I know there's actually nobody visiting this blog today. But if you are here you might as well play along. Just make an acrostic, preferably Christmas themed, from the provided letters and put it in the comments. We’ll chose our winner somehow. B I R T H
C H R I S T
Here are my entries ---
B - ring I - in R - udolph's T - ongue H - older (This one is overly weird)
C - hristians H - ave R - ealized I - mmanuel S - aves T - otally
Here is the list of books I read in 2009. It is disappointingly short compared to last year. But I mixed in some fiction. This list also includes audiobooks I listened to.
What if someone stole baby Jesus? (Yes Plural) I LOLed at this Daft hands meets Handel
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCFCeJTEzNU]
This is one of the coolest things I have seen with Christmas lights
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXjbMIZzAgs]
You remember this video I posted here on Monday? It has about 400 views since It went up on Sunday night. And already 2 comments by trolls. (Per Wikipedia - a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community) I do not understand the phenomenon that causes people to think it's okay to be insulting to others or to be outrageously inflammatory just because they are anonymous.
Really I am seeking your opinion, should I close the comments on the video, or let the trolls troll. I am definitely not going to respond, that just encourages them.
<update> I closed comments. </update>
[polldaddy poll=2399055]
You may remember this story from last year so I won't rehash the whole thing. But I add one ornament to my Christmas tree each year. This year I am in a quandary about something maybe you can help me out. I got both ornaments #3 and #4 last year, so I have to make a decision. Do I break with tradition and keep them both, or do I choose only 1? If I keep them both then I would be getting closer to the number I should have, (remember I am a couple of ornaments shy of 1 per year) but if I begin compromising here, then why stay on my 1 per year path at all? just for the record, I'm not throwing anything away. The one I demote will go to my small Christmas tree. Read the tree key then vote in the poll at the end of this post.
Now it's time for your input What do I do?
[polldaddy poll=2395566]
My Church had our youth Christmas party Saturday night. I knew going in that I was going to have a pretty small group there so my regular Christmas-themed games wouldn't be successful. Then I saw this video on Richard Wiseman's blog last week
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_f3SkxTWxc]
The post suggested these as party science stunts to try. I decided that trying to recreate the video shot by shot would be a fun project. So it took us about an hour and a half but it was a fun project for my small group of students. I tried to edit our video to match the original. I used music supplied by youtube because I was afraid the Christmas music I used originally was not legal. Also our video doesn't have the narration because I don't have the cool accent. So you'll need to watch the original to get what the experiments are.
Without further ado I present to you the video from the LPBC youth Christmas party:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-AgMbE7sSE]
Pretty good, huh?
I even had time left to tell Mitch's Christmas story like I have every Christmas since I've been in ministry.
Google will send a free Christmas postcard to anyone you want You just cannot let this sort of behavior go unchecked in our schools or before you know it all kids will want to enjoy themselves
This unbelievably creepy phenomenon probably says something about our society, but all I can think is - That's just wrong
While fishing I've seen herons, fish, and snakes. I've seen Herons eating fish, snakes eating frogs, and birds eating snakes. But I've never seen this
I made a 100 on this Mythbusters quiz
By far the best video I saw this week But I can't get it to post to wordpress
I didn't understand 20 words in this 2 minute commercial. But it has some really neat animation
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_jyXJTlrH0]
Jared C. Wilson is a pastor in Nashville Tennessee. He has written Your Jesus Is Too Safe: Outgrowing a Drive-Thru, Feel-Good Savior, in his words, as a reminder of the original message of Jesus. It is an excellent and complete explanation of Christology. The book is divided into 12 chapters, each dealing with a different aspect or attribute of Jesus. The necessity of this book in postmodern America seems obvious. Because Christians, or even churches have chosen to pick and choose the characteristics or attributes of Jesus that seem most appealing to them, this book is a reminder that Jesus is all these things. For example, some churches choose only to view Jesus as the provision and ignore the fact that He is also king. The message of Your Jesus is too Safe is that those aspects of His character cannot be overlooked.
