Clay pointed out this quiz on his blog today. I took a few minutes to check it out, and think I would agree with the large majority of the results.

I think I can agree with most of this. Check it out. What do you think?

Just in case you haven’t noticed, Major League Baseball started back up this week… and it has been awesome!  The ‘Stros have been less than impressive, but at least their one win keeps them just above the worst record in baseball. Sorry, Tigers.

I was thinking last night as I watched their one win against the Padres about the fact that there are still coaches in major league sports. The Astros have fourteen managers, coaches, and trainers working on everything from base running to pitching to conditioning to hitting. That’s a lot of coaches for some forty men who are supposed to be professional players! Why do they still need coaches after all these years?

If you can’t already see where I’m going with this, the number of coaches per major league team got me to thinking about the need I have for “coaching” in my own life. I need the wisdom of men older than me and friends more aware than me. There are times (a lot of times) when something is terribly wrong in my life and I can’t see it. There are even times (surprise, surprise) when I ignore the very thing I know is wrong.

I guess what I’m saying is that I hope I never start to believe that I’ve outgrown the need for coaching. If you’re reading this and you’ve had any hand in “coaching” me - thank you. Be patient with me. I am learning.

I know YouTube videos aren’t supposed to count as blog posts (according to some people), but this one was too good to pass up.

Yeah, I know. I’ve been gone for quite some time now. If you and I have talked in the past little while, you know that the past few weeks have been stressful to say the least. But… that’s not what this post is about. That may come later. And yes, I know that some of you will find this a lame “welcome back” post. Oh well…

Check out what Hillary Clinton had to say to the New York Times’ Michael Luo early last summer about her faith. You can real the whole transcript here.

——————————————————–

Senator Clinton: I believe in the father, son, and Holy Spirit, and I have felt the presence of the Holy Spirit on many occasions in my years on this earth.

Reporter: Can I ask you theologically, do you believe that the resurrection of Jesus actually happened, that it actually historically did happen?

Senator Clinton: Yes, I do.

Reporter:  And, do you believe on the salvation issue — and this is controversial too — that belief in Christ is needed for going to heaven?

Senator Clinton: That one I’m a little more open to. I think that it is, as we understand our relationship to God as Christians, it is how we see our way forward, and it is the way. But, ever since I was a little girl, I’ve asked every Sunday school teacher I’ve ever had, I asked every theologian I’ve ever talked with, whether that meant that there was no salvation, there was no heaven for people who did not accept Christ. And, you’re well aware that there are a lot of answers to that. There are people who are totally rooted in the fact that, no, that’s why there are missionaries, that’s why you have to try to convert. And, then there are a lot of other people who are deeply faithful and deeply Christ-centered who say, that’s how we understand it and who are we to read God’s mind about such a weighty decision as that.

Reporter:  And your attitude toward the Bible about how literally people should take it.

Senator Clinton:  I think the whole Bible is real. The whole Bible gives you a glimpse of God and God’s desire for a personal relationship, but we can’t possibly understand every way God is communicating with us. I’ve always felt that people who try to shoehorn in their cultural and social understandings of the time into the Bible might be actually missing the larger point that we’re supposed to take from the Bible.

 ——————————————————–

What do you think?

Here’s a little something to get your hump day started off well.

Micah as a book isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. His message was at time devastating, and he pulled no punches when exposing the sins of Israel. However, there are reminders of current and future hope throughout. The books ends on this note in Micah 7:18-20, and it has been an incredible encouragement to me today -

Now this is just plain weird. Don’t worry, it’s a short one.

Have a good weekend wherever you are.

Some verses have haunted my thoughts the past few days like nothing has in a long time. This is from Hosea 11:8-9.

Ran across this today. It may be the most foolish and errant thing I have read in quite a while. Someone remind me to scratch Candler School of Theology at Emory University off the list of possible places to further my education.

Luke Timothy Johnson, New Testament professor at Emory University, has openly admitted what few liberal Christian defenders of homosexuality will: “I think it important to state clearly that we do, in fact, reject the straightforward commands of Scripture, and appeal instead to another authority when we declare that same-sex unions can be holy and good. We appeal explicitly to the weight of our own experience and the experience thousands of others have witnessed to, which tells us that to claim our own sexual orientation is in fact to accept the way in which God has created us.”

HT: JT

Does this seem absolutely unacceptable to anyone else? Or am I just crazy?

I’m not a huge fan on the quotes on Starbucks cups. They seem like a waste of space to me, and most of them are rather lame. I’d prefer to have a cool piece of art to gaze at while I sip some hot tea. But, I did see this one last night and it scared me just a little bit.

