Here and Now

So I'm at my in-laws today and I'm supposed to be working on my message for Sunday...but I'm way too distracted (everybody, pretend to be surprised) so I decide to clean out some of my inbox and email some friends and then start surfing and I happen on this site: http://www.indievisionmusic.com/ The very cool thing about this site is the amount of free downloadable music that's available ( legally I might add). Okay, so I've never heard of most of these bands (the Huntingdons were the first download that I saw that I recognized), still, I'm game for free music. Tons of EPs and special singles (bunch of Christmas stuff from last winter, which is kinda cool, though I can only take so much, you know?) So, how did you spend your Friday?

No, really, EVERYBODY knows the noun form of this word...but did you know it has a verb form too? cashier PRONUNCIATION: (ka-SHEER) MEANING: verb tr. : To dismiss from service, especially with disgrace. noun : An employee who handles payments and receipts in a store, bank, or business.

...but blogger lets me go back in time :) Star Wars was released today, May 25th, 1977... Wow - 33 years ago...and I still care... What does that say about me?

I'm going to take a brief break from The Importance of Being Foolish . My introduction to Brennan Manning, like millions of others, came via dcTalk's song "What If I Stumble?" Manning is heard just before the song on the Jesus Freak album saying: “The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable” I think it's a fitting quote to come right before a song about falling from grace - and how we handle it. It's really saying the complete opposite of the song, I think. The song asks, "Will the love continue if my walk becomes a crawl...what if I stumble and what if I fall." And Manning says that it is our stumbling and falling that drive people away from Christ. Almost... See, there's a word that Manning uses that is key here. It's lifestyle - deny Him with our lives

... The Empire Strikes Back was released today. Check out the Periodic Table of the Empire Strikes Back: here In slightly (un)related news, Google says that Pac Man was foisted onto the world 30 years ago today as well:

...that today is international draw Mohommed day? Yeah, check it out here: Comics Alliance So I'm not so sure that the best response to violent extremism is, as one person put it, "to give (them) the finger" so to speak. Ah well, what a world we live in...

Here's the link to the video. The resolution is crap - I guess I didn't archive the original (or it's on one of the DVD's that didn't get finalized...argh...). Anyway, here's the link: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H6IJJRUS

I just got a call from an Episcopal Priest in Alabama. He saw this video I made (like 5 years ago) and posted on YouTube: ...and asked if he could use it for Pentecost Sunday. Wow, that doesn't happen every day. I logged into YouTube and had two other requests to use the video. Hey, you want it, you can use it. I'm probably going to upload the original file to Megaupload for anybody who wants to use it...

Morton's fork PRONUNCIATION: (MOR-tuhns fork) MEANING: noun : A situation involving choice between two equally undesirable outcomes. ETYMOLOGY: After John Morton (c. 1420-1500), archbishop of Canterbury, who was tax collector for the English King Henry VII. To him is attributed Morton's fork, a neat argument for collecting taxes from everyone: those living in luxury obviously had money to spare and those living frugally must have accumulated savings to be able to pay. USAGE: "[Japan's political elites] face a Morton's fork between being ignored or being seen as a problem to which there is little solution." Michael Auslin; Japan Dissing; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Apr 22, 2010.

“In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it." – Michelangelo

An old, broken man named Phil with three teeth in his mouth lived as a drunk on the streets for twenty years. Now he walks to the podium in a packed and quiet room. It's his first birthday. Nobody thought he'd make it. he starts to speak about once being lost and now being found. He suddenly chokes up and turns his back to the audience. A standing ovation starts. Men and women storm the podium. They kiss Phil on the lips, cheek, neck, and shoulders. In his delightful little book Off the Sauce , Lewis Meyer writes: If one could use only one word to describe the feeling of an AA meeting, it would be love. Love is the only word I know that encompasses friendship, understanding, sympathy, empathy, kindness, honesty, pride, and humility. The kind of love I mean is the kind Jesus had in mind when he said, "Love one another." Shoes might be shed, attention might be diverted, but there's a closeness between AAs, a closeness you seldom find anywhere. It is the

So, maybe the worship wars haven't ended - but they've definitely changed fronts... Still, this is awesome, you HAVE to check it out... "Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo .

Caught this video some time ago and I'm wondering what it means in terms of church, business, well, everything really. The suggestion is that social media has fundamentally changed the way we communicate - even email is "so last year"...

