America Idol Top Nine Show Reaction

American Idol 3/25/2009
Reaction

This week's song choices were left up to the contestants to pick any song that they wanted as long as it could be a top seller on the digital charts. This left the doors wide open for each contestant to pick a song that would really highlight their strengths. Unfortunately there were only a few of them that used this choice to their advantage, while the others miserably failed the test.

Anoop Desai - Caught Up by Usher
After two consecutive solid weeks Anoop took a step back this week. The judges compared him to a frat boy who was trying to be a pop star and that about sums it up. Anoop's voice range was not on par with Usher's and his dance moves are completely non-existent. He needs to stretch out a little more and take a few risks if he wants to stay in this competition.

Megan Joy - Turn Your Lights Down Low by Bob Marley
The past two weeks I have held out hope that Megan has a lot of potential. Her voice tends to sound like Adelle and Duffy yet she continues to have a poor song selection. Kara even called her out on this and suggested Adelle. However I am starting to lose hope and beginning to think that she just is not that good. She may have a chance to stick around another week but her time is running out quickly.

Danny Gokey - What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts
What a good song choice for Danny! This song really builds itself up as the song goes on and it really works to Danny's advantage! Simon said that it was his best performance thus far. I personally think that I have seen glimpses of a better Danny, but this was a great performance. Danny has raised his value a little bit after this week and will have no reason to fret tomorrow night.

Allison Iraheta - Don't Speak by No Doubt
We got to see Allison rock a guitar for the first time this week. It was pretty interesting too since I feel like it was more of a prop and as the song went on she stopped "playing" it and just wore the guitar like it was an accessory. I'm going to have to disagree with most of the judges critiques of her. I think that this was a great song choice for Allison and that she performed it very well. After a few weeks of sub par singing Allison picked it up this week and should be safe.

Scott MacIntyre - Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel
Scott looked like he had been rehearsing this week with Danny Zucko and the rest of the T'Birds! I like the new look Scotty ;) This was a really good song for Scott. Being a singer/songwriter and piano player Scott must have loved the opportunity to sing some Billy Joel. Scott didn't have an overpowering voice at all but that's not Scott. He totally stripped the performance down and got rave reviews from the judges. Because of his past performances Scott may find himself in the bottom 3 but should stick around for next week.

Matt Giraud - You Found Me by The Fray
Matt Giraud was also rocking a new look this week. He lost the wavy hair and spruced it up a bit. I wish that his song would have been as fresh as his new hair style. I really like what Matt did with the chorus, slowing it down a bit, but the rest of the arrangement was not well done. It almost seemed like someone along the line thought that Matt hadn't changed the arrangement enough yet so they forced in some variations throughout the 1st verse and "bridge" if you will. For whatever reason the fans have not latched on to Matt the way that they have adopted Danny Gokey or Adam Lambert. Matt NEEDS to stick with the more bluesy songs that really bring out the best in Matt. He very well may legitimately find himself in the bottom three this week.

Lil Rounds - I Surrender by Celine Dion
Week after week Lil continues to lose points in my book. Again it was the song choice issue, she keeps picking poor songs. She sang well tonight but during the past few weeks when people like Danny Gokey, Matt Giraud, and Adam Lambert find their fan clubs growing, Lil continues to see her fan club dwindle. I'm really having a tough time deciding what will happen to Lil this week but I think that she will narrowly escape the bottom three.

Adam Lambert - Play That Funky Music by Wild Cherry
I'm confused with Adam's choice of song here? I was under the assumption that the songs had to be from the digital charts today? Oh well, Adam threw it back to 1976 with his song tonight but kept his more preppy style from last week. But jeez this dude has some pipes! His rendition of the song was not my favorite but that doesn't mean that it wasn't good, it was really good. He even found a spot to bring the scream back! He also brought the screams of all the emo-girls back this week too (you could really hear them in the crowd). Paula made a comment regarding Adam that just drives me nuts. She said, "that there are artists that have longevity in this business because of their unique and riveting performance." She then went on to list a few, "Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler, and Adam Lambert." The part of this that bugs me is that those are the two people that everyone says Adam sounds like. For them to be the only other two people that have riveting longevity is obviously correlated to Adam's sound. People like Madonna and U2 also have staying power but she neglected to mention them...weird?

Kris Allen - Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers
Kris Dumped the guitar and whipped out the piano this week and was very impressive. His rendition of Ain't No Sunshine was very well done and he performed it almost flawlessly. Kris' stock continues to rise in this competition and he consistently rocks the stage. No joke he has become the new Dark Horse in this competition. Week in and week out he does great yet his humble personality allows him to quietly squeak into the next round. He will be fine this week.

Overall Predictions: after the 3/31/2009 performance show

1. Danny Gokey
2. Adam Lambert
3. Kris Allen
4. Allison Iraheta
5. Lil Rounds
   
6. Scott MacIntyre
7. Matt Giraud
8. Anoop Desai
9. Megan Joy - I don't think her looks can help her anymore, she was that bad tonight. Megan will be going home tomorrow.
   

Lunch For Three - Day 12

Nooma 011|Rhythm
"What does it mean to have a relationship with God? What does it look like? For a lot of us it's a hard thing to fully understand. If God is an infinite spirit with no shape or form, how can we possibly relate to that? And what about Jesus? He said he came to give everyone life in its fullest. He came to show us how to live. Maybe it's through trusting Jesus and living the kind of life he taught us to live -- a life of truth, love, justice, compassion, forgiveness, and sacrifice -- that we have a relationship with God. Maybe the way we live every day, every single choice we make, determines how in tune with God we are. " NOOMAtube

What is God to you? Is He a gray haired man in the sky who can pass judgment and throw down lighting bolts at his choosing? Or is He a kind and gracious being who helps you find the front row parking space at the mall? Back in the day Moses was asking God this very same question, and God answered him. He said in Exodus 3:14 "I AM THAT I AM...thus shalt though say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you"...WHAT? Who God is may be different to every single person on earth. In the video above, Rob compares the question of who God is to a song. You and I could listen to a symphony playing the same song and feel something totally different. My view of what the song is about could be one thing while yours is entirely another. Truly, the only person who knows what the song is about is the composer, or the creator. The truth is that God is beyond anything that our minds could ever comprehend. Well that doesn't seem quite fair does it? How are we supposed to trust, love, worship, and believe in a God that we can't even begin to understand?

