Panic, Anxiety, Sugar and Salt

I'm reading a really fascinating book right now.

It's called The End of Overeating, by David Kessler, M.D.

Needless to say, I've got some real interest in this topic. I've been "big boned" my whole life. I've had a 35 year wrestling match with the scale, sometimes getting the upper hand, but only for a while.

I'm committed again to a new program. Only this time it does seem a little different. It's long term, it's common sense. It's about being healthy, forever.

But that's not really the point of this blog.

The point is that Kessler says the American food industry (he was head of the Food and Drug Administration in the past) is built on sugar, salt and fat.

Surprise, surprise, right?

What's interesting about his book is that he spends a lot of time looking at brain chemistry. He asks a basic question: why are we so addicted to foods that we absolutely know are bad for us?

Why this battle between the "will" and the stomach?

Kessler's answer is biological. "Highly palatable" foods, laden with sugar, salt and fat help release dopamine in the brain. They make us feel good, on a hormonal level.

But the good news is this: we can learn to become turned off by things that are bad for us.

Our culture no longer thinks that smoking is cool in the way that we did 50 years ago. In fact, we tend to see it as gross and harmful.

Maybe, Kessler wagers, the same can happen with nachos and cheeseburgers. We'll see.

But I think there are some even bigger addictions out there we need to be wary of. There are mental and spiritual "dopamine" triggers that can be even more dangerous.

The current swine flu reporting and news cycles are unlike anything I can remember. I'm just not sure I've ever seen each and every news outlet work harder at pushing stress, anxiety and panic into the collective American bloodstream.

And we respond.

If we allow ourselves to be swept up by the culture...we will become addicted to anxiety. We will thrive on the highs and lows of the latest panic.

What nobody seems to mention is that 36,000 Americans die of influenza every single year. I'm not in favor of sticking our heads in the sand, but the current media feeding frenzies of all-you-can-eat panic-and-anxiety buffet lines is simply nothing short of disgusting.

There's got to be a better way.

And there is.

If you're a person of faith...if you follow in the way of Jesus...remember some important truths:

"Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10

"God will fight the battle for you.
And you? You keep your mouths shut!" Exodus 14:14

"Give in to God, come to terms with him
and everything will turn out just fine.
Let him tell you what to do;
take his words to heart.
Come back to God Almighty
and he'll rebuild your life. Job 22


Why is everyone hungry for more? "More, more," they say.
"More, more."
I have God's more-than-enough,
More joy in one ordinary day
Than they get in all their shopping sprees.
At day's end I'm ready for sound sleep,
For you, God, have put my life back together. Psalm 4

Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, "Quiet! Settle down!" The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: "Why are you such cowards? Don't you have any faith at all?" Mark 4

Don't buy what they're selling. There is a better way. Let's take that path, together.

Now relax. Turn off the TV. All will be well.

Grace & Peace,
Adam

Shared Faith and Shared Ministry...It's What Makes a Chuch Family

Happy Friday, SOTH Family --

I wanted to share with you a wonderful testimony from one of our members. Every Thursday, Jamie Blankenship writes an encouraging email to our community visitation team. We go out together into the community every Thursday night to meet our neighbors around the church and begin to build relationships.

What she had to say this week was truly encouraging and real picture of ministry at SOTH --- Thanks for letting me share Jamie!

Grace, Peace and see you all on Sunday!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello, All!

I missed everyone last week (Spring Break)! A lot more than I thought I would. (no offense J ) And whenever I have a “surprise” feeling, I sit around and analyze it. So here are my thoughts from last week on “why do I feel so odd, home on a Thursday”

From my perspective, the relationships between our LRE ministry team members has surpassed “people I serve with in ministry once a week”. I feel like we are family. I look forward to seeing you all each week. I enjoy our similarities. I enjoy our differences. Everyone has such a great sense of humor. What a family!

Wait, this sounds too good to be true…No “black sheep” to deal with? Don’t all families have at least one someone that doesn’t “play nice with others”? How do we all get along so well?

I believe we share this special bond because of our deep love for Christ and our desire to serve Him. This is the common thread that creates our “family ties”.

And this ministry doesn’t feel like work to me. I mean, what we do on Thursdays does not fit in my mental image of “church work”.

All you have to do is love someone. I think this scripture really sums it up.

I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. John 15:15

It is really a blessing to serve with all of you, fellow friends of Christ, each week. Your love for Christ is truly inspiring.

Jamie

Dragonball: Evolution

Okay, so I was a huge Dragonball fan when I was younger. Ive seen every episode of the show, Ive seen all of the animated movies, and now I can say that I have seen both live action renditions, as well (Little known fact: Dragonball has already made the jump to the big screen).

