I saw this last night on television. And it has got me stoked. Too bad there are only eight episodes in the can right now.
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=Swvz8os_Ey0[/youtube]
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Short little tour of the worship space at The Orchard Oxford. We were in town Sunday night and able to participate.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCHiFsd_CkE[/youtube]
I’m at my grandmother’s house right now. I’ve already been to my in-laws, my dad’s, my new church, and lots of neighborhoods around Oxford. I’m about to head to my mom’s. Then back here for supper tonight.
Then I’ll hit the road to sleep in my own bed tonight. The Wife and The Girls will sleep and I’ll let Matt and Kidd talk to me on the way home by way of my mp3 player. I think some more inlaws are going to follow us home.
Life is a whirlwind. But I do enjoy it!
I get a call today from the office of my dentist friend. “Mr. Thompson, we have had a cancellation and Mr. Dentist wondered if you wanted to come in for a teeth cleaning?” Sure. Why not?
But then they discover that I need a little more work. TWO FILLINGS. Both right side of my mouth. Top and Bottom. Now I feel like Mr Clump or whatever his name is.
Hopefully I’ll feel normal by in the morning.
The good news is I might have a little work to be done on the other side next week. Lucky me!
When I first read this, I thought…”Really?” But then I guess it can make sense in a way. But would you ever think you’d have to get tickets to go to church?
I know of two churches who are expecting big, big crowds for their Christmas services. So they’re requiring people to get tickets. No, they’re not charging. But just making it necessary to have tickets to get in. I guess that helps with crowding and all. It seems pretty interesting:
Oak Leaf Church and then Orchard Valley Church and their update.
What do you think?
Today was my last Sunday morning here at the church. It wasn’t dramatic or anything, but just a realization that things are changing swiftly. Mitchell said some kind words thing morning during the service. It meant a lot. Tonight is the Youth Christmas Party. And it is my last Sunday night here too. I think I have the best Dirty Santa Gift too!
Next weekend we’ll be out of town doing family Christmas stuff. Might be able to swing by The Orchard and hang out there a little in Oxford too. And then the last Sunday of the year I’ll be at BreakThru for the year end retreat. So it’s sort of weird. These next two weeks are going to be a little weird. We’ll be packing, boxing, cleaning out, storing, loading, driving/riding, Christmas-ing, and hoping to sell a house.
I ran across this on YouTube. I remember going to this hamburger restaurant since I was a little kid. My friends and I would ride our bikes up there. But a few years back my uncle bought the place. Now he runs it. It’s been in continuous operation since 1929.
This is a little story done on it from somewhere or another. That’s my uncle and aunt being interviewed. And no, I don’t talk just like they do.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgC9qACeAwM[/youtube]
The Wife and I were looking at Christmas gifts the other day. But we’re starting to get tired of either looking for a gift that we probably wouldn’t like ourself to give to someone we hardly ever see; a gift that they’ll probably not appreciate or end up re-gifting anyhow. You know what I’m talking about, right?
Then The Wife tells me about a $20 bottle of water she read about. We could spend $20 for a bottle of water and the $$ would go to building or rebuilding wells for villages in Africa. I was a little skeptical at first, but after we sat down and found it online, and spent a little bit of time reading and watching some videos…I was sold on the idea.
Right now, 1.1 BILLION people in the world, mostly in developing nations, do not have access to clean, safe drinking water. And we’ve found that this is a way we can contribute a little bit to the plight. Here is some text from the website:
Charity: Water is currently funding the construction of more than 268 wells in 8 African countries that range from $3,500 to $12,000. Also included are training programs where our partners teach well maintenance, basic hygiene and sanitation to maximize lifespan and impact of the new water sources.
100 percent of your donation will directly fund our projects in Ethiopia, Uganda, Malawi, Central African Republic, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Liberia.
Make sure you visit Charity: water, watch their “Why Water?” video, and if you have time, spend a couple of minutes learning a little more about the project.
And if this is something you connect with, then buy a bottle or two. Gift a family member or friend with it. I know, it’s not the traditional Christmas gift. And you may get a puzzled look or two about it. But I guarantee it will be used unlike most traditionl Christmas gifts.
[Also, here’s a great interview with Scott Harrison, the founder of Charity: water. It talks of how it got started, the why’s behind it, and the tools used.]
I first saw the trailer for this film a long way back. I think Corey Mann had a link to it on his blog. I thought it looked pretty interesting and intriguing. I figured it might be a good film to catch over the holidays or a for sure rental in the Spring.
Then a few weeks later I start seeing the email chain letters talking about how evil the movie is. Apparently the author of the books is an atheist and is trying to espouse his beliefs through this series. In the books God is represented by a really old man who is stuck in his old timer ways and has some oppressive thinking. I think he might actually die in the end of the trilogy.
So help me think through this… A guy is writing a book trilogy where someone his whole belief system is based on exists and then dies? I think he’s just trying build up a belief system and then break it apart.
I’ve read stories and quotes to where Pullman, the author of the books, basically sees himself as the Anti-C.S. Lewis. He hates what the “church” has done in history (and admittedly there have been lots of wrongs done for wrong reasons in the name of the “church”).
So should we boycott the movie? Will you go see it? I’m torn. Part of me wants to say sure since he’s anti my own belief system. But then does a boycott really accomplish anything? I think many will still go see it. So it’s not to “hit them where it hurts the most (the pocket)” situation. Now I won’t carry my own kids. Why? It’s a PG-13 movie! Neither of my kids are even half of 13. Their ages added up don’t even break double digits yet.
But even if the movie is calling God into question, and God fearing people are scared of God being called into question… Goodness, turn on your television just about anytime of the day or pick up a newspaper. God is being called into question all the time.
And there are tons of movies and television shows that have values contrary to Biblical values. Heck, most of the children being “protected” from The Golden Compass probably hear worse stuff at their lunch table at school.
If our children’s own faith is the biggest concern, then I think we as parents and we as followers of Christ need to realize that we should have a much deeper influence of their faith than a movie. And if they do see the movie, we should have the relationship with our kids. I don’t think God is scared of our questions. Actually, I think He invites our questions. That way, when we get through them and He’s helping us find the Truth…then our faith in Him can be solidified.
So…will you see the movie or read the books? (And thanks to Jeremy for getting my thoughts stirring)
Daley Hake is a photographer with mad skills. I envy him. I want a camera like his. And I wish I had his vision. Maybe one day he’ll shoot some stuff of my family.
But his mom posted an amazing story of a very serious moment in her life. If you have five minutes…it’s definitely worth the read.
