Archive for February, 2010

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The Olympics, Chile, & Compassion


2010
02.28

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What a whirlwind world week and month(s).  We will finally reach the end of a two-week athletic competition that rivals nothing else internationally (ok, maybe the World Cup).  And I, for one, have been drawn right in.  Not that I don’t usually tune into the Olympics, but my interest would wane quickly.  However, this go around I have had staying power.

Maybe it was the moguls, men’s speed skating, curling (want to try that!), or the US Hockey teams, but I’m hooked.  I’ve DVRd tons of it and speed through to the events.  It’s been wild to see people from different parts of the globe and how I’ve come to love their stories, their cultures, their tragedies, and their triumphs.  It’s been adventurous.  It’s been competitive.  But overall, it seems so uniting.  The world is a big place.

… and not only big, but shaking a bit.  The recent earthquake frenzy of Eureka, Haiti, and now Chile has been slightly disturbing.  How do you fight and earthquake?  How do you start over?  How do you overcome tremendous loss so fast?  This isn’t real life JENGA! We can’t just rebuild the blocks and play again.  Lives, economies, cultures are at stake even.  I can’t help but feel overwhelmed by the wars, famines, catastrophes, and depravity of the world too.  I don’t want to sound hopeless (or Left Behind-ish).  It’s just that I need the God of hope to bring peace to my heart– and more so to the hearts of countless Chileans & Haitians.  Maybe my cry should be “I have hope, but help my unhope”.

And all these feelings rise and fall in the midst of our church’s focus on Global outreach.  That might not be an accident.  We can achieve medals in the name of competition and national pride.  We can bring aid to those in desperate life altering contexts.  But greater still, we can we make disciples.

An achievement and medal will be gained, lost, and often forgotten.  Tragedy will strike (even again) and nations will be broken.  But a disciple of the Most High God is forever.  And while there is pretty much no chance of me winning the gold nor a chance of being able to prevent natural disasters.  There is the strong possibility that I can give, invest, and surrender to the cause of disciple-making; locally and globally  (Matthew 28:16-20).

And so I will.

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Again This Morning


2010
02.22

Posted in life, spiritual formation | 1 Comment »

I have been thinking about the idea of repetition and commitment lately.  We often joke with people when they are in the thick of planning their wedding about the stress of it all.  We might poke with something like this:

“At your next wedding, you (groom) can have a say.”

Or… “You only do this once you know”

But, oddly enough, the second phrase has been the rub.  You don’t just do it once.  A commitment that huge happens anew every morning.  Yes, there is the initial “engaging” ask and the formal “I do”, but covenant relationships are so vital.  The renewal of pledges that forever truly need mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual affirmation.

I would say the same for parenthood or even unity in the body of Christ.  Membership in that community often takes renewal; remembering the significance of caring for one another deeply.

And, with caution (as to how you read this), I would say the same about our salvation.  Yes, we surrendered to Christ and He rescued us once and for all.  However, we work out our prayer with fear and trembling daily.  We recommit to the integrity, intentionally, and the eternity of this sacred union.

And on the flip side, I’m completely overwhelmed by the fact that God has eternally and intentionally committed to His children.  The scriptures teach us that He loves with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3), that He ‘s faith to complete the work in us (Phil. 1:6), and He will never leave us nor forsake His people (Deut. 31:7-9).

My God has eternally pledged to me and will not waiver.  And I’ve seen how He renews His pledge each day with new mercies (Lam. 3:22-24) and graces.  Which begs the question:  “How am I renewing my pledge?”

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i give up


2010
02.18

Posted in catalyst, life, spiritual formation | 4 Comments »

“I am giving up!”

Well, at least for 40 days.  I am participating in the Lenten season this year.  A way to understand Lent would be to think of it like this:  Lent is to Easter as Advent is to Christmas.  It’s a forty day preparatory season that allows you to better identify with Christ’s surrender, sacrifice, and resurrection.  Practically, lent is expressed in “giving up something” tangible in order to be more attentive to “my desire for Christ (alone)”.

I was somewhat sure of what I was giving up before the Ash Wednesday Service at Big Valley Grace today.  And that short gathering confirmed it all the more.  Jon Byron mentioned that Jesus’ first temptation was to turn the desert into a bakery.  That insight really struck me.  I have heard the story of Christ’s temptation many times, but that phrase really got me today!  That is a category of sin I haven’t really pictured; me turning my deserts into bakeries of grace indulgence.  Wow! As convicted as I felt, I was rescued by hearing my name read aloud followed by the pronouncement of the forgiveness because of the work of Christ on the cross.