Anywho, do yourself a favor, fan or not, and avoid this movie at all costs. I was suckered into going by a roommate of mine who loved the show as well. We both knew it was going to be terrible. We knew we were going to be the only two people in the theater. And I knew that if the cute ticket girl was working last night, I was going to make Swanson buy the tickets on his own; you know, so she didnt know I was going to see Dragonball.

The movie is based off of the characters of the show, but by no means has any loyalty to the plot. In fact, if you went in expecting it to reflect the show well, you would be majorly disappointed within the first few minutes of the movie. And, in my opinion, it should have stuck to the plot of the show because it didnt completely bomb like that of the movie. Plot aside, the special effects were laughable, at best. Get this: the best effect of the whole film is actually a transformer-esque construction of a motor bike from something the size of a cell-phone. The fight scenes were atrocious excepting maybe that of the encounter Goku has outside of a party - his artful dodging made for a semi-appealing, semi-action scene - and the time when Piccolo crushes a house.

The acting was terrible, too, on almost all fronts. Chow Yun-Fat always looks like he is trying so hard to not look directly at the camera, and his role as the "master" in this film is laughable. Unimpressive. The guy they got to play Goku, Justin Chatwin, was also unimpressive. There was not a single instance when I thought he is doing a better job than I could have. Newcomer Jamie Chung as Chi Chi did the best job in the film, in my opinion. She shares a birthday with me, which makes her instantly great. Emmy Rossum who played Bulma has easily one of the most annoying voices of all time - right there next to the creepy old lady from the Poltergeist movies.

There is no positive to be gleaned from this movie, honestly; besides, maybe, its ease of poke-funedness. Dont waste your dollars going to see this film, renting it, or purchasing the DVD. I would go so far as to say that you should even pass this one up in Netflix, even if its an instant queue option. It hurts my DBZ heart to say it, but, dang, this movie was bad from credit to credit.

Now What?

Check this out:

From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands.

The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen!

And now we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this:

The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.

We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.

Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!

Those are the opening words of First John. They are the words of a witness...someone who saw and experienced an event that changed them forever.

What was the big event?

Easter. Resurrection. An empty tomb.

If these words were indeed written by John the "beloved" disciple...then he ran ahead of Peter to the place of the resurrection. He was with those gathered in fear when Jesus suddenly appeared and made himself known to them. He was in the boat on the Sea of Galilee when they spotted a familiar friend on the shoreline...and helped haul in that miraculous catch.

He saw, and was changed.

What about us?

What do we do when Easter is over?

A great friend in ministry said something profound to me yesterday:

Why do our churches slow down every year after Easter? Why do we have such full houses on Easter Sunday, only to begin the "inevitable" decline into summer?

It doesn't have to be that way.

John says that what we witness changes us, forever. If "the infinite life of God took shape before us," that's not something that goes on summer vacation.

John goes on to say that the "now what" is love. That Jesus' people will love each other because God is love.

Love that person who visited with you this last Sunday. Pick up the phone and call them. Invite them to come back again this week. But most of all...look for the "infinite life of God" at work all around us.

And be love.

Grace & Peace,

Adam

The Easter Video

Man, I am telling you: If you have not yet seen the video Kim Rahn made of the photos taken at our Easter Egg Hunt a couple of weeks ago, you need to remedy that, and fast!

If that movie does not put a huge smile on your face or even conjure up a tear or two (or more!), then you need to see a doctor.

I get such great joy from seeing happy children and serving them. I mean, just seeing those happy kids on the video gave me great joy, and they arent even my kids! When I have kids, I am going to be an emotional wreck, I think.

Sunday, April 12

Yesterday was a super-busy day for me, but in all of the best possible ways. After the routine church stuff, I was invited to Easter dinner with the Vantrees', so I followed the lot of them over to their home. While their, Brittany, Aaron, Devin, Kevin and I all hung out with one another. Dinner was awesome, too, a la Andrea and Pat. I also had a great opportunity to meet some folks, which was cool, too.

I had to take Brittany away from the party for band practice at the church which was rushed due to time constraints, but went really well. We played "No One Like You" by David Crowder, "Marvelous Light" by Charlie Hall, and "Everlasting God" by Chris Tomlin. I wanted to play all up-beat songs last night to bring some life to the party. Before we began singing, I shared with the group what I have heard Crowder say at two of his concerts:

"Now that was pretty, but we arent going for pretty. We are going for loud."

Crowder would stop playing in the middle of a song and say this, and then after they began playing again, the crowd got uproariously loud, and the same happened at youth last night. I saw the kids really getting into worship and being excited about the words they were singing, which was a great thing to behold, truly.

After youth, I took Julian and Brittany home, and during the ride, we did karaoke! Brittany and I actually did some karaoke earlier in the day on our way to the church from the Vantrees', too. Add in Julian, and we had ourselves a trio! It was awesome.

