Embracing Simplicity

Thanks

The Blessing of Baptism

My former professor Mark Moore recently posted this on his blog.
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The Blessing of Baptism

1. It is the only religious ordinance (that I know of), that deals with guilt and shame equally at the same time. In the East, shame is the big issue--not measuring up to communal expectations. In the West, guilt is the primary issue, having crossed a line individually. Consider the wisdom of God to give us a practice that is capable of dealing with both our sociological and spiritual needs at once and across all cultural divides.

2. This 'enacted sinner's prayer' is far more memorable than any articulated prayer. Ask how many people remember what they 'said' when they converted; then ask how many remember where, when, and how they were baptized? God knows we are tactile. This is the perfect gift to help us remember our beginnings.

3. Furthermore, this 'sinner's prayer' is always said correctly. It is about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. You CAN NOT DO IT WRONG! I need that with all the stupid things I say.

4. It starts our Christian walk right. We begin by imitating Jesus in his salvific act. It brings us to 'dead' center in our theology so that our beginning in Christ aims at the core of Christianity as well as our ultimate destiny of resurrection.

5. The Scriptures bind together this gift with the promise of a cleansed conscience and the gift of the Holy Spirit. I want that!

I'm not so stricken with the question of 'only one way to convert'. I suspect God is far more creative than we give him credit for. However, given these five blessings of baptism, it boggles my mind why anyone would be contentious in refusing such a gift directly from the hand of Jesus, especially when it models the self-abnegation he enjoined on his disciples.

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What do you think?
-t-

Great Photo

From Monday night I believe.
FYI - He beat the tag. The go ahead run.

49ers 2008 Schedule

Week 1            Sunday, Sept 7^th           vs. Arizona

Week 2            Sunday, Sept 14^th         at Seattle

Week 3            Sunday, Sept 21^st         vs. Detroit

Week 4            Sunday, Sept 28^th         at New Orleans

Week 5            Sunday, Oct 5^th            vs. New England

Week 6            Sunday, Oct 12^th          vs. Philadelphia

Week 7            Sunday, Oct 19^th          at New York Giants

Week 8            Sunday, Oct 26^th          vs. Seattle

Week 9            Bye Week

Week 10          Monday, Nov 10^th        at Arizona

Week 11          Sunday, Nov 16^th         vs. St. Louis

Week 12          Sunday, Nov 23^rd         at Dallas

Week 13          Sunday, Nov 30^th         at Buffalo

Week 14          Sunday, Dec 7^th            vs. New York Jets

Week 15          Sunday, Dec 14^th          at Miami

Week 16          Sunday, Dec 21^st          at St. Louis

Week 17          Sunday, Dec 28^th          vs. Washington

Held Hostage

I’ve probably just seen too many bank heist movies but I can’t help wanting to be part of a bank robbery. And it seems that bank robberies currently are all the rage. I can think of several recent heist movies:

· Ocean’s movies

· The Italian Job

· Inside Man

· The Bank Job

I also read a great article in last week’s Sports Illustrated on the largest cash robbery by a team that included a former UFC fighter.

Now I don’t think I’d want to be apart the actually holding up of the bank or be involved in the criminal aspects of the robbery. While I talk a big game I don’t particularly like physically hurting people just for the sport of it. Um…that’s not entirely true. More accurately I don’t particularly like seriously hurting people…squeezing a pressure point until some gives is always fun. However I will say that if I were going to be a part of a heist gang I would like the atmosphere to light and jovial. Because those movies where it’s always serious, the heist always ends with multiple deaths and failed robberies. But the movies where the atmosphere is filled with laughter and friendliness things just seem to work out.

Although I do think I’d have a knack for this type of activity. For some reason it is really important to me to know exactly where things are in a bank. For instance, today I took the deposit from work to the bank. As soon as I enter I know where all five cameras are that are pointed towards the door. There is a sixth camera that covers the rest of the small lobby. I also know how many ladies work at said bank, and would have to assume there might be one or two more in the back. I’ve seen inside the vault. I know the busy and slow times of the day. And I know where they keep their jar of lollipops, of which I prefer the root beer flavor.

I don’t see myself going into law enforcement either, so a negotiator or S.W.A.T. team member is out of the question. A bank security man doesn’t seem to appeal to me either. Expect for said robbery you’re usually just sitting around all day. Plus being in bank security and wanting to be apart of a bank robbery seem to be in direct conflict. I suppose one could be the bank security man and be a part of the heist gang, but that seems like twice as much work.

