Junk Drawer Spirituality

Christians and Email Forwards

C. Michael Patton offers a helpful caution in a blog post toward Christians who tend to forward emails to all of their non-Christian friends without critically assessing the truth of it's content.  I'd say this advise rings true regarding forwarded emails of a particular political overtone as well.  Christians simply must be more discerning in the stuff we choose to slip into our friend's inboxes, treating every email with the same care as we would a face to face conversation (and sometimes, even more care).

Choose Your Own Life Lesson

The other day, I was driving to a buddy's house when I passed a black bird in the middle of the road.  He was eating the carcass of another dead bird that had been flattened by a car in that exact spot.  I know there's an ironic life lesson in there somewhere, so I'm calling on the community of folks who read this blog to help me out.  Is it . . .

a) Learn from the mistakes of your friends so you don't make the same errors they did.

b) You really find out who your friends are when you hit rock bottom (or get hit by a car).  

c) Cannibalism is FUN!

d) Choose your own answer!_________________________

Veterinarians and Suicide

I read a crazy CNN article the other day featuring a research group studying suicide rates among occupations.  The study was conducted in Britain, but apparently the results are consistent around the world.  Wanna know which occupation in Britain has the highest suicide rates?

Veterinarians

That's right . . . veterinarians.  A veterinarian is 4 times more likely to commit suicide than any other occupation, and these are results that have shown up year after year, and similar results have shown up around the globe.

Kinda makes you wonder why, huh?  Apparently no one really knows the reason veterinarians are so much more prone to suicide (although there was plenty of unconvincing speculation in the article), but it was a reminder to me that many people are privately suffering.  And often the very folks who hurt the most are the ones no one would ever suspect. 

Glenn Beck, Social Justice, and Fear

Evangelical pastors and church leaders have been lighting up the blogosphere the last few of days over some comments FOX News' Glenn Beck made on his March 8th show.  Here's the quote: 

"I'm begging you, your right to religion and freedom to exercise religion and read all of the passages of the Bible as you want to read them and as your church wants to preach them...are going to come under the ropes in the next year. If it lasts that long it will be the next year. I beg you, look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words."

If you didn't catch it, Beck (it seems) just instructed his listeners to leave any church that starts talking about social justice.

Now, I could talk all about how theologically ridiculus and irresponsible this statement is.  I could talk about how concerned Jesus was for the poor (i.e., Lk. 4), and how the consistant witness in the New Testament expects the church and Christians to keep social justice a priority.

Fun With Apologetics

I recently jumped into the world of Christian Apologetics.  

A few weeks ago, I started meeting together with a young man from Waterfront, who's also in my small group.  He's a person on the fringes of faith, but he's been through some emotional turmoil this past year, and has a blotchy spiritual background.  So he came to Waterfront seeking.

The last time we met, I was forced to dive deep into the recesses of my brain to recall a subject I had long sense abandoned in pursuit of more "authentic" conversation.  I had to rely on my training in apologetics.  I asked my friend this question . . . "Can you envision yourself at some point ever being completely sold out for Christ?"  He paused. . . . I thought he didn't understand the question, but the answer he came back with was really thoughtful.

He said, "I think I'm really scared that if I get too close to God, I'll discover things I didn't want to know, realize that Christianity doesn't really make any sense, and I'll have to abandon the little bit of hope I have."  What he was expressing was a feeling I often felt before I decided to follow Christ.  It was the "I don't want to be a blind Christian," "I don't want to check my brain at the door," "I can't force myself to believe things when all reason stands against it," objection.  My perception at the time was that most of the Christians I knew hadn't really scrutinized their faith. . .  They simply bought what was given to them.  I was at a point in my life where I HAD to scrutinize things.  I was being challenged by alot of different ideas, and if Christianity couldn't stand on it's own two feet in the marketplace of ideas, I felt like I needed to abandon it.

Giving Props to Jesus . . . Even When You Fail

I noticed something interesting Sunday evening watching the Super Bowl, and I wonder if anyone else caught it.  At the very beginning of the 4th quarter, while the score was locked 17 to 16 in favor of Indianapolis, the Colts had an opportunity to take a 4 point lead.  Matt Stover, the Colt's kicker, was called upon to convert a 51 yard field goal.  

Stover missed wide left. 

The network showed the usual replays after a lowly kicker botches a field goal . . . A replay of the ball floating through the air in slow motion, barely missing the left upright. . .  A slow-motion recap of the kick just as it left Stover's foot and skipped off the ground. . .  And then they showed a replay of Stover's reaction after the miss.  

