heart. We always think that when the move of God is in our midst that we will somehow be superhuman, or that things will kind of 'suspend' in this nebulous existence devoid of natural occurance. It is how we view eternity, and ultimately it is how we think about the move of God in our day and time. Yet, over the past few days I have had a fresh encounter with the God of the supernaturally-natural!
For all that who do not know, a prophetic gal in our midst, the beloved Julie Meyer, received a word from the Lord that IHOP was going to be given a season of grace in order to partner with God's grace to become pure. The Lord promised her He would give two signs to confirm that this was His word for our family at this point. The first was it would snow in April (which it did on April 13 or 15 I believe...which ended up being one of the biggest snows after April 1st in a long time). The second sign would be a season of unprecedented rain which was to show that God is so near to us with grace to help purify us.
Well, I have a leaky basement! Also, I have been working on this project, and in my heart I have actually asked the Lord to withold the unprecedented rains until I could fix some of the leaks. Now, this was not necisarily the Lord's plan, because it seems that the season of rain has begun. I received an email this morning from someone who posted part of the statement from the national weather service last night. They said that the weather pattern moving through the Lower Missouri Valley region has not been seen since the Great Flood of 1993.
To top it off, not only does my basement leak, fairly badly I must say, the drain in my basement does not drain for some reason ( we had a plumber out last night LATE, but he could not solve the problem ), so the water which leaks into the basement has nowhere to go, except up! So for the whole night last night I kept waking up with this frightful fealing that our basement was going to be submerged and all our appliances would be ruined. This was because when I went to bed last night the water had already risen to the bottom of the furnace, hot water heater, and the washer and dryer. I knew that there was nowhere for the water to go, so there must be much more now.
I finally got out of bed at 4:30 in order to go down and try to shop vac some of it out. After a little try I decided this was a fruitless approach at the problem. It was raining hard and it seemed as if the water was coming in faster than the shop vac would suck it out. Bailing actually seemed like a good option at this point. By this time Abby was with me and we took breather to the couches to talk.
I must admit that I was absolutely furious, frustrated, annoyed, whatever you wanna call it (anger). Throughout the time I kept remembering that this was the word of the Lord, and that I am living in the midst of God's prophetic move. I thought "certainly this is not what it felt like in 83 when the Lord was speaking then." I actually wanted to not be apart of the time if it meant that my basement could not be clean at that point.
Then my beloved wife reminded me of something, and it put everything in perspective, and I remembered and began to rejoice in the God who supernaturally interacts with the natural in such natural ways! She reminded me of the five-thousand who were flooded in Mississippi in order for the confirmation of the Bob Jones word of 500 to 5,000 in 1983. She reminded me that all of those people were real people with real houses and real lives which were caught up in the midst of God's sovereing movement in order that His word could go forth. I started to then think of the 5,000 who would be displaced overnight who move to KC. They are all real people who will be seemingly 'inconvenienced' while living in the midst of the manifestation of God's word. However, they have the option to respond to God with faith and hope in His goodness regardless of thier circumstances.
I am not trying to set forth a theology of how God manifests His word, and the interaction between the natural and the supernatural. But rather I am saying that I can let the 'naturalness' of life in the midst of the prophetic moment cause me to become offended and cynical towards the move of God. As I was driving to the rental place to rent a water pump (which pumped a volumnuous 76 gallons/minute!) I just began to thank God for His word and His grace. My heart began to move toward the God who manifests Himself in the natural, and uses natural process and natural occurance (not exclusively, but He does) in order to speak to us. Yet, if our hearts are not postured in thanksgiving and gratitude we may miss the ability to partake of it because of our cynicism and offense.
Ron
This morning something has been stirring in my heart. We always think that when the move of God is in our midst that we will somehow be superhuman, or that things will kind of 'suspend' in this nebulous existence devoid of natural occurance. It is how we view eternity, and ultimately it is how we think about the move of God in our day and time. Yet, over the past few days I have had a fresh encounter with the God of the supernaturally-natural!
For all that who do not know, a prophetic gal in our midst, the beloved Julie Meyer, received a word from the Lord that IHOP was going to be given a season of grace in order to partner with God's grace to become pure. The Lord promised her He would give two signs to confirm that this was His word for our family at this point. The first was it would snow in April (which it did on April 13 or 15 I believe...which ended up being one of the biggest snows after April 1st in a long time). The second sign would be a season of unprecedented rain which was to show that God is so near to us with grace to help purify us.