I will give my highest recommendation to the chapter on Jesus the judge. This aspect of who Christ is has been so badly distorted or ignored that this chapter is necessary. This chapter is so fair and complete in its discussion of the topic it is probably the best work I have ever read on the topic. I wish I had written it. It was also a good decision on Wilson’s part to follow up the excellent chapter on Jesus as judge with the chapter on Jesus as redeemer.
The footnotes in the book are brilliant. I am always annoyed when books have endnotes rather than footnotes. But it would have been a crime to do that with this book. Fortunately they are kept as footnotes and are used masterfully. At one point the footnotes included a link to this.
Also, it seems that Wilson’s voice comes through in this book strongly. It is humorous and enjoyable while dealing with very serious subject matter. That is something I try to do as I write, but I am only marginally as successful as Wilson.
It is not a scholarly work on Christology, if that is what you are looking for, there are better sources. It is, however, thorough and accurate. I would recommend it to anybody in my church. I just wouldn’t recommend it for my CBC students trying to write a paper.
Lottie Moon
I am probably only giving about 5 Christmas gifts this year, so Lottie doesn’t have a lot of competition. I am, however, giving Lottie the largest gift I ever have. It’s no great amount but every little bit helps.
I decided to give this amount because of reading two articles from Baptist Press last week. One says economic troubles have caused damage to international mission work. This is perfectly illustrated with a look at the IMB website. ISC missions are currently not functioning. The other article says that CP giving is up over last year. How can those two things be compatible? Well, for starters, the economic situation was already bad last year (anyone remember the talk of the election), and has not really improved that much. Secondly, a major problem is the value of the dollar versus other currency. When Southern Baptists send a missionary to Azerbaijan the value of the Manat works in our favor. But when inflation rages out of control and the manat is worth 26% less it not only takes 26% more for that missionary, but it takes that much more from the IMB and the people paying their salary. (The article said that happened in Venezuela, but I thought Azerbaijan was funnier. Fortunately I'm not a reporter)
I believe that the IMB is the most worthy of causes, and I know that the heart of the great commission is the “all nations” part. Therefore, I will be giving my largest gift to Lottie Moon this year. We can call it my own personal Great Commission Resurgence.
What to do if you find yourself on Judge Judy Darth Christmas
This commercial is enjoyable and clever
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctB6E_3OyCM]
This is way better than the old doorknob and string method
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIq-vG7tm8s]
Recently, in one of my classes, I went on a bit of a rant about this. So I thought I’d share it with my blog because that’s what I do. I should warn you however, before you read on, that this is one of those things that whenever I say it, people look at me strangely. Be prepared to look askance at the monitor as you read this. Television news is not your friend. The job of Fox News is not to inform you of the sorry state of liberal politics. The Job of MSNBC is not to inform you of the evilness of conservative politics. And the job of your local news is not to tell you about the neighborhood-altering decision your city council made in the meeting this evening. They all serve the same function. Their job is to make you watch commercials.
I am not so cynical as to suggest that Keith Olbermann or Sean Hannity don’t believe what they are saying. I am convinced that they believe it. Nor am I suggesting that any of the news organizations are intentionally misleading anyone or making up the news. (Most bias is in agenda setting, not reporting.) What I am saying is that if the news is accurate, it’s only because they know they would lose their audience if they were untrustworthy. I am saying that everything these news shows say is done with ratings in mind. That is why your local news program will show you a story about a murder 12 states away if it is sensational enough, even though it has nothing to do with their audience. It's also why all networks will lead with weather, even if it's only a remote threat. People are fascinated with the weather.
Let’s imagine a list of priorities for a news program, any news program whatsoever. The number one priority on that list is ratings. If for a second you think otherwise you are mistaken. And now, let’s imagine the world’s greatest journalist, who always knows what aspects of a story to bring out and always gets immediately at the truth. If that journalist looked bad on television, or was unspeakably boring so that no one wanted to watch. There would be no show for that journalist.
A while back I recommended a book, How to Watch TV News by Neil Postman I will again recommend it. Outrage, whether from the left or the right is a great motivator. And people will watch to get stirred up because that’s good entertainment.
I won’t say that all they want is for you to watch, but I will say that that’s all their bosses care about.
