Mapping Religion in America

I can't remember where I ran across this site, but it's pretty interesting. Maps of the United States that indicate where the largest segments of various denominational and religious constituents reside.

Game of Shadows

I’ve been reading (like everyone else) “Game of Shadows,” the book about Barry Bonds and steroids and the BALCO scandal. It’s quite a remarkable feat of reporting. What's striking about it is something that you might not notice—which is the absence of obvious lawyering. If you ever write something even remotely critical of someone, the lawyers invariably go through it, and before you know it your words is strewn with “apparently” and “allegedly,” and “according to” and so-so “denies. . .” There’s almost none of that in “Game of Shadows,” which is amazing considering the book accuses, in devastating detail, several of the biggest names in sports—Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones, among others—of being serious steroid users.

When the book first came out, and several baseball writers predicted that Bonds’ reputation was destroyed and his chances of getting into the Hall of Fame seriously damaged, I thought they were overstating things. Now I’m not so sure. “Game of Shadows” is a death sentence for Bonds. More to the point, it’s impossible to read the book and accept that Bonds has a right either to the single season home-run record or, assuming he keeps playing, the career home run mark.

From the moment he started his late career surge, everyone who knew anything about baseball suspected mischief. “Game of Shadows” points out that Bonds had the second, ninth and tenth greatest offensive season in baseball history at the ages of 36, 37, and 39 respectively—and the average age of everyone else on that list (Gehrig, Foxx, Ruth and Hornsby) is 27. No one—no one—turns himself into one of the greatest hitters of all time in his late 30’s. His home run record should have been denied as statistically implausible.

Free Cone Day!!

It's a national holiday today. If you've got a Ben & Jerry's near you it's free cone day. I'd hate for anyone to miss this once-a-year opportunity!

The Titan

My brother and I will be riding this today. It's the Titan at Six Flags Over Texas. It will be a fun day of roller-coster riding with my baby bro.

Then tonight, Audia Adrenaline, Kutless, Hawk Nelson, and Disciple will be in concert there. What a nice way to spend Good Friday. Must remember to bring my earplugs!!

Growling stomachs

Just thought I'd share a Gracie-ism. Gracie is my 4-year-old niece. Out of the blue the other day, Gracie said, "It's a good thing God made food." Amen to that. But I love Gracie's rationale. I asked her why. She said, "So our stomachs don't growl."

Of course! Silly me!

Out of the mouths of babes...

Round and Juicy

Is it just me, or is "round and juicy" sort of an odd way to describe a cup of coffee?

American Idol Musings

5 Thoughts about last weeks American Idol and this week's Queen theme. Here we go:

#1 - Mandisa was one of the best singers in the competition. That she got voted off before Bucky is an insult.

#2 - Bucky was in his "Country Zone" and still didn't sing well. Why you might ask? Because he's not that good of a singer. I hope he does "Who wants to live forever?" (From the Highlander movie soundtrack).

#3 - Who wants to hear someone do the theme song from Flash Gordon? "Flash.....AAAAAAHHHHHH!" That would rule! I would vote for that person just out of principle.

#4 - Another One Bites the Dust - No one will do this song, because of its potential implications. I love the song, but no one wants to sing that song and then be the one who bites said dust. By the way, is there any question what EVERY headline will be next week when Bucky leaves?

#5 - Chris - I told a friend of mine the week before that Chris would do "Higher Ground" because the Red Hot Chili Peppers did a cover of it (On their Mother's Milk album for those keeping score at home). My prediction for Chris this week: "Stone Cold Crazy". Why? Because Metallica did a cover of it (It originally appeared as the B-side to the "Enter Sandman" single and can also be found on Garage Inc.

Starbucks and Akeelah

It's here. Starbucks marketing for the the new movie, Akeelah and the Bee. It looks like they have paired the marketing with their new Blackberry Green Tea Frappuccino.

I have to admit, when I first heard that Starbucks was going to be marketing movies I was not real excited about it. Still am not. If I want movie ads, I'll go to Arby's or Burger King. But - I will say that it doesn't feel like movie marketing, which I appreciate...

Anywho...the Blackberry Green Tea Frappuccino was great! No caffeine (bummer...), but a nice alternative to the coffee based frappuccinos or other coffee drinks.

Reactive Christianity

I keep having this recurring thought: I'm tired of reactive christianity. Reactive Christianity is an oxymoron. Jesus was counter-cultural. Jesus was proactive. Yet that is how so many of us live our lives. Faith, by definition, is proactive. Faith takes the initiative. We have a core value: playing it safe is risky.

I think there are safe Christians who try not to do anything wrong. And there are dangerous Christians who aren't afraid to take God-ordained risks and seize God-ordained opportunities.

I had an hour-long conversation with someone today who is exploring issues of faith. I challenged him to cross the line and begin a new chapter. And he wasn't quite ready yet. But I don't think I've ever been more straight up. I'm absolutely convinced that every problem we have is a symptom of a deeper issue. I believe that a relationship with God is the solution to all of our problems! I just decided not to tip toe. I decided to call a spade a spade.

I think there comes a time where we have to give expression to Romans 1:16: "I am not ashamed of the Good News." I'm proud of who God is and what God has done! Let me share two personal definitions.

Evangelism is bragging about God to others.
Worship is bragging about God to God.

That's worship evangelism!

The Power of Late Night Infomercials

How anyone can get excited about this really beats me.

Worse yet, how they were able to get me to pay attention long enough to actually look the name up online and blog about it REALLY worries me!

