courtesy: Hallmark
Whatever your Friday brings you, I pray you’ll experience it with as much delight as Yoda on a roller coaster.
May His joy be with you.
Smile Like Yoda
A Lesson From Elmo On Happiness
My favorite verse in the bible is Philippians 4:4. It reads:
Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again, rejoice!
Some people, including myself, have a hard time living this verse out. Take Elmo, for instance:
Our furry friend seems to have some serious emotional problems. One second he’s ecstatically happy, the next he’s nearly suicidal with despair. And why? All because the green frog won’t play with him right that instant.
We’ve all acted like Elmo before, haven’t we? Much like Kermit promises Elmo everything he wants, God promises us everything we could ever desire. Yet we complain because we want it all right now.
Elmo is guilty of an error many of us make in life. Elmo is not finding his joy in the right place.
Continue reading
Reality Interrupted
“The Joe Schmo Show” might be the most incredible reality television experiment of all time.
This is not your typical competition for a million dollars filled with wannabe actors. “Joe Schmo” asks the question, “What if there was a reality show where everything was fake except one contestant?”
bostonherald.com
On the surface, it’s hilarious. Seeing a dozen trained improv actors (and, inexplicably, 90s celebrity Lorenzo Lamas) dance around one unsuspecting mark as they parody all your favorite reality tv tropes is an incredible hour of television.
Underneath the over-the-top parodies, though, “Joe Schmo” gives us a picture of how to adapt to reality.
The rouse is on the poor Schmo 24/7 (who, to be fair, is rewarded with $100,000, luxurious vacations, and other prizes for his troubles). To accomplish this high wire act, the cast spends months getting into character, rehearsing their roles, memorizing backstories, and creating a script to work from.
The cast knows all it takes is one slip up, one drop of an accent, one stumbled line, and a million dollars and months of hard work would be washed away. Perfection is essential.
Of course all of this preparation is thrown out the window when the wildcard element of the Schmo enters the picture. Continue reading
What To Do When You’re Stuck In The Middle
Pop culture confession time: I am one of the last people in my generation who has never seen or read the complete Harry Potter saga.
It’s not because I think the series is demonic or promotes witchcraft or any moral reason like that. I actually did start reading the series about 13 years ago.
In fact I was the first kid in my class to get behind the books, introducing them to many of my friends. My mom saw them in a book catalog and brought the first one home to me.
I was hooked. I devoured the first three books. I even ordered the fourth book from overseas before it was released in the U.S. I was a megafan.
Then there was a gap between the fourth and fifth book. From what I remember this is when Potter-mania really started catching on in America, at least around the people at my school. Now seeing another person with a Harry Potter book was not strange; it had become the norm.
The first Harry Potter movie came out around this time too. And this was the beginning of the end of my fandom. I had great expectations, and to me that first movie did not ignite the same spirit as the first book did. I was sorely let down. Continue reading
Why I’m Not Watching The Bible
The hottest show on television the past two weeks has been “The Bible”, History Channel’s 10 part miniseries executive produced by Mark Burnett, the reality television mastermind behind “Survivor” and “The Voice”.
Burnett has been vocal in his passion for bringing the story of God to television. His gamble is paying off big time, bringing in record-setting numbers to watch the trials of Moses, Noah, David, and more.
So, as Christians, shouldn’t we all be behind “The Bible” – watching it, recording it, tweeting about it, having parties and inviting our friends over to watch it?
I don’t think so.
Why am I not watching “The Bible”? Because I don’t think we have to settle. Continue reading
Youth Ministry In The Bible
Wow, I never knew the true reason why we give every kid the same t-shirt all dates back to Joseph. Thanks Cecil Von Winterspleen the IV, Esq.!
(c0urtesy of Student Life)
Be More Like Ralph
nytimes.com
Do you ever feel stuck in your story? Do you feel like you’re living out the same plot, day after day after day?
Do you ever feel like Wreck-It Ralph?
Ralph makes his living as the villain in an ’80s arcade game. For decades he’s played the same character, living out the same story every day, losing to the same hero of the game in every battle.
Tired of the drudgery of his “day job,” Ralph finally decides to leave his post in the game, sending the rest of the characters into shock.
The concept for the movie is cute and clever. It also reflects our own lives.
Some days it feels like we can’t stop living the same story.
Some days it feels like we’re just going through the motions.
Some days it feels like the author of the story keeps running us through the same scenes over and over again, no matter how boring, painful or difficult they may be.
So how do you change the type of story you’re in?
The answer is quite simple: make a decision. Continue reading
Average Sucks
Want to know why the Harlem Shake is so popular that a new version appears on Youtube more often than a new baby is born these days? (I didn’t fact check that, but I’m willing to stand by it.)
Because we’re ok with being average.
Look, I’m not judging anyone for creating a Harlem Shake video. In fact I just participated in my first one this weekend. I’m in the back somewhere. I promise.
But the Harlem Shake phenomenon encourages us to just be average. And being average sucks the life out of you. Continue reading
Bring On Your Wrecking Ball
Next week Bruce Springsteen will kick off the second leg of a world tour he began a year ago in Atlanta, GA. I was lucky enough to have tickets to that monumental occasion. Part of why I enjoyed it so much is because I never expected it to happen.
When I first saw The Boss in concert in 2009, I savored the opportunity because I thought it could be my last.
Bruce is only 63 years young. But once an artist crosses into senior citizen territory, you can never be too sure of when their last hoorah is going to be. Everything has to come to an end at some point. Continue reading
You Are Not Too Old
You are not too old.
How do I know? Because I’ve heard my grandfather play guitar.
He only knows a couple of songs. I think that’s understandable though, when you realize he just started playing a year ago. In his 80s.
He had never played an instrument before. Doesn’t have a musical background. He just always wanted to learn the guitar, so our family bought him one. And now he’s slowly strumming along, learning chords, and playing Silent Night for our family at Christmas. No big deal. Continue reading
POP GOD 