While we were all reveling over this conundrum God helped us out a bit. He sent His son Jesus down to Earth to live among us. "Jesus is like God in taking on flesh and blood, and so in his generosity, in his compassion, that's what God's like. In his telling of the truth, that's what God's like. In his love and forgiveness, and sacrifice, that's what God's like. That's who God is. That's how the song goes" (Rob Bell).

Now we have some insight into the God that we serve. Jesus was sent to the earth to open our eyes to the love and compassion that our God has. "The song is playing all around us all the time, the song is playing everywhere, it is written on our hearts, and everybody is playing the song. See, the question isn't whether or not you're playing the song, the question is, are you in tune?"

Looking at our Saviour Jesus we have a little insight into who God is. That doesn't mean that He is that same to me as he is to you. Take a step back and think of what or who God is to you. Each of us may be playing the song in a different key, but the combination of all these different keys is where the harmony in God's plan comes from. "May you come to see that the song is written on your heart. And as you live in tune with the song, in tune with the creator of the universe, may you realize that you ARE in relationship with the living God" (Rob Bell).

Family Life Conference

Family Life Conference 2009
My apologies for my absence over the weekend and yesterday. Yesterday was a little rough at work and I was super busy updating the websites, thus no lunch break. And as I mentioned on Friday, Abby and I spent the weekend downtown at the Family Life Conference. The weekend was great! The conference brings in pastors and relationship/family experts from around the country. Our speakers were Bobby Conway from North Carolina and Tim from Arizona. It was obvious that both men had been keynote speakers at these conferences before and they were wonderful.

The whole weekend took a look at different aspects of marriage. Why marriages fail, where they struggle, and how to avoid the way of the world. Most of the weekend we were together with each other, but on Sunday morning the crowd was split into men's and women's specific conversations about being a good husband being a good father. It was a busy a long weekend, but I am so glad that we were able to go! Special thanks the Randy and Lisa Roehl and "the LaLas" for sending us!

Even if you have a good marriage I encourage you to attend a Family Life conference sometime. Click here to visit the Family Life website!

Idol Results Show Reaction 3/27

Idol Results Show Reaction 3/27
All right, was I the only one who noticed that the group performance at the beginning of the show was not only lip-synced but completely pre-recorded? I'm not sure if they were really trying to fool us, but if they were it was an awful job of editing. First off there was no band upstairs? So where was the music coming from? Next we started to notice that the performers had not necessarily nailed down the whole lip-syncing thing. Lil Rounds specifically should never try to lip-sync again. You could tell that the voices were too pure and previously recorded. One other strangely interesting piece was the cameras were very careful never to show the crowd, probably because they were full of empty seats. Also when the entire group got together and formed the "flying V" the camera would cut to a close up of Adam Lambert who was right at the microphone holding the stand sideways, they would instantly cut away and Adam was no longer holding the stand and no longer near a microphone? I'm not as upset at the fact that they are lip-syncing, I'm more upset that it was so horribly edited and they still tried to pull one over on us. It was just kind of weird and extremely poorly edited, shame on you American Idol video editors and producers. I hope you weren't really trying to fool anybody. Click here for an Entertainment Weekly article that also highlights this error.

Back to the results. Again I went 2 for 3 on my bottom 3, but the one I got wrong was a shocker, Matt Giraud! This has convinced me that the show is a little produced for more suspense. There is no way after his last performance that Matt was really in the bottom three. I think that the producers decided to include him in the bottom three and subsequently bottom two, just to add more suspense to the already dragged out results show. However there is no way that we can really figure this out, since they don't publicly release the results of the vote (another frustration of mine). Ultimately Michael was sent packing as predicted. It was a little emotional as Michael seemed to know that he didn't really have the following of voters the others did. Tears were shed and I actually felt bad for the guy, he seems like a really sweet cool guy! He'll go places in life!

Lunch For Three - Day 11

Lunch For Three Revisions
Lunch For Three will be taking on a little bit of a new look for the next three days. Abby (my wife) and I are heading to the Family Life Marriage conference downtown this week and I will be unable to view/analyze the usually NOOMA videos. In its stead I will post a summary of the conference each night when we arrive home. Thoughts, interesting topics, and useful exercises from the days activities. Stay tuned for more!

LOST 010 | He's Our You

LOST 010 | He's Our You
**Attention! This post does contain spoilers! If you have not yet watched the episode and are planning on it, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, or this post!**

This episode was not one of my favorite LOST episodes. Please don't think I am complaining since I count every new LOST episode as a blessing, but compared to the last too episodes (LaFleur and Namaste) it was boring.

The Boring Sayid Story

It is a character episode that is driven by the story of Sayid since he originally left the island. We see Sayid as a child and get a taste of where he developed his killing tendencies. We see when he is working for Ben as an assassin and when Ben tries to re-recruit Sayid after Locke's death. Flash forward to Sayid feeling depressed for some reason and drinking heavely at the bar. Sidenote, he's drinking MacCutcheon whisky, the ridiculously expensive fictional brand of whisky that Charles Widmore is known to drink. Admiral MaCutcheon is also the name of a character in the television remake of the classic story 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In this story the protagonists are taken aboard an underwater submarine, the Nautilus, which takes them to see many wonders of the ocean including the submerged island of Atlantis. One of the theories of the show is that the island is indeed Atlantis. Anyways...Sayid gets seduced by Ilana who turns out to be a bounty hunter and that's how he ends up back on the plane in custody.

Back On The Island

Sayid is in custody, still locked up in the jail cell. We see young Ben Linus come back into the picture and he brings Sayid another sandwich and a book this time. After a little searching around i was able to find a screen shot of the book with a little information on it. We know that previously we have seen books in the show that have some hidden meaning (most recently The Little Prince). The book is titled A Seperate Reality by Carlos Castaneda. It is a book about his apprenticeship with a man he refers to as Don Juan. The Don's philosophy was that to get Carlos to experience this seperate reality and to perceive energy in the universe through the task of "seeing." To fully be capable of "seeing" he told Carlos that you have to be under the influence of psychotropic plants, most notable mushrooms and peyote. Now we have seen Locke exhibit the power of seeing before on himself and on Boone I believe in Season 2. We also go on to see the Dharma interogist, Oldham, use some sort of drug on Sayid to get him to talk. Sayid proceeds to spill the beans about being from the future. But rather than see it as truth, the Dharma folks assume that Oldham has used too big a dose of the drugs. The Dharma people then vote to kill Sayid and Sawyer stomps off to his house straining over the situation. He stops by Kate's pad and they see a flaming van that is driving through the camp. The van hits a house and starts a fire. While all the Dharma folks are fighting the fire, little Ben Linus frees Sayid from his jail cell and they run off into the jungle.

