Luck of the Schedule

I think that Tennessee and Washington must be two of the luckiest NFL teams out there (kind of).  Going into this week, both knew that a win would clinch a playoff spot.  Both also knew that the team they would be facing clinched their spots weeks ago, and would be resting many starters not too far into the game.  However, I think that the way the schedule was set up served as a disservice to  fans since usually both games are an exciting matchup of division rivals that will pull out all the stops to win.  Sure Dungi did what he could - except play Peyton in the 4th quarter!  I can't blame the coaches for pulling the starters.  Tennessee probably wishes it could have known they were going to the playoffs and pulled Vince Young before his hamstring injury too.  Washington probably is happy with the way their starters played since they are now "the hottest NFC team" headed into the playoffs, and the starters now have momentum going into the wildcard round.  Of course, it turns out their win over Dallas is now being called "irrelevant."

Bad Fan

I am a bad Texas football fan.  Since they didn't play in a New Years bowl game, I accidentally missed it.  Instead of enjoying the pounding that Texas put on Arizona State (or someone like that), I was enjoying episodes of The Office - Season Two.  I see that they did just fine without my usually loyal support.  In fact, I think that my normal New Years ritual of watching as many games as I can fit into a 24-hour period of time, then watching the last two bowls may be altered a bit since I really don't care in this year of crazy football.  At least on Saturday I should have the opportunity to watch Eli and the Giants take on New England.  Go Manning!  Even though it would be historic for the Patriots, I prefer to watch a Manning win any day of the week (and it is even sweeter if it is a win against Brady).  I am not holding my breath though.

Blog of the Week - Legal Blogs

It has been a while since I posted a blog of the week, so I am going to post a few.  I realize that I rarely post anything regarding the legal profession even though I am a lawyer, so this week I am going to share some of my favorite legal blogs.  Warning - for most of you, you could care less about these blogs.

Civil Procedure Prof Blog - this blog is written by two professors at Baylor (neither of which I had in law school, especially since one was a third year when I started).  This blog is helpful because it gives updates on important cases in state and federal court, and I have already used one of the cases they review in my work.  Helpful for court updates and overall news in this part of the legal world.

Eastern District of Texas Federal Court Practice - this blog is updated by the author of the O'Connor's Federal Rules.  Most of my federal court practice is in the Eastern District of Texas, so it is nice to have someone updating about Eastern District cases and imporant cases that come from the Fifth Circuit affecting the Eastern District of Texas.  Sometimes the rulings are humorous, sometimes serious, but it is helpful to see what judges in our area are deciding.

That's What She Said - If you are a fan of The Office, you can probably guess that this blog has to do with The Office.  However, it also has to do with legal stuff.  A lawyer who specializes in employment law analyzes episodes of the office and gives her opinion of what each case would be worth should the incidents that happen on the show happen in real life.  It is quite informative on the area of employment law, but it also shows the nerdiness of those like me in our profession. 

There is a list of the legal blogs (that the ABA calls "blawgs", but I think that is a little too dorky) that I like to frequent.  There are others that are less helpful or entertaining, but these are the ones that I like the most and keep me the most updated.

Roots

Recently I finished reading Roots by Alex Haley. I think that this book is probably on my list of books that everyone should read. I have not seen the movie/miniseries yet, but the book is definitely worth reading.

This book is not appropriate for middle schoolers or high schoolers in my opinion. Some things are mentioned in the book that should not be read by teenagers. However, the book as a whole is incredible as it traces a family through one of the darkest periods in our nation's history. It is frustrating to read the book and not know what happened to a particular family member because the history ends with someone being kidnapped or sold, but that is a reality for many families in our nation. The description of the slave ships that brought the slaves from Africa to the Americas is so detailed that it almost makes you think that Haley was there himself.

The book is a long book. I understand that there are some controversies surrounding the book since, it appears, that a portion of the book may be plagarized and it is not clear whether Haley was trying to write nonfiction or historical fiction. However, in spite of these problems, the book should be read in order to provide a glimpse of life during that time period. It is a long book, but it is well worth the time it takes to read it.

Amazing Grace

I watched the movie Amazing Grace recently.  Although it seems a little slow at times, the movie is definitely something that is worth watching.  I have to admit that I did not know very much about William Wilberforce before watching the movie, or even about that time period when England was addressing the issue of the slave trade in Parliament (even though I was a history major in college).  It is amazing what can be accomplished through persistence and patience.  I would encourage everyone to watch the movie.  Wilberforce (as portrayed in the movie - I do not know how accurate it is) was a quirky yet humble man who stood by his convictions even when it seemed he was standing alone.  It does take the amazing grace of God to be able to stand alone against injustices, and to stay in a political environment that was less than welcoming of him.  The movie is a good lesson in British history (I learned that Wm. Pitt was the youngest prime minister, another fact that I probably should have known before this time), but also a great story about how God calls us to different roles, and expects us to obey even when we feel like we are standing alone.  I think that one of the things that impressed me the most about this movie was that it was inspirational without being "everything will turn out ok in the end."  Although there is a "happy ending," the movie in some ways wasn't leading to that point.  I would suggest that everyone see the movie since so little is known about the slave trade, or how it came to be abolished.  It took some creative politics to end one of the most inhumane practices that was accepted without question by so much of society.

Interesting Questions and Clarifications

Some of you may have seen the list of 21 questions that the Mormon church offered answers to on FOXNews.com.  I found it interesting that there were more than 21 questions posed, but these are the 21 questions that the Mormons felt were worthy of answering.  Makes me wonder what the other questions are.  What struck me is that they repeated themselves too much, made sure that the answers sounded Christian enough, and really (to me it seemed) tried to answer things in a misleading way.  If you can't be straightforward about your doctrine, then you have problems.  I found it interesting that in their attempt to sound like Protestant Christianity, they really failed in my opinion.  What scares me is that people that do not know their own beliefs within Protestant Christianity or those who have a misunderstanding of Protestant Christianity will read those answers and think that Mormons are not part of a cult.  I especially liked the postmodern definition of "cult."  I would encourage persons within the Christian community to realize what is not talked about -- the Holy Spirit was left out of each answer.  I know that they claim to believe in the Trinity and Holy Spirit, but that person of the Godhead was not mentioned.  Additionally, Jesus was created instead of co-eternal in the answers that they provided.  They mention that Jesus is immortal, but they leave out that He is, always was, and always will be.  All things were created by Him, and to Him, and through Him.  He is the Word.

Today I ran across another blog that clarified the Mormons' answers to the questions.  I would definitely suggest reading both since the Mormon faith will be a topic of conversation at least a little while longer while Romney is in the running for president.  What impressed me about Rob Bowmans additional information and clarifications was that he pointed out how the answers were misleading or lacking essential information to be a true representation of what the Mormons believe.  

Blog of the Week - Creed Thoughts

I stumbled across this blog, and I have to say that as a fan of The Office, this blog makes me laugh!  For those of you that are fans of The Office, you know that part of what makes Creed work on the show is his mystery, serial killer type personality.  The same is true in his blog.  There are random comments that are so funny because of the randomness.  I think that someone who does not watch the show may find the blog mildly funny, but as someone who watches The Office (when it comes out on DVD - I don't like it with commercial breaks so I haven't watched any of season 4), many of the random comments make me laugh out loud.  Enjoy!

The Stepford Wives

Last night I watched The Stepford Wives (the newer version with Nicole Kidman).  I was surprised that I actually liked the movie.  I have not seen the original (which is probably better than this version because they almost always are).  Sure this movie seems to be too much in support of feminism, sexual freedom, making fun of the traditional family, so you can see why I am surprised I liked it.

One of my favorite directors is Tim Burton.  I like how he is creative, original, and creates his own fantasy world that the movie fits in.  This movie was definitely Tim Burton like, although he did not direct the movie.  Therefore, I am not a big fan of the director because it is like he tried to copy Tim Burton, even down to the soundtrack.  Very similar to the soundtrack of Edward Scissorhands and even the colorfulness of Edward Scissorhands.  Therefore, I wish that the director had been more original or that Tim Burton had done this movie because he probably could have done it better.

I was surprised at the acting.  There was melodrama.  The characters were not all that realistic, and that is part of what made it great.  There is too much truth behind the story that we need it to look like fantasy in order not to be scared.  I know that sounds strange, but you will understand if you watch it.  

The movie was clean by today's PG-13 standards.  I don't remember much cussing.  There are sexual innuendos, sounds, discussions, but you don't see any skin throughout the movie (something that is rare in PG-13 movies today).  Homosexuality is portrayed and accepted as normal, which is one of the problems that I had with the movie.

