Treehugging according to The Simpsons

My brother-in-law Brian and I took our nephew Jake to see The Simpsons movie last night. Funny stuff. I felt like maybe we were a little off or the humor was a little smarter than the rest of the audience (that’s what I want to think) as I felt like we were laughing at more of the sight gags and jokes than anyone else in the theater.
I thought it was smart (sometimes crude) satire/comedy that poked fun at the EPA and well, everyone else as the show typically does.
My favorite scene was a picture of the Springfield church next to Moe’s bar. When the folks discovered the end of Springfield was near, those in the bar and church ran out screaming and those in the bar ran into the church and those in the church ran into the bar.
Later in the movie as the “end of the world” was at hand, the church marquee was changed to say, “We told you so.”
Ha! Good stuff.
Slate has put together a video looking at the show’s history on environmentalism that’s quite good… take a look.

The Gospel according to Harry Potter

If you’ve been under a rock the last several weeks you may have missed the news that the last and final chapter of the Harry Potter book series has been released.
I haven’t read it. In fact, I haven’t read a single one. I have a number of friends that went out and purchased the last book at midnight and read it cover to cover over the weekend. I have other friends who said they’ll never read it and never let their kids read it.
It’s been interesting reading thoughts from fans and haters around the blogosphere.
Jeffrey Weiss over at the DMN has blogged several times on the faith of Harry Potter and has compared the books to C.S. Lewis‘ Chronicles of Narnia, of which I’m a huge fan.
I’ve just never been a huge fan of the “mythical worlds” presented by books like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. But then after watching the first Lord of the Rings movie on DVD (weeks before the final one was released) I had a change of heart at least to that story.
I still haven’t read it yet – but I’m at least interested in reading it if the opportunity/time presents itself.
And now with all the hub-bub I’m at least semi- interested in reading Harry Potter as well.
But as I read Weiss’ thoughts a paragraph stood out to me (I understand this may be a spoiler if you haven’t read the book):

But in Deathly Hallows, the religious identity of Harry’s family is made stunningly and suddenly explicit. He visits the grave of his parents, on Christmas Eve in a church-side graveyard, and reads the inscription on the headstone: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.“

How comforting a statement that is. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Death where is thy victory? Death where is thy sting?
You can take away every breath in my body – but in the end you shall be destroyed. Just as death had no power over Christ, as a child of God, death has no power over me. Praise God.

Well time marches on, with the innocence gone,
And a darkness has covered the earth
But His Spirit dwells, He speaks, “it is well,”
And the hopeless still offered new birth
He will break the leash of death, it will have no sting
Let the prisoner go free, join the dance and sing
-Wayne Watson

Amen.

Fit or fat?

I thought this was a great look at the Christian life and a telling sign of where I am and you may be in your journey:
From Lifechurch.tv

Fat or Fit?

Recently I’ve lost around 60 pounds. With a loss of this magnitude it’s inevitable that one gains a new way of thinking. Since dropping the weight, I’ve become less inwardly-focused, and less concerned about what others think, because I am no longer insecure with the way I look. It’s freed me to be who I am, freed me to focus on others, freed me to engage in activities I would never have considered before.
During this time of transformation, I realized a parallel to ministry. Before LifeChurch.tv came into my life, I had a consumerist mindset. I would have called myself a “fat” Christian. I thought the church was here for me, looked to ministries to fill my needs, complained if the worship didn’t move me, or if the message wasn’t deep enough. Since becoming a part of LifeChurch.tv, I’ve learned the difference between being a “fat” Christian and a “fit” Christian.

Fat Christians say…
“Why don’t you have this ministry at your church?”

Fit Christians say…
“Can I start a group that does this kind of ministry? Maybe there are other people who would like to join…”

Fat Christians…
…sit in the same pew each week, and rarely venture out of their circle of friends.

Fit Christians…
…find opportunities to change things up, and try to involve those on the outskirts.

Fat Christians focus…
…on how to better themselves.

Fit Christians focus…
…on those who don’t know Jesus.

Fat Christians do…
…what’s easy and safe.

Fit Christians do…
…what’s difficult and counterintuitive.