When I got home, I had the chance to relax again. Sundays are always stressful, but in all of the good ways.

Hasta.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Okay, so I am a low life that takes advantage of unique viewing opportunities, and, as it turns out, an incomplete version of the new movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine was leaked onto the internet sometime late last week or early this week. I was unaware of it, but an internet scouring friend of mine was able to find it and download it. The version I watched last night was incomplete in the sense that a bunch of the effects were incomplete - which was kind of cool. It was like seeing the step before production; having an insight into the movie-making process.

Anywho:

I am pretty sure this will come with an R-rating; I could be wrong, but, in my opinion, the violence might be past the PG-13 guidelines.

On the whole, the movie was great, but I say this with-holding my own, informed opinion which I will go into here:

There is a character in the Marvel Universe by the name of Deadpool who is far-and-away my favorite Marvel character. Ive read everything he has ever been in. That being said, I know my Deadpool, and what the movie offered made me extremely mad on so many levels.

SPOILER ALERT! (IF YOU READ THE FOLLOWING ITALICIZED TEXT, THERE IS A SPOILER. SKIP DOWN TO THE REGULAR TEXT IF YOU WANT TO AVOID THIS)

I thought they nailed Deadpool in the beginning. He was awesome! I was even okay with him not wearing his trademarked mask. But then they kill him off, which is crazy. Deadpool doesnt die. His healing factor is even more advanced than Wolverine's and he is a tactical genius on top of his near-unrivalled physical combat skills.

THEN they bring him back, but, in standard Hollywood fashion, they COMPLETELY mess with his storyline by giving him adamantium plating, patching his mouth so he cant talk, he can shoot optic-beams like Cyclops, and inserting his trademarked katanas into his arms so they unsheath much like Wolverine's claws. They also gave him teleportation, which is not too far off of the comic path, so I leave that power of his alone. He is the "MERC WITH A MOUTH" for gosh sakes. How are you going to mute the man, let alone the other atrocious additions?! And, of course, they kill him again in the end which means they probably wont have a Deadpool movie which makes me doubley-upset.

Im extremely upset. Truly, I am.

Okay, apart from all of that insider information, you will think the movie is just fine. Its action packed and it has its fair share of emotional moments surrounding Wolverine and his lady-love.

As usual, Hugh Jackman does a good job with his role. There are a few moments when he slips a bit, but who knows? Maybe we will get lucky and they will edit those moments out. Plus, Leiv Schreiber makes a much better Sabretooth than that poor excuse for an actor they cast in the first X-Men movies. Although I am not 100% sure that I like Danny Huston as a better William Striker than Brian Cox; in fact, I am going to go ahead and vote for Mr. Cox on this one.

You also get to meet the Blob and Gambit just to name a couple of the more exciting mutant cameos. I thought they did a terrible job of explaining who was who and who could do what throughout most of the movie. If you dont read comics fairly often or, in the very least, read the wikipedia articles, then you will be completely lost when it comes to relating to and knowing who most of the mutants in the movie are. That is sad, too, because a large part of my enjoyment of the film came from recognizing the mutants they never named!

The movie does a great job of giving you a glimpse and a greater understanding of who Wolverine was, who he is, and how he came to be. They most certainly deliver on all of that.

All things being said, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a great action film that will please most anyone who sits down to it. Its slated to be a summer blockbuster, and rightfully so. In fact, I will probably pay to see the finished product when it hits theaters in early May. Its easily the best of the X-Men franchise movies, and there is more to come - including an origins story for Magneto, the magnetic baddy from the first three films.

Here's looking forward to that!

SOTH Kids this Easter

We have so much going on in the upcoming weeks at SOTH for kids:

• Easter Egg Hunt  - Sunday, April 5th (Palm Sunday), immediately following the 11:00am service, RAIN or SHINE!  All ages are invited...the younger kids will be hunting for hidden eggs, while 3rd-5th grade will be on a "scavenger hunt", for eggs, of course!
• EGGS NEEDED!  If your child plans to participate in the Egg Hunt on April 5th, please donate a dozen candy filled plastic eggs per child (no chocolate, please).
• During the Children's Moment of both services on Palm Sunday, April 5th, the kids will hear an explanation of "Palm Sunday" and the significance of the palms.  The children will receive real palm fronds.
• The kids of SOTH will be singing a song with the praise band on Easter Sunday, April 12th during the 11:00am service.   In order to prepare for this event, the children need to practice with the band, between services (10:40-10:55am) on Sunday, April 5th.  If your child plans on performing with the band on Easter Sunday, please have them attend these brief rehearsals.  
• For more information, contact Kim Rahn kim@sothumc.net

Sports

Today I had an awesome opportunity that I look forward to doing with greater frequency in the months to come; especially with a move to Douglasville pending in May.