Still on the run, Sayid and Ben run into Jin who is out on patrol. After Jin radios LaFleur, Sayid knocks him out and steals his gun. To end the episode in suspense, Sayid proceeds to shoot the 12 year old Benjamin Linus, and the boring episode just hit hyperspeed! I can't say that I didn't see that coming, since Sayid earlier told Sawyer that he now knew what his purpose for coming back was, but it was still shocking to see him shoot a 12 year old kid. No hears the thing, there is no way that young Ben Linus stays dead. We've seen too many times where "the island" has kept people alive because it wasn't their time or they weren't done with their job yet. Ben still has to perform "the purge" and we see him in the future in seasons 2-5. My thoughts are that like when Ben shot Locke into the Dharma grave pit, Ben will miraculously be healed by the island and this is the event that will turn him into the little heartless piece of crap that he is today.

Theories:

One theory that I am looking into and beginning to see potential in is that Hurley, Jack, Kate, and Sayid were sent back to 1977 by the island because they have some things to do to "course correct" some of the things that have to happen. Maybe this is why Ben couldn't go back to 1977 because had he run into little Ben it could have been chatastrophic. I'm still trying to figure out why Sun didn't go back to 1977, but maybe once all the people in '77 fulfill their "duties" they will be able to somehow meet back up in present time with everybody else. Another though here is that by Sayid killing young Ben it could mess something up that he has already done. What is one monumental thing that Ben does in his younger life...the purge! I think that "the purge" did not happen the way it was originally planned by Ben. We are told (and showed in The Man Behind the Curtain) that "the purge" took place when Ben gased the Dharma people. Yet Locke and Hurley noticed in the mass grave that one of the dead bodies had a bullet wound to the head. I think that at the time this was a little glimpse into the future or past regarding the time travel aspect. The gas didn't work and the others and Ben had to start capping Dharmaville. Just a thought!

Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just click the comment button at the end of each blog and let me know what you think!

Lunch For Three - Day 10

Nooma 010|Lump
"A lot of us have done things in our lives that we're ashamed of. Some are small things, and some of us have really big and devastating things. Some of us even have things that people close to us don't know about. Personal junk that we keep to ourselves so we don't have to deal with it. Because we don't know how to deal with it, do we? We're afraid that if we try it's just going to make everything worse. But no matter how big our junk is, no matter how much what we've done has impacted the way other people feel about us or how we feel about ourselves, it hasn't changed how God feels about us. God loves us, he always has and always will, and there's nothing we can do to change that." NOOMAtube

Have you ever had something from your past come back to bite you in the butt? We all have. We all have things that we are ashamed of and we all have junk in our past. Think about that moment when you first find out that you are busted. "You know that moment when your junk catches up to you? It's like maybe not that day, maybe not the next day, maybe not for a while, but give it enough time it always finds us" (Rob Bell). It's always easy to run and hide from your past, but that doesn't last forever. Eventually you will be forced to man up to the contents of your junk drawer. Someday you will be totally exposed and vulnerable. From the very beginning of time humans have been dealing with the junk from their past.

In Genesis chapter 3 we find Adam and Eve as they realized that they were "busted."
^"8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" ¹⁰ He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." Adam and Eve knew they were caught, and they hid because they were ashamed. In the midst of our shame we commonly forget one important thing. No matter what we've done, where we've been, or what we will do, God loves us and there is nothing that we can do that will ever change that! Attack everyday with the confidence that you are a screw up and your Heavenly Father still loves you!

"So may you stop hiding under the covers. May you let God pull the covers back. May you embrace him. May your whole life become a response to the truth that you have always been loved, you are loved, and you will always be loved. And may you know, may you know deep in the depths of your soul, that there's nothing you could ever do to make Him love you less. Nothing you could ever do to make God love you less...nothing...nothing." Rob Bell

Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just click the comment button at the end of each blog and let me know what you think!

American Idol Top Ten Show Reaction

American Idol 3/25/2009
Reaction

Matt Giraud - Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye
Motown week fell right into Matt's wheelhouse. Matt has finally started picking songs that really showcase his Justin Timberlake-esque voice. His song choice this week was perfect and the performance was on the same level. All four judges approved and Matt may have usurped the top spot this week.

Kris Allen - How Sweet It Is by Marvin Gaye
Smokey Robinson really enjoyed Kris's audition but when it came to his performance Kris just gave us an average performance. I'm not sure exactly where it came from but Kris had to battle some feedback from the mic this week. Although tonight was not his best stuff, Kris should not have anything to worry about and he should be safe tomorrow night.
Scott MacIntyre - You Can't Hurry Love by The Supremes
Scott continued to impress with his piano playing tonight, unfortunately this is a singing competition. The judges ripped Scott's song choice pretty badly tonight and he didn't really do much to warrant a vote. Scott has more of a dinner theater voice and after tonight has put himself in some danger.

