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I know i know, it’s technically not even summer yet (June 21st, i think), but I can’t think that way. I’m 27 years old, but i still see summer as a break of sorts, especially now that I’m back in school. I tend to check out mentally, focus on nothing but entertaining myself or my kids, which is needed from time to time… But i know my history, and even before vacation I could sense that I was slacking… So i need to get back on the proverbial saddle and get to trekking along again… on the docket (in random order as they come to my mind):

1) Exercise: This goes without saying, doesn’t it? i mean… i’m fat… and don’t want to be… One of the things I’ve always wanted in this area is a Heavy Bag/stand… I got it for Birthday/Father’s Day. We set it up the week before we left and I used it a couple of times. Had a lot of fun. If you get a nice rhythm going, using your whole body, it’s a pretty good balanced workout in and of itself… strength and cardio… So i know i’ve never had any good excuses, but really, now i’m out completely.

2) Personal Journaling: Blogging is personal, but there’s far too much insanity to release to the world. Journaling is a good practice, but its tough for me to keep it up.  Even once a week would benefit.

3) Reading: I like to read fiction and non-fiction alike. I have the resources to read both (library, amazon gift cards, etc)… One of each per week is easily doable, one of each every two weeks is more likely… I picked up “Emperor: The Gates of Rome” from the library… five chapters in and i’m not impressed with the writing. I’ll give it one more night before I try something else b/c I dig historical fiction and the Roman era. But, as far as Non-Fiction goes… not sure, going to browse through Amazon.com today to determine what to use my Birthday gift card on. Something that isn’t at the library…

4) Fatherhood and Husbandry: Family Bible times, weekly walks with the girls, meaningful conversations, and quality entertainment (dates, family movie nights, etc.). I can’t ignore my number one responsibility no matter how often the XBox calls my name (yes i have it back… well, they sent me a new one, but its back).

There are others (house work, finding a church), but i think thats a good start… if i pack my docket with too much, i’ll just give up and play soccer on the 360 all the time.

So keep me to it…

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Category : Church, Current Events, Eh... Whatever, Empyreal, Family, Fatness, Friends

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This weekend, the wife and I took in a movie. Due to scheduling, we had to wait until 9:55 PM to see this puppy. The lines, even for the late showing, were overwhelming… starting in the front lobby, curling around all the way to the side exit, and doubling back all the way to the lobby… Listen, i know a few of you guys live in a town of about 3000 and your biggest theater has three screens or something… This theater has 18 screens, most of which are of the largest variety available. These people were absolutely insane, waiting in those kind of lines for a freakin’ comic book movie!

We, on the other hand, are civilized and proper. Waiting in NO lines to enhance our lives and see something worth the price of admission… Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (okay, really it had nothing to do with how hoity toity we are, we were paying to watch it for school… but still, c’mon now).

Lets get serious for a minute… We rarely go to a movie, unless its at the dollar theater (which has 15 screens), largely due to the price of admission. But with Expelled, it was well worth it if only to show support in the box office numbers.

Most of you probably know a little of what it is about… The tension in the scientific world between neo-Darwinists / Evolutionists and those who support Intelligent Design (henceforth “ID”). Supposedly the story behind this is that Stein (well-known intelligent Jew who supports ID) heard of a scientist working at the Smithsonian losing his position for the slightest positive mention of Stephen C Meyer (Christian ID proponent, author, etc) and a small implication that ID may have some merit. The first thirty minutes of the film follow similar stories (with immense quickness) to show that this is indeed not an isolated event. I’ve gotta be honest with you… it was interesting, but just seemed like more of the same old tired “evolutionists vs creationists” debate only changing the players to “neo-Darwinists vs Intelligent Designists”…  eh… it was neat to see Richard Dawkins interviewed and hear some of the conflicting views, but so far I wasn’t entrenched in the story…

Then IT happened. You know that point in a film, fiction or not, where your head says “wait a minute… this changes EVERYTHING!” But it doesn’t stop with your head… your heart kinda skips a beat and your gut starts twisting in knots…  And you can see it in Stein’s face as well. Up to this point, it looked scripted all the way around, but out of nowhere you, the audience and Stein realize that this has nothing to do with Science and everything to do with world-views. …

Sounds too obvious to be the “IT,” doesn’t it?…

But it changes everything and takes Stein on a completely different gut-wrenching, hand-sweating, disgusting path, climaxing with a head-to-head with Dawkins, world-renowned atheist, hater of all things religious, and maybe one of the most influential people of our time (behind the scenes and through his books)… It may be one of the most beautiful interviews in a documentary I’ve ever seen…

Sure, Stein wants ID to win, but it’s not Stein who says the ridiculous things that Dawkins and other neo-Darwinists say. They shoot themselves in the foot, over and over and over again. Dawkins isn’t even the craziest one of the bunch, he just has the loudest voice in our society…

(i’m leaving a great deal out so as not to play spoiler, but at some point, i’d love to discuss it) …

So, boycott the long lines at Iron Man, and take in Expelled. It’s beyond worth it. When the DVD comes out, buy it… Do everything you can to help Stein tear down the walls… society will be in better shape for it…

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Category : Culture, Current Events, Empyreal, Movies, Reviews

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Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.  -Proverbs 31:8-9

If we are to advocate and speak up, we have to know what we’re talking about. More importantly, we have to know WHO we are talking about.

