I need a new ____________

So watching the MLB game of the week, Reds vs. Braves, during one of the first commercial breaks @ the bottom of the first, I was told by Sharp:

Change your TV, change your life.

Well, crap, it's that easy to have a changed life? Here I thought I had to put forth effort, all I need is a new TV and my life will be SO much better.

There's two sad elements to this: (1) people buy this junky rhetoric (2) I can't help but want a new TV. I'm even aware of the ridiculous nature of the pitch but I fall into the desire trap anyway. Blurgh.

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. . .Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. . . Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

- Helen Keller, deafblind American author, activist and lecturer

Coupla Quizzes

Breakin'

I can't tell you the number of times I've been in a group of Russian soldiers, someone drops a Run DMC cut and this happens:



Well...now we know where breakdancing came from.

Is this what's going to happen @ Todd & Sabrina's reception?...I sure hope so.

Holiness

"Holiness is not something to be received in a meeting; it is a life to be lived and to be lived in detail."
_D. Martyn Lloyd Jones

Messy Spirituality Story

This is a story from Mike Yaconelli's Messy Spirituality, interesting view on grace. Definitely interesting in light of that article below.

A young woman named Margaret had spent decades battling depression and anxiety that were traced back to a horrible day in school when a Teacher, frustrated with her tardiness, made her stand in front of the room and invited all the students to come up to the board and write something bad about her on the chalkboard. The kids were ruthless. They wrote things like, “Margaret is ugly!”, “Margaret smells”, “Margaret is stupid”. All twenty-five students went up to the board and wrote these hurtful things. This event inflicted wounds that Margaret found difficult to heal. She battled depression, discouragement, and was angry all the time. Finally she went to a psychologist for help. She spent two years meeting weekly but finally they had reached the end of their sessions.



The counselor said, “Margaret, I know this will be difficult, but just to make sure you’re ready to move on, I am going to ask you to do something. I want to go back to your schoolroom and detail the events of that day. Take your time. Describe each of the children as they approach the blackboard, remember what they wrote and how you felt – do this for all twenty five students.



In a way, this would be easy for Margaret. For forty years she had remembered every detail. And yet, to go through the nightmare one more time would take every bit of strength she had. After a long silence, she began the painful description. One by one, she described each of the students vividly, as though she had just seen them, stopping periodically to regain her composure, forcing herself to face each of those students one more time.



Finally she was done, and the tears would not stop, could not stop. Margaret cried a long time before she realized someone was whispering her name. “Margaret, Margaret, Margaret.” She looked up to see her counselor staring into her eyes, saying her name over and over again. Margaret stopped crying for moment.



“Margaret. You . . .you left out one person.:



“I certainly did not! I have lived with this story for forty years. I know every student by heart.”



“No, Margaret, you did forget someone. See, he’s sitting in the back of the classroom. He’s standing up, walking toward your teacher, Ms. Garner. She is handing him a piece of chalk and he’s taking it. Margaret, he’s taking it! Now he’s walking over to the blackboard and picking up and eraser. He is erasing every one of the sentences the students wrote. They are gone! Margaret, they are gone! Do you recognize him yet? Yes, his name is Jesus. Look, he’s writing new sentences on the board. ‘Margaret is loved. Margaret is beautiful. Margaret is gentle and kind. Margaret is strong. Margaret has great courage.’”



And Margaret began to weep. But very quickly, the weeping turned into a smile, and then into laughter, and then into tears of joy.” [Messy Spirituality p. 55-56]

Young Boy Voted Out of Kindergarten Class

This is the type of story that makes you wonder what in the world is wrong with people.

Young Boy Voted Out

It should be mentioned that the teacher has not yet given a public explanation as to why she did this. I can't possibly imagine that any explanation will be less than despicable, but mark it as noted.

2 of my favorite things...

The Bible & Indiana Jones.

Haven't been able to see the movie yet but I love this game over @ Stuff Christians Like:

www.stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/2008/05/249-backsliding-christian-thing-or.html

Post your own question in the comments if you've got one.

Reuters - Like a bull in a china shop, but worse

This article was sent to you from bferry@andersonhillsumc.org, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com

Like a bull in a china shop, but worse

Monday, May 19, 2008 4:11PM UTC

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German family were stunned when a rampaging bull burst through the back door of their house, charged around the living room, and then left by the front door.

