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Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 2:29 pm on July 14, 2016  

Text Analytics

I’ve worked professionally with databases for a living for around 20 years, to varying degrees.

I’ve worked with words professionally for roughly the same amount of time (as an author, editor, and publisher).

It’s only natural that I’d be interested in ways of mashing them together.

Text AnalyticsSix Plots

If you’d like to learn more about text analytics, text mining, unstructured data mining, and several other synonymous terms for turning a big pile of words into meaningful data, here are some good resources.

Sentiment Analysis

If you want to sort piles of words into good/bad, happy/sad, calm/mad, and such, that’s where sentiment analysis comes into play.Sentiment Analysis

SQL Server and R

Most of my database career has been using Microsoft SQL Server. I’m at the beginning stages of learning R, a data science language.

Mining the Bible

As a case study, I’ve imported dozens of translations of the Bible into SQL Server, where I can look for correlations. It’s an interesting text to work with, since all these translations (a) started from the original Hebrew and Greek, (b) are written in English, and (c) have passages uniquely identified through a numbering system. That allows for some intense analysis.Bible Sentiment

Here is some great work that other people have already done in that field.

 

Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 8:57 am on July 11, 2016  

Philippians 1: Life of Purpose

I’m a Christian, and sometimes a teacher/preacher.

This sermon is part of a series (that I’m co-teaching, so I’m picking up in the middle of the first chapter).

Here’s a recap of the first half of the chapter, previously covered by my co-teacher:Happy

  • The Philippians are a source of joy for Paul
  • They (and we) are partners in the gospel
  • Paul’s chains have advanced the gospel
  • Motives vary, but the gospel is pure

Disambiguation

To help avoid confusion, here are some common misconceptions about who the Philippians were:

Knowing

Knowing is half the battle.

  • Philippians: People from Philippi
  • Fill-Uppians: Gas Pumpers
  • Filipinos: Philippine Islanders
  • Phillip II: King of Spain (1500S)
  • Fat Lippians: Inept Boxers
  • Flippians: Acrobats
  • Fallopians: Ovary Tubes

Life of Purpose

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (Phil 1:19-20)

  • Status: Chained, Doomed
  • Goals: Courage, Christ Exalted
  • Resources: Your Prayers, God’s Provision, Spirit of Jesus Christ
  • Results: Continued Rejoicing, Paul’s Deliverance, Life or Death

Life = Christ

Paul has two paths ahead of him, and they’re both good.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. (Phil 1:21-24)

See if you can fill in the rest of these song titles about questions and decisions.

Okay, I guess maybe the Baha Men don’t really fit here…

  • The Clash: Should I Stay or ___?
  • The Lovin’ Spoonful: Did You Ever Have to ___?
  • Whitney Houston: How Will I ___?
  • Joan Osborne: What If God ___?
  • The Baha Men: Who Let the ___?

Worthy of the Gospel

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me. Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. (Phil 1:25-27)

  • Life and Death: Gal 2:20, Rom 8:38, 2 Cor 5:8, Col 2:12
  • Worthy: 2 Cor 7:4, Gal 6:4, Eph 4:1, 2 Tim 4:7

One Spirit

Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. (Phil 1:27-30)

Finish these famous quotes about unity.Unity

  • Aesop: United we stand, ___
  • Dumas: One for all, and ___
  • Donne: No man is an ___
  • Franklin: If we do not hang together, ___
  • Lincoln: A house divided against itself ___
  • Jesus: They shall know you are my disciples by ___

Here are some more references about what the Bible says about unity, courage, and perseverance.

  • Unity: Acts 4:32, 1 Cor 1:10, 1 Cor 16:13, Eph 4:3, 1 Peter 3:8
  • Courage: Matt 10:28, Luke 22:32, Heb 13:6, 2 Tim 1:7, Acts 5:29
  • Perseverance: Rev 2:10, Matt 5:11, 1 Thes 2:2, 2 Thes 1:5, 1 Peter 3:17

Discussion

  • What can we do with “sufficient courage to exalt Christ?”
  • How can we “conduct ourselves worthy of the gospel?”
  • How can we “stand firm in the one Spirit?”

