Vandercar

Faith. Family. Writing. Music. Tech.
August 19, 2015

The Making of a Christian

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Jesus

What does it take to make a Christian? Oswald Chambers tackles this question in this little pamphlet. If we had to distill his message, I think this verse from Matthew might do so best. Being a Christian is not about sincerity, temperament, decisions, determination, or emotion. It is about a brokenness that finds healing in Jesus and a new Spirit that invades our lives. It is about humility and servitude – the taking on of the mind of Christ. It is about a sure foundation not of our own making.

Throughout this work, Chambers turns our thoughts to a way of poverty & depravity. He speaks of man reaching a “moral frontier of need” – that point of knowing we are powerless to realize the ideals we espouse. It is in emptiness that we are filled. It is in brokenness that we are made whole. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, we know freedom and truth.

The making of a Christian is in the breaking of a man.

Reflect On Matthew 5:3
Praise God that He is ever-creative.
Offer Thanks that Jesus has swung wide the gates of the Kingdom and has shown us the way.
Confess your selfish striving to “keep it all together” on your own.
Ask God to break your heart for spiritual poverty into which we have all been born.
Comment: How can being poor in spirit reshape one’s life?

 

August 18, 2015

Strange Fruit

WordPress has always named releases in honor of jazz musicians. Often, after the release of a new version, I will search YouTube for a playlist of the artist being honored. I’ll then give my attention to the first song before moving on to update the few sites I manage.

Released today, WordPress 4.3 honors Billie Holiday. The first song in this playlist is Strange Fruit. Timely and apt. It’s a song I’d never heard and a song I will now never forget. #BlackLivesMatter

Warning: graphic lyrics

August 14, 2015

WMPL Logo Using SVG

I delved into SVG this evening. Moving forward, I’ll probably more methodically learn the language. Tonight instead, I wanted to see something quick to creation. As a first project, I have drawn the World Mission Prayer League logo. This logo is created with only about 600 bytes of data needing to be passed to your browser. Pretty slick! I realize I’ve only glimpsed the potential with SVG, but I have glimpsed it and this gives me motivation to dig deeper and learn more.

See the Pen WMPL Logo Using SVG by Joshua Vandercar (@UaMV) on CodePen.

August 11, 2015

The Graciousness of Uncertainty

This is the first little pamphlet that begins my journey through the works of Oswald Chambers. In reading it, I was reminded of thoughts I’d had ten years ago. I pulled this post from the archives of my xanga account.

April 18, 2005

I recently shared these words with a good friend …

Abysmal expectancy … interesting word marriage, huh? I had a dream last night (maybe night before last) in which i began exploring the abyss (that which they visit in Garden State). I don’t remember much of the dream, but I do remember the abyss and I remember the expectancy of what would come. And so i was reminded of Garden State, but also of these thoughts i recently read from Mark Buchanan’s Your God is Too Safe …

“Our life,” the duke says in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, “finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.” …

Our lives should be lived with expectancy. Not necessarily with expectation, because expectation tends to dictate terms. … Expectancy is the belief that God will do something. Expectation insists He do it in just this way. …

… imagine a life buoyed by expectancy, by the conviction that the Lord will show Himself. How, where, when – we don’t know that. We don’t dictate the terms. … by living with biblically girded expectancy, our lives stir to vibrant wakefulness. Elizabeth Barrett Browning writes, “Earth is crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God; but only he who sees takes off his shoes. The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.”

… We are talking about eyes that see glints of heaven flickering in earth’s shadows; ears that hear angelsong counterpointed with the barking of dogs and the wailing of sirens.

I think I would define ‘expectancy’ as ‘eager hope’. And, as I look to the Word, I see these words with one another …

“For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, then we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” [Romans 8:24-25]

These are all comforting and encouraging words to me as we face the unknown abyss … all we’ve not yet met. May I live each day in abysmal expectancy … confident that He gives us just what we need, how we need it, when we need it … speaking to us through a janitor, singing to us in the rain, dreaming us into the joy and comfort of the abyss.

The certainty of God makes the uncertainty of life not only bearable, but gloriously beautiful!