Also I don’t see myself having the type of influence that can alternately bring about resolution to this type of activity. I’m thinking here of Jodie Foster’s character in Inside Man. I bring her character up mainly because this affords me the opportunity to say that Jodie Foster looked really hot in that movie. Maybe it has to do with her long straight hair or her great legs…I don’t know, but either way she’s never looked that good to me before. (fyi…I’m watching The Brave One tonight)

Now a hostage has some potential for excitement and, in case of a long stand off, free pizza and subs. If someone is waving a gun around at me I think I can obey orders. But I think I’d also have enough courage and awareness that if one of the gunmen was not paying attention or distracted I’d do what I could to take him out. Now I’m not saying I’d be heroic or somehow have illusions of grandeur, I have seen Die Hard and know that fighting back will get your t-shirt dirty and you may lose your shoes. But I think I’d also like being a hostage for the fact that when the conflict is resolved I could write a book about the experience that would be #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list for a few weeks and then I could sell the rights to the story and maybe have some small role in the movie. Hmmm…maybe a few illusions.

If you are looking for a good heist movie I can also recommend these to you:

• Dog Day Afternoon
• Reservoir Dogs
• Bottle Rocket
• Ronin
• The Score
• A Fish Called Wanda
• How to Steal a Million
• The Thomas Crown Affair (I’m talking about the original with Steve McQueen, the newer one with Bronson and Russo sucked and unfortunately there is a sequel coming out)
• The Usual Suspects
• Heat
• Bonnie and Clyde
• The Getaway (I liked both the McQueen/MacGraw more than the Baldwin/Basinger, but both are good)
• the Die Hard movies

And these are few more than I want to watch:

• Dog Day Afternoon (I know, I know…how have I not seen this?)
• Sexy Beast (Kingsley is supposed to be brilliant in it)
• The Killings
• Flawless
• RocknRolla (directed by Madonna’s Guy)

clean water

Least we forget just how rich we are...

...could you imagine this being apart of your daily routine?

How would this change who you are and what you do?
Knowing that this is what 1 out of every 6 people in our world has to do for inadequate drinking water is unacceptable.

Darn Cute

quote

“Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke?  Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it?  The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning.  It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets.  Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.  For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return.”

-Annie Dillard

 

What are your expectations on Sunday morning? 

What are your expectations in your prayers?

What are your expectations in your everyday relationship with Jesus?

Just There.

Practicing the Presence of Christ sometimes means being the presence of Christ.
-t-

(thanks)

You know how...

You know how some people say that they think their life would make a great movie or TV show? Or that they see their life as a show or movie?
There are times that I think that, but...

• ...then I remember that there are days that nothing really happens in my life. Days where it's even hard to Twitter.
• ...then I remember I've never been in a hostage situation at my bank or local gas station.
• ...then I remember I've never been locked in a closet, on the roof, in the basement, in the bank vault or in a restaurant freezer with the girl that I am secretly in love with, and is secretly in love with me, but we can only seem to argue with one another, yet use the time trapped to resolve this tension and ultimately fall in love with one another... at least until the rating sweeps.
• ...then I remember that I don't have a quirky best friend who enters my place in an unusual manner (i.e. sliding through the door, climbing through the window, climbing over my balcony railing).
• ...then I meet my neighbors and none of them are the girl next door.
• ...then I remember I've never owned an exotic pet.
• ...then I remember that I've never been knocked out and had an adventure in black and white.
• ...then I remember I have never been involved in a high speed chase, jumped out of a rapidly moving vehicle, just barely jumped out of the way of an explosion, or landed a airplane even though I was a week or two away from my pilot's license.
  

While my everyday is fairly uneventful it's always good to know I still have my movie star looks.

This is my...

profound huh?

Unexpected

This is incredibly unexpected but completely awesome.

I wish I had seen it.
Did anyone out there catch this on tv? Was there some sort of set up or explanation? Or was it just somewhat random? I'm guessing it had something to do with the Idol gives back...
This is still one of my favorite songs. We sung it so many times during chapels at Ozark. But hearing Carly Smithson wailing at the end is chilling.
Really cool.

Douglas Howser

I've been watching Doogie Howser, M.D. on Hulu lately. I love watching the background actors, they remain completely emotionless...like zombies.
I do have a couple of thoughts that came to my mind last night:

1. For such a boy genius he can not type. Seriously he's supposed to be able to sew delicate surgical procedures but it takes him a minute to type two lines consisting of 3rd grade vocab words.

2. Why in Christmas movies and television shows do the main characters always decorate and light up their Christmas trees on Christmas Eve?

Goodiness

I'm trading one vice for another! But this stuff really is sweet.
Oh and fyi this is my first post from my new phone. Hopefully it works.

MLB 2008...early thoughts

-         What is wrong with Detroit?  I thought they would have some issues, but assumed that line-up would be able to power a few wins.

