SNL shorts

If you are familiar with the tv show The Office, then you will find THIS funny.

If you have ever been in a business meeting on budgeting/planning, then you will find THIS funny.

Hmmm...that's odd. Not something you see everyday.

The skinny:
Supporters of US Vice President Dick Cheney hold a banner outside the hotel where he delivered his Australian American Leadership Dialogue in Sydney. Cheney on Saturday met Australian Prime Minister John Howard, one of Washington's staunchest allies, for talks likely to focus on troop deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.(AFP/Torsten Blackwood) 2/23/07

Identity

So I'm driving down I-75 in GA this morning and notice a personalized GA tag that read, "BCHES". I understand the appeal of personalizing your tag. Ok, cute, I get it. "Jones2" or "GRNNY1" or "UGA#1". I don't think it's worth the 50 bucks to have your own saying on your tag...but whatever.

But why the anger? Did I miss something? Is it cool to degrade yourself to a "BTCH"? It's like the bumper sticker you see: BACK OFF! Why all the anger? (Yeah, I know I know, being hardened by life.) But still, it really makes you look ridiculous.

Of course, I am absolutely for "BAMASTINKS".

Friday Pic

Pic Of The Day

Cool pic. Kids - unpredictable, creative, weird, funny, lovable.

Aint That Sweet

We're past Valentine's Day, but this is a cool pic. The story HERE.

Fish Food

We are in the middle of a Jonah series at church, so here's a "verse of the day" for you:

Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. Jonah 2:8

Dramamine

I love the power of drama. I love theater. I like how it teaches and how it motivates. I love how it brings simple truths to life...sometimes smacking you in the face.

I didn't grow up artsy. I didn't grow up around theater. For heaven's sake, I grew up in North Alabama! Sports. Sports. And more Sports. (And bass fishing.) I played a few roles in some church plays - small scale. That was it. But my senior year of high school I stepped out of my shell - dude was I ever shy - and played Forrest Gump in a Senior Follies skit. Brought the house down. Hysterical. For one day I had everyone in the school saying hi to me. For one day I felt like a popular kid (never was hung up on that stuff).

That experience gave me enough confidence to join a drama team in college. It was through a campus ministries. It rocked. Couldn't get enough of it. I'll blog more on the experience sometime. The Word of God came alive. Something that God used in my own life to help shape me and something that helped get the Word deep inside. It was also neat traveling around to churches in AL and GA. The majority of our skits focused on challenging believers to be light. It was a God thing...believe me, the talent level was moderate at best. No fancy production. No lights. Rarely props. Just memorized lines. Simple. But soaked in prayer. A heart for God and a passion for His Word. And God used it. We saw lives changed. Youth confronted with sin. Adults confronted with the need to make changes.

I've been thinking lately about how much I miss that. But I've also been thinking about who our audience was. And the norm of Christian drama. The vast majority of Christian drama is geared toward the church. For the believers. And there is certainly a place for that. I experienced it. But why is it so difficult to have GOOD creative arts that reaches the unchurched? Is it being done? Yeah, I know about puppets for inner city kids. And street skits for downtown. But is there a push towards churches using their creative arts for evangelistic purposes? I'll be honest with you. I find it weird that there's national competitions between church (youth) drama groups. I find that to be boring. I saw a clip of one on tv one time and couldn't decide whether I should laugh or cry. I think I did both. It just catered to the believers. No missional aspect. Way too churchy.

So, I'm not sure how it can be done, but I think it needs to: Non corny, non cheesy, done with excellence creative arts (a.k.a. good ole drama for us in the south) that challenges the hearts and minds of non-believers. I know it can be done. Maybe it is now. Perhaps the fact that you have church plants in NY and other places reaching the art communities fits the same vision. It's a start.

By the way, the title "Dramamine" is not a mistake. I was going to make a reference somewhere about how most Christian drama is like the motion sickness drug...but, never fit it in. There ya go.

That's Bull

I've never gotten into these energy drinks. Always considered them overpriced carbonated sugar and caffeine shots. Plus, most I ever tried tasted like cough syrup, carbonated water, and ocean water mixed up.

But, Red Bull is not all that bad. Didn't say it was good, just not too bad. The appeal for me: The package. As with most newer soft drink products, it's how you market it and package it. As weird as it is, I started drinking this junk because of the can. Small, tall, skinny. Goes down smooth.

Ok, I need more sleep.

Just Punt!

Why Punters should probably just punt the ball!

VIDEO

Be sure to watch til the end. You can hear how the Japanese broadcasters called the play. Funny stuff.

How To Lose 7 Pounds In One Day!

Step 1: Catch the stomach virus.
Step 2: Be really really really sick.
Step 3: Lose 7 pounds in one day!

Look for my book this Fall. Look for me to be on Oprah by Christmas.

Family

I was calling a client today and her answering machine message said, "Your family is your strength, love them." Great reminder. Well said. Despite all the goofy family situations people find themselves in (goofy as in really bad or stressful), at the end of the day, family does mean so much. Strength indeed.

Exposed

So the stomach bug is working its way through my family. 4 have/had it, 2 poor souls remaining (Braden & myself). While holding one of my kiddos the other night the word exposed kept coming to mind. Hard not to think about being exposed in that environment! I know I'm going to get this thing. Just a matter of time. Inevitable.

I think it would make a good name for a sermon series. There's many angles to take, but here's a few:

* Exposed: We are all exposed to sin, and since the Fall suffer the consequences. What's the remedy? (Obviously and completely evangelistic in this message.)
* Exposed: "To lay open to danger, attack, harm". Is your faith exposed to those around you? What are you willing to risk in order that All May Hear?
* Exposed: When great people do really bad things. Why/How does this happen? The importance of walking daily with Christ/In the Spirit. (Obviously topical and unfortunately way too many examples to draw from.)

Hopefully that makes sense. (It always does in my head, but communicating it is a whole other story!)

Ignorance

In my mortgage job I work with seniors. I love it. Most days are great. Yeah, it takes a ton of patience but I enjoy earning their trust and truly offering a product that makes a world of difference to them. Quite rewarding. A great ministry.

But allow me to vent for just a sec. Ignorance is such a hazard. Such an obstacle. I see it all the time in this biz (any industry could attest to this). You're the expert, you're the one with the knowledge. You have their solution. You're tyring to help. But because of misconceptions or lack of knowledge or fear, they don't listen. They ignore the obvious. They decide to stick with their current situation, no matter how detrimental it may be.

I'm not addressing the art of sales. Realize in this business, as in many sales jobs, your capture rate is around 10%...or much less sometimes. That's a lot of rejection! I guess what I'm trying to say is for those that have been sold on something, bought into it, but then for one of the reasons listed above, decide to back out midway and lose the best...so frustrating.

Hmmmm...brings up something else to consider...I wonder how God feels when we are ignorant? When we don't listen because of misconceptions or fear.

mOrE vAcAtIOn PicS

R-P-S

Dana and I often play R-P-S, but I think I now have a new strategy:

LINK

AU

It's been too long since I posted something AUburn related (just a few weeks). So, here ya go:

Very Cool Clock!

Be sure to see the whole page, below the picture. Good stuff.