Reflect On John 3:8
1 John 3:8
Praise God that He is constant.
Offer Thanks for the unexpected adventures in life.
Confess ways in which you may hold to certainty of belief rather than to certain in God.
Ask God to work something new in your heart and in your mind.
to be your anchor in the midst of this tempestuous world.
Comment: How have you experienced the certainty of God amidst life’s uncertainties?

Books by Oswald Chambers
August 10, 2015

#MissionText

A special text for Paul Lindell

A special text for Paul Lindell

Nearly one year ago, I happened upon Paul Lindell’s copy of Oswald Chamber’s well-known devotional My Utmost for His Highest. We’ve been periodically posting to the Prayer League social accounts some of the excerpts which had been highlighted by Paul. It is quite intriguing to step back in time and capture a glimpse of the words that fell aright in the lives of those who founded our mission.

In our library here at the Prayer League, we have a number of other books written by Oswald Chambers and owned, read, and highlighted by Paul Lindell. Inspired by the read/tweet activity of @ToddAdkins, I would like to begin a journey through these books. It will likely be a slow journey. I suppose the Minnesota winter might just be long enough. If you’re interested, follow me on Twitter @UaMV. I’ll let you know if I plan for a regularly scheduled reading time.

Stage at Camp Lutherhaven
July 30, 2015

Weekend in Fort Wayne

As we near the end of our Hoosier Summer Tour 2015, we were grateful to find our way finally to Fort Wayne. Mike and Ronda rented a house at which we stayed for the many weekend wedding festivities surrounding Sam & Molly’s wedding at Emmanuel Lutheran. Then, we were graciously hosted by our friends Jeremy and Katie on Sunday and Monday night. While in town, we were also able to reconnect with Adam & Meredith, Tommy & Laura, Brian & Emily, Celine, and the Jank family. Sorry if we missed you in our passing through. Here are only a few photos. I only now realize that we failed to grab photos when with most of our friends. I suppose the conversation had our attentions, which is a good thing.

We are so grateful for this time we’ve had here in Indiana. Many thanks to all who have housed us, fed us, and met us! Our return to Minnesota is imminent – less than one week now.

Aelah & Molly.
Dancing with the bride & groom.
Jailbirds at the History Center (where the wedding reception was held)
Styling Target girl
Playground time.
We scaled Ebenezer!
Pavilion stage at Lutherhaven.
Kiss what? Uh-uh.
Kids were so excited to find Dorothy in Wolf Lake.
July 24, 2015

⭐ Favoriting Tweets

I’ve been experimenting with my Twitter use lately. People use social media in such a great variety of ways and can have quite differing philosophies on how to most effectively connect and engage with others. Many people subscribe to the following when it comes to ⭐ing Tweets:

As I mentioned earlier this year, I have adopted a slightly different approach to engagement on Twitter. I maintain a more curated list of ⭐ed content. Over the past couple weeks I have set up a few IFTTT recipes that better handle my ⭐ing on Twitter. The first recipe takes Tweets I have ⭐ed and published them to this blog. I use the old retired Pressgram plugin for handling these incoming posts – converting them to a custom post type. The second recipe catches any users whose Tweets I’ve ⭐ed and adds them to my Twitter list of Favorited users which then serves as a feed of Tweets I know are coming from folks who often publish great content. Go ahead, visit the list and see what I mean. Or, visit vandercar.net/gem to see my full list of ⭐ed Tweets. (You can see I’m making use of WordPress’s new emoji support for URLs. Probably not the best implementation, as support elsewhere is spotty, but I wanted to test the limits of emoji support when registering custom post types.)

IFTTT Recipe: Publish Favorited Tweets to WordPress Site connects twitter to wordpress
IFTTT Recipe: Add Favorited Users to Favorited List connects twitter to twitter

This approach to ⭐ing on Twitter offers a few benefits.

  1. Like highlighting in a book, I have easy access to the highest quality content I’ve encountered on Twitter.
  2. I am able to share these good finds with family and friends who are not active on Twitter.
  3. I create a list that should prove to stream more excellent things.
  4. These ⭐ed users hopefully gain a wider sphere of influence.

