Thought Quotient

Be in prayer as another dangerous storm has developed and is on the move.

News and links on the storm:

Hurricane Wilma rapidly gained strength overnight and is now a category 5 storm! A recon plane found a pressure of 892 mb around 2:30 this morning, then 884 mb around 5 a.m., ranking Wilma as the most intense hurricane to ever be recorded in the Atlantic basin! It is also the fastest intensification of any hurricane in recorded history. Wilma is packing winds over 175 mph, with higher gusts.

The Accuweather Eye Path currently shows Wilma will make landfall this weekend along southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast, close to where Hurricane Charley hit last year.

• CAT-5 Wilma Most Intense Ever!
• Accuweather Hurricane Center
• Wilma Will Devastate South Florida!
• Hurricane Wilma Sets New Benchmark!
• Wilma: A New England Catastrophe

When it comes to the activities/cares/problems of each day: Are we letting God get involved - or are we still trying to do things on our own?

I know I’m not the only one that needs to be reminded of this:

Proverbs 3:5-6

God designed His creation to have a dependency upon Him. Even the ordinary decisions of a day need the counsel of God, who instructs His creation to consult Him about even the most minute details, whether in the spiritual or secular realm. God promises to communicate in return.

James 1:5
Philippians 4:6

Commentary taken from:

Country Music Television (CMT) is featuring the movie DREAMER in the latest episode of their ‘Making Of’ TV series.

CMT Insider gets the inside scoop on this family movie set on a horse farm near Lexington, Ky., with interviews with Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Kris Kristofferson and more.

You can catch it tonight (10/17) at 9:30 pm Central. The new Bethany Dillon video will be shown while the credits roll at the end of the program.

Related Links:
Other Bethany Dillon links on Thought Quotient…

The dictionary would call the phrase ‘living sacrifice’ an oxymoron, a term that is logically self-defeating. Paul’s odd expression is a lot like telling someone to become a living martyr. How can that be? To become a martyr, one has to die. In this case Paul isn’t asking us to seek our own demise, not literally. He is, however, pleading for us to give up our life as we continue living it. When we get out of bed in the morning, as we arrive at work and put in those hours, as we relate, as we play, as we carry out our personal responsibilities then fall into bed for the night, we are to do everything as a deliberate act of submission out of obedience to God. That path leads to our becoming a living, breathing sacrifice - dead to anything our Master hates, devoted to everything He loves.
- Chuck Swindoll, Insight for Living Ministries

Here are some thoughts by Heather Payne of Point of Grace:

This coming November Point of Grace will have been together for 15 years. This blows my mind. Seriously, where does the time go? Time is one of life’s greatest mysteries. It can bring us the greatest joy and the deepest grief. It can pass like the blink of an eye, or it can seem to stand still. We can wish for time back or we can wish it away. I’ve come to learn that it’s more than just the ticking of a clock that gives us seconds, minutes and hours. It is a precious gift from God. One to be guarded as a treasure.
…

Time is ticking. Enjoy it, savor it, make the most of it because it goes fast. The bible tells us not to “boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” Time isn’t about seeing how much money we can make or how successful we can be. Time is about storing up treasures in heaven where nothing can destroy it. “For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.”

Think of it this way, with each moment passing moment we are closer to Jesus’ homecoming. This should bring a healthy urgency to share Christ with all of the time we have left.

- Heather Payne

As read on BBC News:

I really don’t know what to say about this. War is bad. But, the Smurfs?

The UN children’s agency has launched a hard-hitting ad campaign, involving cartoon legends the Smurfs being blown away in a sudden air strike. The film, which aims to raise money for former child soldiers in Africa, is being shown on Belgian TV. A spokesman for Unicef Belgium said it had departed from previous policies on advertising in order to shock people (editors note: yep, its working), and that this tactic was working (editors note: yep, its working).

Unicef said the ad should only run late at night to avoid scaring children. (editors note: thank goodness.) The 20-second clip opens with the Smurfs happily dancing and singing their theme song accompanied by birds and butterflies. But then planes appear which drop bombs on the idyllic scene, setting fire to the blue-skinned characters’ houses. One character, Smurfette, is killed and others run for cover while a baby is left crying in the middle.