Megan Joy - For Once In My Life by Marvin Gaye
Megan seemed to take a step backward from her rehearsal with Smokey to her performance on the stage. In my mind her vocal disparity and sound was a lot better in the behind the scenes rehearsal. This and her cruddy dance moves make me think that her performance skills are sub par. Her voice is unique enough to have some Adelle/Duffy potential. This bundled with her looks should keep her around at least one more week, but she may find herself in the bottom three tomorrow.
Anoop Desai - Ooo Baby Baby by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles
Two weeks in a row now Anoop has brought his A game. Now that his advisor has helped him nail down his song choices, his stylist needs to step up and help him out with his wardrobe which has been interestingly plain the last few weeks. He still lacks some stage presence and performance skills but he is fully back in the running for this competition.
Michael Sarver - Ain't Too Proud To Beg by The Temptations
During rehearsals Smokey told Michael that he had to bring it a little more and get big for this song. When Michael came on to the stage he didn't heed Smokey's advice, or at least he misunderstood it a little. He needed to bring more passion and a little personality to the song, and he just sang a little louder and harder. Michael will not benefit from the pitty sick votes this week and will find himself in the bottom three.
Lil Rounds - (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave by Martha and The Vandellas
During the early rounds of the competition I thought that Lil Rounds was as good of a guarantee to succeed as there was this year. In the last few weeks, I have been really disappointed with her singing. Motown should have been a week were Lil excelled yet her performance was merely average. She should be safe this week, but needs to make some adjustments because fans are jumping off of her bandwagon rapidly.
Adam Lambert - Tracks of My Tears by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles
Lambert took a big risk singing one of Smokey Robinson's songs and threw us a curve ball by taking on a totally different look. A slick haired Adam sat calmly on stage in a suit and sang a really soft hearted version of Smokey's Song. He even got all the way through the song without his signature scream! Smokey Robinson and the rest of the audience gave him a standing ovation. I don't know that I agree with Simon and Kara in saying that it was the best performance of the night, but it was in the upper echelon of the nights performances.
Danny Gokey - Get Ready by The Temptations
In my mind Danny made the best song selection of the night in finding a song that worked perfectly with his voice. However I found it interesting that he went directly against Smokey's advice and let the back up singers end the verse. Even Danny said that it was a good idea during the interview. I know they were pressed for time but I'm shocked that none of the judges or even Seacrest brought up this point. It was a slight slap in the face to Smokey which I didn't like, but Danny should be safe this week.
Allison Iraheta - Papa Was a Rollin' Stone by The Temptations
As Simon is known to say, last week Allison was very "forgettable" and even slipped into the bottom three. This week she picked up her game and had a really good performance. I think that Allison is very good but her voice bothers me. Much in the same way as Myley Cyrus's voice bothers me. There is some sort of I have a lisp and my lips don't work right to her voice. Allison will be safe this week, but I know that I am not the only person who notices this hitch in her tone. For my random comment of the day, sometimes I feel like Allison thinks that she is above the competition and is too good for the show. This is something that may hurt her in future votes.

Overall Predictions: after the 3/25/2009 performance show

1. Matt Giraud
2. Adam Lambert
3. Danny Gokey
4. Allison Iraheta
5. Kris Allen
6. Lil Rounds
7. Anoop Desai
8. Megan Joy
9. Scott MacIntyre
10. Michael Sarver (going home)
    

Interesting Lost Theory

Here is antoher theory that I found interesting. Knowing that the writers have told us that there is a good side and a bad side, this may shed some light to figure out who is on witch side or that spectrum? This was posted by "The DFC"

As we all realized and is referenced above, there's a clear division on the show of good versus bad. But, who is on what side? The names of characters on Lost are all intentional as has been stated by the creators on multiple occasions. One possible clue as to what side each character is on is in the clear division of the names between Christian/Biblical names and famous Deist/Natural Religion thinkers.

I haven't seen this mentioned before, but take a look at this list:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Deists

Notice any familiar names?

Here are the divisions I see with additional notes:

Deists
John Locke - John Locke
The publication of John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689, but dated 1690) marks a major turning point in the history of deism. Since Herbert's De Veritate, innate ideas had been the foundation of deist epistemology. Locke's famous attack on innate ideas in the first book of the Essay effectively destroyed that foundation and replaced it with a theory of knowledge based on experience. Innatist deism was replaced by empiricist deism.

INTERESTING NOTE ABOUT HISTORICAL JOHN LOCKE: Although Locke believed that human reason could lead a person to religious truths, he believed that most people failed to reason, and therefore needed to be given "truths" by individuals who received supernatural "revelations" from God.
Kate Austen - Jane Austen
Austen’s assumption that her religious beliefs accommodated reason and/or empiricism, that reason is the means to uncover right, and, moreover, that right is indeed discoverable through the operations of reason—all Lockean premises
Hugo Reyes - Victor Hugo
(Notice the "change of sides"!) Hugo's religious views changed radically over the course of his life. In his youth, he identified himself as a Catholic and professed respect for Church hierarchy and authority. From there he became a non-practicing Catholic, and expressed increasingly violent anti-catholic and anti-clerical views. He dabbled in Spiritualism during his exile (where he participated also in seances), and in later years settled into a Rationalist Deism similar to that espoused by Voltaire. A census-taker asked Hugo in 1872 if he was a Catholic, and he replied, "No. A Freethinker".

James "Sawyer" Ford - Mark Twain
Twain was critical of organized religion and certain elements of Christianity through most of his later life...Twain wrote, for example, "Faith is believing what you know ain't so," and "If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be -- a Christian."[61] [Classified as Deist]

Walt - Walt Wittman
Whitman was deeply influenced by deism. He denied any one faith was more important than another, and embraced all religions equally

Five Other Famous Deists w/Notable Names
1) Jean-Jacques Rousseau
2) Ethan Allan, early American revolutionary and guerrilla leader
3) Benjamin Franklin
4) Thomas Jefferson
5) Charles Darwin

Biblical/Christian Names

Jack & Christian Shephard - Shepherds
Meaning leader of men; Christian leanings of course

Aaron - biblical Aaron
Aaron’s function included the duties of speaker and implied personal dealings with the Egyptian royal court on behalf of Moses. Aaron represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Hebrews. Aaron is considered a type of Christ)

Claire - Saint Clare
San Damiano became the focal point for Clare's new religious order, which was known in her lifetime as the "Order of San Damiano." San Damiano was long thought to be the first house of this order, however, recent scholarship strongly suggests that San Damiano actually joined an existing network of women's religious houses organized by Hugolino (who later became Pope Gregory IX). Hugolino wanted San Damiano as part of the order he founded because of the prestige of Clare's monastery.

Ben - biblical Benjamin
Benjamin is a son of Jacob, the second (and last) son of Rachel, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin. [Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin]. Not only is Benjamin treated as the favourite brother of Joseph, and a favourite of Jacob, but classical rabbinical sources also stress the fact that Benjamin is referred to as the beloved of Yahweh in Deuteronomy; these rabbinical sources concluded that Benjamin died without ever committing sin - one of only four men to have done so (the other three being Amram, Jesse, and Kileab)[16]
Jacob - biblical Jacob
Jacob was the third Biblical patriarch and the ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob's herds increase and he becomes very wealthy (he was a Shepherd...named Jacob.............)

