Check out the Christian Carnival

"I have seen, at different times, the smoke of a thousand villages—villages whose people are without Christ, without God, and without hope in the world."
Robert Moffat (1795-1883) Pioneer Scottish missionary to South Africa.

If you're relatively new to the blogosphere, you may not know about the Christian Carnival. It's a weekly showcase of Christian blogging, hosted by a different blogger each week. Simply choose something you posted during the past week and submit it to the Carnival...I use this handy submit form.

Submitting posts to the Carnival is a good way to bring new traffic to your blog. It's also a great way to familiarize yourself with other Christian blogs, and check out some terrific writing. This week, the Carnival is being hosted by Rev-Ed.

Missionary quotes

I've always admired the men and women who go out as missionaries to foreign countries. My own parents did this in the 60's and 70's, and I know firsthand the personal sacrifice that is involved in such an undertaking. I believe missionaries are, for the most part, remarkable people-- a special breed, unsung heroes.

The movie The End of the Spear--regardless of how you may feel about the controversial casting of a gay actor (read more about that here and here)--has once again put missions in the spotlight.

I've blogged about how the story of the five slain missionaries, recounted in Elisabeth Elliot's Through Gates of Splendor and a readers' theater in which I participated in college, Bridge of Blood--had a major impact on my life as a young woman.

(By the way, I read a review of The End of the Spear in which the reviewer decried what she called the missionaries' "hubris" and "pride" in foolishly trying to reach this remote tribe in hopes of converting them to Christianity. I beg to differ! The missionaries' motivation in risking their lives was a sincere desire to bring the gospel to a violent people who had never heard the name of Christ.)

Anyway...missionaries. One of the posts I found on the Christian Carnival is a compilation of missionary quotes, from Mary Slessor to Nate Saint, at Disciple's Journal. Great stuff.

My new favorite diet drink

OK, for the most part, I really don't like diet drinks. And although CocaCola (classic) is my favorite soft drink, I've never like Diet Coke.

But folks, this Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke is GREAT. Honestly, it tastes less like a diet drink that just about any diet drink I've ever had.

And I'm not even getting paid to say this!