Overall, the storyline was very entertaining, the acting was melodramatic (which made it good), and the look of the movie was well done.  I would recommend this movie, in part because it makes you think yet you still feel entertained.

Arsenic and Old Lace

I recently watched Arsenic and Old Lace all the way through from start to finish for the first time.  I had listened to the classic radio play and seen bits and pieces of the movie, but this was the first time I watched it all the way through.  All I can say is WOW!  Clever acting, clever writing, great direction.  I wish that they would make movies today like they made them back then.  Of course, I like almost anything with Jimmy Stewart in it.  It takes a great writer though to create a character that is "sane" but acting crazier than all the others, and characters that are "insane" acting sane.  You feel at the end of the movie like the one who is normal is the crazy one!  Sure, like so many old movies, there is a bit of melodrama (probably an understatement), but that is what makes those movies so great.  They really are an escape from reality instead of being bombarded with realistic things that you would prefer not to see.  Actors knew how to act, writers knew how to write.  Creativity was valued.  I was entertained.  All I can say is that I highly recommend the movie!

I must be mildly ...

OCD.  I just spent the last few minutes alphabetizing the blogs on my bookmarks bar.  It was bugging me that Safari doesn't automatically put them in alphabetical order.  It doesn't matter that I rarely visit the ones at the bottom of the list that are now at the top because they are in alphabetical order.  It is weird though that I am that way about alphabetizing.  My DVD collection used to be alphabetized until Kory and Rod decided it would be funny to mess with my mind a few months ago and shuffle them, and I have been trying to hold out as long as possible before fixing them (I am in the fifth month since the incident, and I haven't fixed them yet - and I am proud of myself, further showing I must be mildly OCD).  I am the same way about my books as well.  Alphabetized by title, not by author.  My books are all mixed up right now because of a lack of book shelves, and it is driving me crazy.  If I ever go into crazy land, it will be because of lack of alphabetization!!! :)

Coach Briles

While I am on the subject of college football, I probably should weigh in about my thoughts on the recent head coaching changes that have occurred at Baylor.  For more info on the subject (or really just an attempt to have positive PR) you can go here.  I think that Baylor made a smart choice (although I thought the same thing when they hired the last coach).  Here are my reasons for making this bold statement before seeing how this coach performs:

1.  He knows how to recruit in Texas.  This is a big deal when Baylor is probably capable of recruiting in the second tier of recruits because of competition with recruiting powerhouses such as UT, A & M, OU, and all the other teams that feel the need to drain our talent pool in Texas.  If you are one of the best players in high school football in Texas, you are probably not going to choose Baylor.  However, if you are a Chase Daniels who is being looked at by Missouri and Baylor, there may be a chance that you will choose to stay closer to home.  Why didn't Baylor go after Chase Daniels?  Why did he end up all the way up in Missouri?  Could it be that our previous coach didn't know how to recruit in the second tier and insisted on taking the scraps of the first?  Coach Briles obviously knows how to put together a winning program with recruits no one has heard of.  He took Houston from being a no name to being a bowl contender every year.  I know that I can't name a single player on the Houston team, but they win anyway.  Maybe he can do the same thing at Baylor.

2.  His track record at Houston.  He took a program that was pretty much a laughing stock and turned it into a bowl contender.  His job will be more difficult in the Big 12 (especially the Big 12 South), but surely he can make Baylor competitive against the North teams (so that there is not a repeat of Kansas and Missouri in the top ten at the same time in the same year because it was their year to play Baylor instead of UT and/or OU).  

3.  Baylor's athletic director showed his ability to choose a coach by his decision to bring in Scott Drew as basketball coach.  First, Ian McCaw had to convince a coach to come to Baylor when the coach knew that recruiting would be affected by the NCAA's punishment of Baylor following a scandal that I do not wish to summarize here.  Plus, McCaw had to retain the guy.  Now the basketball program is reaping the benefits of a coach who determined to build a solid foundation, and is now making the program competitive, at least in this pre-season.  We will see how things pan out in the conference play, but things are looking good.  McCaw hopefully has done the same thing with the football coach (minus the huge scandal, although the minor one of an assistant coach getting drunk after a game and urinating on the outside of the bar is embarassing).

Hopefully Coach Briles will not be a disappointment.  Only time will tell.

College Football

I love college football.  I love spending my Saturdays camped out in front of the TV, reading good books while football is played in the background.  I love getting into the close games, cheering my teams on, or the underdog who is about to pull out an upset against a team I dislike.  I like the experience of flipping back and forth through the different games just because there are ten on at a time.

Maybe I should have put that all in the past tense.  This season I discovered something -- although I like the occassional upset, I do not like it when there is too much uncertainty in college football.  I would rather know who is going to win.  I would rather not have teams that are really not as good as their record speaks occupying the No. 1 and 2 spots just so that we can watch them fall each week in "upsets" when they face their first tests of the season.  Plus, I have decided that upsets can become old news when each week is filled with five of them.  I think that the BCS chose the right teams to play for the national championship since someone has to go to the championship game.  I am not sure that the BCS chose the right teams for the remaining BCS games though, but I guess in this year of college football, that doesn't really matter.

This is the craziest season of college football, although the two teams in the BCS championship game doesn't necessarily reflect that.  How much more fun would it have been to see Missouri v. West Virginia in the record books to truly reflect this season of chaos!  I am beginning to wonder if the BCS has created this chaos because of a flawed system (although any system would be flawed in some way or another) that finally imploded to create a year of uncertainty.  There are going to be years where the main conferences are full of good teams and highly competitive with two teams easily able to win the national championship or compete in the championship game, but because of the competition in the conference, the teams find it hard to come out without two losses.  Plus there are going to be years where the best teams in the nation have bad days.  There are going to be years where, for some unknown reason, the Big 12 South can't decide who can win on a given Saturday, but it is always capable of defeating even the best teams in the Big 12 North.  When all of this happens in one year, it creates chaos.  As a fan of college football, I have decided (at least through my actions) that I don't like chaos.  Hopefully things will be back to normal next year.  I mean, Kansas in a BCS game?  You have to be kidding me!

Compassion International

I made the decision in July to begin sponsoring a Compassion International child.  I had heard about the organization in college, and I have wanted to sponsor a child since then.  Finally, this summer, I realized I was in a financial position to begin sponsoring a child.  You can go to their website and choose your child by looking through pictures of children from all over the world.  I really wanted a little boy in Africa, but I also wanted a child that was under five years old so that I would be making a long term commitment to the child until the child is eighteen.  After looking through all of the children, I realized that there was not a little boy in Africa that was under the age of five awaiting sponsorship.  I narrowed my choice to two little boys, a three year old from India and a four year old from Haiti.  After praying about the choice I should make, I decided to sponsor the three year old (although I was really sad that I couldn't sponsor the little boy from Haiti as well).

My little boy is Arjun Ajith.  He is from South India.  He is the cutest little thing!  I have placed his picture in my office so that I see him while I am working and remember to pray for him.  I was so excited to receive a letter written by his mother that also contained pictures drawn by him.  I learned that he has a dog too, so when I sent him a picture of me, I included one of Lil T as well.  His drawings of a flower and a bus were precious.  I am excited that I have the opportunity to support him financially.  Since he is a Compassion child, in order to continue to receive the benefits of the sponsorship, he will be attending school at a religious center in or near his hometown.  Therefore, because of my financial contributions, he will be raised learning about the gospel throughout his childhood and teenage years.  I hope that one day I will receive a letter with him informing me that he has become a believer in Christ.

I would encourage everyone to sponsor a child through Compassion.  It is a trustworthy organization, as is evidenced by its many years of service and many success stories.  As for the Haitian boy that I was unable to sponsor, I found out a week or two later that he had been chosen by our youth pastor as the child the youth group would sponsor.  I have been able to contribute to his sponsorship as well, which makes me excited.  If you are unable to afford a sponsorship on your own, I would encourage you to sponsor a child through a group of people, such as a Sunday school class, a discipleship class, a group of friends or co-workers, you get the picture.  If you can't make a long term commitment, choose an older child.  I think this is a small way that individuals can impact the world in a very personal way.  My desire is for Arjun's entire family to be changed by the gospel, and I hope that the love of Christ is shown through each dollar that they receive.

(I do have to add that you should not sponsor a child unless you are already tithing in your local church body.  Support for your local church should come first.)

