Absolutely Spoo

STREETS!

2012-01-20T15:12:00.000-05:00

National Black Anthem

2012-01-02T17:59:00.001-05:00

I just found out this existed. In celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation the news covered an Atlanta Church singing it as part of their service. Check out a video of the song below as performed by Ray Charles.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Exclusive Premiere Trailer [HD]

2011-12-12T23:31:00.000-05:00

The first movie was kind of goofy, but enjoyable. Why am I so amped for this? Is it The Rock? Are my latent wrestling fan tendencies showing? I dunno, but this looks like it is going to open a, to pen a Rockism, can of whoop-ass.

It's a really heavy walker. Right?

2011-12-02T00:53:00.000-05:00

My Name is John Daker - BEST VERSION w/ SUBTITLES

2011-11-19T02:17:00.000-05:00

How is this the first time I’ve seen this ever? I about peed my pants, which I know gets thrown around too lightly, but I’m serious. You will almost pee your pants.

HT: @Phil_Johnson_

Grad school:

2011-11-12T02:28:00.001-05:00

I’ve been working pretty hard in grad school lately and would like to keep posting, so I might end up posting some of my work or just thoughts from grad school. I know both of you that read this have probably gotten pretty tore up over the lack of content lately. Just know I’m getting A’s and that’s pretty spectacular.

Apocalypse Please - Live at Wembley Stadium

2011-10-22T01:03:00.000-04:00

In light of the recent end of the world, I thought it would be appropriate to play this song.

The Avengers (2012) watch the Official Teaser Trailer | HD

2011-10-11T18:07:00.000-04:00

This is going to be amazing or awful. The trailer makes me think the answer is “awesome”.

Merrie Melodies - Daffy Duck the Wizard HD

2011-09-27T12:52:00.000-04:00

Machine Gun Preacher

2011-09-17T00:34:00.000-04:00

Yup . . . Machine Gun Preacher. I’m probably gonna watch the crap out of this.

This Really Clears Things Up:

2011-09-15T00:47:00.000-04:00

Can we all agree that B + G = The most heinous of sins?

Mutemath worship album:

2011-09-14T01:59:00.003-04:00

Don’t mind if I do!

You can pick the whole thing up here. Apparently it was a fundraiser for post-Katrina New Orleans.

There’s more online! I’m really digging this.

Wait for it . . . Wait for it:

2011-09-12T16:32:00.001-04:00

HT @edgarwright

formspring.me

2011-09-10T11:34:00.001-04:00

Let's talk about faith and the things on your mind. http://formspring.me/Chriswest1980

"Such A Time" Flynn Adam

2011-08-11T17:41:00.000-04:00

This reminds me of TV on the Radio’s first CD a little. Which is always a good thing.

Adventures In The Big Apple:

2011-08-08T17:58:00.001-04:00

New York. The city that never sleeps, right? Or, is that Vegas? Nope, it’s New York (thanks google!).

They Might Be Giants have this great song that kind of doubles as a musical buffet of New York’s greatest places. I spent my day getting to know some of the finer points of a different big apple, the computery kind. Yup, tech support. I gotta say, it was the single greatest tech support experience I’ve ever had. I was probably with the guy 30 - 45 minutes total and we talked about our works and the weather. I restrung my guitar and discussed the finer points of Macs. For instance the time displacement effect when they say a download will take 35 minutes and it only takes five so that when it says a minute is left and it takes three minutes you have no real grasp of the time and that three minutes feels like 10 when it’s supposed to be just one.

Got all that? Either way, they helped me figure out a long standing frustration with my Software Updates. I couldn’t get them to work is the short version. He walked me through it and now I’m bopping along swimmingly. All except for the fact I completely took my computer back to zero the night before hoping it would help, which it didn’t.

So, I’ve been spending the day getting things back from my Time Machine backups. See, you thought I was going to tell you I had lost everything, didn’t you? Well, you would have been right, at least partially.

You see when I set the Macbook back up I did it with a different user than we had originally so when I brought in the old user and stuff from my time machine backup it locked me out of folders that I had no permission to get into (because I didn’t exist when the backups where being made). I was a new user so of course I didn’t have permissions. That’s when it dawned on me, “I don’t think it brought over any of my music, movies and pictures.” Which immediately sent my heart pounding and my head into panic/terror mode.

I pulled up iphoto, no pictures, it had brought in the app but not the content. I silently shouted in my head, “Where are my pictures...”, and then I thought about how I was going to have to tell The Wife I have deleted every picture we had taken as a couple. I almost cried.

Then I thought, I did bring over my other user info, and it might have the content since it has permission to access it. So, I logged out and rememberized my way to the other account and darted full speed to the dock at the bottom. Deftly, I clicked on iPhoto and waited as the app, for the first time, loaded the pictures it had. The white screen that mockingly read, “loading photos” seemed to sit there forever. I closed my eyes and sent up a quiet, quick, and ultimately selfish prayer that the pictures would be there. When I opened my eyes the screen was still blank and my heart sunk low.

I don’t think I’ve felt like such a fool. I had destroyed years of memories because I was careless. I almost cried, but before I could a picture popped up. It was one of my youth with the chik-fil-a cow. I was suddenly filled with hope and darted to the pictures to see if everything was still there. It looked good and I raced to my wedding pictures, “please still be there” I thought. They were, and then I cried a little.

I had never looked as longingly at those pictures as I did just then. The thought of losing them was unbearable. So, maybe the moral is to never get yourself in a situation you don’t fully understand how to fix. Or, maybe it’s to not take for granted the special things in your life because once their gone you don’t always get them back. Needless to say, I’m going to back the pictures up special for my peace of mind, and I’m going to kiss my wife and make sure she knows I love her.

I love those pictures, but I can always make more. I would hate to take another picture without my wife. And, that’s what I’m taking out of this.

Jesus, Keep Me Near The Cross:

2011-08-04T22:32:00.000-04:00

I’ve really fallen in love with the old Hymn named above. It was originally written by a lady named Fanny Crosby. Which shows just how much times have changed in that you could name a child Fanny and they wouldn’t be teased into catatonia before second grade. It was a kinder and gentler time.

She also apparently wrote every hymn, ever. No, seriously she wrote some 8,000 odd hymns in her life. And, it’s cool if you try to count them all and seem to come up short, she used a bunch of pen names to keep the man from holding her down. Oh, did I mention that she did all this while being blind from birth? Yeah, that’s making me depressed, I’ve hung blinds up in my house and that took two years.

But, her song resonates with me and I want to include it in my Orphan Songs project. I’ve been fiddling with it and feel like I’ve found what I was looking for. Hopefully, I can do it justice, particularly this one verse that makes me tear up when I sing it now.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,

love and mercy found me;

there the bright and morning star

sheds its beams around me.

To imagine what my spirit was like the moment I fell before the cross. Lost and broken. Orphaned by sin and separated from God. And then at my weakest and most desperate Christ came for me, love and mercy found me and it adopted me into it’s family. Those words really hit me right now.

So, I’m going to post a video of the song. It’s not how I’m going to go about the song. Because . . . it’s terrible.

PS. I’ve spent the better part of the last two days coming to terms with the fact that I’ll never get close to making a song as Otis Redding’s cover of "Try A Little Tenderness” and I’ll never even touch Otis’ voice. I might even include that video after the jump.

Songs For Orphans:

2011-08-02T17:55:00.000-04:00

Let me tell you about my idea to help support the Ashir Orphanage in India. I’ve recorded two songs that are at least not terrible and I’m hoping to write about four more. When I get about six decent songs the thought is to put on a benefit show with some of my friends who have bands and to sell the songs I’ve written.

Why am I telling you this? Because I will stall out if I don’t keep talking about it. And, I don’t want to stall out when 80 kids are counting on my support. I’ll try to give periodic updates on this project.

If you’re interested here is a video my youth group made to raise awareness.

I Have A Theory:

2011-07-25T22:12:00.000-04:00

The following video will help me to elucidate my belief that Asian’s have a super power. I grew up in a neighborhood with an asian family across the street. Those kids were some of my best friends ever. They were stunning athletes and really good dancers. I have never met an asian person who wasn’t a good dancer. I believe this is because deep down inside all Asian people have an inner ninja.

Because it has become socially unacceptable to lurk in the dark and assassinate people the inner ninja has been forced to take it’s incredible body control and turn it towards something else . . . dancing and athletics.

Watch below as you see two children’s inner ninjas take over.

The internet to this point in one video:

2011-07-16T13:28:00.000-04:00

So, I just spent a solid week building amazing stories that I plan on telling, but I’m super tired and just feel like catching up on what’s been going on online between naps. This was on the Vitamin Z blog.

New Youth Group Game:

2011-07-11T00:20:00.000-04:00

Radical:

2011-07-09T16:55:00.000-04:00

Currently, I am reading David Platt’s book by the same name as this blogpost. I’ve enjoyed the book in that perverse way that people enjoy really hard workouts. It sucks and you feel absolutely destroyed but the end result is that you are a little bit healthier. The book has been a heavy workout for my soul. Particularly chapter 6 . . . which I finished just recently.

I want to share with you a section that hit me and has continued to resonate in my head.

A wealthier man in our faith family came to my office after we had been studying the story of the rich young man. He sat down, looked at me, and said point-blank, “I think you’re crazy for saying some of the things you are saying.” Then he paused, and I wasn’t sure what direction this conversation was going to go. He continued, “But I think you’re right. And so now I think I’m crazy for thinking the things I’m thinking.”

For the next few minutes, he described how he was selling his large house and had decided to give away many of his other possessions. He talked about the needs he wanted to invest his resources in for the glory of Chrsit. The he looked at me through tears in his eyes and said, “I wonder at some points if I’m being irresponsible or unwise. But then I realize there is never going to come a day when I stand before God and he looks and me and says, ‘I wish you would have kept more for yourself.’ I’m confident that God will take care of me.”

I think everyone should read this book. You can buy it here.

The Mando:

2011-07-05T17:23:00.000-04:00

I've been in North Carolina for the last couple days (which you'd know if you followed me on foursquare) and have spent a good chunk of it playing around with my sister in law's mandolin. I don't think she can play the mandolin, but I do think it's mandatory for any self respecting hippy to have one. Maybe I'm wrong.

Either way, this thing is super fun. I have picked up a few chords and learned a couple of the catchy Mando licks. Oh, I'm sorry, there I go using the secret language of the mandolin playing world. That's right, in our tight knit circle of mandolin virtuosos we shorten the name. It's just something we do.

Sometimes I like to play my mando while riding in a lambo.

I've got the little lead lick from Maggie Mae and some of Losing My Religion. It's been fun playing all those old gospel tunes. I'm about to dip into Hayseed Dixie's catalog and see if I can't learn some mando AC/DC.

Super fun. Everyone should get a mandolin.

Basically, Marty Stuart is my new hero.

Jon Secada - Do You Believe In Us

2011-07-01T04:12:00.001-04:00

This is my guilty pleasure. I'm a sucker for voices that convey soul. Even if they are wrapped in ridiculously poppy music from the 90's. But, what glorious ridiculous pop it is! I mean this comes from a kinder gentler time. I don't think people had even begun to wear their pants lower yet.

Did you catch that? I'm talking about the 90's like they were the 50's. My rose colored contacts are starting to go in. Either way, sometimes late at night I wish we had played some of this stuff at my wedding reception.