Just in case you can’t make that out (sorry for the fuzzy camera phone picture) it says, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” It came from Former Secretary of State, Madeline Albright. She scares me too. I think this man would be forced to help her if she looked at me like that.

P.S. - I have the Chocomint gum in my possession. A video of the taste test will be produced and posted in the near future. Maybe three months or so.

I was at Wal-Mart late the other night we a few friends buying some ice-cream for a movie night. I’m standing in line, minding my own business, when I noticed one of the nastiest looking packages of gum I have ever seen. First of all, it’s called Chocomint. Seriously?! The name alone sounds disgusting. Then, to make matters worse, they came up with one of the worst visual explanations of the gum. It looks like the Dentyne has explosive diarrhea with little ice cubes in it.

There is no way on earth you could ever make me put this in my mouth. Ever.

I like cooking. I wish that I had more time to cook on a day-to-day basis. One of my favorite things to do every few weeks is experiment with a new dish - either from a recipe or something I just invent off-the-cuff.

Last night, I called my mom and told her a list of things I had sitting around the house that I needed to use sometime soon. She suggested stuffed bell peppers and gave me some rough directions over the phone. So I trusted her, gave it a shot, and this is what I came up with. Not sure if this is what stuffed bell peppers are supposed to look like, but they sure as heck tasted pretty good. I was impressed.

Do you like cooking? If so, what’s a favorite recipe or something new you’ve tried lately?

This is crazy. Check it out here.

I finished the first book of my “Thirty Book Challenge of 2008.” I’m just a little bit off pace, but it’s better than not starting at all. Here’s my take on Greg Boyd’s “The Myth of a Christian Nation.”

The book is based on Boyd’s argument that the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of heaven are fundamentally juxtaposed with the former exercising “power over” its subjects and the latter demanding “power under” by serving those both above and below us. The book is built around the argument that the church’s quest for political power is resulting, and has historically resulted, in little but destruction and dissension. He would say that the modern church’s hunger to place like-minded folks in leadership positions so that we can have a “Christian nation” is a perverse form of nationalistic idolatry.

In short, we will forever fall short of our purpose as the body of Christ if our primary focus is a legislative push to ensure that the world’s political systems agree with our value systems instead of loving people and “replicating Calvary” to the world.

The Good

The book is very easy to read. Sentences are short, and the vocabulary is probably somewhere around a high school reading level. I could read it anytime of the day without having to focus incredibly hard or re-read lengthy sections.

It is backed up by extensive historical evidence of periods where the quest for political power has caused trouble for the church. There are also insightful biblical references. One of the best, in my opinion, was a discussion on the relationship between the disciples Matthew and Simon. Boyd observes that Matthew, a tax collector, would probably be classified today as a liberal. Simon, a zealot, would best fit into the conservative political label of today. However, the two were able to exist peacefully and lovingly under the headship of Christ. Boyd pleads for a political atmosphere where followers of Christ are able to follow a biblical model and unite under the common banner of the Good News.

The best quote I found in the book is one from Soren Kierkegaard that says, “The worst form of apostasy the Christian faith can undergo is to have it become simply an aspect of culture” (115). This comes in the middle of a lengthy discussion on the nature of Christianity as America’s civil religion.

The Bad

Boyd is overtly biased in some of his arguments. The book is not so much an open discussion of the role of politics in religion as it is a layout of what Boyd himself thinks. It is difficult to keep reading if you find yourself disagreeing with Boyd as he is quite forceful and exclusive in some of his arguments. (Ex: The final chapter on Christians in the military.)

The book is entirely too long (and it’s only two hundred pages!). Points that could be made in two paragraphs drag on for pages on end. It feels almost as though Zondervan refused to publish the book until Boyd reach a certain length, so that he just elaborated on old stuff instead of coming up with new evidence.

The outline Boyd follows is confusing with sub-point after sub-point. By the time you finish a chapter, you have forgotten where you began. The overall argument is not made in a tight or concise way, which makes it frustrating in places where the subject matter is, in fact, enjoyable to the reader.

Verdict

Boyd is continuing an important discussion – especially in an election year. Some insights are worthy and items which I will definitely remember and use in conversation. However, the book is too poorly organized and far too biased to create any widespread discussion. Check it out if you’re interested in politics and/or American religious history. Otherwise, leave it on the shelf.

Grade    C+

All I’ve heard from Cowboy fans today as they applaud the Giants victory is, “I’m not a Giants fan. I’m just a Patriots anti-fan!”

That sounds like one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. An “anti-fan”? Is that even a possibility?!

