i had the opportunity to go to catalyst in atlanta this past week with a team from my office. catalyst isn't your typical 'christian' conference. yes, there are the powerful (and famous?) speakers as well as killer worship.
i went down a little skeptical since i've been to several of these similar conferences. what i got to hear actually blew me away. tons of humility and just great great truths from the One who is the source of all truth.
that being said, the conference isn't the reason i'm writing this. we worked our butts off for a couple of days in atlanta. but what i really experienced was so much greater.
you see, i work at a great company, i have great friends, and an amazing wife. basically, i experience the kingdom of God on a ridiculously regular basis...like all the time.
from seeing many friends from college to those i used to work with in ministry to the folks at the event and my fellow team members i was struck again by the reality of what i am a part of. the kingdom of God.
hugging necks i haven't seen in a while. hugging necks of those never met before. doing things that matter. worshiping the God of creation with my co-workers. living a life that matters.
i'm not sure how it all works. i'm not sure if i'm supposed to be happy all the time. i'm not sure if everything is going to go my way. i'm not sure every ill will be cured. i'm not sure i'll stop sucking as a human being.
what i am sure is that regardless of what is going on, my reality is His kingdom is triumphant. that's not always the easiest to hold on to, but what is encouraging is my reality isn't based solely on what can be empirically deduce. rather, His kingdom has gotten up inside me. has changed my perspective. not me, but He has done it.
my hope is that i can let His kingdom flow out and change the world around me.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
out of africa...
i have some great friends. truly amazing friends if i can make it more grandiose. one of them, jazz nichols, called me from africa last week. he's stationed over there as an officer in the air force...luckily he no lions have decided to pick him off. it could have happened...trust me.
he gave me a call last weekend and we spent a considerable amount of time catching up on life and well, lions:) (to clarify, he went on safari and they literally pitched tents in the middle of the serengeti...lions live there. real ones)
the conversation turned as too often to politics. he said probably one of the most profound things that basically have kept me from even thinking about politics right now:
"the problem with christians is that whether left or right, they have good arguments to back their positions all to uphold the ideas of a sinful man that can't change anything."
boom.
now, at the time it hit much deeper than it may you. it made me think quite a bit about myself. you see, i may not make an inanimate object out of clay, stone, wood or a precious metal to show my affection to, but i sure as heck can dig on some people. por ejemplo, my wife, tim tebow, daniel lapin, ron paul, dave ramsey, etc. etc. etc. etc. seriously. it's not wrong to have heroes or people you look up to, but the reality is that we are all flawed, hardly get anything right and will pass on one day.
and that will be it. nothing more. nothing any man will ever build will stand forever.
i would never advocate those who know God not getting involved with politics or anything of the like. while i'm on it, if you are a believer and believe that christians shouldn't engage in politics that is a completely preposterous stance. the principles and wisdom of God are good for every single walk of life on this planet. to usher in the kingdom of god is an awesome privilege and opportunity. one that should humble us and spur us to action and not retreat. the kingdom of God and the principles it employs on should be evident in society on every level...even politically. are we really that into what we've done and how intelligent we have become? who has wisdom that is greater than His?
i think it prudent to ask ourselves: who are we putting our hope our trust our energy our passion and our lives behind? is it a man or woman who in their greatness can't really change the issue that lies within us or the One who's suffering has given us the greatest joy?
he gave me a call last weekend and we spent a considerable amount of time catching up on life and well, lions:) (to clarify, he went on safari and they literally pitched tents in the middle of the serengeti...lions live there. real ones)
the conversation turned as too often to politics. he said probably one of the most profound things that basically have kept me from even thinking about politics right now:
"the problem with christians is that whether left or right, they have good arguments to back their positions all to uphold the ideas of a sinful man that can't change anything."
boom.
now, at the time it hit much deeper than it may you. it made me think quite a bit about myself. you see, i may not make an inanimate object out of clay, stone, wood or a precious metal to show my affection to, but i sure as heck can dig on some people. por ejemplo, my wife, tim tebow, daniel lapin, ron paul, dave ramsey, etc. etc. etc. etc. seriously. it's not wrong to have heroes or people you look up to, but the reality is that we are all flawed, hardly get anything right and will pass on one day.
