Perspective

This is a picture I took on Friday night as I was out getting dinner for Katie and I. I wish I had taken the picture a little earlier than this because you don't really get the full effect of what is going on from just this picture, so I'll try to describe it to you.

Believe it or not, I'm actually not under clouds at this point. The sky directly above me is perfectly clear. Not far ahead of me is a dark cloud hanging low in the sky. I seriously felt like I could just reach my hand up and touch it; it was hanging that low. Shortly after I took this picture, I was surrounded by rain, and the sun, which you see in the background there, was barely visible.

Because our radio is still flashing the error message from inputing the wrong anti-theft code, I've had a lot of time to just think while I've been driving. This picture got me thinking about the difficult times that we face in life. More often than not, when we are in the midst of them, we have a difficult time seeing the sun, which is waiting just beyond the clouds. Sometimes, we get so upset that we just sit down and allow the rain to pour all around us. But we need to remember that God is much bigger than the things that hang over our heads. Even though they may block Him out for a short while, that doesn't mean He isn't there in the middle of it all. The sun was still shining, I just couldn't see it. But knowing that the sun was on the other side of that dark cloud made driving through it less gloomy.

On the way back, I took another picture of the cloud, and as you can imagine, it looked significantly different.

That's the same cloud, but seen from a different perspective. When we are on the backside of the dark clouds in our life, things can look a little different. It doesn't look like anything more than just your normal, fluffy white cloud from this perspective. It's amazing what happens when we look at things with the sun supporting our vision.

So, what do you think? Same cloud, different perspectives. The sun is still there. The Son will always be there.

Vacation 2010 - Gatlinburg

Our vacation didn't end in New Orleans. We were back for a day to rush around and try to get some work done, then we took off for Gatlinburg because our nephew Damon had a choir competition. It was our 4th trip to Gatlinburg in the last 5 years because of this competition, and it will probably be our last one for quite some time. It was the first time in those 4 trips that it didn't absolutely pour the whole time we were there. The weather was absolutely gorgeous!

We got into town on Thursday evening, after making some stops at the Lodge outlet store, a Christian bookstore and a couple more outlets. We stayed at a different place than we have before. This one was right across the street from the Convention Center where the competition was being held, so it was a lot more convenient than the places that we stayed before. We shared a two-room suite with my sister, her husband and their youngest daughter. It was a lot of fun to just relax and spend some time with them.

On Friday, we went into the park and saw Cataract Falls. It's the first time that Katie and I have been into the park because of the weather. We had a nice, easy hike to the falls, took some pictures and made our way up the mountain to the Newfound Gap. It was an absolutely beautiful view up there. After lingering for a while, we headed back down and took showers to get ready for the competition.

Katie and I had lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, which was pretty good - not nearly as good as the food we had in New Orleans, but it wasn't all that bad either. It's interesting to me how "cajun" means "really spicy" everywhere but in New Orleans. It's something to ponder.

Damon and his choir did a fantastic job at the competition, winning first place in their division... of course, they were the only one's in their division, but the kids were so excited about winning first that it's okay not to tell them. Afterwards, we spent the evening walking down the parkway with my sister and her family. It was a nice, relaxing evening.

It was a short trip this year because I couldn't make myself take 2 Sundays off in a row, so after breakfast on Saturday morning, we headed back. It was quite a trip. We stopped just north of Knoxville for gas, then we went straight to Lexington, where we had lunch with a friend and met her new baby, who was born right around the same time as our little Sqooshy would have been born. I caught myself wondering what it would be like now if we hadn't lost the little one back in August. After we left Lexington, it was a straight shot to Katie's parents' house to pick up Pork Chop, and then to home.

It has been a fantastic 10 days of vacation, but I am certain ready to get back to the grind. As you know from a previous post, I've started a series on the Holy Spirit at church, and I'm really excited about it. I can't help but think that God is preparing us for some awesome things on the horizon.

Vacation 2010 - New Orleans

Katie and I took a few days to go down to New Orleans with her mom for a conference. We worked for part of the trip and enjoyed the town for the rest of it. We left on Tuesday, April 27th and flew to Tampa where we had a 2 hour lay over, then landed in New Orleans around 3 or 4 local time.

The best part about the vacation was that, because we were working while we were there, we didn't have to pay for the flight, hotel, or food for half of the trip. If you're going to take a vacation, be sure you do it on somebody else's dime!

Now, the real best part of the trip had to have been the food. I can't even begin to describe how good the food was down there. We went to some top notch restaurants - Domenica, Court of Two Sisters, Mr. B's Bistro, Besh Steak, Brennan's, Frank's, Charlie's Sea Foods, Cafe du Monde and Bacco... and McAlister's Deli, but I don't think that really counts.

I decided that I was going to try something new at every meal, and it was quite an experience: roasted goat, turtle soup, red snapper (along with some amazing grits.... seriously, if grits actually tasted like this each time I ate them, I would eat them all the time), 38 oz "cowboy steak" (a bone-in ribeye), fried oysters, muffuletta, whole crawfish boil, po boy, and giant (whole) grilled shrimp.