Surprised, Kind Of

I have been reading various blogs, as those of you who read this often (mom) know since I have been trying to post a blog of the week.  I have a list that updates each day, I go to the updated blogs, and if it looks like it is something that interests me, I save it to read later when I have a break at work, eat at my desk, or have some extra time at the end of the day.  Today I was going through the list of blogs to read, and I came across a few blogs that were discussing a conversation that took place between Doug Paggitt and some guy named Todd from Way of the Master.

Doug Paggitt is one of the "leaders" of the Emergent Church, which basically has the goal of engaging and reaching a post-modern world.  I think that there is some truth to what is said, meaning that they say a lot of things that would be found true in Scripture, and state a lot of goals that even I agree with.  Way of the Master is a ministry that teaches evangelism, street evangelism, and ways to refute what they consider heresy.  I want to say up front that although I think that some of the Way of the Master things/methods are ok, I am not sure I agree with all of it.

That brings me to what I read about, then decided to listen to for myself.  Bloggers were talking about the interview that occurred between Todd and Doug on the Way of the Master podcast.  I decided to listen to it for myself (and would suggest that you do so as well because it is quite disturbing on so many levels).

First of all, I am very displeased with how Todd conducted the interview.  When engaging in conversation, it is necessary to be gracious and kind and gentle (things I have a hard time doing, so I will probably not ever be interviewing a Doug Paggitt) in order to engage in the conversation Biblically.  Speaking truth without love is probably as bad as speaking something false because both lead people astray.  Todd definitely was speaking the truth, but there was no love in his speech.  His attitude, disrespect, unkind/harsh words to and about Doug are just as sinful and lead just as many non-Christians away from the truth as Doug's false teaching.  That has to be said upfront.  A good example of someone who does engage in conversation in a Biblical way is Dr. Albert Mohler on his daily radio program.  I have listened to Dr. Mohler converse with athiests (for example) in a way that was not condescending, yet speaking in truth.  Love was in his voice.  He may not have convinced the athiest(s), but his words also did not push people away because of the tone in which they were spoken.

I have to say that I was shocked by some of the statements made by Paggitt.  I have been trying to build a foundation of systematic theology in my own studies, but I thought that there were areas that were not up for argument even by people who did not have a foundation in systematic theology.  One such area is the existence of heaven and hell.  Surprisingly, Paggitt doesn't believe in a physical heaven or hell.  One of the core beliefs to even be able to consider yourself a Christian is believing that there will be a bodily resurrection to a physical heaven.  That is an area that we do not compromise on.  Yet, this Emergent Church leader believes in a spiritual (non-physical) reality that will either be an interaction with or an absence of God (if I got that right.  He really didn't put any of his thoughts in a system - another benefit of systematic theology - and was left with very disorganized words that didn't form clear thoughts).  I was also surprised that apparently this man doesn't use methods such as the historical-grammatical method to interpret the Bible.  If you aren't studying the history, what the words meant back then, the context, then how can you interpret what the words mean for the church today?  Sure, what he said sounds good to a people who do not want to believe in the harsh realities of a hell and who only want to believe in a loving God, but that is not the God of the Bible.  Jesus described hell, and it wasn't just the absence of God.  It is and will be a place of desperation, pain, agony, weeping, gnashing of teeth, etc.  If we do not believe in a hell, then what are we really trying to save people from?  

I think that what I learned most from listening to Paggitt's comments is how important it is to understand redemptive history.  There are multiple types of redemption that will occur.  Two of those types seem to be something that Paggitt does not believe in - redemption of our physical bodies (comes at bodily resurrection) and redemption of this earth (meaning, there will be a physical heaven when this earth is distroyed).  I think it is important that we make sure we ground ourselves in doctrine and systematic theology so that we realize that the Bible is "strung together" (something that Paggitt also seems to disagree with) and has a common theme.  

One thing that I was reminded of last night in our 2 Timothy Bible study is that false teachers will start out with a message that sounds good and people want to hear (and even contains truth in it), but they veer away from the truth to prey on the fleshly desires of those who follow.  I, too, wish that I could not believe in hell because I do not want to think of a place as harsh as that.  My flesh does not want to believe in a place of torment for eternity for those that are not believers.  However, my flesh must submit to the Spirit, and I have to realize that if I believe in the God of the Bible, I accept His word as true.  His word is clear on the subject.  It is important to know His word so that we can discern when we hear something that sounds good to our ears (and flesh), but does not line up with the word of God.

Lil T and the Christmas Tree

I put up my Christmas tree on Friday.  Knowing how much Lil T dislikes change, I figured he would have a problem with the Christmas tree taking over his dining room.  I let him out of the kitchen expecting him to protest at the very sight of twinkling lights and shining things and a tree indoors.  Lil T ran right past the tree.  Paid it no attention whatsoever.  He eventually sniffed the tree after about two hours of running around the living room, but that is it.  YAY!!!  Now Lil T does not have to stay confined all December long in the kitchen.  The pictures are of Lil T playing on the couch and loveseat when I first let him out to play expecting him to protest at the sight of the tree.

We are also in the process of crate training.  So far so good.

Sanctification

Sanctification is becoming what we already are in Christ.

We are already alive in Christ, but we must be alive spiritually.

Our sinful flesh is dead in Christ, so we must constantly put the flesh to death.

We are free from sin in Christ, so we must continually work to keep ourselves free from sin.

We are righteous in Christ, so we must become righteous in the things that we do.

We are in the Spirit in Christ, so we must walk in the Spirit each day.

Sanctification is not a work that we do to obtain salvation (because we are redeemed in Christ already), but is a work that shows we are the recipient of salvation.

Blog of the Week - Under the Dome

It has been a while since I did a blog of the week.  This blog is the blog of the state representative from the Arkansas side of Texarkana.  Steve Harrelson is also an attorney in town (and a good one in my opinion).  His blog not only addresses things that would be of interest to his Arkansas constituents, but to Texarkana as a whole by addressing various issues in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma as well.  Listening to Steve speak makes me wish that I had him as a representative in Austin instead of the Arkansas side having him as a representative in Little Rock.  He does a great job of keeping the public informed about what is going on so that you feel like you have a bit of a say.  Granted, Arkansas is a lot smaller than Texas, and so he does have more say than what our representative on the Texas side does, but I am still impressed about how committed he is to keeping his constituents informed about what is going on.  He updates his blog many times a day with different things that are of interest.

Wreck

Yesterday I was involved in a wreck.  Not my fault and no one was injured.  I was stopped at a red light on Olive at the intersection with 14th.  My light turned green.  I started to go.  I heard the screeching of brakes.  I stopped a little ways into the intersection.  The other car slammed into the front part of my car.  He had a red light.  His brakes screeched for a while before hitting me, so I am thinking the guy wasn't paying attention to the fact that he had a red light.  Simple, right?  Well, a witness who could not see his light wanted to say that both lights were green at the same time.  Although he originally said when he got out of the car that his light was red, by the time the police got there, he said the accident was his fault, but that the lights were green at the same time.  Plus, his insurance didn't have a policy number and instead said pending, which has started a nightmare of an interaction with his insurance company with them saying it could take up to a month to determine whether I get a rental car.  Frustrating!  One adjuster even told me that since I am an attorney, I can afford my own rental car (I have since requested a new adjuster).  I was informed that I have a duty to mitigate my damages, meaning I have to turn this in to my own insurance company or I run the risk of being out the cost of storage at the wrecker service that had to tow my car.  That also means that I am out my deductible for a period of time (meaning I now can't afford a rental car) while they try to sort things out.  Fortunately, now my insurance company is the one that has to deal with them except for rental car reimbursements.

Above are some pictures.  The pictures look like minor damage, but part of the frame/axle/something that is on the other side of the tire is screwed up because I couldn't turn my wheel after the accident and there was a horrible grinding noise as we pushed my car into the parking lot nearby.

The Notebook

What I am about to say will probably anger a large percentage of the female gender who has seen this movie, but I hated The Notebook.  The movie had come highly recommended by females of various ages, so against my better judgment, I decided to give it a try.  Big mistake.  The acting was flat.  The story was predictable and cliche.  There was no blood although they showed a war (important because it shows that the story is not realistic).  It was a waste of my time.

Ryan Gosling was just a pretty face, but there was no depth to his acting.  It is like watching Joey Harrington play football.  Yeah, he is hot, but he can't quarterback worth a flip, so his hotness decreases to the point of being un-hot in my book.  What good is a pretty exterior if there is nothing going on in the interior?  That is how I felt about Gosling's acting.  He was obviously chosen for his looks (and baby face) instead of his skill.  Therefore, there was nothing left but a pretty face, and that doesn't cut it for me.