and that will be it. nothing more. nothing any man will ever build will stand forever.
i would never advocate those who know God not getting involved with politics or anything of the like. while i'm on it, if you are a believer and believe that christians shouldn't engage in politics that is a completely preposterous stance. the principles and wisdom of God are good for every single walk of life on this planet. to usher in the kingdom of god is an awesome privilege and opportunity. one that should humble us and spur us to action and not retreat. the kingdom of God and the principles it employs on should be evident in society on every level...even politically. are we really that into what we've done and how intelligent we have become? who has wisdom that is greater than His?
i think it prudent to ask ourselves: who are we putting our hope our trust our energy our passion and our lives behind? is it a man or woman who in their greatness can't really change the issue that lies within us or the One who's suffering has given us the greatest joy?
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
tonight...
it's been awhile...don't i always say that when i actually post something?
just been musing on what's going on in the world and even my life lately.
i tend to have a pretty optimistic view of just about everything and everyone. yes, some people do make me angry, but i pretty much feel that they can be redeemed and that i am capable of forgiveness (btw, i heard an amazing message on forgiveness and redemption today...shocker).
just thinking about politics, the world, my life, my friends, how people deal with money, how the tv runs our life, how america at large has become a culture that closely resembles high school. it's quite fascinating.
all to say that i'm convinced that nothing man creates or does can last. we're destined to screw it up...and royally. you see we try and we strive, but many times in our own strength and ability. i've done it, you've done it, WE do it. the human race. we are hilarious.
buildings will fall eventually. cars aren't capable of running anymore. governments come to ruin. our bodies break down. it comes to the end.
am i a pessimist now? certainly not! why? simple. my hope is in Yahweh. you see He, regardless of the nonsense that happens on a second-by-second basis, looks past all of that. so great is He that all He desires is to know us to fellowship with us and to bring us near. nothing can separate us from His love. He is as relentless as the heat of the summer sun. never for a moment letting up His love and attention and pursuit and jealousy of His creation. He can create perfectly and we cannot. we can taint what He has created, but He is able to redeem it...and us.
there is no doubt in my mind He's crazy...crazy in love with a race of broken and futile and finite creatures. too bad He wants us regardless:) praise Jesus!
just been musing on what's going on in the world and even my life lately.
i tend to have a pretty optimistic view of just about everything and everyone. yes, some people do make me angry, but i pretty much feel that they can be redeemed and that i am capable of forgiveness (btw, i heard an amazing message on forgiveness and redemption today...shocker).
just thinking about politics, the world, my life, my friends, how people deal with money, how the tv runs our life, how america at large has become a culture that closely resembles high school. it's quite fascinating.
all to say that i'm convinced that nothing man creates or does can last. we're destined to screw it up...and royally. you see we try and we strive, but many times in our own strength and ability. i've done it, you've done it, WE do it. the human race. we are hilarious.
buildings will fall eventually. cars aren't capable of running anymore. governments come to ruin. our bodies break down. it comes to the end.
am i a pessimist now? certainly not! why? simple. my hope is in Yahweh. you see He, regardless of the nonsense that happens on a second-by-second basis, looks past all of that. so great is He that all He desires is to know us to fellowship with us and to bring us near. nothing can separate us from His love. He is as relentless as the heat of the summer sun. never for a moment letting up His love and attention and pursuit and jealousy of His creation. He can create perfectly and we cannot. we can taint what He has created, but He is able to redeem it...and us.
there is no doubt in my mind He's crazy...crazy in love with a race of broken and futile and finite creatures. too bad He wants us regardless:) praise Jesus!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
international astronomical union tax...
this is a beef i’ve held for a long time. three years to be exact. remember back in 2006 when pluto got booted out of the “9 major planets” of the solar system? you want to talk about shock and awe?! this was and is a travesty! first, the fact that you can even boot a planet is wild and secondly, since when were any other ‘planets’ on the scene?! Last I checked there was a sun, 9 planets, some moons, an asteroid belt and a few comets that came by every 98.75432 years.