"The animal basically did a tour of the hall, the kitchen and the living room before leaving the building," said Paul Kemen, a spokesman for police in the western city of Aachen on Monday. "It came in the back and went out the front."

None in the family were injured, but the bull laid waste to furnishings, causing an estimated 10,000 euros ($15,600) of damage, police said. The bull left after the owner of the house opened the front door for it.

The red-brown Limousin bull was part of a herd of cattle that had escaped from a farmer and overrun a section of the nearby town of Monschau. A huntsman later shot the animal.

(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Matthew Jones)

Song of the Week

So I heard this cut on a CD that I got in a bundle for the student ministry. And then it showed up on a CD that we're giving our graduates this year. I can't stop listening to it.

Got that little Let it Be piano walk down, power ballad stuff, oh yeah...love this song.

Leeland's the band. Don't know anything about them really.

Love the beardos.

Garfield Minus Garfield Blog

So I've been enjoying this each day. Not a Garfield fan really, in fact, I pretty much don't like most cats (save a few, Jude & Wesley to a couple).

But this comic is much more enjoyable without the cat.

Hmmm...there's a life lesson there. More enjoyable without a cat...

Kidding.

Mostly.

CLICK HERE

Absolutely...

Extreme Makeover: DUI Edition

Bummer.

CLICK HERE

"...we are what He has made us in order that we may become something."
_D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

from indexed

The Joy of Adulthood from the Crunchy Con

I enjoyed this little post from Rod Dreher who Josh got me reading:

You know what's great about being a grown-up? When you've had a crappy day, you can stop off and buy a bottle of Champagne, and it doesn't matter if it's a school night, and to hell with how much it cost, you can stand in the kitchen and drink that damn bottle with your best beloved when you got home, and it's fine.

The sucky thing about being a grown-up is you have days in which the only thing that will take the hard edge off of it is a bottle of Champagne drunk in the kitchen with your best beloved.

I love being a grown-up. Why? Because of liquor. And jazz. And wit. And France. I think heaven is going to be drinking a dirty vodka martini (Grey Goose, naturellement) while listening to Diana Krall and talking about P.G. Wodehouse and telling ribald stories.

Evidence of a great day @ Great American

7 home runs (a Great American Ballpark record), 3 by rookie Joey Votto, 3 consecutive by players as well, someone said the first Reds shut out of the season, with good friends...a great day @ Great American.

Breakfast is Fun

Frisbee God's Favorite Sport from Stuff Christians Like

So I'm REALLY enjoying the Stuff Christians Like Blog. Check this entry:

I can't prove this, but I think Christians might be better at frisbee than non-Christians. I know that doesn't sound very scientific, but it feels right. Roughly 94% of the Christians I know can really throw the Frisbee well. They're good at ultimate frisbee, can play disc golf, and can even throw a pretty accurate flick or sidearm if you will. The Christians that can't throw the frisbee? Probably backsliding.

I like to imagine Jesus and the disciples out on the shores of the Galilee playing a game of ultimate frisbee. Robes would be flying, beards flapping in the wind majestically as they all laughed and played like that volleyball scene from the movie Top Gun. Of course, Jesus had to play using "human rules." He couldn't have his throws go farther using the holy spirit or walk on water to catch an errant pass. As the "Sons of Thunder," James and Jon would probably be body checking everyone and of course Judas would be calling hand fouls left and right.

You've had that same thought too right? I'm not the only one am I? Maybe I'm weird.

Awesome. Mostly because I love Frisbee.

You Suck @ Photoshop

So I use Photoshop quite a bit & really have no idea what I'm doing.

In Time Magazine this week they highlighted some dudes from Covington, KY interestingly enough, that created an online "show" called "You Suck At Photoshop" that is actually informative and funny, if you don't mind the language.

CLICK HERE

Puddles + Kids = Joy & Laughter

What happens when the 'green' marketing gets old?

Great question and consideration from Seth Godin. CLICK HERE

"The whole of our life is an expression and a proclamation of what we really are."
-D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Baby E's First Few Months

Song of the Week

So this is hardly the regular feature on this blog that a 'song of the week' ought to be, considering the last one was in February. But hey...here we are.

This is a great cut from Scotland's prolific indie-rockers Belle & Sebastian. Off of the album The Life Pursuit this is but one of the infectious, melodic toe-tappers. Great stuff.

Homeschooler Suspended

CLICK HERE
from the hilarious Lark News

Back to the T-shirts

CLICK HERE

Funny what you stumble upon when you're on the line.