As for the storyline, I knew the ending within the first three minutes of the movie.  I mean, come on, it is a romantic drama, and it isn't hard to figure it out.  Therefore, I was bored within the first 15 minutes of the movie.  Plus, the story line is disturbing at times.  We are watching two seventeen year olds strip and start to have sex.  Isn't that child porn?  Don't let the PG-13 fool you -- this movie probably should have been rated R because no 13 year old needs to see that (or anyone else for that matter, but that can be saved for another blog).  Plus, like all other Nicolas Spark movies, it did not make me cry (why do people cry at them?  you know what is going to happen.).

In case some of you are wondering whether I am anti-chick flicks, let me share a bit about my taste in chick flicks.  I do like some chick flicks.  I am a fan of Pearl Harbor (more chick flick than war movie, so it qualifies), Sabrina, Breakfast at Tiffany's, an Affair to Remember, Gone With the Wind, Legends of the Fall, In Love and War, to name a few.  I guess you can see a bit of a common theme in the movies.  I like the classics when actors knew how to act instead of just look pretty or there has to be some blood and guts to outweigh the mushiness.  As for those that think I don't cry at movies (because everyone who had a heart would cry at the Nicolas Sparks three I mentioned), I do.  It is just that those also have common themes.  Some that I cry at -- Remember the Titans, Rudy, Miracle, The Patriot, In Love and War, Tombstone (sometimes).  Basically you have to win something big or have some blood and guts then dying.  I do like my fair share of romantic comedies (even though those are usually pretty cheesy).  So I think that I am going to stop watching romantic dramas that were made after 1970 unless there are some blood and guts.  Plus, no more Nicolas Sparks.  He thinks women are easily entertained by cliche love stories packed full of emotions, and unfortunately he is right (except for this chick).

Samsung Blackjack

I have now learned to work my new cell phone with my laptop and my computer.  This is important because I do not have Internet at home, so I was typing my blog while at work.  Often I did not have the books that I wanted to use to write, such as my Bible that has my notes in it or even my Precept study notes. Now I can type the deeper (meaning not just my coffee break thoughts), hopefully more meaningful blogs from my laptop and hopefully transfer them to be uploaded from work.  In fact, if you are reading this, it is because I have been successful.  Hahaha!

Now that I have had my phone for a week, I feel that I am now able to express my opinion about my phone.  I now am the proud owner of a Samsung BlackJackphone.  It became apparent during some of my travelling to take depositions or attend hearings that I needed to purchase a phone with e-mail capabilities.  I looked at what was available (and cheapest) when the time for my upgrade passed.  I asked Kory Browning, who has had both a Blackberry and a Blackjack, which he would suggest, and the Blackjack came highly recommended (thanks Kory!).  I placed my order, waited on the phone to arrive, and began playing with my new toy.

First, here are the things that I don't like.  The manual and online support that supposedly teach you how to use the phone were not written to teach you how to use the phone.  In fact, they don't teach you anything.  They are very poorly written, do not address most of the questions that a normal person (if I can be considered normal) would ask, do not explain important things, and are really disappointing.  I couldn't get the Internet to work, and there was no troubleshooting section on the Internet.  I couldn't find the music that I had put on there, but there was no section informing you where music that is transferred to the phone is automatically stored.  I wanted to lock the Internet and/or the keypad, but there wasn't a section telling you how to do that either (or at least that I found).  You get the picture.  Speaking of locking the Internet, it appears that it cannot be locked and it is easy to accidentally open the Internet, so that is another thing that I do not like.  Working with teenagers (both here and in NO), I like to lock the Internet because it costs so much when you go over my allotted usage each month.  I also don't like how complicated the phone is to learn to use (but that kind of goes along with the whole lack of a good manual thing).

Finally, here are the things I like.  My previous phone was a Motorola Razr, and I did not realize how unclear the Razr's calls are until I started using this phone.  I don't know if it is because the Blackjack has a better internal antenna or just because the volume is better on the Blackjack, but the call quality is definitely improved.  Although I thought I would not like it, I love the keyboard.  I do miss the one-touch ability to text where my words were completed on the Razr (although when the wrong word was chosen, it could be quite strange or hard to decipher),but I am learning to type almost as fast on the keyboard.  The keyboard is nice when typing long messages instead of having to mess with one-touch.  I just wish that it would give me an option on long words.  The contact list (although a pain in the rear to set up) is much better because all the numbers for the same person can be entered in one place.  I just don't like that it is organized by last name, then first, so my list has everyone's first and last names as their first.  I have looked up in the manual about how to change that, but that was one of the areas not addressed.  I am very pleased with the e-mail capabilities (once I got it set up, another manual issue) and love how the e-mail and text messages appear when reading them.  The camera is pretty good as is the video recorder.  The video is pretty grainy when you watch it on the computer, but that is to be expected.

I am grateful to Kory who has been answering my questions as they come up since the manual doesn't.  Overall, I am very pleased with my new phone.  I would highly recommend the Blackjack (so long as you have someone who can answer your questions because the manuals do not).

What is Going On

I have a sinus infection that doesn't seem to want to leave me alone.  Other than the pressure in my head and the lack of voice that I now have, I appear to be feeling fine.  However, when you have no voice, people automatically assume that you are sicker than what you really are.  On a different note, I get to do my first hearing without a voice today, so that should be interesting for the court reporter.  Maybe it will come back enough for me to talk.  Or better yet, maybe the two parties will agree and only the other side will need to put on a witness.  It is too soon to tell.

I cooked a real meal last night.  In spite of the sinus infection, or maybe because of it, I decided to cook a real meal.  By real, I mean that it didn't come entirely from a single box, can, or package.  I made meatloaf, spinach with parmesan sauce, and mashed potatoes (although those did come from a pouch).  I love meatloaf, and decided to try a recipe that I found online because it looked easy.  I hate to admit this (in part because she is one of the only people that reads my blog), but I liked it better than mom's.  That is saying a lot because I love my mom's meatloaf.  Not only was it a simple recipe, but it was a good recipe.  I want to make it clear that the flavor of the meatloaf had absolutely nothing to do with the skill of the cook.  It really was that easy.

1776

I finished reading the David McCullough book 1776and I highly recommend this book.  I enjoy McCullough's writing style as he makes history entertaining by telling a story instead of just facts.  This reminds me of the Greek historians (although some of them were not relating facts but myths).  He shares the story of the first year of the Revolutionary War with particular interest in Washington, and how he learned from his mistakes to become a great general.  It is incredible to see the steadfastness of nature that the commander in chief exhibited in the face of what I would have considered complete defeat.  McCullough writes in a way that makes the fact seem like a good fiction book yet stays true to what really occurred (if the 50+ pages of bibliography is any indication).  He uses letters written by the main actors to provide insight into what was being thought inside the heads of these men that we have learned about since elementary school.  Because of the ease of read, I believe this book to be the pleasure read of fiction while tapping into my love of history.  Therefore, I highly recommend this book for all people who like war fiction, non-fiction, or just a good read.

One Night with the King

My most recent Netflix movie was One Night With the King.  It is the story of Esther and Xerxes.  The last time I tried to watch it was with a group of youth who were not interested in the movie whatsoever, and it was a disaster.  I finally had the opportunity to view it without interruption (except the occasional barking by my dog).  It was a pretty good movie.  The sets and costumes were incredible.  Some of the acting was a bit cheesy or unskilled or something (Xerxes had a really strange accent that annoyed me), but the movie was a good movie in spite of that.  It was just nice to watch a movie that had violence and a love story without blood and skin.  Definitely entertaining and something that won't make you blush when watching as a family.  I hope to add it to my expanding DVD collection at some point in the future (although I have to admit that I spend so much less on DVDs now that I have replaced TV with books for the most part).

Future Posts

Well, I have been thinking about several different topics that I want to write about that should be coming in the next few weeks.  The study on 2 Timothy is going really well, and has me wanting to write about entrusting the things in the Bible to faithful men, meaning it can't be watered down.  Some self-evaluation things have led me to wonder about walking contradictions.  I am nearing the finish of several books that are outstanding.  I have more books that I have bought (I have come to the conclusion that it is an addiction, hahaha!).  I just wish that at some point I could shut off my brain and stop thinking because my brain seems to work non-stop.  Maybe I will have more of an opportunity to post soon since my cell now doubles as a pda, meaning I can write on it or maybe even on the laptop to easily transfer to a computer that has internet. I haven't played with it enough yet to see if that will work.