I know that we belong
Do you believe in us
Just give it half a chance

Yes our love
Will still be strong
Girl I believe in us
I'll give you all I can

Wow. And, if you were wondering homeboy knows the value of a good gospel choir. I feel like it gets worked into every song he does and I'm not complaining. It all comes back to this being the ultimate guilty pleasure music. Enjoy. The poet. The man. The . . . dry? (that's apparently what Secada means in spanish.)

And, if you ever doubt that this guy has the good live. One time I was watching the opening ceremony for some sporting event and he was on. As me and my too young to know it was uncool to like Jon Secada friends were watching him he fell through the floor of the stage he was on and never missed a beat. It was amazing.

KFC Commercial

2011-06-29T14:59:00.000-04:00

Oh Peter Serafinowics, you did it again. Place on plate. Enjoy.

Michael Jackson A Capella Cover - P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing) - Mike Tomp...

2011-06-29T01:01:00.000-04:00

I put up this guys cover of Katy Perry's "Firework". I love that I can forget about the visual aspect of the thing. Check this out. It's ridiculous.

Dead Hoodoo Blues Men:

2011-06-28T23:33:00.000-04:00

That's what I read about during my vacation. I knew I had a serious car ride with my family coming up and I decided the best thing I could do to make the trip enjoyable for all would be to lose myself in a book. My brother-in-law offered me up a book of his called Bone Music by Alan Rodgers. "It's about all of the old blues musicians being magical and stuff." is what he said.

The book jumps around in time and place. The story bounces between a couple different characters, some the old blues men, living in different parts of the United States. Heaven and Hell are even locals in the book, mostly Hell. While I don't agree with the theology of the book, some of the insights about spirituality were poignant. I wanted to recommend the book. Lot's of fun name dropping throughout the book.

Also, when the bottom drops out at the end of the book you'll wish that this could be made into a movie. But, alas, I doubt that it could be pulled off.

One caveat, it's not a Christian story and it's populated by people making sinful choices. The language is occasionally vulgar. Although when a character does act like a Christian it's not looked down on, it's definitely described as a virtue.

Bone Music, check it out. It saved me and my family from a long painful car ride. Although, if you're looking for something more obviously edifying I've been reading Radical by David Platt and it has been wrecking me. So, both are good, but Radical will blow your mind in all the right ways.

Cute Penguin Story:

2011-06-26T00:41:00.002-04:00

I have a pretty good feeling that the title of this post will push it's status straight to mega-"It's Friday" status. And, then people will read it. But, I've got pictures! Also, there is actually a cute story about penguins being cute. So . . . read on.

Have you been to the Ripley's Aquarium in Pigeon Forge, TN? It's pretty cool. I say this having a bit of aquarium pride because of the Atlanta Aquarium. I don't want it to feel like I'm cheating. But, I do feel like the penguins are given a little more room to achieve their full adorableness.

If this was a story about beluga whales or gigantic whale sharks, then hands down this would be Atlanta's fight. But, it's not, it's an adorable penguin story. So, let's all put on our finest tuxedo and eat some sardine's. It's time to embrace the adorable.

Let's start with a picture.

You got any fish?

That little guy hung-out around me for about 10 minutes. He may have been aggressive and gotten his fish early, or just realized that I'm pretty good company and wanted to spend some time with me. Either way, while all those little dudes in the background where making fools of them begging for fish, homeboy just chilled with me. Which sets the stage for the real story, this is all about those penguins in the background. This is the story of one in particular, the most adorable penguin of all.

He is the one with the black back and white front.

There they were, a huddled black mass of fish hungry sea birds. A faceless mass writhing and grunting at the women with the orange overalls. One of those women, the one on the left in the above picture, has a bucket full of sardines. She gives them one at a time to the penguins and calls out their name to the woman on the left. How do they know their names? They each have a name band, boys on the right fin, girls on the left and color coded to boot. The woman on the left then gives a tick next to the penguins name to gauge how well they are eating. That's the feeding process and it goes really well until one of the penguins is done eating, and needs to get his adorable on.

One of these penguins is about to steal your heart.

So there I was, big hoss standing in front of me wowing the crowd around me when I noticed a penguin climb up and stand next to one of the women. I thought, "That's cute, I wonder if anyone else noticed that." It seemed as if no one really did. All I heard were people cooing over the cute penguins eating and coming up to the glass. Not, me though, I couldn't take my eyes off the penguin next to the lady. I wasn't even sure if she had noticed him yet.

It must have been five minutes of the penguin just chilling out beside the lady. I was getting to wonder if this was all that was going to happen. Maybe this penguin wasn't being cute but mounting a perch with which to watch over the sad supplicating horde. This penguin was a mad overlord! This penguin looked down on all the other penguin, silently judging them. I began to look away and focus on my buddy who was hanging out by the window.

And then this happened...

All my watching paid off! Now everyone around me had moved their attention to the adorable penguin sitting in a lady's lap. Maybe it was still a power thing, but what a cute power thing. That penguin sat in a ladies lap! She still had to do her job of ticking off fish dinners with one of natures most precious creatures. So, did he just hang out and let her do her job or did he ramp up the cuteness to levels near catastrophic?

IT LAID DOWN IN HER LAP!

Penguins don't cuddle, do they? I mean, I got a minor nose bleed when I was hit with the wave of adorable. That has to be the cutest thing ever, anything else and there is no way the woman could do her job.

She quit working.

I'm glad that she doesn't read this blog because this is the single most unflattering picture she's ever taken I'd imagine. But, that penguin is nuzzling her. I repeat . . . there is a penguin gently nuzzling the chin of the woman who takes care of him. I'm writing the screen play right now. He didn't stop there, he continued to steal her pin and move her hand onto his head. It was the cute-a-geddon.

I leave you with two videos of unrelenting preciousity (blogger says that's a new word). Both are a nice mishmash of Lappy and Fronty. So, enjoy and be watching for some more from my summer trip.

What My Youth Did During VBS:

2011-06-17T21:30:00.000-04:00

They made this video. They came up with all the scenes. They picked the music. They even thought of the dominoes. I'm really proud of them.

I did edit the footage. So, if you don't like the pacing or something that's on me. But, the content is all my kids. I'm super proud of them. Check it out!

Hot Chip - I Feel Better (Official Music Video)

2011-06-17T13:32:00.000-04:00

I've watched this about a dozen times and still am not 100% sure I get it. But, it's so weird and fun. Also it's directed by the amply talented Peter Serafinowicz who none of you will recognize from his role as Fa'ad on the criminally cut short "Running Wilde". Seriously, he was hilarious on that show. I would really recommend following him on twitter, @serafinowicz.

Check out the video. I've never heard of the band. It is a catchy song though.

Three Years:

2011-06-15T00:41:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to get down some thoughts on the fact that I've been married for three years today. Mainly I want to address the rumor that we've hit the three year "everything sucks" period. From what I hear the honeymoon ends once you are married for three years. I have no idea what any one of those people are talking about. Garbage in, garbage out is a pretty solid philosophy when it come to most things and I'm applying it to my marriage.

We keep working and getting stronger. I'm not perfect, but I'm growing. There are a lot of haters who have told us marriage becomes a chore eventually. But, I'm sticking to garbage in, garbage out. These last three years have been solid gold. So...haters....

Stop This Crazy Thing:

2011-06-12T16:24:00.000-04:00

It has been a month so far. I've been away from home more than I've been home and while I've loved every moment of every day I've been away, it's catching up. I went to Mississippi for a week and then to my sister-in-law's house. I slept in my bed one night and then left for vacation in the Smokey Mountains got back from that and went to a lock-in until Saturday morning when I then drove to my sister-in-law's again to pick up my sorely missed dog, Matilda. It was at this point that I fell asleep, at my sister-in-law's, for nine hours. From eight AM until five PM I slept, long and hard. Last night I finally made it home to sleep in my bed again. It was lovely.

I was still exhausted this morning, and I have a week of Vacation Bible School coming up. So, I'll be leading the music for about 100 kids today. Hopefully the numbers will be good and I'll not pass out. Immediately following VBS I will be going back to Mississippi with my family for our first family vacation since I became married. I'm hoping that we can all get along, because I need a rest right now and am hoping a large part of our vacation is napping. And we round out the last of the month with a tubing trip to Helen, GA with the youth group.

Luckily, July is significantly less hectic. I only have one weekend trip with the students and one week long service project. Of course, there are little one of pool parties and bible studies that I'll participate in, but I'm looking forward to June drawing to a close. It's been a long one.

Vacation Day One:

2011-06-07T00:08:00.001-04:00

Holy smokes, have you been to Dollywood? I went with my family like 20 years ago. It was a log flume and a general store. That place has done come up. (That's the Tennessee local flavor.) They have, straight up some of the best rides I've ridden ever. Maybe I'm exaggerating because of sun stroke or maybe it's because there were no lines at any of the rides.

Probably the lines thing. There were boat loads of people there. I have no idea what they did because they certainly weren't riding anything. I felt like a kid again and wanting to run right around to ride again. But, I didn't because I'm here with an awesome couple and got to switch out and watch their adorable daughters while someone else rode.

That was the pattern all day. Two ride, two watch and then you swap. If the kids were miserable, it would have been awful. But, they rule.

So a long day of scorching heat and Dolly Patron music ended with us eating at Logan's roadhouse. So good. Then a dip in the hot tub. My body is even more useless than normal now. So, tomorrow we chill.

For those of you keeping me in your prayers as I try to kick my addiction to soda. Today was trying. Coke was everywhere and I wanted one bad. Like defcon 4 (it only goes to 5, right?) My mouth was dry and parched and I was imagining the sting of an ice cold coke washing it away. But, I found the strength to resist. I did have to fight of a face ripping-off frenzy as I nearly devolved into a angry silverback gorilla.

Seven days in and no major mood swings. But, be forewarned, I may not always be able to control my inner gorilla. I think being super active has kept my mind off of it.

One more note. Dollywood should be cheaper. It's like $57 dollars a person. If there had been crazy lines the tone of this post would have been much more fussy. Perhaps some people would have lost their faces today as well. Thankfully, no lies and a really good time though. I guess if I have to pay a little extra for unimpeded joy it's worth it.

Man vs. Nature:

2011-06-05T01:18:00.001-04:00

Today I returned home from Children's Camp and then a quick trip to the Sister-in-law's house to visit with my dog. That trip lasted an extra day because I didn't want to leave my dog after a day. But, now I'm home. You may have noticed this recent running around has broken my consecutive days blogging streak and I've come to terms with it. I'd also like to thank the either of the people who read my blog that noticed I had a consecutive days blogged streak going.

I'll be leaving again Sunday for actual vacation with my oldest friend, but by no means my most aged. The wife and I will be traveling to Gatlinburg, TN to hang out with He, His wife and their two beautiful daughters. We'll be staying in a place with a view like this:

That's a crap ton of trees.

That image is taken from the back porch of the cabin we'll be staying in. Did I mention that this cabin also has a hot tub (to help you cool off during those 100 degree days), a pool, a putt-putt course, and four fishing ponds. So, this is going to be a pretty sweet week spent with people I love in a place that is pretty cool.

But, Chris, what about a picture taken from the front porch? Oh, I have one of those, it was taken tonight.