The Bible in Lego form

This is a really cool site that I found last night. I'm going to do something with this. I haven't figured out what, but I'm going to do something with it! Check it out!

Crazy week

I apologize for not posting anything for the last week or so, but I have a good excuse. On my way to church last week (3/26) I was in a head-on collision with a hotel passenger van. Yes, you read that right. It totaled my 4Runner, but thankfully there were no injuries.

The one thing that really concerns me is that my airbags did NOT deploy. Needless to say, I am quite disappointed with Toyota. One would think that if a van hits you head on at 50 mph, that your airbags would go off. It didn't happen.

So, in light of that, my insurance did come through for me, and I purchased a new Honda Accord EX fully loaded over the weekend. The car is even equipped with Bluetooth. Sweet! I figured with gas prices on the rise these days, a gas guzzling SUV is the last thing I need.

I've attached a pic from the accident.

Yes, Switchfoot Rocked last night!!

It was the first time for me to see them live. We had great seats and they played for over 2 hours. Well worth it.

Switchfoot

Look what arrived in my mailbox yesterday!! Yes, that's right folks...I am going to the Switchfoot concert next week with my good friend (and guitar genius!) Chris Mciuan.

I guess the coolest thing about it is that they are playing in a smaller venue at The Ridglea Theater near downtown Ft Worth. Really up close and personal. I think the place might hold a couple hundred people tops.

The downside to this, is that we'll all be packed in there like a can of sardines!

Free Starbucks coffee yesterday

Well folks, it's true. Starbucks gave away free cups of coffee yesterday between 10am - 12pm at ALL of their US stores.

That's right, every Starbucks gave away a "tall", 12 oz. cup of regular coffee to anyone who drops by and mentions the name "Keith Hollaway."

Ok, that last part isn't true...

So did you go? Did you get caffeinated?? For FREE??

I didn't, since I've been off caffeine for close to a year now, but anywho...

PS - Check out Starbuck's new site where you can follow the journey of the Starbucks coffee bean from farmer to customer and beyond.

Raising Kids

This past weekend at CCC we had a parent/child dedication. My good friend Brian's youngest Joseph (or as I like call him Joe Ben...his mother hates that) was dedicated.

What makes this such a significant and important time is the public commitment that is made by the parents that says, "We believe that God's way is the best way to raise our children."

This also signifies a recognition that it is the PARENT'S responsibility to spiritually raise their children. This is not something that can be delegated to the schools, government or even church. (I'll stop there because I think I might start preachin...)

And so as a church community, the best thing we can do is help equip the parents to raise their kids and make the primary spiritual investment in their lives. Because what happens in the HOME is more important than what happens at church.

I heard someone once say, "Relationships with parents will happen more often, last longer and go deeper." So true...

Stop! Hammer Time!

I must admit that among my music collection I possess a cassette copy of the classic 1990 album "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'em" by MC Hammer. And I could still probably remember the words and rap along to "U Can't Touch This" if I wanted to.

Well I was interested to discover today that the man is still kickin, and even has his own blog : Look Look Look - MC Hammer Blog. Unlike other "celebrity blogs" this one appears to be legit (in fact you might even say it's too legit to quit! LOL!!) - it's well written and reasonably interesting, detailing Hammer's musings on music, baseball, and fatherhood, including a reflection on the fatherhood of God.

Now if only I had my iPod with me here at the office, I could crank up some Hammer style hip-hop, dust off the baggy pants, and break it down.

Apple

I went to my local Apple store here in Dallas today, I almost got ran over as I saw this.
It turns out to be some clever new marketing for Apple's new ISight Macbook.

Sign of the Apocalypse?

Kevin Covais in the top 12? Are you kidding me? Are my eyes (And ears) deceiving me? How could America have voted for Kevin and not Gedeon? This is an outrage! Did I think Gedeon was going to win? No! My guess was that he would come in 3rd. Taylor would come in 2nd and Mandissa would win! At least that's the way it's supposed to be.

This must be a sign of the Apocalypse. Friends, Kevin can't sing! Can you see that kid on the cover of a CD? No, you can't. Why? Because he can't sing and he doesn't have a marketable look. Am I taking this too seriously? Do I watch too much TV? Probably. I think Gideon was robbed! He has a great voice and good stage presence. But Kevin, come on. The mic stand has more stage presence than him!

All I know is that if Kevin wins, I'm going to run for the hills because this will prove that America has gone completely insane! Any thoughts here? Am I being too harsh? Don't bother answering that question. The answer is yes! But did you agree with the other people who got voted off?

Here's my last thought on the show: Next week people have to sing a Stevie Wonder song? This doesn't play well for Chris (or Bucky for that matter). I think they need to have the genres be a bit more broad, like a 70's song - this way someone can sing something by the Village People and another person can sing something by Kiss. (How awesome would it be for Chris to come out with Gene Simmons make-up and breathe fire? - In fact, I think I'd rather see Kevin do it!)

Random American Idol Thoughts

After watching American Idol this week, I've come to the following conclusions:

#1 - Simon is always right! - People don't like what he has to say, but he's always right! Paula is too nice. Randy is trying to be cool, but Simon tells it like it is!

#2 - I think Paula was drunk on Thursday night! - She was acting way weirder than normal.

#3 - For a musical competition, why is the theme song so lame? - Don't you think that could do a lot better?

#4 - Have you seen Randy's watch? - Major bling!

#5 - Kevin should have gone home - He's a nice kid, but way out of his league.

#6 - Is anyone sad that Brenna is gone? - I don't know if I've ever been happier...