Well, I have a leaky basement! Also, I have been working on this project, and in my heart I have actually asked the Lord to withold the unprecedented rains until I could fix some of the leaks. Now, this was not necisarily the Lord's plan, because it seems that the season of rain has begun. I received an email this morning from someone who posted part of the statement from the national weather service last night. They said that the weather pattern moving through the Lower Missouri Valley region has not been seen since the Great Flood of 1993.
To top it off, not only does my basement leak, fairly badly I must say, the drain in my basement does not drain for some reason ( we had a plumber out last night LATE, but he could not solve the problem ), so the water which leaks into the basement has nowhere to go, except up! So for the whole night last night I kept waking up with this frightful fealing that our basement was going to be submerged and all our appliances would be ruined. This was because when I went to bed last night the water had already risen to the bottom of the furnace, hot water heater, and the washer and dryer. I knew that there was nowhere for the water to go, so there must be much more now.
I finally got out of bed at 4:30 in order to go down and try to shop vac some of it out. After a little try I decided this was a fruitless approach at the problem. It was raining hard and it seemed as if the water was coming in faster than the shop vac would suck it out. Bailing actually seemed like a good option at this point. By this time Abby was with me and we took breather to the couches to talk.
I must admit that I was absolutely furious, frustrated, annoyed, whatever you wanna call it (anger). Throughout the time I kept remembering that this was the word of the Lord, and that I am living in the midst of God's prophetic move. I thought "certainly this is not what it felt like in 83 when the Lord was speaking then." I actually wanted to not be apart of the time if it meant that my basement could not be clean at that point.
Then my beloved wife reminded me of something, and it put everything in perspective, and I remembered and began to rejoice in the God who supernaturally interacts with the natural in such natural ways! She reminded me of the five-thousand who were flooded in Mississippi in order for the confirmation of the Bob Jones word of 500 to 5,000 in 1983. She reminded me that all of those people were real people with real houses and real lives which were caught up in the midst of God's sovereing movement in order that His word could go forth. I started to then think of the 5,000 who would be displaced overnight who move to KC. They are all real people who will be seemingly 'inconvenienced' while living in the midst of the manifestation of God's word. However, they have the option to respond to God with faith and hope in His goodness regardless of thier circumstances.
I am not trying to set forth a theology of how God manifests His word, and the interaction between the natural and the supernatural. But rather I am saying that I can let the 'naturalness' of life in the midst of the prophetic moment cause me to become offended and cynical towards the move of God. As I was driving to the rental place to rent a water pump (which pumped a volumnuous 76 gallons/minute!) I just began to thank God for His word and His grace. My heart began to move toward the God who manifests Himself in the natural, and uses natural process and natural occurance (not exclusively, but He does) in order to speak to us. Yet, if our hearts are not postured in thanksgiving and gratitude we may miss the ability to partake of it because of our cynicism and offense.
Ron
Friday, May 4, 2007
I Have Been Thwarted!
Well...
After the blog a couple weeks ago I got this email from Truman Falkner:
"Mr. Ronald Downing, If you would like to redeem your very own website at "rondowning.wordpress.com", please respond to this email.It's at a bargain price too, Just $12.99 a month, and I provide lots of charts for charting your writing progress.Nice doing business with you,Anonymous "
Hmmm... fishy, right?
Well I went to check it out and, well why don't you take a look at rondowning.wordpress.com
Its pretty jawsome.
Well my very own Truman stole my name at wordpress because I was going to go there, and is now trying to sell it back to me at 12.99 a month. What a savy little businessman that Truman is. I guess teaching him everything I know wasn't such a good idea when it comes to things like this.
Well, maybe you will find me at:
ronstoppable.wordpress.com (thanks shawn)
or
ronlovesmeeknesswhenpeoplestealhissite.wordpress.com
Just a couple new thoughts... :)
Ron
After the blog a couple weeks ago I got this email from Truman Falkner:
"Mr. Ronald Downing, If you would like to redeem your very own website at "rondowning.wordpress.com", please respond to this email.It's at a bargain price too, Just $12.99 a month, and I provide lots of charts for charting your writing progress.Nice doing business with you,Anonymous "
Hmmm... fishy, right?
Well I went to check it out and, well why don't you take a look at rondowning.wordpress.com
Its pretty jawsome.
Well my very own Truman stole my name at wordpress because I was going to go there, and is now trying to sell it back to me at 12.99 a month. What a savy little businessman that Truman is. I guess teaching him everything I know wasn't such a good idea when it comes to things like this.
