I'm enjoying doing nothing... I should try it more often :)
Actually, I've been taking care of my two little cousins a lot too, so that's not easy...
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Yeeee Haw!! I'm in Bama
Well, I finally made it back to Alabama. I say finally, but I was last here just four months ago. Seriously though, I much prefer visiting here in the winter. I don't have to deal with taking a shower everytime I step out of the door (it's like normally 100% humidity in the summer). So, winter is nice here. The first thing I saw when I got back was a nice Chik-fil-a. Ah, I so miss Chik-fil-a. My second day here, my grandparents brought to the mother of all buffets (aka fat farms, big butt bonanza, gluttony central)... That's right, the Golden Corral. Now, I'm a big guy... weighing in at 255lbs (115kg for you metrics) and it's simply not an encouraging thing when you walk into a restaurant where there are numerous people that seem to have about twice the mass you do or at least surface area :). 
Anywho... I'm having a good time so far. I got greeted at the airport by my cousins that I talk so much about and literally found myself at the bottom of a dog pile composed of my two baby girl cousins. Now, if that could only happen to me at Regent ;)... heh heh, just kidding... sort of ;) anydangway, moving on now...
Here's some photos of my cousins (they're photos from summer, but nothing much has changed since then)
Have a Merry Christmas peeps...
My cousin Brianna showing off her new two front teeth... :)
My sweet little cousin Brittnie getting blasted with the water hose... Brianna looks a little, well.. you know...
This is Brandon... He is a newly budding teenager (aka hormonal weirdo... aka thinks he's all that)
Friday, December 17, 2004
Sunday, December 12, 2004
scary
I woke up this morning feeling curious about Creflo Dollar Ministries because, for whatever reason, I had a dream about the man last night. So... I woke up and began checking out his credentials because I wasn't convinced that a man that held the title Doctor Creflo Dollar could possibly still think that his teachings were true, just simply because any reputable seminary would not allow you to leave thinking that Jesus was rich.
Anywho... I kept checking and so it comes down to this being "Doctor" Creflo Dollar's educational history. I couldn't find this anywhere on the internet and then I just figured, well, if he's honest... it should be on his biography on his website. And it was, silly me. He received a Bachelors in Educational Therapy from Georgia Tech in 1984 and the "Doctor" title, which I see sported on all his websites and everywhere his name is mentioned, was not even an earned doctorate. Nope, it was an honorary doctorate given to him by Oral Roberts University in 1998. He happens to serve on the Board of Regents at that institution.
Personally, I came out of the prosperity movement. The first church that I went to was a prosperity church and I left after becoming extremely disillussioned with the beliefs of the Word of Faith movement. Reading the things I've read this morning makes me want to go throw up. This man has a personal entourage of "Pastoral Assistants" (aka bodyguards) that escort him everywhere. They even keep people in his congregation from touching or talking to him. Very unapproachable guy, but when you're running a cult then I guess that that is an advisable course of action.
Anywho... I kept checking and so it comes down to this being "Doctor" Creflo Dollar's educational history. I couldn't find this anywhere on the internet and then I just figured, well, if he's honest... it should be on his biography on his website. And it was, silly me. He received a Bachelors in Educational Therapy from Georgia Tech in 1984 and the "Doctor" title, which I see sported on all his websites and everywhere his name is mentioned, was not even an earned doctorate. Nope, it was an honorary doctorate given to him by Oral Roberts University in 1998. He happens to serve on the Board of Regents at that institution.
Personally, I came out of the prosperity movement. The first church that I went to was a prosperity church and I left after becoming extremely disillussioned with the beliefs of the Word of Faith movement. Reading the things I've read this morning makes me want to go throw up. This man has a personal entourage of "Pastoral Assistants" (aka bodyguards) that escort him everywhere. They even keep people in his congregation from touching or talking to him. Very unapproachable guy, but when you're running a cult then I guess that that is an advisable course of action.
Saved
Well, I would say I just wasted a good solid $5 tonight. I couldn't find anything else to do tonight except to just stop at Blockbuster and pick up a few flicks. Good news is now I get two free movies of them, but it hardly seems worth it when you pay $5 to rent a movie, but anyway... So, I rented Saved because I wanted to see if it had anything particularly profound to say about Christians. It turns out it was more along the lines that I had previously suspected it to be: not particularly profound, just uncreative browbeating of the audience.