I can't caption this because I can't think of anything to say that isn't an expletive. If you know me, then you know I'm no rugged outdoorsman. I have no doubt in my mind that raccoon has rabies and is going to crawl into my bed in the middle of the night. I have no doubt that it is going to lay it's devil raccoon eggs in my stomach and then in nine months little awful raccoons are going to burrow from beneath my skin. I have no doubt that I may have confused some of how raccoons make babies out of pure terror.

Pray for me. I might have to kick a raccoon.

June Fast:

2011-06-03T19:56:00.001-04:00

This month I will be letting go of my addiction to soda. I'm not cutting out all caffeine or sugar, just soda. Why am I doing this? Glad you asked. I decided that I have some bad habits and I am genuinely addicted to soda. So, I'm taking this month and kicking the habit, pray for me.

Then every month I'm going to fast from something else that I've decided is not helping me out. When I get the tickle for a Coke I'm going to pray, so I'll need stuff to pray for. I've got enough going on right now to keep me busy, but let me pray for you. I'll give some updates on how things are going during the fast. So far . . . so good.

Camp pastor/puppeteer

2011-05-30T23:21:00.001-04:00

This guy has been awesome all week. I can't recommend him enough for your children's ministry.

He is genuinely funny and really connects.

I don't have very good reception so I haven't watched this except to see if it's the right Dennis lee. It could be a lame representation of him. Check out some of his performance videos.

Watch "Dennis Lee Productions" on YouTube

You Can't Get Shanked In A Whale:

2011-05-30T00:03:00.001-04:00

I love to play would you rather. I love it even more with elementary school students. Here's an maple of what our car ride to Mississippi was like.

Me: ok, who's got one?
Girl: would you rather live in jail for 20 years or be eaten by a whale and live in it for 10 years?

I think about it while kids shout out their preferences. I finally decide on jail because I think it would be miserable all alone in a whale stomach.

Me: jail!
Boy: what?
Me: yeah, I don't think I could handle living in a whale.
Boy: but...you can't get shanked in a whale!

Immediately everyone changed their mind and decided on whale. I didn't have the heart to explain there are much worse things than being stabbed in jail. So for the rest of the trip every would you rather was basically decided on whether or not you could get shanked.

When we almost were done traveling a tiny little girl voice asked gently from the back. "what's shanking?" I love kids.

Science Proves God Exists Circa 1940:

2011-05-27T18:23:00.003-04:00

Cruella De'ville Impersonation Champ
Daytona Beach '57

Over at io9 they have an article about a dude named Kurt Godel who was a mad scientist. He came up with the science to prove that God exists. I love this kind of stuff and feel like even though it's hanging out there and the thought process seems to work, people can still shoot it full of holes. There's no amount of knowledge that can make you believe something supernatural. It all comes down to God. But, check this out!

Gödel based his argument on an early argument of St. Anselm's. St. Anselm defined God as the greatest being in the universe. No greater being could be imagined. However, if God did not exist, then a greater being had to be possible to imagine - one which exists. Since it wasn't possible, by definition, to imagine a greater being than the greatest being imaginable, God had to exist.

Still hanging in there? Check this out.

God can either necessarily exist, or necessarily not exist. If God is an all-powerful being, and he exists, he necessarily exists in all possible worlds. If he doesn't exist, he necessarily doesn't exist in any possible worlds. It is not possible to say that God does not exist in any possible world. No matter how slim the chance is, God might exist. That means that God can't necessarily not exist. Since the choices are either God necessarily does exist, or necessarily doesn't, and we have eliminated the possibility that he necessarily doesn't, the only possibility left is that he necessarily does.

So...there you go. Science. Make sure you read the rest of the article.

Just a dude hangin' out with Einstein.

Do The Innocent Settle?

2011-05-26T19:32:00.000-04:00

Because...Bishop Eddie Long just did. Rumor on Twitter is that it's to the tune of 15 million dollars. That's a lot of tithes and love offerings. Even if the rumored sum is just that, a rumor, he still settled. CNN had this to say.

Art Franklin, a Long spokesman, said Thursday that the pastor settled because it “is the most reasonable road for everyone to travel.”

“This decision was made to bring closure to this matter and to allow us to move forward with the plans God has for this ministry,” Franklin said in a statement.

The most reasonable road? If I was being called a sexual predator who coaxed teenaged boys into having lewd sexual contact and I didn't do it. My most reasonable road would be exposing the fact that I didn't do any of it. But . . . that's just me.

At what point does the congregation need to say, sorry Bishop, we're out. You broke the contract of trust that we had with you. Wish you luck, but you will not be our pastor anymore. Did he have to be found guilty in a court?

At the end of the article there is this weird line that I thought was kind of classic.

One Atlanta pastor predicted that Long said will survive the scandal because his core audience will forgive him.

“Black folks have very short memories,” said Rev. Tim McDonald, senior pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta. “We are the most forgiving people on the planet.

Why will Bishop Long be able to continue pastoring . . . because black folks have very short memories. I think that is one of the lamest things I've ever heard. While I myself am not a black person I can attest to the fact that "Black folks" are not the most forgiving people on the planet. That's bull.

Al Gore Dancing at Inaugural Ball, January 1993

2011-05-26T18:02:00.000-04:00

Thank you @serafinowicz for this gem. I want to link this up with the chorus of the Willow Smith Classic, Whip My Hair. Pure magic...how did he lose?

Ah! Bright Wings:

2011-05-26T03:47:00.000-04:00

I've mentioned a couple times my love of Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem The Wreck of The Deutschland. But, did you know that he wrote other poems that didn't involve the death of nuns? It's true. To prove it I'll share with you another favorite of mine called God's Grandeur. He's using Sprung Rhythm here, which means you'll need to read it a couple times probably (no complaints here) to get the vibe. But, that could just be me that needs to do that. Enjoy.

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.

It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;

It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil

Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?

Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;

And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;

And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil

Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;

There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;

And though the last lights off the black West went

Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs--

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent

World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Disney Medley (UMass Amherst Doo Wop Shop A Cappella group)

2011-05-25T17:17:00.000-04:00

Last one, I promise! I didn't have anything like this happening at any school I went to. I'm laying it down now, where ever I go for Grad School will have an singing group that is both talented and ironically humorous.

My Little Pony Physics Presentation

2011-05-25T17:01:00.000-04:00

Ok...I am on a roll with funny videos from the world of Academia. This is hilarious. What school has such fun, smart kids?

Greatest Valedictorian Speech Ever!

2011-05-25T16:47:00.000-04:00

I give huge props to this kid for having the guts to do something like this.

Lactivists:

2011-05-24T00:05:00.000-04:00

Terrorist or Freedom Fighter?

There is a law that has gotten three days worth of news coverage here in Georgia. Is it immigration reform? No. Some kind of spending reform? Nope. Is it a law restricting mothers from breastfeeding in public if their child is over two years old? Oh, yes, yes it is.

Yup, that's what a Lactivist is. Someone fighting the good fight of lactation. And here's what those freedom fighters did today,

Nearly 200 breastfeeding women and supporters took part in a nurse-in Monday morning in Forest Park. The so-called "lactivists" are upset over a new law in the Clayton County community limiting public breastfeeding.

My one question is this. Do most women breastfeed after two? A three year old is usually on to food you can chew, right? I mean, you hear about people that breastfed until they were like 17 or something, but do most women keep it up past three?

Read the article and give me your opinion. Here!

P.S. Googling "breastfeeding" for an image you can use, even with the filter set to strict will give you a picture of a boob. Apparently, google doesn't think it's a crime...

I Can't Quit You Harold Camping:

2011-05-23T22:33:00.000-04:00

My buddy over at Call To Die has live blogged the open forum that Family Radio did. It's insane and insanely revealing of who Harold Camping is and what he's all about. Go check it out here.

Macho Man/Rapture Final Post:

2011-05-23T01:35:00.001-04:00

Being a student of Wrestling and Jesus, I'm betting He's about to turn around and powerslam him.

Open Letter To Harold Camping:

2011-05-21T20:06:00.000-04:00

This rolled through Twitter and I thought it was really well done. It elaborates on my earlier post and is a loving plea to the people who are probably suffering after they weren't taken into heaven. Remember that it's a letter for Camping and his followers. Here's a piece that I particularly liked.

Tonight the Rapture Parties will go on. The atheists will gloat, the mockers will mock. Yet there’s nothing funny about this for you. You are broken and crestfallen, left abandoned in the ruins of unfulfilled expectations, among them the very highest expectations a human can have — the hope of union with God, the hope of a world made new, the hope that every tear will be wiped away. You are left disoriented. You were so sure of this. People you love and respect — perhaps your parents, your pastor, your mentor, your brother and sister — may have believed it too. You do not feel relieved that the end of the world did not arrive. You are not rid of this world yet, so all of its weight fell back upon your shoulders.

Read the rest of the letter here.

Trivializing The Rapture:

2011-05-21T17:32:00.000-04:00

I do not want to come across as not having a sense of humor. In fact I've been giving Harold Camping and his goofy Rapture prophecy considerable crap since I found out about it. I repeat, it's not happening and he's messed up a lot of people's lives. Here's the ultimate problem though with him and any other false prophet, when the prophecy fails it trivializes the God the prophet follows. And, I don't doubt that Camping loves God.

But, if I'm making fun of him then you know that the rest of the world is ripping him even harder and they aren't stopping at Camping. The ridicule flows from him to God and diminishes the worth of everything that has to do with God.

All that to be said, here are some very creative pictures of Rapture Bombing. Again, I have a sense of humor and can laugh at these, but I also see that deep down these expose a fearless generation when it come to God. So, check them out. Here.

OOOOOH, SAAAAAAD:

2011-05-20T19:26:00.000-04:00

You may already know this about me, but as I graduated high school my goal was to join up with the WCW Powerhouse training ground for professional wrestlers. Why did I want to do this? Because every fabric of my being wanted to dive off the top rope and devastate someone with an elbow. I had seen triple back flips and inverted corkscrew splashes, but there was just something about that elbow. I mean, that was the debate when I was a kid "Leg Drop vs. Elbow Drop" (you know what I'm talking about if you watched wrestling).

I vote Elbow Drop.

Today the master of the top rope elbow drop passed away. He was an amazing showman and really set the bar for tasteless clothing. To see him was to know everything you needed to know, gigantic and flamboyant with a hint of legit crazy in his eyes. His romance with Miss Elizabeth was the first soap opera I ever watched. I wanted to be the "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Who wouldn't? Do yourself a favor and go look up the Macho Man vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat at Wrestlemania 3.

The rumor is that he suffered a heart attack while driving and that led to a collision with a tree. He died later at the hospital. Thankfully reports are saying that it had nothing to do with alcohol or drugs (and let's admit it...he was cocaine on legs back in the day) and his wife survived the accident.

Whether you grew up like I did dreaming of dropping that big elbow, started snapping into a Slim Jim with him, or got introduced to him as Bone Saw in the first Spiderman movie the world lost an amazing performer today. Go spend some time on youtube listening to him talk crazy in his interviews and see if you don't fall in love with the man who was "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

Rest in peace, Randy Poffo.

He made it look good.

PS. He also put out a rap album, which is just as ridiculous as you think it is. After the jump.

So That's What Those Mean:

2011-05-19T22:36:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the internet breaks. That's when you get a weird little number that means absolutely nothing to you (unless you are a nerd). Well, worry no more because my friend @kmasson has gone and found a infographic of what each and every one of those weird things means. Now you can charge confidently into that great abyss of the internet with knowledge, but a total inability to do anything with it. Hey, it's better than nothing right? Check out the graphic here and then go look at the other 14 or so right ... about ... here! Then you can start following Kari who is a fantastic writer which you can read here as well as follow her tweets.