Well, maybe you will find me at:
ronstoppable.wordpress.com (thanks shawn)
or
ronlovesmeeknesswhenpeoplestealhissite.wordpress.com
Just a couple new thoughts... :)
Ron
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
why i think i am going to make the switch...
not that it really matters too too much... seeing as i have probably lost most of my readership (which was small to begin with) by taking a month+ break from posting... but i think come the end of the semester i am going to go to wordpress.
and, in true ron fashion, i am going to give you my list of reasons why; in no particular order:
1. wordpress sounds so much cooler than blogger... i mean say it out loud:
"wordpress" ----- "blogger"... the second just sound juevenile...
2. all my friends use wordpress, and that has got to mean something. i guess you can just call me one who likes to fit in... no individualism in me, nope, not me at all!
3. everytime i sign into blogger i click the 'remember me' button so that i do not have to sign in next time, and never fail, next time i come it sure enough did not remember me, nor did it remember my password, and i have to log on again
4. wordpress has the little snap thingies... now i know there is heated debate about whether or not one should turn that option off, but at least to have the option would be nice.
5. loaded blog stats full with graphs and charts at wordpress... could it get much better than that? i submit to you that it could not...
look for it soon... possibly:
rondiggitydowning.wordpress.com
rongenere.wordpress.com
donrowning.wordpress.com
wordpressrocksoverblogger.wordpress.com
r
and, in true ron fashion, i am going to give you my list of reasons why; in no particular order:
1. wordpress sounds so much cooler than blogger... i mean say it out loud:
"wordpress" ----- "blogger"... the second just sound juevenile...
2. all my friends use wordpress, and that has got to mean something. i guess you can just call me one who likes to fit in... no individualism in me, nope, not me at all!
3. everytime i sign into blogger i click the 'remember me' button so that i do not have to sign in next time, and never fail, next time i come it sure enough did not remember me, nor did it remember my password, and i have to log on again
4. wordpress has the little snap thingies... now i know there is heated debate about whether or not one should turn that option off, but at least to have the option would be nice.
5. loaded blog stats full with graphs and charts at wordpress... could it get much better than that? i submit to you that it could not...
look for it soon... possibly:
rondiggitydowning.wordpress.com
rongenere.wordpress.com
donrowning.wordpress.com
wordpressrocksoverblogger.wordpress.com
r
Monday, April 23, 2007
Wow...
Well I realized this morning that it has been over a month since I last graced the world-wide web with a cast of words. Needless to say I have been on overdrive for a bit, but I was just thinking about the good ol' days of blogging, though it was always semi-scattered.
However, I have still been crafting my writing ability, wait... right, that is all I have been doing for the past month. On the docket right now... Romans 9-11, that lovely passage of Scripture which is the climax of Paul's argument to the Romans. It has been a learning experience, yet it has been a hard one to get a firm grasp on. It feels like a maze that every time I think I have found the way out it turns out to be a mural painted on a wall or something, and I run into the wall with another question that throws the proverbial wrench in the system. But regardless it has been fun.
A lot has happened this month, but I am truly excited for school to be over. I am actually done with class now, but I still have this monstrous project looming over my head. I just keep telling myself that it will be done in a few weeks (Lord willing!).
Thinking about school being over is wonderfully surreal to me. For the past four years I have questioned returning every single semester because of increased responsibility and desire to just be in the prayer room. Yet, I knew that I was called here to go to the school and give myself to it for a season, and four years later, though it has been a struggle to stay faithful, I feel extremely priveleged to say that I made it.
It is hard to imagine what life will be like here without school, it is really all I have ever known here in the IHOP world. What will it be like without one foot in both camps? Who knows...
I did not intend this to be a post about school, but I guess it is turning out that way, so I guess I will just go with it. I am going to give a couple of my favorite memories from the past four years:
1. First day of class - Fall 2003 , OT Survey with Dave Sliker and some guy begins to badger Dave about his 'credentials' to teach the class. Of course Dave responded that he had absolutely no credentials to teach the class, and the 'discussion' escalated with the man really wanting to know what right Dave had teaching the class...
2. Fasted Lifestyle - Spring 2004, Deborah Heibert and Dana Candler. Deborah was teaching about the bride and bridegroom, the specifics I am not really certain of, and something she said must have really moved in the Spirit because this Simeon lady let out an 'oh' manifest for literally 10-15 seconds. One of the best parts of the whole experience was how unphased Deborah was, just standing there until she finished, and then continuing just as if nothing had happened.