Abbadon - Angel Abbadon
The angel holding the key to the bottomless pit from Revelation 9 and 20, Gustav Davidson…[Get’s people where they need to go])

Charlotte Lewis - C.S. Lewis
Lewis's interest in fantasy and mythology, especially in relation to the works of George MacDonald, was part of what turned him from atheism….He fought greatly up to the moment of his conversion noting, "I came into Christianity kicking and screaming." Following a long discussion and late-night walk with his close friends Tolkien and Hugo Dyson, he records making a specific commitment to Christian belief while on his way to the zoo with his brother. He became a member of the Church of England — somewhat to the disappointment of Tolkien, who had hoped he would convert to Roman Catholicism

Other Interesting Notes/Names
Desmond Hume - David Hume
Experts dispute whether Hume was a deist, an atheist, or something else. Hume himself was uncomfortable with the terms deist and atheist, and Hume scholar Paul Russell has argued that the best and safest term for Hume's views is irreligion.

The writings of David Hume are sometimes credited with causing or contributing to the decline of deism. English deism, however, was already in decline before Hume's works on religion (1757,1779) were published.[27] Furthermore, Hume's writings on religion were not very influential at the time that they were published.[29]

Nevertheless, modern scholars find it interesting to study the implications of his thoughts for deism.

- Hume's skepticism about miracles makes him a natural ally of deism.

- His skepticism about the validity of natural religion cuts equally against deism and deism's opponents, who were also deeply involved in natural theology. But his famous Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion were not published until 1779, by which time deism had almost vanished in England.

Daniel Faraday - Michael Faraday
Faraday was a devoutly Christian member of the Sandemanians, which significantly influenced upon him and strongly affected the way in which he approached and interpreted nature. The Sandemanians originated from Presbyterians who had rejected the idea of state churches, and tried to go back to a New Testament type of Christianity…[Faraday was] Offered the presidency of the Royal Society, Faraday flatly refused, as he also refused the offer of a knighthood. He did not believe Christ of the apostles would accept these worldly honors...

Jeremy Bentham - Jeremy Bentham
Dissatisfaction with established religion manifested itself in 1764

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More information on Deism

Deism is a religious and philosophical belief that a supreme natural God exists and created the physical universe, and that religious truths can be arrived at by the application of reason and observation of the natural world. Deists generally reject the notion of supernatural revelation as a basis of truth or religious dogma. These views contrast with the dependence on divine revelation found in many Christian,[1] Islamic and Judaic teachings.
Deists typically reject most supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and tend to assert that God (or "The Supreme Architect") has a plan for the universe which that Architect does not alter either by intervening in the affairs of human life or suspending the natural laws of the universe. What organized religions see as divine revelation and holy books, most deists see as interpretations made by other humans, rather than as authoritative sources.

Maybe, you could even go one step further and see it as a struggle of Monotheism and/or Christianity versus Atheism, Deism, Panentheism, Henotheism, Polytheism etc.

The real-life Richard Alpert is a major Hindu support which is Polytheist. The religion of Ancient Egypt was Polytheist. Etc.

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What I find so incredibly interesting is Deism rejects miraculous events, etc. and Christianity so heavily relies upon them. Essentially, a Deist a spiritual man of science. A Christian is a man of faith. BUT, the banner carrier of Deism is John Locke, the Island's man of faith, and name-wise, the Christian side defacto leader is Jack, the Island's man of science.

Lunch For Three - Day 9

Nooma 009|Bullhorn
"God loves everyone, so a Christian should, too. In fact, Jesus said that the most important thing in life is to love God with everything we've got and love others the same way. But it's not always easy to love everyone around us, is it? Sometimes we strongly disagree with other people's political views, religious beliefs, behaviors, or something else, and it makes it hard to love them when we feel like we're right and they're very wrong. But Jesus doesn't separate loving God and loving others. So maybe the best way for us to show our love for God is actually by loving other people no matter how hard it sometimes is. Maybe it's the only way." NOOMAtube

What are you're feelings about Bullhorn guy from the video? Do agree with his method of evangelism? Unfortunately you are "painted with the same brush" as bullhorn guy. Non-believers see bullhorn guy and they are turned off by his actions, by his tone, and by his decisions, thus turned off by Christianity. The news that he is spreading does not seem like good news. But bullhorn guy is not the only person that is giving Christianity a bad name. In our own way, you and I are doing the same amount of damage to our faith as bullhorn guy. You and I stumble and you and I sin, and when non-believers see us do these things they frown upon Christians. In this way we set Christianity back just as much as bullhorn guy did on the street corner.

God's message to the world is a message of Love. It is a message that our world is screwing up. Our world is full of hate and war, yet we are called to love our enemies, we are called to love non-believers, and we are called to love bullhorn guy. "A Christian is somebody that understands that all people are to be loved and respected because they are created by God" (Rob Bell). God loves everybody! God loves, atheists, democrats, republicans, terrorists, and child molesters. We can't even find it in ourselves to love the people who talked smack about us in Junior High? What kind of example are we setting to people who do not believe or to people who are just starting to believe? When we reach out to our enemies and love them, something powerful happens, God works through this love. Showing love is commonly perceived as a touchy feely relationship. The love that God calls us for is not always like that. Sometimes people just need someone to listen to them, to listen to their concerns and their pain. Jesus tells us that when we look out for each other, He too is there.

There are many negative stereotypes against Christians and they are not all because of bullhorn guy. Realize that we are all responsible for the way that Christianity is perceived in our world today. So with this knowledge I ask this question...What are you doing to change this perception? Are you loving your enemies? Are you helping the needy? Are you loving your neighbor as you love yourself?

"So may you see that how you love others is how you love God. That's it, that's the way of love, that's the way of Jesus." - Rob Bell

Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just click the comment button at the end of each blog and let me know what you think!

LOST - Overall Theory

This is a theory that was posted on a message board that I frequent that makes some sense. I'm not saying I believe it completely but it's very interesting none the less. Posted on rubechat.kfan.com in "***LOST season 5***" thread by THOR...



After reading the latest Vozzek69 article on the DarkUFO website, I'm putting together a theory of what's going on, at least partially.

It's possible that there are all kinds of time travellers skipping along from other times. That could explain the whispers. You can hear them when a time skip happens. Somehow, though, I think Harper and Walt are different than just time skipping. Harper travelled to that time on purpose and then disappeared just as quickly.

Vozzek talks about the rain and thinks it signals a time skip. I've noticed the rain throughout the series. It always seems to happen when something BIG happens. OK, I can go along with it signalling a time skip, but WHY would it happen every time there is a time skip? It's sunny and then all of a sudden it's raining. Maybe the rain has somehow time skipped from another time... I don't know... it's not clear to me why it's raining.