And now you know...

New Aaron Keyes:

2011-05-19T21:13:00.000-04:00

I got this tweet a couple hours ago and it filled me with so much excitement I just had to retweet it. After a few hours I decided that a simple retweet isn't enough to convey my excitement. Here's what got tweeted.

New Website is up! You can pre-order the new album and instantly download songs too. Also giving away loops for Dwell! www.aaronkeyes.com

Ok, first, if you don't follow @aaronkeyes then you are missing out. His music is a blessing to me and his tweets are pretty good to.

I heard Mr. Keyes at our first Student Life Camp. What jumped out was that he isn't just another guy playing music, but that he took the title of worship PASTOR very seriously. Everything was intentional, he made song choices that I would have never because they wouldn't have been "cool" to me. But, I learned a lot about the value of content over musical cool.

So, hop over to aaronkeyes.com and preorder your new favorite CD.

Slo-Mo Makes Everything Better:

2011-05-18T14:38:00.000-04:00

Giant water balloon exploding in slo-mo. Watch this and exercise your inner child.

Chuck E. Cheese Was My Childhood:

2011-05-17T18:56:00.000-04:00

I'm getting older. My memory is going I think. I'm just 30, but I'm pretty sure I have memory failure. My guess is that it's from a decade of caffeine, cheap pizza, and seizure causing strength flashing lights. Yeah, where a kid can be a kid. (And a parent can go broke.)

I think my memory is going because I can't remember how many days ago I started wanting to find a piece of my childhood. I know it was after the Amazon App Store handed me a free Skee-ball game but, I don't think it was as recent as last night. Somewhere in the last two weeks I started jonesing for some skee-ball.

This kid has no respect for the game.

I remember my mom would tout her skee-ball skills to me whenever we went. She won most the tickets in our family. She's not just blowing smoke, my mom is pretty awesome at skee-ball. I still have grocery bags full of tickets that we were saving up for me and my sister to purchase some stupid thing that would have cost $15 across the street at the mall.

Having skee-ball fever eventually turned one night into a genuine hunt for a skee-ball game that I could purchase and place in my basement so that I could master the game and go pro. (There is pro skee-ball, right?)

The roar of the crowd! The skee of the ball!

Google quickly informed me that I would not be purchasing a skee-ball game and just that quickly my dreams of being on a Wheaties box were dashed. I think the cheapest I could find was one for almost $2,000 American Dollars. If you wanted to get a big six-banger whole-wall-covering behemoth it would run around $5,000. But, what's weird is after I searched for that the internet began sending me a sign that maybe it's not time to give up on my dream.

My first bit of evidence came from a youtube video that was on the front page of Youtube Trends (which I love). It's short so just watch it here.

How could that be anything other than a sign? Except that looks like it would be almost no fun at all. But, it gives out tickets! I haven't bid on it yet and neither has anyone else, but there are still four days left on the auction. Alas, even a miniature Skee-ball game will end up running me from $500 to $1500. It seems that the price point just won't get within my part-time salary range.

And then, as if by beacon from on high, this news story jumped out at me.

"Chuck E. Cheese Sued For Promoting Gambling With Kids"

Mr. Cheese is working hard for my attention now. Ultimately, the article asked is summed up in this question.

Still, the suit does raise an interesting question: Does a child's desire to win a plastic pterodactyl by playing Wack-A-Mole really send the little nipper down the slippery slope to gambling addiction that ends with them betting their mortgage payment on red at the local Native American casino?

While I can personally tell you I haven't ever gambled it all away in a casino, I can't say that I haven't wanted to gamble. Who knows if my slight urge to gamble comes from all those days spent rolling wooden balls up the board to the point giving cups? Either way, the article is worth a full read, here.

Maybe my dreams of Skee-ball dominance are dead or maybe they're just starting, it's hard to tell. But, if I suddenly go on a gambling bender you'll know who to blame, Mr. Cheese.

Oh, and all that talk earlier about memory loss, maybe it's not so bad because writing this reminded me of one of my oldest memories. When I was maybe four years old my mom would take me to Showbiz Pizza (which may have noticed is not Chuck E. Cheese) and they were pretty much set up exactly the same as Mr. Cheese's but with one notable difference. Off in it's own room was this animatronic dog dressed up like Elvis who would sing if you pushed a button on the wall. I remember that my mom held me up so I could press the button to make him start moving and singing, then she held me up while I pressed it for another half hour. I was completely amazed by that thing.

My tiny, eighty pound, mom held me up so I could press a button and hear a song over and over for half an hour. I'm glad I remembered that. My mom is pretty cool. I did not expect to have a revelation about my mom at the start of this, but I'm going to go let her know I appreciate her. Maybe you should do the same.

People Watching In A Target Parking Lot:

2011-05-16T22:49:00.000-04:00

I don't like going shopping. I love being with my wife which makes it tough when she wants to go shopping. Yesterday I was met with that conundrum. I decided I'd go with her and we'd take the dog because she spends most of Sunday in her crate (cue the animal cruelty protests). Matilda, Me and the wife all hop in the car and head to Target. When we got there Jennie asked me if I wanted to go in or stay in the car with Matilda.

She married me knowing that I have the attention span of a coked up squirrel. So, when she has to take a minute and a half to pick out what toothpaste she wants I will just wander off to the video game section or start causing a scene. So, when she asked me if I wanted to stay in the car, I don't think it was entirely benevolent on her part. I think she imagined having to shop while babysitting me.

So, it was a win-win for everyone. I stayed in the car with Matilda and Jennie got frustration free shopping done. What happened while we were sitting in the car was actually kind of interesting.

He looked nothing like this.

First a Latino family came by speaking spanish and I could tell that this confused Matilda. Being the good Dogfather that I am, I explained that they were speaking a language that we don't use around the house. I told her that if she was interested I could start teaching her phrases like, "Where is the bathroom?", "Who is the pretty new girl?" and "There is a cat in my pants." When I felt like she didn't have anymore questions I checked the Amazon App Store to see what was free for the day. It was a game where you shoot and blow up waves of settlers in the wild west. That killed about 10 minutes.

Double Standards:

2011-05-13T19:40:00.001-04:00

Is it bad that I assumed terrorists would hold themselves to higher standards in accordance with their religious beliefs? Apparently, Osama had a stash of "contemporary electronic porn". Here's a quick snippet of the article that I thought was interesting.

Three other U.S. officials familiar with evidence gathered during investigations of other Islamic militants said the discovery of pornography is not uncommon in such cases.

Read the full story here.

Shallow Small Groups:

2011-05-12T13:38:00.000-04:00

This has been making the rounds. It makes me laugh, particularly the trampoline. "Who doesn't want to be super?"

Nu Thang:

2011-05-11T09:20:00.001-04:00

This is one of the best examples of Christian rap from it's start until now.

This young man grew up to be Toby Mac. (in my imagination)

This could have been filmed on TBN yesterday.

I imagine this conversation occurred just before they started filming. "Quick, we need to decorate the stage! Does anyone have seven balloons?"

"Hit me!"

I can go find someone, right now, that would think everything about this is cool.(HT:RWJ)

I Grew Up Listening To You:

2011-05-10T17:42:00.000-04:00

I have to imagine a beautiful twenty year old standing on a stage telling you that they have loved your music since infancy would be an ego boosting reminder of your career and the impact you've had on an entire generation. But, what if it was just a constant reminder that you're getting older? I thought about it last night while I caught up on the new (and really fun) show, The Voice. (Hulu)

Christina Aguilera was told time and time again, "I grew up listening to your music." I work with teens and it can really take a toll on me at times because you get a very warped view of your own age. At Twenty-Five I was old. Now, I'm ancient. Xtina is almost the exact same age as me, so she must be feeling it a little. The constant pressing on of time. Our inability to halt the constant creep of aging and ultimately aging out of the culture that she helped create.

Lucky for her, God blessed her with good skin and an amazing voice so she's still got some play as a culture maker. But, it's still got to sting a little when you see your potential replacement on stage. It's got to hurt a little more when they remind you with the best of intentions that you used to matter more than you do now.

Here's a funny chart that will make you feel old as well.

Summer Blockbusters:

2011-05-09T20:23:00.000-04:00

Over at io9 they hosted a slew of truthful posters for up-coming summer blockbusters. Most of them are really good. Mind you this is not a Christian website and some of them have profanity and one of them drops the F-bomb. Here are my two favorites, head over and view the rest at this link.

Transformers 3

X-Men: First Class

War Makes A Man Do Crazy Things:

2011-05-09T15:10:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I put up a video and the blog's been kind of serious lately. So, the internet brought me this. The missiles are what really get me. Is this a sign that soldiers are keeping their sense of humor or that they've cracked? I'm gonna guess sense of humor, but if the pressure of war has forced them to dance then so be it.

The Damage:

2011-05-07T21:45:00.001-04:00

If you haven't traveled through North Georgia to see the destruction or lived among it, the scope will be difficult to truly grasp. I have gone out twice now to help with relief efforts, cutting trees, hauling brush, whatever is needed of me on site. I'm still shocked that no one died around me, giant chunks of earth are completely upturned. Giant hundred year old trees with giant hundred year old root systems falling and crushing houses, cars, but again no lives.

Today, I saw the worst I've personally seen. I cleared a lot of brush and we cut up a whole lot of trees. Honestly, after 7 hours of hard work from almost 20 guys we only got it to go from looking like a disaster to looking like a mess. But, still the homeowner was appreciative. It's still weeks of work. But, he was appreciative.

I didn't want to go this morning. I wanted to sleep in. I'm glad I went.

Here is a link to some pictures of the area I went to today. Make sure you look through the whole gallery at the bottom.

Art Expresses Meaning:

2011-05-06T17:28:00.009-04:00

Over at Tim Challies site he posted an article about the architecture of churches (full story here). I'm a big fan of cool architecture. Undoubtedly, architecture can be art and that it can carry meaning. That's why some buildings tend to skew similarly. I took a class on set-design in college and learned that colors and shapes carry meaning, what those meanings are and how to manipulate those meanings. Just like a set in a play you can share the meaning of a scene, some deeper truth about characters, or simply create an emotional response. And, it can all be done with shapes and colors.

Architecture, like other art forms, expresses meaning. Do you know why older churches built steeples? Why they had bells? What does it mean that today’s churches tend to use cheap materials? Why are they being made to look “more like a mall”? What does it mean when the sanctuary has a stage with studio lights, big speakers, and a drum set? What do these design features tell us about contemporary Christianity?

Does this tell the same story...

Here's a clip from the parent article that USA Today posted.

Likens says, "everyone in town knows this is the church with the bell tower."

"But everyone also knows the Episcopal church and congregations as a whole aren't growing," he says. "In fact, they are sliding and they are aging like St. Mark's. That adds to our decision dilemma: Where do you want to put your money as a congregation? Are we better off doing outreach programs? You want to keep your history, but you want to have a future, too."Why are churches being made to look "more like a mall"? Where do you put your money as a congregation?

as this?

Those two questions seem most pertinent. What's the story we're trying to tell with our architecture? But, ultimately, the building doesn't preach the Gospel. While it may help create a sense of awe, respect, or grandeur it's The CHURCH that really matters. So, for some people keeping a crumbling piece of architecture well tells the story when the community is falling apart around it. Read the whole article. Tell me what you think.