remember memorizing the planets? i do. it was a big deal when i was young to know how many and in what exact order. remember the memory game? My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas...Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto. You see PLUTO on the end there?! that’s because it is supposed to be a planet! what is my very educated mother going to serve us now? NOTHING? that could fit with neptune. i have nothing now. just tears and a stupid giant piece of paper with a very well crafted picture of my very educated mother, the nine pizzas and me and my friends getting served that has become completely irrelevant. thanks for ruining the pride and memory of that being on the fridge for 3 months.
let’s talk about a few pluto facts. it has moons, 3 to be exact, sometimes rotates around the sun in front of neptune and spins on it’s side like uranus..................ur........anus.................................... sorry, i had to. real mature, jaz, real mature....
to make matters worse, it’s not even #1 in the “dwarf planets” category. no sir, pluto is #2. that’s right, eris (as if anyone has ever heard of such a place) is the #1 dwarf planet. is it even politically correct to call it a ‘dwarf’ planet? maybe we can further add to pluto’s denigration by calling it a ‘little planet.’ who does this IAU think they are? now pluto is a by-word. "hey, bro, i got plutoed." "don't pluto me, brosef." really? next thing you’ll tell me is that the sun is a yellow star that one day will swell into a giant red star killing all life and consuming over half the planets in our solar system before becoming unstable and falling in on itself and creating a smaller star called a "white dwarf" before dying cold and lonely....likely story.
give us our 9th planet back and stop the injustice, IAU!
p.s.-in writing this silly post i had to look up a few facts about the solar system. got a little teary-eyed again at the majesty and wonder of Jehovah God...He’s ridiculous. hope i can see it from His view one day.
remember memorizing the planets? i do. it was a big deal when i was young to know how many and in what exact order. remember the memory game? My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas...Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto. You see PLUTO on the end there?! that’s because it is supposed to be a planet! what is my very educated mother going to serve us now? NOTHING? that could fit with neptune. i have nothing now. just tears and a stupid giant piece of paper with a very well crafted picture of my very educated mother, the nine pizzas and me and my friends getting served that has become completely irrelevant. thanks for ruining the pride and memory of that being on the fridge for 3 months.
let’s talk about a few pluto facts. it has moons, 3 to be exact, sometimes rotates around the sun in front of neptune and spins on it’s side like uranus..................ur........anus.................................... sorry, i had to. real mature, jaz, real mature....
to make matters worse, it’s not even #1 in the “dwarf planets” category. no sir, pluto is #2. that’s right, eris (as if anyone has ever heard of such a place) is the #1 dwarf planet. is it even politically correct to call it a ‘dwarf’ planet? maybe we can further add to pluto’s denigration by calling it a ‘little planet.’ who does this IAU think they are? now pluto is a by-word. "hey, bro, i got plutoed." "don't pluto me, brosef." really? next thing you’ll tell me is that the sun is a yellow star that one day will swell into a giant red star killing all life and consuming over half the planets in our solar system before becoming unstable and falling in on itself and creating a smaller star called a "white dwarf" before dying cold and lonely....likely story.
give us our 9th planet back and stop the injustice, IAU!
p.s.-in writing this silly post i had to look up a few facts about the solar system. got a little teary-eyed again at the majesty and wonder of Jehovah God...He’s ridiculous. hope i can see it from His view one day.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
the david blaine tax...
i don't mean to get personal, but it's about to happen. what's up with david blaine? how the heck is he going scott-free? this dude does some random stuff and somehow is still able to get paid. if this dude can't show his face when he does his 'magic' then how does david blaine go free?
good question. since we don't know we should just tax him, too. the good news is this tax doesn't really affect anyone, but david blaine. no more living in a box or in a water bubble or holding your breath for an inane amount of time. better yet, no more doing street magic and levitating to freak out indigenous peoples all over the world...and black people. no more giving us 'the face' when you do it. nope, none of that. you get to go to work and be a normal person. to add to that, all the normal people that work go back to being productive and stop watching you.