I attended a youth sporting event.

It seems like such a trivial thing, right? I sit in the stands while the youth are out on the field playing whatever their sport of choice is.

But there is so much more to spectating a youth sporting event for me.

1) More often than not, where the youth is, the parents are. This gives me a great opportunity to sit down with parents and talk it up. I love those opportunities. It also shows the parents and the youth that I am interested in their lives outside of the church walls; that their lives are now part of mine. Its not just a job when you step outside of the "office space."

2) It provides me with more memories of the youth as well as conversation starters. I sent a personal text message to the students I saw play tonight (excepting one...I didnt have his number programmed into my phone; a problem I will remedy tonight) in which I cited a specific moment pertaining to them, individually. That meant the world to them all.

3) I get to meet some of the friends Ive never had the chance to meet during a youth event. This is especially true of high school sporting events - which is exactly what I attended tonight. Friends of the youth who are playing come to watch them just as I do.

4) Either before or after the games, in some cases, at least, the students are hanging out in the stands. This gives me the chance to just hang out with them. For me, that time is extremely valuable.

Anywho, tonight I watched Morgan Berry, Emily Lindall, Jessica Rudisill, and Ashton Phillips play soccer at Alexander High School. The girls let me know that they had a game tonight about a week or more ago. Ashton actually found me in the bleachers, and, when he told me he was playing in a game tonight, too, I made sure that I was there. This meant that I watched the girls play, ran to church for two meetings, then ran back to Alexander - just in time for the beginning of Ashton's game.

There wasnt a place in the world I would rather have been tonight than watching the youth play and spending some time with their parents.

PS: Ive announced this before, but if you let me know of games ahead of time, I will try my darndest to be there, my schedule permitting!

The Past Two Sundays

One of the ways I utilized the outdated mikeinaminute blog was to post about what I had taught, or at least attempted to teach, the previous night at youth. As you might have noticed, I have not yet done so here, so I am playing catch-up.

Sunday, March 22

I continued my tattoo series with the second of my three tattoos; a picture of which you can find below). It is located right over my heart.

That particular night, I decided to more or less allow the Scripture to speak for itself. I interjected very little of my own thought into the lesson. Instead, I read the following Scriptures:

Romans 5:5 - "...And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."

Matthew 6:21 - "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 15:18 - "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."

Matthew 22:37 - "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind.'"

See a pattern here? The heart is very prevalent in the Bible. In fact, according to biblegateway.com, the word "heart" appears in the Bible (NIV) 743 times. Where are your treasures? Do you honor God with your heart as well as you do with your lips? Tough questions, right? After I stopped reading, I played a song called "Welcome Home" by an artist named Shaun Groves:

Take, me, make me
All You want me to be
That's all I'm asking, all I'm asking

Welcome to this heart of mine
I've buried under prideful vines
Grown to hide the mess I've made
Inside of me
Come decorate, Lord
Open up the creaking door
And walk upon the dusty floor
Scrape away the guilty stains
Until no sin or shame remain
Spread Your love upon the walls
And occupy the empty halls
Until the man I am has faded
No more doors are barricaded

Chorus:
Come inside this heart of mine
It's not my own
Make it home
Come and take this heart and make it
All Your own
Welcome home

Take a seat, pull up a chair
Forgive me for the disrepair
And the souvenirs from floor to ceiling
Gathered on my search for meaning
Every closet's filled with clutter
Messes yet to be discovered
I'm overwhelmed, I understand
I can't make this place all that You can

repeat chorus

I took the space that You placed in me
Redecorated in shades of greed
And I made sure every door stayed locked
Every window blocked, and still You knocked

repeat chorus

Take me, make me
All You want me to be
That's all I'm asking, all I'm asking

Amen, right?

Sunday, March 29

Last night, I talked about my most recent tattoo, the only one you can see even when Im wearing a shirt; well, a short-sleeved one, at least. Its picture can be found below, as well. It is a Latin phrase: Sub Specie Aeternitatis. Its pronounced "sub speck-eee-ay ah-eee-turn-eee-tah-tis." If you dont believe me, check this link out. I read from Romans 5:16:

"Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification."

I talked about how hard it is for us to wrap our minds around certain concepts like eternity and grace and how Jesus' death on the cross forgave all of the sins we had committed and ever will commit...let alone that of the rest of the world, right?! Thankfully, though, our salvation does not depend on our understanding. It hinges on one thing and one thing only - belief. You all know John 3:16 and what it says. I talked about how God does not judge on some scale - weighing our good deeds against our bad to determine whether or not we pass some test. There is no answer there. The answer lies within our hearts; where true belief resides. And eternity lies with it.

