A Fun Website

I recently discovered Google Maps and I love it! It easily pinpoints locations and gives driving directions. Plus you are able to view satellite pictures. The provide easy zoom and pan features. Ya gotta check it out!

Pictures of Interest:
To my Washington D.C. Friends: Potomac Place Apartments
Washington Monument
Theodore Roosevelt Island
My Old Stomping Grounds
OU BSU (a little too far east)
Bombay, India
Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Despite what the website says, it really is Phnom Penh (I think...)!)
Cambodia
British Houses of Parliament

Currahee!

If you've not watched the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers then you ought to. It is based off of the book of the same title by Stephen Ambrose. This is a great series detailing the experience of Easy Company in the 101st airborne during World War II. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg do an amazing job of capturing the realities of the War. Each time I watch the series (3 times now...maybe a little obsessive) I come away with a much deeper appreciation of what the Greatest Generation did for the world. The series never loses its punch. So if you've not watched this series, go rent it today...better yet, go buy it! It's amazing!

BTW: Currahee is Cherokee for "stands alone" and was the airborne's battle cry.

Serves Him Right

Looks like Justice Souter's decision to expand eminent domain is coming back to bite him in the butt. According to this story, there is a move to seize his land in New Hampshire to build a hotel. Priceless! But, we had all better get used to these types of things happening. Private property is not safe anymore.

Sport Clips

I just received one of the best hair cuts ever! I went to a place in Norman called Sport Clips. For $15 I received a hair cut, shampoo, and a hot towel on the face. Plus I could watch Sports Center while all of this was happening. Wow! Talk about relaxing. The hair cut was amazing. Often times the big chain barber shops just rush you in and out and chop away at your hair while they're at it. Not at Sport Clips. Trish (the lady who cut my hair) did a fantastic job...giving me a precision cut. So if you ever want more than just a hair cut, stop by Sport Clips. They'll treat you right!

One More On Billy

Okay, I have one more story to link on Billy Graham. It's a great one, and speaks for itself.

Iraqi Christians

Here is a great story about evangelicals in Iraq. What an encouragement it is to read this. I believe there is much I can learn from watching the lives of evangelical Iraqi Christians. My favorite quote from this story comes from the Catholic archbishop in Iraq who is very critical of Iraqi evangelicals. However, he concedes that Iraqi evangelicals appear ready to die for their beliefs. "'Sometimes I'm telling myself they are more zealous than me, and we can profit from this positive dimension of their mission,'" he says. I would agree with the archibishop. The article also discusses how there is a long standing tradition of Iraqi Muslims and Christans not proselytizing. One Iraqi Christian said that if a Muslim wanted to become a Christian he would tell him to go back and be a good Muslim, God would accept him. Thus, the quest for avoiding conflict leads too many down a dark path. All the more reason why the evangelical Christian church in Iraq must be supported

Billy Graham

With Billy Graham's last crusade kicking off this weekend in New York, I thought I would post some links to some stories I've found that are particularly inspiring.

Christianity Today has several stories including:
The New York Experiment
Jesus and Justice
Billy Graham's Home Field Advantage

Newsweek:
A Prophet in Winter
Photo Gallery of First Night of New York Crusade

Fox News:
Billy Graham Begins Last Crusade

There are a whole host of other articles floating out there. Check them out.

What a great man!

God Is Amazing

I read these great words from Paul yesterday and was reminded of just how amazing and powerful and in control God is. These words are very comforting to my spirit and encouraging to my heart.

Romans 11:33-36
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."

News From Cuba

The high court in the communist country of Cuba ruled that the state is able to take private property if it will benefit the public. So there is no real private property anymore in Cuba. So long as the state can see some sort of public benefit, they can bulldoze the house and move on in. Oh wait! I made a mistake! This was an actual ruling from the UNITED STATES Supreme Court. I thought for sure this type of disrespect for private property would only come from a communist country. Never thought that it would become law in the good ol' US of A. Guess I was wrong.

Headlines

A few headlines:

Dump Durbin?
Senate Minority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill) has apologized for remarks he made on the floor of the Senate comparing American soldiers to Nazis, Stalin, and Pol Pot. Actually, a more accurate depiction of what he did was apologize IF he offended anyone. He did not retract his remarks nor say he was wrong for comparing the troops to those despicable regimes. Not really an apology in my book. I'm not surprised by this...it is typical Durbin.