Download

You can download the PowerPoint slides here.

Continued in Philippians 2.

Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 3:11 pm on July 2, 2016  

Game Master as Writer

The Christian Gamers Guild has reposted an article of mine about the similarities between running a roleplaying game and writing a story.

http://bit.ly/GMasWriter

The article was originally published in the guild’s ‘zine, The Way, the Truth & the Dice. The original article is much longer, and will be serialized into multiple posts.

 

Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 1:45 pm on June 22, 2016  

Government Innovation Summit

Last week, I spent two days at the second annual Government Innovation Summit in Louisville, Kentucky.

There were some great seminars and breakout sessions, and 500 or so leaders from all around the country.

On Wednesday, I attended the LouieStat Live workshop.

LouieStatLouieStat Live

Louisville Metro Government’s Office of Performance Improvement & Innovation uses the LouieStat methodology. LouieStat encourages reporting on a weakness orientation basis (e.g. instead of “We’re 95% on time,” say “We’re 5% late.”).

This wasn’t just a theoretical discussion of what the process is and how it works — this was a full actual meeting, so that the audience could see the entire process, and how everyone was involved. In this case, it was the first official LouieStat meeting for EMS. There were several officials present, representing technology, communication, administration, and such, plus the new director of EMS (Jody Meiman) and some EMS managers (Chad Scott and Diane Vogel).

Some of the EMS concerns that I learned were that the average ambulance check-in time has increased by about 5 minutes, but that it’s largely due to new policies and processes on the hospital side making dropoffs take more time. They’re addressing that by providing the hospitals with more radio call-ahead information to help them prepare. (Busy ERs might have to doubleup with two patients in a triage room, and knowing the gender and general complaint of the incoming patient helps them organize.) Also, there are way more low acuity (non-emergency) ambulance runs than I would have guessed.Social Muscle

I chose this session because of my love for data transparency. I’ve been familiar with LouieStat for a while, and know some of the people that created it. I even made Louisville’s mayor Greg Fischer chuckle when I answered his question about why it’s important to take incremental steps before all the information is gathered, when I answered that “You can’t steer a parked car.”

Social Muscle

There were great ideas offered by the panel of leaders, and examples from the community, but my favorite one came from William Evans, the Boston Police Commissioner. To pave the way for improved race relations in the future, the police bought an ice cream truck that they drive around parts of town where they are frequently hated and feared. By giving out ice cream, they hope to forge bonds with the younger generation, and keep them away from violence.

While the commissioner was saying this, Greg Fischer was smiling and staring off in the distance… I wonder how long until Louisville gets a city ice cream truck?

Lightning TalksLightning Talks

My only complaint is that (as expected) they were all too short. I would have preferred breakout sessions instead, so that we could split up and dive a little deeper into one topic of interest.

The talks themselves were great, and covered a broad swath of societal issues. Early in the planning stages, there was a chance that I would have been speaking on behalf of community involvement, stemming from my volunteerism at the Civic Data Alliance, hackathons, and other local events. It was good to see Daro Mott again (speaking about data-driven government), who once came from Cleveland a year or two ago to speak at a TALK (Technology Association of Louisville KY) event, and who I’ve seen once or twice when I’ve spoken at Cleveland SQL Saturdays.

Open Data

Open DataI was so overwhelmed (in a good way) by the speakers on this panel that I could barely take a note. Beth Blauer is the Director of GovEx (the Government Center for Excellence) at John Hopkins. Joy Bonaguro is the Chief Data Officer for the City of San Francisco. Jean Clark is the President of Periscope Holdings.

The panel was so dynamic and uplifting, that I wished it could have gone all day.

Third Wave

Steve Case, the founder of AOL back in the day, came to Louisville as part of his twenty-city tour. His new book, The Third Wave, applied the concepts (farming, industry, post-industry) of Alvin Toffler’s original Third Wave book to the internet. First came the planting of ISPs, then the connected backbones of industry (Google, Amazon, etc.), and now the third wave — nigh-invisible integration and proliferation in real-world devices.

As he says, “250 years ago, America was just a startup.”

I sat at a table close to the stage, and Steve sat with us for a little while before going up to speak.Becky Steele

Bonus Events!