Lil T's Least Favorite Holiday

Last night I found out that my wonderful little dog hates Halloween.  He is a Halloween scrooge.  He does not like little kids talking cheerfully and giggling uncontrollably walking past his house.  He barks at every single last one of them.  I wonder if that contributed to the no doorbell rings or knocks while I was home.  He was finally happy when things calmed down around 10, which, conveniently is his bed time.

Blog of the Week - Tominthebox News Network

I haven't taken much time to post anything this week because I bought a new phone and have been playing with it (Samsung Blackjack, very nice, but also complicated), but I will take a few minutes to suggest a blog for this week.  I love dry humor and satire, mainly because there is a mix of truth to it, so I love this blog.  Tominthebox News Network (or TBNN as it likes to refer to itself in the blogs) has some of the best religious satire that I have read.  Some of it is just nonsense type writing, i.e. this article about a guy that wanted to be a missionary to Krakozhia.  Some of it is so close to the truth that it would not surprise you to be reading it on CNN or Fox News tomorrow.  All in all, very entertaining although some of it may not make sense if you are a follower of TV preachers (especially the ones who are "incredibly good-looking" to quote Zoolander, I think).

Blog of the Week - GospelDrivenLife

In light of the fires that are burning in California, I am choosing this blog as the blog of the week.  This blog is written by the pastor of a church in the San Diego area.  The church is part of Sovereign Grace ministries (the ministry that CJ Mahaney leads).  This pastor has been good about giving just brief updates that remind us of the need to pray for the churches and the leaders in the churches as they have a wonderful yet emotionally exhausting ministry opportunity ahead of them.  Hopefully the church will respond in some of the same ways that the church responded following Katrina.  This blog is a reminder to pray for the people and that God will be glorified in the days and weeks to come.

Lil T like a little kid

I have already determined that having a dog is like having a two-three year old that never grows up (except that you can leave them home alone).  Lil T just keeps proving that.  On Tuesday, I had to buy dog food, and I decided to buy Lil T a pack of toys that included a ball since all of his balls seem to be MIA.  When I got the pack of toys home to Lil T, he was so excited to have new toys to play with that he could not decide whether to eat his dinner or play with his new toys.  What is funny is that the toys are basically the same toys he already has (except cleaner).  All night long you could hear him playing with his new soft bone (in brown although he already has one in blue that needs to be and will be thrown away because it has been washed one too many times).  I thought he would chase the ball around first since that was the one toy he had not played with in a while, but he did not start doing that until last night.  I guess he was bored with his old toys, and just needed some new ones to entertain himself!

Sweet Tea

Some of you who read this blog know that in June I gave up drinking Dr. Pepper.  I decided it was time to lay off the DP when I could not go past 10 a.m. without drinking one because I would have a headache.  The first few days were pretty bad (I don't know how many BC powders it took me to get through them), but pretty soon I had weaned myself off DP.  I think part of the reason I was successful is because I turned to sweet tea!

I love sweet tea!  I am talking about the stuff that is sweetened when warm and with real sugar, not fake stuff (for the most part). I have determined that I love to order sweet tea as my beverage of choice at most restaurants.  I guess that I still need a little bit of a caffeine boost from time to time (although I don't have to have sweet tea by 10 a.m. each day, thank goodness).  I even have moved my iced tea maker from my home to my office (I couldn't resist once we moved into the newly remodelled office with an ice machine!).  So I am going to list my favorite and not so favorite sweet teas:

Favorites

1.  I hate to admit it, but Gold Peak Sweet Tea (especially since it is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup instead of real sugar).  It just tastes better than the others I have tried.

2.  McAllister's

3.  My own

4.  Chicken Express (probably more because it is just a $1 with the tax)

5.  McDonald's (also because it is cheap)

Least Favorites

1.  All bottled sweet tea other than Gold Peak

2.  Sonic

3.  Baker Brothers

4.  On the Border

5.  Pretty much any other place like 3 and 4 that feel that they need to charge $2 for tea, but yet don't spend the time making it high quality tea.

The Importance of Preparation

I know that at times when I am teaching, I fight the temptation to not prepare as much as I should because I know and trust that God is going to be the one granting me the grace to speak and teach anyway. However, I know when I give in to that temptation that I am sinning (although, God in His grace often grants me the grace to get through the teaching experience). I know that there are times when I am not going to have enough time to prepare before teaching (i.e., emergency situations). I also know that it is only by God's grace that I am able to teach when I have the opportunity. However, I feel that I should teach as if I am teaching under my own strength, then surrender myself to God. This often means that I spend more hours in preparation than I need to or that it takes me longer to teach certain short books of the Bible than maybe it should (some of you have experienced that first hand!). Teaching should be a time of worship for the teacher, and true worship results only when we sacrifice.

I love this quote from C.H. Spurgeon (aka, the Prince of Preachers):

Make it plain to your own self. I believe that, when I preach, I ought to prepare and study my sermon as if its success altogether depended upon me, but that, when I am thus thoroughly furnished, I am to trust in God as much as if I had done nothing at all. The same view should be taken of your life and of your service for God. Work as if you were to be saved by your works, and then trust Christ only, since it is only by faith in him that you are capable of a single good work. Work for God with all your might, as if you did it all, but then always remember that "it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

He sums it up in better words than I ever could!

Blog of the Week - Pyromaniacs

Last week I was sick and had to stay home on Thursday, so here is the blog of the week that I would have posted had I been at work.  It is Pyromaniacs, a blog group run by some guys who teach at a church somewhere (actually I think that they go to Grace Community Church which you may recognize as the church John MacArthur teaches at).  Often the posts are humorous with the art accompanying the blog entertaining.  The thing that I particularly like is the posts that point out the inconsistencies in liberal and emerging churches.  Some of the advertisements and gimmicks used by these groups are unbelievable.   There are posts with substance as well, although they are usually peppered with sarcasm and dry humor.  Entertaining read for the most part on most days.

Blog of the Week - Chris Rose

Although this blog isn't really a blog but a newspaper column, I think it is still worth its own mention as blog of the week.  Chris Rose was an entertainment columnist (I think) pre-Katrina, but post-Katrina, his column shifted to more of life in New Orleans.  He is blunt, to the point, and honest in a way that only those in New Orleans can be about themselves.  Warning - some of the content is a little inappropriate and contains language.  However, Rose has found a way to convey life in the city since the hurricanes in a way that I don't think anyone else has.  He shows that it is not about race or socio-economic level (the hurricane didn't hit just poor neighborhoods), but that everyone in the city was affected.  I would suggest reading all of his hurricane articles (although, again, some are inappropriate) in order to get a feeling of how New Orleans has come back from the hurricane.  Through his honest writings, you can see a city slowly rebuilding (emotionally and physically).

Living the Bible?

I came across this article today as I was taking one of my reading breaks at work.  There are so many different levels to address this article on.  In short, this man set out to live all the commands in the Bible for a year (just a year), and the Anderson Cooper show is doing a segment on how successful the guy was, how hard it was to follow the laws, etc.

This man found 700 decrees that he believed that he must be conscious of and keep every single day in order to live the Bible.  How depressing would that be to be constantly focused on the law and trying to keep the law?  I wonder if that included the sacrificial system (and I wonder how PETA felt about that one!).  Of course, I guess it couldn't include the sacrificial system because I personally don't know of any Levites that are available to offer the sacrifice at the temple (or where there is a temple that qualifies) in order for him to properly offer sacrifice according to the Old Testament Scripture.  This guy tried to keep the laws for a year, and only a year, yet those were decrees set out for man to obey every single day of his life.

Wow, I am thankful that we are no longer under the law!  Trying to keep 700 decrees would be depressing.  We are condemned by the law because no one is capable of keeping it.  It is interesting to see that the world thinks that obeying a set of rules and regulations qualifies us as "living the Bible."  It goes to show that the world can learn facts about the Bible and know portions of Scripture, but when it comes to understanding, we need the Holy Spirit.

It seems to me that this man, and many who watch the program tonight, will miss the point of the law.  The law was given for one reason, and that was to point us to Christ.  Man is condemned by the law because no man can keep its 700 thou shalts and thou shalt nots.  Man has to face the reality that there is nothing that he can do that will save him because he is condemned by his failure to follow God's law.  The article mentions that it was easy to keep some, like "Thou shalt not murder," but I would go so far as to say that this man did not even keep that commandment.  Jesus took that commandment and stated that even a man who is angry in his heart towards a brother commits murder.  When you get to the very heart of the commandments, everyone is condemned.  The law makes man's condition look hopeless.  Therefore, man realizes that he must turn to God for grace.  

Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the law.  He was able to keep all of the decrees.  He was able to be righteous in His thought life and His heart.  He was able to present Himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, fulfilling the sacrificial system and bringing it to an end.  The law testifies to His place as Messiah and is to point us to Christ as our representative who was able to keep the law.  Because we are unable to keep the law, we must depend upon His grace who kept the law.  Since He who was sinless and a fulfillment of the law took on our sin on the cross, we can put on His righteousness.  By entering into that relationship with Christ, we are called to "live the Bible" by living like Christ.  Living the Bible isn't about keeping commands, but by accepting the gift of grace and living in that grace to become more and more like Christ.

We need more people in the world living the Bible by living in grace instead of trying to keep the 700 decrees.  We can't expect the world to understand without the Holy Spirit, so we need to pray that the Holy Spirit will change minds and hearts.  We also need to proclaim the gospel to the world, including living the Bible as a redeemed, holy people.  We need to take opportunities to share the gospel by pointing out condemnation under the law, but also by pointing out God's grace through Jesus' sacrifice.

Rumors

Yesterday I attended the Texas High production of Neil Simon's Rumors.  I am impressed by the quality of the production.  I remember my high school's plays, and let's just say that you may have thought that middle schoolers had put on the play.  Not only was it a funny play (of course credit for that goes to the writer), but the actors did a great job (for high schoolers) of acting and overacting in order to enhance the comedic properties of the play.  I have to admit that the only reason I went was because one of the youth at church was playing the part of one of the police officers.  However, because of the quality of that performance, I may have found a new community activity to continue to attend and to support.

Finding Consistency in College Football

I have said, and will probably continue to say until sometime in the first week of January, that this is one of the strangest years of college football that I have ever seen.  There seems to be no powerhouse, except maybe LSU after watching them play a bit on Saturday.  Until Saturday, I thought USC was the powerhouse, but then they had a random turn of events resulting in a loss (don't get me wrong, I am overjoyed that they finally lost!!!  even better that it was to a pretty bad team!!!).  Texas, OU, Michigan, Penn State, Georgia, etc., etc., etc. have had surprising losses in the past few weeks, making me wonder what has happened to the teams that are considered the best year in and year out.  South Florida is in the top 5 right now.  Four teams in the top 10 this week were unranked to start the season.  It is crazy.

Yet, in all of this inconsistency and uncertainty, you can count on one team to continue to do what it has done year in and year out.  I am of course talking about my Baylor Bears.  Now here is a team that realizes how uncomfortable it is for the fans to live with all of this uncertainty in college football, so they want to make it easy on their fans.  As a Texas fan, it is hard for me to watch each week because I just don't know what is going to happen, and it makes me so nervous that I may have an ulcer by the end of the season.  However, Baylor doesn't put me through this mental and physical torture.  They are concerned about my health and the health of their fans so much that they feel that we don't need any surprises.  Yes, they may keep us on the edge of our seats for 3 quarters (or the first set of downs), but they give us plenty of time to adjust to the outcome of the game.  While other fans have to remain in a state of inner turmoil about whether their team is going to make a bowl game, remain ranked, remain undefeated, etc., Baylor makes sure to take away all turmoil early in the season.  Although there is a chance of a bowl game, everyone knows it is a long shot and isn't worried about it occurring.  Everyone knows that Baylor is not going to top the Big 12, so any win that comes at this point will just be a time to laugh.  Laughter is good medicine, right?  Now don't get me wrong.  I still cheer for my Bears.  I am proud when they win a game here and there.  I really don't care whether we keep this coach or let him go.  Everyone knows it is about recruiting anyway, and frankly, it is hard to recruit for Baylor when you have UT, aTm, and Tech recruiting in the same state (not to mention OU who has more Texans than Oklahomans on their team I think -- it may be 50/50, but I digress).  So here is to the one team who seems to have found a way to be consistent in this year of college football!  Baylor, I salute you.

2 Timothy 1:13

I am learning that the more I study the Bible, the more I realize I don't know.  Yesterday I was doing my Precept study in 2 Timothy, and the day's assignment was to focus in on the words used to make up one verse.  You would think that would be a quick Bible study.  I mean, it is just one verse.  But somewhere between 30-45 minutes later, I was amazed at what I had learned after just scratching the surface - I did not make it past the 6th word in my study. 

Here is the verse:

Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.  (NASB)

Follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  (ESV)

Before looking at the meanings of the words, it is easy to just repeat these words as a sort of catch phrase to show our knowledge of Paul's letter and to encourage others to retain the standard.  However, as I studied the meaning of the words, the meaning of the verse became so much deeper.  

I have to apologize now for not being able to refer to the Greek words whose meanings I am going to give (since my notes are at home), but I don't like to latinize the words anyway (you can call me a Greek snob).  The word translated retain is also translated hold-fast, hold-firm, stand strong.  I don't know if this is how the term was used or not, but I picture in my head an army that is holding the line, following the general's orders, even though it may not look like the smartest thing to do because they are being attacked.  The word translated standard in NASB is probably better translated pattern (as the ESV translators realized).  It has the idea of an artist who makes a sketch before drawing the real thing.  The picture that comes to mind for me is a sewing pattern, or maybe even a blueprint/instructions that come along with building a prefabricated building.  Sound words are healthy ideas, healthy complete thoughts.

What is it that Paul is instructing Timothy to do?  Paul is telling Timothy to follow the pattern of teaching and preaching and presenting the gospel that Paul has set.  Paul is instructing Timothy to hold fast to the biblical model of teaching.  That means that those who are teaching the Bible need to look to the Bible to determine if a particular method of teaching is supported by the Bible.  It means that one has to have a grasp of Scripture to teach Scripture.  Paul used Scripture to interpret Scripture.  More importantly, Paul had the gospel as the center of all that he taught.  Christ is the main character of the Bible, and the gospel needs to be proclaimed.  I know that there are times when teaching through Scripture that I have failed to include the gospel.  Since studying that verse, I have thought over the stories and the teachers in the Old and New Testament.  Just look at the Minor Prophets, and the gospel is throughout what they are teaching.  Look at Jewish law and Christ was being taught (Hebrews confirms this).  Look at the epistles in the New Testament, and you see the gospel of Christ.  

In all, I think that we need to make sure that the focus of everything that we teach is Scripture so that we can follow the example of Paul and other biblical writers and teachers.  We need to allow Scripture to teach us how to teach Scripture.  Most of all we need to make sure that the gospel of Christ is taught in each message that we bring.

Pictures

The last few days I have been looking through various pictures, none of which were my own (although I was in some).  Have you ever thought about how odd it is to look at someone else's pictures?  Of course, it is one way that we can keep up with what is going on in other's lives when looking at Facebook and My Space pictures.  So many of those pictures have commentary to go along with them.  What I have found strange is looking through years and years worth of pictures.  One set was a friend's pictures, and another set was a stranger's pictures.

In the friend's pictures, it is strange to see pictures of people you know and even yourself, but not know the story behind them.  I saw pictures of myself as a little girl, and it looked like we were having a blast, but I can't remember the story that goes with it.  I don't remember wearing those clothes, having those friends, doing those things.  I saw pictures of people I knew, and you wonder what the story is behind the picture.  You can see the family grow over the years, yet the love remains the same.

In the stranger's pictures, you really feel like you are invading the family's privacy.  Part of my job is to personalize a client, and when the person has died, one of the ways to do that is to use pictures.  It is odd to watch a person growing up that you never met.  It really seemed like I, as a stranger, was eavesdropping on the family with things that weren't meant to be seen.  None of the pictures were inappropriate or anything like that.  It was just that you almost feel like you should know someone before looking through their pictures.  You can tell that there is a story behind each and every one, and you can see a family's love through the years.  I also found myself dreading each passing year because I knew that she would die young in her early 20s.  That last Christmas was sad to see in pictures because they did not know that it would be the last.  I mean, with an illness, you have a chance to prepare, but with a sudden death you just don't know.  There are happy pictures, then the life is no more.  The next picture you see is of a tombstone.  It was kind of a depressing feeling.

There really isn't anything profound that I am trying to say.  I am sure that if I talked to the stranger's family, they would have something special to say about each picture.  I know that the friend did.  Plus, I was a pretty cute little kid (except the picture where I look like my brother ... that one was scary.).

