One of the greatest songwriters I have ever heard is Rich Mullins. Many people know him as the writer of the song Awesome God. All his music causes me to reflect on God and my life with Him. I think the one song that most reflects my walk is the song Hold Me Jesus. I think why I connect so much to Rich’s music is the fact he is not afraid to let you know he has doubts, weaknesses, and temptations. He writes about the full scope of faith. Too many people are afraid tho let their fans know they are weak at times, but God uses the weaknesses we have to help bring others to Him. If someone sees us struggle but remain faithful, that is a witness. Here is the video for Hold Me Jesus. You might want to mute the U2 streaming video on this page to hear the song. I am also including the link to the video incase the embedding doesn’t work, because half the time it doesn’t for me.
I have been working at a Christian bookstore for a few months now and have had several thoughts. One, the Christian community tries to hard to copy the world. There is a card game called Redemption that is an imitation of Magic and other card games. There movies that are imitations of the comedies like Pineapple Express and action movies like The Bone Collector. There are books that imitate the popular series of Patterson and King. They all seem pale comparisons of these works though. I do not think we should be copying the works of the world, we should be producing our own art based on our own beliefs. When we try to imitate the world and fail the world just looks at us and laughs. These pale imitations tend to drive more people away and marginalize the Christian community rather than win people over to Christ, which should be the goal of all the work Christians produce. This is not to say all the movies and books that have been produced are poor. There are some high quality movies like One Night With the King, that tells the story of Esther. These movies and books are what needs to be continued to be produced.
Two, I am amazed at some of the products we sell. There are religious hand lotions, candies, pens, pencils, the list goes on. These items make me wonder if people are not just slapping Jesus’s name on an item just to sell it. Like the Steve Taylor song says, we have made Jesus a franchise in the food courts.
Three, Christian stores also hasten the isolation of the Christian community from the world. We have developed a completely separate culture. We need to engage the world. Challenge the pre-conceived notions the world has of Christians as being stuck up and holier than though. We are no better or worse than a non-Christian. Acting as if we are confirms the idea in peoples minds that we are hypocrites, which if we are acting like we are better then we are hypocrites.
Four, there are many good Christian music artists that are ignored by mainstream radio. I believe this is a direct result of the isolation the Christian community has cultivated.
I have met many good people through working at the store though. I have had some good conversations with customers ans staff. So, the experience has not been too bad. Also, I have rediscovered some old friends like Oswald Chambers and Third Day that I have not read or listened to in some time. I have also found some new things I like, but would have never heard otherwise, because I don’t go to bookstores often.
For some reason I begin watching videos claiming to prove we did not go to the moon and others that debunk the myth. It is fascinating to watch. I am convinced we traveled to the moon. The only reason I can think of for faking the whole thing would be as a moral boast to the nation. We were in the middle of a cold war and Vietnam. Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. had been shot the year before. Race riots had occurred. The hippie movement was in full swing. Generally people were becoming disillusioned and unsettled. The moon mission was a distraction from all that was happening. It united Americans in a feeling of national pride, even if it was short lived. An astute observer of human nature would have understood this. That argument doesn’t convince me it was faked. As one website points out (yes it is a humor website but that doesn’t make it untrue) tens of thousands of people would have to be lying for the hoax to be real. Keeping a secret that big is near impossible. So, I think believing in the hoax theory is insane.
One interesting tidbit though. I found one conspiracy theorist who claims NASA discovered either and alien base or the ruins of an alien civilization on the dark side of the moon. The theory states that this secret has been discovered by other nations and that is why so many of them have begun a race to reach the moon. They want to be able to harness the alien technology on the moon. These nations include Iran, China, Japan, and many other nations. In response, NASA, which is a division of the department of defense, has launched a nuclear device they will detonate on October 9 of this year to destroy the alien technology. NASA’s website mentions a mission LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, which will launch a probe into the moon’s surface on Oct. 9th but no mention nuclear weapons. I guess in a couple of months we shall see. If it is a nuclear device, let’s hope it doesn’t throw off the moon’s orbit. Boy wouldn’t we be in trouble then.
p.s. the conspiracy website includes a petition asking NASA not to destroy the moon, if you want to fill it out.
I used to post items while I was at work, but it was discovered and I got into trouble. Then I joined facebook and became addicted to the Texas Hold-em application there, and played that in my free time. So, I don’t play that as much. I plan to begin posting again, not regularly, but at least once a week.
“No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.”
These are the qualifications set out in the constitution regarding who can be President.
I know it has been a while since I posted anything. The truth of the matter is I have become addicted to the Texas Hold’em game on facebook. I tend to play that when I am online. Sorry. I will try to get better. An update on my reading list. I have recently read Nation by Terry Pratchett. He is the creator of the Discworld novels. Nation is not a disc world novel but it is very compelling reading. Although set on a fictional island, the island is basically in the South Sea. A tidal wave has destroyed life on many of the islands and civilization must begin anew. It is a wonderful look at the fight of old traditions vs new traditions and the struggle of faith when bad things happen. A worthwhile read.
I have also been reading the Sharon Kay Penman novels about the struggle between Wales and England. The first one, Here Be Dragons, starts with Richard the Lionheart and his brother John and goes from there. The next two, Falls the Shadow and The Reckoning, continue the story. The last one ends with Edward Longshanks on the throne and the final absorption of Wales into the English monarchy. The first book is a tough read but you can see Penman’s storytelling improving through out the novels. The final novel is very well told and compelling. I have just discovered she has two more books that deal with events that occurred historically during this time period but did not have the time to fully discuss in her trilogy. It is overall a good read.
Okay, I have heard enough from commentators who are claiming the tax day tea parties were racist. The claim is that conservatives and whites participated in the parties because they are trying to destroy a black president. The facts are, there have been several of these tea parties in the past. They were better organized and publicized this year though. One thing the conservatives in this country can do is learn from their opponents. The anti-immigration rallies that were very organized the last couple of years taught conservatives they need as much organization to get their message out. That is were the publicity for the events came from. The idea that a person who stands up for their constitutional rights and freedom are racists is repugnant and absurd.
I recently took a quiz identifying Billy Joel or Elton John songs. Something I noticed about the songs is how different a style the two musicians have. Even though they are compared to each other, I think that is only because they were releasing songs at the same time. If you listen to Billy Joel, though, he has a clear blues vibe to his playing. Elton John, on the other hand, seems to derive his music from jazz. I guess what really matters is I like them both. Hope you do as well as I did. 100%
Currently Reading
3/5/09 Revenge of the Babysat by Bill Watterson. Another Calvin and Hobbes collection, I own them all, yes I do.
3/3/09 Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. The collection of the first strips of the famous duo.
3/1/09 Yukon Ho by Bill Watterson: A Calvin and Hobbes collection.