What was really cool was that while we were at Charlie's Sea Foods, we met the owner/chef Frank Brigtsen, who is a friend of the people we were visiting for the afternoon. Why is this so cool? He is a James Beard awarding winning chef - that's like a culinary Oscar. He was, simply put, the nicest, most gracious man... not to mention, he could cook like nobody else!

We did do some other things besides eat on this trip. We took a guided tour of the French Quarter. Our guide was very good and he gave us some great insight into the history of New Orleans and the French Quarter. We also were able to see his father's house, which is right in the middle of the French Quarter. Very fascinating.

We took a stroll down Bourbon Street, which was awful. I know that it's one of those "things to do" when you are in New Orleans, but it is disgusting and heartbreaking. Half-naked girls stand in the doorways trying to get you to come into their bar/strip club. People are running around acting like idiots all over the place. One place, called Big Al's World Famous Love Acts, had a guy standing outside trying to get people to come in, and as a way of enticing the passers-by, he held a sign that said, "No Cover." Clearly, he meant there was no cover charge to get in, but certainly there was no cover on the people inside as well. My only thought, which I tweeted afterwards was - "so many broken people looking for the wrong kind of fix." In honor of Mr. Gump... that's all I have to say about that.

After the conference was over, we still had a couple of days. On Saturday, Katie's friend Tre picked us up and gave us a local tour of the area. She told us a lot about the rebuilding that has been going on. It seems like on every corner there is something new, or something that is in the process of getting torn down.

On Monday, we had planned on doing a walking tour of the Garden District, but that fell through, and we spent the morning/afternoon walking around the French Quarter some more. We went through the French Market, where I purchased a gator head to go next to the mounted piranha in my office.

One big deal while we were down there was that New Orleans was inaugurating its first white mayor in decades. The outgoing mayor decided to hold on to a lot of money during his tenure, and decided to spend it now that he was leaving office. Because of that, nearly every single street in the town was getting worked on, which made traffic quite a chore. Thankfully, we didn't have to navigate it ourselves.

Obviously, the other big thing going on was the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It was on the forefront of everyone's minds because if it comes too near the shore, it is going to have a major impact on the fishing industry, which supplies the seafood for nearly half of the United States. On our flight out of New Orleans, we passed over the area where the oil spill is going on, but there was too much cloud cover to see it. Apparently, though, it is bad enough that we could have seen it from the plane.

All in all, we had a great trip. Unfortunately, the miscarriage that we have been expecting decided to happen while we were there, so that certainly put a damper on things, but we tried to not let it get us down. New Orleans is certainly an experience, and quite frankly, the food is incredible. It's not cheap, but it is fantastic.

Over Before It Began

As you probably know, last August, my wife and I had a miscarriage. It was very difficult for us. We were almost at 12 weeks, which is considered the "safe time" for the most part when it comes to pregnancies. It was awful. I can still close my eyes and sees the heartbeat on the ultrasound. A couple weeks before it happened, Katie was able to hear the heartbeat. To say the least, we were devastated.

On St. Patrick's Day this year, we found out that we were expecting once again. It was almost like the pain had finally melted away in light of the new joy that we had. Until today.

Last Wednesday, Katie had some bleeding that really freaked her out. We went to the hospital and got an ultrasound, but the tech couldn't find anything. We then go some blood work done and found out that one particular number was more consistent with a pregnancy in its 4th or 5th week, which cannot be seen on an ultrasound.

We went back two days later because that number was supposed to double every 48 hours. It didn't. It only increased by one-third. We went in for another ultrasound today, and there was still nothing to be found.

It turns out the embryo never fully formed. Our baby never had a chance. She hasn't officially miscarried yet, but we know that it is coming, which is more than we could say for our last one. I'm not really processing my emotions right now, because I rarely do in the first place.

I have noticed that I'm a little too upset at the fact that I am unable to watch the Cardinal game this afternoon - blackouts on ESPN and MLB.tv (which I almost subscribed to just to watch the game), along with the fact I haven't subscribed to Gameday Audio this year, have made it impossible.

I still believe that we will be parents some day, but we are having a hard time right now. This just plain sucks.

