Tuesday, February 28, 2006

... about TV then and TV now


OK, we lost another one yesterday. Dennis Weaver died at his home in Southwestern Colorado after fighting cancer for a number of years. “Chester” on Gunsmoke, “McCloud” and “Gentle Ben” are some of the more memorable roles he played. He played Deputy Chester Goode on Gunsmoke for over nine years. Off-screen, Weaver served as president of the Screen Actors Guild and was a vegetarian and activist for environmental and charitable causes. He served as president of Love Is Feeding Everyone, which fed 150,000 needy people a week in Los Angeles County. He founded the Institute of Ecolonomics, which sought solutions to economic and environmental problems. He spoke at the United Nations and Congress, as well as to college students and school children about fighting pollution.

His "Earthship" home was the most visible of Weaver's crusades. He and his wife, Gerry, built the solar-powered Colorado dwelling out of recycled tires and cans. The thick walls helped keep the inside temperature even year-round. "When the garbage man comes," Jay Leno once quipped, "how does he know where the garbage begins and the house ends?" Weaver responded: "If we get into the mind-set of saving rather than wasting and utilizing other materials, we can save the Earth."

With these older actors dying lately (Don Knotts over the weekend as well- maybe I’ll post about him as well, keeping the theme of the week), it’s causing me to think about the differences in TV then and TV now. I came in on the end of Gunsmoke but I loved it. One of my lasting memories of times with my mother was watching old reruns of Gunsmoke, and other poorly made cop shows with her in the 70’s. But there was a thread of something that was found in these shows. There was a general morality by which most of the characters led their lives. There were lessons to be learned every week about how we treat people (Andy Griffith comes to mind for that one, with Barney – Knotts- learning most of those lessons). There was also stuff that we just didn't feel the need to show. Now, TV seems to go for the gross-out, the most incredible, and the most revealing, immoral projection of humanity. I think I’ll take the Mayberry, Gunsmoke, Christmas Story life over any of that. Let’s keep paying for the reruns!

Monday, February 27, 2006

...why movie lines stick with us!



It must have been the times. It must have been that there weren't so many distractions as there is now for young adults. But my college friends and I would pick out movies to go to based on the "memorability" factor (not a word I know but it fits). We would then quote lines from the movie for weeks afterward. Here's an example from the news this weekend. Emmy-winning actor Darren McGavin, who played grouchy monster chaser Carl Kolchak in the 1970s television series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," died on Saturday. He starred in five television series, including "Mike Hammer," back in the fifties.

But his most memorable role was as the grouchy father in the film "A Christmas Story," originally released in 1983, but a television staple on holidays ever since. One of my favorite Christmas shows. This was a classic "memorability" movie. We repeated lines for years! Can we name some, as a tribute to the actor? My first one would be: “You’ll shoot your eye out!” Let's also include: "It's a major award!" How about yours? Post some in the comments section!



Wednesday, February 22, 2006

...How to engage others in a conversation about Jesus

I was just wondering if we need to be careful how we engage people in an ongoing conversation about Jesus. Maybe we do it as one would engage someone in an inspiring conversation about an important topic, being careful to not hit someone over the head with doctrinal, "insider" language, assuming that they know what in the world we're talking about. Hitting over the head does not engage people the way we want. They end up hurting and the conversation is basically over. We bring Jesus into an ongoing conversation with someone like Jesus himself did. Through relationship. John does a great job of illustrating this in his gospel.

I'll start with Nicodemus. He wanted answers. Jesus filled him with more questions, but as he did so he told him who he was. "God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again" (John 3:17, MSG). You just get the feeling that this was not the last discussion that Nicodemus had about Jesus.

We move on to the woman at the well. After all the discussion about water, husband(s), worship, The Messiah, Jesus says to her, "I am he; you don't have to wait any longer or look any further" (John 4:26, MSG). What did she do? Only went and told her entire town that the Messiah had come.