GALIMAUFRY (n.) gal·li·mau·fry n. pl. gal·li·mau·fries A jumble; a hodgepodge. [French galimafrée, from Old French galimafree, sauce, ragout : probably galer, to make merry; see gallant + mafrer, to gorge oneself (from Middle Dutch moffelen, to open one's mouth wide, of imitative origin).] The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Now you might be inclined to think that a galimaufry is just another term for a "gilly gaupus" (a tall, awkward fellow), a "grunter's gigg" (a hog's snout), or an individual who owns far too many "gingamabobs" (toys or baubles) for his/her own good but that won't win you either first prize or a booby prize for that matter. You would be closer to the mark if you said it was an 18th century term meaning a large helping of hodgepodge consisting of leftovers, remnant

From Baby Blues last week:

After a couple weeks of seriously geeky stuff, Dork Tower is back with something more...shall we say...mainstream:

Jesus is not opaque about where his mind was focused: On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must "I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered, "Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind"; and "Love your neighbor as yourself." "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:25-29) Jesus replied with the parable of the Good Samaritan to explain the second part of the great commandment. But no one asked him to explain the first part of the great commandment. Even today we spend a great deal of time in our churches talking about loving our neighbors (although we spend far too little time actu

I just saw a commercial on TV for the Wonder Hanger - now, this isn't about commercials, or "innovative" products (though, I think the Wonder Hanger is a pretty good idea, actually). The commercial says, "We'll double your order, just pay separate shipping and handling fees" - so, here's the deal, it's only ten bucks (okay $9.95) for the offer...but then I caught the fine print on the screen (not nearly as small as it used to be - good thing 'cause my eyes aren't nearly as sharp as they used to be) - the processing fee? $15.90 Holy cow! What the heck? It costs more to process than to buy? Um, methinks there's some shenanigans going on here. So what? Well, I'm thinking about the hidden costs - not just ordering junk off the TV. There's hidden costs in a lot of stuff we buy - get a car whose payments you can afford, you might not be able to afford to maintain it or repair it if something should happen - or maybe the gas expe

Sigh - I've been doing some side-by-side comparisons of e-readers and it looks like the iPad is the one on the market now that does most of what I want...argh... Actually, NOTHING does everything I want (e-ink, full color, full size - that is, 8.5x11 inches - screen, or at least close to that, lots o' memory and flash drive support) - but iPad has color, lots of memory, fairly large screen... 'Course I can't afford anything right now - hopefully, by the time I've got the cash, someone will put out the perfect e-reader/tablet/thingamajig for me... (you listening Plastic Logic?)

...for those who (hate/don't want to take the time to watch/need a refresher/think is cool anything related to) Star Wars. From Michael Airgood (who never watches trilogies) - a super fast summary of the Original Star Wars trilogy...told with Legos:

Main Entry: floccinaucinihilipilification Part of Speech: n Definition: an act or instance of judging something to be worthless or trivial Etymology: the parts of the word each mean 'at nothing' or 'with a small price' No, really, this word does exist...though I can't imagine using it...heck, I can't even pronounce it... [ flok-s uh -naw-s uh -nahy-hil- uh -pil- uh -fi- key -sh uh n ] Yeah, um, THAT helps... Quick, try to use that word...once in your life...

Just saw that the playground moved up three positions since this morning... Still in the 200s, though...

Something left out of Sunday's sermon: I mentioned in my sermon Sunday about how God really prompted me to thin out my DVD collection - from stuff that dishonored God, my wife, other people, whatever. It was one of those personal choices for me at the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Anyway, I've done the same with music, though perhaps a little differently. Here's how I've always viewed entertainment (movies, books, music, art): There are really three categories: that which honors God, that which dishonors God and that which is generally neutral. Most "Christian" entertainment seeks to honor God - though a fair amount of it is really pretty neutral. For example, what is it about a Thomas Kincaide painting of a purple and pink house in a blue and pink forest that is really God honoring? There are lots of songs on Christian CDs that really just don't have anything to do with God - but they're written and recorded by Christians. Mark Schultz does a song

...for a playground in Pittsfield: at Pepsi Refresh And drink more Pepsi** :) **Or not, I just happen to like the stuff...ymmv

I'm moving slowly through The Importance of Being Foolish partly because I want it to sink in - and partly because I really only read it on Mondays... Anyway, in the chapter titled "Diversions," Manning talks about insecurity - about how we often can put our trust in earthly things - money, success, affirmation, relationships, and so on - rather than putting our trust in God alone. "The devil never rejoices more," said Francis of Assisi, "than when he robs a servant of God of his peace of heart." Peace and joy go a-begging when the heart of a Christian longs for one sign after another of God's merciful love. Nothing is taken for granted and nothing is received with gratitude. The troubled eyes and furrowed brow of the anxious believer are the symptoms of a heart where trust has not found a home. The Lord himself must pass through all shades of the emotional spectrum with us, from rage to tears to amusement. But the poignant truth remains - w