Jubilee for a Weekend: Yard Sale Theology

Well, this weekend marks the annual "Women of SOTH" Yard Sale at the church.

We're busy right now piling in our "junk." Or maybe I should say "stuff." A famous comedian once said that your own "stuff" is "stuff," but other people's "stuff" is "junk."

Ok, he didn't say "junk." He was a little coarser than can be permitted here on the ol' blog.

But we do tend to see it that way sometimes. Our "stuff" has value, we think.

But the truth of American culture is that we're way, way too tied to stuff. And, our stuff doesn't isn't nearly as valuable as we like to think.

We own houses full of depreciating assets (and even the houses themselves have depreciated of late).

This is why I think yard sale may just be one of the most theologically correct things any church could do.

Here's what I mean:

1 - All the proceeds from this weekend's sale, I mean 100%, will go directly to help the Women of SOTH help other women in need in our community.

2 - All of us need to get rid of a lot of stuff. It has a way of piling up, all the time. Cleaning out that garage, and those closets, and those drawers...it's all a good spiritual exercise in letting go and getting free.

3 - A Yard Sale is recycling at its most basic...something that gets used again by somebody else doesn't wind up in a landfill. That's great stewardship.

4 - Community. You don't know somebody until you've sorted "stuff" with them for several hours. Come work, and get to know those folks you worship with in a whole new way.

5 - It's in line with a really cool Bible idea. Times are hard, and this sale will help somebody. Somebody out there will be able to get some items that they can really use, that they couldn't have otherwise afforded. It's a sharing of abundance.

Look what's in Leviticus 25:

In this fiftieth year, your year of jubilee, you shall not sow, nor shall you reap the aftergrowth or pick the grapes from the untrimmed vines. Since this is the jubilee, which shall be sacred for you, you may not eat of its produce, except as taken directly from the field.”

Every 50 years, ancient Israel did an amazing thing.

Land reverted back to its original owners. A big "reset" button was pushed on society...and the edges of the fields and vines were allowed to produced, and they were not harvested. They were left in place to be freely gleaned by those who were in need.

There's a lot we could learn. Come get a lesson in what matters most this weekend....The Women of SOTH yard sale --- Friday night from 4-8 pm and Saturday (rain or shine) 8 am - 4 pm.

Numbers 32

I am reading my way through the Good Old Old Testament again, and if you have ever tried this yourself, you know that there are stretches that are difficult to read. I am being completely honest with you when I say that there are times when I get frustrated reading the OT because I feel like Im reading an extremely wordy history textbook rather than literature that is supposed to aid in my walk with Christ or provide me some glimpse into the character of God. When I pick up my Bible for my devotional time each night, I am hoping to close my eyes feeling recharged rather than even more drained, and sometimes the text can do just that.

Anyways, tonight I had a funny thought after reading a passage from Numbers 32 that I thought I would share with you, the ever-faithful readers of SOTHBLOG:

"Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon- the land the LORD subdued before the people of Israel—are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock. If we have found favor in your eyes," they said, "let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan." Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, "Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here? Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the land the LORD has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land. After they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the LORD had given them. The LORD's anger was aroused that day and he swore this oath: 'Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob- not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly.' The LORD's anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the desert forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone. " Numbers 32:3-13

Okay, so this is how my mind responded to this passage:

You know those cheesy countdown clocks you see at stores sometimes or even on ESPN or FOX as time draws nearer to a big game? With each passing second, you draw nearer and nearer to the fulfillment of the promise held by the clock!

What if the Israelites had a clock like that back then? Like, somehow they knew when the day would arrive that they would claim the land God had promised them?

Imagining that they did, think about this passage:

Countdown clock is almost to zero and a bunch of the leaders come whining to Moses: "Come on, Mo. According to the clock, we are basically here. Lets stay on THIS side of the Jordan. What do you say? It will save us the trouble of the classic Oregon Trail dilemma: Should we try and ford the river, or should we float our wagon across? This way, we save time AND we dont lose any spare wheels or the 700lbs of squirrel meat we shot yesterday! Win/win, Moses."

Of course, God hears this, and the next thing you know, the countdown clock has unexpectedly gone up again! By at least a generation, no less! How angry would you have been at the dudes who didnt want to get their feet wet?

Im not saying that God moved the Promise Land to spite the impatient Israelites or anything like that. This is just a "what if?" deal. Life is fun when you ask that question all the time and ponder its infinite answers. This time it just happened to manifest itself in Biblical times.

Relationship Series

Okay, I think I finally have the series on relationships in a working order:

Week 1: Title: "You First"
Scripture: Matthew 7:3
Basic Idea: We should be sure that we are in a good place ourselves before attempting to be okay with another.