The average American -and maybe average American Christian- sees the global poor as lazy, uneducated, backwards, uncivilized, unreliable, dependent on everyone else, unwilling to change, corrupt, weak…

Why do we hold these prejudices? I think we hold these prejudices to justify our own inaction, our own place at the front of the line, our own wealth, and really we justify these because we dont know the poor. We know about them, but we don’t know them…

You and I are so dangerously close to a subtle dehumanization of the poor. I have thought and wrestled with this… It is the only explaination why men and women of faith with resource to spare allow such inequity to exist.

And other wonderfully loving compassion and action from Andrew Syed can be heard here.

Andrew’s Organization - 10/10 Project

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Category : Church, Culture, Current Events, Empyreal, Enabling, Quotable

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Amy asks valid questions… read them… and now i respond, mostly to #1 and her closing comments… (Amy’s a good friend and she is responsible with her research/thought process/etc… so this is just an example of how friends can have differences of opinions, not an attack on her character …I’d suggest you read her post b/c I don’t want to rehash it… just respond).

A few passages concerning helping those in need: 
Matthew 25:35-46
Luke 12:22-34
Luke 18, or any other “rich young ruler” passages…
and, just for kicks, a simple example of who else though “shared wealth” was a good idea: Acts 2:42-47
and a plethora of others throughout the new and old testament.
 
Now, it can and SHOULD be argued that our responsibility to those in need should be fulfilled by the Body / Church and not by our government. And I agree, but our churches and our American Body of Christ doesn’t do this.

So I say, why be infuriated with the state of our country based on the results of this election?!? First of all, the state of our country right now is largely in response to the dire situation we have found ourselves because of stupid decisions made over the last 6 years… And, heck yes, we should want more from our citizens… we should want people to be responsible… but that’s not what I want to focus on…

As Christ followers, above our Citizenship of America, we are Citizens of Christ. Take a look internally at our Family… The Family of Christ… Look at us!

Our churches spend more on themselves then they do on others… we mask what are clearly marketing ideas as ‘outreach’… we spend our time looking internally rather than externally… We don’t “go” anywhere, we do whatever we can to get the lost to “come” to us…

In other words, for most part, our American Church is failing to fulfill the needs that Jesus calls us to fill…

Lets take it a step further and get personal. The members of the Body are, for the most part, no better. We’re more concerned about how much we make, do we have the latest gadgets, does our car fairly represent our status, am I entertained, does the church feed me, is this convenient for me, how can i improve my way of life, and why the hell should i pay more taxes for people that won’t take responsibility?… after all God helps those who help themselves…

Wait a minute… where is that in the Bible? Oh yeah… Its not. Because if it were, we’d end up with Churches who only look internally, we’d end up with members who spend more in a month than many people spend in a year, and we’d end up so attached to our money and material possessions that we become frustrated when our taxes transfer from improving our way of life to improving the lives of those less fortunate…

This sounds all to familiar…

and, yeah, i’m part of the problem. But I’m also part of the solution because I recognize the problem and it drives and motivates my life more than politics and paychecks. I’ve got 25ish years of habit that I have to break, so its taking some time… but perhaps its time we stopped focusing on our rights as Americans and started focusing on our duty as Christ followers… a duty built on Love, not guilt or “works” … a duty birthed from within as Christ transforms who we are and what our focus is…

put me in any other country, under dictatorship, tyranny, or false democracy…. take away my free speech rights, tax my ass off, and throw me in jail… let me starve, let me bleed, and let me die… you can’t take away who I am because of the life saving power of Christ… and that is why I live and how I live…

So, bottom line… I want our country to improve because I live here… but I don’t care if i’m taxed more if it means that someone actually steps up and makes a difference in the lives of those who need it the most.

I was on welfare because of the choices I made… thank GOD that HE doesn’t just chalk it up to “well, learn some self-responsibility” and our country doesn’t take the approach of “God helps those who help themselves”

Did I deserve it? hell no. I couldn’t keep my dick in my pants when I was teenager… I knocked up someone when i was making literally 300 bucks a month… I didn’t deserve the help…

Do I deserve to be forgiven? Do I deserve grace? Do I deserve to spend this earthly life in relationship with the Creator? Or spending eternity in the presence of God Himself?