Next: woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). everyone's labeled her. Jesus frees her (stops the stoning), forgives her ("neither do I condemn you"), and challenges her ("go and leave your life of sin").

One of my favorites: Healing of the man born blind (John 9). The work of God might be displayed in his life, that's what Jesus said. One of the ways it was displayed was how this man went from explaining that it was a guy named Jesus that healed him, to calling him a prophet, to saying he is a man sent from God, to admitting he was a believer. Hmmm, some transformation all by himself, don't you think? Jesus transformed him by his own story!

One last obvious example from John 11. Before raising his friend Lazarus from the dead, Jesus explains to Martha that "You don't have to wait for the end. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me , even though he or she dies, will. And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all" (John 11:25-26).

OK, back to engaging with people about Jesus. You know, the only people Jesus "hit over the head" or confronted were the ones who needed to have known better, the religious leaders. The ones who did not know him. He showed them who he was, loved them, healed them, and died for them. Our job then, as Christians, is to show people Jesus IN us. That's his message, and ours too!

Friday, February 17, 2006

...about the need for approval

Hey, everyone!
I decided to change the title of my blog.
I'm going to begin every post with the same beginning:
I was just wondering…

So, here goes: I was just wondering...
...after watching WAY too much American Idol lately, why young people have this overwhelming need for recognition, approval, or whatever you want to call it? You see it in their faces when they make it through AND when they are sent home. Yes, I know that there is joy and disappointment, but sometimes you get a deeper look into their lives (probably deeper than they wanted us to see).
OK, let’s start at the very beginning with theory. We love to postulate about how they didn’t get enough nurture, recognition, and/or approval from parents or significant others when they were in their formative years. Yes, some of that may be true (I sure hope so, because I staked a lot of my training – grad school - and a lot of my dad’s money learning a lot of that). Theory also tells us that because they are now adults (or close to it, in age anyway), they are not in any present relationships that give them all that positive stuff either.
Here’s where it all gets practical. God offers all of this. That’s what they are missing! God loves us all; he created us all; he allowed us to have free will to choose where we would go and who we would follow; he also gave us Jesus, to bring us back to him in a relationship that offers recognition, approval, and (upping the ante here) unconditional love with no strings attached! Being in relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord is all that we need.
I am still wondering though (and will continue to write and struggle) about how we bring Jesus to a large part of humanity that believes this is all that there is: recognition here, approval here. More on that tomorrow, hopefully with your responses.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Post-Valentine's Day Rules of Chocolate


I found this, thought I'd share it. It's Post-Valentine's Day, and that means thousands of tons of chocolate has been given away. With that in mind, ladies keep these rules handy (not that I know anything about all of this 'cause I cannot eat any of the stuff):

1. If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.

2. Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices & strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

3. The problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the office in hot car. The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.

4. Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite and you'll eat less.

5. A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Isn't that handy?

6. If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?

7. If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves.

8. If you eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, that is a balanced diet.

9. Money talks. Chocolate sings.

10. Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger.

11. Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics Anonymous? Because no one wants to quit.

12. Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.

Tomorrow, we will get back on track with some posts about the Christian walk. Enough fun, Jim, you say, back to the serious stuff!

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Valetine's economics


Sorry for the late post but my Blogger editor was down for some reason this morning. I wanted to make it worth the wait, eh? I also wanted to send this photo out with the Valentines this year... (sorry if this offends the follicular out-of-control)


192 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion. (This total excludes packaged kids valentines for classroom exchanges.) Nearly 60 percent of all Valentine’s Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the observance, making Valentine’s Day a procrastinator’s delight.

1,271 locations produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2003. These establishments employed 43,379 people. California led the nation in the number of such establishments (with 146) followed by Pennsylvania (with 120). 519 locations produced nonchocolate confectionary products in 2003. These establishments employed 23,343 people. The total value of shipments in 2003 for firms producing chocolate and cocoa products was $13.5 billion. Nonchocolate confectionery product manufacturing, meanwhile, was a $5.5 billion industry. 3,523 Number of confectionery and nut stores in the United States in 2003. Often referred to as candy stores, they are among the best sources of sweets for Valentine’s Day. The per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2004 was 4.7 pounds. Candy consumption has actually declined over the last few years; in 1997, each American gobbled or savored more than 27 pounds of candy a year.

