election 2008

after watching these guys in the news, this is how i often feel.... hahaha

summer...

is flying by... i have three weeks until we start... holy crap. i better get cracking on my new course...

the cons of school starting: i have a lot of free time during the summer, and when school starts i will be swamped, both physically and mentally.

the pros: it's always exciting to get a fresh start and meet new students and teachers. the first week just has a buzz about it that doesn't occur any other time of the year... and it also means that autumn is coming! september and october are my favorites... bring on some chili and apple cider and playoff baseball...

the more i think about it, the more i look forward to actually going back!

lyrics: "Easier Than Love" by Switchfoot

sex is one of those things... it can be such a beautiful thing; something that produces new life. but if we abuse it, it can also destroy. our culture has misused it... bob will be talking about this sunday at lifepoint. here is switchfoot's take on the subject:

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Sex is currency
She sells cars, she sells magazines
Addictive, bittersweet, clap your hands with the hopeless nicotines

Everyone's a lost romantic,
Since our love became a kissing show
Everyone's a Casanova,
Come and pass me the mistletoe
Everyone's been scared to death of dying here alone

Sex is easier than love, is easier than life
It's easier to fake and smile and bribe
It's easier to leave, it's easier to lie
It's harder to face ourselves at night
Feeling alone, what have we done?
What is the monster we've become?
Where is my soul?

Sex is industry,
The CEO of corporate policy
Skin-deep ministry, suburban youth: hail your so-called liberty

Every advertising antic
Our banner waves with a neon glow
War and love become pedantic
We wage love with a mistletoe
Everyone's been scared to death of dying here alone........

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our culture has created an environment in which teenagers think they have to have sex... if they don't, they won't be cool; they will "die here alone". so in a young person's mind, saving sex for what it was intended is so incredibly hard... it may even be accompanied by criticism from their peers. therefore for them, sex is 'easier than love, easier than life.' in those youthful years, it's simply the easy way out, or the easy way into popularity/acceptance.

but we quickly find ourselves feeling alone; finding it harder to face ourself in the mirror... what is the monster we've become? what have we done with our souls?

there is hope, and the writer of this song did his best to spread it. we need to find our own way of spreading this same hope to the young people around us.

the dark knight

UPDATE 7/25, 11:54pm:
after finally seeing it, i have to agree that it is an awesome film! i'm already looking forward to the next one (hopefully)....

UPDATE 7/25, 12:50am:
just finished Batman Begins... pretty good stuff...

i can't remember the last time i heard this much buzz about a movie... and i literally haven't heard one person say the movie was anything less than amazing. lyndsey and i are usually perfectly content to wait until a movie comes out on dvd and rent (we call it the $1 club), but this one is tempting us to pay up and see it now...

top gun

new top gun movie...?

cardinals

UPDATE Tues. 7/22 @ 1:45 pm:
aaaaand a tough loss last night. the 9th was exciting, though. hopefully we can take tonight's game, because we get sabathia and sheets the last two...

the birds swept the padres over the weekend, and pulled themselves up within 2 games of the cubbies. the brewers are only a game behind us, though.... so the 4 game series with the brew-crew starting tonight is HUGE. i'll be there tonight and wednesday, only my 2nd and 3rd times this year. stoked!

school is coming...

as the school year approaches, lifepoint is gearing up to reach out to the college community. this will be going in the Alestle's (siue's campus newspaper) big opening edition.

chronic-WHAT-les of narnia...

we watched narnia (the first time for me) tonight, and it was pretty good... now i'm ready when the next one comes out to rent...

it was time...

and we got a great deal from enterprise car sales. i highly recommend it; i will never go to a dealer again!

war

i was watching the news about the wars going on, and am just thinking out loud. whether you are for or against the war, isn't it kind of disappointing that, with all of our advanced technology, we can't accomplish our goals or prevent massive casualties? especially in a place with decidedly inferior technology... that's not an original thought, i know.

observation: one area that we seem to be strong in, however, is protecting our big boys. you have to think that our enemies would love and are trying to take out guys like general petraeus and other high ranking officers... the guys calling the shots over there. that would be huge for their morale. but they haven't. at least we haven't heard about it. we have, on the other hand, been able to get some of their top guys.

free song

Coldplay is giving away a free song here.

burn after reading

Clooney. Pitt. Add John Malkovich to the fun. Then you've got Burn After Reading, a new film by the Coen Brothers (No Country for Old Men, O Brother Where Art Thou, Fargo, etc...). It opens September 12th. Clooney and Pitt were classic together in the Oceans movies... and John Malkovich is simply amazing (he is from Christopher, IL, if you didn't know).

Judging by the trailers, it seems to have a bit of the Oceans feel to it... good humor and chasing after money.

conan

conan o'brien has been gradually overtaking letterman for my favorite late night guy. here are a few of his recent political jabs:

"Today’s New York Times has once again raised the issue that John McCain may not be eligible to be president because he is not a natural born U.S. citizen. Apparently, McCain was born outside of the 13 colonies."