Most kickers hold their head in their hands, or swiftly rip their chin straps off in an act of frustration, or give the "stink-eye" to their holder as if he's the real one to blame.  Stover took both fingers and pointed them skyward in a gesture most athletes reserve for moments when they . . . well . . . do something worth celebrating.

I thought, "Poor, mixed up Matt Stover.  He thought he made the kick.  Wait til he gets to the sidelines, and some poor guy has to break the news: 'Sorry, Matty. . .  You blew it.'"  But broadcaster, Jim Natz, explained: "Matt Stover is a very spiritual person and he always points toward the sky whether he makes the kick or misses."

The more I think about it, the more I believe that simple gesture by Matt Stover was a more powerful witness to the experience of knowing and following Christ than anything else I have seen from a Christian athlete.  It's one thing to make the kick, or make the catch, or score the touchdown, and point to the sky.  It's one thing to win the championship, grab the mike and say, "First of all, I want to thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ . . ."

It is quite another thing to give God all the glory when it all goes wrong, to say "God's in control," and honor his providence when you're beat and powerless.  I believe it is a brave Christian who can say as Job did, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. (Job 1:21)"

For me, Stover told the honest story of the spiritual journey.  Not the one that comes nicely wrapped and pre-packaged that only takes the limelight in our successes.  It's the story of Christ living in the muck with the rest of us.  And it's a subtle reminder that whether I win or lose, that never changes how mighty He is.  

Way to go Matt!!!!

How BIG Is Your World?

I had a 1 1/2 hour conversation with my neighbor this evening.  I've only lived in the neighborhood 3 months (a townhome community), and I've been wanting to know my neighbors better. But it's been difficult. My neighbor who shares a building with me has this little yippie dog that weighs about 10 pounds (looks similar to the dog in the picture), but it constantly barks it's little yippie head off and lunges at me like he's possessed by beezelbub. And since I almost never encounter my neighbor unless he's out walking this little hell-minion (named Sugar), he has successfully thwarted nearly every attempted conversation. . . until today.

I decided to play "barking chicken" with him.  The object of "barking chicken" is to begin talking to my neighbor, pretend I don't notice the exceedingly annoying Sugar and his high pitched, ear-piercing bark, and force my neighbor to be the first one to do something to end the the barking before I do.  Of course the way I usually end the barking is by walking away (although there are plenty of other ways I fantasized about ending his barking involving a trip to some back-alley Vietnamese restaurants and a rotisserie oven).  Thankfully my neighbor lost "barking chicken" today by taking Sugar inside the house and coming back outside to finish our conversation.

Alot of good stuff came out of our conversation today.  We talked about some spiritual stuff, about God, why he doesn't like going to church . . . I think we laid a great foundation for future conversations on spiritual things.  I also spent a good part of an hour and a half listening to him rant and rave about our home owners association.  This particular neighbor is retired (about 70 years old, I suspect) and has lived in his home since the neighborhood was built 10 years ago, and during that time, he has served on the home owner's association board and seen MANY new board members and HOA presidents come and go.  And oh . . . the DRAMA!  He told me about the time he suspected the board president was not managing the HOA properly and how he staged a coup to have the board president "impeached" (I'm not kidding).  He had all kinds of things to say about how he thought they SHOULD be managing things, what they SHOULD be fixing, which neighbors were taking care of their property, which were not.  He made it clear that he felt it was his duty and responsibility to keep our neighborhood board's "feet to the fire!"  It reminded me of some of those old Seinfeld episodes involving Jerry's parents in their Florida retirement community.

I was so happy the conversation happened, but it also made me kinda sad.  At the risk of sounding judgmental I think it's really sad when I see someone living in a very, very, small world.  I feel so blessed to constantly be surrounded by people whose greatest intentions, thoughts, and emotional energy is occupied by God, their families, and bringing love, justice, and Jesus to the world . . . things that at the end of the day, really count.  It's hard for me to imagine that for some people, what most dominates their hearts are things as menial as the value of their home and whether or not the crack on the street in front of their house is getting fixed.

It's a reminder for me that when I help introduce people to Jesus, I'm not only helping a person discover eternal salvation but a better view of a much BIGGER and more BEAUTIFUL world.

The Most Popular Games You've Never Heard Of

I have now lived in three different regions of the United States.  I grew up in Texas (the Texas panhandle to be exact), I lived in Denver, Colorado for five years, and I have now lived in Chicago for more than two years.  I love observing the differences in cultures between the various places I have lived. . . the accents through which people speak, the foods people eat, the sports teams for whom people cheer.