Come on Cowboys fans. Do you really need anything else to make yourselves look more ridiculous? Aren’t Jerry Jones, Terrell Owens, and Jessica Simpson enough?! Suck it up, and quit whining about how “evil” the Patriots are.

Hands down the best commercial for me this year was the Planter’s one that ran in the middle of the second quarter. And no… I don’t want to talk about the game.

Disagree?

Even if you don’t like politics. Even if you don’t like Barack Obama. You have to admit that this video is one of the most creative political advertisements of all time. It’s Barack’s victory speech after one of the recent primaries set to music composed by Will.I.Am.

I love commercials. They are short masterpieces. Some are funny. Some sad. Some ridiculous. I just caught this one for the first time during a commercial break for LOST, and I like it a whole lot.

What do you think? Seen any good ones lately?

Only a few more hours until…

LOST

Will you be glued to the TV? How much of a phenomenon is this really?

England Update #3 - When I woke up this morning, I had $750 for my England ‘08 mission trip. As I write now, I have $850 cash on hand and the other $950 pledged by the two great families of FBC Lufkin and FBC Belton.

God is absolutely amazing! I went from $0 on Sunday morning at 9:00 AM to $1800 by 3:00 PM Tuesday afternoon. How incredible is that?! My day really did turn out that well after all.

Praise to the Lord,

who doth prosper thy work and defend thee.

Surely his goodness and mercy daily attend thee.

Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,

who with his love doth befriend thee.

Check this out when you have some time to really chew on it for a while. It’s good. 

[HT: Zach Nielsen]

England Update #2 - Later yesterday, one of the guys on staff at FBC Belton called me into his office and asked me to tell him about the trip. He then handed me $200 dollars at the end of the day, told me he has loved getting to know me, and to have fun in England. This is unbelievable! I love this church, and I love how creative God is! (I’m only $250 away from the $1000 down payment due Friday.)

Also, I woke up this morning to a text message from a friend of mine with some pretty incredible news. A pretty nasty Greek quiz was scheduled today, and I spent a lot of hours last night studying for it. I went to bed frustrated and tired. My prof is pretty difficult and also never misses a day of class. Well… he e-mailed us this morning and decided to cancel class for the day! This gives me time to work on two other papers that are due this week, plus I studied a lot so that I caught up in Greek without having to fail a quiz.

This is starting out as one of those days where you just get that kinda sinking feeling that it can’t all go this well. Know what I mean?

I was getting worried because a $1000 down payment is due this Friday to secure a spot for me on the plane to England in May. As of today, I had raised $0. Remember… I decided really late in the game to even go on the trip in the first place.

One of the things I have been doing is playing a few hymns every couple of weeks for the oldest Sunday School class at FBC Belton. This morning, before I played, I shared with them the plans I had for the trip but said nothing of the Friday deadline of $1000. Before preaching tonight, the class teacher came up to me and handed me a list of names who donated to a $550 offering that they took up after I left the classroom this morning. Pretty stinkin’ amazing, huh?! I didn’t know what to do except smile a whole lot and give her a hug.

It’s amazing to me that when I so often have the tendency to think that generational gaps are almost impossible to bridge, God uses a group of senior adults to work a miracle in my life and jump start the fundraising for my England ‘08 trip. Today was a great day, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for the rest of the trip preparations. Only $1250 to go!

Have fun getting some rest. If it’s cold outside then grab something hot to drink, find a good book, or put in an old movie. But before you do any of that though… watch this.

Happy Weekending.

Anyone else have a week that felt something like this? You’re just moving along, doing your job, and minding your own business when…

…the world comes crashing down.

It’s been a good time for me at the movies lately. It can be hit-and-miss sometimes, you know? The three I’ve seen in theaters (all from completely different genres) and would recommend to anybody anywhere are:

• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• Juno
• Cloverfield

Also, check out the soundtrack for “Sweeney Todd.” It’s quirky but very good music. I hear the soundtrack for “Juno” is good, but I haven’t tried it. What I heard on the movie was a pretty good collection. Of course, no music for “Cloverfield,” but its well worth the time and money.

Have you seen anything good lately?

Oh yeah… I was thinking the other day about something that makes me very worried. Will the writer’s strike that we’re in the middle of right now mean a big drought of new movies in the future or do movies work differently? Does anyone know?

Question: Bill and Hillary Clinton spent a lot of their time in the White House arguing for racial equality in all areas of life. I think this was one of the better things about his terms. In fact, he was often called “America’s First Black President.” So, what’s the deal with all the talk about race and attacks on Barack Obama?