Super Bowl Week in Ministry

This week is one of the more difficult weeks in ministry. And it's not necessarily difficult because of anything in particular. In fact, maybe "difficult" isn't the best word. It's one of the busiest weeks in ministry. On Sunday, I referred to it as Super Bowl week for pastors. Here's a sample of what I mean. This week, I have to:

• Lead worship at two worship services for Palm Sunday (check)
• Go to Lafayette for a hospital visit (check, but may do it again)
• Host & preach at a community worship service (check)
• Prepare for Tuesday's Bible study (check)
• Actually remember to go to both churches for Bible study (I forgot about Hillsboro last Tuesday night.... oops!)
• Write a message for Maundy Thursday worship (check)
• Make sure everything is ready for Maundy Thursday worship
• Write a 5-10 minute "Reflection on the Cross" for community Good Friday worship
• Write a sermon for Easter
• Rehearse choral cantata with Hillsboro choir
• Rehearse with handbell choir for Easter morning worship
• Print bulletins for the Easter morning worship (probably double what I normally print)
• Lead worship on Maundy Thursday
• Attend & take part in Good Friday worship
• Check in on UMW Bake Sale Saturday morning
• Help out with Easter egg hunt
• Take part in worship at 6:30am on Easter morning
• Eat breakfast (can't forget that!)
• Lead worship for two Easter services

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I love being a part of the community of faith. I love leading a community of faith. It's just a busy week for a group of people who "only work one day a week." This is the week in the Christian faith. Praise God for a calling that causes me to be this mindful of the spiritual lives of those in my charge. It is an awesome responsibility.

When it's all said and done, I might need a day to relax, and wouldn't you know it, the Cardinals are playing the Opening Day game in Cincinnati. At noon on Monday, I'll be sitting in front of the television watching the Cards start off the 2010 season! What a week!

Nightline Question

Does God have a future? That's the question that Nightline is posing in their "Face-Off" series. The debate came out of a long-standing "rivalry" between Deepak Chopra and former fundamentalist, now "professional debunker of pseudo-science," Michael Schermer.

I find it very interesting in reading this article how quickly this debate became about the science of it all. And the question in the article sums up human hubris very aptly. The writer says, "Are we at a time in history when the argument can now actually be settled? Given all that we know today about the cosmos and life on Earth, is science killing God -- or can it bring us closer to him? Does God -- or should God -- have a future?"

The very way that this is all set up is to conclude that we can use science to either confirm God's existence or to debunk it. Quite frankly, in spite of all the rhetoric on both sides, the simple truth is that there is no way to know. Now, as a pastor, I firmly believe that there is a God. There have been things that happened in my life that leave me with no doubt (okay, on a bad day, there's always some doubt, but you know what I mean). But if you ask me to scientifically prove that God exists, then forget about it. I can't do that.

What I can do is look at the world around, examine the experiences that I've had in my life, and make a logical assumption based on those things. Clearly, I firmly believe that God exists, but don't ask me to start talking about neuro-science to prove it. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if we can completely wrap our minds around God, then maybe our concept of God is too small. If we think we can quantify God, then maybe we have nothing more than an idol that makes us feel better about our life.

The most important three words that I can say sometimes is simply, "I don't know." I'll tell you how God has worked in my life, but I can't tell you, nor can anybody else, about the "science" behind it all. God is bigger than that, and if He is not, then He is not God.

Catching Up

I realized a few days ago that it has been a while since I've put anything besides a sermon up on here. So, I thought I'd update y'all (both of you) on what's been going on lately.

As you probably now by now, it's been a rough month. We have moved back into a sort of normal life (at least a new definition of normal) since the miscarriage. The bad days are getting fewer and further between, which is all good. We haven't, nor will we ever, forget about that day, but we are moving on. In the meantime, Katie has been sick on and off since. We thought it was strep, but the test came back negative. The doctor thought it might have been mono, but, again, the test came back negative. It is clearly some kind of infection that hasn't quite gone away completely, but she is doing better now.

I haven't really seen any movies since the two-movie marathon last month. We've talked about it a couple of times, but there isn't a whole lot out right now that looks interesting. In Crawfordsville, there was one movie playing the other day that didn't include vast amounts of violence and gore (not exactly our type of movie... in spite of the fact that I did see District 9 and G.I. Joe recently). I don't remember what it was, but we weren't terribly interested in seeing it at the time.

I have been doing more reading than usual lately. This is a good thing. I haven't been reading a whole lot. I finished reading Craig Groeschel's It last week. Great book. I'll put some highlights up on the blog in a few days. I also started Cormack McCarthy's The Road. I've heard it was a pretty good book, and so far, it hasn't disappointed.

Katie and I are headed out for vacation at the end of next week. Our buddy Seth is getting married in Maryland, so we're heading out east for a few days. After the wedding, we're going to Pittsburgh for a couple of days too. I picked up a couple of tickets to a Pirates-Padres game at PNC Park. Great seats. They're in the front row out in left field, and we only paid $5 for each ticket (plus some service charges, which actually made them about $10/each). I'm pretty excited about it. Katie is at least acting exciting (apart from when she rolls her eyes when I tell people about the tickets). The next day, we're going to IKEA in Pittsburgh, which Katie is pretty excited about (and I'm acting excited, at least apart from when I roll my eyes when she tells people about it...). It'll be a good trip, and we're looking forward to getting away for a few days.

