OK! I Admit It!

I can't take it anymore! I have to let it out! I really enjoy Avril Lavigne's new single! Darn it's poppy catchiness! Darn it's clever hook which makes me want to bop my head or dance around my living room! Darn you Avril Lavigne for your precocious cutiness!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ25-glGRzI

Wisdom Comes With Age

There are many older men and women around me in my daily life. I think I'm long over due to spend some time with them.

Beautiful Weather

For those of you who have been spending the last few days of beautiful weather going to the mall....

GET OUT! Do not waste your life away going to the mall. God didn't bless us with such beautiful days to spend it shopping!

Woo hoo!

I am getting my first official payed gig as a writer. A short piece I wrote is going to appear in a future issue of Geeze Magazine. I am so stoked. It was a piece on going to the beach and my lack of just being. I'll make sure to post it when I get the chance.

So It Goes - Kurt Vonnegut

I don't know of any highschooler that hasn't read a Kurt Vonnegut novel and said, "These books change lives, man!" Addmitedly, I grew out of reading his novels though once a year I try to re-read "Breakfast of Champions" for the hundredth time. Even in old age he still had it. Time slowed down the body, but not his mind.
He was brilliant, a great writer, and hillarious. I don't think there are many novels out there that make me laugh out loud like his do. May you have a beer with Kilgore Trout and enjoy the rest you have been waiting for.

Thinking Blog Awards

Much appreciation to Art for choosing me for the thinking blog awards. It feels good to make the cut. I have to admit I am having the same problem he did. Who do you chose? I read many blogs for many different reasons. I read one because he's a good friend and it gives me added insight into him as a person. Others because I can't help, but violently disagree with them which forces me to think outside of the box. Plus the bugger chose one I would have chosen. Thanks a lot Art! So here they are, in no particular order:

Millinerd: Matt and I go way back to highschool. We got back in touch with each other a few years back and he encouraged me to start blogging as well as helped guide it along a little bit. Since I am not a theologian and his knowledge about art greatly goes further than my own I am finding new things to learn and discover. My faith expands from knowing him.

Looking Closer: Faith and Art, too thinks I wished were looked at more by the general church family. I never knew how many other Christians are also interested in seeing faith and art meld until I discovered his blog.

Pomomusings: He's one I greatly disagree with, but I can't help checking his blog daily. I can't take his intellect lightly. It'd be foolish and I'd wind up loosing big time. I appreciate his youth and enthusiasm.

Art: At the risk of sounding like a butt kisser I chose Art because he's another blog I check out on a daily basis. He always leaves thought provoking comments here. So take that as a lesson to you non-commenters out there. You too can win a thinking blog award from the Cube Rev if you let us know what you think here.

Ron Silliman: I chose him mostly because of the shop talk. Poetics, language, etc.

Here are the rules:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote

Jesus or Paul?

Think you know your Bible? Take BeliefNet's quiz to see if you know who said what in The Bible. Was it Jesus or Paul? I got most of them wrong. They sounded right to me.

R.I.P. Johnny Hart

I usually don't post so many posts in such a short amount of time, but I just found out Johnny Hart creator of BC and The Wizard of Id has just passed away. He was a man of God who wasn't afraid to have overtly Christian messages in his comic strips. Though at times his comics were a tad corny I looked forward to reading them when I had the time and they usually made me smile. Right now I bet he's up there with God giving Him a good chuckle.

Content in Ignorance, A Rant in the Key of Sarcasm

This morning I met with my discipler Darrell to read over 1 Peter 1:13-25. I know I picked the right person to disciple me because he, along with my buddy Ken, keep bringing up aspects of the Christian faith that I have no idea about. Such as: The Westminster Confession of Faith, The Council of Dordt, and The Nicene Creed. They actually had the nerve to expect me to not only know about them, but to actually read them as well. This has opened up in my mind a whole world of new questions and ideas that I hoped to long put to bed. Oh no. I miss my days of ignorance. It made my faith so much easier. So as Darrell and I are talking over various things I wonder aloud why I am even bothering to study literature or introduce poetic language and literary licence to the Christian community. Is it so bad to have certain Christian novels (I'm sure you can think of a few) even if they aren't particularly good? What difference will it make in the long run whether a Christian David Sedaris or Hemingway come out of our midst? Darrell says, "Because you care about it and this is your ministry." Doh! Why couldn't he just let me wallow in my self pity like other people? And to make matters worse he gave me a homework assignment. I don't recall any of the great disciples in Schripture giving homework. Darrell expects me to take the verses we read and put them in my own words. Right. So much for ignorance.

Read Any Good Books Lately?

Considering the glut of Christian books out there, much of which is bad (I'm trying to be nice and not call it crap. Oops, I just did.). When I was a wee lad my mother worked in the local sewage treatment plant testing water for heavy metals like lead, mercury, and Metallica. Every so often she'd have to go out to the sludge pile to get a sample. At the pile there were workers who'd go out for her sinking up to their knees in all sorts of vile waste to get her sample. My mother, being barely 5'1" would have sunk up to her neck. I see the Christian writing community in much the same light as that pile of sludge. Sometimes you have to get waste deep in it in order to find what you need and you hope to God you don't sink up to your neck before you do! Few in the publishing world are taking notice. I for the most part have greatly reduced the amount of Christian books I read. I almost never read Christian fiction. My pastor introduced me to CCEL where I gladly spend most of my time combing through the great minds of our Christian fathers. I am reading a very well known Christian book right now (being a bit of a Johnny come lately and will comment more on that at another time), but am wondering: Who do you guys read? Who do you think is worth a salt and why do you think so? I need to consider my own library. I'll spare you m poetry collection which more than over runs my shelves far more than books on Christianity. Here is a good introduction of what I usually read.

A Problem Child Sees Christ

Tonight the church had a special worship service focussing on The Stations Of The Cross. I haven't done anything like this since my CCD days at Christ The King Church. Theirs were hand carved with wood showing stunning realism that still makes me shiver. This time around we modified it having instead a symbol reprisenting various parts of Christs passion, death, and ressurection, ie: a stone for the tomb, a rope for his capture, etc. I admit I was wary about how my junior high kids would have handled the imposed quiet and reflection. Every so often not only do they suprise me, but they do it in a big way. Many of them lasted much longer in the quiet than most of the adults filling up pages of notebook space on their thoughts and reflections. When we talked about it with them afterwards I could tell they weren't just going through the motions (except for one, but God will touch his heart when he's ready). There was one girl known for being a bit of a hard heart. I expected her to get all noisy and rowdy bugging us to let her leave. I couldn't be more wrong. I think she spent the most time in the sanctuary than anybody. I am not sure if there was a definate change of heart. Perhaps we are seeing the beginnings of a true movement of God.

On another note: One of the highlights of my morning included having my friends son snuggle up to me and fall asleep. All I could do was look up to God and say, "Thank-you." In all the craziness of my days and very little free time I got to see a brief figment of peace.