Neon Maze

Neon Maze is one of the more addicting maze games online. I'm up to level 15. It's a bit mind numbing, but a decent time waster if you've got it to kill.

You simply guide your "Star Trek Enterpisey" ship through the neon maze on his way to freedom. The levels get progressively longer/more complex the higher you go.

It was fun to play while the kids were having some rest time.

Live Baby Young

What do you get when you combine babies, old school rap, roller skates, and maybe just a little CGI? A slick little commercial promoting Evian bottled water.

Evian Live Young - Baby Roller
by yom_

Real Beauty

Sarah and I were sitting on the couch last night watching the end of the first couple of SYTYCD finish when the commercials began to roll. When you are sitting with your 7 year old little girl you have to be careful what is thrown on the screen for advertisement sake. It can get a bit dicey.

The first commercial was a plug for Maybeline eye mascara. After the commercial was done, I took this teachable moment to ask a serious and important question.

Me: Sarah, why do you think girls pay a lot of money on makeup and stuff to make themselves seem even more pretty than they already are?

Sarah: I don't know, Daddy. People have so much beauty on their own.

Quick grab the tape recorder! Dang it...none to be found.

She is so right. We have so much beauty on our own. God has been so good to the crown jewel of his creation. I hope she remembers and lives this out in a few years when teenage perceptions and reality begin to take hold.

Though our soul is marred by sin, we still have so much beauty bestowed on us by our Creator. He is constantly at work reminding us, showing us, leading us, and restoring us to the original beauty that we displayed in the garden before the fall. And this restoration project is not primarily physical, but mainly relational and spiritual in nature. It's not about externals, but it's about the heart.

I pray God's grace will keep that nugget of truth that Sarah spoke last night close to her heart. May this daddy foster a sense of strength and security in his daughter that comes from unconditional love and a knowledge of understanding who her daddy/Daddy is and how much I/He loves her.

Prayer of the Weak

O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Reflections on Michael's Memorial Service

OJ had the trial of the century. Prince Charles and Diana had the wedding of the century. So I guess it goes without say that this was the funeral of the century.

The international outpouring of love, admiration, sadness, and shock was incredible. To see people's connection to a man they cared about but really didn't know because they connected with his image, music, and humanitarian causes, as well as, fascinated about the surgeries and idiosyncrasies for which we felt confusion and pity.

As I sat there with my brother-in-law, Don, I wondered about what I was watching on TV and what an estimated 20,000 people were witnessing live at the Staples Center (not a church, sanctuary or cathedral, but an athletic arena home to the Lakers, Clippers, and Kings). Part memorial service, part tribute concert, and part entertainment extravaganza.

Now let me say this: all things considered, this was very tastefully done. Fairly simple given the person being memorialized and the scope/size of the event. It was thoughtful, honoring, and touching. All things a good memorial service has as elements.

But the whole time I was watching I kept wondering, "How will my Christian community react/slam this service?" How is it not holy enough? How is it not God honoring enough? How is it not sacred enough? And I began to answer to myself, "Yeah. How is that?"

But then I realized how could this service be all those things when those that put it together (most likely) know nothing of the One who gives meaning, beauty, and hope to times and places like that. Save for the pastor Smith that gave the invocation and possibly Rev. Al Sharpton, I didn't seem as though any of the other people had any relationship with Jesus. Spiritual people, yes, but in love with the God of the Universe and the Savior of the world? Probably not.

It was that line of thinking that got me thinking that this is why I love being connected to the spiritual community of the Church through a common bond of Christ. It's the Church and followers of Jesus that help those faraway from Him to make sense of times like these. Because only in a relationship with God does death remotely make sense (and even then it is still a brutal and harsh reality/finality). And only He brings funeral services into clearer focus of what death AND life are all about...Himself: Father, Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

It saddened me that this service didn't point to hope. It didn't give meaning to our existence. It simply idolized a mortal man with a great talent. It communicated to me an emptiness in the biggest compliment paid on that day to a dead man: He was the greatest entertainer ever. Not the best father. Not the most compassionate human being. Not the dearest loving son or brother. So empty. So sad.

This service is a reminder to me and to all followers of Jesus that people need Him. We need Him for eternity yes, but we need Him to help foster in us a deep sense of his love, hope, and peace as we walk in and live our lives by faith in the one who conquered the grave and death so that all the world might live, fully live and share that sacred state with Him and the whole world.

I wonder how you will remember Michael Jackson's memorial service. What does God reveal about Himself even in that place that didn't honor him? How will you be moved to help others see that there is ultimate hope and meaning even when those we love die all around us?

The Overreacting Parent

As a parent, I can totally relate. I remember as a kid thinking (and wanting to say) the exact same thing.

It is so easy for me to overreact especially when "things" or "my stuff" gets jacked with by the kids. It's one of those things/issues that I need to continually die to self on while teaching grace to those in my world, particularly my kids, who feel guilty and maybe shameful.

Prayer of the Weak

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(In) Dependence Day!