Also interesting, but he didn't note it, is the fact that it's a sunny day in L.A. when Jack and Kate follow the lawyer. They get to the hotel and all of a sudden, it's pouring cats and dogs! That's just too much of a coincidence for me, but for now, I can only note that it happened. I don't know what it means. If Vozzek is right and it has to do with time skipping, why would it happen in L.A.? Would that be to signal that Kate has changed her mind and will be going back to the island? Maybe it doesn't just indicate a time skip, but that a timeline has changed.

OK, getting back to the whispers. Let's say he's right about the whispers and they are all people who have been on the island and have been skipping through time. Every time the donkey wheel has been turned in the past, the people on the island have started time skipping. This gets to why the show is called "LOST". The people are... lost... skipping through time on the island. Jacob is one of these people. He's been lost skipping through time on the island for a LONG time. Remember how he said to Locke, "Help me"? He's been trying to contact someone who can stop the time skipping. For that matter, he's been bringing people to the island that can potentially stop the skipping. It's why the Others are looking for someone special. They are people who have the ability to hear Jacob. Richard doesn't have that ability. He's an original inhabitant of the island, as are his group of Others, but they cannot communicate with Jacob directly. They need people like Ben and Locke to do that. The reason Richard and the Others don't age is that they are with the island, stuck in time. They are not skipping through time, but STUCK in the same time. Richard doesn't have birthdays because he's stuck at the same age, and has been ever since the island started skipping. (I can't remember who it was in this thread that brought this up, but they're the one that gave me the idea of this. I still don't know if I buy it, but how else can you explain Richard not aging?) It's possible that Jacob was originally an Other, too. Maybe he got caught in a time skip. The Others maybe think he is a martyr or savior. Remember the sign that said, "God loves you as he loved Jacob". Maybe they think he died, but since he's still able to communicate with some people, they have made him out to be a god, when in actuality, he's time skipping and can't stop. He needs help to get back to his people.

Oh, and as far as how the island brings people to the island, that's where people like Ms. Hawking and the monk come into play. They were sent out by Richard to make sure certain people end up on the island. How do they know they're supposed to end up on the island? Because they've met them during all of the time skipping they've been doing. Jacob, Richard... whoever... knows that ONE of these people will stop the island skipping, but aren't sure who. Faraday mentions that Desmond is unique, so maybe he is the one that will be successful in stopping the time skipping. Maybe it's a certain combination of people that will be needed (the O6). Also, since Eloise and Widmore have been off the island, they've been aging. If they'd have stayed on the island with Richard, they'd have remained young.

The Looking Glass may have been set up to jam signals from the island to keep Widmore from finding it again. He has his own selfish reasons for wanting to get back to the island, or maybe he was booted off the island because of something he did. Or, more likely, he had to turn the donkey wheel and, as Ben had said, he's not supposed to be able to go back. He's been trying, though, and Jacob instructed Ben to jam the signals so Widmore couldn't find the island again.

If Jacob is not an Other, he could be one of our lostaways. I would like it if it turned out to be Locke or Jack.

Remember Adam and Eve from season 1? I think it'll be key who they are, too. My money has always been on Jack and Kate. It could be Desmond and Penny, too. Whoever it is, I'll bet they are the ones who successfully stop the island's skipping. They live out their life on the island and die in that cave. Or, maybe they die in that cave doing whatever it is that stops the island from skipping and saves everyone who has been skipping through time. They release all the people from the hell of living through the time skipping.

Oh, one thing that has always bothered me is how that Dharma plane dropped supplies on the island. This island is so hard to find, so how could that plane have found the island to make a drop now? WHY would it still be dropping supplies there after all these years, especially since Dharma was purged years ago. The answer... the plane is skipping through time. It just so happened that on one of the skips, it dropped it's cargo right where our lostaways could find them. How convenient!

OK, there are holes in this theory and things it doesn't explain, but I think it's because we don't have enough information yet. I don't know how Christian and Claire have been appearing. I am assuming that Claire has died and that is why she is with Christian, but the only way they'd fall under this theory is if they were skipping through time, which could possibly mean an alternate timeline. I don't like the idea of an alternate timeline. Also, this theory does nothing to explain Smokey. Again, I don't think we have enough info to figure out what it would be. Well, this is long enough. It's just a theory, so do with it what you will!

Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topics. Just click the comment button at the end of each blog and let me know what you think!

Lunch For Three - Day 8

Nooma 008|Dust
"Believing in God is important, but what about God believing in us? Believing that we can actually be the kind of people we were meant to be. People of love, compassion, peace, forgiveness, and hope. People who try to do the right thing all of the time. Who act on the endless opportunities around us every day for good, beauty, and truth. It's easy for us to sometimes get down on ourselves. To feel "not good enough" or feel like we don't have what it takes. But maybe if we had more insight into the culture that Jesus grew up in and some of the radical things he did, we'd understand the faith that God has in all of us." NOOMAtube

In dissecting the scripture Rob starts this video out by deducting that Jesus' disciples were normal people. Because they were learning the trades of their fathers, they had not been the best of the best and were not chosen to follow a rabbi. They were the JV-team, average joes. They were just normal like you and I. Jesus present to us this message of faith that is for us, for the B-squad. Just like the disciples that follow the Rabbi's, Jesus calls for us to be "covered in the Dust of our Rabbi." To live our lives so closely to His, in hopes that we can one day be doing what he does.

During the mid 90's a fad swept across our nation. This fad was shared between those who fully lived their lives for Christ and those who did not. This fad outlived Pogs, Tamagochi's, and Furby's. It caused most of the nation to wear these silly multicolored bracelets. The hope was to remind us whenever we see it to think, "What Would Jesus Do." Churches encouraged children and adults alike to wear these bracelets as a statement of their faith and a subtle reminder to think twice before acting, to think to themselves, "Would Jesus do this?" These bracelets were encouraging us to live like Jesus, to be a disciple of Jesus, to be covered in the dust of our rabbi.

But how can I, a fallen being, even begin to compare with my sinless perfect saviour? Just like when Peter walked on water to meet Jesus, he lost faith and began to sink. But he didn't lose faith in Jesus, he could see that Jesus was able to walk on water. He lost faith in himself and thought there was no way that me, a fisherman, can walk on water. But we can be reassured. Not only do we have faith in Jesus, but he has faith in us! He believes that we can succeed and lead a life devoted to being like Him. Knowing that should give you some major confidence, knowing that the creator of the universe believes in you!