Week 2: Title: "Standards"
Scripture: Mixed/TBD
Basic Idea: Figure out what your standards are, what they should be, and then make no compromises with them.

Week 3: Title: "What Now?
Scripture: Mixed/TBD
Basic Idea: This will be a study of what to watch for during the relationship.

Week 4: Title: "In the End"
Scripture: Mark 12:30-31
Basic Idea: We have standards to uphold even when we bring a relationship to a close.

This series will begin on April 5th.

Three Quick Movie Reviews

Okay, so part of my postings here will be reviews of media forms; books and movies, most notably. I do this for a couple of reasons:

1) It serves as a sort of cultural education making you, the reader, more aware of the goings-on of our present day culture.

2) My offerings will serve either to warn you of the bad stuff or turn you on to the good stuff.

With that in mind, I saw three movies this past week:

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

If you have not seen either of the first two Underworld movies, the basic premise is that vampires and lycans, or, as they are more commonly known, werewolves, are at war with one another. This movie served as a prequel - effectively answering the big question: Why are the vampires and the werewolves hating on one another?

Personally, I found this installment to be the best of the three, but take this with a pinch of salt, for it is most certainly not a movie for children or those who cannot stand the sight of violence. The story is well-told, but the cinematics make it difficult to recommend.

Twilight

I finally broke down and saw this one. I had promised myself I wouldnt get sucked into the next teeny-bopper craze, but my friend Jason and I caved because it was the only movie showing during the time frame in which we were looking to watch one. If you arent aware, the movie is based off of a series of books by author Stephenie Meyer named Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.

The movie wasnt bad and comes with a PG-13 rating for mild violence and what is called "sensuality" by IMDB. Basically what that means is that there is a lot of tension between the two characters in the film that are romantically interested in one another. Too much for this guy.

The movie completely messed with the traditional vampire characteristics, and that bothered me. For instance: Vampire lore dictates that they cant be seen in mirrors and that is clearly not the case in the film. And according to mythos, they cant encounter sunlight without essentially turning to ash. In the movie, when they are exposed to direct sunlight, they dont burn...they dont even sizzle a little. Instead, they sparkle. Yeah, SPARKLE. As if they had been rubbed down in body glitter. Lame.

Some of the special effects were cheesy, too. Like blurring when the vampires jump or fall. Yeah, somehow vampires defy physics in such a way that gravity, itself, somehow exercises its forces on them more intensely - causing them to fall so fast they blur. Also lame.

The story wasnt bad - as I said: a little too creepily seductive. Best part of the film is watching the vampire family interact. Funny if you think about it. The part of Edward Cullin was played well by an unknown by the name of Robert Pattinson who made Edward extremely creepy and just enough unlikeable to give his character some dramatic depth.

Recommended? If you read the books, sure. Otherwise, pass.

I Love You, Man

I must preface this review with a very necessary warning: This movie is not for kids. Its rated R for a host of good reasons.

That aside, for what it is - an adult-oriented comedy - this movie is fantastic. It mixes outright humor with more subtle humor and keeps you laughing throughout. Basic premise is that a guy is going to get married and realizes that he doesnt have any male friends to fill out his side of the wedding party, so he starts going on "man-dates" to try and meet his potential Best Man. He inadvertently meets a guy by the name of Sydney, they hit it off, and onward goeth the plot.

Most of the humor in the movie is harmless, but when it does get into the PG-13/R range with the humor, it goes all in. Language is also an issue in it, with curse-words being uttered, it would be safe to guess, in every scene.

The movie did a great job of getting you to fall in love with the characters and making you pull for them 100%. When the times are good, you are happy. When they get a little rocky, you hope to see a quick return to the good times. You dont see that dynamic too often in comedies.

I dont hesitate to say that I believe this movie was made for my age range (the 18-25 range). Everyone will laugh during the film, but that doesnt mean it is a recommendation for all.

________________________________________________________________

I usually will talk about some sort of teachable moment from the movies I watch, as well, but opted out to keep things shorter this go around. I dont usually see three movies at a time! Oh, and if you are curious about a movie (whether it be for your sake or you are wondering whether or not to let your children go see it in the theaters), shoot me a line and I will scope things out for you and let you know.

Hasta.

This Is New...

I have officially arrived at SOTH now that I have access to authorship on the official SOTH blog. Thats right, folks: Mikeinaminute and SOTHBLOG have merged into one mega-blog that is guaranteed to blow your minds by way of the penmanship of not one, but two of your beloved staff!

I will be bringing a medley of miscellaneous misinformation to this URL. Actually, that is a lie. I only said "misinformation" to cap off the alliteration there. Most, if not all, of what I post here will be information about the world as I see it. There will be movie reviews, book reviews, rants, raves, randomness, and I guess I have to post some stuff about God here, too, huh? Okay, if you insist.