3. Daniel class - Fall 2004, I show up for class on Wednesday night at 7pm. For some reason we had a make up class on a GBF night, and the prayer meeting had kept going from the 4pm all the way until 7pm. I rallied a team together and jumped up there at 8pm and we continued in intercession until 10, and apperantly it kept going until all through the night watch.
4. Romans - Spring 2006, realizing at class 5 or 6 that we weren't going to make it all the way through the book, seeing as we were probably at chatper 3 or 4; then Matt and the faculty desciding to make the class Romans 1-8 on the 9th week or so. On a serious note, Matt's class through Romans was one of my favorites of all four years, one of those that spoke to my specific situation of life almost every week, giving me truths which helped my walk with the Lord greatly.
5. Christology - Spring 2004, finding out reasons of why I can and should love Jesus with all my heart, pulling off a two day fast meditating on Col. 1, hoping to cry every week at class, writing a 9 page chronology of the crucifixion, Signature of Jesus, finding out Jesus is a man, beholding/becoming, etc...
I really enjoyed this, maybe I will do it again sometime. I am sure if I mine the depths I could think of tons of good memories from my four years.
Maybe not having class will afford me some time here and there to begin to write here again. I sure hope so...
Ron
However, I have still been crafting my writing ability, wait... right, that is all I have been doing for the past month. On the docket right now... Romans 9-11, that lovely passage of Scripture which is the climax of Paul's argument to the Romans. It has been a learning experience, yet it has been a hard one to get a firm grasp on. It feels like a maze that every time I think I have found the way out it turns out to be a mural painted on a wall or something, and I run into the wall with another question that throws the proverbial wrench in the system. But regardless it has been fun.
A lot has happened this month, but I am truly excited for school to be over. I am actually done with class now, but I still have this monstrous project looming over my head. I just keep telling myself that it will be done in a few weeks (Lord willing!).
Thinking about school being over is wonderfully surreal to me. For the past four years I have questioned returning every single semester because of increased responsibility and desire to just be in the prayer room. Yet, I knew that I was called here to go to the school and give myself to it for a season, and four years later, though it has been a struggle to stay faithful, I feel extremely priveleged to say that I made it.
It is hard to imagine what life will be like here without school, it is really all I have ever known here in the IHOP world. What will it be like without one foot in both camps? Who knows...
I did not intend this to be a post about school, but I guess it is turning out that way, so I guess I will just go with it. I am going to give a couple of my favorite memories from the past four years:
1. First day of class - Fall 2003 , OT Survey with Dave Sliker and some guy begins to badger Dave about his 'credentials' to teach the class. Of course Dave responded that he had absolutely no credentials to teach the class, and the 'discussion' escalated with the man really wanting to know what right Dave had teaching the class...
2. Fasted Lifestyle - Spring 2004, Deborah Heibert and Dana Candler. Deborah was teaching about the bride and bridegroom, the specifics I am not really certain of, and something she said must have really moved in the Spirit because this Simeon lady let out an 'oh' manifest for literally 10-15 seconds. One of the best parts of the whole experience was how unphased Deborah was, just standing there until she finished, and then continuing just as if nothing had happened.
3. Daniel class - Fall 2004, I show up for class on Wednesday night at 7pm. For some reason we had a make up class on a GBF night, and the prayer meeting had kept going from the 4pm all the way until 7pm. I rallied a team together and jumped up there at 8pm and we continued in intercession until 10, and apperantly it kept going until all through the night watch.
4. Romans - Spring 2006, realizing at class 5 or 6 that we weren't going to make it all the way through the book, seeing as we were probably at chatper 3 or 4; then Matt and the faculty desciding to make the class Romans 1-8 on the 9th week or so. On a serious note, Matt's class through Romans was one of my favorites of all four years, one of those that spoke to my specific situation of life almost every week, giving me truths which helped my walk with the Lord greatly.
5. Christology - Spring 2004, finding out reasons of why I can and should love Jesus with all my heart, pulling off a two day fast meditating on Col. 1, hoping to cry every week at class, writing a 9 page chronology of the crucifixion, Signature of Jesus, finding out Jesus is a man, beholding/becoming, etc...
I really enjoyed this, maybe I will do it again sometime. I am sure if I mine the depths I could think of tons of good memories from my four years.
Maybe not having class will afford me some time here and there to begin to write here again. I sure hope so...