The Limits of Government
Columnist Cal Thomas had a great editorial yesterday arguing that church, not state, should advance a moral agenda. He is entirely accurate that conservative Christians must first remember to remove the log in our own eye before we start removing specks from others. Conservatives have been pushing a strong moral agenda that almost makes it seem like they believe that big government can solve society's problems. In the end we must realize that only One can truly solve the moral problems of today. Big government is not the answer.

Wuv, Twu Wuv
For all of you Princess Bride fans out there, here is a movie trailor you must watch. It is a remake of the movie with...SHARKS!!!! Funny stuff!

The Mullahs Are Mad!

The mullahs who control Iranian government are hopping mad over a new craze that has hit the Shi'ite country: text messaging. Apparently the youngsters are sending not so flattering comments concerning the ultra-conservative presidential candidate Mahmood Ahmadinejad. So Iranian officials are threatening to prosecute those who send messages with denigrating comments. Iran can't fight it, technology is coming. Brace yourself!

Summer Temps

Today is the first day of summer--the longest day of the year. I love this day! In case you want to check out the temps from across the nation, click here and see how America is fairing on this amazing summer solstice day.

Another Quiz

Here is another quiz: Which book are you?

You're To Kill a Mockingbird!

by Harper Lee

Perceived as a revolutionary and groundbreaking person, you have
changed the minds of many people. While questioning the authority around you, you've
also taken a significant amount of flack. But you've had the admirable guts to
persevere. There's a weird guy in the neighborhood using dubious means to protect you,
but you're pretty sure it's worth it in the end. In the end, it remains unclear to you
whether finches and mockingbirds get along in real life.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Sudan and the One Campaign

Here is a link to a good story about the American response to Darfur. We do need to call on President Bush and other leaders to help those in Darfur.

Also, I just recently signed the petition for the One campaign. I encourage you to do the same. The One campaign seeks to rally other Americans to fight global poverty and AIDS.

We as Christians ought to call on our leaders to fight AIDS, poverty, and genocide.

What Kind of Theologian Are You?

This just proves I'm NOT a fundamentalist! ;) Although I'm not sure how to explain the whole Methodist thing. Is this a sign that church discipline needs to be exercised on me from my SBC church?

You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists. Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 96% Fundamentalist 82% Reformed Evangelical 71% Neo orthodox 54% Charismatic/Pentecostal 46% Emergent/Postmodern 46% Classical Liberal 39% Roman Catholic 25% Modern Liberal 4% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

Gruesome: Abortionist Accused of Eating Fetus

This is flat disgusting. An abortion doctor in Kansas has been accused of microwaving a fetus and stirring it into his lunch and keeping fetuses in styrofoam cups next to food and drink. The clinic was completely unsanitary with roaches and dried blood throughout. What an unspeakable horror. But, I guess it's just us pro-lifers who are nuts, huh?

Happy Flag Day 

Gitmo Torture?

From the beginning we have been hearing stories about how bad terrorists detained at Guantanomo Bay, Cuba have it. True, some detainees have been treated poorly. But on the whole, they don't have it so bad.

Rep. Duncan Hunter explains, "How do we treat these people? For Sunday they're going to be having orange-glazed chicken, fresh fruit, steamed peas and mushrooms, and rice pilaf."

Not so bad, huh?

India and Persecution

I read where three American missionaries were beaten by a Hindu mob in Bombay, India.

What A Weekend!

Whew! This was a busy weekend. McNally's wedding was on Saturday. Brad and I ran around Norman on Friday getting stuff for the bachelor party...it was fun. Saturday was full. Today was filled with mowing the BSU lawn after church at Trinity and grilled hamburgers at Dean and Magnus's apartment. Jerome came over tonight and we watched Spiderman 2. Anyway, it has been a fun weekend, but it flew by!

C.S. Lewis on the Second Coming

Teresa passed this brief excerpt on from C.S. Lewis from The World's Last Night. Enjoy!