Consider this your warning. Tomorrow, Pandora's Box shall be opened, and as was so eloquently explicated by a guy named Saul from a movie that shall go un-named:

"Pandora doesnt go back into the box. He only comes out."

Spring

Yesterday I had to drive into downtown Douglasville and back. It was an absolutely beautiful day.

I risked UV damage to the crown of my head and opened the sunroof, all the way. I dropped the windows. You could just smell spring in the air.

As I topped a hill, I approached a stand of amazing flowering cherry trees that flanked the road on its right. They looked like pale pink clouds, hovering close to the earth. It was an incredible site, almost transcendent, just for a fleeting moment.

At any other time of the year, I'd have blown by these trees without a second thought. Maybe even just a couple of days ago. In the summer, they're green and nondescript. In winter, they're just bare branches, fading into a massive sea of the same.

But yesterday...wow. A gaudy, garish, showy, unashamed, unabashed display of bloom-osity exploded on the roadside.

When did it happen?

Was there a moment when the tree switch flipped from "off" to "bloom?"

The real truth is that trees don't bloom in a single moment. They bloom bit by bit, day by day, until the undeniable truth of their presence can no longer be denied, even by the most heedless of us humans.

And that reminds me of something that Jesus once had to say:

Mark 4:26-29 (The Message)
Then Jesus said, "God's kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps—harvest time!

Imagine: Jesus is saying that the kingdom can be compared to a harvest that comes while we're not paying attention! Perhaps he's saying that it is a gift. It's not the work of our human hands. The Kingdom belongs to God, who chooses to share it with us, and its presence is a mystery that we cannot solve.

Pastors, churches, and faithful Jesus-followers spend a lot of time, sweat and energy worrying about "the kingdom." That's not bad, is it?

Shouldn't we work to "make disciples?" Shouldn't we give our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness to the effort of kingdom-building?

Of course.

But we should also remember that God's grace, like the flowers of springtime, is a gift from Him that we don't make for ourselves.

We are the beneficiaries of God's abundant love and goodness. It all depends on God, and surely not on us.

What a relief. And what a beautiful day this is.

Grace, Peace, and See you Sunday ---
Adam

Does God Love a Good Fool...Yes!

I've been having a great conversation the last couple of days with facebook friends about my upcoming sermon for this Sunday, and wanted to share via the blog, too.

Here are the scriptures...

John 2:13-22 (New International Version)

13When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

14In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.

15So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"

17His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."

18Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"

19Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."

20The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?"

21But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

And...

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (New International Version)

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

19For it is written:

"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.


First thoughts...lots of news blurbs this week about the way that our society is growing more and more secular. At the same time, we're probably more highly educated on the whole than ever before.

What do we count as wisdom? What kinds of miracles do we want to see before we believe? What is Jesus' response to that? What does he show for proof, and how is God's foolishness better than human wisdom? And, how does he use the "foolish" to impart his wisdom? And, of course, the video above is a reminder of everybody's favorite literary "fool" (who is full of wisdom)...Forrest Gump.

Talk amongst yourselves...and let me know what you think!

My cousin Shana mentioned this great song by Nicole Nordeman, called "Fool For You,"


There are times when faith and common sense do not align,
when hardcore evidence of you is hard to find,
and I am silenced in the face of argumentative debate,
it's a long hill it's a lonely climb. Maybe it's true.

CHORUS:
Cause they want proof,
They want proof of all these mysteries I claim,
Cause only fools would want to chant a dead man's name.
I would be a fool for you all because you asked me to.
A simpleton who's seeming naive,
I do believe You came and made Yourself a fool for me.

I admit that in my darkest hours I've asked what if,
What if we created some kind of man made faith like this,
Out of good intention or emotional invention,
and after life is through there will be no You.

Cause they want proof of all these miracles I claim,
Cause only fools believe that men can walk on waves.
Maybe it's true.

Unaware of popularity,
and unconcerned with dignity,
You made me free.
That's proof enough for me.

I would be a fool for You,
Only if You asked me to,
A simpleton who's only thinking of,
The cause of love.

I will speak Jesus' name,
and if that makes me crazy,
they can call me crazed,
I'm happy to be seemingly naive,
I do believe You came and
made Yourself a fool for me.

Peace --- And see you this Sunday, Adam

A Trip to the West Bank

Israel is a land of tension.   The history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is long and complex, and it is much more than I can begin to take on here.   If you're interested in trying to gain some understanding, there are good articles and timelines to be found here.  

Many of you have heard of the "west bank" and Gaza when Israel is in the news.  The "West Bank" actually refers to a geographic region that begins with the west bank of the Jordan River.  Several ancient Biblical sites lie within this region, including all of Samaria, a large part of ancient Judea, and important locations like Jericho, Bethany, Bethlehem and Nazareth.  