Ron
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Mar GBF 3.1
I am having to write on Mt. 24 for our class project, and I have no idea what to write. How do you explain all the ins and outs which would help in interpreting this absolutely loaded chapter in a truly concise, and clear, way? If any of you have a verse by verse exposition of Mt. 24 in 10 pages or less go ahead and send it my way. I cannot promise that I will not steal your work though...
Ron
Ron
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Mar GBF 2.1
To Be Found Faithful (Wise)
I was looking at Matthew 25:1-13 (parable of the 10 virgins) this afternoon and was just struck anew with the necessity to be found faithful, to be wise in the stewardship of our hearts before the return of Christ.
Jesus is teaching on His coming, the time in which the kingdom will finally be manifest upon the earth in as an absolute sovereignty over all the earth, and is teaching that no one knows the day or hour of His return, but remain faithful and watchful in the waiting. This parable serves this purpose to show the difference between those who are wise and foolish, to those who are prepared for His coming and those who are not.
A few things stuck out to me this afternoon:
1. The absolute necessity for us to go our own individual way in becoming prepared for the Lord's return. There is no way that we can rely on the truth or 'reality' (IHOP-ese) of another, but have to possess our own inner life in that day.
2. The kicker of this parable seems to be the blatent negligence of the foolish virgins. They, as well as the wise, knew the Bridegroom was coming, but did not bring oil for themselves.
3. We can possess a lamp (outward profession of Christ) without bringing oil (the inner, hidden life that sustains the fire - the very purpose of the lamp). Jesus calls His disciples to be the light of the world (5:14-16) as a function. Yet, there is something hidden, something internal that must sustain this function. Just merely possessing a lamp does not necessitate that a fire can burn. The oil, that which is unseen (in comparison to the great light which it fuels), is the sustinance, that which gives life to the function of a lamp. So, it is possible (as seen throughout Jesus' teaching in Matthew), to have an outward profession of Christ without an internal moving of our heart to Him in truth.
There is probably a ton more to realize about this parable, but it just moved my heart this afternoon. I truly want to be one who is wise, building my house upon the rock, doing the things which Jesus taught (i.e., implimenting them into my everyday lifestyle) in the secret places of my heart. May we not be found negligent on that day when the Bridegroom returns.
p.s. this is probably, unless something just stirs in me and I get excited to write, the only 'cast which will be done this glorious 2nd day of the GBF. Maybe tomorrow (I say that a lot) I will post more...
I was looking at Matthew 25:1-13 (parable of the 10 virgins) this afternoon and was just struck anew with the necessity to be found faithful, to be wise in the stewardship of our hearts before the return of Christ.
Jesus is teaching on His coming, the time in which the kingdom will finally be manifest upon the earth in as an absolute sovereignty over all the earth, and is teaching that no one knows the day or hour of His return, but remain faithful and watchful in the waiting. This parable serves this purpose to show the difference between those who are wise and foolish, to those who are prepared for His coming and those who are not.
A few things stuck out to me this afternoon:
1. The absolute necessity for us to go our own individual way in becoming prepared for the Lord's return. There is no way that we can rely on the truth or 'reality' (IHOP-ese) of another, but have to possess our own inner life in that day.
2. The kicker of this parable seems to be the blatent negligence of the foolish virgins. They, as well as the wise, knew the Bridegroom was coming, but did not bring oil for themselves.
3. We can possess a lamp (outward profession of Christ) without bringing oil (the inner, hidden life that sustains the fire - the very purpose of the lamp). Jesus calls His disciples to be the light of the world (5:14-16) as a function. Yet, there is something hidden, something internal that must sustain this function. Just merely possessing a lamp does not necessitate that a fire can burn. The oil, that which is unseen (in comparison to the great light which it fuels), is the sustinance, that which gives life to the function of a lamp. So, it is possible (as seen throughout Jesus' teaching in Matthew), to have an outward profession of Christ without an internal moving of our heart to Him in truth.
There is probably a ton more to realize about this parable, but it just moved my heart this afternoon. I truly want to be one who is wise, building my house upon the rock, doing the things which Jesus taught (i.e., implimenting them into my everyday lifestyle) in the secret places of my heart. May we not be found negligent on that day when the Bridegroom returns.
p.s. this is probably, unless something just stirs in me and I get excited to write, the only 'cast which will be done this glorious 2nd day of the GBF. Maybe tomorrow (I say that a lot) I will post more...
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