Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Still Alive... And Well?

I haven't been around to a good brain dump session in almost 2 weeks! So this one will probably cause a good deal of scatter shooting.

Every time I peel a layer off myself some other flaw rears its ugly head that I must come to terms with ... anyone else feel that way? It disrupts my walk, my marriage, my friendships and my work. And it is frustrating.

I rarely have the patience to recognize that everyone must go through a refining process from time to time when they are discovering how jacked up they are ... and the love of Jesus is enough. Look around - all this and Jesus too?

An old friend hunted me down and we connected on the phone last night. Alex Glass. The better half of our acoustic group in college that went by the name of Glass Weazel. Guess who the Weazel was?

Alex was the only person during my time at Ohio Northern University that shared Christ with me. I remember getting upset with him refusing to sing one of my songs that reflected my jaded views on religion. I though he was NUTS!

Not to mention my sacrifice in accompanying him for his song about prayer! The nerve! To be honest, I would do anything to record and Alex is one of the few that had the patience to deal with me.

It was seriously Flanders and Homer living directly across from each other in the freshman dorm. But we could both play and he was a great singer. And even though I probably made his life miserable, he was always there to jam, talk, hike, or whatever. A good friend is what he was. And he planted a seed. I'm still baffled at how he endured my tirade for 4 years as we played to hundreds (thousands?) of people on the Tundra.

Last night as we both found out we're each alive and well, he also got to witness the full rebirth of someone he never gave up on even as far from the cross as I was.

He found me on a blog somewhere in cyberspace. Now we can share our walks, our awesome wives, beautiful children, and exciting travels that separated the past 11 years. (Chalk that up as one good reason for the Internet and one other reason why I journal digitally.)

And those layers? Well ... let's just say I'm ready to press on. It may be the end of the world as we know it, but I feel loved. And that's enough for me.

Ok ... enough sappy, anecdotal crap. Wake up readers and learn something ... Gmail Theater: Why Use Gmail? Thanks to Good 'ol Billy Boy for sending this one ...



If you want a Gmail account, shoot me a note and I'll forward an invite to your old, decrepit email.

And here are some Transom Links:
Ok ... here are some Interactive Transom Links:
  • I can't tell which side of the argument this shirt represents ... can you? CLICK HERE.
  • Definitely check out the entire Woot! Shirt Reckoning List.
  • And I will ship you a free FaceWash from ProSoap.com (Right, Billy?) if you can interpret this binary ... 01001101 01100001 01100100 01100101 00100000 01110101 00100000 01101100 01101111 01101111 01101011
Daily Manna from the 'Net for Tuesday, November 25, 2008 Daily Manna XML Feed

Then I said: 'O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. 'Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.' Nehemiah 1:5-9 NIV | Listen

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Rude Awakening

Attended Man Church last night ... the topic was Sexual Purity. I can't handle the subject matter here so I will simply say this:
  • Dr. Tim Young is a brilliant speaker.
  • Thank you Mr. Beauchamp for hooking that up.
  • I will never forget that you can't spend the same dollar in two places - sounds simple but we forget such trouble-free conventions.
I highly suggest visiting Dr. Young's website - there are some poignant pod casts available and other pertinent media.

Fellas - you need to hear this stuff. I needed to hear this stuff. Stop spinning your wheels.

The good news? Light doesn't manage the darkness - it eliminates it! Which is why I have complete optimism for the Humanist movement. Yup ... switching gears.

So the latest $40,000 ad campaign to confuse (as if there is another kind of ad campaign) simply states "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake," (from the article, "Group's new Christmas message: Be good, not godly" on CNN.com.)

Good argument. Good argument. OK.

There is no doubt that the #1 thing that a Satanist prays for is the destruction of Christian homes. Nice and slow. And it works too! Otherwise they wouldn't pray about it so much.

So let me list some other items that major religions and Christian groups are up in arms about and fighting for the abolition of this ad expenditure:

(Again, from the article, "Group's new Christmas message: Be good, not godly" on CNN.com.)

"Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of nontheists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion."

"... the purpose isn't to argue that God doesn't exist or change minds about a deity, although "we are trying to plant a seed of rational thought and critical thinking and questioning in people's minds."

