1.26.2009

Looking through the crap

When you look through the crap of politics, sometimes you get this enjoyable stuff.



Sometimes we perscute the crap out of a public figure who has a different opinion then we do, yet what is so great about America is that we are a nation of great humans with different views, opinions, and values. Don't let the Keith Olberman and Sean Hannity's of the world cause you to think otherwise.

1.22.2009

National Prayer Service

Watched the National Prayer Service yesterday. After watching quite a few of these over the last few inaugurations, and at first I was wondering.....

Why don't we just make these specific to the religion of the President?
If the incoming president is Jewish, shouldn't it be a Jewish centered service?
If the incoming president is Hindu, shouldn't it be a Hindu oriented service?
If the incoming president is Agnostic, shouldn't there not be a service?
If the incoming president is Christian, shouldn't it be a Christian service?
It seemed as though 35 religions had a part in it.

Then I realized this.......

“President-elect Obama’s faith is a central part of his life and he will begin the first full day of his Administration with a service of interfaith prayer and reflection,“ said Presidential Inaugural Committee Communications Director Josh Earnest. “The National Prayer Service, which will embody the themes of tolerance, unity and understanding, is a worship service for all Americans. “

so that makes sense, I guess.

Your thoughts?

1.21.2009

Happy Birthday Kelly

and thanks to amy, I found you a gift I didn't have to buy on Itunes. And I know you will recognize every song....maybe want to join!


1.19.2009

Random Thoughts

  • Kelly's Birthday this week. Gosh, she makes me happy! She has added so much joy to my life.
  • Boy's are in the "test everything" stage. And by everything, I mean patience. And by " " - I did those for Danielle.
  • With it being so cold lately, have all of the Global Warming Kool Aid drinkers gone into hiding. Don't really hear them shouting it from the roof tops anymore...
  • Expectations are high for Obama. I wonder how quick impatient Americans will turn on him if he doesn't meet all the hype. Better yet, I wonder what this country will look like if he meets and exceeds those expectations.
  • Obama is not Lincoln people - let him be his own person...oh wait - most of that comes from his own team. be yourself Obama.....
  • I respect all Presidents and wish people on all sides would not say such hateful statements. I am glad there is not a whole country to pick apart everyone of my decisions.
  • Why the Steelers, why again. Somebody end this pain!

1.03.2009

Okay, this post had me rolling.....literally.

http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/2009/01/shetland-pony-biggest-loser-and-three.html


The Shetland Pony, Biggest Loser and Three Posts in a Cage Match
Wow, great feedback last week on whether “Massages during church” should be included in the book. Some folks loved it, some said it was average. Thanks for being honest.Today, I thought I’d do a short stack of essays, with three micro ideas instead of one long rambling essay. If you could only choose two of these three, which two would you put in the book? Pretend it's a no holds barred cage match, which two are walking out?(My hope is that I can fit all three, but I’ve put this book on a crash diet and have it running on a treadmill with a piano and a small Shetland pony strapped to its back and Jillian from the show Biggest Loser yelling at it. “You think, you’re good enough to be printed? You think you’re paper worthy? Is that what you think? You gotta be funnier than that! You gotta want it!” I am weird.)

Essay #1 - Using “let me pray about it” as a synonym for “no.”I love when someone asks us to help out at church and instead of saying, "no" we say, "Let me pray about it." Really? I asked you to help me clean up tomorrow night after the youth group and you feel like that's something you need to run passed the Savior of the world? He's going to give you the thumbs up or thumbs down on whether or not you can help me stack chairs for seven minutes?Sure, there are lots of situations that call for a "pause while I pray" response. But I think that 37% of the time when we say "let me pray about it" we are just saying that so we can delay the rejection and can later email the person a big no instead of doing it in person.

Essay #2 - Love OfferingsA love offering is kind of a "volunteer offering" the church takes up during special occasions like when a puppet group from Guam (named “Strings of Mercy”) is performing at your church. It's really not that voluntary though because if you don't contribute anything you're essentially telling everyone that your heart is not full of love. By not putting a couple of bucks in the offering plate you're actually putting in a big fistful of hate. I wish when the ushers collected a love offering they would say out loud when someone didn't give, "Oh, you don't have any love for the magical world of puppetry? I guess love your neighbor doesn't include puppeteers? Fine."

Essay #3 - Church names that sound like designer clothing stores.My cousin attends a church called "Warehouse 242." There's another church in his area called, "Elevation." In Durham, North Carolina there’s a church simply called "The Summit." I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point we started naming our churches after stores that sell designer jeans. And I'm cool with that. I don't think you have to name something the "Back to the Bible Holiness Church" which is outside of Atlanta in case you want to attend.I think it might be a great thing to have a funky name because it opens up some good conversations with people. Imagine you're at work on Monday and someone says, "What'd you do this weekend?" You can reply "I hung out at Elevation." Your friend will then say, "Is that the new salsa/techno/hip hop/Southern Cambodian traditional dance club? I've heard the girls in that place are ridiculous." At which point you can then say, "No, it's a church" and then proceed to share the entire gospel with him and possibly baptize him in the break room sink.OK, it might not go down exactly that way, but at the bare minimum, saying you went to "Elevation" is going to at least keep the conversation rolling and possibly even raise some questions. If you said, "I went to 'God is Awesome, Praise Sweet Baby Jesus Cathedral of Hope and Light' over the weekend," your friend might throw an imaginary smoke bomb and climb out of a window to get out of the conversation. Which is never a good thing.

A New Year

Well another year has passed. What a year it was! A lot changed, including a new job for me. I am not much a fan of resolutions, but this year for probably the first time ever, I am doing them. I am going to stick to them there is no other option (I will keep you posted...). And they are..........drum roll please.......

  1. To read 20 books this year. And I am not talking twilight. I am beginning with Bill O'Reilly 'A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity' and John Burke's 'No Perfect People Allowed'
  2. I need to run at least 3 times a week. I got of the routine and it shows. I have hit 295 lbs...just kidding.
  3. I need to be patient. It is not easy for me to have patience with others. Most of you know this and I need to learn it.

Here we go, let's give it a whirl!

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