For what it’s worth, this is my current approach regarding the little gold star.

July 22, 2015

The Aphercotropic Church

The other day, I happened upon this obscure word that immediately brought to mind an urgent need within the church (and a tree I once saw in Arizona).

The Organism

We followers of Jesus are God’s created beings who trust in the restorative work of the Creator. We believe that the One who has spoken all things to life also gives of Himself to see that death would have no great sway over the eternal course of that which He calls His own – and He calls the church His own, His beloved.

We are to be a living organism in this world. Scripture speaks of this strange and diverse collective of men and women as the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), as the Bride of Christ (Revelation 19:7), and as a spiritual house built up with living stones (1 Peter 2:4-5). We are to be organic, active, and growing. We are to be sensitive, responsive, and adaptive. We are to be living and giving life. We are to exist with a purpose and with a passion.

The Obstacles

Of course, in this fallen world, where there is life, death will be not far removed. The church will encounter hindrances. There will be trials. There will even be torment and despair. We will be attacked. Will need to nurse wounds from those without and from ailments within. We may find ourselves facing weariness. The land about us may parch.

It is vital that we remain alert and sensitive to that which environs us. Only to great detriment do we shrug off any hint of our adversarial foes or of the swing of the seasons.

The Overcoming

How do we followers of Jesus grow to overcome such obstacles that greet us in this day and age? What response will we make to the necessary changes that must accompany our overcoming?

Whatever course for growth must be taken by the church, let us remember that this growth must issue forth from strong roots (Colossians 2:6-9). It is in Christ we must remain. In Jesus, the source of all life, we must abide (John 15:1-8). In all, we know and hold to the assurance that Christ has overcome (John 16:33). We hope in a God who has promised a day when His glory shall be wholly revealed (Isaiah 40:5), when healing will come in full (Revelation 22:1-5), and when life stretches on into an eternity (John 6:47).

July 15, 2015

Pluto

This blows me away! Ever since I was a little boy I always wanted to be an astronaut. I think images of the celestial heavens strike us with such a sense of wonder and awe. It is truly amazing what mankind has accomplished over the past century. We’ve not only taken to the skies – we’ve taken ourselves beyond this Earth. We’ve walked on the moon. This past year we both landed on a comet and we have now arrived at the furthest edges of our own solar system. But, what is even more amazing than the accomplishments of mankind, is the hand that fashioned and flung these orbs about the universe. And, that this One with such majesty and power cares for us. Go ahead, take a moment to stand in wonder.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by then breath of His mouth. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. (Psalm 33:6,8-9)

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Gorgeous Pluto! The dwarf planet has sent a love note back to Earth via our New Horizons spacecraft, which has traveled more than 9 years and 3+ billion miles. This is the last and most detailed image of Pluto sent to Earth before the moment of closest approach, which was at 7:49 a.m. EDT Tuesday – about 7,750 miles above the surface — roughly the same distance from New York to Mumbai, India – making it the first-ever space mission to explore a world so far from Earth. This stunning image of the dwarf planet was captured from New Horizons at about 4 p.m. EDT on July 13, about 16 hours before the moment of closest approach. The spacecraft was 476,000 miles (766,000 kilometers) from the surface. Images from closest approach are expected to be released on Wednesday, July 15. Image Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI #nasa #pluto #plutoflyby #newhorizons#solarsystem #nasabeyond #science

A photo posted by NASA (@nasa) on

July 10, 2015

He Loved Us Like His Own

The Bolden Clan • December 2009

The Bolden Clan in Minneapolis (December 2009)

It is days like these that we are thrust upon the reality of our mortality. It is days like these that we remember victory has been won in Jesus. We grieve with the Bolden family, we remember a life heartily lived well, and we rejoice over the new life Stephen has come upon. Holding these words today.

Andrew Peterson (More)
There is more
More than we can see
From our tiny vantage point
In this vast eternity
There is more

He loved us like his own.