All in all, things have been pretty quiet lately. I'm trying out the B90X challenge put together by Pastor Steven Furtick as a challenge to read through the Bible in 90 days. Sounds impossible, but I think it'll be something that's pretty cool. Katie and I talked about doing it together last night, and then I think I'm going to challenge my churches to do it at the beginning of the year (at which point, I'll do it again alongside them as well). It's a pretty neat idea, and it is going to be intense. Check it out: B90X.

Sometimes, Life Just Sucks

Tuesday, August 11, 2009. A day I don't think I'll ever forget. It's the day that our excitement and dreams were crushed. It's the day that we lost our baby.

I was doing my office hours at Hillsboro, and when I came home, Katie started feeling a cramp in her abdomen. She had been spotting again, but I wasn't too concerned just yet. Then the cramping started. We got in the car and went to St. Clare in Crawfordsville. I think I knew what was going to happen, but I didn't want to admit it to myself. Then it did, and I couldn't stop crying.

I'm sitting at home on Wednesday morning, and I don't know what to say. I'm grateful for all the support that we have received from friends and family. I know that God was with us every step of the way. But, honestly, I feel like crap. Maybe it's because I didn't sleep well last night (you'd think that for as much as the hospital is going to charge us, they'd have better sleeping accomodations!), maybe because it took us four years to get pregnant in the first place... I don't know. I still think about how Katie got to hear the heartbeat in Atlanta a few weeks ago, and my eyes start to tear up because I never did. We were getting ready to start on the nursery...

I know that God is with us, but sometimes, life just sucks...

Can You Hear the Call?

No, this isn't a sermon or a devotional thoughts blog, in spite of what you may think from the title of the post. It is a post to announce the most glorious news that I have heard since I found out I was going to be a father (by the way, if you haven't heard.... I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER!!!!!).

In checking in on some of my blogs in Google Reader, one of the categories that I have set up is "Wii". I like to see what's coming up and read some of the reviews for the Wii and its games. Anyway! CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE IS COMING OUT ON THE WII!!!!!! It is scheduled to be released on November 10th in conjunction with the launch of Modern Warfare 2 for other game consoles.

After playing through Call of Duty: World at War, I bought CoD4 for our computer at a Half Price Books, but our computer doesn't have the necessary video component to play the game. I've wanted to play it, but just haven't been able to do so. With any luck, this one will also have an online format similar to CoD:WaW.

So, if you were wondering what might end up on my Christmas list.... well, there you go....

On ICEE's and Foam Cups

I got an ICEE yesterday. Okay, it wasn't really an ICEE, but it was a "frozen drink" similar to an ICEE. Some call them slushies, some call them ICEE, I say call me when you're getting them. When I lived in Noblesville, I couldn't go more than five days without this frozen, delightful treat. The best one that I have had is the Mountain Dew one found at most Speedway gas stations. Unfortunately, the one thing that I have not liked about living in Veedersburg is the lack of Mountain Dew frozen drinks. I know, I know, it's rather trivial, that's why I haven't complained to my district superintendent yet.... yet... Anyway, all of this has gotten me on an unexpected tangent. The purpose of this post is to discuss the need for a revolution in the frozen drink world.

You see, some places feel the need to have styrofoam cups for these frozen drinks. On the surface, it makes sense. After all, who wants their frozen drink to melt all over the place. The "Polar Pop" idea works great for fountain drinks, and I am a strong advocate of it because it does make your fountain drink stay colder, longer. This is advantageous because the ice in the fountain drink does not melt and thereby water down your fountain drink. But notice the key modifying word here - fountain drink, not frozen.

When you place a frozen drink in a foam cup, it also keeps it colder longer. Again, this would seem to make sense; however, there is a very important flaw in the system. What makes ICEEs, slushies, or whatever you call these heavenly drinks so good is the fact that the slush stays in a slush-like state. Once it begins to become more frozen, all of the joy of the frozen drink gets sucked up in the syrup, and all you have is a cup full of packed ice. It's very disturbing.

Drinking a frozen drink is an art form. The slush needs to stay slush-like, not hail-like, so you can't drink it too fast (not to mention the fact that drinking it too fast causes a major freeze in my apparently huge brain; it must be huge because it extends to the roof of my mouth). However, the slush also needs to not melt too quickly so you end up with some kind of cold soda that has been left on the counter overnight, so you can't drink it too slow either. But the foam cup kills any kind of drink-timing that goes along with frozen drinks in the first place. It's very disturbing, my friends... very disturbing.

So, I want everyone to come together and raise up a single voice in support of the non-foam cup slushie, or ICEE, or whatever you call it! Stand up, my friends! Stand up against the tyranny of foam cups! Stand up against the crime of packed ice frozen drinks! FREEEEDOOOOOOMMMMmmm!!!

Blog Redesign

Well, what do you think? I like the 3 column format. I felt like it was getting a little heavy on one side. I like the colors, and I'm starting to like the design up-top. I've also added my Twitter feed to the blog on the right hand side. If you're on Twitter, let me know. I've been easing myself into it. I'm afraid my everyday life isn't terribly exciting for micro-blogging (not that's it's super exciting for macro(?)-blogging either!).