On Wednesday evening, TALK hosted a cybersecurity event, focused on the internet of things. Greg Garcia (the White House’s first cybersecurity chief) spoke about the wonders and the dangers that await us.

On Thursday at lunch, at the Summit itself, my great friend Becky Steele was crowned the Continuous Improvement Champion for her work at Code Louisville. I believe she’ll defend her title in the gladiatorial arena at next year’s conference. Or not.

On Thursday night, EnterpriseCorp (the entrepreneurial arm of the city’s chamber of commerce, Greater Louisville Inc) held its annual Evening of Entrepreneurship. Steve Case was the keynote speaker here, too.

 

 

Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 10:40 am on June 10, 2016  

Guest Post: Stan Siranovich

For those who’ve wondered what a National Day of Civic Hacking is like, here’s a post from Stan Siranovich that covers his (and my) experience at last weekend’s event.

National Day of Civic Hacking

A Day at the Louisville 4th Annual Hack for Change

Stan Siranovich – Data Scientist | Data Analyst – Specializing in Chemical and Biological, Laboratory, Manufacturing and IoT Applications

Ever wondered what’s it’s like to go to one of those all-day hacking events? I did too and wanted to find out. So when the Louisville 4th Annual Hack for Change came up I registered and went. Here is what I found out when I arrived…

This particular hack was going to work on several different projects, and after an intro and brief project description by Michael Schnuerle, and a break for some coffee and donuts, we moved into the various project groups.

Some of the projects were:

  • A 311 Chatbot to allow easy submission of issues to the city of Louisville (h/t to the OPI and Innovation Office of Louisville Metro Government)
  • An Analysis of KY Voting Precincts, including senate and house boundaries and voter record data
  • A CityVoice deployment for Louisville Metro on the Dixie Highway Revitalization Project
  • An analysis and visualization of Bicycle Accident data in the Louisville and Southern Indiana metro area

(for more details please visit the 4th Annual Hack for Change link)

Being an avid wheelman with a life-long interest in the clear presentation of data, I chose the Bicycle Accident project. Dave Mattingly coordinated the project and there were six of us in the group. In experience level and position along the “data pipeline,” we ranged all the way from Dave the Data Commando to a recent Code Louisville graduate. After a brief round of introductions we got to work.

I started out by pulling the data into RStudio and doing some exploratory analysis which included using the ggplot2 and base R visualization packages. As it turned out, there were no deep insights to be had and our goals would be well served by some simple visualizations that would allow Louisville Metro Government to identify problem streets and locations.

After spending some time developing a map in CartoDB, I decided to switch to Tableau Public. (I was much more familiar with Tableau.) After a few glitches pulling in the map outline and selecting the visual properties, I was able to post a useful map showing the location of bicycle accidents by location, number, type, weather condition, etc. After that, it was a simple matter to post the map on the Tableau Public site.

Meanwhile, Dave was hard at work with Qlik Sense and was able to develop a working prototype.

After a working lunch, provided by the sponsors, Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher paid us a visit. Next came some hand shaking and consultations with the individual groups; he then provided appropriate contacts in city government to further the development work for several projects.

We finished with the individual groups giving a summary and in some cases, a demo on what they accomplished. Overall, it was a productive and satisfying day’s work. I’m definitely coming back for the 5th Annual Hack for Change and even some other Hacks as they arise.

Finally, a big thank you to:Civic Data Alliance

for making the event possible.

Event Photo Gallery

Bike AccidentsBike Accidents by YearBike Accidents by DayBike Accidents by HourBike Accidents by AngleBike Accidents by WeatherBike Accidents ZoomBike Accidents SQL DataCivic Hacking Team FOIACivic Hacking Team ChatbotCivic Hacking Team CityVoiceCivic Hacking Glass Capitol
Civic Hacking Teams

Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 1:30 pm on June 1, 2016  

Nerdy Event Roundup

There are a lot of great things happening in Louisville this weekend.

