Winning Ways -- Hillcrest Baptist Church

"When Flies Kill Lions"
by Tom Goodman
July 4, 2007

Did you know that tiny flies can bring down the king of beasts?

The flies, known as "stomoxys," will bite a lion and then keep biting its wounds, inflicting nagging, relentless pain. Over time, the lion dies of trauma. A few years ago, at least six lions in Tanzania's world famous wildlife park were killed by swarms of these flies.

Our worries can do the same to us. Left unchecked, our anxieties will buzz around us like a swarm of blood-sucking flies, pestering us and distressing us until we collapse. Maybe we're revealing more than we intend when we sigh and say, "I'm worried sick!"

As the late Corrie Ten Boom once noted, "Worry doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength." That's why Jesus said, "Don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." (Matthew 6:34, Msg)

Billy Graham wrote:

What is the opposite of fear? For the Christian there can be only one answer: The opposite of fear is trust -- trust in God and His unchanging love. Once we realize God is in control and he holds us in his loving hands, we can meet life's dangers and uncertainties with confidence. After all, if we can trust God for our eternal salvation, can't we also trust him for our lives right now? The psalmist declared, "The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid." (Psalm 118:6)

Don't Miss the Deadlines for "Adventures with Tom"! You've been reading about our four summertime adventures, and now is the time to sign up! To go to the Rockbox Theater in Fredericksburg, the Enchanted Springs Ranch in Boerne, or Pioneer Town in Wimberly, go ahead and turn in your registration fee in while you're at church this Sunday, July 8! For more information, go online at www.HillcrestAustin.org or call the church office at 345-3771.

Meet Courtney at the Sunshine Lunch. Courtney Carlson joins our staff next week to develop our College-and-Career ministry. All senior adults are invited to come meet Courtney at the monthly "Sunshine Lunch," a pot luck lunch held next Tuesday, July 10, 11:15am.

Interested in Membership? Spread the word about our next Discover Hillcrest class. It will be held next Wednesday, July 11, 6:00-7:30pm. SUPPER IS PROVIDED! The class is for those who want to become members, and for those who just want to learn more about Hillcrest. While I teach the class for adults and teens, there's a "Discover Hillcrest Kids" for children ages 8-12. Childcare is provided for children under the age of 8. Pre-registration is encouraged but not required. You can register by contacting our Ministry Assistant, Jami, at jami@hbcaustin.org.

Links to Your World

Alan Brock is running 900 miles from RunTex in Austin to to the top of Pike's Peak in Colorado. He operates the ministry, Fit2Endure, that promotes the connection between faith and fitness.

An Ivy League professor and expert on forecasting is challenging Al Gore to a $20,000 bet that he is wrong on global warming (here).

Bob Buford writes "Finishing Well," explaining how to transform Success to Significance. His writings have inspired the start of our Second Half Ministry at Hillcrest.

In the UK, a teenager has been banned from school for wearing a chastity ring. British papers are downright nasty on the issue: Martin Samuel at the Times snidely referred to the girl as "Little Miss Pure" and Michele Hanson at the Guardian called her "poor little Lydia." Sigh.

For anyone with sons or grandsons, especially young ones, you will identify with Mona Charen's National Review article, "Wild Boys." (Earlier: Newsweek's, "The Trouble with Boys.")

How to Fight Fear with . . . Fear. An article targeted to college students but applicable to anyone facing down fears.

"Our vision is to reach every golfer in every nation," says Scott Lehman of In His Grip Ministries. Maybe we need to join his vision at Hillcrest.

Anger has a way of coming back to bite you. Just ask the guy went after an enemy with a cottonmouth water moccasin. The snake bit him instead of the intended victim.

In "The Good, The Bad, The Muggly," Jim Watkins has exactly the same internal debate about Harry Potter that I've had over the years.

Using "Allah" as "God" in Conversation.

10 Useless or Even Dangerous First Aid Myths. (HT: Presurfer)

Have you read the previous posts this week? They include the "Song of the Week" ("Girl America" by Mat Kearney), response to an anti-creationism blogger, my thoughts on the new Texas grant for filmmakers, an introduction to Courtney Carlson as our new College-and-Career minister, and an invitation to four "Adventures with Tom." To keep up with the journal, sign up for e-mail updates or assign the feed to your news reader or Google Personalized Home Page.

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