As Kelly, Sarah, Parker, and I celebrate the 4th of July here in central Illinois with our friends Charlie and Jen Dean and their boys, I've been reflecting on this day and what it meant, means, and will continue to mean for our future. While reflecting, I came across this piece by Seth Barnes (the guy I was kinda named after) on his blog.

Here is a taste:

"How ironic that today we celebrate independence from tyrants when only recently, we voted ourselves more government programs and more taxes, the very thing we fought a revolution to resist.

What a strange epoch in which we live, when the Prime Minister of Russia can chide America for becoming too socialist and for moving too far in the direction of dependence on the state. We are in the process of granting government increased control over our lives in many areas, and in the process, are setting in motion a cycle where our children or grandchildren will once more have to fight for independence.

God wants us free to choose him, but he also longs for us to subordinate our freedom and choose to become dependent, not on the state, but on him. We have swung the pendulum so far in the direction of independence when it comes to faith that we no longer really need God. Our stacks of insurance policies represent an effort to minimize the chances of having to depend on anyone other than ourselves."

Check out the rest here.

So as you and yours celebrate this day, may we thank God for those that sacrifice so much to keep us free nationally. But may we be in awe of the One who gave up his only son so that we would be spiritually, eternally, emotionally, relationally, and systematically free from sin, self, shame, and guilt for all time.

Class IV and V...

...Here we come!

Communication will be down due to some serious white water rafting. We are taking roughly 35 high school students and adults to W. Va. to make an Epic run down the New River.

Pray for us as we connect with kids during a tough time of transition for the church we attend and the student ministry. Change is never easy.

Pray that students, wherever they are spiritually, take one step closer to loving Jesus and that some would even begin to follow Him. Pray for deeper friendships and student/adult community. Pray that we would have a blast and that Tuesday's weather would hold off somehow, someway. Pray that God and his angels would keep us safe on the road and on the water.

See you in a few days!

Prayer of the Weak

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Michael Jackson Dead at 50

I'm a classic rock and alternative/punk rock music guy. Boston. Eagles. Styxs. And the list goes on. Then there is U2. The Alarm. Black Flag. The Clash. And the list goes on via the alternative front, too.

But in the 80's, when music was defining more and more of my generation, Michael Jackson exploded onto the scene with the album: Thriller. It was huge. It came off the hugely successful Off The Wall album and preceded Bad. But it is Thriller that made me into a closet pop music fan.

I remember as a kid living in Omaha, NE, when we got our first color TV and subsequently cable TV that MTV actually played music videos...all the time. 24/7. No lie. And it was Micheal Jackson the blew up the cable channel with the music video to the song, Thriller. I remember the premiere and I remember it playing EVERY hour on the hour for what seemed like the next week/month (even though it may have only been a couple of days and/or the weekend). Regardless, it was huge!

On this day, I am going to choose to remember Michael as the insanely talented musical genius and dance savant who wowed billions with is art. The man with perfect pitch. The dancer to rival Fred Astaire. The international music icon to surpass Elvis.

It saddens me how far this star fell. How he bought into lies of externals and the pain of his heart the stemmed from his family/father dynamics. It's a lesson to us all to deal with our heat and soul as much as we would be relentless about pursuing the love or passions of our lives and careers.

This performance below is the from the Motown 25 year special that I watched live when I was a kid. His performance of Billy Jean launched him into the stratosphere and was the beginning of the "King of Pop".

So Stoked

I don't care if I've already posted this and possibly even hogging bandwidth and making the internets run out of space...Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is going to be AWESOME!!!

Prayer of the Weak

O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving­kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

If I Don't Have Love

Today (technically yesterday - it's almost 2:00am) I saw love. Tonight on the last night of Vacation Bible School (VBS) at the church we attend, Far Hills Community Church, I saw love.

I was in the pre-school age kids' program time, where they learned about a young boy/man, named David who was guy after God's own heart. To set up the drama, the VBS team had some kid appropriate songs for this age a rockin' volume. But at one point early on in the music/worship set, a little boy in the back started freaking out.

He was screaming and crying as if he had been dropped on his head. The leader/volunteer that was assigned specifically to him (for he's a kid with special needs) pulled him into her lap and tried to comfort him by rocking him back and forth, back and forth. Nothing worked. I was thinking that it was time to get him out. He was annoying ALL the other children, but mostly just ME!

After a few minutes of unsuccessfully trying to calm him down she FINALLY walked him out of the room. It's was about time. Let's hope she doesn't try and bring him back because that is annoying.

But in just a few minutes there she and that little boy came, back into the room to enjoy the music. But this time with decorated fabric which she used to cover his ears with in order for him to enjoy the time with his friends and learn about God.

You see he probably has SPD. Sensoring Processing Disorder where touch or sound can send kids into a fit. And, yet, there was this woman with gentleness in her touch, patience in her spirit, and compassion in her heart sitting with cloth napkins over this boys ears for 20 minutes swaying gently to the beat.