Each month I collect the interesting searches that bring people to my blog and share them with you unedited. They are simply cut-and-pasted exactly as they appeared. Whatever you see in parenthesis is my commentary. Again this month it seems like a huge number of searches included the word "tattoo." Lots are weird, but only a few are funny.
Help mediate this disagreement between myself and my pastor. last night at church we had a service called the Hanging of the Green. I say it should be called hanging of the Greens since we are hanging multiple green things. My pastor says that greens are something you eat for dinner and finds that unacceptable. As far as I know, the word green is not a shortened form of the word greenery. So which is correct? I like to use my blog to solve minor disputes such as these. So please take 2 seconds to vote on your preference. And if you want to, feel free to tell me in the comments which is correct.
[polldaddy poll=2322360]
Ned a little post-Thanksgiving entertainment? This game is teh funness What could you possibly do with a piece of tomato that small? I don't know, but the knife can do it.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/rQGPfwGwgyE]
This makes perfect sense
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLJ6hX9NYO8]
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am on the road today. So no time for a full post. How about some reader contributed content. Write your best Thanksgiving haiku in the comments. We'll vote on our favorites and the winner gets a lame prize from me. (The prize will probably be a book I picked up somewhere along the way.) Remember, a haiku is 3 lines. 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second, then 5 again.
Here are a few I wrote:
Yesterday, all day Seven hundred miles I drove There best be some ham
My Granny Cooks the Turkey so deliciously Pass the gravy Please
Three dollar Blu-ray? I’m not shopping tomorrow Pick one up for me
Earlier this year I spent a couple of days as a mission project trimming hedges that looked like this. (on the left) I wish I had thought of this system
I really want to go to this. Seriously, I very much want to go. But it's not coming anywhere close to me. I only heard about it this week and apparently I missed it in Charlotte. If I could figure out how to be gone for Christmas that early, I'd try to see it in Nashville on the 13th.
Anybody want a very expensive hamburger?
I would like this shirt from shirt.woot. How ling to do you think I can wait to order it?
I have seen this like 20 times this week, but maybe you haven't. Read the reviews for this product
Here is a helpful poster
About once every 6-8 months my life falls apart. Nothing actually falls apart, but periodically it seems like circumstances in life conspire to make me feel like an unspeakable loser. For some of you that may happen more often and some of you may think I’m a freak because I deal with it that often. It always passes, and when the hard times are over, I wonder why I was so freaked out. I am very recently coming out of one of these times.
One of the things I learned a very long time ago was not to worry. I don’t mean it in a clichéd way; “don’t worry, be happy.” I mean that I very rarely worry about anything. I learned as a child to obey Jesus in Matt 6. I understand that my worry is sinful and destructive. Mostly this has served me well in life. It makes me healthier. Though there are times it has not been such a great thing. I am sometimes so stress free that I fail to even be concerned about things that I really should be concerned about. For example, in college I often was not nearly as concerned with my grades as I should have been. That's why it took me 13 semesters to graduate.
Part of the reason my recent “life falling apart” incident was so terrible this time was because the circumstances not only combined to make me feel like a complete loser, but they also were attached to a sense of dread that hung like a shadow over me for a few days.
Yesterday it is no exaggeration to say that I was physically ill because of worry. I never worry. And now I remember why I never worry. It’s miserable. It absolutely does nothing to help the issue I’m worried about, and it makes me a wreck.
I’m feeling better now. I just thought I’d get that off my chest.
Does your life ever fall apart like mine?
I’ve been using Windows 7 for one week now. Before that I was a long-time user of Vista. I actually thought that Vista had gotten sort of a bad rap. It worked fine for me for a few years with only little niggling problems. However, now that I have been using Windows 7, I realize that there were a lot of those minor problems. More than anything else, Win 7 has made me hate Vista. Here is a brief review.
First and foremost, everything is easily customizable. It is not hard to figure out how to edit any part of the interface. If you want to customize something on the start menu, right click on it. To pin an item to the task bar, right click on it. One thing that has annoyed me since win 95 is the bottom right corner of the screen.