It seems to me that their party has a very viable minority candidate. Obama is a dynamic speaker, brilliant politician, and hopeful candidate. Plus, he agrees with the Clintons on 99% of policy issues. So why don’t they get out of the way and let him have the nomination? Why fight him tooth-and-nail with very personal attacks if he is the hope and reality of what the Clintons have been lobbying for? These dots don’t connect well in my brain.

Something’s fishy here. What do you think?

Writing sermons is exhausting work. Don’t get me wrong. I know that I learn more by marinating in a specific text for a while so I can explain it to a group of people. However, the hard work of editing, reworking, reordering, deleting, and adding information is absolutely exhausting. It’s difficult to say what you want to say in a memorable, concise, correct, and uncluttered way.

I love the text I’m preaching on this Sunday, and I have learned a lot about my own life as I’ve worked through it. But I cannot imagine doing this every week.

Well, my friend Blake Stewart was right once again. He used to talk all the time about how great Phil Wickham’s music was. I should have known better from making this mistake many times over the course of our friendship, but I refused to believe him.

I’m not sure if God moved miraculously in my life or if I just finally gave the guy a fair chance, but I love Wickham’s music! I’ve been listening to it all day for about three days and haven’t made it through all the cd’s yet because I keep the songs on repeat. I know. I’m late on this one too, but if you haven’t tried it out… give Phil a chance.

Thanks, Darkstew.

+ + =

The way to a man’s heart? Well, the way to mine is a venti Tazo Zen hot green tea from Starbucks with two packets of Splenda. Um, um, good. It just makes me all happy. (Plus coffee makes my tummy hurt.)

What’s your comfort drink?

I think I can safely say that my absolute biggest pet peeve while I’m in public always happens at restaurants. I cannot stand to be in a large group of people when the food is being served and no one will take two minutes out of their ‘oh, so important’ conversations and listen to the waiter/waitress. I mean, come on! They’re trying to serve you quickly but you can’t help them out. 99% of the time it’s these very people that are complaining at the end of the meal that the service sucked. Drives me crazy!

What is your biggest public pet peeve?

I think that the older I get, the more I can appreciate just what Martin Luther King, Jr. accomplished in his short life. Enjoy these quotes on this MLK Day.

——————–

“Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.”

“If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.“

“It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.“

“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.”

“Nonviolence is not the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need for man to overcome oppression and violence. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggresison and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”

——————–

It seems to me that this man was incredibly wise and brave. It is sad to me that I didn’t get the chance to watch him first-hand.

A few weeks ago, I dug up a sermon illustration for Sunday morning about Tom Brady and his answer to “60 Minutes” on the subject of emptiness. I just recently found a video clip of the interview. Check it out below and let me know what you think. (I present this to you in honor of the coming Patriots’ Super Bowl victory in just two weeks.)

(Running Time: 3 mins.)

As usual, I hope you get some rest this weekend. Enjoy this video first! If it’s not funny the first time through, give it another shot. You’ll be laughing soon enough.

Elliott, my roommate, showed me this video. If he had a blog I would link it here, but he doesn’t so I can’t. Just tell him “hi” if you see him.

One last thing - I’m committing the weekend to paper-writing and sermon research. No blogging ’til Monday. See you then!

MSNBC has a story here about a quote from one of Mike Huckabee’s campaign rallies this week, held just hours before the Michigan primary. Here’s a quote from the stump speech. In all honesty, I’m not sure what to think about this, but I am quite a bit puzzled by it.

“[Some of my opponents] do not want to change the Constitution, but I believe it’s a lot easier to change the constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God, and that’s what we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than try to change God’s standards.”

He was talking about a constitutional ban on abortion and gay marriage. Sounds reasonable enough, right? I’ll explain soon why I’m just a little bothered by the comment when I finish reading my first book of the 30 Book Year Challenge - “The Myth of a Christian Nation”.

Found this guy’s work on flickr earlier today. I like it a lot. Click on each picture for a bigger version, and be sure to check out his site.

It seems that many times, when life tosses a situation my way that sorta sucker-punches the breath from my lungs, the only way I know to pray to or approach God is through the stanzas of old hymns. Sometimes I sing them. Sometimes I say them out loud. Other times I pray them quietly while I’m sitting in a classroom pretending to pay attention to a lecture.

Last night, one of those “gravity of life” moments came busting into my day at about 5:30pm. A good friend of mine here at school attempted suicide in his dorm room. It seems that the paramedics got to him in just enough time to keep him alive. He is in the hospital today and chances are that he will make it through this alright.