But one thing that has been an interesting discovery in my various moves around the country is the differences between the games people play from region to region.  People in Texas don't play the same games as the people in Chicago, and the people in Colorado don't play the same games as the people in Texas.  I have a hunch that one could go to any state in the United States and find one regional pastime that is mostly unique to that region, that most people in that region understand and play, and that most people outside that region have never heard of.  And understanding and competently playing these games is perhaps one of the most important steps in assimilating into any new environment.  

So I thought I'd begin a list of games that are often played in certain regions, but rarely played in others.  If you'd like to add to the list leave a comment below. . .

Failure to Brake

This afternoon I had one of those situations happen that was a complete pain, totally frustrating, and it was only minimally avoidable.  I was driving down Golf Road in Schaumburg approaching the intersection at Higgins when the light turned yellow.  Now, most drivers know that if you're within 20 feet of the white line of the intersection when the light turns yellow, it is better for everyone if you keep driving through the intersection.  The driver in the vehicle in front of me did not do that.  She decided to stop.

Now . . . I'm quite certain that if she had continued through the intersection, not only would she have safely passed through the intersection before the light turned red, but so would I and the car behind me without even sweating the prospect of running the red.  I'm also quite certain that if she had simply decided to brake very quickly, I would have had plenty of time to brake my own vehicle before colliding into her.

I was, however, completely unprepared for the "speed up then slam on your brakes" fake out.  It was like trying to tackle Devon Hester in the open field.  She hit the gas as if to indicate that she was going to go through the intersection.  My brain told my foot, "She's trying to go through the intersection."  My foot came off the brake pedal.  Then suddenly, the "fake out" came as she slammed on her brakes as if she was about to hit a box full of kittens.  My brain yelled to my foot "OMG!!!  SHE'S BRAKING!!"  My foot responded ... I braked ... but not enough to prevent me from sliding into the back of her black Subaru, dinging up her back end and crunching up my front end.

Moving

Last week, I moving out of my apartment and moving into my new home in Streamwood, IL.  I'm very excited to be in my new place.  It's great to have a home.  But I was just thinking about how taxing a move can be on a person.  This is something like my 15th move in 12 years, so I should be much more used to it, but I'm not.  

For me, I began boxing all of my possessions last Wednesday, boxed all day and continued boxing every free moment I had through Friday evening.  I picked up a 17 foot Uhaul truck early Saturday morning, began loading it around 10:30 (with the help of about 10 good friends), and finished by 1:00.  We arrived in Streamwood by 2:00 and unloaded the whole truck into my new place in alittle over an hour.  I returned the Uhaul, picked up a few odds and ends, and set up my bed in just enough time to crash on it 'til morning.  Sunday morning I picked up the Waterfront trailer to setup for church (and I totally had an awesome servant's attitude about that too :)) at about 6:45, worked and worshipped, and then dropped the trailer off by 1:00.  Then immediately, I drove back down to Aurora to finish cleaning my former apartment and box the last of my stuff.  I started cleaning around 3:30 and left about 7:30.  That's right, 7:30.

Since that time, I have unboxed, bought furnishings, constructed cheap target furnishings, moved furnishings, hooked up electronics, broken down boxes, etc., etc., etc.  And amazingly, I am still not relaxed.  The funny thing about a move is that I cannot take my mind off the move until the very last picture is hung, and the very last box is unpacked.  I'm compulsive that way.  And it's taxing . . . mentally and physically.  I'm happy to be here.  But I HATE moving.      

Going from Home-Renter to Home-Owner

This afternoon at approximately 3:45 PM I crossed the line from home-renter to home-owner.  I closed on a new house in Streamwood, IL.

It's an interesting thing, purchasing a home.  I've never lived in a place (at least since I moved out of my parent's house) that I've ever really considered home ... my home.  I've always rented.  And not only have I always rented, but I've also frequently moved from one rental to the next.  I did the math one day and I estimated that in the 13 years since I moved to College Station, TX to go to college, I have moved again and again and again at least 15 times (I might have missed a move or two as I was calculating, but 15 is close enough).  So it's weird imagining that I'm going to be moving to a place that I can call home . . . that's mine . . . that's not just a transitional home to another stage in life.