Those icons get out of control quickly. It seems like every program you want to install feels need to take up residence in that corner, all of them flashing and trying to communicate. In Win 7 the customize button lets you chose which ones show and when they show
I love the indexing of files that began in Vista and has continued in Win 7. For someone like me, who has written hundreds of outlines, papers, and articles over the years, (there are about 1000 items in my documents) this indexing is invaluable. I can look up a word like “baptize” and find the lesson I am looking for even though I can’t remember the title of that document. It also searches tags on photos and mp3s. It is simply wonderful and not too hard on system resources.
I like and use a few of the sidebar gadgets. Actually I use 4, system monitor, calculator, Weather, and Pandora. In Win 7 gadgets look and work better. Plus that shaded area sidebar is gone. Good riddance.
It seems to me that even though I’m using the same monitor at the same resolution I get much better use of screen real estate. The icons are smaller and I think the fonts are too, but they seem clearer than Vista. Everything is easier to read, text just appears clearer.
It boots quicker. I can open a program in a minute and a half from pressing power. That includes login time. Once the desktop loads, the programs are just seconds behind. It really is quite a lot faster
There are a few things I don’t like.
I do not like the change made to windows media player.
The controls will not minimize to the taskbar, and although a mouseover brings up play/pause and skip, I don’t like the delay. There is also not volume in that control. Also, even when maximized, the “now playing” view doesn’t show the timecodes. I really do not like these changes and I am on the verge of finding a new media player or trying to discover some hack to bring back that old functionality.
The built-in windows photo screen saver is not as good, it has way less options.
This last criticism is not really a Win7 issue, but it is worth mentioning. Zone Alarm isn’t compatible. I know what you are thinking, you have the built in windows firewall, and your router serves as a firewall so you don’t need Zone Alarm. But Zone alarm has a feature I love. It gives a notification whenever a program wants to access the internet. This is better than any anti-spyware program could ever be. Every single process that wants to access the web has to ask, and I’m not likely to allow “I hakz ur sy5t3m” to go online.
There’s my review. I think Windows 7 is a necessary upgrade if you are using Vista.
Apparently you get an all video edition of best web junk this week. Here it is...enjoy I am opposed to dressing dogs up at all times. This is the only exception I have ever seen because this AT-AT costume is beyond awesome
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrqx_rDHMpY]
Same theme, less awesome
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WunRaZ-N9s0]
This is so good, it could be a Pixar short
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEjUAnPc2VA]
A convention with no controversy is boring. This year I attended Tuesday only. I had obligations on Monday that kept me away from the pastor’s conference, which I’m sure I would have enjoyed. There was really only one major piece of business this year; amending and restructuring of the constitution. Most of the changes were for streamlining purposes and it was not controversial. For example, we renamed the annual session the annual "meeting." (Exciting huh?) The election of officers was completely uneventful. Only one ballot was even necessary (CJ Bordeaux was elected as second VP), as President and first VP were unopposed. (In slightly related news, my great-uncle, Don Mathis, was elected as president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.) Even the budget, which involved substantial cuts, only had a few comments from the floor.
Compare this to last year, when we were doing away with giving plans, or to ’07 when we were defunding the colleges as they began electing their own trustees. Those years had a different feel to them. In a year like this when everything is routine, we are simply going about our business controversy free.
I almost titled this post Baptists like to Argue. At a business meeting where everything is cut and dried you begin to hear people say things like “this thing was railroaded,” or “they are just going to elect who they want.” It’s weird; it’s almost as if we are creating controversy where there is none. In this case I know that is it. We in NC are too recently past the major controversies to be organized. It ought to be a reason for celebration. Hooray, we are controversy-free! But instead it’s boring.
I must confess, I am as guilty of this as anyone else. I think the controversy is interesting. I bet that next year’s SBC is the best-attended in a while. Not just because it’s in Orlando and we can sneak out to Sea World (not Disney though ;-) ), but because of the controversy that seems to be swirling around the GCR Task Force.
That’s my two cents. I’m glad we are not fighting, but it’s not nearly as interesting as the controversy. Maybe next year I’ll make a motion for some controversy. I already have one in mind.