My immediate reaction yesterday was to sing. I guess its sort of a way that I both distract and try to comfort myself. Today, as the weight of the situation sinks in a little deeper than it did yesterday, I find myself praying through the same song I was singing yesterday. It seems that this verse is especially relevant.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come; Let his blessed assurance control; That Christ has regarded my helpless estate and hath shed his own blood for my soul. It is well. It is well with my soul.

Though I know that it will eventually be well with my soul, I am trying to grasp the idea right now that this could not have come at a better time. This did not catch God off-guard. It is all happening in His time. There will be good to come from this situation. It’s just that the sea billows are rolling right now, and it seems that all I can do is sing.

In moments of frustration and need, what’s your form of hymn-singing? How do you best respond to Christ is the midst of a crisis?

Is it wrong to like a show that embarrasses people on a national stage? It has to be on some level, but I can’t help but like “American Idol.” What is it so entertaining?!

Anyway. I digress. Check out these videos from last night’s season seven premier. Warning: Be prepared to spend at least 10 minutes of your life here.

Happy Hump-Day!

Recently I was given the opportunity to sign up for a trip to Western England for two weeks in May to do ministry and research among English college students. If you know me, you know that this kind of trip is right up my alley and something that I’ve wanted to do for quite some time. So, I jumped at the idea.

Now comes the fundraising part. The trip is about $1800 for travel, housing, and most meals. Around $1000 of that is due the first part of February. That’s lots of money in just a little over two weeks. So here’s where you can help me out. Aside from letter writing and personal donations, I’m trying to come up with another way to raise funds. Some friends I know have sold shirts, photo prints, or hand-knit beanies to fund their trips to Africa. But, I’m having trouble coming up with something that would be culturally relevant to England and unique enough to sale with the profits going toward my trip.

Any ideas?

Oh yeah. If you want to donate (because I know that all the college students who stop by this place are just loaded), contact me, and I’ll get you mailing/banking information:

dbrowe@gmail.com

This thing is sick! Check out the new commercial for the MacBook Air that was released today at Macworld. This is absolutely the coolest computer I have ever seen (though I can’t afford it). I’m convinced that Apple is gearing up to take over the world… and I just might be okay with that. See more pictures and all the details here.

You know you want one, Todd.

PS - I have got to stop biting my fingernails. 

Ever have one of those nights (or full days) where you realize just how far you are from where you should be by now? Ever realize that you still act like an idiot, say things that are completely uncalled for, and show the world just how much of a jerk you can be?  Then, when you lay your head down at night and think about the life Jesus led (the life you are called to imitate by the way) you realize that your life looks very little like his life.

That was today for me.

I have a lot of growing up to do. Scratch that - a ton of growing up to do. This growing up should probably be preceded by a lot of apologies to a lot of folks. I want to (as I read earlier today) replicate Calvary to everyone on every day, and that’s just not happening right now.

And, yes, this probably plays a big part in my hesitation about preaching. 

I just heard Sean Hannity say on his radio show that America was “the best, greatest, and last hope for the world.”

Really?! Hmm… That’s funny, I think I could come up with one other thing. And the craziest part is that Christian evangelical voters just love this man. Wow.

I get to preach in two weeks for our annual FBC Belton Intern Service. Basically, all fifteen or so interns get together and plan an evening worship service where everything (from greeting to music to offering to message) is done by the college interns. Usually, the job of delivering a message falls to the senior pastor’s intern. That would be me.

Needless to say, I’m just a tad bit anxious. It’s not even the speaking part that worries me. If you know me, you would know that I have absolutely no problem speaking in front of a large group (whether impromptu or pre-written). My fear is a lot different than that.

It’s the idea of speaking to people from Scripture that gets me.  I’m reminded of the time that Martin Luther presided over his first mass and was so terrified by the sacredness of it all that he totally botched it and stuttered through the whole thing. Not that I would compare myself to Luther (haha), but it’s sorta like that. And even though I know that the hesitation to preach is a healthy one, that doesn’t make it any less daunting.

The message is titled “The Hard Work of Belief” from John 6:28-29. At least that’s the plan for now. I have a lot of notes, ideas, and rough outlines, but the process of actually putting it together in a logical format starts this week.

Keep your fingers crossed. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I am definitely okay with the way this weekend turned out in the NFL world.

• Green Bay wins big. I want to see Favre get the chance to play in another Super Bowl.
• Dallas is out. I know I’m in Texas and that not liking the Cowboys franchise is supposed to be a cardinal sin, but I can’t help it. It’s not that I like the Giants. I’m simply glad that Dallas’ loud fans and jerk of an owner are now on the sidelines.
• San Diego pulls out an upset. I like Manning and Dungy, but this win makes it only easier for my team (the Pats) to go all the way.
• The Patriots roll on! Whine all you want about Tom Brady (26 of 28, 92.9% completion rate, and a quarterback rating of 141.4) and Bill Belichick, but they were absolutely unstoppable this weekend

It looks like the Super Bowl will end up just like I predicted - Patriots over Green Bay. (Though we all know how my predictions can go sometimes.) I do know that no matter how much I like football, I am freakin’ ready for baseball to pick back up again.