It's also interesting because as silly as it sounds, this house represents for me the roots I have set down in this community.  I have not been in a position to purchase a home in the past, primarily because I have not yet lived in a place where I could really drop anchor.  I've been living a life of transition since I was 18.  I transitioned to college . . . waiting until graduation.  I transition to Amarillo . . . waiting for seminary.  I transitioned to Denver . . . waiting to finish seminary.  I transitioned to Chicago . . . waiting to find a ministry and church.

Waterfront Community Church, and the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago have become that for me.  And that's why for me, this home purchase is more than just a financial decision.  It's a symbol for this community becoming my home and not just a place I'm passing through. 

Sick

Right now it's 4:00 AM on a Texas Tuesday morning, 2 days before Christmas.  I've been up most of the night sick.  And this isn't just a minor cold, or tummy ache.  This is the gruesome, explosive kind of sick that only shows up once in 2 or 3 years, and forces you to the bathroom in regular 15 minute intervals.

How did this happen?  It's my own stupid fault.  Last night, in an effort to ward off what felt like an impending cold, I went grazing through my parent's medicine cabinet to find some kind of cold medicine.  There in the corner of the cabinet was "Airborne."  Airborne became popular a few years ago, and people I know swore by it's powers of cold prevention.  It's a little tablet that you drop in a glass of water like an alka seltzer, it fizzles, and you drink it.  It's supposed to have Vitamin C in it or something, and so if your timing is right, you can take it before the start of a cold turns into a full blown cold (or so they say).

So I took the airborne late last night.  This morning, I woke up with a bit of a sore throat so I took another.  When I got home this afternoon I took a 3rd to try to finish off whatever remained of my cold-- which seemed to have vanished.  However, by that point I had begun to notice a knot developing in my stomach.  I'd noticed it in the afternoon, and I even noticed it late last night.  And as I was chugging my 3rd Airborne concoction, there it was again!  Finally, my Sherlock Holmes-esque powers of deductive reasoning kicked in as I wondered to myself, "Hmmmm.  I wonder if there's a connection between this queezy feeling I have in my stomach and the Airborne I've been downing?"  Low and behold, when I checked the expiration date on the box, there was my answer: October 2007.  For you math whizzes, that means those 3 tablets of airborne I had taken were over a year past expiration.

I'd learned in a previous genius moment that taking expired medicine is a bad idea.  Side effects can include projectile vomiting and explosive diarreah.  So as I stared at that box of Airborne, I knew I was probably in for a long night.  Unfortunately, I was right.

Amazing Pictures

I discovered this website (The Big Picture, from Bostom.com) the other day, which posts AMAZING photography taken at a variety of locations around the world.  It's all National Geographics type stuff, but the pictures are breath taking.  I've subscribed to their feed, and I find myself in eager anticipation every time their feed updates every couple of days.

Out of Gas

There have only been two times in my life when, while driving, I completely ran out of gas like a nincompoop.  The first time, I was about 17 years old and I was driving with a friend and a good looking girl I had just met.  I was driving on the highway in my hometown, and I felt the familiar jerkiness of a car nearing the "E" on the gas meter.  So I quickly found an exit . . . a gas station sat ontop a hill at the end of the road but we didn't quite make it.  The car came to a hault.  But I was 17, and it was a warm Saturday night in the Texas summer.  And we were just cruisin' around town doing nothing anyway. So my buddy and I hopped out of my car and started pushing from behind while the cute girl took the wheel and steered us to the gas station.  It created alittle adventure on a boring night in Amarillo Texas, and I had the opportunity to impress a cute little filly with both my silliness and my hulking strength :).

The second time I completely drained my gas tank was this afternoon.  There were no friends with me to help me push.  There was no attractive females to impress.  It was just me. . . alone . . . on a cold, wintery, windy, Chicago afternoon sitting in my truck on 75th, with cars whizzing by me, wondering how I forgot to put gas in my car today.  I walked only a mile or two to the nearest 7-11 to buy a gas can and some gasoline, but I didn't have a jacket . . . and did I mention it was COLD and WINDY?  The second experience wasn't nearly as interesting as the first.              

World Philosophy Day

In honor of "World Philosophy Day" I offer you this link to a BBC article posing 4 interesting thought experiments to make your brain hurt, acquiesce, and begin oozing out your ear.  Enjoy!

I Got Bamboozled!

