Mike McLoughlin's Blog

It’s a Bird! No! It’s a Plane! No! It’s The Christian Carnival CXXXII!

Mike McLoughlin — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 21:43:55 -0700

This week the Christian Carnival is HOT! Lots of HOT Topics to match the summer HEAT with a little humor thrown in!

Thank you to Donald Bosch at the The Evangelical Ecologist for helping me as a rookie host for the Christian Carnival and for John Howell at Brain Cramps for God for forwarding all those great entries and for the much esteemed Dory at Wittenberg Gate for giving us the opportunity to host.

Tom Gilson at Thinking Christian discovers two “tin woodmen" in his short snippet of a story - Only Natural.

Polly at Life is a Buffet (as opposed to a box of chocolates J? ) does a review of her Book of the Month: - The Holy Bible!. “Synopsis: God creates the universe and a man and a woman and then the story blasts off from there with an ending that is out of this world.”

The Deputy Headmistress shares an inspiring story of the authenticity of the Bible in her post: The Common Room: Ancient Manuscripts.

Sprittibee has some practical insight about God's Smoke Alarms from her reading of Bruce Wilkerson’s The Secrets of the Vine.

Dave Lorenzo at Career Intensity promotes The Power of Prayer at Work. My question is, does prayer serve business success or does business success serve God’s purposes in the marketplace? Perhaps Carnival readers would care to comment on the role of prayer for prosperity’s sake or the power of prayer for God’s glory through our work?

Trivium Pursuit posts an article by Mike Evans on Spiritual Depression, Rest, and ASSISTANCE Buttons.

Prince of Thrift discusses debt, specifically, becoming and staying debt free in Understanding The Great Misunderstanding.

Diane at CrossRoads in commenting on the Emergent church “thinks the children of the Baby Boomers have learned their parents' teachings quite well” which perhaps is not such a good thing. Check out her concerns at Where Faith and Inquiry Meet: Emerging into Emergent.

Martin LaBar at Sun and Shield looks at What's really important. And that is showing Christ’s love!

Jeremy Pierce at Parableman discuses Mark Roberts’ argument against doubting the traditional authorship of Mark & Luke. His post is entitled Mark, Luke, and Pseudonymity.

Mandi at Praising Fool in a quest for a church asks “Am I being too harsh since I don't want to go back based on the fact that not a single person welcomed me into their church?”

Jim Nutt at A Nutt’s View asks the question, God has not given us a spirit of fear, so what are we all so scared of?

Andre Yee at Every Square Inch exhorts fellow believers to See God in the Monotony. He offers a quote from G K Chesterton, “But perhaps, God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon.”

Brandi at LongStarAcademy shares an incredible story of Words of Affirmation from the Lord.

Father David Jennings at Left of Calvary takes issue with the city of Las Vegas for stopping the service of mobile soup kitchens for homeless people in his post Does Vegas share in Sodom’s real sin?

Katy McKenna at Fallible.com discusses how blogging started for her “as a way to relieve my poor husband from a small measure of his listening duties” at The Beauty Of Budding Bloggers

Mary Yerkes of Releasing the Artist Within discusses her experience with the return of a prodigal son, specifically her 23 year old son returning home to live. Her jumping off point is Henri Nouwen’s Encounter with a Painting. Read it at http://maryyerkes.com/blog/?p=418

Rev Bill makes the point that we all need to Cross the road to see (and understand) what's on the other side! He quotes Henri Nouwen on neighborliness.

Nerd Mom from the Nerd Family explores the trend of Denominations and Colleges Breaking Ties. She thinks denominations are a good idea and wonders why people who disagree ought to still stick together. I can think of some pretty good reasons from Scripture, but perhaps Carnival reader could take up her challenge.

Lennie Jarratt at CrossBlogging discusses the important issue of Stem Cell research at Stem Cell Treatment Allows Girl To Walk.

Anthony at Fides et Veritas responds to Christians proclaiming the imminent return of Christ at Keep on keeping on.