Lil T Update

Well, some of you know by now that my poor little puppy will never be the same again (and will never produce offspring) because of his minor surgery on Monday.  I got a kick out of the event.  For starters, you have to have the dog at the vet at 7:30.  I don't get anywhere by 7:30.  Then they say that they will call you to let you know that your baby made it through surgery.  Fine.  When they call, they act like they are giving you an update on a relative that wasn't expected to make it -- your baby is doing fine, he is waking up well, he is a little groggy but that should wear off, you can pick him up at 4:30, he will be missing his mommy by then, etc.  My dog is a dog, not a human, and it was a surgery that some of my youth could have performed without ever putting him under (so they tell me).  However, I chose to take him to the vet to be charged because it would be less painful for him, not because he is almost human.

I go to pick up Lil T, and they give me the list of instructions - no jumping for 2 weeks, no running, keep activity at a minimum for 24 hours, small amount of food and water tonight because he will throw up, he will be groggy and act like he doesn't feel good, no bath for 2 weeks, he won't like his pills, etc.  I guess that they have never met my dog.  They bring him out in his pet taxi that is now too small for him, but proceed to take 15 minutes to run my card through the machine to pay for his vet bill.  15 minutes of the stupid dog trying to get out of his taxi and going crazy.  Well, there goes the keeping activity at a minimum for 24 hours.  We get home, and the first thing he does upon exiting the pet taxi is jump up to about chest level on me to nip at my elbow.  There goes the no jumping for 2 weeks.  I let him sit with me in the living room, and he proceeds to run in circles and jump from couch to love seat to couch to love seat to couch.  There goes the no running.  By this point I was pretty sure that he wasn't going to act groggy or like he didn't feel good either.

Dinner time for him came around and he ate and drank just fine without throwing up.  Good thing I guess, especially since he was jumping around.  The next morning it came pill time.  My dog thinks that pills are treats because I give him a digestive pill every day and he loves it.  Lil T thought he was in heaven because he got three pills instead of one.  He was so excited.  So basically the vet's assistant was wrong about everything.  I don't know how my psychopathic dog is going to survive 2 weeks without a bath (he loves those too).  

Well since his surgery, we have had no accidents in the living room (prior to the surgery he had gotten in the habit of marking the couches, and spent the last two months away from the living room).  Lil T has not calmed down any, although I really didn't expect that to happen.  So if I had to pay to make him a eunuch so that he would stop peeing on the couch, it was worth it.  Now he can watch TV again and see his favorite Dyson vaccuum cleaner commercial and bark at things that are on the floor that shouldn't be.  And, it means I have to keep my living room clean enough for him, meaning I can have people over again!

Blog of the Week - Baylor Proud

So it is again time for the blog of the week.  It seems that blog of the week is the only thing I have been writing recently, but there are some things churning in my head, so I am sure that more will come out soon.

This week's blog is paying tribute to my alma mater (although they got beat by aTm this weekend).  Baylor has a new blog about different things that should make alumni proud of Baylor.  Some are informative, some entertaining, and some just look like morale is down so we must talk about something to make us proud.  I am sure it is just a pr stunt intended to increase the alumi confidence in the current administration, but the information is still fun to read.  

Blog of the Week - Desiring God

We will see how long this blog of the week thing continues to be once a week!  Here is my suggestion for this week:

I was going to post a different blog, but decided to do this one instead because of what was happening on it this week.  This week's blog is the Desiring God blog.  Desiring God is part of the ministry of John Piper.  This blog provides good book reviews, good discussion, and points out other blogs/articles that are helpful (as if I need to read anything else!).  The reason I am choosing it for this week is because of what John Piper has written this week about the stillborn birth and death of his granddaughter.  The theology of Piper at this time of family crisis and hardship is an encouragement to anyone who may be going through any type of trial.  Combine that with the Bible study I heard last night on James 1 reminding us that we are to consider it all joy, and I have been encouraged a lot this week.

Blog of the Week - Rebelution

As promised yesterday, I am going to start sharing some of the blogs that I have found that I find helpful, interesting, or just worth sharing for some reason.  

The blog for this week is from the website www.rebelution.com.  This website/blog was started by twin teenage boys, Alex and Brett Harris, when they were 16 years old.  They are the brothers of Joshua Harris, pastor of Covenant Life Church and author of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" and "Boy Meets Girl."  These boys are trying to challenge youth to rebel against the rebellious culture that is bombarding our youth with messages that are against the church and family.  They are trying to challenge youth to become young leaders in the church during the time of adolescence when society seems to think that they do not need to take responsibility for anything.  Part of the challenge is to learn doctrine and study theology since the church isn't challenging most youth to do just that.  They challenge youth to adopt 1 Timothy 4:12 and to return to the Bible's standards for character.  I encourage everyone (and especially those who are parents of youth, youth, or youth workers -- or even those interested in encouraging youth) to not only bookmark and read the blog, but check out the website and resources portion of the website.

Something That Confused Me

I came across this today in my habitual perusing of blogs that I have bookmarked, and it made me wonder what is going on with these people.  Just the title was enough to catch my attention: An Irony Wrapped in an Enigma Inside an Oddity.  What a title!  As I read on, I had to read and re-read the content several times.  It seems that there is a couple in Sydney (Australia I presume) that was having marital problems.  The husband and the wife both started visiting chat rooms and talking with others about the marital problems.  "Sweetie" and "Prince of Joy" started talking about their spouses, complaining, talking through the marital problems, and fell in love online.  They decided to meet, and when they showed up at the date, they found out they had really been chatting and falling in love with each other online.  So now they can live happily ever after because they have worked through their problems and fallen in love again, right?  Wrong.  They file for divorce instead.  I guess that neither could get over the fact that the other had tried to have an online relationship and actually meet the person.  I am not sure.  All I know is that the story and the ending are messed up!

Fun Things I have Found

I am a blog junkie.  I have now said it.  I like to take short mental breaks and read various blogs that can be found on the Internet.  I have found some pretty cool things recently that I will be sharing soon.  I figured I could share what I have found with others.  Most of the blogs are religious in nature.  Some are just random people that I have found by pushing the next blog button at the top of the page.  Some are from news organizations and are basically opinion blogs.  I think that I am going to start sharing a blog a week (or a month), but I haven't decided yet.  Stay tuned.

Dear Jesse Jackson

Dear Jesse Jackson,

I am not a racist.  I think I have to say that up front because you seem to think that all white people are.  However, I believe that it is because of people like you that racism still exists in America.  You forget that you are the face that white America sees as a representative of African-Americans.  You try to make every issue a racial issue, leading Americans to become tired of the race card being played.  You contribute to the lack of publicity (or at least the public ignorance) of issues such as the Jena 6 because you cry wolf with the race card too often.  Please stop hurting your fellow Americans by trying to divide instead of unite.  Please stop hurting your fellow African-Americans by portraying the ethnicity as a whole in the manner that you do.

Further proof that you are doing nothing but causing division is the recent allegation that you said Barrack O'Bama acts too white (or something along those lines).  I don't know what "acting white" means although I have heard it said many times in the African-American community.  I thought you want equal treatment.  I thought you do not want for people to look at an African-American any differently than they would look at a white person, or Hispanic-American, or Asian-American, or _______________-American (and you can fill in the blank).  Yet you are expecting them to act differently?  I am not an O'Bama supporter (although I would vote for Collin Powell if he would run for president), but I do think that he is portraying African-Americans in a positive way that may contribute to the eradication of some racism.  Let him continue.  I don't think he is "acting white."  From what I can tell, he is "acting American."  Why don't we leave the labels at that?

It Creates a Problem When You Don't Have the New Testament

Well, some Jewish leaders discovered that they have a problem with Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac.  It seems that the story is causing problems for the Jews trying to interpret its fully meaning.  Take this article from the Chicago Tribune which quotes various Jewish religious leaders who try to make the interpretation relevant for today.  When I saw reference to this article in Albert Mohler's blog, my first thought was that the Jews have a problem because they do not accept the New Testament (and do not have the understanding provided by the Holy Spirit).  The author of Hebrews explains this act of Abraham and provides commentary that enables us to understand God's test and Abraham's willingness to obey.  Dr. Mohler explained that later in the article.  I think that the fact that Judaism, Islam, and Christianity share the story of Abraham and hold him in high esteem, yet interpret the significance of Abraham differently shows that without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to understand religious things.

Yay Starbucks!