And my personal favorite ... (drum roll, please)

"There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

Christians are really freaking out! You know what I see? Sorry folks - I'm going to abandon facts and go for opinion here.
  • Those that don't have Jesus are looking to cling to someone/something as we, the fortunate ones, celebrate His birth ... separated from those who really need Him.
  • Humanist apologists are turning towards planting seeds of rational thought in the absence of Christians who have turned their backs to a flailing culture that desire the Truth seed.
  • Apathy is so prevalent that we've given up searching for something different just because there probably is not a God.
Love covers a multitude of sins. Can I make a call out to the DC brothers and sisters? Check out these bus ads, show up to the meetings, and share the Light. It will eliminate the darkness. It will eliminate the need for something new just because they weren't reached.

Rude awakening ... Humanists are not the problem. Christians are the problem. Too harsh? Than why do the same percentage of Christian men struggle with pornography as non-Christian men?

I despise ending with a question so here are some Transom Links:

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The World Needs A Hero

Desperately! I'm mean ... putting your faith in Jesus is crazy, right? Christianity is just a random, fabricated religion full of legalistic rhetoric and conformity disguised as tradition. Right?

So says the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster! What would Flying Spaghetti Monster do anyway? They'd tell us but we wouldn't believe what's in it.

This is what happens when Jerry's cynicism rears it's ugly head. Please be kind though. What started out as an argument against intelligent design in school really has caught on in a massive movement across America.

So the very thing that FSM argues against, is proving the inner desire for people to worship ... something bigger than themselves. Someone bigger than themselves. It certainly is warranted when reviewing Christians as a whole to box us in with those that jerk verses from the bible and use the Good Word for agenda driven apologetics.

But our God is not so wishy-washy. And He is the God of the World.

Call Jesus crazy ... I can buy that. Claim God not to be the creator of the World ... I can buy that. But substantiate your argument. Pure mockery just comes off as dimwitted nonsense.

My point? I am willing to dress up as a pirate and concede that there will be a stripper factory and keg parties in heaven if ONE (just one) FSMer is willing to discuss the real God, His Son, Jesus Christ, and what that really means based on the Scriptures.

Who knows - we might find some neutral grounds around topics such as religiosity, legalism, fundamentalism, and traditionalism. I have no idea where I'm going with this other than I hope you take a look at the Flying Speghetti Monster followers and educate yourself on this little movement.

How do they celebrate the Holidays anyway? Looks like Christmas to me!

So enjoy these links and try not to be cynical like me:

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Capitol Punishment

Now that all the bleeding heart liberals can breath a sigh of relief, Oprah has had a good cry, and Tina Fey's career is back in the crapper, we are free to return to our customary complaints and excuses about why the upshot of our lives is at the foot of another man's bed.

Not sure what that means but here's what's up this week with me - we're headed back downtown this weekend - the first midnight trip of the year. The big stop gap this time is not manpower or lack of physical distribution.

How do we avoid playing the adult version of the popular children's game, Duck, Duck, Damned? For those of you reading Radical Reformission right now, you know what I'm talking about.

If we can dodge that rut, how do we swerve back without simply stating "Go on and save yourself?" How do we keep the Message straight while walking among the forgotten drunks, junkies, and prostitutes of our city?

I'm going to take a stab at this - Prepare ourselves in the Word. Pray that God goes before us and the Spirit guides our hands. Repeat.

Let's get to work. Here's a link to the new site:

https://sites.google.com/site/boxtowndfw

Transom links ...

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Risk

Election Day is upon us! Will it be McCain or Obama? Pretty risky either way ... just an opinion. But which is more precarious: the outcome of the election or this picture?

Newlywed couple
Funny People Pictures!

Phew ... I still say the election. For all I know, this marriage could defy time. What can I possibly gain by posting stuff like this? Nothing really. I was listening to Mozart's La Finta Semplice: Overture (otherwise known as "The Counterfeit Simpleton") and could not stop thinking about the candidates and this picture.

So call me short like everyone else. There's nothing wrong with standing short - it's good enough because everyone else is sitting. Before you head to the polls or brag about your early vote, my desire is that we do something less arbitrary than praying to the Flying Spaghetti Monster or claiming you felt the Dallas earth quake last Friday.

Say a prayer ... ask the Lord to go before you ... meditate on some scripture. I believe if this nation could do that before going to the grocery store, let alone voting, we would be more pleasing in the presence of the Lord.

And no matter what happens, here's something that has stood the test of time and precedes all presidents of the past ...

Daily Manna from the 'Net for Tuesday, November 4, 2008 Daily Manna XML Feed

I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself. You said, 'I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, 'I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.' ' Selah The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD ? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? Psalm 89:2-6 NIV | Listen

Transom Links ...