In the middle of a meeting this afternoon, when I should have been paying attention, I drifted over to my Hotmail account to check my email, when something bizzare happened.  All of the sudden, a little Windows XP-looking window popped up with the header "Anti-Virus 2009."  It said I just got infected with something, and to click "here" to get rid of it.  So I clicked, which sent me to another page to install the latest version of Anti-Virus 2009, which would run a scan of my computer and get rid of this horrible infection.  It looked legit. . .  it looked like a Windows program.  And so I got it, and it ran a "scan" and detected that I had 135 infected files and some particularly scary sounding viruses that were posing an immanent threat at crashing my whole system.

The Cold Weather Is Here!

Early this week we had weather in the mid-seventies.  It was beautiful and completely un-November like.  Today, the bottom fell out and I have a feeling winter just showed up and it's here to stay.  Bummer.

Art and Evangelicalism

I just read a very interesting review of the recently released, Christian produced, movie Fireproof.  I have not seen the film, but I know a few Christian friends who have, both of whom highly recommended the film to me.  As most Christians and non-Christians alike, I'm always extraordinarily skeptical of something that is supposed to be entertaining that has "Christian" as a qualifying adjective . . . like "Christian music," "Christian skate parks," "Christian novels."  I've seen a few Christian movies and I've been sorely disappointed by every experience.  I went to see the movie Joshua a few years ago and it was absolutely aweful.  It carried about the same creative clout as an episode of 7th Heaven and it was so cheesy and predictable I felt sorry for the poor theater workers who had to actually show this lame excuse for a film.

So back to Fireproof. . .

How NOT To Deal With Your Wild Teenager

Apparently there's a law in Nebraska that allows mothers to anonynously give up an infant to the custody of a local hospital without being prosecuted.  It's a "safe haven" law that states, "No person shall be prosecuted for leaving a child in the custody of a hospital employee."  The intent of the law is noble, designed to prevent mothers from abandoning their babies in unsafe ways because of the fear of prosecution.

Instead, because of how vague the word "child" is in the law, parents all over Nebraska have been abandoning their unruly teenagers at local hospitals  . . . and it's completely legal.  Here's a quote from the article: "Of the 17 children [left at a hospital] since the law took effect in July, only four are younger than 10 -- and all four are among the nine siblings abandoned by a man September 24 at an Omaha hospital."  Did you catch that?  One guy left 9 of his kids at the hospital.  Parents just said, "I give up!  I can't take these little punks anymore!"  The Nebraska congress has scheduled an emergency session to change the wording of the law, but I think this is a fairly strong indication of the role the church needs to start playing in building strong families in our society.

Here's the cnn vdeo

On Being the Truck Guy

When I lived in Texas, lots of people had trucks.  It's seriously kinda weird when I go back there and I realize how many people drive pickups and SUVS . . . I'm not talking about just farmers and ranchers.  I mean EVERYONE!  So, that's the culture from which I sprang, and now I'm living in a Chicago/midwestern/urban culture where most people don't drive trucks except for me.

So what does that mean for Texas-Boy who's driving around in his big pickup truck?  It means that I'm the go-to guy for anything that requires hauling.  Someone needs to move a peice of furniture, a sign, anything, I'm the one who gets a call.

It's not that big of a deal . . . most of the time I don't mind doing stuff like that for people, and I'm happy to do it.  But today, I had to install this very expensive and complex electrical system and brake control on my truck.  The reason?  You gotta have the electrical stuff in order to haul a church trailer like we have for Waterfront.  How did that become my job?  I'm the one with the truck!  Again, I'm not upset or complaining. . .that's part of my contribution to the church.  But I was just musing about how much simpler life might be for me (and how much less it would cost me in gas) if I drove a Civic or something.   

Is College A Waste of Time?

There's an interesting Wall Street Journal article by Charles Murray criticising the current state of higher academics.  He makes an interesting suggestion to use vocational certification exams like the CPA exam as benchmarks for employment rather than Bachelors degrees.  I think he has a good point.  What do you think? 

Preaching And the Autonomy of Art

This afternoon I was watching "Storytellers" on MHD (the high definition music channel), and Dave Matthew's Band was playing. During their set, the whole band sat at the foot of the stage and chatted with the audience, and at one point Dave was talking about how lyrics to some of his songs meant one thing to him when he wrote them but then they started to mean something different to him later in life, like after 9/11. And what one of his songs means to him might be completely different from what it means to someone else, and that's ok. He said, it's like the concept artists call The Autonomy of Art. He said, “Once you stop the painting and show someone, it no longer belongs to you.”

