Here and Now

You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion. -L. Ron Hubbard ( 7 November 1948 ) Who, later, did just that...interesting...

from peloquin3.buzznet.com/user/photos/waiting-line/star-wars Seth Godin asked  the other day  "Who Comes On Opening Night?"  In other words, who stands in line for the opening of that play/ movie/ band whatever event?  Who gets the hardback of that new novel?  Why gets the actual CD anymore - on the release date no less?  Or the "limited edition"?  Who buys the video game at midnight:01 when it's released, waiting outside Gamestop in the snow? True fans.  True believers.  Followers.   Those who say, "You made it, I'll buy it." I don't need to wait to hear it's good.  You wrote the book.  You directed the movie.  The game is the third installment in this franchise and I'm in. I was thinking about the few things that's true for me anymore.  Terry Pratchet's books I still buy in hardback and the late Robert Jordan*.  But I'll take a chance on a paperback if I've got the money.  I'll buy U2 on CD...but I...

Wow - I just did a Wayback Machine search on an old website I used to update (not very well or very frequently) for the band we used to be in: El-Roi.  What a trip down memory lane.  Turns out, almost everything on the internet really is forever... So, to my own amusement...and potential embarrassment: El-Roi.net

We've probably all said it - or at least felt it... "God never gives us more than we can handle." But...see...that's not in the Bible.  In fact, I think that's actually counter to what the Bible really says, isn't it?  Don't we all the time really get a whole lot more than we can handle?  I know I sure do.  How does a 13 year old hear that his father has leukemia?  How is that not too much to handle?  A text from a friend who was watching someone he loved getting chemo...and it was overwhelming.  Sitting in a pew with a young lady who is just destroyed over messy relationships and deeply hurt by how people who are supposed to love each other treat each other. How is any of that not too much to handle? Here's what we miss in that idea.  God allows all kinds of stuff that's too much for us to handle...on our own.  You remember what He said to Paul?  " My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness ." ...

Saw this on another blog and felt great :) Being the dad of two girls...  I'm one of the beautiful people.  Heh. Of course, the book is probably junk :) :)

And let this be an opportunity for me to direct you to a favorite site of mine: Crummy Church Signs Blog

I saw on Facebook (thanks Aaron) - perfect for today:

This is , I'm told, an amazing book.  But I'm living into the principle that  Michael Hyatt  who runs Thomas Nelson Publishing (the biggest Christian book publisher in the world) that "most books could be cut in half and you wouldn't miss a thing."  In fact, I believe that you could tweet most books and not miss all that much. So here's the executive executive summary of The Five Most Important Questions: What is our mission? Who is our customer? What does the customer value? What are our results? What is our plan? There, not so hard, was it?  That's what the whole book is about?  I get it.  You could have mailed that to me in a postcard.  I hope there's a WHOLE lot more to explain how to live INTO those questions and how to answer them in positive and successful ways. Of course, I bet it's with the caveat - you mileage may vary - because, you know, you live/work/whatever in a while 'nother context... But... They are REALLY IMPO...

from morguefile Did you ever read an excerpt from a book and realize you've probably just gotten the core of the whole book? I caught an excerpt from the book  Pursuing Christ Creating Art   here  wherein Gary Molander says three things repeatedly. We are all creative. Christians donʼt need to create art for God - He doesnʼt need it. Christians need to create art in response to God - Because the world needs it. We're making visible the invisible God. Now, I don't know if I buy all of that, but I'm pretty sure those are the main points of his book - or at least the core message.  Creativity is our response to the creativity of God - it is one that I've  blogged about before   a time   or two . Creativity is, in my opinion, that "image of God" in us.  Or at least it's a part of if.  How can it not be? And it's not just the artists who are creative.  That's the problem.  That's the myth - the stereotype. It's like spi...

Kowalski, Status Report!! THESE are the guys who are going to be under your car, I swear:

Oh yeah, I AM the king. Two and a half YEARS ago I wrote  this post  in which I said, I have a project that is 95% done - and I'm avoiding finishing it by writing about...um...not finishing it... And here we are, two and a half years later...and the project is now 97% done...and holding...  It was just a little nothing project - a writing project that wouldn't get me any money or attention...just a personal thing.  But I just never finished it.  I had too many other good ideas.  So I went with them.  Or, rather, I started  them, instead of finishing what I started before. Allegedly Leonardo Da Vinici* once said, "Art is never finished, only abandoned."**  George Lucas*** allegedly riffed on this saying, "Movies are never finished, only abandoned."**** I get that - whoever said it first, last or whatever.  Everything I do is unfinished. A looooooooooong time ago I wrote a quick post, the summary of which was a quote I heard onc...