Pinterest Alphabetizing Sort Button w/ Arrow
July 2, 2015

Alphabetizing Pinterest Boards

Lately, my wife, Adrienne, has lamented over so many sites online that just don’t work well. A latest frustration was with managing boards on Pinterest. Specifically, she was pining for a way in which to alphabetize boards. Finding no solid solutions online, I determined I’d make my own. Follow along and you will be alphabetizing your Pinterest boards with no more than a single click.

Requirements

  • Chrome browser
  • Pinterest account
  • 5 minutes

Add Extension

  1. While in Chrome, visit the Chrome extension page for Control Freak.
  2. Add the extension by clicking Free.
  3. Confirm installation by clicking Add.

Add jQuery Script

  1. Visit pinterest.com.
  2. Click the gear icon for the Control Freak extension.
  3. Select This Domain.
  4. Select the Javascript tab.
  5. Highlight all code shown below. Copy & paste into the Control Freak editor.
  6. Save.

Steps to adding the jQuery code to Control Freak

https://gist.github.com/UaMV/25b1c59f32251320048e

Alphabetize Boards

  1. Visit your Pinterest profile.
  2. Click the new A–Z sort button (bottom right) to temporarily sort the boards.
  3. In order for your new order to permanently stick, you will need drag one board to a new location.

That’s it! You’ve bid farewell to the perpetual drag and can now easily alphabetize boards. As a bonus, you’ll find that you are able to locally sort the boards of other users when visiting their profile. I hope this small tweak & added functionality pleases you as much as it has my wife. Happy pinning, you Pinteresters!

Your new Pinterest alphabetizing sort button!

Your new alphabetizing sort button!

Disclaimer & Troubleshooting

The more boards, the longer sorting will take. The alphabetic sort may even fail in instances where there is a slow internet connection or where a user has too many boards. If this happens, manually scroll to the bottom of the page until all boards have loaded, then click the sort button once more. Also, if you are encountering issues, it may be necessary to load a more recent jQuery library. This can be done via the Lib tab in Control Freak. This may destroy other functions within Pinterest.

 

June 29, 2015

Currently

Screen Shot 2015-06-29 at 2.32.50 PM

I only just installed Currently, a Chrome extension, this morning, but am finding it to be a more pleasant and useful experience than the default New Tab screen. Rarely would I use the recent tabs provided on the default screen. Currently, however, is a nice way to regularly track the current time as I work – keeping me a bit more on task (kind of).

June 26, 2015

Allegiance, Pride, & Truth

Let me begin with a thoughtful sigh. Much of our news has revolved around two themes in recent days – racism and sexuality. We’ve buried one flag and hoisted another. I see reason to celebrate and reason to grieve.

Oh, that we would lay our allegiences to rest before the glory of the Holy One; that pride might flee in the presence of Jesus’ love, in the presence of humility; and that we could look upon His bow in the sky and again think first of that promised and realized victory in Christ. This is my prayer today.

Psalm 60:4
You have given a banner to those who fear You,
That it may be displayed because of the truth. 

June 25, 2015

New Light

When a new light shines upon the mundane, we are awakened from the stupor of our commonplace.

A refreshing storm rolled through this morning. It swept the countryside with deep shades of wonder.

Lord, when our lives seem beset by storm and the clouds are ready to let loose, may we still look out upon Your glory. For there is a calm even in the midst of a darkened day. Your light still shines. Your love ever runs wild.

Recent days have me sifting through old songs I’ve written. Though years separate me from many of the lyrics, most still ring true. I’ve been posting them to this site and hope to make them all available soon. (Thanks to my brother, David, for his constant encouragement and for his persistence in prodding me.) Here’s a teaser – Elihu’s Song (Job 36-37). Singing about a storm. 🙂

You open up the floodgates of heaven above & rain down abundantly on me.

A mighty whisper pierces me.

With each old truth I listen to, it’s as if a mighty whisper from the past is piercing me anew. May He pierce you, too!

Edit: After reading Emily Cook’s thoughts on the storm, I figured I’d also post this song which entered my thoughts this morning – Glory (Psalm 29)

Courtesy of weakandloved.com

Courtesy of weakandloved.com

Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,
    give unto the Lord glory and strength.
Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name;
    worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders;
    the Lord is over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
    the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

 

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