Why? What makes someone want to do this? Because she has love. A love that says I'll do whatever it takes to help you understand that I care about you. And nothing - I mean NOTHING - will get in the way of my love for you. Whatever it takes. Whatever the cost.

You see, lots of times I lead people because that gives me power. I teach people because they stroke my ego. I care for people because other notice me and tell others that they noticed me.

What we the Church need more of...well, what I need more of...is love. I am so thankful to God for people like this and what they do for no other reason than pure, simple, sweet love. What they do for children who are hard for me to love. What they do for adults like me who have hard hearts about serving from a place of love. And mostly what Jesus invites me to be and partake in: pure, simple, sweet love.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." - Paul of Tarsus (1 Corinthians 13:1-2)

Dog Poop Matters

"The commandments, 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not covet,' and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" - Paul of Tarsus (Romans 13:9)

There has been a huge push in recent years for American Evangelicals to expand their circle of neighbors (and rightly so) to view others especially those who are oppressed, poor, hungry, imprisoned, etc. And this expansion is not meant for lip service which most "Christians" typically give, but to love those neighbors through a number of means and systems.

And what is so typical for me is that I lose sight of the trees for the forest (yes, I meant to say it that way). I begin to look at all of those neighbors "out there" in the inner city, homeless shelters, food pantries, and the third world and miss my real flesh and blood neighbor.

But this single mom of four who works full-time that lives right next door to me is someone I need to love. And it's hard.

Why? Because her dogs crap in my yard. I know, get over it, Seth. That's petty.

In all honesty that's no big deal even for those who know me and my "pickiness" about my yard. What gets at me is that she doesn't bother to pick it up. She leaves it for me to clean up. And that bugs the snot out of me.

Neighbors don't do that to each other! For the most part, most neighbors get that pets will poop in other peoples yard, but know and trust their neighbor to pick it up. It's how we live in community. But not my neighbor.

Here's my struggle: how should I love her? Tell her about in a tactful manner? Pick it up for her not saying a word to her knowing that this might happen to future neighbors? Pick it up for her and place it on her front porch with a note that reads "Just wanted to pick this crap up for you to show you God's love - no strings attached!"? Pick it up and chuck it into her yard hoping that one of her 4 little girls step in it?

You know, this is the kind of rubber-meets-the-road spirituality that Jesus and the writers of the Bible were talking about when they invited and commanded followers of the Way to love your neighbor as yourself. I wonder if they knew something else: if we could love our real, physical neighbor that we would have a deeper understanding and greater capacity for loving our other neighbors out there that live in our city, nation and world.

Dogs pooping in our yards really matters. Why? Because my neighbor matters and so does yours.

Taco Town!

In honor of having tacos for dinner tonight, I present to you one of the great SNL commercials ever: Taco Town.

There is nothing more awesomer!

Los Angeles Lakers 2009 NBA Champs!

Game 5 was not so much about a game of basketball skills, but a test of championship will. The Lakers had it. The Magic did not. Kobe, Pau, D. Fish, Lamar, and the rest of the Laker squad imposed their will on the young and vulnerable Magic team. The Lakers seized the lead and broke their will half way through the 2nd quarter and NEVER let up, never let go all the way to the end.

Congrats to the whole team including Phil Jackson (coach) and Mitch Kupchak (GM) for staying the course, providing steady and strong leadership and never letting up on making this team the best in the NBA. To Kobe aka Black Mamba for becoming the teammate and leader that his team needed him to be. To Pau for playing a strong AND skilled game. To Lamar for not letting an off night keep you from playing 100%. And to Derek Fisher for playing a man's game...clutch (Robert Horry who?)!

Now...remember how sweet this feels and tastes. Remember how much work it took. Never grow satisfied and bring home the title again next year. #15 is oh so good, but #16 would be oh so sweet!

Prayer of the Weak

Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

My Sweet Sarah Is Seven

Seven years ago today, God gave us a baby girl. That baby girl grew through the early years into a little girl who brightened our lives with little shake dance and lots of love for life. That little girl has now grown into a big girl with a big heart that shows love with gifts of art and flowers and dances through life with creativity and tenderness.

My biggest girl, Sarah, I pray for you today that you would know that the sweet love you show for friends, family and others in your life is only a taste of the amazing, unending, and life-changing love that Jesus has for you.

May you know that that meaning of your name - Princess - is standing that you have in the eyes of your daddy. You are my princess not because of what you do, but simply because of who you are: my daughter. Nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada. No one will every love you more than your daddy.

Your royalty is rooted in your Creator who loves more than I can imagine and gave His Prince over to die so that you could live your life resting in the greatest love to be found...Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Happy Birthday, my sweet, sweet Sarah. I love you so much and count myself the most graced daddy to have you as my girl, my daughter.

Cool Guys Don't Look at Explosions

Don't know if you saw this or not, but Andy Samberg and Will Ferrell poke fun at our favorite action movie cliche on the MTV Movie Awards Show. It also features a sick J.J. Abrams keyboard solo! Outstanding!

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.