If you think of anything that might be good on the redesign, just let me know!

Summer Movie Tour: The Proposal

There are currently about 5 or 6 movies out that I want to see this summer. Unfortunately, it's been a busy couple of weeks, and let's not forget, the closest movie theater is 20-some miles away. Regardless, Katie picked the movie for this stop on the summer movie tour, and we went to see The Proposal starring Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock.

As you've probably picked up from the trailers/commercials, The Proposal is about a woman who plans to marry her assistant in order to stay in the country (instead of being deported to Canada). Both the expected and unexpected happen along the way, and (nearly) everybody will walk away relatively satisfied with the ending.

My assessment: I enjoyed this movie. I know that I'm walking in dangerous territory by admitting to liking a perceived "chick flick;" however, what's not to love about Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. They make a great on-screen team and have believable chemistry as a couple.

My recommendation: If you are looking for a light-hearted movie to see with you girlfriend/wife, this one is well worth the time. It is quite funny and touching in parts. Relatively predictable, but if that doesn't bother you, then enjoy!

The Candy of Heaven

My hands-down, absolute favorite type of candy is the gummy worm. I love them. They are delicious in ways that cannot be described by mere English words. Koine Greek, the second language of heaven, comes close to describing the indescribable nature of this tasty treat, but even it falls short. The best place that I have ever found a gummy worm is the Ole Smokey Candy Kitchen in Gatlinburg, TN. They are absolutely amazing.

In general, I find gummy worms to be the ideal manifestation of such a candy-licious treat. It's not that I don't like gummy bears, gummy dinosaurs, gummy fish, or even gummy artificial limbs. It's just that the gummy worm is shaped in a perfect way so as to include multiple flavors, and it fits very well in that space between your teeth and your lips. Sure, it looks like I'm taking a dip (which is totally disgusting) every time I eat gummy worms, but that is only an aesthetic drawback for those around me, and consequently has no bearing on my overall enjoyment of said gummy worm.

I can generally tell which brand, or at least what the packaging off the particular gummy product, looks like. One day, while I was working at Sears, a friend of mine offered me a gummy bear, and I was able to correctly identify it as a Haribo gummy bear - you know, the one that comes in the gold package...

Anyway, all of this is to set up an amazing video that I was fortunate enough to come across this morning, as I was engaging in one of my current time-wasting activities.

Behold, the next inevitable step in gummy technology...

the GIANT GUMMY BEAR on a stick!!!!!!

Life Lessons from Farkle

I have recently been hooked on a game on Facebook. Actually, I've been hooked on a couple (I think I may have a mildly addictive personality...), but the most recent one is called Farkle. Farkle is a dice-game a lot like Yatzee in that it uses dice. That's really the only similarity between the two games. Here's a quick rundown of the rules according to the Facebook version:

1) You start with six dice.

2) In order to keep rolling, you have to score something on each roll.

3) Once you use a die as a part of a score, it gets taken out of the next roll.

4) You have to have 300 points before you can end your turn.

5) If you do not score on a roll, then the round is over and you get no points.

6) If you roll a one or a five, you get 100 or 50 points, respectively. These two numbers are your best friend because as long as you have at least one of them in a roll, you can potentially keep playing.

7) You can also score by getting three-of-a-kind in any number, three pairs, or a straight (1 through 6).

8) There are ten rounds in each game.

Now, so far, the online, Facebook version will show me the top scores from my friends, but it will not allow me to play against them live. It's basically a one-player game right now. My top score is listed, and my goal is to beat my top score (and the top scores of my friends). Okay, so that's the background information. Hopefully it wasn't too tedious. If you've made it this far, then you are actually interested in what I have to say, or you skipped the rules above. Either way, please continue...

So, with Pandora jamming to the Lifehouse station, I give you...

Life Lessons from Farkle

Life Lesson #1 - Sometimes in life, it's just you trying to beat your best. Competition is healthy, for the most part. It challenges us and pushes us to go one step beyond what we thought we could do. More often than not, our only limitation is the obstacles that we have placed in front of us.

Life Lesson #2 - Things happen that we have no control over. Isn't that the truth? There are not many more explicit signs of this than when we play a game with dice. I cannot control what gets rolled when those dice come out of my virual hands. If I don't have 300 points, I have to keep rolling. A lot of the time, I end up getting Farkled before I've even hit the minimum points. I've even gotten it on the first throw before! There's no way to control it. You just pick up the dice and start over. On the flip side, if you get a straight, you get 1,500 points. The only way to do this is right out of the gate on the first toss of the round. There's no strategy, no way to make it happen. It just does. Good things happen, bad things happen. That's life.