i actually got to see david blaine in the water bubble a few years ago. i was in the nyc for a friend's wedding. it was great. food from street vendors, checked out some crazy dancers on the street, staten island ferry, the weather was perfect, saw really big buildings, got freaked out by a gang of very well-built gay men, saw the really tall jewish guy and took pics, went to macy's and time's square, thought about what it would be like to be spider-man, went to lincoln center to see julliard and the nyc ballet and this goober is floating around in a bubble of water. seriously?
i spent good money and time going to new york. i was enjoying it. then he showed up in the middle of my classic early 20's trip to new york floating in water. i mean, dude's skin was coming off and his organs were shutting down. colossal waste of my time and the hundreds of other people that were there.
for continuing to waste too many good folks' time and somehow getting paid for it david blaine needs to start paying some extra taxes. i even motion that it be retroactive because too many people have lost time they could never get back. this would be a lesson to mr. magic and all future people that take the time to watch him do anything but breathe.
Monday, July 20, 2009
the model/actress tax...
I had another thought. Genius? Maybe. If not I still think it would generate crazy revenue. We should tax models and actresses.
Think about it. Sure, they do neat things like show us awesome clothes and cause us to choke back tears in romantic comedies without fail. The models being so skinny save their designers tons of money on material and fabric. Actresses often have really great things to say on world issues as well.
The downfall is the terrible terrible message their image sends to many women in the world. What woman could possibly live up to the image these ladies are trying to project? You seriously don’t think anyone can look as good as those airbrushed pics on the magazine covers, right? I mean, didn’t the dove commercial teach us that even they don’t look as good as the ‘finished product?’ How many times have you seen women flipping through all of the gossip mags and checking out the pics? Do we really need that in the psyche of our beautiful, vivacious and intelligent American women? I say no.
So we tax them. For all of the insecurities and ill vibes they conjure up in womandom they should be taxed. Not to mention we have to hear about their drug addictions, outbursts of anger and their myriad of boyfriends. And don’t have one of our wives fall in love with them. We men fight so hard to keep our wives first and foremost in our minds and then there is this conversation:
Wife: Don’t you think (insert model/actress here) is so beautiful?
Husband: (panicking) She’s ok.
Wife: Ok? She’s gorgeous! Look at those legs and those curves! She seems so wonderful!
Husband: (feigning indifference) Ehh. I like you much better.
Wife: Thanks, but let’s be realistic…just look at her!
Husband: (really getting nervous) I’m ok. I’d rather not really.
Wife: You know she’s gorgeous. I want to look like her someday.
Husband: (thinks he has a genius idea and calming down) Babe, you’re fine just the way you are.
Wife: I’m ‘fine’ just the way I am? What is that supposed to mean?
Husband: (panicking) It means nothing! I mean it means something, but it means that I’m completely happy with you.
Wife: But you’d rather I look like her, don’t you?
Husband: (defensive and freaked out) What?! You were the one who brought her up, not me!
Wife: I can’t believe you would think that let alone say it! How can I compare to her with her long legs and flat stomach and no need for a ‘miracle bra?’ I’m so hurt by you! You’re cooking your own dinner tonight and have a nice night on the couch!
Husband: (despair and shaking his head saying, ‘WTF?!’)
Does that conversation really need to happen? I would think not. Just think about how much more marital bliss would be going on if we raised a tax on models and actresses and there were less of them. This conversation would not happen and women would be less likely to define themselves based on an essentially arbitrary person. And just think of how teenage girls would look to their mothers as the standard as opposed to the next Disney phenom. I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’. Taxing models and actresses may be a huge step in quelling one of the major ills of our society.
Think about it. Sure, they do neat things like show us awesome clothes and cause us to choke back tears in romantic comedies without fail. The models being so skinny save their designers tons of money on material and fabric. Actresses often have really great things to say on world issues as well.