Geek Dinner

Get a jump on the weekend activities at the quarterly Geek Dinner. Gather at the BBC in St. Matthews on Thursday at 6:00. No pitches, no presentations, no recruiters; just a friendly get-together for technophiles.National Day of Civic Hacking

The National Day of Civic Hacking

Also called Hack For Change, this is annual event is a way for the government to promote the use of public data.

I’ve been to this one every year. I love it.

It’s a great way to make new geek friends, create something, and learn new stuff.

Here’s a flyer that you can use to spread the word!

ISSA Kentuckiana Network Forensics Workshop

The ISSA (Information Systems Security Association) is hosting this network forensics workshop. Proceeds benefit Hackers for Charity (a group that I love to support; Johnny Long and his family’s mission to teach tech to street kids in Uganda).

WonderFestWonderFest

WonderFest is Louisville’s model-building and special-effects convention. It even hosts the country’s largest model contest for sci-fi, horror, comics, etc. There are also seminars, workshops, celebrity guests, and other coolness. I’ve attended several times, and even exhibited there a few times when I still ran a publishing company.

LEGO Kids FestLEGO Kids Fest

I’ve always loved LEGOs, but still haven’t been to one of these trade shows. This is at the Fairgrounds, right across the street from the Crowne Plaza that’s hosting WonderFest.

Neighborhood Summit

Also at the Fairgrounds, this summit focuses on healthy, sustainable, safe, attractive neighborhoods here in Louisville.

Butchertown Art Fair

Check out the exotic creations of the Butchertown neighborhood, home of LVL1 makerspace, Play Louisville, Cellar Door Chocolates, and other cool local businesses.Sub Rosa

Sub Rosa Reunion

Gather with freaks, geeks, and weirdos just like you at the Sub Rosa reunion, hosted by everyone’s favorite ginger: Divinity Rose.

After hanging out, stick around the Bard’s Town to catch the Friday showing of…

The Roast of Prince

The Louisville Roasters pick on someone new each month. This time around, it’s the color formerly known as purple. Roasters include David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, and more.Julie of the Wolves

Louisville Outskirts

This benefit for Girls Rock Louisville includes one of my favorite local bands, Julie of the Wolves. Art destroys apathy.

Bonus Event

Next weekend, check out the Louis-Villainz Market for Mischief.

 

Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 1:15 pm on May 23, 2016  

Things Unseen

“looks at” invisibility — I see what you did there
“I see what you did there” — hey, cut that out

I’m a Christian, and sometimes a teacher/preacher.

This sermon looks at invisibility.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Unsearchable Things

Call to me and I will tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. (Jeremiah 33:3)

As the evening twilight fades away, the sky is filled with stars, invisible by day. (Longfellow)

Oh, the deep riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, his paths beyond tracing. (Romans 11:33)

He does great and unsearchable wonders without number. (Job 5:9)

Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised! His greatness is unsearchable. (Psalms 145:3)

Secrets

Yesterday upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn’t there.
He wasn’t there again today.
Oh, how I wish he’d go away.
(Hughes Mearns, Antigonish, 1899)

When you pray, enter into your inner chamber, shut your door and pray to your Father in secret. When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:6, 17-18)

Now You See Me

Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Jesus. At that moment he disappeared! (Luke 24:31)

Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

Dumb Invisibility Jokes
Why did the invisible man look in the mirror? To make sure he still wasn’t there.
The invisible man never had friends as a child, due to disappear pressure.
The invisible man wanted children, but he wasn’t apparent.
The invisible man and invisible woman married, but their children are nothing to look at.
The invisible man and woman divorced due to infidelity. They weren’t seeing someone else.
I invited the invisible man to my Halloween party, but he never showed up.
If God made us in his image, why aren’t we invisible?
I discovered a formula for invisibility. All I need to do now is find the paper I wrote it on.
They laughed when I told them I’d learn the secret of invisibility. If they could only see me now.
I spilled some spot remover on my dog. Now I can’t find him.
I bought an invisible fence so my invisible dog doesn’t run away.
Do biker ghosts get tattoos in invisible ink?
“Doctor, there is an invisible man in the waiting room.” “Tell him I can’t see him now.”
These invisibility jokes just keep getting cornea and cornea.
I should have seen that coming.