Life Lesson #3 - While we don't have control over some things, there are other things that come down to a decision that we make. If I'm sitting at 450 points in Farkle, I can take the points and end the round, or I can decide to continue to roll. Now, hypothetically, I would have already rolled 4 one's and 1 five to put me at 450 points. I still have one die left to roll. I know that I need to roll either a one or a five in order to continue my turn with any hope of scoring points. I have a decision to make. I know the odds, but the odds mean diddly-squat at that moment. I have to decide whether or not I'm going to take the points and run, or if I'm going to risk them for more.

Life Lesson #4 - Knowing all the facts doesn't make the decision any easier. It certainly doesn't hurt to know that I have a 1 in 3 chance of getting the needed value, but it doesn't make that value appear when I do decide to throw the die.

Life Lesson #5 - Our past sometimes helps our decision making. If I've already thrown one Farkle, I am hesitant to take a chance on getting another one. Getting three in a row causes the player to lose 500 points. Do I really want to put myself in a position where I might get that third Farkle in a row and lose those points?

Life Lesson #6 - Keeping an eye on the future also helps our decision making. If I'm on the final round of my game, and I still haven't topped my high score, I'm rolling those dice until I either a) beat my high score, or b) get a Farkle. I think even if I were playing against a live opponent, I would have to make this decision. Because if you aren't going to take a risk from time to time, you aren't going to win. Oops, I think that's #7....

Life Lesson #7 - If you aren't going to take a risk from time to time, you aren't going to win. Sometimes you have to take a risk in life. Sure, it may be easier to play it safe, but if the result is just going to be pedestrian, then why bother? Average is all right from time to time, but there are times in life when we have to be willing to take a risk and become better than average.

Life Lesson #8 - It's not over until that final Farkle. There is always hope. Even if you are 2,000 points behind in that last round, you can hit a hot streak and rack up some serious points. I've had a few rounds go over 2,000 or even 3,000. That's when taking a risk pays off. What would've happened if I didn't take that final risk? I would have lost anyway.

Life Lesson #9 - And finally, when things are going bad or something happens that completely works against your ultimate goal, there is no need to cuss. You can just shout out, "FARKLE," pick up your dice and get on with life.

Summer Movie Tour: Terminator Salvation

Now this is what you want in a summer movie - non-stop action, unexpected turns, and a whole lot of explosions!  Let me begin by saying that if you're looking for an Academy award winning movie, then don't go see this, but for those who have at least the slightest interest in big-time summer movies - this is a great way to kick it into high gear.

For those unfamiliar with the Terminator series, I'm not going to go into too much depth explaining the what's and why's of the movie, but here's a brief summary.  It is set in the year 2018.  Judgement Day has happened.  Skynet had become self-aware and set itself on a path of human eradication.  We come in right in the middle of a war.

If the trailers and previews hadn't given it away, you would be hard-pressed to realize that Marcus Wright was, in fact, mostly machine.  About the only thing that gave it away was the fact that over about a two-three day journey, his companions eat, but he never does.  It's really subtle, and I can't say that I would have picked up on it if I didn't already know.  However, Marcus is still more man than machine, a fact that Skynet failed to take into consideration when it made him.  Regardless, that's not the only surprise awaiting viewers.  I so very much want to spill the beans, but it would seriously take away from part of the movie for those who are actually going to see it.  So I'll say this - it's worth taking the time to see this one.

My assessment: In case you cannot tell, I really enjoyed this one.  Even the previews were fantastic (Transformers, Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Surrogates, Sherlock Holmes, and a couple others).  Everything that you want in a big-action summer movie.

My recommendation: See it in the theaters.  Everything is so big in this movie that you'll miss a little bit in translation to the small screen.  And if you are headed out to see it, let me know - I wouldn't mind seeing it again!

The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth: Review and Reflections

I had never heard of this work before this week.  It is apparently the work of Thomas Jefferson, and it is his take on the New Testament, without all of those pesky supernatural things to get in the way.  Yeah....  Here are a few of my thoughts as I read it, followed by my conclusions

• - 1:55-59 - This brief excerpt makes no sense apart from the miracle that is performed by Jesus.  It is found in Mark 3, where Jesus enters a synagogue on the Sabbath and heals a man with a withered hand.  The Pharisees consider it work and that Jesus is breaking the Sabbath; however, in the Jefferson version, it seems like the Pharisees are ticked off because Jesus asked them a simple question.  It wasn't just the question, it was the act of healing a man with a "whithered" hand that set off the Pharisees.
  
