[Quoted]

"First, North American Christians are simply not doing enough. We are the richest people ever to walk the face of the earth. Period. Yet, most of us live as though there is nothing terribly wrong in the world.... We do not necessarily need to feel guilty about our wealth. But we do need to get up every morning with a deep sense that something is terribly wrong with the world and yearn and strive to do something about it. There is simply not enough yearning and striving going on."

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself by Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert

This is a book I am reading with people I attend church with in Columbia, SC. This is so convicting and challenging!

Design Profile [No. 1] - Silent Images Logo

In the design profile installments, I want to talk about some of the ideas behind design work over the years. I thank the Lord for giving me opportunities to encourage others through design.

[No. 1] - Silent Images is a non profit a friend of mine started to be a "voice for the voiceless", photo documenting the persecuted and oppressed in the world. This was so he could raise awareness and inspire others in the world to fight injustice.

Visit SI: http://www.silentimages.org

The Church

The church = the assembled ones = God's plan 'A' to reach the world = the bride of Christ.

Can't wait for this to come out!

The Church // Promo 1 from The Lamp Lounge on Vimeo.

Heavenly Father, give us the grace to be who you called us to be!

WOW! This must be told!

This post has been a 'to do' ever since Christmas and I just haven't gotten around to it. So here I go since it is worth blogging about.

To say the least, 2009 was a challenging year for me. I lost my job in April and spent rest of the year considering what I was going to do next. I learned very quickly that I was more concerned about doing instead of being. Thus, my security was being found in what I do and not in Christ.

Now, fast forward to Christmas 2009. Being unemployed, I was able to come home to Waynesville a week before Christmas. Remember, the mountains of Western North Carolina were blanketed with snow at this time. Further, one of my parents' dogs (Jake - a golden lab) had gotten to a point where he could no longer walk. So, the day I arrived in Waynesville, I went with my father to the vet to put him down. It was heart breaking. Jake and I really bonded over the last couple of years. Jake's three goals in life were to eat, be petted, and chew on tennis balls. I helped satisfy two of those goals for him.

After putting him down, my father and I then worked on getting my car into my parents driveway since it had gotten stuck in the snow. I ended up pulling my back out from all of the shoveling.

On to Christmas Day and the unexpected... Over the years, my family has gotten used to waking up whenever to enjoy Christmas together. I was usually the last to wake up. This year was no different. Except this year, my family decided to wake me by hovering over my bed with bells in their hands, smiles on their faces, beckoning me to join them downstairs. Had it not been for Christmas, they may not have gotten me to get downstairs so fast. As is tradition we opened up stocking stuffers, then presents under the tree. The last present was opened and in my mind the gift giving was over.

All of a sudden, my brother tells me to go to the coat closet and pull out a box with my name on it, which in my mind was an odd request. It was the same closet from the year before where we asked mother to do the same (she got a banjo for Christmas). Walking slowly with a growing since of curiosity and excitement, I found my way over to the closet and discovering a box with my name on it. Lifting the box out of the closet, I brought it back to the dining room table where I proceeded to cut the tape, freeing the flaps of a standard shipping box (nothing exciting about a shipping box :)). After freeing the flaps and noticing what was inside, my eyes got big as I lifted the box for a 15" MacBook Pro out. As the wows came out of my mouth, I looked up and saw tears welling up in my mother's eyes. I looked over at my brother, and he was just as excited as I was. In fact, as I learned later, it took everything in him to keep his mouth shut the night before.

My family had chosen to forego getting presents for themselves to get me a MacBook Pro for Christmas. What an expression of love! Suppose I did not get the MacBook for Christmas. I would have not walked away from Christmas morning doubting my family's love for me. Yet, my family took great delight in giving this present to me. It was such a joy to them.

This was an unexpected gift at an unexpected time. I know my Heavenly Father took even greater delight in blessing me through my family. It is Him who gets the glory!

Zephania 3:17 says "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Thank you Lord!

And... Thank you to my Dad, Mom, and Andrew. I love you all!

MAKE WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are those who don't like John Piper's Calvinist stance. However, as a believer his passion to spread the supremacy of Christ in all things for the joy of all peoples is worth listening and responding to. Below is an artist who I have grown to respect over the year who has taken to heart some of the Biblical truths that Piper preaches.



The actual song.... Enjoy!

Make War - Tedashii from ReachLife Ministries on Vimeo.

Great Satire!

A friend of mine from Charlotte, NC, James-Michael Smith is a national writer for examiner.com. His homepage if you would like to follow him is:

James-Michael Smith - Methodist Examiner
Megachurch Tactics Revealed - Article

His most recent post includes a discussion on contemporary, relevant churches in America today with a video produced by the North Point video team out of Alpharetta, Ga. The video is a crafty, satirical take on the methods of contemporary churches. As James-Michael points out, in knowing people and leadership at that church, it might just serve as a "prophetic word of caution... to churches seeking to be hip and relevant in our culture."

What I appreciate the most out of the video is the attention to detail. I love their little blip poking fun at the use of the papyrus font. As somebody who appreciates design and has even had training in design, it is sickening to see people use the typographical error other wise known as papyrus font anytime they want to make the font look cool. That is kind of like a party fowl.

One more thing - expand this video to full screen if you can..... Enjoy!

QUESTION

How does one know we aren't living in some sort of simulated reality, as if this world were some simulacra? Does the movie "The Matrix" come to mind. This question is by no means a new question. However, my reason for writing this is simply to consider how we know things in the first place.

More to come later...