Now You Don’t

We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever. (1 Timothy 1:17)

Invisible Creation

The Son is the visible image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. In him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen. (Colossians 1:15-16)

The universe was formed at God’s command; what is seen was made out of unseen. (Hebrews 11:3)

Since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

Unseen Wisdom

Through faith Noah, being divinely taught about things unseen, reverently obeyed and built an ark for the safety of his family. By this act he condemned the world, and became heir to the righteousness which depends on faith. (Hebrews 11:7)

By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. (Hebrews 11:27)

Since ancient times no ear has heard, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:4) 

Unseen Enemies

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

You used to live in sin, like the rest of the world, obeying the devil – the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. (Ephesians 2:2)

Unseen Allies

Elisha’s servant went outside the next morning and saw troops, horses, and chariots everywhere.
“Oh, sir, what will we do now?” he cried to Elisha.
“Don’t be afraid, those who are with us are more than those who are with them,” the prophet answered.
Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.”
Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:15-17)

Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 6:30 am on May 19, 2016  

VEX Worlds 2016

This year, I once again volunteered at VEX Worlds, the world championship of robotic competition, held in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

VEX Worlds

The REC Foundation (Robotics Education & Competition) organizes robotic competitions around the world, all year long. These focus on high school students, and also have event brackets for middle school and college.

The VEX Worlds championship moved to the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in 2015, where it uses all four wings and the Freedom Hall arena.

Opening Ceremonies Lots of Booths 1 Lots of Booths 2 Lots of Booths 3 Lots of Booths 4

The 2016 event set the Guinness World Record for the largest robotic competition, with 16,000 worldwide teams only sending their winning 1,100 teams to the USA.

You can watch ESPN for championship highlights on July 20.

Teams

Students came from all around the world for the championship. Over 30 countries competed, including a team of Syrian refugees (who named their robot Robogee).

You can watch the parade of nations at opening ceremonies here.

Syria Lebanon Ethiopia Russia Canada Malaysia Australia China China Mexico Team Interview

My photos here include teams from Australia, Canada, China, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, and Syria.

Costumes

The kids enjoy dressing up. I can totally relate.

Costume Avengers 1 Costume Clowns Costume Hothead Costume Idea Man Costume Rose Head Disney Girls 1

Technology

Dozens of companies from around the country attend to meet the fans and showcase the cool stuff they’ve got cooking.

This year, all four days of my volunteering were at the TALK (Technology Association of Louisville Kentucky) booth, where we joined forces with Sullivan University, Boice (now a part of Data Strategy), and Marwood Veneer. One of the big draws to our booth was the Rad Science Skateboard Build, the STEAM curriculum codeveloped by Marwood and TALK. Our buddies at the MakerMobile were giving tours and making stuff.

NASA — my old company –was there, too, giving rides in their MRV (Modular Robotic Vehicle).

TALK 1 TALK Booth Maker Mobile 1 Maker Mobile 2 Holodeck 1 NASA MRV MRV Dash

People

The VIP lunch, and volunteer dinner gathered hundreds of great people.

The speaker for lunch was Kentucky’s Lieutenant Governor Jenean Hampton, who has a degree in Industrial Engineering. I didn’t even realize that.

VIP Lunch 1 VIP Lunch 2 VIP Lunch 3 VIP Lunch 4 VIP Lunch 5

VEX Dinner Stage VEX Dinner Crowd VEX Dinner Northrup VEX Dinner Paul 2 VEX Dinner Tony

Coming Up

The championship will keep coming back to Louisville until at least 2019. They’re always looking for volunteers. If you’d like to get involved, get in touch at the REC Foundation Volunteer page.

 

Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 12:21 pm on May 18, 2016  

Body Shop

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. (Jer 1:5)

I’m a Christian, and sometimes a teacher/preacher.

This sermon looks at how Jesus matured, and how that can apply to us.

Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52)

Widsom

Good decisions come from wisdom. Wisdom comes from bad decisions.

The first way that we see Jesus grow is in wisdom. This is not only brainpower, but good sense. It’s the combination of theory and practice. It’s knowing what to do, and knowing why to do it.