• - 2:20-21 - Comes from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5).  "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."  Now think about this for a minute.  Jesus says that he is there to fulfill the Law and the Prophets - the very ones who talk about his resurrection, which is left out of Jefferson's version because of its supernatural nature.  To conclude, it also says that nothing should be removed from the Law (which is the OT for us), but Jefferson does the equivalent by chopping off large portions of the gospels.
• - 3:48-50 - The discussion of the narrow and the wide gate.  By chopping off the supernatural, Jefferson makes the way much wider, and is, in fact, doing the very thing that this passage warns against in the first place.  And the "beware of false prophets" part?  Sure, the Jefferson edition may make more sense to those who are inexplicably offended by the supernatural, but it is an incomplete and, therefore, false message.
• - 3:63-64 - The people were amazed at Jesus' teaching because he taught as one with authority.  So, why would somebody take away from his teaching?  If Jesus taught with authority that had never been seen before, why would we disregard his teachings?  Jesus himself talked about his resurrection.  Why ignore it if he taught with such authority?
• - 4:26 - Why would we be afraid of one who can throw us into hell is the natural world is all that there is?  If all we see is all there is, then talking about hell is pointless.
• - 4:52-56 - Retells the story of those waiting on their lord to return.  The point of this parable is the need to be prepared when Christ returns.  Again, no supernatural, no return of Christ.  Jefferson is proving to be very inconsistent.
• - 7:57 - "Jesus answered and said to them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel."  "One work"?  What could that possibly mean if not a miracle that Jesus performed?  Jesus admits to doing the miraculous, but Jefferson denies it.
• - 12:61-70 - Story of the Sadducees trying to trap Jesus with a question about the resurrection that the Jews believed in.  It would be interesting to hear why this wasn't cut out as well.
• - 13:50-52 - Relates Jesus' telling of the flood story found in Genesis; something that Jefferson certainly wouldn't have believed.
• - 15:49-58 - Leaves out the part about Jesus sweating blood as he prays, which is an actual medical condition called hematidrosis.  It is rare, but happens in circumstances when a subject is under extreme stress.  Da Vinci mentions soldiers sweating blood prior to battle.
• - 16:13 - Mentions that one of the disciples cut off a person's ear, but fails to mention that Jesus heals the person.  If we want to focus on Jesus' teachings and love and forgiveness, perhaps healing an ear that was cut off would show his compassion and love and capacity to forgive.  Of course, such a thing cannot possibly happen, right?
• - 16:37 - Mentions Jesus' saying that if "this temple" is destroyed, he will build another that is made without hands.  John 2 clearly tells us that he is talking about his body and the resurrection when he says this.  The Jefferson Bible makes no mention of John's report of Jesus' words, but he mentions the false witnesses saying it at Jesus' trial.
• - 16:41 - The high priest asks Jesus if he is the Son of God, and in response to Jesus' answer cries out that Jesus has committed blasphemy.  It is only blasphemy if Jesus' answer is something that would have equated himself with God... like saying that he is the Son of God.  Jesus undeniably says that he is the Son of God here; not just a normal man, as the version is trying to show him to be.
• -17:37 - the above two points are again discussed here.
• - Inconsistency in Jefferson's thought that is found throughout: if he wants to get rid of anything that is considered supernatural, then he should take out any reference whatsoever to God, who by His very nature is far beyond anything that is found in the natural world.

I have to say that I am very disappointed in this rendition of the gospels by one of America's most well-known figures.  Now, the content itself, I can't really complain about.  It is straight out of the gospels; however the editing is horrible and inconsistent (as you can see above), as it chops out significant portions of the Gospels (there are 89 chapters in the four gospels; there are only 45 pages and 17 chapters in the edition that I read from the internet).  It may be offensive to some that stories of the miracles fill the verses of the gospels, but these miracles point to Jesus as something more than just a regular guy like ourselves.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time that somebody has tried to edit the New Testament in such a way that it is better for their personal beliefs.  It's always easier to change the text than to change one's life, isn't it?  Marcion is one figure in church history who tried to do this.  He wanted to have a Burger King Scripture as well ("have it your way").  But what this ignores is the fact that the Scriptures aren't about our preferences.

Scripture was written and handed down to us by those who were a part of the story.  1 John talks about how they were there, they saw, they touched, they heard the story of Jesus.  I'm going to take their word on what happened over some political figure 1700 years after the events took place.

Jesus is who Scripture tells us he is.  Whether or not we want to believe it, we have been handed down the stories by those who were there.  We can't chalk it up to first century ignorance, because that is nothing more than 21st century ignorance.  People knew the difference between a person who was dead and a person who was alive.  People didn't survive crucifixion in the first century.  They weren't proclaiming that Jesus survived the crucifixion; they didn't say that he lives on in the memory of his teachings.

Jesus is about so much more than love and peace.  He is about redemption and reconciliation as well.  He is the one who came so that we would know what it means to live in full relationship and fellowship with the Almighty Father.  If you are offended by the miracle stories and refuse to believe simply because they sound like fairy tales, then get over it.  

If I told you at the beginning of last season that the Rays would go from a 66 win team to the AL champs, you would have thought that it was impossible; but it happened (okay, it wouldn't be me if there wasn't a post about sports).  There is a medical phenomenon called "spontaneous remission" in which there is no medical reason for a person to heal, but they do anyway.  The unbelieveable still happens, so why would we rule out the idea that it happened back then as well.