I'm not certain Dave was using the term "Autonomy of Art" correctly, but I do like the idea that we don't necessarily have ownership of the stuff we create. I think it's true for painting, sculpturing, music, and I also think it's true for a worship service or a sermon. I know there has been many times that a person has said to me that they got something out of a sermon I preached that I never intended in its creation. I guess that's where the role of the Holy Spirit in these things can always keep an artist, preacher, or programmer humble . . . what God intends and the way He inspires is not always what we plan. And that's because once I stop the planning, it no longer belongs to me. Once I begin a message or show a peice of art or begin a worship service, it's no longer mine. . . its God's.

Vote 4 Your Favorite New Blog Banner!

I've been thinking about switching up the banner at the top of this blog site . . . so yesterday I sat down and photoshopped around a bit, and I came up with 2 possible candidates for a new banner for my blog, both with a distinct kind of look to them.  I'll put both options below, and if you read this blog, please leave me a comment and let me know which one you like the best. 

Option #1:

Option #2

Option #3: Leave the old banner, I like that one best!

Thanks for your help!

I'm Exhausted

I've been racing at about 90 miles an hour the last 3 or 4 day.  I've hardly had a second to relax.  Every morning, every afternoon, every evening, and then late into the night.  This Saturday, I've got to just chill.  I'm exhausted. 

The End of The SUV?

Ford announced today that they are significantly cutting production of several of their larger vehicles such as SUVs and some large trucks.  GM apparently had made a similar announcement a few months ago and actually closed some of their SUV production plants.  Apparently people don't want to buy large gas-guzzling vehicles anymore.  Go figure.  I heard some commenter say (and I think he's right) that high gas prices could be the best thing that ever happened to our world because it forces the American public to demand more fuel efficient cars and alternative modes of transportation, which will in turn force auto-makers to make more fuel efficient cars and explore development of automobiles that run on alternative renewable energy sources as viable economic choices (I think Honda just made a Hydrogen car prototype). 

It's funny how doing important things that seem far-removed from our personal experience (like taking care of our environment, reversing global climate change) only seems realistic when there is an immediate economic benefit for doing the right thing.  Would anyone have believed 5 years ago that people would be abandoning their SUVs in droves by 2008, or that Ford would be cutting their production lines of large vehicles?  No way!  I'd never believe it unless I also knew gas was going to be sold at $4.23 a gallon (what I paid this afternoon) by 2008.  There's no way people would've done it to prevent global climate damage-- a danger that, if it's as bad as some say it might be, could produce much more harm to many more people, for much longer than the immediate sting of high prices at the gas pump.         

Resolved, Why Do We Do What We Do? . . . Part II

My last post was about this documentary I watched about High School debate competitions called "Resolved."  I was talking about how debate competition (CX) had somehow morphed into a test of which team could pump out the most information and the most arguments the fastest so as to engulf the opposing team with minutia.  That was my experience in High School debate, and it was the observation of the documentary director.

But what was interesting, was that the director followed one particular African-American debate team (Louis and Richard) that year who were trying to redefine all of that.  They rightly criticized that the contest of High School debate had become a contest of information processing, rather than challenging ideas and engaging in active dialogue over important subjects.  So their team engaged in the discussion by changing the rules.  Instead of only handling the topic (in this case, racial profiling), they wanted to address the larger issue: "Why do we debate?"  So the point of their plan was not just that a certain policy or idea needed to be adjusted, but they would win if they could convince the judge that debate itself needed to change.

Resolved, Why Do We Do What We Do?

A few days ago, I watched an HBO documentary called "Resolved."  It's a documentary about High School Debate team competitions and tournaments.  It was interesting for me to watch because believe it or not, I was on my High School debate team, so it brought back alot of fond, and weird memories.  It's funny to think that through most of my High School years, on almost every Saturday I was wearing a suit, participating in speech and debate tournaments.  I was quite a catch (at least  that's what my mom said :). 

Bluetooth Ache . . .

About a month and a half ago, the stock radio in my Toyota truck bit the dust.  It had a CD changer, and as I was circulating through CDs, trying to listen to an old sermon of mine (I promise, I don't spend all of my driving time listening to myself), the thing gave up the ghost.  So for a while now, I've been putting off getting a new head unit for the truck until last Friday when I finally decided to do it.

So I went to Best Buy and got a new devise.  This particular deck also had the capability of plugging into an ipod and it was also "bluetooth ready."  Now, I listen to my ipod alot, so I definitely wanted to get hooked up to that!  But I was also interested in the bluetooth function.  Since I'm making alot of trips back and forth between Schaumburg, Aurora, Naperville, and Romeoville these days, I figure it might be worth the money to buy the component that will hook my cell phone to my radio via bluetooth, thus making my phone conversations hands free.  It was alittle pricey, but I figured I should probably do what I can to refrain from putting pedestrian's lives at risk if I have the means.