I Had A Great Idea:

2011-05-06T02:28:00.006-04:00

It was going to be called RandoMazon, and it was going to display at random an item from the online mega-store Amazon. I googled my new word and it looks like a twitter feed has already been set-up and there is a website that is pretty much doing the exact same thing with the exact same name. But, before I had the wind taken out of my sails I started to imagine the myriad of strange and wonderful treasures that could pop up. Things like Uranium and Doe Urine. I'd link to them, but it feels gross and illegal.

Then for some weird reason I thought, can you buy a coffin on Amazon? I know they are expensive, maybe you can find them on sale and help yourself out? Perhaps keep it in the attic till you really need it. (a unique place to hide Christmas presents)

So, I went to Amazon, the hunt was on! I typed in coffin, the search bar recognized it and finished my word for me. Things were looking up! The first entries were fake coffins, you know, for kids and stuff. Then there was a do-it-yourself coffin making book, which people seem to really hate. Lot's of jewelry boxes. Some really lame looking sunglasses and a graphic novel (which I might like to read).

But, there it was, nestled between the jewelry boxes and the lame sunglasses, an honest to goodness coffin. The kind that mom used to make. Made of the finest 20 gauge steel you can find. In awe I looked around on the page. What were people buying that bought this coffin? What were customers looking for while they tried to find a bargain coffin?

They were buying Mighty Mendit and Windshield Wonder of course. You shouldn't be shocked to find out that anyone who would take finding their own coffin online seriously would also be kind of a hands-on person. They also purchased wireless keyboards. I want to make a joke, but nothing is coming out. Why keyboards? Why? My personal favorite though, Rotating Hot Iron Hair Straighteners, because you're thinking about laying in a coffin and everyone will be judging your hair, right?

By the way, that coffin is $900. Which is low compared to the other coffins people were looking for. And, that's exactly what people were looking for even if they did end up buying something completely non-sequitir. The next cheapest coffin they shopped for is $1300....I can't afford to die.

Unless....I decide to go green. This beauty is only five hundred and eighty-nine American dollars. But, just like with Ikea, you have to assemble this at home. Yup, it's a kit. Why not just buy the book on how to make coffins and skip this middle-man, er, middle-mortician.

All this to say, as I was looking around I saw that people had written reviews and I was not expecting them to be funny. While they aren't knee-slapping funny, there are some real chuckle worthy moments. I'll post a couple after the jump, but you have to go read the rest.

Did not contain vampire., January 17, 2011
As a professional vampire slayer, it's my duty to hunt down and destroy all vampires. So imagine my excitement when I found this beauty right here on Amazon.com! Years of experience has taught me that every casket must have a vampire dwelling inside. I patiently waited its arrival, plotting the imminent battle with a nearly inifite ammount of weapons, tactics, and pure unbridled testosterone at my disposal. Priced at only $899 and made of indistructable 20 gauge steel, this casket was looking to be an exciting force to be reckoned with. The day came, there I was decked out in my strongest LARPing armor, mouth foaming with an inconceivable lust for vampire blood. I ceremoniously attached the casket, upright, to the wall at my local elementary school basketball court and attached chains from the casket door to the rear-bumper of my 1987 Ford pickup truck. My heavy-set girlfriend revved the engine as I stood stone-faced, expectantly awaiting yet another epic battle that I've come to love over the years. Delilah hammered on the gas, the door ripped from its hinges, and when the dust cleared, there was no vampire. I dropped to my knees with a heroic "NNNOOOOOOOO!!!" erupting from my lips. Another disappointing finish to an otherwise epic potential-battle. This one must have been slain prior to delivery. Curses!

It still rates three stars, however. Despite the months of depression following this purchase, it does make for a comfortable bench during kin gatherings as well as an interesting decoration for the trailor. This was just one disappointment amongst many, but still I refuse to rest until each and every vampire in this world has been destroyed.

I love this next one because it is completely and totally without any sense of irony. But, if that's the case (pun intended) did he lay his uncle in the ground without a coffin?

Get serious, December 15, 2010

You who wrote jokes about caskets need to be more serious. My uncle was just laid in the ground today, and I was looking up prices so I could help fund his costs. Death is serious because once it happens there is no turning back, and once you die judgement is next. So please have some respect about caskets because the last I checked the death rate is around 100% and I'm sure you don't want anyone to make fun of you or a loved one.

Best Casket Ever, October 30, 2009

When I opened my eyes it was pitch black. It only took just a few seconds of feeling around to realize that I was in a top notch casket. Most people in that predicament would probably start to panic pretty quickly, but this thing was so comfy I wasn't sure I wanted out. This was no wooden box... this baby was 20 gauge steel and about as comfortable as a La-Z-Boy and a Posturepedic rolled into one!! I just laid there with my head on the pillow admiring the amazing cushioning and how it supported my back so well. After a couple hours of some of the best rest I've ever had, I reached in my pocket and realized I had my cell phone with me. Fortunately, I still had a flicker of battery life left on it and was able to send a text message to my buddy to let him know there must have been a mistake. I told him there was no hurry, since I wanted to enjoy a little more time in this underground beauty of a box. I used the last of my cell phone battery using it as a light to inspect the rest of the caskets internal features. The print of two hands folded in prayer just made you feel that much more comforted. I can't say enough about this casket!!!

So, while my dreams of creating RandoMazon may have died, at least I've found an affordable and attractive place to lay them to rest.

Struggles In Ministry:

2011-05-05T16:46:00.003-04:00

These came down my twitter feed today and I can really relate. Maybe you need to see this today. First John Piper sent out this bit of Second Timothy, "So many sorrows in the ministry. 'Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.'" I'm dealing with a real sense of abandonment right now. I'm sure it's not as bad as I make it, but it's something and I'm dealing with it. The reminder that even Paul dealt with abandonment, not to mention that Christ couldn't even get a crowd to hang with him is helpful.

The second thing that I got today was from Doug Fields his list of "10 ideas to help with ministry discouragement."(here) This is how it starts.

• Discouragement is painful.
• Discouragement is untimely.
• Discouragement is lonely.

Yes, yes it is. You really need to read the whole thing whether you are in youth ministry or not. It's applicable to all walks of life with a little tweaking, because we all deal with frustration. Here's a couple points that have really hit me.

2. Seek to spend time with an upbeat friend who is outside of your youth ministry. The benefit of an upbeat friend is that being with a friend who doesn’t really care about your ministry, but cares about you, can be very refreshing.

3. Realize that not everyone will understand you and your ministry. Actually, it’s fairly safe to state that no one will value your ministry as much as you. Perspective can be insightful.

I don't know if I have a local easily accessible friends who isn't in youth ministry. And, I don't mean that as a knock. I love my fellow youth minister friends, but I don't think I have anyone I can just hang out with that I'm not also working with on some level. The other point actually came out of my mouth last night, no one is going to care about my ministry more than me. I need some perspective and I'm not getting that from sitting at home with my dog. I think it's time to go make some friends and get some perspective.

It's pretty cool to me that both of these showed up right next to each other. I bet God new I'd look past one of them so He, in His immaculate timing got both of these guys to tweet around the same time. Thanks, God! I needed this today.

One Of The Best Days Of My Life:

2011-05-04T01:36:00.004-04:00

Christ plucking me from my depravity is tops. Jennie marrying my slacker butt is still confounding, exciting, and humbling me. But, this day, this day just got inserted into days I will tell my kids about. Today is the day I learned you can watch Austin City Limits episodes online. And, you don't have to steal them either! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

I found this out because I've just purchased the album Backatown by Trombone Shorty and enjoyed it so much I wanted to share it with you. I went looking for a video and ended up finding the website for PBS's Austin City Limits. If you are like me then you are a huge cynic (shame on you) and his name alone would be enough to send you sneering away. But, if you like horns and rock or just things that are a little funky then you will really enjoy this album. I really recommend it for anyone who likes Earth, Wind, and Fire (some of the best music and videos ever) especially and even more so if you like that New Orleans stomp in your tunes.

Watch this video of Trombone Shorty throwing down and then join me as I binge on months of succulent live performances. I'm pretty sure I saw Willie Nelson and The Avett Brothers. Also, make sure you check out Gnarls Barkley who I haven't seen in concert, but have watched live performances and that is on my bucket list if they ever tour again. I'll make sure to check out Esperanza Spalding and experience the music of the woman who beat Justin Bieber for Best New Artist.

Watch the full episode. See more Austin City Limits.

Tom Ascol On Bin Laden:

2011-05-03T15:16:00.000-04:00

My buddy Andrew pointed me towards this article and just like he said, this says what I wanted to say better than I ever could. Here's a snippet and then you should go read the whole thing. Here.

Yes, we can celebrate the proper execution of God-ordained justice against evil in the world. But should Christians celebrate the death of the wicked? God doesn't. "As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways" (Ezekiel 33:11). That's why some of the euphoric displays of joy on the part of Christians--even Christian leaders--at the news of Bin Laden's death leave me cold. Their celebrations strike me as more American than Christian--which is precisely the problem with much Christianity in America in our day.

Has your reaction to Bin Laden's death been more about this world than the coming kingdom?

Lefty:

2011-05-02T23:39:00.000-04:00

I've been making friends left and right by writing about not wanting America to celebrate Usama Bin Laden's death. So, I thought I'd shake it up and put something up that is really cool and inspirational.

I am friends with the brother of the guy in this video. He is in our praise band and is a fine musician himself, and I'm pretty sure I've seen his dad wearing that sweater. While I've never met "Lefty" his brother is a real cool guy who fought in Iraq and love's God. So, go check out Lefty.

Click Here!

(Unfortunately, I'm not able to embed this video so you'll have to follow the link away.)

Hell:

2011-05-02T16:05:00.001-04:00

It's all the rage right now. Rob Bell has made it THE topic of debate in circles with nothing better to do. I haven't read "Love Wins" or any of Bell's other works, and this is not a conversation about Bell or any of his books. But, he does love asking questions, and has done a good job of getting people to consider their stance on hell. So, I'm going to question....some....questions....or something.

Alright, here's my thought process. Hell is either eternal or it is not. Bell thinks it might not be, I will play the advocate and say it is. There's no real middle ground here. Hell happens when you die without a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Again, talking about the place after you die, I'm sure someone could wax poetic about the hell around us everyday or something. I'm talking about classic dead people and demons hell.

Bin Laden went to hell upon his death. He did not go to heaven at least. I'm not supremely well versed in the lake of fire/Hades timeline, so to save time and typing I'm just calling it all hell since it's not heaven. Bin Laden went to hell after he was shot and died. Now, how long is he staying there?

I'll let those of you with something to do in on a secret. This isn't really about Bin Laden, it's about our deficient view of hell and sin. So, now that you know, you're free to go or read on.

Usama masterminded the murder of 3000 people on 9/11. He's been involved with the deaths of countless other people. He was a bad guy. And, he'll either spend eternity without God's goodness tormented continuously or at some point he'll be freed and allowed into heaven.

Did you get a weird feeling at the thought of him being in heaven? I did, and I am the guy that just wrote that he wished Bin Laden had turned his life around and gotten saved. It's an unattractive prospect to imagine him being freed from hell to stand by the saints in heaven but, here's the alternative.