The downfall is the terrible terrible message their image sends to many women in the world. What woman could possibly live up to the image these ladies are trying to project? You seriously don’t think anyone can look as good as those airbrushed pics on the magazine covers, right? I mean, didn’t the dove commercial teach us that even they don’t look as good as the ‘finished product?’ How many times have you seen women flipping through all of the gossip mags and checking out the pics? Do we really need that in the psyche of our beautiful, vivacious and intelligent American women? I say no.
So we tax them. For all of the insecurities and ill vibes they conjure up in womandom they should be taxed. Not to mention we have to hear about their drug addictions, outbursts of anger and their myriad of boyfriends. And don’t have one of our wives fall in love with them. We men fight so hard to keep our wives first and foremost in our minds and then there is this conversation:
Wife: Don’t you think (insert model/actress here) is so beautiful?
Husband: (panicking) She’s ok.
Wife: Ok? She’s gorgeous! Look at those legs and those curves! She seems so wonderful!
Husband: (feigning indifference) Ehh. I like you much better.
Wife: Thanks, but let’s be realistic…just look at her!
Husband: (really getting nervous) I’m ok. I’d rather not really.
Wife: You know she’s gorgeous. I want to look like her someday.
Husband: (thinks he has a genius idea and calming down) Babe, you’re fine just the way you are.
Wife: I’m ‘fine’ just the way I am? What is that supposed to mean?
Husband: (panicking) It means nothing! I mean it means something, but it means that I’m completely happy with you.
Wife: But you’d rather I look like her, don’t you?
Husband: (defensive and freaked out) What?! You were the one who brought her up, not me!
Wife: I can’t believe you would think that let alone say it! How can I compare to her with her long legs and flat stomach and no need for a ‘miracle bra?’ I’m so hurt by you! You’re cooking your own dinner tonight and have a nice night on the couch!
Husband: (despair and shaking his head saying, ‘WTF?!’)
Does that conversation really need to happen? I would think not. Just think about how much more marital bliss would be going on if we raised a tax on models and actresses and there were less of them. This conversation would not happen and women would be less likely to define themselves based on an essentially arbitrary person. And just think of how teenage girls would look to their mothers as the standard as opposed to the next Disney phenom. I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’. Taxing models and actresses may be a huge step in quelling one of the major ills of our society.
Friday, July 17, 2009
the walking/shoe tax...
today i thought it prudent to tax walking. actually, i can't take credit for this solely. heath attig thought of this idea and so we ran with it...can i say 'ran with it' when talking about walking?
anyway, new proposal. tax walking. i think it would be a good idea to inject a little mileage chip in the feet of all Americans. said chip would also double as a tracking device should you fall into peril...that would be the ONLY reason to know where you are at all times, by the way. i digress...
the reason why is that walking creates tiny vibrations throughout the earth's crust. it seems fairly innocuous, but when there are close to 7 billion people worldwide, 300 million here alone in the U.S., and billions of animals big and small that has to have some kind of effect. the soil beneath us could one day be so sifted and moved around that the results could be cataclysmic. i would think that all the folks in california know what i'm talking about. "san andreas faultline?" yeah, right. on top of that you have the natural erosion process that gets exacerbated. we'll call this crust change so that no one can forget.
especially here in middle tennessee it's even more dangerous. there is a vast and intricate network of caverns beneath our feet. could you imagine the destruction that could ensue if all of the sudden the entire thing collapsed and we had a new grand canyon east of the mississippi?! think of the people that would perish! the animals! the trees! if the tops of mountains can get worn down over time, what's to think we can't wear down the earth's crust? we have got to take drastic action and take it now or else.
not to mention that all the dust and dirt you stir up in a day that just hangs out in the atmosphere. we don't know how that reacts with heat and uv rays. we just don't know. heck, for all we do know dust from the ground kicked up by your sneaks could be hurting the ozone layer. not to mention that during allergy season it's more likely that all the warm air is loosening the long frozen dirt making it easier for you to throw it into the air. why do we always blame pollen and plant spores? what if it's us? the environmental impact is real, people. think about it, but you must think hard. what will our children's children say about us one day if we don't do this and do it now?
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