DISQUS

"God Of This City" rocks. Leave it to Chris Tomlin to ruin a great track. The story behind this song is awesome. Thanks for posting this link - Bluetree is a refreshing sound. I'm so tired of Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin and even Hillsong, to a certain degree.

While it is possible to glorify God living a life of wealth and ease with little going wrong, how genuine is the glory given? It's easy to praise God when life is good. Deep and resounding glory to God is made when life is falling apart and yet that person still trusts completely in the love and grace and providence of Jehovah Jireh. Never mind the fact that Jesus promised that in this life we would be persecuted (John 15:20).

However, if you spent a day in my life you'd find that I spend a helluva lot of time in the "pursuit of happiness". I think we all purposefully avoid pain and conflict as much as possible, but should we?

I do not believe we should all be living in poverty. God has called us to live together in unity. Those who have been given much, also have much responsibility to take care of those who don't. If our desire is to be financially wealthy, we should be prepared to use that wealth to care for the sheep, not to pad our own stalls only.

BTW, Ben, I love you guys. Please don't take my previous comments as an attack on either of you. Think of it as two friends discussing philosophy and faith.

Splitting hairs maybe, but here goes...

Jesus mission was to reconcile the world to God, which was completed on the cross. We can't continue that mission, because #1) it is finished and #2) it was a work only Jesus could do. So the question becomes, what does the Holy Spirit want us to do? Not that it would be different than what Jesus would want us to do. But we shouldn't confuse Jesus' mission with ours, because they are different.

Jan, thanking you for making my smoothie turn sour inside my stomach.

My first rock rebellion might have been Quiet Riot in 1984. My parents didn't mind the soft heavy metal (Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, etc.) but they absolutely wouldn't stand for KISS, AC/DC, Ozzie and the like. Poison was pushing the limits. I remember feeling quietly ashamed in high school because I liked AC/DC. In fact, I'm listening to "Who Made Who" right now on iTunes.

I'm so glad that the back-masking controversy went the way of "The Fat Boys".

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mHoCR7u5NzY&feat...

Kim and I already have the whole "How to fight with your spouse" topic covered. LOL.

I've really enjoyed your blog so far. I go through phases when I'm interested in blogs and when I'm not and it rarely has anything to do with the content of the blog. That said - I do enjoy reading your humorous (or attempts at humor) posts - I find them amusing. No offense Heather, but if you write a post that pertains to motherhood or cooking or something, I probably won't be that interested - BUT that doesn't mean I won't read it! And that doesn't mean you shouldn't post about motherhood, cooking, etc...

Thanks for this Ben - excellent stuff. I can imagine Rich Mullins getting excited about this guy.

Love the Tom Mabe stuff - those calls are hilarious. But just as a warning to other parents - the first video is not necessarily safe for younger ears thanks to some language.

Ben wrote: "I have two daughters. Before I can blink I will be surrounded by feminine products and training bras. Cut me some slack?"

Trust me, I feel your pain. I've painted many nails, tried (pathetically) to braid hair, I've had MY hair put up in pig tails (when it was longer), put cream on butts and more. My job is to wash the dishes. I'm Mr. Mom when Kim goes to work. If we ever get together Ben, we'll sit around and smoke cigars, drink a manly beverage (if I can handle it), and burp and fart and watch football or boxing or some sport with physical contact. Then when we get sick from the smoke, queasiness, and foul odor of the atmosphere, we'll happily go back to our estrogen-laced households for more normal (and tolerable) activities.

The way I see it is this (and you can feel free to disagree - I won't be offended).

1. There is nothing inherently evil about getting candy.

2. There is nothing inherently evil in dressing up.

3. Halloween is generally a celebration of evil. It's the one day of the year where being a light version of evil is OK. However, as Christians we don't have to let Satan rule the day. That job belongs to God. So if my kids want to dress up (in something that isn't romanticizing evil) and receive candy from a group of people then I have no real problem with that.

4. For those who say we are still participating in the celebration of evil by even recognizing the day or in choosing alternatives - well then, we should stop singing all those hymns that got there musical influence from bar songs. Just as these hymn songs were (and are) used in a redeeming fashion, so too can we participate in the Oct. 31st activities in a manner that is both glorifying to God and of sorts redeeming (or reclaiming) the day.

I'm too busy laughing to write anything coherent. Nice post!

Heather wrote: "I don’t like my children watching things about ghosts, goblins and witches."

I'm going to stir the pot a little here and I'm pretty sure you guys know that I love you. What about C.S. Lewis's "Chronicles of Narnia" series? A man whom most Christians would refer to as a giant of the faith chose these subjects to convey Christianity through his beloved children's stories. Tolkien uses the same beings as subjects in the Lord of Ring series as well. Sometimes, I believe we get our panties a little too bunched up over the subject of ghosts, witches, goblins, etc...

My kids are homeschooled and I doubt they're going to dress up. Kim and I have mixed feelings about the subject of Halloween. We have taken them to Christian alternatives at churches and whatnot. I have no problems with that. If we choose an alternative that glorifies God, then why not celebrate? All the kids want is candy anyway - they could be dressed up like a refrigerator for all they care. As long as they could get some candy from somebody.

One thing I never did, but wanted to do was to celebrate All Saints Day by picking a character from the Bible (one who displayed Godly characteristics) and learning all about that person for that day. Each year would be someone different. I guess it's not too late to start.

Awesome video - very sobering. One of the things that I hate about Christian video is that it lacks reality. When you see someone who is portraying a life without Christ and there is no darkness to it, that is actually more disturbing to me. We, as Christians, sometimes forget what living apart from Christ is really like.