The late Usama will spend all of eternity being punished for the deaths of thousands. Here's where I think most people are. Most aren't imagining an end to his punishment. They are picturing him paying for what he did forever. But, does he deserve to be punished forever? Shouldn't at some point he pay his penance for his evils? Does he really deserve an ETERNITY of horror and torture?

Yes, it was horrible and he was a devilish individual, but eternity without end? I mean, what if he did 1000 years for every life he took? Wouldn't that seem fair? That's a really long time and hell wouldn't get any easier the longer he was there.

Wait, that means he'd get out. If he had a hand in the death of 10,000 people he'd do 10, 000, 000 years of unrelenting torment and anguish for his crimes. But, he'd still get out. He'd still get to come to heaven.

I'm not arguing for Bin Laden's eventual release from heaven, I'm arguing that Hell is an unfair punishment for people's actions against other people here on earth. It is, no one deserves an eternal hell for even Bin Laden level crimes. If you disagree then you don't have a real grasp on how awful hell really is. There isn't a crime worthy of that type of punishment.

Eternity never ends. And, only a crime against an eternal God is worthy of an eternal punishment. Bin Laden doesn't deserve hell because of his terror-mongering ways. He deserves it because He had a heart turned against God the Father. His sin nature, not his sins are deserving of an eternal hell. We're getting it all twisted up and placing the weight on his actions, which were devastating, and ultimately it was his heart that spurred that devastation.

Hell never ends, and is worse than you can imagine. You shouldn't want anyone to go there. Let's not short change the horror of hell or the eternal consequences of our sin nature. Bin Laden will be in a real hell for a real eternity and you could sadly as well if you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Osama deserves Hell...Me...notsomuch:

2011-05-02T00:26:00.001-04:00

Without a doubt, the Internet is certain that President Obama will be announcing the death of Osama Bin Laden in just a few minutes. How can I tell? Because, "God Bless America!", "Osama Bin Laden is dead. and i'm not feeling that good myself.", "OSAMA DEAD?!?!?!?! HELL YES!!!!", and "Osama bin laden has finally received what he deserved!" just filled up my news feed. That's one heck of a coincidence.

As of writing that sentence I just heard our President confirm the fact that Bin Laden is in fact dead. So, they were right, and what a stunning proof of the speed and power of the Internet. But, all that aside, I was a little weird about the idea of people being so excited about his death. While I have to admit, hearing that he had died did give my patriotism a little rise, I couldn't sustain it, it was death and death has a permanent consequence. So, I put this out on facebook, "Can a christian really celebrate someone going to hell?" and here are the responses I got.

in this case, I would have to say yes

Nope.

We can celebrate justice.

good point...

are we talkin bout bin laden here? cause if we are, i dont know where he went, im just glad hes gone!

agreed...I celebrate justice but I still have a hard time celebrating death.

Agreed. Not to mention that there are reactions for every action. I'm scared of the consequences this might bring. To me death is never happy.

It's not an overwhelming dissent or approval, but the one thing that jumped out at me through all of this is the idea that his death is justice being doled out for the atrocious things that he did.

I get it. I really do. He was a bad guy. But, I wasn't asking about if we should feel a little bit better about getting a bad man off the streets. I asked if we should celebrate when a man goes to hell for eternity. That, personally, makes me sad.

I'm no apologist for terrorists. But, I don't want anyone to go to hell. I wanted the story to end with Bin Laden giving himself up and turning over a new leaf. I want to believe that dyed in the wool terrorists can change. I can't celebrate his death. I can't celebrate what might feel like justice.

Isn't our faith about justice denied?

Isn't grace about never feeling the punishment we deserve. Jesus died for us while we were still planning terrorist attacks against his kingdom. I don't hear anyone crying out for justice if you're on the right side of grace. But, Osama, he deserved to die.

Sure he did. And, so do you and I. Maybe not according to earthly standards. But, we're playing the game of relativism, "At least I'm not as bad as Hitler!" can so easily be replaced with, "At least I'm not as bad as Bin Laden!". But, we are, we are a people turned completely towards the destruction of God's kingdom until he reaches down and replaces our heart. And, now that he's shredded up the ledgers we're shouting for the death of someone who was just like us before grace (not to mention the common grace of being born in America to be awash in the Gospel).

Let's not kid ourselves, we didn't want justice. We wanted revenge. We can't even comprehend justice. We got our revenge and now he's got his eternity. But, revenge isn't ours to take.

God, thank you for being completely unjust in relation to my punishment. I'm so sorry Christ had to suffer for me. I know that there was no other way though. Thank you for being patient and not vengeful with me. Expedite your gospel to the furthest reaches of the world. Penetrate the hearts of the most venomous before they meet their end. Save the terrorists.

Facebook Knows Too Much:

2011-04-27T17:53:00.001-04:00

As I was creeping around the halls of Facebook my gaze was caught by an advertisement on the right. I thought to myself, "What data mining has lead Zuckerberg and Co. to think I need this?" I read over the copy in the ad and thought it must be a gag, maybe a Cracked spoof? Nope, this is the real deal. For some reason Facebook thinks I need this in my life. Luckily, if I did need the services of this company I'd know that they are in their 60th year of service. Maybe you could use their help?

Ten years ago this was how they thought best to promote the accomplishment, golden anniversary, ha, irony.

Click here to begin the journey towards recovery.

The Most Viewed Youtube Video In Great Britain:

2011-04-26T23:14:00.004-04:00

Maybe you remember this video? Maybe you remember this spoof of that video? Well, let's go for the trifecta. Maybe you've already seen this spoof of the royal wedding? It's an ad for a cell phone company. I've only watched it once and can't remember which company(does that say something about the ad?) Either way I thought you'd like to check it out.

I'm going to have a little personal rant time after the video. Enjoy!
(Oops! As soon as I posted this I saw the name of the video. It's T-Mobile....)

So, the idea of this being a fairytale wedding is really bugging me. It always comes back to him being royalty and her having no royal blood at all. But, this fairytale pretty much starts and ends there. It rifles pretty quickly into banality once you start actually looking at it. How did they start dating, she seduced him with a see-through dress. Congratulations, you discovered he had a weakness for pretty girls in their underwear. Then they date for a bit and move in with each other.

That's not a fairytale! That's a "reality"tale, and little girls all over England and the world are going to follow this and dream of finding their Prince Charming, but I feel like this one's shining armor has lost a bit of sparkle. Isn't there something to be said of the chaste pure gentleman who falls in love with the woman because of some intrinsic qualities, and not just that her boobies looked nice in a see-through dress? Mind you, I'm not saying that he shouldn't have thought she was beautiful, just that beauty is fleeting and there should be a deeper spark for a relationship.

Little girls! Aim higher! Noble blood doesn't make him a gentleman! Being born with wealth and purpose doesn't mean he has noble intentions, even if the end result is positive. Save yourselves for a man who points your heart toward the King of Kings and not just another prince of this world.

The Importance of Engaging a Listener:

2011-04-17T23:28:00.000-04:00

(For a very brief review of the book I'm quoting from and a link to buy it on Amazon take the jump.)

I've started reading a ton of stuff on filmmaking. I want to write a script. I want to make something. In all this down time I've felt that itch to create that I never can act on by myself. So, instead, I read about how to do it. While I was reading I came across this quote.

Stories are seduction. They desire, and require, the audience's attention. A branch of literary theory has said that stories literally don't exist until they are received, enacted, and embodied by an audience. Stories need to hook an audience and weave them into their very existence in order to even exist.

I've seen a ton of parallels between faith and film making in looking at through this book. This one just really jumped out at me. I was particularly caught by "Stories need to hook an audience and weave them into their very existence in order to even exist." Is that true of the Gospel, the greatest story ever told? I think the answer is, yes.

The Gospel doesn't live in someone unless it really has woven itself into the very existence of the hearer. It's not a simple hearing of the Word.

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” Romans 10:14-15

You have to BELIEVE in Him. Hearing is good but without that deep hooking and weaving the story may very well not exist in your heart.

Worse yet, if the Good News isn't woven into your very existence then you might be writing your own version of the story. A version that has you recasting the starring role of Messiah.

So, this book isn't exactly a technical book on how to make a film. But, I get the feeling that the one thing they don't teach you in film school is that you can actually do it. It seems like the competitive nature of film school creates a "have's vs. have not's" type society. The book mainly finds it's voice in constantly affirming that you are good enough, smart enough and gosh darn-it people like you. It also gives advice on how to handle working on a set and working the crowd.

I have been enjoying the book and feel like it would be a good read for someone interested in the more holistic approach to learning. There really are no technical skills to be learned from reading, but if you need a dose of motivation this might just be the book for you, whether you want to make a film or not.

And, you can buy it here!

Katy Perry Firework - A Capella Cover - Mike Tompkins - Beatbox

2011-03-17T00:35:00.000-04:00

William Elliott Whitmore:

2011-02-05T01:30:00.001-05:00

I love this guys sound. It's like all that great rootsy Americana with a hit of soul. Check him out, be forewarned that this gentleman will use profanity in his youtube videos sometimes. Do you think my taste in music sucks? Let me know in the comments.

The Rock 2: Back to the Island (back to the ridiculous dialogue)

2011-01-29T01:59:00.000-05:00

It's my sincere hope that one day Katy Perry is as iconic as Elton John so that some hero in an action movie can somberly look at their nemesis and ask,"do you like Katy Perry's music". To which they would reply, "I don't like that soft stuff." The hero would then look at him and say, "that's weird, man, because baby....you're a firework". He would then hit a button and shoot a missile at his chest.

I Got Green Smoke!

Review Video Camera | Flip Video

2010-09-20T15:02:00.001-04:00

"We're thinking about getting a Flip video camera for the youth group. When I went to the sight I saw I could skin the camera with a picture. Check out what a EBC Branded camera looks like."

Description

View >>

Live Like Wonderful:

2010-09-02T02:56:00.006-04:00

HT: Vitamin Z

A taste of parenting?

2010-08-27T01:56:00.001-04:00

Tonight, I was hurt by someone who I had attempted to build a relationship of trust and honesty with. They used me. They used our relationship as a cover-up for their sin. They tracked my name and the name of our ministry through the mud, potentially. And, I am heartbroken. I just want to know, "why would you do this after all we have worked for?" I want to shout that, but, I don't think shouting will help.

Is this what it's like when you pour yourself into someone and they turn around and make the sinful choice anyway? It feels like I was betrayed by my inner circle. Yikes, for a second I almost make a comparison to Jesus and Judas. This has nothing on that. But, it still feels like all the progress we had made just went out the door.

A lesson in all this is, "Honesty at all times". Which is a struggle for me. I'm a recovering liar. I'm feeling first hand what I made my parents feel like every time I threw them under the bus.

Colossians 3:9-11

⁹Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

I think lying does so much damage. I can see from my own past as an avid liar the pain it can cause and the tremendous loss of time. Most horrible is the loss of trust. I think the devil became the father of lies because he knew that lies were easy. He couldn't because the father of remarkable evidence, so he went with the next best thing. If we lie to one another and break that trust, then how can we feel loved by our faith community?

God, let this be a lesson to me. Help me to foster a climate of honesty and transparency. Make my world a place where loving correction is never replaced with judgement. Most importantly, help me to keep your image in my mind. Christ be my all and take all of me.

