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Hooters!

Ok, so we got a Hooters built in our city,  Grand Junction.  It has been the topic of many conversations in the recent past.

We all know what Hooters is about. It is a bar/restraunt that serves basket food by women in tight fitting provocative clothing.  Chili’s & Apple-Bee’s has the same thing, just not the name & provocative attire.

I actually just tried to put their hyperlink in this blog for Hooters, but was blocked by our web filter,  “This web page was blocked because it is considered inappropriate.”

I know where my wife and I stand on the subject, we would never enter the building, but wonder where others stand on this subject.

The reason I am bringing this up is because I have heard people say things like 'I don't have a problem w/ lust, so it's no big deal' and 'I go there for the chicken wings'.

So knowing what Hooters is about, what they stand for, the way the women ‘gazed’ upon & lusted after (lust is how they advertise) and taking into consideration the 'stumbling aspects' and fleeing from all looks of evil……

Should Christ following people visit and eat at Hooters?

Please leave a comment under the comment tab at ryancook.net or on my fb page.

 

 

 

Just Come Home!

Christmas Opener- Just Come Home!
This is one of the most powerful openers I have ever seen. A must see through the end!

Christmas Opener: Just Come Home from NewSpring Production on Vimeo.

For more information on Jesse Fisher, the lyrical talent from the opener, or to get a copy of this video visit kadence.tv and NewSpring church.
Be Blessed! ryancook.net

Church-Wide Fast

What if you could do something that would bring amazing blessings to your life, would cost nothing, and wouldn’t hurt anyone?  Blessings like;

·       Deliverance from bad habits

·       Revelations from God

·       Divine Healing & Protection

·       Broken Addictions

·       Answered Prayers

·       Constant Supply of your Needs

You can receive blessings and benefits like these through fasting.

So you may be thinking to yourself; what is fasting? Let me take a few minutes to help explain a little bit of this.

Fasting is weaved through out every part of the scriptures. Fasting always involves abstaining from something specific. Food is an easy illustration. Many fasts involve abstaining from 1 meal a day, a certain food for a specific period of time or a total food fast.

There are many types of fast’s to cure different diseases and to break people free from addictions.

David fasted often and was called a man after God’s own heart. David fasted while interceding for a friend. Nehemiah fasted while seeking guidance from God. Daniel fasted often and received many revelations and visions from God. John the Baptist fasted regularly. Jesus began His public ministry w/ forty days of fasting.

If God took fasting so seriously, I believe we should do the same. Matt 6:16 says, “Moreover, when you fast, be not as the hypocrites of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.” Notice that Jesus didn’t say, “if you fast”, He said, “When you fast”, there was no option left for guessing.

Eph. 6:12 says we wrestle against flesh and blood- and this war must be fought w/ prayer.

Let God know what you are praying for, be specific and expect the reward.

There is much power in multiplication and many people praying.

So in preparation for our church wide fast, here are some scriptures you can read. Is. 58, Mark 2:29, Daniel 9:3, 2 Chron 20, Matt. 6:17-18 and Ps. 35:17.

On Sunday, January 10^{th @} 6PM we will be kicking of our 3 week fast w/ a special Plugged in Prayer time. This prayer time is for all ages, young and old alike. Our fasting will run for 3 weeks w/ Saturday & Sundays off. The first week will be from 1/11-1/15 and we will be fasting Television. The next week, 1/18-1/22, we will be fasting 1 meal a day and replacing it w/ prayer. Then the final week of fasting, 1/25-1/29, we will be fasting 1 meal item. For instance this week you may want to fast all sweets, all caffeine, all meats, something like that, but it must be a sacrifice to you.

I hope you can join in our 3-week church-wide fast w/ us. We are expecting miracles and breakthroughs during this time, don’t miss out!

Be Blessed & Happy Fasting,

Pastor Ryan

www.ryancook.net 

 

Greatest Fears

I was going over my Purpose Quest Profile, a survey given by Dr. John Stanko. I have taken 2 of the profile surveys for myself. The profiles were done about 3 years apart. Guess what, I didn't change a whole lot.

Something that caught my attention while reading through it, well many things caught my attention, but one was this: What is Ryan's greatest fear? Take a wild guess... Being taken advantage of. Yep, there you have it. I don't like it. I didn't realize it was labeled as a fear, I know I just don't like it to happen to me, my family, friends, the church, co-workers and so on. 

I know that 2 Timothy 1:7 says this and I have taught messages about not living in fear. I don't live in this fear. I think it's just something I look out for and something I am very aware of in my life.