Expect a lot of blogging about MacWorld Expo 2008 next week. Until then, have a fun weekend.

I finally decided to come up with a new year’s resolution. It took me a while, but I have one now. Drum roll please…

By December 31, 2008 I want to have finished reading 30 new books. Fiction, non-fiction, biographies… it really doesn’t matter to me. I just want to be someone this year who disciplines myself to not waste time in front of the television but to be constantly learning new things about new topics. This means one book every 1.7 weeks. Admittedly, I’ll probably have to play catch-up over the summer, but it’s gonna happen eventually.

I’ll try to keep you updated on the good ones and the bad ones. Book #1 - “The Myth of a Christian Nation” by Gregory Boyd.

Oh yeah… I got a pedometer (aka - step counter). More on that soon.

I think I want a step counter - quite possibly one of the most ridiculous gadgets of all time. It would make for a fun competition to out-step myself from one day to another.

Does anybody have one they’re looking to give away? I don’t know that I have the enormous amounts of money required to buy one on ebay.com. Let me know.

Note: 4:01 PM - My co-worker, Vicki, just advised me that the correct term for this fascinating gadget is a pedometer. Just in case you were wondering. That does sound a little better than step counter, huh?  Thanks, Vicki.

It’s a new year. Most of us have resolutions, and half of them probably include eating better in the new year. While I was grocery shopping a few days ago (attempting to eat healthier), it occurred to me that I like vegetables a whole lot more than I like fruit. Maybe its that a lot of fruits are too sweet for my tastes. I would just rather eat bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, etc. on any day of the week. (Some rare exceptions are bananas and strawberries.)

So… which do you prefer? Fruits? Vegetables? Sugar?

Even more than that, what are your favorites of each? How often do you eat them?

You gotta love it when the good people of this country just get all patriotic and loose sight of everything else - including grammar.

This has been a crazy day of registering for classes and cross-checking degree plans to be sure that I’m still on track to graduate. So… of course I’m too tired to post anything of significance. Here’s a quick video to help you waste time, unwind, and be amazed! (You’re welcome, Geoffrey.)

 I haven’t tried the trick yet. If any of you try this and it actually works, let me know.

I saw this story a few nights ago on one of the major networks and thought it was absolutely brilliant.

Kevin Connolly is a twenty-two year old guy from Helena, Montana. Growing up, he was just like every other kid - playing in the woods and skateboarding. The only difference was that Kevin was born without legs. As he grew up, he quickly became used to the stares, questions, and funny looks.

This didn’t stop him from traveling the world. One day, while on a layover in Vienna, Kevin decided to turn human curiosity into art. His project, The Rolling Exhibition, started as he rolled by a pedestrian on his skateboard and snapped a quick picture of their stare while holding the camera low to the ground. He says that this is his way of letting the world see how he sees…well…the world. It also makes me think twice about staring at someone just because I think that they’re a little out of the ordinary.

Check out his bio, prints for sale, and amazing photos like this…

…online at TheRollingExhibition.com.

If this was your first week back at work, I hope it went well. If this was your last week of freedom before a new semester at school, I hope you got some rest. If you had a long list of new year’s resolutions, I hope that you held onto them for a least a few days.

However your week turned out, I hope the weekend is relaxing. Enjoy!

Here’s an excerpt from Albert Mohler’s blog about the presidential primary process called “The Caucus, the Candidates and the Dance of Democracy”. You should check out the whole thing when you have the time. I don’t think I could have said it better myself.

————-

“The rhetoric of the race — and the rhetoric of many evangelicals — is disturbing. This race is important and necessarily so. We are talking about the next President of the United States, after all. But evangelicals have invested far too much hope in the political process. No government can make people good, transform humanity, or eliminate sin. The political sphere is important, but never ultimate. Jesus Christ is Lord — and He will be Lord regardless of who sits in the Oval Office.

This presidential race offers evangelical Christians an opportunity to mature and rethink our model of political engagement. We are likely to confront developments and choices that will require significant intellectual effort among American Christians.

Americans should give thanks today, mindful of the fact that our democratic process is evidence of national stability and constitutional order. The U.S. Constitution is the world’s longest-surviving political charter. For a contrast, just think of the political turmoil and tragedy seen in Pakistan and Kenya in just the last week. Our political process may be only rarely graceful or predictable — but it is still one of the wonders of the world. Stay tuned.”