Strippers vs. Church or Bring A Stripper To Church Day:

2010-08-24T16:00:00.001-04:00

Church Marketing Sucks has an interesting story and some food for thought.

http://bit.ly/cnmTLK

The Donkey, the Stallion, and the Strategy of the Hills :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

2010-08-24T15:05:00.000-04:00

The Donkey, the Stallion, and the Strategy of the Hills :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

A story by John Piper that I thought was pretty cool that he wrote for or around Palm Sunday. Give it a read.

I thought this idea that the character of The King says towards the end carried a significantly dense weight. "When we have given all we can
Then we will fight, but only then." When has a all powerful God given His all? When has he run out of love and patience? The story is great and I would love to hear your opinions on the questions It raised in my mind and maybe hear some of what it stirred up in yours.

God is good?

2010-08-23T16:50:00.000-04:00

At least one of my youth are dealing with this issue, "If God is love then how could he ever punish?" We're going to be taking a look at this topic later on in the year, but I came across this video and thought that D.A. Carson does a great job in just a few minutes. So, check it out.

How can God be loving yet send people to hell? from A Passion for Life on Vimeo.

"time to collect" with adrian peterson, gary busey and shaq

2010-08-17T13:48:00.000-04:00

First Person Tetris:

2010-08-09T23:40:00.000-04:00

Have you ever said to yourself, "I wish I could better understand the plight of the shapes in this game that I am playing, right now." I know I have, because essentially I'm sending them to their death. When I finalize a row, BOOM! They just disappear. I'm sure that shape doctors have been working on it for a while now and are soon to come out with a cure for spontaneous proximity based disappearance syndrome (SPBDS). While they do that why don't you try to get better acquainted with the mind of a shape as it spends it's brief life cycle spinning and dropping to it's doom.

You barbarian.

http://www.firstpersontetris.com/

Zip Snip saves Christmas:

2010-08-02T18:50:00.000-04:00

I saw this on tv and it made me lol.

The Wreck of the Deutschland:

2010-08-01T01:14:00.003-04:00

Have I posted this poem before? Just incase I haven't, I'll post the whole thing here for you to read. I love it. The poem is considerably long so it's entirety is after the jump. But, I'll go ahead and let you know what it's about...cuz you won't get it from the poem easily.

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89). Poems. 1918.

4. The Wreck of the Deutschland

To the happy memory of five Franciscan Nuns exiles by the Falk Laws drowned between midnight and morning of Dec. 7th. 1875

PART THE FIRST

1

THOU mastering me
God! giver of breath and bread;
World’s strand, sway of the sea;
Lord of living and dead;
Thou hast bound bones and veins in me, fastened me flesh, 5
And after it almost unmade, what with dread,
Thy doing: and dost thou touch me afresh?
Over again I feel thy finger and find thee.

2

I did say yes
O at lightning and lashed rod; 10
Thou heardst me truer than tongue confess
Thy terror, O Christ, O God;
Thou knowest the walls, altar and hour and night:
The swoon of a heart that the sweep and the hurl of thee trod
Hard down with a horror of height: 15
And the midriff astrain with leaning of, laced with fire of stress.

3

The frown of his face
Before me, the hurtle of hell
Behind, where, where was a, where was a place?
I whirled out wings that spell 20
And fled with a fling of the heart to the heart of the Host.
My heart, but you were dovewinged, I can tell,
Carrier-witted, I am bold to boast,
To flash from the flame to the flame then, tower from the grace to the grace.

4

I am soft sift 25
In an hourglass—at the wall
Fast, but mined with a motion, a drift,
And it crowds and it combs to the fall;
I steady as a water in a well, to a poise, to a pane,
But roped with, always, all the way down from the tall 30
Fells or flanks of the voel, a vein
Of the gospel proffer, a pressure, a principle, Christ’s gift.

5

I kiss my hand
To the stars, lovely-asunder
Starlight, wafting him out of it; and 35
Glow, glory in thunder;
Kiss my hand to the dappled-with-damson west:
Since, tho’ he is under the world’s splendour and wonder,
His mystery must be instressed, stressed;
For I greet him the days I meet him, and bless when I understand. 40

6

Not out of his bliss
Springs the stress felt
Nor first from heaven (and few know this)
Swings the stroke dealt—
Stroke and a stress that stars and storms deliver, 45
That guilt is hushed by, hearts are flushed by and melt—
But it rides time like riding a river
(And here the faithful waver, the faithless fable and miss).

7

It dates from day
Of his going in Galilee; 50
Warm-laid grave of a womb-life grey;
Manger, maiden’s knee;
The dense and the driven Passion, and frightful sweat;
Thence the discharge of it, there its swelling to be,
Though felt before, though in high flood yet— 55
What none would have known of it, only the heart, being hard at bay,

8

Is out with it! Oh,
We lash with the best or worst
Word last! How a lush-kept plush-capped sloe
Will, mouthed to flesh-burst, 60
Gush!—flush the man, the being with it, sour or sweet,
Brim, in a flash, full!—Hither then, last or first,
To hero of Calvary, Christ, ’s feet—
Never ask if meaning it, wanting it, warned of it—men go.

9

Be adored among men, 65
God, three-numberèd form;
Wring thy rebel, dogged in den,
Man’s malice, with wrecking and storm.
Beyond saying sweet, past telling of tongue,
Thou art lightning and love, I found it, a winter and warm; 70
Father and fondler of heart thou hast wrung:
Hast thy dark descending and most art merciful then.

10

With an anvil-ding
And with fire in him forge thy will
Or rather, rather then, stealing as Spring 75
Through him, melt him but master him still:
Whether at once, as once at a crash Paul,
Or as Austin, a lingering-out sweet skill,
Make mercy in all of us, out of us all
Mastery, but be adored, but be adored King. 80

PART THE SECOND

11

‘Some find me a sword; some
The flange and the rail; flame,
Fang, or flood’ goes Death on drum,
And storms bugle his fame.
But wé dream we are rooted in earth—Dust! 85
Flesh falls within sight of us, we, though our flower the same,
Wave with the meadow, forget that there must
The sour scythe cringe, and the blear share come.

12

On Saturday sailed from Bremen,
American-outward-bound, 90
Take settler and seamen, tell men with women,
Two hundred souls in the round—
O Father, not under thy feathers nor ever as guessing
The goal was a shoal, of a fourth the doom to be drowned;
Yet did the dark side of the bay of thy blessing 95
Not vault them, the million of rounds of thy mercy not reeve even them in?

13

Into the snows she sweeps,
Hurling the haven behind,
The Deutschland, on Sunday; and so the sky keeps,
For the infinite air is unkind, 100
And the sea flint-flake, black-backed in the regular blow,
Sitting Eastnortheast, in cursed quarter, the wind;
Wiry and white-fiery and whirlwind-swivellèd snow
Spins to the widow-making unchilding unfathering deeps.

14

She drove in the dark to leeward, 105
She struck—not a reef or a rock
But the combs of a smother of sand: night drew her
Dead to the Kentish Knock;
And she beat the bank down with her bows and the ride of her keel:
The breakers rolled on her beam with ruinous shock; 110
And canvas and compass, the whorl and the wheel
Idle for ever to waft her or wind her with, these she endured.

15

Hope had grown grey hairs,
Hope had mourning on,
Trenched with tears, carved with cares, 115
Hope was twelve hours gone;
And frightful a nightfall folded rueful a day
Nor rescue, only rocket and lightship, shone,
And lives at last were washing away:
To the shrouds they took,—they shook in the hurling and horrible airs. 120

16

One stirred from the rigging to save
The wild woman-kind below,
With a rope’s end round the man, handy and brave—
He was pitched to his death at a blow,
For all his dreadnought breast and braids of thew: 125
They could tell him for hours, dandled the to and fro
Through the cobbled foam-fleece, what could he do
With the burl of the fountains of air, buck and the flood of the wave?

17

They fought with God’s cold—
And they could not and fell to the deck 130
(Crushed them) or water (and drowned them) or rolled
With the sea-romp over the wreck.
Night roared, with the heart-break hearing a heart-broke rabble,
The woman’s wailing, the crying of child without check—
Till a lioness arose breasting the babble, 135
A prophetess towered in the tumult, a virginal tongue told.

18

Ah, touched in your bower of bone
Are you! turned for an exquisite smart,
Have you! make words break from me here all alone,
Do you!—mother of being in me, heart. 140
O unteachably after evil, but uttering truth,
Why, tears! is it? tears; such a melting, a madrigal start!
Never-eldering revel and river of youth,
What can it be, this glee? the good you have there of your own?

19

Sister, a sister calling 145
A master, her master and mine!—
And the inboard seas run swirling and hawling;
The rash smart sloggering brine
Blinds her; but she that weather sees one thing, one;
Has one fetch in her: she rears herself to divine 150
Ears, and the call of the tall nun
To the men in the tops and the tackle rode over the storm’s brawling.

20

She was first of a five and came
Of a coifèd sisterhood.
(O Deutschland, double a desperate name! 155
O world wide of its good!
But Gertrude, lily, and Luther, are two of a town,
Christ’s lily and beast of the waste wood:
From life’s dawn it is drawn down,
Abel is Cain’s brother and breasts they have sucked the same.) 160

21

Loathed for a love men knew in them,
Banned by the land of their birth,
Rhine refused them. Thames would ruin them;
Surf, snow, river and earth
Gnashed: but thou art above, thou Orion of light; 165
Thy unchancelling poising palms were weighing the worth,
Thou martyr-master: in thy sight
Storm flakes were scroll-leaved flowers, lily showers—sweet heaven was astrew in them.

22

Five! the finding and sake
And cipher of suffering Christ. 170
Mark, the mark is of man’s make
And the word of it Sacrificed.
But he scores it in scarlet himself on his own bespoken,
Before-time-taken, dearest prizèd and priced—
Stigma, signal, cinquefoil token 175
For lettering of the lamb’s fleece, ruddying of the rose-flake.

23

Joy fall to thee, father Francis,
Drawn to the Life that died;
With the gnarls of the nails in thee, niche of the lance, his
Lovescape crucified 180
And seal of his seraph-arrival! and these thy daughters
And five-livèd and leavèd favour and pride,
Are sisterly sealed in wild waters,
To bathe in his fall-gold mercies, to breathe in his all-fire glances.

24

Away in the loveable west, 185
On a pastoral forehead of Wales,
I was under a roof here, I was at rest,
And they the prey of the gales;
She to the black-about air, to the breaker, the thickly
Falling flakes, to the throng that catches and quails 190
Was calling ‘O Christ, Christ, come quickly’:
The cross to her she calls Christ to her, christens her wild-worst Best.

25

The majesty! what did she mean?
Breathe, arch and original Breath.
Is it love in her of the being as her lover had been? 195
Breathe, body of lovely Death.
They were else-minded then, altogether, the men
Woke thee with a we are perishing in the weather of Gennesareth.
Or is it that she cried for the crown then,
The keener to come at the comfort for feeling the combating keen? 200

26

For how to the heart’s cheering
The down-dugged ground-hugged grey
Hovers off, the jay-blue heavens appearing
Of pied and peeled May!
Blue-beating and hoary-glow height; or night, still higher, 205
With belled fire and the moth-soft Milky Way,
What by your measure is the heaven of desire,
The treasure never eyesight got, nor was ever guessed what for the hearing?

