Monday, April 21, 2008
Florida bound
FYI...I'm headed out on a road trip this weekend, making a stop in Tennessee for a night to see Luke, Shelley, and my new niece, and hopefully ending up on Anna Maria Island in Florida for a week. I've been craving a vacation for a while now and this one's gonna hit the spot. Looking forward to seeing some good countryside and getting some good R&R. Be back on the 5th of May!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Modern day evidence of faith
Ever wonder where this modern day medical symbol came from?
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. (Numbers 21:8-9)
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. (Numbers 21:8-9)
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Christian party girl syndrome
This is a repost from a fellow blogger, James-Michael. Great post. I can't quite wrap my arms around this subject either.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=44586985&blogID=375465698
Yes, we all know girls like to get all dressed up, go out to clubs en masse, have a few drinks, and only dance with each other.
This post is not about that (completely-incomprehensible-to-us-guys) social occurance.
I can’t help but notice lately that in the world of the 20s-30s Christian singles scene there seems to be a profileration of party girls. How many myspace and facebook profiles do we see where there are Scripture passages and quotes interspersed among endless photos of cheek-to-cheek-smiling-with-drinks-in-hand-uptown-party-scene adventures and comments about how drunk they were at the time?? It’s crazy.
Now I want to make it clear that I’m not condemning drinking or going out to clubs or bars in and of themselves. I’m not a big fan of doing either of these; but that’s just a personal preference (mostly due to me not being a big fan of second hand smoke, over-priced drinks, and having to yell into the ear of the person you’re trying to talk to in order to be heard). What I just find puzzling is why so many girls seem to be drawn in to the party scene--to the point of almost bragging--yet seem so equally adamant about the importance of Christ in their life and how awesome their church is.
TO BE CLEAR, Jesus never shyed away from parties, alcohol, music or dancing (or combinations thereof). But I just can’t help wondering if His myspace page would contain album after album of Him, Mary Magdalene, Peter & his wife, and Matthew doing Irish Car Bombs and kissing each other at the Cana wedding party or the Passover feasts...
Lest I be misunderstood, I want it to be clear that I hate legalism with a passion (especially of the Bible-belt variety) and feel that Christians are supposed to be all up in places of darkness and meaninglessness shining the light of the world and providing hope and meaning to those who are without it.
But is the Christian-Party-Girl phenomenon solely a result of a passion for urban missions among the 20s-30s single Christian demographic?
Are the teachings of Jesus and His followers regarding drunkenness, revelry and profanity being brushed aside out of strategic evangelistic savvy? I can’t help but raise a skeptical eyebrow (figuratively speaking, that is...I never could just raise one eyebrow; the other would always follow simultaneously) when I ask myself these type of questions.
I’d also be interested to see if the percentage of Christian 20s-30s who complain that there are just no good men out there is proportional to the percentage of Christian 20s-30s imbedded in the party/club scene. I have my own prediction...but I was always really bad at math.
And I don’t want to leave the impression that it is only Christian women who are planted in the party/club scene. There are probably just as many guys who fit the mold as well. However, from my own subjective perspective (does that count as a rhyme?) I just don’t see as many myspace or facebook profiles of Christian guys with the amount of Scripture/Party-pic combinations as the ladies. This could be due to it being less socially acceptable for a guy to see faith as something likely to be found attractive by the opposite sex, I dunno.
Anyway, I was just wondering if I’m alone in noticing this? I’d be interested to hear from others about it after taking a few minutes to scan the myspace or facebook Christian singles scene. I could be wrong.
JMS
ps: Don’t worry, ladies, if you think I’m unnecessarily singling out Christian women for myspace/facebook stereotypes. I’d be happy to write a blog on the white-guy-standing-in-front-of-bathroom-mirror-with-shirt-off stereotype any day of the week. ;)
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=44586985&blogID=375465698
Yes, we all know girls like to get all dressed up, go out to clubs en masse, have a few drinks, and only dance with each other.
This post is not about that (completely-incomprehensible-to-us-guys) social occurance.
I can’t help but notice lately that in the world of the 20s-30s Christian singles scene there seems to be a profileration of party girls. How many myspace and facebook profiles do we see where there are Scripture passages and quotes interspersed among endless photos of cheek-to-cheek-smiling-with-drinks-in-hand-uptown-party-scene adventures and comments about how drunk they were at the time?? It’s crazy.
Now I want to make it clear that I’m not condemning drinking or going out to clubs or bars in and of themselves. I’m not a big fan of doing either of these; but that’s just a personal preference (mostly due to me not being a big fan of second hand smoke, over-priced drinks, and having to yell into the ear of the person you’re trying to talk to in order to be heard). What I just find puzzling is why so many girls seem to be drawn in to the party scene--to the point of almost bragging--yet seem so equally adamant about the importance of Christ in their life and how awesome their church is.
TO BE CLEAR, Jesus never shyed away from parties, alcohol, music or dancing (or combinations thereof). But I just can’t help wondering if His myspace page would contain album after album of Him, Mary Magdalene, Peter & his wife, and Matthew doing Irish Car Bombs and kissing each other at the Cana wedding party or the Passover feasts...
Lest I be misunderstood, I want it to be clear that I hate legalism with a passion (especially of the Bible-belt variety) and feel that Christians are supposed to be all up in places of darkness and meaninglessness shining the light of the world and providing hope and meaning to those who are without it.
