A Pilgrims Way

Alright I’ve hit a dry spell of books.

Need something to read.  Anybody have any suggestions.

I’m feeling like I’m in the mood for some good fiction or fantasy.  Will always entertain good reads about faith/christianity/spirituality.

Just finished “Bleachers” today, by John Grisham.  Great book.  Hit home for me.  I lived for sports when I was younger.  Once you leave high school (if you don’t play in college that is) the glory days are over.  You’re no longer the hero, you don’t hear your named echoing over the PA speakers or whispered through the halls.  Sometimes it’s hard to let go of the memories and move on, especially if things don’t end on your terms.  You always wonder what if???

But you can’t let the highs and lows of your past control your future.  You start to realize there’s other things then just sports.  And you actually figure out that you can be good at something else.

Ok I’m ready to put some thoughts down about the post. I had a good conversation with one of my friends about said post tonight and some things that I took for granted he really had some problems with. I think my friend the naked pastor, did a good job saying some things about what the Bible is not. And I agree with a lot of the stuff he said. I don’t think the best use of the bible is as a rulebook, guidebook, answer book, list of do’s and don’t, dogmas, etc… Let’s be honest, a lot of people, denominations, churches, use the bible, interpret the bible, in a way that hurts and offends people. Keeps them from entering the Kingdom rather then welcoming them into it. Jesus ridiculed the Pharisees of his time for such behavior. They took the law of God and used it in a way that God never intended. And I think we do the same things with the Bible today. And I’ll even lump myself in that group.

Where the post fell short for my friend I think was describing what the Bible is. (Which I’m sure the post was not intended to do) But I can see how someone could think the value or importance of the Bible was being questioned when they read statements like “The bible is not to be used as an instruction booklet on how to follow the proper steps to salvation” I did’t get that feeling though. I thought that was understood. The Bible is important. The Bible is valuable. The Bible does tell us the story of salvation. The Bible is the story of God and the story of mankind. The Bible is the story of Good overcoming Evil, about everything being set right in the world, about life to the dead, richness for the poor, justice for the oppressed, and freedom for the imprisoned. The Bible is filled with tons of great lessons and guidelines for how a Christian should live. But when we use them in a way they were never intended to be used, the words of life and freedom become prisons of death. I think that was kind of the point of the post. At least that’s what I got out of it.

OK - One of my favorite thoughts about the Bible. I think it was from Brian McLaren’s book “A New Kind of Christian”. So this is a very loose paraphrase of what I think I remember.

Somewhere in a conversation, someone asks what is the value of a math book? Is a math book important because it has all the answers in the back of the book? No! A math book is important because it is filled with problems that you have to struggle with and you have to work out. And it is in this process of working and struggling with the problems that you find the answers. Even better then getting answers, you gain an understanding of math. Not simply figures and formulas, but how to use it and apply it to everyday life.

To me that is a great description of the Bible.

Here’s another interesting and thought provoking post I came across today. Makes you think about how you view and use the Bible. I’ll have to chew on this a little before I put down some thoughts.

Been busy lately at work. Not too much time to think about blogging, but I can’t really think of anything to blog about lately anyway.

Feeling discontent this week, don’t know why.  Was wondering last night if it was ungratefulness instead???

This was a big week for my daughter Haylie. On Wednesday she had braces put on. On Thursday she got her hair done with her mom. (Very cute cut and highlights - she’s growing up so fast). She also talked me into to letting her have a myspace account. On the promise that the site is private and I have the final say as to who she allows as friends, which for now is only her cousin.

Last night Conner and I played some COD3 together.  We were both Medics and we ran around the game together.  When one of us would get shot the other would revive him.  It was a good time.  I think we got just as much enjoyment reviving each other as we did from killing the Nazi’s.

Yesterday was one of those cool low key family type days.

Looking forward to the weekend.

Hopefully something inspiring will happen soon to get me back in the blogging mood.  Or maybe I’ll just get a better appreciation for the normal and commonplace, the stuff of life.

Here’s a great post I came across.

I think Michael Vick is going down. From what I heard today it sounds like 2 more co-defendants took pleas. Which in my mind means they are willing to flop on Vick. If the charges against Vick stick, he could be looking at a maximum of 6 years in prison. So he’s looking at doing some real jail time. Which could mean the end of his career. If all that happens, Michael Vick possibly goes down as the greatest waste of talent ever. That’s sad.

I’m no dog lover (especially when it comes to pitbulls) but I agree that fighting dogs crosses the line. Animal life, life in general should be respected. That said, how many players are in the league (i.e. Pac Man Jones), that are downright criminals, drug offenders, wife beaters, etc… Forget players…in our country there are people doing a whole lot worse then fighting dogs.

Does Michael Vick deserve to go to prison for any time? Does he deserve to lose his career? I don’t think so…how upside down, twisted and out of balance are our morals and legal system? Punish him…but make the punishment fit the crime. Make him pay a huge fine. Make walk around with one of those foofy full bread male poodles died pink all the time.

On a positive note…I’ve only half-way been paying attention to the Rick Ankiel story. But that is truly amazing. A guy with loads of talent, who made it to the big leagues as a pitcher who was washed up (problems in between the ears - not with his arm) and now has made it back to the bigs as a position player. Amazing… I thought it was a little publicity…hype job, but I read his wiki today and his minor league stats this year are pretty amazing. He led the Pacific league in homers (over 30) and was one of the top leaders in RBI. He deserved his shot back in the bigs and it looks like he’s taking advantage of it.

Vick/Ankiel - The good and bad of sports.

PS - I watched the Lions pre-season opener.  We are in for another long and losing season.  I’m so depressed.  I was so looking forward to football season.  On a positive note…Calvin Johnson looked pretty good the few catches he made.

Our pastor preached a pretty awesome message yesterday.  He talked about sailing and looking for the wind.  It was a great metaphor about looking for God and joining with him in his work.

Got me thinking.  Looking.

I’ve got my eyes open and sails up… but I’m just a little nervous about where this wind is going to take me.

I’ve got a lot of friends that are U2 fans, so when I came across this blog today I had to post it. I thought it was hilarious, hope you enjoy.

At a U2 concert in Ireland, Bono (the lead singer) asks the audience for some quiet. Then he starts to slowly clap his hands. Holding the audience in total silence, he says into the microphone….”I want you to think about something. Every time I clap my hands, a child in Africa dies.”

A voice from the front of the audience yells out….”Then stop clapping, ya asshole!”

“If worship history is a yardstick, the modern church does the last 2 1/2 inches very well.”

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