The combined wholesale value of domestically produced cut flowers in 2004 for all flower-producing businesses in 36 states with $100,000 or more in sales was $422 million was. Among states, California was the leading producer, alone accounting for nearly three-quarters of this amount ($304 million). The combined wholesale value of domestically produced cut roses in 2004 for all businesses in 36 states with $100,000 or more in sales was $43 million. Among all types of cut flowers, roses were second in receipts to lilies ($78 million). There were 22,022 florists nationwide in 2003. These businesses employed 113,270 people.

There were 28,527 jewelry stores in the United States in 2003. Jewelry stores offer engagement, wedding and other rings to lovers of all ages. In February 2005, these stores sold $2.4 billion worth of merchandise. (This figure has not been adjusted for seasonal variation, holiday or trading day differences or price changes.) .The merchandise at these locations could well have been produced at one of the nation’s 1,892 jewelry manufacturing establishments. The manufacture of jewelry was an $8.6 billion industry in 2003.

All I have to say is: guys, keep spending, our economy depends on you!

Monday, February 13, 2006

Make A Moment!

I am re-reading a book that I read a few years ago. It is entitled, SoulSalsa, by Leonard Sweet. I like his writing and have for a number of years. He writes in a refreshing, encouraging style that challenges, yes, but lifts you up at the same time. Here is a section from the Make a Moment chapter:

“The quality of a Godly life does not depend on its number of great happenings or big actions but on what happens in it one small moment after another. The soul is made up of an awful lot of moments and a lot of awful moments.

How goes it with your soul? Are you living a truly momentous life? Or are you living unmomentously? Is your year’s supply of “525,600 Minutes” – as the hit musical Rent’s theme song, “Season’s of Love,” puts it – a never-ending chain of meaningless moments, a drizzle of days? Or is each minute you live intensely and rapturously alive?

Living momentously means capturing life’s moments whole, or at least in part, and framing these moments into holy form in such a way that ever thereafter the frame reads, “God was here.” Making a moment is the art of sky-punching, penetrating the heavens to open earth to larger shafts of divine light.”

Don’t just live “in the moment” or “one day at a time” – MAKE A MOMENT!

Friday, February 10, 2006

A Personal "Back to the Future"

Hey, for whomever comes to this place, just some thinking to do at the end of this week: I found these questions online a while ago and thought I would post them out there for some response. OK, OK, I’ll go ahead and put my answers down in italics. Here they are:

  1. What did you want to be when you grew up?
- Hockey player or firefighter (we still said fireman, in fact I almost typed it), pilot.

  1. Did you follow through? If not, what happened?
- No, never really pushed myself to play hockey, when I did I got sick of playing (at the time, would love to play again now that it's ____ years later), kept going to school, ministry calling, no moolah for flying lessons.

  1. Is your life turning out the way you thought it would when you were a kid? If not, is it better or worse?
- Not as I thought, but much better, even with the ups and downs; sometimes it’s hard to remember now what you thought then. I never could have envisioned life as I have it now with wife, family, career. It is better than I imagine I imagined.

  1. Paradoxes aside, if you could time-travel back to when you were 10 years old, what would you tell your 10-year-old self?
- Work harder at school, go beyond your potential, remember…always remember the important things.

  1. Do you think the child you were, would like the adult you've become.
- I think so, for the most part although he would probably say that I haven't changed much! He would wonder a lot of things like, “Do I really end up looking like that in 30 years?” and, “I sure didn’t grow much more did I?” and also, “Did it really take this long to grow up?” or possibly, "Wow that was fast!"