Fat Christians think…
…it’s all about them.

Fit Christians know…
…it’s all about HIM.

I’m working every day to be a fit Christian, and to inspire those around me to this way of thinking.

It’s good to step on the spiritual scale from time to time and really examine where we stand. I’m glad to see some of the fat Christianity of the past has fallen off. But I’m still hoping to see much more of it fall to the wayside as I continue my journey.
There’s always a lot more that can be improved.

From Amy Grant’s Age to Age album:

Fat Little Baby

I know a man,
Maybe you know him, too.
You never can tell,
He might even be you.
He knelt at the altar
And that was the end.
He’s saved and that’s all
That matters to him.
His spiritual tummy,
It can’t take too much.
One day a week,
He gets his spiritual lunch.
On Sunday he puts on
His spiritual best
And gives his language
A spiritual rest.

(He’s just a fat)
He’s just a fat little baby.
He wants his bottle
And he don’t mean maybe.
He’s sampled solid food
Once or twice.
But he says doctrine
Leaves him cold as ice.

He’s been baptized, sanctified,
Redeemed by the blood.
But his daily devotions
Are stuck in the mud.
He knows the books of the Bible,
And John 3:16
He’s got the biggest King James
you’ve ever seen.
I’ve always wondered
If he’ll grow up someday.
He’s mamma’s boy,
And he likes it that way.
if you happen to see him,
Tell him I said
He’ll never grow,
If he never gets fed.

He’s just a fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat
A fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat,
A fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, little baby.

Did I just quote Amy Grant on my blog? Boy I tell you what, you never know what you’re going to find here.

baptisms at encounter

We had nine baptisms this morning at encounter. Amazing!
There are pictures posted on the encounter Flickr group.
Be sure and check the photos out and keep each of these folks in your prayers.
Oh and huge props to my life Laurie for taking the photos. Hopefully we’ll get some video edited in the next week or so as well with all the baptisms.

Just a little background


casual look
Originally uploaded by laurie416.

If you’re looking on the left hand side of the page and thinking – hey, Laurie and Jonathan have been married for three months today – why are they taking wedding pictures today?! Let me take a second and explain. We had a great photographer on our wedding day who took a lot of good photos and captured the event on that day. But looking back, we didn’t get tons of photos we loved from our wedding day and we also didn’t get the rights to our photos to do as we pleased with them. We also just wanted some “artsy photos” or as we’ve now described them, “fun photos.” So we figured, “We have a good camera. We still have your dress. You probably won’t wear it again. Let’s get some good use out of it and our camera and go rent my tux again and take some photos we really want.”
We took our friend Jen along (maid of honor) and she snapped away in Las Colinas (Irving), Texas.
We had a great day and by the end of the day we had nearly 150 photos we were really happy with – and can get copied, blown up and printed wherever we want. Awesome!
So just a few thoughts for those of you thinking about marriage and getting a photographer:

  • Find someone who’s work you really enjoy

  • Talk with your photographer and show her examples of what you’re looking for

  • Make a list of specific photos you want and/or don’t care about

  • Get the rights to your photos – after all you’re paying for the work to be done. A plumber doesn’t come back to your house and say, “I know you paid me to install your toilet – but I own it and will do what i please with it and you’ll have to pay me again if you want to use it.” (am I being to picky on this point?)

Or – if you want get a tripod and remote for your digital camera or a friend you can trust and go out and snap your own. Here are some things we found helpful:

  • Be willing to take your own if necessary (we lucked out and didn’t have to)

  • Be willing to have fun

  • Find what you like, print it out, talk about it and compare. You can find loads of good ideas on Flickrby just searching for wedding or other wedding related terms

  • Find a great location where you’re not having to do loads of walking or lots of getting in and out of your car

  • Snap LOTS of photos. Especially if you have a digital camera – you can delete what you want or just don’t print the ones you dislike. Some of our favorite photos were candid shots in between the “posed” ones.

  • Read some online hints on what makes a good photo

  • Spend a little time with iPhoto or Photoshop to edit lighting or to crop photos before sending them to the printer

  • Have fun!