As I’ve already confessed, I’m a giant nerd when it comes to politics. So on nights like tonight, when the results of the Iowa Caucuses were rolling in, I was glued to the TV. And yes I know that my watching it intently tonight changes nothing - the results will still be the same in the morning. I just like it.

Needless to say, I was very happy with the results. Though I tend to favor Fred Thompson ideologically, I could definitely learn to be okay a year from now with either one of the winners from Iowa - Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama.

It is interesting to me that both of the winners were not national players until just recently. They both have charismatic and magnetic personalities. Both are putting forth a somewhat populist message. I think that most importantly, both Huckabee and Obama seem to have a very commanding stage presence. Does this mean I think that they’re locks for the nomination? No.

One thing’s for sure… I am glad that neither Hillary Clinton nor Mitt Romney came out on top.

Some of you have to be nerds like me. If so, what do you think?

Being back around family and in the town where I grew up always seems to make me face one looming question that I tend to neglect on a day-to-day basis at school. It goes something like this - “So, what ‘zactly you think you goin’ do with that fancy degree you’re gettin’?” (at least that’s what it sounds like in my family).

This question and I have a love-hate relationship. It’s exciting to think that I will hopefully be doing something meaningful with that fancy degree, but it’s also scary as hell to think that right now I really don’t know what that will be. So over the years, as I’ve been asked this question, it seems that my answer has slowly changed. Slowly “evolved” sounds better, right?

It’s evolved from traveling preacher (in my naive days), to missionary (in my adventurous days), to businessman (in my “what the heck am I going to do with a religion degree” days), to author (in my lazy days) to the current answer of… professor.

It seems that the job of a college professor is one of those that is the best of a few different worlds. You get to read and write all the time then go and explain what you’re reading and writing. You are constantly around college students so that you would ideally stay young. You get a lot of “time off.” You can get tenured. You never stop learning. And you get paid for it! Not much, but it still pays.

I like the answer that I have started giving, to those who ask, about being a professor. It sounds like a dream job. It sounds difficult and challenging. However, I know good and well that it may change soon.

For those of you who have grown up - how many times did your answer change? When did you finally come to rest on a job? Is your answer still changing?

For those of you in my shoes - does your answer still change? Where are you right now?

Well… the first full day of the new year is officially in the can. I surprised some friends and spent it in Houston, TX. (Khang, Leah, and Chris - here are your complimentary tags.) It was a blast.

I partied (and by that I mean boardgames, fireworks-watching, and Denny’s) until three or four in the morning. What a party animal, huh?! Woke up about two this afternoon (discipline is obviously not one of my new year’s resolutions) and headed to the Baybrook Mall in an effort to buy an new pair of shoes. It didn’t work out so well. I got nothing, but Khang did pick up a sweet-smelling blend of green tea from Teavana.

After that, it was on to Leah’s house for some unwind time before hitting up the AMC Theatre for a little bit of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” I liked this one a whole lot. You definitely have to be a Tim Burton fan. It was weird and bloody, but I can honestly say that I’ve never seen anything like it before. Definitely worth a shot - even if you don’t finish it.

Sat at IHOP for a while, ate some never-ending pancakes (which ended pretty swiftly after they swelled in mi estomago), and laughed until I almost threw up. I would say that it was a good way to cap off a great day. Now I’m sitting in bed about to buy some of my books online for the spring semester (not so much fun).

So… thanks, Leah, for letting me spend new year’s at your house and with your family. Thanks, Sarah, for giving really good directions. Thanks, Chris, for a comfortable bed and not waking me up before noon. Thanks, Khang, for driving everywhere and making me laugh when I needed to the most.

I go tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon to meet my two new brothers. I’m still not sure how to process that thought. I do know that in spite of my immaturity and stubbornness that God is still good and blessing me greatly today.

Christi began to dilate and have contractions early Sunday morning. The doctors realized there was nothing they could do to stop labor this time, so they decided to go ahead and take the twins early by c-section. At about 11:00 AM this morning, my family officially grew by two (Caden and Casen). What a crazy day!

They are doing okay. One weighed in at 3 lb. 5 oz. and the other at 2 lb. 15 oz. As of now, they’re on a ventilator and being constantly monitored. So… while they aren’t totally out of the woods yet, it is better than could have been expected.

Thanks for praying and asking. I’ll update you again soon.