“[H]ow can the characters in a play guess the plot? We are not the playwright, we are not the producer, we are not even the audience. We are on the stage. To play well the scenes in which we are ‘on’ concerns us much more than to guess about the scenes that follow it.
In King Lear (III: vii) there is a man who is such a minor character that Shakespeare has not given him even a name: he is merely ‘First Servant.’ All the characters around him – Regan, Cornwall, and Edmund – have fine long-term plans. They think they know how the story is going to end, and they are quite wrong. The servant has no such delusions. He has no notion how the play is going to go. But he understands the present scene. He sees an abomination (the blinding of old Gloucester) taking place. He will not stand it. His sword is out and pointed at his master’s breast in a moment: then Regan stabs him dead from behind. That is his whole part: eight lines all told. But if it were real life and not a play, that is the part it would be best to have acted.
The doctrine of the Second Coming teaches us that we do not and cannot know when the world drama will end. The curtain may be rung down at any moment: say, before you have finished reading this paragraph. This seems to some people intolerably frustrating. So many things would be interrupted. Perhaps you were going to get married next month, perhaps you were going to get a raise next week: you may be on the verge of a great scientific discovery; you may be maturing great social and political reforms. Surely no good and wise God would be so very unreasonable as to cut all this short? Not now, of all moments!
But we think thus because we keep on assuming that we know the play. We do not know the play. We do not even know whether we are in Act I or Act V. We do not know who are the major and who the minor characters. The Author knows. The audience, if there is an audience (if angels and archangels and all the company of heaven fill the pit and the stalls) may have an inkling. But we, never seeing the play from outside, never meeting any characters except the tiny minority who are ‘on’ in the same scenes as ourselves, wholly ignorant of the future and very imperfectly informed about the past, cannot tell at what moment the end ought to come. That it will come when it ought, we may be sure; but we waste our time in guessing when that will be. That it has a meaning we may be sure, but we cannot see it. When it is over, we may be told. We are led to expect that the Author will have something to say to each of us on the part that each of us has played. The playing it well is what matters infinitely.The doctrine of the Second Coming, then, is not to be rejected because it conflicts with our favorite modern mythology. It is, for that very reason, to be the more valued and made more frequently the subject of meditation. It is the medicine out condition especially needs."

Happy Wedding

My great friend Kevin McNally is getting married today. He and his future wife are AMAZING! I'm extremely happy for them and can't wait to see how God will use them to further His Kingdom. Congratulations to you both!

Bush Down

According to a poll, only 35% of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction. I was listening to my favorite talk radio show Friday morning, the Laura Ingraham Show, and she blamed this number on the fact that Republicans are not getting their message out. However, I disagree with her assessment. I think that Republicans are getting their message out. After all, they are the majority party in both houses of Congress and own the presidency. How can they NOT get their message out? The messages they are sending to the people are not good conservative messages. Rather they send messages of deficit spending--showing total disregard for financial accountability. The $70 billion dollar farm bill--loaded with pork--is just one example of this reckless spending. What happened to balancing the budget? The Republicans have been weak on securing the borders. Our borders are so porous, it doesn't matter how strong airport security is, terrorists can waltz right in. Plus, the American taxpayers are paying medical bills for illegals. Medicaid and welfare are reserved (or should be reserved) for those hardworking Americans who are trying to make a living, not for those who skirt the system. Instead states are running out of money trying to pay for those who have never paid a red cent to the American government. They get all of the goods of America, without the committment.

Republicans are broadcasting a message. They just need to work on refining it so Americans will think more positively about the direction of their country.

Persecution in Russia

Further signs that freedom does not exist in Russia: evangelical Christians arrested. Once again, one of our friends does not allow for freedom of conscience in worship. Committment to freedom must include the freedom to think and worship as one pleases.

The Saudis Will Save Us

According to this story, Saudi Arabia has enough oil for the world to use. Thank goodness! The Kingdom of Saud, as the State Department points out, also has plenty of religious police to persecute non-Muslims as well. So long as we get our oil, we'll let the Saudis arrest, intimidate, and torture those who do not agree with the extreme Islam practiced in the country.

Athenian or Visigoth?

So which are you? Check it out here.

Indwelt

Spoke with a friend from Cambodia last night on the Internet...ah, the wonders of modern technology. It was good to talk with him, especially since I hadn't heard from him since last July.

I finished a biography last week on Johnathan Goforth, titled Goforth of China. What a great book! That guy was amazing. His wife wrote it in 1937, my copy was published in 1938. She included a great poem that I must share. It is an apt description of cross-cultural missions, I believe.

Indwelt

Not merely in the words you say,
Not only in your deeds confessed,
But in the most uncommon way
Is Christ expressed!

Is it a beatific smile?
A holy light upon your brow?
Oh no! I felt His presence while
You laughed just now.

For me 'twas not the truth you taught
To you so clear, to me still dim,
But when you came to me you brought
A sense of Him.

And from your eyes He beckons me
And from your heart His love is shed,
Till I lose sight of you--and see
The Christ instead.

The Beginning

So after months of reading blogs, I finally decided to start one. Anything and everything is fair game in this blog. Happy reading!