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority. (Mark 1:22)

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously. (James 1:5)

Stature

10,000,000 Americans are overweight. Of course, these are round figures.

The next way we see Jesus grow is in stature. This isn’t merely size and strength, but general health and fitness. Proper nutrition, activity, and rest are important.

You are not your own, you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:20)

Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31)

Favor with God

God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

The next way we see Jesus grow is spiritually.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)

Rejoice always, pray continually, in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess 5:18)

Favor with Man

The final way we see that Jesus grew is socially.

Some people grow up and spread cheer. Others grow up and just spread.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. (Matthew 25:35-36)

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” (Matt 20:28)

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Matt 7:12)

One Body

  • Wisdom
    • Head
    • What is in us

I’d like to leave my body to science, but science is contesting the will. (David Frost)

  • Stature
    • Arms
    • What we are in
  • Favor with God
    • Knees
    • Who is over us
  • Favor with Man
    • Feet
    • Who is with us

One Body

My hand is eleven inches long. Another inch and it would’ve been a foot.

In one Spirit we were baptized into one body. The body does not consist of one member but of many. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” (1 Cor 12:13-15,21)

In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:5)

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called. (Eph 4:4)

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. (1 Cor 12:26)

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 Cor 12:27)

Hands of God

At least I didn’t make a “Look ma, no hands” joke, right? Ya gotta hand it to me…

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours, yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion is to look out to the earth, yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.” (St Teresa of Avila)

Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Phil 4:8)

Discussion

If a tree falls in the forest with no one around, do the other trees make fun of it?

  • If you could change one thing about your body, what would it be?
  • Who shaped you while growing up?
  • Where do you need more growing up?
  • How can you help others grow?
  • Does this body grow in wisdom and stature?
  • Does this body grow in favor with God and man?
  • How can we each use our own head, hands, knees, and feet to help this body grow?

Download

You can download the PowerPoint file here.

Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 2:09 pm on May 3, 2016  

Earworms

Earworms are catchy songs that get stuck in our heads. I consider a song to be a personal earworm if I’ve ever listened to it continuously for an hour or more. Here, I’m only calling out songs from bands that I haven’t already covered in this series.

Rather than rank these by importance and meaning to me, I present them alphabetically. Being earworms, they all sort of “tie” anyway.

Dave Mattingly: The Musical, Part 13Liars

  • Alaska – Resistance
    • Highlight: very pleasant melody
  • Deer Tick – Mange
    • Highlight: three songs in one, moving from grunge to piano to hard guitar
  • Divine Fits – Would That Not Be Nice
    • Highlight: hypnotic drum beat
  • Elliott Smith – Sweet AdelineMika
    • Highlight: sad and slow, but packed with pain and meaning
  • Flesh Lights – Crush on You
    • Highlight: simple and primitive with “wow mama mama mama”
  • Giant Sand – Inner Flame
    • Highlight: mellow heartache
  • Got a Girl – There’s a Revolution
    • Highlight: stylish girl pop reminiscent of Nancy Sinatra
  • Inspiral Carpets – Find Out Why
    • Highlight: high energy with big soundRye Rye
  • La Roux – Bulletproof
    • Highlight: great bouncy dance hook
  • Liars – Mess on a Mission
    • Highlight: aggrsive electronica with commanding vocals
  • Mika – Lollipop
    • Highlight: incredibly fun and bouncy
  • Old 97’s – Bird in a Cage
    • Highlight: rambunctious rock with evolving callback lyricsTemples
  • Rye Rye – Sunshine
    • Highlight: makes me wish I could dance
  • Shakey Graves – Dearly Departed
    • Highlight: wistful sorrow with a solid beat
  • Simone Felice – You and I Belong
    • Highlight: cheerful and passionate
  • The Temples – Shelter Song
    • Highlight: retro psychedelic britpop
  • Those Darlins – Screws Get Loose
    • Highlight: brash glee with a throwback flair
  • Vic Chesnutt – Until the Led
    • Highlight: introspective and spirited
  • Tom Waits – Step Right Up
    • Highlight: it’s new, it’s improved, it’s old fashioned

Go back to Part 12: Guiding Lyrics or on to Part 14: Halloween Music