A Penitent Blogger reflects on the attitude that should be maintained by ministers and indeed all the faithful at Ministry with an attitude.

Eric Williams in Ales Rarus asks the question "Must Christians always support Israel?" in his comments about the recent conflict in the Middle East at http://alesrarus.funkydung.com/archives/2414/

Leslie Carbone takes issue with Senator Ron Wyden’s Tax Reform initiative but agrees the tax code needs reform because it is unwise, unjust and immoral in Is the Tax Reform Man Coming?

Mark Olson at Pseudo-Polymath discusses arguments against eugenics from a purely utilitarian viewpoint http://www.pseudopolymath.com/?p=1642.

Barbara Sanders of Alabama at Tidbits And Treasures comments on the ministry of Bill & Gloria Gaithers, some of the best, if not the best, Christian artists of our time God's "Interruption" of the Gaithers

Rey from the Bible Archive looks at his lawn and thinks "Man, there's a lot of work to do in the Church." The Bible Archive - Why Lawn (and Church) Work Doesn't End

And last but not least Mike (that’s me) of the Faith at Work posts his solution to “The Clergy Conspiracy – Decode this Post to Uncover An Explosive Truth!” in his short article commemorating the passing of Kenneth Lay - So Dark the Con of Lay Man.

Thank you everyone for participating. Don’t forget to check ...

Kingdom Finance Course Session Three Notes

Mike McLoughlin — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 19:38:38 -0800

I.Kingdom Finance Review

A. Mike's Definition:

1. God's provision for you as you see his kingdom come in and through your life.

2. So that you can be a blessing

a. to your family

b. to your community

c. to your nation

d. to the nations

B. Listening Prayer Report back

a. What has Jesus been saying to you?

C. ...

Kingdom Finances Course Session Two Notes

Mike McLoughlin — Sun, 06 Mar 2005 19:44:47 -0800

Kingdom Finance Review

1. Mike's Definition:

a. God's provision for you as you see his kingdom come in and through your life.

2. So that you can be a blessing

a. to your family

b. to your community

c. to your nation

d. to the nations

3. Listening Prayer Report back

B. Review

1. Why is it important right ...

Kingdom Finances Course Session One Notes

Mike McLoughlin — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 19:13:26 -0800

I.Course

A. What this Course is NOT About?

1. NOT about getting you to give more money to the church.

2. NOT about making provision appear magically from heaven.

3. NOT even about how to manage your money better.

B. What this Course IS About?

1. KINGDOM Finance!

2. Helping you to make wise decisions that honour God in your personal and ...

Organizing Your Finances Are we a fool for Jesus or are we a fool for finances?

Mike McLoughlin — Sat, 22 Jan 2005 14:44:23 -0800

John Wimber, the Founder of the Vineyard Church once said, "I am a fool for Jesus, whose fool are you?" My question is when it comes to personal or company finances are we a "fool for Jesus" or are we a "fool for finances?" I know, I've been there. I have been a fool for finances and now I am on the way back. So here is an outline of ...

Source for Eternity - Budgeting for Success

Mike McLoughlin — Sun, 16 Jan 2005 09:50:31 -0800

udgeting. What is it? A fundamental maxim in the discipline of accounting is the principle of Conservatism. This principle states that revenues should be underestimated and expenses overestimated so that the risk of loss will be minimized in the business enterprise. Risk is an ever-present reality in the planning of a successful small business. Entrepreneurs risk their capital investment to produce products and services. Banks risk their money when ...

Purpose beyond Profit - Principles for True Success

Mike McLoughlin — Wed, 12 Jan 2005 09:24:24 -0800

urpose in Business - What is it? In the first chapter, true success was defined as eternal relationship with God and with others. This is not the definition of success that is emphasized in most business schools or seminars. That type of success is primarily concerned with monetary profit, increased production, and achievement of business goals. Business people want success in these areas because they are looking ...