-         If some shmuck watching baseball on TV can see the brown substance on Jake Peavy’s hand, I have to assume the umpires did as well.  If the umpires didn’t feel like it was anything worth pursuing then why is it news?

-         I love seeing Boston as the bottom of their division.  I don’t think they’ll stay there, but for now it’s awesome to see.

-         I think we are still failing to give Greg Maddox the recognition his career deserves.

-         I think a bad year is what San Francisco deserves.  They used Barry Bonds during his chase and then removed any memory of their association with him from their ballpark.  It’s one thing to not resign him because of his play, but to complete erase him from the stadium’s history is wrong.  (I have other opinions about the Barry Bonds witch hunt as well, but let me just say this:  If the whole situation was so cut and dry, then he should have easily been caught in his lie and in jail, or it’s time to just let it go.)

-         Florida’s ability to put a competitive team on the field with such a limited budget is un-freakin-believ-able.  I wish San Antonio had been able to snatch them up a few years ago. 

-         San Antonio needs another professional sport.  As the eighth largest city in the U.S. (larger than Dallas), and the easy accessibility from Austin, using the tired cliché that there is no market for another sport is ridiculous.  The real issue is Houston and Dallas want to continue to feed off of what is a vital revenue source. As of now we have more fans in the stands on average at the AA team, San Antonio Missions, than the Marlins will for the year.

-         Tori Hunter is on a early season tear. 

-         Arizona with their young talented team may be my early favorite for the N.L.  They have a strong line-up and an outstanding pitching staff. 

-         Texas is play .500 ball.  This is actually just above normal.  It’s good to start over each year!

In The News

Bride, groom spend wedding night in jail

 

I have a good feeling about this marriage. 

Do you think they were given a separate cell? 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been to those kind of receptions.

-tsh-

check "yes" or "no" (conclusion...?)

Here's what I'm believing:

In order to truly love someone as God intends we must love as God loved.
In Jesus we see the fullest expression of that love. Therefore we are to love like Jesus loved.
While God has had to make some difficult choices where His love towards one pales in comparison towards another ["Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated" paraphrased Mal. 1 or Rom. 9], God being in the very nature love - cannot help but love.
Love protects with a fierce demonstration of love. Jesus once referred to God has a mother protecting her offspring (Mt. 23). Therefore one can conclude that righteous anger towards anything that would destroy what is loved isn't necessarily "hatred", but in comparison towards the love it is. (I must be careful here as we are getting into a place of defining words...so dangerous in our postmodern/deconstructive world).
These are thoughts that probably should be flushed out more, but for the sake of brevity I'm going to assume you understand the argument I'm making and move forward.

Now my beef, as of late, is "I love them, I just don't like them". I really don't think that statement is possible.

Now being able to distinguish between the sinner from sin is important. God hates sin. But it was in our sinfulness that God was moved to send His son to die for us. It was when we were most offensive towards God that He demonstrated His love toward us. When we were in our least like-able state Jesus was born, He died and He rescued.

If forgiveness is being able to truly desire the best for someone else, then I believe that love is to truly like who that person is, despite their flaws, and desiring what's better for them too.

Not that not-liking someone is an admission of wanting harm to come on them, but neither is it an admission of wanting the greater things for them as well.

Jesus spoke to the connection of our thoughts with our actions. He said that if we lust in our heart we have already committed adultery. I think we can make conclusions from this teaching. If we covet - we have already stolen. If we hate - we have already murdered. If we do not trust God - we have committed idolatry (putting faith in something higher than God). If we don't like someone - we hate them.

To love like Jesus I think we must see a person as God sees them, created uniquely and with purpose and value. Significant. Beautiful. Treasured.

Can I like someone enough to love them?

I'm not there yet, but this is my new standard.

I'd love to hear your thoughts?

Bracketology

I showed off my bracket this week and it came back to bite me in the end (ha ha that's a play on words).
UCLA lost tonight by Memphis and North Carolina was crushed by Kansas.
Those were my final two teams. All in all I had a pretty good tournament run and surprised myself this year.
And as far as who will win between Memphis and Kansas...I have no clue!

irony

Sports Illustrated published this photo on their website today and had the same thought that I immediately conjured up.

Pamela Anderson shields her son’s eyes from the gyrations of the Los Angles Lakers cheerleaders.

Quote

"Faith is a vision that your destiny is to be absorbed in a tremendously creative team effort under unimaginably splendid leadership on an incomprehensibly vast plane of activity through ever more comprehensive cycles of productivity and enjoyment and that is what eye has not seen and ear has not heard that lies before us in the prophetic vision." (Dallas Willard)

(Used in a message given by John Ortberg, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, February 24, 2008)