I think that I am going to start commending companies that use big words in advertisement.  Maybe it is a snob thing for me, or maybe it is just the fact that I think that brains today need to be challenged sometimes.  Maybe it is just that I like to look smart every once in a while although my smartness is definitely something that can be questioned.  Anyway, today I received an e-mail from Starbucks advertising various new products, and was pleasantly surprised to see the word "accoutrements" used to describe the syrups and coffees that Starbucks is currently promoting.  We can debate whether it is a proper use of the word (which would probably better fit the syrup than the coffee itself) at some other time.

More on Corporate Worship

A random thought has been bouncing around in my head for the past few weeks since starting this contemplation of worship.  What does it matter what is going on in public worship if I am still able to worship God individually in the midst of it?  I have heard that from some people, and have thought about it myself as I recently spent a worship service that was focused on self more than God.  In fact, I used to hear that we should just close our eyes and focus on Jesus and have a one-on-one with Him during the service.  So isn't that what I should do?

After thinking it through and not being satisfied with that answer, I went back to Ephesians and determined that it DOES matter what goes on in corporate worship, and failure to recognize that results in worship that IS NOT pleasing to God.  Ephesians is very clear on the matter of corporate worship.  It is to be God focused, scripturally based, teaching and exhorting the believers.  Corporate worship is to be a witness of the manifold wisdom of God to show the world that all of our diverse backgrounds, experiences, personalities, etc. have been united in Christ and stand before God as one body.  The focus is not on the individual and the individual's relationship to God (although that will be something that is strengthened through the practice of corporate worship).  We, as the body of Christ, as the temple of God, as children of the King, are to be a witness to not only the physical world but the spiritual world.  We should be singing songs that proclaim who God is and what He has done for us.  

God has given us instructions on how to worship Him.  It is clear in His word how He wants us to act when we come together corporately to worship Him.  Therefore, anything that deviates from what He has prescribed for worship is sin.  I think that if our leaders (the church as a whole, not just my church) truly understood that, and understood that every aspect of the service is to be a teaching moment (making them teachers, and therefore subjecting them to higher accountability), and any deviation from God's way of worship would result in leading the congregation to sin, then worship leaders might take their responsibility more seriously.  Just look at the Minor Prophets to see how displeased God is when the people do not worship Him as He has directed that He be worshipped.  (Also, look at the Minor Prophets to see that He doesn't want the framework of worship to be right without the proper heart of worship behind it.)  If we are to worship corporately, it is not pleasing to God for us to worship individually in place of corporate worship.  He does not want our sacrifice, but our obedience.

So what is the answer?  What should I do when I am sitting in "worship" services that are not worshipping in the way that God has directed?  I am still not sure yet.  I know that it breaks my heart to see the church thinking they are worshipping when they are not.  I know that it breaks my heart to see individuals who are trying to offer individual worship to God when it should be an act of corporate worship instead.  I know that I am encouraged by songs that are appropriate for corporate worship, which enable me, as a member of the body of Christ, to engage in corporate worship and be exhorted.  I know that I am encouraged by leaders who do take the worship service and planning of the worship service seriously and really do try to make it biblical.  I think that there may be a time and place to confront leaders on the choices made for worship, but I know that I am not prepared to do it because I haven't really prepared a defense using scripture that can be given in love.  I know that I need to pray for the leaders in my church and especially to pray that the Holy Spirit will teach them and guide them to understand corporate worship and what God desires because it is only clear when the Holy Spirit makes it clear.  True change happens only when the Holy Spirit makes it happen.  Please join with me in praying for the leaders of your church, wherever you may attend, as they lead the body of Christ in corporate worship.  

The final thing that I feel needs to be mentioned is that there is not going to be a perfect worship service here on this earth.  However, we can strive for perfection (just as we are to strive for God's perfection in our individual lives).  Noticing the imperfection helps us look forward to a day when our worship will be perfect.  Oh how we should long for the day when the complete body of Christ will stand before the throne and worship with a pure, genuine, true worship forever!

Dress Code

I have seen two news stories now about women that are complaining because Southwest Airlines expects them to address appropriately for a family airline.  These women think it is their right to wear whatever they want on the airline and that there is no room for the airline to tell them not to wear skirts that are too short.  I am glad that there is a company that is willing to take a stand for modesty!  I know that I have seen plastered all over the news what one of the women was wearing, and that skirt, especially once she sat in the airline seat, would have revealed too much.  It is bad enough that we have to see it on TV, in newspapers, on the internet, etc.  Too often I wish that Walmart had the same high standards regarding dress because there are definitely women there that do not need to be wearing the outfits that they are wearing in public.  In fact, I wish that all companies had a high standard for how people dress when they entered because I do not want my eyes subjected to that much flesh, and definitely do no want any children or teenagers to also view that much flesh.

It is a privilege to be able to fly on any airline instead of a right.  Now I do think that there is a right not to be discriminated against on the basis of things like race, disability, etc.  However, Southwest gave them the opportunity to obtain a refund (I think), go home and change to make a later flight, or cover up.  Southwest prides itself on being family friendly, and from the flights I have been on, families support them because of it.  I bet that there is a disclaimer on the Southwest website that talks about appropriate dress for flights (although I have not checked).  I mean the airlines and the government regulate a lot of things on flights, so I am sure there is a warning about clothing as well.  Looking at the skirt of the first woman coming forward, it didn't look like it would pass dress code for any of the schools that I have attended or am familiar with, so it is not appropriate for a family flight.  I applaud Southwest for trying to protect my eyes from viewing more flesh than I desire to see.  I just hope that this increases their desire to enforce a standard of dress instead of causing them to stop enforcing the standard because of the press.

New Precept

It has been a while since I wrote anything.  It is strange how I go through periods of not being able to write enough, then periods of not having much to say.  I think that part of that comes with how busy I am at work, at home, how much time I have to read, etc.

I have started a new Precept course.  This time we are doing 2 Timothy.  I am so thankful that God has gifted me with the desire to study His word in such an indepth way.  Too often I am tempted to be lazy and just see what others have to say about the Bible, or too busy to really take a portion of Scripture and contemplate its place in God's word as a whole.  Another temptation is to skip the putting Scripture into context, and just jump to the application.  However, you can't have correct application without studying the context, which I believe is best accomplished by studying inductively (meaning observation, interpretation, then application).  What is so convicting so far about 2 Timothy is that we are to learn Scripture not just for personal edification, but so that we can teach.  I think that we tend to skip this step in our churches.  What I mean by that is that we talk too much about application without really teaching someone how to teach by our style of teaching.  I know that I am tempted to do that (and do it quite often unfortunately).  When someone can tell that we have observed a passage so that we know the basic who, what, where, when, and why, and can tell that we have interpretted the passage by using Scripture to interpret Scripture, then they can trust our application.  Also, they can learn by our example how to study the Bible for themselves and how to teach.  The goal of Bible study should not just be about personal edification or relationships (although both are important), but it should be to glorify God by equipping the Saints to be prepared to give a defense in season and out of season.  This means that the gospel should be central to all that we teach because we need to equip the Saints to share the gospel and there may be someone there that needs to hear the gospel.  

I think I kind of changed subjects there near the end.  Here are my personal goals for 2 Timothy:

(1)  Learn the book so well that it is etched on my mind and heart.  This tends to happen with the book Precept studies.  There are certain words and phrases that should become a part of my Christian vocabulary as a result of this study (i.e., The righteous man shall live by faith from Romans, Contend for the faith from Jude, Be prepared to meet your God from Amos).

(2) Be prepared to teach the book.  I like to teach.  I always have the desire to teach.  However, I have to prepare before I teach, and part of that preparation should be studying a book indepth before I teach it.  I think that this is the step that too many teachers in our churches skip, in part because too often we do not give them enough time to prepare to teach.  You can't ask someone to teach a month before the study starts and expect them to be prepared to teach properly.  You also can't just give them a packet of literature and expect them to teach properly (in part because too much of our literature is focused on application instead of observation and interpretation, but that is the subject of a future blog when I have fully thought through how to approach that subject -- stay tuned!).  I am not saying that God isn't able to use teachers who are dependent on literature or anything like that.  What I am saying is that we could be more effective at equipping the Saints for good works if we taught in the way that Paul tells us to teach in 2 Timothy (and his other books such as Ephesians).  That having been said, I hope that I will be ready to teach 2 Timothy at the end of this study if I am called upon to teach it at some point in the future.

I have to confess that this blog may be a little unorganized and seem to ramble at points, but I really don't feel like going back and editing it or making it flow better.