My Laptop is Fixed!!!

Hallelujah!  About 10 minutes ago, I installed my new laptop screen, fired that badboy up, and there are no more crazy, irritating, annoying, and eye-crossing vertical lines running down the middle of my screen  That was the best $200 I ever spent.

Although, it wasn't without it's share of irritation at the hands of FedEX once again.  Since I had to drive all the way to Carol Stream to pick up the package (see my last post), I Google-mapped my way to Carol Stream but I couldn't locate the actual building.  So I called the FedEX receptionist to get the directions, and she led me on the craziest wild goose chase!  She said, "No, you're in the wrong area.  The building is off of the Elgin/ OHare Expressway."  I said, "That's in Carol Stream? Are you sure?"  She said, "Yep."  I said, "And they have my package there?"  She said, "Yep."  So, I followed her directions all the way to an abandoned warehouse in Schaumburg with a decaying FEdEX sign on top and a note on the door "ATTN Customers: this FedEX faculity has moved to Carol Stream."  Turned out, the actual building was only a block away from where I originally was--- In Carol Stream!  This was about a 3 hour ordeal, but I did make my 10:30 meeting on time. AAAAAARG, FedEX!!!!!!!!       

My Continuing Laptop Debacle . . .

I posted last week on the fact that I have these crazy lines running down the middle of my laptop that won't go away.  Well, Last week on Friday, I finally did something about it and went on ebay and found a lpatop screen for my Dell and ordered it.

The seller did a great job.  They responded quickly, mailed it quickly, and it was scheduled to be delivered today.  Great, right?  Well, when I got home I saw a note on my apartment door that said FedEX tried to make the delivery, but no one was home.  Alright, no problem.  So I called FedEx to see where my package is, and when I can get it delivered.  The receptionist said that the driver tried to make the delivery today, but couldn't because I wasn't home, and because the shipper had specified that I have to personally sign for the package, so they couldn't leave it at my

On Spiritual Gift Testing

I had a conversation with a friend tonight about Spiritual Gifts.  She just took a spiritual gifts test, which was great, but let me share with you my rant on Spiritual Gift tests, which is growing more and more into a pet-peeve of mine.

Now before I go further, let me offer a disclaimer.  I have found some personal enjoyment taking Spiritual gift tests and learning what these things say about me.  I persoanlly use spiritual gift inventories to help people understand themselves and to help them figure out how they might best plug into church ministry.  And I will probably continue to do the same, because I believe spiritual gifting is an important subject, and I currently cannot think of a better way to do it.  That being said, here's my little rant on Spiritual Gift tests where I think they often fall short:

My Stupid Laptop!

Over the past 6 months my laptop has been developing these vertical lines that run down the center of my display screen.  At first, it was just a thin, single white line that was kind of off to the side.  It was annoying, but I could live with it.  Now I have 5 rather thick lines right in the middle of my screen.  They are multi-colored, so that's fun.  But the annoying vertical lines have now crossed that threshold between annoying but manageable to annoying and making it hard to do normal work.

Sooooo. . .  tonight I decided to do something about it.  I googled "line in middle of screen on laptop" on and after searching around tech chatrooms of people who've had similar problems I figured out that there must be some sort of loose connection in my display screen.  So then I googled the manufacturer's directions to try to figure out how to detach the screen and crack it open to get to that little connecter

2 hours later, I have completely dismantled my laptop, fiddled with the connection, reassembled my laptop (and by some miracle I didn't screw something else up), but the STUPID LINES ARE STILL THERE!!!!  So I guess the next step is to take it in to someone who knows what they're doing and pay to get it fixed.  CRAP! 

Turning 30

Yesterday was my 30th birthday.  It was an alright day, but it wasn't all that exciting either.  It's funny .  . birthdays used to be days when you'd gain something (maturity, priveleges, cake, etc.).  Now birthdays seem to remind me more that I'm losing something.  I'm not even sure what.

That's pretty pessimistic, I know.  I promise I'm not moping around all week, but I have been getting alittle more introspective this year with this birthday than in birthdays past.  