Have fun with these. Post your answers on the comment page.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Soccer Fever


I know, I know, football is over for another year and people want something to watch because they just can't stand hockey (can't understand that!). I am starting again to help coach high school girls soccer and the REAL football sport World Cup is just around the corner (June '06). Get involved in a great sport! Get digital cable so you can have the Fox Soccer Channel and watch games from all over the world! Watch the Spanish channel so you can hear a 20 second word after the scoring of a goal! Hey, the fever has hit. I love soccer. I just never liked being in the wall on a free kick! I found the above picture, but I can't find the one I had as a poster back int he 70's. It was great! Everyone one of the guys had a hilarious look on his face as the ball was kicked. By the way, it does hurt, that's why you cover important places! The below pic just hurts. Period. Let's play soccer lads! (and lasses). Sorry for the small photos.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

American Weirdoes (Idol)


This may not be the only American Idol post this year but it’s my first. Let me just say now that all the first auditions are done and 150+ people are heading to Hollywood, with one of them the next pop star, there are a few things that stand out among the auditions.

First, I am struck by the enormous numbers of weirdo’s. They seem to congregate when the camera is rolling. Which makes Andy Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame statement all the more significant today. Only these folks are scrambling for seconds not minutes. And, they’re so weird!

Secondly, whacko’s aside, the first level of people that try-out seem to fall into two categories. There are the people who believe they can sing and cannot, and then there are those who can sing but are honestly and sincerely wondering about their abilities. They don’t seem to know how good they are. There is actually a third group consisting of the quiet confident ones (I’ll expand on that in the next paragraph). The first group is usually loud. They brag, some are borderline weirdoes, sometimes they talk about all of their musical accomplishments or lessons, they talk about all of the things they are going to do when they make it. Then, they get into the audition and they stink, some more than others, some are “dreadful” as Simon says, and they are shocked they didn’t make it. Rarely any of this group makes it. The only ones that do I’m convinced are good TV for a few weeks (during the show where they show all of the bad auditions) and then they’re gone. The second group has a nervousness about them; they are scared. They get in the room and blow the judges away. Then, they are truly blown away that they said they were good.

OK, the third thing that stands out (this has to do with that third group mentioned above) is that I’ve looked back at the first four winners and there is a common thread. It is humility. Underneath, yes they are confident, but on the outside there is no bragging, no loud mouth, only a quiet confidence. I wonder why this is so? These end up being real people. Real and humble. They realize what life is all about. It seems like if you were to take the fame away they would still be doing really well at whatever they would be doing. I don’t know, I could be wrong, but I am glad the whacko’s and weirdo’s are gone for now. Let’s get on with the singing!

(this is the one my wife and daughter think will win)

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Q & A Today

I received this yesterday from a friend and thought I would post it (and my response) to see what kind of response I might get:

I wonder your thoughts on the future relationship between Christians (or any non-Muslim) and militant Muslims. This latest volatility over a cartoon blows my mind. How can they justify killing to bring apology for an insulting cartoon? Today, a handful of Muslims in a rioting crowd were killed by U.S. soldiers when they attempted to storm an embassy (can't remember where). America will view it as a rioting crowd, but it was more than that. It was a religiously motivated crowd acting on their beliefs. I'll probably never understand Islam until I study it, but it seems to lack the compassion and forgiveness that Christianity teaches.”

Two things come to mind:

Number one, they were already looking for something and that pushed them over the edge (which makes you think that it won’t take much for some of these characters to go off).

Number two requires a longer discussion but is basically this: The major differences between Western and Eastern cultures. Our understanding of everything Muslim comes from our Western, Christianized understanding and world-view. The Eastern cultures are different. They think differently, they worship differently; they live and act totally differently, and, as a result, they do religion differently. And here’s the real kicker: guess who’s been around longer? AND, the bonus comment: The Bible was written in its entirety in an Eastern culture to an Eastern culture. We (American Christians) have done much harm in trying to make everything in the world fit into a Western Christian understanding of things/worldview: Our politics – in the name of God; Our way we do church – In the name of “it should fit everywhere around the world?” Our whole social, economic, religious way of doing things is so Western and, as a result, we don’t understand anything from the other side of the world. Like I said, I would need more time and space to properly answer that hugely loaded question.

