Crazy

It's been a straight-up crazy week. I'm a little tired - scratch that, I'm VERY tired, so I'm not going to elaborate on the week that was quite yet, but let's just say that the word "whirlwind" could be used to describe - and of course the weather last night and today was just freaky. I'll say more later. I couldn't let a whole week go by without posting - but I just don't have the energy right now to do it justice...

Brennan's First Commercial

I just got a YouTube account and figured, what better way to open it up than with a video of Brennan to share with all his family, friends & fans. I posted it on our Photo Album but figured I'd post it here as well. After seeing so many other people using YouTube as an easy way to share videos on their blog, I figured, why not? And really, it was SOOOO easy. Hope you enjoy, there'll be more to come...

Easter - "Stranger than Fiction"?

Friday, Bridgette & I watched the movie "Stranger than Fiction" starring Will Farrell. Neither of us had seen it yet, despite the fact that we both enjoy movies - Bridgette even more than me. I realize we haven't been watching as many movies lately, and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the movies that they're putting out recently... they're just not that good. But this one was different. We enjoyed it very much. And right at the end, there's this twist. I'm sure there's no way I could blow the movie for anyone, but as soon as I heard this line by one of the characters, I hit rewind, grabbed my laptop and had to copy it down. Here it is:

"Because it's a book about a man who doesn't know he's going to die - and then dies but if the man does know he's going to die and dies anyway and dies willingly knowing he can stop it - well isn't that the kind of man you want to keep alive."

I was like - "Hallelujah!" Here we were, and still are, at Easter, the most important time in the Christian calendar - the most important time in the calendar of the world, and I'm hearing the truth about Jesus from Emma Thompson. But she was dead on. I mean, if you knew you were going to die, and went through with whatever anyway, knowing you had the power to stop it, to not die - that's the type of person who deserves to live. And Jesus did - DOES!

Jesus knew exactly what he was getting into. He knew the road he was travelling. Being God, I'm sure he also knew that he could've stepped away at any point. Wasn't one of the temptations in the desert to throw himself off the cliff or off the temple mount and have the angels catch him? I'm sure Jesus could have simply said the word and the cross would've turned to sawdust, the nails to rubber and his Roman torturers to scared rabbits. But he did not. He had a job to do, as painful as it was - and we're not simply talking about physical pain or exestential angst - but separation within the eternal Godhead... Anyeay, Jesus did it, Jesus submitted to death and because of that - His name will be exalted above every other name, that at that name, every knee shall bow & every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

It's pretty sweet when you see stuff like this in a simple movie...

"Good" Friday

I travelled a thread today on a blog, and found myself yet again, deep in the heart of hatred that exists for some in the Christian community. It was amazing how much venom some can spew out of their keyboards at people they don't even know, simply because the other has been open and honest enough to share their faith, and to share their personal struggles, questions and doubts. What is most frustrating for me is to find that the greatest amount of anger towards Christians that I have found on the internet... comes from other Christians.

Today is "Good" Friday. The name requires some interpretation. For Christians, with a certain view of the Atonement, Friday is Good because it is the day that Jesus paid for the sins of the world, where Jesus reconciled the world to God. But the oringination of the term is actually from "God's" Friday in English. It's referred to with different names in different languages. If you go to a service today, or possibly last night on Maundy Thursday (provided it wasn't a foot washing service) you may experience a lot of darkness, shadows, solemnity. A somber mood is set as we remember Jesus, the one who prophetically called for the dismantleing of religious practices and institutions that separated and divided, bruised, beaten and brutalized - then hammered to a wooden cross to hang and die - in the dark.

I often wonder, if it was 2007 when Jesus had been crucified, who would be shouting up to him on the cross? Who would have been the leaders who secretly banded together, who conspired to put him to death? And I cannot help but come to those of us, those religious, pious, holy people who believe they posess all the answers - that anyone else is wholly "un-orthodox" as if orthodoxy, as if the gospel is a commodity that could be bartered or sold. It is the arrogant, self-rightouess, "saints" whom Jesus called into question, is it not? Those who could draw their lineage from Abraham, those proud people who could trace their theology to the true meaning. It were those people, whom Jesus challenged. Meanwhile, it was with the "sinners and tax-collecters" that Jesus spent his time. It was with those that are on the outside that Jesus welcomed in.

Good Friday is a great day to take stock of ourselves, to allow the light of Christ to shine brightly on our lives in such a way that we truly submit - submit to the fact that at the end of the day - WE COULD BE WRONG. Our hope? Jesus. Our message? Jesus. Our salvation? Jesus. It rests not on our brilliance, our knowledge, our properly aligned doctrine or cunningly sophisticated rhetoric. All that we are as Christians rests solely on Jesus. And it pains me to no end when we turn our sights towards the world, towards those in our own community whom we disagree with, but who are earnestly seeking and hoping in the same Jesus Christ - OUR Lord - when we turn our sights to them and attack them. As I often heard from the pulpit at BAPC "We will be surprised with 3 things when we get to heaven - 1) who's there 2) who's not there and 3) that WE'RE there."

On this holy day, the day that we remember the suffering and agony which God endured for us, maybe we can be a little more compassionate to those prophetic voices in our midst who might actually have a word from this God to us today - a word that we may have yet to live into...

"Offline"

For the first time in quite awhile, I spent a significant amount of time "offline." For nearly 72 hours I recieved no e-mail and had virtually no internet contact, not to mention television and cell phone use. It was far different from my "normal" days. But it was good, and when I get a second I'll comment a little further on the experience, sans technology...

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Being offline was somewhat odd. It wasn't exactly for a lack of trying. I had my laptop with me the entire time I was away. I made an attempt to access my e-mail, but I was unable to garner an internet signal that wasn't password protected - whatever happened to free Wi-Fi? Anyway, my time was so structured and settled that save for a few brief moments before bed and after bed there was really no time to be "online." Did I miss it? Some. But spending time with people, which was mostly what I did, was exhilirating - and tiring, and I feel that is a lot of what I do online anyway - in a virtual way. No, long gone are the days of chatrooms & 20 comment blog "conversations." I spend most of my time online either reading & responding to e-mail, or reading information that will help & equip me be more effective, and of course some sports stuff - but not during lent.

It was a great time and yet an odd time in that. I did fee like an "important" - or at least regular - part of my life was missing. The internet has become such a secondhand tool to my generation. But it also reminded me that lots can be had "offline" as well. And the internet, although a great tool, can be abused when instead of facilitating community it becomes an end to itself. On that note, it's probably time that I did something else...