Here’s a good summary of the on-going Senate investigation led by Sen. Grassley of Iowa into the financial records of prosperity/health and wealth gospel ministries. Included in the list are Joyce Meyer, Binny Hinn, Paula White, Creflo Dollar, and others. Even Brian McLaren gets in on the TBN-bashing fun. Here’s a little snippet…

“…the prosperity gospel continues to draw crowds, particularly lower- and middle-income people who, critics say, have the greatest motivation and the most to lose. The prosperity message is spreading to black churches, attracting elderly people with disposable incomes, and reaching huge churches in Africa and other developing parts of the world.”

———-

I know I posted this video a while back, but I thought that this was as good a time as any to resurrect it. Gotta love John Piper.

It’s been a busy week for most of us. (See the previous post for a quick synopsis of mine.) Let’s all take a few minutes to unwind as we enjoy this little YouTube beauty.

You are welcome.

After a week-long Christmas break in Lufkin, I had a little time to reflect during the 3-hour drive home.

Overall, it was a good time. I got to see the family, watched a few movies, and caught up on a lot of rest. On the down side, I spent Christmas day (and the last few days after that - including this one) with a stomach bug. Needless to say, the toilet and I have become really good friends lately. It is an incredible invention and a thing of beauty once you spend some time observing its intricacies.

I also noticed that whenever I go home for any extended period of time I inevitably leave town with a country station blaring on the radio. It’s like a disease that lies dormant for a while, only to rear its ugly head as soon as I get back into the Pineywoods. I think country music will always have a special place in my heart - no matter how many times I try to deny it. (Sorry, Khang.) It should be gone again by Monday when normal musical tastes will resume.

———-

Baby Update 12/29/07 - Sometime last night Christi (my stepmom) developed a fairly high fever. After a few hours, the doctors began to seriously consider taking the twin boys by c-section. Well, this would not have been good at all because they are still about 9 1/2 weeks early. As I left Camp Pineywoods this afternoon (after singing at a wedding for two good friends) the latest word was that her fever had dropped to around 99 degrees, so they were going to wait until tomorrow to make any significant decisions. Thanks to all of you who have asked about her over the past few days. Please continue to remember Christi, my dad, and the twins in your prayers.

As I’ve already confessed, sometimes I tend to be a giant nerd. This is especially true when it comes to politics and world events. So yesterday, when the news broke that former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had been assassinated, I was glued to the television.

I watched while they talked about her life, her accomplishments, and her family. Over and over again they spoke of how she sacrificed so much (even her own life) to bring democracy and moderation to the Islamic world. They also talked about how she was faithful to her Islamic religion but always careful to keep it separated from politics. And as I watched, I began to think, “Wow, this woman was incredible. I really admire her.” I began to feel sad for her three children and husband who lost such a great force in their lives.

Then late last night right before I fell asleep, I was watching Anderson Cooper on CNN (sorry, Clay) when one of the reporters said that witnesses claimed that her last word, just before death, was “Allah.” And it hit me like a ton of bricks. It seems so simple really, but it absolutely blew my mind in that moment.

This great woman, who will go down in history as a phenomenal leader and inspiring figure, is now in hell if she never knew Jesus Christ as Savior. If she never placed her faith in the death and resurrection, then no amount of good deeds of history-making actions have any effect on the destination of her soul.

Sounds simple enough to those of us who have grown up in church, right? But think about it. Really think about it. Think of someone you know who is a great figure in human history - or maybe even someone you just shared Christmas dinner with. If they do not know Christ, Scripture tells us that they are forever in the loneliest, most evil, most desolate, and terrible place imaginable - hell. This should break our hearts.

This morning I am thankful that I know Christ as Savior and that the eventual resting place for my soul is with Christ and not away from him. I am also left with the pressing question of how many more Benazir Bhutto’s will come into my life only to leave again without hearing of the love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus Christ?

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. “

- (John 14:1-6)

Check out how I’ve been passing the time while at home for the Christmas break. Click on the pretty picture below and be prepared to be amazed!

I really need to read a book.

My mom got me the first season of “The West Wing” on DVD for Christmas. I love it! It’s one of those shows that I could sit and watch for hours. So, I’m trying to get it all out of my system with mini-marathons before school starts again in a few weeks. Check out this clip.

On a more serious note - Christi, my stepmom, is pregnant with twin boys. They are due in late February/early March. However, last night at about 9:30 pm her water broke. This is 10 weeks shy of full-term and 7 weeks earlier than the target date they were trying to hit. She was taken by ambulance to St. Luke’s Hospital in Houston. Doctors are doing their best to delay birth for as long as possible. Details are still sketchy, but for those of you who know me and frequent this place, please pray for her, my dad, and the two baby boys. I’ll keep you posted on updates every few days.<