"May you believe in God. But may you come to see that God believes in you. May you have faith in Jesus. But may you come to see that Jesus has faith that you can be like him. A person of Love and compassion and truth. A person of forgiveness, and peace, and grace, and joy, and hope. And may you be covered in the dust of your rabbi, Jesus." Rob Bell

Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just click the comment button at the end of each blog and let me know what you think!

Lunch For Three - Day 7

Nooma 007|Luggage
"Maybe a friend turned their back on you. Maybe someone you loved betrayed you. We all have wounds and we end up carrying around these things that people have done to us for weeks, months, and sometimes even years. It isn't always easy to forgive these people and after a while these hurts can get really heavy. So the only way to feel better seems to be somehow getting back at the people that hurt us, to get revenge. But does revenge ever truly satisfy? Maybe forgiving isn't something you do for someone else to let them off the hook. Maybe forgiveness is about you. God didn't create you to carry these wounds around. God created you to be free. " NOOMAtube

What kind of wounds are you carrying around with you everyday? What sorts of things from your past continue to haunt you? We all carry wounds. We've all been betrayed. We all have things that have happened in our past that just eat away at our insides. I have people in my past that have hurt me so badly that it's impossible for me to look at them the way I once did. The thought of revenge is all that I can think of. And just when I think that I have fully suppressed these feelings, something happens that reminds me of this pain. A sound, a picture, or a memory is all it takes and the pain has found its way back to the surface again. We all have this type of baggage that we are carrying around with us everyday. We all seek revenge. But what is revenge really? If we get revenge will we feel better about ourselves?

Think about revenge at the spiritual level. Rob brings up the point that, at the spiritual level, revenge is basically a slap in the face to God. It's us saying, "God, I don't trust you to handle this situation. If I get revenge, than I can control the situation. I think I can do your job better than you can" (Rob Bell). We need to leave the judgment up to God, it's not our place to judge. This simple truth is spelled out for us again and again throughout the Bible.

• Do not insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it." Romans 12:19
• Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37

Forgiveness is not easy. To really forgive someone you truly have to wish them well. If you are unable to wish them well, you are really just sitting back and waiting for them to be judged by God. When you forgive someone, you set them free, but you are really setting yourself free. Carrying that baggage around forever is not a pleasant way to live, but when you practice true forgiveness, the weight is lifted. "God didn't create us to carry this stuff around. He created us to be free from bitterness, free from anger and revenge, free from feeling like you're the judge of the world" (Rob Bell).

Think of someone who has hurt you. It may be some petty little disagreement, or it may be something far more serious. Pray that the Lord may give you the strength to forgive this person. Reach out to them and forgive.

May you forgive as you have been forgiven, may you give to others what has been given to you, may you set someone free and find out that it was actually you who was set free. And may you do it today, because you might not have a chance to do it tomorrow - Rob Bell

Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just click the comment button at the end of each blog and let me know what you think!

Lunch For Three - Day 6

Nooma 006|Kickball
"We always think we know what's missing from our lives in order to really make us happy, don't we? If only I had that car, or that job, or if only I could lose those 15 lbs, then I'd be happy. Really? How often do we want something only to find out that it wasn't that great after all? Sometimes we ask God for things and if he doesn't deliver right away, we start questioning whether God really understands or even cares. Do we really trust God? Do we trust that God is good and sees a bigger picture than we ever could? It's easy to want what's right in front of us, but maybe God knows what's better for us, and sometimes we just can't see it." NOOMAtube

Do you ever feel like you're being ignored by God? Do you ask him for things that you have not yet received? Do you think that your life would be better if you had that new car, that new pair of shoes, or that new house? Who are we to decide what would make our lives better or what would ultimately make us happy? This video dives into the idea of our humanly perspective on life compared to God's heavenly perspective on life. I know we've all heard the analogy of life viewing life as a marathon. Somebody much wiser and smarter than you tells you to "pace yourself" or to "look at the big picture." How frustrating is that? That's what this is like, and that's what God is reminding us of. But I know that if I was blessed with this new car my life would be better. I know it would make me happy. Yet I don't know when that happiness will run out. I don't know when the we won't be able to buy groceries because I spent our money on that new car instead.

We often have our own ideas of what would be better, yet don't realize that God's idea of better...is better. Think to yourself and write down a few characteristics that you think describe God. Here are some that I came up with...

• Loving
• Awesome
• Terrifying
• Just
  
• Gracious
  

How many of the characteristics that you came up with are considered bad? I put down terrifying, but did not intend it to be a bad thing at all. How terrifying is it that in the blink of an eye, God could end our lives? Or with the snap of his fingers natural disasters form? That's terrifying. But I followed it up with the characteristics of just and gracious. God could do these things and has done these things, yet He is just and gracious in His decisions. God is good and he could give us everything that we could ever want, be he does not. That's because within our desire and greed is our view of reality, not God's view of reality. If we know how to give good gifts to our kids, to our friends, and to our family, how much better will God know how to give gifts to his children? Step out of your comfort zone and fully give your life to God. Let go of the steering wheel and let God guide you through life. Have faith that he will provide. "May you believe that God is good and he has something better..." Rob Bell.

"Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow."
James 1:17 (NLT)

"I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."
Jeremiah 29:11-14 (MSG)

Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just click the comment button at the end of each blog and let me know what you think!

Lunch For Three - Day 5

Nooma 005|Noise
"Why is silence so hard to deal with? Why is it so much easier for us to live our lives with a lot of things going on all the time than to just be in silence? We're constantly surrounded with "voices" that are influencing us on how to think, feel, and behave. Movies, music, TV, Internet, cell phones, and a never-ending barrage of advertising. There's always something going on. Always noise in our lives. But maybe there's a connection between the amount of noise in our lives and our inability to hear God. If God sometimes feels distant to us, maybe it's not because he's not talking to us, but simply because we aren't really listening." NOOMAtube

Rob starts this video off sitting on the couch, with the TV on, telling us a story about Elijah. Getting ready to be done with his travels, Elijah had grown tired and weary. He had dedicated his life to the Lord, but questioned whether or not he had truly ever heard the Lord's direction. Wanting to hear God's voice Elijah heads up to the top of the mountain where God told him that He would show up. While atop the mount a fierce wind sweeps through that shakes the mountain. Yet Elijah hears nothing. Then and earthquake came, again shaking the mountain, but nothing. Finally a fire storm engullfed the mountain and Elijah heard nothing. But in the silence after the storm, Elijah could hear the voice of the Lord. God was speaking to him in the sound of sheer silence. Is it possibel for twenty-first century humans to ever acheive sheer silence? The Environmental Protection Agency tells us that 183 million people are regularly exposed to noise levels labeled as excessive.

