okay, i started this back on the 19th and 20th before running out of time and haven't had a chance to get back to it... so, what i'm going to do is post it in two parts... the first is below (after some random thoughts)... trapped? yes trapped... but that's at least five entries away... some updates on writing... The RunDown: On Film and a Jessie Daniels Walk TRu... still need to write this week's reviews (which is shameful, but i did have a good weekend not worrying about them) and gear up for a few upcoming interviews... always something going on... also in the process of redesigning the TRu for a full relaunch to hopefully... well... we'll see... My thoughts on American Idol: Marketing wins again... do you think it's a coincidence that the two finalists were the only two with clearly defined nicknames for themselves and or their fans? brilliant... SOUL PATROL WOO!... anyway... here's what i started the other day... from Friday, 19 May - Saturday 20 May: How is it that cords always manage to entangle themselves up, but corded shoelaces can never stay tied? i'm pretty spaced out today... not entirely sure why, but i'm probably tired... i'm kind of in a weird little break of activity and i'm not sure if it's reality or just that i can't focus long enough to realize what i'm supposed to be doing... it's weird when you have so much to do that you just don't feel like doing anything... well, i had a lot of things on my mind that i wanted to write about, but honestly, i just don't know anymore... maybe i try to hard... maybe i don't try hard enough... maybe i'm in over my head... maybe my toes aren't even wet yet... i wouldn't call this a crisis or anything... i simply just don't know... anyway... let me try to ignore this for a little bit and get something typed up... i think that i'm going to have to review the title i used for the last entry (It Is Well, But Why?) because even though it was something of an afterthought... (i'm still not entirely used to titling these entries)... there's something to it that just won't let go of my thoughts... today though, i'm reaching further back and i'm going to tackle an entry that's been waiting for a little while... My Enemies are Men Like Me So Derek Webb has a song out with this title and i guess that song had something to do with the thought process behind this, but really i've headed off in an entirely different direction... Derek's song is somewhat of an anti-war song reminding us that our enemies are made of flesh and blood just like we are... that Jesus came down and died for our enemies as much as he died for us... that we should love our enemies, even to the point of dying in their place... when i think through this phrase, i think of it as more of an anti "me against the world" mentality... time and time again i hear people complain about how world is prejudiced against Christianity... how the media is so liberal and bent on destroying the message of the Gospel... how we're all so persecuted... The Da Vinci Code is a perfect example... many Christians were up in arms that the book/film is a direct attack against our faith... and i don't see that... and then i'm belittled or picked on by other Christians who think i'm not "handling" this situation appropriately... that i'm not speaking out enough against the book or that i'm not taking it seriously enough... maybe they don't think i take my faith seriously enough... well, here's the thing... and regarding DVC, for the record, i see it as a big fat distraction from what we're supposed to be doing as Christians... perhaps i'll elaborate later if time allows... most of the talks surrounding this or any other "attack" on our faith come from an "us versus them" mindset... "us" Christians (i know it should be "we") are pitted up against the wiles of the devil and the persecution of the world... oh, pity us because we're always on the defense... our enemies are always at our throats... "them," the world, is out to get us and destroy us and the Christian faith... and i don't really see that being the case... well... let me be clear... we as Christians are opposed and affronted by the world, but it's not because of the Christian faith... it's more because we've gotten the Christian faith so horribly wrong... stepping out of the picture for a brief second to look at the scenery, this is what i see... we're bent on martyrdom and our mantra is "The world will hate you just as they hated Me"... see... we know that Jesus said this to His disciples and we know that He only tells the truth... therefore we are determined to be hated by the world and the way we do that most often, as far as i can tell, is to hate them first... hey, it's only natural... if i meet someone i don't think isn't going to like me, then i'm already thinking that i don't like them... it's partially a defense mechanism and that makes logical sense... Christianity however, doesn't... And as quickly as we embrace the idea of the world hating us, we gloss over the whole "love your enemies as yourself" part of Jesus' teachings... we have to... otherwise we can't hate the world first... then they hate us first and have some sort of an upper hand on us... well, before i go too much further, let's take another step back for a second and think about the life of Jesus on earth... i'm going to focus on the last part of that phrase, our martyr mantra, "the world will hate you, as the hated Me"... now... let me ask you this... who hated Jesus when He was on the earth?... who opposed Him? who embraced Him?... how did the "world" react to His presence?... Early opposition to Jesus came from King Herod, because he felt threatened by Jesus, who though still a boy, was called the "king of the Jews" by the Magi... this was a hatred based on a misunderstanding of who Jesus was and what He had come to do... Herod was more concerned with maintaining a superiority over the Jewish community than with anything Jesus had to teach... during His time of ministry and teaching, Jesus was also hated by the Herodians, who were very nationalistic and hated Him based on his charisma and his teachings of a kingdom greater than the Roman empire... Obviously Jesus was quite popular... He drew a crowd whenever He went... His teachings and His powerful miracles caused people from all walks of life to flock to Him as though He were, well, a shepherd... which brings us to the next group of folks who hated Him... . . . to be continued peace... love... bdg... |
31 May, 2006
My Enemies: Part One. . .