Here's a synopsis of the movie taken from another review, I don't feel like typing all that out..
The only thing that really stood out to me in the movie was that there really are people that think most Christian culture is just that out of touch with reality. This movie is basically "Clueless" meets "Jerry Falwell"... Not a pretty combination. So, obviously... not all Christians are like that. Well, what we are extremely guilty of as Christians is believing that everybody who holds the title "Democrat" or "Liberal" (or whatever really that we pre-judge) is somehow a totally senseless fool that is only interested in hating God and loving pleasure. That's only one stereotype, we've got gobs of them. Now, unfortunately, this movie reinforces that notion simply because the message the director portrays is that religious people are all idiots and true salvation is found by just forgetting dogmatics and just loving and accepting each other. The ultimate hippy message. Regardless, we as Christians need to be careful of that. So, that's one thing I left the movie with.
The other was that people are screwed up in general, Christian or not-Christian. Surprise, huh? Yea, I'm telling you, this movie was just that profound. So, I walked away with an overall sense of wanting to be careful about what I think about people and being more thoughtful in that respect. That's about it... Oh, and I should just read the reviews before a movie and save myself the $5...
Good night all... :)
Here's a synopsis of the movie taken from another review, I don't feel like typing all that out..
Jenna Malone plays Mary, a member of the Christian Jewels singing group who lives in a Christian House with a Christian Mom (Mary Louise Parker) and goes to a Christian High School. She also has a Christian Boyfriend (Chad Faust), who confesses a Very UnChristian Thing: he's gay. Mary, however, believes that she can save her boyfriend by giving him her virginity. In fact, she believes Jesus has told her to do this. It doesn't work - he gets sent to a deprogramming center and she ends up pregnant. Feeling betrayed by God and her Wholly Holy Friends, she starts hanging out with the few unbelievers at the school, including paraplegic Roland (Macaulay Culkin) and goth Jew Cassandra (Eva Amurri). Meanwhile, the lead singer for the Christian Jewels, Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore), begins a campaign of guerilla warfare against Mary, with the goal of getting her kicked out of school. There's also a subplot involving Mary's mother's affair with Pastor Skip (Martin Donovan), and Mary's mutual infatuation with Pastor Skip's son, Patrick (Patrick Fugit). (James Berardinelli 2004)When I first started watching the movie, I was fully prepared to take whatever criticism the director had to dish out concerning Christians simply because I'm just as bitter sometimes about the stupidity that I see happening, but this movie didn't have very much of a constructive nature to put forward. See the review that I linked to above. He puts it really well I think.
The only thing that really stood out to me in the movie was that there really are people that think most Christian culture is just that out of touch with reality. This movie is basically "Clueless" meets "Jerry Falwell"... Not a pretty combination. So, obviously... not all Christians are like that. Well, what we are extremely guilty of as Christians is believing that everybody who holds the title "Democrat" or "Liberal" (or whatever really that we pre-judge) is somehow a totally senseless fool that is only interested in hating God and loving pleasure. That's only one stereotype, we've got gobs of them. Now, unfortunately, this movie reinforces that notion simply because the message the director portrays is that religious people are all idiots and true salvation is found by just forgetting dogmatics and just loving and accepting each other. The ultimate hippy message. Regardless, we as Christians need to be careful of that. So, that's one thing I left the movie with.
The other was that people are screwed up in general, Christian or not-Christian. Surprise, huh? Yea, I'm telling you, this movie was just that profound. So, I walked away with an overall sense of wanting to be careful about what I think about people and being more thoughtful in that respect. That's about it... Oh, and I should just read the reviews before a movie and save myself the $5...
Good night all... :)
Saturday, December 11, 2004
LYLE
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
woo hoo
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
alright that's enough
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!! Lyle is staying!!
ENOUGH
Saturday, December 04, 2004
OT extreme...
I know some people in the OT class can relate... :) I just spent the entire day reading the OT. Went from 2 Samuel through 2 Chronicles. I still have an hour left before I take the night off. Maybe I can go ahead a hit Ezra. Fo' reallys yo... if I read "and he did evil in the sight of the Lord" one more time, I'ma gonna scream...
