One of my youth wrote this:

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

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:

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

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:

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."