30 May, 2006
23 May, 2006
pardon the interruptions...
there's an entry coming... but it's been interrupted by work and life and stuff... coming soon though... anyone else watch Alias last night?... so was he him all along?... awesome ending anyway...and now as i look ahead, it looks like there's nothing on television for then next 3 months... sure, there's still Lost, but i so don't watch that... good thing i netflix... off to review some CDs i should've reviewed yesterday... you can check out my downhere interview if you are so inclined... peace... love... bdg... |
17 May, 2006
It is well... but, why?
My heart sunk this morning as i got in the car to head to work... i had managed to turn the news on just in time to hear that he didn't make it... the shooting last week has resulted in the death of a second person... Master Police Officer Michael Garbarino died this morning after a week of hospitalization since being shot several times by an eighteen year old gunman ambushing the police station that sits less than 3 miles from where i sit at work all day... witnesses say that Garbarino saved many lives because he managed to reach his radio and warn other officers in the station of the threat... after he had been shot five times... i'm also told that he began praying over the radio, certain that his time had come... Garbarino leaves behind a wife and two children, becoming only the second police officer in the 66 year history of the Fairfax County Police killed by an assailant while on duty... The first was Detective Vicky Armel, who died last Monday after literally being sprayed with bullets from the shooter's automatic weapon... Armel also left behind two children as well as her husband... Her funeral was this past weekend and was attended by more than 4500 people, many of them fellow officers... all attendees heard Armel's personal testimony, one she gave at her church on Easter, describing how she came to know the Lord about two years ago and how she wanted her husband to have that same life-changing experience... everyone also received a copy of Lee Strobel's The Case for Easter, which as instrumental in Armel's conversion to Christianity... The gunman was eighteen years old and came prepared for his task... besides the automatic weapon which is described as an AK-47-style assault rifle, he also had a high-powered hunting rifle and five handguns with him as he began his ambush... he apparently managed fire over 70 rounds of ammunition in the exchange before he was killed himself by other officers... a search of his home revealed a full arsenal of other weapons... Three deaths in a matter of minutes... this isn't a movie, this really happened... i was stuck in the traffic last week amidst the confusion and concern as the police searched for accomplices and clues... and i'm stuck with questions and confusion of my own today... certainly there's the big question of why this all happened, but we all know that this isn't a perfect world, that we're all fallen individuals... and i've already seen how God has used this to His glory... but it still hurts... i've never even met either of these officers... and it still hurts... what a world we live in... and oddly enough, "It Is Well" just started playing on my iPod... perfect... peace... love... bdg... |
14 May, 2006
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Leave it to good old GoogleFight to cheer me up: Da Vinci Code versus Bible Code winner: DVC See, it's not as bad as you might think... anyway, as i'm sure you've noticed, i've made a few changes to the way this blog shows up... and that goes for both Xanga and Blogger (yes, i've been cross-posting for a little while now)... i think the changes make things a little nicer looking and even easier to read... i will say that i think the Blogger site looks better, but i absolutely hate how the silly thing mangles my HTML... here's a weird fact about me... i actually write in HTML code... everything, blog entries, essays, letters, reviews, everything... i guess that makes me a little strange, but it's how i think... anyway, feel free to let me know what you think of the changes... the blog may be a minor indication of a larger scale... that is to say that change is simply in the air... what kind of changes and to what extent i'm not entirely certain, but there are clouds forming over some areas of my life and possible sunshine breaking through in other areas... it's way too early to know anything for sure, but i can simply smell changes in the works... it's exciting and uncomfortable at the same time... well, it's mothers day so i shouldn't be on here... just had some things to write up (surprise)... so, away i go... (oh, no pee stories this week, sorry)... peace... love... bdg... |
12 May, 2006
The Last Two Months (give or take)
07 May, 2006
Jellyfish stings and burning socks...