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Category : Culture, Current Events, Empyreal

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Perhaps one day I’ll share the concept behind the birth of this quote. But for now… a simple reminder to challenge the status quo… don’t allow yourself to be told what to think and how to act without challenging the source… if you find status quo to fit the Truth, embrace it… otherwise, blaze your own trail.

Jesus challenged the Status Quo when it didn’t line up, despite what the religious leaders of the day thought…

White rapids are more fun than placid ponds
 - Lindsey Parks

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Category : Culture, Current Events, Empyreal, Quotable

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I got a call friday from an old friend and mentor asking me to help him out at his church this weekend. I used to attend the church, and there is quite a bit of family history (mostly good, but not all of it) at the church despite only being there for a few years.  I decided to oblige… after all, i’ve been meaning to go back just to say hi to the several friends I still have there and I’m always up for helping a friend when called upon… (sure, he could’ve gotten someone else to help out, but heck, i was at least on his list… third of fourth down, depending on how you count).

It was a bit of a reunion for me in the sense that everyone that I played with Sunday (I was filling in on electric) I have played with for years… the drummer was a scrawny 14 yr old when I helped him get started in our youth worship band… now he’s about 20 and looks like he could kick my arse pretty easily… (doesn’t help that I’m … uh… *cough*fat*cough*)

But it got me thinking about friendships and stuff. Here I am, back in a church that was a catalyst to a very difficult and stressful time in my life (i left on good terms with the people there, but I wouldn’t call it a “clean” exit). I look around at all of the faces that I would still consider friends, even though many of them I haven’t talked to in years, and I realize just how few of those relationships have cultivated in a church setting since I left. This is not to say that I haven’t cultivated these types at all in the last three years, but there have been very few real relationships birthed at the church I currently attend…. Two, in fact, and they’re married to each other… and they don’t attend the church anymore (that should be enough hints).

I used to feel (and “preach”) that if you weren’t cultivating relationships, generally it’s because you’ve been passive about it. Whether your passivity is from shyness, from building walls, or whatever… We’ve started life groups, dove head first into a youth ministry, gone on church trips, and attended various extra-curricular church functions… hardly passive…  and have very little to show for it relationally.

I’m not complaining, it’s just weird.

You could even argue that while my actions have been active, my heart has been passive, and in some cases, maybe so… but I dunno… just weird.

and with my wife feeling the same way, i’m not sure where it leaves us.

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Category : Church, Current Events, Empyreal

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Much like February 29, my political side only comes out once every four years. Yet, every election I exercise my right NOT to vote and get harassed by clergy, Christians, and commoners alike… as if I’m a bad American for not voting. I couple my right not to vote with an understanding that I will not complain too much about what goes on in spite of my non-vote.

Eight years ago we were promised a Presidential Office built on faith and forward movement. And people tend to forget that pre-9/11 Bush’s support sky high from Red and Blue alike… He was putting things into place that appeared to bring change in our country. He has faced a difficulty our country hasn’t seen the likes of since the Civil War… Somehow I think history will perceive Lincoln as a much grander leader than Bush…

I’ve realized somethings over the last several days and I’ll probably be crucified silently by some of my Christian readers:

Liberal is not a bad word:By definition, it simply means “favorable to progress or reform” … conservative is sticking to our roots and what is “tried and true,” liberal is an openness to seeing things differently. Perhaps, I am a liberal in many areas. “Tried and true” hasn’t gotten it done.

Christian should NOT be synonymous with Republican: One of many case in points: In general, the democratic party provides more opportunity for the poor to be assisted. It is a flawed system, yes, but the last time I checked, we are called to help the poor, not pay them lip-service.

Christian should NOT be synonymous with Democrat: One of many case in points: In general, Republicans hold more strongly to the sanctity of life (i.e.- abortion issues), which is in line with Christian values concerning life.

Christians should vote looking at the whole: I am sickened by abortion and believe homosexuality is wrong… but if we vote simply on these two issues, we are irresponsible with our vote. If I vote for a candidate simply because he promises to overturn or amend Roe v Wade, I have ignored the fact that his other policies and changes may lead this country down the drain economically… that the poor will become poorer … that teachers will teach to test and not to train and educate… that welfare will be ignored… that 3948 Americans and 100s of thousands of Iraqi’s have died through a war based on lies, half-truths, and politics.

Rather than working this morning, I spent alot of time reading speeches and quotes from the candidates and only one has inspired and moved me enough to actually maybe think about voting: Barack Obama

Yeah, the democratic “Muslim” (who is actually a devout Christian). Rick posted a pretty nice video that plays on the emotion of changing for the better. I like the video (watch it, it’s not too long and gives you a taste of Obama), but more importantly, I like how Obama inspires in his speeches. I don’t agree with every issue, and I don’t pretend to know his stance on every issue. I am not saying he is getting my presidential nod, but he has inspired me to stop and pay attention… to find out more about who he is, who McCain really is (since McCain seems to have a strong grasp of the Republican seat), and where our nation as a whole needs to go.