When you look at what happened after the resurrection, the only thing that make sense in light of all the evidence is that Jesus rose from the dead.  That's it.  No other explanation takes into account all the other details of what happened after that first Easter.  The question is not "is this true?" but "what are you going to do with the truth?"  We can ignore it and come up with excuses or we can recognize that something extraordinary and unbelieveable happened and allow ourselves to learn more about it.  Don't chop off the parts that don't make sense.  Read them, over and over again if necessary.  Allow your life to be changed by the truth contained in those words.

Big Day

Well, today was interesting.  Woke up, caught up on some Tivo, finished a sermon, set up our new XM radio, went to a Donkey Basketball game and closed it out with a Frosty.

I'm slowly moving into the 21st century, and why do I say that?  Two reasons (and one sub-discussion):

1) In the past 6 months, I've hooked up a Tivo, bought an iPod, a Blackberry, started blogging on a regular basis (only 15 posts shy of last year's total), signed up for Twitter, got a DS for my birthday, and now I have moved into the world of satellite radio.

1a) "Why satellite radio?" I imagine you saying.  Well, quite frankly, I was tired of having to scan through faint radio stations coming in from five different cities (Champaign, Danville, Terre Haute, Lafayette and Indianapolis), and not really finding a whole lot that I actually wanted to hear.  I have a long road trip coming up in July (Katie is flying to the ATL for a work trip, and then I'm going to meet her there and drive to Savannah for our anniversary trip).  It was on the clearance shelf at Target (only $35!), and finally, perhaps the most compelling reason: 15 channels of nothing but baseball; one major channel, and play-by-play channels.

2) I did live-Tweets from a Donkey Basketball game.  At first, it was a bit excessive, but, hey, it was my first shot at live-Tweeting an event.  It's a learning experience, but the first one is out of the way.

Exciting times, my friends.  Exciting times...

Tuesday Tunes... on a Wednesday

Yesterday was a little crazy, so I didn't get out my weekly Tuesday Tunes post, and I haven't had much of a chance to get to it today... until now.

As I was finishing up Sunday's sermon, it seemed only appropriate to use this classic as the song for the week.  It's Steven Curtis Chapman's Live Out Loud.

If you want to know why I chose this song, I guess you'll just have to show up on Sunday morning.  Veedersburg worship is at 9:15, Hillsboro at 10:45.

Unfortunately, the YouTube video has disabled the embedding of the video, except for crappy live versions recorded on somebody's phone; so you'll have to click here to see the video.

Live Out Loud by Steven Curtis Chapman

Imagine this 

I get a phone call from Regis - 
he says "Do you want to be a millionaire?" 
They put me on a show and I win
with two lifelines to spare

Picture this 
I act like nothing ever happened 
and bury all the money in a coffee can 
Well, I've been given more than Regis ever gave away 
I was a dead man who was called to come out of my grave 
I think it's time for makin' some noise

CHORUS:
Wake the neighbors 
Get the word out 
Come on, crank up the music, climb a mountain and shout 
This is life we've been given, made to be lived out 
So, la, la, la, la, live out loud

Think about this 
Try to keep a bird from singing after
it's soared up in the sky 
Give the sun a cloudless day and tell
it not to shine

Think about this 
If we really have been given the gift
of life that will never end 
And if we have been filled with living
hope, we're gonna overflow 
And if God's love is burning in our
hearts, we're gonna glow 
There's just no way to keep it in

CHORUS

So, la, la, la, la, live out loud 
Live out loud 
Everybody 
La, la, la...la, la, la...la, la, la, live out loud 
I wanna hear everybody 
La, la, la...la, la, la...la, la, la, live out loud

Every corner of creation is a living declaration 
Come join the song we were made to sing

CHORUS

Yeah, It Was the Goat...

I've heard the term "scapegoat" before. I know the biblical meaning behind the term. I'm very familiar with the concept. However, I think Cub fans go too far in their scapegoating. Apparently, somebody thought it was a good idea to kill a goat (or at least find a dead goat) and hang it from the Harry Carey statue outside of Wrigley last night. Talk about a scapegoat! Read the article here.

It all goes back to the 1945 World Series when Billy Sianis, a tavern owner in Chicago, brought a goat to World Series Game 4. He was asked to leave. The Cubs lost that game, then the Series, and haven't been back since. Supposedly, Sianis put a curse on the Cubs as he left the field that will prevent them from ever hosting another World Series in Wrigley. So far, the score looks like this: Goat Curse 63, Cubs 0.

Clearly, it is a goat's fault that the Cubs have annually failed to live up to expectations. It has nothing to do with good players playing poorly in the playoffs, or a bad team not making the playoffs in the first place. Hopefully, a similar fate doesn't await, St. Louis hero, Steve Bartman.

Great Quote

I have a "Quote of the Day" widget on my iGoogle homepage.  It is interesting from time to time, some days I forget to read it altogether.  Anyhoo, I came across this quote the other day.

"Nobody in the game of football should be called a genius.  A genius is somebody like Norman Einstein" - Joe Theismann, former quarterback in the NFL.

Wow.  I mean, wow....