EDIT: Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side of the fence because everyone over there is full of crap... that went over well... about as well as Aaron Shust on the Logan Show... if you are unfamiliar with either of those two things... it is a dreadful musical guest on a dreadful talk show... anyway... if you ever get stung by a jellyfish... volunteer to help teach your chuch's 3 year old Sunday School class... yeah... well, Friends fans know where i'm going with this i'm sure... but we had nine children in our class today... generally this is quite manageable... however, we had two visitors this week... again, generally not too bad... of course, one of these visitors was afflicted with an incessant whine and cry... being the nice compassionate teacher that i am... i tried to console this boy, by letting him sit on my lap during the story time... still the whimpering continued... after a little bit of time one of the most horrifying thought occurred to me... and none too soon... apparently, however, it was some too late... yes... it was not long after this thought occurred when it was gone and replaced by the inner voice of my mind screaming, yes screaming... "HE'S PEEING ON MY LEG! MY GOODNESS, HE'S PEEING ON MY LEG!!!!"... yes... that was the case... my leg was being assaulted by that warm fluid that... well... i think that's enough... we dealt with the situation accordingly... got a new set of pants for the boy and moved on with the lesson... Me, i thank God for Haggar and their spectacular "spill proof" pants as well as Kiwi and their waterproofing spray for shoes... because of these two remarkable products, the damages were minimal for me... my socks, though must be burned... the other visiting boy had an accident as well, but he was kind enough to keep it to himself... Oddly enough, this horrific event was a pretty decent visual example of the lesson that we had discussed in our adult Sunday School lesson the previous church hour... see, we were working through 1 John... actually, we just started it... so 1 John 1-2:17ish... and John talks a lot about walking in the light as opposed to living in darkness... and we discussed the implications of "fronting" or pretending that we are walking rightly with God or even sinless... "If we claim that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us"... even worse... "if we claim to be without sin, we make [God] out to be a liar and his word has no place in our hearts"... you know... both of these options are not very good... or i should say... neither of these options are very good... i think that sounds better... anyway... the point is that we can pretend all that we want... that we aren't as bad as others... that we don't have any need to confess our sins... that we don't commit any "serious" sins... many different things... but the outcome is not desirable... we will have no place in God's presence... the more we deny our need for Him, the less place we leave for Him in our lives... scary thought... So... since you probably don't think like i do, you may be wondering what on earth this has to do with the "accident" incident... well, here goes... because of the two wonderful products i had utilized as part of my outfit today, nobody that i encountered today had any clue of what had happened to me during Sunday school... on the surface, i appeared to be wearing clean pants, socks and shoes... however, though i seemed to be an acceptable member of the community, the truth was that i had socks that were very much defiled and warranted being excommunicated from society... anyway, that's the way i see it... it may comfort you to know that i don't actually lead the lessons for the three-year olds... i just keep the peace usually... currently listening to: Brian Littrell - Welcome Home keeping an eye on...
peace... love... bdg... |