We passed through checkpoints going in and out of these areas, but were very privileged to get to travel within the West Bank region (we did NOT go into Gaza, which is the heart of the current conflict within the region).  

The sites and people that we encountered in this area were truly wonderful.  I think that one of the misconceptions that I had about the Holy Land was that the area is populated primarily by Christians and Jews.  This is not the case.  There is a massive Islamic Arab presence in Jerusalem and throughout Israel, and especially in the west bank regions.  

We received only the best hospitality and had a great experience.   That said, the feelings of tension and frustration were evident in many places.  We took the picture above just a couple of blocks away from the restaurant in Jericho where we ate lunch.  It was strange to have experienced the hospitality of the people, to then drive right past the local PLO office.  

I had just shared marjoram tea with some men in a little coffee shop, and the man running the store bundled up a big bunch of marjoram and gave it to me, saying, "a gift my friend, grown in Palestine."  For all I know, he's the chair of the local PLO.  It is a complicated world.  

Also in Jericho, Holly got to ride a camel.  She's a natural.  Speaking of camels, a man running a fruitstand on the street (where I bought some of the greatest dates in the world) said to me, "Is this your wife?  I give you 6,000 camels for her."    

I told him that he had mistaken me for a rich man, and that I couldn't afford to feed 6,000 camels.  He belly laughed.  

Again at Jericho, the "mount of temptation," local legend says that this is the mountain upon which Satan tested Jesus at the beginning of his ministry.  

Another sign, this time in Bethany, near Jerusalem.  A massive wall separates the West Bank from Israel, and people cannot cross back and forth.  Spouses and families have been cut off from one another.  

I want to be clear that this is NOT a Palestinian man throwing a rock in anger.  He's actually demonstrating a sling shot of the type used for many centuries in this part of the world.  They call it the "David" sling, referring to the famous battle with Goliath.  

He threw this rock an astonishing distance, over some buildings.  I have no idea where it may have landed.  The other amazing part of this story?  He's standing right in front of the tomb of Lazarus.  Yes, that Lazarus.  The one that Jesus brought back from the dead.  

I bought 3 slingshots...now I just need some wide open spaces to teach my boys how to throw with them.  

Armageddon

We're back in the USA!  It is very good to be home.  A short little 13 hour plane ride and we're back in Douglasville, GA.    My anti-jet lag strategy is to stay awake today, even though we'd just gotten nicely adjusted to Jerusalem time.  Right now it's about 6:45 there -- just finishing up dinner, but here it's not quite lunch time.  Our plane landed this morning at 6 am Atlanta time.  

So...everything is a little confused, but wow -- what a trip.  

OK -- time to catch up some pics that my connection wouldn't quite let me do while I was there...

These pics are of "Tel Megiddo," one of the oldest known civilizations in the world. Archaeologists know that there have been cities on this site, beginning about 8,000 years ago.  

Megiddo sits at a "crossroads of crossroads" in the ancient world, and it's the place that we know as "Armageddon" from Revelation 16: 

 ¹⁶Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

 ¹⁷The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, "It is done!" 

¹⁸Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 

¹⁹The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. ²⁰Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 

²¹From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.

The Hebrew, "Har Megiddo," (Mountain of Megiddo) becomes "Armageddon" as the name winds its way through New Testament Greek and into English.  

One of the many tensions of this Biblical land is the intense beauty of this place held against the story of final destruction connected to it in Revelation.  I always had images of Armageddon being fiery and ugly.  This place is green and beautiful.  It is peaceful.  It's a wonderful place to pray for peace.  

Bethlehem

Hello again everybody! We are still exhausted, but still having a wonderful time! Yesterday we went to Bethlehem, which means going through an Israeli checkpoint into Palestinian-controlled West Bank territory. The main attraction in Bethlehem, of course, is the Church of the Nativity, long venerated as the site of Jesus' birth. Above is a picture of Holly touching the "star of Bethlehem," the marker of the site, in a grotto (cave) below the sanctuary of the church.



The Church is controlled by Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Armenian Christians. This is the Orthodox sanctuary, situated directly above the birth site. Let's just say their decorating taste isn't exactly Methodist. The chandeliers were given by Russian Czar Nicholas before the 1917 Russian revolution. This is the oldest continually operating church, founded in about the year 300 with worship taking place here ever since. Some of the original floors and structures still exist.




Above, an exterior corner of the Church of the Nativity


Rev. Jamie Jenkins talks to the group at the Shepherds' Field cave, just outside of Bethlehem. This cave is traditionally considered the site of the angelic appearance announcing Jesus' birth. We sang "Angels We Have Heard on High" here.