Friday, December 03, 2004
some movies make me emotional...
Tonight is a weird night. Totally strange mix of emotions in my heart. I went to go see Napoleon Dynamite and Garden State at Hollywood Theatres. Of course, Napoleon Dynamite was absolutely hilarious. You know how you watch a movie for the first time and if you wait long enough to watch it again, it's almost like you saw it for the first time again. I guess for me, that's about 4 months. :) Anywho... I think the thing that got me into my current mood was Garden State. It was a great movie I think: full of comedy but not shallow, thoughtful but it didn't make my head hurt. However, it has managed to make me pretty depressed and introverted tonight, which doesn't happen a lot. It's not like I come home from school and just sit think about everything in life that sucks, because I'd be a bit of a brain case then... oh wait, I am... well, anydangday... the movie was what I would describe as a "Breakfast Club"-ish, psycho-babble, find peace in the darkness, and why not get the girl too sort of movie. That doesn't quite sum it all up, because it really was a good movie about being real with yourself and others. Although the movie didn't end on a depressing note, it just stirred up memories and feelings inside me that can't be shut off just because he was yelling into the abyss or because he got Natalie Portman as a girlfriend. That's like busting a dam and trying to stop it with some superglue. So, much like "The Breakfast Club," everybody walks into the sunset and though life is still screwed up and we don't know where to go from here, we accomplished something by letting it all out. It made me feel a little cynical about the modern self-help movement, but I realize that isn't the point of the movie.
You see, this is my problem with one part of the movie's message... It is a classic outworking in my mind of modern psychology. It doesn't give any real answers to life except to say that what everybody really needs to do is just get in touch with their true self and that will be the empowerment they need to live as fully as possible. It's classic Carl Rogers stuff. In the end, that leaves me just as empty honestly. Now, I know that we can all see the sunday school answer coming out: "Jesus!" But here's the deal, I'm well aware that we as Christians still deal with the same things as anyone that doesn't have Christ, but it is a totally different ballgame still. With Christ, I still deal with the same pile of manure, but I have His strength, His Spirit, and His hope... That's a long way from Rogerian Psychotherapy and from the modern day self-help movement. Dr. Phil's got lots of good stuff to say, but empowering the self is not the whole story. It's a salv for a wound that is too big for it to handle. So, that's one annoyance I had with the movie (not that I expected them to pull the God card necessarily, but I'm just complaining about modern psychology and it's removal of God).
Aside from my criticism of the movie, it helps us all understand where people are coming from in this world. It's good to look into the past and deal with the pains that are buried there. It's good to accept others as they are. All things the movie was putting across. Good flick... you should watch it :)
You see, this is my problem with one part of the movie's message... It is a classic outworking in my mind of modern psychology. It doesn't give any real answers to life except to say that what everybody really needs to do is just get in touch with their true self and that will be the empowerment they need to live as fully as possible. It's classic Carl Rogers stuff. In the end, that leaves me just as empty honestly. Now, I know that we can all see the sunday school answer coming out: "Jesus!" But here's the deal, I'm well aware that we as Christians still deal with the same things as anyone that doesn't have Christ, but it is a totally different ballgame still. With Christ, I still deal with the same pile of manure, but I have His strength, His Spirit, and His hope... That's a long way from Rogerian Psychotherapy and from the modern day self-help movement. Dr. Phil's got lots of good stuff to say, but empowering the self is not the whole story. It's a salv for a wound that is too big for it to handle. So, that's one annoyance I had with the movie (not that I expected them to pull the God card necessarily, but I'm just complaining about modern psychology and it's removal of God).
Aside from my criticism of the movie, it helps us all understand where people are coming from in this world. It's good to look into the past and deal with the pains that are buried there. It's good to accept others as they are. All things the movie was putting across. Good flick... you should watch it :)
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
new photo blog at flickr
Hey guys... want to see picts I've been taking... check out Phritz's Photos
I'll be posting primarily shaky face shots I collect and any other funny shots :)
I'll be posting primarily shaky face shots I collect and any other funny shots :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