Ok, there you have it, that is my greatest fear according to my profile survey. Now I want to know your greatest fear. Blow up the comment tab at ryancook.net or hit me up on fb site.

-Peace

Good Quotes from What Matters Now

Here are a few good quotes from the book What Matters Now, thought were good enough to share, so here you go:

Be honest, be authentic, and speak from your passion. Yes, it means taking a risk. But the results might surprise you.

It’s not good enough anymore to be “pretty good” at everything. You have to be the most of something: the most elegant, the most colorful, the most responsive, the most accessible.

“There’s nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.”

e beautiful thing about being on a team is that, believe it or not, lots of people love doing the things you hate. And hate doing the things you love. So quit diligently developing your weaknesses. Instead, partner with someone very UNlike you, share the work and share the wealth and everyone’s happy.

e best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. e second best time is now.

If we want engagement, and the mediocritybusting results it produces, we have to make sure people have autonomy over the four most important aspects of their work:

• Task – What they do
• Time – When they do it
• Technique – How they do it
• Team – Whom they do it with.

Learn to adapt. Adjust your style of play as the dynamics of the game change.

e players with the most stamina and focus usually win.

Hope is not a good plan.

Stick to your principles.

FOCUSED INTENSITY over TIME multiplied by GOD equals Unstoppable Momentum.

Stop waiting around for bosses and companies to get better and complaining about how are you treated. Build the skills—and use them—that will permit you to create the environment in which you want to live.

Harmony takes bravery, an open heart. It takes lying awake at night when one of your co-workers is having a rough patch and dreaming up ways to help. In the true sense of karma, to achieve harmony, you must always do the right thing with no eye on a reward. e reward will come because there is trust on the other side.

e future belongs to people who can spread ideas.

We can all do more for each other and be better. Be compassionate to everyone no matter the level of connection.

Make compassion a core business value.

Start with a smile to a stranger.

Start by getting others to nod in agreement when you say: “If we’re not compassionate to one another, what’s the point in the end?”

e result of everything you do today will last forever.

When we are young, we learn, we socialize, we play, we experiment, we are curious, we feel wonder, we feel joy, we change, we grow, we imagine, we hope. In adulthood, we are serious, we produce, we focus, we fight, we protect and we believe in things strongly. It’s time we listen to children and allow neoteny to guide us beyond the rigid frameworks and dogma created by adults.

Adventure calls. Blaze a new trail. Cross a continent. Dare to discover. Escape the routine. Find a fresh perspective. Go slow; gaze absentmindedly and savor every moment. Have some fun! Invest now in future memories. Journeys are the midwives of thought; Keep a journal. Leave prejudice and narrow mindedness behind. Make for the horizon and meet new people. Navigate the unknown. Observe, and open your mind. Pursue a road less traveled. uest for truth. Rely on yourself. Sail away from the safe harbor; Take a risk. Unleash your curiosity. Venture further. Why wait? eXpect the unexpected. Say Yes to adventure….journey with Zeal!

We’re wired to focus on what’s not working. But “What IS working, today, and how can we do more of it?” You’re probably trying to change things at home or at work. Stop agonizing about what’s not working. Instead, ask yourself, “What’s working well, right now, and how can I do more of it?”

 www.ryancook.net

 

 

Enrichment

A page from Seth Godin’s New book – What Matters Now- Get it for free here

 We are all on a search – a search for more meaning in our lives.

 rough choosing to enrich other people’s lives, you add meaning to both their life and your own.

Some simple steps to follow:

1. Commit: Commit to lifetime-relationships that span events, companies, causes and geographic boundaries.

2. Care: Care for the concerns of others as if they are your own.

3. Connect: Aim to connect those who will benefit and enrich each other’s lives in equal measure.

4. Communicate: Communicate candidly. Tell people what they should hear rather than what they want to hear.

5. Expand Capacity: Aim to expand people’s capacity to help them give and get more from their own lives.

e Litmus Test: If you are truly enriching someone’s life, they will typically miss you in their past. ey think their lives would have been even better if they had met you earlier.

You are only as rich as the enrichment you bring to the world around you.

www.ryancook.net

Bigger-Faster Chicken?

Bigger Chickens- Food, Inc


So after watching this trailer, what are your thoughts on the food you consume and where it came from?

Do you care?

Will you change the way you eat?

If you are already gone organic, has it made a difference on how you feel?

www.ryancook.com