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| hello xanga world! i'm going to be a father in 11 weeks and one day!!! (give or take a few) we're having a boy... so katie was right, and i was wrong. she's going to be such an amazing mom! ... which is a good thing, because all he'll learn from me is soccer, video games, and guitar. the rest is on your shoulders, baby. the bears lost the super bowl today. i don't really care, but our whole town is sad. oh well. the hype for the game around here was annoying anyway. so, if you're reading this and we haven't talked in a while, then tell me what's going on. so many people are doing so many different things now... and to think... just 6 years ago, everyone i knew lived within shouting distance. it's crazy the places life takes you. | | |
| you know, in the right (or maybe wrong...) lighting, my legs look even whiter than they really are. i'm grateful that i'm a guy and can have hair on my legs. the hair deadens the ghost-like quality. i don't know of anyone who actually looks at this anymore, but i feel the urge to write today. "Jesus wouldn't have been a republican." i've heard and read statements like this before. my response? who cares. Jesus wouldn't accept or reject any political, social, racial, religious or any other sort of group. He would align Himself with people - not empty ideas that we have humanized for some reason. i align myself so closely with certain sports teams that i actually feel like i won or i lost after each game. life is one big contest anyway, right? donald miller (the dude who wrote the "love it or hate it" book, Blue Like Jazz, and Searching for God Knows What) wrote about this idea that he had about how we find our identity in what others think of us. i think he is mostly right. i find my identity a lot of the time in how i think i should be. i waste so much time trying to prove to myself and others that i'm worth something... i look at what i've been and what i am now, and i know that it's nowhere close to what i could be. that sounds horribly conceited, i know, but i don't care. it's the truth. i know i could be in much better shape (i'm not fat, but i'm starting to get a little "doughy" around the edges). i know i could be much better at singing and playing guitar and piano. i know i could do a much better job of running the youth group and music ministries at our church. i know i could spend much more time with my Father every day. i know i could do much more to help my wife. i know i could be a better husband, friend, son, brother, pastor, and person. so what's the problem? i'm all about getting a passing grade, but i've never been too concerned with getting an A. i feel like i'm at a solid C+ or B- in most areas of life. and maybe if i align myself with the right political stance or say i like the right sports team or say i listen to all the right bands then maybe i can bump myself to a more notable level in life. not enough to make a difference, but just enough to avoid standing out. Jesus isn't a democrat or republican. He doesn't decide to just show up at churches that do communion, music or preaching the "right" way. we satisfy so many requirements that we have created about what to wear and how t do things, but we rarely, if ever meet the requirements of our hearts. i have a neighbor who doesn't want much to do with Jesus, but he is one of the friendliest and most gracious people that i know. he will invite complete strangers to come in and play guitar or have a smoke or just sit and talk. there are people in my church who won't even make eye contact with someone who isn't wearing a collared shirt sunday morning. would Jesus support president Bush or not? if you've ever read any of the conversations people had with Jesus, then it should be pretty clear that He wouldn't give us an answer either way - instead He would turn the conversation to ask us if we are willing to give everything up to follow Him. no wonder there were so many people frustrated with Him back then. | | |
| i sit here clutching useless lists
and keys for doors that don't exist
i crack my teeth on pearls i tear into the history
show me what it means to me in this world
yeah, in this world 'cause i am due for a miracle
i'm waiting for a sign
i'll stare straight into the sun
and i won't close my eyes
'til i understand or go blind i see the parts but not the whole
i study saints and scholars both
no perfect plan unfurls do i trust my heart or just my mind?
why is truth so hard to find in this world
yeah, in this world 'cause i am due for a miracle
i'm waiting for a sign
and i'll stare straight into the sun
and i won't close my eyes
'til i understand or go blind i know that there's a point i've missed
a shrine or stone i haven't kissed
a scar that never graced my wrist
a mirror that hasn't met my fist
but i can't help feeling like... i'm due for a miracle
i'm waiting for a sign
and i'll stare straight into the sun
and i won't close my eyes (thrice - "stare at the sun") | | |
| apparently xanga is out and myspace is in. i must have missed the memo | | |
| It's Katie's birthday today!!!!!
Pirates of the Caribbean: This movie fits perfectly that mold of a summer blockbuster. Expect fluffy, popcorn entertainment and you won't be disappointed. I think that many people expected too much from this one. They wanted something equally as charming and inventive as the first. the problem is this: we already know the characters; we already know their personalities and catch phrases; we're familiar with the world that was created with Black Pearl. This is a continuation of a large story arc. It's not meant to be a stand-alone film. If you take all those things into perspective and allow some leway for goofiness and special effects, I don't see how you couldn't enjoy this movie. Clever dialogue, great action sequences, intriguing plotline, and great actors make for a very high quality, and ultimately satisfying, movie. I already can't wait for the third installment next May! Grade: B+
Monster House: This is one of those movies that surprises you with its quality. For kids, it has some genuinely frightening moments, and for adults, the humor in the dialogue permeates the script. Another important component for an animated feature is how easily the audience can enter the world in front of them. House makes its world very accesible and believable by mixing just the right amount of reality with its outrageous and fantastic storyline. The drawbacks would have to be in the lack of a moral lesson for kids watching the movie and the secret behind it all was strange (it didn't ruin the movie... it was just strange). Overall a great experience for any age group. Grade: B+ | | |
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