"This week, Barack Obama, true story, campaigned on an Indian reservation and the tribal chief adopted him. Yeah, the Indians actually prefer Obama to John McCain, because they still remember when McCain took their land."

and another one from the guy conan will soon replace, jay leno:

"According to the Washington Post, Barack Obama and actress Scarlett Johansson are email buddies. Apparently they email each other back and forth. So, you've got a 23-year-old gorgeous, blonde actress emailing a married presidential candidate. Well, what could go wrong there? Not to be outdone today, John McCain admitted he had been exchanging flirty emails with Angela Lansbury."

lyrics: "This Too Shall Be Made Right" by Derek Webb

in this tune, derek points lots of things wrong with the world... very moving.

may i emphasize that the statements he makes are being declared as unfortunate truths or unfortunate opinions of people in this world... when he says that "there is a time for children to die," he is commenting on the terrible state of our world, and his hope for what is to come when these sufferings are no more (just in case you only skimmed one or two lines and misinterpreted...).

the 4th & 5th verses are the most powerful to me... Jesus calls us to a higher standard; in his 'kingdom,' there would be no war, no settling the score... no trading in people's lives for our own comfort...

a video that someone put together corresponding to the song is at the bottom. enjoy!

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people love you the most for the things you hate
and hate you for loving the things that you cannot keep straight
people judge you on a curve
and tell you you’re getting what you deserve
and this too shall be made right

children cannot learn when children cannot eat
stack them like lumber when children cannot sleep
children dream of wishing wells
whose waters quench all the fires of hell
and this too shall be made right

the earth and the sky and the sea are all holding their breath
wars and abuses have nature groaning with death
we say we’re just trying to stay alive
but it looks so much more like a way to die
and this too shall be made right

there’s a time for peace and there is a time for war
a time to forgive and a time to settle the score
a time for babies to lose their lives
a time for hunger and genocide
and this too shall be made right

I don’t know the suffering of people outside my front door
I join the oppressors of those who i choose to ignore
I’m trading comfort for human life
and that’s not just murder it’s suicide
and this too shall be made right
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not quite there...

...God made humans in his image reflecting God's very nature... Genesis 9:6

...He rescues the poor at the first sign of need, the destitute who have run out of luck. He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out, he restores the wretched of the earth. He frees them from tyranny and torture— when they bleed, he bleeds; when they die, he dies. Psalm 72:9

this is yet one area where we fall short of living as we were created... and i am the guiltiest of all. the culture i live in has taught me to take care of myself. but i can see the tide turning, not only in myself, but in our society.

alice

this coming school year, i will be teaching an introductory computer programming course, which i am pretty excited about. it uses a fairly new language called Alice, which allows the students to create 3-D landscapes and program the characters and objects to do different things... the goal of the program is to get kids interested in programming and teach the concepts, without exposing them quite yet to the complex code involved. if you're interested in this kind of stuff, you can download Alice for free here.

derek webb

if you are a fan of derek webb, you can go to noise-trade and pay what you want for his newest album, the ringing bell. this website offers fair trade music, with just a few particular artists being offered.

derek used to be a member of caedmon's call, until he left several years ago to pursue solo work. he has written so many good songs, and has become somewhat of a controversial figure in the 'christian' circle for using strong language in his music and touching on topics such as politics, social justice, and war... basically he doesn't sugar-coat things and writes with raw emotion and honesty. good stuff.

god as father

i think everyone struggles with this... when bad things happen to people, we ask, "why?" more specifically, we hear things like, "why would God do this... he must have a reason and a plan." i have a problem agreeing with that...

there is a common belief/view where people see God as a sort of 'dictator'; a puppet-master, if you will. where every event is dictated by God himself; therefore, he must have a reason behind it.

there is another view that sees God as Father. the metaphor is simple; think about if you were a father (i can't relate to that very well...)... do you dictate every move you child makes? maybe while they are super-young, but eventually you want them to be able to make rational decisions for themselves, and to become self-sufficient.

in his book, "understanding God's will," kyle lake gives this example: if your son is going to college, you don't say, "you are going to this school and majoring in this." you support them and give them advice and help guide them, but ultimately you want them to choose their own path; hopefully a path that is going to lead them to a fulfilling, meaningful life. you teach them how to live, then let them live.

i see God as father, rather than dictator. i have a hard time believing that when a four-year-old girl gets cancer, or gets killed in an accident, it was 'God's will.' isn't God's will for us to have life to the fullest? when bad things like this happen, i believe that it is caused by our human-ness... we've messed things up; we've gotten out of the bounds that were created for us... we drive machines way too fast; we eat artificial crap that we shouldn't eat... etc., etc...

i feel like i've blogged about this before... my apologies if i have... the book i mentioned is excellent, by the way.