Ezra on the Plane

On my flight from Amarillo to Denver, I sat next to a young man on the plane named Ezra.  He is 15 years old, from Higgins, TX, a town with a population of about 400, and about 150 miles from the closest Wal-Mart.  When I first sat down, I looked over and said, hi.  He said hi in return. I asked if he was leaving home or coming home-- normal airplane chit-chat.  Then he leaned over, with a grin on his face.  He said, "This is my first time in an airplane before."  I could see his nervousness, because his right leg involuntarily bounced up and down, and he clinched the arms of his seat with white knuckles.

I said, "Wow, that's pretty exciting."  Then he asked the funniest question:  He asked, "Is it fun?"

I've never had anyone ask me if riding on an airplane was fun, so I kinda chuckled.  I said, "Yeah, yeah. . . I guess so."  I'd never really thought about it, to be honest.  I talked to him the rest of the trip, but it was so fun watching the excitement of a 15 year old, taking off from the ground for the first time looking out of the window and seeing the city get smaller and smaller, seeing the rocky mountains, feeling every bump of turbulence, and wondering what's going to happen next. . .

I started thinking about how our relationships with God are kinda like that.  I get to hang out with lots of new believers, and it's so fun watching them develop and grow.  I love the excitement.  I love how they feel every bump of turbulence, but they're still just excited as can be.  And I wondered, if someone asked me about my walk with Jesus and asked, "Is it fun?" what would I say?

I might say, "sometimes its fun, sometimes it's not."  Or "It's fun, but hard."  But I think the truth for me is that walking with Jesus is too often like riding airplanes.  I sometimes get alittle too used to it.  It's not as exciting anymore.  Not as adventurous.  I just sit in my proverbial seat, put in my earbuds, and wait to land.  It would be nice to reclaim some of that "new Christian" excitment more often.

By the way, Ezra's brother Jonah found out he had cancer in his lymph nodes a week and a half ago.  Do me a favor and shoot up a prayer for him right now. 

Hispanic Dave

Came across this picture on google images while searchng for something else.  So let's take a poll. . . Is this what I would look like if I were hispanic?

I Might Be a "Goodbye Party" Pimp

Tonight, the Romeoville campus of CCC hosted a goodbye party for Jim Semradek and myself.  It was alot of fun.  Talked with alot of people, there were wonderful things said to me and Jim.  It was heartfelt, and just a fun night all around.  As I was driving home tonight, I had a crazy realization. . . this is my third goodbye party from 3 seperate churches in less than 2 years (20 months to be exact)!!!!  Count them out-- I had my farewell party from First Baptist, Golden in Septermber of 2006.  Centenniel Lutheran had a goodbye party for me in May of 2007.  And now Community Christian in April 2008.  I don't know if that's a bad thing, but I'm pretty sure it's not a good thing.  It's official.  I'm a "goodbye party" pimp. 

Photoshop Fun

So as you can tell, my blogsite went through a redesign last night.  The random drawer coming out of the side of a building on my banner is gone.  I spent way way too long last night fooling around with photoshop trying to desgn a new, cooler banner (without my ugly mug on it), and so I've been spending lots of time learning how to use photoshop.  What do you think?  Like it better than the old one?

The Archaeological Merits of Prehistoric Poop

Here's a quote from a Boston Globe article today: "There were humans doing their business in a cave in Oregon long before many scientists believed there were any humans at all in North America."  Here's the article   

I Want To Preach!!!!!!!!

I am having serious preaching withdrawls.  It feels like it's been so long since I have had the opportunity to preach with any consistancy that I'm just chomping at the bit to do it.  I can't explain it.  I love the art of communicating God to people and seeing the looks on people's faces when they start to "get it."  I like digging into Scripture.  I like crafting Biblical ideas and stories into words and metaphors so that people will understand and grow from it.  And right now, I'm strung out like a freakin' dog in heat 'cause I have no outlet for it.  Thought I was going to be preaching in a couple of weeks, but I just found out it got cancelled on me.  Guess I'll have to wait. . . some more.      

How do people have hobbies?

I was thinking about something yesterday.  It's really hard for me to have real hobbies.  I do things other than work, on my days off and such.  But the things I do outside of work that  i call hobbies and "relax time" tend to have some sort of alternative motive that somehow relate to work. 

For instance, I like to read.  But I don't read fiction books and stuff for fun.  I read about theology and ministry, something that could be applied later in the week.  I recently took up learning photoshop and I've been trying to learn about graphic design and stuff like that.  But if I'm really honest with myself, I'm not learning that stuff for fun alone.  I'm learning that stuff so that it could someday be useful for ministry.  It's really pretty sick.  I don't know if that makes me a workaholic or if it means i just really really enjoy what I do for a living, or if it just means I'm boring.