Monday, February 06, 2006

How Good Is Good Enough?

I just couldn’t help it, today I had to post something from someone else’s book, not my own writing. It’s just that it was too good NOT to write about. Andy Stanley, in his book, Since Nobody’s Perfect, How Good Is Good Enough?, that came out last year talks about the “good people go to heaven” view. Here are some of his conclusions:

  1. We don’t know exactly what good is. Even our religious leaders can’t agree on the subject.

  2. Our internal moral gauges aren’t much help. They don’t line up cross-culturally (or even across the street, for that matter). And as time passes, our definitions of right and wrong tend to change.

  3. We have no clear indication from God how the scoring system for good deeds works.

  4. It is difficult to reconcile the notion of a good God with a system that is so unclear and seemingly unfair. This is especially true in light of what’s at stake.

  5. We can’t use the Bible as a gauge to measure how close we are to getting in. The Bible doesn’t claim to offer a way to heaven through good works. Besides, the catalog of good works listed in the Old Testament is culturally irrelevant and physically impossible to keep.

  6. Jesus assured most people of his day that they weren’t good enough to enter God’s kingdom, while promising criminals and prostitutes that God would gladly welcome them.

He goes on to say that we could come up with even more “good people go” views. But we still wonder and worry if we're right. The “good people go” view originated with the ancient people’s trying to appease angry gods. For thousands of years people have been trying to find a successful formula for keeping the gods (or God) pacified and happy. Stanley says that this is a belief that will not go away, despite the fact that it really doesn’t make any sense. He goes on to say that there is another explanation: forgiven people go to heaven; people who have been made good by God. That’s the key. God made us good because we could not do it on our own. That is why Paul says in Romans 7:25, after calling himself a wretch: “Thanks be to God- through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Every Canadian's Dream Backyard




Nothing really life-changing in today's post. Sometimes we just have to respond to attacks against our very soul. So here is mine. I received this yesterday so in response to Orion's diatribe against my beloved sport I offer these pics illustrating every Canadian's dream backyard.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Of Bullfights and Playing Tag


A half-ton bull named "Little Bird" has flown into Mexico's history books by leaping into a packed crowd of bullfight fans and injuring seven in a panicked frenzy. Television images from a bullfight on Sunday showed terrified spectators scattering as the 1100 pound beast jumped over the heads of stunned journalists and crashed into the most expensive seats at the vast Mexico City ring. The rampaging bull -- whose name "Pajarito," means "Little Bird" in English -- gored one woman, who is still hospitalized. Bullfighting remains a popular sport in Mexico, although it does not draw the same crowds as during its heyday in the middle of last century. Mexico City's bullring was built 60 years ago and is one of the biggest in the world, holding 48,000 spectators. Little Bird was the first bull in the ring's history to jump into the crowd. You can see a video of it at:

OK, I’ve never understood bullfights. I’ve especially never understood the running of the bulls in Spain. It must be an early form of X-Games or thrill-seeking. It probably all boils down to a showing of power and control over something bigger than we are. I don’t know. But, while I feel for the people in the crowd that they had to suffer, I wonder what kind of enjoyment is found in watching such an event? It may be just me, but I wonder and ask, “Haven’t we come a little farther as humanity”? Yes the numbers of attendees to such events are down but some people still like them!

I’m not usually a huge animal rights person and I’m not saying the bull has feelings but it reminds me of playing tag on the school playground and making someone “IT” that can never tag you (too slow, too uncoordinated). They come SO close but no, the red cape flashes in front of them and they miss. Enough of my rant. It’s an odd sport, from another culture, and another place and time in history, I know, but, maybe it’s time…