27

No, but it was not these.
The jading and jar of the cart, 210
Time’s tasking, it is fathers that asking for ease
Of the sodden-with-its-sorrowing heart,
Not danger, electrical horror; then further it finds
The appealing of the Passion is tenderer in prayer apart:
Other, I gather, in measure her mind’s 215
Burden, in wind’s burly and beat of endragonèd seas.

28

But how shall I … make me room there:
Reach me a … Fancy, come faster—
Strike you the sight of it? look at it loom there,
Thing that she … there then! the Master, 220
Ipse, the only one, Christ, King, Head:
He was to cure the extremity where he had cast her;
Do, deal, lord it with living and dead;
Let him ride, her pride, in his triumph, despatch and have done with his doom there.

29

Ah! there was a heart right! 225
There was single eye!
Read the unshapeable shock night
And knew the who and the why;
Wording it how but by him that present and past,
Heaven and earth are word of, worded by?— 230
The Simon Peter of a soul! to the blast
Tarpeian-fast, but a blown beacon of light.

30

Jesu, heart’s light,
Jesu, maid’s son,
What was the feast followed the night 235
Thou hadst glory of this nun?—
Feast of the one woman without stain.
For so conceivèd, so to conceive thee is done;
But here was heart-throe, birth of a brain,
Word, that heard and kept thee and uttered thee outright. 240

31

Well, she has thee for the pain, for the
Patience; but pity of the rest of them!
Heart, go and bleed at a bitterer vein for the
Comfortless unconfessed of them—
No not uncomforted: lovely-felicitous Providence 245
Finger of a tender of; O of a feathery delicacy, the breast of the
Maiden could obey so, be a bell to, ring of it, and
Startle the poor sheep back! is the shipwrack then a harvest, does tempest carry the grain for thee?

32

I admire thee, master of the tides,
Of the Yore-flood, of the year’s fall; 250
The recurb and the recovery of the gulf’s sides,
The girth of it and the wharf of it and the wall;
Stanching, quenching ocean of a motionable mind;
Ground of being, and granite of it: past all
Grasp God, throned behind 255
Death with a sovereignty that heeds but hides, bodes but abides;

33

With a mercy that outrides
The all of water, an ark
For the listener; for the lingerer with a love glides
Lower than death and the dark; 260
A vein for the visiting of the past-prayer, pent in prison,
The-last-breath penitent spirits—the uttermost mark
Our passion-plungèd giant risen,
The Christ of the Father compassionate, fetched in the storm of his strides.

34

Now burn, new born to the world, 265
Doubled-naturèd name,
The heaven-flung, heart-fleshed, maiden-furled
Miracle-in-Mary-of-flame,
Mid-numbered He in three of the thunder-throne!
Not a dooms-day dazzle in his coming nor dark as he came; 270
Kind, but royally reclaiming his own;
A released shower, let flash to the shire, not a lightning of fire hard-hurled.

35

Dame, at our door
Drowned, and among our shoals,
Remember us in the roads, the heaven-haven of the Reward: 275
Our King back, oh, upon English souls!
Let him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, be a crimson-cresseted east,
More brightening her, rare-dear Britain, as his reign rolls,
Pride, rose, prince, hero of us, high-priest,
Our hearts’ charity’s hearth’s fire, our thoughts’ chivalry’s throng’s Lord. 280

See Notes.

Why aren't you reading SCL?

2010-07-27T02:29:00.001-04:00

This most recent post from the killer blog "Stuff Christians Like" is awesome because it talks about my job and that's cool, right? So, take a look at it here.

I also love it because the first line is, "“Do you ever think you’ll be a real minister someday?”
I get asked that question pretty often.

Two Songs:

2010-07-07T00:31:00.000-04:00

I heard the first song a few days ago and just had to share it with everyone. I'm sure that you've all heard it before, but, I think I love it. The second is from a guy who's music I got turned onto at Refuge two years ago when Christian Stanfill covered John Mark McMillan's song "How He Loves". Check them out.

Death In His Grave (Performance Video) from john mark mcmillan on Vimeo.

Ah, so that's how it's done:

2010-06-29T23:50:00.003-04:00

The Sound Of My Childhood Dying:

2010-06-26T18:12:00.001-04:00

Sounds a lot like a mash-up of "Wild Thing" and "The Smurfs Theme".

One of my youth wrote this:

2010-06-05T18:07:00.002-04:00

Being a Christian is so much more than what the hypocrites portray it to be. It's more than wearing a Cross neclace or having a bracelett saying, "what would Jesus do?" It's about weilding that symbolic meaning on your heart. It's not about singing in Church or reading the Bible. It's about finding the Truth inside those things. It's not about giving to the poor or lending a helping hand. It's about who you glorify in the process. It's not about raising your hands or falling on your knees. It's about who your doing it for. It's not about what you say or what you think. It's about what your heart wants. It's not about climbing to the top or being called, "Top Dog." It's about the falls and fails on the way there. It's so much more than what you and I say or do. It's about what your heart desires. Do you desire sin? Or do you thrive for perfection?

Thoughts?

Lost: Finale

2010-05-24T00:32:00.002-04:00

I'm definitely going to be putting up some of my thoughts on the finale in the next couple days. I was immediately irritated, but the more it settles in the more I like it.

Did you watch the finale? what did you think?

He Just Quit:

2010-05-18T23:54:00.000-04:00

Tonight something weird happened.

The revival preacher got distracted one too many times, became frustrated and just called it.

He quit mid-story, mid-sentence even, and it was one of the most interesting moments of my time at this church.

I mean, I don't know if I would have done it the same way he did. I know that I've wanted to do exactly what he did. But, seriously, it takes a serious set of juevos to just quit.

Here's the thing. Tomorrow, is youth night, I've been planning for the teens to come be a part of the the revival for a month. I have nothing prepared. Pulling the kids out doesn't seem like an option. Pray that we do not have a repeat, I want the kids to hear what, if it follows the last couple, will be a powerful message.

Late-night Facebook Chat: An Old Friend

2010-05-16T01:43:00.004-04:00

1:15amHim

last time i saw you you were working at (music store) music

1:15amMe

yeah

I had to get out of there

hated it

honestly

I love what i do now

1:16amHim

did you have to go to seminary

1:16amMe

nah

I'm planning on it after she gets done

1:17amHim

well how did you go from the person you were to the man you are now?

1:17amMe

you know honestly

I'm not a drastically different person, at least from my view point

1:18amHim

me im the same person but with a lot more responsibility

1:18amMe

I get that question from people who knew me in high school though

I dunno, I know I'm different. Maybe I've become numb to the drastic change that has occurred and is occurring inside of me. None the less, I'm still just a graceless day away from being Chris at 16 again.

Fortune Cookie or Joel Osteen:

2010-05-13T00:26:00.001-04:00

I thought this was pretty funny, Tim Challies put a list of quotes from Joel Osteen up against a list of fortune cookie fortunes to see if we could pick them apart. Honestly, I don't know if I could because I was hearing Joel Osteen say them in my head. Whether he said them or not, he could and he'd say it with a smile.

Here's a taste. See if you can guess the author of these two then head to the website to check your answers. For what it's worth....I missed these.

"Avoid focusing on the negative aspects of the past."

"When you can't naturally feel upbeat, it can sometimes help to act as if you did."

Name Drop:

2010-05-11T23:35:00.001-04:00

The incredibly wise and unequivocally well mannered (and soon to be going from mono to stereo in the kid department) author of Call To Die, responded to a comment I left on his blog. He helped me get a better handle on the SBC nomination process and fleshed out why knowing about it at all is so important. While you may not be super into the topic, I recommend giving it a read just to see how eloquently he crafts his answers. You may even learn you somethin'!

Check it out!

The Deadliest Catch? No, The Deadliest Dunk:

2010-04-28T11:43:00.001-04:00

'How do you practice that?

"Practice? I would love to tell you that I put hours of practice in but I had to keep this one quiet so that I wasn't told not to do it. I did spend countless hours preparing mentally."'

He didn't even practice it.

Player Haters, Elevators:

2010-04-24T13:49:00.000-04:00

Late-night Facebook Chat:

2010-04-20T00:42:00.004-04:00

12:16amMichael

iiiii wanna know

have you ever

seen

the rain

12:16amMe

yes

12:17amMichael

good.

That was all...

Two Roads, I Took The One Less Psalty:

2010-04-15T14:33:00.004-04:00

When I was growing up my parents didn't go to church all the time. They went some, especially when I was enrolled at a private Christian school, but church was very early, my people don't do early. The perk/tragedy of all this would be my extreme lack of any and all knowledge of the 80's Christian children's subculture. I remember going over to a friends house and my mom half warning and half extolling me to be careful, "they are very religious." Mom was right, but they were also really nice, so score one for you old Christian neighbors.

I can't remember the name of their son, but he had albino white hair. It was blindingly blond and curly, so very curly, almost like if the hair kept changing it's mind, "Man, I gotta get away from the scalp!" but just a few weeks later, "I missed you scalp, I'll never do that again!" Oh, fickle hair. He also looked nothing like the Albino in Princess Bride.

So, I'm hanging out with Blondie, and we are shuttled to his room to play. I'm waiting for the video games, legos, and Ninja Turtles** to get broken out, but that doesn't happen. We just kind of chilled, he was a big outdoors and sports kid while I was an indoors and imagination kid. Not saying there isn't overlap, but we had different ideas of what should be happening. As an olive branch, Blondie asked me if I wanted to listen to music. I said, "sure".

He pops in a tape and a choir of children singing saccharine sweet tunes about church and trusting God bursts from the speakers, it freaked me out a little. I asked, "Blondie....what is this?" to which he replied "Charlie the Church Mouse." I told him, "Never heard this before." Blondie was having a hard time processing what it meant that my parents didn't love me enough to introduce me to Charlie. "You've never heard of Charlie the Church Mouse?" he asked, "No...but I really like this." (So you know, I went on a search for Charlie online. I had remembered the mouse being named Churchy. Google is leading me to believe I was wrong.)

I in fact did not like "this". I thought it was dumb. I also thought that sitting and listening to a full two sided tape of Charlie's adventures would be miserable so I took one for the team and offered to go get embarrassed at basketball. That was pretty much my one and only experience with Christian children's media till Veggietales came on the scene 10 years ago, which I was thankfully saved near there and was gracious towards the new generation of "Church Mice". Also, Charlie with a Jetpack.

My wife on the other hand....she grew up with the stuff. She and her sisters would watch videos and memorize songs. They would pick characters out and mimic the part while dancing along with them. Some of her fondest memories are formed around watching something called "Psalty the Singing Songbook." I was introduced to Psalty last night as my wife broke out in song and dance in our bathroom. Fun side note, I think you'll see that Psalty's career didn't end. He just took of the costume and became Flabber from Big Bad Beetleborgs. (Trust me...you'll see it in the videos.)

I didn't believe a word of the story she was telling me about Psalty and his adventures. I certainly didn't believe that this was a live action show either. So, where do I head? Youtube, that's where. I found this. Take the jump and get ready for a trip down memory lane or a quick fill up for your nightmare fuel tank.

I dunno, the dog freaks me out.

This is the one that my wife remembered. I love that this video is it's own ironic statement about the Christian subculture. Also, the dog freaks me out.

**I don't want anyone to think I'm against men and women playing the part of anthropomorphic animals or books in Psalty's case. The TMNT 'Coming Out Of Their Shells Tour Live" tape got worn out in my Walkman. I know that might be the secular version of Churchy and Psalty, but me and the turtles...we both loved Pizza.