So, what am I giving up? I think it’s best described as emotional eating.  Others would call it sweets or snacks.  I have found that this mindless moment of rewarding or comforting myself with food is a huge struggle for me.  It truly is medication verses directing my soul craving to conversation and prayer with Christ.

For those of you who think it’s a small surrender, then good.  A small surrender every day can lead to great change!  That is the case made in this book too.

Are you making any small surrenders in life right now?  Giving anything up? It’s a good question to ask every now and again.

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Natural Selection


2010
02.16

Posted in humor, movies & media | 1 Comment »

Lately, for whatever reason, I’ve been involved in a lot of discussions revolving around dinosaurs, evolution, and the days of creation.  Today I was watching Del Tackett, of the Focus on the Family hit The Truth Project.  During the DVD tour about science and faith, Del spent most of time dealing with Darwinism’s lack of evidence (geologically and biologically that is).

And whatever that last sentence did to you personally, stirring a debate between Darwin or Intelligent Design (of which Ben Stein recently made popular) isn’t the goal of this post.  There is actually little goal at all… more amusement really.  I got to thinking that it would be fun to make a movie about Charles Darwin’s life… starring Will Ferrell.

Can you just picture the humor of Will as the budding scientist, along with a band of crazy colleagues (Andy Ritcher maybe), traversing the globe making wondrously wild science discoveries?  How funny a farce to include pokes at Monty Python and Pirates of the Caribbean.  And imagine him rolling up on Africa to find Snoop Dogg (who would have to say fo-shizzle or speak in slam poetry style rap).  Or maybe there would be a scene of Matisyahu cranking out reggae in Jamaica.  Of course there would have to be a Galapagos Island moment where Ferrell rode a turtle in some ancient loin cloth.  I could picture the Darwinian vocab of Natural Selection, Survival of the Fittest, Adaptation, and “That’s a Dar-Win” being the butt of many a joke as well.

Seriously, this could be hilarious… much like a Talladega Nights meets HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy!  I can totally hear Will (Darwin) saying, “Wait, wait… oh yes, that’s it… my good fellows, I have a THEORY!”

Calling all Hollywood Movie Producers!  Just email me now!  Many ideas are swirling, and I think we could make this work.

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A Bit of TV


2010
02.12

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Television isn’t a must for sure, but I have been enjoying a show or so lately.

  1. LOST -  Okay, it’s just an amazing story line!  Plus you can’t miss the end of a 6-year amazing television drama.  Well, at least you shouldn’t.
  2. American Idol – It’s always fun/sad to see the crazy’s.  And I think this year will be fun with Ellen.  I’m already rooting for “Soul Man” Garcia.
  3. Undercover Boss – This looked interesting during the SuperBowl and believe or not, it’s actually good.  Well, at least the first episode was pretty heart warming (2nd might be a skipper).
  4. Big Bang Theory – I don’t care what you think of me for saying it… but I really think this show is funny!
  5. Survivor - I don’t think I would have included this one unless they didn’t take the Heroes verses Villains angle.  I like James, Colby, and Stephanie… but good guys rarely finish first in this show.
  6. The Office – For some reason I find myself interested even when I’m not.  I think that’s the awkward “car wreck, neck-craning” appeal of the show.

Those moving down the DVR list (and maybe soon off):

  1. psych - It’s just not as funny as the first season, and a bit predictable.
  2. The Mentalist – Watched it because I thought it was making fun of psych and got hooked.  However, it’s a bit redundant now.
  3. Biggest Loser - It’s just getting a bit old to me.  It’s totally commendable, but I can watch the whole 2 hours in 10 minutes and not feel like I missed anything.

I’m interested to see how FLASH FORWARD & “V” turn out.  The seem to be the hopeful LOST replacement shows on ABC.  I don’t believe ABC will match its former hit, but it could be entertaining to watch.

Of course, in the sports world, football is gone (ugh).  However, there is always March Madness (hopefully to feature my 7′ 1″ cousin, Garrett Stutz, of the Wichita State Shockers) & the NBA (or just Lebron James highlights).  Nowhere near as exciting as the NFL or the Tour de France, but it’ll do.

And all of this is made possible by DVR… which cuts my actual TV time down by 1/3 at least!

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Close, but still glad.