But is the Christian-Party-Girl phenomenon solely a result of a passion for urban missions among the 20s-30s single Christian demographic?
Are the teachings of Jesus and His followers regarding drunkenness, revelry and profanity being brushed aside out of strategic evangelistic savvy? I can’t help but raise a skeptical eyebrow (figuratively speaking, that is...I never could just raise one eyebrow; the other would always follow simultaneously) when I ask myself these type of questions.
I’d also be interested to see if the percentage of Christian 20s-30s who complain that there are just no good men out there is proportional to the percentage of Christian 20s-30s imbedded in the party/club scene. I have my own prediction...but I was always really bad at math.
And I don’t want to leave the impression that it is only Christian women who are planted in the party/club scene. There are probably just as many guys who fit the mold as well. However, from my own subjective perspective (does that count as a rhyme?) I just don’t see as many myspace or facebook profiles of Christian guys with the amount of Scripture/Party-pic combinations as the ladies. This could be due to it being less socially acceptable for a guy to see faith as something likely to be found attractive by the opposite sex, I dunno.
Anyway, I was just wondering if I’m alone in noticing this? I’d be interested to hear from others about it after taking a few minutes to scan the myspace or facebook Christian singles scene. I could be wrong.
JMS
ps: Don’t worry, ladies, if you think I’m unnecessarily singling out Christian women for myspace/facebook stereotypes. I’d be happy to write a blog on the white-guy-standing-in-front-of-bathroom-mirror-with-shirt-off stereotype any day of the week. ;)
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Noah's Ark in Today's World
The Lord spoke to Noah and said, "In six months I am going to make it rain until the whole world is covered with water and all the evil things are destroyed. But, I want to save a few good people and two of every living thing on the planet. I am ordering you to build an ark." And, in a flash of lightning, he delivered the specifications for the ark.
"OK," Noah said, trembling with fear and fumbling with the blueprints, "I'm your man."
Six months passed, the sky began to cloud up, and the rain began to fall in torrents. The Lord looked down and saw Noah sitting in his yard, weeping, and there was no ark.
"Noah!" shouted the Lord, "Where is My ark?" A lightning bolt crashed into the ground right beside Noah.
"Lord, please forgive me!" begged Noah. "I did my best, but there were some big problems. First, I had to get a building permit for the ark's construction, but Your plans did not meet their code. So, I had to hire an engineer to redo the plans, only to get into a long argument with him about whether to include a sprinkler system. My neighbors objected, claiming that I was violating zoning ordinances by building the ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning board. Then, I had a big problem getting enough wood for the ark, because there was a ban on cutting trees to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that I needed the wood to save the owls, but they wouldn't let me catch them, so no owls. Next, I started gathering up the animals but got sued by an animal rights group that objected to me taking along only two of each kind. Just when the suit got dismissed, the EPA notified me that I couldn't complete the ark without filling out an environmental impact statement on Your proposed flood. They didn't take kindly to the idea that they had no jurisdiction over the Supreme Being. Then, the Corps of Engineers wanted a map of the proposed flood plan. I sent them a globe! Right now, I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Equal Opportunities Commission over how many minorities I'm supposed to hire. The IRS has seized all my assets claiming that I am trying to leave the country, and I just got a notice from the state that I owe some kind of use tax. Really, I don't think I can finish the ark in less than five years."
With that, the sky cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow arched across the sky. Noah looked up and smiled. "You mean you are not going to destroy the world?" he asked hopefully.
"No," said the Lord. "The government already has."
"OK," Noah said, trembling with fear and fumbling with the blueprints, "I'm your man."
Six months passed, the sky began to cloud up, and the rain began to fall in torrents. The Lord looked down and saw Noah sitting in his yard, weeping, and there was no ark.
"Noah!" shouted the Lord, "Where is My ark?" A lightning bolt crashed into the ground right beside Noah.
"Lord, please forgive me!" begged Noah. "I did my best, but there were some big problems. First, I had to get a building permit for the ark's construction, but Your plans did not meet their code. So, I had to hire an engineer to redo the plans, only to get into a long argument with him about whether to include a sprinkler system. My neighbors objected, claiming that I was violating zoning ordinances by building the ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning board. Then, I had a big problem getting enough wood for the ark, because there was a ban on cutting trees to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that I needed the wood to save the owls, but they wouldn't let me catch them, so no owls. Next, I started gathering up the animals but got sued by an animal rights group that objected to me taking along only two of each kind. Just when the suit got dismissed, the EPA notified me that I couldn't complete the ark without filling out an environmental impact statement on Your proposed flood. They didn't take kindly to the idea that they had no jurisdiction over the Supreme Being. Then, the Corps of Engineers wanted a map of the proposed flood plan. I sent them a globe! Right now, I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Equal Opportunities Commission over how many minorities I'm supposed to hire. The IRS has seized all my assets claiming that I am trying to leave the country, and I just got a notice from the state that I owe some kind of use tax. Really, I don't think I can finish the ark in less than five years."
With that, the sky cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow arched across the sky. Noah looked up and smiled. "You mean you are not going to destroy the world?" he asked hopefully.
"No," said the Lord. "The government already has."
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Friday, April 04, 2008
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