When you drive in the car, do you have the radio on? When you are at home is the TV running? Do you have a cell phone, a facebook page, or an iPod? Why is it so hard for us to be without these things and be in silence? While I write this blog today, the thing I want to to most is check the score of the basketball game and turn on some tunes. I am literally fighting this urge with every keystroke. Rob asks us this question, "Is there a connection between the amount of noise in our lives and our inability to hear God?" Of course there is! My life is wired and scheduled around TV shows, sporting events, and movies. Yet is seems like I can't find the time of day to put half that dedication towards my Heavenly Father? There's something wrong with that.

Silence is a key theme found in the Bible...

• Deut. 27:9 - Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, "Be silent and listen, O Israel! This day you have become a people for the LORD your God.
• Psalms 4:4 - Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah.
• Habakkuk 2:20 - But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.

God makes it very clear to us what I need to do when I am in need of His guiding words. Yet I chose to follow my own flawed ways. I complain, I whine and I gossip. "Have you spent the same amount of time worrying and talking about your difficult, confusing situations as you have spent in silence, listening to what God might have to say?" (Rob Bell). In highschool, I was notorious for sneaking away from the group while out on church retreats at night. Knowing me, everybody probably thought that I was out creating mischeif or plotting to do so, but that's not the case. I would sneak off to enjoy the wilderness and be engulfed by God's amazing beauty. Undoubtedly, this is when God would speak me. I've never felt as small and insignificant as I would laying on the frozen ice looking into the starlit sky. I was remind that MY God created this. MY God put those their. It wasn't necessarily through words, but at this time God would remind me how awesome He was. That He was amazing, that He was in control, and that He was always with me.

Back in the big city, I would fall right into the same trap again. I finally got cell phone reception back and began texting my friends and family. I got home and turned on the ball game to see how my team was doing. And I got on instant messanger and talked poorly behind somebodies back. Why is it so different here? God is still all around me. Those same stars that I saw on the lake are still in the sky above my home, but the noise and distractions of a technically advanced world distracts me their beauty. Go out of your way to create silent moments with God. Witness His beauty and let Him take priority above the noise.

Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just click the comment button at the end of each blog and let me know what you think!

Lunch For Three - Day 4

Nooma 004|Sunday
"Why do we do the things we do? Why do we go to church or give money away? Because we're supposed to or because we think God needs it? Do we honestly put on our best clothes for an hour once a week, stand and sit at all the right times, and sing all the appropriate songs for God's sake, or because it'll make us look better to the world around us? We're tired of all the empty rituals and routines. And so is God. God hates it when we call ourselves Christians but ignore all the things he really cares about. He hates it when we go through hollow religious routines out of some feeling of duty or obligation. God doesn't want the meaningless rituals. God wants our hearts. " NOOMAtube

Ten seconds left! I grab the rebound and call a timeout. Down by one, the State Championship is within our grasp! Coach huddles us up and draws up a special play. He looks at me and says, "Aj, once you curl around that screen get ready to shoot. The ball is coming to you." I nod my head in accordance and hustle back out onto the floor just as the ref's whistle blows. Eric inbounds the ball to Ryan and runs straight at me to set the screen. My shoulder slides right off of Eric's as I curl around the pick and receive the pass. One dribble to the left and I pull up at the elbow for the jumper. The world begins to slow as I can see the Nike logo on the basketball rotating in a beautiful high arching shot towards the bucket. The ball hits the front rim, and bounces straight up. As gravity would have it, the ball begins to fall back towards the hoop and... "EHHH, EHHH, EHHH, EHHH, EHHH! " It's 9:00AM Sunday morning, I struggle to regain consciousness and realize that I was dreaming and it's time to wake up for church. I roll over and shut my eyes again, trying to figure out if I should wake up or sleep in a little longer. I think to myself, "we were out of town last week and weren't able to go, so I guess we should go this week". I roll out of bed, shower, throw on my Sunday's best and we're off! After shaking the hands of the greeters at the front door we head straight in the sanctuary to "our spot" and settle in. We sing, bow our heads, and pretend to take notes just like every other week. After the benediction we try to avoid getting into long conversations with others and sneak out to the car.

Does this sound familiar to anybody? It sure does to me. Is this what God had in mind when he created the church? Did He want us to raise our hands, bow our heads, and pray when we are supposed to? "We can sing all the right songs and say all the right prayers, but if it's just going through the motions, what's the point?" (Rob Bell). Rob talks about a story in the Bible where Jesus is joining the religious leaders of the day for a meal. The leaders are going through the hand washing and oil rituals that they were one to do, yet Jesus chooses not participate. They look at Him shocked that He was not following along. Then Jesus says, "You clean the outside of the cup, but the inside is filled with greed & evil." We are not that different today from the way those religious leaders were back then. Jesus challenges us and says that we "are spiritually dead, and [we] don't even know it!"

Like the Religious leaders in the story above, I know that sometimes I do things because I want people to see me doing them. I want the public to think that I am a good man and that I do Godly things. How about this, do you ever feel embarrassed when the offering plate gets passed by and you don't put anything in? Or better yet, do you feel good about yourself when you do put something in the plate? Why do we really give? I mean, God doesn't need our money. He created the world, why couldn't he just create a little more food for the hungry or supplies for the church builders? Rather than give because we think we should, we need to "seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless, and plead the case of the widow" (Rob Bell). Not because we want people to see us doing so, but simply because it's what God calls us to do.

Since 1991 the number of people who no longer go to church has increased from 39 million to 75 million today (Bama Research Group). That's a 92% increase in less than 20 years? People are fed up with Christians living as frauds. They see believers act one way on Sunday or when they are with their "church friends" and in a completely different way when they are at school or work. We cuss, lie, and gossip yet are proud to call ourselves Christians whenever we are asked. "Is church a building? Like one hour a week? Church is people. People whose hearts are beating more and more like God's...Let's be honest. A lot of people confuse religion with God and walk away from them both. The point isn't Christianity. The point is being a Christian. It means being a follower of Jesus. It's being connected with everything that is true and good and right. Everything that goes on around us, that reminds us that there is so much more going on around us than we realize. Could anything be more beautiful?" (Rob Bell)

Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just click the comment button at the end of each blog and let me know what you think!