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Category : Culture, Current Events

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So, it’s been awhile since a real post…

Work suddenly became busy for a couple of weeks… it’s slowed back down, but i tend not to post when work is busy.

School has been a bit of a beating so far this semester, but I must admit that I’ve brought most of the issues on myself.

And finally, sickness decided to camp out at my house. Once again all four of us got nailed with something or other over the last three weeks… Once again, i took the lightest hit and Dionna took the heaviest. Both girls took a hit somewhere in the middle.

Churchis going well. I played some electric guitar last week, but in general i’m heading up the audio/video team for the youth. Things are coming together alright in that respect. But more importantly, the youth as a whole is going well.

And for the record, i was cheering for the Patriots but was very impressed and happy for how Eli played. Six weeks have made me an Eli fan. All to annoy Blake, who lives and works in his college town, but went to his rival college.

Now, tonight i have 100+ pages of history to read and other crap to do before the Mexico v USA Men’s soccer game tomorrow night.

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Category : Church, Culture, Current Events, Eh... Whatever, School, Sundays, X:Worship, Youth

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Christmas Text-fessional for 2007

Sunday the High Schooler’s met at 11 AM with the Jr. Higher’s. Andy LaChance leads the JH worship, but he asked me to play along on electric. I haven’t played electric with the band in several months. ‘Twas fun. Here is the rundown.

Blessed Be Your Name - G - I’ve never sang this song this low… That was a weird range for my voice… This is USUALLY in B for me, i drop it to A for flow purposes sometimes, but… dang… G was freakin’ low for this song. But was fun to play

Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer - G- Andy pulled a fast one on the group and told everyone he wrote a song last Christmas that was really important to him, slowed everything down, brought the lights down, then sang the chorus to this song… laughter ensued… of course, we went into a punkish rendition of the song the rest of the way. Good times.

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - Cm- So… i’m not sure what possessed andy to pick this one, and it didn’t take him long to agree during practice when he realized he had no idea how old-school language every verse other than the first is… he wanted to scratch it, I convinced him to keep it and I would perform the last couple of verses “edgar allan poe” poetry reading style… it was funny. I tried to convince some of the youth to come up, but alas, they wouldn’t. I’m sure had any traditionalists been there, they would’ve called me a heretic and said i was disrespectful… but hey… whatever.

Two movies watched via DVD this holiday weekend:

Hot Rod- Alright. I’ll admit it. I keep quoting it. I thought it was mildly entertaining, but more importantly, it has quotable power. It did NOT live up to the hype that my Bro-In-Law poured onto it, but the parts that were entertaining keep coming up in conversation and life. Dinner with the fam tuesday night had more references to this movie than I’d care to admit….

Happy Feet - I wanted to like this movie. I didn’t want my daughter watching an agenda driven movie with more sexual references than American Pie. The movie is really well done and has a lot of funny moments, but the negatives far outweigh the positives. It is extremely anti-religious, which isn’t always a bad thing, but its overdone here. Not that it threatens the way of following Christ that we are raising our daughter on, but there were some things I wasn’t too happy about.

It was very “green” in nature. Again, not a completely bad thing, but it pushes a lot of eco-driven stuff. I’m all for making this earth a better place to live, but it just got annoying after a while. It also played into a lot of racial stereo-types, but what we fail to realize is that EVERY kids movie does this.

Top it off with the major sub-plot centralized around getting action… *cough*sex*cough* and it was a pretty disappointing “family” movie… On a different scale (i.e. - reg. movie, not family movie), i’d probably score it a little higher. I just didn’t know I’d need to debreif my daughter so much after watching it…

And that, as they say , is that…

Read from my newly acquired bottle of Axe Body Spray (gifted from my dad of all people): If you spray it, she will come….

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Category : Current Events, Family, Movies

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So the Golden Compass is bombing thus far (see this weekend’s chart). The movie cost upwards of 600mil to make. Although its third this week, only 8 Mil after around 26 in the opening weekend is a really bad sign for the movie. Good movies don’t lose that much steam no matter what other box-office hits come out… It’s still early, so if it stays steady then the rest of the trilogy may be made. But if it doesn’t recover or do really well in DVD sales, the more “dangerous” 2nd and 3rd books won’t have near the impact Pullman was hoping for. Of course, we still have Christmas which is a big movie day.

So perhaps the Christian boycott emails worked, or it’s just not that good of a film, or God is bigger than a creative atheist/agnostic (i’ve seen conflicting reports from Pullman himself as to what he considers himself… “confused” is a good label).

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Category : Culture, Current Events

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