East to West

These lyrics really struck me today...
"East to West" by Casting Crowns

Here I am, Lord, and I'm drowning in your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight
I know You've cast my sin as far as the east is from the west
And I stand before You now as though I've never sinned
But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west
'cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

I know You've washed me white, turned my darkness into light
I need Your peace to get me through, to get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel, but by the truth Your word reveals
I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me
You're holding on to me

Jesus, You know just how far the east is from the west
I don't have to see the man I've been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
One scarred hand to the other
From one scarred hand to the other

Off to the movies

So this past Memorial Day Weekend Lora and I stayed home which turns out was a great decision. We saved some bucks and also had a really great time. We also managed to see 3 movies in the space of 3 days. This is really something for us, since we average about 1 movie a month.

On Friday we went with Aaron and Anna to see Prince Caspian. I reread the book a couple of months ago, just to become familiar with the story again. Overall, I felt the movie was quite good but Hollywood seeped in a little too much for my taste. The introduction of a hint of romance is foreign to the book and seemed out of place in the story. Further the humor, while present in the book, was handled in such a way to make alleviate all tension in the story. The tension is what makes the story compelling. Still I really enjoyed the movie. I look forward to reading the Narnia series to my children some day.

On Saturday we rented 'Death at a Funeral' which is by far the best comedy I have seen in a long time. It is a British comedy in classic form. You have a serious situation which becomes increasingly more ridiculous all the while people are going in and out of the wrong rooms. There is nothing deep, just great humor.

When we popped the DVD in we watched a preview for 'Lars and the Real Girl' which we rented the next night. We both enjoyed the movie and recommend it, but it is difficult to categorize. Lora suggests 'a thinking comedy' which works for me. Also while the movie is based around an 'adult' situation, there is nothing obscene, lewd, sexually-arousing, etc...

Something Beautiful Podcast

New podcast worth checking out. Good music and people telling their stories. Because faith is all about the story. http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/

To be a man

I've been thinking alot about what it means to be a man. Not physically, but in essence. It seems that to be a man cannot simply mean that one is not a woman. Also it must mean more than one is a person. In other words the characteristics that define masculinity must be unique but not in simple contrast.

There are a lot of cultural definitions of manhood which are not very helpful. Our culture tells us that men are to be emotionless (which seen as a strength), womanizing lone rangers. Another part of our culture tries to simply make men into women, the gentler sex. While I have nothing against women, this seems misguided and troublesome. A man must know that he is a man, he must be affirmed in his masculinity.

Many cultures have rites of passage, a special point after which one is no longer a boy, but is man. The American culture lacks such milestones. Some define the passage into adulthood when they start driving, graduate high school or college, have their first beer, get their first 'real' job, have sex, etc... Many of these could serve as rites of passage but they don't seem to be thought of as such by much of the culture. Others might lead to a misunderstanding of adulthood.

As I've thought about it here are some things that I have come to regard as unique characteristics of man. Again this is not to say women don't or shouldn't espouse these characteristics only that they help me define what it means to be a man. The first is seeing life with a sense of adventure. The second is putting others ahead of self to the point of personal sacrifice. The third is having short hair. Just kidding about that last one.

I'd like to hear the thoughts of others on this issue.

Only a matter of time

My guess is that this will be a storyline on Grey's Anatomy within the year. The Associated Press is reporting that a Tokyo man attempted suicide by drinking large amounts of pesticide. At the hospital doctors were trying to pump his stomach when he threw up on them, releasing poisonous gas throughout the hospital. In total 54 doctors, nurses and patients developing breathing problems and eye sores. Of course the Grey's Anatomy writers will not merely rip this story out of the headlines. They will add high degree of sexual tension to the story...

Read the full story here.

We The Church

Here is an interesting 'Christian' twist on twitter called 'We The Church'. Neat idea but probably could be implemented/designed better. I've heard that they had issue with lack of moderation early on so they recently relaunched.

Check it out at wethechurch.org

Did you here the one about the parrot?

This reminds me of the many parrot jokes Dr. Toussaint told in BE107. But this story is true. A lost parrot in Tokyo told a veterinarian his address and thus he was safely returned to his owner.

Read the whole story here.

God

I am a polytheist, this much is true
Most have one God, me I have two
One God sits in heaven and is ever kind
The other is mean and lives in my mind

The god in my head tells me I'm bad
Makes me feel guilty, shameful and sad
I cannot please him however I try
He does not love me, and I wonder why

But if this god in my head does abide
He must be so small to fit just inside
Or my head must be amazingly large
To contain the god who is ever in charge

If I examine this god in my head
I realize that he is nothing to dread
For he is nothing more than myself
I've just taken the word 'god' off the shelf

There are not two gods but only One
Who loves me so much to send forth His Son
Even the heavens can never contain
The weight of His glory or the length of His reign

So I will worship the God who is above
Who showers His blessings and promises love
And I will know that the god in my head
Is not living but is ever dead.

Latest Game Addiction

Bible Geocoding

I think this a great resource for pastors or anyone teaching Scripture that wants to utilize high-quality maps. Google Earth (free to download) provides both the geographic maps as well as the platform that allows alot of possibilities. The folks at openbible.info have went ahead and did the rest of the hard work by plotting the points. Check it out at http://www.openbible.info/geo/

What I'm Listening to - Bored Again

For all you folks out there who are looking for something new in Christian music, I recommend the 'Bored Again Christian' podcast, which is great to check out new music. There is a good variety of music, some I really like other stuff not so much. While I'm far from a music buff (as my wife can tell you) I do enjoy this podcast. I like the fact that most is really good music which doesn't say 'Jesus' in every verse. For me it is about living a faith in everyday life, about having a Jesus that transcends Sunday, about serving the eternal God in every moment.

7 months

So for the past seven months I've been working at the US Bankruptcy Court as the web developer. Anyway, I've completed my first publicly-accessible site for them. Check it out at www.txnb.uscourts.gov. I hope you never find a need to use it though! Actually I'm pretty proud of it. While I can't take credit for the design, I did develop a custom 'Content Management System' specifically for judicial use. Hopefully this system will be able to be utilized by different courts around the country as it greatly simplifies the process of managing external websites.

Today

If there was one day when I could be me,
Be the man I always wanted to be
If there was one day when I could let go
Of all the things that I carry in tow
If there was one day when I could look
And see all of myself as pages of a book
If there was one day when I could forget
Every bad memory and every regret
If there was one day when I could show
The love I feel to everyone I know

There is a day when all this is true
The day I will do the things I want to
The day when could becomes that which is
The day my will becomes all-together His

This day is both very far and very near
Looking ahead, I can look without fear
For I can choose today as that day
And know tomorrow it won’t go away

For God is a God of this day and the next
He’s promised His love in His sacred Text
Though I may struggle to see that which is
I know the future is ultimately His

So today is the day when I will be me,
I will be the man I want now to be
And God will be the God that is
And someday my will will be all-together His