2010
02.08

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Well, I wasn’t right, but close.  I had it predicted until the fourth quarter (see previous post).  It was a good game; however, I felt that it was decided more on mistakes than raw talent.  That was the only bummer.

The picture makes me truly glad for Drew Brees too.  He deserves a victory like this… especially after such an amazing year.

As for Super Bowl commercials, I wasn’t too impressed.  But I’d have to say that my favorites were these:

  1. Google (though not funny… very well done)
  2. Doritos (little boy and the Playa)
  3. Bud Light (Can House)

Honorable Mentions:

  1. Snickers & Betty White
  2. The Lost Remake by Bud Light
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My SuperBowl Pick!


2010
02.07

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COLTS top SAINTS in stellar Superbowl match-up!

Okay, so I’m making my pick.  I know that the Saints are a great team and they have been stellar all year long.  I know they went undefeated for a long period of time as well.  I get it that the city of New Orleans is grabbing hope from this great story written in the stars.  I’m aware of the fact that Drew Breese hasn’t won the big game.  Any yet…

I know that the Colts went nearly the whole season undefeated, and many of those games were hardcore blow-outs.  I get it that Manning has already one the big game.  I’m aware that the supporting cast was not the same superstars of years past; with a rookie receiving core and all.  I’m sure I’ve heard about 50 reports on the status of Dwight Freeney’s class 3 high ankle sprain.

However, I happen to think… {drum-roll please} … that the COLTS will win 31-27 over the SAINTS.  Even more so, I think that the game will be close, nervous, and defense the first quarter and a half.  About midway through the 2nd, the offenses will start to come alive and make it entertaining going into halftime.  After a weird show by Who (yes The Who), the whole second half (I predict) will be a tug-o-war between the offensive prowess of Breese and Manning.

The game ender (predictive game ender of course) will be a late great drive by the SAINTS halted by a tragic turnover.  The result will be that the not so high ranked COLTS D-Fense of past years will redeem themselves in this victory.  And in the spirit of great athletes, I don’t think the turnover will be Breese’s fault.  Instead, I see a receiver or running back coughing it up.

So, that’s my prediction… of course it could also be a blow out (ha ha).  Either way I will be at Catalyst!

** DVR-ing the commercials for sure!

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Sitting in a Early Galatian Pew


2010
02.05

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So I’ve been tracking with the Cadence Covenant lately.  We are currently moving through the book of Galatians.  It’s weird to think of yourself as a pew-sitting citizen of Galatia in the early first century.  I imagine it must have been spiritually nourishing to get any type of faith-based encouragement; especially from a passionate missionary of the gospel.  Below are a few selected passages that have been a bit of nourishing bread for me:

20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  ~ Gal. 2:20

9But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? ~ Gal. 4:9

18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. ~ Gal. 3:18

11I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.            ~ Gal. 1:11

Pretty amazing how these ancient Words of Life can still inspire today…

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LOST? I am…


2010
02.03

Posted in movies & media | 1 Comment »

Lost Cast in Lego... now that's funny!

So the final season of LOST premiered Tuesday night.  And for the record, I’m completely confused (some would say LOST… ha ha.  I know you haven’t heard that before).  I watched the 2-hour episode and found myself almost thinking I’ve figured it out, but then “guess who” comes back to life!  He’s my least favorite character on the show by the way.

But I do have a theory or two… and here they are.  Let me know what you think, where I’m wrong, and other mysteries as well.

  1. Jacob and the Dark Shirt guy of season 5′s ending are feuding Egyptian gods.  They were banished to a floating island where they must live out eternity hating each other.
  2. Richard Alpert is a servant or lesser god-like being who does the bidding of Jacob to prevent the evil of Dark Shirt dude (of which we don’t yet have a name… or we could call him John Smoke [ha ha]).
  3. These ‘gods’ are using people as pawns to try and loophole their banishment and kill each other or better yet return home (off the floating island).
  4. Everyone you’ve seen as dead, was dead and were inhabited by these gods to pawn out their purposes.  Manipulating the people towards loopholes in other words…
  5. However, because this is TV, something restorative will happen at the end and most will be restored to life (especially the central cast).
  6. This is my wild adjustment to the theory.  Desmond is going to be a surprise character which actually has a bend towards evil working with John Smoke.
  7. As for time travel… no idea.  That’s not my favorite aspect of the story.  Ask Doc and Marty.

Either way, wrong or right or close, I’m excited to see how this story ends.  It’s been some of the most entertaining television I’ve seen (evil Coca-Cola Polar Bears and all).

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